Feature Requests

This page is primarily to serve as a database for feature requests for the Source Code Project.

New Requests

Toggleable subsystems

Support for subsystems that can be turned on and off (ie when 'off', act as though they never existed - are untargetable, leave behind no damage LOD, do not take damage, cannot be collided with, etc.) This would be useful for ships where someone might want to remove or swap a subsystem (ie fighter cockpits could have Terran and Vasudan versions).

• Supported By: No mods or campaigns AFAIK

Side Multipart Turrets

Support for fully rotating turrets on the sides of ships.

• Supported By: Battlestar Galactica, The Babylon Project, Wing Commander Saga, Nukemod - Children of Shiva

Gatling Turrets

Support for Gatling gun turrets, which work same as a regular multipart turret but has an extra subobject (child of the barel) that rotates while the turret is firing.

• Supported By: Nukemod - Children of Shiva

Submodel Animation Triggers & Upgrades

Trigger Requests:

• Subspace - Performs animation on entrance to supspace, and undoes when a ship comes out of subspace, and acts as a initial position if the "mission takes place in subspace" flag is set.
• Afterburners - Performs animation when afterburners are used and undoes the anumation when they go off.
• Weapon Fire - Performs animation when weapon is fired and undoes it before the weapon can fire again.
• Sexp - Animation triggered by sexp.
• Flight Control - Triggered by the the activation, toggle or motion of a particular flight control.
• Turret Fire - Performs animation when a particular turret is fired and undoes it before the turret can fire again.

Requested Upgrades:

• Support for "model-relative" movement in addition to "current submodel position-relitive" movement that already exists.
• Incremental movement - moves a submodel to the position indicated, but does not undo the motion.
• Glowpoint linking - Make it possible to activate/deactivate/toggel a certain bank/slot of glowpoint(s).
• Counter-rotate option - allow an object to inherit its parent's motion while counter-rotating, usefull for translation effect.
• Increase heirarchy depth instance limit to at least 10 levels of heirarchy.
• Simple linked animation support - Support for animations liked with flight controls and other variable setting ship controls, usefull for making animated cockpit controls, control surfaces, and thrust vectoring nozzels.
• Supported By: Nukemod - Children of Shiva, Twisted Infinities, Shadows of Lylat

Arrays and Other Collections

Support for FRED using arrays or other collections (or both) in a similar fashion to variables as there is currently no way to directly associate two variables with each other. Obviously some way to search the collection for a certain value would be needed.

• Supported By: MindGames, The Babylon Project

In Progress

Customizable ship types

Add a new table (or an addendum to ships.tbl) that would allow modders to turn on and off individual aspects of ship types, as well as define new ones. Type should be settable in the $Flags: variable, just as it is now, and the :V: defaults should be integrated so that they may be overriden by mods.

• Supported By: The Babylon Project

Implemented

Flak Screen

Ability to set detonation range/time for flak shots so that flak weapons could fire at approaching ships beyond their 'detonation range' thus generating a flak screen in front of the approaching ships with the flak explosions. Preferably with little variance in the exact detonation time as there is always a little variance in normal flak explosions. Beams already support this sort of firing with +range: option.
Wanderer 10:56, 9 Dec 2005 (GMT)

• Supported By: The Apocalypse Project