From: lidl@sura.net (Kurt J. Lidl)
Newsgroups: rec.games.xtank.programmer
Subject: Re: Questions! Repost! Repost!
Date: 14 Apr 92 16:52:38 GMT
Article-I.D.: sura.1992Apr14.165238.15417
Organization: SURAnet -- 8400 Baltimore Blvd, College Park, MD 20740

bwoodall@bilbo.qualcomm.com (Bill Woodall) writes:
>bcolbert@rucs2.sunlab.cs.runet.edu (Brad Colbert) writes:
>|> Wow, first time I have posted a question.
>|> 
>|> Well here goes...
>|> 
>|> 1)  I was thinking the other day about what weapons are used today for
>|>     attacking tanks.  The TOW missile is the first that came to mind.
>|>     An incredibly potent weapon, I beleave you should only be able to 
>|>     have a few.  Make them real expensive, and hard to operate.  Say
>|>     you have to be completely stopped to fire, and make them screen range
>|>     since you have to see the target to hit it. Also, if someone goes 
>|>     in between the firing tank and the missile, guidence is lost since
>|>     technically it is a wire.  Also make it realatively slow.
>|> 
>
>Cool,  but as your sitting still (and most likely the emeny will not), you
>	will make great target practice for some human/robot tank to shoot at.

Unless, of course, you "camo" and have stealth.  Then the only way people
are going to find you is to either ram into you, or locate via
radar signature...  Tagman does the latter.  Although if you turn your
weapons off, they rarely find you...

So, you get a wimpy little tank, camo near a armour depot, and then pick
off the hurt robots that go to the depot to replenish...  Great fun...

>|> 2)  How would I go about adding stuff to the Xtank code, such as new tanks
>|>     and new weapons.  I was able to add a new armor type called Kryptonite.
>|>     It has a defeat rate of 4 (much more than any armor) is as lite as
>|>     kevlar BUT costs $500 dollars per unit.  I think its only fair that
>|>     if someone outfits a tank with this stuff they deserve their tank
>|>     to be in the millions of dollars, which is what mine was.  One kill
>|>     on me and the oppenent had 11000 pts.  I also modified the strength of
>|>     the HARM missile becuase at 30000 a piece etc, they should do some
>|>     serious damage.
>|> 
>
>(sorry A.N.) IMO, HARMs are a costly ordinance because of its intelligence (sic?)
>	as the HEAT SEEKER is to the POCKET ROCKET ( BTW Kurt & Josh, what is
>	the diff between a rocket and a missle in xtank?) or UNGUIDED MISSLE so
>	as to deserve the costly price tag for the punch.

Ummm - not a whole lot of difference between them, if any.  Obviously,
the bitmaps are the same...  Another reason for the cost of the HARMS is they
boost over the walls of the maze/arena you are playing in.  No other
weapon does that (yet).

>|> 4)  How can I write a robot program that will use the map for targeting,
>|>     HARM missiles.  Im trying to write a program that is a standoff,
>|>     piss-u-off, hit and run deal.  I like the idea of some innocent
>|>     bye-stander wandering around, and out of nowhere comes a HARM.  WAMM!!!
>|>     Anyways you get my drift, in short what do I need to do to get a 
>|>     programm to use the RADAR as the targeting device.

You should check out the sample robot program that Aaron posted to
the net.  If if has expired from your newsfeed, look
in ftp.eng.umd.edu:/pub/xtank/usenet/rec/games/xtank/{programmer|play}
and grab the articles and find it.

>|> 5)  It would be convienient(sp) to hold down the "g" key AND the "t" key
>|>     AND the  "space" key so that I can ram and fire and aim all at the same
>|>     time without fitting the buttons a million times.
>
>Write a co-pilot program to turn your turrets for you (I have) and then all
>	you have to do is drive (using the mouse) and fire (using the space-bar).

Or just exercise your mouse buttons, like we do...

>|> 6)  Last but not least...  WHEN IS THE 3D VERSION COMING OUT!!??  I
>|>     can't wait!
>
>Another programmer ( ?? lewis, I lost his name) and I were looking into what
>	a good implementation of 3D (BATTLEZONE, CBZONE, STELLAR-7,...) would
>	take to code and be universal across various platform ( it would be GREAT
>	to code it up using XGL, but not everyone has it :<  )

It was probably Mike McDonald.  He does real game work now (works for an
arcade game company), so he might or might not have time to try things
out.  You can mail him: bigmac@eng.umd.edu and inquire.

I'm afraid that to get fast enough performance, we are going to need a
pretty low-level clipping package and 3d transform package.   I doubt that
much code or work will be happening here until we have the *true*
client-server stuff at least partially done.

								-Kurt

-- 
/* Kurt J. Lidl (lidl@sura.net)       | Unix is the answer, but only if you */
/* X.500: Power Tools for Power Fools | phrase the question very carefully. */