Would it be possible to mod so that defenses are able to be placed with an area command, much like the MEX? Or is this something that will be added? The main goal would be an area command to cover an area with a specific defense, such as umbrella or anti-nukes, so that there wouldnt be any area not covered by the defense. Thought of this after having to place each umbrella, catapult and anti-nuke individually to defend a planet completely. Of course, it then got planet smashed, negating all of the work... Thanks so much for your time and consideration!
Hmmm. That's an interesting idea... Area build so that everywhere within the area command is covered by the area of attack. That certainly would be very useful for Umbrellas and anti-air turrets. I really like this idea for in game incorporation.
I've considered it too, and had had it on my todo list to mod spaced-out defense towers. Aside from single laser towers (which I like to draw in lines sometimes), everything else would be nice as an area command as I always place them one at a time.
What people need to remmber is that there would likely be gaps on the edge of the base where your area command doesnt ensure coverage. Doing this might be risky.
The thing is, density of coverage is a factor too. It's a good idea at face value, but I could see myself getting frustrated if there's only a single defensive turret shooting at a horde of aircraft.
that's not how it works, umbrellas are a no-fly zone, they're that efficient. even anchors are nearly two-shots. so spacing them out is most definitely what you want, at least until uber changes the balance, and them some, cuz you could still place them close together manually if you want.
Yes, it's very easy to do, just need to set the building style to grid (or square, dont remember the word) with the correct spacing. Right now, this mod has the ion cannon spaced out in a line. But becareful, the umbrellas you want to build on top of other buildings will be ignored and may keep a hole in your defence. I wonder if it would be possible to cover the entire planet with the spaced-out grid layout like mexes just with a single mouse movement.
YOU GUYS ROCK SO MUCH! Glad I am not the only one who likes this idea, and thank you mod developers for giving me hope! I totally understand that concern, but I have thought about that situation. The area command is meant to cover in the minimum coverage. If there is concern, the player can do a couple things: 1: Set two, (or more) fabbers to an area command over the same area. Each one would then create its own set of umbrellas covering the whole area, to an additional X of density for each fabber, (2 fabbers = 2X coverage). 2: Set one fabber to the whole area, and then build individual defenses for smaller areas where density is necessary. I would totally take that limitation, since I would just need to check the coverage after the defenses are build and plug the holes.
I have tried this for Radar....More specifically, I tried to make radar have a separation distance so that you could use area build to maximise coverage across an area. When I tried it, there was a maximum grid size. Basically the grid can only extend to a certain distance before it doesn't grow any larger. I haven't tried it since, but the problem I had was that the radar would only build 1 structure, because the second radar lay outside the maximum grid. Could be worth trying again.
I went looking, and the optimal organization would likely be hexagonal. Shown here: This pattern has the center of each circle at a distance of 11/6 Radius units away from the other centers. (Diameter - (1/12 Diameter) if that makes more sense). This is pretty close to what the circle area commands already do, but slightly more optimized, since the angle between each circle around the center is 60 degrees, not the 90 that the circle area build command currently does.
I tweaked the umbrella's json file with "area_build_separation":50,"area_build_type":"sphere" However, if you move your mouse cursor out of the planet, it won't cover the entire planet with umbrellas, just a half of it. And this little "bug" happens. To avoid it, the player shouldn't move its cursor too close to the planet's edge.
