Attributes

Mark autons (both the item and ship class) with the following attributes, as appropriate:

  • cargoAuton: Any auton designed to carry cargo (e.g., Mule). These are also marked as utilityAuton.
  • combatAuton: Any auton that has a weapon and is designed for combat/defense.
  • explorerAuton: Any auton designed for exploration. These are also marked as utilityAuton.
  • miningAuton: Any auton designed for mining. These are also marked as utilityAuton.
  • utilityAuton: Any auton with a utility function. If this auton also has combat capabilities, then it is OK to mark it as a combatAuton.
megas 2 Feb 2019:

What would an auton that is primarily utility but has lethal defense systems use? What about auton that is both utility and combat?

For example...

  • Mining auton with a high-powered laser that can mine asteroids and kill enemies, and can be commanded to attack enemies like a combat auton? This seems like one that can be both combatAuton and utilityAuton (and miningAuton).
  • Drone carrier that can haul cargo and behaves like a Mule, but also carries drones that automatically deploy and kill nearby enemies? It is dumb and can be lured by clever player to put the carrier into danger.
the_shrike 2 Feb 2019:

Likewise, I'm planning to put an anti-ship AutoDefenseDevice onto a TX3 variant for testing. I assume it would still be "utility" because while it does technically have a weapon, it's not intended for combat.

george moromisato 2 Feb 2019:

@nms and @song: You're right, maybe it should not be mutually exclusive.

The ideas is to allow for some filtering, either in a UI or for random spawning (or whatever).

I'll edit the guidelines to say that it is OK to have both combat and utility.

relanat 7 Feb 2019:

Thanks for this.

Also that would be PM and Song, not NMS.