[MOD 0.14+]DroneHome_0.2.3 (28.08.2016)

[Adil]

Type: Mod
Name: DroneHome
Description: Adds drone landing pad where dying drones can land.
License: Custom
Version: 0.2.3
Release: 2016-04-08
Tested-With-Factorio-Version: 0.12.30, 0.14.1
Category: Gameplay
Tags: Combat-robots, recycle, dependency-hell
Download-Url: Attached
Dependencies:
Optional dependencies: WrenchFu
Website: here

The second chapter of my magnum modus (first one was encapsulation). The project is taking time so I wanted to get a little feel of completion by releasing another self-sufficient part of the project.

License

License
THe given code is modification for a game Factorio.
Whatever your uses are unrelated to the said game, you can use the code without limitations.

In relation to the use of the code in conjunction with Factorio, following rules apply.
There are no restrictions of use for use this mod.
The distribution and modification must be subject to following conditions:
1) Credit is due.
2) Modification introduces significant development to the project, examples being
introducing new mechanics not currently implemented by mod
or bringing it to agreement with contemporary mod API in case of the code becoming outdated.
Zipping the mod with a bunch of products of other people work and calling it "modpack" IS NOT significant development.

Long description

Long description
This mod adds a new building: drone landing pad. When defender, distractor or destroyer ends it's existence near one of the pads, the former commences crash-landing into the pad, which is a chest designed to cushion the fall.
After the landing, the drone is damaged but can be put back in shape with less resources than are needed to create replacement from scratch.

Dependencies

Dependencies
This info is obsolete, just use it alone for now.
This mod incorporates WrencFu to provide item, which allows to inspect the coverage area of landing pad. If you want that, you'll need to either:
get current Narc's version,
download project from github and rename it according factorio standards, for yet unreleased fix of multiplayer quirk,
get my sneak release which I intend to propose for merging later on. Has the same fix, but introduces untested code, try if you want to do some testing.

Future

It'd be trivial to add a portable lander port, but I feel it'd be too overpowered. There's currently no way to differentiate between causes of drone death and having back all the drones that got shot down in a head-on attack on biter base doesn't feel alright.

Version history

Version history
0.2.3 (28.08.2016): Release for 0.14+
0.2.2 (16.04.2016): Fixed typos in migration script.
0.2.1 (12.04.2016): Code tweak to actually make use of search results.
0.2.0 (08.04.2016): Loss of pads on mining, added optional range depiction functionality.
0.1.0 (06.04.2016): Initial release

Get involved

As usual: provide a better sprite or locale file and get a credit.

[Koub]

If it's impossible to tell how a drone dies, how do you differenciate those that are killed of those that expire in the current version of your mod ?

My two cents : a power armor module wouldn't be that overpowered : you can balance it by making it more or less big (and consume more or less power) : how much space - otherwise devoted to shields, batteries, exoskelettons, and fusion reactors - do you think people should sacrifice in order to be able to recover used combat drones ?

[Adil]

If it's impossible to tell how a drone dies, how do you differenciate those that are killed of those that expire in the current version of your mod ?

Currently I don't, I guess I we gone too evasively about that in the op. I consider it plausible that a drone dying of either old age or structural damage still might have enough reserves to perform a final leap to an installation specifically designed to cushion such drops. The range isn't much bigger than capsule throw distance so that mainly accounts for player returning home and maybe defensive fights. I think that's reasonable. Of course, this is prone to same creep techniques as turrets but that's how the game is.

When performing assault though I feel getting back every drone you've deliberately put under fire might take away too much of the fighting cost. After all, you can just jump into a tank and not care about your power armor being stuffed with cushions and then just keep throwing hundreds of capsules to provide worms targets that are not you. In vanilla that would cost you, well, hundreds of capsules and might give incentive to search for other ways of dealing with threat. With this mod this would cost you probably a quarter of that.

Anyways, such combat is not my focus for now, so it'll probably will be done if there's interest in that.

[Xterminator]

Interesting mod! I'm looking forward to trying it out, and probably doing a Mod Spotlight on it. I think it's a cool idea to be able to like refurbish the robots if you want.
I do think I found a bug though. After placing the landing pad, once you pull it up it turns into a Smart Chest rather than going into your inventory as the Landing Pad. So essentially you lose it each time after you place it and pick it up.

Also, would it be possible to have it display range like the capsules do when you go to throw them?

[Adil]

once you pull it up it turns into a Smart Chest

Whoops.

Also, would it be possible to have it display range like the capsules do when you go to throw them?

Okay, now the landing range depiction feature has crept in. It is not shown when you throw capsules though.
I didn't want to clutter the game needlessly with dummy items, so to provide this functionality mod requires optional dependency on WrenchFu now since that would make appearance in the next mod in this series anyway.

On account of this feature I proclaim the next release 0.2.0.

[Darloth]

Now all we need is a turret that fires drone capsules...

[Adil]

It's coming, slowly, but coming.
There's also that combat units mod by klonan, which adds turret which fires units.

[Adil]

0.14.1 is here