Player Tips
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Each grid maintains an internal "database" of possible targets, and turrets select from that list based on their range. The grid-level "database" range is equal to the longest range weapon on the grid, but cannot exceed sync distance or the max targeting range in the server settings (default 10km).
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Some specialty blocks act as a "radar" to extend this range. They are basically weapons that do not shoot, and WILL NOT alter the targeting/firing range of the other turrets on your grid.
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Targets in range can be cycled with the scroll wheel, page up, or page down. You can also pan around while holding ALT to right click on a target.
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There are three manual firing modes: MouseControl (Click or hold mouse button to fire), KeyToggle (cycles fire on/off), or KeyFire (sends a fire command when added to the hotbar and pressed)
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By default the Shoot Mode will be AiShoot, and the weapons will automatically track and fire if they are a turret, or respect Manual/Target Painter control per normal.
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Sequencing is set by placing a group of weapons in the same Group (in the terminal) and then setting each weapon to a desired spot in the sequence. IE, a group of four weapons in Group ID 1 would cycle through based on their sequence number. Recommend experimenting in Creative mode.
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Burst can set the number of shots per "fire" command, up to the magazine maximum.
A major driver for this change was the unsynchronized client/server updates that SE utilizes. It created conditions where a client believed it fired, but the server did not conduct a firing action. This would result in incorrect damage being rendered, phantom projectiles, or other discrepancies between action and result for clients. There is now a behind-the-scenes handshake between server and client to ensure that weapon fire is synchronized. An example of sync issues can be found here.
- Unlike vanilla SE, decoys are not magic bullet attractors. They mimic blocks based on the selected subsystem, and have an equal chance of being targeted. For example, if you have four thrusters and one decoy set as a thruster, there's a 20% chance any of those 5 blocks would be targeted by an opponent whose weapons are set to target Thrust subsystems.
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Keen doesn't allow modification of the vanilla CTC (no ModAPI methods), so a completely new one had to be made for WC. Various quirks from the Vanilla CTC will not be replicated or available when WC is loaded. Things like orienting your ship (AKA Auto Aim), or steering player made missiles may be feasible but troubleshooting those alternative uses is not supported by WC staff.
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The WC CTC will automatically detect mounted weapons and utilize those, the selection listbox is disabled and will remain empty. Note that with WC weapons, instead of adding them to the weapons/tools list you will want to put them in a group on your hotbar to toggle manual shoot modes, before controlling the turret. That way you can turn click to shoot on or off same as you do normally.
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CTC, or cockpit, actions from Warfare will not work with WC. WC can not pass selected targets back to these blocks for action to take place.
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The AI range will equal the longest projectile range of the mounted weapon(s).
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Turrets that do not have a target will state "no target" on the right hand HUD. Otherwise, ensure they have ammo (and select the right kind in the terminal), power, line of sight, and a valid target. Check the info panel in the terminal with the weapon selected (bottom right corner).
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The onboard AI will only target enemies (or neutrals, if the weapon is set to Target Neutrals) that have power and present some sort of threat. This would typically include weapons but a potential collision course will also mark a grid as an eligible target. This can be overridden in the control panel or by selecting a target via the scroll wheel, page up, page down, or right clicking.
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Is subsystem targeting on? If you set the weapons to shoot at a subsystem that the target lacks, they won't fire.
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Are your weapons set to manual mode? Switch them back to AI in the "Shoot Mode" dropdown, and Auto in the "Control Mode."
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To FORCE FIRE a weapon, without a target, you can utilize 'override' in the control terminal. This will break the behavior of smart, guided, or drone munition and is meant for static testing.
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Turret ranges will never exceed sync distance. If your 10km turret only picks a target at 3km (the default), check your sync distance.
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Turrets can have limitations on azimuth/elevation. Try pointing them in the direction of your test target and slowly angle away to see how much of an arc your weapons might have.
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If you have "Ignore Safezones" or "Can Use All Terminals" checked in the admin menu, your character will not be targeted by weapons.
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Each weapon, or group of weapons, that you want a lead indicator for will need to be assigned to a "Target Lead Group" in the terminal control panel, at the very bottom of the options.
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Lead indicators will be displayed while in first person view in a cockpit or camera as a line extending from the target with a number (the target lead group you assigned). Lead indicators account for both your velocity as well as the motion of the target.
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If you have multiple lead groups set, an average aim point circle will also appear. Note that mixing/matching weapons with drastically different velocities will result in misses against small or fast moving targets.
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In the pic below, gatling guns are group 2, and missiles are group 1. The average circle is also visible on the line
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Drones will fly toward and engage your selected target. To reassign them, hover the cursor (alt+pan) over a friend or enemy and use the hotbar ActionFriend or ActionEnemy. Repeat the hover and action to clear the last order.
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In the absence of targets, or performing ActionFriend on open space, drones will return to their parent grid and orbit in a defensive pattern
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/wc remap (action, mouse, keyboard, info, prev, next)
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/wc changehud (moves the top hud. Use action key, numpad 0 by default, plus arrow keys to move. To resize use action key & numpad+/-)
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/wc drawlimit (value)
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/wc setdefaults to restore everything to defaults
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/wc stickypainter to preserve your painted target even if LOS is lost
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/wc unsupportedmode to cycle unsupported mode. Note that if you are in unsupported mode, no support will be given for bugs/issues/conflicts.
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"Del" cycles the top hud between compact or full information
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"Numpad ." is the default to cycle WC Hud Info
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"Numpad 0" is the default Action Key
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"Page Up" and "Page Down" are the default keys for next/previous target.
To Customize the HUD (Heads-Up-Display) Position
- To move the top hud type "/wc changehud" in chat, then use action key (numpad 0 by default) plus arrow keys to move. To resize use action key & numpad+/-
Make sure you have selected a category AND turn "Target Subsystems" on
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Jumping: Jump Drives
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Offense: Turrets, fixed weapons, or warheads
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Power: Any power producer (SE also calls storage, like a battery, a power producer)
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Production: Production blocks (assembler, refinery, H2O2 Gen, survival kit, etc) and vanilla upgrade modules
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Steering: Gyros and cockpits that you can control a ship from (this would exclude generic seats)
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Thrust: Thrusters, obviously. Weapon-based thrusters like afterburners will not be included in this category
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Utility: Custom upgrade modules (like Defense Shield emitters), Antennas (radio or laser), Remote Controls, Ship Tools, Medical Rooms, or Cameras.
If you have a target selected with your HUD, your weapons will target subsystems if they are working or not. Deselect the target if you want your weapons to only target subsystem blocks that are working.
With the recent Warfare2 update the vanilla damage system has changed and the new weapons were not doing damage. My Shields Mod has been evolving along side my other WeaponCore project for years now and the list of features I cannot adequately support is long. Along with the major balance problems shields have with vanilla I have decided only minimal vanilla combat support will remain going forward. I will leave enough support in to allow shields protect grids from outside weapon fire, however that is extend of the functionality I will be supporting when using the vanilla combat system. --DarkStar
WeaponCore now replaces vanilla weapons by default. Different "Vanilla Replacer" packs can be found on the workshop to suit your playstyle.
To be clear, WeaponCore disabling/removing non-WC weapon blocks is because:
The WC team and other mods receive a constant stream of "bug reports" and confused users due to inherent incompatibilities between WeaponCore and mods based on Vanilla weapons. There is a "vanilla whitelist" for known compatible mods, e.g: Beam Drill mod by Gwin.
The following is just a sample of the kinds of issues that arise due to this issue:
- Vanilla turrets cannot find targets to track due to WC taking over all target tracking on a grid.
- Vanilla fixed weapons breaking Custom Control Block.
- Vanilla and WC not able to shoot down each others projectiles.
- Programmable block scripts which depend on vanilla controls/actions break.
- Damage is incompatible breaking WC functionality. Including shield support.
- Vanilla is invisible to WC, no HUD status, grids not seen as threats, etc...
- Block UI is very different, this leads to user confusion and bug reports.
- When WC and non-WC is active on the same grid this leads to performance issues.
- Supported mods (e.g. MES) cannot operate properly if both WC + non-WC exist on a gird.
Alright so let's cover what & WHY the CTC truly is. 2 parts- A: Give fixed weapons limited AI capability, capped at 800m by Keen. B: Give console players a consolation prize for missing out on all the fun of PBs
Now looking at the WC scene, fixed weapons are typically better versions of turreted ones, for balance purposes. Most literally use the same ammo, since WC turrets can have a defined range different than the projectile range. PBs work perfectly for making manually controlled turrets. The big problem comes from folks who don't understand the Keen-imposed limits on the CTC, that demand AI control of player-made turrets from WC. CTC modification is not exposed by Keen, so a new CTC, from scratch, had to be written.
Now we have easily broken balance (AI ranges out to max projectile range, since fixed weapons don't inherently have an AI range), a pain in the ass block that dips in/out of Keen logic land (working with rotors/hinges), and constant requests for vanilla CTC features/use cases that are superseded by existing mods or scripts.
Bottom line- use the right tool for the job. --BDCarrillo
If you have suggestions or implementations, please raise them in the Discord! Thank you!
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