[CodeCat]

I'm trying to make a "charge" type weapon, resembling something like a tesla coil or a prism tower from RA2. The idea is that the weapon needs to "charge" or "lock on" for a few seconds before firing. After charging it fires 3 energy pulses in a single salvo, then it needs to charge again before firing another 3.

The weapon works fine so far, but there's a few small problems. First, I want it to play a sound when it charges, so the enemy knows they have been targeted and get out of range quickly. But the only sound (that I know of) you can play with a weapon is when it actually fires, not before it fires. And the second problem is more of an annoyance: when you manually select a new target while the weapon is charging, the charging starts all over again. I want it to just remain charged so you can select a target if you see a better one, without disrupting the charging process alltogether.

Here's the code, if that helps.

Weapon LaserPulseWeapon
  PrimaryDamage = 150.0
  PrimaryDamageRadius = 10.0
  AttackRange = 225.0
  DamageType = LASER  ;this damage type has been changed
  DeathType = LASERED
  WeaponSpeed = 999999.0     ; dist/sec
  DelayBetweenShots = 200         ; time between shots, msec
  ClipSize = 3            ; how many shots in a Clip (0 == infinite)
  ClipReloadTime = 500            ; how long to reload a Clip, msec
  AutoReloadsClip = Yes
  AutoReloadWhenIdle = 600
  PreAttackDelay = 4000
  PreAttackType = PER_CLIP
  LaserName = BigLaserBeam
  FireSound = LaserPulseFireSound
End

[warlord]

Dunno your problem but I wanna know how everytime I try to create a prizm tank laser effect then other people try it. We could of just thought of of it at the same time. Thats just strange since it happened when i first started modding for Generals. Anyway good luck with the charging weapon.

[CodeCat]

Well, don't know why everyone is copying you Prism Tank idea, I guess it's just coincidence. I just had an idea and am trying to implement it like this. It's not even an actual laser really because it is blue, not red. I may even trade the laser effect for a "plasma"-like projectile if the laser doesn't look or feel right. But fixing this is first priority right now.

[Syndicate]

I like this idea a lot and I think I'll look into it.

Just from off the top of my head, pretend its a nuke cannon. You could make it so it has to deploy to fire, and while its deploying make a charging animation. Ok. Then make it have turret turn rate=0? so that it has to lock onto one thing when deployed. (though thats not what you want, sorry)

But if a unit moves away, then they will avoid the blast. Make it have splash though, and a fast projectile so it has a chance to hit its target. It's only disadvantage then is that it can't hit units when they move out of its sight.


Sound good? Try testing it out because I might add this to the USA as some kind of a Fusion Laser tank.