Gearhead niggles, questions, and HUH? stuff

[Saint_Proverbius]

Okay, I've been playing with the new version a lot lately. I have a few questions about it and some things I don't quite get or don't like. Here's a small list:

1.) Okay, a pilot in an enemy mecha ejects leaving the mecha in tact. After the battle, I don't see the mecha in my Field HQ. However, when I manage to kill a pilot of a mecha, it does show up in my Field HQ. What gives? How do I get to keep the mechas that people eject from?

2.) When I picked the Savant talent, I'm still getting charged experience for adding new skills. The description says I can learn five new skills without penalty, so what penalty is it refering to?

3.) At Wujung University, you can pay to have skills raised. I didn't have any Flirtation skill, and I shelled out $12,000 to learn it, and ended up getting nothing for the cash. So, what's up with that?

4.) Is there any way to talk to an emeny mecha during combat? If not, it'd be sweet to see something like that where you can call for their surrender using the intimidation skill as well as being based on their damage and fighting status versus your own. Renown could play a role here as well.

5.) About the config files.. Does anyone know what the command is for enabling the minimap and names over people's heads with this config file?

6.) Also, cities could use the floating name thing as well!

That's all I can think of at this point.

 

[Whipporowill]

ISN'T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE IN GAME HELP?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

ISN'T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE IN GAME HELP?

No, because I'm also listing things that I think would make the game better and things which may or may not be bugs or could stand slightly better implimentations or descriptions.

So, STFU.

 

[EEVIAC]

I haven't played the newer versions so I'm not sure how usefull my information is going to be.

1.) Okay, a pilot in an enemy mecha ejects leaving the mecha in tact. After the battle, I don't see the mecha in my Field HQ. However, when I manage to kill a pilot of a mecha, it does show up in my Field HQ. What gives? How do I get to keep the mechas that people eject from?

Lots of variables here. If its a mech mission where you haven't been offered salvage, you may as well rip the mech to pieces so you can steal the weapons. If you have been offered salvage, then I think the mech's meant to appear in the city you took the mission from (they ship your salvage to you.) If its a wilderness encounter, you need to ship the mech to the town you're in, or the town you're going to, or whatever.

You also need the mech salvage skill to get parts from destroyed mechs from battlefields. Joseph mentioned something about tweaking the skill because it was too usefull or something, so I'm not sure how or how well it works now.

If its a specific problem that you can replicate (where all dead pilots leave salavgable mecha, and all ejected pilots don't,) sounds like a bug.

2.) When I picked the Savant talent, I'm still getting charged experience for adding new skills. The description says I can learn five new skills without penalty, so what penalty is it refering to?

You have a certain amount of skills (determined by the knowledge stat I think.) Look on the character screen and choose "Learn New Skill." It should show you a number like 20/23. The first number is the skills you have, the second is the skills you can learn. Once the total number of skills you have ranks in goes above that second number, all skills cost more. Savant just gives you extra skills, but if your above the threshold already, I guess it still penalizes you.

3.) At Wujung University, you can pay to have skills raised. I didn't have any Flirtation skill, and I shelled out $12,000 to learn it, and ended up getting nothing for the cash. So, what's up with that?

I remember something like this happening to me when I bought training off the Solar Navy. Never did find out how it works.

4.) Is there any way to talk to an emeny mecha during combat? If not, it'd be sweet to see something like that where you can call for their surrender using the intimidation skill as well as being based on their damage and fighting status versus your own. Renown could play a role here as well.

Intimidation causes pilots to eject more often. Agree on the speech options though, I remember they were suggested on Gearhead_dev ages ago. It'd be usefull if only to stop bandits from bugging you with those Wolframs.

5.) About the config files.. Does anyone know what the command is for enabling the minimap and names over people's heads with this config file?

There's a minimap? Anyway, the names command is NAMESON, according to the history log.

I wish that there were a few more modular options to the game. The armour/weapons/mech list is all static, while the rest of the game randomizes itself. Once you've got a Havok suit and some Power Claws, there's not a whole lot of challenge in personal combat. If you could build (or get built for you) personal powered armour to spec, with laser rippers for hands and jetboots, or whatever, you allieviate that grind that most games have with regards to loot.

The same goes for mecha. If there were basic parts that you could construct into custom mechs, you wouldn't hit that tech wall. Not just putting one power plant into a different style mech, but combining functions. I want a mech that transforms into a motorcycle, dammit! And kevlar lined leathers with mono-molecular hand claws to go with it. Or a small size factor powered suit that turns into a ghetto blaster for impromptu concerts. The options are limitless...

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I haven't played the newer versions so I'm not sure how usefull my information is going to be.

The new version is fairly nice. There's even the start of work on the Thief's Guild faction.

Lots of variables here. If its a mech mission where you haven't been offered salvage, you may as well rip the mech to pieces so you can steal the weapons. If you have been offered salvage, then I think the mech's meant to appear in the city you took the mission from (they ship your salvage to you.) If its a wilderness encounter, you need to ship the mech to the town you're in, or the town you're going to, or whatever.

The problem with ripping them to pieces is that once they go BOOM, all you can find are things like maces or mech cannons for tanks. Even with the Tech Vulture talent, that's all I can find. I assume I'm doing something wrong there.

I've also had pilots eject in the arena, and I never get their mecha that way. It kind of sucks, because I'm running around in an Aranos I talked Vikki out of in the starting town. I've lost my Corsair in an arena fight, and I lost a Buru Buru to the guy that's trying to kill me. I have one of those big tanks, but I hate the damned thing.

You also need the mech salvage skill to get parts from destroyed mechs from battlefields. Joseph mentioned something about tweaking the skill because it was too usefull or something, so I'm not sure how or how well it works now.

I don't even see a "mech salvage" skill anymore, so I guess that's removed?

You have a certain amount of skills (determined by the knowledge stat I think.) Look on the character screen and choose "Learn New Skill." It should show you a number like 20/23. The first number is the skills you have, the second is the skills you can learn. Once the total number of skills you have ranks in goes above that second number, all skills cost more. Savant just gives you extra skills, but if your above the threshold already, I guess it still penalizes you.

Okay, that makes sense. I have 26/26 skills now.

I remember something like this happening to me when I bought training off the Solar Navy. Never did find out how it works.

I'm not sure it does. If I paid $12,000 for a skill I don't have, then I should have at least gotten a level 1 of that skill.

Intimidation causes pilots to eject more often. Agree on the speech options though, I remember they were suggested on Gearhead_dev ages ago. It'd be usefull if only to stop bandits from bugging you with those Wolframs.

They're bugging me with those itty bitty mecha. The strongarm, I think they're called. One shot from me usually dusts them.

There's a minimap? Anyway, the names command is NAMESON, according to the history log.

I made an arena.cfg file that has this in it:

• MINIMAPON
  NAMESON

That appears to work. Yay!

I wish that there were a few more modular options to the game. The armour/weapons/mech list is all static, while the rest of the game randomizes itself. Once you've got a Havok suit and some Power Claws, there's not a whole lot of challenge in personal combat. If you could build (or get built for you) personal powered armour to spec, with laser rippers for hands and jetboots, or whatever, you allieviate that grind that most games have with regards to loot.

I agree here. It would be nice if there was some kind of modular creation of things to the game. The items seem pretty modular, like the Internet Phone while contains a memo module, a telephone module, and a news feed module. There's also armor that acts as weapons as well, so there is a certain degree of modularity going on there. It would be nice if there were more function to it.

The same goes for mecha. If there were basic parts that you could construct into custom mechs, you wouldn't hit that tech wall. Not just putting one power plant into a different style mech, but combining functions. I want a mech that transforms into a motorcycle, dammit! And kevlar lined leathers with mono-molecular hand claws to go with it. Or a small size factor powered suit that turns into a ghetto blaster for impromptu concerts. The options are limitless...

How about an electric guitar that's also a rocket launcher for that Desperado style mayhem? :D

One thing I'd like is more non-mecha stuff in the game. I'd love to be able to play the entire game without ever dealing with a mecha. Imagine arenas for not just mecha combat, but personal combat as well. I want to be able to stealthily sneak in to a compound and swipe plans and such.

Hell, more complex map generation would be nice. Towns are fairly stale now. The SDL version also needs signs and stuff to be able to tell what shops are before you go in them. A BIG town map that showed locations of shops and things would be great as well.

 

[EEVIAC]

The problem with ripping them to pieces is that once they go BOOM, all you can find are things like maces or mech cannons for tanks. Even with the Tech Vulture talent, that's all I can find. I assume I'm doing something wrong there.

For a long time this was pretty much all the loot I got. Sometimes you get lucky and find a Shaka Cannon, which is a great beginners weapon.

I've also had pilots eject in the arena, and I never get their mecha that way.

You can't salvage mechs from arenas, must be protected by insurance or something.

It kind of sucks, because I'm running around in an Aranos I talked Vikki out of in the starting town. I've lost my Corsair in an arena fight, and I lost a Buru Buru to the guy that's trying to kill me. I have one of those big tanks, but I hate the damned thing.

I'd start again. If you've exhausted all the begining options for mech (through Vicki, or the Buru Buru you get from the Guardian in Snake Lake) you're going to be doing shit missions to try and scrap up money to buy a mech.

I don't even see a "mech salvage" skill anymore, so I guess that's removed?

My mistake. Its the Tech Vulture talent I was thinking about. Maybe its tied into a stat like Mech Engineering now, I'm not sure. TV was never a sure thing anyway.

Okay, that makes sense. I have 26/26 skills now.

And you're still being panalized? That still sounds wrong. If I'm at the threshold of my learning capacity, it doesn't make sense that I should be penalized for improving the skills I already have.

I'm not sure it does. If I paid $12,000 for a skill I don't have, then I should have at least gotten a level 1 of that skill.

If its bugged, look into cyberware. I never really got into it but there's some great stuff to be found. Another wish : like Cyberpunk 2020, there could be chip slockets. Its usefull for skills that you don't use regularly, and if I remember 2020 correctly, any slocketed skill was limited to +3. I've always thought that if Joseph took out the mechs (the large ones at least,) built some coporate Arcologies and gated communities, and boosted the implant lists, he'd have a ready made cyberpunk game.

They're bugging me with those itty bitty mecha. The strongarm, I think they're called. One shot from me usually dusts them.

I don't think the Strongarm is a proper mech, more like an Urbanmech equivalent. Anyway, that's why you're getting crappy maces and the like.

I made an arena.cfg file that has this in it:

• MINIMAPON
  NAMESON

That appears to work. Yay!

I'm going to have to try that. You know the other config commands like

NOMOUSE
WINDOW
NOAUTOSAVE
MechaControl R (I find the rogue like control in mecha combat way more efficient.)

I agree here. It would be nice if there was some kind of modular creation of things to the game. The items seem pretty modular, like the Internet Phone while contains a memo module, a telephone module, and a news feed module. There's also armor that acts as weapons as well, so there is a certain degree of modularity going on there. It would be nice if there were more function to it.

It just allows you to make things more personal. I remember using the NWN editor to make custom weapons. You could choose enchantments and magical effects, then put in your little back story lore, and it calculated how much it would cost and what level you had to be to use it. If it only it were in game. ToEE had it but I never could seem to get it work properly.

The best sword in any game is usually better than any other item in a game. Subsequently, most people specialize in swords. By allowing custom creation the player doesn't have to wait around to loot a dire mace which deals acid damage or a enchanted chain. If you've got the money and you can wield the weapon, just go get it made.

How about an electric guitar that's also a rocket launcher for that Desperado style mayhem? :D

I love it! I had the same idea but with a foam gun for crowd controll to facilitate a quick escape. Dead fans don't buy records.

One thing I'd like is more non-mecha stuff in the game. I'd love to be able to play the entire game without ever dealing with a mecha. Imagine arenas for not just mecha combat, but personal combat as well. I want to be able to stealthily sneak in to a compound and swipe plans and such.

Definately. There's a lot of variations of Gearhead that could be derived from the same engine. As well as the city based cyberpunk style game, I was also thinking about a game with more of a vehicular and personal combat slant, with rockstars raiding convoys in their dune buggies, and motorcycle gangs. Even just long races and chases accross the plains. Not necessarilly post-apoc, more dystopic future. I love mechs but they do overbalance things, just because mech versus anything else equals quick, messy death for the anything else.

Hell, more complex map generation would be nice. Towns are fairly stale now. The SDL version also needs signs and stuff to be able to tell what shops are before you go in them. A BIG town map that showed locations of shops and things would be great as well.

Well it can do height and depth so buildings that aren't just ground level would be good. The investigation missions are a good idea but they're way too basic. A flat level maze with a filing cabinet just doesn't stimulate my sense of disbelief that I'm actually raiding a mansion.

A annotated map would be great, I still get lost in common towns, just because everything looks so similar. The other option I'd like is for a menu when I enter a town, so I can choose which area I want to go to (like Fallout.)

While I'm on the wish list, I really want grapples. I want to wrestle with radioactive rats and leg lock albino alligators while squirel grabbing them to death. Not enough games have grapples. If the armour creation went in, grapples would make a reinforced spandex jumpsuit with retracting spines really fucking usefull.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

For a long time this was pretty much all the loot I got. Sometimes you get lucky and find a Shaka Cannon, which is a great beginners weapon.

I salvaged a Heavy Autocannon either today. I was proud of myself for that. I'd really like some more laser weapons, though. I can't even find any one selling lasers.

I have a bunch of heads, legs, and an arm in Snake Lake that I'm trying to figure out what I should do with. I guess I could make a four legged Buru Buru if I wanted to.

You can't salvage mechs from arenas, must be protected by insurance or something.

Actually, I got a Buru Buru from an arena fight in the Gyori Arena. I suped it up with the Heavy Autocannon and some other things.

It kind of sucks, because I'm running around in an Aranos I talked Vikki out of in the starting town. I've lost my Corsair in an arena fight, and I lost a Buru Buru to the guy that's trying to kill me. I have one of those big tanks, but I hate the damned thing.

I'd start again. If you've exhausted all the begining options for mech (through Vicki, or the Buru Buru you get from the Guardian in Snake Lake) you're going to be doing shit missions to try and scrap up money to buy a mech.

Nah, that Aranos is the bestest mecha evar. I now have around 4-5 Buru Burus, most of them are salvaged but I won one in the Arena at Hodye.

I don't even see a "mech salvage" skill anymore, so I guess that's removed?

My mistake. Its the Tech Vulture talent I was thinking about. Maybe its tied into a stat like Mech Engineering now, I'm not sure. TV was never a sure thing anyway.

Well, about TV.. I'm not even sure I'm getting any additional salvage from it. On strongarms, I kept getting the mace and stuff, so I'm not sure it does anything. Maybe it's why I got that Buru Buru in that arena fight, though.

Okay, that makes sense. I have 26/26 skills now.

And you're still being panalized? That still sounds wrong. If I'm at the threshold of my learning capacity, it doesn't make sense that I should be penalized for improving the skills I already have.

No, I didn't know there was a skill limit. I thought the "five penalty free skills" was saying that you didn't have to spend 100XP to buy them. Instead of 21 skills as my limit, I now have 26. So, it works.

If its bugged, look into cyberware. I never really got into it but there's some great stuff to be found. Another wish : like Cyberpunk 2020, there could be chip slockets. Its usefull for skills that you don't use regularly, and if I remember 2020 correctly, any slocketed skill was limited to +3. I've always thought that if Joseph took out the mechs (the large ones at least,) built some coporate Arcologies and gated communities, and boosted the implant lists, he'd have a ready made cyberpunk game.

More cyberpunk stuff in addition to the mecha would be pretty sweet. I'd love to see some corp on corp raiding missions and sabotage missions where it's just you and your lancemates, minus the mecha, infiltrating enemy bases. It's already got level generators for base-like structures like in the BioCorp lab area in Snake Lake, so all it really needs would be some additional props for furniture, computers, etc. and you could lay out a nice feeling office structure or bunker for a mission.

I don't think the Strongarm is a proper mech, more like an Urbanmech equivalent. Anyway, that's why you're getting crappy maces and the like.

They also have Thugg Cannons, and I've never salvaged one of those. The problem with strongarms is that one hit from my Aranos's Scourge Laser Cannon, and they're toast.

I'm going to have to try that. You know the other config commands like

NOMOUSE
WINDOW
NOAUTOSAVE
MechaControl R (I find the rogue like control in mecha combat way more efficient.)

WINDOW is on by default now. I actually kind of like the menu style mecha combat, mainly because it reminds me of the old Amiga game "MechForce". In fact, that's one of the things I like about it, it's like "MechForce: The CRPG", though the tactical combat isn't as good as MechForce, which was basically BattleTech that used a per-second style turn based with recharge times for events. MechForce basically ruined me for all future BattleTech video games.

It just allows you to make things more personal. I remember using the NWN editor to make custom weapons. You could choose enchantments and magical effects, then put in your little back story lore, and it calculated how much it would cost and what level you had to be to use it. If it only it were in game. ToEE had it but I never could seem to get it work properly.

I made all kinds of stuff in ToEE. I understand what you're saying though. It'd be great to be able to use that modularity to custom make weapons, armor, and so forth. The only problem I can see is that Gearhead has a boatload of skills already. Maybe the Science skill could be used for that?

Definately. There's a lot of variations of Gearhead that could be derived from the same engine. As well as the city based cyberpunk style game, I was also thinking about a game with more of a vehicular and personal combat slant, with rockstars raiding convoys in their dune buggies, and motorcycle gangs. Even just long races and chases accross the plains. Not necessarilly post-apoc, more dystopic future. I love mechs but they do overbalance things, just because mech versus anything else equals quick, messy death for the anything else.

Something along the lines of Roadwar2000 only with the Gearhead CRPG stuff wouldn't be bad. It really wouldn't be that hard to do, just time consuming. You already have the support for such a game given how modular the mecha are. All you'd need to do is make engine profiles, and car types for the car combat. You'd have to add inertia and braking.

Well it can do height and depth so buildings that aren't just ground level would be good. The investigation missions are a good idea but they're way too basic. A flat level maze with a filing cabinet just doesn't stimulate my sense of disbelief that I'm actually raiding a mansion.

The problem with the investigation missions are that the maps it generates are too maze-like. It's probably be better to just lay out rooms so they take up a lot of space, and then connect them. Also, as I mentioned near the beginning, furnature would go a LONG way towards helping give that lived in look.

A annotated map would be great, I still get lost in common towns, just because everything looks so similar. The other option I'd like is for a menu when I enter a town, so I can choose which area I want to go to (like Fallout.)

I think the ASCII version should be dropped at some point. There's a lot of neat stuff you can do with the SDL version that you can't do with the ASCII one. Annotated maps would go a long way towards helping out, especially when each new game you play, everything is in a different spot and people have different names.

While I'm on the wish list, I really want grapples. I want to wrestle with radioactive rats and leg lock albino alligators while squirel grabbing them to death. Not enough games have grapples. If the armour creation went in, grapples would make a reinforced spandex jumpsuit with retracting spines really fucking usefull.

More effects from personal weapons would be great too. There's all kinds of weapon types to edit for the mecha, so why not personal weapons too? A webcaster for netting and bringing down bandits so you can turn them in alive for more money would be great, for example.

 

[EEVIAC]

I have a bunch of heads, legs, and an arm in Snake Lake that I'm trying to figure out what I should do with. I guess I could make a four legged Buru Buru if I wanted to.

Look at the heads in your HQ and see if there are any good sensors. That's pretty much the entire cost of the head but I found it really hard to find sensors for sale. I wound up finding one good set and transfered it from mech to mech.

Actually, I got a Buru Buru from an arena fight in the Gyori Arena. I suped it up with the Heavy Autocannon and some other things.

Did you get it as salvage or did you win it? I think if you win 10 fights you get a Buru Buru.

Nah, that Aranos is the bestest mecha evar. I now have around 4-5 Buru Burus, most of them are salvaged but I won one in the Arena at Hodye.

Is that an arachnoid mech? I never did like walker type mechs, I need arms to punch or else I don't feel safe.

Well, about TV.. I'm not even sure I'm getting any additional salvage from it. On strongarms, I kept getting the mace and stuff, so I'm not sure it does anything. Maybe it's why I got that Buru Buru in that arena fight, though.

TV gets you arms and legs and crap. Usefull for cash at the start of the game, but cash doesn't matter once you start doing sewer dives.

More cyberpunk stuff in addition to the mecha would be pretty sweet. I'd love to see some corp on corp raiding missions and sabotage missions where it's just you and your lancemates, minus the mecha, infiltrating enemy bases. It's already got level generators for base-like structures like in the BioCorp lab area in Snake Lake, so all it really needs would be some additional props for furniture, computers, etc. and you could lay out a nice feeling office structure or bunker for a mission.

I think the whole game needs some more props actually. It'd help with orientation if merchants had display cases and cafes had seats and tables.

The science skill isn't developed enough, and there's a lot you could do with science and electronics on a corp run. The corps could do with a bit more spice as well. I just don't get the feeling that they have any rivalry with each other. Corp espionage would add a lot to the game, from hits to hacking, defections, and undercover ops.

I actually kind of like the menu style mecha combat, mainly because it reminds me of the old Amiga game "MechForce". In fact, that's one of the things I like about it, it's like "MechForce: The CRPG", though the tactical combat isn't as good as MechForce, which was basically BattleTech that used a per-second style turn based with recharge times for events. MechForce basically ruined me for all future BattleTech video games.

If its the same game I'm thinking of (hex based, complete mech builder included, no missions, just skirmishes,) then holy shit that game kicked arse. I don't think I played anything on my Amiga more than that game.

I made all kinds of stuff in ToEE. I understand what you're saying though. It'd be great to be able to use that modularity to custom make weapons, armor, and so forth. The only problem I can see is that Gearhead has a boatload of skills already. Maybe the Science skill could be used for that?

I've always thought of weapons skills as not only a knowledge of using weapons, but being able to strip, clean, and repair them if necessary. A complete understanding of the weapon that goes beyond hours at the range. Combine that with General Repair or Science, or even Cybertech for smartguns, and there's the skill.

Something along the lines of Roadwar2000 only with the Gearhead CRPG stuff wouldn't be bad. It really wouldn't be that hard to do, just time consuming. You already have the support for such a game given how modular the mecha are. All you'd need to do is make engine profiles, and car types for the car combat. You'd have to add inertia and braking.

I was actually thinking of a sort of The Warriors plus cars. The last party based, futuristic dungeon crawlers I can remember are the Buck Rogers games. Screw this party bullshit, I wanna build my own gang! I'm still holding out for the day when I play a game where I throw burning oil into the cabs of trucks, then attack the helpless drivers with a chain from the safety of a motorcycle.

The problem with the investigation missions are that the maps it generates are too maze-like. It's probably be better to just lay out rooms so they take up a lot of space, and then connect them. Also, as I mentioned near the beginning, furnature would go a LONG way towards helping give that lived in look.

There needs to be more meat to the missions, more convolution. Rather than just raiding the filing cabinet, you could have the drug dealer or the spy or whoever it is your attacking be holed up in a panic room that you have to get into (pick the lock, blow open the door with a shotgun or explosives, set fire to the house and wait for him to come out.) Then you can use some of the other skills like Conversation or Intimidation (even Biotech for a sophisticated lie detector) to find out who he was working for.

More effects from personal weapons would be great too. There's all kinds of weapon types to edit for the mecha, so why not personal weapons too? A webcaster for netting and bringing down bandits so you can turn them in alive for more money would be great, for example.

Not to mention Tasers, Knockout Darts fired from a Flechette pistol, or good old handcuffs. You can get people to eject in mech combat, but in personal combat everyone fights to the death. Intelligent animals might also concede, then you could use science to study them. (Where do the Radioactive Rats come from? Who is Bone Crusher?) Captured prisoners could be interogated for information, more missions, or whatever. Non lethal combat would go along way in giving more options.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Look at the heads in your HQ and see if there are any good sensors. That's pretty much the entire cost of the head but I found it really hard to find sensors for sale. I wound up finding one good set and transfered it from mech to mech.

How do you know what a good sensor is? Is "Class 2" better than "Class 4" or is the higher number better?

Did you get it as salvage or did you win it? I think if you win 10 fights you get a Buru Buru.

Nah, I got it in my first fight at that arena. I blew out his legs and blew off his head. He freaked and ejected.

Nah, that Aranos is the bestest mecha evar. I now have around 4-5 Buru Burus, most of them are salvaged but I won one in the Arena at Hodye.

Is that an arachnoid mech? I never did like walker type mechs, I need arms to punch or else I don't feel safe.

It's got claws on four of it's six legs by default. I don't spend a lot of time developing my mecha-fu, so I don't use them much for anything other than clawing up a mecha while it's down because I want the guy to eject.

Speaking of which, there needs to be a way of giving orders to lancemates. Right now, Vikki is really bad about finishing off mecha that I'm trying to force the pilot to eject from. Orders like, "Cripple that mecha" or "Attack this target" would go a long way towards helping in that respect.

Of course, it doesn't help matters that I've tweaked her Buru Buru and made it pretty devastating.

TV gets you arms and legs and crap. Usefull for cash at the start of the game, but cash doesn't matter once you start doing sewer dives.

I accidentally made a four legged Buru Buru. I'm betting I can use them to add arms to my Aranos. I've also got a turret and some combat canopies, but you can't add combat canopies to mechas.

I think the whole game needs some more props actually. It'd help with orientation if merchants had display cases and cafes had seats and tables.

Billboards would be fantastic as a way of visually seeing what the shops are. You have several types of shops in Gearhead ranging from truck stop shops which offer food and repair services for mecha, to gun shops, to armor shops, and so forth.

The science skill isn't developed enough, and there's a lot you could do with science and electronics on a corp run. The corps could do with a bit more spice as well. I just don't get the feeling that they have any rivalry with each other. Corp espionage would add a lot to the game, from hits to hacking, defections, and undercover ops.

Really, other than the mecha on mecha missions, there isn't much rivalry. I'd like some assassination missions, and the assassination random encounter, since I'm a middle management guy with a good rep in BioCorp right now.

If its the same game I'm thinking of (hex based, complete mech builder included, no missions, just skirmishes,) then holy shit that game kicked arse. I don't think I played anything on my Amiga more than that game.

That's the one. I played that freaking thing to death. I just don't get the same kind of fun from other BattleTech games I got from it. FASA should have, instead of suing the author over it, hired that guy and given him a graphics team. It's definitely the best BattleTech game I've ever played, easily.

It did have missions types, though. There was hold the area, cross the map, get the object away from the enemy, etc.

I've always thought of weapons skills as not only a knowledge of using weapons, but being able to strip, clean, and repair them if necessary. A complete understanding of the weapon that goes beyond hours at the range. Combine that with General Repair or Science, or even Cybertech for smartguns, and there's the skill.

Yeah, a synergy could work for that. To make weapons, you need the weapon skill plus General Repair and to develop new weapons, Science. The only thing really hard about that is presenting it to the player so it's easy for them to understand that's how it works as a mechanic.

I was actually thinking of a sort of The Warriors plus cars. The last party based, futuristic dungeon crawlers I can remember are the Buck Rogers games. Screw this party bullshit, I wanna build my own gang! I'm still holding out for the day when I play a game where I throw burning oil into the cabs of trucks, then attack the helpless drivers with a chain from the safety of a motorcycle.

I dunno, Roadwar 2000 would be a nice place to start, since it takes place only a few weeks after a plague wipes out most of mankind. You still have beaucrats trying to keep order, but everything is falling apart and road gangs and anarchy rule the day.

There needs to be more meat to the missions, more convolution. Rather than just raiding the filing cabinet, you could have the drug dealer or the spy or whoever it is your attacking be holed up in a panic room that you have to get into (pick the lock, blow open the door with a shotgun or explosives, set fire to the house and wait for him to come out.) Then you can use some of the other skills like Conversation or Intimidation (even Biotech for a sophisticated lie detector) to find out who he was working for.

Yeah, fire is supposedly in the game, but I haven't seen anything actually catch fire yet. MechForce fires were great, though. I used to wait for the enemy to come through the woods and set them on fire to increase enemy heat, then bombard them as they were fleeing from the heat. That would be great for both personal missions and mecha missions.

Not to mention Tasers, Knockout Darts fired from a Flechette pistol, or good old handcuffs. You can get people to eject in mech combat, but in personal combat everyone fights to the death. Intelligent animals might also concede, then you could use science to study them. (Where do the Radioactive Rats come from? Who is Bone Crusher?) Captured prisoners could be interogated for information, more missions, or whatever. Non lethal combat would go along way in giving more options.

Talking during combat as well. I've always wanted a game where I could beat someone down and then talk them in to giving up instead of killing them.

 

[pyrrho12]

1.) Okay, a pilot in an enemy mecha ejects leaving the mecha in tact. After the battle, I don't see the mecha in my Field HQ.

You only get salvage for missions in which it's part of the reward, world map raider encounters, and at the Warhammer Arena in Gyori. The Tech Vulture talent only works in those missions where you get salvage and is responsible for all those disembodied limbs you've been finding.

3.) At Wujung University, you can pay to have skills raised. I didn't have any Flirtation skill, and I shelled out $12,000 to learn it, and ended up getting nothing for the cash. So, what's up with that?

You can't usually learn a skill through direct experience without purchasing the first level normally. At the moment your character has a lot of XP in Flirtation but can't spend it yet. There are two things you can do: Spend 100XP to get Flirtation at rank 1 then chat to someone to activate its stored XP, or add the DIRECTSKILLOK tag to your configuration file. This will allow skills to be purchased with direct XP.

Incidentally, you can view the complete list of configuration file options in doc/Config.txt.

4.) Is there any way to talk to an emeny mecha during combat?

Not yet. It's something I've been planning on, however.

There have been a lot of great ideas in this thread. Some of them are things I already have on my to-do list; others may have to wait for GH2. I agree that the maps need a lot more work. The trouble is, my list of things that needs doing far exceeds my actual development time.

I also used to play MechFight on the Amiga. That was a great game.

- JH.

 

[EEVIAC]

How do you know what a good sensor is? Is "Class 2" better than "Class 4" or is the higher number better?

I screwed up again. When I said sensors I actually meant Targeting Computer. Of the three basic mech stats - Maneuverability (MV) Targeting (TR) and Sensors (SE) - only Sensors can be raised above 0. You can strip down a heavy mech of it weight to increases MV (which is probably a good idea because there's a lot of stuff you won't be using,) but to raise TR you need a good targeting computer. A Savin only has TC 3, for example. Once you find a good TC, keep it. Just shift it from whichever mech you're using, it makes a big difference (if your TR is below zero, that is.)

I accidentally made a four legged Buru Buru. I'm betting I can use them to add arms to my Aranos. I've also got a turret and some combat canopies, but you can't add combat canopies to mechas.

I still have no idea what a combat canopy is. I imagine its some sort of flat bed for a truck with weapons mounted on it, but that's just a guess.

Billboards would be fantastic as a way of visually seeing what the shops are. You have several types of shops in Gearhead ranging from truck stop shops which offer food and repair services for mecha, to gun shops, to armor shops, and so forth.

That'd make things a lot easier.

FASA should have, instead of suing the author over it, hired that guy and given him a graphics team.

I didn't know that. Every time I feel good about the industry some new piece of information comes along reminding me of how much it sucks.

I dunno, Roadwar 2000 would be a nice place to start, since it takes place only a few weeks after a plague wipes out most of mankind. You still have beaucrats trying to keep order, but everything is falling apart and road gangs and anarchy rule the day.

My mistake, I just asumed that RW2000 was generic post-apoc but that exactly the feel I was thinking of. More Mad Max 1 than Mad Max 3.

I think the reason why post-apoc works so well in games is that the disease/war/disaster naturally thins out the NPC and mook population. A city with 200 bodies in it isn't completely unbelievable. It also provides the instant frontier that allows you to pilot giant robots, stage motorcycle raids, or wander around in power armour.

Or you could just do a Wild West game. Joseph really wants to do a wild west game after the supers game, and before GH2. :D

Talking during combat as well. I've always wanted a game where I could beat someone down and then talk them in to giving up instead of killing them.

Definately. Games need to make more use of mental and physical skills in all aspects. If I'm intimidating someone, I should be able to use a physical skill to threaten violence. Likewise, if I'm in combat, I want to be able to taunt or reason. If every character in the game is fighting to kill, you remove a lot of options.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

There have been a lot of great ideas in this thread. Some of them are things I already have on my to-do list; others may have to wait for GH2. I agree that the maps need a lot more work. The trouble is, my list of things that needs doing far exceeds my actual development time.

Why bother with a GH2? It's a rogue-like, they stay in development forevah.

I think I ran across the alignment glitch. All my lancemates have ditched me, and I'm not exactly sure why they ditched me. Evay(the merc lancemate from Gyori) said my heart was black, so I'm guessing they're thinking I'm evil or something. The only things I've been doing are arena fights in Gyori and missions for BioCorp. I've even been avoiding the missions that the chaotic member is trying to give me about removing squatters. Is BioCorp evil or something?

If that's the case, it might be a better idea instead of letting the player find out because his lancemates up and quit, have the lancemates make objections to BioCorp along the way. Also, have a way to quit a corporation. That'd be nice.

Incidentally, you can view the complete list of configuration file options in doc/Config.txt.

I didn't see anything about the MINIMAPON in there or the NAMESON, but I might have overlooked it when I was reading the docs.

I screwed up again. When I said sensors I actually meant Targeting Computer.

Yeah, but which is better? The higher the class or the lower the class?

I still have no idea what a combat canopy is. I imagine its some sort of flat bed for a truck with weapons mounted on it, but that's just a guess.

Doom Buggies seem to cough them up regularly, so it's definitely a vehicle body type thingy.

 

[EEVIAC]

Higher number is better. Those negative MV and TR ratings are penalties. So with a high level TC you boost the TR so that there's little or no penalty. I'm not sure what effects the TR score. Installing weapons into limbs increases the TR penlties, if I remember correctly. I guess its meant to represent the servos and other shit not being able to compensate for the armament beyond spec.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I also used to play MechFight on the Amiga. That was a great game.

So I noticed:

• { This program can hopefully be used as a test for all }
  { the various GEARHEAD units. I want to make a game similar }
  { to the old Amiga MechFight game, but based on the }
  { GearHead engine. }

By the way, have you ever considered moving the Gearhead Source over to something a little more.. easy to use.. Like Bloodshed's Dev-Pascal? Dev-Pascal still uses FreePascal as the compiler itself, but provides a nice IDE which does handy things like project files and preferences and things which mean that more people can easily mess around with said source.

 

[pyrrho12]

Why bother with a GH2? It's a rogue-like, they stay in development forevah.

There are things I'd like to do with the program that would be incompatable with the current adventure module. So, I decided that I'll get this adventure to a point where I can say it's complete, and call that GH1. Then I can start on some of the deep structural changes that I've been thinking about, and work on a couple of other projects at the same time. Eventually I can release the refactored program as GH2. There will probably be a GHone-and-a-half release in there somewhere as well.

I could probably keep fiddling with GearHead in its current form from now until the end of time, and I still wouldn't be satisfied that the game had everything I want in it. So, I think it's better to decide how I want the finished game to look, get to that point, and then move on to something else.

The big thing to be changed in GH2 is the random plot generator. The current random plot generator has two big problems: First, there isn't a great sense of connection between the episodes. The PC can wander around for days just looking for the next part of the story. Second, it isn't as random as I would like. If you've played the game a lot then when you find out what episode has been loaded you'll know exactly what has to be done to complete it.

Map and combat handling have to be changed to allow for space battles. This might seem like a small thing, but in the current system it would be possible for the PC to enter combat without a spaceworthy mecha. Also, the random mecha selector would likely choose inappropriate units for space (such as tanks).

I also want to alter the interface. The current screen has a lot of wasted space. I'd like to alter the (program) interfaces to the user interface so that it will be easier to change the UI units, then try out a few ideas I had with OpenGL. This is going to require changes to many sections of the program and may not be compatable with the ASCII version.

By the way, have you ever considered moving the Gearhead Source over to something a little more.. easy to use.. Like Bloodshed's Dev-Pascal?

Try compiling it with Dev-Pascal, see if it works. As long as you're using the FPC compiler I can't see why it wouldn't.

- JH.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

By the way, have you ever considered moving the Gearhead Source over to something a little more.. easy to use.. Like Bloodshed's Dev-Pascal?

Try compiling it with Dev-Pascal, see if it works. As long as you're using the FPC compiler I can't see why it wouldn't.

Well, that's the odd thing. It doesn't link when I try it with Dev-Pascal. I think I need to delete the project file and start over, making a new project. I wouldn't mind FreePascal so much if it weren't for the fact that my mouse doesn't work in the IDE for it, which kind of sucks. :D

I did finally get the source to compile after fighting with FreePascal, Dev-Pascal, JEDI SDL, and so on for about six hours. Though, in order to actually get it to compile in FreePascal, I had to rip some of the const values from ui4gh.pp in the sdlgfx.pp source. Dev-Pascal doesn't seem to care either way, but FreePascal pitched a royal fit about it.

I finally got it to where I could do all my editting in Dev-Pascal and compiled it with FreePascal's IDE. Only problem is, my output EXE is 1.5MB and yours is only 500k. What compiler/linker options do you have set for FreePascal?

I also want to alter the interface. The current screen has a lot of wasted space. I'd like to alter the (program) interfaces to the user interface so that it will be easier to change the UI units, then try out a few ideas I had with OpenGL. This is going to require changes to many sections of the program and may not be compatable with the ASCII version.

I've noticed there are quite a few things in the SDL version that seem to be limited by the legacy of the ASCII version. I've been wondering to myself if you were planning on just dropping the ASCII version so you could just work on the SDL version. The text could be smaller, for one, which would give it some more room. Also, there's only one effect for all the weapons, which looks like it's a throwback to the ASCII one. Certain parts of the interface don't display how much money you have as well.

PS. Is BioCorp making me EVIL? I GOTS TO KNOW.

 

[pyrrho12]

PS. Is BioCorp making me EVIL? I GOTS TO KNOW.

Sorry, forgot to answer that question!

Since you didn't take the evict-the-squatters missions, it isn't BioCorp that made you evil. Press "@" to see how bad your villainy is. This is probably another [copulatory expletive] reputation bug. If it's exactly -25, that's almost certainly what it is.

- JH.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Sorry, forgot to answer that question!

Since you didn't take the evict-the-squatters missions, it isn't BioCorp that made you evil. Press "@" to see how bad your villainy is. This is probably another [copulatory expletive] reputation bug. If it's exactly -25, that's almost certainly what it is.

The problem with the "@" thing is that it scrolls off the screen in the text box. Any other way to find it? Or, for future revisions, perhaps that @ command can use the requestor popup instead of going to the text box?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Hey, Joe.

I was just thinking about what you said about the music thing for Gearhead. I was thinking that most of the music you described has.. rhythm to it. Timing. And during a battle, which is turn based, there really isn't any timing. So, if you're going to impliment sound stuff, how about ambient conditions?

For example, maps with a lot of trees, you hear wind rustling through the leaves. When you set a fire or two with that flame cannon(Hey, are flame cannons evil if you just use them to set a whole map on fire? Because I did that just to check out the spread of the fire), I expect to hear crackling for small fires building to the roar of the larger fire. Naturally, I think the weapons should have sound effects as well. Explosion sound effects, hover jet sound effects, and so forth.

Music won't really set the tone for combat in Gearhead, but sound effects - including ambient ones, definitely would.

Now, on another note.. Where the hell is that @ thing in the source? I've dug through ui4gh.pp and I'll be damned if I can't find it. It's not listed in the KCode keys anywhere and neither a search for "@" or "64" returns any results in that file.

 

[EEVIAC]

Music won't really set the tone for combat in Gearhead, but sound effects - including ambient ones, definitely would.

Music from Throne of Darkness might work. If you have the game, watch the opening credits again and listen to how they use dynamics. Rumbling drums and giant robots fit hand in glove.

 

[pyrrho12]

I was just thinking about what you said about the music thing for Gearhead. I was thinking that most of the music you described has.. rhythm to it. Timing. And during a battle, which is turn based, there really isn't any timing. So, if you're going to impliment sound stuff, how about ambient conditions?

There'll definitely be sound effects as well, but I think it'd be easier to do music well than it would be to do ambient background sounds. So, being the lazy person that I am, that's probably the way I'll go.

Now, on another note.. Where the hell is that @ thing in the source? I've dug through ui4gh.pp and I'll be damned if I can't find it. It's not listed in the KCode keys anywhere and neither a search for "@" or "64" returns any results in that file.

It's in pcaction.pp. The "@" command was initially just a debugging aid, so I didn't bother adding a keybinding for it or anything else. Other undocumented keys include "!", "#", and F1. "@" has proven to be very useful, though, so I'm going to change it to a regular command. Incidentally, you can scroll back through the console messages by pressing "V".

-JH.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

It's at -24 right now, but I've done some goody two shoes quests since my lance mates ditched me. So, I'm guessing it's that reputation glitch.

It might be a nifty idea instead of doing the "@" command as a comment, just put that on the character window. There's gobs of wasted space on that thing.

 

[kothyxaan]

Gonna necro this thread only to say this game is being worked on again (along with 2 and a thirds one).
http://www.gearheadrpg.com/

 

[Severian Silk]

I hope he makes the game more tactical and improves the environment more.