Should pilots exist in the game

[TrashMan]

Under "equpment"?

Installing the pilot will be complete in 2 hours!

[BTAxis]

Actually, yeah, I think pilots should be handled as a special kind of equipment.

[stevenjackson]

Well then i hope they don't take 2 hours to install.

Thats a long cigarette break even for a pilot!

Steve

[TrashMan]

"The plane is till on the ground? You there, what's wrong with this pilot?"
"Faulty software sir!"
"Can't you jury rig some hardware solution?"
"Uuu...I could Sir..But it would involve a baseball bat and risks further software damage."

[Winter]

Another issue is how to assign the pilot to the aircraft.
The easiest way seems to be to reuse the "assign soldier" functionality, but this seems overly cumbersome since we will be only assigning one pilot per aircraft.

So what do people think, whats the best way to assign the pilots?
I'm not very good at the UI stuff in c.  So if someone is able to design such functionality i can make it work in the code.

Steve

I would recommend the following:

A screen featuring a graphical list of pilots with their stats, and a separate list of aircraft. The aircraft entries would have a box showing which pilots are currently assigned to that aircraft (if any). If no pilot is assigned, the box should simply be black.

I don't know how to put that together in the UI, but it seems the most logical and functional design.

Regards,
Winter

[BTAxis]

I would recommend the following:

A screen featuring a graphical list of pilots with their stats, and a separate list of aircraft. The aircraft entries would have a box showing which pilots are currently assigned to that aircraft (if any). If no pilot is assigned, the box should simply be black.

I don't know how to put that together in the UI, but it seems the most logical and functional design.

I really, really don't want to spend any extra functionality or interface on pilots. It's too complex and involved for such a minor game element, and it isn't in the game's best interest. I want pilots to be simple affairs, as I've described earlier in this thread. Making a whole new screen for them is horribly overcomplicating things.

[edit]
Incidentally, I found that pilot model in data_source. There does not appear to be a female version, though...

[Winter]

I really, really don't want to spend any extra functionality or interface on pilots. It's too complex and involved for such a minor game element, and it isn't in the game's best interest. I want pilots to be simple affairs, as I've described earlier in this thread. Making a whole new screen for them is horribly overcomplicating things.

Entirely fair comment, that was just the simplest implementation I could think of. Cramming the same sort of idea into the aircraft screen would be ideal, but I don't see where we could fit them!

We'll have to do some brainstorming.

Also, I retract my previous comments on pilot skills in favour of BTAxis's single skill bar proposal. Less micromanagement and player headache. If people want more pilot functionality they can always mod it in!

Regards,
Winter

[BTAxis]

Note that in tactical combat, pilots would actually have the full range of skills that any soldier (or alien or civilian) has, for purposes of combat calculations. However, as pilots aren't supposed to be soldiers, I think it should suffice that these skills be generated for the purpose of the tactical mission in question only, and discarded afterwards.

[Winter]

Note that in tactical combat, pilots would actually have the full range of skills that any soldier (or alien or civilian) has, for purposes of combat calculations. However, as pilots aren't supposed to be soldiers, I think it should suffice that these skills be generated for the purpose of the tactical mission in question only, and discarded afterwards.

That might look a little bit odd, though. If the same pilot crashes, is rescued with a combat mission, and then crashes again with another combat mission, he may end up having wildly different combat stats in the two missions. May be quite confusing to the player.

Regards,
Winter

[DanielOR]

Pilots as soldiers looks doable - another skill, reasonably high, somewhat at expense of other skills.  Question is: is it necessary?  I suppose in a pinch, if the team is being massacared, the pilot can jump out of the cockpit and lay down some cover fire or help load the injured.  Not a good situation to ponder.

Think of this: pilot goes to fight, and ends up dead.  So, 8 guys load the plane with dead alien buddies, captured artifacts, then look at a each other: "Ummm, does anyone know how to drive that thing?"

[BTAxis]

That might look a little bit odd, though. If the same pilot crashes, is rescued with a combat mission, and then crashes again with another combat mission, he may end up having wildly different combat stats in the two missions. May be quite confusing to the player.

Possibly, but I don't think a player would remember one set of stats from one mission to the next. Also, we could hardfix the stats to some exact set of values so all pilots would have the exact same stats in all missions. I don't mind doing that, since the pilots aren't really supposed to make a real difference in combat, so their stats would be so low as to make any random fluctuations irrelevant anyway.

[stevenjackson]

Is there really any point having stats or such for pilots if they don't have any effect?

Just don't have pilot stats at all and only have the aircraft require a pilot to be able to take off.

Steve

[BTAxis]

That defeats the point of having a pilot at all. They've got to have SOME effect.

[gu35s]

As far as I know, the planes do have a single seat for trooper right? why not just use that slot somehow and have some affect on the air fights?

I mean pilots can have: maneuver, close and long range fight skills, and experience (which comes along, not start from 0. Could be "mind" perhaps?)

I would think pilots with more experience plays better than some noobs who are trigger happy and not able to judge the situation from previous engagements. Well, close enough since I don't think any of them have ever fight a UFO before their first flight...

And as other troops, the pilot can hold equipments and weapons and armors to increase survival rate. I mean plane got shot down doesn't always means pilot dies with it.  Could be that they ejected and/or down with the aliens and have to fight for survival.

Then maybe the plane can be equipped with even more things like , escape pods, parachutes, etc, for higher pilot survivability rate if the plane got shot down. Can still add those now for the survivability of the troops if the landing ufos ever got up and attack the transport..

Edit: it seems i spoke too soon without reading it all.  i guess it was already suggested.

[stevenjackson]

Btxis

I agree, you had said that pilots wouldn't have high enough stats to make a real difference in combat.

I think they should make a difference in combat, especially once they have some flight experience.  But they certainly shouldn't be the determining factor.

Steve