Two ways to create: * commander-spawned from vehicle factory (drives out automatically) * engineer-built (needs skill, also needs to be "repaired" before it become functional, like turrets) The repair droids would be defenseless robots that drive around building/repairing things. If given a waypoint, the droid would gradually build all unbuilt targets that are nearest to the waypoint. First the nearest one, then second nearest, etc. If you actually give it a build target, it would naturally go and build it. It would not travel across the map in attempt tobuild EVERYTHING, but rather go in idle mode near barracks/whatever once everything within a certain radius had been built. Engineers' droids would follow around their creators, but retreat if cameras detected enemies ahead. The engineer should have an option to quickly "undeploy" the robot and carry it around himself, in case he wants to get it across hostile zones. Because of all the high-tech computers etc. (and to prevent them from being mass-produced to quickly build bases) that are used with the bots, each of them should cost around 800-1200. The purpose of the robot would be to build some extra defenses/repair things behind the frontlines, which would allow more players (IE: more action, less boredom) run around in the frontline.
Also, to further keep them from being a replacement for engineers, they should take some research. In electrical engineering or something. This could add an interesting gameplay mechanic - Scouts going behind enemy lines to kill the bots building the base. If that team relied soley on the bots, they're screwed. EDIT: By the way, this topic was suggested 2 times before, but without the fancy pictures so it's okay
ummmm. Ya thats great. But if you want to add to the fun of the game with it, to create more action. How about limiting it with just... a limit? rather than making it cost a whole crap load make it so you can only have 1 or 2. or make it so you can only build one after a certain amount of total kills by the team. without the high cost you have more money for other things.
Don't make them cost a whole lot (800 seems fine), just limit their number by 2 or 3. (One droid = Half an engineers power, but infinite)
Just an idea but i think they should be able to self destruct if in danger. In any case i think repair robots (droid is short for android which means something about humanoids) would be a good idea.
Then they wouldn't even need to be shot, since they would kill themselves first... Tanks? What is this, world war II?
[17:44] <JJ45> Gimme a REAL reason? [17:44] <msieradzki> doesn't exist yes [17:44] <msieradzki> yet [17:45] <msieradzki> most of things in empires mod a close to real [17:45] <JJ45> Neither does invisibility [17:45] <JJ45> A repair droid would fit the Empires atmosphere very well IMO [17:46] <JJ45> A repair robot building the exactly same kind of buildings isn't impossible in real life [17:47] <JJ45> In factories, you already have them, but they're static [17:47] <JJ45> For them to be mobile, they would need to have a camera/whatever to see their surroundings and find the right position to start working with, eg. turrets [17:48] <JJ45> Yet I already have these Star Wars comments
maybe to keep ai simple, let them fly and be built in airplane building? so reseach is automaticly needed btw, they woud perfectly fit into the atmosphere nanobots seem to fit, they woud be harder to produse as a repair drone something like this woud fit fine, as nf drone http://images.google.nl/imgres?imgu...nt=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:nl:official&sa=N AND fit into the admosphere (the desingn has simularity's to the planes) as emp drone http://www.chat.carleton.ca/~gdawson/archive/drone.gif
That empires drone there looks like a peanut, mmmm. Those don't seem like they'd be big enough to hold all the tools needed to build a structre that complex, but heck, the vehicles just teleport in and the engineers calculator does it so who cares about that! Zacthos, the repair robot idea is mostly to build the base while the engineers build at the frontline, not to repair your tank. Maybe they shouldn't be able to repair your tank, that would screw up the repair facility.
What the hell are you talking about mate? If you are talking about advanced technology, this mod isn't current-time, and it isn't even Earth! Automated, self-targeting turrets aren't current-time. Neither is regenetive armour for your so called "real-things". IMO, this idea is awesome, and it either should be expensive, or should be limited to 2. This would help the Comm if he/she needed just an extra hand that would always be willing to build :D
Seriously though. I think Krenzo was talking about using bots in future releases for this purpose. Commander would be able to "purchase" bots and then give them orders to build/repair or defend structures.
This is all they they would be used for, An offensive turret placement to be built with those would be the equivelent of trying to staple down a sheet of metal with a toothpick, They are too weak to sustain ANY fire, but they might actualy bring some use to building walls, since all of the engineers will be too busy spamming "roflomg cmmdre, Turrets ZOMG!!!" the bots at base will build that radar thats been sitting at base and getting lonley for whole 2 mins now... or Building those walls around the VF, for that extra protection (Note do not take the placement of the structures be taken serious in the last 2 sentances)