I'm impressed with the blade. That's a complicated shape to do without Max. Did you make it from scratch, or edit an existing gmf? Either way, it couldn't have been easy.
So I've had the chance to use this thing several times now, and I have a couple comments.
-One sort-of-error I found. The tool doesn't take the position of objects in the RBCollection into account, it just sets everything at 0,0,0. So if you look at a motor, the axle usually won't be in the right place, and arenas look like a hopeless mess.
-It would be nice to have a shortcut to reload the gmf you are currently viewing, so you can quickly see the changes you make.
-It would be nice if you could display the skins, though I'm not sure if that's doable.
But no major complaints, it's a very nice tool overall.
Edit: crap, just read about your motherboard. I guess none of this is doable then, at least not for a good while.
Looks like a very good bot. I kinda liked the version with the top drum, though. Firebeetle has a HW with the dual-drum setup, and it works very well. I think if you got more weight on the top drum and used the angled attach point on the Perm to move it closer to the front, the design could work.
Medecine looks awesome, very unique design. And good job with the dual drum setup on Call of the Tomb, I wouldn't expect that on a LW.
When a bot is on its back ('back' here meaning not upside down, but balanced on the rear end, I'm assuming) the AI doesn't think it's still upside down, so it will try driving. As far as I know there's no way for the AI to detect this situation (well, there probably is, but I don't know it) short of putting something on the back of your bot so it can't balance there.
My plans for the new DSL 'patch' have grown to the point where I think it would be more practical to release a new standalone version.
My general plans for DSL 3.0 are as follows:
-The existing replicas will fight better. -All the replicas will be moved to their real weight classes. For example, Mechavore will be a HW and T-Minus will be a MW. -There will be a new, official SHW class with its own yellow 'SH' icon in the bot selection screen. Replica SHW's such as Minion, Vladiator, and Sir Killalot will fall into this category. -There will be a new Race game mode in Exhibition, which will include at least one straight drag strip and one oval track with laps, both of which will be compatible with AI. There will also be new AI bots designed for racing. -Some general component balancing issues, particularly batteries and wheels, will be addressed. -A few other random small things and bug fixes.
And here's your first preview...
Meet the new Razer!
The only aesthetic change is in the wheels--instead of those fake wheels on the outside, Razer now has real wheels where they should be, colored blue and red like the real bot.
The real difference is in how Razer fights. It has a better wedge, better armor, and a better weapon. It's not hard to outmaneuver the new Razer, but if it should catch you, you're in for a world of hurt. The new servo-powered claw has a frequency setting (like the saw blades) for more crushing power than ever before.
It's hard to explain in words, so just watch this video here to see how it works:
My plan is to make the replicas' difficulty level on par with the stock DSL AI, and I think Razer is there.
Further previews will be on an irregular schedule as I get stuff done.
It didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, but I don't have the time now to make a new bot. I think I can safely say that I won't be winning many battles in KOTH or deathmatch. I'm pretty pleased with the tabletop version, though... if I win, it will be in tabletop.
I have a chance in KOTH too as long as I don't face any flippers or VS's, but I'm not counting on that. Deathmatch is where I'm most worried.
It would be far and away easier to just make a new arena instead of trying to simplify the combat arena.
Just use a grape crate, delete the top two faces and corresponding Tfaces and mesh normals. Make sure to reduce the mesh face count by 2. Change Use Backface Cull to 0 (to make the faces double sided). Then give it simulation geometry of 5 in the RBCollection (sim geo of 2 doesn't work with concave objects).
It would have 8 vertices and 10 faces. Can't get much simpler than that.
Making the drum cover the motors like a sleeve is an excellent idea. I might just try making a new Drumblebee with that in mind.
You definitely need blades or spike strips or something shielding those extenders though, especially since the side plows are attached to the wedges. You're just 100 HP away from some HS completely exposing your flank.
Because they are slightly wider than Shinies, meaning he'll get more traction.
Not true, width has nothing to do with grip. Grip/traction is nothing more than a single number in the txt file.
As long as it's already invertible, there's no need for Grannies. The only thing you can do to that bot now is make the drive motors closer to the center, so they're harder to knock off.
Great bot. Hammers are a tough breed to make really good.
Hint: Since chassis weight is calculated by surface area, you're much better off making a chassis like this
._____ |.......| |.......| .\___/
than one like this
._____ |.......| |..__..| |_| |_|
Also with the 16 kgs, you can add razor tips sticking up on the front plow extenders. Might work as a small preventative measure to keep bots from climbing up the plows.
Is the error you're getting at the bottom of the screen, "Baseplate components must fit inside the chassis"?
I hate that error. I don't know how to bypass it. It happens if you try to attach a baseplate component on a chassis that's too flat (like at the front of a wedge, or else just on a really flat box).
You should be able to attach half sheets to a tall box.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams... recently read it and it might be my all-time favorite fantasy series.
The Shannara books by Terry Brooks... I'll admit the first one (The Sword of Shannara) is fairly generic for fantasy, but his later books only get better.
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, who sadly died recently (though the last book is being finished by another author)
The Dune books, both the originals by Frank Herbert and the new ones by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
The Ender books by Orson Scott Card... might be my all-time favorite sci-fi (the earlier ones at least)
The Dark Wing by Walter H. Hunt. Not well known but it's a very imaginative, interesting science fantasy quartet. I feel like there should be one more book though.
All of Ted Dekker's books, especially the Books of History series. He's a Christian thriller/fantasy author but is crossing over into mainstream.
The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe. I also read his Book of the New Sun... hard to get into, but worth the read in the end.
Inheritance cycle and Harry Potter (I think everyone who likes fantasy likes those)
I'm currently reading Stephen King's Dark Tower. It's not the best fantasy I've read but it's pretty good so far. It's certainly not generic at all.
Whoever does this (if anyone), I would highly recommend finding some sort of way to automate the rankings (like you enter the data and it automatically formats everything) or else it would just be too bloated to manage.
I hope you're running the event with hazards off, because you can't see where the spikes are with that skin. Some sort of box would also help to distinguish the points zone from everything else. Other than that looks good.
Lightning that throws bots off would be cool and easy to do, but 1) it discourages you from getting points, which seems counterproductive, and 2) it's unnecessary, because if a bot stays too long in the points zone alone, it will activate the immobility counter and drive out on its own.
What would be better is some way to help the bots not in the zone get back in it, though that would be harder to do.
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