These units were more like a REadied & Tandem Auto Rudimentary Definitive Sequence when I tested them at Dummy Assault. Some general feedback developed from this sortie.

I used 44 deployable drones with the medium unit used the most, a hour long sortie. Out of the battalion, a heavy unit digging WSW to the level of the Dummy controller took two excellent shots for the win. Too many times the drones showed above average intelligence: using the silver barricades to shoot out defenders, digging through the sand area to avoid a dreadnought, firing consistent high body shots, and their usually smart display of movement when 6 units are in half -screen length radius. They are less likely to shoot at each other when deployed one by one and more likely to divide and conquer this way. (Maybe they were put in higher success scenarios?)

Sadly, in pairs, I found them not able to maneuver for better shots or digs in close areas - 6 were lost due to this. I'll add 2 drones did stop shooting when enough room and an forward ally was present. Quite resilient yet Dreads eat them up unless in a group of 4 to 5. Getting lost when no clear path was present (i.e. the western most room with stacks and the west column leading to the controller chamber) was a boon - only 3 units total became disarrayed.

12 units were destroyed by natural cause - grenades and splash type weapons are super effective against the drones. Statistical success rate should be ~60% without sentient aids.

A very good mod and its nice to have support/autonomous units. Finally unit structure can be coarsely carried out to ease management. Invaluable in this one's strategy, that is. Your units deserve competition

Your review has given me a wonderful idea for a new unit.

I'll make an orderable container, like a fat wide rocket, that comes pre-loaded with many drones. You land it, and it will deploy many slowly over time, at a rate that's not so short that the drones interfere with each other. The AI could also make use of these, I'll just make them rare. It even ads a kind of objective base gameplay to skirmish mode, as now every so often when a container ship lands, you'll have to go destroy it if you don't want to get overrun by more drones.

It'd be nice if they waited for a squad to deploy before charging into battle, btw.

The deployer seems to suffer from all the big problems associated with being a rocket. It overturns on three quarters of its landings, largely undue to terrain. I've given it a low center of gravity and wide spread landing gear. What else can I do to improve its stability?

Make it more wide than tall? Notice dropships don't have the same problem as the rockets, use a dropship instead? Have it hover there indefinitely, and whenever it takes enough damage it automatically takes back off?

Or just make the rocket wider and generally more stable.

make it have side thrusters too.

Have thrusters in all directions, but the one at the bottom needs to be the most powerful [about 20 times more]

Scratch that, how would the drones get out?

WHO CARES? It sounds awesome!

This has to be the one mod that I've ever really grown to love in Cortex Command. The great thing about not having to control units is the freedom it gives you in regards to strategy.

For example...



In this scene I had dropped a few of my own custom bunker busters to open up a hole in the roof, and I dropped in a liberal sprinkling of drones via rockets and pods.

One rocket flew into the hole and blocked off the main entrance, and the bots flooded through the hole into the base. They ran into stiff resistance downstairs, and a booby trap style flamethrower shot flames up through the tunnel they were using to get down there. I couldn't resist taking a screen of it.

It was a pretty epic game, counting the later UAV airstrikes and all I was able to use since I didn't have to control anything.

If you want delivery to be automated you could probably put in really lazy auto-righting of the rocket with self.RotAngle = self.RotAngle/2; in the update.

I could have another version out within a day or so, once I solve a few remaining problems.

Is there any reason why all the craft I make open their doors instantly when I order them? It's rather irritating.

i really love this mod. these are the best hovering robots i've seen on these forums. and the sprite is awesome as well.

Great Mod. I play against them with a friend in Flatdirt. We have a Moneycheat, many very Strong Units (Unitech-Tanks, armored Craft which drops around 50 Chinese Soldiers/Minute) but we loose . In the End they digged throug the whole Level and killed everything...

6/5 Points!

Out of curiosity, which part of the code determines which team they'll be on? and how were friendly drones made unselectable by the player?