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Improved Comms
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Item Type: Modification
Dependencies: Standard
File Size
Posted
2.052 KB
Feb 27, 2019 @ 5:37pm
1 Change Note ( view )
Created by
Vas
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Improved Comms

Description
When doing a scenario, I noticed the range for towers was absolutely horrible. I decided to improve the range with the help of a friend doing some math and such for me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon#Distance_to_the_horizon
The calculations above were simplified, rather than trying to do advanced calculations. May not be perfectly accurate but its good enough. :P

The tower optimal comms range is 75% of theoretical max while fade out range is 25% further than the max. Power is increased on these towers too. One more thing is that they ill not turn on till they have 60 seconds worth of power, where base game is 10 seconds per activation. Remember, objects will still lower your signal strength, like mountains and anything else that blocks line of sight.

I have plans to at some point add new communication tower types when I get a coder or modeler around to help out.

Stats;
Small Tower: 2km Optimal, 3.37km Max + 125watts/channel 3 channels
Large Tower: 4km Optimal, 6.75km Max + 145 watts/channel 4 channels

Base game version; (to compare with above)
Small Tower: 0.75km Optimal, 1.5km Max + 60 watts
Large Tower: 1km Optimal, 2km Max + 80 watts
12 Comments
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Vas  [author] Jun 29, 2019 @ 7:48pm 
Sorry, I just don't see any logic in making this mod right now, I know how frail things are and how hard the physics engine has to work. I know that its prone to errors and completing such a mod will be met with all kinds of issues and ultimately be met with tons of complains.
NG1 Jun 29, 2019 @ 7:45pm 
ok, pity, thanks anyway
Vas  [author] Jun 29, 2019 @ 7:40pm 
Yea, well rovers are inherently slow, can't really fix that with a speed mod as the physics just won't keep up with it that well. A rover has more parts on it than a vehicle, each part a new physics calculation. You've driven the buggies right? Ever lost a wheel or the hatch? The buggy is maybe 12-15 parts. A rover is 20-50. I believe. The physics engine can only operate on a single core, and everything must happen in a specific order. Physics stats having issues keeping up, or has minor collision errors on heavy load. Speed up a rover, you speed up the calculation errors making minor errors become major.
NG1 Jun 29, 2019 @ 7:24pm 
Agree, but as there is 2 speed mode (realistic and arcade) can be that when you have in arcade mode is kind of worry would be decreased ... If you agree to do this moddification we can do the test ... Because at the moment even in arcade mode the rover is slow and when we have to travel several km it is really very boring. Especially that chapter 1 is still very repetitive and long ... So would you be ready to try it please? At the limit, just with the big rover ...
Vas  [author] Jun 29, 2019 @ 6:58pm 
The faster your rover moves, the more damage it will sustain from physics and impacts. Rovers are complex machines, very frail. A trip over a rock could be the end of a rover forever. Small parts can break off. Wheels can fall off. Moving too fast would be a mistake for rovers.

I don't know how to edit the speed of a rover, I'm sure I could figure it out but I really think its a bad idea. The physics engine would cause the rovers to break 5x more often or more with boosted speeds.
NG1 Jun 29, 2019 @ 6:51pm 
Hello! Your mods work perfectly well and it is convenient and easy to use, thank you! May I ask you a favor please? Can you do a little mod that would make faster rover, because it's really long to go through Mars ... Can you roll them between 30 and 50 Km / H And if you have neither the time nor the want to do the 3 can you just do the big rover please?!?!
bladerunner97 Jun 7, 2019 @ 3:40am 
This has great potential for long range exploration. As mentioned, short of satellite navigation something like this for the larger areas like Cydonia Mensae is desperately needed.

Thank you.
Gahad Apr 16, 2019 @ 10:39pm 
Thank you for a well done mod Vas.

FYI It seems like the terrain maps are different sizes... Cydonia Mensae seems huge, while Isidis Planitia and Ptolemaeus Crater seem much smaller...

FYI From 'The Martian' by Andy Weir, Page 97, Location: Acidalia Planitia
[Mark Watney is travelling to the derelick Pathfinder rover to salvage it's comms hardware]
"Log Entry: Sol 80
By my reconkoning, I'm about 100 kilometers from Pathfinder... Navigation is tricky... The Hab's nav beacon only reaches 40 kiometers, so it's useless to me out here... the computer has detailed maps... can't find any landmarks..."

- Gahad aka jpuddester
Vas  [author] Apr 12, 2019 @ 9:37pm 
Honesty to what, making a mistake in calculations? :P Or that I can't be perfectly accurate with this stuff?

I'm still waiting on some assistance to do a better update to these, I think for now the current tower ranges are good though, very large range compared to the original ranges.
Grizzly Apr 12, 2019 @ 12:23pm 
I appreciate the honesty as well as the effort. This is a much needed addition in the game. Keep up the good work.