Active protection unit based on those used by the Ice Base.

Features

• Intercepts ground- and air-launched missiles, as well as bombs and rockets
• Customizable lock volume, performance figures and laser color
• Smart Allocation Mode, which allows multiple units to work together more efficiently (read below)
• Supports rotated and scaled parts, so it can be freely nudged inside the aircraft
• Works on AI aircraft just as it does on the player aircraft

Behavior of AMBALL System

1. When there is at least one AMBALL in play, suitable targets are scanned regularly.
2. A database (in the form of a static list) is updated to keep track of targets.
3. Each AMBALL starts with no target. It will lock onto a target as it enters the user-defined lock volume (angles and distance).
4. The AMBALL will destroy the target after a set amount of time, which consumes one use of the AMBALL, unless infinite ammo is enabled.
5. The AMBALL will search for its next target and reload.
6. Alternatively, if the target moves out of the lock volume, or is destroyed by other means, there will be no reload time and no uses will be consumed.

The main ways to use the tracking performance parameters:

• Can rotate, small lock angle (e.g. CIWS, tank APS)
• Static, large lock angle (e.g. jammers and other ECM)
• Static, manually rotated by the player (e.g. Armored Core PS2)

Notice

• During the Reload Time, the Detonation Time will not count down. A new target can still be locked on during this time if Smart Allocation is off.
• The Laser Time is the duration within the Total Detonation Time during which the laser is visible.
• The laser is purely a visual effect. It does not cause the destruction of targets.
• Actual target destruction time varies due to the target scanning interval.
• There may be a significant response delay on newly-existing targets. This mainly concerns SAMs at very close ranges.
• SAM Evasion missiles are not supported by design. No cheating here!

Smart Allocation Mode

This prevents multiple AMBALLs on the same aircraft from locking onto the same target. An AMBALL with Smart Allocation will not lock onto a target that is being locked onto by another AMBALL, and will instead choose the next available target if available. The ability to handle multiple targets from the same direction is greatly improved.

In addition, the AMBALL will not search for targets while reloading. This generally promotes load balancing among AMBALLs.

This is recommended if the AMBALLs are servicing the same lock volume. There will be interference for AMBALLs with different but overlapping lock volumes, as target positioning in different lock volumes is not considered.

Dev Notes

Praise the Orb (image was removed due to discord moment)

This was a test to make laser defense turrets from scratch, for planes.

The design is based on the funny guided laser I put on a plane a while back. 3D model made in DesignSpark Mechanical and exported at very crunchy quality. It's still got a few hundred triangles, I don't know how to cut it down further. To make multiple material items, apply different colors on the faces of your choice. (Don't make multiple solids that each have a different color.)

I used the knowledge I gained from making AceRadar in making this. I did learn the continue keyword though. Debugging was suffering, I went through like 4 different target tracking controllers and couldn't add rotation clamping. Anyways it seems mostly reliable now.

Also it's called Smart Allocation because it was quite cool when I added it. However, I added another lock-on controller which works using the lock volume, and it's much more important.

I tried adding an attach point on the rotating GameObject, but unfortunately it doesn't let parts rotate. There are just one on the back and one at the bottom now.

Version History

1.0 (220707) >

• Initial release