Please look at attached picture (map = Camera by sqaz (http://knucklecracker.com/creeperworld/mapcomments.php?id=671)). You'll notice two strange things:
1. The deficit/starvation is 15, while I have enough energy and am even collecting (6.6) more than depleting (5.0). This lasted for about 10 seconds (not just a few frames) while I was moving the mortar you see in mid air from the top left to the bottom right. At the moment it landed and the packets got dispersed the deficit dropped.
2. The left blaster always shoots at the same spot (to the left), while it's supposed to target the nearest creeper (in front of it). Why is that?
Deficit (iirc) is defined as packets requested but unable to be sent (typically due to a lack of energy). The mortar requested the packets, then was moved before the packets could be sent, so that deficit was locked until the mortar landed.
No clue about 2 though.
Yes, that is what I concluded as well after watching the deficit drop when landing. This means however that when you fly around a lot with units that were not charged completely, the deficit gauge loses its meaning. I often fly blasters to and from an emitter (to cap and refuel) and have because of this several units in the air all the time. How will I know my real deficit?
Quote from: UpperKEES on March 25, 2010, 11:34:05 PM
2. The left blaster always shoots at the same spot (to the left), while it's supposed to target the nearest creeper (in front of it). Why is that?
Maybe the creeper it's shooting at is the closest point, with collectors you can also place three other buildings as far away from the collector like in the picture below, the three blasters are all situated at the furtest point of the collector but that means their collection lines are equally long.
Or it could be that the blaster shot clears all the creeper in front of the blaster so it always keeps shooting at the same point because that is where the creeper gets the first.
Well, I hope you this is a bit understandable :-\
Quote from: Sqaz on March 26, 2010, 12:31:31 PM
Maybe the creeper it's shooting at is the closest point, with collectors you can also place three other buildings as far away from the collector like in the picture below, the three blasters are all situated at the furtest point of the collector but that means their collection lines are equally long.
The length of the lines is not equal, although the blasters are all in the furthest position. This has to do with the maximum distance, which is 5.5 blocks. Horizontally and vertically you can only have a distance of 5 (as 6 is more than 5.5), but diagonally distances like 5.3, 5.4 or 5.5 are possible. So the creeper is really closer when you see it closer. This is also why you see the fire range of a blaster like a circle instead of a square.
Quote from: Sqaz on March 26, 2010, 12:31:31 PM
Or it could be that the blaster shot clears all the creeper in front of the blaster so it always keeps shooting at the same point because that is where the creeper gets the first.
The creeper straight in front of that blaster never died. Occasionally the blaster would fire to the right (every few seconds), but rarely in front of it. It's a shame I don't have a video of it, but I guess it can easily be reproduced with this map.
Edit: I have the impression this occurs when creeper is flowing down from a higher elevation level to a level lower or equal to that of the blaster, but I'm not sure if that is causing it.