Fire Control
Normally, PDCs choose target projectiles randomly, or closest-first, using an RNG roll system. This means PDCs can overkill some projectiles (letting other pass), or they can simply have latency in acquiring targets. The fire distribution system addresses these problems. There are 3 types of fire distribution system, that operate on disjoint subsets of PDCs on a grid.
Basic Fire Distribution System
Handles all PDCs which have Fire Distribution toggled on, but don't allow advanced fire distribution.
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Prioritizes threats by distance to ship (closest first)
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PDC assignment: assigns one PDC per torpedo
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Does not treat PDC hardware differently
This system prioritizes the safety of the ship (engages threats that are growing near).
Advanced "Closest" Fire Distribution System
Handles all PDCs which have Fire Distribution toggled on, allow advanced fire distribution and they are configured to target closest, or target priority override is enabled and the PDC is set to prioritize closest targets.
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Prioritizes threats by distance to ship (closest first)
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PDC assignment: assigns one PDC per torpedo; the PDCs with the lowest cost are prioritized
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Cost: each PDC has a turn cost slider. The cost of assignment will be a function of the angle between the current facing of the PDC and the LOS to the threat
This system prioritizes the safety of the ship (engages threats that are growing near).
Advanced "Screening" Fire Distribution System
Handles all PDCs which have Fire Distribution toggled on, allow advanced fire distribution and they are not configured to target closest, or target priority override is enabled and the PDC is not set to prioritize closest targets.
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Prioritizes threats by the number of seekers (projectiles engaging the threat), with distance to the ship as a tiebreaker
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PDC assignment: assigns one PDC per torpedo; the PDCs with the lowest cost are prioritized
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Cost: each PDC has a turn cost slider. The cost of assignment will be a function of the angle between the current facing of the PDC and the LOS to the threat
This system is more meant for supportive fire. It will assign PDCs to balance the fire incoming to each threat, instead of prioritizing threats attacking the ship directly.
The assigner is invoked whenever a PDC needs a new target. But it also runs an active loop, that constantly re-calculates and re-assigns PDCs.
PDCs which use Fire Distribution will have a "PD Minimum Lock Time" slider added. This value (in ticks) is the minimum number of ticks a PDC must maintain lock on a threat until the active loop is allowed to force-reassign the PDC. This feature is useful to solve problems such as volleys entering PDC range in a staggered manner. In this case, many/all PDCs on a ship might acquire locks on a few torps, and just shortly after that, many more torps may enter PDC range. While the PDCs are busy overkilling those few torps that entered first (i.e. the bullets are en-route or the PDCs are missing due to long range), the rest of the volley gets close without being engaged very much, which leaves the ship in a bad spot. When using Fire Distribution with the active loop, the PDCs can re-target after the minim lock time expires, which solves this issue.
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If the weapon has a configured target refresh, it will also act like the active loop and re-invoke the planner. The active loop simply allows adding a secondary timer with a much shorter duration for quickly re-assigning PDCs when the situation shifts.
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Turn Costs are only used for comparison. When setting them, you should factor in the turn rate of the PDC and any additional charge-up it may have.
