This code appears in the following versions (click to see it in the source code):
Code variations between these versions are shown below.
Name: TACTICS (Part 3 of 7) Type: Subroutine Category: Tactics Summary: Apply tactics: Calculate dot product to determine ship's aim Deep dive: Program flow of the tactics routine
This section sets up some vectors and calculates dot products. Specifically:
* If this is a lone Thargon without a mothership, set it adrift aimlessly and we're done * If this is a trader, 80% of the time we're done, 20% of the time the trader performs the same checks as the bounty hunter * If this is a bounty hunter (or one of the 20% of traders) and we have been really bad (i.e. a fugitive or serious offender), the ship becomes hostile (if it isn't already) * If the ship is not hostile, then either perform docking manoeuvres (if it's docking) or fly towards the planet (if it isn't docking) and we're done * If the ship is hostile, and a pirate, and we are within the space station safe zone, stop the pirate from attacking by removing all its aggression
* Calculate the dot product of the ship's nose vector (i.e. the direction it is pointing) with the vector between us and the ship. This value will help us work out later on whether the enemy ship is pointing towards us, and therefore whether it can hit us with its lasers.
Other entry points: GOPL Make the ship head towards the planet
.TA21
This code is in part 2 for the cassette version.
This variation is blank in the Cassette and Electron versions.
CPX #TGL \ If this is not a Thargon, jump down to TA14 BNE TA14 LDA MANY+THG \ If there is at least one Thargoid in the vicinity, BNE TA14 \ jump down to TA14 LSR INWK+32 \ This is a Thargon but there is no Thargoid mothership, ASL INWK+32 \ so clear bit 0 of the AI flag to disable its E.C.M. LSR INWK+27 \ And halve the Thargon's speed .TA22 RTS \ Return from the subroutine .TA14
In the enhanced versions, the NEWB flags are used to determine whether we are dealing with a trader, so traders can fly any ship. In the cassette version, traders only ever fly the Cobra Mk III.
This variation is blank in the Cassette and Electron versions.
JSR DORND \ Set A and X to random numbers LDA NEWB \ Extract bit 0 of the ship's NEWB flags into the C flag LSR A \ and jump to TN1 if it is clear (i.e. if this is not a BCC TN1 \ trader)
In the disc version, 39% of traders turn out to be bounty hunters, while it's just 20% in the advanced versions.
This variation is blank in the Cassette and Electron versions.
Tap on a block to expand it, and tap it again to revert.
In the enhanced versions, AI is are to each ship according to its NEWB flags, which determine whether it is a trader, a bounty hunter, currently docking, a pirate, hostile, an innocent bystander or a cop.
This variation is blank in the Cassette and Electron versions.
.TN1 LSR A \ Extract bit 1 of the ship's NEWB flags into the C flag BCC TN2 \ and jump to TN2 if it is clear (i.e. if this is not a \ bounty hunter) LDX FIST \ This is a bounty hunter, so check whether our FIST CPX #40 \ rating is < 40 (where 50 is a fugitive), and jump to BCC TN2 \ TN2 if we are not 100% evil LDA NEWB \ We are a fugitive or a bad offender, and this ship is ORA #%00000100 \ a bounty hunter, so set bit 2 of the ship's NEWB flags STA NEWB \ to make it hostile LSR A \ Shift A right twice so the next test in TN2 will check LSR A \ bit 2 .TN2 LSR A \ Extract bit 2 of the ship's NEWB flags into the C flag BCS TN3 \ and jump to TN3 if it is set (i.e. if this ship is \ hostile) LSR A \ The ship is not hostile, so extract bit 4 of the LSR A \ ship's NEWB flags into the C flag, and jump to GOPL if BCC GOPL \ it is clear (i.e. if this ship is not docking) JMP DOCKIT \ The ship is not hostile and is docking, so jump to \ DOCKIT to apply the docking algorithm to this ship .GOPL JSR SPS1 \ The ship is not hostile and it is not docking, so call \ SPS1 to calculate the vector to the planet and store \ it in XX15 JMP TA151 \ Jump to TA151 to make the ship head towards the planet .TN3 LSR A \ Extract bit 2 of the ship's NEWB flags into the C flag BCC TN4 \ and jump to TN4 if it is clear (i.e. if this ship is \ not a pirate) LDA SSPR \ If we are not inside the space station safe zone, jump BEQ TN4 \ to TN4 \ If we get here then this is a pirate and we are inside \ the space station safe zone LDA INWK+32 \ Set bits 0 and 7 of the AI flag in byte #32 (has AI AND #%10000001 \ enabled and has an E.C.M.) STA INWK+32 .TN4
LDX #8 \ We now want to copy the ship's x, y and z coordinates \ from INWK to K3, so set up a counter for 9 bytes .TAL1 LDA INWK,X \ Copy the X-th byte from INWK to the X-th byte of K3 STA K3,X DEX \ Decrement the counter BPL TAL1 \ Loop back until we have copied all 9 bytes .TA19 \ If this is a missile that's heading for its target \ (not us, one of the other ships), then the missile \ routine at TA18 above jumps here after setting K3 to \ the vector from the target to the missile JSR TAS2 \ Normalise the vector in K3 and store the normalised \ version in XX15, so XX15 contains the normalised \ vector from our ship to the ship we are applying AI \ tactics to (or the normalised vector from the target \ to the missile - in both cases it's the vector from \ the potential victim to the attacker)
STA CNT \ Store the high byte of the dot product in CNT. The \ bigger the value, the more aligned the two ships are, \ with a maximum magnitude of 36 (96 * 96 >> 8). If CNT \ is positive, the ships are facing in a similar \ direction, if it's negative they are facing in \ opposite directions