AI Vehicle/Component Naming

[freeman2344]

Hi,

this may seem like a minor thing to most, but it's something that I personally find a bit irritating.

Let's face it: the AI naming conventions are plain ridiculous and some of the names are real immersion breakers. I know they take their words from the moddable nounlist.txt file and I guess it would be possible to just delete the most bizarre ones...but maybe there's a more elegant solution to this problem.

It would, for example, be great if every AI manufacturer could get its own set of words to use (since many of the AIs are based on real companies), which could be slight alterations of real world model names (or at least something that is not called mini-skirt or toothbrush). Now if that list could be edited, a dedicated modder, such as myself, could just replace these with the actual model names and give the game an IMO nice and realistic touch (of course, the game itself could not contain these for obvious copyright reasons). In this regard, it would also be good if the model names could be tied to specific vehicle types (though that may be too much of an effort?).

As to gearboxes and engines: why do these need names at all? There are some reasons to name a chassis, but I'm not aware of real world examples where gearboxes and engines were actually given proper names, apart from, say, "5L V8". This makes searching through the AI component list quite a pain, as you cannot see an first glance (without clicking on it and looking at the chart) what kind of engine is hiding behind that non-descriptive noun. IMO it would therefore be preferable to just name engines and gearboxes in accordance with their specifications (displacement and layout for engines, number of gears and MT/AT as well as gearing type for gearboxes).

Any thoughts? I'd assume the gearboxes and engines thing would be quite easy to implement?

Interesting post.
Id have to say thats its a fair point they can be immersion breaking at times, though personally ive found some humor in some of the names as they can get quite ridiculous at times.

Im not sure if you could just base them off the statistics of your engine from the start due to the UI. Atm they are defined in the UI before you build the item(though you can modify it later).
Perhaps it needs another randomise name button in the designer UI that gives it a designation based on its statistics.

I think there is actually a need for names, especially if you consider the general UI built around these things having names. They also, like all names, make it somewhat easier to identify and track specific components. Most of the components ive looked up online(mostly military vehicles) also tend to have some sort of designation, though usually the engine, not necessarily the chassis.
Im not saying you cant improve the naming system, im just making the point against your idea that they arent necessarily needed.

You're right, a designation is needed - but not necessarily a name. An engine shouldn't be called "Apology Football", "Restaurant Kettle" or "Dance Person" - all examples from my current game. Real engines, especially military ones, have very clear designations, even though they often indicate development status (such as DB605 or AGT1500) and not, as I had suggested, displacement and type (though both specifications are often mentioned together).