def randdevice():
"Choose a device to damage, at random."
- # Quoth Eric Allman in the code of BSD-Trek:
- # "Under certain conditions you can get a critical hit. This
- # sort of hit damages devices. The probability that a given
- # device is damaged depends on the device. Well protected
- # devices (such as the computer, which is in the core of the
- # ship and has considerable redundancy) almost never get
- # damaged, whereas devices which are exposed (such as the
- # warp engines) or which are particularly delicate (such as
- # the transporter) have a much higher probability of being
- # damaged."
- #
- # This is one place where OPTION_PLAIN does not restore the
- # original behavior, which was equiprobable damage across
- # all devices. If we wanted that, we'd return randrange(NDEVICES)
- # and have done with it. Also, in the original game, DNAVYS
- # and DCOMPTR were the same device.
- #
- # Instead, we use a table of weights similar to the one from BSD Trek.
- # BSD doesn't have the shuttle, shield controller, death ray, or probes.
- # We don't have a cloaking device. The shuttle got the allocation
- # for the cloaking device, then we shaved a half-percent off
- # everything to have some weight to give DSHCTRL/DDRAY/DDSP.
weights = (
105, # DSRSENS: short range scanners 10.5%
105, # DLRSENS: long range scanners 10.5%
120, # DPHASER: phasers 12.0%
120, # DPHOTON: photon torpedoes 12.0%
- 25, # DLIFSUP: life support 2.5%
+ 25, # DLIFSUP: life support 2.5%
65, # DWARPEN: warp drive 6.5%
70, # DIMPULS: impulse engines 6.5%
145, # DSHIELD: deflector shields 14.5%