Void Drones (early access)

A drone controller torn from a Void Reclaimer. Former Ectypes found it and rewired it to Metem standards.

Void Drones adds the Void Drone Controller, a turret module that launches a drone you fly yourself from the gunner seat. The drone fires with the controller's own weapon, ammunition, gunner perks and ship weapon upgrades.

This is an early release. Expect rough edges, and please report bugs with your BepInEx/LogOutput.log.

Features

• Two controllers
  • Kinetic Void Drone Controller: orange drone, starts with the Benediction Cannon.
  • Energy Void Drone Controller: blue drone, starts with the Confessor Carronade.
• Upgradable MkI → MkIII with the normal module upgrade. The weapon upgrades exactly like its vanilla counterpart, and each Mk adds +5% drone speed and health.
• Weapon selection before launch. Choose any weapon of the controller's damage type that you have unlocked this run, from a blueprint or the Fabricator. The menu shows a spinning model of your drone, and the controller's own monitor mirrors it while powered, so crewmates can see the drone, its weapon and cooldown.
  • Kinetic: Benediction, Litany, Bestower, Orison.
  • Energy: Confessor, Shuriken, Recuser, Absolver.
• Obtaining controllers: inscribe one at the Fabricator (MkII/MkIII need a matching blank crate), or find one as loot wherever the starting weapons drop.
• Flight: inertia, boost with cooldown, strafing, roll, a chase or first-person camera, and collision. The drone's engine, thrusters and boost are heard by everyone.
• Its own look: installed controllers have a black gunner seat and back wall, silver panels, and glowing crystals and lights in the drone's colour. Their crates are silver.
• Drone mines: drop a mine that locks onto the nearest enemy, chases it down and fires at it until it explodes. Energy drones drop the Beam Mine (Beamcaster rays), Kinetic drones the Burst Mine (Litany Minigun bursts). It never damages your own ship or drones.
• Launch and recall sequence: the link-up screen, the drone warping in and shooting out of the ship, a spin-down and warp-out on recall, and a "SIGNAL LOST" screen and burst when it's destroyed. The controller's lights pulse, dim or go dark to match.
• Void Hive Mind (experimental): an autopilot brain module, built on the Auto-Mechanic, that flies the ship while the helm's cruise mode is engaged. It circles the active mission objective, stays near your deployed drones, dodges incoming missiles and jinks when enemies take aim at the ship. Its lever sets the focus: Objectives, Drones or Evasive. It also scans and pings each enemy (strongest first) and mission item once for the crew. Any helm input takes back control. Build it at the Fabricator or find it where Auto-Mechanics drop.
• Respawn delay: a drone that is destroyed, or recalled below 75% health, needs 30 seconds before its controller can launch another.
• Range: the signal fades with distance. Beyond 2 km the drone is recalled, with a warning shortly before. Drones are also recalled when the void jump starts.
• First-person HUD: a fighter-style HUD in the drone's colour, with a flight-path marker showing where you're really going, a horizon and pitch ladder relative to your ship, and speed and hull beside the crosshair. In both views the crosshair lags behind your turns like a fighter's gunsight.
• HUD: hull %, distance to the ship, boost and mine status, and a marker pointing back to your ship. Marker distances and weapon range are measured from the drone, and the game's sound is heard from it while you fly.
• Multiplayer: the host manages every drone, and any crew member can fly one. Enemies target drones too.

How to use

1. Inscribe a Void Drone Controller at the Fabricator and install it in a weapon socket, like any turret.
2. Power it, load its ammunition, and sit in it.
3. Optionally pick a weapon (see Controls), then press L to launch.
4. Press L again to recall the drone.

Controls (defaults, configurable)

Changing weapons: pick the weapon, then leave the seat. The controller is rebuilt with that weapon at the same Mk; sit back down to launch. As with a vanilla upgrade, the controller's ammo and mod sockets must be empty, and it must not be damaged.

Configuration

Settings are in BepInEx/config/VoidDrones.cfg (r2modman: Config editor). They cover keys, flight feel (speed, inertia, turning), boost, camera, range and static, the HUD and crosshair, the launch sequence, drone mines, the autopilot, drone weapon balance, the controller look, the per-Mk bonus, and audio. BepInEx/config/VoidDrones.Layout.json holds the drone and controller model layout. It's an advanced option and reloads live.

Multiplayer

Every player needs this mod (VoidManager checks this when joining). The host runs the drones; clients fly theirs with no input lag.

Known limitations

• Early access: balance and visuals are still being tuned. The controller's outside turret parts are hidden.
• Changing weapons requires leaving the seat. The rebuilt controller starts without loaded ammo and may need its power switched back on.
• The drone is a re-coloured Hollow Morph.
• /drones is a chat command for debugging.