Void Drones (early access)

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

Fly your own combat drone from a gunner seat. The Void Drone Controller is a turret module that launches a drone armed with the controller's weapon, ammo, perks and ship upgrades. Add the Void Hive Mind and the ship flies itself while you're out there.

Early release: please report bugs with your BepInEx/LogOutput.log.

Everything starts locked. The controllers, mines, upgrade mods, relics and the Void Hive Mind must be found and recycled each run, like vanilla's locked items (see Unlocking). To try everything straight away, the host presses F5, opens Void Drones and turns on Unlock everything (or types /drones unlock). It applies to the whole crew.

Quick start

1. Find a Void Drone Controller as loot (recycle one to learn it, then the Fabricator can make more), or have the host turn on Unlock everything in the F5 menu.
2. Install it in a weapon socket, power it, load its ammo and sit in it.
3. Click a weapon, then click LAUNCH DRONE (or press L). L again recalls it.

Features

• Two controllers, MkI to MkIII: Kinetic (orange, Benediction Cannon) and Energy (blue, Confessor Carronade). Upgrade them like any turret; each Mk adds speed and hull.
• Pick your weapon before launch from every weapon of the controller's type you've unlocked this run: Benediction, Litany, Bestower, Orison / Confessor, Shuriken, Recuser, Absolver.
• Real flight: inertia, boost, strafing, roll, collisions, a chase camera with a rear view, and a nose-mounted first-person view with a fighter HUD.
• Spotting and calls: aim and press T to target-lock an enemy for the gunners (or ping anything else); press H to have the Void Hive Mind bring the ship to your drone.
• Kill feed: your drone's kills show on your HUD, each player's kills are counted for the run (the controller shows its pilot's), and a sector summary appears at each void jump.
• Drone mines: the Beam Mine (energy) and Burst Mine (kinetic) hunt down the nearest enemy.
• Upgrade mods for the controller's mod rack: Reinforced Plating (hull), Extended Wings (speed and turning), Overcharged Thrusters (boost). Each one changes the drone's look too.
• Drone relics: Swarm Resonance (more damage, faster boost, longer respawn) and Signal Amplifier (3 km range, slower shields).
• Void Hive Mind (work in progress): an autopilot module. Engage the helm's cruise mode and it flies the ship: circles objectives, follows your drones, dodges, locks targets, collects loot with the gravity scoop, explores, and parks for EVA steps. When the sector is done, a drone pilot presses J to have it charge the void drive and set the escape vector, then J twice to jump. Its lever picks Objectives, Drones or Evasive (retreat and repair), and its screen shows what it's doing.
• Recon Sweep side mission: scan signal anomalies with a drone while Interceptors defend them.
• A full launch and recall sequence, damage sparks and smoke, a HULL CRITICAL warning, and a signal that fades to static as you near the 2 km range limit.

Unlocking

Like vanilla's locked items, everything starts locked each run. Find an item as loot or as a mission reward, and recycle it to learn it:

• Controllers: learning one teaches every Mk, as with vanilla weapons. Each Mk is inscribed on a blank crate of the same Mk.
• Upgrade mods: level 1 from the start, levels 2 and 3 with the Fabricator upgrades.
• Void Hive Mind (level 3): with the second Fabricator upgrade. It drops a bit more often than the Auto-Mechanic.
• Relics: learned only.

To skip all of it, the host presses F5, opens Void Drones and turns on Unlock everything (or types /drones unlock); it applies to the whole crew.

Controls (defaults)

Action	Key
Launch / recall	L (or the LAUNCH button)
Pick weapon (seated)	Click or 1 - 8
Move / up, down / roll	W A S D / Space, C / Q, E
Steer	Mouse
Fire / reload	Left mouse / R
Boost	Left Shift
Drop mine	G
Chase / first-person camera	V
Rear view (hold)	Tab
Spot what you aim at (lock an enemy / ping)	T
Call the Void Hive Mind to your drone	H
Void jump (press twice; needs the Hive Mind)	J

Changing weapons: pick one, then leave the seat. The controller is rebuilt with it at the same Mk (its ammo and mod sockets must be empty, as for an upgrade).

Settings

Press F5 (VoidManager) and open Void Drones for the everyday options: unlocks, mouse and camera, the fish-eye, HUD and display options, and how the Void Hive Mind flies. Key bindings are there too (click one, then press the new key), and each tab has a button to put it back to its defaults. Everything else is in BepInEx/config/VoidDrones.cfg (r2modman: Config editor).

Multiplayer

Every player needs this mod (VoidManager checks when joining). The host runs the drones and any crew member can fly one, with no input lag. Enemies target drones too.

Known limitations

• The Void Hive Mind autopilot is a work in progress. It flies well in open space, but it can still misjudge tight spots around stations and wrecks, and its EVA parking and obstacle avoidance are being tuned. Keep someone near the helm, and send your log if it does something odd.
• Balance and visuals are still being tuned. The drone is a recoloured Hollow Morph.
• A rebuilt controller (after changing weapons) starts without loaded ammo.
• /drones is a chat command for debugging.