Split: Cargo bug

[another_commander]

<snip> I also had an issue several times with being shot by pirates, lost a few units of cargo but when collecting up their cargo it got stuck at 34t + some precious metals/gems (35t max). I figure this has already been reported elsewhere.

Please upload the save game to http://pastebin.com and post the link to it.

Regarding the 34t + metals/gems, how many kg did you have onboard?

[CheeseRedux]

I also had an issue several times with being shot by pirates, lost a few units of cargo but when collecting up their cargo it got stuck at 34t + some precious metals/gems (35t max). I figure this has already been reported elsewhere.

Unless my memory is totally shot, this is expected behaviour. When scoped, precious metals will occupy a slot in your cargo hold until you dock, whereupon it will be transferred to your cockpit safe.

A cargo cannister takes up the same amount of space in your hold regardless of its contents. So unless you want to leave the cockpit and go into your (most likely unpressurized) cargo hold to retrieve those gemstones, they're gonna take up a tad more space than usual.

[Eric Walch]

I also had an issue several times with being shot by pirates, lost a few units of cargo but when collecting up their cargo it got stuck at 34t + some precious metals/gems (35t max). I figure this has already been reported elsewhere.

It is not reported before. Cargo handling has had some changes in 1.74 with the risk of adding bugs. But maybe it is just confusion about numbers.

While in flight, the computer only counts the containers in your hold, without looking at their contents. When you scoop a container with 3 kg of gold, that container does count as one full ton. That sometimes leads to confusion about weight. But when the ships own count says you have 34 t aboard, you should be able to scoop one more container.

The save game is not conclusive here, as on docking all cargo is removed from the containers and thereby ditching the excess weight of the containers with gold/plat/gem, giving a new situation. When docked, weights up to 500 kg are rounded down to zero and above 500 give a full ton.

When you launch again, all gold that you have on launch is put together in a single container (up to 1000 kg per container) Same for platinum & gems that get a container for their own per type.

At least that is how it should work when there is no bug.

[OlderGamer]

I can't post a link to the Pastebin until I am 5 days old, so that will have to wait for a couple of days, sorry.

Unless my memory is totally shot, this is expected behaviour. When scoped, precious metals will occupy a slot in your cargo hold until you dock, whereupon it will be transferred to your cockpit safe.

A cargo cannister takes up the same amount of space in your hold regardless of its contents. So unless you want to leave the cockpit and go into your (most likely unpressurized) cargo hold to retrieve those gemstones, they're gonna take up a tad more space than usual.

That makes perfect sense and does explain it, mostly.

I haven't got a specific example of it now but a more precise explaination of what I find happens is:

I leave dock at an Agricultural planet with 35t Furs and <10 units of gems, <50 units of Gold and <50 units of Platinum and Witchspace to an Industrial planet.
I get shot at and lose 2t of Furs whilst killing the pirates.
When attempting to scoop their loot, I can scoop 1 container to get me to 34t + precious metals/gems and that is it. The scooped container can contain anything, 1t of Slaves or some Platinum, doesn't seem to matter.

Would you suggest I report this the next time it occurs and if so, what would would be helpful?

Regards,
OG

[Cmdr James]

Let me restate my understanding of what you are reporting.

Take off with 35t cargo + misc "lightweight goods"
Lose 2, to have 33t reported
Scoop one canister (taking you to 34t whatever it contains, even if its something "lightweight" like gems)
Now unable to scoop more?

This is not correct behavior. I would guess we could eaisly test this. Could you confirm is it happens when you dump cargo or just when its destroyed?

My guess is that either the cargo destruction isnt working properly, or maybe there is a recalculation of the "size" of lightweight goods when there shouldnt be.

[Eric Walch]

Let me restate my understanding of what you are reporting.

Take off with 35t cargo + misc "lightweight goods"
Lose 2, to have 33t reported
Scoop one canister (taking you to 34t whatever it contains, even if its something "lightweight" like gems)
Now unable to scoop more?

This is not correct behavior. I would guess we could eaisly test this. Could you confirm is it happens when you dump cargo or just when its destroyed?

I just tested this scenario: have a bit of all 3 light weight commodities and than buy until the hold is full. Than, when in flight I dumped a few containers and scooped them up again. The hold full message came only after the last one so thinks were okay with me.

I remembered wrong about small quantities of gold being put in containers on launch. Only the amount making a full ton is put in containers on launch (and is at risk of destruction in a battle), the remaining part below one ton stays in your safe.

That adds some nice danger to cargo contracts were you have to deliver several tons of gold. Pirates can now destroy a full container of gold with a value of 40.000 credits during a battle with shields down.

[OlderGamer]

Let me restate my understanding of what you are reporting.

Take off with 35t cargo + misc "lightweight goods"
Lose 2, to have 33t reported - Correct
Scoop one canister (taking you to 34t whatever it contains, even if its something "lightweight" like gems) - Correct
Now unable to scoop more? - Correct

This is not correct behavior. I would guess we could eaisly test this. Could you confirm is it happens when you dump cargo or just when its destroyed? - I have only encountered it after combat - I generally don't dump my cargo for no reason

My guess is that either the cargo destruction isnt working properly, or maybe there is a recalculation of the "size" of lightweight goods when there shouldnt be.

I encountered a field of floating containers on the way to a station. I flew to the station and saved the game, then went out and picked up some but not enough to fill my 35t cargo. I could reload that, buy up some cargo and then try to collect a few units from the field and see where the limit is?

*edit* Eric beat me too it

[Cmdr James]

I often dump cargo when I scoop something I dont want.

Ill see if I can get a few minutes to look at the cargo destroyed code over the next few evenings

[another_commander]

Split from the torus jump / dust visibility discussion. I think it is best if each bug is followed in its own separate thread.


I tested the behaviour by setting the 'b' key to trigger an internal damage event, similar to what happens when the ship takes damage in battle. Then filled up the cargo bay, added some valuable metals for good measure and lanuched. Triggered the damage cargo event a couple of times, then spawned a few cargopods and started collecting. In all tests, the "Cargo hold full" message was arriving upon scooping the "35th ton" pod, i.e. all seemed normal. I will try some more tests, but right now I can't seem to be able to reproduce the described effect.

[Disembodied]

I don't know if this deserves its own thread or not (or even if it's a bug), but it's an odd piece of cargo behaviour I spotted this evening:

I'd scooped an escape pod, and got the message "You have captured a slave" (that's not what I'm reporting – I know it just means the pod's occupant didn't have either an insurance policy or a bounty). Later on in the same trip, I scooped a cargo pod containing 1t of slaves. So, on the manifest, I was showing 2t of slaves. So far so normal.

But when I docked, and sold off what I was carrying, I only had 1t of slaves to sell. There was no previous mission screen, saying "For rescuing/capturing etc.", so I'm assuming that whoever I'd scooped in the escape pod just jumped out and legged it when the cargo bay opened. Good luck to him, I say – but is this intentional behaviour? Do unnamed escape pod passengers just get set loose when you dock, even though the game reports their scooping as "capturing a slave"?

[Cody]

Odd… I’ve scooped quite a lot of escape pods, but have never scooped one that told me I’d ‘captured a slave’.

[Eric Walch]

Odd… I’ve scooped quite a lot of escape pods, but have never scooped one that told me I’d ‘captured a slave’.

That odd. 25% of all traders don't pay any insurance fee and therefor should end up as slaves.

Slaves escaping on docking is new to me. Next time I dock I'll keep the bay door locked until I have inspected all cargopod seals. This bug seems odd, the way pod are handled on docking.

In 1.73 and earlier there was a potential bug about counting, because the code did allow to add multiple tons in one pod by the CARGO_CARRIED key. These extra tons did show up in the inventory, but on scooping only the number of containers was count. However, that bug had the opposite effect that you still could scoop stuff while the inventory told the hold was full.
As far as I know, there was never an oxp released that made use of this feature for ton goods to add more than one ton in a pod. (I don't count thargods pods.oxp in this as his big pods.oxp used a script to add several 1-ton pods to the hold).

[Disembodied]

That odd. 25% of all traders don't pay any insurance fee and therefor should end up as slaves.

Maybe this should be removed? I always thought that the insurance policy came with the pod. Or was this done to discourage players from "creating" too many escape pods?

[Cmdr James]

I always thought that the insurance policy came with the pod. Or was this done to discourage players from "creating" too many escape pods?

It was so that if you ejected you would actually have a ship again. In elite you would not have been able to buy a new ship even if you had the cash as there was no shipyard.

[Disembodied]

It was so that if you ejected you would actually have a ship again. In elite you would not have been able to buy a new ship even if you had the cash as there was no shipyard.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear there (still just one coffee so far ...). I meant, was the 25% of uninsured pods added in to reduce the temptation for players to "harvest" them from passing traders?