Split: Escape pods and stations

[Eric Walch]

Well, I went for the easy option after all!

Both NPCs & players will head for the nearest friendly station.

In normal systems, if all else fails the pod will find its way to the main station.

But your definition of friendly is a bit strict. Unfriendly only includes stations in attacking mode against the pod. I don't think any station will start targeting an escape pod, so the pod still will go to thargoid carriers or a pirate base.

Better create a new key accepts_escape_pods at A_C suggested, or use the has_npc_traffic key. Advantage of the last is that it already exist since Oolite 1.69. That would in one go make is compatible with many older oxps.

[Kaks]

As it is now, the code checks the friendly status just before ejecting, so it avoids stations hostile to the player/npc. I've tested the code quite a few times, and it's always avoided hostile stations/carriers...

I'm quite happy to restore things so that no pods are launched in witchspace, but I don't know if accepts_escape_pods is actually needed now that the player will never end up inside unfriendly stations/carriers... I'll leave that decision up to you guys!

[another_commander]

I think we could still use the accepts_escape_pods flag. What if an OXPer designs a station that's supposed to be abandoned? It would not be hostile, but it would not make no sense to have a ship replacement waiting there.

I am thinking now that along the same lines, we could maybe have also another station property, like transponders_active or allows_autodocking or whatever name could be used to indicate that the station is alive and responds to autodock requests (or not).

[another_commander]

Split from the Furball OXP discussion.

[Micha]

My 2Cr would be to always go to Main Station when using an Escape Capsule. If you're a fugitive and end up at the Main Station, well, too bad. You pays your fines, but you're alive. (Actually, don't you lose your legal status? It's attached to your ship, not to your person, isn't it?)

IMHO it's unreasonable to expect other station types to accept the insurance policy attached to an escape capsule or even to have the resources to get a replacement ship with all the equipment.

Whether the escape capsule goes -directly- to the Main Station, or whether the capsule gets rescued along the way and the player -eventually- gets to the Main Station is beyond the scope of the main game (that's where your imagination can kick in). OXPs can always implement the various scenarios - DaddyHoggy's suggestions look like a good start. "For rescuing you, Cmdr Jameson collects 340Cr from your insurance.".

Furthermore, restricting escape-capsule launches in Witchspace is odd. I say launch, then die. OXPs can add Witchspace Escape Capsule Rescuing.


Escape Capsule to Main Station seems the simplest default solution.

[Mauiby de Fug]

If you're a fugitive and end up at the Main Station, well, too bad. You pays your fines, but you're alive. (Actually, don't you lose your legal status? It's attached to your ship, not to your person, isn't it?)

Depends on whether you have Anarchies installed, I believe. With it installed you keep your legal status, thereby removing the quick route back to Clean from Fugitive...

[Kaks]

Furthermore, restricting escape-capsule launches in Witchspace is odd. I say launch, then die. OXPs can add Witchspace Escape Capsule Rescuing.


Escape Capsule to Main Station seems the simplest default solution.

I do like the consistent approach you'd get from launch & die - kind of a dodgy name for the concept, though!
I suppose after the launch sequence we could roll a random number to see what happens to the pod: if there are other non-thargoid ships in interstellar space, there could be a tiny chance of 'resurrection' at the nearest (non-nova) system's main station...



About escape capsule to main station, now you're telling me!

One hopefully minor point: if as players we are resurrected only at main stations, does it mean that we'd have to take all the scooped up pilots to the main station too, in order to be paid?

As it happens, I still have to commit my tweaked homeAI.plist.
The standard one instructs escape pods to head for the main planet and land there, presumably to be picked up by the main station personnel via shuttles, something that's already fairly consistent with the "only resurrect at main stations" concept.

[Micha]

About escape capsule to main station, now you're telling me!

That was all IMHO If other people vote for the more involved solution, fine.. although personally I feel that is more the premise of OXPing.

One hopefully minor point: if as players we are resurrected only at main stations, does it mean that we'd have to take all the scooped up pilots to the main station too, in order to be paid?

With the rescue/reward bonus from collecting escape pods it's -propbably- best to restrict that to main-stations too. Keeps it all nicely consistent and after all, that's where the GalCop officials are supposed to be.

Thinking on it, it does seem a bit odd that a GalCop cop would come up to you and pay out a bounty at a Rock Hermit *g*

[Commander McLane]

I'm all for restricting the escape pod business completely to main stations. It always seemed a little odd to me that you were paid insurance money and bounties anywhere, from Seedy Space Bars to Renegade Stations.

As to escape pods and bounties: Indeed, in vanilla Oolite using your escape pod makes you clean. Anarchies.oxp changes that and lets you keep your bounty. But the default for everybody who hasn't installed Anarchies.oxp is to become as clean as a noob.

[Cody]

in vanilla Oolite using your escape pod makes you clean. Anarchies.oxp changes that and lets you keep your bounty. But the default for everybody who hasn't installed Anarchies.oxp is to become as clean as a noob.

You learn something every day… I wasn’t aware of that. I don’t think that using the escape pod in vanilla Oolite should clear your legal status… eject as a fugitive, arrive at the station as a fugitive (or at least have to undergo ‘attitude adjustment’ and pay a serious fine).

[Commander McLane]

in vanilla Oolite using your escape pod makes you clean. Anarchies.oxp changes that and lets you keep your bounty. But the default for everybody who hasn't installed Anarchies.oxp is to become as clean as a noob.

You learn something every day… I wasn’t aware of that. I don’t think that using the escape pod in vanilla Oolite should clear your legal status… eject as a fugitive, arrive at the station as a fugitive (or at least have to undergo ‘attitude adjustment’ and pay a serious fine).

Vanilla Oolite just reflects and recreates what happened in Elite, so I wouldn't expect any changes of it.

But my point of view was always that you shouldn't be cleared, and this is indeed one of the reasons I wrote Anarchies.oxp in the first place.

[Eric Walch]

With the rescue/reward bonus from collecting escape pods it's -propbably- best to restrict that to main-stations too. Keeps it all nicely consistent and after all, that's where the GalCop officials are supposed to be.

Thinking on it, it does seem a bit odd that a GalCop cop would come up to you and pay out a bounty at a Rock Hermit *g*

I think its mainly a technical reason why its done in the current way.

There will be quite a bit code needed to make sure the escape pods stay in the hold during docking. And when you sell slaves, you could sell a pilot as slave instead of collecting a reward at the main station.

[Micha]

There will be quite a bit code needed to make sure the escape pods stay in the hold during docking. And when you sell slaves, you could sell a pilot as slave instead of collecting a reward at the main station.

Selling pilots as slaves is what happened in Elite.

Just ensure that they are sold last? Ideal, of course, would be a way of displaying whether they are real slaves or scooped escape pods - but that is well beyond the current scope!

[Kaks]

Hmm, feeling kind of bad about opening this particular can of worms.

Possible option for pilots: keep them at the bottom of the slaves 'pile' as you sell them, and at the top of the pile as you buy them - if you sell them by mistake, you can always buy them back, provided you haven't left that station.

A way of differentiating between regular slaves and pilots? The quantity could change colour from yellow to orange to differentiate between them (as it's happening between functioning & damaged equipment ). If you have 2 pilots and 3 tons of slaves on board, and you start selling slaves you would see something along these lines: 5 t, 4 t, 3 t, 2 t, 1 t , -- t, The colour clash is fairly horrible on the forum, but it doesn't look too bad with a black background...

Once docked onto the main station, the pilots would be rescued automatically, as per 1.74.2 - I'm fairly happy to sort out the technical details, as long as we're fairly comfortable with the concept!

[Cody]

If that means I don’t have to ‘unload’ scooped pilots at rock hermits, I’m happy.