end of Nova mission

[Commander McLane]

I just revisited the nova mission script.

Doing so I noticed that at the end it sets missionVariables.nova to NOVA_HERO no matter what. The reason given is that OXP missions may expect this value in order to test that the mission was completed.

Question: wouldn't only lazy OXP scripts do that? I would expect any OXP script that wishes to check for completion of the nova mission to check for all possible end states. Otherwise, there may be a script that wishes to distinguish between different outcomes, for instance offer different follow-up missions to a NOVA_HERO and a NOVA_ESCAPE_COWARD. Or maybe during a mission remind the player how he acted during the nova crisis. That's impossible if the outcome is whitewashed after the end of the mission. So I am asking whether this decision was really wise?

(There are probably no OXP scripts which actually make this distinction. In vanilla Oolite 1.65 it wasn't possible to survive without being a hero, so it didn't matter anyway. Currently there is a little more time after launch for the coward, and there are ships with shorter hyperspace spin, so it may have become possible to survive as a coward. OXPs allow the player to leave the system without taking the mission. So there are actually several possible outcomes. I'm just wondering why not to allow possible sequel OXPs to utilize these different outcomes.)

[CommonSenseOTB]

That would be commonsense and practical. Great idea!

[Smivs]

Seconded.

[Eric Walch]

Problem is that some oxps wait until the nova mission is over before they start. The current result "NOVA_HERO" just means that the mission is over, hero or not. Changing it, means you loose backward compatibility with such oxps. That was the reason for just having one single result.

I just looked into the 1.65 code. There I noticed a bug in that old code. When I first did the mission, I first flew to the sun to refill my tanks and than head for the main station. When I would have jumped out, I would not be a coward, but instead the mission would have been given on docking in that system. Making that system also a nova system in addition to the original one.

Apparently everyone filling up the tanks like me, did head for the current main station, so the bug did not surface. However, filling up the tanks like me is not always possible. I probably was just lucky. With bigger suns, it takes to much time to reach the sun-skimming point and you burn to death. Remember, you have no fuel at all to inject fast towards the sun.

[Switeck]

With Fuel Collector you could have 0.1 LY extra fuel each minute of running full throttle. You might have just enough to inject to scooping fuel from the sun.

[Disembodied]

Problem is that some oxps wait until the nova mission is over before they start. The current result "NOVA_HERO" just means that the mission is over, hero or not. Changing it, means you loose backward compatibility with such oxps. That was the reason for just having one single result.

I just looked into the 1.65 code. There I noticed a bug in that old code. When I first did the mission, I first flew to the sun to refill my tanks and than head for the main station. When I would have jumped out, I would not be a coward, but instead the mission would have been given on docking in that system. Making that system also a nova system in addition to the original one.

Apparently everyone filling up the tanks like me, did head for the current main station, so the bug did not surface. However, filling up the tanks like me is not always possible. I probably was just lucky. With bigger suns, it takes to much time to reach the sun-skimming point and you burn to death. Remember, you have no fuel at all to inject fast towards the sun.

I thought that the fuel leak capped your tanks, too, and made it impossible to sunskim ... obviously not! Maybe though it would be worth preventing players from sunskimming? After all, if your first lot of fuel leaked out, what's stopping the second load going the same way? Maybe the fuel should leak out of the tanks at the same rate that it's going in.

[Staer9]

Gal-jumps can be made without fuel, maybe that is how people get out... fuel-tanks don't work, sunskimming doesn't work and neither does filling at another station, as soon as you leave the fuel leaks out again

[Commander McLane]

I just looked into the 1.65 code. There I noticed a bug in that old code.

There were other problems as well. I did the mission in 1.65. When I noticed that everybody around me was jumping out, I entered one of the wormholes. When I emerged on the other side, all ships were jumping out again. And again. And again. After a couple of jumps I found myself in the middle of an ever-encreasing number of wormholes in each system. Only when I finally decided to fly to the main station and dock, that final system became the nova system. When I found out that the nova was traveling with me, and the systems I jumped out of remained unhurt, I settled to dock in a low level anarchy instead of a high level corporate, because at the time I found the former more expendable. Thus at the end of the day I got to choose which system went nova. A little creepy, if you think about it.

I thought that the fuel leak capped your tanks, too, and made it impossible to sunskim ... obviously not! Maybe though it would be worth preventing players from sunskimming? After all, if your first lot of fuel leaked out, what's stopping the second load going the same way? Maybe the fuel should leak out of the tanks at the same rate that it's going in.

No, the leak just empties your tanks, after which they are sealed and can get filled again. I think even the console message you get says something to that effect.

[Commander McLane]

Problem is that some oxps wait until the nova mission is over before they start. The current result "NOVA_HERO" just means that the mission is over, hero or not. Changing it, means you loose backward compatibility with such oxps. That was the reason for just having one single result.

That's true, especially as it used to be the only possible result in 1.65.

I just thought that keeping track of the different possible outcomes would open up possibilities for new OXPs. I simply love it if the game reminds me of something I've done a couple of galaxies ago, even if I maybe have completely forgotten it myself. Perhaps before setting missionVariables.nova to NOVA_HERO in _endTheMission, its previous content could be put in an additional variable? Like

Code: Select all

	missionVariables.nova_outcome = missionVariables.nova;

This would open up the possibility for future OXPs without breaking backwards compatibility.

Of course, for those commanders who have already completed the mission, the new variable wouldn't exist, therefore future OXP should treat this case equal to NOVA_HERO.

[Fatleaf]

Of course, for those commanders who have already completed the mission, the new variable wouldn't exist, therefore future OXP should treat this case equal to NOVA_HERO.

Or you could get commanders to delete the lines so it looks like you have not completed the mission and get it offered to you again. That way you would get the new lines in your save file and open up the new expansion.

[DaddyHoggy]

If you "fail" the Nova mission and then delete those lines and get the mission again, do you end up with multiple systems in a particular chart that are Nova systems?

[Commander McLane]

If you "fail" the Nova mission and then delete those lines and get the mission again, do you end up with multiple systems in a particular chart that are Nova systems?

Yes, unless you delete those lines too.

However, the bigger problem is that the canonical solution of the nova mission causes you to not being able to get the mission offered again for a looooong time.

[mandoman]

My opinion (as low as it may sound) is that the NOVA mission is a complete failure in determining whether a person is a Hero, or Coward. I didn't even know it was a test, and in fact I was suppose to react in a certain manner to pass the test. That was when I had first started playing, so I know better now, but what a rip. Who, in their right mind, would stay in a system that is blaring out to you that the sun is about to go nova, the moment you jump into the system. I reacted with what is actually a very normal manner, and immediately jumped out of the that system. Then I am greeted with the proclamation that I have failed a test of rescuing people in jeopardy, and am now a coward for not doing so. That's low. If I had known it was a test of that nature, my reaction to the pronouncement of the sun about to go nova would have been completely different. That also does not even take into consideration that the ship I was flying could barely fit two people. I realize this is a very late post, but I needed to blow off about this. Somehow a new player needs to be warned that the NOVA mission IS a mission (which I didn't know till after the fact), and objective is required to win said mission. JMHO.

[Kaks]

Interesting... if memory serves me right, whenever you jump into a system that's going nova, you'll get a message that says 'grave danger, go to the main station'...

So you decided not to go to the main station & ran away as quickly as possible? Fine!

As Cmdr McLane pointed out in the first post, Oolite very kindly makes sure that your 'disgraceful' behaviour isn't even kept on your permanent record!

Plus, and correct me if I'm wrong, you can always go back to your previous save game, and see what happens if you stick around... Personally, I do like the way the corona flares occasionally while you're in the Nova system.

Ok, I am biased, I did put the flare code in there...

[Cody]

Personally, I do like the way the corona flares occasionally while you're in the Nova system.
Ok, I am biased, I did put the flare code in there...

<chuckles>