Elite/Oolite veterans challenge

[galpet]

I have to say, I look at the maximum speed of the ship you describe and am a bit wary... I fly a Caddy at 0.450LM and that is pushing the limits of believability for me. So flying something at 0.6 LM seems rather fast...

But if it's an Anaconda variant I assume it will have a (very) low roll and pitch. Which means that it will have a turning circle of about a solar system, when travelling at full speed .

It is a race, after all, and the ship does gets it's speed for the Constrictor (0.6LM). It is a bit more manoeuvrable (pitch 0.4, role 1.2) than the anaconda (pitch 0.4, role 0.75) but no where near the manoeuvrability of the constrictor (pitch 1.75, role 2.5), or, even the cobra3 (pitch 1.0, role 2.0).

[Commander McLane]

I have to say, I look at the maximum speed of the ship you describe and am a bit wary... I fly a Caddy at 0.450LM and that is pushing the limits of believability for me. So flying something at 0.6 LM seems rather fast...

But if it's an Anaconda variant I assume it will have a (very) low roll and pitch. Which means that it will have a turning circle of about a solar system, when travelling at full speed .

It is a race, after all, and the ship does gets it's speed for the Constrictor (0.6LM). It is a bit more manoeuvrable (pitch 0.4, role 1.2) than the anaconda (pitch 0.4, role 0.75) but no where near the manoeuvrability of the constrictor (pitch 1.75, role 2.5), or, even the cobra3 (pitch 1.0, role 2.0).

Hmmm. The Constrictor is an experimental high-end military ship which is all engines and weapons. It is expected to be distinctively faster than anything else. So it makes only a very limited amount of in-game sense to take any specifications from it. In RealLife™, even if you design a dedicated Formula One car, it doesn't just "get its speed" from the [wp]ThrustSSC[/wp] by some magic. Especially not if what you design isn't actually a Formula One car, but a racing truck. The Anaconda is Oolite's equivalent to a truck, not to a fast military vessel.

However, having said that, I am willing to suspend my disbelief in the very controlled and decidedly non-mainstream-Oolitey setting of this racing OXP. An excessive top speed is probably a simple game-play necessity in order to survive a long race without being able to dock anywhere or repair any damage. For instance, you have automatically lost the race the very moment your fuel scoop gets damaged. The only thing you can do in this case is to quit and start all over again. Therefore being able to run, and to effectively outrun a certain defeat, is essential for keeping the player's motivation up. In this context a top speed that stretches believability is an acceptable price to pay, I think.

[galpet]

An excessive top speed is probably a simple game-play necessity in order to survive a long race without being able to dock anywhere or repair any damage. For instance, you have automatically lost the race the very moment your fuel scoop gets damaged. The only thing you can do in this case is to quit and start all over again. Therefore being able to run, and to effectively outrun a certain defeat, is essential for keeping the player's motivation up. In this context a top speed that stretches believability is an acceptable price to pay, I think.

My logic exactly.

In the same way the OXP will have plenty of bad guys to shoot, but only 3 or 4 at a time. I don't want to get ambushed by 10 pirates, even once in the game, because, equipment loss (especially the fuel scoop) is a big factor in the challenge. Shooting down 3-4 pirates at a time is not difficult, but, you still have to win around 30 dog fights to get your 100 kills.

Cargo is the other essential for the challenge. If, for instance, each kill gave you 5T cargo (500T) that still leaves you 250T short. You don't want to be wondering around the galaxy searching for more cargo. For this reason I have added plenty of asteroids for you to mine.

This is a challenge not mission impossible. You have to sun skim all the way, so pirates and asteroids are placed between witchpoint and sun. But if you are still short on quota there are additional pirates and asteroids between sun and planet.

One of my test runs I had 750T and 100 kills before the half way mark, and I just rabbited the rest of the way.

I have finished the Oolite RunnerG5 OXP and will be tweaking it in the next few days. I will let everyone know when it's ready for release.

[Staer9]

Are you planning to include the "neccessary" oxps within yours?

this would also make lots of the lazy commanders (like myself) more likely to try it (but I will anyway because I love a challenge)

anyway, good luck

[Mauiby de Fug]

Okay, I'm convinced! Am looking forward to the challenge!

[galpet]

Are you planning to include the "neccessary" oxps within yours?

I have striped the OXP down to the minimum. I have written it to be self contained. The mission can only start if you load the (included) saved game. This way it should have no effect on the players current setup.

Initially I was concerned that already installed OXP may give some players an advantage. But I don't think this will happen. In fact, it may be the reverse. The OXP will only work with the saved game, and since the saved game does not have any "additional OXP equipment" it should make for a level playing field. Even if the player has, an ore processor or fancy missiles, the ship is not equipped with them. Be aware that you don't have countermeasures for these missiles either.

Be careful what you leave in, a big fast ship may only lead to "Press Space".

[galpet]

I have finished the OXP for the challenge you can see details at RELEASE Oolite RunnerG5 Challenge oxp

I'm on a role. The runner challenge will be tough for many. So I am looking at a simpler challenge. This challenge will be for a single jump. The oxp would fit into the players current game setup. When the player exits hyperspace, kills, cargo, and time would be saved. When the player docks, a formula would calculate a score based on the time it took to add kills and cargo on the trip to the station.

Any thoughts?