Escape pods on 4668

here · Post by **Fatleaf** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 5:00 pm

Some pods just disappear before I get to them to pick them up. Is anybody else getting this?

here · Post by **Fatleaf** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:37 pm

I just gave a ship 20 pods and 9 them disappeared the first time and 17 the next time.

Could someone else try this please.

Svengali · Post by **Svengali** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:59 pm

Everything's ok on my box (r4669).

here · Post by **Fatleaf** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:18 pm

I managed to get a dump on one of the pods that disappeared:

23:15:21.892 [dumpState]: State for <ShipEntity 0x1468de18>{"Escape capsule" position: (91014.7, 72921.4, 575761) scanClass: CLASS_CARGO status: STATUS_IN_FLIGHT}:
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Universal ID: 245
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Scan class: CLASS_CARGO
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Status: STATUS_IN_FLIGHT
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Position: (91014.7, 72921.4, 575761)
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Orientation: (0.675425 - 0.609195i + 0.415197j + 0.0171389k)
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Distance travelled: 19.6104
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Energy: 25 of 25
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Mass: 618.881
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Owner: <ShipEntity 0x140dd818>{"Guild Target : Prison Transport - 50,000cr" position: (91134.4, 73090.1, 575803) scanClass: CLASS_CARGO status: STATUS_IN_FLIGHT}
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.entity]: Flags: isShip, isSunlit
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Type: griff_normalmapped_escape-capsule
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Name: Escape capsule
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Display Name: Escape capsule
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Roles: <OORoleSet 0x13d64650>{escape-capsule griffescape}
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Primary role: escape-capsule
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Script: <OOJSScript 0x144b2ea8>{"oolite-default-ship-script" version 1.75.4}
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Subentity count: 3
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Behaviour: BEHAVIOUR_IDLE
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Destination: (91080.3, 73015.1, 575784)
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Other destination: (0, 0, 0)
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Waypoint count: 0
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Desired speed: 0
23:15:21.893 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Thrust: 5
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Fuel: 0
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Fuel accumulator: 1
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Missile count: 0
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity.ai]: AI:
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.ai]: State machine name: homeAI.plist
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.ai]: Current state: HEAD_FOR_PLANET
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.ai]: Next think time: 42.132
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.ai]: Next think interval: 0.125
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Jink position: (0, 0, 0)
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Frustration: 0
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Success factor: 0
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Shots fired: 0
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Time since shot: 106.978
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Spawn time: 31.882 (7.033 seconds ago)
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Hull temperature: 60
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Heat insulation: 1
23:15:21.894 [dumpState.shipEntity]: Flags: isFrangible, canFragment

Hope it helps.

here · Post by **Fatleaf** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:39 pm

I have tried removing all OXP's except one for spawning a ship to shoot with 20 pods. And still get some vanishing. A few other commanders have also experienced this occurrence.

Website · Post by **Cody** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:52 pm

I have seen the same thing... out of 20 escape pods spawned, about half suddenly 'disappeared' off the scan and from sight.

Post by **Kaks** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:13 am

May I have that pod generating oxp please?

here · Post by **Fatleaf** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:19 am

Check your in box!

Post by **Capt. Murphy** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 5:02 am

I've observed this very occasionally with single pods for some time i(i.e, with 1.75.3 and since)(hunting them down with escape pod locator OXP). Also sometimes escape pod locator broadcasts a pod detected and pod lost message very quickly, which I've assumed is a pod being destroyed accidently in battle. I'll amend the script to see if it can log what is happening.

Fatleaf has confirmed he doesn't use Escape Pod Locator so it's not a case of the tiny beacon colliding with the pod, which is a possibility I had considered but hadn't got round to investigating properly, given the beacons mass is that of a small flea.

Post by **Eric Walch** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 8:51 am

One thing that could happen is that the pod simply smashes into a ship. The pods have a very simple AI : just head straight for the planet. When the mother ship was heading to the mainPlanet when ejecting a pod, it often happened in the past that the pod smash into the back of the derelict that fast loosing speed.
Since 1.75 this has improved a bit. Escape pods even get a pre collision warning and will try to fly away from the potential collider. At first I was affright that this would frustrate scooping, but no. Only when carefully watching the pod prior to scooping, you see it tries to escape, but its thrust is thrust to low to have a serious effect.

Post by **Kaks** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:43 am

Yep, I've lost a few pods - and all the ones I've seen go crashed into each other.
They seem to be a bit too fragile, which - arguably - could be seen as bit of a design flaw for a rescue vessel...

If there are no objections, I'm going to increase the resilience of the standard pod, leaving all its other characteristics exactly as they are.

Any objections?

Post by **another_commander** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 11:28 am

Can this really be considered a bug? Do any OXP missions break if the pods become stronger? Is this happening also on previous versions of the game?

I would rather not touch this one until after MNSR.

Post by **Kaks** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:25 pm

Fair enough!

I believe it'd happen in all versions of the game so far, somehow I feel that we're only noticing this because other - more visible - bugs have been removed...

Objection noted, I won't be changing trunk. It's easy enough to override the pod's strength via OXP!

and more · Post by **cim** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:26 pm

Eric Walch wrote:
but its thrust is thrust to low to have a serious effect.

Which gives some odd results - I shot a fleeing Fer-de-lance while it was using its injectors, and I ran out of fuel for my own injectors before I could catch up with the resulting high-speed escape pod. I did see a Moray SAR racing after it, so it might have been caught before it left the system...

and more · Post by **cim** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:36 pm

Kaks wrote:
Yep, I've lost a few pods - and all the ones I've seen go crashed into each other.
They seem to be a bit too fragile, which - arguably - could be seen as bit of a design flaw for a rescue vessel...

Given that 1,000 Cr. gives you a small escape vessel plus insurance on a ship worth 150,000 Cr. plus equipment for a standard Cobra III (but not the 200 Cr. worth of cargo

), the business plan of the insurers presumably relies on most of the people buying them:
- retiring without using them because they never go anywhere one might need an escape pod
- being shot down before they can launch the capsule
- being captured by pirates and sold into slavery
- having their escape pod spontaneously disintegrate in flight
- being rammed by their recovery vessel

Making the escape vessels themselves out of paper both boosts profits and makes it less likely anyone will actually live to claim on the insurance.

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Escape pods on 4668

Escape pods on 4668

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