Vortex OXP (plus the Maelstrom)

[Wildeblood]

Do you really have more than 500kg of gem stones? Or do you have more than 1500kg of gold or platinum? If you have less than 500kg of these commodities they should not take up space in the cargo bay.

No, that's definitely right. Every full bay has 27 t, plus whatever gold, platinum and gem-stones I'd collected up to that point. Below is a screenshot of bay 1 taken right after I'd filled it. (I also have screenshots of the other bays as they were filled, and later shots of bay 1 showing how the 'non-ton' cargo accumulates retrospectively).

So you've got 27t of cargo and three empty pods. Try the pod incinerator linked above and see if that frees up the other three tonnes, please.

[Albee]

So you've got 27t of cargo and three empty pods. Try the pod incinerator linked above and see if that frees up the other three tonnes, please.

Will do, though it might have to be tomorrow as SWMBO is making threatening noises about me being on my machine all day.

I have to say, though, I do like the present arrangement. As explained above, I'm happy to donate 15 cargo slots for 'empties' as I actually scooped 30-odd 'non-ton' pods during the flight (I can't be precise as I stopped counting after bay 4 was full, being convinced by then everything was working okay). In real <handwavium> life, I reckon I would scoop the pods into the hold, and not have the time or inclination to check them till after I docked -- I am being shot at out here, after all -- so I'd have those 30-odd taking up cargo space. A mere 15 slots sounds like a bargain to me.

[Albee]

So you've got 27t of cargo and three empty pods. Try the pod incinerator linked above and see if that frees up the other three tonnes, please.

Sorry, it didn't work.

I filled bay 1 with 28 t of assorted 'ton' cargo, plus 14 kg gold & 263 g gem-stones (no Platinum this trip). I selected then activated the pod incinerator -- no change.

I took screenshots of the Ship's Manifest before and after incineration, and they're identical. I can't show them to you, unfortunately, as Imjur is down for maintenance (again).

[Albee]

I've just discovered that when flying the Vortex, if you launch with contraband goods in the current hold, your status changes to Offender. If you launch with a 'clean' current hold but with contraband goods in the other holds, your status remains Clean. Not sure if this should be considered a bug or not, as I don't properly understand the physical nature of the 4 non-current holds.

[Eric Walch]

You are both running into a trap of treating a JavaScript Object (manifest) as a variable, when it's not.

In SandJ's example above you could change the value of fred.gold or manifest.gold and the new value would be reflected in both fred and manifest.

I don't think I'll ever grasp object-oriented programming.

The thing to remember is that when you define fred.gold, it is not creating a new variable, but a new pointer to the old content. So both point to the same data that is changed.

Each full bay now contains 27 t of assorted 'ton' cargo, plus a nominal 3 t of 'non-ton' cargo -- 1 t each of gold, platinum and gem-stones -- which accumulates in every bay simultaneously, on an incremental basis.

That doesn't sound right to me. I think you should have 28t of usable bay, not 27t. Do you really have more than 500kg of gem stones? Or do you have more than 1500kg of gold or platinum? If you have less than 500kg of these commodities they should not take up space in the cargo bay.

I never have looked at the vortex script, but there is a difference in awarding gold while docked and when in flight. When docked it goes into the manifest and you need 500 kg to let it count as one ton. When in flight, every time you add gold to the manifest, it goes into a separate container of one ton.

[Thargoid]

I've just discovered that when flying the Vortex, if you launch with contraband goods in the current hold, your status changes to Offender. If you launch with a 'clean' current hold but with contraband goods in the other holds, your status remains Clean. Not sure if this should be considered a bug or not, as I don't properly understand the physical nature of the 4 non-current holds.

No, that's deliberate (and different to Hypercargo, if you don't buy the little hack for it). Basically the 4 "other" bays aren't physically there for Galcop to scan, and the military of course wouldn't want any civilian-type just nosing in their cargo bays when they are carrying secret stuff. A Hypercargo computer will tell a station search what's in it, but a Vortex AI will just tell a station search where to go...

Remember, the Vortex is an ex-military ship, and retains some of the tricks of its former trade

[Wildeblood]

Each full bay now contains 27 t of assorted 'ton' cargo, plus a nominal 3 t of 'non-ton' cargo -- 1 t each of gold, platinum and gem-stones -- which accumulates in every bay simultaneously, on an incremental basis.

That doesn't sound right to me. I think you should have 28t of usable bay, not 27t. Do you really have more than 500kg of gem stones? Or do you have more than 1500kg of gold or platinum? If you have less than 500kg of these commodities they should not take up space in the cargo bay.

I never have looked at the vortex script, but there is a difference in awarding gold while docked and when in flight. When docked it goes into the manifest and you need 500 kg to let it count as one ton. When in flight, every time you add gold to the manifest, it goes into a separate container of one ton.

Even if you award it by just manipulating the manifest directly, not by scooping a pod or splinter? So there's no way to clear out that last "empty" cargo pod while in flight?

[Eric Walch]

I've downloaded 1.25a from Boxspace. The menu item says vortex_1.25a.zip, but the folder that actually downloads is named vortex_1, ...

The folder name is correct, but your un-zipper cripples the names. I know, because I have the same problem with some files. My browser 'safari' un-zips automatically on downloading and gives me also a folder with name ''vortex_1". But, when I open the trash and retrieve the original zip there and unzip it there by double-clicking, I get a folder with the correct name "vortex_1.25a". (And when I remember correct, you were also on a mac). I think it is the combination of an underscore and a dot in a filename. With underscores, it stops the filename at the next dot.

[Albee]

Remember, the Vortex is an ex-military ship, and retains some of the tricks of its former trade

It's an impressive beastie, for a fact -- awesome in combat, needless to say!

The folder name is correct, but your un-zipper cripples the names...

Thanks for the explanation, Eric. I keep forgetting Macs are pernickety creatures.

[Eric Walch]

I never have looked at the vortex script, but there is a difference in awarding gold while docked and when in flight. When docked it goes into the manifest and you need 500 kg to let it count as one ton. When in flight, every time you add gold to the manifest, it goes into a separate container of one ton.

Even if you award it by just manipulating the manifest directly, not by scooping a pod or splinter? So there's no way to clear out that last "empty" cargo pod while in flight?

Yes, for any cargo manipulation. The reason is that all cargo is always removed from the manifest and stored in containers on launch. When a script accesses the manifest, it always sees the addition of the manifest and the cargo in pods. So a script does not know were it actually it. But, because cargo is in pods during flight, additions to the manifest also goes into pods. For ton goods this does not matter, but differences arise for the kg and gr goods. When I look in the vortex script, I see it even puts gold at risk when you scoop stuff. It tries to restore all gold into one single pod. In that process, also all gold that was in the safe on launch, now goes into a pod. It even happens when scooping some non-comodity stuff. And with gold in a pod, it can be damaged in fight. I would prefer to have it spread over different pods. When one pod damages in fight, you loose only part of your gold.

When you launch with < 1000 kg of gold and you cycle through your cargo with shift-R, you will not find a container with gold in your hold. But, after scooping anything with the vortex, you will find a cargopod with gold in your hold. And when you dump it with the 'd' key, you will see that you just dumped all your gold. (Better scoop it up than fast before an npc ship does it )

[Thargoid]

You will on cycling, as that also triggers the same function as scooping now does.

It's just a little strange, as that function is what I just added in response to Albee's discovery. According to his reports it fixed the issue, which is contradictory to what you're saying about the trunk code itself and how it operates?

[Albee]

I think I've found another 'quirky' situation with the Vortex, concerning scooped escape capsules. When you dock, only those individuals 'stored' in the current bay are released. Any who were stored in the other 4 bays get no mention.

Actually, the handling of escape capsules in all vessels has puzzled me for some time. I believe I'm right in saying you can't scoop them if your hold is full, yet they don't appear in the Ship's Manifest, and having one (or more) doesn't seem to prevent you filling your hold to its limit. Does anyone have a <handwavium> explanation?

[Disembodied]

Actually, the handling of escape capsules in all vessels has puzzled me for some time. I believe I'm right in saying you can't scoop them if your hold is full, yet they don't appear in the Ship's Manifest, and having one (or more) doesn't seem to prevent you filling your hold to its limit. Does anyone have a <handwavium> explanation?

They appear in the manifest as "Slaves". As far as your ship is concerned, you've scooped a small podlike contraption with a life-support system and a life-form. You have to sort out the redeemable from the sellable yourself when you dock.

[Albee]

You have to sort out the redeemable from the sellable yourself when you dock.

I see (I think). The game doesn't normally offer me any choice with regard to captured felons and rescued citizens, does it? They're released automatically and I'm given as much or as little as station officialdom or the insurance company choose to hand over. Are you saying the ones stored in the Vortex's non-current bay are sold as slaves? I'm still confused.

[Eric Walch]

I think I've found another 'quirky' situation with the Vortex, concerning scooped escape capsules. When you dock, only those individuals 'stored' in the current bay are released. Any who were stored in the other 4 bays get no mention.

That is because the vortex deletes all cargo of the current bay first, before switching. Any scripted cargo, or podded pilots are killed in the process. Than, the new bay is shown with cargo in generic pods. Or did you suspect that scooped pilots could survive the cargo compression. For me , the weird thing is that the pilots in the current bay survive the compression. And also slaves should not survive this in my opinion.