assorted issues with Random Hits

[Eric Walch]

...And the distance to random hits is pretty brutal -- you never seem to get a hard one that's just a system away.

That is correct. The formula for selecting a system is:

Code: Select all

var targetSystem = this.selectOneSystemInRange(targetSystems, 5+i*2, 21+i*4)

With i=0 for the easy hits and i=2 for the harder hits. Minimum distance for the harder hits is 5+i*2 = 9 LY. Thats just more than one jump, and intentionally chosen so
There are exceptions however. When it cant find any suitable system as target, it chooses the current system as target. Could theoretically happen when starting from an very isolated corner of the map. I have no idea if it actually happens. It was written as a fail safe mechanism to always have a destination.

It would be easy to display the traveling distance, but it was a choice to show the direct distance. When in bad luck, you have to travel much more, around a 'hole' in the map.

[Switeck]

You don't have to go back to the Seedy Space Bar that you got the hit. Once completed any main station will do. But 41ly for 8300 credits is a bit disappointing. I am considering cancelling the hit and taking another.

While I may not need to go back to collect the reward, I might need to go back to the starting area for other reasons and am now quite a distance away from it.

you can also do regular trading while you're on the way there. Unless you have something like the Qucedi Bottleneck or the Steel Halo to traverse, you can probably get a reasonable route that mostly switches Ind/Agri.

Even doing regular trading on my way to (and then from) a hit, I cannot make more than a tiny fraction of what I was already making at my starting location...mostly due to much shorter jump distances there. A single 6.4 LY jump takes ~10 times longer than a 2 LY jump. Plus after a 40 LY round trip my ship probably needs maintenance again, blowing almost any profits I'd make on such a trip.

Hopefully those hits get a lot more profitable once you do a bunch.

[DredgerMan]

I just noticed the following line in my latest.log, after a successful hit.

• 10:27:29.711 [oolite-random-hits-mark]: Mark was killed by: [PlayerShip "Cobra Mark III" position: (-8843.62, -1899.54, 8187.57) scanClass: CLASS_PLAYER status: STATUS_IN_FLIGHT] Because of: energy damage. Last recorded hit: PLAYER_ATTACK
  10:27:32.414 [ai.load.failed.unknownAI]: Can't switch AI for <ShipEntity 0xe7f4288>{"Mark escort"} from randomhitsescort2AI.plist:LOOK_FOR_BUSINESS to "randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist" - could not load file.

Is the second line an error or nothing to worry about?

Oh, and the debug console didn't show the above, just the mark killed message.

[Smivs]

Nothing to worry about. When the mark is killed his escorts should switch to a different AI, but in this case the AI he should have switched to did not load. It just means that the escorts won't behave as intended after your attack but as you are probably legging it after a successful hit by then, you won't notice.

[DredgerMan]

Nothing to worry about. When the mark is killed his escorts should switch to a different AI, but in this case the AI he should have switched to did not load. It just means that the escorts won't behave as intended after your attack but as you are probably legging it after a successful hit by then, you won't notice.

Ah, ok. Thanks for the explanation.

As for legging it, I just thought that since they were paid to hunt me, I might as well make it easier for them to find me by finding them instead. As luck (?) would have it, they were all flying back to the station and nobody really seem to mind when I 'discussed' things with the other gangstas. And then they all met with freak accidents. Space can be so unsafe, you know? It should come with a Health and Safety warning.

[Commander McLane]

Nothing to worry about.

Why not? In my version of Random Hits (1.4.12) I can't see any reason why randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist shouldn't be loaded. So the error possibly hints to a botched installation of the OXP.

Not getting the correct AI means that the ex-escorts don't attack the player as they should, so it also influences the game.

EDIT: corrected wrong version number

[Smivs]

Nothing to worry about.

Why not? In my version of Random Hits (1.4.2) I can't see any reason why randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist shouldn't be loaded. So the error possibly hints to a botched installation of the OXP.

Not getting the correct AI means that the ex-escorts don't attack the player as they should, so it also influences the game.

What you say is of course true and correct, and I did mention that the AI had failed to load in my response which is clearly not 'right'. DredgerMan asked "Is the second line an error or nothing to worry about?" and in fact it is both! It is clearly an error, but as nobody is going to die and the Earth isn't going to stop spinning on its axis, I figured that in the great scheme of things it is nothing to worry about.
I suppose it depends what worries you

[Commander McLane]

Well, yes, in the great scheme of things nothing we're doing here is worth worrying about.

However, in the great scheme of one person's Oolite installation possibly having some files missing from an essential OXP could be something a player may worry about.

[DredgerMan]

Well, yes, in the great scheme of things nothing we're doing here is worth worrying about.

However, in the great scheme of one person's Oolite installation possibly having some files missing from an essential OXP could be something a player may worry about.

Which I did, hence the question, then I didn't and now I do again. I am on my way to an Anarchy and see if it happens again.

EDIT: I checked the AI folder of the OXP on my system and I did find randomhitsmarkrevengeAI.plist but not the requested randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist

[Commander McLane]

Which version of Random Hits are you using? And does it have randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist in its AIs folder?

[DredgerMan]

Which version of Random Hits are you using? And does it have randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist in its AIs folder?

My version is 1.4.13, Commander. And the AI question I already answwered.

Added: I quickly checked and the 1.4.13 ZIP file doesn't contain that specific AI either.

[Tricky]

Hmm... Just checked my copy and it doesn't have randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist in the zip file.

Current version: RandomHits1.4.13

[Eric Walch]

Hmm... Just checked my copy and it doesn't have randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist in the zip file.

Current version: RandomHits1.4.13

Little Bear had a lot of almost identical AI files. I tried to clean some up in the past by merging them to one single AI. I think I cleaned this one also up in the 1.4.13 edition without noticing that it is not only used by the revenge ships, but also by the mark ersorts when their mother (the mark) died.
(Edit: looked it up. There is just one line difference between randomhitsmarkrevengeAI.plist and randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist. I changed large parts of the first AI by strongly shortening it and completely removed the second one)

I'll fix that in a 1.4.14 release. The bug is rather harmless. Only the escorts will now a bit easier to kill when you killed the mark. But as long the escorts are attacking you, they won't look at the mother and keep attacking you after mom died. I'll probably let them change to a plain pirate AI after mom dies.

[DredgerMan]

Hmm... Just checked my copy and it doesn't have randomhitsmarkrevenge2AI.plist in the zip file.

Current version: RandomHits1.4.13

Little Bear had a lot of almost identical AI files. I tried to clean some up in the past by merging them to one single AI. I think I cleaned this one also up in the 1.4.13 edition without noticing that it is not only used by the revenge ships, but also by the mark ersorts when their mother (the mark) died.

I'll fix that in a 1.4.14 release. It is rather harmless. Only the escorts will now a bit easier to kill when you killed the mark. But as long the escorts are attacking you, they won't look at the mother and keep attacking you after mom died.

Ok, thanks Eric. I breathe a little easier now.

[DredgerMan]

In game explanation.

"Dredgerman to base. I cooked Daddy. The offspring are moving off."

"Base to Dredgerman. Of course. once the hand that feeds them won't feed them anymore, they will lose all the will to fight. It's not like they are of high moral caliber. They're scum. So don't expect any morally uplifting gestures from them, like revenge. They'll just move on to the next highest bidder."

"Dredgerman to base. Understood. Do yoiu want me to return home?"

"ARE YOU NUTS??? Whack the lot of them! Remember that all the ones that you kill today won't be able to kill you tomorrow. Now do your bleedin job and don't return until all the offspring are gone! Or I'll keep half of your bounty!"

"Dredgerman to base. Message understood. Tally ho and smoke me a kipper for breakfast!"