Ident system, how does it work?

[spara]

Hello.

Been reading Oolite novels and started to shape up an oxp to enhance the ident system. I made a couple of attempts and I'm not at all pleased with the results. The reason lies in that I have trouble understanding how the present one really works. Been reading wiki and tried to reason. Here's what I have deducted:

1. There is an id computer aboard. Computer ids target's 'name' instantly, when targeted. Does that name come from an internal database or does it come from some public GalCop database? How is the ship identified? Some sort of scan probably, as also thargoids are identified. But what does it scan, id is still instantenous?
2. There is a link to GalCop aboard. If STE is installed, ship type is enhanced with legal status, that must be coming from GalCop. This is also instantenous and works in witchspace too.

If oxps are installed, it gets more complicated. Random Shipnames adds ships name to the name. That data must be coming from the target itself. So ships are also transmitting info to other ships. Random Hits on the other hand hides the shiptype and only shows true namesand like. That means IMO, that those ships are not identified by ship's id computer. Only the name sent by the target is shown. That would imply that ships are identified by something that can be hidden...

How do you imagine the ident system works?

[Smivs]

I think my first comment has to be to tailor this to the core game - it's up to OXPs to fit in not the other way round.
The basic scanner just shows you where other ships are and what they are inasmuch as it will ID things and give a console message to this effect. The STE adds to this using ' several improvements upon the ship's basic ID system' which allows it to add the targeting box, ship-type name and legal status, and distance. The inference is that all this information is available from the ID computer and scanner. Exactly how this works is not explained, but there is anecdotal evidence that each ship has a unique transponder which identifies it. This would be how the Police can identify a ship instantly if it commits an offence. The transponder identifies a particular ship, and so also identifies the type etc as a matter of course.
From this we can assume that other information is not available. It is reasonable to assume that a database of ship specs (energy banks, number of pylons etc) kept on the ship's computer could be easily linked to this. This database would only include known ships, and would only give basic specs, so a modified ship could not be identified as such. Neither could variables such as the number of missiles actually on board be known.

[Cody]

'It is quite a three pipe problem... ' <chuckles - dons thinking sombrero>

[Wildeblood]

Perhaps it works exactly the same as a real life radar/IFF transponder system works?

[Smivs]

Perhaps it works exactly the same as a real life radar/IFF transponder system works?

Nah, that would be too easy

[spara]

Thanks guys. I'll ponder it over and try to find a logic that would fit in.

[Fatleaf]

Thanks guys. I'll ponder it over and try to find a logic that would fit in.

I find it rather amusing you are going to try to apply 'logic' in Oolite and that you would expect it to 'fit in'
What might be better saying is you will try to find an appropriate handwavium to make it fit in!

[cim]

2. There is a link to GalCop aboard. If STE is installed, ship type is enhanced with legal status, that must be coming from GalCop. This is also instantenous and works in witchspace too.

Well, there is a database of ship IDs and legal status aboard. The observed behaviour is mostly consistent with it not being updated live (perhaps only from beacons in systems), since you can jump about in witchspace for weeks and not have the recorded bounty on a ship change.

If oxps are installed, it gets more complicated.

This is partly a limitation of Oolite in that there are three identifiers - ship class, ship name, pilot's name - which might reasonably be read from a ship, and Oolite itself only really provides room for one of them. OXPs understandably make different decisions on which combination of those identifiers they place into displayName

[spara]

Thanks guys. I'll ponder it over and try to find a logic that would fit in.

I find it rather amusing you are going to try to apply 'logic' in Oolite and that you would expect it to 'fit in'
What might be better saying is you will try to find an appropriate handwavium to make it fit in!

How true.

[spara]

If oxps are installed, it gets more complicated.

This is partly a limitation of Oolite in that there are three identifiers - ship class, ship name, pilot's name - which might reasonably be read from a ship, and Oolite itself only really provides room for one of them. OXPs understandably make different decisions on which combination of those identifiers they place into displayName

Here is something that might deserve some common guidelines. For consistency's sake. The name shown to the player should be consistent for all ships. In core, it's the ship's type, but oxps behave quite wildly. Here are some examples from oxps I have used:

DS-pirates: Appends (ds) or (dse) to the ships name. Nice for debugging, but hardly meant for player to see.
RandomHits: Ships have no ship types at all, rather names of the captains as displayName. Name is used as internal reference (BiggBoss etc.). For debugging purposes?
Anarchies: Bounty hunters are named as Bounty Hunter (or something like that).

[Paradox]

As for handwavium, how about... Since all ships enter a system near the witchpoint, why can't the witchpoint scan each one automatically and keep a "database" that can be accessed by your ship?

[Wyvern Mommy]

it's reasonable to assume not all ships enter the system via witchspace, though all possible entries should be monitored by the powers that be.
on the other hand, the status of ships can change in ways the powers that be are not aware of.

a ship might be captured by pirates, or anyone else except galcop, and turned into something else. for example, the local rock hermit might turn a sidewinder he found drifting into a remote controlled asteroid crusher. would he tell galcop about it?

anyways, it would make sense for galcop and/or the local forces to monitor the witchspace entries as it is. as a matter of fact, at least in bottleneck systems, i would expect galcop and/or military presence not far from the beacon, maybe just out of scanner range on the -outside-. that is to say, opposite the planet and sun.

as for the ident system:
for a long time, at least a century and prolly longer, Lloyds of London publishes a list of all registered ships. i would expect an ID system in the 4th millennium to have something similar build in. of course, some shipyards will sell their products to anyone able to pay the price. not all of them will register their ships. the basic type might still be in the database, though in some cases, not even that.
still, any ship calling on official ports will make their way into the database.
other ships, esp bugs, will start out as a rumour, and over time more and more data about them will make it into official channels and finally into the database.
that database would also hold the official ID codes of registered ships. i would expect it to be mandatory to have something like a radio transponder in any registered ship broadcasting that ID. some shadowy traders might switch that off when going about their not as legal businesses. pirates might use captured or stolen transponders (assuming the ID signal from a transponder can't just be copied) to fool the authorities.