What if...? (knowing the rules)

[Cody]

Ah yes, the Dark Side of Oolite. Is dark to be connoted as a bad thing?

Certainly not - my favourite chocolate is dark! Thing is, the players need the boffins, and the boffins need the players!

[Smivs]

...I'm now an old-timer who's been around the eight, so I'm knowledgable and capable of understanding what I'm choosing to put in, and also am for my current play-through avoiding story-based OXPs, having already played through most of them!

I think this is a really good point. Newcomers to the game could have no idea of all the subtle influences and interactions of the wealth of OXPs on offer. And they could at best be only vaguely guided through the ins and outs of the OXPs. In fact the classifcations used on the Wiki and OXP table give a good idea what each does, so it's not hard to track down the type of OXP you want.
The point is, the only way they can find out what they want is by trying various OXPs over time, as Mauby is saying above. Eventually each player settles on one or more OXP sets to suit their style and what they are looking for from the game. And those who eventually find themselves thinking "I wish I'd just used these OXPs from the start..." in a very real sense can do just that, by starting a new Commander. If keeping the original Commander is important (for example to reach 'Elite' status) then do so. I'm sure many of us (like myself) have two different OXP sets, allowing them to play a Main Commander (the first one) and a second Commander who lives in a more tailored and thought-out Ooniverse.

[iperich]

Thank you for your input but I must disagree....
The energy bomb is not a total destruction weapon that you want us to think it is.. I have seen many ships survive its effects.

Yes, you're right. I have noted that the energy bombs can kill a convoy of 5 o 7 ships, but dealing with pirates is not the same. I have had a couple encounters with teams of 4 or 5 ships attacking me, and when i drop the energy bomb everybody runs out and the bomb kills 2, 1 or even no ship at all. And then they come back to attack.

And there's a question: the average skill level of pirates and the amount of enemies is growing with my rank? I have the feeling that now I'm have the "average" rank battles are getting a little harder. Or is just a feeling?

[Smivs]

And there's a question: the average skill level of pirates and the amount of enemies is growing with my rank? I have the feeling that now I'm have the "average" rank battles are getting a little harder. Or is just a feeling?

No the skill level of NPCs (non player ships) is set and not altered to reflect your own skill level. In fact the core game NPCs are not very skillful at all, the best of them being the equivalent of mostly harmless or a bit better.
You might find these pages on the wiki enlightening.
Accuracy in the shipdata.plist http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Shipda ... t#accuracy
Skill levels based on Accuracy http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/OXP_NP ... y_.3C_0.29

[Cody]

Of course, if you want them to be a little trickier,  this and  this may be of interest.

[Diziet Sma]

Ah yes, the Dark Side of Oolite. Is dark to be connoted as a bad thing?

I suspect the term 'Dark Side' came into use because once one succumbs to it, one rarely actually just plays the game any more.. so yes, in that sense, it might indeed be regarded as "bad" by those who prefer to simply play..