[RELEASE] Towbar OXP v1.0

[Solonar]

A suggestion for the laser reductor equipment is a way to toggle this function on and off. There are certain missions where the target ship must be destroyed in order to complete it. In some instances the ship becomes a derelict and cannot be destroyed with the laser reductor active, thus breaking the mission.

[Norby]

Thank you Solonar, reductor can be turned off in v0.94. I fixed a bug also which caused invulnerable derelict ships in some cases, I think this was your problem. Moreover a new function limit reduction to the first 10 hit for each derelict ship which help also so usually you will not need to turn off your reductor manually.

[Solonar]

Thank you

[Norby]

How about popping the cargo bay open and finding a new mission or a rescue? maybe a trap or spare parts!

Traps are in already, but your comment inspired me to make into Towbar v0.95:
Parcels and urgent parcels (run to the main station within a few minutes) can be found during ship mining.

Other improvements:
-Audio and message warning if you hit a derelict ship to stop fire in time.
-Laser Reductor is adjustable in js.
-Illegal cargo added into some ships with bounty.

[Norby]

(antecedents)

Moreover I really saw the situation many times during development: I added derelict ships before the dock from script (to salvage them instantly), but those scavengers often scooped up my haul in front of my nose!
But I never imagined the consequences...

Which means that this is a bug in the OXP that needs fixing. Does the derelict by any chance have scanClass "CLASS_CARGO" (or any other of the triggers that make scavengers go for it)?

To check this I made a test with the following little OXP installed only:

Code: Select all

this.shipWillLaunchFromStation = function() {
	var s = system.mainStation;
	var ships = system.addShips("[adder]", 1, s.position.add(s.vectorForward.multiply( 4000 )), 0);
	ships[0].awardEquipment("EQ_ESCAPE_POD");
	ships[0].abandonShip(); //make derelict
}

A scavenger scooped this adder within a minute, but only in Oolite 1.79 and nothing happen in 1.77.1.

Solonar: are you used 1.79 also when your derelict ship was attacked by scavengers?

[Solonar]

Solonar: are you used 1.79 also when your derelict ship was attacked by scavengers?

Yes I am.

[Norby]

Hungry scavengers are fixed in nightly builds by cim.

A bug is reported by slomoe relating Tug Drones which is fixed in Towbar v0.96.

[Falcon777]

If I tow a ship via the tractor beam prime-able equipment from Coyote's run, will the derelict ship still degrade in value during flight?

Also, it wasn't really made clear to me how a ship with a trap explodes: does the trap activate while towing, or while mining via the miner robots? Because if it's only the latter, then I could theoretically avoid all traps by always towing the derelict ships, right?

One last question: if I download this oxp and tow a ship via the tractor beam from Coyote's run, is it possible to dock with the ship in the same manner as with the towbar, thus earning credits and rankings as a salvager?

[Norby]

If I tow a ship via the tractor beam prime-able equipment from Coyote's run, will the derelict ship still degrade in value during flight?

Degrading is not implemented in Okti's OXP, but possible to make a patch which attach this feature to the tractor beam also.

does the trap activate while towing, or while mining via the miner robots?

Traps mean surprises, you can get it anytime. Maybe better if you found out during play, else there are details above in this topic.

if I download this oxp and tow a ship via the tractor beam from Coyote's run, is it possible to dock with the ship in the same manner as with the towbar, thus earning credits and rankings as a salvager?

You must lock your towbar on the ship at latest before docking to get rewards. You cannot leave the risk of blowing hidden traps inside the ship to workers of stations.

It is possible to use tractor beam until you arrive near the station to reduce the amount of leaved parts but some traps can harm you from a tractored ship also and the beam drain your energy.

[Falcon777]

Ah, cool stuff overall. I think the nice thing about using the tractor beam is that in a supercobra with a naval energy unit it's probably a lot faster than with a towbar. I'd just have to activate the towbar before I get to the station and voila, credits and reputation! lol.

I'm gonna go ahead and download the oxp to see what it's like. Thanks for the reply!

Edit1: Just tested out the tractor beam, and I got a really wierd thing to happen. After towing the medical boat in (from the first mission via the towbar), I set out from the station and there was another medical boat. I figured it was a bug in the system that for some reason re-adds the boat back into space. I figured I would try out the tractor beam, just to see if I could work it right before attaching the towbar and towing the thing back into the station. While the tractor beam was active, I used my targeting computer (the r button) to target the main station. The main station was immediately right next to me, tearing away at my shields. Somehow I had moved the main station such that it was within 1km of the station beacon! I don't know how it happened, but I'll definitely remember not to have the tractor beam active any more while targeting something else. My guess is that it's a bug within Coyote's run, and has nothing to do with your oxp, but given the similarities of what the towbar and the tractor beam can do, I thought I'd let you know about what happened.

[Norby]

the tractor beam is that in a supercobra with a naval energy unit it's probably a lot faster than with a towbar.

This method can pay a bit more so the idea is good, but I do not think it is faster if you have Towbar Compatible Injectors also. The fastest is the Tug Drone: launch, hit and pay instantly. You will get the same reputation, but the fastest payment is the lowest of course.

I set out from the station and there was another medical boat.

Thank you for the report! It is the same ship without worth, maybe not enough room in the dock to store it any further. It will be removed in the next version due to harmless.

While the tractor beam was active, I used my targeting computer (the r button) to target the main station. The main station was immediately right next to me

This case was not handled in Coyote-Main.js what I fixed now and uploaded into my contributed folder, please test it.

[Norby]

My son is designed a towbar equipped tugship with his 3D modelling tool:

[Commander McLane]

My son is designed a towbar equipped tugship with his 3D modelling tool:

[milinks]

Hi Norby, I'm running Oolite on my Open Pandora console, and recently installed towbar. Upon leaving the station and recovering the medical ship to the station (which was fantastic and think its a brilliant piece of kit!) Upon leaving the station again, I'm still trailing the towbar behind me! Nothing i do will clear it, if i tow another ship, it will behave normally, however when i leave the station, or "de-tow" a ship, the towbar still remains. Any ideas please?

[Norby]

Towbar is a fixed hardware by default, if you buy it then always show in the aft view right when you undock, but there are two related option in Scripts/towbar.js:

Code: Select all

this.$TowbarFixed = true; //show towbar if no towed ship also, false works as retractable
this.$TowbarShow = true; //false change it to an invisible tractor beam

I think you will change the first to false.