Her Imperial Majesty's Space Navy

[Pleb]

I happened to be close to Xeusreor, so I jumped over there for a look round. The Navy station was in the GalCop aegis, very close to the main station, and did not challenge me as I approached. The log threw five of these, btw:

Code: Select all

01:39:53.348 [script.javaScript.exception.unexpectedType]: ***** JavaScript exception (himsn_station_defender_ai.js 0.2): TypeError: this.homeBase is null

Edit to add: the Navy station is now challenging me on approach.

I've forgotten to amend in the AI scripts that I changed the roles for the stations...I will fix this later tonight, sorry!

Yes, though only until the next AI reevaluation for a JS AI. If you're just trying to keep them at 7km distance, then it'll probably be enough, though. However, if the ship has escorts, the escorts at the next reevaluation will pick up that the mothership is in a fleeing state with a ship targeted, and may well attack to cover its escape...

Setting a destination and getting them to fly there at top speed is probably more reliable, though still might not work in certain cases.

Plist AIs are trickier - it'll certainly get them to run, but there's no guarantee that anything in the plist AI will then respond correctly to the AI events once safe distance is reached, so they might just end up dead in space afterwards until something "expected" like an attack interrupts them.

Perhaps for the purposes of this test I will set the ships to select a destination and fly away for now - when a cruiser is developed for an actual release maybe having it have a small dock for shuttles would be the best course of action, and setting the cruiser to have a restricted allegiance. It would also make more sense for the cruiser to have shuttles, as otherwise how would people get to and fro?

[Smivs]

It would also make more sense for the cruiser to have shuttles, as otherwise how would people get to and fro?

Well you certainly can't dock it!
When Warland and Holf Shipyards developed the Victoria class cruiser it had to go through a series of OoroNCAP crash tests and one of these involved a simulated docking with a full-scale model of a Coriolis station.



It didn't fit too well

[Pleb]

Haha, that's priceless that picture!



What about your carrier that you made, does that have a dock on it? Looks like there's one on the side?

[Smivs]

I think it has three. There is a 'dock' aft (like the Behemoths) and it does seem to have two side docks as well, although the 'holes' are smaller than the aft dock and they are hexagonal.
The model is by Storm, and as far as I know there are no dock models for it yet. Storm sent me the main model a long time ago while this project was still in its early days, mainly so I could start looking at texturing options, but it's likely he hadn't done anything about the docks other than incorporate the 'holes' in the main model. Perhaps we need to contact him?

[Diziet Sma]

When Warland and Holf Shipyards developed the Victoria class cruiser it had to go through a series of OoroNCAP crash tests and one of these involved a simulated docking with a full-scale model of a Coriolis station.

It didn't fit too well

Yes.. not like in the old days, eh?

[Pleb]

I think it has three. There is a 'dock' aft (like the Behemoths) and it does seem to have two side docks as well, although the 'holes' are smaller than the aft dock and they are hexagonal.
The model is by Storm, and as far as I know there are no dock models for it yet. Storm sent me the main model a long time ago while this project was still in its early days, mainly so I could start looking at texturing options, but it's likely he hadn't done anything about the docks other than incorporate the 'holes' in the main model. Perhaps we need to contact him?

I definitely do like this carrier, and I think the Navy should have at least one, even if it is very rarely seen outside of missions. Ideally I'd like the cruiser to be a bit smaller than the carrier, kind of about half the size of the Thunder Child. I do like the Thunder Child, but as Cody pointed out it is a bit on the large size at the moment.

I've fixed the error Cody spotted caused by roles being changed. I've also adjusted the station's position to ensure there is significant distance between it and the main station, so it does not end up in the main routes or in the main station's aegis. I've also improved on the AI for the cruiser so that if you hang around near it, only it's escorts should now engage you. It will only engage you if you attack it. I've also improved the code for NPCs that go near the cruiser, so that they will just set a course away from it at top speed. I've also randomised the cruiser location for systems with a station in it, as before it was only randomising cruiser locations in non-station systems and always putting cruisers on the witchpoint-planet route.

Download Test OXZ

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what the logo/emblem for the HIMSN should be?

[Cody]

The target reticles around the Navy Asps are rather large (the Sidewinders are fine) - otherwise, it's looking good.

Smivs had an early logo design. I'll have a think too, but I suck at graphics.

[Pleb]

Ah I saw this on the Thunder Child and wondered if there was a plain version of it! I'm not sure what's causing that reticle so big though?!

[Cody]

If the logo is going on a white/light background, I'd suggest a darker colour - blue, perhaps.

[Pleb]

This might stand up against white a bit easier? Has a navy kind of feel to it (As it's navy blue )...

[cim]

I'm not sure what's causing that reticle so big though?!

The reticle matches the collision radius of the ship. Check for stray model vertices or subents.

Regarding the logo, the Constrictor in many of the shipsets (including those shipped with Oolite) has an Ω symbol on it. What that might represent and why it's on the paintwork... something that may or may not be answered in this OXP, I suppose.

[Cody]

... the Constrictor in many of the shipsets (including those shipped with Oolite) has an Ω symbol on it.

I've always liked that Omega symbol on the Constrictor.

[Pleb]

This is what the reticle for the Navy Asp and Sidewinders look like to me, but I am using Griff's (shadered) shipset. However that is the normal patrols, the station defender Asps look like this:



They both use the same model and the entries in the shipdata.plist file are nearly identical:

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	"himsn_station_defender" = 
	{
		"ai_type" = "himsn_station_defender_ai.js";
		"escorts" = "2";
		"escort_role" = "himsn_escort";
		"escort-ship" = "himsn_escort";
		"like_ship" = "himsn_asp";
		"roles" = "himsn_station_defender";
		"script" = "himsn_ship.js";
	};
	
	"himsn_light_patrol_leader" = 
	{
		"ai_type" = "himsn_patrol_leader_ai.js";
		"escorts" = "4";
		"escort_role" = "himsn_escort";
		"escort-ship" = "himsn_escort";
		"like_ship" = "himsn_asp";
		"roles" = "himsn_light_patrol_leader";
		"script" = "himsn_ship.js";
	};

So only the station defending Asps have this large reticle for some unknown reason...

I have just noticed a fault though with the heavy patrols and the Griff shipset - the Navy Anaconda uses the normal Anaconda as the template, and uses the escort_role function to define escorts. But the Griff shipset Anaconda uses the escort-ship function to set escorts, so instead of Navy Sidewinders it has normal Cobra Mk1's, but with scan classes set to CLASS_MILITARY (as it always copies from the mothership). Obviously this won't be an issue when it uses its own standalone entry, but as I'm currently using a template (due to having no models) this obviously causes an error when using the Griff shipset. I have added a second entry using the escort-ship function underneath the escort_role to fix this, and will include this in the next change when reuploading the OXZ.

Regarding the logo, the Constrictor in many of the shipsets (including those shipped with Oolite) has an Ω symbol on it. What that might represent and why it's on the paintwork... something that may or may not be answered in this OXP, I suppose.

I suppose the Ω symbol could be the HIMSN intelligence symbol? Looks secretive enough, and I'm currently using the Constrictors as recon vessels that are hardly ever seen...

EDIT: I just had a thought, maybe the Constrictors should only appear after doing the Constrictor stock mission? Otherwise might get confusing...

[Thargoid]

The defender asps might be gaining a virtual dock subentity like your buoys were due to their roles again containing the word station? That dock would be large.

[Cody]

I suppose the Ω symbol could be the HIMSN intelligence symbol? Looks secretive enough, and I'm currently using the Constrictors as recon vessels that are hardly ever seen...

SIS are known to use Constrictors for covert ops.

I just had a thought, maybe the Constrictors should only appear after doing the Constrictor stock mission? Otherwise might get confusing...

Absolutely... and they should be rare (and not painted white).