newbie questions

[ralph_hh]

Two more simple quistions from a Elite veteran / Oolite beginner (32 kills...):

- Can I somehow increase the time the messages are displayed? They seem to vanish the instant they appear and I start getting annooyed hitting the messages log key every time...

- Given a carco contract, the map shows me a route. Is the the shortest one or the fastest one? The time needed told by the contract text... If I take long haul hyperjumps, is that ok or do I have to take care to minimize the time by doing short jumps? Does this time estimate include everything like docking time in every station or just added hyperspace jump time?

- Is there anything a Techlvl 12 planet does not offer? I visited a Lvl 13 which had no more options, anything beyond that?

[cim]

- Can I somehow increase the time the messages are displayed? They seem to vanish the instant they appear and I start getting annooyed hitting the messages log key every time...

It's possible to make the comms log permanently on by editing the HUD definition.

- Given a carco contract, the map shows me a route. Is the the shortest one or the fastest one? The time needed told by the contract text... If I take long haul hyperjumps, is that ok or do I have to take care to minimize the time by doing short jumps? Does this time estimate include everything like docking time in every station or just added hyperspace jump time?

If the route is yellow, it's shortest, if blue, it's fastest. The time given for the route itself on F6 is just for the jumps; the contract page also includes a small amount of time (1 hour, I think) in each system for docking and refuelling.

Generally if you're only taking a single contract at once you shouldn't need to optimise your route too much - it's when you have ten at a time with destinations spread across thirty light years that you really need to care.

- Is there anything a Techlvl 12 planet does not offer? I visited a Lvl 13 which had no more options, anything beyond that?

[wiki]Oolite_Equipment[/wiki] has a list of all the standard equipment - there are a few items which can't be got at TL12 (and there may be others in OXPs)

[Diziet Sma]

Generally if you're only taking a single contract at once you shouldn't need to optimise your route too much - it's when you have ten at a time with destinations spread across thirty light years that you really need to care.

And by "ten", cim means 3 or more.. (to some extent, it depends how far off the optimum route you have to diverge to fulfil intermediate contracts, but the more you take on, the more careful you need to be.

[ralph_hh]

How many of these contracts do I have to finish before I get to the high class ones transporting gold etc? It seems a bit strange to transfer a cargo 10 or so planet jumps, and be rewarded not much more than what I get during 2-3 standard trade runs... Not to mention the fact that a Cobra III is somewhat limited in the choices with just 35t cargo.


yet another question:
If I ALMOST destroy a ship and this ship then leaves my scanner range. If I find this ship again by jumping forward. Is this ship then still have destroyed or does the computer generate this ship new?

[Smivs]

If I ALMOST destroy a ship and this ship then leaves my scanner range. If I find this ship again by jumping forward. Is this ship then still have destroyed or does the computer generate this ship new?

It will still be the same ship. If it has been weakened in combat it will still be week, but does recover in the same way your ship does, so if you take some time catching up with it it will be stronger than when you last saw it,or even fully recovered. It will even still be 'out there' if you dock and re-launch.
Also, this is true of derelicts. If you cause another pilot to eject, the derelict (and escape capsule) will persist all the time you are in the system (unless another ship intervenes). This can be useful - if you cause a pilot to eject when you have a full hold you can go to the main station, unload your cargo, then go back and (if you can find it again) destroy the derelict ship and salvage its cargo, and maybe even track down the enemy pilot in his escape capsule if nobody else has rescued him.

[Diziet Sma]

How many of these contracts do I have to finish before I get to the high class ones transporting gold etc? It seems a bit strange to transfer a cargo 10 or so planet jumps, and be rewarded not much more than what I get during 2-3 standard trade runs... Not to mention the fact that a Cobra III is somewhat limited in the choices with just 35t cargo.

It depends.. your reputation improves with each successful delivery, but will degrade over time.. there's a small random factor involved too. I believe it's possible to achieve maximum reputation with 7 deliveries, if you're quick and lucky. I've generally found with a Cobby it can take a dozen or more contract jobs.. depending on how lucky you are in scoring another contract soon after completing one. The not-very-profitable ones are really just the price you pay for building a reputation. It helps to have a bit of a funds buffer saved up before you start, to tide you over through the lean period. Once your rep is maxed, the juicy jobs will be offered to you, though some of the really big ones you probably still won't have enough funds to cover, to begin with. If you want to have some idea how you're doing, you can install the Display Reputation OXP.

[ralph_hh]

The display is a nice idea, thanks for that!
I made 4 jobs or so I think. Funds is no problem, I was a patient trader for a while.
So, if you need only 7 jobs, that's ok. I was afraid about s.th. like 50..100

So if that rating does not degrade too fast, I'll see.


Great Forum, this, by the way. You rarely get very polite and very helpfull answers that quick in a Forum.

[Cody]

Great Forum, this, by the way. You rarely get very polite and very helpfull answers that quick in a Forum.

We're pretty good at that - and look out for parcel contracts too, as they can be free cash.

[Diziet Sma]

Great Forum, this, by the way. You rarely get very polite and very helpfull answers that quick in a Forum.

Well, we love the game, we love helping others to enjoy it too, and we pride ourselves on that friendly, helpful attitude.. when we say "the friendliest board this side of Riedquat", we mean it!

[Diziet Sma]

and look out for parcel contracts too, as they can be free cash.

Although, if you get too good at them, you'll end up like Cody, who has his own permanent escort fleet of about 30 assassins following him around, trying to take him down.. (not everyone likes what you're carrying in some of those parcels.. evidence for court cases, and whatnot)

[Cody]

... if you get too good at them, you'll end up like Cody, who has his own permanent escort fleet of about 30 assassins following him around, trying to take him down..

<grins> Even tracked me across the Great Rift, they did - and although my courier rank has dropped from Ace to Impeccable*, they're still after me!



*I've been idling while testing stuff lately!

[Diziet Sma]

... if you get too good at them, you'll end up like Cody, who has his own permanent escort fleet of about 30 assassins following him around, trying to take him down..

<grins> Even tracked me across the Great Rift, they did - and although my courier rank has dropped from Ace to Impeccable*, they're still after me!

<chuckles> Well.. mob bosses tend to have unforgiving natures.. and long memories..

[ralph_hh]

Reading through tons of stuff here, I stumble across a lot of funny equipment and other things.
New space staion designs, beautifull planets, scatter-missiles, I-missiles, Q-missiles, jellyfisch, escort jobs, a display that shows a potential target's bounty, a pirate station which can be attacked, ...

I guess most of it is content of some OXP, isn't it? Or am I to find most of this things as soon as I venture deeper into the galaxies?

Is there a list of suggestions / recommendations for those OXPs? Looking at the list, it's probably not possible to try them all oneself... (At least I managed to change the laser-hit sound now, so that I know if i am blasting holes into space or into a space ship)

[Smivs]

Is there a list of suggestions / recommendations for those OXPs? )

There are a couple of lists on the wiki, but they are more various Commanders' personal favourites than recommendations.
As a general rule though, stick to eye-candy to start with, untill you are happy that you have really started to understand the game. After that you can add in expansions that appeal to you based on their descriptions or recommendations, and add them one by one learning what each does before adding others. Many can have un-expected and un-welcome (to some) features and this way allows you to fully understand what each is doing and how it is affecting the game.

[Venator Dha]

Is there a list of suggestions / recommendations for those OXPs? )

One thing to do is when you find an OXP you like, check out any others from the same author, as each has a style and you could like others they have done. The trick is to not install too many at anytime, as then you will not necessarily know where something you don't like has come from
I have a vision for my Ooniverse and what I want from the game, this can mean being very hard and not having some good OXP's as they don't fit - Of course I can always change my mind