(Beta) Mining Contracts

[Amah]

Thanks diagoras for all your effort. Along with smugglers this oxp adds much to the immersion of my Ooniverse, like there's much more going on. People out there try to make a living beside of being a top gun.

[diagoras]

The pleasure is mine, Amah

Everyone, you may grab version 1.7 - now with basic ASC integration. Only hermit that you launch from with active contracts is added to it. I will think about something to make finding new hermits easier for a next version, maybe.

[Amah]

hhmh, maybe buy a system information data upgrade for the current system from Shipyard for the ASC, which only adds some Rockhermits

[diagoras]

Nah, we already have OXP for this - [wiki]Rock Hermit Locator[/wiki]. 15000 Cr is grievous for working class, but making something with same function only cheaper would ruin balance. Like spara proposed, there should be something that functions only for active miners and do not have permanent effect.

[Amah]

hmmh, the rh-locator is kind of a cheat for me, because it reveals all hermits. Actually I thought more of Smugglers.oxp approach, where you can buy the position of one Blackmarket (which happened to be a Rockhermit), the others are still not shown.

Anyway I am happy with every solution you come up with.

[spara]

Tying the information about the location of hermits to mining is an interesting game mechanic instead of just boringly buying the information. If developed further this could also open interesting possibilities for illegally obtaining the location of a hermit from a poor miner or bullying the player working as a miner for the location.

[spara]

Tested the new version (1.7) out with asteroid respawn from Asteroid Tweaks set to true and Miner Start. It's seriously getting very good, if you're into this sort of Ooliteing . Here's a short description of about 40 minutes of miner game play.

* Launched from Lave, followed the trader to Zaonce.
* Visually identified the first hermit and collected a hold full of minerals on the way.
* Signed a contract, emptied the hold and off to mining.
* Took a second contract.
* In about 30 minutes accumulated enough capital to buy some platinum and gold and headed for the main station.
* Mined minerals on the way and sold everything at the main station. Got just enough capital to buy the ASC.
* Headed back to the hermit using the ASC.
* Spotted another hermit on the way and sidetracked to it mining on the way.
* Signed a new contract and back to mining.

And a few notes as usual :

* Some debugging has been left active as entering the contract list throws "rockhermit" to the screen.
* The location of the first hermit was lost when saved and loaded at the second hermit.
* The signed contract screen needs some space between the terms and the choices below it. I suggest that you replace "Mining Contracts" heading with "Operating Contract" and remove "OPERATING CONTRACT" below giving more space. I love the fact that terms and conditions is so long giving a nice corporatish feel. If it could be in a small print, it would be perfect .

[diagoras]

OK, 1.8 is out much faster then I expected. Mining Beacon Descrambler is now available for purchase at Rock Hermits. This is primeable addon to Advanced Space Compass with following idea behind:

According to federal regulations, Rock Hermits are not transmitting publicly accessible beacons and thus are invisible on Advanced Space Compass - this is very understandable, if you take in consideration how many attention they attract from not very law-abiding commanders. However, miners need navigation too, so Interstellar Council of Mining Associations have invented compromise solution - Rock Hermits surrounded by five or more asteroids within scanner range are transmitting special scrambled beacon that can not be detected without dedicated equipment. Of course, this alone would not achieve anything because every navigation device eventually finds its way into welcoming criminal hands. That's why scrambling algorithm have been made cryptographically secure and requiring valid keys to operate. Interstellar Council of Mining Associations have established galaxy-wide key-changing scheme that is accessible only by active miners. With every ton of cargo miner is dispatching on contract terms local mining association renews his keys for 15 minutes. So, dispatching fully loaded Mining Transporter gives 3 hours of ability to locate hermits within asteroid fields. Take note, while descrambling keys are universal and can survive witchjumps, time that is skipped while jumping is lost.

When primed, press "b" to check keys expiration status, press "n" to scan system and add discovered hermits to ASC.

[diagoras]

* Some debugging has been left active as entering the contract list throws "rockhermit" to the screen.

Fixed in 1.8

* The location of the first hermit was lost when saved and loaded at the second hermit.

Irrelevant for a new system with primeable equipment.

* The signed contract screen needs some space between the terms and the choices below it. I suggest that you replace "Mining Contracts" heading with "Operating Contract" and remove "OPERATING CONTRACT" below giving more space.

Putting on the list for next version.

[spara]

What an interesting mechanic. I haven't tested thoroughly, but the cost seems a bit pricey. Currently it's defined to 87.5 credits and from the hermit I'm staying at it costs 393.7 credits (equipment factor 4.5). That's a lot of asteroids to bash for poor worker. Something in the range of 150-200 when bought from a hermit would feel more reasonable as the use is very limited and ASC alone costs 650.

[diagoras]

What an interesting mechanic. I haven't tested thoroughly, but the cost seems a bit pricey. Currently it's defined to 87.5 credits and from the hermit I'm staying at it costs 393.7 credits (equipment factor 4.5). That's a lot of asteroids to bash for poor worker. Something in the range of 150-200 when bought from a hermit would feel more reasonable as the use is very limited and ASC alone costs 650.

87.5 was decided by my cat jumping on the keyboard, so I don't have very strong attachment to this number Will change to 50 in the next version, that should give 225 at hermits equipment factor. That's 3-4 full loads of mining transporter - I think reasonable enough.

[diagoras]

Superfast update. Cheaper equipment and slimmer contract info screen.

[diagoras]

Bugfix release. Fellow scripters, take note - it's probably not a good idea to read clock attributes right after calling clock.addSeconds.

[diagoras]

Another bugfix. In previous version docking with rock hermit after changing system have been invalidating descrambling keys. Funny note - this bug was fixed by removing code only

[diagoras]

1.12 is out - grab it and enjoy!

a) Mining contracts are now offered on chaotically (but not pirate) aligned Rock Hermits too. Beware - due to shady nature of such places, they are not transmitting mining beacons and do not sell descramblers.

b) I have made average contract difficulty dependent on system government type. In less stable systems contracts are riskier - stricter deadlines, higher reward. If you'll find non-pirate hermit in anarchistic system, contracts there will be performance-critical and well-paid. On the contrary - corporate worlds will give you more boring jobs with sub-par payments.

c) I have removed requirement of having 5 asteroids within scanner range for rock hermits to transmit mining beacons. Digging out asteroids around your hermit and only then remembering that you have forgot to activate descrambler is too annoying. Now all lawful rock hermits are detectable even if asteroid field around them is depleted.