[Release] Spicy Hermits

[Cody]

Spicy Hermits - is its main purpose to make finding rock hermits easier? Or to add 'spice' to the game for experienced commanders?

[Fritz]

The latter is probably not worth the effort without the former.

[spara]

Spicy Hermits - is its main purpose to make finding rock hermits easier? Or to add 'spice' to the game for experienced commanders?

I'm just juggling ideas here . Now that the hermits seem to hold their places for eternity, it looks like a lot more sensible to just add beacons to found hermits so that the player gets a chance to build a network of hermits. Adding a beacon would be automatic when the player is close enough to a hermit to target it.

I have another idea about finding the ships going to the hermits. A pirate could broadcast something like "I'm heading home", a smuggler could message "I'll get a good price at hermit" and miner could say after launching from the station "Off to mining base" or something. So paying attention to messages might reveal something.

[Fritz]

I think I've found my first one... quite a number of ships around it. I've pause the game because I'm busy doing something else, but I'll see later...

[Norby]

pirates rarely seem to go anywhere

Check this in pirate AI:

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   condition: ai.conditionGroupHasEnoughLoot,
   /* Find a station to dock at */

So try dump many canisters.

[Fritz]

A pirate could broadcast something like "I'm heading home", a smuggler could message "I'll get a good price at hermit" and miner could say after launching from the station "Off to mining base" or something. So paying attention to messages might reveal something.

That's how you can find normal hermits with Comms Pack A. I mostly hear it from Orbital Shuttles and Worms launching from a main station and going to a hermit.

So try to dump many canisters.

Sacrificing some tons of food or minerals is a small price if you can find much more at the station...

[spara]

A pirate could broadcast something like "I'm heading home", a smuggler could message "I'll get a good price at hermit" and miner could say after launching from the station "Off to mining base" or something. So paying attention to messages might reveal something.

That's how you can find normal hermits with Comms Pack A. I mostly hear it from Orbital Shuttles and Worms launching from a main station and going to a hermit.

Hmmm. It's them miners being more talkative I suppose, so you can identify them more easily and deduce that they are heading home.Nope. It's them saying where they are heading.

The messaging thing would definitely work. I'll dig into it deeper, there's oolite_selectedStation communication hook to tap into when a ship decides to head for some station.

I've got the beacon saving feature working, if it's of use. The idea is that, when you've found the hermit, you don't need to search for it again. And the beacon will stay over jumps and saves. I think I'll ditch the probing thingy and try to work something from the comms.

[Fritz]

Ok... here is my first impression:

I met this in Laxema system in G4:



Looks dangerous. But I see a way of instantly destroying it!

My ship wasn't in very good shape, so I decided to go to the station first. I passed the hermit within a distance of about 15 km, and I wasn't attacked. So far, so good.

Then I arrived at the main station:



All ships I checked were clean. And my docking queue position was 35. I assume some connection to the OXP...

[Fritz]

Still 35... no one seems to dock... many pilots are complaining about the delay, drunk out bars, schedules and rotting cargo... something must be stuck.

[spara]

Interesting. I'm not adding any clean ships, only pirates . Perhaps all clean ships are scared of the pirates the oxp has added . And you reminded me, that I'll have to work some mine sweeping mechanic.

[Fritz]

It could be that all the ships gathered in front of the station because the queue is blocked. I had been in the system for a while, so there would have been enough time for it.

Edit: Two of them just collided, but they are 40 meanwhile. This will be a massacre sooner or later... I need a solution!

[Cody]

Cancel your docking clearance - that has worked for me when there's a jam (though not of that size).
Failing that, attack the station and cancel everyone's docking clearance. <grins>

I'll have to work some mine sweeping mechanic.

Yeah, make 'em immune to QCMs and other WMDs.

[Norby]

I need a solution!

ILS? If you install this OXP but not buy the equipment then all you will get is docking queues will finish faster. I think it should help even if the core docking AI stucked.

[Fritz]

@spara: I don't know if it's important, but I found entries concerning the traffic jam in my log file, long before I had seen or targeted the rock hermit:

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19:34:06.420 [station.launchShip.failed]: Cancelled launch for a Asp Mark II with role assassin-heavy, as the GalCop Station Laxema 1 has too many ships in its launch queue(s) or no suitable launch docks.

There are other hints of any malfunction in the log.

[Cody]

Hmm... 11,700 for a maintenance overhaul, which takes 32 hours, eh? Very cool! Not only that, but I've just been given a flying lesson by an ace in an Adder! They've got me trapped in their rock hermit, the fiends! It seems I'm gonna have to fight my way out... but then I did have to fight my way in! <chortles>


Unrelated question: you can save at rock hermits, but you can't edit the ship's registration... is that correct?