Bulk Cargo Processor

[Damocles Edge]

I frequently have the need to dump cargo (especially since I traded my Cobra mk 3 for a Boa Clipper).
The reasons for this need are numerous - I do a great deal of mining together with an ore processor and will regularly dump and destroy the fragments with little value. I will also mine ships and end up taking on cargo from the mined ship which is illegal and would blemish my squeaky clean rep (only last night I took on 89t of firearms from a python that I mined and so had to sit there hitting shift +d 89 times (on a different note I have found that that the game some times switches what is being dumped when going through this repetitive process).
Is there anyway that a bulk amount of a cargo type can be jettisoned either by going through the F8 screen or say by holding Shift + D down for say 5 seconds and that this would jettison a big single container equal to the quantity dumped (in the same way that alloys fly from a ship being mined)?
It's just that jettisoning 89 or more containers and then flying around to destroy them all (my version of stellar housekeeping) so that you can determine what is useful cargo / asteroids etc becomes a huge chore.
I'm sure I can't be the only person with this minor gripe - how do other people handle it (I mean other than flying off and saying "ahh to hell with it!"

[phkb]

Creating a piece of primable equipment that can select a cargo type from the ones where you have cargo and either (a) dump it all, or (b) destroy it all, is certainly possible. If I get a chance over the next few days I'll have a go at something like this.

[phkb]

OK, here you go:  Bulk Cargo Processor, available from the download manager.

Not sure about what the cost should be. I've started this as 50cr, because I saw this as a rather basic piece of equipment, rather than a luxury item. Also not sure if there should be limitations on the ability to destroy cargo. At the moment I'm just zeroing out the manifest of the selected commodity, but maybe it should take time to destroy everything, like it takes time to dump cargo. Maybe there should be some alloys ejected for every 10ts worth of cargo destroyed, as a residue from the destruction process. Let me know what you think.

[Damocles Edge]

wow phkb !
Thank you
That was darn quick!
Having played a little with the oxp installed I have noted a few things.
Firstly I think I have OCD - hehe - I noticed this when first trying the eject option for mineral splinters (which at the time totalled 39) - I wanted to see if it ejected them as individual units or as one large lump (for want of a better expression), and realised several moments later that it pumps them out as single units at a steady rate - at this point OCD took over and i attempted to scoop them all back up but sadly could not account for 9!
But enough of my OCD, could this be a useful distraction tool when being attacked? If the game mechanics allow for it, it could be a useful ploy to have the unit eject a steady flow of low value mineral containers to tempt pirates to break off the attack and go for the cargo instead.
The destruction of cargo works great too and being able to destroy low value minerals makes mining a very attractive proposition in my boa clipper which currently has 142t cargo capacity due to other mods which take up 8t space. I am using asteroid tweaks set to 3x normal qty (with respawn active) and in many ways this add on makes the process of making money via mining too easy, although the market place quickly saturates with high levels of stock that I am flooding on to it.
I agree that it should take time to destroy the cargo rather than being instantaneous. Perhaps having an energy drain when destroying cargo might be an option - say maybe 1 bar of energy per 10t destroyed (this would make you more vulnerable when destroying cargo).
As regard the production of alloy when destroying stock this sounds like a good idea especially when considering players who are just starting out and will have limited cargo capacity.
I also had some thoughts for future development that are inspired by using the "Illegal goods tweak" oxp which basically gives the commander the option of coming clean with the authorities when docking and carrying illegal goods. I always bottle it at this point and hand them over and am rewarded with a few credits for my trouble.
This got me thinking what if you could use the BCP to act as a mercenary extension of the law.
For example whilst mining a ship which I have disabled or found. I find illegal goods, presumably the details of the ship and illegal cargo would be recorded before destroying them (basically doing what the "illegal goods tweak" oxp does but out in space, this information would be handed over to the police when next docking at main station. The police would then use this information to start investigating all known associates of that commander / ship (as the commander may have been squeaky clean as far as the authorities were aware up to that point and so this new information is invaluable to them (they only get it when I next dock - which is when I get paid also). You could then throw in a percentage chance that any ship that you encounter before docking maybe an associate /ally of the illegal goods commander / ship and even though initially appearing to be yellow / law abiding will start to attack you (this would of course turn them red) to prevent their criminal underworld from being exposed when you dock and transfer the info to police.
Perhaps a payment system that works in a similar fashion to the salvaging license maybe an option here (ie you can make a considerable amount of money doing the polices' work for them but you first have to pay your license dues).
I am just shooting out ideas here as to how it could develop and expand - no idea whether any of it is viable (or worth the headache).
The BCP works great as it is and I am chuffed to bits that I will no longer have to faff about ejecting and shooting cargo.
Thank you very much phkb, you're a star!

[phkb]

Thank you

You're welcome!

I wanted to see if it ejected them as individual units or as one large lump

For gold, platinum and gem-stones, it will put more than 1 unit into the ejected pod. For all others, though, each cargo pod is 1t only. So, yes, a steady stream will be the result.

it could be a useful ploy to have the unit eject a steady flow of low value mineral containers to tempt pirates to break off the attack and go for the cargo instead

Actually, the game will already do this, although you wouldn't need 50 odd containers of minerals. Dump just a few t's of cargo and it will likely tempt any pirates away from attacking you. The accepted wisdom is to use food, though, as it's the cheapest option. You can load up this "pirate kibble" from pretty much anywhere and it's always cheap.

Perhaps having an energy drain when destroying cargo might be an option

A good idea. Thanks!

[Cody]

Dump just a few t's of cargo and it will likely tempt any pirates away from attacking you.

That usually works, yes, but not with killer pirates - all they want is blood! <grins>

[phkb]

OK, version 1.1 now available. Now, destroying cargo will now take up some time (rather than being instantaneous). Energy will be used for the destruction process, and alloys will be dumped after each 10t of cargo destroyed.

[Damocles Edge]

Hi Nick
One thing I have noted tonight was when i mined a ship and picked up 92t of slaves was that I was unable to destroy them (err this casts me in a bad light when I say it like that )
What i mean is selecting destroy slaves followed by confirm resulted in "reconfirm destroy slaves", pressing "n" at this prompt resulted in no action.
Is this a clever in-built fail-safe to keep me away from the Nuremberg trials or does my BCP have a fault?
Other than this it works flawlessly.
Cheers
Keith

[phkb]

selecting destroy slaves followed by confirm resulted in "reconfirm destroy slaves", pressing "n" at this prompt resulted in no action.
Is this a clever in-built fail-safe to keep me away from the Nuremberg trials or does my BCP have a fault?

The idea was to have an additional safety check for destroying slaves, but it may be I didn't test this sufficiently. I'll do some more testing and get back to you.

[Edit] Yep, this was a bug on my part. Version 1.2 is now available, which will allow the destruction of slaves after an additional confirmation, and then lets you deal with your conscience on your own.

[Damocles Edge]

Just checked 1.1
All seems good, the only fly in the ointment seems to be that it does not appear to check when the quantity of the cargo specified to be destroyed has reached zero and switch off, instead it continues to destroy cargo of that type as soon as more is collected by the fuel scoops.
I've only checked this so far with mineral splinters from asteroid boulders but I assume that it would behave the same with other cargo types.

You know thinking about the killing of slaves issue, really this is a heinous act - should it not really result in a criminal or fugitive status?
But then again destroying escape capsules / slaves with your lasers does not result in criminal / fugitive status?
Hmm
Maybe this needs to be addressed in the main core of the game (you know if they paid more than just a few measly credits each I'd happily take 'em to the station).

[phkb]

the only fly in the ointment seems to be that it does not appear to check when the quantity of the cargo specified to be destroyed has reached zero and switch off, instead it continues to destroy cargo of that type as soon as more is collected by the fuel scoops.

Eek! Well, that's not right. And, yep, there's a bug. Thanks for all the testing! Version 1.3 is now available which fixes the "destruction process never turns off" bug.

Maybe this needs to be addressed in the main core of the game

The core game is trying to leave any right/wrong concerns up to players and/or OXP's.

[Damocles Edge]

Yeah - thinking about it you're absolutely right mate, after all if we followed this morale argument to it's conclusion (says the man who thought "why can't I destroy my slaves?") we'd end up getting a criminal / fugitive status for flying into the sun to rid ourselves of trumbles.
Thanks again for all your work in this oxp mate - it is much appreciated
I'll give 1.3 a spin later tonight and let you know my thoughts.

Keep up the great work!

[Damocles Edge]

Pleased to report from my end that all is working flawlessly with 1.3 I can now destroy sla... err minerals to my hearts content.
Slaves can also be destroyed (with the benefit of the extra warning before execution) - well I had 2 law breakers that I had separated from their ships, I could have taken them back for the reward, but in the interest of checking all way okay with the oxp, I decided to do it the Judge Dredd way.
The cut out at zero works to prevent future collected cargo being destroyed.
It's all good!
C'est Magnifique !
(I really need to stop watching the french election news)

[another_commander]

Although it started as a suggestion, this one quickly became an OXP discussion. Moved to Expansion Pack, as requested by phkb.

[phkb]

Version 1.5 has just been released (I sorta skipped 1.4!), which gives you the ability to stop a dump or destroy sequence at any time, just by pressing the "n" key again.