[WIP] GalCop Missions

[phkb]

If it is the latest version (0.1.1) could I get you to send me (pm or post in this thread) a copy of your latest.log file?

[Damocles Edge]

It's unlikely to be your save file. I probably have the drain set too high on the range finder. One question though - what sort of ship are you flying?

Silly me regarding Naval Grid - I didn't realise that I didn't have the naval energy unit
I've stripped my ship (Boa Class Cruiser), sold it and bought another Boa Class Cruiser with Naval Energy Unit to enable buying naval grid (and at the same time fitted heavy duty energy generator).
Frustrating that I overlooked the matter of the naval energy unit (and over 300k cost to have the same ship with naval grid) - ahh well the black rainbow will have to wait in the dock for a bit ( a lot) longer
Just need to find some decent lasers now to replace the feeble beam lasers that are in it - sods law innit - I got all the add on's, bells & whistles but can't find even half decent lasers in 2 systems which are tech level 14 &15

[phkb]

I didn't realise that I didn't have the naval energy unit

I've got a new version in the works that should even our energy use in situations like that. It's a bit of a juggling act - I want the unit to be useful to players with any ship and configuration, but I also want to make using it a careful decision (rather than just turn it on and leave it on). Hopefully the new version will do a better job.

[Damocles Edge]

I've found it works best to switch the unit on, establish a target which has a "-) prefix, switch the unit off for around a minute (this will halt the scan, but keep the distance to target in the MFD), I then switch the unit on very briefly (for say 10 seconds) to refresh the distance and tell you whether you are still on the right track.
Repeating this process of refreshing around once a minute (or by using a short jump) in between scans works fairly well if you're patient.

[Bogatyr]

I scooped a black box from the aftermath of a battle, and it automatically put me on to a GalCop mission I didn't want (I was busy with something else), and I had to pay a penalty when it failed. Bug or feature?

p.s. thanks for this OXP! It would be nice for the pirate missions if there could be slightly more pirates spawned, because I ran out of time (and I was careful with time) after taking out 13 pirates once....

[phkb]

Bug or feature?

Well, a feature, obviously! Err... it may actually be a bug.

It would be nice for the pirate missions if there could be slightly more pirates spawned

I'm going the other way, of requiring fewer pirates to be destroyed, because I'm trying to avoid (as much as possible) messing with the populator routines. I'm also increasing the time allowance a touch.

New version on the way.

[Bogatyr]

]I'm going the other way, of requiring fewer pirates to be destroyed, because I'm trying to avoid (as much as possible) messing with the populator routines. I'm also increasing the time allowance a touch.

New version on the way.

Great, thanks!

[Bogatyr]

Collect Thargoid wreckage seems buggy. Sometimes the alloy I collect in interstellar space ups the count, sometimes it does not. I return to the source station with interstellar alloy in my hold, and try to do Hand in current load (partial), and nothing changes sometimes. If I then sell the alloy on the open market, the "mission status updated" appears and my running total is reset to zero!

[phkb]

ollect Thargoid wreckage seems buggy. Sometimes the alloy I collect in interstellar space ups the count, sometimes it does not. I return to the source station with interstellar alloy in my hold, and try to do Hand in current load (partial), and nothing changes sometimes. If I then sell the alloy on the open market, the "mission status updated" appears and my running total is reset to zero!

Hmm. There does seem to be a problem with this somewhere. I'll do some deep code diving and see what I can dig up. Thanks for reporting!

[phkb]

And confirmed. There is a definite bug with the Thargoid wreckage mission.

I'm thinking I'm going to rework all the "find Xt of specific cargo and return it" missions, so that (a) the mission is updated only when the cargo is handed in, (b) to have a "hand in current cargo and continue" option for all of them, and (c) turn off the time limits on these missions.

I'll get back with an update shortly.

[Bogatyr]

And confirmed. There is a definite bug with the Thargoid wreckage mission.

I'm thinking I'm going to rework all the "find Xt of specific cargo and return it" missions, so that (a) the mission is updated only when the cargo is handed in, (b) to have a "hand in current cargo and continue" option for all of them, and (c) turn off the time limits on these missions.

I'll get back with an update shortly.

Awesome! These are great missions, thanks for them! I especially like having a goal and motivation for when heading into interstellar space . I'd like to see more generous time limits on the pirate hunting ones, too. I think having some time limits are good (at least for the rescue ones, which gives an exciting sense of urgency).

I had another question: on the "deliver machinery to a stranded ship" missions, I've succeeded in 2/3 of these. In one, the stranded ship was drifting, and just seemed never to take the machinery, even when I tried to fly ahead of it and eject it into the approaching ship's path.

[phkb]

In one, the stranded ship was drifting, and just seemed never to take the machinery

Wha? (looks hastily at code) Um, just wow. I have no idea how that could have happened! My code say the ship has "Null AI", which should stop it from doing anything. I've added some extra protection in, and I'll do a few of these missions myself (I mean, I have done them before, but now I'll do a lot of them!) and see if I can trigger the condition.

Thanks for your feedback. If my tests go well I hope to get a new release out this week.

[Astrobe]

Maybe it's the result of a collision? The wiki suggests that inertia is counteracted only if the engines are used.

[phkb]

That would seem unlikely, given how far out of the way the ship is positioned. I actually just managed to get it to happen on my rig, so it's definitely a thing. Struggling to work out what might be happening at this stage. But the target ship just crawled by my ship at 40m/s, took the machinery I gave it but the mission didn't complete. Very strange.

[Bogatyr]

One more thing about the Thargoid wreckage -- it would be nice if the alloys from all thargoid warhips were accepted: pathinders, guardians, etc., since there are a lot more than plain warships in interstellar space (at least with some common OXPs installed?)

If you do make the change to only accept "handed in" alloys, would there be a way to distinguish between "mission alloys" and non-mission alloys? Because only very few alloys now even in interstellar space satisfy the mission (only the ones from actual "thargoid warship" ships, none of the other ones....)