Oolite Wiki

[Cholmondely]

So that extension is what I thought it would be. I was even able to purchase it, then I was not able to activate/use it. It may be a hen/egg problem...

Definitely is! You need a HUD.oxp loaded which supports MFDs (I presume that the Vanilla game HUD doesn't), and you need to understand the use of the : and ; keys to control the MFDs.

Ummm errr what shall I say? Being a newcomer so hard that I do not even know you can use : and ; to control the MFDs.
I use them to yaw the ship...

EDIT: I am on a german keyboard layout, that may add another layer of difficulty. You might be referring to only one key?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... ny.svg.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... yboard.png

Hiran, I wish I could say something intelligent. The fact that I can cobble together a page on Keyboard Issues for the wiki does not mean that I really understand what all those wonderful people are saying! For keyboard issues like yours you need somebody else, I'm sorry. Try A_C_ or one of the other developers. Or better still, "pm" one of the people who sorted out an issue with another keyboard (like Reval or STyx) and see if you can reawaken their interest in matters Oolitic!

But the fault is not yours. I suspect it is due to the development of games generally. In the old days, games came with a manual with everything important in it. There is some truly superb material (.pdf's) in the Oolite download, but I suspect hardly anybody knows it is there or looks at it. One naturally gravitates towards the tutorial which is not written to teach about the oxp's - just about the vanilla game. And, of course, MFDs fall under the .oxp category.

I do feel that you hit the nail on the head with your analysis of how the wiki could work. There is a lot of excellent material on it, but when I first started looking at it seriously there were a lot of gaps, and it was not obvious how to navigate around if one did not know the specific term in the wiki for what one was looking for. I hope things are a little better now, but I suspect not all that much. I'm quite sure that people have difficulty finding what they want to know about when they search through it.

The first pageof the wiki is quite helpful, but I do wonder how many people go there first - or are aware of article linked to the icon on the Oolite main page. You are not the first person to be unaware of the : & ; keys. And while in the modern world one can produce material, one cannot be sure that people will see it - or recognise its significance. (And of course, even in the old days, there were many who never saw the manual - especially with popular games like Elite which were copied and passed around chums at school - just ask Cody).

[Cody]

... passed around chums at school - just ask Cody.

The only things being passed around when I was at school were reefers and magazines NSFW.

[Cholmondely]

For every ship, every equipment, every other item of the Ooniverse should exist a page with meaningful content.

Hiran, as we discussed in our PM's, I plan on pruning the optional optionals on the Oolite Equipment page (http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Oolite_Equipment.

Are there any that you added that you think (or does anyone else think) should be kept (as examplars of something different/unique on the equipment front). You'll notice that all of your additions failed to link to the appropriate pages already existing in the wiki. In many cases the page already exists. Alas in some cases, it can be next to impossible to find using the search function.

[Cody]

I'm not sure if the Maintenance Overhaul should be classed as optional.

[hiran]

Hiran, as we discussed in our PM's, I plan on pruning the optional optionals on the Oolite Equipment page (http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Oolite_Equipment.

Are there any that you added that you think (or does anyone else think) should be kept (as examplars of something different/unique on the equipment front). You'll notice that all of your additions failed to link to the appropriate pages already existing in the wiki. In many cases the page already exists. Alas in some cases, it can be next to impossible to find using the search function.

I created empty references since after all I know when there is something missing but I would not know the content of the page.
Read it like 'I know questions, but I do not know the answers'.

For the mission to create content for each and every item for Oolite you can safely remove what I created. I further support that the OXP documentation should be part of the OXP, and there is a process to make all this available in meaningful places.

• One of them is the wiki

• One of them is the in-Oolite ship manual

• there may be more...

[Cholmondely]

I'm not sure if the Maintenance Overhaul should be classed as optional.

Point taken. Ditto for fuel.

But in the threefold schema, there is nowhere else to put it, and it is part of the vanilla game, accessible through the F3 screen. It seems silly to give it a category of its own. But I have no strong feelings.

What would you suggest?

[Cody]

Fuel could be classed as optional. It's feasible to play the game either never leaving Lave space (mining, scavenging, bounty hunting - there are such players), or hitch-hiking one's way around the first octant. Take the Easy Start option, and more equipment becomes available, plus one would be in a safer, more interesting system. If only it was possible to hitch a ride on a galactic jump (the Easy Start option would help there), but alas, NPCs are never seen to do that (an OXP, anyone?). The Maintenance Overhaul requires more thought - and Sunday dinner is calling!

[Cody]

I've made a tiny edit to the description of the shields, and it's worth noting that view screens can also be selected by a hat-switch on a joystick.

[Cholmondely]

Fuel could be classed as optional. It's feasible to play the game either never leaving Lave space (mining, scavenging, bounty hunting - there are such players), or hitch-hiking one's way around the first octant. Take the Easy Start option, and more equipment becomes available, plus one would be in a safer, more interesting system. If only it was possible to hitch a ride on a galactic jump (the Easy Start option would help there), but alas, NPCs are never seen to do that (an OXP, anyone?). The Maintenance Overhaul requires more thought - and Sunday dinner is calling!

Hoping you survived your Sunday dinner.

Surely, in the same way that fuel is optional, so too is the Maintenance Overhaul. If you want to run your Cobra into the ground, nobody other than your crew is going to stop you (and even then, reading Captain Hesperus ...).

Stranger wrote about people who never do their maintenance overhaul since all it affects is misjumps:

Ship dynamics as function of technical state

The so-called serviceLevel parameter is mostly hidden from the player. Starting from a value of 100 it gradually decreases with every hyperjump to 75 and remains frozen at this 75 value until the next renovation/maintenance servicing of the ship. The only visible effect is the decreasing sales price of the ship.

Why I must pay 1...1.5% of ship price (1500+ credits for Cobra Mk III!) for just a cosmetic renovation if I don’t have plans to sell my ship now or in the nearest appropriate system?

Well, serviceLevel affects malfunction probability too: so in real reality you’ll want to invest in your own security if misjumping – sooner or later due to poor maintenance – is not your favoured option. But in the game you always have the save/load option. So an increased malfunction probability is not enough motivation, and I know players who never spend money for a ship maintenance overhaul. The situation will be different if ship performance will be a function of the ship's technical state.

If you have a vanilla Cobra Mk III, for example, it has maximum speed of 350 and an energy recharge rate of 4.0. The ship technical state degrades over time from an initial 100 points to 75 points. The maximum speed of unmaintained Cobra is now reduced to 328, the energy recharge rate to 3.5. Wear & tear effect also affects the fuel collection rate. If you have fuel collection rate of 1.0 LY/min in a vanilla Cobra Mk III, the fuel collection rate of a highly used Cobra now drops to 0.8 LY/min.

Next example, maybe more obvious. You just switched from your old good Cobra Mk III to a Cobra III XT. She is pretty: max speed 375, thrust 36 and energy recharge rate 4.5. Well, if you’ll avoid regular maintenance, its performance will degrade to a speed of 352, thrust of 32 and energy recharge rate of 3.9 – almost similar to a regularly maintained Cobra Mk III. So the only your advantage in battle will be an energy capacity of 320 instead of 256 – and maybe the 6 missile hardpoints instead of 4.

Commander Jameson, the Ooniverse is not as friendly personally to you as you like to think. Do regular maintenance to restore your ship's maximum performance!

[Cody]

Lack of fuel doesn't degrade one's maintenance level. I'm not sure whether hitch-hiking degrades one's maintenance level. It should. Devs?
However, as you wish - I only said fuel could be classed as optional. I still think the Maintenance Overhaul shouldn't be.

But in the game you always have the save/load option.

Not if one is playing Ironman, as some do.




Dinner has been delayed, as the GF had to go out.

[Cholmondely]

Lack of fuel doesn't degrade one's maintenance level. I'm not sure whether hitch-hiking degrades one's maintenance level. It should. Devs?
However, as you wish - I only said fuel could be classed as optional. I still think the Maintenance Overhaul shouldn't be.

But in the game you always have the save/load option.

Not if one is playing Ironman, as some do.

I've added a rider to the section which I hope will satisfy us both. And thanks for tweaking!

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Ummm errr what shall I say? Being a newcomer so hard that I do not even know you can use : and ; to control the MFDs.
I use them to yaw the ship...

Hiran, I've rejigged the Oolite Equipment page to try and answer your comments. Could you have a quick decko and let me know if it's any better?

[Cholmondely]

Oolite Trading page (http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Oolite_Trading)

Unhappy with this page. Seems too long-winded and not Oolite specific.

I suspect that despite the title (Oolite Trading), much of the advice was filched from "The Space Traders Flight Training Manual" from Classic Elite.

I'd like to rewrite (unless someone else is desperate to!) and include the new key-commands for the F8 screen. Bung the Classic Elite content on a new page for Classic Elite.

Any comments?

[Cody]

I've added a rider to the section...

Midnight Rider?

[hiran]

Hiran, I've rejigged the Oolite Equipment page to try and answer your comments. Could you have a quick decko and let me know if it's any better?

Looks better to me indeed.
I'd be able to find my way through, and some of the wisdom shared in the chat has made it's way into the wiki. Very helpful.

[hiran]

I'd like to rewrite (unless someone else is desperate to!) and include the new key-commands for the F8 screen. Bung the Classic Elite content on a new page for Classic Elite.

While I know classic elite I never played it much (I did not have the game for the computer my father bought).
But I liked the gameplay, and thus now like Oolite. However games today are different from that time, and Oolite would waste a lot of it's potential if it were tied to just be an Elite clone.

Therefore I like the idea document Oolite as an own entity.