Deep Space Dredger

[spara]

They appear somewhat too frequent if bigships is installed at least.

That's a more general problem with BigShips. If the BigShip pool does not have enough variety, then you'll see the same ships too often. Liners OXP and Adck's Bulk Haulers OXP help, but IMHO BigShips would need a bit of a tune up. Maybe I'll take a look at it at some point.

[Welle242]

Hello.

I've used to play Oolite several years ago, but it seems my old aegidian account was lost in space. So I registered a new one.

I think I found a bug, maybe not in Dredger OXP itself. But something has changed since I last played the game (v1.76.1, btw).

Recently I installed a new build of Oolite (v1.82) and some of my favourite OXPs (Deep Space Dredger included). Hunted a ship (Trident Executive Shuttle), then shoot it until the pilot escapes and ship became derelict. Launched a salvage missile, followed the auto-piloted ship to the Dredger, got rid of several waves of pirates. But... on the final approach to the Dredger, the shuttle suddenly stopped, turned off the engine and never moved again. Oops.

I tried this again today. Same system, and Trident Executive again. For this time, all went just fine and I earned my bounty.

So I suppose that something has changed in the game mechanics since 1.76.1 and 1.82, because the derelicts sometimes got stuck on the final approach to the Dredger ship.

Sorry for bad English.

[Welle242]

P.S.

[Welle242]

I compared the Docking A.I. script (dockingAI.plist) for 1.76.1 and 1.82. Here's the difference:



So I changed the dredgersDockingAI.plist to

Code: Select all

...
    APPROACH = {
        ENTER = (recallDockingInstructions, "setSpeedFactorTo: 1.0", checkCourseToDestination);
        "COURSE_OK" = ("setSpeedFactorTo: 1.0", performFlyToRangeFromDestination);
        "DESIRED_RANGE_ACHIEVED" = (requestDockingCoordinates, "setStateTo: AWAIT_COORDS");
        "DOCKING_ABORTED" = ("setStateTo: ABORT");
        "COLLISION" = ("setStateTo: ABORT");
        "RESTART_DOCKING" = ("setStateTo: GLOBAL");
...
    "GO_TO_COORDS" = {
        ENTER = (performFaceDestination);
        FRUSTRATED = ("setSpeedTo: 0.0", performFaceDestination);
        "FACING_DESTINATION" = ("setSpeedFactorTo: 1.0", recallDockingInstructions, performFlyToRangeFromDestination);
        "DESIRED_RANGE_ACHIEVED" = (requestDockingCoordinates, "setStateTo: AWAIT_COORDS");
        "DOCKING_ABORTED" = ("setStateTo: ABORT");
        "COLLISION" = ("setStateTo: ABORT");
        "RESTART_DOCKING" = ("setStateTo: GLOBAL");
    };
...

So far so good - no more derelicts stuck on the way to the dredger. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Anonymissimus]

Sometimes it helps to repeatedly request docking clearance using key_docking_clearance_request. While they don't require it, that seems to stop them from moving away from the incoming derelict. May also help when docking yourself.
Docking yourself and buying something that costs some ingame time (e.g. fuel) also often "fixes" the problem, you get the message about successful salvage as soon as you undock, most of the time.

[Norby]

I changed the dredgersDockingAI.plist

Thank you, I applied your fix into v2.4.8 together with some waipoint handling. Please update and test it.

[Anonymissimus]

Whenever I try to salvage something to a super dredger, the auto pilot wreck goes into a "just move farther and farther away from the dredger in a straight line" mode when coming near to it. There is a way around this: Most of the time, docking with the dredger (normal or super) and buying something that costs time (e.g. fuel - always a good idea to fill it up when there's a chance to do so, even if it's expensive) causes the usual salvage message to appear after relaunch, money included. Works with any station IIRC, the dredger is just the nearest one. This is perhaps also a bug but as it's the workaround for the above bug shouldn't be fixed.

[Norby]

In v2.4.9 phkb converted subentity definitions to the new format to remove warnings from the log file.

[armadillozenith]

Hi! I just docked with a Dredger in Anlama system, very near the aegis. I have only resumed Oolite again this summer after some years, so checked on the Oolite wiki first, to be sure a Dredger really could be docked with and would not just swallow my ship into its maw as scrap!
(I think now I may have docked with one or more, long before.)

Anyway, the Dredger was advancing slowly and kept moving when I hit shift-L for docking protocol; it said 'come on in' or some such, but didn't pause and even seemed to begin turning as if to avoid me. I had some near misses (avoiding collisions), then found what worked was to get a fair bit ahead of it, very roughly in line, then to head slowly away - maintaining distance while looking in my rear view and repeatedly adjusting my direction of flight slightly until I had achieved alignment with the striped entrance channel. I stopped completely, and slewed round to again centre it. I hit shift-L again to be sure of a welcome! I could have just waited for it to reach me, but increased speed if impatient then slowed right down on entering; the Dredger's own forward motion is right for docking. Another plus is that, unlike stations, there is no spin to match - just line up.

[armadillozenith]

Hi! In Biarge system (Galaxy 1) I just fought a Gecko: Topher's Skua until its pilot, No Esesno (a human colonial from Ribiso) ejected; I then pursued and scooped up his escape pod. (Forgot to scoop the few bits of dumped cargo or debris, bah..)
Having recently acquired a Salvage Missile, I used it successfully on his derelict, and followed the auto-piloted ship without incident to Dredger: U.S.S. Titanic (several messages en route indicated that it was being awaited there). I watched from a safe distance of several kilometres as the salvaged ship finally manoeuvred to approach and enter the Dredger.
I then docked with the Dredger myself and was awarded 21 Credits for capturing the pilot, but nothing for the salvaged ship!
I bought another Salvage Missile, fuel and some alloys (cheap at 0.4 Cr/ton) then launched. Still no mention of a fee for salvage.
I redocked and launched twice, selling and rebuying alloy, still with no mention of a fee and with none showing in my account.

So I went to Biarge main station (and made a profit on the alloys).. again, no salvage profit.

Is this normal? Is it possible 'my' salvaged Gecko was rated as worthless?
Or might it have been destroyed on docking with the Dredger, unnoticed by me? Its approach seemed fine.
In either case, I would expect to have been told by some message.

Did I do something wrong?
Should I have been closer behind the salvaged ship when docking, myself?

[Norby]

The words in the wiki looks true based on the javascript code: "when the derelict ship docks save with a dredger an amount of money is transferred to the salvager" - so you should receive a message from the drone and the money right when it docks.

If not then I do not know what is the problem but alternatively you can salvage derelicts using Towbar.

[dybal]

Just docked at a DSD towing a Cobra Mark I
No message about salvaging after docking, and no ship being towed after I launched...
I was robbed!

[Cholmondely]

I don't understand the logic behind the Sabre fighters accompanying these dredgers:

they always seem to be trying to dance the Galeadean Gavotte (very, very poorly). Is this some sort of druidic defence strategy that normal mortals such as myself will never understand - or is it due to the psychology of guarding such gargantua in deep space?

And why is it always sabres - they seem rather useless otherwise (no cargo hold or obvious ability such as a mining laser to help the dredger) - and in my ooniverse, they never seem to appear anywhere else?

[Cholmondely]

I like red lobsters



Contrast...

Moved my response to the relevant thread!

Your second shot brings up a point I've been worrying over. The Deep Space Dredgers. They are supposed to be the vacuum cleaners of the Ooniverse, hoovering up detritus of battles etc.

But there never seems to be anything around them other than Sabres dancing maniacally in ever-decreasing circles. I feel that I have - once or twice only - seen the Dredgers in the middle of an asteroid field, but that's it. Just seems wrong.

Should there not be loads of detritus surrounding them, possibly damaging my ship if I go too fast ...

[Cholmondely]

Prying open the oxp, there are a number of references to something called a "Fury".

Does anybody know what these are?

Demoships.plist:

Code: Select all

(dredgertrader, dredgershuttle, dredgerdroid, "sabre-ds", "fury-ds")