Generation Ships 1.1 OXP

[UK_Eliter]

phkb:

I've given the new generation ship a spin with Interstellar Tweaks - i.e. with the hijacking scenario the latter provides - and everything works.

Here is me docking with a hijacked generation ship:



True, some Thargoids seemed unresponsive, but that's either a fault of my OXP or just possibly of the core game. Also, when docking at the generation ship, my side- and other views revealed a lot of openness-to-space around me. That's weird, but it was the case with the original model of the genship, I think.

I don't think you (phkb) have updated the ReadMe file or the credits in the manifest.

I do wonder whether something a little less brown might be better. Here (on Box) is my, er, uninspiring greyer version, which I have not tried in the game.

Also, the picture of a generation ship on this page seems to be a version I have never encountered.

[phkb]

I was really trying to get a rusted look. cbr managed to improve on it here - I’m hoping to get the setting from him so I can improve the look.

[UK_Eliter]

Right.

Would it be churlish to point out that space lacks water?

[phkb]

The effect of solar winds and centuries of micro-meteor strikes.

[cbr]

If this is the look you were aiming for, you succeeded...

To enable shaders on my main system, I have to add an emission or illumination map ( black ) no other changes for this screenshot.

[phkb]

Ah! Thanks for that. I’ll experiment a bit.

[phkb]

To enable shaders on my main system, I have to add an emission or illumination map ( black ) no other changes for this screenshot.

Hmm. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I added a black illumination map but can't get the look close to what you achieved.

Here's what I have in the materials for the cylinder, the illumination map just being a 512x512 black square. Does this match your version?

Code: Select all

        materials = {
            "genship_cylinder.png" = {
                normal_map = "genship_cylinder_normal.png";
                diffuse_map = "genship_cylinder.png";
                specular_color =  (0.15, 0.15, 0.15);
                gloss = 0.5;
                illumination_map = "genship_illumination.png";
            };
        };

[phkb]

I think I've gotten closer to it by making the specular_color closer to black. Does that sound right?



Looks much rustier.

[cbr]

Here is my current setting.

Code: Select all

materials = {
            "genship_cylinder.png" = {
                normal_map = "genship_cylinder_normal.png";
                diffuse_map = "genship_cylinder.png";
		illumination_map = "genship_cylinder_e.png";
                specular_color = (0.15, 0.15, 0.15);
                gloss = 0.5;
            };
        };

Code close enough, I should think. ( 1024 x 1024 illumination map )

I do have to rotate the generation ship in the gallery to show her best side

[Cholmondely]

Wood, gentlemen, wood!

Since I've never see one, it's pretty jolly academic. But... wood!

If we are going to go for wood, could I put in a plea for Mahogany? The idea of a  Chippendale-style space-ship does possess a certain allure. I would hope that Viscount Falkland's Generation Ship was made of mahogany, I'd be distraught if not.

[UK_Eliter]

Cholmondely, you might want to disambiguate that link before we end up with Generation Ships that feature, er, a different kind of wood! Also, I see from the other link that you are a 'strident sophist'; that's the best kind of sophist, of course - there's no point in being shy about it.

EDIT: and if you want to see a Generation Ship, then hang around in interstellar space more (ideally without Interstellar Tweaks installed, because that OXP reduces the changes of encountering one).

[Cholmondely]

Cholmondely, you might want to disambiguate that link before we end up with Generation Ships that feature, er, a different kind of wood! Also, I see from the other link that you are a 'strident sophist'; that's the best kind of sophist, of course - there's no point in being shy about it.

EDIT: and if you want to see a Generation Ship, then hang around in interstellar space more (ideally without Interstellar Tweaks installed, because that OXP reduces the changes of encountering one).

Oh dear! Done. But ... which of the 248 different versions of "Interstellar Space" are you referring to?

[Cholmondely]

Ideas for making more of the Generation Ships. Part 1

1) No Broadcast Comms interaction (due to lack of technology).
2) So how interact?
- is docking possible? (down to existence, size & technology of GS docking bays...)
- use RemLock equipment to exit own ship and enter GS (need to find airlock, and how return? tether own ship to GS? but how tether? Use Astronaut?
- interaction with crew/inhabitants... Language? Species of player vs Species of ship inhabitants... combat? taken captive? welcomed with great hospitality?
- inevitably brought to Captain/High Priest/Dictatorial Despot etc. - How sane is he/she/it?
- possible trade? buy food, liquors/wine, textiles, alloys, machinery, medicine, gold, platinum, gems etc? Sell "luxuries" (crafts, etc.) Are food/liquors/wine/medicine poisonous to them?
- drama on board GS? Rescue fair damozel (or lobster) and spirit her/it to safety?

Edited to add:
How could this be done?
- Life In The Frontier provides a template
- Or through Station Options:

As it stands, Station Options does all I need for Telescope and then some. I threw in the licence agreement page to test dynamic page loading (yah, I know, you didn't notice; few would. But the 'experimental' options page does not load until you accept and later, the licence page gets removed.)

Any oxp with a handful of options could use it, esp. those with expansive readme files which require the player to read the wiki or crack open the oxz. Having the info available at the station is more immersive. Station Options is driven entirely from the missiontext.plist file, so there's minimal coding involved.

I always had in mind that it could also function as a mission builder. Especially useful is the 'choice' option type, where in a given situation, the player could be presented with options/questions and the mission would proceed base on his input. If missions were structured like a tree (not linear), then they could be replayed yielding different results.

[UK_Eliter]

Cholmondely

Those ideas are fun - I for one would like to rescue a fair lobster - but I am not volunteering to try to implement them! Still, actually I have implemented docking with a generation ship, already: one can do this with the hijacked generation ship that lurks within one of my expansion packs. That said, one gets more or less immediately jettisoned, i.e. undocked.

[Redspear]

If they did have the technology to broadcast comms (given that we do now, at least crudely) and docking was at least briefly possible...

Bearing in mind they might not know of the situation in the 4rh millennium, but adaptive computers might be able to respond to it. The key development since generation ships having been the hyperdrive, not crude AI.

Automated distress signals

Mayday, Mayday.
Situation is urgent...
Energy critically low...
Main generator damaged...
Auto-repair systems require alloys and radioactives...
Please deliver to docking bay...
Repeat: alloys and radioactives to docking bay, situation urgent...

No payment but deliver X amount of each and your legal status might get a hefty push in the right direction.

Warnings

This is the Generation Ship Galactus.
Keep your distance.
Any unauthorized vessels docking will be destroyed.
The penalty for interfering with this vessel is marooning.
Keep your distance...

Dock and it's an escape pod moment... if you have one.

As for marooning, if firing upon or bumping into... Good excuse for a planetfall style launch from a distant asteroid but with no fuel, full fugitive status, need to acquire your own fuel independent if the station (maybe scoops could be available from a rock hermit if only your credit account and cargo hold hadn't been emptied...)

Mysterious

Corrupted AI or worse?

Welcome distance frigate
AAaaabsence urgent
Voidsquat turgid
Astrogate known anomaly
Hhhumannn blender food

Random event if you dock?

Thargoid takeover

Launches thargons

Unresponsive

If the warning message above was typical then even a lack of comms could be suspicious, but then how often does one encounter a generation ship?