[Release] Hints OXZ

[cbr]

The oxz manager download works but that wasn't the download i was referring to...

[phkb]

but if i enter and leave the bar in my neighborhood 10 times in 5 minutes
...they will call the friendly doctor

On the flip side, Oolite already has a reputation as being a hard game for new players. So, having an OXP that's designed to help new players learn new tricks and get tips on how to survive then punish you for "over-using" it, seems counter-productive.

Plus, there is a conceit implicit in the one screen of text that gets displayed. It only displays the overheard conversations - it assumes you went up to the bar, bought a drink, and then stayed long enough to overhear something of value, each and every time you go in.

[Cody]

... it assumes you went up to the bar, bought a drink, and then stayed long enough to overhear something of value...

Fast-forward the ship's clock an hour or two for each visit?

[Cmdr Wyvern]

Neat little oxp Is it still being worked on? If so, here's another blurb to add to it.

An aged Lizard lady, overheard speaking to a young companion...

"Bieng a fresh ink and all, you can be forgiven for being out of the loop. So a word of sage wisdom.
Thargoids. Utterly ruthless, utterly hostile. Magnitudes worse than pirates. It takes a peculiar breed of insane to engage them directly. Until you get some iron on your shiny new ship, do not engage. They'll chew you up faster than you can spit. Now, another drink?"

[Cholmondely]

Neat little oxp Is it still being worked on? If so, here's another blurb to add to it.

An aged Lizard lady, overheard speaking to a young companion...

"Bieng a fresh ink and all, you can be forgiven for being out of the loop. So a word of sage wisdom.
Thargoids. Utterly ruthless, utterly hostile. Magnitudes worse than pirates. It takes a peculiar breed of insane to engage them directly. Until you get some iron on your shiny new ship, do not engage. They'll chew you up faster than you can spit. Now, another drink?"

Thanks for this. Yes, I'll merrily bung it in the next version if I can work out what I want to do with it (or if I get another half-a-dozen submissions like this one)

Oh! And welcome back! You should find a pm lurking in your in-box outlining the latest developments...

[stranger]

Just found this OXZ using link from Roolite forum.
Cool idea, but I have some proposals.
Background image is too bright for comfortable reading. Needs to be dimmed. Demo image in starting post was much better, but not perfect too.
It will be nice to have two options - "Continue chatting" (maybe limited to 3 or 5 rounds to have some new info on the next visit) and "Leave the bar". Pressing Enter and Visit the Station Bar to see new tips is too frustrating.
There is potential for further development.
Different bar images in different tech / economy / govt systems (it will be not so easy due to copyright issues).
Specific gossips for specific locations. Rock hermits, for example, can be more competent in mining tips rather than in battle tactics and Navy officer vice versa.
Modular code for further development - it will be good to have optional addons with new gossips, like books for ship library. Some of this new advanced info can be available having enough progress and/or reputation. Contrabandista will let you into secrets of illegal trading more likely if you have some bad reputation, right?

[Cholmondely]

Just found this OXZ using link from Roolite forum.
Cool idea, but I have some proposals.

•Background image is too bright for comfortable reading. Needs to be dimmed. Demo image in starting post was much better, but not perfect too.

•It will be nice to have two options - "Continue chatting" (maybe limited to 3 or 5 rounds to have some new info on the next visit) and "Leave the bar". Pressing Enter again and Visit the Station Bar again to see more tips is too frustrating.

There is potential for further development.
•Different bar images in different tech / economy / govt systems (it will be not so easy due to copyright issues).
•Specific gossips for specific locations. Rock hermits, for example, can be more competent in mining tips rather than in battle tactics and Navy officer vice versa.
•Modular code for further development - it will be good to have optional addons with new gossips, like books for ship library. Some of this new advanced info can be available having enough progress and/or reputation. Contrabandista will let you into secrets of illegal trading more likely if you have some bad reputation, right?

Thank you! Super ideas! And your tips on the image are especially welcome! With a lot of help from our community, this dumb pilot managed to colour the conversations (making trialogues more evident, for example), and incorporate hints for specific oxp's which only showed up if those oxp's were present. Alas, too few tips were generated for the other oxp's. Massively Locked (my current partner in crime) pitched in with a few more ideas, but we're currently thinking of something else:

- we're currently thinking of incorporating this into the Life in the Frontier rejig (ML has produced alternative floorplans for Ico's & Dodo's, and has added to the churches, bookshops and encounters). At the moment we're stuck on making Rock Hermits believable, introducing more realistic bars/pubs and incorporating a Planetary Government "offices suite" (not for anarchies, of course).

The variety of different bars (see the LitF thread for listings) will necessarily involve different gossip depending on clientele - and the player will have to choose which bar to visit.

Current planning for LitF:
Phase 1)
•some time soon produce an Alpha version for feedback
•Beta version with the different vanilla game stations and a range of different locations (variety of bookshops, churches, bars, etc) - this would depend on the system's government type and predominant species.

Phase 2)
Incorporate all the oxp's involving station architecture (Diplomancy OXP's Embassy District, Smuggler OXP's Dockmaster's Office, GalCop security offices/kiosks for Bounty System OXP, etc). Also make F3 screen dependant on physically visiting a ship's chandlery or Murgh's on-station showroom!

According to ML, BeeTLe BeTHLeHeM's original code is top-notch, incorporating all sorts of possibilities (BB was introducing a role-playing element into Oolite - one can get wounded, build up a reputation, etc.).

[Cholmondely]

Just posting this here so it does not get lost.

1) Tip for when "Communications Pack A" is loaded.

To find a Rock Hermit - or a fuel-free jump to another system - just listen in to what other ships say about where they are going. Very useful for Rock Hermits. Very useful for long jumps.

2) Tip for when "Station Dock Control" is loaded

just see where the ships are going and request to launch just before or after them.

3)

I got rich doing parcel couriers and doing the fur/computer swap between rich industrial and poor ag on the way.

One tip tho, make sure you have the injector add on, and also use the "shortest route" mode on the chart to help you plan route. The reason for that being that, ideally, you want at least a third a tank of fuel whenever you jump to a new system in case of an over the top ambush. If you do multiple contracts at once you will soon see what I mean.

You could also start carrying energy bombs or quirium cascade mines, just make sure you don't launch them with vipers in range or you'll end up a fugitive potentially instantly.

It's also a really good idea to get good at combat against multiple targets at once. Get the shield boosters and extra energy unit. An ECM unit is mandatory. Once you can afford it, you'll want the military shield boosters as well. When you are targeted and you either don't want to or can't run away, get close to them quickly so they furball around you. As long as you don't fly straight they have a very hard time hitting you. Only ever fly straight while you are firing your laser, and only fire when you are 100% on target.

I also recommend you get lasers on your port and starboard sides. They come in very handy against ships that show you a generous amount of profile while flying next to you like the fer-de-lance, asp, and both types of cobra. Just remember that you will be steering up and down with roll instead of pitch while looking to either side of your ship.

As far as missiles, it's up to preference. I've found that either the regular or ECM types realistically only have a chance of a kill against pirates. Against the hit squads, you can expect them to have injectors to outrun your missiles as well as an ECM. The only thing missiles are good for against them is to get them off your back for a while.

Members of hit squads also tend to inject away when they get low on energy. Get good at sniping so you can kill them while they are running away. They'll be back in a minute after they've regenerated otherwise. They're cowards who refuse to meet their end with dignity, and its entertaining to watch them beg for their lives.

4)

You might want to also check you have got v1.82 (the latest version) not v1.80. 1.80 was recognised as being a bit too tough and somewhat un-balanced, and this was addressed in 1.82 which is much better in these terms.
There are quite a few new features in 1.80/1.82 which are worth noting. One of these is that assassins often gather at the witchpoint which might be what you are describing. These are linked to the Courier system, so if you are carrying packages you might have chosen un-wisely. Some of these look too good to be true, and they are. There are a lot of people out there happy to try to stop dodgy and suspect packages from being delivered, so look carefully at the offer and be a bit suspicious.
As for the graphics, yes the default ship set was changed in v1.80, with the old Elite-style ships being dropped in favour of the current set. The current set use the models from Griff's Normalmapped Ships OXP with textures by Capt. Solo but do not use full shaders, although they do have emission (glow) maps.
As the game should be playable on even quite modest computers these textures are still fairly basic, but for full graphical gorgeousness you have a couple of options. The full-shader version of Griff's ships is available, and a modern version of the old Elite-style ships (The Classic Ships OXZ) is also available for those who prefer a retro look to their game. Both are available from the in-game expansions manager.

5) https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13628 Trading Tips