Confused but willing to learn

[draytalon]

Ok guys, I'm somewhat confused on the info out there. I would like to try and create an OXP/OXZ for the game, I have ideas, in my grey matter, but what do I need to implement this. What tools are required

[Cholmondely]

Probably best if you start with a description of what you'd like to have a stab at.

It's usually recommended to start with tweaking the bally things, and start learning the ropes that way.

References:
The Dark Side
How to tweak OXZ's

OXP (Creating an OXP)
OXP howto

You will need some sort of text editor which does not introduce hidden code into the text files (which gives Oolite a major case of constipation)!

Be aware that there are several different "languages" involved. The Legacy scripts (XML & OpenStep) and the newer JavaScript. And then there are the .plists...

[draytalon]

Probably best if you start with a description of what you'd like to have a stab at.

It's usually recommended to start with tweaking the bally things, and start learning the ropes that way.

References:
The Dark Side
How to tweak OXZ's

OXP (Creating an OXP)
OXP howto

You will need some sort of text editor which does not introduce hidden code into the text files (which gives Oolite a major case of constipation)!

Be aware that there are several different "languages" involved. The Legacy scripts (XML & OpenStep) and the newer JavaScript. And then there are the .plists...

Well thanks Cholmondely, guess it's back to school for me, oh boy, lol

[Cody]

You are about to enter the Twilight Zone!

[Cholmondely]

I've no idea how much you know about this sort of thing.

But.

Part of our original lead developer, Aegidian's, original motivation in creating Oolite was "to get people to programme". And a number (such as Murgh) learned programming thanks to him. The legacy languages (especially OpenStep) are much easier to use than Javascript.

But Javascript is much more flexible, and one can do much more interesting things with it. Hence Jens Ayton/Ahruman (our second lead developer) and another_commander (a_c) drove themselves nuts incorporating it into Oolite. It proved to be a major back-breaking exercise and hence has never been updated to newer (and more flexible) versions of Javascript. But more and more of Oolite has been made "scriptable" over the years.

Some things are still not alterable - eg the 7ly jump limit (regarded as game-breaking if tampered with) - the links in my post above will have further links discussing this if it is relevant to you.

I - like Cody - am just a dumb pilot. The current active experts on this sort of thing include a_c, Phkb, Redspear, Montana05 & Alnivel.

I've been trying to edit the wiki pages (despite my ignorance of the subject) to make them more useful. Do let me know of any failures!

[Cody]

One tool you'll probably need is a brick! See the first item in the Miscellaneous section of  this page.

[Redspear]

guess it's back to school for me, oh boy, lol

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Meanwhile, Cholmondely's links are a great place to go a-huntin', as is this once you're ready for it (not needed for the simpler of oxps).

Whatever your level, Cody's brick-related advice is near essential.

[UK_Eliter]

draytalon

With some work, in no time (by which I mean . . quite a lot of time) you'll near the heights of the core Oolite programmers who, I seem to recall, not so long ago issued a release of code that was entitled something like, 'The it-was-not-meant-to-be-THAT-broken release'. I myself - author of several expansion packs - have had to release a few quick (desperate) fixes. But that's how one learns (though I've heard somewhere that there is this thing called 'testing'). Good luck! Writing expansion packs can be fun and satisfying. Part of the appeal is a mild version of the be-the-change-you-want-to-see. That is: if you want something in Oolite, then (up to a point . .) one can make it happen!