Last "easy" version of game?

[Kargon Kovon III]

What was the last version of the game that did not have all the pirates?

Does anybody play it, and have you had success with any addons?

[hiran]

What was the last version of the game that did not have all the pirates?

Does anybody play it, and have you had success with any addons?

Would not removing or leaving out the pirates remove most of the risk in getting rich by trade?

If you want to be rich and even save time just open a savegame with your favourite plain text editor and tamper with your bank account.

[Cholmondely]

What was the last version of the game that did not have all the pirates?

Does anybody play it, and have you had success with any addons?

From what I've picked up, cim changed the game massively with v.1.80 & v.1.82

Before that, there were pirates all over the place - even in corporate states with safe neighbours. But they did not appear in large packs. Also, their aim was far worse.

What about the tips back here? Did they not help?

I've been playing 1.77.1 (to try out some of the older missions which are broken with the newer versions). I do find it a little easier. And, knowing my way around the wiki, it has been easy finding older versions of oxps which are compatible. So I can play it with the systems OXPs and with a whole gamut of others - Buyable Map works well on the older game, as does the older BGS-A1.9 with the rejiggable F6F6 screen and the ties in with Snoopers marking new regions and space-lanes as GalCop names them. Wildeblood's ai trading oxp is fun (I get called "boss" all the time!) and I discovered that ClearHUD keeps old messages posted on your HUD to refer back to. I do miss my MFDs, though.


But I'm happy with the tough game. I learned to avoid the pirates while making money and equipping my ship. And I add in OXZs which make it tougher in what I regard as a realistic way (Strangers World, Weapon Laws, Diplomancy and Smugglers).

And my impression is that most of the dog-fighting devotees welcomed the newer tougher v.1.80 - some even preferring it to the piratically toned-down v.1.82 which came out the next year. So many people were creating tougher pirates to fight against (Murgh's Rattle Cutter, Smiv's ToughGuys OXP, Cody's Green Geckoes, etc.) And then of course, there were the half-dozen-odd OXPs swelling the ranks of the Thargoid navies with carriers, destroyers, frigates, cruisers, battleships etc.)

After all, our official introduction on Oolite.space says

Among the seven trillion people who are - at least officially - Cooperative citizens, you are nobody. So far, anyway. You've got a ship, some weapons, and enough spare cash to get started - and one day, you might get the fame, wealth or glory you want. Perhaps one day, everyone might know your name. If, that is, you can survive that long.

The two thousand star systems of the Cooperative once enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity, and perhaps the wealthiest of them can still pretend to. The trade ships that once safely travelled between planets now have to be well armed and escorted to fend off pirate attacks, from small-time criminals desperate for their next meal, to powerful robber barons extracting tithes from everyone who passes through their space.

The Cooperative's police force, concentrated near a few influential planets, can no longer maintain order. The mercenaries they hire for a few credits a kill are too few, too unreliable to do so either. And in the darkness between the stars, an old enemy lurks, fearless, perhaps waiting for order to collapse entirely.

Good luck, Commander.

A bit like living during the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Personally, I'd be interested in OXPs which accentuate this. Pirate fleets destroying stations (read Imprint) and massive Thargoid armadas wrecking planets. With GalCop desperately trying to fight back (with diminishing supplies), while the Commie states and others peeling away to do their own thing, conquering their neighbours and spreading even more havoc.


Endnote: if you are into dog-fighting, I guess that you will end up much preferring the tougher games. If you are spending the time, then you are developing your skills and will end up as unsatisfied with the easier versions as your fellow dog-fighters are!

Reference:

Code: Select all

2004 v1.00 - Oolite first version - for Mac only
2006 v1.65 - first stable version, linux & windows versions come out, Aegidian steps down, Ahruman's v.1.69 (Javascripting starts being implemented)
                   2007 - v.1.67, 1.68, 1.69 & 1.70                }
                   2008 - v.1.71 & 1.72                            }
                   2009 - v.1.73                                   }     As javascripting is included more and more,
                   2010 - v.1.74                                   }     oxp's become more and more sophisticated
                   2011 - v.1.75                                   }     but need regular updating due to the 
2011 v1.76 - Ahruman's "Mythical Stable Next Release"              }     updates in javascript!
                   2012 - v.1.76.1                                 }
                   2013 - v.1.77 & 1.77.1                          }
2014 v1.80 - Cim's first radical version with structured consultation - many OXPs fall by the wayside. OXZs & Expansions Manager introduced. E:D released
2015 v1.82 - Cim's second radical version with structured consultation - pirates toned down, changes to trade
2020 v1.90 - current version

[Kargon Kovon III]

Thanks a lot. That's helpful. It totally bummed me out when (apparently) 1.8 came out.

I was going to run the "population" OXP, and try to modify it to my preferences, but it was a binary.

Old guy time:

It's like the whole Han Solo thing. You want to be Han because he's really good, and even when he has no idea what he's doing, he just manages to pull it off. He flies by the seat of his pants and escapes by the skin of his teeth. The whole fun is doing the impossible and getting away with it. That's the fantasy. You have to give Han the asteroid field, because he needs a fighting chance. He's gotta hide behind the bridge of the star destroyer because he has to outwit bad guys. R2 has to reactivate the hyperdrive, because he has to get away. He gets put in carbon freeze because he's in love with Lea and everybody has to save him. He doesn't avoid things before they happen, he dives in headfirst (literally) and gets away with it. It wouldn't be much fun if you just squished him in the trash compactor.

That's the way I feel about it, but everyone is different, and that's ok.

[Redspear]

I may have a new oxp 'solution' to this problem without overwriting the populatior script. How well it works remains to be seen but in my head it works great

[Switeck]

And my impression is that most of the dog-fighting devotees welcomed the newer tougher v.1.80 - some even preferring it to the piratically toned-down v.1.82 which came out the next year. So many people were creating tougher pirates to fight against (Murgh's Rattle Cutter, Smiv's ToughGuys OXP, Cody's Green Geckoes, etc.) And then of course, there were the half-dozen-odd OXPs swelling the ranks of the Thargoid navies with carriers, destroyers, frigates, cruisers, battleships etc.)

I'm pretty sure almost all of those predate v1.80 mostly because older Oolite's pirates/enemies were so inept.

Random Hits OXP was another add-on that went from hard to ridiculously hard going from v1.77 to v1.80.

[hiran]

I was going to run the "population" OXP, and try to modify it to my preferences, but it was a binary.

A 'binary' OXP? What is that?

[Kargon Kovon III]

A 'binary' OXP? What is that?

Sorry if binary is not the right word. Not human readable. You open it in a text editor and it looks like nonsense.

[Switeck]

OXZs are zip files containing OXP files.
Almost any zip-handling software should be able to open them, even Windows 7 OS itself and later should be able to do that.

[Kargon Kovon III]

So I read https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/User:Cim

Two things stood out: "Dice" and "Everything should be dangerous". Random is good insofar as it makes things interesting, however:

A player should always have some reasonable chance of surviving if their ship is well equipped and they don't do anything exceptionally stupid. The old game had the Thargoid jump trap, but you could avoid it, and you could also kill the mother ship.

A greater level of predictability gives the player options about how to play the game, and IMO makes it more interesting. A milk run between two safe systems should be safe. You can choose. There's actually more variety that way.

The structure of the game now restricts your decisions more than I like. I have to make shorter jumps, so that I'm not as free to choose where to go and when. I suppose a lot of this could be solved by adding more fuel storage. There used to be fuel tank extensions available in game. I'm sure there's a way to do that with addons.

I'll stop there, because I appreciate the work people do on the game, and I don't want to only visit and criticize.

[Kargon Kovon III]

OXZs are zip files containing OXP files.
Almost any zip-handling software should be able to open them, even Windows 7 OS itself and later should be able to do that.

Ohhhhhhhh.

You have to change the extension to extract them in File Explorer.

Thank you!

[hiran]

OXZs are zip files containing OXP files.
Almost any zip-handling software should be able to open them, even Windows 7 OS itself and later should be able to do that.

Ohhhhhhhh.

You have to change the extension to extract them in File Explorer.

Thank you!

Indicator for novice OXP developers:

The ZIP file format was getting popular with software from PK systems. The tool was called PKZIP. Over time more software products supported that format but they did not come from PK, hence today the command is called just 'zip'.

But until today the magick bytes are the same.

So if you open a file in your text editor and the content is total and utter gibberish but starts with the letters 'PK' chances are high you are looking at a zip archive. Regardless of the filename.

[Cholmondely]

I have to make shorter jumps, so that I'm not as free to choose where to go and when. I suppose a lot of this could be solved by adding more fuel storage. There used to be fuel tank extensions available in game. I'm sure there's a way to do that with addons.

https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Fuel_Tank - 1 shot - missile pylon mounted - 3ly - 70₢

https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/InternalFuelTank - 1 shot - uses 5TC of your cargo hold - 5ly - 100₢

https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/ExtraFuelTanks - reusable filling up the gaps in your ship but only accessible when your fuel tank is empty
- 1ly - 10,000₢ Refillable at main orbital stations (extra cost)
- 3ly - 50,000₢ Refillable at main orbital stations (extra cost)

https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/DuplexFuelTank_OXP - reusable, and refillable by scooping - uses 8TC of your cargo hold - 3ly - 62,000₢

[Switeck]

The 3 LY fuel tank that takes a missile pylon and costs 70₢ is a real life-saver, I cannot stress that enough.

[Kargon Kovon III]

Thanks!