Still don't perceive purpose of market info screen

[Wildeblood]

Did anyone ever figure out what the F8-F8 "market info" screen was supposed to do/be for?

It's been a while since its introduction, and I still don't perceive any purpose to it. Maybe if I just wait a while the penny will drop.

Asking for a friend.

[phkb]

Tell your friend that, yes, the core game doesn't make a lot of use of the F8F8 screen. It's largely been left free for OXP's to use. Market Observer puts your purchase history on the F8-F8 screen, as one example.

[Switeck]

I sometimes use it as a reminder of how much of a particular commodity I have tied up in cargo contracts...so I don't accidentally sell them!

[Cholmondely]

I would guess that SOTL Altmap (which does use it) and New Cargoes might contain hints of what the screen was supposed to do.

Here:

Cim, would I be correct in presuming that the introduction of the F8F8 commodity item screen was partially done in order to facilitate New Cargoes?

In the OXP sense? That set of changes including the commodity detail screen was essentially done to obsolete the - fairly uncooperative with other OXPs handling cargo - workaround that New Cargoes used.

The aim was to make it easier for people to write new OXPs which changed the trade routes and commodity definitions, yes, but I didn't expect that I'd ever get around to going back and rewriting New Cargoes itself that way.

[Cholmondely]

just nosing around...

there is also this: Proposal for 1.82: support for economic changes.

You have the background (programming for v.1.77.1 and its precursors) to get rather more out of it than I have.


Edited to add

I would guess that the big problem with the F8F8 was cim getting chased away by the Witchspace Lobster.

No updates for New Cargoes. No new OXPs using these capabilities (see also scenario.plist) and thus no sterling examples for others to emulate...

Especially with SOTL falling between the cracks and disappearing from view - and with the general clunkiness of New Cargoes combined with the ease of mistakenly reaping a major loss by selling New Cargoes as plain commodities (there are no warnings).

[Cholmondely]

Asking for a friend.

Friends? What on earth are you doing with friends?

You, Sir, are supposed to spend every waking moment working over OXPs whilst munching merrily on cookies. You are not supposed to have the time for friends, never mind dismantling bus-stops.

[Wildeblood]

Asking for a friend.

Friends? What on earth are you doing with friends?

You, Sir, are supposed to spend every waking moment working over OXPs whilst munching merrily on cookies.

Did that today. Then the electricity went out. It only took a fraction of a second to realize I couldn't recall the last time I had saved the open file. Then the heartfelt cry went up:
"BASTARD!"