So I got thinking about Freelancer, Freespace 2 etc...

[RobsterLeal]

..and I got to thinking how Oolite could be adapted to include a singleplayer 'adventure' much the same as these..

Now this has probably been thought of before, would entail a whole shed load of work (possible understatement there), that I personally have no clue how to go about, and definitely flies in the face of Oolites 'go anywhere , do anything' freedom, but hear me out....

imagine an Oolite that opens up in stages - governed by the money you have earned, much the same as Freelancer. Perhaps you would start the game with a short tutorial mission, in-system only. Then for a short while be unable to jump to another planet, with ,say , the in-system cargo and taxi expansions loaded so you could still do things and make some money.

Once you hit that threshold you get 'given' a jumpdrive and can start to move between planets. be given a mission or two to take you to specific planets in the galaxy. and so on and so on, building up , introducing expansion things like bounty hunters guild, feudal states etc as you go..

I see several reasons why its not easy - can you have a game that introduces expansions as you play it? Is that possible - some sort of auto download?

obviously my tiny brain can't come up with any sort of ongoing mission thread, apart from perhaps the starter.

I suppose im trying to turn oolite into a freelancer / freespace type game - and obviously it would be a massive and probably impossible undertaking..
but i think it would go down very well with youngsters / new players if there was an overarching 'purpose'

Thoughts anyone?

[Redspear]

Firstly, I don't know freelancer very well, so do bear that in mind. That said...

imagine an Oolite that opens up in stages - governed by the money you have earned, much the same as Freelancer.

Despite starting in the mk iii, arguably that's already what happens re equipment and even re travel - certainly intergalacticaly and in terms of safety governmentaly too...

Once you hit that threshold you get 'given' a jumpdrive and can start to move between planets

I think I get your wider point (?) however in that oolite doesn't have to grant access to everything (almost) at once in order to keep its sandbox appeal.

I've tried a bunch of stuff in this regard, including starting in non-hyperdrive vessels exploiting planetfall to main station trade routes (that was pretty tedious) and it has led to my coming up with two oxps in particular that slow the player's progression in something of an 'open' storyline.

 Hyperdrives - start with less than the standard 7.0LY jump range
 Pilot Licence - requires rank progression and not just credits to fly the more capable vessels

And then in terms of making equipment shopping a little more risky:

 Weapon Laws - get your military hardware but no longer from the safer systems

Others have made oxps that you might consider relevant. Those that immediately come to mind:

 Black Monk Monastery - start with a debt, and a curse
 Illicit Unlock - fly non-hyperdrive equipped ships
 Start Choices - start in a cobra nki? a transporter? an adder with 0 credits to spend?

Anyway, I hope that's a little food for thought

[user2357]

Don't have much to contribute, except cheering from the sidelines.

I like the idea of possibly (somehow?) stringing some/most OXPs together in a (chrono)logical, sequential quasi-storyline...

...and the player is always free to do their own thing, and (re)join the story at some later stage (again)...

[RobsterLeal]

....
...and the player is always free to do their own thing, and (re)join the story at some later stage (again)...

thats a very important point - once the universe is 'opened up' you have the ability to do your own thing, but with some limits so its advantageous to progress the story line.

My main thought for storyline progression would be either money earned, or equipment bought, depending on what the storyline requires at that time... so there will be points in the 'story' where you are forced to go off and do your own thing to earn the cash / equipment to get to the next 'mission' trigger.

I have no idea if Oolite can have missions triggered by money earned or equipment - i know you can use Elite status, so i would have thought it possible?

[RobsterLeal]

and even more importantly, pretty sure there isnt the ability to shut expansions down until a certain point is reached - you would probably have to install expansions manually when the storyline requires it - or is there a way to keep an expansion out of the game until a certain point is reached, for example 30k credits reached....??

[gilhad]

• oolite does not allow loading/unloading OXPs from OXP.
  • At start of the game all installed OXPs ale compiled together, the scripts inside are compiled to internal form of Javascript, variables are created and so on and so on. Change this would need complete rewrite of the core mechanics for OXPs.
  • As far, as I know, there is still unsolved problem, that depending on filesystem, the modules may be loaded in unpredicable order, which prevents one OXP to consistently rewrite some functionality offered by other OXP. This is nearly trivial, compared to your needs, and is not solved by years.
  • The near I see possible in this way will be something like this:
    
    create bunch of OXPs like FR1, FR2, FR3 ... each for one level of your story, and play with dependencies https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Manif ... ement_keys
    • set FR1 to be conflicting with every OXP, which you do not want at start (nearly everything?) and dependent on say more_planets, planetfall, in-system trade ...
    • when script in FR1 decides, that new level is required, it will show page to player to uninstall FR1 and install FR2 instead
    • FR2 may depend on some more OXPs and be conflicting with less OXPS, when target is met, it will prompt to change FR3. (as the criteria are resolved in the game, it can be anything at all, total money, elite rating, number of planets reached number of missions completed, some critical missions completed, cargo in ship, actual planet ... and all in any combination you can describe)
    when the player tries to install FR1, oolite would force him to first uninstall all conflicting OXPs, and then install all dependencies for him. When he uninstall FR1 nothing happens, but when installing FR2 all dependencies will be installed too and all nonconflicting OXPs will became installable.
    
    It will be clumpsy, to be forced unistall OXPs in order to install FRxx.
    
    Also this will not prevent player to install any OXPs not namely specified in FRxx.
    
    And new OXPs are emerging and anybody can write his own OXPs to his will, which may circumvent any of your effort. Also many OXPs are downloadable somewhere and not managed by Expansion Manager and player can also copy standard OXPs to the right directory by himself (I have some collections of *.oxz files, which I copy as first step in customisation).
    
    This may result to oolite stop at start and display, that this and that OXPs cannot be loaded, because of conflicts and so are ignored, and if your FRxx will conflict with anything loaded earlier, the FRxx will be ignored. (And there is no guaranted way to load FRxx first.)
    
    Also savegames will be accessible, regadless what set of OXPs is loaded, simply ignoring features provided by unloaded OXPs. So if FRxx does not load, the savegame may be loaded and played anyway.

Also it either will prevent player to use the customability of oolite universe, or have many inconsistencies coming from such customisations, both going against the oolite style of building universe.

[Wildeblood]

Now this has probably been thought of before, would entail a whole shed load of work (possible understatement there), that I personally have no clue how to go about, and definitely flies in the face of Oolites 'go anywhere , do anything' freedom, but hear me out....

imagine an Oolite that opens up in stages - governed by the money you have earned, much the same as Freelancer. Perhaps you would start the game with a short tutorial mission, in-system only. Then for a short while be unable to jump to another planet, with ,say , the in-system cargo and taxi expansions loaded so you could still do things and make some money.

Once you hit that threshold you get 'given' a jumpdrive and can start to move between planets. be given a mission or two to take you to specific planets in the galaxy. and so on and so on, building up , introducing expansion things like bounty hunters guild, feudal states etc as you go.
Thoughts anyone?

Code: Select all

this.shipLaunchedFromStation = function () {
    player.ship.fuel = 0;
}

Will prevent the player from using the hyperdrive until you're ready to allow it. Delete the above function when your pre-requisites have been met.

Code: Select all

this.shipWillLaunchFromStation = function () {
    if (/* Your pre-requisites go here */) {
        delete this.shipLaunchedFromStation;
        delete this.shipWillLaunchFromStation;
    }
}

Don't clap, just throw money.

[user2357]

I'd be happy/impressed if at least as many missions as possible could be strung together in a more-or-less (chrono)logical sequence forming some kind of imaginable storyline (perhaps even inspiring a nice, long bit of fiction again...).

Perhaps a wikipage could eventually be created and maintained by someone who has actually played all of them, and who knows the details and intricacies, presenting the (chrono)logical order of mission OXPs and their dependencies (without spoilers, of course), and instructions for their installation for anyone interested in installing them (manually, if necessary). Ideally, the wikipage should also be updated as new mission OXPs are created. [... Perhaps missions might even be tweaked, by their original creators (?), to better fit in with the overall storyline...?]



(Don't mind me too much; I'm just daydreaming out loud here in my little corner. I've never really played yet, only dabbled a bit here and there, for research purposes; so, I don't even know if my imaginings have any hope of ever being realised to any extent whatsoever.)

[gilhad]

You may be interested in this OXP, as it createst its own missions
https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Life_ ... evival_OXP

[user2357]

You may be interested in this OXP, as it createst its own missions
https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Life_ ... evival_OXP

Took a quick look at the wikipage, and it seems to me these missions might all be separate and independent of each other...? Interesting/entertaining idea, nonetheless, but I had a more "overarching" theme in mind, combining missions in one big, single, consistently-coherent, interdependent storyline; not so much many small, separate, randomly-discontinuous little missions. ...more like the later storylines of the DS9 and ENT series as opposed to the separate episodic installments of TOS in the Star Trek franchise.

[gilhad]

Yes, they are separate there, but it is not the main idea.

The main idea is, that the OXP create its own list of (just now, just here) avaiable quests, present it to player and when player choose a quest, the OXP generate oolite mission at its will. And when the oolite mission is fulfilled, the OXP decide, what that mean for its internal quests.

So if you create your own system of interconnected quests, here is how you can make some mission from that and collect results back to step futher in your own campaing.

In other words, how to connect your big epic campain to stream of single oolite missions, so oolite will manage for you, how player carry these single missions, while your OXP will manage, how the whole story works.

The OXP contain mechanics for missions like "go from A to B", "bring this cargo form A to B" and "bring this person from A to B"

On similar note Random Hits https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Random_Hits_OXP manage missions "go to B and destroy ship S".

And The Collector https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/TheCollector contain mechanism for chaining actions to larger stories

Those are phrases in writing bigger strory and you can use the mechanismus, or take it as inspiration and modify it, instead of creating, testing and debugging your owm methods for the same effects.
(Similar to how you use menus, dialogs and files for large programs - not developing it from scratch, just combining standard parts to larger work)

[RobsterLeal]

question then -

how do OXPs that are for 'Dangerous and above pilots only' for example, work....?

Can we can have OXPs that start 'if money does not equal 30,000 then do nothing' - just as a way of keeping them dormant until a pre-requisite is met? So the OXP gets loaded as normal, but only kicks in once the pre-requisite is met...?

Again - I know next to nothing about how OXPs are put together, I'm just asking dumb questions...

[LittleBear]

You can use conditions both in mission offering and for ship conditions. For example:

if (missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_stage === 0 && galaxyNumber === 6 && player.score > 199) {

}

In that example, the mission will only be offered if you are in Galaxy 7 and have 200 or more kills. You can also chain missions by having as a condition that another mission has been completed. Similarly you can add conditions scripts to ships, so they will only appear when certain conditions are met. For example:

this.allowSpawnShip = function(shipKey) {
if (galaxyNumber === 6 && system.ID === 39 && missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_battlebot_development_level === 3) return true;
if (galaxyNumber === 6 && system.ID === 39 && missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_battlebot_development_level === "Complete") return true;
return false;
}

This ship will only appear if you are at a particular system in Galaxy 7 and the Technocrats running the system have replaced their police force with AI drones (set by the mission variable).

Most of the mission OXPS do this sort of thing. If you are in G1 for example as a new player, then at 6,000 Credits something will happen. Something else will happen when you hit 256 kills. That something else will give you a reason to go to Galaxy 2. Its a bit of an info dump, but I've put the system populator script for 4 of the systems modified by the Assassins Guild in a code box below if you want to have a poke around it as it has a lot of chained events happening and gives you some examples of how to make a 'story' play out over time and the actions of the player and NPCs. (Contains Spoilers!). The Galactic Almanac also contains an example of chained story advancement and missions. If you have both it and GNN News OXZ installed, then over time a series of news broadcasts will appear. Once you've seen all of them, you will receive a message asking you to go somewhere.

Code: Select all

//Function to Populate all Assassins Systems with planets, moons, ships and stations
this.assassins_populator = function assassins_populator() {
// If Strangers World is installed we don't want to add anything until after the first launch from a save game.
// So if we haven't yet launched and Strangers world is installed, bail out of the assassins populator and run it on the first launch instead.
if (missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_stranger_installed === "Yes" && !missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_stranger_has_populated) return;
// Populate Orramaor 
if (system.ID === 73) {
// The resort planet Appollodrus is always added regardless of whether any missions are running or not.
var apollodorus = system.addPlanet("assassins_rebooted_Apollodorus"); 
apollodorus.displayName = "Apollodorus (Planet)";
// Because we have given it a display name, Planetary Compass OXZ (if installed) will not assign a name to the moon or give it a beacon.
// If the Galactic Almanac is installed then it will automatically add the name and beacon. But we don't want to do this twice as then it will end up with two beacons on it.
// The Assassins script will only add beacon labels to any planets and moons it adds therefore if the Galactic Almanac is not installed.
// The same code is used to name and add beacons to all the moons, planets and gas giants added by the OXZ.
if (!missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_almanac_installed) {
this.beacon = system.addVisualEffect("assassinsCompass_planet", apollodorus.position); 
this.beacon.beaconCode = apollodorus.displayName;
this.beacon.beaconLabel = apollodorus.displayName;
}
// Likewise, The Sunset Retirement Home is always present.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_sunset_retirement_home_station", 1, "pwm", [-100000, -500000, 305000]);
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [-100000, -489900, 305000]);
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [-100000, -510100, 305000]);
// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
// The 1st Mission to kill Be Soin in his Vintage Adder takes place near the Sunset Retirement Home Station. The station's own script populates space around
// it with a Tourist Shuttle, Tourist Lander and a Tourist Transporter. The Lander and the Shuttle will fly to and land on Apollodorus. The Transporter will fly to the main station
// and dock with it. The script also adds three Tourist Ophidian Yachts, one with an AI to go to the witchpoint and dock with the nearest station to the witchpoint, another with an AI 
// to go to the main station and dock with it and a third with an AI to dock with the Retirement Home. These six ships will always be encountered near the station as their AIs,
// fly around near the station until the player arrives before setting off towards their destinations.

// The stations script also spawns 4 more Ophidian Yachts in a line between the station and the main station at 50, 100, 150 and 300kms from the Retirement Home. These
// ships start flying towards their destinations as soon as they are spawned. One will go to the Retirement Home, the second to the Main Station, the third to a random OXZ
// station within 500kms of its starting point and the fourth with an AI to go to the witchpoint and dock with the nearest station to the witchpoint. The main script adds 10 more yachts
// in the spacelanes with AIs to go to the Retirement Home, Main Station or OXZ stations.

// The transporters, shuttles and landers are all unarmed and will try to flee if attacked. The yachts are armed with a pulse laser and will only attack ships which attack them first.
// None of these ships present any threat to the player and are there for flavour. All these ships are lawful however so attacking them will make the player a fugitive. The Retirement
// Home will launch Micro Mambas armed with Beam Lasers to attack criminal ships nearby to it, but it has no ships on patrol as the first hit is meant to be very easy.

// The station's own script adds Be Soin's Adder, armed with a Pulse Laser about 20kms from the Retirement Home. His ship will stay between 15 to 20 kms from the
// retirement home until the player arrives. When it detects the player it will send a friendly greeting to give away its position and fly to within 10kms of the player before
// heading towards Apollodorus. As his ship is very weak he can be destroyed easily, although the player will become an offender. The station will launch Mambas once 
// Be Soin has been killed, but these do not present a major threat and the player can just leave once Be Soin is dead.

// Assassins also uses a condition script (only run at Orramaor) to override the native populater adding shuttles and hunters. All shittles in the system are replaced with
// Tourist shuttles, transporters and landers with AIs to land on the nearest planet to the station which launched them.  Hunters are replaced with Soin Clan Micro Mambas, 
// Geckos, Kraits, Sidewinders and Morays.

// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
// Add a Tourist Ophidian Yacht fairly near the main station with an AI to go to the main station and dock with it. 
system.addShips("assassins_rebooted_sunset_planet_yacht",1,system.mainStation.position.add([27500,0,0]), 1000)[0];
// Add a Tourist Ophidian Yacht near the player's position with an AI to go to the Retirement Home.
system.addShips("assassins_rebooted_sunset_homebound_yacht",1,player.ship.position.add([17500,0,0]), 2000)[0];
// Add a Tourist Ophidian Yacht in the spacelane with an AI to go to the witchpoint and dock with the nearest station to the witchpoint.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_sunset_outbound_yacht", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.25])
// Add 5 Tourist Ophidian Yachts in the spacelane with an AI to go to the Retirement Home, Main Station or an OXZ station and dock with it.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_sunset_homebound_yacht", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.35])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_sunset_spacelane_yacht", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.45])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_sunset_spacelane_yacht", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.55])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_sunset_outbound_yacht", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.65])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_sunset_homebound_yacht", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.75])
 // Add a Tourist Ophidian Yacht in the spacelane with an AI to go to the main station and dock with it.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_sunset_planet_yacht", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.85])
// Add a Tourist Ophidian Yacht in the spacelane with an AI to go to go to the witchpoint and dock with the nearest station to the witchpoint.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_sunset_outbound_yacht", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.95])
// The first hit takes place in this system - Be Soin in his Vintage Adder is added by the Retirement Home's script when the mission to kill him is running.
// Closing Bracket for Orramaor.
}
// Populate Esrire
if (system.ID === 107) {
// The first mission is handed in at the Station Orbiting the Gas Giant.
// The Gas Giant and station are always added regardless of the mission stage.
// Add the Gas Giant Cerberus.
var cerberus = system.addPlanet("assassins_rebooted_Cerberus"); 
cerberus.displayName = "Cerberus (Gas Giant)";
if (!missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_almanac_installed) {
this.beacon = system.addVisualEffect("assassinsCompass_planet", cerberus.position); 
this.beacon.beaconCode = cerberus.displayName;
this.beacon.beaconLabel = cerberus.displayName;
}
// Add the Torus Station: Corpse Bride in orbit around Cerberus.
// Having completed the first mission to kill Be Soin, the player is invited to go to the Corpse Bride station in Esrire if they wish to join the Guild.
// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
// The first time the player docks having killed Be Soin they will receive a message from the guild paying them for the hit and inviting them to meet the Guild Master aboard the 
// Corpse Bride Station in the Esire system if they wish to join the Guild. Meeting the Guild Master and joining the guild is mandatory to progress the OXZs missions as further 
// missions are only offered once the player has joined the guild.

// The first time the player docks whilst the stage variable is at 3, they will get a mission screen explaining how the are inducted into the guild and are awarded a Mark Transponder
// Scanner, which will mark assassination targets on the scanner. The guild states it will be in contact with more work soon and the stage variable advances to 4. Further messages 
// offering hits and News broadcasts will now start being sent. Each event has a scripted delay, so a certain number of hyperspaces jumps have to be made before the next event 
// will occur.

// The Gas Giant and the Corpse Bride Station are permanent features of the system. The station is Neutral in alignment. It will allow any ship to dock with it regardless of the ship's
// legal status. It does not police space around it and so will not mark ships for committing offenses and it won't defend ships against attacks by other ships. All goods are legal 
// at the station, and it will have larger than normal quantities of slaves, narcotics and firearms for sale. It will launch well equipped Cobra Mark IIIs to attack any ship which 
// attacks the station itself. 

// If the player docks with the station (at any time except when the meet the guild master mission is running) then a custom arrival screen is shown, and a docking fee is charged. 
// If the player has attacked the station however, an arrival screen refusing landing permission is shown and the player is forcibly launched back into space.  The hostility variable
// is set when the station is attacked by the player and cleared on making a hyperspace jump, so the station will cease being hostile to the player from an attack if the player
//  jumps out and returns later.
// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_corpse_bride_station", 1, "pwm", [7000000, 8000000, 23278750]); 
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [7000000, 7989900, 23278750]);
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [7000000, 8010100, 23278750]);
// Closing Bracket for Esrire.
}
// Populate Tiared
if (system.ID === 194) {
// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
// The planet and the orbiting stadium are permanent features of the system. The stadium is lawful in alignment. It will only grant docking permission to clean ships, and it will launch
// fighters to attack any offenders or fugitives within its scanner range. The station has Ramon’s Nemesis from the original Assassins OXP as its defence ships and a squad of 3 
// Nemesis ships are added near the stadium with an AI to patrol around the stadium and attack any offender or fugitive ships they encounter. This is done by the Stadium's own
// script. As the station and its ships are lawful, attacking them make the player a fugitive. The Nemesis fighters all have custom pilots and comms messages. The model and texture
// for the Nemesis are Ramon’s originals, but the ships are given new Ais, scripts and shipdata entities.

// As with all the lawful stations in assassins, if a clean player docks with the station, they will receive a custom arrival report and be charged a docking fee. Non-clean players who
// dock without permission receive a message explaining how they were refused landing permission and are forcibly launched back into space. Clean players can trade with the 
// station and use the shipyard. The stadium will pay slightly higher prices than normal for food, liquors & wines and gem stones. Otherwise, prices are similar to the main station 
// but with less in stock.

// The 2nd Assassination, to kill the Zarausxian Hockey Team takes place in Tiared. The team are in the Armoured Passenger Liner by Ramon from the original Assassins OXP.
// As with all the ships from the original Assassins, the ship has a new Ai, script and shipdata entry. As per the mission briefing, at the time of the mission, the ship is added 150kms
// from the stadium in a straight line with the main station by the Stadum's own script.  It slowly flies toward the main station accompanied by 4 Nemesis fighters. If it reaches the
// main station, it will turn round and fly back to the Stadium and then back to the main station again. As it starts about 900kms from the main station, it takes it about an hour of real 
// time to get there. It can easily be found by flying to the Stadium and then setting the ASC for the main station and flying the route. Or, if the player starts at the main station, setting
// the ASC for the Stadium and flying the route to the Stadium will also encounter the team. Killing the team will raise the player’s bounty to 65, so the player will need to deal with
// this until time or measures from OXZs are used to reduce it.
// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
// The desert planet Diomedes is always added regardless of whether any missions are running or not.
var diomedes = system.addPlanet("assassins_rebooted_Diomedes"); 
diomedes.displayName = "Diomedes (Planet)";
if (!missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_almanac_installed) {
this.beacon = system.addVisualEffect("assassinsCompass_planet", diomedes.position); 
this.beacon.beaconCode = diomedes.displayName;
this.beacon.beaconLabel = diomedes.displayName;
}
// Likewise, the Madison Square Orbital Stadium is always added in orbit around Diomedes.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_orbital_stadium", 1, "pwm", [-200000, 600000, 924120]); 
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [-200000, 589900, 924120]);
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [-200000, 610100, 924120]);
// The second hit takes place in this system, the mission ship is added by the Stadium's own script at the time of the mission.
//Closing Bracket for Tiared
}
// Populate Beatle
if (system.ID === 203) {
// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
// Assassins makes fairly extensive modifications to Beatle and the third assassination to destroy the Fair Wind is scripted near the Repair Facility. The Fair Wind with two 
// Phantom Escorts is added by the Facilities own script when the mission is running. The station, moon and the other ships added are permanent features of Beatle.

// The Facility is a lawful station, but it will only grant docking permission to its own ships. Neither the player nor other NPCs can dock with the station. If the player attempts
// to manually dock, they will crash into the back wall of the dock and die as the station will only open its docking port to its own pre-booked customers. Whilst it will not permit
// ships to dock with it, it will not be hostile to clean ships in its vicinity. It will launch Phantoms armed with three forward mounted Beam Lasers to attack any offenders or fugitives 
// within scanner range.

// The script also adds a squadron of three Phantoms to patrol around the Facility. These ships will also attack any offenders or fugitives they detect and will also attack any ships
// which attack the facility's ships. 3 Damaged Ships, each with two phantom escorts are added with Ais to orbit the facility. The Damaged Ships are clones of the standard oolite
// ships, but they are unarmed and have no equipment. The escorts will attack any ship which attacks their mother but will not intervene to defend other ships in the yard.
// Attacking one of the Damaged Ships will therefore cause the player to be attacked by 5 Phantoms as the escorts and the three Phantoms on patrol will all attack the attacker. 
// The facility will also start launching more Phantoms to engage the attacker.

// The Damaged Ships are picked from three pools. Pool 1 (Python, Boa Mark I, Transporter, Cobra Mark I & Cobra Mark III). Pool 2 (Asp, Fer-de-lance, Moray Star Boat & Viper). 
// Pool 3 (Gecko, Krait, Mamba & Sidewinder). One ship from each pool is spawned on each visit to the system, so there will always be three different Damaged Ships with escorts 
// orbiting the facility.

// The Phantoms and the Damaged Ships all have unique pilots and comms messages, but as the Damaged Ships have no escape capsules, their crews never eject. The main script 
// also adds two Damages Ships each with 2 Phantom escorts to the spacelanes. These ships will fly to the witchpoint, main station or directly to the Facility. If they went to the
// witchpoint or main station first, then they will fly to the Facility once they arrive at the witchpoint or main station. They are not armed (but their escorts are). Their escorts will only
// attack ships which attack their mother and won’t attack other ships (regardless of their legal status) unless they attack their mother.

// On system population, the main script will add a squadron of 3 Phantoms within 13kms of the player’s position. This will be near the witchpoint if jumping into the system or near 
// the station the player is docked with if loading from a saved game. These Phantoms have an AI to fly directly to the Facility and dock with it if they reach it. If they cannot dock 
// with the Facility for any reason, they will switch Ais to patrol between the sun, main planet or witchpoint. These ships will actively attack any offenders or fugitives they come 
// across and will answer distress calls from clean ships.

// A condition script is also used to over-ride the native populator to replace all hunters added by the native populator at Beatle with Augeas Security Phantoms. These ships have
// an AI to patrol between the Facility, Planet, Witchpoint or Sun hunting for ships with bounties.

// At the time of the 3rd Assassination the Repair Facilities own script adds The Fair Wind with two Phantom escorts to the ships around the facility. As with the other Damaged
// Ships, it is unarmed and has no equipment. As it is an Anaconda it is very slow and cannot outrun missiles of any type, although its escorts will ECM standard missiles and the 
// minesweepers will disarm any q-mines or other cascade weapons. The Fair Wind will be the only Anaconda around the Facility and as the player by this stage has the Mark
// Transponder Scanner, its golf club on the scanner with be flashing.

// The trick to completing the mission is to make sure you are Clean and arrive at the Facility with full tanks. If you are anything other than Clean the three security Phantoms on
// patrol will instantly attack you and the Facility will start launching more Phantoms to attack you. However, provided you are clean none of the ships will bother you until you start
// shooting at the Fair Wind. As soon as you do its two Phantom escorts will attack you and the three Phantoms on patrol will turn hostile and start flying towards you. 
// The range of the Phantoms three Beam Lasers is limited, so initially you’ll only have to deal with the two escorts.

// The Fair Wind has a higher than normal energy level, but it is a sitting duck as it too slow and damaged to avoid attack. You can simply creep up behind it and fire off a couple of 
// hard head missiles as this will take care of it, provided they both hit and give it a full blast of your forward laser to make sure. You need to destroy it quickly however and then
// hit the injectors and flee out of the repair yard as the Phantoms will overwhelm you once they reach you. Destroying the Fair Wind will raise the player’s bounty to 70 Credits,
// so having enough fuel for the 4.4 light year jump to the nearest system is useful as Security Phantoms may be encountered near the Sun if topping up the tanks by fuel skimming.

// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
// The moon Augeas is always added regardless of whether any missions are running or not.
var augeas = system.addMoon("assassins_rebooted_Augeas"); 
augeas.displayName = "Augeas (Moon)";
if (!missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_almanac_installed) {
this.beacon = system.addVisualEffect("assassinsCompass_moon", augeas.position); 
this.beacon.beaconCode = augeas.displayName;
this.beacon.beaconLabel = augeas.displayName;
}
// The third hit takes place at the Augeaian Orbital Repair Facility, but the station is always present regardless of whether any missions are running or not. 
// Add the Station
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_orbital_repair_facility", 1, "pwm", [300000, 700000, 724270]);
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [300000, 700000, 714170]);
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [300000, 700000, 734370]);
// Add three Phantom Secuity Ships (leader with two escorts) to patrol the area around the facility where the damaged ships are parked.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_augeas_security_patrol_leader", 1, "pwm", [300000, 700000, 713170]);  
// Add 3 damaged ships escorted by 2 Phantoms each .
// Each ship is chosen from a pool of small, medium and large ships (so different types of ships appear on each visit.
// The ships slowly fly around near the facility. Attacking them will cause their escorts to attack and make the attacking ship a fugertive.
// The Phantoms on patrol will also then join the attack and the facility will launch more Phantoms to attack the aggressor.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_augeas_damaged_ship_type1", 1, "pwm", [300000, 700000, 743070]);  
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_augeas_damaged_ship_type2", 1, "pwm", [300000, 681200, 724270]); 
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_augeas_damaged_ship_type3", 1, "pwm", [281200, 700000, 724270]); 
// The third hit takes place here. If the mission is running the target ship The Fair Wind will also be present - Added by the Facility's own script.
// Add another group of Phantoms near the player's position on system population. This means they will be near the witchpoint when entering the system from hyperspace
// or near the station the player is docked with if loading from a saved game.
// Either way, these Phantoms will fly from their starting point to the Repair Facility. When they reach it they will dock with it. If unable to dock they will switch AIs to patrol
// between the main planet, sun, the main station and the witchpoint. They will attack pirates and offenders and answer distress calls. 
system.addShips("assassins_rebooted_augeas_security_long_patrol_leader",1,player.ship.position.add([10000,0,0]),3560)[0];
// Add a damaged ship with two escorts somewhere in the main spacelane about a third on the way between the witchpoint and the main planet.
// This version of the damaged ships will cruise the spacelane and then fly to the repair facility. Should it get there it will switch AIs to the same AI as the ships already at the Facility
// and orbit the station. If you have Anarchies OXZ installed, the spawn point for these ships is near the Salvage Gang, so they will start from the Salvage Gang and make their
// way to the Repair Facility. If you don't have it installed the ships will still be at the same position.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_augeas_damaged_ship_spacelane", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.35])
// Add a second damaged ship (again with two escorts). This one is closer to the main planet, about 25% of the way between the planet and the witchpoint.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_augeas_damaged_ship_spacelane", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.75])
// Closing Bracket for Beatle
}
// Populate Geteve
if (system.ID === 18) {
// The moon Hercules is always added regardless of whether any missions are running.
var hercules = system.addPlanet("assassins_rebooted_Hercules");  // Added as a planet so it has an Atmosphere as its a habitable moon.
hercules.displayName = "Hercules (Moon)";
if (!missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_almanac_installed) {
this.beacon = system.addVisualEffect("assassinsCompass_moon", hercules.position); 
this.beacon.beaconCode = hercules.displayName;
this.beacon.beaconLabel = hercules.displayName;
}
// Add the Special Branch Outpost (also always present regardless of the mission stage).
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_special_branch_hq", 1, "pwm", [80000, 300000, -220000]);
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [80000, 300000, -209900]);
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_minesweeper", 1, "pwm", [80000, 300000, -230100]);
// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
// The Geteve system features in the 4th Assassination and the system is also subject to a Thargoid Invasion. This is measured with a variable and additional ships are added as
// the invasion variable is advanced. At the start of the OXZ the variable is at zero as the Invasion hasn’t started yet. The following changes are permanent and are always added 
// regardless of whether the invasion is in progress or not:

// The moon Hercules and the orbiting Special Branch Outpost are always present. The outpost's own script adds two groups of three Special Branch Asps with Ais to patrol around
// the outpost and attack any offender or fugitive ships. The Special Branch Asps have custom pilots and comms messages. The station is lawful and so as with other lawful 
// Assassins stations, it will deny docking permission to and attack non-clean ships. If the player docks without permission, they will be thrown out of the station and forcibly 
// launched. Clean players will see a custom arrival report and be charged a docking fee. The outpost does not have much in stock but will pay higher than normal prices for 
// liquors & wines, luxuries and alien items.

// On system population, the mains script adds a group of three special branch Asps with an AI to go to the outpost and dock with it within 12.5kms of the player’s position 
// (either near the station the player is docked with or near the witchpoint). Another group of three Asps with an AI to patrol around the main station are added near the main station.
// Two more groups of Special Branch Asps are added in the spacelane with an AI to pick one of 5 patrol destinations: The planet, the main station, the sun, the special branch 
// outpost or the witchpoint. The ships will fly the route picked responding to distress calls and attacking offenders & fugitives. Ships which end up at the main station or the outpost
// will dock. If they can't dock, they'll resume patrol going to the witchpoint or sun.

// Assassins also uses a condition script to override the native populator at Geteve and replace all the police ships in the system with Special Branch Asps. Ships called by the 
// native populator as police specifically (either as individual ships or group leaders) use the same AI as the Asps added by script in the spacelane and so will patrol all over the 
// system. Ships called as wingmen and interceptors will also be Special Branch Asps but have auto AI turned on and so will use the standard Oolite police Ais.

// As the player plays through the missions the Guild will have cause to silence an inquisitive journalist, whose suspicious death is being investigated by Inspector Thorstan of
// GalCop Special Branch. Shortly after the Thargoids begin an invasion of Geteve and the invasion variable is set to 1. Whilst the invasion is underway the OXZ adds Thargoid
// raiders to Geteve. All are like-ships of the normal Oolite Thargoid Warship but have custom Ais, roles and scripts.

// At invasion stage 1, a group of Thargoids with an AI to go to the main station and attack it are added 50kms from the main station. A second group of Thargoids are added 75kms
// from the Special Branch Outpost to with an AI to go and attack it. A third group are added in the spacelane with an AI to go and attack the nearest OXZ station or either the
// witchpoint or main station if there are none. A fourth group with Ais to go to the witchpoint and attack any ships they find there are added 30kms from the witchpoint. All ships
// with the role pirate are also converted into Thargoids with Ais to patrol the system and attack any ships they encounter. Groups of Thargoids are also added to the system generally.

// The fourth Assassination takes place during the Thargoid Invasion as the player will be offered the contract to kill Inspector Thorstan whilst he is fighting the Thargoids attacking
// the Outpost. At the time of the mission the outpost's own script adds Inspector Thorstan's Special Branch Asp near the Outpost. He will be marked on the player’s scanner as
// his golf club will be flashing. His Asp is a standard Special Branch Asp, although he has shield boosters fitted. The challenge of the mission is having to fight or evade the waves
// of Thargoids in the system.

// Later in the OXZ’s plot when Griff Research Ltd perfect and release their Navy BattleBots and Control Drones the variable is advanced to 2. The invasion continues and the same
// ships added at stage 1 still appear, but BattleBots and Control drones are also added to the system with Ais to attack Thargoids in the system.

// Towards the end of the OXZ's plot it will be announced on the news that Geteve has been victorious and the Thargoids have been repelled. At this point the variable will be set
// to “over”. Without a numeric value no Thargoids or BattleBots are added, so the only ships appearing are the default ones which are always present and Geteve returns to being
// a normal system policed by Special Branch Asps. The description of Geteve is changed as the Thargoid Invasion plot line plays out and its productivity and population
// decline during the invasion. 
// ***************************************************************************** Story Note *****************************************************************************************
// The Ships below always appear regardless of the mission variables.
// Add a wing (Leader and two escorts) near the Main Station with AIs to patrol the area 25 kms around the main station.
system.addShips("assassins_rebooted_special_branch_asp_planet_patrol",1,system.mainStation.position.add([10000,0,0]),20750)[0];
// Add another wing with AIs to go from their spawn point (near the station if loading from a saved game or near the witchpoint if entering from hyperspace) to the Outpost.
// If they reach the Outpost they will dock with it. If they can't dock then they will switch AIs to patrol the main spacelane.
system.addShips("assassins_rebooted_special_branch_asp_long_patrol",1,player.ship.position.add([10000,0,0]),12500)[0];
// Add two groups of 3 ships is the spacelane with an AI to go to the Witchpoint, Main Planet, the Sun or the nearest station. (Random dice roll for destination).
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_special_branch_asp_lawful_patrol", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.45])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_special_branch_asp_lawful_patrol", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.65])
// Thargoid Invasion - Main Script Part
if (missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_thargoid_invasion > 0 && missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_thargoid_invasion !=="Over") {
// Thargoid Raiders always present during the Invasion.
// Add a group of Thargoids at the Witchpoint. These Thargoids will go to the witchpoint and remain within 5 to 15kms of the witchpoint, attacking any ships there.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type1", 10, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.0])
// One ship at the witchpoint will specifically target the player.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type2", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.0])
// Add a smaller groups out of scanner range of the wichpoint with an AI to go to the witchpoint.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type1", 4, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.15])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type1", 4, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.25])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type1", 4, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.35])
// Add a group at the same positions at the Special Branch Asps with AI to go to the Witchpoint, Main Planet, the Sun or the nearest station. (Random dice roll for destination).
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type3", 4, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.45])
// Two ships out of the group will specifically target the player if they are not already being attacked by another ship.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type2", 2, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.55])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type3", 4, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.65])
// Add groups with AIs to go to the nearest station to their spawn point and remain there attacking the station and any nearby ships.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type4", 4, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.75])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type4", 4, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.85])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type4", 4, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.95])
// Add a large group near the main station. Most will go to the main station, but if there are any OXZ stations near the main station some will also go there.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type4", 10, "wpu", [0, 0, 1.0])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type6", 10, "wpu", [0, 0, 1.0])
// Two ships added near the main station will specifically target the player
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type2", 2, "wpu", [0, 0, 1.0])
// Add a Thargoid with an AI specifically to attack the player near the player's position.
system.addShips("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type2",1,player.ship.position.add([4000,0,0]),6500)[0];
// The Special Branch Outpost's script populates the space around it with Thargoids. The main script also adds Thargoids in the spacelanes with AIs to go to the Outpost.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type5", 2, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.10])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type5", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.30])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type5", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.50])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type5", 2, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.60])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type5", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.70])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type5", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.80])
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type5", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.90])
// Navy BattleBots and Control Drones added when the variable is at 2.
if (missionVariables.assassins_rebooted_thargoid_invasion === 2) {
// Add one Navy Control Drone with 4 BattleBot escorts at the witchpoint.
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_navy_control_drone_geteve_type1", 1, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.0])
// Add another Navy Control Drone with 4 BattleBot escorts near the main station with an AI to patrol around the main station.
system.addShips("assassins_rebooted_navy_control_drone_geteve_type2",1,system.mainStation.position.add([1000,0,0]),10750)[0];
// Add some additional Thargoid Ships.
system.addShips("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type4",4,system.mainStation.position.add([1000,0,0]),15750)[0];
system.legacy_addShipsAt("assassins_rebooted_thargoid_raider_type1", 3, "wpu", [0, 0, 0.0])
// Closing Bracket for adding Navy BattleBots and Control Drones.
}
// Closing Bracket for the Thargoid Invasion being in progress
}
// The fourth Assassination takes place here. If the mission is running the target ship of Inspector Thorstan’s Special Branch Asp is added by the Outpost's own script.
// Closing Bracket for Geteve.
}

return;	
//Closing Bracket for the whole populator function.
}

[RobsterLeal]

Aha! Cheers for that LittleBear - so it would appear the idea is sound - you CAN 'suppress' OXP's until certain conditions are met... interesting..

Like I said, my coding skills are exactly zero, and I'm far too old / busy / stupid to start learning...

My dream of some sort of singleplayer 'Freelancer' style version of oolite will remain that i guess. one day, when I've got rid of

a) all my kids
b) my job

and have some quality/ endless free time I should start looking into it.

Thanks for all the info and help , friendly board people

Obviously, if someone wants to take the idea and run with it, i'm available for cheering on from the sidelines and story ideas, but thats about it !

[LittleBear]

No probs. I think as a player, the game does kind of do already what you are looking for as the inbuilt missions and the missions added by OXZs do use the chaining and conditions stuff. Trying not to post spoilers (you can have a look on the Wiki missions page to see the triggers for story missions), but if you play with all the mission OXZs installed, then there is quite a lot of stuff going on across the Galaxies and a lot of interlinked questlines for various factions. Some missions are stand alone stories and others link into larger questlines as one OXZ may require another OXZ mission to be completed. As an example there is quite a long 'quest-line' for the Galactic Navy that starts when you reach a certain number of kills. Completing this mission is a condition of the next navy mission being offered. Completing that one is a condition of an OXZ mission pack which follows on from the navy missions and so on. By travelling around, building up money and kills, missions will start being offered to you but the trigger will usually be one that you reach naturally in the course of playing the game such as being of a certain legal status, having a certain number of kills, having completed other missions or being in a particular galaxy.

@user2357. The Powers and Organisations Page on the Wiki does pretty much do that as it lists and give some information on the factions in the galaxies and the locations of quest-givers, without telling you what will happen.

https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Power ... anisations