[Release] Start Locations Variety Pack

[Cholmondely]

Start your new Jameson in a different galaxy!



Download here: https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/File: ... y_pack.oxz

Wiki page: https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Start ... riety_pack

Previous Thread: Starting in a different galaxy


Dr Beeb's Map of G7




Playtesters eagerly sought!

Suggestions for a better name eagerly canvassed! - renamed from "Galactic Starts" thanks to the help of those beneath and Mr Flibble on the previous thread.


Edited to update and add pretty picture!

[user2357]

Suggestions for a better name eagerly canvassed!

The Elite Plus manual, p. 13, par. 1, Delivery Advice: states: 'Pilot licences are issued only at the planet Lave.' (spelling error is original)

Perhaps an alternative name referring to 'New Licensing Offices' or similar might be applicable...?

[Cholmondely]

Perhaps an alternative name referring to 'New Licensing Offices' or similar might be applicable...?

Alas, my thinking behind this one was not lore-based. I just wanted to give a player who has been stuck in G1 an opportunity to easily restart in, say, G3. I'm after a name which easily encapsulates that.

The choice of starting location was based on the playability of Lave - close to a milk run, but not actually part of one. This is based on playability rather than deep lore-based thinking. I can't see that any of these locations would be chosen by anybody with a even half a brain as a Licensing Office!



Otherwise, it might have made more sense to use the alternatives in (the civilian) Lave Academy OXP:

Galaxy 1 - Lave, Esteonbi, Enonla, Esanbe, Xequerin.
Galaxy 2 - Maesaron, Erenanri, Reveabe, Legeara, Tigebere.
Galaxy 3 - Radiqu, Edxeri, Ceedleon, Atius, Rerebi.
Galaxy 4 - Mavelege, Bemate, Cebitiza, Mausra, Ensoor.
Galaxy 5 - Zaaner, Vebi, Inenares, Azaenbi, Dioris.
Galaxy 6 - Teesso, Oresmaa, Celaan, Ariqu, Inesbe.
Galaxy 7 - Isdilaon, Aenbi, Ataer, Orreedon, Qutegequ.
Galaxy 8 - Ceenza, Aarzari, Biatzate, Inbein, Oredrier.

For one academy per galaxy, the first planet in each list will be its host.

There is a variant for this: Dr Beeb's Naval Academies which comes with lore (but no code) detailing inter-academic rivalries etc.



Thinking about it all, I wonder how "lore-based" these OXP locations are.

Personally, I feel that the Academy OXPs are all a bit too much. In an universe threatened by Thargoids and pirates, I just don't see the continued existence of dozens of academies in unsafe locations - I see them being marmalised - and if by pirates, then the students being sold off as expensive flying slaves. As the universe got less and less safe, the academies would have been moved to safer locations. Or disbanded.

There is also the aspect of practicality. I only played Elite for a month or so - and never got to read the manual very much, if at all (I don't remember!). On discovering Oolite I also discovered the Elite lore. I suspect my experience is very rare. Cody, for example, played Elite voraciously but never saw Holdstock's work until much later, and then rejected it. Others were lucky enough to enjoy both. But I feel that most "vocal incomers" to our community never spent hours and hours on Classic Elite back in the 80's - and never read the manual. Maybe they tried E:D. So the relevance of the old lore to them is moot, methinks.



Perhaps a lore-based variant of this would start in the Galactic Centres of each galaxy - or at a significant safe system, free from piracy and well defended against Thargoid incursions. There might be one or two academies per galaxy, based in systems that made sense from a defensive aspect as well as a geographical one. This OXP could then be rewritten to place those academies and start at them. I might even discover that I have some of the skills to do this!

But, bluntly, our Galaxies are based on B&B's goat soup, and it shows. We have some scattered shreds of coherence to G1, and much more for Littlebear's G7 and Ramirez's G8. It would make more sense to develop a more coherent approach, scrutinising each of the Eight and developing them.

What would such development look like? Perhaps the following might make sense.
(i) Finish the Flavour OXPs - Corporate States , other political states (Democracies/Confederacies/Multi-Govs: based on what we already have) & Species States.
(ii) And develop a handful of Systems in each Galaxy (as we have in G1 with Murgh's Lave, Tionisla, CB's Riredi, Lerelace, Drew's Tianve, and DGill's Tibecea) to add spice.
(iii) Overlay each Galaxy with a thought-through skeleton (Law Courts/Prisons/Stock Exchanges/Pirate gangs/On-going wars etc).
(iv) chuck the player in the middle of it all!

Back to the problem of this OXP. How, then, to explain Lave's game start and Academy?

It is beefed up, just a tad, by Murgh/Phkb's Lave.oxp (TL8 upped from 5). But it is still a poor system comparatively and is on the edge of things, presumably "more exposed" to the McNasties. I prefer to say that it is based on the Lore. That Her Imperial Majesty's Space Navy (based on (Selezen's?) Empress of Lave living on Basta rather than Disembodied's of G5 Tetiri) has historical attachments there, that as one of the Old Worlds (how far back does the name of that region go?), it had an Academy from before the Golden Age of GalCop, et cetera. And it is at the end of a "Trade Route" (not that that is really implemented OXP-wise).



What do you think?

[user2357]

I think I haven't thought about this one long enough yet... There certainly seems to be much that is worth some more consideration.

[Redspear]

Back to the problem of this OXP. How, then, to explain Lave's game start and Academy?

As regards the academy: if the actual reason (not in-game) is that it's there because the starting player is then might it make sense to overwrite its location to match wherever the player choses to start?

The manual said that the mkIII was only produced in Lave (or something to that effect) and so that was the in-game excuse.
A few options there:

• Time's moved on, you can get a mkIII in many places these days
• MkIII? You should be so lucky - start in something else
• Maybe the ship is second hand (but not yet a 'rusty') and was brought there

[Wildeblood]

Playtesters eagerly sought!

That OXZ has what lawyers call unnecessary inclusions. I'd guess it was created on a Mac, judging by the Mac-specific artefacts. Get someone not using a Mac to remake it for you, once you've settled on its final contents. (To be clear (now in boldface, because apparently it wasn't clear the first time I wrote this sentence), it's the Mac OS I'm criticizing, not your creative endeavour.)

By the way, Mr Cholmondely, who routinely complains about my copy/paste/re-using of a manifest file with category "Ambience", your copy/pasting is obvious. Or should I call you Killerwolf from now on?

Further by the way, there are 16 save-files (3 in chart 5), but only 15 are included in the config files...?

Suggestions for a better name eagerly canvassed!

I can't believe you didn't like New Beginnings.

How about Chart-u-later?

[phkb]

That OXZ is a mess inside. I'd guess it was created on a Mac, judging by the Mac-specific artefacts

Hardly a mess. The inclusion of Mac-specific artefacts, which I believe are invisible to Mac users unless you turn on certain settings, is hardly what I'd call a mess. The actual files used by the OXP are quite neat and easily understood. And it's probably not the first time an errant file was included in a OXP by mistake.

[Cholmondely]

Back to the problem of this OXP. How, then, to explain Lave's game start and Academy?

As regards the academy: if the actual reason (not in-game) is that it's there because the starting player is then might it make sense to overwrite its location to match wherever the player choses to start?

The manual said that the mkIII was only produced in Lave (or something to that effect) and so that was the in-game excuse.
A few options there:

• Time's moved on, you can get a mkIII in many places these days
• MkIII? You should be so lucky - start in something else
• Maybe the ship is second hand (but not yet a 'rusty') and was brought there

I see several issues
1) Justifying the existence of the Lave Academy at Lave - and seeking the justification based on the map as it is (or as modifed by Lave.oxp)
2) Seeking more "sensible" locations for the other (currently 7-39) Academies in Oolite generally - and then possibly feeding this through to different start locations for this OXP.

Your points about Classic Elite left me dumbfounded! Seeking why, I realised that personally speaking, I'm interested in the more lore-rich responses - especially those which might enhance that richness yet further. Something based on the little "history" we have, combined with a logic derived from the geography of the eight. So actual code-based reasons (which are more authentic) are a bit of a shock! But your point about the Manual is a good one, thank you.

[Cholmondely]

That OXZ has what lawyers call unnecessary inclusions. I'd guess it was created on a Mac, judging by the Mac-specific artefacts. Get someone not using a Mac to remake it for you, once you've settled on its final contents. (To be clear (now in boldface, because apparently it wasn't clear the first time I wrote this sentence), it's the Mac OS I'm criticizing, not your creative endeavour.)

By the way, Mr Cholmondely, who routinely complains about my copy/paste/re-using of a manifest file with category "Ambience", your copy/pasting is obvious. Or should I call you Killerwolf from now on?

Further by the way, there are 16 save-files (3 in chart 5), but only 15 are included in the config files...?

Suggestions for a better name eagerly canvassed!

I can't believe you didn't like New Beginnings.

How about Chart-u-later?

Apologies!

It is a beta (hence the manifest.plist). And I just wanted to get it out! I'm unsure what these "Mac-specific artefacts" are. Do they inhibit things on the other platforms?

I actually very much prefer Killer Wolf's license. None of this confusing legal gubbins. And to the point. Since my little exercises in "OXP"-ing are not exactly profound, I doubt it matters too much.

I wasn't aware that I was complaining about your "re-use of a manifest file", just worrying about what seemed to be the miscategorisation of an OXP which would make it more difficult to find. We have hundreds and hundreds of the bally things. To expect somebody to spend hours learning what is what seems to me unreasonable. Decent OXP categorisation should help them find what is on offer. And at some stage we should all look at our official categories and think about the extent to which they really do help new players find things.

The 16th save file is my original, replaced by Cody's suggestion. I'm a tad dubious as to whether the systems in the Tetiri Conclave make for a decent start for G5, so I didn't delete it.

I do like New Beginnings. But the name is very evocative and to my mind would be wasted on this humble offering. I feel it would be much better used for a more sophisticated OXP - such as something along the lines of what RobsterLeal suggested. I'm after something utterly banal which simply describes what it does. Thinking about it, what about "Other Galactic Starts"?

[Redspear]

I'm after something utterly banal which simply describes what it does

Shame' I thought somethng like 'So Lave's not good enough for you eh OXP' had a certain ring to it. Oh well.

FWIW New Beginnings sounds good IMHO and although not crystal clear is hardly cryptic.

[Nite Owl]

Sector Starts - Other Sector Starts - etc.

Start Otherwise - Start Elsewhere - etc.

Not @ Lave - Not Lave - etc.

Where Else To Start - Start Somewhere Else - etc.

Various Starts - Variable Starts - etc.

[Wildeblood]

Shame, I thought something like 'So Lave's not good enough for you eh OXP' had a certain ring to it. Oh well.

I spent a full minute or so thinking, "What's love got to do with it?" (in Tina Turner's voice), before I looked closer and saw it was an a, not an o.

I'm after something utterly banal which simply describes what it does.

Various Starts - Variable Starts - etc.

Inspired by Nite Owl's banality above, I think I have it:

Start Locations Variety Pack

[phkb]

How about…

Pan-Galactic Startle Faster

[Redspear]

Start Transfer Destination OXP

You could then include the various STDs... oh, er, wait a minute...

[Wildeblood]

Startle Faster

If it were my doing, I'd call it Startled! Or possibly, Startled! The Musical.

I spent last night reading old threads about whether slave-trading should be encouraged by OXP, so please forgive this digression:

Start Localized Alternative Varied Economies