OpenGL Drivers and a possible bug?

2Close2Jump · Post by **2Close2Jump** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 4:37 pm

Hello,

I hope someone can help...

I'd really like to design my own ship, but I haven't got a Mac, so I can't use Meshwork. Unfortunately, when I try to run Wings3D, it instantly quits, complaining that I haven't got any OpenGL drivers installed. How do I get around this, as I'm not sure my PoC graphics card supports OpenGL (which makes me wonder how it's running oolite)...

Also, is this a bug? Sometimes, when I attack another ship and liberally paste it with my lasers until its engines go out and bits seem to be dropping off it, it doesn't finally explode. It just carries on flying along and not only do my lasers have no effect, but you can't actually target it with the ident system, either...

Many thanks,

cheerio,

2Close2Jump (...because I fly a lardy, slow Boa)

Uncle Reno · Post by **Uncle Reno** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 5:14 pm

Hello, welcome to the board.

Can't answer the driver question I'm afraid but your second query sounds like the ghost ship bug, the latest discussion about that is here.

Hope that helps.

2Close2Jump · Post by **2Close2Jump** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:36 pm

Thanks for that - interesting...

I come across ghost missiles on a fairly regular basis, too...

Who actually wrote oolite, then? Do they maintain the code, or is it just modified by programmer-players?

2Close2Jump

reills · Post by **reills** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:11 pm

The fellow who is most responsible for this thing of beauty that ravages my spare time and threatens my marriage (not really) is Giles Williams. As of October 2006 he has stepped away (hopefully NOT for good) from Oolite development. As such, we the users are trying to carry the banner. Oolite is open source so those who have the desire (me) and the programming skill (someone other than me) can add to the code. The whole idea of OXPs helps facilitate changes to the core game (also beyond me at this point).

Website · Post by **DaddyHoggy** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:34 pm

@2Close2Jump - welcome.

OpenGL issues - if you're card is ATi - my apologies - ATi make rubbish OpenGL drivers - search for 3rd party ones on somewhere like x3dfx site.

If nvidia card - are you running native XP drivers? They're rubbish too - minimal OpenGL support - download latest Forceware appropriate for your card (71.XX for older cards, 9X.XX for newer cards).

Other manufacturers - Matrox - can't help, 3Dfx (don't laugh I just sold my last V5 5500) - try miniGL or WickedGL, Intel or other manufacturers - pass - but x3Dfx would be a good place to start for 3rd party OpenGL drivers.

HTH

2Close2Jump · Post by **2Close2Jump** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:19 am

Thanks for that - you were spot on!

I downloaded the latest drivers for my NVidia card and Wings3D works fine...I expect the game will play nicer too

Here's another question, then;

How hard are game-modifying OXP's to write? I keep failing cargo contracts by getting lost and ending up having to backtrack to find a route to the target system. It strikes me that the galactic map is very under-used and that a tool which could plan multiple jumps would be very handy. What I envisage is this;

1. In the galactic map view, a waypoint system which allows you to plan multiple jumps (within the tiny 7LY range...why has nobody written an OXP to modify that?) from system to system.

2. The waypoints then set up the witchspace jump drive as you enter each system, so you only need to jump, refuel and jump again without having to do any further navigation.

Now...this actually sound pretty complicated to me, but is it within the scope of an OXP? I know VB6 pretty well, I can get by in PHP and I know enough to bluff my way in C, but will any of that help me to write an OXP?

Any thoughts etc will be much appreciated,

Thanks,

2Close2Jump

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:40 am

Hi, 2Close2Jump, also a welcome to the board from my side!

Here some answers to your question, as far as I can give them:

1) There is a feature in the galactic map that could be quite useful for your purposes: press "!" while the galactic map is on your screen and a .png of that galaxy will be saved in your Oolite-folder. The handy thing about that .png is that all the possible routes are marked by lines. So it's quite easy to see where to go to a specific system without getting stuck in dead ends. Together with the .png there will also a .txt-file be saved, containing a complete planet-list of your current galaxy with a lot of useful information. There is a thread about all these witchspace travel issues here https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?t=2439, but up to now it led to nothing.

2) The 7LY range is hard-coded in the game. There is no way around that.

3) A waypoint- or multiple-jump-OXP could probably be written. There was also a thread about that not too long ago, I don't recall if in the general discussion or in the suggestions-box. I guess at least Dr. Nil definitely agrees with you; he wants as much as possible in the game to be automated (see his Wishes, pleas, suggestions and demands!-thread in the suggestions-box). I have never thought about it as I don't feel bothered to enter my destination into the navigation computer before each jump.

4) Writing OXPs is not that hard. I personally don't know much about any programming languages you seem to know, so I guess you could easily learn it. Basically (if I understood that correctly) OXPs are written in XML (or something related to XML). The best thing to do for you would be consulting the Elite Wiki here: http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Main_Page and then progress to the Oolite-part. There are documents explaining pretty much everything about OXP'ing out there, together with lots and lots of background information about Oolite and the related games. And the next thing would be looking into some existing OXPs and learning from that. Most (if not all) OXP-authors are very happy (and proud) if their OXPs are "ripped of" by other developers. I think it's sort of a general consensus here that there is no need to re-invent the wheel if some developer has already found (and scripted) a solution for a certain problem.

So much from me. I'm looking forward to your first OXP!

2Close2Jump · Post by **2Close2Jump** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:34 pm

Thanks for all of that - XML, eh? I've been meaning to get my head around that for a while...

I'll certainly follow up on all of your suggestions - thanks very much

2Close2Jump

Website · Post by **DaddyHoggy** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:24 pm

@2Close2Jump - glad you got your drivers sorted out - game should play nicer too.

To mull over some of your other queries - I've never got the <SHIFT+1> (!) command to work on the PC version - I don't think I'm alone in this.

Dajt - has made a mod to the exe of Oolite (if you download his version) that allows you to script with Javscript - which means you get lots of nice things like loops and additional mathematical operators such as "*" and "/" !!!

HTH