passenger transport

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:02 am

@ krombart: I'm not at all opposed to discussing possible new features for the game (hey, we have a Scripting requests-thread after all, and myself I've already filed a couple of requests there). And for quite some time we had a PC-only branch of the code, which allowed for textured planets (has been discontinued). But all of this was and is in the first place a community effort.

So - as I said - of course you can modify, rewrite and even publish your own version of the code. All of this is explicitely allowed - and even encouraged - by the license(s).

All I'm saying is: That wouldn't be Oolite anymore, but a different game. (And if 100 people would do their own modifications of the code, the result would be a hundred different games.) Therefore I wouldn't know why this should be debated on this board, which is explicitly for the discussion of Oolite, not of other games, however based on Oolite they may be.

*****

As far as this game (Oolite), this board and this thread is concerned, I think Svengali's question is the right one: Is the modification of passenger contract calculation a suggestion for the game (Oolite, currently 1.71.2)?

If yes, then let's discuss it as a suggestion.

And if we discuss it so, then my initial statement would be: As passenger contracts are something new in Oolite anyway (they are not inherited from Elite, but an addition), we have no Elite-legacy issues in our way (usually we try to keep the game faithful to old Elite). So we are free to re-think it in any direction.

Personally I have only made a very brief excursion into passenger runs, because I found out pretty soon that they always are a financial loss, compared to usual trading. So I threw out the passenger berth again and didn't bother anymore with the upper part of the F8-F8-screen.

Which is a shame. Because it makes no sense to have a complete career-path implemented in the game, that is practically not viable. (Well, yes, you can of course technically still take that career-path; but who would do that if it means losing money on each jump, compared to ordinary trading? I wouldn't.)

An obvious solution for this is, of course, to make passenger transport viable (read: financially worthwhile). So I would say you are on the right track here.

What I would like, however, is something similar to the cargo-contracts: Not a general doubling of the fees, but initially the fees should just be enough, while with growing reputation you get more rewarding contracts. Could be realized for instance in form of VIP-passengers who are paying better, but only fly with pilots of good repute. (Like the contracts with commodities that are only entrusted to pilots of good repute.)

My couple of credits on this suggestion, if it is a suggestion.

krombart · Post by **krombart** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:41 am

Look in the code. You already have this. But the better contracts are not viable enough.

@Svengali:

Look at https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?t=4701
No Answers so far.

krombart · Post by **krombart** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:43 am

All I'm saying is: That wouldn't be Oolite anymore, but a different game. (And if 100 people would do their own modifications of the code, the result would be a hundred different games.) Therefore I wouldn't know why this should be debated on this board, which is explicitly for the discussion of Oolite, not of other games, however based on Oolite they may be.

Telling people how to modify oolite to their taste isn't a discussion about oolite anymore?

For me it sounds like: Shut up. Keep to the track. Keep to the herd. Come to church on sunday. .... Maybe thats a little bit unfair, but I get that feeling.[/code]

Neo_Jesus · Post by **Neo_Jesus** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:51 am

wow talk about post hyjacking.... guys this thread was ment as a simple question... is it possible to make a oxp that would fix this...if not how hard of a change would it be...not a giant argue about scripting and the like.

i was just asking and yes/suggestion that an oxp mabey should be created for this...i enjoyed passenger missions alot there just worthless to do.

now if someone could fix that it would be great. i was mearly asking if it was possible i havent even implied yet that someone should even do it. (except for above)

Lestradae · Post by **Lestradae** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:06 am

If really everyone seems to agree on the passenger contracts being a (sadly) un-viable career path which could be made viable by changing the way they work a bit why not make this a scripting suggestion to be implemented into the core game?

Makes more sense to me than fruitless, slowly escalating debates, especially if everyone basically agrees on what should/could be changed (me too).

The question should/could be from here, how exactly could a viable passenger transport career path look like?

Svengali · Post by **Svengali** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:44 am

krombart wrote:
@Svengali:

Look at https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?t=4701
No Answers so far.

Yes, I've seen it, but I don't understand obj-C (and a lot of others here too), so I don't know what kind of consequences this change would have. Give them (coders) a little bit time and I think you'll get your answers. And thinking about Oolite IS a good thing, keep on...

@Lestradae: Well done, putting it in the request topic. :-)

Post by **Eric Walch** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:36 am

Svengali wrote:
Yes, I've seen it, but I don't understand obj-C (and a lot of others here too), so I don't know what kind of consequences this change would have. Give them (coders) a little bit time and I think you'll get your answers. And thinking about Oolite IS a good thing, keep on...

Probably the most easy addition to the code would be to make the reputation value readable by a script. That would give external oxp's the possibility to offer missions based on this reputation.

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 1:47 pm

Eric Walch wrote:
Probably the most easy addition to the code would be to make the reputation value readable by a script. That would give external oxp's the possibility to offer missions based on this reputation.

Now this is finally a brilliant suggestion. I second that! Making more things scriptable gives more possibilities for the realization of ideas.

Neo_Jesus wrote:
wow talk about post hyjacking.... guys this thread was ment as a simple question... is it possible to make a oxp that would fix this...if not how hard of a change would it be...not a giant argue about scripting and the like.

i was just asking and yes/suggestion that an oxp mabey should be created for this...i enjoyed passenger missions alot there just worthless to do.

now if someone could fix that it would be great. i was mearly asking if it was possible i havent even implied yet that someone should even do it. (except for above)

Sorry that the discussion took us away from your original question. But actually it isn't a hijacking, because the answer to your question is a simple "no". It is not possible to solve this problem with an OXP. The game-code itself would have to be changed. And that's why we drifted to debating changes of the game-code.

krombart wrote:
Telling people how to modify oolite to their taste isn't a discussion about oolite anymore?

No, it's a discussion about modifying Oolite, which means ultimately a discussion about something that isn't Oolite.

Cmdr. Maegil · Post by **Cmdr. Maegil** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:54 pm

Commander McLane wrote:
krombart wrote:
Telling people how to modify oolite to their taste isn't a discussion about oolite anymore?
No, it's a discussion about modifying Oolite, which means ultimately a discussion about something that isn't Oolite.

* at least as we know it at the present moment

Gareth3377 · Post by **Gareth3377** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:34 pm

I too would like some incentive for buying an extra passenger cabin for my humble Cobra Mk 3.

FSOneblin · Post by **FSOneblin** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:54 pm

Yarrr here be some more passenger talk :https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?t=4368. There be more elswere, But I forgot were.

Don't Panic: FSOneblin

P.S. I feel like talking like a pirate today.

Post by **Eric Walch** » Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:19 pm

Gareth3377 wrote:
I too would like some incentive for buying an extra passenger cabin for my humble Cobra Mk 3.

Maybe we get something with 1.72. I just read in scripting requests that Another commander has added the possibility to read out the players reputation for scripts. (That was a very fast reaction).

This opens at least for the scripters the posibility to offer lucrative missions with a good record. e.g. For UPS I will add a check for a good reputation in transferring cargo for the offer of some special missions related to transfers.