cloaking device

[Commander McLane]

We once discussed the problem that, if the cloaking device would ever break, it could nowhere be repaired, due to its high techlevel.

I thought I had solved the problem by resetting its techlevel only if the player is docked with a Hacker Outpost, so that on the Outpost - and only there - the cloaking device could be repaired.

I didn't have a cloaking device at the time (and still my main player entity hasn't arrived in Galaxy 5 yet), so I couldn't test it.

Now I have done the test and it turns out it doesn't work. Regardless of the cloaking device's techlevel (which can be reset in-game with the mission_TL_FOR_EQ_CLOAKING_DEVICE, analogous to mission_TL_FOR_EQ_NAVAL_ENERGY_UNIT) it never shows up on the equipment screen, neither as a new item nor as the option to repair it when broken.

That makes me wonder whether there is something in the code that handles the cloaking device differently from all other equipment, effectively preventing it from becoming a part of the equipment screen? That would be bad news, because it would mean that, once broken, it could never ever be repaired (except for downright cheating, of course).

If it is so, do we think that it is intentional? Or could we change the handling exception in the code?

[JensAyton]

The cloaking device isn’t marked available_to_all. (Fixed for 1.72.)

I’ve been considering whether the cloaking device mission script should be modified to set the cloaking device’s tech level to 15, allowing it to be repaired at tech-14 stations (that’s TL 15 to users).

[Commander McLane]

The cloaking device isn’t marked available_to_all. (Fixed for 1.72.)

Stoopid me. I always forget that part.

I’ve been considering whether the cloaking device mission script should be modified to set the cloaking device’s tech level to 15, allowing it to be repaired at tech-14 stations (that’s TL 15 to users).

Or set it to 16, making it repairable at user-TL-15 stations, but not buyable, as there are no user-TL-16 stations. (All equipment can be repaired in stations one techlevel below the buying-treshold.)

I also like my Hacker Outpost-solution, as it somehow makes sense that the hackers might be able to fiddle with this technically advanced equipment. But of course it makes the repairability depending on the installation of an OXP, which may not be desirable.

[JensAyton]

I’ve been considering whether the cloaking device mission script should be modified to set the cloaking device’s tech level to 15, allowing it to be repaired at tech-14 stations (that’s TL 15 to users).

Or set it to 16, making it repairable at user-TL-15 stations, but not buyable, as there are no user-TL-16 stations. (All equipment can be repaired in stations one techlevel below the buying-treshold.)

That’s what I said. :-) (Tech levels are base-0 for equipment.plist and scripting purposes.)

I also like my Hacker Outpost-solution, as it somehow makes sense that the hackers might be able to fiddle with this technically advanced equipment. But of course it makes the repairability depending on the installation of an OXP, which may not be desirable.

Exactly.

[Commander McLane]

UPDATE: Now with Oolite 1.72 the cloaking device is marked available_to_all, so it should become available and repairable (provided it is set to a suitable techlevel).

It should. But it doesn't. On Hacker Outposts with correct techlevel there still is no way of repairing it. And if I remove it from my inventory, it still doesn't show up for sale.

So, to quote myself, I still wonder whether the cloaking device may be handled as an exception internally, effectively preventing it from ever showing up on an F3-screen, under whatever circumstances?

Please, codemonkeys, could you have a look?

[Thargoid]

There is a scenario where the cloaking device does show up on the F3 screen (at least under 1.71.2), I'll PM you separately and tell you where, as I was asked not to openly reveal it.

It can also be repaired by my repair bots, although it may take a few goes with them to achieve it (as there's a reduced chance of success for high-tech equipment).

[Commander McLane]

Turns out--as ever so often--that the culprit was--me!

I had completely forgotten that, while 1.72 had added the available_to_all-key to the cloaking device, my German localization had not. Yet. Fixed.

So I now can proudly announce that starting from Anarchies 1.1 Hacker Outposts will be able to repair a broken cloaking device (the price is hefty, though; as their equipment_price_factor is 2, it's going to cost as much as a new one from a GalCop station (not that you ever would find one for sale, though)). They won't, however, be able to sell one.

[Screet]

UPDATE: Now with Oolite 1.72 the cloaking device is marked available_to_all, so it should become available and repairable (provided it is set to a suitable techlevel).

Please, codemonkeys, could you have a look?

You may be astonished and it surely is a bug of some addon, but while I didn't have that mission yet, I was offered the cloaking device for sale in galaxy 2, together with stuff like scanner-jammers and jammer-countermeasures. Photon torpedoes have also been available

It appears that my attempt to get the galaxy a little bit more to life by installing add-ons went far further than I intended.

The Thargoid laser should NOT be bought. It's offered as self-aiming, but is only good to overheat. There's no weapon at all.

Where to get these things? When attacked by pirates, there was a dockable mothership of them. Since it was much faster than my Dredger Trader (should have sticked with the Boa Cruiser, I just wanted the Dredger because I was able to get my hands on a naval energy unit and the BCC doesn't have enough energy to fight large pirate groups...the military laser uses too much power for it), I did increase my speed with injectors in order to be able to dock on that fugitives mothership.

If I recall correctly, the cloaking device costs only 75K (approx. one hour trading time with a boa cruiser). Didn't have the cash at the time, though, because I just switched to that annoying Dredger Trader. Still wonder if I should revert to an old save game in order to get back my BCC.

Screet

[Commander McLane]

Hi, Screet, and first of all welcome to the boards, and of course to this great game!

You may be astonished and it surely is a bug of some addon...

No, I am not astonished, because all these are indeed well-known bugs of an addon, namely of Realistic Shipyards.oxp. And by the way, that's by far not all of them. For instance, among other things, Realistic Shipyards breaks not one, but three of the native Oolite missions (by giving you the rewards for the missions, before or even without you doing the missions). You will find quite some threads here on the board, telling you how to fix various known bugs in Realistic Shipyards. However, if you don't feel like poking around in its intestines, the best thing I can suggest to you is to completely uninstall it, and wait until a successor comes out, in which the main issues will be fixed, hopefully.

And in that case you would have to revert to an older save-game, because you would lose your dredger as well (which is only available if you have installed RS).

[Lestradae]

No, I am not astonished, because all these are indeed well-known bugs of an addon, namely of Realistic Shipyards.oxp. And by the way, that's by far not all of them. For instance, among other things, Realistic Shipyards breaks not one, but three of the native Oolite missions (by giving you the rewards for the missions, before or even without you doing the missions).

Erm, that`s not quite correct.

There was a bug in the older versions of Realistic Shipyards that could break one of the ingame missions (the C......... hunt) but in V3.02b that one`s solved and can`t happen anymore.

There are no further bugs that can break any mission in the game, but there`s an easter egg you found on the fugitive carrier that gives you access to the cloaking device much too easy and too cheap. Actually, the same easter egg can be found if you have Charlie`s Navystarships.oxp installed, from where this feature was inherited.

No other bugs that can interfere with an inbuilt mission, neither core game nor oxp-wise is known to me.

The RS successor - Oolite Shipyards Expansion - is going to remove the cloaking device. If it was buyable then, it would be much more difficult and in a much stranger location and of an horribly other price.

If you deem it`s existence in your game to be cheating, you can just open your save game and change the line "has cloaking device" followed by "true" to "false" - and it`s gone. Or, better because no savegame pokery nescessary, you sell it via Commander McLane`s sell anything oxp.

Perhaps I will publish an OSE beta earlier than thought with less features than a future full version to bridge this gap - as in the current OSE beta, all RS bugs known on the forums (and a few actually not known here) are already resolved ...

Have fun,

L

[Commander McLane]

There are no further bugs that can break any mission in the game, but there`s an easter egg you found on the fugitive carrier that gives you access to the cloaking device much too easy and too cheap.

Well, as we all know since various reports about it, the cloaking device is also available on every Black Monk Monastery, if you have RS installed. And this is due to the way you (or Charlie) scripted the 'easter-egg'. Which is what I call breaking the Cloaking Device mission.

The same (or a similar) easter egg makes the Naval Energy Unit available on Black Monk Monasteries as well, but no longer in any TL 14 stations after finishing the Thargoid Plans mission (as is required by the mission; and again due to the way it's scripted in RS). This is what I call breaking the Thargoid Plans mission.

And that, together with the Constrictor Hunt, are a total of three native missions broken by RS in a lot of its versions.

Personally I don't have RS, so I don't know what exactly is fixed in its latest version, and which bugs in it have yet to be fixed by the individual user. I just know which bugs came up here on the board and could be related to RS. And I just mentioned the major ones in this category.

[Lestradae]

The same ... makes the Naval Energy Unit available ... as well, but no longer in any TL 14 stations after finishing the Thargoid Plans mission (as is required by the mission; and again due to the way it's scripted in RS).

A-ha ... that' s actually a new one (to me), and quite unintended too. On the list to be fixed.

Due to issues like that, I have decided to publish the RS-successor much earlier than originally planned, with regular updates adding further features. That way, all the bugs and little inconsistencies fixed already will be available to players sooner than with the full release ...

Please, if any bug in RS is being found, just inform me about it. It might be that I hear about the same one five times over and it' s already fixed in my Beta, but no one can know that - anything I hear about in detail, I fix.

Thanks for pointing that one out to me.

Cheers

L