Custom beacons [RESOLVED]

[Poro]

Whilst I can usually find my way back to a previous location by using background waypoints, whenever I come across a large dump of cargo (usually from a dead freighter) I would love to be able to drop my own beacon from a missile pylon, so I can go back there.

When you have a full cargo hold and a cornucopia of goodies sailing through space in front of you, nothing frustrates more than the possibility that you might not be able to find the location again. The containers do tend to drift, but not so much that they cannot be scooped up when you return.

I'm not sure what letters are left on the adv. compass, but has anyone made a deployable beacon yet?

[JazHaz]

It's a good idea, but elsewhere there are reasons as to why not. EG the nav beacon is too large to be carried in a ship.

Thats why the GRS Buoy Repair ships have to tow beacons about.

[DaddyHoggy]

It's a good idea, but elsewhere there are reasons as to why not. EG the nav beacon is too large to be carried in a ship.

Thats why the GRS Buoy Repair ships have to tow beacons about.

But they're clearly very powerful beacons as they could be locked on from anywhere in the system - perhaps a smaller low power beacon with limited range and/or duration could be carried by a ship - and/or a there's an initial layout that upgrades the sensitivity of the ship's standard sensor array.

[Lucidor]

Will the loot still be there when you exit the station, or is everything regenerated?

[CheeseRedux]

I could swear there already was such a device in an OXP out there.

Edit: Found it. From the readme of ettBeaconLauncher:

Contains a scoopable re-deployable homing beacon. (Tech level 10)
Also contains a missile delivery package for above beacon for increased deployment accuracy. (Tech level 12)

[Poro]

@JazHaz: Yes, I have the GRS OXP installed, so I knew that those beacons needed towing, I think I should have specified that I meant a kind of small limited version of those. Like what DaddyHoggy suggested.

@Lucidor: Everything is still there. Exiting a station doesn't reset everything within a system - only witching into one. I think reloading your game will also reset it.

@CheeseRedux: Thanks for that! I've downloaded it but haven't had a chance to play yet.

[Commander McLane]

Yes, the ETT homing beacon is exactly what you need. Comes in two flavours, (1) as a missile or (2) as a mine. Is launched in the appropriate way and will then stay stationary and guide you back. And the best thing: it is re-scoopable and re-usable, so you only ever need one of them. (Unless you fire on it, of course.)

[CptnEcho]

Excellent.

Does the beacon attract Thargoids like other navigation beacons do?

[Commander McLane]

Don't know. Probably not, because technically it's a cargo (otherwise it wouldn't be re-scoopable).

[ouklos]

I just tried the ETT oxp with a 1.73.4 PC version. It works, but it has a few problems.

Here are my corrections : (if you are on a PC, use a reliable editor like Notepad++ instead of Notepad/Wordpad)

- Typo in shipdata.plist :
For the beaconlauncher and beacon_torpedo entries,

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<string>CLASS_BOUY</string>

should be :

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<string>CLASS_BUOY</string>

- Error in the log :

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[shipData.load.warning.badFlasher]: ----- WARNING: the shipdata.plist entry "beacon_torpedo" has a broken flasher definition "*FLASHER*" (should have 8 tokens, has 7). This flasher will be ignored.
  [shipData.load.error.badSubentity]: ***** ERROR: subentity declaration for ship beacon_torpedo specifies no subentity_key.

For the beacon_torpedo entry, I edited the following lines :

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<string>*FLASHER* -1.0 0.0 -3.8 2.0 2.0 4.0</string>  
<string>*FLASHER* 1.0 0.0 -4.5 2.0 2.0 4.0</string>
<string>*FLASHER* 0.0 -1.0 -4.0 2.0 2.0 4.0</string>
<string>*FLASHER* 0.0 1.0 -4.0 2.0 2.0 4.0</string>

with

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<string>*FLASHER* -1.0 0.0 -3.8 0 2.0 2.0 4.0</string>
<string>*FLASHER* 1.0 0.0 -4.5 0 2.0 2.0 4.0</string>
<string>*FLASHER* 0.0 -1.0 -4.0 0 2.0 2.0 4.0</string>
<string>*FLASHER* 0.0 1.0 -4.0 0 2.0 2.0 4.0</string>

- Each time you scoop the beacon, there are two unnecessary lines in the log :

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[script.debug.onOff]: SCRIPT debug messages ON
[script.debug.onOff]: SCRIPT debug messages OFF

In shipdata.plist, delete the following lines for the beacon entry :

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<string>debugOn</string>
<string>debugOff</string>

- But the main problem is : the Missile uses the Hardened Missile icon, and the Torpedo uses... the Q-Mine icon on the HUD.

Imagine the situation : you find a derelict Boa.
"Hmm, I don't have a Salvage Missile. Let's mark this spot. Wait, I have two Q-mines ? No, one is the beacon, but which one ? The right one, I think." You launch the beacon, and while setting the Advanced Space Compass your screen suddenly turns blue...
Press Space Commander.
So I created a new icon for the Torpedo. Create a new text file named descriptions.plist in the Config folder, and copy these lines in it :

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{
    "EQ_BEACONLAUNCHER_MINE" = (
        2, 2, 
        2, -2, 
        -2, -2, 
        -2, 2
    ); 
}

Just a big square icon, but better than Russian roulette

[Commander McLane]

- But the main problem is : the Missile uses the Hardened Missile icon, and the Torpedo uses... the Q-Mine icon on the HUD.

Yes, that's to be expected. If no icon is defined, it should use the default for missiles and mines. I don't know, however, why the default is the one for hardened missiles.

So I created a new icon for the Torpedo. Create a new text file named descriptions.plist in the Config folder, and copy these lines in it :

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{
    "EQ_BEACONLAUNCHER_MINE" = (
        2, 2, 
        2, -2, 
        -2, -2, 
        -2, 2
    ); 
}

Just a big square icon, but better than Russian roulette

I am quite sure, however, that the big square is also already used by an item. Fuel tank, possibly?

EDIT: Ah, no. Fuel tanks use a small square:

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	<key>EQ_FUELTANK_MINE</key>
	<array>
		<integer>-1</integer>
		<integer>1</integer>
		<integer>1</integer>
		<integer>1</integer>
		<integer>1</integer>
		<integer>-1</integer>
		<integer>-1</integer>
		<integer>-1</integer>
	</array>

So, no confusion. (Unless there is something else using the bigger square.)

[JazHaz]

So I created a new icon for the Torpedo.

Just a big square icon, but better than Russian roulette

I am quite sure, however, that the big square is also already used by an item. Fuel tank, possibly?

EDIT: Ah, no. Fuel tanks use a small square.

So, no confusion. (Unless there is something else using the bigger square.)

I believe the chaff launcher refill is a larger square?

[Eric Walch]

[I believe the chaff launcher refill is a larger square?

It should not show a square but displaying the icons has a flaw that is fixed in trunk. There it is not square anymore. Draw it yourself and you'll see:

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<key>EQ_RMB_CHAFF_MINE</key>
 <array>
         <integer>2</integer>
         <integer>2</integer>

         <integer>0</integer>
         <integer>0</integer>

         <integer>2</integer>
         <integer>-2</integer>

         <integer>-2</integer>
         <integer>-2</integer>

         <integer>-2</integer>
         <integer>2</integer>
</array>

When you look very closely at the square of the chaff, you'll see the outline follow the correct drawing but on filling in it fills outside the lines, making it a square.

The only real square I am aware of is the special graviton-missile in assassains.oxp