Introduce Yourself.

[PillowTalk]

Good... thanks. You didn't find the bandits too tough in the early stages? You're using Oolite version 1.77, yes?

Some of them are impossible to kill, even when they are alone; at least with just the one basic weapon you start with; if I got some ECM hardened missiles, I don't think they would be too difficult. Mostly I only have difficulty fighting off a group of them; 1 on 1 it's usually pretty easy.

[Diziet Sma]

G'day, PillowTalk, and welcome aboard!


Heh.. "Ooliverse".. I think I like that better than our more usual "Ooniverse"..

[Norby]

Hi Ooliters,

after a few months of hidden programming the time is arrived to say about myself berfore I publish my OXPs.

I started to play with the original Elite on my Commodore +4 when I was 14 and one of my compatriot in Hungary ported it from C64. This was the best game in my eyes at that time.

I am a programmer almost twenty years ago, worked a lot as a Linux sysadmin, and today working on the Stock Markets, which is a bit stressfull, so I definitely need to do something which can lower my stress level in my spare times. I tryed many things and I found that one of the best is if I programming freely something just for fun, like an OXP.

My other reason is that my son is arrived to the age where can try some more complex computer games. His glow around this game is lowered a bit after the first ten crash on docking, but always ask something when I start the game, so I think he will use my OXPs later, and of course will use others (as I do it) also, so many thans for your works!

[Disembodied]

Hi Norby, welcome to the boards! We look forward to seeing your OXPs ... in the meantime there are a few OXPs designed to help with docking which your son might find useful, e.g. Thargoid's Neo-Docklights, which adds a trail of lights to guide pilots into the station.

[Capt. Reynolds]

Afternoon, all!

I'm Captain Reynolds (I wish!) and my first experience with all this was on a Spectrum (I still have fond memories of an increasingly grubby keyboard overlay), followed by a fallow period until someone on another board I visit mentioned Oolite in a "favourite freeware/browser/flash games" thread, and the bug re-bit.

I've always had a soft spot for all things flightsim-based (I'm one of the few people around who actually enjoys MS Combat Flight Sim 3!) so a few hours killed here and there, mooching through the black, is never classed as wasted.

[Disembodied]

Welcome, Captain R.! If you can find a friendlier board this side of Riedquat, we'll refund your docking fees.

[Smivs]

Hi, Capt. Reynolds, and Welcome to the friendliest board this side of Riedquat
Ha, if you find you like this half as much as some of us do, you'll spend plenty of time 'mooching through the black'.
But do spend some time here as well - we're a helpful, chatty bunch by and large.

[Norby]

there are a few OXPs designed to help with docking which your son might find useful, e.g. Thargoid's Neo-Docklights, which adds a trail of lights to guide pilots into the station.

Thank you, I get it already, but the problem is the correct rolling, so a real solution is a starter ship which is as narrow as to fit into the dock without rolling. I designed one (many thanks for the Wiki writers about modelling) which looks like a rocket crossed with a big cargo container.

The largest diameter of the body is 60m to earn as much cargo space as can dock without rolling but do not made the docking too easy (the height of the dock is 64m).

Today when I introduced this Rocket Miner to my son and he docked well two times then get excited again and said that he want to use this ship.

[Rese249er]

Welcome, new folks! I'm announcing my return to "the grid" after having lost Internet for quite some time. Being broke is a strain on one's Internet friendships.

[Cody]

Being broke is a strain on one's Internet friendships.

Ain't that the truth... being broke is a problem I know well. Good to see you back.

[Diziet Sma]

I'm announcing my return to "the grid" after having lost Internet for quite some time.

Welcome home.. must admit I'd been wondering where you went..

[Mauiby de Fug]

So, this feels an appropriate time and place to de-cloak!

It's been quite a while since I last played Oolite properly, although I've tested out some of the latest changes for 10 minutes or so periodically. The lack of a computer capable of running at a decent frame rate is a little bit of a problem when it comes to dedicated play!

It's also been a long time since I posted anything on the boards. Real Life has been a bit of a harsh mistress, and rather distracting to boot, but I've gradually been getting back on my feet. I stopped reading the boards for time, but then gradually came back and caught up (you guys can be really prolific sometimes - finding over 300 topics in the "View unread posts" category was rather impressive!). Every now and then I see something on the news and just know that there will be a post in Outworld with the community discussing it.

You see, the thing about this place is that it is so welcoming. Commanders can come and go as they please, knowing that there is always warmth and a friendly avatar waiting for them. I have fond memories of communicating with and reading posts by some of you, and for those who haven't met me before, well, I kind of feel like I know you too.

Anyway, why am I re-appearing now? I am currently re-reading C. J. Cherryh's  Chanur novels, set in her Alliance-Union universe, and it struck me that the way she describes the Compact working is essentially how I envisage GalCo-op. Quoting from the afore-linked Wikipedia page,

The Compact is not a political organization, and has no government; it regulates only the open trade and accessibility of space stations to all civilizations, leaving them to resolve their conflicts and politics between themselves.

And something in my head said "You know what, it's time." So, here I am, ready to re-engage with my fellow space-farers, and prepared to immerse myself into the ever-tantalising Ooniverse.

Now then, for those who haven't met me before, what might you want to know? I first came to Elite playing on my dad's Acorn Archimedes, and so that version of Elite brings back much nostalgia for me. We would drop my mum off at work, and then I would boot up the computer and play half an hour or so of Elite before breakfast and school. And then I'd spend many afternoons and weekends on it too! I played the same version years later on an Acorn emulator on my dad's PC. I got much, much further that time, with, if memory serves, 7000 and something kills. Not ranked Elite, however, as ArcElite had different values. 'Twas "Very Deadly", or something similar. Then, about 3 years ago, I was searching the Ubuntu repositories (yes, I also dabble in being a penguin; Lubuntu being my preferred operating system) for games to play, when I came across Oolite. That was it. I was hooked.

Since then, I've played my way through most of the mission oxps, have even been a play-tester for a couple of them, and finally achieved my childhood dream of being ranked Elite! I have tended to install many different ships, stations and shipsets (I like variety in my 'verse), and a number of the systems/ambience oxps. I am more dubious about equipment/weapon oxps; I prefer the standard combat mechanics! That said, I even had a go at writing my own WIP oxp once, creating wormhole drones, as a way to familiarise myself with the Oolite scripting system. (I should probably see what happened to that - I can't remember how I left it!)

As far as my in-Ooniverse character identity is concerned, see a post I made here for back story.

[Cody]

Good to see you again, Mauiby... and also good to hear that you're on-the-up.
I know only too well how harsh RL can be at times!

[Smivs]

Yay, good to see you again old Squirrel.

[Svengali]

Heh, yes - welcome back Mauiby