Oolite Bulletins

I definitely like the storage idea.

phkb wrote:

Any equipment item you've bought could potentially be stored in the locker, with costs calculated daily and going up based on the number of tons of equipment stored there.

Perhaps the cost of the items could also be a factor? A small but very expensive piece of equipment (like a cloaking device) should cost a lot to store securely.

There would also presumably be costs (time and money) associated with removing the equipment for storage, and refitting it again.

Some progress screenshots...

Here's the view of all stored equipment, both in this chart and all others. Green items can be installed because they're stored locally, others are some distance away.


Here's the cloaking device in storage, with the option of installing it.


Here's an escape pod stored in another system in the current chart. Here, I've got the option of transferring the item to the local storage facility, or selling the item directly from storage.


Finally, here's what you see if you ask to transfer the item. You can either select "Yes" to wait (which advances time forward the appropriate amount of time), or "No" (which checks periodically to see if your gear has turned up yet). Depending on the distance and danger levels in the systems inbetween, there's a chance your equipment might not arrive at all...


So, have I got the most obvious items covered, do you think?

phkb wrote:

Depending on the distance and danger levels in the systems inbetween, there's a chance your equipment might not arrive at all...

A total loss? Excellent!

The transfer costs are pretty cheap, compared to what parcel contracts pay ... shipping 1t of equipment 81.6ly only costs 27.2C*?

Granted, if you stick a couple of zeros on the end, then it's cheaper to just buy a new one - but maybe shipping parts should really only be worthwhile for really high-end kit?

Disembodied wrote:

The transfer costs are pretty cheap

Thanks for pointing that out. I've improved the calc for the release version, so it should be more realistic.

Before I release v0.3.0 I'd appreciate some feedback on a couple of points:

1. If you have equipment stored in another galactic sector, should you be able to sell it from wherever you are, or only if you're in the same sector?

2. The process I've used for selling the Cloaking Device is to firstly, give the player an estimate on it's worth, and then allow the player to offer other amounts. The player can have three attempts at doing this before the sales rep says he's not interested in buying. I've made the assumption that any equipment item with a tech level greater than 14 means it's a special item that wouldn't be recognizable by most sales reps, so this bargaining process would kick in for the sale. Does that make sense? And would this process be sufficient, or does it need some additional steps? I can post some pics of the flow if anyone is interested.

1. Same sector only.

2. Assuming the cloak to be stolen Navy tech, I'd think it may be tricky to sell. Salesman: 'Too hot for me... but I know someone who might be interested... '

Thanks, Cody.

Here's another one though: Given you aren't able to sell equipment left in storage in other sectors, should the daily storage costs for equipment in other sectors be charged to your account as soon as they fall due, or should they be held until you return there, and you pay a lump sum? There's some fiction (specifically this one) that suggests that at least some accounts are not by default universal. If you leave the sector, you leave your money behind. (Hmm, I smell an OXP in there...) But that may not be the general consensus.

Cody wrote:

1. Same sector only.

I may have to rethink that answer, as this and the banking thread have got me pondering the whole interconnectedness-of-the-octants thing... again.
This usually makes my brain hurt, trying to figure out why only one-way travel, how they are positioned relative to each other, etc.

Well, version 0.3.0 ended up being a larger release than I was originally planning, but I think this is getting pretty smooth now.
In this version:

• Included the ability to store most equipment items in a local storage centre, and then retrieve that item at a later date. Also includes ability to sell equipment items directly from storage, or to transfer equipment items between storage facilities.
• Cargo can also be stored in the main station storage facility, and transferred between facilities.
• Included the ability to sell the cloaking device, or any equipment item that has an effective tech level >= 16, through a negotiation process.
• Added warning sounds/notifications when ship temperature reaches critical levels.
• Improved compatibility with the Single-Use witchdrive OXP.
• Added a random element to the process of adding equipment to NPC's, so not all ships of the same role will have the same equipment.
• Fixed issue where some column headings were not appearing correctly on the main Ship Config screen and the Electrical Bus sub-menu.
• Fixed issue with invalid reference error when energy equipment is damaged.
• Fixed issue with selling of passenger berths not working.
• Removed the Breakable Torus Drive code and the incompatibility flag, moved OXP reference to "optional_oxps". If you like this feature you can install that OXP directly.
• Removed the station equipmentPriceFactor from equipment price calculations, to avoid the loophole of buying equipment at the main station and selling it at a Rock Hermit for massive profits.
• Fixed bug with armour damage-point calculations that was preventing any damage to equipment from taking place until armour was mostly gone.
• Prevented smuggling compartments from being stored.
• Added some additional role translations.
• Changed "==" comparisons to "===" for performance improvements.
• Equipment refund price set to 85% of original price.
• Turned off free upgrades, turned on equipment installation time.
• Added SniperLock equipment to ignore list.

Available from links in the first post. And if I can get through the long weekend without any bug reports, I think it's probably ready for a download manager release.

Thank you, PHKB. One thing though: When bartering with the buyer for the Cloaking Device, the seller is asked to quote a price and then confirm by pressing Y or N. But the sale goes through immediately upon entering the price.

The logic in the bartering section is:
(a) The buyer offers a price to the player.
(b) The seller (the player) can either enter Y to accept the offered amount, N to cancel the sale, or type in another figure to see if the buyer will take it.
(c) The buyer then tells the player if that price was too high. If so, the player can enter another offer.
(d) If the buyer accepts the offer the sale goes through immediately.

If you entered a price and the sale went through, this means the buyer accepted the amount you offered. If it wasn't clear what was happening I'll need to make some adjustments to the text.

Also, if the above logic needs to be tweaked, let me know.

phkb wrote:

The logic in the bartering section is:
(a) The buyer offers a price to the player.
(b) The seller (the player) can either enter Y to accept the offered amount, N to cancel the sale, or type in another figure to see if the buyer will take it.
(c) The buyer then tells the player if that price was too high. If so, the player can enter another offer.
(d) If the buyer accepts the offer the sale goes through immediately.

If you entered a price and the sale went through, this means the buyer accepted the amount you offered. If it wasn't clear what was happening I'll need to make some adjustments to the text.

Also, if the above logic needs to be tweaked, let me know.

No, the logic is sound. It was my observation that wasn't. I'm hoping to see this OXP out of BETA one day.

Version 0.4.0 has just been released, and it's now available from the download manager, in the "Mechanics" section.

In this version.

• Adjusted heat shielding insulation strength for type 3 and 4 heat shields, making them more useful, particularly for sun-skimmers. Also added types 5 and 6 for additional heat shield options.
• Fixed issue where the default level of heat insulation was being reset if heat shield equipment was not specifically installed on a ship.
• Adjustments to manifest.plist.
• Changed short range chart selection range to 7.5ly, rather than 15.
• Better handling of interstellar space conditions.
• Disabled ship configuration F3 item at police/navy stations (repairs are still possible at these stations, though).
• Fixed issue with emails sent when selling equipment not displaying the correct refund amount.
• F3 "Ship configuration" item now has a cost of 0 (zero).
• Added the possibility of having a mis-jump when entering hyperspace with high heat levels.
• Fixed issue with equipment overload state when returning from a combat simulation.

I might leave the "Beta" notice on there for a little longer, and see how the wider release goes.

Minor bug fix release this time, download via the manager or links in first post.

• Fixed small bug that could occur if the amount of used equipment space exactly equals the available space.
• Removed debug message when purchasing a new ship.
• Fixed issue with HUD not becoming visible again when launching while viewing the ship configuration screen.