Oolite Bulletins

I tried removing OXPs, and, even once I'd restored them all, no pirates appeared. I conclude that either (1) these pirates are being added on a timer (for each time I didn't playtest for that long) or (2) they are being added when some condition(s) unknown to me obtains, or (3) when I do see the pirates in interstellar space, they are indeed 'coming with me' from systems. I reckon 3 is the most likely.

Switeck's Shipping OXP makes pirates more likely to follow you to interstellar space so long as they're within range to do so, though I am unsure how great that range is.

Switeck wrote:

Switeck's Shipping OXP makes pirates more likely to follow you to interstellar space so long as they're within range to do so, though I am unsure how great that range is.

Aha! I've that OXP installed. Thanks for the information.

One option would be to - via that OXP itself - (1) decrease that increased chance. Another option would be (2) for my Interstellar Tweaks OXP to mess with what yours does.

In fact (on the lines of 2), I've already incorporated into a (unreleased) version of my OXP the following functionality. In those cases wherein my OXP effects no special tweaks, it has a 50% chance of removing any pirates that appear (ab initio, as it were) in interstellar space (and some of the special tweaks will remove all or - sometimes - most things that appear in interstellar space, in order to add its own stuff).

It's not a "chance" of pirates following you, it's they almost always follow you if you're "within range" of them at the time+place you make a wormhole.
I don't know what that range is, but it's probably not much greater than scanner range...so it should basically never happen near the main station even in an anarchy system.

The problem is the nature of AI .plist scripts. I wanted pirates to "give chase", so a hyperspace jump isn't a guaranteed escape route. Not like they'd know you misjumped until too late.

Switeck wrote:

It's not a "chance" of pirates following you, it's they almost always follow you if you're "within range" of them at the time+place you make a wormhole.
I don't know what that range is, but it's probably not much greater than scanner range...so it should basically never happen near the main station even in an anarchy system.

Thanks for the information. However, I don't quite get the inference - especially if we take into account the 'Furball' OXP . .

EDIT: Also, 'almost always' does represent a chance, no?

EDIT: I've implemented the other option above, i.e. made my OXP (sometimes) remove any pirates that it finds when the player enters interstellar space.

UK_Eliter wrote:

EDIT: Also, 'almost always' does represent a chance, no?

Well, the conditions are the pirates will follow the player into hyperspace *IF* the pirates were already in an attacking mode, presumably after the player since they have to be somewhere near the player when the player hyperspace jumps. The problem is I have no control over the "somewhat near" part and it seems to be greater than scanner range, maybe even by a lot. Thus the joys of using AI.plist script commands...easier to use by far than writing out complex conditional .js scripts but at the price of less control and more undesired effects.

Incidentally, Thargoids may follow you the same way...so escaping interstellar space may not be a clean getaway.

Switeck wrote:

Thargoids may follow you the same way...so escaping interstellar space may not be a clean getaway.

Yes, the Green Ones have made me well aware of that!