Oolite Bulletins

phkb wrote:

cim wrote:

Most help requests are intended for other group members only - the sending is requestHelpFromGroup and only group members receive the helpRequestReceived event.

So if I see a "Help me" transmission from a ship, there is no event I can pick up unless the player is part of that ship's group?

Depending on what the transmission is, there may well not even be an event to the rest of the group.

Conversely, most of the requestHelpFromGroup events aren't necessarily accompanied by a "Help!" message. A ship beginning an attack run will send it; if its allies are not engaged in combat that will wake them up to start fighting as well. If they're already fighting, it'll be ignored. It's routine combat coordination and you can probably assume that any ship engaged in combat sent one in the last 10 seconds.

phkb wrote:

I'll have a look at how I can handle the multi-group aspect.

The fastest way is a cycle through ships returned by player.ship.[url=http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Oolite_JavaScript_Reference:_Ship#checkScanner]checkScanner[/url](true); and do your surrender check on hostiles where ship.target==player.ship .

phkb wrote:

Wouldn't you want to start from 10cr again with the third group?

If I want then I can lock a target and the message should change to "Bribe target", but now I talk about an urgent situation, for example when a player in a weak trader ship get an attack from a (few) large pirate group(s) and will be vaporized in a minute so no time to lock targets.

phkb wrote:

I'll certainly add the recommendation to prefix message names with your worldscript name

Ok, then you can change your examples like $createMessage(this.name+"myMessage1", ...

Norby wrote:

The fastest way is a cycle through ships returned by player.ship.checkScanner(true);

Wow, the things you learn! I've gone through all the Wiki docs quite a bit but still hadn't seen that one. Thanks! I should be able to cut down on my use of filteredEntities with that.

Norby wrote:

If I want then I can lock a target and the message should change to "Bribe target", but now I talk about an urgent situation, for example when a player in a weak trader ship get an attack from a (few) large pirate group(s) and will be vaporized in a minute so no time to lock targets.

I still think this is creating a confusing environment for the player, knowing what bribe has been broadcast generally compared to what has been offered individually.

What about this idea: If the player doesn't have a target (or the target he does have is not hostile), I can make the initial bribe item be "Offer bribe of 10cr to closest attacker". If the player transmits this, that ship will be automatically targeted and the bribe text changes back to the standard "Offer bribe of 20cr to target". That allows you do not have to target anything initially, so you can start the bribe proceedings quickly, but still keeps the one-to-one relationship of bribe offers. It doesn't completely resolve the issue of how to bribe multiple pirate groups at once, but it should allow for a faster turnaround.

Norby wrote:

then you can change your examples like $createMessage(this.name+"myMessage1", ...

Yeah, that's a good idea.

Thanks for your input, Norby!

phkb wrote:

"Offer bribe of 10cr to closest attacker"

Good idea! If the attacker accepts then another keypress will bribe the next hostile ship so you have a chance to finish the round on all attacker before receiving serious equipment damages which surely costs more. Maybe the starting bid can be higher if the player has a lot of money (so the time is more valuable) to increase the odds of instant success.

Moreover this is your product so you can choose or refuse anything, I am just a catalyst here.

Beta version 1.0.12 has been released.

New in this version:

- Added "Send bribe to closest target" and "Surrender to closest target" messages, for when the player doesn't have a target but is under attack. Thanks for Norby for the suggestions.
- Added the $disableMessage, $enableMessage, and $isMessageEnabled external functions, so that OXP developers can disable the standard internal messages, either individually or all of them.

Initial post has all the details.

Version 1.0.13 has been released. All details in the first post, but I've removed the "Answer distress call" (because it was never getting triggered) and added a new item, "Offer to rescue escape pod". I've also reduced the initial bribe amount to 1cr, based on the game economy where 1cr can buy 1/2 a ton of food.

Please let me know if you come across any issues, or if you have any suggestions for improvements.

This addon is a real must have. Nice shot!

Can I make two suggestions?

1) Add the option to target the source of the last communication.
2) Add a request to all ships in range to leave alone your target (useful if you need to hunt in a populated zone... ).

...Plus, an entry from my log:
Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the feedback, marte!

Some great suggestions too. I'll see what I can do.

Version 1.0.14 now available.
In this version:

• Changed specification of the createMessage and updateMessage functions to use an object rather than parameters.
• Added two new message types, "(Target last comms message)" and "Keep away from my target".
• Changed the default callback wait time for external messages to be 2 seconds.
• If there are more than 9 messages available to the player, the box will now scroll, and indicators in the title will show whether there are more items either on the top or bottom of the list.
• Lots of bug fixes

All details in the first post, including download links, but it is also available via the download manager.

I frickin' love this OXP - thanks Phkb and Zireael - cookies for you fellas!!

Thanks, if I ever find some free time I'll write up some more dialogue

Hi there! amazing oxp. This is something that I have been expecting for a long time. Thank you.
I came across a strange reaction of a police viper.
I was a minor offender and after It attacked me, I tried to surrender.
It accepted my surrender but then, went all pirate on my ass, demanding cargo.

I don't know what the appropriate response would be to my surrender but surely the viper had no use for loot.
I was hoping that I would be given a fine or would be asked to follow It to the main station or switch off engines and prepare to be boarded or something like that.

anyhow this is great in every aspect so far. keep up the good work!

one suggestion if I may. Wouldn't it be cool if the player could ask for an enemy to surrender? The response could be to eject and let you take him alive, or if there is no escape pod it could just switch off and become derelict so you can tow it to a station if you have a tow bar. Or maybe the police could come and board it later. It would be in the players will to show mercy or not, depending on the bounty that is going to loose.
so the smaller the bounty the bigger the chance to surrender, and the bigger the bounty the bigger the chance to receive some Monty python inspired insult and/or an extension of the middle flipper/finger/tentacle/etc

Many times I am hunting a fleeing enemy and all I hear is "I surrender", "please don't kill me" and the like, but they keep trying to escape. even after I destroy them the escape pod is trying to escape and it drives me nuts
I would love an option to accept the surrender and save myself the trouble of wiping bloody icicles from my windshield (evil laughter )

In the ooniverse I have only one rule. NO SURVIVORS! unless you come quietly. I do have a soft spot

now that I think of it there could be a second offer to an escape pod. Offer a non negotiable ride, or evaporation!
This could be almost 100% persuasive!

Hi mohowk, and thanks for the feedback. I'm glad you like the OXP!

Yeah, surrendering to police is a tricky, but unless they've gone over to the dark side they shouldn't be demanding cargo! Yikes!

Definitely a bug. I'll get a patch out shortly.

Your suggestion is a great one. The overriding goal of this OXP was not to alter the balance of the game too much - maybe nudge it in a particular direction, but keeping the game play largely intact. The issue with demanding surrender is when should it actually kick in? Ships with escape pods will eject just before their ship explodes, ships without them will turn tail and run (with injectors if they have them). Even the ones with escape pods will have probably started running before their ship explodes. If you demand surrender before the ship is running, they should just laugh it off. If you demand surrender after they're running, wouldn't they be still hoping they can get away?

Thinking a bit more, if the ship is fleeing, and they know they can't outrun the player (ie, they don't have injectors AND their max speed is less than the player's max speed), and the size of their group is less than or equal to (say) 2 ships, (and, based on the bug already noted, they aren't a police ship!), then it might be possible to get them to surrender. Does anyone else have some suggestions on ways to make this work efficiently?

phkb wrote:

Thinking a bit more, if the ship is fleeing, and they know they can't outrun the player (ie, they don't have injectors AND their max speed is less than the player's max speed), and the size of their group is less than or equal to (say) 2 ships, (and, based on the bug already noted, they aren't a police ship!), then it might be possible to get them to surrender. Does anyone else have some suggestions on ways to make this work efficiently?

Actually, and this is something that occurred to me a while ago when I was looking over the OXP scripts, phkb, /why shouldn't the police be able to surrender or take a bribe/? Why should they be incorruptible and unwaveringly brave? I think there should be a very slight possibility of them doing just that-- very slight, I think, because yes, they are quite good at their jobs and probably not likely to crack under pressure. But the possibility should still be there, however unlikely. Of course, a /failed/ attempt at a bribe should carry an additional penalty for your legal status, perhaps a point or two, which means it's a pretty risky thing to try... but why not give the chance?

Of course, a /failed/ attempt at a bribe should carry an additional penalty for your legal status, perhaps a point or two, which means it's a pretty risky thing to try... but why not give the chance?

I like this idea, and I like the idea of bad cops, especially in shady government systems. But demanding cargo should take into consideration that most police vessels have no cargo space.
Anyway I was just making sure that this behaviour is no bug.

Thinking a bit more, if the ship is fleeing, and they know they can't outrun the player (ie, they don't have injectors AND their max speed is less than the player's max speed), and the size of their group is less than or equal to (say) 2 ships, (and, based on the bug already noted, they aren't a police ship!), then it might be possible to get them to surrender

that is what I am suggesting. with the addition that some ships can not escape even with injectors, if the player have them also.
Is there some event triggered when a ship is trying to escape but can not? like frustrated? this is where it can just give up.
I surely have many times received a message like "they’re still after me!!"

edit: also sometimes they send the message "I surrender please don't kill me!" that could be a good time to just accept their surrender

many times I have been hunting down a foe for like 3 minutes where he is one nick away from death. ( I find it hard to make this last shot when in full injector speed), but the enemy is doomed if I have enough fuel. ( NO SURVIVORS as I said )
a surrender could be accepted in cases like this, or when all its friends are dead, and maybe it is not a big offender, (the penalty doesn't worth dyeing for)
And finally I don't hunt for money any more. I hunt to establish my dominance! (maniacal laughter) so everybody has to surrender or die, and my code of honour dictates that I give them the chance to just do that
edit: even their refusing to surrender would add something to the experience!
situations like:
- player to 20 enemy ships: "the first [empty cargo space] to eject get to live!"
or "Come quietly if you like duralium between you and space!"
or "Surrender now I have you all surrounded!"
- gang leader to player: "The rest will die from laughter?"
or "Don't you just love en optimist?"
or "Didn't they teach you how to count to [number of group] in the academy?"

or maybe when the odds change, you ask for surrender and there is a small chance, for one coward with less equipped ship or small bounty to go "screw you guys I'm going home!" and eject instead of trying to escape. I think it would give flavour and not break the game if the chance is small!

come to think of it It would also be cool if they too could offer a bride like the amount of their bounty to let them go.

or if we could see npc surrender to npc. Ok I am pulling the rope too far now

But you are to blame, because this oxp is one of the most important and most anticipated immersion elements in the history of this game (at least by me )
Interacting with npcs!! never thought i would see the day!