Oolite Bulletins

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:28 am

Oh! And does this mean that your Station Options will itself need options?

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:28 am

1) What are your thoughts on the matter?

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:28 am

2) And as regards Wiki pages do you intend the final effort to be just the one .oxp or do your prefer a basic station options .oxp
with add-ons for the various other .oxp's?

Cody wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:59 am

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:28 am

... a decent cup of first flush darjeeling in the station café...

<sips organic Colombian arabica - ponders the mysteries of the universe>

Why is it that tea never smells as good as it tastes, whereas coffee never tastes as good as it smells?

Cody wrote: ↑Wed Sep 01, 2021 12:01 pm

And to quote the great DNA: you end up with a liquid that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea!

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:42 pm

Wiki page now up: http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Station_Options

"It currently only works with Telescope."

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:29 pm

...
Update: Only get the infestation when start game from a saved neophyte Jameson (have tried 5 so far!). But not when starting from a more experienced Jameson (even one who did not buy Telescope) - have tried 3 so far of varying vintages. Odd.

"you will get some aliens right after undock to test Telescope"

cag wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 2:28 am

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 2:42 pm

Wiki page now up: http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Station_Options

"It currently only works with Telescope."

Players will also need to download the oxp I created for you in order to use Station Options with the version of Telescope (1.15) currently in the manager:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vusqo0pwx3ck ... .oxz?dl=0

It contains stuff specific to Telescope, namely, the missiontext.plist and a small script.js to register Telescope for use as a station option 'user' and to load/save these options.

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:29 pm

...
Update: Only get the infestation when start game from a saved neophyte Jameson (have tried 5 so far!). But not when starting from a more experienced Jameson (even one who did not buy Telescope) - have tried 3 so far of varying vintages. Odd.

Lacking further details, I can only guess. Did you alter the TelescopeThargoids option for that Jameson? Its description reads

Code: Select all

"you will get some aliens right after undock to test Telescope"

Search the save file for TelescopeThargoids. Otherwise, send me links to download the save file & Latest.log.

• it is a map (key, value pair) like {'name1': value1, 'name2': value2, ... }
• these are sent along with station_options' own set to every expandMissionText() call
• enables dynamic text, especially in combination with a descriptions.plist
  • e.g. in Telescope 2.0 station_options, before getting access to the new/expiremental options,
    you have to accept a licence agreement. There are unique responses to your reply.
    Once you accept, an entire new page is added (for those options) and later on, the licence
    page will be removed. This is all done by updating a few missionKeys.
• all of the oxp's missiontext keys may be overridden (except keyPrefix & hostVarPrefix of course)
• all of station_options own set may be overridden (see its missiontext.plist)
  • e.g. change inherent button text, colors
• other functions to support this are:
  • $O_getMissionKeys()
  • $O_setMissionKeys()
  • $O_updateMissionKeys()
• this is laid out in the missiontext-template.plist file included in station_options oxp
  (it's a stand-in until the wiki page is written)
• added get/set functions for all the other $O_initStationOptions() arguments
  (allows one to alter the behavior as conditions change)

• can be based on other options and/or oxp vars
  • e.g. in telescope, the option 'SniperRingSize' controls its size, 0 turns it off
    while 'SniperRingColor' sets the ring's color

    Code: Select all

    telescope_SniperRingColor_condition = "SniperRingSize > 0"

  • 'SniperRingColor' will appear as a sub-option of 'SniperRingColor' and
    will not appear if SniperRingSize == 0 (turned off)
• there is NO inheritance! it's easy to implement but too restrictive (and debugging is harder)
  
  • e.g.

    Code: Select all

    telescope_SniperRingSize_condition = "$FixedTel == 0"

  • option becomes unavailable if player opts for the 'cheap' repair
    but what about 'SniperRingColor'?
  • with inheritance, it would also disappear, which may be unwanted
  • if it IS wanted, just use

    Code: Select all

    telescope_SniperRingColor_condition = "SniperRingSize > 0 && $FixedTel == 0"

    as its '_condition' statement

• e.g. changing an option can instantly alter results of '_condition' values
• e.g. changing an option can change which option pages are available (see Telescope 2.0's BetaLicence)
• e.g. from Telescope 2.0 BetaLicence

  Code: Select all

  "telescope_BetaLicence_assign" = "$BetaLicence = $BetaLicence ? $BetaLicence : BetaLicence; $BetaLicenceTimestamp = BetaLicence === 'Accept' ? '[stn_optns_clockString]' : ''; $BetaLicenceSystem = BetaLicence === 'Accept' ? '%H' : ''";
  

  The first only assigns worldScripts.telescope.$BetaLicence if it's null. The next 2 save the time and system (Telescope only sets the missionVariables if they're null, so it preserves the original values).

• allow option specific callbacks
• e.g. from Telescope 2.0 BetaLicence

  Code: Select all

  "telescope_BetaLicence_execute" = "_BetaLicenceAnswered( BetaLicence );";

  calls worldScripts.telescope._BetaLicenceAnswered with the option's current value

• e.g. say you have a choice option, 'myView', for 'Forward', 'Aft', 'Port', 'Starboard' then you can use
  ".._condition = myView == 'Aft'" instead of ".._condition = myView == 1"
• works for '_condition', '_assign' & '_execute'

• choice can now be list of numbers (before had to use string: {'0', '1',..}, now {0, 1,...})
  NB: if a default is specified as a number, it is ASSUMED to be an index!
• hostVarPrefix can be > 1 char

cag wrote: ↑Sat Nov 27, 2021 3:28 am

[I've updated the 1st post to have the same link but do not have credentials to update the wiki. Cholmondely, would you mind?]

Milo wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:46 pm

cag, would you be willing to add support for OXPs to provide dynamically-generated options at runtime, or give me pointers on how to do it?

I want to generate options for each primeable equipment that the player has.

 Adopting Station Options

cag wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 2:09 am

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:10 am

And what is the current status of Station Options vis-a-vis Telescope Options?

I do feel that Telescope is really the only .oxp that needs this. And the only .oxp for which it can be done in an immersive manner, as you demonstrated. The other oxp options handled by Telescope are really not the sort of thing which a pilot would expect to control in-game (how many Academies there are, or how many asteroids there are, or how the customs find contraband... I think that Phkb's option for an amber GUI for his XenonUI is probably the only real pilot-controlled choice I would expect to find in-game.

At some stage, heavens willing, we will have some other complex oxp's which will deserve your tender treatment...

As it stands, Station Options does all I need for Telescope and then some. I threw in the licence agreement page to test dynamic page loading (yah, I know, you didn't notice; few would. But the 'experimental' options page does not load until you accept and later, the licence page gets removed.)

Any oxp with a handful of options could use it, esp. those with expansive readme files which require the player to read the wiki or crack open the oxz. Having the info available at the station is more immersive. Station Options is driven entirely from the missiontext.plist file, so there's minimal coding involved.


I always had in mind that it could also function as a mission builder. Especially useful is the 'choice' option type, where in a given situation, the player could be presented with options/questions and the mission would proceed base on his input. If missions were structured like a tree (not linear), then they could be replayed yielding different results.


Milo had an idea for an oxp to help with the primeable equipment issue and I've implemented some 'advanced' keys in addition to the dynamic options he wanted.
(see  Adopting Station Options)

Milo wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:46 pm

cag, would you be willing to add support for OXPs to provide dynamically-generated options at runtime, or give me pointers on how to do it?

I want to generate options for each primeable equipment that the player has.

...

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Sat Dec 18, 2021 5:54 pm

Would it involve tampering with Weapon Laws?