Oolite Bulletins

Smivs wrote:

I use a Logitech Attack Three which is USB and will almost certainly work with your Laptop. It's even Linux friendly.

Of the budget sticks available, that’s probably the best… I use it myself.

Look at all you lot with your fancy gear... I remember back in the day the only controls you needed were Q,A,O,P,Space...

Okay, since we're going down that road... come on, own up.. which flashy b@$tard plays with a virtual reality helmet?

I have a few different joysticks. A Saitek Cyborg is probably the best, and I like it.. But for games like Oolite, I prefer my old beat up Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro that I got for 2 or 3 bucks at a second-hand store. If Microsoft ever built one thing good, that joystick would probably be it. It's old but I'm comfortable enough with it that it's worth having an extra soundcard with a gameport even if it was just to use that stick. Although having a second soundcard is worthwhile enough on it's own if you like having full game sound and full music capability at once. Probably not a practical idea on a laptop to double up on souncards though.

Ganelon wrote:

I prefer my old beat up Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro

I had one of those years ago... a really good stick.

Ganelon wrote:

Although having a second soundcard is worthwhile enough on it's own if you like having full game sound and full music capability at once.

My onboard sound does that quite nicely... my music of choice, and all the game sound effects.

I don't want to take this thread off topic, because I know we generally don't do that around here but what reasons are there for not using the onboard sound chipsets on most motherboards these days?

The only one I can think of is if you've got a home theater setup and you want to do 24-way 3D dodecohedralscopic surround sound with bass-boost.

The last time I purchased a sound card it was a Soundblaster AWE 64 Gold, and by today's standard it looks like a one-channel beep generator in comparison.

Ill take a look at the joystick thanks guys.

With respect to the comment about getting military shields...

i found a system selling them, but it only shows as available if i switch my ship!!. I was curious so traded in for a python and presto, military shields are there

so i take it the cobra commodore cant take military shields?. That might make it worth switching back to my old MK3 if that takes them?

Thanks

sunlover72 wrote:

so i take it the cobra commodore cant take military shields?.

According to its Wiki page, the Cobra Commodore should be able to mount military shields.

Open the oxp and have a look in the shipyard.plist, which you'll find in the Config folder.
You will find a list of equipment under 'Optional Equipment' and somewhere in that list it should have
If it isn't there, they cannot be fitted (and the Wiki is wrong!), but if listed they can be fitted. If not listed you could 'cheat' and add them to the list.

Use any text editor except Notepad.

Edit:- Something odd...the Python definitely can't have Mil Shields fitted What's going on?

I think its the z-ships addon ... but never mind, back in an mk3 which accepts mil shields... and now im completely broke

Yeah, the Z-Ships Python Courier can mount mil shields (or so says the Wiki).

sunlover72 wrote:

... back in an mk3 which accepts mil shields... and now im completely broke

Yes, but nicely set-up and well-placed to make a killing

sunlover72 wrote:

I think its the z-ships addon ... but never mind, back in an mk3 which accepts mil shields... and now im completely broke

Just do some Random Hits missions and you're quickly back

Darkbee wrote:

I don't want to take this thread off topic, because I know we generally don't do that around here but what reasons are there for not using the onboard sound chipsets on most motherboards these days?

There are reasons like needing more inputs and outputs that can be used at once for music mixing, multitrack recording or DJ/radio stuff. But to keep it strictly to reasons that could possibly apply to Oolite:

First, an outboard soundcard might simply sound better. Theoretically, the specs on most onboard sound *should* be good enough. But if you try an outboard soundcard and it sounds better to you, then it simply sounds a bit better.

Secondly, if you play any games where you use teamspeak or if you use internet phone options like skype, then having a second soundcard means that voice can be on a headset while the main sound and subwoofs carry all the rumble of the engines and laser and etc noises and maybe your tunes. Could be good for immersion. Even though Oolite is a single player game, some in-character gossip with other players while playing could maybe be fun. It wouldn't take adding or changing anything in the engine.

But an outboard soundcard makes only a very small difference in actual performance as regards games, though. (Unlike an outboard graphics card, which can make a large difference.) We're talking 5 FPS or less difference even when using the highest levels of detail and shaders. Most onboard sound chips sound pretty good these days and will work well enough. It still might be a noticeable quality upgrade for people running older machines, maybe.

Since at this time Oolite doesn't use anything like teamspeak or etc, and any performance improvement would be extremely small, an extra soundcard would be way down on the list of possible improvements just for playing Oolite as it is now. Unless, like me, you have an old favourite joystick that happens to have a gameport connector instead of a USB connector like your newer mommyboard.

sunlover72 wrote:

I tend to play on the laptop which means keyboard control.

I noticed people referring to joysticks and 'precision' control.. is that a joystick only function?

Of course you may invest in a joystick if you like. But let me assure you that since the days of C64-Elite I have never player any incarnation of this game with anything else than the keyboard, and it is as precise as it gets (the literally thousands of NPCs I've blasted to smithereens can testify to that effect—that is, if they were still there to testify, of course, which they aren't, of course ).

Huh! I've only ever played with a joystick, even on the old C64. Joysticks were not so good back then and I gained a bit of a reputation for destroying them...it wasn't unknown, in the heat of battle, for me to pull the 'stick' completely out of the 'base'