Oolite Bulletins

That's one huge script list there LB, my mousewheel is getting worn out

Superb work as usual, BTW how is the shoulder?

Has now healed and I'm back at work. As I couldn't carry anything or write I was off work for two weeks! Due to being very bored at home, the descriptions file for random hits grew to over 14,000 words (the crimes list is one of about 50 different lists that get combined to make up the hails and mission screens) and any given mission can have up to 8 different endings depending on player and npc actions! Still have a few things to do on the OXP before I release it and progress is now slow as I'm working again. Should release a playable V1.0 over the comming weekend though.

Pretty much finished the code for the OXP now. Just need to do a bit more playtesting. I've added some background pics to go behind the Bulletin Board at the Space Bars like this:-

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i252/ ... bboard.jpg

In the past though I've made PNGs that work on the PC but cause Oolite on the Mac to crash as soon as it displays them on a mission screen. I think I know what I did wrong last time, but as I don't have a Mac to test it on I can't be sure it won't crash the Mac. I've put the PNG up on a box link below. Could a Mac user test it on a mission screen and let me know if its OK?

DOWNLOAD FOR PNG:-

http://www.box.net/shared/c0z83bqnrr

Looking forward to the Release! (one more thing to distract me from finals ). Missions like Assassins are great, but OXPs like this that lend to replayability are really where its at in an open ended game like Oolite. Nicely done!

This could well be the most essential OXP ever - at the very least it sounds like it is going to be the most essential so far.

(of 5)

- Still to do:-

1) Squash an annoying AI bug that about 1 time in 20 causes the mark to get stuck in a loop, issuing threatening hail after hail, but not actually attacking until he is hit! Normaly he just sends one threat and then attacks (if he's decided to attack rather than leg it, drop a mine and hit the injectors or jump out - requiring you to follow him through his wormhole.)

2) Big tidy up of Descriptions to break the main tables into sub-tables to ensure nothing gets repeated. (Currently has 14,897 words in 5,898 strings in 584 arrays). Only know as I just C&Ped it into word to check my speeeling and then back into its .plist

Have a re-trial on Monday though, so probabley be next weekend I release it.

Have downloaded the PNG, how do I add it to a mission screen?

(you will note my lack of programming skills)

Cheers for the offer. Having a very bad dose of RL (tm) ATM so no time to work on finishing the OXP until maybe next weekend. However, I have done some playing around with the showShipModel: (which is now working again), so I'm not gonna use PNGs, but rather a 3D rotating model of the victim's ship (as it looks cool!). The OXP will require 1.70 however, as certain script commands (such as performHyperSpaceExitWithoutReplacing )are necessary for the OXP to work as intended.

Update:-

Have now finished all the scripting and adding recursion to the descriptions.plist (18,339 words)!. Still to do is unpdate the AIs to use methods from 1.70 (which should make them "smarter"). My jury goes out Monday afternoon, so spect I can polish up the AIs whilst they're out.

I've used a suggestion of Captain H's to add a title's system. Points are awarded for completing missions. The harder missions give more points than the easier ones. How you complete the missions also effects how many points you earn.

You'll have little chance of getting a mark with a q-mine, as his AI scanns for active mines and will immedatley hit the injectors if he spots one, but as none of the ships in the OXP are uber they can be e-bombed. If a mark is flying a Cobra Mk II then its just your standard Cobra Mk III, with equipment assinged randomly, but the odds weighted for tougher marks having better equipment. However, although you will still be paid for e-bombing a mark you won't earn any points. And points mean earning titles (permentaly displayed on the F5 screen) and improving your bounty hunter's rating.

I've tried to make the challenge of the missions based on the fact that these piolts are a bit smarter than the typical pirate. They won't necessary fight to the death or attack you on sight. The may just change course when they spot you and hope to slip by unnoticed or flee on injectors. If a battle is going badly they may drop a q-mine or jump out, so you'll need to reach their wormhole before it collapses to continue the hunt, or jump into an escape craft (not limited to standard Oolite pods) requiring you to kill or capture the pod. Anyway, I'm using two tables for rating and title (which is also who you are addressed in hails and e-mails you recieve) and a rank. Both increase independantly. The starting title is "Outsider" and the starting rank "Harmless" (ie you are "a harmless Outsider"). I'd like to use somthing different from the Elite rankings. Any suggestions for Titles and ranks? Here a few to start with:-

Titles:-

Outsider
Deputy
Sheriff
Marshal
Vigilante

Ranks:-

harmless

The two are used both independanly and combined ("I'll vaporize your Python Outsider Hesperus" in a threatening hail to the player for example, or "I'm sorry the Directors of Laveian Banana Plantations are seeking a rather more lethal operative than a harmless Outsider for this assignment" in a e-mail to the player from in repose to his offering his services for a job. So the strings for the ranks and titles need to sound ok when combined.

EDIT : BTW as 1.70 allows the display of a 3D ship model, I've added this feature so a rotating 3D model of the victim's ship appears alongside the BB entry advertising for his death.

I don't know if "Vigilante" should be so high up the list. Persoanlly I'd expect to see it just above "Outsider", as it still implies something less than fully sanctioned. And I have second thoughts about "Deputy": unfair though it may be, it carries a bit of a sidekick air about it. Maybe

Outsider
Vigilante
Tracker
Hunter
Sheriff
Provost
Marshal
Judge (more Dredd than Pickles)
Executioner

Here's some
Ranks:
Green
Experienced
Efficient
Professional
Expedient
Brutal
Feared
Veteran
Dangerous
Deadly
Expert
Master

Captain Hesperus

Top of the ranking list should be Oh Great One

TGHC wrote:

Top of the ranking list should be Oh Great One

No. For now it's "Supreme Grand Admiral" (see Ahruman's Avatar ).

@Ahruman: Hey, found something new to play with?

Hmm, what? I’ve been playing with avatars for a while. I’m sure you’ve noticed. :-)

Can't wait for this. Will the 'target' also flee using hyperspace?
If so you may want to add a hyperspace cloud analyser too.

In a later stage this BBS can also be used for other mission types?

keep up the good work!