Oolite Bulletins

Not a lot of OXPs running on that. Here's the list from the log:

~/.Oolite/AddOns/Commies.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Famous_Planets_v2.5.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/BountyScannerv2.0.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/BGS-A1.2.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Cargo_wrecks_teaser 1.6.3.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Snoopers2.0.8.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/fixed_shader_krait(EW).oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/griff_prototype_boa.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Anarchies2.3.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/buoyRepair1.02.6.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/BigShips 1.02.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Pirate_coves 1.2.1.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Griff_Debris_sets135_no_normal_map.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/SaveAnywhere3.1.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Griff_illicit_unlock.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Dictators v1.4.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Deep Horizons - Lights Down.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Rock_Hermit_Locator1.3.2.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Target Reticle 1.2.1.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/griff_shipset_dizzy's_all_in_1.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/Tianve1.3.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/multidecal_cobraIII_player.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/PlanetFall 1.41.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/tgy_dev.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/adcks_bulk_haulers_v1.4.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/BlOomberg Markets v2.2.oxp
~/.Oolite/AddOns/captKev_dodo.oxp

Very little there that affects appearance of space itself other than Lights Down and Famous Planets.

The main ship featured is indeed the Griff Boa Prototype. It's not a real large ship. It's a little longer than a normal Boa I. Just a bit longer than the width of Cobra MKIII, for example. It's not quite as tall or wide as a stock Boa, which makes it a bit better for docking when you're in a hurry. A sidewinder is wider than the Griff Boa proto is wide or tall, so there's nothing unusual in the scale there. Sidewinders just don't *look* that big maybe because you don't usually get that close to them. I'm firing from less than 100 meters away in that pic.

I'm not one of the graphics whizzes here, so the only way I know of to get pics is to get into an actual fight or whatever and take a screenshot. Lighting, colours, etc are just what the game looks like with what OXPs I have installed. About the only thing I tweak is I'll crop the pic to eliminate dull bits of background and to focus on the action. The one exception to that in these pics is the first one. I was taking off after having been down on the planet's surface (the Planetfall OXP). I had just been cut loose from the boosters that are used to get a ship back to space. So I was still in the top of the atmosphere, which is why the sky is more blue than black. With that pic, I rotated it a little and then cropped, to tilt the ship up and emphasise that feeling when you're taking off and the sky is fading to black as you head on out of the atmosphere. In the game, it would actually look level. Other than that, when I'm going after screenshots, I just take a LOT of them and keep the ones where the lighting and action are good.

The Griff Boa in the pics is "stock" other than the Jolly Roger. I couldn't figure out how to get it to work with the pretty sort of decals that come with the ship, so I disabled them and scribbled together a Jolly Roger in the Gimp and pasted it on the graphic files for the ship by trial and error until I got the position right. That's why it looks maybe a bit cruder than Griff's usually excellent decal systems. LOL It's the ship I fly for "character research" for my Carver stories. Carver's ship, the "Lady of Fortune". It's a very *non*-uber ship, even with the turrets, since the turn rate is much slower than any other Boas, and the speed is only that of stock Boa I, regardless of those huge engines and the amount of hull that's been "chopped". But it feels like a freighter when you fly it, and that's one of the things I like about it. Well, and the "chopper" look it has is just rude in a way I like. LOL

But anyway, the pics are just crops taken from gameplay screenshots. Taking off from a planet, a bit of dogfighting, scooping an escape pod. Typical day in the Ooniverse. It's just that this game does look really good if you get in close enough to see the details on some of the spiffy ships and if you look around a bit. It's Oolite, it rocks, we all know that. LOL

But sometimes it really takes screenshots to see how cool it is, since we're kinda busy fighting and etc to take in the scenery in moments that might be only a fraction of a second long. I figure that's why we have a thread for screenshots. The detail and dramatic views are there, though, and as good as any space game in the world.

To the dev team: Making the screenshot able to be triggered by a joystick button was a *great* idea! Good job!

Well that's inspired me to throw in a whole load more "ambient" OXPs. It seems like it's Famous Planets and/or System Redux (depending on which galaxy you're in) that add nebulae. And I've now enjoyed my first close-up of a Griff Boa. Planetfall is next on the agenda, although it seems I'll have to abandon a long-held principle and buy a docking computer first.

If you mean a docking computer for Planetfall, you don't need one. As you get close to the planet surface, you get told to wait for landing clearance. Shortly after that, you get told to approach the planet surface slowly. When you get close enough, you're docked.

For a simple idea, it adds quite a bit of fun and also some trade (as well as taxi, if you do that) opportunities.

EDIT: Ok, my mistake. You do need the docking computer and a heat shield, and you need to purchase the planetary landing gear that comes in the OXP. I installed Planetfall so long ago that I didn't remember until I checked. I should mention that you can also install other locations on the planet surface to dock at, namely a dirtside version of the Hoopy Casino, the Black monks, Oo-haul, and the Taxi company. I've never tried them, but if you'd like them to be there, Thargoid already thought of you.

Only been back on ops for a day, and I'm in trouble again... those GalCop Vipers do seem to dislike contrabandistas for some reason.

I can't imagine why.

Very nice shot!

El Viejo wrote:

Only been back on ops for a day, and I'm in trouble again... those GalCop Vipers do seem to dislike contrabandistas for some reason.

El Viejo. Please post your view data. This is better than the Cinematic view, as the whole ship is visible.

I changed the view position distance from 150 to 250:

El Viejo wrote:

I changed the view position distance from 150 to 250:

Thank you E V

Stupid question: how to get Cinematic View?

In the shipdata.plist of your player ship, find the 'custom views' section, and add the above code snippet below the 'Bottom View' like this:

Two of Griff's missiles, plus a bandit on my six, about to give me problems:

El Viejo wrote:

Two of Griff's missiles, plus a bandit on my six, about to give me problems:

That cargo container must have really p****d you off!

is that a wireframe copy of the missiles just behind them? :-/

Killer Wolf wrote:

is that a wireframe copy of the missiles just behind them? :-/

Very much looks like it. Strange glitch.

Yeah... ghost missiles. I put it down to the 'freeze-frame' effect of the 'stick cam, but it would be nice to see it improved.