plannets.oxp - is it still working?

[Commander McLane]

although I've read in Status Quo that around Lave alone there are 6 stations in orbit.

That's right. Our rationalization is that in fact there are multiple stations and corridors around each planet. But you are always directed to the one closest to the witchpoint of your entry in the system. So your navigation computers don't show you the other stations, witchpoints and corridors.

[Commander McLane]

@ CaptKev: Just opened System_Redux.oxp for the first time, in order to tune down the appearance of moons and other planets.

Only when I opened it I realized that there is a readme inside (and a file named commons_deed.rtf, which refused to open on my system).

Most Mac users will never ever open the OXP, because on a Mac it is not a folder, but a package, which appears to be a single file. Therefore it is bad style to place a readme inside an OXP. It simply won't be read. (The wiki explains that somewhere.)

So the recommended way of releasing OXPs is this: Put the System_Redux.oxp, which should contain nothing but the internally required folders (Config, Textures, etc.) and files (requires.plist), in another folder named System Redux (or something similar, it could also have a version number in its name), together with any documentation you want to add. Then zip this mother-folder and upload to wherever you want to upload it to. The user will then download it, open the mother-folder, find and read (hopefully) the readme, and put the OXP itself into his AddOns folder.

[CaptKev]

Thanks for the tip Commander McLane, I didn't realise it wouldn't show as a folder on the Mac.

At some point I'll make the necessary changes to my OXP's

[Lestradae]

Most Mac users will never ever open the OXP, because on a Mac it is not a folder, but a package, which appears to be a single file. Therefore it is bad style to place a readme inside an OXP. It simply won't be read.

Oha!

That`s relevant information! And just in time ...

So most Mac users couldn`t read my ships databank ... the read me ... the commons deed ... sh**!

Good you mentioned it.

L

[Ace Garp]

Also - would it be possible for OXP writers to call the readme: -
'my_great_oxp.txt' for example?

I like to keep all my readme's in a single folder, and it's a pain renaming all the ones called readme.txt.

Thanks . . .

[CaptKev]

All done!

[pagroove]

Is it an idea to 'hardscript' a few systems just for fun?
We could have a nice 'Lave competition' The winner see's the texture placed on Lave. Later on we do some others. like Tionsla (the one with the cluster) For example: on that planet there should be huge lodging/hotel complexes for all the tourists.

Another idea is do ha sort of 'home region' oxp. With the planets around Lave like Reorte, Leesti. etc.

[Commander McLane]

But please don't interfere with existing OXPs! E.g. there is Lave.oxp, which, among other things, adds the Lave Purple Moon mentioned in The Dark Wheel. IIRC System Redux adds at least another moon to the system, which breaks the Dark Wheel resemblance.

I think that's not fair to the people who already scripted changes to systems, and to their OXPs.

The comment in the planetinfo.plist of System Redux helpfully mentions possible "clashes" with Assassins (it's no real OXP-clash, of course, but somehow it is a clash with how LittleBear (in this case) envisioned the systems Assassins is set in; and it can become a real clash, because Assassins helps the player locate his victims through the system information, like "X is located between the planet and the moon", so what does the player do if there suddenly are three moons?), and gives hints as how to remove them. Thanks for that! But Assassins is by far not the only OXP that changes the appearance of a system.

[Disembodied]

But please don't interfere with existing OXPs! E.g. there is Lave.oxp, which, among other things, adds the Lave Purple Moon mentioned in The Dark Wheel. IIRC System Redux adds at least another moon to the system, which breaks the Dark Wheel resemblance.

I had a discussion with Selezen about this recently... he said that The Dark Wheel states that Lave has no moons. I can't find any mention in the story about any moon, its presence or its absence... Admittedly I only skimmed through the text. I decided to mention a moon in the Rough Guide planet description (uncanonical!) because it's in the Lave OXP. The later Frontier manual states that Lave has "one inhabited world orbiting a single star", which (for me, anyway) doesn't rule out any number of moons, inhabited or otherwise, in the Elite/Oolite era.

I do agree though that any hard coding of systems should try to avoid clashing with other, pre-existing scripted changes, though.

[Commander McLane]

But please don't interfere with existing OXPs! E.g. there is Lave.oxp, which, among other things, adds the Lave Purple Moon mentioned in The Dark Wheel. IIRC System Redux adds at least another moon to the system, which breaks the Dark Wheel resemblance.

I had a discussion with Selezen about this recently... he said that The Dark Wheel states that Lave has no moons. I can't find any mention in the story about any moon, its presence or its absence... Admittedly I only skimmed through the text.

Oops, you're right. I can't find one as well in my copy (or to be precise: my Mac's search tool can't find one). Hmmm. But then, where does "Lave Purple Moon" come from? I mean, I even know it with that name. Is it from Status Quo? Unfortunately my pdf-version refuses to be scrutinized by my Mac's search tool.

[Lestradae]

But please don't interfere with existing OXPs! E.g. there is Lave.oxp, which, among other things, adds the Lave Purple Moon mentioned in The Dark Wheel. IIRC System Redux adds at least another moon to the system, which breaks the Dark Wheel resemblance.

Wouldn`t it be thinkable that, as a solution, to compile a list of systems which have specially crafted stuff in them, and leaving them out?

With 2000 systems unscripted and, say, 20 systems with special properties, it should be no problem to have something "standard" going on while exempting systems that have "special" stuff in there.

I hereby propose to create such a list.



L

[CaptKev]

Two solutions to this problem:

1) I could just check for certain OXP's then AND out the extra planets and moons in the specific systems they effect. Could somebody give me a list of which OXP's would require this.

2) Don't install System Redux.

[Lestradae]

What about a real SOLUTION to this whole thing?

Like, a plan of how scripted standard solar systems could work while still keeping the fake distances of Oolite, and making exceptions for systems that are specifically designed by specific OXPs?

That should be possible, shouldn`t it?

Who doesn`t want additional worlds in their solar systems, has indeed always the option of just not installing the OXP.

For those who want, I suggested long ago making pseudo-randomised solar systems out of the system seed (so you always find the same standard worlds, stations etc.) everything that`s needed is already here.

Am I the only one who would like that

L

[Commander McLane]

2) is not a good solution, because it's a nice OXP (I'm getting used to it ), although I'm still waiting for a_c's procedural approach, which will be an either-or with your OXP, I'm afraid. Time will tell which one will attract more fans.

3) would be: Install System Redux, and do the fiddling yourself. Obviously not a good solution for the general public...

And I think the OXP-page has already the list you are looking for. Look at the list named Other System Objects.

[another_commander]

I'm still waiting for a_c's procedural approach

Just to give credit where credit is due: The procedural textures code is not written by me. It is either by Ahruman or Aegidian and can't be really sure about this because I entered the community after or about at the time this feature was programmed in.