Oolite Bulletins

Mauiby de Fug wrote:

What's the ship_desc key in the save file? The question mark means that it doesn't think you've got the correct ship oxp installed, which might mean that the save file is looking for the old version?

Edit: actually, looking through, CSOTB doesn't seem to have changed anything like that... Also, did you remember to cut out the bits that he had indicated inside the shipdata.plist version he posted?

Yeah, I noticed that as well, and have been pouring over the mandomerlin files trying to figure it out. I think I did. It is incredible how one mislabeled item can cause total confusion. It turns out that the game was looking for "mandomerlin-player", and in the shipdata.plist I only had it labeled as "mandomerlin". When I changed the label in the shipdata.plist to "mandomerlin-player", the next time I started the game, the mandomerlin.oxp loaded correctly, and my ship appeared. I don't know yet if there will be other Merlins out their that look like mine. I don't have the original merlin.oxp installed, so I'm not sure of anything. I seem to say that alot, eh?

Oh, and yes, I did remove the bits that CommonSenseOTB indicated from the shipdata.plist.

So mandoman, is everything working out ok? If you did as I asked and your ship is loading from your save file with just your mandomerlin.oxp in the addons folder then congratulations. There will only be your version of the mandomerlin with no others for sale and no npcs. If you have any trouble just make sure that the shipdata key for your ship has the same name as in your save file under ship desc. If not there will be a question mark when you try to load as it can't find the ship desc stored in the save game file. As long as the ship desc in the save game file is different from the shipdata key for the regular player ship in unmodified merlin.oxp then it will be ok to use both together. Best to make sure that you use"MandoMerlin-player" for your custom mandomerlin oxp and you won't have any more problems. Take a day or 2 and make sure everything is working right before you install the regular merlin .oxp and you should be home free. If you have any other problems with this just explain it as clearly as you can and we'll help you out.

CommonSenseOTB wrote:

So mandoman, is everything working out ok? If you did as I asked and your ship is loading from your save file with just your mandomerlin.oxp in the addons folder then congratulations. There will only be your version of the mandomerlin with no others for sale and no npcs. If you have any trouble just make sure that the shipdata key for your ship has the same name as in your save file under ship desc. If not there will be a question mark when you try to load as it can't find the ship desc stored in the save game file. As long as the ship desc in the save game file is different from the shipdata key for the regular player ship in unmodified merlin.oxp then it will be ok to use both together. Best to make sure that you use"MandoMerlin-player" for your custom mandomerlin oxp and you won't have any more problems. Take a day or 2 and make sure everything is working right before you install the regular merlin .oxp and you should be home free. If you have any other problems with this just explain it as clearly as you can and we'll help you out.

Yes, it's working perfectly. Thanks much. I'm not certain, but there might be a really strange gliche in the shape of the ship. It's weird, but the Merlin has two triangular foils that are mounted up front on each side of the nose/laser. I'm not absolutely certain yet, but it looks like the mandomerlin is missing the left foil. What would cause a piece of the ship to not load? I have had the mandomerlin overhauled, and repaired several times, but it always seems like that foil is missing. It's strange, and I'll let you know if it keeps occurring. Otherwise, it's the same old Merlin, only with my color scheme. Thanks very much.

Ok, I loaded up the merlin.oxp and purchased a ship and took a look at it. Looks just fine, everything is there.

BEFORE you do anything else make a copy of your custom "MandoMerlin-player.oxp" and move it somewhere OUTSIDE of your AddOns folder so you can start over if the changes you make don't work.

You say it seems as though it has been missing for awhile. Since you made your custom texture perhaps? In this oxp the merlin's subentities use the same texture map as the main ship. Because you probably want to have other merlins in the game you would have to do the following.

---add the prefix "mando" to all your subentities listed for the ship"MandoMerlin-player" in the key subentities.

<string>mandol-mexh 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0 </string>
<string>mandor-mexh 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0 </string>
<string>mandol-mpyl 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0 </string>
<string>mandor-mpyl 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0 </string>
<string>mandol-mwing 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0 </string>
<string>mandor-mwing 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0 </string>

---change the individual subentities in shipdata.plist by adding the prefix"mando" just as is below:

<key>mandol-mexh</key>
<dict>
<key>ai_type</key>
<string>nullAI.plist</string>
<key>energy_recharge_rate</key>
<real>3.5</real>
<key>max_energy</key>
<real>60</real>
<key>model</key>
<string>mandol-mexh.dat</string>
<key>name</key>
<string>mandol-mexh</string>
<key>roles</key>
<string>mandol-mexh</string>
<key>smooth</key>
<true/>
<key>death_actions</key>
<array>
<string>spawn: explosive_shrapnel 2</string>
<string>commsMessage: [engine-plea]</string>
</array>
</dict>

<key>mandor-mexh</key>
<dict>
<key>ai_type</key>
<string>nullAI.plist</string>
<key>energy_recharge_rate</key>
<real>3.5</real>
<key>max_energy</key>
<real>60</real>
<key>model</key>
<string>mandor-mexh.dat</string>
<key>name</key>
<string>mandor-mexh</string>
<key>roles</key>
<string>mandor-mexh</string>
<key>smooth</key>
<true/>
<key>death_actions</key>
<array>
<string>spawn: explosive_shrapnel 1</string>
<string>commsMessage: [engine-plea]</string>
</array>
</dict>

<key>mandol-mpyl</key>
<dict>
<key>ai_type</key>
<string>nullAI.plist</string>
<key>energy_recharge_rate</key>
<real>4.5</real>
<key>max_energy</key>
<real>60</real>
<key>model</key>
<string>mandol-mpyl.dat</string>
<key>name</key>
<string>mandol-mpyl</string>
<key>roles</key>
<string>mandol-mpyl</string>
<key>smooth</key>
<true/>
<key>death_actions</key>
<array>
<string>commsMessage: [pylon-plea]</string>
</array>
</dict>

<key>mandor-mpyl</key>
<dict>
<key>ai_type</key>
<string>nullAI.plist</string>
<key>energy_recharge_rate</key>
<real>4.5</real>
<key>max_energy</key>
<real>60</real>
<key>model</key>
<string>mandor-mpyl.dat</string>
<key>name</key>
<string>mandor-mpyl</string>
<key>roles</key>
<string>mandor-mpyl</string>
<key>smooth</key>
<true/>
<key>death_actions</key>
<array>
<string>commsMessage: [pylon-plea]</string>
</array>
</dict>

<key>mandol-mwing</key>
<dict>
<key>ai_type</key>
<string>nullAI.plist</string>
<key>energy_recharge_rate</key>
<real>2.5</real>
<key>max_energy</key>
<real>40</real>
<key>model</key>
<string>mandol-mwing.dat</string>
<key>name</key>
<string>mandol-mwing</string>
<key>roles</key>
<string>mandol-mwing</string>
<key>smooth</key>
<true/>
<key>death_actions</key>
<array>
<string>commsMessage: [wing-plea]</string>
</array>
</dict>

<key>mandor-mwing</key>
<dict>
<key>ai_type</key>
<string>nullAI.plist</string>
<key>energy_recharge_rate</key>
<real>2.5</real>
<key>max_energy</key>
<real>40</real>
<key>model</key>
<string>mandor-mwing.dat</string>
<key>name</key>
<string>mandor-mwing</string>
<key>roles</key>
<string>mandor-mwing</string>
<key>smooth</key>
<true/>
<key>death_actions</key>
<array>
<string>commsMessage: [wing-plea]</string>
</array>
</dict>

---change the model names for the subentities in the Models file by adding the prefix"mando". They must be exactly the same as the ones above.

---change the textures listed in the subentities' models so that they match the name of your ship's model's texture name(because the main ship and its subentities are supposed to use the same texture file.)

Your MandoMerlin-player is now completely independent of the merlin.oxp and the 2 should run perfectly together.

If you still have a problem seeing some of the subentities there are 2 possibilities:

--- the texture you created has missing texture parts so when the subent that is missing goes to read it it will have no texture for it and may be see through or white or other colors you don't want. I don't think this is the case but keep it in mind.

--- there is a problem for ships with subentities that disappear and won't show up, etc. in 1.75.2 and this is supposed to be fixed in 1.75.3 and this may be your main problem. However, I want you to fix and examine the rest of what I outlined above FIRST because this is what you should do anyway when you make a customized version of a ship.oxp with subentities so there is no conflict with the original ship.oxp when it is installed at the same time. After doing all this FIRST and the changes are working properly, then you can upgrade to 1.75.3 and handle that issue separately, ok?

Finally, just a reminder, before you do anything make a copy of your custom MandoMerlin-player.oxp and put it somewhere outside of your AddOns folder so that you can reload it if the modifications don't work and can try again. A good practice, you should always make a backup BEFORE changing something just in case it doesn't work.

It is a bit of work but this is just the sort of thing you need to do if you make your own custom version of a ship from an oxp. What needs renaming has to be renamed to prevent future conflict problems. Take your time, check for errors and all will be well.

Good luck with that and once again congratulations for getting this far. It will all be worth it when its done.

@ mandoman: Which version of Oolite are you running? If you haven't yet upgraded to 1.75.3 yet, you should do it and try again to buy the ship.

In 1.75.2 and before there was a bug that caused some of the subentities to be missing sometimes when buying a new ship. This bug is fixed in 1.75.3.

Commander McLane wrote:

@ mandoman: Which version of Oolite are you running? If you haven't yet upgraded to 1.75.3 yet, you should do it and try again to buy the ship.

In 1.75.2 and before there was a bug that caused some of the subentities to be missing sometimes when buying a new ship. This bug is fixed in 1.75.3.

It's already mentioned in my previous post. I think in this case the upgrade should be postponed a day or 2 until the other subent changes are made as they need to be made anyway for compatibility with the original merlin.oxp. And mandoman, if the subent changes don't outright fix the problem then yes, upgrading to 1.75.3 will likely be the solution.

Just want to keep confusion to a minimum. There is method in my madness.

CommonSenseOTB wrote:

Commander McLane wrote:

@ mandoman: Which version of Oolite are you running? If you haven't yet upgraded to 1.75.3 yet, you should do it and try again to buy the ship.

In 1.75.2 and before there was a bug that caused some of the subentities to be missing sometimes when buying a new ship. This bug is fixed in 1.75.3.

It's already mentioned in my previous post. I think in this case the upgrade should be postponed a day or 2 until the other subent changes are made as they need to be made anyway for compatibility with the original merlin.oxp. And mandoman, if the subent changes don't outright fix the problem then yes, upgrading to 1.75.3 will likely be the solution.

Just want to keep confusion to a minimum. There is method in my madness.

OK, I did it exactly the way you showed in your previous post, and I changed all corresponding files, and lines anywhere else that used the data I put into shipdata.plist (Models, etc). I have the old mandomerlin.oxp saved in a seperated folder outside of the AddOns folder. When I reinstalled the new version of mandomerlin, it came up with no problems, but one. It is still missing the left front foil. However, everything else checks out perfectly. Thanks very much. It's cool to have a ship that is only mine, even if it is somebody elses original creation.

What next, my Master?

Good job, mandoman. The only thing left to do is to upgrade to oolite 1.75.3 because it has been bugfixed to address this subentity problem and it has been well documented.

Make a backup copy of your custom "MandoMerlin-player.oxp" and move it somewhere safe outside your AddOns folder just in case you have any problems in the future. Be sure to keep the other copy you made until you are sure this one works well and relabel it with the prefix"original". Just in case.

Now go ahead and upgrade to 1.75.3 of oolite and give your custom merlin a try and see what happens. It might fix itself or you might have to buy one in the shipyard or even just do a maintenance overhaul. Good luck!

CommonSenseOTB wrote:

Good job, mandoman. The only thing left to do is to upgrade to oolite 1.75.3 because it has been bugfixed to address this subentity problem and it has been well documented.

Make a backup copy of your custom "MandoMerlin-player.oxp" and move it somewhere safe outside your AddOns folder just in case you have any problems in the future. Be sure to keep the other copy you made until you are sure this one works well and relabel it with the prefix"original". Just in case.

Now go ahead and upgrade to 1.75.3 of oolite and give your custom merlin a try and see what happens. It might fix itself or you might have to buy one in the shipyard or even just do a maintenance overhaul. Good luck!

OK, I installed 1.75.3. However, the status of the mandomerlin has not changed. I went to a tech 12 system to get an maintenance overhaul, but it didn't fix the problem. I have looked for it for sale in three systems above tech 4, which is what the mandomerlin is, and couldn't find one. It's a strange gliche. I would never have thought that part of the ship would disappear. Texture problems, yes, disappearing ship sections, no. I don't see how my paint job would be faulty as I had a complete version of the mandomerlin when I ran it as just a merlin, with the mandomerlin.png renamed merlin.png. I just moved the original merlin.png from the Texture file, and replaced it with mine. I had a complete mandomerlin that way, the only problem being that every other merlin out there looked just like mine. Weird. Any ideas?

I got this in my LastLog:

02:03:47.714 [shipData.load.begin]: Loading ship data.
02:03:48.469 [shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "mandor-mpyl" specifies non-existent model "mandor-mpyl.dat".
02:03:48.653 [shipData.load.shipyard.unknown]: ----- WARNING: the shipyard.plist entry "mandomanwolfplayer" does not have a corresponding shipdata.plist entry, ignoring.

I don't get it. Why JUST those specific references to the ship, and not others. Those wouldn't happen to be referring to the missing part of the ship, could they?

mandoman wrote:

I got this in my LastLog:

02:03:47.714 [shipData.load.begin]: Loading ship data.
02:03:48.469 [shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "mandor-mpyl" specifies non-existent model "mandor-mpyl.dat".

Those wouldn't happen to be referring to the missing part of the ship, could they?

They certainly could. I've just checked: the Merlin model comprises 7 sub-models: merlin.dat, l-mwing.dat, r-mwing.dat, l-mexh.dat, r-mexh.dat, l-mpyl.dat & r-mpyl.dat. I'd guess you've renamed one or the other, but missed the other one, not realizing there were separate left and right versions. Easily done.

mandoman wrote:

I got this in my LastLog:

02:03:47.714 [shipData.load.begin]: Loading ship data.
02:03:48.469 [shipData.load.error]: ***** ERROR: the shipdata.plist entry "mandor-mpyl" specifies non-existent model "mandor-mpyl.dat".
02:03:48.653 [shipData.load.shipyard.unknown]: ----- WARNING: the shipyard.plist entry "mandomanwolfplayer" does not have a corresponding shipdata.plist entry, ignoring.

I don't get it. Why JUST those specific references to the ship, and not others. Those wouldn't happen to be referring to the missing part of the ship, could they?

You have a mistake there. the change you made in shipdata is correct but the model has to have the same name. Change "r-mpyl.dat" in the models file to "mandor-mpyl.dat" and if that doesn't work look inside the model to be sure there are no mistakes there. If you still can't get it to work there is probably missing data in that specific model or the model itself could be missing. In that case simply replace it by copying the same model "r-mpyl.dat" from the original unmodified merlin.oxp to your models file of your oxp and do the same renaming for it and its' texture files as before and it should work for you. The original merlin.oxp works for me so this procedure should do the trick.

After all this if it still doesn't show the piece and the error about it is gone then go to your shipyard file and put the chance to 1.0 and keep flying around until you find it for sale at the shipyard. Then put chance back to 0.0 in shipyard.plist.

Good-luck. You are within sight of the finish line.

Wildeblood wrote:

They certainly could. I've just checked: the Merlin model comprises 7 sub-models: merlin.dat, l-mwing.dat, r-mwing.dat, l-mexh.dat, r-mexh.dat, l-mpyl.dat & r-mpyl.dat. I'd guess you've renamed one or the other, but missed the other one, not realizing there were separate left and right versions. Easily done.

CommonSenseOTB wrote:

You have a mistake there. the change you made in shipdata is correct but the model has to have the same name. Change "r-mpyl.dat" in the models file to "mandor-mpyl.dat" and if that doesn't work look inside the model to be sure there are no mistakes there. If you still can't get it to work there is probably missing data in that specific model or the model itself could be missing. In that case simply replace it by copying the same model "r-mpyl.dat" from the original unmodified merlin.oxp to your models file of your oxp and do the same renaming for it and its' texture files as before and it should work for you. The original merlin.oxp works for me so this procedure should do the trick.

After all this if it still doesn't show the piece and the error about it is gone then go to your shipyard file and put the chance to 1.0 and keep flying around until you find it for sale at the shipyard. Then put chance back to 0.0 in shipyard.plist.

Good-luck. You are within sight of the finish line.

I triple checked everything, and as far as I can tell I did it all as specified, like this:

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/9819/screenshot2xr.png

I suppose I could be overlooking the same thing over, and over again, but I don't think so. I'll do the Chance figure change and see what happens.

I found your bug mandoman. In your models where you should have it named "mandor-mpyl.dat" instead you have it named "mandor-mply.dat". Reversed order characters is probably the most common mistake. Easy fix for you then. Cheers.

CommonSenseOTB wrote:

I found your bug mandoman. In your models where you should have it named "mandor-mpyl.dat" instead you have it named "mandor-mply.dat". Reversed order characters is probably the most common mistake. Easy fix for you then. Cheers.

Like I said, I probably overlooked the glitch again, and again, LOL!!!

That fixed it, all right. I now FINALLY have a full mandomerlin version of the Merlin. Man am I pumped.

I can't thank you enough for your patience, and help with this, CommonSenseOTB, and others that threw in what they noticed. It's incredible how much it enhances the game experience to have a ship that is uniquely mine.