Oolite Bulletins

Disembodied wrote:

Are there any restrictions at the moment? Because a nova event at either #7, Bien, or #11, Teceteis, could cut off a whole corner of the map.

And that would be a bad thing?

Wildeblood wrote:

Pleb wrote:

Smivs wrote:

That depends on the circumstances really...for example if their destruction precedes the players' visit to them and this is going to be enshrined in planetinfo.plist then 'Yes'. Obviously I'd suggest you refer to the list (when it exists) to make sure you're not destroying planets other people have used

They will 'cease to exist' after the player has visited them, and yes this list will ensure that the planets chosen for 'demolition' are not ones currently being used by other OXPs.

Nothing is true. Everything is permissible. So long as you use the correct techniques. By co-incidence I was asking about "novating" (novafying? novizing?) systems myself just a fortnight ago:-

https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f= ... &start=690

This is reversible. So it's perfectly okay to destroy systems during a mission (to prevent the player backtracking, presumably), provided that when the mission is completely concluded you clean up after yourself.

Expounding on this, probably best if you do rename all systems you intend to incinerate in a mission OXP, incinerate them as the mission progresses, then rename them back to their traditional names and un-incinerate them when the player makes a galactic jump after completing the mission. That way a player who goes all the way around the eight* is spared any uncomfortable "Am I going senile, I'm sure I remember Whateveria being destroyed?" moments.

* Or invents an anti-clockwise gal-drive.

There are no absolute restrictions on which system gets the Nova.

There are, due to the nature of the mission trigger, some systems which are more likely than others. The cluster to which Bien is the gateway is probably the least likely area to contain the Nova system, but there are (core game only) situations in which it could.

After the nova occurs, revisiting the system should not be as insanely dangerous as it currently is. The "fiery explosion" part is over, what the star threw off is now expanding and cooling. What's left of the star is probably converting itself to a white dwarf, which isn't terribly bright compared to a normal star of equal mass.

I've had a hacked ship with
heat_insulation = 10000;
...yet it still cooks and dies in a couple minutes.

Switeck wrote:

After the nova occurs, revisiting the system should not be as insanely dangerous as it currently is. The "fiery explosion" part is over, what the star threw off is now expanding and cooling.

And in a few decades it'll probably have cooled enough for a safe visit, too.

Switeck wrote:

I've had a hacked ship with
heat_insulation = 10000;
...yet it still cooks and dies in a couple minutes.

That's because the heat_insulation number is ignored for player ships. It's always either 1.0 or 2.0 depending on whether you have the equipment.

1250 should be sufficient for an NPC to survive indefinitely in a nova system next to the surface of the star. 20 or so should, at a rough guess, be okay for one placed near the witchpoint, though that will depend on how close the star is to the witchpoint and how big it is/was.

Just a quick question: Is is the case that the further away you get from the star that has gone nova the cooler it gets?
I was wondering if it is possible to jump in and torus away from the star and survive in a nova system.

Fatleaf wrote:

... if it is possible to jump in and torus away from the star and survive in a nova system.

Nope! At least, not in my Cobra III and the core game.

El Viejo wrote:

Fatleaf wrote:

... if it is possible to jump in and torus away from the star and survive in a nova system.

Nope! At least, not in my Cobra III and the core game.

That's what I find in my S9 and even in my illegally modified test ship (But I do have a piece of test pilot only equipment that I have only used about four or five times that allows me to survive indefinitely ). I was wondering if it would eventually be possible to get far enough away to survive. If so how far?

Does it make a difference with far sun or sensible sun?

Fatleaf wrote:

I was wondering if it is possible to jump in and torus away from the star and survive in a nova system.

Torus-ing away from the witchpoint should heat you rapidly, what with all the debris you're ramming through...especially if you're getting heated up rapidly just from sitting in it.

Fatleaf wrote:

Just a quick question: Is is the case that the further away you get from the star that has gone nova the cooler it gets?
I was wondering if it is possible to jump in and torus away from the star and survive in a nova system.

You would need to get to a distance of 25 stellar radii to prevent further heating, assuming you had normal heat shielding. Temperature is inverse-square of distance. You would need to get somewhat further out than that to start cooling down again, if it was already too late.

If the nova system had the sun small and past the (ex-)planet from the witchpoint, and you had a fast ship, it might be possible. I haven't worked out what "small" and "fast" exactly are in this context: they may be implausible...

Back on-topic, and a potential problem! I am currently adding have now added all the planets used in Xeptatl's Sword.
Two of the 'Lost Worlds' in galaxy 6, Beanxeat and Qutius are both used in Xeptatl's Sword, and I notice that somebody has already added these to the list as potential candidates for a name change in their WIP.
The WIP in question is Explorer's Club-About Time.
Both these planets play a pivotal role in Xeptatl's Sword and are mentioned in Mission Screens as well as being visited during the mission (and indeed an important sub-mission occurs at Beanxeat), so I must respectfully ask the author of this WIP to not change anything substantive (Name, description, Tech Level) regarding these two worlds.

Edited to add:- I have located the author of the Explorer's Club-About Time WIP and PM'd them about this issue (in case they haven't seen this post). Hopefully the matter will be resolved to everybody's satisfaction.

I think you are missing the point here Thargoid.
The WIP in question (according to the 'Already Used Planets' list) is proposing to change the name (and possibly other details) of Beanxeat and Qutius with a planetinfo.plist. Both these planets play a significant part in Xeptatl's Sword, an established OXP which has been downloaded over 380 times and is not therefore easily changed. Nor should an author have to change his/her OXP for reasons like this.
If the WIP was released with the proposed planetinfo.plist changes, players with both OXPs installed and currently working through Xeptatl's Sword will not be able to find Beanxeat and Qutius, because they will have had their names changed by the other OXP. Even if they did work it out other changes (such as a change in TL) could be a problem.
Luckily (hopefully) this one has been caught in time, and fully justifies the importance and existance of this list.

Fatleaf wrote:

Does it make a difference with far sun or sensible sun?

I can survive about 42 seconds with a normal sun, and about 50 seconds with Sensible Sun - no real difference.

cim wrote:

You would need to get to a distance of 25 stellar radii to prevent further heating, assuming you had normal heat shielding. Temperature is inverse-square of distance. You would need to get somewhat further out than that to start cooling down again, if it was already too late.

If the nova system had the sun small and past the (ex-)planet from the witchpoint, and you had a fast ship, it might be possible. I haven't worked out what "small" and "fast" exactly are in this context: they may be implausible...

EV wrote:

I can survive about 42 seconds with a normal sun, and about 50 seconds with Sensible Sun - no real difference.

Both of these are very useful thanks.

>calls the engineers to re-rail the derailment<

Ah yes, back on topic - I'm not an OXP author, nor do I understand the mechanics of such things, but I am a trifle uneasy about an OXP claiming a system's name.
There must be a better way, surely?