Oolite Bulletins

On reflection I think the lying option needs a complete rethink. I agree that at the moment there is no way to distinguish between a feature or a bug. I think norby's idea to send a comms message would make it clear it's deliberate but there's something about it that feels wrong. Not sure why! Perhaps because it feels a bit arbitrary, like a quick-fix and not actually part of the system. In any case, the code is easy to add or remove so it will be out in the next version while I work the problem through.

Maybe on this 'lying' problem you could bring a bit frontier into Oolite. For example you see a ship to a certain destination and you are interested to go there.

You could then go to the ship page. On the ship page you then are presented with some questions that you could ask to the captain of the ship that is going your way.

The NPC could then answer your questions and in the answer lies one or more hints about the plans of that commander or captain.

If the answers are weird or don't match up with the ship type you should be suspicious. If you see a captain of a mamba that is flying to Aronar and he says that he (himself) is on an important trading mission it could be too good to be true.

I notice that if I launch and then almost immediately redock the docked ships list is completely different. Is this right?

Nice addon though. I can see an awful lot of work has gone into it and it should add a lot to the immersion.

It may be a little different. A launch and standard redock (ie without a docking computer) will take up 10 minutes of time. If you use a docking computer with insta-dock that blows out to 30 minutes (10 minutes for the launch, 20 for the redock). The OXP will clear out ships that would have launched in that time lapse, so it won't look exactly the same as just before you launched. If you check your log file you should see a record of all the ships that were removed or launched from the station.

Version 0.5.0 has just been uploaded. Here's a link, or use the one in the first post: https://app.box.com/s/nqzefpnlhnk9gx51erxsowbg752zw1uh

In this version:

• Removed possibility that a ship will change their destination on launch.
• Included the additional roles variable in the save game file
• Added a launch script for escort motherships, so that, if there's a delay in an escort launching, they will still get attached when the mothership launches
• Added check for the scenario where items in the launching array are for another system
• Removed version numbers from all JS files so there is only one version number in the manifest to update.
• Attempt to get MFD "Inbound" list to match dock.dockingQueueLength

phkb wrote:

Removed version numbers from all JS files so there is only one version number in the manifest to update.

You know they don't need to match. The numbers in the scripts should be the version of the particular script, not of the overall OXP.

I miss SandJ; whenever anyone mentions version numbers I think of him/her.

Version 0.6.0 now available here: https://app.box.com/s/nqzefpnlhnk9gx51erxsowbg752zw1uh.
In this version:

• Fixed issue where occasionally all system docking data is dumped just after entering a system.
• Inbound items should not appear twice on the MFD any more.
• Better handling in the MFD of the scenario where data is being populated (eg immediately after arrival in a new system).
• Hide shuttle destinations when status is Docking, Unloading, Docked or Loading (ie. same as for other ships).
• Added some adjustment runs (where ships are moved from various statuses) during a time jump process to better smooth out launches.
• Added a check for new stations being added to a system after loading a saved game (ie. via a new OXP being installed). Docked entries will now be added immediately.
• Fixed incompatibility with Gallery OXP, which was causing ship images to be displayed incorrectly.
• Expanded some of the internal documentation.
• Code cleanup and refactoring.

Tiny update: Version 0.6.1
- Turned off station image from main view (left on by mistake!)
- Put ellipsis on text contractions

You made an astonishing work with this many code (~250kByte/6000 lines), grats!
I vote to put into the manager.

Are you planning to add some HD backgrounds?

Norby wrote:

Are you planning to add some HD backgrounds?

Oh please yes!

Norby wrote:

Are you planning to add some HD backgrounds?

Well, not beyond what I'm doing with my default BGS replacement backgrounds, no. But if someone can point me to some good background images that have an open license I'll certainly consider it!

Norby wrote:

You made an astonishing work with this many code (~250kByte/6000 lines), grats!

Thanks!

Norby wrote:

I vote to put into the manager.

Well, I'm not quite there yet. I'd like to get some more feedback from those who have downloaded it. Do stations feel too busy/empty? Are there too many or too few launches? Do some stations have inappropriate levels of traffic?

What about gameplay? Does the ability to easily find a ship heading in your direction make the game too easy? That long jump into an Anarchy system that leaves you with no fuel for injectors can now be easily circumvented - is this a problem, or does the fact that you had to wait 8 hours for that ship to leave and so that parcel delivery couldn't happen on time balance it out?

phkb wrote:

point me to some good background images

I opened a topic for HD background images where you can select from dozens now and more later.

Version 0.7.0 has just been uploaded. In this version:

• Improvements to the way ships are added to the system when they are added directly, moving them further away from the stations' launch corridor.
• Fixed potential problem with the MFD in the (very rare) situation of having two stations in range of the player at the one time. Last station targeted will now be displayed.
• Improved the chance of making adjustments during a time jump to again better smooth out launches.
• Auto-refreshing the station dock list now doesn't lose the Xenon UI background.
• Code refactoring.

Is it bad form to put a beta package in the download manager? Or should I keep bumping this thread to the top of the list hoping for feedback? I'm of two minds here and I'd really like some guidance.

For those who have started to use this, what's your take on the OXP itself? Useful? Nice immersion but not actually useful? Does it make the game too easy? Or harder? How does the station launch area's feel? Too busy? Too quiet?

phkb wrote:

Is it bad form to put a beta package in the download manager?

No, that's okay.