Oolite Bulletins

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Fri Jun 03, 2022 2:36 pm

By the way... noble Admiral... do you ever sleep?

Occasionally.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:59 am

Seems that with current scooping AI, "low" proficiency miners are actually performing better than higher skilled ones - their laser fire connects only once in three or four shots, but their top speed on the scooping run is limited and they struggle much less to pick the splinters.

Interesting. I'm using the built in AI for scavengers, and I don't want to mess with it too much. But I can be selective about what ships the scavengers can have. That might be an easy way forward.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:59 am

And the last for today. I wouldn`t go this territory yet, as we are merely testing the OXP now, but my steady impression is that most upgrades are way overpriced against their return

Absolutely. Pretty much all the numbers on the various pieces of equipment are placeholder values, with very little analysis and balance put into them. Having someone do a pass at some more realistic numbers would be awesome.

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Fri Jun 03, 2022 5:38 am

ability to turn the RH back off again

*sigh* OK, I give in! I'll put a shutdown option in. It would be great to get feedback on when you actually use the option. As I've mentioned previously, part of the whole point of this OXP is to make you care about the state of your RH. Having a "shutdown" option removes that element completely.

So, I'm assuming your thought would be that a shutdown option will stop any income, but also any expenses? Or could that be the downside - no income, but keep expenses being paid?

phkb wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 9:19 am

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Fri Jun 03, 2022 2:36 pm

By the way... noble Admiral... do you ever sleep?

Occasionally.

Sleep? Get it while you can, as the older you get, the less you get (sleep, that is).

Cody wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 9:26 am

Sleep? Get it while you can, as the older you get, the less you get (sleep, that is).

Sleep ain't the only thing you get less of...

NorthenderPNE wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 9:31 am

Sleep ain't the only thing you get less of...

TMI! TMI!

NorthenderPNE wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 9:31 am

Sleep ain't the only thing you get less of...

Tell me something I don't know!

Less meat, cheese and more salad for the oldtimers

Oh! It's about food! Oh, okay. *phew*

OK, here's 0.8.8: Hermitage.0.8.8.zip

• Fixed Logic error in calculating cargo space used.
• Fixed JS error in purchasing upgrades with equipment components when checking that there is no equipment in storage.
• Added procedure to restore market shortly after spawn, to prevent conflicts with other market restore OXPs.
• Fixed issue that was preventing some upgrades (in particular, energy units) from being uninstalled.
• Added routine to save details of any hired defenders or contractors that are in space when the game is saved or the player jumps to another system.
• Added the ability to easily shut down your Hermitage.

I`ve put some hours into it - nicely done ironing out the bugs! Here`s my new list :)

1. Regarding energy storage units removal - for some reason, station would not go less than three of any type (maybe that`s by design). I uninstalled 7 out of 10 Type 1s, F3 StUpgrades redded them out ("cannot be removed"), I built one Type 2 and it allowed me to remove one Type 1, and so on. Not a major inconvenience, but should be mentioned it you intended it or further fix possible if not.

2. Two out of three newly built Type 2s weren`t charging by default, despite being active. Deactivating them and then turning back on fixed that, and both have charged to full capacity is several minutes.

3. Upgrading the on-station Cargo Storage to anything larger than 60t breaks it. Strictly speaking, I tested this with 80, 100 and 140 ton capacity, as 200 was unavailable at TL4. Any commodity details page on F8 screen shows storage "NaN t free \ undefined t max" and makes transfer impossible.

4. I was unable to upgrade to TL5, because its details page (after acquiring a blueprint) didn`t recognize my 500MW reactor, saying "prerequisites not met" - possible bug in its detection.

5. Facilities Management access error that was fixed several versions ago strikes back with

[script.javaScript.exception.unexpectedType]: ***** JavaScript exception (Hermitage_Management 0.8.8): TypeError: upgrades[i].value is undefined

Unfortunately, I was unable to clearly determine the condition that triggers it - it first appeared on accessing said menu while having an upgrade building in process, but disappeared later and hasn`t reproduced itself on deliberate experiment.

6. Scavengers got better to the point of just working. Mostly - I still broke them :) They save and respawn as intended, but when I hired a second contractor in a "scavenger phoenix" ship (from Anarchies OXP), this happened on reload:

[Hermitage_Station_Script]: !!ERROR: ship with key anarchies-scavenger-phoenix not created!

after several logged attempts to spawn it, the game gave up and hasn`t spawned my first one (in Chopped Cobra) as well. Dismissing the scavenger phoenix cleared it and spawned the Cobra. So, ship selection for scavengers could be limited or OXP integration improved, this can also possibly affect the defender pilots as well.

6a. You mentioned having the script that simulates miner activity while player is away - well, I never saw it engaging or producing any results in either the log or station inventory. And I looked. Possibly something is wrong here.

7. Regarding asteroid spawning around the Hermitage, I found two actors doing this. First is the Hermitage itself:

[Hermitage_Station_Script]: low asteroid count - adding 4 more
later followed by
[LogEvents]: Asteroid 3235 spawned at 24 km
[LogEvents]: Asteroid 27883 spawned at 33 km
[LogEvents]: Asteroid 28995 spawned at 35 km
[LogEvents]: Asteroid 24496 spawned at 36 km

Second is Rock Hermit Beacons:

[RockHermitBeacons]: Asteroid population around Rock Hermit: [name of mine] decreased, there should be 50, creating 7 new asteroids
with similar corresponding LogEvents spawning the asteroids.

First is active on startup only, second engages whenever the asteroid is destroyed. Either way, there`s no shortage of rocks to mine whatsoever.

Currently, only 4. is really game breaking, as it hampers any further progress, others are mostly polish.

Brilliant work with this, and many thanks for the clarity in your responses! Makes my life much easier.

If possible, can you send me a copy of you latest save game (preferably the one with the storage issue)? Not sure if a fix I've made to other things has had a flow on effect.

Also, can I suggest you add the Oolite developer release to your system? It will add line numbers to any JS errors, which makes it much clearer where errors are occurring. You'll find the dev release on the Oolite download page here http://www.oolite.org/download/

phkb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 11:13 pm

Brilliant work with this, and many thanks for the clarity in your responses! Makes my life much easier.

If possible, can you send me a copy of you latest save game (preferably the one with the storage issue)? Not sure if a fix I've made to other things has had a flow on effect.

Also, can I suggest you add the Oolite developer release to your system? It will add line numbers to any JS errors, which makes it much clearer where errors are occurring. You'll find the dev release on the Oolite download page here http://www.oolite.org/download/

Trying my best, thanks :)

I already have the 1.91 installed, which I used in "universe is full" entities testing. So yeah, should have actually run the Hermitage under it since then. Will do.

Please have the save file attached: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n593beadj2rxn ... -save?dl=0

zx_cb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 11:32 pm

I already have the 1.91 installed

You don't actually need 1.91 (although that's worth testing as well). If you have 64bit Windows, download and run this: https://github.com/OoliteProject/oolite ... elease.exe. That will change your 1.90 install to a development install.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:32 pm

Regarding energy storage units removal - for some reason, station would not go less than three of any type (maybe that`s by design).

It's by design, but if you feel it's too confusing I can reduce this to 1.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:32 pm

Two out of three newly built Type 2s weren`t charging by default, despite being active.

Not sure here. When I purchased a type 2, it started charging straight away. I'll keep an eye on this one, though.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:32 pm

Upgrading the on-station Cargo Storage to anything larger than 60t breaks it

Actually, the issue was a bit more complex that just anything larger that 60t. It was also because you purchased "Storage Security" after you purchased the 60t storage. The bug was... well, short-sighted data key labeling. If you really want the details I can provide them, but, in any event, I've fixed it.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:32 pm

I was unable to upgrade to TL5, because its details page (after acquiring a blueprint) didn`t recognize my 500MW reactor, saying "prerequisites not met" - possible bug in its detection.

Bug caught and squished.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:32 pm

Facilities Management access error that was fixed several versions ago strikes back

I think I might have fixed this one, but again, we'll keep an eye out for it.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:32 pm

when I hired a second contractor in a "scavenger phoenix" ship (from Anarchies OXP), this happened on reload:

That's a bug. I wasn't limiting ship selection based on what is actually allowed to be spawned in the system. Now fixed.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:32 pm

You mentioned having the script that simulates miner activity while player is away - well, I never saw it engaging or producing any results in either the log or station inventory. And I looked. Possibly something is wrong here.

There were a few things wrong here. The routine did have a couple of bugs in it, but also, it was only going to run after 30 minutes of game time, and wasn't considering any large time skips. Should all be sweet now.

zx_cb wrote: ↑Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:32 pm

Regarding asteroid spawning around the Hermitage

That's fine. Hopefully I've catered for various player OXP configs, some that will have asteroid spawning, and some that don't.

So, here's the new revision: Hermitage.0.8.9.zip.

• Added checks to ensure the ships any scavenger or defender uses can be spawned in the current system.
• Fixed issue where equipment requirements for upgrades were not being correctly assessed.
• Fixed issue where certain equipment lookups were returning the wrong equipment item.
• Added additional information to the Market information page.
• Will no longer ask how many units to transfer if the maximum amount that can be transferred is 1.
• Adjusted mining simulation to allow for multiple trips per contractor.
• Purchasing TechLevel or Market Capacity upgrades now correctly adds message to station log.
• When exiting system, any contractors in space are now properly redocked before exiting.
• Fixed issue with some data elements not being reset correctly when entering a new system.
• Fixed multiple JS errors in remote mining simulator routine.
• Whenever a large time jump occurs, remote mining and trading will now be performed.
• Added a chance for employed scavengers to die during remote mining simulation.

phkb wrote: ↑Sat Jun 04, 2022 9:19 am

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Fri Jun 03, 2022 5:38 am

ability to turn the RH back off again

*sigh* OK, I give in! I'll put a shutdown option in. It would be great to get feedback on when you actually use the option. As I've mentioned previously, part of the whole point of this OXP is to make you care about the state of your RH. Having a "shutdown" option removes that element completely.

So, I'm assuming your thought would be that a shutdown option will stop any income, but also any expenses? Or could that be the downside - no income, but keep expenses being paid?

No, not at all. Purely concerned about the market getting out of synch with the orbital market and then stocking up on loads of stuff that I don't want but am currently paying a higher price for than the main system orbital does - and spending my money on it.

Just because I suggest something does not mean that you have to give in. I'm just coming up with suggestions, not demands or commands. It's your oxp.

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:15 pm

I'm just coming up with suggestions

It's fine, I don't mind suggestions. This particular suggestion has been raised before. My main beef with it is that it undermines the tension of owning a piece of property in a dangerous universe. And my issue wasn't with including the option per se, just that by shutting down the station you're skipping a lot of the balance testing the OXP really needs.

Is linking prices to the main station desirable, though? If you're in a system where computers are being bought for 102cr, you'd be making yourself a prime candidate for cargo dumping. Again, I have no issue with the idea, just trying to get to the bottom of the problem to see all (or at least more of) the solutions.

Cholmondely wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:15 pm

It's your oxp.

True, but I want other people to enjoy it. All ideas are contributing to a final solution that hopefully will appear to the widest possible group.