Oolite Bulletins

The directional keypad is dead. I have been steering my spaceships with it for a long time and now it's gone. Any ideas?

Hi Agis Silverfish, I had a problem like that... can I assume that your directional keypad is the same as the numeric key pad?
if you follow the directions that the devs have listed, it will work in England but not in the US or with computers with american keypads. Solution is easy american keypads use the 300 series so : the left turn (#4) would be 314. the right turn (#6) is 316 and so forth .. the last entry to the key is the keypad #. easy to remember and be sure to put it in the right place and DO:NOT use notepad to configure se word pad or notepad ++.

Yah-Ta-Hey wrote:

Solution is easy american keypads use the 300 series so : the left turn (#4) would be 314. the right turn (#6) is 316 and so forth .. the last entry to the key is the keypad #. easy to remember and be sure to put it in the right place and DO:NOT use notepad to configure se word pad or notepad ++.

That worked like a charm! Thank you!

So, I finally am able to return to this website (for whatever reason it always timed out) and guess what I find? Oolite 1.8 is out!

I suddenly get really excited before I realized.....I have over 35 expansion packs installed, some of them old and slightly buggy (though they nearly always work...looks at Coyote's run with frustration and nostalgia).

So, I have actually as of yet to download the new version. What I'm afraid of is that they won't work. I know that quite a few people still update their expansion packs (to whom I am eternally grateful). However, I'm not entirely sure if all the ones I use are up to date. I'm sure I could part with a few, but I'd really like to keep all of them if I can.

I'm also not very tech/computer savvy. Could I get some advice?

To some extent, it depends on what you have installed, of course, but the vast majority of the older OXPs should still work fine. (and many have been updated and made available as OXZs already - over 200 so far) At worst, they simply won't take advantage of the new features. The main exception is probably Replacement Shipsets, which will need the special Shipset Compatibility OXZ installed as well, although only until the shipset is updated. If you use Griff's new 1.80 shipset as a replacement, it doesn't need the Shipset Compatibility OXZ, but instead has it's own special core_ships_suppressor OXP.

From the (also upgraded) Oolite.org website:

http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/#sub4

Expansion pack compatibility

• If you have expansion packs in the OXP format already installed, you will need to uninstall them yourself when you install the corresponding OXZ format releases. Oolite cannot automatically determine which OXP folders might correspond to OXZ releases as the OXP format does not contain appropriate metadata. The OXP versions will not show up as already installed in the expansion pack manager, and will potentially cause conflicts if you don't remove them first.
• While we have tried to keep old ship and shipset OXPs working as much as possible with all the changes made to ship AIs, if you have installed a replacement shipset OXP (i.e. an OXP which replaces the look of the default Oolite ships including the Cobra on the start screen) then you should install the Shipset Compatibility OXP from the 'Miscellaneous' section of the expansion pack manager. This is only necessary temporarily until the OXP authors release an updated version of the shipset.
• Most alternative HUD OXPs have not yet been updated to use the new features available in Oolite 1.80. They will still work, but other OXPs - and the new tutorial - may require the new HUD features for proper running. You may find it better to temporarily remove your HUD OXP until an updated version is available, or use one of the other updated HUDs already available in the expansion pack manager.
• Older versions of the Energy Bomb OXP are not compatible with Oolite 1.80. If you installed this OXP before November 2013, you will need to upgrade to keep this weapon working. The version available in the expansion pack manager works, of course.

Falcon777 wrote:

I know that quite a few people still update their expansion packs (to whom I am eternally grateful). However, I'm not entirely sure if all the ones I use are up to date.

So far as OXPs that have not been made into OXZs goes, the only way you can check is to find the thread and/or wiki entry for each of them and find out what the current version is. This is where the new Expansion Pack Manager is already proving useful. Checking for (and downloading!) updates to installed OXZs before playing a game, is a trivial matter taking only a few minutes.

Thanks Diziet! I read that, but wasn't entirely sure what I would be getting into. Knowing that over 200 of the oxps have been changed helps. I think I'm going to go ahead and download the new game.

Falcon777 wrote:

...looks at Coyote's run with frustration and nostalgia...

Coyote's Run is kinda broken in several ways, and there is little chance of repair (and subsequent conversion to OXZ).

Falcon777 wrote:

I think I'm going to go ahead and download the new game.

Just be aware that 1.80 is both harder and easier than 1.77.1

See here for some idea of what I mean. And be sure to check out all the new pages at Oolite.org for more info, too.

Cody wrote:

Falcon777 wrote:

...looks at Coyote's run with frustration and nostalgia...

Coyote's Run is kinda broken in several ways, and there is little chance of repair (and subsequent conversion to OXZ).

Very sad to hear that, but understandable. You should see the state of Xeptatl's Sword!

True, I already knew about it being broken. Once I've finished installing 1.8 and the expansion packs, I'll end up doing the run once more. I plan on having a couple of save files before the run, just to ensure that I don't get caught and stuck in its bugs. After that, assuming I get through just fine, I'll leave the oxp installed (so that I can keep the special piece of equipment) but won't go through the run anymore. I know the story well enough, but I'd like to have the piece of equipment.

Falcon777 wrote:

I know the story well enough, but I'd like to have the piece of equipment.

Yes... very handy, is that. I keep the OXP installed as I like to visit the interstellar asteroid swarms of Lago occasionly.

Smivs wrote:

Very sad to hear that, but understandable.

Aye... I ain't up to fixing it, and I somehow doubt that Okti will return. Leafy was going to have a go... but he's MIA too!

Cody wrote:

Falcon777 wrote:

I know the story well enough, but I'd like to have the piece of equipment.

Yes... very handy, is that. I keep the OXP installed as I like to visit the interstellar asteroid swarms of Lago occasionly.

Smivs wrote:

Very sad to hear that, but understandable.

Aye... I ain't up to fixing it, and I somehow doubt that Okti will return. Leafy was going to have a go... but he's MIA too!

Out of curiosity, how much of your own play style is mixed in with the novel?




And to keep things somewhat on topic, I gotta say that I really like the new download manager. Most of the expansion packs I had before were available, and the few that weren't I transferred back into the addons folder. I even got a new hud (combat). I like how the information that is pertinent is right there in front of you....but it does seem to get a little in the way of targeting enemies with my laser.

Graphics update! Holy smokes! It's beautiful!

Falcon777 wrote:

Out of curiosity, how much of your own play style is mixed in with the novel?

Coyote grew out of a manic all-night session, where I had set myself the task of circumnavigating the fifth octant without saving. You can guess from the tale how close I got, and how it ended. As for my playstyle - I have always been a contrabandista, though lately I've morphed into an interstellar courier, hunted wherever I go.

Falcon777 wrote:

Graphics update! Holy smokes! It's beautiful!

Ain't that the truth!

Cody wrote:

As for my playstyle - I have always been a contrabandista, though lately I've morphed into an interstellar courier, hunted wherever I go.

Whether it's "hauling cargo of controlled substances, in complete disregard of shipping laws", or "moving packages of a questionable legality while being an errand-boy for shady characters suspected of being connected to organized crime", being on the wrong edge of a viper's sting isn't the most comfortable place to be. It's sure to add to the collection of holes in your hat. (Not to mention your hull.)
But it's anything but boring!

The courier business is interesting, once at a certain level. I'm running clean, the assassins are running clean - and they pack a punch, especially when they group-up!

Am running both versions, 1.77 and 1.80, using separate partitions, but the same commander save file. Love the new graphics in 1.8 and the ability to save at other stations. Not crazy about the distribution of pirates to do battle with. In 1.8, you can jump to several planets and not engage in battle at all. Then you can get jumped by six bad guys with powerful weapons(which I have usually managed to defeat by using a barrage of missiles & use of injectors.) Also, some of the cargo containers have taken on a velocity that I can only overtake by use of injectors, then, only rarely, can I scoop them.

My guess is that if your looking to build a lot of credits, version 1.8 would be better, providing judicious use of planning to avoid the really dangerous planets. But, if you want to increase your kills and reputation, 1.77 would excel.

I will continue to play both versions, although I'm spending most game time in 1.8, seeing if it will grow on me. But, if I had to pick a version today, it would be 1.77.