Oolite Bulletins

Dance the Balance


I was bored.
It had nothing to do with Oolite. There were other, very different reasons.
And then it can sometimes be good to write something.
One gets other things to think about.
Soo...
Knick... knack ... knick ... knack... ( finger gymnastic ).
Never easy to fight with the keyboard.


Cosmos is much a question of balance. Therefore - balance is almost everywhere.
One can, of course, find it in Oolite too.

It is like buying a car. If you want to transport a lot of goods, then the car will probably not be very fast.

But if you want a fast car - we are talking about a very fast car now - then you can hardly transport a small toothbrush in it.

This situation seems to occur in Oolite too.

To understand it better I decided to look at the Vanilla ship-set.

Don't know why it is called Vanilla. Maybe it has something to do with ice-cream.
When I was a child there was only Vanilla ice-cream. And I asked myself - why?
Strawberry would maybe not be that bad. Orange and .. wow .. pineapple would just be miraculous.
Maybe those people that made ice-cream had been warned. - If you try some other taste you will be ruined.

But some people have more courage than other people - and they made a try.
They probably very fast became very rich.
And I became very happy as there suddenly were so many sorts of ice-cream.

Maybe the reason why everything that was first is referred to as Vanilla, is because of this.
Vanilla was the first serious taste of ice-cream.
At least for me.

In Oolite the ships follows a very strict rule. If they are fast then - very little cargo.
If they have place for a lot of cargo then - they are slow.
Specially the .. hrrmm .. Vanilla ships - but also most of the oxp-ships.

The Cobra MK III is a rather strange ship as it can actually transport some cargo but it is definitely not depicted as slow. It is a strange sort of exception. I think that it is fully possible to play Oolite a long time with just one ship. The Cobra.

It is maybe not a coincidence why it is the first ship one is offered. You can choose to be a trader or/and a miner, but you can also choose to be a serious fighter. Or both. The ship is offering both options.

I looked at the ships and tried to find the pattern of balance.
Just for fun I decided to use some ... well ... call it Mathematics.

The Anaconda, Asp and the Cobra III seemed to be a good start to look a little closer upon.
Anaconda can handle a lot of cargo but is rather slow, Asp is very fast but cannot handle any cargo at all and Cobra is somewhere in between.

I decided to test a mathematical expression.

Ln ( Cargo + 60 ) + 10 * Velocity <= 8.1

That is: The natural Logarithm of the sum of the Cargo capacity and the constant 60, then added to the Velocity multiplied with the constant 10, should not exceed the number 8.1 .

The natural Logarithm is based on the magical number e ( 2.7182818284590... ), not 10.
It is a Transcendental number. Just like Pi ( 3.1415926535... ).



This is for the Vanilla ships.

If you increase the Cargo you must then decrease the Velocity if the number 8.1 is exceeded.
The same: if you increase the Velocity then you must then decrease the amount of Cargo, to keep the balance.

Let's see some results.

The first number is the Cargo capacity. The second is the Velocity and the third is the result that should not be higher than 8.1 .

The sign -> should be seen as "gives" or "is the result of", "brings", "leads to".
And the result is the "balance"-number that, again, for the Vanilla-ships, should not be higher than 8.1 .

• Adder 2 -- 0.24 -> 6.5
  
  Cobra 1 10 -- 0.26 -> 6.8
  
  Krait 2 -- 0.30 -> 7.1
  
  Gecko 3 -- 0.30 -> 7.1
  
  Moray 7 -- 0.30 -> 7.2
  
  Python 115 -- 0.20 -> 7.2
  
  Fer de Lance 12 -- 0.30 -> 7.3
  
  Mamba 4 -- 0.32 -> 7.4
  
  Boa 125 -- 0.24 -> 7.6
  
  Sidewinder 0 -- 0.37 -> 7.8
  
  Anaconda 750 -- 0.14 -> 8.1
  
  Asp 0 -- 0.40 -> 8.1
  
  Cobra 3 35 -- 0.35 -> 8.1

Here I have not used the ship Boa Class Cruiser as it is so advanced so I have some doubts that it from the beginning belonged to the Vanilla ships.

But - let us have a look at it.


Boa Class Cruiser 175 -- 0.312 -> 8.6

As can be seen: 8.1 is here exceeded.


If we look at some of the oxp-ships then we better start with a number that is higher than 8.1 .

Let us try 9.0 .


Worker 300 -- 0.14 -> 7.3

Kirin 450 -- 0.20 -> 8.2

Naga 250 -- 0.275 -> 8.5

Caduceus 40 -- 0.40 -> 8.6

Python ET 115 -- 0.35 -> 8.7

Boa Clipper 150 -- 0.362 -> 9.0

Vortex 1 bay 30 -- 0.45 -> 9.0


As can be seen - these ships have a higher capacity. Most of them can handle more Cargo but still have a rather impressive speed.


And we may have a look at some of the more extreme oxp-ships.
But then we will have to increase the "balance"-number to at least 9.8 .


Super Cobra 55 -- 0.45 -> 9.2

Tiger 50 -- 0.50 -> 9.7

Vortex 5 bays 150 -- 0.45 -> 9.8

Kestrel 8 -- 0.555 -> 9.8


And finally, the real miracles.
Then we have to increase the number of balance to flipping 12.1


Fer de Lance NG 2 -- 0.60 -> 10.1

Morrigan 100 -- 0.55 -> 10.6

Firefly 35 -- 0.755 -> 12.1


This was just a small test just for fun. So don't take it too seriously.
That was not the intention.

And there are more ships and there are much better formulas too.

When one shall buy a new ship there are many things to look at.
Speed and Cargo-capacity are not all.
There are even more parameters to be added.

We have Energy recharge rate, Energy banks,number of Laser-positions, amount of Pylons, the Size of the ship, Turrets, Camera-views and even the Esthetics.
Is the ship nice to look at? What kind of feeling does it induce?

Does the ship has the chance to possess the state popularly called "Ironass"?

And... what does it cost? Including maintenance.
And there are surely other things too.

Buying a new ship is always an adventure.

Even if it cannot dance the balance.

Funny thing is - it is alleged that the Anaconda cargo capacity is an error (from interviews) - David passed Ian a sheet of paper with the cargo capacities written on it and a scuff/coffee stain/ink blot changed 150 to 750 for the Anaconda and so it has stayed forever - so it makes me smile that using your formula it fits, which tells me you have fitted your formula to the results...

(150 TC was a lot in the original core ships which only had the Python and Boa as the other large haulers and the Anaconda was a c. 200 year older design compared to the Boa - and personally I think the Boa is too fast for what it can haul given that in the original Elite a Cobra MkIII could only do 0.30LM and the Boa could do 0.24LM)

greenseng wrote:

When one shall buy a new ship there are many things to look at.Speed and Cargo-capacity are not all.There are even more parameters to be added.
...
Is the ship nice to look at? What kind of feeling does it induce?

Typhoon: 100t cargo, 0.3 speed, changes colour as it accelerates. Who cares if it's a big target that gets damaged easily, it changes colour! Stuff that up your Caduceus.

DaddyHoggy wrote:

- so it makes me smile that using your formula it fits, which tells me you have fitted your formula to the results...

Yes, of course. Have to start somewhere. And as I also said... I started to study Anaconda, Asp and of course Cobra as they were extremes.
Anaconda could take an extreme amount of cargo.
Asp was the fastest.
And Cobra was somewhere in between and the ship that is most used in the beginning.

So - as the formula is not a standard-formula ( as far as I know ) I had to calibrate it somehow.
And here the cargo actually was a problem. So I would not die of surprize if these rumours about the Anaconda actually are true.
Still I think that the formula somehow reflects Oolite and some of its balance-problems.

Balance is never a problem for me as I am very lazy - uhhh... now I did it again... wrong word ... it should of course be Comfortable.
Give me a fast ship that can take a lot of cargo and have a lot of pylons and I will buy it immediately.
Well, if it is too extreme then maybe not. But otherwise yes.

But many people wants more challenge. Luckily people are different.

Can I just say greenseng - I love reading your posts - its like reading poetry - odd poetry granted - but poetry nonetheless...

DaddyHoggy wrote:

Can I just say greenseng - I love reading your posts - its like reading poetry - odd poetry granted - but poetry nonetheless...

pineapple ice cream sounds like some sort of horrible abomination and i'm really glad it hasn't been invented!

DaddyHoggy wrote:

Can I just say greenseng - I love reading your posts - its like reading poetry - odd poetry granted - but poetry nonetheless...

Thank you. I bow my head.

I may sometimes write poetry.
But mostly always in my own language.
Languages are difficult - at least for me.
And if one will be good at a language, then it is best to live in a place where this language is spoken.
At least I think so.
And, of course, read a lot of books in that language.

Griff wrote:

DaddyHoggy wrote:

Can I just say greenseng - I love reading your posts - its like reading poetry - odd poetry granted - but poetry nonetheless...

pineapple ice cream sounds like some sort of horrible abomination and i'm really glad it hasn't been invented!

Actually I think I tasted it in an ice cream-bar in Gothenburg, many years ago.
And maybe you are not totally wrong - I was a little disappointed, if my memory gives me the right information.
And in most drinking stuff, it is almost always mixed with something else. For example oranges.

Wildeblood wrote:

greenseng wrote:

When one shall buy a new ship there are many things to look at.Speed and Cargo-capacity are not all.There are even more parameters to be added.
...
Is the ship nice to look at? What kind of feeling does it induce?

Typhoon: 100t cargo, 0.3 speed, changes colour as it accelerates. Who cares if it's a big target that gets damaged easily, it changes colour! Stuff that up your Caduceus.

Sounds interesting.
Guess I must have a look.
Seems to be many things to do with the graphic.

Griff wrote:

DaddyHoggy wrote:

Can I just say greenseng - I love reading your posts - its like reading poetry - odd poetry granted - but poetry nonetheless...

pineapple ice cream sounds like some sort of horrible abomination and i'm really glad it hasn't been invented!

This might put a slight damper on your exuberant mood: http://www.haagen-dazs.com/products/product.aspx?id=114

CheeseRedux wrote:

This might put a slight damper on your exuberant mood: http://www.haagen-dazs.com/products/product.aspx?id=114

surely that can't sell very well - it's even worse than peach yogurt, the most unwanted yougurt in the tropical theme 4-pack

Griff wrote:

CheeseRedux wrote:

This might put a slight damper on your exuberant mood: http://www.haagen-dazs.com/products/product.aspx?id=114

surely that can't sell very well - it's even worse than peach yogurt, the most unwanted yougurt in the tropical theme 4-pack

Darn you. You got me started on the Google thing: http://books.google.no/books?id=1_MDAAA ... rs&f=false

DaddyHoggy wrote:

Can I just say greenseng - I love reading your posts - its like reading poetry - odd poetry granted - but poetry nonetheless...

I've had the same thought, but I can't put my finger on why...

The maths is beyond me... I just look at the Cobra MkIII as a Merc Sprinter van (long wheel base if you have the extra cargo space)

I think that it is fully possible to play Oolite a long time with just one ship. The Cobra.

In the original Elite, you couldn't buy a new ship. You were stuck with one ship - the venerable Cobra Mk 3.

As you took note of, the Cobby is a good multirole all-rounder, a jack of all trades, master of none; It can haul, but it's not a heavy hauler, it's nimble for it's size, and though it's not a combat thoroughbred it can hold it's own in a fight.

This is true even in Oolite. It may seem outclassed by oxp ships, yet most oxp ships are specialized, combat oriented machines ranging from interceptors, superiority fighters, HKs, blockade busters, brawlers, gunships and warboats, and don't do multirole very well. Just as well; there's nowhere a Commander can fly without getting shot at - even in the safest corporate states, some freebooter or Bug (or the Po' if you have a record) is going to try to laser etch your hull.