Oolite Bulletins

Wow! Just wow! Been gone what... a year now? Thought I would drop in for a quick 'check in' and end up getting gob smacked by a new version... A new version with MULTIPLE LASERS!!!

"Ya ya... Old news. So where you been?"

Got the itch and tried a bunch of MMORPGs. Played Terra for a bit, then played StarWars: The Old Republic for a long while (even spent some money on that one.). Then I bought a tablet (Amazon Fire 7", the $50 U.S. one), and had to download a ton of apps and games for that. Then I got a hold of No Man's Sky, and while I am still playing that, I couldn't help wishing that I could design my OWN ships again. And maybe even start a new story...? And that was enough to make me drop in for a quick look to see if anything was new! Boy oh boy was there something new (I'm doin' the Snoopy Dance!)! So ya, I just reinstalled the new Oolite, got my butt handed to me a half dozen times now by pirates some of which had MULTIPLE LASERS! Blew the dust off Wings3d and started a new ship, and even started on the first chapter of a new story. Looks like I am hooked again! Great job with the new version!!!

Multiple lasers on player ships are so overrated. Albeit cool, I have to admit. You can't hit a barn door with them.

Welcome back! Glad you enjoy it. Have you checked the other new stuff yet? If not, then you might be reasonably pleased. Have a look at http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/ ...

spara wrote:

Multiple lasers on player ships are so overrated. Albeit cool, I have to admit. You can't hit a barn door with them.

Haven't had the chance to fly a ship equipped with them yet, but I wonder if spacing is the key? Too far apart would indeed make things a bit tricky... I won't know till I finish the new ship and see about utilizing them myself. I do know that those pirates made VERY short work of my Snake Charmer!!!

another_commander wrote:

Welcome back! Glad you enjoy it. Have you checked the other new stuff yet? If not, then you might be reasonably pleased. Have a look at http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/ ...

I sure did, the new cameras also look promising! It looks like a fantastic new update. I thank all of you who are a part of the development team!

I also owe a big thanks to Dizzy (Diziet Sma) for keeping things going when I go 'walk about'! };] Can't thank you enough my friend! Hell, take an extra tenner out of petty cash!

Is there a decent multiple laser ship in any OXP yet? Something along the lines of a fast freighter?

ffutures wrote:

Is there a decent multiple laser ship in any OXP yet?

It depends on if you installed [wiki]Multiple Lasers[/wiki] OXP or not. Without this you must edit shipdata.plist of your ship and award more lasers by hand.

The Multiple Lasers package improve many ships in your Ooniverse to use multiple lasers, you can see the lists of modified core and OXP ships in the  wiki.

Some strong freighters:
- Boa Class Cruiser offer the largest cargo and 4 forward lasers, note the heatup is 4 times faster also.
- Far Arm Corsair is a better ship with less cargo, require to install the whole set of Far Arm Ships.
- Stormbrewer Vigilante is another powerful trader ship.

Many ships could be even more stronger if you install [wiki]Separated Lasers[/wiki] which allow faster cooldown on ships where the laser mounts are enough far from each other. Yes, this make aiming a bit tricky.

Looks like the DTT Cyclops doesn't come in a multi-laser version - is that because it doesn't have side lasers?

ffutures wrote:

Looks like the DTT Cyclops doesn't come in a multi-laser version - is that because it doesn't have side lasers?

I think it's just that the maker of that oxp didn't add that one. I shudder to think of how much work it would be to go through all the available ships and add them all! But like Norby said, some messing about in the shipdata.plist and you should be able to do it.

spara wrote:

Multiple lasers on player ships are so overrated. Albeit cool, I have to admit. You can't hit a barn door with them.

Would it be problematic to simply make all lasers with the same facing do one of the following, depending on circumstance?

• Converge on nearest target within laser sights (a la elite)
• In absence of such a target, converge at maximum range for weapon

If that were implemented then both single and multiple lasers would exhibit similar behavior from a player's point of view; i.e. hit whatever lies within sights and within range, always converging dead centre to end of beam(s).

Oh, and welcome back Paradox

ffutures wrote:

Looks like the DTT Cyclops doesn't come in a multi-laser version

I left out Atlas and Cyclops due to balance. These are competitors of Anaconda with higher speed and maneuverability for similar cost but less lasers - an exchange of firepower for better defense.

War Lance has 3+3 lasers in the same size and cost category, in exchange of less cargo space (like Boa Class Cruiser).

Heart of Gold is the ship from D.T.T. industries which offer decent firepower (4 fw, 2 aft and 5-5 on broadsides) for double cost and can transport cargo about halfway between Cyclops and War Lance (450t). It is not as fast but maneuverable.

Looks like no "one ship to rule them all" which as fast as an Asp, hold as much cargo as an Anaconda and give as much firepower as a Boa Class Cruiser. At least not in the size which fit into the standard docks. If you accept that you must use autodock (shift+C) which pay 20 minutes for each landing, moreover skip most non-main stations where autodock is not allowed then there is a big playable ship with 520 speed, 1200t cargo, 23 energy banks and 16 missiles for 16M credits: the Condor. It is not in multiple lasers yet but I can imagine to fit into if you request due to there is enough internal space in exchange of the larger to-hit area. Still much smaller and faster than most [wiki]Bigships[/wiki].

Redspear wrote:

Oh, and welcome back Paradox

LOL! Thank you Redspear. I wasn't completely gone, I jumped in to take a quick look around every few months or so.

Norby wrote:

ffutures wrote:

Looks like the DTT Cyclops doesn't come in a multi-laser version

I left out Atlas and Cyclops due to balance. These are competitors of Anaconda with higher speed and maneuverability for similar cost but less lasers - an exchange of firepower for better defense.

War Lance has 3+3 lasers in the same size and cost category, in exchange of less cargo space (like Boa Class Cruiser).

Heart of Gold is the ship from D.T.T. industries which offer decent firepower (4 fw, 2 aft and 5-5 on broadsides) for double cost and can transport cargo about halfway between Cyclops and War Lance (450t). It is not as fast but maneuverable.

Looks like no "one ship to rule them all" which as fast as an Asp, hold as much cargo as an Anaconda and give as much firepower as a Boa Class Cruiser. At least not in the size which fit into the standard docks. If you accept that you must use autodock (shift+C) which pay 20 minutes for each landing, moreover skip most non-main stations where autodock is not allowed then there is a big playable ship with 520 speed, 1200t cargo, 23 energy banks and 16 missiles for 16M credits: the Condor. It is not in multiple lasers yet but I can imagine to fit into if you request due to there is enough internal space in exchange of the larger to-hit area. Still much smaller and faster than most [wiki]Bigships[/wiki].

Sorry, I didn't previously see this for some reason - given these choices I'll stick with the Cyclops. The Heart of Gold is a cool-looking ship but the restricted forward downward visibility and low speed would be a pain, and I do too many runs with a lot of time-sensitive cargo and mail to want a ship that can only autodock, which rules out the Condor.

Paradox wrote:

I also owe a big thanks to Dizzy (Diziet Sma) for keeping things going when I go 'walk about'! };] Can't thank you enough my friend! Hell, take an extra tenner out of petty cash!

My pleasure mate.. good to see you here again.. been gone for about a year myself.. but sales are booming! Have you seen the figures? Almost every ship in the  D.T.T. stable has had around 2500 downloads, give or take.. but the Snake Charmer is way ahead, at over 3600 combined downloads!

(now.. about that raise.. )

Norby wrote:

Heart of Gold is the ship from D.T.T. industries which offer decent firepower (4 fw, 2 aft and 5-5 on broadsides)

Oh lordy.. think I just died and went to heaven.. that sounds like a Caddy-killer.