(Release) Fast Target Selector
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:03 am
I've always found the standard targeting system in Oolite a bit fiddly, particularly if your target is on the edge of scanner range (and I'm not the only one!). You have to jiggle the crosshairs around over the target hoping that the ident system locks on (unless I've missed something somewhere - quite possible!). And the player is at a disadvantage here because it's not something that NPC's have to worry about - their targets are selected automatically as part of the AI routines.
There are a couple of OXP's out there that help with targeting. Thargoid's "Target Autolock Plus" auto-selects hostile targets if you don't have a target set. Timer's "Targeter" allows the player to switch modes between different target types, and then they can cycle through all available targets of that type, which does a similar job to CSOTB's "Military Targeting System" (an OXP which has sadly stalled at v1).
But I wanted something a bit simpler. I wanted two modes of operation - standard, and red alert - and I wanted the system to work out which mode it should be in on its own. Then I can just cycle through whatever targets are visible. This is not designed as a do-it-all-for-you type of thing. I just wanted something that would enable me to quickly find targets and highlight them on the scanner.
And so Fast Target Selector was born. I've been using this for quite a while now, and have refined the code over time as I've learnt more about Oolite JS, and I think it's pretty stable. It's dead easy to use. Prime with shift-N, then "n" cycles forward through available targets, and "b" cycles backwards. Wormholes are not targeted - you have to target them the traditional way. It's set up to use the "Fast Affinity Defensive" slot, so hopefully it will be engaged by default when you purchase the equipment. That means you just have to press "0" (zero) to switch to the next target no matter what other equipment you have primed.
The equipment only costs 10cr. I've kept the costs down to make it a viable purchase option for brand new Jamesons, to make their life a bit easier.
Download via the expansion pack manager, or you can download from the wiki
Comments, feedback and bug reports welcome!
There are a couple of OXP's out there that help with targeting. Thargoid's "Target Autolock Plus" auto-selects hostile targets if you don't have a target set. Timer's "Targeter" allows the player to switch modes between different target types, and then they can cycle through all available targets of that type, which does a similar job to CSOTB's "Military Targeting System" (an OXP which has sadly stalled at v1).
But I wanted something a bit simpler. I wanted two modes of operation - standard, and red alert - and I wanted the system to work out which mode it should be in on its own. Then I can just cycle through whatever targets are visible. This is not designed as a do-it-all-for-you type of thing. I just wanted something that would enable me to quickly find targets and highlight them on the scanner.
And so Fast Target Selector was born. I've been using this for quite a while now, and have refined the code over time as I've learnt more about Oolite JS, and I think it's pretty stable. It's dead easy to use. Prime with shift-N, then "n" cycles forward through available targets, and "b" cycles backwards. Wormholes are not targeted - you have to target them the traditional way. It's set up to use the "Fast Affinity Defensive" slot, so hopefully it will be engaged by default when you purchase the equipment. That means you just have to press "0" (zero) to switch to the next target no matter what other equipment you have primed.
The equipment only costs 10cr. I've kept the costs down to make it a viable purchase option for brand new Jamesons, to make their life a bit easier.
Download via the expansion pack manager, or you can download from the wiki
Comments, feedback and bug reports welcome!