Oolite Bulletins

Before I begin, I feel I should say how much I'm enjoying Oolite thus far. I never got to experience Elite back in the day, so this is all very new and exciting to me. Anywho, I noticed the Amiga release used graphics to represent various items. Something like this wouldn't be difficult to implement and would greatly assist new players, as well as enriching the experience in general. I'd be willing to help, if help was needed.

In any event, just a thought.

PS: By the by, what on Earth is the creature in my avatar? I love it.

Hi, Ortchel,

Yes graphical representation has been considered, but it is a *lot* of work, there is a lengthy discussion about this (I'll have to look it up EDIT: darn, can't find it... )) about what it would involve.

But it is being gradually implemented, see for example the planetary representation (F7) where you see the planet, that's fairly new.

it would involve making a lot of artwork, to represent the various species etc.

The creature is a 'lovely' trumble, normally there will be occasions you can buy one as a pet, and then, well... You'll see...

The link for this subject is here

https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?p= ... ght=#14626

Rxke tells it how it is. Having spent a lot of time reading the source code ( fantastic bedtime reading ) there is no facility for the graphical representations such as Amiga. Its kind of like taking a house apart brick by brick and rebuilding it. There is an awful lot of work to do. I am convinced it will be part of the future of Oolite, but when i read the above post, i didnt realise at the time just how big the job is

What's wrong with text-only market screen? It's perfectly clear. Besides, I didn't like the graphics on the Amiga version.

I agree that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the screens at present. The good thing with how Giles has created this game, it gives people the choice to have the game exactly as they want it. Any additions to the GUI screens etc could be by way of OXP, which would give you the choice to put on what you want

suppose its like having a car when young, with fluffy dice etc (oops or was that just me )

Oh, there's nothing wrong with the text-only market screen, it's more than functional. I just thought the Amiga release looked rather snazzy, is all. I didn't realize it would be such a complex undertaking, though, rather a pity. Though, perhaps it would be best left out anyway, Oolite's appeal seems to lie, at least partially, in it's adherence to Elite tradition.

In any event, if such a day ever comes, I'd be more than willing to assist. If art were to be considered a profession, then I'd call it mine. I also have some associates (who're better than I with pixels), who'd probably be willing to lend a hand as well.

Cheers.

Ortchel wrote:

In any event, if such a day ever comes, I'd be more than willing to assist. If art were to be considered a profession, then I'd call it mine. I also have some associates (who're better than I with pixels), who'd probably be willing to lend a hand as well.

In that case, I'd urge you to start working! I think that the biggest hindrance thus far has been the lack of people to work on the graphics (why make the code if you have no pictures to go with it?).

One would not even have to make them all in one fell swoop - start out with something doable, such as the shipyard upgrade item graphics or graphics for the items on the market. The aliens need a bit more planning, but they could be included later on...

I’d suggest using 3D models for upgrades. It’d mesh better with the shipyard.

If you could give me a complete list of the market's items, I'll get to work. As mentioned, I'm still new to all this, and I'm certain I'm unfamiliar with the majority of the market's goods.

But, aside from that, how would you like this done? Photo-realism, renderings, 'old-school' Amiga-esque pixel magic...?

If you look at the link which i put above, i know theres a few pages, but in the first four pages there are some very good ideas by Ahruman and Winston etc, hope that helps

the list of all market-items are in-game under F8. Same stuff as in the og Elite(s)

milinks wrote:

suppose its like having a car when young, with fluffy dice etc (oops or was that just me )

Fluffy dice, like on the (according to gossip of course) PalmOS version!

Can we have an OXP for fluffy dice?

Ortchel wrote:

PS: By the by, what on Earth is the creature in my avatar? I love it.

The first rule about the creature in your avatar is we don't talk about the creature in your avatar.
The second rule is that you should read The Virtuous Misfortune, lest you meet a crewmember trying to flog you one of these darlings.

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/The_Vi ... Misfortune

Oh yeah, I was picking up my next door neighbour this morning - she works at the same place as me. She has children. Kids TV was on this morning. There was a kid's TV programme on with furry creatures that had disturbing similarities...