Oolite Bulletins

I've played earlier oolite versions and I think this is a good game. Here are some issues/suggestions regarding the current stable version:

1. Fix the expansion manager thing
2. .gnustepdefaults file isn't very helpful, it should use the plist default format OR the new format regardless of operating system
3. There's no ingame option to select windowed resolution. By trial and error, I managed to stretch the window and then I saw that the .gnustepdefaults file had added the windowed resolution settings. It would have been more convenient if the file already had the default values shown

4. This isn't really an important issue but I vaguely remember a mission, probably added by an oxp that had you go to some place and do readings. It was a very anticlimatic and broken mission type. Another was when a retrieved escape pod occupant gives a mission to rendezvous with a ship at a given location. Well, I found the ship, hailed it but nothing happened and there was no reward. So I recommend better oxp testing for creators and those who approve them
5. Update the official site and the wiki with info regarding the ingame expansion manager and how to fix it!
6. Extra fuel tank, when dropped, acts like a bomb. I don't know if that's been fixed yet
7. The radio oxp (which you could use to play your own music ingame) doesn't work on 1.90 and there's no working alternative

Welcome!

Tambourine wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:27 pm

7. The radio oxp (which you could use to play your own music ingame) doesn't work on 1.90 and there's no working alternative

Have you seen Arquebus's Contextual Jukebox OXP?

Or https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Music (see Tsoj's DIY oxp and Slartibartfast's oxp)?

Tambourine wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:27 pm

I've played earlier oolite versions and I think this is a good game. Here are some issues/suggestions regarding the current stable version:
...

Some of the items are already known, some of them you found freshly. And I totally agree something should be done about them.
The project is bigger than what one person can do. Would you be willing to contribute fixing stuff?

Tambourine wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:27 pm

Fix the expansion manager thing

We're working on it! Unfortunately it's not a quick or easy fix. But work is progressing.

Tambourine wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:27 pm

.gnustepdefaults file isn't very helpful, it should use the plist default format OR the new format regardless of operating system

I believe the format of the .gnustepdefaults file is (mostly) out of our control. I think it's it's an OS-related thing.

Tambourine wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:27 pm

So I recommend better oxp testing for creators and those who approve them

I applaud the need for testers. And hey, there's a signup sheet over there, just beside the dark-side cookies!

Seriously, yes, it would be great if every OXP could be tested by a few people before release, but getting people to actually do that testing is hard. Most people are playing the game and will report any errors they find, rather than deliberately plumbing the depths of a single OXP to make sure every component is working correctly. When you add in potential conflicts with the huge list of other OXP's available, the testing process becomes quite burdensome. So, the standard practice over time has been for the OXP devs to test as much as they can, then release with the understanding that there might be undiscovered bugs still lurking inside, and that players, if they choose to install those OXP's are implicitly signing up for some unofficial testing.

Part of the issue lies with what the Expansion Manager is, or rather, what it is perceived to be. OXP's released through that medium are not vetted, or approved, in any way. OXP's could be a broken mess, and still be available on that list. The devs of Oolite don't test every OXP released via that medium (in fact, we don't officially test any!), and honestly, we just don't have the time for that.

Instead, the Expansion Manager is just a means of distribution, designed to make the task of installing OXP's easier for players. And that's it! No warranties or guarantees of anything. It's just an automated download tool.

However, it's certainly understandable that players might feel like the list is some sort of "official" list of approved OXP's. Some documentation changes are probably in order.

But that's the thing. Oolite is a community-run project, with lots of rough edges and pitfalls and issues. We're in this thing together, for the love of the game. No one is getting paid for any of this. There aren't any awards to win. We just love the game, the setting, the history, and we want to make the game better, bit by bit. And that takes time, which for many of us, is in short supply.

For reference, it looks like at least one of the mission issues you uncovered is with GalCop Missions, which is mine. I'll have a look at these when I have a chance.

Tambourine wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:27 pm

Update the official site and the wiki with info regarding the ingame expansion manager and how to fix it!

The wiki has info regarding the fix. See this page: https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Main_Page, or this one: https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Oolite_Main_Page. The thread for the fix has been pinned to every section of the BB. The website has a link to a utility that can kind of bypass the need to use the expansion manager for version 1.90 users. So, we're trying to get the info out there!

Tambourine wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:27 pm

Extra fuel tank, when dropped, acts like a bomb. I don't know if that's been fixed yet

Honestly, that sounds like a feature! Hang on while I look at the code...hmm. Well, there are a number of fuel tank OXP's, so I'm not sure which one you're actually referring to, but the one titled "Extra fuel tanks" doesn't have anything in it that would indicate some sort of explosive device. So, if it is that OXP, it might be a bug. I don't have scope to look into that one right now, but if you could confirm the name of the OXP you've got, it would help in tracking down the issue. For reference, there's: "Extra Fuel Tanks", "Fuel Tank", "Duplex Fuel Tank", or possibly even "Internal Fuel Tank".

Tambourine wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:27 pm

The radio oxp (which you could use to play your own music ingame) doesn't work on 1.90

I wasn't aware that Hyperradio was actually broken in 1.90. I'll check and report back.

Hyperradio seems to work fine in 1.90. Clean 1.90 install, and just Hyperradio, one of the channels (ST01 - Ambient), Cabal Common Library and Snoopers installed. Bought the licence to Hyperradio, launched, primed the Hyperradio equipment selected a channel, and got some music playing.

So, in its basic form, it seems to work. However, there might be something going on in your environment (like another OXP) that is preventing it from working. We'll need some more details from you (like a copy of your log file, which contains a list of all the OXP's you're using) to help track down the issue.