Oolite Bulletins

Greetings, all.

After a rather intense scrap with some pirates (sadly missed by their next-of-kin), I noticed my cloaking device had vanished from the equipment list. Either (a) it was damaged, and needed repairing, like eg, fuel scoops, or (b) it was gone - possibly forever.

So off I wander to an industrial planet - no option to repair. Maybe not high enough tech level. Find a tech 14 world, no option to repair.

I'm trying to play more or less the original, so reluctant as I was, I examined my saved game file - sure enough, <key>EQ_CLOAKING_DEVICE_DAMAGED</key> <true/>.

So, my question is, what do I need to do to get it working again, without editing the file?

Any help appreciated!

This problem has come up in discussion before. I tried searching, but couldn't find the thread.

Anyway, as memory serves, the cloaking device is one of those few bits of kit that the shipyards have no facilities to repair.

I'm afraid that you have no recourse but to hack your savefile and do a 'shadetree repair job'. Make a backup of the file first, of course.

Many thanks, Cmdr Wyvern - I could'nt find any reference to it, either. Oh, well, guess I'll just have to pretend I met a friendly hi-tech mechanic in deep space somewhere

A Bug / Feature (OK its a bug) in the code of the Assassins.oxp will mean that if you've joined the Assassins Guild then a damaged cloaking device will be repaired as long as you'd won it in the first place. (hey maybe the Guild issue nano-bots to Brothers to fix their busted cloaks! ). I will be fixing this for the V1.3 realease, unless people think I should just add an explantion in the mission text and make it a feature that Brothers of the Guild can get their broken cloaks fixed?

It seems wrong that the cloaking device cannot be repaired, why not an OXP just for the purpose (guess who's a cheeky old git)

LittleBear wrote:

A Bug / Feature (OK its a bug) in the code of the Assassins.oxp will mean that if you've joined the Assassins Guild then a damaged cloaking device will be repaired as long as you'd won it in the first place. (hey maybe the Guild issue nano-bots to Brothers to fix their busted cloaks! ). I will be fixing this for the V1.3 realease, unless people think I should just add an explantion in the mission text and make it a feature that Brothers of the Guild can get their broken cloaks fixed?

An expansion on that idea, LB...

An R3 series Emergency Repair Droid, one of those otherwise reserved military technolegies. Capable of limited repair of most ship's systems, and with AI smart enough to figure out captured (or otherwise obtained) experimental/alien tech, such as the cloak and NEU.

Considering the Guild's influence, they have the secret Naval tech, and are willing to share...for a (fair?) price.

Hhm, the magically repaired cloaking device, arrises as the Mark Transponder Scanner disables the Cloak whilst it is locking on to a Mark, then comes back on line again when the Mark is dead or the player and the Mark are no longer in the same system. I hadn't figured on the player having the cloak, but got it damaged. So if you have a cloak it won't work when a mark is in range, but you can use it again when he's dead. Trouble is if you had the cloak but it was damaged, you get it back when he's dead.

I'd done this by removing and awarding the cloak if the player had it in the first place. The better way to do it would be by doing a test for equipment cloak and then set a mission variable, when the player joins the Guild. The mission variable could then be used to allow the cloak to be repaired in a (say) tech 13+ shipyard, if the player is already a Member of the Guild and had got the cloak in the first place.

I don't know if you downloaded the Dragon oxp, but if you have, check the readme.

That's why I tossed out the silly idea of the droid.

BTW, the oxp includes a spare dat file and unpainted texture, incase someone wanted to make their own custom ride. I can see a Guild Brother unleashing such a vicious beast on the unwary... (hint hint)

Well the Triad boss is flying a uber version of Paladin, but we could put him in the new uber version of the Dragon! Could you mabey e-mail me a pic of the Dragon in 512 x 512 format?

I'm

[email protected]

Take the lunchen meat out of the e-mail and thats my address!

LittleBear wrote:

Well the Triad boss is flying a uber version of Paladin, but we could put him in the new uber version of the Dragon! Could you mabey e-mail me a pic of the Dragon in 512 x 512 format?

I'm

[email protected]

Take the lunchen meat out of the e-mail and thats my address!

The pic is in the mail.

The problem with making the cloaking device repairable on high TL-stations is that at the same time you make it available for purchasing as well.

The best thing IMO would be to make a small addition to the original mission script, contained within Oolite. In the old scripting system it would be parallel to the last condition in thargoid plans: Actually it would be better to insert a testForEquipment into the do-part, as the cloaking device could be spawned but not scooped.

Ahruman has, however, already translated the cloaking device mission into the JS-syntax. So we have to ask him to incorporate this addition.

The result would be to make the cloaking device repairable in hightech systems (13+ if I'm right, AFAIK equipment can be repaired one TL below the purchasing level), and available in 14+ systems, but only if the player already has it. So no purchasing as long as the mission is not completed.

Ahruman, could you do that?

Might be a daft question but what if it was made available at 1 higher than the max TL level ie 16 so that it could then be repaired at a TL 15, but not be able to be purchased. I suspect that TL levels are hard wired, on which case could a TL16 planet be added.

TL 15 planets are too rare. There are a couple of galaxies without any.

Wich is more of a reason to make it so - the cloaking device is a state-of-the -art piece of military equipament, not available for the public. Therefore, it makes sense that only top tech shipyards would have engeneering departaments advanced enough to repair the devices.

In which case sometimes you will have to travel a long way to get repairs, all part of Oolite's rich environment. Just consider yourself unlucky