Oolite Bulletins

So I was playing Oolite, just ran a load of computers from a rich industrial to a poor agricultural and almost tripled my credits (hurray). Anyway, I just docked and sold my cargo and looked at the buy equipment screen (3) and I see an orange option.. "Maintenance Overhaul".....
What exactly does this do and if I don't purchase it will I suffer any consequences?


Also, Oolite has to be one of if not the most fun game I've ever played....

You have to look after your ship just like you would a car, it needs regular servicing, and in time when you have loads of credits, it's not a significant cost. If you don't keep it maintained your ship and/or its equipment is more likely to be damaged or destroyed in a fight. On balance it is advisble to keep it maintained, but if you are low on credits then you should avoid the space lanes untill you can afford it.

Bokasha wrote:

Maintenance Overhaul".....
What exactly does this do and if I don't purchase it will I suffer any consequences?

Like TGHC said: it signals your ship is getting a little worse. The most visible place where one can see this is when you trade your ship in. A badly maintained one has less value. A good reason for servicing your ship just before selling it. If the raise in value is more than the servicing costs you must find out yourself, but my opinion is that when you sell something it must be good working. You even run the chance that an unsatisfied customer will pay your back. (and I mean not in money)

Also, try to get your ship serviced at a high-tech planet. The engineers can only repair what they're qualified to repair. If you've got, say, docking computers (TL9) and get your ship overhauled at somewhere TL8 or lower, the next time you visit a TL9 or above world, you'll find there's still a maintenance overhaul waiting to be done -- and it'll cost you the same again!

High-tech industrial Communist or Dictatorship planets are good to visit (if you're running the Dictators and/or Commies OXPs) -- the AstroFactories and Collective ZGFs all offer equipment and maintenance at reduced prices.

I don't really have a lot to add, except:

Hi, Bokasha, and welcome to the boards and to this truly great game!

(And to apologize on behalf of my pre-writers for forgetting the simple rules of politeness.)

Thanks... While everyone's in question answering moods I have a few more ....

-How do fuel scoops work?
-Are docking computers worth the investment? (I've got about 3000Cr. right now so they'd take a sizeable bite out of my funds along with the maintenance..
-How would I go about changing the color/design of a ship?
-How do advanced space compasses work?
-What're some good tactics for dogfights? (Right now my only strategy consists of firing missiles and if the enemy has an ECM charging and turning around and charging the enemy again while firing lasers... I've only got one pulse laser at present so I can't really take out anything really deadly ...
-How long does it take for the law to forget about crimes?


.....and I think that's it for now

Commander McLane wrote:

...welcome to the boards and to this truly great game!

Thanks

Fuel Scoops: Dive in close to a sun, they will scoop up fuel. I leave it to you to discover how close to go

Possibly more important, they can scoop up wreckage if you fly "over" it.

Docking Computers More like: Can you manage without them? Some say they do.

Colour & Design changes. Read the OXP forum

Advanced Space Compasses Show you more. Buy one and try it.

Dogfight Tactics Once you have mil lasers front and rear then alternately charge and retreat. Meanwhile what you're doing sounds OK.

Enjoy!

Bokasha wrote:

Thanks... While everyone's in question answering moods I have a few more ....

Welcome to the friendliest board this side of Riedquat. We answer with pleasure - and we save lifes doing so, as it's well known that ignorance kills!

-How do fuel scoops work?

Without it you can't recover the nice floatsom/jetsom cannisters from the accidentally wrecked ships.
Oh, and some cheap/wanted pilots actually use it to fill their fuel tanks by flying near the sun...

-Are docking computers worth the investment? (I've got about 3000Cr. right now so they'd take a sizeable bite out of my funds along with the maintenance..

If you're asking, they're not - it means you can already do witout. In fact, you can only afford then by the time you can dock manually, so...

-How would I go about changing the color/design of a ship?

You go to AddOns\oxpname.oxp\Textures and edit the skins without resizing. Also, check the Wiki.

-How do advanced space compasses work?

You can set them to point to the planet , the station, and a lot of other nneat things as hoopys, Monk Banks, etc.

-What're some good tactics for dogfights? (Right now my only strategy consists of firing missiles and if the enemy has an ECM charging and turning around and charging the enemy again while firing lasers... I've only got one pulse laser at present so I can't really take out anything really deadly ...

Avoid the spacelanes by flying off to the side until you get a decent gun. You're still not in a equipped to be asking about combat.

-How long does it take for the law to forget about crimes?

Depends if you have anarchies.oxp installed or not. If you don't, your record vanishes by half on each jump, taking up to IIRC 8 hyperspace jumps. If you do, matters are more complicated - and more fun!

.....and I think that's it for now

I wanted to add links, but the wifi signal is too weak for me to look for the adresses. Either way, if you're in doubt, ask away!

Docking computers.

Some people prefer to dock manually, although it will save you a lot of time, as soon as the S appears in your space compass hit control+D and your in! If you become a fugitive your docking computer is disabled and you have to "clean" up your status before it is re-enabled.

As previously mentioned it's best to bling up your ship before you take on too many pirates and the like. If you have OXP's loaded, some of these have some fearsome ships which can cause you serious grief, so be choosy on which ones you load up in the early days.