Oolite Bulletins

i knew that renegades dropped a Q bomb when they died but i've never had it happen with a trader!

I'd just completed my first real random hits kill as well!

And since when did anybody have armed escaped capsules (as happened with the previous random hits kill)?

Armed Worms were in some versions of Orginal Elite, so I though it would be quite fun to introduce them back into Oolite. Only Marks who escape in worms can fire back. Usually a mark in a worm will try to flee (the worm is very weedy in the shield department!), but he does have a pulse laser. The Worm can be scooped like a pod. Marks who eject in normal escape pods can't fire back.

Traders in Oolite can drop mines when fleeing (this is a built in feature rather than OXP), but they vary rarely do it.

I've been killed by a trader-dropped Q-bomb. The worst thing was I was helping him against the pirates that attacked him!

Captain Hesperus

Captain Hesperus wrote:

I've been killed by a trader-dropped Q-bomb. The worst thing was I was helping him against the pirates that attacked him!

Captain Hesperus

Giles already introduced the Q-bomb for normal ships in version 1.65. See the readme with that version. The code to launch the bomb was already in there. regenerades do it by "cheating" and spawn a boms they hadn't until that spawn command. When traders launch a q-bomb it was already part of their equipment when introduced in the system. But although Giles added it in version 1.65, he never gave it to any of the build in ships. Probably scripters have discovered this feature at last. But hey, you are also a trader in furry balls. Do you never carry a q-bomb?

Hoopy wrote:

i knew that renegades dropped a Q bomb when they died

Ah that's why I died when I killed a renegade python lol.

I have never had a Q bomb myself so how long do they take to detonate?

After just killing a renegade ship, would it be wise to hit the witchdrive fuel injectors to avoid being toasted?

elite wrote:

I have never had a Q bomb myself so how long do they take to detonate?

It's about a five second delay.

elite wrote:

After just killing a renegade ship, would it be wise to hit the witchdrive fuel injectors to avoid being toasted?

The other wise alternative is to give them a bit of space when they start to spew plasma (i.e. make visible signs of being at low energy and thus about to die) and finish them off at a distance. If you have WFI, and if you can spot it (and if you are ballsy enough!!), scooping any escape pods that are ejected can net a pretty few Creds!

Captain Hesperus

against renegades i just hit the witch space injectors and turn away as soon as they explode as they almost always drop one.

The problem with traders is that you usually want to get the cargo before it disperses too much so i tend to accelerate straight into the explosion.

Maybe we need an extra bit of equipment that gives a warning if a Q bomb is dropped. I'm not suggesting it should be able to destroy it like a sentinel satellite though - that would be a bit too uber.

Hoopy wrote:

against renegades i just hit the witch space injectors and turn away as soon as they explode as they almost always drop one.

The problem with traders is that you usually want to get the cargo before it disperses too much so i tend to accelerate straight into the explosion.

Maybe we need an extra bit of equipment that gives a warning if a Q bomb is dropped. I'm not suggesting it should be able to destroy it like a sentinel satellite though - that would be a bit too uber.

Well, Active Q-bombs do show on the scanner prior to detonation. They are marked by a yellow and red flashing 'lollipop'. If you don't pay attention to the scanner, then it's your funeral (or memorial ceremony since there's never anything to bury). One alternative might be a text warning as seen in Status Quo:

Drew Wagar wrote:

Warning! Ultraviolet Radiation Detected.
Warning! Gravimetric Radiation Detected.

Captain Hesperus

you can't see anything on the scanner when the boa you've just destroyed drops 10 cargo pods!

Hoopy wrote:

you can't see anything on the scanner when the boa you've just destroyed drops 10 cargo pods!

True.

The renegade python I killed droped a whole load of cargo. I saw nothing but white dots on the scanner. I thought to myself 'come to daddy'.... then I was dead

How fast does that Q-bomb wavefront travel, anyway?

Best wishes,
Oz

From the wiki:

The explosion expands in a sphere from the initial detonation. It is accompanied by the emission of high energy photons (from gamma rays to visible light, mostly in the upper end of the spectrum). The expansion of the sphere is easily observable (from a safe distance) and travels relatively slowly. The word 'relatively' is key here - most ships can't outrun the expanding sphere without witch space fuel injectors, and if a ship doesn't make good its escape early on, even injectors may not get the craft out of trouble.

Pretty durn fast, I'd say!

Well, since you ask, up to 1000 metres/second. I’d say 3600 km/h counts as “relatively slowly” in an interplanetary context.

Ahruman wrote:

Well, since you ask, up to 1000 metres/second. I’d say 3600 km/h counts as “relatively slowly” in an interplanetary context.

But certainly fast enough to get the first three lines of the Prayer of Giles:

"Our Giles,
Who Art Our Programmer,
Hallowed Be Thy Mac....."

Captain Hesperus

Captain Hesperus wrote:

Ahruman wrote:

Well, since you ask, up to 1000 metres/second. I’d say 3600 km/h counts as “relatively slowly” in an interplanetary context.

But certainly fast enough to get the first three lines of the Prayer of Giles:

"Our Giles,
Who Art Our Programmer,
Hallowed Be Thy Mac....."

... and we all know that nothing else in Oolite is nearly as screwed up as distances and speeds.