Oolite Bulletins

Hi Folks,

Well, been playing for a couple weeks now, and still Lovin' it I can't thank you guys enough for bringing back an old favorite - and improving it ! Makes me feel like I'm young and 40 again lol.

Anyhoo - I've got a couple newb questions that I haven't been able to find answers to in the Wiki or Faqs - so if you'll bear with me I'd like to pose 'em here. They're so simple that they've probably been answered before - I just can't find the answers.

All questions are regarding the 1.65 release on a PC - so if they're answered in 1.7x - please say so :

1) When buying/selling commodities - is/are there any keys which will let you buy or sell the maximum allowed amount with a single keystroke?

2) I'm sure this one has been asked - and there's probably a reason for the answer - but ..... When changing screen views (Fore, Aft, etc.) is there any way the control config can automatically shift so you are *always* using say, Up to move up, left to rotate left, etc. rather than having to change your controller movement depending on which way you are facing? i.e., when facing Aft, I'd like to pull back on my joystick to move the cross hairs up - just as if I was facing Foreward, rather than having to reverse my controlling movement.

3) Sometime I just wanna go out and be a brainless miner for a while. Is there any easy way to locate asteroids in a system? Or any hints you can give me as to how to find a system with lots of mining opportunities? It seems that whenever I *want* to find the little white dots - they never seem to be in the area(s) I'm searching. Even information to increase the odds of finding them would be nice .

That's all for the time .. I'm sure there'll be more as I get deeper into the game. Thanks

kaice wrote:

1) When buying/selling commodities - is/are there any keys which will let you buy or sell the maximum allowed amount with a single keystroke?

Yes. The RETURN- or ENTER-keys do that.

kaice wrote:

2) I'm sure this one has been asked - and there's probably a reason for the answer - but ..... When changing screen views (Fore, Aft, etc.) is there any way the control config can automatically shift so you are *always* using say, Up to move up, left to rotate left, etc. rather than having to change your controller movement depending on which way you are facing? i.e., when facing Aft, I'd like to pull back on my joystick to move the cross hairs up - just as if I was facing Foreward, rather than having to reverse my controlling movement.

Actually I don't remember it being asked.

First of all, I can understand the demand of having an easy way to control the position of your crosshairs. But if you think for a moment about your ship's movements, your request doesn't really make sense. Generally: You don't move your crosshairs, but your ship. So if you look through your side window (or camera) and pull your joystick, what do you see? The nose of your ship moves up, therefore whatever you see through your side window seems to turn. If you roll and look through your side window, what do you expect to see? Your surroundings scroll either up or down, and they are doing it fast. (You could do a real-world experiment and try to look through your side window while you crash and flip over your car, but I wouldn't suggest you do that. ) Therefore the movements as they are make perfect sense. Remember: What you are moving with your controller is not your view and not the crosshairs, but the whole ship. And it moves in all three dimensions (four, if you include witchspace ).

kaice wrote:

3) Sometime I just wanna go out and be a brainless miner for a while. Is there any easy way to locate asteroids in a system? Or any hints you can give me as to how to find a system with lots of mining opportunities? It seems that whenever I *want* to find the little white dots - they never seem to be in the area(s) I'm searching. Even information to increase the odds of finding them would be nice.

The Rock Hermit Locator might be something for you. Where there is a Rock Hermit, there is always an asteroid field as well. Right now I'm not sure whether Ore_processor.oxp might contain some code that adds more asteroids to the game, thereby increasing the chance to find some. Anyway, it will increase the income you get from mining.

Generally: Asteroids are created in two areas by the game. (1) Along the corridor between the witchpoint and the planet. If you leave the corridor, you won't find asteroids. The position, number and size of asteroid fields in the corridor varies by random. So you can meet them at the witchpoint, very close to the planet, or at any point in-between. You can meet one field in a system or three, or even four. (2) Behind the planet, as seen from the witchpoint. If you stay on the corridor and circumvent the planet, continuing in the direction which is opposite to the witchpoint, you will usually meet a large asteroid field, quite often also with a Rock Hermit inside. Sometimes you can see distant laser fire from the station, from a direction opposite from the witchpoint, behind the planet. That's the miners of this Rock Hermit at work.

Cmdr McLane -

#1 - Yepper - whoopie - Return works .. Thanks

#2 - Yes, I do understand that the controller movement actually controls the ship movement (been an Elite player since C-64 days). What I'm looking for - and I think you understand - is the possibility of swapping the ship movement responses based on which directional screen you're looking out of. So say I'm looking aft, then a pull *back* on my joystick would then tilt my ship's nose *down* - instead of the normal tilting ship's nose up (in forward view) - effectively raising the cross hair view through the rear port. I just hate it in the heat of battle when I'm trying to use my aft and side guns to have things go all phlooey(?) because I forgot which direction I'm facing at the moment.

#3 - another Yepper - just the info I was looking for .. Thanks again

As far as your 2nd question about the aft view controls for flying your ship is concerned, you are correct that this has been discussed before, the general concensus of opinion has always been that to become Elite you have to become a skilled pilot. Combat using the rear laser is essential to survive in many instances because of laser heating problems, so you would be well advised to practice this art. You will find with practice that it is in fact easier to kill an enemy ship in the rear view because they don't dip and dive around like they do in the front view, in fact they tend to try and centre themselves in your cross hairs
Some OXP ships and mission ships have very strong defences and to kill them needs continual laser hits so you have to switch from front to back view to enable your lasers to alternatively cool down.
You can also savea little time by heading towards the planet and then pop off your enemies when they tag along behind you.

Happy hunting

TGHC -

Okies - that's pretty much what I thought (and it doesn't bother me - been playing that way for years). I understand the reasoning behind it, and don't object - just thought I'd ask the question since OOlite is the most current (and best) of the Elite-likes, and is undergoing constant development. Thanks go out to you and the Commander for answering.

kaice wrote:

3) Sometime I just wanna go out and be a brainless miner for a while. Is there any easy way to locate asteroids in a system? Or any hints you can give me as to how to find a system with lots of mining opportunities? It seems that whenever I *want* to find the little white dots - they never seem to be in the area(s) I'm searching. Even information to increase the odds of finding them would be nice .

Some systems have more asteroids than others.
Leesti, just SW of Lave is rich in asteroids and I mine there on a regular basis and sell the mined cargo at Diso which is just a few LY's away.

Who said miners are brainless? lol

I spend my entire time just mining. It's an 'age old' profession that can be very hazardous.
Us 'Belters' are not brainless

ummmm ..... errrrr ....

I meant the asteroids are brainless .... yeah .. that's what I meant , I mine the brainless asteroids

kaice wrote:

#2 - Yes, I do understand that the controller movement actually controls the ship movement (been an Elite player since C-64 days). What I'm looking for - and I think you understand - is the possibility of swapping the ship movement responses based on which directional screen you're looking out of.

A low tech solution I use... turn your joystick around!
(only works if you HAVE a joystick!!! )

kaice wrote:

ummmm ..... errrrr ....

I meant the asteroids are brainless .... yeah .. that's what I meant , I mine the brainless asteroids

Kind a like Brainless miner, sort a like frankenstein type---

"Rock needs rock..."

"There is rock, Rock smashes rock with red glowy rod"

like he spent to much time in domes with insufficient shielding, like in rock hermits..

kaice wrote:

3) Sometime I just wanna go out and be a brainless miner for a while. Is there any easy way to locate asteroids in a system? Or any hints you can give me as to how to find a system with lots of mining opportunities? It seems that whenever I *want* to find the little white dots - they never seem to be in the area(s) I'm searching. Even information to increase the odds of finding them would be nice .

Hello Kaice,

To this question I only can add that you could download : DeepSpacePirates v0.1

This oxp does add asteroids in deep space. Just fly mindless away into the emptiness and you will sometimes encounter an asteroid. I think you find also other things out there, but I already forgot what it was.

It needs 1.71 however to work.

Happy mining.

I just want to add one hint for mining. For mining you need a mining laser. But for real combat you want the strongest lasers to both the front and the back. And that is a military laser when you can afford it.

I now have side mounted a mining laser. A little more difficult in aiming (with the "<>" keys) but not a real problem for stationary or slow moving objects like asteroids.