Oolite Bulletins

Announcing Flying Dutchman v 1.5

inspired by a model by "Griff"
and a story by "Captain Hesperus"

Introduction

'...and, inevitably, as the chronometers count down the seconds to midnight and the windows of the station's bar grow dark as the planet blocks out the light of the star, the old timers sit nearer together and begin to trade tales of 'The Phantom Cobra'. Some claim that it's the ghost of Commander Peter Jameson, reported lost at the end of the last Thargoid War, others that it is simply a manifestation of all those lost souls who were trapped in the trackless depths of interstellar space. One common story is the trail of bad luck and hideous deaths that follow in the wake of the ship's sightings...'

Overview

This OXP introduces the small possibility to encounter a ghost ship, the tale of which is sung in shady bars (and in the news, if they have nothing else to report). After an introduction, which will eventually be triggered if you just fly around a little, you can meet the ship itself. Find out whether the tales and stories contain a grain of truth...

Featured Ships

Griff's Wireframe Cobra triggered and inspired this OXP. It's the sole ship contained in it.

Minimum Requirements

Flying_Dutchman.oxp requires at least Oolite 1.71. Due to the scripting methods used it will not run in versions below that.

Installation

Move or copy the file Flying_Dutchman.oxp from the main folder to the AddOns folder inside the Oolite main folder. Restart Oolite.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Griff for his ingenious model of the Wireframe Cobra, which inspired this little OXP.

Thanks to Captain Hesperus for the short story he posted on the Oolite BB, which set the tone for what this OXP does.

Also thanks to all the Oolite coders who are making the scripting model more and more sophisticated, thereby making OXPs like this possible.

Download Location

This OXP is available for download via the Elite Wiki.

EDIT: New version 1.1 available on the wiki

EDIT2: New, corrected (thanks, a_c!) version 1.2 available on the wiki

EDIT3: Version 1.3 available. Fixes a possible problem and adds two new features

EDIT4: Version 1.4 available. This is for use with Oolite 1.72 only. If you haven't yet updated Oolite, please stay with 1.3.

EDIT5: Version 1.5 available. For use with Oolite 1.73.2 and above. Also includes a new surprise.

Right on, Commander! Except now I'll have to play with the lights on...

Brilliant!:

I get a bit scared playing Oolite now

Now this is a wonderful flavour enhancer!
Great idea, and well done.
Thanks.

Thanks, all!

Have uploaded version 1.1 with two small improvements.

Available via the wiki page.

Nice. But there seems to be a small syntax error in flying-dutchman-cobra.js script that results in failure of the script to run. Line 124 reads
if(!player.hasEquipment("EQ_TRUMBLE")
while it really should be
if(!player.hasEquipment("EQ_TRUMBLE"))

another_commander wrote:

Nice. But there seems to be a small syntax error in flying-dutchman-cobra.js script that results in failure of the script to run. Line 124 reads
if(!player.hasEquipment("EQ_TRUMBLE")
while it really should be
if(!player.hasEquipment("EQ_TRUMBLE"))

Grrrmmblll! That's what happens when you (read: I) do just a little change on the fly.

I apologize for my sloppyness!

Fixed a possible problem that could delay the second message you get.

And added two more surprises. (Thanks to Eric Walch for his suggestions and feedback!)

So it's now version 1.3. Available through the wiki.

Made the OXP ready for Oolite 1.72. Please download from the wiki.

Note: If you're still on Oolite 1.71.n, please stay with version 1.3 of the OXP.

Very interesting flavor oxp
Can i suggest 2 small improvements?

1.Is it possible to have a spooky sound when you are close (lock) to the ghost ship (instead of the message in the screen telling you that you receive static)
2.Yesterday I started a new Jameson and after 4 or 5 jumps I had the first encounter with the ghost ship. As you can understand I did had the means to protect myself from all the misfortune. Maybe a condition (about the kills or the equipment you must have) should be nice

Ark wrote:

1.Is it possible to have a spooky sound when you are close (lock) to the ghost ship (instead of the message in the screen telling you that you receive static)

I have no experience yet with sound effects (myself I am usually playing with sound completely off), but I will look into it. Anybody willing to volunteer a spooky sound? (Probably--for obvious reasons--some spooky static? )

Ark wrote:

2.Yesterday I started a new Jameson and after 4 or 5 jumps I had the first encounter with the ghost ship. As you can understand I did had the means to protect myself from all the misfortune. Maybe a condition (about the kills or the equipment you must have) should be nice

Yes, could indeed be a frightening encounter for a newbie. On the other hand, it is meant to be a frightening encounter for anyone. But I'll think about an additional condition.

Thanks for the feedback!

Commander McLane wrote:

On the other hand, it is meant to be a frightening encounter for anyone.

I (Rank: Deadly) sure found it frightening when, after a close encounter of the wireframe kind, I found the repair costs for my Tiger MkI had jumped to 70.000 Cr

Paid through the nose, then ... serves me right for trying to attack a ghost with all I had, though

Immersive oxp!

L

Lestradae wrote:

Paid through the nose, then ... serves me right for trying to attack a ghost with all I had, though

And it doesn't even try to defend itself! Just gratiously continues its journey, seemingly unimpressed by anything that's happening around it.

Anybody tried to follow it until it arrives somewhere?

Immersive oxp!

Thanks!

Commander McLane wrote:

Anybody tried to follow it until it arrives somewhere?

A-ha ...

Though I have this idea that before arriving anywhere I will be in a desintegrating trashcan

Just don't get too close to it. Outside a 15000 meter radius of the ghost you are safe.

I haven't actually taken the time yet to follow it to the end. So I was just interested if anybody has.