Thargoids...

[Screet]

Hi,

I've installed the Thargoid addon for much more fun...and I must admit that I like the look of those additional ships VERY much. I've also the Navy Addon installed...so I don't really know which one is the cause of the stuff I observed.

1) I believe that the Thargoid frigates should be much more tougher. I can kill three before my laser overheats?!?

2) The bounty for those Thargoids is pretty strange. Warships/Invaders and Frigates often give far less of a bounty than a Thargon (Thargoid robot fighter). When doing a navy mission against them, the bounty for robot fighters often rises from 50 to 114 credits, and even the "minimal" amount typically is higher than the resale value of scooped up Thargons.

3) Inactive Thargons still count as a kill and give full bounty, while not posing any threat at all. Should it really be that way? When doing a navy mission against them, it's pretty heavy income to clean up around the big navy ships that do not leave...and then move on into the big "cloud" of inactive fighters until the scanner says "condition green"....check the kills and money, fire an energy bomb, check it again and SMILE...that's very easy money and repays for the kills lost due to a crashed game. Should it really be that way?

4) I don't know if it was a bug or me being to fast at the keyboard, but I had sometimes the message that I was hiding while Thargoids attempted to raid the station...but in no occasion I saw a "please launch" message before. Maybe I hit the keys too fast before the text was displayed? If it wasn't a bug causing that message, it could be helpful to make the fight instead of flight the default button.

Uhm....and and I like their humour....icebergs for soap, volcano grilled burgers....but when I visited a bar after such a big battle, I had some "erotic edible insect lapdance"....and thought of the famous last words "Guard your mating traditions, human ..." - is there any chance that those edible insects were Thargoids? That would explain pretty much...especially since humans do eat sentient life forms if they taste good

Screet, who pressed ctrl during hyperspace on the C64 as soon as he got a beam laser

[Thargoid]

If you want to meet some of my tougher colleagues, install Second Wave.oxp

[Screet]

If you want to meet some of my tougher colleagues, install Second Wave.oxp

Thanks!!! Installed it...and had a hell lot of fun...I believe, the Thargoids, too, as when they felt the hot loving touch of my lasers, they began to glow and finally vanished with a big bang

Since you also created the pods addon...I am a bit astonished, that I had those different looking pods already in the game, without that addon installed. Is it (partially?) included somewhere? I mean partially because...I had empty pods, yes...and the trumble pod I got a few minutes ago was also empty?!? Guess I have to install the pods addon in order to have those custom pods to work properly?

Also...funny...I blew up a pirate and afterwards the sky was full of Thargons...

Screet

[Thargoid]

For Pods, it uses the standard in-game pod (and for the UPS addon, Eric's standard UPS one) and just varies their content. There is another OXP which does something similar (cargo & wrecks), so if you have that installed you may be mixing the effects of the two up.

In my own testing I seem to be getting some cases where the same ship variant is being picked over and over again (and it's a lower chance variant often), so some testing is needed I think. Also some of the examples you sent me by PM are from Cargo & Wrecks, not Pods (they do similar things, but in a slightly different way), so things are a little mixed-up (which is what makes me wonder a bit about the new trunk code rather than the OXP one - especially as the OXPs used to work fully under 1.71.2).

What version of Oolite are you running at the moment?

[LittleBear]

On the pirate carrying thargons, that is intended. Oolite rembers any cargo a ship has scooped whilst alive. If there's been a big thargoid battle, rather than helping humanity any pirates about are likely just to grab any deactivated thargons lying about! So when you later killed him his hold was full of thargons.

[Commander McLane]

I've installed the Thargoid addon for much more fun...and I must admit that I like the look of those additional ships VERY much. I've also the Navy Addon installed...so I don't really know which one is the cause of the stuff I observed.

Just a general request: Sometimes it would be easier if you could refer to OXPs by their proper names.

First, they are not called 'addons', but 'OXPs'.

Second, there is no Thargoid addon. There is not even a Thargoid.oxp. What there is, is a couple of (read: much more than only one) OXPs with a Thargoid theme. Just to name some of them:

• Thargoid Wars.oxp
• Thorgorn threat.oxp (confusing, because from the outside it's called Thargorn threat)
• Thargoid Carrier.oxp
• Second Wave.oxp

You notice that none of them is called 'Thargoid addon'? So it is very difficult to figure out actually which OXP you have installed and are talking about.

And the same goes for 'Navy Addon'. I guess you are referring to Galactic Navy.oxp, but how can I be sure? It could also be Military.oxp (or Military Fiasco), which has a navy-theme as well.

So, please, if there are questions concerning specific OXPs, it would be much easier to answer them, if you name the OXP in question.

Thank you!

[Ensa]

4) I don't know if it was a bug or me being to fast at the keyboard, but I had sometimes the message that I was hiding while Thargoids attempted to raid the station...but in no occasion I saw a "please launch" message before. Maybe I hit the keys too fast before the text was displayed? If it wasn't a bug causing that message, it could be helpful to make the fight instead of flight the default button.

I have had that, because the first thing I do when docking is to buy fuel and quicksave, it has become automatic and I have had the "you were whimpering under a table" message because of that.
Since then I ususually wait for a second or so before hitting any keys after docking just in case I miss a new mission description or something.
E.

[Eric Walch]

• Thorgorn threat.oxp (confusing, because from the outside it's called Thargorn threat)

This confusion has a historical reason. Original it was called Thorgorn_Threat. But this oxp had some bugy behaviour. Searching for a reason it seemed that in 1.65 and earlier the thargoids were recognised by a role starting with Tharg. So tharglest and thargoids worked but the Thorgons were attacked by other thargoids as they were seen as regular ships. After recorgising this the roles where changed into thargons. This made them work but for some reason the name of the oxp was also changed. And this not very consequent.

Currently thargoids are recognised by scanclass and the old thorgon role should work again.

[Screet]

First, they are not called 'addons', but 'OXPs'.

Had that from the folder's name where they go to...as a newbie, I find it easier to understand what it is, when calling it that way...obviously the wrong decision.

Second, there is no Thargoid addon. There is not even a Thargoid.oxp. What there is, is a couple of (read: much more than only one) OXPs with a Thargoid theme. Just to name some of them:

• Thargoid Wars.oxp
• Thorgorn threat.oxp (confusing, because from the outside it's called Thargorn threat)
• Thargoid Carrier.oxp
• Second Wave.oxp

You notice that none of them is called 'Thargoid addon'? So it is very difficult to figure out actually which OXP you have installed and are talking about.

The problem also is on my side, as it's not clear to me which one is the one which does the reported things, I can just tell that I do currently /not/ have the Thargoid Carrier installed...but will most probably do as soon as the wiki is back.

And the same goes for 'Navy Addon'. I guess you are referring to Galactic Navy.oxp, but how can I be sure? It could also be Military.oxp (or Military Fiasco), which has a navy-theme as well.

So, please, if there are questions concerning specific OXPs, it would be much easier to answer them, if you name the OXP in question.

I'll try, I promise...the fiasco I currently do not have it installed, it's more the pack that causes the missions vs. pirates and thargoids as navy reserve. As I understand, that's only one of those navy things, while another adds ships necessary for quite some things and the fiasco I just didn't try yet.

As we are in a Thargoid thread...I like those encounters and would miss them, if they were not happening. Do I have to stay in G2 in order to have so many attacks, should I just run through the other Gs in order to fullfill more missions and then head back, or will I see similar fights with them in every galaxy? At least the money for galactic hyperdrives to go through all galaxies is nothing to worry about...it's just that I happen to like what's going on where I am.

Screet, with quite tired joystick-arm after shooting down some hundred ships in the last hours....

[Commander McLane]

Do I have to stay in G2 in order to have so many attacks, should I just run through the other Gs in order to fullfill more missions and then head back, or will I see similar fights with them in every galaxy?

Okay, this is a clue that you a talking about Thargoid Wars.oxp, which triggers random Thargoid Attacks on main stations, where you get the "ATTENTION! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" screens, yes?

These attacks are not a consistent mission, but a feature which will accompany you throughout the game. They are taking place randomly in all galaxies except Galaxy 1 (the author didn't want to make it too hard for noobs, who are a expected to stay in Galaxy 1 for a while).

[Screet]

Okay, this is a clue that you a talking about Thargoid Wars.oxp, which triggers random Thargoid Attacks on main stations, where you get the "ATTENTION! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" screens, yes?

These attacks are not a consistent mission, but a feature which will accompany you throughout the game. They are taking place randomly in all galaxies except Galaxy 1 (the author didn't want to make it too hard for noobs, who are a expected to stay in Galaxy 1 for a while).

Yes, those and those immense waves of Thargoids attacking the planets...it's typically a bit silent...then a spy satellite wants to be shot down and shortly after there's a little fleet of them attacking, Battleship, Warships/Invaders and several frigates of them.

Except those deep space pirates, when they appear in clouds of over 20 (which I was told is a bug), those thargoids prove the best fun.

I guess the navy vs. thargoid fleet action is from another OXP? I've considered running in on injectors and attempting to Q-bomb them while they are far enough away from the navy fleet...but I haven't tried that yet, it was always possible to shoot them down in a short time due to the massive navy presence...and then use an energy bomb after the battle to clean up the disabled robot fighters - that typically returns 2-3 times the money of the bomb

Screet

[Commander McLane]

Battles between Navy and Thargoids in interstellar space are triggered by putting in Behemoth.oxp. This works simply because Thargoids are added to interstellar space by the engine anyway, and Behemoth.oxp makes sure that they get a counterpart. The fighting starts all by itself, then.

Behemoth.oxp tends to give the Navy the edge, therefore Arexack_Heretic created Thorgorn threat.oxp, which adds more powerful Thargoid ships (and Second Wave does pretty much the same), to restore the balance of power in witchspace. Thorgorn threat might also throw in more Thargoid ships, as far as numbers are concerned, I'm not sure.

And I think Galactic Navy.oxp also adds to the mix, if you throw it in, pushing the advantage back to the Navy.

Anyway, the bulk of the fighting does not take place around planets (although this may also happen with Galactic Nacy.oxp; I don't have it installed), but in interstellar space. Which was the reason to create Thargoid Wars.oxp, in order to make the war feelable in normal space as well.

All clear now?

[Screet]

All clear now?

...with the addition that one of these OXPs has the ability to fly to a navy station (galactic navy, I guess and ask them for "reserve duty"...creating "missions" to fly to some planet (on the other side of the galaxy, you know, Murphy always is around!) and join a massive battle...even larger than those which I observerd in Witchspace. Other "missions" are to clear trading lanes of Thargoids and hunt down pirates and their outpost, which are very easy. Maybe there are more - I did not encounter them yet, as I more often went to the bars in order to get more nearby targets to eliminate....guess I'll switch back to navy duty soon, though, as it seems that I've alredy got highest rank at the bars (The Great One doesn't sound like there's more to achieve?!?).

It's a bit confusing with all these OXPs...but they do really do a great job of increasing fun...

Screet, very close to 600 kills for the current playing session...with many thanks to the pirates, as they did nicely gather cargo for me

[Commander McLane]

All clear now?

...with the addition that one of these OXPs has the ability to fly to a navy station (galactic navy, I guess

Correct guess. (And I don't have it, so I couldn't give you all the details.)