Always-on-cloak-bug

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Hi,

already with the previous test release I had it, but I wasn't able to reproduce it always and forgot about it. Now I am using 1.72.2. However, it just happened again, using the same steps. Here's it:

1) enable the cloak after launching from the station
2) witchspace to some system

Now you sometimes can disable the cloak again, but only sometimes. Many times I observed that I could not switch cloak anymore, while the ship came out of witchspace cloaked.

The bug is REALLY strange, as even completely drained energy banks do not lead to auto-deactivation of the cloak, but disable all other ships systems (weapon, ecm,...) while the cloak stays switched on, even without energy!

Some side notice: I understood the thing with extra energy unit and naval energy unit that both would be able to run together on a ship. F5 however does not show the extra energy unit when a naval unit is installed. Does the NEU replace the EEU then, or is F5 just missing the EEU info?

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[wackyman465]

I believe the NEU replaces the EEU, but I've also heard of a bug related to that.

[Eric Walch]

I believe the NEU replaces the EEU, but I've also heard of a bug related to that.

Correct. It is the only piece of equipment that replaces the other. There are dozens of checks for this in the code. This is probably the reason that any change on one place induces new bugs on other places. And of cause must the code also make sure that is work well with all kind of save files. And in some save files both things are still present while only one is displayed.

[Screet]

Hmmm. Now I have an idea why I was unable to always reproduce this bug:

I wanted to avoid trouble after arriving in the new system, which is the reason why I did cloak before jumping. For quite some time I had the soin-clan hunt me due to some assassination and the Leviathan also awaiting me quite some times at the jump point. Sometimes large Thargoid numbers mixing in...those were the reasons then.

This time I was going to shoot down that unmanned anaconda for assassins. Strangely, I become fugitive for shooting an unmanned ship?!? Anyway, this time I went there without being cloaked - it seems assassins does remove the cloak from equipment list as soon as I exit witchspace and gives it back as soon as I dock or jump out. Maybe this explains the bug already: The cloak is being removed without the cloaked state being removed!

In order to have a chance without having to fight all those ships (I do like being clean!), I used the injectors to get away from those hunting me as well as from the lane...and as soon as I activated the torus drive, I had the same problem as with the cloak: I was speeding around, but there was no way to deactivate the torus drive again! Shortly after, the game crashed (out of memory).

Well, I had to take RS out this time, because the system is full of fleets. A fleet hunting me, another fleet flying around, a fleet of tug-ships (30+) bringing in new ships and oh-so-many disabled ships. No wonder that I got into trouble when combining this with an oxp that also adds additional ships

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[Commander McLane]

it seems assassins does remove the cloak from equipment list as soon as I exit witchspace and gives it back as soon as I dock or jump out. Maybe this explains the bug already: The cloak is being removed without the cloaked state being removed!

It not only seems so. Yes, assassins removes the cloaking device during the missions and has always done so.

And obviously, if your cloaking device is removed, the '0' key doesn't do anything—you can't switch on and off a non-existing device.

So you stumbled across a bug in the code: removing the cloaking devise should automatically uncloak you. (As should damaging the cloaking device.) Seems that doesn't happen.