Oolite Bulletins

The work with the constores is over and finally the original Griff Trade outpost is in the game in a proper way (via youradhere oxp) but there is another incarnation of the original Trade outpost inside the game trough another oxp. I am talking about the CaptKev modification that is hosted in the wiki as Griff Trade outpost. This model is totally plain in comparison with the constores but I prefer it that way, it is more serious more err…. more Galcop and actually functions as a replacement for the typical coriolis stations

If I have the permission of CaptKev and Griff I am planning to update it.

"GalCop Trade Outpost

Following long-running protests from traders about the outmoded commercial facilities on Coriolis stations, the Galactic Co-operative grudgingly promised to
replace these ageing structures. Technology-transfer statutes prevented the Co-operative from simply using the Dodec, Ico or other advanced designs, but there
was another model available: the constore. Already popular with pilots for their efficient service and mercantile focus, and built entirely with public-domain
technology, the constore seemed to be the ideal solution. Eager for a quick and low-cost fix, the Co-operative placed a string of orders with the
Constore Consortium.

But, as the planners began to realise, a main system station is not a constore. A Co-op main station is something far more than just a trading centre. It is a
meeting place; an embassy; the central bureaucracy for all local-volume government above the atmosphere; and the command-and-control nexus for the Galactic Navy
in the 95% of systems that do not host a Naval SecCom.

The conversion costs soared. Just refitting the constore's defensive fighter bays – originally designed for small, undemanding ex-Navy Sidewinders – to accommodate
high-performance GalCop Vipers threatened to rupture many poorer systems' capital budgets. Worse, although the stations were built with PD tech, crucial parts
of the trade hall, loading docks and internal traffic-management systems turned out to be proprietary, and surprisingly high annual leasing fees to the Constore
Consortium had slipped unnoticed into the contract the Co-operative had signed so hastily.

Worse still was the realisation that the new stations' projected profitability depended on running them like constores – specifically, they counted on income
from the riot of advertising that festoons the average Tescoo, Pi-42 or Star store, not to mention a brisk and lucrative trade in controlled commodities.
Co-op rules on visual cultural sensitivity placed strict limitations on selling advertising as a revenue stream, and established regulations barred the export
of narcotics, slaves or firearms from system stations, except under license and only to the local planet.

In short, the entire project was a legal, logistical and financial nightmare, a stupendous blunder in the grand old tradition of the Co-operative. After numerous
inquiries, widespread sackings, eighteen demotions, eleven resignations and two suicides, the project was cancelled. The Merchants' Guild roared their
disapproval, and the Constore Consortium launched an enormous claim for breach of contract combined with a class action suit on behalf of their shareholders for
loss of earnings and mental anguish. Eventually, no doubt, some unsatisfactory compromise will be hammered out, and all parties will retire in a welter of
accusations and buck-passing – also in the grand old tradition of the Co-operative. Meanwhile, a handful GalCop Trade Outposts circle a few embarrassed worlds,
monuments to the Co-operative's less-than-glorious record in decision-making. "

Writen by Disembodied

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This is a modification of the famous original Griff trade outpost and works as a replecemet for the coriolis station

Version history:

Version 1.0, Initial release by CaptKev
Version 1.1, Updated by Griff & Ark
- Fix a missing shader file
- reduce the appearance of the station. Now it replaces only the 10% of coriolis
- Changes to the model (made by Griff) in order to be even more deferent from the constores
- Added a requires.plist

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Since the wiki is still read only here is the link for the new version

link in boxnet removed
download the oxp from:
Trade outpost download page




PLEASE REMOVE ALL PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF GRIFF TRADE OUTPOST (The oxp folder in the previous versions is griff_trade_outpost.oxp instead of Galcop_trade_outpost.oxp) BECOUSE THIS VESRION
WILL HAVE A CLASH WITH ALL THE PREVIOUS VESRIONS. Also beware that the wiki still have the old version - do not use both of them - not a good idea

I'd suggest not calling it a GalCop Trade Outpost. Apart from anything else, the normal GalCop trade rules don't apply (you can load up on narcotics, slaves and firearms there and sail on out and nobody will bat an eyelid). Plus, they are restricted to certain systems based on (presumably) profitability, rather than spread evenly throughout the Co-operative. How about "Independent Trading Post"? Or "Bazaar"? Or (if the Con Store names follow through from the original YAH), a "Pi-42 Trading Post" (or even "Pi-42 Convenience Store" – or is the Convenience Store inside the Trading Post?).

As for origins, these could be older station models which were replaced some time ago by the larger, multi-role Coriolis stations (which in turn are gradually being replaced by other, more advanced, models). Rather than scrap them, the Co-operative sold these old stations on to a few commercial organisations – possibly under political pressure from the Corporate State voting bloc. This influental group of worlds, predominantly wealthy with high levels of technology, has always bridled at Co-op restrictions on the classes and quantities of commodities exchanged at main system stations, demanding "Free Trade" instead.

Other planets in the Co-operative, fearful that their own domestic economies would be overwhelmed by an arrangement that inherently favoured the rich and powerful, are strongly resistant to such demands. An impasse was reached, and some Corporate worlds threatened to withdraw from the Co-op altogether. Such a threat, in the face of continued Thargoid incursions, was unlikely, but the Co-operative as a whole could not afford to lose the financial and technological muscle provided by the Corprorate States. Finally, a compromise was reached: the Co-operative would allow a number of independent trading posts to be set up, based near the Witchpoint, in certain systems with sufficiently high economic and political cohesion. Although Co-op rules on trade quantities remain in place, controlled goods – slaves, firearms and narcotics – can be freely exchanged.

Inevitably, with the Corporate bloc providing most of the starting capital, these refitted stations rapidly became hotbeds of commercial enterprise. Freed from the Co-operative bureaucracy governing the placing of non-essential information on or near a main flightpath, the Trading Posts soon became encrusted with advertising. Even the stations' defence craft – cheap ex-Navy Sidewinders – are plastered with logos and corporate sponsorship. Within the Trading Posts, commerce moves at a rapid pace, and prices of even the most basic goods can fluctuate wildly. Some merchants, for commercial or ideological reasons, have abandoned the main system stations altogether; but cannier Commanders, balancing the reliable price index of the Co-operative against speculative capitalist bubble-blowing, can often exploit the feverish atmosphere of a Trading Post to obtain impressive profits on relatively small quantities of goods.

I think that we just had a communication breakdown (Probably due to my inability to write something right in English). The wiki trade outpost replaces the coriolis stations and has nothing to do with the Constores. I am not planning to change the names of the constores

Disembodied wrote:

As for origins, these could be older station models which were replaced some time ago by the larger, multi-role Coriolis stations

The coriolis is not larger from the trade outpost

sounds like a great idea!
@ can you post up the link from where you've downloaded the model from, i've lost the original somewhere on my hard drive, once i've got the source object file i can modify it however you wish

Ark wrote:

I think that we just had a communication breakdown (Probably due to my inability to write something right in English).

No, more to do with my ability to read ... Never mind! Ignore me!

Disembodied wrote:

Ark wrote:

I think that we just had a communication breakdown (Probably due to my inability to write something right in English).

No, more to do with my ability to read ... Never mind! Ignore me!

but you are a good writer so if you want to work on my draft it would be great!!

@Ark, sounds like a good idea to me, go for it.

@Griff, the source object files can be downloaded here

Ladies and gendlemen the new Galcop Trade outpost soon (i hope) in a non read only wiki near you

Many mamy many thanks to Griff

Thanks, Ark.

Here's my effort at a revision:

GalCop Trade Outpost

Following long-running protests from traders about the outmoded commercial facilities on Coriolis stations, the Galactic Co-operative grudgingly promised to replace these ageing structures. Technology-transfer statutes prevented the Co-operative from simply using the Dodec, Ico or other advanced designs, but there was another model available: the constore. Already popular with pilots for their efficient service and mercantile focus, and built entirely with public-domain technology, the constore seemed to be the ideal solution. Eager for a quick and low-cost fix, the Co-operative placed a string of orders with the Constore Consortium.

But, as the planners began to realise, a main system station is not a constore. A Co-op main station is something far more than just a trading centre. It is a meeting place; an embassy; the central bureaucracy for all local-volume government above the atmosphere; and the command-and-control nexus for the Galactic Navy in the 95% of systems that do not host a Naval SecCom.

The conversion costs soared. Just refitting the constore's defensive fighter bays – originally designed for small, undemanding ex-Navy Sidewinders – to accommodate high-performance GalCop Vipers threatened to rupture many poorer systems' capital budgets. Worse, although the stations were built with PD tech, crucial parts of the trade hall, loading docks and internal traffic-management systems turned out to be proprietary, and surprisingly high annual leasing fees to the Constore Consortium had slipped unnoticed into the contract the Co-operative had signed so hastily.

Worse still was the realisation that the new stations' projected profitability depended on running them like constores – specifically, they counted on income from the riot of advertising that festoons the average Tescoo, Pi-42 or Star store, not to mention a brisk and lucrative trade in controlled commodities. Co-op rules on visual cultural sensitivity placed strict limitations on selling advertising as a revenue stream, and established regulations barred the export of narcotics, slaves or firearms from system stations, except under license and only to the local planet.

In short, the entire project was a legal, logistical and financial nightmare, a stupendous blunder in the grand old tradition of the Co-operative. After numerous inquiries, widespread sackings, eighteen demotions, eleven resignations and two suicides, the project was cancelled. The Merchants' Guild roared their disapproval, and the Constore Consortium launched an enormous claim for breach of contract combined with a class action suit on behalf of their shareholders for loss of earnings and mental anguish. Eventually, no doubt, some unsatisfactory compromise will be hammered out, and all parties will retire in a welter of accusations and buck-passing – also in the grand old tradition of the Co-operative. Meanwhile, a handful GalCop Trade Outposts circle a few embarrassed worlds, monuments to the Co-operative's less-than-glorious record in decision-making.

(Edit: typo)

Thank you Disembodied. It is far better than mine since your writing skill are far superior to mine. This story will be in the readme.txt inside the oxp and also in the wiki page (well wiki permitting )
Now if you can write a background story about the constores and generally youradhere oxp I am definitely sure that doc will use it in the wiki. The wiki page about youradhere and constores is barely existed

Since the wiki is still in a read only mode i have temporary uploaded the new version in the boxnet (see initial post)
PLEASE REMOVE ALL PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF GRIFF TRADE OUTPOST (The oxp folder in the previous versions is griff_trade_outpost.oxp instead of Galcop_trade_outpost.oxp) BECOUSE THIS VESRION
WILL HAVE A CLASH WITH ALL THE PREVIOUS VESRIONS

Now the wiki is up and running again, I have uploaded the new version of Trade outpost to the proper place (the oxp wiki page )
I have also created a page for this station:

Trade outpost download page

Right now there is not much to see, only the background story written by Disembodied and an image but I intent to enhance the page in the future.
This was my first attempt to submit something to the wiki. I hope I did not broke anything to the wiki

The picture of the Trade Outpost was taking up most of the screen. I couldn't get it to automatically thumbnail – I don't know if I was doing it wrong, but I kept getting the error message
– so I made a thumbnail version manually of 250px wide, uploaded that and linked to that one instead, which seems to be working OK. I've wikified the page too. The only problem is that if people click on the picture they'll only get the 250px image.

Disembodied wrote:

The picture of the Trade Outpost was taking up most of the screen. I couldn't get it to automatically thumbnail – I don't know if I was doing it wrong, but I kept getting the error message

Code: Select all

Error creating thumbnail: /var/www/vhosts/wiki/www/bin/ulimit-tvf.sh: line 5: /usr/bin/convert: No such file or directory

That was the message I also got
Disembodied thanks for tidy up the wiki page of trade poutpost!! . It was my first attempt to contribute something to the wiki (One hour before I even didn't have an account ) but I am going to improve my wiki skills in time

I have updated (again ) the wiki link for the version of the non commercial (Galcop) trade outpost.

I have temporary use my bonnet account because I am unable to upload files directly to the wiki so I am also unable to replace the image of the station with a new one. Can anybody tell me what is happening with the wiki?

Beware this version is totally incompatible with the previous one and since the directory of the oxp have a deferent name it would be fairly easy for someone to install them both. Please remove the older version first.