Oolite Bulletins

After many months absence, I have returned bearing gifts.
Over the last couple of months, I've thinking and working on/off on the Oolite Manual project. The first out come of this is Unlce Blix's Upgrade Guide which will serve as the Equipment Guide for the manual. This should help cut down some of the 'what do i buy next?' questions.

This alpha version is composed of two parts:
Part 1: giving a general overview of the equipment you can buy, and what you should have to follow a chosen profession.
Part 2: Is a single sheet crib guide to how everything and show it relates to each other.
I've put paragraph numbers in part 1 so if their are any changes you want to offer, just quote the number and the change to made.

As before, any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated.

PS: It's so nice to see the BB so vibrant as ever.

Hi KZ9999,

A very comprehensive manual!

Not completely sure about the position of the fuel injector at stage 5, though. Wouldn't it make sense for the start-up commander to spend a meagre 600 credits for the option of "running away" a bit earlier than that?

Otherwise, really well done imho. Will there be a further version that includes oxp equipment?

Cheers

L

Since I can happily dock manually - I bought injectors first - even before the Cargo bay extension - but my current pilot is a complete pacifist!

Only one kill - and that was by accident as the pilot of the other ship (adder) flew into me as I tried to run away...

Lestradae wrote:

Not completely sure about the position of the fuel injector at stage 5, though. Wouldn't it make sense for the start-up commander to spend a meagre 600 credits for the option of "running away" a bit earlier than that?

Fair enough, I was in two minds in whether it should be stage 4 or 5. A commander needs everything in stages 1-3 before they leave the safety of Corporate/Democracy systems. Stage 4 is when you buy stuff to start upping your kill rankings.

Lestradae wrote:

Will there be a further version that includes oxp equipment?

At the moment I'm concentrating on the vanilla version of Oolite since I've created it for the Jameson's out there. Having said that, there's no reason why there couldn't be a supplement edition that puts the OXP stuff on a matching scale.

Well DaddyHoggy you are an experienced commander, of course you can flawlessly dock. I class the docking computer as a time saver more than anything else. I'll change it to an optional upgrade if there a feeling for it be that way.

<just a add-on note.>
Just a extra bit I forgot to add on twice. Does anyone have the Oolite icon in a Vector format. Scaling up the PNG looks rough as guts when I get Scribus to spit out the PDF's. I like to avoid having to redrawing it SVG if someone has already done it. Otherwise is there someone out there in BB who would be willing to give it a go. <He begs rather patheticly.>

Apologies, I posted in another thread about fuel injectors before I read this one .

KZ9999 wrote:

I class the docking computer as a time saver more than anything else. I'll change it to an optional upgrade if there a feeling for it be that way.

I agree with that. The thing about docking is that when it becomes second nature it is no longer a challenge. So it becomes a bit tedious. I like to go manual once in a while just to keep my hand in but its nice to be able to skip it with autopilot when I’m not in the mood. You could easily do without it though, so yeh its in no way an essential item.

Injectors make docking a good deal less tedious when you don't have a docking computer as well, as once you're mass locked by the station/planet you can still speed forwards using the injectors.

I'm beginning to think that for the meagre 600c they cost, the injectors are a bit too good perhaps? Ok, they're utterly useless if you don't have any fuel, but any commander worth their salt will plan jumps to ensure they have reserves to make the injectors useful. Still, perhaps these things should cost more than they do?

Regarding the docking computer - it is usually my purchase after injectors and the extended cargo bay. It is a time saver for docking at the default oolite stations, for the oxp objects where you can't shift+d for a quick dock, injectors are king once again.

Sendraks wrote:

I'm beginning to think that for the meagre 600c they cost, the injectors are a bit too good perhaps? Ok, they're utterly useless if you don't have any fuel, but any commander worth their salt will plan jumps to ensure they have reserves to make the injectors useful. Still, perhaps these things should cost more than they do?

I'm not too sure about that, as injectors keep young commanders happy because they drop the need to avoid the lanes and make things much faster.

Furthermore, money ain't a big issue anyway. Even with a cobbie, it's pretty easy to gain 10K credits (I doubt you would increase the cost of injectors further?).

However, I could well imagine different sets of those:
- cheap injectors for newbies, maybe also with a different speed (a bit slower)
- costly injectors which do burn less fuel or provide a little bit more speed
- variable injectors where the commander could use the speed setting to determine the speed that's delivered by the injectors (good for bounty hunters)

Screet

Screet wrote:

- variable injectors where the commander could use the speed setting to determine the speed that's delivered by the injectors (good for bounty hunters)

Perhaps they could be set up to work like a ship's main engines, where holding a button accelerates and another decelerates. What do people think of that?

Also, 600.0 Cr for something that helps take out a significant amount of tedium from the game is just fine by me. The worst moments in Oolite for me are when I'm masslocked and out of Witchspace fuel with no hostiles nearby. Then it's just a long and boring haul to the main station.

Nemoricus wrote:

Perhaps they could be set up to work like a ship's main engines, where holding a button accelerates and another decelerates. What do people think of that?

Advanced Boosters would be a nice addition, where the fuel consumption is equivalent to the speed.

Nemoricus wrote:

Also, 600.0 Cr for something that helps take out a significant amount of tedium from the game is just fine by me. The worst moments in Oolite for me are when I'm masslocked and out of Witchspace fuel with no hostiles nearby. Then it's just a long and boring haul to the main station.

I agree. The Elite version I played the most growing up with the Amiga version, which allowed you to speed dock with the station from quite a distance away. Certainly far enough that being mass locked by the planet wasn't an issue. Oolite you have to be much closer, so the injectors really do help and for the OXP stations (where you can't speed dock) the injectors are invaluable for closing range.

Sendraks wrote:

I agree. The Elite version I played the most growing up with the Amiga version, which allowed you to speed dock with the station from quite a distance away. Certainly far enough that being mass locked by the planet wasn't an issue. Oolite you have to be much closer, so the injectors really do help and for the OXP stations (where you can't speed dock) the injectors are invaluable for closing range.

Really, if the proper approach is selected, you can use torus drive directly to the station! With some ships I did even crash into the station before being stopped by mass-lock...

Screet

Screet wrote:

Really, if the proper approach is selected, you can use torus drive directly to the station! With some ships I did even crash into the station before being stopped by mass-lock...

I've come dangerously close a few times, but have yet to warp directly into a station. I'm assuming that crashing into the station doesn't fall under the definition of "proper approach."

Any ship faster than 0.45c has a high danger of smashing into a station mid-torus

This is really good, wish I could have had this information all those years ago when I first discovered this terribly addictive remake of a childhood classic...yes I know, I'm 21 but we were poor and I inherited most of my stuff from my dad, lol!

DaddyHoggy wrote:

...Since I can happily dock manually...

Can't anyone who used to play Elite?

I am willing to accept to the general opinion on the Witchdrive Fuel Injectors. I will move it down the equipment stages, to stage 5 but no earlier. I'm following the logic that until the commander has all the other stage 1-4 equipment, they are just too unequipped to survive anything but Corp-states, Democracies and maybe Confederations. (Mr Gimlet is in agreement with me on this one. ) So the value of the injectors is limited when the actual threat to their lives is quite low.

Until someone can produce an argument that can really justify it being a stage 4 item, that is where it's going to stay.

What I would really like to know if the text (part 1) does it's job. Remember that this is all about explaining the game to a newcomer. Does the text give a understand of the equipment and its' use to the commander. Does the equipment for different roles cover everything. Are there any glaring errors in my logic or grammar. I would really-really-really like some input on this matter.

KZ9999 wrote:

Are there any glaring errors in my logic or grammar.

Since you asked, these are what jumped out at me when I read it..

(the numbers refer to the various sections in the document)

1.
we have reprinted the article in it’s entirety
we have reprinted the article in its entirety

2.
So without further to do,
So without further ado,

3.
So this is the skinny on the stuff ya need know to live
So this is the skinny on the stuff ya need to know to live

4.
Now ‘bout every that can fitted
Now ‘bout every thing that can fitted

things stop ya from being killed,
things that stop ya from being killed,

5.
not everything can be fitted every other ship
not everything can be fitted to every other ship

6.
sucks power like starving grub.
sucks power like a starving grub.

9.
got four pylons but they get given is three standard Missiles.
got four pylons but all they get given is three standard Missiles.

flying at 0.75 Light Mach, it still a pretty potent weapon;
flying at 0.75 Light Mach, it's still a pretty potent weapon;

11.
When it’s installed, its tuned so that ya ship ain't effected
When it’s installed, it's tuned so that ya ship ain't affected

14.
but when it’s on screen it’s class, distance from ya and it all important
but when it’s on screen its class, distance from ya and its all important

16.
but they make so I sell it.
but they make it so I sell it.

17.
While the Coby’ pretty fast for its’ size, there are a lot of ships which a faster. In a middle of
While the Coby’s pretty fast for its size, there are a lot of ships which are faster. In the middle of

quirium fuel directly in to the thrusters
quirium fuel directly into the thrusters

18.
The Extra Energy Unit more than that large copper
The Extra Energy Unit is more than that large copper

What ya get out of it is a doubling the recharging
What ya get out of it is a doubling of the recharging

19.
Of ‘cause the Galactic
Of course the Galactic

20.
fool the missiles in to detonating
fool the missiles into detonating

‘cause you ECM’ed ya energy banks nothing is a dumb way to die.
‘cause you ECM’ed ya energy banks to nothing is a dumb way to die.

21.
you’ll wake up the systems’ GCW station
you’ll wake up in the systems’ GCW station

23.
per light year or par-there-of.
per light year or part thereof.

24.
it was meant to be have 35 ton cargo bay.
it was meant to be have a 35 ton cargo bay.

Falcon deLacy
Faulcon deLacy

25.
dive in to it corona
dive into its' corona

26.
the Advance Space Compass
the Advanced Space Compass

27.
More importantly if you a want to take on a Carrier Contract,
More importantly if you want to take on a Carrier Contract,

28.
in self contain luxuries.
in self-contained luxury.

39.
at the minimum as most contract are for
at the minimum as most contracts are for