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I've made my first OXP...should it be tested before release?

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:48 pm
by Smivs
Hi all,
I've just made my first OXP, a new version of the Boa which I see as a sort of successor to the Python Class Cruiser. This ship is player-purchasable, and also appears in the game as a trader.
I have developed it on my Linux box (it is scripted in XML) and it all seems to work fine, but I am keen to release a polished product and was wondering if anyone out there would like to test it (as a beta) on Windows and Mac. Any other feedback will be very welcome, also.
Below is the proposed 'blurb' for the Wiki entry and some screenshots.

Boa II Clipper Class
Inspired by the great Clipper ships of Old Earth's 19th Century the Boa II Clipper was developed by the Gerege Federation Space Works as a result of extensive market research carried out for them by respected pollsters Moori. The research indicated that there was an un-filled niche in the market for a very fast bulk hauler, a ship capable of covering great distances comfortably, safely, but most of all, quickly.
To keep development time and costs down it was decided to adapt the proven hull of the Boa Class Cruiser, rather than design a new ship from scratch. As the Boa CC was strong, capacious, and very manoeuvrable, little needed to be done other than increase the engine power. And they achieved this in style. By enlarging the engine room they were able to shoe-horn in a third Stardrive, thus giving the Clipper an immediate 50% power increase over the Class Cruiser, and a top speed of a highly creditable 0.362 LM.
The trade-off is a 25 ton reduction in cargo space, but the remaining 150 tons capacity was considered more than adequate.
In keeping with its role as a fast long-distance transport, the Boa II Clipper is equipped as standard with Fuel Scoops and Heat Shielding for Sunskimming allowing multi-system hops without the need for time-consuming stops at planetary stations to refuel.
Of course all this does not come cheaply, and a factory-issue Boa II Clipper will cost you Cr525,000, a premium of Cr30,000 over the equivalent Class Cruiser.
The Boa II Clipper also comes with a full list of optional equipment. “If you can buy it you can install it in your Clipper” according to GFSW's enthusiastic sales people.
Although sharing the same profile as the Boa Class Cruiser, the Boa II Clipper can easily be distinguished by its signature red nosecone, the massive arrays of (very necessary) heat exchangers on the external hull around the engine room, and of course the three massive thrusters.

Image

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 4:24 pm
by Sarin
I'd just mark it v 0.99 Beta and let people test it a bit, but since it looks just like retexturing and editing a few parameters, and if I remeber correctly you are running on Linux, wich is more sensitive on bugs (case sensitive), I don't think there would be any problems.

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 4:38 pm
by Smivs
Sarin wrote:
I'd just mark it v 0.99 Beta and let people test it a bit, but since it looks just like retexturing and editing a few parameters, and if I remeber correctly you are running on Linux, wich is more sensitive on bugs (case sensitive), I don't think there would be any problems.
Many thanks for the advice.
Yes, I've kept it simple as it's my first attempt! So if I understand you correctly, you're suggesting posting it as it is and wait to see what happens?

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:58 pm
by Commander McLane
I assume that you have tested it thoroughly yourself. If so, there is no harm releasing it into the wild.

If users find it doesn't work for some reason, they will surely let you know. :wink:

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:08 pm
by another_commander
The Law of Releases in software products is relentless:

Article 1: It is certain that at least two new bugs will surface immediately after a release.

Article 2: In the case you dedicate time to find and fix these bugs before you release: see Article 1.
:-)

Go ahead and release it if you are confident that it works well for you.