Oolite Bulletins

I downloaded Oolite a while ago and have thoroughly enjoyed it, especially with all the interesting OXPs for flavor. I've been lurking around the forum for a couple weeks and finally decided to come out and ask a fairly dumb question.

Is it possible to destroy the main system stations?

I've messed around with an OXP and made a fairly ridiculous missile to test this, but I was only able to get the station to spew out sparks. I can blow up minor stations like the Super Hub with one shot so I'm thinking that Oolite just doesn't like the main stations getting blown up. Am I right in this guess?

No, the main system station cannot be destroyed.

slythytoav wrote:

... Oolite just doesn't like the main stations getting blown up. Am I right in this guess?

Yes, you're right here.

I also tested this some time ago, made a ship with 95 turrets pointing forward, 50 damage each, got same result.

After that I found the answer buried in the Wiki and/or these message boards, don't remember where exactly. The main station is indestructible by default.

EDIT: Ninja'd!

I'm sure I saw the main station destroyed once under sustained Thargoid attack. This was on a Galactic Navy mission. I had the station locked in my Advanced Space Compass as the battle started, saw it explode, and the Compass could no longer find it.

slythytoav wrote:

I downloaded Oolite a while ago and have thoroughly enjoyed it, especially with all the interesting OXPs for flavor. I've been lurking around the forum for a couple weeks and finally decided to come out and ask a fairly dumb question.

*drum roll* Welcome to the friendliest board this site of Riedquat! *fireworks*

Smivs wrote:

I'm sure I saw the main station destroyed once under sustained Thargoid attack. This was on a Galactic Navy mission. I had the station locked in my Advanced Space Compass as the battle started, saw it explode, and the Compass could no longer find it.

Thargoid wrote:

The compass doesn't lock onto the station, but the beacon/buoy in front of it (the "N" one).

And that is infinitely destructable, or else half of the profits of GRS (and the buoyRepair OXP) would be gone...

Yes, I'd forgotten that...Thargoid is right about the buoy/compass thing.
However the main station had definitely been destroyed...I'd actually seen it happen. After the battle I flew to the planet to double check and it was no-where to be found. I spent a lot of time flying around the planet looking, just like you have to if you don't have an ASC. It was not there anymore!
I ended up going to the sun to re-fuel, otherwise I would have been stuck there forever.

slythytoav wrote:

Is it possible to destroy the main system stations

Hello slythytoav,

I saw several answers passing but the correct one is :Yes/No.

With the standard weapons it is definitely not possible. But for a starter with Oolite I would advise to install AsteroidStorm.oxp. It contains a mission to save a main station. And when you fail, the main station is destroyed. The station even will even stay away for the failed commander when you deinstall asteroid storm.

So it definitely is possible to destroy the main station, just not by normal weapons available to the player.

Back in 1.65 and possibly earlier, it was possible to blow up the main station with a q-mine, provided you had a few ships around it when the bomb went off: Multiple cascade shockwaves would do the station in.

In recent versions it's not possible, the station would shrug off the attack - though you'd still be branded a fugitive for the failed attempt at terrorism.

Ah, thank you! I suppose I'll have to figure out a bit more about how OXPs work (instead of just copying another missile and increasing the weapon energy value a lot) to fulfill my dreams of interstellar terrorism.

I think a Killit OXP weapon would be able to destroy a main station.

Albiet along with everything else.

Cmdr Wyvern wrote:

Back in 1.65 and possibly earlier, it was possible to blow up the main station with a q-mine, provided you had a few ships around it when the bomb went off: Multiple cascade shockwaves would do the station in.

In recent versions it's not possible, the station would shrug off the attack - though you'd still be branded a fugitive for the failed attempt at terrorism.

I think that the Q-mine cascade would affect the ships that are docked in the station, so that the station would be hit by Q-explosions from outside and inside, and would utterly destroy the station.

In light of the above, I think that main stations in the next version should be able to be destroyed!

"In light of the above, I think that main stations in the next version should be able to be destroyed!"

Maybe so, but they should either be replaced slowly (possibly by another station type!) or respawn every time you revisit the system, because there's supposedly multiple stations around "busy" planets.

It's indestructible due to fundamental code requirements. It was made indestructible to keep "weird things" from happening, and no, not the good / fun kind of weird things. At least, that is how I understand things as to why it is set up so.