Oolite Bulletins

For when you find yourself in a low light system, and you've just obliterated a fat juicy Python, and there's lots of cargo canisters floating around, only you can't see them until you're right on top of them.

I'd envisage the spotlights to be multiple visible light lasers that shine on the available objects in range (let's not make it too easy, say 7.5km), making it easier for you to see them.

It would hardly be a game changing piece of equipment, but it would not be out of place as a standard piece of kit on your more fully appointed, luxury ships.

I haven't written an OXP before but if someone else wants to beat me to it, here's a freebie.

I second the motion.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but spotlights cannot be implemented without extensive engine code changes. This is very unlikely to happen any time soon.

I think the scanner actually shows the scoopable stuff qutite well, especially when zoomed.

Even if this were posible, Im not sure that it would really help to illuminate small objects, I think they tend to be pretty well lit by the sun anyway so Im not too sure that you would see much of a difference.

Cmdr James wrote:

Even if this were posible, Im not sure that it would really help to illuminate small objects, I think they tend to be pretty well lit by the sun anyway so Im not too sure that you would see much of a difference.

Yeah, but it would look really cool. Imagine cruising up to the unlit side of a space station or bulk hauler and running your spotlights over it. That would be cool.

I third the motion.

I agree that running your spotlights over another obect would be cool. (However, it would perhaps be treated as an aggressive act by the other ship, who knows? )

What I don't agree with is the suggested range of the spotlight. 7.5 kilometers? Really? What kind of light be able to do that? 0.75 km would feel more appropriate IMHO.

Cmdr James wrote:

I think the scanner actually shows the scoopable stuff qutite well, especially when zoomed.

Even if this were posible, Im not sure that it would really help to illuminate small objects, I think they tend to be pretty well lit by the sun anyway so Im not too sure that you would see much of a difference.

I think that the producer of the pods must be mede responsible. When you transport valuable goods and want to make sure stuff is delivered, even after the original ship died, you better add a lot of reflective material to it.

Some pods are much easier to spot than others. Griff his pods for example are quite dark compared to oolites original containers. For those you do need the scanner to find them, but others can be spotted from much greater distance.
Try installing cargo_wreck. There are some containers in it with reflective parts that can "blink" when the sun falls on it at the right angle.

When I did the Cargo Pods for 'Accessories', I deliberately made them both reflective and shiny to make it as easy as possible to see them (bar adding flashers which I might do in a future release). When your eyes are as old and tired as mine you need all the help you can get.

Cmdr James wrote:

I think the scanner actually shows the scoopable stuff qutite well, especially when zoomed.

Even if this were posible, Im not sure that it would really help to illuminate small objects, I think they tend to be pretty well lit by the sun anyway so Im not too sure that you would see much of a difference.

The intent of the idea was not to replace scanner usage - obviously scoopable objects are visible on the scanner and you can easily navigate towards them and increase the zoom to fine tune your approach.

This is (was) intended to be more of a 'luxury' item. Like cruise control in a car removes the tiresome need to keep your foot on the accelerator, the spotlight removes your need to zoom.

I suppose to nerf it a little, while the spotlights are on, it could have a gradual, negative effect on your energy levels...

But since it's not possible in the code, cest la vie...

I’ve got no problem with cargo pods being hard to spot… fits with my darkish, Griff-style Ooniverse, and a zoomed-in scanner gets them. It’s the odd pod that goes tumbling away at such a speed that I have to use injectors to catch it… those ones are irksome.

El Viejo wrote:

I’ve got no problem with cargo pods being hard to spot… fits with my darkish, Griff-style Ooniverse, and a zoomed-in scanner gets them. It’s the odd pod that goes tumbling away at such a speed that I have to use injectors to catch it… those ones are irksome.

And then there are the metal fragments (of a Thargoid Carrier, for instance) which explode away at such speed that they are beyond the sun in a matter of seconds, far far too fast even for the torus drive...

instead of spotlights i'd settle for either the scanner filter, or an auto tracker that would put a targetting box around any cannisters in the area, that way you'd know immediately what debris was worth going after, instead of hunting down a white stalk only to find a metal shard.

Killer Wolf wrote:

instead of spotlights i'd settle for either the scanner filter, or an auto tracker that would put a targetting box around any cannisters in the area, that way you'd know immediately what debris was worth going after, instead of hunting down a white stalk only to find a metal shard.

It should be quite simple to change the lollipop colour for cargo pods perhaps?

i never thought of that, though i did raise the filter idea after tw@ing a rock hermit (i think it was) and ending up w/ two billion fricking shards of rubbish clogging my scanner up.

Re the pods, i think a reskinning/amendment would be a sensible theory too, to make them well lit and noticeable w/ glowy bits/flashers : since they hold valuable cargo, i'd think the makers would incorporte features to make them easier to recover. i'm thinking of things like those emergency inflatable dinghys that set of beacons and strobes automatically as soon as they're activated.

Killer Wolf wrote:

i never thought of that, though i did raise the filter idea after tw@ing a rock hermit (i think it was) and ending up w/ two billion fricking shards of rubbish clogging my scanner up.

Re the pods, i think a reskinning/amendment would be a sensible theory too, to make them well lit and noticeable w/ glowy bits/flashers : since they hold valuable cargo, i'd think the makers would incorporte features to make them easier to recover. i'm thinking of things like those emergency inflatable dinghys that set of beacons and strobes automatically as soon as they're activated.

Would it be nicer/possible with an additional piece of OXP equipment that if fitted made either the pods show up better on the scanner, or had a special targeting box put around them in the HUD or possibly turn on flashers only if said equipment was fitted to your ship and the pods came in to range (kind of a distress beacon for pods?)