Oolite Bulletins

v3.1 now available see this post for more details

(Original post)
Smivs Industries is pleased to announce the launch of Smivs'Shipset v3.0.
The main additional feature of v3.0 over its predecessors is the inclusion of dedicated models. Previous versions relied on the in-built Oolite models, but these are subject to change from time to time, and this could potentially have lead to previous versions breaking in the future. Including a model set should 'Future-Proof' the OXP. The models used are the original models from Oolite v1.65 which have been adapted for use in Smivs'Shipset.
There are plenty of other improvements over v2.0.
In terms of the graphics, v3.0 features some brand new textures, specifically for the Anaconda, Asp and the Pythons.



It also includes additional alternative versions of three of the standard ships to give more variety in the game. There is now an Adder variant acting in the Scavenger and Shuttle roles operated by the well known office servicing company OoCS. I've also added an 'Executive' variant of the FerDeLance to complement the Player/Hunter and Pirate versions, as it seemed odd that the FDL is marketed as an Executive Transport and yet never appears in this role in the game. The FerDeLance Executive uses the standard Trader AI and will occasionally be found in the spacelanes between Witchpoint and Planet of more civilised systems. The alternative Boa (Trader) has been carried over from v2.0.
I have also taken the opportunity to 'scale' things a bit...for example the cockpit windows, while still quite large, are now a much more sensible size.
v3.0 also features improved emission maps (lighting effects) which should work on all computers including those that do not support shaders. The ships have illuminated cockpit and porthole windows, boat-style Navigation Lights and other additional lights, plus 'glow' effects for the radiators/heat-exchangers. Several also feature hull spotlighting. The ships' hulls also have realistic shininess and reflectiveness.
This OXP also adds the Galcop Viper Interceptor, Python Blackdog (pirate) and Python Trader, FerDeLance Hunter and FerDeLance Executive, Adder Scavenger, Mamba Escort, Sidewinder Scoutship and the Constrictor to the Start-up demo ships display.
Smivs'Shipset version 3.0 is intended for use with Oolite v1.74 upwards.

As before I am releasing three editions to suit computers of varying abilities. There is a Standard Definition (1024x1024px) edition suitable for most computers, and a High Definition (2048x2048px) edition for use on computers with high-end graphics cards. There is also a Basic (512x512px) edition for computers with very limited graphics-handling capability.

The Shipset includes 35 ships/varieties:-

Adder (Standard and Scavenger)
Anaconda
Asp
Boa (Standard and Trader)
Boa Class Cruiser
Cobra Mk I (Standard, Pirate and Miner)
Cobra MkIII (Standard, Alternative livery and Pirate)
Constrictor
FerDeLance (Hunter, Executive and Pirate)
Gecko
Krait
Mamba (Standard and Escort)
Orbital Shuttle
Python (Standard, Trader and Pirate)
Sidewinder (Standard and Scoutship)
Thargoid Robot Fighter
Thargoid Warship
Transporter (Standard and Miner)
Viper
Viper Interceptor
Worm (Standard and Miner)

My website and the Wiki page have both been updated. My webpage contains screenshots of all the ships and their variants, plus downloads. The Wiki page also links to the downloads.

Edit:- I've just found a minor glitch (case-sensitive problem) in the shipdata.plist causing the FerDeLance Hunter AI to fail load. This won't affect most of you, but the fix is being uploaded now.
If you have this problem, either re-download or open the shipdata.plist and change the AI for the FerDeLance Hunter from to in other words replace the upper-case 'P' with a lower case 'p'.
Sorry!

Nice!

Looks good. I will be downloading this!

I've identified another minor glitch, I'm afraid. The Cobra3 Trader wasn't applying it's emission_map properly due to a typo in the shipdata.plist.
Corrected versions have now been uploaded. If you want to fix it yourself, scroll down to the "cobra3-trader" in the shipdata.plist and add a '3' to the so it reads

One or two of you have been in touch regarding the models included in v3.0, so just to clarify the issue, the models are the original Oolite models (from v1.65) which have simply been re-named and included in the Shipset.
This was as a result of this discussion which followed the release of v2.0.
Ahruman pointed out to me that by applying textures to the native models there was a real risk of the Shipset 'breaking' in the future if the native models changed, which they do from time to time. By including a dedicated model set in v3.0 of the ShipSet this potential problem has been avoided.
So they are the original Oolite models, but are now built-in to the Shipset rather than relying on the models included in the game.
I hope that helps to clear this up.

A Boa and her four Mamba and Sidewinder escorts.

There was a mistake in the release date - it said July sometime. I have changed it to December 8 and made a small change to the description so it is no longer the longest one - hope that's correct and ok, but feel free to edit.

Thanks Mcarans,
I must have overlooked the date on the table when I updated everything...there was a surprising amount to do.
Sorry about the description length...it looked OK on my screen...and I'm supposed to be one of the 'Length Police', as well

Latest headlines: ‘Length Police’ given shorter sentence on appeal.

El Viejo wrote:

Latest headlines: ‘Length Police’ given shorter sentence on appeal.

Brilliant

Smivs wrote:

Sorry about the description length

No worries.

El Viejo wrote:

Latest headlines: ‘Length Police’ given shorter sentence on appeal.

Nice one

Smivs, I think you should add some lights to the buoys also. I just launched from Razare station in G3. The station itself is just in sunlight, but the buoy isn't. I almost smashed into it.

(click to enlarge)

It is quite difficult to spot a buoy in the dark. At least I had my lights on.

For me the buoys are lightened and are pretty good visible - even in bright sunlight.

Hi Eric,
I have, but they are in Accessories not the shipset (which is, er, just the ships).
Not only do they have little yellow lights, but the whole body glows a bright red. They are very hard to miss.



Edit:- I notice also that you're still using v2.0 of the shipset...the upgrade to v3.0 is worth doing.

v3.1 has now been released.

Several changes have been made since v3.0.
1) The Thargoid missile_launch_position has been corrected. This was the reason for the update...it's funny how you can get carried away, but while i was updating anyway...
2) Two brand new textures added (a second Anaconda and a second Krait), plus revisions to many of the other ships including new skins for all three FerDeLances. The texture file sizes have been reduced considerably as well, making for much smaller downloads. This has not affected quality in any way.
3) 'Gun' added to most of the ships.
4) Kit added to allow the user to make a custom skin for the player Cobra Mk III. This is a development of a beta release I did about a year ago. Using a graphics editor like Gimp or Photoshop, a new texture can be built using modular components suppled. This is a simple drag and drop procedure. When the texture is complete it is placed into the main OXP's Textures folder and you have a custom player Cobra. That simple!
There are eight base colours, six patterns and sixteen decals to choose from, giving over 750 possible permutations.

Full details and downloads from Smivsonline

The obligatory pretty picture...

Nice ones Smivs. Your shipset does get better with every update. Next a new liner for the liners.oxp? (hint)