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[SCRIPT] - Headquarters and Flagship Commands

Posted: Fri, 4. Nov 05, 17:36
by nuclear_eclipse
Why?
Since it appears that Egosoft has seemingly run out of time, and the Player HQ regrettably does not have the ability to perform anything other than the act of sitting in a sector, I feel that I can create a set of scripts that can remedy this situation. At the same time, I would like to extend the scripts to more possibilities, including usage with more station types, and for use with command level starships as well.

Command Set:
- Generic Station Commands
--- Convert to HQ (maximum one)
--- Convert to Stockpile (maximum five)
--- Auction Station (get money back from your station)

- Commands for attached stations and HQ
--- Generate Reports (profit, sales, etc)
--- Emergency Shipment (get resources NOW at extra cost)
--- Set station account limit (money over account limit sent to HQ)

- Commands for Stockpiles and HQ
--- Add product (maximum 5 unless its a dock)
--- Remove product
--- Deconvert Stockpile (return to normal station)

- Commands for HQ
--- Attach station / ship to HQ (allow HQ to manage station/ship)
--- Detach station / ship from HQ (unmanaged)
--- Hire Manager (see below)
--- Propaganda Tour (raise your recognition with all races for cash)
--- Corporate Bribe (raise your recognition with a single race for cash)
--- Corporate Loan (get cash based on collateral)
--- Corporate Merger (buy out your competitor's)
--- Corporate Sabotage (halt a competitor's production cycles temporarily)


- Generic Ship Commands
--- Convert to Flagship (maximum one)

- Flagship Commands
--- Hire Mercinaries (temporarily get control of more ships)
--- Covert Operations (fun)


Basic Idea:
- The player can have only one overall HQ
- The player designates an HQ via command script
- The HQ can be any station, dock, or shipyard
- HQ's / Stockpiles do not produce anything, simply store needed wares (eg. ecells)
- An HQ can designate 'company' stations and ships to manage, including prices, resources, etc
- Player can hire a manager to control station prices, manage/replace ships, and more
- Manager will take care of naming everything under HQ control
- Manager will have a 'personality' based on his race, eg: Teladi scrimps everywhere while a boron will spend money on safety/security, etc
- Manager will respond to managed station's attacks with ships under HQ control
- Various corporate abilties, like influencing other races and competing stations
- Flagship commands allowing for fleet operations and such
- Military commands like temporarily hiring mercenaries and covert operations (navy seals type stuff)


Any ideas, suggestions, questions, etc? I am beginning my work on this as we speak...

Posted: Fri, 4. Nov 05, 17:52
by Cycrow
if you can create it, then allow other scripts to use the base hq to add other scripts to that can be used via the stations command slots

like the ability to hire pirates or mercenaries to do ur bidding, or maybe even hiring out ur ships to the AI for differnet perposes

Posted: Fri, 4. Nov 05, 17:58
by NKVD
I think it's a terrific idea - in addition to everything that you have mentioned, the HQ could let the player plan some large-scale operations (e.g., hiring mercenaries to take out a NPC station or fixing notoriety with a race). Furthermore, the cost of the HQ should be prohibitive enough so that only the wealthiest players can use these features.

However, may I suggest that you see if there's a way to clear this with EgoSoft first? If they're planning on improving HQ's in 1.3 or in later patches, you might find yourself in a situation where the scripts you create will be rendered obsolete or possibly unusable by the patch.

Posted: Fri, 4. Nov 05, 18:31
by Cycrow
well i think if egosoft do bring in the proper player gq, some of the ideas and scripts to go along with it will still work and can just be moved over to the actaual HQ

obviously it depends if egosoft add anything that might be added in the scripts

Posted: Fri, 4. Nov 05, 19:36
by JonusITA
nice idea, i remember something similar for x2

maybe you can do a command that rename automatically all station and transport (owned by the station of the player) with a useful name (eg. the station with their name and number, especially there are more than one in a sector), same for their transports

and maybe a script (used in m6 and larger ships equipped jumpdrive and command software) that automatically jump in a sector with a player controlled station to protect it

Posted: Fri, 4. Nov 05, 20:13
by nuclear_eclipse
JonusITA wrote:nice idea, i remember something similar for x2

maybe you can do a command that rename automatically all station and transport (owned by the station of the player) with a useful name (eg. the station with their name and number, especially there are more than one in a sector), same for their transports
Good Idea, I will add that to my todo list =]
JonusITA wrote:and maybe a script (used in m6 and larger ships equipped jumpdrive and command software) that automatically jump in a sector with a player controlled station to protect it
Already had that idea with fighters, but I dont see why I can't extend that to larger craft.

Posted: Fri, 4. Nov 05, 23:14
by bartzilla
nuclear_eclipse wrote:
JonusITA wrote:
JonusITA wrote:and maybe a script (used in m6 and larger ships equipped jumpdrive and command software) that automatically jump in a sector with a player controlled station to protect it
Already had that idea with fighters, but I dont see why I can't extend that to larger craft.
Seems to me that something neat would be a small force jumping in to protect a resource that is under attack, look at the sea of red on their scanners and go "Oh _____!" and call for reinforcements

Posted: Sat, 5. Nov 05, 02:50
by nuclear_eclipse
updated the OP with more specifics, and a list of commands I am planning on including 8)

Posted: Sat, 5. Nov 05, 03:00
by Cycrow
what about having stats for the manager
as well as having a race personality, they could have stats to how well they do certain tasks

then when hiring a manager, you could look through some kind of job center to and pick a manager you like the look off
and they could have differnet wages

Aslo, they could controll your crew, like having pilots for you ships, etc

Posted: Sat, 5. Nov 05, 11:06
by NKVD
A brilliant set of ideas so far! I particularly like the ability to buy out your competitors - it's something that I've been dying to see in the X series. I feel it only stands to reason that physically destroying a station should not be the only way of expanding your business.

Posted: Sat, 5. Nov 05, 12:23
by Cycrow
Also, how about having a antomated factory building for the manager

so when you want to add another factory to ur complex, you choose the factory and the manager can then hire the tl buy the factory and place it where it needs to go with all the neceassry linking equipment so you dont have to go through it manually, obviously theres an extra price tag attached to doing it this way but it would be good when ur building lots of factorys

Posted: Sat, 5. Nov 05, 20:33
by NKVD
I'm posting a link to my suggestion on Blueprints as I feel the HQ could also act as a blueprint repository.

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=98446

Posted: Mon, 7. Nov 05, 18:34
by Sp00ky
Completely enthralling idea nuclear_eclipse. This is just the sort of creative and in-depth script/mod that X3 needs. After reading over your ideas I find myself with little to add save for the following:


HQ Defenses - is there anyway to add turrets to a station?

HQ Model - Did egosoft design an actual HQ model? If so, I think the HQ should default to that, however I do like your idea of being able to nominate any station.

Corporate Merger - fantastic idea!

HQ Patrol - anyway to allow ships to constantly circle an area around the HQ as defense (under the manager's control)

HQ Repair - definatley needs some sort of ship repair/re-arm capabilities.

I hope you stay enthusiastic about this mod, it has amazing potential.

Posted: Mon, 7. Nov 05, 21:52
by bendyspex
Great Idea, can't wait! Will the corporate merger command mean that you gain control of all the other companies stations. Also will this mean that the AI will also have HQ's and these will have managers. Is so that would be cool. Having massive corporate battles, and using sabotage and covert operations to ruin other companies. That might be quite hard though. I don't know anything about scripting.

Posted: Mon, 7. Nov 05, 22:46
by JonusITA
Sp00ky wrote:Completely enthralling idea nuclear_eclipse. This is just the sort of creative and in-depth script/mod that X3 needs. After reading over your ideas I find myself with little to add save for the following:


HQ Defenses - is there anyway to add turrets to a station?

HQ Model - Did egosoft design an actual HQ model? If so, I think the HQ should default to that, however I do like your idea of being able to nominate any station.

Corporate Merger - fantastic idea!

HQ Patrol - anyway to allow ships to constantly circle an area around the HQ as defense (under the manager's control)

HQ Repair - definatley needs some sort of ship repair/re-arm capabilities.

I hope you stay enthusiastic about this mod, it has amazing potential.
HQ Model: in x2 there were some new station created from scraps of other station) i don't remember one made from scratch, but i could be wrong) that is possible to add a new station to the game

HQ Patrol: if you mean that a ship sould follow a series of waypoint in a single sector i don't know, maybe it can be done, well.. i think it can be done almost certainly but i'm still a noob in scripting, at least with x2 (and x3 :D)

HQ Repair: there were some script for x2, and with the new function to set hull condition (or something similar) in x3 i think this can be easly done, maybe something like:
the player give command to repair a ship, the script calculate the % of damage that must be repaired, and with this number calculate the number of "pare parts" needed for the repair

another thing that could be added to the game should be that flagship and bigger ship of all kind should not be rapaired (or builded) in a seconds... maybe the player could commissionate the repairs/build of a ship to a npc shipyard (there also could be some indipendant repair station spare in the universe that can repair ships), and depending from the ship to be repaired/build the shipyard take its necessary time... this is just an idea...

Posted: Tue, 8. Nov 05, 01:43
by FellFromLog
Sp00ky wrote: HQ Model - Did egosoft design an actual HQ model? If so, I think the HQ should default to that, however I do like your idea of being able to nominate any station.
Yep, if you use LV's cheat scripts to add a station it's called Julian Headquarters. Pretty nifty looking, only has external docking ports though.

This idea would add a massive amount of interactivity and control to X3. I have to admit after a week and a half it's getting a bit dull. Once past the spiffy graphics and fun combat the basic systems beneath are exactly like X2, with some of the products swapped around profit wise.

X3 really needed features like those suggested here for the HQ, as well as things like research bases and player shipyards to add an extra level of interest beyond that in X2.

Posted: Tue, 8. Nov 05, 01:53
by Cycrow
yeah the HQ model is in the game but it doesn't appear to do anything maybe they was planning to add some functionality later ?

but the scripts would be a great use for the HQ

Posted: Tue, 8. Nov 05, 01:56
by tkdb17
that is something i have noticed aswel about the HQ. it just seems like a mantal place item. for show, im hoping that someone can put all the ideas in this topic in real life either that egosoft adds functionality to it at a later date

Posted: Sun, 13. Nov 05, 20:45
by bendyspex
Is this script still being made? I like the idea and think it would be great to have a manager that would sort everything out.
Hope it is getting there :)

HQ mod

Posted: Sun, 13. Nov 05, 22:22
by the old one
About defence for the hq i think the flack arttliary would be great if it could be done :o the old one