[SCRIPT] Comm Chatter Missions v1.1 Jan 23

[AalaarDB]

If you the player weren't there, would the X Universe go on? Would anybody ever ferry Mi Ton to his destination? Would that crystal fab ever solve its silicon crisis? Would Station A's water shortage and Station B's water surplus ever work themselves out?

The answer is no! Nothing out of the ordinary will ever happen unless you are there to make it happen. A BBS mission only ever happens when you agree to it. Exit the station without selecting one and the universe will continue on its predictable buy ware / sell ware path. This does not help the game's realism. You will not be immersed --in that box they call a universe-- until you feel that you are not the only thing alive in there.

Enter the Comms Chatter Missions. These are a small but growing set of missions that start and happen outside the confines of a Trading Station dock. All you have to do is sit in space, turn on your comms, and listen to the chatter*. Inevitably, some luxury liner somewhere will need emergency medical help and send out a request. Inevitably, some convoy will come under hostile attack and pay handsomely for someone to recover dumped cargo. These ships will exist and these events will occur whether you select the mission or not, allowing you to see them on your radar and get a sense that the universe is alive, and fragile. After all, unlike BBS missions, there are real consequences too, if not for you at least for the passengers of that luxury liner!

*Disclaimer: comm chatter is textual, not audial, and sometimes it's not even textual.

The framework is necessary for any mission that uses the Comm Chatter "Framework" You will only need to download it once.
Comm Chatter Framework Only V1.1 83kb
v1.1 changes the command used, and now uses the XScript Installer. Please turn off the Mission plugin for a few seconds, save, apply patch and load for the update.

AalaarDB's missions:
Salvage Mod V1.5.1
Escort CCM V1

For other scripters!!!
Write your own scripts that use the framework, view a fully functional sample script, and a readme explaining. This is a good alternative to BBS missions or spamming the player with unasked for comms.
Sample Script and Readme

If you don't want to hear the Arrested Development text:
Delete file ADB.Comms.PlayRandomChatter.xml, or (better) open it up and delete every line.
If you want to replace the text, open file t\447354.xml and edit it to what you want. Do not use id ranges below 100. Then, edit ADB.Comms.PlayRandomChatter.xml to play a random number from the edited file.

[Ryuujin]

Oooh, I like the idea a lot, sounds feasible too. Di events happen across the board or resticted somewhat to the player's immediate vicnity, it's just random events happening galaxy-wide could be a CPU hog, and unless they're within a sector or two you couldn't respond anyway (I still remember someone did a "hire ship" script, and you'd get insane requests like "Send one of your fighters to a sector you havn't vistted yet, in the next 30 seconds"

[Anti-Hero]

I like this idea a lot, it's something that can be built on. For example, if you can get the comm chatter mission system to work it may be possible to start making job specific mission systems (bounty hunter, assassin, etc.) Well this is definitely a good start, i'll be keeping my eye on it for sure, good luck!

[AalaarDB]

The comm chatter framework works already, I've tested it. Technically it's not finished though. I'm running into some problems with my first mission but it's almost done. Events will take place across the universe but in a reduced form until you enter the sector, turn on the comm and select the mission. There shouldn't be any performance hit other than 2 or so ships flying around per mission instance.

Update: Fry's still doesn't have it on Monday!!!

[bartzilla]

I can't wait to see the results of this idea, sounds exactly like what we need to make the game world that bit more immersive! Great idea aalaardb.

Might be interesting to see what happens when you as the player go into pirate mode and attack a transport and it radios for help. First of all you'll have to make sure people can't accept the job of attacking themselves and secondly it will make that part of the game much more spicy!

[AalaarDB]

I have good news and bad news.

Bad news is I lost a lot of work when my raid array died. I had just defragged and this is the second time it has happened after using this particular defragger. It could be one of my hdd is dying though, it seems weak. Whatever the problem was, I am reformatting now and even then it might not work.

So, I lost 3 weeks of work.
Over 500 text entries.
About 70-80 scripts.
4 Missions were in the debug stage with another 2 being written.

The good news is I should be able to rewrite all this is about 1.5 - 2 weeks this time around, starting after Thanksgiving of course. Maybe I can even rewrite the framework and convince LV to have me rewrite some of his missions to get a demo of this for you guys. Oh and I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

[Britich]

thank heaven for ftps

[Xenon_Slayer]

Sorry for your loss mate. I've never had a HD die on me thankfully. Excuss me while I back up.

[Lothmorg]

I had my primary and backup hard drives die within days of each other.
Lost everything. I can sympathize.

[luckysoul]

Too bad you lost a lot of work. Looking forward to this framework already.

Personally I think this is one of the main things missing in X3, communication. Nobody is talking in this universe and when there is communication it is hardly ever directed to you in person (besides the storyline of course). Somebody asking you something is refreshing, to say the least, like in the Escort plug-in by LV.

It would be great if it is possible to have not only initial communication when somebody is asking for help, but also chatter between the two parties during the mission. That would emphasize the feeling that something is happening in the X3 universe, and you make a difference. I've made some examples on this in the Escort thread.

It would be really great if this communication can be two ways, e.g. you asking the assigner what his status is and similar questions.

(Ultimately you should be able to ask anybody in the universe a few basic question, e.g. what he is doing, how he feels, if you can help him with something, etc.)

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

Comms chatter has no sound eh? I can fix that...

Just like this...

http://muyo.org/atc/SFINALES.MP3
http://muyo.org/atc/GFINALES.MP3
http://muyo.org/atc/FINALES2.MP3

I'm sound edit KING around here.

[StormSinger]

Modest too.

[Anti-Hero]

The comms chatter missions will be pretty damn awesome if you guys can figure out how to provide actual chatter audio with the incoming messages. It'll be interesting to see where this goes from here.

[bob hope]

at last, someones going to implement the thing i liked about x-tension, i cant wait for this!

its funny the amount of people who dont realise that the princess menaleus drug and booze run was originally given you when flying out of a jumpgate, you were commed and asked if you could get x amount of drugs and booze to the trade station in K.E. and there you would be payed in kind

X2 it was put on bbs missions instead so that the whole universe was self centred and non immersive, thanks for the return to what made me want to buy x2

[bendyspex]

That would be great if it was an audio message, especially after listening to those clips. Maybe without the music though, as that ruins the immersion a bit.

[moonknight007au]

Its it actually possible to link to 3rd party sound files using just the script editor or would it require a mod?

[AalaarDB]

I did a little bit of sound through scripts in X2, but I can't remember if that was possible with or without a mod. Either way, if it can happen I'm sure someone else will add sound to their comms, and that's wonderful, just what it needs. I however am sticking to text, it's easier, and I have a lot to do.

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

That would be great if it was an audio message, especially after listening to those clips. Maybe without the music though, as that ruins the immersion a bit.

Well, those were cinema sequences. And had dramatic music.

Quote... other things... never mind quoting.

Anyway, to connect sound to a script is easy.

Put a numbered sound in the S folder... ensuring you don't duplicate an existing sound. Then you call this sound VIA the script editor under the command 'play sample'.


EVENT trigger
play sample [10005]
wait X ms

...would be an example.

Once you trigger the sound, you must know its length so that if you have a series of overlapping statements, such as 'Target at [distance of let's say, 37] kilometers' It would play the sound samples...

play sample "Target at"
wait 500 ms
play sample "thirty"
wait 200 ms
play sample "seven"
wait 200 ms
play sample "kilometers."
wait 500 ms

For a more complex number... you need the ones and tens broken down, and then hundred and thousand.

For example '100,332' or One-hundred thousand, three hundred and thirty-two would break down like the following...
1, hundred, thousand, 3, hundred, 30, 2

Essentially, every dicision has to have a few sounds. For complex codes, there would be a sound for every choice for every variable. Such as a sound that would dynamicly inform you as to the range and direction of the nearest enemy.

You need a full range of numbers that can dynamicly alter with the ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, as well as the phrases that are spoken around it. A code complex enough to actually feel like you're immersed in the sound environment, would require hundreds of short phrases, timed and spoken in such a way that you could puzzle piece them together.

Creating dynamic verbal chatter in a game really makes you appreciate just how complex human speach patterns are.

The only problem with sound work in X2, was that the sound banks had a weirdness factor.
Only certain number ranges worked as if they were slotted somewhere, when it would have been easier to just make the sound bank calls a large variable instead. Then I bet we could have free run of sound editing.

I hope X3s soundbank capability is superior.

[RaGodofTehSun]

Tiger check your messages and if you ever need another voice i am more than willing to help ya out *is a singer in a local band*

[Dgn Master]

its funny the amount of people who dont realise that the princess menaleus drug and booze run was originally given you when flying out of a jumpgate, you were commed and asked if you could get x amount of drugs and booze to the trade station in K.E. and there you would be payed in kind

Oh i remember this vividly, but in X-T when you got a missions you would get a big bloody box right in your face that wouldn't let you stear you ship.

I also remember how i got called once and ran right into a wheat farm!