[AL Plugin] Fix Flying Wares v1.02 7-Nov-07

[eladan]

Fix Flying Wares


Version 1.02 - Download here - Xai Corp, thanks moggy

Another response to a request - this time from here to make crates stick around longer. From the readme:

Fix Flying Wares v1.02 by eladan
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This is an AL plugin to scan for flying wares (crates dropped by destroyed ships primarily) and change them so that they don't self destruct after a certain period of time. This will make them behave like e.g. the hidden crates or pandora tunings, which are permanent until picked up.

I've limited it to only work in the sector that the playership is currently in. The reason for this is to limit the amount of processing required, and also the fact that crates are only dropped when the player is in the sector. I've also limited it to only run on crates you know about. The reason for that is to ensure you don't have a glut of crates lying around that you're unaware of, potentially causing unexplained slowdowns.

The plugin runs every sixty seconds, so as long as you know of crates for at least this long before leaving a sector, you should be able to rely on them being there when you get back.

The plugin is shown in the Options->Gameplay->Artificial Life Settings menu as 'Fix Flying Wares'. Turning it off will return to default behaviour on any *future* drops - any crates already processed will stay that way.

There are no commands or text associated with this plugin.

Changelog
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v1.02 - Restricted wares that plugin will work with, to avoid problems with plot objects being replaced and no longer recognised.

v1.01 - Fixed minor issue with any crates outside scanner range reverting to unknown. :/
- Increased range for detection of crates for those really big sectors...

V1.00 - Initial release.

[johntarmac]

nice

[eladan]

Thanks John - enjoy!

You might want to re-download. A couple of minor fixes/tweaks
.

[Reaxe]

eladan - this is exactly the kind of thing I was after - thank you

[eladan]

eladan - this is exactly the kind of thing I was after - thank you

Just following directions.

[Reaxe]

I *may* have found a possible issue/bug - not too sure though.

I just finished cleaning out X594, looking to score some big lwet with my new script a-running, and lo and behold, out of the 10+ Xenon cap ships I showed to the door, I got no cap ship goodies. No GPPC's, BPPC's, APPC's, flaks or smaller guns - though a few small guns did drop from the fighters in-sector. The only other stuff left floating around was missiles.

Now, this may just be my luck, and the RNG is nopt liking me too much right now, but I figured I'd post it just in case.

[eladan]

Hi Reaxe, while admittedly I didn;t test this with PPCs, I think it's far more likely you just got an unlucky streak. Did you see any drop at all? If they did drop, and then disappeared, then that would clearly indicate a problem.

I'll get in and take a look, to test with PPC drops, but it'll have to be in a bit - currently my gaming rig is tied up doing something else.

[Reaxe]

No - I didn't see any drop. I'm about to head into the next one up from 594 and have a crack at those bad boys - see what I can come up with. If I get through two entire Xenon sectors without a single PPC or flak drop... something has got to be putting a kink in my Mojo.

*Checks under desk for evil spirits*

EDIT - It worked in 101 - seems I just had bad luck... 10 times in a row...

[eladan]

It worked in 101 - seems I just had bad luck... 10 times in a row...

Yep, just checked, and PPCs work fine. Must be a run of bad luck. You didn't have a black cat walk in front of you while you ran under a ladder smashing a mirror on the way over halloween, did you?

[Saint-Ashley]

It could have also been possible that the crates got destroied conventionally (or naught had dropped at all). As they are naught indestrictible. A stray PPC fire shot or a fighter crashing into them and poof.

Keep in mind the X3's Autopilot and we all know how possible it is!

[Reaxe]

Heh - you're not kidding! I just finished watching my TL try to plough through a factory on it's way to dock in PTNI. Amazing

[Saint-Ashley]

Was just going through the plot missions, and of course someone has to find a bug.

When haveing to collect the black crystal from Xenon Sector 101 the script identifies it and replaces it. Causeing the plot to cease.

If your entering the sector to collect the Black Crystal for the plot you should (for now) turn off the 'Fix Flying Wares' until eladan gets a chance to fix this if he decides its even worth it. At least we know what *can* happen.

[eladan]

When haveing to collect the black crystal from Xenon Sector 101 the script identifies it and replaces it. Causeing the plot to cease.

Thanks SA - didn't even consider the plot...

I'll fix this asap.

[eladan]

New Version - 1.02 to fix the problem if plot objects are replaced. I've restricted the wares that the plugin will work on to only be those that commonly drop.

For those who want the info, this means that I am only replacing wares with a maintype of 8-11, 13-15 (any subtype,) or maintype 16 with subtype<11.

There are some wares in maintype 12 which some people do occasionally see dropped, but as these are supposed to be plot or mission related wares, there shouldn't be any real interest in having this work on them.

[Dracken]

sorry im abit slow in the head tonight, 1 question and im sure gonna sound dumb


"I've limited it to only work in the sector that the playership is currently in"

dose that mean that when i kill and loot drops in the sector it will stay there for all time, or will it go back to normal once i leave the sector

(in my head im sure it means that only items that drop WHILE im in the sector will stay there even after i leave the sector - however been wrong before ^_^)

sorry again for the silly question, just need to know before get it.

[eladan]

dose that mean that when i kill and loot drops in the sector it will stay there for all time, or will it go back to normal once i leave the sector

Once a crate has been processed by this plugin, it will stay there until picked up or destroyed, regardless of whether you are in the sector or not.

That line honestly probably wasn't necessary, as crates only drop in sector anyway. What it does mean, though, is that if you leave a sector soon after a crate is dropped, it may not be processed, and will disappear as normal. You need to hang around in sector for a minute after a drop to be sure.

[Schabernack]

hi, i intend to try this script combined with the salvage claim network 2.8, are there any incompatibility issues?

[eladan]

There are no issues that I'm aware of, and I can't think of any reason that there would be.

[Schabernack]

nice
and thanks for the fast answer

[xxx73]

Thanks eladan for a very interesting script.


I have 3 questions about this script:
1. I read earlier in this thread that someone had problems with this script for fulfilling a mission. I also saw that there was a fix for that. But I still wonder if it is any chance to get any problems with missions/scripts in x3?

2. Is this mod compatible with XTM 0.75, or can it create problems with missions/quests in XTM?

3. I want to add a lot of other scripts that create new missions/quests like dragonhunters, Cycrows guild scripts and Treasurehunt Redux. Any chance of conflicts?

Thanks for any thoughts on this subject.