[script] Improved Races (r14 RC2 Available)

[djrygar]

Since it's no longer a race sector while you're retaking it do you even get normal rep bonuses and police bounty?

no, no bounty, just fight rank increase and loot

As for starting IR - don't worry, I started new game (bankrupt assasin, so its supposed to be the hardest) with IR, and it is/was even more fun than usual, because IR sometimes blocks normally open sectors (storyline asks you to go to some sector to do something, while its now khaak sector, etc).

While it may be sometimes frustrating, its actually great, forces you do thigs differently. I do Goner Missions now, and I;m supposed to do some covert operation - go slowly after some pirate - but hes waiting in the middle of khaak sector so i have to clean it first (but still dont have firepower to do so, so i have to clear it myself or wait until teladi decide to make some assault - that how I did main plot, I just sneaked with my M4 between teladi destroyers, did my part, and escaped.

There's also something that makes some compensation - the loot. After some battles, with xenons especially, I have to call TL to gather all missiles floating in space - there are often boxes with 20 hammerheads (1.6 million worth - just take it), so it helps you even early in the game. Those missiles are also useful with cargo delivery missions for corporations - no more trouble where to find 19 disruptor missiles

So dont heistate and enable it now (you may just disable p2p jumping for khaak, this makes them too powerful, esp if you have ship below M6)

[Urschleim]

Thank you for this great script!!

[KaZTek]

Flash - effect never did any lockups on my machine, I belive it might on others so I would ask to make it optional

Actually, the jumpflash, if scripted without the jumpdrive, can cause X3TC to take a knife to its throat and CtD. Problem here is that if IR forces have a jumpdrive, normal jumpdrive behavior tries to take over (read: stupid as heck/broken) and thus, we end up with IR being broken by extension.

[Feuerriese]

Since you asked for really evil, the-players-will-hate-it suggestions...how about an improved KamiKhaak? I really hate those (can't live without them though )so please give all Khaak a chance to become a KamiKhaak! There is nothing like a Khaak M2 pushing that deep purple self-destruct button to ruin a player's day...and half of his fleet which happened to be inside the blast radius

[1muvwndr]

Great script indeed. Made totally impossible for me to cross ANY Xenon sector, among other things. I've yet to figure how to reach alive the Hub...

Is it possible to add in a feature to "hunt down" some specific ships that cause trouble to a race? Say a particularly nasty ship (player or not) that keeps killing a race's ships and eventually the race sends out a task force to deal with the offender? it would take care of i.e. rogue Qs that keeps roaming in a sector for ages, or it would give the player a headache when an Ares with 4 M8s + fighters as escorts comes through the gate while he's chasing down the 20th paranid merchant.

[Alkeena]

I wonder if someone plays Dead is Dead with IR

that could be entertaining...

I actually play Dead is Dead so it's going to happen pretty soon

I do use LV's Escape Pod ( http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php? ... 04#2904904 ) though, which keeps me from ripping my hair out. I've so far had to restart twice after about 40 hours of [Non-IR] play (with a _lot_ of that time being spent debugging my bomber docking mod, admittedly) once because a Banshee missile caught me in my Sabre, killing me before the escape pod was able to kick in and once because a wingman in Sabre I had following me RAMMED my Rapier full speed while I was stopped looking at the sector map........Total tangent: does anyone know of any scripts to make your wingmen not r*******, like Fight Command Mk3 from reunion? Or at least a way to calm them down so they actually fly in formation rather than buzzing everywhere when given a simple follow or protect command?

Either way, I'll be doing it, and probably loathing you for all the evil you've included with IR. I might even write about...probably not though, I'm lazy.

[djrygar]

wingman in Sabre I had following me RAMMED my Rapier full speed while I was stopped looking at the sector map........

this is obvious AI fault, shouldn't force you to restart (you did not anythig wrong, just game engine/pathfinding is *****)

same thing with missiles being shut down just after firing them - if you shoot at missile just after it's been released from enemy ship - it explodes, if you shoot it later, it just disappears - complete nonsense. you can't play DiD while accepting so many bugs/incositencies (you can, but where's pleasure of doing so). Sometimes it's just beyond my imagination, what was in dev's heads while implementing some things in game, why some obvious bugs, even very easy to fix, and the ones everyone is encountering weren't fixed - instead we get new sectors and useless ships. ehh.. but that's OT

hope you will write your DiD story with IR for us

[Alkeena]

same thing with missiles being shut down just after firing them - if you shoot at missile just after it's been released from enemy ship - it explodes, if you shoot it later, it just disappears - complete nonsense.

Missile Safety ( http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=238860 ) is my savior

[KaZTek]

this is obvious AI fault, shouldn't force you to restart (you did not anythig wrong, just game engine/pathfinding is *****)

same thing with missiles being shut down just after firing them - if you shoot at missile just after it's been released from enemy ship - it explodes, if you shoot it later, it just disappears - complete nonsense.

There is a way to reduce AI collisions. Besides higher FPS (unusually, X3TC AI works on a per-frame basis for piloting), you could edit the Tships to adjust their angular acceleration, though this has the blatant side-effect of throwing all the ships normal equilibriums in combat way off, not to mention it edits Tships, which is a mod change in itself and not recommended.

Missiles are a hit-or-miss in terms of gameplay mechanics. Gazz did release his Missile Safety script for such occasions.

[djrygar]

Missile Safety ( http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=238860 ) is my savior

i have got it. It actually does not work (even today i have been killed several times by my own hammerhead shut down by some scout, ant I have missile safety enabled). but thats not the point - there are plenty of such 'features', easily fixable for devs, but they just don't care. but that's 7ate's thread, so sorry for OT

[7ate9tin11s]

Hmmm...I have found a more balanced p2p jump system for the Kha'ak, I think everyone will like this one. Instead of appearing wherever they want the ship break into their component scouts which swarm across the sector very quickly (1300+ kps and un-collidable) and reform near their destination point. The proof of concept script works very well and looks quite cool. You will be able to see your death headed your way in time to run or jump...or watch in horror as destroyers are formed in front of you

/is there such a thing as off topic for improved races?
//
///sleeeeep...zzzzZZZZZzzzz....

[djrygar]

ou, so destroyers are formed out of very fast moving scouts? I'm eager to see that! (so don't sleep, please put this R14 online haha )

1300m/s would have sense (lets say - they are 'launched' out of khaak station with such speed).


still thinking about some visual notifications - those scouts forming desroyers/corvettes will make player avare of danger, that nice solution - i'm just thinking that even this forming would be visually more appealing when connected with some 'flash'

as I understand, the process of forming works like this - you destroy swarm of scouts and create lets say, corvette in the same place, right?
maybe, create corvette, and some missile in the same place? - (a variation of normal missile, but with damage 1 - so it will not hurt even weakest scout), something 'flashy' to mask this 'swapping'. While interceptors and fighters look similar to scouts, corvettes and m1 & m2 are pretty much different, so the proces of 'transformation' will look bit odd.

another thing - khaak station in taken sectors have 12GJ shielding - original ones have something about 30GJ, IIRC. Seem very weak, they are too easy to destroy - few hammerheads is doing the trick. And that's odd - they should defend their station at all cost. But that's beyond reach of script maybe..

[ThisIsHarsh]

Is there any way I can tell if a given ship is an IR ship, so that my script(s) don't conflict? Specifically I'm thinking Big Ships. Local variable is ideal, but also a script common to all IR (Big) ships would do the job (job.striker maybe?).

[7ate9tin11s]

Is there any way I can tell if a given ship is an IR ship, so that my script(s) don't conflict? Specifically I'm thinking Big Ships. Local variable is ideal, but also a script common to all IR (Big) ships would do the job (job.striker maybe?).

All ir ships and stations are marked with the local variable 'plugin.ir.marker'. On stations the marker contains the task number the process is running on (always 31+) and on ships it is the revision number of ir or [TRUE]. Any which way you can always use:

Code: Select all

if $object -> get local variable 'plugin.ir.marker'
  * it is an ir ship, keep away!
  return null
end

If you want to determine which options are enabled you can use

Code: Select all

$option = [THIS]->call script 'plugin.ir.option' : module=4  option=6

where module is 0-4 (Improved Kha'ak, Xenon, Pirates, Yaki, Universal Options) and option is the last 2 digits of hundreds lines in the text file (4 and 6 is debug options or text line 606). The return is either 0 for enabled and 1 for disabled when there are no thousands line options OR 0-n counting up for each specialized option in the text file (for debug 0=none, 1=IK, 2= IX, etc...)

/Also, all IR ships have the rrf block flag set too
//Perhaps I will do a mini-patch so you can use the new p2p in r13
///r14 is still quite a ways out due to life, the universe, and everything.

[Avadhuta]

Is it ever possible to turn X3 economy into real one?

I mean, that now races don't need to get resources and to produce equipment to make new ships. It's quite boring. And player have huge disadvantage against computer. If one step of your production chain was damaged, then you can't make good ships.

I don't see the challenge, when I fight against brainlessly generated ships. It looks like arcade rathen than strategy.

P.S. Maybe, I need to create new post with this question...

[someone else]

another option for khaaks:
-FIGHTERS ONLY. (for the ones who want to murder the FPS)

and a spin-off

-SCOUTS ONLY, BUT LOTS OF THEM

maybe you can add a nice effect to "camuflage" the swarm that trasforms into a M2... like 200 scouts---> POOF of smoke and light---> 1 M2

p.s. agree with Avadhuta. I wanna see the Corporations do something "corporational", like aquiring stations... killing pirates and expanding their commercial empire.

[djrygar]

Is it ever possible to turn X3 economy into real one?

No ;(

originally X3 was supposed to be space simulator, all this 'economy' is dropped here just for fun and actually meaningless. with latest iteration, the 'casualization' of X3 made it even more shallow. Take look on missions - basically combat missions look like 'press button to spawn fodder', enemies do not exist until you want to shoot them and choose mission. Can't belive how ridiculous it is in game that once was aiming to immerse you in its universe.
With almost the same amout of work it could be done in way thats more immersive - in other thread I was giving example - some pirates give ultimatum to some space station, so station shouts for help (so there' defend station mission) - player may not want to help - but pirates will anyway attack the station (and they actually should use heavy missiles, not 5 busters to take down station). When station's shields drop to 10% station gives up and lets pirate transporter or drones to take its products and some money. they fly away, but either station or nearest military dock sets bounty for those pirates (assasination mission). If station gets destroyed - theres build station mission (of the same kind that was destroyed).. plenty of possibilities to actually tie those mission is some sensible way, not so disjoined random spawns that everytime remind you that it's just space shooter.

7ate's script is actually modest attempt to fix some of the aspects of the game, but he cannot do too much, because there's too many things embedded directly in the game engine (including mentioned economy). He actually takes SOME economic aspects into consideration - so AI cannot spawn as much military as is needed, so given race can be actually beaten.

and yes, X3 TC is now basically arcade shooter, just slow paced (which make X3's tagline 'build think fight expand' actually a lie, as it all about shooting.

7ate prooves, that even one person within relatively small timespan could change game to be actually some strategy game. I cant belive that Egosoft does not see this opportunity for game to enter whole new, much bigger market, they choose quick bucks&euros by dumbing it down, so game magazine editors actually will play it and give some better scores (notice that new quick reputation gain for example, make this whole reputation system useless and meaningless - even if you are worst enemy to race, you just shoot down one or two pirate corvettes - which is pretty easy even on start, and you're beloved friend - so whats the point of whole this reputation system now? You dont need fabs - one xenon invasion will give you more money than any factory for 3 hours of working etc etc etc etc..)


but returning to topic

I noticed very strange thing regarding IR;
theres sector - originally Boron owned, north to Veil of Delusion. It's marked as 'Pirate sector' now, but theres whole army of khaak big ships (about 6 M2 and 4 M1), and khaak station there but there is also whole swarm of pirate fighters also. When I got there, I thought 'wtf, they are allies now?', so I started to shoot hammerheads into station, ant then pirates just went after me. But also khaak fighters and scouts started to spawn around and attack both me and pirates, bizzare! That could be fun bacause there was supposed to be also Boron counterstrike in few minutes (they wanted sector back). funny

[Avadhuta]

originally X3 was supposed to be space simulator, all this 'economy' is dropped here just for fun and actually meaningless.

I cry. Space shooter is game for 2-3 days. And X3TC quests are patetic.

[djrygar]

I cry. Space shooter is game for 2-3 days. And X3TC quests are patetic.

heh, not really, I play Warblade (arcade shootemup, in Amiga times known as Deluxe Galaga) much more than X3 for example Its just endless fun

[someone else]

With almost the same amout of work it could be done in way thats more immersive - in other thread I was giving example - some pirates give ultimatum to some space station, so station shouts for help (so there' defend station mission) - player may not want to help - but pirates will anyway attack the station (and they actually should use heavy missiles, not 5 busters to take down station). When station's shields drop to 10% station gives up and lets pirate transporter or drones to take its products and some money. they fly away, but either station or nearest military dock sets bounty for those pirates (assasination mission). If station gets destroyed - theres build station mission (of the same kind that was destroyed).. plenty of possibilities to actually tie those mission is some sensible way, not so disjoined random spawns that everytime remind you that it's just space shooter.

couldn't agree more. THAT is immersion man.

the "endless waves of xenons out of nowhere" are simply stupid.

Space shooter is game for 2-3 days. And X3TC quests are patetic.

Space shooters don't say "Trade Fight Buid Think", you know that Call Of Duty (not a space shooter) is a Shoot Em Up, but is a frikkin cool game (and all its sequels too).
If you like shooters you buy shooters, if you like something more complex you try TC... and you discover it is just another shooter.