[Script TC + AP][19-Mar-2010] Game Start Sector Reveal [v2]

[mark_a_condren]

Game Start Sector Reveal :

Code: Select all

This script has been used by Coruskane in X3:AP without any problems, so it should work without issue in AP. If it does play up however, please post with details of the issue.

Version 2 Now Released

Read next post down for further information on changes in this version.

As we all know, Start a new game and you have a limited amount of known Sectors. This doesn't suit you or how you want to play the game this time? Well this script may be for you.

This script is the result of a request made in this forum by amurph0.

This request was backed up by liquidlight88 who has helped in the development of this script.

The original topic can be found here, entitled [REQ SCRIPT] Pre-Programmed Universe Map

After starting a NEW game you will be given the option to add extra Sectors to your known sectors. You can select to do this by sector owner race and select as many Races as you want, and All Sectors owned by these races will become known to you.
You can also choose to do this from a list of all sectors and select as many Sectors individually from the list as you like. There is also the option to select an individual sector and have all sectors within a selectable number of jumps revealed. Just select the central sector and then you will then be asked for the number of jumps to display sectors for.
You can also use this Menu to View the Sectors that are now known to you. ESC'ing out of this menu will make no changes. However, if you wish to Undisplay (revert to Unknown status) a Sector that has become known to you, you can select them from the 'Remove Sectors from Display :" option and all selected Sectors will revert to an unknown status.

The Menu will remain open and you can make multiple selections and adjustments, adding sectors via any of the options and removing any you don't want. When you are happy with the Sectors that are now known to you, ESC out of the ‘Game Start Sector Reveal’ Menu and continue on with your new Game.

Any sectors that you choose to add will also come with the option to reveal their contents or not, revealing their contents shows any stations or asteroids that are present in that sector.

You will be given this option after the first 3 game loads. However, you will be only able to use the option Once. If you add sectors on first game load the option will not be displayed again. If you do not add sectors at this time by selecting ‘No’ from the “Run Game Start Sector Reveal Now’ question, it will displayed again at next game load. If you have not added sectors after the third game load the menu will not be available again until you start another new game.

Read next post down for further information on changes in this version.

Ok, now for some information you need to know.

- THIS WILL mark your game as ***modified***
- X3:TC v2.5 Required.

Available for Download in the following formats.


Game Start Sector Reveal is available for Download in both SPK and ZIP formats.

Googlecode is now being used for file hosting:

SPK :
[ external image ] Download Site: - googlecode -> Size: - 17.13kb

SPK Installation and Removal :
Use Cycrows Plugin Manager, Full or Lite.

OR

ZIP :
[ external image ]Download Site: - googlecode -> Size: - 24.29kb


Zip Installation and Removal :
Install by extracting the Zip file to your X3TC main folder or extract them to a place of your choice and manually copy them to the correct folders in your X3TC folder.

Remove Manually, no scripts need stopping. The scripts only runs at Game Load for the first 3 times after a new game Start. If the Expanding Sphere Feature is running and the script is removed the feature will stop.

Now for some details.

Game Start Question, Run Yes / No
[ external image ]
This will be displayed the first 3 times you load a game after a fresh start.

This is the Main Options Menu that is displayed.
[ external image ]

Display All Sectors Owned by Race.
[ external image ]
You can select as many Races as you want and All Sectors owned by these races will become known to you.

Choose Sectors to Display from List.
[ external image ]
You can also choose as many Sectors individually from the list as you like.
When you have finished adding sectors just select 'Display Now' at the top and these Sectors will become known to you.

Choose a Sector to Display and All Sectors within Selected Jumps.
[ external image ]
You will then be asked for the number of jumps to display sectors for. This was going to be a Radius but due to the possibility of displaying Sectors Many Jumps away without knowing how to get there this was changed to Jumps.

If any of the Add Sectors Options are chosen you will get a Yes / No questions. Do you want the sector contents revealed also. Selecting Yes will reveal all Stations and Asteroids. Selecting No will result in only the sector becoming known to you but not its contents.
[ external image ]

Then you will be asked if you wish to deploy Adv Sats in the Sectors.
[ external image ]

Select Displayed Sectors to Undisplay. (revert to Unknown status)
[ external image ]
You can use this Menu to View the Sectors that are now known to you. ESC'ing out of this menu will make no changes. However, if you wish to Undisplay (revert to Unknown status) a Sector that has become known to you, you can select them here and then select 'Remove Sectors from Display :" from the top and all selected Sector will revert to an unknown status.

The Menu will remain open and you can make multiple selections and adjustments, adding sectors via any of the options and removing any you don't want. When you are happy with the Sectors that are now known to you, ESC out of the Main Options Menu and continue on with your new Game.


Credit:
This script is based on the original idea and request of amurph0.
Further refinement and ideas were provided by liquidlight88.
Gazz - For suggesting the inclusion of the 'Expanding Sphere' Feature.


Permissions:

You can find an Unedited Permissions Statement Here :

Version History :

[19-Mar-2010] -> v2 Released.

• -> Added - ability to add Adv Sats to All or Shipyard Sectors.
  -> Added - Feature - Expanding Sphere.

[12-Mar-2010] -> Initial Release.

Resources Used :
Text File ID:
text file -> 9738

Command Slots:
None.

Hotkeys:
None


MarCon

[mark_a_condren]

Game Start Sector Reveal :
At the Start of a new game you have a pre defined number of sectors that are known to you. This is a fixed non selectable part of a new game start. The amount of known sectors will depend on the game start selected and this is fine if it’s your first time playing that game start. However, after having to rediscover sectors all over again with every new game start, this can get very frustrating after doing it several times.

So, after a request for an alternative to this situation, Game Start Sector Reveal was developed and refined with the aid of the X3TC forum users.

After starting a NEW game you will be given the option to add extra Sectors to your already known sectors. You can elect to do this in a variety of ways.

Display All Sectors Owned by Race :
You can select to do this by sector owner race and select as many Races as you want, and All Sectors owned by these races will become known to you.

Choose Sectors to Display from List :
You can also choose to do this from a list of all sectors and select as many Sectors individually from the list as you like.

Choose Sector to Display and All Sectors within Selected Jumps :
There is also the option to select an individual sector and have all sectors within a selectable number of jumps revealed. Just select the central sector and then you will then be asked for the number of jumps to display sectors for.

You can also view the sectors that have become known to you and remove any that you do not wish to be displayed yet.

Select known Sectors to Return to Unknown Status :
You can also use this Menu to View the Sectors that are now known to you. ESC'ing out of this menu will make no changes. However, if you wish to Undisplay a Sector that has become known to you, you can select it / them from the 'Remove Sectors from Display :" option and all selected Sectors will revert to an unknown status.

The Menu will remain open and you can make multiple selections and adjustments, adding sectors via any of the options and removing any you don't want.

Reveal Sector Contents :
Any sectors that you choose to make known will also come with the option to reveal their contents or not, revealing their contents shows any stations or asteroids that are present in that sector.

Deploy Advanced Satellites to Revealed Sectors :
Also, any sectors that you choose to make known will also come with the option to add an Advanced Satellite to them.
You will be given the option to deploy Advanced Satellites no matter which Reveal option you choose, just like ‘Reveal Sector Contents’.
If you choose to deploy Advanced Satellites, they will be placed in the centre of the sector, but 5km up off the ecliptic. x=0, y=5000, z=0

You can choose from the following options.

No :
No Satellites will be added to sectors.

Yes – Deploy in All Sectors :
All Sectors that you make known will have an Advanced Satellite added to the centre of the sector.

Yes – Deploy in Sectors with Shipyards Only :
Only Sectors that have a Shipyard in them will have an Advance Satellite deployed.


‘Feature - Expanding Sphere’
(Must be Used LAST!)

If you DO NOT want to use this feature.

When you are happy with the Sectors that are now known to you, ESC out of the ‘Game Start Sector Reveal’ Menu and continue on with your new Game.

However, if you DO wish to use the ‘Expanding Sphere’ feature.


What it does and what you can set:
-> First, you can still run any of the options that are available in version 1 as well as the new options available in version 2 as well as the Expanding Sphere, BUT, Expanding Sphere MUST be run LAST.

What it does:
-> Expanding Sphere starts in your current sector, wherever your starting sector is in your new game.
-> It displays sectors one at a time working it's way out from your current sector.
-> If you explore ahead of what is being revealed, if the next sector to be revealed is now known to you it will skip that sector and reveal the next sector in the list.
-> If you have the ‘Reveal Sector Contents’ 'On' or deploy Adv Sats 'On', the skipped sector will NOT have its contents revealed or an Adv Sat deployed.
-> This will also affect the Total Reveal Time, reducing it by 1 Reveal interval.

What you can set:
-> When you run it you will be asked for the totals hours you what it to take to Reveal all sectors. You can input from 1 hr to 30 hrs, just enter the number from 1 to 30. If you enter 0 it will default to 1, likewise if you enter a number greater than 30 it will default to 30.
-> You will then get a menu displaying the totals hours that you entered and what this equals as an interval between reveals. So you will know how often a new sector is revealed, if this is acceptable and what you want, selecting yes continues the script on. If this is NOT what you want, selecting no takes you back to the Hours input dialog. You can keep doing this until you get what you want.
-> After selecting YES you get the reveal sector contents question.
-> Next, You get the deploy Adv Sat menu, you can select, 'No', 'Yes-All Sectors' or 'Yes-Only Sectors with Shipyards'.
-> Next, Go play your game, it's all over

What it Doesn't do:
-> It does not display any sectors that are not connected, only sectors with a Jump Gate or Trans Orbital Accelerator are displayed.


You will be given the option to use ‘Game Start Sector Reveal’ after the first 3 game loads. However, you will be only able to use the option Once. If you add sectors on first game load the option will not be displayed again. If you do not add sectors at this time by selecting ‘No’ from the “Run Game Start Sector Reveal Now’ question, it will be displayed again at next game load. If you have not added sectors after the third game load the menu will not be available again until you start another new game.

[mark_a_condren]

Hi All,

Version 1 is now available for Download from the OP.

Enjoy, and as always, feedback welcome.


MarCon

[Alee Enn]

I was recently looking at Apricot's Merge Mod to see what it contained when I saw this :

APRICOT MERGE MOD
=================

This mod merges a lot of the smaller mods together so that they are compatible with each other in the same game.
The mod also includes some of the common script packs.

Currently includes :

102 New Ships
20 New factories
7 New Docks
2 New Guns
23 New Game Starts


Mods Included : (All mods are either TC v2.5 versions, or brought to 2.5 by inclusion.)
---------------

Apricot Mapping Service v2.11 by Apricotslice
....includes
....* 3 Game starts, AMS, Goner, Khaak
....* New Superstore Docks
....* AMS stations, Goner stations, Khaak infiltration stations
....* Jump to Derelict Command
....* Cbeam/Abeam/Dbeam collection scripts
....* UT/ST for most ships
....* Derelict ship creation
....* Apricot Claim Software
....* Beamdock command (replaces DockTS)
....* Auto update of known sectors each time game is loaded.
....* Extended PHQ with faster, no money building of ships, shields, guns and missiles
....* PHQ and Military Dock available to buy
....* Goner Temple and Goner Way Place available to buy
....* Known sectors updated each load.

Freight Distribution Network v4.04 by Logain Abler (using v3 models)
Strategic Sector Defense Network v2 by Logain Abler
Production Modules v4 by Logain Abler
Complex Cleaner v4.06 by Gazz
X2 Callback v0.07 by Killerog
Lusca and Thanotos by Axeface
Whitestar v1.2 by aXeL
Normandy v1.3 by Tenk
Battlestar Galactica 1.8 by Hawkbs
Vanilla Malt Starts, by Snowship
Mars Repair Lasers for Drones, by Gazz

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=254322

Does this not already do what you are working on ?

[mark_a_condren]

NicolaD

I understand your confusion, but no, two different things.

This script gives you the opportunity to pick what sectors are known to you at a new game start, and at NEW game start only. You only get the opportunity to actually run it Once, but you do get 3 chances to run it. After that the only extra sectors that become known to you are ones that you or your explorers discover. There is no auto updating.

MarCon

[Igor.tverd]

Even if so, it's a little unfair to compare script to a mod. I for one, much rather install a script and use it with mod of my choosing then extract similar script from another mod, and I'm not really sure that it's similar.
By the way, great work Mark. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it looks promising and I'll test it on my next start.

EDIT: I need to type faster.

[mark_a_condren]

By the way, great work Mark. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it looks promising and I'll test it on my next start.

EDIT: I need to type faster.

That's the issue with a script like this, it's Only useful at a new game start. You can load it at anytime into your game, but it has some checks put in place so it only (auto) runs at new game start. When you get a chance to give it a try, let me know how you found it and what you think. And, thank you for your comments, regardless of how fast they were typed.

MarCon

[Alee Enn]

Apologies, I didn't mean any offence.

I was thinking that what you wanted already existed, but as explained, what you are looking for is slightly different.

Maybe you'd be willing to let Apricot include it in his merge mod when it's finished ?

[mark_a_condren]

NicolaD

I don't think you did or said anything you need to apologise for, and there was deffinatly no offence taken, , and i may have come back a bit strong if you think you have caused any offence.

Version 1 is finished and released for download, see the OP.
EDIT: Now i know why you were under the assumption that it was still a work in progress, I forgot to take that line out of the OP. That line has now been removed, so thank you.

It will be up to Apricot Slice if he wants to include it or not, I have no problems with it being used.

This is the best way to get things resolved, ask a question you would like some info about and get an answer in return.

Anyone who gets upset by someone asking about something they don't know or understand about their work is in for a whole lot of upsets.

MarCon

[Gazz]

Feature suggestion:
expanding sphere.

When chosen, the script builds an array of sectors and how many jumps they are from the player's starting sector. (takes a bit to compute but it's only done once =)
These are sorted by distance.
Then one by one is uncovered every x seconds.
Sectors without any gates should be excluded.

That would simulate a natural progression without the hassles of charting the galaxy map.

[liquidlight88]

Checking this out now!


Mmm ... another suggestion; Sats' (need i say more?)

[mark_a_condren]

@GAZZ

It took me a minute to work out what you were getting at, but i got it now.
Sort of a Game Start Sector Contant Reveal.

Run an Al script that added one more sector to your known sectors every time interval. Just have to work out how long you wanted it to take to reveal all sectors any then divide that by the number of sectors to get your reveal interval.

Thats an interesting idea. Perhaps have it as an option, choose what you want revealed or reveal all over time.


@liquidlight88
Sorry 'Sats' (need i say more?) is just to vague and covers to much for me to understand what you are trying to get at.
It's proberly got to do with the fact that it's 3am here and i've just spent the last 2 1/2 hours writing up the info for Filefront for this script and my other script.

I will have another look at it tomorrow and it will prob make sence then

MarCon

[Ketraar]

I see you host this at filefront, just wondering why its not in the X3 Section of FileFront

MFG

Ketraar

[mark_a_condren]

I see you host this at filefront, just wondering why its not in the X3 Section of FileFront

MFG

Ketraar

Working on it
I have just spent the last 3 hours organising with TSM to have this and my other script put into the X section at filefront, so hopefully it will be there soon.

MarCon

[mark_a_condren]

Hi all,

Just a quick note to let you know that there has been a change to the file hosting.

The files are now hosted in the X3TC Section of FileFront.
The OP has been updated accordingly.

If you have already downloaded the file there is no need to redownload them as no files have been changed, only were they are hosted.

Many thanks to TSM for his help with this.

MarCon

[liquidlight88]

MarCon,

Hey this is a neat script and seems to work just fine for me, no probs. I'm sure this'll be a 'standard' install for me from now on.


About the sats ... how about an option asking if you would like to add an Adv Nav Sat to sectors revealed? (or alternatively only in those sectors revealed which have a shipyard?)

Anyway, good job it's great

[mark_a_condren]

liquidlight88

Thanks for the feedback, and i'm glad you liked it.
As for the sats', yes thats an option i can look at including.

What i would like, is so feedback on some more fiddling i've been doing with it in regards to Gazz's 'expanding sphere' suggestion for reveal over time.

So we have 220 connected sectors, plus the unconnected ones which will not be revealed.

Ignoring the fact that you have a number of sectors revealed at game start anyway, i'm trying to work out how long it should take to reveal all sectors.

Any sectors that are known to you are excluded from the list of sectors to reveal but i'm going to refer to the 220 figure so i have a figure to work with here.

If for example you use the figure of 4 game hours to reveal all 220 sectors, this works out to revealing 1 sector every 65 seconds.
Sectors are revealed in an expanding sphere out from your starting sector one at a time.

Is this time to short and should it be a longer interval? Remembering that you don't want it to take forever to reveal them all or you wouldn't use a script like this.

At a rate of 1 every 65 secs it is very possable to get ahead of the auto reveal and do your own exploring if you want and still have sectors that you don't need to visit personally revealed over time.

So, what are your thoughts so far?

MarCon

[liquidlight88]

I really like Gazz's idea of the gradual revealing of sectors ... makes a nice alternative (and you can watch it expand!)

I think 4 game hours is mutch too fast though. I was thinking more like 20 game hours or thereabouts. If it feels too slow then the player would be forced to explore themselves in whichever direction they wish. Too fast and the player is denied the opportunity to explore, ... so i think a bit longer.

[mark_a_condren]

liquidlight88

yeah, i think your right, i just finished running a test and 4 hours does seem to quick.

Then again, there is the option of having the option. Damn, that gets me confused just reading that bit .

By this i ment, make it a user input, enter how many hours you want it to take to reveal all sectors and make it a min of say 4hrs and a max of 20hrs. That way you can change it for if you intend to play a quick game or you are in for the long haul.

Same other option of reveal sector contents Yes / No

I also have the option to allow you to use the existing reveal options and then run the 'Expanding Gazzez Sphere' option as well to reveal the rest over time.

MarCon

[Alee Enn]

Hi Mark,
I've been trying out your script (I actually returned to played ***modified*** because of it),
and I'd like to make a suggestion, how about revealing sectors for races as you discover that race (the "Found area dominated by Argon / Boron / Paranid etc in message log).
This could be explained as your ships computer being updated as you 'discover' each new race.

If I play as Terran, having been cut off from the commonwealth until recently. I only know about the Terran sectors north of Heretics End (using your script as it is now). As I explore south, I find the area dominated by the Argon, my ship's computer updates my map with all the Argon sectors. Then I find the area dominated by Teladi and the ship's computer updates again with the Teladi sectors. This continues with each new race I find except the Xenon & Kha'ak, these not being friendly races won't update the ship's computer, they just want to kill everything.

Well, that's my suggestion, what do you (or anyone else) think ?