Bullwinkle's List

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Sun, 20. May 12, 09:45

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Signal_Targeted for TC/AP
[ external image ]v1.07 (with Emergency Jump)
[ external image ]v1.05 (signal only - no emergency jump)

Also: Signal_Targeted Library (for script-writers)
[ external image ]

Signal_Targeted alerts you when your ships have been *targeted*... which is often a few vital seconds before they are *attacked*. This gives you a better chance to rescue them.

New! Emergency Jump automatically jumps the attacked ship to a nearby (random) sector, then resumes previous command.

If you run Signal_Targeted on the player ship, it will send you an email with a list of all of your ships running Signal_Targeted.

History

v1.07 2013-05-09
- Updated Emergency Jump text to work for capital ships.
- begin task if there is nothing to interrupt (jumps even if ship has no current orders).
- Improved auto-update on new version.
- Cleaned up setup script.
- Added compatibility with Emergency Jump script.

v1.06 (2013-05-08 )
- Increased scan range.
- Added Emergency Jump routine (only when player is not flying the ship).

v1.05
- Colored indicator added to the menu choice, so that you can easily see when Signal_Targeted is running on a ship.
- Toggle menu description to indicate running state.
- New command slots 453 and 454 to avoid conflict with Ship Loot! by Mailo

v1.04 Bullwinkle 2012-05-09
Based on v1.03.1 (for X3: Reunion) by eladan (X3:R Thread: http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=158071)
Recompiled for X3TC and X3AP

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Tech Talk: Version 1.05 uses a trick to change the menu, which consumes three command slots. Although I picked empty slots from the registry, there are not all that many slots available. Therefore, I left version 1.04 posted, just in case v1.05 causes compatibility problems for anyone (either now or in the future).

v1.04 (Only if you have compatibility trouble with v1.05)

Version 1.04 is a straight recompile of eladan's Signal_Targeted from X3: Reunion.

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garrry34 · Post by **garrry34** » Mon, 21. May 12, 08:07

sorry for taking so long in getting back, been otherwise occupied over the weekend, did a bit of experimenting, if i stop the DCS on the DC the problem stops but if I start it on them again the problem returns, seems it only take affect on enemy ships in the same sector as active DC.

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Mon, 21. May 12, 08:44

garrry34 wrote:if i stop the DCS on the DC the problem stops but if I start it on them again the problem returns, seems it only take affect on enemy ships in the same sector as active DC.

Bizarre. I don't see any way that a task running on one ship could affect the others.

My only theory is that you might have an old copy of LSDC interfering with DCS.

However, if you don't want to send me a saved game to examine, then our debug options are limited. Here is one thing you could try:

1) Back up your scripts folder.
2) Back up your saved games.
3) Delete scripts\plugin.LSDC.*
Delete scripts\al.LSDC.event.xml
Delete scripts\al.plugin.LSDC.register
4) Install the following special version that I made just for you:

DCS Drone Carrier Software v1.31 -- Attempt to fix garry34's problem.

garrry34 · Post by **garrry34** » Mon, 21. May 12, 08:48

sorry, the only reason I haven't sent the save game is because I am using a personal edit of XRM and I would need to send you more than just the save files, I will gice 1.31 a whirl and let you know later whats happening...

...thanks for the additional help...

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Mon, 21. May 12, 08:51

garrry34 wrote:I am using a personal edit of XRM and I would need to send you more than just the save files

OK. That is possible, but more of a chore.

Try the above test first, and let me know if it helps. If that does not work, then consider posting the save and your .cats/.dats.

(You can zip them up to make them smaller.)

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Wed, 23. May 12, 01:28

Updated Free Jump for AI's:

v1.4.03 Bullwinkle 2012-05-21
- Package actually works now. Previous version had missing .pck's. (Thanks for the reports)
- Added jump timer for AI's.
- Re-implemented charging credits for jump. (But jump even if we have to borrow credits from a friend.)
- AI's should no longer ask about jumping with followers.
- Fixed obscure bug in !move.jump that could cause jump to null sector if targetPos passed in incorrect format.

Aegyen · Post by **Aegyen** » Wed, 23. May 12, 03:02

Will let you know if it does anything 'funky'..

(Free Jump)

As of yet, DCS has yet to be anything other than what the tin says. I was considering suggesting that it be made into it's own piece of ware, that would justify it only requiring FCS, the other software routines being built-in. I saw in another thread, the discussion about creating, and using new wares, so that would have to be up to you.

Another thing, to make it more immersive, would be to make it so it can 'control' only so many drones of each type, but you must supply the drones. (MARS like)

And, in considering MARS, please make sure nothing in your script would interfere with MARS' turrets. Considering the amount of room the DC's have, for autolooting, and the missile defense, MARS offers, this is very handy to run on the same ship. A drone ship in every sense of the word.

The only conflict that could arise (that I can easily see), would be if there were not enough drones on board to meet both scripts requirements. Not sure what would ensue if they both tried to 'program' the same drone.

(I will try it tonight, and tell you..

)

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Wed, 23. May 12, 04:06

Thank you for the report.

Aegyen wrote:I was considering suggesting that it be made into it's own piece of ware

DCS's ancestor, LSDC, required Fight Command Software, Carrier Command Software, and Patrol Command Software. In my experience, both personal and observations on the forum, it seems that people have trouble keeping track of all of the required wares for various scripts. It is frustrating when a script does not work and you don't know why!

That is why only Fight Command 1 is required. It could be Carrier Command Software, but I have heard that there are players who do not even know that it exists. So I stuck with FCS1. At least that is common.

I am open to other ideas, but my thought about equipment, in general, is that the best gameplay experiences with equipment happen early in the game; when you are trying to scrape together enough cash to be able to afford your first jumpdrive... if only you could find one. That's fun! But, later in the game, equipment is more hassle than fun.

On the other hand, the pricing and behavior of the Turbo Booster are excellent. That is one custom ware that I like in mid-game. So custom wares can be good... it is just that most of them seem flawed in some way. The EMP system is very restrictive, in that prices and required notoriety are already set.

If I find a reliable way to make a custom ware that works well, then I will certainly add it.

make it so it can 'control' only so many drones of each type

Yes, that is the primary feature of the planned "Balanced Mode". Also, it will have different behavior when In-Sector with the player. Possibly no drones at all in-sector... or maybe just fewer. I am not sure yet. Also, Balance Mode will charge more for on-board drone replication. I am thinking on the order of hundreds of thousands of credits. A Drone Carrier is so much easier to use than a real carrier -- there is no reason for it to also be less expensive.

Operating costs for a drone carrier will be somewhere near the costs of a real carrier; perhaps a bit more or less. There might even be the possibility of varied costs depending on the battle power of the carrier. For example, the ability to launch 25 drones might be less expensive than a normal carrier. The ability to launch 75 drones might cost *more* than a normal carrier. There may even be the possibility to purchase upgrades to the DCS software. We shall see.

but you must supply the drones.

There are issues with the player supplying the drones:

- The logistics are complicated.
- The primary role of the Drone Carried is automated OOS patrol. Constantly feeding it drones seems contrary to the main goal.
- Some ships will launch drones on their own, and can spam them, especially OOS. So, if your Drone Carrier carries 1,000 drones, the vanilla routines might launch a hundred of them. That's bad. The best "cure" is to limit the number of drones on board. However, that more or less requires the ability to replace them on demand.

Eventually, I hope to expand DCS to include the new ship-type "race" drones in AP. When that happens, other possibilities open up.

No matter how you do it, if your Drone Carrier is out of drones when he is out on patrol, then he is going to get hammered by the first Q he runs into.

please make sure nothing in your script would interfere with MARS' turrets.

Of course. So far, DCS does not conflict with anything. MARS is one of my favorites, as well. Note that turrets are meaningless OOS, which is where the Drone Carrier should be, most of the time, so there is little chance for conflict anyway.

The only conflict that could arise (that I can easily see), would be if there were not enough drones on board to meet both scripts requirements.

Yeah, that might require some creativity. I would have to keep a small surplus number of drones on board. I think I can do it, but I can also envision potential complications. We shall see.

I will try it tonight, and tell you.

I would expect the current system to coexist OK with MARS goblins.

tejjets · Post by **tejjets** » Thu, 24. May 12, 11:46

Hi Dr Bullwinkle
Just tried to install DCS 1.31 and it comes up : error opening <the .spk> Unknown Error

Using Plug in Manager Lite 1.4 Beta 13 into Steam X3 AP

Please advise

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Thu, 24. May 12, 12:54

I just downloaded the .spk and installed it with no problem, tejjet. My only guess is that you got a bad download. Please try again.

I assume that you can install other .spks without trouble?

Also, the changes from 1.30 to 1.31 are minor. Mostly 1.31 checks for an unusual set of circumstances reported by garry34. While 1.31 is "good" as far as I know, you could also try 1.30 without fear of missing any great new features.

tejjets · Post by **tejjets** » Thu, 24. May 12, 17:13

Fixed it with a reload of Plug in Manager, sorry to trouble you.
Keep up the great work with the scripts
Many thanks

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Sat, 26. May 12, 20:54

Updated Upgrade Kits v1.6.05.

Now includes Cargo Bay Extensions.

Note that pricing is only approximate, due to limitations in Script Editor math, but was "close enough" in all of my test cases. A 15% service charge is then added for using the Upgrade Kit, so your total cost should always be a bit higher than buying the extensions at a Trading Port.

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Mon, 28. May 12, 07:25

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Super Script Killer Hotkey (SSK) (for captured/boarded ships)
Download: Super Script Killer (SSK) v1.06
[ external image ]

Ever have a ship disappear after you capped it? Or attack your friends when you are not watching?

This Hotkey fixes ships with runaway scripts resulting from boarding or capture.

Warning: Undock any docked ships before running this on a carrier (TM, TL, M7, M1, M2, M0).
Docked ships will be destroyed.

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History
v1.06 2012-08-31
Fixed bug that could sometimes cause broken freight transfer menu. (TheEarl, Thias)

v1.05 2012-05-28
Preserve owner race.
Rename scripts again.
Remove t file.
Clean up comments.

v1.04 Rename scripts

V1.03 2012-05-17
Tell user if Setup of hotkey fails.

v1.02 2012-05-12
Rewrite of the clone script to fix ware count issues.

v1.01 Added support for passengers.
Fixed numbers for some wares (still trouble with some missiles).
Re-set player tracking aim to target ship.
Removed warning about marines losing their service records.

v1.0 Setup creates Hotkey

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Tech Talk: Based on idea from LV, and code fragments from Cycrow and LV; then added a dash of Bullwinkle's Secret Sauce.

Handles wares, ammunition, missiles, turrets, and mounted weapons. Passengers and Marines are preserved (including their skills).

Does not work on Plot Passengers.

Requires Hotkey Manager

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DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Tue, 29. May 12, 07:31

New: Abandoned Ship Detector (ASD)

Abandoned Ship Detector (ASD)
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Inspired by the prototype "radar" in the Balance of Power Plot (TC), the Abandoned Ship Detector gives a repeating, audible, "tick" when there is an abandoned ship in the current sector. The sound changes to a "blip" when your ship is pointed in the general direction of the target. The blip repeats more frequently as you approach the target ship.

This makes hunting for abandoned ships more fun. It takes more work than simply finding them for you, but it is less painstaking than mapping an entire sector before you know whether or not there is anything to find.

Artificial Life Plugin (ALP). Can be toggled On or Off in the Gameplay / Artificial Life Settings menu.

Based on an idea proposed by X-Plorer and X2-Illuminatus in the "Metal Detector" thread.

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Also Added: Abandoned Ship Spawner for AP

This is CorbinBird's classic, with some fresh features:

- Added new AP ships.
- Cleanup of exisitng ship is now configurable in the t\7300 file.
Default is OFF = No Cleanup.
- New ship spawn time is now configurable in the t\7300 file.
Default = 1 hour (slower spawn rate)
- Ship name includes "(ASS)" so that you can identify ships added by A.S.S..

Aegyen · Post by **Aegyen** » Wed, 30. May 12, 01:56

DrBullwinkle wrote:Updated Free Jump for AI's:

v1.4.03 Bullwinkle 2012-05-21

Gave this a go, and I like it.

I did find one conflict it has. Lucike released a set of 'cheats' so to speak, of hidden settings, in his scripts. One allows any ship, using his 'pilot union' scripts, to free jump for Terran Sectors. I had it running before installing the Free Jump, and once Free Jump was in, the SRD pilots, in particular, started getting 'hung' in Albion Gamma. (They are set to patrol all those sectors, just to see how well they do in a mess like that..

)

Turning off Lucike's setting, that allows that, returned everything to normal.

Script conflict, I guess? First time I have seen that, but it is easily remedied. Maybe leave a note about it in the file's readme? It does have a readme?...

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Wed, 30. May 12, 02:49

Thanks for the feedback, Aegyeyn, and I am glad that you like Free Jump for AI's.

It is usually helpful if you can post a link. In this case, if you are referring to Saetan's recent list of settings in some of Lucike's t files, then I am familiar with it: id="11" in 8013-L0xx?

Aegyen wrote:the SRD pilots, in particular, started getting 'hung' in Albion Gamma.

Can you describe "getting hung" with less technical language?

You're right, though... I should mention that Free Jump for AI's is more prone to conflicts than most of the other scripts on The List. That is because Free Jump for AI's includes a mod of three vanilla scripts. Any other scripts or mods that change !move.jump, !move.jumptogate.nearest, or !lib.check.jumperror could conflict with Free Jump for AI's.

Both scripts allow your AI's to jump to Terran sectors, so you probably do not need both anyway.

I will update the Description for the next version -- the Description doubles as the ReadMe.

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Speaking of version updates...

Update: Upgrade Kits v1.6.06 -- Fixes bug in Cargo Bay Extensions. They should now work properly.

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Update: Abandoned Ship Spawner for AP -- Fixes default "No Cleanup". This means that A.S.S.-AP will not destroy existing ships unless you modify the t file.

Aegyen · Post by **Aegyen** » Wed, 30. May 12, 03:11

Yes, 8013.. Actually, he went one step further, and created a script package to bring them all under one t-file now.

http://forum.dvbtechnics.info/showthread.php?t=8641

They are all together in 8043, with that package.

As for being hung, yes, you are right... be more technical..

The SRD's will usually approach a patrol point using the 'buy ware' command, and then when the route is finished, they will jump to the next sector. They hang at the 'jump command'. I found them several times, sitting below a station in Gamma, with the command to jump to Beta on the menu, but no action taken.. Even let them sit there. Cheated them back to Enduring Light, and restarted them, only for them to repeat the same.

Once I changed the flag in 8043 back to NO, patrolling returned to normal.

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Wed, 30. May 12, 10:20

Aegyen wrote:The SRD's will usually approach a patrol point using the 'buy ware' command, and then when the route is finished, they will jump to the next sector. They hang at the 'jump command'.

Thanks for the link. Apparently, "der SRD" = "the SRS". Go figure.

I was curious about your report because my EST's use Free Jump for AI's without difficulty. And I *do* have id 11="YES" in my 8013 file.

So I looked at the files for SRD, and I do not see an obvious conflict. Without actually trying to reproduce your problem and trace it, let me ask this: Do your SRD ships have enough energy cells?

The reason that I ask is because Luckike does not appear to modify the same files, so I cannot figure out how it could possibly conflict with Free Jump for AI's.

However, Lucike sometimes uses his own jump scripts, so you would have to obey the requirements for those scripts. Presumably, that would include energy cells.

*Shrug*... it's just a SWAG (Simple Wild-Ass Guess).

Aegyen · Post by **Aegyen** » Wed, 30. May 12, 13:36

Yes, the SRD's had enough cells, I will try some different scenarios as I go, and see if I can't find the exact conditions.

DrBullwinkle · Post by **DrBullwinkle** » Wed, 30. May 12, 18:36

Is this post by Saetan related to the SRD/SRS Terran-jump-issue? Saetan reports that Terran jumps require a special installation (although I do not see the "cheat scripts" to which Saetan refers). I am not sure whether that post has current information.

In any case, I am not going to worry about SRS/SRD uless there is a conflict that I can reproduce. I do like to hear reports, though... feedback is the only way that I know whether the script is working for people.