[SCRIPT][AP] Universal Cargo Transfer (UCarT)

[akeelah]

Universal Cargo Transfer (UCarT)

Unleash the power of your Transporter Device!

Note: Universal Cargo Transfer is for X3 AP only.



Introduction

Harntell Industries is pleased to announce the immediate release of Universal Cargo Transfer (UCarT), the new gold standard in cargo handling utility software for ships of all classes. Employing a revolutionary new software architecture that takes full advantage of today's powerful ship-based Board Computers, UCarT makes previously difficult or impossible cargo/personnel transfers routine, safe, and reliable.


Features

• Transfer cargo between two ships -- faster and more capable than the stock "Exchange Freight With…" command. (For example, transfer a Jumpdrive and some E-Cells directly from that Discoverer landed in your Boa to that just-captured Blastclaw Proto -- no need to involve the Boa at all).
• Transfer passengers / Marines between two ships
• Transfer stations between two TLs
• Collect flying wares (crates); collect a specific crate, or all crates in Transporter Range
• Collect astronauts (bailed pilots and/or Marines); collect a specific astronaut, or all astronauts in Transporter Range
• Collect deployed items such as Satellites, Lasertowers, Mines (the exploding kind), and Drones; collect a specific item, or all items in transporter range
• Load player-owned stations (including player HQ and mines (the mineral harvesting kind)) back into a TL to be redeployed elsewhere.
• Provides a single MultiTap Hotkey which can be configured to perform different functions when tapping it multiple times (the required Hotkey Library is included in the UCarT download, below -- hat tip to Gazz)
• A comprehensive Preferences Menu allows you to customize the level of detail, audible feedback, and MultiTap Hotkey functions to your liking
• Fully functional both in-sector and out-of-sector; runs on all player-owned ships with Special Command Software installed (hotkey functionality is obviously limited to the player ship, and station transfer functions are limited to TLs, of course).
• Does not invoke the Autopilot ("Command Accepted"), nor does it interrupt the command(s) currently running on your ship(s).
• Smooth, responsive, menus update dynamically in real-time, and provide a wealth of information (they even respond correctly to the ESC and DEL keys!)

Downloads, Installation and Uninstallation (is that even a real word?)

• Click here to download
• The ZIP file contains an SPK file that can be installed using the Plugin Manager as well as the script and T files that can be installed manually
  • Manual installation is a breeze; there are 29 script files (copy them to the Addon/scripts directory), and 1 text file (copy it to the Addon/t directory).
  • Manual removal is a breeze, too; simply delete the files referenced above.

Requirements

• Special Command Software MK I
• A Transporter Device is required for most (but not all) features; as such it is not required to make the UCarT command available.

Game Resources Used

• Command Slot: 524 (Special Commands, slot 24)
• T-File / Page: 8276

Screen Shots

[ external image ]
The Main Menu showing a list of ships within Transporter Range of the ship that invoked UCart (Hyper Ion), grouped by location, sorted by class and name. The ship Discover 01 (Trainer) was selected. Note that Hyper Ion is in space, but Discover 01 (Trainer) is docked at Albatross 01, which is docked at Aran 01, which is docked at Hartnell HQ (Headquarters).



[ external image ]
The Cargo Menu showing a list of items aboard each ship. Items in red are ineligible for transfer due to space constraints (not seen in this image: items in orange are built-in and cannot be removed, thus they too are ineligible for transfer). Fighter Drone was selected.



[ external image ]
The Transfer Menu showing the selected item and a "Trade Bar" allowing the user to enter the desired quantity to transfer -- in this case, five (5) Fighter Drones. Pressing ENTER or clicking the OK button will complete the transfer of five (5) Fighter Drones from Discoverer 01 (Trainer) to Hyper Ion.

[Edited to activate download link, and correct a few typos]

[akeelah]

Preferences Menu


The Preferences Menu allows you to configure UCarT to your liking. By default, UCarT's information density is rather high. If (like the author), you're a card-carrying member of the "Information Is Power" Club, you likely won't mind. However, for the "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" Club members, UCarT's Preferences Menu allows you to dial back the amount of information displayed in each menu. Furthermore, you can fine-tune the amount of verbal feedback from Betty, enable optional Remote Marine Collection (more below), and configure (or even disable) the MultiTap Hotkey feature.

The image below shows the default Preferences values.

[ external image ]



Preferences

• Hide ship info (top of menus): Hides the Info Lines at the top of each menu.
• Hide detail tags: Hides the textual detail "tags" appended to the names of some items to convey additional information. Currently supported tags:
  • [P] - the player ship (the ship that you, the player, are personally flying at the moment)
  • [+] - the player ship's current target
  • [T] - this ship has a Transporter device installed
  • [M] - this astronaut is a Marine
  • [ I ] - this ware is illegal in this sector
  • [ ! ] - this mine is armed
• Hide ship classes: Hide the 2-character class abbreviation that is normally prepended to each ship name (ship classes are never displayed in the "Location" column)
• Hide ship IDs: Hide the ship IDs that are normally appended to each ship name (ship IDs are never displayed in the "Location" column)
• Target Priority - Menu: Target Priority (see below) is enabled when the Main Menu is invoked via the Player Ship's Command Consol (as opposed to via the hotkey)
• Target Priority - Hotkey: Target Priority (see below) is enabled when the Main Menu is invoked via the hotkey (as opposed to the Player Ship's Command Console)
• Target Priority Explained
• When enabled ("Yes"), Target Priority bypasses the Main Menu and causes UCarT to act immediately on the Player Ship's current target as if that object it had been selected from the Main Menu. Obviously, Target Priority has no effect when UCarT is invoked on a ship other than the Player Ship. For example:
  • If you currently have another of your ships targeted, and it is in Transporter Range, the Main Menu will be bypassed and the Cargo Menu will be displayed immediately.
  • If you currently have a crate (flying ware), or astronaut targeted, and it is in Transporter Range, it will immediately be beamed aboard (assuming all other prerequisites are met, of course -- sufficient space, transport class, Cargo Lifesupport System, etc.)
• Verbal item confirmation: Betty will say the name of the selected / transferred item
• Verbal transfer confirmation: Betty will confirm the transfer (either "Cargo bay now contains…" or "transferred")
• Transfer confirmation beep: The familiar beep sounds are used to confirm both successful and unsuccessful transfer attempts
• Enable Remote Marine Collection: This feature is disabled by default. Enabling it will present a warning message informing you of the following (see subsequent post for additional information):
  

  You have enabled Remote Marine Collection. This feature allows you to remotely instruct one of your other ships (that is, one that you are not currently flying yourself) to transfer Marines from space to it's cargo hold, provided it has a Transporter Device installed.
  
  However, using a Transporter Device to transfer a Marine from space to any ship other the player's personal ship will erase / reset the Marine's statistics (but not skills). These statistics are purely informational. Erasing / resetting them will not impact your Marine's ship-capturing abilities or skill levels in any way. Only your Marine's history regarding the number of trainings, boarding attempts, successful hacks, etc. will be lost -- all those hours and credits spent on training will continue to pay off. Even so, if you wish to preserve your Marines' statistics, do not use this feature.

• Hide ineligible items: Don't include items in the Cargo Menu that are ineligible for transfer.
• Hide ineligible items: Don't include items in the Cargo Menu that are ineligible for transfer.
• Hide installed shields / weapons: Don't include installed shields and weapons in the Cargo Menu
• Group with Goods (disabled if item above is set to "Yes"): Don't create a separate section in the Cargo Menu for installed shields and weapons; just group them together with other Goods
• Hide Marines: Don't include Marines in the Cargo Menu
• Hide passengers: Don't include passengers in the Cargo Menu
• Hide stations: Don't include stations in the Cargo Menu (applies only to ships of class TL)
• Hide empty sections: Don't show section headers and "-- None --" entry in the Cargo Menu for sections with no eligible items
• Hotkey mode: Enable or disable the MultiTap Hotkey. When "MultiTap" mode is selected, the hotkey will perform different functions when tapped rapidly multiple times (see additional configuration options below). When "Standard" mode is selected, the hotkey simply invokes the UCarT Main Menu (note that Target Priority - Hotkey works the same in either mode). Choosing "Standard" disables the other MultiTap Hotkey Preferences items.
• Key press delay (ms): determines how quickly you must tap the hotkey for it to register as a MultiTap. Smaller numbers make for more responsive menus, but also require a quicker finger. Adjust to your keyboard, finger speed, and preference. The recommended default by the Hotkey Library's author (Gazz) is 400 ms. Personally, I like it much quicker (150 ms) -- but I have a pretty quick trigger finger and a responsive keyboard. Feel free to experiment.
• One Tap - Tap the hotkey once to invoke the selected function (see the list below for available functions)
• Two Taps - Tap the hotkey twice to invoke the selected function (see the list below for available functions)
• Three Taps - Tap the hotkey three times to invoke the selected function (see the list below for available functions)
• Four Taps - Tap the hotkey four times to invoke the selected function (see the list below for available functions)
• Five Taps - Tap the hotkey five times to invoke the selected function (see the list below for available functions)

Available MultiTap Functions -- each one can be assigned to any of the five MultiTap options above:

• Main Menu: summons the UCarT Main Menu
• All Crates: attempts to beam aboard all flying wares (crates) within Transporter range of the Player Ship. Obviously, there must be sufficient space in the cargo bay.
• All Astronauts: attempts to beam aboard all astronauts (bailed pilots and/or Marines) within Transporter range of the Player Ship. Obviously, there must be sufficient space in the cargo bay, and Cargo Lifesupport System must be installed.
• All Deployed Items: attempts to beam aboard all player-owned deployed items within Transporter range. Deployed items can include Satellites, Drones, Mines (the exploding kind), Lasertowers, etc.
• Preferences Menu: summons the UCarT Preferences Menu

• Reset all Preferences to default values: resets all Preferences to their default values
• About…: summons the About UCarT menu
• Done: dismisses the About UCarT menu, returning to the previously displayed menu / screen.

[akeelah]

A word about Remote Marine Collection and Marine Statistics


As explained above, Remote Marine Collection is a UCarT feature that allows you to transfer astronauts that are Marines from space to one of your ships other than the ship you are currently flying (hence the term "Remote"). This feature must be explicitly enabled via the Preferences Menu. The reason is simple: using Remote Marine Collection will permanently (and irreversibly) reset the transferred Marine's statistics. Statistics are different from skills; to the best of our knowledge (anyone with additional definitive information, please feel free to chime in -- this post will be updated accordingly), these statistics are informational only. Their loss will not impact your Marine's skill levels or ship-capturing ability. Even so, if you wish to preserve your Marines' statistics, then don't use Remote Marine Collection.


Information screen for a Marine before Remote Marine Collection:

[ external image ]



Information screen for the same Marine after Remote Marine Collection:


[ external image ]


NOTE
Note that transferring an astronaut that is a Marine from space to your Player Ship is always enabled, and does not affect your Marines' statistics. Note also that transferring a Marine from one ship to another (regardless of whether or not the Player Ship is involved) is always enabled, and does not affect your Marines' statistics.


Legal

So there. You've been warned. The author and Hartnell Industries (we) assume no liability for the loss of your Marines's statistics (the stats) should you (you) choose to enable and subsequently utilize the copiously documented Remote Marine Collection feature (the feature) of Universal Cargo Transfer (a product of Hartnell Industries, Software Systems Division; the software). We make no warranties, claims, representations, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this post, and expressly disclaim liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this post or any subsequent posts on this or any other subject. For ever. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or freedom from nasty bugs, is given with respect to the contents of this post or the software described herein. Under 17 not admitted without adult. Ask your doctor if you're healthy enough for Remote Marine Collection. Side effects definitely include the loss of your Marines' statistics.

[akeelah]

Usage Notes / Suggestions -- in no particular order. This may evolve into a FAQ if there are questions that wind up being asked frequently.

1. Following installation, you'll want to assign a hotkey in the usual manner -- that is, open the sidebar, choose "Controls", and select the "Interface" tab. Scroll down to the bottom of the list to the "Extensions" section and you will find "Universal Cargo Transfer". Select it, then select "Add Control", and press the desired key once. Select "Apply". Dismiss the "Controls" menu, and be sure to save your changes when prompted to do so.
2. Once the hotkey has been assigned, it will (by default) perform five different functions simply by tapping it from one to five times (the functions can be reassigned in the Preferences Menu):
   • Tap once to summon the UCarT Main Menu
   • Tap twice to instantly beam aboard all flying wares (crates) in Transporter range
   • Tap three times to instantly beam aboard all astronauts in Transporter range
   • Tap four times to instantly beam aboard all player-owned deployed items in Transporter range
   • Tap five times to summon the Preferences Menu
3. A Transporter Device is required for most of UCarT's features -- without one, it isn't very useful. However, UCarT is available even in the Command Consoles of ships that lack a Transporter Device. Two reasons:
   • The one UCarT feature that doesn't require a Transporter Device: transferring items between two ships when at least one is docked at another ship which is in turn docked at a station (or potentially, another ship) and the second ship is also docked at the same top-level ship or station. It doesn't come up often (at least in my games), but when it does, UCarT is a lifesaver.
   • UCarT can be used by a ship with no Transporter Device to transfer items with a second ship that does have one. This is especially useful in ship-capturing operations. A just-captured ship seldom has a Transporter Device aboard. However, it can still use UCarT to transfer your Marines back to one ship, then transfer a Jumpdrive from another ship (one usually docked at still another ship), and Energy Cells from another ship. By using the ESC key to return the UCarT Main Menu following each transfer, you can quickly select a different target ship, and transfer something else -- quick and easy, and no need to return to the Command Console again and agin.
4. The "Load a station..." command can only be used to load player-owned, free-standing stations (those that are not part of a complex) into a player-owned TL. Note that loading a mine back into a TL will destroy the asteroid on which it was originally placed. I don't know if the asteroid will later re-spawn.
5. UCarT's menus are dynamic, updating in real-time. As such, you may notice items appearing and disappearing from the menus on occasion. For example, if a ship (crate, astronaut, or deployed item) moves out of Transporter range, it will be removed from the menu, and transfers will be impossible. This can be especially disorienting if you have chosen (via Preferences) to hide ineligible items and/or empty sections. If the transfer of a given item reduces the cargo capacity of the receiving ship such that other items suddenly become ineligible, those items will disappear from the Cargo Menu. It can take some getting used to -- so be aware of that when using any of the "Hide..." preferences.
6. Also note that while the data presented in the menus is updated "behind the scenes" very quickly, the game's Custom Menu system only updates on-screen menus approximately once per second. As such, changes can appear to lag slightly, and there is nothing we can do about it via scripts. This is most noticeable in the Transfer Menu when using the "Trade Bar" to select a desired transfer quantity. The lag can be annoying, but you get used to it after a while.
7. The "Trade Bar" is the familiar user interface widget used for selecting a quantity of wares to transfer/buy/sell in the X-Games. It has only just been made available to scripters as a Custom Menu item in Albion Prelude. Sadly, it's implementation is not as robust as the built-in Trade Bar. Here's my advice for making the best use of it in UCarT: Ignore the numbers immediately to the left and the right of the Trade Bar (highlighted in orange in the screenshot below). Unfortunately, they cannot be hidden; they are required to make the Trade Bar function as intended, but they're not very helpful to the user. Instead, watch the numbers highlighted in green below (keeping in mind item 5, above regarding menu lag).
   
   
   [ external image ]

[markdeno]

I am certainly going to give this a try. Recalling drones would be worth a fortune in itself.

[Logain Abler]

Looks a smart script, unfortunately I’ve had to removed it, it overwrites and removes the Community Plugin Configuration hotkey from my game.

Tested a few time with the same result. I'll try with a claen game start.

Update: With a new games start it's fine, it doesn't overwrite the Community Plugin Configuration hotkey.

LA

[akeelah]

@LA: Do you also have the Hotkey Manager installed? The UCarT setup script attempts to use the Hotkey Manager first, and falls back to "standard" hotkey registration if the Hotkey Manager is not installed.

The hotkey registration system in AP is said to be a bit buggy. On occasion when installing new scripts, I've had hotkey assignments mysteriously move from one key to another, often times overwriting or clearing a few previously assigned keys. My solution has been to simply reassign the keys as I like them, and save the game. Afterwards it seems to work fine -- at least until I install another script that uses hotkeys, at which point the process starts over.

[joelR]

We need a rep system on these forums. +1. Fantastic work.

[leko]

Hi,

I just installed it in my AP

Seems to work but neither laser towers nor adv sat come up in my TL list, only Stations.

What is wrong ?

Leko

[akeelah]

Seems to work but neither laser towers nor adv sat come up in my TL list, only Stations.

Can you elaborate a bit? Are you attempting to transfer Advanced Satellites and/or Lasertowers currently in your TL's cargo bay to another ship? Or are you attempting to transport currently deployed sats/towers aboard your TL. Either should work just fine.

[leko]

...transfer Advanced Satellites and/or Lasertowers currently in your TL's cargo bay to another ship? Or are you attempting to transport currently deployed sats/towers aboard your TL...

Hi, akeelah,

Think some mod was interfering before, seems to work now, I just have to study the commands more closely ! (Stations worked, advsat not on list)
Just started a new game (ARGON Humble Merchant) an had to work up again. Can buy again what I want, so tested Atmospheric lifter, it did not "see" my adv sat first and when I came close saw it and "ate" it, I dropped the a sat again , ran Ucart on the lifter - he ate it again!
So, back to the commands!:roll:

Will keep testing, CU , Leko

ps: nice work !

[Ghostrider[FVP]]

hello,

i think too .. very nice idea and good work

[akeelah]

Think some mod was interfering before, seems to work now, I just have to study the commands more closely ! (Stations worked, advsat not on list)
Just started a new game (ARGON Humble Merchant) an had to work up again. Can buy again what I want, so tested Atmospheric lifter, it did not "see" my adv sat first and when I came close saw it and "ate" it, I dropped the a sat again , ran Ucart on the lifter - he ate it again!
So, back to the commands!:roll:

Will keep testing, CU , Leko

ps: nice work !

Glad to hear it. Enjoy!