[Request Mod] Better deep range scanner ( Also know as better exploration )

[SparvieroGed]

I'd like to go in the deep space, out of sector and use the deep range scanner to find stuff.

I have some idea to improve this part of the gameplay.


1) Adding a small change to make spawn enemy ship using in the right way the scanner. Ex:

- 2% 2 fighters ( any criminal factions )
- 1% 3 xenon fighters
- 0,2% 1 L combat ship with 5 fighters ( any criminal factions )
- 0,1% 1 capital xenon ship with some other xenon to kick player ass

If the player run away, must find a way to make these ship desappear.


2) Adding a small change to find an abbandoned ship to reclaim. Ex.
- 0,1% a S class ship
- 0,01% a M class ship
- 0,001% a L class ship
- 0,0001% a XL class ship

3) Adding a small change to find a very good asteroid to mine

- 0,1% ore or sili
- 0,001% nividium

[Gazz]

Add to that increasing the duration that the "scanner pings" remain on the screen.

So far I had no luck in identifying their location in the game files.

[UniTrader]

from what i have seen those containers are not spawned by using the Scanners - i even found one (my first to be precise) without ever using the Long-Range-Scanner before. it was big luck though that i noticed it. the Scanner just makes it possible to locate them.

[Gazz]

It's still not a bad idea to directly spawn "far out" enemies when using the scanner.
It creates a better illusion of "stuff being out there which has been alerted by your scan" without bogging down the game with a lot of actors that have no direct effect on anything.

It has to be done carefully, though.
For instance, repeated scans while staying in the same spot would not spawn more stuff.

You have to travel a distance of X km before the chance to spawn new "random encounters" resets.

[UniTrader]

i only refered to the 2nd point with the treasure chances ^^

and for the enemy spawn-part: i would say start with 0% chance to spawn enemys, increase that value with every Scan by 1% (may depend on charge state) and reduce it by 1% every 15s - that way the more intensive you scan a region the more likely is it to encounter enemys. once enemys are spawned reduce that chance to some negative value, so that for the next few minutes no enemys spawn (handle negative values as 0% and increase them over time instead of decreasing)

[Gazz]

Using that logic you would be guaranteed to get enemies, regardless of where you are scanning.

[SparvieroGed]

You both have wonderful idea.

Yes...this mod must be done very careful. But i think that it can be very beautiful! And there is a lot of room for improvement.

What about, in the future, make to spawn a xenon that active a random quest that lead to a xenon station hidden in the deep space? ecc.ecc.ecc.

However UniTrader i think the way you expose to increase and decrease % are very interesting...but the spawning must not be prevedible.

Needs to be always a little change that something can happen.

Sorry for my english XD

[UniTrader]

you have a point there, but i think its more believable if you are more likely to have enemy encounters if you are doning intensive scanning, since it looks like crying for attention from the outside. if you just scan every few minutes i dont think anyone would care or take it as sensor error. at least some dynamic in the probabilities is good i think. (maybe with a cap of eg 5% to spawn anything, and if anything spawns use your example distribution)

[Gazz]

Well, it should work dynamically anyway.

Like...

• If you scan, the current chance for additional "random encounters" in the same spot is halved.
  It is still a chance, though, so repeated scanning does increase the total chance.
• A distance of 10 km is defined as X.
• If you move 1/2 X km from the last recorded scan, the chance is reset to half and this spot is recorded as the "last recorded scan spot".
  
  If you move X km, it is reset to full on the next scan.

[TerminalVelocity3DR]

I've succeeded to increase the time objects are displayed by editing 2 files.

assets/fx/misc/scfx_result_good_01.xml

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<diff>
	<replace sel="/components/component[@name='scfx_result_good_01']/connections/connection[@name='Connection01']/animations">
		<animations>
			<animation name="playonce" start="1" end="540"/>
		</animations>
	 </replace>

	<replace sel="/components/component[@name='scfx_result_good_01']/connections/connection[@name='Connection01']/parts/part[@name='anim_nova']/uv_animations/uv_animation[@mapchannel='1']/uv_property[@name='u_offset']">
		<uv_property name="u_offset" controller="linear_float">
			<key frame="0" value="0"/>
			<key frame="10" value="0.15"/>
			<key frame="540" value="0.25"/>
		</uv_property>
	 </replace>
</diff>

libraries/effects.xml

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<diff>
  <replace sel="/effects/effect[@name='scfx_result_bad_01']/elements/element[@id='1']/@duration"> 
   18
 </replace>
</diff>

replace the 540 and 18 with some higher value, atm I have set it to about 6x longer than before. Put it to 900 and 30, and you have a lot of time (10x longer) before the rings disappear.

*Edit*
Standard times are 90 for the end keyframe and 3.0 for the duration. I had a slight difference from the original file in there, from copypasting, because I literally had to try out all 3 different result files one after another to find out which file is which and which file does what and wanted to make it quick - thats how mistakes happen, ehem. But it worked anyway, nothing major.

Since some *not-so-nice person* said "Who I am again" (when I said I did a lot of modding) and that "I dont know shit about modding", here you go - I know more than enough, just dont like sharing. You guys are welcome though, and I'm out.

[Gazz]

Thanks a lot! Going to try later. Maneuvering to catch/shoot crates is such a hassle with them being invisible most of the time.

I've been digging through effects, particles... anything I could think of but never found that one. =)

Since some *not-so-nice person* said "Who I am again" (when I said I did a lot of modding) and that "I dont know shit about modding", here you go - I know more than enough, just dont like sharing. You guys are welcome though, and I'm out.

I didn't see that or I'd have slapped said person around a bit. =)
At this point we're mostly experimenting and figuring out what works so there are no experts.