[MOD] Manual Command Extension v0.20 (Updated : Jun 28, 2014)

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Berserk Knight
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[MOD] Manual Command Extension v0.20 (Updated : Jun 28, 2014)

Post by Berserk Knight » Tue, 7. Jan 14, 19:08

Original forum thread : http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=350741

Download : http://www.nexusmods.com/xrebirth/mods/357


I've gotten permission from Jack08, the original author of MCE to keep it updated for the new patches.

As of v0.14, I'm adding new features.


v0.17 and above requires BK Universal Menu System v2.0 (updated for XR 2.0) or higher to work.
http://www.nexusmods.com/xrebirth/mods/372

v0.16 requires BK Universal Menu System v1.1 (renamed from BK Universal Comm Menu) to work.
http://www.nexusmods.com/xrebirth/mods/372


---------- Updates ----------
v0.20
-Fixed glitchy booster movement reintroduced in XR 2.20.
-v0.19 had critical errors. Fixed them.


v0.18
-New combat scripts.

-Fixed the glitchy movement caused by in-zone boosting of capitals.
(The in-zone boosting's still there. I just found a way to do it without glitching.)

-Combat stances.
--Passive, Defensive and Aggressive for all capitals at all times.
--Defensive and Aggressive for fighters during escort/fleet.
(Escort/Fleet options have been slightly rearranged.)

-Includes "fixes" for station parts that were invulnerable for no good reason.
(Badlands Colony, Lonely Giant, Core Dig, Aqueduct can now be destroyed.)


v0.17
-Delete Orders.xml in the MD folder if you have installed any previous versions. (Or do a clean install and remove the MCE folder entirely before unpacking.)

-Some commands have been rearranged. (All are documented in the manual.txt file.)


v0.16
-Added a simple "manual.txt" with the layout of commands, and some clarifications on the targeting terms.

-Added 2 new "missions" that track units in the Mass Selection, and the MCE Target.

-MCE Targeting menu is also available from the Universe menu.
--The Universe menu variant of the MCE Targeting menu offers selecting targets through a list.
(Xenon ships can only be targeted this way.)


v0.15
---IMPORTANT!---
Please delete the ManualCommandExtension folder before installing MCE v0.15, as some of the old files are not needed.

Requires BK Universal Comm Menu to work.
http://www.nexusmods.com/xrebirth/mods/372

-Changes to previously implemented commands
-- Some of them can now be issued with other ships as targets. (Instead of just "move to my position and hold" you can also issue a "move to that ship's position and hold" too.)
-- Most of them had their scripts modified to handle various situations and work properly.

-Align to Target
-- Orders the ship to point directly at the target.

-Move Forward
-- Orders the ship to move straight forward a certain distance. (You get to set the distance in multiples of 5km, up to 25km.)

-Attack Target
-- Orders the ship to attack the target. It will not be available if the target is one of your own.

-Escort Commands
-- Has options for formations and break/engage distances.
-- Break distance can be 0 ("do not break formation") for capitals.
-- Sub-formations are available for fighters escorting capitals.

-Fleet Commands (Still a bit experimental. Haven't been able to test much.)
-- Basically "Escort Commands" with a built-in system to give simple orders to the escorted ship without needing to find and call said ship everytime.

-Targeting system
-- Comm menu based targeting system.
-- Currently can not target Xenon ships, due to not being able to open comms with them. (If you own them either through mods or editing, you should be able to open comms and target them.)

-Mass Selection/Commands
-- Add/remove single or multiple ships to the selection at once, and give certain orders to the entire selection in one go. (The number of orders available are currently extremely limited. This was planned for later, but kinda got rushed to help me test the Escort and Fleet commands...)
-- Currently limited to "Join/Leave Squad", "Escort Me/Target/This", and "Join Fleet". (As I said, extemely limited...)

-*Experimental!* Trade Option for traders/miners under Station Managers
(Completely experimental. Use at your own risk, or at least after saving the game. Couldn't get around to testing this one.)
-- Limit trade to wares currently in the cargo hold. (At least, that's what it's supposed to do.)
-- Reset the trade limit. (This one shouldn't cause problems.)


v0.14
-Updated for patch 1.24.

-Added an Eject/Come back aboard command to non-capital ships.
--The ship will travel to your location before the pilot leaves the ship. They will follow but not leave the ship within highways or "temporary zones" between the named zones.
--If you hired the pilot from a station, the pilot will come back aboard the Skunk, but only if there's enough space in the back room. Issuing the command also has the same requirement.
--If you didn't explicitly hire the current pilot from a station, the command can be issued regardless of free space in the back room, and the pilot will eject in an escape pod.

-Added a Drop Cargo command.
--Drops all cargo except for jump fuel. (I heard station managers occasionally fill up freighters under their command with unwanted, unneeded wares in numbers that can't be gotten rid of in any short period of time.)


---------- Known Issues ----------
v0.17
-For capital ships, using MCE's "Attack Target" commands results in some odd maneuvers once combat starts.
Last edited by Berserk Knight on Sat, 28. Jun 14, 09:23, edited 7 times in total.

jeroll3d
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Post by jeroll3d » Tue, 7. Jan 14, 20:57

oh, nice man! :lol:


:)
Entusiasta da série X3! The best game.

dijital
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Post by dijital » Wed, 8. Jan 14, 02:30

Excellent, way to come through on this. Berserk has some great mods and now MCE is in good hands (once again)!

INSTG8R
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Post by INSTG8R » Wed, 8. Jan 14, 05:37

Glad to hear it's being kept up.
Sys. Specs.
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UniTrader
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Post by UniTrader » Wed, 8. Jan 14, 06:04

You still havn't set the save="false" Attribute in the content.xml to make it removable from Savegames without Savegame-Edit? ;)

<content ………… save="false" ………>…………</content>
if not stated otherwise everything i post is licensed under WTFPL

Ich mache keine S&M-Auftragsarbeiten, aber wenn es fragen gibt wie man etwas umsetzen kann helfe ich gerne weiter ;)

I wont do Script&Mod Request work, but if there are questions how to do something i will GLaDly help ;)

pgargon
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Post by pgargon » Thu, 9. Jan 14, 20:51

The refuel order (by EgoSoft)in the menu is not function by v0.13. Could you say way? :?
I use version 1.22

Blackb1rd0
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Post by Blackb1rd0 » Tue, 28. Jan 14, 10:03

Does this mod have any known clashes with other mods. I would really like to use this mod but don't want to break my game with a mod clash. Great work. We would all be lost with this game if it wasn't for modders

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Informer
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Post by Informer » Fri, 31. Jan 14, 14:10

I can't get this mod to work anymore with the last beta 1.24RC3 patch, any one else has this problem?

Thomas Soltau
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Post by Thomas Soltau » Sat, 1. Feb 14, 16:23

Yes, confirm at least "Hold Position" doesn't work any longer, though ships told to do so with 1.23beta still do it. Newer ships follow U wherever U go, even stop doing trading actions (just forget them though they are still listed in the ship captain's details), but this might be a bug/feature newly introduced with this pathch. Wouldn't be the first one. The docking/undocking bug without being able to sell items seems to be back, too. At least I cannot deliver the 300 food rations to Solar Energeticum, and when I leave the zone, the trading ship follows me and doesn't continue to sell them. It's quite a bit....annoying to be stuck in the plot, once again.

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Informer
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Post by Informer » Sun, 2. Feb 14, 12:58

After some more testing I had the same problems. Ships keep following me everywhere, even if they are not in squad, I had to disable this mod for the time being, so I could go on with the game. But I miss the mod already.

clj
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Post by clj » Sun, 2. Feb 14, 22:24

I can also confirm that the manual command extension does not work with 1.24 RC3 beta. It is deeply frustrating.

I downloaded the 1.23 RC2 beta patch from a torrent site, copied just the .dat and .cat files (not the old version of the X Rebirth .exe) and replaced those .dat and .cat files in the game directory that were changed with 1.24. This fixed the mod, but removed a few of the nice features of 1.24, like the ability to call an NPC back on to your ship (for that, I use the human resources mod still). With some work, I may be able to isolate what they changed that broke this mod, and figure out how to fix it, eventually, but I'm really hoping the person maintaining this mod comes out with a 1.24 compatible version sooner. The game is absolutely unplayable without it. :(

clj
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Post by clj » Sun, 2. Feb 14, 22:24

...
Last edited by clj on Wed, 5. Feb 14, 01:02, edited 1 time in total.

clj
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Post by clj » Sun, 2. Feb 14, 22:24

I have managed to figure out how to fix it. See here:

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=362567
Last edited by clj on Wed, 5. Feb 14, 01:11, edited 2 times in total.

dijital
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Post by dijital » Mon, 3. Feb 14, 09:35

If it's going to be updated again it will most likely be at the next actual release version. Most mod authors don't update to beta patches, for example 1.24 has had 2 or 3 hotfixes already - which means if it had been updated to the first 1.24 release, it could potentially have already broken again; you never know what they're going to change in these patches. I can also understand not wanting to update a mod for a beta patch that may or may not even get released, such as 1.23 which isn't going to be released outside of beta due to some issues in that build.

That said, I do hope it is maintained into future official releases because this is an essential mod for me and many others. It's bad enough there won't be any more UFO updates, if I lose this then I probably won't play XR at all unless egosoft adds actual control mechanics to your ships. Not being able to tell my fleet what to do completely ruins this game for me.

Thomas Soltau
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Post by Thomas Soltau » Mon, 3. Feb 14, 21:19

I hope you are right, this mod is essential for me, too. But is it true - they re-introduced an old exe-version in this beta? Maybe this is why I cannot deliver the food rations to Nagano's Solarium no matter which ship I use because it undocks immediately before delivery? (As far as I remember this was a bug in early stages of the game, had been solved with later patches and is back now?) Anybody out there with the same issue?

clj
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Post by clj » Wed, 5. Feb 14, 01:00

After spending quite a few hours with it, I have figured out what Egosoft did that broke the Manual Command Extension, and found a suprisingly simple solution that is working quite nicely for me.

Go to your extensions folder, and find the file:

extensions/ManualCommandExtension/aiscripts/player.default.xml

open player.default.xml in notepad, wordpad, or any other simple text editor, and the very top of the file, you will see code like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?>
<diff>
<!-- Disable the "Remove from squad" handler instead, since they rearrange the handlers so much. -->
<add sel="/aiscript[@name='player.default']/interrupts//event_object_subordinate_removed" pos="before">
<check_value value="false" />
</add>

Create one or two new blank lines under the first <diff>, enter two spaces to get the indent to match the start of the <!-- below (the indent is critical), and add the following line:

<remove sel="/aiscript[@name='player.default']/interrupts/handler[2]" />

When you are done, it should like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?>
<diff>
<remove sel="/aiscript[@name='player.default']/interrupts/handler[2]" />

<!-- Disable the "Remove from squad" handler instead, since they rearrange the handlers so much. -->
<add sel="/aiscript[@name='player.default']/interrupts//event_object_subordinate_removed" pos="before">
<check_value value="false" />
</add>

That's it. The manual command extension will work now. This will also disable one part of the "Improved capital ship fight behaviour" Egosoft introduced with 1.24, specifically the part that makes your capital ships protect you in a fight, but with the manual combat "escort me" command working, this is not needed.

I hope this helps.

DarthVain
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Post by DarthVain » Sun, 9. Feb 14, 00:56

Hmm.. for me the only order that seems to work is in the navigation command go to feature. it will jump to other sectors. but for commands like escort me, follow me nothing seems to happen. I've applied the fix also and run 1.24 RC4.
Another one bites the dust!!

DarthVain

Berserk Knight
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Post by Berserk Knight » Sat, 22. Feb 14, 17:19

I'm back, and now I'm working on this.

Currently, I've got most of the commands back in working order with a few additional commands in place.

There's a slight problem with the escort command.
Specifically, it's not designed to be run on capital ships, and guess which ship type we normally end up having the most of.
I'll have to add a new AI script for capitals.

Meanwhile, enjoy the updated MCE that works on 1.24.

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Informer
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Post by Informer » Sat, 22. Feb 14, 23:12

Big thanks, and welcome back. This mod is much needed. 8)

Berserk Knight
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Post by Berserk Knight » Wed, 26. Feb 14, 22:14

My current goals with MCE.

-Implement a new escort command for use by the player. Allow capitals to escort other ships as well. There will also be escort options for formations and engage distances. (Capitals will have the option to not break formation and just fire from where they are in the formation.)
Fighters escorting capitals will use a 2 stage escort pattern, with flight leaders loosely escorting the capital and flight members flying in a smaller formation with the leaders.
(As of posting, I was trying to reduce the number of scripts I use by making them a bit more generalized, but I think I'll scrap that idea and just make them case-specific. That'll be much easier and faster... The condition checks started getting ridiculous.)

-Implement a crude "targeting system" for commanding NPCs.
The targeted ship can be used for some of the new MCE commands such as Escort Target, Align to Target, and Move to Target.
There will be a few unintended limitations on the targeting, which I will look into fixing after this is done.
Once this works, it'll allow for some micro-controls. (On a side note, a command to move in a general direction for a set amount of distance or time is easy to make. If the new system above fail on providing sufficient controls, I already have a backup ready.)

-Implement a standing Main Battle Fleet at your command.
Appoint a capital as a Fleet Commander, and assign ships to it.
Positions will be divided into Capital Battle Group, Escort Squadrons and Vanguard Strike Group.
Capital Battle Group will include the Fleet Commander, and will form a formation generally along the lines of a "wall"/"firing line". (Square wall, a single line that goes sideways, and a 3-ship-high broad wall.)
Escorts will form up on the capital ships and escort them.
The Vanguard will stay a few kilometers ahead and maintain a wide screening formation. (I currently intend the Vanguard to be comprised only of fighters.)
The Fleet Commander will be free to take other commands you give them.
Changing the Fleet Commander is currently being designed to be as seamless as possible. When a Fleet Commander is removed, the Fleet will stay in standby until another Fleet Commander is appointed. Appointing one to replace the previous one outright will make the previous one join the Capital Battle Group.

-The menus for tagging a ship will also have selections near them that give the Fleet Commander the Align to Target and Move to Target directly on the ship.

-There will also be commands that cancel an Escort command given to a target, or all ships given a regular Escort command. (Does NOT apply to the Battle Fleet. If I ever do that, it'll be a separate "Disband Fleet" command.)


...Yeah, that's a lot of work, but I've got the general layout down on paper and most of the specifics in my head.

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