spacesuit custom game start report and suggestions

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Submarine
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spacesuit custom game start report and suggestions

Post by Submarine » Thu, 7. Oct 21, 16:04

After testing the spacesuit start in the beta I wanted to try out the 4.10 stable version.

I backed up all saves and cleared the saves folder so was only able to use minimum budget, which was the way I wanted it but would like to suggest the player's previous achievements could have a Steam cloud record linked to their Steam identity and not simply rely on loading a previous save in the same client session.

It took several iterations because the default location for a spacesuit start was the same as the ship start, 47km to the nearest station first time in Argon Prime and that makes it physically impossible to survive because the oxygen runs out before you can get to it as the most you can do with basic suit systems is about 10km.

Based on the experience of being marooned in mid space, I would like to suggest it might be fun to allow the spacesuited player to comm passing friendly vessels in range and ask for a pick up under the "more" option. This would allow the player to hitchhike. The choice of vessel could lead to different consequences e.g. a builder might move closer so the player can dock with it and survive, then at some point the builder could loiter close to a station or dock with it and allow the player to get to the station and from there hitchike to a desirable location. Hitchiking with a miner might allow the player to pick up byproducts like crystals, lodestone or spacefly eggs etc maybe the ship could offer a spacesuit viable scan mission for asteroids and later move to a station when the miner docks to sell or unload. Likewise a combat cap ship could visit a combat zone, maybe offer a subcomponent repair mission and allow the player to pick up drops and travel back to a shipyard if it docks for repairs, or the player can leave the ship and find passage by hitchiking on a passing freighter to get to a trader to sell their acquisitions and finance their own ship. All it requires is the ability to comm a vessel and ask for pick up and for the vessel to approach the player close enough for the player to dock then for the ship to go about its business normally.

The workaround in 4.10 is to use the universe picker in custom start to put the spawn point in a viable location. I chose the trading station in Grand Exchange III and it worked very well.

My dear avatar, "Diji Mantiki" Argon female III, had a basic spacesuit with repair laser and scanner, Cr10k and a few items with a list price of about 9k reaching the minimum custom start budget. She was able to sell these and suit components to make about Cr23k by selecting the best traders to sell at. She then used this capital to start moving all the traders stock from low cost sources to high cost buyers and the available opportunities scaled up very nicely allowing her to trade high end suit components and she ended up making about Cr280k for a total of Cr303k.

It was very satisfying that she was eventually able to afford a small ship and essential as things stand that I had included knowledge of a sector with a wharf in it in her start conditions so she was able to order an Elite vanguard with S Mk1 Pulse laser and minimal components to begin her adventures in space.

There were some teething troubles as the pilot of her Elite did not know the way to her location and so had to be guided with orders from the map until he was able to dock and pick up his new boss.

She was very fortunate that there was a repair mission and drops from a visit by a marauding Dragon, also a couple of fortunate crytal finds which she could mine with her Mk1 Pulse laser which helped to finance her continuing adventures in trading.

All in all it worked well with the existing game mechanics, was an enjoyable experience and very satisfying to start with nearly nothing and trade that up to a first ship.

If anyone is interested this is the DropBox link for the .xml for the custom start conditions for Diji Mantiki. FYI according to Google Mantiki is the word for logic in Swahili.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nsqaod4p9ff4v ... r.xml?dl=0
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Re: spacesuit custom game start report and suggestions

Post by Submarine » Fri, 8. Oct 21, 12:29

Something I forgot to mention, the reason getting a good start is iterative and value of the spawn point data in the above linked start .xml is because when placing the spawn point for a spacesuit start it is complete guess work because the stations do not show in the universe picker. So you have to make your best guess, try a start and then try again and make an adjustment based on observations in game. The above .xml places the spacesuit about 3km from the trading station.

Suggest that when you have selected knowledge of a sector in the custom start, the known station start positions should show up in the universe spawn point picker map and ideally a spacesuit spawn marker would have a range circle around it indicating how far the suit can travel before oxygen runs out!
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Re: spacesuit custom game start report and suggestions

Post by Submarine » Sat, 9. Oct 21, 15:54

FYI devs hitchiking has a problem at the moment. You cannot see new sectors or stations on the map. Not sure if intentional but it is obstructive.

After making a suggestion to allow hitchiking via comms as above, I decided to try a start which was not right next to a trading station and see if I could hitchike my way around. I will make the action report below but for a bug description, the problem was none of the new systems the avatar visited appeared on the map, nor did the avatar marker. Its just blank, even after going outside again and docking with a station in a suit with sensors nothing was recorded.

I see this as a bug because as a player I received an audio indicator of the new systems' names. A suit with sensors can target objects within 50km and ought to be able to record them like a S ship. [EDIT yes it definitely is a bug because when I got on the highway in a suit and passed through a gate the system recorded on the map correctly. Report submitted.]

So I think this is an oversight but please correct me if I am wrong.


Character backstory and action report, part 1.
Hitchiker Talussos was born of a love affair between pirate Teladi. He was orphaned very young when his father went out to defend the station they lived on from a Khaak attack in Silent Witness XII and did not return. His mother, struck with grief and fear, moved him out of the badlands to a neighbouring system, Silent Witness XI and then went looking for work to feed him and was never heard from again. The Split station manager of a spaceweed factory on which his mother had left him took pity on the young Teladi and fed him in return for running errands which became more and more like real work as he grew and eventually he saved enough money to buy a second hand spacesuit with heavily used tools and weapons. He went into partnership footing the bill for a half share in a small second hand ship with a young pirate escapee from Teladi law enforcement and intended to go crystal hunting among the asteroids but on his first foray in his treasured spacesuit his partner abandoned him and stole the ship. Talussos was fortunate to have a set of ancient but still working thrusters which once would have been cutting edge and managed to find and reach a Maja Snail Farm before his oxygen ran out. He decided it was time to get away from the pirate community and with high hopes that his mother might still be alive somewhere among the stars he resolved to set out and find her and as all Teladi wish, make his fortune at the same time. He spared a few credits to comm his mentor at the spaceweed factory and explained what he was doing, warn him about the young pirate who had betrayed him, thank and say goodbye to his mentor of many years and then begged passage on the next freighter to dock at the snail farm.

The young Teladi was awestruck by the magnificent Heron frieghter and its proud Teladi crew. He sometimes watched from the bridge as the captain and navigators piloted the ship through the hyperjumps, which to his inexperienced eyes seemed like electric blue flashing miracles, to reach new systems. Most of the time though he served in the galley and dining room to earn his passage and made friends with a few of the more garrulous types he met who would talk to a young orphan Teladi without a traditional family name. He discussed his plans to go into business for himself as an odd job man and one of them advised him, in a kind way, to leave the ship in a system with a wharf and go and trade his suit weapons for a small ship. The fateful moment arrived out of the blue, Talussos knew he must leave but had little experience of navigating the engine slipstream of large ships, as the ship was fast travelling past a wharf he tried to leave but was carried along by the slipstream to the other end of the system and sought refuge in the nearest station, determined to work his way back to the wharf and begin his dream.

On his first attempt to leave the station a commotion began behind him and a terrifying constellation of explosions ripped though a crowd of service vehicles. But as the clouds dispersed the young Teladi's sharp eyes discerned a few small crates and his impulse to profit overcame his fear of danger and he gathered them. He returned to the station and where the price was right, sold some to the local trader and bought wares to trade on in those stations he might visit before he reached the wharf. This was the beginning of his days of fortune, he thought to himself, the start of his great adventure ... tbc
Last edited by Submarine on Sun, 10. Oct 21, 08:21, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: spacesuit custom game start report and suggestions

Post by Submarine » Sun, 10. Oct 21, 00:28

Pt2
Talussos had learned determination from his Split mentor, to form a plan and act on it. So it was with little regard for hazards and his own safety that he set out once again, determined to reach the wharf. He picked a neighbouring station to use as a stepping stone to help him move closer which he knew was in range and began to fly towards it, crossing the busy trans-sector highway which buzzed with traffic. As he gazed at the electric blue of the highway it reminded him of the jumps the freighter had made and he wondered how it worked. Every ship was born along it, regardless of shape and size and engine power. If a ship, why not a suit? Rather than avoid it, he decided to try it and was amazed to find his suit transported towards the supposed wharf at unimaginable speed.

He left the highway as courageously as he had entered it and targeted the wharf now it was in range. It was only then that he made the gut wrenching discovery it was no wharf but an equipment dock. From the ship it had looked like a wharf but there were no small ships for sale here. Nevertheless he had to reach it as his oxygen was running out so he continued on and despite some disputes from the Teladi Ministry officials concerning a lack of documentation and records for his identity, he was allowed to dock.

"Hitchiker", he had said honestly and directly as had been his mentors way, "I am a hitcher, Talussos." And so his name was first entered into the Teladi Ministry records, Hitcher Talussos was to become his given name henceforth.

The trader on board offered a good price for the majaglit he had picked up outside his last port of call. He sold it all and bought anything that could make a profit. It was then he saw a great ship docking with the station out of the corner of his eye and hoped for a moment it was the friendly Heron he had left recently but it was another, no less friendly as it turned out and this time he was able to afford a passengers fare and was not obliged to scurry around in the kitchen.

With his new found freedom he dared to ask the captain the way to the nearest wharf and he kindly responded to his young guest by sending a nav guide location direct to his suit computer. Talussos knew he must return to the highway and picked a moment when the Heron was close and just about to jump to leave its slipstream straight into the path of an oncoming Albatross. The collision sent him spinning but his aging suit soon righted itself and held together. Surprised that he had survived without a scratch Talussos surmised it must have been due to the slipstream effect and pressed on towards his goal regardless.

As he sped along he looked out for the expected wharf but could not make sense of the navigation signal. After a while he knew he must have passed it and was now lost, hurtling down the highway to an uncertain destination. He passed through one gate and then another. He tried to keep calm and consulted his navigation map aid. To his amazement one of the stations he was rapidly approaching had the unmistakable icon of a wharf. He knew this was his chance and took it, perfectly aligning himself with the station which he approached to do business with the Paranid.

Serendipity had been his guide where computers had failed him and he began to hope his luck was changing.


Pt3
Once safely on board he made for the trader and sold everything he had including his precious suit tools. His personal fortune now amounted to Cr267k. At the ship dealers he had set his heart on a Tethys mining vessel, a sure way to make money without the trading capital he surely lacked. Even with the minimum of cheapest equipment it came to just over his budget. Crestfallen he prepared to abandon the idea and look for a cheaper ship when out of the blue the price changed before his eyes, due to market fluctuations the dealer told him. Talussos sat birdlike, one digit poised above the transaction device, both eyes fixed on the display and after a few moments the price dived and he struck, signing the purchase order with his claw print.

He was now the owner of a ship, employer of its Paranid captain and ready to go and make money. He reveled in the speed and agility it provided compared to his suit. It was also an unusual experience for Talussos to be the one in charge, all his life he had been at others beck and call but it was this which now gave him a deep empathy with his employee who was himself a very respectful and reverend Paranid, as is often their way. They worked well together and had soon filled the hold with silicon from his home system, SIlent Witness XI. Absent were any glinting riches he had heard pilots describing at the spaceweed factory but silicon would make money if he could find a way to sell it.

Once again the computer failed him, no suitable place to sell was visible. Talussos chose to trust his fate to providence and the highway once again and decided to go sight seeing. They passed through system after system, passing by dozens of factories, none needing silicon until they reached Argon Prime, here they found a customer and quickly responded to their request for silicon. Cr36k later Talussos felt like a rich Teladi and decided their ship needed an engineer and found one in the shape of an Argon, recently graduated and looking for a chance to gain experience.

Asteroids around the station tempted Talussos to prospect them but to little avail until he glimpsed the flash of reflected starlight, the fabled glint. The Tethys was equipped with one Mk1 mining laser and one Mk1 pulse laser. The mining laser tore through the crystal much more efficiently than the pulse laser and Talussos collected all fragments, barely noticing the flash of red indicating the scan of an unstable crystal among the Bandannite. Where he was from it was a useful material, here he knew it was illegal and ruminated upon his options.

He saw another flash, his heart leapt as he spied the blue colour of the crystal, payday! He knew blue was cool from the overheard discussions of weed inebriated pilots. So he set out to harvest it carefully with the mining laser. As he fired the beam, the controls slipped in his trembling hand and the beam shattered the tiny asteroid the crystal was embedded in, removing any chance of a clean harvest. One shard was all he was able to recover. Talussos felt foolish and ashamed to let such profit pass through his hands. He knew they were rare, he would never find another one, perhaps for his whole life. He was determined to make up for it and set about mining enough of the common purple Bandannite to make up for his failure. This he had done and more when fate rewarded his diligence with another chance. Talussos could hardly believe his eyes when he saw another blue Menelaene crystal before him. This time there were no mistakes and the shards were his. When he inspected his inventory he saw the tally and grinned but also noticed two dozen unstable crystals highlighted for their illegal status.

That was a lot of money to throw away though he knew the ardent Argon police force would not let him pass with contraband, something else he had picked up from pilot chat. He had to dump them before he could get to stations offering a good price for the other crystals. Deep down a part of him burned at the irony of it, born of pirate folk here he was towing the line of the Argon police force to make a profit. He could hardly believe himself but did it anyway, noting the location of the stash in case someday he might find a smuggling route through which he could retrieve and sell it.

Pt4
As he passed through the gate out of Argon Prime he found himself bitter and angry at those guarding it. All his insecurity and desperation came to the fore and overwhelmed him and for the first time in his life, just as he was poised on the edge of success, he found himself hating those who sought to rule his actions. It was an irrational anger, years of oppression and fear welling up in an irrepressible feeling of rebellion.

It was then he heard the call of the Hatikvah Free League over the system media channel. He was conflicted by his recent frustration with Argon human authorities and also his fear of unreliable pirates, one of whom had betrayed and nearly killed him. He recognised in HAT a chance to find a different direction. Like him HAT wanted freedom to trade, like him they were distancing themselves from pirates in the form of the Scale Plate Pact. Somehow serendipity had once again brought him to where he needed to be and he wondered for a moment if the spirit of his mother was watching over him from wherever she had gone.

Crazy he knew and not a good survival strategy to believe your own delusions as he had learned the hard way but still maybe HAT was worth a look. So once the sales had been made he took up their offer and docked at their HQ to find out more. It was here he met a shady character called Dal Busta and was offered a job delivering medical supplies. It paid good money with the offer of a small courier ship thrown in, so he took it. It was also here he met the most beautiful Teladi woman he had ever seen and was stunned when she accepted his offer to captain his new courier without hesitation and perhaps even a glint of satisfaction in her eyes.

He found himself acting strangely, bragging and boasting and being, he felt, a little boorish when he was around her. He reflected on this and determined to be more restrained in her presence. She had shown no sign of offence thankfully and he would do his best to impress her the right way, by making profits.

If he was not confused already, Busta's next mission offer set his mind in turmoil when he asked Talussos to spy on the very people he had grown up with, the Scale Plate Pact aka SCA, by scanning their factories and planting a virus. It was then he recalled he had received a cryptic offer of missions from another source also inviting him to scan and decided to take a sabbatical from spying to persue the data leaks he had been invited to scan for so that the two missions would not interfere with each other, he told himself, though he knew in his heart he needed time to consider what he really felt about working against the SCA. It had after all been the source of much of his misery, his lost parents had been a part of it and his treacherous mining partner too but so had his mentor, the manager of the spaceweed factory even though he had done his best to stay out of politics. Talussos knew with a sense of foreboding that he was venturing into deep waters.

So it was with a sense of bewilderment at the absurd contradictions of his life playing out around him that he encountered the curious Boron scientist Boso Ta for the first time. Talussos was not sure whether to laugh or cry, believe or deny the crazy sounding story of the giant sea horse but for the time being he chose to go his own way and make profits until he knew enough to make up his mind...
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