[script] Universe Explorers v2.4.0: Update Sep 5

The place to discuss scripting and game modifications for X³: Terran Conflict and X³: Albion Prelude.

Moderators: Moderators for English X Forum, Scripting / Modding Moderators

7ate9tin11s
Posts: 813
Joined: Fri, 11. Nov 05, 23:18
x4

Post by 7ate9tin11s »

I have 3 ideas for the gate problems:

1. A menu adjustment that lets you force the explorers to increase their search range by 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%
2. A higher level gate finding routine where explorers will follow traders they notice going towards the edge of known territory.
3. Determining the sector visability via script, if possible, and letting explorers plot seen objects at extreme ranges like you can using direct targeting in clear sectors.

Well, option 1 will be quite easy to implement...the others i may have to play with for a bit :P
KyoZed
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed, 1. Nov 06, 03:03

Post by KyoZed »

The download link doesnt seem to be working, site saying file not valid. Anyone have an alternate download site? thx
CaptainRAVE
Posts: 432
Joined: Thu, 23. Oct 03, 20:55
x4

Post by CaptainRAVE »

Universe Explorers v2.1.0.zip

http://myfreefilehosting.com/f/f54710f46b_0.2MB

One bug I found. Two universe explorers entered a sector, found enemies and placed a nav beacon. They then retreated to an unknown sector...since the sector was a dead end they just sat there unable to move.

Also, my explorers never go past level 9!!!
xiriod
Posts: 1131
Joined: Wed, 6. Nov 02, 20:31
x3tc

Post by xiriod »

My explorer became 17th lvl, but he kept on entering Xenon sectors to scan asteroids even though I set them to hostile. So he died....

I guess that's a bug ;)

EDIT: Second one died to the same thing, they keep going in to Enemy sectors....
7ate9tin11s
Posts: 813
Joined: Fri, 11. Nov 05, 23:18
x4

Post by 7ate9tin11s »

Finally getting a little time to work on this some more...

So far for the next version I have fixed terran sector interaction problems and added a shared exploration database. The database lets your explorers know the last time a sector was explored so they can re-scan it to find new stations if more than 24 hours has passed. This also allows explorers to explore sectors which the player visited but may not have found everything in.

I've also adjust the searching system to be based on the farthest away known gate in a system instead of whatever gate was used to enter the system.

No work on the pilot ejection yet though, still considering the best method to use for recovery:
1. You buy a ship with exploration software and it will have a command to pick up a pilot making that ship theirs.
2. The explorer just orders a ship from a nearby shipyard of the same type ejected from, the ship will then come and pick them up (Kinda expensive!)
3. Some other method as of yet undertermined.

I am leaning towards 1 with 2 being an option in the config screen for those with no money worries :roll:

Perhaps I should just write a universal pilot recovery script the I and others can use (ie the scripters just specify the local var(s) to keep and the script to call once recovery is done).
xiriod
Posts: 1131
Joined: Wed, 6. Nov 02, 20:31
x3tc

Post by xiriod »

7ate9tin11s wrote:Finally getting a little time to work on this some more...

So far for the next version I have fixed terran sector interaction problems and added a shared exploration database. The database lets your explorers know the last time a sector was explored so they can re-scan it to find new stations if more than 24 hours has passed. This also allows explorers to explore sectors which the player visited but may not have found everything in.

I've also adjust the searching system to be based on the farthest away known gate in a system instead of whatever gate was used to enter the system.

No work on the pilot ejection yet though, still considering the best method to use for recovery:
1. You buy a ship with exploration software and it will have a command to pick up a pilot making that ship theirs.
2. The explorer just orders a ship from a nearby shipyard of the same type ejected from, the ship will then come and pick them up (Kinda expensive!)
3. Some other method as of yet undertermined.

I am leaning towards 1 with 2 being an option in the config screen for those with no money worries :roll:

Perhaps I should just write a universal pilot recovery script the I and others can use (ie the scripters just specify the local var(s) to keep and the script to call once recovery is done).
If the pilot ejects in a system with no stations, he can send you a signal to pick him up personally.

Also, please make it so that they do not enter sectors that we have set to Enemy. I always lose my explorers in Xenon sectors. They enter, even though it is set to Enemy and gets confused, attacked and die.

Otherwise setting a race to Enemy has no impact :)
7ate9tin11s
Posts: 813
Joined: Fri, 11. Nov 05, 23:18
x4

Post by 7ate9tin11s »

It is not that they will not enter a sector that is set to enemy, it is that they will enter it, notice it is enemy, and exit asap. Sadly, when completely unwatched sectors only refresh every 10 to 30 seconds or so, thus there is enough time for an attack round to happen if the gate is camped.

I guess I can make them cheat and peek through the gate before entering (ie set sector to known before running move to sector command) so they really never enter enemy sectors, but that is a bit unrealistic and would further reduce the risks of exploring.

Oh, been playing with Gazz's OOS rebalance scripts...they are murder on explorers ><;;;

I've also been using Teladi Kestrals as my explorers now with wonderful results, the mix of 600 speed and medium cargo makes for a great explorer, just remember to sell the weapons off before you start them as explorers are utter cowards.
xiriod
Posts: 1131
Joined: Wed, 6. Nov 02, 20:31
x3tc

Post by xiriod »

7ate9tin11s wrote:It is not that they will not enter a sector that is set to enemy, it is that they will enter it, notice it is enemy, and exit asap. Sadly, when completely unwatched sectors only refresh every 10 to 30 seconds or so, thus there is enough time for an attack round to happen if the gate is camped.

I guess I can make them cheat and peek through the gate before entering (ie set sector to known before running move to sector command) so they really never enter enemy sectors, but that is a bit unrealistic and would further reduce the risks of exploring.

It would be nice for them to follow orders though :) If I hire a guy and tell him not to enter my enemy's territory I expect him to follow protocol. But if he's a noob he could get confused with the orders and such. But after reaching level 7 for example he remembers not to enter Enemy territory.

I have lost two high level explorers this way, and that kind of sucks..... Now most of the territories are explored, but there are still a lot of asteroids to be scanned. When they start at lvl1 now, they mostly fly around not knowing what to do.

Also, now that most territory is explored I have to turn of placement of satellites. As they started to put new satellites next to the old ones, which is a bit redundant :)
lrd99
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed, 27. May 09, 12:42

Post by lrd99 »

7ate9tin11s wrote: No work on the pilot ejection yet though, still considering the best method to use for recovery:
1. You buy a ship with exploration software and it will have a command to pick up a pilot making that ship theirs.
2. The explorer just orders a ship from a nearby shipyard of the same type ejected from, the ship will then come and pick them up (Kinda expensive!)
3. Some other method as of yet undertermined.

I am leaning towards 1 with 2 being an option in the config screen for those with no money worries :roll:
It would be nice to have a config option "#1/#2/Ask player". #2 should be costly (maybe x2-x5 compare to #1). As for third option... it may be something like "Should I call for labor union help, or just wait for rescue?"
CaptainRAVE
Posts: 432
Joined: Thu, 23. Oct 03, 20:55
x4

Post by CaptainRAVE »

Two questions:

Does this work with version 2.1?

When can we expect an update? e.g. keeping our explorers out of enemy sectors!
7ate9tin11s
Posts: 813
Joined: Fri, 11. Nov 05, 23:18
x4

Post by 7ate9tin11s »

I am trying to get everything working in 2.1, currently the only problem I have located is that the delivery service I use from the universe traders scripts has been redesigned so it stops the explorers from working. There may be a problem with the scanning now too, but I need to get the delivery system working first to be sure.

Already fixed the entry system, the explorers will go up to a gate and peek through to see who owns the adjoining sector and not enter if they should not.
7ate9tin11s
Posts: 813
Joined: Fri, 11. Nov 05, 23:18
x4

Post by 7ate9tin11s »

Good news/Bad news....

Good news: Fixed delivery service issues

Bad news: Something in the jumpdrive scripts causes a loop in rare situations...going to take some time to hunt this one down as the jump script is pretty complicated (It knows they have small cargo bays so they hop from power station to power station if it is far away).

Maybe I will get lucky and find the problem quickly... :roll:
thunderai
Posts: 374
Joined: Fri, 17. Apr 09, 04:40
x3tc

Post by thunderai »

Why are they buying Space Fuel?
7ate9tin11s
Posts: 813
Joined: Fri, 11. Nov 05, 23:18
x4

Post by 7ate9tin11s »

thunderai wrote:Why are they buying Space Fuel?
Because they are thirsty :lol:

Honestly the reasons are threefold:
1. The pilots can only take so much being alone and stuffed in a tiny fighter. Not to mention space weed and fuel are the main product of my in-game company, Legitimate Enterprises, Inc, so they support the...um economy? :lol:
2. It acts as a small money sink in those cheap early levels of exploration and helps find pirate stations.
3. There is a chance that a pilot using space weed or fuel will see a path to an unexplored sector as counterbalance to their poor exploring skills. This seeing is the equivilent to the max level 24 explorer goner exploration database access.

However since micropayments are now in effect this should become an option...once i get the jump script finished for proper 2.1 use. :shock:
CaptainRAVE
Posts: 432
Joined: Thu, 23. Oct 03, 20:55
x4

Post by CaptainRAVE »

Thanks for the update!
7ate9tin11s
Posts: 813
Joined: Fri, 11. Nov 05, 23:18
x4

Post by 7ate9tin11s »

CaptainRAVE wrote:Thanks for the update!
No problem :lol:

Oh, for those that have been using this script you may want to reset the exploration database from the menu once you upgrade. Otherwise all of your known sectors will be explored again...though that may be a good thing to catch missing items with the improved scanning techniques :D

Up to you :twisted:
lrd99
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed, 27. May 09, 12:42

Post by lrd99 »

Thank you!
cygnetsong
Posts: 33
Joined: Wed, 29. Apr 09, 17:05

Post by cygnetsong »

great update! Just what I was thinking this needed. I can't wait to retry it! Now, maybe I can get that Kestral to stay alive long enough to max level!
7ate9tin11s
Posts: 813
Joined: Fri, 11. Nov 05, 23:18
x4

Post by 7ate9tin11s »

cygnetsong wrote:great update! Just what I was thinking this needed. I can't wait to retry it! Now, maybe I can get that Kestral to stay alive long enough to max level!
While the Kestral is great for leveling, you probably want to move them into a ship with a larger cargo bay once they hit level 23 (The command is in the navigation menu)...the kestral just does not have enough room for energy, fighter drones, and missiles. Other than that the kestral is still my explorer of choice for the sheer speed of exploration.
thunderai
Posts: 374
Joined: Fri, 17. Apr 09, 04:40
x3tc

Post by thunderai »

I have five discover haulers doing things....mostly drinking....

Return to “X³: Terran Conflict / Albion Prelude - Scripts and Modding”