[SCRIPT][WIP] Marine Corp. (2012.02.16)

[garrry34]

I can confirm its only the atf marines that dont regenerate, the terran ones work perfectly, as for the energy thing, do your marines currently repair or is this a feature to be added as I have marine repairs installed that might be the problem with the energy...

[A.Persyn]

Greetings,

do your marines currently repair

No, they don't repair anything yet.

The Marine scripts will be getting replaced with the next update so that the spawning functions similar to a Marine Training Barracks (Marines spawn a short time after the needed wares are supplied).

The update won't happen until after EGOSOFT releases the promised January patch and I can thoroughly test the scripts, which I didn't have time to do with the flawed ATF scripts (a mistake I don't intend to repeat).

Have a nice day!

A.Persyn

[garrry34]

I'm sorry if I annoyed you, I've just done a fresh install with minimal installed, I know its a WIP but im a natural at finding bugs others will tell you, I'll keep my updates to PM...

[A.Persyn]

I'm sorry if I annoyed you

Not at all. I appreciate the feedback. I can't fix what I don't know is broken.

Thanks for your replies!

A.Persyn

[A5PECT]

One more question:

Does the repair system mean that if you're using a mod that adds new ships to the game (such as XTC or XRM), an entire new set of repair profiles would have to be created for the new ships?

[garrry34]

well I'm thinking its what ever differences the atf MD has from the terran, possibly the taurus thing, as it load the first batch ok but any new marines remain commonwealth, this doesn't happen with the terran one, maybe it might be the making it compatable with TC and AP thats the problem can you try making a seperate atf file for both games and keeping it similar to the terran file, I'll fiddle with the idea now...

[A5PECT]

Any news now that the 1.1 patch is out?

[A.Persyn]

Greetings,

Any news now that the 1.1 patch is out?

Regarding Marine Repair Crews, adding in the custom repair coordinates for each capital ship has been very time consuming and I still have a few remaining. It's a monotonous and slow task but vital to the desired outcome.

A quick test using AP 1.1 showed no problems but I still have to do more thorough testing.

I can't give a specific release date until all the coordinates are done and the testing phase is complete.

Have a nice day!

A.Persyn

[BeagleRush]

Thanks for making this, this adds the kind of life to my fleet that I really miss in vanilla.

I'd really love to see you add more functionality to the combat pilots like you were suggesting - having my troops improve in skill through application ala X-Com or Ground Control is a feature I really love in games, as it lets me get really attached to them instead of just having a fleet of robots.

[DrBullwinkle]

adding in the custom repair coordinates for each capital ship has been very time consuming and I still have a few remaining. It's a monotonous and slow task but vital to the desired outcome.

It sounds like a very cool-looking feature.

However, it also sounds like a huge maintenance headache; subject to change at any time. And what about custom ships or mods? You mentioned "internal repairs" a couple of weeks ago, like the original "Marine Repairs" script. That is a great idea, and it is completely scalable to new ships without any extra maintenance.

So how about a compromise between the two choices, "looks" versus "functionality"? Perhaps check whether a custom profile exists, and use it if it does. If a profile does not exist, then just msg the user that they need to put the marines on that ship in order for them to repair it?

Just a thought...

[A.Persyn]

Greetings,

I'd really love to see you add more functionality to the combat pilots like you were suggesting - having my troops improve in skill through application

Leveling up for Marine Combat Pilots is already included for the next update. For now, it's only based on flight time and ship class. Some time in the near future I'll be adding mission/kill tracking.

what about custom ships or mods

For custom ships, I've already included the ability to add additional profiles.

The custom ship's creator (or someone else) can create their own repair profile script for any ship and the MRC script will use it when repairing that ship. If a ship doesn't have a vanilla or custom repair profile then the MRC script will use a generic class-based profile that will work for most ships of that size but may not work for ships that have very unique designs. Also, if that ship can dock to a carrier, it can be repaired inside that carrier by the marines onboard.

There are two repair options: EVR (extra-vehicular repairs (external)) and IVR (intra-vehicular repairs (internal)). Any ship can be repaired from the outside but only ships that can carry marines can be repaired from the inside. The player can choose either one or both, when possible.

For IVR, marines teleport from the repair ship to the damaged ship, repair it from the inside and then teleport back.

For EVR, the marines spacewalk from the repair ship to the damaged ship, repair the ship from the outside and then spacewalk back.

Any ship that can carry marines can use them to repair itself or function as a repair ship and use/deploy those marines to fix a damaged ship. Stations can also be repaired, but (for now) only internally by a repair ship docked at that station.

In a future version of Marine Repair Crews, the player will be able to customize/create repair profiles for any ship, station or object from within the game. (Fly to a position near the ship, store that location, fly to another position, etc.) That won't be added for a while though.

Thanks for your comments!

A.Persyn

[A5PECT]

Knock knock.

...Anyone home?

[A.Persyn]

Greetings,

Knock knock.

...Anyone home?

Still here. Just finishing up a few things.

Done & Tested:
Terran & ATF Marines 2.0
Marine Repair Crews
Updates and fixes for other stuff.

Currently doing:
Setup walk-through for Marine Repair Crews.
Splitting the collection into individual components and packing them (zip & spk).

Not too much longer.

A.Persyn

[A.Persyn]

Greetings,

Everything updated and tested on X3TC and X3AP.

Collection separated into components. SPK and ZIP.

Marine Repair Crews added.

New version of Terran and ATF Marines.


Have a nice day!

A.Persyn

[DrBullwinkle]

Wow.

Just... wow!

This is one of the classiest implementations and presentations in the forum.

If you are doing this for school credit or are hoping to get a job in game development, then this project is worthy of A+++ credit. If this is a group project, then the group deserves bonus points for coordination. If you are a single contributor... then this is just amazing.

At first, I thought that you had, perhaps, bitten off more than you could chew. I am glad to see that you have accomplished so much in so little time.

Your documentation is classy. Your Original Post is classy. You have done things with menus that add extra levels to the game's User Interface (UI), which is classy. Your responses to bug reports is classy.

Your implementation of related scripts display in the Plugin Manager as being related. That's uber classy.

And the features that I have tested *work*. No flimsy reactions or flaky or unclear responses to the UI. Your handling of exceptions and boundary conditions is classy.

Everything about this package is classy!

Most importantly, from my POV, the Off-Duty Marines feature works better than other similar implementations that I have tried. Again... classy!

And your Setup Guide for Marine Repairs is the classiest presentation for a complex feature guide *ever*.

Clearly you are not just "A." Persyn. You are THE.Persyn!

Five thumbs (out of five):

[A.Persyn]

Greetings,

Your implementation of related scripts display in the Plugin Manager as being related. That's uber classy.

Kudos go to Cycrow not me. That's a feature of Cycrow's Plugin Manager. All I did was fill in the necessary boxes. I had no idea that clever feature was even there but I'm glad it is.

It took me three attempts to find the feature to create Task Forces

I had planned to provide appropriate documentation for all the features but I got lazy. Sorry about that.

If you are doing this for school credit or are hoping to get a job in game development, then this project is worthy of A+++ credit.

Neither. Like most players, I thought X3TC was the end of the X3 line and the next new thing (X: Rebirth) was at least several months away. Since there was a lot that could still be done with the game and no chance of EGOSOFT adding additional content; I decided to add some stuff in myself in order to improve my own gaming experience. When X3AP was announced, I was already finalizing the initial version for release.

My primary interest is with Mission Director. Despite its frustrating learning curve, I actually enjoy working with it. In order to give myself a more diverse foundation to build on, I decided (at the end of October) to hold-off on developing plots/missions and finish those MSCI scripts I had been slowly developing since 2010 and then make missions that use them.

I had three plots I was working on:

• All hail the Xenon! A plot based on the concept of transhumanism involving Xenon worshipers that leads to an epic war between the Commonwealth and Terrans.
  Illuminati: A Terran Corporation. A new corporation following a similar model to the X3TC corporations but with unique conspiracy-style missions, rewards and an overarching plot.
  Rage Against the Marines. Some Marines form their own race similar to the Yaki and try to take over the Commonwealth.

Since I don't want to conflict with the lore, the content and direction of X3: Albion Prelude ended those projects.

• AHTX and X3AP have a lot in common but the plotlines are severely incompatible, so I abandoned it.
  X3AP no longer has corporation missions and IATC ended with a war between the Terrans and Commonwealth which X3AP already has, so I abandoned that project.
  RATM lost most of it's luster in comparison to what can be done with the new corporate warfare introduced in the Albion Plot, so I ditched that idea, as well.

Literally, right before I released the initial version, I changed it from A.Persyn's Script Collection to Marine Corp. in an effort to salvage as much as I could.

False Flag Operations was originally from IATC, Marine Repair Crews was slated to be just an extra feature included with AHTX and another script, Drone Commander, got held back so I could rewrite it to make it more Marine-inclusive and become Drone Jockeys. Likewise, Marine Corp. Flotilla is the remnants of RATM but I haven't done much work on it.

With those three plots abandoned and new plots coming with X3AP 2.0, I figured I should wait to see what else changes before I make any plot plans, if any. The time I had allotted for other stuff got put into improving MRC and the other scripts.

I spent the last three weeks on testing and every time I thought it was ready, I found something else to fix. I resigned myself to the expectation that I would be bug-fixing for the next month anyway so I released it. It's a relief to read that everything "works" so far but I'm sure there are other bugs, somebody just has to find what I couldn't.

I'd love to be wrong about that but the last three weeks has taught me differently. Now with it released, every time I open my email program, I cringe expecting hate mail over the damage my scripts have caused. To put it mildly, I'm still in shock over your flattering post so forgive me for only saying, "Thank you for your feedback."

Have a nice day!

A.Persyn

[DrBullwinkle]

Yes, Cycrow made an awesome Plugin Manager, but you are the only author that I have seen *implement* the feature to group plugins. It's cool.

I don't think that more documentation is the answer. Your menu is clear enough... just had to try the Options a couple of times before I found the one for Task Forces. You have a lot of features.

BTW, I tried to use Marine Repairs to repair a station. The repair crew "accepted" the command but they did not launch. I figured that simply is not something that they do.

Interesting story about the project's background! It is a shame to forfeit your plot work, because plots have the potential to add very much fun to the game. And, as you said, the learning curve prevents many would-be authors from creating plots. Hopefully you will make good use of what you learned in the future!

(If you get bored, and need something to do ( ), then the X-verse might benefit from a superior guide to using the MD).

[Vayde]

I believe they only repair a station when they are aboard a docked ship at that station.

[A.Persyn]

Greetings,

BTW, I tried to use Marine Repairs to repair a station. The repair crew "accepted" the command but they did not launch. I figured that simply is not something that they do.

Station repairs are done internally. The steps involved:

• The captains of the ships get paid first.
  The repair ship should dock at the station.
  Any additional supply ships should fly within transporter range of the station.
  The crew gets paid.
  The repair starts.

If the ship is unable to dock at the station, you should get a message saying what the problem is. If you could provide more details on what happened, I could try to track down the problem. What kind of ships were being used, which station was damaged, etc.

(If you get bored, and need something to do ( ), then the X-verse might benefit from a superior guide to using the MD).

The problem with writing a guide for MD isn't explaining how MD works; but explaining all the conditions where it should work but doesn't. Some things work under certain conditions and fail under other conditions. Trying to document the differences would be an endless task and ultimately amount to one long bug report. Beyond the very basics of MD, the only real guide is the code that has already been tested and shown to work. The best solution is to encourage those who write MD scripts to add comments to their code explaining what it is doing, and I already do that wherever I can, as time permits.

Have a nice day!

A.Persyn

[DrBullwinkle]

@Vayde, The.Persyn: Yeah, I should have been able to figure out that stations are repaired internally. Now that you say it, it seems obvious.

The station was just the first thing I had that needed repairs.

But then I repaired a Mobile Mining Base-Ship. I watched from a turret cam and zoomed in on the action. It is very cool to watch a squad of marines jet-pack to points around the ship and fix it!

I know you spent a lot of time on that feature. And, at first, I thought, "why bother?". But it really is fun to watch.

Of course, SETA works while the marines are repairing, as an added bonus.

Half of the marines returned to the ship under their own power. The other half just stopped and I had to pick them up. I think that is a game issue rather than anything in your code -- ships sometimes stall when docking, too. My M1 was about 1.5 km from the target TL at the time.

Do the marines earn experience when doing repairs? That might be an "extra" way to train them?

The problem with writing a guide for MD isn't explaining how MD works; but explaining all the conditions where it should work but doesn't.

Isn't that the problem with *all* computer systems? If they worked the way that the manual says, then life would be easier for all.

And code documentation... yeah, there should be much more of that. Everywhere.