[TC/AP] Maximum Speed Hyperion Vanguard botting kit (repost)

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

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

Post Reply
User avatar
nponoBegHuk
Posts: 474
Joined: Thu, 6. Mar 08, 19:55
x4

[TC/AP] Maximum Speed Hyperion Vanguard botting kit (repost)

Post by nponoBegHuk » Tue, 23. Apr 13, 04:16

The original thread got closed, and I was asked for a reupload, so here goes. This post might contain spoilers, in case you don't like it, dont read any further!

Description:
After completing the Poisoned Paranid gamestart (both TC and AP) you will be awarded with a randomly overtuned Hyperion Vanguard - with maximum speed varying from 148.8 to 250.3 m/s. Chances of getting the 250.3 one are extremely low - it took me around 11 thousand reloads to get one of those both time I played that gamestart (TC and AP). This toolkit (which includes an AutoHotKey script and a tiny executable) allows you to turn in the mission repeatedly in unattended way in hopes of getting a high or even maximum speed Hyperion. (for instance, I left it running overnight and checked results in the morning).

[ external image ]

Instructions:
  • Backup your X3 save folder, located in My Documents\Egosoft\X3TC\save or My Documents\Egosoft\X3AP\save, depending on the game you plan to use this on.
  • Install AutoHotKey software for the botting script itself.
  • Install IrfanView aswell, since this script relies on it for image capture/processing.
  • Finally, download this package http://www.mediafire.com/?qy9fh24pe20dnb4 and unzip it in any folder with writing permissions (this executable saves data between sessions in a .xml file in the same folder as the executable).
  • In your X3 launcher, change the video settings to 1024x768 window mode, and preferrably set details to low. This is what I used:
    [ external image ]
  • Load your game. You need to be docked at the station, and ready to turn in the quest.
  • Make sure you have the "Station" menu selected on the left, like this:<click for pic>. Now save your game in the slot number 2 (important :!: )
  • After the game is saved, press C and check the position of the Mission NPC among the people on the station. You will need that number later. For example, here he's number 4:
    [ external image ]
  • Turn in the mission and select "Landed Ships" in Station menu. You need to make sure that the awarded hyperion is the topmost on the list of docked ships. If it isn't so you might need to rename or even change the class of the ship you're docked in (usually that's not needed, though). Don't forget to check the Hyperion's speed aswell, it might be the one you're looking for if you're lucky :D
  • The next step requires you to edit the AutoHotKey script manually to provide the position of Nula Li in comm window and several settings more:

    Code: Select all

    SCREENSHOT_DELAY=750	;Delay during taking a screenshot
    SAVEGAME_DELAY=4650		;Delay during saving the game
    LOADGAME_DELAY=16500	;Delay during reload
    
    NPC_POSITION=5			;Position of the Nula Li npc in the comm window
    I included the values I used myself by default, however on many systems these delays might prove to be too short. I recommend using a stopwatch or something to find out how long does it take on your PC to load and save a game and set the delays accordingly. All delays are in miliseconds. You should set the loading delay to the time you got on stopwatch + 3 seconds at least, for the loading a margin of 1 extra second is usually enough. Probably you would start with values similar to these:

    Code: Select all

    SCREENSHOT_DELAY=750	;Delay during taking a screenshot
    SAVEGAME_DELAY=6000		;Delay during saving the game
    LOADGAME_DELAY=34000	;Delay during reload
    
    NPC_POSITION=4			;Position of the Nula Li npc in the comm window
    You might lower them again if you see the script idling for a while after saving or reloading. There are other options but they all are pretty straightforward so I won't cover them unless asked.
  • Save the .ahk file you were editing and run it. I recommend closing all the programs which might open foreground windows deliberately (close all kinds of messaging software, adobe updater or apple updater, etc) - if the window loses focus the script will stop, and we don't want that. You need to leave at least one window other than X3 open (because X3 won't let you use Alt-tab out of it if everything else is closed). Explorer or notepad are good choices! :D
  • Somehow, the AutoHotkey shortcuts are not working from within X3 so alt-tab to your other open window and press Ctrl+Alt+S to start the script. You should see the following result:
    -X3 window activates
    -The quest gets turned in and the properties of hyperion are opened on the screen
    -The properties window gets scrolled down and the screenshot of "Current Speed" is taken
    -The game gets saved into slot 1
    -The game in slot 2 gets loaded
    -Repeat infinitely.
  • While the game 2 is reloading, the script creates a folder specified for output in the header (usually c:\X3TC output or c:\X3AP output and puts X01.sav and your last screenshot into 1.sav and 1.png, the second time the names of 2.sav and 2.png are given, and so on.
  • To stop the script Alt-tab out of the game and press Ctrl+Alt+D (it's best to do it during the "loading..." phase). This part might need some tweaking.
  • After you're happy with the delays and the script is running smoothly, check your output folder. you should have pairs of PNG and SAV files named 1,2,3 and so on. If they are there, the script is working properly.
  • The image captures should look like these:
    [ external image ]
    If you don't see numbers resembling ship speed and "upgradeable to" value on the captures but some other data or just a background, probably you didn't use the recommended resolution and captured wrong area of a screen. In that case you will have to edit the script again to match your settings. However, this script worked right out of the box on 3 different PCs at recommended resolution.
  • Once you have gathered some data, open hyp sorter.exe. If the program is not running, you probably will need to install .NET framework.
  • Upon the first run you will be prompted to select where the output is stored. You can select different folder by clicking the corresponding button.
  • As the program reads the images you will be prompted to choose manually the speed on the image (the topmost from two values). Don't worry, you will only get asked once per each CRC value of a file (maximum 3 matches per speed). This value gets stored in the settings file aswell, so even if you close the program, you won't be asked about the same speed anymore.
    [ external image ]
  • When all the images are recognized, you will have a list with the number of images corresponding to each speed. Select a row containing the speed you're interested in and click "Show Filenames". You will have the names of the files displayed below in the listbox.
    [ external image ]
    For example, if you're happy with a 209.7 one, the program reports it to correspond with 1.png file, which means 1.sav contains that ship. rename it back to X01.sav, put back into save folder. Now the game in slot number one should contain that ship. Or you can keep trying to get faster ship.
  • If you didn't obtain the ship you wanted and want to clear HDD space just delete the output folder, it will get created again the next time you run the script.
Fast sector selection on the Universe Map | Rock locations for Mobile/OOS mining | Botting for max speed Hyperion | Complete list of ship sources | Capturing smaller ships

My current ship collection:
11 out of 11 *retired* ships found
17 out of 17 *unique* ships found
9 out of 9 *limited* ships found
16 out of 16 *rare* ships found

User avatar
Litcube
Posts: 4254
Joined: Fri, 20. Oct 06, 19:02
xr

Post by Litcube » Wed, 24. Apr 13, 03:46

Holy mother of God, just script in the tunings!

Echofinder
Posts: 250
Joined: Mon, 18. Jun 12, 06:05
x3tc

Post by Echofinder » Wed, 24. Apr 13, 04:03

The reason people go through these shenanigans is because they want to avoid the modified tag so they can get achievements. Or possibly because they're anal-retentive puritans but I digress.

Wouldn't it be easier to use a memory editor to change the amount of engine/rudder tunings?

User avatar
nponoBegHuk
Posts: 474
Joined: Thu, 6. Mar 08, 19:55
x4

Post by nponoBegHuk » Wed, 24. Apr 13, 05:58

Yes, this is for people that don't want modified tag and don't want to fiddle with game memory.

What's the need for the offensive language, anyways?Everyone use their free time as they want, isn't it so? I had some, so I did this.
Fast sector selection on the Universe Map | Rock locations for Mobile/OOS mining | Botting for max speed Hyperion | Complete list of ship sources | Capturing smaller ships

My current ship collection:
11 out of 11 *retired* ships found
17 out of 17 *unique* ships found
9 out of 9 *limited* ships found
16 out of 16 *rare* ships found

UniversalStun
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun, 20. Aug 17, 16:48
x4

Post by UniversalStun » Thu, 31. Aug 17, 11:38

I know this thread is very old, but thx for this! Got the 250 version on reload 586 and a second one on 1100, while letting it run over night. :D

User avatar
nponoBegHuk
Posts: 474
Joined: Thu, 6. Mar 08, 19:55
x4

Post by nponoBegHuk » Thu, 31. Aug 17, 15:49

UniversalStun wrote:I know this thread is very old, but thx for this! Got the 250 version on reload 586 and a second one on 1100, while letting it run over night. :D
It's pretty amazing to find out this product of severe gaming addiction and lack of sleep still works; and even helps people after all these years! Glad it helped :wink:
Fast sector selection on the Universe Map | Rock locations for Mobile/OOS mining | Botting for max speed Hyperion | Complete list of ship sources | Capturing smaller ships

My current ship collection:
11 out of 11 *retired* ships found
17 out of 17 *unique* ships found
9 out of 9 *limited* ships found
16 out of 16 *rare* ships found

Post Reply

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