[WIP] Take Control

[Clownmug]

This is an updated mod of an older one I started: Fly Other Ships. It allows you to take control of any of your small/medium ships at any time. I've managed to work out most of the limitations from the previous mod and removed the restriction of needing to dock. You can now take control of your ships from anywhere and switch control between them seamlessly. Certain actions that normally only AI can do, like trading and mining, are also possible now.

The current release of this mod isn't final, it's mostly for testing, experimenting, or just messing around. Access to the mod's features are limited to a separate game start to ensure the regular game isn't affected.

Download:
Take Control v0.32

Version 0.32
- Fixed controls locking sometimes when docked
- Throttle speed now set to 0 before switching ships

Version 0.31
- Re-enabled side console in controlled ship cockpit

Version 0.3
- Added transition when switching between ships
- Added invisible cockpit for controlled ship
- Game over is now possible if controlled ship is destroyed

Version 0.2
- Fixed controlled ship not taking damage
- Fixed duplicate ship model on Albion Skunk after returning
- Fixed sometimes getting teleported back to Albion Skunk's location
- Removed third person camera only restriction

Instructions:

Starting

• Select new game start: Aspiring Merchant - Take Control Test

• Contact pilot of ship you want to control

• Go to "New Order" -> "Fly to.." -> "Let me take control"

Weapon Control

• Fire primary weapons with "Fire Weapon" key

• Fire secondary weapons with "Fire Missile" key

• Target any object and weapons will auto-aim at it when fired

• Most secondary weapons and some primary weapons have cooldowns

Trading

• Open trade menu

• Select your controlled ship

• Perform transaction

• Dock at your trade partner

Ware Exchange - Passive

• Contact trade partner and order "Transfer wares.."

• Perform transaction

• Small/medium partners will fly to you and drop cargo for you to collect

• Fly near cargo and it should be picked up automatically

• Large partners will fly to you and you dock to complete trade

Ware Exchange - Active

• Under ship details of the controlled ship give pilot New Order -> Transfer Wares

• Perform transaction

• Fly within about 100m of small/medium partners and the cargo should drop

• For large partners just fly to them and dock

Find Trade Route

• If you can't find or don't remember the trade/ware exchange partner...

• Contact controlled ship pilot

• Select "Plot my next trade route"

• Follow guidance

Mining

• Make sure controlled ship has surface miner drones

• Activate mining mode scanner

• Tag small asteroid fragments

• Drones will launch and pick up whatever is tagged

Gas Mining

• Make sure controlled ship has scoop collector drones

• Activate mining mode scanner

• Select desired "liquid" ware, if any found in zone

• Drones will launch and immediately start collecting

Return to Albion Skunk

• Contact pilot of controlled ship

• Select "You can take over now"

• OR contact Yisha on Albion Skunk and give "Let me take control" order"

• You should return to controlling the Albion Skunk now

Notes:

• You can target your controlled ship in third person

• You can also target in cockpit by selecting the green icon at the top of the screen.

• The Albion Skunk is controlled by Yisha and can be given orders like a regular small ship.

• If either the controlled ship or the Albion Skunk are destroyed you'll get a game over.

• Upgrading ships with ship dealer hasn't been implemented yet at this time.

[KrYcHokE]

Hey, is it possible to some kind of cockpit view, like on drones?
And it kinda strange when yo can enter station from remote controlled ship .

[Clownmug]

Yeah it's possible. I'll get that into the next update, thanks for the suggestion.

[Angsaar]

Very exciting mod!

[tomchk]

You’re a hero. XR is probably the most underrated game ever and I appreciate that you still mod for it!

[Rei Ayanami]

This sounds AWESOME! I might even reinstall X:Rebirth just to try it out.
Does anyone have a Youtube video of it in action?

[Clownmug]

Thank you Angsaar, tomchk, and Rei. An example video would be good so I'll try to put something together. Hopefully I'll have an update soon as well to fix the damage registration and offer a proper cockpit view.

[tomchk]

Can't wait! Maybe XR could have a surge of new interest someday (although I won't hold out hope for it)!

[Clownmug]

Ok, released a newer version that fixed some bugs, haven't figured out how to implement a unique cockpit for the controlled ship yet though. All attempts so far have caused weird bugs like losing controls when walking on platforms and the ship randomly becoming untargetable.

[John Colman]

Any news on the progress?

[Clownmug]

I've been putting it off for awhile. Probably will have to settle for making a barebones version of the mod with invisible cockpit and fade transition when switching between ships.

[tomchk]

Great idea--no need to make it perfect before release, in my opinion! You can always release it here but not on bigger platforms like Steam Workshop, for example.

[Clownmug]

The new version with invisible cockpit and transition upon switching ships is now up.

[John Colman]

I like the animation when switching ships.
Sadly, when i am in another ship, i cant use the menu. I am stuck and have to end the game then.
I do really hope that this mod will be someday in the future be really fleshed out and properly working, cause i have read a lot of comments for people complaining primarly about the single ship option and maybe then this game gets the attention it deserves.

[Clownmug]

I like the animation when switching ships.
Sadly, when i am in another ship, i cant use the menu. I am stuck and have to end the game then.
I do really hope that this mod will be someday in the future be really fleshed out and properly working, cause i have read a lot of comments for people complaining primarly about the single ship option and maybe then this game gets the attention it deserves.

If the menu you're talking about is the side console, I've updated the mod to include it in the controlled ship's cockpit.

Edit: Ugh, should've known this would happen again. Controls sometimes not working when docked and a bunch of input errors in the debug log now, hopefully a fix coming soon.

Edit 2: Ok the control bug is fixed. Still getting debug errors, but oh well.