X3TC Mod based on X3:TC v3.2 data. (which is structurally identical to 2.7 data)
X3AP Mod based on X3:AP v1.1 data.
Complex too big? FPS too low? Don't like italian food?
1.[ external image ] 2.[ external image ] 3.[ external image ] 4.[ external image ]
- This is a complex I scripted in merely for the picture.
(A real load test is further down, in the 2nd post.)
There are 20 Biogas L, 15 Crystal Fab M, 10 SPP M. - The same complex crunched. (Model by KilleRTidE)
Note that this is one station in the game. It's just a big one. =)
1 + 2 were taken from the exact same position and orientation.
Note that I had FRAPS running when taking the screenshots.
A difference of 154 FPS speaks for itself.
The FPS do not get much lower when the Module Container grows. - The internal wiring is done exteremely efficiently, reducing the number of tubes to an absolute minimum.
- Not only does your complex become neater - it is easier to manage, too.
Imagine having 45 single factories in that list instead of 4. - With CC v3.40 and up the complex connection tubes are also blanked out.
This is not "the" TCM Tubeless_Complex_Mod but based on the same principle.
(Because frankly - there is no other way)
This saves even more CPU-power and avoids collisions.
The connections are only visible on sector map and gravidar.
Usage
A Tractor Beam must be on board of the executing ship.
The script has 2 arguments.
- Command (text) : This is what the script is supposed to do.
Position (Position) : When things are moved or built somewhere, this is always where they are put.
Commands - crunch : All unconnected factories and mines in the sector are combined into as few as possible factory modules.
If this command is run for the first time, the Module Container is built at the position you supplied.
Watch where you build it. This thing is huge and it is unlikely you can ever move it again.
On subsequent crunch runs the position argument is ignored and the Factory modules automatically added to an existing Module Container.
Ships can not dock at a Factory Module. FM can only function as part of a complex.
You still need to connect the "crunched" Factory Modules. manually. However, it's a whole lot faster to connect 4 Factory Modules instead of 45 single factories. =)
Factories of every possible type or size will be assimilated into standardized Factory Modules with possible sizes of
1 (S), 2 (M), 5 (L), 10 (XL), 20, 40, 50, 100, 150, and 200.
Ore and silicon mines can not be crunched without a small loss. I have seen 1-4 %. This is due to the fact that mines have a variable production output resulting in a "half" factory, which can not be built. More info here.
You do not have to do any math. That's what the script is for. =)
Build 26 M-Fabs and the script transforms them into 1x 50, 1x 2.
2 factories instead of 26.
And they stay modular and upgradable.
Add another 9 of those M-Fabs and the script would transform the whole thing into 1x 50 and 1x 20.
2 factories instead of 35.
If you are using a Module Container you do not have to position new factories within connection range of the hub any more.
Randomly drop them somewhere in the sector.
They are automagically assimilated into the Module Container when you rerun the crunch command.
Expanding complexes becomes easier than ever before.
If your complex contains only completely identical factories then crunch can sometimes compress them into a single module. A single module can no longer be made into a complex...
That's what Ignore is for. Using that you can exclude a station or module from the crunch command and crunch will only compress the remaining stations/modules.
As a result you always have a a minimum of 2 modules and can rewire them into a complex.
Important note regarding Ashley's Factories:
You must not run the crunch command immediately after building one of Ashley's factories.
They are not completely constructed at this point. Give it 30-60 seconds to finish it's installation.
Regular factories are fully constructed right after your TL has built them.
Regarding creative hacking:
All X3 factories have products, resources, use energy cells in some way, and are producing (or trying to).
Any station that does not meet all of these criteria is ignored because it apparently isn't intended to be a regular factory.
Could be additional complex storage, some kind of warehouse, or act as a trading station...
Factories with multiple products (possible in XTM) are ignored because they cannot function correctly in a complex.
No Bug:
With very large complexes, some ware amounts (usually EC) will no longer display correctly. The display window is too short so the value is cut off.
The display on the ware transfer interface is not limited like that. - drop : In the selected sector, all your TL unload all factories from their cargo bays and build them at random positions.
You can be OOS.
You do not have to watch any pretty videos.
And I mean factories. No mines, shipyards, trading stations and whatnot. - hub : A Complex Hub is moved to the position you supply.
If there is more than one hub in the sector you must target the one you want from your own ship.
If there is only one hub, the script assumes that you want to move the hub.
If there is only 1 hub and there also is a Module Container in the sector, then special rules apply.
If you set the position extremely close to the MC then the hub is put in a relatively safe standard position below the MC instead.
If you set it too far, the hub is placed in the direction you set but still within 19 km of the MC. This way you can still connect more factory modules because the connection range of a complex tube is 20 km.
north : Complex Hub is rotated so the docking clamps point north (X3 standard)
south : ...
east : ...
west : ...
up : ...
down : ...
If there is more than 1 hub in the sector, the one you want is defined by the position you set. - relocate : The Module Container of this sector relocates itself to the new position.
The MC is big. Really big. Don't expect it to move like an M5. - fps : Show current FPS in a message window. A quick way to see how well this works. =)
- ver or version : Report script version to your logbook.
- check : CC will verify it's own mod at every version upgrade.
This command forces the check.
If you add any other mod (as a fake patch) on top of the CC mod, you can use this command to see if CC is still alive and happy with this installation. - ignore : Personally Target one of your stations and run this command on some properly equiped ship. (skip the "Position" argument).
CC will ignore this station or module on subsequent "crunches".
Repeat the command for this particular station to remove the ignore flag.
Regardless of what you had targeted, ignore will always tag all currently ignored stations in sector with a "[ i ]".
This is purely for your information and can be deleted/renamed at will.
So if you use ignore without a station targeted, all the script does is check all stations and add the text tag where needed.
Do I need to explain this?
Old Complex Cleaner v1.08 features (additional text options):
They still work but don't play in the same league as far as FPS savings go. In fact, they can reduce FPS in some cases.
They can run for several minutes on a larger complex.
They do not affect complex modules, only uncrunched factories.
- clear : All connected Fabs are moved further out in the sector to a position you supply. If this position is within 100 km of the sector center (or inside a planet...) it is ignored and a safe position is found.
Note that the player ship must be in the same sector when the command is given but you are free to leave immediately afterwards. - restore : All unconnected Fabs are recalled.
This will be necessary when a hub is destroyed.
The destination is either a complex hub or if none is supplied, the position.
Only about 70 Fabs can be recalled at one time because huge safety margins are required to place objects like SPP XL or mines.
[ external image ] Download: Complex Cleaner packed by DrBullwinkle for the Plugin Manager. (See link for installation instructions.)
[ external image ]Download: ZIP file (for manual installation. Includes all files.)
The download contains the improved mod version by ThalonMook. He added the missing nav meshes to the module container objects. As a result, auto pilots can now properly detect and avoid those objects.
Scripts for the complex builder: ComplexCleaner, Super Tractor, Factory Complex Constructor
Aegyen wrote:The Complex Cleaner commands are found in the Customs commands on the command console of your ship. If, you have the tractor beam on board. The command is at the top of the list and the is highlighted like "Complex Cleaner".
The commands you use (arguments) are the ones you found in the instructions. For example, you drop all the stations you need for a spaceweed complex in the sector you want to build it in. Randomly drop them anywhere. Run CC from the custom commands on the ship you have the tractor beam (TB) installed on. This will bring up a menu asking for input. Type in crunch. You will be asked for a postion on the sector map, This is where the Module Container will be! You will get a message that will say CC has crunched the factories down to a certain number (eg, CC has reduced the number of stations by 4). Looking in your sectormap, you will see the stations have been converted, and renamed to (FACT) Energy Cells, for example. You will also see the the station (in blue) Module Container 1. All the (FACT)s are now inside this.
Now take your 1st complex kit, and connect 2 of the (FACT) stations (use the 'Drop' command in the special commands section of the console), you will be asked for a position again, this is where the Complex Hub will be! Using complex construction kits for the rest, connect the remaining (FACT) stations to your complex hub. You have now built the basic setup.
I read somewhere, maybe the manual, maybe this thread (I am getting old, details fuzz), to position the Module container very low in the sector (eg, -25.0 on the y-axis) and to position the complex hub above that (eg, -5.0 on the y-axis) to allow for room for future Module growth. This looks, and has worked very well for me so far. You can reposition the hub by using the hub command from the CC control. When 'hub' is entered as the command, you will be asked for a position again, in the sector map, and this will be it's new position. If you place it beyond 20km from the Module Container (say above it) the command will put it 19km from the Module automatically. This is due to the limit of the length of the tube, that is allowed. This works perfectly.
Say you want the complex hub to point north (example), then run the 'north' command from the CC console.
One important thing! If you, in the process of dropping stations in the sector you are building this complex in, build mines, and do Not, want them in the Module Container, before you 'crunch', target each mine, and run the CC command 'ignore' on each one. On the sector map, after you have run that command, you will see each mine has been renamed with an (i) following it. CC will always ignore those in future crunches, unless you run the 'ignore' command on them again. You can rename them, to get rid of the (i), CC will remember them, and it will reappear if you later 'ignore' future mines/stations.
Hope this helps!
Installation
In short - copy the contents of the ZIP file into the TC main folder.
For v3 a mod has to be installed for the new features to work.
Unlike most scripts CC uses a delayed installation.
It will install not on the first but the second time you load a game.
Without that X3 would crash on installation in some cases.
This mod does not require you to start a new game.
If you don't run any other mod, simply activate "Complex Cleaner" as "the" mod when you start X3 from it's launcher window.
(the mod files have been placed in the apropriate folders for that)
If you do select mod package at the X3 launcher window, this mod overrides all fake patches.
Use this feature with caution.
To install the mod as a "fake patch":
mods\Complex Cleaner.CAT + .DAT files must be placed in your X3 folder and renamed so that their numbers seamlessly follow the existing CAT/DAT files in there and end up as the highest number.
Right: Cat/Dat 10, 11, 12, 13
Wrong: Cat/Dat 10, 11, 12, Complex Cleaner
If you do select mod package at the X3 launcher window, this mod overrides all fake patches.
Use this feature with caution.
Combining Mods
Complex Cleaner mods TFactories.txt
It will be incompatible to any other mod that touches TFactories.txt unless you combine the mods.
This is done by copy/pasting the CC stations to the end of the other TFactories.txt.
Also adjust the number in the first line. This is the number of entries = lines.
The CC TFactories.txt contains 20 "placeholder" stations. These can be overwritten with stations from other mods without upsetting existing CC complexes in your game.
Just make sure the "other mod" stations are on the line number they belong to and that the real CC stations (anything but placeholders) end up on the same line number as before.
If you don't have existing CC complexes, yet, or if there is not enough placeholder space to "peacefully" combine the two mods - never fear!
Just copy/paste all the CC stations to the end of the other mod's TFactories.txt and call it good.
(Also adjust the number in the first line. This is the number of entries = lines.)
Even with existing CC complexes in your savegame, CC will automatically convert them when you load the game.
(Which is pretty cool!)
To actually get at the types\TFactories.txt file (it will be inside a CAT/DAT file) you will need Doubleshadow's Mod Manager.
Tech Stuff
Limitations - on the old clear / recall commands:
A maximum of 1000 huge factories (SPP XL, Mines) plus 3000 other Fabs can so be cleared out of your sector.
If a complex hub should be destroyed you can recall a maximum of 72 factories to the sector center (for reconnecting) at one time.
Resources used:
Textfile: 7021
Task ID 7021 on the executing ship
Command slot: COMMAND_TYPE_CUSTOM_25, COMMAND_TYPE_STATION_61
If you do not like the text commands, feel free to edit them in t\7021-**.xml.
Original (Reunion) development thread