Killjaeden wrote:Although those contracts require even more planning on the player side
That's true and actually what I had a mind. I like it, if it's a bit more difficult for the player. As for knowing the production output of your stations, I think there are some station graphs, which show the production output of your stations (?). If that's not enough, it should be relative easy to add a function (via MSCI) to your stations, so you can get these information. With a contract and time dependent deliveries in mind, it will also most likely be necessary to adjust or add one of trade commands. But again, I expect that not to be that difficult.
As for the penalty, I was actually more thinking about a one time penalty the player has to pay, when an amount of wares is not delivered in time or when the contract is cancelled completely.
DrBullwinkle wrote:That would be awesome.
But how do we implement it? (Certainly not like the Sudoku puzzle in Treasure Hunt.)
Nah, making the same thing twice is dull.
First of all, I would like to make some kind of interface. So instead of hacking -> the data is downloaded (or changed) automatically the sequence of actions is rather: hacking -> accessing interface -> accessing a certain function / interface option -> data is downloaded or changed.
As for starting the hacking process, you could let the MD start a script, which pops up the input window once the player reaches a certain distance to the target object (that would then be similar to the hacking in the ANH plot). Pretty much the same could also be done via an MSCI script, which could be started by the MD at the start of that scene (i.e. the scene starts, the MD calls an MSCI-script that searches for or creates the respective satellites and will start another script on them. This script then regularly checks for the and if so, opens the input window or menu). Other possibilites would be the use of a hotkey or ship command slot on the player's ship that is registered at the beginning of the plot scene and removed at the end of it.
As for the hacking process itself, I think there are two basic ideas that could be used.
Idea no. 1 is getting a password or access code, before the actual hacking starts. That could mean some actor is giving you hints on a password, you get some incoming messages from
someone or when scanning
something with parts of the password, which you have to combine, like in the ANH plot.
Idea no. 2 is the "real" hacking, so you access the interface and then you have to do
something in order to be able to access the functions. It seems natural to do something with numbers (see binary code as basis for computer stuff). However, I don't have any concrete idea for this right now.
As for the interface, it could be implemented as a custom menu that simply has different option lines. For example: See latest surveillance protocoll, See list of other navigation satellites in network, Change communication protocol, Selfdestruction, Exit menu.
(It was ANH)
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