User:Beetleb

About BeeTLe BeTHLeHeM (Beetleb)

I'm a fan of Elite and Frontier:Elite, when the terms "open world" and "freelance" were practically unknown.

Oolite has provided me with a good dose of nostalgia. Wandering from system to system, deciding what to do, where to go, slowly working for new ship components and models, finding profitable routes.

And there are so many high quality OXPs from the community, I don't remember other small games or remakes with this level of participation.

My Works

Life in the Frontier - Revival

This is my actual project. I wanted to port some Frontier mechanics into Oolite, to add to the variety with some new content.

Actually I have split development into three phases. I will try to keep features at a modular level.

The definitive main features I want to provide are the following:

• A system-level BBS with messages, missions, ads etc., with different tones depending on system government.
• A mission detail screen similar to Frontier:Elite, with various dialogue choices to get information, more money, money advances and to accept missions.
• Various mission templates, with one or more subtasks to be accomplished in sequence.
• Chance of events happening for certain mission successes/failures, reported in the BBS via news messages.
• Mission will create events, and events could generate new missions.
• Definition of various navigable station layouts, depending on system parameters, with different sectors. Player will disembark from the ship to roam the station map, using the Oolite "choices system".
• Local missions in the BBS, to complete inside the station itself.
• Missions that mix the normal templates with the local templates.
• Introduction of player properties - like RPG attributes, representing the player's physical and mental condition.
• Interaction between missions, events, station roaming and player attributes.
• Station locations that heal/alter player attributes.
• Simple inventory system. Small station markets for buying/selling player equipment.

There so much to process, it will require time and a careful planning to avoid messing things up.

Beside all of this, at a certain point I'll start to work on integration with other OXPs.

And I don't want to think of all the new ideas that will then come to my mind... so you see why I need a slow and thoughtful approach.

Cholmondely's Musings

History

BeeTLe BeTHLeHeM was active in 2015 when he published his early version of Life in the Frontier (explore the station). He then returned in 2018 and published Life In The Frontier - Revival OXP (bulletin boards).

Other people had meanwhile come up with simpler bulletin boards (eg Phkb back in 1016), but nobody had really done anything allowing one to explore a station. Norby tweaked LitF back in 2015, improving parts.

Massively Locked started updating LitF in 2022, adding in more shops, temples and events, as well as differing layouts for icos, dodos and rock hermits, but had to drop out due to family disasters.

Phkb has recently (mid 2024) added this to his massive list of OXPs to work on, and might hopefully produce a final polished version at some stage.

Musings

This is one of the potentially most transformative OXPs in Oolite, adding in a life outside the hull of your ship.

There are already minor elements of this elsewhere (see DGill's recent work on Feudal States for example - his inamoratae). There are all sorts of interesting tid-bits which BeeTLe BeTHLeHeM included in his code (closing "section doors" inside the station, for example).

While personally I'm more interested in LitF than Revival, there are some very interesting options (mostly inoperative) in Revival, if one cares to try it out.

Personally speaking, I'm very grateful to BeeTLe BeTHLeHeM for his work on this, even in its present incomplete stage.