SOTL Exploration - Revision history

Cholmondely: Added more musings

2026-07-15T17:24:32Z

Added more musings

Cholmondely: Added another musing

2026-07-15T15:06:26Z

Added another musing

Cholmondely: /* Musings */ Added another HUD idea

2026-07-15T15:01:49Z

‎Musings: Added another HUD idea

Cholmondely: Added "Tweaks" with link to Phkb's post, tweaks

2026-07-15T09:59:34Z

Added "Tweaks" with link to Phkb's post, tweaks

Cholmondely: /* Musings */ Added more

2026-07-12T12:01:35Z

‎Musings: Added more

Cholmondely: Updated link

2026-07-02T08:11:24Z

Updated link

Phkb: Updating BB links

2024-02-29T02:43:20Z

Updating BB links

Cholmondely: Added note

2023-05-01T12:40:44Z

Added note

Cholmondely: /* Hyperspace */ Oops!

2022-12-10T18:05:36Z

‎Hyperspace: Oops!

Cholmondely: Added more detail

2022-12-10T18:04:39Z

Added more detail

@@ Line 199: / Line 199: @@
 ) Addition: Add in "landing on anchor" with [[Planetfall2 OXP|PF2]] to visit the colonies? There are presumably other non-Hyperspace ships travelling between the colonies and "Local Maximum" which could be added in for immersion. (something [[Dynamic_Ship_List_(Oolite)|small]]: [[Landing Craft|Isis Landing Craft]] w/o decal? [[Firefly]]? [[Y-Wing]]? [[Mining Pod]]?)
-) Addition: Add in Thargoids? Allow "Interdiction" during Hyperspace travel? ("Tough" start!). Thargoid visitations could get worse as the game goes on, but one could (with discovered resources) upgrade one's laser and add some defences!
+) Addition: small craft flying between the planet and the colony ship ferrying people and resources from one t'other.
 == Tweaks ==

@@ Line 183: / Line 183: @@
 === Ideas for improvement ===
 ) Replace the Coriolis (colony ship "Local Maximum") with a [[Generation Ships OXP|Generation Ship]] (see "Tweaks" below), unsure about replacing the player's Adder (but, if the technology is more primitive than Oolite's, then the Adder is too modern).
 :For immersion, have a different interface when docking, involving interaction with the colony ship leaders ([[HD Backgrounds Image Pack A]]; [[LitF]]; [[Galactic Navy OXP]])
 :F4 ship/station interface screen: remove "GalCop station" from 3rd registration screen; remove offensive/defensive from Fast Activation screens

@@ Line 192: / Line 192: @@
 :: (ii) the various [[User:Captain Beatnik|Coluber/CB HUDs]] which have markings along their bars.
 :: (iii) But they ideally need coloured fill bars extending from the zero point in the middle to show things more accurately. Is this doable?
 ) Create uses for the mined minerals, new equipment made back at "Local Maximum", ''etc''. As in [[SOTL_Exploration#Cim.27s_original_plans_for_the_future_development_of_this_OXP_.28or.2C_what.27s_missing.21.29|Cim's original plans]] above.

@@ Line 182: / Line 182: @@
 === Ideas for improvement ===
-) Replace the Coriolis (colony ship "Local Maximum") with a [[Generation Ships OXP|Generation Ship]] (I think that they are dockable), unsure about replacing the player's Adder (but, if the technology is more primitive than Oolite's, then the Adder is too modern).
+) Replace the Coriolis (colony ship "Local Maximum") with a [[Generation Ships OXP|Generation Ship]] (see "Tweaks" below), unsure about replacing the player's Adder (but, if the technology is more primitive than Oolite's, then the Adder is too modern).
 :For immersion, have a different interface when docking, involving interaction with the colony ship leaders ([[HD Backgrounds Image Pack A]]; [[LitF]]; [[Galactic Navy OXP]])
 :F4 ship/station interface screen: remove "GalCop station" from 3rd registration screen; remove offensive/defensive from Fast Activation screens
@@ Line 198: / Line 198: @@
 ) Addition: Add in Thargoids? Allow "Interdiction" during Hyperspace travel? ("Tough" start!). Thargoid visitations could get worse as the game goes on, but one could (with discovered resources) upgrade one's laser and add some defences!
 == Links ==
@@ Line 203: / Line 207: @@
 *[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17603 BB Discussion Thread] (2015+)
 *[https://github.com/cim--/oxp-SongOfTheLabyrinth SOTL GitHub site]
-*[[User:Cim|Cim]]: link to author's page & his other oxp's
+*[[User:Cim|Cim]]: link to author's page & his other OXPs
 *[[Exploration]]
 {{Unclassified-OXP}}
 {{demo-OXP}}

@@ Line 170: / Line 170: @@
 == Musings ==
 There seem to be three major points about this .oxp/game/proof of concept.
@@ Line 179: / Line 180: @@
 Since cim programmed this ''within'' the Oolite game framework, some of these ideas should be transferable to the main game for those with the skills.
 == Links ==

@@ Line 117: / Line 117: @@
 ===Wreckage, Silicates, Ice and Ores ===
-The list of commodities on the [[F8 page (commodity market)|F8 commodities screen]] is adumbrated by the F8F8 entry for each item - so there is no current need for ice, but there ''is'' for Uranium, Rhenium, ''etc''.
+The list of commodities on the [[F8 screen (commodity market)|F8 commodities screen]] is adumbrated by the F8F8 entry for each item - so there is no current need for ice, but there ''is'' for Uranium, Rhenium, ''etc''.
 [[Image:sotl-hyperspace.png|thumb|right|400px|SOTL Hyperspace]]

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 None of your normal OXPs will be usable in a SOTL Exploration game.
-For more information, see [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17603 the forum thread]
+For more information, see [https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17603 the forum thread]
 ===Warning===
@@ Line 182: / Line 182: @@
 == Links ==
 *[[SOTL Altmap]] - for details of the second game!
-*[http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17603 BB Discussion Thread] (2015+)
+*[https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17603 BB Discussion Thread] (2015+)
 *[https://github.com/cim--/oxp-SongOfTheLabyrinth SOTL GitHub site]
 *[[User:Cim|Cim]]: link to author's page & his other oxp's

@@ Line 115: / Line 115: @@
 ===Sampling laser and sample collection bay===
 The sampling laser will break small chunks off an asteroid - ideally one you have previously scanned with the prospecting laser - which can then be scooped into the sample collection bay and returned to the Local Maximum for extraction of valuable minerals. Each collection bay will hold 15 samples. (On particularly mineral-rich asteroids, a single sample may contain multiple usable minerals)
 [[Image:sotl-hyperspace.png|thumb|right|400px|SOTL Hyperspace]]

@@ Line 124: / Line 124: @@
 # Right: '''current energy reserves'''. Hyperspace travel is energy-intensive. If you run out of energy mid-jump, your ship will be destroyed as it fails to maintain hyperspatial integrity. You can press 'h' again to abort the jump and drop out away from your destination, which will damage your ship due to the rough exit, but you should at least survive.
 # Centre: '''jump status'''. If this is <font color="Yellow">'''yellow'''</font> or <font color="Green">'''green'''</font> the jump is going well. If <font color="Orange">'''orange'''</font>, you are losing energy fast but should have sufficient reserves to finish the jump. If <font color="Red">'''red'''</font>, you do not have sufficient reserves at the current rate of energy loss to complete the jump (this will start flashing <font color="Red">'''red'''</font>/'''black''' if you have fewer than 5 seconds available)
-# Left, bottom: '''jump alignment'''. You need to handle a lot of the jump yourself. Keep your <font color="Yellow"'''yellow'''</font> marks aligned with the moving <font color="Green">'''green'''</font> ones using your pitch and roll controls - the closer the alignment, the less energy you will need to maintain hyperspatial integrity.
+# Left, bottom: '''jump alignment'''. You need to handle a lot of the jump yourself. Keep your <font color="Yellow">'''yellow'''</font> marks aligned with the moving <font color="Green">'''green'''</font> ones using your pitch and roll controls - the closer the alignment, the less energy you will need to maintain hyperspatial integrity.
 The pattern you need to align to is a property of the particular jump you are making, so with practice you can use less energy. Additionally, the more times you complete a jump the more computer assistance you receive with future jumps on the same route, which reduces the precision needed to maintain energy levels. (This means you need to carry fewer energy banks and can carry more survey equipment instead)
@@ Line 133: / Line 133: @@
 - fuel usage is proportional to the square root of the distance
 As large masses travel through normal space, they leave ripples behind them in the hyperspace medium, and semi-stable calm points. The larger the mass, the better the calm point. For this reason, a successful jump will place you in the calm point for the system's star.
 ==Version History==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:SOTL Exploration.png|thumb|right|The new F6 screen!]]
 [[File:SOTL Exploration F7.png|thumb|right|The new F7 screen!]]
 '''Song of the Labyrinth: Exploration''' is an experimental scenario OXP for Oolite, set in a very different part of space, and a considerably lower-tech environment than the Oolite setting.
@@ Line 35: / Line 36: @@
 This is an experimental OXP, and the Startup OXP may need to be updated if the main OXP is - which will mean you lose any progress (and of course, you also have to use a nightly Oolite build). Comments during development are extremely welcome but don't get too attached to your progress yet.
 ==Equipment fitting==
 The '''Shaula'''-class survey ship you fly can carry ten modules (in addition to the generator and flight computer which must be carried). The initial fitting is 3 fuel tanks, 3 capacitors, 1 gravity sensor, 1 spectroscopic sensor, and 1 prospecting laser, though you can customise this as much as you like before you leave.
@@ Line 42: / Line 45: @@
 It will automatically mark planets once you approach closely enough to get accurate information on their position and speed, and give them a preliminary designation. Information about the currently selected target will be displayed on your HUD
 It has three primable modes:
@@ Line 57: / Line 58: @@
 ===Gravity scanner===
-[[Image:Sotl-gravity.png|right]]
+[[Image:Sotl-gravity.png|thumb|right|400px|Gravitational Sensor - do not forget to set the mode ("b")]]
 The gravity scanner allows the mass of nearby stars and planets to be estimated. If multiple gravity scanners are fitted, they are used in parallel to provide more accurate readings. You must be at a complete stop to use it. You may turn with it in use, but this will interfere with the readings.
@@ Line 72: / Line 73: @@
   Why are they only positive?
-There's an implicit zero-mark about half-way up the scale.
+They are not: there's an implicit zero-mark about half-way up the scale.
 So if you turn your ship so that the X and Y are about half-way up, and the Z is all the way up, then the gravitational source should be in front of you. (On arrival in a new system, the dominant gravitational force will be the star, so this should be easy to verify!)
@@ Line 95: / Line 96: @@
 ===Spectroscopic scanner and prospecting laser===
-The spectroscopic scanner lets you determine the composition of stars, planets and asteroids by measuring emitted or reflected light. It returns the relative amounts of ten elements or compounds of particular survey interest, on a logarithmic scale.
+The spectroscopic scanner lets you determine the composition of stars, planets and asteroids by measuring emitted or reflected light. It returns the relative amounts of ten elements or compounds of particular survey interest, on a '''logarithmic scale'''.
-[[Image:Sotl-spectroscopic.png|right]]
+[[Image:Sotl-spectroscopic.png|thumb|right|400px|Spectroscopic Scanner and Prospecting Laser]]
 To use it, point your ship at the thing you want to scan, target it with compass or ident as appropriate, activate the sensor with 'n', and cycle the mode to the correct scan (star, planet or asteroid) with 'b'. Then, activate the scan with 'n' and watch the composition bars climb.
@@ Line 115: / Line 116: @@
 The sampling laser will break small chunks off an asteroid - ideally one you have previously scanned with the prospecting laser - which can then be scooped into the sample collection bay and returned to the Local Maximum for extraction of valuable minerals. Each collection bay will hold 15 samples. (On particularly mineral-rich asteroids, a single sample may contain multiple usable minerals)
 ==Hyperspace==
 Hyperspace travel is dangerous - especially in a ship as improvised as the Shaula-class. When you activate the hyperdrive, an additional instrument display will be projected on to your HUD
 # Above: progress to destination. This starts with you leaving the gravitational influence of your current system, then travelling through hyperspace, then entering your destination system. If you need to drop out mid-jump, this will determine where you end up.
-# Right: current energy reserves. Hyperspace travel is energy-intensive. If you run out of energy mid-jump, your ship will be destroyed as it fails to maintain hyperspatial integrity. You can press 'h' again to abort the jump and drop out away from your destination, which will damage your ship due to the rough exit, but you should at least survive.
+# Above: '''progress to destination''' ("travelling"). This starts with you leaving the gravitational influence of your current system, then travelling through hyperspace, then entering your destination system. If you need to drop out mid-jump, this will determine where you end up.
-# Centre: jump status. If this is yellow or green the jump is going well. If orange, you are losing energy fast but should have sufficient reserves to finish the jump. If red, you do not have sufficient reserves at the current rate of energy loss to complete the jump (this will start flashing red/black if you have fewer than 5 seconds available)
+# Right: '''current energy reserves'''. Hyperspace travel is energy-intensive. If you run out of energy mid-jump, your ship will be destroyed as it fails to maintain hyperspatial integrity. You can press 'h' again to abort the jump and drop out away from your destination, which will damage your ship due to the rough exit, but you should at least survive.
-# Left, bottom: jump alignment. You need to handle a lot of the jump yourself. Keep the yellow marks aligned with the green ones using your pitch and roll controls - the closer the alignment, the less energy you will need to maintain hyperspatial integrity.
+# Centre: '''jump status'''. If this is <font color="Yellow">'''yellow'''</font> or <font color="Green">'''green'''</font> the jump is going well. If <font color="Orange">'''orange'''</font>, you are losing energy fast but should have sufficient reserves to finish the jump. If <font color="Red">'''red'''</font>, you do not have sufficient reserves at the current rate of energy loss to complete the jump (this will start flashing <font color="Red">'''red'''</font>/'''black''' if you have fewer than 5 seconds available)
 The pattern you need to align to is a property of the particular jump you are making, so with practice you can use less energy. Additionally, the more times you complete a jump the more computer assistance you receive with future jumps on the same route, which reduces the precision needed to maintain energy levels. (This means you need to carry fewer energy banks and can carry more survey equipment instead)