SOTL Exploration - Revision history

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

Cholmondely: /* Gravity scanner */ Tweak!

2022-12-09T09:05:03Z

‎Gravity scanner: Tweak!

Cholmondely: /* Download */ Added a little more

2022-04-06T08:32:50Z

‎Download: Added a little more

Cholmondely: /* Cim's original plans for the future development of this OXP (or, what's missing!) */ Added a little

2022-04-06T08:30:00Z

‎Cim's original plans for the future development of this OXP (or, what's missing!): Added a little

Cholmondely: Added a little more

2022-04-06T07:42:18Z

Added a little more

Cholmondely: Add cim's talk about future development and my musings.

2022-03-04T02:41:33Z

Add cim's talk about future development and my musings.

Cholmondely: /* Gravity scanner */ Added cim's further instructions

2022-03-03T12:38:19Z

‎Gravity scanner: Added cim's further instructions

@@ 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.
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 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:
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 ===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.
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 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)

@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 ===Gravity scanner===
 [[Image:Sotl-gravity.png|right]]
-The gravity scanner allows the mass of nearby stars and planets to be estimated. If multiple 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.
+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.
 Use the mode key ('b') to cycle between the four modes of operation, and press 'n' to activate the current mode:

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 ==Download==
 There are 3 files.
-:The [https://cim.sotl.org.uk/games/files/oolite/SOTL_Exploration_0.4.oxz Exploration OXZ] (0.4)
+:The [https://cim.sotl.org.uk/games/files/oolite/SOTL_Exploration_0.4.oxz Exploration OXZ] (SOTL_Exploration_0.4)
-:The [https://cim.sotl.org.uk/games/files/oolite/Song_of_the_Labyrinth_Startup_1.1.oxz Loader OXZ] (1.1)
+:The [https://cim.sotl.org.uk/games/files/oolite/Song_of_the_Labyrinth_Startup_1.1.oxz Loader OXZ] (Song_of_the_Labyrinth_Startup_1.1)
-:And [https://cim.sotl.org.uk/games/files/oolite/Song_of_the_Labyrinth_Altmap_1.0.oxz Altmap] (1.0) - see [[SOTL Altmap]] for details of this second scenario
+:And [https://cim.sotl.org.uk/games/files/oolite/Song_of_the_Labyrinth_Altmap_1.0.oxz Altmap] (Song_of_the_Labyrinth_Altmap_1.0) - see [[SOTL Altmap]] for details of this second scenario
 As this is a scenario OXP which changes many of Oolite's basic rules, it is disabled in conventional Oolite games, and requires the starting of a new game from a special position to play it. This position is available in the SOTL Loader/Startup  OXP (for technical reasons this must be downloaded separately).

@@ Line 158: / Line 158: @@
 I have no objection in principle to what there is being put in the Expansions Manager, maybe someone else will finish it off / take it in another direction someday.
-But ... one reason I didn't put it in the manager is that Exploration depends on Loader, so if you install Exploration, you get the Loader OXP too. Loader can't depend on Exploration, because if it did, Exploration won't load in the core scenario, and then Loader won't load because Exploration isn't there, and then you can't actually start the scenario game. But that means when you're installing from the manager, if you install Loader it can't then auto-install Exploration ... and then if you try to run Loader it'll probably go wrong with an entirely unhelpful error message
+But ... one reason I didn't put it in the manager is that Exploration depends on Loader, so if you install Exploration, you get the Loader OXP too (Song_of_the_Labyrinth_Startup). Loader can't depend on Exploration, because if it did, Exploration won't load in the core scenario, and then Loader won't load because Exploration isn't there, and then you can't actually start the scenario game. But that means when you're installing from the manager, if you install Loader it can't then auto-install Exploration ... and then if you try to run Loader it'll probably go wrong with an entirely unhelpful error message
 The manager ideally needs a new relationship type adding to handle that sort of "install-time but not run-time" dependency, but I never got round to that either.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 Mining has recently obtained a small surplus of Uranium and Osmium required for the production of hyperspace fuel, and a cargo shuttle has been extensively refitted to carry a small hyperdrive and a range of survey gear. Its initial task is to survey the local cluster, hoping to find minerals which so far have not been located in exploitable quantities, both to restock the colonists' reserves and to allow fuel and equipment to be produced for a more extended mission.
 ==Download==
@@ Line 21: / Line 33: @@
 ===Warning===
-This is currently an experimental OXP, and the Startup OXP may need to be updated sometimes when 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.
+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.
+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.
 ===Flight computer===
@@ Line 128: / Line 140: @@
 * 0.1: unreleased, hyperspace changes only
-== Cim's original plans for the future development of this OXP (or, what's missing!)
+=== Cim's original plans for the future development of this OXP (or, what's missing!) ===
 *A nicer cockpit/HUD.
@@ Line 144: / Line 156: @@
 :Eventually, then a long-term goal to repair the base ship entirely (including its hyperdrive), and gradually move it across the chart to one of the habitable planets you found while exploring for the rest of this. (And then you've "won" but obviously you can keep exploring the rest of the map, with the benefit that you no longer need to keep dragging oxygen and water and minerals to your base)
-No objection in principle to what there is being put in the manager, maybe someone else will finish it off / take it in another direction someday.
+I have no objection in principle to what there is being put in the Expansions Manager, maybe someone else will finish it off / take it in another direction someday.
 But ... one reason I didn't put it in the manager is that Exploration depends on Loader, so if you install Exploration, you get the Loader OXP too. Loader can't depend on Exploration, because if it did, Exploration won't load in the core scenario, and then Loader won't load because Exploration isn't there, and then you can't actually start the scenario game. But that means when you're installing from the manager, if you install Loader it can't then auto-install Exploration ... and then if you try to run Loader it'll probably go wrong with an entirely unhelpful error message
@@ Line 166: / Line 178: @@
 *[[SOTL Altmap]] - for details of the second game!
 *[http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17603 BB Discussion Thread] (2015+)
 *[[User:Cim|Cim]]: link to author's page & his other oxp's
 *[[Exploration]]

@@ Line 127: / Line 127: @@
 * 0.2: first public release, added gravity scanner, stars, planets
 * 0.1: unreleased, hyperspace changes only
 == Links ==
@@ Line 132: / Line 167: @@
 *[http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17603 BB Discussion Thread] (2015+)
 *[[User:Cim|Cim]]: link to author's page & his other oxp's
 {{Unclassified-OXP}}
 {{demo-OXP}}

@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
 * assign scan: assigns the scan data to the selected compass target (you need to pick for yourself what object you believe to be the gravitationally dominant one). The system will filter out components of the gravitational force not parallel to the direction of the target, and then use that to calculate surface gravity
 * filter scan: if you already know the approximate mass of an object from a previous scan, you can filter it out of the scan by selecting it with the compass and pressing 'n' in this mode. This lets you get more accurate readings for unmeasured objects, and with sufficient practice and luck can also help you find undiscovered planets.
 ===Spectroscopic scanner and prospecting laser===