!! Pioneer Question Time !! - Ask them here

[robn]

If there's a specific case that you want to address then we can look at ways to make it work. The general case however is a whole lot of empty.

[Skodyn]

I'm constantly getting denied permission to dock at stations due to npc ships being docked there. After waiting for many hours I'm still denied permission to dock as the ships are still not moving, this is getting very frustrating when trying complete delivery missions on time.I looked on the issue tracker and noticed this was on issue #11.So I'm wondering if you are already aware that this problem is still an issue and is being worked on, or if not should #11 be re-opened or a new issue created ?

[Ziusudra]

A new issue if they are not leaving at all. The largest of them can take almost a day to leave as the time they stay is proportional to the amount of cargo they (pretend to) transfer.Information to include in such an issue would be where you see this happening (port, system, sector), how long you waited, the stdout.txt (in My Documents/Pioneer) and the id of any of the docked ships, or even a save file. Oh, and the version of Pioneer which is displayed on the title menu.

[Skodyn]

Thanks Ziusudra, I need more time to study it as I noticed last night they are coming and going if I'm docked in the port, main problem seems to be if they are already spawned in port when I enter the system, also there is usually a very large ship stationed above the entrance to the port which also never moves.Will open an issue when I've had more time to look at it.I'm currently using pioneer-b72c066-win32.7z on windows xp.p.s. If I download a new nightly can I still use my saves?

[walterar]

"I'm constantly getting denied permission to dock at stations due to npc ships being docked there."This needs to be adjusted. On occasions I've waited weeks without success. The solution was to start a new game.

[Ziusudra]

Skodyn wrote:
Thanks Ziusudra, I need more time to study it as I noticed last night they are coming and going if I'm docked in the port, main problem seems to be if they are already spawned in port when I enter the system,
Actually, the only time they are spawned in port is when you start a new game. When you enter a system they are (supposed to be) only spawned in space or hyperspace. I'll check that.
Skodyn wrote:
also there is usually a very large ship stationed above the entrance to the port which also never moves.
Those are bulk ships which are too big to dock and are working as currently intended.
Skodyn wrote:
Will open an issue when I've had more time to look at it.I'm currently using pioneer-b72c066-win32.7z on windows xp.p.s. If I download a new nightly can I still use my saves?
With that nightly, I don't think so.
walterar wrote:
"This needs to be adjusted. On occasions I've waited weeks without success. The solution was to start a new game.
If they don't undock within a day, it is a bug. Without more information as I mentioned above I can't track it down.(Though a badly damaged ship might wait longer than a day, it still wouldn't be "weeks".)

[walterar]

Ziusudra. This was only one comment, when I encounter a problem trying to "capture and document" and published it in git> issues.There are many problems that I can not capture or document, but that's normal in a project in alpha state.Do not take this as criticism, are doing a good job.I try to do a good "game tester".

[ollobrain]

Upgradeable ports would solve this, complexes could grow if the layer delivers construction components so that the trade ports can expand and contract if theres a lack of profitable tracffic, missions requiring upgrading of planet and orbital facilities could earn the player income. This could then tie in with system or localised traffic npc levels, pirate activity etc etc.End result more docking ports player can influence the galaxy and this would solve issue 11# * longer term idea however *

[Dessimat0r]

That could be done in the universe generation phase. Similar to what Dwarf Fortress does perhaps, but always using the same seed so that the universe always stays the same between different machines. Then have these ports upgrade dynamically throughout the game normally, as you described.

[Overlord]

Do those huge ships near stations actually have a part in the game? Or are they just for decoration? More importantly, can we fly one? That would be

[fluffyfreak]

Dessimat0r wrote:
That could be done in the universe generation phase. Similar to what Dwarf Fortress does perhaps, but always using the same seed so that the universe always stays the same between different machines. Then have these ports upgrade dynamically throughout the game normally, as you described.
No the universe generation doesn't work like that. For a start the universe is never truly generated.If you want to take a look at me experimenting then checkout my "populating" branch on github. It's not the approach I'd use now but i started defining population/political volumes which dictate what happens to other systems when they're created. System creation only really happens when you're "looking" at them, be that in the hyperspace target view, arriving in the system, or searching for local systems in scripts etc. Once they're out of sight they're out of mind with only a small cache being kept of the most recently viewed/searched/etc.What I wanted to do was mix a galaxy created using the current system, with defined epochs of exploration by certain political/population affinities leading upto the year 3200 when the game starts. From then on they'd just keep expanding away from their start/hub systems using something like diffusion limited aggregation to control where new hubs formed, but thats not implemented as I ran out of time for looking into it when I went sailing and then started my new job.The other issue is something that Brianetta likes to post about, how do you stop the player having disproportionately large influence in the game?Lets say there are two colony ships heading to settle a new hub world, this hub world will control the affiliation of dozens of other systems depending on who settles it. That equates to tens of billions of lives, different tech, whether whole worlds are terraformed or just domed, etcera etc. Now imagine the player decides that they prefer one side over the other and so fly to the opposition and destroy or damage their colony ship.That one player has just altered the fate of billions of lives and thousands of worlds. It gets worse, because as time passes that "new" hub, will become old and established and eventually settle other hub worlds. That simple act could well encompass tens of thousands of worlds and there associated beings.It's pretty cool, but from a gameplay point of view they player is given situations where they're power far exceeds what you'd expect the game to allow them. it certainly makes a mockery of the sole trader, buying fertiliser to sell to a farming colony so they can afford fuel and a return trip with vegetables in the hold... oh and altering the fate of galaxy along the way Maybe it's not so bad. Perhaps the colony ships just need military protection (with military drives ) and then it'll all work out.I dunno, but it needs more thought.Ramble over! I'm off to the pub :DAndy

[ollobrain]

well if a player spreads himself out, changes slowly take place where he has influenced before ie pushing colonies forward might cause them to drop back if trade goods drop off being delivered. Or put restrictions on the total amount of influence the player can have by simply pushing stats influences up and down based on other factors as well might dilute the player while still allowing them to influence events through their actions

[nevilclavain]

As I was playing Pioneer last evening i realized that earth-likes planets seems to be very rare in the galaxy ? In real words, excepts earth, I did'nt found any earth-like planets ?? Is there particular conditions programmed for a solar system to host planets like this ? Do I have to add it by myself via lua scriptings ? Maybe someone asked the same questions before me, but sorry I did'nt took time to browse the 59 pages of this thread... Nevil.

[walterar]

Hi all. I am ashamed to say, but do not know Frontier in any version. I started with Pioneer and Frontier information I found did not help much. The text attempts to explain the function of a button, to no avail. I suspect the fault is my ignorance of English. It would be very happy studying English, its you study Spanish (Castilian, we say in Argentina) But we must not let that stop us from communicating. Blessed be the Google translator. In the 3200 works perfect. Only 1,188 years that I have patience. That's why we ask those who know the Frontier and Pioneer: You can write here the differences?I think many people will be grateful.

[robn]

Documentation patches are every bit as welcome as code patches. We also started the manual a few months back but put a hold on it because its hard to track a moving target. If you fancy yourself a good writer you might like to pick it up.

[walterar]

Would be nice if the author of the code of a function, explain what it is for practical examples of the game.Otherwise the game is fun only for who writes (or understand) code. Very few people.I am reviewing C to play.

[fluffyfreak]

walterar wrote:
Would be nice if the author of the code of a function, explain what it is for practical examples of the game.Otherwise the game is fun only for who writes (or understand) code. Very few people.I am reviewing C to play.
I'm sorry I don't understand. You are reviewing functions to understand how to play the game?

[Skodyn]

I'll try and do some work on the manual myself, I have the Frontier manual to help with layout and ideas. I thought I read somewhere on the forum that someone else was working on it, so will have to check.At the moment I'm learning how to use git, I installed it last night and downloaded a copy of the repository. I've added my copy of the shortcut icon to the copy of the repo on my pc. Now I will work on how to fork it and push it and pull it, might take me some time but I'll get there The icon is only a small contribution, but once I'm successful I can work on other stuff like the manual perhaps.I think Thargoid may be doing some work on the manual[url]http://www.spacesimcentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=2751&p=27515&hilit=manual#p27515[/url]

[Charzy]

Is there any easier way to catch cargo pods than to thrust at them and hope you actually hit them?I've been trying to mind on an asteroid, and everything works fine. I have my cargo scoop attached, my mining laser works but when I try to get my hard earned minerals they fly past never to be seen again. I've checked my cargo bay, and it doesn't show any gain. Help?

[Ziusudra]

First the basics of cargo scooping:Your ship must have a cargo scoop fitted; there are currently only four ships that can: Adder, Eagle Mk-IV Bomber, Constrictor and Sidewinder.The item to be scooped must collide with the scoop surface. So, you'll have to look at the ship to see where that is.The one thing that I find indispensable is target-relative set-speed mode, which is a feature that may not be well known. Holding CTRL while targeting something will change your reported and set speed to be relative that body. So, CTRL+left click what you want to scoop, make sure you're in set-speed mode with low positive speed, and use external view to get lined up so that it hits the cargo scoop.Maybe at some point somebody will add a tractor scoop to the game that will make a bit less tedious.