User:Another commander - Revision history

Cholmondely: /* OXPs */ Oops!

2021-08-17T20:04:51Z

‎OXPs: Oops!

Cholmondely: /* OXPs */ Added RedSet & Oolite Italiano

2021-08-17T20:03:50Z

‎OXPs: Added RedSet & Oolite Italiano

Cholmondely: /* Comments on Oolite combat vs Elite combat */ Added pictures

2021-07-20T01:29:37Z

‎Comments on Oolite combat vs Elite combat: Added pictures

Cholmondely: Updated

2021-07-19T23:58:12Z

Updated

Cholmondely: Added docking protocol

2021-07-18T18:37:54Z

Added docking protocol

Cholmondely: /* OXPs */ Added his Gsagostinho retextures

2021-05-27T08:58:07Z

‎OXPs: Added his Gsagostinho retextures

Cholmondely: More links explaining the graphics

2021-05-16T10:41:42Z

Cholmondely: Added photo gallery

2021-04-23T12:57:05Z

Added photo gallery

Cholmondely: /* OXPs */ A bit more

2021-04-20T09:13:13Z

‎OXPs: A bit more

Cholmondely: Oops!

2021-04-19T22:43:59Z

Oops!

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 == OXPs ==
 *[[RedSet]] - puts red image-laden backgrounds on the older F2-8 screens. For v.1.74 and up (2010)
-*[[Oolite Italiano]] - translates the various GUI pages into Italian. For v.1.73 and up - does not work so well with the newest versions of Oolite (2012)
+*[[Language|Oolite Italiano]] - translates the various GUI pages into Italian. For v.1.73 and up - does not work so well with the newest versions of Oolite (2012)
 *[[Media:InsectPicsOnSysDesc.oxz|Bugs, glorious Bugs]] puts a bug on the F7 page when you inspect an insect-dominated system ([http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7762 BB thread] 2010)
 *[http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?p=202658#p202658 NPC Energy Bomb] gives the energy bomb to NPCs (c.2010?) - an experimental analysis of [[Cheating]] issues

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 == OXPs ==
 *[[Media:InsectPicsOnSysDesc.oxz|Bugs, glorious Bugs]] puts a bug on the F7 page when you inspect an insect-dominated system ([http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7762 BB thread] 2010)
 *[http://www.aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?p=202658#p202658 NPC Energy Bomb] gives the energy bomb to NPCs (c.2010?) - an experimental analysis of [[Cheating]] issues

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 == Comments on Oolite combat vs Elite combat ==
    The first thing one needs to do when starting fresh in Oolite is forget the combat play style of the old Elite 8-bit versions. Back in the old days, screen resolutions were much lower as you have correctly mentioned, frames per second were in the single digits for the fastest computers of the time, memory available for AI routines ''etc'' was much much lower and so on. This resulted in combat tactics that were fit for purpose for the available spec. An example of this is the '''fat pixel''' that represented any ship at large distances. Back then, the standard combat tactic I was using on the Spectrum was to shoot that fat pixel as much as I could before the ship it represented approached to a distance where the switch to proper vector graphics was made. Battles could finish in a few seconds like this before they even had a chance to properly start. And of course, it meant that I kept my ship moving steady forward while doing all this.<br/>
    The above example will not work in [[Oolite]]. Nowadays we have high resolution graphics and better artificial intelligence. There is no fat pixel anymore and ships are drawn as textured meshes regardless of distance, often with shaders running on top of them. So, there is no easy targeting at the start of combat and the AI is using predictive routines to try to judge where it should fire the next shot. Someone engaging in a fight while carrying the mindset of 8-bit computers will see the ''game over'' screen very quickly indeed.<br/>
    On top of this, there is one more detail that I need to bring to everyone's attention: Most of us (and, from what I understand reading your first post, you too) have memories of how Elite used to be when we had a fully equipped ship. I remember Elite being really easy once I had an iron-ass ready. I, just like you, was hunting Thargoids in witchspace for that extra bit of challenge and I still could eliminate hordes of them in one little single ship. That, looking back at it many years after, seems wrong, no? But the question here is, does anyone remember how it was when they were starting? Was it not hard back then? Did you not lose one battle after another? I remember I did, and I remember being frustrated. But the feeling of achievement when I won my first encounter against a pack of three using a pulse laser (even though I had to bring a half-destroyed ship to the station) was so intense that it made all worth it at the end. And the rewarding feeling of adding one more piece of equipment to the ship as I was progressing was enhanced by the fact that I knew that next time I was going to be in combat I would have slightly better odds. And because of this, I wanted to continue playing (you know, that "one more flight and I'm done" thing... ;-))<br/>
    We are trying to capture this in Oolite. Yes, it is very difficult. It used to be even more difficult in the previous version. We had players coming here to complain about it but, guess what, the very same players who persisted and did not give up told us a few months down the line that the game was perfectly balanced after all and we really did not have to do any changes (but we did, because v1.80 was really, seriously difficult). To be able to capture this, some base design decisions had to be made and they have been with us almost since the beginning.<br/>
    The philosophy here is two-fold: 1. The player ship is just another ship in the universe, no special treatment is reserved for it (the polar opposite of the 8-bit Elites) and 2. The player must be able to be challenged even at higher ranks, but still be able to survive at start up.<br/>

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 [[File:Oolite-336.png|320px|thumb|right]]
 [[File:Oolite-737.png|320px|thumb|right]]
-This worthy gentleman joined the boards in 2007 and wrote the code for the [[Advanced Navigational Array]] (ANA) and the [[Oolite Docking Clearance Protocol (v1.72 or later)|Docking Protocol]]. Joining the developers, he has managed to survive and continue contributing to Oolite whilst Real Life slew all around him in droves. With an penchant for graphics (among other things), he has done the bulk of the coding since [[User:Cim|Cim]] retired as Lead Designer after v.1.84. He spearheaded the move to the new [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20674 Oren-Nayar diffuse light model] in v.1.90 together with a yet [http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/ more sophisticated rendering of planets]. In v.1.88 he brought in an [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19881 improved lighting system], whilst in v.1.86 he had introduced [http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/v1.86/ high-definition graphic resolution] and improved the graphics for planets.
+This worthy gentleman joined the boards in 2007 and wrote the code for the [[Advanced Navigational Array]] (ANA) and the [[Oolite Docking Clearance Protocol (v1.72 or later)|Docking Protocol]]. Joining the developers, he has managed to survive and continue contributing to Oolite whilst Real Life slew all around him in droves. He worked with [[User:Ahruman|Ahruman]] in implementing the Javascript Engine (SpiderMonkey) across all 3 versions of Oolite (AppleMac, Windows & Linux). He also has been invaluable over the years in updating components of Oolite (''eg'' enabling the loading-up of oxp's across all the versions), and rewriting the planetary descriptions. With an penchant for graphics (among other things), he has done the bulk of the coding since [[User:Cim|Cim]] retired as Lead Designer after v.1.84. He spearheaded the move to the new [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20674 Oren-Nayar diffuse light model] in v.1.90 together with a yet [http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/ more sophisticated rendering of planets]. In v.1.88 he brought in an [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19881 improved lighting system], whilst in v.1.86 he had introduced [http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/v1.86/ high-definition graphic resolution] and improved the graphics for planets.
 == OXPs ==

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 [[File:Oolite-336.png|320px|thumb|right]]
 [[File:Oolite-737.png|320px|thumb|right]]
-This worthy gentleman joined the boards in 2007 and wrote the code for the [[Advanced Navigational Array]] (ANA). Joining the developers, he has managed to survive and continue contributing to Oolite whilst Real Life slew all around him in droves. With an penchant for graphics (among other things), he has done the bulk of the coding since [[User:Cim|Cim]] retired as Lead Designer after v.1.84. He spearheaded the move to the new [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20674 Oren-Nayar diffuse light model] in v.1.90 together with a yet [http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/ more sophisticated rendering of planets]. In v.1.88 he brought in an [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19881 improved lighting system], whilst in v.1.86 he had introduced [http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/v1.86/ high-definition graphic resolution] and improved the graphics for planets.
+This worthy gentleman joined the boards in 2007 and wrote the code for the [[Advanced Navigational Array]] (ANA) and the [[Oolite Docking Clearance Protocol (v1.72 or later)|Docking Protocol]]. Joining the developers, he has managed to survive and continue contributing to Oolite whilst Real Life slew all around him in droves. With an penchant for graphics (among other things), he has done the bulk of the coding since [[User:Cim|Cim]] retired as Lead Designer after v.1.84. He spearheaded the move to the new [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20674 Oren-Nayar diffuse light model] in v.1.90 together with a yet [http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/ more sophisticated rendering of planets]. In v.1.88 he brought in an [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19881 improved lighting system], whilst in v.1.86 he had introduced [http://www.oolite.org/whatsnew/v1.86/ high-definition graphic resolution] and improved the graphics for planets.
 == OXPs ==

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 === OXZ using the new graphics capabilities which A_C_ coded into Oolite version 1.88 ===
 *[[Normal and Specular+Gloss Maps for Oolite v1.88+]] - this one updates the [[Vanilla game]]'s ships, stations, rock hermits ''etc'' with better textures
 === OXZs displaying the new graphics capabilities which A_C_ coded into Oolite version 1.90 ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:57, 23 April 2021
Line 1:		Line 1:
	[[File:Eredvian Insects.png\|320px\|thumb\|right\|Another_Commander's Bug]]		[[File:Eredvian Insects.png\|320px\|thumb\|right\|Another_Commander's Bug]]
		+	[[File:Oolite-285.png\|320px\|thumb\|right\|He also takes stunning photographs!]]
		+	[[File:Oolite-304.png\|320px\|thumb\|right]]
		+	[[File:Oolite-336.png\|320px\|thumb\|right]]
		+	[[File:Oolite-737.png\|320px\|thumb\|right]]
	This worthy gentleman joined the boards in 2007 and wrote the code for the [[Advanced Navigational Array]] (ANA). Joining the developers, he has managed to survive and continue contributing to Oolite whilst Real Life slew all around him in droves. With an penchant for graphics (among other things), he has done the bulk of the coding since [[User:Cim\|Cim]] retired as Lead Designer after v.1.84. He spearheaded the move to the new Oren-Nayar diffuse light model in v.1.90 together with a yet more sophisticated rendering of planets. In v.1.88 he brought in an improved lighting system, whilst in v.1.86 he had introduced high-definition graphic resolution and improved the graphics for planets.		This worthy gentleman joined the boards in 2007 and wrote the code for the [[Advanced Navigational Array]] (ANA). Joining the developers, he has managed to survive and continue contributing to Oolite whilst Real Life slew all around him in droves. With an penchant for graphics (among other things), he has done the bulk of the coding since [[User:Cim\|Cim]] retired as Lead Designer after v.1.84. He spearheaded the move to the new Oren-Nayar diffuse light model in v.1.90 together with a yet more sophisticated rendering of planets. In v.1.88 he brought in an improved lighting system, whilst in v.1.86 he had introduced high-definition graphic resolution and improved the graphics for planets.

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 *Your anti-virus may throw a heuristic fit at it because of its format and in-memory decompression activities. If it does, it is a false positive.
-It seems to work pretty well for me so far. If you want to play with it, feel free and let me know if there is anything that requires attention. I hope this can be of interest to our Windows users, although it should be considered experimental at this stage. [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19153 BB thread] (2017)
+It seems to work pretty well for me so far. If you want to play with it, feel free and let me know if there is anything that requires attention. I hope this can be of interest to our Windows users, although it should be considered experimental at this stage. [http://aegidian.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=19153 BB thread] (2017-20)
 == Films ==