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1

General Discussion / Re: What is your Flagship named?

« on: April 10, 2024, 11:30:20 PM »

Well now you've made me look back at all my campaigns to remember my flagships' names...

From newest to oldest:
Strange Magic (Fury (KoC))
FTS Bell Curve (XIV Legion)
Ballistic Orchestra (Prometheus Mk. II)
FSS High As A Kite (Sparrowhawk)
Instant Release (Falcon (P))
FNS Unfinished Business (Centa)
ISS White Moon (Centa)
So Long, Old Friend (Apogee)

Some other favourites:
FTS F5 + F9 (Falcon (P))
FTS Frontier Psychiatrist (Fury)
Dreaming Of 4000 (Odyssey)
FTS Torrential Light (Scarab)
Further Action Required (Eradicator)
Not Helping Anyone (Brawler (LP))

From The Sun To The World
It'll Happen Heaventually
MFS Not A Sea Harrier
FSS Barack (Obama)
FSS Susan
Propaganda Department
Failure Of Imagination
Butterfly's Sting
Reaper Repeater
ISS Lizardthrower
Assuming The Worst

2

General Discussion / Re: How many AI Cores would it take to make magpies sentient?

« on: April 01, 2024, 10:25:38 AM »

A magpie is probably already sentient to some extent, although it's probably not sapient.

Also, consider that a gamma core is already sapient (if somewhat dumb with regards to certain things) and the magpie is most likely to be subsumed into the core than the reverse.

Whoops, I always seem to get those two confused. You may be right on the relationship between the magpie and the core though, the relationship I initially assumed to be symbiotic may in fact turn out more parasitic. Clearly these Gamma cores must be enlightened on the zenith of bird evolution that is the magpie!

Crows can talk. They're not, as I understand it, great conversationalists, and have little interest in abstracts or futures (except, of course, for those futures in which they get food.)

Ah, but they are great listeners.

However, it's not all up-side for the alpha. Consider: An alpha core is the very shiniest trinket around. And now we know what happens to alpha cores that get set as planetary administrators: stolen by their own corvid minions!

The idea of an Alpha cursing profusely as it is carried off by a pair of magpies to become a bird nest living room ornament is all the convincing I'd need to make it a reality
Maybe it'll teach them how to play chess or something...

3

General Discussion / How many AI Cores would it take to make magpies sentient?

« on: April 01, 2024, 01:33:42 AM »

In my opinion, surprisingly few. The main limitation of AI cores (as it appears in-game) is their lack of bodily autonomy. Otherwise you KNOW they'd be groovin' 'n' schmoovin' all over the hatch. So naturally the ONLY logical option is to bridge the central nervous system of a magpie (or other suitable corvid) with a couple of cores and Bob's your uncle. Even though my uncle was Dave.

Now, we know that modern day corvids are pretty smart; see attached Exhibit PROOF:

Exhibit proof: A crow being clever

Spoiler

[close]

This is a pristine example of, say it with me, problem solving! The very thing that lower-level AI cores are known to lack.

With all this in mind I present my thesis:

It would take AT MINIMUM two Gamma Cores or one Beta core to create a fully sentient magpie. Speech incomprehensible, perhaps, but when you have the power of sunflower seeds and wholegrain bread, who needs words? I know a couple luddies who do tailoring, despite the near arcane art that it is a few credits could convince them of the malleability of Ludd's word.

Magpie in a trenchcoat.
Magpie in a trenchcoat.
Corvid's brain on rice and oats with your
magpie in a trenchcoat.

I must offer my apologies, however, because creating such chimeras (chimmy-rays) and leaving them to their own devices will inevitably result in a caste system unless we ENFORCE (with our iron will and iron hearts) one and only one standard for magpie enhancement. Should we allow Beta cores for some and Gamma cores for others then those birds with less clockspeed will inevitably be tossed by the wayside. Magpies, Crows and other corvids are cruel, unpredictable. They revel in degeneracy and theft. Indeed, it is not uncommon for the average bird to squabble mightily over a mere crumb, to play piper and lead their fellows to certain demise in an attempt to steal their bathing spot. To them, we are gods among birds. We are Valhalla (the myth, not the star). We must civilize them, and introduce them to the sector at large as friends of humanity.

Anyway two gamma cores, one beta core. Any objections?

4

General Discussion / Re: New cheapest way to deal with Z-fella

« on: February 16, 2024, 03:24:45 PM »

Those poor fighter pilots... flying coffins indeed.

5

General Discussion / Solving Problems with Problems Solved (and Libraries)

« on: June 29, 2023, 05:38:09 AM »

Sometimes when faced with a problem I can't solve I go and read support requests in Bug Reports & Support because it makes me happy to see other people's problems get solved. 5 minutes of this has guranteed a new idea that solves my problems every time.

Am I insane or has anyone else done something similar?

On a different note, in the core worlds, would it be more lore accurate to find Old Earth texts in Luddic libraries or Academies? Ones that haven't been digitised yet (if such a thing exists). Would there even be any left?

6

General Discussion / Re: How is it done?

« on: June 05, 2023, 01:59:23 PM »

If you still need help with it I've made a short video with an input display in which I strafe around an enemy to get to their engines. I try to keep just at the range so that my main guns can hit but also so I can retreat and vent easily. Hope this helps.



Holding shift keeps your ship pointed towards your mouse cursor and causes A and D to make your ship strafe instead of rotate. I keep shift held for most of the battle.

7

Bug Reports & Support / Infinite story points (and money) from returning data to Macario

« on: May 10, 2023, 08:45:50 AM »

Running 0.96a-RC8

I picked up some academy missions and headed to Sindria. I noticed the debris field from Macario's agent's fleet was still at the fringe jump point, despite the fact I had already returned the data to him some time ago (I don't remember how long ago). I investigated it and the same dialogue appeared, allowing you to collect the data again. Also the debris field allows you to repeatedly investigate it.
If you bring this data to Macario, you can repeatedly "give him the data" by selecting any option when talking to him. He doesn't reward you with more EXP or more Executors but you do repeatedly gain story points.
If you select "My silence is very much for sale" when talking to him over and over you can also get infinite money too.

I don't think any mods I'm running could affect this but here's a list anyway.
Mods running currently:

Spoiler

LazyLib 2.8
SpeedUp 0.7.2
Stellar Networks 3.0.0
GraphicsLib 1.7.0

[close]

I do remember when first attempting to reach the debris field, the mercs defending it got caught up in a battle with some pirate merchants, so I just snuck past them. After investigating the merc fleet tried to emergency burn after me despite still being in a battle.

I have a save from before investigating the field for a second time, if it's needed.

8

Bug Reports & Support / Re: The Typo Thread

« on: May 08, 2023, 05:35:17 AM »

The description for the typhoon reaper launcher still refers to its ammo count being 5, though it was increased to 7 in the most recent update.

Spoiler

[close]

9

General Discussion / The Domain Sent Magpies: Exhibit PROOF

« on: May 03, 2023, 12:09:21 PM »

It's known that Old-Earth lobster and a mix of other species (plus "creativity", whatever animal that is) became what we have come to know as Volturnian Lobster today. However, it seems odd that the domain would send only various crustaceans to assist in populating the more habitable worlds of the sector, so what other genetic abominations would they have sent? For that matter, what already existed when they arrived? You've got to wonder why the jungles of Jangala were just manageable enough to set up shop there.

What do you think of birds? I like magpies, myself. The cunning, devilish gold diggers they are. Beautiful, too. Shimmering blue/green and black wings and tail as if they were purposefully accented, contrasted to snow white feathers covering the bulk of their body. A black head, disguising the eyes from first glace, they're tricksters really, that's why they hide the eyes - windows to the soul. And yes, I say these birds - magpies, that is - damn well have souls! It takes a soul to be a bastard, to be a lecherous thieving git. No husk could plot and steal like a magpie plots and steals and schemes and craves and hoards.

The domain would have sent magpies, that's all I'm saying. Crows, too, and other corvids. Intelligent, strong, beautiful, graceful, active pest control. There's no good reason not to have sent them, or at least some modified version of perfection (if there exists such a thing). Some loon would've trained them, made them talk, dance and sing. Made them load missiles! Really! I believe they're better than men. Better than AI. And they were too powerful! Wiped out in the war. The other one. They killed off the magpies because they were too stunning and clever for their own good, poor sods.

Here's proof. Corvus. Corvus. Crow family, the family magpies are in. Why ever would they name the star and it's entire system Corvus if it had no meaning? Think about who we're dealing with, the Domain. Suspicious, forward-thinking, ever practical and meaningful. There were birds on Asharu and Jangala, let me tell you. I've seen them in books - paper books, illustrations of them. Asharu was always meant to crumble because the magpies grew too strong, they thought too freely. How about Jangala? Does the staion really just "cut the grass", just beat back the jungle to protect human civilisation? They're eradicating magpie strongholds, that's what. The last bastion of corvid kind in the entire sector. You've been rused, manipulated into a cognitive blind spot, fallen into a chasm of tricks. The magpies will rise again, and the moment they let me back on Jangala you'll see. You'll all see.

10

Mods / Re: [0.95.1a] Stellar Networks 2.6.1 - information at your fingertips

« on: April 06, 2023, 12:55:37 PM »

Bug with remote calling a contact that results in the intel screen overlaid with the dialogue selection. At this point, if you exit the intel menu without ending the dialogue, your entire fleet gets destroyed and you respawn.

To replicate:
-Remotely call a contact
-Inquire about a mission
-Select 'Show Intel' on the small map that appears when able (either by clicking button or pressing E)
-Select 'Show on Map' (either by clicking button or pressing S)
-Exit the map (either by clicking 'Go Back' or pressing S)
-Press S

Dialogue should now reappear and be overlaid an empty intel screen. The tabs for Intel, Planets, and Factions should still be visible at the top of the screen.
If at this point you exit the intel menu (either by hitting ESC or clicking the X in the top right) your fleet will be destroyed and you will respawn.
If you instead finish the dialogue and then exit the intel tab, everything will be fine and you'll be right where you started the call.

I also recorded a video of this happening if you'd like to see it. Also please let me know if you need any extra info.

11

General Discussion / Re: Orbital Period of Planets

« on: March 22, 2023, 06:23:47 AM »

Fair enough! The compromises to be made in a game will always depend on what the final vision of the game is. And, in my opinion, Starsector treads its line very well. Realistic applications of physics in games are always neat to see, but it seems to me that they'll nearly always be relegated to a niche class of easter eggs - at least in games where they aren't the sole focus.

12

Suggestions / Fix the Orbital Periods of Procedurally Generated Planets!!

« on: March 22, 2023, 03:33:11 AM »

In reference to this thread: https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=26272.0

Apparently, proc gen planets currently use a random function to determine how long it takes for them to orbit their parent star. This can lead to situations where planets further from their star orbit faster than planets closer to the star. This doesn't make much sense.

Solution? Have proc gen planets take the orbital period of the next closest planet into account when generating their own and add a random number to that.

Maybe it's harder to implement than I initially think it to be. Then again it's not as though some idiot is going to sit in orbit for 2 hours and measure the orbital periods manually hahaha. Ha.

As a bonus (though admittedly more complicated) suggestion, have the periods of the planets obey Kepler's 3rd law. The periods of the planets should only depend on their radius and mass of the parent star. There's more detailed speculation on how this might be achieved in the thread referenced before.

Would anybody notice the changes? Does this even matter in the first place? No. But it would be nice and I would love you forever (until you do something heinous such as break physics again).

13

General Discussion / Re: Orbital Period of Planets

« on: March 22, 2023, 03:08:00 AM »

The thing is that typically planets don't have very eccentric orbits (in comparison to dwarf planets, comets etc.) and in the scale that the systems in starsector provide it may end up looking stranger than intended. For example, if a gas giant strays close to a small planet's orbit a player might expect the gravity of the gas giant to affect the smaller planet, especially if the gas giant already has moons.

Speaking of gas giants, is it just me or are the gas giants in most systems a bit too small? Perhaps I'm just expecting them to be bigger because Jupiter is my go-to for visualising a gas giant?

Anyway, elliptical orbits don't seem like they would be particularly easy to implement, and even if they were you'd probably have to implement full simulation of orbital physics to get everything cohesive enough to not raise questions.

I still think that the small change of ensuring generated planets have periods that increase with distance wouldn't be difficult to make. Even if it is completely unnoticeable.

14

Bug Reports & Support / Re: The Typo Thread

« on: March 17, 2023, 01:31:12 PM »

rules.csv

""We need an enemy station taken out,"" $heOrShe taps $hisOrHer datapad a couple times with a finger, watching you, just letting that sink it.

Should be "sink in"

15

General Discussion / Re: Orbital Period of Planets

« on: March 11, 2023, 07:44:04 PM »

habitable planets are arbitrarily larger than uninhabitable ones

Wait, really? I've never noticed that, I wonder what the reasoning behind it is.

As for the question of extreme orbital velocities, I don't think extremely fast or slow objects would end up being too much of a hassle. Research stations that orbit close to their star would orbit fast enough for you to just wait for it to come back around. Planets that are far from the star don't aren't typically populated nor interesting. However, this would break down in binary systems - say you have a black hole and a brown dwarf together - this would probably end up looking a bit silly.

The idea of a soft floor/ceiling to ensure sensible velocities from a gameplay standard seems the most appealing to me. This would still require giving every star it's own mass, though. But if you gave each star it's own mass then that raises the question of why the planets don't have their own mass. Trying to make one thing more realistic would probably spiral out of control quite quickly.

Perhaps you could give each category of star an average density? This avoids the problem of giving every star a unique mass, instead you just need the average density for white dwarfs, red dwarfs, blue giants, etc. From what I've seen by searching around the internet it doesn't seem like density varies that much in stars of the same classification - a lot less than the mass does - though I could be wrong. Assuming we properly scale the final value to fit within our floor/ceiling, we can use Kepler's 3rd with the density (rho) and radius of the star (R) and the radius of the planet orbiting it (r) to determine the period (T).

T^2 = [3*pi*(r^3)] / [G*rho*(R^3)] where G is the gravitational constant. Of course this all assumes that giving each star a unique mass is a problem at all.

Hell, this assumes that any of this is a problem at all. The game's fine as it is and there's no way someone's going to actually notice that the planets orbital velocities don't make sense and then complain that it's not realistic enough.