Some tweaks to Bineshi's "Unleashed" mod

and here is the stormpetrel.ini file (broken -- template[16] is the
6th lower dockport. Including this leads to the messed up loadout
effects I mentioned previously.


; Unleashed MOD - by Nathan Kinsman, mailto:nathan@kinsman.org]nathan@kinsman.org
; Original Material Copyright (c) 1999 Particle Systems Ltd.
;
; "Pinguin" Privateer Freighter
; Player version

[Class]
name=icShip

[Avatar]
name=lws:/avatars/pinguin/setup

[CollisionHull]
name=collision_hull:/collisionhulls/ContainerCarrier_HULL

[SetupScene]
name=lws:/sims/ships/player/pinguin

[Subsims]

; Loadout order is very important here.

; Docked Turrets
template[0]=ini:/subsims/dockports/turret_port
null[0]=top_tail_turret
template[1]=ini:/subsims/dockports/turret_port
null[1]=bottom_nose_turret
template[2]=ini:/subsims/dockports/turret_port
null[2]=left_tail_turret
template[3]=ini:/subsims/dockports/turret_port
null[3]=right_tail_turret

; Specialized dock ports
template[4]=ini:/subsims/dockports/unload_port
null[4]=dockport
template[5]=ini:/subsims/dockports/normal_port
null[5]=dockport

; Fighter dock ports
template[6]=ini:/subsims/dockports/fighter_port
null[6]=upper_dockport_1
template[7]=ini:/subsims/dockports/fighter_port
null[7]=upper_dockport_2
template[8]=ini:/subsims/dockports/fighter_port
null[8]=upper_dockport_3
template[9]=ini:/subsims/dockports/fighter_port
null[9]=upper_dockport_4
template[10]=ini:/subsims/dockports/fighter_port
null[10]=upper_dockport_5

; Cargo dock ports
template[11]=ini:/subsims/dockports/pinguin_port
null[11]=lower_dockport_1
template[12]=ini:/subsims/dockports/pinguin_port
null[12]=lower_dockport_2
template[13]=ini:/subsims/dockports/pinguin_port
null[13]=lower_dockport_3
template[14]=ini:/subsims/dockports/pinguin_port
null[14]=lower_dockport_4
template[15]=ini:/subsims/dockports/pinguin_port
null[15]=lower_dockport_5
template[16]=ini:/subsims/dockports/pinguin_port
null[16]=lower_dockport_6

; Permanent systems
template[17]=ini:/subsims/systems/player/powerplant_freighter
null[17]=powerplant
template[18]=ini:/subsims/systems/player/life_support
null[18]=crew

; Mountpoints for vital system
template[19]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/heatsink
null[19]=heatsink
template[20]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/thrusters
null[20]=capsule_drive
template[21]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/drive
null[21]=drive
template[22]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/lds
null[22]=lds_drive
template[23]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/passive_sensors
null[23]=passive_sensors

; Other system mountpoints
template[24]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/cpu
null[24]=cpu
template[25]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/eps
null[25]=eps
template[26]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/auto_repair
null[26]=autorepair
template[27]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/active_sensors
null[27]=active_sensors
template[28]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/sensor_disruptor
null[28]=disruptors
template[29]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/capsule_drive
null[29]=capsule_drive

; LDA mountpoints
template[30]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/lda
null[30]=top_lda
template[31]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/lda
null[31]=bottom_lda
template[32]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/lda
null[32]=nose_lda

; Hardpoints
template[33]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/pylon_cannon_mount
null[33]=inner_left_dome_missile
template[34]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/pylon_cannon_mount
null[34]=outer_left_dome_missile
template[35]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/pylon_cannon_mount
null[35]=inner_right_dome_missile
template[36]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/pylon_cannon_mount
null[36]=outer_right_dome_missile

template[37]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/internal_countermeasure_mount
null[37]=forward_countermeasure
template[38]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/internal_countermeasure_mount
null[38]=rear_countermeasure
template[39]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/large_internal_weapon_mount
null[39]=left_nose_hardpoint
template[40]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/large_internal_weapon_mount
null[40]=right_nose_hardpoint
template[41]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/large_internal_weapon_mount
null[41]=nose_hardpoint
template[42]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/light_cannon_mount
null[42]=light_hardpoint

template[43]=ini:/subsims/mountpoints/aggressor_shield
null[43]=aggressor_shield




[Properties]

; The name of the object
name="Pinguin"

; The threat rating 'points value' of the hull
threat=120

; Damage model properties
hit_points=5000
armour=65

; Sim type (ship class)
; Corvette only so turret fighters may rotate
type="T_Corvette"

; Docking port priority
docking_priority=150

; Dimensions
width=186
height=84
length=536

; Maximum linear speeds as a vector (m/s)
speed=(200,200,1000)

; Maximum linear acceleration as a vector (m/s/s)
acceleration=(45, 45, 150)

; Maximum angular rotation (deg/s)
yaw_rate=25
roll_rate=35
pitch_rate=30

;Maximum angular acceleration (deg/s/s)
yaw_accel=25
roll_accel=30
pitch_accel=20

; Applied in free flight to the max angular speed
angular_speed_boost=1.2

; Brightness for the sensors to spot
; This is designed to be stealthy
brightness=0.4
min_brightness=0.2

; Heat and power - only modified by upgrades
power=0
heat_rate=0

; The number of internal cargo slots
cargo_space=8

; Make the remote fighter remote linkable
remote_protocols=1

The code fragments which I have been posting are nicely formatted in
my source files, with nested sections indented to plainly show the
structure of the conditionals, and in the "Message" window they still
look like this, but after submission, all the "Tab"s vanish and everything
is left-justified.

Would it be possible for "Forum Code" to notice and preserve "Tab"s ?

Just on a quick look, the lower dockports seemed to be grouped into two groups. I mean, they are in the exact same position. This could be causing a problem. They should be spread out along the length of the ship, should they not?

Hi Cambragol,

I tried putting them 26 meters apart, -13m and +13m in the "X" direction off
the ship's midline and it didn't help.

In the Jafs Pinguin.lws file, with 10 cargo dockports on
the lower side of the ship spine, the pairs are only 3 meters apart, at
- and + 1.5m "X". So I think that the co-location does not matter.

As a trial, I rearranged the 5 "pinguin_port"s into 2 pairs plus
a single, with the pairs 26m apart in X direction, and the cargo pods
loaded fine. The physical size of the pods is sometimes smaller than the
avatars and they were able to load side by side with only 26m separation.

But if I try to add additional lower dockports beyond the 5 Bineshi created,
it doesn't work and the loadout screen misbehaves.

Pod double-stacking is working, though there is some ugly code in the
module. I can live with it for now, but I really would like to have the
Pinguin have a similar dockport layout to the Jafs Pinquing.

One of the attractive features of Bineshi's/Nathan Kinsman's "Unleashed" mod is that you have significant cargo capacity in Act 0 -- the "Pinguin" has a cargo capacity of 6 pods. With the "pod stacking" hack I have implemented in these tweaks to "Unleashed", that is increased to 12, and if I can figure out how to create a full "City" class complement of cargo dockports on the underside of the "Pinguin"'s spine, the capacity would increase to 22 pods. The ship would be extremely slow and vulnerable with that many pods, so one might only rarely be able to load it so fully.

There is a bug in the Wolfgang Spielman mission that allows you to repeat the first errand (which furnishes you with a Rapid-Fire PBC on completion of the errand) as many times as you wish (this vanishes once you inquire about the 2nd job -- you must undock from Charlesworth Station twice without inquiring about the 2nd job; on the 3rd docking, Wolfgang will offer the first job again), so you can easily outfit the Pinguin with a full complement (3 weapons) of Rapid Fire PBCs.

If you also use the Future Trader mod, you can purchase twinpack launchers and short-range LDSI missiles and raid Maas convoys out of the Petra Supply Depot to acquire weapons and ordnance, some of which can be sold. Maas seems to send many arms convoys from the Petra Supply Depot to the Junkyard, and lurking there is another way to ambush Maas weaponry (a bit of a cheat, arguably).

So there is the possibility of a significant "career" in Act 0. If you use the Unleashed mod, you will want to use Future Trader also to compensate for the greater difficulty (relative to "plain vanilla" EoC) of accumulating the cargo you need to trade for the more advanced weaponry in Acts 1-3.

But ... one of the things that happens in the Unleashed mod when you are trying to load cargo onto the player ship "Pinguin" is that the other faction scavengers (and also corporate recovery teams if you have ambushed a corporate convoy) will show up and try to take the cargo from you (or take it back in the case of the recovery teams). Something particularly annoying is that while the scavengers won't necessary shoot at you, they are able to lift docked pods off of your ship. If a neutral or hostile SNRV gets close, it's time to clear out with whatever you have loaded from the spoils of the raid. You have enough firepower to beat off most scavengers, but a lot of the cargo is likely to be destroyed in the fight -- at least it was in the past when I was reluctant to dump the cargo during a fight (it being so slow to redock with multiple pods --- during which time more scavengers may arrive). With the new and faster cargo loading functions, dumping cargo to fight with scavengers may be more feasible.

The interference of other factions is part of what makes the Unleashed mod interesting. It is way too easy to accumulate vast amounts of cargo in "plain vanilla" EoC (though that is compensated by the fact that one sometimes needs unusual or rare types of cargo to complete some of the trades). But the ability of other factions to lift cargo that is already docked to your ship is a real annoyance.

There are functions in the POG SDK that allow you to lock docked objects to the objects to which they are docked. Undock commands issued to a locked object have no effect. I have coded a function to do this and will generalize it to also unlock locked cargo (one might want to dump and abandon one's haul if things get too hot -- as Jafs routinely does in Acts 1 and following) and also to lock and unlock pods that are docked to other pods in the pod-stacking and pod-chain functions.

When I have got these functions fully coded and tested and (if possible) somewhat conformed to
the coding standards of the Torn Stars/Unstable Space mod, I'll put them up at the EoC mods page
as a "Player Cargo" mod that can be used with any of the other mods, but which will be especially
useful with the Unleashed mod due the significant cargo capacity of the armed merchant cruiser
player ship "Pinguin."

The armed merchant cruiser Pinguin now has a fully-loaded cargo capacity (with pock stacking) of 22 pods. There are 10 cargo dockports under the spine now.

My prior problem was solved once I started a new EoC game from scratch. Evidently one does not have total freedom to modify player ships' .lws and .ini files in the middle of a game. I was in the middle of a successful Act 0 career of raiding Maas stations but will start over with the higher cargo capacity Pinguin to develop further "MyCargo" tools.

The ship spine looks a little odd with the dockports pushed to the end of the spine. And the separation is not large enough to fully accommodate pods. The pods overlap each other, which looks kind of odd. This doesn't happen in non-player Citi freighters. I'll look at what they do -- I'm guess that the dockport is invisible and is not flat on the spine underside but is hanging vertically in the empty space under the spine.