Hypergate in-system linking

and other stories

I was messing around with hypergates to see if I could pull of any really cool feats. As a disclaimer, I should note that all research and testing for this was carried out in EV Nova 1.0.7 for Mac and is not guaranteed to be accurate. That said, here's what I've got for you.

In the HyperLink# field for a hypergate you can put the ID of any spöb. If that spöb exists at the time you land on the hypergate, you can select its system from the map and you will be transported to it. The target spöb does not have to be another hypergate, and if it is a hypergate then it does not have to be active.

If the target is a hypergate (active or not) or a wormhole, your ship will emerge facing the bottom right corner of the screen. If the target is a planet or station (inhabited or otherwise) your ship will emerge facing a random direction.

If a hypergate has in its HyperLink# fields the ID of more than one spöb in the same system, all of which exist at the time you land on the hypergate and select that system, your ship will emerge on top of the spöb whose ID is in the HyperLink# field with the lowest # of those in question.

If a hypergate has its own ID in one of its HyperLink# fields, you can select its own system when you land on it. Assuming the conditions outlined in the above two paragraphs are met, you will then emerge out of the selfsame hypergate, and the ships in the system will be reset.

If a hypergate targets a different spöb in its own system the player can land on it and will be teleported to that spöb. This means multiple hypergates can be in the same system, arranged in a variety of manners. A circle, for instance, with A connecting to B, B to C, C to D, and D back to A. This can speed in-system travel across long distances.

If a spöb's ID is in a Nav# field of more than one s˙st, then it will exist in the s˙st with the lower ID number. In the other system the spöb will be visible on radar and targetable, but its graphic will be null (invisible) and it will not be able to be landed on. A hypergate that links to that spöb will only let the player travel to the version of it in system in which it exists.

If a hypergate cannot deliver the player to any of its targets in a given system, an arrow to that system will not appear on the map when landing on that hypergate.

When a hypergate is landed on arrows are drawn on the map to all systems the player can be transported. If a hypergate has no valid links, the player can land on it but it will close immediately without opening their map and without giving any message.

I hope someone somewhere finds a cool use for some of this.

Qaanol, on Apr 4 2005, 12:23 PM, said:

If the target is a hypergate (active or not) or a wormhole, your ship will emerge facing the bottom right corner of the screen. If the target is a planet or station (inhabited or otherwise) your ship will emerge facing a random direction.

I'd just like to point out here that the direction you exit a hypergate/wormhole-type spob is controlled by the CustSndID field.

Qaanol, on Apr 4 2005, 12:23 PM, said:

If a spöb's ID is in a Nav# field of more than one s˙st, then it will exist in the s˙st with the lower ID number. In the other system the spöb will be visible on radar and targetable, but its graphic will be null (invisible) and it will not be able to be landed on. A hypergate that links to that spöb will only let the player travel to the version of it in system in which it exists.

I strongly reccomend that you not fire any weapons in that system. I do not remember whether it was a multi-system spob, an invisible system, or both, but when I had one of those in the same system as me, and fired a weapon, the game crashed. Just a warning.

Qaanol, on Apr 4 2005, 12:23 PM, said:

I hope someone somewhere finds a cool use for some of this.

I'm sure I will. Thank you!

I dunno, none of this really seems like unusual or cool behaviour. If I didn't know but had to guess then this is pretty much what I'd expect. Not trying to be rude, it's great to have stuff documented, but this isn't anything I wouldn't have assumed anyway.

Guy, on Apr 4 2005, 06:49 PM, said:

I dunno, none of this really seems like unusual or cool behaviour. If I didn't know but had to guess then this is pretty much what I'd expect. Not trying to be rude, it's great to have stuff documented, but this isn't anything I wouldn't have assumed anyway.
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True, but actually seeing this sort of thing written out by someone else can often give you ideas you just wouldn't have had just by assuming it (at least, that's how it works for me).
For example, that bit about a hypergate without any valid connections gave me an idea for a small string involving an attempted re-creation of parts of the hypergate network, complete with malfunctioning experimental gates.

My main concern is that it's going to be next to impossible to select where you want to go within the system. Besides, things would change just as they would hypergating to another system (I think).

Maybe if somebody PM's Matt Burch, this will get fixed.

Still, it could be useful if you're trying to dominate stellars...

Apple Core: things would change just as they would hypering to a new system

yes. I once made a plug that contained a wormhole that linked only to itself. when you went in, the system would flash and all ships would disappear and reappear in new places.

also, it is possible to hyper to a system that contains no spobs, if the hypergate links to a system that is in the same place and also contains a hypergate, even if the actuall system you arrive in does not.

(EDIT)This was discovered in an early version of my Polaris Hypergate Plug. I will try to reconstruct it(/EDIT)

This post has been edited by darth_vader : 06 April 2005 - 11:28 AM

Regarding malfunctioning hypergates, you could have an uninhabited spöb that looks like a hypergate, and upon entering it, a mission is activated that uses the Yxxx ncb to destroy the hypergate. At the same time, you could use the Mxxx to move the player to some random location... maybe Krypt space.. 😄

Yes, that was very random...

darth_vader, on Apr 6 2005, 04:27 PM, said:

also, it is possible to hyper to a system that contains no spobs, if the hypergate links to a system that is in the same place and also contains a hypergate, even if the actuall system you arrive in does not.

(EDIT)This was discovered in an early version of my Polaris Hypergate Plug. I will try to reconstruct it(/EDIT)
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Now that sounds more interesting. Could you explain it a bit more?