Some Plug-in Questions

I have a few questions about some strange things in a plug-in I've been making. See, for a while I've been making small add-ons (in other words, "an outfit here, a weapon there..." and so on), but a few weeks ago I decided to try my hand at something bigger. The plug-in, when it's done, will have several new ships, a new government, blah blah blah. And a few wierd things have come up that have annoyed me:

  1. Every time you target a ship, you get a string of text describing the ship's alignment in the lower-right corner of the Target Window, such as U. Earth , or Miranu , or perhaps fighter. But whenever I target one of my own ships, I don't see anything there at all. So how do I put that bit of info into my plugin?

  2. In my plugin, there's a mission where you're supposed to take some blueprints to a space station. I know that blueprints are qualified as "special" cargo, so in the CargoType field I entered "32". When I tested the plugin, everything went fine except that when I got the blueprints, in the Main InfoBar (the general area where it shows your fuel and shields and stuffŃI'm talking about the part that shows your cargo) where it should have said Special: Blueprints , It said NOTHING!
    I had suspected when I typed in "32" that this would happen, but I didn't know what to do about it. So how do I put that bit of info into my plugin?

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ŃCafall

You need to enter that information into the correct STRs. What are you using? EVEdit or ResEdit or what? Whatever you are using besides ResEdit, I suggest you dump it and get ResEdit.

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--ares
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Remember that you are a unique individual - just like everybody else.

Try reading (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/evo_bible/appendix3.html")Patching STR# Resources(/url) in the EVO Bible, you'll probably get your answer there.

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I am using ResEdit.

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ŃCafall

(This message has been edited by Cafall (edited 11-27-2001).)

Quote

Originally posted by Cafall:
**I am using ResEdit

**

EVO Formulae Calculator is my cheat. I just keep typing in strings and creating PICTS until I've filled all the blanks. Shipwrite works pretty well most of the time, too.

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everywhere else, it's --
"Nomuse"

Quote

Originally posted by Cafall:
**I am using ResEdit
**

Well then, just do this:
1). Subtract 128 from your custom govt ID, then add that to 4000. Create a 'STR ' (notice the space) resource with that ID and set its text to a short name of your government. For example, Frontier Express would be ID 4007, and have a text of "F.E."
2). Create a 'STR ' resource with an ID of 9032, and make its text "Blueprints".

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Disclaimer: All claims made herein are hereby considered null and void. No guarantee of satisfaction is given, either explicitly or implicitly.
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(This message has been edited by Restorer (edited 11-26-2001).)

Thanks, Restorer. 🙂
Just to get things cleared up, I'm using a combination of ResEdit, ShipWrite, EVO Developer's Map, Movies2Sprites, BitMap, and a couple of ResEdit plugins to make life easier.
Also, I'd like to know how to put missions in the mission computer in my new systems; if EVO Developer's Map has that feature, I never knew about it.

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ŃCafall

(This message has been edited by Cafall (edited 11-27-2001).)

Just write a mission and have it's availstel be set to either that planet's ID or to a value that includes that planet, and the availloc set to the mission computer.

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idisk: andyg

Quote

Just write a mission and have it's availstel be set to either that planet's ID or to a value that includes that planet, and the availloc set to the mission computer.

Actually, I meant the normal missionsŃthe ones you get just about everywhere, like "Delivery to Such-and-Such".

And, Restorer, the CargoType solution you gave me doesn't work. I'm probably getting exasperating, so if anyone wants to look at my plugin for themselves, I'll give them a copy. Email me at <It's deleted, all right?!> .

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ŃCafall

(This message has been edited by Cafall (edited 11-28-2001).)

I feel extremely stupid. It turns out I had forgotten some 'STR ' resources, and I hate to admit it, but I never even knew about the "Patching 'STR ' Resources" appendix! So I've fixed most of my problems, and some problems I didn't even know I had. I'm extemely sorry if I caused anyone any trouble.
There's still that mission problem though...

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ŃCafall

P.S.: I've also deleted my email address in my last post; I don't like getting email unless I ask for it.

(This message has been edited by Cafall (edited 11-28-2001).)

I have a problem which recently came up. I'll describe it in detail, so you know what I'm talking about:
Recently, I decided to make a few missions for the mission computers in my new systems. To do so, I made a new 'm•sn' resource, setting the QuickBrief field to 6001 and the DropCargo field to 8001, since I wanted to use the same 'd‘sc's that the UE Delivery missions did. By the way, I did not forget to leave the AvailLoc field at 0. Then, I duplicated the 'm•sn' resource, customizing each ID#. Eventually I wound up with four copies of the mission (by the way, the mission(s) are delivery missions, so they were fairly simple to construct). When I tested the plug-in, I looked on the mission computer and the missions I had made had no descriptions. You could click on the mission name, but no description appeared in the proper window.

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ŃCafall

Quote

Originally posted by Cafall:
**I have a problem which recently came up. I'll describe it in detail, so you know what I'm talking about:
Recently, I decided to make a few missions for the mission computers in my new systems. To do so, I made a new 'm•sn' resource, setting the QuickBrief field to 6001 and the DropCargo field to 8001, since I wanted to use the same 'd‘sc's that the UE Delivery missions did. By the way, I did not forget to leave the AvailLoc field at 0. Then, I duplicated the 'm•sn' resource, customizing each ID#. Eventually I wound up with four copies of the mission (by the way, the mission(s) are delivery missions, so they were fairly simple to construct). When I tested the plug-in, I looked on the mission computer and the missions I had made had no descriptions. You could click on the mission name, but no description appeared in the proper window.
**

Long problem, short answer. Each mission has its own offering text that is specified based on its ID. The others (such as QuickBrief and DropCargo) you can set to virtually any value you want so long as the appropriate Desc is there. The initial offering text isn't set with a template field, but is based on a formula. My guess is that if you'd checked the QuickBrief and landed on the appropriate spob, those two Descs would have shown up as you suspected.

Get Pontu Ilbring's EVO Formula Calc. It's a lifesaver.

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Jon Potter
Thank you for your cooperation. Good night.

EVO Formula Calculator? Where can I get it?

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ŃCafall

Quote

Originally posted by Cafall:
**EVO Formula Calculator? Where can I get it?
**

(url="http://"http://members01.chello.se/warlordpontus/ev/")Here.(/url)

There are plenty of other nearly indespensible EV/O development tools there as well. Take a look around.

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Jon Potter
Thank you for your cooperation. Good night.

Thanks for the help. The Calculator ought to make life easier.

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ŃCafall

(This message has been edited by Cafall (edited 12-01-2001).)

This isn't really a bug, just a question.
My plug-in is almost done, but I noticed something weird. One of my new ships, a "Gunship", could use a beam weapon which I had made. However, the Frigate I had created can't even buy it (I did have enough weapon space). I noticed the same kind of thing when I tried to buy a Phased Disruption Beam. So what governs whether or not you can buy a beam weapon?

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ŃCafall

Hmm... We should be dealing with the oütf resource here. Did you set the maximum number higher than 0? is it a fixed gun? If so, can your Frigate hold that extra fixed gun? Is it a turret? Same thing here. Do you have enough money to buy it? 😛 🙂

-Matt

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Sorry. I made a stupid mistake; I already had my maximum number of fixed guns. Thanks for the help.
Plus, my plug-in is done and should be bug free; I tested it enough. I'll submit it to the Add-on Page in a few minutes.

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ŃCafall

My plug-in, "Ultima" version 1.0 was released a while ago and should be up on the Add-ons page whenever EVula gets around to it.
Version 1.0.1 is ready and will be released as soon as I get some bug reports on v1.0.

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ŃCafall

(This message has been edited by Cafall (edited 12-21-2001).)

Once again, I have an issue with my plug-in which must be resolved.
I have three ships in my plug-in which are only available after you complete a certain mission. While I was testing the plug-in, I completed the mission and found that those three ships were available for purchase, but that I couldn't hire them as escorts.
Anyone feeling magnanimous enough is welcome to post something. I will be checking this topic often.

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ŃCafall