Question:

Explored systems

I know that there is a bit expression for exploring a system. Is there one for un exploring a system?

Look in the bible. It might be Uxxx, but I am not sure.

Uxxx regenerates planets. There doesn't seem to be a bit for unexploring systems.

In the syst resource there is an area for the visibility of the system, a test expression. Set the bits somewhere else and make sure the test expression is correct.

rmx256, on Mar 16 2006, 05:19 PM, said:

In the syst resource there is an area for the visibility of the system, a test expression. Set the bits somewhere else and make sure the test expression is correct.
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I aldready knew about that, I was looking for something to make it look as though you hadn't been there besides a big empty space where it used to be...

Theoretical question here...

You will reach a system in one day. However, that system will become invisible in one day(Nova-wise). What happens?

P.S. One of the big things in my TC depends on the idea behind this.

This post has been edited by ScratSkinner : 16 March 2006 - 07:00 PM

Quote

You will reach a system in one day. However, that system will become invisible in one day(Nova-wise). What happens?

Dunno, you'll probably be the first to try it. My guess is the engine throws a minor tantrum. You'll have to experiment though. It'll get you used to rooting around inside the Nova files.

There are definitely ways of doing something similar, like only making the spob disappear instead of the whole system. That's probably more realistic too, instead of a whole portion of space winking out of existance, it's just the planet which disappears. Like when the Millennium Falcon comes out of hyperspace near Alderaan in A New Hope, and all they find is rubble.

Let me just warn you though, about being too dependant on hacks that push the engine too far. As you've probably heard, it's not the most flexible piece of software in the world. Even Martin Turner, who did a lot of cool things with the EVO engine appears to have thrown his hands up in frustration. I'm not saying don't be creative, but don't do a whole lot of work on the assumption that even a documented feature will work properly, without trying it out for yourself first.

And plan a couple of work-arounds just in case.

Bubbles

This post has been edited by Bubbles : 16 March 2006 - 07:36 PM

By the way, you can unexplore a system by replacing it with another one. Not having done a lot of experimenting or having been around much recently, I don't know all the details, but I think you just have to rename it and offset it from the system it replaces by one pixel. One strange feature of this is that it appears to take a day for the engine to catch up:

I made a mission you pick up in the bar which transforms the Wolf 359 system to another one called Lupine.

When I leave the spob, the system still appears as Wolf 359 on the map.

But when I jump to nearby system, the engine redraws the map and makes the system NE of Earth unexplored.

Bubbles

This post has been edited by Bubbles : 20 March 2006 - 09:26 AM

Try it and check the error logs. You end up in the proper system, then the engine chokes, and out of desperation, reactivates the lowest ID system at the same location (matching names matters only in a very tiny number of instances, like, while you are jumping towards said system, the little hyperspace indicator will show the name of the lowest resID system at the same location, while the map will show whichever name is currently visible).

Note you will still be able to jump out of the reactivated system as normal, and when you do so, the previous system evaporates instantly.

And yeah, the engine generally takes a day to update map changes, but its very hard to tell when things happen. Like if buying something from an outfitter changes something, it seems to not affect the map until you take off, and then not actually affect the objects IN the system for a day. Tis generally best to only change systems either extremely deliberately (Nxxx Mxxx), or while the player is very far (at least 2 days) away from where the change is to be.

This happens in the stock scenario with Aurora. It's possible to be in Aurora when the system changes.

Heh. And you can get 'delivery to Aurora' missions there. That involve taking off and landing.