Summer update 2017

With the dynamic server events in use for some months meanwhile its good to say that everything runs stable.
This allows me to start adding new event states.

Focus in the update that I will release somewhen this summer will be on spreading the current event states to different systems.
AND
Adding a new event type which is more like a treasure hunt. I am not 100% sure how to do it technically but the idea is to spawn a special object that changes the position each day. The first player which discovers it will get a special reward. (i dont know what reward - I still have some time to think about it).
There are most certainly many problems to solve until this type of dynamic event is working... so this update will come somewhen this summer (dont ask for exact date).

Howdy, I intend to get this update released this month. With two free weeks I should have enough time to get the work finished.

Unfortunatly I still havent found out why some users have problems installing the mod but somehow I have the feeling that lately people seem to have installation problems less frequently. Maybe this is the result of my attempt to contact antivir companies to whiteflag some false positives.

So, so mid or end september the new update will be released.

Ok, I currently have a few problems getting one of my modding tools running but i guess ill find a solution soon.

I want to share a bit information about the already mentioned treasure hunt.
What I have in mind is to randomly spawn Nomad depots (seen in the attachment). They will only appear in Inner Core and Canis systems.
These depots will be very rare. They will contain items that work similar to the cloaking device components. That means if you meet certain requirements these items get mounted on your ship.
These items will only mount once. So if you already have used one and you find a 2nd then you can keep it in your inventory or sell it to other players.

These Items aim to improve the performance of capital ships.
- improved engines
- improved shields
- improved internal weapons

Ill give this stupid tool another try tomorrow. Hopefully it will work then. If not i have to reinstall windows first.

for now its only about battleships
and yes torps count

but you can not choose between the upgrades... it depends on which upgrade you manage to find.

That of course if i get this damn stuff running. The stuff i wanted to do today failed so i need a new idea what could be wrong.

you can get all 3 bonuses make use of them
each day at least 6 depots will spawn
once collected the players will have another chance one day later

since depot spawns are scripted it certainly isnt a bad idea to check places where depots have been found earlier and follow a search pattern (hint ;))

ok, problem solved
started to make progress today

I just want to inform you my original plans changed a bit since i had to delay my 2 weeks holiday.
So with other words today was my first free day and yeah, you can imagine that this also did delay the work on the new update a bit.

Fortunatly I found a bit time in the evenings last week and managed to get a large amount of work done.
So far the three depot types are working and dropping the upgrade token as intended and also the work on the upgraded equipment is done.
The shields have higher capacities and will reload faster.
The engines have higher cruise speeds.
And the battleship torpedo launchers have higher fire rates.

I also did a few other minor changes done in other areas of the mod that meanwhile were overdue.

To be done are the configuration of the dynamic universe distribution and the configuration of a server side tool that will apply the new equipment if the player meets all required conditions (similar to the cloaking device). Here I have contacted Huor to assist me, since the config is a bit more tricky and I dont want to mess up any chars.

While there most likely will be 2-3 days this week where (due to a private project) I have absolutely no time to work on the mod, I might only be able to finish the work end the end of the week or even next week.
I wont hurry because especially the dynamic universe config is extremely tricky. On the last update early this year a tiny typo caused server crashes and Id like to avoid that this time.

the update is ready but not online yet
Ive decided that its best to make backups of the CF Server and the SWAT Webserver.
Thats why everything is a bit laggy atm.

As soon these backups are done I will upload the new update.
It will take until the daily server restart for the changes to the dynamic universe to kick in.
We dont have a working config for the equipment upgrades yet but you already will be able to collect the upgrade tokens.
The config file for the upgrades will be written when the patch in online so the changes can get tested bit by bit. Reason is pretty simple. The new config is alot more complex than anything we used so far and contains stuff we never tested under real server conditions before. It is better to make a step by step approach than to damage chars.

Ive just released the "Summer" Update and the good news is, the server hasnt crashed yet.

The dynamic universe should kick in tomorrow and randomly spawn Nomad depots in Inner Core and Canis. Every day only 3 depots will spawn, so you have to be quick.
However, the spawn locations of these depots per color in the systems is fixed. So if you find a depot that already has been looted it might make sense to write down where you have found the depot and return there on another day (maybe it is spawning there again).
If I get the feedback that the demand is higher than the current spawn rate then I can increase the spawns later.

Like I already mention, green depots deliver green upgrade token which can upgrade Battleship shields. Blue depots are for the engine upgrades and red depots are for weapon upgrades.
You have to destroy the inner shell of a depot. Keep also in mind that these looted upgrades can be destroyed, so better dont use any large torpedoes on them.

Mounting the upgrades is relative easy.
All you need is a battleship and one of these items in your cargo hold. (yes you might need to trade these items with other players in order to transfer them to a battleship if you collect them with a fighter)
Then you have to dock on a base just like you did when you obtain a cloaking device. Unlike cloaking devices these new upgrades dont require any money.

Id like everyone who got an upgrade to report to the forum so I can check the char in order to see if everything worked as intended.

What else has changed?
There have been minor fixes to ships.
Some systems have changed to improve the NPC missions.
Minor detail corrections on systems have been made.
The dynamic universe got a few improvements.

that wont effect anything like that

yeah, I didnt think about the server software crossing my plans for the update
now Huor will have to do some magic