[SCRIPT] Salvage Network 2.8 [08.11.08]
Posted: Tue, 15. Nov 05, 00:16
SALVAGE NETWORK V2.8 by TECSG (08/11/2008)
UPDATE: 08/11/2008
Version 3 is soon to be released, it will be available in two versions, one for Terran Conflict and one for Reunion.
UPDATE: 18/09/2007
This script is now compatible with the XTended .7 Mod as of V2.7+
Get the script here:-
Version 2.8 (X3:Reunion)
What is it?
The Salvage Network script will scan the X-Universe for unclaimed ships (there are 12 'freebie' ships) and any ships you have fought and forced the pilot to eject but not yet claimed. It will also carry out a more detailed scan of the current sector for 'hidden' crates. (See Update Ino. at bottom of this post).
The 'theory' is that any sector that you have placed a Navigation, or Advanced Satellite in will become part of a surveillance network. Your ship accesses this network (via the Special Command software) and queries each sector in the network. Sectors with Advanced satellites will return more information about unclaimed ships than a sector with just a Navigation satellite.
How do I install it?
The file is now a .spk file that can be easily installed with Cycrow's Script Installer.
How do I access the Salvage Network?
Firstly, you need to activate the script editor. X3 will not allow 3rd Party scripts to run themselves, they must be activated from the script editor, or at least, have the script editor active.
To activate the editor, start the game, and load in your last game/select a new game. Once in the game, press 'p' to bring up the player options, select the 'rename' icon and enter the name 'Thereshallbewings' (that's 'There shall be wings', with a capital 'T' and no spaces). This will NOT rename your player, just enable the script editor. If it works, there will be a short pause (about 3 seconds where the game appears to lock-up), and the 'rename player' box will dissappear.
Most scripts with setup or init scripts will automatically run themselves the next time the game is saved and reloaded, so you can just save and then load (you will receive a message from the script in your log telling you it's been activated)
To activate the script without saving and reloading, press 'SHIFT+c' to bring up the ship's command interface (if you are docked, go to 'player options' and 'global commands'). Press 's', or select 'script editor' option.
Run the script 'setup.TECSG.salvage' to add the commands to the menu. You may additionally need to save and then reload your game for the changes to take effect. Sorry for all the fuss, it's X3, not me!
You need the Special Command Software Mk. 1 (available from most equipment docks for a small fee) to add the command to your ship's menu. Once the software is installed, go to your ship's command interface and select 'Salvage Network' from the 'special' menu.
What will it tell me?
When you activate the command, you will receive a message from the software. In sectors with a Navigation Satellite, it will just tell you there is a ship in that sector. In sectors with an Advanced Satellite, it will also give you the coordinates for the ship. You current ship will be treated as an Advanced Satellite, so you will ALWAYS get detailed information on any ships in your current sector.
UPDATE: As of V2.6, there is also a 'Detect Crates' command, this will (if activated) send you a message if you enter a sector with 'Hidden Crates' or wares' in it.
I do not know if this is standard for every game, but mine had 20 'hidden' crates, with a value of over 11,000,000. There were 24 Concussion Impulse Generators amongst other things!
How do I find the ship?
If you only got the sector information, it's a case of searching the entire sector (and quite possibly beyond!). With the Advanced Satellite, you will receive the ships coordinates too. With these coordinates, the easiest way is to select 'move to position' from the menu, and select the sector, then use the arrow keys on the numeric pad to move the cursor to the coordinates. Press INS to change axis to alter the Z position. When you press ENTER, you will then move to the exact position of the unclaimed ship.
WARNING!
If you tell your ship to move to the EXACT coordinates, you may crash into the unclaimed ship, as long as you move to within a few km, you can target the ship and fly in manually.
What is Network Coverage?
Network coverage is the percentage of X3 universe sectors that have a satellite in them. It is unlikely that you will ever gain 100% coverage, as the Xenon don't particularly like you placing satellites in their sectors. Pirates are also rather inclined to keep their business to themselves without having people setting up spy networks in their midst, so don't expect all your satellites to be safe!
Do I have to put a satellite in every sector?
No, chances are you couldn't anyway! You can get away without satellites if you really want to, although I find it easier to place a satellite in as many sectors as possible, however, as your ship is treated as a satellite, you can fly to each sector in turn and access the network before moving onto the next sector.
Are there any tips/tricks to using the Salvage Network?
The best way to utilise the network it to place one Nav. Satellite in as many sectors as possible and then query the network. Then fly to sectors with an unclaimed ship and query the network again to get the exact coordinates. Claim the ship before moving on to the next ship found.
Anything else?
Yep! Just to make your life a little easier if you do decide to put satellites in loads of sectors, you will find in the Navigation menu (if you have Navigation Software Mk. 1 installed) a command 'Move to centre of sector'. I think the title is fairly explainatory! I have never had it crash me into anything, but as it uses the X3 autopilot, there's no guarantees it won't!
Terminating Deployment of Satellites
Once the Satellite Deployment Service is started, it will run forever. If no Satellites need to be replaced, it will not cost you anything, however, it can be a constant drain if you have a lot of enemies out there!
If you wish to terminate the deployment of Satellites, you can run the script 'A1.SatelliteNetworkTERM', this will instruct the script to cancel further deployment of satellites.
EDIT: IMPORTED FROM POST ON PAGE 3!
UPDATE: VERSION 2.1
I've just completed an 'add-on' to the Salvage Network script. This new routine will (attempt to) create a random ship in a random sector every 6 (game time) hours (providing certain random criteria are met).
I've used 115 of the pre-defined ships as possibles to be created, they are M5, M4, M3, TS and some 'specials' (Arrow, StarBurst and Xperimental Shuttle to name but a few), also now included are some of the new M3+ and M7's!
I've tried hard to keep the generation routine balanced, ie, not too many free ships too often, but basically the format is this...
Every 6 hours the routine will decide whether or not to create a ship. There is a 50% chance it won't.
If it does decide to create one, it will pick a random sector. If the sector is a 'null' sector, ie, not used in the game, the routine will not create a ship, thereby reducing the posibillity to about 25%.
Of that 25%, the following probabilities apply:
Creating an M5 (40%)
Creating an M4 (20%)
Creating an M3 (10%)
Creating a TS (15%)
Creating a 'special' (5%)
Not creating anything (10%)
The chance of getting an ship is about 1 in 5 every 6 hours (so 1 ship every 30 game hours), and the ships will be randomly damaged and have random amounts of Engine Tunings, Rudder Optimisations, Cargo bay Extensions, Shields installed, software and other 'goodies'.
I may also include weapons later!
UPDATE: VERSION 2.2
The Salvage Network script now comes with an additional product available at all good equipment docks, and, no doubt, some bad ones too. The 'Salvage Claim Software Mk. 1' will transmit a control virus from your ship to a targetted derelict ship, and, if the ship is within 1,000m, the virus will take over the ships systems and bring it under your control.
You should only use this software on derelict/emepty ships though, the owners may not appreciate you trying to steal their ship whilst they are still in it!
Once claimed, the ship will automatically fly to the nearest (friendly) shipyard and dock there.
-- Future features --
Attempting to claim a ship that's not empty will make that ship an enemy. [DONE: As of V2.5]
Constantly trying to claim ships that aren't empty will turn that race against you. [DONE: As of V2.5]
More ship types will be included in the random generator, (as you don't need to claim them in the original way, several more ships that you couldn't claim before (like Military Transport) can be added and claimed with the Claim Salvage Software Mk. 1) [DONE: As of V2.5]
Self-replicating Satellite Network (Will slowly spread out over the universe, and automatically replace any lost satellites) [DONE: As of V2.4]
Maybe including weapons on randomly generated ships.
Maybe have random cargo still in cargo bay of randomly generated ships [DONE: As of V2.5]
UPDATE: VERSION 2.4
The Satellite Network is now finished and included in the Salvage Network script, this will allow you to create universe-wide networks of various types of satellites. See the included readme for full details. All of the above 'future features' are also included except weapons and cargo, which I will work on next.
UPDATE: VERSION 2.5
More improvements have been made, and this version is compatible with X3 2.0.02
UPDATE: VERSION 2.51
One of the scripts (CMD:Move_Centre) was missing from 2.5, sorry about that!
Altered the script so that any ships captured in Loomankstrat's Legacy won't fly off to the nearest shipyard... Good old AP had a tendancy to fly them into squash mines. You can claim the ships there as before, but you'll have to fly them yourself!
UPDATE: VERSION 2.6
Added the 'Detect Crates' command. Go to your ships 'Additional Commands' and select 'Detect Crates' and you will receive a message everytime you enter a sector with 'hidden' crates (or wares) in it. Check out the message, and then go get those freebies!
To facilitate collection of the crates, there is also a new 'MoveToPos' command that will move you to within 50m of the specified coordinates. The 'hidden' crates do not show up until you're within about 300m of them. This command will be at the bottom of the Navigation Menu, if you have the Navigation Mk. 1 Software installed that is!
The 'Detect Crates' command will only run on the player's current ship, (i.e. the ship you are flying about in) and will automatically disengage if you switch ships, so you will have to activate it again on the new ship. The command will run until you change to another ship or run the command 'None' in the slot that the 'Detect Crates' command is using.
Added the 'TERMINATE' script to about the Satellite Network', as several people had asked how to cancel deployment of the Satellites.
If you are installing this over a previous version of the Salvage Network script, please remember to select the 'reinit script cache' option in the script editor, this should re-run the init files and make sure all the files in memory are up to date.
UPDATE: VERSION 2.7
The script is now compatible with the XTended .7 Mod
The ship claiming range has been increased to 1km (from 250m) because of the bigger ships in XTM.
If a crate is detected (upon entering a sector) it will be automatically targetted.
Added the 'Move to crate' command.
UPDATE: VERSION 2.8
Added additional checks that should prevent satellites being deployed in sectors where there are already satellites.
Thanks to Trokhon for posting that bug!
Changed the Termination script, you can now run the script A1.SatelliteNetworkTERM manually to terminate deployment of the Satellites.
Any problems, comments or suggestions, please let me know!
UPDATE: 08/11/2008
Version 3 is soon to be released, it will be available in two versions, one for Terran Conflict and one for Reunion.
UPDATE: 18/09/2007
This script is now compatible with the XTended .7 Mod as of V2.7+
Get the script here:-
Version 2.8 (X3:Reunion)
What is it?
The Salvage Network script will scan the X-Universe for unclaimed ships (there are 12 'freebie' ships) and any ships you have fought and forced the pilot to eject but not yet claimed. It will also carry out a more detailed scan of the current sector for 'hidden' crates. (See Update Ino. at bottom of this post).
The 'theory' is that any sector that you have placed a Navigation, or Advanced Satellite in will become part of a surveillance network. Your ship accesses this network (via the Special Command software) and queries each sector in the network. Sectors with Advanced satellites will return more information about unclaimed ships than a sector with just a Navigation satellite.
How do I install it?
The file is now a .spk file that can be easily installed with Cycrow's Script Installer.
How do I access the Salvage Network?
Firstly, you need to activate the script editor. X3 will not allow 3rd Party scripts to run themselves, they must be activated from the script editor, or at least, have the script editor active.
To activate the editor, start the game, and load in your last game/select a new game. Once in the game, press 'p' to bring up the player options, select the 'rename' icon and enter the name 'Thereshallbewings' (that's 'There shall be wings', with a capital 'T' and no spaces). This will NOT rename your player, just enable the script editor. If it works, there will be a short pause (about 3 seconds where the game appears to lock-up), and the 'rename player' box will dissappear.
Most scripts with setup or init scripts will automatically run themselves the next time the game is saved and reloaded, so you can just save and then load (you will receive a message from the script in your log telling you it's been activated)
To activate the script without saving and reloading, press 'SHIFT+c' to bring up the ship's command interface (if you are docked, go to 'player options' and 'global commands'). Press 's', or select 'script editor' option.
Run the script 'setup.TECSG.salvage' to add the commands to the menu. You may additionally need to save and then reload your game for the changes to take effect. Sorry for all the fuss, it's X3, not me!
You need the Special Command Software Mk. 1 (available from most equipment docks for a small fee) to add the command to your ship's menu. Once the software is installed, go to your ship's command interface and select 'Salvage Network' from the 'special' menu.
What will it tell me?
When you activate the command, you will receive a message from the software. In sectors with a Navigation Satellite, it will just tell you there is a ship in that sector. In sectors with an Advanced Satellite, it will also give you the coordinates for the ship. You current ship will be treated as an Advanced Satellite, so you will ALWAYS get detailed information on any ships in your current sector.
UPDATE: As of V2.6, there is also a 'Detect Crates' command, this will (if activated) send you a message if you enter a sector with 'Hidden Crates' or wares' in it.
I do not know if this is standard for every game, but mine had 20 'hidden' crates, with a value of over 11,000,000. There were 24 Concussion Impulse Generators amongst other things!
How do I find the ship?
If you only got the sector information, it's a case of searching the entire sector (and quite possibly beyond!). With the Advanced Satellite, you will receive the ships coordinates too. With these coordinates, the easiest way is to select 'move to position' from the menu, and select the sector, then use the arrow keys on the numeric pad to move the cursor to the coordinates. Press INS to change axis to alter the Z position. When you press ENTER, you will then move to the exact position of the unclaimed ship.
WARNING!
If you tell your ship to move to the EXACT coordinates, you may crash into the unclaimed ship, as long as you move to within a few km, you can target the ship and fly in manually.
What is Network Coverage?
Network coverage is the percentage of X3 universe sectors that have a satellite in them. It is unlikely that you will ever gain 100% coverage, as the Xenon don't particularly like you placing satellites in their sectors. Pirates are also rather inclined to keep their business to themselves without having people setting up spy networks in their midst, so don't expect all your satellites to be safe!
Do I have to put a satellite in every sector?
No, chances are you couldn't anyway! You can get away without satellites if you really want to, although I find it easier to place a satellite in as many sectors as possible, however, as your ship is treated as a satellite, you can fly to each sector in turn and access the network before moving onto the next sector.
Are there any tips/tricks to using the Salvage Network?
The best way to utilise the network it to place one Nav. Satellite in as many sectors as possible and then query the network. Then fly to sectors with an unclaimed ship and query the network again to get the exact coordinates. Claim the ship before moving on to the next ship found.
Anything else?
Yep! Just to make your life a little easier if you do decide to put satellites in loads of sectors, you will find in the Navigation menu (if you have Navigation Software Mk. 1 installed) a command 'Move to centre of sector'. I think the title is fairly explainatory! I have never had it crash me into anything, but as it uses the X3 autopilot, there's no guarantees it won't!
Terminating Deployment of Satellites
Once the Satellite Deployment Service is started, it will run forever. If no Satellites need to be replaced, it will not cost you anything, however, it can be a constant drain if you have a lot of enemies out there!
If you wish to terminate the deployment of Satellites, you can run the script 'A1.SatelliteNetworkTERM', this will instruct the script to cancel further deployment of satellites.
EDIT: IMPORTED FROM POST ON PAGE 3!
UPDATE: VERSION 2.1
I've just completed an 'add-on' to the Salvage Network script. This new routine will (attempt to) create a random ship in a random sector every 6 (game time) hours (providing certain random criteria are met).
I've used 115 of the pre-defined ships as possibles to be created, they are M5, M4, M3, TS and some 'specials' (Arrow, StarBurst and Xperimental Shuttle to name but a few), also now included are some of the new M3+ and M7's!
I've tried hard to keep the generation routine balanced, ie, not too many free ships too often, but basically the format is this...
Every 6 hours the routine will decide whether or not to create a ship. There is a 50% chance it won't.
If it does decide to create one, it will pick a random sector. If the sector is a 'null' sector, ie, not used in the game, the routine will not create a ship, thereby reducing the posibillity to about 25%.
Of that 25%, the following probabilities apply:
Creating an M5 (40%)
Creating an M4 (20%)
Creating an M3 (10%)
Creating a TS (15%)
Creating a 'special' (5%)
Not creating anything (10%)
The chance of getting an ship is about 1 in 5 every 6 hours (so 1 ship every 30 game hours), and the ships will be randomly damaged and have random amounts of Engine Tunings, Rudder Optimisations, Cargo bay Extensions, Shields installed, software and other 'goodies'.
I may also include weapons later!
UPDATE: VERSION 2.2
The Salvage Network script now comes with an additional product available at all good equipment docks, and, no doubt, some bad ones too. The 'Salvage Claim Software Mk. 1' will transmit a control virus from your ship to a targetted derelict ship, and, if the ship is within 1,000m, the virus will take over the ships systems and bring it under your control.
You should only use this software on derelict/emepty ships though, the owners may not appreciate you trying to steal their ship whilst they are still in it!
Once claimed, the ship will automatically fly to the nearest (friendly) shipyard and dock there.
-- Future features --
Attempting to claim a ship that's not empty will make that ship an enemy. [DONE: As of V2.5]
Constantly trying to claim ships that aren't empty will turn that race against you. [DONE: As of V2.5]
More ship types will be included in the random generator, (as you don't need to claim them in the original way, several more ships that you couldn't claim before (like Military Transport) can be added and claimed with the Claim Salvage Software Mk. 1) [DONE: As of V2.5]
Self-replicating Satellite Network (Will slowly spread out over the universe, and automatically replace any lost satellites) [DONE: As of V2.4]
Maybe including weapons on randomly generated ships.
Maybe have random cargo still in cargo bay of randomly generated ships [DONE: As of V2.5]
UPDATE: VERSION 2.4
The Satellite Network is now finished and included in the Salvage Network script, this will allow you to create universe-wide networks of various types of satellites. See the included readme for full details. All of the above 'future features' are also included except weapons and cargo, which I will work on next.
UPDATE: VERSION 2.5
More improvements have been made, and this version is compatible with X3 2.0.02
UPDATE: VERSION 2.51
One of the scripts (CMD:Move_Centre) was missing from 2.5, sorry about that!
Altered the script so that any ships captured in Loomankstrat's Legacy won't fly off to the nearest shipyard... Good old AP had a tendancy to fly them into squash mines. You can claim the ships there as before, but you'll have to fly them yourself!
UPDATE: VERSION 2.6
Added the 'Detect Crates' command. Go to your ships 'Additional Commands' and select 'Detect Crates' and you will receive a message everytime you enter a sector with 'hidden' crates (or wares) in it. Check out the message, and then go get those freebies!
To facilitate collection of the crates, there is also a new 'MoveToPos' command that will move you to within 50m of the specified coordinates. The 'hidden' crates do not show up until you're within about 300m of them. This command will be at the bottom of the Navigation Menu, if you have the Navigation Mk. 1 Software installed that is!
The 'Detect Crates' command will only run on the player's current ship, (i.e. the ship you are flying about in) and will automatically disengage if you switch ships, so you will have to activate it again on the new ship. The command will run until you change to another ship or run the command 'None' in the slot that the 'Detect Crates' command is using.
Added the 'TERMINATE' script to about the Satellite Network', as several people had asked how to cancel deployment of the Satellites.
If you are installing this over a previous version of the Salvage Network script, please remember to select the 'reinit script cache' option in the script editor, this should re-run the init files and make sure all the files in memory are up to date.
UPDATE: VERSION 2.7
The script is now compatible with the XTended .7 Mod
The ship claiming range has been increased to 1km (from 250m) because of the bigger ships in XTM.
If a crate is detected (upon entering a sector) it will be automatically targetted.
Added the 'Move to crate' command.
UPDATE: VERSION 2.8
Added additional checks that should prevent satellites being deployed in sectors where there are already satellites.
Thanks to Trokhon for posting that bug!
Changed the Termination script, you can now run the script A1.SatelliteNetworkTERM manually to terminate deployment of the Satellites.
Any problems, comments or suggestions, please let me know!