Request: an easier way to implement paths (no idea whether this is even possible)

adoxa wrote:
Got it, thanks. I’m still not sure if I should do this, though. If I did I’m thinking given [c]pos_begin[/c] and [c]pos_end[/c] a plugin could generate [c]pos[/c] and [c]rotate[/c]; I think with [c]CYLINDER[/c] it could generate the second [c]size[/c], too (i.e. the distance between the points). I might whip something up, if you’re willing to do all the testing…

Are you’re thinking about a standalone tool like the Trade Lane Calculator, that generates the position, rotation and length values for (one leg of) a path? That might be even better probably because the star system .ini files would remain ‘orthodox’?

Of course, I’d be willing to do the testing (provided I can fit it into my working method, because after all those years, it’d be counterintuitive to do it otherwise).

FriendlyFire wrote:
Pretty sure adoxa means a plugin that just does a preprocessing pass to the INIs as they’re read by Freelancer. You’d just be able to use pos_begin and pos_end directly in the INIs.

Thanks. That was the original proposal, but a fairly uneducated one I must admit; I actually doubted whether it’d be possible at all!

adoxa wrote:

Have fun…

Hey thanks a million!! As always I’m baffled to see how you are able to change seemingly every aspect of the game with a plugin!

It’ll have to wait to (hopefully) this evening (on my part of the globe); got a family event today.

Btw I couldn’t submit my previous message (wrote that before I went to sleep).

adoxa wrote:

converting

It’s not necessary to convert all the vanilla paths into the new format, I hope? :lol: Oh well, I’ll see that (hopefully) tonight.

First test.

I’m getting an almost, but not quite, perfect result, and the oddness of where it is not perfect, baffles me:

It would have made more sense to me if all the paths would have their angle mirrored (because that is what seems to be wrong with the 2nd leg), not just one of them.

This is the code (and I also tried with adding a [c]pos_begin[/c] to every leg, which rendered the same result, and with and without CYLINDER in leg 2, 3 an 4) :

[zone]
nickname = Zone_Br07_xpath_mollys9_1
shape = CYLINDER
size = 750
;--------------------------------LD-4
pos_begin = 29834, 0, -47360
pos_end = 71125, 0, 3996
;--------------------------------TLR_47
attack_ids = br07_4
tradelane_attack = 15
sort = 99
toughness = 13
density = 3
repop_time = 90
max_battle_size = 4
pop_type = attack_patrol
relief_time = 30
path_label = mollys9, 1
usage = patrol
mission_eligible = True
faction_weight = fc_m_grp, 10
density_restriction = 1, patroller
density_restriction = 1, police_patroller
density_restriction = 1, pirate_patroller
density_restriction = 4, lawfuls
density_restriction = 4, unlawfuls
encounter = patrolp_assault, 13, 0.290000
faction = fc_m_grp, 1.000000
visit = 1

[zone]
nickname = Zone_Br07_xpath_mollys9_2
shape = CYLINDER
size = 750
pos_end = 60000, 0, 9800
attack_ids = br07_4
tradelane_attack = 15
sort = 99
toughness = 13
density = 3
repop_time = 90
max_battle_size = 4
pop_type = attack_patrol
relief_time = 30
path_label = mollys9, 2
usage = patrol
mission_eligible = True
faction_weight = fc_m_grp, 10
density_restriction = 1, patroller
density_restriction = 1, police_patroller
density_restriction = 1, pirate_patroller
density_restriction = 4, lawfuls
density_restriction = 4, unlawfuls
encounter = patrolp_assault, 13, 0.290000
faction = fc_m_grp, 1.000000
visit = 1

[zone]
nickname = Zone_Br07_xpath_mollys9_3
shape = CYLINDER
size = 750
pos_end = 61500, 0, 15500
;--------------------------------TLR_45
attack_ids = br07_4
tradelane_attack = 15
sort = 99
toughness = 13
density = 3
repop_time = 90
max_battle_size = 4
pop_type = attack_patrol
relief_time = 30
path_label = mollys9, 3
usage = patrol
mission_eligible = True
faction_weight = fc_m_grp, 10
density_restriction = 1, patroller
density_restriction = 1, police_patroller
density_restriction = 1, pirate_patroller
density_restriction = 4, lawfuls
density_restriction = 4, unlawfuls
encounter = patrolp_assault, 13, 0.290000
faction = fc_m_grp, 1.000000
visit = 1

[zone]
nickname = Zone_Br07_xpath_mollys9_4
shape = CYLINDER
size = 750
pos_end = 79038, 0, 41800
;--------------------------------Omega=3 Hole
attack_ids = br07_4
tradelane_attack = 15
sort = 99
toughness = 13
density = 3
repop_time = 90
max_battle_size = 4
pop_type = attack_patrol
relief_time = 30
path_label = mollys9, 4
usage = patrol
mission_eligible = True
faction_weight = fc_m_grp, 10
density_restriction = 1, patroller
density_restriction = 1, police_patroller
density_restriction = 1, pirate_patroller
density_restriction = 4, lawfuls
density_restriction = 4, unlawfuls
encounter = patrolp_assault, 13, 0.290000
faction = fc_m_grp, 1.000000
visit = 1

(Btw the disconnected path does not cause a crash. That sounds good but it might actually mean there are now encounters at all. The whole thing is in a huge pop zone; I’ll turn that off in the next test so that I can be sure that any molly that I encounter, is generated by the path. But, that has less priority than reporting this.)

adoxa wrote:
Try swapping begin & end (sorry, I meant to mention that).

I presume that you mean for the entire path?

On it… (and after that I gotta do some offline things as well (sucks)

That renders the first and last leg reversed, but leg 2 and 3 seem to be okay now…

EDIT: No, only leg 2 is okay now (leg 2 and 3 are small so it’s not apparent at first sight) so the results are exacyly opposed to the first test.

The paths seem to be in the proper position. So my layman’s assumption is that the issue is with how the angles are calculated. I find it odd that not all the angles are mirrored though…

Btw apparently tests 1 and 2 rendered the exact opposed angles in the paths.

Adoxa wait!!

Just noticed that a rotation value in one of the vanilla-style paths got mauled! Maybe that caused the issue!

EDIT, No it matters not. With the error in that vanilla-style-path* corrected, the path-new-style still has the same issie.

*I presume that that path just somehow inherited the value of its predecessor? (Although I once tried to see how much is inherited, and was disappointed.)

Thanks, I’ll test that tonight.

Btw some vanilla paths have 90, but other -90 as the first rotation value. I don’t know how significant that is here, but iirc if you reverse these values (turning 90 into -90 or vice versa), those paths show the same behavior as the faulty paths generated by ZonePos.

No success with looking into the Trade Lane Calculator? That tool does the angles right.

I have absolutely no idea how complicated it is to create such a standalone tool like the TLC or your XML->UTF (and vice versa) converter. But as I’ve always been content with the TLC (although I do find a bit annoying that it writes a [c]visit = 1[/c] line to every single Trade Lane Ring) , I always wondered why the same dude didn’t make a path (a single leg of a path that is) calculator, which would be similar. Maybe he already left the scene before paths were even discussed; iirc the TLC was a very early tool.

adoxa wrote:

Moonhead wrote:
[…] although I do find a bit annoying that it writes a [c]visit = 1[/c] line to every single Trade Lane Ring […]

Change 2E88 from 31 ([c]1[/c]) to 30 ([c]0[/c]) to write [c]visit = 0[/c] instead.

Thanks, but tbh that’d be just annoying A [c]visit =[/c] entry isn’t necessary, and hence redundant, for Trade Lane Rings. Could you think of a heck that totally eliminates the entire line from the generated code?

About to download and test the updated ZonePos now.

With [c], flip[/c] added, the second leg of the path is properly connected now:

[zone]
nickname = Zone_Br07_xpath_mollys9_2
shape = CYLINDER
size = 750
pos_begin = 71125, 0, 3996
pos_end = 60000, 0, 9800, flip

Significant (to me at least) is that leg 1, 3 and 4 all go from upper-left to lower-right, while leg 2 (which was the one that was skrewed up in the first tests) goes from upper-right to lower-left.

Btw As they now show up as they should, I think we can assume they are treated by the game as any other path encounter. So, whether or not ships show up, whether or not they actually attack Trade Lane Rings etc. is not something governed by ZonePos.dll and hence not relevant (Adoxa correct me if this assumption is wrong).