[MOD] System Control v1.02

[Multirez]

System Control

 

The mod allows player to create the templates (sets) of upgrades for ship systems and quickly switch its from

one to another.

 

Reasons

 

For sure you had to open the menu of upgrades many times and rearrange the same system upgrades,

especially for me it is relevant in the later stages of the game, when the ship has more than 10 installed

systems. I switch them again and again, not because I got new ones, but because I want to get the most out of

the ship, because I want to be able to shoot from 30-40 guns in combat, because I want to jump by 50 sectors,

because I want to dismantle as quickly as possible, because I want to see more signatures on the map,

carry more cargo, fly with maximum acceleration and so on. I again and again opened the management of systems

and rearranged the same improvements, again and again, and this was the reason for creating this modification.

 

In addition, if you play in the alliance and fly on the ship of the alliance, then there is one more thin,

it seems to me a flaw, in the fact that when installing and removing systems all the players of the alliance

have info that I added new upgrades to the inventory of the alliance, or deleted cool rare upgrades and these

messages filling the entire right side of the screen, 2-3 players are playing and you do not know when to be

happy that someone added a new upgrade because the right side of the screen is constantly clogged with messages

about systems replacing and you just start ignore them. So I tried to fix this flaw by adding the ability

to use the player's inventory when installing or removing improvements. With the help of specially selected

checkbox you can handle it or SystemControl use the inventory of the ship fraction or the player's inventory

even if the ship belongs to the alliance.

 

Download

 

SystemControl_v1.01.zip

  - Fixed issue on system replacement from vanilla UI.

 

SystemControl_v1.02.zip

  - Added [info] button that is display the total amount of bonuses your ship

  - Fixed occasional error with getting system data on client.

 

Installation

 

1. Download the mod ShipScriptLoader by Dirtyredz and follow its installation instructions.

This is required to load this modification. If you are already using it you may skip this step.

 

2. Copy the directory mods contained in the SystemControl.zip file directly into the Steam installation

directory folder for Avorion.

 

3. Open the file Avorion/mods/ShipScriptLoader/config/ShipScriptLoader.lua

Before the last line containing return Config add this code:

   Config.Add("mods/SystemControl/scripts/entity/systemcontrol.lua")

 

How to use

 

If you installed everything correctly, you should see a system upgrade icon at top-right of the screen.

 

 

Install desired upgrades through the standard interface and press an upgrade icon, its will open

the SystemControl window. The topmost line (1) shows the current systems installed on the ship, the other

lines show your templates saved earlier. [update](2) button will replace the template by the current

list of upgrades. The [use](3) button calls the SystemControl to find and install the upgrades according

the tamplate. Search will be made in the player's inventory or ship's faction, depending on the status of

the checkbox [use player inventory](4).

 

You can use hot keys to apply the required template Alt + #number of template.

Alt + 0 will remove all installed system upgrades.

 

Templates do not store upgrades, they just remember which systems should be installed, and try to search

for these in the inventory.

 

Known issues

 

* Upgrades do not drops out of the ship during a crash. In the event of partial destruction or change

in the ship size the upgrades, installed by SystemControl, are sent to the player's inventory,

even if the ship is lost from the collision.

 

* Upgrades that are installed by SystemControl are not displayed in the standard [system upgrades] menu.

The developer did not give the opportunity to correctly install ship system upgrades(or I can't find that way,

help me if I wrong), in form an API for working with inventory or somethig like it, or will allow to modify

the standard interface.

If I have one then it will be possible to improve the level of integration with the base UI.

 

Future improvements

 

* Add sounds to hotkeys;

* Save the current system set into the template by pressing Shift + Alt + #number;

* Make tamplate list srollable, increace template count to 9;

* Show inventory for drag the upgrades from inventory to current or template;

* All entities can has SystemUpgrades;

 

Credits

 

* Dirtyredz for the ShipScriptLoader.

* Multirez for everything else :)

SystemControl_v1.01.zip

SystemControl_v1.02.zip

[Nachtu]

Useful stuff for bigger multipurpose ships! Will definitely use!

[Shrooblord]

Oh, it makes me happy to see that little Holy Grail icon up there.  ;D

 

----

 

This is AWESOME! What an amazing mod. Thank you for something that provides such utility. Well-explained reasoning and instructions, too. Thanks a bunch!

 

* Upgrades do not drops out of the ship during a crash. In the event of partial destruction or change

in the ship size the upgrades, installed by SystemControl, are sent to the player's inventory,

even if the ship is lost from the collision.

That almost sounds like a buff rather than a bug!

But yeah, you're right, it would probably be best to fix this at some point. If not for balancing, at least for the PvP side of things.

[Multirez]

Thanks for the flattering reviews, I hoped that the modification would be useful, and tried to make the game more comfortable, saving the player from having to do the same mechanical actions.

 

But yeah, you're right, it would probably be best to fix this at some point. If not for balancing, at least for the PvP side of things.

 

As for PVP, for normal competition in combat in this game there are not enough tools, anyone can escape by simply jumping into another sector, even if you have a fast ship. We need a weapon capable of holding a player from a jump, destroying the possibility of a warp, such as in EVE. Perhaps in the future there will be see similar game mechanics.

 

In addition, some factories in the game allow you to make a cheat weapons that deals more then 8к damage per second, this is a vanilla game without any modifications. This fact, in my opinion, destroys the gameplay, making a such weapon you just kill everyone with a single click.

 

And all the same about PVP: with this mod, you can always press Alt + 0 at the last moment, that is removing all modules.

[Shrooblord]

And all the same about PVP: with this mod, you can always press Alt + 0 at the last moment, that is removing all modules.

I guess you've got a point there.

 

We need a weapon capable of holding a player from a jump, destroying the possibility of a warp, such as in EVE.

But perhaps you offer a solution right there: if there were to be a Hyperspace Blocker (which is functionality that is actually exposed to us modders, so someone could go out there and make a "Hyperspace Jammer within X km of this Ship" System Module Upgrade, or perhaps even a Hyperspace Jamming Turret of sorts), I propose that it would also block access to modifying System Module Upgrades. Basically, deadlock and cripple a ship, as is the intent of an offensive system like this.

 

But then a new problem arises: how to properly balance this so that it has valuable counterplay? If someone can have an offensive system like this, or maybe even more than one, we need some way to counteract that, or all combat just devolves into "who can have the most or best Hyperspace Jammers equipped".

 

Perhaps Hyperspace Jammers need to work on some kind of cooldown, or only be able to detain a ship for an amount of time dependent on the target ship's size and/or processing power (trying to reroute power to computers to counteract the "hack", or similar explanations as to how this can be countered), or maybe targets need to have an ability to "reverse the polarity", and counter-Jam their opponent with their own weapons??

 

I don't know. You raise an interesting set of problems, though. It would be nice to try and see how to design for and around those problems.

[Multirez]

But then a new problem arises: how to properly balance this so that it has valuable counterplay? If someone can have an offensive system like this, or maybe even more than one, we need some way to counteract that, or all combat just devolves into "who can have the most or best Hyperspace Jammers equipped".

 

I think here must be a type of turrets to keep the enemy, with overheating, so that the player can not jumm the target endlessly, the strength and the range of the jumm can also depend on the turret quality.

 

And we need a new type of system - warp core stabilizer (or hyperdrive booster etc.), which are made in the form of upgrade modules, the higher the quality of such a module, the more stabilization we obtain, that can be a balanced system.

[Shrooblord]

And stabilisation means reduced risk of being Hyperspace Jammed? Nice. I inherently like the idea of more System Module Upgrades. Right now, there's just a couple of good ones that fit their task really well, but you can get away with choosing one or two specialised SMUs like a Shield Booster and Energy-producing SMU, and then cram it full of, I don't know, Turrets, or Hyperspace-related SMUs, but adding more SMUs that add a meaningful difference in your chances of survival, means you'll have to start making decisions that balance combat prowess and utility - which gives ample room for strategising.

[Shrooblord]

Sorry for the double-post, but I just had an idea. (And you know how I get when I have an idea.)

 

I know this is outside of the original scope of your mod, but do you think it would be possible to display the total amount of bonuses your ship is receiving because of all the System Module Upgrades? So instead of having to go by each SMU manually and adding up the totals to percentages and whatnot, you could have all the bonuses displayed somewhere, maybe only as a tooltip when you hover over something in the UI. Could also help clear up some confusion on whether percentages are additive or multiplicative (they're additive, for the record).

 

What do you say?

[Multirez]

... do you think it would be possible to display the total amount of bonuses your ship is receiving because of all the System Module Upgrades?

I think yes! This is possible, and I've added similar tooltip in the last update v1.02.  ;)

 

 

[avorionj5jth4]

I tested v1.02 and it is WONDERFUL.  THANK YOU for making this mod.  The quality of life value for this mod is really high!  (Patch 0.15.8 live )

[Shrooblord]

... do you think it would be possible to display the total amount of bonuses your ship is receiving because of all the System Module Upgrades?

I think yes! This is possible, and I've added similar tooltip in the last update v1.02.  ;)

 

 

Ah, that looks fantastico. Thanks!

[avorionj5jth4]

I have been using this mod for over 20 hours now, and it is a godsend!  +1000 author hugs!

[T4Ken]

Is there a Problem with Alliance Ship maybe too ?

[MrMors]

Be aware that the mod currently is changing stats on upgrade modules. Seams like when the mod puts the item back in your inventory its modified.

[Gantradies]

Be aware that the mod currently is changing stats on upgrade modules. Seams like when the mod puts the item back in your inventory its modified.

o.o canya confirm this? was thinking of passing this one around my server

[MrMors]

Be aware that the mod currently is changing stats on upgrade modules. Seams like when the mod puts the item back in your inventory its modified.

o.o canya confirm this? was thinking of passing this one around my server

 

Yep, it appears that when it puts the module back into your inventory it acts like picking up a new module and with that you get the random stats. I'm not sure if this will be an easy issue for the author to fix or not. I really like the concept so I hope that it can maybe be fixed. Try it your self, just make sure you have a backup first.

[DracoNB]

Be aware that the mod currently is changing stats on upgrade modules. Seams like when the mod puts the item back in your inventory its modified.

o.o canya confirm this? was thinking of passing this one around my server

 

Yep, it appears that when it puts the module back into your inventory it acts like picking up a new module and with that you get the random stats. I'm not sure if this will be an easy issue for the author to fix or not. I really like the concept so I hope that it can maybe be fixed. Try it your self, just make sure you have a backup first.

 

I just installed it two days ago but haven't seen this problem, my 146% purple shield and +11 jump hyperspace have stayed that way. Is it only certain mods that change stats?

[MrMors]

If its working you then great. When i tried it, it was the only mod on the server. Maybe its a client/server bug? If your using it on a server and its working let me know cause I think this is a great mod. It just wasn't working for me and my group.

[DracoNB]

If its working you then great. When i tried it, it was the only mod on the server. Maybe its a client/server bug? If your using it on a server and its working let me know cause I think this is a great mod. It just wasn't working for me and my group.

 

Yeah its working as far as I can tell on my MP server.

 

The only annoyance I have with it is that you can't just change out 1 mod, you have to clear them all because your Systems Tab is empty / unusable while the mod is "active". So if I want to use 5 systems all the time and then swap out a few others, I have to always add those before creating a new set instead of just doing the difference between the two. Otherwise, its an amazing mod!

 

I wonder if the issue you guys are seeing is due to another player / ship using the mod, so it installs a similar one and thats why it looks like it got modified?

[Delerium76]

Be aware that the mod currently is changing stats on upgrade modules. Seams like when the mod puts the item back in your inventory its modified.

o.o canya confirm this? was thinking of passing this one around my server

 

Yep, it appears that when it puts the module back into your inventory it acts like picking up a new module and with that you get the random stats. I'm not sure if this will be an easy issue for the author to fix or not. I really like the concept so I hope that it can maybe be fixed. Try it your self, just make sure you have a backup first.

 

Tried in my single player game and didn't encounter this at all.  Not sure what is causing it for you.

 

As for the mod, I posted this over in the thread about mods supported by 1.17.1/18, but I also think it is appropriate to mention it here as well. 

 

There are some annoyances to the mod:

 

1. It uses alt+1 to alt+5 (unconfigurable keybinds) to switch between system sets, which has the happy side effect of also toggling your weapons on and off as well as re-centering your ship every time you use it.  Only solution is to either deal with it and keep adjusting every time, or change the game's default keybinds since you can't change the mod's keybinds.

 

2. There is no keybind (that I could find) to open the configuration menu to assign your current system set to a keybind.  A minor annoyance, but oh well.

 

3. As listed on this page, when you use a hotkey to switch systems, the systems currently installed will no longer show up on the vanilla ship systems menu.  This wouldn't be so bad except when combined with number 2 makes it frustrating to look at what you currently have equipped, and impossible to just swap out one or two systems of an existing set without clearing the whole thing and building it from scratch. 

 

4. (wasn't listed on the other thread but I just thought of it) The order in which the systems get installed should be reversed for removal.  The reason being that with shields, the order matters.  Shield boosters give + shield durability and shield reinforcers give - shield durability.  If you put a booster on first and then a reinforcer, you never cap out your shields so you don't lose any charge, but if you do the reverse, the reinforcer will destroy whatever charge it needs to to get down to your new shield level.  I can control the order they get installed just fine to get them in the right order, but the mod seems to take them off in the same exact order, thus destroying charge.  The end result being that as I constantly swap between sets, I'm constantly draining my shields to about half charge, which kinda sucks.  Short version:  Right now systems are installed/uninstalled in a FIFO pattern when they should be in a LIFO pattern.

 

One solution around the inability to modify what shows up on the vanilla system tab might be to just duplicate the system tab itself and put a copy onto your mod's UI (maybe as a tab).  The fact that you are already displaying the same icons and have code in place to change what system goes in what slot, most of the back-end work should already be done.  It would just take duplicating the vanilla system tab's UI.  I think as long as we get a hotkey to open and close your mod's UI, it could completely replace the systems tab altogether.

[Gantradies]

out of curiosity, does this mood still work with the latest release/ have an unpdated version in another thread that does?

 

i know im technically necroing,but i feel its a valid question-it  was a fairly popular component of my last little modpack, and i am currently throwing another one together for my Discord group.