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Freelancer Companion

Here you can find the postings on the different editing utilities found for Freelancer

Post Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:53 am

i dont really want this tool to be workable with crossfire and a spoiler warning is useless

*click* and its gone

this tool does show things that players should discover themself
earlier when people revealed maps and the commodities it was called "cheat" and i still think that it is a cheat

its the opposite of what people try to do with a dynamic economy and it simply "destroy" the work they have done
who would need a dynamic economy if people just can use this tool to find out the new traderoutes... i hope you see my point in this

i would really appreaciate if there is a way to "deactivate" this tool by setting an option to a FL ini or putting a file into the fl-directory which is scanned by this tool before its activated

Post Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:17 am

TBH,

You shouldn't force the issue, its a players choice to use it or not, not yours, you know?

I definately wouldn't like some guy telling me I can't use a piece of software on my own PC if I wanted to or not ...

Saying such things only makes them want to ...

We've been needing a cleaner replacement for DataStorm, as I find it clunky and the gui a little over the top. If this program had the functionality of datastorm it would be awesome, as a total ini file parser to pick up all the things a person would need.

Post Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:03 am

and what about those guys which created a dynamic economy and cant use it because people just will use this tool here to find the new trade routes?

in my eyes all the work that has been done for the dynamic economy was wasted then... the whole idea behind that new kind of economy wouldnt work anymore... and to say that only those that really want to use the tool will use it and the others not leads to a heavy disadvantage to all others that want to play fair

and to say that you dont like that somebody tells you not to use a tool... well doesnt LR say "dont use or talk about cloaks"? its exactly the same

all i want is a possibility to "protect" my server/mod from tool that will spoil the fun
if you others want to allow this tool on your server/mods then do it... but watch how fast players will get money... and get bored before they leave the servers again

Post Mon Aug 07, 2006 9:33 am

Inteck : I can't modify the file description (maybe bakedpotato can do that).
Download is just 38K big.. is that what you call *wasting* time ?
I've put a line about compatibility in the next readme.txt description file

manokiller : I would gladly make it work with Blaster Universe if you tell me how/where to download this mod ! I couldn't find a place where it's available

opwnageo : I've noted your suggestions and will try to do my best, according to my free time, outside my holidays, and if possible, while not totally wasting my social life

ASker2044 : tested compatible with Last Hope MOD Alpha 0.6

SWAT_OP-R8R : ok then, i will remove the useless spoiler warning ;-) and see what I can do to solve the problem you expose

Edited by - Wizou on 8/7/2006 11:03:21 AM

Edited by - Wizou on 8/7/2006 2:07:18 PM

Post Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:16 am

mano, stop going ahead without permission , wizou if u do get a copy of Blaster Universe. Don't test, like Op said: its a sort of "cheat"!!!! and me and my server wont like that

24/7 Blaster Universe
Website

Post Mon Aug 07, 2006 12:45 pm

While i've not used this program,i can see both sides of the argument.
Yes it is down to the player themselves if they choose to use it or not.
I do agree with OP that a option for servers who do not want this program to be compatible with this mod should have the option of blocking it from their mods, much like he and some other modders have stopped DS working with them..however i think imho it's a matter of time before someone works out what's been done and finds a way around it.

It could take months,but i'm pretty sure someone will find a way,however..i can probably guess u'd have a way to find out if they have messed with the mod. The problem is then of knowledge getting around,and if they have the DS file done,then there's not much u can do to stop it going thru friends etc.

Personally,i don't use em..and won't do.
Good luck with ur program buddy

(\__/)
(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
(" )_(" ) signature to help him gain world domination.

Post Mon Aug 07, 2006 2:59 pm

Personally a server (or most that I have been on) isn't about the trade routes, its about the community and friendships, and the pvp, trading is just mostly how you get your fighter.

Those people would find the tool useful, those who benefit from trade more would stop themselves from using it.

The problem is choice, quoting the matrix.

Post Tue Aug 08, 2006 3:01 am

thx for the offered solution (oh and pretty sure that nobody will find a way around it that soon as soon i modified the file ^^)

Post Tue Aug 08, 2006 9:56 am

If I can't get the informations by using a tool, I usually dig them up manually. BTW, Datastorm is pretty much the same cheat, if you want to look at it that way.

Post Tue Aug 08, 2006 3:50 pm

New version 1.7 !

What's new :
- Error log gets minimized on startup if it was minimized last time
- No longer keeps DLL open while running (so FLMM is not disturbed)
- Fixed correct combo item automatic selection
- Added nickname display option
- Don't display base that are not dockable with a standard player ship (miners, fixture...)
- Option to avoid gates that are locked in the default multiplayer configuration
- Some fixes


Edited by - Wizou on 8/9/2006 10:55:48 AM

Post Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:13 pm

I like this tool a lot..

I'll use it to my advantage and make the "good" trade runs even longer now

Sure players will be able to find the runs quick, but they still need to do them, cant change that fact.

I personally dont mind it at all, if it helps players pla then fine, If they get bored then so be it, lets face it they all move on eventually, well some of them. The others that stay are there for the server, the community and the banter. They wont go anywhere..

Enjoy the tool and let others do the same

Post Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:50 pm

@Wizou, well done on creating this tool. Its been made really well and you're clearly giving it a lot of support too.

To be honest, i've never really like the idea of datastorm revealing the secrets of the mod that i hae taken 2 years to make. I have considered making it incompatable with my mod and i most likely will do so in the future. Modders qill still be able to make a few changes, but for the bulk of the non-modders its secrets will be kept. I'd say datastorm is far more of a problem for revealing the mod than the Freelancer Companion.
If anything, modders should use Freelancer Companion to look through the different trade routes and adjust the amounts or create more difficult regions in order to balance out the game. Its value to me as a modding tool is much more usefull than as a means to find the best trade routes.
I do agree with SWAT_OP-R8R, that if everybody knows the best trade routes and only does them ones it is going to get boring and people will start leaving the servers. But, you can always add a few higher level population zones along the route to make it more of a challenge for them.

Post Tue Aug 08, 2006 11:11 pm

That's why you make more then one trade route, DUH!

Make a few that take around the same time to do. With this program it will make it easyer for modders to see which trading routes are broken without having to log in and log off the mod.

QuEsTiOn AsKeR
Last Hope MOD
Last Hope Forums

Post Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:53 pm

At the end of the day, if a player wants to find out the best trade routes they can open up the individual ini files and work them out. This program isn't introducing any new exploits to the game, it's just saving players time if they do want the extra information. And as other people have said, it's really only affecting the player who 'cheats' anyway. If you don't agree with it then don't use it.

@Wizou
This looks like a very neat program, nicely done! I did notice the application includes error checking for mod makers; do I smell competition for FLScan?

Post Thu Aug 10, 2006 2:39 pm

thanks all of you for your support

Freelancer Companion is for sure a good tool for Mod makers to find out some errors in their mods, but even more to help them correctly balance their trade routes so that there are no excessively lucrative ones

IMHO however, even mods that have interesting trade routes should not be afraid of Freelancer Companion, as we can count on Pirates to hack those lanes/routes and make it more dangerous for traders (and therefore less interesting)

Accushot: I never tried FLscan I just got bored of all the mods that were crashing Freelancer Companion because of errors, so I decided to log those errors to help the mod makers fix them

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