FFEStarsys program [was Win Starsys]

[Theunis de Jong aka [jongware]]

For those who can't get enough of seeing stars scroll by: a major update of
FFE StarSys (previously called 'win starsys 'cause it ran on windoze...) is
available for download on http://www.jongware.com
New features are: icon-driven interface, full trade information per system,
range-finding, and last but not the very least: Planetairy info!
Check out the Planets screen, displaying almost everything you want to know
about FFE's planets, including major starports and orbiters.
This is still very much a work in progress so if anyone spots a bug or
misses a feature just let me know.

Theunis de Jong
aka [Jongware]

[Lee Walder]

Good stuff and well done !

When E4 comes around, would you be interested in creating something like
this for that game ?

I know you can't really decide now because we have no details (except
for the fragments on Frontier's website) about the game yet, but I'm
just wondering.

I found it funny how you told the other visitors to b*gger off, I've
never come across a site containing that before :-)

Lee.

[Theunis de Jong aka [jongware]]

Though the vast majority of the 513,933,728 star systems(1) are
algorithm-generated, the *interesting* systems all use hard-coded data. Some
systems, such as Sol and Alpha Centauri are entirely hard-coded, others,
such as Gateway, use modified parameters. It is most likely that E4 -- IF
AND ONLY IF it uses the same galaxy-generating algo -- will modify even more
systems, to accomodate for a wider field of interesting play. But including
extra info should be a doddle, should the game finally appear.
I'm not counting too much on the same galaxy generator; in fact I'm hoping
for a real 3D galaxy, with more stellar bodies (black holes... neutron
stars... different planets), cities, trade items (though "slaves" and
"narcotics" should remain!), upgrades, ships and a REAL Thargoid sector!

About the "b*gger" remark: a friend asked me what I'd been doing the past
few months. When I proudly showed the website and program he said sth like
"So? What's it FOR?" So if you don't know what Elite/Frontier is, b*gger 2U!

Theunis de Jong
aka [Jongware]

(1) Note on the number of star systems: I disagree with John Jordan's! But
the idea someone else bothered to check the number is *scaring*...

"Lee Walder" <l...@lwalder.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:d2jv3j$f04$1...@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...

[John Jordan]

In article <nCz3e.1263$0v1...@amsnews02.chello.com>, Theunis de Jong
aka [jongware] <jong...@post.in.group.plz> writes

>Though the vast majority of the 513,933,728 star systems(1)

[snip]

>
>(1) Note on the number of star systems: I disagree with John Jordan's! But
>the idea someone else bothered to check the number is *scaring*...

The numbers are in the same ballpark anyway :-)

The code for mine follows, feel free to pick holes:

xor esi, esi
.loopy
xor edi, edi
.loopx
push dword 0x0
push esi
push edi
call FUNC_000853
add esp, 0xc
shr eax, 0xa
add dword [systemCount], eax
inc edi
cmp edi, dword 0x2000
jl .loopx
inc esi
cmp esi, dword 0x2000
jl .loopy

C equiv:

for (int y=0; y<0x2000; y++)
for (int x=0; x<0x2000; x++)
systemCount += FUNC_000853 (x, y, 0) >> 10;

--
John Jordan

[Theunis de Jong aka [jongware]]

Your original number 513,982,470 stands.
In the routine shown you forgot the handcoded sectors, these *are* checked
in FUNC_000841 (but you'll have to provide storage for the coordinates and
the 3d model).

i'll kick myself 513,982,470 times in the head, or until my leg drops off --
whichever comes first.

[jongware]

"John Jordan" <jo...@jaj22.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:EF9xf5IX...@jaj22.demon.co.uk...

[John Jordan]

In article <97I3e.5279$pU2....@amsnews03-serv.chello.com>, Theunis de

Jong aka [jongware] <jong...@post.in.group.plz> writes

>Your original number 513,982,470 stands.
>In the routine shown you forgot the handcoded sectors, these *are* checked
>in FUNC_000841 (but you'll have to provide storage for the coordinates and
>the 3d model).

Nah, F853 includes code for counting the number of stars in handcoded
sectors, although I'm not sure that it's ever used in FFE because F841
doesn't call F853 for handcoded sectors. The functionality is duplicated
anyway.

--
John Jordan

[Theunis de Jong aka [jongware]]

Uncle!

th.

[Huug Schenk]

Hi Theunis,

on your site you mention 255 technical levels, of which there should
only be 10 different. Yet I tried to visit all inhabited systems in
Schwempa's list and I found at 12 different upgrade lists (see the
Tech level info hosted by Jades: http://www.jades.org/ffe.htm).
Are you really sure there can be only 10 different tech levels,
because I saw 12 in the game!

Groeten,

Huug

[Theunis de Jong aka [jongware]]

ouch... in fact the game supports 256 diff tech levels (0..255) for star
systems, but not all of them are used. and the upgrades each have a minimal
tech level number in the same range, and not all of these are used either
(there are about 66 upgrades, or sth like that).
I just divide the tech levels for both by 25.5 to get a nice round number in
the range of 0 to 10, and in doing so i wondered (briefly) if there would be
overlap when there should be none, or the other way around. i'll jsut have
to check what the minimum number of *different* levels have to be (and that
might just be 12...).

groeten terug,

Theunis de Jong
aka [Jongware]

"Huug Schenk" <hs...@oce.nl> wrote in message
news:c0720f4b.05040...@posting.google.com...

[John Jordan]

In article <ydT5e.48679$Sc7....@amsnews05.chello.com>, Theunis de Jong
aka [jongware] <jong...@post.in.group.plz> writes

>ouch... in fact the game supports 256 diff tech levels (0..255) for star
>systems, but not all of them are used. and the upgrades each have a minimal
>tech level number in the same range, and not all of these are used either
>(there are about 66 upgrades, or sth like that).
>I just divide the tech levels for both by 25.5 to get a nice round number in
>the range of 0 to 10, and in doing so i wondered (briefly) if there would be
>overlap when there should be none, or the other way around. i'll jsut have
>to check what the minimum number of *different* levels have to be (and that
>might just be 12...).

There are 14 different tech values used by equipment upgrades, including
<0x13 (no tech at all) and >0xeb (thargoid tech). So probably 12 levels
that are actually used.

--
John Jordan

[Theunis de Jong aka [jongware]]

"John Jordan" <jo...@jaj22.demon.co.uk> wrote in message

news:zGFMfvKg...@jaj22.demon.co.uk...

> There are 14 different tech values used by equipment upgrades, including
> <0x13 (no tech at all) and >0xeb (thargoid tech). So probably 12 levels
> that are actually used.

Thanxx -- I'll cross-reference that with the tech levels from the star
systems to see if there is any useful overlap.

[jongware]

[Theunis de Jong aka [jongware]]

thought it over, and it doesn't matter what tech level the systems have.
it's the different numbers for upgrades that count. stoo-pid.
it must be the cafeine high i've been ridin' the last couple o'weeks ...
[j]