Unified Capture Script 

Readme For Version 1.xx 

This scriptset is a true script in AL plugin form. As such it should be compatible with most other mods and scripts. Although that is an area we hope to get some feedback on with this beta release. 


What it does. 

UniCap version 1 allows players to attack and possibly capture stations and ships which cannot normally be captured in X3 gameplay. Version 1.xx allows this to be accomplished through use of sheer firepower alone. Reduce a targets hull percentage to a certain level and there is a possibility that the target will surrender. There is also the possibility that the target will simply explode, or, in the case of ships, will jump away to escape. 


How it works. 

Races have been assigned relative values of combat ability and willingness to fight. This is used to determine the point where an object belonging to a particular race might surrender, explode, or escape. 

Ships have also been assigned combat values according to the size and nature of the ship. Military type ships will fight much longer that civilian types, and larger ships will fight longer than smaller. Small fighters and Goner ships are not used by this script. M3 class and above are supported, though. 

The RaceComVal and the ShipComVal are used together to determine the point at which the target will perform one of the described actions, with large military ships of a combative race being very hard to capture. 

Stations are assigned a defensive value, much like ships, and that is used along with the RaceComVal to determine the chances of a station surrender. The higher tech a stations product, and the more military in nature, the higher a stations defensive value will be. 

RaceComVal and StaDefVal are the factors in setting a stations surrender/destruct point. 


Ships. 

When a ship surrenders, some or all of its crew will bail, if any have survived the attack, and the ship will slow and stop, with it's ownership set to neutral. It must be 'claimed' by the player in order for him to take possession of it. Likewise a portion of its weapons, wares, and extensions will remain, depending upon the amount of hull integrity remaining. 

If a ship is destroyed, either by result of battle damage or self-destruction by the crew, a portion of the weapons and wares that were undamaged during the battle will be left behind. In the case of large ships, this can amount to a respectable amount of loot. 

If a ship jumps, well, what can I say...it's outt'a there! It may be that the player can relocate it in the nearby sectors, but it's gone from this one. 


Stations. 

Stations in the game will fall into one of four categories. 

Race owned and operated stations that have not been captured. No specific designation is given to those. 

Player 'Owned' stations are those legitimately built and operated by the player. Ownership of these cannot be changed. 

Player 'Captured' stations are those that have been captured from another race but are operated by the player, who bears all responsibility for running it and gains all profits. These can be returned to the original owners for proxy operation. 

Player 'Controlled' stations are those that have been captured from another race and then returned to that race for proxy operation. These stations are taxed and the player is able to assert his ownership of them at any time, to make use of its wares and docking facilities. On these stations there exists the possibility of rebellion, with the station reverting totally to race control and making the player an enemy. The only way to reassert player ownership is to conquer it again. 

When a station surrenders, ownership will be set to player and the station will be placed in 'Captured' status. 

It is advisable to keep most of your captured stations in 'Controlled' status. This allows the game engine to use these stations to keep the economies of X3 healthy and functioning properly. You may want to keep a few stations of special interest to the player, but an attempt to keep all stations to be operated by the player ('Captured' status ) may cause problems for the game engine. 


How to play. 

Setup. 

There are three keys associated with this program. 

Key #1 is the Target Info key. Pressing that key will cause a popup with information about the targeted object to appear. It has no other function. I have not limited this key to any particular type of object and you may find odd bits of information available if you use it on objects other than ships or stations. 

Key #2 is the Battle key. It is used to initiate battle with stations, which are not triggered by the auto-trigger function. This key can also be used to begin a battle with any other viable target, and also is used to end a battle that a player may want to quit before it has reached one of the scripted conclusions. 

Key #3 is the Claim key. It is used to change the ownership status of captured stations. All the player needs do is target the station in question and hit the key. The station will change from 'Captured' to 'Controlled' or back again. This is handy for setting 'Controlled' stations to 'Captured' so that the player can make use of the station freely, and when done, set it back to race operation. One of the perks of being a conquering warlord. When a station is initially captured it goes into the 'Captured' status and must be set to 'Controlled by the player. Taxes are assessed every half hour or so, but don't expect to get super rich from them, unless you have a bunch of high value 'Controlled' stations. The taxes range pretty much like the populations, from about 3000 credits for a small SPP to 25000 or so for a shipyard. 

This key is also used to 'Claim' a ship that has surrendered. A player must target the ship and approach to within 100 meters. Hitting the key will cause the ship ownership to be set to player, and it's all yours. 

Upon installation of this plugin, these keys will appear in Options/Controls/Interface, way down at the bottom. Here you can select which key that you want to perform each of the three functions needed to use this script. Be sure to dock somewhere after selection, so that the keys are 'set' in the game. 


Auto-trigger. 

A cool feature of this script is its ability to initiate the battle script on viable targets simply by firing on them, thus taking a bit of burden off pilots during intense fights. It does not work on stations, where battle must be initiated with the Battle key. The auto-trigger feature has been disabled in version 1.11 9for those who prefer manual activation of the "battle" script).


How to play. 

Essentially, just fly around and start shooting. When the battlescript launches the player will hear a three-toned chime, signaling engagement has begun. An entry will be made in the players log, stating that an engagement has begun and listing the name of the enemy. The battle script has begun to run on the target, and one of the scripted endings will be the conclusion, unless the player breaks the engagement by hitting the Battle key a second time. In that event, the player will hear three sharper tones, signifying disengagement. The battlescript is then ready for a new target. If the scripted outcome of the battle is complete, the ship, or station, has surrendered, exploded, or jumped, then battlescript will end and the disengage tones will be heard. It is be ready for a new target. 

If, for some reason, you engage a viable target yet hear no engagement tone, that means that battlescript still has an unresolved engagement in its memory. A quick press of the Battle key will clear the old engagement and allow a new one to begin. Without hearing the engagement tones, you will not be able to capture using this scripts functions. 

Remember that the Battle key is a toggle and can be used to begin an engagement and to end one, even if that engagement was begun by Auto-trigger.

