Owen: Missions, bug hunting and 2.0

Hi everyone. This is Owen Lake (aka Xenon_Slayer), mission programmer for X3: Terran Conflict. I missed my chance to write for this blog during the initial development phase, so I’ve got some catching up to do. As you may have read in my interview in X-Universe News 35, I’ve been keeping myself busy with the latest update, 2.0. Well, where to start?

My main area of focus is on mission design and development, for both the plot and generic missions. In previous games such as X3: Reunion, these missions were programmed in the game code itself, a language called KC. Programming missions in KC gave the mission authors a great amount of freedom to do whatever they wanted, as every game function is a simple line away. Coding a mission directly into the game code has its drawbacks though. The only way to include a new mission is by recompiling the game, and distributing it with a patch, leaving community missions out in the cold unless they are accepted by EGOSOFT through the DEVNET. This system has given us some classics such as the Perseus Mission from X-Tension.

For X3: Terran Conflict, KC missions were dropped in favour of the Mission Director. The MD is a scripting tool, using XML files to store the mission itself, outside of KC. I started working with it back in 2006 along with several other volunteers. We tinkered around, making several missions and testing the MD functionality. I was not a programmer back then, and I found the MD was very easy to get my head around. Over the years, more functionality was added, giving us the jam packed MD we have today. All we needed then was mission content.

Several of us sat down to discuss what the plot of X3TC would be, including fellow mission programmer Al and X author, Helge. Many ideas were tossed around, such as exploring more about the Sohnen race. In the end, we decided on the 5 plots we currently have. I was assigned to code the Terran, HUB and HQ plots. The Terran plot was the most challenging as it was the main plot of the game and needed to carry the story along and immerse the player, while keeping the universe free and open. Most of the time, I would need to look though the list of MD ‘conditions’ just to refresh my memory of what the player could do to potentially break or exploit my mission. We really have so much freedom in X that different players may see or play the mission in entirely different ways.

We developed several small chunks of mission code which was designed to be re-usable. These ‘libraries’ are used in several parts of the plot and generic missions. The upcoming Aldrin Expansion mission in X3TC 2.0, uses these libraries extensively. The entire plot was coded very easily and within two months. The aim of the plot was to advance the Terran story further and present the player with several activities which they may not have done yet, not to mention show off some new content.

Much of the new content is obviously focused in the Aldrin region of the universe, which is very unique. The large asteroid in the centre of the sector separates stations to great distances. While the initial exploration phase is more extreme than any other in the X-Universe, it can become a chore to fly 300km from station to station. So, ‘how to solve a problem called Aldrin’. That is where Terran ingenuity (namely mine and Toasties) comes in. Using tractor beam technology, they have pulled several stations closer together. Then, using the Transorbital accelerators, they create easy, quick access between station groups.

The future of missions in X3TC is bright. We have several community missions on the script and modding forums, and a few in the pipeline for a future update. I have dived straight into the world of KC programming, adding new functionality to the MD or improving some UI. This is entirely new for me as I couldn’t really program anything this time last year. As well as adding new stuff, I have been able to do battle with my mortal enemies - Bugs!

I started testing far back in 2005, when X3: Reunion was in the Alpha phase. As we warn our betatesters, it isn’t all fun and games. Having a sneak peak at the new content is a bonus, but it is hard work to get results. Some bugs are easy to find and reproduce, but some only occur in very special, sometimes strange circumstances. A few weeks ago, we heard reports of “Zombie Hyperions”. Some ships seemed to have a mind of their own after being boarded and captured by the player. With a savegame someone had provided, I was able to see the ship was still assigned to patrol duty for the former owner. With the help of Klaus, we managed to “exorcise the demons”.

Other than the Aldrin Expansion mission in 2.0, mission development has taken a back seat for me, while I look after the rest of the game, keeping track of the bugs, organising the new text for translation and exploring the underlying code of X3. It has been a heck of an experience, but the danger was that as soon as I look at the code, playing the game would not be as much fun. While I still have not had time to play yet, I can’t wait until I do. There is so much in there that I can’t grasp it all or see it all. I’m still seeing ships during testing which I have not seen before! Just last week I saw my first Kha’ak invasion in X3TC; in the sector of Kingdom End, no less. That was fun to watch! ;-)