Building the Mk2 Logic Core!

Right! So as many here have stated, building ships right now seems like risky business since we don't know what the new power system will require us to change. That said, I have PLENTY of projects that can still move forward. (This is why modular building is AWESOME.)

In particular, I'm having tons of fun upgrading my HHI Logic Core.

It's just a giant logic computer to make your ship do cool things, so power really isn't important at all. LoL
I won't bore you all with the specs and capabilities of the mk1 (for those you can just click on the link above). I just wanted to show off some of the upgrades I've made/am currently making for the next generation.

A display and button by the pilot's seat now tells you if the central logic clock is running. you can turn it on and off from here.



More user-friendly drone controls! No more input formatting or reset buttons. Just punch and play! Now, those were the simple upgrades. Below is the entirely new feature I'm creating!



Oh yeah. Holographic HUD, baby!
The Mk 2 will come with an 'example' HUD display. As long as you put the display modules in the right setup (or just copy/paste the example) you will be able to hook up this holographic HUD anywhere you want! This feature is still under construction, as decent ASCII takes some time to set up nicely, but so far there's a static title bar (not pictured) and these two displays. The display starts at 100% with a full green bar, which fades to yellow, orange, then red. If any system goes below 10% the "CRITICAL" warning pops up behind the display bar.
I haven't figured out how to replicate anything like SCF Engineering's real time displays... YET. (Honestly that display looks massive, so it's possible it wouldn't be feasible for this, already rather bulky, module anyway. But I intend to find out! MUAHAHAHAH!!)

I am going to try and include a display function that will state how many Warp Cells you have active, and how many Warp Cells are currently charged.

Starmade might just be the most flat out educational game I've ever played. LoL

Gasboy said:

Oh, nice work on the angled computers.

And I love holographic work.

Would it be possible for your holoHUD to hold more info? Status of cargo and speed, and hull/armor integrity? Pretty please? :D

Click to expand...

Possible? Sure. Just have to build it.

Gasboy said:

Oh, nice work on the angled computers.

And I love holographic work.

Would it be possible for your holoHUD to hold more info? Status of cargo and speed, and hull/armor integrity? Pretty please? :D

Click to expand...

I feel I should point out, though, that all of those except for Cargo are already on your viewscreen in Pilot mode...

Gasboy said:

Yes, but if you have player crewmates, they can at least see what's going on. :P

Click to expand...

Fair!
I've already started working on including a warp drive tracker.
I'm actually considering creating a breadboard with my programmable warp drive and instructions for all of it's pieces. That way people can build their own, as big or small as they like.

Every once in a while I find myself mid upgrade when I suddenly stumble upon something that could drastically improve the performance of my machines but would require a complete rebuild of my current system.


What you're looking at is my new Logic Core prototype (bottom) right next to an upside down Mk1.5 Logic Core (top). As you can see, they're both about the same length, but the new prototype takes up less than HALF the space of the previous model! (Not only that, the new design actually has more functionality than the old one while taking up much less room.)
Several new features have also been added for increased user friendliness.
1- The AI display screens are now right next to the core. You can control every function on the ship right from the pilot's seat.
2- Drone command inputs and logic outputs are no longer on opposite sides of the logic core.
3- LAG CONTROL!! Probably the most useful, if unseen, features are the new Lag Prevention circuits. The TL;DR summary of how this works is basically by setting up the computer to recognize when certain groups of functions are being referenced by the user. Unless that particular group is being accessed by a command, it goes into standby mode. (meaning the logic pulses stop traveling through it until it's triggered again by specific keywords). That way, instead of the entire computer being active ALL THE TIME, only the parts related to your specific commands are taking up computing power at any given time. This cuts down the on FPS issues dramatically, thus making the system easier and safer to use.
[In addition, the new Logic Core prototype contains fewer docked entities.]
4- More name recognition/RP capabilities. The AI's vocabulary has expanded slightly, allowing it to respond to a wider range of prompts in a more organic way. For example: If you were to input "spool 15 warp cells." The old AI would have responded "Spooling the warp coil. Warp will not engage unless manually activated." If you had instead typed "hello dolly! please charge the warp drive for 15 consecutive jumps. thank you." The old computer would have given an identical response.
The new prototype, however, can recognize a few more elements of the sentence and respond accordingly. In this example, the computer would recognize the added elements of "hello" and "thank you". Given the more RP oriented input, the new Logic Core might respond:
"Hello Spiff,
-Spooling the warp coil. Warp will not engage unless manually activated. Pleased to be of service."

So one of the only criticisms I've received regarding the MK1 Logic Core Module is that the user wanted less aesthetic consideration. The Mk 1 came with prebuilt maintenance corridors and such leading to vital systems, and dddppp thought that took away from their own opportunities to design according to their own aesthetic.

While I really thought I did a nice job on those bits, I feel this reviewer had a point. So to that end, I've trimmed the Logic Core MK2 down a lot.

This way, all of the user input devices are exposed, so that whoever has purchased the module can design the hallways and rooms themselves. (I might make the decorative bits optional for those who like them.

Sadly, this device is just WAY TOO COMPLICATED to ever function as a template. If you even tried to paste this beast, you'd just crash your computer and have a non-functional Logic Core if/when you logged back on. So the core room is, unfortunately, non-negotiable simply for technical reasons. That said, I've kept it both sleek and minimal. I tried to focus on Utility first. Every function you could need while running the ship can be viewed and operated while seated in the red pilot's seat. (Meaning you can stay seated while manually ordering a jump in astronaut mode and not have to worry about being left behind!)
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Ugh... Pasting this ludicrous machine back together is just stupidly complicated. That rectangle brick thing in the middle there? That's the programmable WarpCell drive. Arguably the most important piece of the entire system, and probably my single greatest achievement in regards to Starmade logic. It is actually IMPOSSIBLE to simply copy and paste an entire drive. If you want to move or build a WarpCell drive, you HAVE to do it one layer at a time... 25 times....
Each and every cell has no less than NINE connection points that must be linked together properly before you paste the next cell. Otherwise, the entire system fails and good luck locating the missing connection from inside that massive brick of logic blocks.

"But Spiff!" I hear you saying. "That sounds like about as much fun as your first pap smear. Why in the name of all that is holy would you want to do that?!"
The answer: Because, apparently, I'm a goddam masochist. Also (when you manage to put it together properly) the end result is SUPER SHINY!!

Well, it took a lot more RegEx blocks and buttons than I originally thought it would, but I got the HoloHud back online and added WarpCell trackers!

That's full power. If you drop below 10% You see not only the red tracker bar but a "CRITICAL" warning.

The "Selected Drives" can display anything from 0-25 based on how many cells you've told the computer to charge. If you use the emergency warp ISR, you'll see "CURRENT SELECTED DRIVES: EMERGENCY"
The "Charged Drives" tracker adds a filled in ASCII block every time the sensor detects a cell has reached 95% charge and goes into standby mode. Once that drive fires, the block is removed. This works whether you're using a Pre-Programmed jump set or using the emergency drive to turn it into a full on automatic chain drive.

Gasboy said:

Yer a wizard, Harry. I mean, awesome! :D

Click to expand...

I have learned more about computers and coding in the past month of playing this silly videogame than in the previous 25 years put together.
Most. Educational. Game. Ever.

StarWars1981 said:

Swwweeettt. Now, make it track how many turrets have engaged enemies, how many enemies there are, how fast you're going, how fast your shields are generating, and also how many blocks are left in your ship.


Oh, and it needs to make smoothies. Smoothies are good.
Bonus points if it also causes damage.

Click to expand...

Lmao
Turret tracking... Should be possible?
Actually, the more I think about that, the more fun that sounds. I'd need to make a template with an infinitely stackable mod that you could plug in to the computer. 1 mod for each turret.

Enemy counter: lolz. I wish.

Speed: Totally doable!

Shield Regen: not just doable, already DONE.

DAMAGE: Step 1: turn on collision damage. Step 2: RAM your expensive computer into enemy ships. Step 3: Laugh and Cry at the same time.

Smoothies: I was about to LoL... But then I realized I could totally do that. This thing could totally take a handful of orders and produce different colored containers for 'smoothies'. XD

Either way, it's a system that would really need to be built into the shell of the ship, and is thus a bit beyond the scope of this logic core.

I'll bet none of you believed me.
You read that line in my theoretical post up above and said "No. She's yanking our chain."

But I wasn't. And now I present to you, the technological development of the century...