Escape Velocity: Nova - How To Read A Pilotlog File

Pilotlog Points of Interest 
Ship type:         Heavy Shuttle (129)
 Indicates the type and ID of ship which is currently in use by the pilot. Since many ships have similar names, the ID allows the exact ship to be examined in the shïp resources in Nova Data 1. 
Current system:    Vellos (424)
Legal status:      0 (in system 424)
 Indicates the system which the pilot is currently in and what the pilot's legal status is in that system. In addition to determining local hostility, legal status can also be a factor in mission availabilty. 
Kills:             0
 This is the numerical combat rating of the pilot. It can be a factor in determining mission availability. 
Active missions:
 This is a list of currently active missions. See the Active Missions section for details on interpreting these records. 
Mission bits currently set:
 This is a list of currently active mission bits (or NCBs). Mission Bits are the primary method for controlling mission flow. See the Mission Bits section for details on interpreting NCBs. 
Items currently owned:
  1 Light Blaster (128)
 This is a list of currently owned outfits. The resource ID listed with each item can be used to reference the oütf resource in Nova Data 4. 
Active cron events:
  145 - durationCounter: 30	holdoffCounter: 1855
 This is a list of currently active crön events. These are events which can happen at a specific time. They can be triggered by missions and can be a factor in mission flow. The first number listed is the resource ID of the crön in Nova Data 3. The durationCounter indicates the number of days between the Start and End conditions of the crön and the holdoffCounter is the number of days between the Activation and Start conditions.

Active Missions 
  25000 Credit Bounty (258):
 Mission name and resource ID. Mission data is contained in mïsn resources in Nova Data 1. 
    travelObjComplete:        yes
 This indicates if the pilot has completed the travel requirement of the mission by landing on the Travel Stellar listed in the mission data (if any). The Travel Stellar is also listed in this section as the destStellar. 
    shipObjComplete:          no
 This indicates if the pilot has completed the Ship Goal requirements of the mission. 
    missionFailed:            no
 This indicates if the mission has encountered a failure condition (such as being scanned or boarded). 
    canAbort:                 yes
 This indicates if the mission can be aborted by the player. 
    timeLeft:                 -32000
 This indicates the number of days remaining for the mission to be completed successfully. Negative numbers indicate no time limit. 
    destStellar:              -1
 This is the Travel Stellar (if any) to which the pilot must travel before landing on the Return Stellar. 
    returnStellar:            128
 This is the Return Stellar (if any) to which the pilot must travel before completing the mission. The Ship Goal (if any) must also be completed in order for the mission to end. 
    initialShipCount:         1
 This is the initial number of special ships associated with this mission. 
    specialShipCount:         1
 This is the remaining number of special ships associated with this mission. 
    specialShipDude:          251
 This is the resource ID of the special ship düde as defined in Nova Data 2. 
    specialShipGoal:          0
 This indicates the Goal that the pilot must accomplish in order to complete the Ship Object. Values are as follows: -1 - No Goal; 0 - Destroy; 1 - Disable; 2 - Board; 3 - Escort; 4 - Observe; 5 - Rescue; 6 - Chase off. 
    specialShipBehavior:      0
 This indicates how the special ships will treat the pilot. Values are as follows: -1 - Standard AI; 0 - Attack player; 1 - Protect player; 2 - Attack enemy stellars. 
    specialShipStart:         1
 This indicates how the special ships will appear in the system. Values are as follow: -4 - On top of Nav 4; -3 - On top of Nav 3; -2 - On top of Nav 2; -1 - On top of Nav 1; 0 - Randomly in system; 1 - Jump in from Hyperspace; 2 - Randomly, cloaked. 
    specialShipSyst:          52
 This is the index number of the system where the special ships will appear. Add 128 to this number to get the resource ID of the sÿst before looking it up in Nova Data 2. 
    specialShipsKilled:       0
 This is the number of special ships associated with this mission that have been killed while it has been active. 
    specialShipsBoarded:      0
 This is the number of special ships associated with this mission that have been boarded by the player while it has been active. 
    specialShipsDisabled:     0
 This is the number of special ships associated with this mission that have been disabled while it has been active. 
    specialShipsJumpedIn:     0
 This is the number of special ships associated with this mission that have jumped into the players system while it has been active. 
    specialShipsJumpedOut:    0
 This is the number of special ships associated with this mission that have jumped out of the players system while it has been active. 
    specialShipNameIndex:     4
 This is the index of the STR# resource in Nova Data 5 from which the names for the special ships are selected. The resource ID is calculated by adding 25000 to the index. 
    specialShipSubtitleIndex: -1
 This is the index of the STR# resource in Nova Data 5 from which the subtitles for the special ships are selected. The resource ID is calculated by adding 25000 to the index. 
    specialShipPreselectType: 0
 This indicates if the special ships are randomly selected everytime they are generated or only once when the mission starts. 
    auxShipCount:             -1
 This is the initial number of auxillary ships associated with this mission. 
    auxShipsLeft:             -1
 This is the remaining number of auxillary ships associated with this mission. 
    auxShipDude:              -1
 This is the resource ID of the auxillary ship düde as defined in Nova Data 2. 
    auxShipSyst:              -1
 This is the resource ID in Nova Data 2 of the system where the special ships will appear. 
    cargoType:                -1
 This is the index of the cargo type to be transported during the course of the mission. The string is contain within STR# ID 4000 in Nova Data 5. 
    cargoQty:                 0
 This is the amount of cargo to be transported. 
    pickupMode:               -1
 This indicates the location where the cargo (if any) is picked up. Values are as follows: -1 - ignored; 0 - Mission start; 1 - Travel Stellar; 2 - Board Special Ship. 
    dropoffMode:              -1
 This indicates the location where the cargo (if any) is dropped off. Values are as follows: -1 - ignored; 0 - Travel Stellar; 1 - Return Stellar. 
    cargoLoaded:              no
 This indicates if the cargo has been loaded yet. 
    scanGovt:                 128
 
    compGovt:                 128
 The pilots legal record with this gövt will be modified by the compReward value upon successful completion of this mission. 
    compReward:               1
 This is the amount that the pilots legal record will be modified by upon successful completion of the mission. 
    datePostIncrement:        0
 This is the number of days that completion of the mission will cause to pass. 
    pay:                      22500
 This is the amount of pay that the pilot will receive upon successful completion of the mission. Positive values indicate payment in credits. Negative values are as follows: -10128 to -10383 - Clean legal record with this gövt; -20128 to -20383 - Clean legal record with this gövt and allies; -30128 to -30383 - Clean legal record with this gövt and classmates; -40001 to -40099 - Take away this percentage of players cash; -50000 and down - Take away this amount of credits at mission start.

Mission Bits - Part I, Bits of Importance
This is by no means a complete list of bits. It only covers those bits from storylines which either are or lead into major storylines. 
  b511
 This bit indicates that the pilot is involved in either a major storyline or a minor storyline with leads into a major storyline. When set, it prevents other major storylines from starting. 
  b50
 This bit indicates that the pilot has completed the first mission of the Federation storyline. Federation missions primarily use sequential bits from b50 up through b89. 
  b124
 This bit indicates that the pilot has completed the first mission of the Rebel storyline. Rebel missions primarily use sequential bits from b124 up through b148 as well as a branch which decreases sequentially from b199 down through b180. 
  b201
 This bit indicates that the pilot has completed or refused the first mission of the Auroran storyline. Auroran missions primarily use sequential bits from b201 up through b236. 
  b275
 This bit indicates that the pilot has completed the first mission of the Polaris storyline. Polaris missions primarily use sequential bits from b275 up through b313. 
  b350
 This bit indicates that the pilot has completed the first mission of the Vell-os storyline. Vell-os missions primarily use sequential bits from b350 up through b377. 
  b601
 This bit indicates that the pilot has completed the first mission of the Pirate storyline. Pirate missions primarily use sequential bits from b601 up through b611. 
  b0
 This bit indicates that the pilot has completed the first mission of the Bounty Hunter storyline. Bounty Hunter missions primarily use sequential bits from b0 up through b8. 
  b800
 This bit indicates that the pilot has completed the first mission of the Wild Geese storyline. Wild Geese missions primarily use sequential bits from b800 up through b819.
Mission Bits - Part II, Interpreting the AvailBits Field
Each mïsn has an AvailBits field which is used to determine when the mission can become available based on the NCBs. This field holds a boolean algebraic formula which is evaluated based on the status of the Mission Bits it contains. The equation uses '&' (and), '|' (or) an '!' (not) operators to evaluate the statement. Mission Bits that are listed in the pilotlog file represent True values and those that are not listed are False. Only when the entire AvailBits statement evaluates to True will the mission be available (barring other factors such as random chance, combat rating, cargo space requirements, etc.).

A note on logical operators: An '&' operation evaluates to True only if both terms are True; otherwise it is False. An '|' operation evaluates to True if either or both of the terms are True; it is only False if both are False. A '!' operator evaluates to True if it's term is False and to False if it's term is True. Sub-expressions in parentheses are always evaluated first.
Mission Bits - Part III, Interpreting the OnAccept, OnRefuse, OnSuccess, OnFailure, OnAbort, and OnShipDone Fields
These fields are much easier to interpret than the AvialBits expression. Each one can contain a simple list of bits to set or clear as well as some simple operators to activate or cancel other features. Bits listed with a '!' operator will be cleared, while those listed without the '!' will be set. Other operators that can be used in these fields include: Sxxx - Start mïsn ID xxx; Axxx - Abort mïsn ID xxx; Gxxx - Grant oütf xxx; Dxxx - Delete oütf xxx; Mxxx, Nxxx - Move to sÿst xxx; Cxxx, Exxx, Hxxx - Change shïp to xxx; Kxxx - Active ränk xxx; Lxxx - Deactive ränk xxx.
Mission Bits - Part IV, Examples
Bits from Log Evaluation Next Mission AvailBits 
  ...
  b201
  b202
  b203
  b204
  b511
  b517
  b518
  ...
 This example shows a pilot that has completed the first four missions in the Auroran storyline and is thus prevented from joining any other faction (since b511 is set). This can be determined by referencing the table from Part I of this section to identify the starting Auroran bit of b201 and then tracing the mission path using either NovaTools on the data files or the Auroran Walkthrough. By looking at each of the missions leading from the first Auroran mission you can see that the bits that are set and not set in the pilotlog are consistent with the successful completion of each mission. Once you start looking at Auroran 5 you will find that it's AvailBits expression will evaluate to True since when you plug in values from the pilotlog it becomes: '(True & True) & !False'. This mission can then be identified as the next available mission and can then be examined to determine the other factors required to start it (such as location, cargo, combat and randomness). 
(b204 & b511) & !b205

Auroran 5 - Defeat Fellow Initiates

 
  ...
  b201
  b350
  b511
  b515
  b518
  b800
  b4444
  ...
 This example is a bit harder. At first glance you can see that the first mission bit is set for three different storylines. Bit 201 is set for the Auroran string, bit 350 is set for the Vell-os string and bit 800 is set for the Wild Geese. We can determine which string is active by looking at the second mission for each of these storylines.

First off, the second Auroran mission has an AvailBits of '(b201 & b511) & !(b202 | b518)' which indicates that b201 and b511 must be set and neither b202 nor b518 can be set. Since we have b518 set, we can rule out the Auroran storyline.

Moving on to the second Vell-os mission, we see that b4444 is set in the OnRefuse field of this mission and that the AvialBits contain this clause: '& !(b351 | b4444)'. From this, we can conclude that this pilot refused to do the second Vell-os mission and was thus locked out of the Vell-os storyline.

Finally, we come to Wild Geese 2. With b800 set and neither b802 nor b803 set, it is clear that the AvailBits expression evaluates to True and we can therefore conclude that this pilot is involved with the Wild Geese storyline. This is backed up by noting that b515 and b518 are also set in the OnSuccess field of the first Wild Geese mission.

 
b800 & !(b802 | b803)

Wild Geese 2 - Take Michaleen to Sol
Last Update: Monday, November 17, 2003