Observatories

Supports the optional Extended Conversation Menu, which allows all mods using it to join their starting conversations in a browsable section, so technically infinite mods can be added by only taking up 1 conversation slot for any npc. Not required. (Feel free to add support for your own mods)

Last tested/updated for game version: 9. 0

Stations can now be designated as observatories, when they're build in proximity to a wormhole. Given enough resources, observatories will then use the wormhole's properties to slowly identify not yet discovered sectors around their location and objects located in those sectors. The farther the distance, the higher the resource cost to survey another sector. Once all sectors have been discovered, the observatory will start over to discover new objects that may have appeared.

Everything about observatories is highly configurable and can be adjusted in the md\observatoriesconfig.xml file.

How observatories operate per default values:

[]first find yourself a wormhole, placing a nav beacon can help measure the distance (or disable the requirement for a wormhole in the config file)[/]

[]then build a station within 50 kilometers of the wormhole [/]

[]the station only requires storage to hold the resources required for surveying, so it's up to you if you just build a storage station that buys the goods or produce them yourself[/]

[]now comm the manager, select "Observatory" -> "Engage observatory functions". If no wormhole is nearby, but required, the option will be greyed out and say "No wormhole in proximity". You can stop further surveys by talking to the manager again.[/]

[]every 8 minutes (configurable), the observatory will check if it has enough resources available, and if so consume them to survey a close by undiscovered sector[/]

[]for commonwealth observatories, 10. 000 energy cells and 250 antimatter cells each multiplied by a distance value and a custom modifier of 1. 2 will be consumed. Terran observatories require 13. 750 energy cells and 63 siliconcarbide. (The wares as well as the base amounts and a custom modifier can be configured)[/]

[]The distance value can vaguely be measured as the distance in cluster hexes, tho not always accurate, so a sector 3 cluster hexes away would require 3 times the resources. (A custom multiplier, by default 1. 2, is added into the calculation, which can be adjusted in the config file)[/]

[]once a sector is surveyed, the player will get a short notification and a logbook entry about the surveyed sector and notable discovered objects[/]

[*]per default, stations, gates, highways, vaults, abandoned ships and wormholes will be discovered. Satellites will be placed at gates/highways and notable stations, like shipyards, wharfs, equipment docks, etc. (What a survey of a sector discovers, and whether satellites should be pl