all explained.
A recent post rekindled my interest in these. First, let me say I am willing to deal with mutually exclusive visbits only. The engine doesnt properly handle two systems at once, it cant chose when to move you to the newly visible one, and a bunch of other crap that is just really the bad kind of hacking.
So... I just spent about fifteen minutes typing up an explanation. After reading over it, I realised it didnt make any sense, even to me...
So I made a diagram, that I hope will explain. (see attached image)
Ok, so for my test, i had two stacks of systems: 201, 202, 203; and 204, 205, 206.
In the diagram, the dark arrow represents the only declared link, and the ligher arrows are all the links the automatic recoprocal link generator builds.
As you can see, it doesnt matter which of the stack it links too, it only matters which it links from. If system 206 (the bottom of the right stack) links to any of the systems in the other stack, you can jump from 206 to any system in the other stack, but you can only jump back from system 201. The reciprocal link generator ignores 202 and 203, once you get there, you are stuck. Also note that 201 (in every test) will be able to jump to any system in the other stack.
What does this mean for the average visbit developer?
Well, if the stacks are only 2 tall, as is normally the case (ignore the bottom ones), then linking 202 to 204 and 205 to 201 will let you jump from either 201 or 202 to 204 and 205 (every combination therof) and back.
To make a one way jump from 205 to 202, set a link from 205 to 202, then leave 201 and 204 invisible. Indeed, you can make an entire network of systems sitting underneath invisible systems, and the under-systems will use only the jumps you explicitly assign, all of the reciporical links are reachable only from the invisible system, so the player cannot use them.
As an aside, it says in the bible that two systems must be both in the same place and have the same name for them to be counted as the same system. This is not the case, they can have a different name. Note, however, that when you are jumping, it says "Hyperspace destination: " And then the name of the lowest ID system, regardless of the visibility of the systems and which system you are actually jumping into.
One behavior set i was not able to systematise was the jumps the map actually displays. If you are in a system, it will always accurately display only the exits you can jump through. The behavior is unpredictable, however, when you are not in the system. with the one way out jumps. Sometimes it hides the jumps, sometimes it shows them. It must have something to do with which order the map is traversed in by the display.
I hope I've explained one of Novas biggest quirks sufficiently. If anyone has any other strange behaviors they would like me to test, I would be glad to.
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