and other stories
I was messing around with hypergates to see if I could pull of any really cool feats. As a disclaimer, I should note that all research and testing for this was carried out in EV Nova 1.0.7 for Mac and is not guaranteed to be accurate. That said, here's what I've got for you.
In the HyperLink# field for a hypergate you can put the ID of any spöb. If that spöb exists at the time you land on the hypergate, you can select its system from the map and you will be transported to it. The target spöb does not have to be another hypergate, and if it is a hypergate then it does not have to be active.
If the target is a hypergate (active or not) or a wormhole, your ship will emerge facing the bottom right corner of the screen. If the target is a planet or station (inhabited or otherwise) your ship will emerge facing a random direction.
If a hypergate has in its HyperLink# fields the ID of more than one spöb in the same system, all of which exist at the time you land on the hypergate and select that system, your ship will emerge on top of the spöb whose ID is in the HyperLink# field with the lowest # of those in question.
If a hypergate has its own ID in one of its HyperLink# fields, you can select its own system when you land on it. Assuming the conditions outlined in the above two paragraphs are met, you will then emerge out of the selfsame hypergate, and the ships in the system will be reset.
If a hypergate targets a different spöb in its own system the player can land on it and will be teleported to that spöb. This means multiple hypergates can be in the same system, arranged in a variety of manners. A circle, for instance, with A connecting to B, B to C, C to D, and D back to A. This can speed in-system travel across long distances.
If a spöb's ID is in a Nav# field of more than one s˙st, then it will exist in the s˙st with the lower ID number. In the other system the spöb will be visible on radar and targetable, but its graphic will be null (invisible) and it will not be able to be landed on. A hypergate that links to that spöb will only let the player travel to the version of it in system in which it exists.
If a hypergate cannot deliver the player to any of its targets in a given system, an arrow to that system will not appear on the map when landing on that hypergate.
When a hypergate is landed on arrows are drawn on the map to all systems the player can be transported. If a hypergate has no valid links, the player can land on it but it will close immediately without opening their map and without giving any message.
I hope someone somewhere finds a cool use for some of this.
