This is an overview of the features and use of the software. This isn't meant to be comprehensive or detail every possibility, but rather to give a general idea of how to make use of the available features. It can also be used as a quick reference to those who are more experienced with the software's basic features.


This software is intended as a low level operating system for your ship or station. It is provided as-is and no warranty or guarantee of any kind is provided. If it blows up your ship, dog, homework, or universe we can accept no responsibility. The current feature set is only a limited part of the full program, but don't worry -- it's not a demo! Each additional module will be added for free as they are completed. Right now the software can:

• Self install or uninstall with only one code edit once
  
• Track the inventory of your entire grid
  
• Provide full reporting features including:
  
  • Realtime data updates
    
  • Sliding reports, which change between screens on a timer (no extra block required)
    
  • Completely custom reports down to the item or statistic
    
  • Custom item names, categories, and groupings
    
  • Custom formatting per report
    
  • Filtering by numerical values
    
  • Full text search
    
  • Status bars (or progress bars) showing the relative state of each item or statistic
    
  • Quotas and warnings down to the item or statistic
• Program control and option changes in realtime without any code edits
  
• Full debugging support without any code edits
  
• Partial localization (with code edits)
  
• Hide data of your choosing from outsiders while you see everything
  
• Run indefinitely without ever hitting complexity limits, even with over 100,000 item stacks in inventory.

The software claims blocks by appending a unique ship name to the end of blocks' names. This can be done and undone through the installer or manually. Since current methods of finding blocks on the same grid cannot find those attached through rotors or pistons, a unique name is more suitable to distinguish one ship from another. Please see the Detailed Setup Guide for more information on installation.

The data stored at the end of a block's name also defines how the block is used by the software through an action followed by instructions. The action tells the software what to do with the block, while the instructions tell the software how to carry out the action. For example, lets see what the software does if we have a block with the name:

• Interior Light [MyShip | CONTROL, INSTALL]
  
  • MyShip: This block is owned by the program that runs on the ship called MyShip
    
  • CONTROL: This block executes the action CONTROL, which changes a program option or state in realtime
    
  • INSTALL: This block changes the INSTALL option of the software

Here's a more complex example:

• LCD 2 [Processing Plant | display, %:52, inventory:plat]
  
  • Processing Plant: This block is owned by the program that runs on the ship called Processing Plant
    
  • display: This block executes the action DISPLAY, which displays a report through the block
    
  • %: The report should show status bars to graphically indicate status
    
  • 52: The status bar should be 52 characters wide
    
  • inventory: The report should show the entire inventory in alphabetical order
    
  • plat: The report should be filtered to show only items with plat in their names

The software scans for changes in the blocks (or new blocks if installing) once every ~15 seconds when the optimizer is enabled. Otherwise it scans once per second. This configuration allows for a wide range of customization available to the end user, though some knowledge of the available options is required.


In order to apply the features of the software effectively, the user must know what actions are possible. As the software development progresses, additional actions will become available. Here is a list of those currently available:

• AUTO: Use the block in the default way for the block type
  
  
• IGNORE: Pretend the block doesn't exist at all
  
  
• CONTROL: Use the block's data as inputs for options or states within the software more info
  
  
• DISPLAY: Use the block to display reports to the user [tutorial not complete]
  
  
• DEBUG: Use the block to display the debugger output to the user [tutorial not complete]

There are a great many possible combinations of features that can be used to build a report. These are broken into several groups:

• Subjects: The name of a report, an item group, an item category, an item, or a statistic, ie: Ingot
  
  
• Prints: Any subject that can't be matched to a known item is simply printed to the report, ie: The quick brown cow...
  
  
• Modifiers: Modify all subjects which come after them with formatting or filtering options, ie: %
  
  
• Filters: A value listed after a subject and a colon, which filters the subject, ie: INVENTORY:filter

By combining these various options together the user can create a nearly endless range of display screens. In order to provide an easy way to display common reports, it is possible through simple code edits to add an alias for the complex combinations of the above features. This also allows the user to specify a custom sort order for the report. Additionally, it is also possible to use custom item groups in order to limit the number of items that must be typed to generate a detailed report. For more information see the [not compelted] tutorial.


The software has a range of configuration options, which are divided into sections at the beginning of the code file for easier user access. Some options can be configured only in code, while others can be configured by code or block. The sections in order are:

• Setup: Used for initial setup
  
  
• User Data: Defines custom reports, as well as custom item names, categories, groups, quotas, and warnings
  
  
• Controls: Defines the default values for the available controls
  
  
• Formatting: Defines what characters and defaults are used when reading block names or formatting reports
  
  
• Localization: Defines strings used by the program

Please see the [not completed] tutorial for more information.


We know security is important to our users. That's why we've included a token feature to give the impression of security. In the special case that you for some reason want to hide data on some screens from 'visitors' to your ship, the software includes a PRIVACY mode. When enabled through a CONTROL action, all data that isn't marked public is hidden. It is recommended, however, that you install sensors to turn your display screens off when no authorized user is nearby. Additional security features will become available at a later time. Please see the [not completed] tutorial for more information.


In order to increase performance while maintaining a realtime refresh rate on the report displays, the software has a built-in optimizer, which will determine if some operations should be delayed for a later loop. This may cause some configuration changes to delay for a few seconds before they take effect. Also of note is the effect that updating many screens many times per minute can have on the game performance. At this time, the only way to update an LCD is to force a texture redraw, then a text redraw. This is very wasteful and should not even happen until the user is looking at the screen. The software already includes checks to determine if a screen update is required before requesting a refresh. However, a far more effective way to increase performance and privacy at the same time is to install sensors that turn the screens on only when there is an authorized user within viewing range. It is recommended that care be taken when installing a great number of screens on a dedicated server.


A large amount of debugger data is available without editing any code through the DEBUG action and various reports through the DISPLAY action. This can assist in sorting out issues or adding custom names, groups, or reports to the configuration. For more info see the [not completed] tutorial.