The 1=X Bug, where X is equal to any number greater than 1, is a bug affecting certain weapons in Escape Velocity Nova that, no matter how many the player owns, the weapons will also do the same damage as if the player owned just one of them. The bug manifests itself primarily in weapons with a reload of 0, which translates as "One shot per frame". Normally, Nova will only allow a weapon to fire up to one shot per frame, the only way to bypass it is to make the weapon have multiples fire simultaneously, use burst reload, and/or, in the case of beams, have a longer reload with a count that meets it. The weapons affected in Nova are the Ion Cannon, User Modified Ion Cannon, BioRelay Laser, and Bio-Relay Laser Turret. The ship most notably affected by the bug is the Manticore, though many other ships are also affected. Note that similar weapons, such as the Bio-Relay Laser and its Turret, do not affect each other. If one has both, they will deal damage normally.
Additionally, the Hail Chaingun is also affected by the bug to a degree. Since it utilizes burst reload, having more Hail Chainguns will still result in higher damage output. However, since its normal reload is so low, the damage will not scale as the player would expect and is overall lower than what it could be. Wraith beams are also theoretically affected by the bug. But, since they are unobtainable and the Wraith themselves never carry multiples, they are not normally included as affected.
Qaanol wrote a set of plug-ins to fix this and the Auto-Machine Gun Bug.
| Novaverse Mods | PlugPack (2003) • ARPIA2 (2007) • Anathema (2007) • Balance of Fate (2016) • Brave New Void (2022) Novaverse Total Conversion: White Dwarf (2023) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tools for Plugin Creation | Mac: MissionComputer • ResEdit • NovaTools • ResForge Windows: EVNEW (Read-me) • RezEditor | |
| Bugs | Patch Notes • Dithering Bug • Exponential Beam Bug • 1=X Bug • Auto-Machine Gun Bug (Machine Gunning) • Mass Trick | |
| Guides | Nova Bible • Windows Plugin Conversion Tutorial • Nova Control Bits • Pilot File | |
| Total Conversions | Major Completed: Polycon EV (2002), Ashen Galaxy (2008), Colosseum (2008), White Dwarf (2023) Official: Escape Velocity, Escape Velocity Override Minor Completed: EVN Paintball, Miners, Teacup Blank Slate: Absolute Minimum Released Incomplete: Acheron, Starfleet Adventures Vaporware: Delphi, Aftermath | |