From TradeWars Museum XX
The Xeulian Field Manual- Compiled by Kenn Washer for Trade Wars 2002 ver 2+
"For players... by players"
Changes 1.03 - 2.0
From: SCOTT HAMILTON CHANGES 1.03-2.0+
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> Can ya let me in on the major changes and nuances between the two
> versions?
You can't run Steal/sell, but you can run SSM(steal sell move, do between
2 ports)and SST(steal sell transport ships, do between 2 ports). If you
steal at the same port twice in a row you'll get busted. And it is
Experience divided by 30 instead of 17 now.
You can not play in an EISS.
Some of the differences are the Turns, IC, level 6 citadel, and different
type of planets.
Frequently Asked Questions
From: Ronald Edwards
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about
Trade Wars 2002 v2.
Q. HOW DOES THE TURN PER WARP SYSTEM WORK?
A. Take your Merchant Cruiser with a turn/warp ratio of 3. You start with
200 turns in Sector 1. To move to sector 2 takes 3 turns. To port at the
Class 0 in Sector 1 takes 1 turn. Each warp takes 3 turns: 3 turns per
warp. It's that simple.
Q. HOW DO I GET MORE THAN ONE SHIP?
A. Two ways. First, you can capture a ship from an Alien, a Trader, or
even a Ferrengi. To capture a ship, you attack with as little fighters as
necessary to make the owner take flight in his Escape Pod. Second, you
can buy extra ships at the Stardock. When you buy a ship at the
Shipyards, it asks you if you want to trade in your old ship. Just answer
no, and you can buy an extra ship. You can also sell extra ships by
pressing S in the Shipyards.
Q. DOES CAPTURING WORK IN THE UNREGISTERED VERSION?
A. Yes.
Q. HOW DO I USE A CAPTURED SHIP?
A. You transport to a spare ship using...<* drumroll *>...your
transporter. Each ship type has a different range for the transporter.
IOW, if the range on your ship is 7, you can only transport to a ship that
is 7 warps away or less. You can't transport to an unmanned ship that
isn't yours. You also can't transport to a ship unless it has a blank
password or you know the correct password.
Q. WHAT IS THE PLANETARY TRANSPORTER?
A. It allows you to transport you and your ship to a sector with two
conditions: 1. there must be a fighter in that sector for a locating beam
and 2. you must have upgraded the transporter to sufficient range to reach
the sector. It may also use up some planetary fuel ore. I will have to
check.
Q. HOW DO LIMPET MINES WORK?
A. When you deploy a Limpet Mine in a sector, it is visible only to you.
If another Trader enters the sector, the Limpet attaches to his ship. You
can find his location when you log on next by looking at the deployed
mines scan (K). Limpets have a density of 2 and they light up the Anomaly
Scanner. If a Limpet attaches to your ship, you can get rid of it by
porting at a Class 0 or Class 9 port...for a price.
Q. WHAT ELSE SHOWS UP IN THE ANOMALY SCANNER?
A. Cloaked ships.
Q. IS THERE A COMPUTER UPGRADE? CAN I BRIBE THE INSPECTORS? IS THERE AN
ALIEN DERELICT? IS THERE A SECRET IN THE CINEMA? CAN I BUY PULSAR
CANNONS?
A. No. (Not yet.) ;)
Q. WHAT'S THE TRADE IN VALUE OF THE FERRENGI SHIPS?
A. With full holds and nothing else, I get 52,155 for an Assault Trader,
111,645 for a Battle Cruiser, and 214,290 for a Dreadnought.
Q. HOW MANY FIGHTERS DOES IT TAKE TO BLOW UP THE STARDOCK?
A. It took me just under 65,000 fighters with a TEDITed IC. I discovered
that the cost for that is 14,779,456. Not too bad. The Stardock, once
blown up, doesn't seem to reappear. IOW, blowing up the Stardock is a
game ender. When I try to port at the blown up sector in my Beta 2, the
game crashes. NOTE: In beta 5, so far no one has found a way to blow
up the StarDock, short of using an editor!
Novice Advice
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Macro's
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>I'm fairly new to the Tradewars game and I hear people talking about
>Macro's. Just exactly what are they and how do you do them?
Macro's are one method of automating tasks. There are lots of player
aids for TW's. They tend to fall into two different types: Database
utilities, and automation (macro) utilities.
From: WILLIAM SULLIVAN Some Novice Advice
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> I am a novice to this game and I am in need of some suggestions. Some
> background first? I am in a 2 member corp in which we share some 30
> planets. I have kept a few away from my CEO as he has from me (I found
> them anyway!). He will be away during the next few days and the
> responsibility of protecting our little empire has fallen to me.
First I would give up the idea of trying to protect 30 planets, it can't
be done in a competitive game. I concentrate on 1 planet at a time
getting the citadel up to combat control computer or quasar cannon before
starting another.
I would also try to get a copy of slice's manual if you are playing in a
2.00 version and Iago's war manual if you are playing in 103 version. You
will get lots of info and strategy at one time. You get good info in the
echo, but it would take a while to get all the necessary info you need to
play in a competitive game. Get the manuals.
> In our game, there is a nasty evil trader (whose name shall go
> unmentioned!) who has been sniping planets at an amazing pace. The CEO
> left word that it was to be up to me to make this weasel's life
> miserable until he can come back and help to shrink his real estate....
> The problem is that I don't really know how to find him in 5000 sectors
> other than to go exploring sector by sector.
Search for him using limpet mines. (drop them off somewhere you think he
might be passing by regularly) At stardock you can talk to the grimy
trader, type in the word "trader" when you get there. Answer the prompts,
and he will give you a list of ports that this evil guy ported at recently,
this might help you find his location, but if he's good, it won't help at
all (by good I mean he parks in a ship different than his trading ship,
never ports near his home sector, or cloaks every day. If he does any of
these things the grimy trader won't be of much use.)
Buy ether probes at the stardock's hardware emporium, shoot them off into
long unexplored sectors. Who knows you might run across that evil trader.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS More Novice Advice
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> I am a novice to this game and I am in need of some suggestions. Some
>background first? I am in a 2 member corp in which we share some 30
>planets. I have kept a few away from my CEO as he has from me (I found
>them anyway!). He will be away during the next few days and the
>responsibility of protecting our little empire has fallen to me.
>Has anyone got some advice?
For starters, start working with your CEO as a team, instead of as two
individuals. If you are developing planets on your own, and he is, then
you aren't working together very well. If my partner did that, I'd notice
a new citadel show up on the V-screen. Since keeping others from
developing citadels is one of the keys to winning, I'd start eprobing the
universe. I'd be pretty upset at my partner if I had to do all that
hunting for a planet, just to find out it was his. It boils down to this:
If you are going to play as a team, do it. If not, then there isn't any
point in the corp.
Next, from the sound of things, the majority of those 30 planets aren't
developed. Undeveloped planets are worth nothing. L1 planets are worth
nothing. L2's and up start to be valuable. I usually blow up undeveloped
planets, just to get them out of the way.
You never mentioned what resources (money and fighters) you have, or how
many citadels, or how many fighters there are in the game (which can let
you judge, somewhat, how well you are doing) or how many citadels there
are in the game... You could be in great shape, or just barely scraping
by. Nothing in your post gives much info.
Most of the time, the best way to explore the universe or search for
planets is to fire eprobes. Most of the time, you'll find the planets
people are trying to develop in dead ends, and by firing at the dead ends
you tend to hit most of the rest of the universe along the way. Many of
the player utilities can help by firing lots of eprobes to sectors in a
list, etc.
From: BOB MAROTTE Good Problems
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While cruising Cyberspace Bob read the following:
> Recently on a board, I was traveling in an ISS with +-5000 fighters
>several hundred shields. I bought a photon missile with which to
>attack enemy planet. Upon arriving at this planet, the Q-cannon
>attacked and my missile exploded and eliminated my turns. My nemesis
>attacked me and destroyed my ISS. Several days later, when I relogged
>on, I got my Marader and returned to my home planet. My defensive
>fighters had turned into Rogu Mercenaries and I had to destroy them in
>order to get in and change ships. later discovered that the majority
>of my fighters were no longer listed by pressing G. Apparently, they
>too were taken. Is there any way to prevent this/get them back?
Why would you go to the sector with the planet in it? You have to
shoot the photon from outside the target sector. You can't shoot it
in the same sector you are in. Also when you are killed any personal
assets you have will turn rogue. If they were corp. assets they
won't, that's why you should always be in a corp. even if you are the
only one in it. As to getting them back, you can't get the rogue
fighters back but you can get any planets back by attacking them.
Cheating
From: KENN WASHER ON "CHEATING"
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So you're playing Trade Wars and getting into it and building and doing
great and suddenly someone comes along and BOOM you're dead and all your
stuff is gone....
Or, you've been playing in a game for a long time.... and this new
guy/girl gets on the BBS and is suddenly at a higher experience level or
alignment than you....
Better yet, you're playing in an Imperial Starship one day, and the next
day YOU'RE IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT SHIP!
"THEY MUST BE CHEATING," you scream to yourself!
"BUNCH OF CHEATERS," you blurt out in the announcements to all!
"CHEATERS [STINK]," you yell in the tavern conversations!
"PEOPLE ARE CHEATING," you scream at the sysop!
Before you make the mistake of doing any of the above (and don't feel
bad, many of us have felt this way before we knew the "secrets") listen
up-
Trade Wars has a number of programming bugs. Some appear to be totally
UNusable to your advantage (ie. the "ships records" bug), while others CAN
BE USED to your advantage! As a matter of fact, as a serious Trade Wars
player, it is a MUST for you to know the possibilities.... not only are
there "bugs" that you are not yet aware of, there are also STRATEGIES that
you are not aware of!
Want to know more? Want to be the best player with the most knowledge?
Ok then, here is what you do-
1. Download Slice's War Manual, by Harold Weiss. It is the preeminent help
file for TW2002 v2.0 beta 5. You can call his BBS ( yes, he allows first
time callers to download). Call (713)477-2681 [28.8] or (713)477-4563
[16.8].
Jim Bianchi is the author of Iago's War Manual, a help file for TW2002
v1.03d. (Though designed for v103d, this War Manual contains a lot of
basic information that pertains to playing TW no matter what version you
are involved in.) He has many of the TW files available for DL from his
BBS, and he also allows first time callers to download.The number is
707-539-1279. Jim also carries Slices War Manual on his BBS.
2. If you can find access to a BBS that carries echo mail, check out the
Trade Wars Echo (if they don't have it, ask for it). The Trade Wars
Echo is basically a world wide message area for Trade Wars players,
and the hints and tips and discussions here will make you an excellent
player! The messages below are from the Trade Wars Echo... check them
out. - Kenn Washer
From: RAY JACKSON ON "CHEATING"
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> "Sometimes you have to cheat, I have cheaters blowing me up left and
> right. I had a Corporate Flagship, 4 planets, a lot of credits and
> more, Then a cheater came in a took all my stuff away."
What makes you think someone is "cheating"? I had a guy threaten to
"beat" me up, because I took his level 3 planet, which, he said, "everyone
knows is almost invulnerable". He had not even turned the Q-cannon on!
Just because someone can beat you does not mean they are cheating, or even
using bugs, for that matter.
From: ROGER HEAD ON "CHEATING"
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> Sometimes you have to cheat, I have cheaters blowing me up left and
> right. I had a Corporate Flagship, 4 planets, a lot of credits and
> more, Then a cheater came in a took all my stuff away.
Why do you assume that the player who took you out had to be cheating? I
was accused of cheating once when the player that I took out of a sector
with 2 L6 (planets), and 2 L3 and a L2 came back into the game the next
day. He said that no one could have done that without Tedit (a program
that comes with Trade Wars that allows the sysop to edit the game). The
sysop of the BBS was sitting right next to me when I spent the 300 million
on fighters that day and [bought] 13 fully loaded Imperial Starships. I
had spent 3 days preparing for the fight and had 2 days worth of turns in
the bank in TWServices (TWServices is an add-on program for Trade Wars).
If the other player had had 50 more shields or 500 or so more fighters in
the sector it would have all been wasted, because I would have run out of
turns before the job was done.
As it was I was the winner in that game because he was the only player
who had anything left that he could attack with. He and I had kept all
the others away from Stardock long enough that they had quit playing and
it was him and me.
He ran to the Sysop the next day and whined that I had had to have
cheated because no one could do what I had done with out cheating. The
sysop told the player that he was sitting right there when it had been
done and he called the sysop a liver. Bye The Way, he has never logged on
to that BBS again and he has tried to tell anyone who would listen that we
cheat.
So just because you are not sure of how it is done do not always assume
that the one who does it has been cheating.
From: MIKE MAGERO ON "CHEATING"
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> People who RELY on the bugs (and I don't refer to the ambiguous ones,
> but those that are clearly and unarguably bugs) and do not attempt to
> learn or use strategy in the game that does not require them are going
> to be at a disadvantage when [the bugs] finally ARE corrected.
Not Really. This is a touchy subject with the "I don't know the bugs so
using them is cheating" crowd.
In the 1.03 game where a player could use the money bugs to get rich,
this provided a means of seeing and learning the more expensive tactics
and lets you know what you could and could not do. In my opinion this
made learning the game easier.
The same is somewhat true for the beta game. Even though the money bugs
have been removed. Learning the bugs means you are learning the system
and what it can and can not do. If the bugs get removed then your going
to have to go back to the old way of doing things. The Bugs in the Beta
open up more strategy than most people care to acknowledge.
You're correct in the assumption that IF they do not attempt to learn or
use strategy they will be in trouble. However, I feel that by at least
learning and using the bugs you do have to learn some strategy. Trouble
is the bugs open up a whole new way of thinking. Conventional strategy
then becomes a poor way of doing things. Hence, the clamor to fix the
bugs. Holding your breath waiting until that happens is a no win deal for
those who insist in playing by the never seen, never written "rules."
Turns
From: JOHN WARFIN Turns
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> I have a question about this. As an example. Say you are playing at
> 11:00pm and you run out of turns in a game, you can call back just after
> midnight and you will have a full days worth of turns again.
You get your days turns the first call after midnight. Example: Lets
say you have 60 minutes online time. You call at 11:30 and you go into
tradewars. You play for 29 minutes and use all of your turns. You do an
Info on yourself to verify you have no turns, you have none! Now you
wait, in the game, 3 more minutes. You again do an info screen to see if
you got your turns, you still have none! Now you quit the game, but you
forget to cloak, so you go back into the game. When you get into the
game, guess what, you have turns! This works even if you haven't hung up
from the bbs, so it is NOT extern running!
> If you are photoned by someone at 11 pm (not the same game obviously)
> wouldn't you get your turns back after midnight..
If you were to call the bbs at 11:58 and then wait 2-3 minutes in the
bbs, and then go into Tradewars you will get your turns! If you would
have gone straight into tradewars, you would still be P-torped! This is
also a good way to P-torp someone else. If you get into the bbs before
midnight, and then wait until after midnight, you could go in and be sure
to steal players turns.
The extern/midnight thing gets confused quite alot. Extern does so many
things that people attribute everything that doesn't happen while you are
playing to it.
Experience & Alignment
From: MIKE MAGERO Experience
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Exp. and Alignment can be bought with credits.
Simply sit at a class 7 port and buy small quantities of product and haggle
for points. In a 250 turn game you should earn 1250 exp per day. And, as
an evil trader you can rob the credits back. Alignment can be had by
posting bounties and hit contracts.
There are other ways to gain exp and alignment but none of them are
cheaper or more of a "Sure" thing.
From: BEN RITTGERS Port Experience
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> Has anyone playing v.2 b5 ever gotten 36 x.p. or more for finding a
> neglected port? I usually get 1 x.p. for finding neglected ports...
When the game starts it is only one. Every day it goes up a point. It
stops at 50.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Raising Alignment
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>I just wanted to know what the quickest way to get your alignment up, and
>the quickest way to get your alignment down?
It varies a bit, depending on where you are starting, where you are
wanting to go, the other players in the game, etc.
But as a general rule, the most effective way to raise it is to
post rewards on evils by going to the fedstation on SD. For every
1000 credits you post, your alignment goes up by 1. When you reach
500, you can ask for a commission, and they'll bump you up to 1000.
Naturally, if you post that reward money on a low-level schmoe who
is floating around uncloaked with few fighters, you can then go
waste him, and collect your money back.
Turning evil works roughly the same way - 250 credits posted on a
trader in the underground will drop your alignment 1 point. And
again, if you know where to go collect, you can get your money
back.
I generally post on low-levels if I can get my money back right
away (ie: if I already know where they are.) Otherwise, I tend to
post on people that I don't expect to see get killed much. That
way, its not easy for anyone else to collect and get my money.
From: ROB BURTON Alignment
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> There's a player in the game I'm in who's alignment has been going up
> about 500 points per day. He hasn't been killing bad guys as far as I
> can tell, so how's he doing it?
Simple, REWARDS, REWARDS, REWARDS, REWARDS!!!!
You don't need to kill anyone to gain alignment, I'll give you an
example: On my corp. (we play good), one member went evil destroying
another good, so, he goes to Spacedock, gets murdered (by giving the wrong
password to the Underground guard- see EVIL.tips), comes back the next day
with 0 align. & exp. points, posts a reward and Ta-Da, he's in a shiny new
ISS with 1 exp. point, and 1000 alignment...more than likely, this is what
your player is doing (unless he has access to T-Edit, probably not
though...)
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Alignment
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There are several ways a player can buy alignment which won't show up in
the daily log. The easiest (and usually the cheapest) is to post rewards
on evils (at the fedstation on stardock.) Another is to enter the game
with lots of money - good traders get taxed, and their alignment goes up.
Another is to kill ferrengi sector fighters. Another is to kill any evil
traders sector fighters.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Lowering Alignment
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> Anyway, would it be worth it to leave my corp and my Fed commission to
> turn evil? And how hard would it be to lose all that alignment (1100)?
Evils can easily make more then good traders, since you have a partner
you should both turn evil, and build a few SSB ports in a big dead end.
Evils should use the credits they're makeing to constanltly search out and
destroy any "planet farms".
It's pretty easy to drop 1100 alignment, the quickest way might be to
blow up a high alignment trader or destroy large amounts of their sector
fighters. You can dump colonists into space once per day, you'll lose 1
alignment for each colonist, in a CT you'll lose 250 alignment. You can go
an curse the grimmy trader but you lose one alignment point and one
experience point each time, evils need experience. Once your alignment is
200 or less then you can enter the underground and post a hit on a good
trader, it will cost 75,000 credits to drop from 200 to -100, after that
you shouldn't have to worry about alignment again.
From: BOB MAROTTE Raising Alignment
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There is a very good reason to get your alignment as high as you possibly
can. If you have massive positive alignment then you can get your
commission and go around killing off the other good guys without any worry
of losing your commission by the loss of alignment. I am playing in an
area where the top good guys have a large lead time on the rest of the
players and they are always on the prowl for any players that they can
find regardless of alignment. They are worse than the evil players around
here. So see there is a good reason for the alignment to keep on going.
Plus if there is another good player leaving defensive fighters all over
the place you will lose alignment points if you attack them and if there
are enough fighters around you could end up as an evil and if you are in
an ISS you will immediately be turned into space dust by the Feds.
From: JOHN A ELSON Alignment Formula
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If your alignment is high enough another player will lose several
alignment points for attacking even one of your fighters! The alignment
lost or gained depends on how many fighters you *lose* attacking the
sector fighters. The formula:
#17 Alignment change for attacking deployed fighters
First, there is a bug related to player slot #1. Fighters
belonging to player #1 will get an alignment signature of -1000
regardless of the alignment of player #1. (Gary forgot to change
something! [surprise surprise!]) This applies only to personal
fighters belonging to player #1 *not* corporate fighters even if
player #1 is the CEO.
With the above noted exception the fighters get an
alignment signature equal to the player they belong to.
The forumulas:
+aligned fighters - aligned fighters
good
aligned AC=-(FL*FA)/10000 AC=+(FL*FA)/5000
player
bad
aligned AC=-(FL*FA)/5000 AC=+(FL*FA)/10000
player
where:
AC= Alignment change either positive or negative as indicated
FL= Fighters *you* lost, *NOT* fighters you destroyed
FA= Alignment signature of the fighters (ignoring sign)
*= Times (multiplication)
So, by leaving fighters where someone will be tempted or forced to attack
them you can "adjust" their alignment. The higher your alignment, the
better this strategy works. So an "excessive" alignment of +100,000 or
more can be a very potent weapon indeed!
By forcing this individual to go negative you deprive them of the use of
an ISS and the ability to TWARP to fedspace. If they are in an ISS at the
time a fed will nuke them if they do anything other than transport to
another ship. If they own unmanned ISSs they won't be able to transport to
them.
So if you think that alignment over +1000 doesn't matter, you're in for a
rude awakening!
Citadels
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Citadels
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>If you want to log off in sector in a ship, how the heck do you get your
>ISS or other ship down into the Citadel?
You don't. If you want it in the citadel, you have to stay in it. You
can't store unmanned ships in the citadel, whether you are online or
offline.
Trapping and Tracking
From: MIKE MAGERO Tracking
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> Is there any way to find the exact location of another player?
Only if the other guy fails to get a limpet removed. The rest of it is
luck. Scanners and Eprobes could find someone but you have to be in
the right place at the right time. Databases can help narrow down
where a planet is, as can e-probes, but as far as finding a player.....
Can't really be done all the time.
From: MICHAEL OEDER Trapping Enemies
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If you want to fix the target in place before destroying it, just deploy a
fighter in each adjacent sector before attacking. This will prevent him
from escaping. Sometimes if he's in a sector with many warps I'll attack
with only a few fighters to force him to retreat until he's in a sector
with only a couple. Makes it easier to trap him.
From: DAVID BOEN Trapping Federals
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>I remember hearing a while ago that if you post a fighter in a sector
>(Other than fedspace, of course) no Federals will enter that sector.
>Does this hold true in v2.5?
Oh yes, we had some fun with this one. One day we decided to erect a
fighter barrier in front of a one-way warp secotor and guess what, a
Fed shows up with no way out! Pretty funny considering how easy it
would be for a Fed with 50,000 or 65,000 fighters could take out 2000
defensive fighters. But you can't trap Zyrain - he'll just T-Warp out
once somebody attacks a good guy in FedSpace.
Blockading Stardock
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Blocking StarDock
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>> Here's a little tip I found a little successful, Purchase
>> 10 gtorps and 10 atomic detonators. Then, get on VERY FIRST
>> in the morning, and blow em all up in Star Dock. 100% Nav Hazard
>That WOULD do it, but what's the point? It blocks you out just
>like anyone else!
In Fedspace, it'll get cleared when Extern runs. And you already
know its there, so you know to avoid the sector until Extern runs
again. Most traders feel safe in fedspace, and will warp in without
looking first. (Goods Twarping in will rarely fire an eprobe, for
instance.)
From: MIKE MAGERO Blocking Stardock
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> I have blocked the Dock in Ver 2 with multiple planets, moving those in
> MSLs before extern, then moving them back. Granted, some people may get
> by, but it effectively tied up the game.
Your plan was very risky! If the other callers were to wait until
latter in the day and keep the phone lines tied up until after midnight
you would be the proud owner of a few Lv-2 planets.
While your plan will work to blockade Stardock it can be easily foiled
with a little creative calling on the part of the victims.
From: KENN WASHER Evils at Stardock
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Some folks suggest evil players should leave a ship, with a few fighters
on it, right at the stardock so they can transport to it in case anyone
tries to block off the Stardock.
From: MIKE MAGERO BLOCKING STARDOCK
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JW> There is another reason that blockading is pointless. I will give you
JW> couple of hints. 1 it hasn't been mentioned in the echo & 2 even evils
JW> can go directly to stardock from anywhere in the game!
I'll give you the answer to Johns riddle.... Since no one here is willing
to burn up any brain cells thinking about it.
The answer is so simple a blind man can see it! Remember this is for
Evil traders to use if a Fed commissioned player attempts a blockade.
Hint #1 Fedspace parking is 100% safe for un-manned ships. Stardock is
considered Fedspace.
Hint #2 The Unlimited Transporter Range bug makes Transporters a joke!
Hint #3 Ships parked at Stardock can T-warp out!
Hint #4 When you sell a product to the port at stardock an equal amount
of it is placed on the loading dock (you can steal it.) If you
attempt to sell a product and keep demanding a high price the
port tosses you out but puts a load of product on the dock.
You get to keep you original product and the port now has some
on the dock.
Hint #5 You can steal from the port at stardock.
Hint #6 You can own more then 1 ship.
Hint #7 Your credits move with you when you transport.
Do you see it yet? No?
So..... If you park a ship full of ore at stardock you can transport in
any time you want, from any place, and you can buy a T-warp ship and all
the supplys you need. Then you can get the ore to fuel it and still never
deplete the ore supply of the ship parked there.
Blind Warping
From: BOB MAROTTE Blind Transwarping
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>Don't blind warp! Trust me! Take it from experience.
>I blindwarped to a sector and it blew me up! It totally trashed me!
That's not the best of advice. I use blind Twarp all the time and the
only time I have blown up is because I forgot to e-probe the sector I was
going to. If you send an e-probe to the sector before you blind twarp and
see that the sector is clear then you should be able to do it without any
problems. Except of course unless there is a limpet mine there.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Blind Transwarping
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blind Twarp, done correctly, is very safe. Yes, if you do it all the
time, you'll probably lose a ship every once in a while. I've lost five,
I think. But five in several years of using it isn't bad, and the turns
I've saved more than make up for it.
FWIW, if you fire a probe, the biggest single risk in blind Twarp is
user-error. Not paying attention, entering the wrong sector number, that
sort of thing. I've lost one ship to blind Twarping into a limpet - all
the rest were due to user error. Or, as someone once called it, "the
happy-fingers bug". :^)
Feds & Fedspace
From: BILLY GABLE The Federation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Is there anyway that a player can defeat one of the Federation
> Starships? Anyway at all? I've tried photon torpedoes, multiple
> interdictor cruisers, even a few Dreadnaughts...nothing...
It is completely impossible to DESTROY any of the Feds. Reason being
that as soon as you attack one, they blast you with an Ion Cannon that
hits you for more damage points than your ship can handle, no matter what
that ship may be.
From: EUGENE TANG The Federation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's a way to "defeat" the Fed starships captained by the Admirals
(not Captain Zyrain's)
All you have to do is put fighters all around the sector in which they
are in, and they will be trapped there as long as your fighters remain.
(Captain Zyrain won't be trapped because he uses Transwarp drive alot)
From: SCOTT GLASER The Federation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you read the doc file or the instructions you will find that they are
indestructible, the only thing you can do to them is lock them in a dead
end sector by trapping them with mines. Even this is only temporary
though, the first time someone attempts to attack a good guy in fed space
they will teleport directly to that sector.
From: KRIS LEWIS The Federation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
....Even TEdit can NOT touch the Feds...
From: DAVID BOEN Fed Commissions
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Has anyone ever been attacked by the feds for destroying someone's
> fighters?? I had my commission, and was attacking another good player's
> fighters (3000 of them) and after they were killed, Fleet Admiral Nelson
> warped in and missiled me, then attacked and killed me. Why?
Sounds like you lost your commission, wouldn't you say? Yes, Feds attack
when you no longer have enough alignment to keep your commission. They
'repossessed' your ship.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Fed Commissions
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
They'll repossess it if you fall below 0. If you are below 1000, you can
keep it. If you are in the 500-999 range you can go to Stardock and ask
for a commission to move it back up to 1000.
From: RICK MATHLEY Being a Good Fed
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any aggression towards a good player can drastically alter your own
alignment. To remain good, you can not make direct assaults on good
players. If you want to keep others off balance, you might try laying
mines, or deploying fighters around good players when you find them.
KENN WASHER Fedspace Protection
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are Evil, or, if you are Good and your experience is over
1000, your MANNED ship will NOT be protected by the Feds in Fedspace.
No matter what your experience or alignment (good or evil), your
UN-MANNED ships in Fedspace will be protected by the Feds...
(Manned, meaning an actual trader is onboard. UN-Manned meaning no trader
is onboard the ship.)
(NOTE: Programmer Craig Healy has released a replacement for Martechs
extern which fixes the major bugs of the game, and also does a number
of other things, one of which is to kick unmanned ships out of
Fedspace).
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Feds on OFFENSE?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I just had an extremely upsetting experience.... Has anyone
>ever been attacked by the feds for destroying someone's fighters?? I
>had my commission, and was attacking another good player's fighters
>(3000 of them) and after they were killed, Fleet Admiral nelson
>warped in p-missiled me, then attacked and killed me. Why??? Any
>way to keep it from happening?
>Your alignment went down below 1000..bye bye ISS (and you with it)! <G>
>You have to keep your alignment up, or you die.
[slight correction]
His alignment went below 0. You can keep an ISS with alignment
under 1000. You can't Twarp to fedspace, and if you transport out
of the ISS you can't transport back in, but they don't come repo it
just for going under 1000.
Playing Evil
From: MIKE MAGERO Evil $$$
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Does evil make more $$ using PT (Planetary Trading) or SST
SST Earns more money then PT Evil players should only run PT to boost
Exp. if it needs it.
From: MIKE MAGERO Playing Evil
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> In starting a new game, do you play good until you alignment gets up to
> 1k and then turn evil? If you can go evil from the start, how do you
> build Exp. points with the occasional busts that no one can avoid?
In my opinion the stupidest thing a would be evil trader can do is go
Good first and build a planet. He would be giving up the 30 day period in
which he can make big money uncontested by the long term good aligned
players.
What we do is spend day 1 triple trading in a Merchant Freighter for
points not credits. Then on day 2 we use what we call Mega-Jettison. That
is sitting at a Class 7 port buying small amounts of product and haggling
for the exp points. We then jettison the stuff and do it again. In this
way we can earn 5 Exp per turn and will be evil enough to run SST on day 3
or day 4. If we need credits we go back to Paired Port Trading or Triple
Trading. By day 5 we are using SST in Mules and working on the dead-end
full of ports.
> Once your Experience points are up and you want to sell, steal and
> transport, how do you keep from losing so many turns setting up the loop?
Since you don't have a Dead-end yet this is a problem. We like to keep
one of the ships parked in Fedspace and use ports in there if they are
available and use the other nearby ports for the 2nd ship. If your in
Mules the loss of turns is not to bad. The thing you need to keep in mind
is that this is only necessary until you have that dead-end built and the
ports open up.
Too many so called "skilled evils" are forgetting the advantages of the
dead-end full of ports and are still out in space trying to move around
CT's and Mules and having problems. They are not playing effectively and
so they think evil still has major problems. Which it does if your not
doing it effectively.
> The transwarp towing kills the amount of equipment you can carry on
> the towing ship therefore making the trading less profitable. This
> might be answering my question, but I would like to know of more
> efficient ways of setting up the sell,steal,transport.
Jettison the Ore and buy a load of Equ from a nearby port (don't risk a
bust over a single load of equ) and then move to a equ buying port. Then
when your done for the day jettison the Equ and get a load of ore and
T-warp Tow the other ship back to fedspace.
> I know about making the sbb ports in your tunnel and then using those
> ports to get the trading going right off, but I'm looking for a more
> efficient interim trading setup.
That's one of the problems with Evil.... There isn't one. You need to
get that dead-end going as soon as possible so that you can begin to earn
the big money and start going after the Planets the ISS drivers are going
to need to run Planet Trading. If you allow them to get one Lv-4 planet
your going to find evil playing isn't so hot.
From: BOBBY CROWDER Playing Evil
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> In starting a new game, do you play good until you alignment gets up
> to 1k and then turn evil? If you can go evil from the start, how do
> you build Exp. points with the occasional busts that no one can avoid?
First of all, I believe you meant experience instead of alignment in your
first sentence since the Evil player's goal is to keep their alignment
as low as possible to make turning Evil easier. Anyway, I tend to keep a
positive alignment and build exp by paired port trading in a Merchant
Freighter until I hit 1,000 or so exp then I turn Evil by buying a Mule,
maxxing its holds and jettisoning a full load of colonists.
> Once your Experience points are up and you want to sell, steal and
> transport, how do you keep from losing so many turns setting up the loop?
Keep your SST ships in Fedspace and use suitable ports in and around
Fedspace for SST. Works for me...
> The transwarp towing kills the amount of equipment you can carry on the
> towing ship therefore making the trading less profitable.
T-warp towing? Just what are ya T-warp towing and why are you using the
T-warp ship to run SST? You want to use ships with a large hold capacity
for SST and besides, the Corp FlagShip's 85 holds makes hitting the best
price nearly impossible and you NEED those extra exp points...
> This might be answering my question, but I would like to know of more
>efficient ways of setting up the sell,steal,transport.
Just remember to keep the ships in Fedspace and to use nearby ports.
(Mike and John will no doubt suggest an alternative that involves building
ports in defended dead-end tunnels and while their method is probably a bit
more profitable mine is easier to set up...)
> I leave one of my corp flagships in fedspace and I park in the
> other cloaked or in the citadel. I plot my course for each ship to the
> nearest port that is 100% buying equipment. I take one ship to its
> closest location, transport to the other and move it to its closest port
> buying 100% equipment and start the loop. When I get busted I simply
> move the ship I got busted in to the next nearest 100% equipment buying
> port.
Hmm, SST'ing with 2 Corp Flags. You'd earn more by switching to a pair of
Mules...
> I know about making the sbb ports in your tunnel and then using
> those ports to get the trading going right off, but I'm looking for a more
> efficient interim trading setup.
2 Mules (or ColTrans, depends on your exp) in Fedspace, extremely simple
and can't fail unless there are no suitable ports nearby...
From: MIKE MAGERO Turning Evil
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Would it be worth it to leave my corp and my Fed commission to
> turn evil? And how hard would it be to lose all that alignment (1100)
> I could take a planet or maybe two, but I wouldn't feel right taking
> everything... :-) Any advice, guys?
Evil works best if you do it right from the start of the game. In this
way you can take advantage of the 30 or so days it takes the ISS drivers
to get that Lv-4 planet and begin Planet Trading. This gives you 25 or so
days to run SST and find the planets. If you do this you can gain
undisputed control of the game and NO ONE will be able to take that away
unless you allow them to do it.
In your case I would have to say do it ONLY if the other players are not
using Planet Trading to earn credits. Taking a Lv-3 or higher citadel
away from somone is much harder to do as an Evil trader. You will have to
use brute force (ie. Lots of fighters on an IC and a Missile Frigate for
P-torps) to take planets. This means buying lots of fighters and using
them all up just to take a planet you will most likly have to blow up;
because you can't afford to defend it along with all the ones you have
already.
To lose the alginment you will have to dump 250 Colonists per day in a CT
until you can get down to 199 alginment and can post a hit contract in the
underground. Remember to get rid of the ISS before you go below the zero
alginment or it will become nothing more then an expensive trophy that
grows dust and collects lint.
Your reluctance to take away the Lv-2 or higher citidels from the other
players will mean a stalemate type of game if the ISS drives can get and
keep a Lv-4 planet and use Planet Trading. In my opinon this gets real
boring as no one can afford to attack. To be effective as an evil you
will have to lose the objection to taking away planets. They are the
biggest threat to your ability to control the game.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI SST
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The SST Method: 1. Port and Sell as many holds of equipment as you can
steal safely to the port, haggle for exp points.
2. Port and Steal all the equipment you sold, this will
put the port back to 100% too (if it started there).
3. Use your ship's Transporter to beam to beam to another
ship at a different equipment buying port. If your out
of range then set some avoids<g>.
4. Repeat steps 1 & 2 then transport back to your original
ship and continue the cycle.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS SST vs. SSM
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>If I use SST instead of SSM, will I get busted less?
Comparing SST to SSM, you'll get busted *more*. But the reason is
that you will use a lot more of your turns stealing [more attempts =
more chance of getting busted]. SSM uses alot of them while moving.
SST will make a lot more money than SSM.
From: MIKE MAGERO Ports Lie!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ports LIE! When you port and hit the <R>ob key you are told
that a port has X amount of credits on hand that can be robbed. They
have MORE Credits! If you take the number they provide you and
multiply it by 1.09 you can determine the real number of credits on
hand that can robbed. For example if they tell you they have 5,000
credits they really have 5,450 credits on hand. Take it all! There
is no increased risk added in when robbing these extra credits.
From: HAROLD WEISS Evil Imperial Star Ship
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Not much use for an evil ISS anymore. It's not worth using for SST
> because it will not earn more then a Mule.
Just a side note, You can't even attempt to use the ISS for the SST loop,
As soon as you X out of it you can't get back in unless your alignment is
over 1000.
From: MIKE MAGERO Evil Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> If I am evil, and know that the planet I'm going to invade is going to
> hit me with 30000 damage points (Atmospheric), then how can I invade
> without an ISS. A Corporate Flagship cannot carry enough fighters, and
> an IC cannot land. Is this one of the problems with being an evil? Help
> me please!
Yes! It's THE problem with being evil! The # 1 Rule for an Evil is to
use your increased credit earning ability to find and kill all the baby
planets before they get to LV-3, and have that killer Q-cannon shot the
games new features allow.
To invade one that is set up to shoot you with a large blast you will
need to buy several ships and a ton of fighters. You will then need to
get all this stuff to the sector outside of the planet. You are going to
need at least 1 Missile Frigate with 10 P-torps. Buy them all up front
don't waste the effort running back and forth to stardock. You will also
need a maxed out IC don't worry about holds or any of the extra stuff you
can stick on it. Just buy the fighters and shields. And maybe mines and
mine disruptors for when you take the planet and want to defend it. And
last but not least you need 3 times the number of fighters they have to
defend the planet..... That's the real costly part.....
Then just use the Missile Frigate to shoot in P-torps and the IC to
attack the planet. The trick is to transport off the the IC before the
wave runs out and shoot in another P-torp. With out a Script or Macro
this is going to hard to do by hand without making a mistake and getting
caught in the sector when the P-torp wave runs out.
Sooner or latter you will have killed off all the defending shields and
fighters. When that happens shoot in a P-torp from the Missile Frigate
and land on the planet. Claim the planet and your all set.
As you can see this is a real pain to run. Hence the need to find and
kill all the planets before they get a Lv-3 citadel on them. If your
playing Evil and have allowed other players to build up your best bet
would be to work on making lots of credits and stockpile them in the
planet citadel and let them grow interest. Once you have a few billion
(about 1 1/2 months if left alone) you can get murdered on Stardock and go
and buy a Fed Commssion and ISS and then use the credits to invade the
planets. This means your going to have to invade better defended planets
but since the method of invasion has been made alot easier and the odds on
the ISS are better then the IC it will end up being about the same.
Either way taking a Lv-3 or better planet is a real problem good or evil.
You will discover that it's going to cost a major pile of credits. That's
why it's better to kill them before they get to Lv-2 it just easier and
alot cheaper.
From: MIKE MAGERO Evil Corporations
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have found that Evil corps don't need to have alot of colonists. There
is little need to build Org and Equ for anything other then planet
Upgrades. You will find that putting your Colonists in Ore production
builds the most fighters and provides the stuff you need to Power the
Planet Transporter, T-warp, Q-cannon, and IG. If all the members just
worked at making money and buying fighters you can take a planet full of
people from your enemies. Hauling in colonists from a captured planet is
alot easier and turn effective then getting them from Terra.
Let the CEO use the Flag to tow a CT to Terra through a Planet
Transporter for hauling people. (He's evil too!) and let the rest of the
Corp work on running SST. You will still have more then enough people to
make a big nice pile of Fuel Ore and stacks of free fighters. Your also
alot richer because more of the corp is making the big money.
Don't worry so much about building maxed out planets or hauling in tons
of people if your going to play evil. Planet Farming is a Good Alignment
problem it's not something us evils have to worry about. Sooner or
latter one of the Planet Farmers will unwillingly donate a nice well
populated and stocked planet to your cause. Then to make the most of it,
you'll have to find a way to get rid of all that stupid rabbit food and
left over equipment. After all you should be selling the same 250 holds of
equipment over and over again to some fool of a port worker. You don't
need no stinking rabbit food!
From: MIKE MAGERO Evil Corporations
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sooner your whole corp goes evil the sooner you begin to increase
your control over the universe. Don't worry so much about building maxed
out planets or hauling in tons of people if your going to play evil.
Planet Farming is a Good Alignment problem it's not something us evils
have to worry about. Sooner or latter one of the Planet Farmers will
unwillingly donate a nice well populated and stocked planet to your cause.
Then to make the most of it, you'll have to find a way to get rid of all
that stupid rabbit food and left over equipment. After all you should be
selling the same 250 holds of equipment over and over again to some fool
of a port worker. You don't need no stinking rabbit food!
From: MIKE MAGERO Thievery Percentages
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
It has been my experience that the best way to limit your risk of getting
busted when robbing or stealing is to consult these two formulas.
Robbing Credits Experience * 3 = Credits to steal
Stealing Holds Experience % 34 = Holds you can steal.
The number for holds (ie. 34) is not the bottom line 30 is. However, if
you use 34 you will have a "buffer" that will allow you to take 1 bust and
still have more then enough to try again at a new port.
Your alignment has no effect so long as it's at or below -100.
From: CHAD WALLACE Thievery
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I seem to get busted every time I try to rob a port. What fun is that? Am
> I missing something here?
You are used to robbing in v1.03, right? In the new version, you can't
rob from the same port twice in a row. What you have to do is go to
another port and rob that one, then come back and rob this one again.
That's why the Sell-Steal-Transport, Sell-Steal-Move and Rob-Move-Rob
methods came about. With SST, the best way to make evil money, you must
have two ships that are capable of transporting you between two ports.
Fill both ships' holds with equipment and place them under two ports that
are both buying Equipment and are within the transport range. Colonial
Transports work the best for this, especially if you have LOTS of
experience. You sell the equipment to one port, then steal it back. Then
you transport to the other ship and sell and steal the equipment in that
ship and transport back... You repeat that as long as you want or until
you get busted.
Also, the amount of experience needed to (semi-) safely rob ports has
increased.
Experience % 34 to get the number of holds of equipment you can steal.
Experience * 3 to get the number of credits you can rob.
From: MIKE MAGERO Thievery
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> well i am playing the beta version of tw and need to know a little bit
> more about robbing. if you rob a port and don't get caught. will it catch
> you the next time?
YES! You must move to a new port and rob or steal there before you can
return to the 1st port.
> What happens if someone robs it after you. Does it erase your robbing
> the port?
No! It doesn't "erase" your robbing. If you try it you WILL get busted
and it will be a "Fake" bust. "Fake" busts are alot worse then a normal
bust and should be avoided at all costs!
> I have found a port w/ 500,000 on it.
500,000 credits is chump change for an Evil trader you could make that in
no time flat running SST.
> What is the # i should multiply by to figure out how much i can take.
Exp * 3 = credits to rob.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Thievery
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Do the odds of getting busted increase with the frequency of stealing
> at a particular planet pair? For example, theoretically, the odds of
> throwing a particular number with a pair of dice is exactly the same
> with your first throw as with the 1000th throw. But it seems to me
> that if I tell TWHELP to do the sell/steal/loop too many times in one
> planet pair I seem to get busted more than if I do it only 10 or 15
> times, then move on to another pair. Or is it just coincidence?
It probably seems that way to you because if you don't move except when
you get busted, then you'll get busted more often. The reason you get
busted more often is because you spend more turns stealing - if you move
to new sectors every 10-15 steals, then you use a lot of your turns moving
around.
In other words, just deal with the busts. Its not worth it to waste the
turns moving around.
> I am running the s/s/m loop with 70 holds and 4000 exp. Seems to me
> I should rarely get busted, but it happens too frequently. Is there
> anything else that could be affecting the bust ratio?
> What is an acceptable bust rate (I know its random and can not be
> avoided completely)? If I get busted once every 300 turns, is that
> about average? Or once every 600 turns?
That's enough experience for the number of holds you have. Are you using
a Starmaster? The starmaster was a great ship in 1.03d, but its not good
in 2.0.
> Is the bust ration better/same/worse if you steal equipment or if you
> rob credits?
If there are ports with lots of money, you can usually do better robbing
credits. But if you waste a lot of turns hunting for places you can rob,
then your better off stealing. Stealing will be your mainstay.
From: JIM PITTMAN Attempted Thievery
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you port and hit "S", you must trade or steal at another port before
you try to rob or steal from that port again, even if you change your
mind. Do not hit "S" at the same port twice in a row, always go to another
port and either trade, rob, or steal. Then you can go back to the first
port and rob or steal again.
You do not have to trade at a port to steal from it.
From: DAVID BLAZEK Evils at Stardock
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a little tip I found a little successful,
Purchase a CEO Flagship with 10 gtorps and 10 atomic detonators. Then,
get on VERY FIRST in the morning, and blow em all up in Star Dock. 100%
Nav Hazard man.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Solo Evil
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I currently have several level 4+ planets, more than I need but they're
usefull especially since I'm playing evil solo. I keep one level 4 right
beside a class 0 port, if I get busted then I'll use either my Flagship
or Freighter to drop a fighter at the class 0 port, this can take as
little as 6 turns (X-port, move, drop, move, X-port back). I also like to
keep my two CT's over level 4 planets so when I get busted I use the
planet trasporter to beam over to the level 4 beside the class 0, then I
warp the planet to the class 0, restock holds, and warp it back out. I'll
beam the CT back to the port I got busted at and I'll warp that planet
to my next my port, picking up eqipment from either of the two planets.
I like to restock my holds right after a bust for several reasons, It
*might* be another couple days until I get my next bust, you get more
experience with full holds and it's easier to hit 5 exp selling with 250
holds, and that's the way my macros are set up. Once I have a fighter
over the class 0 port then it will take 4 turns to restock holds and load
up equipment and get to my next port as long as that port already has a
fighter there (it usually dose).
> Do you s/s/m for half your turns and explore with the rest? Do you
> ever stop just to go out and do something to build up exp or do you
> just rely on succesful steal/rob for your exp?
Usually I SST for all my turns unless I'm doing some planet farming or
building ports. When I explore it's done with e-probes, this thursday I
have a regularly scedueled universe "clean-up", I'll shoot off almost 600
eprobes from stardock into all the deadends and more. Ususally I'll find
all the other traders planet farms and destroy them, that's about all I
need to do in order to rule my universe.
I find that my experience is usually around 10,000 to 12,000 and that's
much more then the 7500 exp I need to steal 250 holds. I find that I get
enough experiece just by stealing holds, robing credits is best done by
Infamous Pirates. Still my experience fluctuates It can go up to Infamous
Pirate or down to a Terrorist, that's where I'm at now after getting
busted 5 times today. Just to be on the safe side I'll kill one or two of
the traders I'll undoubtably find uncloaked and unprotected (will they
ever learn?). Even if my experiece dropped to less then 7500 I'd continue
to SST with less then 250 holds of equipment because eventually I should
get back above 7500.
> I was afraid of getting a larger ship and increasing the bust ratio.
> thought that by being so conservative I would rarely get busted...
You'll have to use CT's to get the full potential out of playing evil.
From: MIKE MAGERO Evil Questions
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> So I take it you just sit there and kick in whatever script you use and
> do nothing except steal/sell/move as long as you have turns? If you get
> a bust you just continue and hopefully in the end you have a lot of
> credits and have earned appproximately the same number of exp points
> that you lost with the busts?
If the script haggles for 2 points and can get 5 points when it can
Stealing will become self-sustaining. BUT, you have to haggle for
those extra points. The points you get just for stealing are not
enough. It's almost a break even deal. Your going to have your exp
float up and down a few thousand points. I have found that in CT's it
seems to stay around 9,000 points. In Mules it's around 5,500. I
would guess that in a Flag it would be around 3,500 points. Some days
it goes up and others it goes down. All depends on how the busts are
running.
>Or do you s/s/m for half your turns and explore with the rest? Do you
>ever stop just to go out and do something to build up exp or do you just
>rely on succesful steal/rob for your exp?
NEVER!!! Use E-probes to explore! Moving around to explore is a major
waste to turns. I know you say you have turns to burn, but it's still a
very bad way to explore the universe.
> Is the experience lost with a bust a fixed percent of your total
> experience? Or is it random?
Yes! It's 10% per bust
> At what exp amount do you start to steal and/or rob? Do you wait
> until you have a set amount of experience first?
You have seen the formulas right? Exp / 30 and Exp * 3 ? Once you
have enough exp to fit with the ship your using it's time to start
acting evil! However, it's hard to gain exp due to the busts. So, if
your wanting to use CT's wait until you have the exp before you start.
If your hoping to gain enough exp to build up to a bigger ship your going
to be sorry. It would take alot of luck and a few days worth of no busts
for that to happen. That's one of the reasons evils players are having
problems. They are trying to start small and work up. But the busts
tend to keep you at the same level of exp. If you want to move to a
larger ship you have to use one of the other ways of gaining exp like
Mega-jetison or Triple Trading until your exp is high enough to use the
larger ships.
Getting Busted
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Busts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I am considering playing as an evil player in a v2 game(to avoid
> perm. boredom). I notice it is a b*tch. I was spotted and hulls taken
> every time I tried to rob a port. What fun is that? Am I missing
> something here?
To minimize the risk of a bust you should only steal 1 hold/30 experience
or you can rob three times your experience in credits, that means an evil
with 3000 experience can safely steal 100 holds or 9000 credits. The best
method to use would be to get two trading ships and run SST.
Of course you'll have to get equipment on board your two ships and find
an equipment buying port for each ship (preferably with good prices). You
can't steal or rob from the same port twice in a row without getting a
"fake" bust, that's why you use the transporter to alternate between 2
ports to avoid "fake" busts. You still get a built in chance of about 2%
to get busted each time you attempt to rob or steal, that's a real bust.
When you get a real bust you won't be able to use that port until either
another trader gets a real bust at that port or extern clears all busts in
14 day cycles (if it runs!). If you get a "fake" bust you can still rob
from the port but you must rob another port first.
That was the method and it works best in large dead end clusters full of
ports that you build yourself, they have great prices. You'll also want
planets so you can use the planet t-warp and transports to save turns when
moving your ships, the best ships to use are CT's if you have the
experience. Even if you don't have planets you can still make good money
but you'll have a harder time to move and protect your ships, and that
cuts into profits.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Fake Busts
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> What causes fake busts? Is it an error or by design?
Fake busts are caused by robbing or stealing from the same port twice
in a row.
From: KENN WASHER Fake Busts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>How do I tell if its a Fake bust or a Real bust?
A Fake bust will happen before you even try to steal anything, and the
game will say only "Suddenly you're Busted!" on line all by itself. A
Real bust will happen after your droids start loading the cargo and will
say, "your droids start loading the cargo and... Suddenly you're Busted!"
all on the same line.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Clearing Busts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> To clear someone's bust, does another evil trader have to get busted at
>that port you were busted at, or does another evil trader simply have to
>port there? Also, how long is it before you can go back to a busted port
>if it the bust is not cleared by another evil trader?
If another evil gets busted there, the port will forget about you are
remember him. Evils working together usually trade bust info, so you know
that someone else cleared your bust.
All busts clear every 14 game days.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Clearing Busts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
You should always confirm that the ferrengi "moved" on a day that number
of days the game has been running is evenly divisible by 14, that's when
all busts are cleared (and destroyed ports are cleared too).
KENN WASHER Bust Clear Day In Detail
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bring up the V screen and note the number of days the game has been
running. Divide it by 14. If you get a whole number (no decimal
places) then you can clear your busts (but not the ones you got
since extern last ran!)
Example 1 - V screen says game is 223 days old.
223 / 14 = 15.928571
Busts within the last 14 days have not yet been cleared.
Example 2 - V screen says game is 168 days old.
168 / 14 = 12
Busts prior to the running of extern have been cleared.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Busts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 1) Do the odds of getting busted increase with the frequency of
> stealing at a particular planet pair?
I've stole from lots of ports and it appears that your chance remains the
same no matter what ports your using. I've noticed that when stealing
"safely" you have about a 2% chance of getting busted each attempt. It
appears to be totally random, I can remember going two days without a bust
(using the same 2 ports) and then the next day I got busted 4 times.
> Is there anything that could be affecting the bust ratio?
> What is an acceptable bust rate vs. turns?
You can't judge a bust rate by turns, you must do it per attempt, A SSM
loop can take 8 turns per attempt, SST 3/attempt, PTSS 2/attempt. About 2%
per attempt is average, there should be nothing else effecting this chance
as long as you have the experience and your not getting "fake" busts. A
"fake" bust happens when you make 2 attempts in a row to steal at the same
port, you can also get a "fake" bust when using a port where you have a
"real" bust. You can tell the difference between a "fake" bust and a real
one, in a "fake" bust you'll get busted before you even type in the amount
you want to steal. 4000 exp is more then enough for 70 holds, you should
move into a ship with more holds since you only need 30 exp/hold, really
you should get two ships and run SST.
> 3) Is the bust ratio better/same/worse if you steal equipment or if
> you rob credits?
I prefer running SST since the ports have a never ending supply of
equipment, but I would guess your chance stays the same (2%) if your only
robbing 3 times your experience in credits. You should probably stick to
SST (or SSM if you prefer) and only rob from ports when you convieniently
happen to be in a sector with a rich port.
Photon Torpedoes
From: CHAD WALLACE Photon Torpedoes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Today I fired the photon and quickly entered and landed. I cleared the
> sectorial cannon so I entered the sector without any problem BUT as
> soon as I landed (my planet scanner had indicated less fighters on the
> planet than on my ship), the ATMOSPHERIC cannon blasted me out of my
> fully shielded ISS .....my escape pod is functioning well. :(
> What happened??!!!?!
It sounds like the P-Missile wore off before you landed on the planet.
How long is the duration (Check the V screen ). You have to get past the
Q-Cannon on the planet before that time is up. If the planet has shields,
you'll probably have to use more than one P-Missile. Go in the first
time, destroy a few shields, then get out, fire another missile and
destroy a few more shields. You'll have to do that until the shields are
gone. But you MUST keep track of the time because if you get through the
shields AFTER the P-Missile wave has worn off, you'll get a Q-Cannon right
in the face.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Photon Torpedoes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any time you take damage while carrying a photon, you will lose all
your turns. That means: A) Don't carry them unless you plan to use
them right away. B) If you can set it up so that you Twarp from SD to
the sector where you plan to fire the photon from, you increase your
safety. C) If you aren't going to Twarp, at least fire a probe ahead
to make sure the route is safe. D) Carry at least as many cloaks as
photons. That way if you *do* lose your turns, at least you can
cloak, which gives you a chance.
From: YEN TRAN Photon Torpedoes/QCannon
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once you fire a photon and enter and [successfully] land on a planet,
make sure you CLAIM the planet for your own so [the QCannon] won't fire
again.. that is the most important part. Claiming the planet... as soon
as you fire photon, enter, land, take out fighters and shields, then press
O and make the planet yours... then you won't have to worry about any cannon.
From: HAROLD WEISS Protection of Photon
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2.0 Beta 5 a shielded planet does not protect against a photon. A
Photon will disable the quasar cannon, Interdictor, and steal the turns of
anyone in the citadel no matter how many shields you have.
Navigational Hazards
From: JOHN WARFIN NavHaz
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> What does the nav-haz do for defenses? I didn't think that it did any
> damage. One thing I was thinking of is that it may slow the trader down
> (if he's rushing for a P-wave) by giving that warning, but what else
> does it do?
It will do 10 points damage for every 1 point of navhaz. The % of navhaz
is the same % chance you have of hitting it. So you will hit a 50% navhaz
50% of the time, it will do 500 pts damage.
You have a 100% chance of hitting a 100% navhaz, even if you P-Torp the
navhaz. This makes it a good defense against a P-torp attack, it makes
the enemy work, instead of strolling on in.
Navhav can be used early in the game to hurt the little guys. It is
relatively cheap and very effective against the small weak ships that are
found early in the game.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI NavHaz
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A determined trader can "clean up" the navhaz sector with g-torps and/or
they can tow a photon carrying vessel into the navhaz and then transport
into the vessel with no risk of collision.
From: CHAD WALLACE NavHaz
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> If you create 100% nav-haz in a sector you will get hit with 1000
> battle points.
When I first read this message I didn't think much of it, but that's like
150,000 credits just to buy the shields back! And especially nasty if he's
gotta go back out to take another P-missile shot (but by then he's a
sitting duck with no turns <EG>).
From: CHAD WALLACE NAVHAZ defense
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Don't you have to enter the sector first (to set off the GTorps)?
> Thereby taking the NAVHAZ damage?
Yes, but that can be done in a ship that isn't carrying the P-Torps.
Or that ship can be towed in by another ship to fire the P-Torp...
but then if more than one shot is needed, he has to come back out
into the sector... BOOM! sitting duck. It will work for a small
deterrent, but a determined and skilled player will easily get by
it.
The Ferrengi
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Ferrengi in the Library
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The library is based on how long the game has run. If someone
> shuts down ferrengi regeneration very early in the game, so that no
> ferrengi battle ships or Dreadnaughts *ever* get into the game, the
> library will still eventually start listing them.
> It does seem that if ferrengi regeneration isn't shut down, their
> appearance in the library coincides with their appearance in the universe.
Roughly, perhaps. But the time needed to get the other ships in the game
will vary on several factors, including whether or not players are killing
ferrengi. And I think you'll find that the library is strictly date
based.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Ferrengi in the Library
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>What is the deal with the Libram University (+ at the Stardock). Can we
>find these ships they list or what. Please clue me in.
The alien derelicts don't exist. The ferrengi ships do, assuming they
haven't been killed off and ferrengi regeneration shut down.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Ferrengi Grudge
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> I have just got a ferrengi grudge. he stops me and attacks me then
>follows me as i try to run away because i don't have enough
>fighters.i'm evil in the game my alignment is -266 why do i have this
>grudge against me and how can i get rid of it without leaving the
>game to wait for other players to join.i'm the most powerful in the
>game and don't want to stop playing for any length of time.
>help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He isn't attacking you because you don't have enough fighters - he's
attacking you because you haven't behaived in a manner he considers
appropriate. Now that he has the grudge against you, he'll keep on
doing it. He'll do it *even if* you have lots of fighters.
The key is to avoid the grudges in the first place. Don't run from
them, or fight them. When they ask you to surrender, do it.
The ferrengi are not your enemy. The other players are. The ferrengi
are a distraction. When you start fighting with them, you get a
grudge, and have to fight them the rest of the game. Thats a waste of
fighters and time. Give them a load of equipment, and go about your
business. Let the other players fight them.
From: CHAD WALLACE Attacking Ferrengi Ships
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> What I do when attacked is fight right back with everything I have and I
> would receive credits for that then I would head to the starbase and
> purchase more fighters and shields (if you were lucky the ferrengi have
> followed if not make a note of the last sector you saw the ship). Then
> just return and re-attack them, but all this depends on having those high
> corbomite levels, if not this info is useless. Anyone with questions or
> ideas or comments about my strategy please respond.
This is completely unnecessary when you just take the best advice and do
what the Ferrengi tell you. When they ask for your holds, just surrender.
If you do, they will leave you alone. If you fight, though, or destroy
any of them when you see them around they'll hold a grudge and will waste
a lot of your fighters and shields attacking you. If you're good (as
opposed to evil) you do get a reward for killing them, but it is not even
enough to pay for the fighters you lose in the effort.
From: ROB BURTON Attacking Ferrengi Ships
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Seems to me that the bounty credits never quite add up to replace the
>> fighters and shields you lose....IMHO
> That's a bingo. And to top it off, you get a ferrengi grudge, which
> means it'll cost you more fighters and shields by the time the game
> is over.
Ahhhh, Ye Ol' Grudge....I can remember when I first started playing TW
and blew up my first Ferrengi Assault Trader... yup, I was hot stuff, and
couldn't figure out why anytime I moved, I'd get the dreaded "Greetings
Hooman!" message....at least my Escape Pod would be functioning
normally.... to be young again....
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Ferrengi Grudge
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> In v103d, if I remember correctly, the Ferrengi kept a 4 name list to
> carry out their grudges on, and once they carried out their grudge
> against the first name on the list, they moved along to the second
> name. Is it the same in the beta 5 version?
>How long does it take the ferrengi to "forget" about you?
It was a three name list. Attacking someone on the list does *not*
remove that name from the list. And it basically hasn't changed from
1.03d to 2.0.
Once you are on that list, the only way to get off of it (baring Tedit)
is for another player to get added and cover your name up.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Corporate Ferrengi Grudge?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>You covered most dangers but not the one that killed my CargoTran two
>nights ago. A grudge ferrengi. "I have been looking for you, hooman!"
>Nothing I could do. I always surrender to ferrengi so not even sure why
>the grudge. Anyway, the Attack Trader with about 1,600 fighters made
>mincemeat out of the CargoTran in a single attack.
Later you say...
>You would commend my play. Trading and hoarding fighters. I am up to 16K
>and my corp partner has about 5K. He expends his popping aliens and
>ferrengi. I am not having much fun but am certainly accumulating
>fighters. However, I don't know the bugs so I have to earn my fighters.
>I don't have T-Edit either like some Sysops and their cronies.
That part about your corp partner popping ferrengi sounds like a
suspect for the ferrengi grudge that cost you a ship. I think
those grudges can be corporate, instead of personal.
If the game had been running awhile when you joined, it could also
be that you inherited a grudge from a player who was in the game
before you, and who was then deleted for inactivity.
From: BOB MAROTTE Capturing Ferrengal
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> If you capture the Ferrengi planet (Ferrengal) or even enter their
> sector, will the Ferrengi hold a grudge on you?
Capturing Ferrengal and/or attacking Ferrengi FIGHTERS never gives you
a grudge, only attacking or running from the SHIPS when asked for
tribute. So attacking the planet's sector fighters is safe (relativly
speaking of course).
Ferrengi Ship Info
Ship Category #17 Ship Class : Assault Trader
Basic Hold Cost: 6,000 Initial Holds: 12 Maximum Holds: 50
Main Drive Cost: 1,500 Max Fighters: 3,000 Maximum Shields: 200
Computer Cost : 16,400 Turns per Warp: 2 Offensive Odds: 1.0:1
Ship Hull Cost : 8,000 Mine Max: 10 Beacon Max: 5
Ship Base Cost : 31,900 Genesis Max: 0 Long Range Scan? No
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? No
Max Fighters Per Attack: 1,000 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 0
Ship Category #18 Ship Class : Battle Cruiser
Basic Hold Cost: 8,000 Initial Holds: 16 Maximum Holds: 75
Main Drive Cost: 3,000 Max Fighters: 8,000 Maximum Shields: 800
Computer Cost : 40,600 Turns per Warp: 3 Offensive Odds: 1.2:1
Ship Hull Cost : 15,500 Mine Max: 25 Beacon Max: 15
Ship Base Cost : 67,100 Genesis Max: 3 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? No
Max Fighters Per Attack: 2,000 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 2
Ship Category #19 Ship Class : Dreadnought
Basic Hold Cost: 10,000 Initial Holds: 20 Maximum Holds: 100
Main Drive Cost: 10,000 Max Fighters: 15,000 Maximum Shields: 1,000
Computer Cost : 94,000 Turns per Warp: 4 Offensive Odds: 1.4:1
Ship Hull Cost : 25,000 Mine Max: 50 Beacon Max: 25
Ship Base Cost : 139,000 Genesis Max: 6 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 5,000 Photon Missiles? Yes
Max Transporter Range : 5
From: MIKE MAGERO Ferrengi Dreadnaught
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Dreadnaught is a decent ship but it is not that useful for an
evil that hunting one down is worth the effort or the grudge. The
one P-torp isn't that big a deal. Only real use is for the Planet
Overloading Bug as it can carry 6 G-torps and the Missile Frigate
can't carry any. Other then that, is's no big thing.
Even when used in planet invasions the combat odds don't make up for
the lack of P-torps or fighters it can carry. All in all it's not
worth the effort to capture one. (I know I have one!)
Planet Strategies
From: ROB BURTON Planets in General
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personally, I think you can get the most out of any planet (except
vaporous U's, and Glacial C's)...M's are most stable, L's, H's (volcanic)
and K's (Deserts) are ore machines, The K is an ore monster IF you can
keep the pop. from dying, and the (O)ceanic planets are great org. farms,
and make about 3 times as many fighters as the next closest planet when
they're maxed with colonists (due to the fact that they hold almost as
many colonists as all other planets combined) I'd probably keep at least 1
"unwanted" planet just as an Ore farm, or "holding tank" for
products...you paid for it, and you can always get rid of it later on when
you have your other planet(s) built up.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Organics
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>Is there any use for organics on a planet, or do they just take
>up space?
Organics are useful for upgrading the citadels and building ports
plus you can sell them to a port for a bit of money.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Colonists
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> I was recently PTing with my Mountanious instead of my Earth Type and
> I noticed that when I sold the organics over 1000 groups of people died
> but when I was trading equipment no one died. Any Thoughts?
Mountainous planets have a habbit of doing that, If you want to run
PT from a planet other then class M then you should either remove the
colonists (on H class you can put them in equipment) or just accept
the losses to your population.
???
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Sheilds vs. Fighters
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> In the war manual you say that the havoc gunstar is only useful
>because or the T-warp capabilities. But you never mentioned that it is
>one of the best ways to transport shields to the planets. It only holds
>3,000 shields but with the T-warp it is less turns than any other ship.
I suppose thats fine if your going to spend a lot of turns hauling a
lot of shields, but I'm not. You can't use shields on a planet unless
its L5. In which case you can Twarp the planet to one of the class
0's which isn't in Fedspace and grab your shields there.
I don't buy too many shields anyway. They get, in effect, 2:1 odds,
where fighters on the planet get 3:1 odds. That means that unless
shields are less than 2/3 of the cost of the fighters, they aren't
worth it. Add to that the fact that the shields can be used only for
defense, where fighters can be used defending the planet, or attacking
someone elses, and I rely a lot more on fighters.
???
From: AARON STRALEN Planet Defense
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Is there anyway you can protect your planet from a photon missile
>attack?
When someone photons your planet, planetary fighters and shields will
still be active. Load your planet with as many fighters and shields
as possible. Each planet shield will get 20:1 odds against the
attacker (not taking into account the attacker's combat odds) and
fighters will get 3:1 (again, w/o combat odds).
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Military Reaction
----------------------------------------------------------------------
> I am a little unclear on this, because I have in the past landed on
>planet with lvl 2 or above citadels and been allowed to steal fighters
>from them. I am fairly sure of this. So, if you set it to 0, and they
>are 'defending the citadel', does that mean that someone can land,
>take ownership, and steall all of my fighters, or does it mean that
>the fighters will simply attack as the intruder attempts to land?
If you set the fighters to 0%, they will defend the planet, getting
3:1 odds. If you set them to 100%, they will rush to attack anyone
trying to land, getting 2:1 odds. 50% have 1/2 of them attack at
2:1, and the others defend, etc.
The only way you can land on a L2 (which isn't yours, or your
corps) and take the fighters from it is if it just turned L2, and
no-one else has been there yet.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Planet Defense
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I have a Tholian Sentinel, is that a good planet defense? What is?
For planet defense you should forget the tholian, you have to man it for
it to be effective and even then you can be mined to death or photoned
daily (loosing all your turns). If the planet isn't level 2 then leave
some sector fighters and mines there, it's not great but it's better then
nothing. If your planet is level 2 or higher then get as many fighters as
you can scramble and put them on the planet surface, set the Military
Reaction Level (MRL) to 0%, this means an invader will have to destroy all
your fighters before they can land, and your fighters get 3-1 odds when
set to 0% MRL.
From: JOHN WARFIN Planet Invading
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. How do I invade a level 6?
A. With the help of a quality Player aid!
A. With a partner, a strong partner!
A. Launch a few genesis torpedoes!
A. Use about a weeks worth of turns!
Depending on how each of the planets is defended, there are varying ways
of taking these beasts. The simplest way of taking on as an Evil would be
to hit with Your Corp Flag, that's provided you could take it with One or
two shots. You could let your ships pile up in the sector and just beam
out to the next attack ship, do this only if you are sure that you could
survive both the sector and Atmosphere Q-Cannon shots. Using that method
(letting the ships accumulate in the interdictor well), you could use any
kind of ships for the attack, including IG cruisers. The simplest way if
you are good is to use your ISS. Go to stardock buy 5 photons, go to
outside their planet. Launch your photons, go into their sector, attack
the planet, get the heck out of their all in less then the Photon wave!
This is where a quality player aid or a real good macro would come in
handy. If you just want to be done with the planet, try calling just
before extern and drop a couple of fresh G-Torps in with their Lovely
level 6, this might take a few days. You will probably find that after
the first time or two, you will need to call before extern by a good
amount to be able to beat them on.... One note, when using this method It
is a good Idea to stay online until after extern's usual time. This way
you can guarantee it will run as soon as you get off.
The Funny thing about this game is this: If you encounter a fully
defended planet, with max shields, max fighters, max fuel ore, and the
q-cannons set right, You will not have enough turns to invade their planet
in one day! You will need help from a corp partner (or two). Hopefully
they will not move after your first attack. (that is doubtful) There are
other ways of attacking, but I would need the particulars (how the planet
and sector is set up). Beating a level 6 in this game can be almost
Impossible, if used as directed.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Colonists Dying
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I have a level 6, with 15,000 col in fuel and organics....with 22,000
> in products in organics, I have been generating almost 300 people a day
> in fuel and org. The regen seems faster then that of Terra...
Well the default regeneration is about 750 colonists a day, every day.
Just wait until the low point in the birth/death cycle and see how many
colonists your getting on your planet <g>.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Colonists Dying
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I make it my first job everyday to run maintainence on planet
> population levels. If I find more that 15,000 (M-Class) in a category,
> I'll remove the excess plus 5. Leaving 14,995.....
I deleted the parts about "overworked" colonists and such. You ended
with...
> I guess you just have to expect a planet to go thru cycles and learn
> to deal with them the best you can. Though this solution I've outlined
> was all guesswork and some luck, it seemed to work. Give it a shot.
The part about going through cycles is dead-on. Planets go through
cycles. Every planet in a game will be at the same point in the cycle at
any given time. On the high end, the planets gain about 2% population a
day. On the low end, they lose about 1% a day. The cycle starts at the
-1% end, grows gradually to the 2% end, then drops all the way back to -1%
and starts again.
Planets other than earth types have an additional chance to lose
colonists. It's a percentage (varying by planet type) chance of losing a
percentage (also varying by planet type) of the colonists, and basically
every time you land on the planet, display it while on the planet, or run
a corp or personal planet scan which includes it, you take that chance of
losing some colonists.
That makes trying to run PT from planets other than Earth type very hard
on your colonists population. It also means that there is a point where
trying to continue to populate the planet tends to cost you about as many
as you are able to haul in.
From: YEN TRAN Volcanic Planets
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A volcanic is the BEST for defense if you have the equipment to upgrade
it... It can hold 1million ore. If you have that full, and at least a
level 3, it can be a great defensive planet... but if you can't upgrade
it, don't bother.. It requires a LOT of equipment, and colonists to bring
it up... But it would be worth your while to get it to level 2 at least
and load it with fighters, then get it to level 3 and twarp it I mean
level 4 and twarp it out... It can prove useful... the only drawback is
that colonists die on it... They won't die as fast if there is LOTS of
organics.. the planet can hold 10,000 organics, so fill that up with
organics and the colonists won't die that fast, and if you have a lot of
colonists, they won't die. They will even reproduce if you have enough...
They can hold 100,000 colonists on ore...
From: MIKE MAGERO Volcanic Planets
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Are colonists likely to die off on a volcanic planet?
Yes! and you can take that to the bank! They die off quickly and you
don't really ever want to "Max" one of these types. But a few thousand is
more then enough to give you unlimited "Free" Fuel Ore!
> I see the organics industry is nil there (N/A). Should I just blow this
> up and try some genesis torps to acquire an Earthlike or an Oceanic?
> I have had good luck with those.
If it's your first planet you might want too. However, they are far from
useless. The build Fuel Ore like it's free. You ever see what kind of
Q-cannon Blast you can do in the sector? This planet can blow a "Maxed"
out IC or ISS out of the sector, and turn around in do it again 2 seconds
latter! And if needed, again! Needless to say you don't even get near
one of these planet types unless you use a P-torp!
> Would you good players bother to try to do anything with a volcanic?
Haul in the extra products and dump into Equ. only the colonists needed
for the next upgrade. Then just before you leave the planet move them to
Ore production. Then avoid landing there and doing planet scans of your
planets. Kiss the colonists goodbye. You lost a few thousand at the
most and sooner or latter you have a Q-cannon worth writing home about.
At the very least this will slow an evil attacker down.
> I would just blow it up at once, but the guy I stole it from went to
> all the work to create that Level 1 Cit.
So upgrade it to Lv-3 at least. Just remember that you have to forget
all about the colonists you use on these planets. They have a thing about
jumping into the fire pits, They die, but they build a big gun before they
do.
Remember, it builds ore the best. Just like and ocean type it has a use.
The Planet T-warp, Q-cannon, Planet Transporters, and Interdictor all use
Fuel Ore! No one said you can't use a CT to load Fuel on to that planet
full of Organics to run a little PT. Use up all the ore on your Lv-6
fighting off a counter attack? Want to refill it before they come back?
No? How about move it to a new dead-end on the other side of the
universe.
Your building your own gas station!
From:ROGER HEAD Volcanic Planet
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
When I have a L3 volcanic I put colonists on it in the Equipment where
they do not die and then use them to upgrade the planet by importing all
the product that they need. A L6 volcanic is a wonderful weapon to take
into someone elses sector when you are able to do so. It is so hard for
them to leave when it is there, and it is a good place for the fighters
that you need to take their planets over.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Planet Collision
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>Tell me , wasn`t there this little bug where a sixth planet in a game
>allowing 5 per sec would kill one or more of the planets ?
It's not a bug - though me and others dislike the way it has been
implemented in 2.0.
And it isn't the sure thing that you seem to think it is. If there
is an extra planet, there is a *long-shot* of a collission. With lots
of extra planets, the chances go up - but the chances that the planet
you want to destroy will go BOOM goes down at the same time.
And as soon as your competition plays again, they can destroy the
extras, or Twarp to another sector.
I'm not saying its never worth trying, but its a long-shot at best,
and I want to explore other options before trying that one.
From: JOHN WARFIN PLANET STRATEGIES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> It appears you are trying to convince me that if my opponent has a
> L6 volcanic planet, that I should just leave it alone. I'm not
> convinced. I think its silly to just give up. That doesn't win
> games.
No, I wasn't telling you to give up. I was telling you to be careful.
Depending on the settings, there are different ways to take a planet, Also
the enemy player can make it very difficult for you to take his planet IF
he knows how to use the settings to his advantage!
(If you attack and make a mistake or fall short of taking the planet)
BOOM you are dead, Try again when you come back from Death Delay
Hotel,This is assuming your pod wasn't killed or trapped!. If you can find
him when you get back on, you could attack, but, he will have probably
moved!
> This is assuming there *is* a death delay. Not all games use that.
True, but you are still dead and have to go get another ship. Now you
are burning time & turns that you should be using to attack the planet,
that is assuming your pod isn't stuck in the interdictor well.... Don't
forget that a Volcanic Planet can blast a fully loaded IC out of the
sector and then turn around and do it again, and again, and again...!
> It is assuming that you have no partners to do follow up. I rarely
> play without a partner. If I felt I needed more to help with an
> invasion, I'd find them.
You had better Co-ordinate real good. You are going to need MORE than
500 turns to take the planet, not to mention over 2,500,000 fighters, and
that is assuming IDEAL conditions!
I see that you didn't like some of the settings I chose for this
scenario, but I also made some of them to your advantage. Let me mention
a few and explain how they help out.
1. I stipulated a 60 second P-Torp wave. This allows you to get off a
full attack and get back out of the sector BEFORE you get stuck in a
real sticky Interdictor Well. If I Had said a 20 second wave, could
you have been sure to be able to Quit the computer, enter the sector,
land on the planet, attack the planet, attack the planet, attack the
planet, attack the planet, retreat from the planet, leave the sector?
That looks a little close for 20 seconds. If you get stuck in the
interdictor, you are going to DIE death delay or not. I was giving
you a huge advantage by making sure you could use all 50,000 fighters
on your ISS before the Wave expired. If you are only able to use
25,000 fighters before fleeing, you are going to need twice as many
turns!
2. I said that your stuff was setup ahead of time. It takes turns to
setup an invasion, if I had counted turns for that who knows how much
time/turns would have to be deducted.
3. I assumed you were able to find the planet in the first place. If a
player owns a Volcanic Planet, he can Easily afford to move it on a
daily basis. This means you would have to find it, set up your
invasion fleet, attack his planet, call your corp partner have him
attack, call the other corp partner have him attack, all before your
enemy logs on again! Again assuming IDEAL conditions, can you trust
your corp partners to NOT make any mistakes? A tiny little mistake
will mean the difference between Life and Death, not to mention getting
the planet or not.
4 I am assuming throughout this post that You are Good aligned and he is
Evil aligned. If you are evil, you are going to need alot more turns
to invade and I mean ALOT! If he is good, and you attack anyway, you
will quickly find yourself Evil and the proud owner of a pod! Now you
have to come up with a quick solution to your new problems. since you
are saying you have corp partners, everyones exp is going to go down
the chute. Unless you know some secret to boosting your alignment when
you are evil. How are you going to pull off an attack while evil?
Nobody on the echo can tell you, they have all been "playing" good
aligned. What happens If one of your partners attacks first and he
goes evil? Are you going to toss him off the corp or are you all going
to go evil?
Taking any (properly defended) planet in the Beta is not going to be
easy, Volcanics pack a little more wallup then the other types. You had
better be aware of that before you attack, or you will be doomed to
failure. Here is another point, If your enemy is smart he would see your
massive build up and would attempt a buildup of his own, thus thwarting
your attempt. It is going to take you twice the fighters to take a planet
than it does to protect it. Theoretically 1 person could hold out against
a 2 man corp for quite a long time, If it is 2 on 2 they can hold out
indefinately.
There are so many different ways to attack because there are so many
different situations.
From: JOHN WARFIN Planet Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> If you can't invade it, then maybe you need to blockade
> it and keep him *out* of it, while you continue to make money.
That is if you can find it. I will explain this little "feature" of this
game with numbers, so go get a calculator....
Lets say, first off, that the game is a 250 turn game, and lets also say
the game has a 60 second photon wave just for arguments sake. Lets go on
and say that the death delay is set at 1 day.
Ok your opponent has a level 6 Volcanic planet. This planet has 50,000
planet shields & 1,000,000 fighters. You, playing good, have access to
an ISS, and all the luxuries it Provides. Lets also say you have
4,000,000 fighters at your disposal. His Planet is in sector 1000,
sector 1001 leads to sector 1000 and it is a two way warp. You, Having
the foresight to have set up your fighters the night before, have your
4,000,000 fighters deployed in sector 1001. You also have one of your
level 4+ planets in that sector also. Lets assume for arguments sake
that your arch enemies planet has 1,000,000 fuel ore on the planet. He
had the Foresight to prepare for an attack, so he turned on the
interdictor and the q-cannon. He also has 150,000 fighters deployed in
the sector. He set up the Q-cannon to shoot a 5% sector shot and a 8%
atmosphere shot.
Lets throw out some tactics that can't be used.
If you go in with an interdictor cruiser fully loaded with 100,000
fighters, you will get hit by the Q-Cannon. You will then be asked to
attack the fighters. There are 150,000 fighters and you now have much
less than the 150,000 max fighters your ship could hold. You have only a
couple of choices, Attack or retreat. If you choose retreat, you quickly
find out that your ship is stuck and the Q-cannon hits you again! If you
attack with your fighters you will find that you can't kill them all and
the Q-cannon fires AGAIN! Either way BOOM you are dead, Try again when
you come back from Death Delay Hotel, This is assuming your pod wasn't
killed or trapped!. If you can find him when you get back on, you could
attack, but, he will have probably moved!
So we now know, You must go in under a P-Torp wave! If you even enter
the sector while not under a P-wave, you will be Killed. This causes a
little problem. You will not be able to clear out sector defenses, until
after you have taken the planet. SO, you will not be able to move your
planet into the same sector with his planet. This means we will have to
throw out a lot of good strategies for attacking! What we are left with
is this: Shoot off a P-Torp, enter the sector, Attack the shields and
then leave the sector all before the wave expires. OK We have a 60 second
Wave time, that should be No problemo. Lets give it a try!
Lets See, An ISS is a four turn ship, Going into the sector costs 4
turns, attacking costs 0 (a real bargain), leaving the sector costs 4.
that is 8 turns. Oh yea, I almost forgot your P-torp. The ISS can hold 5
P-torps, so you can get in 5 attacks before having to refill. How many
turns will that take? Lets see, you could land on your planet, take some
ore (1 turn), beam to Stardock (1 turn), port at stardock (1 turn), buy
your 5 P-torps (0 turns), and T-Warp back to your planet (4 more turns).
7 turns to get new P-Torps. We will assume that you started out with 5
P-torps. Lets figure out the damage you will do to the planet, before
we start the attack.... 50,000 fighters at 1.5 combat odds equals 75,000
damage points. The shields fight at 20 to 1 so we divide your 75,000 by
20 to get 3,750. This is the amount of planet shields you can destroy
each attack. Ok lets figure out the amount of fighters you will be able
to kill... 75,000 divided by 3 gives 25,000. Ok lets start the attack.
You have 250 turns remaining...
You attack and kill 3750 planet shields, You attack and kill 3750 planet
shields, You attack and kill 3750 planet shields, You attack and kill 3750
planet shields, You attack and kill 3750 planet shields, You are out of
P-torps. You have killed 18,750 planet shields, you have used 40 turns
(8 * 5), you have used 250,000 fighters!
You have 210 turns remaining...
You go get 5 more P-Torps, You attack and kill 3750 planet shields, You
attack and kill 3750 planet shields, You attack and kill 3750 planet
shields, You attack and kill 3750 planet shields, You attack and kill 3750
planet shields, You are out of P-torps. You have killed 37,500 planet
shields, you have used 47 more turns (7 + (8 * 5)) for a total of 87, you
have used 500,000 total fighters!
You have 163 turns remaining...
You go get 5 more P-Torps, You attack and kill 3750 planet shields, You
attack and kill 3750 planet shields, You attack and kill 3750 planet
shields, You attack and kill 1250 planet shields & 16,667 planet fighters,
You Attack and kill 25,000 planet fighters, You are out of P-torps. You
have killed 50,000 planet shields & 41,667 planet fighters, you have used
47 more turns (7 + (8 * 5)) for a total of 134, you have used 750,000
total fighters!
You have 116 turns remaining...
You go get 5 more P-Torps, You Attack and kill 25,000 planet fighters,
You Attack and kill 25,000 planet fighters, You Attack and kill 25,000
planet fighters, You Attack and kill 25,000 planet fighters, You Attack
and kill 25,000 planet fighters, You are out of P-torps. You have killed
50,000 planet shields & 166,667 planet fighters, you have used 47 more
turns (7 + (8 * 5)) for a total of 181, you have used 1,000,000 total
fighters!
You have 69 turns remaining...
You go get 5 more P-Torps, You Attack and kill 25,000 planet fighters,
You Attack and kill 25,000 planet fighters, You Attack and kill 25,000
planet fighters, You Attack and kill 25,000 planet fighters, You Attack
and kill 25,000 planet fighters, You are out of P-torps. You have killed
50,000 planet shields & 291,667 planet fighters, you have used 47 more
turns (7 + (8 * 5)) for a total of 228, you have used 1,250,000 total
fighters!
You have 22 turns remaining...
You go get 5 more P-Torps, You Attack and kill 25,000 planet fighters,
You can attack 1 more time, but you wouldn't have the turns to get back
out of the sector! You have killed 50,000 planet shields & 316,667 planet
fighters, you have used 15 more turns (7 + 8) for a total of 243, you
have used 1,300,000 total fighters!
You have 7 turns remaining, the planet has 683,333 fighters remaining.
What are you going to do now? Even if you double Your calls up, you
will only be able to kill another 650,000 fighters, which will not get you
the planet, but it will cost you another 1,300,000 fighters
If you were able to scrimp out a couple of turns, here and there, you
*may* be able to take the planet in two days worth of calling, but that is
only if there is no Nav haz in the sector before you start your invasion.
If there was even one point, you would have to waste just enough turns to
make it impossible to do even in two days! You could just risk having one
of your P-torps going off on that one point of navhaz! In another words,
the attack will really take more like 3 days worth of turns, And that is
for a GOOD with an ISS, What would it take for an Evil? Hmmmm......
Oh yea, you had better hope your enemy is an Evil Player, you wouldn't
want to lose that ISS!
From: JOHN WARFIN Planet Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TURNS TURNS TURNS! If their planet is set up correctly, you will not be
ABLE to invade it in less than 500 turns! That means if you are playing
in a 250 turn game, even doubling up your turns will NOT get you the
planet. Then the owner can just move it away, and you are royally... well
you get the point. In this game, it can be impossible to take a planet.
(for 1 person even using creative calling.) Will it be impossible most
of the time? Not if they are playing good and you are playing evil, you
will have the money and they will have none. But that brings up a story
for another day.
> So if you don't have a L6, its doubtful that you have any business
> trying to invade one?
Personally I would use whatever transwarpable planet was best suited for
the task.
> And that brings up some chances for a blockade to buy you some time.
Just how would you propose to blockade the level 6 in the scenario I gave?
From: JOHN WARFIN Planet Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> It appears you are trying to convince me that if my opponent has a
> L6 volcanics, that I should just leave it alone....
No, I was Trying to show you that in some cases, it can be very difficult
to take a planet without giving the owner an opportunity to move it. If you
are going to take a planet, you MUST take it all at once. If you have to
split your attacks up between corp partners or over midnight, you run the
risk of the owner moving the planet. I can/will discuss the different
problems involved with taking planets (in general) with you and I can also
talk to you about the hazards of a 500,000 point Sector shot from a
q-cannon.
Planet Info
<0> Class M, Earth Type
<1> Class K, Desert wasteland
<2> Class O, Oceanic
<3> Class L, Mountainous
<4> Class C, Glacial
<5> Class H, Volcanic
<6> Class U, Vaporous/Gaseous
================================================================
Class L - Mountainous
Excellent Ore production. Below average Equipment production. Higher
than normal organics production. Colonist specialization is necessary
to maintain population. Medium population growth. Drawbacks include
hazards to equipment and occasional severe weather conditions.
Level Days:Total Colonists Fuel Ore Organics Equipment
1 2 2 400 150 100 150
2 5 7 1,400 200 50 250
3 5 12 3,600 600 250 700
4 8 20 5,600 1,000 1,200 1,000
5 5 25 7,000 300 400 1,000
6 12 37 5,600 1,000 1,200 2,000
Colonists needed to Produce 1: 2 5 20
Max Amount allowed on planet: 200,000 200,000 100,000
Max Colonists for each Product: 40,000 40,000 40,000
Max Production of Product: 10,000 4,000 1,000
Max fighter production per day: 1,250
================================================================
Class O - Oceanic
Organics production quite good, (one of the best) but poor for
building Equipment. More challenging to habitat, but are almost as
safe as class M. Good population growth curve.
Drawbacks: Costs to settle and build citadels.
Level Days:Total Colonists Fuel Ore Organics Equipment
1 6 6 1,400 500 200 400
2 5 11 2,400 200 50 300
3 8 19 4,400 600 400 650
4 5 24 7,000 700 900 800
5 4 28 8,000 300 400 1,000
6 8 36 7,000 700 900 1,600
Colonists needed to Produce 1: 20 2 100
Max Amount allowed on planet: 100,000 1,000,000 50,000
Max Colonists for each Product: 200,000 200,000 200,000
Max Production of Product: 5,000 50,000 1,000
Max fighter production per day: 3,733
================================================================
Class M - Earth
Excellent for human colonization and promote an excellent population
growth curve as well. Drawbacks include overpopulation problems.
Level Days:Total Colonists Fuel Ore Organics Equipment
1 4 4 1,000 300 200 250
2 4 8 2,000 200 50 250
3 5 13 4,000 500 250 500
4 10 23 6,000 1,000 1,200 1,000
5 5 28 6,000 300 400 1,000
6 15 43 6,000 1,000 1,200 2,000
Colonists needed to Produce 1: 3 7 13
Max Amount allowed on planet: 100,000 100,000 100,000
Max Colonists for each Product: 30,000 30,000 30,000
Max Production of Product: 5,000 2,142 1,153
Max fighter production per day: 829
================================================================
Class K - Desert
Very bad for Organics. Bad for Equipment. Great for Fuel Ore. Average
for colonization. Higher fatality rate than Class M worlds.
Level Days:Total Colonists Fuel Ore Organics Equipment
1 6 6 1,000 400 300 600
2 5 11 2,400 300 80 400
3 8 19 4,400 600 400 650
4 5 24 7,000 700 900 800
5 4 28 8,000 300 400 1,000
6 8 36 7,000 700 900 1,600
Colonists needed to Produce 1: 2 100 500
Max Amount allowed on planet: 200,000 50,000 10,000
Max Colonists for each Product: 40,000 40,000 40,000
Max Production of Product: 10,000 200 40
Max fighter production per day: 682
================================================================
Class C - Glacial
Organics are limited. Production of Ore and Equipment will be below
average to none. Death rates are high. Planet NOT recommended for
colonization.
Level Days:Total Colonists Fuel Ore Organics Equipment
1 5 5 1,000 400 300 600
2 5 10 2,400 300 80 400
3 7 17 4,400 600 400 650
4 5 22 6,600 700 900 700
5 4 26 9,000 300 400 1,000
6 8 34 6,600 700 900 1,400
Colonists needed to Produce 1: 50 100 500
Max Amount allowed on planet: 20,000 50,000 10,000
Max Colonists for each Product: 100,000 100,000 100,000
Max Production of Product: 1,000 500 100
Max fighter production per day: 64
================================================================
Class H - Volcanic
Excellent Ore production. Very dangerous for colony growth.
Level Days:Total Colonists Fuel Ore Organics Equipment
1 4 4 800 500 300 600
2 5 9 1,600 300 100 400
3 8 17 4,400 1,200 400 1,500
4 12 29 7,000 2,000 2,000 2,500
5 5 34 10,000 3,000 1,200 2,000
6 18 52 7,000 2,000 2,000 5,000
Colonists needed to Produce 1: 1 N/A 500
Max Amount allowed on planet: 1,000,000 10,000 100,000
Max Colonists for each Product: 100,000 0 100,000
Max Production of Product: 50,000 0 100
Max fighter production per day: 1,002
================================================================
Class U - Gaseous
No production can sustain itself on a Class U planet. Not recommended
for colonization.
Level Days:Total Colonists Fuel Ore Organics Equipment
1 8 8 3,000 1,200 400 2,500
2 4 12 3,000 300 100 400
3 5 17 8,000 500 500 2,000
4 5 22 6,000 500 200 600
5 4 26 8,000 200 200 600
6 8 34 6,000 500 200 1,200
Colonists needed to Produce 1: N/A N/A N/A
Max Amount allowed on planet: 10,000 10,000 10,000
Max Colonists for each Product: 3,000 3,000 3,000
Max Production of Product: 0 0 0
Max fighter production per day: 0
Ship Strategies
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Capturing Ships
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Just how does a person capture another traders (or ferrenge) ship?
>Do I attack until the other trader has 0 fighters and 0 shield and
>then use the main menu "X" command to warp into his ship?
You need to attack with just enough fighters to destory their sheilds
and most of their fighters, if you attack with too many then they blow
up. Use this formula:
(Enemy's Sheilds+Fighters) * Enemy's Combat Odds / Your Combat Odds
That should give you a good estimate of how many fighters to attack
with. Unless your using a Flagship, BattleShip, or Missle Frigate then
you'll have no way of knowing how many sheilds your opponent has, if
you don't know then use zero sheilds. It's also a good idea to attack
with a few fighters less then your estimate to make up for the random
factors. Also any ship with 0 fighters can be captured by attacking
with 1 fighter even it they have full sheilds (so *always* carry
fighters). Unmanned ships get about half of their normal odds,
remember this.
You can't take the random factors out of combat so this means that
you won't always capture the ship, be prepared for corbomite. The
higher the combat odds are on your ship then the more risk you have of
blowing up your opponent. When your capture is succesful then you
should be able to X-port to your new ship. Ship capturing can be
rewarding but it's more of a bonus to you when somebody's cloak has
failed or they don't know the benifits of using cloaks. Never rely on
capturing ships to provide profit, you should always trade or steal to
get money.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Ship Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> What is the best ship to buy to Transfer Cargo, defend a planet, and
> have a pretty good offensive capability?
The Colonial transport is the undisputed champion when it comes to moving
stuff, the ISS has the tons of firepower but the scout has the best odds,
and the tholian can give some defense for a planet. With the ability to
own more then one ship you don't need to limit yourself, buy an appropriate
ship for the task you want it to do. Good players without level 4 citadels
usually only need the ISS, but evils will need more then one ship.
For planet defense you should forget the tholian, you have to man it for
it to be effective and even then you can be mined to death or photoned
daily (loosing all your turns). If the planet isn't level 2 then leave
some sector fighters and mines there, it's not great but it's better then
nothing. If your planet is level 2 or higher then get as many fighters as
you can scramble and put them on the planet surface, set the Military
Reaction Level (MRL) to 0%, this means an invader will have to destroy all
your fighters before they can land, and your fighters get 3-1 odds when
set to 0% MRL.
From: MIKE MAGERO Ship Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every ship that is MANNED and parked over a planet will have to be either
killed or forced to retreat out of the sector before (an enemy) can land.
The type of ships parked there are not a factor. The Sentinel is the ONLY
ship that will not retreat in the face of overwhelming firepower. It dies
with you in it instead. Hardly worth the cost in credits and turns lost
to death delay.
Combat odds apply for both the attacking and defending ships.
A wise attacker will stop attacking when he gets your ship below the
50,000 max limit on the ISS. He will then do as I suggest below.
The secret of this defense is using the large number of fighters on the
IC to make the ISS pilots attacks expensive and burn extra turns. You
need to force him into killing 50,001 fighters before he is able to get
your IC to retreat. That's why you want a maxed out IC. Everything under
the 50,000 fighters is useless to your defense of the planet. Only the
fighters over the 50,000 limit of the ISS are acting as a defense.
The whole point of the IC defense vs the Sentinel defense is in the
amount of damage you can take by maxing out the IC. Remember the IC will
retreat at some point. IF the attacker has an advantage in Fighters the
IC WILL RETREAT! The Sentinel NEVER retreats it fights to the death but
can't take the damage that a Maxed IC can before it dies. In other words
the Sentinel WILL die long before a Maxed IC will retreat from an ISS.
If attacked with another IC that's a different story. To be effective
the IC needs to be "maxed" on fighters or it's going to retreat alot
sooner then desired. You see there are no "perfect" defenses against
every possible method of attack. However, you have to know what you can
get away with based on the abilities and resources of your attacker. The
real key to keeping a planet in this version stems from building a defense
that is better then what the attacker can toss at you. You will always
have the ability to adjust your defenses if you take the time to know what
a would be attacker has in the way of fighters and can estimate his credit
earning ability. Staying 1 step ahead of them the whole time.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Ship Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Doesn't the threat have to destroy the ship in order to land?
The threat doesn't have to destroy the ship to land, unless the ship is a
tholian. Any other ship, it can simply chase off. If I am in an
interdictor with 45k +1 fighters, and you are in one with 45k fighters, I
can chase your ship away while using only one fighter. Then your ship
will no longer help defend the planet.
It's beside the point, IMO. If the planet doesn't have a L2, it isn't
worth trying to defend. If it does have a L2, put those fighters on the
planet.
From: MIKE MAGERO Ship Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I now am using an IC with 65,000 fighters and max (4000) shields for a
> sector defense ship on my strongest planet. Could the attacker just take
> out the sector fighters and land to challenge the surface based fighters
> without triggering any action from the IC?
That's a BIG NO!
He will have to fight the IC if he want's to land on the planet. Every
ship that is MANNED and parked over a planet will have to be either killed
or forced to retreat out of the sector before he can land. The type of
ships parked there are not a factor. The Sentinel is the ONLY ship that
will not retreat in the face of overwhelming firepower. It dies with you
in it instead. Hardly worth the cost in credits and turns lost to death
delay.
> If I'm attacked in my ship, what goes first?
Shields and then fighters. Combat odds apply for both the attacking and
defending ships.
The catch here is your IC is not carrying enough fighters to act the way
you want it too. All the ISS pilot need do is attack and take out about
15,000 of your fighters and leave. Then, if he returns with a full load
of fighters on his ship and attacks you again (even with 1 fighter) your
going to retreat out. The secret of this defense is using the large
number of fighters on the IC to make the ISS pilots attacks expensive and
burn extra turns. You need to force him into killing 50,001 fighters
before he is able to get your IC to retreat. That's why you want a maxed
out IC. Everything under the 50,000 fighters is useless to your defense of
the planet. Only the fighters over the 50,000 limit on the ISS are acting
as a defense. In effect your only defending your planet with 15,000
fighters and 4000 ship shields not the 65,000 fighters you really have.
The whole point of the IC defense vs the Sentinel defense is in the
amount of damage you can take by maxing out the IC. Remember the IC will
retreat at some point. IF the attacker has an advantage in Fighters the
IC WILL RETREAT! The Sentinel NEVER retreats it fights to the death but
can't take the damage that a Maxed IC can before it dies. In other words
the Sentinel WILL die long before a Maxed IC will retreat from an ISS.
If attacked with another IC that's a different story. To be effective
the IC needs to be "maxed" on fighters or it's going to retreat alot
sooner then desired. You see there are no "perfect" defenses against
every possible method of attack. However, you have to know what you can
get away with based on the abilities and resources of your attacker. The
real key to keeping a planet in this version stems from building a defense
that is better then what the attacker can toss at you. You will always
have the ability to adjust your defenses if you take the time to know what
a would be attacker has in the way of fighters and can estimate his credit
earning ability. Staying 1 step ahead of them the whole time.
From: JIM PITTMAN Ship Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I would NEVER try and attack anything with a week cargo hauler due
> to the effects of corbomite and the 1/2 million credit cost of a
> "Maxed" out Mule or Cargo-Tran. You must scan before moving with
> these ships as they are far too week to deal with surprises like mines
> and nav-haz.
I have to disagree with you here. First, you should always scan before
moving. Second, there are times you may want to capture a ship. Suppose
some idiot leaves an ISS at Stardock and he has over 1000 align. What a
gift!! The best way to insure capturing a ship rather than getting that
nasty corbomite message is to attack with a weaker ship. Suppose you come
across an alien someone else has attacked down to minimum fighters. Isn't
it better to capture the ship than to kill it? Especially if it is a
highly experienced CT. IMHO, the Merchant Freighter is the best attack
ship available for capturing these plumbs. It's sorry attack strength
makes capturing almost automatic, and it's 2 turns per warp make it
usable. Also, capturing an enemy's ship can be of psychological benefit.
Hunting aliens is a stupid pastime, but there times that taking the gift
can be useful.
> I believe a StarMaster may be a better ship for similar money than a
> Corellian Battleship. Also has the advantages of 3 turns per warp.
Towards what end? As a Trader the Starmaster wins. As a ship used MM>
to capture other ships? I would vote Corp Flag for the T-Warp Towing MM>
and "shield scanner" abilities. The best buy for the buck is the Merchant
Freighter. Otherwise I would go for a Gunstar, again for the T-warp Tow
after the capture.
> Let's face it if your Evil you need several ships that are all
> special purpose ships. If your Good and don't have an ISS your not
> even a factor in the game. Of course my opinions are based on the
> premise that ship capture is for fools and saving turns via T-warp and
> Planet Transporters are major steps in becoming a more effective
> player. There are no good reasons to roam around the universe like a
> tourist wasting turns regardless of the cost of the ship or it's turns
> per warp. Not if your a serious player anyway.
Ship capture can be useful if used properly. It's much better to capture
your opponent's ship than to risk corbomite. It's also better to capture
his ship than to let him live if he's a threat.
From: MIKE MAGERO Ship Strategies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> I would NEVER try and attack anything with a week cargo hauler due
>> to the effects of corbomite and the 1/2 million credit cost of a
>> "Maxed" out Mule or Cargo-Tran. You must scan before moving with
>> these ships as they are far too week to deal with suprises like mines
>> and nav-haz.
> I have to disagree with you here. First, you should always scan before
> moving.
Agreed, only fools and newbies are not doing this.
> Second, there are times you want to capture a ship.
> Suppose some idiot leaves an ISS at Stardock and he has over 1000 align.
> What a gift!!
True! The exception to the ship capture not worth the cost rule is a
ship belonging to another trader. Those are almost always worth the
cost. Not only for trade in value but in the cost to the poor guy who
just lost his ship.
> The best way to insure capturing a ship rather than getting that nasty
> carbomite message is to attack with a weaker ship.
> Suppose you come across an alien someone else has attacked down to minimum
> fighters. Isn't it better to capture the ship than to kill it?
> Especially if it is a highly experienced CT.
> IMHO, the Merchant Freighter is the best attack ship available for
> capturing these plumbs. It's sorry attack strength makes capturing almost
> automatic, and it's 2 turns per warp make it usable.
> Also, capturing an enemy's ship can be of psychological benefit.
> Hunting aliens is a stupid passtime, but there times that taking the
> gift can be useful.
I use the formulas that were in the ship file I sent you. I also subtract
1 fighter for every 25 (odds not used here) that they have. So far I
have never failed to complete the capture.
> MM> The best buy for the buck is the Mule. But if someone is out
> The best buy for the buck is the Merchant Freighter.
Not for running SST out and about the universe or vrs the Cargo Tran.
I use a Ferighter on days 1-4 but then hardly ever have a use for it
after that time.
> I vote the Freighter for the early ship, then go directly to the ISS if
> good. I'm using the Flag/Frigate/IC combination pretty effectively as
> an evil aligned trader to take defended planets.
I agree. Although I would hold off on working towords the ISS until I
had started at least 1 or 2 planets upgrading. You have to get a Lv-2
before the E-probes start flying and the evils come a hunting or you end
up as an ISS driver who will never see a Lv-4.
> Ship capture can be useful if used properly. It's much better to capture
> your opponent's ship than to risk carbomite. It's also better to capture
> his ship than to let him live if he's a threat.
Hate to tell you this but you still risk the corbomite if you botch the
capture.... But I agree 100% another traders ships is always worth the
cost especially if the guys in it!
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Tholian Sentinel
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't think Tholians are worth the risk.
> Now she gets 4:1 odds, right?
Yes, she gets 4:1 odds, as long as the trader is onboard and offline.
> Now if there are sector fighters also, does the Tholian "magnify" their
>effectiveness, so if the enemy attacks the sector fighters first, those
>sector fighters get better than usual odds?
No. Just the ones on the ship.
> So what about using them as planet defense?
I don't recommend them. Anyone can fire a photon in, at which time the
trader loses his turns. They can also fill the sector with mines,
offensive fighters, a L3+ planet with sector Q-cannon turned on, etc, if
they want. When he logs in, they go BOOM. And, since he is now online,
he's getting a mere 1:1 odds, not the magnificent 4:1 odds you were
counting on.
If the planet you want to defend is L2 or better, I'd keep my defenses on
the planet. If it's not L2, I'm not going to worry much about defending
it. Sector defenses alone just aren't worth much.
From: MIKE MAGERO Battleship
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I never used a battleship. Mostly used Starmasters. I read articles
> saying battleships [stink].
Battleships lack the fighters and shields to take on a Lv-3 or better
planet, which is why I won't use it. It also is a poor trader as you
noted. All in all I consider it a poor ship not worth buying.
> I do like the 1.6:1 combat ratio. For clearing sector fighters, or
> killing other ships, it is very attractive!
But, the turns you spend going to get the battleship just to clear
fighters aren't worth it, and killing aliens is akin to just tossing piles
of credits out the hatch. So it's uses are limited and the fact you can't
make any real credits with it means you have to find a way to make it
useful. "IF" I was going to kill aliens I would use a Flagship or Gunstar
to allow the T-Warp Towing of the captured ship to Stardock for trade in.
For me, Saving Turns is the most important consideration when choosing a
ship for moving around.
> Never understood the claim that "a battleship's shields protect
> its fighters".
That's just more trash in the docs to provide fluff and justify the
1.6:1 combat odds.
From: MICHAEL OEDER Interdictor Cruisers
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The main use I've found for (an Interdictor Cruiser) is hunting merchants,
>Ferrengi, etc. You keep attacking them, but they cant escape to other
>sectors.
This isn't really a good reason for accepting the crippling limitations
of the Interdictor Cruiser -a paltry number of holds relative to the
astronomical turns per warp cost, inability to land on planets, no
transwarp drive. Even the ship's combat odds are nothing to write home
about.
If you want to <trap> a target in place before destroying it, just deploy
a fighter in an adjacent sector before attacking it. This will prevent him
from escaping. Sure, there's chance that he'll move while you're setting
him up (if he's alien or Ferrengi) but this hasn't been a really major
inconvenience in my experience. Sometimes if he's in a sector with many
warps I'll attack with only a few fighters to force him to retreat until
he's in a sector with only a couple. Makes it easier to trap him.
From: KRIS LEWIS Interdictor Cruiser
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
BV>If I have an Interdictor sitting in orbit, and I'm not on it, but I have
BV>the interdictor part on... Why doesn't it work?
Interdictor Cruisers, unlike PIG (Planetary Interdictor Generators),
require that the pilot be on that ship, AND ONLINE.
From: MIKE MAGERO Interdictor Cruiser
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To force the IC into retreating if it's attacked by any ship other then
another IC would require killing off more fighters then you would need to
smoke a Sentinel. Hence, it can be a better ship for protecting planets.
Trouble is if the attacker uses an IC the one guarding the planet will not
work. As it need only be attacked once with a few fighters and then
attacked again with a Full IC to get it to retreat.
For example an Evil player tows in an IC with the Missile Frigate. All
he need do is attack with the Frigate at 1.3:1 odds vs the IC's 1.2:1
odds and kill off a few fighters. Then a quick Teleport to the IC and an
attack by 1 fighter and the defending IC takes a hike leaving the planet
open for attack.
The key to defeating an IC used to defend a Planet is another IC. The key
to defeating a Sentinel is just to blow it up! The Sentinel only poses a
problem for those players who don't have the fighters to be attacking in
the first place. Again we are back to buying Fighters.
Can't defend without them, can't attack with out them.
Trader Ship Info
<1> Merchant Cruiser
<2> Scout Marauder
<3> Missile Frigate
<4> BattleShip
<5> Corporate FlagShip
<6> Colonial Transport
<7> CargoTran
<8> Merchant Freighter
<9> Imperial StarShip
<10> Havoc GunStar
<11> StarMaster
<12> Constellation
<13> T'Khasi Orion
<14> Tholian Sentinel
<15> Taurean Mule
<16> Interdictor Cruiser
Ship Category #1 Ship Class : Merchant Cruiser
The Merchant Cruiser is the standard fare for earning a living in the
universe. These craft are moderately fast, well armored and have hard
points for many different accessories. Many cartels use the Merchant
Cruiser as their only ship type. The Merchant is the craft by which
combat specs are rated for a standard.
Basic Hold Cost: 10,000 Initial Holds: 20 Maximum Holds: 75
Main Drive Cost: 1,000 Max Fighters: 2,500 Maximum Shields: 400
Computer Cost : 20,300 Turns per Warp: 3 Offensive Odds: 1.0:1
Ship Hull Cost : 10,000 Mine Max: 50 Beacon Max: 50
Ship Base Cost : 41,300 Genesis Max: 5 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 750 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 5
Ship Category #2 Ship Class : Scout Marauder
The Scout Marauder is currently the fastest, conventional drive ship
known to mankind. This small speedster can easily outdistance even the
powerful Corellian Battleships. It is not equipped for controlling many
fighters or shields, but it fights at 2 to 1 odds due to its quickness and
small size. This craft cannot carry mines or Genesis Torpedoes. It may be
small, but this ship's speed and range make up for much.
Basic Hold Cost: 5,000 Initial Holds: 10 Maximum Holds: 25
Main Drive Cost: 3,000 Max Fighters: 250 Maximum Shields: 100
Computer Cost : 5,200 Turns per Warp: 2 Offensive Odds: 2.0:1
Ship Hull Cost : 2,750 Mine Max: 0 Beacon Max: 10
Ship Base Cost : 15,950 Genesis Max: 0 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 250 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 0
Ship Category #3 Ship Class : Missile Frigate
Missile Frigates are really nothing more than a retro-fitted Merchant
Cruiser. They maintain the same speed and range of the Merchant but can
carry twice the firepower. Commanding a Frigate means that you cannot
take advantage of much of the additional starship equipment available, but
their combat advantages make up for that. The Missile Frigate is the only
ship outfitted to carry the awesome Photon Missile. These weapons of
destructions can turn StarPorts into space junk in short order. The
Photon Missile was also used effectively in the Trantorian conflict to
totally destroy the enemy's home planet.
Basic Hold Cost: 6,000 Initial Holds: 12 Maximum Holds: 60
Main Drive Cost: 1,000 Max Fighters: 5,000 Maximum Shields: 400
Computer Cost : 82,800 Turns per Warp: 3 Offensive Odds: 1.3:1
Ship Hull Cost : 11,000 Mine Max: 5 Beacon Max: 5
Ship Base Cost : 100,800 Genesis Max: 0 Long Range Scan? No
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? No
Max Fighters Per Attack: 2,000 Photon Missiles? Yes
Max Transporter Range : 2
Ship Category #4 Ship Class : BattleShip
The Corellian Battleship is a dangerous craft indeed! This ship packs
the most punch of any ship in the Federation. Battleship's can carry four
times the fighters of a Merchant and deliver them with a much higher
degree of effectiveness due to their superior combat computers. The shield
generators on Battleships are capable of shielding the ship's fighters as
well. This craft is one of the more prestigious and powerful ships
available today.
Basic Hold Cost: 8,000 Initial Holds: 16 Maximum Holds: 80
Main Drive Cost: 1,000 Max Fighters: 10,000 Maximum Shields: 750
Computer Cost : 61,500 Turns per Warp: 4 Offensive Odds: 1.6:1
Ship Hull Cost : 18,000 Mine Max: 25 Beacon Max: 50
Ship Base Cost : 88,500 Genesis Max: 1 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 3,000 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 8
Ship Category #5 Ship Class : Corporate FlagShip
Few words can actually describe the sheer awe associated with a Corporate
Flagship. Only available to Corp CEOs, this huge craft is the ultimate in
power and capability. Not only can it carry up to 20,000 fighters at one
time, this ship carries a powerful combination of options that will make
any foe turn tail and run.
The most impressive capability of the Flagship is the TransWarp Drive.
This device enables the ship to TransWarp to any other sector in the
Universe provided one of your fighters is already there emitting a locator
beam. Without this, a ship can disappear into TransWarp and never be seen
again.
Basic Hold Cost: 10,000 Initial Holds: 20 Maximum Holds: 85
Main Drive Cost: 5,000 Max Fighters: 20,000 Maximum Shields: 1,500
Computer Cost : 120,000 Turns per Warp: 3 Offensive Odds: 1.2:1
Ship Hull Cost : 28,500 Mine Max: 100 Beacon Max: 100
Ship Base Cost : 163,500 Genesis Max: 10 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? Yes Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 6,000 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 10
Ship Category #6 Ship Class : Colonial Transport
The Colonial Transport is a massive structure that can only barely be
called a ship. This huge craft is ideal for moving large amounts of
products or colonists from place to place. Though it has a standard
drive, this ship is rather slow due to the mass involved. Also, the
combat computers are rather limited on this craft due to the excessive
needs of the navigation computers. The Transport is not outfitted for
carrying or deploying mines. Conflict brings the Transport's major
weakness to light. Due to the size of the craft, it is very hard to
defend against fighters.
Basic Hold Cost: 27,000 Initial Holds: 50 Maximum Holds: 250
Main Drive Cost: 1,000 Max Fighters: 200 Maximum Shields: 500
Computer Cost : 10,400 Turns per Warp: 6 Offensive Odds: 0.6:1
Ship Hull Cost : 25,200 Mine Max: 0 Beacon Max: 10
Ship Base Cost : 63,600 Genesis Max: 5 Long Range Scan? No
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 100 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 7
Ship Category #7 Ship Class : CargoTran
The CargoTran is a large ship indeed. Though not as fast as some of its
related trading cousins, this ship can move vast amounts of goods. It is
typically a pacifist's ship as it does not carry much in the way of
offensive capabilities but it's very large array of holds makes up for all
of that. The large shield capacity of this craft makes it safe to wander
hostile territory as well. This ship is considered by many to be one of
the top money-makers in the Universe.
Basic Hold Cost: 27,000 Initial Holds: 50 Maximum Holds: 125
Main Drive Cost: 1,000 Max Fighters: 400 Maximum Shields: 1,000
Computer Cost : 11,050 Turns per Warp: 4 Offensive Odds: 0.8:1
Ship Hull Cost : 12,900 Mine Max: 1 Beacon Max: 20
Ship Base Cost : 51,950 Genesis Max: 2 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 125 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 5
Ship Category #8 Ship Class : Merchant Freighter
The Merchant Freighter is the ideal ship for those traders that do not
want to concern themselves with political matters. It is not a very
powerful ship in combat, but its strengths are many. This ship can carry
a large number of shields and manages to outdistance most ships. After
all, "Those who fight and run away, live to fight another day" still holds
very true in the universe as we know it today.
Basic Hold Cost: 15,000 Initial Holds: 30 Maximum Holds: 65
Main Drive Cost: 2,000 Max Fighters: 300 Maximum Shields: 500
Computer Cost : 9,600 Turns per Warp: 2 Offensive Odds: 0.8:1
Ship Hull Cost : 6,800 Mine Max: 2 Beacon Max: 20
Ship Base Cost : 33,400 Genesis Max: 2 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 100 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 5
Ship Category #9 Ship Class : Imperial StarShip
The commercial version of a Federation StarShip is not available to just
anyone. This craft is only available to those who are commissioned by the
Federation to aid in their cause. StarShips are the most closely guarded
technology in existence. They can carry massive assault power and through
the use of the TransWarp drive, they can deliver this power almost
anywhere.
The Imperial StarShip is truly the most powerful ship that a private
individual can command. More information about qualifying for a Federal
commission is available at a Police station near you.
Basic Hold Cost: 23,000 Initial Holds: 40 Maximum Holds: 150
Main Drive Cost: 10,000 Max Fighters: 50,000 Maximum Shields: 2,000
Computer Cost : 231,000 Turns per Warp: 4 Offensive Odds: 1.5:1
Ship Hull Cost : 65,000 Mine Max: 125 Beacon Max: 150
Ship Base Cost : 329,000 Genesis Max: 10 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? Yes Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 10,000 Photon Missiles? Yes
Max Transporter Range : 15
Ship Category #10 Ship Class : Havoc GunStar
The Havoc Gunstar is a recently developed ship that owes its existence to
new developments in micro-miniaturization. This mid-sized ship is the
only one of its size to be able to house a TransWarp drive. Though it
doesn't carry a large amount of holds to fuel the TransWarp, it still has
a decent T-Warp range and can arrive at its destination packing a moderate
fighting force in the bargain. Watch for this ship to become the favorite
of the Mercenary legions in the Universe.
Basic Hold Cost: 6,000 Initial Holds: 12 Maximum Holds: 50
Main Drive Cost: 10,000 Max Fighters: 10,000 Maximum Shields: 3,000
Computer Cost : 48,000 Turns per Warp: 3 Offensive Odds: 1.2:1
Ship Hull Cost : 15,000 Mine Max: 5 Beacon Max: 5
Ship Base Cost : 79,000 Genesis Max: 1 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? Yes Planet Scanner? No
Max Fighters Per Attack: 1,000 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 6
Ship Category #11 Ship Class : StarMaster
The StarMaster represents the latest in technological advances for star
travel, meeting the needs of those who desire a ship with great speed and
medium cargo capacity. Developed to counter the growing threat of space
piracy, the StarMaster possesses a formidable fire control and weapons
system, and a high shield capacity. The price for this state-of-art craft
is not cheap, but discerning traders will find that the investment will
pay for itself in the long run.
Basic Hold Cost: 10,000 Initial Holds: 20 Maximum Holds: 73
Main Drive Cost: 10,000 Max Fighters: 5,000 Maximum Shields: 2,000
Computer Cost : 29,000 Turns per Warp: 3 Offensive Odds: 1.4:1
Ship Hull Cost : 12,300 Mine Max: 50 Beacon Max: 50
Ship Base Cost : 61,300 Genesis Max: 5 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 1,000 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 3
Ship Category #12 Ship Class : Constellation
The Constellation is the direct offspring of the Correlian Battleship.
While not quite as powerful as its distinguished parent, the Constellation
makes its own mark with greater speed and range. Traders have dubbed it
the "baby battleship", but this "infant" is one of the most powerful and
maneuverable ships available in the universe today.
Basic Hold Cost: 10,000 Initial Holds: 20 Maximum Holds: 80
Main Drive Cost: 10,000 Max Fighters: 5,000 Maximum Shields: 750
Computer Cost : 39,500 Turns per Warp: 3 Offensive Odds: 1.4:1
Ship Hull Cost : 13,000 Mine Max: 25 Beacon Max: 50
Ship Base Cost : 72,500 Genesis Max: 2 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 2,000 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 6
Ship Category #13 Ship Class : T'Khasi Orion
The T'Khasi Orion is the perfect ship for traders who want the speed and
cargo capacity of the Merchant Freighter but need a bit more firepower.
Offering substantially higher combat odds and fighter capacity, the
T'Khasi Orion is an excellent intermediate ship.
Basic Hold Cost: 15,000 Initial Holds: 30 Maximum Holds: 60
Main Drive Cost: 10,000 Max Fighters: 750 Maximum Shields: 750
Computer Cost : 10,500 Turns per Warp: 2 Offensive Odds: 1.1:1
Ship Hull Cost : 6,750 Mine Max: 5 Beacon Max: 20
Ship Base Cost : 42,250 Genesis Max: 1 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 250 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 3
Ship Category #14 Ship Class : Tholian Sentinel
Young corporations in need of planetary defense should consider the
Sentinel. With its new planetary combat guidance system, this ship's
normal combat odds of 1:1 shoot up to 4:1 when defending a corporate
planet. When an enemy ship enters a sector containing a Sentinel set in
defense of a corporate planet, the hostile vessel must first destroy the
Sentinel and all of its fighters before it may land and attempt any action
toward the planet. Remember: The Sentinel was designed primarily for
Planetary defense, if used for offensive purposes its combat odds are 1:1.
Basic Hold Cost: 5,000 Initial Holds: 10 Maximum Holds: 50
Main Drive Cost: 10,000 Max Fighters: 2,500 Maximum Shields: 4,000
Computer Cost : 25,000 Turns per Warp: 4 Offensive Odds: 1.0:1
Ship Hull Cost : 7,500 Mine Max: 50 Beacon Max: 10
Ship Base Cost : 47,500 Genesis Max: 1 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? No
Max Fighters Per Attack: 800 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 3
Ship Category #15 Ship Class : Taurean Mule
"Big, slow and ugly...", seem to be the words most often overheard when
someone is describing the Taurean Mule. Designed in direct competition
with the CargoTran, the Mule is somewhat faster and possesses a higher
cargo capacity, but it is even more vulnerable to piracy and attack than
it's competitor. However, this is still a good ship for traders who have
staked out "safe" trade lanes and do not have to worry about enemy
attacks.
Basic Hold Cost: 28,000 Initial Holds: 50 Maximum Holds: 150
Main Drive Cost: 10,000 Max Fighters: 300 Maximum Shields: 600
Computer Cost : 10,300 Turns per Warp: 4 Offensive Odds: 0.5:1
Ship Hull Cost : 15,300 Mine Max: 0 Beacon Max: 20
Ship Base Cost : 63,600 Genesis Max: 1 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 150 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 5
Ship Category #16 Ship Class : Interdictor Cruiser
A recently designed vessel, the Interdictor Cruiser is fast becoming the
great Equalizer of the Universe. It is as powerful as it is large and
packs a tremendous punch in modern combat. Unfortunately it cannot use a
TransWarp drive due to its size and its speed is not a great asset. The
major attraction of this vessel is the Interdictor Generator that creates
such a large gravity well that no other ship in its sector can warp out!
When an Interdictor Cruiser arrives on the scene you had better give up
all thoughts of running away. In addition this ship is not an atmospheric
craft and cannot land on any planets.
Basic Hold Cost: 5,000 Initial Holds: 10 Maximum Holds: 40
Main Drive Cost: 50,000 Max Fighters:100,000 Maximum Shields: 4,000
Computer Cost : 380,000 Turns per Warp: 15 Offensive Odds: 1.2:1
Ship Hull Cost : 104,000 Mine Max: 200 Beacon Max: 100
Ship Base Cost : 539,000 Genesis Max: 20 Long Range Scan? Yes
TransWarp Drive? No Planet Scanner? Yes
Max Fighters Per Attack: 15,000 Photon Missiles? No
Max Transporter Range : 20
On Winning
From: MIKE MAGERO On Winning
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have found the best way to "win" a game is to get into whatever method
makes the most money faster then the other guy can do it.
From: ISAAC THOMPSON Stardock Destroyed?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Stardock recovers to fast and has a nasty habit of shooting back. Let's
>face it the only way to win now is to crush everyone and prevent them from
>having a planet. Although blowing up all the ports except for the 6-7 you
>run SST at would be most amusing.
All of the class 0 ports AND StarDock can be destroyed, it just takes an
AWSOME amt of fighters AND shields. Using a hex editor, I was able to
overload my ISS (playing local, of course!) and actually destroy stardock.
Since i havent registered my TW game, I haven't been able to test photon
missiles on stardock, but I would suspect that they are an option.
Misc
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Grimy Trader
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>What can the Grimy trader tell you.. and I mean everything!!
Mostly for getting the password to the underground. (U at the main
stardock menu gets the underground. Asking Grimy about MAFIA gets you
the password.) And he hints about the + sign (which gets you into the
library.)
>Is there any way to get the grimy trader to give you an exact
>location of a player?
Nope. He will look at the ship name of the ship the trader is
currently in, and based on that name tell you which ports it appears
the trader has traded at recently (recently being a very loose term.)
But not exact.
>Is there any way to find the exact location of another player?
Holo-scan or eprobe him. :^)
>Is there a point to eatting and drinking at the bar?
Nope. Nor to the movies, or most of what Grimy says.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS StarDock Areas
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>Are there any other areas on stardock besides the underground that is
>not listed...
U - underground. Your alignment must be 200 or below, and you'll
need the password. Get it by asking the Grimy Trader about
MAFIA.
+ - library. Not very useful, its mostly fluff. There are
descriptions of the ferrengi ships, but it doesn't give their
specs, such as turn rate, max holds, etc. And a description
of a nonexistant "alien derelict".
B - singles bar. If you press B, you lose a percentage of your
money. Thats all there is to it.
If you press any key which isn't a valid command, while at the main
SD command prompt, then you wander around aimlessly. Most of the
time, nothing happens. Occasionaly, you get mugged, and lose a
percentage of your money. Using the singles bar is faster. :^)
@ - memory. I haven't tried this in 2.0, and I'm not sure if it
works at SD or not. In 1.03d, at most prompts, it would show
amount of free memory on the BBS's computer.
From: CHAD WALLACE Singles Bar & Movie Theater
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I was wondering does anybody know how to get in the bar without
> getting beat up and you money stolen.
Well, you did get into the bar. You got really drunk, spent all your
money and got into a fight. That's all there is to the singles bar. The
singles bar and movie theater are just little features that do nothing for
you except waste money and time.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Alien Derelicts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Do the alien derelicts in the library exist in the game, or are they
>just "chrome"?
The alien derelicts don't exist, they're just "chrome", like you said.
From: KENN WASHER Claiming Sectors
---------------------------------------------------------------------
In your travels about the universe, leave a ftr AND a mine (any
kind), then you can have many "safe" places around the universe to
TWarp to, thus shortening your travel distances. (NOTE- I say "safe",
because before you TWarp you first check to make sure both ftr and
mine still exist (the mine must still exist too, so you know someone
didn't photon into your 1 ftr sector and leave you a mine surprise).
From: MIKE MAGERO Cloaking
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> When cloaked and towed out of Fedspace during extern, do you stay
> cloaked?
Yes.
> If you are towing a ship and logoff/cloak, do both ships cloak?
No. only manned ships can be cloaked.
From: CHAD WALLACE The Underground
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> What is the point of the underground?
Evil players can go there to lower their alignment by posting rewards on
other traders. Once lower than -100 (when you are able to rob ports), it
really isn't needed unless you beat up a bad guy and your alignment goes
up to above -100. (by above I mean like -90 or -80... :-) )
You can also change your name in the game.
From: MIKE MAGERO Underground
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> What does changing names in the Underground do?
Nothing! It can be useful for fooling other players who are not too
bright by first changing your name and then leaving messages or
attacking them and then changing your name back. It won't fool a
player who is smart enough to notice what's going.
There is also a little catch to changing your name. If you make
money after you change your name and want to change it back later
the cost will be alot higher.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Murder in the Underground
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> How do you get killed in the underground?
Go to the underground (U at stardock) and keep giving guido the wrong
password, after a few time of this in a row he'll murder you.
The Important part is how to keep all your assets. Make *ALL* planets,
ships, and fighters *CORPERATE*. You'll lose the rest of your turns and
your ship so you should do this at the end of the day in a scout or
something worthless, and put your cash on one of your planets. The next
day you'll start fresh in a scout with 0 exp and 0 align.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS The Library
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The library is based on how long the game has run. If someone
> shuts down ferrengi regeneration very early in the game, so that no
> ferrengi battle ships or Dreadnaughts *ever* get into the game, the
> library will still eventually start listing them.
> It does seem that if ferrengi regeneration isn't shut down, their
> appearance in the library coincides with their appearance in the universe.
Roughly, perhaps. But the time needed to get the other ships in the game
will vary on several factors, including whether or not players are killing
ferrengi. And I think you'll find that the library is strictly date
based.
From: MIKE MAGERO V Screen
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> When I checked my enemies sector, it said 1 fighter protecting the
>sector, but he must have more because the game stats say 17,500 +
>fighters in use of which I have 100 and the other players are in pods.
Most of the Fighters listed in the View screen will be on Terra and
the Ferrengi home world. (Ferrengal) It sounds like your enemy
dosen't have too many fighters either. Keep making credits and
buying fighters.
> Also the stats say 2 of 3 planets have citadels, are they all his or
> game generated.
Terra and Ferrengal are counted on the View screan as planets with citidels
so if the game is only showing 3 citidels that planet you found is most
likly the only other planet with a citidel in the game.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Mothing
---------------------------------------------------------------------
DT> What is moth invading?
You can't actually invade by mothing but [by repeatedly entering your
enemies sector and getting hit by the Q-Cannon] it can use up a lot of
the fuel resouces on a planet to make invasion easier. It's something
that's not usually recomended but if somebody were to keep there
sector quasar set to 100% then in could become useful, of course ISS
drivers can bypass quasars with photons.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Haggling
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> I'm just messing around with some scripts and would like to know if
>anybody knows how to figure out the exact combo for haggleing.
First, quit using the scripts and learn to haggle manualy. If you
can't do it in your head, you can't write a script to do it well.
Once you've been offered their initial bid, and you've made a counter
bid, you can start adjusting your bid based on the difference between
their current offer and their previous offer. If they've adjusted by
100 credits, then you adjust by 100 * 2, plus a pit more. Say, 220.
Double their difference plus a bit will work very well. When they say
that its their final offer, make sure to adjust a bit extra, to be
sure to complete a trade. Else you've just wasted a turn.
From: CAROLYN STOFFEL Q-Cannon Formulas
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Q: Okay, my planet just hit L3. How are the the Q-cannon percentages
> calculated?
> A: The Sector setting determines how much fuel ore will be used for
> sector blast and the sector blast works on a 3:1 ratio. IOW, for
> units of fuel ore used the invader takes 1 Battle Point of damage
> Battle Point is equal to 1 fighter or shield and the ship's Comba
I called a nearby University and was given the following formula:
(3*h1) - (3*h2)
--------------- = y%
3*h1
where h1 is the first sector hit by a quasar cannon and h2 is the
second. This tells you the setting of the sector cannon (could be off a
.trifle.).
Then, to find the starting fuel ore:
(3*h1)/y
I will admit that I've had a lot of trouble with the second formula - or
maybe another formula for the same thing that didn't work well.
Also, the formulas were more useful in 1.03d where mothing was more
common.
From: ANDREW BRZEZINSKI Extern not Running
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If Extern dosen't run then MSL's won't be cleared and ports won't
advance in construcion, but ports regeneration and planet producton isn't
effected by extern.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Crashing The Game
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> I'm currently in a game that is 485 days old. Crashing the game to
> force a re-roll would be a blessing! P.S. No one is really
> playing... the sysop also has the death delay in the game, set to 3!
> And the other game is 103 (no D). Try telling some sysops something
> though.... oh well, it makes for a good "test the new macros" game.
You can crash the 1.03 game. Using planet cloning to make enough
money. Too much money in the game eventually starts causing
problems.
You also might consider putting fighters in every sector around
sectors 1-10, then parking there with enough fighters to get towed.
I hear that will crash the game, too. It would do it even after a
re-roll, but he may not know that. :^)
From: JOHN WARFIN Crashing The Game
---------------------------------------------------------------------
There are alot of other ways to lock up the board. Here are just a
few for anyone who cares-
1. Enter CIM mode. (my record is 5 hours and 30 minutes)
2. Hang out in the Tavern
3. Run a script for Cussing the Grimy (I lost over 800 pts in one day)
You could also try visiting places like the shipyards and hang out, maybe
even the movies. Once your time expires though, you cant leave. If you
keep the sysops other users from calling the board, you will probably
get him mad. So be carefull, this might bite you. Once you have his
attention, you could just apologize profusely and then explain why you
thought such drastic action was called for!
From: JOHN A ELSON Death delay
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>In one game, I was destroyed in my IC while invading a level 5. I
>called back right after midnight and had 52 turns. It looked like I
>had the death delay reset but not my turns. I played the 52 turns and
>called back the next am. EXTERN had run but I didn't have my turns.
>Another bug??
I'm not sure whether or not it is a bug but my experiments have
confirmed that when you come back from a death delay your turns are
not reset. So in addition to losing the use of your ship for the
length of the day you will only get the number of turns you had
left once you get back in.
"Bugs"
Please note that the following are not necessarily all "bugs" and
that all "bugs" are not necessarily negative. Also, not all of the
following are documented with positive proof.
IMPORTANT NOTE! As of 02/25/95, Craig Healy has released a replacement
for Trade Wars' EXTERN.EXE. Craigs replacement takes care of some major
bugs and oversights including the dreaded ship records bug and the
ferrengi grudge bug. It does a few other nice things, like report in the
news when busts have been cleared... and more. If you are running a
TW2002 v3b5 game, this program is a must! Filename, TW2EXT10. Currently
available on Jim Bianchi's Garbonzo BBS, 707-539-1279.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Unlimited TWarp Bug
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each ship is supposed to have a limited transporter range. To transport
from one ship to another, you have to be inside that range. If the ship
you are on has a range of 6, and the ship you want to transport to is 8
sectors away, then you aren't supposed to be able to transport to it.
The bug is that any ship can transport to other ships in the same sector
- a range of 0 - and that if you set avoids so that there isn't a route
from your current location to the other ship, TW's calculates it as a 0
distance. So, by setting a few avoids (six, at most) you can always
transport to any ship you own.
The unlimited transporter bug works because no matter what ship you
are on, the transporter range is 0. (ie, you can always transport to
a ship in the same sector.) And if you set avoids so that there is no
route to the destination (one avoid if your current sector, or the
destination, is a dead end, max of six avoids needed in any case) then
the game returns a path-length of 0. So you can transport to any ship
you own by setting a few avoids.
From: KENN WASHER Explaining the TOW BUG
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the steps to using the Transwarp Tow Bug-
Instructions Keypresses
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
1-Enter the sector number you want to warp to. (Enter Destination)
2-When asked if you want to Transwarp, answer Yes. (Y)
3-When asked if you want to Engage, answer No. (N)
4-Enter the ship Computer and disable transwarp. (C. U. N.)
5-Quit Computer and select ship in sector to tow. (Q. W.)
6-Enter sector number again and complete Twarping. (Enter Destination)
(Y. Y.)
From: BRIAN LOWE Ferrengi Grudge
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> I just started playing in a V2.5B version of the game, and have just
>been on for 3 days. I was cruising along minding my own business and
>was jumped by a Ferrengi with a grudge. My question is... do some of
>the Ferrengi has automatic grudges, or was I a victim of a Sysop and
>TEDIT?
You probably inherited that grudge. Here's my documentation on the
Ferrengi Grudge bug.
The "Ferrengi Don't Care Who YOU Are" bug:
Ferrengal Blaster, in the game for some time now, has made it his
life and mission to destroy every Ferrengi in the universe. After
several weeks, almost every Ferrengi in the game has grudges against
him and will attack at every opportunity.
The person playing Ferrengal Blaster moves to a new town, and in the
course of time the trader is deleted from the game. But EXTRN does
not remove the Ferrengi grudges ... so when a new player starts in the
game and has the misfortune to inherit what was Ferrengal Blaster's
user record, he suddenly finds himself getting attacked nine ways from
Sunday by Ferrengi!
Harold Weiss Multi-Node Treasury Bug
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I am playing V2 B5 and it is a multinode environment, 2 can
play at once....
>The board where I play has two lines and the sysop allows two people to
get in the game at the same time. Is there a way I can use this to my
advantage?
This is a clip from Slices War manual;
"Yes! Yes! Yes! oh...foolish sysop...
If you can get online with a partner and on the phone at the same time
(two phone lines each) That works best. If not, synch your watches over
the phone first, then both of you login and go into the citadel. Say your
citadel has 1 Million credits. On the 00 second, Both players withdraw 1
Million credits. (Now, Both of you actually have 1 Million!) On 10
seconds, Player 1 puts his million in the treasury, On 20 seconds Player 2
puts his million back in the treasury. Now there's 2 Mil in the treasury.
On 30 seconds, both players pull out 2 Mill. On 40 seconds Player 1 puts
in 2 Mill, then on 50 seconds Player 2 puts in 2 mill. Now there's 4 Mill
in the treasury and you repeat the loop at 00.
Get it? Good, go get rich. No? Study it for a bit, then go get rich."
From: ARBY Ship Cloning Bug
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The board where I play has two lines and the sysop allows two people
> to get in the game at the same time. Is there a way I can use this
> to my advantage?
Most definitely...besides the treasury bug, you can do a bug which
requires only one person on a corp. The other can be from another team.
First: Get an ISS....build it up with EVERYTHING! Shields, cargos,
limpet mines, corbomites, photons...the works...everything, that is, but
fighters.
Second: Make sure your part of a corp...won't work with out a corp.
Third: Attack your dummy ship with 1 fighter. You will capture it, and
the program will try to make a note to the log book...but, because of that
other player, it can't. Fourth: The game will kick you out. Get back in.
In that sector, instead of one ship, there will be two. Sell the extra
(or keep it, whatever), and go again. This cloning method is fool proof,
at least, until the other person leaves, and then it will make notes to
the log. You better have some good excuses as to why you are attacking your
own ship. My favorite is to leave a message: [Darn]! Hate when I forget
those passwords!
Photon Bug
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many TW enthusiasts recommend disabling the photon torpedoes, one reason
is due to their being able to remove a players turns, even if that player
is hiding in the citadel!
Alien Rollover Bug
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the game is very old or you shoot an alien multiple times until his
Xp goes near 30000, then this bug happens. When you shoot the alien the
next time his Xp rolls over to negative. From this point you can see in
the V-screen that
From: Stephen Whitis Planetary Transporter Bug
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's one that I think I remember hearing before, but certainly haven't
seen in a long time. I hit it last night.
A had a planet which had just hit L4. An oceanics type, which didn't
have much fuel. I wanted to Twarp it to another sector, so I brought in
another planet and hauled fuel across. I plotted a route to the
destination, to find out how far away it was. 14 sectors, so I needed
5600 fuel. When I had moved the fuel, I landed and tried to use the
Planetary Transporter. But I made a mistake. Instead of entering the
destination, I entered the sector I was already in. Since the planet
didn't move out of the sector, it shouldn't have used any fuel, right?
But it did. Exactly 5600 units of fuel. Apparently, it used the route
length of the last route I'd plotted.
From: RAY JACKSON Retreat bug
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have heard of a couple ways to by-pass cit defenses. One is the retreat
bug, which I think has been fixed, the other, if I understand it, has to
do with the 32,000 turn bug. I personally don't use either. By the time I
have a level 6 planet, everyone else in the game is driving 'scouts, so it
is not worth the trouble.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Ship Records Bug
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ship-records bug shows up in a lot of ways, usually trading one ship
for another. Sometimes two players end up on-board the same ship. I
haven't seen anyone move to ship-destroyed because of it, but its
certainly something I find believable.
From: JIM PITTMAN Interdictor Cruiser "Bug"?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> The IC seems to be "invisible"-- even when not cloaked.
>> When I am in orbit about my planet and press "D" for "Redisplay Planet"
>> the Sentinel shows up, and all other gear EXCEPT the IC. However, when
>> I fire an E-Probe at a sector with an IC it shows up. Wha' hoppen?
> It's another "Bug" It's an old one. Been around awhile. No way
> to turn it on or off. Kinda like a Free Cloak. Enjoy it.
When I reported this 'feature' in the early beta, I was told that I was
the only one who could not see my ship, that anyone else entering the
sector could. I think I was told this by an opponent. If this is so, it's
not a 'free cloak'. It's just another 'undocumented feature' that hasn't
been considered since early-betas.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Turn Bug?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I was parked in a L6 Earth type planet, two sectors away from
sector 1. (We had been hauling colonists.) And I *know* that I
had used all of my turns that day when I'd played earlier. All of
them, exactly. During the attempted invasion, one of our enemies
had been destroyed. Another player had found his pod and wasted
it, so he was listed as *ship destroyed.* The planet I was on was
10-11 sectors away from the sector he tried to invade.
But, though I had used all of my turns, I had 78 turns when I
called in. Free turns, given to me while I was offline. Neither
midnight *nor* extern had run since I had used all of my turns.
I don't know if this relates to his trying to attack our planet.
Did I somehow get his left-over turns? I dunno. But it makes me
think there is a "number of turns" bug that we don't know about.
One that shows up rarely. And which seems to be related to a
trader getting destroyed.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Alien Related Bug?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> On one board, I am a member of a 4-member corp. Whenever I (or any
>other corp member) capture an alien's ship, we ALL get the message
>"-Whoever- captured your -whatever- in combat." I never experience this
>on any other board, but this is the only one in which I am a corp member
>and not a CEO. Does anybody know if this is a bug?
Sounds like a bug to me. Possibly related to the ship-records bug.
I wouldn't worry about it - there isn't much you can do about it.
I *would* recommend that you quit attacking aliens. Its a waste of
money, turns, fighters...
MBBS Info
From: TONY DYE & PAUL D. SPENCER MBBS TW
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
PS> I'd like to see more info about the differences the MBBS version of
PS>TW has from the regular Door version.
PS> I'm in a fledgling test game here, and have noticed some differences.
PS>The "avoids bug" is eliminated (you don't have unlimited transporter
PS>range). You can attack others in real time..they can flee if they are
PS>fast enough. You receive a message when another trader enters the
TD> The speed of your flight is directly tied to the turns/warp of the
TD>ship you are in. A Scout Marauder can EASILY outdistance an IC,
TD>because the game inserts a real-time time delay between leaving one
TD>sector and reaching the next.
PS> sector, but if you are busy doing something else, you could be dust.
PS>(I haven't tested whether the attacker has to wait until trading is
PS>completed...this is one to look into.)
TD> You don't have to wait. You can kill a trader while porting, but not
TD>while landed on a planet. That includes Terra, even though the game
TD>shows that the ship is still in sector 1 over the planet instead of on
TD>the planet surface, like it would with player's citadels. You can also
TD>blow people up while they are on SD. They land in an ISS, leave in an
TD>escape pod.
PS> One change I like is that Mountainous planets are much easier on
PS>colonists. I haven't seen ANY die off due to just landing, leaving
PS>product or colonists, using transporter, upgrading citadel, etc. (In
PS>the door version, doing ANYTHING on the planet would cause the pansy
PS>colonists to croak.)
TD> You can safely do PT with a class L planet, without fear of losing
TD>colonists. I was amazed at other players doing this, and then just
TD>last night tested it myself. I didn't lose a single one over 20 ports.
PS> One question I would like answered soon - when a ship is guarding a
PS>planet, will the ship scoot out of the sector when attacked? or will
PS>it hold it's position (like the Tholian Sentinel does in the door
PS>version)? I only have an ISS and hope it won't skitter off if someone
PS>attacks while I'm out of the game.
TD> The Tholian will fight to the death if manned and over a planet owned
TD>by the player in the Tholian, OR if owned by a corp of which the
TD>player is a member. As for other ships, they will retreat if their
TD>total # of fighters is less than the # on your ship.
PS> Every time I begin to transport from a ship in Fedspace, I get a
PS>message that all unmanned ships in Fedspace will be confiscated...so I
PS>believe that change was included in the MBBS version. I plan to buy a
TD> It is. You'll lose all your unmanned ships in Fedspace at extern.
TD>Don't waste the $$$ on the scout.
PS> Scout soon and leave it in FedSpace to test it. This is something I
PS>believe should be sysop configurable. Towing the ships our would be a
PS>more logical approach. This is what is done with manned ships, so
PS>what's the big deal if an ship is manned or unmanned in FedSpace. The
PS>sysop should have the choice of confiscate/tow/ignore.
TD> It's not, but you can contact the designers (High Velocity Software)
TD>at support@garden.com .... and they will ANSWER your email
TD>PROMPTLY!!! .... as for the unmanned ships, I say: If you can't defend
TD>your assets, you deserve to lose them. Fedspace is not a parking lot.
PS> When you build a port, it starts out at 1% rather than 50%. Which is
PS>a pain when you need the product for upgrading citadels. This should
PS>be changed to 50% (as what business would start out with virtually NO
PS>PRODUCT?!?)
PS> This might have been changed by the sysop, but Ferrengal is WAY
PS>stronger. There are over 341,000 fighters (the density was over 1.7
PS>million!)
TD> Ferrengi regen in two ways, as far as I can see. They regenerate at
TD>x% (sysop config) of the total # left in the universe at extern. ALSO,
TD>the fighters regen at x% of the total left at extern. Ferrengi home
TD>sector in my game has well over a million fighters in it.
PS> There was one disturbing oddity...once while attacking a hapless
PS>alien (I wanted the alignment boost and he only had 49 fighters) I got
PS>MORE experience gain than appropriate and NO ALIGNMENT INCREASE. Here
PS>are quotes from the alien rankings and a capture of the "battle".
<capture deleted> p
TD> What version are you running? The most current one is v2.00o. I've
TD>never noticed this, but then I haven't attacked a single alien since I
TD>started playing.
PS> One very annoying difference is that you CANNOT abort ANY screen with
PS>the spacebar. I hate being forced to look at the stupid ANSI every
PS>time I enter the game, and all the verbose text, as when landing on
PS>Terra. I always fashioned my own macros, and this will make it more
PS>difficult due to the delays from the text that cannot be avoided (as
PS>when landing on a planet....in Ver2b4 I could avoid a listing of all
PS>the planets, then the complete stats of the planet by hitting l
PS><spacebar> # <enter spacebar>....cannot do it in Ver 2.o (that's OH,
PS>not zero). (in the Commo macro language the planet landing was l
Sysop Info
From: BOBBY CROWDER FTP site
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> If you have access to FTP you can get TW files at
>altair.stmarys-ca.edu.
> Unfortunately I don't have access to FTP. I have to do it the old
> fashioned way I have to call there and get it :). Do you or does anyone
> else out there have a phone number for St. Mary's? Thanks in advance.
St Mary's College BBS 510-376-1554
From: AL EVERETT Extern
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I think the game has a way to tell if Extern isn't running, and
> will give a warning when you enter the game, asking that you tell
> the sysop.
The game will alert the sysop that EXTERN hasn't run recently, but only
if:
A) The SysOp Security Level is set properly in TEDIT, and
B) The SysOp plays the game.
Normal users don't get any type of message. However, if the daily logs
don't have a message about the Ferrengi moving, EXTERN is not running (or
is aborting before it finishes).
From: LARRY LABRANCHE Batch file
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>My sysop is running Desqview and wants to know how to set his registered
>game to only allow one person a a time to play. He has 2 lines and would
>like to have either line work, but only one at a time. I know nothing
>about Desqview or how to set up a 2.0 game.
>Any help would be appreciated.
ok, the way i do it is by the use of "flag" files.
rem start of batch file to play TW
if exist C:\bbs\tradewars\tw.use goto theend
cd c:\bbs\tradewars
copy start.flg tw.use
tw2002 twnode=1
del tw.use
:theend
I use a different batch file for each node, the difference being the
"twnode= " You can I think use a twnode=%1 and just pass the node number
to the batch file. I run two games with two tradewars games,
#1 game batchfile names;
tw11.bat
tw12.bat
the last number being the node number
tw21.bat
tw22.bat
it's what worked for me at least. +-)
From: JOHN A ELSON Setting up Tradewars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>I run a single line RA v2.02+ BBS and have a few questions about the setup
>setup of TW2002. Should I use the TWNODE=1 switch or SET TWNODE=1 from
>autoexec.bat?
>(btw, how do I increase the DOS environment space? It says it's all out
>when I SET TWNODE=1)?
That variable is the worst advice Martin ever gave!
Call TW node # like this
tw2002 twnode=1
Call node 0 like this:
Tw2002 twnode=0
DO NOT SET THAT DOS VARIABLE! It will really screw you up!
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Setting up Tradewars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>(btw, how do I increase the DOS environment space? It says it's all out
>when I SET TWNODE=1)?
This line is from my CONFIG.SYS. The /E:768 increases my
envioronment space.
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM C:\ /E:768 /P
>How should I set TEDIT.EXE so I can run it from a remote location?
I recommend you don't. Tedit should be used when the game is
big-banged, and there is rarely a good reason to use it during the
game. There is no reason for anyone other than the sysop to have
access to it - other than cheating.
From: JIM PITTMAN Photons ON or OFF?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, Don't even try to enter the sector you WILL die! Turning off
> the P-torps in a Beta 5 game is in my opinion the stupidest thing
> anyone could do. It makes Lv-3 planets near impossible to invade if
> the death delay option is also turned on. I personally won't play in
> games where the P-torps are off. The good aligned players need all
> the help they can get, turning off the P-torps make the ISS a garbage
> scow, useful only for T-warping in colonists.
The consensus in this echo is to turn the Photons OFF. However, I agree
with you. The only problem photons present are that they steal the turns
of players who stayed in the citadel. That should be fixed. It is
impossible to invade well defended planets without the photon. We've got
some players who decided to use the multi-node bug to put 600,000-700,000
offensive sector fighters to defend their planets. It would have been
impossible to invade these planets without the p-torp.
From: MIKE MAGERO Encouraging Evil Players
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> I was lurking around in this echo awhile back when you were saying
> evil was dead, but now you seem to say evil is alive?
Evil still has alot of problems *IF* you fail to follow a set style
of play. For example, for evil to come out on top you have to
prevent the ISS drivers from getting a Lv-4 planet. Failure to do so
makes evil a less then favorable position. Evil is not dead if you
play it right. Good is dead if there is an Evil doing his job
properly! The trouble is if evils do there job right, the game isn't
much fun for everyone else.
> What can I do as a sysop to encourage the playing of evil here?
Carry this echo, Provide player aids and tip files for download and
don't mess with the games default settings too much. The worst thing
you can do is screw up the game by changing settings that your not
sure of. The players who are willing to take the time to learn the
game will find evil sooner or latter. Sticking to a default game
with P-torps on and only 250 turns per day is in my opinion the best
way to set up a game.
Changing the settings can have some adverse affects on the game and
shift the games balance (what little there is) way out of wack.
> The game I'm about to reroll has been running for 206 days.
> What is the avarage days a game runs that you have played?
That's hard to say. We tend to consider the game over after about 2
weeks of play. However, the other players often don't see it this way.
That's because they don't know we have taken a commanding lead and have
no intention of giving it up. But I have played in games that have
gone on for quit some time. When the players see the light and discover
that someone has total command of the game it's time for a re-roll.
> The reason it has gone on so long is that the players haven't said until
> now that the game needs rerolling. I'm wondering if this is normal for a
> game to be run.
The game itself has no real end where it comes out and says "so and
so" has won! The players will know when it's over and then they will
ask for a big bang. This is normal for most games. Personally I
would let the game go on forever if there were players battling it
out. I would consider a big bang if the game was stale and no one
was interested in playing it alot. Perhaps even a minimum of 2 big
bangs per year unless the players wanted to let it run. The best way
to keep tabs on the game is to talk with your players and see what
they want out of the game.
From: STEPHEN WHITIS Encouraging Players
---------------------------------------------------------------------
>.... now you seem to say evil is alive? What can I
>do as a sysop to encourage the playing of evil here?
Get a copy of Slice's War Manual and make it available to them.
Evil does require more knowledge of the game. It's harder. But it
has its advantages. Without info on how to do it, its no wonder
that few people are playing evil. Give them the info, and then let
them have at it.
From: BILL WYNNE TWEdit error
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> I went to run TWEdit this morning and I got the following error:
>> Trade Wars 2002 Editor (?=Help): Runtime error 205 at 0A89:0121.
>> I'm running 2002V2B5. Does anyone know where the problem is? I did use
>> TWEdit when I first install this version a few months ago and and I do
>> not recall having any problems with it then.
See below.. someone probably used the big money bug. If you are running
multiple nodes, make sure to have only one node at a time access the game.
You will probably have to re-roll the game to get it going again...
Borland Turbo Pascal Error Messages you can get with TW2002:
Number Meaning With regards to TW2002
------ ----------------------- -------------------------------------------
2 File not found You are missing a file.
3 Path not found You are not using the batch files we included.
4 Too many open files Increase your FILES= statement in your
CONFIG.SYS We recommend about 25.
5 File access denied Either a file has been set to read only, a
directory is full, a RENAME tried to rename to
an existing file name or a file is not open.
6 Invalid File Handle Your file handles have become corrupted, DOS err.
100 Disk Read Error An attempt was made to read past the end of a
file most often. Something is corrupted in the
record pointers.
101 Disk Write Error Generally an indication of a full hard disk.
103 File Not Open File is closed when it shouldn't have been.
104 File Not Open for Input Text file is closed when it shouldn't have been.
105 File Not Open for Output " " " " " " "
106 Invalid Numeric Format Generally this is only caused when reading a
BBS interface file (that has the user's info).
It happens when TW2002 is trying to read a
numeric value from an interface text file and
there isn't a valid number in the file.
Errors 150 through 162 indicate various HARDWARE failures. If you're
getting these, then something is wrong with your PC and I can't be of much
help there.
Some common ones are:
152 Drive not ready Controller problem or drive not spinning
154 CRC error in data Scrogged disk (real technical eh? (grin))
156 Disk Seek error Head problem or bad controller
157 Unknown media type Did you just change to DOS 4.0 or 5.0???
158 Sector not found Head problem or bad controller
159 Printer out of paper Hit Control P! Disable printer logging.
160 Device write fault Disk problem
161 Device read fault Disk problem
162 Hardware Failure Reported due to Dos sharing violations,
mostly having to do with Lan or multi-
user problems. If you encounter this
error, then you have a configuration
problem with your multinode BBS setup.
Make sure Share is being run.
Fatal errors generally indicate a problem that must be fixed before you
can continue to run the game.
200 Division by zero Now I hope you cannot make one of these happen
as I check before every division to make sure
it DOESN'T happen, but you it might.
201 Range Check Error Array index out of range.
202 Stack Overflow NOT ENOUGH MEMORY for the stack! Type @ while
at the main menu in TW2002 and it will tell you
how much memory you have left with the game
running. If you're under 5K, then you're in
trouble.
203 Heap overflow error Same as 202.
204 Invalid Pointer Op. Can be caused the same as 202.
205 Floating point overflow Most likely someone has used the editor
and put an insane amount of credits in a
credits field somewhere. YOU CANNOT make
enough money in TW2002 to cause this with
"NORMAL" play.
207 Invalid Floating point You have a real that's trying to be converted to
a Operation Long int and its greater than 2
billion.
209 Overlay File read error TW2002 had a problem getting an overlay from
the TW2002.OVR file. If you're not using EMS,
then the .OVR file is missing or is setting on
a bad sector on your harddisk. If you are
running EMS then you have a bad memory chip!
(yak)
Further Investigation
Slice's War Manual, by Harold Weiss is the preeminent help file for TW2002
v2.0 beta 5. You can call his BBS ( yes, he allows first time callers to
download). Call (713)477-2681 [28.8] or (713)477-4563 [16.8].
Jim Bianchi is the author of Iago's War Manual, a help file for TW2002
v1.03d. He has many of the TW files available for DL from his BBS, and he
also allows first time callers to download. The number is 707-539-1279. Jim
also carries Slices War Manual on his BBS.
It is STRONGLY suggested you read BOTH of these war manuals!
Player Utilities
NOTE- If you would like me to include your Player Utility here, please
send me your utility description (ie. file_id.diz). The best way
as of this writing (03/95) would be to send it snail mail (I would
be sure to get it)... though you could send it to me on the TW Echo
which, obviously, I read quite frequently.
Kenn Washer
1523 Blackstone Dr.
Nashua, N.H. 03063
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IBM COMPATIBLES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TWAST22 (Database program)
Trade Wars 2002 Assistant v2.20 - An excellent offline TW2002 player
utility! Supports door game version 1.03(d) and v2 and the Major BBS game
v2. Easy to use full featured database for an edge over your competition!
Very nice output. Many text reports (sector, port, route, etc.) and EGA/VGA
graphic displays. Includes a no-turn universe mapper, dead ends, paired
ports, and more. Also has many reports not found in most other database
utils, like Custom Reports, Dead End Clusters, and Secluded Areas. DESQview
aware.
Mail can be sent to:
Sasquatch Software
P.O. Box 4331
Kent, WA 98032-9331
Support and Distribution:
-------------------------
Sysop: Albin Gersich
BBS: The Harry Beast
Login: (206)859-6157 Kent, WA - USA
23 hrs (Mail hour 1-2AM PST or 2-3AM PDT)
14.4k V.32bis/V.42bis
Fidonet: 1:343/102
Comment: For downloading latest version: Download TWAST*.ZIP
For file-requesting: Use the magic name "TWASSIST"
or request TWAST*.ZIP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TLXTW- (Automation program)
* * Telix Scripts for Tradewars 2002 2.x * *
~~~~~~
Powerful SALT scripts that help players perform repetitive tasks fast,
efficient and effortlessly. Paired Port Trading, Transport/Sell/Steal
Cycle, much more.
*NOTE* Requires that you use the telcommunication program TELIX.
Phil Crown
326 Kinney Drive
Wylie, TX 75098-7725
Can be conatacted at: Fidonet Telix Echo
Fidonet Trade wars Echo
Netmail Address 1:124/6108.2
Internet: crownp@uss.lonestar.org
UUCP: phil.crown@p2.f6108.n124.z1.fidonet.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TWTERM- (Database and Automation program)
XX 3D EGA Term for playing Trade Wars 2.0 Reqs: EGA/VGA, 450K to
580K RAM. Adds graphics and digitized sounds to Trade Wars 2.0. Includes
script language, mapping features, ether probe routines, macros, maintains
your assets, locates others homes and so much more!
Compatible with Trade Wars 2002 2.0: Beta's 2 thru 5
Versions L and later for MBBS
*NOTE* You will need the following to properly run TWTERM:
EGA or better graphic card
DOS 3.3 OR later
400K to 580K of memory (depends on size of universe)
300K to 2 meg of free disk space for files created/used by TWTERM
VOICE: (310) 924-4184
MAIL: 11955 209th St, Lakewood, CA 90715
BBS: Trade Wars conferences on RIME, Metrolink, MajorNet, and Wildnet
INTERNET: wboyett@annex.com
MAJORNET: will boyett@ANX
SUPPORT BBS: 1-213-227-7127 or 1-213-221-0127
Log on with this name: *Willy Boy Software
for instant access and ability to download on first call.
6 lines, supports all modems.
NOTE: You can also set up your own account here, but you can't
d/l files on the first call.
Conference 4 is my personal support conference where you
can address problems or bugs you may experience.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
TWHELPER (Database and Automation program)
Trade Wars Helper is a players TERMINAL PROGRAM with an optional
GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE that maintains an ONLINE DATABASE of sectors
with their port, warp to, and other information. Several commands are
available to utilize this information in addition to automating most
of the repetitive processes and a GRAPHICS MAPPING capability. Trade
Wars Helper not only makes playing more enjoyable, it makes you much
more effective.
The latest version is TWHELP86.ZIP. It can be downloaded on the
first call from the Just FUN Software BBS (801) 278-8839 or Rocky
Mountain Software (801) 963-8721 and logging on as "Just Fun" with a
password of "Software". The file size is 240K and 14,400 bps
capability is available. Please just log on, download and log off.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR THE AMIGA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TwGuruIV- (Database and Automation program)
The TwGuruIV.lha is here! Now you can get both the 103.x and 2.0 scripts
and a lightning fast Database that does just about everything but kill
your enemies for you! Before I tell you where you can get them let me
tell you a little bit about what is in the TwGuruIV package.
** The Terminus Term program @ by J. Radigan is required for the Scripts **
The 1.03x Scripts included are as follows:
2 Point Trading Planet Transfer
2 Point Sell-Steal Rob Credits
5 Point Sell-Steal Scout Attack
Buy-Stock Steal-Stock
[Darn] Trader T-Warp Colonizer
E-Prober T-Warp Shielding
Fake-Sell-Stock T-Warp Trader
Find SGA Triple Trader
Holds Cost Grab Info
Mega-Jetison Grab MSL's
The 2.0 Scripts included are as follows:
Buy Stock Sell-Steal-Move-2 (SSM)
[Darn] Trader Sell-Steal-Move-5 (SSM)
E-Prober Sell-Steal-Transport-2 (SST)
Find SGA (YES! It can be done!) Sell-Steal-Transport-5 (SST)
Grab Info T-warp Colonizer
Grab MSL's T-warp Trading
Holds Cost T-Warp Sell-Steal
Mega-Jetison Trading (Paired Ports)
Planet Transfer Triple Trading
Planet Trading (PT) Ship, Density, & Planet Charts
Planet Shielding
And the Database will now handle both the 103 and 2.0 games with ease!
It's lightning fast and features pull down menus and point and click
graphic mapping. Some of the features included:
** The Guru-Dat Database will run as a stand alone program **
Evil Pairs View Space (Graphic Mapping)
Paired Ports Find Paths
Classify Ports Finds Phony Dead-Ends
Make E-probe List Finds Multiple Dead-Ends
Toggle Avoids Full "Computer Upgrade"
Nearest Ports Busiest Ports
Nearest Sectors Add/Remove Notes
Nearest Items of Interest Tracks Port Profit Ratings & Busts
Nearest Dead-Ends Test Control Points
Nearest Unexplored Finds Ways In/Out of Fedspace
So now your saying... I need it, I want it, and I have got to have it!
But... I don't have a first born child and I kind of need my right arm
this week. So... what is this going to cost me?
NOTHING! There FREE and you can call today and download them
from the following Quality BBS's under the name: TwGuruIV.lha
TwGuruIV.lha File Size: 268O72 Dl Time: 19 minutes at 2400 Baud
BBS Name Phone Number Comments Address Speed
==========================================================================
The Last Amiga BBS (3O5) 456-O126 Must Be Verified --------- 14.4
The Garbonzo BBS (7O7) 539-1279 1st Call DL'ing --------- 14.4
To be added to this list send Netmail providing the above info to me at
the address below. Quality BBS up 24 hours 7 days a week will only be
considered. Don't include the Fido address if you won't allow Freq'ing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sysop Utilities
NOTE- If you would like me to include your SysOp Utility here, please
send me your utility description (ie. file_id.diz). The best way
as of this writing (03/95) would be to send it snail mail (I would
be sure to get it)... though you could send it to me on the TW Echo
which, obviously, I read quite frequently.
Kenn Washer
1523 Blackstone Dr.
Nashua, N.H. 03063
From: GARY CHEVALLEY Tw daily log converter
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello everyone. I have finally finished the Tw daily log converter
program that I have been working on. It copies the current day events to
another file and then replaces the internal Tw color codes with the ansi
color codes. The file then can be used as a bulletins fro mthe main bbs
allowing people to check on the game without having to go back into the
game. Real handy, especially if you cloak alot. The name of the file is
TWDLC20.zip and can be file requested from fido address 1:106/8037 or you
can call Town Square BBS at (713) 477-2681 or (713) 477-4563 and Dl it
from the Trade Wars 2002 2.00 Wide Beta Util directory.
TW Services- NEED INFO
Trade Wars Glossary
Trade Wars Glossary (TW ver2+)
ABBREVIATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENERAL
~~~~~~~
AL = Alignment
FO = Fuel Ore
EQ = Equipment
ORG = Organics
PT = Planetary Trading
SSM = Sell/Steal/Move
SST = Sell/Steal/Transport
MJ = Mega-Jettison
MSL = Major Space Lanes
MBBS = The Major BBS (There is a version of Trade Wars that was developed
specifically for The Major BBS software.
PLANETS
~~~~~~~
PIG = Planetary Interdictor Generator
SHIPS
~~~~~~
CT = Colonial Transport
CTran = Cargo Tran
ISS = Imperial Starship
IC = Interdictor Cruiser
IG = Interdictor Generator
TS = Tholian Sentinel
TERMINOLOGY
~~~~~~~~~~~
Alignment = Above 0 and you're considered "good", below 0 and you're
considered "evil".
Major Space Lanes = The paths from sector 1 to the Stardock and back, the
paths from Stardock to class 0 port Rylos and back, the paths from
Stardock to class 0 port Alpha Centauri and back, and the paths from
Rylos to Alpha Centauri and back.
Mega-Jettison = Using a macro at an SSS type port to haggle for and
purchase small amounts of each product (14 fo, 8 org, 2 eq) whereby
generating an average 4-6 experience points using only 1 turn. Then
jettisoning the product (or depositing on a planet in the same sector) and
repeating.
Planet Farming= Loading a planet with colonists to gain Fuel Ore,
Organics, Equipment, and/or Fighters.
Planetary Trading= Warping your planet into a sector containing a port.
Taking product from your planet to sell to the port, then porting and
selling that product, buying another type product, then depositing the
product on your planet. Repeat the process until the port is sold out,
then move the operation to the opposite type port and start all over
again.
Sell/Steal/Move = Evil tactic for gaining $$$.
1) Port at EQ buying port. Sell EQ.
2) Port again in same port. Steal EQ back.
3) Go to another nearby EQ buying port.
4) Repeat
Sell/Steal/Transport =Evil tactic for gaining $$$. This one is similar to
SSM [see above] but requires two ships and saves turns [turns = $$$] by
TRANSPORTING from one ship to the other (instead of MOVING from port to
port).
Transwarp Tow = Towing a ship via the Transwarp Tow bug.
Fake Busts = When you are BUSTED before you actually steal anything. (Yes,
you CAN go back and do business there after porting somewhere else.)
Credit
Much thanks and all the credit for this document go to the Fido Trade Wars
Echo and all the Trade Wars Players who participate in the echo....
especially the ones (many of them quoted here) who take the time to answer
the same questions over and over again as more people discover the echo
and the game of Trade Wars. Hopefully this document will help keep them
from re-answering the common questions so they can spend all their time
pondering the unknown questions....
"Cyberspace- A universe where I have many friends I have never met."
-Kenn Washer
