Game: Tachyon: The Fringe Game Developer: NovaLogic Year of Game's Release: 2000 Guide Type: FAQ / Walkthrough Author: J. Baker E-Mail: SpockJr@hotmail.com Current Version: 2.03 T Current Size: 75 KB Date Started: May 11, 2002 Last Updated: October 27, 2004 Latest HTML Version at: http://www.spockjr.com Latest Text Version at: http://www.gamefaqs.com http://www.dlh.net If you are reading this guide at any website not listed above, you might not be reading the latest version! For the absolute latest version, visit http://www.spockjr.com. Since you are reading this, I will warn you that I don't update the text based guide as often as the HTML version (Only about 1 time out of 3) so you might want to check that one first before complaining to me that I missed something! _________________________ *** Table of Contents *** ооооооооооооооооооооооооо - Intro - Version and Updates - Mission Guide and Walkthrough - Ship Guide - Weapon Guide - CPU Card Guide - Wingman Assessment - Cheats - Hidden Bonuses (Crates, etc.) - FAQ - Credits - Links - Copyright information _____________ *** Intro *** ооооооооооооо Tachyon: The Fringe was written by NovaLogic in an attempt to diversify from their previous set of games, mostly limited to army and air force sims. Tachyon, unlike most space flight sims being produced these days, is not simply a Wing Commander rehash. You live the life of a mercenary named Jake Logan, set in the 26th century. Tachyon was designed specifically to be more realistic from this point of view. The developers allow you to select missions as you go along, rather than being forced into a sequential mission-by-mission lineup. Of course, there is a plotline, and character development, or else the game would quickly become bland. The story of overgrown megacorporation (The Galactic Spanning Corporation, AKA GalSpan) infringing on the rights of pioneer colonists (The Bora) is a little bit used, but the strength of Tachyon in this area is the fact that only some of the missions are from GalSpan or Bora. Many of the missions are independent, hired by everyone from Star Patrol law enforcement to asteroid barons, scientists and smugglers. You are also given an opportunity to compete in a ship-to-ship combat tournament. Essentially, the game is small cross section of a potential future. A second excellent feature of Tachyon is two types of multiplayer gaming through a LAN, or the internet. The first of these is called Arena Match, which is free ship-to-ship combat against other players. Familiar to all gamers, this is nothing inspired or new, but it is a nice addition. The second, more original multiplayer game is called Base Wars, whereby you engage in free battle, while collecting upgrades and credits for the purpose of building up the amount of technology your side has, so that once you reach Level 10, you are able to attack the opposing team's home base, to attempt to destroy it. However, no game is perfect. Tachyon's biggest fault is that graphics are sometimes TOO rich. In some missions, where there are too many ships, fired weapons, etc. to map and display, my old computer (which more than met the minimum requirements) simply refused to refresh, preferring instead to stick with one screen for a long time, usually until I died, or some other such disaster. NovaLogic doesn't seem to understand that not everyone has a brand new 2 gigahertz Pentium 4. (Since I first wrote this, I've upgraded my processor to a 2.6 GHz, with 512 MB of memory, (Which is top of the line for the moment) but there's still the odd mission where the screen skips a bit, and that's just ridiculous. For the record, the minimum requirements are 200 MHz (0.2 GHz) with 32 MB RAM and the game was released in 2000) Tachyon also involves way too much loading and waiting time. First, a pre-loading screen with far too many (unnecessary) options. Then, when you select "Play Game" it takes 2-3 minutes to load up to another option screen. After selecting Single Player, a game save slot, and a name, it takes another minute to load up to the starbase. Then, selecting missions, wingmen, ships, and equipment involves gratuitous sound and video, taking ridiculous amounts of time and CPU power. Finally, ready to fly, you select "Launch" and go to... yep, you guessed it. A "loading" screen. All together, it means a good 7-10 minutes from selecting "Tachyon" from the Start menu until you are actually flying. Multiplayer? Oh, don't even get me started. Overall, however, I'd still be inclined to give it an 8 out of 10 with points lost on Compatibility, Time expenditure, and points gained for story, flexibility, gameplay, and value for your dollar. (This, like most NovaLogic games seems to be available for ridiculously low prices. I personally paid $17.99 CAD, roughly $14 USD) By the way, I welcome any corrections, future ideas, comments and opinions about this guide via email. I can be reached at SpockJr@hotmail.com ___________________________ *** Version and Updates *** ооооооооооооооооооооооооооо NOTE: I'll be keeping the numbers for versions the same for both guides, which means there may be some skips in the numbers on either version. The text version will always have T at the end of the numbers, and the HTML an H (You know, just in case you can't tell the difference...) Ver 1.0: 06/18/02 All sections complete, albeit in rough form. Ver 1.1: 07/29/02 Added "Ship Flown" to wingman section. Added "NW" to the end of No Wingman missions. Corrected endless typos, rewrote a lot of intros, etc. and added 2 new FAQs. This is the first public / published version. Ver 1.2: 08/13/02 How stupid. I forgot to spell-check Ver 1.1 after writing new intros etc. Should be OK now. Ver 1.3: 10/26/02 Reworded a few things, corrected a couple of typos etc. Big thanks to bboyhops, who sent me nine different crates, which I have added. Ver 1.4: 10/14/03 Updated my email. (My apologies to everyone who hasn't been able to get a hold of me... The lousy website shut down without telling anyone, but I didn't notice for a while because I only used that addy for walkthrough stuff.) Reworded a lot of stuff to improve readability. Added a "Cost Each" to the missiles and rockets, and a Range to all weapons. Ver 2.0T: 12/05/03 Why the big jump from 1.4 to 2.0? And whats with the T??? I've made an HTML- based version of this guide. You can find a copy of it at my personal game walkthrough site, http://spockjr.freeservers.com. Big thanks to an anonymous reader, who pointed out that the Chatter Cannon recharges every mission, and that I'd forgotten to include some really useful tips in the missions section. He also motivated me to go make a chart of the Letzer training courses' pay. Also notable is that I resequenced (That even a word? Well, it is now) the order that the weapons are listed. Ver 2.03T: 10/27/04 Updated several sections that had been fixed up in the HTML version. Worth noting: I moved the wingman assesment to after the weapons and CPU cards... it just didn't make sense where it was Also added a crate sent by A Figure In Black, and another two that I found, but went looking for because of a guy by the name of Daniel Palma. Also added a new cheat, and some tips on how to avoid getting spotted in the "Weasel in the coop" mission. _______________________________ *** Battles and Walkthrough *** ооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооо You start the game at Dillinger Starbase in the Europa Sector. You own a Pegasus and an Orion (The Orion is equipped with a Glint Lt. Laser, Lead Target Assistant, and Afterburner. The Pegasus is unequipped.) Available to you from the hangar are: Glint Lt. and Flare Med. lasers, Tiger missiles, Lead Target Assistants, Combat Scanners, and Afterburners. When you consult the Job board, there are certain missions available to you. In most cases, there will be several missions available to you at a time. Where that happens, I have put them in order of how I think is the most effective. There's ALWAYS a "Ring Training Course" available, and in Sol sector, or after you sign up with GalSpan or the Bora, there's also "Combat Training". Combat training ALWAYS pays 100 cr. Here is a listing of the Letzer Ring Training Course pay. Note that at the end it only says it pays 100 cr; that's because the pay is deposited as you complete each objective. LETZER RING TRAINING PAY COURSE BASE TIME BONUS # OF TARGET ALL TARGETS NARROW # PAY /SECOND TARGETS BONUS /EACH HIT BONUS RINGS? оооооо оооо оооооооооо ооооооо ооооооооооо ооооооооооо оооооо 1 300 2 0 N/A N/A NO 2 600 2 0 N/A N/A NO 3 900 2 0 N/A N/A NO 4 1200 2 0 N/A N/A NO 5 1500 4 11 30 1000 NO 6 1800 4 14 30 1000 NO 7 2100 4 13 30 1000 NO 8 2400 4 19 30 1000 NO 9 2700 4 26 30 1000 NO 10 3000 6 0 N/A N/A YES 11 3300 6 0 N/A N/A YES 12 3600 6 0 N/A N/A YES 13 3900 6 0 N/A N/A YES 14 4200 8 0 N/A N/A YES 15 4500 8 36 60 2000 NO 16 4800 8 31 60 2000 NO 17 5100 8 38 60 2000 NO 18 5400 8 42 60 2000 NO 19 5700 8 58 60 2000 NO 20 6000 10 0 N/A N/A YES Note: It's (nearly) impossible to do these courses without an afterburner. And now, the REAL missions..... SOL SECTOR Instructor Training (AGT - 700 cr.) If this is your first time playing the game, take this mission. It's (virtually) impossible to die here, and gives you some good training. Otherwise, skip it. Escort Mining Vessel (AGT - 5600 cr.) Again, very simple, but you must take it. Head to Luna. Destroy the CMI Darts. Head to Ganymede. Destroy the CMI Darts. You pick up several assistant ships in Luna. It's possible to do this blindfolded. New Items: Tesla EMP missiles and Sunspot missiles Security Breach (AGT - 4200 cr.) Go to the Kuiper Belt, and destroy the spy probes, spy drone frigate, and the CMI darts. Again, you get a group of fighter assistants. New Items: Chatter Cannons and Hunter Torpedoes (Note: Chatter cannons recharge after every mission, and ALL torpedoes are powered by the laser reserve with infinite shots. Remember this!) Investigate Mine Field (AGT - 4900 cr.) Head back to Kuiper. Destroy the space mines. After that, a luxury liner will be attacked by pirates. You don't have to save them, but it's really easy. Star Patrol will show up after a minute, and help destroy the pirates (Unless you're quick enough to finish before they get there.) Getting bored yet? Don't worry, it's about to get more exciting. New Items: Afterburner Reserve and Deimos Hvy. Laser Quarantine Compromised (AGT - 11200 cr.) Escort the Argoso to Neptune. Disable the two escapee shuttles, and the three Biolith fighters. Make sure you bring Tesla EMP missiles so you can do this. Use lasers to bring the shuttles' shields down a bit, because the shields can take one EMP missile without falling. Incidentally, if you miss with some of your EMP missiles, you can just DESTROY the Biolith fighters... NOT THE SHUTTLES, THOUGH.The Argoso will land at the research facility, and then explode. Star patrol shows up and arrests you. You are tried, convicted, and banished from the Sol sector forever. THE HUB Somehow, you have managed to scrape together a career. You start in this sector with a Mako ship (Completely unequipped) and 6000 credits. In the hangar there are Glint Lt. Lasers, Spire Rockets, and Lead Target Assistants. Hospital Emergency (Alpha Control - 11025 cr.) The Frigate Blackwell had a malfunction in the Scrap Yards. Proceed there, and destroy its Powerplant. You win if the frigate stops before plowing into the asteroids. Two reasons for taking this mission first: Lots of $$$ and you don't have to fight anyone, allowing you to get used to your new ship. New Items: Lock on Warning Hub Escort (Alpha Control - 5460 cr.) Escort the Venetian to Independence Base. Two Darts and a Piranha will attack you. Destroy them. When you do so, nail the Piranha first, or it will shoot endless missiles at you while you get the Darts. New Wingman: Pixie Kerral The Blockade (Bora - 8750 cr.) Protect the Dromedary against a whack of GalSpan (Spanner) ships. If by some miracle you get the other two through, you get a bonus of 0 cr. That's right, nada. So don't worry about them too much. PS: I suggest you hit the Pegasi first, they're really weak in this mission and will blow up with just a couple of hits from your lasers. New Items: Afterburner GalSpan Escort (GalSpan - 4060 cr.) Escort the freighter Hesperides to Hera Sector. Destroy the two daggers. On the way back, you will see Mishka Shaw being attacked by pirates. If you save her life, she will be available as a wingman. (It's worth it. She's the best wingman until MUCH later on. Set your game to "Easy" mode if you have to! [Press F11, then left or right]) New Wingman: Mishka Shaw THE BIG DECISION: This is where you decide if you want to take the GalSpan side, or the Bora side. The pros and cons are listed in the FAQ section. Depending on which side you take, there are different missions available, although some missions are available to both. In that case, I will only put the strategy into the GalSpan side, marked with an asterisk, but employer, pay, region and new things will be on both sides. I do recommend (and so does the game manual) that you exit the game at this point, and copy & paste it into a new slot so that you can play both sides of the storyline. Also, the items currently available will not be the same. Depending on which side you choose, some items are no longer available. I will do a COMPLETE listing after the first mission of each side. Because you will be able to jump from sector to sector, I will be adding a single letter after the credit amount to tell you which sector the mission is in. (H for Hub, and so on.) Where it says "New Items" I've decided not to write what bases it's available at, because the file's long enough already, and it tells you in-game. In some cases, there are also duplicate entries. In that case, I have put the item in the first available mission offering them, and ignored it in the later missions. (If you want to skip to the Bora missions, press Page Down 16 times. That should put you at the beginning of the Bora half, as long as you're reading this using normal font sizes, in your internet browser.) GALSPAN MISSIONS Taking Away Independence (GalSpan - 9625 cr. H) Destroy the 3 shuttles and all the fighters. You do get a whole whack of help. After that, you can leave. On completing this mission, you will be given a Poseidon Multirole Bomber "as a sign-on bonus". New Items: Glint Lt. Laser, Hunter Torpedo, Tiger Missiles, Tesla EMP Missiles, Lead Target Assistant, Combat Scanner, Afterburner, Lock-on warning. New Ship: Poseidon New Wingman: Jasper New Regional Pass: Hub to GalSpan Picking the Stone (GalSpan - 14875 cr. H) Disable the freighter Burrow by destroying their power generator. You will be attacked by several Bora fighters, both on the way there and after attacking. Destroy all the fighters to win. Word of advice: fly right behind the Burrow, aligning the shield generator and the powerplant in your crosshairs, and you'll be able to disable them using lasers before they get their SOS off. New Items: Sunspot Missiles, Burn-off device New Ship: Orion New Wingman: Dorwin Kincaid New Regional Pass: Hub to Frontier * Magellan Shipment (Alpha Control - 5425 cr. H) Escort the Magellan convoy to Hera Sector, protecting it from Leon and his fellow Mercs. You must get at least five ships through to get paid. I suggest you assign your wingman to protect the rear-left shuttle, it seems to be the one most attacked. (I can't tell you the number, it seems to vary from game to game. I've seen it labeled 3, 4 and 5.) Missing Squadron (GalSpan - 16625 cr. G) Go to the Nereus Research Sector. Destroy all the Bora fighters. The Battleaxes carry radar jammers which are particularly annoying. New Items: Advanced Radar Bonus Incentive Program (GalSpan - 11025 cr. G) NW Destroy four waves of drones faster than Lakita Ramos does. I suggest taking Hunter torpedoes, because one hit from those will destroy a drone. On the way back, you will be attacked by some of Lakita's friends. Just dodge them, or you'll lose. The Nonstop Burning trick is very useful here! New Wingman: Lakita Ramos * Strafing Run (Baron Malkar - 14875 cr. F) Destroy Hajod's 8 new Midge fighters. Little tip: Fly perpendicular to the landing pads. You can quickly get rid of half of them with lasers before Hajod finishes telling you off. Hit Autopilot as soon as you finish with the rest of them. You'll avoid more fighters, and the station's lasers. New Items: Aim-point Module * The Posse (Atlantic Casino - 8925 cr. F) NW Destroy the Skav pirates that blackmail the Atlantic Casino. Ooh, hard. In-flight, you make a bet as to who can kill 3 ships first, but you can't collect, and don't have to pay. New Items: Chatter Cannon, Shield Reserves New Wingman: A.J. Freesh Hunting the Hunter (GalSpan - 19950 cr. F) Go to Midas station. You'll be given information. Then, go to Malkar's Barony, where you'll see Susan Bradley, the leader of the Bora, leaving the station. After that, run for it. Malkar's Tregs are tough ships. New Items: Flare Med. Laser, Disruptor Torpedo New Wingman: Jasper 500 * Fenris Arena (Fenris Arena - F) NW I am including ALL arena jobs now, because they become available at odd times in the game, based on number of missions between matches as far as I can tell. Two qualifier rounds: 250 and 500 cr. facing Cinder Darts and Makos respectively. Five tiers, paying 1000, 2500, 5000, 10000 and 25000 for defeating Cinder Piranhas, Redship Shrikes and Nighthawks, Skav Mantas, and Cinder Gars. There is then a Bonus round, where you fight the Demon pirates for 50000 cr. None of them give you any items, ships etc. Grand total: 94,250 credits for all 8 missions. * Illicit Pickup (Arman Patrioli - 12250 cr. F) Go to Foothold. Near the Nav buoy, there are two crates, one is a box of Handguns, the other is useless. Pick up the handguns and return to Vegas. You'll be attacked by Skavs on the way back. When flying GalSpan, there's a box of mining equipment in the asteroids; turn 90§ to the right as soon as you enter the foothold sector. New Item: EW Jammer Cracking Virtue (GalSpan - 23100 cr. F) Fly to the Foothold sector. Get near the containment platform, and you will automatically dock and release the sabo-drone. Defend the Cephius until it retrieves all the ripstars and then go home. New Items: Deimos Hvy. Laser, Solaris Torpedo, Blast Torpedo, Ammo Hold New Ship: Pegasus New Wingman: Tora Embers New Regional Pass: Frontier to GalSpan * The Messenger (Baroness Onrald - 9000 cr. F) This mission is listed in the job board at 8400 cr. You get a bonus because Onrald doesn't expect you to get attacked (and you are.) Strategy: Go around to all the laser platforms before landing and destroy all the Weapons Powerplants. (There are 10 of them: One at a right angle to the TCG gate, 3 on each side between the gate and station, one under the landing platform, and two on the upper, opposite side of the station) They will then be unable to fire on you and you'll only have to deal with fighters. What's more, you can just use the Nonstop burning trick to go right past them, skipping battle entirely if you wish. Prometheus Patrol (GalSpan - 28000 cr. G) Go to the Prometheus sector. Stop right at the gate, because you will have to go back and destroy 4 satellites in the Ceriphilon sector. Once you're done that, head back to Prometheus. Help repel the Bora attack. The module will blow up, but you still get paid. New Items: Tracking Enhancements, Tractor wave New Wingman: Captain Jond Rand New Regional Pass: GalSpan to Ripstar Color of the Nose (GalSpan - 16125 cr. G) You are to hand deliver a message to Adm. Hagen about Capt. Martes. However, you must pass by Martes. If you bring A.J. Freesh as a wingman, he kisses up to the Captain, so he opens the gate without complaint. If not, Martes sends a wing of Orions to "escort you and show his support for the company", and you will have to destroy them. Either way, Hagen fires Martes. Martes attempts to steal the Demeter. Disabling the Demeter doesn't pay more, but it's easy to do. (Destroy the powerplant.) New Items: Afterburner Reserve Pirate Attack (GalSpan - 17175 cr. G) Go to Apollo Research. Pay no attention to the Skavs, but focus on the Bora ships. They are trying to steal computer codes from the satellite. Destroy them in order to win. Destroying the satellite also works, but you get a 2000 cr. pay cut. Crystal Hunt (GalSpan - 30000 cr. R) Find a KC2 crystal. After you pass the nav buoy, there will be one Ripstar highlighted, the KC2 crystal is near it. When you hear the "Oh, there it is" message, STOP. You'll be able to see the crystal if you look around, (a bright spot slightly larger than the stars) but it wont show up on radar, and you'll never find it otherwise. Ignore the Bora mines and minelayers. Just steer clear. In Canopus sector, destroy the (pathetic) Bora fighters and land and deliver the KC2 to the research station. The Daggers are easily destroyed by one hit from a laser. New Items: Swarm Missiles, Lock-on Defense, Laser Reserves New Ship: Phoenix * Saving Spike (Cinder Station - 5920 cr. R) In order to get this mission, you must first fly the Magellan Escort mission in the Hub... because this is the mission where you get to beat up on Leon. This mission is a lot easier if you're flying GalSpan, because in the first sector, you only have to deal with about half as many ships, and Leon retreats. LET HIM GO. If you destroy him in the first sector, while flying GalSpan, you can't win the mission. You get a second sector with more fighters... and Leon. I'd suggest assigning your wingman to attack Leon, while you take out the rest of the ships. Then, once you're done, finish off Leon together (or alone...) Even if Cobalt Spike is destroyed, destroying Leon (AFTER Spike is destroyed only!) means you get paid. The Review (GalSpan - 12250 cr. G) Escort 4 shuttles through the Ceriphilon Sector. There will be an attack by several Daggers. These ships, however, are tougher than the previous missions, so bear that in mind. Incidentally, I find it funny that the debriefing says that new weapons are available as a result of the attack... and really, all there is Bradford Brixx. New Wingman: Bradford Brixx. Final Payment (GalSpan - 16825 cr. G) NW Escort two wings of Void Pirate marauders to Ceriphilon. They will attack you, attempting to get their revenge for a pay cut. Destroy them to win. Nice and easy. * Arena Gambit (2450 cr. F) NW The reason I didn't include the employer is because this is actually two different missions. If you take the Malkar mission, you also receive a Booster. If you accept Onrald's side, you get Smart Shields. Flying Onrald's mission against Malkar is a bit easier, in my opinion, but smart shields are really irritating. See the CPU card guide for more. Be warned, either way there are also mines that fire on you. New Item: Booster OR Smart Shields Hajod's Bargain (GalSpan - 13125 cr. F) Capture Alexander Onrald's ship for Hajod. Be sure to bring Tesla missiles (Or a wingman like Tora Embers who does). It's a fairly simple mission, but be careful, Onrald's Flare ships are very efficient. New Items: Fog Radar, Radiation Screen New Regional Pass: Frontier to Twilight Drone Abduction (GalSpan - 15785 cr. T) Head to Cassitor's production field. Destroy a comm tower, beam aboard the drone, and get out of there. Zzzzzzzzz... New Items: Helios Rockets New Wingman: Jasper 1000 New Regional Pass: Twilight to Ripstar * Lost to the Fog (League of Scientists - 6230 cr. T) Save the Michelson and Morley from Cassitor. Cassitor's drones are fast and hideously overpowered, but when you nail them down, they are easily destroyed. One hit from a Deimos Hvy. Laser or Hunter torpedo will drop their shields, and leave them with very little hull strength. More or less anything after that will destroy them. (Just destroy them fast: their shields recharge fully in about 10 seconds flat.) If you bring a ship that has hunter torpedoes in a dual-emitter slot, link em and fire two torpedoes at once. Rescue Persephone (GalSpan - 17995 cr. F) Deliver a new engine core to the Persephone. Defend it as it jumps out of the Fury sector. This mission is difficult for one reason only: The second batch of fighters launched carry Helios rockets, and they try to destroy the Persephone. * Freedom and Humiliation (Malkar - 12285 cr. F) This mission is hard for one reason only: The station's lasers fire on you as well as the fighters. Best strategy: Hide on the underside of the station and wait for the fighters to come get you. If you use the Inf. Afterburning cheat (see Cheats) you can slide towards the 4 Midges on the opposite side of the station, and take them out before they even break formation. * The Bounty (Star Patrol - 3000 cr. F) The mission is to capture Redship Rory. All you'll do is find out that he will be attacking a freighter named the Galluran. You'll have to eliminate 3 wings of Shrikes to do so, though. * The Rory Sting (Star Patrol - 12000 cr. H) Escort the Galluran and defend it when Redship Rory attacks. You are supposed to call Star Patrol, but you are unable to because you are being jammed. Be sure to bring Tesla Missiles (or, if flying Bora, an EMP projector) and/or a wingman who does. You must destroy all Redship fighters, except Rory, who is to be disabled and captured alive. The Identity Game (GalSpan - 22750 cr. R) Head to the Mercenary sector. You will be hailed by three different Bora ships, all claiming to be GalSpan operatives. Only the Battleaxe, named Quasar, is. The other two are Bora counter-agents. Beam aboard the data pack in front of the Quasar, and then try to escort the Quasar back to Hellas. You don't get more pay for getting it through. New Items: Smart Shields New Ship: Archangel Fleet Battle (GalSpan - 25725 cr. R) Once you get to the Ripping fields, focus on the capital ship, the Fortitude. As soon as it is destroyed, the Pyxis will jump out of the sector and the contract is complete. Either jump out and home yourself, or have fun and destroy the (many) Bora fighters. Note: I suggest you take out the weapons powerplant first, this ship doesn't have anywhere you can sit and pound them without getting hit like most other ships. If the Pyxis is destroyed, the mission fails. A Bank Without Money (GalSpan - 15750 cr. T) Defend the Cerebus from the Demon Pirates. In order to get it into the sector, you will have to fly within 1 KM of three nav buoys to reprogram them as homing signals. The Hydras will run into the station, there's nothing you can do about it. New Items: Booster, Advanced Blast Torpedo New Wingman: Bernardo * The Sightseer (Nebula Tours - 12775 cr. T) Defend the Sightseer from the Demon Pirates as it tours the Dusk and Far Space sectors. It's a bit tough because there's a lot of pirates. * Final Retribution (League of Scientists - 22750 cr. T) Escort Barghest to Cassitor's station. She will summon the Demon Pirates, who will then destroy Cassitor's station. Run for it as soon as you can, or they will attack you too. Bring a Radiation screen card. The Final Plan Unveiled (GalSpan - 46025 cr. R) Protect Hephaestus from the final Bora assault. Bring a fog radar card. Then, once that's done, retrieve Susan Bradley, and bring her to the Zeus. She will give a peace talk. This is the last GalSpan mission to win the game. Congratulations! BORA MISSIONS Withdraw From Independence (Bora - 9625 cr. H) Proceed to Independence base and protect the three shuttles. After they dock with the Integrity and the Integrity jumps out of the sector, your contract is complete. Note: I suggest you pick up a Glint Lt. Laser in your "Unmounted Stores" before this mission because the Bora's Arc Lt. Laser is useless against hulls. You are also given a Cutlass Multirole Bomber "as a gesture of friendship". New Items: Arc Lt. Laser, Power Sappers, Spire Rockets, Lead Target Assistant, Combat Scanner, Afterburner, Lock-on Warning New Wingman: Cathy Keels New Regional Pass: Hub to Bora New Ship: Cutlass Gate Blueprints (Bora - 9975 cr. B) Go to Dr. McLean. His mines will attack you. Destroy them, dock with his station, and he will give you TCG blueprints. You're done afterwards. New Items: Remote Sappers Recoil (Bora - 5075 cr. H) Head to Industrial to pick up a TCG coil. The station will be under attack by a disgruntled freighter captain and his automatic mines. Destroying the mine on the far side of the station, named Dorado-1 will neutralize the rest of them as well. Deliver the TCG coil to the technician in the Scrap Yards. He'll fix the gate, and the mission is complete. New Items: Boron Med. Laser, Plasma Rockets, Lock-on Defense New Wingman: Jasper New Regional Pass: Hub to Frontier * Magellan Shipment (Alpha Control - 5425 cr. H) Advance With Courage (Bora - 6825 cr. H) Protect the shuttle Courage as it retakes the carrier Intrepid. You will have to destroy the station's Powerplant to free the carrier. After that, destroy all the fighters. Get out as soon as you can, because shortly after the Intrepid jumps, Star Patrol enforcers show up, and you will more likely than not be destroyed by them if you're still there. Deja Vu (Bora - 4860 cr. H) Go to Drake, Pick up some parts, deliver them to Wrecktown. You'll be attacked by some mercenaries, who were the ones who bought the freighter and mines that you disabled in the Recoil mission. One of them will drop a crate of Contraband, which Arman Patrioli will pay 850 cr. for. New Wingman: Dorwin Kincaid * The Posse (Atlantic Casino - 8925 cr. F) NW * Fenris Arena (Fenris Arena - F) NW Core Weapon (Bora - 12600 cr. F) Retrieve the Armageddon Laser Core from Baroness Onrald. Redship Rory's pirate clan will attack, and the Persephone too if you get too close. In Onrald's sector, some of Baron Hajod's drones will attack as well. Destroy them, pick up the core, and head home. New Items: Burn-off Device, Afterburner Reserve, Shield Reserves New Ship: Battleaxe New Regional Pass: Frontier to Bora Risky Venture (Bora - 5775 cr. F) Protect the frigate Valiant as it attacks Venture Station. The Armageddon Laser will misfire, shorting out the Valiant's systems. They will eject the Laser. Pick it up, and dodge the fighters launched by the carrier. If you pick up the core before the Valiant is destroyed you will automatically fly through the Vegas gate when the Valiant is destroyed. A Matter of Virtue (Bora - 4625 cr. F) NW Deliver cargo to Virtue station. On the way back, you will see a Star Patrol agent being attacked by Skavs. If you don't help, or the Enforcer is destroyed, you lose 2000 cr. (And get 2625 cr.) * Illicit Pickup (Arman Patrioli - 12250 cr. F) New Items: EW Jammer * The Messenger (Baroness Onrald - 8400 cr. F) Bait and Switch (Bora - 12250 cr. B) Hijack the GalSpan Frigate Orpheus. Destroy all the fighters, and destroy the Powerplant by getting in REALLY close, between the two "wings", for lack of a better word, and pounding it with lasers (and / or whatever else you've got.) New Items: Ammo Hold, Radiation Screen, Fog Radar. New Ship: Mace New Regional Pass: Frontier to Twilight Regional Scouting (Bora - 3750 cr. B) Scout around the Champion and Portcullis sectors. On the way back through Champion, you'll see some Marauders working for GalSpan. Destroy them, and return to base for your big fat pay of 3750 cr. New Wingman: Jasper 500 Offline Mines (Bora - 4625 cr. B) NW Go find out why a minefield is malfunctioning. Hmmmm... GalSpan ships. I wonder.... Fry the Orions. You can help with the frigates, but you don't have to, and you get paid the same either way. Extraordinary Hunt (Bora - 10675 cr. T) Head out to Far Space. Defend yourself from the Demon Pirates on the way. You will meet a man named Ralph Lorsen. He tells you nothing important, just hit Esc. Pick up the Opaline, which is actually near the TCG Gate in a little "island" of asteroids and crystals, 90§ "North" of the main belt. New Items: Laser Reserves New Wingman: Nolt Lieber * Lost to the Fog (League of Scientists - 6230 cr. T) New Wingman: Bradford Brixx Recovery in Good Faith (Bora - 13090 cr. F) NW Bring an EMP Projector. Disable the two shuttles and they will give you access codes for the Sistine Chapel. Fly within 1.0 KM and it will start to head to Malkar's Barony. Destroy two wings of Barracudas, and one of Midges on the way there. Watch out for the turrets in Hajod's sector. New Items: Corona Device, Pulsar Laser * Arena Gambit (2450 cr. F) NW New Items: Booster or Smart Shields Descent into Madness (Bora - 20825 cr. T) Bring a Radiation screen card. You will be heading to Cassitor's station to get scanner information. Afterwards, head to the Dusk sector. Best thing to do is to use an EMP Projector to disable the first two Demons, otherwise you'll have to fight two more each time you land on a pad. There are three pads you will have to land at. After that, you can go home. Two Demons also appear after you land on the third pad, no matter what. New Items: Railgun New Ship: Warhammer * The Sightseer (Nebula Tours - 12275 cr. T) * Final Retribution (League of Scientists - 22750 cr. T) The Attack (Bora - 17850 cr. B) Patrol Champion, and New Dawn sectors. In the Mercy sector, there will be an invasion force. Beat down 4 each of Poseidons and Phoenixes, 3 Orions, and the destroyer Hydras. There's nothing you can do to save the New Dawn and Champion bases. New Items: Booster, Inertia Sappers New Ship: Claymore New Wingman: Ryan Saril Sour Colony (Bora - 8785 cr. B) TAKE NOLT LIEBER! Otherwise, you'll have to destroy about three times as many fighters, you only get paid 1069 cr, and nobody is happy. New Wingman: Jasper 1000 * Freedom and Humiliation (Malkar - 12285 cr. F) * The Bounty (Star Patrol - 3000 cr. F) New Wingman: The Demon * The Rory Sting (Star Patrol - 12000 cr. H) Aftermath of Destruction (Bora - 13125 cr. B) Retake Champion Shipyards. Destroy the fighters, defend the Bora shuttle, and destroy the GalSpan shuttles. After that, you can leave. New Items: Helios Rockets * Saving Spike (Cinder Station - 5920 cr. R) Weasel in the Coop (Bora - 22750 cr. R) There's two ways to complete this mission without being spotted. Number one: Fly straight "up", and approach the base from their central axis. Number two: Send your wingman to destroy the drones. The drones don't spot wingmen. (Big thanks to Lewis Cummings, and two anonymous tipsters for these tips (I got the same tip from 2 people in 2 weeks)) By the way, if you like free space battles, this, plus the next mission both have tons of enemies to practice on. It's fun!!! The Grand Plan (Bora - 13475 cr. R) Susan Bradley tells you about how all the Project Deliverance parts you've been gathering work together. She says to meet her strike force and the freighter Deliverance in Draconis Ripstar. However, you get ambushed on the way by GalSpan mercs. The first time something hits your hull, Susan Bradley shows up to help you, so if you want help, wait for a Disruptor Torpedo. When you see one, transfer all your shield energy to your Afterburners and Weapons. When it hits, the force will be with you. (I'm sorry. I had to. It was too funny to pass up.) The Final Assault on GalSpan (Bora - 46025 cr. R) Destroy the Hephaestus Module. On the way, destroy a wing of 4 Orions, and a whole bunch of Merc. Corvuses. In the Hephaestus sector, the Deliverance will drop the Hephaestus modules' shields. Get in close to the aft end and pound away while flying back and forth. (Literally. Use the Z key.) As soon as you're done, congratulate yourself on completing the Bora half of Tachyon: The Fringe. __________________ *** Ship Guide *** оооооооооооооооооо Note: No stats are written down about the Mako aside from speed. What's listed here is my best estimates, by comparing the graphs to other ships. Ship Name: Mako Class: Economy Class Fighter Speed: 550 SLU Accel: 4 Perform: 4 Energy: 7 Hull: 4 Shields: 4 Buy for: N/A Sell for: N/A Nothing to rave about. Average to low ratings except power, only two weapon slots, and only two CPU slots (Plus Afterburner and Afterburner Reserve slots.) You can't actually buy or sell this ship. You get it as a giveaway when you are booted out of Sol, and you are given 8500 cr. for it when you choose either GalSpan or Bora. Incidentally, if you use the RAGTAG cheat, you can buy and sell the Mako for 0 cr. Gee, if I could only find a car dealer with the same pricing system, I wouldn't need a buspass. GALSPAN VESSELS Ship Name: Poseidon Class: Multirole Bomber Speed: 470 SLU Accel: 4 Perform: 4.5 Energy: 6 Hull: 5 Shields: 5 Buy for: 60000 cr. Sell for: 36000 cr. I've never particularly liked the Poseidon. It's so slow it seems to just beg to be blown to bits. (The slowest fighter in the game.) Good weapon mounts, though. Ship Name: Orion Class: Multirole Fighter Speed: 540 SLU Accel: 6 Perform: 5 Energy: 5 Hull: 4 Shields: 6 Buy for: 44800 cr. Sell for: 26880 cr. This ship has equal (but different) weapons mounts and defense as the Poseidon. However, I prefer to fly this one because the handling and speed are much better, and it presents less of a target horizontally. For some reason, it costs less than the Poseidon. Go figure. Ship Name: Pegasus Class: Light Interceptor Speed: 615 SLU Accel: 7 Perform: 7 Energy: 4 Hull: 2 Shields: 6 Buy for: 70000 cr. Sell for: 42000 cr. This ship is the fastest ship that you can get, Bora or GalSpan (though only by 8 SLU over the Mace). It has very little in terms of weapon mounts, hull and shields, but speeding away from battles when you need to keeps you from taking much damage. Ship Name: Phoenix Class: Heavy Bomber Speed: 475 SLU Accel: 5 Perform: 4 Energy: 5 Hull: 7 Shields: 6 Buy for: 150000 cr. Sell for: 90000 cr. This ship can carry all the firepower you'll need. Defense is pretty good too, but handling and speed is quite low. Ship Name: Archangel Class: Heavy Assault Fighter Speed: 580 SLU Accel: 6 Perform: 6 Energy: 5 Hull: 5 Shields: 7 Buy for: 180000 cr. Sell for: 108000 cr. Personally, my favorite, GalSpan or Bora. It only carries average firepower, but the speed and defense are both excellent. Good for taking on lots of ships at once. BORA VESSELS Ship Name: Cutlass Class: Multirole Bomber Speed: 510 SLU Accel: 5 Perform: 5 Energy: 5.5 Hull: 5 Shields: 5 Buy for: 49000 cr. Sell for: 29400 cr. You are given this ship when you complete the "Withdraw from Independence" mission in the hub. It's an O.K. ship, but it's totally average. This ship is extremely welcome after flying the Mako, though. Ship Name: Battleaxe Class: Multirole Fighter Speed: 550 SLU Accel: 6 Perform: 6 Energy: 7 Hull: 8 Shields: 6 Buy for: 81250 cr. Sell for: 48750 cr. Personally, I think this ship is way underpriced. Comparing the stats to the Warhammer, the defense works out about the same (Adding the Hull, Shield, and Energy stats) and the speed and handling are all better. In fact, if it had more weapon mounts, I would fly it to the end of the game. Note that it's an upgraded Cutlass, so there's NO reason to keep the Cutlass once you've bought this one. Ship Name: Mace Class: Intercept Fighter Speed: 607 SLU Accel: 7 Perform: 6.5 Energy: 5 Hull: 6 Shields: 6 Buy for: 64000 cr. Sell for: 38400 cr. The fast and the furious. This ship gets you where you're going in the shortest time possible. It also carries an insane number of weapon mounts. However, if an enemy starts tailing you, it's a bit weak. (I think the Hull and Shield stats given are wrong.) Ship Name: Claymore Class: Heavy Bomber Speed: 485 SLU Accel: 5 Perform: 4 Energy: 4.5 Hull: 11 Shields: 5 Buy for: 110000 cr. Sell for: 66000 cr. This ship can carry just about all the rockets you want. However, the bad news: You get precisely one slot for lasers. The only spot to mount an EMP projector is the aforementioned one laser slot, IE you can't have both. It has the comparative speed and maneuverability that an 18-wheeler truck would have on the German Autobahn. And, the shields and energy replenishment is the lowest of all the Bora ships. Granted, the hull strength is incredible, but these four downers together mean that this ship doesn't last long in extended dogfights, and the only missions where you could really USE 100 rockets, there's so many fighters, it's not worth it. Ship Name: Warhammer Class: Heavy Assault Fighter Speed: 515 SLU Accel: 5 Perform: 5.5 Energy: 6 Hull: 10 Shields: 5 Buy for: 130000 cr. Sell for: 78000 cr. Overall, not bad. In my opinion, the only thing it's got that makes it better than the Battleaxe is greater flexibility and amounts of armaments. ____________________ *** Weapon Guide *** оооооооооооооооооооо When choosing weapons, keep in mind that the designers used a exponential scale. Each segment between two lines is an equal amount of power, no matter what the size difference between them may be. I think it's silly, but who asked me. I have made numerical estimates based on the charts, but it's at best an estimate. There are 6 segments in the power meters. I got "Range" numbers by locking on to a mine, then flying backwards until the "in range" pip grayed out. PLEASE NOTE: All guided weapons lock on at a range of 10 KM. The range below is the distance they will go before detonating. Don't know if this will be useful to anyone, but, hey.... I'm also arrogantly assuming that the distance is given in kilometers. If anyone knows for sure what they're in, let me know.... GALSPAN WEAPONS Glint Lt. Laser (1000 cr.) Basic, but functional. It's fast and cheap. Hull: 0.8 Shields: 1.8 System: 0 R.O.F.: 2 Range: 8.7 Flare Med. Laser (2200 cr.) In my opinion, this is the best GalSpan laser. It's efficient and cheap. Hull: 1.7 Shields: 2 System: 0 R.O.F.: 2 Range: 8.7 Deimos Hvy. Laser (2650 cr.) This does the same amount of damage in the same amount of time as the Flare Med. Laser. However, the fire rate is about 1/2 that of the Flare, and it uses a lot more energy. The only way I find this useful is by using the "Instant Recharge" trick (see cheats) when mounted with 3+ emitters. Hull: 2.6 Shields: 3 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.1 Range: 9.4 Spire Rockets (600 cr/40 ; 15 cr/each) Technically, this isn't a GalSpan weapon, but since you can buy it in the Hub before choosing GalSpan, I've included it. Slightly more powerful than the Flare Med, but weaker than the Deimos Hvy. Laser. I don't see any point to buying these for use after signing GalSpan, but that's just me. You can if you want. Hull: 2.2 Shields: 2.3 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.6 Range: 24.8 Helios Rockets (6000 cr/2; 3000 cr/each) You smack a fighter with one of these, it's instantly vaporised. This is a thermo-nuke. It is best saved for Capital ships, because it's so expensive, slow moving, and overpowering. Hull: 6 Shields: 6 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.6 Range: 14.3 Tiger Missiles (1000 cr/12; 83.33 cr/each) Decent against hulls, does the same shield damage as Flare Med. Laser. I've never liked them, but they are cheap. Hull: 3.0 Shields: 2.1 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.7 Range: 43.3 Sunspot Missiles (2250 cr/8; 281.25 cr/each) My favorite missiles. Powerful, fast reload. Fairly expensive, though. Hull: 3.5 Shields: 3.2 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.7 Range: 43.3 Tesla EMP Missiles (4250 cr/6; 708.33 cr/each) Does nothing to ships hulls. Mainly for frying systems. I suggest getting very close to your target before firing, because they're slow, and easy to shake. Hull: 0 Shields: 3 System: 6 R.O.F.: 0.6 Range: 30 Swarm Missiles (3900 cr/8; 487.5 cr/each) I've never liked these, because they seem to miss more often than not. Each firing is actually a salvo of four micro-missiles. Hull: 3.9 Shields: 3.1 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.6 Range: 32.8 Hunter Torpedo (1700 cr.) I've always liked this one. After it's fired, it locks on to the nearest target, without waiting for lock-on before firing. Fast recharge rate. Biggest disadvantages: Low damage for a rack-mount weapon. Sometimes goes for a different target than what you'd like. It works best from a range of 2.0 to 8.0 KM. Hull: 2.5 Shields: 2.8 System: 0 R.O.F.: 0.6 Range: 10.6 Solaris Torpedo (3000 cr.) This does almost as much damage as a Helios Rocket, when fully charged. Like all torpedoes, it is powered by the Laser Reserves, and has unlimited firings. It is, however, unguided. Hull: 5 Shields: 5.5 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.5 Range: 17 Disruptor Torpedo (4500 cr.) For shields only. It usually drops shields, when it connects. Takes forever to recharge, though, and often misses. Guided. Hull: 0 Shields: 5 System: 0 R.O.F.: 0.1 Range: 16 Blast Torpedo (3300 cr.) Releases insane amounts of radiation in a limited radius. It's powerful, but it's unguided. Note that there's a half-second delay between contact and detonation, so it's most useful when firing on a ship heading towards you, and a ship afterburning away from you will take little, if any, damage. Don't fire it too close to yourself, either! Hull: 3.5 Shields: 3.5 System: 0 R.O.F.: 0.6 Range: 6.8 Adv. Blast Torpedo (3500 cr.) Same as above, except guided. Hull: 3.5 Shields: 3.5 System: 0 R.O.F.: 0.6 Range: 6.8 Chatter Cannon (9100 cr/750; cr/each N/A; recharges each mission) Useless against shields, it fries hulls in no time flat. Although each shot does very little damage, it has an insane rate of fire. I do stand corrected on something though: An anonymous expert emailed me and said that this recharges for free after every mission, and you get the extra shots free with the ammo hold, and lo and behold, he's right!! I thought it was a one-shot weapon! Hull: 1.2 Shields: 0.1 System: 0 R.O.F.: 2.8 Range: 7 Tractor Wave (7150 cr.) Useless, useless, useless. Apparently, it slows down your opponent, if they're right in front of you, and also fries systems slowly. In practice, it doesn't seem to do anything. Hull: 0 Shields: 1.6 System: 0.1 R.O.F.: 1.1 Range: Unknown, greater than radar range. BORA WEAPONS Arc Lt. Laser (800 cr.) No one should have to deal with this. It's decent against shields, but useless against hulls. Buy a Glint before the Independence mission, and mount it to your Cutlass after. It's much better. Hull: 0.1 Shields: 1.9 System: 0 R.O.F.: 2 Range: 7.2 Boron Med. Laser (1750 cr.) Better than the Flare Med. Laser. It's roughly on par with the Deimos Hvy. and Heavy Mining Lasers too, adding in the ROF and energy consumption. Heads up, though, the range is a kilometer & a half less, though. Hull: 1.8 Shields: 2 System: 0 R.O.F.: 2 Range: 7.2 Heavy Mining Laser (2650 cr.) The best way to use this is to drop the shields with this weapon, and then use the Boron Med. for hulls, according to the guide. I say, skip it. Hull: 1.9 Shields: 2.1 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.9 Range: 7.9 Pulsar Laser (8650 cr.) Uses a lot of energy, but fires insanely, with each hit just a bit weaker than the Boron Med. Laser. And, finally, it's got a higher range than GalSpan's lasers! Woohoo! Hull: 1.5 Shields: 1.8 System: 0 R.O.F.: 2.9 Range: 10.2 Spire Rockets (600 cr/40 ; 15 cr/each) Slightly more powerful than the Heavy mining laser. It's pretty good in the beginning, but you'll soon outgrow it. Hull: 2.2 Shields: 2.3 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.6 Range: 24.8 Plasma Rockets (1400 cr/20; 70 cr/each) More expensive than Spire rockets, but it does much more damage, and even does damage if it's a close miss. Much better on shields than hulls. Hull: 3 Shields: 4 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.6 Range: 19.8 Helios Rockets (6000 cr/2; 3000 cr/each) Same as GalSpan's. Mega-firepower, mega-pricey. Hull: 6 Shields: 6 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.6 Range: 14.3 Remote Sappers (750 cr/2; 375 cr/each) Attaches to target and waits for detonation command. If you could mount more than two per rack mount at once, it might actually be useful. Hull: 1.8 Shields: 2 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.9 Range: 7 Inertia Sappers (1300 cr/12; 108.33 cr/each) Slows the ship down for 15 seconds. Hull: 1.7 Shields: 2.0 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.9 Range: 7 Power Sappers (1000 cr/16; 62.5 cr/each) Drains afterburner and weapon energy reserves for 30 seconds. Hull: 1.7 Shields: 2 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.9 Range: 7 Phase Sappers (1500 cr/16; 93.75 cr/each) Weakens shields for 20 seconds. It's fairly effective, but I personally think all of the sappers are useless. Hull: 1.8 Shields: 2.0 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.9 Range: 7 EMP Projector (6500 cr.) Does almost as much shield damage in the same amount of time as a Pulsar Laser. It goes after systems instead of hulls though. Uses a lot of power. Hull: 0 Shields: 1.8 System: 0.1 R.O.F.: 2.8 Range: 5.8 Rail Gun (7200 cr.) Excellent on hulls, decent on shields. Two great things: it travels instantly, so no misses because of targets changing direction, and its range. It shows a red "in range" firing pip, as long as the target is within radar range. Of course, it's practical range is MUCH less due to A)the sizes of ships, and B)the fact that it loses power the farther away you are but... This is also a great Capital ship weapon. Hit a powerplant, it's gone in one hit. Hull: 4 Shields: 3 System: 0 R.O.F.: 0.7 Range: Unknown, greater than radar range. Corona Device (5250 cr.) This is a proximity weapon. It uses your shield energy to make a blast torpedo explosion. The closer an enemy is, the more it's damaged. The in range pip shows another one of those infinite distance thingies, but it wont do any damage past about 0.6 KM (Tested on a mine) Hull: 3.1 Shields: 3.1 System: 0 R.O.F.: 1.1 Range: 0.6 ______________________ *** CPU Card Guide *** оооооооооооооооооооооо Lead Target Assistant (1500 cr.) I consider this one of three indispensable cards. It calculates where you should fire your primary weapon so that it will hit your opponent, assuming it stays heading in the same direction and at the same speed. Combat Scanner (3250 cr.) The second of my three. Tells you how much shield and hull strength is left, so you know what weapon you should use. Afterburner (2500 cr.) The last essential. Just in case you've been living in a cave until now, afterburners let you crank your speed for a limited time. It uses up your Afterburner reserves when in use. (they do recharge) Use the TAB key to activate it. Radiation Screen (4850 cr.) Limited use: prevents you from taking radiation damage in the Cassitor's Station and Twilight Field sectors in the Twilight region. Aim-Point Module (3800 cr.) Adjusts you lasers minutely so that when you fire, the lasers are aligned along the centerline of your ship at the exact distance of your target. Advanced Radar (3250 cr.) Cuts through jamming. Also prevents radar "jumping" in storms. Fog Radar (3250 cr.) For use in the Twilight region and Hephaestus sector. Cuts through the Fog. Lateral Thrust (6250 cr.) Allows you to strafe using the S and D keys. I don't know where this becomes available, I've never actually seen it in single-player (without using a cheat code.) Boosters (3800 cr.) Boosts your ship's top speed (and Afterburner top speed) by 25%. EW Jamming (6500 cr.) Helps prevent radar and missile lock-on. Lock-on Defense (5650 cr.) Drops a bundle of energy to try to confuse missiles. Hit C to use it. You only get 30 usages per mission. Lock-on Warning (3650 cr.) According to the Read Me file, the in-game description is wrong and this upgrade tells you when someone targets your ship. Smart Shields (4650 cr.) Automatically balances power between front and aft shields. Also decides what percentage of energy should be diverted to the shields from the engines. I'd like it better if all it did was balance the shields and allowed me to decide about the energy. Tracking Enhancements (3750 cr.) Decreases missile lock-on time by 25%. Burn-Off Device (4500 cr.) Tries to fry sappers by firing an EMP stream at them. It's automatic. Laser Reserves (3500 cr.) Increases your laser energy by 25%. Shield Reserves (2300 cr.) Increases your shield energy by 25%. Afterburner Reserve (2800 cr.) Increases afterburner energy by 25%. Note: There is absolutely NO reason not to take this upgrade: it has a reserved slot (no pun intended... for once) that nothing else can use. Ammo Hold (1200 cr.) Wanna guess? Yep, you're right. Increases the number of missiles, rockets etc. you can carry by 25%. _________________________ *** Wingman Assessment *** ооооооооооооооооооооооооо As above, any wingmen who become available to you on either side are marked with an asterisk. However, pilots available on only one side are marked either G or B. For everyone except Mishka Shaw, I give my opinion of them as compared to the other wingmen available at that time. * Pixie Kerral OK pilot, but you get what you pay for. Either defending you or capships, she keeps enemies on the defensive, but she doesn't know how to attack. Cost: 500 cr; 5% Weapons: EMP Projector; Heavy Mining Laser. Letzer: ?? Ship: Dart * Mishka Shaw In order to get her as a wingman, you have to save her life in the "GalSpan Escort" mission. It's more than worth the trouble. She's got the second-best attack (Next to Bernardo). The only thing that stops me from keeping her until the end of the game is that she flies a lower class ship, and her defense skills suck. (This is the only exception to the comparison rule I gave above.) Cost: 1350 cr; 7% Weapons: Deimos Hvy. Laser, Hvy. Mining Laser, Tiger Missiles Letzer: 79 Ship: Piranha B Cathy Keels Pretty good pilot overall. She has excellent weaponry, and she's available at a good price. Cost: 1100 cr; 7% Weapons: Pulsar Laser, Spire Rockets, Railgun Letzer: ?? Ship: Cutlass * Dorwin Kincaid He's not great for defense, because he's bad at maneuvering, but he's good at destroying enemies. He's also funny.... of course, I might just think that because his science and sci-fi trivia and puns remind me of me. Cost: 2650 cr; 12% Weapons: Boron Med. Laser, Heavy Mining Laser Letzer: 73 Ship: Dart * Jasper A machine. The great thing about it is if its destroyed, its available for hire again. Aside from that, I don't really like it. Cost: 1100 cr; 10% Weapons: Flare Med. Laser, Pulsar Laser, Spire Rockets Letzer: 80 Ship: Piranha G Lakita Ramos She's a decent pilot, but she's horribly expensive. She also carries bad weaponry. Cost: 4675 cr; 17% Weapons: Deimos Hvy. Laser, Tiger Missiles Letzer: 89 Ship: Pegasus G A.J. Freesh Hire this guy and you'll get a hickey on your ass...teroid. Personally, I think the only use for him is the Demeter mission where he butters up Captain Martez, saving you from fighting a wing of Orions. To be honest, I haven't used him much aside from that mission, so take that into account. Cost: 1600 cr; 7% Weapons: Deimos Hvy Laser x2, Swarm Missiles, Tiger Missiles Letzer: 78 Ship: Poseidon * Jasper 500 Much better than the original in every way. Good value for the price, and like the original, replaceable. Cost: 2200 cr; 10% Weapons: Pulsar Laser, EMP Projector, Spire Rockets Letzer: 92 Ship: Piranha G Tora Embers Pretty good at what she does, although a bit pricey. Lots of missiles. Cost: 3125 cr; 15% Weapons: Deimos Hvy. Laser, Swarm Missiles x2, Tesla EMP Missiles Letzer: 86 Ship: Orion B Nolt Lieber You'd think all he's good for is the one mission, "Sour Colony", but he's an excellent wingman. Fairly good weaponry, excellent attack and defense. Cost: 3350 cr; 12% Weapons: Pulsar Laser, Spire Rockets, Inertia Sappers, Phase Sappers Letzer: ?? Ship: Mace * Captain Jond Rand His description has a lot of caveats, but I've never had a problem with him. In fact, he's one of my favorite wingmen, and I'd say he's as good as - if not better than - Bradford Brixx. Rand occasionally forgets orders if you dont talk to him for 5 minutes, and goes and attacks whatever. Cost: 3550 cr; 12% Weapons: Pulsar Laser, Hunter Torpedo, Disruptor Torpedo, Spire Rockets Letzer: ?? Ship: Gar * Bradford Brixx Good attack, good defense, average weapons, and good overall value. Cost: 3750 cr; 15% Weapons: Pulsar Laser, Hunter Torpedo, Spire Rockets x2 Letzer: ?? Ship: Gar B Ryan Saril I really don't like this guy. Weapons out the wazoo, excellent fighter, OK defense.... but he's always hitting me with weapons because he doesn't care if I die. I don't ever bother with him because The Demon is available a couple missions later. Cost: 4100 cr; 21% Weapons: Pulsar Laser, Spire Rockets x2, Plasma Rockets, Helios Rockets Letzer: 90 Ship: Claymore * Jasper 1000 The last in the Jasper series. Good thing, in my opinion. They're starting to get annoying. Decent weapons, (as compared to other wingmen now available) average fighting and defensive skills, and yet again, replaceable. Good for the pilot who cant keep wingmen alive, useless otherwise. Cost: 4400 cr; 17% Weapons: Pulsar Laser, Hunter Torpedo, Swarm Missiles, Spire Rockets Letzer: ?? Ship: Gar G Bernardo In my opinion, simply The Best Wingman Available. His odd messages don't interfere with his ability to be the best. Excellent attack and defense, and value to the credit is amazing. The ONLY wingman I've NEVER seen die. (I once killed him myself, just to be sure that he didn't have God mode, but my ENEMIES have never killed him.) Cost: 6125 cr; 20% Weapons: Deimos Hvy. Laser x2, Hunter Torpedo, Solaris Torpedo, Blast Torpedo Letzer: 99 Ship: Phoenix B The Demon She's very good, but she is single-minded, and sometimes gets shot because she's focusing on one target exclusively. Cost: 6625 cr; 22% Weapons: Pulsar Laser, Spire Rockets x2, Helios Rockets x2 Letzer: ?? Ship: Warhammer ______________ *** Cheats *** оооооооооооооо NovaLogic programmed a good selection of cheats into the game, but in order to use them, you need to enable cheats. To do so, press NumPad 7. Type in: IM A CHEATER and press enter. Cheats will be enabled. In order to use the cheats, again press NumPad 7, enter the cheat of your choice, and press enter. Be warned, Bruce Campbell starts insulting and ridiculing you if you use them. (Oh, the pain! The pain of it all!) These are the cheats that NovaLogic programmed in to the game: QUICKENING - Toggle God mode on/off. DILITHIUM - Restore all energy reserves to full. COME GET SOME - Restores all ammo to full. KESSEL RUN - Restores hull strength to full. THERE IS NO SPOON - Instant mission win when you dock with starbase. RAGTAG - All ships (GalSpan, Bora, and the Mako) owned. BOOM STICK - All items available for purchase. ONE MILLION DOLLARS - Adds 5000 credits to your account. SAY AHH - Opens a targeted Tachyon Gate, if it is closed. (With God mode active, you can still die from Radiation. Go figure.) BTW: Six of the above cheat codes are "borrowed" from movies and TV. If you can find all of them, and know what movies/shows they're borrowed from, you have no life. PS: I have no life. These are things that were (probably) not meant to be a game cheat: Nonstop Burning: If you need to get somewhere quickly, do a Burn (Tab key) and start holding the Slide (Q) key. You will continue traveling at your afterburner velocity, without using your burner energy. (Discovered by just about everyone; including myself) Instant Recharge: Torpedoes are great, but they take a long time to fire. When you fire a torpedo, press the "Pause" key. Everything stops, but the torpedoes continue reloading. If you have Hunter torpedoes, holding down the fire button while quickly un-pausing and pausing again can let you get off a whole swarm of them almost simultaneously. You can usually hit an enemy at perfect straight to dead if you do this enough. (Discovered by me) Instant Lock on: Guided weapons sometimes take a long time to lock on. However, if you start by facing your enemy, and cycle the weapon in (By pressing the 1 or 2 key) they will start by being locked on to your enemy. (Discovered by me) Big Bucks FAST: Use the "Ragtag" cheat above and return to base. Go to "Shipyard" and sell the four most expensive ships. Hit "Back". Repeat as much as you want, before you re-launch, they'll just keep reappearing. (Discovered by me) Disrupted Pirates: Sometimes the Demon Pirates will explode when you hit them with disruptor torpedoes. (Discovered by me; this is more of a bug than a cheat) Free Extra Missiles: If you put the ammo hold card in, load up your missiles, then drop another card onto the ammo hold slot, you get to keep the extra missiles loaded. (Discovered by an anonymous tipster) If you have found another hidden trick, please do me a favor and pass it along to me so I can include it in the next version. Please tell me where you got it, or if you discovered it yourself, include your name and/or email in the BODY of the email if you want to be in the credits. ____________________________________ *** Hidden Bonuses (Crates, etc) *** оооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооооо You start the game already in possession of a crate, which was lost off a freighter. (Full story, see TNS news) If you drop it off at New Zurich Orbital, in the Earth sector, you will receive 200 cr. There's a second crate of trade goods in the Ganymede asteroid field (which is mentioned in TNS); it nets you 200 cr. from New Zurich. During the first Kuiper mission (Security Breach), go to the Luna sector. There will be a freighter, the Ontario, which has a generator problem. Drop the Ontario's shields, or destroy the Shield generator to save their lives. They say you get paid, but I don't think you do. In the scrap yards during the Hospital Emergency mission there is a crate of contraband towards the end of the asteroid field the frigate is drifting towards. Arman Patrioli gives you 850 cr. for it. Under the Star Patrol Farpost station is a crate containing Medical Supplies. It is only available to Bora, and it should be dropped off at Mercy Hospital for 550 cr. This is available during multiple missions. In the Bora Gate Blueprints mission, there is a crate of spare parts on one of the landing pads in the Poranis Nebula. Drake facility, in the Industrial sector of the Hub gives you 550 cr. for it. In the Scrap Yards while flying the Recoil mission there is a crate of 250 cr. near the station. In the Nereus Research sector, there is a crate of food supplies. It's available in multiple missions. Near Atlantic casino is a crate of 777 cr. (Is this a slot machine joke? 7-7-7?) In the Illicit Pickup mission, if you're flying GalSpan, turn right immediately on entering Foothold, and fly past the station, you'll find a crate of Bora Mining Equipment in the asteroids. It's worth 650 cr, but I don't know who wants it. (I've been told that it is Apollo Research, but I've never seen them accept it myself.) In Ceriphilon Production (GalSpan only) is a crate of spare parts in the middle "pathway" between the two big whatchamajiggers (Drydocks?). In the Color of the Nose mission (GalSpan) near the Arteris Array station is a crate containing 500 cr. Draconis Ripstar Field: There is a crate containing 1000 credits towards the underside of the station in that sector. In Redship Rory's lair, there are several crates: One contains contraband (Illegal Narcotic) and 5 crates each containing 100 cr. Arman Patrioli in the frontier will give you 850 cr. for the contraband. During the Risky Venture mission, there is a crate near the station with Medical Supplies. Mercy Hospital gives you 550 cr. For it. While flying the Sour Colony mission there are two crates of food supplies on separate landing pads of one station in the Haven sector. In the Twilight region, turn about 90ш left as soon as you launch, and go about 10 KM. You will see the wreckage of a ship crashed into one of those blue domes. (Presumably, it's the Munn mentioned in the "Tachyon Manual" file.) Inside the ship is a crate of 5000 cr. In the Demon Pirate lair, there is a crate very near to the station. It is Contraband (Illegal Chemical Compounds) and again, Arman Patrioli will give you 850 cr. for it. Sometimes Demon pirate fighters will be destroyed when you hit them with disruptor torpedoes. (This is more of a bug than a cheat...) In Cassitor's station there is a crate containing Lost artworks, inside the station. Fly to the top half of the blue bubble-like thing, and you'll be able to beam it aboard. Malkar, in the Frontier region, will pay 1000 cr. for it. Available multiple missions, but you can only get it once. In the Drone Abduction mission, there is also a crate of spare parts on one of the platforms. 550 cr. from Drake in the Industrial sector for it. In the Mercenary sector during the Identity Game mission, there are two crates. One contains lost artworks (1000 cr. from Baron Malkar) and the other is Illegal Chemical Compounds. (Arman Patrioli, 850 cr.) * NOTE RE ARMAN PATRIOLI: Arman is VERY RARELY available, but when he is, he's in the Dark Space sector of the Frontier region. I think it's random when he appears. The only mission where he can ALWAYS be found is the "Hunting the Hunter" mission (GalSpan), but that's useless to you, because you have to finish that mission before you can do the "Illicit Pickup" mission, and he won't buy anything until then. (There's only one crate of contraband up to this point anyways.) This listing of hidden items is by no means complete. If you have found another one, please send it to me. Include what it is, where you found it, what mission you were flying. (Include your name and/or email, if you wish to be listed in the credits. If you do not include these in the BODY (text) of your email, I will assume you do not wish to be listed.) ___________ *** FAQ *** ооооооооооо 1. What are the differences in flying Bora versus GalSpan? From a weapons point of view, GalSpan has bad lasers, but most missiles and torpedoes are guided. Bora, NOTHING is guided, rockets are a bit less powerful than missiles, and lasers are excellent. Depending on your personal accuracy, and also on the speed of your computer, you might find it very difficult to fly Bora. In terms of moralistic, it's just a game. Who cares? Like I suggest (and for that matter so do the designers) is to copy your game to a second slot before the Independence missions, so you can play both sides. 2. I can't get cheat X to work. If its a cheat preprogrammed into the game, did you remember to enter "im a cheater" first to enable cheats? Also remember that the cheats have to be typed into the dialog box that comes up when you hit NUMBER PAD 7. The 7 above the Y and U keys will not work. The Instant recharge cheat: This is only for the RELOAD rate. It does nothing for the laser power reserves. The others: I tried to make them as clear as possible. Just reread them and try again. If you REALLY have trouble, email me. 3. I've found a mistake / cheat / crate. How can I get ahold of you? If you've found a cheat or crate that I don't have listed, great! If you've found a mistake, or something you think I should include, it's all Microsoft's fault! No, I'm joking. If you think you have found any mistakes, cheats, crates, or anything else that you feel my guide is lacking, PLEASE first double check that it is (or is not) there. If you're sure that I've missed something, please e-mail me with whatever it is you've found. My e-mail address is SpockJr@SpockJr.com. I will try to answer every email, but no guarantees. If you want to be listed in the Credits section below, please include your name and/or e-mail address in the BODY (TEXT) of your email. I will not publish either without your written request / permission, and I will remove it if you ever ask. One thing: If you got it from someone else, GIVE THEM CREDIT. Thank you. 4. Where can I find a copy of Tachyon? I got my copy one day by walking into a Future Shop (The Canadian best buy) when I was bored and grabbing it off the shelf. Try a nearby software store, if they don't have it in stock, but do special orders, the full title is "Tachyon: The Fringe". It was created by NovaLogic. I've also found that they're selling for dirt cheap prices now on Yahoo Auctions and eBay (Both listed in the Links section) (Coming back to this question, I realize, why would you be reading this if you didn't already have a copy, but I've decided to leave it in.) 5. My computer seemed to pause for a minute and then I blew up. Ah, you have experienced state of the art technology! NovaLogic programmed Tachyon to be VERY graphics rich, far more so than needed. Could be worse: your computer could do like mine used to and only render one screen per second, even with nothing in front of you. (If this is also happening to you, you have my heartfelt sympathy.) Two possibilities: Upgrade your computer. Getting a better processor, video card, or more RAM will all help to some degree. If you don't know computers inside and out, find a computer guru, and wave a rental of Star Trek / Star Wars / The Matrix etc. in his/her face and ask for help. Please don't email me asking for help! I simply don't have enough time in my life, I'm not actually there, and we might have miscommunications that would cost a lot to fix if your computer gave up the ghost. Incidentally, you can often get near-top-of- the-line parts on Yahoo and eBay auctions. Be careful though, some people try to rip you off there. Second possibility: Press "pause" repeatedly. When you do this, the game will refresh as fast as you're hitting pause. This does make playing the game kinda unwieldy though, especially if you fly using the keyboard and mouse. 6. Where can I find these wingmen / ships / items? Wingmen can be hired through the "Wingmen" subset of the Job Board. Ships can be bought in the Shipyard (In the Hangar). Weapons and CPU cards can be bought and mounted by selecting "Configure Ship" in the hangar. _______________ *** Credits *** ооооооооооооооо All the websites (authorised or unauthorised) who host my guide. (And to the unauthorised websites: You wanna email me? I don't mind you hosting my guide, but it would be nice to know where it is, and besides, I can let you know when there's a new version.)(Aside I can't resist: I'm author-ised. I've written something, I live off of caffiene and little else, pounding away at my computer until three in the morning, I'm always broke, and I've never been recognised for my hard work!! (Loosely stolen from Spider Robinson's Callahan's Con ...my favorite author. Go read his books!)) Sephirstein for getting me started with FAQS. I also borrowed a lot of structure and copyright data for this FAQ from the "Shining Force" Walkthrough that he started, that we now co-author. NovaLogic: Thank you for making such a great game. Now make a sequel! IDM Computer Solutions: For making UltraEdit, a text editor with extras that make it extremely useful for writing fixed-width and HTML files. Bboyhops: For contributing a whack of hidden crates. Keep them coming! Daniel Palma: For contributing a hidden fight and telling me about something I missed in the manual (which led to me finding another crate.) By the way: Daniel, if you're reading this, I'm sorry I didn't answer your e-mail! I deleted it by mistake. I found the Munn.... A Figure In Black: for contributing a hidden crate. Lews Cummings: For teaching me how to stay undetected in the "Weasel in the coop" mission. All the anonymous tipsters who have contributed without recognition: My thanks. To date, there are six of you. Your Name Here: Find me an error, cheat or crate and e-mail it to me. _____________ *** Links *** ооооооооооооо NovaLogic - www.novalogic.com GameFAQs - www.gamefaqs.com Yahoo Auctions - auctions.yahoo.com eBay - www.ebay.com IDM / UltraEdit - www.ultraedit.com _____________________________ *** Copyright Information *** ооооооооооооооооооооооооооооо This guide was created, and is owned by J. Baker. It is copyrighted as of 2002. This guide may be placed on any publicly accessible website, so long as it is used it its original, unedited and unaltered format, and I am notified IN ADVANCE of the website address and name. This guide cannot be used for profitable, promotional, or commercial uses. This guide may not be used as a "bonus" in any transaction, as this creates incentive to buy. This guide may not be used in any manner not specifically outlined above without express written permission from me, J. Baker. This includes (however is not limited to) commercial game websites, e-zines, magazines, and other printed mediums. I will not be held responsible in any way for damages of any kind (IE to your game, computer, self, others, etc.) resulting from use of this guide. Please report any violations of this copyright to me, J. Baker, at SpockJr@SpockJr.com. NovaLogic has expressly denied all warranties, express or implied barring the following: NovaLogic warrants that a Tachyon: The Fringe CD-ROM will be free of defects in workmanship and materials for a period of 90 days from the date of purchase. Tachyon is otherwise provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not: (i) use or transmit any Materials on or to any other Web site or network without prior written approval from NovaLogic; (ii) modify, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or create derivative works based on any Materials; (iii) reproduce any Materials other than as specified above; (iv) distribute, license, rent, sell, lease or otherwise transfer any Materials; or (v) remove, obscure or alter any notice of copyright or other proprietary notices present on or in any Materials. NovaLogic does not endorse or stand behind the accuracy, truthfulness, or reliability of any information (including statements of opinion or advice) provided on their site. You represent, warrant and covenant that: (i) you will comply with all applicable laws, regulations and orders of any governmental authority in your use of this Site and the Materials (including, without limitation, all export control laws, regulations, and orders); (ii) you are not located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any country to which export of any Materials is prohibited by U.S. or Canadian law, regulation or order. Tachyon and all documentation is copyright 2000 by NovaLogic Inc. All images in the HTML version are copyright 2000 by NovaLogic inc. and are used WITH permission. NovaLogic, NovaWorld and the NovaLogic logo are registered trademarks and the NovaWorld logo, Tachyon, the Fringe, Jake Logan and Voice-Over-Net are trademarks of NovaLogic, Inc. Windows and Microsoft are registered trademarks of The Microsoft Corporation, 1981-2003. Star Trek is a registered copyright of Paramount pictures, 1968-2003. Star Wars is copyright 1977 Twentieth Century Fox. The Matrix is a copyright of Warner Brothers, 1999.