DESCENT: ______ ____ _____ _____ ______ ______ _ ____ _____ \ __/ | _ \ | __/ | __/ \ __/ | _ / /_\ | _/ | __/ | |_ | | \ | | |_ | |_ \ \ | |/ / /|_|\ | | | |__ | _| | |_/ / | _| | _| \ \ | _/ / _ \ | | | __| | | | _ | | |__ | |__ __\ \ | | / / \ \ | |_ | |__ |_| |_| \_\ |____\ |____\ /_____\|_| /__/ \__\ |___\ |____\ THE GREAT WAR __ __ ____ ____ _____ _ ____ | \ / | | __| | _ \ | _ | | | | __| | \ / | | |__ | | \ \ | |_| | | | | |__ | |\ \/ /| | | __| | | | | | _ | | | |__ | | | \__/ | | | |__ | |_/ / | | | | | |__ __| | |_| |_| |____| |____/ |_| |_| |____| |____| ____________ / \ / ** \ \ / \ / \ / \ = / *** = ** ** == ** ****===*** == === -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Game: "Descent: Freespace" Platform: PC Version: 2.00 By: David "CuBes" Wood Contact: davidlcwood@yahoo.com Updated: 2-05-04 _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ ____ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ ____ | * Table of Contents * | | * * | | * 1yz........................Update History * | | * 2yz.....................Legal Information * | | * 3yz..........................Introduction * | | * 4yz......................Before You Start * | | * 5yz.............Single Player Medal Guide * | | * 5az..................Basic Training 3 * | | * 5bz...................Field of Battle * | | * 5cz...................Avenging Angels * | | * L 5dz....Out of the Dark/Paving the Way * | | * E 5ez...............Advanced Training 2 * | | * V 5fz..........The Hammer and the Anvil * | | * E 5gz......................First Strike * | | * L 5hz......................The Big Bang * | | * 5iz............La Ruota Della Fortuna * | | * N 5jz........................Shell Game * | | * A 5kz..................Enter the Dragon * | | * M 5lz.....................Playing Judas * | | * E 5mz..........................Doomsday * | ------| * S 5nz..........A Failure to Communicate * |------ | * 5oz............................Exodus * | | * 5pz.........................Last Hope * | | * 5qz...............Reaching the Zenith * | | * 5rz..............Running the Gauntlet * | | * 5sz.......................Black Omega * | | * 5tz...............Clash of the Titans * | | * 5uz.........................Good Luck * | | * 6yz....................Multiplayer Medals * | | * 6az..............Running the Gauntlet * | | * 6bz.........................Last Hope * | | * 6cz....................Convoy Assault * | | * 6dz.......................Unstoppable * | | * 6ez..........A Failure to Communicate * | | * 6fz...................Vasudan Assault * | | * 6gz.......................Black Omega * | | * 6hz............................Exodus * | | * 6iz....................Cruiser Rescue * | | * 6jz....................Orion Recovery * | | * 7yz.....................Ace Badges & Rank * | | * 7az......................Point System * | | * 7bz....Single Player Points and Kills * | | * 8yz............Frequently Asked Questions * | | * 9yz........................Special Thanks * | |____* *____| \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ _______________________________________________________________________________ |1yz Update and Version History / |______________________________/ ____________________________________11-18-02____________________________________ Started and completed the guide. ____________________________________11-28-02____________________________________ Decided to make guide into FAQ. Recovered it from message boards and saved it on computer. ____________________________________12-05-02____________________________________ Made the Guide more detailed, added Rank and Ace Badges, changed some of the information, added example. ____________________________________12-28-02____________________________________ Started the ASCII art and changed the setup to accommodate GameFAQs. ____________________________________12-29-02____________________________________ Finished the ASCII art, added FAQ info, Table of Contents, Legal Info., Update and Version History, FAQ, and Thanks To and Credits. Polished up the guide and started to put in difficulty levels needed to get medals. Did lots of work today... thinking of putting 4(variable) next to medal names for simpler usage of the find tool. ____________________________________12-30-02____________________________________ Going through the game and checking difficulty levels which are not complete yet. Touching up guide some more, changed the way it looks. Completed V. 1.00 ____________________________________12-31-02____________________________________ Still getting the difficulty levels. Fixing some errors in document. _____________________________________1-1-03_____________________________________ Happy New Years!! Today I finished the difficulty levels, brushed up on the guide, and started the level ratings for Rank. _____________________________________1-2-03_____________________________________ Went through and checked FAQ for errors and read it over to see if everything is good. Working on level ratings for Rank (MUCH more work than I thought it would be). Completed V. 1.01 _____________________________________1-3-03_____________________________________ Still working on the ratings for rank. It may take a while. Fixed an error thanks to Tahna Los. _____________________________________1-4-03_____________________________________ Same thing. _____________________________________1-6-03_____________________________________ Same thing. Fixed more errors. Completed V. 1.02 _____________________________________1-7-03_____________________________________ Changed the guide tremendously to make it easier to use. _____________________________________1-10-03____________________________________ Completed the ratings for both Rank and Ace Badges. This might be my last update for a while. Completed V. 1.03 _____________________________________2-8-03_____________________________________ Changed many errors and legal junk. Got my computer up and running again. V. 1.04 _____________________________________4-24-03____________________________________ Fixed errors here and there, read a few e-mails for the guide, added a site to the list of sites that can post this guide. V. 1.5 _____________________________________5-11-03____________________________________ Changed parts of guide that are barely noticeable, changed the rank section completely. _____________________________________5-16-03____________________________________ Put in Multiplayer Medals. Other than that, made changes that were barely noticeable. V.1.6 _____________________________________6-30-03____________________________________ Well, I'm back. I've started doing the multiplayer medals section, redoing the Ace Badges section (DMan pointed out a mistake I had made), and maybe even making the last big change to this guide. But maybe not. I knew when I started that I was delving into an area almost unknown to man... _____________________________________9-21-03____________________________________ Well, I'm not going to really do that much now since I don't have the time. But I do feel like I need to make an Emergency Update, partly because I feel that I haven't done much on the guide in a while and partly because people are telling me to. So instead of waiting until I have it all finished, I may just do it bit by bit. Sorry this is sooo belated, I know I promised it in the summer, but I had my room to remodel and I just got my computer set up a few days ago. Now that I've found time to get on my computer, I am doing this. If I don't have enough excuses yet, then add the fact that I'm a few weeks into being into a sophomore, not like many people here would know how it is because the majority is younger than me on gaming websites. So, bear with me and I'll eventually get it done, one way or another. Make sure not to say anything that may piss me off right now or you'll automatically go to my list of blocked e-mails. Sooo, with that we have emergency update 1.61. _____________________________________2-05-04____________________________________ Another update. I've taken out unneeded info, put in a lot of useful info. I've added a new section, combined rank and ace badges, and made many small changes. Long time users may have trouble adjusting to the new setup, but it also conserves space and time on my part. I haven't had much luck with the multiplayer section, so it will have to remain the way it is until the winds change in my favor. The point system is under construction, I'm trying to figure it all out, but I have made it less confusing so everyone knows exactly what I do. And so, this is huge change V. 2.00. _______________________________________________________________________________ |2yz Legal Info. / |_______________/ This document is protected under Copyright law, (C) 2002 by David Wood. The only places it can be found are listed below. http://www.gamefaqs.com http://www.dlh.net http://www.neoseeker.com If it is found anywhere else including another FAQ/Guide or message board it is a violation of copyright law. Please tell me if you find it anywhere besides the sites listed above! Feel free to make a link to this page and to print or copy down any information needed, as long as you do not distribute any part of the document to, or as part of, an organization, free or otherwise, without my permission. This document is for private use only. _______________________________________________________________________________ |3yz Intro./ |_________/ Hello and welcome to the first and, by the date of December 29, 2002, only Descent: Freespace medal guide on the internet (though it may not be anymore)! My name is David Wood, but on the internet I go by my handle, CuBes. I live in the suburbs of a small village in the state of New Mexico in the U.S.A. which is called Cloudcroft. I made this guide, because, when I was younger I always was looking for something that helped me get all the medals in Descent: Freespace. However, I could never find one. Now I am a veteran to the game and have gotten all the medals (to my knowledge) so I decided to make this guide to help all those other people out there who still play this great game. If you have any information, suggestions, or questions regarding this FAQ or an aspect of the game, my E-mail is at the top just below the ASCII art. Unlike most FAQ/guide writers, I will accept any feedback about the guide, including mistakes. However, please do not ask a question that is already answered in this FAQ nor send me prank mail, ads, or junk mail of any kind. Any of the above (except questions, though I prefer to develop my FAQ section) will be ignored and blocked if continued. My E-mail is up there only for those who need it. Please don't send me E-mail asking why I haven't replied. I will reply if I feel there is a need to and I will try not to neglect any questions, though sometimes I forget to check my e-mail (I'm only human). Thank you for reading this section, and enjoy the guide! _______________________________________________________________________________ |4yz Before you start/ |___________________/ So you're going to collect medals in Descent: Freespace? Well first you need to know a thing or two! This section covers many things, from the basics to the advanced. Even if you are an expert I strongly suggest you look through this section. You can skip through and see what information might be useful to you. --What are medals? In Freespace, you get medals for doing certain things. Each medal is supposed to symbolize something, like if you got the Distinguished Service Cross, this would mean you perform your duties well. But really the thing medals are for in this game is to show other people how good you are. And collecting medals is very catchy! You get only one medal per mission. --What are Ace Badges? Ace badges are, obviously, badges and not medals (though they are included in there). There is only one thing you do to earn ace badges. That thing is... killing! Ace badges are only earned when you reach a certain number of fighter and bomber kills. That's the combination of fighter and bomber kills ONLY. (For more information see Ace Badges section.) The following list shows the ships you can destroy to obtain ace badges, which are in order of how heavily equipped the fighter is. -Terran- -Vasudan- -Shivan- Valkyrie Anubis Scorpion Apollo Seth Manticore Ulysses Horus Dragon Hercules Thoth Basilisk Athena Amun Shaitan Ursa Osiris Nephilim Medusa --What is rank? Much of what I know about rank is just educated guessing, but I will explain anyway. Rank is your status in the game. To be determined, rank takes into account many things from medals and ace badges. One thing that determines rank is how many kills you have, though kills in rank, unlike ace badges, are also affected by what kind of ship it was you destroyed. Since there are all sorts of different things being thrown in, the programmers can't use the same system they do in getting medals (completing certain objectives or events) or ace badges (getting to a certain number of kills). Instead they must convert all the information that is used for rank into one unit, and then the game adds all those units up. Combined, those units determine your rank. Everyone I know and I call those units points. Everything in the game has a default point value, but this can be changed in FRED (I have no clue how). In this guide I assume everything has its default point value. (See Rank & Point sections for more info.) The following is a list of all the different positions of rank, in the order that you get them, plus the point range for each, and how many pins you have for each one. If there is a - next to a number, it means one pin has no triangles on it. If there is a + next to a number, it means there is a gold pin on that many regular pins. (See The Medal Box in this section for more info) RANK POINTS PINS Ensign 0-4000 1 Lt. Junior Grade 4001-10000 -2 Lieutenant 10001-25000 2 Lt. Commander 25001-50000 -3 Commander 50001-150000 3 Captain 150001-400000 4 Commodore 400001-2000000 +1 Rear Admiral 2000001-5000000 +2 Vice Admiral 5000001-9000000 +3 Admiral 9000001< +4 --How do I know when I get a medal? You will know when you get a medal on the debriefing screen of the mission. Normally there is only the debriefing screen, along with the usual buttons. When you get a medal, ace badge, or promotion, there will be an additional screen connected on the side of the first. This screen has what all medals, ace badges, or promotions you received in the mission. --How come I didn't get a medal on this level? Most likely there is no medal for you to get on that level. If the level is listed on this guide and you didn't get it, then you probably missed a part of the instructions that were needed to acquire the medal. If you did everything word for word, e-mail me and I'll get back to you. --The Medal Box-- --How do I find the medal box? There are two ways to get to it. The first is to meet up with the situation described in "How do I get a medal?", and then find the medal icon that is located on the medal screen. The second is more complicated, but always available. On the Flight Deck, find the Barracks and click on it. This will take you to a screen with the different players you've made, single and multi player, plus it will show you all time stats for each player. To get to the medal box, click on the medal icon that is in the lower middle area of the screen. --Where does each medal belong? Going left to right and top to bottom, first is the Conspicuous Gallantry medal, and next is your current rank, then next are the Ace Badges, and then the Vasudan Alliance medal. The first one on the next row is the Distinguished Flying medal, then the Commendation Medal, then the Pilot Wings, then the Galatea Survivor medal, and finally the Legion of Merit medal. On the next row, the first thing is the Meritorious Unit, then next is the Medal of Honor, next is the Galactic Service medal, followed by the Military Defense medal, and then the Good Conduct medal, and finally the Distinguished Service Cross. --I need an explanation of the medal box! No problem. I even have a pre-made ASCII art medal. ____________ / \ / ** \ \ / \ / \ /_ \ = /|\ *** = ** \ ** == ** (League of Defense 2) ****===*** == === The way the medals are set up is like so: each time you get a new medal, it appears in the medal box. When you get a repeater, a small patch will appear on the cloth part of the medal (this is what the stars in the picture represent). When you get 3 of a medal, 2 patches will appear, one on top of the other but still with enough room to count them. Some of these patches are hard to see, and it is hard to use them to see how many medals you have. The arrow in the picture represents the cursor in Freespace. (League of Defense 2) is the name and number of this medal, which only appears when you move the cursor over the medal. ___ ___ /*^*\ /*^*\ |*<0>*| |*<#>*|<--- Double Ace \___/ \___/ The ace badges are circular, with a star in the middle and ridges on the edge. The ace badges are set up a little differently than the medals. There are only 3 badges, and each have a minimum fighter/bomber kill limit that must be hit to get the badge. When you get the second ace badge, instead of sitting on top of the first or replacing it, it will just show up next to it, and so will the third. _ _ /_\ <---- Lt. Junior Grade V Rank is set up much differently than both ace badges and medals. You start out as an Ensign, which has 1 pin with the triangles. Then you get promoted to Lt. Junior Grade, which has 2 pins, one without triangles. Then you get promoted to Lieutenant, which has 2 pins, both with triangles. Next is Lt. Commander with 3 pins, 1 without triangles. Then you get to Commander and you get 3 pins, all with triangles. When you get to captain you get 4 pins with triangles. After that you go to Commodore and go back to 1 pin, with triangles, and it has a small, round, gold pin on it. You get one more of these as you rise in rank after Commodore, for Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, and Admiral. --Other Useful Information-- --A note to Windows users: If you run Windows NT or later, you can press Alt+Tab during game play to minimize Freespace. However, this can be dangerous because the game can crash if you try to bring it back up. In order to avoid this, first minimize all programs, press Control+Alt+Delete to open the Task Manager, go to the applications tab, highlight Descent: Freespace, and click the button that says 'Switch To'. Recently I have run into a strange glitch of some sort where the game sort of freezes. It may have to do with the fact I am running the game in hardware mode. This seems to be overcome only by pressing pause in mission and minimizing then. You may or may not want to take the risk of using Alt+Tab! --You can restart a campaign without losing any stats or medals. To do this, first go to the Flight Deck, then click Campaigns, then select the campaign you want to restart, then click restart campaign in the lower right corner of the screen. --There is something useful you can use while in mission to see what kills you have and what objectives you've completed. To access it, press F4. The mission log has 3 parts: The objective screen displays what your objectives are and whether or not you've completed them. It will always display Primary and Secondary objectives, but Bonus objectives only appear on this screen when you've completed them. Uncompleted objectives are represented by a white circle, complete by a greened in circle, and failed by a red x-ed out circle. The message log displays all messages received in mission, and at what time. Not too useful I think. The event log shows when objectives are satisfied, when enemy wings arrive and depart, when ships arrive and depart, when ships are destroyed and by whom, but unfortunately it only tells the name of the ships, not their class. There are three useful glitches I have found in the game, and I will make reference to them throughout the guide so you may want to take note. --The first glitch is: if, on any level, you enter cheat mode (type www.volition-inc.com in mission) then enable infinite weapons for yourself (hold ~ and press w), your ship will have infinite missiles and weapons energy on any level until you quit or until you disable the code. --The second glitch is: if a level has no debriefing, then the campaign will allow you to pass the level with cheats. Plus, if you cheated for weapons, you get to keep those when you go to the next level. I've listed the levels that have no debriefing below. Tenderizer Evangelist Reaching the Zenith The Great Hunt Good Luck --The third glitch is: Any time a capitol ship is warping in, you can go through it, all the way until the point that it's out of the vortex completely. However, if you are already in the ship when the vortex closes, you will remain unharmed, and will be able to fly around freely within the ship's hull, as long as you can keep up with the ship as it is slowing down from warp speed. When you are inside the ship, you can do many things, such as enter the fighter bays, destroy turrets, destroy the ship, or destroy fighters (they can't fight back). The following are missions where this glitch can occur: La Ruota Della Fortuna Tenderizer Playing Judas Last Hope (unlikely you will reach the Hope in time) Running the Gauntlet Clash of the Titans The Great Hunt _______________________________________________________________________________ |5yz Medal Guide and List / |________________________/ And finally what you've all been waiting for: the medal guide! The following is a short list, in alphabetical order, of all the medals you should have after completing the main Freespace campaign. The medal guide is in chronological order, and covers the medals you get in the main Freespace campaign ONLY. Commendation Medal - 2 Conspicuous Gallantry - 2 Distinguished Flying Cross - 3 Distinguished Service Cross - 1 Galactic Service - 1 Galatea Survivor - 1 Good Conduct - 3 Legion of Merit - 1 Medal of Honor - 1 Meritorious Unit - 2 Military Defense - 1 Pilot Wings - 2 Vasudan Alliance Medal - 1 ________________________________________________________________________________ This is what to do in order to obtain medals, besides your normal objectives, unless that is what you must complete. If you want more information, look under the 'Single Player Points and Kills' section. -5az- Basic Training 3 [Any Difficulty]: Complete Basic Training 3. Medal: Pilot Wings -5bz- Field of Battle [Medium+]: After you destroy two Vasudan wings, the Vasudan Ace will warp in. In order for the Ace to appear you must be above 50% health. Medal: Distinguished Flying Cross -5cz- Avenging Angels [Any Difficulty]: Disable and capture the Rasputin, ensure the GTT Intelligence 1 survives. Medal: Commendation Medal -5dz- Out of the Dark, Into the Night & Paving the Way [Any Difficulty]: These two levels both have requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to get the medal on the second level. On the first level, kill a Shivan fighter. These you can't target. Easiest is the SB Shaitan (the one that looks like a flat computer chip thing), but one SF Scorpion (the bigger, faster ships) will stay in the area longer, and has less armor, but is much harder to hit. After finishing Out of the Dark, Into the Night as stated above, keep the Galatea's hull above 50% on Paving the Way, the level after it. Medal: Distinguished Flying Cross -5ez- Advanced Training 2 [Any Difficulty]: Complete Advanced Training 2 Medal: Pilot Wings -5fz- The Hammer and the Anvil [Any Difficulty]: Make sure all 3 shield prototypes survive. You can call Rho 1, who warps in with the Andromeda, to assist you. Medal: Vasudan Alliance -5gz- First Strike [Any Difficulty]: Disarm, disable, and capture the Taranis. Medal: Good Conduct -5hz- The Big Bang [Any Difficulty]: Ensure the GTC Ravage survives. Medal: Conspicuous Gallantry -5iz- La Ruota Della Fortuna [Any Difficulty]: Keep the Galatea's Hull above 50%. Medal: Distinguished Service Cross -5jz- Shell Game [Any Difficulty]: Destroy both transports. Medal: Good Conduct -5kz- Enter the Dragon [Medium+]: Complete all mission objectives without Delta wing jumping in. Medal: Distinguished Flying Cross -5lz- Playing Judas [Any Difficulty]: Scan all ships and cargo except for the fighters and sentry guns, they will detect you if you get closer than 800 meters. Do not fire until the enemy detects you. This is easier if you assign the sentries and Dragons to an F key by using F3. Medal: Meritorious Unit -5mz- Doomsday [Medium+]: Ensure all of the escape pods survive. Medal: Galatea Survivor -5nz- A Failure to Communicate [Any Difficulty]: Save at least 2 of the escape pods. Medal: Good Conduct -5oz- Exodus [Any Difficulty]: Make sure all non-fighter ships that warp in survive. Medal: Meritorious Unit -5pz- Last Hope [Any Difficulty]: Make sure the Hope and Isis Repair survive, destroy all enemies, and stay in area until Vasudan reinforcements arrive. Medal: Conspicuous Gallantry -5qz- Reaching the Zenith [Medium+]: Destroy the Zenith and the Benedict. Medal: Legion of Merit -5rz- Running the Gauntlet [Any Difficulty]: Make sure the Rosetta survives. Medal: Commendation Medal -5sz- Black Omega [Medium+]: Make sure both Omega transports survive. Medal: Medal of Honor -5tz- Clash of the Titans [Medium+]: Keep the Bastion's hull above 35%, destroy the SD Tantalus. Medal: Military Defense -5uz- Good Luck [Any Difficulty]: Destroy the Lucifer or its reactors. Medal: Galactic Service _______________________________________________________________________________ |6yz Multiplayer Medals/ |_____________________/ Since they are in no particular order, I organized the Multiplayer Medals in alphabetical order. Sorry the guide for them isn't complete, it's the best I can do right now. I am currently working on this list. Thanks to Basilisk for the backbone of this. This part of the guide will only cover the multiplayer missions that come with the game. Commendation Medal - 1 Conspicuous Gallantry - 1 Distinguished Flying Cross - 1 Distinguished Service Cross - 1 Galactic Service - 1 Galatea Survivor - 0 Good Conduct - 1 Legion of Merit - 1 Medal of Honor - 1 Meritorious Unit - 1 Military Defense - 1 Pilot Wings - 0 Vasudan Alliance Medal - 1 ________________________________________________________________________________ This is what to do in order to obtain medals, besides your normal objectives, unless that is what you must complete. If you want more information, look under the 'Multi Player Points and Kills' section. -6az- Commendation Medal Running the Gauntlet: Any Difficulty -6bz- Conspicuous Gallantry Last Hope: Hard+ -6cz- Distinguished Flying Cross Convoy Assault: Hard+ -6dz- Distinguished Service Cross Reaching the Zenith: Hard+ -6ez- Galactic Service Unstoppable: Insane -6fz- Good Conduct A Failure to Communicate: Any Difficulty -6gz- Legion of Merit Vasudan Assault: Hard+ -6hz- Medal of Honor Black Omega: Hard+ -6iz- Meritorious Unit Exodus: Very Easy -6jz- Military Defense Cruiser Rescue: Hard+ -6kz- Vasudan Alliance Orion Recovery: Hard+ _______________________________________________________________________________ |7yz Ace Badges & Rank/ |____________________/ --Ace Badges-- Nothing but fighter and bomber kills go towards getting Ace Badges. Thanks to Dman4835 for getting me this info. Ace - Have at least 60 fighter/bomber kills. Double Ace - Have at least 150 fighter/bomber kills. Triple Ace - Have at least 350 fighter/bomber kills. --Rank-- The following is a list of all the different positions of rank, in the order that you get them, plus the point range for each, and how many pins you have for each one. If there is a - next to a number, it means one pin has no triangles on it. If there is a + next to a number, it means there is a gold pin on that many regular pins. Thanks to Basilisk for the points for each rank. RANK POINTS PINS Ensign 0-4000 1 Lt. Junior Grade 4001-10000 -2 Lieutenant 10001-25000 2 Lt. Commander 25001-50000 -3 Commander 50001-150000 3 Captain 150001-400000 4 Commodore 400001-2000000 +1 Rear Admiral 2000001-5000000 +2 Vice Admiral 5000001-9000000 +3 Admiral 9000001< +4 -7az-----------------------------[Point System]--------------------------------- The point system is probably the most unknown aspect of the medals realm in Freespace. Because of this, I have divided this section into two parts: what I know for sure, and what may be true. What is certain?? The point system is a feature that determines your rank. Each kill you get gives you a certain amount of points depending on the ship class it was. There are default point values for each ship, but they can be manipulated using FRED. //EXAMPLE: This means that a cargo container with 1 HP could be worth 20,000 points, but an Orion class destroyer that only has Shivan Super Lasers would be worth 0, even though by default a cargo container is 100 points and the destroyer is 10,000.EXAMPLE// The list below is what I believe (not for sure) is the order of ships from lowest to highest default points. What is speculation?? Assists are worth points. Objectives are also worth points. Skill level is an important factor as well. Skill level multiplies points to the level of skill you have it on (i.e. very easy = x1, insane = x5). This is the order I think the defaults in FRED have points. 1. Cargo 2. Support Ships & Primary Objectives 3. Sentries 4. Fighters 5. Bombers 6. Escape Pod 7. Transports & Secondary Objectives 8. Freighters 9. Cruiser 10. Stage 2 Cruisers (Lilith, Leviathan) 11. Installation 12. Destroyer & Bonus Objectives 13. Super Destroyer (Lucifer) -7bz-------------[Points & Kills List for Single Player Levels]----------------- This is the list of each level, in chronological order, and how good each is for getting points and kills. When reading through this, assume everything is worth its default value of points. This guide only applies if you play all the levels on the same difficulty. Also listed are what all kills are possible on the level and what mission objectives are on each level. Apply everything from the medals section here as well. Any enemies that aren't listed but are in the level are important ships that you can't kill! I like to complete all mission objectives on each level, and get the more uncommon kills before I get the common ones, but you can do it however you like. TRAINING MISSION 1: No stats kept! To skip this mission, click the 'Skip Training' button at the top right corner of the screen. TRAINING MISSION 2: No stats kept! To skip this mission, click the 'Skip Training' button at the top right corner of the screen. TRAINING MISSION 3: No stats kept! On this one you get a medal for beating the level so don't skip this mission. THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION: 1 Mission Objective: 1 Primary (Protect the GTC Orff). 13 kills, 13 f/b: 13 Anubis Vasudan fighters. THE FIELD OF BATTLE: 2 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Destroy all Vasudan Wings), 1 Bonus (Destroy Vasudan Ace). 13 kills, 13 f/b: 12 Anubis, 1 Seth Vasudan interceptor. The Seth only jumps in if you are above 50% health. BASIC TRAINING STAGE 4: No stats kept! This mission is fun because you get to kill a Terran cruiser, but it's not great. To skip this mission, click the 'Skip Training' button at the top right corner of the screen. SMALL DEADLY SPACE: 4 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Secure area until Orff arrives), 2 Secondary (Protect the cargo containers) (Eliminate all Vasudan freighters), 1 Bonus (Find Weapon Prototype). 25 kills, 13 f/b: 15 Anubis, 7 VC 3 Vasudan cargo containers, 1 Bast Vasudan freighter, 1 Ma'at Vasudan freighter, 1 VAC 4 Vasudan cargo container. Ignore the first secondary objective; it fulfills itself if you pass the mission. The only way to get the cargo container kills is to destroy them before you destroy all the ships in the area. Before you destroy all the cargo, find the Weapons Prototype cargo container (it's dark grey with blue spots) and make sure not to destroy it. If you let 1 or more freighters escape, 2 Anubis class fighters will jump in (all included in the kills). This is the only level with a Bast class freighter kill. Omega cannot die. AVENGING ANGELS: 3 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Disable and capture the Omega), 1 Secondary (Destroy all enemy fighters), 1 Bonus (Disable and capture the Rasputin). 14 kills, 13 f/b: 6 Anubis, 4 Apollo Terran fighters, 2 Horus Vasudan interceptors, 1 Osiris Vasudan bomber, 1 Isis Vasudan freighter. That Isis class freighter is the Rasputin, and if you destroy it, you are giving up a medal and bonus objective. If the GTT Comet or the Omega is destroyed, you lose. This is the only level with enemy Apollo class fighters. OUT OF THE DARK, INTO THE NIGHT: 2 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Escort the crew of the Plato to the Jump Node), 1 Bonus (Destroy the Unknown Fighter). 10 kills, 9 f/b: 7 Anubis, 2 Osiris, 1 Aten Vasudan cruiser. There are other (unknown) ships that jump in, but they don't count towards your stats when you destroy them, except for the bonus objective. Most likely you will only get 1 wing of Vasudans, which consists of 3 Anubis fighters and 1 Osiris bomber. The other ships are very far away, and are set up to be destroyed like so: when the unknowns appear, they go after the Vasudan fighters. When the first fighter is destroyed, a timer is started so that X seconds after that, the Taurus dies on its own. Don't let Plato Escape die or you fail the mission. PAVING THE WAY: 2 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Escort the Galatea to the Jump Node), 1 Secondary (Ensure Galatea hull remain above 50%). 0 kills. Just like in the previous level, the mere 2 kills in this one don't go towards your stats. Put the skill level on very easy for this one, as you get little points for the difficulty of this level. PANDORA'S BOX: 2 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Destroy the Sentry Guns), 1 Secondary (Use your sensors to scan the Shivan cargo containers). 35 kills, 0 f/b: 21 SC 5 Shivan cargo containers, 8 SAC 2 Shivan cargo containers, 6 Trident Shivan sentry guns. Just like in the last two levels, any Shivan fighter kills you get do not count towards you stats. Your secondary objective in this level is set up to fail (there is no way for you to get it unless you fail the mission). The only way to get 29 cargo container kills is to approach them slowly, and when they start exploding on you, destroy as many as you can, but do not destroy cargo containers 35, 34, 37, or 32, unless you have scanned them already. THE HAMMER AND THE ANVIL: 2 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Escort Shield Prototypes), 1 Bonus (Escort all prototypes to Jump Node) 39 kills, 39 f/b: 20 Basilisk Shivan fighters, 7 Anubis, 6 Seth, 6 Scorpion Shivan interceptors. It is unlikely that you will get the first Vasudan wing (2 Anubis, 2 Seth) that jumps in, as they will jump out as soon as the Andromeda is destroyed. Also, the last Vasudan wing will only turn hostile if you dispatch of the Shivan enemies quickly enough, so that when the Vasudans jump in, there is enough time for them to go traitor without the cargo jumping out. ADVANCED TRAINING 2: No stats kept! On this one you get a medal for beating the level so don't skip this mission. THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT: 3 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Capture the Ramses), 1 Secondary (Destroy Cargo Depot), 1 Bonus (Destroy Any Freighters). 36 kills, 15 f/b: 11 VC 3, 8 Scorpion, 5 VAC 4, 4 Satis Vasudan freighters, 4 Anubis, 3 Seth, 1 Aten. Your primary objective is set up to fail, because a few minutes into the mission a Shivan strike force will warp in and destroy the Ramses. If you knock its health below 50%, you will get the Ramses's kill. The rest of the Scorpion fighters appear if you stay in the mission after everything has happened. There are two things on this mission that make you automatically fail: if you destroy the Shivan cruiser that warps in (called the Taranis), or if you destroy the Ramses before you destroy all other Vasudan ships, unless they have departed. FIRST STRIKE: 3 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Capture the Taranis), 2 Secondary (Disable The Taranis) (Disarm The Taranis). 59 Kills, 59 f/b: 28 Basilisk, 28 Scorpion, 3 Shaitan Shivan bombers. Ensure Omega 1, Omega 2, the Halkins, and the Taranis survive. THE AFTERMATH: 2 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Escort Iota to meet with the Pinnacle), 1 Secondary (Destroy All Remaining Fighters). 41 kills, 41 f/b: 24 Basilisk, 8 Scorpion, 6 Shaitan, 3 Manticore Shivan interceptors. Don't let any transports/freighters die in this mission or you'll hear about it in the debriefing. THE BIG BANG: 2 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Protect GTS Asimov), 1 Secondary (Protect GTC Ravage). 15 kills, 15 f/b: 9 Scorpion, 6 Basilisk. There are Shaitan bombers on this mission, but they must not count in your stats. Keep the Asimov's HP above 8%, and don't let the GTT Spomer die or you fail the mission. LA RUOTA DELLA FORTUNA: 1 Mission Objective: 1 Primary (Destroy All Shivans in Area). 27 kills, 25 f/b: 17 Scorpion, 4 Nephilim Shivan bombers, 2 Shaitan, 2 Basilisk, 1 Lilith Shivan cruiser, 1 Cain Shivan cruiser. Make sure you go after the Lilith, because it is a less common kill, and because (according to my theory anyway) it is worth more points. Don't let the Galatea get destroyed or you fail. WHERE EAGLES DARE: 3 Mission Objectives: 2 Primary (Clear the area of all Hostile ships) (Patrol until the freighters have finished), 2 Secondary (Destroy Gemini Transports). 27 kills, 13 f/b: 7 Seth, 6 Anubis, 3 Ma'at, 3 Ankh Vasudan sentry guns, 2 Isis, 2 VC 3, 2 VAC 4, 2 Satis. Don't worry about that 2nd primary objective; as soon as the Terran freighters arrive and command says something afterward, you can depart. You can destroy all the cargo on the level without penalty. This is the only level with Ankh class sentry gun kills. TENDERIZER: 2 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Protect the Galatea until it Jumps), 1 Secondary (Inspect the Sentry Guns). 45 kills, 38 f/b: 16 Anubis, 9 Seth, 8 Osiris, 6 Cerberus, 5 Amun Vasudan bombers, 1 Aten. This is probably the third hardest level. To get all 10 kills in the beginning, destroy the sentries after destroying all enemy wings. Amun class bombers and Cerberus sentries only appear as enemies on this level. SHELL GAME: 3 Mission Objectives: 2 Primary (Destroy the Shivan Transports) (Protect the Shivan Cargo), 1 Secondary (Destroy the Shivan freighters). 18 kills, 18 f/b: 12 Scorpion, 2 Azrael Shivan transports, 2 Mephisto Shivan freighters, 2 Asmodeus class freighters. To get all the freighters, go after the Mephistos, then the 2 Asmodeus freighters, then the transports. If any cargo is destroyed, you will fail the mission. Ensure all friendly transports survive, and at least two warp out. Mephistos can only be destroyed on this level. ENTER THE DRAGON: 3 Mission Objectives: 2 Primary (Destroy the Cain cruiser Shakti) (Disable and Capture the Arjuna 1 Fighter), 1 Bonus (Disable Arjuna without Delta's help). 19 kills, 5 f/b: 6 Trident, 5 SAC 2, 2 Basilisk, 2 Shaitan, 1 Scorpion, 1 Azrael, 1 Asmodeus, 1 Cain. Ensure the Charon survives or you will fail the mission. If you destroy the Lorkonius, there will be fewer enemies on the next level. The last SAC 2 is the one the Lorkonius brings in. PLAYING JUDAS: 3 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Scan all Destroyers and Cruisers), 1 Secondary (Scan All Freighters and Transports), 1 Bonus (Scan all Cargo). 10 kills, 6 f/b: 6 Manticore, 4 Trident. In order to get the small amount of kills on this level, you will need to wait until the Lucifer jumps in (after the Eva departs) and use glitch #3. You will have to 'enter the docking bays'. I think this means fighter bays, but whatever. You don't really have to enter them, just get very close. You fail this mission if you fire before you are detected, or if you are detected by a Dragon class fighter or Trident sentry gun. Detection happens when you get within 800 m of the enemy. EVANGELIST: 1 Mission Objective: 1 Primary (Destroy the Eva). 13 kills, 12 f/b: 10 Manticore, 2 Dragon Shivan fighters, 1 Demon Shivan destroyer. Wait until the Eva stops launching ships before you destroy it to get max kills. DOOMSDAY: 2 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Protect The GTD Galatea), 1 Secondary (Protect the Escaping Escape Pods). 20 kills, 20 f/b: 10 Manticore, 10 Nephilim. The primary objective is set up to fail, but you should still try to go after the fighters and bombers, mainly because you pass this mission only if the Galatea is destroyed after the Lucifer arrives. EXODUS: 3 Mission Objectives: 2 Primary (Protect Allied Ships) (Secure Area Until Relief Arrives), 1 Secondary (Safely Escort All Ships). 38 kills, 36 f/b: 16 Basilisk, 9 Scorpion, 6 Shaitan, 2 Cain. LAST HOPE: 1 Mission Objective: 1 Primary (Protect the Hope). 35 kills, 33 f/b: 18 Nephilim, 4 Dragon, 4 Manticore, 4 Scorpion, 3 Shaitan, 2 Cain. Don't let Isis repair die or you will fail. A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE: 4 Mission Objectives: 2 Primary (Defend Communications Station) (Protect Aquilae Installation), 1 Secondary (Protect Escape Pods), 1 Bonus (Protect all four escape pods). 42 kills, 42 f/b: 15 Nephilim, 10 Manticore, 8 Basilisk, 4 Shaitan, 3 Scorpion, 2 Dragon. Your second primary objective listed is set up to fail. This is an extremely hard mission; I'd say the second hardest in the campaign. If you can get the Bonus objective then pat yourself on the back, otherwise don't bother trying. You can let 2 pods die, but you won't get the medal then. If you leave one Krishna fighter alive, the rest won't warp in, but you still need to destroy that fighter (and 1 wing afterwards) to finish the level. REACHING THE ZENITH: 3 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Disarm the Cruiser Zenith), 1 Secondary (Destroy the cruiser Zenith), 1 Bonus (Destroy the Benedict). 25 kills, 23 f/b: 9 Scorpion, 9 Manticore, 3 Thoth Vasudan fighters, 2 Dragon, 1 Lilith, 1 Aten. The Scorpion interceptors only show up if you don't destroy the Zenith's Comm. Subsystem. If you take out the Zenith's engines, you will have infinite time for this level. RUNNING THE GAUNTLET: 3 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Get at least one Omega to the Jump Node), 1 Secondary (Get both Omegas to the Jump Node), 1 Bonus (Protect the Rosetta until it departs). 117 kills, 116 f/b: 80 Basilisk, 20 Shaitan, 16 Scorpion, 1 Lilith. The only way you can get a Lilith kill on this level is if you didn't manage to kill the Zenith in the previous level in time (but it always shows up in the mission sim). The way you get so many kills is to first use glitch #2 on the previous level, then stay in the area until the Lucifer stops launching ships (20 wings of Basilisk). Make sure 1 Omega transport survives. BLACK OMEGA: 3 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Escort Omega to Jump Node), 2 Secondary (Escort Both Omegas to the Jump Node) (Destroy the Anvil). 21 kills, 20 f/b: 9 Horus, 9 Thoth, 2 Osiris, 1 Typhon Vasudan destroyer. Ensure 1 Omega survives to proceed to the next mission. CLASH OF THE TITANS: 3 Mission Objectives: 1 Primary (Escort GTD Bastion to the Lucifer), 1 Secondary (Keep the GTD Bastion's hull above 35), 1 Bonus (Destroy the SD Tantalus). 33 kills, 32 f/b: 18 Basilisk, 8 Nephilim, 4 Manticore, 2 Shaitan, 1 Demon. Out of all the single player missions, I have the most trouble with this one. It's unlikely that you will get the Demon class destroyer kill, as you will be occupied with fighting the Bastion's attackers. Instead have Beta wing take it out, and tell them to disarm it, but don't give them stilettos. THE GREAT HUNT: 1 Mission Objective: 1 Primary (Reach the Subspace Node). 57 kills, 55 f/b: 29 Basilisk, 9 Dragon, 6 Manticore, 7 Thoth, 4 Scorpion, 1 Lucifer Shivan Destroyer, 1 Typhon. You may be wondering "How on Earth could I do any of that?" Well, this is one of the levels you can use glitch #2 on. If you decide you are going to cheat, you'll want a fast ship (Valkyrie of course), and since there is a large number of kills and a nice selection, you will want to do this one solo. Also, switch your primary weapons to ML-16's (you'll see why). As soon as you enter the mission, enter cheat mode as fast as you can. Make yourself invulnerable, then switch both of your primary weapons to Shivan Super Lasers (select gun mount, hold ~ and shift, press 0 only once). Select the Lucifer with the escort button (e by default), then hold ~ and press k a few times until its health reaches 12%. Aim for the Lucifer and shoot however many times you think it will take you to finish off the Lucifer (it only takes 2-3 hits to kill it, but your accuracy may not be perfect). If you hit it, you will get a Lucifer kill! After you kill the first wing of fighters that jumps in, Command will talk to you. At this point, select the Bastion and use the same cheat you did on the Lucifer (if you do it earlier you fail). Do the same on the Ursas it spits out. Now you can collect all the kills on this level. Another thing- when my time hit 12:41, command told me Earth was doomed, but I jumped out anyway and seemed to complete the mission successfully. But this was in the mission simulator, so you may not want to try it. GOOD LUCK: 1 Mission Objective: 1 Primary (Destroy the Lucifer). 304 kills, 303 f/b: 294 Manticore, 9 Dragon, 1 Lucifer. Use glitch #2 on this level. To get 304 kills, first disable the Lucifer (it has 2 engines). After you do this, the Lucifer won't jump out, but it will keep spitting out ships (you can leave the game running while the mouse is on trigger and you've got Synaptics). When it's done, destroy it like you normally would destroy a ship. Make sure you DON'T destroy all 5 reactors; otherwise you won't get the Lucifer kill. _______________________________________________________________________________ |8yz FAQ / |_______/ All questions so far have been on the point system & rank. All that I know is covered in this guide. To people with questions about this: Please help me out and start asking around. You can ask on Freespace Boards (GameFAQs, Gamespot, or any place that has Freespace as a Message Board), Freespace Websites (Interplay (they seem reluctant), Volition-Inc, Parallax), or any webpage owner that knows anything about Freespace (Use a search engine and type Descent: Freespace. You'll have to use exact phrasing). So I can give recognition, make sure and tell me your handle (and the person you got the info from, I don't want legal issues). _______________________________________________________________________________ |9yz Special Thanks & Conclusion/ |______________________________/ I hope this guide was satisfactory in every way possible. If not please E-mail me and tell me why and I will fix the problem. Any feedback will be appreciated. I want to bring people the best guide possible. First, I want to thank myself for making this guide. Second, I want to thank my parents for bringing me into existence. Third, I would like to thank my ancestors, for if they were any different I may not exist. Fourth, I would like to thank the celestial process which took place before humans were on this planet whatever that may be, for if it had not happened I would not exist. Fifth, I would like to thank the developers, coders, artists, musicians, and all the other people who put time away from their life to make this game. Sixth, I would like to thank CJayC for starting GameFAQs, for if he hadn't, this guide and many others would not exist, nor would the GameFAQs message boards. Seventh, I would like to thank GameFAQs for accepting this FAQ/Guide. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And lastly, I would like to thank the reader for using my guide. And this especially goes to anyone who gives me feedback. Here is a list of helpful people: redalert19243: For requesting a medal list on the message boards, for if he hadn't, this guide would not exist. Tahna Los: Pointed out a few errors in my FAQ. Razoriel: Made me have an innovation about making a basis for the point system. Basilisk: Giving me many fixes and tips on the guide, as well as the idea of a multiplayer guide and an e-mail. Also has given me the points for the ranks. Dman4835: For pinpointing the Ace Badges kills and helping me identify an error in my Ace Badge ranking system. Valkyerie: Gave me missing info in the rank section. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you give me help of any kind or give me any information chances are good your name will be on this list too! 'Twas an honor to make this FAQ and a privilege to present it!!!111!11!1111one! I hope it was very useful to you!