____ _ _ _____ _____ _ ____ _ ____ _____ / _ \/ \ / \ / __// __// \/ _ \/ \ /|/ _\/ __/ | / \|| | | | | \ | | _| || / \|| |\ ||| / | \ | |-||| |_/\| |_/\| /_ | |_//| || |-||| | \||| \__| /_ \_/ \|\____/\____/\____\\____\\_/\_/ \|\_/ \|\____/\____\ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STRATEGY GUIDE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Email: mass_carriers_instant_win (at) yahoo (dot) com (dot) au Version 3.65 Copyright¸ 2004 Aqueous Cross This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited and is also a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> TABLE OF CONTENTS <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 1 }} Introduction 2 }} Basic Game Strategy 3 }} Pilot Roles 4 }} Closing <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< INTRODUCTION >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Well, I'll get straight to the point of things, the sole focus of this guide is to help people quickly get into positions that they feel most comfortable with in a multiplayer game and to also get things up and running quickly. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> BASIC GAME STRATEGY <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< __________________________ Scan ranges and Signatures: As standard, all ships have a signature rating, and everything else has a scan range. Basically, a signature is a rating of how visible the ship is to the enemy. Scouts can really help you out here because they have the best scan range of any fighter and can help the team to see more during a dogfight. If you don't wish to be seen easily, then you should take off your shield and missiles. This should reduce your chances of being seen by a fair amount. Interceptors can be a problem to fight as well, they can't mount shields and missiles so that means that their signature rating is usually low. Scouts can also help against the bombers. Their large scan range should be able to see a bomber before it starts lanuching its volley of missiles, Scouts are also valuable because they can drop probes, which means that a bomber in that sector will pretty much be discovered before lobbing its cargo. _______________________ Weapon & Defense Types: Just about every weapon has a unique damage type and everything that has the slightest chance of being damaged has a defense type. Whenever something takes damage (be it a fighter or capital ship) the damage can be more destructive if the defense type is weak to the weapon type. Think of a flamethrower toasting a forest. Some other weapon types are ineffective against certain defense types, think of a flamethrower attacking dirt and water. If you plan to attack certain ships, make sure you pick the right weapons for the job, for example, for attacking interceptors; sniper rifles would probably make the job a bit easier. In attacking a cruiser though, a normal fighter with disruptors will probably do a better job than an interceptor. For attacking bases, you should use the Galvonic Blaster, however, this is only for light bases (teleport reciever and outpost). To take out a heavy base, bombers would get the job done much more easily. Some weapons are area-effect weapons (like the SkyCap turrets). These weapons can still cause damage with a near miss, but not as much as a direct shot to the back. Think of grenades when I say area-effect. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> PILOT ROLES <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< *These are just basic descriptions of each pilot role. |INVESTOR| Basically, this person manages how the money is spent. In most games, all the players donate their cash to the investor, it is then the investors job to pick the right technologies to research. |STRATEGIC COMMANDER| Think Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars. This guy assigns the roles to the players and makes decisions of when to attack and defend. This person may also be the Investor of the team. |TACTICAL COMMANDER| Decides how battles in certain areas should be fought. This guy should call the attack on the weakest target to ensure a quick kill. |AWACS|** AWAC's are usually the people who fly scouts and spot the stealthy ships, like the interceptors. However, this role is not essential for the game. |RESCUER|** Scouts and stealth fighters are good for this role. They have low signature ratings, good speed and a decent scan range. This job is to pick a pod to help the ejected player get back into the fight. |ASSASIN| Whoever has this job has the job of assasinating the enemy miners and builders. Stealth Fighters are good ships for this role, just make sure that you keep your signature rating low. |SPY| Keeps an eye on the enemy, spys usually hang around in sectors where nobody else is and avoid being spotted. |MOSQUITO| The next job down from the Assasin. Your job is to basically annoy the enemy by attacking their miners and builders. The basic objective is to get their attention while your main force slips in. |EXPLORER|** A job easier said than done, not exactly the most exciting job but someone has to do it. Scout ships are perfect for this role. Remember to keep a low signature rating. |PATROLLER| The job here is to "patrol" your borders and kill any enemy ships before they can cause grief and destruction for your base. Kill the priority targets first, like the Bombers and AWAC's. |BLOCKADER| Basically, its the second line of defense if the enemy gets past the Patroller. Remember, fight as a team to take down the enemy. |BODYGUARD| The job of the bodyguard is to escort the miners and builders while they are doing their job. Its not an essential role but can be filled if you are paranoid about your miners screaming for help. |BOMBER PILOT| The job of the Bomber Pilot is to nuke the crap out of the enemy base, no matter whats coming their way. A full complement of turret gunners are highly recommended. If the enemy knows that you're coming, expect to fight thw whole way in. |TRAILBLAZER| A TrailBlazer can help the bomber slip past unseen by destroying enemy probes and spies so that the enemy can't see the bomber coming their way. |BOMBER ESCORT| Bomber Escorts "escort the bomber where its meant to go". Meaning that Escorts help the bomber out by keeping fighters off its back. It best to go through the Aleph first before the bomber and attract the attention of the enemy fighters. |MEDIC|** After a successful base defense, the medic will jump into a scout ship, load a repair tool and repair anything thats damaged. Putting 2 or 3 of these in combination with a capital ship can increase its survival chances by a fair bit. **These roles are good ones for first-time newbies -> Well, that wraps up the guide, if you have anything else to add or want to point out any errors, then feel free to do so, send your mail to the email that I have conveniently supplied at the above. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> END OF FILE <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<