Phreddo

Why go to all the trouble of hacking the registry or destroying your keyboard? Why not make it so that you can alt-tab the program?

well,so far, i'm installing UC. then i apply the patch. but, immediately, i see that SC has changed the cover of the manual and added some pictures to the main map. I still see a glaring lack of an index (different than a table of contents) as well as illustrations. I guess now I understand the $20 pricetag. All the development costs were covered in all the previous games.

An index or a table of contents? the index would be in the back and have a detailed alphabetical listing of various keywords by page number that would be in the back the TOC is in the front, listing the basic headings.

Your mileage may vary, use at your own risk, etc. Your system seems well up to spec. Are you doing anything out of the ordinary, like overclocking? You should check other hardware sites and such to see if there are any known issues with your configuration, as well as find optimal configurations for your bios. Make sure your AGP aperature is set to 256, for starters. good luck, let us know if you turn anything up

Well, this time the tow worked just fine. I never said it didn't. All I said was that the game kicked me out at a rather inopportune moment. We've all seen it before with many games. It probably didn't like what I had for lunch, who knows? one more time, the crash was never the point. I thought we were just sharing crippled CC stories. Then I am told it could be a bug, but probably a screw-up on my end, and can I reproduce it? I never said it was a bug. So, I tried it and it works fine. Funny side note, I was parked off GALCOM HQ when I got the tow. When I left port, i see the planet is all brown, and I thought WTF? Did the earth get nuked while I was stocking up on Gummi Bears and Paula Cole CDs? The station looked the same, so I was in a small snit. Well, I double check and see they towed me all the way to Cronus in the Alpha Centauri system. Guess the tow guys get mileage. Sorry for the misunderstanding, thanks for the teamwork.

well, hazards come with the territory. I've discovered the joy of salvaging cargo pods. One ODS will nicely cover an upgrade or two. Keep an eye out for those and always keep at least one SC manned at all times. Makes a snatch and grab that much quicker.

are the planets flickering at a long distance, or right up close? I was a little worried the first time I hyperjumped through a planet. But the manual does explain this. Also explains why you can't see ships on the tac ops screen when they are in hyperspace.

all i said originally was that my ship was badly damaged. I got a tow, thought I was safe. Then, the game crashed to the desktop. This was along the thread of the Crippled CC. Then, I am told that it is a bug, it needs to be fixed, can I reproduce it? Nobody said anything about "move this to the tech support forum." And Bandus, I am so happy that you can recognize your own quote. I was not referring to Mr. Smart. I was referring to his self-appointed spokesperson, who seems to think that Mr. Smart is incapable of speaking for himself. To reiterate, the crash was not my topic, the crippled CC was my point. The crash to desktop just seemed to be extra painful since I was so close to pulling out of a bad situation. The line about the bad drivers and the improbability of a bug in the game only discourages me from sharing my experience. Bandus automatically places the blame on the user. That just communicates a "how dare you" attitude to claim that I ever had a problem with the game. And the amount of time and energy that Bandus is dedicating only seems to indicate that s/he is taking this all very personally. I know I am. I didn't mention names since I didn't want to single people out, but now I have to since I don't want Bandus to claim I'm assualting Mr. Smart. So, if my profile is in order, I will, to the best of my abilities, try to reconstruct what had happened. 1. I get into a scrap in my Firestorm. I barely get out alive. 2. I consult the keyboard chart to see how to get a tow. 3. I press CTRL-T. 4. Nothing happens. Since all my computers are malfunctioning, I get no confirmation of a tow request. 5. I wait. 6. I see a message. Do you still want a tow? Y/N 7. I press Y. 8. I see the station login screen. 9. The screen blinks. 10. I see my computer desktop. 11. I reboot. 12. I restart the game. 13. I reload my last save (before i got damaged). 14. I approach a station in orbit, can't remember which one. 15. I decide to try the tow again. 16. I press CTRL-T. 17. I get up and take a leak. 18. Some hostiles HJ in. 19. I decide to engage near the station. 20. During combat, the tow ship arrives. 21. Do you still want a tow? Y/N 22. I press Y. 23. I see the station login screen. 24. I click on login. 25. I see the main tacops screen for about a second. 26. The screen blinks. 27. I see my computer desktop. 28. I take a nap.

I just offhandedly mentioned that the game crashed at a really inopportune time. I've seen it happen before in other games as well. I wasn't asking for help or trying to report a bug. I'm not here to play semantics or spend a lot of time systematically dissecting everything addressed at me. I'll admit it, I like the game. It's very deep and fresh. I dig the music. I like the downtime you get for repairs, as it allows me to do some reading. I know I should be reading the 300 some pages of game stuff, but I'm still in grad school, and they make me read plenty But the next thing I know I'm supposed to turn this into a bug report. It caught me unawares. I never asked for a solution. If there was a way for the software to generate the bug report rather than relying on (my) anecdotal evidence, what would be wrong with that? Why create extra work for yourself? Get some good people to do the grunt work and delegate. What would be wrong with a 900 number to field the dumb calls? Then, maybe Mr. Smart could get some sleep for a change. Yet, when I see Derek Smart, Designer, Lead Developer and President asking me to justify my bug, followed by "That way we can determine if there truly is a bug (which honestly there probably is not) or if we need to shoot you. (i.e. you have bad drivers, exc.)," I start to think twice about a criticism that may not be worded correctly. Imagine telling Emeril that he should use more oregano, or telling Jim Morrison not to say "higher." This is what I mean by the developer being too close to tech support. Basic management theory dictates that an effective manager will delegate prior obligations as he or she moves up the ladder. Leaving behind old duties is a common issue for new managers. They tend to focus on their old job and neglect the new position. In the case of the creator and the product, the creator becomes the product. Any commentary on the product becomes commentary on the creator. All I know is that I just saw the game on the shelf and said "hey, I've heard of this." And I bought it. And lets face facts, I would have finished and forgotten some games in the time its taken me to learn this one. I understand that I don't have diplomatic immunity, so I'm liable to get banned. I know now that excessive posting is not tolerated. If I have to be banned, so be it. I don't ask for respect, I don't think that buying a game gives one open license to start a flame war. I'm just a guy who likes to play games in his spare time. I see this has gotten way off topic, so do with it what you will.

I'm not familiar with creating bug reports. Most software I have ever used has some form of bug report utility built in. When I try to share what happened, I get a response in the form of a mild threat. (Do you want to keep posting on this site or not?) So if I can't say it exactly right the first time, I figure I'll leave it alone. When I attempted to recreate the situation, I requested another tow within the game, and Mark Stryker, Fleet Commander replies "I just told you, there aren't any ships in the area." This game takes long enough without going out of my way to find bugs, only to get browbeaten in and out of the game. I thought people were paid to find bugs, not the other way around. I deleted my posts because all the pertinent information had been reposted, and anything else was simply causing waves. It is tricky to discuss bugs when the developer is the tech support. Without proper channels to filter, process and disseminate the information (bug report submission form, customer service), I'm a little leery to say anything that could be perceived as critical.

That ad must have come from the early days of PhotoShop and doctored images. My first foray is the Gold edition. Still learning by doing. It is very interesting to see my ship going backwards through hyperspace.

well, for the sake of completeness here, my initial confusion came when I went to download the file. the download page lists the patch as version 1.01.00 http://www.3000ad.com/downloads/bcmg.shtml Was that done on purpose?

So, to be clear for my sake, the latest version of BCM Gold is 1.00.01? as opposed to 1.08 or whatever, which would apply to the non-Gold version?

I am running Battlecruiser Millenium Gold, and I have downloaded the file that calls itself bcmg101.exe. When I install it and subsequently run the game, it tells me i'm running the May 30 2003 1.00.01 version. Did I do something wrong, or is this just the way the numbers are?

well, okay, i never sat and watched them rotate for 24 hours, but every planet i have seen is divided up into 24 longitudinal sections. guess i just equated those to 1 hour divisions.

I'm going to venture to guess that the SC is one of the most detail oriented people we will ever know. two things of interest. First, it would be pretty nifty if there was some way to assign meaningful names to the bases and such, or even the areas. Even if just on earth. Second, and here's me being anal. Why are all the planets on a 24 hour rotation? I'm 90% positive that accurate rotation data is available for as many planets as possible, and perhaps one could guesstimate the rest. For instance, it would be neat to see, say, a 7 day cycle on Ganymede. It appears that one side of Ganymede always faces Jupiter, as the rotation and orbit are the same. Unless I'm reading it wrong. Anyhow, just some points to ponder.

What kind of military makes a commander pay for supplies, fighters and fuel out of pocket? I mentioned this in another thread on cloning, but since this one is here, I figured I would ask. I know you get a salary, but a super carrier with a full compliment of ships and personnel can suck up that mad money 1-2-3. I suppose i could make a little cash on the side hauling freight, but that's not terribly profitable.

Well, I had to figure this out too, so I figured I could share an update. I don't know which manual is being discussed here, since p. 43 of the BCMG manual talks about waypoints and planetary scans, and the version of the 3000ad manual p. 43 discusses bridge systems. However, on p. 106 of the version online, they tell you how to clone. Also, the BCGM manual details cloning on p. 59 under the subheading MEDIBAY in the tactical computer section. Boy, this manual could REALLY benefit from an index. And, on a related topic, what kind of military makes a commander pay for replacement parts, ships and fuel out of pocket?