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Tips, Tricks and Constructive Observations


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Hi Everyone!

(I intended orignally to put this in the, BC Legacy forum...but for some reason I keep getting an access denied message whenever I try to post a new topic. Wierd, but anyhoo )

I recently downloaded the BCM freeware...actually got it about an hour or so after SC released it, and have been having a ball. ^_^

As I have been playing, I have picked up on a few things that may help fellow newcomers, might even surprise some veterans (one can fantasize  ) and some constructive observations(if they are old hat, and done to death. IÔÇÖm sorry  ).

Tips:

1. This is stated over and over and over again on these boardsbut Ill say it again to save the veterans lungs. RTFF! (Read the Freakin Manual.). Yes it is among the longest game manualsever. But it is absolutely vital and covers pretty much everything.

2. Read the appendix and/or print it part of it out, especially the section on missiles. ( Default install is C:Program Files3000ADBattlecruiser Millennium FREEWAREdocsappendix )

3. Reread the Manual. ^_^

4. Be prepared for some downtimes. Sometimes you will have to layover, for repairs (which can take a while if you got torn up)

Tricks:

1. After you have fiddled and become accustomed to the controls you will probably want to strike out on your own...but you will quickly run into money troubles. (especially if you are cutting your teeth on the ACM)

There are several easy ways to make money and relatively quickly, which is needed during the pressures of the ACM.(Note while these can be done at any time, the easiest time to do it is during your first two missions in the ACM. All you have to do is accept the mission and then go on your merry way. The Diplomats wont come to any life-threatening harm)

Assuming you are Ter/Mil you start out in GALCOM HQ, while in the station interface, unload all of your mines from the weapon pods and them sell them. Also sell ┬¢ to ┬¥ of your Iridium.(At this point in the game, the credits are more valuable to you then cloaking.) and half your Nutripacks. (you have plenty to spare and your crew consumes it relatively slowly. 

With your new found credits, bring your reserves of Radine up to 1000-1300 (depending on whch ship you are using), then spend the remainder of your cash upon Armor Repair Units.

Access the Navitron and set a course for Majoris Majora and crack upon a book and wait for the AP to take you there.(Will take about 10-20 minutes, ship depending. Also befor eyou leave the Sol system, be sure to put the GALCOM supply station on your Priority list. IÔÇÖll tell you why later.) Once you arrive in the Majoris system, have your AP set a course for the Planet Majora.

Watch the pretty planetfall cutscence and then land your CC (Shift+E). Turn off the power to your engines and shields. Fill one of your shuttles with the APUÔÇÖs your purchased at Galcom and then send your AE to that shuttle.

Acess the Tacops screen and then set up waypoints around the CC, commanding your shuttles to deploy mining drones. (If your lost alreadyyou should read the manual again =^_^= )

Launch the shuttles and the perspective will switch to that of your shuttle. Let the AP do its thing, it will automatically deploy the drone for you and then stat back to the CC. Override the AP and take your shuttle into orbit.

Once in orbit, give the AP an order to Fly To the Majora Supply Station(while your at it, add the supply Station to your Priority list. You want to always try to target a StarbaseÔÇÖs suppy sation when traveling, because the AP will bring your out of hyperspace about 5 km from the base. Which dramaticaly cuts your travel time.). Once you arrive at the supply station switch your targets to the Starbase and dock with it (Alt +D)

Sell the APUÔÇÖs and drool at all the wubly cwedits . Leave the station and tell the AP to fly to the GALCOM supply station. Congrats! You just completed your first trade run ! But it gets better ( and a lot faster). You should be able now to purchase SDM weapons, these are among the best items for making profit via trading. They take up little space and go for inflated prices at Majora (+40 base inflation. Teh w00t!)

Stock up on what you can, buy some minerals to soak up left over credits and head back to Majora. Depending on your luck and ship/shuttle types. You should be able to make this run 3-5 times before the end of ACM mission 2. If your luck is solid you should have about 7-20 million credits, plus another 2-4 million coming to you from your now fully loaded mining drones. Congratulations!

2. On the subject of mining drones, planet depending, it can take anywhere between 1-3.5 hours for your drones to fill up with ore. So I find itÔÇÖs always nice to land on a planet and deploy the drones before I go to bed or head out for a night on the town. Couple mill of easy credits for doing nothing at all. Huzzah!

3. Back to the subject of money, a good way to rack up a few thousands of credits and precious XP is to

salvage disabled ships. Simply send a shuttle or command your CC to tow the disabled craft to a nearby Starbase. A real simple point and click affair.That being said, dragging banged up, useless floating junkpiles is the mark of a lowly scavenger and consequently you get less reward from it.

Instead take the ships in whole and unblemished. Your fast moving, innocent looking shuttles can zoom in and clamp on to enemy ships well before the hostiles deems the shuttle a threat. The perfect tatic for raider player and or if laying siege to a sector.

4. Beware the static. If in your adventures, you should see the display friz with static Either warm up your defense systems and launch fighters or preferably get the hell out of the area. Static means there is cloaked ship nearby and unlike Star Trek, BCM ships can fire while cloaked and it is damn hard to locate, track and counter fire a cloaked vessel moving at 1000km.

5. Be innovative, try crazy things. This is a very open ended game and it pays to be differentAt the very least you can say that you have surfed upon 767 meter long invisible surfboard, all the while strafing an enemy airbase.

Constructive Observations (Since I canÔÇÖt play UC, I donÔÇÖt know if these are old hat or not.)

Overpowered Elements

1. Shuttles: With the exception of Starbases, I have not seen anything quite as powerful as shuttles in my play time. They move so quickly both normally/hyperspacing, their jump engines recharge fast which allows them to keep pace with everything but the swiftest fighters.

Additionally enemy AI constantly ignores shuttles inso long as there is fighting target within about 1000km or if it is already locked onto a particular goal(whether it be escorting, or attacking another ship)

Even in the occasions in which enemies concentrate on the approaching shuttle, it is moving so swiftly that fighter lasers and PTA fire miss more often then not.

Add to the fact that any ship can be tractored regardless of current status, makes them quite formidable. You can disrupt or halt fleets with just 4 shuttles and no other support. O.o Granted as a raider, I love a good sneak and grabbut thats practically too easy.

2. Cloaking: In the time that I have played, I have found the way cloaking works in BCM a tad cheap in respect of player versus AI. When an AI uses a cloak, a player has pretty good chance of responding, whether it is to run or trying to counter and track the cloaked ship.

When the tables are turned however, the AI is helpless. It just feels wrong that I can capture entire Starbases with one ship and suffer nothing but lose few credits in Iridium and Rad Control Packs.

General Thoughts

1. Missiles: In space and versus ground targets missiles work very well. But when things turn, Air to Air or Surface to Air, they start to lackseverely. 7 out of ten missiles will miss their targets completely, two will come close and one will hit. : To be honest after watching missile performance during ground assaults for while, I stopped loading my fighters with ATA missiles and just relied on fighter guns and CC PTA fire to down enemy fighters during base incursions.

It just doesnÔÇÖt seem right that missiles (both from enemies and from allies) are so ineffective during planet based attacks.

2. EFM Missles: This may be due to the clipping(or rather the intentional absence of) with objects on planet surfaces. In the time I have been playing, I have not been able to get my EF marines to successfully hit, let alone destroy a base structure. They fire ok but the missiles approach and fly through the targeted structure. The rounds then proceed to detonate either at a predetermined point or slam into the ground. Harming nothing except for an unlucky groundhog or two.

2. Tooltips: I think it would be like manna from heaven, if there were more tooltips, Specifically in Weapons/Misc/Spare Parts lists of TradCom. I know that all the necessary data is in the appendix, but it would make stocking less of a headache if I could find out all the prevalent data on the various missiles and system upgrades, simply by hovering the mouse for a moment or right clicking.

Obligatory Hopelessly Dreaming Wishlist!

1. It would really cool, if in the series you could swap Cargo space for more fighter/shuttle bays or vice versa.

2. It would also be sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet if you could upgrade your main gun and/or the PTA turrets.

3. Torpedos? Or Missles with some standoff range to damage Starbases or large ships?

Whew...that was a lot of typing. ^_^ I want to save my hands to play one more round of BCm before bed, so I will bring this post to a close. I hope my tips help someone, and I hope my constructive observations are fresh. or at the very least have only been discussed a couple of times. In either case, Long Live BC/UC!

-Kyra Elorian

Commander UCV-Price of Freedom

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