Can't find bases on planets

[Guest Strikker]

I'm fairly new to Battlecruiser, and I love this game. I've been reading for weeks it seems. I even read at work, when I get a chance to. I am learning alot, and having fun. But I can't seem to find any bases or buildings or anything for that matter. I go to tacops, zoom to a planet like earth, hit observe, click on blinking dot, and then nothing but the same square map. There is no blinking square or anything on this second map. No where does it say compound 22 or anything. When I fly a shuttle to this area and look for anything, its always nothing. Its like this on every planet or moon. I have never seen so much as a fence post.What am I doing wrong? I installed 2.0, patched it to 2.08, added mappac, then patched to 2.09. I have a P2 400, 64MB Ram, voodoo3 2000. Please someone help, I want to learn Planet Ops. Thank you

[Papi]

Welcome cmdr!

It looks like a bad install, my guess is that the mappak is not installed correctly. Please make sure that you copy mappak installation file to your game installation folder ie. "c:bc3000ad" and run installation from there. If that won't help try starting from scratch.

[Guest aramike01]

Mappak isn't installed, looks like. Try going into your BC3K folder, find the icon labeled "Bldmaps", and double click on it. If you do it correctly, a DOS window should appear and for the next few minutes, it will create zones on the planet surfaces.

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Commander Michael Kristophers

Spectre Fleet

ICV-Intrepid

[Guest Strikker]

Thank you fellow Commanders! I double clicked on bldmaps icon, and it installed the mappac! Works like a charm now. Bad thing is that I have to go on a trip to visit my mom who lives 8 hours away. I'll be gone for the next four days. I'm leaving in a few minutes. Sux I can't play. You can bet I'm bringing the manual! Don't care what my wife says. Over and out.

[Guest aramike01]

No prob, Commander... good luck in your journeys!

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Commander Michael Kristophers

Spectre Fleet

ICV-Intrepid

[Supreme Cmdr]

LOL!, have fun. By the time you get back, you won't need to read the manual.

[ausraider2]

Does the BC3K2.09FREE download includeand install the mappack? or do I have to download the mappack file and install it manually in the BC3K2.09 folder on my harddrive.

Thanks

Ausraider2.

[Papi]

Hi ausrider2, yes 2.09 free version installs the mappak as a default.

[ausraider2]

Thanks Papi.

I'm sorry to bother you all with this again but I'm having real problems docking with a planet base.

I can't figure out what it is I'm not doing so I'll outlay my Planetfall Proceedures for you.

I'm in Freeflight mode for this example.

1. Bring up the Tacops menu and zoom to Earth.

2. Click into Observe mode to bring up the Tacops Earth Map.

3. Locate the flashing red dot indicating - Missionzone 10 (ZSBASE 1).

4. I click to zoom in and up comes a more detailed map with a number of compounds indicated. Some flashing, some not.

5. I zoom in on compound 22 as someone mentioned this earlier as being the location of the Earth ZSBASE.

NB: I've noticed that this doesn't always bring up the buildings, but if I leftclick down a few times just to the left of the 22Rectangle instead of a direct zoom in, it usually brings them up.

Also, sometimes the Compound numbers seem to change and the map looks a bit different, but if I zoom back out to the flashing reddot and zoom back in again, it resets.

6.Up come the various buildings, Solar Plant, Launch Pad, C&C, etc...with a Sea Carrier sitting in the Lough off to the left.

7.I bring up the Tacops interface and add a waypoint for shuttle 1 to an area in the compound near the buildings, but on the concrete so to speak.

8.Set the waypoint to 'wait for instructions.'

9 Launch shuttle 1.

Planetfall OPs.

1. Switch to the shuttle quick when its range to WP 1 is around 0.5*** or so and trigger the very kewl landing mode with Shift+E.

I'm right there in the compound looking at the various buildings and using the Shuttle Tascan (blue circular display on the left switched to ground mode using the 'K' key) and CVD on the right to track the various buildings.

There are a lot of them, but I opt for the C&C building getting to within about 0.2*** and try CTRL+D.

Needless to say I get 'Invalid Docking Target' - I've also tried various other likely buildings to no avail.

I sort of figured this wasn't it.

I've tried switching the SH-Tascan to 'sul' mode using the K-key to look for any clues but no luck.

Please Help.

Thanks

Ausraider2.

[ausraider2]

I've been flying around for hours checking out the different compounds - I don't even know what I'm looking for.

How should it show up on the Tascan.

Confused - Please help.

Ausraider2

[Tyrn]

quote:

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Originally posted by ausraider2:

I've been flying around for hours checking out the different compounds - I don't even know what I'm looking for.

How should it show up on the Tascan.

Confused - Please help.

---

First you need the PZones appendix of the manual (that's appendix V). If you haven't already downloaded the manual appendix file do so now. When you open that appendix, you'll note that it shows the locations for all the star bases (note the crucial difference between a BC star base and a BC star station). The only one on earth is located at 10888N, 8331E. Use TACOPS to locate that position on the planet and go there. Once there, locate the star base and dock (I see to remember that it's the biggest building in the vacinity but it's been over a year since I was planet side in BC3K).

[ausraider2]

Jayzis,

I'll try that now.

But co-ordinates and....

I hope so.(grin)

Thanks V.much for your reply TYRN.

Ausraider2

[ausraider2]

Ach,

Sorry to disappoint Tryn, but I downloaded the PZone Acrobat file (not included in the BC3K2.09FREE.EXE download) and following your suggestion tagged a waypoint to those exact co-ordinates on earth, zoomed in pretty close (freeflight mode), checked the nearest buildings to no avail,(Invalid Docking Target),including C&C buildings.

There were alot of Ocean-Going craft in the vacinity which I also tried, in fact the waypoint was - from shuttle position - actually on the water right over a sea-carrier.

As there are a lot of trackable objects in the immediate theatre I confess I might have missed something.

Would someone please post what exactly should be in CVD and what to do etc.

Thanks

Ausraider2.

[Papi]

Search this thread for "starbase", so we don't have to write all the same things over and over again.

[ausraider2]

WOAHHH!!!!

The Glorious Starbase interface appears!!!

Is it worth it! Its better looking than the Starstations I think - kewl lights from the docked ship etc.

Papi, Sir, I must confess I was beginning to smoulder a bit at the above (hehe) as the 1st thing I did was a site scan for 'starbase','docking','planet fall' etc. whilst flying around compounds for almost 48hrs.

But who cares now I've found it!!!!

The problem was that I couldn't no matter where I was in relation to the 22compound - even right in front of the blasted thing - could I get Tascan to lock on to the TER/MIL EARTH building.

It cycled thru all the others but for some reason or other ignored the starbase structure.

My solution was to scan the compound from Tacops in the BC,

Zoom in ,as I described above earlier, until the buildings in the compound were visible.

Direct Zoom to the TER/MIL EARTH building - then add it to the priority list.

Switch back to the shuttle.

Cycle thru until TER/MIL EARTH now appeared in the CVD.

ALT+D and presto.

For Newbees like me here are 3 things to know.

1. There is a diffinite building that MUST be tracked in the CVD named something like TER/MIL EARTH - (which is the exact title of the earth base in the CVD - as Papi described in an earlier post).

It MUST have the planet name included in the CVD title eg EARTH - there are alot of other undockables TER/MIL BUNKER; TER/MIL C&C etc.

2.Its different looking from the rest - eg on earth its a funny looking thing; a distinct green colour with what looks like wings coming out the sides - its not in any other of the compounds - flashing or otherwise.

3.Most importantly, Tascan mode switch key.

This is actually how you find it regardless of Tacops etc.

EG: Shuttle - Tascan must be in Topographical map mode in order to lock-on to the starbase so press the 'J' key until the groundmap is displayed and simply cycle thru until TER/MIL EARTH is displayed in the CVD.

Anyways, glad I eventually found it (hehe) now on with the rest of the ACM.

Thanks

Ausraider2.

[ 11-17-2001: Message edited by: ausraider2 ]

[Papi]

Glad you made it, now we can reference to this thread too for the forthcoming noobs