NEWBIE HELP

[Guest EvilSmack]

okay i downloaded the free version from fileplanet of bc3k and i am running windows ME but i can run teh game but there is no sound and i can not figure out how to do a few things such as put troops into atv and shuttles and how to enter a jump gate so please answer my questions

[Cmdr Nova]

For your first question RUN THE SOUND SETUP, and READ THE FAQ (supplied). For more info, go HERE. Surprisingly enough, this was only a few topics below yours.....

Meet the SC (Supreme Commander; Derek Smart--the man who makes this game--'s username). Here's what he said to someone with a similar sound question:

quote:

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You need to install the DOS sound drivers for your card. This is explained in the FAQ. You may want to read it.

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For your other questions about the troops, atvs, and every thing else you might need to know about HOW TO ACTUALLY PLAY THE GAME, RTFM! (If you don't know what that means, go ask someone else.)

If you had searched the forums, instead of complaining right away, you would have gotten the obvious answer to your first problem. Second, this is a complex game of management, skill, strategy, and lots of other fun stuff. You should have read the manual first......

[Kush]

Hey, cut the guy a little slack, he wasn't whining too loud.

And i'm not sure if the download at file planet includes the manual. (which you will find here on this site in the files section.)

You'll need Adobe acrobat to read it, and I'd print out the whole thing if I were you. Jumping back and forth between Acrobat and BC3k is a hassle.

[Apollon]

the manual is included in the download.

to put troops in the shuttle:

1. go to tactical

2. select "crew"

3. select the type of crew you want to send

4. on the right side of the screen there are some arrows. by pusing them, you can order your crewmen to go to places you want them to be

5. wait some minutes until they actually arrive there. you can observe their present location through the perscan screen. if you don┬┤t wait long enough, and send your shuttle anway out, it will be more or less empty.

to enter a jumpgate:

i don┬┤t know either how to do it manually, so i let the AI do it. just select a target and press "a" to activate the autopilot (BC orders -> jump to -> desired planet).

passing through a jumpgate without having defined a corresponding target will have no effect whatsoever.

and now i have a question too

when i order the deployed shuttle through the BC menu to deploy its ATV, it will ignore my order. in order to get the job done i HAVE to switch to the shuttle and do it manually.

now in a combat situation, with 4 ATVs having to be deployed, that┬┤s quite a tedious job

is there a way to make the shuttle actually obey my orders ?

btw: ordering the deployed ATV to RTB has no effect either. i have to do that manually as well.

and a bonus question

i┬┤m using high AI flight engineers to pilot my shuttles and ATVs. is this good or are marines more suitable for the job ?

[Supreme Cmdr]

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when i order the deployed shuttle through the BC menu to deploy its ATV, it will ignore my order. in order to get the job done i HAVE to switch to the shuttle and do it manually.

now in a combat situation, with 4 ATVs having to be deployed, that┬┤s quite a tedious job

is there a way to make the shuttle actually obey my orders ?

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Make sure that the waypoint is not below the ground. Also, try using two waypoints. #1 would be 'proceed to next' and a little distant from #2. Then place #2 with the deploy order, at the desired location. By the shuttle intercepts waypoint #1, it will be at low altitude and low speed, en-route to #2. It should carry out the order if the waypoint is not below the ground.

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btw: ordering the deployed ATV to RTB has no effect either. i have to do that manually as well.

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It can only RTB to the shuttle that deployed it, if it is in range.

[Apollon]

thank you, SC, for answering

>Make sure that the waypoint is not below the ground.

i figured that out already, and i┬┤m taking cart that this doesn┬┤t happen.

>Also, try using two waypoints. #1 would be 'proceed to next' and a little distant from #2. Then place #2 with the deploy order, at the desired location. By the shuttle intercepts waypoint #1, it will be at low altitude and low speed, en-route to #2. It should carry out the order if the waypoint is not below the ground.

you mean the remote command doesn┬┤t really work ? ok, i will stop trying to make it work then

about waypoints: as far as i figured, you can only set waypoints for certain units. can i set a waypoint that applies for all units ? i don┬┤t want to set 8 different waypoints for 4 different vehicles...

also is there a way to group ATVs, like you can group marines ?

>It can only RTB to the shuttle that deployed it, if it is in range.

well, it is the shuttle that deployed it, but it won┬┤t return nevertheless.

the ATV is out, and the shuttle that deployed it is out. both are crewed. but i can only make the ATV to RTB if i actually switch to it and order it from inside (and turn it over to the AI then).

anyway, i had a nice little adventure with one of thos disobedient ATVs that had a serious engine damage and wouldn┬┤t move. the pilot of its shuttle died though, so i had to figure out a way to retrieve them both. although it took me a full hour to get it done (i finally sent out a second shuttle to tow them in), i must say that it was in no way frustrating. it rather felt like being in an episode of star trek, and you have a problem to solve.

this game has DEPTH ! i LOVE it

final question (for today ):

when i attacked an insurgent compound, in the antarctica, i noticed some galcommian marines running around. they weren┬┤t mine, ┬┤cause i left mine in the BC. where did they come from ? will i always get such assistance when i attack insurgents on earth ? or was the timing just a coincidence and they would attack the base anyway, even without me ?

[XenoZohar]

Time for me to stop lurking for a bit. I'm not asking for technical support, I'm just asking a humble question. I understand that this game is unsupported, so I just wanted to know if this "feature" actually is a feature, or if maybe I downloaded the game incorrectly. I've posted this here as I don't want to be banned for asking this in a whole new thread. The thread IS labled "NEWBIE HELP", after all.

A curious thing happened when I was playing the free 2.09 BC3k that the SC recently released. After reading the manual, I played the game, and something hit me: I could use the HSD, the ENM was active, I could use the PAD, and I even had Fleet C&C. This was in both Free Flight and ACM, and was WITHOUT, I repeat, WITHOUT installing any cheats, and without finding the artifacts in ACM. I've retested this, and it's the same every time. I searched the forum, but could not find any specifics to this oddity. The only thing I found was that someone mentioned (I think it was the SC) that the game had to be run in debug mode to avoid checking for a CD-ROM. However, I thought that required a "/d" or something tag in the shortcut to do that, and the shortcut doesn't contain any tags. This is really confusing me, as I can't stop this from happening, and I want to play Free Flight without using the ENM and such, as the rest I can just simply not use. The other artifacts (or their abilities) aren't there, either. JAC isn't there roaming around fixing things, and the Life factor stays the same, and the fatigue factor still increases, so no Celestial orb. I can't use the RANDOM, so that's not there. The Karanian Reactor, the Tacyon shield, and the TMCD aren't there, either.

So, has anyone else experienced these phenomena with the new free 2.09? Like I said, I'd like to play Free Flight without having to accept the ENM's benefits, and I'd like to be able to find the artifacts for myself in ACM, in order to get their power on my own.

SC, all things considered, this is a great game, that I've still only scratched the surface of. As everyone else who reads this board, I can't wait until BC:M and GCO. I honestly wish I had known about this game back when I COULD buy it. Unfortunately, I didn't play many PC games back then, and thus didn't look for news about PC games. I'd be glad to have paid for this game, and I'll be among the first in line to get BC:M and GCO.

One other question: Has any work begun on GCO, beyond the conceptual work? When are you going to release the VCF for it, eh?

Keep up the good work, and thank you again for making this great game.

[Supreme Cmdr]

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you mean the remote command doesn┬┤t really work ? ok, i will stop trying to make it work then

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uhm, what remote command?

quote:

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A curious thing happened when I was playing the free 2.09 BC3k that the SC recently released. After reading the manual, I played the game, and something hit me: I could use the HSD, the ENM was active, I could use the PAD, and I even had Fleet C&C.

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I answered this in another thread I think. The /d1 flag in the .BAT files, enables debug mode in the game. This not only gives you some of those artifacts and features, it also bypasses the CD-ROM check. You will find that if you remove this flag, the game will prompt you for the CD-ROM...which you don't have.

[Apollon]

by remote command i mean the order you issue to launched units from your bridge (from the list of units located on the right side of the screen).

i can launch a shuttle or an IC from there, but not order the shuttles to deploy their ATVs, although the command is there. there just doesn┬┤t happen anyhting when i click on it. only way around is to switch to the shuttle and do it from there.

what is it everybody else is doing ? do you all deploy your ATVs by switching to the shuttle, or is there a way around this ? furthermore, are you using all 4 of your ATVs in a strike mission, or do you preferably rely on ICs ?

[Guest Snap]

I too have a question that I can't seem to find the answer for anywhere: What is the difference between Direct and AI mode for the auto-pilot?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Supreme Cmdr]

Apollon, they work only if the shuttle is deployed properly.

Snap, its in the manual. Read it.