X3

[Corribus]

I tried reading the reviews to get a feel for what the difference was... one reviewer said the cheaper (newest) version was made with cheap DVDs? I dunno... can I get some input here...?

I've done my share of burning DVDs (I back up most of movies because people have a habit of not returning them when I loan them out... ) and I can vouch for the fact that there are good quality DVDs and bad quality DVDs. From what I understand, the quality of the production varies quite substantial from manufacturer to manufacturer. When I bought "cheap" brands, I made many more coasters than when I bought "expensive" brands. (Actually, through online vendors, the high quality brands are no more expensive than the cheap ones.) The low-quality coating of poor quality DVDs is especially apparent near the edge of the disc, so when using poor quality DVDs for backing up data, most people will tell you not to use the full capacity of the disc. I've also been told that the higher quality DVDs have a much longer shelf-life than lower-quality DVDs, but I haven't verified it.

Anyway, long-story short - I don't know where most game publishers buy their DVDs, but if they bought really poor quality ones, then I suppose it in principle could make a difference.

[Kalah]

I guess I could always just make a backup copy and keep the original in the case.

*killing off pirates*

KIIIIIIIILLL!!!!

[Ethric]

Did you install all patches? Because then you do not need the disc to play, and wear and tear should then be minimal.

[Kalah]

I tried clicking that update button, but it said I had the latest version. Oh, you weren't talking to me...?

[Kalah]

I don't get the trade thing. I dock into trading stations and get a look at a list of things, but I have no idea how to make a purchase. I need energy for my jump engine...

Edit: Got it. Bought loads of the stuff. Hope it's enough to complete that assignment, chasing a pirate ship named Talon.

[Ethric]

I tried clicking that update button, but it said I had the latest version. Oh, you weren't talking to me...?

Was talking to anyone willing to listen

[Kalah]

6 a.m. Been up playing all night. Ore collecting is time consuming work. And eventually I managed to destroy the collector by banging it against an asteroid. Need. Sleep. Now.

[Kalah]

Just got one of those special assignments from a computer plant; mission is to get lots and lots of e-cells for them; a total of 412, in fact. My small (but very fast) ship can take only 44 each trip... I believe if you do the math on that one it comes to 10 trips. Phew. Thank God for SETA.

[Ethric]

Those assignements are better taken in TS ships

I'm happily pirating the boron, getting rich of their, heheheeee, unarmed freighters. I figure borons are the one race I can happily make enemies of, they have nothing I want.

[Kalah]

Now that I'm getting into gear I'm contemplating buying my third ship. I have the Mercury collecting Ore up in Kingdom's End, and I've been zooting around in my Disco - which has lots of speed (max 346), but not much umph. So, I want something a bit heavier to take on pirates and the like. My only score so far is an unarmed, unescorted pirate freighter - and that took me a looong time to shoot to pieces...

I want the Nova, but that's 1M, and I've only got 700K. So, your idea of "stealing" a pirate Buster sounds good... problem is, how to do it? So far I've easily been able to outrun anything red on my screen, but what happens when I take my Disco into the Buster's firing range?

[Ethric]

I want the Nova, but that's 1M, and I've only got 700K. So, your idea of "stealing" a pirate Buster sounds good... problem is, how to do it? So far I've easily been able to outrun anything red on my screen, but what happens when I take my Disco into the Buster's firing range?

Obvious: you don't. Look for a lone Buster or Buzzard, or try to separate one from a pack (a bit harder of course). The main thing is to get only that ship alone, then it is easy to use your superior speed to stay behind and nibble it's hull down, hoping for the pilot to bail.

I figure a Buster and a Buzzard to be the ones you can reasoably expect to get in a disco of the pirate M4's. You can then use that ship to get a bigger ship, but many of the pirate M3's have back turrets, making it considerably harder. The ones without, the Falcon, isn't all that good (the sizes are M5 - M4 - M3 - M3+ - M6 - M7 - M1 - M2 - M0, only up to M3+ can be gotten just by shooting). Namely because you WANT your ship to have a back turret, it just makes them harder to steal

But at least an M4 is a big step up from the disco, and not having to pay for it is great. After that you might consider buying an M3/M3+, when you can afford it.

[Kalah]

Right. This all sounds very... sound. And I'll give it a go right away. I foresee one small problem though; the little experience I have fighting pirates in this ship tells me my two Alpha blasters aren't packing a big enough punch to remove the shields by "nibbling" - and even if I manage to do it, there's still no guarantee the pilot bails out.

Still, I'll try, and if all else fails I can still go and buy myself a ship (possible save another 400K for the Nova).

[Ethric]

Right. This all sounds very... sound. And I'll give it a go right away. I foresee one small problem though; the little experience I have fighting pirates in this ship tells me my two Alpha blasters aren't packing a big enough punch to remove the shields by "nibbling" -

Nothing piloted by you will pack much of a punch... but just keep fireing, as long as you stay behind and don't get shot, your guns should recharge faster than his shields

and even if I manage to do it, there's still no guarantee the pilot bails out.

There never is.

[Kalah]

OH - MY - GOD!!!

You know that Boron Orca? The hugest ship like, ever? Beautiful, sleek lines, so big you'd need a cluster of nukes just to dent the bonnet? Well, here I was, in the middle of an asteroid field, just min(d)ing my own business... and then all of a sudden I see a flash of light out there. The Orca has hit something. And it blows up. Spectacular. Daemn...

[Ethric]

Any loot?

Yeah accidents happen. Not too unrealistic, really. Though the Orca and the other TL's can be taken out by a fighter (M3/M3+), they're not THAT heavily shielded and usually have poor turret-coverage. I'm mentioning this because as you go up in fight-rank, the target of assassination-missions fly these.

[Kalah]

Well, I'm stuck on this quest of mine... supposed to run some errands and get my very own HQ as a reward, but now I'm stuck in a heavily patrolled pirate zone. They've got Marauders, Carracks, the works. My captured Xenon LX can take out the smaller fighters, even the Marauders, but the Carracks are just too much.

What I have to do right now is tow a huge yacht, using a damaged Nemesis with a tractor beam. I'm transporting immediately over to my LX at the first hint of trouble... problem is, trouble never ends. It seems there's no end to the pirates. I'm trying a new tactic now, avoiding the transit routes between the gates by taking a loooong way around - giving the pirates a wide berth, so to speak. It worked in one sector, doesn't seem to work in the other. I'm using my LX right now, to clear the way. I'm just hoping there's really an end to the pirates...

[Kalah]

Currently looking for an alternate route... busting pirate ass all over the place in the process. I came across the ship I want for my next upgrade: the Pirate Reaver *drool*

[Kalah]

I am sailing around in my Hyperion, and lo! and behold: a Xenon Q, escorted by two P's, and lots of smaller fighters. I did the complusorary save, and went in.

I took out some of the small ones with missiles, but then they all got really offended for some reason, and came after me - real mad, like. Victim of this gigantic misunderstanding, I started running towards the far gate, and called in my big-ass Reaver to that same location. On the way, I managed to split the Xenon fleet, taking out another P and two LX's.

Que big battle scene. When the Reaver reached me, I set it to attack nearest enemy. I then performed what in dogfighting terminology would be referred to as an "immelmann" (yeah, yeah, look it up), and attacked with both ships. Flying right past the Q, hammering it with missiles and B HEPT bolts... I barely dented the shields. The Reaver, however, did some damage. When I turned around and was ready to make another charge, the Q's shields were already gone, and the hull was dissipating fast. I looked up to find a truly impressive sight; the Reaver was taking them all out, and didn't seem to ned help from me. Beams and bolts and shards of lightning came out of it in all directions, and when the Flak array started booming away, well... let's just say the Q explodes in a very nice way.

I got lots of money for that kill, and it's official: I am the Xenon fleet killer.

[Ethric]

You got money for it? Was it part of a xenon-invasion mission? Or did you mean loot?

Don't think there's too many people here playing this game, judging by your triple-posting

[Kalah]

I got 50K as reward due to my police licence. But the real money was in the loot, yes. Lots of shiny ones.

Currently using the same tactic on the Unknown M6 in Two Grand... wish me luck...

Edit: YEEEEY!!! Finally got it. Man, that beam weapon is like a MoO2 Stellar Converter; it just lights up the whole universe... After a couple of reloads, I finally got the balance right. It was all about choosing the right amount of B PPCs vs B Flak arrays on the Reaver, which turned out to be starting with 6 B PPC, and switching over to 2 B PPCs and 4 A Flak arrays once it was closing in. Then I released fighter drones to distract the M6, and went in with the Hyperion as well, trying to survive. I think the key is to give the enemy many targets to shoot, so it won't focus all its energy on you. My shields were down to about 20%, but the Reaver was surprisingly fit. Now that's a feather in my cap, and 2,2 fresh million in the bank