From Storm to Tank

Jean II as designed by my Mrs

After a lot of grinding I now have a fully equipped and customised MST-FF2 to ride in, otherwise known as a Mizar Tank. Thanks again to those who voted in my poll on the class of ship for Mizar. I got my wife to choose the paint job, and like my old Vega tank I named it after my mom.

Piloting a Gemini ship on Baumar is like driving a moped on the motorway. You feel a mug and can just about stay with the traffic, but one mishap and you're smeared all over the tarmac.

Going from a Storm to a Tank takes a serious adjustment. You feel almost invulnerable at first, but it takes forever to blow anything up. Trying to take down a basic Baumar Harvester in an entry level Mizar Tank requires close control of your energy. Even at level 40 with an Energy cap of 4,875 it's a challenge. It only takes a couple of Marauders or Detonators to stick their noses in and by the time you're got rid of them your Energy's spent. The Aggrobomb's a laugh though. Wait for those Interceptors to come screaming in, park yourself under the Harvester and Kablooey!

The effect of the Repair Droid will take some getting used to as well. I know it's repairing just as much armour on the Tank as it would on a Storm but it only fixes about a third of the damage bar per use. No more saving it until you're below 50%, more like 25%.

Well that is one of the good things about this game. You can chose different ships and have to adapt your tactics to match. In my Solaria campaign, currently in Vega, I think I'll choose a Shock ship when the option arises. That's the only one I haven't piloted yet.

'Planet Search 2'

My new Mizar Tank.
Now I need to decide on the paint job.

The preceding story mission was: ‘Planet Search’

The following story mission is: ‘Help Fighters’

This is a strange one, virtually a copy of Planet Search. Natassia says that there are still areas of Baumar to be searched so you have to go back down and keep looking.

This was my first mission in my new Mizar Tank, so it was a lot easier to survive the attentions of the Mantis. I reached the first area simply enough, but this time the search was designated as completed almost as soon as I entered the zone. Then you are given the final area to search which you are warned is full of very dangerous Mantis. I can't argue with that as I was podded 10 seconds after I got there.

I decided not to resurrect but be rescued so that I could resume the mission with almost full energy. As in 'Planet Search' the mission did not have to be restarted. I went straight to the final area and searched most of it, and then Natassia said that it seems Vicius is not on Baumar. He could be on Molikar but the Baumarians say that every human ship that has landed there has been destroyed. Natassia promises to investigate.

I kept expecting something to happen, like an ambush, perhaps finding a mysterious pod or Vicius the Mutilator reading Noggin The Nog in a bubble bath. Nothing. Maybe the game designers intended to bluff the players and I fell for it. However I can't help wondering why they didn't just combine this and 'Planet Search' into one. This mission feels like padding. Dull.

‘Smuggler’s Revenge’

Help!

The preceding story mission was: ‘Tutorial: Find and Install Ion Shield’ or ‘Escorting Bill’

The following story mission is: ‘To Kalabesh’

This is an interesting mission, different to the typical search/destroy/escort formats of most missions. By now you may be flying the AnIn-1450, but I stuck with my 1300 and completed this mission first time, though it would be easier in the 1450.

Jake Rattenbury wants to shock the Colonials by attacking Administration City (imaginative name). Major Ivanova messed up the smuggling run in ‘Escorting Bill’. By blowing her up Jake hopes to keep the Colonial Guard out of his business.

On the surface you need to meet with Jake in his coolly named ship The Anarchy. He has a bomb which you need to collect and deposit at the gates of the city. Being a big chicken Jake stays behind and leaves you to do the dirty work. Once you reach the marked spot with the bomb it is automatically deposited and activated.

Now you have to go and find Major Ivanova in her even cooler named ship Falcon’s Fist. She’s not far away and your task is to lure her to the bomb. Give her a few shots with the blaster and she’ll follow. If you Afterburn away then you may lose her, so just head straight for the bomb and use your Repair Droid or Shield if you have one.

Once Ivanova passes close to the bomb it goes off and wastes Falcon Fist. The Major survives and curses you for a coward from her pod. “What if the Mantis attack?” she says, “You wouldn’t take my place and defend the Colonies.” Jake Rattenbury gloats, and you feel like a rat.

So a different mission, but this is one where you may not enjoy the role you have to play. The Mantis are swarming about and here you are attacking the first line of defence to protect Jake, who’s obviously a bad guy. This story mission makes you aware of just how linear the storyline is in Pirate Galaxy (PG). The recent tutorials give you a choice over ships, but the story is still a straight jacket. Now PG has never claimed to be a Role Playing Game (RPG) so I won’t criticise them. However I think the game would be improved if you could make a choice in some missions about which side you want to be on.

For example in this story mission you could decide to stick with Jake and keep collecting the crystals. However what if you could decide not to plant the bomb, or warn Ivanova, or even attack Jake. At the end of the mission you would then be part of the Colonial Guard. There could then be a series of parallel missions where you fight against smugglers and Mantis raids. You could keep your own ship or be loaned a Colonial vessel. The trade off might be a better ship but less crystals as you just draw regular military pay.

After 4 or 5 missions then the Smuggler and Guard paths could converge as the Mantis attack and all differences are forgotten. Doing this would only require 4 or 5 extra story missions and increase the replayability of PG. After taking the Smuggler route you could create a new pilot on another server and try the path of the Guards. Similar paths could be set up in the other systems too, maybe tailored to suit different choices in ship.

All a suggestion to improve the game, not a criticism because as I said this is a good mission.

Random Fun Stuff - A Victory

There will be an update to Pirate Galaxy (PG) this Wednesday, April 6th 2011. The change logs used to be posted on the forum, but now only appear on the PG home page. The change that caught my eye is the first

Rare aliens are now spawned automatically by the system instead of having to be spawned manually.

Yes! Either we've just had one of those events where separate and unconnected people simultaneously have exactly the same idea, or someone with influence reads Cryonite Cove. Not convinced? Read my recent post More random fun stuff in Gemini please. Since Cryonite Cove once managed to get on PG's Facebook page, a Splitscreen bod must have seen it at least once. Either that or one of our regular readers has posted the idea on the forum in the suggestions thread. Pbhuh seems unable to stop posting on the forum and he's a regular commenter here so maybe he picked up the baton. The suggestions board is very long and I can't be bothered to search through it all.

By the way I owe Pbhuh a big thank you for re-raising the issue of Cryonite Cove's 'banned from the forum' status. The moderators have allowed this distinguished blog back into the fold. Thanks Pbhuh.

Anyway whether I had anything to do with it or not, Rare Mantis will be returning to the forgotten systems of Pirate Galaxy. Result.

There is other, bigger news too. Steel Legions is now in Open Beta testing. Open Beta was when I started to play PG and I haven't stopped since. I haven't played Steel Legions (SL) so I can't say if it's any good. I believe the afore mentioned Pbhuh is though, so if you're reading mate drop in a comment and let us know what you think.

All player accounts have been reset and this won't happen again, so now is the time to get in on the ground floor and make yourself a legend. Maybe you could be the V1-Hyper or Buccaneer Bill of Steel Legions.

It will be interesting to see what effect this will have on PG. Many of the PG players are likely to give SL a try so it will probably get a little quieter, and many may not come back. Perhaps some new SL players will come over to PG. Whatever happens growth and diversity is good so best of luck to Splitscreen.

I'm resisting Steel Legions for now because I know what I'm like. If it's any good I'll be there all the time and Cryonite Cove will either grind to a halt or have to change to include SL. I'm sure I'll crack and dip my toe in one day, but I've enough on my plate for now. 

‘Planet Search’

I couldn't think of an amusing or informative caption. Sorry.

The preceding story mission was: ‘Back to Mizar’

The following story mission is: ‘Planet Search 2’

We’re back in orbit around Baumar and it’s time to properly engage the Mizar Mantis at last. Natassia tells you that Vicius must have found a way to mask the signature of Ethan Copernicus’s ship Freedom’s Force because they can’t track it anymore. It was last seen on Baumar so you have to fly down and search.

On the surface you are given a large area to search. It’s not far away but you do have to cover the whole space. You can’t just lurk on the edge and wait for a certain amount of time to pass, I know because I tried it. This is a bit difficult if you’ve already explored the area because the map is already revealed so it’s harder to keep track of where you’ve been.

I was still in my Gemini Storm and I found this difficult. I got podded 4 or 5 times by the Pyros, Marauders, Paralysers etc. Gemini ships are a bit fragile for Mizar Mantis weaponry and the Storm is probably the worst ship to avoid trouble in. A Gemini Tank or Shock might do it easier. Luckily getting fragged does not end this mission. That means that if you get podded you can return from the hangar and resume your search.

After completing a tour of the first area you get a second, then third area to search. After that Natassia seems to give up and calls you back. So the way to do this is stay out of trouble as much possible, if you get podded then return to Baumar and pick up where you left off. You  may lose a lot of cryonite but you will complete the mission and collect the 700 crystal reward. 

‘Tutorial: Find and Install Ion Shield’

Ooh that's new!

The preceding story mission was: ‘Tutorial: Buy New Spaceship’

The following story mission is: ‘Smuggler’s Revenge’

Now this is classed as a tutorial, but it’s really a tasty story mission. It only unlocks if you complete ‘Tutorial: Buy New Spaceship’ and you can complete the Vega storyline without touching it. However it introduces you to a new Mantis, the Marauder, and gets you a new piece of equipment to play with.

Jake Rattenbury explains that the empty ‘5’ slot in your Heads Up Display (HUD) is for a shield. Mantis Marauders use shields, and smugglers have spotted some on the surface of Axiom. You need to go and loot a Shield Blueprint (BP) to fully equip your new AnIn-1450. You can fly the 1450 without a shield installed, so if the rest of the equipment is up to snuff then you should fly it. It does have tougher armour than the 1400.

You know the drill by now, get to the surface and fly to the marked spot. Jake tells you to take on only one Marauder at a time which is good advice. The Marauders are level 9, and I completed this mission first time in my AnIn-1400 at level 8. However I’m an experienced pilot starting the game over again, so don’t feel bad if you find this mission tough. It’s good training for later missions, and things have been pretty easy up to now.

When you first approach the Marauders they are unlikely to have their shield up and you can usually get one or two shots in first. However very soon after engaging them you’ll hear a ‘thrummm’ sound, and the alien ship becomes encased in an oscillating bubble of energy. You’ll see that the damage bar of the shielded ship splits into two uneven columns. The thinner of the columns is the shield strength. When you blast a shielded ship the shield strength drops, just as ship armour does. Once the thinner column is depleted then the shield collapses and you can start to damage the ship itself. Shields can be re-raised but there is a cool down period, just as there is for all other equipment. They also only last for a set time, like your Afterburner or Repair Droid. You could try and avoid a Marauder until its shield deactivates, and then attack before it can be raised again. However I wouldn’t recommend it as you are bound to run into other Mantis and become outnumbered, plus it doesn’t take too long to knock the shield down and running soon becomes boring.

In my case the first Marauder I killed dropped a shield BP, maybe that happens every time but I don’t know. Once you have the right BP then you can Afterburn away and get into orbit. Next enter the hangar (don’t forget F7) and fit the shield as you would do other equipment. Jake then rants about how he’s going to make the Colonials fear him while you go back to orbit which completes the mission.

I don’t see how Splitscreen can call this mission a Tutorial. I talked about why they did this in 'Hostage Negotiation'. It's still an untidy solution. Splitscreen should explore and expand this non-linear approach to the storyline rather than have this sticking plaster solution.

Lies, all lies

As it's April 1st I was trying to think of a good April Fool's post for today. However I decided against it.

For example if I was to say that pressing Ctrl + Alt + N would enable the nude Natassia mode then everyone would be trying it and complaining when it didn't work (at least I don't think it does, I've never tried it.)

I could also say that I'd discovered a fictitious cryonite hack. For example if you type 'Red Heads are Foxy!' into the main chat, drop rates double for one hour. Trouble is then the whole game would be full of people shouting the praises of the Ginger Gang, with arguments breaking out over whether it worked or not. (It doesn't, I made it up. So it's very unlikely to be true.)

I could confide that if you travel to the extreme top right corner of Commerce Central and activate your repair droid and afterburner simultaneously then it opens a wormhole to the bottom left corner. (I wish it did, but it doesn't. Probably.)

Maybe I announce that 'Operation Weakpoint' has a bug that allows it to be completed 100% successfully if you pilot an AnIn-1300. (It's a lie, it must be.)

I could also say that I have learned that the pilot known as xxxBigBen__@ is actually none other than Lady Gaga. (Ridiculous! I have no idea what her player name is.)

But if I was to do any of the above then I'd probably upset a lot of people and get into terrible trouble, so I won't. Instead I'll just post a concept design for a new Mantis boss for the Sirius system that was mistakenly posted on Facebook before it was quickly withdrawn. Looks good.



I'm joking, though I have copyrighted this just in case