Frontier - First Encounters(Elite3)

[Hueij]

Well, IIRC the reviews of X in alt.fan.elite were not too kind. But then again, those people are hard-core Elite fans

[child of Thor]

well i wouldn't say i was a hard core elite fan, but so far they have a point

And in the light of my failed attempt at hexing so far, i've decided to do the following instead:

Edit:

[Space05us]

Is there any way to avoid dying in this game? Its beginning to feel like nethack.

[Hueij]

Originally posted by Space05us
Is there any way to avoid dying in this game? Its beginning to feel like nethack.

Get rid of your laser and get the best missiles you can get. Start with ferrying stuff between Alioth (The Alliance capital, so no pirates) and Soholia (if you are attacked there, most of the times your two missiles will do the job) until you can get a better ship. It'll take some time though...

[J Bytheway]

Originally posted by Space05us
Is there any way to avoid dying in this game? Its beginning to feel like nethack.

Or, even more wimpishly (like me ), do the Sol-Barnard's Star run where you will never be attacked at all, so you needn't bother with weapons at all, until you can afford a decent ship which is able to defend itself.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Space05us
Is there any way to avoid dying in this game? Its beginning to feel like nethack.

You can stay at spaceport for quite a while.

[Space05us]

I like this game, I really really do, but where a game such as Morrowind is too easy this game is too hard. I can zip around in and between Federation and Imperial systems, presumably safe, and still get jumped by 5+ pirates at once.

Its lame that I need to save so much.

[child of Thor]

Space05us, bare with me for a little while(in which time you will get better at combat ), and i'll have a little surprise for you(and everyone else)



but for now i would agree the missle is useful, but if you get a decent pirate pilot he will just out manourve your missile. So if you are going to use the missile to be sure of a kill, you have to try to fire up the rear of the enemy, preferbly when you are pretty close(say less then a km away).

I tend to stick with the laser(in the begining a 5mw pulse - 1mw beam is better but takes up more room).

When the alarm sound goes off - use the 'tab' key to cycle through your engine setings untill your engines are set to 'off'(no blue flames on the console).

When the attacker is about 10km away i aim my ship to one side, still keeping it in my view; and start to weave around a bit(still trying to keep it in my view). When the pirate starts to fire at you just keep avoiding him, dont engage him untill you can hear/see that his laser is overheating(his fireing will become sporadic).

At this point i engage the enemy, getting as close as i can and using my forward and rear thrusters to give me a little longer on the target.

It can take some time, you just need to be patient, but eventualy you will get some shots on target - with the 5mw pulse a few shots should do the trick(sometimes one will do ).

Its easier with a beam laser - you can 'zone-in' with your shots.

The more enemies you face the more you have to fly evasively, your combat will run for longer as you have to fly more carefuly untill the odds are better(or you get killed!).

If it helps i'm saving much less often at the momment - maybe only in space once after every hyperspace. And now 80% of the time i make it to the planet, still much of it in the begining depends on your ship.

there is some very detailed flight/combat advice at this site http://www.alioth.net/index.html

[Daz]

You can fly between Barnards Star and Sol as much as you want without being attacked.


I fly an Imperial Explorer equiped with a cute little plasma accelarator. The ship is slow but the 80ish shield generators usually keep me alive long enough to blow all enemies kingdom come....

And I still got around 300t of free cargo space...

[Space05us]

but for now i would agree the missle is useful, but if you get a decent pirate pilot he will just out manourve your missile. So if you are going to use the missile to be sure of a kill, you have to try to fire up the rear of the enemy, preferbly when you are pretty close(say less then a km away).

The problem isnt killing them, the problem is them killing me before I can find them to return fire. Luckily its not a problem anymore, I have a Panther Clipper with 100 shield generators and a 100mw beam laser on each of the turrets. Unfortunatly I still occasionaly run into a pirate that kills me within a few seconds.

Im looking for an Imperial Explorer right now so I can venture into uncharted systems. (need a fuel scoop just in case)

[child of Thor]

Well if your finding those 'super' ships a little too powerfull, you might care to have a look at this:

[Note: the story is kinda part of it as i needed to explain what was going on for the 20 days in the game before 'you' come into it]


Cmdr.Jameson III

The legacy of an old-timer

Old friends, new horizons.

Commander Jameson the III was a very tall, slim and balding middle-aged man. At this precise moment he sat in the cramped cockpit of the Sakker MkIII that he had just inherited.

Nervously he looked around at the controls, the cockpit plasti-glass shading out the brightness of the midday sunlight. It had been over twenty years since he had last flown; that had been in the war.

Since then he had become an accountant, that position had grown to fit him much better than war-hero ever had.

He sniffed, an involuntary tick he had whenever he was faced with a hard decision. He re-read the memo again.
He could just sell the thing, he supposed - walk away, back to the safety of his comfortable accountants chair.

He’d paid his dues, besides he was getting too old for this; already his back was beginning to give him a hard time, probably all psychological but it was there.

As he reached out for the control stick he felt a strong surge of deja vu…..
Static filled his ears and a dizzying sickness arose that forced him to squeeze his eyes tight shut. For a few moments his senses were filled with a wash of incomprehensible sensations, too much too fast. Fear was in there, they were old friends.

“Echo three, this is Alpha three zero. Sector 21a-33n-10d is clear. Sigma Charlie Tango reads negative and all jump vectors are minimal. Commencing sweep of planetary system Delta. Alpha three zero out.”

The city was all but gone; just a few piles of super heated and fused metals arose to break up the glass like finish. He’d seen that from orbit, the glint had caught his attention and had made it easy to fly down to without the nav-beacon to follow.

His stomach heaved.

He’d only wanted to remember the city – swept clean, polished, no smell, sterile. But their faces came back to haunt him. Mouths agape in slack surprise, or were they mocking sneers? Bloated fat bodies, pile after pile; his mind this time unable to process the smell, a small mercy. Outside the city there was no sterility. Men, women, children, all strangely naked; some with a few tatters of clothing left on them. But he’d seen the videos, seen what to expect when human life and bomb mixed. It hadn’t made the reality any easier.

Commander Jameson sniffed again, let go of the control stick and climbed out of the pilots seat. Leaning much more heavily on his walking stick than normal, he walked off the landing pad.

***

Old Blackelk town was a strange place, least of all because of its name. It was the kind of place where nothing ever happened, and most of the people living there were happy about it. Well except maybe for Commander Jameson III and his two wards.

He had been doing fine but the recent gift of the Saker mkIII had dug up a few memories, both good and bad, from his past. Now he sat in his office contemplating the glass of vintage Phekda brandy he had almost finished. Not that he was a drinker, but sometimes a little of the hard stuff hit the spot.

He checked the time again. He had arranged to meet up with the twins, his young cousins, at the star port. He’d become warden of the twins, a boy and a girl, about 15 years ago after their parents had been killed in a pirate attack in Sohilia. It had been a difficult time, he had been close to his uncle, and both of the twins never really fit in with the planet bound existence he could offer them.

He’d left a note for his secretary and the necessary paper work that would give her his accountancy business, she deserved that for all the hard work she’d put in over the last decade. Everything was in order.

Picking up his old backpack, which now contained pretty much his whole life, he took one final look around his office then headed back to the starport.

Sometimes the decisions we make are the wrong ones. Sometimes any change can be a good thing.

For Commander Jameson, now docked at Old Currie spaceport, he wasn’t quite sure yet.
He had felt a bit rusty on the flight out of Old Blackelk to Old Currie, the ship seeming to buffet him around in the planets atmosphere more than it should. The twins had given him the odd worried glance whenever the turbulence got rough.

Still once he’d got the Saker down, and started to take the fuel on board, he’d started to feel that silly smile force itself onto his usually neutral face, it had been too long coming.

On the spur of the moment he decided to take part in the ‘Wiccan Run Race’; he’d tried it once before, many years ago. He’d nearly been killed that time, but he’d been a pretty green pilot then.
Now he had fifteen years of fighter flying behind him, and was looking to see what the Saker mkIII could do.

The twins were busy reading over the flight manual he’d given them. He was going to teach them all he knew about piloting, he owed that to their father. They seemed very eager students absorbing all the information he could throw at them, actually paying attention to him for what seemed like the first time.
He watched them closely as they discussed the parameters of hyperspace travel, a sense of pride forming his smile. Its true that they said some people were born spacer’s.

His onboard computer ‘beeped’ at him softly – the download of the latest Jjagged Bbanner song was complete.

***

The streets of Ghandi were packed, and not with the normal sandal and robe wearing shoppers. Press and music fans flocked around the starport, all waiting to see who would get in first.

There had been a flurry of excitement a few hours ago, three ships had roared into the upper atmosphere. The combat that had ensued was over almost as soon as it started; one of the pilots had reacted to the lasers that cut into his hull by detonating an energy bomb. Both the other ships had vaporised, a sign that the combat may have been raging for hours in the outer reaches of the system.

The small cheer that had risen from the crowd merged quickly into a groan. The last ship, an Adder, flew over their heads with smoke billowing behind it in a thick trail. It exploded spectacularly as it impacted with the mountainside. Since then things had been pretty quiet.

From the balcony of the ‘Peace+Love’ Hotel, a figure scanned the skies with a discreet but powerful pair of image enhancers. The ship she was looking for hadn’t yet arrived. The message had reached her 24hrs ago – she had choked back the surprise, scarcely able to believe what it told her. Still she was here, the information had been correct and now she just had to wait.

***

It had been a two jump journey, the Saker mkIII not having the jump range for a direct hyperspace to Alioth, still the engines were fast and he’d calculated only losing a few hours.

As they arrived in Alioth, Commander Jameson and the twins could see that two other ships had arrived with them. He let the twins set the navigation computer for Wicca’s World and the starport of Ghandi, this gave him the chance to check once more the encrypted communiqué he had received shortly after leaving the planet Hope at the start of their journey.

It had come in using an old call sign that he’d used during the war – ‘Galactica’.

“Galactica, an old name that only on old friend would associate with you. You know who I am .Now its time to deliver on what was promised many years ago. Meet me on landing pad one at New Rossyth shipyard. Time no later than 12:00hrs on the 20th of Jan 3250.”

He’d heard nothing from his old friend Admiral William Saunders for over five years, the last time they had met had been on Old Blackelk, and William had needed an accountant for some sensitive number crunching.

Admiral Saunders had been one of the Alliances best navigators during the war, so it had been an obvious choice to team him with the best fighter pilot. They had been involved in many of the Alliances crucial victories in those desperate times.

After the war he’d retired from the Navy, but unlike Commander Jameson he’d remained involved, working for the famous New Rossyth shipyards in their R+D department.

Commander Jameson suppressed a worried frown, he had no idea what William wanted, but as they had arranged all those years ago, they would each come to the other if ever that code word was used.

Behind him the twins whooped out in excitement. They had picked up the local frontier news station from Wicca’s World and apparently they were the current leaders in the race!

*

The crowds had once again taken pause in their revelry to concentrate on the huge vid-screens. If one squinted hard enough you could just make out a bright blip that the orbiting camera’s fed live to the screen.
The loud speakers continued their commentary,

“O.k. folks what we have here is a Saker mkIII registration TY-198……..belongs to a Commander Jameson, never heard of him……and we have established communications with the ship…..it appears he is not alone……travelling with two of his younger relatives, hey that’s nice – a real family affair folks! Good to see the vibe of Ghandi reaching out to the galaxy!”, a cheer arose from the throng.

The PA continued his discourse,

“And barring a terrible accident or misfortune of any kind they look set to be this years race winners…hold on! Two other ships have just come into camera view! This could be a close one folks – better hold on to your hats! Let the P-A-R-T-Y begin! ”,

The crowd let out another wild cheer accompanying the fireworks that had started to go off.

*

The party was in full swing. She’d followed the landing of the Saker mkIII, and the procession and presentation of the trophy and prize money. Commander Jameson had loomed large on the vid-screens, declining the victory himself and instead offering it to one of his cousins.

Apparently they had come up with a tricky manoeuvre that had involved a slingshot around the sun of Alioth to increase their speed massively, and then used the gravity of the Gas giant Alioth4 to brake, bringing them into Wicca’s World before the other two ships. The crowd had loved it, and the party had been wild.

Seeing him in the flesh, so to speak, had bought back the flash of hatred she’d been carrying with her for so many years. Now at least she would have her chance of revenge.

As the evening wore on, she had made it down into the crowd and worked her way close to the hero’s of the day. She couldn’t do anything here; the crowd would rip apart anyone who would spoil their moment of celebration.

She’d got close enough to him to shake his hand; he would have no idea whom she was. As he’d whirled past her in the crowd she had ensured the tracking pin had been attached to his jackets sleeve, and then he was gone, of into the evening celebration. She had smiled at the look of discomfort on his face – parties were a private mans curse.
She retired for the evening back to her hotel, keeping a close eye on the tracking signal.

*

The Admiral had again sent another encrypted message. Commander Jameson hadn’t accessed it until the twins were asleep, and the partygoers had given them some privacy. It had been a trying few days for him, even the twins happy that things had finally calmed down. Youthfulness also has it limits.

He had re-read the message a few times now, understanding why it had been so heavily encrypted.

“Project Galactica: Top Secret. The adaptation of a standard Tiercel freighter beyond previous flight performance envelope limits. Registration designation GF-048.The proto-type craft ‘Galactica Falcon’ incorporates the very latest technology of hull manufacture and ship engine design.
Tested and sustainable flight dynamics equal to above 30g forward acceleration/15g reverse thrust.
ClassIV military drive with a hyperspace range of 80.77ly.
The hull comprises the latest mix of ceramic polymers and carbon diamond lattice’s, giving the necessary endurance for the mass-to-thrust ratios.”

William had added a footnote at the bottom of the message,

“Galactica, this is what I’ve been working on since retiring from the navy, and partially why I haven’t been keeping in contact – I knew I might need to keep some hidden outside ally if things went wrong.
Well things have gone wrong, and I need you to help me out. Influences outside of the Alliance have gotten wind of this project, and someone from within the top echelon of the Alliance has brokered some kind of deal to let this technology be ‘stolen’.

Listen, the above specs are a little out of date. We’d got hold of some alien hyper- drive technology that we finally got a grasp of. You’ll see what I mean when we meet up. I’ve only been able to outfit her with basic equipment; I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself.

I need a pilot, the best and most trustworthy. I’ve got to get this ship out off here; I’ve arranged the decoy, which will give us a few days head start. We can’t afford to let her fall into the wrong hands. Beyond that I don’t have a plan, I’m not sure what we will do, but your good in those situations so I figured you’d know best.

Oh yeah, I heard about your little victory in the Wiccan Run, nice idea of your cousin that, you must be slowing down old friend. Look forward to meeting you all again, it’s been too long.
- Will Saunders.”

Commander Jameson had already booked the three of them on a shuttle for the following day; they would make it to Argent’s Claim and his waiting friend on time. He sniffed hard. In the morning he would tell the twins what was going on, they had to decide for themselves what they wanted to do.

*

Admiral William Saunders (retired) nervously flicked through the various navigation and ship status screens of the Galactica Falcon. The ship flight controls were still a mystery to him, even after all these years; he understood the theory fine, but even after the maximum three attempts he’d never received his pilot’s certificate.

It was nearly midday and the last message he had received from Commander Jameson had been over thirty minutes ago, when he and the twins had arrived by interplanetary shuttle.

He popped another ezzy-tab into his mouth to help him relax, he realised with disgust that he’d been depending on these for over six months now. A sure sign that it was time to terminate his contract, it helped him feel a bit better about what he was about to do.

An alarm blipped at him and drew his attention to the outside monitor. He saw one of the twins running towards the ship at full tilt. William opened the hatch as the dishevelled figure burst into the cockpit, face smeared in soot and blood, eyes wide and wild.

“They are all dead!…..an explosion, I think a grenade….all dead…I just ran here as fast as I could…..a woman had followed us, said he was a murderer….in the war and had killed her father…..she threw something at us….oh my god! So much blood…they were all dead!”

William could see the trail of smoke that was beginning to rise from beyond the starport wall, and noticed one or two people pointing in their direction.

“Listen to me”, he said in stern voice, “You can pilot a space ship can’t you?”

[child of Thor]

A few tips etc:

The file below is a save game to go directly into your Firstenc directory. I'm not sure if it will work if you open it in notepad etc first. I've scanned it with two different and upto date virus-scanners.

Just load up the file from the load menu and of you go!

Once you've started up, change the 'Jameson' name save file default to one of your choice - this way your personel name will appear in the game journals.

One thing to note is that there will be an amusing(but harmless) irregularity if you play this on the DOS only shareware version of FFE - it certainly made me laugh

A bottle of fine(virtual)Altairian brandy to the person who can post here with what it is first.

On the windows friendly version(JJFFE thingy) everything is 'normal'.

Why do you start from the 20th january, instead of the 1st?

well as i was hex editing the windows friendly version, i had no references to work with, and could not find the 'startup' ship info. So i had to make a work around to get the ship i wanted.This is what a typical line looked like:

0D 33 5A B0 02 00 01 00 E1 A0 05 47 etc

It was very painfull, and my brain still hurts

Oh even though you have a very good ship - you still only start with 1000 credits and basic equipment, and your hull still doesn't like lasers. So you've got to work a bit before it becomes a very good ship.

I think she's pretty hot - maybe the best looking of the Elite ships(or atleast a contender), and i've been having fun flying her. Enjoy.

the size of the file(named tiercel) when unzipped should be 37.5kb(38,492bytes in properties) or 30.9kb in the zip folders properties(in winrar - winzip may vary)

[Space05us]

holy hell 365 light years!

[child of Thor]

Clever those aliens She'll outfly all but the fastest of small fighter craft and missiles.

[child of Thor]

I've nearly caught up to where i had been before, now that i'm using this new ship.

It doesn't make you uber powerfull, and i still havent got enough money yet to really equip it out with all the good things(next on my must buy list is an ECM!!). I'm still dying from time to time.

Sometimes it handles a little wild in combat, i'm guessing the amount of g's you can pull compared to the ships weight causes the 'wobble' effect. I've noticed it during hard turns combined with forward accelaration in dog fights. You can get a delay to your movement as the ship reacts to the new command, and it can cause a 'wobble'. tsk - proto-types heh

I've noticed something different between the Dos mode only version and the JJFE windows one. Atleast on my machine i get a much smoother game with the Dos-only version.

If only the music sounded better in this version and you could change space to black, then i'd play it over the JJFE version.