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Mertens
rank 14
Posted:
Sun Sep 11, 2005 1:56 am
quote : #1
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Posts: 236
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I was thinking of writing a guide for the ships, to help new players get into the game. I would include each ship's strengths, weaknesses, quirks, some strategies, scenarios, and any other helpful information. It's not that I won't do it unless somebody asks. I just got to thinking, that part of the fun of Starlancer - at least for me - is trying out all the different ships and learning all that stuff for myself. Writing a guide might level the playing field for newbies, but could also take-away from the overall experience and at the same time, belittle the hard work of people who have gone through the trouble themselves. It's not hard to try out all the ships, but not every player has the time, opportunites, or patience to.

Maybe I think about this too much, but I can't help but wonder if there have been any new players who either accidently started the game in a Predator and got royally owned, or thought they had a good ship - but it didn't live up to their expectations.

I've already played with every ship, and managed to hold my own with even the weakest of them. It could take a while to write a guide, but I think it could be worth the effort.

Last edited by Mertens on Sun Sep 11, 2005 1:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
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lordnikon
rank 87
Posted:
Sun Sep 11, 2005 6:00 am
quote : #2
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Posts: 5902
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This would be awsome! I could use the PC version to get some nice shots of the ships in the main menu to add to the guide for pictures. This would be a great guide and let me know anytime you get it done and we can add it to the guides section.

I know I myself would find this guide very very usefull. Since I sometimes forget what the capabilities of each ship are.
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Tao
rank 15
Posted:
Sun Sep 11, 2005 10:16 am
quote : #3
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Posts: 262
Yeah, this'd be great. Mertens, if you want some help, I'd like also to contribute to the guide. It'll be a lot of work and if you need some extra hands, let me know.
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Mertens
rank 14
Posted:
Sun Sep 11, 2005 1:19 pm
quote : #4
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Posts: 236
Type: NTSC-U/C
Alright, I guess I'll start it tonight. I actually have some screenshots of the DC version ships, but the quality isn't great. I had to record a game on DVD recorder hard drive, burn it to DVD-RW, and play it on my playtop, and take screenshots with Fraps. I'll convert a few to jpeg and upload some samples if you want to use them. I would have done it sooner, but lack of broadband has been motivation to just put it off for a while.

I'll post an early version of the guide as soon as I can. I'll probably do 1 or 2 ships, post that information here or in a pm, and then we can talk about what else to add or take away.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/Starlancer_DC/ships/Tempest.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/Starlancer_DC/ships/Shroud.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/Starlancer_DC/ships/Patriot.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b177/Starlancer_DC/ships/Patriot_2.jpg
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lordnikon
rank 87
Posted:
Sun Sep 11, 2005 4:53 pm
quote : #5
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Yea those images work great. Plus I would rather use DC originated images if possible over having to use PC media.

Can you provide them any bigger than that? Anyways, just like that is good, nice clear shots of each ship. Can bundle them up in a zip file and email them to me.
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Mertens
rank 14
Posted:
Sun Sep 11, 2005 5:49 pm
quote : #6
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Posts: 236
Type: NTSC-U/C
I have about 80 images in BMP format (size 720 x 480) that I can convert to any format or size you like with Photoshop. The pictures cover most of the ships, I still need to do a couple more. I can send you all of them in a zip or pick out the best shots for you. Does the framerate number in the corner bother you? I told Fraps not to include it, but it did for most of them anyway.
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mega
rank 1
Posted:
Sun Sep 11, 2005 6:19 pm
quote : #7
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Posts: 4
Hey Mertens this is a great idea mate.

I would really love a guide to help me get up to speed on this game. Something like this would be a boon to us noobs as what ships to choose from and what strengths and weakness they have. The pics look awesome dude, can't wait to see more.
 
lordnikon
rank 87
Posted:
Mon Sep 12, 2005 1:07 am
quote : #8
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Posts: 5902
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Mertens, send me the large fullsize bmps, without any file format re-saving. Just give them them as is. Send 1 clear full ship shot of each ship, and name the bmp files with the ships name. Drop them in a zip file and can send them to: ben@onlineconsoles.com
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Mertens
rank 14
Posted:
Mon Sep 12, 2005 1:30 am
quote : #9
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Posts: 236
Type: NTSC-U/C
Ok, here's a first-draft of two ships. I thought I should start with the ones I am most familiar with. I'll get those pictures to you Nikon by the end of the month, probably sooner. I just need to use a friend's broadband to upload it or my own when I get it in two weeks (each picture is 1mb).

I think I should start out with a disclaimer for this guide. For the most part, this guide will be in comparison to the other ships. It’s hard to gage the items in this guide with numbers, and those numbers might not mean much to players. Opinions are balanced with real-game experience, but everything is subject to debate.

SHROUD

Strengths: Fastest ship in the game. Very maneuverable. Powerful shields. Gun energy depletes very slowly. Lots of afterburner fuel. Looks sleek and sexy.

Weaknesses: Weapons fire slowly and cause only moderate damage at best. Armor is weak once shields are gone. The cloaking system has been removed.

Special Ability: Reverse Thrust

Strategies: Utilize the Shroud’s speed and maneuverability. The Shroud is the fastest ship, which means it can get to powerups faster and more-often. Try not to get in a slugging match because the weapons fire slowly, and the shields wont last forever. Try jockeying out of your opponent’s line of fire with the reverse thrusters and then move to get him into your line of fire. No shame in running to let the shields replenish. Lastly, since the Shroud has such powerful shields, follow my motto, “When in doubt, ram the bastard out – out of your sky that is.”

TEMPEST

Strengths: Strong combination of shields and armor. Individual gun energy depletes at a good pace. Guns do a good amount of damage.

Averageness: Speed and maneuverability.

Weaknesses: Not a lot of afterburner fuel. Firing all the guns depletes the gun energy quickly.

Special Ability: Reverse Thrust, Spectral Shields

Strategies: Set the guns to fire only the Plasma Cannon. Get close to an opponent before opening fire to do a lot of damage and hopefully catch your opponent by surprise. When chasing an opponent down who’s armor has been damaged, switch the guns to the other one (I can’t remember the name at the moment). Turn on the Spectral Shields BEFORE the regular shields take damage for them to work. Spectral Shields are great for ramming, as the Tempest will be practically invincible for a few seconds. Keep an eye on the Spectral Shields meter. It will replenish slowly, but is NOT reset after each death.


I know I said in my little disclaimer, that I wouldn't be using numbers, but as I was writing it, there were some categories that could maybe benefit from numbers. I'm not talking about using numbers from the Starlancer game itself, but maybe a scale out of 10 or 100 for things like shield strength, armor strength, weapon damage, gun depletion energy. maneuverability.... I was thinking of making the ship with the best in that category the top score, say 100, and then how the other ships might compare. For example, the shield strength of the Shroud would be 100, whereas the Tempest could be 75-80. Anyway, lemme know what you guys think. Copy and paste in some rewrites or suggestions.

Last edited by Mertens on Mon Sep 12, 2005 1:03 pm; edited 1 time in total
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lordnikon
rank 87
Posted:
Mon Sep 12, 2005 2:17 am
quote : #10
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Posts: 5902
Type: NTSC-U/C
Yea that all sounds great. Drop me an email when you have the pictures and you yourself are content with your guide, and I can put it up in the guides section whenever you are ready. This should help a lot of people. Good stuff Smile
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mega
rank 1
Posted:
Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:17 am
quote : #11
profile : pm
Posts: 4
Excellent work Mertens Very Happy

Have learnt a lot more about this game just from this little write up. Loved the bit about the Shroud being sleek and sexy, it's good to throw some humor in a faq as then can get a little stale at times.

Will keep one evil eye out for the rest of your faq as it gonna be a best seller for sure.
 
ultrapro
unknown
Posted:
Mon Sep 12, 2005 10:30 am
quote : #12
profile : pm
Posts: 1674
sounds great mate, would give those of us who are pants at it a chance to find a good ship to work with.
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Mertens
rank 14
Posted:
Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:46 pm
quote : #13
profile : pm
Posts: 236
Type: NTSC-U/C
Where's the aspirin at? Ya, anyway, I finished five ships so far: Tempest, Patriot, Wolverine, Phoenix, and Shroud. I went to do Reaper, and got a case of writer's block mixed in with a poor memory. Gonna play with the ship some to refresh my memory.

Posted Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:30 am:

[UPDATE (sort of)] Ok, so, I was wondering if anyone is really desperately wanting this guide I promised to make. To be honest, I haven't really done anything since my last post. Other things that are more important just keep coming up (trying to set some priorities for once in my life). I still want to do it though. I've got some down time for like the next week or so, and I've already got some other things in mind I want to do, but they are about as important as writing this guide. If there are any players waiting for it, I'd be happy to finish it if I can. I'm also very open to suggestions and writings from all players. Hopefully I can get this guide written before the end of the year. It's my Chinese New Year resolution.
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lordnikon
rank 87
Posted:
Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:58 pm
quote : #14
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Posts: 5902
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I would just work on it in your spare time. I think it would definatly help some people out. I my-self would be happy to read it.

I could also offer some tips for structure and organization as well.
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Douglas Carroll
rank 5
Posted:
Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:58 pm
quote : #15
profile : pm
Posts: 35
Hey! I would love to read a guide like this! I actually looked around for something of this nature, but couldn't find anything! Could you make the guide into a .pdf file?

Thanks for the effort,

Douglas

Smile
 
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