Impossible is fun

[rabidbite]

So I jumped straight to impossible from demanding.

My VERY first captain on impossible:
Accidentally used the Vae Victus, forgot to change ships. I thought, heck just play it. You'll die soon anyways.

I got a stroke of huge luck. Records Surplus not 4 AU away. Made around 50k in three trips and faction rep increase. Ridiculously good.

Thus I made it till level 6 on that Vae Victus (didn't want to bother changing since it was a test captain)

Water fuel is a *ITCH, not because you use so much fuel, but because the planets run out of it so quickly!
Still, I think I can make it in impossible. It didn't feel insurmountable ;D.

[slayernz]

Great going - getting past the first couple of hundred turns is terrifying. I love the Spy because (a) you get Pilot/Tactics/Stealth as starting stats, and (b) you get weapons/electronics, which is something you can sell to buy friggin fuel!

let us know how your test captain is going ... and don't forget to go to the hall of records regularly.

[absimiliard]

Hey Slayer, how are you selling the electronics and weaps? Do you do a few contracts to get the cash to buy the trade permit first? Or am I missing something obvious?

(because I always start with 0 cash, so while I may have the RP to get a permit I don't have enough money to actually pay for it)

-abs

{edit}Oooh, run to some scummy Indep world and unload them there?{/edit}

[Fenikso]

I usually do a few quick contracts and sell it then.

[absimiliard]

That's what I'd probably do.

Part of my reasoning for that route is that I want to get higher prices, and capture the rep-bonus for selling stuff. But I have to also admit that part of it is my personal dislike for Indep captains and worlds, handing them electronics and weapons is just asking for trouble.

(and selling them artifacts is practically the first step on the path towards "The whole planet is lost, some moron sold the Indeps some xeno eggs and now everyone has been converted/eaten, and the last remaining few who are clean of the alien taint are running for their lives screaming for Templar and Faction help. The Brother Captain recommends nuking the whole planet from orbit, he says it's the only way to be sure . .. .")

-abs

[slayernz]

If you can do a mission or two to get a trade permit, but you are constantly running the risk of being picked up by a military ship in the meantime. You surrender because it beats bullet holes, but then you lose your freebies.

I've either sold the restricted goods to independents, eg Aro Prime (-3,1) as soon as I could, or alternatively, I did one mission to get enough cash for fuel, then dumped the restricted goods on a planet cache until I can complete yet more missions for a trade permit.

The third way of doing it is stumbling across a records surplus and selling them to get RP.

I've pondered on a forth way but never had the guts to do it. As soon as you start, do a couple of surveillance actions. that'll piss off a faction, but you'll get records, which you can sell even without a permit. It's high risk because you are still ripe for attack, and you'll have zippo fuel. I contemplated spitting into the reactor, but found out my spit doesn't have enough deuterium.

[blackgauntlet]

Nov 25, 2011 19:30:49 GMT -5 slayernz said:

I contemplated spitting into the reactor, but found out my spit doesn't have enough deuterium.

I've found that, if you could get another you from a parallel universe (cloning does not work for this experiment) and spit into a container, you get HWF (+ some impurities)!

[rabidbite]

Nov 25, 2011 12:53:23 GMT -5 absimiliard said:

That's what I'd probably do.

Part of my reasoning for that route is that I want to get higher prices, and capture the rep-bonus for selling stuff. But I have to also admit that part of it is my personal dislike for Indep captains and worlds, handing them electronics and weapons is just asking for trouble.

(and selling them artifacts is practically the first step on the path towards "The whole planet is lost, some moron sold the Indeps some xeno eggs and now everyone has been converted/eaten, and the last remaining few who are clean of the alien taint are running for their lives screaming for Templar and Faction help. The Brother Captain recommends nuking the whole planet from orbit, he says it's the only way to be sure . .. .")

-abs

Ok I don't follow your logic
If you don't like Indi worlds, why not sell them the eggs so the planet DOES get eaten and the few run for their lives? ;D

[rabidbite]

So I'm running around IMPOSSIBLE and was wondering what sort of upgrades are the best for certain professions, in your opinion, and why?

As a pirate my love is +25 water fuel. Everything else is up for grabs. Sometimes I grab more cargo, sometimes more sails, sometimes for engines. I don't do +armor upgrades.

So go nuts, share some thoughts

[slayernz]

It really depends not just on your profession, but rather what do you do most often.

For example, if you like pirating, you'd want to increase engines, perhaps add the guns upgrade. Definitely beef up crew and get things like the Attack shuttle or Leviathan system if you like boarding type actions.

If you prefer exploration, then the exo planetary crawler is extremely useful. So is a scout officer, but that technically isn't an upgrade.

If you are a merchant/smuggler/spy, having something that lowers your ship signature is important because reduced encounters means less damage and quicker trips. The Omni-Stealth Array is great here, but don't forget there are other things that give bonuses to reducing encounters.

If you are a person who enjoys contracting, then things like the Predator Tracking Array is invaluable unless you are a bounty hunter or military officer. Engines/guns/heavy armor ... you know, better to fly around in a tank and be safe in a battle than a glitzy F1 car that breaks at the slightest sneeze.


This means that you should have specialist ships. What does that also mean? Have multiple specialist ships ... this is the great thing about drydocks and renaming of ships. I've named my ships "Explorer Royal" or "Hunter Jango" before. Having ships stashed around the galaxy means that if you decide on doing a contract, you can pick the best ship for the job. Want to deliver stuff for a shortage situation ... change ships if one is close by

[Cory Trese]

As a Pirate I only use a ship with Water Tank when I'm going long distance.

I call those ships Runners, usually BH hulls.

I definitely agree about multiple specialized ships.

The optimum setup in terms of Engines, Upgrades, etc for Blockade vs. Spy vs. Patrol vs. Battle vs. Contracts yields the need for advanced players to maintain a fleet of operational ships and crews.