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Post by pendell on Oct 7, 2013 14:03:11 GMT -5
Hello, I've googled and searched the boards and read the manual and I have a question that hasn't been answered. To wit, is there an objective to the game? Is there some sort of plot?
What I mean is, most open-ended games have a main plot as well as open-ended exploration. Privateer had the alien drone. Freelancer had the Nomads. Privateer 2 had the mysterious Kindred.
So I've been playing along on normal in my third game, and I've run up $300K, run some missions, made some friends, and turned House Thalun into a bitter, bitter enemy. My current stat is -164 or so: Legendary crime lord. And that's all well and good. But I ask: Is there some objective I should be aiming for? Or should I simply set an arbitrary goal ("unlock x achievements" , "earn a million credits") reach that goal, then start a new character?
Respectfully,
Brian P.
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Jamozk Ekhiss
Star Hero
This is not the Personal Text you are looking for.
Posts: 599
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Post by Jamozk Ekhiss on Oct 7, 2013 15:33:38 GMT -5
There's no traditional storyline, so to speak - just do what you like, for as long as you like, and start afresh when you like. So no, there's no real way to "win".
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Post by slayernz on Oct 7, 2013 17:48:02 GMT -5
Hi Pendell and welcome to the forum! Unfortunately the ST game was developed without an overarching story that you had to follow. By the time the creators started down the path of having a story, they found the game engine made it too difficult to implement. When they started on Cyberknights, they made sure this shortfall was rectified.
Waaaaaaay down the track with ST2 (still vaporware right now), they will certainly have a story mode ... and bases ... and fleets ... and ...
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Post by Cory Trese on Oct 7, 2013 17:50:16 GMT -5
Unfortunately? I like ST -- but we have heard loud and clear that people want stories, and more stories in games. It will probably be a long time before we try to build another pure sandbox simulator in ST. Like Flight Simulator, you're ALWAYS winning in ST if you are still alive
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Post by contributor on Oct 8, 2013 3:38:49 GMT -5
It's very open-ended but there are many ways to create "wins." Can you get all of the awards on the difficulties that give you the unlocks? Can get to level 50 in impossible? Can you make a pure "Zealot" captain that plays only for one faction and participates in ever conflict they are involved in? on impossible? Can you bag every alien on the ship list? I'm sure there's lots more that could be imagined. But yes eventually ST, like every other game wears out and then you have to start playing TA, CK or eventually HoS.
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Post by pendell on Oct 8, 2013 18:14:45 GMT -5
Thank you, everyone. Okay, so I'm free to set my own objectives. Not a problem. I *prefer* a universe with a main plot as well as open-ended exploration, but this'll do fine.
Some follow-up questions.
1) I did eventually get my character up to the 1 million mark, but towards the end of the game I was getting my head handed to me by every ship I encountered. Reading, I discovered that difficulty increases as the game does, so your character and ship must also improve or become unuseable.
Originally, I had upgraded my stats to 9, saw I could improve them no further, and went on to improving all the rest of my stats. I also stuck with my original starting ship throughout the game, the Vae Victis.
It was only later that I found improving the physical stats increased the trained stats as well. So if I bump my quickness to 10, I can get my pilot up to 10 as well. I suppose by having almost all my stats at 9 I set myself up for trouble in the late game, when levelling up is harder to do.
SO, my questions:
1) In battle, is it more important to have a good ship or a well-trained captain? Will a terrific ship see even a captain with mediocre stats through to victory, or can a well-trained captain turn even a garbage scow into the Terror Of Space? Both? Neither?
2) What do the stats max out at? I've already figured out the cost for a skill increases logarithmic-ally. But it makes a big difference in my planning if piloting and tactics tops out at , say, 50 instead of 20. 3) I saw in one of the posts that it is possible to see what the prices are for a commodity in every port I have visited. How do I get that? I'm playing on a droid. If this were a PC game I could open up Excel and have a spreadsheet opened while I played, but that's very inconvenient to do on a droid since all apps are full-screen. The Maker help anyone using anything like windows on a droid anyway.
Many thanks!
Respectfully,
Brian P.
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Post by slayernz on Oct 8, 2013 21:44:19 GMT -5
Hi pendell, For #1, It depends on your game difficulty. For most difficulty levels, having a very skilled captain is better than having a fantastic ship. That is, you can fly a well-developed captain in a small ship and be very successful IF you know what you are doing. If you try the other way, and have an amazing ship but weak captain, it is more of a challenge, and you have to be very careful about how you develop. There are some players in the forum who are very successful at flying low level captains with amazing ships, but they've gotten an extremely good grasp of the game mechanics in order to do that. For now, I'd still recommend focusing on the right captain stats as being the key to success. What those skills are depends on your game play eg - Gun bunny vs Boarder vs Explorer vs Trader. For #2, there is no maximum skill. You have to have at least the same amount of base stats in order to beef up a skill ... Quickness --> Pilot and Stealth Wisdom --> Explorer and Tactics Charisma --> Intimidate and Negotiation Strength --> Warrior There are some captains in the forum sporting skills well in excess of 500. Some of my own captains have Pilot of over 200. For #3, the commodity values are cached during game play. You can view them in a number of ways 1) When you are in an exchange (or looting a ship or in a cache), select the commodity icon itself. 2) In all other situations, go into Status --> Cargo, then select the commodity icon. You will see the location, range, buy, and sell prices for that commodity.
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Post by pendell on Oct 9, 2013 13:15:53 GMT -5
Thanks! In a future combat-oriented game I play, I will slaughter many Clan Steel Song ships in your honor.
Respectfully,
Brian P.
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Post by pendell on Oct 10, 2013 22:19:35 GMT -5
Okay, I have another question.
This is my 5th game. I'm flying as a merchant and doing much better, even though it's still "normal" difficulty. Anyway, here I am flying through a red sector when I have a contact. Independent, Small Freighter ...
"The Alien detests all life and shows no mercy"
...
I thought there weren't supposed to be any alien encounters on normal level?
And what are they doing in a small freighter? I thought the ultimate monstrosity would show up in some cataclysmic ship o' doom, not the Star Traders equivalent of a Honda Civic.
Anyway, it went down just like any other small freighter. 3 torpedoes, then close to gun range and blow out the engines. $25K salvage and the 'alien killer' achievement.
...
Is that supposed to happen? I thought aliens had their own ships and had some really tough AIs that made them all but impossible to kill with torpedoes and guns. It's as if a perfectly ordinary Small Freighter got relabelled "Alien". Is that supposed to happen? Or is that a bug?
Respectfully,
Brian P.
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Post by contributor on Oct 11, 2013 4:46:49 GMT -5
pendell, this is an ongoing bug that is not supposed to be there. I saw it when I started playing, but haven't seen it in a long time now and I've seen a lot of aliens. It makes me think that maybe it only happens on lower difficulty levels. That might help Cory Trese and fallen track it down. In concept though it can be explained as one of the negative side effects of transporting artifacts on your ship. They seem to attract aliens and in Templar Assault you regularly board Ships that have been commandeered by aliens. So one explanation is that you didn't meet aliens flying in their own terrifying ships, but you met an unfortunate Star Traders ship who was being piloted by aliens who seem to have as much trouble flying our ships as we have flying theirs and are therefore easy pickings.
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Post by pendell on Oct 11, 2013 8:02:37 GMT -5
Okay. Well, if it helps them track it down, it's happened to me twice in two different games, both at 'normal' difficulty. The aliens are flying ordinary human ships marked 'independent', don't seem markedly more difficult than a human ship of their class, and yield $25K in salvage.
Respectfully,
Brian P.
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Post by Robb on Oct 11, 2013 14:47:48 GMT -5
pendell, Don't complain, take the money and run!!!
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Post by pendell on Oct 13, 2013 20:17:22 GMT -5
Well, that was ... interesting. Cruising through independent space. Level 30 merchant with +100 all factions. Encounter an independent bounty hunter. I have no bounties outstanding, so they should ignore me. Click "ignore". Next screen show both the enemy ship and I moving away from each other. Evidently neither of us wanted this encounter. It as only at this point that I notice the enemy ship name - "Level 511 Hive". ... Bear in mind, this is on normal difficulty . .... Guess I'm just happy I didn't have a bounty on my head, eh? What do aliens do with the money, anyway? Minor laugh: "There has been a ban on clothing at Northpine." ... So I suppose Northpine camp is now Northpine nudist colony? Respectfully, Brian P.
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Post by phantombudgie on Nov 7, 2013 5:02:42 GMT -5
I have seen this also but on Challenging, within the last few weeks. Clothing bans are one of the regular amusements in ST. More bizarre are the bans on basic necessities such as Plants and Water-fuel. Or maybe Plants is more horticultural. Presumably one is also arrested at the star dock for possession of Alan Titchmarsh T-shirts etc. Thank you for a few moments of hilarity with your comments on the Ultimate Monstrosity in a ST Honds Civic. That made my day
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Post by HateSolstice on Nov 7, 2013 6:49:48 GMT -5
Unfortunately? I like ST -- but we have heard loud and clear that people want stories, and more stories in games. It will probably be a long time before we try to build another pure sandbox simulator in ST. Like Flight Simulator, you're ALWAYS winning in ST if you are still alive Don't listen to these heathens! Star Traders is about surviving against impossible odds, eliminating all Steel Song scrapheaps- I mean spaceships, and then majestically being vaporized by some random merchant ship that somehow outclasses that hunk of junk you bought/borrowed/found with Steel Song thieves trying to make off with.
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