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01/18/95 Wing Commander 3 tips
There's been a lot of confusion on some common topics in Wing
Commander 3. Below I've collected some notes on things I see asked
several times a day. There are spoilers here and there (mostly from
3C down), so read at your own risk!
Michael "Grendle" Beemer
WC1/SM1/SM2/WC2/SO1/SO2/WC3 Veteran
I *AM* The Heart Of The Tiger
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Documentation issues:
A) Options screen
B) Cloaking
C) Escort missions / "No auto-pilot"
D) Ground missions
2) Winning/Losing Paths:
3) Mission specific notes:
A) Missiles
i) Skippers
a) Transport escort
b) Victory escort
ii) Bio-hazard
B) Ground missions
i) Rescue Severin
ii) Destroy shield generator
iii) T-bomb test
iv) Final mission
C) Behemoth
D) Optional missions
i) Take on Flash
ii) Rescue Flint
iii) Engage Thrakath
iv) Revenge!
E) Final mission
i) Wingmen selection
ii) Mission phases
iii) Wingmen loss
iv) Final phase - nav points
v) Cloaking
vi) Orbiting Kilrah - Hobbes and Thrakath
vii) T-bomb run
4) What about Angel?
5) What's up with Hobbes?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Documentation issues
There are several pieces of documentation that most people seem to
miss when looking through the package. Here's the info you need:
A) Options screen
There is an options screen that is available while you are
flying a mission. Press ALT-O while you are in the cockpit, and
you will be presented with a screen of options, collected into
several different categories.
Highlighted buttons indicate that the corresponding option is
selected. Click on a button to turn the option on or off.
The options most likely to be used are "Invulnerable" and "Enemy
AI" (which corresponds to skill level). The default "Enemy AI"
is "Ace", but it may be adjusted down to "Veteran" or "Rookie",
or up to "Nightmare" or "Crazy".
If you click the "save" button, the options will be recorded and
will take effect for the rest of the game (unless you change
them back, of course).
When you click the "quit" button, the mission will resume with
the options you selected in effect.
These options are documented on the back page of the
installation guide (which is probably why so many people missed
them).
B) Cloaking
Cloaking is only available during the final mission of the
winning game path. It is only supposed to be able to be used
once, so don't turn it on until the right time! (Some players
report being able to turn it back on later in the mission, but I
have not tried this.)
Cloaking is activated and de-activated by pressing CONTROL-C.
This is briefly mentioned on page 27 of the WC3 Playguide, which
is the CD-ROM sized booklet that describes moving around the
Victory and basic game options.
C) Escort missions / "No auto-pilot"
Several people have complained that they have escort missions
where the escorted vessel will not follow them, and auto-pilot
is not available.
NOTE: Some people have flown all the way to their nav. point
without linking auto-pilots with the escorted vessel. This has
caused the game to bomb.
I think this is only vaguely hinted at in the documentation, or
perhaps a briefing, but you must come within 1000 meters of the
vessel you are escorting before you can auto-pilot.
Once you have done this, the computers aboard the vessel and
your fighter will "confirm identities" and "link auto-pilots".
The vessel will now dutifully follow you on auto-pilot.
D) Ground missions
There are four missions in WC3 where you attack targets on the
ground. Ground actions are not discussed in the documentation
or the briefings, so you have to figure them out yourself.
Once you have eliminated any fighter cover near the target
planet, a video clip of your fighter descending toward the
planet will play.
NOTE: Some people have encountered the dreaded "bad CD" error
while this video plays. Origin reports that this error message
is displayed due to a number of reasons, and the CD may not
actually be the cause. It appears that this problem is affected
by the video mode being used at the time the clip is played.
You may find that briefly switching to one of the VGA display
modes just before the clip plays will avoid the problem.
After the "descent" clip plays, you are returned to your
fighter's cockpit, with a few additions on the heads-up-
display. You should also note that you are returned to all the
default settings for the fighter, so if you have changed power
allocations or gun/missile selections, you'll have to make those
changes again.
On the left side of your HUD, there will be a bracket with an
arrow inside it. The arrow indicates your altitude and the
direction of the ground. If the arrow reaches the bottom of the
bracket, your fighter is at ground level (and will probably take
some damage from bouncing off the terrain). More importantly,
if the arrow reaches the top of the bracket, you will leave the
planet's atmosphere - this aborts your mission, so make sure you
don't swing too high when dogfighting planetary fighters.
There will be local fighters in the atmosphere above each ground
target. It is a little confusing dogfighting with the terrain
dancing around with your movements, but this is essentially the
same as your space dogfights. Just don't follow a target so
closely you crash into the ground or fly up out of the
atmosphere.
Ground targets will appear as orange crosses on your radar (just
like capitol ships do). It may be hard to see them on your HUD,
as the color of the ground through your cockpit washes them out.
Approach and take them out with your guns. Easy pickings...
When you're done, either auto-pilot out of the area or pull up
out of the atmosphere. (One of the missions seems to be buggy -
it keeps sending you between nav. points on the planet. Just
make sure you've killed all your targets and pull up and out of
there.)
2) Winning/Losing Paths:
The game has several different outcomes, depending on your choices
along the way. The guts of it are, you win or you lose the war
with the Kilrathi.
In past Wing Commander games, you had to amass points by killing
fighters and capitol ships, touching nav. point, etc. to advance
along the "winning path". You often didn't know how well you were
doing until several missions later when you saw a progress update
on the war.
Wing Commander 3 is much simpler in this respect. There are
several missions in each system, but only one of them is a "key
mission". The success or failure of this one mission will
determine whether you advance along the winning path, take a side
path can get you back on the winning path, or go directly to the
losing path.
The losing path consist of two missions - it is impossible to get
back on the winning path. The last mission is a last ditch stand
to defend Earth. This produces a never ending wave of fighters,
and a really tough Dreadnaught that some players have prided
themselves on destroying. All for naught, though - the Earth is
bombarded from orbit regardless of what you do. This mission
continues until you die, eject, or run out of ammo.
If you return to the victory and Rollins tells you, "The
Confederation has finally admitted we're losing the war; we're
jumping to Proxima to try and hold off the Kilrathi there," you are
entering the losing path. Replay the mission you just flew and do
it until you get it right!
3) Mission specific notes:
A) Missiles
Missiles are particularly tough for many, as this is a new
addition to the Wing Commander series.
In general, the trick is to approach the vessel that will be
launching missiles without engaging it. This should give you
enough room to run after the missiles and shoot them down before
they reach their target.
When you reach a nav. point with a vessel you know will be
launching missiles, tell your wingman to "break and attack". He
will keep the fighters busy while you watch for missiles.
Approach the launching vessel without getting into flak range.
Watch your radar. Yellow crosses are either missiles being
fired by your wingman or missiles launched by the Kilrathi.
Your wingman's missiles will dart directly to a nearby target,
so anything lingering on the screen will be readily identifiable
as a Kilrathi missile.
Toggle between targets with the 'T' key. The Kilrathi missile
will eventually show up in your target display as "SkipMis" or
"BioHaz".
Turn toward the target missile and afterburner after it. When
you get within range, shoot it down with your guns. (One player
reports taking out a Skipper with a dumb-fire missile...)
It is challenging, but it can be done. It is a rewarding
feeling to watch a missile destroyed by your gun fire.
i) Skippers
Skippers are trickier because they cloak. (Duh!) If you
are close enough to the firing vessel when then are
launched, there will be two or three periods where the
missile is uncloaked.
NOTE: You *can* destroy a cloaked missile if you hit it. If
you can't hit the missile when visible, keep following it in
to the target and fire if you have the gun power available.
Try to get lined up while you can see the missile so that
you can hit it when you get into range (visible or not).
a) Transport escort
The corvette will fire two Skippers at the transport.
NOTE: Once the corvette's fighter escort is eliminated,
you can auto-pilot out of the area - all your ships can
outrun the corvette (I guess), so the game will allow you
to leave the area. DO SO!!! If you kill the corvette
before leaving, you will be met by *TWO* corvettes firing
Skippers from different directons. I don't think it is
possible to chase them all down in time to save the
transport. If you leave the corvette alive, you only
meet fighters at the next nav. point.
Once the transport has reached its jump point and left,
you can return to nav. point 1, and the corvette will
still be there for you to rack up another kill.
b) Victory escort
There is a nebula mission where the Kilrathi cut off your
access to the jump point the Victory intended to use.
Captain Eisen orders you to cover the Victory while they
withdraw to another jump point. After you engage a
number of fighters and a capitol ship or two, the Victory
declare a "Mayday!!" and promptly blows up.
This is due to another Skipper missile being fired at the
Victory. (Unfortunately, the Victory does not call for
help until it's been hit...)
Treat this like you did the transport mission - have your
wingman engage the fighters while you watch for the
missile launch.
I believe that only one Skipper missile is launched at
the Victory.
ii) Bio-hazard
A total of three bio-hazard missiles will be launched
towards Laconda III.
They are easier to handle then the skippers, as they do not
cloak. Afterburner after them and blow them out of the
sky!
B) Ground missions
See the general notes on ground missions under the
"Documentation" section. Mission specific notes appear below.
i) Rescue Severin
The game will report "Mission Objectives Completed" after
you eliminate the fighter cover.
Don't believe it. Kill every ground target (orange dot) on
your radar before leaving each nav. point.
(That's all there is to it, just don't let the game mislead
you into leaving before you're done.)
ii) Destroy shield generator
The shield generator is rather prominent... It is the only
ground item selectable as a target by your targetting
computer. This means you can launch missiles against it if
you like. You can kill it with your guns or two missile
hits.
iii) T-bomb test
Strip off the fighter cover and fly to the target nav.
point. Target the hole in the ground and wait for the
T-bomb to lock on and launch.
iv) Final mission
Detailed notes below...
C) Behemoth
Several missions require you to defend the Behemoth. One of
these missions is unwinnable - no matter what you do, the
Behemoth will be destroyed. It is required by the game's plot.
The unwinnable mission is the one where the Behemoth is about to
be deployed against Kilrah. After barely engaging the Kilrathi
bombers, you will see video of the Behemoth being destroyed.
Thrakath will then appear and taunt you with video of Angel, and
will challenge you to a dogfight while the Victory calls for you
to return before they jump out.
You can lose the Behemoth before this point (and see the video
of it's destruction), but doing so will probably put you on the
losing path. Keep it alive until it is fated to die.
D) Optional missions
i) Take on Flash
If you challenge Flash to a dogfight in the simulator, you
will find him very tough if you go head-to-head with your
guns. He is a creampuff against missiles, though - guess
the academy didn't teach him how to dodge...
Fire off two missiles at him, and he will go down.
ii) Rescue Flint
When Eisen tells you that Flint has gone renegade, you can
respond, "Going after Flint" or "Not going after Flint".
Flint is OK in either case, as Cobra will retrieve her "off
screen" if you do not do it "on screen". Your conversation
with her afterwards will be roughly the same, with some
variation due to your choice.
iii) Engage Thrakath
After the destruction of the Behemoth, Thrakath taunts you
with the video of Angel's death and challenges you.
The game is designed to strand you if you choose to engage
Thrakath.
Several people report being able to burn towards him, kill
him with a quick volley of missiles, and burn back to the
Victory before it jumps out.
No biggie. You'll see him during the final misison
regardless.
iv) Revenge!
After Hobbes escapes, you may either take chase or stay
aboard the Victory.
If you engage Hobbes, he will explain that he finds you an
honorable warrior, and that it is fitting that you meet in
combat. He considers you a friend, regardless of his
loyalties.
Also, if you engage Hobbes, on your return you will find
that Vacquero has died in an engagement that took place
while you were out indulging yourself.
Better to skip the impulse and wait for later. You'll meet
Hobbes again.
E) Final mission
i) Wingmen selection
"Up to 4" wingmen can fly the final mission. There seems
to be some confusion on this - one of those wingmen is you,
so you can select up to 3 others to accompany you.
If you are careful and all of your wingmen are still around
at the end of the game, you can select the three you least
like to accompany you - they're gonna get wasted on this
one (see "wingmen loss" below). If you've picked Flint as
your paramour, for pity's sake, don't take her along to
die! Maniac and Flash are no great losses, maybe Vagabond
needs to redeem himself for his sins, but Vacquero is so...
young..., and Flint is just too cute to waste!!
I was not aware of this, but you can move the cursor to the
bottom of the screen to exit the briefing before you select
all three wingmen. If you like, you can even leave without
selecting anyone, and fly the mission alone.
ii) Mission phases
This mission is a long one, and flown in phases. This
gives you the option of saving the game between phases.
It's annoying that the navigation computer only displays
the next nav. point in your mission - you can't get an
overview of how many points to your destination...
The first phase is the flight from the Victory to a
refueling depo in the Kilrah system. There is a jump (the
only jump you make in a fighter in this game) and three
nav. points between you and the depo.
The second phase is the flight from the depo to the second
depo where the T-bomb and the cloaking device are
installed. Three nav. points between the depos.
The third phase is the final run from the depo to the
target zone. Three nav. points, fighters in orbit around
Kilrah, planetary fighters, ground targets (if you want
'em), and the run to the target fault.
iii) Wingmen loss
For dramatic purposes, you must fly the final part of the
mission alone. The game ensures this by killing off your
wingmen as you go.
During each phase of the mission, when you reach your
destination, you are down another wingman. Even if you
didn't hear him cry for help or say goodbye, you're
suddenly missing someone...
You can send a wingman "back to base" to try and save him,
but he will appear at your destination and fly the next
phase of the mission with you.
During the third nav. point of the final phase, Kilrathi
fighters keep coming until all your wingmen are eliminated.
Sad, but true - you must valiently fly the last leg of the
mission alone.
iv) Final phase - nav points
There are three nav. points between the final depo and
Kilrah. There will be several waves of fighters and a
capitol ship at each.
It is probably wiser to kill the fighters and leave the
capitol ship alone, to avoid taking damage before you hit
the next point.
If you have been checking your next to useless nav. map,
when you hit the third point it advises, "Cloak before
entering, laddie..." This is confusing. What it means is
to fly to the third nav. point and deal with it, and then
cloak before proceeding FROM the nav. point to Kilrah.
At the third nav. point, you will encounter stealth
fighters and a stealth ace who will reincarnate until your
wingmen are dead. You may then clear the way point,
destroy the capitol ship if you feel lucky, activate your
cloak (CONTROL-C), and auto-pilot to Kilrah.
v) Cloaking
Oh, ah, like I just said - at the third nav. point, waste
the fighters, activate your cloak with CONTROL-C, and
auto-pilot to Kilrah.
If the capitol ship is still alive, make sure you're far
enough away that you can't be hit by flak while you're
cloaking. It will probably knock out your cloaking device,
and make continuing impossible.
If you fail to cloak before auto-piloting to Kilrah, you
will be met by a never-ending wave of fighters, and will be
unable to complete the mission.
vi) Orbiting Kilrah - Hobbes and Thrakath
Once arriving in orbit under cloak, you will find Hobbes,
Thrakath, and two Paktahn.
If you go for the Paktahn, they will be replaced by others.
Don't bother.
Keep cloaked and draw close to Hobbes or Thrakath. Press
CONTROL-C to drop the cloak and waste your target. Then
kill the other, and you will get the video dropping you
down to the surface of Kilrah.
Hobbes is actually tougher to kill than Thrakath, so you
may want to kill him first. A couple of missiles at close
range is probably best for a quick kill. If the game does
not interrupt the message, Hobbes bids you fairwell as an
old friend as he dies.
vii) T-bomb run
Now that you are finally on the surface, you are hovering
in a trench with several buildings nearby.
There are also a few tanks further down the trench. You
can kill them all or ignore them as you wish.
Some people report being able to CONTROL-C again to
reactivate the cloak, and flying directly to the nav. point
indicated on the HUD to find the fault.
If you cannot cloak, stay in the trench. If you fly above
it, a pair of planetary fighters will jump you, and each
one you kill will be replaced.
Follow the trench in the general direction of the nav.
cross. There are many twists and turns, and a few breaks
were you have to cross over a gap of higher elevation
(while still in the trench) to close the distance to the
target. You'll occasionally head away from the target, but
the trail will twist back shortly.
It will take a while, but you can travel the entire
distance to the target under cover of the trench.
Once there, lock on with the T-bomb and let 'er rip!
4) What about Angel?
Some people have expressed disappointment that there is nothing you
can do to save Angel.
Perhaps there is some confusion - you see Angel die when Thrakath
confronts you after destroying the Behemoth, but that was a video
replay of the events that took place at the beginning of the film.
Angel was dead before Blair and Paladin found the wreckage of the
Concordia. It's even fairly obvious that Paladin knows of her fate
at that time...
Sorry to be blunt guys, but forget her, she's gone!
5) What's up with Hobbes?
There has been much confusion and disillusionment about Hobbes'
behavior.
A scene that would have offered an explanation was left out of the
final product - the game script describes a holo message that Blair
would find in his locker after Hobbes' escape.
Hobbes explains that "he" was a personality construct that was
erased when Thrakath spoke the words "Heart of the Tiger" during
his video taunting of the crew. The underlying Kilrathi
personality reasserted itself and began spying for Thrakath.
He further explains that Blair is an honorable warrior, and a
trusted friend, regardless of loyalties. It is fitting that they
should meet in the future in honorable combat.
So, the Hobbes you knew was loyal, but...
---------------------------------------------------------------------
There's been a lot of confusion on some common topics in Wing
Commander 3. Below I've collected some notes on things I see asked
several times a day. There are spoilers here and there (mostly from
3C down), so read at your own risk!
Michael "Grendle" Beemer
WC1/SM1/SM2/WC2/SO1/SO2/WC3 Veteran
I *AM* The Heart Of The Tiger
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Documentation issues:
A) Options screen
B) Cloaking
C) Escort missions / "No auto-pilot"
D) Ground missions
2) Winning/Losing Paths:
3) Mission specific notes:
A) Missiles
i) Skippers
a) Transport escort
b) Victory escort
ii) Bio-hazard
B) Ground missions
i) Rescue Severin
ii) Destroy shield generator
iii) T-bomb test
iv) Final mission
C) Behemoth
D) Optional missions
i) Take on Flash
ii) Rescue Flint
iii) Engage Thrakath
iv) Revenge!
E) Final mission
i) Wingmen selection
ii) Mission phases
iii) Wingmen loss
iv) Final phase - nav points
v) Cloaking
vi) Orbiting Kilrah - Hobbes and Thrakath
vii) T-bomb run
4) What about Angel?
5) What's up with Hobbes?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Documentation issues
There are several pieces of documentation that most people seem to
miss when looking through the package. Here's the info you need:
A) Options screen
There is an options screen that is available while you are
flying a mission. Press ALT-O while you are in the cockpit, and
you will be presented with a screen of options, collected into
several different categories.
Highlighted buttons indicate that the corresponding option is
selected. Click on a button to turn the option on or off.
The options most likely to be used are "Invulnerable" and "Enemy
AI" (which corresponds to skill level). The default "Enemy AI"
is "Ace", but it may be adjusted down to "Veteran" or "Rookie",
or up to "Nightmare" or "Crazy".
If you click the "save" button, the options will be recorded and
will take effect for the rest of the game (unless you change
them back, of course).
When you click the "quit" button, the mission will resume with
the options you selected in effect.
These options are documented on the back page of the
installation guide (which is probably why so many people missed
them).
B) Cloaking
Cloaking is only available during the final mission of the
winning game path. It is only supposed to be able to be used
once, so don't turn it on until the right time! (Some players
report being able to turn it back on later in the mission, but I
have not tried this.)
Cloaking is activated and de-activated by pressing CONTROL-C.
This is briefly mentioned on page 27 of the WC3 Playguide, which
is the CD-ROM sized booklet that describes moving around the
Victory and basic game options.
C) Escort missions / "No auto-pilot"
Several people have complained that they have escort missions
where the escorted vessel will not follow them, and auto-pilot
is not available.
NOTE: Some people have flown all the way to their nav. point
without linking auto-pilots with the escorted vessel. This has
caused the game to bomb.
I think this is only vaguely hinted at in the documentation, or
perhaps a briefing, but you must come within 1000 meters of the
vessel you are escorting before you can auto-pilot.
Once you have done this, the computers aboard the vessel and
your fighter will "confirm identities" and "link auto-pilots".
The vessel will now dutifully follow you on auto-pilot.
D) Ground missions
There are four missions in WC3 where you attack targets on the
ground. Ground actions are not discussed in the documentation
or the briefings, so you have to figure them out yourself.
Once you have eliminated any fighter cover near the target
planet, a video clip of your fighter descending toward the
planet will play.
NOTE: Some people have encountered the dreaded "bad CD" error
while this video plays. Origin reports that this error message
is displayed due to a number of reasons, and the CD may not
actually be the cause. It appears that this problem is affected
by the video mode being used at the time the clip is played.
You may find that briefly switching to one of the VGA display
modes just before the clip plays will avoid the problem.
After the "descent" clip plays, you are returned to your
fighter's cockpit, with a few additions on the heads-up-
display. You should also note that you are returned to all the
default settings for the fighter, so if you have changed power
allocations or gun/missile selections, you'll have to make those
changes again.
On the left side of your HUD, there will be a bracket with an
arrow inside it. The arrow indicates your altitude and the
direction of the ground. If the arrow reaches the bottom of the
bracket, your fighter is at ground level (and will probably take
some damage from bouncing off the terrain). More importantly,
if the arrow reaches the top of the bracket, you will leave the
planet's atmosphere - this aborts your mission, so make sure you
don't swing too high when dogfighting planetary fighters.
There will be local fighters in the atmosphere above each ground
target. It is a little confusing dogfighting with the terrain
dancing around with your movements, but this is essentially the
same as your space dogfights. Just don't follow a target so
closely you crash into the ground or fly up out of the
atmosphere.
Ground targets will appear as orange crosses on your radar (just
like capitol ships do). It may be hard to see them on your HUD,
as the color of the ground through your cockpit washes them out.
Approach and take them out with your guns. Easy pickings...
When you're done, either auto-pilot out of the area or pull up
out of the atmosphere. (One of the missions seems to be buggy -
it keeps sending you between nav. points on the planet. Just
make sure you've killed all your targets and pull up and out of
there.)
2) Winning/Losing Paths:
The game has several different outcomes, depending on your choices
along the way. The guts of it are, you win or you lose the war
with the Kilrathi.
In past Wing Commander games, you had to amass points by killing
fighters and capitol ships, touching nav. point, etc. to advance
along the "winning path". You often didn't know how well you were
doing until several missions later when you saw a progress update
on the war.
Wing Commander 3 is much simpler in this respect. There are
several missions in each system, but only one of them is a "key
mission". The success or failure of this one mission will
determine whether you advance along the winning path, take a side
path can get you back on the winning path, or go directly to the
losing path.
The losing path consist of two missions - it is impossible to get
back on the winning path. The last mission is a last ditch stand
to defend Earth. This produces a never ending wave of fighters,
and a really tough Dreadnaught that some players have prided
themselves on destroying. All for naught, though - the Earth is
bombarded from orbit regardless of what you do. This mission
continues until you die, eject, or run out of ammo.
If you return to the victory and Rollins tells you, "The
Confederation has finally admitted we're losing the war; we're
jumping to Proxima to try and hold off the Kilrathi there," you are
entering the losing path. Replay the mission you just flew and do
it until you get it right!
3) Mission specific notes:
A) Missiles
Missiles are particularly tough for many, as this is a new
addition to the Wing Commander series.
In general, the trick is to approach the vessel that will be
launching missiles without engaging it. This should give you
enough room to run after the missiles and shoot them down before
they reach their target.
When you reach a nav. point with a vessel you know will be
launching missiles, tell your wingman to "break and attack". He
will keep the fighters busy while you watch for missiles.
Approach the launching vessel without getting into flak range.
Watch your radar. Yellow crosses are either missiles being
fired by your wingman or missiles launched by the Kilrathi.
Your wingman's missiles will dart directly to a nearby target,
so anything lingering on the screen will be readily identifiable
as a Kilrathi missile.
Toggle between targets with the 'T' key. The Kilrathi missile
will eventually show up in your target display as "SkipMis" or
"BioHaz".
Turn toward the target missile and afterburner after it. When
you get within range, shoot it down with your guns. (One player
reports taking out a Skipper with a dumb-fire missile...)
It is challenging, but it can be done. It is a rewarding
feeling to watch a missile destroyed by your gun fire.
i) Skippers
Skippers are trickier because they cloak. (Duh!) If you
are close enough to the firing vessel when then are
launched, there will be two or three periods where the
missile is uncloaked.
NOTE: You *can* destroy a cloaked missile if you hit it. If
you can't hit the missile when visible, keep following it in
to the target and fire if you have the gun power available.
Try to get lined up while you can see the missile so that
you can hit it when you get into range (visible or not).
a) Transport escort
The corvette will fire two Skippers at the transport.
NOTE: Once the corvette's fighter escort is eliminated,
you can auto-pilot out of the area - all your ships can
outrun the corvette (I guess), so the game will allow you
to leave the area. DO SO!!! If you kill the corvette
before leaving, you will be met by *TWO* corvettes firing
Skippers from different directons. I don't think it is
possible to chase them all down in time to save the
transport. If you leave the corvette alive, you only
meet fighters at the next nav. point.
Once the transport has reached its jump point and left,
you can return to nav. point 1, and the corvette will
still be there for you to rack up another kill.
b) Victory escort
There is a nebula mission where the Kilrathi cut off your
access to the jump point the Victory intended to use.
Captain Eisen orders you to cover the Victory while they
withdraw to another jump point. After you engage a
number of fighters and a capitol ship or two, the Victory
declare a "Mayday!!" and promptly blows up.
This is due to another Skipper missile being fired at the
Victory. (Unfortunately, the Victory does not call for
help until it's been hit...)
Treat this like you did the transport mission - have your
wingman engage the fighters while you watch for the
missile launch.
I believe that only one Skipper missile is launched at
the Victory.
ii) Bio-hazard
A total of three bio-hazard missiles will be launched
towards Laconda III.
They are easier to handle then the skippers, as they do not
cloak. Afterburner after them and blow them out of the
sky!
B) Ground missions
See the general notes on ground missions under the
"Documentation" section. Mission specific notes appear below.
i) Rescue Severin
The game will report "Mission Objectives Completed" after
you eliminate the fighter cover.
Don't believe it. Kill every ground target (orange dot) on
your radar before leaving each nav. point.
(That's all there is to it, just don't let the game mislead
you into leaving before you're done.)
ii) Destroy shield generator
The shield generator is rather prominent... It is the only
ground item selectable as a target by your targetting
computer. This means you can launch missiles against it if
you like. You can kill it with your guns or two missile
hits.
iii) T-bomb test
Strip off the fighter cover and fly to the target nav.
point. Target the hole in the ground and wait for the
T-bomb to lock on and launch.
iv) Final mission
Detailed notes below...
C) Behemoth
Several missions require you to defend the Behemoth. One of
these missions is unwinnable - no matter what you do, the
Behemoth will be destroyed. It is required by the game's plot.
The unwinnable mission is the one where the Behemoth is about to
be deployed against Kilrah. After barely engaging the Kilrathi
bombers, you will see video of the Behemoth being destroyed.
Thrakath will then appear and taunt you with video of Angel, and
will challenge you to a dogfight while the Victory calls for you
to return before they jump out.
You can lose the Behemoth before this point (and see the video
of it's destruction), but doing so will probably put you on the
losing path. Keep it alive until it is fated to die.
D) Optional missions
i) Take on Flash
If you challenge Flash to a dogfight in the simulator, you
will find him very tough if you go head-to-head with your
guns. He is a creampuff against missiles, though - guess
the academy didn't teach him how to dodge...
Fire off two missiles at him, and he will go down.
ii) Rescue Flint
When Eisen tells you that Flint has gone renegade, you can
respond, "Going after Flint" or "Not going after Flint".
Flint is OK in either case, as Cobra will retrieve her "off
screen" if you do not do it "on screen". Your conversation
with her afterwards will be roughly the same, with some
variation due to your choice.
iii) Engage Thrakath
After the destruction of the Behemoth, Thrakath taunts you
with the video of Angel's death and challenges you.
The game is designed to strand you if you choose to engage
Thrakath.
Several people report being able to burn towards him, kill
him with a quick volley of missiles, and burn back to the
Victory before it jumps out.
No biggie. You'll see him during the final misison
regardless.
iv) Revenge!
After Hobbes escapes, you may either take chase or stay
aboard the Victory.
If you engage Hobbes, he will explain that he finds you an
honorable warrior, and that it is fitting that you meet in
combat. He considers you a friend, regardless of his
loyalties.
Also, if you engage Hobbes, on your return you will find
that Vacquero has died in an engagement that took place
while you were out indulging yourself.
Better to skip the impulse and wait for later. You'll meet
Hobbes again.
E) Final mission
i) Wingmen selection
"Up to 4" wingmen can fly the final mission. There seems
to be some confusion on this - one of those wingmen is you,
so you can select up to 3 others to accompany you.
If you are careful and all of your wingmen are still around
at the end of the game, you can select the three you least
like to accompany you - they're gonna get wasted on this
one (see "wingmen loss" below). If you've picked Flint as
your paramour, for pity's sake, don't take her along to
die! Maniac and Flash are no great losses, maybe Vagabond
needs to redeem himself for his sins, but Vacquero is so...
young..., and Flint is just too cute to waste!!
I was not aware of this, but you can move the cursor to the
bottom of the screen to exit the briefing before you select
all three wingmen. If you like, you can even leave without
selecting anyone, and fly the mission alone.
ii) Mission phases
This mission is a long one, and flown in phases. This
gives you the option of saving the game between phases.
It's annoying that the navigation computer only displays
the next nav. point in your mission - you can't get an
overview of how many points to your destination...
The first phase is the flight from the Victory to a
refueling depo in the Kilrah system. There is a jump (the
only jump you make in a fighter in this game) and three
nav. points between you and the depo.
The second phase is the flight from the depo to the second
depo where the T-bomb and the cloaking device are
installed. Three nav. points between the depos.
The third phase is the final run from the depo to the
target zone. Three nav. points, fighters in orbit around
Kilrah, planetary fighters, ground targets (if you want
'em), and the run to the target fault.
iii) Wingmen loss
For dramatic purposes, you must fly the final part of the
mission alone. The game ensures this by killing off your
wingmen as you go.
During each phase of the mission, when you reach your
destination, you are down another wingman. Even if you
didn't hear him cry for help or say goodbye, you're
suddenly missing someone...
You can send a wingman "back to base" to try and save him,
but he will appear at your destination and fly the next
phase of the mission with you.
During the third nav. point of the final phase, Kilrathi
fighters keep coming until all your wingmen are eliminated.
Sad, but true - you must valiently fly the last leg of the
mission alone.
iv) Final phase - nav points
There are three nav. points between the final depo and
Kilrah. There will be several waves of fighters and a
capitol ship at each.
It is probably wiser to kill the fighters and leave the
capitol ship alone, to avoid taking damage before you hit
the next point.
If you have been checking your next to useless nav. map,
when you hit the third point it advises, "Cloak before
entering, laddie..." This is confusing. What it means is
to fly to the third nav. point and deal with it, and then
cloak before proceeding FROM the nav. point to Kilrah.
At the third nav. point, you will encounter stealth
fighters and a stealth ace who will reincarnate until your
wingmen are dead. You may then clear the way point,
destroy the capitol ship if you feel lucky, activate your
cloak (CONTROL-C), and auto-pilot to Kilrah.
v) Cloaking
Oh, ah, like I just said - at the third nav. point, waste
the fighters, activate your cloak with CONTROL-C, and
auto-pilot to Kilrah.
If the capitol ship is still alive, make sure you're far
enough away that you can't be hit by flak while you're
cloaking. It will probably knock out your cloaking device,
and make continuing impossible.
If you fail to cloak before auto-piloting to Kilrah, you
will be met by a never-ending wave of fighters, and will be
unable to complete the mission.
vi) Orbiting Kilrah - Hobbes and Thrakath
Once arriving in orbit under cloak, you will find Hobbes,
Thrakath, and two Paktahn.
If you go for the Paktahn, they will be replaced by others.
Don't bother.
Keep cloaked and draw close to Hobbes or Thrakath. Press
CONTROL-C to drop the cloak and waste your target. Then
kill the other, and you will get the video dropping you
down to the surface of Kilrah.
Hobbes is actually tougher to kill than Thrakath, so you
may want to kill him first. A couple of missiles at close
range is probably best for a quick kill. If the game does
not interrupt the message, Hobbes bids you fairwell as an
old friend as he dies.
vii) T-bomb run
Now that you are finally on the surface, you are hovering
in a trench with several buildings nearby.
There are also a few tanks further down the trench. You
can kill them all or ignore them as you wish.
Some people report being able to CONTROL-C again to
reactivate the cloak, and flying directly to the nav. point
indicated on the HUD to find the fault.
If you cannot cloak, stay in the trench. If you fly above
it, a pair of planetary fighters will jump you, and each
one you kill will be replaced.
Follow the trench in the general direction of the nav.
cross. There are many twists and turns, and a few breaks
were you have to cross over a gap of higher elevation
(while still in the trench) to close the distance to the
target. You'll occasionally head away from the target, but
the trail will twist back shortly.
It will take a while, but you can travel the entire
distance to the target under cover of the trench.
Once there, lock on with the T-bomb and let 'er rip!
4) What about Angel?
Some people have expressed disappointment that there is nothing you
can do to save Angel.
Perhaps there is some confusion - you see Angel die when Thrakath
confronts you after destroying the Behemoth, but that was a video
replay of the events that took place at the beginning of the film.
Angel was dead before Blair and Paladin found the wreckage of the
Concordia. It's even fairly obvious that Paladin knows of her fate
at that time...
Sorry to be blunt guys, but forget her, she's gone!
5) What's up with Hobbes?
There has been much confusion and disillusionment about Hobbes'
behavior.
A scene that would have offered an explanation was left out of the
final product - the game script describes a holo message that Blair
would find in his locker after Hobbes' escape.
Hobbes explains that "he" was a personality construct that was
erased when Thrakath spoke the words "Heart of the Tiger" during
his video taunting of the crew. The underlying Kilrathi
personality reasserted itself and began spying for Thrakath.
He further explains that Blair is an honorable warrior, and a
trusted friend, regardless of loyalties. It is fitting that they
should meet in the future in honorable combat.
So, the Hobbes you knew was loyal, but...
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