Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

What is your favorite trick in the game, something that might help other players out?

I'll start with one. The manual sort of hints at this. When you find the Klakar homeworld, call the Klakar ship to your location. Starting with an item in your inventory, switch out all of the items on the planet with cheap, one-credit items on the Klakar ship.

After the Klakar planet has only one-credit items like time capsules and animals, you can go about your business. This way, whenever you want any of those items, they are now MOBILE and you can call them to yourself instead of having to go to the Planet.

This is especially helpful when you don't have a Hyperdrive or Zorg Helmsman.

Re: Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

And a second trick. This one is based on my understanding of points, so if I'm wrong, please correct me. When hiring a mercenary, if you're not careful, you can lose some credits in the process. You want to give them something that improves their ship and your score, but if you don't give them the right kind of item, you will not get as many points.

For example: if you're hiring a Garthan Corvette and you give them a Neptunium Railgun, that weapon replaces their Autocannon. You lose a credit that you could have had.

Another example: if you're hiring a Zorg Cruiser and you give them a Proton Matrix Shield, it replaces their current shield, which is lost. In that case you lose TWO credits.

A better option would be to give the mercenary a piece of shipboard equipment (circle shaped) that they would never have on them already, like a Nebular Extent Calculator, Graviton Shunt, or Cloak (but you'll probably want that one for yourself), something that they wouldn't have a different "version" of, like a Shield or Mnemonic Sequence.

If the item you give them doesn't REPLACE anything, nothing is discarded! You can still outfit the ship as you like, but this way you can do what you want with everything they have.

Re: Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

If you have the Aethric Mirror and no sufficiently good stardrive, and you wish to engage a distant enemy in combat without the long travel time, all you need is a star in close proximity to yourself, and the Klakar beacon.

1. Summon the Klakar.
2. Travel to the nearest star using as little time as possible.
3. Mirror the enemy fleet.
4. Mirror the Klakar.
5. Travel the (now) very short distance to the enemy and fight it out.

Re: Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

Anouther nice trick with the mirror is to always use it to place a fleet on any world you can trade at, most alien homeworlds and glory. Now wherever you are you can mirror to the world, trade and mirror back to where you were. Galactic trade at your fingertips.

Re: Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

not sure if this is a bug exploit or a feature, but i recently discovered that you can revisit conquered homeworlds with the cloak or with an indigenous ship, and make peace / get the ambassador.

thus, i was just able to play a game where I both killed everything that was killable, AND made peace with everyone who was peaceable. got my second highest score...

Re: Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

-You can ram while cloaked. (and BE rammed, but only accidentally..the enemy doesn't avoid ships they can't see)

-The plasma coil cloaker is not a unique item..

-The garthan carries produce an infinite amount of fighters. I haven't checked, but I suspect each fighter gives its own point bonus..

Re: Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

You can mount 2 Particle Vortex Cannons on your ship, which makes it insanely powerful.

How is that possible? Find the first, "Bauble up" the second!!!

Re: Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

Yep, it's been confirmed elsewhere that you get points for every fighter you kill.

- The Bloodfang is both faster and better at ramming than any Terran ship. With a fast thruster, plasma coil cloaker, and good beam weapons it will handle almost anything singlehandedly. You'll probably want to retreat all your non-cloaked ships after taking out the first wave of fighters.

- Don't ram the Tchorak. It hurts. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

- The better beam weapons may have less range than the PVC, but they reliably destroy incoming missiles and do more damage. The SQP fires almost nonstop, and the TRG has a decent range and does incredible damage. Equip 2 or 3 of these on a ship and use it to fend off incoming fire while another ship blasts away with a PVC or other long-range weapons -- or cloak your beam-wielding ship and attack from behind at close range.

- Unless you're constrained by a slow drive, you'll want to put off as much combat as possible until you've visited all the unoccupied and friendly systems. You'll be better equipped that way.

Re: Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

The cheesiest trick in my repertoire is the Gong-and-retreat with either the Hyperdrive or the Zorg Helmsman. Attack, hit the Gong, retreat, repeat. With either of the fast-travel options, this is an effortless way to win, since the Gong autokills everything up to and including denizens of black holes.

Re: Favorite trick in the game (spoilers possible)
 

Yes, happiness is a warm Particle Vortex Cannon.

Sheer, unbridled joy is TWO warm Particle Vortex Cannons.

But I prefer to mount them on two different ships.

And if I'm far enough ahead, I just get a Cobalt Torpedo for fun.