Ultronomicon - User contributions [en]

Penetrator

2005-07-26T16:08:22Z

Pak21: /* Tactical Overview */ remove extraneous apostrophes

__NOTOC__
[[Image:Star_control_i_syreen_penetrator_databank.png|thumb|Starship Databank Entry]]
The [[Syreen]] '''Penetrator''' is lightly crewed and not terribly powerful in terms of offensive weaponry, but it is able to use "wiles" strengthen itself while weakening enemy ships. It is unique in its ability to come out of battle stronger than when it went in.

==Navigation==
The Penetrator has a good turn-rate and a fair speed but suffers from a somewhat lacking acceleration. Its shape, center of gravity and turn-rate can be masterfully combined into a Wrap-Around thrust maneuver, during which the Penetrator circles a planet until it found the direction it wants to use a Gravity-whip maneuver.

==Armament==
===Primary===
The Penetrator's primary weapon is a weak, forward-firing weapon with a fair range and acceptable firing rate. Normally used for nothing but finishing off a Psi-resistant captain.

===Secondary===
To compensate for its lack of offensive power, the Penetrator captain employs the "Syreen Song", a short-range hypnosis field designed to lure enemy crew from their ships via the airlocks. If the Penetrator picks up the crew, they will willingly serve alongside the Syreen as members of the Penetrator's crew; if the enemy ship reclaims their crew, they are able to counteract the effects of the hypnosis field -- at least for a while. During the war, crews on board Syreen ships became a surreal pastiche of alien races, with [[Ilwrath]], [[VUX]], [[Spathi]] and others working dutifully side by side with human volunteers under the command of beautiful Syreen officers.

The "Syreen Song" has no effect on non-sentient beings like the [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]].

==Tactical Overview==
Against most ships, the tactic is pretty straightforward -- close in quickly, evade incoming fire, and use the "Syreen Song" to bolster your ranks and weaken the enemy's. Once you have made the enemy's crew your own, finish them off with a few quick shots. Slow ships are the preffereable targets for Penetrator captains. Ships with good turn rates and/or good firing rates are what Syreen captains fear

Strong Against: [[Mycon]] [[Podship]] - The Penetrator can outrun a plasmoid but only if already at its best speed. If the Mycon try to regenerate lost crew, the Penetrator should hold patiently and let the Mycon send more crewmen - or Crew-Fungi - prey for the Syreen Song. The [[Ilwrath]] [[Avenger]] is also easy prey for the Penetrator, as the Syreen Song is effective even when the Avenger is cloaked, and the Penetrator's engines can easily keep the ship out of the Avenger's attack range. [[Chenjesu]] [[Broodhome]] ships are quite pained, trying to keep the Penetrator off their back. [[Earthling]] [[Cruiser]]s may have a good turning rate but once the initial Dual missile barrage is off, the dismal recharge-rate usually forces the Cruiser captain into a "Scorched Earth" tactic - Point-defense Lasering his own crew rather than seeing them onboard the penetrator. The slick penetrator easily dodges the cumbersome nukes. When mastered, the art of evading the [[Kohr-Ah]] spinning blades, can launch a nasty surprise to the over-confident [[Marauder]] captain.

Weak Against: Ships like the [[Shofixti]] [[Scout]] with its glory device or fast-turning, quick firing ships such as the [[X-form]] in Laser mode, the [[Utwig]] [[Jugger]] and the [[Yehat]] [[Terminator]]

[[Category:Ships]]

Moon Base

2005-07-15T12:31:05Z

Pak21: Correct typo

[[Image:Moon base.png|right]]
A base established by the [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] [[Hierarchy]] after the subjugation of Earth. Due to the central role the humans had played in the [[Alliance of Free Stars]], as well as their planet's abundance in natural resources and industrial capacity and the humans' demonstrated aptitude for tenacity and cunning, the Ur-Quan opted to leave a larger-than-usual garrison to keep watch over the enslaved [[humans]]. They left a force consisting of the two neighboring combat thrall races, the [[Spathi]] and the [[Ilwrath]], to form an "[[Earthguard]]" garrison on [[Luna]], Earth's moon.

Unfortunately, when the Kzer-Za disappeared to fight the [[Doctrinal Conflict]], discipline broke down, and the Ilwrath, the leading forces of the Earthguard, soon left to join in the hunting of the [[Pkunk]] that had been dictated by [[Dogar and Kazon]]. Their remaining Spathi subordinates soon let their paranoia get the better of them, slowly migrating their base from Luna to Mars to Ganymede and so on, hoping to put distance between themselves and the humans so as to minimize the chance of having to fight an escaped rebel human force without backup. In order to prevent their human charges from learning about their cowardice, they carefully rigged an automated system to make the Luna base continue to appear active, constantly running the base's life-support systems, programming construction robots to move dirt and rocks around, and constantly broadcasting a [[Melnorme]] [[FunRom]] over transmission channels to simulate radio chatter.

The ruse was successful, keeping the few humans on the Starbase intensely worried about the Earthguard until [[The Captain|Captain Zelnick]] finally came along in the [[Vindicator]], proposing an alliance to resume resistance against the Kzer-Za. Intrigued but fearing the potential consequences of failure, the Starbase's Commander [[Hayes]] asked Zelnick to prove the power of his [[Precursor]] technology and his own prowess as a commander by removing the imminent Earthguard threat. Zelnick sent a team that duly investigated the Luna base and found it abandoned, scrapping and salvaging most of its useful equipment and returning to the Vindicator. Discovering there was no immediate threat from the Hierarchy, Hayes' mind was slightly put at ease, but he only put his full confidence in Zelnick and agreed to support Zelnick's [[New Alliance of Free Stars]] after the Vindicator later proved its worth in real combat by engaging and destroying a weakened Ilwrath [[Avenger]] that came to check on the Starbase.

[[Category:Alien Artifacts]]

Resource Gathering Hints

2005-06-21T13:35:56Z

Pak21: Correct typos (temprature -> temperature)

{{Safe}}

* Keep a log of the systems you've visited. Note those with resource rich planets that are too hostile to land on. You may be able to come back to them later.
* Don't waste time and fuel on gathering common or corrosive metals. They don't give you very many RUs.
* Get really good at killing Ilwrath and Slylandro. Practice against them in [[Super Melee]].
* The Ilwrath [[Avenger]] is a very risky fight, one slip and you face serious damage.
* You can gather resource units easily if you encounter a race which is a poor match for your ships. there is a near-infinite supply of enemy ships in a star system and you can gain a considerable amount of resource units by scavanging their debris.
* Early on in the game, technological advances may prove more useful than knowledge by improving your resource-gathering and combat capabilities. Try to find a race willing to trade technologies or items with you.
* Collect biological data even if you don't know what to do with it yet. it's pretty safe to say it's there for a reason.
* Invest in thrusters. They affect your flagship in all areas of the game, and can get you from system to system much faster. Turning jets are not as important early in the game, but you should not have below three. Although, turning jets are essential for fighting, so you may consider equipping all your turning jet slots if you can afford it.
* Outfit your ship for resource gathering so you don't have to keep coming back to Sol for fuel, crew, landers or because you're full. 3 or 4 cargo pods. Plenty of fuel. 2 landers. Maxed out thrusters. 2 crew pods.
* You lose no money selling modules. It's cost-effective to convert your ship between "fighting" and "gathering" configurations.
* Notice how the orbits of planets are different colors? Figure out what they mean and it can save you some time.
* You should also note that different star systems have different temperatures. Generally, the higher the temperature, the bigger the mineral batches will be. Go for hot - but not too hot as it may prove risky. Note that giants or SuperGiants may prove to be too hot to access.
* Talk to the starbase commander about resource gathering.
* Fuel is expensive. It's more efficient to completely clear a system than to go back twice. If you run out of room and there's still good stuff in the system, consider dumping some of your cheapest cargo.
* Always keep the landing cost in mind. it may shorten your trip and force you back to sol. also make sure landing is worth the trade-off, at least for planets with high landing cost.