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General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: antihostile on January 11, 2007, 06:28:06 pm

Title: Saving the Neptune
Post by: antihostile on January 11, 2007, 06:28:06 pm
By some miracle, I managed to save the Neptune in the Exodus level; right place, right time when the Seraphim jumped in and a few lucky shots later, them and their damn cyclops missiles were history....managed to finish the level and keep the Neptune alive, but for some reason I got the "you did not have authorization to leave, etc." message grrr. All the ships had jumped! Nothing on my radar! Oh well ....I don't think the Gibborim jumped in and Lambda 1 had to make a little detour to avoid the Neptune when jumping... What's annoying is that I did it by accident on "hard" and haven't been able to do it again. Damn, this game rules.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Trivial Psychic on January 11, 2007, 10:08:25 pm
I think there was talk of giving a bonus objective for saving the Neptu for the SCP-enhanced campaign.  Not sure if they gave it warp-out cues yet though.

As for your problem of the mission not being "done", I think that the events which the mission cues off to determine win or fail, are tied to a sequence which assumes that the Neptu gets waxed.  Could be worth a fix.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: antihostile on January 11, 2007, 10:11:44 pm
Good point about the mission cues, I wondered about that...also weird that if you can get past the Abraxis, it just kind of sits there and doesn't attack.

A dozen more attempts and still no luck...maybe the kaysers are too slow, it's those damn cyclops missiles, need to hit 'em early so one takes out the rest before they get all spread out....
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Trivial Psychic on January 11, 2007, 10:14:39 pm
Remember, Maxims have a greater range and fire rate, so they're good for bomb-busting... if you can stomach the energy drain and shuddering.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Centrixo on January 11, 2007, 10:26:11 pm
i preferr the Subach for that kind of crap, bomb chasing, if not a weapon then i will use my own ship.

ive tried and tried and tried 400 times to save the nebtuu but i could never save that ship, easy to dispatch the abraxis' beam turrets, manticore's and nahema's but these saraphim jump in launch thier salvo i dunno what, but it seems i try to run into the bombs with my ship or fire my weapons, it goes right through the bomb. that needs a sorting.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Vasudan Commander on January 12, 2007, 04:10:08 am
If you're going after bombers, emp missiles are a MUST. Though they can fry your systems and your allies systems, their ability to stop bombs dead in their tracks is uncanny. During this time, you can take out the bombers, and the allied ship that the bombs were heading towards can take out the bombs headed at it. Allied ships prioritise all firepower on incoming bombs, so if a bomb is standing still, its an easy target.

Oh, and dont underestimate the lamprey / maxim combo. Its rediculously deadly, especially against bombers at close range.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: [DW]-Hunter on January 12, 2007, 04:25:48 am
lol, lamprey sucks, and when crossed with maxim you lose your weapon energy fast :P and about those emp missiles.... useless, they dont get you kills, they just delay the ai from firing for 15 seconds.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Vasudan Commander on January 12, 2007, 06:00:12 pm
lol, lamprey sucks, and when crossed with maxim you lose your weapon energy fast :P and about those emp missiles.... useless, they dont get you kills, they just delay the ai from firing for 15 seconds.

LOL ! what planet are you on ? EMP missiles will stop bombs dead in their tracks, and in 15 seconds, i could take out an entire wing of bombers, and have time to spare.


Oh, and i didnt mean the lamprey.

I mean circe / maxim combo. Circe = 9 shield damage. Maxim = 9 hull damage. U do the math.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Centrixo on January 12, 2007, 07:04:08 pm
ok im staying out of this little ***** slapping contest :P. i use my own weapon combos that work to my style.

so its trebs 6x emp missile 3x. that dont leave much for the gibborims beam turret and the saraphim's, i will try it and keep me out of that fight please :nod:.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Mobius on January 12, 2007, 07:08:08 pm
Use Kaysers and annihilate the bombers before they launch their torpedoes. You won't need Lamprey/Maxim guns.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Polpolion on January 12, 2007, 08:19:21 pm
Isn't the ship called the Nebtu?

EDIT: Centrixo got it right. Not sure about the second u, though.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: antihostile on January 12, 2007, 08:25:41 pm
Still haven't been able  to repeat the feat...might have to try the EMP missiles...what's the deal with ordering wings to protect a ship, don't they also intercept bombs coming in? I've tried calling in the reinforcements immediately, and telling all fighters to do nothing but protect the Nebtuu (not Neptune), but they seem useless at stopping those Seraphim bombs....the one time I did it was sheer luck. I saw them jumping in and unloaded with the kayser/maxim combo and fired off a double trebuchet and that seemed to take care of everything, don't think even one cyclops hit it...but I can't do it again, even on Very Easy. If I find a technique that works, I'll post it if anyone cares. The other thing is that every mission is a little different, and sometimes the Abraxis gets wiped out fairly early on, other times it survives a bit longer and does a bit more damage....but having the Nebtuu around was very helpful for the rest of the level!

Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Centrixo on January 12, 2007, 09:37:05 pm
Isn't the ship called the Nebtu?

EDIT: Centrixo got it right. Not sure about the second u, though.

does it matter?
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Vasudan Commander on January 13, 2007, 01:23:41 am
Use Kaysers and annihilate the bombers before they launch their torpedoes. You won't need Lamprey/Maxim guns.

Actually i meant Circe / Maxim combo. Kaysers are only mountable on certain ships, so the next choice is the Circe / Maxim combo. a Maxim against an unshielded bomber will rip it to pieces in seconds. Lamprey drains guns and afterburners, so i meant to say Circe, the anti-shield gun.  :P


Unfortunately, the maxim eats into energy reserves very quickly 
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Trivial Psychic on January 13, 2007, 02:28:12 am
My choice is the Ares with quad bank of Kaysers, twin bank of Maxims, Missile bank 1 with Tornadoes, Missile bank 2 with Trebs.  For "Finest Hour" I swap the guns since there's more unshielded ships to kill, and I try to get all Trebs for "Clash of Titans II" and the final.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Vasudan Commander on January 13, 2007, 07:24:05 am
My choice is the Ares with quad bank of Kaysers, twin bank of Maxims, Missile bank 1 with Tornadoes, Missile bank 2 with Trebs.  For "Finest Hour" I swap the guns since there's more unshielded ships to kill, and I try to get all Trebs for "Clash of Titans II" and the final.

A very nice loadout. The shake from the maxims is annoying, but it works wonders against the unshielded hulls of cruisers, and makes good for knocking out flak and beam turrets. Only problem is, both those guns drain energy fast, so you'll find yourself re-directing power to guns.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Mobius on January 13, 2007, 11:02:14 am
Isn't the ship called the Nebtu?

EDIT: Centrixo got it right. Not sure about the second u, though.

Nebtuu. Right. The Sobek.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Trivial Psychic on January 14, 2007, 10:35:43 pm
My choice is the Ares with quad bank of Kaysers, twin bank of Maxims, Missile bank 1 with Tornadoes, Missile bank 2 with Trebs.  For "Finest Hour" I swap the guns since there's more unshielded ships to kill, and I try to get all Trebs for "Clash of Titans II" and the final.

A very nice loadout. The shake from the maxims is annoying, but it works wonders against the unshielded hulls of cruisers, and makes good for knocking out flak and beam turrets. Only problem is, both those guns drain energy fast, so you'll find yourself re-directing power to guns.
Fortunately, the Ares has better weapon energy than the Erinyes, but I do find myself cycling power around alot.  Gotta max engine power to get anywhere even close to quickly.  As for the weapons thing, I usually switch between banks to minimize power usage.  Use maxim bank only when shooting bombs or unshielded ships.  Switch to Kaysers for actual dogfights, and both against bombers.  Sometimes I'll start out with Kaysers on a bomber, then cycle mid-assault to linked to get in that Level-8 hull damage as the shields drain.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: antihostile on January 26, 2007, 05:48:15 pm

Okay, if anyone cares, I think I figured it out....basically you want to play the level on either Very Hard or Insane, that way your wingmen are good enough to take out the first Moloch and the first wave of fighters. You still need some luck to wipe out those Seraphim before they hit the Nebtuu, but it can be done. So, if you do save the Nebtuu, the Gibborim never jumps in and you get some help with the rest of the fighters. But, either way, when you finish the level and jump out, you will get "You did not have authorization to jump" message.

Anyway, lots of fun!

Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Goober5000 on January 26, 2007, 06:12:21 pm
Target the Moloch's forward beam cannon and fire a Trebuchet at it the moment the mission starts.  You'll destroy it before it has a chance to fire.  That'll improve the Nebtuu's odds considerably.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Mars on January 26, 2007, 06:18:13 pm
I've done that, but the Seraphim's seem to get it anyway, no matter how close I am to where they come in.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Vasudan Commander on January 26, 2007, 06:35:14 pm
I've done that, but the Seraphim's seem to get it anyway, no matter how close I am to where they come in.

use emp missiles. They're absolutely invaluable against bombers.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Snail on January 27, 2007, 02:53:16 am
Wow, so many things about FS I never knew (Stealth works on AI, EMP works on AI).
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Vasudan Commander on January 27, 2007, 06:36:41 am
Wow, so many things about FS I never knew (Stealth works on AI, EMP works on AI).

EMP works on anything. And it is probably more nasty then any gun or missile. Guns and missiles you can dodge. Shockwaves of EMP are a little more difficult  :P EMP missiles shut down bombs in flight. Even though they're difficult to hit while standing still, friendly AI warships can shoot em down easily , since they prioritize incoming bombers and bombs.

In multi, i'll strap some emps to a myrmidon, fry systems, then close range and open up with subachs and dumbfires.

Firepower is all well and good, but whats the point of it if you're using all aspect missiles and you can hit anything when your systems are wasted?  :lol:
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: G0atmaster on January 27, 2007, 12:15:21 pm
lol good point.

I remember doing this once.  I cleared the map, saved a ship that was VERY hard to save, and jumped out, and got the AWOL message...

Hmmph...  Where's my medal?
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Vasudan Commander on January 27, 2007, 08:39:07 pm
lol good point.

I remember doing this once.  I cleared the map, saved a ship that was VERY hard to save, and jumped out, and got the AWOL message...

Hmmph...  Where's my medal?

Yea, sometimes some ships HAVE to die, in order for the scripting to work.  :rolleyes:
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: antihostile on January 30, 2007, 02:36:13 pm
One more thing....

So all the ships but the Neptune have jumped and the mission is effectively over. At this point you can, if you want, take the Neptune out (didn't seem to get the "hold your fire" message) and at that moment, the Gibborim will jump in. However, you've already done the mission and you can then return to base without tangling with the Gibborim and you'll have successfully finished the mission....

Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: G0atmaster on January 30, 2007, 03:42:01 pm
what if I want to destroy the Gibborim?
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Vasudan Commander on January 30, 2007, 08:20:25 pm
what if I want to destroy the Gibborim?

lol then destroy it. its weak as. all you need to do is hit the beam cannons with maxims or trebuchets and then waste it.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Snail on February 03, 2007, 03:17:33 pm
It was funny in Their Finest hour, I had the Support ship beside me and was lobbing Trebs at the cruisers and killed them all (except the Hela, she had too much hull, left her to the bombers).
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Agent_Koopa on February 03, 2007, 10:08:52 pm
I say we edit the missions, not to introduce new goals, but instead to bring in the SCP Novikov, a time-traveling ship whose very purpose is to preserve the timeline by whatever means necessary.

So, when the player saves the Nebtuu, in warps the Novikov, and blows it up. It could also fix warpdrives, kill the player, etc.


It would take tons of extra work, unless the Novikov was an existing ship. You gotta admit it's a fun concept though.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Snail on February 04, 2007, 09:32:27 am
Novikov? Wazzat?
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Mars on February 04, 2007, 11:33:49 am
All you'd need to do is have the Nebtu say something about the Shivans getting their reactor containment, and then have it blow up.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Snail on February 04, 2007, 12:11:18 pm
Yeah, but the idea of that is kind of funny... Like that cartoon Time Squad or something...
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Goober5000 on February 04, 2007, 05:24:27 pm
Novikov? Wazzat?
Look up the Novikov Self-Consistency Principle.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Charismatic on February 04, 2007, 05:42:35 pm
My god. You'r suggesting Friendly Fire? Much more, but to kill a whole ship with 7,500-8,000 vasudan souls (encluding a few human souls) so you wont get yelled at? I would never commit such war crimes, an unethical behavior.

I saved the Neptuu quite a few times. I took the 'power weapons + kick ass' loadout. Harps, torns, dubble kazers (1\2 of the time i dubbled kayzers) and a single bank of maxim.

Only way to kill abraxis is to treb, maxim\kazer it as much as u can, after killing beam turrets; and then kicking  majior bomber ass. Always call in reinforcemtns first thing.

Though i hated this: After it blows,  or you save it, you have to haul ass back to Lamda 1. (I'd assign Theta wing to protect it first thing, incase i didnt get there in time.)

Is it just me or are those Lamda xports just asking to be blown up?
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Centrixo on February 04, 2007, 05:54:47 pm
lol the AI is crap in FS2, you ask them to protect a ship but there useless, you might as well do it yourself and let the AI freelance.

launch a treb at the abraxis front beam turret > treb a manticore >treb the 2 bombers > take thier bombs down > run to the abraxis save the ship > head directly for the Shivan Bombs/Bombers and get to lambda 1 ASAP.
atleast thats what i do.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Agent_Koopa on February 04, 2007, 07:11:49 pm
My god. You'r suggesting Friendly Fire? Much more, but to kill a whole ship with 7,500-8,000 vasudan souls (encluding a few human souls) so you wont get yelled at? I would never commit such war crimes, an unethical behavior.

No, to preserve the temporal framework. For the safety of the timeline. To stop people from weakening the fabric of space and time.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: aldo_14 on February 05, 2007, 07:58:05 am
My god. You'r suggesting Friendly Fire? Much more, but to kill a whole ship with 7,500-8,000 vasudan souls (encluding a few human souls) so you wont get yelled at? I would never commit such war crimes, an unethical behavior.

Ah, but killing 8000 in order to save billions?  It's the moral ambiguity that makes it interesting....
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Bob-san on February 05, 2007, 06:07:10 pm
I know! I mean... 8000+ > 1,000,000,000+!! It's simple math!! Since zeros mean "nothing", then its ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR ALDO_14, THAT 8>1!!
 :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Charismatic on February 09, 2007, 01:17:15 pm
My god. You'r suggesting Friendly Fire? Much more, but to kill a whole ship with 7,500-8,000 vasudan souls (encluding a few human souls) so you wont get yelled at? I would never commit such war crimes, an unethical behavior.
No, to preserve the temporal framework. For the safety of the timeline. To stop people from weakening the fabric of space and time.
Um, you totally and completely lost me.

*Snip*

Ah, but killing 8000 in order to save billions?  It's the moral ambiguity that makes it interesting....
But for no reason. Alpha 1 wont be brigged forever. He will fly the next mission after he gets brigged for knocking out the Flightdeck Chief for yelling at him.
Title: Re: Saving the Neptune
Post by: Vasudan Commander on February 09, 2007, 07:17:00 pm
lol the AI is crap in FS2, you ask them to protect a ship but there useless, you might as well do it yourself and let the AI freelance.



The engage any hostiles that close within 1500 m of the ship they are defending, and they engage anything that fires on it, and help intercept bombs. Unfortunately, most ships get a chance to open up a can of whoopass on the defended ship before the pilots defending it respond.

Also, they will engage capital ships firing on the defended target (a waste). So you will need to tell them to ignore enemy cap ships, unless they're bombers.