[TParis]

Using the latest stable SSE2 Inferno build and current MediaVPS incl Advanced Visuals.

In the beginning the Renenent reports that there two Mara Wings at the Knossos device. Actually there are 2 Wings of Astaroths (I think I remember them to be Maras in older MediaVPS versions).
Command tells you to lure the wings away from the portal to the Renenent. But the Renenent doesn't do ANYTHINg at all, it just keeps going forward.

Edit: Okay, I have tested this several times now. Sometimes the Renenent just fires one time with all weapons but stops directly after that. Without the fire support the corvette Alpha Wing gets destroyed in a matter of seconds, even with Theta wing in (reinforcements). And I'm just talking about Mediaum difficulty.
This mission seems to be pretty broken and needs a fix ASAP. Gonna test the mission without MediaVPS later.

[MatthTheGeek]

Hey, blame for that, it doesn't have anything to do with FSU.

[TParis]

I thought the campaign has also been optimized with MediaVPS?

Also, I don't remember this mission to be that broken in past MediaVPS versions or the stock retail version. As I said, I gonna try the stock version now...

[The E]

If by "optimized" you mean "given a graphical overhaul", then yes. We did that. If by "optimized" you mean "bugfixed", no, we didn't do that (except, of course, for bugs introduced during the conversion to mediavps).

[TParis]

Okay, I was totally wrong then.

Does anyone have some tips for this mission?
Edit: Theta wing is also doing NOTHING at all. Just watches how I'm getting killed, they ignore my orders.

[Aardwolf]

How close to the Renenet did you get?

[Hades]

Actually, I had this issue with that mission before. I'd get the fighters to follow me, call in Theta, and after the corvette fires once, all friendly AI seems to die including Alpha's.

[Trivial Psychic]

I suppose that the obvious next step would be revert to 3.6.10 with the 3.6.10 MVPs and see if the same thing happens again.  If it does, then its probably an FSO bug.

[BlackDove]

This probably isn't the place but I recently replayed both FS1 and FS2.

In more than a few FS2 missions, the wingmen weren't obeying any "engage enemy/form on my wing" orders, and just sat there like idiot puppets. They would react when I would order them to destroy my target, but then after that they'd just disengage and float while the enemy killed them.

Also, in the final mission, support was bugged and wasn't arriving (deploying support ship now, please stand by x infinity), and to top it all off, when I jumped out in the node as the supernova was counting down, I got a debriefing instead of a cutscene, with "no debriefing for mission blahblahblah".

There were also horrific errors with where the AI was jumping in, for example in the final mission, the final wings of Seraphim bombers would jump directly on top of the final Argo transports, launching their ordinance as they came out of subspace (no chance to intercept their bombs), and then just sit there without moving, colliding with eachother.

Weird **** abounds throughout the whole campaign, those are just some of the things I remember off the top of my head.

Also, is the Sathanas vs. Colossus mission ever going to be fixed so that those two are positioned correctly and the Colossus doesn't spasm like a baseball bat?

[Goober5000]

"A Flaming Sword" is one of the most brittle missions in the original campaign.  It breaks very easily, and it did this even back on retail, before the SCP or the mediaVPs ever came along.  There is a complicated set of waypoint and distance checks at the beginning that has to be flown just right.

I'd consider it a very good candidate for a bugfixing run by the FSU team.

[Kosh]

"A Flaming Sword" is one of the most brittle missions in the original campaign.  It breaks very easily, and it did this even back on retail, before the SCP or the mediaVPs ever came along.  There is a complicated set of waypoint and distance checks at the beginning that has to be flown just right.

I'd consider it a very good candidate for a bugfixing run by the FSU team.

Yeah this mission was a real pain. Wingmen never actually attack anything despite being ordered to and always get slaughtered and the Renenet wont do anything until at least Alpha wing is down (except you of course). In all the times I played it, the rest of Alpha wing never survives the first wave of fighters.

There were also horrific errors with where the AI was jumping in, for example in the final mission, the final wings of Seraphim bombers would jump directly on top of the final Argo transports, launching their ordinance as they came out of subspace (no chance to intercept their bombs), and then just sit there without moving, colliding with eachother.

One thing I noticed in Clash of the Titans 2 (at least with older builds), sometimes when Seraphim and Nephilim wings jump in, they are too close together so when one of the ones in the back of the wing shoots a bomb it will actually hit the one in front of it square in the ass. 

[TParis]

Any chance this will be fixed in a future CP version?

[ktistai228]

What the... Am I the only one for whom this mission works a charm?
I just order Alpha to protect the Renenet, go for the Shivan fighters, run back to the Renenet and then just order a destroy my target/engage the enemy (can't remember which). Worked a charm every time, never had any trouble.
The key here is NOT taking Alpha wing along with you in the luring phase. Doing this causes them to start dogfighting the Shivans and get killed ASAP. Uhm.... Dunno, this is what I do...

[mjn.mixael]

Also, in the final mission, support was bugged and wasn't arriving (deploying support ship now, please stand by x infinity), and to top it all off, when I jumped out in the node as the supernova was counting down, I got a debriefing instead of a cutscene, with "no debriefing for mission blahblahblah".

HaHA... see, it's not just me!

[Luis Dias]

The trick in the mission is to get all the alpha wing back to Renenet's range. If only alpha 1 retreats to it, Renenet won't fire a single shot.

When I played the mission last time, I also ran to this problem. Came back to the Renenet and it didn't fire to the 5 shivans that were pursuing me. Oh well, I have to take them down by myself, I figured. And then I remembered that the orders were for "Alpha" to get the shivans back to the Renenet. So I ordered my wingmen to form on me... when the sole 10% hull alpha 2 managed to come back, the Renenet came back to life.

Pretty stupid. So yeah, if someone fixes that mission, that would be great.

[Sololop]

I've had this before. It's very odd when it occurs, and I never thought about the command being entirely for the whole wing. Also, just changing the fighters to Maras from Astaroths would be nice for dialogue purposes, but I guess wouldn't be allowed.

Reminds me of another mission I can't recall the name of right now, where you first are deployed to the Knossos and I believe 5 wings of Maras are said to jump in, but only 3 arrive. Or so. But that's for another topic.

[Rga_Noris]

I wonder what the thought process was for having the player follow such a specific sequence, or why you would not want the cruiser to fire unless all of Alpha was back... why not just let its turrets stay free?

[Kolgena]

Why wouldn't it be allowed? Second mission, the Herc Is get replaced by Lokis in the MVPs.

(TBH, running away from Astaroths in a Tauret doesn't sound too fun)

[Zacam]

Why wouldn't it be allowed? Second mission, the Herc Is get replaced by Lokis in the MVPs.

That was a contested point at one point in time, as I recall. BUT. All the dialogue (unaltered) _supported_ those ships as being Loki's, not Hercs. And all the ships arriving are all Loki's. So, it was tested and while it did adjust the difficulty a touch, it wasn't found to do so in any breaking way. It still hasn't been fully tested what changing Asteroths/Mara's around will do, but I'm more than game for it.

The problem with making a conscious decision to introduce a gameplay changing "fix" is that it get's to be a rather slippery slope. But seeing as how this mission in particular is one of the more difficult ones (and as Goober pointed out, one of the most fragile), we'll see what can be done about it.

The issue regarding the "No Ending Cutscene" is high on the list of things to look at, since it seems to be having a rise in reproducibility.

[Mongoose]

I'm still hoping for a corrected version of Their Finest Hour to wind up in the MediaVPs.  Hell, most of the relevant events are already in the retail mission.