Think I'm 2 or 3 missions after the second spoiler at this point, partly frustrated I can't quickly finish this and go do something else. Still a blast playing this either way.
Is the Mihos bigger than the Ulysses? I didn't think too much of the size but somehow it felt that way (in terms of getting hit by random **** against faster opponents - if 85 wasn't already fast enough, but then I was already
on the poor Perseus A/B at 140m/s...)
Nah I can't snipe Dragons, for all my like of the Loki/Kayser/Maxim... maxim, my aim against 3-axis targets is piss-poor.
I haven't played new campaigns in forever but it's a certain vibe of rote learning I've noticed, the moment something jumps in you must defang it immediately. It's not wrong of course (e.g. like FS2 on Insane which I'm no way capable enough for, and stock FS2 already has missions that put emphasis on this method as the must-know absolute basics) but I guess maybe other players have it ingrained more than I do... (though then what happens if the FREDder decides to twist things, what, a very nasty surprise would be to have a mission of some sort where you try to defang a ship and then events happen specifically to break this flow...)
Somehow to me it feels like per design, in a user-made campaign it is a given that you must defang every big ship the FREDder puts in the mission regardless of the objectives like e.g. "to hell with whatever the mission chatter is saying, go fly 7km into the distance and defang that target now even if your escort targets are getting grilled by e.g. Basilisks" really like a rote art, whereas I *think*
in the default campaign at very low difficulties you could maybe get away with just killing the ship outright instead of killing beams first, then the ship, in a rote sequence.
Sink the Bismarck: Relationship Breakup Edition
I think I broke the flow for this one?
Died more than 5 times in this one. My later restarts at the 3rd stage (thank god for checkpoint), the F9 defang directive was still active even though I'd ?somehow? done it in the first 2 stages. Not sure if that's fixable or just the quirky way checkpoints work (since from my understanding we can't really save full states and it's down to creative illusioning that'll serve the purpose)?
Was partly distracting chasing down Gaganas and pressing F9 to check if I actually settled those beams.
Probably really silly but my approach to this one was Perseus, Hastor (omg the big nerf and drain), full Stillettos, drive to his backyard and dump everything there
So since my SA is **** I figure, "ok look the big grey double hangar Orion cuck is fleeing across the border, IM'A BREAK HIS LEGS" -> died thrice going for his engines while everyone else cartwheeled around the Selenius; hey, he's the dunce who told his fighter squadrons to do a last stand rush, i'm #@$%ing ALPHA 1, DAWG (and still die)
Later attempts (still dying like ****) I did Weapons with 1 wing to cover me (didn't help much - Claymore pursuers + I don't think the accuracy hit to the blob turrets mattered that much either, if it worked in the first place) then Engines. Then the medical frigate with Unknown IFF comes in and my named wingman screams "ZOMG THE TRAITOR LET US SHOOT" - At this point my reaction is, they kept pulling stupid stunts during their tryst, and above the board she's traitorous, I'm a line pilot, not SOC with ULTIMATE CLEARANCE, I couldn't kill the Hermes in the previous mission, **** this b#@$% ima drive there and cuck 1 Stilletto down that exhaust port! (dude, EVERYONE knows BETAC - ok fine ****ty cop-out at my end)
Hey, I didn't hard-kill, okay! It was only one Stiletto!
GTSC Gallows oh f***
(I didn't even realise the consequence of me disabling the engines until she pretty much said the equivalent of "GO MY 99TH SKULLS SERVANTS AND you, lapdog line-squadron FLEET you can KILL MY BOYFRIEND NAO"... too late... ohhhh, so she was on OUR side after all, or is she? No I'm not trusting this so easily!)
I get grilled by Command for (from my perspective) no reason at all, instant mission fail. But I keep playing, the medic frigate is DISABLED, I'd defanged the Argus and then the whole thing devolved into a turkey shoot kill the big dumb object where we brought down the hull to 10% (while I was at 4%, teammate keeps screaming FS1 'Taking damage, request cover!') and I got sick of waiting so I just beamed the thing cuz I forgot the easy kill cheat. And turned traitor to the whole map when I warped out
.
The trigger sequence for the Selenius to finally kill the Argus off with its own beam cannons didn't even play.
TL;DR - Feedback to improve the sequence here maybe? Though to be fair, even if the whole BETAC/medical frigate thing felt like a cop-out to me (yeah I know it's per real life laws and all that, so I guess it's partly my fault for deciding to FLIP TABLE, not the FREDders?), even I wouldn't know how to redo or tweak this sequence to better account for these crazy antics. There goes the 4th wall.
Darkness before the Abyss
This one was frustrating too. Again died a couple times. I get the general idea of things not going to plan, but I guess it's somewhat demoralising seeing a hell lot of reds in the directive chain. It's weird, if in a previous mission I fail in anti-bigship, I still end up using a bomber in the next mission only to realise it's still the wrong equipment.
Same 'there was nothing you could do' even after I
thought I'd disabled the science ship's engines. 1% immunity that I didn't notice because of all the EMP flying around maybe? I guess the big clue was the carrier conveniently parked next to it?
The enemy fighters hurt but somehow I didn't give a damn about them, I just kept mindlessly whacking Artemis with Cyclops for this. Forgot if I brought SD-14 or a kill-capable gun. TBH I was really hoping to make capship kills here but the available weapons (and probably mission balancing) were only good enough to kill radar. With all the damage I was talking I didn't even bother to kill a sentry gun, and I gave up scanning all the cargo after dying the first time. I suppose it wouldn't make a difference whether I brought Stils or bombs, couldn't even kill engines either.
The capship weapons hurt a lot anyway that by the time I regained shield to try for a 2nd or 3rd radar dish strike (this is the first mission for me where the Cyclops swarm actually meant something, provided a stray blob didn't blow the bomb up in my face), the freighters were already too far for me to pursue them. First pass when I died I did get them, later passes I figured "bah, go run along".
I pretty much let the AI do whatever and I died in the first attempt of the 1337 h4x0rz green portal event, OMG NO CHECKPOINT
restarting all over again.
Even if I was 5000m away from a crate it don't mean I was 5000m away from the epicenter (was it the Pharos?)
The Shivan attack on the station while you save the now-bachelorette (OMG IM DEFENDING THE #@$%& NAO WUT) since we murdered the boyfriend and his awesome compensation device that pissed us off throughout the first half, considering the epic stunts before, I'm thankful for barely scraping through this one in 1 pass. The fleeing ship to be defended was at 16% with the damn Moloch(?) chasing it (DIE U SUNNUVA---) amidst the sunglare and the lagfest of the Ravana camping in the backseat killing the station...
As for the stage before that, poor Karim, wait, were those big beams he got killed by? I didn't check my tailpipe but I suppose the illusion there (if there was one) would have worked anyway since a typical player would SO not have the time to check their 6...
