Ship design

[solops]

Search turned up nothing for this, but would some of you more experienced hands make some comments on ship design for the various classes one commands as the game progresses?

[solops]

Gee...don't everybody chime in at once!

[Sundansyr]

*heh*

Well, IMO, there's only two likely classes that I've find agreeably usable:

Destroyer (the ship you start with)
Cruiser (the next hull class up)

Anything larger than that gets too ponderous and slow.

Regardless of the race of ship you choose, destroyer and cruiser hulls are about the best picks, balancing the best speed with offensive punch.

[DeathDaemon]

I like to place a couple PDC (One far front, middle, far back) so it is possible that they can take out more than 1 incoming missile. This is really only effective on the longer or wider ships.

I found both the battleship and carrier with manuevering thrusters were the only way to go if you want to use heavy weapons. Otherwise you dont have enough tonnage. I did use an amonkorie cruiser for P&N campaign 1 and loved it. It's 50k larger than the TCN cruiser and has more heavy slots.

If I use beams I make sure to have combat sensors, master computer, and apply my level ups to offensive at times. This takes a lot of space, and lvl up exp. Beams are fun, but I think torpedeos, although heaver don't usually miss and do more serious dmg hopefully on the side you want.

Lots of approaches to this game - shield/armor piercing, bolts, beams, torpedoes, fighters, etc. Anything can be fun... play with it and if you enjoy - go for it!

[solops]

OK. Interesting. I have found myself spending money on engines in the early game and doing a lot of running away in order to complete trade missions and get $$$. Is this a common approach or do some of you like to jump in and start the killing right away?

[Sundansyr]

solops said:
OK. Interesting. I have found myself spending money on engines in the early game and doing a lot of running away in order to complete trade missions and get $$$. Is this a common approach or do some of you like to jump in and start the killing right away?

Ohhh, no no no.

The best thing to do when first starting out is to ghost through a few systems. Just cruise around and look for weapons fire. Then sit back and wait. Avoid becoming a part of the fight.
Alternately you can hunt around the mercenary guilds for bounty missions. Take them in systems that are heavily guarded by Terran fleets (Terra, New Texas, ect). Choose smugglers or freighters early off. A lot of times the Terran fleets will take out your target for you. Heck, I've even had them take themselves out - by running into each other!

Wait until the fight is over, then sweep in and pick up the discarded cargo. Drop illegal cargo and cheap stuff (armor, bridge, ect). Keep weapons, targeting systems, drives and expensive cargo.

Find someplace to sell the stuff, and beef up your ship (or upgrade to a bigger hull).

Download the mod in my GraphX thread - it's got problems starting new missions, but it'll load saves fine with a few visual glitches (components mapped to incorrect graphic slots). That'll go away as you replace the parts.

The P&N mods also are quite good. The Peoples' Mod is visually cool, but there is no 'story'. It's just a shooter.

You will need a program to convert .png graphics to .bmp (I use photoshop, but other programs might work). I guess I should really put a readme into that zip file. Be sure to back up the relevant unmodded files before replacing.