RiftSpace - run out of COFFEE for the trip!

[Vice]

Please only post gameplay tips and tactics in this thread. Unrelated comments/topics will be deleted.

- Save frequently. It's a good habit to get into to help reverse mistakes and to preserve your progress.

- Your reputation effects the system you are in, but economies can vary from stations to station and planet to planet within a solar system. So consider your combat and trade decisions carefully as your actions will produce effects toward your reputation across the entire system you are in. But be sure to explore local planets and stations as you can often find trade hotspots within the same solar system. Consider that it can also saves you fuel by trading locally and not jumping from solar system to solar system.

[tha_rami]

- Optimize your ship for your role. Balance engines, shielding, fuel and cargo to your liking for optimal use.
- You can use the environment to your advantage. Asteroids are a great spot to wait behind for missiles, since you can get a missile lock through an asteroid to quickly counter.
- Fuel is very important. It can never hurt to get some extra fuel before embarking on a long journey. This will refill your countermeasures as well.
- Keep track of your reputation. While green systems will be safer, they will have less contracts available to you. Balance the amount of hostile and friendly system.
- Learn to read the navigation map and to estimate to which location sector coordinates (Sx,Sy,Sz) point. This will save you a lot of time when using jumpgates.
- Learn to use the Inertial Dampening System to your advantage. Not only does it make you a harder target, it can also save you fuel and sharpen your corners.
- To make money, think outside the box. This also goes for the Renegades clues. Think outside the box.
- You can store missiles, equipment and similar in your cargo bay by rightclicking it. When docked, you can install such items by rightclicking them in your cargo bay. You can sell them with a leftclick.
- When you're stuck or need assistance, drop by in multiplayer.

[Vice]

* Spoiler - Regarding the first beacon to start the search for what happened to the Renegades *




- Search near a city, toward the nearby mountains. Also, there is more to discover on the surface of the planet in that area than just the beacon.


[Edited on 9-27-2007 by Vice]

[Vice]

- Here's a tip for easier/faster shipping path clearing contracts that require you to destroy asteroids. Head to Rucker and look for a contract to clear a shipping path. Once you accept the contract, you don't even have to fly to a waypoint. Since most of the sector has asteroids in it and the station is placed in the middle of the cluster of asteroids, you will automatically be credited with reaching the waypoint. So all you need to do at this point is locate some asteroids nearby and destroy them. It's usually easiest to turn to a heading of 45, 135, 225, or 315 and a pitch of +/- 45, then fly in that direction until you reach the next nearest cluster of asteroids. This way, you don't have to use the fuel needed to make a jump and you can easily find enough asteroids to meet the conditions of the contract. Since the system also has a moderate economy level, you'll make a decent amount of credits and avoid encountering the high number of enemies usually encountered in hostile systems.

- Systems that you have a Good or Hostile reputation in will offer the least variety of contract types. Systems that you have a Fair or Moderate reputation in will offer the widest variety of contract types. If you prefer a mix of peaceful and combat objectives, focus on Fair and Moderate systems.

[Edited on 9-29-2007 by Vice]

[tha_rami]

- When assaulting carriers, remember the subsystem targetting. Press "U" to select a subsystem: engine, weapon or navigation. In multiplayer, try to select roles - have some of the group attack subsystems, and others cover them while doing so.
- Keep a close look on your crews payment. Their fair wage increases over time, so increase their received wage appropriately or they'll leave you. No use risking your life for low payment.
- To make intersector travel easier, zoom out the Navmap and click on the word "All" in the lowerright of the console. Click until it read "Gates" - you'll only see the gates, their location and their destination.
- Sometimes, trading with a nearby ship is more efficient than jumping back to the station. The marketvalue of an item is usually just a little higher than while doing a direct trade, so for low-value items as Metl it won't really matter.

[Pom]

Earn money relativily easily and quickly.

Make sure you have equipped your ship with a 3 bay cargo hold (or better) and a mining/tractor beam.

Find a station in the middle of an asteroid field.

simple mine the local asteroids by approaching within 500m and holding down "B" or hitting "<ALT>" + "B" with the IDS system holding you at zero you should pick up something every 2-3 seconds.

Not sure the station name but i found mining platinum diamonds and metal was grossing 100000+ at a time easily beating the time taken to complete any of the initial system contracts.

my tupence init

Pom

[Vice]

One way to avoid colliding with a capital ship after accepting a contract and making the jump to the waypoint is to turn to a heading of 90 or 270 before you make the jump. That way, when you arrive, you'll be flying toward the side of the ship instead of at its nose. This helps prevent getting stuck in front of the ship, allowing it to repeatedly collide into you as it move forward, making it difficult to get out of the way.

[Vice]

Larger Races in Multiplayer:

Select one person to 'host' the race. Have that person stop where all players want the race to start and have all challengers fly near the race host. Then have the host link each player into the race one at a time. Once all players have accepted the race challenges, they will all have the same common race course visible and they can all race each other. If the number of players makes the race too difficult to complete, split the players up into pairs to race each other and against the clock. First player to complete the course in their location wins.

[verbosity]

When in combat, remember that your jump drive requires energy too, having a cannon relay system can often also mean the ability to escape a tricky situation......

When entering a new area, plot a jump point into emply/nebula or even asteroid space, this will give you the ability to just hit the F2 button to jump away to a safer place ( at least for a few seconds).

Hitting the inertial before a jump can also ensure your safety, as you are unlikely to be hit either by particle/beam weapons or by Missiles.

If possible, avoid entering an atmosphere in a highly hostile system, Even the best pilots can be taken out by several fighters in atmospheric combat. if you do need to enter an atmosphere, skim round the planet above the atmosphere till you get to directly above the point you are seeking, this will ensure the shortest possible time in atmospheric conditions.

Remember if you speed in an atmosphere, to reinforce your forward shield ( default: numpad8).

[Vice]

Sometimes an AI ship may change their mind about a trade, especially if you add several fairly high value items at once in the trade console. They'll see how much more money they are offering, then when you submit your request, they may decide to reject it. You can often convince them to trade if you submit one high value item at a time, then the money they offer for the trade won't seem quite so high and they'll agree.

[Vice]

While many planets in the game's universe don't have much more than a few cities and a trading station, some can provide very beneficial options for the careful explorer. Some planet exploration involves visual observation, some sensor, some a certain piece of equipment. And useful planet exploration is available right at the beginning of the game, starting with the planet Sapphire.

[Edited on 10-23-2007 by Vice]

[thewelshcube]

If you want to get somewhere fast, and in a STRAIGHT LINE, afterburn to 4K and turn off your IDS (default space key) you will keep at that speed, until you turn your IDS back on. I find this very useful to get to stations faster. I also set the throttle on my joystick to 0, so as soon as IDS is turned back on, the ship will decelerate to 0

[verbosity]

Originally posted by thewelshcube
If you want to get somewhere fast, and in a STRAIGHT LINE, afterburn to 4K and turn off your IDS (default space key) you will keep at that speed, until you turn your IDS back on. I find this very useful to get to stations faster. I also set the throttle on my joystick to 0, so as soon as IDS is turned back on, the ship will decelerate to 0

this is also useful when jumping, turn your IDS off before you jump, and when you come out you'll stay at top speed, if jumping into a station the tractor beam will catch you and reduce your speed..............

[CaptainThud]

Originally posted by verbosity

Originally posted by thewelshcube
If you want to get somewhere fast, and in a STRAIGHT LINE, afterburn to 4K and turn off your IDS (default space key) you will keep at that speed, until you turn your IDS back on. I find this very useful to get to stations faster. I also set the throttle on my joystick to 0, so as soon as IDS is turned back on, the ship will decelerate to 0

this is also useful when jumping, turn your IDS off before you jump, and when you come out you'll stay at top speed, if jumping into a station the tractor beam will catch you and reduce your speed..............

Coming out of a jump with the pedal to the metal can backfire with a collision occaisionally so I always save right before I kill the IDS.

The added speed on the destination side works for you more often then not. When you come blasting out of that jump gate into 5 hostiles the speed lets you out run their missiles and stay alive while you decide to fight or run.

[Vice]

Safer docking on hostile systems:

With a little planning, you can dock safely most of the time. Here are some tips:

- Eliminate nearby hostiles before you dock. Make the area safe to begin with, then dock quickly and complete any desired trades.

- Jump as close as you can to the station just before docking (X, Y + 1500, Z station coordinates). It takes time for hostiles to call in reinforcements to join the fight, so the sooner you dock, the more time you often get before too many hostiles show up.

- Use the station itself for protection. While docked, fly around the central hangar pylon and use it for cover. Keep the hostiles on the opposing side and their weapons won't be able to hit you.

- Buy the station. Ownership means protection.

[Archangel]

Missile defence.

-Counter mesures are only one way to protect yourself from missiles. Guns can often take down a missile quicker and more eficently then a counter mesure. Remember you can always turn IDS off.

-Be aware of your suroundings. Asteroids, stations, and even capital ships can make a good wall.

-Speed is an excelent advantage, a missile can only travel so far.

-Never be afrade to try something new. Sometimes something that seems insane can win a battle.

[masonator]

Mining:

- Remember that your each cargo bay can hold up to 25 of whatever item you're carrying.

[daughenie]

CAPITAL SHIP AND MULTI-FIGHTER CONTRACTS

Problem:
More often than not, when you accept these types of contract you come out of jump drive at the waypoint and either collide with the capital ship, which can cause a fatal delay whilst trying to free yourself and allow the fighters to rain on you, or you jump right in the middle of the fighters and have the devils own job trying to fight them off all at once. Some players are better at this than others, so for all us struggling Fighter Ace wannabes I offer this little ray of light.

Solution:
At the station, click to accept the contract you want. Then press F1 and go the the Nav screen. Look where the waypoint marker has been placed. Then click on the Nav screen directly below the waypoint marker but very close to it. The nav system will always default to the last entry made, which is your marker. Then hit F2 to jump. Because you clicked directly below the waypoint marker you know that when you come out of jump drive you will be due South of the target and will need to turn due north (0 degrees on your compass) to face the enemy. Also, because your nav point is a short distance from the waypoint, when you come out of jump you are in open space and have lots of time to set yourself up for the engagement , however you want to play it.

Comments:
This tip works for me every time and I use it for all contracts. I use Excal missiles and this tactic is very good at allowing me to keep multiple fighters at arms length while the excals do their work - they normally get two at a time - without being fired upon in return. Good luck and hope this helps.

[CS-ACI-]

Hello,

Excaliber missles are very cool.

But and it is a big but if you like to keep your reputation up, once you fire a salvo off they quickly dispatch a small ship.

The problem is, any left will hunt out other targets.

So try not to fire them when friendlies are around, I fired off a salvo and upset another faction when the other missles went after a target I did not want to destroy.

Steve

[warsign]

1. Use many profiles to save game...
2. Planet fight is very enjoyable...should try..
3. First finish the game (find all clues) before plunge different adventures
4. Adjust your ship's energy maximum if you plan many jumps...
5. Adjust shield energy maximum when you enter the atmosphere...You can go faster...Expecially front shield(num pad)...
6. Find all clues yourselves...Very enjoyable...
7. Buy a station license...

[Kiboney]

Ok, here is a few tips and tricks to take advantage over others:

1. Manage your shields!!

Got hit by a missile? Left Array going red? Augment it! Otherwise if you get shot by lasers on the damaged array, your core shields will go down.

2. Manage your IDS

Turning on and off your ids will give you great control over your ship while combat, and dont forget to drift when IDS is off.

[Kiboney]

Ultamate Tip

3. As the saying goes, the only way to get better is to play with a better opponent.

It's not a big deal if you keep getting beat up by Braveheart or Vice, some may get scared of them and keep the fk away from dueling them... You shouldnt do that! Thats what you call "practice" and it helps... Ask them to duel you from time to time,. you'll get knowlege from that

[KaiserSozeh]

Go to a system with a hidden planet like Cerulean, (they're in the strategy guide if you dont know where they are,) everything is more expensive at the hidden system while still fairly cheap at the other planet, you can transport weapons and equipment in your cargo bays, and all equipment is worth a lot more in the hidden system, just transport back and forth and you can make a ton of money really quickly.

[verbosity]

save 5% (or more) on your fuel bills!!!

tis only 5% on your mjd, but much more on a smaller drive (10% on a c5 and 25% on a c3 etc).

makes a big difference on those long journies.

1.decide where you want to go.
2. set your heading for the nearest 45 degree multiple ( this works best on 45, 135, 225 and 315) and set your coords for x99900 and y99900 - make sure if you are going leftwards that its x-99900 and downwards y-99900.

3. turn your inds off
4.alt+f2 jump ( you should know where you are going anyway)

5. when you get out of your jump, wait for about 15-20 seconds, you should cross a sector barrier (or two) thus the next time you jump you'll be jumping from the new sector...

6.repeat 4 and 5 till you're close to your destination



ok so it takes a little ( around 30s between jumps rather than around 10s per jump) longer, but if times not an issue and you want to go on a really looong journey it can give you that extra little bit of range

Edit

oh yeah and being under the influence of a gravitational force of over 1800 makes you go 'pop'!

[Edited on 6-11-2008 by verbosity]

[Vice]

Some questions I answered in e-mail that offer some tips:


How do you mine?

First, buy the mining/tractor beam. To mine planets, descend to just above the terrain, cut your engines or slowly travel foward and keep the mining beam on as you pan over the terrain. To mine asteroids, get very close to one, then activate the mining beam. Pan the beam for faster material recovery. To mine photon particles from stars, get close to the star, but not too close to be destroyed, keep the mining beam active. You will need a fuel converter to make use of the particles. To mine photon particles from nebulae, travel into the nebula cloud and keep the mining beam active.


Why are some materials rejected when you have space in you cargo bay?

The ship's auto-sorting system may block incompatible material types. Each unit of a material is a specific shape and size and they are only compatible with each other within individual cargo bays, so you will need to pre-sort your cargo bay(s) if you want to recover particular items. You can sort through it by selling or discarding what you don't want to make room for what you do want. The system will auto-sort material for you and recover compatible material types in each bay, which can be useful when mining.


What are assembly points?

They are the measure of how much construction capacity a ship has for various components. Each base ship frame has a certain level of assembly points available based on their size and loadout capacity. The larger the frame, the more space it has for installing larger, more powerful components. However, the larger the frame, the less maneuverable and fast it is, so there are performance trade-offs for design capacity capabilities.

[Edited on 10-2-2008 by Vice]