Strategy Guide preview...

dogeddie · Post by **dogeddie** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:13 am

Maybe an explanation of your table showing the effectiveness of wing system upgrades? I sorta don't get it.

Post by **Vice** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:22 am

It's pretty simple. Just line up the frame class with each blue and green bar. The blue bar indicates the agility factor for each wing system (how fast a ship can turn/rotate relative to others). The green bar indicates how much of an improvement each wing system provides to that frame (starting at 1.0). I'll add a similar description to the guide.

dogeddie · Post by **dogeddie** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:26 am

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 11:38 am

BTW,

The suggestions I made for releasing info on the "mechanics of reputation" are not-so-much-needed (IMHO), just "nice to know" info for "stat-freeks". When one learns how to play the game, one just knows how to increase (or decrease) rep... you learn from experience which missions increase rep the most, etc. I've seen some Strategy Guides / Gaming Guides that present every statistic, value, number, protocol and procedure... to the point where the only way that the Strat Guide could be more informative would be to include the source code. One for an old DOS game, Daggerfall, "The Daggerfall Chronicles" is a good example of this (though some innaccuracies occurred after press time, and via game patches).

There are some oddities though, I've worked some sectors where you have to destroy a considerable number of Rebel and Guild ships, do a significant number of Navy missions, to get the Rebel and Guild numbers down from say 30% to 0% to advance to the next reputation tier. On the other hand, in other sectors reputation seems to *inherently* increase faster, and I've seen *sudden unlikely jumps* in rep on occasion. The most dramatic one that I remember was Guild at 0%, Rebel was at 23%, I destroyed I believe only a couple of enemy ships and rep suddenly increased from Fair to Good. One just gets the feeling that rep isn't as simple as it might seem at face value.

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The suggestion on crew, though, is a good one I think. For me at least there is just too much "guesswork" on paying crew, and not quite enough info in the HTML Legends Manual or Strat Guide. If crew *works better* and is *more effective* at higher pay (even when they are at 100 / 100) (*IF*, I think its been said that they do in the forum), then that should probably be in the documentation, and some kind of advice guidelines should probably be available as to "how much", along with an "upper practical limit" beyond which paying them more serves no purpose.

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Okay... there are other smaller tidbits of info, little unanswered questions, that could go into either a revised Manual or Strat Guide. The reason I bring these up is that I have seen these occasionally in the forum (if you look back far enough)... though rarely, but I don't think the questions have ever been definitively answered.

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Changing energy balance between 'S' and 'E'. The Manual and current Strat Guide seem to indicate that this ONLY effects recharge rates for Shields, or for Guns / Jump Drive. Yet there are posts that indicate that if you set to -5 S, +5 E (or E greater than 0), then your guns are *more destructive* (maybe only slightly?).

*IF* setting to -5 S, +5 E (or E greater then 0) "increases the power of weapons" (as opposed to JUST the recharge time), does this also effect missiles? (I've seen at least one or two posts on this issue, advice to newbies along the lines of " ... change the energy balance to favor your guns, your guns will be more destructive, maybe missiles too but I'm not sure ... ". (It doesn't seem logical that energy balance should effect missiles, but I could *almost* make the case that it might for Excaliburs, or maybe the recycle time for Excals).

So... there is some guesswork that could be cleared up here.

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The Strat Guide implies that as you increase the frame class, the total energy reserve also increases (see the descriptions of the frames). But, I don't get the feeling that it does (or at least DID; in Renegades, a Banshee seemed to operate about the same whether on a Phoenix or a Leviathan).

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The beacons (both the "RiftSpace Beacons" and the "Arvoch Beacons"); new players will certainly want to do these because they are fun and exciting. Even seasoned players will do these over again, via starting a new profile (for various reasons). But I *HAVE* seen it posted: to the effect " ... I'm starting over, do I HAVE to do EACH beacon, or can I proceed directly to 'the end' ...". Most of the forum advice is to the effect that "No you don't have to". Another way of putting it (for experienced players who want to start over for whatever reason) is "does activating any of the beacons put something in my savegame / profile... do I HAVE to do each beacon in sequence?". Maybe this isn't that important of a point to make, but I HAVE seen it posted.

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Most of the documentation and advice in the forum indicates that when you increase engine class, you increase your max speeds (cruising and on afterburners) *and acceleration / deceleration*, and increasing wing class *JUST* increases maneuverability. But I've done experiments, wing class definitely improves acceleration / deceleration, *more so* than engines. I've experimented with Engine 1 / wing classes from 1 up to say 5, and wing 1, various engine classes.

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This is a good chance for people to clear up ANY and ALL little unanswered questions (no matter how small... NOT spoilers per se, but game mechanics that people have wondered about), and get them put into the Strat Guide / and / or / revised manual.

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 11:52 am

Here is another one of the "under the hood" stats variety.

It has been posted here in the forum how many missions in the war zones that you need to do for the military ranks. Maybe that should go into the Strat Guide (or revised manual).

Also, maybe something on how civilian rank is calculated? (and *skill*... civilian rank and skill value, possibly these are only INDIRECTLY related). What are the various factors (bank account, contracts, kills, equipment... etc. ... any more?) How important each factor is... how it all adds up.

[Edited on 4-10-2009 by Storm]

dogeddie · Post by **dogeddie** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 12:05 pm

I kind of wish the beacon quest spoilers weren't included at all. I know I can just ignore them, but I bet my curiosity will get the best of me. Sorry if this has already been discussed.

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 12:12 pm

Originally posted by dogeddie
I kind of wish the beacon quest spoilers weren't included at all. I know I can just ignore them, but I bet my curiosity will get the best of me. Sorry if this has already been discussed.

They aren't included in the manual (as far as I can see, there are no "spoilers" in the manual).

But most (all?) published "Game Guides" / "Strategy Guides" DO include "spoilers"... that is usually considered to be (part of) the point of a Strat Guide... to help you if you get stuck.

Maybe the Strat guide could have seperate sections / pages... (if Vice agrees, and if people seem to want it this way) ... one on game mechanics and general advice , and ANOTHER seperate section where all the "spoilers" are isolated.

Post by **Vice** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 4:34 pm

I've added new info on managing crew and reputations, including a lot of stat related details. Some details are definitively answered (including possible exclusions/exceptions being left out on purpose as they really do not apply), some are generally answered since a given system may be more dynamic/varied rather than static, a few are left open to player discovery. A section on ranking might indeed be a good addition.

Wasp89 · Post by **Wasp89** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 4:47 pm

Looks good, one issue with the latest additions though:

In the table that shows increases and decreases in loyalty percentage, the last category should not say contract failure.

From the mind of a college student who has really picky professors (Roll your eyes at me if you want, trust me, I do a lot), but "proper outline format" dictates that each subcategory of the next major category should be indented... e.g., in the linked outline at the top of the page, all of the 2.1, 2.2 categories should be indented more than the 1, 2, 3... categories, and the a, b, c... sub-subcategories should be indented a little more than the 2.1, 2.2 subcategories. Not really an issue, of course, just a nitpicky thing.

I was also once told by an English teacher that for every category there needs to be more than one subcategory, but I always thought that rule was dumb and never followed it (usually slightly at the expense of my grade).

dogeddie · Post by **dogeddie** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 5:48 pm

What is the significance/meaning of each bar or column starting at 1 and going up to 13? What does 13 signify?

Post by **Vice** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 5:50 pm

The top wing/thruster system.

dogeddie · Post by **dogeddie** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 6:32 pm

So what you are trying to show is that the bigger (higher) the ship class, the less effective wing upgrades are related to agility? Sorry, but I passed the graph around the office and we are all a bit confused.

Post by **Vice** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:04 pm

So what you are trying to show is that the bigger (higher) the ship class, the less effective wing upgrades are related to agility? Sorry, but I passed the graph around the office and we are all a bit confused.

In agility related to other frames, yes. In agility related to improvements to a specific frame, no. Again, the blue bar indicates the range of improvement in actual agility relative to all frames. The green bar indicates the range of improvement for a specific frame. So for example:

Frame 10, the Leviathan. The blue bar ranges from about 0.3 to 0.5. This means that a class 1 wing/thruster system gives it an agility rating of about 0.3. Compare that to a class 1 frame, the Talon, where a class 1 wing/thruster system gives that ship an agility rating of about 0.5. So the smaller and lighter frame can maneuver about 67% better with the same class 1 wing/thruster system.

The green bar ranges from 1.0 to about 1.85 for the Leviathan. So upgrading from a class 1 to a class 13 wing/thruster system means you'll have about an 85% improvement in agility. The same upgrade on a class 1 Talon frame means you'll have about a 40% improvement (the Talon is already very agile due to its low mass). So even with an 85% improvement in agility with a class 13 wing/thruster system, the Leviathan still falls short in overall relative agility compared to a Talon using a class 1 wing/thruster system.

That's how you can use the chart to gauge improvement both in terms of what a wing/thruster system can do for each specific frame and what the improvement provides relative to other frames.

dogeddie · Post by **dogeddie** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:10 pm

Damn - thanks Vice

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:04 pm

Thanks, Vice.... just downloaded the updated Strat Guide, just a quick "eyeball scan", the new section on crew is very much appreciated. Looking forward to a thorough read-thru. Your customer service is the "the dude" ( ... something my neighbor says a lot... I don't know what it means, but it seems to be a very good compliment. In any case, a charming, cheerful expression).

(edit) Again, thanks VERY much! Just completed a read-thru. The new data is all very interesting... for me, it enhances the experience of the game to know at least a little of why things work the way they do... and the "Nutz and Boltz" of this game is very interesting and innovative.

MUCH appreciated!

[Edited on 4-10-2009 by Storm]

Post by **Vice** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 11:59 pm

Thanks for the feedback, comments, suggestions, requests, etc. I've put the finishing touches on the strategy guide (including more proper category formatting) and the updated version is now available for viewing. If you spot any last minute spelling errors or minor things that need to be fixed, just let me know. I hope to announce it within the next week or two along with the upcoming newsletter.

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Thu Jun 04, 2009 12:50 am

In the section : "Constructor Station Item List"

The table reads:
Anti-Matter Cells | Fuel Converts (requires 25 units)

Should probably be changed to "Fuel Converter" versus "Fuel Converts".

[Edited on 6-4-2009 by Storm]

I read through it all three times - I couldn't find anything else... looks very good.

[Edited on 6-4-2009 by Storm]

Post by **Vice** » Thu Jun 04, 2009 3:11 am

Ah yes, I've corrected it. Thanks for checking it out.

dogeddie · Post by **dogeddie** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 4:20 pm

Why are the spoilers for the beacon quest for Evo Renegades included in the strategy guide?

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:00 pm

Originally posted by dogeddie
Why are the spoilers for the beacon quest for Evo Renegades included in the strategy guide?

They are still there in Evo Legends.

Post by **Vice** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:08 pm

Because that beacon quest is still available in the new game as well, it wasn't removed and is actually linked to the new quest as way to get to a certain location (referred to as a shortcut in the new beacon quest).