Terran Campaign : Walkthrough
Posted: Fri, 7. Nov 08, 08:10
Since there are so many questions regarding the Terran campaign, probably because many people new to X start off as a Terran pilot, I figured I'd write a walkthrough for it as I was just about to play it again. Below are the step by step instructions to get through all seven missions (by my count anyways), including the common snags and how to hopefully avoid them.
If you have any questions regarding any part of this campaign, please don't hesitate to ask!
Starting the campaign
If your start is a Terran one, go directly to mission one. Otherwise, you will have to play through the Bridge mission to get the campaign going.
Q - Why should I play the Terran campaign?
A - Because it's there? The Terran campaign does actually reward you with some pretty decent goodies, as well as give you access to two systems you'd otherwise get no access to. (Earth's inner systems and Aldrin.)
Aldrin especially is valuable, since it sells the Spitfyre and Springblossom, probably the best M3 and most versatile M6 available in the game.
The Terrans also pay pretty well, and they have (imo) the most deadly M2 in the galaxy in the Osaka.
Q - Is the campaign hard?
A - Not especially, though you do get some massive combats in it. The campaign is more annoying because it's plenty bugged and features some dreadfully long "travel 38 sectors while following a ship that's going 62m/s...)
Q - What ship should I have to do this campaign?
A - A good M3 should work fine, but I used an M6.
Make sure that your ship has the following upgrades : Jumpdrive, Cargobay Life Support System, SETA(!!!!), Freight Scanner and around 100 cargo space to carry some of your passengers! (Thanks Carlo!)
BRIDGE :
Difficulty : Cakewalk
Bugs : No.
Fly into Omicron Lyrae for the first time, and you will be automatically contacted and asked if you want to help escort some Terran dignitaries. If you wish to help, talk to the person in the Equipment Dock in Omicron Lyrae.
***Note, according to the manual, the plot will wait for you, but when I ignored this mission the first time, it cancelled itself after about 20 minutes or so, and I got a message saying "Sorry you couldn't help out, maybe next time." Then when I went back it did not seem to be there anymore. I am unsure whether it will refresh later on. Be prepared to at least do the Bridge mission when you enter Omicron Lyrae for the first time.***
Edit : Delray confirmed that the mission does keep respawning over and over, so maybe it was just something funky in my game that it didn't seem to.
- After talking to the contact in the equipment dock, fly to the Eclipse that's marked. Its pilot will greet you and after a few moments a Terran Scabbard shows up. Escort the Terran Scabbard to the Terran Orbital Defence Station in Heretic's End.
- Two pirates attack your group in Circle of Labour. It seems to be a random spawn, but I got two M5s each time. Your wingmen will take care of them.
- Several Xenon spawn in Heretic's End. This is based on your combat rank, but even at high levels it will spawn a few Ms at most. Shouldn't be any problem.
- Watch the Scabbard dock at the station, then comm the station and talk to Erin Lovis and tell her you'd love to work for the Terrans.
MISSION ONE :
Difficulty : Easy.
Bugs : No.
Join Samuel Plinter for a patrol in Uranus. If you start as a Terran, you'll already be here, otherwise you need to fly there. Go N from Heretic's End, N through Asteroid Belt, N through Jupiter, then W through Saturn. (or just follow your handy little orange guide). In Uranus, fly to Splinter's ship and Comm him. After he's done talking, follow him around for a bit.
- An emergency broadcast comes in saying that the Sol system is under attack by Xenon. Kill the Xenon that pop up in Uranus.
- Find the Xenon Jump beacon and scan it by flying close. (less than 100 meters) It should pop up a counter that goes to 100%, which should only take a few seconds. After that, destroy it.
- Once you're done mopping up, a message comes in stating that several Xenon message probes are moving towards the system's outer sectors. Plinter orders you to fly to the Oort Cloud and intercept it.
- Fly to Oort Cloud (just keep going west). Once in the Oort Cloud, wait for the probe to arrive. This can easily take several minutes even on SETA ten, so just sit and wait. A cutscene will play when it arrives.
- Follow the message probe to its destination. If you started as a Terran, your ship will be too slow to keep up with it. Don't worry too much about that. Just keep flying in its direction and you'll catch up with a jump beacon and Argon Nova eventually.
*** NOTE : It probably helps to have a Triplex Scanner here, so go and buy one if you don't.
Watch the Nova blow up the beacon before jumping out, then fly back to the Orbital Accelerator to Pluto. Plinter will join you again. Fly to Pluto.
- Patrol Pluto against Xenon intrusion. If you're having trouble with this mission, try to stick with Plinter and his men. The AI seems to be toned down for this mission, so you shouldn't have any problem. Once you're done, fly to Neptune.
- Patrol Neptune against Xenon. Same as above. Fly to Uranus.
- Patrol Uranus against Xenon. Yawn. Fly to Saturn.
- Dock with the Saturn Research Station to complete the mission.
MISSION TWO :
Difficulty : Easy.
Bugs : No.
You are ordered to dock at the Orbital Patrol Base in Asteroid Belt. General Mishsiajamama orders you to fly to the shipyard in Mars to get an M5. Once you've docked there, they tell you to go back. You make me fly up and down for a measly 30.000 credits? Those Terrans have got some nerve I tells ya! Anyways, sell the M5 (or keep it, whatever) and go back where you came from. This time you get some actual orders. Go talk to Mark Jackson in Heretic's End.
- Jackson talks a lot, then tells you to wait for a bit. Just hang tight, he'll start talking again soon enough. The Xenon are attacking Scale Plate Green. Your orders are to FOLLOW the non-Xenon ship, but NOT to attack it.
- Fly or jump to Scale Plate Green. Notice the same Argon Nova. A cutscene plays, and it will start to move north. Either follow it straightaway, or take out the Xenon L in this sector. They are completely inert (won't attack), and seem to have a morale that's set to zero, so you can easily cap a few and sell them for good money. Keep an eye on the Nova though. (if it does escape you, the mission will restart, but still). Follow the Nova to PTNI HQ.
*** NOTE : If you are flying a ship with turrets, make sure to turn them off when you jump through the gate. I jumped to within 3.5km of the Nova and my over-eager turret immediately opened fire, ending the mission (since the Nova jumps away.) The mission will automatically restart, but it was still annoying.
- In PTNI HQ, follow the Nova East into the Unknown Sector.
- In the Unknown Sector, watch the Nova dock with the Pirate Base. You are ordered to scan it. To do so, you must fly within 500 METERS of the Pirate Base. If you're close enough, a counter will start at the bottom of the screen. If it doesn't, you must not be close enough. Get a little closer.
***Note - it seems random whether or not this pirate base will attack you once you get close. I've played the mission 3 times, and only once was I attacked. If you ARE attacked, either kill or ignore the attackers. Once done, fly or jump back to Heretic's End and talk to Mark Jackson in the Orbital Patrol Base.
If you have any questions regarding any part of this campaign, please don't hesitate to ask!
Starting the campaign
If your start is a Terran one, go directly to mission one. Otherwise, you will have to play through the Bridge mission to get the campaign going.
Q - Why should I play the Terran campaign?
A - Because it's there? The Terran campaign does actually reward you with some pretty decent goodies, as well as give you access to two systems you'd otherwise get no access to. (Earth's inner systems and Aldrin.)
Aldrin especially is valuable, since it sells the Spitfyre and Springblossom, probably the best M3 and most versatile M6 available in the game.
The Terrans also pay pretty well, and they have (imo) the most deadly M2 in the galaxy in the Osaka.
Q - Is the campaign hard?
A - Not especially, though you do get some massive combats in it. The campaign is more annoying because it's plenty bugged and features some dreadfully long "travel 38 sectors while following a ship that's going 62m/s...)
Q - What ship should I have to do this campaign?
A - A good M3 should work fine, but I used an M6.
Make sure that your ship has the following upgrades : Jumpdrive, Cargobay Life Support System, SETA(!!!!), Freight Scanner and around 100 cargo space to carry some of your passengers! (Thanks Carlo!)
BRIDGE :
Difficulty : Cakewalk
Bugs : No.
Fly into Omicron Lyrae for the first time, and you will be automatically contacted and asked if you want to help escort some Terran dignitaries. If you wish to help, talk to the person in the Equipment Dock in Omicron Lyrae.
***Note, according to the manual, the plot will wait for you, but when I ignored this mission the first time, it cancelled itself after about 20 minutes or so, and I got a message saying "Sorry you couldn't help out, maybe next time." Then when I went back it did not seem to be there anymore. I am unsure whether it will refresh later on. Be prepared to at least do the Bridge mission when you enter Omicron Lyrae for the first time.***
Edit : Delray confirmed that the mission does keep respawning over and over, so maybe it was just something funky in my game that it didn't seem to.
- After talking to the contact in the equipment dock, fly to the Eclipse that's marked. Its pilot will greet you and after a few moments a Terran Scabbard shows up. Escort the Terran Scabbard to the Terran Orbital Defence Station in Heretic's End.
- Two pirates attack your group in Circle of Labour. It seems to be a random spawn, but I got two M5s each time. Your wingmen will take care of them.
- Several Xenon spawn in Heretic's End. This is based on your combat rank, but even at high levels it will spawn a few Ms at most. Shouldn't be any problem.
- Watch the Scabbard dock at the station, then comm the station and talk to Erin Lovis and tell her you'd love to work for the Terrans.
MISSION ONE :
Difficulty : Easy.
Bugs : No.
Join Samuel Plinter for a patrol in Uranus. If you start as a Terran, you'll already be here, otherwise you need to fly there. Go N from Heretic's End, N through Asteroid Belt, N through Jupiter, then W through Saturn. (or just follow your handy little orange guide). In Uranus, fly to Splinter's ship and Comm him. After he's done talking, follow him around for a bit.
- An emergency broadcast comes in saying that the Sol system is under attack by Xenon. Kill the Xenon that pop up in Uranus.
- Find the Xenon Jump beacon and scan it by flying close. (less than 100 meters) It should pop up a counter that goes to 100%, which should only take a few seconds. After that, destroy it.
- Once you're done mopping up, a message comes in stating that several Xenon message probes are moving towards the system's outer sectors. Plinter orders you to fly to the Oort Cloud and intercept it.
- Fly to Oort Cloud (just keep going west). Once in the Oort Cloud, wait for the probe to arrive. This can easily take several minutes even on SETA ten, so just sit and wait. A cutscene will play when it arrives.
- Follow the message probe to its destination. If you started as a Terran, your ship will be too slow to keep up with it. Don't worry too much about that. Just keep flying in its direction and you'll catch up with a jump beacon and Argon Nova eventually.
*** NOTE : It probably helps to have a Triplex Scanner here, so go and buy one if you don't.
Watch the Nova blow up the beacon before jumping out, then fly back to the Orbital Accelerator to Pluto. Plinter will join you again. Fly to Pluto.
- Patrol Pluto against Xenon intrusion. If you're having trouble with this mission, try to stick with Plinter and his men. The AI seems to be toned down for this mission, so you shouldn't have any problem. Once you're done, fly to Neptune.
- Patrol Neptune against Xenon. Same as above. Fly to Uranus.
- Patrol Uranus against Xenon. Yawn. Fly to Saturn.
- Dock with the Saturn Research Station to complete the mission.
MISSION TWO :
Difficulty : Easy.
Bugs : No.
You are ordered to dock at the Orbital Patrol Base in Asteroid Belt. General Mishsiajamama orders you to fly to the shipyard in Mars to get an M5. Once you've docked there, they tell you to go back. You make me fly up and down for a measly 30.000 credits? Those Terrans have got some nerve I tells ya! Anyways, sell the M5 (or keep it, whatever) and go back where you came from. This time you get some actual orders. Go talk to Mark Jackson in Heretic's End.
- Jackson talks a lot, then tells you to wait for a bit. Just hang tight, he'll start talking again soon enough. The Xenon are attacking Scale Plate Green. Your orders are to FOLLOW the non-Xenon ship, but NOT to attack it.
- Fly or jump to Scale Plate Green. Notice the same Argon Nova. A cutscene plays, and it will start to move north. Either follow it straightaway, or take out the Xenon L in this sector. They are completely inert (won't attack), and seem to have a morale that's set to zero, so you can easily cap a few and sell them for good money. Keep an eye on the Nova though. (if it does escape you, the mission will restart, but still). Follow the Nova to PTNI HQ.
*** NOTE : If you are flying a ship with turrets, make sure to turn them off when you jump through the gate. I jumped to within 3.5km of the Nova and my over-eager turret immediately opened fire, ending the mission (since the Nova jumps away.) The mission will automatically restart, but it was still annoying.
- In PTNI HQ, follow the Nova East into the Unknown Sector.
- In the Unknown Sector, watch the Nova dock with the Pirate Base. You are ordered to scan it. To do so, you must fly within 500 METERS of the Pirate Base. If you're close enough, a counter will start at the bottom of the screen. If it doesn't, you must not be close enough. Get a little closer.
***Note - it seems random whether or not this pirate base will attack you once you get close. I've played the mission 3 times, and only once was I attacked. If you ARE attacked, either kill or ignore the attackers. Once done, fly or jump back to Heretic's End and talk to Mark Jackson in the Orbital Patrol Base.