Starting out in X3TC

General discussions about the games by Egosoft including X-BTF, XT, X², X³: Reunion, X³: Terran Conflict and X³: Albion Prelude.

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ubuntufreakdragon
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Post by ubuntufreakdragon » Fri, 2. Jun 17, 16:59

1.16m
as I said you can get a Solano + 6Pac + 3x25shields for a million if you want to go the combat path. For an additional million you can get a TM which is quite useful in early game to carry your fighter over longer distances.
Or you could invest into an automatic trader which takes a freigther and 500k for trading software mk3 + some funds for wares.
Or you could build your first station, but to get them profitable you need a freighter with a CAG(Commercial Agent) Pilot(CAG is part of the official bonuspakage if you haven't got it do so link)
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Post by Monkspeed » Fri, 2. Jun 17, 17:53

Thanks all for the advice.

I decided to get a freighter, bought a Mercury L and upgraded its cargo and speed (time=money as they say).

I'm currently waiting for it to dock at Teladi Space Equipment Dock in Seizewell where I can purchase Trader Mk.3, I have a high rep (91%) with them, I guess from the asteroid scanning missions.

I'm not really sure where to send the mercury afterwards but I guess I'll stick to the beginning areas for now.

I did toy with the idea of getting a better fighter but I wanted to get some regular income with the TS option.

It is such an interesting game though, egosoft have thought of everything, I look for the option I want and it's just there. So Logical.

EDIT: I really wanted a Mercury Hauler but just couldn't stretch my budget for it plus trader mk. 3, shields and whatnot
Last edited by Monkspeed on Fri, 2. Jun 17, 18:05, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by Sinxar » Fri, 2. Jun 17, 17:57

Once you figure out what you are doing, Hurricane and Hornet missiles are great.

Hurricanes get the most use from me because they are great at taking out those pesky M5s, they are fast and have a small AOE. Most ships can use these but you have to build your own factory if you want to use them.

Hornets I think you may be able to purchase but not too sure. They are a heavier missile good for taking out M6s and slower M3s. You will want to get a factory for these as well if you wish to use them.

But that is for later, once you learn the game and start optimizing your loadouts and trying different tactics.

If you haven't done so yet, read the manual: https://www.egosoft.com/download/x3tc/b ... hp?list=97

It contains so much information the game should force new players to read it before jumping in.

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Post by Honved » Fri, 2. Jun 17, 22:22

Look for a sector with energy and either food or ore, plus a few factories to train your new pilot.

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TC combat primer

Post by Bill Huntington » Fri, 2. Jun 17, 22:44

You're doing fine for a new pilot, Monkspeed. I like that you're finding your own way. There's a lot to learn but there's time to do just that.

Let me give some of the basics of capping. You can generally cap your level of ship and the next one up. The trader version of a ship is much easier to cap than the military version. The TS can be capped even by an M5 like the Disco. The Paranid big TS sells for $1 Mil after you've capped it. An M3 usually sells for $1Mil. An M3+ sells for $3 Mil. It's usually a good idea to leave the pirates alone. Low pirate rep can bite you; they're pretty tough too. The one exception is the Duke's TS ships.

Here's a working method to it. Take down the target shields and some of the hull to 86%. There's a bail check at 87.25%. It's the first time the pilot can bail. You know you've gone past it by going to 86%. Then you have to wait for a time period before there's another bail check. If you just keep firing you don't have a chance to get the bail until perhaps 90% of the hull is gone. I judge the time by watching the shield recovery. If a TS has 3 x 25MJ shields, I'll start firing again when the shields recover to 20%. If a TS has 2 x 25, I'll wait until the shields are 30%. 1 x 25 is 40%. I've tested these numbers extensively and they work.

3 or 4 IREs work on the Disco. With an M3 I might use the PAC or HEPT to take down the shields faster, then change to IREs once I'm close to the bail check number. I use IRE because there's more shots. Every shot gets a bail check. With the weakest weapon you get the most bail checks and the best chance for a bail.

TC combat between other fighters is pretty good. With some practice on the strafe keys (W, A, S, D) you can avoid their shots while you hit them with yours. The double strafe is even more effective; that's using two adjacent strafe keys at the same time.

When you're ready to do more with combat, there's a way to check Morale of the target. Ask when you're ready. High morale targets don't bail very often; that number might be 25 or above. Low morale targets do; their numbers might be 5 to 10.

Edit: there's a way to do the morale that won't modify your game.


Good luck.
Last edited by Bill Huntington on Sat, 3. Jun 17, 03:34, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Snafu_X3 » Sat, 3. Jun 17, 00:32

Enemy pilot morale visibility is only available in 'cheat mode' tho

@Monkspeed (makes the game 'Modified'. if you care)..

You are aware that you can exit your ship & use your spacesuit's 'repair laser' to fix up damaged hulls, right? Even if you're only selling the hulls it's a free repair (can take some time for some classes of ship!) & you need the money in the early game!

The Bonus Pack is officially endorsed by the game makers (Egosoft) & freely downloadable (altho sadly not updated, for legal (eg copyright) reasons). However there are free updates available for individual elements from the Scripts & Modding forum or the wiki here

It gives you the Missile Defence Mosquito option (along with CAG & CLS, the trading options others have mentioned), which will greatly enhance your new Mamba's protection as it doesn't have a rear turret. If you haven't yet installed it, do so now!
Wiki X:R 1st Tit capping
Wiki X3:TC vanilla: Guide to generic missions, Guide to finding & capping Aran
Never played AP; all X3 advice is based on vanilla+bonus pack TC or before: AP has not changed much WRT general advice.

I know how to spell teladiuminumiumium, I just don't know when to stop!

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Post by Monkspeed » Mon, 5. Jun 17, 21:24

Monkspeed Chronicles

Saw a big shootout between pirates and police so I decided to investigate, I moved in closer and picked up the stray missiles. One pirate left so I thought I would "help" the police so began my attack, he annihilated me with one shot. Curiosity killed the cat. RELOAD :D

Got my auto trader working well in Seizewell, trading ore and energy. He is currently at level 7.

I explored the galaxy and picked up a few more stray ships and sold them, so now I'm sitting on ~2.5 mil :D

Next aim, another auto trader...

Loving this game!

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Post by ubuntufreakdragon » Mon, 5. Jun 17, 22:15

Be Aware the PBG (Plasma burst Generator) it kills M3 within seconds, a disco wont survive even one shot and these are AOE-Weapons(the Flamer)
you could think of a station, too.
or get yourself a good combatship.
Oh and make a trip to home of legend this system has 2 shipyard one offering close to all argon stations and ships and one offering the otas company ships which are overpowered argon ship versions e.g. the solano.
My X3 Mods

XRebirth, things left to patch:
In General; On Firing NPC's; In De Vries; Out Of Zone; And the Antiwishlist

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Post by Nanook » Mon, 5. Jun 17, 22:40

Snafu_X3 wrote:Enemy pilot morale visibility is only available in 'cheat mode' tho ...
It's not "cheat mode". :P It's called the Script Editor. And morale can be checked without incurring the 'dreaded' modified tag:

Save game,
Enable Script Editor,
Check morale levels,
Reload game. :)
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.

X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.

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Post by Snafu_X3 » Wed, 7. Jun 17, 01:14

Nanook wrote:It's not "cheat mode". :P It's called the Script Editor.
YKWIM :)
And morale can be checked without incurring the 'dreaded' modified tag:

Save game,
Enable Script Editor,
Check morale levels,
Reload game. :)
I'm well aware of this, but it's a PITA route to go thru if caught up in the game (+ extra load times for those playing on older systems &/or non-SSD laptops) :) I'm thinking specifically of those last 2 capture ship missions in the TC campaign..
Wiki X:R 1st Tit capping
Wiki X3:TC vanilla: Guide to generic missions, Guide to finding & capping Aran
Never played AP; all X3 advice is based on vanilla+bonus pack TC or before: AP has not changed much WRT general advice.

I know how to spell teladiuminumiumium, I just don't know when to stop!

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Post by Monkspeed » Wed, 7. Jun 17, 17:05

ubuntufreakdragon wrote:Be Aware the PBG (Plasma burst Generator) it kills M3 within seconds, a disco wont survive even one shot and these are AOE-Weapons(the Flamer)
you could think of a station, too.
or get yourself a good combatship.
Oh and make a trip to home of legend this system has 2 shipyard one offering close to all argon stations and ships and one offering the otas company ships which are overpowered argon ship versions e.g. the solano.
Funny coincidence, I was already in Home Of Legend trying to decide to buy a Solano or another trader or maybe both somehow, but I decided to do some exploring and travelled to Duke's Citadel where I bagged myself a free Advanced Perseus, nearly fully kitted out! Needs an extra 25mj shield for 100mj total! 209m/s top speed, slower than the Discoverer but a good speed for a fighter.

I'm gonna keep it and have transferred everything from my Discoverer over but can't bring myself to sell the discoverer, that ship has taken me everywhere! Good times together..

Gonna head over to Home Of Light and buy a Mercury Hauler and set up another auto-trader. My current guy is level 9 and I've ordered him to go 2 sectors out from profit share.

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Post by RAVEN.myst » Wed, 7. Jun 17, 17:49

Monkspeed wrote: ... can't bring myself to sell the discoverer, that ship has taken me everywhere! Good times together..
I always keep at least one M5 (fully fitted) handy for my own personal use throughout the game, no matter how far into it and how many stations, plexes, capital ships, etc. I may have - you never know when you might need the speed for some specific task. I very seldom end up having such need, but not quite *never*; furthermore, the paltry unsalted peanuts you get for selling one of those is not even enough to really make any difference to finances in any case. I wouldn't be surprised if your Disco sticks around for a very long time indeed :D

EDIT: Corrected MULTIPLE typos :P
Last edited by RAVEN.myst on Wed, 7. Jun 17, 20:05, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Nanook » Wed, 7. Jun 17, 19:33

Snafu_X3 wrote:... I'm thinking specifically of those last 2 capture ship missions in the TC campaign..
No need to check it there. You know those morales are going to be high. Knowing the exact number won't help. :wink:
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.

X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.

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Post by Snafu_X3 » Thu, 8. Jun 17, 02:40

Nanook wrote:
Snafu_X3 wrote:... I'm thinking specifically of those last 2 capture ship missions in the TC campaign..
No need to check it there. You know those morales are going to be high. Knowing the exact number won't help. :wink:
Hehe :)
Wiki X:R 1st Tit capping
Wiki X3:TC vanilla: Guide to generic missions, Guide to finding & capping Aran
Never played AP; all X3 advice is based on vanilla+bonus pack TC or before: AP has not changed much WRT general advice.

I know how to spell teladiuminumiumium, I just don't know when to stop!

Dom (Wiki Moderator) 8-) DxDiag

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Post by ubuntufreakdragon » Thu, 8. Jun 17, 15:36

Monkspeed wrote: Funny coincidence, I was already in Home Of Legend trying to decide to buy a Solano or another trader or maybe both somehow, but I decided to do some exploring and travelled to Duke's Citadel where I bagged myself a free Advanced Perseus, nearly fully kitted out! Needs an extra 25mj shield for 100mj total! 209m/s top speed, slower than the Discoverer but a good speed for a fighter.
Nice find :D I always buy one in AP(because it's buyable there, and finding free ships is way more dificult) sometimes after the Solano in TC it's unique so keep it.
You should still think about buying a TM a fighter pairs very well with a TM as you can use the docking computer to dock at the TM with low shields to refill them instantly (docked ships that no longer are the player ship get full shield on docking) so a TM with strong shields can be your fortress to hide in with you M3 and it can distract enemies with it's turrets while it shield allow it to ignore their fire.
And of cause a TM can jump much farer than a M3, and stock much more ammunition and missiles.
I would recommend the otas Zephyrus you can get in Home of Legend (once again) it might not be the best trader but it is a combat pig and totally fits this role.
For Trade you may want to think about a station at a save spot like Antigone Memorial combined with an CAG Trader.
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XRebirth, things left to patch:
In General; On Firing NPC's; In De Vries; Out Of Zone; And the Antiwishlist

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Post by RAVEN.myst » Thu, 8. Jun 17, 16:42

ubuntufreakdragon wrote: You should still think about buying a TM a fighter pairs very well with a TM as you can use the docking computer to dock at the TM with low shields to refill them instantly (docked ships that no longer are the player ship get full shield on docking) so a TM with strong shields can be your fortress to hide in with you M3 and it can distract enemies with it's turrets while it shield allow it to ignore their fire.
And of cause a TM can jump much farer than a M3, and stock much more ammunition and missiles.
I would recommend the otas Zephyrus you can get in Home of Legend (once again) it might not be the best trader but it is a combat pig and totally fits this role.
I also discovered, relatively recently, that even without a docking computer, "combat docking" at a TM is possible, by using the command console's "Request landing permission" command - docking guide lights appear, and the ship need only get close to the TM at a low enough speed to insta-dock - it's obviously not as good as a docking computer, but still doable when one hasn't gotten that particular convenience yet.

Also, I'd like to add my voice to ubuntu's in HIGHLY recommending a TM as a mobile base of operations, for all the reasons he mentions - and the OTAS Zephyrus is also among my favourite TMs, very combat-capable indeed, and one of the faster ones, too, so it's good for long-term exploration. :) While in combat, give it the "protect me" command (your fingers will learn that key sequence VERY quickly, heheh), and it will stay near you and cover you with its turrets, thus enhancing your presence. Later on, you can have a couple more fighters based there, if you like, and either have them as wingmen, or even direct them to fight for you while you cruise around in a battle in the TM itself (this I do VERY often - let THEM get their hands dirty, I say! hehehe)

Happy hunting!
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Post by Honved » Thu, 8. Jun 17, 17:38

As pointed out by 2 others, a TM makes a good mobile base of operations until you can afford a TL (which remains the hub of my escort fleet for the rest of the game). You can dock both your M3 and M5 in a TM, and still have room for 2 bailed ships waiting to be repaired and/or sold, and it will carry resupplies of missiles and other expendables, as well as doing trading along the way. Better yet, ships docked in a TM are not scanned for contraband, so you can carry Space Fuel and Space Weed in a fighter docked aboard the TM, and fly past those Sector Police with impunity.

Normally, I fly a M3 or M5, with the TM or TL following about half a sector behind, and any capital ships that I own and don't have on stationary duty following the TM or TL. Further behind than half a sector and I can't protect it or access it quickly; closer and it's likely to get involved in combats where I don't want it (like against an M6 or bigger). The basic Argon Magnetar isn't a bad choice, and I've used them in most of my Argon games, although the OTAS entry is (as with practically all of their stuff) technically "better".

The Discoverer is perfect for sending out to remotely collect salvage after a fight (this works MUCH better after you exit the sector, otherwise "collision" is enabled, and your Disco may fly in circles around the object to collect until it times out and disappears), or to do Asteroid scans and taxi runs, so I normally don't sell off my original M5. In fact, I normally accumulate 2-10 more M5s, and position them at various points around the explored universe so I can send them to quickly pick up occasional odd items that I need in a hurry, or replace destroyed Navigational Satellites, and so on.

I consider the Advanced Perseus to be the ideal personal ship for most of my Paranid games, and I normally fly that for most of the game even long after I've got an M7 or M1/M2. The Hyperion Vanguard may be the shinier toy for my Paranid pilot, but the Advanced Perseus sees far more frequent use.

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Post by Monkspeed » Thu, 8. Jun 17, 18:25

Yes, I'm loving my Advanced Perseus! I sneaked into pirate controlled space Veil Of Delusion & Gaian Star to claim a Blastclaw Prototype & Pirate Elite respectively, it was a nightmare trying to go undiscovered which I managed eventually after a few reloads, but I did get into a few scraps with 8+ pirates all at once and the Perseus was amazing, just took the punishment while I picked off quite a few pirates, they got me in the end though but I'm really impressed with my new ship.

I sold the two I claimed, plus my auto trader is working hard so now I'm on about 11 mil :D

I like the idea of a TM (OTAS Zephyrus) in a few key spots, but I'm still slowly learning the ropes. Right now I've got my sights set on a few more auto traders, but It's difficult to buy Trader mk3 and then get them where I need them, logistical nightmare! All part of the fun! I guess I will need to get some jump drives now and stop being stingy? :D

Also, I saw an M5 class ship with ~500 m/s speed, wow! I don't remember its name but I'm gonna get one!

I'm trying to find a PAC, I keep my eye open whenever I dock somewhere but haven't found it yet... I'm using 4 chainguns and 2 somethings (like a IRE but a bit more powerful?) and dragonfly missiles. Need some wasps!

:D

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Post by ubuntufreakdragon » Thu, 8. Jun 17, 19:53

build a PAC factory :roll:

a TM remains usefull even in lategame to deliver jumpengines as both TM and a docked ship can have one.

Military you should consider a M6 if getting about 16mil, it's far stronger than M3+TM and your first bigger combat ship, the Centaur is quite good for newbies (you can buy it and it has no real weakness) don't try to board you first M6 as newbie.

nah 600m/s is also easy to get.
The fastes 4 ships: Arrow (M5) 1,320.0m/s; Starburst 1,140.0m/s; Pirate Kestrel (M5) 635.3m/s; Teladi Kestrel (M5) 605.5m/s
Only Teladi Kestrel is buyable. Only Kestrels are available in TC.
Oh and there is a tiny exeption for only M5 being fast: Springblossom (M6) 600MJ Shield 360.0m/s 2,000 Cargo armed with 14Flaks!!! Price 5mil without equipment, but can only get one after finishing the first Terran Plot.
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Post by Honved » Fri, 9. Jun 17, 16:28

My favorite loadout for the Perseus is 6xPAC and a pair of PBGs ("Six-pack and a lighter"), or PBEs if I can't get the PBGs. The PAC is a general-purpose weapon with no drastic strengths or weaknesses, but is decent in practically every respect: medium speed and projectile size, medium damage and rate of fire, no significant difference between shield and hull damage ratings, moderately energy efficient, and fairly affordable. PBEs deliver near-instantaneous hits, ideal for taking out fast targets, but are very energy-hungry. PBGs are area effect weapons, deadly against almost anything at really short ranges.

Oddly enough, one good place to pick up PACs is back in the Argon Prime vicinity, since there's a weapons factory in Home of Light(?) just south of Herron's Nebula where the Humble Merchant start puts you. Remember when you couldn't buy IREs? There were PACs available that your Discoverer couldn't use. Now you've got a ship that uses PACs, and you're probably finding lots of IREs but no PACs. Ironic, or by design, I don't know.

Granted, there are in all probability several other good places to buy PACs a lot closer to where you are now, you just need to find them. PBGs are only sold by Pirates, or available as salvage from Pirates, Paranids, and some Argon ships.

As ubuntufreakdragon points out, building a PAC factory might actually be a good choice if there's a real shortage in the area where you're currently at, provided you can get the raw materials (ore), food, and energy in the immediate vicinity. Where there's an itch, you're there to scratch it.

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