X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

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

Moderator: Moderators for English X Forum

Post Reply
User avatar
DanielCoffey67
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun, 11. Nov 18, 11:24
x4

X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by DanielCoffey67 » Wed, 14. Nov 18, 20:22

Please excuse the query but I have a New Player question about when to start the Main Plot from the Argon perspective.

As you know, you get the message to go to Omicron Lyrae fairly early but it is a large number of sectors away and close to some nasty Xenon controlled space. Is this a form of hint to leave that quest until you have something a little tougher than the starting Discovery or is it doable at that level of ship?

I took the Humble Merchant start and am currently in a Discovery Hauler with 3x 1MJ shields. I made my way over to Omicron Lyrae, upgrading components and so on as I went and now have everything apart from the Passenger Cargo Hold and Docking Computer. I am sitting on about 250K Cr. I started the very first Escort the Terran mission, followed them and then got taken out by a single Xenon missile off the very first Xenon encounter.

What is the general advice on having in your list of ships to succeed in those early missions?
Caselabs S8 : Intel i5-12600K / 64Gb DDR4 3600 / Asus 1080 Ti / Samsung 980PRO 1Tb / Dell U2715H 27" 2560x1440 / Corsair AX1200i / APC SMT1500I / Windows 11

Alan Phipps
Moderator (English)
Moderator (English)
Posts: 30368
Joined: Fri, 16. Apr 04, 19:21
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by Alan Phipps » Wed, 14. Nov 18, 21:25

You might find this dated but good guide useful. It is based on the TC Humble Merchant start. Only read as far as you need to avoid too many spoilers should that worry you.

One player did the first escort mission in the Mercury!
A dog has a master; a cat has domestic staff.

User avatar
DanielCoffey67
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun, 11. Nov 18, 11:24
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by DanielCoffey67 » Wed, 14. Nov 18, 21:35

I had spotted that guide thanks. Did phoenix-it ever do the second version of the guide he talked about in that thread?

He doesn't talk about what to fly when you start the main plot sadly but since I got whupped by a single missile I'll take the hint and save up for something that can mount better shields but still keep up with the Terran ship.
Caselabs S8 : Intel i5-12600K / 64Gb DDR4 3600 / Asus 1080 Ti / Samsung 980PRO 1Tb / Dell U2715H 27" 2560x1440 / Corsair AX1200i / APC SMT1500I / Windows 11

Alan Phipps
Moderator (English)
Moderator (English)
Posts: 30368
Joined: Fri, 16. Apr 04, 19:21
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by Alan Phipps » Wed, 14. Nov 18, 21:51

"Did phoenix-it ever do …" Sadly it appears not. (At least Google search of the Egosoft forums cannot find mention of it.)

There are many other plot and mission guides in the Resource and Guides Sticky with varying degrees of spoilers included, but I found it more satisfying to just work it all out for myself - that's just me though.
A dog has a master; a cat has domestic staff.

Fulgrymm
Posts: 637
Joined: Fri, 25. Jun 10, 05:12
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by Fulgrymm » Wed, 14. Nov 18, 22:00

I'd recommend saving up for a Nova Raider, since you're in Omicron Lyrae anyway.

ConorC
Posts: 127
Joined: Mon, 20. Aug 18, 11:07
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by ConorC » Thu, 15. Nov 18, 11:37

Daniel, the plots will wait for you, so no need to worry. I would suggest doing some trading, doing some easy missions, build up some cash and upgrade your ship. There are many good guides on this site and links to good guides on other sites available on this forum. If you have a ship with cargo life support, a jumpdrive and a docking computer, taxi missions can be VERY lucrative. Piracy can be a real money maker too, but there's more chance of "Oh God no" explodey death in the cold harsh environment of space.

There's a great, supportive community here, so feel free to ask any and all questions. And Welcome :)

ConorC
Posts: 127
Joined: Mon, 20. Aug 18, 11:07
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by ConorC » Thu, 15. Nov 18, 11:43

Oh, I forgot to mention, if you are already in Omicron Lyrae, the terran plot, which starts there, has fairly easy missions early on, which are fine to do in a Discovery. You get given some nice light terran fighters a couple of missions in, which is nice. Sell them immediately, they are crap, but they are worth money which is much more important. Look for somebody wanting you to escort some terran dignitaries, that's the first mission.

But after about 3 or 4 of these terran plot missions, you're gonna need a better ship.

User avatar
DanielCoffey67
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun, 11. Nov 18, 11:24
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by DanielCoffey67 » Thu, 15. Nov 18, 13:55

Cheers, folks - all good stuff.

I have managed to pick up a Cargo Life Support from a nearby Pirate base but don't have jump capability yet. I have gained extra cash from Asteroid Scans and have attempted two taxi missions but came across a minor niggle with those... just as you dock at the destination station, the station announcer overwrites what the NPC is saying so you don't actually know whether they have paid you or if you failed the timer until you go and check the message history.

I am certainly enjoying exploring without guides and had quite the adventure finding a safe route to Omicron Lyrae -the first attempt presented me with a known Xenon sector as a bottleneck so I went the long way round instead.
Caselabs S8 : Intel i5-12600K / 64Gb DDR4 3600 / Asus 1080 Ti / Samsung 980PRO 1Tb / Dell U2715H 27" 2560x1440 / Corsair AX1200i / APC SMT1500I / Windows 11

Honved
Posts: 1252
Joined: Sun, 20. Jun 10, 14:53
x3tc

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by Honved » Thu, 15. Nov 18, 16:53

A Mercury is "able" to do the initial missions, but anything without a rear turret is always going to be at risk of missile death on short notice. Docking briefly at a station in each sector to save the game is a good idea, especially since you DON'T want to have to repeat crossing all of those absurdly large Terran sectors again to get to the mission destination. I prefer to wait until I've got a better ship (the Discoverer you get with the Humble Trader start is good for a lot of things, but taking on waves of Xenon or Kha'ak isn't one of them), but that also means that you'll likely be facing a few more Xenon at your higher Fight rank.

Playing Argon, if you get your Fight rank a little higher (via easy station defense missions) and your Argon reputation up a rank or three, you may start getting offers on second-hand ships any time you enter a sector, including Argon Nova Raiders. Keep an eye out for ships hanging around near or behind the gate with a "$" sign on them, which usually indicates a ship for sale; others may sometimes be found docked at shipyards. Depending on the condition of the ship, they may ask anywhere from MORE than the cost of a new one (for a lightly damaged hull, and you very rarely get whatever's installed on the ship) all the way down to a percent or two of their market price (at barely over 50% hull condition). I've gotten M3 fighters for well under 100K credits, and M5s for barely over 1000 credits. 5-10 minutes with your spacesuit repair laser, and you've got a fully functional M3-class heavy fighter worth somewhere in the million range. Eventually, you'll develop your own playing style and can decide which race's M3 and which variant of it you prefer, but for now, the Argon Nova Raider gives you a solid combination of at least "good" stats at everything. Note that a PIRATE Nova Raider is a pale shadow of the official Argon model, and I sell any that I manage to accumulate through bailing. You may also get offers on used Mercury TS freighters, but those take a lot longer to repair due to their larger hulls. Still, in the early stages of the game, they may be worth the time spent in fixing them, or just use them "as is" until you can afford better.

Incidentally, you have two camera monitor views available, so putting two of your freighters in those windows allows you to track them and access them easily while you manually send them off to pick up and sell goods (if you've got the Trade Extension software package - readily available in Argon or Teladi space - on your own ship). Once I've got Trade Mk.3 software on the freighters, I can use the camera windows for other things, such as my reliable old Discoverer "gofer" (go 'fer this, go 'fer that), which I send to pick up abandoned missiles and other valuable items scattered around after combat.

RainerPrem
Posts: 3560
Joined: Wed, 18. Jan 06, 07:39
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by RainerPrem » Fri, 16. Nov 18, 10:12

Hi,

another good opportunity for beginners are the abandoned ships you can find in the universe. There are three M3s to get, two of them from easy locations, and two TPs, a quick one and a big one.

If you are interested look for the guide to abandoned ships.

In that case you can sell the weapons you'll get from the Terrans for good profitsss.

cu
Rainer

Triaxx2
Posts: 7229
Joined: Tue, 29. Dec 09, 02:15
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by Triaxx2 » Fri, 16. Nov 18, 14:04

Short answer: Fly whatever you're most comfortable in.

Long answer: Wait, build up a fleet of ships so you have a selection. The variety of missions in the various plots require a number of different ships, and can be performed in a variety of ships. Personally I did most of the terran plots in a Pirate Galleon, fast enough to cross the areas I needed, with fighter support to make fights not impossible. No matter how much urgency might be implied, starting the missions aren't ever time sensitive. Completing them might be, but that's as it should be.
A Pirate's Revenge Completed Now in PDF by _Zap_
APR Book 2: Best Served Cold Updated 8/5/2016

The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed

Dovie'andi se tovya sagain

radcapricorn
Moderator (English)
Moderator (English)
Posts: 3230
Joined: Mon, 14. Jul 08, 13:07
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by radcapricorn » Fri, 16. Nov 18, 14:53

DanielCoffey67 wrote:
Wed, 14. Nov 18, 20:22
...I started the very first Escort the Terran mission, followed them and then got taken out by a single Xenon missile off the very first Xenon encounter.
What is the general advice on having in your list of ships to succeed in those early missions?
Know thine tools ;)
With the Bonus Pack comes a Missile Defense Mosquito command (I think you need Fight Command Software for it). Carrying some Mosquitoes with you and having that command on will save you from all but close encounters with AoE missiles.

User avatar
DanielCoffey67
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun, 11. Nov 18, 11:24
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by DanielCoffey67 » Fri, 16. Nov 18, 15:26

Is the Bonus Pack included in the Steam version of X3:TC? I can see it as an extra free DLC on the store but wondered if I can tell if I already have it..
Caselabs S8 : Intel i5-12600K / 64Gb DDR4 3600 / Asus 1080 Ti / Samsung 980PRO 1Tb / Dell U2715H 27" 2560x1440 / Corsair AX1200i / APC SMT1500I / Windows 11

Alan Phipps
Moderator (English)
Moderator (English)
Posts: 30368
Joined: Fri, 16. Apr 04, 19:21
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by Alan Phipps » Fri, 16. Nov 18, 15:30

If you don't have this file at this location then probably not:
Drive:\Steam\steamapps\common\x3 terran conflict\Documents\X3TC_BP_EN.pdf (This is the Bonus Pack instructions)
A dog has a master; a cat has domestic staff.

User avatar
DanielCoffey67
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun, 11. Nov 18, 11:24
x4

Re: X3TC : Quick question about starting the Main Plot

Post by DanielCoffey67 » Fri, 16. Nov 18, 15:44

Thanks - I have added the Bonus Pack to my Steam Account from the store and it downloaded it immediately. I can see the PDF now.
Caselabs S8 : Intel i5-12600K / 64Gb DDR4 3600 / Asus 1080 Ti / Samsung 980PRO 1Tb / Dell U2715H 27" 2560x1440 / Corsair AX1200i / APC SMT1500I / Windows 11

Post Reply

Return to “X Trilogy Universe”