[TC] O B S

[Deadbeat_Spinn]

I find this out after I've sent in my submissions.....sigh. Well keep me informed and I'll do the changes and resend the Corp submission.

[Carlo the Curious]

2.7 changes

• Player ship & fleet no longer matters
• Some changes to class points values
• M8s and M7s can be selected

Total points

• MR - mission rank (usually player.fightrank.rank)
• IP - Initial points pool (value for MR from 'Initial points pool' list below)
• RN - Random factor:
  • Trivial = random(5,12)
  • Very Easy = random(15,22)
  • Easy = random(25,42)
  • Average = random(45,52)
  • Hard = random(55,62)
  • Very Hard = random(65,72)
  • Impossible = random(75,82)
  • unused? = random(85,100)
  • default = random(45,55)

Total points = ( (IP+1) * RN ) / 100 (min 1)


Initial points pool

• 0 - 2
• 1 - 2
• 2 - 3
• 3 - 3
• 4 - 4
• 5 - 6
• 6 - 7
• 7 - 10
• 8 - 13
• 9 - 17
• 10 - 22
• 11 - 29
• 12 - 38
• 13 - 49
• 14 - 64
• 15 - 84
• 16 - 109
• 17 - 143
• 18 - 186
• 19 - 243
• 20 - 318
• 21 - 416
• 22 - 544
• 23 - 711
• 24 - 930
• 25 - 1216
• 26 - 1589
• 27 - 2078
• 28 - 2718
• 29 - 3554
• 30 - 4647

Class points values

• M5 - 1
• M4 - 7
• M3 - 20
• M8 - 40
• M6 - 100
• M7 - 220
• M2 - 760
• M1 - 650
• M1 (support) - 300
• TS - 4
• TP - 3
• TM - 5
• TM (support) - 20
• TL - 125
• TL (support) - 75

Ship select

• Pool > M1 cost + M1 support cost:
  • M1 + support ships: chance 66
  • M2: chance 34
• > M2 cost
  • M2: chance 66
  • M7: chance 34
• > M7 cost
  • M7: chance 66
  • M6: chance 34
• > M6 cost
  • M6: chance 66
  • M8: chance 34
• > M8 cost
  • M8: chance 66
  • M3: chance 34
• > M3 cost
  • M3: chance 66
  • M4: chance 34
• > M4 cost
  • M4: chance 66
  • M5: chance 34
• otherwise
  • M5

Support ships select

• Pool > M3 cost
  • M3: chance 66
  • M4: chance 34
• > M4 cost
  • M4: chance 66
  • M5: chance 34
• otherwise
  • M5

M8/M7M Missiles

• M8
  • Tomahawk/Phantom: min 10+fightrank.rank, max 10+(2xfightrank.rank) missiles
• M7M
  • Flail/Ghoul: min 20+(2xfightrank.rank), max 20+(3xfightrank.rank) missiles
  • Hammer/Shadow: min 20+(2xfightrank.rank), max 20+(3xfightrank.rank) missiles

Although, I'm not sure SRST will actually return an M7M (rather than an M7) since 'Include M7M' is not set in the call. And I haven't played lately to check .

[Flozem]

Have done a couple of Xenon defense missions and Station defense missions ranging from easy to very hard. I have yet to see an M7M spawn.

Largest fleet spawned on hard / very hard consists of 1 or two M1 / M2's... Defense missions have become a serious cakewalk. I'd rather have seen the rewards for killing ships being dropped than the number of enemies as my fleet is rapidly becoming useless.

[Honved]

It certainly appears that the points pool is updated between waves during Patrol missions.

Using an M4 Buster (7 points), on every "Easy" Patrol mission I kept encountering small groups of 1-3 M5 class ships. After an M5 pilot bailed on one mission (and I claimed the ship and sent it to a nearby dock for safety until I could take the time to repair it), two of my UTs in TS ships jumped into the sector. The next wave of ships appeared, consisting of an M4 and a generous helping of M5s. Obviously, for the mission difficulty to change in mid-mission, the OBS took my freighters into account (Buster = 7, 2XTS = 8, and captured but unarmed M5 = 1), and increased the pool size for the next group, although still reduced because of the "Easy" mission difficulty.

Unfortunately, one TS is not a very good match for 4 well-armed M5 class ships, in my limited experience. One, yes; two, depends on missle loads; three plus, forget it. Capping a ship in the sector can also increase any later opponent spawns in that sector. I'm going to have to think twice and check the nearby sectors for any of my traders before taking another Patrol mission, as well as getting any capped ships OOS ASAP.

[Carlo the Curious]

Obviously, for the mission difficulty to change in mid-mission, the OBS took my freighters into account (Buster = 7, 2XTS = 8, and captured but unarmed M5 = 1), and increased the pool size for the next group, although still reduced because of the "Easy" mission difficulty.

Game version? As far as I know, from 2.7 onwards the player fleet is irrelevant. Remember that there's a random factor as well.

[Gruber1232002]

Game version? As far as I know, from 2.7 onwards the player fleet is irrelevant. Remember that there's a random factor as well.

So... to clarify, I can have 10 pythons sitting around IS when I take a V. Hard patrol mission, but if I'm sitting in an M5 when I do it I'm going to get cheesy enemies?

[pjknibbs]

Game version? As far as I know, from 2.7 onwards the player fleet is irrelevant. Remember that there's a random factor as well.

So... to clarify, I can have 10 pythons sitting around IS when I take a V. Hard patrol mission, but if I'm sitting in an M5 when I do it I'm going to get cheesy enemies?

Er, no, he said exactly the opposite--player fleet no longer affects the opposition you face, so whether your assets in sector consist of a lone M5 or 373 M2s, you'll have the same enemies to fight (assuming the random number comes up the same both times).

[Honved]

Those experiences were in a 2.7 game. Either the random factor just picked that moment to go to the high end, or else my "Graduate" combat rating and "Easy" missions just kept spawning 1-3 M5 ships until that moment, then decided to make things livelier.

If player fleet is irrelevant, then why did I keep facing combinations of M4, and M5 ships when I was flying an M3 in my last run through the game, with a lower combat rating than in the present one, yet keep facing almost nothing but a couple of M5s in the current game while piloting a Buster?

[StarTroll]

Those experiences were in a 2.7 game. Either the random factor just picked that moment to go to the high end, or else my "Graduate" combat rating and "Easy" missions just kept spawning 1-3 M5 ships until that moment, then decided to make things livelier.

If player fleet is irrelevant, then why did I keep facing combinations of M4, and M5 ships when I was flying an M3 in my last run through the game, with a lower combat rating than in the present one, yet keep facing almost nothing but a couple of M5s in the current game while piloting a Buster?

Player fleet means, other ships you own than the one you pilot yourself.

[Gruber1232002]

Game version? As far as I know, from 2.7 onwards the player fleet is irrelevant. Remember that there's a random factor as well.

So... to clarify, I can have 10 pythons sitting around IS when I take a V. Hard patrol mission, but if I'm sitting in an M5 when I do it I'm going to get cheesy enemies?

Er, no, he said exactly the opposite--player fleet no longer affects the opposition you face, so whether your assets in sector consist of a lone M5 or 373 M2s, you'll have the same enemies to fight (assuming the random number comes up the same both times).

My bad, what I meant by cheesy enemies was a couple of M4/5's. I take a sector patrol when I'm looking for a serious fight. I want white knuckles and sweat dripping off my joystick, otherwise I can't be bothered to spend that kind of time for a couple of million. So I'll try to be more clear.

The #/strength etc. of bad guys will now only be affected by my personal ship, rank and mission difficulty right?

Essentially nerfing the crap out of my habit of filling a sector with M2's before starting a fight.

If I have understood this correctly... gentlemen, (+ladies) I may have done my very last sector patrol.

[Carlo the Curious]

As far as I can tell the player ship isn't counted either.

[StarTroll]

so in the end only the Fight rank and mission difficulty counts ? I hope there is still some challenge on higher fight ranks.

[Carlo the Curious]

Seems so.

A very small test:

• Fight rank: Harmless
  Mission difficulty: Very Hard (station defence)
  (= pool of 1-2 points, regardless of ships)
  
  Player ships: 1xM3
  Spawns: 1xM5
  
  Player ships: 1xM2, 10xM2 IS
  Spawns: 2xM5

With the old OBS the first case would be at least 23 points (M3/multiple M4s + M5s), and the second would be at least 2100 or so (multiple capships).

[Palladin888]

I've done a number of very hard missions in my Vidar and they never seem all that hard to be honest. If it gets bad I just jump out after I have killed the person marked for death in combat missions.

[StarTroll]

Did the same pre 2.7 in my Heavy Hydra and always rush and ram the target (assasination missions) then proceed to kill all remaining ships, jump to the nearest gate if it becomes too dangerous. It was nice since for the current level it gave me some opposition and some work to do

[nap_rz]

how about in 3.0? is there any way to make player ships matters again? but perhaps toned down a bit?

[Carlo the Curious]

how about in 3.0? is there any way to make player ships matters again? but perhaps toned down a bit?

From a very brief look it appears to be the same as 2.7.

[Jawms]

Sorry for the resurrection of this thread.. but i had a bit of a head scratching moment shortly after reading the contents of the first post..

I took a "Very Easy" station protect mission from a station around OTAS HQ, and launched my fighters to handle the small swarm of M5's coming through the gate, although to my surprise, a Pirate Carrak then pushes in and i have to take it out with my panther..
How is that "Very Easy" ?

Heres a print screen..
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e261/ ... n00027.jpg
My fight rank was "Warlord" and i accepted the mission in a Kestrel, while my Panther was still at the Jumpgate.. over 15km away..
(Was lucky to get the screenshot with the carrak in it.. was at 1% hull

EDIT: Just went back and read the updated information.. guess this isn't as odd as i thought.. disregard this post

[seePyou]

Starting to wondering about mission types I ended up here and what a great post!

But I needed something a bit more, so I made this excel file.

It is an Excel 2007 file, should work with the latest OpenOffice too. There are no macros in and you only need to change one cell to your own numeric rank which is also provided in the xls (far left).

I have also provided an Excel 97-2003 file, but the conversion reported that some visual queues I have placed (conditional formatting) will be lost - makes data easier to read but no lost functionality - and that the accuracy might also be affected (different usage of the rand functions most likely).

Hope it proves useful.

Edit: For those that might not about it, click on an empty cell inside the workbook and just press Delete, and then again, and again, and again... Random functions in Excel refresh whenever you do that, so you can keep pressing to view different "scenarios".

[NOO3TASTIC]

Sorry for the resurrection of this thread.. but i had a bit of a head scratching moment shortly after reading the contents of the first post..

I took a "Very Easy" station protect mission from a station around OTAS HQ, and launched my fighters to handle the small swarm of M5's coming through the gate, although to my surprise, a Pirate Carrak then pushes in and i have to take it out with my panther..
How is that "Very Easy" ?

Heres a print screen..
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e261/ ... n00027.jpg
My fight rank was "Warlord" and i accepted the mission in a Kestrel, while my Panther was still at the Jumpgate.. over 15km away..
(Was lucky to get the screenshot with the carrak in it.. was at 1% hull

EDIT: Just went back and read the updated information.. guess this isn't as odd as i thought.. disregard this post

Was your Kestrel upgraded i.e Did it have ship equipment installed and shields/weapons in it. I am at fighter chief 88% in my current game and mainly doing corporations stuff before I start main plots. Defend stations when I take in an M5 have been constantly spawning 1 M8 and couple of M5 and one or two M3/M4 mix per defend station mission with average difficulty because corporations missions are usually average.

I tried a bit of experiment and took the defend station mission from Strong Arms HQ in a stripped down M5 (Funjin Raider) without shields and weapons and only Trading System Extension, Boost Extension and SETA installed. Mission spawned 4-5 M5-M3 ships and no M8. M8 along with few fighter ships was spawned when I took the mission in Fujin Raider with usual set of ship equipments and two 1MJ shields and 1 Impulse Ray Emitter. I got the same oponnents when took the mission in fully upgraded Kestrel with all ship equipment except Turbo Booster MK2 and Spacefly Collector and 15MJ shield 2PAC and 1 IRE in rear turret.

IMO a very easy mission at warlord ranking could pit you against an M7 even if you accept the mission in an M5. Try taking the mission in M5 with no weapons or shields and possibly a bit of hull damage. It might spawn M6 or M8 and no M7/M2/M1.

BTW game version is 3.1 with latest Bonus Pack installed. No mods/scripts.

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P.S Sorry for thread resurrection.