Wanton use of nukes and the path to galactic conquest!

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Sat, 13. Jun 09, 18:13

Hi, just got into this, and wondered if someone could post links to N-S's previous stories.

I tried his profile, but it will only list 'all posts by' and doesn't have the 'list all threads started by' option, so finding them if you have no idea where they are is a pain.

As an aside: N-S, you post way too much matey.

gsheriston · Post by **gsheriston** » Sat, 13. Jun 09, 18:19

Aragon Speed wrote:Hi, just got into this, and wondered if someone could post links to N-S's previous stories.

They're in >The Ultimate X resource and guides list< - just look for 'story guides' about 1/3 of the way down the page

Aragon Speed · Post by **Aragon Speed** » Sat, 13. Jun 09, 18:33

gsheriston wrote:
Aragon Speed wrote:Hi, just got into this, and wondered if someone could post links to N-S's previous stories.
They're in >The Ultimate X resource and guides list< - just look for 'story guides' about 1/3 of the way down the page

Thx. I didn't think of looking there. I did look in the creative writing list though.

Gold Dragon · Post by **Gold Dragon** » Sat, 13. Jun 09, 20:51

Apricotslice has Squiddy's Story mirrored, if you want the DL.

THere's a DL for the second one that is still active, too.

NUKLEAR-SLUG · Post by **NUKLEAR-SLUG** » Sat, 13. Jun 09, 21:53

Aragon Speed wrote:As an aside: N-S, you post way too much matey.

My apologies.

Prev chapter<->Next chapter
10 - Split

I think on the balance of things I'm going to try my luck trailing the Split. A Raptor/Tiger pair and associated fighters represents a sizeable amount of firepower so should give any Xenon the other side of the gate something to think about. In fact, with that amount of firepower kicking about, something is going down hard and that's opportunity for me. That said I've no plan to be anything less than ultra-cautious. For a start I've put a monitor on the Raptor, I plan to give it a couple minutes to resolve any immediate conflicts the other side of the gate before I attempt to head in. If it's still alive after a couple minutes I think it will be safe to assume there isn't a horde of capital ships waiting and then I can creep over myself. I'll be staying near the gate tho, ready to drop back across at the slightest sign of trouble.

Two minutes in and the Raptor still seems to be going strong so with that I make the crossing into Xenon space. It's remarkably quiet. I was expecting to emerge into a major war but from what I can see the sector is largely deserted. Admittedly with my minimal scanner range I'm unable to pick up any smaller fighters so there may be a cloud of them a little way off, but capital class-wise I can see nothing bigger than a Q way off near the other gate and possibly a P towards the centre of the sector. Oh, and the other Q near the north gate being double-teamed by the Raptor/Tiger..

http://dbbr17626.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/steve/10-1.jpg

.. Score! One capital ship down and the area is littered with salvageable goods, surely? Or perhaps.. one single, solitary, Aurora missile. Approx 2000cr worth, well that's disappointing. The Raptor is moving further into the sector, but following it would put me further from the gate than I care to stray so it appears this isn't going to turn out to be the cash cow I was hoping for.

In fact it's turned out I've wasted a lot of time for almost no gain, I'm now down to just a handful of minutes to resolve my ship situation before things get ugly. Heading back into Scale Plate Green and the Trading Station is offering another retrieval mission and for amoment I think I've sorted my problem.. but it's not to be. The time limit is too short, just 38 minutes, and the ship they want me to retrieve is currently located all the way over in Elysium of Light. I have just 12 minutes, I could never get there in time even if it was worth the effort to do so in the first place.

I need a plan but all I've got is the ship I'm sat in with its 41% Hull, no shields, no weapons and a top speed of 154m/s. Wish I had a Squash mine or five..

http://dbbr17626.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/steve/10-2.jpg

.. Wonder what Mak would do?

Assets
1x Octopus Vanguard 'Goldfish'

Time: 05:58:12
Credits: 46,211

JoeVN09 · Post by **JoeVN09** » Sat, 13. Jun 09, 22:12

You might have to relinquish control of your ship and start spacesuit drifting again until you find another retrieve mission. if you have a decent time limit like you did on the octo, and more favourable trade/salvage opportunities come up, you'll have enough to buy an M5 from PTNIHQ -- which, if I'm correct, you are allowed to do under your current rules?

Olterin · Post by **Olterin** » Sat, 13. Jun 09, 23:05

Mak would probably try leading the (soon to chase him) police ships through that Xenon sector and attempt to make them engage the Xenon capitals... but hey, I'm not suggesting anything here

As for Goldfish... well, as they say, so long and thanks for all the fish

Good luck finding better opportunities.

kurush · Post by **kurush** » Sun, 14. Jun 09, 00:27

Mak would probably try leading the (soon to chase him) police ships through that Xenon sector and attempt to make them engage the Xenon capitals... but hey, I'm not suggesting anything here Rolling Eyes

That was my suggestion from the very start. At least he now has cash to buy some speed upgrades and also to fix its hull a bit. Octopus Vanguard can do 470, if maxed out. Now, how far 46+k of credits would get him is another question. I have to reboot to do the in-game math...
It is also interesting what type of police ships would this game throw at him...

MasterChief096 · Post by **MasterChief096** » Sun, 14. Jun 09, 07:29

Very interested in this story but I'm fairly new to these forums. What exactly does "DiD" stand for... and is NS actually telling us the story as per what happens in the actual game he is playing? So did he actually start out space suit drifting?

Or is this purely fiction being written to be read?

silenced · Post by **silenced** » Sun, 14. Jun 09, 07:41

DiD = Dead is DEAD, means: If you die = Game Over, no reload, RESTART! =), and the story is about actual gameplay.

pjknibbs · Post by **pjknibbs** » Sun, 14. Jun 09, 08:13

silenced wrote:DiD = Dead is DEAD, means: If you die = Game Over, no reload, RESTART! =), and the story is about actual gameplay.

Well, there is SOME tweaking--for instance, you can't really cut holes in stations to get oxygen for your space suit, that part was entirely fictional. Mostly, though, it's Nuklear-Slug's actual game.

Black Gryphon · Post by **Black Gryphon** » Sun, 14. Jun 09, 22:13

Following the split battle group would let Steve keep the ship without firing a shot... assuming the police show up before all the Xenon are toast

Edit: Well, drat I am a dollar short and a day late...

Kapakio · Post by **Kapakio** » Mon, 15. Jun 09, 11:17

kurush wrote:
Mak would probably try leading the (soon to chase him) police ships through that Xenon sector and attempt to make them engage the Xenon capitals... but hey, I'm not suggesting anything here Rolling Eyes
That was my suggestion from the very start. At least he now has cash to buy some speed upgrades and also to fix its hull a bit. Octopus Vanguard can do 470, if maxed out. Now, how far 46+k of credits would get him is another question. I have to reboot to do the in-game math...
It is also interesting what type of police ships would this game throw at him...

Well, that would be exactly the problem. At his fight rank, 2 or 3 fast M5 would spawn, making it very difficult to escape in a crippled octopus. And I don't think he has enough money to fix it good enough to have a chance to escape.

NUKLEAR-SLUG · Post by **NUKLEAR-SLUG** » Mon, 15. Jun 09, 16:04

Prev chapter<->Next chapter
11 - Squash

A thought occurs, I've got a Squash Mine, in fact I've got a whole sector of them. Well, not exactly Squash Mines as such, more a whole bunch of micro-asteroids, but they can be just as effective if you hit them hard enough, just ask the previous owner of that crate of computer components! It's a plan, a particularly rubbish plan, but with noone to call on to come to my aid it's about the only plan I've got available. Just under 12 minutes then to locate a suitable place to set up a trap.

A little under 3 minutes to go and I think I've found about the best place I can, a small cluster of asteroid debris down towards the south of the sector. In the dying seconds I set myself up for the waiting game and as my alotted time expires I get a message ping, it's the owner of the ship, he's most displeased. Apparently he's reported the missing ship to the authorities and I can expect someone to come investigating shortly.

The thing about stolen ships is that compared to many of the other illicit dealings that go on throughout the universe, piracy, slave-trading, drug dealing.. well a stolen M5 is pretty small fry. You don't find the best of the best in law enforcement being sent out on routine missions like this when there's pirate fleets rampaging around the universe, and Xenon and Khaak cropping up all over the place. In fact generally the people they send are one step up the food chain from docking control traffic wardens.

I'm counting on this actually, and when the Argon police Discoverer suddenly appears on my gravidar he doesn't disappoint. He's far too interested in making a name for himself capturing a 'hardened criminal' and to find his quarry parked up in space is almost too good to be true. It is too good to be true. Combat tunnel-vision can be fatal to the best and this guy doesn't rank up there sadly. Screaming in, guns blazing, his first pass reduces the rock I'm behind to rubble, I barely avoid the stream of IRE fire. His second pass proves fatal tho, he hasn't appreciated the danger of the situation and with IRE lancing around my Octopus there's a loud bang and the fire tracking towards me is abruptly cut off. My pursuer is gone, the only indicator he was ever there, a Firelance missile left drifting amongst the rubble..

I think I'm in the clear, at least for the time being anyway, so I need to capitalise on that and do it quick. Heading up to PTNI Headquarters I land at the Equipment dock and get myself a Mineral Scanner, Duplex and pile the last few credits I have into some speed upgrades. It's a lot of cash to spend in one go, but I think long-term it will benefit me overall, just need to find a few prospector missions now. Back down thru Scale Plate Green and heading eastwards there's a couple I could do, but I've seen them going for easily 1000cr+ per asteroid and I've decided I'm not going to accept less than that. Eventually I find one in Treasure Chest..

http://dbbr17626.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/steve/11-1.gif

.. Now that's what I'm talking about. I'm expecting 15,800cr for my trouble, which itself is a nice figure for what amounts to a minimally dangerous mission, but it seems my employer is particularly impressed with my findings so I get a bit of a bonus..

http://dbbr17626.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/steve/11-2.gif

.. and that pretty much pays off half my Mineral Scanner! It'll also get me a few more upgrades for the Octopus.

A while later, much trekking around, and I find myself back in PTNI Headquarters. I'm here for a Trading System Extension upgrade as the Omicron Lyrae dock won't let me have one, something about a paperwork problem with my Octopus? Anyways I know the Teladi are considerably less discerning so long as credits are forthcoming. Heading toward the Equipment dock there tho and I'm persuing the local comms traffic when something catches my eye..

http://dbbr17626.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/steve/11-3.gif

.. And there's me with barely a wallet-full of spaceflies..

Assets
1x Octopus Vanguard 'Goldfish'

Time: 07:19:11
Credits: 9,259

Seleucius · Post by **Seleucius** » Mon, 15. Jun 09, 16:24

Goldfish's hull on 41% (~20k?), mineral scanner (18.5k), duplex (2k) with some credits dumped down the engine intake... My vote goes to 'just short.'

Kapakio · Post by **Kapakio** » Mon, 15. Jun 09, 17:14

Nice work!. I've seen your characters doing some asteroid hiding before, but this was pretty bold. Counting on the AI to crash was risky, unless you had already seen that behavior.

I suspect you had

Tenlar Scarflame · Post by **Tenlar Scarflame** » Mon, 15. Jun 09, 17:41

Proving that the "Waaagh!" approach doesn't work when there's only one of you.

Evildudeness · Post by **Evildudeness** » Mon, 15. Jun 09, 18:27

NUKLEAR-SLUG wrote:

My pursuer is gone, the only indicator he was ever there, a Firelance missile left drifting amongst the rubble..

Is there a name for this tactic? Like Rozzer Wrecking or Police Pancaking or Cop Crunching?

Lanky · Post by **Lanky** » Mon, 15. Jun 09, 18:34

Evildudeness wrote:Rozzer Wrecking

Hartzaden · Post by **Hartzaden** » Mon, 15. Jun 09, 19:47

Disco: i got him! i got him! im going to kill leo! SPLAT.
Leo: ha. fail.

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

Wanton use of nukes and the path to galactic conquest!