Overtuning ships, repair laser and 2nd HQ in TC vanilla. Exploit howto with pictures)

[Hubert99]

Alright, it's true. But X3TC is a single player game. And the motivation behind playing is not to be better thahn the other guy, but to be better than your former self. And ofc cheats, or exploits rob you the challange. Most of X3TCs playerbase knows this, as I think it requires certain soul qualities to play this game. To use this exploit, it takes knowledge. Like how to set up and use CLS2, a bonus pack feature. Or to know that this will work it requires the ability to read and comprehend. These requirements pretty much reduce the numbers of cheaters.

And as I said, not all who know how to cheat, will cheat. IMO, a very small minority will use this to gain benefits than brag about it on the forums.

[glenmcd]

And as I said, not all who know how to cheat, will cheat. IMO, a very small minority will use this to gain benefits than brag about it on the forums.

While I agree with most of your points, I'm not sure about the one above. If someone is bragging, it's routinely objectionable, not something to get excited about but something to walk away from and ignore. Why then did the OP receive more reads in its first 2 days then pretty much any other non-sticky thread before it on this forum? If you don't want to know about something, why would you be so keen to read about it in preference to others?? I think that people like to know about exploits, and whomever is supplying the information is satisfying a demand, and often going to some trouble to do so. Such kind souls Seriously though, the exploit situation may actually be closely related to the hacking situation. Some people are paid very generously for their very professional attempts to hack into websites, especially banking sites. That has come of age, but exploits have not as yet. Perhaps game developers will one day come to realise the value in spending a few bucks to motivate very smart guys such as the OP, to share the exploits they find more directly and be rewarded both for their efforts and their discretion. This would only happen if the company has committed to fixing exploits before they become public.

[deca.death]

I play for fun and satisfaction. Cheating would actually take that away. So I don't cheat because it's "wrong" but because it's stupid. I would never use that kind of exploit. Having 180m/s centaur is fun and it won't break your game experience. If you feel urge to clone chips just go modified and get it done. It's ok, then.

And every kind of money exploit is just completely unnecessary with nvidium mining. I'was never really industrialist or trader type of player but I succeeded in maintaining my credit balance on fix half billion for months. Not that I buy capital ships anyway >: ) But this xenon gate blockade business has bleed me dry, although I boarded all Terran M2 blockade vessels I still need to clone 3-4 hundred terran capital weapons (PSP cost 1 million...) and had to buy around 100 fully upgraded M3 fighters (3-4 million each, until I made LT fab /most of those are destroyed by now btw)

My credit balance gone best remedy was to set up small nividium mining operation in savage spur. Nothing fancy or gamebreaking - 10 miners, one collector, one storage mammoth and one orca /fill and sell. Each of these babies sells for pure profit of 100 million. I fill one per day. I breathe much easier now, that's for certain : )

[Capt_Newbie]

To use this exploit, it takes knowledge. Like how to set up and use CLS2, a bonus pack feature. Or to know that this will work it requires the ability to read and comprehend. These requirements pretty much reduce the numbers of cheaters.

No poop. I was lost at

Spoiler

Show

'This ship should *not* be already maxed out.'

. Unless the OP meant not in every department...

[MarvinTheMartian]

and whomever is supplying the information is satisfying a demand, and often going to some trouble to do so

You seem to have gone in to quite some depth above to explain step-by-step how to turn this exploit in to one that makes several billion credits. I'm confused as to whether you count yourself among these people who supply the information and whether these people are the ones in the wrong or not?

At the end of the day, it is a single player game and the leader boards (and by association the "vanilla" label) don't really count for much, it's no different to someone who scripts the money in as far a I'm concerned. It doesn't affect me and my game. If I did it then I'd have about half an hour of fun and that would be the end of X3TC for me which is exactly why I won't. But I might use it to get more than two PALCs.

[Capt_Newbie]

I'd like to think I would responsible with this also, if I could manage to do it, and not just because it's complicated, or it might crash the game. As someone said elsewhere, when you've got kabillions of credits already (the old max on Re-union was 200 mil, wasn't it, 'cause I've got about C325m in the bank now?), it's perfectly feasable that you should be able to tweak your engines. Cloning commodities is different, but I make no excuses, the hub requirements are just insane and for that matter, doesn't transporter technology raise the possiblity of replicators (The Star Trek kind that makes you tea, Earl Grey, hot, not the Stargate:SG-1 kind that scuttle around spaceships and eat metal/people)?

[MarvinTheMartian]

doesn't transporter technology raise the possiblity of replicators?

Yes but they need resources, 75,000 microchips to be precise, in order to work

[Rhox]

But I might use it to get more than two PALCs.

I have thought about that pssibility too. However, I have one question:
Will it actually work?

EDIT: I now have tested whether it is possible to replicate these infamous weapons this way. Unfortunately, it isn't
The method seems to work with weapons that are not present in the cargobay of the trading ship. As no EQ has these canons in its standard arsenal or will keep them in there if one sells them, it will not be possible to replicate such items this way...

best regards,
Rhox

[kurush]

EDIT: I now have tested whether it is possible to replicate these infamous weapons this way. Unfortunately, it isn't

It is possible and this is how the whole thing actually got invented in the first place. Overtuning was just a second application of the same method. Instead of EQ dock you just need to use another ship with PALC being available either on that ship or the ship that is the target of your CLS2 pilot.
2 PALC in the entire game is the main reason for using this exploit.

[Capt_Newbie]

I tried this, but because all I could find was CLS1, it didn't work so well...

Where is CLS2 available?

Should be available at exactly the same stations as CLS1. Argon Equipment Docks, some Argon trading ports (Herrons Nebula being the best to choose).
Full name is Commodity Logistics Software Mk II.

I have to say I'm still not seeing it, and I looked in a lot of equipment docks and trading ports... maybe I'm behind an update or two again? Will check...

[Capt_Newbie]

Well, I need 3.1, apparently, but it says nothing about CLS2...

[kurush]

Well, I need 3.1, apparently, but it says nothing about CLS2...

CLS2 is available since 2.X if not earlier, but you definitely need the bonus pack

[Capt_Newbie]

Okies, I think that's installed. Time to try it out...

[glenmcd]

Okies, I think that's installed. Time to try it out...

Have a look in any Split EQd. The last two items should be turbo 1 and turbo 2. If you don't see these, then you don't have the bonus pack correctly installed.

[grimfear]

this is the best ever! Added a new lease of life to the game!
I have increased my osaka's speed to 108. It is not so frustrating fly this the big ships now.

100 seems to be the magic speed for me, no more bumper cars when trying to have a fleet, I have 3 aegir's following (again with the 100+ speed) and the game does not feel so slow.

I hope for the new X game capital ships speeds are a bit better.

[glenmcd]

Here's another way to use our new "toy". Using the same setup for doing overtunings, instead of buying overtunes, sell weapons that you don't actually have. You need to have at least one weapon in your cargobay (any type at all). If your cargobay is empty, simply buy something that is on the line above or below, the weapon that you want to "produce". Put the cursor on that line, press left enter, wait until CLS2 moves the menus up or down, press enter and voila you've just sold a PPC that you never owned. You get the credits, the notoriety and the EQd gets stocked. In other words, even if there is zero stock of a ware anywhere in the universe, you can create stock out of nothing, provided that there is an EQd somewhere that "would" stock it, if there was any.

[Hubert99]

I can see where are you going. This "knowledge" can really be gamebreaking if one finds about it before one learns how to play proper.

Guess it needs a 200+gamehour rating.

[Aro]

What have I done!?
4000m/s Akuma, the horror! The utter horror! And a 2000m/s Zephy. They must be undone... but.. but.. so useful even if totally absurd...


Yeah, don't use the cargo slot to upgrade speed.

[glenmcd]

I can see where are you going. This "knowledge" can really be gamebreaking if one finds about it before one learns how to play proper.

Guess it needs a 200+gamehour rating.

I was thinking the same thing but handn't considered using a Steam achievement to provide the "upgrade". If done right (pregressive, contained) things like a replicator would be fun. If it comes down to leaving the game through boredom or try out something new like this, it's a no brainer decision.

Here's another one I just thought of. I can't verify it at moment coz my game start is too young so maybe someone else with a more mature game can see if it works:

"Vanilla Repair Laser - at last!".
You'll need the xenon hub (which I don't have right now). You use the dock manager to add repair laser to the items "stocked". Whatever is just below the rapair laser line, get one of them into your cargobay. Get a CLS2 ship to add something into your cargobay, but only when you are already "trading" with your hub, have the cursor on the line below the repair laser line, and have pressed left arrow. When the CLS2 item adds something to your ship, the hub menu moves down, cursor goes onto repair laser and you press enter. You'll then have your first repair laser. Now xfer it into your cargobay and use the replicator as required

If it works for repair laser then it should work also for anything else that the dock manager supports. You could ostensibly start with a single ware, use it to create something else, then use that to create something else, until you've got your hub filled with every ware. Perhaps that fills in one of the more difficult steps in getting stocks of PALC's. Remember this is completely unverified so if you feel like it give it a go.

EDIT: how silly of me, you don't need the Xenon Hub. Player EQd should be fine.

[SIMON POPPLEWELL]

What have I done!?
4000m/s Akuma, the horror! The utter horror! And a 2000m/s Zephy. They must be undone... but.. but.. so useful even if totally absurd...


Yeah, don't use the cargo slot to upgrade speed.

I made that mistake with my first attempt, got a 3613.2 tuned Skiron. You have to remember to only increase the cargo by 10s of units rather than 100s units.