X3TC: A How-to for capping the #deca in Vanilla TC without cheating

Catra · Post by **Catra** » Sun, 18. Jul 10, 23:34

1) probably.
2) no. you cant backtrack patches like that, you can only go from 2.6 --> 2.7.

KLF07 · Post by **KLF07** » Mon, 19. Jul 10, 10:29

1) NO. Confirmed

PQTaggart · Post by **PQTaggart** » Mon, 19. Jul 10, 15:55

Thanks for confirming 1). I already had thoughts about starting all over again with only patch 2.6 installed. After reading that a #deca without the invulnerability flag set, is not able to withstand 1 or 2 Xenon Q's I was questioning my intention (or better: my sanity) to fully equip such a tin can wih gamma kyons and blast all the xenons outa tha way - be it IS or OOS.

Raider480 · Post by **Raider480** » Tue, 14. Sep 10, 19:35

Alright I'm prepped to capture this thing - started over again to do it even...

I've heard some rumors that taking #Deca breaks the New Home Plot. I haven't finished any plots yet; I'm half-way through the hub, on first mission of FF, and all I need to do in the Terran is talk to the Tyr so I can jump to Aldrin.
Does anyone know if this breaks the New Home plot, or any of the others (like the Aldrin one?) I'd like to be able to finish all the plots, but I'd really like to get all the ships. Steam 2.7.1 Vanilla + BP 4.1.01, btw.

crendesmus · Post by **crendesmus** » Wed, 15. Sep 10, 07:10

I dont see why it would. You deal with 2 other terraformer M1s in that plot.

palm911 · Post by **palm911** » Wed, 15. Sep 10, 19:28

it does not break the ANH plot,

tested twice.

Burfee · Post by **Burfee** » Fri, 24. Sep 10, 11:01

is there any way to cap the #deca after completing the terran plot?

i don't know for sure in what patch i completed that mission, but the #deca flying arount in Aldrin seems pretty invincible. I have 2.7.1 installed now.

P.S.: if not possible to cap it, is the #deca worth restarting the game for?

StarTroll · Post by **StarTroll** » Fri, 24. Sep 10, 13:06

Burfee wrote:is there any way to cap the #deca after completing the terran plot?

i don't know for sure in what patch i completed that mission, but the #deca flying arount in Aldrin seems pretty invincible. I have 2.7.1 installed now.

P.S.: if not possible to cap it, is the #deca worth restarting the game for?

It can only be boarded during the last Terran plot mission, no other time.
As for it's wroth, it is up to you, it is more like a trophy ship than a really usefull M1.

Eddis · Post by **Eddis** » Tue, 5. Oct 10, 07:24

Burfee wrote:is there any way to cap the #deca after completing the terran plot?

i don't know for sure in what patch i completed that mission, but the #deca flying arount in Aldrin seems pretty invincible. I have 2.7.1 installed now.

P.S.: if not possible to cap it, is the #deca worth restarting the game for?

I'd say yes... only due to the coolness factor of it if your IS. Who wouldnt want a flying beercan that shoots lazers?

Aside from this, if you have enough time on your hands to get full Gamma Kyons, the Deca will be incredibly powerful both IS and OOS. Mine doesnt have all Gammas yet, but it is definitely fully loaded out and eats Q's for breakfast OOS.

StarTroll · Post by **StarTroll** » Tue, 5. Oct 10, 13:34

Eddis wrote:
Burfee wrote:is there any way to cap the #deca after completing the terran plot?

i don't know for sure in what patch i completed that mission, but the #deca flying arount in Aldrin seems pretty invincible. I have 2.7.1 installed now.

P.S.: if not possible to cap it, is the #deca worth restarting the game for?
I'd say yes... only due to the coolness factor of it if your IS. Who wouldnt want a flying beercan that shoots lazers?

Aside from this, if you have enough time on your hands to get full Gamma Kyons, the Deca will be incredibly powerful both IS and OOS. Mine doesnt have all Gammas yet, but it is definitely fully loaded out and eats Q's for breakfast OOS.

I'd say IS the ship woudln't even shoot, when you know it's weapon generator values.

Eddis · Post by **Eddis** » Sun, 10. Oct 10, 20:31

Can someone confirm capping of #DECA in version 3.0 please?

yann_leei · Post by **yann_leei** » Mon, 11. Oct 10, 02:45

my deca gets killed by Q's. sure, 1v1 it wins every time, but it's too big a target to dodge the Qs ibl's & ppc's. my boreas, for example, i could take on 4 Q's simultaneously and come out with >50% shield

Eddis · Post by **Eddis** » Mon, 11. Oct 10, 05:22

yann_leei wrote:my deca gets killed by Q's. sure, 1v1 it wins every time, but it's too big a target to dodge the Qs ibl's & ppc's. my boreas, for example, i could take on 4 Q's simultaneously and come out with >50% shield

Well, remember you are comparing a M1 and M2... and the fact the Boreas is probably the most efficient Q killer in the game (when not using missiles anyways).

For a carrier, the #Deca with a few Gammas in each direction supplemented by all Betas in remaining slots works quite well. Finding Gammas is a major timesink (more than the HUB by far), but from what i've seen of the progression as better weapons drop its definitely worth it. I'm not saying we should be actually using the #deca for combat tho, since it is a uni.

I'm curious as to if it's re-able now that its lost its godmode status...

msuker · Post by **msuker** » Mon, 18. Oct 10, 09:43

Eddis wrote:Can someone confirm capping of #DECA in version 3.0 please?

Confirmed capture in 3.0. No difference that I can notice.

In terms of training, I did it with the minimum and it was not so difficult at all. I had 5 high-level marines who normally reside in my player M6 for spacewalking. But other than that all the other 35 marines involved had never seen combat.

I shopped around Military Outposts for those 35. Picked those with high fighting or individual skiils. Then I separated them into 20 meatbags and 15 "real" team by their fighting skills. All 20 in the sacrifice team had no higher than 45 fighting. The highest in the other team was 81, yes you can buy that from a station.

Only some of the fodders were given minimum training. Engineering was completely ignored. Five with the highest mechanical skills trained advanced mechanics once, ending with one 5-star and 3 4-star and 1 3-star. Their fighting skills were abhorrent, one with a beautiful "1", since you can't have 0 I guess. Five with the highest hacking skills trained in advanced hacking once, resulting in 1 5-star, 2 4-star and 2 3-star.

The real team of 15 marines received random normal training just to kill the time waiting for those 10 in the team above to finish theirs, since I will use them after the capture anyway. So in the end, a core team of 5 good marines, some reasonable shopping rounds, one advanced training course and #deca is within reach.

The boarding by this completely incompetent fodder team can go very wrong. Definitely scan #deca (illegal even if it is an enemy!) to make sure the absence of devices and too many marine or too many high fighting skill marines. I settled for a deca with 13 marines and only 3 with 4-star or higher in fighting. First attempt the meatbags were eliminated at deck 3. I reloaded they reached deck 5. Reload again deck 5. Then 4, then success but I was not prepared for that so reload nevertheless. I found that the first round of casualty was crucial. Anytime when the first salvo from both sides leave me with 17 or more alive, I will reach deck 5 or core.

The only thing worth mention is you need at least someone with a 4-star hacking to survive to the end. One 4-star was probably enough but I had a 3-star with him so I can't be sure. Overall the boarding does not feel like a terran ship, it's more like a commonwealth ship. Maybe that is because it was meant to be do-able.

Then it was just about getting the window of opportunity right. Nothing a few reload can't accomodate.

So thanks for the strategy. It still works under 3.0 and it is not too time consuming to prepare nor too difficult to pull off, in case anyone is contemplating a go.

Stephen_Garlick · Post by **Stephen_Garlick** » Tue, 19. Oct 10, 04:53

Hay all! -THEY BETTER NOT MAKE THIS SHIP REVERSE ENGINEERABLE ***IN FUTURE PATCHES*** -I forgot to cap this one when I had the chance!

So to make it R.E would be unfair to all the players who have completed the Terran plot without cap'in it

(Anyway who needs an underpowered Beercan of a M2!!)

msuker · Post by **msuker** » Tue, 19. Oct 10, 12:53

Stephen_Garlick wrote: Hay all! -THEY BETTER NOT MAKE THIS SHIP REVERSE ENGINEERABLE ***IN FUTURE PATCHES*** -I forgot to cap this one when I had the chance! So to make it R.E would be unfair to all the players who have completed the Terran plot without cap'in it
(Anyway who needs an underpowered Beercan of a M2!!)

You mean a M1 with 12GJ shield, 900,000 hull, 50 hangar spaces, that cost only 11million to fully repair, possibly 15 million to build?

Stephen_Garlick · Post by **Stephen_Garlick** » Tue, 19. Oct 10, 13:29

Dam you! -If only I could go back and get one!

kilrathy · Post by **kilrathy** » Tue, 19. Oct 10, 13:37

Stephen_Garlick wrote: Dam you! -If only I could go back and get one!

Use the script "PlotReset"

BeardyDan · Post by **BeardyDan** » Wed, 20. Oct 10, 17:49

Thanks! Got mine now.

Here is a pic of it docked to my Aran:

[ external image ]

I docked them OOS, Looking at this I am pretty sure they would colide un/docking IS.

If anyone needs me ill be in 926, only 31 GKE to go.

jwigeland · Post by **jwigeland** » Wed, 20. Oct 10, 18:15

I found the GKE drain the ships energy too fast if you're not flying it. Not that this is any easier, but you may want to use BKE for missile defense and spam missiles from the ship for the main power.

Also, the #deca cefa are pretty carn scary as they can load 8x PM/AM-L and enough ammo for 30 seconds of continuous fire. I never had the chance to let loose all 50 of these but OMG...

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X3TC: A How-to for capping the #deca in Vanilla TC without cheating