Privateer beatable with Galaxy?

wcmaniak

Spaceman
I tried using the Galaxy in Privateer and I got some bad results. First mission already blown to bits. I meet like 2 Retros and they pulverize me within 30 seconds. The ship is huge!! So is it even possible to play the game with the Galaxy?
 
It's all in how you equip the hog. And, of course, whether or not you can fly worth a flip. Might I suggest go heavy on the missiles & launchers, ALWAYS get afterburners, and USE them. That should keep you alive long enough to save enough ducs to keep upgrading it. Also be careful in your mission selection. Avoid defend base missions, and multiple scout missions on the same hop, until you get beefed up, of course. If all else fails, and you're getting spanked, run away!
 
Any guns other than Lasers or Mass Drivers will do for beating the game. Meson or Tachyon guns fire fast, medium-power shots with quick refire and low power drain (Tachyons are moderately better but Meson will do fine if you are short on cash). Particle or Ion guns fire more powerful bursts with lower refire rate and higher power drain. Plasma or Neutron guns fire slow-moving, powerful shots that drain a lot of power. My personal reccommendation is to go with Mesons or Tachyons for the turrets in the Galaxy and a pair of heavier guns for the forward set.

Also, you should have at least Level 2 shields (with the accompanying Level 2 engine upgrade--you need to have the engine upgrade to power the shields and still have enough power left for weapons). Upgrade these to Level 3 once you can afford to.

An important, cheap investment is to invest in Tungsten armor. For a mere 2,000 credits, you get twice the boost to your armor strength that the Plastisteel armor gave you. This can save your bacon in a pinch.

As Ridgerunner suggested, buy an Afterburner. On the Galaxy it boosts your speed from 300kps to 700kps (alot slower than Confed military ships but still valuable in a fight). The best thing about afterburners in Privateer is that they are powered from your main battery, which means that you'll never run out of burner fuel! Of course, if your shields are running at full power as well, you will drain your battery after a short while, but it will recharge as soon as you drop back to normal speed.

Now as for missiles, you want to put launchers in both of the forward slots. Put the tractor beam in one of the turrets--they can't hold launchers anyway. Depending on your personal preference, you can use either Missile launchers or Torpedo launchers. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks.

Missile launchers can carry Dumbfire, Heatseeker, ImRec, or Friend/Foe missiles. Skip the Dumbfires--they have a lower explosive yield than the others. With two launchers you can fire off a salvo of two missiles at once, enough to destroy a Talon in one go.

Torpedos are essentially like dumbfires, but much cheaper, and they have about TWICE the explosive yield of dumbfires (which is to say, about 1/3 more than IR/FF missiles). Since they do not lock onto targets, you must use them like dumbfires, but a salvo of two of them is enough to completely destroy most lighter fighters, and can even kill heavy fighters if you use your guns to wear down their shields first.

In summary, you want to get the strongest loadout you can afford--heavy shields, armor, and weapons. DO NOT try to go out with Level 1 shields and laser cannons--you will be dead meat if you do. Instead, make sure you have enough cash for some decent upgrades before trading in your Tarsus.
 
thx for your insight Ijuin. Now it brings me to a question, do turrets fire by themselves or do you have to man them?

I didn't really notice it shooting anything in the F8 view. And do they have their own energy supply or do they use up the entire ship's energy just like the forward guns?
 
Yep, you have to fire them manually and that's not too easy since you have no radar in the turrets. I can't remember for sure if they have an own power supply but I think so.
 
then what's the point of turrets if they don't even fire by themselves...and when you're in turret mode, you can't even steer the ship.
 
Other than when I had loads of credits to play with, turrets are a good place to put a tractor beam, and not much else.
 
You can´t steer but you can afterburn. So if you wanna run, you could just put some laser guns (for extended range) in the ship´s rear turret, crawl back there, hit the ´burns and drive those pirates away with the turret shots.
 
Turrets do fire on their own but they rarely hit anything. Just goes to prove that the computer is no match for an ace pilot. I actually prefer the Galaxy to the others. The Centurion blows as a cargo ship when you don't have any fighting missions you want to take. I also like to carry my own cargo when I take the fighting missions. I always go one higher on engine upgrades to shields. IE Level 3 engine upgrade with a level 2 shield upgrade. Tach's have my vote as the best guns of the game even up front. If I do buy heavier guns I put them on my upper turret. I always go mass on missiles too.
 
If my turrets ever fired on their own, I must have been asleep or something, because one of the things that always torked me about this game was that I put all kinds of firepower in the turrets and they just sat there unless I shifted position to fire them.
 
I wondered the same thing but the Cats don't have Tach's on thier fighters and I saw some tach shots coming from the side of my ship while flying against them. I even caught one after it made a few shots when I switched over and the guns hadn't fully recharged yet
 
In response to Knitewing's comment about having shields one level lower than engines, I would like to point out that, if you have Level 3 shields, you can press the "S" key inflight and reduce power to your shields to 2/3 of normal, which temporarily gives you the same effect as if you were using a level 2 generator. This way you get the best of both--you have the extra shield strength when you need it, and you can trade this shield strength for extra power to run your guns/afterburners if you need it.

BTW: how much armor bonus does Tungsten armor give you in comparison to Plastisteel armor?

Tarsus

Max Velocity: 300 kps
Max Afterburn: 600 kps
Acceleration: Average
Y/P/R Turn Rate: Average
Guns: 2 (forward)
Weapons: 2 launchers (or 1 launcher plus 1 tractor beam)
Armor Forward/Aft/Left/Right: 10/10/8/8 cm
Shields: Level 2 maximum
Engines: Level 1 maximum
Cargo: 100 (150 with expansion)

Analysis: The Tarsus is slow, and poor in a fight. Upgrade to something else as soon as you can afford a good loadout. The Galaxy outshines the Tarsus in every way.

Orion

Max Velocity: 350 kps
Max afterburner: 800 kps
Acceleration: Average
Y/P/R Turn Rate: Poor
Guns: 2 (forward), 2 (rear turret)
Weapons: 1 launcher + 1 tractor beam in rear turret.
Armor Forward/Aft/Left/Right: 48/50/35/35 cm
Shields: Level 5 maximum
Engines: Level 5 maximum
Cargo: 50 (75 with expansion)

Analysis: The Orion is faster than any ship other than the Centurion, and it has incredibly thick shields and armor--it can take an incredibly pounding--when you fly an Orion you can often just ignore the enemies around you and afterburn straight for the next nav point / jump point. However, on the minus side, it only has space for ONE launcher, which means that you cannot launch any of those two-missile salvos that can blow up enemy light fighters in a single shot. The Orion is the best ship for those who would rather have more protection instead of more attack power.

Galaxy

Max Velocity: 300 kps
Max Afterburn: 750 kps
Acceleration: Average
Y/P/R Turn Rate: Average
Guns: 2 (forward), 2 (top turret), 2 (bottom turret)
Weapons: 2 launchers, tractor beam (in turret)
Armor Front/Aft/Left/Right: 25/20/17.5/17.5 cm
Shields: Level 3 maximum
Engines: Level 3 maximum
Cargo: 150 (225 with expansion)

Analysis: The Galaxy is the best balanced ship all around, with plenty of weapons and unparalleled cargo space. The only thing it lacks is speed, but it can outgun anything that it cannot outrun. The great part about the Galaxy is that the guns in the top turret can be pointed forward and fired from within the main cockpit, which means that the Galaxy effectively has FOUR forward guns, the same as the Centurion. The Galaxy is good for the player who likes cargo runs, but it makes a decent fighting ship as well. My personal choice.

Centurion

Max Velocity: 500 kps
Max Afterburn: 1000 kps
Acceleration: Excellent
Y/P/R Turn Rate: Good
Guns: 2 (forward), 2 (rear turret)
Weapons: 2 launchers, tractor beam (in turret)
Armor Front/Aft/Left/Right: 20/15/15/15 cm
Shields: Level 3 maximum
Engines: Level 3 maximum
Cargo: 50

Analysis: What the Centurion mainly has going for it is its supreme speed and agility--it is faster than even the military heavy fighters of its day. In terms of shields, armor, and offensive weapons, the Centurion is approximately even with the Galaxy. The Centurion is a good choice for the player who doesn't care about cargo and would rather have a pure fighting machine.
 
That's funny, MY Centurion had 4 forward firing guns. Or maybe I'm all special and got a one of a kind game. And the cargo add on added 50 to the ships basic cargo capacity, so you need to check your math.
 
Oops, I made a typo about the guns. The Centurion is supposed to have 4 forward guns.

As for the cargo expansion, it does NOT add a flat 50 units. Rather, it increases total cargo capacity by 50% above the base amount.
 
so we're still kinda split on the turret issue.

Personally, I don't think I saw my turret EVER fire on its own.

Privateer manual anyone?
 
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