Wing Commander 3 Replay Week 3

Dundradal

Frog Blast the Vent Core!
Hello pilots,

We are entering week 3. This week it's Blackmane and Ariel/Delius (depending on how well you do) Six missions again this week. I'd recommend that someone "fail" Ariel 1 and head into Delius. The first time I played WC3 as a kid I was sent to the Delius system (I think I let Blackmane get waxed), it's a great "losing" system with some great visuals. Perhaps Dave can grab some nice Asteroid base screenshots?

Anyways, enjoy the missions! I'll be back in the cockpit myself August 10th now! (One of my last assignments was removed so I finish a week early!)

Good luck and good hunting.
 
Oops! Darnit!!! And I just got done with that mission...I can still head back to the beginning, turn on Rookie and try failing that mission on Ace. I lost the base once, got fried by Bloodmist twice, and HAD to use Thunderbolt on this mission. Bloodmist is definitely a dangerous opponent. :eek:

I'll go with two saved games then. I'll start from the beginning and then let Blackmane get dusted. You realize that's nine missions you're asking...

EDIT: Just completed the Blackmane series. I got a laugh out of getting congratulated for a great mission when I returned with my Hellcat REALLY beat up. :p
 
Ok, I got back to the branch point to get to Delius. I had an earlier save at mission 4, so I did not have to go back as far as I thought I would. Now that I can select both the winning and losing missions here, is there anything specific you're looking for Dundradal?

I'm encoding the first Blackmane mission since I missed the cinematics for that particular set. I should have the Ariel missions done soon if I don't make as many mistakes as I did when trying to go after Bloodmist. :eek:
 
Looks like I'll only have time to upload to Ariel 1 until later today, but that mission is quite interesting since I'm forced to do Kilrathi carrier cap ship busting. That part is long and tedious, but the attack is worth the length. I'll have new screen shots as well on Photobucket later. New videos are at: http://youtube.com/davecaspermeyer

P.S. - Videos took so long due to encoding issues, losing track of which ones fit the specific mission, double checking the videos before uploading, getting to the Blackmane 1 mission so that I can branch off to the Delius losing path, and multiple failures at Ariel 3 until I flew the Thunderbolt.
 
Hey, I wonder how that will compare to Ayer's Rock? I guess I'll find out after I deliberately fail Blackmane 1. Since there are 2-3 missions at Delius, it should be interesting to record this losing path...
 
No time to add these attached pictures to Photobucket tonight, but I'll work on the big capture later.

P.S. - I've noticed somebody by the YouTube name of minzoferrari posting nice stuff too. Just do a YouTube search by name, and you should find his stuff. He has BETTER music than I do, so my apologies for not searching for the optimum experience. :eek:

P.S.S. - Can somebody tell me what's holding my ship together for the damage report from picture 4? :eek:
 

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Heheheh, I love that damage report at the fourth screenshot! Wing Commander I and II will explode your ship if either the power plant, shields, or engines are destroyed. This doesn't seem to apply here :)

Minzoferrari is me... I try to keep up and decided to pre-play the Ariel series as otherwise I probably won't make it this week. Sorry for any spoilers...

The CIC game guide says that all Blackmane missions lead to Ariel, go figure. What I really want is to play the Delius series as I never done that before.
 
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Here's my Blackmane writeup.

Blackmane 1: Took Vaquero with me in Hellcats to Blackmane base. It was under attack by several waves of Dralthi and Darkets, which were not much trouble... Then the Paktahn bombers arrive, led by "Bloodmist" nar Hallas. At this point I wish I brought Hobbes along so I can watch the family feud, but no. Bloodmist immediately lobbed a missile my way, that broke my attack approach. Managed to evade that missile, got behind his wingmen, and took them out one by one with guns only. Then on to Bloodmist - to make sure I have a clear shot, I stayed right behind him within the cone of fire of his tail gun. Fired all six ImRecs at him, which scratched his armour. By this time my Hellcat's nose became swiss cheese, so broke off the pursuit, came back, and finished the job with guns.

Blackmane 2: Cobra and I headed out to the first rendezvous in Thunderbolts. The Dralthi were token resistance as they fell to the Thud's mighty guns. On to the second rendezvous, Cobra demonstrated the worth of her aggressive tactics as she took out two Strakha before I could turn around and track any of them.

Blackmane 3: Once again flying Thunderbolts, Vagabond and I met the Sorthaks for the first time. I wandered into the continuous stream of meson tailgunnery and was rewarded with no front armour. Having said that, their cone was fire was surprisingly narrow, which made staying out of harm's way easy. The Strakhas and Vaktoths that appeared later were more difficult to deal with. One Strakha was elusive enough to take out one transport's rear armour, otherwise no real problems there.
 
This week felt a bit light in terms of captured screen shots. I only got 25, but I do expect a few on my volunteer Delius missions. Since I know how long journals take, I'll work on them after the Delius series. As an added bonus, I'll have the Delius journals too and recordings of those missions.

New screen shots at: http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb15/DaveO-MM/Wing Commander/

P.S. - Hey nice work on your videos Mincemeat, and thanks for being part of our replay group! I'm hoping Lorien is faring well, so I expect to see his replies to weeks 2 and 3 soon.

P.S.S. - What's up with Bloodmist's ship anyway? It's seriously beefed up to Drakhri specs to me at least.
 
P.S.S. - Can somebody tell me what's holding my ship together for the damage report from picture 4? :eek:

Wishful thinking and a particularly generous Deity? :D

(That, or you stepped out for an EVA to duct tape enough together to fly home...)
 
This week felt a bit light in terms of captured screen shots. I only got 25, but I do expect a few on my volunteer Delius missions. Since I know how long journals take, I'll work on them after the Delius series. As an added bonus, I'll have the Delius journals too and recordings of those missions.

New screen shots at: http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb15/DaveO-MM/Wing Commander/

P.S. - Hey nice work on your videos Mincemeat, and thanks for being part of our replay group! I'm hoping Lorien is faring well, so I expect to see his replies to weeks 2 and 3 soon.

P.S.S. - What's up with Bloodmist's ship anyway? It's seriously beefed up to Drakhri specs to me at least.

I'm catching up now that I've got the game issues sorted. Blackmane I finished tonight and I should have Ariel done tomorrow with any luck.
 
Hey, this was actually MORE challenging in busting the Asteroid base than Ayer's Rock! I took four shots of the base: Object view, approach, rear turret view, and its charred shell. Pick your favorite one, and I'd only have to encode just this one mission. Worth the view if nothing else and I'll be uploading the two part Delius mission to YouTube tomorrow.

P.S. - I made an edit of the base toasting picture and added an even better one. Apologies for jumping the gun there.
 

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Whee! I'm finally caught up and I've passed 1000 kills. It'll be interesting to see how my numbers compare against the real Blair's.

Blackmane 1:

I find Rollins and a few hangers-on lounging around a news report and complaining about the war effort and how it seems we aren't winning. A big change from his attitude as we left the Locanda system. He makes some good points about current situation but I can't have someone lowering the crew's morale like that and I'm forced to chew him out and threaten him with Waste Recycling duty. Hopefully, he'll keep his mouth shut now. Still angry from that encounter I retreat to the barracks, where a picture of Angel reminds me of happier times. I wish I had some word on her status. I decide to seek refuge in the Gunnery station for a little bit but Captain Eisen captures my eye on the bridge. He wants to congratulate me for my performance so far and is especially happy that I haven't let the Victory cramp my style. I thank him for his kind words.

Today's mission is simple. The Kilrathi want control of the sector base and jump point and we don't want them to have either. I assign some pilots to defend the jump point before taking Cobra out in Hellcats to defend the base itself. The Kilrathi presence at the base seems to mostly consist of Darkets and Dralthi, which don't stand a chance against Cobra and I in our Hellcats. The Kilrathi plan is revealed, however, when 4 Paktahns appear on the other side of the base. Afterburning furiously, I discover that one of the Paktahns is flown by the Kilrathi ace, Bloodmist. Using my missiles to stop his wingmen from their runs I slash down at Bloodmist from head-on and down his shields and most of his front armour in one long burst. A quick loop and the second burst finishes the Kilrathi ace off. Unfortunately this leaves me exposed to the tailguns of the remaining three Paktahns. With Cobras help, I manage to finish them off, but there are a few cracks in my windshield is I land the fighter.

Blackmane 2:

Rachel meets me on the flight deck and asks to chat off the record. She's noticed the look on my eyes as I think about Rachel and recognises it as the same look a guy she once dated had after he saw his wingman get fried. Apparently, he just took off in a Thunderbolt and hit a jump point as the Kilrathi where coming through. I decide that I need to get it off my chest and confide in Rachel about my fears for Angel and how I haven't heard anything. She manages to lighten my mood a little with a light joke. I'm trying not to look at the picture in the Barracks again when I run into Maniac, browsing through some Playboys. He's jealous that Rachel's opening up to me and I get the feeling he's made a play and been shot down in true Maniac style. Getting a good dig into Maniac definitely brightens my mood up.

Now that we've cleared the area around the base, we can start to bring Convoys in. No doubt the Kilrathi will try to stop us and Hobbes and I will be there in our Arrows to make sure the transports get through. The first convoy is under heavy attack from Dralthi as we arrive and Hobbes and I dive into the fray to sort things out. One of the transports has some scratches on it's armour when we're done but it can still make good speed back to the Victory. The next nav is suprisingly quiet, though. I head towards the lead transport to link autopilot but when I reach a thousand kilcks out, explosions start to ripple down its surface. Flipping my fighter over and engaging the afterburner I make it out of the blast zone to find several Strakha trying to take us out, an obvious Kilrathi trap now that I have time to reflect. I stick to my guns for the engagement, but Hobbes has a lot of success using his missile against the stealth fighters. Usually they just cloak to break the lock but Hobbes isn't giving them time. Once the last fighter is gone, I set off the last booby trapped transport to make sure the Kilrathi can't try that trick again. Rollins is suitably impressed at our performance and relays an invite for some decent food down on the base.

Blackmane 3:

I run into Flint on the Gunnery deck and we share our views on flying and why we fight the war. For her, it's all about the flying and nothing holding her back. I play along for now, though I'm expecting what she says next, a request for reinstatement on the flight roster. I think she's learned her lesson and it is my flight group, so it's my decision. I let her back on and then ask why it took her so long to ask. She cheers up a great deal after she gets let back onto the roster, I just hope she doesn't pull the same stunt again.

Now that the basic supplies have made it through, it's time to get Blackmane enough weaponry to handle itself. Vagabond and I will escort some weapons transports from the Victory to Blackmane. Usually, I'd take an Arrow on this mission, but I have the feeling we'll have some big guns thrown at this convoy to stop it from getting through so I choose the Thunderbolt instead. This choice is validated very quickly when we encounter a new enemy fight that Intel has been warning us about. The Sorthak has heavier shields and armour than most cat fighters but the really dangerous part is the large number of meson turrets dotting the fighter. It certainly throws up an impressive volume of fire if you let it, but some careful maneuvering seems to keep you out of the main arcs and lets the Thunderbolt's heavy guns do their work. The next attempt comes in the form of Strakhas, but it's a fairly lousy effort. The Strakhas have to decloak to attack and their guns just aren't strong enough to seriously threaten the transports. The same can't be said of the Vaktoths that come after them at the final nav point. I let one slip past and get a few bursts in against the transport and, though, the captain reported everything was fine, his ship had some large red marks in my targeting window. Fortunately, that's the last of the cat presence on the convoy route and the convoy delivers its goods safely. Now, with our backs covered by the base, we're free to finally make an attack against the Kilrathi in the Ariel system.

Ariel 1:

Reactions to the Victory being on the offensive are mixed. Rachel is very busy now and doesn't have time to chat, but Cobra is definitely enjoying our current operation. There's even a smile on her face, something I haven't seen before. It gets a bit bigger when I tell her we're going to kick some ass. Vagabond is concerned about the intelligence we're getting. He doesn't want to be targetting civilian installations and neither do I. I try to get him to trust what we're told by reminding him that we're the good guys but he doesn't seem convinces. Finally, Rollins seems, shall we say, cautiously enthusiastic. He's happy to be on the offensive again, but says not to make any plans for a victory party just yet. We'll see.

Our mission today is simple, roast any cats that think about escaping to the jump point and alerting the Kilrathi high command to our presence. I decide to let Cobra have some fun and chose her as my wingman, though I override Rachel's suggestion of a Longbow for the slightly faster Thunderbolt in case I have to chase anything down. There's a light Kilrathi presence in the first two Nav Points mostly Strakhas with a Corvette and some transports thrown in, but at the final nav point we hit the Jackpot. A kilrathi carrier! It's definitely suprised at our presence and only has a minimal CAP up. We blast through the Darkets with ease but Cobra ignores the Dralthi launched to attack the carrier itself with predictable results. I order her shot-up fighter home and scrape the two Dralthi off her tail. Some more Darkets followed by a single Vaktoth mark the rest of the fighters the carrier had ready. I launch my single torpedo into it's rear before diving into the flight deck and shooting up anything that looks like it might take off. I transfer all power to my guns and just keep pounding the inside of the carrier until it's reactor goes up. Rollins is happy at the dead cats but only Rachel greets me when I land, I kind of hoped for more for my 1000th kill.

Ariel 2:

I find Vaquero in the barracks playing a rather sad sounding tune. Taking a guess at the reason, I ask him if this is his first time behind enemy lines, he replied that he always fights a little harder on his own turf. I remind him that enemy lines are just lines on the map, lines that we'll redraw and as I walk away his guitar sounds much happier. Hobbes is also happy now that we're taking the offensive. He tells me how the Kilrathi are trained to use their claws almost from birth and that flying never quites satisfies their spirit. He worries that this seems primitive to me, but I know Hobbes is better than. I remind him of that and tell him to stop second-guessing himself.

It's time to do some convoy raiding of our own. Using the nebula as a shield, the Victory is going to take out the convoys the Kilrathi have been sending through the area. I select Flint as my wingman and we head out in Thunderbolts. The convoys must have received word of the carriers demise as they all have a capship escort of some sort. The first and last had destroyers while the middile one only rated a Corvette. There were also quite a few Vaktoths floating around the system. None of them presented a major problem until the last convoy when Flint ignored her own advice in victory streak and took off after the convoy with two Vaktoths on her back. I managed to scrape them off but her ship was pretty dinged up afterwards. Seeing another flight of fighters launching, I order her home and engage the fighters to give her cover. After the CAP is done with I torpedo the destroy and take out the transport with my guns. Upon my return, Rollins is considering renaming the ship to the Ambush but I think Victory is just as appropriate. I also finally get my 1000th kill party on the flight deck, only 26 kills too late.

Ariel 3:

I might Flint on the Observation Deck for a drink and the mood is definitely high. Things are finally looking up for the good guys and Flint relays a story her dad told her about a war way back in Earth's past, the Trojan war. It's another conflict that lasted generations and she concludes that the important message is that it did end.

It's time for us to leave the Ariel system, after the damage we've done so far the Kilrathi will no doubt tweak to our presence shortly. Hobbes and I will escort the Victory to the jump point in our Thunderbolts. The first kilrathi wave of Darkets and Paktahns are easily dealt with, but there's a problem at Nav 1. Not only is a Kilrathi carrier blocking our path, but our sensors can't detect the jump point anymore. Navigation has found a likely alternative but it's going to be a long fight to get to it. Hobbes goes after the carrier while I pounce on it's CAP. This combination works much better than when Cobra tried it as I'm ready for the CAP as they take off instead of trying to scrape them off my wingman's back. Eventually the carrier goes down to Hobbes' guns and I put a final missile into it's last fighter and we head to Nav 2. Nav 2 has a few fighters and a corvette doing a run straight at the Victory. I order hobbes after the Strakha while I get into torpedo range of the Corvette and let one fly. Just before it impacts, though, the Corvette manages to get a Skipper missile off at the Victory. Harrassed by Strakha, I chase after it and manage to destroy it a safe distance from my home. With that down the Strakha don't last long against my full fury. Rollins is shaken by what happened as I come into land but he has to remember that some excellent flying got us out of the situation. I land just before the Victory's battlegroup escapes to the Caliban system.
 
For that Delius mission, I only went to the point of taking out the base and then headed right back to the Victory. Winning that mission took our battlegroup to Torgo, which is a little further along in the campaign versus the winning path. I'm only uploading the mission to prevent spoilers from the cinematics. As a funny recording glitch, I got a Kilrathi cinematic before Delius 1 at Chipmunk speed but it's not a vital one since that was the losing path. :p
 
I'll work on and place my mission journal sometime Saturday. It's getting harder for me to manage my spare time well due to other commitments.

I have been keeping an eye on the videos to see how much of a reaction they are getting. I did expect Wing Commander 3 viewings to be higher, but in just three weeks time the intro itself overtook all of my other Wing Commander 2 videos. I wonder how #4 will do once we get there.
 
For that Delius mission, I only went to the point of taking out the base and then headed right back to the Victory. Winning that mission took our battlegroup to Torgo, which is a little further along in the campaign versus the winning path. I'm only uploading the mission to prevent spoilers from the cinematics. As a funny recording glitch, I got a Kilrathi cinematic before Delius 1 at Chipmunk speed but it's not a vital one since that was the losing path. :p

Sometimes it pays off more than you think to lose a mission or two. Great shots of the base, especially the burnt out hulk.
 
A lot of the base was in the red by the time I targeted that tower to finish it off. I bet going ONLY for the tower after taking out the defenses would make it a much quicker kill.
 
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