o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
I - Before You Start
------- 1.01 - Foreword
------- 1.02 - The Controls
------- 1.03 - Gameplay Tips
II - The Walkthrough
------- 2.01 - Welcome to Earth
------- 2.02 - Early Mining
------- 2.03 - Visiting the Pkunk
------- 2.04 - Rallying Cry
------- 2.05 - Thanks, Delta Tauri!
------- 2.06 - Distress
------- 2.07 - The Twilight Zone
------- 2.08 - Unfriendly Reception
------- 2.09 - Slylandro Self-Destruct Code
------- 2.10 - Talking Pet Turns Rabid
------- 2.11 - Creating the Ultimate Flagship
------- 2.12 - Shofixti Ressurection
------- 2.13 - Subduing the Thraddash
------- 2.14 - Yehat Revolution
------- 2.15 - Broken Ultron
------- 2.16 - The Syreen-Mycon Conflict
------- 2.17 - Finale
III - Afterword
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| I - Before You Start |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
In case you don’t already know, there’s a free and perfectly legitimate
downloadable version of Star Control 2 that plays the same as the original, but
for legal reasons is titled "The Ur-Quan Masters" (abbreviated as UQM). This can
be downloaded at: http://sc2.sourceforge.net/
The walkthrough has long, detailed sections that can lead you from beginning to
end without any real planning on your part. The longer sections of it are
followed by brief summaries. If you’re new to the game or just plain terrible at
it and want to be led straight through, I recommend keeping this FAQ open while
you play and alternating between it and the game. Or better yet, print the whole
thing out. UQM is not completely linear so you don’t have to follow the order of
events as I have listed them to beat the game, but this way works well.
This guide was originally submited to GameFAQs on October 8th, 2004. I have
altered it many times and no longer feel the need to annotate every last change.
The version you are reading is 1.20. Any given website may host this guide. I do
not need to be contacted regarding this.
[]------------- 1.02 - The Controls ------------------------------------------[]
The mouse is not used in UQM. Movement is performed with the arrow keys.
[IN FLIGHT]
Accelerate ---------------------------- Forward Arrow
Rotate clockwise ---------------------- Right Arrow
Rotate counter-clockwise -------------- Left Arrow
Open menu ----------------------------- Spacebar
[STAR MAP]
Move cursor --------------------------- Arrow Keys
Zoom In ------------------------------- Plus ( + )
Zoom Out ------------------------------ Minus ( - )
*Search by star name ------------------ Slash ( / )
Select destination -------------------- Enter
Close star map ------------------------ Spacebar
[CONVERSATION]
Fast forward dialogue ----------------- Right Arrow
Rewind dialogue ----------------------- Left Arrow
Cycle through dialogue options -------- Up & Down Arrows
Say something ------------------------- Enter
View summary of conversation ---------- Spacebar
[PLANET LANDER SEQUENCE]
Thrust -------------------------------- Forward Arrow
Rotate clockwise ---------------------- Right Arrow
Rotate counter-clockwise -------------- Left Arrow
Fire stun gun ------------------------- R-Shift
Return to flagship -------------------- Escape
Above all, SAVE YOUR GAME OFTEN. There are dozens of dangerous places I could
tell you to save your game within the walkthrough, but I leave that for you to
figure out. If your planet lander kicks the bucket, it’s time to load. Lose any
escort vessels early on? Load. Have you angered a normally friendly species into
attacking you? Definitely load.
Planets:
The planets in the game are numbered in roman numerals, starting from the
closest to the sun and counting up. I'm not sure why exactly, but this guide
will refer to planets the same way.
RUs:
This stands for Resource Units. These are the building materials for your fleet.
You'll be scouring a lot of planets for minerals to create them. A small amount
of RUs is also gathered by defeating enemy ships in battle.
Hyperspace:
In hyperspace, time elapses quickly and hostile ships prowl about so DO NOT just
sit out there or wander aimlessly. As soon as you enter hyperspace, always open
up a menu - this pauses the game. You’ll mostly travel by opening up the star
map, choosing your destination, and letting auto pilot get there for you. If a
ship looks like its going to intercept you, you’ll need to manually steer out of
the way and pilot yourself until you’re in the clear again.
Homeworlds:
Never attack an alien homeworld. These are guarded by an infinite number of
ships. If you visit such a place and get attacked yourself, flee. Be aware that
there is one exception to this in the game, but the opposition will specifically
mention that they're sending ten ships at you.
Flagship and fleet modification:
When you reconfigure your flagship and fleet, it’s worth noting that you buy and
sell for equal value. This is because the star base isn’t trying to profit off
you. Since you can’t lose anything from buying and selling parts, I encourage
you to experiment with the setup until you’ve got things just the way you want
them.
Regardless of whether you follow the walkthrough or not, upgrading thrust
modules and turning jets should be one of your first priorities.
Fuel:
Buy lots of fuel and always keep a careful eye on how much you’ve got. That huge
ship you’re flying chugs fuel like you wouldn’t believe while moving through
hyperspace. Notice on the star map how there’s a highlighted area around your
present location? That’s how far you can get with your current fuel. I wouldn’t
try flying out that far, however, as you need enough to get back to Earth.
If that’s not bad enough, landing on planets takes a small cut of fuel. For this
reason, you want to make as few trips to the surface of any given planet as
possible.
Fortunately, there are multiple sources from which you can obtain fuel. These
will make your life a little easier.
Mining:
A warning: The information in this section is valuable, but I did get a little
carried away trying to cover every last detail. You might want to skim.
You can carry minerals off planets with your planet lander and trade them in at
the star base for RUs. Most of your resources will be earned through this. Here
is a list of each of the mineral types:
COMMON (Turquoise) - 1 RU each.
Dead weight.
CORROSIVE (Dark Red) - 2 RUs each.
Dead weight.
BASE METAL (Grey) - 3 RUs each.
Usually not worth it.
NOBLE GAS (Blue) - 4 RUs each.
Worth it.
RARE EARTH (Green) - 5 RUs each.
Worth it.
PRECIOUS METAL (Yellow) - 6 RUs each.
Scoop them all up.
RADIOACTIVE (Orange) - 8 RUs each.
Scoop them all up.
EXOTIC (Pink) - 25 RUs each.
Jackpot!
The color of a star determines its temperature. Hotter stars have richer mineral
worlds, but you should know that these systems are more dangerous for your
planet lander. Supergiant stars are also much hotter than regular sized ones.
The temperature order of stars goes as follows in order of coldest to hottest:
Red Orange Yellow Green Blue and White. So in theory, a white supergiant star
is the best place to go digging. However, by the time you have all the lander
upgrades needed to safely land on such planets, you won’t really need to.
Star temperature and mineral wealth do not directly correlate all the time, so
you're better off just checking most of the planets yourself.
Every planet has a dotted line that loops around the system, showing the
planet's orbit. The color of this indicates the planet's general temperature.
Blue and grey orbits imply that the planet is extremely cold. This is a good
thing since cold can't hurt you. A green orbit is ideal for supporting life. An
orange orbit will have many hot-spots on it which can be dangerous. Lastly, a
red orbit means extremely hot. If your lander isn't heat shielded yet, skip red
orbiting planets completely.
When you enter a system on a mining mission, you’ll want to check almost every
single moon and planet. Large planets and gas giants have moons fairly often.
Gas giants and grey worlds will never have valuable minerals, so skip 'em.
Orange and yellow worlds are almost always loaded with nice stuff. Pink, cyan,
red, blue and green are less reliable but they’re worth checking. Purple worlds
are almost always bad except for one variety that sometimes has a tiny amount of
exotics.
Each planet has a set of statistics. Before you try landing, the ones you should
really pay attention to are Temperature, Weather, and Tectonics. It is these
things that damage your lander. Do not land on a planet if...
* It has a temperature that goes past 400 degrees.
* It has a weather rating higher than "4".
* It has a tectonics rating higher than "5".
* It has more than one element near the above limits. Example: 320 temperature,
3 weather, 4 tectonics.
If you’re dead set on mining an extremely dangerous planet, here’s something you
should keep in mind: position the crosshair as close to the middle of a clump of
valuable minerals as you can. When you land, scoot to grab the closest mineral
or two (if its close enough) then hit the Escape key. Repeat. This is horribly
inefficient with fuel, especially on high gravity worlds. You won't be doing
any of this if you follow the walkthrough, but it is worth it on planets loaded
with exotics.
I usually opt for as few trips to the surface as I can get away with to conserve
fuel. That means loading up your lander’s cargo bay completely before you take
off, and skimping on the less valuable metals. A planet's gravity affects how
much fuel it takes to land. High gravity planets take more fuel. When you're
choosing where to drop your lander, the game will tell you how much fuel the
trip will take.
Don’t shoot minerals when you go planet crawling, that ruins them. Also, if
your lander's storage bay is 99% full, don't pick up a gigantic deposit. You'll
only receive a fraction of it due to cargo limits, and the mineral will
disappear for good.
In short: Early on in the game you should choose where to mine by how safe a
planet is and how easy it is to get to. Don't be too picky about mineral
quality, just live off what you can get. Once you've upgraded your lander and
have plenty of fuel, the focus should be on grabbing the best minerals you can
find.
Alien lifeforms:
Many planets have little critters running around on the surface. Some of them
can attack and destroy your lander, but typically they aren't that great of a
danger. The lander's stun ray can put these into suspended animation and store
them aboard your ship just like with minerals. Why bother with all these
animals? See below.
Melnorme Trader:
You can meet these guys very early in the game by going to any of the supergiant
stars. In exchange for data on alien lifeforms, they'll sell you fuel, upgrades
for your flagship, and information. It is nearly impossible to win the game
without their assistance. If you don't plan on using the walkthrough, many of
their hints will help tremendously if you write down or memorize what they tell
you.
Diplomacy:
If you encounter an alien fleet and it gives you the choice of conversing or
attacking, always pick converse. Every species in the game (including the ones
that hate you!) can give away useful information. Also, this should go without
saying, but try not to piss off aliens if you can help it. Even the friendly
races will attack you if you’re rude enough.
If you’re not using the walkthrough to find things you might want to have some
paper and a pen handy. When someone mentions a set of coordinates or specific
location, make a note of it.
Combat:
Combat in this game is always a series of one-on-one duels. When it begins, you
pick one of your ships to go up against one of theirs. The winner of that
match-up has to continue fighting enemy reinforcements until it retreats or dies
horribly. Because the fights must be one-on-one, strength does not necessarily
lie in numbers. One powerful ship will do you a *lot* more good than twelve weak
ones.
Fighting in this game takes practice and good reflexes, but the most critical
aspect of it is which ship you choose to fight with. For instance, if you send
a Zoq-Fot-Pik Stinger against a Yehat Terminator, that Stinger is going to get
plastered no matter how good you are.
If you find yourself getting killed over and over, you may need to learn the
controls better. Another possibilty is that you're going up against an enemy
that is too strong for you at the moment. The best thing to do if you're getting
beat down is to go into Star Control's combat simulator (which is included with
the game) and practice various ship match-ups.
During all fights, there are always several asteroids and one planet that appear
seemingly at random. The asteroids are harmless, but crashing into the planet
damages you heavily. If you fly right by the planet, however, you'll send your
ship sailing at a high speed. Turning your thrusters on will decrease your extra
speed back down to normal, so let the momentum carry you if you want to take
advantage of this effect. This maneuver has been dubbed the "Gravity Whip". You
can bet the computer will use it to gain the upper hand against you every chance
it gets, so you need to take advantage of this maneuver too.
Fleeing from combat:
Retreating is a story game trick so this doesn’t apply to Super Melee at all. As
soon as you’ve worked out a deal with Hayes at the star base near the start
he’ll install a warp unit onto your ship, and at that point this section
applies. Near the very end of the game the warp unit is removed again so be
mindful of that.
If you want to run from a battle, you’ll need to have your precursor vessel out
in combat and hit Escape. When you do this, your ship will freeze in place, lose
its ability to attack and flash for 5.5 seconds. This can be very dangerous;
whoever you’re fighting will try to get in some free shots before you get away.
The best time to retreat is immediately after you destroy an enemy ship because
of the "victory dance" each ship does when it wins a duel. This will cut the
time you are vulnerable to the next enemy down to almost nothing. If you’re
fighting a particularly slow enemy, just get far away before you start the warp
sequence and you should be okay. It costs 5 fuel to pull your fleet away.
The warp unit also allows for tactical withdrawals. What this means is that if
you hit escape while an escort is fighting it will do the same flashy thing the
flagship does to retreat. When it has escaped, you get to pick another ship to
fight in its place. When used correctly, this is critical for keeping your fleet
intact during a big fight. Thankfully, a tactical withdrawal does not cost you
any fuel.
Time Limit:
There is a time limit but it’s not too bad if you know what you’re doing. From
the start of the game of February 17, 2155, you have four years until something
very bad starts to happen. By the last quarter of the year 2159, the game will
be over. There’s an event you can trigger that pushes this time limit back a
year to 2160. If you follow the guide at a leisurely pace, the game should be
over by the middle of 2157.
The "Cyborg" setting:
Cyborg is an option within the main game that makes the computer fight battles
for you. You still choose which ship fights and tell it when to retreat, but
that’s about it. The three settings make the fights go at regular, double, and
quadruple speed. At the highest setting, you don’t even see the fight occurring.
In my opinion, cyborg is lame. Why skip combat, one of the best aspects of the
game? Furthermore, a cyborg ship doesn’t fly as well as a player that knows what
they're doing. You can use this feature if you really want to, but don't count
on it to win fights that you can't.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| II - The Walkthrough |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
This section has some spoilers, but within reason. I don't spoil anything that
happens far ahead of time, and I never give away the ending.
[]------------- 2.01 - Welcome to Earth --------------------------------------[]
You will probably want to change the name of your captain (which is you) and
flagship. Open the menu, go into "Game", then "Settings" to get to where you can
change these. If you’re not very creative, go with your first name and call the
ship something like "Excalibur" or "Tugboat". At the beginning, your ship has
very few thrust and turning modules, so expect flight to be a little wonky for
the time being.
Now head for Earth. When you get near, an automated drone will approach and
broadcast a message. Regardless of what it says, don’t panic - you haven't
screwed up yet.
The Earth is surrounded by a huge red force field for some reason, so go to the
star base orbiting it instead. The nice fellow who answers your transmission,
Commander Hayes, needs you to pick up some radioactives. He suggests you go to
Mercury for this. There’s an even better world to mine radioactives from, but
for now Mercury will suffice since I want you to mine it anyway. Take care to
avoid earthquakes and hot-spots when you touch down on the surface. Pick up
every mineral deposit you can find.
Go back to the star base. As far as conversation with Hayes goes, you can say
pretty much anything without repercussion so go with whatever suits you best.
Supposedly there’s a hostile fleet on the face of the moon and you’re supposed
to prove yourself to him by destroying it. Go there and land on the surface. The
metals there are kind of crappy but pick them up anyway while you’re here. You
can shoot the harmless little droids wandering around, but there’s no need to.
Now head for the abandoned installation.
Having checked the moon, return to the star base. That drone you encountered
earlier has brought back a damaged Ilwrath Avenger which will engage you in
combat regardless of what you say to it. Either of the two ships you have can
bring it down, but it’s better to use the little cruiser. The procedure for this
fight is simple: turn and face the Avenger, then fire off two missiles. If for
some reason you start a little too close to the enemy, accelerate away from him
before you turn and fire.
The star base will be your center of operations from this point on. Hayes will
be much more willing to answer questions now and I suggest you take advantage
of that if you don’t already know the story. Once you’ve done that, trade in the
minerals you picked up. Go ahead and buy yourself a little more fuel, then
attach a few extra thrust modules and turning jets.
Go to pluto and land. Pick up the little pink mineral. It’s classified as an
exotic, so even a few of these are worth a lot. Now head over to the ship that’s
landed in the corner. He’ll inflict some damage on your lander before opening a
transmission. Say hi to Fwiffo!
There are two ways you can handle this conversation: patiently listen to
Fwiffo’s life story and get him to join you, or become angry and attack him. If
you have the attention span required to appreciate this guide, you’ll probably
find the conversation interesting anyway so do the former. His Spathi Eluder
vessel really comes in handy throughout the game.
It’s time to clean out the system. Pick up every last mineral deposit on the
following worlds: Neptune’s moon Triton, Saturn’s moon Titan, Jupiter’s two
closest moons Io and Europa, and finally Mars. The other planets are crap,
trust me.
Return to the starbase. Exchange your minerals then get your precursor vessel
set up with the following parts: all 11 thrust modules, four turning jets,
one full fuel tank, one full crew pod, two storage bays, one planet lander.
Notice that your main vessel is now completely unarmed. This is intentional.
With all those thrust modules you are in little danger of being caught so you
don’t even have to worry about combat for the moment.
Now you’re set to head out into hyperspace. There’s no hyperspace button for
that, you just need to fly far out of the system.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Go to the star base orbiting Earth. |
| |
| Mine all of mercury. |
| |
| Land on the moon, mine it, and check the abandoned structure. |
| |
| Return to base and slay an Ilwrath with your Earthling Cruiser. |
| |
| Go to Pluto and get Fwiffo on your side |
| |
| Mine Triton, Titan, Io, Europa and Mars. |
| |
| Fly back to base to get your flagship and fleet reconfigured. |
| |
| Leave the solar system. |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: Can I give my captain a female name?
A: Sort of... I haven't been keeping track, but I don't think this game ever
refers to you by sex, though much of the Syreen dialogue implies it. The ending
video clearly shows the captain as a male.
Q: Can I just leave the system at the start of the game and not bother
with this part?
A: Yes, but don’t expect to get very far. You’re slow, without decent
firepower, and the Slylandro Probes are going to spawn 50 times more often than
if you had actually followed the plot.
Q: Do I need to keep the Earthling Cruiser?
A: To be honest, no. But there are a few enemies it's good against later in the
game, so I like to hold on to it.
Q: I want to deploy the Earthling Cruiser against X ship. How exactly
should I use it?
A:
o---------- Cruiser Strategy --------------------------------------------------o
\ /
/ This is a slow, long ranged ship so you'll usually want to try and keep away \
\ from your opponent above all else. While doing this, turn and fire nuclear /
/ missiles at the enemy with the primary fire button. The Cruiser also has a \
\ point-defense laser, but its usefulness is limited. Hold down secondary fire /
/ to use it. The point-defense laser will automatically chip away at a nearby \
\ opponent and can even shoot down asteroids and some enemy projectiles. If /
/ there's nothing nearby, turning the laser on will have no effect. \
\ /
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
[]------------- 2.02 - Early Mining ------------------------------------------[]
Be aware that anywhere in hyperspace Slylandro Probes can appear and try to
chase you down. All ships appear as black dots, but the Slylandro are the
fastest. It’s entirely random when they show up so you have two ways of dealing
with them right now:
1) Learn to shoot them down with either the Earthling Cruiser or Spathi
Eluder. This is *not* recommended for newbies.
2) When the combat screen appears, choose the flagship and start the escape
sequence immediately. You'll lose roughly 10 crew members in damage before you
get away, which is not all that bad.
That’s all you need to know at the moment. You will be able to kill Probes
properly not too long from now.
A good move at this point would be to mine all of the Centauri stars since
they’re nearby and have plenty of good minerals. Start by setting a course in
the star map for Delta Centauri. Yes, I know that’s Ilwrath territory but since
it’s on the fringe you’re not likely to meet any of their patrols. Also, Ilwrath
ships will not follow you out of their territory and they move slowly. If you do
cross paths with them for some reason, flee from combat.
From now on you’re going to be more picky about what minerals you gather.
Commons (Turquoise), corrosives (Deep Red), and base metals (Grey) are nothing
but dead weight, so avoid them. If you end up getting any by accident, go into
the cargo menu and dump them out by hitting "Enter" over the highlighted mineral
type.
VI is loaded with precious metals, so mine it clean. V has a small quantity of
noble gases, but the gravity on it is so weak that landing there costs 0.2 fuel.
So clean that out too. IV has four radioactives along with a bunch of
corrosives. Pick up the oranger ones, then head over to planet II’s moon (II-A).
Why look, this planet has radioactives AND weird critters on it! You’ll want to
capture everything on the map. This can be dangerous but it’s worth it. Now land
near the very top or bottom of the planet and just camp out waiting for giant
killer bees. Be patient, they will go after you eventually. After you’ve stunned
and captured 6 swarms, you’re safe to roam the area. Stay out of earthquakes and
don’t bump into the big honkin’ beasts you see ambling about and you’ll be fine.
Go around picking up minerals and capturing the other life forms. To be more
efficient, don’t take off again until you’ve filled both the mineral and critter
cargo bays. This planet should take four trips or so.
Well, that’s all for that system. The other Centauri stars are slim pickings, so
I'll go over this quick. Your next stop is Beta Centauri. Mine all of planet
I-C. Then mine III-C, and remember to skip the base metals in favor of the good
stuff. Proceed to Zeta Centauri I. I-B here has one little exotic, but it's
worth getting. Moon C has extremely low gravity so take just one trip down to
pick up the rare earths (Green), then whatever you can fit of the noble gases
(Blue). Go to Epsilon Centauri. Looks vacant, doesn't it? Land once on the only
planet in the system to pick up the radioactives.
Since we're following a pattern anyway, go next to Alpha Centauri. It has
several rich planets, but none of them are safe to land on! There is a ship you
want to meet in this system so scour the area until you do. This is a Melnorme
trade vessel you've bumped into, so be nice. Once introductions are over, offer
to sell information on alien life forms. With that credit, buy two technology
upgrades and use all remaining credits to buy fuel. Now you'll want to mine
Gamma Centauri I. Oranges and yellows only, you know the drill. The tectonics
here are a little rough, but nothing you can't handle.
That's all the mining you need right now. Go back to the star base at Sol.
Exchange your minerals and make the following upgrades: four more turning jets,
another storage bay and fuel tank. Replace your crew and fill your fuel tanks.
Now that your flagship's flying capabilities are maxed out, flight should be
much more pleasant.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Watch out for Slylandro Probes and Ilwrath patrols. Flee if caught. |
| |
| Mine Delta Centauri VI, V, IV and IIA. |
| |
| Mine Beta Centauri I-C and III-C. |
| |
| Mine Zeta Centauri I-B and I-C. |
| |
| Mine Epsilon Centauri I. |
| |
| Visit the Melnorme at Alpha Centauri and get purchase two tech upgrades |
| along with some fuel. |
| |
| Mine Gamma Centauri I. |
| |
| Return to Sol. Sell what you've acquired, make upgrades, and refill your |
| crew and fuel. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: Why are you telling me to flee from Ilwrath ships? The Spathi Eluder
I've got can beat them easily.
A: That's true, but it takes a long time. Fighting the Ilwrath is usually a
drawn out game of cat 'n mouse what with the cloaking devices they use. If you
know how to fight those ships and have the patience for it, be my guest.
Q: I have a sizable amount of extra RUs from that trip even after
buying everything you've listed. What else should I buy?
A: If you find yourself with a big surplus of RUs, spend it on whatever you
want. But if your funds are too low to buy required parts later on, be prepared
to sell these extra things.
[]------------- 2.03 - Visiting the Pkunk ------------------------------------[]
Both Hayes and the Avenger captain you killed off hint that the Ilwrath are
currently preying on another species. These aliens have a sphere of influence
that crosses over the very bottom part of Ilwrath territory. So the best way to
make contact with this species is to fly to a point down from the Ilwrath sphere
without crossing into it and wait for someone in hyperspace to intercept you.
Do just that.
As you can see, the Pkunk are a little goofy but they mean well. Notice how the
guy you talked to was even nice enough to direct you to his homeworld! Head
straight there. As soon as you open communications, they give you a Clear
Spindle artifact. What's it do? You'll find out eventually. Be polite and ask
for their help. They won't make a formal alliance, but they'll give you four of
their vessels. If you want to, talk to Pkunk patrol fleets and the homeworld
itself again if you want to learn more about them, but their advice has little
practical use.
Planet III is full of radioactives, so mine it. Go to Delta Krueger next. Once
there, mine the planet I's second and third moon. Leave and head to Eta Giclas.
Mine only planet II, it has a lot of precious metals. The last system on the
hit list is Alpha Giclas, where you should clear out moon VII-B.
That's enough mining for what you need. Return to the star base to trade in
minerals and examine the Clear Spindle. The technicians here don't know what to
make of it.
Now sell all four Pkunk Fury's. Replace lost crew and then set up fusion
blasters on the front two slots of the ship, with two dynamo units behind them.
Refill your fuel tanks and set out again.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Avoid Slylandro Probes and Ilwrath. |
| |
| Make contact with the Pkunk just below Ilwrath territory. |
| |
| Proceed to their homeworld, then mine planet II. |
| |
| Mine Delta Krueger I-B and I-C, Eta Giclas II, and Alpha Giclas VII-B. |
| |
| Return to Sol. Exchange minerals and reconfigure your fleet. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: Why aren't you using the Pkunk ships at all?
A: The Fury has potential, but it's one of the more difficult ships to use
effectively. If you've taught yourself how to fight well with it against all
foes, odds are you've already beaten the game and don't really need this guide.
However, you will be employing these near the end of the game for a special
purpose.
With the newly acquired fusion blasters you put in, your Precursor ship is now
able to shoot down Slylandro Probes. When you engage them from now on, fly sort
of close, face the probe and rapidly press the fire button. You'll fire in
triple bursts that cover a lot of space, so you don't need to be terribly
precise. Unless you completely miss and empty your battery, the probe will fall
to pieces without inflicting much harm on you. This is by far the easiest way to
fight probes, so even after you acquire better escorts you should always use the
flagship against this enemy.
At this point in the game, Hayes will have already mentioned that someone or
something is broadcasting a signal from the nearby Rigel system, so that's where
you're going next. If for some reason he hasn't, go there anyway. When you get
there, find the lone ship meandering around and talk to it. The Zoq-Fot-Pik
scout will tell you all about their species and request that you visit their
homeworld.
If you look at the star map, you'll notice the Zoq-Fot-Pik are a long distance
away and the Spathi are directly between you and them. The Spathi avoid violence
at all costs, so it's probably safe to visit them. Fly into their territory and
chat with one of the patrols. Yup, they're safe alright! So head for the Spathi
homeworld. Fwiffo gave you the coordinates for this, but seeing as how you
probably don't remember that I'll just tell you: Epsilon Gruis I-A.
Apparently the Spathi are all living on their homeworld's moon since deadly
predators they call "The Evil Ones" have invaded the place of their birth. They
say they'll ally with you if you can get rid of these. So fly over planet I and
land on it. As long as you don't drive right into one of the creatures, they
remain completely docile. I suspect these things are in hibernation at the
moment. Capture all of them, then go back to the moon. The Spathi high council
needs a little time to determine if you're telling the truth, so fly away from
the moon, then come back.
Upon your return, the Spathi council isn't too keen on living up to their end of
the bargain, but they'll reluctantly make an alliance with you when you point
out that you still have the Evil Ones alive in suspended animation. From now on,
the Spathi High Council will be willing to provide a lot of information, some of
it useful.
With that detour out of the way, head for Alpha Tucanae I. Be warned: the fleets
around Zoq-Fot-Pik territory are none other than the dreaded Ur-Quan. Do not run
into them under any circumstances. There's a lot of them, but they're slow. When
you arrive, the Zoq-Fot-Pik will gladly join up with you. To be honest, they
need your help more than you need theirs. They don't have a lot of information
except that two powerful species battle around their territory. You'll need to
mine planets I-A and III, mostly for fuel money.
Go back to the star base for refueling. If for some reason you run out of fuel
before getting there, the Melnorme will approach you after you've been stranded
in hyperspace for a couple days. You should have enough spare credits with
them to get back home.
The wonderful ship you're flying was built originally on Vela I. Well, let's go
back there and see how the nice research team you left behind is doing. Find the
supergiant star "Zeeman", and zoom in on it until you see the small yellow star
beside it. Set a course for it. When you arrive at the planet, you're in for a
bit of a surprise. Confront the battleship you see around the planet. Looks like
you've got a fight on your hands!
This Ur-Quan Dreadnought is more than a match for your flagship at the moment,
but your Spathi Eluder can kill it if flown correctly. If you're not yet adept
at melee, this will take a couple tries. Stay clear of the fighters he launches
at you at all times. Fly in and out of the Dreadnought's range to get a feel for
how far its fusion cannon can reach. Once you're familiar with how it fights,
use the technique below.
o---------- Eluder Strategy ---------------------------------------------------o
\ /
/ Use this maneuver to attack: fly straight at your opponent, then before you \
\ enter their weapon range (or get too close for comfort if you're fighting a /
/ long-ranged enemy), swing around and drop a few guided bombs as you fly \
\ away. Repeat these bombing runs until your opponent explodes. This is the /
/ ideal way to use this ship. The primary gun on the Spathi Eluder is \
\ mostly useless. /
/ \
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
If you asked the Spathi High Council enough questions, they'll have told you
their neighbors, the Androsynth have somehow been replaced by a species called
the "Orz". If you're really curious as to what happened to the Androsynth, check
their homeworld of Eta Vulpeculae II. Anyway, try and meet an Orz fleet around
the nearby Vulpeculae stars.
Wow. Pretty screwed up, huh? Weird as they may seem, they're friendly. Notice
that if you mention the Androsynth, they'll get a little tense and tell you not
to bring it up again. Take that advice - ask too many questions about the
Androsynth and the Orz will try to kill you. Regardless of that, try and make an
alliance with them.
Orz space is absolutely loaded with good minerals and also has a few critters.
Go to Zeta Vulpeculae and clear out the following planets: VII, VI, III-A, V-A,
V-C, and V-D. The tectonics and such of some of these can be a little rough.
Go to Delta Vulpeculae and work your way through planets VIII, III, and II-C.
Hm... II-C is under guard by the Orz. If you made an alliance with them like I
asked you to, you should have no trouble getting clearance to land from them.
While you mine the planet, make sure you pick up the artifact there too. Don't
worry, the Orz don't mind if you take it.
Before returning to Sol, go to the nearby gas giant of Alpha Vulpeculae and find
a Melnorme trader. Buy two tech upgrades but no fuel. Head back to Sol.
Drop off your cargo, then buy another Spathi Eluder and two of the new Orz
Nemesis ships. Get a refill on crew and fuel.
o---------- Nemesis Strategy --------------------------------------------------o
\ /
/ To use the Orz's most dangerous weapon, hold down the special key and hit \
\ fire. This launches an Orz Space Marine which tries to board the enemy ship /
/ and kill everyone inside - and they're pretty good at it! This trick needs \
\ both keys because the Orz actually have three abilities: fire cannon, rotate /
/ cannon, and launch a marine. To turn the cannon, hold special and press the \
\ left or right arrow keys. The cannon is best left facing forward in most /
/ situations, but you can do a weaker imitation of "Spathi-Fu" if you turn the \
\ cannon backwards and fight like that. In most situations, it's bad to launch /
/ a pack of marines all at once because then they will be flying at the enemy \
\ all from the same direction, making them easy to run away from or shoot /
/ down. I prefer to launch two, fly somewhere different, launch another pair, \
\ and repeat until the enemy has been slaughtered. If you think you can do /
/ this without getting hit, fly by the enemy for a brief period and pound them \
\ with your cannon to get in a little extra damage. /
/ \
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Make contact with the Zoq-Fot-Pik scout at Rigel. |
| |
| Acquaint yourself with the Spathi, then go to their homeworld of Epsilon |
| Gruis I-A. Remove the "Evil Ones" from the face of planet I, then make an |
| alliance. |
| |
| Carefully make your way to Alpha Tucanae I. Seal another alliance, then mine |
| I-A and III of this system. |
| |
| Return to Sol for refueling. |
| |
| Go to Vela I and defeat an Ur-Quan Dreadnought. |
| |
| Seek out the Orz, near the Vulpeculae constellation. Ally with them. |
| |
| Mine Zeta Vulpeculae VII, VI, V-A, V-C, V-D and III-A, Delta Vulpeculae |
| VIII, III and II-C. Don't forget to pick up the Taalo device on that last |
| one. |
| |
| Go back to Sol again. Add escorts to your fleet, then refuel. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: So what really happened to the Androsynth?
A: It should be obvious, but the Orz (or something closely tied to them) wiped
them all out. So sorry. If it's of any consolation, know that the Androsynth
were jerks anyway.
To make up for the length of that last section, I'm gonna throw you something
simple. Fly over to Delta Tauri (above Ilwrath territory) and mine planets VII,
IV, III, II, and I. Go back to the star base, trade in your find for enormous
wealth, then add the following to your flagship: a fuel pod, a crew pod and a
dynamo unit.
You might be a little confused with the setup at this point in the game, so let
me go over what you should have installed right now: All thrusters and turning
jets, one planet lander, 3 fuel tanks, 3 storage bays, 2 crew pods, 3 dynamo
units, two fusion blasters near the front, 100 crew, 160 fuel. And since Delta
Tauri is such a nice system, you should have a surplus of RUs even after all
this.
Around this point in the game, the Zoq-Fot-Pik fall under attack. Hayes should
have already mentioned this to you unless you've been following my instructions
faster than I performed them myself. If that's the case, let your ship sit out
for week of game time or something and check back.
Head for Alpha Tucanae I, obviously. Again, don't run into any patrols around
there. You could probably survive a tangle with multiple Ur-Quan at this point,
but it would still be unwise.
When you get there, you'll meet a weird new strain of Ur-Quan. This so-called
Kohr-Ah will challenge you right away to a fight. The best ship to use against
him is a Spathi. You'll want to use the same "Spathi-Fu" strategy you did
against the Ur-Quan Dreadnought from before, except this enemy will be a lot
harder since the spinning blades he launches at you have a very long reach. When
you win, go into Menu, Manifest, and Roster to transfer crew from the flagship
to the Eluder you just used so it's at full crew again. From now on, always
replace lost crew in your escorts after a battle.
[]------------- 2.07 - The Twilight Zone -------------------------------------[]
Instead of going back to Earth, go to fly into that clump of stars which
includes the Orionis constellation (Up-left of your position on the map) since
that's where the Umgah are. Again, don't collide with any Ur-Quan or Kohr-Ah
patrols but you should meet up with another hyperspace bubble once you enter the
right area. When you do, ask them to "reveal [their] secrets" and they'll tell
you about a crashed Ur-Quan Dreadnought in Alpha Pavonis. Now try to get them
to ally with you.
Okay, that didn't go so well. You'll have to fight multiple Umgah Drones now.
Drones are slow and easy to destroy, but they can extend an anti-matter cone
in front of their ship that can really bite into you if you end up in it. Also,
they can zip backwards extremely fast in short bursts and will try to maneuver
so that you end up in their cone of death. They're pretty good at it, so expect
to take some damage against these guys eventually. The best way to kill an Umgah
is with your Spathi Eluders using the usual technique, but Orz work well here
too.
IMPORTANT: If the escort you're using ends up at half crew or less, withdraw it
immediately after you beat your current opponent. Remember this from now on.
Now that you have the Umgah on your star map, head for Alpha Pavonis. It's a
green star up+left of Umgah territory. The planets in this system are all a
little bit too hot to mine, so just cut to Planet VII and bring your lander over
to the crashed Dreadnought. The Warp Pod on the ship is still intact, so the
lander team decides to bring it with you.
Your next stop is Beta Pegasi. Check Planet I but don't land on it. Scanning
this planet will do you good with the Melnorme later.
There's a small blot of hyperspace I want you to camp out in for a while nearby.
Fly close to Gamma Circini (it's down from your current map position) and stay
put for a while. There's a dimensional portal that opens during on 17th of every
month and lasts about three days. While you're waiting for that, there's a good
chance you'll encounter an Arilou fleet. They're friendly, so don't worry about
it. Once the portal opens, charge right in.
Okay, this is a little weird. Open the star map. There's a batch of portals
around that are all titled "Unknown", but there's a much larger portal separate
from the rest that's far above. That's where you wanna go. This is the Arilou
homeworld. Other than trying to attack them, you should run through every
coversation option the game gives you. They will tell you to pick up a Warp Pod
so that they can make you something useful. When you show them that you already
have it, they'll make you a Portal Spawner. That's all you need from them, so
say goodbye.
Quasispace is basically a short-cut dimension to help you get to places faster
and with less fuel use. You want to be near Sol, so take the portal that has the
coordinates of 506 x 474. You won't end up in Sol, but this is close enough.
Actually, while you're out here you should intercept the Pkunk fleet. They're
trying to meet up with the Yehat, which is a tragic mistake. Tell them your
Ouija Board is acting up and the goofy birds will turn right around and head
back to their home stars. Trust me, these guys don't listen to reason so this is
the only way.
When you finally return to the star base, Hayes will tell you a dozen different
things and three Arilou Skiffs will join your party. The hyperspace fluctuations
he mentions are just the Pkunk fleet, so don't worry about that. Sell all your
Zoq-Fot-Pik and Arilou ships (if you're apprehensive about this, see the
questions below), they aren't needed. The only thing you need now is crew and
fuel, so refill those.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Acquaint yourself with the Umgah. |
| |
| Pick up a Warp Pod from Alpha Pavonis VII. |
| |
| Find a rainbow world on Beta Pegasi I. |
| |
| Go through a dimensional portal near Gamma Circini, then make your way to |
| the Arilou homeworld. Obtain the Portal Spawner from them. |
| |
| Enter the quasispace portal that ends up just below Sol. |
| |
| Persuade the Pkunk to delay their journey to Yehat space. |
| |
| Return to Sol to refit your fleet. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: While I was off doing your crap the Spathi disappeared off the map.
What's going on?
A: This will be investigated next, but you should know that there's no way to
prevent them from doing this.
Q: Why are you selling all the Arilou ships?
A: Arilou Skiffs are powerful, but you need to be extremely skilled to get any
mileage out of them. They only have 6 crew, so they die far too easily for
general use. If you *really* want to, go ahead and hold on to one of their
ships.
The first thing you should do is head for Epsilon Gruis and see what's going on
with the Spathi. Observe the slave shield around the home planet, then land on
their moon. Pick up the exotic and the device planted on the surface. Yep, I'm
afraid the Spathi have weaseled out of their oath to remain allies with you.
By now you've heard mention of many other races but never met them yourself.
I've had you avoid contact with many of these because they all attack you or
give you the cold shoulder, but now is a good time to see what they're up to.
The first of these is the VUX. They're down+right of Orz space, so hang around
there until one of their patrols confronts you. If you try to reason with the
VUX captain, he'll tell you most VUX despise humans with one exception - their
greatest Admiral named ZEX. That's the only valuable thing these guys will ever
tell you, so say goodbye. And with that, you've got another battle to wade
through. VUX Intruders are pathetically slow and only harmful at close range, so
the Spathi, Orz and Earthling Cruiser work well here.
Now head right of VUX territory for a ways into that big clump of stars which
includes the Scorpii and Copernicus constellations and wait for a hyperspace
bubble. Not only are these Mycon hostile, they can't make any sense. But unlike
the VUX, they know how to put up a good fight. Orz are the best choice, but the
Earthling Cruiser can also cover your back if you get really desperate. Stay
clear of their huge plasma bursts and attack with your long range weapons.
You'll probably have to switch in a different ship after you win a bout or two,
so be ready for that.
Go to the clump of stars below the VUX sphere of influence, you know the
routine. The first group of Yehat you meet will not attack, but half of the
encounters with them afterwards will carry hostiles so be wary of that. Anyway,
try to pressure the group you meet into helping you. He won't, but he'll refuse
to attack you even though they're all under orders to do so.
Visit the system Zeta Sextantis while you're out here. It's in the down-right
corner of VUX space. The first planet to the sun is another Rainbow World. It's
safe on the surface, so go ahead and mine it.
Next stop: Delta Gorno. Since that's not near anything of importance, the
coordinates are 290 x 026. This is the Shofixti home system. Almost everyone
in the game will tell you they're dead, but that's not quite accurate. Scour
this system until you encounter a lone Scout. Unfortunately, his ship's sensors
are so badly damaged he thinks you're an Ur-Quan! Instead of reasoning with him
like you've been doing with everyone else for the entire game, insult him. When
battle ensues, pick the flagship and flee. Go back and insult him again. Repeat
this until he realizes you can't be an Ur-Quan, as Ur-Quan never cuss people
out like that! Once he acknowledges who you are, he'll be more friendly.
Unfortunately there's not much he can do to help so leave him alone for now and
enter hyperspace.
Open the Devices menu and use the Umgah Caster. This gets the attention of the
Melnorme, so sit and wait for them to arrive. When he shows up, exchange all the
stuff you've picked up. Get a full refueling, then purchase as many
technological upgrades as you can get.
Go back to Sol. Drop off the scant few minerals you've picked up and ask Hayes
to analyze the Umgah Caster. Get rid of your old fuel pods for two of the new
high efficiency models as well as two more crew pods. Refuel and re-crew.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Investigate Epsilon Gruis I-A. |
| |
| Find the VUX. |
| |
| Meet the Mycon. |
| |
| Confront the Yehat. |
| |
| Mine the Rainbow World of Zeta Sextantis I. |
| |
| Seek out the last Shofixti at Delta Gorno. Do not harm him under any |
| circumstances. Get him on your side. |
| |
| Get the Melnorme's attention in hyperspace using the Umgah Caster. Buy fuel |
| and tech upgrades. |
| |
| Return to Sol to refit your fleet. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: You said the Earthling ship was good against VUX, but those things
crucify Earthlings in Super Melee! What gives?
A: The VUX have a special ability that lets them start right next to an opponent
every battle they jump into. This gives the VUX an edge against humans and many
other ships in the Melee simulator, but they don't have this trait in the main
game.
Q: What happens if the Shofixti dies?
A: His brother shows up in the system a month later, giving you a second chance.
About time you shut these things up, eh? Go out into hyperspace and use your
Portal Spawner to enter quasispace again. Take the portal at 520 x 514. Go to
Beta Corvi, which is slightly up+right of your position. Fly right into planet
IV. Yes, I do mean that red gas giant.
Against all odds, the Slylandro themselves are actually quite friendly. They've
got a ton of conversation lines for you, so you might be here a while. Or you
could just get to the point and keep the conversation strictly on the probes.
Eventually you'll end up with something you can transmit during conversation
every time you meet a probe that kills them instantly. Fly away from the planet
for a day of game time, then return and Slylandro will tell you they've cooked
up a way to wipe out all of their probes. The presence of these will decline
rapidly from this point on.
[]-------------- 2.10 - Talking Pet Turns Rabid ------------------------------[]
The Arilou said they had obtained one of the Ur-Quan's Talking Pets, but gave it
to the Umgah. The Umgah in turn noticed the creature was capable of sentience,
so they began messing with its genetic code. By now the creature has regained
concious thought so it may be able to help you bring down the Ur-Quan. From
where you are now, fly into Umgah space and meet another of their patrols.
Ask them what they've been up to, and how the talking pet is doing. Apparently,
"IT DIED". The Umgah aren't feeling too well at the moment. Amazingly, if you
say goodbye they'll let you go in peace. So do that. For those of you not
following the guide step by step, you must have the Taalo Device for this next
part! If you do not, pick it up on Delta Vulpeculae II-C from the Orz. Assuming
that you do have it from where you are now, the next step is to go to Beta
Orionis I.
The talking pet answers your transmission and tells you to go away. Ask it
questions until he gets mad and orders a batch of ten Umgah drones to attack
you. This is what we've been keeping two Spathi Eluders for. Use one to kill
as many Umgah as possible, then withdraw. Do the same with the second. If you
haven't won yet, bring in your Orz ships and then finally the flagship as a last
resort.
After the battle, the Dnyarri will plead for his life and offer to help you
against the Ur-Quan. He's pure evil, but you will need his help so accept. He'll
make himself a nest in an empty storage room on board and you'll be able to
speak to him at any time via the Devices menu.
Return to the Umgah homeworld where you receive a hero's welcome for freeing
them from Dnyarri mind control. Regardless of whether you respond modestly or
arrogantly, you'll end up with 1,000 credits worth of bio data. They'll be happy
to answer any questions you ask, but when you try to leave they'll once again
turn hostile and try to kill you. They also give you four of their ships. Don't
ask why, the Umgah are just weird. This next fleet they send after you is
infinite, so retreat.
Head down from Umgah space so they aren't following you and give your Hyperwave
Caster a toot. When the Melnorme trader arrives, exchange the Bio data and
purchase all remaining tech upgrades available and get a refuel. You should have
a big stack of credits remaining for you to leech fuel with from now on.
Go back to Earth. Whether you use quasispace portal 506 x 474 or fly back
the casual way doesn't matter. Analyze the Dnyarri along with the probe
self-destruct code. Replace lost crew and sell those awful Umgah ships that
tagged along. Go out into hyperspace and call the Melnorme over with your Umgah
Caster for refueling.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Fly to Umgah space and converse with one of their patrols. |
| |
| Go to Beta Orionis I, defeat the a large Umgah fleet, and capture the |
| Talking Pet. |
| |
| Re-establish communications with Beta Orionis I to receive a reward of Bio |
| data. Flee when the Umgah attack again. |
| |
| Leave Umgah space and get in touch with the Melnorme for fuel and |
| technology. |
| |
| Return to the star base to fix up your fleet once again. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
[]-------------- 2.11 - Creating the Ultimate Flagship -----------------------[]
This chapter is purely optional. What you'll be doing is some extra errands to
obtain more RUs since what you've got right now isn't enough to pay for all the
modules. You'll end up with godly firepower that no enemy in the game can stand
up to. I personally like fighting my battles using the escorts instead for the
sake of challenge. If you decide not to do this chapter, just add one shiva
furnace to the current setup and you'll be good to go. Here's what to do in any
case:
Take a look at the Pkunk fleet on your map. Have they started migrating again?
If so, intercept them and say that it's bad luck to travel right now because
it's during the month of the swollen moon. Go to the Pkunk home planet of Gamma
Krueger I to get four more Pkunk Furys. Even if the fleet is absent, the
homeworld will be repopulated if it's returning. Typically the homeworld won't
give you ships when you arrive because they have something or other they want to
tell you. So leave and return to the planet as many times as necessary until
they give you ships.
It's time to mine Alpha Centauri. With all these funky lander upgrades, this
should be child's play now. Mine planets VIII and III, then head back to Sol.
Exchange the minerals and scrap the Pkunk ships, then adjust the modules on your
flagship into this: 2 high-efficiency fuel tanks, 3 crew pods, a storage bay, 2
tracking systems, 3 shiva furnaces, 3 dynamo units, and a hellbore cannon at
each of the two slots farthest to the front. The one storage pod is just for
kicks since you won't be doing any mining after this point, you don't need it.
If you really want to maximize, change that into either a crew pod or a shiva
furnace but it really doesn't matter.
From now on, try to buy your fuel from the Melnorme and not the starbase unless
you want to do some more mining.
Q: If shiva furnaces are better than dynamo units, why are you using
both?
A: They do different things. Dynamo units make your battery recharge rate
faster, like one battery point recovered every two seconds instead of one every
three seconds. Shiva furnaces give the recharge intervals more power, but they
will still happen at the same speed. It's pointless to buy more than three
dynamo units since more than that has no effect. In other words, the best way to
go about buying battery modules is to get three dynamo units plus however many
shiva furnaces you can conveniently fit.
Q: You don't like point-defense lasers much, do you?
A: No, I don't. They have extremely limited use. If you're wondering what they
do, they're functionally the same thing as the Earthling Cruiser's secondary
ability. Adding multiple point-defense lasers increases the damage, but does not
protect you from most enemy projectiles. If you must use one, use ONLY one.
The VUX said one of their generals actually liked humans, so let's meet him. ZEX
is on Alpha Cerenkov I. When you get there, he'll reveal that he has a dozen
Shofixti females in stasis and that you're no doubt after them. Make chit-chat
with him (yes, I'm afraid he *is* hitting on you), then suggest that you'll go
get a certain creature for his personal zoo if he'll give the Shofixtis to you.
The hint about where it's at that he gives is odd, but simple. I'll repeat it
for you:
"It basks in yellow light within the constellation Linch-Nas-Ploh. We have
translated 'Linch-Nas-Ploh' to mean approximately 'the long, thin creature who
has swallowed the huge beast.'"
There's a constellation that looks just like this called "Lyncis" in the
upper middle of the map. So the critter would have to be on one of the three
yellow stars within that. I'm sure you're not reading this guide for riddles so
I'll just tell you where it is. Leave the system and use your Portal Spawner.
Enter quasispace portal 448 x 504. Go to Delta Lyncis I. Hunt and trap all
the life forms on this planet. The creature ZEX is after kind of looks like an
evil green head and moves really fast. If you have all the lander upgrades he's
not that hard to bring down.
Once you've got all those critters, leave the system and enter quasispace
again. Take portal 516 x 466 to get as close to VUX space as any of the
portals can take you, then return to Alpha Cerenkov I.
No matter what you argue, ZEX will manage to have you send the beast to him
before the Shofixti maidens are even moved from containment. Not only does ZEX
not follow through with his half of the bargain, but he decides to go after you
with his fleet. Fortunately for you, the idiot VUX don't have a cage that
can securely contain the creature you just sent so it breaks free and kills
everyone, saving you the trouble. Go down to the surface of the now vacant
planet and capture all creatures, then pick up the maidens.
Set a course for Delta Gorno. The Scout from before should still be here, so
track him down and give him the maidens. He'll thank you profusely then leave
the system. Don't worry, you'll hear from these guys again a while later.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Meet Admiral ZEX on Alpha Cerenkov I. |
| |
| Go to Delta Lyncis I and capture all lifeforms there. |
| |
| Return to Alpha Cerenkov I. Take the Shofixti Maidens off the surface of the |
| planet. |
| |
| Bring the Shofixti Maidens to the Shofixti captain in Delta Gorno. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
[]-------------- 2.13 - Subduing the Thraddash -------------------------------[]
You're probably a little low on fuel, so leave the system and use the Umgah
Caster to draw out the Melnorme. Exchange your most recent batch of biological
data, then get a full refuel.
Use your Portal Spawner, then enter quasispace portal 476 x 458. Check your
star map. Sucky spot, huh? That's as close to Thraddash space as any quasispace
portal is going to take us. Head up+left into the clump of stars that contains
the Apodis constellation and wait for a hyperspace patrol.
The Thraddash are not friendly, but unlike most hostiles they will give you an
honest answer to every question you ask. The objective here is to obtain an
artifact called the Aqua Helix on Zeta Draconis I. The Thraddash keep it under
guard by an infinite fleet, so taking it by force is out of the question. There
are three ways to get the artifact:
1) Manipulate the Ilwrath and Thraddash into going to war. Since they are of
equal power and ferocity, this ensures the annihilation of both species. You're
going to end up doing this later no matter what, but it takes a long time for
them to kill each other so this is out of the question right now.
2) Convince the Thraddash to attack the Kohr-Ah in an effort to impress their
Ur-Quan masters. While they're gone, steal the artifact. This is the quickest
and easiest route, but where's the fun in that? If you don't feel like fighting,
do this by chatting with any of the patrols until the suggestion comes up.
3) Start killing Thraddash fleets left and right. After you've crushed about 25
of their ships, they will be very impressed that such a small group of ships
could decimate them so efficiently and declare you their "Great Teacher". This
will result in some funny dialogue and you can land on Zeta Draconis I freely,
but they will hate you for taking the artifact and turn hostile towards you
again. When you become their teacher, it's worth visiting a few of their patrols
to see what they say to you.
When fighting Thraddash, do not chase them around! Stay put, turn to keep your
gun on them, and fire when they come to you. The Thraddash blaster weapon is so
weak it doesn't really matter if you take a few hits from it. The afterburner
flame jets on the other hand hurt like hell, so holding position is a must. Your
Earthling Cruiser is the best at this, with the Orz being a decent alternative.
Spathi are a poor choice here. The flagship can slice through them with ease,
but I prefer not to use it.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Call the Melnorme over for refueling. |
| |
| Take quasispace portal 476.0, 458.0, then fly into the Apodis star cluster |
| to meet the Thraddash. |
| |
| Kill 25 Thraddash ships over the course of many battles. |
| |
| Pick up the Aqua Helix on Zeta Draconis I. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: What happens if the Thraddash attack the Kohr-Ah?
A: The Kohr-Ah obliterate most of the Thraddash starfleet in a couple weeks
without taking any noticeable losses, then the Thraddash retreat back to their
home stars humiliated. Not much of a surprise, really.
Q: Can I buy Thraddash Torches for my fleet when they become my
"students"?
A: Yep, and they're pretty good against the AI in this game if you weave around
in front of the enemy leaving after-burner flame trails. As soon as you've
stolen the Aqua Helix, the Torches abandon you so it's really not worth it.
Take quasispace portal 506 x 474 then fly back to Sol. The Pkunk may be heading
for Yehat space again, but this time let them go. Even after that diversion with
the Thraddash, odds are the Shofixti have not yet returned to the star base. So
call in the Melnorme for fuel out in hyperspace and wait 10 days of game time
afterwards. If the Shofixti still haven't appeared when you talk to Hayes again,
wait ten more days in hyperspace. It shouldn't take too long.
Once they've returned, buy a Shofixti Scout and re-crew everything. The Scout is
weak and expendable, but you're not bringing this along for combat purposes. Now
that you have it, fly into Yehat space and meet one of their patrols. Show them
the Shofixti ship, and watch the Yehat captain flip out. After that, the Yehat
will split into two factions. The majority of them will try to kill you, the
rest will donate ships if you ask. Yehat Terminators, while powerful, are best
left in the hands of an expert so I won't ask you to use them. You should meet
with one of the rebel groups anyway, if only for conversation.
You'll most likely end up in a fight against the particularly deadly Yehat
loyalists. The ultimate flagship (if you have it) can wipe them out if you get
in range and empty your whole battery into them. Orz can also do the job, but
almost every other ship you have at this point stands no chance. Even with the
recommended ships these guys are a huge pain, so feel free to run from them when
you meet them.
Go back to the starbase. Sell the Shofixti and Yehat ships then replace crew. Go
out into hyperspace for another Melnorme fuel call.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Pass time until Hayes says the Shofixti have returned. |
| |
| Buy a Shofixti Scout. |
| |
| Go into Yehat territory and find one of the patrols. Show them the Scout. |
| |
| Go around meeting Yehat fleets until you find a group of rebels. Talk to |
| them and obtain four of their ships. |
| |
| Return to the star base. Refit your fleet. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: Can I keep the Scout?
A: Yes, but it's not going to win you any battles.
Q: Can I keep a Terminator or two?
A: If you want. Since you don't need the money, it's fine but you'll find that
the Utwig ships you get later can do everything the Yehat do, only better.
Q: Uh, aren't you forgetting about the Pkunk?
A: Now that the Yehat revolution has started it's okay to let the Pkunk meet
their siblings.
Q: In my game the Pkunk made it to the Yehat before the revolution.
Are they screwed?
A: No. Yehat dissidents rescue some of the Pkunk whether you start a revolution
or not. You'll see the Pkunk later as long as the Yehat have their civil war.
[]-------------- 2.15 - Repairing the Ultron ---------------------------------[]
Go out into hyperspace, use your Portal Spawner and enter quasispace portal
530 x 528. Fly around the Aquarii stars and as usual, wait for a patrol to
intercept you.
Say "Hi" to the Utwig. Talk with him as much as you want, then head over to the
Beta Librae system left of Utwig territory. Intercept one of the fleets here, or
just go to planet I to meet the Supox. These are the Utwig's sidekicks, I guess.
They'll give you the Ultron, the device the Utwig are whining about so much. To
repair the Ultron, you'll need three things: the Clear Spindle, the Aqua Helix,
and the Rosy Sphere. You should already have two of those. To get the last one,
we have a little more work to do.
Take quasispace portal 516 x 466. You will need two Mycon Egg Cases. These
can be found on the first worlds of both Gamma Brahe and Beta Copernicus. The
Egg Case will be somewhat difficult to find on a map since base metal deposits
and the Egg Cases look similar. The difference is that artifacts are always
square, while deposits are circular. After you do this, head for Epsilon Scorpii
I and ask the Mycon at the homeworld about the shattered worlds. It's critical
that you do this to unlock a certain conversation choice later on. Since the
Mycon are jerks, they'll attack you when you try to leave. This is a homeworld,
so flee instead of fighting them. Once that's out of the way, take quasispace
portal 488 x 538. Go to Zeta Persei.
Meet a Druuge fleet here, then make your way to planet I. You can make a lot of
different deals with these traders, but ultimately there's only one worth
making. Offer to sell a Mycon Egg Case to them, and they'll ask if you want the
Rosy Sphere for it instead of the usual Druuge Mauler ship. Accept. Most other
deals with the Druuge involve selling your crew to them as slaves or giving up
insanely valuable tools for a few of their moderately useful ships. You need
that other Egg Case you picked up, so don't sell them that. This late in the
game you have no need of their services, so cut communications with them.
You now have all the items needed to repair the Ultron. Use all three of them
and the device will be fixed automatically. Believe it or not, the Utwig aren't
lying to you when they say this device is special. If you need proof that it
actually does something, take it over to the star base and ask Hayes to perform
tests on it. Otherwise, take quasispace portal 530 x 528 and give the Ultron
to any passing Utwig fleet. Both the Supox and Utwig will become your allies at
this point and they'll send their fleets at the Kohr-Ah to wreck havoc on them.
Unlike the Thraddash, these two species will manage to do some degree of damage
to the Kohr-Ah fleet before retreating.
The Utwig also said they have a gift for you on Zeta Hyades VI-B, so go there
next. A Druuge fleet has already arrived to take whatever it is the Utwig have
promised you. The Druuge will try and persuade you to let them have it.
Naturally, you should tell them to screw off. They'll attack.
Druuge Maulers have incredible range and firepower, but when they fire it sends
the ship reeling backwards. And while they can shoot very far, their weapon is
not all that accurate at a distance. Spathi Eluders have no chance whatsoever
against Druuge, but your Earthling Cruister dominates them with ease. Orz can
also do a pretty good job if used right - drop a couple Marines in the Mauler's
path, then when he sends himself sailing away from them, fly around to the
opposite side and launch another pair to cut him off. The key here is to keep
your distance from the Mauler so they can't land a decent hit on you while
launching missiles/marines.
You now have a really huge bomb. Whatever you do, don't go into the menu and try
to activate it, that will kill you. Go back to Sol and buy two Utwig Jugger
ships. Fill your crew and fuel once again. While you're here, make sure you ask
the Hayes to analyze the artifacts you've picked up.
o---------- Jugger Strategy ---------------------------------------------------o
\ /
/ Hold down the secondary button to activate the absorption field on this \
\ ship. While this device is on, you are impervious to almost all forms of /
/ attack. This will slowly drain the battery down to nothing. The Utwig \
\ battery starts halfway full every battle and does NOT regenerate. Once it /
/ runs out, that's the end of it. Fortunately, whenever the field absorbs an \
\ attack, the battery gets a boost. Effective use of this ship involves timing /
/ the "block" to match enemy attacks perfectly. Hold down the primary button \
\ to unleash rapid energy bursts directly in front of you. The guns on this /
/ ship do not drain your battery at all, but you can't fire while blocking. \
\ The ship makes for a wide target and flies at only an average speed. Despite \
/ that, this is one of the deadliest ships in the game. /
/ \
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Quasispace to the upper-right corner. |
| |
| Meet the Utwig, then the Supox. Get the broken Ultron from the Supox. |
| |
| Quasispace to Mycon space, then get Mycon Egg Cases from Gamma Brahe I and |
| Beta Copernicus I. |
| |
| Quasispace to Zeta Persei I and trade a Mycon Egg Case to the Druuge for a |
| Rosy Sphere. |
| |
| Put the parts together, then give the Perfect Ultron to the Utwig. |
| |
| Go to Zeta Hyades VI-B. Defeat the Druuge fleet you meet there. |
| |
| Quasispace back to Sol. Buy two Utwig Juggers, then refuel. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: Crewmen are pretty cheap, are you sure I can't trade some of them for
stuff with the Druuge?
A: You can, but don't. Hayes will hear about what you did, yell at you, and crew
will become a lot more expensive afterwards. If you must trade with the Druuge,
do it by selling items to them instead.
Q: The Druuge offered to sell me a Glowing Rod and/or Wimbli's Trident.
What do those do?
A: Nothing. They're worthless, don't buy them.
Q: How can I get the Druuge to sell me stuff again? They hate me now.
A: After you take the Utwig Bomb, they'll attack you on sight. This cannot be
reversed and you absolutely do need that bomb.
Q: Should I get a Supox Blade?
A: If you want. If you use one, make sure you don't get too caught up using that
sideways/backwards thrust ability. It will hurt you more than help most of the
time.
[]-------------- 2.16 - The Syreen-Mycon Conflict ----------------------------[]
Okay, see the huge Ur-Quan sphere of influence? Find a little blue star that's
just outside on its lower left edge called Betelgeuse. Fly there. Go to the
first planet's star base to meet another former ally species, the Syreen. Say
whatever you want to Talana - your dirtiest remarks come off as "cute" to her.
Talk to her enough and the option to talk about the Mycon "Deep Children" will
come up. This is of course assuming you asked the Mycon at Epsilon Scorpii I
about the shattered worlds you've been to. If the option doesn't come up, go do
that now. She'll give you a shuttle full of Syreen captains and send you to find
the vault holding their ships. Simply put, it's on Epsilon Camelopardalis I-A.
If you bump into any Ur-Quan or Kohr-Ah on the way, use your Utwig ships to
*WTF PWN* them. The key to winning an Ur-Quan or Kohr-Ah vs. Utwig fight is to
get in their face and keep the absorption field up most of the time, dropping
shields occasionally to fire back in short bursts.
When you get back to the Syreen star base, you can simply leave for the next
task or you can say "What about us?" to Talana and get an implied sex scene with
her. Do whichever.
This next part many people have problems with, and it's because they assume the
world which the Mycon refer to as their "special place" is their homeworld. It
is not. The Mycon homeworld is, once again, Epsilon Scorpii I. Go there and tell
them about the world in the Organon system. Over the next few weeks the Mycon
will send their fleet over there, and half of it will be destroyed before they
abort their mission and flee back to their native area.
The "special place" just so happens to hold an item you dearly need. Go there,
to Beta Brahe I. Now that you've coerced the Mycon into sending their fleet to
Organon, there are only five Podships guarding this planet. Use your Utwig ships
to decimate them. If you end up unlucky, fall back on the Orz. Once that's over
with, land and grab the Sun Device.
Fly back to Betelgeuse, but don't enter the system. Wait for the Mycon fleet to
get trashed before you talk to Talana again, otherwise she won't have much to
say to you. Talk to her afterwards to gain an official alliance.
Go back to Sol. Recrew, refuel.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Go to Betelgeuse I's star base to make contact with the Syreen. |
| |
| Tell the Syreen about the Mycon Deep Children. |
| |
| Go to Epsilon Camelopardalis I-A and open the vault of Syreen Penetrator |
| ships. |
| |
| Return to the star base at Betelgeuse. |
| |
| Go to Epsilon Scorpii I and tell the Mycon of Organon. |
| |
| While the Mycon are gone, attack the guardians at Beta Brahe I and take the |
| Sun Device. |
| |
| Leave Mycon space and wait for the Syreen trap to play out. |
| |
| Gain an alliance with the Syreen at Betelgeuse. |
| |
| Return to Sol for refueling. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: What happens if I stay in the Organon system during this event?
A: Nothing. You aren't actually supposed to be anywhere near there when it
happens.
Q: Can I put a Syreen ship in my fleet?
A: Yes, but they're not as lethal as what you've already got. Besides, right
now it doesn't much matter what you use.
[]-------------- 2.17 - Finale -----------------------------------------------[]
You've accomplished much, but there's still no way of bringing down the Ur-Quan
in sight. There's one last species around to ask for help and we're going to go
meet them. Unfortunately, they're in the middle of Ilwrath space under guard by
an infinite number of Avengers. Go to Alpha Tauri, the hidden Ilwrath home
system.
When you get there, use your Umgah Caster. You'll automatically set the thing up
to impersonate their gods Dogar and Kazon. During this conversation, you can
even tell the Ilwrath to rename themselves the Dillrats, but sadly this change
doesn't show up on the star map or anything drastic like that. Anyway, order
them to "SEEK NEW PREY" and they'll leave our next destination open for your
interference.
That destination is Procyon II. The star base around this planet is completely
vacant when you check it, so approach the planet itself and use the 'Caster.
When you're done talking to the Chmmr, what you must do next should be apparent:
use the Sun Device.
Once you've gone through all the dialogue and end up back at Sol, you'll need
to set up your flagship and fleet again. Take two high efficiency fuel tanks and
two crew pods for your flagship. You won't be using it for combat so you don't
really need much on it. There are a lot of different ships you can bring along
here, and but I suggest this: sell all your old escorts and bring along nine
Chmmr Avatars. Avatars are not the best choice against what you'll face, but
they're just too cool to not use. It may sound strange, but those empty ship
slots will make the coming battle easier.
o---------- Avatar Strategy ---------------------------------------------------o
\ /
/ The Chmmr Avatar can obliterate most enemies without much effort while \
\ taking minimal damage. It has three satellites orbiting it that /
/ automatically fire on nearby enemy ships as well as incoming projectiles. \
\ When you hold down the primary fire button, a stream of energy will reach /
/ out about as far as the length of the Avatar and do massive damage to \
\ anything caught in it. The secondary function is a tractor beam that drags /
/ in enemy ships for the kill. All you have to do when using this vessel is to \
\ fly straight at your opponent, hold down the tractor beam to bring it in /
/ faster, then hold down the fire button to shred it to atoms. You are not \
\ manueverable enough to dodge enemy fire, don't even try. When it comes to /
/ fighting enemies faster than you, wait for them to fly close before you turn \
\ on the tractor beam or else you'll waste your battery. /
/ \
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Take quasispace portal 520 x 540. The system the Ur-Quan hide their trophy
battleship--your last destination--is Delta Crateris.
When you enter the system, talk to the Dnyarri. He will at last make himself
useful by telepathically forcing the thousands (!) of Ur-Quan ships flying
around into leaving the system. Approach the red planet they were circling. The
ship still has three of both Ur-Quan and Kohr-Ah guardians around, but they're
not much. For once, don't bother withdrawing any of your escorts. Let your
Avatars fight this out to the death.
If you did all of the Yehat sub-plot, Pkunk and Yehat ships will fill all of the
empty slots you have after that last fight as reinforcements. The ones that
really matter are the Pkunk -- they're so fast the Sa-Matra's passive defense
systems can't even catch them! Almost every other ship will get mowed down fast,
so stick to using Pkunk here. Holding down the Pkunk's primary attack button
will shoot metal bits at a very short range to the left, right and front of the
ship. The secondary fuction will taunt the enemy and regain a small amount of
energy.
The Sa-Matra launches two defense mechanisms: gravity balls and plasma balls.
The gravity balls do little damage, but when you collide with them they send
you reeling into the distance. The plasma balls are much faster and tear right
through you doing large amounts of damage. Once all the shields are down, the
Sa-Matra stops launching projectiles but you still need to destroy what's
already out there before you bring in the now helpless flagship.
What you want to do here is use a Pkunk Fury to fly by the Sa-Matra's shield
generators and pelt them with a sideways attack, recover energy, and repeat.
You'll have to do this many, many times to wear the ship down. Even with the
Pkunk this is going to involve a little fancy footwork, so stay alert. Once the
generators are all down, suicide with your current Pkunk since there's no chance
that they can escape. Bring in Chmmr and Yehat ships to sweep up the remaining
obstacles with their superior weaponry. When the coast is clear, bring in your
flagship and fly into the Sa-Matra's open bay.
Pat yourself on the back, you've beaten the game! If you're playing on UQM
version 0.4 or higher, you should have the ending video, out-takes and credits
kick in.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Summary: |
| |
| Go to Alpha Tauri. Use your Hyperwave Caster to order the Ilwrath to seek |
| out new prey. |
| |
| Go to Procyon II. Use your Hyperwave Caster to talk to the inhabitants below |
| the slave shield. |
| |
| Use the Sun Device to draw out the Chmmr. |
| |
| Refit your flagship and fleet for the final battle. |
| |
| Go to Delta Crateris. Speak to the Dnyarri when you get there. |
| |
| Slay the Sa-Matra's protectors. |
| |
| Destroy the Sa-Matra according to the Dnyarri's directions. |
| |
| Enjoy the ending. |
| |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
Q: Can I bring something to the final battle other than Chmmr Avatars?
A: Yes, go ahead and bring anything you can kill Ur-Quan and Kohr-Ah with if you
want. A much smaller number of Spathi or Utwig would be the most devastating.
Again I must stress the importance of leaving some of your fleet open for Yehat
and Pkunk reinforcements.
Q: That sure was fun, but I wish I hadn't spoiled the game by using your
walkthrough! How do I erase my memory so I can play it again for real?
A: Uh, that's a little hard for me to solve. Don't touch the game for 2-10
years, then go back and play it again. You won't remember where stuff is.
Q: Is there anything in the game that you missed during the walkthrough?
A: A few things, but they are trivial.
I avoided using most of the ships available in the game and left no advice on
the ones I didn't use.
I did not find all the rainbow worlds as there was no need for additional
Melnorme credits. Rainbow worlds appear as the first planet in these systems:
I only picked up two of the Mycon Egg shells on Beta Copernicus and Gamma Brahe.
The third one is on Gamma Scorpii. This could be used to buy a Druuge Mauler.
There is also a Burvix Caster on Arcturus I-A. This performs the same function
as the Umgah Caster, but the Druuge are eager to buy only this one from you in
exchange for a free fuel refill. Sounds like a gyp? It's supposed to be, but
here's a way to turn that around on them:
A popular prank to pull on the Druuge is to equip every slot of your flagship
with High Efficiency Fuel Systems which you leave empty except for 25 fuel. Use
the Portal Spawner and take quasispace portal 488 x 538, then proceed to the
Druuge homeworld of Zeta Persei I. When you sell the Burvix Caster, they will
have to give you just under 1,600 units of fuel to keep their end of the
bargain! The reaction you get for this is hilarious, and you can sell all that
fuel back at Sol for more RUs than you'll ever know what to do with for the rest
of the game.
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| III - Afterword |
o------------------------------------------------------------------------------o
I offer a show of respect to Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III, the creators of the
original Star Control 2. The same goes for the core team of The Ur-Quan Masters
project.
People who’ve helped me put this monstrosity together:
Stefan Elliot - Helped tweak the content early on, giving me an idea of how to
proceed while making it.
John Szczepaniak - Sent me WinSyntax, the program I made this guide with.
Tore Aune Fjellstad - Beta tested the guide, pointed out a couple of glaring
errors that would have made me look bad.
I used a little program from http://www.network-science.de/ascii/ to make the
ASCII title.
