Elite / Frontier Is it possible to mod the game to be able to nuke stations?

[boringnick]

After making millions and millions of credits, and buying yet again a Panther Clipper with hundreds of shields and a plasma acclerator, there comes the time when you want to blow up something bigger than a typical pirate vessel.


So, with all those new mods and tools (D3D FFE, new buffet... and what not else), has anyone figured it out how to destroy space stations?

I am asking the FFE executable experts here.

 

[Dart256]

I had Panter and rockets and bomb and big plasma accelerator... many time ago...

I played Elite 3 - ffe.

I attacked Tube station (orange marker on scaner) and kill it!

And the game be CrasheD!

Only one accident for the whole game.

 

[whertz]

I remember playing FFE years ago and trying to blow up Boston Base but no matter what you could not destroy starports...

I removed the object entry for a starport in memory, but the game freezes up. Removing an object in this way is okay because it is the way my 'remove ship' command works, but there must be something else in memory that is tied in with starports.

And another thing, maybe it is hardcoded that they cannot be destroyed, because their "hull condition" is 0 anyway. I thought about hacking the starports memory area to make FFE think the starport is a ship or something, then see if it can be destroyed, but maybe in the future I'll look into that after BUFFET2 is released.

 

[turwhitt]

If this is made possible, i'd like to see some serious defensive armament at space stations. Not just the usual few police which you can safely ignore with your 80+ shield units and energy booster.

BIG missiles that canot be destroyed with a Naval ECM and high-power energy bombs, for starters. Perhaps large amounts of medium-sized ships (lanners etc.) with nasty lasers and some shields. A space station with shields/hull such as will take 20-30 minutes to carve through even with a LPE.

Trying to destroy a space station is something that should still be a stupid idea even if you have got an Imperial Explorer with LPE, 100s of shields etc.

 

[whertz]

Okay I can remove the starport without the game crashing, and it works good, it does not show up on the map or your navigation computer after it is removed. Now, if only I could somehow figure out a way of detecting damage to the starport, then I could have BUFFET remove it...

 

[boringnick]

I wonder what happens to assassination missions, i.e: You remove a starbase, but there is a assassination mission being offered, where the victim is on the starbase.


What happens? Will the game crash? Especially what happens if you take the mission?


Food for thought for you.

 

[whertz]

I wonder what happens to assassination missions, i.e: You remove a starbase, but there is a assassination mission being offered, where the victim is on the starbase.


What happens? Will the game crash? Especially what happens if you take the mission?


Food for thought for you.

The starbase gets re-generated when you leave and then enter the system it is in, so if you accept an assassination mission when you enter the destination system the base will always be there. It would just be for fun to destroy it.

 

[Alien]

I've edited JJFFE with a hex editor (thanks to George Hooper)
His instructions told me how to edit ships and equipment
(and fix a sizing bug for the thargoid ships)

But he didn't explain how to edit the properties for stations.
I suppose the people to ask are DB & co at Frontier.

I'd like to include this thread in the Index (see link at bottom of my posts),
but could someone clarify which version we are discussing ?
Then I'll know where to put it.

 

[scowie]

If you guys are getting that bored with all the money you've made, and flying around in an indestructible ship, how about starting a new game in which you don't buy any goods to trade, i.e. you have to make your money from missions and by selling scooped up goods, or even mining.

I avoided doing the medicine run in the last game I started and flying around in a ship where one missile can kill you makes combat more of a challenge and makes the game more interesting, imo.

 

[potsmoke66]

right on commander, start a new game if you're bored of your status. this happens to me allways in fe2, so i never made it to elite. but startet a lot of careers in the last 15 years. truly i like the beginning of the game and to collect all awards (even the one for a low rated photo. must be done prior to first good) and permissions. i thought about a starting position where you have to manage from a shuttle to your first fighter, but it needs some changes in ships specs and i think i will offer it all with the first of my stud-city models, which is almost finished.

further, i don't like the big ships in fe2/ffe, i use to do even my bombing/photo runs in a (unmodified) explorer or constrictor (i like much, good relation between cargo and range), you won't have a powerful weapon or many shields, but your more agile and can possibly finish up to three photo/bombing missions in one run (and don't fear the couriers, the're lame).

shooting a space station to dust, yes, who didn't tried to? something really stupid and useless, but everybody has tried i'm shure.

start on lave.
try to scoop fuel from a star, if you dare.
let no one escape after a photo/bombing.
land on ceres (i think this is only possible in amiga cd32 version, because 0 grav. objects behave is fixed, but try if you can).
disable (sell) your autopilot.
try to (successful) bomb "flying" bases.
try to make a good photo of a high gravity planet located base (you'll never get it with a panther).
smile, smile, smile

the constrictor, really she's not a beauty. but after all, my favorit combat ship. something like a strike bomber, like a mosquito. very versatile and can be used for all purposes like, assasination, reconnaissance and bombing.

 

[potsmoke66]

try this: http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14587&postcount=4 or http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14588&postcount=5

 

[DraQ]

further, i don't like the big ships in fe2/ffe, i use to do even my bombing/photo runs in a (unmodified) explorer or constrictor (i like much, good relation between cargo and range), you won't have a powerful weapon or many shields, but your more agile and can possibly finish up to three photo/bombing missions in one run (and don't fear the couriers, the're lame).

True. Something like Boa can be pretty cool for the flying fortress feeling, but not really fun to fly - Asp, Harrier, Constrictor, Cobra Mk.III, etc. is where the real fun lurks.

start on lave.
try to scoop fuel from a star, if you dare.

If you try to approach the star on autopilot, rather than manually, or if you don't know what exactly are you doing it's just a suicide, even with small, class M dwarfs.
Even though I'm generally a good pilot, I'm still feel very uncomfortable skimming stars.

let no one escape after a photo/bombing.

I prefer low level runs at what amounts to orbital velocity, and yelling "nyah! nyah! can't catch me!" at the helpless defenders.

land on ceres (i think this is only possible in amiga cd32 version, because 0 grav. objects behave is fixed, but try if you can).

You can also try landing on Canopus 1 (only in FE2, I don't think it's possible in FFE), on the sole terraformed planet in Cegreth system (orbiting a white dwarf at mental pace, autopilot has serious problems landing there), on the famous Rance's Grave (contrary to what they say at AJN academy it is possible to obtain a Frame of Reference lock on this moonlet), low level flight on full manual in general (FFE), landing on a gas giant (purely for lulz, as it shouldn't even be possible in reality), close fly-by near a white dwarf, putting your ship in orbit around a planet or a moon, fully manual intercept of an incoming ship starting from planetary starport, etc. There is a lot of fun to be had in Frontier.

 

[potsmoke66]

there's a lot to do except blasting orbital cities, which won't work.
i know when i played frontier the first time, i thought what else should these huge weapons be good for? but it's been a long time since i mounted a lpa to my ship. 20mw even if i have more space on a courier are far enough, if you take a 4mw to your courier you can add legally so many shields to your ship that it will bounce back from the bases poles undamaged (or another ship, looks funny when you see a courier in kamikaze manner attacking you is getting bounced straightwards back). small ships you can ignore then, they get roasted like moths on a lamp (still you have to check your shields sometimes, many bounces you can't stand).
but the courier is not the best choice for military missions, especially because you can't scoop fuel and the range of the fixed hyperspace drive is a bit to short.
also if you like to do some assasination between photo/bombing you would like to change the ship because she's to slow (hyperdrive range).
an asp with a military drive three, is a very good choice for the beginning, only missions to planets far out you have to be careful, because you might run out of fuel, and often there's no starport to refuel. still it's a very versatile ship.
but by the risk that i repeat myself, constrictor, but a cobra mk1 is also a good choice even when you need a little longer to scramble up all enemies with a 1mw laser. best choice for assasinations, you get them all, i swear.
something for the sturmovik fans; a cobra mk3 with a military drive and a 4mw gun, i wonder what ship could beat this.

my most loved ship is a gold/black or green/black spotted tiger, looks great! but no real combat ship at least (it might be suitable for bombing/photo if you use old fe2 with wormholebug) and you have to search a lifetime for one (if they still apear in this design in ffe at all).

users of fe2 with wormhole bug, be warned, assasinations must be done in "normal" jump manner, if you shortcut over a wormhole route, the target ship is allways not there, also if you follow a ship using a shortcut via wormholes they will never arrive in the target system (i don't know exactly why, maybe data get's lost when you jump over the full range?).

a hint for beginners, don't arrive to early, they might get warned, time the arrival in the target system for a assasination as close as possible to timepoint when the prey leaves the starport.

 

[potsmoke66]

in a other thread here it's been stated that he can't find hyperspace arrival clouds in glffe's system map.
i never do so anyway.
if you want to follow a prey to hyperspace, just get close to his departure cloud (50 km are ok) and engage hyperspace, you will allways reappear close to your targets arrival cloud (if you made it in time), so there is no searching for the arrival cloud.

 

[Steve]

if you want to follow a prey to hyperspace, just get close to his departure cloud (50 km are ok) and engage hyperspace, you will allways reappear close to your targets arrival cloud (if you made it in time), so there is no searching for the arrival cloud.

That's one of my favourite parts of Frontier; lying in wait for a ship and blasting them when they emerge from hyperspace

 

[Geraldine]

If you guys are getting that bored with all the money you've made, and flying around in an indestructible ship, how about starting a new game in which you don't buy any goods to trade, i.e. you have to make your money from missions and by selling scooped up goods, or even mining.

I avoided doing the medicine run in the last game I started and flying around in a ship where one missile can kill you makes combat more of a challenge and makes the game more interesting, imo.

Another thing I love about FE2, FFE, you can make the game as hard or as easy as you like. As for ships, it's the Sidewinder for me, fast enough, small enough and that fuel scoop has saved my bacon on many an occasion, missiles? Who needs em! I run though if I detect an energy bomb!