R2-Opus2

Well what I mean is more along the lines of if I assign a character to sabotage mines, they would do that indefinitely until I change their orders thereby saving me from having to keep giving them that order. Course the problem is in having them only go where odds of success are in their favor based on what you send with them, rather than like, the computer controling them for you poorly. Or even better, if they were sent to a lightly guarded world to sabatage something, they could stay there until they've hit everything they're able to. Anyway, if something like that could have been automated, that'd save a ton of clicks right there. Basically I like to know where they are, how they're doing, and when they're back if I recall them to give orders manually, that's about it. I know that's in there now, but they only go after one thing at a time on a world/fleet. I'd like them instead to stay put and cause as much trouble as they can, and flee on their own without me directing every minute detail of their mission. A feature like this would be better though in a much larger game with tons of planets.

Yea I know I went cheap on the fighter maintenance and costs, but I had to decide wether to make the AIs fighters cheap or some of their cap ships cheap in my current session. I once made everything dirt cheap on both sides which meant that every battle was of an epic scale. That's great if you've got a good computer, but if not crank up all the costs to keep battles smaller but moving better. With my current system though, tactical mode was a slide show when I made everything cheap like that. It didn't matter if I had any characters with good leadership taking part.

I also dig the DS gunners sleek looks. Ironically they seem to be one of the few helmeted trooper types, not counting the clone troopers from the previous generation that have respectable vision through them. I like the biker scouts, but they gave them blinders "Peripheral vision? We don't need no stinkin' peripheral vision."

Certainly many games need fine tuning, but the reality is developers must answer to the whims of the publishers. If they say its ready whether it is or not, they ship it out the door. To be frank I'm sure we all would want this game to have been this way or that in our heads, but as far as playability and replayability this game still stands out against all odds thanks to programs like Rebed. For me, the one thing I would have wanted to be different is the frequency by which we've got to click the mouse to execute one thing or another. I don't know about anyone else, but when I play, I play in limited stretches at a time, then play something else less "click demanding". The only other thing that stands out for me are how the waypoints are set up in tactical. When you zoom in or out, the waypoints get smaller and I find I often have to pause the game just to reorient what I want to be looking at. Sure tactical could have been better too in places, but the only immediate fix I want is the waypoints to be consistantly visible whether zooming in or out.

Well if they can still perform decent sabatoge missions or espionage, I use them for that. As well, if they seem to do pretty good at command, I have them border key systems and either set them up as a commander (and put a crapload of fighter garrisons there with an interdictor as an ambush world), or I give them a token fleet of their own, and have them go on raids. In one previous rebed game I had though that traitors was turned on, somehow the way they were set up meant that a traitor didn't do well 99% of the time if going out on missions of any type, when I know for a fact before, I could still use traitors and boost their skills. Another anomaly I had then was that an unusual number of characters turned traitor on me, nearly half probably because I had the variance on as well on top of jumping up everyone's loyalty. It seemed as if there was a better chance of having a traitor despite how high you put their loyalty at. I'm still testing things out with having the variances on or off, but so far in my current game, for some reason the AI isn't putting as many of its characters in command positions other than general on fleets...this is with the variance off and everyone's stats raised close to 100 across the board with leadership at 200 reb/300 Imp (due to their bonus). I cranked up everone's leadership mostly so tactical mode would roll a little faster and so that missions might succeed a bit more.

Well there are plenty of fleets they could put characters on, so something else must be wrong. I guess what I'll have to do is display my current Rebed settings, maybe people might know what I've done wrong. It must lay somewhere with how my main and secondary characters are setup, not how everything like fleet and such are. I did strip away the variances in Diplomacy, Espionage, Comat, Leadership and Loyalty, and put that at zero, while at the same time, I checked off the box that said "won't betray his side". I did this combo for two reasons, the second is obvious, but I wanted each character fairly strong because I wanted a challenging game. So each category is raised. There is another reason too, and that's the effect it has on tactical mode if a character is present on a fleet. It makes everything speed up a bit...Fighters move a little faster, as well as capital ships if leadership is boosted for example. With the variance in place though, it'd either bounce those stats up, or down. So if it ended up downward, It'd take twice as long to build up a character's points. The first time around at trying this, I had several characters with an espionage rating lower than Mothma's if you can believe it , and combat was also in the single digits with some of them. If you've ever invested time in building up Mothma from her stock crappy stats, you have a rough idea what I was facing, but add in half a dozen other characters. So I adjusted rebed again, this time taking out the variances, giving serveral 100 across the board with the exception of leadership (200 for rebs, then the computer added in the Imp bonus, they have 300 or so) What I am wondering is if anyone knows this, is does stripping away the variances in skills somehow effect the AIs ability one way or another to place characters in command positions? Again, the only AI characters in this session I see in command are Generals, and only then, just on fleets. I don't even see commanders or generals on planets, or admirals set up in the fleets. Also Palpy this time around has never moved his butt off of Coruscant when usually he does to do some diplomacy. Maybe diplomacy is another skill involved here too. If for instance I boosted several characters up in diplomacy, enough to rival Palpy's, maybe the old geezer would stay put on Coruscant...I don't know.

Ok I'm not disputing that the rebels needed to hold onto whatever they could. Their methods were the typical beg, borrow or steal variety. So yes, even those cheap medium transports had value. However we're talking the Battle of Endor here. Everytime the rebels have gotten proof of some new horror the Empire or anyone else possesed, that became priorty number one. What I am trying to suggest is would they have put aside their normal means of doing things...that is adopting less conventional means to deal with the situation? I would argue that yes it is highly likely. Lemme get this straight, explosives and armorments for starfighters would be more expensive than a transport or the starfighter by its self? Granted I suppose it would depend on how the transport was outfitted as well as the fighters. Then you've gotta break down what kinds of explosives they could have used and how expensive they were. But I would guess that they could still get the job done with cheap transports and run-of-the-mill, Radio Shack-equivalent bomb making material heh off the shelf stuff, not necessarily black market material, though I'm sure they tapped any avenue open to them for supplies. Low quality/high quantity over high quality/few quantity so to speak. Something as complex as slave circuitry though is arguably prohibitive to do cost-wise, so if they did use the ship bomb tactic off screen, a pilot and those handful of gunners the medium transport could have boasted would have been forfeit. Anyway, its one of the few ideas I had been thinking about, considering the incredible lopsidedness of the participants. If they didn't use such tactics, then it looks like the very split second the Empire lost their two most prized items, the command ship and the DS, they fled. One last thought too...once they knew it was questionable their two top honchos might be toast, (but they surely didn't care to investigate and be subject to electroshock therapy from the Emperor for failing) the internal power struggle probably began then too. Those damn greedy Moffs

I wonder, has anyone ever retired a character? When do you do it? Only when they turn traitor? Also can you rerecruit them later or are they gone for good if you retire them? Just curious, never tried it. I find uses for every character, even the turncoats heh

While its true we saw a TON of the Empire's starfighters during the course of that battle, it may not even mean that they used every single one at their disposal either. So while I may agree with the odds, there's still the matter of whether any remainders either side had with them were spaceborn let alone spaceworthy at that crucial moment, and whether some began that way then joined in later. For example, we have a rough idea of the fighter capacity of starships like Ackbar's ship, but intially when you see them go to hyperspace, you don't see that many fighters (maybe a squadron and a half). We also see quite a few go into the DS' superstructure with the Falcon, albeit with some going back to the surface to draw away pursuit. Which means while they're doing that, there has to be others out there fighting in other arenas. With the limits of film making they had at the time, there's only so much stuff they could composit in, which may have shortchanged what we know could have likely been there based on stats like how may starfighters could each ship carry...if they even came to the battle fully loaded etc. Since they won, I'd have to conclude the rebs scrounged for every bit of available space for starfighters, cause clearly they didn't have that much cap ship support. I wouldn't put it past the rebs either to have extremely modified what was there in order to exceed some of those cap ship's carrying capacity. There may have also been things going on too off screen we could speculate on. For instance, would the rebels have gone to such lengths as to for instance modify a ship just to be a big bomb? I've always wondered what possible use did troop ships like the medium transport present strategically to the space battle (with just their piddley 4 quad laser batteries), or if they were meant to stay with the fleet long enough to protect themselves, before sending troops to the surface of Endor to backup the strike team there. As cheap as those ships were in terms of make-up, concievably they'd be good ship bombs. With some slave circuitry they could be directed to slam into any vessel they managed to knock down shields on. True while that sounds like a terroist type tactic, in a war like this the rebs were fighting, I'd pretty much expect the unexpected when dealing with them.

About what I have tested. I couldn't tell when scraping a prison ship, then to keep the characters there (by timing another blocade a turn or two later) that would force Vader or Luke to discover jedis among that group. Maybe detection is delayed because the system is still blocaded, I don't know. But I know that if I move the ship, everone will disperse and I can't quite be sure if there'd still be time for Vader or Luke to detect somebody in that party before any/all leaving on their own. I need to go back and look at rebed again and see if there was also a check box for recruiting...that might also be one solid workaround. Limit only Luke and Vader to recruit. Something else I was doing with this current game I found strange. With the previous incarnation of rebed I had, no matter what I did, the AI seemed to use most of its characters and give 'em command ability. I don't know what the problem is this time, but the only characters I've seen in command have only been generals, I don't see admirals and I don't see commanders even though I've given many characters extra chances to be different kinds of officer.

That's something else too, I'd like to know what else besides system visabiltiy/importance or game difficulty, determines whether the AI would be more apt to send more characters on sabatoge or espionage missions. Maybe it also has to do with the planet, I don't know. I know it likes to send lots of specops (I usually tend to see those fail and I've never seen more than like 6 noghri commandos for instance go on abduction missions). I also know that if many mission types fail at a planet, after a while they'll send a ship/fleet to see what's there. I understand part of why the AI sucks, and that is that it doesn't seem adjust what to send based on new intel.

Curious to know if the AI ever sends Luke or Vader on Jedi Training missions as the computer. If not, is there a way to have it so if you manage to capture Luke or Vader, put them with whatever prisoners you have, then scrap the prison transport above one of their planets (setting them all free), would either of them have a better chance of finding then raising the stats of a potential jedi? I've been experimenting but have yet to tell if that tactic is a workaround to helping the other side get some of their characters skills raised that way against the computer.

I don't buy that necessarily. I mean just cause they attacked them with "airspeeders" that clearly weren't armed with torpedos does not answer the question that torpedos would have done the job or not. Crappy airspeeders with useless guns were all they had, cause they chose instead to save the starfighters as escorts. This is what I mean when I'm talking tactics. Because they didn't use them in a film I'll never know the answer to that, so I'll have to use the reasoning those assets were needed elsewhere. The speeder and ground campaign in my view was only meant as a delaying strategy to get the transports out. Actually if they wanted to save even more money, they could have just equipped a bunch of commandos with those grappling guns, a cutting torch, and a grenade to toss into the belly like Luke As for why the rebels won, since your using a couple of other games as examples so will I. If you've played X-Wing, or them TIE Fighter games, you know how easy them ships break up if you can clip one on the wing. Also despite whatever skill the pilots have in any given engagement, each ship is outfitted differently depending on what your going up against. If you know those weaknesses as i'm sure you'd want your pilots to know of the second they're found out about, you try to exploit that. Also as one of the game's illustrated, the Rebels mostly won through hit and fade tactics, attacking shipping and stealing cargo or occasional ship if they had the troops...rarely facing the enemy head to head unless numbers favored them. They only had to risk cheap fighters and transports, not their prized capital ships. Finally, the Empire I agree generally ountumbers the rebels, but ultimately if those assets aren't used to their full potential, it means nothing.

I could live with the disasters if for instance, if I had saved a game one or two turns before it happened, then reloaded and it selected a different system (hopefully less important)...As it is for me now, if the save game isn't far enough before the turn it happens (closer to 10 or so), it won't do that...it'll be the same system I didn't want it happening to.

I had heard what Scathane had pointed out too, that together with the out-of-control Executor and the DS' gravity wiping it out. As to the ship not having an auxilary control....C'mon, this isn't Star Trek where they got backups for backups Incidentally, here's my take on the design scematics of the SSD from that other thread if people missed it (and take note of the Chief Engineer's famous last words:) I think it all boils down to the Imps abundance of overconfidence, their disbelief in such concepts as camoflage, and their clumsy walking...otherwise they would have backup systems for important functions, like the frickin' bridge goin' out! Or electric wheelchairs for when their pilots aren't flying

I haven't heard any rumors on another series after NJO, but I guess unless everyone buys the farm at the end of it, I reckon while they think up a new series for our classic heros, they'll be concentrating on the new era of Anakin and Obi-wan

I'd have to say that a few of my favorite ships are some of the weirdest looking like the Neb-B, Assault Frigate or medium transport, or in the simplistic yet functional design of the Imp escort carrier (takes me back to my X-Wing vs TIE days). As for actual performance in Rebellion though, I find I build a good deal of the mon cal cruisers. With all the ships I left as is except in build cost and maintenance with rebed. The only notable difference in any other stats is with the heavy hitters...the SSD and Bulwark...I gave them some laser turrets to combat fighters. My reasoning being, they're large enough, why shouldn't they have defenses against fighters? I don't go overboard though, usually about half the numbers of the second highest weapon it has.

Come to think of it, I think the DS does have to retreat if it is still protected by a shield but all its extra support protection has been vaped. But if you've managed to blast all the reb cap ships away and there were fighters left, I do not believe you'd have to retreat the DS But your answer nontheless is technicaly right, a DS together with its shield is invulnerable. I'll have to run a game with the Empire to refresh myself, but I don't know if I can recreate the exact conditions I had. I think one of the keys though from before had to do with keeping my DS in a Core system. This way when the rebs run espionage missions there, they'll eventually get that info and send their stuff (since usually an espionage mission in the core on your enemy gets you info on two systems...more info on more systems, even rim ones, if they are running them on Coruscant).

Nah I think they needed a good view to take in the battle, but perhaps another flaw is that they need more voice activated gear. Piet exclaims twice to his bridge officers something like "intensive forward fire power!" They just weren't quick enough Maybe they needed more stuff hardwired to his command...like the guns that would give him what he ordered in uh...short order Then they could use those extra bridge personel to degrease all their assault vehicles in the garage or something. See if Vader had stayed on his command ship and not gone after Luke, 10 to 1 odds that he'd have to say that line only once and when it came too slow, he'd simultanously strangle the gunner officer AND fire them all himself with a mind trick:) That would be cool. Incidenally about the Stormtrooper scream not being heard by some in TPM... It is actually emitted by one of the Naboo N-1 Starfighter pilots that gets shot to pieces by the droid battleship at the end. So far I think it is in every SW film to date. Heck maybe even the X-Mas Special way back when but its been so long since I seen it. I think one or two troopers fall of one of them tall Kashyyyk trees or something and makes it.

Well as evidenced in the B-Wing ship too, smaller numbers of assets don't necessarily mean "of inferior design" or otherwise outdated equipment. I rather like to think that in this particular instance, the Rebels may have had smaller numbers, but they had quality gear and personel for that mission, not like Hoth where they were easily outclassed. Then again, maybe Hoth was only all about tactics. I still don't know why they just didn't use what Xs or Ys they had on station to torp those Walkers on their way out. I want General Rieken's resignation! "B..B...But they said the torpedos wouldn't arrive until Tuesday!" - Statement from General Rieken's after-action report.

Naw I think the SSD design plans were a little different... -Darth Vader's Meditation Room -Bridge (complete with two of them shield dingleberry generators - design flaw #1) -Hanger Bay -Officer's Morgue -Enlisted Men's Morgue -Morgue for anyone else -Taxidermy Wing (to show off Vader's past handiwork. Don't be shocked by the electronic voice coming out of Ozzel as his visage greets you at the door) -Stormtrooper Barracks -Ministry of Silly Walks - Restricted For TIE Pilots Only (seriously, watch ANH again, the scene where vader tells his wingmen "several fighters have broken formation etc.", watch how them pilots walk after him. I swear one of them had to be Sherman Helmsly from The Jeffersons) -Auxilary Control Room - "Sheeeyeah Riiight!!! We don't need no stinkin' auxilary control room." - Famous last words of the Executor's Chief Engineer (design flaw #2) That's my take anyway *walks away humming the Jefferson's tune

Yes, when playing as the Empire and you have a DS, in tactical mode I believe the firing button (and power meter) for the superlaser is on the top right side of the screen. Its been awhile since I played as the Empire. You'll see the power level there and after you fire once you can estimate how long you'll have to fire again. I don't remember if I had to retreat from a system I controlled after a battle with my DS and I had a shield but you may be right. This might be partially why I made a capital ship "throw away" fleet to go along with it as it were. To prevent me from having to retreat, even though my DS was intact. Also an insane amount of fighter support

I use Han mostly to shuttle around diplomats in the outer rim. That's been the case in most of my games. One thing I have noticed though in bunching up diplomats as primaries in ONE mission, it seems to take longer to gain the system fully to your side as opposed to once it does turn, finishing it off with those diplomats on individual missions to the same world. Sometimes though I've got a couple diplomats assigned to a fast ship, so that if their mission fails on a neutral system, they're still right above it and can start again...otherwise they'll be tied up in hyperspace. I'm still playing with rebed some more, but in my current game, the opposition isn't taking that many risks in the rim yet.

When in doubt as to the number of specops to send, I send a boat load. Depending on how built up that world is with stuff, I go with 4 or 5 waves of spies for example, plus several more waves of smaller groups (like alternating groups of 3 or 4...3 as primary-1 decoy/1 primary-3 decoy/2 primary-2 decoy). I just mix 'em all up and send them like that after the larger primary espionage group has gone. If I'm still unsure of a success, I send a another batch of single units on missions by themselves. With any luck they'll get distracted by all the other overlapping missions and one of those missions will come out good.

Generally it saves the butts of any characters acting as primaries to the mission I use them as decoys if they are higher than a character I want to build up. * I can't be sure, but a character as a decoy helps any other specop decoys on that mission. As far as I know, only a character on the mission, not one as a decoy for it, gets the bonus if it suceeds. Before I put a character in as a decoy for a mission though, I make sure they're adequately built up in skills first. If your playing a game with traitors on, typically I wind up relegating one of the primary characters (Han, Luke, Leia, or Mothma) as backup for someone else or one of the mains later. As for using specops as primaries, I only do this if I don't want to risk a character, and I use a lot especially to escape captured characters or to abduct. 5 or 6 primaries, with maybe double or triple specops as decoys (depending on troops there). In my current game though, everyone's leadership has a boost 200 on reb side, and the Imps get the bonus, usually another 100 tacked on, so I almost always need to send two to three characters plus one specop or two as primaries to make sure their leadership is above the garrsioning commander/general. A question I have however is this. * Are specops assigned to decoy duty with a character any better off than if nothing but specops were decoys? My instincts tell me that its yes based on previous games.