"maynard just sucks nuts"
-Montaro
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| Who's going to cart all the salvage home? | | | Author: | | | IP: | fjwilsonXXXX | | Date: | 01/21/00 06:01 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 9, Min: 9
Lifetime Rating for Calm Drift (.Praetor): 9.0000 |  | This is a continuation of a previous battle report written a few days ago. If you have not read that one, go to the first part.
And, of course, if you haven't signed the Toys for Bob Star Control II Petition, SIGN IT NOW!!!
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Screaming Vortex makes the most of the meager acceleration on a Jugger, and executes a perfect gravity whip around the planet. I break off pursuit, knowing I won't be able to catch his ship and still fight effectively. The maneuver has severly limited my options. I can no longer lauch fighters to drain his battery, since my fighters wouldn't be able to catch him and would likely die.
I can attempt to use my fusion blaster, the Ur-Quan Dreadnaught's main weapon. But if I score a hit, and the Jugger's shield is up, he'll gain energy I can't afford. I can't even approach him and try to shoot at point-blank range, where he won't have time to react (not to mention the damage I would take in that move anyway).
Sighing, I move my Dreadnaught out. Whatever I manage, I'll need the same positioning. By observing the angle at which the Jugger is flying across the screen, I can try to anticipate its path on the next pass. The Jugger's hope is that the speed and luck bring him close enough to strafe me, while I have a limited response. My hope is that the speed is slow enough I can put myself in the right position to strafe his trajectory and recieve limited return fire.
Thanks to the Jugger's rather limited base speed, Vortex's ship is not traveling at an unmanagable speed. I align myself correctly after a few of the Utwig's passes. Deciding to simply take a shot and see what happens, I wait until the angle looks right and fire a few bolts. The fearsome sound of my fusion bolts echoes through the Ur-Quan hull, but due to my slight mistake in angle, the bolts fly behind the Jugger's actual position, moving harmlessly into space. I take some damage due to strafing fire.
Suddenly having an idea, I move myself into position for the next pass. As the Jugger comes along, I listen to my instincts. Not yet... not yet... I fire once. not ye.. NOW! A second after the right time to fire, I let go another fusion bolt. Both miss, of course, but my aim had been close enough to convince the Jugger to use another few seconds worth of energy. Which is what I had intended.
Realizing the danger, the Jugger accelerates, slowing down, and eventually negating his gravity whip, heading straight for me. I was facing towards him to fire as he zipped past on the gravity whip, and do not have time to run away and start using fighters again. I could accelerate and hope to take minimal damage until I am past him. In retrospect, that is what I should have done.
In actuality, I accelerated slowly, preparing to meet the Jugger head on. Taking advantage of his wide firing arc, Vortex does some damage to me between firing angles, but he is not able to hit me with the full spread of his guns. Moderate damage is done to my ship as we approach. I fire when we are still somewhat distant. The standard procedure would be to fire at point-blank range, right about when our ships ram earch other. I judged Vortex's reaction time would be slow enough that I could fire early, surprising him. I was right, and the Jugger took a whopping six damage. Of course, Vortex raised the shields as fast as he could after I fired, but this only served to lose him a few bits of energy. He shot me a few more times before our ships were nose to nose, when he turned on his shield, and I waited. With only four bars of energy left, he turned off the shield, and fired at me. I took the damage (we are now slowly drifting apart, due to the contact), waited for him to shield again, let it run down the battery just a bit more, and fired when he let the shield up.
BAM! You really have to love the sound when a full six damage is done. Having little choice, Vortex fired again, and shielded for a second afterwards, then let the sheild up. And then slammed the shield back on again, without taking time to fire. This move faked me out completely, and I shot twice right into the shield, taking it from its last breath of energy, right back up to starting power. (*@&#. Encouraged by this success, Vortex accelerated back towards me, and I him. I take severe damage to his raking guns, but a traditional firing while at point-blank range finishes his ship. I have two crew left, of 42 to begin with. Still, defeating a Jugger with a Dreadnaught is nothing to sneeze at.
David Versus the Golaith
Vortex selects his second Shofixti Scout. Another one of those loveable (and oh so useful) flying bombs. Except the last time I used it, it hadn't been just a flying bomb, I had taken down a ZoqFotPik with its miniscule Mendokai Energy Dart. Either Vortex is unusually afraid of my two-crew Dreadnaught, or he wants to return the favor. This move is fairly risky, as one shot from a fusion blast can annihilate a Shofixti.
When the small Scout warps in on the other side of the map, I immediatly launch a fighter. This is, as well, a calculated risk. One less fighter means one hit (or ramming the planet) can kill me, but if a Scout gets one hit in, it might get two. On the other hand, the fighter might limit the maneuvers of the Scout making it more likely to be killed by my fusion blasts.
Vortex has his Scout wait until the fighter gets close, and then runs the other way, wrapping around. And running right into the planet. I snicker when the Scout loses two crew to finding the planet right in front of him, but pay attention when the Scouts heads straight for me at high speed. A stream of fusion blasts comes to greet him, as I empty my battery in the quick fight. Somehow I miss, and a small blue energy dart ruptures the final exposed fuel whatzit, and blows up my Dreadnaught. For Pete's sake....
Who Do I Like Least?
Of the ships I have, the one I least value is my Ilwrath Avenger. The Avenger has decent crew, decent turning, a good energy regeneration rate, excellent damage potential, and a cloaking device. Unfortunately, it is slow and ungainly (being large is being an easy target), with severely limited range, and the cloaking device is not that useful in a system that orients the screen in relation to both players. Plus, playing at the same computer means that you can't see where you are going, so you'd better be sure just how far to the left you turned if you are the Ilwrath. One bonus is that, whenever you uncloak by firing, you will be (automatically) facing the correct direction.
Upon entering the battle, I orient myself, point my ship towards the Shofixti Scout, begin accelerating, and cloak. It is not until I close that I realize my mistake. Not only does the Shofixti have a greater range than I, it is quite maneuverable. I take four damage (a lot versus a Shofixti) to the enemy darting in range, turning to match velocity, and turning again to strafe my general area.
Frustrated, I turn to run away and find the planet. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do, but the planet is as good a guess as any when no tactical solution presents itself. The planet is still nowhere in sight when the Shofixti darts after me, scores two more hits, and stays out of range.
Suddenly, I get an idea. Standard procedure for an Ilwrath is to only uncloak when the enemy is in range and is going to take the full brunt of your battery. Instead, I uncloak, by firing, when the Shofixti is still out of range, but still headed towards me for another attack run. This instantly turns me around, and I accelerate while keeping up interrupted fire (still a good rate due to my excellent battery recharge). The Shofixti takes a damage, and Vortex destructs it, taking out my ship as well. Not a horrible outcome.
Ships That Only Meet Each Other at the End of a Battle.
I survey the ships I have left. One Druuge Mauler, to be saved for Vortex's Avatar. Two VUX Intruders, at least one of which to be saved for Vortex's last Jugger. The other one I don't want to use because the VUX oddity, warping close to the opponent, will be useless if I warp in first. One Ur-Quan Kzer-Za Dreadnaught (71 points). Rather expensive to be used as a ship, when Vortex can choose his counter.
What ships does Vortex have then? He still has one Chmmr Avatar, not the ship of choice versus a Dreadnaught, but probably the victor. One Utwig Jugger, and I think both of us are done with Utwig - Ur-Quan fighting for the moment. One Melnorme Trader, probably a target for Ur-Quan fighters, but possibly a choice. One Orz Nemesis, a good counter for Ur-Quan Dreadnaughts (though not as good as a Nemesis versus a computer-played Dreadnaught). Total 93 points.
I choose my Druuge Mauler. Conventional wisdom would be to save it for the Avatar, but both the VUX and the Ur-Quan do passably well against Chmmr, and I realy don't want to lose the Ur-Quan. Vortex chooses his Utwig Jugger. Dang it. This match isn't actually terrible for me, since I out-range and out-speed the Jugger, and my shots are fast enough that he might not shield accurately each time. But it's a darn annoying fight to engage in, at times.
Not this time, though. This time it is actually rather quick. I warp in a moderate distance from Vortex's ship, on a perfect firing line with it. He is facing away, and starts to accelerate to wrap to the other side of the screen. I immediately fire three times, hoping he has not caught the firing angle yet.
He hasn't and the first shot hits him hard, and he gets his sheild up. Six down, fourteen to go. He is going pretty quickly away from me, but after the wrap-around, he will be going pretty quickly towards me. I turn, going rather quickly due to the recoil inherent in Mauler fire, hoping to get away from his range before our paths meet.
And what happens when I get to the other side of the map? SMACK! Right into the planet. I shoot off at an angle, cursing my luck. And as if teaching me not to curse, my Mauler runs right into an asteroid, propelling that astral body at an incredible speed. And sapping all my speed. Right when I got to be directly in front of the Jugger. Grumbling, I try to turn to get one more shot off, but the fire from the Jugger rips apart my ship too quickly.
Vortex slows down, bringing his Jugger to a halt during the victory ditty, neglecting to even do the Utwig dance. What a pity.
The Last Word in Lifeform Destruction (Play the game!)
I pick one of my Jugger-counters, one of the two VUX Intruders I have left. Now the chances of my ship surviving this battle is are about even. It is guaranteed I will start within close range of the Jugger, and I will be able to cause immense harm. But if I start with the Jugger facing me, I almost certainly die, but still cause damage. If I start with the Jugger facing away from me, I almost certainly win.
The VUX has a medium-range laser (long range for a laser weapon) that does damage very, very fast. With a huge (42) energy battery, it can fire for awhile. However, it has only middling crew (20), a slow turning rate, slow energy recharge, and very slow speed. Usually you warp in, and kill someone or not. Except with the Jugger. The special ability of the VUX is to spawn slow, long-range, heat-seeking limplets (vile limplets, for all you Star Control I fans). These parasites latch on to an enemy vessel, and suck away engine power. Specifically, the hamper speed and turning. Starting so close, I'm almost guaranteed to get a few on the slow-moving Jugger, unless it ended the previous turn going at full speed, which Vortex did not do. If I can get away after a few get on, I can launch them with impunity.
I start with the Jugger facing to the side. Exultant, I immediatly start releasing limplets and accelerate, shooting past the back of the Jugger, and attaching limplet after limplet. By the time I am out of his range, and turn to circle, eight of the little beasts are attached to his hull (they show up on the portrait of the ship on the right side of the screen, and last through battles). Out of range, I launch them as I have battery. Vortex tries to shoot them down and, as expected, is quite sucessufl, getting about two-thirds of them. He does not, however, run into the planet and thus some speed before too many are attached.
After a few minutes, about forty limplets are attached, and the portrait of the Jugger is covered with the small, round, green parasites. Now that my victory is just about guaranteed, Vortex 'surrenders' and lets me approach without doing anything, quickly annihilating him with my powerful laser. Had he not 'surrendered,' I would have circled around him and carfully stayed to his rear, shooting him with the laser bit by bit until he ran out of battery (quickening the process) or died.
Will You *Dance* With Me?
Vortex, with game down to the wire, picks his Orz Nemesis. This is questionable, due to the ships that will follow this one in combat. But I ws not choosing. The Nemesis is quite effective versus the Intruder. It has a rotating cannon with medium to long range that does three damage, eighteen crew, good speed, and decent turning. The real power is in the Nemesis' special ability. It can lauch space marines, fighters which approach the enemy ship, break in (doing one damage) and rampage around, causing havoc until killed by the defending crew or the ship is torn to pieces. Standard procedure is to lauch fighters (near the planet if against a fast ship), use the gun to force the ship into maneuvering so the fighters get on board, and stay the heck away as your marines do the work.
This is really easy versus the VUX. The Orz Nemesis warps in a bit away, launches six marines, and stays distant (*GO, GO*). I turn towards the marines, manage to shoot two down with my laser (a huge accomplishment), and celebrate two more dying in the assualt. The remaining two retreat back to the Nemesis after thouroughly destroying my vessel.
How To Deal With Non-Standard Identification Transmissions.
I chose my Ur-Quan Dreadnaught to deal with the problem. Because my VUX would have just gotten wasted like the last one. The Orz - Ur-Quan matchup is not one particularly to be looked forward to, for the Ur-Quan. But, in a human battle, I have a good chance. If the line-ups work.
I arrive on the scene a decent ways away from the Orz. My immediate plan was to chase after the Nemesis, hopefully destroying a ship depleted of crew, trying to help its marines with its cannon. My plan changed as soon as I noticed six marines immediatly, taking him down to eight crew. That's just too many at one time. I started accelerating away fromt he fighters. When they got in range, I turned, and waited for the fighters to line up, wishing I was a Supox.
The planet came out of nowhere, as it often does, and I wrap around it without thrusting, effectivly doing a 90 degree turn. The marines, too, come roaring around the planet, getting within close range. But directly in front of me. I unleash a hellish rain of fire, thanking Dogar and Kazon for the large size of fusion blasts. Five of the marines are incinerated in the battery-draining assault. One makes it on to my ship.
Not terribly worried about one crewman on a ship with 42 crewmembers (well, 41 now), I turn and look for the Orz. It is right behind me, letting out three more fighters, and firing on my ship. Must have been counting on my facing following fighters, and hoping to close in for some cannon fire. I turn as the Orz accelerates to get out of there, firing the three shots remaining in my battery. Dogar and Kazon are again with me, and the weakened Nemesis is blown to bits. The three fighters released did make it to me, and I did take cannon blasts, but I can deal with twelve damage. I still have 30 crew left.
Dude, Be Flexible!
Screaming Vortex makes his worst selection choice yet. He takes his Melnorme Trader over the Chmmr Avatar. He must have been focusing on the idea that with one or two Juggers or Avatars left at the end with no counters, he would win. But a Trader would devastate a VUX, and the Chmmr is almost guaranteed to win against a weakened Dreadnaught, even if it would lose the next round. Oh, well.
The Melnorme Trader has moderate speed and turning, with a large battery and 20 cerw. The main shot is a weapon which costs five to start, and does two damage. But, holding down the fire button will cause the weapon to charge at the front of the ship, also acting as a sheild. Held long enough, the weapon will become a large red fearton, almost impervious to fire, and doing twelve damage. The Melnorme special weapon is a confusion ray which nullifies an enemy's special weapon, and makes them permenantly turning in one direction.
When the Melnorme warps in and starts charging its ball, I launch six fighters. Though the Melnorme is faster than fighters, by an infintesmal margin, it does not have the best acceleration, leaving it very vulnerable to fighters launched from both sides of the screen. I wrap around the other side of the screen from the Melnorme, which now has a blue ball (4 damage), and launch six more fighters. Vortex, knowing the Trader will probably die, accelerates towards me, with now a purple ball (6 damage). I turn away, as the fighters start to score shots on the Trader's hull. Vortex lets go of the fire button, and the ball, which has just turned red, impacts my hull, doing immense damage. BOOM!. The twelve damage takes me down to four noble crewman, running as fast as they can.
The fighters do the trick, though, and the Melnorme explodes. I head back to the wreckage, and pick up six of my fighters, cringing as the other six are hit by a traveling asteroid, ending their lives quite quickly.
The Most Advanced Race In Space, Hunh?
Vortex is left with his Chmmr. I turn to attack it. It turns to attack me. I have a range advantage, but it does more sheer damage, and can keep me in range once I get there.
I am lucky. I get almost a direct firing line, and let loose my fusion blasts, not taking my finger off the firing button. The immense fiery red shots impact against the Chmmr's hull, tossing twisted metal and blackened crystal this way and that. One of the ZapSats is hit a second time, and explodes in impotent fury.
Then I am in range, the laser lashes out, and my ship melts under the assualt. I did 30 damage to the Chmmr. Not bad at all.
ZEN DUX
My VUX warps in. Before checking the range, I press the fire button. Oh, good, I'm on target. The Chmmr fires too, swinging once to the left to do six damage before being destroyed. I raise my hands in the air, triumphant and smelling the sweet smell of my victory. Truly *special sauce* indeed!
In the last seconds before the victory ditty, while the Chmmr explodes, the ZapSats continue their evil work and kill the VUX vessel.
"Oh, come on!"
"Deal with it, Calm Drift. You can't win every time."
"Son of an..."
"Rematch?"
"Fine."
"Same handicap."
"I'm not picking another stupid Mycon."
"I thought you liked mushrooms."
"On a pizza..."
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Should there be interest, I may do a battle report on the demo (first part) of the role-playing part of the greatest computer game of all time, Star Control II.
P.S. Thanks to The Pages of Now and Forever for reference material. |
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