PCPP Game Guide 2/PCPP_GG2.iso/PCPP/faqs/xwing.txt

Text File | 1998-06-02 | 78.1 KB | 1,770 lines

              ==========================================

                        The Internet Guide to

                           X-Wing Strategy

              ------------------------------------------

                               Ver. 1.0
                        Edited by Nick Vargish
                          ([e-mail])

              ==========================================




====================================================================
                           0. INTRODUCTION
====================================================================

We owe our thanks to the pilots who have taken time from their busy
training and mission schedules to provide us with this information.

This guide is divided into three main sections corresponding to the
three main flight areas in the game: historical missions, tours of
duty, and the maze. Within the historical section (section 1), the
missions are divided by ship type. In the tour section (section 2),
tactics are organized by tour and mission number. The Maze section
(section 3) is pretty much a jumble of various approaches to flying
the proving grounds.

Some of the attributions have been lost (either in transit or in
editing) -- I apologize to those people whose names have been lost. I
also took the liberty of changing formatting and deleting portions of
posts (this file is more than large enough as it is)... I hope no
one's nose is out of joint because of my editing.

There are no warranties included with this document -- you get what
you pay for. If you wish to contact me (commend or criticize), feel
free to contact me by e-mail: [e-mail].



====================================================================
                        1. HISTORICAL MISSIONS
====================================================================


--------------------------
X-Wing Historical 3: Mines
--------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Steve Fuller):

Get one of the mines targeted with your targeting computer. Edge
forward until the mines are firing at a medium heavy setting. You
will notice that the mines are in 4 lines around the sattelites.
Target the outside row ( they should be about 1.3x away if you
are close enough. Put your lasers so that they all fire at once
target and fire when the sight turns green. You should be able to
off these quickly.

Target the two ships with Missles next. Don't be stingy with them
:) If one of the ships passes close by, nuke him with your
lasers. Move closer to the remaining mines and follow the steps
as in the above paragraph.

all that should be left are the sattelites, that you can just
waltz in and clean up easily.

You must do all of this QUICKLY otherwise one of those lovely
Frigates the Empire owns will pop in and blow you into ewok size
hunks of space matter.

...

From: [e-mail]:

Well, I was able to destroy everything in the third historic mission,
including the frigate.  You stay about 1.4 km away from the nearest
mine, and blow up all the near ones.  Before you do this, though, you
should destroy the transports.  About now your R2 unit should say the
frigate is approacing. RUN!!!  then turn around and blow it up from
about 1.4 km away also.  Then get within 1.4 kn of the other mines,
blow them up, blow up the satellites, then get out. that should do it.

...

After some frustrating sessions I have completed this mission... but my
method is different...

1.  Use two torpedoes to destroy each frigate first
2.  Come to about 1.30 km from the outer mines and stop, then destroy
    the outer mines
3.  Come a bit closer for the rest of the mines, until 1.30 km - destroy
    them all
4.  By this time the clock will be about 4:30... Increase speed and in one
    pass destroy the satellites...
5.  The clock will be about 4 minutes, and the imperial frigate will have
    arrived.  Hyperspace when "mission complete" message is received

I find it necessary to destroy the frigates first, since they will hyperspace
out in about two minutes...  I can't possibly destroy all those mines in two
minutes.

...

From: [e-mail]:

2 things... 1) Read the mission briefings.  All of it.  It says
explicitly that there is an imperial frigite in the area and that
you'll have to hurry.  and 2) I had much better luck ( I can do it 90%
of the time) by doing it this way:

a) Switch to torpedoes
b) Come to a complete stop
c) set shields and lasers to increased.
d) Target Freighter 1
e) Get a lock and fire _2_ missiles.  This _will_ destroy it.
f) Repeat d & e for Freighter 2
g) switch back to lasers, fire link once (so you get 2 @once, not 4) but
   I really don't think it matters...
h) come within 1.4 of the first set of mines.
i) blow the hell out of mines with damn good targeting on _your_ part.
   No targeting comp @that range to my knowledge.  Just put the center
   dot on the center of the mine and blamo!
j) Repeat i for all mines in "near" ranks
k) Ease up on next set of mines.
l) Repeat i for all mines in "far (now only)" ranks.
m) speed way the hell up and blow the sats away.

Works almost every time for me... btw, I use a very nice flight stick, but
I've seen my roomate do it with a *GASP* mouse.  He's quite good.  I was
impressed anyway...

...

From: [e-mail] (Bronis Vidugiris):

Here's the strategy I used to get through this mission.

1) Turn on full shields and full laser recharge.  (you could probably
   get away with increased rather than full laser charge)

2) Hit the target key 'T' until you target one of the first sets of
   mines (about 1.7 units away).

3) Increase speed to 2/3 throttle with the appropriate key.  At a
   distance of 1.5 from the mines, slow down to 1/3 throttle.  At a
   distance of 1.4 from the mines, cut the throttle.  You'll stop out
   of range of the mines.  [Use the []\ keys as documented in the
   manual.]

4) Quickly destroy 8 mines within range by targeting them with the 'T'
   key and blowing them away with dual laser bursts.

You may have to 'edge' slightly closer - it is important to destroy the
mines *quickly*.  Being closer helps you destroy the mines quickly.  Even
taking a small amount of damage from fire may be acceptable - time is of
the essence.

5) Target one of the freighters.  Switch to torpedoes - dual shot.
   Wait for a lock.  Fire on the freighter.  Don't wait around for it
   to blow up - it's a gonner, even if it doesn't know it yet.

6) Target the other freighter.  Wait for lock.  Fire.  Reset to lasers

7) Target one of the remaining groups of mines.

8) Close in at 2/3 throttle until you are 1.5 units away.  Repeat
   procedure as in part 1 to destroy 8 mines.

9) Target a satellite.  Burn towards it at full thrust.  Fire as you
   go.

10)  Destroy all the satellites you can without taking any time to 'target'
with the T key using visual targetting.  (Use the T key if you get really
confused and don't see any satellites around).

11)  Get blown up by the enemy ship just as you finally destroy the last
satellite.  (optional - but the mission was a success, even though my
ship was destroyed!).

I had one idea to save more time - not sure if it will work.  If the enemy
reacts from time of first destruction, setting up some targets in advance
in the order of engagment (1 mine from 1st group, freighter, freighter, 1
mine from second group, 1 satellite) might save some important seconds.

...

From: [e-mail] (Alexander Kandzior)

(Michael Fulbright) writes:
> I am stuck on the 3rd historic X-WING mission, the one with all the
> laser mines. There must be a trick to all this - I set up full shield
> and give them highest priority. I can't seem to get the green lock
> light when targetting mines from far away. When I'm close enough to
> get the lock on then the lasers waste me. I don't suppose there is a
> way to throw them off me with flares :) (the briefing says they are
> heat seeking)?

I started having the same problems, but i found out how to handle these.
Here my tactics dealing with mines:

1. Stay out of range until your shields & lasers have full power.
2. Set your speed to 100 or so and fly directly into the field,
   making evasive maneuvers so the laser-beams don't hit you while
   you're approaching.
3. In the minefied use the "."-key to get maximum view.
4. You need only one laser-hit to destroy a mine, so its not
   difficult to destroy every mine in sight (they are usually placed
   in rows, and with some practice, you can easy identify thouse near
194z   to you from the radar-screens).
5. If you shields get too low, transfer some energy from the lasers.
6. If your lasers are empty, yoo, fly out of the field at max speed
   (lasers-to-engine) and recharge, then goto (1.)

May the force be with you.

...

From: [e-mail] (Karhu Jouni):

This is how I managed to complete the #3 historic mission of X-Wing.

1. The moment you exit hyperspace, stop your fighter.
2. Set shields rechargin at maximum rate, lasers on increased or maximum.
3. Change to proton torpedoes.
4. Fire link torpedoes so that you launch 2 at the same time.
5. Target the freighters and launch 2 torpedoes at both of them. Do not wait
   for the torpedoes to hit, they will, in time. They destroy the freighters
   100% surely.
6. Unlink the torpedo fire and target and destroy two mines with the 2
   remaining torpedoes.
7. Direct power from the lasers to the shields until they are fully charged.
8. The mines form a sort of a cylinder. When you come out of hyperspace, you
   approach the 'cylinder' from its side. Target one of the 4 bottom mines.
9. Dive and fly in the direction of the axle of the 'cylinder', slowly pull up
   in such a manner that you come to a full stop 1.5 klicks away from the
   targeted mine. You should see the mines in this kind of formation:

           .     .

              *   <---satellites

           .     .

10. Dual link your lasers. Direct some shield power to engines.
11a. 2 choices. Either you set max throttle and fly past the mines destroying
     one 'stack' of mines in the first sweep and then circle amidst the mines
     shooting everything that comes in your sights (good practise for those
     TIE-Interceptors...) Do not fly straight for one second.. :)
-- or --
11b. Slowly crawl towards the mines and destroy the mines as they come within
     range. Sometimes there seem to be some 'invulnerable' mines, but keep
     shooting, switch to full linking or try 11a...

You may also first destroy some mines by creeping and then sweep in to clear
the rest of them.

This was definitely difficult.


----------------------------------
X-Wing Historical 6: Rescue Ackbar
----------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jun S Kutsuzawa)

[e-mail] (Rickyriooyayaya) writes:
> Hi, Im having the hardest time completing this one.  The one where
> you have to rescue Mon Ackbar? well, I disable his shuttle fine, and
> then i fend off the ties fine, until the shuttle HASTI comes in and
> docks. and then it leaves into hyperspace, then fly around for the
> rest of the mission wasting ties, waiting for the Mission complete
> signal, but never happens... and the debriefing afterwards says that
> the docking with the Epsilon group was failed!! what the fuck is
> this???  there is only one shuttle, and it docks with Ackbars
> vessel, what else do I have to do??????

You have to identify the shuttle that Ackbar is on, and disable it.
Don't disable any other shuttles - the Rebel commando shuttle will
dock with the first shuttle you disable - if you happen to disable
a personnel vessel, it will dock with that instead of Ackbar's.


--------------------
Y-Wing Historical 5:
--------------------

From: [e-mail] (Wity Ganda)

[e-mail] (Valparaiso Reject ) writes:
>Y-Wing historic mission 5.  No matter WHAT I do, I either get the problem
>of "Freighter Not Boarded" (that happens after I destroy the IMPERIAL
>transport who is trying to board the thing) or "Shuttle did not complete
>mission" (if I let the empire board the thing, the shuttle can't complete
>it's mission).

There are at least 3 transport ships that you have to destroy.
Destroy them as soon as possible, 'cause they are more dangeorus than
the TIEs.  Soon after you arrive in the sector, one transport ship
will board the freighter, destroy the transport ship quickly.  Then
blast all those TIEs while waiting for the incoming transports.
Concentrate on destroying the 3 tranports before you blast the TIEs.
Btw, don't leave your shuttle too far, you need to protect it from
those TIEs.



====================================================================
                           2. TOURS OF DUTY
====================================================================


----------------
Tour I Mission 2
----------------

From: [e-mail] (douglas craig holland):

[e-mail] (Rob Jellinghaus) writes:
>I don't understand tour 1 mission 2.  You're in an A-wing, and you need
>to "ID" a whole bunch of Empire frigates and suchlike, without engaging
>the enemy.  Problem is, as soon as I jump in, two TIEs come right at me
>and just keep coming.  How can I avoid them?  Not only that, but the
>nav beacon with which I'm supposed to "rendezvous" (whatever that means)
>is right next to a frigate.  And finally, even though I can target each
>of the big ship, that doesn't seem sufficient to ID them.  Is there
>something totally obvious I'm missing about how to do a recon mission?
>He'p me!

Since the mission specifically says do not engage, you can divert all
of your laser energy to the engines.  The A-wing is so fast in this
configuration that you can outrun the TIE's.  To ID ships, you have to
buzz right past them, getting within 0.02 kliks to get a positive ID.
Don't worry about the nav beacon, it's not part of the mission
requirements.

...

From: David Reeve Sward <[e-mail]>:

[Rob Jellinghaus' above question removed to avoid redundancy...]

Hmm... When I played it I didn't even notice the TIEs except when
flipping through the targets; and then I just wondered where they were.
Kill your lasers & you go 150 with shields on normal.  Plenty fast to
EASILY outrun the TIEs.


----------------
Tour I Mission 3
----------------

From: [e-mail] (Bronis Vidugiris):

[e-mail] (Mark Marino) wrote:
> I see that a lot of people get stuck on mission 4 of tod1, but I'm
> stuck on mission 3.  Call me a bonehead, but I can't seem to destroy
> that damned star cruiser before it lasers all my shuttles out of
> existence.  What is the strategy for this mission?  HELP!

The star destroyer does destroy a bunch of stuff, but it does *not*
destroy the shuttles that you need to protect to complete the mission.

Basically, the transports near the ends are write-offs, unless you
have invulnerability and/or unlimited weapons.  But you can still
protect the vital shuttles specified in your briefing from the
incoming fighters.

One of the things I like about X-wing is that one lone fighter is
*NOT* a match for a 1.6km long capital ship - unlike Wing Commander,
where one lone fighter is more than a match for several capital ships :-(.


----------------
Tour I Mission 4
----------------

From: [e-mail] (Chin Huang):

chameleon wrote:
> Ok, I need help on TOD 1, Mission 4, I just can't seem to destroy all
> those damn ties fast enough and when I go after the Frigate, the ties
> destroy my corvette.  HELP please, any strategies, I have tried this one
> over and over (about 25 times) no exaggeration either.  Any tips are
> gladly welcome.

The greatest threat to the Alliance corvette is the TIE bombers.  You
must intercept them before they fire their proton torpedoes.

During the quiet period at the start of the mission, increase power to
your shields.  You'll have little opportunity to recharge them later.  I
also fire link all four laser cannons to take out the TIE bombers.  When
the corvette jumps in, use the Shift-F5 command to store it as a preset
target.

The Imperial frigate will jump in about 10km away from the Alliance
convoy.  It will launch 3 TIE bombers and 2 TIE fighters, and then enter
hyperspace.  Set your shield power to normal and intercept those
bombers.  You must destroy the bombers quickly.  Try to fire a proton
torpedo at each bomber.  You don't have time for the targeting box to
turn red.  Just fire as soon as the box turns yellow and hope at least
one hits.

After destroying the bombers, return immediately to the convoy.  Press
F5 to target the corvette.  The Imperial frigate will soon jump back on
the other side of the convoy and launch more bombers and fighters.  It
is imperative that you intercept those bombers.  You don't have to
destroy the frigate.  You only have to hold off the fighters until the
corvette and the MEDEVAC shuttles leave by jumping to hyperspace.
Even if you do protect the corvette, the mission will be a failure if
just one of the MEDEVAC shuttles is destroyed.

This is a difficult mission that requires some luck to complete.  If
you're successful, Mon Mothma will award you the Kalidor Crescent.

...

From: [e-mail] (Steve Smith):

[e-mail] (chameleon) writes:
> Ok, I need help on TOD 1, Mission 4, I just can't seem to destroy
> all those damn ties fast enough and when I go after the Frigate, the
> ties destroy my corvette.  HELP please, any strategies, I have tried
> this one over and over (about 25 times) no exaggeration either.  Any
> tips are gladly welcome.

O.K, You've probably figgered this one by now, but here's how I did it
(after 8 to 10 attempts)....

As soon as the frigate shows up lock on and head for it. When you see
that it has dropped off the three TIE bombers lock on to one of them,
select torpedoes and close as rapidly as possible. Avoid entanglement
with the TIE fighters - you may have to adjust shields. I reroute
laser power to engine while keeping my shields strong.

As you close on bombers swing around on their tail, slowing so as not
to overshoot them, and torpedo them - one torp each. Make sure they
are all three destroyed or your mission will fail.

Now step toggle through the other craft until you are locked onto the
unknown frigate. By now it has scrammed over to 20 distance units
(surely they don't really mean kilometers) the other side of your
corvette to drop off more bombers. Head for that frigate with all the
speed you can muster, while dodging any fire from TIE fighters.
Redirecting shield and laser energy to engines will give you a speed
of 150, and you can soon outrun the fighters.

When the bad guys release more bombers repeat the previous
performance. Start recharging your shields before they run down -
you'll need 'em. The lasers charge up quickly, so you can leave them
off charge till 5 seconds before you need em then charge them at max.

Now you'll be glad you've saved three torps to quickly dispatch the
bombers.  Fire torps from astern and the closer the better.

If one peels off and the torp misses, stick with him till he/she is
nailed.  The obvious key to this scenario is keeping the TIE bombers
out of torpedoe range of your vulnerable corvette and shuttles. If one
breaks off with another X on his tail, nail the one(s) that continue
to run straight in. Come back and get the other guy later.

You must monitor your shield and rapidly adjust it if you take hits.

Then polish off the TIE fighters, just for practice and head home for a
promotion.

Great scenario - very tightly balanced, and a good test of your energy
control skills. You may find some of the later scenarios almost too
easy after this.

...

From: [e-mail] (Mark Maestas):

[e-mail] (Robin Kim) writes:
>Am I the only one that realized that there is only ONE frigate in this
>scenario?  It first drops off TIEs at one place, then zips over to the
>other side and drops off some more!

Yeah, and I fell for it the first few times.  I would go chasing after the
first group and all of the sudden the frigate pops in again on the other
side of my ships.  The Corette would suffer a mysterious death and I had to
start again.  The mysterious death (through the use of the camera) is
caused by a squad of TIE bombers that parks themselves right outside
of the frigate in the new position (about 6.6 km from the corvette) and
they launch a nasty stream of 6 torpedos at it.

Incidentally, my method for winning was to kill the first group of TIE
fighters and then charge back to the corvette.  After a while, the frigate
would reappear and I would go there to target the 3 bombers with torps and
then go after the 2nd group of TIE bombers with the other 3 torps.

I also found a good way to kill TIE fighters that are coming at you
from a distance ( > 3km ) First, face in their general direction, then
when they get within about 2km, target one and then fire the necessary
shots (2 for fighters, 4 for intercepters, 6-8 for bombers) when the
sight turns green.  Then target the next ones and do the same.  The
TIEs will charge towards you with cannons blazing and run right into
your shots.  This method also works for WC2. (BTW, make sure to dodge
a little after firing lest you too will run into their shots!)

...

From: [e-mail] (ronald stephen jr kundla):

Well, I just finished that specific one at about 2:00 this morning!!
It took me about 30 total attempts before I got it right. Here's how I
did it:

(1) Orientate your ship so the frigate is pointing towards the top of
    the screen. Level out your x-wing so you are flying parallel to
    it.
(2) Hit full throttle and charge up your shields at maximum and set your
    guns to nothing until you get the first indications that the Imperial
    frigate warped in.
(3) Set guns to one level above normal and shields to maximum, slowing
    you down big time. You should now be able to target the first wave of
    TIE bombers.
(4) Utilize your proton torpedoes on the bombers (One for each ship). If
    you don't get them with torpedoes, use guns, but hurry!
(5) After destroying the last bomber, the frigate should have jumped over
    to the other side of the playing field behind the corvette. Turn off
    all of your weapons and shields for max engine power. Target the
    frigate and head towards it.
(6) You should be able to target the second wave of bombers now, utilize
    the same method as before.

After this, it is a matter of wiping out the little buggers, assuming that
the flight group you came with is still alive. Keep them occupied so they do
not go after your shuttles.

I noticed that in this scenario, I ended up destroying most (95%) of the
enemy fighters in the whole game.... just like Wing Commander.


----------------
Tour I Mission 8
----------------

From: [e-mail] (Scott Drumm):

>To those who aren't sure which mission I'm talking about, it is the one
>were you must take a Y-wing and do 3 things.
>1- Disable a whole bunch of transports
>2- protect some stupid little transport of your own
>3- destroy some frigates.
>This alone is no problem, the problem, is to do them all simultaneously!!!

Ok...After about 4 DAYS on this mission, I've finally got a reliable
strategy (reliable meaning that it worked once, which was enough for me -grin).

The problem is in protecting FOUR transports (the two prisoner transports,
and the two rescue parties) from enemy TIE fighters & interceptors.  I've
assumed that you've ID'd which transports are carrying the prisoners, since
there the same ones each time you play the mission.

When you first begin, arm your proton torpedo launcher (single shot only!) and
target the nearest prisoner transport (Right side of their "V" formation,
second ship from the end).  When you get in range, let fly.  Then switch
to your Ion Cannons.  From long range, fire Ion Pulses until the transport
is disabled.

Here's the important point tho....DON'T fly close enough to that transport
to ID it!!!  All you want to do is disable it, for now, because as soon as
it's disabled & ID'd as a prisoner transport, the rescue shuttle goes in,
and get's blown to Antares.

Now, go after the second prisoner transport.  Disable it w/ 1 torpedo hit and
some Ion Cannon blasts.  ID it.  Engage the TIE fighters while the rescue
transport goes in.

As soon as the first rescue transport enters hyperspace, cycle through your
targeting computer until you see:
                TRANSPORT: UNKNOWN
                STATUS: DISABLED
Which is your first prisoner transport.  Fly close enough to ID it and then
defend the second rescue transport from Imperial TIE fighters.  When your
second rescue transport enters hyperspace, either mop-up the remaining
fighters or go home.

The trick to this strategy is to disable the first transport w/o ID'ing it.
This halt's it's progress, without calling in the rescue transport, and
thereby reduces the problem to defending only one transport at a time.

One final note...Don't take to long between the two transports...The first
time I tried this, I destroyed all the TIE's before returning to the first
prisoner transport.  For some unknown reason tho, it spontaneously exploded
as I was heading back to it.  Perhaps disabled ships can only survive for
a set amount of time?

...

From: [e-mail] (Mark Mackey):

It took me a couple of tries, but I got through this level OK.
(Xwing, TOD1, mission 8). The key to winning this is to realise that
destroying all of the transports is _not_ required to win the mission.

You __must__ identify the transports carrying the prisoners
quickly and disable them: otherwise they will be too clos to the frigate
and you won't be able to intercept the TIEs. ID these two transports,
disable them immediately and then go for the nearest TIE interceptor.
Ignore the TIE fighters for the first part, they attack you not the
shuttles. Use your missiles to kill the interceptors quickly, concentrating
on those closest to the shuttles. When the shuttles hyper out, get out
yourself (by this stage the other transports are too close to the frigates:
if you go near them you'll most likely get blown out of space).

PS (SPOILER) The transports carrying the prisoners are Lambda 4 and
Omicron 5. The transports are set out on your map in order L1-l5-O1-O5
left to right.

...

From: [e-mail] (Bronis Vidugiris):

[e-mail] (Jeff Honnold) wrote:
> I am on Mission 8 of Tour I and am having trouble with getting the
> prison ships ID'd and keeping MY ships alive!  Can someone please
> give me some tips on this as I am having one heck of a time trying to
> get by this mission!

There have been some other tips posted on this, but here is my $.02.

I wasn't aware that one did not actually have to destroy all the other
freighters as described in the mission breifing (actually, I only have
one netter's word on this particular point) so I actually did this AND
saved the two prision ships.  Time was pretty tight to do all this.

You do not have enough time to ID all the ships AND destroy them AND
rescue the prision ships, IMO - so you have to rely on the fact that
you know where all the ships are.  Rebel intelligence work (if you
need a justification) :-).  The first step is to draw a map of all the
ships which fly in formation and find Omicron 5 and Lambda 4 on the
map (the two prison ships) (Lambda 4 should be target #4 - press T 4
times - and Omicron 5 is target #11.  I save these two ships into
preset targets with SHIFT-F5 and SHIFT-F6.)  This, along with the map,
will help you to destroy all the other ships quickly.  Just 'zoom in'
on the ships after a short delay for them to get into position, using
the 'map' feature.

I spent a lot of time lasering away like mad to destroy the bulk of
the transports, which I knew a-priori were not the prison ships.  I
would gain a little bit of time by shooting the prison ships with my
lasers a few times.  Done correctly, this caused them to waste time
turning.  It seemed like this would only work once, or perhaps not
work when they were 'too close' to home - I'm not sure.  Perhaps it is
possible to gain more time by repeated turnings, I dunno - I would up
only doing this once.

When I was down to a few remaining ships, I would disable the two
prison transports.  I then used 2 tandem torpedos (which I did not use
before unless my lasers were running very low) to destroy the few
remaining ships (one, in my case) that I had not destroyed prior to
disabling the prison ships, which I delayed as late as possible.  (If
you wait too long to disable them, though, the prison ships will be
disabled within laser range of the frigates. This is not good for the
health of the rescue shuttles!  Ideally you would destroy all other
ships before disabling the prison ships, but I didn't quite manage
this.)  The reason behind using the torpedoes in this manner is to
quickly destroy the few remaining ships so you can get quickly to the
next critical part - saving the shuttles.  It also keeps you away from
the frigates and their lasers, as you don't have to close for a
torpedo kill.

The remaining problem is - how do you keep the rescue shuttles alive?
My observation (based on some replay camera observations of failed
missions) was that it was necessary to destroy *one* tie interceptor
from each of the alpha and beta tie interceptor groups.  A shuttle
seems to be able to survive attacks from one interceptor, but two will
eventually finish it off (it takes some time to do - the second has to
attack a short interval after the first to make a kill, which happens
on a random basis).

The shield on the shuttles appear to regenerate fast enough when only
one interceptor is attacking.  It appears that each group of two
interceptors (alpha and beta) had one shuttle targeted, so destroying
one interceptor from each group was enough to make the shuttles safe.
I also 'played with' the remaining interceptor a bit, alternating
between the two groups, but I'm not sure this actually did any good.
(By this I mean I chased it around, firing at it, but not really
trying to kill it).

Destroying both interceptors in a group merely caused a new wave to be
launched - I found destroying only one to be the key.

The tie fighters appeared to be interested in attacking me rather than
the shuttles, fortunately.  Destroying one of them is a good idea if
possible (again, killing both of them simply causes them to
regenerate), but is not really necessary - it does save on shield wear
& tear, though, especially if you manage to do this early on while
destroying the shuttles.  It's not worth wasting any time over, but if
you are able to ram one or gun one down coming in, it is mildly
helpful.  If you ram, make sure you have enough shield strength - a
few presses of the ' key early on is helpful to transfer energy to
your shields quickly.  Of course you then have to recharge your
lasers.

Anyway, hope this helps.

...

From: [e-mail] (Herwig Behrends):

I think the key to this mission is to identify and disable the two
prison ships as quickly as possible shortly one after another. Don't
bother with the other shuttles. You have to _know_ where the two
shuttles are located in this V-like formation, then close in and
disable them using the ion cannons.  First go for Omicron5 (Second one
from behind in the right V-wing), and then Lambda4 (Third one in left
Wing). The left wing is a bit split up, so you may need to switch to
'no cockpit' to get an overview...  After disabling these two ships,
target the tie-interceptors coming in ( they should be quite far away
at this point ) with the missiles and head towards them. Don't fire
head to head, instead of that turn, and stay at their tail and fire
from there. In most cases, that should be an easy kill then.  Repeat
this procedure for the next wave of interceptors and so on, until the
rescue shuttles have entered hyperspace.  The tie-fightes aren't
really a problem, as stated before. Set shields and lasers to maximum
recharge, and that's it...

...

From: "Michael J. Viola" <[e-mail]>:

My solution: I completed the mission by focusing on the prisoners
only. I identified the shuttles carrying prisoners first and disabled
them. The I protected them from the tie interceptors. I totally
disregarded the other transports because I had a hunch that the
prisoners were more important in the mission. My hunch was right. So
my advice is just to concentrate on protecting the prisoner shuttles.

...

From: [e-mail] (Sean Morgan):

[regarding the Strategy Guide 0.9 beta...]

(Especially about Tour 1, Mission 8)

What a load of crap!   First of all, your transports will come in when the
shuttles are disabled, ID'd or not.  Secondly, you should take out the
interceptors first, then the tie fighters.

I would have finished this mission a lot sooner without the misinformation
in the Strategy Guide. [You get what you pay for -- Ed.]


-----------------
Tour I Mission 10
-----------------

From: [e-mail] (Aron Bonar):

someone@somewhere wrote [sorry, lost the attribution -- NV]:
> Anyways, on to my predicament, I have battled my way to OP 10 of
> Tour 1, but I am now a very frustrated starfighter.  Remember this
> one guys, I have to rescue the sullustan leader.  I know which
> shuttle he is on, I've played this one unsuccesfully around twenty
> times.  My strategy is usually to first destroy the other shuttles,
> then take out the Tie Interceptors, and then disable the shuttle
> carrying the sullustan leader.  The problem is that more TIs come
> and I can't deal with them before they destroy the rescue shuttle.
> I like to fire a torpedo (sometimes two) at the TIs help me deal
> with them but one of them always gets the cursed rescue shuttle.
> What was your successful strategy for this OP ?

Yes it was...you've got it right.  You've got to get those TI's quick
tho'.  Save your torpedos so you can get the TI's at long distances
before they get to your rescue shuttle.  It took me about 5 tries to
get this mission.

...

From: [e-mail] (Troy ENGLISH):

John Tan <[e-mail]> writes:
>First there are the killer shuttles. I wish I had that kind of firepower!
>Then you finally disable the REAL shuttle ( half of my ship is gone).
>Then I have the joy of protecting my shuttle from half a dozen tie
>fighters ( My rescue transport gets destroyed usually )

Well, I can proudly say that I finished Tour 1 this morning and am about
to start Tour2.

This mission was a bitch... The strategy that I used in the end was
pretty simple actually. Close in, Kill all tie fighters, close again
Kill all attack shuttles, by this time the tie-interceptor group got
there, kill all of them, close once a bloody-gain and disable the
shuttle, now of course both wingmen see that the shuttle is disabled and
leave, thanks guys .... jerks.

Now you hed to the star destroyer as fast as possible and pick off the
enemy fighters as they appear, you have to make sure they don't get
close enough to fire at the shuttle do I just parked myself a few clicks
from the destroyer and intercepted the tie groups as they came out.

You need lots of luck and patience for this one, about 10 tries for me
before I finished it.

...

From: [e-mail] (James Dusek):

Michael J. Viola <[e-mail]> wrote:
> Same thing as the other guy said! Why did the Rebels make the Y-wing so
> god damn slow!!!! Those 4 shuttles are a pain in the butt! Plus my wing
> don't give any cover for shit! Help!!!!!!!

Well, I got throught it pretty easily. RAM the interceptors! I fly
straight at them with shield full forward. Guns blazing, but not
recharging. If any get passed me I lock a torpeado on them and fire
away. (note save some torps for this) Is you have full shields (fore
and aft) yuo can ram two ties without taking damage.

...

From: [e-mail] (Doom, Herald Of the Apocalypse):

OK, I finished mission 10 on the 5th try, here's how I did it.

1) lasers and shields recharge at max. Power diverted from laser->shields

2) Target the 1st group of TIEs. If you've got a steady hand, you can
   pick them off before they fly by (I did it using a CHflightstick,
   see below for rambling)

3) Proceed to pick off all TIEs, Interceptors and the first 4
   shuttles. NEVER use your torpedoes!!!!!! Mucho important!!!

4) When all that's left is the 5th shuttle (with sullustan), Star
   destroyer, and you, hightail it to the shuttle, disable it quickly
   (as well as identify)

5) Head for the Star destorye, with full shields and lasers, shields
   facing forward. As soon as new Interceptors are announced, target
   them. Use your torpedoes to blow them up ASAP (donot wait for the
   red' kill' mark, just aim wait a beep or two, shoot. Target the
   next,repeat, and so on. Again, if you're good you can destroy them
   before they pass. If they do pass you, drop your shield power into
   engines and follow them, make sure they dont destroy the rescue
   shuttle!!!!!!

6) Wait awhile, then start heading slowly for the Star destroyer.
   Repeat step #5 with the new interceptors (or is it bombers?/
   whatever)

7) if all goes well, the shuttle jumps to hyperspace before the new
   wave gets near it. N: During the 5 times i flew this mission, the
   timer ran out. This is not a problem. I was at 0:00 time for over a
   minute before the shuttle jumped. I still got the 'mission
   complete' on the 5th try.

8) Relax. Missions 11 and 12 are a welcome relief. The tour ends on an
   'explosive' note (mild spoiler, sue me :) )

...

From: [e-mail] (Ilkka C Puusaari):

I'm sure that there are other strategies, but here's how I completed it:

- Put your shields and lasers to full power and head for the shuttles.
  If you're lucky, you might catch a TIE or two as they come at you.

- Let your wingmen worry abut the TIEs for now. When the shuttles open
  fire take evasive action until you're among them. Then target the
  first/nearest and stay on it's tail (adjust speed) and fire at it
  until it's history. Then reapeat this with the next one (4 in all)
  Don't worry if you cant' id them at once (or at all) - the one you
  are supposed to disable didn't join the fray and is heading straight
  to the SD. And don't waste your torps, you'll need them.

- When only 1 shuttle remains (at 4.??) set engines and (rear) shields
  to full power and go after it. About this time you'll notice that
  your wingmen failed to destroy the TIEs - If necessary (your rear
  deflectors are taking too much hits), stop to blast some of them and
  continue after the shuttle. When you catch it, disable it.

- Head straight at the Star Destroyer for it'll launch interceptors
  after the rescue shuttle. When you see the interceptors send a
  proton torpedo at one and try to blast another when they fly by you.
  Turn immediately at their tail and BLAST them (it's kinda easy when
  they're heading straight at the rescue shuttle). NONE must escape.
  Another wing of interceptors will follow: now you know what to do.
  The point is to meet the interceptors as far from the rescue
  operation as possible.


-----------------
Tour I Mission 12
-----------------

From: [e-mail] (Robin Kim):

[e-mail] (Terence P. Spielman) writes:
> Arrggh!!!  Could somebody please help me with Tour 1, Operation 12 of
> X-Wing?  I liberate the freighter with the nuclear warheads from the mines
> with no problems.
> After identifying the freighter, a shuttle comes by, picking up the
> freighter.  However, as soon as the shuttle and freighter are about to
> leave, about 3 shuttles (Imperial) and tugs come by, blowing the freighter
> and/or myself into never-never land! (neither of which allows completion
> of the mission. :-)
> Could somebody who has finished this mission recommend a strategy?

Pretty nasty surprise, huh?  :^) I got blown away also.  The next
time, though, I saved my proton torpedoes, and wasted all the mines
using just my laser cannons.  Then, I waited until the shuttle arrived
and captured the freighter.  As soon as the additional unfriendlies
hyperspaced in, I blasted the two transports with proton torpedoes,
then mopped up the shuttles using torpedoes and laser blasts.  Just
make sure you're ready to do some evasive maneuvering when those
shuttles open up on you.  Those suckers can burn through fully
overcharged shields in a matter of seconds!

-----------------
Tour II Mission 1
-----------------

From: [e-mail] (Doug Le):

[e-mail] (Tom Sorensen) writes:
> I'm stuck. How do you complete Tour II, Op1? It's where you have to
> blow a transport off the top of a frigate before the frigate is
> captured. Whenever I try I either get blown to bits by the TIE's
> (since I'm sitting still trying to nuke the shuttle) or ram the
> frigate and get captured. You only have 2 mins to kill the shuttle,
> so killing the TIEs first is NOT an option.
> I've tried locking on the shuttle and blowing it away w/ concussion
> missiles, but it seems the missiles always hit the frigate instead-
> I've launched 4-6 at the shuttle before with no effect.


You definitely have to kill the TIE fighters first.  However, that's
easy to do.  They always go head to head on you.  Use torpedoes at the
TIEs if you have to.  After killing all of them, go for the transport.
Do not stay on top of the freighter.  Instead, stay parallel in front
or behind it.  This will guarantee you to kill the transport instead
of the freighter.

But then, here is the hard part, protecting the freighter.  All I can
say is that go after TIE bombers when they appears.  Each bomber has
11 torpedoes with a range up to 6 km.

...

From: [e-mail] (Steve Mansfield):

[in response to the same question as above...]

O.k.  I've "solved" it once (got blown away right after I got the
mission complete message...).  Basically.  Ignore the first waves of
TIEs and T/I's.  Target the transport with your concussion missles,
and blow it away as you get close with 2 or 3 pairs of missles.  You
only have about 2 minutes to get him, so do it quickly.

Once you've done this, blow away as many TIE's and T/I's as you can
before the T/B's are launched.  They are not a serious threat to
anything other than yourself, as they won't even chase the shuttle
when it appears.  As *soon* as the bombers launch, get to them as
quickly as possible and kill them, or they'll torch the freighter with
torpedoes.  More will appear shortly, whether you get them all or not,
so get them quickly as well.  Shortly after the second set of bombers
appears, the shuttle and transport will move to hyperspace out.  You
basically have to hold the bombers off until about the 12 minute mark.


-----------------
Tour II Mission 5
-----------------

From: [e-mail] (ERIC DAVID HRESKO):

[e-mail] (Joseph R. Granto) wrote:
> Okay, I am ready for help on this one.  Mission: protect the
> frieghter that carries comm-sats.  I die about 1-2 minutes into the
> mission; those stupid homing torps take me out all the time.  Any
> recommendations for this mission?

I always find that when I see that I am being targeted, I kill my guns
and shield (i.e. dump all power to engines) and fly like a bat out of
hell in loops and twists.  If the projectiles are torpedoes, they are
fairly easy to jink, and you only have to worry about them when they
are REALLY close.  In fact, if you move at an angle (ideally
perpendicular) to them, they almost always miss.  Not so with
missiles, though.

...

From: [e-mail] (Anssi Saari):

[responding to the same message as above...]

It's those first 1-2 minutes that are the hardest. The mission seems
to vary a bit, either the enemy are right there, or a bit further
away. If they are further, you have that much more time to build up
shields.

As for avoiding the torps, I have done as follows: when I get the
message that one has been launched at me, I target the torp and pull
the stick to one corner and hope it won't hit. If it doesn't I wait
until the torp is at its farthest point from me and push the stick in
some other corner.  Repeat until the torp vanishes.

This usually works pretty well. BTW, don't take out both of those
bombers, because the star destroyer will send other two. Instead, take
out one and damage the other a bit so that it'll head back towards the
std.


-----------------
Tour II Mission 6
-----------------

From: [e-mail] (Anssi Saari):

[attribution uncertain, probably my fault...]
> I need some strategy help on this mission, the one where you have to
> protect the stranded Xwing. I cant seem to destroy the gun ships
> fast enough. One time I was playing this mission and the alliance
> fleet showed up just before I got killed, I assume I was doing
> something right but I dont know what it was. Now every time I play
> the Star Destroyer shows up. How do I get by this mission?

I just did today, but I'm not sure how I did it :-) The star destroyer
comes around only after the X-wing has been captured by the Empire
shuttle, so that's one thing you have to take care of, destroy the
empire shuttles before they dock with that x-wing.

Of course, it helps somewhat, if your wingmen are veterans or better.
Someone may call cloning yourself cheating, but I'd rather go
scrubbing the men's room than lead a bunch of rookies against those
attack gunboats...


------------------
Tour II Mission 10
------------------

From: [e-mail] (Chin Huang):

Terence P. Spielman wrote:
> I've been particular in taking out bombers as soon as possible,
> especially since they always seem to aim their missiles at me, and
> never at anyone else.

Missiles are fired at you will alarming frequency in the later tour of
duty missions.  Dodging missiles is a good skill to know.

Keep an eye on the "Enemy Missile Lock-On" display in the cockpit.  If
it flashes yellow, an enemy is attempting to lock his targeting system
onto your craft.  Start evasive manuevers to throw off the enemy's
tracking.  If the enemy is far away, he can still track you because he
only needs to make a small course correction to keep you in his sights.

As soon you get a message that a missile has locked on, press the space
bar.  This selects the missile on the targeting system.  Turn your
fighter so that the missile is approaching at 90 degress to your course.
That is, keep turning so that the missile is at the edge of your radar
display.  The missile will miss because it can't turn as quickly as your
fighter.


------------------
TOUR III Mission 6
------------------

From: [e-mail] (Chin Huang)

Gabriel Jones wrote:
> How do I prevent my wingmen from dying so soon ?

The mines will quickly toast your wingmen if you let them attack the
containers.  As soon as you emerge from hyperspace, tell your wingmen to
wait by selecting each one on the targeting system and pressing Shift-W.
They will stop their fighters outside the range of the mines.  Go in and
destroy the containers and mines yourself.  When the frigate arrives,
tell your wingmen to attack the TIE fighters by targeting a TIE fighter
and pressing Shift-A.

...

From: [e-mail] (Alexander Herzlinger [RHRK]):

[This seems to be a more complete requote of Gabriel Jones' request...]
> My unsuccessful strategy for this OP has been to approach the closest
> container until it is within range and then come to a complete stop
> and destroy it and any other conatainers that are now in range and
> then I destroy all the mines that I can from my position.  Then I
> advance to the next container and repeat the above.  I save my
> torpedos for the freighters.  I usually have around four containers
> left when the frigate appears and all hell breaks loose.  I kind of
> panic and go kamikaze on the last few containers only to be blasted by
> a combination of the remaining mines, tie fighters, and the frigate.
> How do I prevent my wingmen from dying so soon ?
> What was your successful strategy for this OP?

This was up to now the hardest mission... My strategie was like this:

This is how the containers are (APROXIMATLY, I cant remember the exact number)
placed.

      5
   1    6
   2      7
   3      c
   4    b
      a

(the numbers/letters I used do not match the real numbers/names of the
containers)

1. I just ignored the mines, only evasive man. so I don't get hit too often.
2. Right after I hyper in, I put all laser power to the shields and set
   lasers and shields to max. recharging.
3. Command ur wingman to attack Container a (the first one after
   pressing 'T' once).
4. Keep an eye on your wingmen (u can see the torps they fire and tell
   where they are by looking where the mines fire). As soon (!!!!!) as
   the container is destroyed command your wingmen to attack b and
   after this c.  The key is to command the attack of the next
   container as soon as possible sometimes even before u got the
   'container destroyed' message if u see ur wingmen fireing enough
   torps on the container.  Using this strategie ur wingman should be
   able to destroy containers a,b and c. If u are fast enough order
   the remaining wingman to destroy 5 and then 6 if u (or better the
   wingman) is lucky he will manage to take them out too.
5. WHILE keeping an eye on the wingmen and they are destroying their
   containers approach the containers 1-4 and stop at about 1.3x-1.43
   from them.  The mines are busy shooting at your wingmen so u will
   not get serious hit.  Transfer energy from lasers to shields if
   they get low.  Destroy containers 1-4 with lasers only.
6. Get away from the mines/remaining containers to a safe distance
   (2.x) and fire one torp each at the remaining containers. Use ALL
   ur torpedos so u can take out some containers or make it easier for
   u to destroy them later with your lasers.
7. About at this time (if u was fast enough) the two freighters come
   in.  Now be REALLY, REALLY fast! Full throttle and head towards
   them, firing with the laser at the one which is nearest. Finish
   them. Its possible, but u have to be fast, otherwise they will
   hyper out and everything is lost.  Step 6 is essential so u don`t
   get hit by the mines to often while dealing with the freighters.
8. Now move into a save distance and recharge ur shields etc. then
   kill the remaining containers (2-4). Because you used your
   torpedoes on them you should be able to kill them more easily.
   after finishing one, move away and get your shields up and then
   attack the next one.

If you are fast enough u can manage all at a time where no tie bombers
from the Frigate have reached u or fired missiles at u. Just ignore
TIE-fighters if they aproach before u have finished.

This mission is very hard (at least it was to me) and even following
this scheme might take SOME tries.


-------------------
Tour III Mission 10
-------------------

From: [e-mail] (Jason Merrill):

[e-mail] (Alexander Kandzior) writes:
> I think the hyper-out point is not fixed, there is only a certain area
> in which the ships appear.

Actually, the problem is if you get in the way of the frigate's flight
path -- the containers are arranged like

   |
  X|
   |
X  |X
   |
  X|
   |<-Frigate trajectory

If you get in its way, it will stop before it gets to you.  This puts it in
the middle of the containers, which is a Bad Thing...  Hang around the
leftmost group until the frigate arrives.

...

From: [e-mail] (Guy Michael Hunter):

-   Protect containers from a frigate and scads of T.I.E. bombers.
-   Wait for group of new A-wings to arrive.

Stop. Divert all power to shields, toggle max laser and shield
regeneration. You'll have a while to charge up as the frigate won't
arrive until 18:27.

When fully charged, leave laser regeneration at max and put shield
regen. at "increasing". At full throttle, this will give you enough
speed to easily stay with the bombers that'll appear later, without
overrunning them. This is important. I could not finish this mission
with any other power combination.

Now, toggle your targeting computer through all the containers,
leaving it on the last one. Around 18:35, go full throttle. It's now
18:27! Press "T" one more time to bring up the frigate and order all
wingmen to immediately attack it. Attack it yourself for 30 more clock
ticks.

At 17:55 the T.I.E. bomber groups appear. Order your wingmen off the
frigate and on to the bombers - the frigate will no longer target the
containers so you can leave it alone.

Pick off the bombers as quickly as you can and get your wingmen all
over them. If you're fast enough, you'll have little breaks between
waves during which you can recharge or head back to the containers to
get your bearings. Use your missiles liberally (only one per bomber)
to keep them off the containers. And jink like crazy to avoid any
missiles launched at you. With this many bombers involved, the
missiles can add up quickly and can take you out of the mission.

The frigate will leave eventually and if you've mopped up all the
bombers, you'll have a little wait for the A-wing group to arrive.
Just be patient. That's it!


-----------------
Tour 3 Mission 13
-----------------

From: [e-mail] (Derek Suzuki)

gabrielj@.sfu.ca (Gabriel Jones) wrote:
> This is the assault on the Death Star's surface.  I am having a hell
> of a time dealing with the TIs after me as well as taking out the
> targets (four containers and ?? laser towers).  Also, my wingman get
> wasted about 30 seconds into the OP.  -What strategy did you use
> successfully for this OP ?

Started by taking out the TIE bombers behind me.  One always got a
missile off, so you'll have to do a little dodging.  Head towards the
nearest hangar and dish off four torps at it.  That should knock down
its shields so a few laser shots will finish it.  Use your remaining
torps on the next one, moving around the nav buoy in a circle to
destroy all of the TIE hangars.

Stay relatively low.  It seems like you get more TIEs after you if you
fly too high.  Cruise just above the effective range of the laser
towers.  Ignore TIEs until they get within about two klicks.  Then
finish them quickly.  Once the hangars are gone, head for the nav
buoy, dive for the surface, and start wasting towers.  Check your
range to the buoy occassionally to make sure you're not too far from
it.  It helps if you get accurate enough to fire a single shot at a
tower and move the next before seeing whether you hit the first one.
If you take too much damage, climb out of range and recharge your
shields.

> Do you have any tips that would allow my wingman to not get destroyed so
> fast ?

Nope.  He always died right at the beginning.  Way back in Tour I I
learned never to assume my wingmen would last more than twenty
seconds.

> Approximately how many laser towers are there to destroy ?

Can't recall.  Felt like twenty or thirty.



====================================================================
                           3. THE MAZE
====================================================================


From: [e-mail] (Kevin B. Williams):

[e-mail] (George Dolbier) wrote:
> Control your speed with shield/blaster regenerate rate. I usually
> fly with shields at MAX recharge, guns at INCREASED recharge. If you
> can hit many of targets you should be able to keep flying until you
> get shot down.

I fly with my shields at 50% (normal) and my guns at 75% (Increased).
Then if my shields run low, I just shunt power from my guns into my
shields....Keeps my speed up really fast.  I've made it through all 8
levels at once in both the X and A wing, with scores of 110,000 on
both.

> If you have to stop to let your shields recharge, do not stop
> between platforms you will get blasted. My preferred method to gain
> time to let shields recharge is to "bottom out" under a low middle
> gate. When you are going through the middle gate,for some reason,
> the last two targets do not shoot. I use this opportunity to take
> them out. Also you will be going slow between platforms giving your
> shields more time to recharge, also giving you more time to pick off
> the first two targets.

Like I said, just shunt power from your weapons...DON'T STOP....

...

From: [e-mail] (George Dolbier):

(NOTE: This is how I did it. I do not make any other claims, this
is just information for anyone interested keep it or chuck it, but
don't flame it)

First off use the following priorities:

A: DO NOT MISS A SINGLE GATE. If you have to go slower, go slower but
   do not miss any gates.

B: Hit as many targets as you can. The more targets you hit, the more
   time you have, slower you can go. As you get into level 7 and above
   you may need to slow way down to let your shields recharge.

Hints:

In the higher levels ( 5 and up ) keep all shields forward, but above
level 7 watch out for the reversed platforms(where you are getting
shot in the back).

Enter a platform's first gate banked a little to the right. This is a
little hard to explain. On most platforms the gates are laid out in a
right, left, right fashion. I found that if your ship is leaning a
little to the right when you enter the first gate, you will be flying
level headlong for the second gate. this makes hitting targets placed
on top of the second gate VERY easy. I often can get both targets with
one well timed shot.

Slightly over exaggerate the left hand swing into the second gate.  If
your ship is leaning slightly to the left when you enter the second
gate your swing to the right to complete the third gate will align you
up well to take out at least one of the targets on the last gate.

ALWAYS try to take out the two targets on the first gate. I view the
first two targets on every platform as an easy 4 seconds.

Treat the gates like a skiier treats GS gates. Bump the left side of
the first gate, the right side of the second gate. Usually you will
want to bump the right side of the second gate so you can get into
position for the next platform.

On platforms where the second gate is short: You can bump the top
of the gate and still get credit for it.

Control your speed with shield/blaster regenerate rate. I usually fly
with shields at MAX recharge, guns at INCREASED recharge. If you
can hit many of targets you should be able to keep flying until
you get shot down.

If you are trying to get your flight badge by completing level 8,
DO not try to start on an earlyer level. Start on level 8 and put
shields on full recharge as soon as you start and hit LOTS of
targets.

I have been playing the game for a few days now. I know most people
think flying the maze is boaring. But I find it a good stress relief
and a good warm up. But for a warm up it's getting a little long.

If you have to stop to let your shields recharge, do not stop
between platforms you will get blasted. My preferred method to gain
time to let shields recharge is to "bottom out" under a low middle
gate. When you are going through the middle gate,for some reason,
the last two targets do not shoot. I use this opportunity to take
them out. Also you will be going slow between platforms giving
your shields more time to recharge, also giving you more time to
pick off the first two targets.

I hope this helps someone get their flight badges.

...

From: [e-mail] (Larry Truesdale):

I'm on level 4 for the X-Wing and A-Wing, but I got as high as level 9
on the Y-Wing last night.  You get your wings after completing level
8, but it lets you keep going.  Levels 5, 6, 7, and 8 are easier than
level 4 because you have more time.  but you have to watch your
shields because they shoot back alot more.  That's ok, I can deal with
that.  the Y-wing is the easiest ship (for me at least).  Basically, I
set my lasers to recharge at full rate, left the shields at normal,
and kept the throttle at full.  when the shields would get too low,
I'd transfer energy to them from the lasers.  If I ran out of energy,
I'd use the torpedoes until getting the shields back up.  I will
probably finish the A-wing training next.  I almost finished level 4
last night, but I used a different strategy than with the Y-wing.
Since the A-Wing is so fast, you can come close to finishing within
the time given if you run it at top speed.  So, I set both lasers and
shields to minimum and run it at top speed.  I try to get a few of the
guns before all the energy drains out of the lasers and then switch to
torpedoes.  As you can probably imagine, I have trouble getting
through the whole thing without crashing, but I think that if I ever
do, and get 8 or 10 2-second bonuses along the way, I will get in just
under the wire.  We'll see!  Good luck!  I'd be interested in any
other strategies any of you have come up with.

...

From: [e-mail]:

The best strategy for completing the mazes lies in your ship
configuration.  Right off the start, set your laser power to INCREASED
or MAXIMUM rate.  Don't bother with your shields, just leave them at
NORMAL.  Put your throttle at MAXIMUM and redirect all shield power to
the front.  If your shields ever get beat up, simply redirect STORED
power from your lasers to boost your shields back up (using the '
key).  It's important to shoot as many turrets as possible or you'll
run out of time (and perhaps even get blown up).  When approaching a
platform, don't simply aim for the turrets at the gate that you are
about to enter.  Aim at the turrets on the second gate.  Once they are
destroyed, turn toward the first gate and destroy the turrets there
just before flying through it.  Also, when flying through a gate, try
to maneuver your ship so that you are pointed at the next gate (or,
alternately, the turrets).  This advice should help you complete them
all.  On the highest levels where there are "back-facing" turrets,
simply shoot them through the gates and remember to change your shield
configuration to EVEN fore and aft.  Good luck.

...

From: [e-mail] (0-robin.kim(frb000)):

I made it through all 8 levels using each of the three available
spacecraft.  Believe it or not, the Y-Wing was the easiest, followed
by the X-Wing, then the A-Wing.

You must go full throttle throughout, and you cannot have both weapons
and shields at full recharge or you will be too slow.  Beyond that,
the key is to hit almost every target.  The faster your ship, the less
necessary this becomes.  In the Y-Wing, I think I hit over 95% of the
targets, and always finished every level with plenty of time leftover.

Practice your LONG RANGE gunnery, and then you will find the maze to
be fairly simple, though still a lot of fun.

...

From: [e-mail] (Bryon Daly):

I managed to make it through all 8 levels for all 3 fighters.  I gets
REALLY intense at times.  Level 3 was tough at first, but when I
cracked it, I got right through to level 6.  Level 3 is the most
time-intensive.  The later levels are tougher, but it seems you get
more time.  The difference is that there get to be LOTS more turrets,
and they shoot at you seriously on the later levels.  So you have to
really keep your shield and weapon power up, and shoot the turrets
whenever possible (those 2-second time bonuses really kept me alive a
few times).  By level 7 or 8, you have to kill as many turrets as
possible (preferably at long range) mostly for self-defense, 'cuz they
shoot the hell out of you.

The A-wing was the easiest ship for the maze, and the first one I
completed all 8 levels in.  The Y-wing was pretty good for the 4-6
range, but levels 7 & 8 got tough because the turrets really seemed to
cream the Y-wing, even though it has the toughest shields/armor.

Some basic tips:

On the time-intense early levels, set you shields full forward, and
leave the shield power level at normal.  Leave the weapon power also
at normal until you loose all weapon power (don't forget you have
torpedoes and maybe ion cannons to shoot with, also, to extend the
number of shots you have).  If/when your weapons or shields run low,
set the weapons power level higher, and let the guns recharge.
Transfer power to from weapons to shields to build your shields up
again.  This seems to go faster than to set shield power high and let
them build themselves up.  Always have your engines at maximum
throttle.  Shoot as many turrets as you can, even trying to shoot them
from far off.  Get your aim to be pretty good, and you can take out
the turrets from a fair ways off and spare your shield some pounding.

On the later levels, this strategy doesn't fully work.  You have to
keep the weapons and shield recharge pretty high for the whole course.
Don't move the shields forward anymore.  Keep them even, and right at
the beginning of the level, use your weapon energy to boost the
shields to full maximum.  (Leave some energy for making shots, though,
and transfer it over to the shield as it replenishes).  The rear
shields serve as a battery for storing the shield energy (until you
start getting shot at from behind...)  When you lose a lot of front
shields, just move the shields back-front-center, and all your shield
energy is redivided evenly, so front-red, back-double green can become
front-green-yellow, back-green-yellow for the shield layers.  Keep
your throttle on full.  Perfect your long-distance aim at the turrets.

In general, avoid hitting the ground since it stops you, and more
importantly, avoid missing gates whenever possible.  Each miss causes
a 15 second penalty, and a lots of misses can drain minutes off your
completion time, and that can kill a run really quickly.  Always keep
an eye out for where to next platform is.  Some of them are at an
angle that they aren't visible when you exit the third gate (since
they're above you and off the screen), and you will need to know where
to go.  If you get lost, scrap the run and try again.  Lastly, you may
not want to try and complete all the maze stuff all at once.  I know I
tended to get overloaded on it.  Fly some historical missions to give
yourself a change.

Once last thing...you may want to back up your pilot file (name.plt),
so once you pass all the mazes, if you get killed/captured on a tour
of duty, you won't have to redo the whole maze thing to get those
patches...

...

From: [e-mail] (BKS Smith)

[responding to a recommendation to go all-out-fast...]

Hmmm, I use the opposite strategy.  I had lasers and shields both set
to one notch above normal and throttle set to full power.  This gave
me a speed of only 75, but I could always count on my lasers being
charged.  I also set my shields to front only (not recommended for
level 8 where you can be shot from behind!).  As stated above, the key
to succeeding is hitting the targets.  On level 6, I crashed 3 times
and still made it since I hit most of the targets.  On level 7, my
flight controls got damaged and I got stuck behind a gate.  I couldn't
move until R2 fixed the controls, and I still made it with time to
spare.  On level 8, I got blown to smithereens (see note about
shields, above), so my strategy isn't perfected yet :-)

...

From: [e-mail] (Patrik Manlig):

When you get to the 8th level, some of the platforms will face
backwards instead of forward. Then, you won't be able to see some of
the targets, because they're behind the gates. You can _still_ shoot
at them! If you're low, you might not see the explosion, but you will
kill the target anyway!

...

From: [e-mail] (Mark Maestas):

[e-mail] (KARL VADEN) wrote:
> I think the pilot training ground is pretty intense too.  I'm stuck
> at level 3 myself.  I did come within 15 gates once.  I just gave
> up!

The only thing that seemed to get me through this was to make sure to hit most
of the targets.  This was usually accomplished like this:

1) The first row of targets should be picked off at long range, before
   getting to the gates.

2) The middle row of targets was shot right after going through the
   first gate.  Remember you are at short range so you must lead off
   when you shoot.  The X-Wing has the widest change in leading off as
   the guns change, but if you keep in mind that they fire in a
   counter-clockwise direction then you can plan to shoot first at the
   target that is on the same side as where your next shot will come
   out from.

3) This is usually where I had to do point-blank shooting.  This
   required a large lead, and a little panicked no-aim-barrage that
   took out quite a few targets that might have gotten away.

After I got through level 3, the rest seemed so easy because there were more
targets to shoot at and hence, more time to complete the course.  There's
more live fire, so remember to keep track of your shields.  I found that
it's usually best to divert more power to lasers because you can always
transfer energy to shields for a sudden shield increase and the lost energy
isn't really missed since you aren't firing constantly.

...

From: [e-mail] (Scott Streeter)

This message was written by [e-mail]

                  X-Wing Maze made SIMPLE

When I started doing the maze, I was so bad I thought I would
never get my flight badges. I was wrong.... As of this writing,
(3/20/93) I have made it to level 10 in all 3 starfighters. I
have learned some tatics that should help everyone.

1.) You can make it thru all levels with your speed set to 70-80 KPS.
    Energy can be reconfigured around this "base". If you can go
    faster, that is of course better.

2.) Set your shields to 1 notch below normal charging. Use the ['] to
    shift power from lasers shields as needed. Lasers should be set to
    increased charging or full charging.

3.) Missing one of the gates is NOT a disaster. You may even be able
    to miss 2 of them and still complete the level.

4.) Crashing into a platform is much prefferable to missing a gate . I
    have crashed many times and still completed levels. When you
    crash, use that time to blast the laser boxes on that platform.
    Coming to a complete stop (crashing) and blasting the boxes while
    I was accelerating, was much better than missing a gate.

5.) On levels 1-7 set your shields to double front. Not much will
    shoot at you from behind on these levels.

6.) Any time saved thru one level will not be added to the time
    alloted on the next level. Finishing a level with more time
    remaining will affect your score though.

7.) For the higher levels, work on destroying the boxes on a platform
    at the greatest distance possible. As you exit one platform start
    targeting the next platforms' boxes.

You should keep ALL this in mind as you fly the maze. Level 3 is by
far the hardest. You only have 3 minutes, forcing you to blast more
boxes than you might otherwise. (Each laser box blasted adds 2
seconds) When I completed level 3 for the Xwing, I had 15 seconds
left, with 13 gates to go. I thought this was impossible. All of these
final platforms are loaded with boxes. I shot enough of them to keep
my time at 15 seconds; and I completed this level. It was a pretty
bizzare feeling. I actually shot enough boxes so the warning beeper
stopped!  Once you get past level 3, concentrate on flying cleanly
thru all the gates. Blast boxes if you can, as they now shoot at you
more accurately. You don't need to blast them for time, as much as to
prevent them from draining your shields. You will now get from 5.5 to
4.5 minutes per level.

I noticed some things that were particular to the different starfighers.

X-Wing: The lasers are spaced just the right distance apart. This
allows you to fly right at a gate, and blast both boxes without
much correcting.

Y-Wing: Much more power is able to be transfered to the sheilds. This is
due to the ION guns storing energy. ION guns were not that effective for
shooting boxes.

A-Wing: Much of each level can be completed with a speed over 100 KPS.
This gives much less time to target and destroy boxes. Reducing your
speed to 80-90 KPS gives you more time to destroy boxes. Aiming in the
A-wing is more difficult than with the other starfighters. The boxes
pretty much have to be in the middle of the targeting reticle.

Completing level 8 is how you get your flight badge. These have laser
boxes behind the gates. They shoot at you after you fly thru the
gate. These can be destroyed by shooting thru the base of the gate
before you fly thru. After all, the gates are holographic projections.
Destroying these boxes are not a problem, since you are using the FORCE
anyway!



====================================================================
              Appendix A: GENERAL TACTICS & GOOD ADVICE
====================================================================


---------
A.1 RECON
---------

From: [e-mail] (Galen Raben):

Tim Vannaman ([e-mail]) wrote:
> Does anyone have any suggestions for doing recon?  I had to do the mission
> about 6 times before I finally got all ships reconned, and I had no
> shields left either.  (Tour I, Op 2)
> When I exit hyperspace, I put all my laser power into my shields.

Yup - putting all power to shields helps - don't waste energy on firing
at anything.  I was finally able to get thru this getting only one hit
on the shields!  Whenever approaching a "capitol" (yes, I'm a former WC
player) ship, do A LOT OF JINKING, randomly and continously move side to
side, up & down, throw in a few spins for grins - and WATCH THOSE LASER-
BOLTS, ya don't wanna fly into one...  Do this a full power to engines
(sheilds overcharged from your guns).  As soon as you get an ID on the
target computer, pull out and target the next one.  Don't try crossing
between ships unless the target is real close, go out a klick and then
dive back at 'em...  Do this until all ships are ID'd and don't ever stop
jinking!  I still had full shields when the Star-Destroyer popped in.
Considered flying up into his belly to take a look at the interior but
didn't try - figured it would be tough to dodge shots while decelerating,
especially with all those ties around...  A shot hit me just when I went
into hyperspace, but still got outa there...

Has anyone tried?  Did they make an "interior" to the Star-Destroyer?
Just wondered...  I did this in the Hysterical mission in the one where
you take out the repair depot.  I hit 'em from the inside!  But then no
one was shooting at me either...  :-)


--------------
A.2 PROMOTIONS
--------------

From: [e-mail] (Doom, Herald Of the Apocalypse):

As to promotions in X-wing: I became Flt.officer after completing all
6 A-wing historical missions. I figure you get other promotions after
completing the Y-wing and X-wing missions (I only need Y #6 and
X#3,5,6...)

How many levels are there to the taining grounds? I reached A-wing
training 5 but did not complete it, perhaps you get a ribbon/marker
when you complete it.  Anyone finished a training course? [See the
maze section! -- Ed.]

Medals are awarded in several places, but I never received any from
the historical missions (as for rescuing Ackbar). I got the Calidor
crescent in tour 1 mission 7, or 8 (cant remember) and the Corellian
cross upon completion of Tour I.  For the curious, NO I did not use a
cheat. luck and devotion folks!


---------------------------
A.3 CAPITAL SHIPS & ID MODE
---------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Torbj|rn Lindgren):

[e-mail] wrote:
> I was wondering... When you target a large enemy ship (ie std crv
> frg) some areas on the pictures are red in the CMD. Are these just
> fancy frills or do they actully show the weak spots. It's just an idea
> I had, I haven't tried it.

The red areas are weak spots. In the case of a Star Destroyer for
example there are two weak spots. The upper one is the
shield-generators, and if you get close you'll see that it actually is
two towers. If you destroy these (One or two photon-missiles at each
tower or using laser) the Star Destroyer will lose it's shield.

It is the easier to kill, if you have an Y-wing you'll probably will
disable it first(much easier than killing it), to lower the amount of
fire you are recieving.


-----------------------
A.4 FUN WITH HYPERSPACE
-----------------------

From: [e-mail] (Brian Chung):

[e-mail] writes:
> On a similar note, anybody ever finished a mission, hit "H" and had
> R2 say that the jump path is blocked, & the jump has been aborted,
> because there is a Star Destroyer or Frigate or whatever sitting in
> your path!  That's scary.  I'm glad it didn's suddenly DECREASE my range
> to the Star Destroyer!

You got lucky.  I didn't.  Just last night, I was playing TOD 1,
Mission 8 for the umpteenth time.  I finally managed to save the
rescue shuttles and got the "Mission Complete" message.  I tried to
hyperspace, but there were two frigates on my way.  So, I changed
direction and tried again.  Nope, I still ended up pointing towards
the frigates.  I changed direction again.  Still no good.  Note that
while I was doing this, my distance to two frigates were getting
smaller and smaller.  On the fourth try, I ended up right next to them
and got blasted to bits even before I could hit "h" again.  I was
screaming very creative obscenities at my R2 unit.  I did finish the
mission the next try, though.

...

From: [e-mail]:

[responding to same message as above]

Heck, I've hit Hyperspace, had R2 spin the Xwing in a few circles looking
for a good spot, and then all off a sudden - whoooosh.  *BOOM*.
Straight into a wall.   Thanks, R2.  Does it only check the center pixel
for clearance or something?

=============================================================================