Battlecruiser Millennium Gold Edition
Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ
by Kasey Chang
released August 18, 2003
Table of contents
0 Introduction
1 Battlecruiser Millennium General Info
2 Starting a Career
3 Commander on the Bridge
4 Primary Systems
5 Secondary Systems
6 Defensive and Offensive Systems
7 Flight Dynamics and Navigation
8 Personnel Operations
9 Security Operations
10 Emergency Operations
11 Docked Operations
12 Advanced Operations
13 Not in Manual: Cargo / Inventory
14 Not in Manual: Money
15 Not in Manual: Emergency Ops
16 Not In Manual: Career Questions
17 Tips and Tactics
0 Introduction
This section is for "what the FAQ is about" and things like that.
Feel free to skip this section.
If you like the FAQ, please send me a dollar. :-) See [0.3]
This FAQ is about Battlecruiser Millennium Gold Edition, though
most of the information should also cover Battlecruiser
Millennium and Battlecruiser 3000 as well.
0.1 A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
There doesn't seem to be any FAQ for this fun little game, so
here it comes.
This is a FAQ, NOT a manual. Not that you really need a manual to
play this little gem.
This USG only covers the PC Version, which is the only one that
exists.
Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and
XCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among others.
0.2 TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION
This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2003,
all rights reserved excepted as noted above in the disclaimer
section.
This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the
following conditions:
1)This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of
this document: "Battlecruiser Millennium Gold Edition
Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ" is copyrighted (c) 2003 by
Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights reserved except as noted in the
disclaimer."
2)This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner
without prior permission of the author with the following
exception: if you wish to convert this document to a different
file format or archive format, with no change to the content,
then no permission is needed.
2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners,
no HTML borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get you
more banner hits, and esp. no adding your site name to the
site list. [Small exception: a "small" toolbar with no banners
embedded is okay. See IGN or Neoseeker for examples.]
3)No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged
for its distribution. Free is preferred, of course. Sale of
this information is expressly prohibited. If you see any one
selling this guide, contact me (see below).
4)If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source,
else it is plagiarism.
5)The author hereby grants all games-related websites the right
to archive and link to this document to share among the game
fandom, provided that all above restrictions are followed.
Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory
contract. If you meet them, then you are entitled to the
rights I give you in 5), i.e. archive and display this
document on your website. If you don't follow them, then you
did not meet the statutory contract conditions, and therefore
you have no right to display this document. If you do so, then
you are infringing upon my copyright. This section was added
for any websites that don't seem to understand this.
For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation. However, I do ask for a VOLUNTARY contribution
of one (1) US Dollar if you live in the United States, and if
you believe this guide helped your game. If you choose to do
so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of US stamps
to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San
Francisco, CA 94118 USA".
If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps.
I collect stamps too.
0.3 VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION
Gamers who read this guide are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation.
However, a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar would be
very appreciated.
If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00
worth of stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk
Blvd. #6, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA".
If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I
collect stamps too.
For the record, out of ALL the FAQs I wrote (42 at last count)
over the past nine years or so, I've received exactly 9 dollars
and 3 sets of stamps, as of release of this guide. So I'm NOT
making any money off these guides, folks.
0.4 HOW AND WHEN TO CONTACT ME
PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark,
mistakes, and thereof... If you find a question about this game
that is not covered in the USG, e-mail it to me at the address
specified below. I'll try to answer it and include it in the
next update.
Please do NOT write me for technical support. That is the job of
the publisher. Try the official site at http://www.3000ad.com for
tech support requests. You will need to register with a VALID
keycode.
Please do NOT ask me to answer questions that have already
answered in this FAQ/guide. It makes you REALLY idiotic.
I will NOT answer stupid questions unless I'm in a really good
mood. If you send stupid questions, do NOT expect a reply.
If you must write me, the address below is spelled out
phonetically so spammers can't use spambots on it:
Kilo-Sierra-Charlie-Hotel-Alpha-November-Golf-Seven-Seven AT
Yankee-Alpha-Hotel-Oscar-Oscar DOT Charlie-Oscar-Mike
To decipher this, simply read the first letter off each word
except for the numbers and the punctuation. This is "military
phonetics" or "aeronautical phonetics" in case you're wondering.
This document was produced on Microsoft Word 97. Some editing was
done with Editpad (editpadclassic.com).
0.5 THE AUTHOR
I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the
ones I find don't cover what I want to see. Lots of people like
what I did, so I kept doing it.
Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for
XCOM, XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander, Wing Commander 2, Wing
Commander 3, Wing Commander 4, Privateer, Spycraft, 688(I)
Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3 Expansion Pack, Mechwarrior 4,
Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight, Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed,
The Sting!, Terranova, Fallout Tactics, Starfleet Command Volume
II, DS9: The Fallen, DS9: Dominion War, Driver, Warlords:
Battlecry, Monopoly Tycoon, Dungeon Siege, and a few others.
To contact me, see 0.4 above.
0.6 DISCLAIMER / COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Derek Smart created Battlecruiser series. As for the history of
it, I'll point you to his website.
This USG is not endorsed or authorized by Derek Smart, 3000 AD,
or Dreamcatcher Games.
The information compiled in this USG has been gathered
independently through the author's efforts except where noted
otherwise. A lot of the information was summarized from various
suggestions and posts from the official BC Forum at
http://www.3000ad.com. Contributors are too numerous to list. The
head designer/programer, Mr.Derek Smart, was a great resource.
This document is based on the BCM Gold Eidtion, V1.00.01 release,
and thus information listed here may NOT apply fully to earlier
versions.
0.7 HISTORY
18-AUG-2003 Initial release
1 Battlecruiser Millennium General Info
1.1 THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Can you send me the game (or portions thereof)?
A: No. It's too complex for you any way.
Q: Can you send me the install code?
A: That's a part of the game, so see above.
Q: Can you send me the manual?
A: That's a part of the game, so see above.
Q: Can you send me the keycard?
A: That's a part of the game, so see above.
Q: Can you send me the map?
A: It's in the appendix, AND in the game, AND on the keycard.
Q: The manual seems to be missing a lot of things.
A: That's why there's the appendix...
Q: Can you tell me how to play the game?
A: Read the manual, please. It's VERY long but it's worth it.
Q: Is there going to be a sequel?
A: Battlecruiser Generations is being worked on, and after that,
expect to see the MMOG version, right now just called
Battlecruiser Online.
1.2 BATTLECRUISER HISTORY
Battlecruiser 3000 AD was first released in... 1998, though the
game was started in... 1993. That's right, BC is THAT old. Derek
Smart back then was talking about a game where you can do
everything, such as...
* pilot anything from ground vehicles to shuttles and fighters to
cruisers and carriers
* command dozens of different ships, from unarmed freighters to
battlecruisers and carriers
* shuttles that collect cargo, deliver items, land on planets and
moons, and more
* marines that patrol your ship against intruders, board enemy
ships, land on planets
* ships that fly differently, have different upgrade paths, and
so on
* zoom from the planet surface all the way out to space
* mine planets and moons for minerals to be sold
* trade items at various starbases, from spare parts to illegal
items
* dozens of different missiles and mines, even orbit to surface
bombardment weapons
* join any of the dozen different factions in the galaxy
* jump outside and look at your world in FIRST-PERSON, either in
space or on ground
* galaxy with HUNDREDS of planets, DOZENS of star systems, and
THOUSANDS OF SHIPS
* have careers as ship commander, fighter pilot, or space marine
* advanced AI driven by neural net technology
* and much more
Would you have believed him? I would show some reservation
myself.
All the big name companies turned him down. Finally, one company
called Take 2 Interactive decided to try him. It was a major
disaster. The game was released in beta form (that required at
least 2 more months of work) without Derek's consent, using only
PART of Derek's code. The result is a game that is unplayable out
of the box, and STILL buggy throughout. Of course, back then a
lot of the features in the above list are missing. Most magazines
gave this game some extremely bad ratings, mainly due to the
bugs.
A lot of people saw the potential in the game, as there is a lot
of freedom, when things work right. Remember, this is YEARS ago,
when DOS is the operating system of choice, and people are still
using 386's and 33 MHz is considered fast.
For a definitive take on the history, see this website:
http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.27/guest/
Mr. Smart continued to support the game, even as the original
publisher basically left it to die. The game actually sold
relatively well in Europe, but again, Derek had to do his own
support, as Take 2 simply cannot support the game (having no
experience with it) and refuse to. Derek then sued Take 2 for
breach of contract. Mr. Smart continued to release patches and
add new features, while the lawsuit is pending.
After protracted legal struggle, Derek managed to get his game's
publishing rights back, while he worked on the 2.0 version. As a
demonstration, he released the latest "original" version FREE,
and it was included on many game magazine demo CD's. That
generated enough interest to entice Interplay into a publishing
deal for "V2.0 Developer's Version".
BC3K 2.0 was published by Interplay. By this time, the game was
ported to 32-bit Windows (Win 95 to be exact). The game didn't
sell that well either, probably due to the complexity and
freeform nature of the game. Still, it was released as a "budget"
title. The final version is V2.09. This version is now available
free on the 3000ad.com website.
Mr. Smart continues to work on the game. The next version became
known as Battlecruiser Millennium. It continues to add new
features and fix bugs. This time around, Mr. Smart has had enough
with the various publishers, and he chose to self-publish the
title. As a result, the only distributor that will carry it was
Electronic Boutique (and the chain, including EBX).
Derek then started working on Battlecruiser Generations, which
started out as an expansion to Battlecruiser Millennium, but
eventually grew into its own product. It is supposed to have
better multiplayer support as well as DX9 graphics engine and 3D
positional sound engine, plus many other enhancements.
DreamCatcher, who is better known for adventure games, decided to
help Derek Smart publish the game. People wanted multiplayer
support NOW, so Derek decided to do another release...
Battlecruiser Millennium Gold Edition, which uses BCM's main
program kernel, but has several new features, including a new
terrain engine, first-person modes, and multiplayer support.
So just we get the terminology straight:
BC = Battlecruiser, usually the series
BC3K = Battlecruiser 3000 AD, the original title, released in
1996
BC3KV2 = Battlecruiser 3000AD V2.0, released in 1999
BCM = Battlecruiser Millennium, released in 2001
BCMG = Battlecruiser Millennium Gold Edition, released in early
2003
BCG = Battlecruiser Generations, the next release due in late
2003
1.3 BATTLECRUISER MILLENNIUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
From the official website...
Minimum Requirements:
ú WIN 98SE/ME/2K/XP (with all service packs)
ú DirectX 8.1b or higher
ú Pentium II 300Mhz or AMD K6-2 350Mhz processor
ú 64 MB RAM (128MB minimum for WIN 2K/XP)
ú 16MB DirectX 8 compliant 3D graphics card
ú 16Bit DirectX 8 compliant sound card
ú 8X CDROM or DVD-ROM
ú 500MB uncompressed hard drive disk space
ú Microsoft compatible mouse
Recommended Requirements
ú Pentium III 500Mhz or equivalent AMD processor
ú 128 MB RAM
ú 32MB DirectX 8 compliant 3D graphics card with TnL
ú DirectX 8 compliant joystick
Ultimate Requirements
ú WIN 2K/XP (with all service packs)
ú Pentium III 1Ghz or equivalent AMD processor
ú 128 MB RAM
ú 64MB DirectX 8 graphics card with TnL & pixel+vertex shader
ú DirectX 8 or higher compliant joystick
Multiplayer Requirements
ú Client requires 56K or broadband modem
ú Server requires LAN or broadband (cable, DSL etc) connection
1.4 HOW DOES THE GAME PLAY?
The game can almost be described as 'Grand Theft Auto in Space'
in first person. It offers you TOTAL freedom to do what you want
in the galaxy of many different star systems, from mining to
trading, from shooting to repairing, even upgrading your ship.
The universe is alive, with ships moving around you, each with
their own objectives. Even your crew does things automatically...
If they are hungry, they will go find food. If they are too
tired, they will go to their quarters and sleep, and so on and so
forth.
You can even transfer your alter ego (avatar) from the ship to a
shuttle or a fighter, and pilot that instead. Jump out of your
ship in space, and move around like a space marine. Transfer to a
ground vehicle (use the transporter, or land via a shuttle or the
whole ship) and drive around on the ground... Or jump out and
look around in first person... AND use your weapons in first
person. All these features are in the SAME GAME.
In "roam" mode, there is no objective, other than survival. If
you find that boring, try the advanced campaign mode (ACM) where
you must accomplish several missions in strict time limits, and
you are responsible for safeguarding your sector against any and
all threats.
Add this to multiple starting points, careers, alignments,
factions, ship choices, equipment, upgrades, trades, in a galaxy
that contains dozens of systems and hundreds of planets and moons
(and you can LAND and explore most of them!), and you have a game
of unparalleled freedom. Grand Theft Auto 3 doesn't even come
CLOSE to what this game can offer.
The Gold Edition added full multiplayer, first-person careers as
marines (3 separate types), 2 fighter pilot careers, and various
other enhancements.
1.5 BUGS AND FIXES
This FAQ only discusses the BCMG (Battlecruiser Millennium Gold
Edition), so only BCMG patches are listed.
The current patch is V1.01.00, dated June 02, 2003. Though new
patches are released periodically fixing various problems and
adding gameplay enhancements. You should check the official
website at http://www.3000ad.com for updates.
The fixes are listed in each release as a "version control file".
It's too big to be included in the FAQ.
Patches and other things are being worked on DAILY. If you REALLY
have a problem, download the latest patch and try it. Chances
are, it'll fix your specific problem.
Oh, and one more thing. During a BIG battle, when LOTS of
missiles were launched, the game may slow down significantly.
Just keep waiting, and after a while the game should return to
normal speed. This is NOT a bug, just a lot of things to process.
1.6 DOES IT HAVE MULTIPLAYER?
Yes BCMG sure does. Join an existing server and play in the
server's galaxy, where the next ship you run into may be piloted
by a human!
1.7 EXPANSION PACKS? SEQUELS? RELATED TITLES?
BCMG is the latest of the series, and thus will not have any
expansion packs. There was one planned, but the features have
been rolled into the next version.
Next version will be Battlecruiser Generations.
1.8 MISC. INFORMATION
If you already own Battlecruiser Millennium, there is a $10
rebate form in BCMG box for you. As you can often find BCM for
about $5, that will bring the net cost of BCMG down to about $25
if you have never tried the BC series before.
1.9 BEGINNER'S GUIDE
One of the most often asked question by newbie is... "what do I
do in this game?" The freedom is so complete, most people are
UTTERLY LOST as to what to do.
My first suggestion is... read the manual. While it is LONG and
TEDIOUS, it is also full of information that is needed for you to
understand the game. This is a FULL STARSHIP SIMULATOR with a
living universe. You WILL need to know EVERYTHING, maybe not all
at once, but soon.
Start a Roam mode campaign, ship commander, and pick a super
cruiser. While carriers are more fun, the fighters, not you, do
the fighting. A cruiser goes into direct combat more often. And a
super cruiser is more powerful and more likely to survive.
My first suggestion is for you to stay put in Sol sector, near
GalcomHQ, which is a very safe spot to be. You won't *do* much,
but at least you won't die. When you think you got enough
experience and has upgraded to a decent ship, then go further
out.
Do NOT attack hostile star stations. Those have extremely high
amount of firepower. They are quite capable of killing a ship in
about 5 seconds, BEFORE you get into weapons range. They are also
EXTREMELY hard to kill by yourself. So don't even try until you
know what you're doing.
First thing to do is to buy at least 1500 units of Radine, so you
have 2500 total. You don't want to run out of fuel, EVER. It's
embarrassing and wastes a lot of time.
Second, sell off extra stuff you don't need, like mines (unload
them from the tubes), 1300 nutripaks (you have 1500, and you only
need 200 or so for your crew), extra vacuum paks, etc. You should
now have plenty of starting capital.
Third, buy up all the expensive items that you can at GalcomHQ.
You'll sell them elsewhere for profit. Pick spare parts would
probably be best. Use up all the money that you can.
Fourth, have your navigation officer plot a course to Lyrius, in
Sirus system (just "southeast" of Sol system). Go there (just
turn on autopilot), dock at the Wraith station, and sell ALL your
spare parts. Sell all your mines too as you will probably never
use them and they are worth a lot (you may need to unload them
from the launch tubes first). Wraith station has inflation level
of 30%, while GalcomHQ has inflation of 0%, so you should make
about 30% profit on most items you sell here. You can ignore any
enemies you encounter on the way as you will probably outrun
them. Go back to GalcomHQ and buy more goodies.
Fifth, repeat the trading run until you have 20 to 30 million
credits. Now buy all the upgrades that your ship needs (shields,
engines, reactor, and armor) and stock up on STS missiles.
After that, it's up to you. Go kill some enemies, take over star
stations... and see how you do in this galaxy...
But you should REALLY read the whole manual at least once, and
maybe ALL the FAQs here.
2 Starting a Career
Please see section 2.0 in your manual "Starting a career".
Q: What do I start out as?
A: The default choice, Galcom / Terran Military, is fine. When
you are more experienced, you can try as the Insurgents, or any
of the other factions and alignments, or try the pilot/marine
careers.
Q: What is the REAL difference between the factions?
A: The factions mainly differ in the equipment they have access
to and starting positions, and who they consider as enemies and
friends.
Q: What ship should I choose?
A: For newbies, I recommend a super cruiser, like Warmonger. It
doesn't have cloak or fighters, so it's more of a "direct"
shooter, and less things to manage. Later, you can try one of the
hybrid carriers (some fighters, but still main guns), cloakable
ships, or fleet carriers (up to 8 fighters).
Q: What is the difference between roam and ACM?
A: ACM makes you responsible for a sector and give you strict
time limits on accomplishing some missions.
3 Commander on the Bridge
Please look over section 3.0 of your manual.
Q: I'm in my ship now, I see the Logistix screen. Now what?
A: Before you leave, go to TRADCOM and buy at LEAST 1500 units of
Radine (your nuke reactor fuel) so you have total of at least
2500. Without Radine your ship is DEAD in space. As you won't
travel too far, 2500 is sufficient for now. Later, when you go
for LONG distances into enemy territory, bring more fuel (the
maximum your tank fits, like 10000 or more). Also get more
plutonium (shield fuel). Before you leave, consider spending your
remaining credits on just about anything, but preferably weapons
and spare parts. You can trade them to other stations.
Q: Did the trading and such. Now what?
A: If you log off the computer, you should end up at the
"starbase" screen with login / logoff buttons. Login takes you
back into the system. Logoff sends you on your way into space.
Incidentally, you get this screen whenever you dock at a base.
Q: Okay, I'm in space. Anything I should do first?
A: Get into the habit of turn OFF power to launch control, to
prevent intruders taking one of your shuttles. Then set about 3-
4 marines on SEARCH mode immediately so they'll patrol the ship
for intruders. Set 3-4 more "prep for combat". It'll take about
15 minutes or so for them to be ready. Things are quiet so far,
so send some of your officers to take a nap (off duty). When the
marines prepped for combat are ready (their status will say
'READY' instead of 'ACTIVE' in about 15 minutes), then send them
to search, while send the ones searching to rest or prep. Then
just keep switching the groups so you always have 4 or so marines
on patrol. Keep 4 more prepped so you can set them to search
immediately should more intruders arrive.
Also power on shields (if not already on), and send somebody
(marine, flight engineer, etc.) to one of the shuttles (probably
SC1). You will need a shuttle to fly around almost at all times.
3.1 FLIGHT CREW
Please see [8] for more information about your crew.
Q: Why don't I have a research officer (RO)? It says "absent" and
I have only 8 officers.
A: If your ship cannot mount one of the artifacts, you don't need
an RO, thus you don't have one. For which ships can use
artifacts, see the HTML appendix.
Q: Who is Resnig? I've heard all the jokes about him...
A: Paul Resnig is your combat officer, i.e. the guy in charge of
the marines. He's been known to make some... "interesting"
tactical decisions and is the source of plenty of jokes.
3.2 SUPPORT CRAFTS
Q: I told my shuttle to retrieve/tow something, but the shuttle
just circles the objective but never got closer than a certain
amount. Why?
A: Your pilot's AI is too low to accomplish the rendezvous. Order
it to halt, then retry the order. If that still doesn't work,
bring it back and send in someone else (a different pilot, a
different shuttle, whatever). In general, never send anyone with
AI less than 15% to pilot a shuttle. Preferred level is like 25%
or higher.
Q: I issued some waypoint orders through TacOps to my shuttle.
Why did my shuttle never stops moving, and immediately came back
to the ship? I want it to stay!
A: The "RTB" (return to base) order after last waypoint is
implied. If you want it to wait on the ground, order HALT on the
last waypoint (add a waypoint if you need to).
Q: I gave the shuttle waypoints, but it's not moving!
A: Are you sure you launched it?
Q: I can't launch it!
A: Does the shuttle have at least one crew member (as pilot)?
(status button should turn green).
Q: I still can't launch it!
A: Did you allocate power to the launch controls?
Q: How do I replace a lost shuttle, fighter, mining drone, or
ground vehicle?
A: You can buy them as SC ASSET, FIGHTER ASSET, Mining Drone, and
OC ASSET, respectively, subject to availability of course. This
is in the manual errata.
Q: But why is a GSV-xxx only like 150K, where as OC ASSET is like
1.25 M?
A: That GSV-xxx is packed in shipping crates, and is a blank
shell that's not usable without extensive preparation (that must
be done by a base/station), where as OC ASSET means you get a
vehicle appropriate for you and ready to go.
Q: My shuttle won't land! It just buzzes all around me!
A: Did you allocate power to the launch controls? Without it the
landing systems won't work.
4 Primary Systems
Please look over section 4.0 of your manual.
Nothing yet, maybe next update...
5 Secondary Systems
Nothing yet, maybe next update...
6 Defensive and Offensive Systems
6.1 PRIMARY WEAPONS SYSTEM
Q: What is the damage power of one of the "main guns" at 100%
power?
A: At full power, each shot is 100 damage, but PWS shots
dissipate over distance.
Q: How many main guns does my ship have?
A: See the appendix for the ship's stats.
Q: When should I change the power level?
A: When fighting smaller enemies, esp. fighters and such, power
down PWS to 50% or even 30%. This will allow you to shoot faster
(more shots) but each shot is weaker.
Q: Why can't I hit ODS or a marine with PWS?
A: ODS is only a dozen or so meters long and marine even smaller.
Your guns are a bit too big to hit something that small.
6.2 PASSIVE TARGET ACQUISITION SYSTEM
Q: What exactly does this system do?
A: It's your secondary turrets in an automatic defensive network.
PTAS will fire at the most appropriate target(s) in range
(closest or largest). You can't control them, nor would you need
to.
Q: How many turrets does my ship have?
A: See the appendix for the ship's stats.
Q: What does adjusting the power level do?
A: The lower the power level, the faster the turrets recharge and
shoot the second bolt. Thus, at lower power the turrets fire a
more shots, like a machine gun or a hose. At higher power, it
shoots fewer but more powerful shots.
Q: When should I adjust the power levels?
A: 50% is a good general usage. Against ships, set it to 100%.
Against fighters, consider setting it lower, like 20% or 30%.
6.3 FAST TARGET ACQUISITION AND LOCK (FATAL)
Q: What exactly does this system do? I don't quite understand the
manual.
A: It allows you to "prelock" targets for your missiles. Then
when you're close enough, computer will automatically launch the
missiles when the target is in range.
Q: When should I use this?
A: When you don't have time to worry about locking and firing
multiple missiles. FATAL will fire ALL FATAL-designated missiles
that are within the launch envelope and have a valid lock.
However, additional missiles must be designated manually.
6.4 MISSILE LAUNCH SYSTEMS
Q: How do I reload the launch tubes for the missiles?
A: If you have enough in inventory, it should be automatic. Else,
whatever missile of the same type will be loaded. (In other
words, if you have STS missiles loaded, only other STS missiles
will be used in reloads) It just takes a little time.
Q: How do I unload the launch tubes for the missiles? (So I can
sell them or something?)
A: Tactical / Loadout, then select the appropriate craft (CC, FC,
SC, or OC).
6.5 MINE LAUNCH SYSTEMS
Nothing yet.
6.6 CLOAKING SYSTEM
Nothing yet.
6.7 HULL, ARMOR, AND SHIELD SYSTEMS
Q: Hull/Armor can be upgraded, and shields can be upgraded,
right?
A: Right. You can also upgrade the reactor and engines, but
that's for another section.
Q: How do I upgrade my ship?
A: See manual appendix section [7.11] (and yes, you MUST undock
from the station first). Then select the component, and select
upgrade. Then you'll need to assign the crew to complete the
task. You can re-dock with the station and let them work on it
after the initial task is completed.
Q: What upgrades are compatible with my ship?
A: See C:\Program Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser
Millennium Gold\docs\appendix\upgrades.html
6.8 TRACTOR BEAM SYSTEM
Q: Why do my shields go to 0 when I engage tractor beam?
A: That's the way it works. Tractor beam won't work with shields
on. If you want shields, turn off the tractors, and vice versa.
NOTE: You can cut the tractor by raising shields. This may be
useful in certain situations. You will need to turn the shields
back on later.
Q: But I still need to tow something, AND I need shields!
A: Send someone else to do it, like a shuttle. Though if you're
under attack, the shuttle wouldn't survive very long. Enemy ships
are smart enough to pick on easy kills.
7 Flight Dynamics and Navigation
7.1 INTER/INTRA SYSTEM TRAVEL
Q: How do I go somewhere?
A: Easiest way is order the ship to set course for a particular
"landmark", such as station, moon, comet, planet, jump point, and
so on.
Q: Can you be more specific?
A: Click on the ship icon (right side), which should pop up with
a long list of commands. Pick "fly to", then pick the item out of
the list of items that's categorized. You can do this in Tacops
or the Bridgeviewer.
Q: But I'm STILL not moving!
A: Did you turn on the A/P? (autopilot)
Q: But I don't want to use autopilot!
A: Align on the heading then manually engage hyperspace jump.
Q: How do I go to another star system?
A: Order the ship to JUMP TO, then pick one of the jump
locations: jump gate, flux field, or wormhole. Your ship will fly
there and jump.
Q: I was at the jump gate, but I flew straight THROUGH it and I
didn't jump!
A: If your NO is not on the bridge, you must keep the gate
targeted for the jump to work. Else you won't jump. Crashing into
the gate will prevent you from jumping as well.
Q: What are the two different modes of autopilot (A/P) any way?
A: The "green" mode is the regular one, it simply takes the ship
"there". The Red/Orange one is the "A/I" mode, where the ship
will perform actions as specified in TacOps.
Q: Why is my ship moving so slowly?
A: Each ship has a different top speed in normal space. Most are
under 2000 kph.
Q: What is the ship's top speed without hyperspace jump?
A: See your manual appendix for specific ship's stats.
C:\Program Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser Millennium
Gold\docs\appendix\appendix.html
Q: But I want the ship to go REALLY REALLY fast!
A: If you have a destination set, try using hyperspace jump.
Q: I can't jump! It's not working!
A: Hyperspace engine must recharge after each use, and have a
valid target. Make sure your HJ engines are fully charged. If
your A/P was set, A/P will simply move at the destination at best
possible speed, and engage HJ when ready.
Q:Ack! I'm flying right at a planet!
A:Don't worry about it. While in hyperspace you'll pass right
THROUGH planets and moons.
Q: How do I make the hyperspace engine recharge faster?
A: You can't. The recharge rate is a part of the ship
specifications at
C:\Program Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser Millennium
Gold\docs\appendix\appendix.html
NOTE: One of the "artifacts" can give you instant jumps. Just
beware that saboteurs want to steal those first, and not all
ships are compatible with artifacts.
Q: How do you get to another star system or planet then?
A: Go through the jump points (looks like jump gates), wormholes
(not visible), or flux field (not visible). Some of these need
the skill of your navigation (astrogation?) officer.
Q: What is the difference between jump gates, wormholes, and flux
fields?
A: Try the manual. However, here's a summary...
jump gate: artificial point-to-point travel. Go in, and you go
out the corresponding gate in the other end. Must go THROUGH the
gate. If you crash into side of the gate you won't go through.
Usually also require the gate to be targeted.
wormhole: natural point to point travel. Go in and appear on the
other end. No physical gate, just touch the general region and
you're suddenly on the other side.
flux field: randomly drop you into one of the multiple exits, no
way to know which one. If you are adventurous, give it a try.
Q: What's the difference between hyperspace jump and jump
gates/wormholes any way?
A: Hyperspace jump is for INTRA system travel, like between
planet and the moon, planet to the jump gate, and so on. Maximum
speed is limited to c. Even at that speed, it takes a while to go
from planet to planet, much less between star systems!
Q: Why can't I plot a course in Navitron computer? I keep
clicking but nothing happens.
A: If the nav officer is not on the bridge, the Navitron is
useless.
Q: What is "region - X" any way?
A: Those lead to "sub-regions" of the map. For example, Jupiter
has 4 other regions, each with more moons and bases and such.
7.2 WAYPOINT SYSTEM
There are two types of waypoints: intragalactic waypoints, and
intrasystem waypoints.
The intragalactic waypoints are the ones you plot in the Navitron
computer. Say you want to fly from Earth / Sol to Majoris / Alpha
Majora, you need to go through Pluto / Sol, Centris / Alpha
Centauri, Tranis / AC, Treas / AC, Arima / Tau Ceti and Xylan /
Tau Ceti. Each of those systems are waypoints on your journey.
However, you can also set intrasystem waypoints, which exist on
the Tacops 3D map (which is fully 3D and rotate-able and zoom-
able), by using the WAYPOINT menu at the bottom.
7.3 DOCKING PROCEDURES
Q: How do I dock to a star station?
A: Get within 0.5 km, and hit the appropriate key to dock.
Q: Uh... it's not working.
A: You must also have the star station targeted.
Q: My autopilot won't fly any closer.
A: Some times the A/P stops at about the 35 km mark. If that's
the case, fly manually (turn off A/P) to the station.
7.4 ORBITAL AND PLANETFALL PROCEDURES
Q: How do I land on a planet?
A: Issue the craft 2 waypoints. First is the "entry" waypoint,
with orders to "proceed to next". Add another waypoint, and
change the orders at that waypoint to do the appropriate stuff
(probably "halt").
Q: Uh, how do I do that?
A: Use TacOps (ALT-S) computer.
Q: I want my shuttle to land, not the ship!
A: Then issue the order to the shuttle (SCx), not the CC (command
craft).
8 Personnel Operations
Q: What does each of the officers do again?
A: See appendix: C:\Program
Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser Millennium
Gold\docs\appendix\crew.html
Q: Why don't I see a Research Officer?
A: If you ship cannot mount an artifact, you don't need a
research officer (RO). See "upgrades" to see if you can use an
artifact.
Q: Why don't I see any pilots?
A: You're probably not commanding a carrier, thus no fighters and
no pilots.
Q: If I don't have any pilots, who will fly the shuttles?
A: Any of the crew can do it, including your AE, the marines, the
flight engineers, and so on.
Q: I tried to drive an OC, but it shows as "unmanned"
A: Again, you need to assign someone to drive it.
Q: Why aren't the system engineers dispatched automatically for
repairs?
A: Your CE (chief engineer) needs AI level of 35 or higher to do
that. See appendix.
Q: My marines are ACTIVE or READY. What is the difference?
A: Marines that are ACTIVE are simply alive. Marines that have
been through "Prep for Combat" show "READY". The combat
effectiveness is quite different between the states. So whenever
possible, you should prep the marines first before sending them
out to patrol your ship. However, prep for combat uses up 1
combat pak per prep and about 15 minutes. Keep those in stock,
and prep the marines ahead of time.
Q: What does the fatigue level mean?
A: Green means completely effective, fresh as a daisy.
Yellow means "normal, maybe a little tired".
Red means "I'm about to fall over. I'm going to bed..."
Q: How do I reduce fatigue level of crew?
A: You can let them rest ("off duty"), and they will recuperate.
If medibay is active, you can send the crew to medibay and be
treated. According to the manual, they heal faster in medibay.
Q: My crewmember is wounded. How to heal him/her?
A: If Medical Officer is on duty and has AI of 15% or higher, she
will automatically dispatch medics to roam the ship looking for
wounded crew and heal them and/or take them to medibay. Else,
order the crewmember to go to Medibay. If a medic or medical
officer is on duty they will perform the necessary actions on the
wounded crewmember when s/he arrives.
Q: How does a crewmember get wounded any way?
A: Intruder in the area, marine and intruder fight in the area
(or nearby), or the section of the ship where the crew is at
suffered damage. Or life support went out on that section of the
ship (due to damage or bad power allocation), or radiation, or
infection/disease, or volatile chemicals/minerals in the cargo
bays...
Q: What is hunger level? What are nutripaks?
A: Hunger level indicates how hungry a person is. Hunger level of
500 means the guy is hungry enough to go look for food in the
galley and ignore his job. Hunger level of 900 means the guy is
starving to death and will lose health. If you have enough
nutripaks in your cargo hold, the crew member will automatically
move to the galley, consume a nutripak, and return to their job.
If you don't have any... They'll eventually starve and start
losing health, and eventually die...
Q: I ordered _____ to go to medibay but s/he doesn't move!
A: If the person is too tired to move they won't move. If the
passage way is damaged between his position and destination and
there is no way through they won't move either. Finally, the crew
may not wish to leave his/her position yet.
Q: I ordered _____ to go to ______ but s/he is not there yet!
A: The crew member must actually MOVE through the intervening
locations, like turboshaft, corridor, etc. Give them a little
time. See "ship operations" for a list of ship locations.
Q: I lost _____. Can I get a replacement?
A: If it's one of your department officers, and your cloning
module is working, you can clone him or her back to life, but
they'll lose any of the AI gains since the beginning of the game.
If it's replaceable crew like engineers and marines and so on,
just recruit new ones from the next star station you dock to
(subject to availability, of course).
Q: Can I recruit more crew members as standby?
A: Unfortunately, no. Each ship has a limit on how much crew it
needs.
9 Security Operations
Q: Why is my ship at yellow alert when I don't see any enemy
ships?
A: You have intruder(s) onboard. SAS light should be flashing.
Another possibility is one of the prisoners escaped. There may
also be cloaked ships about (and may have beamed intruders
onboard your ship!) Go to PERSCAN and see how many.
Q: So what do I do?
A: SHUT DOWN launch control ASAP, and set ALL prepped marines to
search (I hope you already have them PREPed...) and start
prepping the others. Send marines to medibay and detention hold.
Q: Uh, how do I shut down launch control?
A: Go to Logistix / Power and turn off its power. That
essentially locks the bay doors and no shuttle can enter or
leave.
Q: What do intruders want?
A: They want to KILL YOU (your AE, actually), and/or to steal
nice items from your ship and escape, either by transporter, or
in one of your shuttles.
Q: Where do Intruders come from any way?
A: They may sneak onboard while you are docked at a station.
Prisoners in the detention hold may escape (esp. when power was
lost to that area). Or a cloaked ship may beam intruders onboard.
(In BC, shields stop weapons only, and does NOT prevent the use
of transporters).
Q: Is there a full list of ship locations?
A: Most locations are listed on page 80 of the manual. The
"inbetween" locations like turboshaft, fore corridor deck 1, etc.
are not listed, but can be inferred. Basically, it's "fore" /
"mid" / "aft". Different ships have slightly different layouts.
Q: How do I prevent intruders from getting onboard any way?
A: You really can't. One suggestion is to periodically cloak (if
you have cloak), as cloak prevents the transporter from working
(both ways). Here's another: if you see your screens crackle with
short burst of static, there's probably a cloaked ship nearby.
Hit retro rockets or after burner and start zig-zaging.
Q: Any other way of dealing with intruders?
A: Your marines on search duty will find them and kill/capture
them, but will likely take casualties. Or you can dock with a
star station. Star station security will sweep your ship and put
any intruders into your detention hold as prisoners.
Q: So what do I do with the prisoners?
A: Dock with a star station (with prisoners already in the
detention holds) to get some EP bonus.
10 Emergency Operations
11 Docked Operations
12 Advanced Operations
13 NOT IN MANUAL: Cargo / Inventory
Q: What are Combat Paks for?
A: When you order your marines to "prep for combat", they use up
1 combat kit each. Thus, it is necessary to keep them supplied.
Else, they will be fighting with their bare hands! The
preparation takes about 15 minutes.
Q: What are medpacks used for?
A: Quick healing of somebody who is injured. In the Medibay, you
can choose to "heal" somebody by clicking on the person, and
click on "heal" button. That consumes 1 medpack per attempt. The
effects are NOT instantaneous, so don't use more than one.
NOTE: When in first-person mode, you can use medpak on yourself,
as 2 are issued to everybody.
Q: What are Nutripacks for?
A: That's "food" for the crew. When a crew's "hunger level"
reaches over 500, they will leave their post to get some food (at
the galley), then come back to work. Some, however, will only go
to eat during off-duty hours. It takes a while for the crew to be
hungry, so you need only about 150 or so.
Q: What are Vacpacks for?
A: That's the vacuum suit and necessary stuff for EVA work. Every
shuttle should need a couple for EVA work. Your crew will
automatically take some.
Q: What is Radine used for?
A: That's fuel for your nuclear reactor, your primary source of
power. Keep it ABOVE 2000 at all times, preferably 10000 or more
if you go on long trips. When you get advanced reactors with
lower fuel consumption, you may be able to reduce the fuel
reserve amount.
Q: What is Plutonium used for?
A: That's fuel for your shields. To keep your shields up, you
need it. Usage is pretty low, figure 250 to 500 units should be
sufficient, unless you upgrade to bigger shielding, which also
lowers the plutonium consumption per unit of protection.
Q: What is Iridium used for?
A: Iridium powers the cloaking system. So unless you HAVE a
cloaking system, you don't need it. It is also quite valuable.
Q: How do I unload some missiles from the tubes so I can sell
them (and presumably replace them with better ones)?
A: Tactical / Loadout / select craft to unload, then do so. You
can also unload mines and/or probes this way.
Q: My shuttle has some cargo onboard and I want to sell it but I
can't find it. Where's the cargo?
A: Go to Tactical / Loadout / shuttle and UNLOAD the cargo into
your ship's cargo bay(s). THEN you will find the cargo.
Q: I have retrieved my mining drone full of minerals. Where are
they?
A: Go to Tactical / Loadout / shuttle / drones, and UNLOAD the
drone.
14 NOT IN MANUAL: Money
Q: How do I make money?
A: There are three ways to actively make money in BCM: mine for
minerals and trade them, trade items from station to station, and
kill/capture hostiles for bounties/loot.
14.1 MINING
Q: How do I mine for minerals?
A: Deploy a mining drone on a planet or moon using a shuttle. As
for how, please see Manual Appendix section [7.21] and/or [7.20]
Q: How do I tell how well the mining is going?
A: Use Tactical / Loadout / SC / # / Drone, and pick the one you
wish to know more about. The drones will roam the landscape and
collect minerals, and you'll read how full they are (as a
percentage). When they're full, send a shuttle over to retrieve
them. You can also see detailed loadout (how much of each) by
using the Tacops computer, turn on video, and select the drone.
Q: Where do I sell the collected minerals?
A: In general, sell them at a high inflation station is best. On
the other hand, the prices for minerals are pretty stable. See
manual appendix C:\Program
Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser Millennium
Gold\docs\appendix\lbases.html for a list of star stations and
their "base" inflation rate.
Q: I retrieved the drone with the minerals and the shuttle has
docked. Where are the minerals?
A: They are still in the shuttle's cargo hold. You need to unload
them into the ship's cargo hold.
Q: How do I speed up the mining process?
A: Mine a system/planet/moon with higher mineral density (you
learn this by docking at a station and look at INFO) screen. For
example, Moon/Earth/Sol is only 1%, while Moon-2/ Lyrius / Sirius
is 11% or so. Each moon/planet will be slightly different.
Listing them all would simply be too long.
14.2 TRADING
Q: How do I make money trading?
A: In general, you want to take cargo from the low inflation
stations to the high inflation stations. The more expensive the
item, the more profit you should generate. Beware, that the
ACTUAL amount of inflation WILL vary somewhat, thus actual profit
is not guaranteed. The list of bases is in C:\Program
Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser Millennium
Gold\docs\appendix\lbases.html
Q: What are all those HT, AD, and all that?
A: Difference specialties. Some stations specialize in a
particular area. A station specializing in HT will sell HT at 10%
discount off their "general" rate (which is base rate plus
inflation), and sell all non-HT items at 10% surcharge (since
it's imported). See HTML Appendix, Launch Bases (the link given
above) for explanations.
Q: So to exploit the difference, I should locate a low-inflation
station, buy up its specialties, then find a high-inflation
station that specialize in something else, and sell the stuff
there?
A: Exactly!
Q: What are some good trade routes?
A: One suggested route is GalcomHQ / Earth / Sol to Wraith /
Lyrius / Sirius. It's only 3 jumps, and about 30% difference. If
you do it in a shuttle you can go even faster. Or you can go
from Pluto / Sol to Lyrius / Sirius. That's about 20% difference,
in only 2 jumps. Another suggested route is to Saron / Sarien /
Alpha Canis, which has cheap stuff. Saron has TRELLIS, HULL
REPAIR KIT, and/or REACTOR REPAIR KIT that can generate good
profits... If you have enough capital to get started. Sell what
you don't need at Majoris / Alpha Majora, which has about 50%
difference, taking into account the "specialty" bonus.
Q: Any other trading suggestions?
A: One of the suggested methods is leave your CC next to
GalcomHQ, and do your trading in a SC. Your SC moves faster. Run
to stations and buy up things to fill up your hold (SC's cargo
hold, without any drones or OC, is 5000 units, same as a ship's
cargo bay), then take your CC somewhere to sell off the stuff.
Obviously, your SC is extremely weak and easily destroyed... So
don't run to hostile environments with it. With that speed, you
should be able to avoid most enemies.
14.3 BOUNTY HUNTING
Q: How do I make money as "bounty hunter"?
A: In general, capturing hostile ships will make you some money,
as well as earn you experience points (EP). For the exact amount,
please see the appendix C:\Program
Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser Millennium
Gold\docs\appendix\ep.html
Q: How do I capture hostile ships?
A: After the ship is disabled, tractor it (must be range less
than 1 km), and tow it to a base, then dock to the base. When the
base asks if you want to deliver the ship, answer Y(es).
BEWARE: While tractor beam is active, you have NO SHIELDS! Do NOT
attempt under hostile conditions!
Q: Is there any other way? What if I need to tow multiple ships?
A: Send a shuttle (or two, or three...) Have the shuttle "tow"
the target, then "deliver" to the base. Neutral bases are fine.
You'll still get the credit for it.
Beware that shuttles are extremely vulnerable, and you need a
smart pilot to perform delicate maneuvers such as towing.
14.4 OTHER SOURCES OF INCOME
Q: Any other way to make money?
A: You can collect cargo pods that are just spinning in space.
Any ship that was destroyed has a chance of spewing a cargo pod
or two. Have shuttles on standby, and launch them to "cargo
sweep" missions to pick up those pods. That's FREE merchandise
you can sell. (The pod may be empty though) For how to recover
cargo pods, see Manual Appendix section [7.13].
Remember to transfer the cargo from the shuttle's cargo hold to
the ship's cargo hold!
Remember shuttles are vulnerable to enemy fire. Retrieving stuff
near a hostile star station is very hazardous to the shuttle's
health (and its crew's health as well!).
BEWARE docking at a LEGAL station with contraband onboard results
in a violation (and violations CANNOT be erased!)
15 Not in Manual: Emergency Ops
Or... "All right, I'm in a REALLY bad situation here. Can you
save me?"
Q: I am out of fuel (radine). What do I do?
A: Re-orient your ship so you get SOME power from the solar
reactors. Shut down EVERYTHING except life support (primary AND
secondary) and launch control (you should have enough power for
that). Put your AE into the shuttle, and FLY it to the nearest
friendly base to buy radine. Fly back, and transfer the radine to
the ship, and turn on everything again. Or you can tow the ship
to a friendly base as well. Or send someone else to the shuttle
and have HIM tow the ship back.
Q: I forgot where I placed the mining drone. How do I find it?
A: You should at least know which moon it's on, or which system
it's in. Go to that system, and try to observe the moon, then
zoom to view the unit (should be in the list somewhere). If not,
it's not there. Try a different moon and/or different system.
Q: Help, I exited the CC, and the CC went elsewhere!
A: Use TacOps, order the CC to halt, then fly back to it.
Q: How do I get back inside the CC?
A: Look for the "enter craft" key on the keycard (slash).
Q: Help, there are intruders near the bridge, and my AE is
already wounded, and won't survive another attack. What do I do?
A: Order your ship to halt, then EXIT the ship, and hide outside
for a while. Use medpak on yourself to heal, then get back inside
to see if your marines have taken care of your problem. You can
also ride on the hull and use TacOps to order your ship to dock
at a station, which will also take care of your intruder problem.
Q: Help, my ship is crippled. What can I do?
A: 1) Launch a shuttle (with you in it or someone) and tow the
ship to a friendly port
2) Call for a tow if you have no shuttle
3) If you can't even do that (COMMLINK is down), then it's time
to self-destruct and start over.
16 Not In Manual: Career Questions
Q: I belong to GalCom / EarthCom. I took in some cargo pods as
loot and when I docked to the station, I was notified that I had
contraband (illegal items) onboard, and I was chalked up with a
violation! What do I do?
A: You can have up to 10 violations before you got court-
martialed, so don't worry about it if this is only your first or
second time.
Q: But what do I do to prevent this from happening?
A: Several possibilities:
a) Don't pick up cargo pods from enemies who deal in contraband
b) Pick up the cargo pods, but inspect them and eject illegal
stuff before docking
c) Load the contraband in the shuttle and launch the shuttle
before you dock. Tell the shuttle to return after you undock.
d) Don't dock at "legal" stations while you have contraband
onboard.
Q: Can I reduce violations? Do they "expire" after a while?
A: Unfortunately, NO. Violations cannot be reduced and do NOT
expire. So, don't commit any violations. You can have up to 10,
so don't go around making them all over the place.
17 Tips and Tactics
17.1 COMBAT
Detune weapons when fighting fighters
When fighting fighters, turn down your main gun and PTA guns to
50% or even 30%. This allows you to pump out more but weaker
shots, increasing possibility of hitting something small like
fighters.
17.2 CAPTURES
Extra Shuttle Loot
When you fight hostile ships in a relatively neutral spot (a
neutral station nearby, for example). and you destroy the hostile
ship, the ship will often have a shuttle the escapes and goes for
the station. However, if you're close enough to the station,
(under 200 km, maybe?) you may be able to tractor the escaping
shuttle before it reaches the station as it cannot escape into
hyperspace. By delivering the shuttle, you gain extra EP and
bounty.
--------
New entries are always welcome... Feel free to submit them via
the e-mail address above.
--THE END--
