X3: Albion...combat sim mod for combat training

[kuertee]

Is there a mod that adds a combat simulator?

You know, where you can train your combat skills without suffering the consequences of you being poor in combat?

So you can play as a merchant as much as you like but also have combat simulator experience.

Other games with combat simulators: X-Wing Alliance (I'm sure previous X-Wing and Tie Fighter games, as well.), Wing Commander, etc.

Thanks for your responses.

[Lorric]

First off, you should ask in the Scripts and Modding forum. One of the stickies contain a list of mods.

To answer your question, I have never heard of such a mod.

[kuertee]

Ahhh, yeah. Sorry about posting it here.

If an admin happens to see this, can this be moved? Thanks.

[DrBullwinkle]

Derp... skip this post. I misread the original question. Start with my post about the Buster (and the follow-up reply), below...

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LV talked about making a boarding simulator last year, although it has yet to appear.

Otherwise, your best bet is to choose a race that you do not mind losing some rep with, and go hunt whatever you want.

Some people hunt Duke's ships in the Duke's HQ sector. I am intentionally not naming the sector in case you have not found it yet. The Duke's ships in that sector are an independent faction -- rep with them does not affect other races. Theoretically, Duke's should be slightly linked with Pirate rep, but hunting Duke's ships does not seem to harm Pirate rep.

I hunted Yaki Ryu's for a while. They are relatively easy targets, are found in a quiet sector without defenses, sell for a good price, and make decent starter TL's. They are also the best-armed TL, so they can be useful as sector-defense ships, as well. Regaining rep with the Yaki can be a challenge, if you care: You will have to lure enemies of the Yaki into Yaki sectors to kill them until your rep is high enough to do missions for the Yaki. Paranid are great for this. Just steal one of their ships, bring it to Yaki space, and wait for the Paranid Police to show up -- then kill them.

Perhaps the best option is to steal a ship from any race, then do a mission or two for them to repair your rep and repeat. This way, you can practice against any target that you want.

Don't worry too much about which ship to steal. Just avoid Terran, ATF, and Xenon ships until your marines have better training. Also scan the target for internal defenses before boarding. If the defenses are tougher than your own marines, save that target for later:

Internal Security Lasers
Hull Polarization
Advanced Firewall
Marines

See Marine Tips for more info.

[kuertee]

Thanks for the tips!

I'm new to X3. (Played X2 for a bit I didn't get far in it.)

And I started with the Nostalgic Argon preset. I'm avoiding fast-forwarding time. So it's very slow going (which I actually like). I don't have anything but my Buster and about 50ks of credit.

And I know that once I get into a fire fight, I would be toast - instantly.

A good simulator that manages waves of fighters would be good training, I thought.

However, your suggestion of using another character to mess around with is sufficient enough. Thanks!

[DrBullwinkle]

A Buster is not a bad M4. You can do many kinds of missions with it. The game will scale things like cargo size and enemies based on your trade and fight ranks, so just go have fun. For example, your first defense mission will like be against one or two M5's. The game gets tougher as you improve, but it starts out gentle.

[imperium3]

Not sure the OP was talking about boarding

LV did make a combat arena script some years ago, though I don't know if it had a training mode. That might be what you're looking for.

[DrBullwinkle]

Not sure the OP was talking about boarding

Doh! . Apparently I added that part by myself.

@kuertee: In that case, skip to my advice about the Buster.

Look in core sectors for a "Flight Training Instructor". Come him, and he will give you flight (and combat) training.

Also, if your Buster does not already have Fight Command Software Mk2 (FCS Mk2), then you will want to invest in it as soon as you can afford it. With FCS2 installed, press K (while in space) until the Auto-Aim indicator in the lower-left corner of your HUD changes to "Auto". That will improve aiming of your lasers dramatically.

After that, it is just a matter of taking FIGHT missions until you improve. You will learn quickly.

If you want to get fancy, the single best combat move is:

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Barrel Roll

As suggested, LV's Deathmatch Arena (DMA) may be close to what you ask, although I have not tried it myself. Ignore the advice about installing EMP! That is old information. Instead, use the Plugin Manager to install the .spk version.