So I have 5 well-trained marines in my OTAS Skiron and I've been trying, very unsuccessfully, to cap a Hyperion. I'm trying to follow this guide: http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=249534
I have a few issues:
1. The Hyperion's turrets shoot down every Hornet missile I launch at it. I have landed not a single missile in any attempt. This doesn't turn out to be the main problem, but I am kinda worried about it. I've noticed that missiles in general don't do much for me.
As it happens a truckload of PRGs is enough to melt a Hyperion's shields pretty quick, and I haven't had any problem getting the shields down and landing the marines.
2. The real problem is that all of my marines die, every time. The marines are well trained, and the Hyperion has exactly 0 marines defending, although it does have internal sentry lasers. I imagine I might need more marines, but I can only carry 5.
The guide says it's written for 2.1, and I understand there may have been some changes since then (I'm playing 3.1), but I'm not sure I understand how to get more than 5 marines on board. Trying to board from two ships at a time seems like it would be difficult (hard to get a second ship to keep up, I imagine), and isn't there some kind of cap to how many marines you can attempt to board with anyway?
I don't have an M7M (or enough money to buy one). I'd like to try boarding the old fashioned way, but I don't see how it's possible just yet.
I do have a boatload of scripts installed (Stuff from Lucike, Gazz, and Cycrow), but to my knowledge none of them affect the difficulty of boarding attempts (Cycrow has a script to make boarding easier, but I'm not using that -- yet).
[X3TC] Capping my first Hyperion: what am I doing wrong?
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I think I read in an earlier thread that the internal sentry lasers are equivalent to a squad of 5-star marines. That's probably most of the problem right there; my advice is blast the hell out of the Hyperion with an ion disruptor-equipped ship until the ISLs burn out.
'Course, I'm not the person to talk to; I've never successfully boarded anything.
I do know, however, that there's one big drawback to using boarding pods: they're treated as missiles by any defenders, and if you haven't managed to land a single Hornet, using boarding pods definitely won't work.
'Course, I'm not the person to talk to; I've never successfully boarded anything.
I do know, however, that there's one big drawback to using boarding pods: they're treated as missiles by any defenders, and if you haven't managed to land a single Hornet, using boarding pods definitely won't work.
Last edited by StarSword on Sat, 26. Feb 11, 05:53, edited 1 time in total.
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Bill Huntington
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Congrats to you, Redwards! It's not that easy to get right where you are.
Some say that the sixth marine allowed makes a big difference. But that second load of one marine might not get through, or it might be the only pod to get through. So two pods is not the best option, in my opinion.
I don't usually start capping until I have 10 Marines trained to 100 in all categories, including combat training. With this, you can take any ship, (except the Xenon). Five stars is not enough, perhaps. So it is actually easier to take any M2 with 10 marines than it is take the Hype with 5.
But if you want to try, this might work. Once on board, save on each deck. Most of the time, there is some variation in results. If you lose too many marines on a deck, then reload. Even if it takes a few tries, you should get a result you can proceed with. Then do this on the next deck.
Once you get to the core, make sure to save. It is rare to have losses after this. But sometimes you get different things in the cargo hold: sometimes weapons, shields, jumpdrive, software.
The Hype is a great ship. That's why I got mine overtuned with a certain start.
Good Hunting.
Some say that the sixth marine allowed makes a big difference. But that second load of one marine might not get through, or it might be the only pod to get through. So two pods is not the best option, in my opinion.
I don't usually start capping until I have 10 Marines trained to 100 in all categories, including combat training. With this, you can take any ship, (except the Xenon). Five stars is not enough, perhaps. So it is actually easier to take any M2 with 10 marines than it is take the Hype with 5.
But if you want to try, this might work. Once on board, save on each deck. Most of the time, there is some variation in results. If you lose too many marines on a deck, then reload. Even if it takes a few tries, you should get a result you can proceed with. Then do this on the next deck.
Once you get to the core, make sure to save. It is rare to have losses after this. But sometimes you get different things in the cargo hold: sometimes weapons, shields, jumpdrive, software.
The Hype is a great ship. That's why I got mine overtuned with a certain start.
Good Hunting.
Bill in S.F., enjoying the game
1) How far away are you from your Target ship?
The farther you are the less likely they are to shoot your missles down.
2) **Get an M7** Boarding pods FTW. No boarding pods = mariens sitting ducks for all those turrets on the HV.
3) When you launch your mariens immidately follow them up w/ some Flail missles.
That should help the Target ship from shooting down your mariens due to preoccupation w/ the Flails. + Helps keep the shields down.
4) you only need the shields down below 10% i believe. I hover them around 5% just incase i get alil over zelous and launch too many flails.
The farther you are the less likely they are to shoot your missles down.
2) **Get an M7** Boarding pods FTW. No boarding pods = mariens sitting ducks for all those turrets on the HV.
3) When you launch your mariens immidately follow them up w/ some Flail missles.
That should help the Target ship from shooting down your mariens due to preoccupation w/ the Flails. + Helps keep the shields down.
4) you only need the shields down below 10% i believe. I hover them around 5% just incase i get alil over zelous and launch too many flails.
Yours sais "replica", Mine sais "Desert Eagle .50"
I'm not using pods. Like I said, I don't have an M7M. I'm under the impression that only M7M ships can fire boarding pods, yeah?Bill Huntington wrote:Congrats to you, Redwards! It's not that easy to get right where you are.
Some say that the sixth marine allowed makes a big difference. But that second load of one marine might not get through, or it might be the only pod to get through. So two pods is not the best option, in my opinion.
I don't usually start capping until I have 10 Marines trained to 100 in all categories, including combat training. With this, you can take any ship, (except the Xenon). Five stars is not enough, perhaps. So it is actually easier to take any M2 with 10 marines than it is take the Hype with 5.
But if you want to try, this might work. Once on board, save on each deck. Most of the time, there is some variation in results. If you lose too many marines on a deck, then reload. Even if it takes a few tries, you should get a result you can proceed with. Then do this on the next deck.
Once you get to the core, make sure to save. It is rare to have losses after this. But sometimes you get different things in the cargo hold: sometimes weapons, shields, jumpdrive, software.
The Hype is a great ship. That's why I got mine overtuned with a certain start.
Good Hunting.
Well the Hyperion Vanguard is a M6 so you can only land 6 marines on it. If your marines keep dying you need marines with better fighting or an Hyperion without sentry lasers. For reference I capped my Hyperion Vanguard on a 3.0 game with 5 marines that had 3 stars on fighting, and lost one of them. It didn't have any sentry lasers.
Capping M6 is more difficult than bigger ships due to faster shield % regen and the limit on troops you can land, and you usually lose a marine or two. Not worth the effort except for the Hyperions IMO.
Capping M6 is more difficult than bigger ships due to faster shield % regen and the limit on troops you can land, and you usually lose a marine or two. Not worth the effort except for the Hyperions IMO.
Didn't know about the missile distance. Closest I fired from was 4km, but most were from close enough to reach out and touch.Glaceious wrote:1) How far away are you from your Target ship?
The farther you are the less likely they are to shoot your missles down.
2) **Get an M7** Boarding pods FTW. No boarding pods = mariens sitting ducks for all those turrets on the HV.
3) When you launch your mariens immidately follow them up w/ some Flail missles.
That should help the Target ship from shooting down your mariens due to preoccupation w/ the Flails. + Helps keep the shields down.
4) you only need the shields down below 10% i believe. I hover them around 5% just incase i get alil over zelous and launch too many flails.
I don't think my marines were getting shot in space. I was launching them from 500m or so.
Haven't tried the flail missile thing. Haven't had any problems keeping the shields down with PRGs.
...and flail missiles are another M7 thing. Grr. Can't I cap anything in my M6?
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Bill Huntington
- Posts: 2493
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Marine training
Frustrating, Yes. Many pilots didn't like the change in boarding back in 2 point something, and stayed there instead of changing.
But boarding the big ships with pods is still a pretty good challenge.
One thing you can do with the Skiron and boarding is train your marines in combat, by taking Abandoned Ship missions, for M6 and M7. Of course, you could just claim it. But you want to train your marines. They get 5 points, more or less, for each successful boarding. The target is immobile, without weapons or shields. You can still lose them fighting deck to deck, but the ones that survive will gain combat experience. One of the boarding changes has the marines broken up into two groups, which might or might not land together. A number of reloads could deal with this. A ship with extra marines nearby could transfer more marines to your Skiron, and you could launch another wave or two. Then you have a number of marines to pick up later, but eventually you should get a boarding crew aboard.
One of the fun things to do with an M7 or M7M is board it, return it (without shields), and then cap it again, since it can't dock inside most stations. So you get twice the training in one mission, and everything is right there. You really do have to keep it or sell it when you take it the second time.
If you don't make the delivery deadline, just steal the ship with the Yaki, Goner, or Xenon trick. You only have a small rep loss. After a number of steals, just do a mission for that race.
I've even gotten a number of Cobras and other M7Ms from these missions. Having the highest ratings with the target race increases your chances of getting them.
You can save of lot of combat training by picking up 4 star (in combat)marines from the various Marine Barracks, some Pirate Bases, Mercenary Bases. Three stars are okay with other skills. I usually get 15 or so from these sources in all the games I've played.
Good Hunting!
But boarding the big ships with pods is still a pretty good challenge.
One thing you can do with the Skiron and boarding is train your marines in combat, by taking Abandoned Ship missions, for M6 and M7. Of course, you could just claim it. But you want to train your marines. They get 5 points, more or less, for each successful boarding. The target is immobile, without weapons or shields. You can still lose them fighting deck to deck, but the ones that survive will gain combat experience. One of the boarding changes has the marines broken up into two groups, which might or might not land together. A number of reloads could deal with this. A ship with extra marines nearby could transfer more marines to your Skiron, and you could launch another wave or two. Then you have a number of marines to pick up later, but eventually you should get a boarding crew aboard.
One of the fun things to do with an M7 or M7M is board it, return it (without shields), and then cap it again, since it can't dock inside most stations. So you get twice the training in one mission, and everything is right there. You really do have to keep it or sell it when you take it the second time.
If you don't make the delivery deadline, just steal the ship with the Yaki, Goner, or Xenon trick. You only have a small rep loss. After a number of steals, just do a mission for that race.
I've even gotten a number of Cobras and other M7Ms from these missions. Having the highest ratings with the target race increases your chances of getting them.
You can save of lot of combat training by picking up 4 star (in combat)marines from the various Marine Barracks, some Pirate Bases, Mercenary Bases. Three stars are okay with other skills. I usually get 15 or so from these sources in all the games I've played.
Good Hunting!
Bill in S.F., enjoying the game
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Flaming Blastclaw
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The hyperion vanguard is a tough corvette to take on since it has been known to fire wraith missiles when the shields are low and blowing itself up.
If any of the turrets are set to missile defense then boarding will be almost impossible without firing up the ion disrupters for a good 10 minutes.
If any of the turrets are set to missile defense then boarding will be almost impossible without firing up the ion disrupters for a good 10 minutes.
"It is better to be thought as a fool than to speak and remove all doubt".
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
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Bill Huntington
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- Joined: Mon, 2. Feb 09, 17:34
Abandoned Ship Missions
Yes. I don't mean the free ships that are salted around here and there. I'm talking about Abandoned ship and Return Ship missions. Some of them are for ships that can be boarded.
Bill in S.F., enjoying the game
You can, of course. But it's extremely hard with beginners, against internal defense.redwards wrote: Can't I cap anything in my M6?
DO some train runs, with six marines, against less protected targets. The sixth marine can be 'delivered' only if you deploy them with a TP (which makes difficult to keep those shields down). After some successful boardings they get enough skills to go for a Hype, even with Lasers, with only a squad of five.
You say your marines are well trained - how well?
If you can, use 6 marines. Have a TP nearby with a transporter device on board. Have 3 marines on your M6, release them, grab another 3 from the TP and release them as quickly as possible. Might help to deliberately release the first lot a tiny bit further away than the second. The idea being to try and get them to board together.
Essentially, to get the Hyp you are after:
To combat the ISL you need very well trained marines, preferably the max number you can send (6 for an M6).
You could get rid of the ISLs using Ion Disrupters as has been suggested.
Give up on that HYp and go find another that doesn't have any internal defences. Nuking this one will cause another to spawn...
Tim
If you can, use 6 marines. Have a TP nearby with a transporter device on board. Have 3 marines on your M6, release them, grab another 3 from the TP and release them as quickly as possible. Might help to deliberately release the first lot a tiny bit further away than the second. The idea being to try and get them to board together.
Essentially, to get the Hyp you are after:
To combat the ISL you need very well trained marines, preferably the max number you can send (6 for an M6).
You could get rid of the ISLs using Ion Disrupters as has been suggested.
Give up on that HYp and go find another that doesn't have any internal defences. Nuking this one will cause another to spawn...
Tim
Struggling to find something from the forums - Google it!!! 
I guess what you could attempt to do is get a TP and gear it out. Then take your skiron or what ever M6 you like and attack the target to be boarded and Remote the TP w/ mariens on it to Pirate the target ship.
Hopefully youll have enough aggrivation that the target ship wont shoot at your TP too much and spend its time chaseing you down while your mariens mozy on over.
Worth a shot /shrug
Hopefully youll have enough aggrivation that the target ship wont shoot at your TP too much and spend its time chaseing you down while your mariens mozy on over.
Worth a shot /shrug
Yours sais "replica", Mine sais "Desert Eagle .50"
Yeah the farther away the less likely they are to shoot down your nukes. I like to be nice and far away. 15km + and just lob a truck load of nukes.
Small M6 and have a hard time shooting down big M1's.........get alot of missles and a good distance and launch away.
much fun to watch the big bada booms. I like to put the target ship in one of the lil windows....just to see the huge explosion the Firestorm Torpedos make 
Small M6 and have a hard time shooting down big M1's.........get alot of missles and a good distance and launch away.
much fun to watch the big bada booms. I like to put the target ship in one of the lil windows....just to see the huge explosion the Firestorm Torpedos make Yours sais "replica", Mine sais "Desert Eagle .50"
I was struggling to capture Hyperion using M7M. The Hyperion didn't have internal lasers, nor marines on board, but still 5 out of my 10 marines died. Later, I captured several TLs with internal lasers, and had no casualties. Does the Hyperion have some kind of "hidden" defence, like Xenon ships, only weaker?
Every ship has a hull defence rating. Not sure if the Hyp's is particularly high.
You say you lost 5 out of 10? Only 6 will fit in an M6 so 4 would have been floating in space from the start... Makes them fairly vulnerable to fire both from the Hyp and you whilst you're trying to keep the shields down!
Tim
You say you lost 5 out of 10? Only 6 will fit in an M6 so 4 would have been floating in space from the start... Makes them fairly vulnerable to fire both from the Hyp and you whilst you're trying to keep the shields down!
Tim
Struggling to find something from the forums - Google it!!!
Thanks, didn't know that. I wonder if there is a way to get that information for all the ships?perkint wrote:Every ship has a hull defence rating. Not sure if the Hyp's is particularly high.
There were two waves, and by the time the second wave reached the hull, most of the marines from the first wave were eliminated, so there were no marines floating in space.perkint wrote:You say you lost 5 out of 10? Only 6 will fit in an M6 so 4 would have been floating in space from the start... Makes them fairly vulnerable to fire both from the Hyp and you whilst you're trying to keep the shields down!
Tim
M6/TM hold 5 normally (6 when your boarding it)
TP holds 10, can't board it.
TL/M7/M1/M2 holds 20 normally (21 when you boarding it)
Seeing as no one asked this, whats the fighting skills of your marines? Hopefully you bought the few >70 fighting skill ones you can find if you look at all the training barracks and military outposts. If they are less than 4* in fighting, the internal sentry lasers will bbq them.
I wouldn't use Hornet to knock down the shields unless you give them some cover with wasps. Basically the Hornet/Firestorm barrage with Wasp cover is what an M7 does, only with less key strokes. I also find Wasp spamming an effective way to keep shields down while I maneuver for the boarding location, not the easiest to do vs a Hype, as its so fast. An alternative to Hornets would be Typhoons, a swarm missile that does 30K damage (30K x 8 warheads = 240K)
TP holds 10, can't board it.
TL/M7/M1/M2 holds 20 normally (21 when you boarding it)
Seeing as no one asked this, whats the fighting skills of your marines? Hopefully you bought the few >70 fighting skill ones you can find if you look at all the training barracks and military outposts. If they are less than 4* in fighting, the internal sentry lasers will bbq them.
I wouldn't use Hornet to knock down the shields unless you give them some cover with wasps. Basically the Hornet/Firestorm barrage with Wasp cover is what an M7 does, only with less key strokes. I also find Wasp spamming an effective way to keep shields down while I maneuver for the boarding location, not the easiest to do vs a Hype, as its so fast. An alternative to Hornets would be Typhoons, a swarm missile that does 30K damage (30K x 8 warheads = 240K)
Give me a mamba or give me death!
I would think it'd be available with the script editor or one of the ship model editors, but it could be hard coded. If you wanted to find out, you'd have to head over to the S&M forum to ask and find out...
You don't say what level your marines were at - of the four skills, only one affects whether your marines will die or not - fight skill. Mechanical affects whether they can actually get in or not, Engineering affects how much they damage the hull, Hacking affects whether they can actually claim the ship at the final stage and Fight just affects whether they live long enough to get to the final stage.
Of course, other things affect these:
1. The target ship has a "hull thickness" or whatever you want to call hit. Hull polarising device increases this. Using boarding pods gives your guys a boost against this (and is absolutely required for some ships!)
2. Internal Sentry lasers boosts the defence rating of the target - your marines are more likely to die. Also, obviously, if there're are defending marines on board.
3. Advance Firewall software increases the resistance to hacking.
Xenon don't need any of these - their ships are drastically nasty to human life anyway!
Your marines are measured against these either as a team or the best two out of the team:
Cutting the hull. Best two guys in the team. A team is either all the space walkers who hit the hull at the same moment or the guys in each pod individually
Combat. Whole team (which is all marines who're thru the hull) together.
Hacking. Best two guys who've made it to the end.
So, if you're losing marines it's down to on board ship defences (you say there were none) or simply your guys aren't hard enough. Send in 6 in one go, train them a bit more (send 20 guys in against big ships) or be prepared to send in more waves.
That's all as I understand it, anyway
Tim
You don't say what level your marines were at - of the four skills, only one affects whether your marines will die or not - fight skill. Mechanical affects whether they can actually get in or not, Engineering affects how much they damage the hull, Hacking affects whether they can actually claim the ship at the final stage and Fight just affects whether they live long enough to get to the final stage.
Of course, other things affect these:
1. The target ship has a "hull thickness" or whatever you want to call hit. Hull polarising device increases this. Using boarding pods gives your guys a boost against this (and is absolutely required for some ships!)
2. Internal Sentry lasers boosts the defence rating of the target - your marines are more likely to die. Also, obviously, if there're are defending marines on board.
3. Advance Firewall software increases the resistance to hacking.
Xenon don't need any of these - their ships are drastically nasty to human life anyway!
Your marines are measured against these either as a team or the best two out of the team:
Cutting the hull. Best two guys in the team. A team is either all the space walkers who hit the hull at the same moment or the guys in each pod individually
Combat. Whole team (which is all marines who're thru the hull) together.
Hacking. Best two guys who've made it to the end.
So, if you're losing marines it's down to on board ship defences (you say there were none) or simply your guys aren't hard enough. Send in 6 in one go, train them a bit more (send 20 guys in against big ships) or be prepared to send in more waves.
That's all as I understand it, anyway
Tim
Struggling to find something from the forums - Google it!!!