Just bought the game and I am stuck in the tutorial... can't fire weapons

[zuiko]

I got the Steam pack with both TC and AB in it. Everything seems to work fine until I get to the part of the tutorial where I am supposed to blow up a crate. Nothing I do works to fire the weapons. I'm trying to start a Trader character (Mercury is the starting vessel) if that matters.

• + CTRL and Right Mouse Button do nothing when over the container with it selected.
  + I made sure I had the laser assigned and had the proper weapons group selected... I even assigned the laser to all groups.
  + I tried pressing F1 and doing it from that first view that comes up.
  + I tried SHIFT-N and doing it in that mode.
  + I tried clearing the controls for cursor fire and boresight fire and reassigning them.
  + I started new games in both TC and AB and I have the same exact problem in both.
  + I tried the Verify Game Cache option on both games. No problems were found.
  + I have no mods that I know of unless they come with the steam download. I have never played any of these games before.

So far I have spent more than 2 hours on this and I am still stuck in the tutorial. Any help would be appreciated.

[Snafu_X3]

The starting ships in Humble Trader don't have any weapons, that's why you can't fire any

Sorry, just another unforseen start glitch; all other starts have weps (AFAICR)

The flight school isn't essential to complete anyway; it's just a basic tutorial on how to fly (& fight, if you have weps) your ship. You can ignore it, abort it or complete it as and when you wish

You'll discover that this is not a plot-led game - you can choose to do some missions or plots ('plots' in general parlance = blue-book mission sequence) & there's no time limit, while occasionally other missions/plots /do/ have a limit. But for the ones that don't, you can do whatever you want in the ..umm.. 'time remaining'. Go off & kill some pirates/boron/terran/WHY. Go & do other missions/plots. Go & trade for some money, or build a factory or several.. the choice is entiirely yours. You can even take over/destroy (almost) the entire map without doing a single blue book, but no-one said it'd be easy..

In general, plot (blue book) missions have no time limit, although it's best to complete that mission section before doing your own thing. For normal gameplay, 'easy' (green) missions have a considerably lower time limit than 'hard' or 'very hard' (red), but of course they don't pay out as well in money or reputation. There will be some missions you encounter that will be impossible to do in your current ship, (one or more of) your fleet of ships, or within the time limit; you're going to have to recognise these & ignore them - there's no penalty for refusing to take any mission!



Above all: enjoy what you do & have fun!

[zuiko]

The starting ships in Humble Trader don't have any weapons, that's why you can't fire any

Sorry, just another unforseen start glitch; all other starts have weps (AFAICR)

The flight school isn't essential to complete anyway; it's just a basic tutorial on how to fly (& fight, if you have weps) your ship. You can ignore it, abort it or complete it as and when you wish

You'll discover that this is not a plot-led game - you can choose to do some missions or plots ('plots' in general parlance = blue-book missions) & there's no time limit, while occasionally other missions/plots /do/ have a limit. But for the ones that don't, you can do whatever you want in the ..umm.. 'time remaining'. Go off & kill some pirates/boron/terran/WHY. Go & do other missions/plots. Go & trade for some money, or build a factory or several.. the choice is entiirely yours

In general, plot (blue book) missions have no time limit, although it's best to complete that mission section before doing your own thing. For normal gameplay, 'easy' (green) missions have a considerably lower time limit than 'hard' or 'very hard' (red), but of course they don't pay out as well in money or reputation. There will be some missions you encounter that will be impossible to do in your current ship, (one or more of) your fleet of ships, or within the time limit; you're going to have to recognise these & ignore them - there's no penalty for refusing to take any mission!

Above all: enjoy what you do & have fun!

Having never played before I didn't realize I had no guns... made another character and I had no problem blowing up the crate. Thanks for the help!

[Snafu_X3]

No worries; it's a Frequently Asked Question

TIP: get yourself a cargo life support system (CLS(S)) ASAP (about 3KCr from the pirate base N of the gate 2 sectors S of you) & start doing taxi runs in your Disco. Each passenger takes 6 units of space, so if you get military/workers you'll need to calculate how many people you can fit into the space.. but it's an excellent money- & rep-gatherer for a little later on

Don't worry about asking 'stupid' questions here; pretty much everyone's been in the same boat /and remembers it/, so unless you start being obnoxious you'll find a polite & friendly community willing to answer any question(s) you may have.. but please check the stickied FAQ first!

[Alacard1]

Can you do taxi missions without a TP-class ship? I was under the impression that those missions didn't work without a TP even if your current ship had a Cargo Bay Life Support system.

[JoeVN09]

You can do some taxi missions without a TP ship -- check in the mission briefing; if the guy mentions needing a "passenger transport" specifically, you need the right ship class.

EDIT: But as you said, all ships need a Cargo Lifesupport System if they're to carry passengers.

[kgkosio]

'I will not accept sub-standard transport' also indicates the need for a passenger transport (TP class ship)

[Triaxx2]

Military transport missions only require enough space to carry the passengers.

[kgkosio]

Passengers take up 6 units of storage
Military take up 8 units of storage

[Nanook]

Passengers take up 6 units of storage
Military take up 8 units of storage

No, all the 'military' passengers in those missions take up 6 units. Only the Marines you use for boarding ops take up 8 cargo units. And you never get those on 'military transport missions'.

[Threesixtyci]

That tutorial is really a leftover from Story mode, X3:Reunion. It's really meant to be done in the Buster you start off with in Reunion.

I think it's broken with the bankrupt assassin Mamba, as well. I recall times where after I docked with a station the tutorial never recovering.

There was another time where I fired a missile and it never hit the target. Missile just kept circling the crate and exploded... and I was then out of missiles and another never re-spawned in the hold.

Another mess up due to a change from Reunion to TC, is the passenger size, versus the cargo life support, upgrade. The upgrade requires a M sized Cargo Hold, but passengers are rated as Small. In Reunion you could do Taxi missions in a M5, without a life support upgrade. That mission type was dropped in TC.

[Nanook]

...
Another mess up due to a change from Reunion to TC, is the passenger size, versus the cargo life support, upgrade. The upgrade requires a M sized Cargo Hold, but passengers are rated as Small. In Reunion you could do Taxi missions in a M5, without a life support upgrade. That mission type was dropped in TC.

Sorry, you've got that backwards. The CLS is size 'S' and the passengers are size 'M'. I know this because I used docked M5's in a TM to carry equipment around to my various ships.

[pjknibbs]

In addition, there are M5s in X3TC that support M sized cargo, including one of the fastest ships in the game (the Teladi Kestrel), so if you want to do passenger transport missions in those you can still do it just fine.

[Snafu_X3]

In addition, there are M5s in X3TC that support M sized cargo, including one of the fastest ships in the game (the Teladi Kestrel), so if you want to do passenger transport missions in those you can still do it just fine.

.. & the Disco, which is what the OP has (merchant start) & is why I mentioned it

[Bobucles]

Just start over. Trading has a VERY steep learning curve and the starts are VERY painful. The military starts are much simpler and will get you exploring the universe much more quickly.

Also, take time to learn the different classes of ship. It doesn't all make sense, but when you get the hang of it things are much clearer:
Small:
M5 - Scout. Almost useless, except for doing missions early on.
M4 - Interceptor. Low damage, low defense.
M3 - Fighter. Decent strength and defense.

Medium:
M6 - Corvette. Good strength and defense. Versatile option, good for just about anything.
TS - Transport. Corvette size, low defense and high cargo.
TP - Personnel transport. Taxi ships, needed for certain VIP transport missions.

Capital ships:
M7 - Frigate. Light capital ship, good combination of power, speed, and shielding.
M7M- Missile Frigate, called M7 in game. A frigate built exclusively for missile spam. Useless if you don't build lots of missile factories.
M2 - Destroyer. All options have extremely powerful guns and high shielding.
M1 - Carrier. All options have good guns, good shielding, and huge fighter bays.
TL - Mega transport. Capable of construction, can be hired in most major zones.

[Snafu_X3]

Just start over. Trading has a VERY steep learning curve and the starts are VERY painful. The military starts are much simpler and will get you exploring the universe much more quickly

Sorry, but I beg to differ. Combat-orienntated starts can have their uses, but it's extremely easy for the (combat ranked-up) pilot to start coming up against enemies for which he has no backup & no defence, due to lack of money

Lack of money can be alleviated by trade (which can be automated), which also increases player trade rank & (depending upon where the trade happens) race rep.. which in turn increases the amount of money gained from rewards and/or trading capped ships

Plus it gives <player> a nice little area to fall back upon when lots of baddies are after their blood, or they just need time for R&R

I've always said: try to advance player ranks as evenly as you can; try to advance (_all_) race ranks as fast as possible. This will result in you having the maximum options midgame

..& I believe the OP was on a 'humble merchant' start? That should say something to you warmongers..

(your advice about learning shiptypes is good btw)