(X3R) Paranid went full retard [solved]

[EagleTwoThreeX]

So, after I installed the game, I started the campaign, got through 3 missions, then quit doing that and started trading. I did that for a while, but realized my paranid rank was stuck. I read that you have to do the campaign, so I did.

Now, in Paranid Prime, there's a laser tower that attacks me, and my trade ships are getting attacked when they weren't before finishing the campaign. I tried comms with the main military ship in Paranid Prime, apologized for fire (even though I never shot at a paranid outside the campaign) just to see if that was the problem. But after, the lasertower is still red. And I think if I undock my transport in Emporer Mines, it will get attacked again.

So wtf happended to break the game like this? My rep with paranid shows "Nomad" 25%.

Eagle

[pjknibbs]

It's not broken, per se--it's just that some ships and stations keep you on their naughty list from when your rank was low even when it's recovered to more tolerable levels. The real problem with lasertowers is that they're classed as ships, which means the only way to turn it non-hostile is to apologise to it--and you can't apologise to a lasertower!

Your only real choice at this stage is to boost your Paranid rep a bit more and then destroy the lasertower--if you hit it with a big enough missile to one-hit it then the rep loss shouldn't be too bad.

[kaistern]

there is a mod or script that will change this but i can't spend the time to find it atm maybe post in the script/mod forum for help and they can help you fix this

[EagleTwoThreeX]

I tried destroying the tower with my buster, but then the equip factory was pissed at me, and you can't apologize to that, either. Wont a missile strike have the same effect?

[Nanook]

... I read that you have to do the campaign, so I did. ...

Then you read the wrong thing. There's absolutely no need to do the campaign in Reunion. In fact, in over three years of playing X3R, I completed the campaign once, just to say I did. I found it so annoying that I couldn't bear to do it again. And you lose nothing by playing a non-plot game. The plot doesn't give you anything you can't get in a non-plot game. Just so you know.

[Geek]

I think you misunderstood this sentence.
The OP says that if you start the X3R campaign, you have to finish it, otherwise your Paranid reputation are stuck. Which is completely true afaik.

[TTD]

I played Reunion plot up to but not including the race through the hoops.
I did the special mission to get my hands on a special ship or two and continued playing until TC was playable on my then rig.

I had little trouble with rep loss from any faction.

[Nanook]

I think you misunderstood this sentence.
The OP says that if you start the X3R campaign, you have to finish it, otherwise your Paranid reputation are stuck. Which is completely true afaik.

No, I think I read it right. He didn't say he had to finish it, he said he had to do it.

I read that you have to do the campaign, so I did.

[TycHouse]

--if you hit it with a big enough missile to one-hit it then the rep loss shouldn't be too bad.

Emphasis on the one hit, if you accidentally hit a ship with one shot it doesn't turn red. It only does that if you hit it again.
Use a Hammerhead (also known as an 'Unknown object' dropped by pirate falcon's and pirate nova's) but make sure you are at lease 5km away or it'll take you out too !
I think Firestorms work too but not sure if you would have them or anything to fire them with.

[Threesixtyci]

I don't know where you're at in the plot. You started with saying you did only 3 missions, but then you say you completed the campaign. So, I'm lost now.

All I can tell you about Reunion is that the Paranoid race turn enemy on you near the end of the plot. And when they do it's a fake rank that takes over. Your true rank is remembered by the game, but the true rank will not return until you finish the plot. Also, your true rank is still in play. Meaning if you do anything negative or positive the hidden true rank is still keeping track of that stuff. So, basically, when they go enemy on you during the campaign it's not a free pass to attack the Paranid.

What usually happens is that because the fake rank takes over near the end of the plot and make them enemies, you then start attacking them and that ends up bringing down your true rank. And when the plot finally ends the Paranid could hate you more than the fake rank was actually showing.

Laser towers being hostile to you is a separate glitch. They seem to keep their grudge towards you even if their station doesn't. As far as I know, the only way to get rid of them is to blow them up, like you just did. You will take a rep hit when you do that, but the rep is recoverable.

As for the benefit of choosing a start with the plot active, over the plot not active? Heh. Unknown Missiles will be defined as Hammerhead missiles when the plot is over, that's the reward.

[EagleTwoThreeX]

Ok guys, first, thanks for the replies.

Next, let me clarify a few things. When I installed the game, I figured I'd do the campaign, then go on about trading. However, I got to the 4th mission where you have to dock with a Teladi trading port, but then it said I didn't have enough rep. So, I started making trades in Argon space to get my trading career started, with no intent on going back to the campaign.

Until I found out that my Paranid (fake) rank was never going to change unless I completed the campaign I had started. So I went ahead and completed the campaign. I only did what was required, and kept my trade ships docked during that time.

My Paranid rep after completing the campaign was "Nomad 25%". I thought that was great and I could go back to my trading. However, one of my traders was getting attacked in paranid space by a Paranid border dude. I also saw a laser tower that was red in Paranid space.

One problem was solved by checking the trade ship, which had set the Paranid as enemy. How that happened, I will never know. But that and apologizing to the Paranid patrol in that sector solved that issue.

So I am left with the "angry laser towers" glitch. There is one red laser tower each in a few of the Paranid sectors. If I destroy them, as stated, the attached station gets pissed. I read I could try squash mines, and killing the towers that way would not piss off the attached station. My other option is to find the script I saw mentioned, and change the tower back to friendly.

So now I just have to find the script...off I go.

Eagle

[EagleTwoThreeX]

Well, I couldn't find the script after about 30 min of searching, so I used the squash mine alternative. It cost me $200K, but now I don't have to worry about my trade ships getting shot at and shooting back, thus borking my Paranid rep.

Basically, I set the tower as target, queued up 5 squash mines, dumped them as I passed the tower, got 5 km away, detonated one of the mines. That killed the tower. The only other thing I had to do was apologize to whatever ship got pissed, and they stood down. I had to do this in P Prime, D Domain, and T Sanctum. Destroying those along with some collateral damage cost me about 20% rep under "Priest Confidante".

I checked the other P sectors in the south, and none had them. I'll have to check other P sectors and go through the same crap if there's towers.

Eagle

[Threesixtyci]

I think if your AI ship hit another ship, even accidentally, their Friend/Foe setting automatically put the race that they hit as a Foe. Quickest way to solve it is to do a Global Broadcast of the Friend/Foe settings. And best to do this whenever an enemy race is no longer an enemy. You can also expect your AI ship to mess up whenever you get the local police hostile to you and your AI ships start shooting at them, too.

I think what causes that effect is when the, "Show enemy if enemy to me", is on. What I usually do is set their turrets of my AI ships to missile Defense or Protect Ship, because I like that "Show enemy if enemy to me", setting to be on, due to me jumping in and out of ships all the time. If it's off, then I won't know which pirates are friendly to me, when I have them set to friend. But the official recommendation is to have that setting off on your AI ships.