-- Anisotropic's mod v0.9c Readme -- This is a modified executable for John Jordan's excellent JJFFE for Windows. Most of the information in this document is unchanged from v0.99, as the changes in this version are almost exclusively bugfixes. The goal has been to balance the professions, ships, and fix the worst bugs in the game. Many things have been changed, and they will be listed here (subject to the limitations of my memory, of course ;)) Please note that many of the modifications in this .exe have been transferred from Jukka's excellent mod (notably the laser damages, trading prices and ships) as I felt I could not improve them. Special thanks both to Jukka and to John Jordan, who created JJFFE 2.8 and the very code I've been editing! The bugfixes have all been outlined in JJFFE 2.8's documentation, with the exception of one: the phantom ship bug. With this bug, you'd get jerked out of stardreamer sleep by an alarm - only to find that there were no ships to be seen. This would split up groups of ships and thus make combat easier. The bug seems to have been fixed, though I'm not sure quite how I fixed it. Better not look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess. :) Now, on to the professions... --------- TRADING --------- The old staple. There are many factors which will effect your profits here. - Population. Low-pop. systems are generally be more profitable to trade in, but you will have to do lower-volume trading (Freighters will not like this.) - Danger. Watch for the danger level listed on the system info screen - A high danger level means great profits for imports, but you'll need to be able to fight. - Legality. Smuggling can be very profitable, but beware - in well-policed systems you will almost certainly get caught, and have your cargo confiscated. If you know the right contacts, however, you should be able to bribe your way out of any difficulties. You'll also generally need to trade in a lower volume - illegal traders, like starport markets, won't accept more than they can sell profitably. - The starport you trade in. Not all ports are equal - some have higher supplies than others, some may pay more for certain goods than others (this variance is particularly high for illegal goods). Make sure to shop around. - The type of good you're dealing with. High-priced items such as Luxury Goods may yield better profits per tonne, but you'll need a sizeable nest egg to trade in them - not to mention that expensive goods are a magnet for pirates. Consider all your options here. - High demand. When supplies of a good run dry, people will be often be willing to pay extra for you to sell to them first. Always check the BBS for advertisements such as: "WANTED: Medicines. Will pay ¢1350.0 per tonne for up to 4 tonnes." ----------------------------- PASSENGER/DELIVERY SERVICES ----------------------------- Rewards are heavily dependent on the type and danger of the contract. For instance, someone visiting a friend may only be willing to pay ¢900, while someone fleeing the Imperial military may pay ¢150,000. Beware - only take the lucrative contracts if you are prepared for an onslaught. Ultimate Ship: Imp. Explorer/Panther Clipper ------------------------- ASSASSINATION CONTRACTS ------------------------- Not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced combateer. Rewards range from ¢8,000 to ¢150,000 depending on the combat-readiness of the target, as they *will* fight back. Make sure to carry out your assassinations in deep space, as the 'piracy and murder' fine has been revived from FE2 and it is quite hefty. Ultimate Ship: Asp Explorer or high-end interceptor -------- PIRACY -------- For those that want money without worrying about prerequisites, backing capital or reputation, there's piracy. For tracking down and destroying a trading ship out of sight (Ideally a large freighter), you get its *full* cargo as your reward. Though most ships will only be able to carry a small fraction of it, that fraction can still make the fortune of a poor commander. The Radar Mapper is critical for piracy and it should be the first item you buy. It will tell you what cargo your target is carrying, and thus whether pursuing it is worth your effort. Make sure that it's carrying non-perishable goods, as the last thing any pirate wants is to chase after a shipment of Slaves only to bring back Fertilizer. Ultimate ship: Mantis Freighter -------------------- MERCENARY MISSIONS -------------------- A military profession can be both the most rewarding and the most difficult career path to choose. At first, you will be given only low-paying delivery jobs, but every new rank has a new mission available, more dangerous and rewarding than the last. At the top you can expect up to ¢900,000 for a single contract. Ultimate ship: Varies from interceptor to battleship depending on rank OK, we've got the main professions down. Now, what about combat equipment? What has been changed? ----------- THE SHIPS ----------- Though generally unchanged from Jukka's mod, there are some significant differences. Mainly, the 'classic' Elite ships have been redesigned. Any poor commander will love these - they're almost as good, and a lot cheaper. Some ships, such as the Cobra MkIII (fighter/trader hybrid) have no equal, and retros are generally of a higher quality among older ships. Though most handle like a dream, low cargo capacity and hull protection will make many commanders opt for newer ships. NOTE: Due to the new system for shield protection (next entry), freighters have been allowed to install a front laser. Interceptors have had their hull strengthened, and small fighters have a bit more room to work with. --------- SHIELDS --------- Although still very important, shields will no longer substitute for a good hull. Shields can protect you from up to 85% of incoming damage, with decreasing efficiency as their power is drained. They recharge at a rate inversely proportional to the shield surface area - the larger your ship, the slower they'll recharge. An Energy Booster can mitigate this to an extent. The endurance of a ship is much more important now, as damage builds up on your hull. While one particular group of ships may not do you in, they can wear you down for the next group. Watch out. ------------------------- HULL AUTO-REPAIR SYSTEM ------------------------- The obvious solution to the endurance problem mentioned above, the HARS has been nerfed a bit. It now repairs the ship's hull very gradually (it can take a week or more for large battleships) and it needs a steady supply of Metal Alloys in order to repair the hull. This is mainly a luxury item due to its size, cost and the necessity of carrying Metal Alloys (which then take up more space). Still, it can be very useful in some cases, and it can both improve endurance and save money. Note that you can generally scavenge the necessary metals from destroyed opponents, so a Tractor Beam is highly recommended. ---------- MISSILES ---------- An excellent supplement to your lasers, missiles can end a battle quickly if used well. Make sure to choose the proper missile for whatever ship type you will be encountering. Choose one too weak and it won't do enough damage or it'll get ECM'd before it hits - choose one too powerful and you'll waste credits, and the ship may outrun it. - Homing Missile. Dirt cheap at a price of ¢90, and extremely fast (80g). Not very powerful, but it's the only missile fast enough to reliably hit interceptors. Unfortunately, any ship with ECM can stop this cold. - Smart Missile. ¢360 and "only" 60g, but power is increased significantly. Resistant to Standard ECM, though not immune. An excellent weapon to use against small-to-medium fighters. - Naval Missile. ¢1080 and basically useless against many small ships due to a mere 40g thruster power. However, it is heavily resistant to all ECM and quite powerful. Useful against Asps, Cobras and the like. - Light Torpedo. ¢5400 and very powerful, but also too slow to be useful in many cases. Excellent against medium-sized trading ships and moderately effective against destroyers. - Heavy Torpedo. ¢11700 and extremely powerful - capable of taking out anything short of a battleship with one hit. Unfortunately, most anything short of a battleship can avoid this sluggish missile. Use with care. --------------- MISC. CHANGES --------------- - The Energy Bomb has been beefed up, and it only takes up 2t of space. It can take out any ship short of a heavy fighter. - The number of pirates encountered in a system has been made more consistent, and traders will be encountered much more often. - AI ships equip themselves more logically. Virtually every ship has shields now. - Ship part exchg. rates now consider the resell value of your equipment (Why didn't it before?). - When landing in an escape capsule, you will get whatever model of ship you had previously. No equipment, though. - Freighters, though given a Front Laser, will not be able to install Plasma Accelerators. - You will not encounter pirate battleships anymore, as many ships just are not capable of fighting back. You can still encounter friendly battleships and assassination targets, though. - You can now hire more crew than you need. This is very useful when you're going to upgrade to a ship with a much higher crew requirement. - New start position, activate by pressing "4" at the intro screen.