The Ur-Quan Masters Discussion Forum

Umm... How do I make it fullscreen, etc?

This also runs a lot faster than the Genesis version I've got. Is it supposed to, or should (and can) it be slowed down?

Also... how do I refuel? Can't see anything in the manual about that...

To make it fullscreen, add a -f to the end of your command string (I expect you're using windows, so right click on your shortcut icon, click properties;  there's your command string!).

Refueling:  have you tried going to earth yet (and the little space station orbiting it)?

Slowing the game down;  hmm, maybe moslo would work on a windows box.  Does anyone know for certain?

Got the refueling, ta... i'll try the command line stuff in the morning.

Something else now... how do I decipher the basic scan info (that seems to be warning me about atmospheric disturbances etc)?

Is there any way to protect the lander against places like Venus, where you seem destined to lose crew by the bucketload..?

I get the feeling I'll be coming back to this thread a lot...

When the Commander says there're 2000 men at the base, does that mean that's the maximum amount of crew I can use, or is it unimportant? Is the cost of a crewmember anything more than 1 RU?

Try experimenting, and most of these questions will answer themselves.  The precise details of crew cost are elsewhere on this board; however, they are also spoilerriffic.

As for speed: Ballistix ran extremely slowly compared to the other versions of Star Control.  UQM matches the combat speed from Star Control 2.

This (http://uqm.stack.nl/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Techissues;action=display;num=1069275399;start=1#1) might be of use to you with regards to modifying the basic game behaviour

Yeah, I'd rather avoid spoilers... I'm just a little worried that I'll suddenly find out there're no crew left for me to get, or they're astronically expensive.

Could someone give a vague description of the speed the game's *supposed* to run at (in battles)? It's going nearly twice the speed of SC1... which isn't necessarily bad, since that got really slow at times, but it makes some of the battles pretty tough - i just don't know if they're tougher than they *should* be (my flagship got destroyed by a single one of those fire chucking/cloaking thingies).

Another question!..

Is there any way of finding a particular star system on the star map without just moving the cursor over star after star until you reach the right one?

And do the slightly bigger stars signify anything important, or are the just a bigger star (eg. Red Giant)?

Thanks again :)

Your first question - I have no idea how to explain how fast the mellee goes on my CPU. What are your system specs.?

Second question:
In the game, no. Sorry. You always have to put your cursor over it in order to get the name. (I know it is very frusturating if someone gives you the name of the star with no cordinates ;) .)  

However you can do a star search online here. This place is called the pages of now and forever (PNF) and has a major wealth of info on races and other things. Anyway here is the link to the star search:
http://www.classicgaming.com/starcontrol/sc2/alpha_constellations.shtml

Third Question:
Depends. For instance, if you want to mine, the hotter stars have better minerals (careful - your landers get fried more often). On the BIGGEST stars are the Melnorme traders which come in handy in the game with info and tech.

If you think that all the "items" (Utwig bomb, warp pod etc.) are found at the biggest star systems you are incorrect. If you are stuck on were they are just ask around. (make sure to buy all info on from the Melnorme if you are stuck)  

Hope I answered your questions!

Don't worry about the crew, but don't waste them. There is enough.

Here is an image of the map that came with the game:
http://www.resonant.org/games/sc2/sc2_color_map.jpg

Use that for finding constellations. Other maps may contain spoilers, which you do not want. You will usually get co-ordinates in the game, so that makes it easy enough.

I'd advise against using that link that FalconMWC posted.

As for the game speed, in all likelyhood it is running exactly as it should.

FalconMWC: You are not exactly avoiding spoilers. You name some things that Jinksy probably hasn't found (or heard of) yet, and you posted a link to something that details all the planets and what is on them. Let him discover things on his own.

Thanks guys... what exactly would 'wasting crew,' be, though? It seems virtually every time I go for minerals I lose a dozen or so... but it appears to be a choice between that and bankruptcy. Is it actually possible to completely exhaust the crew supply?

There is a whole thread on crew - I suggest that anyone that is in question on the subject read it.

WARNING - THIS CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS!
http://uqm.stack.nl/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Gendiscuss;action=display;num=1072756231




Only problem is that it does take  a little bit to find them.



Duh! - Forgot that it gives info on what is one the planet! - Sorry  :'(

No. You really have unlimited crew at the starbase. The crew cost starts out at 3, and goes to 5 after you get more than 1000 crew from the base, but you will never max out even if you recruit past the theoretical max of the starbase.

Am I going to get a better clue about what the system containing the creature the VUX commander wanted than the one he gave me? It sounds as though he means some snake shaped constellation, but he was incredibly vague about it.

Same question about the Probe's homeworld... I've got 'on the same line as Alpha Tucanae and Epsilon Muscae, but it's a nightmare trying to figure out what *that* means.

I don't want to be told where these things are if I'll discover them ingame, but if that's it by way of clues, i'm stuck!

Am I supposed to know what 'truespace coordinates 100:50', considering there's nothing at those coordinates on the starmap?

OK - your first question:

Yes, The hint you got from the VUX commander is very bad in my opionion. There is another race that will give you a very direct hint to were it is.

As to the probes, ask the king of info.

Use that HS jpg map that lightman gave a link to.  It will help a lot with the puzzles (has the constellation names and shapes).

The Vux commander says:
Spoiler


`... demise, It(!) basks in yellow light within the eight star constellation of Linch-Nas-Ploh.'
We have translated `Linch-Nas-Ploh' to mean approximately
`the snake-like creature who has swallowed the elephantine beast.'

So, you're looking for a constellation with 8 stars, one of which is yellow, and it looks like a snake with a big bulge.


/spoiler

Is there any way of knowing when I've got the right creature? I've been to Gamma Serpentis, which I had a suspicion might have something to do with it (though I didn't notice the 'yellow' bit and went to the Alpha star initially), and found and captured 2 types of lifeform (which involved a heck of a lot of saving and reloading), one on the moon of the Yehat Homeworld, one on Gamma Serpentis II, and the dialogue hasn't changed with the VUX commander... is there other life in the system, or am I missing something?

It will show up under "devices".

OOO - You WILL know when you have the creature!!!! Let me put it this way. As soon as you land on the planet the thing will zoom across the map in seconds and tear your lander to bits in 3-4 seconds if you do not have a upgrade for your lander. Also it will give you a little  message from the crew about how hard it was to get if you mange to capture it. O - and one last thing. You can not sell it to the Melnorme. The creature will be in your items list and labels "ZEX's Beauty".  Trust me - You will know when you get the creature!

Is Gamma Serpentis the right star system?

Well since you asked the question - No - You are looking in the wrong place!

Minor nitpick; bio analysis is non-destructive.  The Beauty is worth 30 credits too.  :)

So you can sell that to the Melnorme?

You get the bio-credit automatically as well as the device.

Ok, I want one spoiler, 'cos I'll be really annoyed if I manage to mess up the game - I've just used the 2nd excuse that stops the Pkunk from going to Yehat space... presumably once they get there they get slaughtered. How can I save them, once they start moving again?

SPOILER

By starting the Yehat revolution - That is done by showing a yehat a shofixti. The pkunk will become "absorbed" but they will come back in the end.  

ok, I give up. Where can I find beastiality boy's creature?

Go to http://www.star-control.com/ and find the Star Control 2 walkthroughs.  All hints and directions apply to the current version as well.

Nuts... I left it too late. Does it make any major difference to the game if you don't show the Captain to the Yehat before the Pkunk get there?

I think that the Pkunk still are alive - not sure though let me check...


EDIT: Well here is the thread that solves your problem!
http://uqm.stack.nl/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Gendiscuss;action=display;num=1069933095

Wouldn't you know it...? Stuck again :P

I wimped out and used a guide to tell me where to find the Umgah homeworld, since all I'd been told was 'it's in Orionis,' which is huge! I also read that if you visit the homeworld twice, having asked about their secrets, and have the Taalo psionic defence thing (which I do), you should kickstart another plotline where they've been mind controlled by the creatures they were experimenting on.

But nothing's happened - I went to the world 2 or 3 times, asked about the secret each time, got the same answer, and got attacked. Where am I going wrong?

Give it some time... - but no more than 6 months

Never mind, sussed it :)

Did you beat the game?

Spoiler















I think the problem was that he didn't visit some race nearby who ask them about the "mind controller".












/spoiler

aaahhh - That was it - I remember it now because I had the same problem when I used the walkthrough. Oh - don't worry - I beat the game before using the walkthrough to make sure I did not miss anything. Acually I did miss something - I missed the funny conversation with the VUX if you  say your sorry an warp out of combat and say again and again! - I still do that just for the fun of it.  :D

Oh... dear. The Kor-Ah have started moving. Fast. Game over?

Another question... besides looking at a guide how was I supposed to figure out how to find the Syreen homeworld or the Supox race? Neither has been mentioned as far as I've noticed in any dialogue, and now it looks as though my refusal to use the guide until and the time wasted in hyperspace may have cost me dear :(

Straight off the top of my head, I think Fwiffo mentions that the Syreen are slave shielded in the "Buqsquirt or some such" system, which is analogue for BeetleJuice. Dunno if any1 else mentions it, that made ti click for me. As for the Supox, I think someone tells you that there are races up there as well. Maybe not specifically Supox, but the Utwig at the very least.

I didn't mean the place they are now - i meant Syra.

In the pc version - from the Syreen.

I knew about the Utwig, but I didn't come across the Supox when I visited them... I'm feeling a bit ticked off atm, 'cos it looks as though I'm going to have to start the entire game again since the Ur-Quan are going to destroy various vital items before I can get to them. I could've done with a bit more warning that the war would *actually* end... I'd been assuming it was just a backdrop to the game.

Is there actually anything to be done now that the Kohr Ah are on the warpath, or do I actually have to start the whole game again   :'( >:(

Depends.  The Kohr-ah are going to start blasting things into dust, but humanity is last on the list of things to be blasted, so you have /some/ time left.  If you're quick, you can still get the things you need to win - but time is running out, and you'll likely have to take to route of picking up the neccessary pieces from the wreckage of alien races instead of the normal quest route.

Though, it's probably restart time.

The game requires some exploration. That's the way it is. If you don't win on your first try, it's no big deal.

I don't understand what you mean by "find Syra"? You don't need to find Syra. Also, there are numerous hints in the game about what the Kohr-ah will do, as well as the fact that you can see their sphere on influence moving - IE time is actively progressing.

I disagree... RPGs, pretty much by definition, don't have much replay value (at least, not until you've mostly forgotten the first experience); you can't unsolve the riddles you know the answer to, and there's little satisfaction to be gained from hearing the same dialogues you're so familiar with for a second time. True, some people become fanatical enough to want to do just that (I know I have in a few other cases), but they're inevitably in a tiny minority, and it doesn't make much sense just to pander to their needs - which you could do without forcing a replay on the less willing, anyway.

I fully agree that being able (even required) to explore is a nice touch, but what's got on my nerves is that I wasn't told that there was a time limit on doing so. As you say, there are a fair few hints, but the thing is, the game doesn't consistently follow its predictions about time - before being told by the Zot-Fot-Pik that the war would end in 6 months (which I wouldn't even have heard if I hadn't been at a loss about what to do that prompted me to go and see if any of my allies had anything to tell me), I was told by the Pkunk that they'd be destroyed by the Ilwrath within a year, and the starbase commander that the probes would overrun the galaxy within a year. LIke I said, I took my time and got stuck a few times, and it became glaringly obvious that this wasn't going to happen. So when I heard the six month prediction for the Kohr-Ah, I apprehensively assumed that it was probably meaningless. But at that point I still wouldn't have time to complete all the tasks, much less do so without continual reference to the walkthroughs.

I wouldn't be bothering to criticise if I hadn't enjoyed the game so much up to this point - but right now I feel doubly cheated - firstly because I feel like I've been coerced into consulting a walkthrough in a bid to avoid having to restart the entire game so ruining the fun of solving the puzzles myself, and secondly because it turns out that I'm still going to have to restart anyway. If it's not obvious from my posts in this thread, this game has basically accounted for the last 96ish hours of my life, and it's a hell of a kick in the teeth that that's all wasted  :-/

If you've played RPGs before, then you know that you should never ignore warnings;  some are bogus, other's aren't.  Plus, any game that gives you a calendar very likely has a time limit.  I would like to think that the Metachron warning would have helped here, but I doubt it.

96 wasted hours?  I think not:  almost everyone here has spent much more time replaying this game over and over.  We're all fanatics here.

I wasn't talking about whether or not RPGs have replay value, but I disagree that RPGs do not "by definition". How do you define RPG? I don't even consider SC2 to be an RPG.

Anyway, you can hardly blame the game for the way you play it. Trying to win it for the first time in 4 days seems a bit rushed to me. And where are your saved games? You ought to be able to go back to a point where you saved the game and still had enough time. It's not that I think they intended for players to have to restart, but it's common sense to save the game and expect you will probably botch things a bit on the first go.

When I played, I sometimes saved the game, then would go out on exploring missions, find where I needed to go next, reload and go there. That way, I could do exploring without wasting a bunch of time. I may have restarted the game at the very beginning, before I had made any real progress, but having to do a FULL restart should not usually happen.

Rather than blaming the game or the walkthrough, I think you should have just accepted the fact that you messed up, and gone back to whatever point could remedy the situation. Nobody forced you to look at a walkthrough.

The starbase commander says, "If this continues, in a year space will be crawling with these things!" If you don't do something about the probes, they CAN become a problem.

The Pkunk say, "we have calculated that at our present rate of attrition we will exist only on the spiritual plane in a matter of a year or so." Whether or not they do get wiped out after "a year or so", the point is that they need your help and to do something about it. If their calculations prove wrong and they are still around after a year, is no reason to just throw out any mention of time/dates in the game.

It sounds like you just tried to blast through the whole game as fast as possible and when you didn't do it right, you got discouraged. Understandable, but if you can't go anywhere but back to the start, you really have only yourself to blame. Management of saved games can easily remedy that.

And 96 hours weren't wasted if you enjoyed the game. If you have to restart, you'll at least know what you are doing this time around.

Not to mention - This game is suppose to be fun. If you are not having fun with it - Take a break!!! - Then you feel more apt to play and have fun - do it. Don't play the game "because I wan't to beat it and get it over with." The game is meant to be enjoyed - play it that way!!!

Unless you want to beat the game without going in starbase... And there are/is other/s who try to become the first who beat the game like that.... ;)

Let's just put it this way - DJ and myself have, err... Technical problems determining who finished first when it came to this challenge. ;) The one thing for sure we can say about it is that anyone else who does it from 1 and 1/2 weeks ago will not be the first person to do it.

Although DJ - I think I was the first one to finish because... *Stops and sits down after all the others glare at him and threaten him with pillows*.

Pillows-mob pwns.

What does pwns mean??

pwn=own

Go figure why.

aahhh... I get it now!

Thanx for the info. It was really a must for me to know it.

One could say the same for both of you.

Incidentally, DJ is at the number of the beast posts, and Falcon is at 2^8th.