The Ur-Quan Masters Discussion Forum

There needs to be a difficulty setting for the full game. The game combat is really difficult for someone whose not used to real time gameplay and playing this game for the first time.

Based on my practice, the in-game AI is using "Awesome" difficulty of SuperMelee. I wish there is a way to tune it down to Weak or Good difficulty.

No there is no option for reducing the difficulty at this time. There are a couple of ways you can deal with this:

• Practice against an awesome AI in Super Melee.
• Have the computer fight for you with the Cyborg option.
• Avoid unnecessary battles. There aren't too many scripted battles in the game, so as long as you have a fast flagship, you can run away from most aliens.

The Slylandro are easy even if you're a newbie. Retreat from them at first if you can't beat them. Later in the game you can put a bunch of guns and dynamos on the flagship that let you plow through those things without even trying. If melee isn't your forte, seriously stop trying to kill Probes right at the start of the game. Collect minerals and bio credits so you can get all the crazy upgrades for your flagship. If you think combat is hard, you haven't tried fighting with two Hellbore Cannons, three Dynamos Units, three Shiva Furnaces and two Tracking Modules.

If you're having a lot of trouble, then the best advice is to shed your newbie cloth by practicing with melee against awesome ai.

You know, i woudl say that the game AI is probably 'Good' level, as the slylandro behaviour is different than 'Awesome' AI.

Also, if you want to beat the slylandro no probs, get hold of a spathi - the probe will mindlessly follow you to its destruction

I just wanted to give this as a suggestion. This should be easy to implement. As a RPG junkie, having to "train" my reflexes in order to progress in a game isn't something I like to do. I finished the game already, so I don't really need solutions to anything.

After I discovered the ESC key, I got out of most of the combat in the game. It's only been a problem at the finale where the flagship is outfitted with bomb, but I managed to pull through by "trading" ships and just kept retrying on the asteroids. 

It's funny you mention that, actually; I used to think that the AI was set to "Good" in story mode back when I was playing the PC version. I was under the impression that the UQM team upgraded that to "Awesome" level, to give the story battles a bit more punch. However, I now notice that AI behavior in story mode isn't really consistent with either 100% of the time; it seems to use a combination of both types for different circumstances.

Can anyone who knows the code shed some light on this, maybe?

I seem to recall Meep-eep saying that it's a combination of Good and Evil... I mean Awesome.

That would make sense - i'm sure the umgah were more tricky than they should have been! I remember losing laege swathes of crew from my flagship on numerous occasions

The full game Slylandro is actually quite a bit dumber than any of the Melee variations, which all play the same as far as I can tell.

I found this in the code:

   if (LOBYTE (GLOBAL (CurrentActivity)) == IN_ENCOUNTER)
         /* no dodging in role playing game */
      ObjectsOfConcern[ENEMY_WEAPON_INDEX].ObjectPtr = 0;

Wow, crazy - i guess they did that to make it easier - if you're lucky enough to figure out you can beat it with a spathi (which i wasnt the first time i played it)

Haha yea, the first time around I didn't really use the complement ships, just the precursor vessel. Led to lots of frustration.

I guess they made the Sylalndro easier just because they keep building up.

It's not as easy as you think.  If you go too fast or get too far, the probe will change course.

The Probes?! I don't have the patience to kill them with Fwiffo (nor does he have the bravery for that!) so I use my faithful Kirk, captain of the "Tobermoon" Earthling Cruiser. Usually, because the Probes don't dodge since they don't consider the battle as a fight, but as a mining operation, he succeeds in shooting the 2418-B with two nukes, then point-defending it 'till victory.
After arming your flagship with enough turning jets and a Blaster Cannon in the front, you can simply gun the Probe as it approaches.
Simple!