...which is why the first option I suggested was fighting them off with Fwiffo.

(who, it turns out, is surprisingly good at taking on Ur-Quan.)

Well, you have a couple of options that don't involve mucking about with the save file.

First, you can try to fight your way through the Ur-Quan blockade. The Spathi Eluder is actually quite effective against both types of 'Quan. Against the green ones, you can use it to outrun the fighters (and perhaps lure them into asteroids), and use your maneuverability and rear-firing missiles to take out the Dreadnought once it's out of fighters. Against the black ones --- as long as you don't run into a mine or get close enough for the FRIED field to kill you, you can take it out using speed, maneuverability, and rear-firing missiles.

In story mode, my favorite ship to fight Ur-Quan with is the Spathi Eluder.  Its superior maneuverability and speed is key to defeating the much stronger Ur-Quan.

Second, you can run away. Press ESC in the beginning of the fight (using your flagship), and you'll run back into hyperspace.

In the future, try gathering a few strong friends before entering Ur-Quan space.

The Syreen were given the option to function as battle thralls as a pure formality. The Ur-Quan Lord who negotiated their surrender was well aware of the Syreen history and psychology (Ur-Quan are many things, but stupid or ignorant aren't among them), and knew that if they were offered a planet sufficiently like old Syra, they'd accept it without a fuss --- even with gratitude --- and that the Syreen were basically a peaceful people who wouldn't want to fight, especially against their former allies.

As for why they weren't completely destroyed? Well, what if slave shields block psionic powers?

Fair enough.

I'd still kill to hear it, though!

Hello everyone,

I always liked the Syreen theme, but the Precursors haven't made a remix of it, and I can't seem to find any good ones over at the PONAF either. However, I found a thread over at OCRemix discussing a Syreen remix (called "Blue Angel") by Mark Vera, and there's a reference to a Syreen remix on the Precursors website, too.

Anyone know why this song has apparently disappeared from the web? I know I'd appreciate a good Syreen remix -- also, it seems to be the only race song missing for the UQM remix packs.

*shrug*

I regarded SC3 as a kind of fanfic with a very large budget, but worse writing than many of the stories you find on SCWC.

Those are also the Finn and Swede stereotypes here in Denmark, with the one exception that our stereotype of Swedes also includes very heavy drinking. Perhaps because Swedes go here to get drunk, due to the insane prices of alcohol in Sweden.

....of course, it says a lot about Denmark that the only reason Swedes want to come here is to get drunk.

(I think the stereotype of Danes I've heard around the rest of Scandinavia is usually that we're fat, drink too much, have a national football obsession, are not particularly bright, and that our language borders on being completely impossible to make sense of.)

Well, I did say that the Skiff was good against Ilwrath "in the right hands", which seems to me to imply that actually using it for that requires practice.

The *easiest* way to deal with AI Ilwrath outside of Supermelee would probably be with Yehat Terminators or (especially) Utwig Juggers.

Of course, you never really have to fight them, and they give very few RU's.

Thing is, it's actually pretty easy (albeit dangerous) with a Skiff. Get the Ilwrath to chase, it'll start using its flamethrower when you're just out of range -- keep slightly out of range and use the laser. Stay a little to the side, and you'll hit a wing. The only thing that can go wrong is if you hit an asteroid, or get too close to a planet -- but then, as is often the case with Skiff combat, you're in trouble since a single hit will fry you.

Your Precursor vessel has the unique capability for attaching very useful upgrades. For diplomatic and exploratory missions, I would recommend as much speed and maneuverability you can get, to allow you to outrun enemy Hyperspace patrols. Fully outfitted, I suspect your Precursor vessel would be able to outrun even a Slylandro probe.

You may want to investigate those emergency transmissions from Rigel -- perhaps the people sending them can be of  help.

Good luck, Captain!

It can be done, but it does require skill and a decent helping of dumb luck. There's a reason the Ur-Quan assigned the Ilwrath to watch over their human slaves; the Ilwrath Avenger is quite able to hold its own against the lumbering Earthling Cruisers and their slow nuclear missiles.

Perhaps a better course of action is to seek allies, before facing the Ilwrath armada head-on. The Ilwrath ships are very slow in Hyperspace, so a decently swift ship will easily be able to evade their patrols. In combat, their chief advantage is their stealth capability, which makes homing weapons mostly useless against them. However, simpler forward-firing weapons can be effective against the Ilwrath Avenger, especially since the Avenger is one of the slower and less maneuverable ships in the Hierarchy armada. Some of Earth's old allies possess ships that are devastating to the Ilwrath craft, such as the Shofixti Scout, Yehat Terminator and Syreen Penetrator -- the Ilwrath stealth technology does them no good against the Syreen song, as you can probably guess. The Ariloulaleelay Skiff can also be very effective against Avengers, in the right hands.

There are probably also aliens around that Earth never had formal contact with, during the War. Perhaps diplomatic missions into the territories of the aliens we do know may point you towards new, potential allies -- and maybe the source of the ever-growing hordes of Slylandro probes, whoever the Slylandro themselves may be.

Nice Starflight fanart too.

Now do an Uhlek. ;-)

Also,

I'd love to see your take on the Arilou, Yehat and Melnorme.

Great bloody artwork!

I leave these forums for a couple months, and when I get back everything's overflowing with awesome. Next you guys will be telling me the Precursors finished the Syreen and Yehat remixes!

Masterful.

My wishlist:
* I'd like to read more about those Arilou. When I played the game, I often imagine the crew interaction in my final, heavily multi-racial entourage, and I always wondered exactly how two races that, in terms of philosophy and general approach to life, are so nearly polar opposites as the Arilou and Druuge, would get along. Also, the Arilou is my favourite SC race, along with the Yehat and Melnorme.

* Speaking of which, it'd be great if they encounter Melnorme at some point -- we'd get to learn more about the conflict between the Melnorme and the Druuge.

In my opinion, it's perfectly all right to be not-entirely-canon-compatible, especially when you're writing about a game setting. Speculate! My favourite SCWC fanfic is "Honour", a lot of how we get to see Yehat society in there has next to no basis in the game, but it's great anyway. Likewise with a lot of the Starflight fanfiction -- they're stories set in the game, not retellings of the game. The author gets to have some creative control -- even in a fanfic. As long as you don't do something blatantly stupid, like involving battlemechs, Imperial Star Destroyers or magical Anime girls, I won't complain.

As for Zelnick's voice, I generally think of Zelnick as a character who develops throughout the story. He's very young when he suddenly finds himself captain of the precursor vessel, when the original captain dies. You can pretty much expect him to be a bit immature in the beginning of the story. I think you nailed my impression of an older, more galaxy-smart Zelnick pretty well -- although, perhaps, Zelnick would be more prone to letting off a joke every now and then.

But, as said, masterful. Keep it up.