I just wanted to say I've now clocked a lot of time on balance mod with my friends and it is truly awesome. Thank you.

I love the Thraddash and the Yehat, which now honestly deserves the name Terminator (as opposed to Vanilla's "Turtler".)

Thank you for your time and dedication. You guys have done a wonderful thing.

[No Thraddash.]

Sorry to double-post, but my internet is finally back up and running and I was reading over the Net-Melee rules when I came across this...

Courtesy and rules
Humans want a fun game and care about winning, which is very different from being programmed to not lose. Because of that the netmelee players usually stick to a set of pretty standard rules, to ensure that the game stays fun for both players[...] The rulesets are collected over on the Ultronomicon, but the most common ones are:
-No Thraddash. The ship has the potential to stall matches and upset balance if played to its limit[...]

So I guess that's that.

I can understand the logic behind it. Though, I can't say I'm not a little forlorn to discover that one of my favorite ships isn't allowed in honorable combat. And apparently the Spathi Eluder is considered one of the weakest competitors in Human-VS-Human combat, so there goes my other favorite.

I guess it's time to quit theorizing and go play some Net-Melee. Thanks for the feedback, Onpon. It was helpful, even if it wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear

I guess I really need to play online before I can accurately comment because right now my only human competition has been my friends...

But I feel there are still some viable ways to lure a human player into your AB exhaust, especially if they're piloting a ship with poor turning. You can use the AB to thrust into an asteroid, cue balling it at your oppenant who will either have to waste valiable energy destroying the asteroid or vear off course to avoid losing inertia. Or they can just take the knock and lose their momentum.

If your opponent chooses options B or C, you can try to maneuver in and plant your next exhaust trail accordingly.

But like I said, I should really see how this all works online against real opponents before I know how well this tactic actually works.

The veterans say Thraddash, used properly, is the most broken and boring ship in the game, and it's easy to see why: all you need to do is keep your distance while firing the peashooter for hours on end.

I am still a total noob at Ur Quan and I can see the vets' point. But I like to rely mainly on my afterburner and use the pea-shooter as a secondary. At one crew per hit, I see it as more of a way to add insult to injury.

I'll set up a small row of fire for the enemy to slide into as they change screens and then 180 to hit them with the PS as an added bonus.

I think as long as you don't act like a hoe, the Thraddash can still be fun to play with/against. Remember, at only 8 crew, the Thrad is always one mistake away from certain doom. So you still need to work that afterburner to keep your flight paths unpredictable.

But that's also my favorite part of their ship. The AB allows for some awesomely erratic flight-paths and a lot of tactical badassery. Some of my greatest Thraddash victories felt more like Kung-Fu fights than space battles.

Also, you mentioned the Orz. The Umgah is one of the few ships that doesn't have to fear the Orz soldiers IMO.

I chose that example mainly because when I'm playing Umgah against the AI, right when the Orz comes out he usually starts spamming marines and I end up wasting my entire battery backpedaling while covering them whith the Umgah's attack which (because of it's short range) leaves very little room for error while you're trying to keep each marine inside your static cone long enough to kill them.

And if more than one marine does manage to slip through, the Umgah is usually done for. Still, you're right about him being too slow, that's for sure. If the turning was a little faster, it wouldn't be such an issue. Then again, if the Umgah's turning was better, he'd probably be a little OP, at least at a cost of 7.

Either way, I totally agree about the Thraddash being the best of the cheap ships. IMO, it's one of the best ships period and hands-down the most fun to play.

Honestly, if there's any ship I'd REALLY like to compile a guide for, it's the Thraddash because they have a very versatile ship that I use a lot and I'd love to hear other people's tactics.

Know what? ::quickly edits title:: ...Let's try it. Mijin, you seem like a pretty knowledgeable dude. You have any Thraddash tactics you'd like to share with the class?

I see a lot of potential in the Umgah, and not just because the AI is sometimes TOO good at it. It seems like a ship with a lot of options for only 7 points, as long as you know what you're doing (and you're not fighting an Utwig or an Orz spamming marines at your little green ass.)

Problem is I DON'T know what I'm doing. Not with the Umgah, at least. I've pulled off a cool win or two by using my back-pedal to slam into my opponent at an angle, cue-balling them off screen and then into my static cone-O-death.

But so far, that's about the only real tactic I've got and to be honest, it's not terribly reliable.

You guys got any suggestions, tips, and/or tricks? If so, please post them below...

@JudgeYohance:
Indeed. At this point, I'm Googling  "DIY sound-proofing" to see if that'll help to keep my neighbors from thinking I'm either a sex-slave trafficker or some kind of  cenobite.

My friends aren't generally very loud people but Super Melee seems to bring that out in everyone. I think it's the combination of the physics and the fleet-style combats system. You know, Umgah punked your Earthling? Here's an Orz to ruin the party. Oh, you brought out your Orz? Well allow me to introduce my murder-factory. They're called the Kor-Ah...

Eventually, people start talking shit and whipping out Androsynths and Chmmmrs. And then things get REALLY dirty...

It's very fun, though you wouldn't know that from all the swear words and panicked shouting.

@Oldlaptop:
Thanks. I've been meaning to check that out. It'd be nice to test my fleet against people who have actually been playing the game longer than me. Honestly, it's awesome that an online PvP is even available. Too awesome to not use it.

And I plan on it. Just as soon as my new provider quits being an R-tard and gets me hooked back up. As it is, I've been without internets (besides the phone I'm typing this on, obviously) for about 3 days now...

It's getting pretty ugly. I'm like THIS close to going Mad Max, I swear to god. But anyway, I promise I'll bring it as soon as I'm able and await the glorious ass-beating I shall receive as a total noob.

Hey, you wanna join the gang? You gotta get jumped in. That's just how it is.

I was 9 when the 3DO came out and unfortunately labor laws in the U.S.  prevented me from getting a job that could buy such a relatively pricey system. My hardcore nerd-love for video games had to make do with the 16-bit systems my single mom could afford.

Still, from time to time, I would read about this game "Star Control II". I think it was Gamepro that had this great write-up about it (in a top-10 list maybe?) Anyway, it really sold me on this game I thought I would never get to play.

Fast forward to now and I've just beaten the single-player, I loved every second of it, and my Thradash has officially made a grown man cry (at least once that I know of, though he could still lay awake at night, thinking about it and sobbing himself to sleep.)

So yeah, if anyone reading my post had anything to do with this port, may Ra the sun god bless you. No, but seriously?

Thanks.

It's been a long time since I've had to update my top-3 list. But Ur Quan's apparently like the Breaking Bad of video games:
If you've actually played/watched it,  it's instantly in your top-3. There's rarely anyone who've I've shown Super Melee to that didn't become absorbed by it's physics. Usually to the point where they actually want to win and they'll start cursing and, like I mentioned, crying and anyway it's not pretty. But it always ends with them determined to download the game and practice, which was of course all part of my diabolical plan.

I've  turned so many of my friends into Ur Quan fiends that we're thinking of starting a league. We're playing it on a cracked Wii with a nice big flatscreen and the only thing keeping me from inviting them back over is, with all of those guys cursing and sobbing so loudly in one confined space, I'm pretty sure my neighbors are gonna start calling the cops.