Parkan The Imperial Chronicles - Installtion, Walkthrough and Strategy Guide **************************************************************************** By XenonS Very short legalese ------------------- Feel free to distribute this document, but please don't change the content or file name. Walkthrough Version tracking ---------------------------- v 1.00 ------ 06.12.2012: First release in txt format. As it appears there's no English manual of the game, I decided to write this Walkthrough. I'm not a native English speaker, so please forgive me for typos or other flaws in this regard. Future version planning: More support for Windows 7 and later if needed (Installation notes). I can actually play without flaws in Windows 7 (except when using ALT-TAB, but that's OK, just use WIN-D) Time permitting, I will polish up and eventually correct some content if I get feedback from Parkan players. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents: --------- Part I: Installation, configuration, starting the game Part II: Introduction Part III: Strategy guide The story... Keyboard commands Generic hints Energy management Space combat Your relashionship with the clans FPS battles on planets and inside ships Colonizing and upgrading planets Finding construction cartridges and special objects List of special objects for ship upgrades Part IV: Spoiler section, game solution Part I: Installation, configuration, starting the game ****************************************************** Read all this before installing! 1) Unpack the game files to a directory C:\Parkan, select all files, right-click and UNTICK the "Read only", if you don't do that the game will not run! 2) If you use Windows 7, goto 3), otherwise... Create a file parkan.reg somewhere, right-click and chose Edit, insert the following content: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\PARKAN Release] "DisplayName"="PARKAN Release" "UninstallString"="D:\\uninst.exe" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Nikita\PARKAN Release] @ ="C:\\PARKAN\\" Note: If you want to place the parkan files into another directory, you will have to modify accordingly the last line in the reg file before running it. save & quit 3) For windows 7 users: Create a file parkan_win7.reg somewhere, right-click and chose Edit, insert the following content: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\PARKAN Release] "DisplayName"="PARKAN Release" "UninstallString"="D:\\uninst.exe" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Nikita\PARKAN Release] @ ="C:\\PARKAN\\" Note: If you want to place the parkan files into another directory, you will have to modify accordingly the last line in the reg file before running it. save & quit 4) Run parkan.reg (or parkan_win7.reg if your Os is Windows 7) by double-clicking. With the entries of parkan.reg in the registry, you will be able to run the SETUP.EXE to configure the game and CHANGE THE KEYBOARD COMMANDS if you wish or reset them to Default. You can also chose BETTER GRAFICS and ALL SOUNDS for the 3D First Person mode. DO NOT RUN THE GAME FROM THE SETUP WINDOW, instead make a shortcut with the Parkan.exe. To start the game: DON'T run the game in Dosbox (it's a Windows game), also DON'T run it in VMWARE with Windows XP, otherwise the game will turn in a black screen when switching from Space to the First Person mode (inside ships etc.). Also the Weapon's Marker will not work (hit 4 to turn it On/Off). 5) Make a shortcut of Parkan.exe If you use Windows 7: Right-click on the shortcut, chose Properties > Compatibility, tick the first box and chose "Compatibility with Win 98", also tick the 5th and the last box which will deactivate Desktop transparency and activate Administrator run. You can now run Parkan.exe or use its shortcut to run the game. There will be no glitches whatsoever, except there may be grafic distortions when you return to desktop with ALT-TAB during the game. Better use WIN+D. Part II: Introduction ********************* Parkan The Empire Chronicles is part of a unique trilogy of space games produced by Nikita which include elements like space fights, Free Roaming (today also called Sandbox), First Person Shooter, Role Playing and Puzzle game. These titles are: - Parkan The Empire Chronicles; released in 1997; Exploration and combat in space, combats inside ships and on planets in FP, colonizing and developping planets, puzzles - Parkan Iron Strategy; released in ?; this game is similar to the above, less space fights but more emphasis on planetary building and role play strategy - Parkan II; released in 2005; almost same storyline as the Empire Chronicles, better grafics and sounds, much enhanced gameplay, larger ship interiors, 7 flyable ships with many possible upgrades, many different planetary landscapes, no MultiPlayer. In the early and late 1990's some captivating space games were published that have quickly become Classics of the genre: Hyperspace, David Braben's Elite series, Privateer, AD3000 series, only to mention the most important and original ones. In 2005 the release of Freelancer has set a new benchmark for the genre with better grafics and a convincing plot apart the Free Roaming aspect. More interesting space games have been published in the past years, for example Starwraith 3D games or Independence Wars Edge of Chaos. The best place to inform yourself about space games is www.spacesimcentral.com which has a great community and file section. The space sim genre highly tends today towards Massive Multiplayer which also is less demanding for the program coders: they don't have to deal with sophisticated AI and they can chose to implement very advanced grafic engines which will make the space scenery look beautiful, alas this also often impedes "seemless transitions" which come with memory limitations. Such smooth transitions like flying in space, then going in a planet's orbit, then land your ship and then go in a building to drink a cup of coffee, all this with a progressive change in the surrounding and without program interruptions that hamper the gameplay, all this is apparently very difficult to achieve. The solutions are: cutting on the grafics to have enough memory (Elite), inserting some nice videos during the transitions (Freelancer, most space games) or: making a "game in the game" like in the AD3000 or Parkan series which in fact are space and FPS games all in one. The future will perhaps bring us back in the Sandbox direction of the genre: Explore freely, just do what you want, have wingmens, follow a story or develop your own etc. Seems amazing if all this comes true in modern grafics and sounds. The oh so long awaited release is a sequel to the Elite series, Elite: Dangerous, or other titles you may find advertising on the Homepage of SpaceSimCentral.com. All the space games mentioned above have their special atmosphere and a story which evolves in which you can interact with more or less consequences or freely play many roles, say occupations. Some unique aspects of Parkan are: - A randomly generated universe with clusters, star systems and colonized planets which all have different ressources - Possibility of boarding ships - Good transitions between space combat, planetary landings and First Person actions (FP) Part III: Strategy Guide ************************ The story... In Parkan The Empire Chronicles, there is a plot that will develop as you play and you are free to follow it at any time, or you go your own way to explore the galaxy, seek fortune in becomming a trader, a pirate, a planet conquistador or a pirate hunter. But wait... It seems that there is a particular reason why you are here... You slowly remember... there was an accident involving another ship... You have departed from your home base called "Argus Base" and have been sent in this sector of the galaxy called the Lentis Sector to find an exploration ship, the Wanderer, which has been lost due to a missjump into that sector. Because of this, some parts of the ship have actually been projected all around the sector, this jumping technology was never 100% secure anyway... You also should provide information about the Lentis sector and the life forms encountered. These are the orders that were given to you by the "Argus base" which are also logged in your onboard computer and exactly reflect the game's introduction movie. If you are new to the game, I advice you not to read all the following immediately. It's better and more fun to discover rather than to learn... You should read first the description of the keyboard commands and the concepts of Energy Management here below to make sure you are using all aspects of the game. After getting more familiar in flying your Parkan, it's entirely up to you: For example, go and do some missions for the Hammer clan which are the habitants of the system you are in so you get more cash. At some stage, if you think you could improve your actions then start reading the various sections of this walkthrough. However, should you get stucked in one of the many puzzles, then first read the generic advices as a first aid before reading all the walkthrough. At the end of this document you will find some very specific Spoilers to read only if you are really stucked. Don't read them before going through the game, otherwise it will take away all the fun. Keyboard commands (Default) --------------------------- You don't have to quit the game if you don't know or are unsure about some commands: they are logged onboard your ship's computer for your convenience. The list below is more detailed with extra information and sorted by the main procedures you want to carry out. It also covers some important actions which you cannot start with a simple keystroke. General game commands - - - - - - - - - - - Go in FP mode.....You can at any time leave the Cockpit and walk inside your ship: Right-click lower left console (or press F7) and left-click displayed button; you go automatically in this First Person mode (FP) when landing on planets or docking on ships; pressing mouse button will skip the video sequence. ESC .........Main menu (load & save game); skip intro video; pause when in space; you cannot save once in FP, so do it before! p .........Pause in FP mode ALT+TAB .....In windows 7 use [WIN+D] instead. After pausing the game this will return to your OS so you can read this walkthrough. It works but...may show unpredictable effects. Save your game often! Operating the ship's console - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Left mouse button ......Operate the console screens; mousing over the console will show you most things together with a short description Right mouse button .....Switch beween Auto mode and Manual mode; generally use Auto to operate the console and Manual to fly the ship and combat F1 .....................Contact the pilot of locked ship F2 .....................Onboard equipment; left-click the screen to switch items F3 .....................Navigational map; left-click in the screens to scroll systems, switch planets etc. F4 .....................Planet screen; left-click to switch planet F5 .....................Your ship system status; more details are displayed in the upper middle screen F6 .....................Enemy ship system status F7 .....................Main menu of the screens; all the above can be selected with the mouse; click lower icon to Walk inside your ship; you can also right-click in a console screen to bring up this menu TAB ....................Change active screen to operate (lower left or right one) Flying the Parkan - - - - - - - - - Right mouse button ...........Switch beween Auto Mode (to operate consoles) and Manual Mode; you can fly the ship in Auto, but it's easier with the mouse in Manual Switch to External View.......Click the icon between the lower consoles to change the view to full external view and Manual mode; right-click to go back Mouse mouvement ..............Fly Parkan in that direction in Manual mode; I recommend using a mouse with trackball BACKSPACE.....................Rear view on/off; A blue lighted B in the lower left of the main view screen indicates that you're looking backwards Num + ........................Speed up Num - ........................Speed down Num * ........................Afterburner; keep pressing; performance will gradually decrease; also use to quickly set maximum speed a ............................Autopilot; will fly you towards a planet you have selected; will not work to jump into another system; press again to deactivate at any time Jumping in a system ..........Select the sector, cluster, specific star and use the jump button with the mouse; you need a Jumper device and the right fuel quantity Num-8 ........................Fly upwards (Auto Mode) Num-2 ........................Fly downwards (Auto Mode) Num-4 ........................Fly left (Auto Mode) Num-6 ........................Fly right (Auto Mode) Num-7 ........................Rotate anti-clockwise (Auto Mode) Num-9 ........................Rotate clockwise (Auto Mode) Docking with another ship - - - - - - - - - - - - - Num / .....................Docking with ship; you must keep pressing this when getting close, otherwise you will crash into the ship! Locking ships, Energy Management, using your weapons, using countermeasures - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CTRL left ...Lock nearest target and contact pilot; you can also left-click targets on the scope in Auto Mode F1 ..........Contact pilot of locked ship y ...........Switch targets e ...........Maximum energy to engines; you can also left-click the square in the upper right screen to set most combinations g ...........Maximum energy to gun s ...........Maximum energy to shields r ...........Maximum energy to radar f ...........Energy to engine and shields (Flight mode) p ...........Energy to engine and radar (Pursuit mode) b ...........Energy to shields and guns (Battle mode) d ...........Energy distributed equally to all systems (Default mode) Left mouse button .....Fire gun; keep pressed for a burst ENTER .................Fire missile; the target must be locked on; if the weapon, radar or computer systems are damaged no missiles can be launched w .....................Switch missile type; one type of missile is probably better designed against enemy shields (?) SHIFT right ...........Lauch mine; use to dodge missiles or enemies behind; an incomming missile is indicated by a red flashing M in the lower left of the main view screen Launching and recalling drones - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Num-Ins .....................Launch drone; you must lock a target first Num-Del .....................Recall drone; you must lock the drone first First Person mode - - - - - - - - - Num + ...................Enlarge battlesuit view; watch your Life Bar at the lower left of the screen and your energy/ammunition for the weapons at the right Num - ...................Shrink battlesuit view; more pictural information, but a smaller view screen Cursor keys .............Move or straff in that direction; use the mouse to change viewing direction Num-Ins .................Climb CTRL right ..............Crouch SHIFT right .............Zoom view Left mouse button .......Fire selected weapon (Energy gun, shotgun, rockets); operate the computer console Right mouse button ......Fire rockets 1 .......................Select basic Energy Gun; rather weak, but doesn't require ammunition and can be refilled with the Battlesuit device 2 .......................Select Shotgun; much stonger, requires bullets 3 .......................Select Rockets; very strong, requires rocket ammunition 4 .......................Toggles aiming cross on/off Recommended keyboard changes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You can change the keyboard commands. If you use the mouse with your right hand, then I advice you to launch Setup.exe in your Parkan directory and change the commands as follows: 1 ....Speed down 2 ....Speed up ~ ....Afterburner q ....Docking with ship 3D Walker: W ......Move forward A ......Straff left D ......Straff right X ......Step backwards y ......Crouch SPACE ..Climb Left-handed players should change those commands to operate them close together with the right hand, while operating the mouse with the left hand. Here some generic hints to get you started: ------------------------------------------- Your onboard ship computer is a little replacement of the game manual containing the default keyboard commands to operate the console in space and for using your Battlesuit if you walk onboard your ship, other ships or planets (First Person mode). It also explains the various objects and the procedure of colonizing planets. Read all this first to familiarize with the game. I will give more details below. On your main view screen of the ship console, down on the right, there are 2 arrows clickable with the mouse: Here, all past important information is logged. Just scroll to read it. It will contain the information found on the planet you have last landed on, your current accepted mission and its objectives, your colonies etc. This information can only be found here, it will NOT be stored in your onboard ship computer. All Computer Consoles on planets or onboard ships are your main information source for knowing about things you should do or find. An icon with a computer image will indicate the direction to follow to reach and operate the console. Satellites may not be equiped with a console. If you board enemy or friendly ships for whatever reason, don't forget to also go to their computer console to gather information. At game start your Parkan is only modestly armed and equiped. Your first concern should be to find cash, say fuel, in order to travel between stars and to upgrade your ship systems quickly to be competitive. Immediately after game start you will meet with a transport cruiser, pay attention to what the captain is telling you and you will start right... A good start for getting cash is to accept some missions for the Hammer clan, but I advice you not to take the most lucrative ones which send you to protect other ships because these missions are the most difficult ones which are better done with a well-equiped ship and many drones at your disposal. Listen to what robots tell you, that is: read their messages onscreen. It's mostly rubbish, but sometimes they will share very usefull information (even enemies!). These messages are also a way to know what's your relationship with a clan, the other way is feeling the nice missiles they are shooting at you... In space you need energy for all operations. Get familiar with the concept of Energy Management and read the section below. Unlike in most other space games, you can board ships! Try to board pirate ships by comming from behind and keep pressing the [NUM /] key to dock when getting close. The ship will be almost harmless if you disable all robots onboard. Also take a look at the pirate's onboad computer console. Boarding ships may be your last ressort when your systems are damaged and you want to get rid of enemies. Merchand ships will mostly sell you objects at a medium price compared to the prices on planets. It's also the only opportunity for you to legally acquire important objects like cartridges because these are never sold on planets. You may always steal objects on friendly or neutral planets, just pick them up, but as you can guess, in deep space as anywhere else any action yields a reaction... If merchands offer you something, the fuel icon screen will show up automatically (left or right); just click on the button to send fuel as payment and the merchand will launch a container into space that you can collect. By hitting [CTRL left] the merchand may offer you other goods to sell. These cargo containers may also appear after a ship's explosion: they appear as green dots on your scope if you have energy on your radar; just fly over them to collect, but hurry up as they may get destroyed by space debris. Be sure to always transform Robot Corpses into Mechanical Embryos when you are on a planet with a plant (see description and usage of objects below in "Colonizing a planet"). Never sell all your Mechanical Embryos: You need them to colonize planets and for completing some of the missions. Always keep at least 2 of them. I would also always keep at least 2 cartridges of any type before selling them as you will not easily run into them to take. You need these objects to colonize and upgrade planets to their full power. T-Orbiters are space stations, they may have information to sell you. Always accept it: even if it's expensive you will save a lot of time. Computer consoles will also indicate the nearest location to get such information. T-Orbiters cannot be docked with and if you have to destroy them, use your drones. Travelling in deep space... Your navigation map (F3) will update with necessary information as you get it: information about clans, special objects or else will be displayed when you select clusters or stars. However, your relashionship with the clans is NOT logged, you have to remember it...or to feel it... Autopilot: Is only used to fly towards planets within your current system. Select the planet in the console and press [a] when in Auto mode. your Autopilot will only work if you are not close to any ship or larger object, so if you are in contact with a merchand, first fly away to lose contact and then press [a] to engage your Autopilot. By encountering any object or hitting [a] again your Autopilot will shut down. Jumping to other systems... ...or clusters will require considerable fuel quantity together with the Jumping Device, and if you don't pay attention you will get stranded in a system! Before jumping somewhere you must foresee that maybe there's no neutral or friendly planet with a plant, thus you will not be able to repair your ship forcing you to leave the system again if your ship gets too damaged. So, be sure to take enough fuel with you! For beginners... Save your game often, e.g. after finding an important object, before jumping in a new cluster or before attacking a planet. You can save in 10 different game slots. For experts... Try to play the entire game with only 1 life which means you should only save the game to end your session and you must restart all over when you die. Good luck! In order to succeed, you should train to jump into a secure system quickly if things get too hot which isn't that easy as it may appear... The 1-life rule doesn't apply when: - going in the Red sector for the first time *without* paying the pirates half of your fuel (if you do, the 1-life rule still apllies). - Fighting against Hegemount - The final battle on Argus Base It's up to you how many lifes you give yourself for these 3 situations. Energy management ----------------- Energy management is very important to make your ship systems work at full strenght. The total amount of energy available can be distributed equally on the various ship systems, focused on only some systems or even be dedicated to a single one for maximum performance. The systems involved are: engine, radar, shields, guns. Energy distribution is displayed and can be operated directly with the mouse on the upper right screen. Mouseover to see a description. It's however easier to operate with the keyboard shortcuts which is faster and more intuitive. Press a shortcut and watch how the dot in the screen will change position and the corresponding energy bars filling your systems. Radar... Objects like other ships, drones or cargo containers will only appear on your scope (central screen below) if you put energy on your radar, although getting very close to them will also make them appear. Put maximum energy on your radar to see further away. Your standard radar is able to see objects up to a maximum of 8-10 distance units depending on the object's size. The same goes with any other important system, without energy you cannot use it or it will only work at minimum. Guns... If you want to fire your guns you need to put some energy to the guns first and if you put maximum energy you'll be able to fire a longer burst of gunfire. Missiles don't require energy to be launched as they have their own propelling fuel, but they can only be guided to their target if your radar has locked a target first. Engines... Your engines will always be functional but if you transfer both energy to the engines and another system you'll be able to fly faster, and only if you put maximum energy to the engines you will reach maximum speed. Don't forget to use your afterburner! Shields... During a battle it's very risky not putting energy to your shields, although it may pay off putting maximum energy to the guns if no enemy is behind you. If most enemies are behind you I recommend putting all energy to your shields or at least going in Battle mode (b). Energy to multiple systems... Battle mode (b) : Energy to your shields and weapons; good for a close attack with multiple enemies around you, but you lack speed and fire power. The best firepower is only reached with maximum energy to the guns (g), although in that case your ship will NOT be protected by the shields. Flight mode (f): Energy to shields and engines; same usage as above but more emphasis on speed; I recommend using this to fly through a minefield in orbit with a speed of 7. Pursuit mode (p) Energy to engines and radar; don't use this in combat! Useful for cruising and to re-spot objects far away Default mode (d) Quickly distribute energy to *all* systems; good overall protection, but you will lack performance in specific actions. Space combat ------------ You survive and succeed in space combats by using your energy distribution and Afterburner (Num-*) efficiently. Quickly get behind enemies and avoid their gun fire when they pass frontline. If no pirate is behind you, you transfer all energy to the guns (g) to have maximum weapon power or you put all energy to the engines (e) in order to board a ship fast. Once you board a ship, the Parkan and your drones will be safe until you return in your cockpit. Some ship types are faster than you and do very sharp maneuvres so you cannot board them easily, even at maximum speed. You will have to damage them first. Also, when boarding, the relative speed must be low otherwise you just crash into the ship and may be killed. With a lot of pirates circling behind (use BACKSPACE to toggle rear view), you should go in Battle Mode (b) or put all energy to your shields (s) until you get in a better position. Not using your shields may get you blown-up whithin seconds! The problem is: sharing energy with other systems will reduce your speed... You must find the right balance for the situation and also use your drones to assist you (see below for commanding drones). Distribute your energy to engines and radar (p) or radar alone (r) in order to contact enemies far away or your drones to be recalled. To dodge enemy missiles, press [right-SHIFT]; this will launch a mine behind you exploding on contact. Also if enemy ships are firing at you just behind, don't hesitate to launch a mine: the enemy ship may run into it and get severely damaged or actually blow up; press F6 to know about the enemy ship status. These mines are also found in a minefield around some planet's orbit as a protection against pirates, they don't have to fully hit your ship (this may be fatal), instead they will explode if flying too close to them, so be careful when you make your landing approach and enable your shields. If you only have little fuel it's better to board ships instead of destroying them: while robot corpses or other goods can be expelled by the ship's explosion, fuel containers inside ships will explode and never be expelled to be collected. Remember that you must first damage some ships like the X-Cruiser or O-Cruisers to be able to board them because they fly much faster than you. A drone attack on that ships while you are trying to board them surely helps. After killing any robot inside enemy ships and returning to your cockpit, the enemy ship is crippled and unable to fight: without crew it will fly a sort of automatic manoeuvre. It's then an easy target to be terminated with your guns at close range. There will be times where fighting is not the best option, maybe you are dammaged or when reaching some stage late in the game with formidable enemies. It's almost impossible to evade enemies by outrunning them, your Parkan is only very standard regarding speed...and even after upgrading your ship enemies are still somewhat faster except Hammers in their H-cruisers. A good tactic you can try to evade pirates is to put maximum energy on your engines, make a frontal pass over the enemy (be sure to dodge their gun fire!) and then fly away with full afterburner in a slightly curved zig-zagging line and launch mines every 2-3 seconds. With some chance you may even blow-up an enemy ship by doing so. This curved flying line will assure that enemy fire will not destroy the mines, instead they may reach and damage the enemy ship giving you the necessary time to escape. You have then to lose contact on your scope, chose a planet in the opposite direction of the pirates and then engage your Autopilot. You don't have to fly to that planet as you can disable your autopilot at any time. However, with skilled enemies this trick will almost never work, moreoften they will just catch up... you can try it more times if your ship is not too damaged, if it doesn't work, you may have to sacrifice 1 drone or 2 to gain more time. If you already have a high fuel account, then it's better to sacrifice drones to distract pirates instead of paying to them half your fuel; if you do so they will break combat and you can fly at least to the next planet without being attacked. If your ship is badly damaged (see orange or red lines in the upper center screen), even the escaping trick above may not help you, so consider any damages seriously before it's too late. The Recovery Unit is the most powerful upgrade to your ship as it can repair any system not yet destroyed and will do it also very quickly (inclusive drones). Get this item first if you can! In the case of multiple damaged systems during combat you want to get tough or get out quickly... While losing engine power or getting your shields damaged is not that terrible if you have a lot of drones helping you, the loss of your radar will instead put you in a very bad shape: you are now blind, you cannot lock targets to fire missiles, you cannot recall your drones (so better not launch them) and you will have to spot enemies visually and fire your guns without the aiming aid. Almost fatal is losing your radar together with another system, e.g. your radar and your weapons. Here you are as bad as dead: your only chance then is to escape and reach the next planet with a plant, as if you jump out of the system your situation gets even worse! Hordes of pirates are patrolling and waiting for prays like you to spoil... A tip: If you already have wiped pirates out of some system, then you can jump into it without being attacked by the "Reception commitee", but this will only help you if there is a planet with a plant on which you can repair your ship. With no such wiped system, all you can do is to leave half of your total fuel to the pirates when doing an emergency jump in a system. But before doing all that, make sure there is a plant in the system and try the evasion tactic if your ship is not yet crippled and the shields still working. Send your fuel only if things are desperate, think about it as an ejection seat... However, pirates may not always ask for fuel but start their attack immediately, other times they may take your fuel and attack anyway... Note that the world in Parkan is consistent: any object located somewhere in space will stay there until destroyed, maybe even after leaving the system. I once have interupted a mission where my radar got destroyed, 3 of my drones were fighting against 4 enemy ships and a lot of containers from a destroyed friendly transport were buzzing around (the mission actually failed, but still I had to deal with the pirates). There was no way to recall my drones and fly away because you must lock drones prior of recalling them which doesn't work with a destroyed radar. The good news: I was fairly close (but not in orbit) to a planet having a plant. I then remembered the position of the sun and satellite in relation to the planet in order to find that location afterwards, I then landed on the planet, got my ship repaired, bought some new missiles and then once returned in space I was able to fly again to that location and yes, the combat was still raging. I managed to kill the pirates and got all my drones back. All the containers to collect were also still there (at some point however, you cannot collect containers any more, they just vanish if you try, however it has nothing to do with Parkan's cargo capacity which seems to be unlimited). Note about T-Orbiters: It's one of the few inconsisties of the game and you have to know it: First, these space stations cannot be docked because too close to the planet, if you try you always end up landing on the planet. Second and more important, when conquering a planet of a clan you will have to destroy all patrol fighters in orbit first, also the T-Orbiter. T-Orbiters can only be destroyed by launching drones against, as your fire and missiles will strangely have no effect whatsoever. Managing your drones: --------------------- Drones can do a pretty good job for you, especially the stronger ones which also fire missiles. Always use them if you are outnumbered, it doesn't make sense to go boom with a lot of drones onboard, it won't make the explosion any larger... You will notice that in other worlds (other than the Hammer clan) pirates are more competent and use more powerful guns, so don't horde your missiles and drones or you will be history soon. Drones will only combat against an enemy if you first lock the enemy with your radar and then send the drone away (Num-0). Be sure to have an *enemy* fighter locked before you send a drone, otherwise it will attack whatever is locked and maybe destroy a friendly ship! Drones do exactly what you tell them, nothing more, nothing less. When they are finished destroying their target they return automatically, they will not engage other enemy targets, also they will not return because damaged: even a totally crippled drone will still try to destroy its target, so recall damaged drones manually before losing them. You can see the damage sustained by a drone in the upper left section of the screen, or by locking a drone and pressing F6 to see its status. To recall a drone, you will have to first lock it with the radar and then press [Num-Del] to recall it. If you recall a drone when an enemy fighter is still around, the drone may get destroyed because it will fly towards you in a straight line not defending itself. Also, you should reduce your speed to 3 or below if the drone is returning to you frontline, otherwise it may crash into you instead of docking, getting destroyed in the process and/or causing heavy damage to the Parkan. Remember that any collision with other ships or even drones may destroy your ship and kill you. You also want to recall drones if enemy ships are damaged in order to prevent their destruction and be able to board them for their fuel. With the standard radar, don't get too far away from your drones or you may lose them. The standard radar is unable to spot things further than 8-10 distance units. Because drones are also equiped with that radar, once losing contact they CANNOT return to your ship. If you have lost contact with drones, ships or objects to salvage (green on your radar), then put all energy to your radar; you should now see them on your scope; if not, that's bad luck, try to fly in the last known direction with full engine and afterburner enabled to catch up, after awhile put maximum energy on your radar again and hope to spot something, but that's often vain... That's to say things get lost very quickly in space. However as discussed, although you cannot see them, they are still flying somewhere because the Parkan world is consistent. Early in the game drones are very valuable because expensive in relation to your total fuel, so it's worth spending some time to regain contact, although it's difficult to judge if they actually have been destroyed by enemy or have just lost contact with you. Tip: When you must leave a combat place or when you have lost the location of your drones or expelled ship containers, there is a chance you can collect these objects again. Always remember the exact distance from the destination planet before leaving. Because you are comming in a straight line from another planet, this exact distance will be an exact location where you can go later on: just fly back to the planet where you came from (you can stop the autopilot before reaching it) and then fly again towards the destination planet, but just stop a little before that remembered distance. Now, go in Pursuit Mode (p) and try to spot lost objects. Sometimes this trick will be successful. It will not work when you just have jumped in a system as there is almost no way to remember that location or flying there again. Your relashionship with the clans --------------------------------- The following star clusters are the domain of different clans which fly their own ships. The clans in the list below together with the pirates in such systems will be increasingly more competent and harder to fight against. This is also true in FP mode. On planets, robots of a clan will increasingly use rockets and powerful shotguns. Don't low life... The ships will have increasingly better performance, speed and guns, from the Hammer's Mass gun up to the Nuclear and Proton guns which both can blow you up in seconds if you don't pay attention. Transport ships and T-orbiters (space stations) will instead all be of the same type. System color / Race / Ships / Weapons used xxx: ......Parkan Parkan, Wanderer Yellow: .. Hammer H-Cruiser Mass gun Pink: .... Dagger D-Cruiser Grey: .... Mantubo M-Cruiser Mass gun, higher fire rate Green: ... Oberon O-Cruiser Blue: .... Xenord X-Cruiser Red (*): Astron A-Cruiser Nuclear gun, high fire rate (*): Secret world At gamestart all clans have a neutral relationship with you, even the Astron pirates as long as you don't shoot them. Improving the relationship... Carry out successful missions for the clans, help them upgrading their planets by selling some important objects, go chasing pirates. Your status will then quickly turn from neutral to friendly. The advantages are: You can trade your goods and repair your ship on their planets and you get missions that are increasingly well paid (more than with a neutral status). Also special objects will be easier to find. These advantages are clear when considering that being hostile to a clan will make all this impossible. However the fighters protecting the planet's orbit seem to be here only for show: if not during a mission, they will not react to pirates, so you must deal with enemies alone, even if your relationship is a friendly one. Try to involve them in battle by putting them in the fire line: hide near them so if pirates shoot at you they will hit these friendly ships; this should get them active and thus helping you. You get hostile with a clan, when - Stealing too many objects on their ships or planets - failing too many missions - attacking their robots (on the planet or in space) - conquering a planet of the clan when no robot is there (because it has been attacked by pirates) In your endeavour to get cash quickly you may not be too much interested in good relations with a clan, this may be a mistake but it's entirely up to you how you play the game. For example, you may decide that conquering a clan's planet with good ressources (green and pink) is the best way to get a good start provided you have the necessary means and combat talent. And it's true: you will get cash quickly, but there are also some serious drawbacks. At some stage, you need the clan's cooperation. Once you have become hostile with a clan, befriending the clan again is going to be hard and the clan may change behavior very quickly and by surprise. Think twice before getting hostile too quickly, you cannot do any missions nor repair your ship without leaving the system and you may not be able to retrieve some important objects anymore that are located on their planets. Be aware that you are not alone in the galaxy, other people are luring around like pirates and merchands. They may well steal or buy these objects too. If your relationship with the clan is good, a merchand will try to sell you those objects he has taken, otherwise, bye bye, you probably won't see these objects anymore, and the result: maybe your remaining missions will be impossible to accomplish! Another example, a weird thing you could do is trying to befriend the pirates, just start paying them the little amounts they want and see how far you can get...Will you be able to do all special missions anyway and then fly in the Red sector and having friendly Astrons? Can you join Hegemount in his complot together with the Astrons and conquer the galaxy? I've yet to see that... Fortunately there is a way to befriend clans that have become hostile, except the Astron clan and their pirates which will always be hostile once you start shooting 1 of them (otherwise they will stay neutral, but never be friendly). The only fast way to do it is by eliminating pirates in the system. I think destroying 3 different groups of pirates is enough to trigger from hostile to neutral in most cases. Jump into another clan's system and destroy the pirates lurking at your arrival. Then, travel beteween planets in the hope to catch other pirates, but disable the Autopilot before reaching the planets, otherwise you may be confronted with angry flight patrols of the clan forcing you to escape or leave the system with an emergency jump (destroying their ships will surely not help you getting neutral again!). Once neutral, sell some ME Units when needed by the plantet's clan or accept some missions, but better be successful with the missions otherwise you become hostile again...Also their tollerance when stealing objects afterwards quickly shrinks... Stealing objects - Urgent need versus hostile clans... Cartridges are the only objects I recommend you to steal on planets with friendly or neutral clans, also because you are forced to do it (you cannot buy them on planets), but keep hands-off from worthless objects like the simple weapon rechargers or fuel containers laying around: for the clans it doesn't matter *what* you steal, only the fact you are stealing counts. If you start stealing objects, your relashionship will quickly move down from neutral to hostile, from friendly to neutral, or even randomly from friendly to hostile! For the sake of simplicity, just remember that stealing a Scientist Cartridge or running into and taking a bullet container will have the same consequence. With a neutral relationship you are not far away to become hostile. Here, stealing 2 objects is probably the limit, but accepting some missions and especially selling some MEs if needed by the planet should balance things again once you return to orbit. If your relationship is at the limit, be aware that robots can suddenly change to hostile when you are deep inside a planet's room! You may not get out alive anymore... Also read the section "Finding construction cartridges and special objects" more below. Don't get hostile with the Hammer clan shortly after gamestart or you will have a really hard time... FPS battles on planets and inside ships --------------------------------------- First, get familiar with the different icons describing the rooms on planets or ships so you don't get lost in the maze. While being different each time you start a game, the planetary locations will all have some elements or rooms in common, although the room layout will change. Here are the different room types and their icons: - Entrance hall and Docking area marked with a rocket symbol or a 4-arrows icon - Computer room; follow the computer icon to reach and operate the computer console - Machine room section; marked with a red nuclear danger symbol - Cargo room indicated by a suitcase icon - Passenger waiting rooms and restaurants; indicated by their respective symbols - Secondary cargo depot and chemicals; marked with 2 circling arrows Some doors will remain locked depending on how upgraded the planet is. After upgrading, the following sections will be built by robot personel and made accessible: - Mining section with tunnel constructions and machinery to extract ressources from the planet; dedicated symbol - Engineering section covering laboratories for electronic weapon equipement up to complex building plants for missiles, drones and aircraft The symbols for engineering sections are the same than those found on the cartridges. Often they are up to 5 floors large and worth visiting just for fun. Some locations as machine or engine rooms will emmit radiations depleating the protection of your battlesuit, keep an eye on that "life bar" and return to your ship to refill your battlesuit if necessary. If you visit a planet it's either for exploring the maze in search of some objects or maybe you want to conquer the planet for its ressources. In the next sections I give you a ToDo list for conquering planets and some generic tips on how to find regular objects. But first let's speak about battles against robots... There is one tactical rule you should observe when fighting in those big mazes: Don't get cut away from your Parkan's docking door! You will often have to return to Parkan to refill the shield of your battleSuit (second room in your ship), so make sure that this route is clear. Robots not facing you will not detect you even when getting close. So, the larger the rooms and the more objects there are to hide, the better for you. Oh, don't forget that you can crouch and climb, that's also for another reason, I say no more! If robots face and see you they will open fire without missing you unaware of the distance, depleating the shield of your battlesuit until you die. Go out of sight or hide behind an obstacle and they will stop shooting and move towards your last known position. Take advantage of that and get close to them when they don't face you and you can transform them in metal meat very fast (generally 2 hits with rockets or a little sequence with bullets). If possible, collect any weapon rechargers, you want to have a full arsenal later on. Retreat if more robots are shooting at you as your battlesuit will not resist for very long. By no way make a shooting contest, robots shoot faster than humans! Sometimes they will follow you comming out of a room, but that's already a tall order for them...the AI is not like modern FPS such as FarCry, the Crysis or Battlefield series but rather like the early FPS games Wolfenstein, Black Stone or Duke3D published some years earlier than Parkan. I wish these guys were a little more mobile to add some fun, like in Parkan II...Also don't miss reading my Joke section at the end... Note that once in FP mode you cannot save the game, so better do it before landing! If you eliminate *ALL* the robots of the clan and then place 2 Mechanical Embryos on the planet via the computer console, you will colonize the planet, but if only 1 enemy robot remains after your takeoff, you are go to land and fight again as - magically - all dead robots have respawned. Instead, if there are only Astron pirates on the planet, then it's enough to operate the computer console by placing 2 MEs on the planet, you don't have to kill every pirate. When you takeoff you should get the message "Planet colonized by the Parkan". If the planet has not important ressources (green and pink) it's not worth losing much time, just search for your special object and get outta here. Battles on satellites... There can be a lot of fuel on pirate bases which are located on some satellites. You get that information on the consoles telling you "Hidden pirate base....our robots have been reprogrammed...". This means you will not be fighting against the usual Astron pirates, instead you will meet renegades of a clan who will be much tougher to disable, also because you will have to combat in small areas (few rooms, lots of enemies). You must fly towards satellites manually, the Autopilot cannot do it for you. Colonizing and upgrading planets --------------------------------- Whatever you decide to do in the Parkan world you will need cash, say fuel which is the universal currency and the propeller for your ship. Any possible activity like trading, piracy, boarding ships as a pirate or pirate hunter, by accepting missions on planets or by salvaging objects thrown in space after a ship explosion, all these events will get you some goods that you can sell for fuel. However, the fastest and most profitable way is to colonize a planet to have your own ressources. You can then mine the planet for fuel and maybe build more installations afterwards that will produce goods and weapons to be used and sold. In your navigation map, planets are well described as for the clan's owner and the planet's composition. A "-" tells you that the planet is not owned by anybody yet, however there will be for sure some Astron pirates on the surface if it's a bigger planet. Don't lose your time with satellites, they almost have no ressources and cannot be colonized, you should only go on satellites for doing some tourism or for very specific reasons... The most important thing to look at is the planet's composition. The navigation map (F3) will show on both screens the system orbits and the planetary information which you can also display separately by pressing F4. There are 4 values displayed as bar graphs. Here the description (from up to down): - Temperature (Red) > less important; maybe influencing production rate - Atmosphere (Blue) > less important; maybe influencing production rate - Organics (Green) > very important; the more the better. Condition to build plants, weapons, drones and aircraft - Ressources (Pink) > important; condition to mine for fuel; the longer the bar, the more fuel you get per time Below the graph is written the most important information: it shows how developed the mining and plant section of the planet is. Remember that a planet with a plant is necessary to repair your ship or to transform the raw material of your Robot Corpses in valuable objects for construction. The more dots are in the mining or plant section, the more developed the section will be. A plant with 8 dots (maximum) will certainly have missiles and drones to sell you. A mine with 5 dots (maximum) will certainly have enough fuel to pay you for large quantities of goods you want to sell. If you have a lot of goods and weapons to sell, then don't go on a planet with only 1 dot in the mining section because the planet will NOT have enough fuel to pay you. Most planets will have Ressources but no Organics. Such planets can only be mined for fuel and nothing else. You will not be able to repair your ship there or get any weapons. Some rare planets are not yet colonized and have both Ressources and Organics, these are the most valuable ones. Other than producing fuel, you can build a plant that will with increasing competence repair damaged ships, produce missiles, drones and spacecraft. Unfortunately most planets with such a composition are already colonized. While it's always possible to conquer them by force, this may not fit your purpose (see "Your relationship with the clans above). To mine fuel on planets and build installations to produce weapons, you have to install some robots as working units and specialists first. Here are the construction objects you need with increasing price and importance: Robot Corpses (RC) If you destroy a robot it will transform in RC. These basic units are raw material that must be transformed in ME units in order to be used or sold later on. 2 corpses can produce 1 ME. Mechanical Embryos (ME) Are transformed from RC units into working machines able to work as robots or pilots. You can only transform them on a planet which has a plant. You must place at least 2 MEs on a planet in order to start basic mining operations. These units can also be sold and the price will be higher on planets that need these devices. Read the developing technical situation in the computer console. Note that the MEs you need to accomplish the different support and rescue missions are not always given to you when accepting a mission, so be sure to keep at least 2 of them at all time. Geological Cartridge Cartridges are devices that will specialize robots in specific areas and it's enough to place 1 cartridge of a specific type on a planet if needed. A planet with Ressources needs 1 Geological cartridge to develop further mining operations once 2 or more MEs are in place. The more MEs are added after this cartridge (up to 10), the bigger the fuel production rate. If you place too many MEs or other objects, those objects not needed will be placed in the various rooms and you can re-collect them (provided they are not stolen!). Technological cartridge For planets with Organics only. These are needed to build a plant on the planet which is then able to do technical operations and produce weapons. With this cartridge, the plant is able to repair ships, transform RC units in ME units and build missiles. The number of placed ME units will determine how many of these operations can be performed. Engineer Cartridge For planets with Organics only. Needed by the plant for building drones. Scientist Cartridge For planets with Organics and fully functional engineering plants only. Needed for the plant to build transport ships and fighting spacecraft for planetary defense (alas not available for the player to fly!). Here's the ToDo sequence when colonizing a planet: Short story: First you must destroy all enemy fighters in orbit, also T-Orbiters. 1) It's possible to place all needed objects at once on a planet with both Ressources and Organics, and land again to make sure nothing else is needed. But... I found that by doing so the planet may not build weapons or spacecraft at all. Must be a malfunction. So, if you already have every object needed (the necessary MEs and cartridges) my tip is to LAND MORE TIMES ON THE PLANET by installing first anything up to the Engineer cartridge. Then, first make sure that missiles and drones are built before you finally place the last cartridge, the Scientist Cartridge. Not doing so will expose you to waste all your cartridges for nothing and be left with a planet that shows maximum capacity (5 mine points + 8 plant points) but the planet will instead only produce fuel...If it's a bug, then it's a very nasty one... The construction of missiles, drones and aircraft will take increasingly more time. 2) Placing 10 MEs and 1 Geological Cartridge will upgrade to maximum a planet having Ressources only. Here, no malfunctions. In both cases, objects that are not needed (if you place too much of them) will be distributed in the rooms for you to pick-up again. Longer story: Planet with Ressources only: Clear all enemy fighters in orbit (not necessary if the planet is not owned yet) > Clear *ALL* enemy robots on the planet (not necessary if you encounter only pirates) > Place at minimum 2 MEs on the planet via the computer console > Place a Geological Cartridge > Next time you land, place other ME units if required by the computer console. At some point the console will tell you that it doesn't need anything more for mining, in that case the planet has reached maximum production capacity. Planet with Ressources and Organics: First, same procedure as above. Once you have upgraded at maximum the mining structure, the computer console will ask you for the Technological and then for the Engineer Cartridge in order to repair damaged ships and to produce missiles and drones. Finally you must install the Scientist Cartridge to build landing areas and spacecraft. You must also place some additional ME units to be sure any possible weapon type is built. The next time you land, the console will tell you if the planet still needs some working units; place MEs if necessary. Finally the console will tell you that, both for mining and for the plant, it doesn't need anything else which indicates that the maximum capacity is reached. Time passing, fuel, both missile types, all drone types and spacecraft are built. It takes some time to build drones and spacecraft, I think up to 12 spacecraft can be placed in orbit of a planet to defend it, but, it's rather useless because as discussed they will not get active against enemies if not in a specific mission. However, you cannot take any missions from a planet you own, if you want to get missions you'll have to go on some planets owned by neutral or friendly clans. The elapsed time will also determine the fuel production: the longer you are away the more fuel you will find when you return on your planet. The same goes with the weapon production. The most part of produced fuel is deposited in the cargo rooms, MEs are laying around anywhere if no more robot personel is needed. Of course, all these goods and weapons can be sold profitably at other planets. Your Parkan also seems to have illimited cargo space...Preferably sell cartridges only where they are really needed, first because the offered price will be a high one, second because it will have a positive impact on your relationship with the clan. Should you find RC units when you return on your planet, that's a bad sign: it means pirates have come here, killed some or all of your robots (transformed in RC units) and have stolen your fuel. The computer console will tell you so. In the worst case you are told that production has stopped and there are 0 robots working. In such cases you need to provide the planet with new ME units, maybe also with new cartridges. While pirates can attack your planet and take everything away, they will never colonize your planet. Also, I haven't yet seen any hostile clan colonizing my planets. Finding construction cartridges and special objects --------------------------------------------------- Like in space the planetary locations are consistant which means: objects being there will remain there (with a different distribution each time you land), but eventually you, merchands or pirates will take the most important ones away. Once they are taken they will NOT respawn. Only robots will respawn. The construction cartridges explained in the last section are increasingly difficult to find on planets, generally laying in the entrance hall or in adjacent rooms. Instead, special items like upgrades for your ship and else look similar to the cartridges but have another symbol on it. They can be placed in very odd locations, so be sure to search in all rooms and ANYWHERE. To find them you will have to "think around the corner" as Parkan is full of puzzling elements! If you are late when searching a special object, some merchand will have the time to buy or steal it. You are then go to search the entire system for him and spend some high amount of fuel to get the object...Pirates may also attack the planet taking away special objects and fuel. See the Spoilers below if you are stucked in finding special items. On the planet's computer console, cartridges can be sold but not buyed, that means you must steal them if laying around, but don't overdo it else you go hostile with the clan (see relationship section). As for selling them: If the planet needs some type of cartridge the price offered will be often much higher than usual. The same is true with ME units. It's not worth wasting time to chase the system for a construction cartridge because finding the specific one you need would be a pure matter of luck. By jumping in new systems and visiting all sorts of planets you will finally run into them, so let it happen, and it doesn't matter if the planet is well-developed or not. By travelling between planets you also have a chance to run into a merchand cruiser that will offer them at a fair price - but only if your status with the clan is friendly. If not, you should fly some missions for the clan first. If you are very lucky you can pick up cartridges on pirate ships or pick them up in a container after a ship's destruction. Specific pirate groups that you are asked to hunt in highly paid missions will mostly have a lot of valuable cargo, also cartridges. But be aware that those missions are the toughest ones, generally involving a group of 4 pirate ships or more, far away from orbit and without anyone supporting you. If the computer console tells you the planet has been attacked by pirates, chances are good to find cartridges on a pirate base (located on some satellite). The Scientist and Engineer cartridges are hard to find and also expensive. It's very simple: If you see the cartridge then steal it! You don't care much about consequences in that case. List of special objects for ship upgrades ----------------------------------------- Ship upgrades: - Small Jumper; needed to fly into another system - Nuclear Gun; much more powerful than your standard Mass gun - Proton Gun; somewhat stronger than the Nuclear Gun (in theory; I don't feel a difference from the Nuke gun) - Power Generator; this device almost doubles the total energy you can distribute to your ship systems, increasing their performance (radar, engines, shields, guns) - Recovery unit; this device automatically repairs your ship systems and drones as long as they are not yet destroyed (otherwise you'll have to repair at a plant) While the small jumper is an absolute must-have to get first - before anyone else gets it - it's easy to figure out that the Recovery Unit is the next most important thing to put your hands on: without adequate protection for your ship the best weapons will not help you much. After that, getting a better gun together with the Power Generator will make your ship a constant threat even against multiple pirates. You should be well prepared before jumping into far systems and chasing all these different objects. You need enough fuel not only for the jump but also for buying new weapons and the possibility to repair your ship. Don't even think about going too far if you don't have at least 3 drones (better 6) for your defense, else you may have to turn back very soon only to see that your ship is crippled and your fuel has vaporized...A good start is doing a lot of fighting missions for the Hammer clan first and having a planet base of your own as a retreat in a near system. Special objects: - Parts of the exploration ship Wanderer; finding this ship is your main mission: you've been sent into this galaxy sector exactly for this purpose by the Argus Base. In addition to these objects, there are secret objects to find that may or may not be part of your mission. I won't describe them here, you'll have to discover them! If you are stucked, read the spoilers. ************************************************* Part IV: SPOILER SECTION - Game solution ************************************************* A little more below are the hints to help you out if you cannot proceed with the game, not finding objects or not succeeding in the special missions. I highly advice you to first try out yourself before reading all this, else where is the fun? I really don't think there are bugs that would prevent you to actually finish the game. IT CAN BE DONE. Also, note that still I didn't find anything myself...You are welcome to post other spoilers at Spacesimcentral.com !! V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! READ THIS ONLY IF YOU ARE STUCKED !!!] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I cannot collect the Jumping device !! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget that you can crouch (right CTRL) and climb (Num-0) and sometimes you have to use BOTH of these commands to reach specific areas of a room where objects are hidden. You can actually *see* the Jumping Device, but in order to collect it you must enter the liquid pool, go on the opposite side of the Jumper, first crouch and only then climb to get it. On some planets there are also secret places to reach that way. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! READ THIS ONLY IF YOU ARE STUCKED !!!] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't get any regular missions anymore! -------------------------------------------- That's because you have killed all pirates in the current system! The computer consoles on planets always tell you how many pirates and merchands are in the planet system. So, you will get a picture about how dangerous the system is and about merchands able to sell you important stuff. If you destroy pirates during encounters or missions their number will decrease, and without them there's no more reason for any mission...Fly in another system to get missions. Tip: Remember such systems that have been 'wiped out' of any pirates, because it's a huge advantage: you can make an emergency jump in this system without being intercepted by hordes of pirates at your arrival. But this will only help you if there is a plant in the system in order to repair your ship, otherwise such a jump would be useless and a waste of fuel! Instead, if you don't get any *special* missions anymore, read the spoiler more below. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! READ THIS ONLY IF YOU ARE STUCKED !!!] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I cannot find the special object X... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...where object x will be an upgrade to my ship systems like Nuclear gun, Proton gun, Recovery Unit (to repair systems if not destroyed), Power Generator (more energy), parts of the Wanderer. Reading the spoiler above about the Jumper should help you in most cases. Once you read a message like "special object located in system x, planet y", you should hurry up to get it, in which case you'll find it hidden on the planet. If you are late, it's going to be much harder to find. the computer console on the planet may tell you that "the object has been stolen by some pilots in the system". In this case, the thief has sold the object to a merchand that you must find. when you finally find him he will then offer the object to you, alas the price will be a very high one. Guess my friend, boarding his ship to take the object for free will spell trouble. Is it worth to become hostile with the clan? For example, you may still have to repair your ship in the clan's system or searching there for another object... Second, the console may tell you that pirates have attacked the planet and taken all away...If you are VERY lucky you may still find the object on the planet, it's even worth to land more times to re-distribute the different objects, so hopefully you may find it after your second landing. Otherwise... No, don't fly around to encounter some pirates as they won't have the object onboard. But what else can you do? You now remember all these messages on the consoles you've read before, telling you: "...on Satellite x pirates are reprogramming our robots...". So, there must be some pirate bases around! Not 100% sure if this helps, but eventually fly to another planet to get that information about pirate bases and you are ready for an invasion, but it will be a tough one...You'd better save your game...And still there's no guarantee you will finally find the object there, if it isn't there... sorry, I JUST DON'T KNOW if you're going to ever see this object !! I think I was once in such a case with the Nuke gun, but I don't have the Save Game anymore to check further. Essentially, once you get hostile with a clan and the object is located in their system, you may not see these objects before you manage to befriend them again, or even, you may never get the object at all... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! READ THIS ONLY IF YOU ARE STUCKED !!!] ---------------------------------------------------- Where is the Wanderer? I've gathered some important parts of the ship but I cannot find the ship itself! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take a closer look at your equipment. Notice that the Wanderer's item has changed after collecting the various parts. Maybe you still need another part. Once you have collected all single parts of the ship, the Wanderer's item in your equipment will indicate the right color of a star system and the related number of stars, you now have to find the exact location. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! READ THIS ONLY IF YOU ARE STUCKED !!!] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm stucked after finding the Wanderer! When I leave the ship I don't get any special missions anymore and all the information I get only tells me: "You have to find the Wanderer!!!"... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...and so you should do !!! Finally you have found the Wanderer, congrats. But the game is far from over, seems like you've missed something. Return to the Wanderer !!! Did you find the message onboard? You go inside the Wanderer and find the message left by its captain in one of the computer terminals (random each time). This message was written under big stress and is therefore confusing: Did the captain hide himself together with his crew in the nuclear room to escape pirates, or did he simply hide the "Big Jumper" there? Only the second case makes sense, but: What's up? There's no Big Jumper in the Nuclear Room! Have you found some objects inside the ship? I have already searched all the ship, no object whatsoever! Can I take my informant seriously? Sure you can, he hasn't unlocked that red door just for fun! Read again the spoiler above about finding objects... There must be a way to get behind that large broken door. Look at the walls and the ceiling. Notice the big black arrow pointing upwards, it has nothing to do with the elevator which only goes DOWN! Place yourself in front of that arrow, look up and you can see the entrance of the ventilation corridor. You will have to climb up to go to the other side of the door! After a little search you should find the "Big Jumper" that can fly you to the Astron's hidden Red sector. Soon you will get new information and you can proceed with tough and interesting missions. Good luck! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RED SECTOR AND BEYOND... --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! RED SECTOR AND BEYOND...] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Astrons in the Red sector are too strong for me and my drones... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, they are formidable. Astrons fly ships with a cloaking device that will only disable for short moments and what's worse: your radar is unable to spot them even at maximum energy, so you cannot even fire missiles... They also use deadly nuclear guns with high fire rate. Because of all that, your drones are pretty useless. Hopefully you were fast enough to put some distance and then jump back to a safe system before being destroyed. It should be very clear now that with the normal means at your disposal you won't be able to confront these Astrons by fighting. Before flying into the Red Sector your ship should be fully equiped, that is: you should have 6 drones, Nuclear or Proton gun, Power generator and Recovery unit. Also, for a quick emergency retreat you should have at least 1 colony of your own in any system, and your colony system should be wiped out from pirates in order to avoid surprise attacks at your return. However, even having managed all this will not give you much of a chance in sustaining combat against more Astron ships in the Red sector, also outrunning or boarding them seems quite impossible. After finding the Wanderer you have received some new information about interesting devices located in the Red sector, eventually a T-Orbiter has selled you this information. These objects are: - Laser gun - Super Radar - Shield penetrator; a mysterious device without any further description - A possible location of Hegemount At some stage you will need all these objects. Also, you know about an Astron boss, Hegemount, already mentioned by some robots. Other than putting a big reward on your head, he wants the Shield Penetrator to be delivered to him. By checking the related system with your Navigation map you locate an "Anomaly" there. Resist the temptation to fly there unprepared ! You've already seen that you are no match against well-equiped Astrons. So what should you do first? First, you should be able to spot those Astrons on your radar, so you can fight them. The "Super Radar" is therefore your objective nr.1. Go and get this device first !! --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! RED SECTOR AND BEYOND...] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I try to get the special object X, but when arriving in the Red Sector I cannot get rid of the Astrons... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Astrons are superior in any aspect: Nuclear guns, cloaking device, speed... Should you really try to fight against invisible enemies? When force doesn't help a serie of good tricks should do. You have 2 main options to stay alive: First, not very appealing I must admit, you can pay the Astrons half of your fuel and then - if it works - head undisturbed towards your objective, that is: the planet containing the device you search. This will work most of the time, alas it's very expensive. You can reduce the cost by first buying all sort of goods to be re-selled later on and keep only some little cash (don't forget the fuel for an emergency jump !!) but honestly, you are just losing time. With all these mining bases you already control your cash is surely not a big concern... Otherwise and second, you have noticed that the enemy is visible for only short moments when they contact you for the fuel. You can take advantage of this. Just when getting visible, launch 1-2 drones against anyone and hit the road as fast as you can with maximum speed and afterburner (put maximum energy to engines), also launching lots of mines. Hopefully the drones will delay the enemy's pursuit and you can escape, otherwise I won't give a penny for you being safe... Don't hope for seeing again your drones, instead, engage the Autopilot as soon as you lose contact with the enemy and head towards your objective. To accelerate losing contact, be sure that there is NO energy on your radar! After all that, still you are not safe as maybe you must deal with fighting patrols on the planet! This 2nd option is by far less expensive, but guess how often it will work...Be ready to make an emergency jump and try again... Your navigation map will tell you if there is a fighter patrol on orbit of the planet you are heading for: if the planet belongs to a clan, most probably there will be one. Once in orbit, DO NOT ENGAGE enemies, instead, use maximum engines to land on the planet with a zig-zagging course to avoid gun hits. You may do it if there's no minefield... Once you have gathered your special device, I wish you well when returning in orbit to face the patrol ships, but at least you will be better equiped...If your ship is already too damaged, don't play the hotshot, you've got what you want so just jump out of the system. After getting the Super Radar, Laser gun, Shield Penetrator (I recommend this order) you can do well against the Astrons, but still they are formidable and you need all your drones to get even. The objects you are looking for in the Red Sector are especially well hidden, so make any effort to find them. As an example, my Super Radar was hidden on the top of a column that had just a little space before the ceiling... I took a long time to get it by finally climbing there. Tip: If you don't succeed it may help landing again as objects are then re-distributed, but that's no guarantee... --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! RED SECTOR AND BEYOND...] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anomaly and Key for the Time Machine...A strange encounter... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After being well-equiped you decide to confront with Hegemount. Your information says he is waiting for the delivery of the Shield Penetrator in a specific system, so this should be a good occasion to trap him. After arriving in the system with the "Anomaly" things develop very quickly. To your big surprise you see another Parkan ship with a human onboard telling you: "Take this key, it will help fighting against Hegemount!". You collect a container which actually contains the key for a Time Machine! You don't have the time to investigate further, your mysterious 'clone' says "Sorry, I must jump back...!". In the meantime a horde of Astrons charge at you..."All Parkans must die !!!..." The reflexes of your long pilot career make it just in time to imitate your 'clone' and so you jump out immediately before getting destroyed... Once back in a safe system you're asking yourself some serious questions. *YOU* are the only Parkan in this galaxy sector exactly knowing what's going on, right?! So who the hell was this guy in the Parkan ship? "I'm sure I know this guy well, I have already seen it somewhere...". You now also remember his voice and this leaves you with a creep feeling... --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! RED SECTOR AND BEYOND...] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Activating the time machine... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the key in your possession you go to the location of the time machine which is located in the Red sector. It's pointless to go there if you are not well-equiped to confront with Astron pirates, so if you don't succeed read the spoilers above. Once you have the Super Radar and Laser gun you should be able to deal with the pirates, but remember they *also* have powerful guns to make your life a short one! Be sure to use all of your drones. The time machine is in a hidden area of the planet, generally at the end of the aircraft departure section where a narrow door leads to a "leak" towards another door. You'll have to crouch to get there. Tip: If the planet is not owned by anybody you will only encounter pirates there. In this case just place 2 MEs with the console, then takeoff and land again. Doing so you've just colonized the planet and you can quietly search for the time machine. Once in the room of the time machine, disable the enemy robot inside and activate the machine. From now on, be prepared for some weird phenomena... When leaving the planet you should get the message "Time anomaly detected!". You put your radar at maximum, but you don't detect any unknown object or anomaly, so this message must be related to another planet or system far away. Should you check all your system maps? No!...You remember your strange encounter... --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! RED SECTOR AND BEYOND...] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meeting with Hegemount...Déjà vu... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After activating the time machine, the question is where to go next. You are chasing Hegemount, probably in another time line (remember the time machine is activated!), more precisely, you are looking for a "time anomaly" which is the message you've received lately. You already know about 2 places with anomalies: The system with the Wanderer and the system where you got the key for the time machine. You decide to check this last one. Your battle against Hegemount will probably involve a FP fight on some planet, so before entering the anomaly system it's a good idea to have maximum bullets and rockets for your battlesuit! Also needless to say that you should now have *ALL* special devices on your ship, also plenty of missiles, the best drone types and your own bases for a possible retreat... After entering the anomaly system, you check your Navigation map and notice that the system is not empty any more, you head towards the only objective Now, before going any further I will not blame you for saving the game... If you do this the first time since gamestart I'll give you the PMH, Parkan's Medal of Honor... You prepare yourself meeting with Hegemount and land on his geniously transformed asteroid. There's no Hegemount waiting for you, but a surprise: you are told your Parkan's door is now locked... which means you should avoid being caught in a crossfire as your battlesuit will then depleat very fast... You decide to move more quickly than usual and soon you locate in a lower floor a recharging device for your battlesuit. Good to see! You can also reach a second recharger by going up the elevator of a bridge between 2 rooms. Remember the location of this last one because you have to get there more times! What?! You've disabled every Astron and cannot find Hegemount? He must be elsewhere, you think about flying away, that's what is called freedom in space games, but your Parkan's door is still locked, humm... You enter a room with a large pool surrounded by a lot of vegetation. After disabling the 2 robots, you enter the pool and find a tunnel leading to another room. 2 Astrons are waiting for you, and after disabling them you go inside the door marked by the computer symbol. You disable the robot inside and then you take a look at your life bar: it isn't full anymore, so you want to recharge it as the boss will be hard to kill. You retreat following exactly a straight line: passing again through the tunnel, going out of the door, passing the first elevator, proceeding straight and finaly reach the 2nd elevator, go up and recharge and take all the way back into the computer marked room... The door in front is an empty depository room. The larger door puts you directly in front of...THE BEAST... May I introduce...Hegemount, the renegade boss of the Astrons, a big spider robot. Craak, craak... How to Defeat Hegemount... Defeating him will be tough and you will sureley not succeed without entering the room! Remember that you can go back to the recharger... After opening the final door more times while trying to avoid the rockets you notice a column with an arrow which leads upwards to a platform. Quickly go past Hegemount towards the column, turn 180 degrees and start shooting your rockets and bullets at him. You must keep Hegemount at distance otherwise you won't make it... If he gets close, DON'T climb upwards to the platform, otherwise you will soon have to load the last game...Instead, in this case you can hide behind the column to dodge his bullets and head again towards the safe door; go out and recharge your battlesuit. If you keep firing to him from the column and he stays somewhat far away, that's the right moment to climb up the platform from behind the arrow or from the lateral side (not from the arrows' side!) You now understand what this "Shield Penetrator" is all about: It's a weapon firing special bullets with high fire rate (right mouse button). Without it you probably cannot defeat Hegemount! Once you manage to get to the upper platform, Hegemount is toothless as he will not follow you. Just keep firing until he transforms to a robot corpse. Go to the computer console, here you find the evidence of Colonel Heyder from Argus Base being the Treator as he personally gives instructions to Hegemount talking about a secret "Teleporter" located on planet x, system y. You now have to initialize the base's destruction by commanding the console. This will also unlock your Parkan's door, BUT...You have *very* little time left to reach your Parkan and to takeoff. If you are late the base will explode at the moment you open Parkan's door, too bad for you... If things go well you will be able to takeoff, but better prepare for some tough resistance and a déjà vu... Also, saving the game soon after taking off will get you an UNPLAYABLE SAVEGAME, so it's useless to save, you must succeed !! Déjà vu... You are in orbit again and all seems quiet...Your onboard computer gives you the message "You must drop the time machine key!", at the same time an angry horde of pirates start charging at you. You now fully understand the time effect of the anomaly and the "strange encounter" of your first visit in this system: The guy giving you the key was...guess...yourself, yeah...So, here you are again, you cannot escape the time line! Should you drop the key?! Well, you may keep it, but then, better hit the road soon... Remember that the Astrons are urgently searching for this key, so when dropping it (just press the button on the screen with your mouse) this should delay further attacks. Also, the time circle will close again: you see your 'copy' and at that moment you are automatically jumped into the system with the teleporter (too bad, I just wanted to get some fun boarding my clone's ship...) Anyhow, remember what your clone did before, the first time you entered the system: your clone jumped quickly out of the system, and by doing so yourself you'll get the time line right again...it's all pure logic... (sorry, may be a little confusing...Go ask Nikita :)) Tip: If you keep the key, activate again the time machine for some weird effects, I let you figure out...(watch the fuel production...). By dropping the key, guess, the time machine will be gone. --------------------------------------------------- [SPOILER !!! RED SECTOR AND BEYOND...] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Teleporter...Argus Base...The end ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warning! Once you go through the teleporter, this will effectively end the game, although there are some actions left. If you want to proceed with the game by doing some business, flying some regular missions for the clans, developing your planets etc. you can do so, but just don't walk through the teleporter until you are ready... Seems like that this teleporter will be your only ticket back to Argus Base. But first you'll have to find it. You search the planet, nothing...You now remember how increasingly difficult it was to find special objects, so there's for sure no exception with this one. I cannot give you an exact location because it will be different in each game, but my teleporter was located at the very end of a mining section where I had to crouch through a narrow leak which then leads to a very large room with the teleporter in its center. Say good bye to your fellow Parkan robots and let's go, but just before that: save your game as you may not well understand what exactly happens next... You activate the teleporter. A vibrating sound...You are on the other side, what the heck... Some of your equipement didn't make it...no drones anymore...no jumpers, so there's no way back...Instead: A strong "Reception commitee" against you being no match... Should you fight? Try out... Ok, loading last game... Some Parkan ships from the Argus Base get you the right picture, just listen what they say...You are heading for your final destination: Argus Base. You save your game a last time and you land. The treator... Search for Colonel Heyder and kill him! You must then disable the force field using the terminal. That's it... ...THE END ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [JOKES, CHEATS AND EASTER EGGS - YEAH, READ THIS IF YOU ARE *NOT* STUCKED...] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheats: So far, I didn't find one, but there are 2 trainers for the game: Go visit http://www.parkanfans.narod.ru/ where you can download them together with other goodies of Parkan, Parkan II and Parkan Iron Strategy, although chances are the trainers (in Russian) will not work with this English version, just try. Oh, if you don't speak Russian, just use Google Translate to translate the various webpage sections... You can get some robots to walk inside your ship before leaving a planet...It's possible, just try hard...How many robots can you get inside ?! They will finally go into the cockpit and fly your ship away, with or without you...and should you be that skilled to remain on the planet, you'll have to wait for some miracle ship to come, or better wait for Obama comming on a skateboard... Else you will be, hum...STUCKED...damn, not again... In the meantime, go visit the planet's restaurant and play some poker with other robot buddies... Don't mind, it's a joke. There are indeed restaurants on planets and it's really possible to 'capture' robots that way, but they don't play poker, won't fly anywhere and will vanish as soon as you go in the cockpit and enter inside your ship afterwards. The dimensions in space are really a mystery. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, that's it from me, return in one piece to Argus Base! [XenonS - OUT] eof