The Atomic Raven's Cheap and Cheesy Guide to Sierra/Relic's
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FAQ Version 1.00  January 1, 2006
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Sierra/Relic's 3d RTS was one of the first games of its type to include an
engaging storyline and logical technology progression in its single-player
campaign.  For these reasons, and of course because of how cool the ships
looked (who among us failed to drool over those Ion Cannon Frigates when you
first saw them!), it became immensely popular.  True, it was Game of the Year
several years ago, but it's still well worth playing.  This guide will help
you enjoy a quick evening of smashing fleets in either campaign or versus
scenarios.
The Atomic Raven is proud to be known among fellow gamers as a "munchkin":
the kind of player who mathematically minimizes penalties and maximizes
benefits no matter what sort of rules apply to any given situation.  Some call
this approach cheap, or cheesy.  But let's face it--you're not concerned with
how honorable your victory over the CPU is, you just want to win, right?
Listen to my advice, and your journey from the galactic boondocks back to your
forgotten Homeworld will be a walk in the park.
For the purpose of this document, I assume basic familiarity with gameplay.
If you see words or abbreviations that are incomprehensible, go play the
tutorial, then start reading again.  I have also attempted to avoid repeating
information from the game's documentation, with the exception of noting what
technology must be researched to make each ship type available--that data is
an important part of planning strategy for builds.
Legal Statements:
The Atomic Raven is not an employee and has no relation to the corporations
who created Homeworld.  Their names and trademarks are entirely their property.
Copyright 2006 Blair Burroughs.  All rights reserved.  This text may be not be
reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may
not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without
advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a
part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of
copyright.
The following sites are permitted to host a copy of this document for
public access:
GameFAQS.com
Neoseeker.com
DLH.net
1up.com
Supercheats.com
To request hosting permission, make comments, ask questions, or suggest
corrections contact the Atomic Raven at blair@afaproject.org.
INDEX
=====
I.  Comparative Anatomy of Buildable Ship Types
A.  Scout
B.  Interceptor
C.  Defender
D.  Attack Bomber
E.  Cloaked Fighter
F.  Defense Fighter
G.  Light Corvette
H.  Heavy Corvette
I.  Multi-Gun Corvette
J.  Repair Corvette
K.  Salvage Corvette
L.  Minelayer Corvette
M.  Assault Frigate
N.  Ion Cannon Frigate
O.  Support Frigate
P.  Drone Frigate
Q.  Defense Field Frigate
R.  Destroyer
S.  Missile Destroyer
T.  Carrier
U.  Heavy Cruiser
V.  Resource Collector
W.  Resource Controller
X.  Probe
Y.  Cloak Generator
Z.  Gravity Well Generator
AA. Proximity Sensor
BB. Sensors Array
CC. Research Ship
Final Recommendations
II.  Dirrrrty Tricks
1.  Stealing Victory
2.  Banzai!
3.  Fun Without Formations
III.  You CAN Go Home Again
01 [Kharak System]
02 [Outskirts of Kharak System]
03 [Return to Kharak]
04 [Great Wastelands]
05 [Great Wastelands]
06 [Diamond Shoals]
07 [Garden of Kadesh]
08 [Cathedral of Kadesh]
09 [Sea of Lost Souls]
10 [Supernova Research Station]
11 [Tenhauser Gate]
12 [Galactic Core]
13 [Karos Graveyard]
14 [Bridge of Sighs]
15 [Chapel Perilous]
16 [Hiigara]
Closing Remarks
SECTION THE FIRST
In which the relative merits of the different buildable unit types are
compared.  Campaign availability assumes you research all available
technologies during each mission.
===============================================================================
[Fighter Category]
A.  Scout
Cost 35 RU.  Requires "Fighter Drive" tech.  Available in campaign
mission 1.
This is the cheapest and fastest combat craft available.  It can outrun any
ship in the game with its 1.5 kps "speed burst" maneuver.  In single player,
its low firepower rating makes it ineffective as an offensive weapon against
anything larger than another fighter, and its primary usage is to serve as
filler for your strike groups until you have enough spare RU to retire
squadrons of Scouts in exchange for Interceptors, Defenders, and Attack
Bombers.  It is best used in decoy maneuvers--send a group of five or more
Scouts set to Evasive tactics in just before your main attack.  While the
enemy ships are uselessly attempting to track down the dodging Scouts, they
aren't attacking more easily hit targets, like your vulnerable frigates and
corvettes.  In multiplayer games, you may find it advantageous to build three
Scouts rather than two Interceptors; you can quickly amass a large group of
quick attackers in this manner.  Especially when your opponent has only a
Carrier rather than a Mothership, it may be possible to eliminate him with a
"kamikaze rush" from a large squadron of Scouts (see Banzai! below).
B.  Interceptor
Cost 55 RU.  Requires "Fighter Drive" and "Fighter Chassis" tech.
Available in campaign mission 1.
This fighter is the bread and butter combat craft of this size.  Not quite as
fast as a Scout, and lacking afterburners for dashing, it does however have
much better capacity to deal and survive damage.  In numbers, Interceptors can
deal with just about any kind of foe except groups of super-capital ships or
specialized anti-fighter craft.
C.  Defender
Cost 65 RU.  Requires "Fighter Drive", "Fighter Chassis", and "Defender
Subsystems" tech.  Available in campaign mission 5.
This ship is more of a turret than a fighter.  As the name implies, it is far
more useful on defense than offense.  In the earlier versions of the game, its
firepower was almost as intense as a corvette's, but the more recent patches
have downgraded it to only about the same damage per unit of time as an
Interceptor.  It is cripplingly slow for a fighter, but does have slightly
better armor than an Interceptor, and its guns fire hypervelocity projectiles
which seldom miss, a major advantage against highly maneuverable opponents.
D.  Attack Bomber
Cost 80 RU.  Requires "Fighter Drive", "Fighter Chassis", and "Plasma Bomb
Launcher" tech.  Available in campaign mission 5.
Against really big targets, most fighters are like a cloud of mosquitoes--
annoying, but not truly deadly except in huge numbers.  The Attack Bomber is
the exception to this rule.  Tough resourcing ships and frigates are easy meat
for a small group of Bombers, and in larger formations they can mince
Destroyers, Carriers, even Cruisers with ease.  Against targets which have no
turreted weapons to return fire, or which are already distracted by another
foe (psst, remember those Scouts?) punch F10 to lock into Sphere formation and
drop a hard rain of plasma onto the foe.
E.  Cloaked Fighter
*Kushan fleet only.  Cost 85 RU.  Requires "Fighter Drive", "Fighter
Chassis", and "Cloaked Fighter" tech.  Available in campaign mission 13.
Wouldn't it be nice to be invisible?  Yes?  Well, try something else.  I'm not
kidding.  It sounds neat--a fighter size ship incorporating a cloaking sail--
but in practice, the results won't satisfy you.  For the price, I'd rather
have Scouts, and I hate Scouts.  These ships are expensive, sluggish and
flimsy (less maneuverable and about 2/3 the hit points of an Interceptor), and
burn fuel so fast it seems they've barely left the docking bay before the
pilots start whining about needing their tanks topped off.  If you have Repair
Corvettes or Support Frigates available to gas them up repeatedly, they might
be worth trying in multiplayer games to sneak a quick peek at your opponent's
base area or resource zones.  But I doubt it.  By the time your fleet has
access to this ship in either single or multiplayer games, your opponent will
be able to see it coming with Proximity Sensors they've built to keep far more
dangerous ships grouped with a Cloak Generator at bay.  Take my advice and
build something that will make it to the enemy's location and actually do
damage before being shot down instead.
F.  Defense Fighter
*Taiidan fleet only.  Cost 85 RU.  Requires "Fighter Drive", "Fighter
Chassis", and "Defense Fighter" tech.  Available in campaign mission 13.
Wouldn't it be nice to be invincible?  Well, this ship sports a laser array in
its domed nose which attempts to vaporize incoming rounds before they strike.
It makes an excellent part of an escort for extremely valuable units you don't
care to lose as it blocks cannon fire.  Aside from its expense, its only real
disadvantage is that it can't shoot back at the attackers.  You'll get more
effective coverage by building a Defense Field Frigate (which is available
much earlier in the single player campaign) and sending along some
Interceptors or Defenders.
[Corvette Category]
G.  Light Corvette
Cost 135 RU.  Requires "Corvette Drive" and "Corvette Chassis" tech.
Available in campaign mission 2.
As you might expect from the low-end prerequisites, this vehicle isn't much to
write home about.  Don't waste RU building any.  In single-player games just a
few more minutes of research and patience gives you the chance to construct
Heavy Corvettes instead, which are far more effective.  In multiplayer,
especially if you chose to skip researching Defenders, try Multigun Corvettes
instead.  They come with six turrets instead of one, and better armor and
speed to boot.
H.  Heavy Corvette
Cost 240 RU.  Requires "Corvette Drive", "Corvette Chassis", and "Heavy
Corvette Upgrade" tech.  Available in campaign mission 2.
I give these my unalloyed recommendation.  They have excellent armor and
paired turrets capable of independently tracking multiple fighters, plus the
guns in those turrets do enough damage to penetrate frigate hulls.  Easily
more than twice as effective as their predecessor, the Light Corvette, for
less than twice as much--a bargain by any standards.  As an added bonus, their
"charged burst attack" creates flak explosions effective against capital ships
or tightly grouped strike craft formations.  Heavy Corvettes should be a
staple of your single- or multi-player fleet.
I.  Multi-Gun Corvette
Cost 225 RU.  Requires "Corvette Drive", "Corvette Chassis", and
"Fast-Tracking Turrets" tech.  Available in campaign mission 7.
If you are faced by constant waves of enemy fighters, like the kamikaze Scout
waves referred to earlier, you may wish you had a squadron of Multi-Gun
Corvettes.  Equipped with six hypervelocity guns (like the Defender above),
they can cut through waves of small ships like a knife through warm butter.
In terms of speed and price, they also have a slight advantage over Heavy
Corvettes.  However, they lack the Heavy Corvette's armor and ability to
damage large targets, so unless your opponent eschews larger ships entirely,
I'd suggest you stick with the Heavy's durability and versatility--after all,
it's only a 15 RU difference.  The Heavy Corvette is also available much
earlier in campaign mode, which allows you to crank out a good-sized squadron
by the time you really need one.
J.  Repair Corvette
Cost 150 RU.  Requires "Corvette Drive" tech.  Available in campaign
mission 1.
Too poor to buy Support Frigates?  Try these instead.  They can only dock and
refuel fighter-class ships (what a shock!), but they do have a weaker version
of the Support Frigate's repair beam.  I don't recommend sending them into
serious combat; they do have one small gun, but firing it at anything is all
too likely to attract the sort of attention that this lightly armored ship
just won't survive.  Personally, I've never built one in a serious game, and
you shouldn't either.
K.  Salvage Corvette
Cost 220 RU.  Requires "Corvette Drive" and "Corvette Chassis" tech.*
Available in campaign mission 1.
*(Though apparently only in multiplayer games--in single player mode these
can be built from the beginning of mission 1.)
Pay close attention, Grasshopper.  The Salvage Corvette doesn't look like
much.  No guns, speed and armor not too impressive either, and it costs as
much as four Interceptors.  Yet this simple tugboat will lead you to greatness
in the single player campaign and make your opponents howl with anguish in
multiplayer.  Mark well this ship.  It is quite possibly the most important
unit you can build if you can use it properly.  The reason?  Salvage Corvettes
lock on to enemy craft with magnetic grapples and drag them back to your
Mothership or Carrier to be boarded and captured, after which the enemy vessel
becomes part of your fleet.  Don't begrudge those 220 RU, because a single
Salvage Corvette, if properly defended, can contribute to thousands of RU
worth of fleet growth.  I'll discuss the use and care of the Salvage Corvette
in detail later (see Stealing Victory below), but in single player you'll want
even more of these than you have Heavy Corvettes, and in multiplayer you will
want to keep at least 8-12 in your fleet whenever possible.
L.  Minelayer Corvette
Cost 275 RU.  Requires Requires "Corvette Drive", "Corvette Chassis", and
"Minelayer" tech.  Available in campaign mission 10.
The Minelayer Corvette can drop tiny guided bombs in neat walls wherever you
like, blocking avenues of approach and inflicting unanswered damage on your
attacking foes.  Unfortunately, in real combat situations the Minelayer is an
unarmed sitting duck, and unless your enemy sits around indecisively until you
have created a very thick minefield, it's a relatively simple task for a
Destroyer or larger capital ship to simply plow through.  This tactic does
cause some pain, but isn't generally dangerous to the mine-clearing ship; some
admirals prefer to use Missile Destroyers to take out the mines at range, or
sacrifice a formation of Scouts.  Any way you slice it, the only time a
minefield tends to really be effective is if you see where your opponent is
sending resourcers and plant one right there.  With a little luck, the
harvesting can come to an end among brilliant plasma fireworks.  Generally,
however, your money will be far better spent on Heavy Corvettes or Salvage
Corvettes, and your research time on improving your capital ships.
[Frigate Category]
M.  Assault Frigate
Cost 575 RU.  Requires "Capital Ship Drive" and "Capital Ship Chassis"
tech.  Available in campaign mission 3.
This is the bread and butter frigate class ship.  It doesn't inflict damage
to other capital ships as fast as the Ion Cannon Frigate, but it does have the
important advantage of turrets.  Its excellent arcs of fire mean it can begin
attacking enemy formations, then move past or to the flanks while continuing
to pour volley after volley into its victims.  The multiple medium guns are
also excellent against corvettes and moderately effective against the slower
fighter class vessels (don't plan on hitting Scouts).  Probably the most
efficient counter to corvettes short of the much more expensive and slower
Missile Destroyer.
N.  Ion Cannon Frigate
Cost 650 RU.  Requires "Capital Ship Drive", "Capital Ship Chassis", and
"Ion Cannons" tech.  Available in campaign mission 4.
Yeah, you saw those nasty looking red and blue energy beams crisscrossing in
the screenshots and you were hooked right there.  Admit it.  Well, this is the
fastest and cheapest beam equipped ship there is.  In both single and
multiplayer these are going to be a major part of whatever fleet group you use
to take out enemy capital ships.  Excellent bang for your buck; once you have
9-12 of these puppies and some screening vessels to cover them, you can
seriously fry an opponent.  However, please note that without support against
fighters and corvettes Ion Cannon Frigates might as well be served to your
enemies on a platter!  That beam weapon looks neat all right, but the ship has
ONE of them pointing straight out the front, and frigates don't turn on a
dime, bub!  Ion Frigates without covering escorts are vulnerable even to
properly managed Scouts.  As with other single-weapon craft, focusing the
entire group's fire on one hapless victim at a time is the best way to kill
your enemies quickly while suffering minimal damage in return.
O.  Support Frigate
Cost 425 RU.  Requires "Capital Ship Drive" tech.  Available in campaign
mission 3.
A Support Frigate can dock 10 fighters and 4 corvettes to refuel and heal, can
hyperspace them across the map in multiplayer games, and its repair beam is
far more effective at removing damage from capital ships than the Repair
Corvette's.  At less than three times the expense and more than three times
the armor and support ability, this is a much better buy.  The only reason you
would use the smaller craft is if you are already at your unit cap for
frigates.
P.  Drone Frigate
*Kushan fleet only.  Cost 800 RU.  Requires "Capital Ship Drive", "Capital
Ship Chassis", and "Drone" tech.  Available in campaign mission 6.
If you're playing this game with an older computer system, don't use Drone
Frigates.  Building just one creates 25 more models for your CPU to keep track
of, often resulting in molasses-like frame rates or hangs.  That aside, much
like the Missile Destroyer, a Drone Frigate can quickly obliterate wings of
fighters.  The AI for this ship has some weird quirks, since technically it's
unarmed, and its drones do all the fighting...  you may occasionally
experience odd behavior because of this.  I find that the drones seem to
attack on their own most effectively if the frigate is set to "aggressive"
tactics, but this may require micromanagement to prevent your Drone Frigates
from haring off across the map after passing Scouts and the like.  These can
be nasty when mixed in with a group of Ion Frigates to create a battle group
capable of taking on ships of any size.
Q.  Defense Field Frigate
*Taiidan fleet only.  Cost 800 RU.  Requires "Capital Ship Drive",
"Capital Ship Chassis", and "Defense Field" tech.  Available in campaign
mission 6.
Much like the Defense Fighter above, this vessel has absolutely no offensive
capability whatsoever.  However, it protects all friendlies within a 2km or so
bubble from incoming cannon rounds and plasma bombs, stopping roughly 75% of
all shots.  The shield is ineffective against beam weapons, missiles, and
mines, but because of its spherical coverage, much better range, and higher
durability, it's a better buy as an escort than the Defense Fighter.  Against
wings of fighters, corvettes, and Assault Frigates it provides unsurpassed
protection, and the shield is big enough to completely screen your own
formation of corvettes or a small group of frigates.
[Super Capital Category]
R.  Destroyer
Cost 1350 RU.  Requires "Super-Capital Ship Drive", "Capital Ship
Chassis", and "Ion Cannons" tech.  Available in campaign mission 6.
These heavyweights are essentially a combination of an Assault Frigate and an
Ion Frigate.  With paired cannon turrets and two gimbal-mounted ion beams,
they can engage multiple targets and deal heavy damage.  Ideal for thrashing
anything corvette-size or larger, since their multiple rotating weapons cancel
out their poor turning speed.  Ineffective, however, against moving fighters,
which are too quick for them to track effectively.
S.  Missile Destroyer
Cost 1500 RU.  Requires "Super-Capital Ship Drive", "Capital Ship
Chassis", and "Missile Launcher" tech.  Available in campaign mission 9.
Slightly more expensive and slightly less maneuverable than a standard
Destroyer, this class of vessel eschews standard guns and beams for four
missile pods, achieving ultimate supremacy against small craft.  The multiple
homing warheads from just one Missile Destroyer can turn incoming fighter and
corvette formations into clouds of flaming scrap in mere moments.  Against
other capital ships its performance is slightly inferior to the regular model,
though its "volley attack" can give you an early advantage in such large-scale
engagements by entirely emptying its magazines at extended range.  Beware,
however, because Missile Destroyers take time to manufacture more missiles to
replace those spent, and the delay in doing so is even longer after a volley
attack.
T.  Carrier
Cost 2000 RU.  Requires "Super-Capital Ship Drive" and "Super-Heavy
Chassis".  Available in campaign mission 9.
Your home away from home, Carriers provide pretty much all the same services
as the Mothership but can actually move.  Nice.  In single-player games
Carriers allow you to capture enemy craft up to frigate size without the
interminable wait for your Salvage Corvettes to drag the foe all the way to
your starting position.  They also provide a mobile bunker for storing,
repairing, and refueling fighters and corvettes--a fact of vital importance in
certain missions (one which comes to mind immediately is the Supernova
Research Station, scenario #10).  In multiplayer, these ships serve as extra
manufacturing and resource dropoff points, and if your Mothership should
unfortunately perish, your new command HQ.  They are unfortunately useless in
combat except as decoys.
U.  Heavy Cruiser
Cost 3700 RU.  Requires "Super-Capital Ship Drive", "Super-Heavy Chassis",
"Ion Cannons", and "Heavy Guns" tech.  Available in campaign mission 12.
Once you have a Heavy Cruiser, the lumbering core of your fleet is complete.
In fact, capital ship engagements become as easy as detailing a couple of
destroyers, a few frigates, and a squadron of fighters or corvettes to guard
your Cruiser, and spend all your time concentrating the Cruiser's fire on
specific targets one at a time until they make a satisfying popping noise.
With six huge railguns and paired twin ion beam turrets, this monster makes
short work of anything corvette size or larger.  Keep in mind, however, that
its cost is just as monstrous as its combat presence.  Never assign a Cruiser
to do anything without Support Frigates to keep its health up and screening
elements to deal with enemy fighters (which a Cruiser simply can't hit to save
its life) or you'll lose your investment faster than you built it.  In
multiplayer, it's wise to max out your complement of smaller ships before you
try to field a Heavy Cruiser; in terms of price and build time smaller ships
can deploy more firepower more quickly.  With the "rush" tactics most often
prevalent these days in PvP RTS matchups, some players never even bother
researching so far down the tech tree.  Personally, I admit, I just can't
resist the sight of turrets half the size of an entire frigate.  >:)
[Non-Combat Category]
V.  Resource Collector
Cost 650 RU.  No requirements.  Available in campaign mission 1.
With no RU, you can't build ships.  With no ships, you lose.  Simple, yes?
Resource Collectors actually do have reasonable combat potential when used
correctly; they are the smallest ship with self-repair capability and the
largest ship with kamikaze capability.  In fact, it's possible to beat the
entire attacking force of fighters and corvettes in mission 2 by simply
commanding your Resource Collector to ram them while the rest of your craft
remain safely inside the Mothership's docking bays.  Don't resort to tactics
like this in multiplayer games unless you're already on the brink of defeat,
though--they are far more useful harvesting resources so your fleet can
continue to grow.
W.  Resource Controller
Cost 680 RU.  Requires "Capital Ship Drive" tech.  Available in campaign
mission 3.
In single player missions, speed is not critical for your resourcing
operations.  In fact, in many situations you'll find you can let the game run
an extra half an hour or more after all combat has ceased until you hear
Karan's dulcet tones saying "Available resources consumed."  In multiplayer
games, on the other hand, deploying a Controller to the nearest resource
cluster greatly increases the speed and efficiency of your mining operations,
a critical concern in an era when either using or defending against "rush"
tactics has become the default scenario.  Carriers may be a better bet in late
game situations, since they can build and repair as well as receive resource
drops.
X.  Probe
Cost 30 RU.  No requirements.  Available in campaign mission 1.
A very fast spy tool.  Unfortunately, it can't defend itself and can't move
more than once, so be careful when giving that first deployment order!
Curiously for what is essentially nothing more than a mass of antennae, its
sensor range isn't any larger than that of a normal fighter.  In single player
games, sending ANY ship within sight distance of "send a probe here"
objectives will satisfy them, and in multiplayer games sending an armed and
agile Scout on reconnaisance takes only 5 RU and a few seconds longer...
Plus, since they can't move after initial deployment, you can't even take them
with you between campaign missions.  Basically, don't bother building any
Probes unless you plan to use them as missiles (see Banzai! below).
Y.  Cloak Generator
Cost 500 RU.  Requires "Capital Ship Drive" and "Cloak Generator" tech.
Available in campaign mission 13.
This frigate-size vessel is essentially nothing more than a mobile
invisibility field.  When deactivated, its batteries recharge at about half
the rate they deplete during cloaking.  Therefore, a set of three generators
alternately activated can keep a small formation of your fleet permanently
invisible if properly managed.  Handy for surprise attacks, especially capture
raids involving Salvage Corvettes.  Keep in mind that cloaked ships briefly
become visible when attacking, so you should keep your invisible strike group
in motion to minimize the effect of return fire; turreted ships like Assault
Frigates are most effective when doing so.
Z.  Gravity Well Generator
Cost 800 RU.  Requires "Capital Ship Drive" and "Gravity Well Generator"
tech.  Available in campaign mission 9.
Like the Cloak Generator, this is essentially a tool with an engine on the
back.  The Gravwell Generator cannot recharge, but has two nasty effects
within its sphere of operation:  all nearby fighters and corvettes are held
motionless like flies trapped in amber, and (in multiplayer games) enemy
capital ships cannot use hyperdrive.  An excellent tool for offense and
defense in longer multiplayer games, it tends to weaken the economic advantage
of fighter/corvette rushes--IF you can research them in time.  Since the
Generator cannot recharge and self-destructs once its power supply is
exhausted, you can recover some of its cost by using the "retire" command
instead of allowing it to wear out and explode.
AA.  Proximity Sensor
Cost 50 RU.  Requires "Proximity Detector" tech.  Available in campaign
mission 10.
Better than a Probe, these little detector arrays are as fast as a Scout and
can detect cloaked vessels as they reach beam and missile range, allowing you
to counterattack.  Their superior drive systems allow them to maintain
formation with any combat vessel to prevent invisible enemies from getting the
drop on you, and they don't run out of fuel, which makes long-duration recon
missions simpler.  Definitely handy.
BB.  Sensors Array
Cost 800 RU.  Requires "Proximity Detector" and "Sensors Array" tech.
Available in campaign mission 13.
A giant floating radar set.  Nothing more.  However, if you have one, you'll
be able to see the exact positions and sensor ranges of EVERY ship on the
map.  This is an extraordinarily useful ability and should not be
underestimated.  As soon as you have the tech to build one you should do so,
and guard it carefully.
CC.  Research Ship
Cost 700 RU.  No requirements.  Available in campaign mission 1.
Each Research Ship is a compact module meant to become part of a rotating
laboratory station.  Uniquely, each subsequently built Research Ship (to a
total of six) links to the previous modules, making the lab larger and
tougher, as well as quicker to achieve your scientific goals.  In single
player, you can get by with just one until you've finished the Great Nebula
missions and have more money than you know what to do with.  In multiplayer
games, however, you'll want to build the maximum number as soon as you can
afford to do so, both to increase the lab's survivability and to accelerate
your all-important tech development.  Multiple modules can be assigned to
research the same tech, getting it finished faster, or to different techs, to
achieve variety--it's up to you.
[Final Recommendations]
These are the ships you should spend your money building.  If you don't see it
here, don't bother even clicking on it in the Build Manager.
Fighters:  Lots of Scouts early, so you can quickly reach the maximum of 80
fighter-class ships.  Later, replace losses with Attack Bombers.  If you can't
afford Bombers, use Interceptors instead until your cash reserves increase.  I
only recommend Defenders if you need a quick escort for a capital-class vessel
and you have not researched Heavy Corvettes; they're just too slow and easily
destroyed to handle most fighter tasks.
Corvettes:  The truly optimal choices here are Heavy Corvettes and
Salvage Corvettes.  The virtues of Heavies have already been elaborated; see
II/1. below for more reasons why the Salvage Corvette should be one of your
favorite ships.  The normal class cap for corvettes is 50.
Frigates:  As soon as you can afford it, I recommend at least half a dozen
apiece of Assault and Ion Cannon Frigates, as well as four Support Frigates.
This should give you a well-balanced medium ship complement capable of
handling all the tasks frigates need to perform.  Depending on your race, the
Drone Frigate and Defense Field Frigate are handy for specialized situations
as well.  Just remember, without stolen ships, you can only have 18 frigates
at a time.
Super-Capital Ships:  Promptly construct at least one Carrier.  This enables
you to build ships faster, as well as giving you a mobile secondary base.  A
group of 2-4 standard Destroyers and 1-3 Missile Destroyers can handle most
major engagements as long as you remember to concentrate fire from the
Destroyers on one target at a time, working your way down from large to small,
and "group attack" (Ctrl+bandbox) the fast movers with the Missile
Destroyers.  As noted above, don't spend resources on a Heavy Cruiser unless
a) you're filthy rich and b) you are at unit cap for everything smaller.  Max
number of Carriers is 4, Destroyers is 7, and Cruisers is 3.
Non-Combat Ships:  I noted earlier that you never have to build a Resource
Controller or even an extra Collector in the single-player missions; in fact,
if you guard the one you're provided in mission 1 carefully, it's all the
mining operation you really need the entire game.  In multiplayer this is
totally untrue!  Buy yourself up to at least 4-6 Collectors and at least 1
Controller ASAP, and in a long game on a large map, maxing out at 10
Collectors and 4 Controllers can allow you to defeat your opponent through
sheer attrition.  The same goes for Research Ships; in campaign mode just one
can do all the research required, but in multiplayer scenarios the more the
merrier--after all, no sane opponent will just sit around and wait to attack
while you cheerfully research every tech with just one lab!  If you're going
to try sneaking up on your opponent, go for a trio of Cloak Generators.  One
or two Grav Well Generators are good for both offense and defense.  Keep one
near the Mothership for emergencies and send the other along with the big boys
whenever you suspect your enemy has a load of fighters to dump on your fleet.
A Sensors Array is critical to show you what the bad guys are up to.  Lastly,
keep half a dozen or so Proximity Sensors handy.  Split them up guarding your
Mothership and other widely separated fleet groups; that way if your opponent
suddenly whips out a cloaked attack force you'll be able to effectively deal
with it.
SECTION THE SECOND
In which revelation is made of various underhanded tactics.
===============================================================================
1.  Stealing Victory
This strategy is so simple it's practically self-explanatory.  In this game,
crime DOES pay.  Every chance you get, you should quickly reach and exceed
your unit caps by stealing capital ships and non-combat craft with your
Salvage Corvettes.  You did build some, didn't you?  "Salvaging" as many
enemy craft as you can is critical in the first half of the single-player
campaign to quickly increase your fleet size, not to mention acquiring bigger
ships (often substantially before your research and budget would allow you to
build them yourself).  In the multi-player scenarios, nothing will cause your
opponents as much agony as watching entire resource operations dragged back to
your nearby Carrier, or watching 3700 RU of Heavy Cruiser suddenly quit
fragging your frigates when the salvagers lock on to its hull.  Get used to
laughing evilly as your fleet swells with stolen vessels; for those who deride
this tactic as "sissy" I recommend you review the cutscene between campaign
missions 3 and 4.  Now just imagine what your pissed-off marines are doing to
the enemy crew.  :)
Stealing CPU Ships:  There are two important tricks to this.
First, the target MUST be distracted.  Most CPU-controlled ships are very
sensitive to Salvage Corvettes.  In fact, all ships of frigate size or larger
within sensor range of Salvage Corvettes will preferentially attack them first
unless they are already in combat against a high-priority target like one of
your own capital ships.  Scout formations are NOT a sufficient distraction
against CPU ships--don't waste your time and Scouts trying.  Instead, use a
super capital ship like a destroyer or cruiser as a stalking horse.  Make sure
the decoy is set to "evasive tactics" by hitting F2 so it does not
automatically retaliate and destroy the enemy ship before capture is
completed.  It may prove useful to have a Support Frigate nearby to keep the
decoy's health up while it meekly suffers the slings and arrows of the CPU's
outrage, depending on the firepower of the ship to be stolen compared to the
damage capacity of the decoy.  Taiidan fleets can extend the endurance of the
decoy against most victims of this maneuver by deploying a Defense Field
Frigate to block incoming fire.
Second, the salvage corvettes must be MOVED manually into position nearby.
Again, the CPU quickly notices salvage attempts, and in several missions the
prospective victims will instantly react when targeted by a capture maneuver,
promptly ceasing their attack on your decoy and vaporizing the relatively
helpless Salvage Corvettes.  The best way to avoid watching your tugs melt
like clay pigeons at a skeet shoot is to take advantage of the distracted
state of the computer-controlled vessels by maneuvering into close range
before giving the salvage command.  If you can put your salvage team within a
kilometer or so, preferably underneath or to the rear, as soon as they are
told to salvage the target it will be paralyzed and unable to turn to attack
them.  Once you get some experience with this maneuver you'll soon see that
it can allow you to grab entire enemy formations with no losses to your
Salvage Corvette team.
Keep in mind that there are some ships you cannot salvage (more's the pity).
You cannot salvage the Turanic Raider Carriers from missions 2 and 4.  You
cannot salvage the Kadeshi Needle Motherships from missions 7 and 8.  You
cannot salvage the Junkyard Dog from mission 12.  Any stationary objects (the
derelict in mission 9, the Research Station in mission 10, the Autoguns in
mission 12) cannot be salvaged either.  Don't waste your time trying.  You can
salvage the enemy Probes occasionally sent towards you, but you can't take
them to the next mission with you, so there's no point unless you intend to
use them yourself in the same scenario.
Also, make sure you have enough ships for the job!  Frigates and Resource
Collectors require two corvettes apiece; Destroyers and Resource Controllers
need three apiece; Carriers and Cruisers can only be dragged home by a group
of five.*  Anything that needs more effort than a frigate must go all the way
back to your Mothership, since it can't be handled by a Carrier.  Plan
accordingly, since given how long this can take your opponent may be able to
"liberate" the captured ship unless you provide a combat-capable escort for
the vulnerable Salvage Corvettes.
(*Due to a glitch in all versions of the game, Kushan Heavy Cruisers actually
need 6 tugs for successful salvage, despite their stat file being _exactly the
same_ as the Taiidan model.  Don't look at me!  Also, theoretically, fighters,
Probes and Proximity Sensors, and corvettes can all be salvaged with only one
tug apiece...  except they can simply move out of the way as long as they
still have fuel.  In practical terms salvaging these small ships is difficult
enough that only a dedicated cheesemonkey like me would even bother trying, so
I don't recommend it for the casual reader of this guide.)
Stealing Human Ships:  There's really only one trick to this--it has to be a
surprise.
How you manage this is up to you.  A strike group with its admiral
micromanaging is essentially invulnerable to capture.  As soon as the human
commander notices what you're doing, it's over; even if you snuck your tugs
into close range with the help of cloaking technology, the escorts will
quickly destroy them before the big ships are "locked down".  Here are some
suggestions for achieving the necessary stealth for this approach.
First, you can simply conceal your Salvage Corvettes in a formation of other
corvettes.  Denied the ability to pause and examine the situation carefully
(only available in campaign mode or in player vs. CPU skirmishes), the human
commander may simply not notice them until it's too late.  When trying this
method, MAKE SURE TO CALL OFF THE OTHER SHIPS as soon as the salvagers are in
grapple range.  Trigger AI is moronic in this game... craft don't take into
account whether friendlies are in the line of fire before attacking.  If the
rest of your strike group continues firing at the salvage victims, they run
the risk of destroying them instead of capturing them, or, worse, fragging the
Salvage Corvettes!  Either way, you just wasted time and money.  It can be
difficult to dissuade your ships from pressing an attack sometimes.  I
recommend using F2 to put the offenders in "evasive tactics", then tapping the
~ key a few times, then ordering them to move off to the side someplace.  This
combination of orders usually stops even the most fanatic attack from a
turreted ship.
Second, you can concentrate the fire of your strike group and escorts on the
enemy fleet escorts BEFORE sending in the salvagers.  Especially when used in
conjunction with cloak generators to keep the corvettes hidden until it's time
to strike, this minimizes their exposure.  Once again, however, make sure you
cancel the attack orders as soon as the Salvage Corvettes get a grip.  The
disadvantage of this tactic is that a canny player may realize what you are
doing when you concentrate solely on the escort formation, and bring
reinforcement escorts with Proximity Sensors, thus extending the engagement
and most likely resulting in the failure of the capture operation.
Third, you can make sure the human's attention is elsewhere!  An attack, no
matter how Pyrrhic, on his Mothership or primary resource operation just as
your fleets are engaging will most likely cause him to hurriedly group-attack
your ships and jump to the "emergency" situation right away.  If your timing
is good, either of the tactics mentioned above will increase dramatically in
effectiveness.  Just remember that you need to make the diversionary strike
look significant if you want it to be taken seriously--otherwise he'll just
scoff, pop back to the original engagement and immediately see what you were
trying to do in time to stop it.  Fighters can get to a target area quickly
and are cheap enough to be sacrificed for this sort of thing; a mix of Scouts
or Interceptors to deal with escort craft and Attack Bombers to pound on the
real target looks businesslike enough that most players will spend at least a
few moments trying to deal with it.
For those with truly superior multitasking skills, try pulling off three or
more strikes simultaneously.  If you have local superiority in even one
location, focus fire in another area and you may win there too.  In fact, even
if you don't like Salvage Corvettes and don't ever use these tactics, they
make a scary distraction themselves!  Just a couple can latch onto a frigate
and start dragging it off, which triggers a voice message to the original
owner.  When he panics and starts concentrating on the salvagers, use the time
you've bought to focus fire on his most dangerous ships and quickly turn the
tide in your favor.
2.  Banzai!
Missile Destroyers are fun.  But did you ever wish you had real, long range
missiles that you could just toss from your Mothership all the way across the
map?  Well, you can.
Now, many game philosophers before yours truly have composed dissertations on
the virtues and methodologies of the "rush strategy".  If you aren't familiar
with it, in a nutshell, this is achieving victory in a multiplayer game by
just enough economic expansion to fuel a continuous stream of the cheapest
combat units you can build, then sending them in waves to wear down your enemy
until he's finally destroyed.  I'm really not a big fan of this technique,
though I've used it and defended against it successfully; in my opinion it
substantially reduces the enjoyment of the gameplay the designers spent so
much time refining.  However, I have to say that there are some fun and nasty
things you can do with that technique, and one of them is heaving Scouts and
Probes at your enemies' fleets.
Yep, you heard me.  Scouts can "kamikaze" (give an attack order, then press
K), as can all other fighters, corvettes, and Resource Collectors.  They're
the only ship cheap enough and hard enough to hit to make this an effective
tactic, however.  A kamikaze attack sends the Scout barreling toward its
hapless victim, firing its guns continuously until it literally crashes into
the target's hull and detonates, inflicting further explosive damage.  Set a
formation of at least five Scouts to "evasive tactics" with F2 to make them
faster and more difficult to shoot down, and then when they get close to the
intended victim, give the kamikaze command and follow up with Z to activate
their "speed burst".  This adds extra damage to the ram and further reduces
the amount of time the victim and any escorts have to shoot down your Scout
missiles.
Probes can't kamikaze, and even if they could their total lack of
maneuverability would make it unlikely that they would successfully strike
anyway.  However, you can use them like small caliber shotgun shells.  Simply
give them a move order that rockets them head-on towards an oncoming enemy
formation or a large, stationary target far away (a Mothership or Carrier,
most likely).  Then, as the speeding Probe approaches the foe, scuttle it.
The debris created by this self-destruct damages everything in a forward
cone.  This technique is more complex than the Scout missile tactic, and may
require some practice to learn the correct timing, but it can be a great way
to weaken incoming waves of strike craft.  A group of three or more Probes
makes a quite satisfying cloud of shrapnel, possibly obliterating an entire
squadron of fighters.
Economically speaking, Banzai! is very wasteful.  Use these tactics carefully
and only in a situation where you already have superior resources or the enemy
lacks a well-balanced combined fleet.  Be aware in multiplayer games that
using either or both will likely get you called a "cheap bastard" or similar
names; hey, you expected that after reading the title of this FAQ, right?  :)
In campaign mode, I don't recommend either Banzai! method until after the
Great Nebula missions, at which point you ought to have cash to burn.
3.  Fun Without Formations
If you've read the manual and played through the tutorial, you've been told
repeatedly by the game designers that formations are vital to successful
combat maneuvering.  In fact, this point is hammered home one more time in the
first single-player campaign mission, when Fleet Intelligence has you testing
the effect of formations on performance.
Guess what?  It's all WRONG.  With a few exceptions, putting ships of any sort
in formation substantially REDUCES their maneuverability and time-on-target
(the segment of the attack pass during which the ship's guns are pointing at
the target and firing).
Strange but true.  Modders who examine the performance data for the ships can
see the maneuver instructions that cause these results; I recommend Seb
Haque's excellent FAQ on the subject of modding.  For the more casual player,
just experiment a bit with a saved game.  Using any kind of timepiece, examine
how long it takes for a group of fighters to move from your Mothership to a
few kilometers away and back with, then without formation.  Then, attack
something with the same group, first in formation, then without.  Notice the
difference?
Essentially, formations increase the moment of inertia of a group of ships.
This is a physics term, but in this case what it means is that the ships on
the "inside" of a formation making a turn can't turn as fast as they normally
could because they are in lock-step with the ships on the "outside" edge of
the formation.  Without formations, they turn at their maximum maneuverability
rating all the time.  The obvious conclusion is that you should rarely put
your ships in formation, since it reduces their effectiveness both offensively
and defensively.  There are a few exceptions to this general rule:
a)  Large groups of ships attacking a single target.
In this circumstance your vessels can sometimes get in the way of each other.
Combined with the poor trigger AI mentioned previously, you will occasionally
watch in disgust as your ships shoot down their squadronmates.  In the case of
large groups of fighters attacking a Missile Destroyer or a ship with turreted
guns, the riot-like rush of the non-formated ships may actually make it easier
for the defender (shots that miss by only a small amount may connect with
another fighter in the same group, since they're so close together).  In this
case you may find it slightly more effective to use several Claws (no more
than 9 ships in each) or  hit F2 for "evasive tactics" to make the wingmen
split farther apart during their attack pass.  In the case of many fighters
attacking an unarmed or distracted target, immediately put the entire group
into "aggressive tactics" with F4 and drop them into Sphere formation.  This
will do the most damage possible in the minimum time.
b)  You need to select a certain number of ships from the group during combat.
Often the case when setting up groups of special ships, such as Cloak
Generators or Salvage Corvettes for one of the coordinated capture maneuvers
detailed previously, especially when in a human vs. human multiplayer game.
In this case your best bet is to use Broad formation for four or fewer ships,
or Wall formation if there are more than that.
c)  Guarding a slow or immobile ship against fighters and corvettes.
Common for groups of fighters and corvettes intended to escort bigger vessels
with little or no organic anti-fighter capability.  In this case you want the
escorts to stay relatively close to the ship they're watching over, and the
best way to do that is with Wall formation (for turreted escorts, like Heavy