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R-Type Command - Walkthrough
R-Type Command Walkthrough
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In general, in warfare: If you advance somewhat into the enemy's territory with a light force, it is dangerous. If you advance with a heavy force deep into the enemy's territory, you will accomplish nothing. If you advance with a light force deep into enemy territory, you will be defeated. If you advance with a heavy force somewhat into the enemy's territory, you can fight successfully. Thus in warfare the light and heavy are mutually related. --The Methods of the Ssu-Ma, The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China (Sawyer, 1993)
Contents --- Basics --- Logistics --- Earth Side - Walkthrough --- Earth Side - Key Units / Strategy --- Bydo Side - Walkthrough --- Bydo Side - Key Units / Strategy
Museum of R-History
R-Type Command takes place sometime in the R-Universe, when humans are fighting against the Bydo. From the looks of the units so far, this takes place before Project Last Dance (R-Type Final) but a lot of the prototype and mass produced units from the R-Museum are the units you're relying on for firepower. RTC will have capital ships not in the R-Museum (made up for this game). Unless you're absolutely interested, simply referring to each vessel by function should suffice. Beam Cannon Frigates, after all, are not exclusive to the Kushan.
Game Basics
Your turn, My turn It's said the simplest kind of strategy game is one that takes turns (i.e., that p.o.s. game every European knows of -- chess). In this regard, R-Type Command is kind of like chess, but there are other qualities that make this more fun than chess (mostly from the introduction of hex sides in 1970). Players always go first in the Single Player Campaign, giving you that edge in battle against the computer, who knows exactly where your units are from the start. Nature of the Terrain Terrain is a misnomer, as empty space is devoid of matter. A better term -- that of "composition of a volume of space" is far more complex so the general term "terrain" (and lack thereof) will be used. There are six types of "terrain" so far: =============== -- SPACE -- =============== Space is the default "terrain" in RTC. In space, the fuel expenditure is 1 to 1. This means for each hex space your vessel passes through (and arrives in), one point of fuel is expended. Space is "open" and offers no defensive measures when evading. On planets, the "space" hex is actually air (thin enough for R-craft to fly through unimpeded). ====================== -- INTERFERENCE -- ====================== Occasionally, there is enough matter or debris in a volume to constitute a navigation hazard. These hexes are referred to as "interference" and act as rough terrain. Vessels spend more fuel going through interference, in addition to cutting their movement rates by one-half. Interference is a good spot to camp however, since it confers defensive bonuses to vessels hiding in the debris. Other interference hexes include water, water surface, waterfalls (or current), gaseous nebula. Early on, there are some vessels that cannot make use of the defensive bonus, simply due to sheer size (capital ships in small hexes) or from lack of maneuverability (low evasion). On later maps, interference hexes will accumulate in some spots, giving capital ships a good strategic defensive point. Beware though, as some interference hexes will only penalize movement, but provide no defensive bonuses. Later in the game, you will find "Destructive Force" interference hexes that behave like obstacle hexes. However, these hexes have a value in movement and may mislead you into thinking they are passable. They are not and should be considered "obstacles" despite being named as interference hexes by the game. The event horizon hexes of a Black Hole are considered Destructive Force interference, as well as those hexes comprised of solar matter. ================== -- OBSTACLE -- ================== Large amounts of matter, or very dense matter results in impassable terrain. Termed, "obstacles," this type of hex effectively serves to block line of sight for fog of war and weapons range; even if you see the animation of your missiles going through obstacle hexes, the obstacle hex counts against the weapon range, making obstacle hexes good spots to bottleneck enemies and slaughter them. Hexes with obstacles cannot be moved into, but the fragile kind of obstacle may sometimes be destroyed by weapons. Destroyed obstacle hexes will generally become space hexes, but there are some exceptions that turn into mild interference hexes. ================== -- RESOURCE -- ================== This is an obstacle type that provides resources when scavenged by the Rr-2O-3 Craft Module and similar support craft. The amount of resources left are indicated by your command cursor; most support R-craft can hold 200 units of resources before they need to unload back on a capital ship (with a bay). Resource hexes are solid, impassable and indestructible. ================== -- FACILITY -- ================== Facilities are special hexes in that they allow your strike craft to dock and be repaired and refueled. Facilities in single player remain yours once taken over (in multiplayer, players will have to fight over possession). Each facility may hold up to five strike craft in their bays. Facilities that are abandoned can be repaired and brought back into operation by investing resources mined from resource hexes. The Craft Module and other mining R-craft must first salvage that material, then go adjacent to the facility hex and use the "Set" command. Inject resources into the facility and it will activate as a docking bay once repaired. Different facilities on each map uses different resources; additionally, if you "Unload and Dock" a Craft Module (or Morning Glory) on a capital ship, you will need to mine the resources again since it's considered you're keeping the resources if you "Unload and Dock". ========================= -- BOSS SILHOUETTE -- ========================= These hexes are lethal, which is to say they are the same ones that instantly crush your vessel if you end a turn on one. When moving your vessel into a hex, the game will warn you of impending doom. Unless you're absolutely sure you can defeat the enemy unit creating that silhouette before ending your turn, never move your units into a silhouette hex. Logistics During battle, you need to pay attention to, and tend to, the fuel and ammunition of your units. Vessels expend ammunition when attacking and expend fuel when moving to attack. Supply vessels will be able to resupply your fighting forces. Repairs may be made in your carriers, docking facilities or from specialized support units like the RR-2O-3 Craft Module. Out-Sourced Resource R-type Command is not a strategy game in the sense of constant resource management. While players can collect resources in battle, they cannot use them until after the battle. Resources are used in research and development to create new vessels and Bydo-based Force Options. As the manual states, there are three kinds of resources (not war spoils or captured technology): solonium, etherium, and bydogen. ================== -- SOLONIUM -- ================== When you first start, solonium is the principal resource you want to develop your fighting ships and vessels. Solonium is colored blue and can be mined from asteroids, captured from facility stocks, or picked up from power-up cases floating in space. To mine solonium, you will need the special support unit Rr-2O-3 Craft Module or similar R-craft that has the SALVAGE command. You can only hold a maximum of 999 solonium, so if your stores are maxxed out, spend it or dismiss new finds. Players can gather the most solonium from stage 11 (Galactic Exit, 430 units total) in the human campaign. Resources are shared between the human and Bydo campaign. The Bydo have stage 53 in their campaign to harvest a considerable amount of solonium, but considering the presence of those damned Aegis satellites, you may want to skip the pain of that and march into stage 47 Hostile Greetings (the Glitnir stage but reversed for the Bydo). Note that the enemy dreadnaught in this case will outrange your unit(s) unless you detect and snipe with a Bydo dreadnaught and a Gains sniper team. All in all, harvesting solonium using the human version of the Glitnir stage is far easier. ================== -- ETHERIUM -- ================== While players will start with 200 units of free etherium, stocks of this material aren't available early in the game, so you will need to husband your stock until you can find a method to get some. Etherium is used in small quantities to upgrade R-craft to improved versions. Etherium is stated to be green, according to the manual. The first instances of Etherium will be found when you complete the first half of the human campaign, and find your forces in Dimension 26. Etherium is mined like solonium, but since it only exists in warp space, you may have a hard time over-powering enemy forces and spending free turns to mine this precious resource. Early on, players can gather the most etherium from the stage 14 (Between Worlds, 260 units total) in the human campaign. The final human stage (stage #30) also has a sizable etherium stock. However, the Bydo campaign has even more etherium to mine if you have the patience (and can work with 25 turns). Try Bydo stage 40 Homeward Bound for the ability to get 640 units of the valuable green ore in one go. ================= -- BYDOGEN -- ================= Players start with 200 units of the red gas known as Bydogen, an element native to the universe the Bydo originate from. Bydogen is very much in demand from the start, since you can use this resource to develop new Force options. You will be able to get free Forces for your A.I. roster as they come aboard; if you want to create new Forces, develop a Tentacle Force once you have the Albatross R-craft and perhaps a Flame Force once you have the Principality. According to the manual, Bydogen appears red. Complete the human campaign's mission 10 (Triton) and get access to technology to harvest Bydogen by defeating enemy Bydo units. You can gather Bydogen easily as the Bydo, but players need to wait until they reach stage 20 (New Frontier) before they can harvest Bydogen asteroids (1600 units total). Resources are shared between the two games (human and Bydo). Bydo players can do the same in stage 39 Rose Outskirts. Either stage will be fine, but the quick wave cannons you have when playing Bydo really clean up the enemies in stage 39 as opposed to the human Striders in stage 20.
Tools and Talent
As an R-force or Bydo commander, you rely on the pilots, commanders, and drone remotes to operate the craft against the Bydo. Without the personnel (or A.I.), your vessels will do nothing. Without a vessel, your personnel will do nothing. Hence, you require both when you are going to fight effectively. You start with one commander, five pilots, and a remote. You will recruit more personnel as you play through the stages. Each personnel type will manage different craft in your fleet. ======================= -- CAPITAL SHIPS -- ======================= While you are the overall commander of the Bydo theater, you have subordinate commanders who control the daily operations of large ships. Capital ships are large vessels that take up more than one hex of space. Not maneuverable but very potent, capital ships are expensive to create and used as strategic points where your R-craft sortie from. You will get your first capital ship right at the start -- the very useful carrier. You will unlock more ships later, but for the most part, you will be able to defeat most scenarios using R-craft and carriers. Capital ships need fuel, so keep supply ships on hand if they need to refuel. High level commanders will give capital ships more HP. == Carrier == This is a basic R-craft transport, able to hold two R-craft units with any attached Force. It's slow, has almost no offence, but since it can repair and refuel all strike craft, it is very valuable in space combat. Note that you need POW Armor to refuel this vessel after a while. The carrier's limited carrying capacity (two vessels) is offset by its very handy size. This size (1 x 2 hexes) lets it squeeze through tight spaces to support your attacking R-craft as a repair bay. == Destroyer == This vessel is the smallest fighting capital ship available. It has plenty of missiles, but all of them lack range due to the size of the vessel. This means the destroyer needs to touch the enemy before its weapons are in range, giving a Bydo Force incentive to close in and destroy your destroyer. However it has the Desynch Shot weapon, which incomparably damages desynched enemies. Without this weapon, enemies will keep stalling your units when they move, even if they cannot be attacked. == Cruiser == A larger capital ship that has a standard wave cannon facing right. Regrettably, it is very large and hitting the wave cannon module will still reset its charge. Its sheer size will prevent the cruiser from fitting through certain areas on certain maps. Note that a cruiser and larger vessels (battleship, dreadnaught, etc.) may have installations built into their structure and act as independent weapons (the blue marks); you can fire these after the main unit is moved. When resupplying a large vessel, these individual weapon installations need to be resupplied separately from the main ship. == Bydo Dreadnaught == This is the alien dreadnaught that's a mobile fortress. It has a split wave cannon, that forks after travelling 3 hexes. While it is out-ranged by the human dreadnaught's cannon (by one hex) and lacks a deck gun, the Bydo dreadnaught has the same movement and detection abilities of the Heimdall class dreadnaughts. Additionally, the thin waist where the docking bay is allows Craft Modules to escape when the dreadnaught is travelling through interference hexes, unlike the bulky (2 hex wide) human docking bay. == Bermate Bio-Fortress == This Bydo unit is similar to the human cruiser in volume but is different in many ways. It moves slower than the cruiser, but detects further. While it lacks a wave cannon and an additional deck gun, the Bermate carries more craft (five units) and has an all-around weapon that's quite decent against scouting units. The key to using the Bermate well is to stack it with wave cannon firing Gains, CQB Gains and Infected Craft Modules. Operating on its own, it can be defeated by a swarm of fighters or a dreadnaught, but it is essentially a handy unit to have to support your larger main force. ====================== -- STRIKE CRAFT -- ====================== Strike craft are essentially fighters and other weapon carriers that are designed to attack enemies. However, some strike craft are modified to provide support and do not fall under the same restrictions as R-craft. Strike craft are typically R-craft, which are represented by number of ships remaining (maximum of five) and Support Craft, which -- like Force and Capital Ships -- are represented as a single unit and HP. Strike craft all need to refuel, except for certain support craft that carry their own fuel. Strike craft are operated by pilots or squadrons. High level pilots will not only do more damage, but they will also be able to counterattack or evade enemy attacks better than a rookie pilot. == RwF 9A Arrowhead == This is an example of a strike R-craft (there are many more that you will unlock -- check your game's database for their individual info). The RF9A has a wave cannon and may attach certain the most basic Force to itself to attack enemies. Like other R-craft, the Arrowhead has different weapons when attached to a Force. Its wave cannon is capable of great damage, but requires several turns of not being hit to accumulate. The more R-craft there are in a squadron, the more damage the unit can dish out and receive. == Rr-2O-3 Craft Module == This is an example of a support R-craft (there are more you can unlock or build -- again, check your game's database). The Craft Module is a multi-use support ship and is represented with HP instead of number of craft in the squadron. While this support ship can refuel other units like the POW Armor, it can also mine resources from asteroids and make minor repairs to other vessels. However, it is much slower than the POW Armor. This was the Morning Glory (ship #5) from R-type Final. == OF-1 Daedelus == This is an advanced R-craft attacker. Despite being a fighter, it is represented by HP instead of squadron number. The reason is because this ship has two supporting Bits that remain locked in place (making this R-craft a midget small capital ship). When moving this vessel, use a capital ship frame of mind. It cannot fit through certain small spaces, so it will only come in handy in open space fights (unless you cram it into a carrier of some sort). == TL2AT Patrocross Avian/Hominid == This is an advanced R-craft attacker using variable technology to transform between bipedal and fighter modes. While it is versatile, it cannot attach any Force units. It has a very high movement range (outdone only by the R-11S Supersonic Fighter) and average detection. Its main goal is to serve as a harasser and flanker; provided it gets close to the enemy, it can do a lot of damage before it is destroyed. == Gains Mk.1 == This green machine is the starting seed of the Bydo strategy of using giant space-faring mecha to completely dominate the enemy. The Gains is essentially a wave cannon sniper. In pairs or groups of three, the Gains can completely dominate a line of hexes as they steadily advance one hex at a time and firing their wave cannons each turn. With a good detector (dreadnaught), the Gains can let you completely annihilate the enemy in an open space battle. == Tablock Mk.1 == This bulky missile slinging mecha is well known to human players. It is a slow and ungainly unit, unable to keep up with the faster Gains. However, it is not a good unit to baby-sit your capital ships since it lacks the firepower to destroy units with one or two hits; while it has more ammo than the Strider's Balmung, its Flood missiles are crazy weak; once you have the technology to modify it to the hardier Mk.3 Tablock, your set-ups generally preclude using more than one Tablock per battle due to their inherent bulk. Tablocks are too large to fit into bays and docks, so repairing them with Craft Modules are a must; left alone, Tablocks make juicy targets for the computer human player. =============== -- FORCE -- =============== Force is unique to the R-type series. Being a Bydo originated weapon, Force requires Bydogen to create. This means you can create only a limited number of Force unless you've found a source of the stuff in the human campaign. Force can only attack with weak shots or by ramming. Unlike the R-craft, they are good for attacking left as they are attacking right due to their ram. A.I. remotes operate Force; the higher the rank of the A.I., the more damage the Force will do. Force rarely can evade successfully, so their deployment is crucial against enemies who can fire. Force can be attached to an R-craft ship if the ship matches the Force, and if there is room to place a two hex vessel after the union. Force attached to ships can dock into carriers and facilities as one unit (both will be repaired, refueled and re-armed). This lets you repair everything quickly rather than moving units one by one into the dock. Note while attached, the R- craft uses the Force as where its weapons will fire from but the R-craft is the "handling" hex. All Force units only ram or attack with their vulcan (or Bydo) shot. When docked with an R-craft fighter, the weapons of the R-craft will (generally) increase in power; the weapon range will be measured from the Force's hex, not the fighter's. Note that when a Force is attached to the front of an R-craft, it will take damage from your own wave cannon unless you detach it and move it out of the way first. Bydo Force units will have a healing factor. If you seriously require the extra units, build a few healing enabled Force; otherwise, you may want to spend your Bydogen developing other units first, then coming back to Force units later. Unless docked with R-craft or Bydo fighters, a Force will generally move with the capital ship (carrier or dreadnaught) and not help much in battle.
Battle Commands
The rules book in the game will give you an idea of what you can do, but here's what happens when a command is selected for a unit in R-type Command. Move This command moves a unit from its starting hex up to its maximum movement range (the speed trait). All units must move first, then attack; there are two exceptions (just two -- for human units that can move after attacking). To stay in the same hex and attack, simply click the unit a second time to move 0 hexes (and expend no fuel), then select the attack option. Units that can move after attacking may move again (or stay in place) after the attack phase is over. Note that you should optimize your path. The routing in R-type gets weird when you select the target hex to move into; you can use more fuel than you intended when you move around in battle. Press TRIANGLE to optimize the flight path to prevent unnecessary use of fuel. Wait This command tells your unit to standby and is the default choice after movement is completed. Waiting passes the unit's other options during that turn, so be wary using it when you have other commands available (Resupply, etc.). Cancel This is the equivalent of pressing the CIRCLE button to avoid homo-torture by Revolver Ocelot, or cancels your unit's current movement phase. This lets you choose another unit or make other adjustments (or make a temporary / interim save game). Attack This option only appears if there is a valid, known target for the unit to attack. If you move to the edge of the fog of war and stop, then reveal the enemy unit, you cannot attack with the unit you just moved. Hence you need detection units to let you get the drop on enemies, or they will see you coming and fire on you first. Attack brings up the weapons window. Select the one weapon system your unit has and make a single attack with it. Attacking uses 1 unit of ammunition. On capital ships, check out the blue crosses on the vessel for more individual weapon systems that can fire after the main unit has moved. This only applies to cruisers, dreadnaughts, and specialized strike craft. There are several types of "attack", some of which you use on your opponent's turn. ============= -- ATK -- ============= This weapon system is designed to Attack only and can only be used during the attack phase of your turn. ============= -- BLC -- ============= This weapon system is designed to Defend only and can only be used during the defend phase of the opponent's turn. If an opponent attacks you, a weapon that can block will be available for your unit to block the incoming attack, reducing the attack's strength (sometimes completely nullifying it). ============= -- CNT -- ============= This weapon system is designed to Counter-attack only and can only be used during the defend phase of the opponent's turn. If an opponent attacks you, a weapon that can counter will be available for your unit to return fire after your unit is fired upon; generally, this is a bad idea, since your unit will often take damage and reduce its counter-attack strength. Generally speaking, blocking weapons are better than countering weapons. ============= -- A/B -- ============= This weapon can attack and block, as described individually above. It would be best to save the ammunition of this weapon for blocking, unless it's the most potent weapon available to that unit. ============= -- A/C -- ============= This weapon can attack and counter, as described individually above. When possible, use weapons designed for attack first, then the A/C type of weapon, since it is almost useless to defend your unit (save for mutual annihilation). Re-Supply This lets a support craft re-supply another unit's ammunition and fuel. Resupply resets a unit's ammo and fuel to the max capacity, so you can go about space battles once more. Note that re-supply is not repairing a unit; that requires a different set of tools. Repair This repairs a unit by a certain degree and re-supplies its fuel and ammunition (similar to re-supply). Repairs recover a variable amount of HP, but always restores one unit to a squadron type unit (never more than one per turn repairing). Destroyed units cannot be repaired. Hangar / Bay Inspect the hangar or docking bay of a carrier or facility for its retinue of vessels. Picking one in storage will commence the movement phase of that unit's turn. Cancelling returns that unit to storage. Note destructible docking bays (i.e., carriers and capital ships) will lose all berthed vessels if destroyed. A docked vessel is repaired 100% and refueled/rearmed to the teeth; it may leave its berth the next turn in its prime. Carry / Dock This command docks a strike craft into a bay on a carrier or facility. Once berthed, the strike craft cannot disembark until your next turn (after the enemy's turn). Make sure that your unit is safe, or can exit the dock afterwards. For example, a Craft Module cannot dock on or leave a Dreadnaught while underwater, since the movement rate of the Craft Module is cut to one hex (and the Dreadnaught is so wide, the Craft Module cannot leave the bay). Attach / Detach This attaches or detaches a Force from an R-craft. When attaching, a Force and its fighter must have two horizontal hexes worth of room to connect; otherwise, the command will not appear. While you can attach or detach before moving a unit, once you move and then choose either attach or detach, you end the unit's turn. When attaching Force, weapon ranges are calculated from the Force's hex and not the fighter's. Desynch / Resynch This desynchs or resynchs a unit to normal space. You can only desynch or resynch after moving, so this command essentially ends a unit's turn. While desynched, a unit cannot be attacked by any weapon in normal space (hence you can desynch a unit and then have a unit behind it fire its wave cannon). However, a desynched unit consumes fuel every turn (even if stationary), and uses even more fuel when moving. Unlike a unit in normal space, a desynched unit that runs out of fuel is destroyed, along with anything being carried or attached to it. Salvage This harvests resources from a resource hex. Only a set amount of resources can be salvaged at any one time, so several turns are needed to clean out a resource hex completely. Set This invests resources into a destroyed facility to bring it back online. It is opposite of salvage and only works if your Craft Module unit has resources recently mined. Resources you have before entering a battle are not used to set-up a facility. If you Dock and Unload a Craft Module, the mined resources are lost to you until after the battle. Set facilities become docks that repair your craft. Different facilities require different resources for activating; facilities in human space require solonium while those in Bydo space require Bydogen. The required resources are always available on a map if a facility requires it for repair. Liberate / Occupy This command takes over a neutral or hostile facility so you can use it for yourself. Facilities act like carriers for your strike craft and repair/rearm them completely. Transform This is for the variable transformation fighter. It changes the unit between bipedal and fighter form. Similar to attach/detach, you can freely transform unless your unit has moved. Transform into the form you want, then move (and attack). This unit can be a very powerful interdictor when used correctly. Mimic This is for the Liquid Metal Bydo fighter. Despite its nominal function, you can only mimic three units in the Bydo force: the Claw Fighter, the Tablock Mk.1, and the Gains Mk.1. While it's certainly handier to have units that can take damage and remain "that unit", the Mimic Craft can be a handy way to put missile support where you need it quickly. The mime command is usable after movement and it can only be used once per battle, making it half-way helpful -- and more of a liability in tense fights.
Walkthrough - Human Campaign
Stage 1 - Initiation +1 Pilot This is standard you vs. other human forces map designed to get you acclimated to the game. This should be easy if you don't rely too much on the R-9s to do the damage. Use the Strider bombers instead to nuke the enemy with the Balmung missile. The hardest part is generally when you start since your forces are the same as the opponent. Don't forget your objective is to destroy the enemy flagship -- if you can manage that you win regardless if enemies out-number you. Stage 2 - Lunar Training +1 Remote The training continues in a slightly larger map than before. It's the same goal and you have almost the same forces. The big reward here is the technology box in the field of space mines. The space mines will attack like Force, so stay back and blow them up. Once you grab the technology box, you can dismiss the other mines as extras. Destroy the enemy flagship and get ready for a real fight. Tech Box: in the field of space mines Stage 3 - Mars Base +1 Commander +1 Pilot +1 Remote +1 RR-2O-3 Support Craft This mission is about retrieving an item in the base. Essentially, a box is placed on the very right and you have to move into the base with your little ships, beat off the Bydo and get things done. There is a technology box in a small alcove above the entrance to the cave. The Bydo are not tougher than the ships you faced before, but their shapes may alarm you. Just be wary of the Bydo Force units, since they look like the rest of the bestial ships sent at you. Tech Box: above the entrance to the cave Stage 4 - Asteroid Belt +1 Pilot This is the first stage you can start farming resources (Solonium for this one). Bring along the RR-2O-3 you picked up from stage 3 so you can scavenge the two mines in the stage. You should be able to pick up 160 solonium from the two blue mines on the center asteroid, and if you were thorough in exploring the whole map, a technology box of 100 solonium will be on the right side where the enemy carrier is. Be sure to capture the two facilities if you can so you can use them for repair (the solonium inside is also worth something). Just don't rush in; if you have not discovered the utility of the Midnight Eye AWACs, you will before the end of this stage. The enemy flagship with the question mark is a decoy; be sure to destroy it quickly when its HP is yellow or the computer will detonate it next to your units. You can tell if a unit is a decoy -- it always moves towards your units, and never re-supplies or docks enemy units. Tech Box: right-most edge of map Stage 5 - Jupiter's Shadow +1 Commander +1 Human Cruiser This mission is about biding your time and using two carriers to repair you strike craft after they run into enemies. The boss here is the alien boss from the shooting game and it does enough damage to wipe out your strike craft. You need to lure out enemies (the boss doesn't move) so you can take them apart piece-meal before you enter the boss' chambers. There are some technology boxes -- the first in the room with the enemy Gains (mech), the second near the Bydo missile artillery, and a third near the tail of the boss. The green silhouette of the boss' tail shows you where the boss will move to the next turn. Avoid being on the same height as the stomach, since it has a wave cannon; destroy the head, then the body, then let you Force drift over the stomach and finish the boss off. If you play it well, you should not lose a single craft in the stage (it's also good practice). This is one stage you cannot bring your larger capital ships back in, so the first strategy you used (with carriers and strike craft) will be the same one you will use if you replay the mission. Use the carrier's decoy to detect for your Striders and you should be quite all right. Tech Box 1: room with the enemy mech Tech Box 2: near the Bydo missile unit Tech Box 3: near the tail of the Dobkeratops Stage 6 - Saturn's Rings You may want to use the cruiser you got for free from stage 5 to fight the enemy cruiser here. Or you can use a combination of strike craft and bomb the enemy to death. The interference hexes here many and should let you hide somewhat from enemy fire. The cruiser you will notice cannot go to the opposite side of the map since rocks get in the way; in fact the one blue rock in the middle of the map is worth 320 solonium. You can use 80 solonium to power up one of the two facilities in the corners (these are stationary docking bays) to help in your fight. Just remember the solonium asteroid is in the dead center of the map and easily fired on by either side. Don't forget your RR-2O-3 can only hold so much resources before it needs to unload them at a carrier; considering the interference hexes surrounding the solonium rock, you will need 4 or 5 turns to get in and out; a carrier is best to get between the indestructible asteroids. If you use a cruiser or dreadnaught, their sheer size will limit where they can go on the map (although their wave cannon will come in handy -- esp. the dreadnaught's 7 hex death beam). Stage 7 - Bestra Facility +1 Pilot +1 Remote +1 F/A Force +1 RwF 9ABi Arrowhead Improved This stage is a weird one since only strike craft and the carrier can enter. At the bottom, you will fight many Bydo, a missile artillery unit, and a Bydo cruiser. All the technology boxes are in the open here. (just the third level down). The corner facilities are your key to victory; time you restocking with the POW Armor with liberating facility hexes. it's to your advantage to blow open the floor on the left when you can slip through to use wave cannons, but when there is a natural opening on the left, just go that way. The hardest part about the cruiser is that it sits on the left side blasting you with its weapons; there's no good way to do good damage to its systems without the Strider's Balmung missiles or Force. Be sure to check out all the docking facilities on your way to the boss at the bottom -- there is a free Force and an R-craft you can keep after liberating the facility they are in (and completing the mission successfully). Not sure what happens if you miss them the first time (they may be there again, or they may not be). Tech Box: third level (count while going down) Stage 8 - Facility Interior + 1 Commander + 1 Pilot There are two bosses here who can be very annoying. The first is a mini-boss worm that fires many times from its body. The new fearsome looking units are large Force units; use a Midnight Eye to detect them, then a Strider to nuke them. The carrier transports are the only things that can fit here, so bring one or two of them and move out in force. The first technology box is near the Bydo bio-building on the ground. The second technology box is near the boss. If it's too dangerous, use a decoy unit to pass through the hex with the box -- you still get the bonus that way. The worm boss can be annoying, but all you do is focus on doing 600 HP of damage on the head -- once the head is destroyed, all the body segments die and you won't be shot at anymore. If you do expose even one of your ships to the worm's body segments, they will start firing some purple Bydo shot that will pretty much decimate your forces. The second boss is immobile but it has a massive detection range (8 hexes) and a hefty weapon range (6 hexes). You need to lure the enemy with your decoys (you can repair them if they took too much damage to be useful), then hit the crystal head of the plant boss with your heaviest weapons (wave beams and Balmung missiles). Once the second boss is dead, the mission is over. Like stage 5, this mission relies on carriers and strike craft. The larger capital ships cannot enter this facility without difficulty. Any strategy you develop using carrier (and its decoy) and strike craft will work again. You just need to practice keeping casualties low so your pilot experience will not be affected as much. Tech Box 1: near the Bydo bio-building Tech Box 2: next to the boss Stage 9 - Utgarda Loki + 1 Pilot + 1 Remote This is a tough stage if you don't have the resources or built the wrong types of vessels. Simalcrum used a dreadnaught for its massive detection and hitting ability and supplemented the striking and support R-craft with two transport carriers (for the decoy ability and detection). Essentially, you want to lure enemies into the center where the Loki weapon can fire at the start of Turn 7. However, the enemies have powerful missile artillery and a new "beam artillery" (a Gains mech with Bydo wave cannon) in addition to at least two Bydo cruisers and some carriers. Hold the TRIANGLE key to see the firing area of the Loki gun and make sure to move your units out of that spot around turn 6. In the mean time, you try your best to survive the enemy strike force. You should be able to wipe out most of them by staying the center, engaging them, and then running away to fire your Loki weapon. Once the Loki is fired, chances are you will be able to mop up the rest of the units easily. The dreadnaught's cost of 650 solonium is nothing when you take into account of its detection ability (7 hexes) and hitting power (3 to 6 hexes, three normal weapons and one wave cannon). Note there are several (four) solonium asteroids on this map; the asteroid with 320 units has a technology box (marine POW unit) four hexes to the right. Be sure to venture out and grab it before you destroy the enemy flagship. If you have Warhead 9C units to spare, you can use them to lure enemies (note that their detection range is not good). As enemies close in, move away slightly and desynchronize before firing the Loki superweapon. Desynched units are not damaged by anything except the Desynch Shot (found aboard very few units). Be sure you have the fuel to last the turn to resynch, or your Warheads (or Daedelus -- the only other unit with Desynch on the human forces) will explode in warp space when the run out of gas. Tech Box: right of the asteroid with 320 SOL Stage 10 - Absolute Zero This stage is a boss fight, but the entity is a mini-boss. The tough part is if you spent your solonium in building a wet-navy battleship as your flagship. If you rely on two Strider bombers (with their supporting POW Armor), you can fill out the rest of the fleet using two Force and two R-craft of your choice (you may want the ones with non-linear wave cannons or very long wave cannon ranges). Add a Midnight Eye AWACs to expand your detection bubble (although with the carrier's 4 hex detection range, this is superfluous). Add the space destroyer (the useless capital ship with the Desynch Shot) and place a carrier transport as your flagship. As long as you do not destroy the icebergs unless necessary, you can use them to block the mines that attack you from the water. Just fly above the water, get into the cave with the waterfall, and start your defensive stance. There will be desynched enemies who will stop your progress (but will not be decloaked, unlike your units if they are stopped when de-synched). You will need to use the destroyer's desynch shot to destroy these units. Slowly work off the submarine mines and when you have most of the coast clear, you can attack the crab-like boss using your heaviest firepower (wave cannons) and Balmung missiles. Just beware that one shot from this boss can kill your R- craft (even if they are ACE rank). There aren't any optional technology boxes in this stage. After you complete stage 10, you will have access to an R-craft called R-11A Sonic Fighter. It can create Bydogen by defeating Bydo (not R-craft) enemies with the Harvester weapon. Try the Mars stage for best results. Note that you need to cause the enemy unit to lose craft or perish (in cases of units with HP instead of formation). Alternate between harvesting solonium and Bydogen from the earlier stages (the R-11A is also an okay scout, being able to detect 3 hexes opposed to the Midnight Eye's 4 hexes) and you should be able to build almost any of the vessels you've unlocked up to this point (within reason -- exhausting your supply of Etherium building useless units will give you a problem down the road). If you haven't created one, build a Dreadnaught for the next stage. You may also want to look into building up your forces. Simalcrum recommends switching over to an all Strider force. It sounds boring, but you will have a potent eight Balmung missiles and your logistics will simplify if you opt for a dreadnaught or cruiser to repair your bombers. An AWACs or two will help you detect further; anything you find, your bombers nuke. Stage 11 - Glitnir Tesseract Stargate +1 Pilot +1 Remote This stage is easy if you've taken the time to build up your forces and capital ships. The approach of using Strider bombers backed by an array of R- craft fighters will still work. Since you have plenty of commanders, a dozen pilots, and a half dozen remotes, you should have a sizable force by now. Although you can take one of the three "approaches" recommended in the briefing, consider taking two task forces to deal with the biggest Bydo threats -- there are two Bydo laser Gains (the mechs who always fire their quickfire wave cannons), a Bydo carrier, and a Bydo dreadnaught. The two laser Gains you can probably outrange and destroy using your own Dreadnaught's weapons and perhaps some AWACs detection assistance. One will be near Charon and another near the spacebase you need to occupy. The carriers will be in that corner as well, shadowing the Bydo dreadnaught. The enemy dreadnaught focuses its firepower all around as opposed to your "upwards" dreadnaught deck gun. Hence, the best approach is from below, going through the gaseous terrain of Pluto (now no longer considered the ninth planet). This method will avoid the enemy wave cannon as well. There are three solonium asteroids on this map. One is in the ice field, the second near Charon, and the third is right in front of the Glitnir facility. feel free to rampage through the enemy forces with a dreadnaught (Simalcrum backed it up with a cruiser) since the victory condition is hinged on having enough turns to take over the Glitnir station (at least 2 turns if a unit is in range). Use the remaining turns to explore the area near the large space station; there is a technology box near it. This stage is the best for mining Solonium. You have three asteroids that give 400 SOL total. You also have a treasure box (10 SOL) and the gate station itself (20 SOL). Since you can use so many ships against the Bydo dreadnaught and carrier, you should have a very easy time in this stage using your own dreadnaught and other forces. The best approach would be to set your dreadnaught to go right to Charon while your escorting cruiser smashes up the ice chunks to the solonium asteroid in the upper left. Once the area near Charon is secured, have the cruiser and dreadnaught swap strategic approaches to Glitnir. The dreadnaught can remain hidden from the enemy by leaving the ice floes alone (blocks line of sight). The cruiser can detect the enemy dreadnaught and you are free to fire with your own dreadnaught, disarming the enemy wave cannon. After that, having six or more Striders and other craft pretty much means you win (usually with no losses). Tech Box: near the space station Stage 12 - Dimension 26 (Warp tunnel part 1) Although this stage is "easy" relatively speaking (you can check the difficulty of the stages in your records book), certain very large vessels are stretched in Tesseract Space (term from Metal Storm). This means the Cruiser and Dreadnaught will take up more than their fair share of hexes in this map (and as long as you are fighting in hyperspace). The smaller carriers, destroyers, Force, and R-craft will take the same amount of hexes as in normal space. However, without the incredible support from your largest vessels, you may find this stage somewhat tough. Simalcrum tried a dreadnaught to see how this stage will take it and it worked out quite well. Because the dreadnaught has such gi-normous range in weapons and detection, you can slot Strider bombers (with POW Armor or Craft Modules) and a few of your R-craft with the quickest or longest ranged wave cannons. Proceed to the middle of the map and stop just beyond where the contorted space narrows. You want to force the enemy units to come through the opening so you can wave cannon / slaughter them. The two (or was it one?) Strider bombers you have can split up and take position at the top and bottom (one bomber per) and hide behind the distorted space (obstacle) using Balmung missiles to nuke incoming enemies. The dreadnaught you need to move around a little to do the following: (1) ... Detection. The dreadnaught's detection range of 7 needs to be used to trump the enemy cruiser (it is also in stretched form) as well as the heavy missile artillery units. (2) ... Deterrence. The dreadnaught's deck gun fires only above the vessel; the missiles can fire in any direction, but you need to move it around slightly. Don't forget the dreadnaught's best weapon -- the wave cannon, which pretty much out-guns everything on this map (unless it gets swamped). Fall back a little (you may get a slight sighting bonus if you have an AWACs to spot enemies as your dreadnaught retreats) and string the enemies out. The Strobalt Bombers will take quite a pounding (and deliver same to you), so you need to up your game by employing some heavy firepower of your own. Remember to cut off enemy Forces by destroying their fighters and if an enemy laser Gains shows up (there are two), make attempts to destroy them quickly. The missile artillery are as dangerous, but they lack the 9 hex reach of the enemy laser Gains. Once the enemy cruiser is destroyed, the mission is complete. Don't explore the map, as there are no technology boxes on this map. Stage 13 - Warp Tunnel (Part 2) If you want the etherium -- you'll need to get good at completing this stage with Craft Module vessels in the mix, since this is one of the few stages with that rare resource. Instead of POW Armor, consider replacing them with the slower Craft Module. Your advance will be slower, but that gives you ample time for your wave cannons to charge. There are two etherium rocks in this stage (with only 80 units per rock). Guard your vessels and proceed slowly to get the most etherium without losing too many pilots. The problem is the enemy's egg-shaped flagship that attacks your forces. While a dreadnaught's wave cannon with full-strength Strider bombers will defeat one easily, you will more than likely be able to wipe out the on-rushing enemy interceptors and fighter/Force combinations leaving the Bydo mini-boss and its accompanying infected POW Armor alone. Don't worry if you cannot get any etherium here; there are two more rocks in the next stage. What you don't want to miss though, is the technology box in the middle of the map. After you decimate the enemy (but the mothership is still alive), the enemy boss will try to kill your flagship. If you are using the dreadnaught, it will take some time (unless you let it fire its wave cannon on you); during this time, use a Strider bomber (with its amazing 4 hex movement) to fly behind the boss and nab the technology box. Once you have it, you can kill the boss and clear the stage without any losses. This stage might be the one you want to use to increase the levels of your capital ship commanders (using the dreadnaught's wave cannon to rack up kills). Once your commanders have ACE rank, your capital ship's will have some more HP that make them even tougher to destroy. Tech Box: center of the map Stage 14 - Warp Tunnel (Part 3) This stage is harder than the previous warp tunnel stages -- but easier to mine etherium with -- notice you have two fewer hexes than you had before. The same set-up you used may not be enough this time, making this map tougher. What you can do with your time reserve (or turns allotted) is to use the dreadnaught's powerful detection ability to see enemies before they can detect you. Unless the enemy has similar detection ability (won't happen until you reach the right side), you can "see" enemies on the map before they realize you're in position and ready to fire with your own ships. Since the dreadnaught takes up so much space, you may be able to get away with using its armament in between the turns you fly your Strider bombers back to the bay and restock the all-important Balmung missile. If you are going after a weakened unit (say a Strobalt unit that is not at full strength), don't forget the Strider bomber's 3 hex Tracer missiles also do damage -- you need not rely on the kill 'em all Balmung missile for all your enemies. Take at least one Craft Module (simalcrum used two and a Grace Note sniper R- craft to supplement the two Striders and dreadnaught) and mine what little etherium you can. Since the first etherium rock is only guarded by a laser Gains and two Strobalt bombers -- easy pickings for your forces. You may want to try three Strider bombers (although the Grace Note has a longer range with the 6 hex wave cannon, you have to wait 3 turns to fire it once and it is not guided) and use your dreadnaught as both a damage sponge and strategic killing machine (wave cannon, missiles, deck gun, and hull lasers). The Strider's Barricade weapon is also perfect if attacked by enemies since ACE rank pilots take no damage (the barricade is 100% effective at ACE rank). If you opt for just one Craft Module, be sure to have a spare support vessel ready -- the thick interference hexes in the middle will prevent your dreadnaught from moving too quickly and there are a lot of enemies who are willing to destroy or damage your vital weapons systems. The second rock is harder to get since the enemies (same type and number) are now on the bottom of the screen, out of reach of your dreadnaught's deck gun. With three Strider bombers, you can quickly nab the technology box (the box is between both the etherium rocks, above the second squad of Bydo) and retreat back to the dreadnaught's bay without a problem. To get to the second etherium rock, you can sneak a second Craft Module (so slow) there one hex at a time, or simply skip it and mop up the enemy since the box gives you 100 etherium (and some technology). The boss here is a Bydo dreadnaught, which can take several turns to defeat. Try to wait until your dreadnaught's wave cannon is fully charged before you move as far as you can cut down its life (and get your victory quicker). The hard part is waiting -- there is a third (and final) laser Gains right before the enemy dreadnaught. After you destroy it, wait three turns (if you have them to spare), then move right and fire at the enemy mothership. Once the enemy flagship is destroyed, you win. Don't miss the technology box in the middle of the stage! This is a good stage to mine Etherium. You have two rocks (80 ETH each), and the treasure box with 100 ETH. You will get a total of 360 etherium if you manage to mine both rocks and take the treasure box. Although you can mine more Etherium when playing the Bydo later, you can stock up on the rare resource now instead of later. Tech Box: between the two etherium hexes Stage 15 - Warp Tunnel (Part 4) This is the next part of the warp tunnel, and a quick clash against a horde of Bydo fighters, Forces, and two of their cruisers. You only need to kill one of the cruisers (the flagship) to win, but the computer generally rushes your forces with everything except the flagship. Simalcrum opted for a dreadnaught, two Strider bombers, two Grace Notes (for the long range), two repair craft (to fix things even if they are slow), and a Principality (mostly for the quick charging wave cannon) although on successive replays, you will want to use Seraphs (R-11S) and Striders (R-9Bs) for best results. You can use three Grace Notes for more firepower. Even if the Grace Notes require 3 turns to charge their wave cannon, their Trace Missiles can harass weak enemies to death. Three Striders can also do the trick, but you need to keep in mind their shorter range of their Balmung missile. All you need to do is to be wary of the two triangular enemies who move constantly left and right on the tops and bottom of the screen. As long as you stay out of their way (the game even warns you about potentially hazardous hexes), you should do fine. Your dreadnaught's wave cannon and detection should wipe out the single laser Gains and the accompanying fighters and Forces. There does not seem to be any boxes in this map. Note that while the Bydo fighters here can desynchronize, as long as you have a few of your R-craft charged with wave cannons, you should be able to counter attack -- it may be mutual annihilation, but fighting this one scenario with a destroyer makes the mission much harder than it should be. Stage 16 - Warp Tunnel (Part 5) There are two etherium asteroids in this map, but it's probably more productive to mine the third map -- the number of available deployment hexes is the same and you get 100 more etherium from the treasure box. The space here is much more open though, and if you weren't so hard pressed for set-up room with your unfairly expanded dreadnaught, you could be using the OF-1 Daedelus R-craft. Nevertheless, the open space belies a very time restricted battle, since you only have 25 turns to move your forces all the way right and find the flagship amongst six Bydo cruisers (they all look alike until you inspect them with SQUARE -- get the one with the red flag in its subscreen). The two etherium rocks are really time sucking lures (taking at least 3 turns to get to and harvest completely). Since you are so pressed for time, fight off and ignore the cruisers as you mush to the right side of the map (the flagship is generally in the bottom right hand corner -- not a problem since you can often attack upwards with the dreadnaught). There are no technology spoils on this map. You have to run and gun so much, you may want to include a POW Armor into your team (for the decoy and to quickly get to your attacking ships) and rely on Strider bombers (for their higher movement rates). The slower Grace Notes and Craft Modules will only drag out the fight and suck up turns. Use decoys to lure away the other cruisers on the right side so you can concentrate on destroying the flagship. Once that's done, you complete this mission. The only down side to using POW Armor is the inability to repair your dreadnaught's parts; for that, you just need to be careful. You can try a mixed support team (one POW Armor and one Craft Module); just note that in the final rush, the Craft Module may not come in handy to your Striders (then again with your dreadnaught nearby, you should be able to do impressive damage with three Balmung missiles in one turn). The advantage here is that you will be able to leave the Craft Module behind to mine the etherium asteroids while you take the three Striders, POW Armor, and dreadnaught to destroy the flagship (hence mining etherium quickly). The downside is that you only have one decoy -- if you lose that, you will take more damage to your units. Stage 17 - Warp Tunnel (Part 6) This stage has a technology box just past the midpoint (where the blue diamond object moves around) and near the first of the two Dimension 26 bosses. This stage is just like in R-type Final where all the enemies are digital (D-POW ARMOR, D-BYDO, etc.). The problem you will face though, will be with the blue diamond object that whirls around the center of the map. It moves too fast for your dreadnaught to move by, so you will need to exchange it for a carrier transport and a cruiser (which moves faster). Because of the lack of firepower and detection, fall back on an AWACs Midnight Eye, Strider Bombers (with POW Armor). Simalcrum used a pair of Grace Notes to out-snipe the enemy Gains but generally wind up losing them (a minor cost). Head towards the center and use either Grace Note wave cannons or the Balmung missile from the Striders to knock out the Gains and interceptors screening the main Bydo force. The enemy capital ships have four laser units in addition to the ship's own integral lasers. They have quite a range, so use your POW Armor decoys to draw fire (they will last barely one turn if all five aspects of the Bydo fire) and then respond in kind. The enemy flagship is the Bydo D-Cube behind the first one. Since your carriers are so slow, you will need the 25 turns to let them catch up (more if you used the Decoy command). The cruiser is faster, so keep it on the bottom (so the deck gun can aim up) and use its three unit capacity to heal units and restock their Balmung missiles. A force of five Striders (have more in case a few are destroyed) can destroy a D-Cube in one turn (this assumes all the pilots are ACE rank). Rush the enemy forces in full and don't make any half-hearted attempt. It's better to lose the Midnight Eye to enemy fire and find out where the enemy is than to use a Strider to locate the enemy (and rob its chance to attack). If you feel like you must, bring two AWACs, but keep in mind the cruiser has a detection range equal to the AWACs; keep the Midnight Eye ahead so it can see enemies further afield. Tech Box: center of map where blue diamond enemy is Stage 18 - Warp Tunnel (Part 7) This is a fast stage if you have good pilots, a dreadnaught, several bombers, and a repair craft. Compared to the last stage, this one is comparatively easy. Essentially, a small force of Strobalt bombers, Arvanche fighters, Scale Forces, and two missile artillery units are preventing your flagship from leaving hyperspace on the right side of the map. You need to have one hex of your flagship end its turn on the golden hexes on the right at (or before) turn 25 to win. Simalcrum brought along four Strider bombers and a Craft Module. Using just five R-craft and a dreadnaught, you can pretty much breeze through the stage (and mine the 160 units of etherium, but that is optional). Relay your Strider bombers; two Striders and the dreadnaught's deck gun and missile pod can pretty much defeat everything in the waves the computer wastes on you. Repair the wave cannon (gives you another damage sink) but generally speaking, you can make your way to the right. Your dreadnaught's wave cannon is good enough to defeat the missile artillery with one shot. To destroy the second artillery unit, do the following. Do not move your dreadnaught to fire (takes up time). Instead, use the detection range to get your move 4 and range 4 Balmung missiles to destroy the missile artillery (which has a move and range of 7). Mop up the rest of the Bydo, avoid taking losses to your R-craft and sit your flagship on the victory hexes to win. Stage 19 - Warp Tunnel Terminus (Part 8) The boss here is covered by a squadron of Strobalt bombers in the early part. Depending on what you take, you may or may not want to take an extra element of recon with you -- however, simalcrum opted to take five Strider bombers, a Craft Module and a dreadnaught. The Craft Module will barely keep the bombers supplied. That's the job of your dreadnaught. The map splits into an upper and lower path in the middle; it is recommended you go down since your deck guns can aim upwards. The boss is the alien- looking boss from stage 5. With a dreadnaught, you should be able to out-range and out-power it so long as you have a few turns (don't forget your bombers do damage as well). You need a few turns (which should be easy, since the limit is now 35 instead of 25) to repair and resupply your forces. Use your dreadnaught for your bombers and your Craft Module to resupply your dreadnaught. The lower path is slightly better if you plan on taking out the cruiser (it will detect your forces once the boss fight starts) with your wave cannon; however the upper path puts you in a good spot to take down the boss. Destroy the cruiser (bombers will work, but your wave cannon will likely be hit and reset) and be prepared to take a few losses as you move up towards the boss -- there is a laser Gains and a missile artillery unit hiding inside the boss. Use the TRIANGLE button to view the three parts of the boss and how far it can fire. Focus on taking out the head and then the body, so you can attack the boss' stomach from above without being attacked in turn. Note that your capital ship's systems can be nearly touching the boss, but as long as your green center point is not in weapons range of the enemy, your flagship is safe. Destroy the boss and get back into normal space. Stage 20 - New Frontier +1 Commander +1 Pilot +1 Remote If you have need of Bydogen, this stage is full of it. Since this is now normal space again, your large ships will be normal size again. Keep that in mind as you place your units. Your ever-present dreadnaught can make up the core of your main force again. You may want to augment this with Strider bombers once more. Expand the recce net with a Midnight Eye AWACs if you think your dreadnaught's detectors are not enough; fill the rest of your pilots with support ships (POW Armor for decoys) and Craft Modules for mining and repair. There is technology box in the middle of the map -- it's surrounded by four Bydogen asteroids against the spiral galaxy backdrop. The hard part is honestly dealing with the enemy Bydo dreadnaught. Unlike the one you fought in Dimension 26 and at Glitnir, there is enough open space here to let the damn thing roam around -- watch for its wave cannon and counter it with your own. With a strong force of Strider bombers, it should be an easy and brutal fight. Note you do not need to harvest all the Bydogen on the map. Remember you can only hold a maximum of 999 units of any one resource. This is a good stage for harvesting Bydogen (in one go). However, if you just need a little Bydogen, you may want to fall back on Mars Enigma (allowing your killed pilots to regain experience while harvesting), or an even faster stage in level 25, Magma Passage. Tech Box: near four bydogen rocks (map center) Stage 21 - Uncertainty With the last few recruits, you should be more or less maxxed out in roster (you have one pilot and two more remotes to unlock). Your forces are fairly strong, etc., etc. This stage will test that. The branches that you see from the old game are now interference hexes, so literally, there is little or no cover here. Bring your strongest machines and pilots (or go back to previous levels and increase their ranking) so you have good first strike capability. With the dreadnaught, it is imperative you keep your 4 + 4 strike range with the Striders so they can help your mothership take out units the mothership detects. Those missiles can also be aimed up and down, meaning you have freedom of approach. The enemies you initially face are vulnerable to the Balmung, so you should exploit that weakness. When you reach the green mushroom Bydo, you will likely see a technology box buried in the interference hexes below it. Be sure to grab it after you deal with the enemies. The large empty space on the right should clue you in on the mini-boss battle to come. The boss is a slow dreadnaught type enemy (but with different weapons). Use your Strider bombers to defeat the boss' enemy Force units; if they get close, your flagship will likely lose its wave cannon. Your dreadnaught's wave cannon should be sufficient to cut the boss' life in half so your Strider bombers will be able to finish it off within one turn after your dreadnaught's other weapons have fired on it. Tech Box: near the green 'shroom Bydo Stage 22 - Black Hole +1 Remote The black hole is hard only if you're trying to destroy all enemies; the technology box is above the Black Hole, and so is the enemy flagship, so you may want to concentrate your forces on the top path and overwhelm the defences there. Beware as the enemies are mostly laser Gains and they have a heavier (red and black) unit deployed. Both types of Gains will charge their Quick Wave Cannons in one turn so you need to keep up the pressure or you will be picked apart by the enemy's snipers. Focus on taking the technology box above the black hole (at least for the first time), then unloading all your firepower on the enemy dreadnaught. Once the enemy mothership is destroyed, you will win, regardless how many more enemies are still left alive. Given time, your dreadnaught can squeeze past the bottleneck on the top or bottom, but the Bydo Gains units will be enough to prevent you from freely moving to the right without great injury. Tech Box: above the black hole Stage 23 - Marine Biology This is an easy stage if you use the similar strategy from the Absolute Zero stage. Instead of a destroyer though, usher in POW Armor and have their decoys trigger the desynched enemies. When the enemies are forced to reappear, set your Strider bombers and dreadnaught on them. You will not have it easier later, so enjoy this one-sided slaughter for now. There is no recoverable technology spoils here. Simply execute the water skimming Bydo base, then nuke the worm lurking in the deep part of the water pool and you'll be done. Stage 24 - Deep Water This is a very tough stage. Although it looks like stage 7 (Bestra Facility), the whole damn thing is underwater. This means your movement rate is halved (not reduced by one hex; it's halved and rounded up for your benefit). Do not bring in any Craft Modules since they will be of no help (or any other unit that moves two hexes at the maximum). Try the following (and expect to lose a few units) -- an AWACs, two or three POW Armor, a cruiser (for the movement rate and carrying facilities), and as many Strider bombers (probably six or seven) as your insertion point allows. The technology box is on a coral ledge below the first Bydogen mine you find. You can't miss it as you head down into the depths. Essentially, you will use the cruiser to do repairs (and stay back); the AWACs will detect since it moves further than the cruiser. You cannot rely on the cruiser for firepower (unless a desynched enemy goes behind it). It would be best to use the cruiser to suck up hits early on before the bombers overtake and move forward of the cruiser. Beware of the marine Force units; anything else you can use the Strider's array of missiles to take care of. As you go lower, deploy the decoys (the more the better) to have them suck up the damage from the boss' head and body while you unleash your Strider's Balmung missiles. The boss is the same alien rip-off from stages 5 and 19; attack the head, then the body and you can stay above the boss' wave cannon and destroy it. Simalcrum managed to lose just one bomber (it's inevitable) from this skirmish, but managed to keep all other units alive. If you want to try the Frogman unit, it has half the firepower (the torpedoes are honestly too weak) but it can detect further and move faster than the Strider (by one hex). Simalcrum says don't bother; the firepower from the Balmung missile is worth more than the staying power of the Frogman's torpedoes. If you want something speedier with the same hitting power, use the Seraph instead. Tech Box: under the first Bydogen hex (as you go down) Stage 25 - Magma Passage This stage is hard only if you decide to take a slow moving capital ship. It's like the warp tunnel stage where you need to end your turn with your flagship in the victory circle to succeed. The magma here is visible as green boss silhouette hexes -- take care to avoid them. Try using the faster cruiser to provide docking facilities and to move quickly (move of 3) past the hazardous areas. Beef up the attack with bombers and get ready to use the stop-refuel mentality of an RTS to get by. You may want to take an RR-2O-3 Craft Module along to create a small docking bay (at the cost of 80 Bydogen) so you can refuel your bombers more quickly -- it's not necessary though, as you have 35 turns to essentially introduce anything you don't like to the Strider's missile array. An AWACs might be helpful if you do not rely on the expendable POW decoy to find enemies for you. There is a technology box at the abandoned facility between the two lava spouts. At the abandoned base, there are laser Gains (hence AWACS helps) but use the cave's roof to block the enemy wave cannons until you can find them through the fog of war and nuke them. Proceed through the lava river to the victory hex. There should be little further resistance after defeating the Bydo Gains Mk.2. Just move to the end and you win. The technology you get in this stage finally gives your R-craft variable fighter technology (a.k.a., Macross). With Strider bombers and a cruiser, this stage is obscenely easy. Once you get past the heavy laser Gains in the cavern, there are no more enemies to the victory area. If you need a little Bydogen, just bring a Craft Module stowed in the Cruiser and pop it out to mine the Bydogen hex here while your cruiser makes haste to the exit. With a little fidgeting, you can make this a stage where you re-earn the experience of your pilots if they are accidentally killed. Tech Box: near the facility hex between the lava streams Stage 26 - Abandoned Bydo Station This stage is large enough only to allow a cruiser or smaller capital ship in; considering you can use the cruiser's speed and AWACs type detection, it's better than falling back on R-craft and carrier transports. The set-up allows you to take two cruisers (if you constructed them) and if you're into the Strider bomber tactic like simalcrum, you may gain benefit from that. The technology box is towards the very right of the map, on an "L-shaped" notch at mid-height. Don't miss it! Since the conditions for this mission are to destroy ALL Bydo units (not just the mothership) you will need some heavy firepower. Go again with the Strider bomber (Irem's version of the Luftwaffe's Junkers Ju.87 Stuka -- except it flies in space and actually works) and play around with the Hercules Bipedal unit (the unit with the 2 turn Wave Cannon for the human side). You may find it handy to pop the unit out from your cruiser, fire the wave cannon, and then wait for it to recharge before docking it back in. However, the short range of the wave cannon pales when compared to the Gains' cannons. Simalcrum ultimately sez: skip this shit -- and stick with the Seraph/Strider combo. This mission is very easy; note that the Strider's Balmung missiles pretty much out-range all the enemy units' weapons on this map. If you are running low on pilot experience due to a bad run, consider using this map to rank up your R-craft squadron pilots once more using Striders. Under no circumstances should be in a position to lose any unit at all. Tech Box: right side of map, near L-shaped platform Stage 27 - Asteroidal Maze The cruiser technology from the last stage comes in handy to increase the hardiness of your cruisers. You should bring two cruisers into this mission, along with Craft Modules (the smaller purple one, not the longer version), and a full complement (eight) Striders. There are desynch-capable enemies in this mission, so be prepared to stop with your cruiser(s) to decloak them. That's why you have Strider bombers following -- to kill desynched enemies. Bring the cruisers up the inner two shafts of the maze. You might as well, since there is a technology box above your starting point. Do make an effort though, to go up the outer shafts first with your two task forces (the left side at least) since you can squash a few desynch units. Watch the right side, as there will be an improved missile artillery unit (it's green, not the normal orange). Use the Craft Module to repair your cruisers and your cruisers to repair your Striders. You should be able to counter all the enemies who can be detected, as the computer generally brings them in individually (without having them rely on each other's detection ranges). The enemy flagship will generally start down the right inner column, so stack four Striders with the cruiser going right. You can grab the box using one Strider, and your cruiser's trace lasers, deck gun, and three other Striders can take out the enemy cruiser's body in one turn. When you play the Bydo -- notice that the Boldo cruiser cannot get into the central chamber of this map. Use that knowledge to blow away the competition with your Strider bombers. Tech Box: above starting point (go around maze) Stage 28 - Abandoned Colony +1 RwF-9C Warhead +1 F/Ac Force +1 Pilot +1 Remote This mission is like the installation mission from a long time ago -- you can only bring in your carrier transports due to the obstacles in your way. Since the carriers move so slowly, you will need to rely on your AWACs once more for recce work. This is a unit intensive operation, so bring along two Craft Modules (more and they are a liability), POW Armor, Striders, Midnight Eyes, and any other craft you want (since there is an installation, you may want to try the transforming fighter but that's not needed since you have so many POW Armor). Advance slowly using the AWACs (simalcrum used two just in case one gets destroyed), three carriers, two POW Armor, Strider bombers (all eight) and a superfluous Craft Module (just in case). Take over the facility in the middle, right before the boss. You will get a free Warhead R-craft, its accompanying Force and the final two pilots/remotes for your human forces. Use that same facility to refuel your units to assault the boss. If you have the POW Armor decoys still available (or carrier decoys), deploy them all and let them go in exploring so you can see what you are facing. The enemy flagship is a carrier all the way to the right. It is guarded by an enemy Bydo cruiser; avoid its wave cannon (let a decoy suck it up) and then focus on blasting its body. After the enemy cruiser, you should only face off against the small Bydo bombers. Balmung missiles will more or less be the answer to all of that. Keep your carriers moving forward so you have a place to fall back and repair/refuel. Stage 29 - Twisted Space This mission allows a similar deployment of forces at Glitnir, but with fewer units. You can still cram a dreadnaught and cruiser in the map, but you will only have enough hexes left for ten more individual units. Consider carefully what you want to bring along. The main goal is a dreadnaught on the right side of the map. However, there are at least two heavy missile artillery units, a heavy laser Gains, a Bydo carrier (and decoy), and a few fighter/Force combinations and bombers you have to destroy before you get to nuke the enemy flagship. The problem would be easy to solve, except your dreadnaught can only move through two preset paths; the enemy dreadnaught is waiting on the upper right corner and has easy shots at your forward wave cannon regardless if you take the upper or lower path. Instead of Craft Modules, take POW Armor (so they can catch up to your fast moving Striders through interference). If you spot enemies, fall back (or stop) and draw them near so you can take them apart. Get the closer units first and the fast moving/dangerous ones, then the Force, then everything else. Use a POW Armor decoy to reveal the location of the enemy dreadnaught (most likely, it will fire its wave cannon, giving you three turns to catch and keep it off balance before it fires again). Once you have an idea of where the enemy is, focus on wrecking the ship body with your Striders and it'll be over quickly. Stage 30 - Bydo Stronghold This is the final stage. Notice this is the only stage that lets you deploy two dreadnaughts and enough units to wipe out any equivalent Bydo force. Section your roster to attack the upper and lower regions by themselves. This means you need to set up two independent task forces. Your Strider bombers will be split in two groups of four, with POW Armor and a Craft Module (for repairing decoys). Note that if you use dreadnaughts for this mission, there will be times they cannot move through the passages -- this means that desynched Bydo are on the hexes you can move into. It's a good warning for finding desynched units. The dreadnaught can move through the whole map (except the very narrow center rooms). There should be enough room left for five hex-worth's of units. Consider taking the Principality or Warhead (both are fast and their wave cannons charge fairly fast -- the Flame Fighter's cannon charges faster by one turn however) and their respective Force units just in case; you can also opt for the Grace Notes and Defensive Force for the six hex range of their wave cannons since the dreadnaughts have a seven hex detection range. If you are paranoid and don't think you need the extra wave cannons from R- fighters, take along a destroyer (four hexes) so you can destroy desynched Bydo fighter/Force units. The problem is you would normally bring only one destroyer, but the desynched enemy units patrol both the upper or lower paths. However, it should be said now that desynched fighters or an AWACs will prove invaluable scouting the terrain near the Bydo Core without sacrificing too many of your units. Select what you want to bring in wisely. Once you start, begin using your Striders to bomb the crap out of the interceptors to prevent them from restricting your movements. Stay near your starting point and kill all the enemies nearby (you also build your wave cannon). You will need that firepower, as there are a lot of tough enemies ahead. Note that regardless which path you take, you may want to send one unit into the center resource filled room. There is a technology box in the small center room between the Bydogen and Etherium mines. ======================== -- The Lower Path -- ======================== Blast through the screen of interceptors and then kill the fighter/Force units. There is an enemy Bydo carrier, as well as two missile artillery units. You should be able to detect them before they attack (your dreadnaught has the needed sensors), so use your Striders in storage to jump them eight hexes away. These missile artillery move slow but are able to detect up to 3 hexes away but attack up to 5 hexes away; make sure to disable their forward observers (interceptors or carriers) and then jump them using your Balmung's four hex advantage (unless the enemy can see your units, they cannot attack you). Once you get past the two missile artillery units, there is a Bydo cruiser. If you can detect it, your dreadnaught will likely be unlikely to fire on it (since you need to end your unit's move/attack phase to activate detection). Use a Strider to blast the cruiser's wave cannon (even if it has a range of four, the move and range will be 7 hexes, putting it in range of your dreadnaught in one turn) to reset the charge. Pull your forces back and let your dreadnaught's wave cannon do the talking. Once the cruiser is destroyed, make some repairs and proceed slowly to the lower right, letting your wave cannons recharge. Note this cruiser is not the one you encounter on the top path. The dreadnaught for the lower path is set further back from where you would find the upper dreadnaught -- it's almost in the lower right hand corner waiting to unleash its wave cannon. Send in decoys to lure it if you are not interested in risking your dreadnaught to detect enemies. Because this last dreadnaught is so near the Bydo Core, you need to be careful when sending your bombers out to attack. Wander too close and your units start getting eaten by the boss' wave cannons. ======================== -- The Upper Path -- ======================== Aside from the interceptors, there are some bombers and a carrier near the starting position. Two large Bydo "ramming" units are at the corner where the path turns to the right. Once you start heading right (towards the boss) you may find a Bydo worm enemy. Like in the stages before, just focus on hitting the head and you'll do fine. Unlike the mini-boss worm from stage 8, the body segments on the worm lack weapons and will not fire on you (it only rams). However, don't go chasing the worm too much -- there is a Bydo mushroom (green thing) that's nearby and it will attack your forces if you did not detect them earlier. Move your dreadnaught forward but keep your other units in striking distance. Clear out the first top-hole leading into the resource rich center room and move on. If the worm gets away, let it go -- you will detect it long before its green silhouette hexes threaten your dreadnaught. Check the weapon distances of your lower force. The worm may wander into their range and be fired on. In any case, the more pressing threat beyond the green Bydo mushroom is the Bydo cruiser on the top path (this is different from the cruiser you fight on the lower path). Group your smaller units behind your dreadnaught or keep it away from the wave cannon. Let your dreadnaught's wave cannon take out the enemy cruiser without a fuss. Charge up and get ready for more desynched units to harass your dreadnaught. Beware as there is a Bydo dreadnaught sitting above the right center cave-room with the single Bydogen mine. Chances are it will fire on one of your units as you shift forces down to assist you lower group (or vice versa). Your dreadnaught should take out the enemy weapon systems if you cannot get a wave cannon shot on the body. Your Striders will be able to strike home with their Balmung missiles with a lot less enemy attacks. Past the dreadnaught, the Bydo Core will likely fire its wave cannons at your units if you do not detect it. The wave cannons seem to be limited to the center of the map (where the resource mines are), so don't move any unit there until you've scouted it out with some desynched units. =================== -- Bydo Core -- =================== The core is tough because the upper path is covered by numerous wave cannons (some angle down, some are horizontal). The lower path is also covered (somewhat) by a Bydo dreadnaught. It would be advisable to attack from the lower path (working your way upwards), since there are no less than two wave cannons covering the Bydo Core hex. You can have the upper path task force attack the enemy wave cannon that aims diagonally downwards; they should have an easy time -- just avoid leaving the hexes adjacent to the cave ceiling or the Bydo Core will be able to attack you. Your goal (apart from destroying the stray Bydo unit that ventures close) is to get rid of the first (large) diagonally firing wave cannon. The Bydo wave cannons have a detection of 10 hexes and a range that's similar - - meaning they out-gun your dreadnaught. Hence, you need to approach them from their blind spots. Your lower path taskforce should be able to see and destroy most of the enemies as they journey up towards the Bydo Core in the top right corner. If the diagonally firing wave cannon is destroyed, your forces should have no worries destroying the horizontally firing wave cannon. The shorter wave cannons near the Bydo Core are easily avoided (check out their firing aspect). Once both large cannons are destroyed, the Bydo Core is defenseless. The Bydo Core has a detection of 10 hexes and a weapon range of 6 hexes. Your Strider bombers are your best offence despite the counter-attacks from the enemy boss (90 points of damage will kill a Strider bomber half the time). Load up your Striders on your dreadnaughts (giving them an extra hex of movement, hence delivering them closer to the target) and use Balmung missiles to destroy the Bydo Core. If your upper path taskforce has an R-craft with a wave cannon, you can rack up the damage that much faster, but expect to lose the unit from the counterattack. Tech Box: center of map, between Bydogen and Etherium hexes
General Strategies - Human Side
The human forces are the first force you play as. The R-craft perform very much as expected. Here is a quick run down of the most useful units you should develop and focus your R&D resources on: POW Armor This unit is important since it is one of the few units that refuels your force's ammunition and fuel. You start off with one POW Armor, but add a second one to keep your Strider bombers well stocked. Until you earn the technology to build the cruiser and dreadnaught, the POW Armor is the only reasonable unit to keep up your Strider's number of Balmung missiles. POW Armor also serves as a useful unit by creating decoys to draw enemy fire. The computer will almost always aim at the closest unit, so if you thrust a decoy into the enemy's range, it will draw their fire and save your pilots much grief (from losing experience). The POW Armor's movement rate is fairly high, and it serves as a development base for a specialized submarine unit that sucks all ass. Save your solonium to create at least two POW Armor -- you may even want a total of three if you max out your Strider bomber force. Craft Module After the POW Armor, this machine is the most useful. While it cannot spawn decoys, it can repair units and salvage resources. When your capital ship is damaged, this unit can repair the HP (but not replace destroyed sections). It can otherwise do all the other things the POW Armor can (liberate and re- supply). In the original R-type Final game, the unit was called the Morning Glory. Despite the utility of this unit, it is very slow. In some cases, you will not be able to dock/undock the machine in large capital ships (like cruisers or dreadnaughts) because the movement is reduced to one hex. Each Craft Module can only harvest 200 units of any resource before it needs to unload; the Craft Module Mk.2 can harvest more, but it is too large to dock with any ship. Strider Bomber This is Irem's version of the Junkers Ju.87 Stuka but one that's fast, powerful and effective without requiring Nazi propaganda. The Strider's best weapon is the Balmung, of which it only carries one of; however, don't neglect its other missiles (Tracer and Contact), which do some serious damage if its stores are all fired. You start off with one of these units, but you should entreat yourself to building the maximum allowed as your pilots and resources allow it. The Strider not only moves quickly, but hits hard at long range. The four hex movement and four hex weapon range of the Balmung means it can hit enemies eight hexes away. That's beyond the limit of the longest ranged wave cannons (7 hexes), making them very deadly. The downside is that each Strider more or less needs its own supply vehicle or a capital ship docking bay to reload its missile. The dreadnaught's large (five unit) bay is best for reloading the Striders, but the smaller Cruiser (3 units) and Carrier (2 units) will also work. Make the Strider your primary striking arm; while it cannot hit multiple enemies with a wave cannon (it has no wave cannon), its Balmung missile almost guarantees an instant kill on light units in the hands of an ACE pilot. Midnight Eye AWACs Until you get the dreadnaught or cruiser, the AWACs will be your most reliable means of detecting enemies in normal (not desynched) space. The four hex detection range will give you a heads up on enemies and let your long ranged units like the Strider move and attack without being surprised. However, the Midnight Eye is very weak and will generally get destroyed rather easily (despite its high Evade %). Keep the pilot rank at ACE (or close) and it should survive most initial barrages, allowing it to retreat to be repaired. Although you can use it in later stages, the Midnight Eye's armament is very weak and including it in your force count only robs you of valuable attack power. Consider carefully if your capital ship can do the recce work; if it cannot, take an AWACs. You generally do not need more than one AWACs on a mission, since a carrier has similar detection ability. If you plan to keep your forces close to your detecting flagship and have a Craft Module to repair your vessel, you can probably dispense with the AWACs. Grace Note / Shooting Star The medium ranged support unit is good in theory, but the long range wave cannon takes three turns to charge and the unit is very slow. Build one if you like to try it out, but it is generally not as effective since the wave cannon only aims to the right. The Balmung can aim in all directions and is not disrupted by the unit being hit by enemy fire. If you are reliant on this type of machine, use the Grace Note, since it charges faster. The six hex range of the extended wave cannon is the maximum allowed in the R- type Command game. This gives the Grace Notes and Bydo Gains a respectable move and fire range of 9 hexes (move 3, fire 6). Any more and you start having balance issues -- like my brother would say -- in stupid hexside strategy games like Steve Jackson's Ogre. The only craft with more range than this unit would be the R-11S Seraph. Misc. R-craft Fighters There are a few miscellaneous fighters you can build. The R-9 Arrowhead is the basic frame for the R-9 Improved and Warhead. However, they are generally useless and not worth your time and R&D. While you may be hard pressed to have them when you first start out, focus on making the Strider bombers instead, and bomb the shit out of everything until you can construct the R-11S Seraph in great numbers. All of the R-craft below are from R-type Final. About the only R-craft you may want to make a few more of (except for your mainstay Striders and Seraphs) would be the Dantalion fighter. However, you only get this unit once you go into the Bydo campaign and pick up technology there to let you build it. The Dantalion is good since it moves quickly, but when you compare it to the Seraphs and Striders, it is fairly average. However, the Life Force it can carry can heal itself (helps your remotes survive and level up). Once you're done with both campaigns, consider using the Dantalion and Life Force to increase your remote's proficiencies to the maximum. Force (all units) Unless you have a complimentary R-fighter with a Force, your Force remotes will probably not have much air-time once you convert your fighting forces over to the Strider. Force are helpful if you want to lure enemies close so they can ram (the strongest Force attack). However, Force are vulnerable and slow (unless attached to a fighter). Use Forces when you are short on men; once you have 8 to 10 pilots, start switching over to the Striders and you'll be most impressed with their long ranged firepower. Early on -- when you don't have the manpower to bring in many R-craft -- Force units are very useful. Since you can attach a Force to a matching R-craft, you can essentially double your units cheaply (and stack/store them in docking bays). The handling of Force units require a more turn-consuming approach (due to the attach and detach commands) so don't expect the instant gratification as you would using a Strider heavy force. Still, when you don't have the men, you work with what you got. Don't bother increasing the ranks of Force remotes once you have your fair share of pilots to man strike R-craft unless you have a lot of time. Desynch-capable R-craft Desynch sounds like a cool concept -- you can move twice as fast and you're invisible except to the desynch shot. Desynch is fuel intensive and you won't be able to decloak, fight and get away without taking casualties. While it may be fun in multiplayer (delivering a nasty surprise), the desynch ships are not very helpful in the campaign unless you are using them for very dangerous scouting. There are only two units on the human side that can de-synch (and that you can build and operate), the R9C Warhead (pictured above) and the Orbital fighter below. Both have enough fuel to start desynch, make one big (max strength) strike before they have to retreat to friendly lines to refuel. Orbital Strike R-craft The only R-craft with extra installations that increase its size, the OF-1 Daedelus is neat looking but considering the size it takes up and the range of the bits' weapons (their vulcans can only attack adjacent hexes), the Daedelus is more of a liability than an asset unless you're playing an early mission that allows you to over-awe the Bydo (i.e., Mars Enigma). Note that the wave cannon of this unit is one of the longest to charge, and it does not hit any of the hexes directly in front of it. Although it has "three" attacks per unit, the vulcan fire is generally ineffective against large Bydo units. Double Move R-craft There seems to be only two R-craft capable of moving their full movement rate each turn (the double move simply lets the unit move the remainder of its movement rate after attacking). The R-11 Sonic and Supersonic Fighters are both capable of moving their remaining movement allowance after attacking. They are also the only units with the Harvester weapon that collects Bydogen from defeating Bydo (not human) units. Consider creating one or two units -- once you have access to the R-11S (upgraded) version of this fighter, you may want to re-evaluate your force make-up. Despite the power of the Strider's Balmung missile, it is limited because the Strider needs a lot of logistics attention to maintain such firepower each turn. Using a doubles set-up, the Striders are often tied to a capital ship and cannot stray far without losing a lot of its striking power. The R-11S Seraph is a tenacious fighter if you group them together and focus on firing the Clamp Laser. While the Clamp Laser is not as powerful as the Balmung (50 damage versus 85), it has a lot more ammunition (15 shots), letting it loiter in the field longer. The Seraph also has incredible movement (6 hexes -- the most unless you count desynched fighters that move 8 hexes), the Seraph can move, fire, and then retreat. Fuel will be its problem since it expends fuel zipping around. Consider making a force of Seraph fighters (four to six) and augment them with the Striders; when the Clamp Lasers are too weak, the Balmung can deliver that one solid hit. Everything else can be shot to death with the Clamp Laser. Variable Transformation R-craft There's only one unit that can transform between an R-craft and a Bipedal unit (TL2AT Patrocross). It's a great unit to have in the Glitnir Station map (where you have a large map and need to take over just one facility) but unless you're really in need to liberate facilities with great speed, the unit is fairly standard with Tracers and Contacts, making it more of a high-speed Grace Note. Since it has no Force, it is underpowered when it comes up against more than one enemy unit. However, the Patrocross does have a wave cannon (3 turns) and it seems that it won't lose its wave cannon charge if it is damaged in hominid (mech) mode (the wave cannon disappears in that form), making this unit useful as an interdictor and harasser. Just don't rely on it as your main striking arm. If you want harassment, the double-move Seraph is a better choice. However, you just cannot liberate facilities with the Seraph or Strider, hence the Patrocross may be handy when you don't have a POW Armor or Craft Module nearby. Frogman The Frogman Amphibious Operations POW Armor is a water only machine. While the unit can move at the full 3 hexes allotted while in water, its weapons are not as powerful as the Gains or Strider. And considering that the Seraph moves as fast in water and has the same strength weapons (the Clamp Laser does 50 damage), this unit is more or less for fun. Learn its limits though, as the computer will use this unit in great numbers in any aquatic stage. Earth mecha series The Achilles, Neoptolemus, Hercules, and Hyllos are all of earth's mecha forces. Unlike the Patrocross however, these units all move at two hexes, making them very slow and incapable of doing anything but defend. The Achilles mech is the basic frame your other models will be built from; the Achilles itself is nothing more than a 100 to 125 HP Force (each squadron counter is approximately 20 to 25 HP). The Neoptolemus (seen below) is a heavier mecha designed for CQB, although in the Final game, it had a wave cannon. Like the Force, the Neoptolemos is hampered by the same speed and detection problems. Since they cannot attach to Force or speed themselves up by attaching to fighters, you should skip building any, since your pilots can fill other units. Leave the Force remotes to do defence if you need to move slow. The unit below is the old Herakles unit from RTF, Latinized to Hercules in RTC. Unlike its RTF version, this unit does not have the six-missile pod simalcrum was so hoping for. Instead, it has a fast-charge wave cannon that counts for nothing in a turn based game. If you want wave cannons, use the Bydo Gains and leave this unit alone. Study its stats and abilities though, as the computer player enjoys deploying mecha against you in some missions. The final humanoid model (see below) is the Hyllos (Hyllus in RTC). The official records state that only two units were ever built, and one was destroyed before it ever went into action. However, given the fluid nature of history in R-type, you can take those stories with a grain of salt. The Hyllus is essentially a human Tablock, and since you will have ample time to learn how dependent the Tablock is on repair craft in the Bydo campaign, you should refrain from depending on the equally ineffective Hyllus. Heavy Gunner R-craft The two units are the Cerberos and Charon (the Hades is not in the game) and they specialize in big wave cannon blasts. However, they are not as helpful as the Dandalion's wave cannon (and the Split and Shock waves take 4 turns to charge). Build one if you want to try it out, but just go for the final version, seen below in RTF: Space Corps Carrier Transport Jormungandr class. This is the default flagship, able to hold two units of strike craft. However, it moves too slowly to be useful. The decoy function becomes defensive, giving enemies more targets to fire on so you can scrape together a defence to counter them. Early on, you may find having two carriers helpful (stage 5 for instance), but later on, you will have better capital ships with docking facilities and the carrier is more of a liability due to its lack of speed. The only times you will fall back on this old carrier will be when the stages are so confined that no other capital ship will fit. However, the detection ability is greater than R-craft (except the AWACs), so your carrier should explore for your strike craft if you have no other detector units. Space Corps Destroyer Nidhoggr class. The destroyer is the only ship humans have to damage desynchronized enemies. Its other weapons are "short ranged" in comparison to its size -- the Tracer and Contact missiles need the destroyer touching enemies before they are in range, hence the vessel is of dubious value save in very select missions. Its deployment generally means you're living in fear of desynched enemies, who are few and far in between. Space Corps Cruiser Garm class. This is a moderate vessel with a few weapon systems. It has a wave cannon, an extra gun turret (it only attacks up but it lets you attack again after the cruiser has moved) and docking bays for three units. Despite being over-classed by the dreadnaught, the cruiser's speed is its main asset. Being able to move at three hexes lets it keep up with the Striders and refill their missiles when required. The cruiser is weak by most standards and a concentrated attack on the body will destroy it easily. Later, you will earn technology to build an improved version of the cruiser that's slightly tougher (more HP) and has more damaging weapons. Either version will suffice since the detection and speed ranges are the identical, but the "Red Nose" is tougher. Space Corps Dreadnaught Heimdall class. This machine is impressive. Although it moves as fast as the small carrier, the dreadnaught's detection range of 7 (measure from the edge of its shape, not the center) is impressive, letting it find enemies before they can attack it. Its weapons compliment its detection range and a Strider force aboard a dreadnaught will be able to first strike most enemies handily. However, the down side is the large size of the dreadnaught (ten hexes in normal space) means it cannot fit through certain spots. When it comes to negotiating dangerous silhouette hexes, size will hamper the dreadnaught as it will keep it from avoiding hazards like lava and D-Cubes. When deploying the dreadnaught, make sure the map has enough room for it to move around without being crushed by anomalies. Note, human players only need to build one dreadnaught until they reach the final human stage (#30), since there are few maps that allow the deployment of more than one dreadnaught. For those stages, you can supplement your dreadnaught with another cruiser, making your fleet a formidable task force. Finally, the improved red nose dreadnaught cannot be built until the technology box in the Bydo campaign is collected. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th versions of the dreadnaught are computer only and cannot be created.
Walkthrough - Bydo Campaign
You will be able to play as the Bydo once the human campaign is complete. The Bydo have different units from the Human side and require a change in your R- tactics. Most Bydo units heal by themselves but that more than offsets the lack of detection range by the Bydo units (and healing uses fuel even when stationary). Notice too -- as the Bydo player -- your forces move after the human player (making you the underdog). You must play much more defensively while moving offensively so the computer humans will stumble into your laid out ambushes. You can save your game over the same file when playing the Bydo -- when you enter the war room, you will be asked to choose a side. If you choose the human side, all your stages, units, and resources will be there. Any technology you earn during the Bydo campaign also counts towards the human campaign, not to mention any resources earned (or used). This means you can mine resources using your human forces, save after the mission and then play the Bydo side. Be sure to check out your old human game for new R&D possibilities once you complete the Bydo campaign! Stage 31 - Nightmare Begins +1 Pilot +1 Remote This is a harder than normal stage since you may have thrown off your game playing the built up human forces. You start with two Bydo fighters, a Bydo Force, a Bydo interceptor, one of their carriers, an infected POW Armor, and an infected Craft Module (a Lifesaver). To begin with, notice that you have almost no detection ability. You need to move slowly (one hex) at a time to get the enemies to stumble into your areas of control (or Control of Air hexes). Use decoys and leave the carrier in the starting chamber. There is a vital technology box in the center of the map, between the two Bydogen resource hexes. You can lure the enemy Midnight Eye into the narrow area and blast it. Once that's gone, you can pick apart the enemy forces more easily. The enemy force consists of a carrier, two RwF9 Arrowheads, a Strider bomber, a Midnight Eye AWACs, a Craft Module, and two F/A Force. The enemy Force units are dangerous if you don't get the jump on them, so you need to bunch your ships together and blast them together. You will barely be able to mine the Bydogen in the center, but you can get away with some if you are sly. Tech Box: map center, between Bydogen hexes Stage 32 - Terror in the Skies This stage is harder because the enemy has two Strider bombers and a Midnight Eye sitting where the technology box is -- the center cave where the two Bydogen hexes are. You need to use greater care to move around them and hit the enemy destroyer from the blind spot. The best path seems to be the lower path; you can use a POW Armor decoy or two (don't bother with the Lifesaver) to sucker the enemy into using their Balmung missiles early on. While the bombers are busy destroying decoys, move your "real force" under the center cave and smash into the enemy flagship. This not only puts you left of the enemy R-craft, but your own Bydo fighter's wave cannon can hit one hex "backwards". Simalcrum opted for a whole force of Bydo fighters (the earliest version) and relied on the Bydo carrier and healing factor to get by. It's harder than what you're used to from the "Strider menace" you've been accustomed to. Use the Bydo System's "Oculoids" (Contact Missiles) to get in your 2 hex licks. Use the interim save at the start of your turn if you haven't been doing this already. The pre-cog knowledge of what's to come is invaluable when the computer can see where you are but not vice versa. In some cases, the computer will move the AWACs and bombers around to the bottom -- a suspend save will foretell that better than any walkthrough -- save before you hit the right Bydogen hex and shift your forces after you discover which way they are heading. You can assemble and punch through them, or sneak by with decoys. In either case, just sacrifice your decoys -- you need the experience by having your pilots survive. You will need to seriously re-evaluate your tactics after these first two missions, since the units you are using are so different. Use the (hopefully ample) resources you've accumulated as a human commander to experiment with a variety of Bydo units you can R&D. While you can use the initial stage to increase your pilot's skills, it's probably better to push on a few more stages and get some better units. The technology recovered from Bydo stage 2 lets you build the Tablock -- the 3 hex missile artillery unit that was so bothersome when you were fighting the Bydo. Build one and have it augment your Bydo fighters. You will want a mixed force for now, until you have ample detection and longer ranged weapons. Tech Box: map center, between the rocks Stage 33 - Destroyed Metropolis +1 Beast Force +1 Amphibian Fighter +1 Pilot +1 Remote +1 Commander This stage is a reverse of stage 28. The enemy cruiser mentioned in the briefing cannot go past the obstacle near the docking facility in the middle of the map. You need to play around with your decoys and rely on your Tablock missile Gains to destroy the enemy ship. Note that the Tablock's missiles are more plentiful than the Strider's Balmung, but lacks the one hit kill potential (50 damage versus 85 damage). You need to get used to the Tablock's longer loiter time (and larger volume) to kill targets if you want to be successful. Unlike the Strider, the Tablock is too large to fit in a docking bay of any sort, so Lifesavers and fast cruisers will be required to keep this unit alive later. There are some desynched R-craft that will stall you, but the most dangerous enemies are the Grace Notes that will fire their extended range wave cannons on your units if any of them are sighted. If you are "stuck", you might as well take those units in with a suicide move by placing your own units in front of the enemy. This means if the enemy fires their wave cannon, they will vaporize their own allies in the process. While the cruiser cannot go into the area with the docking bay, your Tablocks can. Liberate the facility and grab the two technology boxes in the interference hexes with the purple gas. One is below the docking bay, the second one is to the left of the first (and further into the purple gas). Take the new unit out of the docking bay (note you can only do this the first time you play this map) and move it out to find enemies. If you don't have it, move any remaining decoys out -- if you don't have any due to the nasty first strike of the enemy Shooting Stars, then move out an expendable Force unit to find enemies in the last two rooms. In the future, an expendable desynch- capable unit may prove very helpful in scouting in lieu of a Midnight Eye AWACs. You will require about 10 turns (one-quarter of the allotted battle) to move a Tablock through the obstacle in the center; since that's too time consuming, try using the Amphibian's Oculoids -- you will find that the Amphibian is quite capable to destroying the enemy cruiser with just its Contact Missiles since it can regenerate (and has enough fuel to regenerate). Take the two technology boxes and nuke the cruiser to get some urgently needed technology. Tech Box 1: below docking bay in purple gas Tech Box 2: left of box 1 (deeper into the gas) Stage 34 - Asteroid Cage If you don't have enough resources to develop the units you want, save and quit the Bydo campaign, and then dive back into your human stages. You can harvest whatever resources you need for the Bydo-in-you. Once you've developed the units you need (especially the Boldo cruiser), get back on the Bydo campaign and continue. You will want a Bydo cruiser here for the detection ability in the early part of the mission. Notice the Bydo have no equivalent of the destroyer (so far). Unlike the human campaign, your cruiser cannot move past the mid-section; hence you should handle the Bydo cruiser roughly (despite it being your flagship), since anything getting past your strike craft in the second half of the mission means you lost too many units. Use the cruiser's detection ability and firepower to destroy the straying Midnight Eyes, Grace Notes and Defensive Force units. Naturally, you want to back up your cruiser with any fighters you have -- either the Amphibian or the Bydo Lifeform fighters will do. For Force units, keep the Bydo Force around (it can self-heal unlike the Beast Force) and use it as slow attackers. The technology box is in the same spot as the human map -- in between the two starting spots. Send a decoy or some other unit to grab it. Remember you don't need to land on the hex to get the box. You only need to pass through the hex with the box inside. All this time, move the Tablock missile artillery units (simalcrum used 3) and POW Armor down the left inner tube. You should be able to surprise enough of the Space Corps' snipers to make a decisive difference. There is a 9C Warhead that's in the mix, but if you can lock it into a solid wall, you can wait for it to run out of fuel. The enemy cruiser will be guarded by a few sniper R- craft and many CQB R-craft -- use the Tablock's missiles to rain on their parade and hit the cruiser body. Apart from the random sniper wave cannons and aggressive enemy Force, you should not have much problems here. On subsequent plays, you will find the Bermate much more handier in this mission. Tech Box: below your starting position (same as human side) Stage 35 - Drowned System +1 Commander +1 Pilot This stage is different from the one the humans played, in that you do not go into deep water. The water technology from the last stage is pretty useless here unless you're unsure of using your Bydo cruiser (same detection, same carrying capacity, but moves faster). Both take up about the same volume. Staying in the air will require some luck and knowledge that the enemy will have enemies in the air and sea. Stay in the first waterfall (avoid going into the water) and wait for the enemies to appear. You can missile them while in the waterfall hexes to increase your defensive bonuses. Take out the lone Frogman unit in the first pool or it will start to track your flagship. There are four more Frogman units in the next pool (at the second waterfall). Use an expendable decoy to reveal the enemies and then use a Tablock to blow them apart outside of their effective missile range. You can also deliver a Force past their minimum range and attack them that way. Force are helpful, even if they are killed later. The very important technology box is above the second pool, on the metal decking near the water. Don't miss it. The third pool has two more Frogmen; you can use the cruiser's sensors to find them and a Tablock to destroy them with missiles. The flagship in the third pool is a wet-navy battleship. If you have a Bydo System fighter or any other Bydo fighter, quickly send one close with a POW Armor. Get under the minimum distance of the enemy ship's weapon range and hammer it with the Oculoid missiles. When the wave cannon charges up, blast it. You don't need to worry too much about superficial wounds on your fighters. All the fighters you have so far can heal themselves each turn as long as they are not attacked. Tech Box: on metal deck in second pool (going left) Stage 36 - Hellfire +1 Commander This stage makes great use of the Boldo cruiser and laser Gains. Make as many of the laser Gains as you can afford and treat them like your Striders, but less versatile (fires left only) and a bit more testy -- if they are hit, their wave cannons are reset. This makes scouting with your cruiser and other units more important. The Tablock is a bit too bulky to bring into this map -- and the enemy ship you face is not a cruiser, but a Space Corps dreadnaught. Luckily, the map prevents its wave cannon from being deployed. Speaking of dreadnaughts, pick up the technology box in the middle of the map to get the Bydo dreadnaught. You will be exiting back to the human realm to mine your Bydogen to create this handy monster. The main problem here is fitting your Bydo cruiser through the narrow confines of the stage and letting your Gains fire on the enemy R-craft (who doubtless charge their wave cannons if you don't attack them first). If you take any support craft, take POW Armor and deploy their decoys to have them scout for you; once enemies are found, move your units in to blast them. Be sure to set up far away for the first shot, then edge closer (by one hex) for each successive wave cannon -- this lets you get off several shots in your turn. Take along a Lifesaver if you like, but keep it between the arcing lava and the vertical lava spout, near the bottom of the map. The dreadnaught loves to fire on support craft and you can have it around to repair your Gains if they are damaged by the enemy's attacks. Tech Box: center of map Stage 37 - Galactic Maw +1 Pilot +1 Remote This is the black hole stage again, except you are playing the Bydo. Learn from the previous time you played this stage (as a human) -- use your Dreadnaught to detect for your laser Gains and never let the enemy ships get the drop on you by destroying their AWACs, then focusing on their detector units (like in StarCraft). Remember the enemy dreadnaught will have more weapons aiming up -- go under the dreadnaught and attack its dorsal facing for best results. It will be a slow process to move your forces (at two hexes per turn) to the necks on the top and bottom -- you have 35 turns to annihilate the enemy ship, but that doesn't mean take your sweet time. Move your Gains into your dreadnaught once they have their charges ready and hope you can detect the enemy first. The enemy uses their Grace Notes (6 hex range) pretty well but if you nuke their AWACs, you can play keep away with your Gains and dreadnaught. Back off and let the enemy come at you in pieces while your Gains snipes them all down with their quickfire wave cannons. The Tablock here doesn't do very well do to its slow speed and bulky nature -- use the Gains instead. Note that the Grace Notes have a one hex detection range more than your decoys (2 hexes). If you are attempting to hold up enemies in the top side, you will want a Tablock to sit around and detect for your forces (after eliminating the enemy AWACs). If you have spare remotes and Force units, have them back up your Tablock there and you can suck up a few units there. Your dreadnaught and Gains should be on the bottom bottleneck -- the technology box is there -- and killing enemy R-craft (mostly the CQB mecha Neoptlemos) mercilessly. Be sure to pull back so you force enemies to come through the narrows. You can start backing off once you get the box and commence the slaughter. Tech Box: below the Black Hole Stage 38 - Serene Garden +1 Pilot +1 Remote This is the branches stage that has desynched units; although it's tempting to create the anti-desynch unit, you will be unable to put in the Bydo dreadnaught with massive detection ability. You should have enough pilots now to discard your Remotes (unless you need the back-up). Build as many of the green laser Gains as you can and assign them pilots. Simalcrum had 6 of them (you can try more) as the main striking arm with the dreadnaught (Bydo Chaos). A single Tablock was able to follow and clean up the straggling or weakened units. Move slowly to the left -- and since the map is all access, if you find your unit's movement restricted somehow, you know you have a desynched unit around. Take POW Armor. You want the Lifesaver only if you're afraid of losing a Tablock or subject your dreadnaught to enemy fire all the time. The decoys are more valuable in detecting and delaying enemies so your Gains and Tablock can destroy them. The enemy Principalities are fast movers, but they still can only see 2 hexes in front of them. Keep beyond their range and let your Gains army do the talking. Aside from enemy AWACs, be wary of the R-11 (move twice) R-craft. If you spot one, you should make an effort to destroy them at range before they harass your forces to death. Like the Grace Notes, the R-11s can detect at a 3 hex range, making them annoyances to your decoys. Since there are so many of them, so it may be to your advantage to stop your advance, let them come to you and blast them. The technology box is in the middle of the map, where the branches come together and muck up your movement rate. The final wave before the enemy mothership has a final AWACs (kill) and some Principalities fighter/Force units. Before making any foolish shots with your Gains, you may want to "cheat" by saving first and seeing what gets hit. You'll be surprised how many times the computer will place units in a line for you to destroy. The final flagship is a cruiser. The second cruiser (escort) is on the top (usually). Hit SQUARE to see which unit is the flagship, then break it apart to end the mission. Tech Box: center of map where branches merge Stage 39 - Rose Outskirts +1 Commander +1 Pilot +1 Remote This map is like the human version map, except the surprise is that the computer enemy has an upgraded dreadnaught you wish you had. The dreadnaught is tougher (by 50 HP) and has a slightly stronger cannon (fires an orange beam instead of blue). It's otherwise the same. You should use the Bydogen asteroids to hide from the wave cannon and use a pop-out attack to reset the wave cannon charge and linear nuke the enemy installations. The technology box is in the middle of the four Bydogen asteroids (in the center). The initial waves of enemies can take a toll -- esp. the Strider Bombers in the first wave. Destroy the enemy AWACs and don't be greedy -- stop or move back right slightly to string the enemies apart so their Balmung missiles won't take out your units. The second wave of enemies are carriers and Hercules (fast charge) mecha units; exploit their poor movement and detection ranges with your own dreadnaught and Gains combination. Destroy the flagship and you pass the mission. Tech Box: map center where Bydogen hexes are Stage 40 - Homeward Bound This is the first warpspace stage for the Bydo -- you should try and place all the capital ships on the map just to see how their shapes are altered. Your Bydo dreadnaught takes up far less space than the human dreadnaught (8 hexes vs. 10 hexes) but your Bydo are hampered by the lack of detection without the dreadnaught or Boldo cruiser. Hence, the dreadnaught's 7 hex thing will be what you need to operate with from here on out. Pack a few Gains in your force, and try out the new Arvanche fighter/Scale Force combo. The Arvanche is a heavy recce unit, since its Scale Block is similar to the Strider's Barricade. However, you must still rely on its Oculoids (Bydo contact missile) to do the majority of the damage. That or fall back on the Gains sniping tactic. Place your flagship in the back -- despite your need to move it forward, the enemy will send a very dangerous AWACs to detect your forces early on. Have your Gains or other fighters ready to destroy this menace before you advance to the left. The technology box is at the lower path, between the two etherium rocks. Watch out as there are a lot of Shooting Star (sniper) enemies there. The enemy flagship is a dreadnaught but there is an escort cruiser on the top path. Send your Lifesavers and a few Gains units to the lower path while you stop your dreadnaught at the fork in the paths; this lets you detect the cruiser so your Gains can out-range and shoot the cruiser to death. While you're mining etherium (having cleared the enemy units on the low path), nix the upper path with your dreadnaught and remaining ships. If you have POW Armor, use the decoys to trick the enemy ship into wasting its wave cannon. Once that's done, swarm it with your Gains and dreadnaught. when you Lifesavers are maxxed out on the etherium, move them towards the fight to repair your units. Need etherium? This stage is even easier than the human stage to mine etherium, should need huge stores of the material. You will have to sacrifice 2 hexes for Lifesaver/Infected Craft Modules however, in addition to the time needed to empty and unload. If you can settle for just 480 units of the stuff, just use the Lifesaver Mk.2. However, the 640 units are easy to get using a dreadnaught, several beam Gains, a CQB Gains (just in case), a Tablock, and two Lifesavers. Tech Box: lower path, between the Etherium hexes Stage 41 - Dimensional Undertow +1 Pilot +1 Remote The last stage allows you to upgrade your laser Gains to the better version. The red laser Gains is by far more powerful than the green version, although it is still hampered by the narrow range of effect and charging time. Still the extra 15 points of damage is well worth the expense. It does more damage than the Balmung missile, and it hits everything in 6 hexes (inclusive). This stage is by far the most grueling. You have only 20 turns to reach the victory hexes. Running and gunning is not the Bydo's style (waiting for the wave cannons) unless you have good timing. Hence, take a dreadnaught and move your forces forward in force, annihilating everything in your way. Rotate your units in and out, noting that your Gains will be more or less useless if they are hit by enemy fire. It's handy to have more Gains than the enemy has units. Outnumbered, you're sure to get off at least one shot. You won't be able to bring all your units into the mission -- it's a small set- up area -- so you need to pick and choose your best. At turn 3, the enemy will come behind your forces, so you cannot dawdle. Move quickly after destroying the initial R-craft and use four Gains to take out the cruiser on the bottom path quickly. A technology box on the bottom path can be picked up easily by a Gains while the rest of the forces move around the etherium asteroid to the exit. You should have plenty of time to spare if you just flee from the area once you have a clear path. Tech Box: on the bottom path Stage 42 - Corridor Assault Before you get all excited with the technology box from stage 41, be sure to check out the Archives and Unit Information. Since you are no longer using the Tablock exclusively (like you would Striders), you may want to hold off on upgrading your Tablock units. Notice there is another Tablock unit (the red Mk.3 one) that has very deadly missiles. Note too the improved movement speed. Hold off on swapping your Tablocks out for now and just focus on using your newly won laser Gains. There is no technology box here to recover. This stage is the stage where you fought the two Bydo digital cubes. Now though, you're after the human Space Corps and the corridor is different. The space here is normal space so your units are standard sized. Rack up your forces with the red Gains but you need to take a smaller capital ship instead. Build the Bermate unit (large spiky thing) because of its 5 hex (as compared to 4 hex) detection range. Since it can carry the same number of craft as the larger dreadnaught, it can help your Gains in the long run, even if it lacks a wave cannon. That's okay, since the flagship here is an old transport carrier. Your Bermate will easily destroy it -- more true if you have many Gains units. Stage 43 - Rift Charge This stage requires the Bermate spike ship again -- you won't have the detection range of the dreadnaught, but you won't have the ability to squeeze through the gaps in the middle with the Bydo dreadnaught. Simalcrum brought two along to deal with the many desynched Orbital R-craft that swarm you at the beginning. Halt at the right etherium asteroid and place all your Gains in the Bermates after they charge). Use the desynch shot over and over again until all the enemy Daedelus units are destroyed. The technology box is between the two etherium rocks. The technology allows you to develop the digital cubes that were the bosses of the human force in this stage; stick with the Bermate unit, since it has greater detection range. The enemy flagship is a carrier (with decoy), so this is a very easy mission once you get past all those Orbital fighters. Destroy the enemy carrier and clear this mission. Tech Box: between the two Etherium hexes Stage 44 - Fissure Strike This next stage is hard due to the moving crusher obstacles in the middle. Your dreadnaught is too tall to fit through the gap, so you have to deal with the two hex disadvantage with the Bermate spiky craft. Put two into the mix and load up on the Gains. Send in POW Armor (you won't need Lifesavers for a while) and use the decoys to lure out the newer R-11 Supersonic craft. Stay to the right of the revolving obstructions and wait for the enemy to blunder in (and sometimes get destroyed by the moving crystals) while you sit back and thin out their forces. Sooner or later, the computer will run out of units to send out. If only human players were as predictable, this game would suck all ass. Kill the remaining R9 Improved Arrowheads guarding the enemy flagship. If you have any idea, it's only an enemy cruiser (stretched), so you should be able to out-range it easily with the Bermate (+1 hex detection) and your Gains force. Easy. Stage 45 - Cleft Surge For this stage, you are offered fewer insertion hexes than before (two fewer). Instead of the handy Bermate you've been using, try to use a dreadnaught instead. You only need to move the craft onto the victory hexes; use the detection range of the Bydo dreadnaught and the Gains to stampede a path to the end. The enemy units here (aside from the ever present AWACs and supply craft) are Neoptlemos and Achilles. Your bigger concern though, is the enemy dreadnaught that will fire at your forces if they go straight through the middle of the map; segregate your forces to the top and bottom (each with POW Armor) so you can attack the installations of the dreadnaught without coming under wave cannon fire. Use your own detection and Gains to out-snipe the enemy dreadnaught. Once the wave cannon on that thing is gone, your approach should be a lot easier. Watch for the enemy Hercules units (2 turn wave cannon) who are near the dreadnaught's middle. Move your dreadnaught closer to reveal them, then clear out the enemy and head for the exit. No technology exists here. Stage 46 - Egress Onslaught This is the final Tesseract Space stage. Notice that with the Bydo, the Gains units (and smaller capital ships) made the most of the detect/snipe tactic. However, in this stage, that may prove to be an impossibility since so many of the corridors between the different rooms are only two hexes wide. This means you must rely on the "Old Maid" the Morphon Carrier. The bigger Boldo and Bermate units cannot fit through to accompany your units. This is normally not a problem, but the presence of other human units that can detect at the same ranges as your Gains (3 hexes) will mean you won't have that advantage anymore unless you take more than your fair share of risk. The first time you play this stage, try using the Arvanche fighter for recce work; since it has a blocking attack similar to the Strider's barricade, it should be able to withstand several hits before being overwhelmed -- time enough for a POW Armor to refill its ammo and for the self-repair to restore its health. However, the currents here prevent units that move at 2 hexes from moving through at all (upstream). Keeping this mind, separating your forces will be primarily done by speed and not necessarily ability. Your flagship has to move with the current -- and since the carrier is the only ship you can bring in that moves through all the currents, you're stuck with it. Bring a second carrier (loaded with Gains) and perhaps a Craft Module (for repairs). Send out a secondary taskforce with POW Armor, an Arvanche, and some Gains to detour upstream to get the technology box (middle chamber) and to flank enemies when your main force arrives. Remember that your Gains will be useless if you fight enemies to your right -- hence the inclusion of a Tablock to escort your carrier. Simalcrum moved the carrier, a Tablock, two Gains, an Arvanche (plus Force), and a POW Armor (no Craft Module) to the very left, then started moving down; some Gains, a second Arvanche (plus Force), and POW Armor went down, then left to nab the technology box. Have the second group loiter in the middle chamber until your carrier escorts are in the chamber right above the lower left chamber -- create and send decoys down - your main group should assemble in the central chamber, then head down and left. Watch for the enemy's wave cannon (cruiser 4 hex type). Your main concern should be the various Charons and Improved Arrowheads that will blast you with their Striders, robbing you of charge. Use the Tablock to blast all the R-craft and keep it from being damaged by sacrificing the Scale Force or a Gains. Corner the enemy cruiser flagship and bombard it to death with Gains beams and Tablock Flood Missiles. The technology box is in the middle chamber -- don't forget it. Once you have the technology for the CQB Gains, you will find that they will be very helpful in helping you destroy the enemies in this mission (much like the stage 'Escape from Bestra' later). You will earn the Bloom Cruiser technology to harvest solonium from defeated human units; however, very few Bydo units need solonium, and you should be able to harvest all the solonium from the Glitnir stage using your human forces. Stick with the Bermate unit for now. Creating the Bloom Cruiser is more of an liability than an asset. Tech Box: in the middle chamber Stage 47 - Hostile Greetings +1 Pilot +1 Remote This stage is like the human version -- you can deploy various units here. In addition to your dreadnaught, deploy your Bermate spiky fortress to hit desynched units and such. If you created a Bloom Cruiser or one of the digital cube ships, you can use them instead. Honestly, you mainly want the Bermate's and dreadnaught's detection and carrying capacity for your Gains to work their magic. Unlike the human force, move your Bydo units down and then left to maximize the returns on the wave cannon. You should have some extra hexes left over after dumping in a Tablock, all your Gains, a dreadnaught, a second support ship, your two POW Armor, and craft module. Put some remotes in (or more pilots if this is a replay) and use the Force units to drill through the bottom right ice field -- destroying ice boosts your remotes' experience levels (but slower than actually destroying enemies). The top ice field can be naturally cleared by your Gains firing their wave cannons. Some new enemy units will give you pause -- the Hyllus mech will be the human's Tablock equivalent -- watch for its missile range. The other enemies are typical of earlier encounters. You just need to hit them before they become dangerous to your units. The technology box here is surprisingly well hidden; to find it, you have to deliberately destroy an iceberg to reveal it. Head to Charon (lower right) and locate the solonium asteroid there. Two hexes to the right is where the box is; just destroy ice floes until you can get one of your units in to claim it. The enemy capital ship is a doubly upgraded dreadnaught (human players cannot build this, just like they cannot build the first upgraded dreadnaught). Its layout is the same as the normal dreadnaught (although it uses more hexes, take notice). This means if you hit it with a Gains (or a missile), you should disarm the wave cannon charge then have it laser-rape it to death. Tech Box: two hexes right of the Solonium hex near Charon Stage 48 - Frozen Paradise The Bermate unit is handy here since it can out-detect the enemy flagship by one hex (allowing your Gains to fire on it). You only need three or four Gains here -- any more is excessive. Use this stage to rebuild your pilots' experience if they've been killed. The enemy ship is very easy prey since there are few other enemies (POW Armor, three Frogman and AWACs). The Bermate gives you the detection advantage that sends the computer into a panic when its flagship is fired on from outside its detection range; it will move its flagship in to detect you instead of swarming you with Frogman units. The technology box is near the waterfall. Look next to the rock under the waterfall for the box. On successive replays, you can probably grab this box with your POW Armor or some other fast moving unit (like an interceptor). However, it doesn't give you resources, so you can disregard it. Tech Box: by the rock at the waterfall Stage 49 - Solar Menace This is the Utgarda Loki stage (lure everything to the center until turn #7 ...). Since you know what to expect, you can defeat it easily. This stage is strange since you can defeat either the dreadnaught Mk.3 or the Utgarda Loki to win (the superweapon is easier to defeat). The main thing is to survive the massive swarms of R-11 Supersonic craft, Patrocross variable fighters, and Charon Heavy Gunners (w/ Force) on your initial starting position. Simalcrum used a Bermate and dreadnaught -- the flagship can be either or, but expect to take damage from the initial strike craft until you have a suitable defence. It's interesting to note that unless an enemy detects your battlegroup, they will not give chase; that said, you can divide 10 Gains (use the lighter green one to augment your red Gains), two POW Armor, a Craft Module (for repairing the capital ship drawing enemy forces) and some extra Force units for close range defence. Take the dreadnaught down and then left to maximize the wave cannon advantage; it's goal will be to destroy the Utgarda Loki and anything foolish enough to guard it. The Bermate you should take the top route, deliberately staying in sight of weakened units so the enemy sends out most of its forces to attack you; keep POW Armor and a Lifesaver with the Bermate to repair and refuel the Gains so they stay out longer. The Force you brought along should stay there too -- they can be sacrificed to buy time or to attack/stall units until your Bermate or a Gains can get shots in. The Scale Force or Bydo Force are best, since they can heal (the Bydo Force has less HP though). Once you de-charge the Loki, send a Gains or other fast moving unit to pick up the technology box in the middle of the Loki's cone of effective fire. Once you have the box secured, zap the Loki station and end the mission. Tech Box: map center, in range of Loki's deathbeam Stage 50 - Bestra Re-visited This stage is like the old Bestra Facility, so be prepared to lose units. Your Bydo forces have no AWACs equivalent, so they are out-detected by a simple AWACs or human cruiser. Hence, you must rely on your carriers and their decoys for detection. It will be slow going, but that's the heaviest capital ship you can bring when the stage narrows. The technology box is to the left of the small facility island in the middle of the map. You should not be able to miss it. Expend the decoys when fighting through the facility -- you will want numerical superiority once you get past the second narrows. The boss is a human version of the alien monster. Unlike the Strider strikes of the past however, you can match the range of the enemy boss with the Gain's beams -- and unlike the Strider, the Gain's HP value means its wave cannon is unaffected by damage. Use a pair of Gains to work over the head (two to three blasts will usually destroy it). The body will require a similar number of strikes. Your carriers can repair the damage of your Gains so they can go out again and blast targets. The boss' stomach can be decharged with a Bydo machinegun shot; place the rest of your Gains above the monster's tail and wait for the tail to lower so you can get your shots in (right to left for maximum damage). You will need to move into the hazardous green silhouette hexes to fire the Gains' wave cannons; hopefully you can do enough damage with wave cannons to kill the boss before its tail can destroy your units. Tech Box: left of the facility block in map's center Stage 51 - Bestra Escape +1 Bydo Fighter +1 Bydo Force +1 Pilot +1 Remote Unlike the human mission, you go up. There are also space mines here; bring along a Tablock and a Lifesaver or POW Armor to keep it company. You will need the all around missile devastation of the Tablock to help your Gains get to the right side and blast everything. Failing that, you should augment your forces with the CQB Gains. Like before, take a small capital ship -- the Morphon Carrier and save its decoy function for exploring dangerous areas. The various docking facilities here will help immensely. And since you Gains can all take over the hexes, it's more advantageous to liberate and occupy as you head up. An over-abundance of laser Gains won't work here. Invest in a little more resource harvesting so you can create four or five CQB Gains mecha. Their ramming and melee attacks are necessary to quickly kill the enemy R-11S Seraphs before their clamp lasers decimate your forces. If you rely on the Tablock, it will be destroyed easily due to its slow speed and nil hitting power; you want the Tablock to decharge wave cannons and mop up space mines -- not to engage in direct combat. If you have the option to R&D the maximum number of units, by all means do so. Since all the Gains units can liberate, you may not need close following POW Armor (or Lifesavers) to accompany your Gains taskforce as they move up through the facility (use the docking bays to repair and re-supply). A mixed force of Gains Mk2s and Mk3s make for a very mobile death squadron in this mission. You can ignore the first mine field -- there is a weak block under the larger second minefield, you can use your CQB Gains to destroy. This bypasses three Patrocross mecha, and cuts out any unnecessary damage from that encounter. This means however, your carrier will not accompany your units -- this is one less hex of detection you cannot do without. The toughest part is to come -- two groups of R-11s Seraphs will attack (about four to six craft each group) with a Patrocross in human form. The Seraphs' clamp lasers not only do a lot of damage, but also blocks your missiles. Hence, you need to get your CQB Gains close to destroy them, which means a lengthy process of fighting through each hex. You will take losses; the goal here is to minimize them to less important units. Use the freebie ships to get by the first time -- on subsequent rounds, you will need to use more skillful deployment of your CQB Gains to fight the enemy. If the Tablock does not help, consider ditching it for more CQB Gains (three more units vs. your one Tablock). The number of units you have will help you overwhelm the enemy. The technology box is between the two groups of R-11s -- you can't miss it. The enemy flagship is a cruiser. Come at it from below, or use a CQB Gains to de-charge the cannon (or a Gains to out-range it) and then systematically fire on it with your quick fire wave cannon. It should be over quickly once you break the flagship's screening force. Tech Box: between where the two squadrons of R-11s start Stage 52 - Saturn's Rings This stage is like the human stage -- narrow. The Bydo dreadnaught is outclassed in terms of its wave cannon so you need to just borrow its detection suite and sic your Gains in open space again. This mission should be a lot easier than the last one. The enemy flagship is similar to the dreadnaught but completely red. Note this is the fourth version of the dreadnaught you've fought but it's easily destroyed by stacking wave cannons on the whole superstructure. Once the wave cannon is gone or de-charged, the enemy ship is easily taken down. The other units are Dandalion R-craft with Bydo type Forces. Destroy them early on (before you nudge your dreadnaught past the solonium asteroid's left side) so you only have to fight the cumbersome Hyllos units later (they go down on two wave cannons). The technology box is next to the solonium asteroid; get it after you destroyed or de-charged the enemy wave cannon, or you can expect to lose the unit if you stay on the box's hex instead of "moving through". Tech Box: near the Solonium hex Stage 53 - Invincible Line +1 Pilot +1 Remote +1 Mad Thicket +1 Ivy Force This is a new stage and one that holds your final few pilots. The flagship here is defended by a number of Grace Notes/Defensive Force, Neoptolemos, and a new computer unit called an Aegis defense satellite. The Aegis unit has a hefty 6 hex weapon range, and it moves 2 hexes each turn around the central city. You should use a dreadnaught to detect them and kill them (Gains) as they move around the satellite. A Tablock, CQB Gains or your dreadnaught's missiles will help you to de-charge the Grace Notes so your Gains can fire their wave cannons without destroying each other. The enemy flagship looks like the Bydo Core boss, but doesn't fire. Instead you can destroy all the enemies on this map, free your captured teammates (liberate the bottom left docking facility) and use a CQB Gains or two to destroy the flagship in one or two turns. With that in mind, keep your forces together and move through the map so you can mutually support one another. On subsequent play, ignore the docking bay and simply blast the Aegis units in range of the Athena Core. Although you cannot see them until you detect or get fired on by them, there are eight Aegis turrets (essentially high damage missile throwers) ringed around the whole spherical structure. The enemy target is the blue orb inside the sphere; it would be best to atomize the defenders on the right and bottom so you can destroy the core from the bottom using your dreadnaught's missiles, lasers and supporting Gains and Tablocks. The bay has a helpful Bydo fighter -- a desynching, self-healing fighter with a wave cannon. While not as fast charging as your Gains, the Mad Thicket fighter is probably the best Bydo fighter you'll get if you need escorts for your Gains when the Tablock is too bulky or the CQB Gains is too under-ranged. Build a pair and give them a try. You can also rank up your remotes using the Ivy Force in earlier stages. The technology box is just past the docking bay; be sure to grab both the bay (skip on subsequent plays) and the technology box before you destroy the enemy core. This stage is possibly the hardest "ranked" stage, according to the game's history; however, using the dreadnaught and Gains strategy, you should be able to punch a hole into the enemy's defences. You simply need to mix your forces adequately so when you need something, you can deploy it without much trouble. Being out-detected by the enemy's Aegis units means your units are picked off before they can even fire. Tech Box: to the left of left-side docking bay Stage 54 - Martian Repose This stage differs from the human Martian stage only slightly in terrain. Like the humans though, you can only fit a carrier through the narrow neck of the stage, so prepare your forces to move fast and take light losses as you get out-detected. You will fight Strider bombers and an AWACs first, then a large group of Neoptolemos (w/ AWACs), and a trio of Strider bombers just before the big bad flagship (red dreadnaught). Unless you brought along a lot of units (meaning many one hex units), expect to lose from attrition by the damn Striders hitting your forces with the Balmung and letting the dreadnaught finish them off with its fourth tier lasers. There is no technology box in this map -- the time constraints and heavy opposition preclude this from being a stage you'll be fond of. Simalcrum tried a Bermate but its volume displaced too many units, forcing a desperate rush near the end; instead, try to bring a Carrier Morphon and as may smaller units you can. Despite the slow pace, the Lifesavers here can help your forces recover health (move 2 hexes) and advance in force towards the strategic objective. Instead, try deploying a carrier (use the decoy right before the dreadnaught), two CQB Gains, two Lifesavers, and the rest (about 4 or 5) red laser Gains and a Tablock Mk.2. By alternating between the carrier and using the Infected Craft Modules, you can pretty much keep your forces repaired. The carrier can detect for you -- only with the dreadnaught will you use a decoy to distract it. Destroy the enemy Striders, then de-charge the wave cannon; once that's done, four laser Gains and a Tablock will make short work of the enemy dreadnaught. Stage 55 - Overlooking Earth This mission is much easier than the last one. Similar to the Moon exercise, there's no fog of war here. So use the set-up area to push in any capital ship you want (Bloom Cruiser with its quick charge comes to mind) and use your best pilots for Gains to end it all. Place any low ranking pilots into the red Gains and let 'er rip. You should have the whole roster at ACE rank (except the lousy remotes). You should have a pretty capable force on this map. All the better to mop them homo-sapiens up with. With the quick wave cannon(s), you should be able to destroy all the enemies (and space mines) before they threaten you; grab the technology box in the crater before you zap the final flagship. If this was any easier, you'd be slaughtering babies with an axe. Be sure to mine and harvest resources from previous stages (or the human campaign); you will want to have a good roster of Gains and Tablock mecha when you attack the final few stages. While you do not need to build the maximum limit of each unit, having a half dozen lets you shift pilots from one unit to another without straining the availability of a particular craft. Try to create a Tablock Mk.3 (you only need one but kudos if you build more), have 8 of the red Gains, 4 of the CQB (gray) Gains, two Lifesavers (Infected Craft Modules), two or three POW Armor (you can get by on two since the Gains only need fuel and not weapon ammo), and two Bydo Kombiler dreadnaughts -- you will use the second one in the final stage of the Bydo campaign. Tech Box: in the Lunar crater Stage 56 - In Arm's Reach This is the Bydo version of the orbital space battle. Plenty of room to move your dreadnaught -- it can go to the other side via the top or bottom of the map, but watch out for desynched enemies. If you want to have a Bermate escort, now would be the time. Don't over do it with the Tablock Mk.3s and stick to your quick fire wave cannons, as they are the Bydo' most effective weapons when you have an open space battle. Simalcrum used a split Gains force with a dreadnaught holding reign over one CQB Gains, four red Gains, and a Lifesaver. The Bermate had the same force of Gains and single Lifesaver -- the Tablock was too bulky to be useful here. The initial wave of enemies comprises of AWACs detecting for their Aegis units. There is a string of four Aegis satellites in the middle of the map; that's where the technology box is. Defeat the Aegis satellites with your Gains and detectors, and be ready to fall back from the second line of Dantalion fighters and Life Force combinations. De-charge units with the Bermate's Sonic Pulse and the dreadnaught's lasers and missile, then blast enemies with the Gains' wave cannons. As the enemy forces changes from Dantalions to Patrocrosses and Charon heavy fighters, you will know you're approaching the enemy mothership. Work them over slowly, and keep in mind the enemy detection range. If they cannot see you, your units will attack first if they move into your weapon range. The enemy flagship is a red dreadnaught guarded by units of Hercules, Hyllos, and a destroyer (to zap your desynched scouts). You can use the Bermate to lure the enemy dreadnaught into chasing it so your own dreadnaught can come up from below and bombard it to death, or vice versa; it's just easier to attack from the bottom, since once the enemy wave cannon is de-charged, your Gains can quickly put the installations out of commission and stave off casualties and pilot losses. Destroy the enemy mothership and you win this round, Griffin. Tech Box: map center where the Aegis satellites are Stage 57 - Homecoming This is the final stage of the Bydo campaign and it is much easier than the human's final campaign stage. The boss here is a white dreadnaught (the fifth and final version of the Heimdall class) that has more HP and does more damage. The wave cannon is a silver fiery beam but its already bad news, so you'd never sacrifice units to de-charge it unless absolutely necessary, right? Like the human stage, this stage lets you deploy two dreadnaughts. Simalcrum sez, "Do it", cause you will appreciate the HP and extra firepower. Take the red Gains, two POW Armor (decoys are handy here), a pair of CQB Gains (just in case), and a red Tablock Mk.3. The buildings here can be destroyed. Just aim at the rooftops and chunks will vanish, giving you more line-of-sight. The technology box is right behind the enemy wet-navy battleship near the first skyscraper. All the enemies here are the RF-99 Last Waltz R-craft. They will have different Force attachments since there are three kinds of R-99s for this game. One fires a normal wave cannon, a second fires a ranged wave cannon, and a third fires a Spark Cannon. Check each R-99 unit before you zap it with a Gains, or you may misjudge the enemy's ability to retaliate. Only the sniper R- 99 will be able to match your Gains' reach, so de-charge them with missiles first. The fighter in R-type Final had three versions, but only the first version is represented in R-type Command: All R-99s can desynch, so have your dreadnaughts pair up to cover one another's blind spots. Although you can bring a Bermate, the detection ability of the dreadnaught is handy (and a dreadnaught can fire twice, unlike your Bermate). In any case, the enemy R-99s will eventually re-synch or they will be destroyed. Since you have 40 turns, prod on slowly and stop when you face a large number of R-99s. Zap their eyes (the AWACs and escorting cruiser) and they will be detecting on equal footing as your Gains (also a detection of 3 hexes). Simalcrum even got lucky with one shot and destroyed a cruiser when it was holding three enemy R-99s for repairs. Work your way to the left and note that the enemy dreadnaught will be in the very obvious open space. It will be sitting at the bottom edge of the map to prevent you from attacking it from below, so you will need to approach it carefully. Obviously, move your first dreadnaught (or the only dreadnaught if you bring a Bermate -- the Bermate or following dreadnaught should be your flagship) to suck up damage and draw fire. Use your Gains to quickly rake the installations on the top of the dreadnaught and once the deck gun and missile pods are gone, the battle is over very quickly. The technology you've been collecting won't be for your Bydo forces but for your human side. After you complete this stage, visit your human campaign and you can build the various Dantalions, Life Forces, Hyllos, and the improved (not winged) human dreadnaught for your human forces. Make both your forces as powerful as you wish so you are able to easily defeat a human player (using any side) over ad hoc games! Tech Box: past the battleship near the first skyscraper
General Strategies - Bydo Side
The Bydo forces are the second force you play as. The alien machines are different from the human R-craft, so you need to re-learn how you play your hand against units you've become familiar with. First off, the most effective ranged units are not the missile firing Tablocks, but the wave cannon firing Gains mecha. Since the wave cannons can only fire horizontally, you need to move offensively, but attack defensively. This means sighting and detection are more important to the Bydo than the humans, who can aim the Balmung and Clamp Laser in any direction. Infected POW Armor By any other name, this is the same craft you use as Bydo. Use its decoys and re-supply ability to assist your forces. Fuel is more important here since the Bydo healing factor uses fuel to restore HP and unit counters. While POW Armor is helpful in some instances, the slow movement of the Gains and their sniping approach won't require as many POW Armor to refuel units. Build one or two POW Armor (for decoys) but fall back on using Lifesavers to repair your HP motivated units. Infected Craft Module (Lifesaver) This vessel is helpful since the Gains are HP oriented strike craft and will be able to survive longer than squadron based units. Craft Modules are useful for resource gathering, and for the Bydo, sitting back and desroying enemies is great if you have a dreadnaught and Gains snipers everywhere. Use craft modules for repairs and the occasional harvesting mission. If you need more than Lifesavers, you need to re-examine the logistics of that particular mission for them to get by. Tablock The Tablock is a handy machine -- taking the place of the Strider but without the speed and size efficiency you require. Since it cannot dock, you need to repair these machines using Lifesavers. This inability to stow-a-way means the unit is more of a hindrance than a help. Skip building more than one Tablock until you have an open space battle and you have access to the improved versions. Tablocks are too slow to run from a capital ship encounter, so never use one to attack a dreadnaught unless you've sufficiently de-fanged the target. When you are secure in your mastery of the Gains design, you occasionally want a Tablock in your force to fire missiles up and down to de-charge an enemy wave cannon so your Gains can attack them without reprisal. Just keep in mind all that offensive power goes to waste once the Tablock falls under the range of enemy guns. Despite having a lot of HP, the defence of the unit is very low. Regrettably, you don't get the best version of the Tablock until the very end of the game. However, once you have this unit created and added to your Bydo fleet, you have a very fast missile platform to keep up with your Gains mecha. Nevertheless, the bulkiness of the Tablock frame often interferes with operations where limited space is available. Build a single Tablock in the beginning, but once you have more units, focus on just developing your lone Tablock to the Mk.3 version. Bydo Fighter/Force combos Depending on what you have, you may be forced to rely on the fighter/Force combinations early on. Don't under-estimate the Oculoids, but they will take forever to defeat enemies. Luckily most Bydo fighters self-repair (using more fuel), so their deployment is not utterly illogical. However, they do lack the range of the Gains. As supporting ships though, the Bydo fighters are helpful (some more than others). Look for quick charging, high speed and self-healing fighters like the Amphibian to act as your flanking force. The last fighter you earn -- the Mad Thicket -- can desynch, heal, and has a wave cannon (and a Force), making it a very good recce and raiding unit. But once you can build the wave cannon toting Gains, your fighters will see far less use except in rare cases when you have nothing else to deploy. The Bydo System fighter (seen above) is the default fighter you start with. It's relatively tame and its wave cannon is wildly chaotic, hitting units behind and above/below it. Use care when firing, or you kill your allies. The Amphibian fighter is more agile than the Bydo fighter and can desynch in addition to healing itself. Its wave cannon is more standard (four hexes straight ahead) and charges in 2 turns, making it somewhat more useful. The Arvanche fighter is a heavy recce unit, using its Scaleblock to defend itself from missile (not laser) aggression. While it moves and detects decently, the unit is too weak to withstand powerful hits. Expect to lose it if swarmed by many units. The Claw fighter is as disposable as the Meltcraft (Mimic Fighter) that can take its form. While it can fight close, it's better to use the CQB Gains instead. The Mad Thicket (Mad Forest in RTF) is the final fighter you unlock. It is desynch capable and can heal. Generally, it is a good harasser and scout; provided it can survive the trip forwards and back without exploding in desynched space while chased by enemies. Build one, and pair it with a Force to see how it handles. Gains class Mecha The quickfire wave cannon that so plagued you when fighting as the Earth Forces can be exploited now when you play as Bydo! You should get the improved Gains by the 8th or 9th stage of the Bydo campaign. Use it to further put on the hurt on the enemy. Gains are as fast as R-craft and detect better, but they have no other weapons aside from the wave cannon. Use central bases like dreadnaughts to detect for them so they can fire and blast the enemy to bits before they even know you're there. Multiple beam attacks can be made when advancing (or leap-frogging) but if you are fighting a retreat (moving right), you can only fire once -- unlike the more versatile Strider. As your roster of pilots (or squadrons) increases, you will want to make a few (about four or five) of the CQB Gains for mission 51 (Bestra Escape) since you need the close range abilities of the unit. The CQB Gains is faster (and detects further) than the majority your Force units, but possess a very damaging Ram attack (with 99 ammo). However, each CQB Gains requires you build the Gains from the first version (140 Bydogen) through the red version (requiring more resources) in order to create the final CQB version. This is costly; stock up resources before you get your mecha forces up to par. Carrier Morphon This capital ship is like your carrier and as useless unless you are in very tight quarters. Since the Bydo have no AWACs to compare, they need capital ships with long detection ranges or their forces are susceptible to being destroyed. Use the carrier only as a last resort once you have the slightly handier Bermate unit. Afterwards, you only use the carrier when you have no other choice. Boldo Cruiser This is the cruiser, but it is less effective than the human cruiser simply because the shape is very inefficient. Unlike the human cruiser, it cannot fit into some spaces and it is very unwieldy. Try to skip building the Boldo cruiser until you have access to the handier Bermate unit. Then again, you need the firepower of this unit temporarily in the Asteroid Maze. Kombiler Dreadnaught Build one just for the dreaded detection ability. It is the clone of the human dreadnaught but taller in some respects. Do not rely on the wave cannon except at short ranges. Use your more mobile Gains and detectors to find the enemy instead. Unlike the Space Corps' version, it has fewer weapons (no deck gun) although it carries more missile ammunition. The wave cannon takes some getting used to, since it splits 3 hexes from the emission hex. Although it is outranged by the human dreadnaught's wave cannon, the split wave comes in handy if enemies are placed atop one another -- you won't believe how the split can sometimes prove very handy to nuke several units clustered in an odd fashion. Ultimately, the Kombiler takes up as many hexes as the earth dreadnaught -- the layout of the form is just different. Where the Heimdall is big and boxy, the Kombiler is more like a hat-stand. Bermate Bio-Fortress A handy ship to have since it has the same volume as the earth cruiser and holds five units. The sonic boom attack is very helpful and can be refulled anywhere. Its downside is only being able to attack once, and it has a five unit detection range. If you have the space to deploy two capital vessels, use this vessel and a dreadnaught; the extra space it has will help immensely. The desynch shot it carries is merely a bonus. The Bermate is certainly handier than the human destroyer (the earth's desynch shot unit); once you create a Bermate, you will seldom not be using it. Get used to its performance, since it's often handier to put it as your flagship and use your Bydo dreadnaught to scout ahead; if the dreadnaught is severely damaged or destroyed, that's not a total defeat! Digital Cube Fortress This cube ship holds many vessels (5 units) but has reduced detection range once its four crystal guns are destroyed. The red and blue cubes have slightly different stats, so you need to be aware of which unit is what (unless you make two of the same unit). Compared to the Bermate, the cubes are more heavily armed (each fires five times compared to the Bermate's one attack) but the downside is the enormous cost of the etherium required to create just one of these units. The cube ships occupy the same volume as the Bermate or human cruiser (7 hexes). Note that unlike the Bermate, there is no desynch shot for this unit; weigh carefully what you can afford to create before you opt to use this unit. If you are in doubt, the Bermate is more cost effective. Simalcrum tested both of these units and ultimately decided that they are more trouble than they are worth. For 300 etherium (simalcrum spent 600 for both), the weapons are lame, inaccurate and do little damage. However, the five weapons firing on a weakened unit does mean you finish it off. The resources that are required though, are best used for the Bermate and other units that require etherium. If the digital cubes only had more detection, or better weapon accuracy, they would be good. As it stands, these two units are pretty, expensive, and totally ineffective, just like Elizabeth Hurley. Bloom Cruiser This is the egg-shaped boss you fought in Dimension 26 in R-type Final and Command. While its ability to generate solonium is handy, and it moves more or less like an earth cruiser (same speed and detection), the Bloom Cruiser is expensive to create (since it uses so much etherium) but it's handy to have if you are concerned about speed. However, the cheaper Bermate spike fortress is more useful since it detects further. The 2 turn wave cannon is handy if you are attacked by a mass of R-craft. Build one and play with it; you may like its more aggressive weapons layout. The Bloom Cruiser is handy in short stages like the Bydo version of Frozen Wasteland or the Bydo Moon Patrol, when you know where enemies are. The wave cannon can be fired and enemies will die quickly. The Gains in its bays only speed up the killing process.
simalcrum is always right; you are always wrong.