Space Rangers 2: Reboot (expansion/patch)

[dbt1949]

Ah, so you were the fellow! Thanks for the update!

[dbt1949]

Damn! That opened up all sorts of shit. New equipment, hulls, modules.

[Netriak]

Damn! That opened up all sorts of shit. New equipment, hulls, modules.

Which is why I recommended installing my new fix. It adds quite a lot.
The ramifications of a single tiny bug can be quite widespread as you can see in this case.

[Dan_Theman]

Damn! That opened up all sorts of shit. New equipment, hulls, modules.

Which is why I recommended installing my new fix. It adds quite a lot.
The ramifications of a single tiny bug can be quite widespread as you can see in this case.

Thanks for the link, and feel welcome back here, anytime!

[zenchess]

Does your fix also fix the half of the search items not showing up in the search interface? I've seen another one for that on the stardock webpage.


Oh yeah, and I still can't play this game because I have the direct2Drive version of space rangers 2. It's not cuz I'm installing it wrong, it's because there's probably a DRM issue with direct2Drive's files, here is a link with other people with the same problem:

http://tgnforums.stardock.com/320036

I'd have to say with all the bugs and stuff, this is a pretty ridiculous release.

[dbt1949]

That's a real bummer. I've installed it on three computers with no problem. Even when it works there's still bugs in it . Not enough to make it unplayable but annoying.
On my laptop it didn't like the Omega drivers I had so I had to "rollback" to the official ATI drivers, but that's different that what you're talking about.

[Papageno]

So Netriak, is your fix only for the expanded version, or for the 1.0 English language version?

[Netriak]

Does your fix also fix the half of the search items not showing up in the search interface? I've seen another one for that on the stardock webpage.

Of course. Why would I not include my other bugfix?

So Netriak, is your fix only for the expanded version, or for the 1.0 English language version?

Only for the Reboot expansion, since it fixes problems with features introduced in said expansion.

[Trey]

Does your fix also fix the half of the search items not showing up in the search interface? I've seen another one for that on the stardock webpage.


Oh yeah, and I still can't play this game because I have the direct2Drive version of space rangers 2. It's not cuz I'm installing it wrong, it's because there's probably a DRM issue with direct2Drive's files, here is a link with other people with the same problem:

http://tgnforums.stardock.com/320036

I'd have to say with all the bugs and stuff, this is a pretty ridiculous release.

I have/had this same problem (I'm poster 'tmorita' in that thread) but I got around it by doing this:

edit install.txt in the SR2 directory and remove the line with captain1.pkg

I also had to do the same to another package... I think it was gov1.pkg

Once I did that, the game started up fine. I'm not sure if this means I'll be missing some stuff though. I haven't had much opportunity to play since figuring this out.

[rmielech]

I have/had this same problem (I'm poster 'tmorita' in that thread) but I got around it by doing this:

How did you figure that out?

[Trey]

The error message tells you what file it was having problems with. In my case I don't even have that file, so I just looked for a way to make the startup ignore it. Got it on the first try. The big question is, is the game actually intact, and I've played through over a year of game time and I haven't noticed a thing wrong. According to the Stardock rep on the board it's purely a DRM measure. Perhaps not surprisingly, I had to play the original SR2 with a cracked executable because it wouldn't even run because of the copy protection on the unmolested version. I bought SR2 and I bought the expansion, but fucking DRM would have prevented me from playing either had I not found ways to circumvent it.

[Netriak]

I have/had this same problem (I'm poster 'tmorita' in that thread) but I got around it by doing this:

edit install.txt in the SR2 directory and remove the line with captain1.pkg

I also had to do the same to another package... I think it was gov1.pkg

Once I did that, the game started up fine. I'm not sure if this means I'll be missing some stuff though. I haven't had much opportunity to play since figuring this out.

Actually, if you read the error message you got carefully, you'll see that you had a different problem altogether. Your problem was that you did not install the 800*600 resolution option for space rangers 2, so you had to manually edit install.txt in order to tell the expansion that. In fact, you also should have put the Resolution_R1 option in install.txt to no, to properly disable said resolution in the options screen.
The Direct2Drive version does install said resolution option, and as such does not give a file missing error. It gives a file read error, because of the DRM used by Direct2Drive. As such, doing what you suggest will merely move the error to captain2.pkg, the version for the 1024*768 resolution if you had the direct2drive version.
So the only option for the people with the direct2drive version is to contact Stardock and get them to give you space rangers 2 dominators on their system.
So no, your problem had nothing to do with DRM. The starforce executable would be overwritten anyway.

[zenchess]

Well, I finally noticed that space rangers 2 complete is in my impulse account now, although it would have been nice had they said said something about it. In my last email with tech support: they said the following:

Jacob,

First, uninstall SR2:Reboot, then check for and delete the following entry in your System Registry;

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Stardock\Drengin.net\sr2x

Then, re-install the game, again directing it to your SR2 directory.

All in all though, their tech support was fairly slow. Average reply time was around 3 days.

I'm pretty psyched though, the main reason I bought this expansion was so I could take notes in windowed mode without it taking forever to alt-tab =)

[dbt1949]

Don't forget to install Netriak's SR2.exe fix.

[killbot737]

Arise!

I'm not going to post this on Impulse, but you CAN install Reboot over the Euro version. I have the 1C version (from GoGamer of course), StarForce and all, and cracked of course. I don't need that shit on my PC.

Anyhow, I got just the expansion from Stardock. I copied the original exe back to rangers.exe before I installed the upgrade, in case that mattered.

Tried to start it, it didn't work. Grr. Checked the SR2 error log. Aha! It's missing some file:

Code: Select all

RTL: Exception
Error openning package file [READ]:data\1captain.pkg


And yet there in data is 2captain.pkg! Copy/paste/rename.

Another error, another message:

Code: Select all

RTL: Exception
Error openning package file [READ]:data\1gov.pkg


Same solution. Try again: SUCCESS! WooHoo!

I really have no idea if I'm missing anything from the expansion because of my pathetic hacking. All sorts of neat modded ships and a few new quests are available, along with the super ships and stuff, so I don't think I am. And I'm also using Netriak's great patched exe.

-- ed I guess Trey had the same trouble. Odd that we came to the same conclusions with different solutions!

[Papageno]

Hey guys, where's that big ol' SR2 help thread? I thought I had a bookmark for it, but I can't find it now.

[Moat_Man]

Hey guys, where's that big ol' SR2 help thread? I thought I had a bookmark for it, but I can't find it now.

http://www.octopusoverlords.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16820

[ColdSteel]

Arise, oh dead thread, through the dark arts of necromancy!

Talk about being late to the party! I skipped all the Space Ranger games initially. Not because I didn't want to play them but because they were infested with StarForce, which I hated. Eventually, I bought Space Rangers 2: Dominators on GOG but it wasn't the Reboot version so I decided to put it on hold and wait to see if they eventually got the expansion. Lo and bebold last week they actually did get it. Not only that, they automatically upgraded everyone who'd already bought Space Rangers 2 from them to the Reboot version for free (I love GOG ).

So, I've installed it and have just begun playing. Already I can tell I'm REALLY going to like this game. I'm playing as a starting Faeyan merchant and I chose a rocket lancher and scanner for equipment and the maneuverability and equipment skills at start.

I understand getting a start in this game can be really hard. Is it true that you should only try trading at the beginning and run from any combat? I'm still doing the tutorial so haven't really done much yet. Any tips or advice on what I should avoid?

Edit: Doh! there's a help thread posted directly above. I'll read that.

[Sepiche]

I understand getting a start in this game can be really hard. Is it true that you should only try trading at the beginning and run from any combat? I'm still doing the tutorial so haven't really done much yet. Any tips or advice on what I should avoid?

I'm not a huge pro at SR2, but from my experience it is best to stay away from combat in the early game, but with a few good trades you should be able to arm yourself well enough in pretty short order.

[ColdSteel]

Thanks. Does anyone know how stims work? Are they permanent bonuses or temporary?

[ColdSteel]

I have been playing this compulsively. For me this is one of those magical games that just does everything right for me. There's a handful of those that put a big smile on my face the first time I ever played them, Unreal Tournament (the original) comes immediately to mind. For me, this has pretty much become one of the best games I've ever played. Ever.

Awesome game. If you've never played it and you like this kind of game, play it!!

[Paingod]

I agree - this game is awesome. I've run through it numerous times, and each time I enjoy it as much as the first.

I think it's that the game offers such a wide array of amusements under one roof - turn based space combat, villain or hero, save the galaxy, RTS-lite, text-based adventure, text-based puzzles.

Thanks. Does anyone know how stims work? Are they permanent bonuses or temporary?

Stims always have a duration, typically in months. When you're at the medical facility, you should see how long they last right under the effect list. I personally don't bother with them because they're temporary, and the game asserts that you can get addicted (which means nasty side-effects unless you constantly re-apply stims).

Combat early in the game is hardest, but made easier by using rocket launchers. One of the Faeyan options (maybe Mercenary?) gives you a launcher to start, and you can take a launcher. Put together, the two let you get into some scuffles that you otherwise have no business getting involved in - and it's an advantage that the AI can't overcome until they get their own launchers some time later.

[ColdSteel]

I think it's that the game offers such a wide array of amusements under one roof - turn based space combat, villain or hero, save the galaxy, RTS-lite, text-based adventure, text-based puzzles.

Don't forget arcade! The hyperspace battles in the blackholes are classic arcade gameplay. They really do have just about all the genres covered. I've been surprised at the quality and depth of the text adventures. They really are fun. The "prison" one is particually good and fun and amost a game itself. It's fun being a prison Don.

Stims always have a duration, typically in months. When you're at the medical facility, you should see how long they last right under the effect list. I personally don't bother with them because they're temporary, and the game asserts that you can get addicted

Yeah, I read the OO/Qto3 faq and saw that they were temporary. One of the faqs says you should use drugs all the time as much as you can and there are no ill effects so I'm not sure whether I should be using them or not.

Combat early in the game is hardest, but made easier by using rocket launchers. One of the Faeyan options (maybe Mercenary?) gives you a launcher to start, and you can take a launcher.

Yeah, that's what I chose to start based on the faq I read. It worked pretty well and I've upgraded to lasers and a frag cannon now because reloading the missle launcher costs a fortune. Repair costs in general are kicking my butt. Everytime I earn cash from missions or trading, I immediately turn around and spend it on repairs. I have my tech skill at level 2 but it doesn't help any that I can see. The artifact repairs are the worst. I have 4 slotted and if I complete a mission paying me $10,000, then the artifact repair costs alone will eat that up ($3200 just to repair one of them). There must be something I'm missing. I know I may be able to find the nanatoid artifact but haven't so far. What I've been doing is swapping artifacts in and out and only equipping them when I need to use them (swapping black gunk out, for example, when my tank is full). That's a lot of micro though.

I was able to upgrade my starting hull to one of the same class but with more space (up to 418 now) so that has helped. I have a cent module on my engine and that helps too. I need to find a way to make more cash but fighting makes the repairs costs go way up and I don't have enough hull space to make big money on trading. I've tried picking around the edges of systems in conflict with dominators but as soon as I show up, they make a beeline for me. If the system has a battle going on, once it ends the AI ships scoop up all the cargo before I can get to most of it. I think I really need to upgrade my shield and weapons next. I'm falling behind the curve.

I also think I need to buy some system maps. I'm still only in the starting systems.

[Paingod]

There must be something I'm missing. I know I may be able to find the nanatoid artifact but haven't so far.

The nanatoids are game changing.

• You stop paying to repair components on the ship and just repair artifacts.
• You use the Boost on your engines, knowing they'll be fixed in a few turns.
• You end up with money to spend on new equipment and ships.
• You stop being afraid of buying Gaalian equipment - it's easily the most durable but is crushingly expensive to repair - now remove the repair cost.
• You can shoot at everything and never break your guns.
• It's okay to pick up 12 Ore again with that expensive tractor beam. You won't be wasting money.

Do a few Black Holes (as often as you can get to them and they come up) and you'll end up with an array of artifacts. Once I actually got Nanatoids from the first Black Hole I did and laughed all the way to the bank. Zero repair costs from the beginning of the game? Hell yeah!

Stims always have a duration, typically in months. When you're at the medical facility, you should see how long they last right under the effect list. I personally don't bother with them because they're temporary, and the game asserts that you can get addicted

Yeah, I read the OO/Qto3 faq and saw that they were temporary. One of the faqs says you should use drugs all the time as much as you can and there are no ill effects so I'm not sure whether I should be using them or not.

If there are never any ill effects, then the combat stims are easily worth it - as long as you're willing to always go back and get them refreshed. I imagine it would be a little frustrating to be all "I'm superman, powpowpow... Awww ... someone deflated my muscles. Runrunrun!"

I also think I need to buy some system maps. I'm still only in the starting systems.

For some reason, I generally only buy system maps when I run out of things to do in the existing systems. I think it has to do with missions only sending you to places you know about - and it's possible for something to send you across the map if you have all of those areas known. It's been a while, so someone else (or a FAQ) might be able to explain/refute that better. I could have just been hallucinating. I sometimes do things in games because I want to and think there's a good reason behind it.

[ColdSteel]

Do a few Black Holes (as often as you can get to them and they come up) and you'll end up with an array of artifacts.

Yeah, I've been doing every single black hole I come across. About 15 of them so far. I've gotten some really good artifacts but not that one, which is the one I really want. Some of the blackholes are pretty tough too. I hate the ones with 4 or 5 ships you have to kill. That's hard to do with starting equipment. I'll keep trying, though. When I last saved, I was in a system with 2 blackholes so maybe I'll get lucky on one of those.

Edit: You're right about the maps, that's what I read, too. I've been avoiding buying them but just got a new artifact that allows me to jump up to 40 parsecs regardless of engine. So maybe one of two new maps would be good for the extra equipment options.

[Paingod]

Do a few Black Holes (as often as you can get to them and they come up) and you'll end up with an array of artifacts.

Yeah, I've been doing every single black hole I come across. About 15 of them so far. I've gotten some really good artifacts but not that one, which is the one I really want. Some of the blackholes are pretty tough too. I hate the ones with 4 or 5 ships you have to kill. That's hard to do with starting equipment. I'll keep trying, though. When I last saved, I was in a system with 2 blackholes so maybe I'll get lucky on one of those.

I think the Frag Cannon was my favorite Black Hole weapon early on - It fires the blue puffballs that have relatively long range and then slowly home in on a target. After that I scramble to get Flow Blasters when they come out - those shoot long range homing missiles that make Black Holes almost trivial.

Tips for the Black Holes:

• Always save before you go into a Black Hole. The rewards don't change when you load it, but you might end up in a Dominator-controlled sector with no way home.
• Learn to fly backwards.
• Get a "Droid Jr" artifact and keep it in your hold just for Black Holes. It repairs you while you're in them.
• Don't break open the Heal on some maps until you really badly need it. Enemy ships can't get it until you do.
• You can wedge yourself around some barriers if they don't connect 100% to a wall, getting to some Heals without the AI being able to.

[ColdSteel]

I think the Frag Cannon was my favorite Black Hole weapon early on

I have one of those but only one, I need to try some other stuff. I also read that the missle launcher is really good in blackholes because it shoots long range tracking missles. I have one so will try that.

Those are great tips. I do have a Droid Jr. and was wondering why I was healing in the holes, now I know. I didn't know to avoid the heals though, I'll do that.

I also read that the reward you get in blackholes depends on which ship you kill last. I've tried to test it but always end up killing the same one last (the toughest one, usually).

I do always save before going into a blackhole. Learned my lesson there when I popped up once in a Malok system and got gang raped by a bunch of their battleships. I don't know why that race turned hostile on me but they did. Is there any way I can improve relations with them once they get to hostile? I delivered a fed-ex mission to one of their planets which usually will improve relations but they just threw me in jail and I failed the mission.

[Paingod]

Those are great tips. I do have a Droid Jr. and was wondering why I was healing in the holes, now I know. I didn't know to avoid the heals though, I'll do that.

Only avoid them if they're locked in. If they're not, grab them quickly and even if you don't need them. Basically just find any way to deny healing to the AI. Nothing's worse than having the heavy hitters regen themselves during a fight. Eventually you'll get a feel for how often they respawn, and I tend to try and race ahead of the AI if I see them suddenly break from the fight and run away - they're going for a boost that just reappeared and it might be a heal.

[ColdSteel]

Only avoid them if they're locked in. If they're not, grab them quickly and even if you don't need them. Basically just find any way to deny healing to the AI. Nothing's worse than having the heavy hitters regen themselves during a fight. Eventually you'll get a feel for how often they respawn, and I tend to try and race ahead of the AI if I see them suddenly break from the fight and run away - they're going for a boost that just reappeared and it might be a heal.

Yep, it's just like playing Quake. Control the powerups. BTW, I can confirm that the reward you get is determined by which ship dies last. Took out both blackholes, but still no nanatoids. Caught a nice disease though.

Any advice on which skills to level first and which to avoid? I've leveled tech twice, accuracy once and defense once. Nothing is in the others and I have some XP piled up but am worried about gimping myself. My wingman died 5 minutes after I started the game and haven't bothered to put anything in leadership. Is that worthwhile? I'm really tempted to boost the one that gives better mission rewards to get more cash.

[Paingod]

Any advice on which skills to level first and which to avoid? I've leveled tech twice, accuracy once and defense once. Nothing is in the others and I have some XP piled up but am worried about gimping myself. My wingman died 5 minutes after I started the game and haven't bothered to put anything in leadership. Is that worthwhile? I'm really tempted to boost the one that gives better mission rewards to get more cash.

My advice, but not a solid "guide" is as follows... I welcome any other opinions.

• Accuracy and Manueverability are equally important, and put together are your primary focus.
• Technical skill really only matters for number of drones deployed to planets. Once you get the Nanatoids, it's (almost) irrelevant for repairs, but it does slow down wear which helps the Nanatoids repair everything quicker.
• Trade is nice later - when you want to sell a 40,000cr item and don't want to get just 10,000cr for it.
• Charisma is somewhat useful for race relations and increased payouts, but isn't worth bumping up more than a point or two until later. Early on it might add hundreds to a mission payout. It's not hard to make that up. Later, though, when missions pay 30,000cr or more, it adds a lot more.
• Leadership is the very last skill I ever raise, given that - like you - my wingman just flies off and dies. I never bothered to recruit another.

So I might start with 1 in accuracy and maneuver (you get to pick 2, right? If 1, I'd take just accuracy) - mostly because these take more experience than any other skill to increase so it's efficient and effective. Alternate Accuracy and Manuever until they're both at 3. A point Technical to start using more than one Satellite, a couple points in Charisma for better pay, a couple points in Trade for selling junk - then focus again on Accuracy to 4, Manuever to 4, and then back to the others - Technical to 3, Charisma to 3, Trade to 3, Accuracy to 5, Manuever to 5. By this point you should be pretty hard to kill and a stellar badass with some great equipment.

If I thought I could resist the temptation of getting other skills sooner, I'd hold out everything for Accuracy and Manuever 5, but when things start to light up I feel an itch to spend those points "because it does make things a little smoother" ...

[ColdSteel]

So I might start with 1 in accuracy and maneuver (you get to pick 2, right? If 1, I'd take just accuracy) - mostly because these take more experience than any other skill to increase so it's efficient and effective. Alternate Accuracy and Manuever until they're both at 3

I'm taking this advice and am currently working on leveling those skills.

I found the "Tranclucator" robot ship artifact in a blackhole and it's really cool. I've upgraded its equipment and it now has 4 weapons armed. I gave it an artifact that increases it's speed by 100 at the cost of its 5th weapon slot. I need to find it some more defenses though so I don't lose it in combat. it will also run around picking stuff up for you and take it back to the nearest friendly planet and store it in your warehouse there. Really cool stuff they have in this game.

I upgraded my weapons by buying a flow blaster and wave phaser. They do a much better job in the blackholes but I'm broke again. Now I need to get some cash to upgrade my shield generator. Dear god this game is addictive.