Act 2 Mission 24 - Hide and Seek - field gen?

I've tried Act 2 Mission 24 (Hide and Seek) about 3 times now and failed every single time! I've managed to get the FTL Antenna and bring it to the Faust L-Point. But I can't seem to get the Field Generator from the Marauder Cargo Yard. Everytime I approach the cargo pods, I get detected by the Cargo Inspector tugs and blown up! I've even tried using the cheat codes to jump to the cargo pod - and I still get blown up!

Anyone have any advice?

It's all in the timing, with a large amount of luck thrown in. It's based on distance... get too close to the enemy ships; you're detected.

When you approach, keep the generator directly between you and the enemy craft (at their nearest point to the gen). Move closer each time the enemy fly out to look about. Watch the HUD for it's warning message. If the message appears, get back a little.

There is a window when you are about 10-12 km from the generator. You wait for the bad guys to come out and inspect, and, as they return to the station, you move forward (towards the gen) keeping the same amount of distance between you and them. When you get within 5 km of the gen, hit autodock with it. Be prepared to use thrust override to get out fast.

This is a difficult mission; My first time around, I played it about five times before I beat it.

No confusion; just wrong or right ... Only Solutions

Shane,
Just wanted to let you know that your tactics worked beautifully. I managed to pick up the field generators, but it was a bit of a close call getting out of the Cargo Yard.

FYI, you can use the "KillTarget" cheat to blow up the three Cargo Inspector tugs as they leave the field generators. That way, you won't get caught. Personally I derive more satisfaction from accomplishing the mission without resort to cheating.

Thanks for your help.

Glad to help. That mission got a little irritating after the fourth time.

By the sixth or seventh time, I had to go outside and jump up and down in frustration for a while. It was that or kill the computer.

[edit] You know, I'd forgotten about it; when you dock to the pod, Smith goes to get the gen. Then he starts talking about something, (something like "Oy, Cal, when I was a wee lad I hooked me dog Sparky up to...") while I'm sitting there sweating, with the enemy ships targeted and moving closer by the moment. I had failed the mission many times and was concerned that I might fail again for this delay. In a panic, I yelled "Just get the #&*@!$# generator!" at top volume.

At which point, my wife, in the next room, suggested I should play less 'intense' games.

No confusion; just wrong or right ... Only Solutions

Nice to know I caused you all so much stress! [}]

That mission was very hard to write, as you could encounter the different bases in any order. There are a few glitches in it, but on the whole I'm quite pleased with it.

I just wish we'd had save points. (I originally designed that mission with save points in mind, but we never implemented that feature).

-- Steve
Stephen Robertson
Particle Systems
Independence War Website

Yet this mission (this one and the Trouble With Gunstars and Dante's Inferno) would not have been as good with saves between segments.

While one part of me says 'I hate having hours wasted', there's another that enjoys the hard missions and largely forgets about the easy ones.

Hard things, which take a lot of work, make it more meaningful when they are completed.

No confusion; just wrong or right ... Only Solutions