Okay, so, here we are stranded on Manhattan, with no ship and no way to get back home...
Oh. Speaking of that, there's one thing worth mentioning: Edison Trent keeps a personal journal. Let's check it.
So... that dude we last saw wheeled out on a hover gurney is named Lonnigan, and he owes Trent a fat load of cash. But he's not quite in the condition to pay up, so Trent's stranded here until he gets better.
With that said... let's check the local bar.
So, this is the local bar. Trent walks in and makes way to the bar stand.
Trent: Sidewinder Fang.
Bartrender: All we have is Liberty Ale, friend.
Trent: Fine.
Bartrender goes to pur Trent's drink, Trent looks around and notices a lady sitting at one of the tables.
Bartrender: Her name's Junko Zane. She's a tough one.
Trent: Oh, why's that?
Bartrender: She's LSF. All business. If it's the job you want, that is. On the other hand, if you're looking for something more...
Trent: Oh, the only thing I'm looking for right now is this drink. *drinks*
Bartender thinks for a bit
Bartrender: I know you.
Trent: No, I don't think so.
Bartrender: The news. I saw your face on the news. You're one of the Freeport 7 survivors, aren't you?
Trent: Yeah.
Bartrender: I've heard it was pretty bad out there. You know, you're lucky to be alive.
Trent: Hah.
Bartrender: *pours something* This one's on me, friend. It's the good stuff.
Trent: Why?
Bartrender: Because it's not every day a man has a chance to start again. To your good fortune in Liberty, sir.
Trent: Well, it can't get any worse! *drinks* Thanks.
So. The game wants us to bug this Junko Zane lady? Let's bug this Junko Zane lady.
Junko Zane: I understand what you're saying, but I don't have nearly enough people!
So... apparently you decided to bug Junko Zane during some talks with an important looking man. Smooth, Mr. Trent. Real smooth.
Important Looking Man: Juni, the environment has changed. Groups like the Order are taking more and more liberties, indeed now, threatening our profits. Some in the government think we need to increase our patrols in the area...
Trent butts in
Trent: Ahem. You Junko Zane?
JZ: Yes.
ILM: I believe you have business to discuss.
Important Looking Man makes to leave
JZ: Wait!
ILM: I will leave this matter in your capable hands. *leaves*
Trent: Sorry. Bartrender said you work for the Liberty Security Force.
JZ: And who do you work for, mister...
Trent: Trent. I work for myself.
JZ: What kind of ship do you have?
Trent: I've lost mine. On Freeport 7.
JZ: I see. Are you staying in Liberty long?
Trent: I've got a friend who was injured in the attack. he's in medical. I'll be here at least until he's released.
JZ: Well, as it happens I could use a good freelancer, Mr. Trent. I'll be in the equipment dealer room soon, You can meet me there
JZ: Oh. And if we are going to work together - call me Juni.
So... let's go to the Equipment Dealer then.
Trent: Hello?
Lights go up, revealing a pile of junk commonly known as Starflier-class light fighter in the middle. Trent walks up to it as Juni appears.
Juni: I'm pleased to see you. Are you ready to work for the LSF, Mr. Trent?
Trent: It's just Trent. And yeah. I'm here to see what you have to offer.
Juni: Well, I found this ship for you. It's very basic, and you won't have jump access, but should be good enough for now. This assignment will be easy. All you'll have to do is babysit a convoy of food and medical supplies. You'll be hooking up with the convoy CO King. I'll tell him to expect you. Of course, if you're interested.
Actaully, since you only get a ship if you press Accept, pressing Decline is counterproductive. So naturally I click Accept.
Trent: Good. I'm in.
Juni: Good, better get going. I'll have your ship moved immediately. All you'll have to do is to go to the landing pad and launch. King will be waiting for you near the Docking Ring in space, okay? I'll see you when you'll get back.
Trent: Thanks.
Okay, now time to prepare!
In Vanilla FL, Trent only had 500 credits, like said in his log. But in Crossfire, your starting credits are bumped to 150 000 credits! Contain your excitement, everything in Crossfire is also more expensive. But we are yet to reach all that equipment with 9-10 million credit price tag. For now, 150 thousands are a godsend.
First of all, let's visit the ship dealer.
Another change from FL Vanilla is that there's no more level lock for ships and equipment! That means, I can immediately ditch the Starflier and get something else. I chose Patriot LF.
Next step, equipment dealer. I installed four Lavablades Mk 3.
Last but not the least, playing with the controls.
I set Nanobots and Shield Batteries to my mouse's side buttons. I also set Fire Weapons Group 2 to E key.
The reason for setting Activate/Set Weapon Groups will be explained later.
Now let's take off and get this show off the road.
Here, player's ship is always shown up as a Starflier even if you somehow use something else. Now, there's a Patriot approaching player's ship...
King: You must be Trent. I'm King, the CO of this mission. I contacted the lead transport of the convoy. They completed all their pre-launch checks and are ready to go. Should be easy run from here to Fort Bush and then on to Pittsburgh. Ready?
Trent: It's good to meet you, King.
Trent: Is that a Rheinland Cruiser?
King: That's Donau. Admiral Shultzki's flagship. He's visiting Manhattan to attend a high-level meeting with President Jacobi. Keep your distance.
RNS Donau: Newark Station, this is RNS Donau, requesting clearance to dock with your station, over.
Newark: Affirmative Donau, You are cleared for docking point six. Liberty welcomes you and Admiral Shultzki.
Newark: Donau, be advised, we're picking up unknown contacts. Advise caution.
Donau: Understood Newark. All escorts, power up weapons!
Rheinland Fighter: Affirmative, ready to engage.
Rheinland Fighter: Roger, tracking incoming ships.
Newark: Unidentified ships, this is Newark Station. You are entering restricted space. Alter course at once or we will open fire.
The fighters launch missiles
Order Fighter: Do not interfere. We're here to protect the President! Shultzki is a traitor!
Well... The game didn't even begin properly, and two highly important targets in our vicinity got blown up. I wonder if this ends up a drinking game?
Combat time! (For combat videos refer to Video Aids section)
Now, it's not much of a fight for Trent. I've been playing Freelancer for >10 years now, and I don't think these guys ever acknowledge Trent's existence. Even though at this point, my Lavablades can cause some damage - assuming that I can land a hit.
As you can see in the combat video, landing a hit IS a problem, between their rate of fire and projectile speed. We will get to that in a moment.
Between Trent, King and a bunch of Liberty and Rheinland fighters, the five Order ships are promptly destroyed. It's funny 'cos during the combat King actually asks Newark "Where are our reinforcements?" I done goofed and did not record all the banter in this section until further notice, so keep it at that.
The Order fighters are destroyed soon. Player gets a little tutorial on how to use their Tractor Beam and 1 unit of Construction Machinery to pick up. Well, this is because in vanilla FL, Order fighters used to drop jack all. In CF, they have normal drops. Then, some banter takes place, and I decided to use that moment to do the following:
- Disable all weapons.
- Press Activate Weapons Group 1 (Set to Shift+Delete)
- Hold Assign Weapon Group 1 (Delete) and enable all four Lavablades again
- Press Activate Weapons Group 2 (Set to Shift+End)
- Hold Assign Weapons Group 2 (End) and enable Lavablades No. 2 and 4
- Press Activate Weapons Group 1 (Shift+Delete), enabling all four Lavablades.
Okay, what exactly I have done was to set Lavablades No. 2 and 4 to Weapons Group 2. As you can remember, I set Fire Weapons Group 2 to E key. Now if I press E and then right mouse button, I'll have my guns fire half-salvos from diagonal barrels roughly twice as often as I would full salvos, a la Flakvierling 38.
I call this Half Salvo Rapid Firing. It's slightly more difficult to set than full-on rapidfiring (where you fire only one gun at a time) but easier to use (you only have to press one extra button to have it going as opposed to three in rapid succession).
Now let's move on. King sets a waypoint on the Trade Lane. Go to it. Once you reach it, King will command you to dock with it.
King: Trent! We reached the trade lane. Engaging activation sequence. Trent, you go first.
King: Activation sequence completed. Lane jump initiated. This is it, Trent. This is one of the major arteries through Manhattan space.
Actually, Trade Lanes are the most comfortable way of travel within civilized space. Enjoy the luxury while you can.
Trent and King arrive at Fort Bush
King: Transport Leader, this is LSF patrol Gamma 6. We're here to escort you to Pittsburgh, over.
USV Brandt: Roger Gamma Six, this is the USV Brandt, pre-launch checks have been completed.
King: Trent, take up a position near the transport. Use the formation maneuver to link up with the convoy.
Trent enters formation, convoy starts moving
USV Brandt: Check, this is transport leader, all units are in position and we're showing green status.
USV Brandt: We heard the news about Shultzki. What happened?
King: The planetary defense grid was offline, and the Order managed to get through.
King: They took out the Donau with the first missile salvo. We never had a chance to stop them.
King: Looks like The Order was determined to keep Shultzki from meeting the president. Hard to believe this could happen. We better get going.
USV Brandt: Let's hope for the best. Several convoys have come under attacks in recent weeks. The Rogue problem has gotten out of control in this area.
King: Don't worry, that's why we're here.
The convoy docks with the trade lane
USV Brandt: Activation sequence completed, lane jump initiated.
King: Looking good so far...
USV Brandt: Alert! Trade lane disruption detected!
Trade Lane Disrupted
KING YOU JINXED IT!
Okay, time for Trent to have the first actual fight. As well as to test our HSRF that we set.
As usual, for now I'll refer to the combat video. As you can see, even with my crappy aim (likely exacerbated by the Lavablades' slow projectile speed) the NPCs Shield Battery/Nanobot usage does not even come into play.
All Rogues are destroyed
King: Last one! We'd better get outta here before more Rogues show up.
USV Brandt: Couldn't agree more. The Trade lane is back up, we... Wait! Radar shows new targets! Gamma 6, We have to make a run for it!
King: We'll cover you! This is gonna be close, but I think we can make it without another fight.
King: Everybody stay on course! Trent, do not engage the pirates! We have to get the convoy out of here!
In fact... you can do the opposite, stay behind and engage the second Rogue Wave. I'll do exactly that.
King: Dammit Trent! Re-enter the formation! We cannot wait for you!
Convoy docks with the Trade Lane
King:We're outta here! Trent, use the Trade Lane to Pittsburgh. Good luck.
Once the second wave is down, dock with the Trade Lane to Pittsburgh.
King: Heeey, here's our conquering hero! You had me worried, Trent, but you did well out there. One of those Rogues had a bounty on his head. You'll get that as an extra bonus. Alright, land on Pittsburgh, I'll meet you on the surface.
It's also worth noting that if you don't wipe out the second wave and escape together with the transports, you'll get a different dialogue between King and USV Brandt. It reveals that the convoy was a bait to draw out the Rogues. So yeah, Trent, welcome to the State Sec job, where your superiors leave out the crappiest part of your assignment and (what's worse) are right to do so.
Trent: Are you gonna tell me what's going on?
King: Right after we hit the surface. Why don't you go first. Just select the docking ring and hit "Dock".
PLANET PITTSBURGH, NEW YORK SYSTEM, LIBERTY SPACE
King: You'll find Pittsburgh to be a remarkably unexciting sight, Trent. That's the mining operation. Not much to look at. A lot of rocks, smoke and fire. What it lacks in class it makes up for in cheap drinks. Set your ship on one of the Landing Pads over there.
Trent and King land. Trent leaves the ship,
Trent looks around
King: Nice job, Trent. Now I believe I owe you some credits.
So this is how Michael King looks like. Good to know.
Trent: Hey King. Did you know it was going to get hot out there?
King: Mhm. We're not done yet. We're just waiting for the others.
Trent: What others?
King: We suspected for some time that the Order has had ties with organized crime in Liberty.
King: They might even be hiding a secret base. I think we're on to something here, and I called for back-up. We could really use you out there, Trent.
Trent: Alright. But this had better be worth it.
King: It will be. I promise you. Oh, and Trent? Now that you have a little scratch, I'd look at fitting that pile of junk you're flying. Check the equipment dealer over there. He always has good deals. I'll see you in space.
That would be a good advice for Vanilla FL. But right now we have the same Patriot LF that King has and a decent battery of plasma cannons. Checking out the ships, on the other hand? There's either a Rhino Freighter (not as agile as our Patriot, but has an assload of guns) and two ships that cost 1 million and OVER NINE MILLION CREDITS.
Yes. This is how much top-end ships in Crossfire cost. This is normal. We'll be printing such amounts of credits eventually.
Now let's take off.
King: There you are! Four LSF wings from Fort Bush are searching the debris field for the Rogues' base. They've already taken prisoners. I'm uploading the coordinates for our search pattern. We rendezvous with another wing of fighters for our patrol. Hold on, here they are.
Epsilon 1: Gamma 6, Delta patrol reports no hostile contacts.
King: Tell them to keep looking. One way or another, we'll find where these Rogues are hiding.
So, our objective is to form on Epsilon wing and hang along.
King: After the attack on our transports, the LSF has dispatched four wings to help us track where these Rogues are coming from. They've gotta have a secret base around here and this time, we'll find it.
Distress signal comes up
XT-19: Mayday, mayday, this is Prison Ship XT-19! We are under attack! To all Liberty patrols, please respond!
King: All units, change course to intercept! I'm uploading a waypoint!
Epsilon wing changes course
King: This is LSF patrol Gamma 6. We are on an intercept course and approaching your position. Over.
XT-19: Acknowledged, Gamma 6. We're under attack from a multiple Rogue fighters. We've got fires on several decks and our defenses are failing!
So let me get this straight. The Rogues are trying to save their fellows by blowing up the ship they are on? Sure, they might get to escape pods in time ,but...
Or maybe XT-19 is either empty or full of Xenos.
King: Understood. Hang on.
Epsilon wing reaches XT-19
XT-19: We're taking heavy damage! Get these guys off us!
XT-19: We can't take any more of this!
Now the second line usually comes after a certain damage threshold on XT-19. I don't think XT-19 can actually die.
King: There she is. She's hurt bad. Everyone, break formation and engage!
Epsilon 1: Roger that.
As usual, four Lavablades make short work on Rogues. As an experiment, I made the entire second phase in one big video, so all combat for second phase is there.
When two Rogue ships remain, the second wave arrives.
XT-19: Alert! We're picking up several new hostile contacts!
King: Dammit, more pirates! Trent, defend the prison ship at all costs!
I can only quote the Commando from the first Command and Conquer: Keep 'em coming!
All Rogues down
King: Yeah. That was the last of 'em.
XT-19: You did it! The radar's clear.
King: XT-19, what is your status? Over.
XT-19: Fires are contained, we lost life support on several decks, but we're alright. Over.
King: Acknowledged. Is there any way we can assist you?
XT-19: Negative. Repair crews from Pittsburgh are on the way. You came just in time.
King: Glad we could help.
King: Epsion wing, stay here in case more Rogues show up. Trent and I will continue the search on our own.
Epsilot 1: Affirmative. Good luck.
King: I'm uploading new coordinates. Trent, take the lead.
The waypoint appears, and you have to use cruise engines to get there.
King: The Rogues' base must be around here. They'd never attack something as big as the prison ship too far away from their hideout!
A distress call shows up
Beta 4: Mayday! This is LSF Beta 4! I'm under attack and need assistance!
King: This is LSF patrol Gamma 6. We hear you, Beta 4. Where are you?
Beta 4: The debris field.
Beta 4: I have several Rogue ships on my tail... can't shake 'em... shields are failing...
Beta 4 shows up with 5 Rogue fighters.
King: All right Trent, let's take these guys out!
I think Beta 4 actually can die. I probably had it happen once. This time though, again, gun setup helps.
All Rogues are down
King: Beta 4, what is your status?
Obviously, Beta 4's status is big fat DUNKED ON. I mean, he doesn't even have a shield bar.
Beta 4: The ships is holding together. Barely.
King: Where's the rest of your wing?
Beta 4: Gone. We were sweeping through the debris field and ran into heavy fire inside the dense particle cloud.
King: That's it! You must have been close to their base! Can you show us where you were?
Beta 4: I'm uploading the coordinates now.
the waypoint appears
Beta 4: My systems are fried, I have a coolant leak. I'm heading back to Pittsburgh.
King: Good luck, Beta 4.
Beta 4: Thanks. To you as well.
King: Let's go. Head to the coordinates.
King: Trent, I think this is it. I'm gonna call some backup.
King: All units, this is Gamma 6. We have a potential location of a Rogue base. Converge on the following coordinates.
Alpha 1: This is Alpha 1, acknowledged, we rendezvous on the coordinates. Over.
Delta 1: This is Delta 1 reading, we're on the far side of Pittsburgh. Changing course to your location. Over.
King: Wait. I've got something.
Trent and King enter the cloud, three Rogue fighters show up
King: Incoming Rogue fighters, get ready.
Rogues immediately turn tail
King: They're fleeing into the field!
Alpha 1: Gamma 6, this is LSF wing Alpha 1, what's your status?
King: The Rogue base must be in a cloud ahead. Trent, take the lead.
Alpha 1: Understood.
Actually at this point, it's possible to stumble onto it. And Juni said I was going to just babysit a convoy!
King: There! The Rogue base! All units, this is Gamma 6. We've confirmed the location of the Rogue base. I'm transmitting you coordinates.
King: All units, I can make out two defense platforms and an armored depot. We'll need torpedoes to take it out, over.
King: Delta wing is carrying torpedoes, they are on their way. Trent. We can't take out the base, their armor is too strong, but we can soften up their defenses by taking out the platforms. Let's go!
Actually, Trent at this point has enough firepower to take out weapon platforms before this shows up, but the game makes them invulnerable once they reach a tiny amount of HP. Once the objective to destroy them shows up, they can be destroyed.
First platform down
King: One down, one to go!
King: Trent, look out, more pirate ships closing in fast! I hope those reinforcements get here soon.
Second platform down
King: Second platform is down! Where are those torpedo dombers?
Delta 1: This is LSF Delta 1, we're making our torpedo run at the station. Over.
King: Good to see you, guys, let's finish them off!
With platforms down, our only mission is to survive until...
Delta 1: Torpedoes away!
King: Great shot, Delta Leader!
Delta 1: Our pleasure, Gamma 6. Couldn't have done that without you.
Aaaand that's the third explosion Edison Trent got involved with. Whoever keeps that drinking game? Take a shot.
After the base and all enemy ships are destroyed, King sets up the waypoint to Pittsburgh docking ring and starts talking at you.
King: Great work back there, Trent. Not bad for a rookie!
King: Something tells me I'll be seeing a lot more of you in the future.
King: What we did here today will hopefully put a dent in the growing crime problem we've been having in this system. Maybe now we can focus our full attention on the Order and anyone who supports them. Shultzki's assassination can't go unpunished.
King: Trent. Juni just sent me a message on the secure channel. Change of plans, I need to divert. Look, if you land on Pittsburgh, talk to one of the Deep Space reps. They'll have something lined up for ya. Meanwhile, I'm transferring your payment. Thanks for your help. See you 'round.
With that, the waypoint disappears and King flies off. then you get contacted by Juni.
juni: Trent? This is Juni. Good job. King has just told me how impressed he was with you. Hope this wasn't too much for this first assignment. I wanted to meet up with you, but the attack on Shultzki has everyone rattled.
juni: President Jacobi has ordered a full investigation to determine what can be done about the Order. It will likely mean more work for us soon. Meanwhile, why won't you sprout your wings a bit? Familiarize yourself with the New York system, maybe see what work you can pick up. I'll be in touch. Juni out.
With that, Mission 1 is over. To get a message from Juni which means you can start another mission, you need to earn more credits. You can look up what summary worth you need to acclaim to advance to the next level in the reputation window...
...And it's 1 credit shy of EIGHTY THOUSAND CREDITS.
Flak my life.
VIDEO AIDS
Entering bar
Meeting Juni
Getting a ship
Attack on RNS Donau + Combat video
Escorting USV Brandt
Meeting King
Mission 1 Phase 2 (yes, the video ends abruptly in the middle of Juni's transmission, I am aware).
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
So, this is the first run of a mission. I hope this will be useful to you guys. If you have any idea on how to improve this, tell me!
Also, if you can't see any of the pictures (there should be a ton of pictures), tell me. The pictures are stored in my Google Photos, but I'm not sure if anyone except me can see them.
Also, some of the pictures that have the Bandicam watermark have poor quality because they were snapped from the videos posted in video aids.
The audio volume is low and there are no music in videos. I will fix that for Mission 2 if I won't forget. Hopefully by that time I'll have it worked out, because I had an absolute bitch of a time setting everything up for this one.
See you later for an Intermission!
