battlecruiser millenium gold

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Battlecruiser Millenium Gold Edition

Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ

by Kasey Chang

released August 18, 2003

Table of contents

0 Introduction

1 Battlecruiser Millennium General Info

2 Starting a Career

3 Commander on the Bridge

4 Primary Systems

5 Secondary Systems

6 Defensive and Offensive Systems

7 Flight Dynamics and Navigation

8 Personnel Operations

9 Security Operations

10 Emergency Operations

11 Docked Operations

12 Advanced Operations

13 Not in Manual: Cargo / Inventory

14 Not in Manual: Money

15 Not in Manual: Emergency Ops

16 Not In Manual: Career Questions

17 Tips and Tactics

0 Introduction

This section is for "what the FAQ is about" and things like that.Feel free to skip this section.

If you like the FAQ, please send me a dollar. :-) See [0.3]

This FAQ is about Battlecruiser Millennium Gold Edition, thoughmost of the information should also cover BattlecruiserMillennium and Battlecruiser 3000 as well.



0.1 A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

There doesn't seem to be any FAQ for this fun little game, sohere it comes.

This is a FAQ, NOT a manual. Not that you really need a manual toplay this little gem.

This USG only covers the PC Version, which is the only one thatexists.

Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM andXCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among others.

0.2 TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION

This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2003,all rights reserved excepted as noted above in the disclaimersection.

This document is available FREE of charge subjected to thefollowing conditions:

1)This notice and author's name must accompany all copies ofthis document: "Battlecruiser Millennium Gold EditionUnofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ" is copyrighted (c) 2003 byKasey K.S. Chang, all rights reserved except as noted in thedisclaimer."

2)This document must NOT be modified in any form or mannerwithout prior permission of the author with the followingexception: if you wish to convert this document to a differentfile format or archive format, with no change to the content,then no permission is needed.

2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners,no HTML borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get youmore banner hits, and esp. no adding your site name to thesite list. [Small exception: a "small" toolbar with no bannersembedded is okay. See IGN or Neoseeker for examples.]

3)No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should chargedfor its distribution. Free is preferred, of course. Sale ofthis information is expressly prohibited. If you see any oneselling this guide, contact me (see below).

4)If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source,else it is plagiarism.

5)The author hereby grants all games-related websites the rightto archive and link to this document to share among the gamefandom, provided that all above restrictions are followed.

Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutorycontract. If you meet them, then you are entitled to therights I give you in 5), i.e. archive and display thisdocument on your website. If you don't follow them, then youdid not meet the statutory contract conditions, and therefore



you have no right to display this document. If you do so, thenyou are infringing upon my copyright. This section was addedfor any websites that don't seem to understand this.

For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANYcompensation. However, I do ask for a VOLUNTARY contributionof one (1) US Dollar if you live in the United States, and ifyou believe this guide helped your game. If you choose to doso, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of US stampsto "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, SanFrancisco, CA 94118 USA".If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps.I collect stamps too.

0.3 VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION

Gamers who read this guide are under NO obligation to send me ANYcompensation.

However, a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar would bevery appreciated.

If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00worth of stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk

Blvd. #6, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA".

If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. Icollect stamps too.

For the record, out of ALL the FAQs I wrote (42 at last count)over the past nine years or so, I've received exactly 9 dollarsand 3 sets of stamps, as of release of this guide. So I'm NOTmaking any money off these guides, folks.

0.4 HOW AND WHEN TO CONTACT ME

PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark,mistakes, and thereof... If you find a question about this gamethat is not covered in the USG, e-mail it to me at the addressspecified below. I'll try to answer it and include it in thenext update.

Please do NOT write me for technical support. That is the job ofthe publisher. Try the official site at http://www.3000ad.com fortech support requests. You will need to register with a VALIDkeycode.

Please do NOT ask me to answer questions that have alreadyanswered in this FAQ/guide. It makes you REALLY idiotic.

I will NOT answer stupid questions unless I'm in a really goodmood. If you send stupid questions, do NOT expect a reply.

If you must write me, the address below is spelled outphonetically so spammers can't use spambots on it:

Kilo-Sierra-Charlie-Hotel-Alpha-November-Golf-Seven-Seven ATYankee-Alpha-Hotel-Oscar-Oscar DOT Charlie-Oscar-Mike



To decipher this, simply read the first letter off each wordexcept for the numbers and the punctuation. This is "militaryphonetics" or "aeronautical phonetics" in case you're wondering.

This document was produced on Microsoft Word 97. Some editing wasdone with Editpad (editpadclassic.com).

0.5 THE AUTHOR

I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when theones I find don't cover what I want to see. Lots of people likewhat I did, so I kept doing it.

Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) forXCOM, XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander, Wing Commander 2, WingCommander 3, Wing Commander 4, Privateer, Spycraft, 688(I)Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3 Expansion Pack, Mechwarrior 4,Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight, Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed,The Sting!, Terranova, Fallout Tactics, Starfleet Command VolumeII, DS9: The Fallen, DS9: Dominion War, Driver, Warlords:Battlecry, Monopoly Tycoon, Dungeon Siege, and a few others.

To contact me, see 0.4 above.

0.6 DISCLAIMER / COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Derek Smart created Battlecruiser series. As for the history ofit, I'll point you to his website.

This USG is not endorsed or authorized by Derek Smart, 3000 AD,or Dreamcatcher Games.

The information compiled in this USG has been gatheredindependently through the author's efforts except where notedotherwise. A lot of the information was summarized from various

suggestions and posts from the official BC Forum athttp://www.3000ad.com. Contributors are too numerous to list. Thehead designer/programer, Mr.Derek Smart, was a great resource.

This document is based on the BCM Gold Eidtion, V1.00.01 release,and thus information listed here may NOT apply fully to earlierversions.

0.7 HISTORY

18-AUG-2003 Initial release

1 Battlecruiser Millennium General Info

1.1 THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Can you send me the game (or portions thereof)?A: No. It's too complex for you any way.



Q: Can you send me the install code?A: That's a part of the game, so see above.

Q: Can you send me the manual?A: That's a part of the game, so see above.

Q: Can you send me the keycard?A: That's a part of the game, so see above.

Q: Can you send me the map?A: It's in the appendix, AND in the game, AND on the keycard.

Q: The manual seems to be missing a lot of things.A: That's why there's the appendix...

Q: Can you tell me how to play the game?A: Read the manual, please. It's VERY long but it's worth it.

Q: Is there going to be a sequel?A: Battlecruiser Generations is being worked on, and after that,expect to see the MMOG version, right now just calledBattlecruiser Online.

1.2 BATTLECRUISER HISTORY

Battlecruiser 3000 AD was first released in... 1998, though thegame was started in... 1993. That's right, BC is THAT old. DerekSmart back then was talking about a game where you can doeverything, such as...

* pilot anything from ground vehicles to shuttles and fighters tocruisers and carriers* command dozens of different ships, from unarmed freighters tobattlecruisers and carriers* shuttles that collect cargo, deliver items, land on planets andmoons, and more

* marines that patrol your ship against intruders, board enemyships, land on planets* ships that fly differently, have different upgrade paths, andso on* zoom from the planet surface all the way out to space* mine planets and moons for minerals to be sold* trade items at various starbases, from spare parts to illegalitems* dozens of different missiles and mines, even orbit to surfacebombardment weapons* join any of the dozen different factions in the galaxy* jump outside and look at your world in FIRST-PERSON, either inspace or on ground

* galaxy with HUNDREDS of planets, DOZENS of star systems, andTHOUSANDS OF SHIPS* have careers as ship commander, fighter pilot, or space marine* advanced AI driven by neural net technology* and much more

Would you have believed him? I would show some reservationmyself.

All the big name companies turned him down. Finally, one company



called Take 2 Interactive decided to try him. It was a majordisaster. The game was released in beta form (that required atleast 2 more months of work) without Derek's consent, using onlyPART of Derek's code. The result is a game that is unplayable outof the box, and STILL buggy throughout. Of course, back then alot of the features in the above list are missing. Most magazinesgave this game some extremely bad ratings, mainly due to thebugs.

A lot of people saw the potential in the game, as there is a lotof freedom, when things work right. Remember, this is YEARS ago,when DOS is the operating system of choice, and people are stillusing 386's and 33 MHz is considered fast.

For a definitive take on the history, see this website:

http://www.loonygames.com/content/1.27/guest/

Mr. Smart continued to support the game, even as the originalpublisher basically left it to die. The game actually soldrelatively well in Europe, but again, Derek had to do his ownsupport, as Take 2 simply cannot support the game (having noexperience with it) and refuse to. Derek then sued Take 2 forbreach of contract. Mr. Smart continued to release patches and

add new features, while the lawsuit is pending.

After protracted legal struggle, Derek managed to get his game'spublishing rights back, while he worked on the 2.0 version. As ademonstration, he released the latest "original" version FREE,and it was included on many game magazine demo CD's. Thatgenerated enough interest to entice Interplay into a publishingdeal for "V2.0 Developer's Version".

BC3K 2.0 was published by Interplay. By this time, the game wasported to 32-bit Windows (Win 95 to be exact). The game didn'tsell that well either, probably due to the complexity andfreeform nature of the game. Still, it was released as a "budget"

title. The final version is V2.09. This version is now availablefree on the 3000ad.com website.

Mr. Smart continues to work on the game. The next version becameknown as Battlecruiser Millennium. It continues to add newfeatures and fix bugs. This time around, Mr. Smart has had enoughwith the various publishers, and he chose to self-publish thetitle. As a result, the only distributor that will carry it wasElectronic Boutique (and the chain, including EBX).

Derek then started working on Battlecruiser Generations, whichstarted out as an expansion to Battlecruiser Millennium, buteventually grew into its own product. It is supposed to have

better multiplayer support as well as DX9 graphics engine and 3Dpositional sound engine, plus many other enhancements.

DreamCatcher, who is better known for adventure games, decided tohelp Derek Smart publish the game. People wanted multiplayersupport NOW, so Derek decided to do another release...Battlecruiser Millennium Gold Edition, which uses BCM's mainprogram kernel, but has several new features, including a newterrain engine, first-person modes, and multiplayer support.



So just we get the terminology straight:

BC = Battlecruiser, usually the series

BC3K = Battlecruiser 3000 AD, the original title, released in1996

BC3KV2 = Battlecruiser 3000AD V2.0, released in 1999

BCM = Battlecruiser Millennium, released in 2001

BCMG = Battlecruiser Millennium Gold Edition, released in early2003

BCG = Battlecruiser Generations, the next release due in late2003

1.3 BATTLECRUISER MILLENNIUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

From the official website...

Minimum Requirements:

ú WIN 98SE/ME/2K/XP (with all service packs)ú DirectX 8.1b or higherú Pentium II 300Mhz or AMD K6-2 350Mhz processorú 64 MB RAM (128MB minimum for WIN 2K/XP)ú 16MB DirectX 8 compliant 3D graphics cardú 16Bit DirectX 8 compliant sound cardú 8X CDROM or DVD-ROMú 500MB uncompressed hard drive disk spaceú Microsoft compatible mouse

Recommended Requirements

ú Pentium III 500Mhz or equivalent AMD processor

ú 128 MB RAMú 32MB DirectX 8 compliant 3D graphics card with TnL

ú DirectX 8 compliant joystick Ultimate Requirements

ú WIN 2K/XP (with all service packs)ú Pentium III 1Ghz or equivalent AMD processorú 128 MB RAMú 64MB DirectX 8 graphics card with TnL & pixel+vertex shaderú DirectX 8 or higher compliant joystick

Multiplayer Requirements

ú Client requires 56K or broadband modemú Server requires LAN or broadband (cable, DSL etc) connection

1.4 HOW DOES THE GAME PLAY?

The game can almost be described as 'Grand Theft Auto in Space'in first person. It offers you TOTAL freedom to do what you want



in the galaxy of many different star systems, from mining totrading, from shooting to repairing, even upgrading your ship.The universe is alive, with ships moving around you, each withtheir own objectives. Even your crew does things automatically...If they are hungry, they will go find food. If they are tootired, they will go to their quarters and sleep, and so on and soforth.

You can even transfer your alter ego (avatar) from the ship to ashuttle or a fighter, and pilot that instead. Jump out of yourship in space, and move around like a space marine. Transfer to aground vehicle (use the transporter, or land via a shuttle or thewhole ship) and drive around on the ground... Or jump out andlook around in first person... AND use your weapons in firstperson. All these features are in the SAME GAME.

In "roam" mode, there is no objective, other than survival. Ifyou find that boring, try the advanced campaign mode (ACM) whereyou must accomplish several missions in strict time limits, andyou are responsible for safeguarding your sector against any andall threats.

Add this to multiple starting points, careers, alignments,factions, ship choices, equipment, upgrades, trades, in a galaxy

that contains dozens of systems and hundreds of planets and moons(and you can LAND and explore most of them!), and you have a gameof unparalleled freedom. Grand Theft Auto 3 doesn't even comeCLOSE to what this game can offer.

The Gold Edition added full multiplayer, first-person careers asmarines (3 separate types), 2 fighter pilot careers, and variousother enhancements.

1.5 BUGS AND FIXES

This FAQ only discusses the BCMG (Battlecruiser Millennium Gold

Edition), so only BCMG patches are listed.

The current patch is V1.01.00, dated June 02, 2003. Though newpatches are released periodically fixing various problems andadding gameplay enhancements. You should check the officialwebsite at http://www.3000ad.com for updates.

The fixes are listed in each release as a "version control file".It's too big to be included in the FAQ.

Patches and other things are being worked on DAILY. If you REALLYhave a problem, download the latest patch and try it. Chancesare, it'll fix your specific problem.

Oh, and one more thing. During a BIG battle, when LOTS ofmissiles were launched, the game may slow down significantly.Just keep waiting, and after a while the game should return tonormal speed. This is NOT a bug, just a lot of things to process.

1.6 DOES IT HAVE MULTIPLAYER?

Yes BCMG sure does. Join an existing server and play in the



server's galaxy, where the next ship you run into may be pilotedby a human!

1.7 EXPANSION PACKS? SEQUELS? RELATED TITLES?

BCMG is the latest of the series, and thus will not have anyexpansion packs. There was one planned, but the features havebeen rolled into the next version.

Next version will be Battlecruiser Generations.

1.8 MISC. INFORMATION

If you already own Battlecruiser Millennium, there is a $10rebate form in BCMG box for you. As you can often find BCM forabout $5, that will bring the net cost of BCMG down to about $25if you have never tried the BC series before.

1.9 BEGINNER'S GUIDE

One of the most often asked question by newbie is... "what do I

do in this game?" The freedom is so complete, most people areUTTERLY LOST as to what to do.

My first suggestion is... read the manual. While it is LONG andTEDIOUS, it is also full of information that is needed for you tounderstand the game. This is a FULL STARSHIP SIMULATOR with aliving universe. You WILL need to know EVERYTHING, maybe not allat once, but soon.

Start a Roam mode campaign, ship commander, and pick a supercruiser. While carriers are more fun, the fighters, not you, dothe fighting. A cruiser goes into direct combat more often. And asuper cruiser is more powerful and more likely to survive.

My first suggestion is for you to stay put in Sol sector, nearGalcomHQ, which is a very safe spot to be. You won't *do* much,but at least you won't die. When you think you got enoughexperience and has upgraded to a decent ship, then go furtherout.

Do NOT attack hostile star stations. Those have extremely highamount of firepower. They are quite capable of killing a ship inabout 5 seconds, BEFORE you get into weapons range. They are alsoEXTREMELY hard to kill by yourself. So don't even try until youknow what you're doing.

First thing to do is to buy at least 1500 units of Radine, so youhave 2500 total. You don't want to run out of fuel, EVER. It'sembarrassing and wastes a lot of time.

Second, sell off extra stuff you don't need, like mines (unloadthem from the tubes), 1300 nutripaks (you have 1500, and you onlyneed 200 or so for your crew), extra vacuum paks, etc. You shouldnow have plenty of starting capital.

Third, buy up all the expensive items that you can at GalcomHQ.



You'll sell them elsewhere for profit. Pick spare parts wouldprobably be best. Use up all the money that you can.

Fourth, have your navigation officer plot a course to Lyrius, inSirus system (just "southeast" of Sol system). Go there (justturn on autopilot), dock at the Wraith station, and sell ALL yourspare parts. Sell all your mines too as you will probably neveruse them and they are worth a lot (you may need to unload themfrom the launch tubes first). Wraith station has inflation levelof 30%, while GalcomHQ has inflation of 0%, so you should makeabout 30% profit on most items you sell here. You can ignore anyenemies you encounter on the way as you will probably outrunthem. Go back to GalcomHQ and buy more goodies.

Fifth, repeat the trading run until you have 20 to 30 millioncredits. Now buy all the upgrades that your ship needs (shields,engines, reactor, and armor) and stock up on STS missiles.

After that, it's up to you. Go kill some enemies, take over starstations... and see how you do in this galaxy...

But you should REALLY read the whole manual at least once, andmaybe ALL the FAQs here.

2 Starting a Career Please see section 2.0 in your manual "Starting a career".

Q: What do I start out as?A: The default choice, Galcom / Terran Military, is fine. Whenyou are more experienced, you can try as the Insurgents, or anyof the other factions and alignments, or try the pilot/marinecareers.

Q: What is the REAL difference between the factions?

A: The factions mainly differ in the equipment they have accessto and starting positions, and who they consider as enemies andfriends.

Q: What ship should I choose?A: For newbies, I recommend a super cruiser, like Warmonger. Itdoesn't have cloak or fighters, so it's more of a "direct"shooter, and less things to manage. Later, you can try one of thehybrid carriers (some fighters, but still main guns), cloakableships, or fleet carriers (up to 8 fighters).

Q: What is the difference between roam and ACM?A: ACM makes you responsible for a sector and give you strict

time limits on accomplishing some missions.

3 Commander on the Bridge Please look over section 3.0 of your manual.

Q: I'm in my ship now, I see the Logistix screen. Now what?A: Before you leave, go to TRADCOM and buy at LEAST 1500 units of



Radine (your nuke reactor fuel) so you have total of at least2500. Without Radine your ship is DEAD in space. As you won'ttravel too far, 2500 is sufficient for now. Later, when you gofor LONG distances into enemy territory, bring more fuel (themaximum your tank fits, like 10000 or more). Also get moreplutonium (shield fuel). Before you leave, consider spending yourremaining credits on just about anything, but preferably weaponsand spare parts. You can trade them to other stations.

Q: Did the trading and such. Now what?A: If you log off the computer, you should end up at the"starbase" screen with login / logoff buttons. Login takes youback into the system. Logoff sends you on your way into space.

Incidentally, you get this screen whenever you dock at a base.

Q: Okay, I'm in space. Anything I should do first?A: Get into the habit of turn OFF power to launch control, toprevent intruders taking one of your shuttles. Then set about 3-4 marines on SEARCH mode immediately so they'll patrol the shipfor intruders. Set 3-4 more "prep for combat". It'll take about15 minutes or so for them to be ready. Things are quiet so far,so send some of your officers to take a nap (off duty). When themarines prepped for combat are ready (their status will say

'READY' instead of 'ACTIVE' in about 15 minutes), then send themto search, while send the ones searching to rest or prep. Thenjust keep switching the groups so you always have 4 or so marineson patrol. Keep 4 more prepped so you can set them to searchimmediately should more intruders arrive.

Also power on shields (if not already on), and send somebody(marine, flight engineer, etc.) to one of the shuttles (probablySC1). You will need a shuttle to fly around almost at all times.

3.1 FLIGHT CREW

Please see [8] for more information about your crew.

Q: Why don't I have a research officer (RO)? It says "absent" andI have only 8 officers.A: If your ship cannot mount one of the artifacts, you don't needan RO, thus you don't have one. For which ships can useartifacts, see the HTML appendix.

Q: Who is Resnig? I've heard all the jokes about him...A: Paul Resnig is your combat officer, i.e. the guy in charge ofthe marines. He's been known to make some... "interesting"tactical decisions and is the source of plenty of jokes.

3.2 SUPPORT CRAFTS

Q: I told my shuttle to retrieve/tow something, but the shuttlejust circles the objective but never got closer than a certainamount. Why?A: Your pilot's AI is too low to accomplish the rendezvous. Orderit to halt, then retry the order. If that still doesn't work,bring it back and send in someone else (a different pilot, adifferent shuttle, whatever). In general, never send anyone with



AI less than 15% to pilot a shuttle. Preferred level is like 25%or higher.

Q: I issued some waypoint orders through TacOps to my shuttle.Why did my shuttle never stops moving, and immediately came backto the ship? I want it to stay!

A: The "RTB" (return to base) order after last waypoint isimplied. If you want it to wait on the ground, order HALT on thelast waypoint (add a waypoint if you need to).

Q: I gave the shuttle waypoints, but it's not moving!A: Are you sure you launched it?

Q: I can't launch it!A: Does the shuttle have at least one crew member (as pilot)?(status button should turn green).

Q: I still can't launch it!A: Did you allocate power to the launch controls?

Q: How do I replace a lost shuttle, fighter, mining drone, orground vehicle?A: You can buy them as SC ASSET, FIGHTER ASSET, Mining Drone, and

OC ASSET, respectively, subject to availability of course. Thisis in the manual errata.

Q: But why is a GSV-xxx only like 150K, where as OC ASSET is like1.25 M?A: That GSV-xxx is packed in shipping crates, and is a blankshell that's not usable without extensive preparation (that mustbe done by a base/station), where as OC ASSET means you get avehicle appropriate for you and ready to go.

Q: My shuttle won't land! It just buzzes all around me!A: Did you allocate power to the launch controls? Without it thelanding systems won't work.

4 Primary Systems Please look over section 4.0 of your manual.

Nothing yet, maybe next update...

5 Secondary Systems

Nothing yet, maybe next update...

6 Defensive and Offensive Systems

6.1 PRIMARY WEAPONS SYSTEM

Q: What is the damage power of one of the "main guns" at 100%



power?A: At full power, each shot is 100 damage, but PWS shotsdissipate over distance.

Q: How many main guns does my ship have?A: See the appendix for the ship's stats.

Q: When should I change the power level?A: When fighting smaller enemies, esp. fighters and such, powerdown PWS to 50% or even 30%. This will allow you to shoot faster(more shots) but each shot is weaker.

Q: Why can't I hit ODS or a marine with PWS?

A: ODS is only a dozen or so meters long and marine even smaller.Your guns are a bit too big to hit something that small.

6.2 PASSIVE TARGET ACQUISITION SYSTEM

Q: What exactly does this system do?A: It's your secondary turrets in an automatic defensive network.PTAS will fire at the most appropriate target(s) in range(closest or largest). You can't control them, nor would you need

to.

Q: How many turrets does my ship have?A: See the appendix for the ship's stats.

Q: What does adjusting the power level do?A: The lower the power level, the faster the turrets recharge andshoot the second bolt. Thus, at lower power the turrets fire amore shots, like a machine gun or a hose. At higher power, itshoots fewer but more powerful shots.

Q: When should I adjust the power levels?A: 50% is a good general usage. Against ships, set it to 100%.

Against fighters, consider setting it lower, like 20% or 30%.

6.3 FAST TARGET ACQUISITION AND LOCK (FATAL)

Q: What exactly does this system do? I don't quite understand themanual.A: It allows you to "prelock" targets for your missiles. Thenwhen you're close enough, computer will automatically launch themissiles when the target is in range.

Q: When should I use this?A: When you don't have time to worry about locking and firing

multiple missiles. FATAL will fire ALL FATAL-designated missilesthat are within the launch envelope and have a valid lock.However, additional missiles must be designated manually.

6.4 MISSILE LAUNCH SYSTEMS

Q: How do I reload the launch tubes for the missiles?A: If you have enough in inventory, it should be automatic. Else,whatever missile of the same type will be loaded. (In other



words, if you have STS missiles loaded, only other STS missileswill be used in reloads) It just takes a little time.

Q: How do I unload the launch tubes for the missiles? (So I cansell them or something?)A: Tactical / Loadout, then select the appropriate craft (CC, FC,SC, or OC).

6.5 MINE LAUNCH SYSTEMS

Nothing yet.

6.6 CLOAKING SYSTEM

Nothing yet.

6.7 HULL, ARMOR, AND SHIELD SYSTEMS

Q: Hull/Armor can be upgraded, and shields can be upgraded,right?A: Right. You can also upgrade the reactor and engines, but

that's for another section.

Q: How do I upgrade my ship?A: See manual appendix section [7.11] (and yes, you MUST undockfrom the station first). Then select the component, and selectupgrade. Then you'll need to assign the crew to complete thetask. You can re-dock with the station and let them work on itafter the initial task is completed.

Q: What upgrades are compatible with my ship?A: See C:\Program Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\BattlecruiserMillennium Gold\docs\appendix\upgrades.html

6.8 TRACTOR BEAM SYSTEM

Q: Why do my shields go to 0 when I engage tractor beam?A: That's the way it works. Tractor beam won't work with shieldson. If you want shields, turn off the tractors, and vice versa.

NOTE: You can cut the tractor by raising shields. This may beuseful in certain situations. You will need to turn the shieldsback on later.

Q: But I still need to tow something, AND I need shields!A: Send someone else to do it, like a shuttle. Though if you're

under attack, the shuttle wouldn't survive very long. Enemy shipsare smart enough to pick on easy kills.

7 Flight Dynamics and Navigation

7.1 INTER/INTRA SYSTEM TRAVEL



Q: How do I go somewhere?A: Easiest way is order the ship to set course for a particular"landmark", such as station, moon, comet, planet, jump point, andso on.

Q: Can you be more specific?A: Click on the ship icon (right side), which should pop up witha long list of commands. Pick "fly to", then pick the item out ofthe list of items that's categorized. You can do this in Tacopsor the Bridgeviewer.

Q: But I'm STILL not moving!A: Did you turn on the A/P? (autopilot)

Q: But I don't want to use autopilot!A: Align on the heading then manually engage hyperspace jump.

Q: How do I go to another star system?A: Order the ship to JUMP TO, then pick one of the jumplocations: jump gate, flux field, or wormhole. Your ship will flythere and jump.

Q: I was at the jump gate, but I flew straight THROUGH it and Ididn't jump!

A: If your NO is not on the bridge, you must keep the gatetargeted for the jump to work. Else you won't jump. Crashing intothe gate will prevent you from jumping as well.

Q: What are the two different modes of autopilot (A/P) any way?A: The "green" mode is the regular one, it simply takes the ship"there". The Red/Orange one is the "A/I" mode, where the shipwill perform actions as specified in TacOps.

Q: Why is my ship moving so slowly?A: Each ship has a different top speed in normal space. Most areunder 2000 kph.

Q: What is the ship's top speed without hyperspace jump?A: See your manual appendix for specific ship's stats.C:\Program Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser MillenniumGold\docs\appendix\appendix.html

Q: But I want the ship to go REALLY REALLY fast!A: If you have a destination set, try using hyperspace jump.

Q: I can't jump! It's not working!A: Hyperspace engine must recharge after each use, and have avalid target. Make sure your HJ engines are fully charged. Ifyour A/P was set, A/P will simply move at the destination at bestpossible speed, and engage HJ when ready.

Q:Ack! I'm flying right at a planet!A:Don't worry about it. While in hyperspace you'll pass rightTHROUGH planets and moons.

Q: How do I make the hyperspace engine recharge faster?A: You can't. The recharge rate is a part of the shipspecifications atC:\Program Files\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser MillenniumGold\docs\appendix\appendix.html



NOTE: One of the "artifacts" can give you instant jumps. Justbeware that saboteurs want to steal those first, and not allships are compatible with artifacts.

Q: How do you get to another star system or planet then?A: Go through the jump points (looks like jump gates), wormholes(not visible), or flux field (not visible). Some of these needthe skill of your navigation (astrogation?) officer.

Q: What is the difference between jump gates, wormholes, and fluxfields?A: Try the manual. However, here's a summary...

jump gate: artificial point-to-point travel. Go in, and you goout the corresponding gate in the other end. Must go THROUGH thegate. If you crash into side of the gate you won't go through.Usually also require the gate to be targeted.

wormhole: natural point to point travel. Go in and appear on theother end. No physical gate, just touch the general region andyou're suddenly on the other side.

flux field: randomly drop you into one of the multiple exits, no

way to know which one. If you are adventurous, give it a try.

Q: What's the difference between hyperspace jump and jumpgates/wormholes any way?A: Hyperspace jump is for INTRA system travel, like betweenplanet and the moon, planet to the jump gate, and so on. Maximumspeed is limited to c. Even at that speed, it takes a while to gofrom planet to planet, much less between star systems!

Q: Why can't I plot a course in Navitron computer? I keepclicking but nothing happens.A: If the nav officer is not on the bridge, the Navitron isuseless.

Q: What is "region - X" any way?A: Those lead to "sub-regions" of the map. For example, Jupiterhas 4 other regions, each with more moons and bases and such.

7.2 WAYPOINT SYSTEM

There are two types of waypoints: intragalactic waypoints, andintrasystem waypoints.

The intragalactic waypoints are the ones you plot in the Navitroncomputer. Say you want to fly from Earth / Sol to Majoris / Alpha

Majora, you need to go through Pluto / Sol, Centris / AlphaCentauri, Tranis / AC, Treas / AC, Arima / Tau Ceti and Xylan /Tau Ceti. Each of those systems are waypoints on your journey.

However, you can also set intrasystem waypoints, which exist onthe Tacops 3D map (which is fully 3D and rotate-able and zoom-able), by using the WAYPOINT menu at the bottom.

7.3 DOCKING PROCEDURES



Q: How do I dock to a star station?A: Get within 0.5 km, and hit the appropriate key to dock.

Q: Uh... it's not working.A: You must also have the star station targeted.

Q: My autopilot won't fly any closer.A: Some times the A/P stops at about the 35 km mark. If that'sthe case, fly manually (turn off A/P) to the station.

7.4 ORBITAL AND PLANETFALL PROCEDURES

Q: How do I land on a planet?A: Issue the craft 2 waypoints. First is the "entry" waypoint,with orders to "proceed to next". Add another waypoint, andchange the orders at that waypoint to do the appropriate stuff(probably "halt").

Q: Uh, how do I do that?A: Use TacOps (ALT-S) computer.

Q: I want my shuttle to land, not the ship!

A: Then issue the order to the shuttle (SCx), not the CC (commandcraft).

8 Personnel Operations Q: What does each of the officers do again?A: See appendix: C:\ProgramFiles\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser MillenniumGold\docs\appendix\crew.html

Q: Why don't I see a Research Officer?

A: If you ship cannot mount an artifact, you don't need aresearch officer (RO). See "upgrades" to see if you can use anartifact.

Q: Why don't I see any pilots?A: You're probably not commanding a carrier, thus no fighters andno pilots.

Q: If I don't have any pilots, who will fly the shuttles?A: Any of the crew can do it, including your AE, the marines, theflight engineers, and so on.

Q: I tried to drive an OC, but it shows as "unmanned"

A: Again, you need to assign someone to drive it.

Q: Why aren't the system engineers dispatched automatically forrepairs?A: Your CE (chief engineer) needs AI level of 35 or higher to dothat. See appendix.

Q: My marines are ACTIVE or READY. What is the difference?A: Marines that are ACTIVE are simply alive. Marines that havebeen through "Prep for Combat" show "READY". The combat



effectiveness is quite different between the states. So wheneverpossible, you should prep the marines first before sending themout to patrol your ship. However, prep for combat uses up 1combat pak per prep and about 15 minutes. Keep those in stock,and prep the marines ahead of time.

Q: What does the fatigue level mean?A: Green means completely effective, fresh as a daisy.Yellow means "normal, maybe a little tired".Red means "I'm about to fall over. I'm going to bed..."

Q: How do I reduce fatigue level of crew?A: You can let them rest ("off duty"), and they will recuperate.If medibay is active, you can send the crew to medibay and betreated. According to the manual, they heal faster in medibay.

Q: My crewmember is wounded. How to heal him/her?A: If Medical Officer is on duty and has AI of 15% or higher, shewill automatically dispatch medics to roam the ship looking forwounded crew and heal them and/or take them to medibay. Else,order the crewmember to go to Medibay. If a medic or medicalofficer is on duty they will perform the necessary actions on thewounded crewmember when s/he arrives.

Q: How does a crewmember get wounded any way?A: Intruder in the area, marine and intruder fight in the area(or nearby), or the section of the ship where the crew is atsuffered damage. Or life support went out on that section of theship (due to damage or bad power allocation), or radiation, orinfection/disease, or volatile chemicals/minerals in the cargobays...

Q: What is hunger level? What are nutripaks?A: Hunger level indicates how hungry a person is. Hunger level of500 means the guy is hungry enough to go look for food in thegalley and ignore his job. Hunger level of 900 means the guy isstarving to death and will lose health. If you have enough

nutripaks in your cargo hold, the crew member will automaticallymove to the galley, consume a nutripak, and return to their job.If you don't have any... They'll eventually starve and startlosing health, and eventually die...

Q: I ordered _____ to go to medibay but s/he doesn't move!A: If the person is too tired to move they won't move. If thepassage way is damaged between his position and destination andthere is no way through they won't move either. Finally, the crewmay not wish to leave his/her position yet.

Q: I ordered _____ to go to ______ but s/he is not there yet!A: The crew member must actually MOVE through the intervening

locations, like turboshaft, corridor, etc. Give them a littletime. See "ship operations" for a list of ship locations.

Q: I lost _____. Can I get a replacement?A: If it's one of your department officers, and your cloningmodule is working, you can clone him or her back to life, butthey'll lose any of the AI gains since the beginning of the game.If it's replaceable crew like engineers and marines and so on,just recruit new ones from the next star station you dock to(subject to availability, of course).



Q: Can I recruit more crew members as standby?A: Unfortunately, no. Each ship has a limit on how much crew itneeds.

9 Security Operations Q: Why is my ship at yellow alert when I don't see any enemyships?A: You have intruder(s) onboard. SAS light should be flashing.Another possibility is one of the prisoners escaped. There mayalso be cloaked ships about (and may have beamed intrudersonboard your ship!) Go to PERSCAN and see how many.

Q: So what do I do?A: SHUT DOWN launch control ASAP, and set ALL prepped marines tosearch (I hope you already have them PREPed...) and startprepping the others. Send marines to medibay and detention hold.

Q: Uh, how do I shut down launch control?A: Go to Logistix / Power and turn off its power. Thatessentially locks the bay doors and no shuttle can enter or

leave.

Q: What do intruders want?A: They want to KILL YOU (your AE, actually), and/or to stealnice items from your ship and escape, either by transporter, orin one of your shuttles.

Q: Where do Intruders come from any way?A: They may sneak onboard while you are docked at a station.Prisoners in the detention hold may escape (esp. when power waslost to that area). Or a cloaked ship may beam intruders onboard.(In BC, shields stop weapons only, and does NOT prevent the useof transporters).

Q: Is there a full list of ship locations?A: Most locations are listed on page 80 of the manual. The"inbetween" locations like turboshaft, fore corridor deck 1, etc.are not listed, but can be inferred. Basically, it's "fore" /"mid" / "aft". Different ships have slightly different layouts.

Q: How do I prevent intruders from getting onboard any way?A: You really can't. One suggestion is to periodically cloak (ifyou have cloak), as cloak prevents the transporter from working(both ways). Here's another: if you see your screens crackle withshort burst of static, there's probably a cloaked ship nearby.Hit retro rockets or after burner and start zig-zaging.

Q: Any other way of dealing with intruders?A: Your marines on search duty will find them and kill/capturethem, but will likely take casualties. Or you can dock with astar station. Star station security will sweep your ship and putany intruders into your detention hold as prisoners.

Q: So what do I do with the prisoners?A: Dock with a star station (with prisoners already in thedetention holds) to get some EP bonus.



10 Emergency Operations

11 Docked Operations

12 Advanced Operations

13 NOT IN MANUAL: Cargo / Inventory

Q: What are Combat Paks for?A: When you order your marines to "prep for combat", they use up1 combat kit each. Thus, it is necessary to keep them supplied.Else, they will be fighting with their bare hands! Thepreparation takes about 15 minutes.

Q: What are medpacks used for?A: Quick healing of somebody who is injured. In the Medibay, youcan choose to "heal" somebody by clicking on the person, andclick on "heal" button. That consumes 1 medpack per attempt. Theeffects are NOT instantaneous, so don't use more than one.NOTE: When in first-person mode, you can use medpak on yourself,

as 2 are issued to everybody.

Q: What are Nutripacks for?A: That's "food" for the crew. When a crew's "hunger level"reaches over 500, they will leave their post to get some food (atthe galley), then come back to work. Some, however, will only goto eat during off-duty hours. It takes a while for the crew to behungry, so you need only about 150 or so.

Q: What are Vacpacks for?A: That's the vacuum suit and necessary stuff for EVA work. Everyshuttle should need a couple for EVA work. Your crew willautomatically take some.

Q: What is Radine used for?A: That's fuel for your nuclear reactor, your primary source ofpower. Keep it ABOVE 2000 at all times, preferably 10000 or moreif you go on long trips. When you get advanced reactors withlower fuel consumption, you may be able to reduce the fuelreserve amount.

Q: What is Plutonium used for?A: That's fuel for your shields. To keep your shields up, you



need it. Usage is pretty low, figure 250 to 500 units should besufficient, unless you upgrade to bigger shielding, which alsolowers the plutonium consumption per unit of protection.

Q: What is Iridium used for?A: Iridium powers the cloaking system. So unless you HAVE acloaking system, you don't need it. It is also quite valuable.

Q: How do I unload some missiles from the tubes so I can sellthem (and presumably replace them with better ones)?A: Tactical / Loadout / select craft to unload, then do so. Youcan also unload mines and/or probes this way.

Q: My shuttle has some cargo onboard and I want to sell it but Ican't find it. Where's the cargo?A: Go to Tactical / Loadout / shuttle and UNLOAD the cargo intoyour ship's cargo bay(s). THEN you will find the cargo.

Q: I have retrieved my mining drone full of minerals. Where arethey?A: Go to Tactical / Loadout / shuttle / drones, and UNLOAD thedrone.

14 NOT IN MANUAL: Money Q: How do I make money?A: There are three ways to actively make money in BCM: mine forminerals and trade them, trade items from station to station, andkill/capture hostiles for bounties/loot.

14.1 MINING

Q: How do I mine for minerals?A: Deploy a mining drone on a planet or moon using a shuttle. As

for how, please see Manual Appendix section [7.21] and/or [7.20]

Q: How do I tell how well the mining is going?A: Use Tactical / Loadout / SC / # / Drone, and pick the one youwish to know more about. The drones will roam the landscape andcollect minerals, and you'll read how full they are (as apercentage). When they're full, send a shuttle over to retrievethem. You can also see detailed loadout (how much of each) byusing the Tacops computer, turn on video, and select the drone.

Q: Where do I sell the collected minerals?A: In general, sell them at a high inflation station is best. Onthe other hand, the prices for minerals are pretty stable. See

manual appendix C:\ProgramFiles\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser MillenniumGold\docs\appendix\lbases.html for a list of star stations andtheir "base" inflation rate.

Q: I retrieved the drone with the minerals and the shuttle hasdocked. Where are the minerals?A: They are still in the shuttle's cargo hold. You need to unloadthem into the ship's cargo hold.



Q: How do I speed up the mining process?A: Mine a system/planet/moon with higher mineral density (youlearn this by docking at a station and look at INFO) screen. Forexample, Moon/Earth/Sol is only 1%, while Moon-2/ Lyrius / Siriusis 11% or so. Each moon/planet will be slightly different.Listing them all would simply be too long.

14.2 TRADING

Q: How do I make money trading?A: In general, you want to take cargo from the low inflationstations to the high inflation stations. The more expensive theitem, the more profit you should generate. Beware, that theACTUAL amount of inflation WILL vary somewhat, thus actual profitis not guaranteed. The list of bases is in C:\ProgramFiles\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser MillenniumGold\docs\appendix\lbases.html

Q: What are all those HT, AD, and all that?A: Difference specialties. Some stations specialize in aparticular area. A station specializing in HT will sell HT at 10%discount off their "general" rate (which is base rate plusinflation), and sell all non-HT items at 10% surcharge (since

it's imported). See HTML Appendix, Launch Bases (the link givenabove) for explanations.

Q: So to exploit the difference, I should locate a low-inflationstation, buy up its specialties, then find a high-inflationstation that specialize in something else, and sell the stuffthere?A: Exactly!

Q: What are some good trade routes?A: One suggested route is GalcomHQ / Earth / Sol to Wraith /Lyrius / Sirius. It's only 3 jumps, and about 30% difference. Ifyou do it in a shuttle you can go even faster. Or you can go

from Pluto / Sol to Lyrius / Sirius. That's about 20% difference,in only 2 jumps. Another suggested route is to Saron / Sarien /Alpha Canis, which has cheap stuff. Saron has TRELLIS, HULLREPAIR KIT, and/or REACTOR REPAIR KIT that can generate goodprofits... If you have enough capital to get started. Sell whatyou don't need at Majoris / Alpha Majora, which has about 50%difference, taking into account the "specialty" bonus.

Q: Any other trading suggestions?A: One of the suggested methods is leave your CC next toGalcomHQ, and do your trading in a SC. Your SC moves faster. Runto stations and buy up things to fill up your hold (SC's cargohold, without any drones or OC, is 5000 units, same as a ship's

cargo bay), then take your CC somewhere to sell off the stuff.Obviously, your SC is extremely weak and easily destroyed... Sodon't run to hostile environments with it. With that speed, youshould be able to avoid most enemies.

14.3 BOUNTY HUNTING

Q: How do I make money as "bounty hunter"?A: In general, capturing hostile ships will make you some money,



as well as earn you experience points (EP). For the exact amount,please see the appendix C:\ProgramFiles\DreamCatcher\3000AD\Battlecruiser MillenniumGold\docs\appendix\ep.html

Q: How do I capture hostile ships?A: After the ship is disabled, tractor it (must be range lessthan 1 km), and tow it to a base, then dock to the base. When thebase asks if you want to deliver the ship, answer Y(es).

BEWARE: While tractor beam is active, you have NO SHIELDS! Do NOTattempt under hostile conditions!

Q: Is there any other way? What if I need to tow multiple ships?

A: Send a shuttle (or two, or three...) Have the shuttle "tow"the target, then "deliver" to the base. Neutral bases are fine.You'll still get the credit for it.

Beware that shuttles are extremely vulnerable, and you need asmart pilot to perform delicate maneuvers such as towing.

14.4 OTHER SOURCES OF INCOME

Q: Any other way to make money?A: You can collect cargo pods that are just spinning in space.Any ship that was destroyed has a chance of spewing a cargo podor two. Have shuttles on standby, and launch them to "cargosweep" missions to pick up those pods. That's FREE merchandiseyou can sell. (The pod may be empty though) For how to recovercargo pods, see Manual Appendix section [7.13].

Remember to transfer the cargo from the shuttle's cargo hold tothe ship's cargo hold!

Remember shuttles are vulnerable to enemy fire. Retrieving stuff

near a hostile star station is very hazardous to the shuttle'shealth (and its crew's health as well!).

BEWARE docking at a LEGAL station with contraband onboard resultsin a violation (and violations CANNOT be erased!)

15 Not in Manual: Emergency Ops Or... "All right, I'm in a REALLY bad situation here. Can yousave me?"

Q: I am out of fuel (radine). What do I do?A: Re-orient your ship so you get SOME power from the solarreactors. Shut down EVERYTHING except life support (primary ANDsecondary) and launch control (you should have enough power forthat). Put your AE into the shuttle, and FLY it to the nearestfriendly base to buy radine. Fly back, and transfer the radine tothe ship, and turn on everything again. Or you can tow the shipto a friendly base as well. Or send someone else to the shuttleand have HIM tow the ship back.



Q: I forgot where I placed the mining drone. How do I find it?A: You should at least know which moon it's on, or which systemit's in. Go to that system, and try to observe the moon, thenzoom to view the unit (should be in the list somewhere). If not,it's not there. Try a different moon and/or different system.

Q: Help, I exited the CC, and the CC went elsewhere!A: Use TacOps, order the CC to halt, then fly back to it.

Q: How do I get back inside the CC?A: Look for the "enter craft" key on the keycard (slash).

Q: Help, there are intruders near the bridge, and my AE isalready wounded, and won't survive another attack. What do I do?A: Order your ship to halt, then EXIT the ship, and hide outsidefor a while. Use medpak on yourself to heal, then get back insideto see if your marines have taken care of your problem. You canalso ride on the hull and use TacOps to order your ship to dockat a station, which will also take care of your intruder problem.

Q: Help, my ship is crippled. What can I do?

A: 1) Launch a shuttle (with you in it or someone) and tow theship to a friendly port

2) Call for a tow if you have no shuttle3) If you can't even do that (COMMLINK is down), then it's timeto self-destruct and start over.

16 Not In Manual: Career Questions Q: I belong to GalCom / EarthCom. I took in some cargo pods asloot and when I docked to the station, I was notified that I hadcontraband (illegal items) onboard, and I was chalked up with aviolation! What do I do?A: You can have up to 10 violations before you got court-

martialed, so don't worry about it if this is only your first orsecond time.

Q: But what do I do to prevent this from happening?A: Several possibilities:a) Don't pick up cargo pods from enemies who deal in contrabandb) Pick up the cargo pods, but inspect them and eject illegalstuff before dockingc) Load the contraband in the shuttle and launch the shuttlebefore you dock. Tell the shuttle to return after you undock.d) Don't dock at "legal" stations while you have contrabandonboard.

Q: Can I reduce violations? Do they "expire" after a while?A: Unfortunately, NO. Violations cannot be reduced and do NOTexpire. So, don't commit any violations. You can have up to 10,so don't go around making them all over the place.

17 Tips and Tactics



17.1 COMBAT

Detune weapons when fighting fighters

When fighting fighters, turn down your main gun and PTA guns to50% or even 30%. This allows you to pump out more but weakershots, increasing possibility of hitting something small likefighters.

17.2 CAPTURES

Extra Shuttle Loot

When you fight hostile ships in a relatively neutral spot (aneutral station nearby, for example). and you destroy the hostileship, the ship will often have a shuttle the escapes and goes forthe station. However, if you're close enough to the station,(under 200 km, maybe?) you may be able to tractor the escapingshuttle before it reaches the station as it cannot escape intohyperspace. By delivering the shuttle, you gain extra EP andbounty.

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New entries are always welcome... Feel free to submit them viathe e-mail address above.

--THE END--

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