[RazorsKiss]

Some of you may remember me - I used to be in New Dawn, and I ran a sequel of vg9tw's tach database for a bit.

You still see me post at VA, neechi, and IK's boards, so yeah - it's that RK.

Hope you guys enjoy the forum, and USE IT.

Or I'll be upset with you

[QrazyKermi]

What's the scoop with Tachyon? Persistent world? pay-to-play? Any good?

[Nohbody]

Basically a CS model, at least as of a few years ago when I last looked at the online side of Tach. Mostly player supported, as Novalogic sucks goat gonads.

The single-player part isn't too bad, but once you get through all the limited number of listed missions in both branches (Bora Coalition and GalSpan; I've done both, and found the GS branch somewhat unsatisfying) you're pretty much stuck, as you can't launch into the SP universe without a mission selected. No mission generator like in Privateer, either, so the "official" missions (though you can skip some and still win the game) are it.

[RazorsKiss]

SP of tachyon, although Bruce Campbell is awesome as Jake Logan, sucks. A lot.

You get NO feel for the multiplayer game from the single player, so please, please don't go by the SP "feel" fo it.

yes, NL sucks. The players, though... ooooh, the players. You've probably seen some of my posts about the deleriously high skill level required to be a a "master" there. It's insane. There's forward, reverse (equally powerful), and lateral (about 50%) thrust, plus a VERY manueverable flight model, where ships can change directions on a dime.

It isn't persistent, but there are two types of play - Base wars, something like Allegiance (not quite as detailed, but INSANELY more difficult, with the average skill level of the Tachyon player) I've had a single Base war session last 19 hours. No joke. Neither side could win, it went on so long. I was one of 3 people that made it through the entire thing, and there were over 350 separate people involved in the "battle", all told. of course, this was in the heyday of Tach, but man... that was truly awesome.

Then, Arena Match, which is basically like the simulator in Jumpgate, writ large - with score tracking *eg*

Let's put it this way. A real, (been in Tach for 4 years) "master class" vet can go 20-0, without even breathing hard. A 2-3 year guy will be at about 18-5, 1-2 at 10-10, and <1 at 0/5-25, or so. Skill levels matter THAT much. Every so often I've seen a real prodigy, but not that often. Skill is paramount, beyond all other. It makes the "skill" in any other game a joke - and yes, even Jumpgate. I respect the skill of the Liets, and the SingleShots and TexMurphy's - but in Tachyon, it's on a completely different level. Until you really get into the game, you really have no idea what you're missing.

There's almost an "initiation", where you finally realize - "whoa... this game is insanely hard" - at that point, you either gut it out, and get good at it, or give it up - or, realize that you just don't have the time to stay good, like I did - albeit, after 3 years of playing it a minimum of 2 hours a day. It's worse than crack. I tried to quit 5 separate times, and broke 2 discs, finally, so I wouldn't play the stupid thing anymore. It's really that addictive, once you get good.

It's a great game, but I'd classify it as the quintessential "pilot's pilot" type of sim. If you have reflexes like a cat, a very analytical mind, and are able to spatially identify objects (or learn to do so) in split seconds, AND anticipate where they'll be seconds from now... Tach's the game for you. It's hard to describe. You almost have to feel where everything is, the actin goes so fast. Think back to a particularly difficult FPS game, with LOTS of people. How everything just blurs, because you can't register that many movements all at once - you almost feel where that guy is going to be, and get that snapshot off at just the right time.

Now, imagine that in a furball, where ships move roughly 3x the speed of Jumpgate ships, manuever 4-5x as quickly, and the fastest type of gun is equivalent to a featherfire delay. And does about 1/10th of the damage. but, of course, the slower-moving guns, with impeccable aim, can turn your ship to flaming wreckage, in a single shot. everything about this game rewards skill. The fastest weapons are the lightest on damage. The slowest, and most difficult to use can annihilate ship in a single shot. (And when I say difficult - I MEAN difficult - these go *maybe* 1/100th of the speed a ship at cruise goes - so they're virtually standing still. you have to drop them in the path of a moving ship, at the velocities and manueverability profiles I was talking about - and hit dead on.

New Dawn, (the "carebear squad" in Jumpgate... hah!) were widely known as the masters of this particular weapon (and the ship best suited to use them). There's.. just tons I could write about this game - and have. I've written two complete fanfic pieces on it, and i could point you to perhaps the best fanfic i have EVER read, from any game, that was writen about, and within, this universe. It still doesn't do justice to it, though. It's truly awe-inspiring.

But don't say I didn't warn you. It's not for the faint of heart, and it's probably, and almost guaranteed to be, frustrating, for a good long time. It's one of those games where the learning curve goes almost vertical within a few days of playing. It's insanity incarnate. And once you've played it, no other flight sim will ever fill that hunger again ;P

[Nohbody]

Originally Posted by RazorsKiss

SP of tachyon, although Bruce Campbell is awesome as Jake Logan, sucks. A lot.

You get NO feel for the multiplayer game from the single player, so please, please don't go by the SP "feel" fo it.

I wasn't trying to say SP was a reflection on MP (other than basic flight performance, of course, and even then not perfect, given no lateral thrusters in SP mode), just commenting based on my personal experience, as I never really got into the MP side of it.

[Striker44]

Well, Razor covered just about everything, lol.

It's not as intense today as it was in the past. Servers on average used to have at least 20 people, even on a bad day, and regularly 40 or more. Today, finding one with about 10-20 is really good, generally the numbers are between 0-8. Still, it can be fun.

The multiplayer part of Tach comes free with the game. No monthly fees or any of that stuff. Arena matches have a kill limit of 20 (not sure if there's also a time limit), base wars matches go until one side wins, no matter how long that takes.

I've played flight sims before Tach, and seen a bunch since. Freelancer's been the only one not charging a recurring fee. Nothing, past or present, has matched the enjoyment that was and still is Tachyon.

-Striker
New Breed, ex New Republic/Terran Confederation

[BLOODSTAR Free]

Tachyon is a game for people that do not know when to stop...LOL!

Well, hi Razor! I still can feel those ABTs (Advanced Blast Torpedoes, for the non-Tachers here) creeping out of nowhere to my butt...LOL!

About the skill level:
Awww, come on. I only needed a YEAR to learn about the SOLARIS Torpedo and I can't say that I know everything about it. If I stay out for a week, my aim is lost and I may start warming up for an hour again.
That is Tachyon. Love it, or hate it.

BLOODSTAR

[SingleShot]

Mace = luff!

I wasn't tooooo bad when I played. I'm still working on figuring out which is a harder game to play....Jumpgate or Tach.

In Tach if you get really good at doing one thing (say, uh, glitching the sols on a peggy and hitting with them at least once....*cough* aelogic *cough*), you can winzor.
Jumpgate requires a somewhat broader skillset