Am I at the end? (possible spoilers warning)

[GeXeS]

Hello there

First, I'd like to thank the people who made this game. A jewel in many aspects, most definitely!

And now... Today I finally reached the quarantine at Heretic and got stuck there in a bugg-ish manner. From various hints and blips of speech on the forums and elsewhere, I got a feeling that the game really ends there. Does it? (That's my first question )

But well... I've probably done something wrong anyways, because I've started doing that system's missions at the Domina base. Meaning that once I accepted to infiltrate the Iocrym library, the Iocryms started their activity. And then I went for the artifact protected by the Xenophobes.
It takes some time do destroy the Ark even with my Ares Archcannon (I noticed that in some cases, the weapon does zero damage. I consider this a bug, because I have no other explanation why first shot should raise the damage to 80 % and the next one, aimed at the same spot, left the enemy with the same 80 % dmg) so while I fought the Xenophobes, the Iocrym managed to destroy all the research stations (even though I've destroyed all three Iocrym outposts, what, as I expected, should have stopped them from sending new ships; sigh) and now the scientist lady on the ship at the Iocrym control station tells me our only hope is some hardware from a Iocrym sentinel.
Well, OK, I've destroyed a hundred of them, helped myself to all of their armory, but haven't progressed in the storyline at all. They just keep on coming in greater numbers.
So my second question is: have I broken the storyline? is starting the WHOLE GAME anew my only option?

EDIT: Ah yes. Version 1.1

[TVR]

It takes some time do destroy the Ark even with my Ares Archcannon (I noticed that in some cases, the weapon does zero damage. I consider this a bug, because I have no other explanation why first shot should raise the damage to 80 % and the next one, aimed at the same spot, left the enemy with the same 80 % dmg)

The Ark has 36 armor segments, in 36 hitbox sectors 10 degrees in span. With a cross-section that small and a ship that round, it's extremely unlikely to hit the same segment twice in a row.

Well, OK, I've destroyed a hundred of them, helped myself to all of their armory, but haven't progressed in the storyline at all. They just keep on coming in greater numbers.

You need to loot the ROMs, then give them to the team at the control center.

[GeXeS]

1) Ah yes, the armor segments... well, I've considered that, but I get this issue on smaller ships, too - for example the abovementioned Sentinels on their way to destroy a research station will take four Archcannon shots into one spot (and here I can be sure, when I lock my ship on the side of the Sentinel, flying at the same speed) without exploding. I can try to record a video of this if I won't forget to turn on my Cam...

2) There are no ROMs in the destroyed stations. I've just come into Heretic, failed to protect the research vessel from pteracivores and once I've transferred the scientists to the control center, accepted the mission from Domina. Then the sentinels started attacking and I wasn't able to finish any more research missions before they destroyed everything

[TVR]

You need to loot the ROMs from the Iocrym Sentinel wrecks.

[PM]

Heretic is the last system in part 1. If you find the next stargate and leave Heretic, you win!

If you fail badly and let the Iocrym sentinels burn everything to the ground, you will need to destroy neverending waves of sentinels until you loot enough ROMs from their wrecks and give them to you-know-who.

[GeXeS]

Heretic is the last system in part 1. If you find the next stargate and leave Heretic, you win!

If you fail badly and let the Iocrym sentinels burn everything to the ground, you will need to destroy neverending waves of sentinels until you loot enough ROMs from their wrecks and give them to you-know-who.

I see. That's what was troubling me - if the ROMs will appear. If so, I am off to kill them all
Thank you both very much!

[GeXeS]

Funny... the Sentinels in the very next batches had the treasured ROMs. I feel like an idiot

One little thing I've stumbled upon today: did you know that when you use the fading sphere in Heretic, the Iocrym star-cannons become synchronized when unfrozen? Screen:

[Jay2Jay]

that's........ not supposed to happen.
Oh and there are these things called noncritical armor segments that, when destroyed, do absolutely... nothing.

[GeXeS]

that's........ not supposed to happen.
Oh and there are these things called noncritical armor segments that, when destroyed, do absolutely... nothing.

Interesting, interesting...

[RPC]

http://transcendence.kronosaur.com/wiki ... oncritical

[GeXeS]

http://transcendence.kronosaur.com/wiki ... oncritical

Aaaaaah, so THAT'S IT! That's what I've been wondering about the whole time thanks a lot!

(Eh, seeing the Phobos there - my only encounter with it ended with me hidden "inside" a planet with a Ringer shipyard near. Utterly cowardly, I let the Ringers do the trick.)

[Bruno]

Shameless advertisement:

That is why I am unable to play Transcendence without RPC's "Dynamic Systems"-mod (I have tried but got bored fast), you cant hide on planets, a small but significant detail that means much more action

Damn you RPC.

[TVR]

That's not it - nonCritical only applies when the segment has hit 100% damage, and the Iocrym Sentinel doesn't have any nonCritical segments.

It does, however, have 12 armor segments.

[GeXeS]

That's not it - nonCritical only applies when the segment has hit 100% damage, and the Iocrym Sentinel doesn't have any nonCritical segments.

It does, however, have 12 armor segments.

Still, with its shields down, shouldn't it be destroyed by hitting it with the Ares archcannon just about anywhere? (Works for my ship, that's for sure eheh.)
Furthermore, it only occured to me when I was defending the research stations. The later coming bunches of Sentinels don't show this "bug", they explode just nicely after 3rd-4th shot. I am afraid in order to confirm this thing, though, I'd have to restart the whole game. Which I probably will in the future, but definitely not right now...

The nonCritical segments definitely resolve my confusion when I was trying to take down the Sung transport.

[Jay2Jay]

I just meant that noncritical segments prevent some from blowing, not necessarily the Iocrymn sentinel, but some ships. Also, it may be possible that some of those areas protected by armor 'overlap', would explain alot.