About Arco...

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Aeonic
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So, why exactly are we supposed to do him in? The only reward we get related to this mission is the NAMI missiles, and once you have that, you get nothing but a thank you for blasting Arco out of the sky with them. Why not just take the missiles and move on to the next system? Shouldn't there be some kind of perk for dealing with Arco?
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Fossaman
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He or his habitat typically have some looting value, particularly early on. And there is some exposition involved (although I typically don't bother looting that data rom anymore).
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Aeonic
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I don't loot the data rom either, and I figure that's part of the story, although I don't know what part, so I wouldn't consider it really a proper reward since it only counts the first time around. It would be nice if Arco, since he's considerably more menacing than anything else in Eridani, would at least consistently drop something nice as a reward. Most of the time, neither he nor his habitat have anything to make it worth the trouble.

If nothing to loot on him, then perhaps you could get some perks at the station that told you where he was. Although I can't think of what at the moment.
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Prophet
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I feel Arco is similar to an optional boss, more of a test to see how you will fare in the coming systems. I try to knock him off before continuing, using different set-ups and tactics. If you get his armor, it's usually better than what you would normally be able to afford. I have occasionally gotten a decent drop off him, I got a particle beam once, and often the centauri nano barrels. There should be some sort of reward given at raisu once you defeat him, a targeting rom would be nice.

I wouldn't mind seeing him used in a tutorial sort of way, helping new players learn about damage types and armor/shield levels and resistances. Maybe he could have his habitat in the inner asteroid field and wander around the gate, harassing some of the traffic that comes in? You could track the damage he causes and award a bounty based on that.
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Aury
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I don't bother with arco- usually I get nothing of any real value from his loot (and often the missiles blow up his wreck anyways)
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Aeonic
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A targeting rom would be nice. It would be nice to have a consistent way of getting one, since I think it detracts a lot from the game when you don't have one, because you can't even check out ships to see what they're called, which isn't any fun for new players.
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Atarlost
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If the gal had a targeting ROM though she'd give it to you up front so you could kill Arco. It doesn't do her any good without those missiles she gives you.
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Wurmish
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Brings up a good question I had in IRC awhile ago.

What's the point of her whispering her name in your ear? Some reward...

I typically get decent drops from Arco, never seen a party beam though...
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The tracking missiles are enough of a reward IMO. If you don't happen to have a NAMI though, you're just hoping for the centauri barrels
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Aury
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F50 wrote:The tracking missiles are enough of a reward IMO.
... then why kill arco and waste the missiles?
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OddBob
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I think it's worth using a couple of the missiles for the chance at the centauri nanos - being pretty much immune to both laser and kinetic damage comes in handy.
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Aeonic
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What about having Arco consistently drop a targeting rom? Seriously, having to play the game without them just because none of them randomly generated anywhere isn't very fun. I can't even target the center of a slaver camp in order to dock at it instead of docking at all the stupid cargo boxes.
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Prophet
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If you already have a targetting rom when you accept the mission to kill arco he will be your target, otherwise the mission target is his habitat. If you have a launcher installed she gives you some missiles, otherwise its a DM1500 dispoable pod of missiles.

While I like the nuances of the code, it could be changed slightly to give it more of a tutorial feel.

1. Dock at Raisu station, accept the mission. She gives you targeting rom and missiles/pod.
2. Instructions on how to "U"se items and install the targetting rom.
3. Explanation about damage types "Arco is almost immune to laser and kinetic weapons, use these missiles which do blast damage and will track him if he's your target. Press "T" to target enemies."

This would remove the expectation of a reward from arco (the rom and missiles would be it) and give a tiny intro to the game. I played for a couple months before I found that F1 had a help page which ultimately led me to discover that "P" paused the game. (Then another month before discovering that spacebar advanced one frame at a time while paused.)

Playing through the entire game without a targeting rom increases the difficulty exponentially. Omni weapons are more hassle than they're worth, tracking missiles are nearly useless, and like Aeonic mentioned, trying to free slaves is MUCh more difficult. We always start with an autopilot so why not a targeting comp?
Coming soon: The Syrtian War adventure mod!
A Turret defense genre mod exploring the worst era in Earth's history.
Can you defend the Earth from the Syrtian invaders?
Stay tuned for updates!
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