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Missions : TEP Specs

The missions in TEP must be more interesting than the somewhat limited missions in FFE/FE2. They don't all have to tie in with the plot, of course, but the most interesting ones would. Personally I prefer missions where you must think a bit as well as fight!
The following are included from Darien's excellent web page.

Parcel Delivery

Will be handled in a way similar to FE2/FFE you get a package on a BBS system and are asked to deliver it to another system. You either have to deliver it to a specific station, a specific person (which you might have to meet in space); or just any station in the specified system. The parcels will range from totally normal (for about 75credits) to highly dangerous which you will need a good Elite rating for. These will be high pay/high reward missions - and you will get them for the Military. If the mission is particularly dangerous you may be escorted by Naval/Corporate/Pirate ships who protect you to that destination or you may have to hire your own wingmen.

Passenger Delivery

Again, these will be similar to FE2/FFE in that you take passengers from a particular place to another system/planet. They should vary in danger and you should be able to work for the Military in this category (unlike FE2). There should also be varying levels of "Passenger Seating" from 2 tonne pig sties to 20 tonne palaces. The state of your passenger cabins would affect your clientele - if you had very good facilities then you will get more work from the rich and the corps. People on the run though I doubt will care what state your cabins are in (or the in-flight meal for that matter) NOTE: I don't think people should be so honest in TEP - after all in FE2,FFE people always say "I'm on the run from the Mob?" - why would people say that? Wouldn't you lie? Anyhow - I think there should be more comeback from the missions you accept. As well as the more traditional "You're gonna regret dealing with?" there could also be more specific things. So for example let's say you help a Convict escape from a planet. Later the Police/Navy could stop you in space and say "Have you seen this man?" if you tell the truth then your reputation will be bolstered in the eyes of those authorities, but you will gain a reputation as a "snitch" and you might find it hard to get that sort of work. The opposite could also be true.

Assassination

The same as FE2/FFE except that a) there won't be annoying bug which means that the person doesn't show up ; b)you may have to attack people in convoys which would obviously be more dangerous. The highly paying cases would be defended by multiple wingmen/ships. c)You might have to fight more in space (ie. this victim will be in the Ross 154 system at ?.)

Photography

The photography missions in FE2 were all right - if a little boring. It would be better if you were attacked as soon as you entered the system (esp if this is a sensitive naval base). Perhaps you might have to arrange false identity information to enter the system without being attacked. If the information was alright then you would be able to fly about the system unperturbed - if the info was wrong (ie the person you bought it off ripped you off) then you would be attacked. If they do realize what you are doing then once you leave the system (after taking photo's) then they should pursue you. There should also be opportunities to photograph ships. (see "Shadowing)

Bombing of Military Base

If we amalgamate the ideas from FFE - this should be OK. You either have to bomb a orbital satellite, or a base on the ground. Obviously security should be tighter and you might have to be sneaky (see Photography)

Station Assault

In this type of mission you (accompanied by others probably) attack a station. Sounds simple right? You have to attack with a combination of conventional weapons (lasers,standard missiles) and more exotic weapons (like nukes). The station will obviously be heavily guarded and you will have to fight against the Police, the local Naval force as well as any local Vigilante and passer-by. You aim won't probably be to destroy the base but either to extort money from them (ie once they undefended you can demand credit transfers) or just to damage them. You might have to destroy them but that would probably only occur in a war time situation. Obviously the more advanced stations (in Sol, or Achenar) will be better defended than the Lave type systems.

Planetary Assault

This mission is just a more psychopathic version of the above mission. You will have to attack the major cities of a planet. This would probably be restricted to war time and would involve advanced weaponry. Obviously you have to be quite an advanced power to have the muscle to pull this type of operation,and would involve a LARGE number of ships (this mission does share many with the traditional bombing mission)

Following/Shadowing

This would involve following a ship to gather information on it. You wouldn't be attacking the ship just trying to get information on it. There would be a number of versions of this mission from the civilian one of "I don't trust my husband/wife/business partner please follow him" to working for the police, and following advanced naval ships. It could also be used for spying generally. In the more advanced versions of this mission you might need to have Stealth/Cloaking technology to complete this mission - after all I think the 1st Imperial Protectorate might notice an Alliance craft following them!

Diversionary Tactics

In this type of mission you would attack a station/base or do something which gains the local powers attention. While the Police or the Navy chases you, your associates attack the original base. Obviously this would be a highly dangerous mission as it involves willingly being chased by a heavily armed fleet?

Planetary Defense

You might have to either defend a planet through one attack or battle, or you might have to defend it through a certain period of time. So in the second instance there would be an advert saying "Join the Ross 154 Local Militia : 1000 credits per day for well armed ship". In this scenario you sign on for 3 months, and then you have the choice of rejoining.

Station Defense

In this case it would be more likely that you are deputized by the police/Navy when they hear of an impending attack you would then join a fleet of ships trying to defend the station

Convoy

This may not exactly be a mission but could be just to join a trade convoy for a certain price, (quite low) to ensure that large trade ships are protected by their number through dangerous routes.

Escort

In this scenario - you a fighter with a high ELITE rating would be hired to defend a weaker/larger ship through dangerous territory. You might be hired alone, or would be one of many escorts. You might also be hired as part of a large convoy (this is what your money goes on when you join a convoy)

Test a new prototype ship/engine/equipment

This mission is what it says. Your ship is fitted with a new piece of equipment (or you get a new ship) and you are asked to do a relatively simple mission. There would be a chance that your ship might start to go wrong, and this is where your skills come in. This mission is a great honour (especially since in some cases you will keep the equipment) and would only be given to the best of that particular military/force. If you work for the Alliance you might have to test out some Thargoid technology to see it's suitability for human pilots.

Troop Drop

This would probably only be in war time but involves you piloting a huge Naval cruiser (it wouldn't be that good just big) - you would be assigned a particular set of co-ordinates on a planet and you would have to do a perfect landing there. You troops would leave the ship and do what troops do best. You would then have to leave the system to collect reinforcements or just to survive since you will be a huge slow moving target.

Fleet Leadership/membership

In this you would lead a wing of your power's fighters into either patrolling/fighting/assassinations. You might be given this fleet of ships for either one set mission or for a set period of time. You would need to be very high up the military/combat rankings to get this mission In the membership version you would be under the direction of someone else for a brief period - and you have follow their general orders.

Ship Drop

In this again you pilot a big ship which contains number of smaller fighters contained in it (10-20) you would then have to go to a particular system (battle field) and launch your ships. You would then leave the battle field.

Bounty Hunting

You will be given a number of Ship registrations and a last seen position. You will then go to that system, and you will either have to look for information on a BBS (you might be given the opportunity to place an advert and see who responds) or just look for them in space. You will then fight and destroy them once you find them. You might or might not be accompanied depending on the danger of your target.

Fighting!

Quite simply - a msg on the BBS system might say "All loyal members of the Empire go to Altair for a battle with the Alliance". You would go there and there would be a big battle going on, and you just have to work out which side you're on (the space faring equivalent of a bar room brawl).

Sabotage/Hacking

A bit of a hypothetical one this, but since there will be software modules in the game, then you could have one dedicated to "Hacking". This module would allow you to gain access to unmanned defense probes (another new thing), mining drones,station defenses or just station finances. The aim for all this would be to sabotage a system so when a Pirate raid takes place later (for example) the stations defenses don't work.Even if we don't do software, I can't see a problem with these missions anyway.
The Flend
Last modified: Mon Jan 4 22:17:39 GMT 1999