Space Rangers 2 - Wow

Pardon the serioius thread necro…

Found SR2 at Target for $10 (was actually looking for AD1701, which was gone) and just couldn't say no. Debating whether my "one game at a time" rule prevents me from starting SR2 until I wrap up Puzzle Quest, which looks like it might take much longer than I anticipated (I discovered that I could scroll the map several days ago, and there's a whole lot of empty ground to be filled). Of course, I started a Wiz8 run before PQ arrived, but I haven't done anything with that since. It's a nice problem to have, but I've just got too many games on my shelf right now, and a few planned purchases on deck to boot.

Go on, play it, you KNOW you want to!! SR2 is an excellent fun Space game!!

Yes, but what to do about Eschalon, then? So many decisions…

Originally Posted by dteowner
Yes, but what to do about Eschalon, then? So many decisions…

Dual wield.

I don't have the proper feat, so I'd suffer significant penalties on my rolls for both weapons. Even if the DM cut me some slack and offered an alternative, I'd undoubtedly fail the intelligence score check.

I played this game awhile ago and loved it. It was a little of everything mixed in just right. Kinda reminded me of Starflight 1 and 2. Wish they would make more space trading games.

About Eschalon I'll go with Ismaul's suggestion and duel wield the suckers. Come on you can do it Don't worry about the DM, he'll fudge the dice for you.

You've no hope of "dual wielding" for Space Rangers 2 is a cruel and jealous mistress. She'll demand all your attention regardless of your physical needs for food or sleep. I tried to dump her but one flutter of her genre blending eyelashes and back I crawled like a love-struck puppy. Ultimately I had to take drastic measures and uninstall her for my hard disk; but sometimes, late at night I still hear her siren song calling…

It looks like I missed out on this one. I remember checking out fan forums and seeing something about an English patch not coming and something about copywrite protection woes. It's been a while, though. Something like that.

Anyway, I passed on it. Maybe I need to check it out after all.

On disk, it's a Starforce title. That's your woes. The digital download is non-Starforce. I haven't looked to see if there's a Starforce removal tool now that the game is in the bargain bin.

Ah I see many of you have discovered Space Rangers 1 & 2. Fantastic games both. I started playing them when they were released.

Originally Posted by dteowner
On disk, it's a Starforce title. That's your woes. The digital download is non-Starforce. I haven't looked to see if there's a Starforce removal tool now that the game is in the bargain bin.

Unfortunately there is still no option to remove the Starforce Copy Protection that came with the boxed versions of the game.

Recently I've built a new PC and I'm hesitant to install the Starforce infested version of anything on it. On my previous machine I lost 2 Plextor CD/DvD players to earlier versions of Starforce. Supposedly the recent versions of Starforce fix those issues but I've heard that song before..

However the recently released Space Rangers 2 v2.0 which includes the 1 & 2 as well as the Add-On is Starforce Free. It apparently can also run from the CD without the need to install.

Space Rangers 2 ver 2.0 was released on Sep 7,2007 by Katauri Interactive which was formed by one of the creators of Space Rangers from Elemental Games.
Their website is in Russian at www.Katauri.com .

It has been announced by a developer the English translation is in the works.
Here's a screenshot of the Russian released product Space Rangers 2 v2.0 with Add-ON

The thread with all the discussion: Add-ON to SR2

@ Dteowner you should love this game.
There is a wealth of information on Space Rangers if you read Russian.
For those that do not here's a few links you might find helpful if you're playing:
North American unofficial Faq

The Official Forums

Guide to finding Hulls

Available Micromodules

Ubbax
"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: try to please everybody." - Herbert Bayard Swope

It looks like all the good things in X2 without the twitch-skill piloting that I was so lousy at. That would be an incredible experience. I purchased "SR2-Rise of the Dominators", so I'm guessing I'll be rolling the dice with Starforce.

Picked up Eschalon, so SR2 is going to sit on the shelf for a while.

I tried it a bit but didnt like it at all. X2 is more like a boring commercial simulation than a space one and this space rangers 2 is not space simu at all. Its more like turnbased arcade shooter. The 3D RTS bored me to tears and I have had my share of text ventures in the past allready.

There has been no new space sim for many years now beyond one or two totally turd releases or weird stuff like this. The genre has dried up completely. Ive seen fans desperately grasping straws with few new releases even if they are totally craptastic. Lucky I still have my xwing & awing remake collection to finish. They are like a life jacket.

You'll love SR2, dte. No, it's not a true space sim but I wouldn't call it an arcade shooter at all - it's a space adventure/RPG where skills and loot/equipment are critical.

2 questions :

1) What are the options for character stats & classes like, and is there character development/tweaking ?

2) Is there a linear plot you are propelled along with, or is it more freeform & sandboxian (or somewhere in between) ?

1) Yes. I'd say your ship loadout is more important in the long run but there is a simple skill system. No classes but you choose a race, a class or sorts (trader, pirate…) and develop Accuracy, Manoeuvrability, Technical Skills, Trading, Charisma and Leadership. The class and race affect your starting ship, gear and reputation with certain races - you can develop freely from there. In other words, you can choose "pirate" because you like that ship and then go be a nice guy.

2) No plot worth speaking of but some things develop organically. More freeform than Oblivion.

Robotic invaders - the Dominators - are destroying systems and trying to take over the universe. To help combat them, the powers that be have a "Ranger" program - they believe setting you up with a ship and letting you loose will help you develop the skills required to combat the evil Dominators.

Yes, that's terrible. In essence, you're given a ship, some skills and a little cash and left to head out on your own. You can trade, pirate (though that can be hard), take missions from planetary governments - whatever. There are 49 other Rangers in the universe and they will compete with and against you.

Meanwhile, the Dominators start moving into the randomly generated galaxy. Bit by bit, they'll start to take over territory, so eventually they will get in your way even if you are playing a selfish pirate and have no interest in helping save the galaxy.

This is real and dynamic, by the way. Some systems will fight the dominators off. Sometimes counterattacks will be launched to win systems back from the dominators (and you can join in or watch), so exactly how this develops will depend on your game and to a certain extent, your actions.

My review from RPGDot days:

http://www.rpgdot.com/index.php?hsaction=10053&ID=1189

Thanks Dhruin, you are a truly great RPG'er !

Originally Posted by Dhruin
This is real and dynamic, by the way. Some systems will fight the dominators off. Sometimes counterattacks will be launched to win systems back from the dominators (and you can join in or watch), so exactly how this develops will depend on your game and to a certain extent, your actions.

My review from RPGDot days:

http://www.rpgdot.com/index.php?hsaction=10053&ID=1189

Yeah, that's a very good and informative review. Pretty much agree with everything in it. Especially the conclusion. Those who don't know this game go read Dhruin's review if you don't own the game already

Well, I installed the game, even though I'm working on Eschalon. I'll probably regret this. Anyway, any race/class/etc recommendations for a noob, or is it reasonably effective to make a stab and try it for a while?

I didn't like it cause of level scaling.

I would say you'll probably need to experiment a bit and restart with a "serious" game. There's a ridiculous amount of depth, so it will take a while to get a grip on everything.

The races have different qualities of equipment:

Maloqs < Pelengs < Humans < Faeyans < Gaalians

So, Maloq stuff breaks more often but is cheaper. Maloqs are more barbarian/aggessive (I think of them as Klingons), while the Gaalians are more spiritual/highbrow (Vulcans in my dodgy ideology). Humans are in the middle - versatile but with no specific advantages beyond that versatility. The races have different race relations so choosing a non-human will make some race or another automatic enemies. All up, I think human is a good, safe, starting race.

Otherwise…ship size is critical and you will need to fight, so choose a class with a balance in this. You can make easier money doing planetary missions than just trading, so I always concentrate on that while keeping an eye on convenient trades while doing the missions - I rarely make trading my priority.

Ship size will dictate how much stuff you can carry (including equipment) and a key part of the game is balancing your loadout with the ship capacity — you will have to make compromises (and some people like a small loadout to maximise speed). Technically, you can play without much focus on combat but since saving the galaxy will require combat sooner or later, I figure you may as well embrace it as important up front.

Oh, you get two pieces of free equipment when you start - consider the rocket launcher because it is light and fairly effective in the early game.

Finally, when you buy equipment, bear in mind the weight and power is partly randomised, so all Mark III Lasers are *not* equal - searching for the lightest, bestest one is all part of the game.

Seriously good (but long) FAQ here:

http://www.octopusoverlords.com/phpB…=space+rangers