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In the old Amiga computer game Steel Empire (also known as Cyber Empires), the biggest and deadliest 'Mech in that game was called the "Titan". Was 'Titans of Steel: Warring Suns' named after that 'Mech in that game?

What do you think is the best number of Jocks to have in a Squad?

If opposing Titans occupy the same hex at ground level, does the direction that these Titans are facing and/or moving out of that hex have any effect on the locations of the enemy Titan that they are most likely to hit, or do they have the same chance to hit frontal locations of the enemy Titan as normal? What chance do these Titans have to hit the enemy Titan's CBT (Centre Back Torso) instead of the CT (Centre Torso)?

Does a Neutron Blaster have just as much chance of triggering its special effect with a hit to ANY part of a Titan? It would be logical for Neutron Blaster hits to the head or cockpit to have a much higher chance (or any chance at all) of triggering their special effect.

Considering that a Jock's salary increases with his/her/its number of kills and battles, do experienced Jocks eventually become too expensive for you to be able to afford to keep them in your Squad?

On average, which Jock race survives battles more often out of androids and cyborgs?

In the WS Tables.pdf file, in reference to Battle Computers, what is TLC an acronym for?

The WS Guide states that "The shield's protection against energy weapons (including the Flame Thrower) is modified by (Defensive/10), except for the Neutron Blaster and the E.M. Pulser.". Exactly how is this modifier applied to the shield's protection? Is it added to the shield's "Mod %" value to make it more likely that ToHit rolls will hit the shield?

What is the base chance that a weapon that does more than 4 points of damage (except the Flame Thrower) has to cause instability to the target Titan (before the weapon's modifier is applied)? What is the modifier for piloting skill checks due to instability for each Titan location that is hit? Exactly what modifiers apply to a Piloting skill check due to the speed that the target Titan was moving at?

The WS Guide states that "Combat XPs for succeeding in hitting the target with a weapon are dividied by 7/10/14 depending on weapon class (heavy/medium/light) - weapon class is determined by weight/slots.". Exactly which weapons are heavy, medium, and light?

ORIGINAL: gazra

What do you think is the best number of Jocks to have in a Squad?

Four is good, generally I'd say 'as many as you can afford'. More Jocks gives you more flexibility, especially in campaigns/missions, but in arena fights it means the enemy has a greater chance of trashing one of your titans.

If opposing Titans occupy the same hex at ground level, does the direction that these Titans are facing and/or moving out of that hex have any effect on the locations of the enemy Titan that they are most likely to hit, or do they have the same chance to hit frontal locations of the enemy Titan as normal? What chance do these Titans have to hit the enemy Titan's CBT (Centre Back Torso) instead of the CT (Centre Torso)?

Only halfway sure on this... If they're facing opposite ways, the chance to hit locations is the same as for if they were in adjacent hexes. If they're facing the same way, then if one is moving forward, the other will hit the back, I THINK. If both are moving, the slowest one will hit the back. At the very least, you'll definitely hit the back once they move. Other than this case, it should all hit front, not a side or back. But I'm not sure.

To determine whether a Neutron Blaster hits a Titan, is a normal ToHit roll made first, or does the random number between 1 and 80 (modified by what you needed to hit, the enemy Titan's Life Support's healing value, and the enemy Jock's Constitution) determine whether a Neutron Blaster hits a Titan? Does this mean that a Neutron Blaster has just as much chance of triggering its special effect with a hit to ANY part of a Titan? It would be logical for Neutron Blaster hits to the head or cockpit to have a much higher chance (or any chance at all) of triggering their special effect.

I'm almost dead sure a normal tohit is rolled and then a random number modified by life support/constitution is rolled if it hit. I do not know if location hit plays a part in it.

Considering that a Jock's salary increases with his/her number of kills and battles, do experienced Jocks eventually become too expensive for you to be able to afford to keep them in your Squad?

Yes. I've had to fire an Ace because she got too expensive.

On average, which Jock race survives battles more often out of androids and cyborgs?

Strictly speaking, my jocks tend to die due to engine explosions more than anything else, which is just as likely to happen to either pilot type. In the area of 'death by Neutron/HP damage, not because of Explosion/Headcap', my Androids tend to survive longer.

The WS Guide states that "The shield's protection against energy weapons (including the Flame Thrower) is modified by (Defensive/10), except for the Neutron Blaster and the E.M. Pulser.". Exactly how is this modifier applied to the shield's protection? Is it added to the shield's "Mod %" value to make it more likely that ToHit rolls will hit the shield?

Yes. As far as I know.

What is the base chance that a weapon that does more than 4 points of damage (except the Flame Thrower) has to cause instability to the target Titan (before the weapon's modifier is applied)? Does the Titan location that is hit have any effect on the base chance to cause instability? If so, exactly what modifiers apply for each location that is hit?

I could SWEAR I'd seen this in the documentation somewhere. Off the cuff, I'm *pretty sure* that hits on the legs and lower gyro have both a better chance to cause instability and make the pilot check harder. That's speaking mostly from experience, it's rarer for me to have an Arm hit cause instability, if not practically impossible. (Save an AC20 or BRG hit on the arm)


Any question that I didn't quote I have absolutely No Clue on, for various reasons. But I tried!

ORIGINAL: gazra
What is Kai's WoSP project? What is WoSP an acronym for?

Kai (Marga, one of the developers of ToS) was working on a project called Warriors of Super Powers, a squad based game about super-heroes (it's mentioned in some of ToS:WS's missions in the Metaborator campaign too). It looked quite nice. Last time I heard from it, he was refactoring it to C# IIRC.

What do you think is the best number of Jocks to have in a Squad?

Starting with 3 is usually best IMO, then upgrade to 4 within a few missions. The objective is to have a full squad of 8 I'd say, as soon as economically feasible.

If opposing Titans occupy the same hex at ground level, does the direction that these Titans are facing and/or moving out of that hex have any effect on the locations of the enemy Titan that they are most likely to hit, or do they have the same chance to hit frontal locations of the enemy Titan as normal? What chance do these Titans have to hit the enemy Titan's CBT (Centre Back Torso) instead of the CT (Centre Torso)?

Facing *does* matter for the location that is hit. There are two hit location tables, front and rear hits (actually, there are also l/r side "tables", but they use the CT). The front arc is larger than the rear arc though, which is only the back hexside area.

To determine whether a Neutron Blaster hits a Titan, is a normal ToHit roll made first, or does the random number between 1 and 80 (modified by what you needed to hit, the enemy Titan's Life Support's healing value, and the enemy Jock's Constitution) determine whether a Neutron Blaster hits a Titan? Does this mean that a Neutron Blaster has just as much chance of triggering its special effect with a hit to ANY part of a Titan? It would be logical for Neutron Blaster hits to the head or cockpit to have a much higher chance (or any chance at all) of triggering their special effect.

Normal ToHit roll, then Neutron roll. The NB is a "wide beam" weapon, the location roll is irrelevant. It doesn't cause crits, so there are no cockpit hits.

Considering that a Jock's salary increases with his/her number of kills and battles, do experienced Jocks eventually become too expensive for you to be able to afford to keep them in your Squad?

Possibly. Notice that multiple kills in one battle might result in a promotion though. You can, of course, switch them to lighter titans, which have lower maintenance - and a higher chance to die [:D] Sacking them is not honorable, hehe.
(Maybe this could be improved in the 1.2.2 upgrade, Henrik?)

In the WS Tables.pdf file, in reference to Battle Computers, what is TLC an acronym for?

Target Lock Circuitry. It's a time based modifier for target acquisition. The better the BC, the faster target locking (and switching) is.

Is the latest updated Titan database in version 1.2.1 of the game? The only Titan databases that I have been able to download from this forum are the WS Titan Database (release).xls by Diogo Gomes (Iceman) which was in the tos_ws_guide.zip file, and Thorgrim's titans.txt file. Are these the latest Titan databases? Am I supposed to rename either of these files to the .xch file extension in order to be able to import the Titan designs into my game whilst in the Factory module?

The latest database version in the forums is not the one in 1.2.1. The 1.2.1 version (and release, they're the same) is a 31 titan per class db, which was later expanded to 36 (and some designs improved), but was not made official. The 36 titan database is available in the forums for download, the corresponding excel file isn't though.
The excel files are only *lists* of the designs, for reference - they're not used in the game. The databases themselves have the .tos extension (1.tos~5.tos). The .xch files are for importing/exporting designs, trade designs between players, or for backing up your databases when upgrading them or reinstalling the game or whatever. What you can do is export your custom designs in your current db, load the new database, and then import your designs to that new db.
DG/Iceman/Thorgrim are the same guy BTW [:)]

The WS Guide states that "The shield's protection against energy weapons (including the Flame Thrower) is modified by (Defensive/10), except for the Neutron Blaster and the E.M. Pulser.". Exactly how is this modifier applied to the shield's protection? Is it added to the shield's "Mod %" value to make it more likely that ToHit rolls will hit the shield?

Exactly.

What is the base chance that a weapon that does more than 4 points of damage (except the Flame Thrower) has to cause instability to the target Titan (before the weapon's modifier is applied)? Does the Titan location that is hit have any effect on the base chance to cause instability? If so, exactly what modifiers apply for each location that is hit?

The base chance for instability is the damage of the weapon. It is then modified by other factors.

The WS Guide states that "Combat XPs for succeeding in hitting the target with a weapon are dividied by 7/10/14 depending on weapon class (heavy/medium/light) - weapon class is determined by weight/slots.". Exactly which weapons are heavy, medium, and light?

I guess you'll have to use some common sense [;)]

The WS Guide states that "Combat XPs for succeeding in hitting the target with a weapon are dividied by 7/10/14 depending on weapon class (heavy/medium/light) - weapon class is determined by weight/slots.". Exactly which weapons are heavy, medium, and light?

> 3 slots or > 7.0 tons = heavy
> 1 slots or > 4.0 tons = medium
rest = light

Btw. I changed the divider to 8/11/14 for my latest version, yet to be released.

Thanks for all of your help, CrushU, Thorgrim, and LarkinVB. I really appreciate it!

"Your Squad sucks bosons!" - Professor Farnsworth (Futurama)

I linked Icemans (aka Thorgrim) 36 titan database from 2005 at the top of the "Unofficial guide + titan/weapon table" thread. It is not the database somewhere else in this thread with a varying number (36+) of designs. 

EDIT: I cleaned and reuploaded the database as some titans had a slightly wrong speed.

Can't recall which version of the 36db I posted, my current version has 6 alternate versions for some of the designs (+5 mediums and +1 heavy), which I'm still trying to figure if they actually improve the designs or not. Can someone tell me if the available version has these temporary designs or not? It'd be nice to release this db with the unofficial patch IMO.

Why is there a delay of approximately 1 second before a Titan explodes after the message "TITAN EXPLODES" is displayed?

The WS Guide.pdf file states that "Destroying the Life Support of a Titan will not automatically kill the Jock. Destroying the cockpit will. The cockpit is just a slot in the head. It does not accumulate damage; it is a spot that will hurt the Jock when hit internally. If it gets destroyed, the Titan is disabled.". The WS Guide also states that "A Jock may survive the destruction of the cockpit (Engine explosion, head ripped off), even though it is a very remote possiblity.". These two statements are contradictory. Which statement is correct? What is the chance that a Jock may survive the destruction of the cockpit?

Apart from eject skill checks for Titan self-destruct attempts, what skill checks does Bravery affect?

What is the function of the "Holder.txt" files that are in the /data/print/ subdirectories?

Sometimes, when I clicked on the "PINBOARD" option whilst examining a Titan design in the Factory, this would cause a .txt file of the Titan's design to be created in the relevant /data/print/ subdirectory. Why does this only happen sometimes? How can I get it to happen every time that I click on "PINBOARD"?

Probably because the explosion is checked at the end of the "turn" (the game second the engine explodes or the heat reaches explosion levels), but the actual explosion only happens at the begining of the next "turn"?
 
A large part of the info in the guide was provided by Larkin himself, publicly in the forums or privately in our frequent conversations back during development. Strangely enough both of those statements are his  [:)]  I always assumed the first was true, and that was what the guide initially had. Some time before the latest update to the guide, he made the second statement in these forums, which I found curious. I updated the guide, but somehow left the first statement in. I'm still not sure which one is correct though.
 
Bravery affects all skill checks.
 
They're just holders  [;)]  so that the folders are not empty. You can delete them.
 
Hmm, it should *always* create the txt file. I've never had any problems with it.

ORIGINAL: Thorgrim

Probably because the explosion is checked at the end of the "turn" (the game second the engine explodes or the heat reaches explosion levels), but the actual explosion only happens at the begining of the next "turn"?

True

I'm still not sure which one is correct though.

If the cockpit is destroyed the jock will do a survival skill check automatically. If he fails he dies, if he succeeds he will suffer 40d5 damage ( 40 * random 1-5). This was 40d6 but I reduced all jock damage to d5 for 1.2.2

Bravery affects all skill checks.

True

They're just holders  [;)]  so that the folders are not empty. You can delete them.

True

Hmm, it should *always* create the txt file. I've never had any problems with it.

True as always. Thorgrim aka Iceman is still the best source apart from me (only while looking at the source code).

Thorgrim wrote: "Bravery affects all skill checks."

Is the following the only effect that Bravery has in the game?
Bravery / Skill check modifier
====================
< or equal to 10 / -6
< or equal to 25 / -3
> 75 / +3
>90 / +6

Just after your Squad wins a campaign mission, on the debriefing screen, there are two columns under the 'Kills' heading. For example, one of my Jocks might have '09 + 03' kills. What does the number in the second column mean? (in the above example, this would be the number 03)

What were the names of campaign 1, 2 and 3 back in the year 2003? I ask because I would like to make sense of the 'tips for the built-in campaigns' thread in the 'Titan's Map Room' forum.

Bravery, correct.
&nbsp;
Kills, accumulated kills during the jock's life / in this battle.
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Not sure what you mean. They were not renamed.
&nbsp;
Haven't heard from him in quite a while. Since the release of 1.2.1 I think.

ORIGINAL: gazra
What were the names of campaign 1, 2 and 3 back in the year 2003? I ask because I would like to make sense of the 'tips for the built-in campaigns' thread in the 'Titan's Map Room' forum.

c1 = Savannah
c2 = Android Rebellion
c3 = The Metaborator

I used those designations in that thread because it was easier than typing the entire names [;)]

Do computer-controlled enemy Titans attempt active scans of your Titans during battles?

Is there a particular order that the campaigns are meant to be played so that they get progressively more difficult? If so, what is the order that they are intended to be played? My best guess for the order so far would be:
1. Deep Core (I've completed this campaign)
2. Internal Affairs (I've completed this campaign)
3. Rebel Hunter (I've completed this campaign)
4. Savannah (I've completed this campaign)
5. Android Rebellion
6. Hold Out
7. City Assault
8. Annihilation
9. Mirceas Wisp
10. The Metaborator
11. Vosslers Gambit
If anybody could advise me as to a different order that these campaigns should be played, then I would greatly appreciate it!

Do computer-controlled enemy Titans attempt active scans of your Titans during battles?

Yes. They also link scanners.

ORIGINAL: gazra

Is there a particular order that the campaigns are meant to be played so that they get progressively more difficult? If so, what is the order that they are intended to be played? My best guess for the order so far would be:
.
.
.
.
.
If anybody could advise me as to a different order that these campaigns should be played, then I would greatly appreciate it!

No - there is no particular order to play them. Each campaign has a difficulty associated with it - usually shown in the Rank required for your Jocks to participate. This just gives an indication of the level of opposition you will face and is solely up to the campaign creator to set.
The campaign designers will try to make it interesting and challenging, but your actual play skill may make it easier or harder than intended [:)]

So play them in any order you want, just use the Rank as an indication of which may be harder than others, and match it up to your current squad level.


PS. I created Internal affairs, Rebel Hunter and Hold Out. Were those a challenge for you? (although i see you haven't tried Hold Out as yet).

there is no particular order to play them. Each campaign has a difficulty associated with it - usually shown in the Rank required for your Jocks to participate. This just gives an indication of the level of opposition you will face

I've found that the rank difficulty that is listed for a mission or campaign can be very misleading and a very poor indicator of whether your Squad would be able to tackle the mission or campaign or not. I don't pay too much attention to it because it can be so misleading.

PS. I created Internal affairs, Rebel Hunter and Hold Out. Were those a challenge for you? (although i see you haven't tried Hold Out as yet).

I already knew that you created the 'Internal Affairs' and 'Rebel Hunter' campaigns, Michael, but I wasn't aware that you also created the 'Hold Out' campaign. As a newcomer to this computer game, I created a Squad of rookie Jocks that started with $500,000 and then played the Deep Core, Savannah, Rebel Hunter, and Internal Affairs campaigns (in that order) without playing any other missions or random map battles before or in between. In playing the game that way, all of the missions in your 'Rebel Hunter' campaign were well-balanced in terms of difficulty. I found mission 3 challenging. I found missions 4 and 5 easy. I found mission 6 stressful. Mission 7 was "the perfect mission". Mission 7 in your 'Rebel Hunter' campaign is my favourite mission out of all the missions that I have played so far. Each twist in that mission was mind-blowing!!! The enemy leader's monologues during that mission were superb!!! They made it all the more gratifying defeating the enemy leader in that mission! Your 'Rebel Hunter' campaign is my favourite campaign out of all of the campaigns that I've played so far.
In hindsight, I wish that I had played your 'Internal Affairs' campaign straight after I had finished playing the 'Deep Core' campaign because the only way that I was able to complete missions 2 and 5 of the 'Savannah' campaign was by cheating (I've read some of your AAR's, Michael, and I believe that your Squad failed at least one of these missions, resulting in the death of at least one of your Jocks), and I found the first few missions of your 'Internal Affairs' campaign easy. I found missions 4 and 5 of your 'Internal Affairs' campaign challenging. Facing 200 ton enemy Titans is always scary!!! Mission 5 is a superb mission. I liked the way that some of the later missions in this campaign automatically scaled the difficulty to that of the capabililty of my Squad. Mission 1 in your 'Internal Affairs' campaign is my second favourite mission out of all of the missions that I've played so far. It had a great twist and was a really fun battle to partake in and be a spectator of! Mission 6 in your 'Internal Affairs' campaign is my third favourite mission out of all of the missions that I've played so far. I used only 3 Light Titans the second time that I played that mission, and it was the most epic, nail-biting, close-run battle that I've EVER experienced with this game so far!
Michael, you are one of the most talented writers and mission/campaign-creators whose work I have ever had the pleasure of reading and playing, respectively! It is a privilege to communicate with you.
I really look forward to playing your 'Hold Out' campaign. But I'm not sure whether (in terms of game difficulty) I should play it next or whether I should play the 'Android Rebellion' campaign before it.

In reply to gazra:
&nbsp;
Wow - thanks.. I'ts really cool to know some of those missions really stood out. It was immense fun making them. [:D]
&nbsp;
I'm also happy you liked the monologues/text of the missions. I was always worried that players would just skip past them without reading.
&nbsp;
Yes - it is hard to judge difficulty and associated rank. I am by no means a great player - this I found out while making those missions.
I would make a mission, try it and die a few times, so i thought - ok, this is hard. I gave it to the other testers and they tell me it's too easy... lol
So I tried to strike a balance.
I'm sure other campaign/mission designers may have faced the same thing - you know the tonnage and the "secret" events that are going to trigger, but the player skill is the wild card.
&nbsp;
Now that Larkin has fixed the event randomiser, I may try and&nbsp; do another campaign.&nbsp; [:)]
&nbsp;
PS - glad you enjoyed the AARs too. That squad was fun (i think i still have whats left of them after the leaders' death)
&nbsp;

If a side torso of a Titan is disabled, then is the arm (and all of the weapons located in that arm) attached to that side torso also rendered totally useless?

Exactly what is the effect of disabling the centre torso of a Titan that has its engine located in another location?

What is the order that energy weapons and CC (Close Combat) weapons recharge when there are not enough free PUs (Power Units) available to recharge all of the weapons simultaneously? How many PUs does each weapon use to recharge when there is not enough PUs to recharge all of the recharging weapons simultaneously at their maximum possible rate? Do weapons recharge in the order that they are fired when there are not enough PUs to recharge all of the weapons simultaneously?

The game manual states that "Up to 9 Titans can populate one hex at a time". However, in a recent battle, the number 10 was displayed in a hex (indicating that there were 10 Titans in that hex). When one of my Titans jumped up in that hex, it did not have the option to jump back down into that hex. What is the maximum number of Titans that can occupy a hex? What movement is restricted in and into a hex that contains 9 or more Titans? Do disabled Titans count towards the Titan limit in a hex?

What is the percentage chance that ammo will explode when a Titan's temperature is heat level red and heat level white, respectively?

When I follow LarkinVB's instructions for correcting the titans' speeds using the tmerge.exe application, I get the following message:

Could not load fvars.dat, working on v1.2.2 data
.
.
.
5.tos processed
possible BMT errors corrected

Is this supposed to happen? Does my game now have corrected titan speeds for Assault Titans? Or have I not done it correctly?

The tmerge.exe application is also capable of correcting titan ammunition, titan cost, titan armor, and titan weight. Should I also be correcting all of those things with this application? I ask because the application lists some errors with some of these things for some of the Titans when I run a diagnostic of x.tos.

All of the following questions apply to version 1.2.2 of the game:

Reduced jock damage and modified formula.

What is the new formula for calculating jock damage now?

Reduced jock radiation level from neutron blasters.

What is the new formula for calculating damage from neutron blaster hits now?

Reduced indirect fire penalty for non guided missiles.

What is the new formula for calculating the indirect-fire penalty for non-guided missiles now?

Increased XP for CC weapons.

What is the new XP reward for each successful hit with a CC weapon now?

Slightly increased charge damage and XPs.

What is the new formula for calculating charge damage now?
What is the new XP reward for each successful charge now?

ORIGINAL: gazra

If a side torso is destroyed, then is the arm (and all of the weapons located in that arm) attached to that side torso also rendered totally useless?

Yep. Nice way to halve your opponent's firepower [:D] and electronics.

When I follow LarkinVB's instructions for correcting the titans' speeds using the tmerge.exe application, I get the following message:

Could not load fvars.dat, working on v1.2.2 data
5.tos processed
possible BMT errors corrected

Is this supposed to happen? Does my game now have corrected titan speeds for Assault Titans? Or have I not done it correctly?

Did you have fvars.dat in the proper folder?
Apparently, the database was successfully corrected. Check the log file it produces against the titans' stats in the Factory.

The tmerge.exe application is also capable of correcting titan ammunition, titan cost, titan armor, and titan weight. Should I also be correcting all of those things with this application? I ask because the application lists some errors with some of these things for some of the Titans when I run a diagnostic of x.tos.

There shouldn't be any more errors, unless you're using an old database, or if you created titan designs with an older version of fvars.dat I think.
If it reports errors though, run tmerge with the appropriate switches.