Optimization

Outforce

Hints:
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Submitted by: bizzybody

Lasers can fire through anything on the map. Use this to your advantage
by building them just inside barriers around your base. They'll only be
vulnerable to enemy Phaser ships, which are low armored, and the slow and
slow firing ships which are the only ship with a longer range than a Turbine
Laser. Use your Phaser fighters to patrol or guard your lasers and they'll
automatically defend them. Plug any holes around your base with the metal
fence, hedge or barrier and put Turbine Lasers behind to keep the enemy out
until you're built up enough to survive. This will work against the AI but a
crafty human opponent will require a defense throughout your base.


Thw Towship, Puller or Dragster can be a valuable tactical asset. Use them
to sling laser and missile turrets at the enemy. Do the same with the warp
bombs when you can't warp them in due to warp jamming. The enemy defences
will blow up the bomb and themselves. Another tactic is a "suicide charge"
where you town in a bunch of laser and missile turrets then follow with some
towed warp bombs and back it up with your huge invasion fleet of large ships.
When playing the campaign you can tow around a clump of turbine lasers to use
for protection for a group of other ships. Swoop in on an enemy turret with a
small group then back behind the towed lasers where you have some MCU's for
repairs. I completed about half the campaign the first time I played using a
group of 100 or so Predators, some towed turbine lasers, a couple of MCUs and
a few of the small fighters as my roving battle force to clean out the computer's
forces. I didn't need to put the Minotaurs, Centuars and Raptors "in the field"
until later missions.


Everything on the maps can be blown up if you use enough firepower long enough.
This includes the planets. Beware that some objects explode quite powerfully when
destroyed. Blowing up a planet will take several hours of real time and when it
goes it'll wipe out everything on the map on smaller ones. To experience blowing
up a planet, use an 8 player map with a planet, turn Allied Victory On and set
difficulty to Hard. Set yourself and 6 other players to the same team then kick
the lone AI's ass. Now you can use the SELECTGROUP 0 cheat to grab all the AI
team's units and use the forced attack on the planet. Splash damage will keep
killing units, so lasso up more periodically and make them attack the planet.
Make some Assault Modules or Flashbats or Obelisks and tow them into attack range
of the planet for added BLAM. Wait...a...long...time...for...the...KABOOOOOOOOMM MMMM!


After you've finished the campaign, wait through the entire closing credits.
It asks if you've found the other secret mission yet, then goes right into a
new mission without any breifing. I don't know if I've found another secret
mission other than this one, which I've never figured out how to beat. I always
end up with everything on the entire map destroyed.


Hit F2 to open the console, then type SELECTGROUP 0 and hit Enter. This selects
ALL units not in groups 1 through 9, even if they're the computer's or other human
players' ungrouped units. The computer never groups its units, they're always all
in group 0. Hit F2 to go back to the game. You can do massive cheating by clicking
Module on/off. Build up or rebuild your base or just go wild blowing up the enemy.
Of course a human opponent can select and turn back on his units. There are a large
number of console commands, including activating the map editor, but they were only
ever posted on the first The Outforce board, which is long gone.


CheatMode:
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Note: This procedure involves editing a game file;
create a backup copy of the file before proceeding.
Use a text editor to edit the "content.box" file in
the game directory. This is an extremely large file.
Find text string "Centaur" towards the bottom of the
file. Definitions for the ship's weapons, damage,
reload, and cannon rotation speed can be changed.