dddddddd eeeeeeeee sssssssss ccccccccc eeeeeeeee nn n ttttttttt d d e s c e n n n t d d eeeeee sssssssss c eeeeee n n n t d d eeeeee sssssssss c eeeeee n n n t d d e s c e n n n t dddddddd eeeeeeeee sssssssss ccccccccc eeeeeeeee n nn t fffffffff rrrrrrrr eeeeeeeee eeeeeeeee sssssssss pppppppp aa ccccccccc eeeeeeeee f r r e e s p p a a c e ffffff rrrrrrrr eeeeee eeeeee sssssssss pppppppp a a c eeeeee ffffff r rr eeeeee eeeeee sssssssss p aaaaaaaa c eeeeee f r rr e e s p a a c e f r rr eeeeeeeee eeeeeeeee sssssssss p a a ccccccccc eeeeeeeee +++++ +++++++++ +++++ ++++++++++ ++++++++++ +++++ +++++++++++ ********************************** +++++++ + +++++ +++++++++ ********************************** ********************************* +++++++ ++ +++++ +++++++ ********************************* ***************************** +++++++++ +++ +++++ ++++++++ ***************************** +++++++++++ ++ +++ +++++ ++++++++++ *************************** +++++++++++++ +++ +++++++++++ ++++++++++++ *************************** *************************** ++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++ +++++++++++ ************************** ************************ ++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++ *********************** *************** +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ *************** ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ************************ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ************************ *********************** +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ************************ ********************** ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ********************* *************** +++++++++++++++++++ ********************* sssssssss iiiiiiiii l +++ +++++++++++++++++ eeeeeeeee nn n ttttttttt s I l ++++++++++++++ e n n n t sssssssss I l ++ ++++++++++ eeeeee n n n t sssssssss i l + ++ ++++ eeeeee n n n t s i l + ++++ e n n n t sssssssss iiiiiiiii lllllllll ++++ eeeeeeeee n nn t ++++ ttttttttt h h rrrrrrrr +++ eeeeeeeee aa ttttttttt t h h r r e a a t t hhhhhhhhh rrrrrrrr eeeeeeeee a a t t hhhhhhhhh r rr eeeeeeeee aaaaaaaa t t h h r rr e a a t t h h r rr eeeeeeeee a a t ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** Version 1.1 An in-depth walthrough about Silent Threat Author: Strikerkid (Chris Dodge or Captain Chris the Assasin on Multiplayer) Contact me at Freespacemaster1@home.com 1. Table of Contents 1. Table of Contents 2. Version Log 3. Introduction to Silent Threat 4. New Ships and Weapons in Silent Threat 5. Mission by Mission Walkthrough 6. Thanks too... and Legal Junk ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** 2. Version Log Version 1.0- Started the walkthrough, duh! Updated ASCII art from original walkthrough and completed the Mission Walkthrough through The Pursuit Version 1.1- Updated the mission by mission walkthrough through the mission Ghosts ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** 3. Introduction Silent Threat is an expansion to Descent Freespace: the Great War. The story is set after the destruction of the Lucifer at the very end of the Great War and the colapse of the Sol jump node. If you have not yet completed the Freespace campaign, I recommend you do so before attempting this one. This campaign features four new weapons and four new ship types. As an extra bonus, you get more multiplayer missions for Descent Freespace. These new missions are very impressive, with more co-op and team missions, like Powerball arena, where you have to shoot an invincible crate of Harbinger bombs into the center hub of the other team's Arcadia base with your Flail guns. These new expansions make this game very much worth your ten dollars. ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** 4. New Ships and Weapons in Silent Threat B Seraph Ships im SB Seraphim- The new Seraphim class bomber is the Shivan's latest threat. It is three times larger than a Nephilim, and carries a massive payload at least 150% the size of the Nephilim. With strong hulls and almost impenetrable shield system, the Seraphim is easily the most dangerous bomber we have yet encountered. The Seraphim has been designated a Class A threat to GTA destroyers and cruisers. In unpopulated systems, it is to be considered a Class B threat. GTF Loki- Designed by GTI engineers, the Loki is undoubtedly the best reconaissance craft in Terran or Vasudan service. Originally designed as a stealth fighter, a minor design flaw has rendered its stealth technology useless. Even though the Loki is considered a failed experiment, it has been put into production as a recon/scout craft. Its hull shape and shielded reactor chamber lends itself to providing a low sensor profile, and is yet capable of very high speed maneuvers B Zeus GTB Zeus- Another product of GTI R&D, the Zeus strike bomber is a worthy successor to the Athena. Its balanced design and increased reactor capacity give it remarkable speed for a bomber, yet still remains capable of carrying the powerful Tsunami bombs. These features will make the Zeus a versatile and effective weapon against capital ships. GTD Hades- Covert project being designed by Terran Intelligence. Little is known of its purpose or specifications. Weapons Leech Cannon- The Leech Cannon depletes the power supply of enemy fighters. Use it to disable afterburners, energy weapons, and shields. No subsystems targeting is required, just point and shoot. The leech cannon is specifically designed to drain energy from fightter and bomber class ships. It is useless against larger ships. Shield Breaker- The shield breaker is a weapon solely designed to deplete shields. It is best paired with an anti-hull cannon, such as an Avenger or Prometheus. It has maximum compatibility among fighters. Cluster Bomb- A second-generation synaptic bomb, this GTI-developed cluster warhead has been designed for attacks against entire wings of enemy ships. Upon reaching its target, the primary warhead fragments into multiple secondary warheads that explode within a split second. The detonations produce a large field of blast, making this weapon most effective against fighter formations. EM Pulse- Upon impact, the EM Pulse missile temporarily disables the electronics systems of the target ship. This renders the target unable to track targets, manage communications, or gain aspect missile lock. This has numerous tactical applications. For example, a direct hit with an EM Pulse missile will prevent bombers from launching aspect-locking warheads for several seconds. Once the EMP field has worn off, the target must also re- acquire a missile lock, buying you valuable time to destroy them. ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** 5. Mission by Mission Walkthrough And now, finally, the part you've been waiting for... the Walkthrough!!!! Silence All Voices Difficulty Rating: 3 of 10 Command Briefing Welcome to the GTI Congratulations, pilot. You have been selected for the Special Operatins branch of Galatic Terran Intelligence. You passed GTI's rigorous medical and psycological examinations, and your record of service with Admiral Po and the GTD Intrepid is exemplary. You are now assigned to the GTI's Special Ops destroyer, the Krios. The primary mission of the GTI is to provide Terran Command with accurate and comprehensive information regarding the tactics, technologies, activities, and strategic objectives of our enemies, specifically the Shivans and the Vasudan insurgency, Hammer of Light. As a pilot for Special Ops, your missions will involve intelligence gathering and containment. These assignments are covert and classifed. Violation of classification protocol will result in court-martial and possible execution under the Counter-Intelligence and Espionage act. Sol All efforts to restore contact with Earth have failed. As you know, the Sol jump node in Delta Serpentis collapsed shortly after allied forces tracked and destroyed the Lucifer during its subspace jump. We believe the explosion of the Lucifer's five reactors created a subspace cataclysm that closed the node, perhaps permenantly. We have no word on what became of the Terran pilots that destroyed the Lucifer, or how much of the attack force remains stranded on the Earth side of the node. As Terran scientists work toward reestablishing contact with Earth and the GTA HQ, an interim GTA Command center has been set up in the Delta Serpentis system. State of the Treaty Cultural and political difference have threatened to undermine the Terran- Vasudan treaty since its inception. After fourteen years of warfare, the GTA and the PVN has been plagued with mutual distrust, misunderstanding, and a failure to comply with the treaty's mandate of full cooperation. Furthermore, incidents of violence between Terran and Vasudan military personnel have compounded an already precarious situation. Overzealous Pilots The GTA and the PVN are conducting joint operations in the Vega system. Though hostilities between allied forces in Vega have been confined to isolated episodes, tensions have now escalated to an all-out confrontation. During a recent Shivan attack, Terran pilots fired upon Vasudan ships with intent to kill. Terran Command fears that if the PVN learns of this incident, the treaty and our hopes of defeating the Shivans will soon collapse. Mission Classified This mission is classified at the highest level. If you should be killed or captured while fufilling your objectives, GTI will disavow any knowledge of you or your actions. New Technology: Leech Cannon The secondary mission of the GTI is the research and development of cutting edge technologies. As a Special Ops officer, you will have access to advanced weapons and warship prototypes not yet available to GTA pilots. These systems have undergone extensive lab and field testing and should function as designed. The Leech Cannon drains the power supply of enemy fighters. Use the Leech Cannon to disable afterburners, energy weapons, and shields. No subsystem is required, just point and shoot. The Leech Cannon is an anti-fighter weapon with minimal effect on large vessels. Briefing At approximatly 1500 hours, Terran and Vasudan fighters repelled a Shivan assault on Outpost Fermi. During the skirmish, Terran pilots fired upon our Vasudan allies with intent to kill. The motives of the pilots are unclear. We do not believe their actions represent a large scale insurrection within Terran ranks, but the situation must be contained. Hostilities have escalated to an all out confrontation between Terran and Vasudan forces in the area. A GTI Communications terminal in the sector transmitted an encoded message advising command of the situation, which threatens to jeopardize our treaty with the Vasudans. Your objective will be to sanitize the area. Destroy everything but the GTI communications terminal. All voices must be silenced to preserve the Terran- Vasudan Alliance. This mission has an operation window of 5 minutes. Get in. Do your job. Get out. Good luck, pilot. Available Ships: Ulysses, Apollo, Valkyrie, Hercules, Athena, Medusa Available Primary Weapons: Ml-16, Disruptor, Avenger, Flail, Prometheus, Banshee, Leech Available Secondary Weapons: Mx-50, Disruptor, Fury, Hornet, Interceptor, Phoenix V Recommended Ship: Hercules Recommended Primary Weapons: Prometheus, Flail Recommended Secondary Weapons: Interceptor, Phoenix V Primary Objective *Clear area of witnesses Directives Destroy all witnesses [22] Strategy Now that you're done reading all that, now it's time for some strategy. First thing is tell your wingmen to ignore Aries 2. Also tell them to ignore Aries 3. Aries 2 will always escape, the sentries around the comm station will take out Aries 3. You should use Phoenix V's to take out Aries 1. Then proceed to take down freighters, and finally fighters. By the time you are done with the freighters, your wingmen will probably have taken care of the fighters. Nice warm up mission. Debriefing Well done, Pilot. You executed a clean sweep of the area and contained a volitile incident. A single Vasudan ship escaped, but the GTI will soon liquidate this threat. ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** The Pursuit Difficulty Rating: 5 of 10 Briefing A Vasudan ship, designated Aries 2, escaped our containment operation. GTI has traced the vessel to a Vasudan controlled supply zone. Aries 2 has communicated our objectives to Vasudan forces in that sector. We are jamming all local transmissions, but we must achieve absolute containment. Your mission will be to destroy all vessels in the supply zone. Ignore the cargo. Preliminary recon. Indicates a garrison of two Aten cruisers with fighter escort. The loss of innocent lives is regrettable but necessary to preserve the Terran-Vasudan alliance and defeat the Shivans. You must not fail. Available Ships: Ulysses, Apollo, Valkryie, Hercules, Athena, Medusa, Ursa Available Primaries: Ml-16, Disruptor, Avenger, Flail, Prometheus, Banshee, Leech Available Secondaries: Mx-50, Disruptor, Fury, Hornet, Interceptor, Phoenix V, Synaptic, Tsunami Recommended Ship: Hercules Recommended Primaries: Prometheus, Banshee Recommended Secondaries: Phoenix V, Hornet Primary Objective *Eliminate all vessels in area Directives: Destroy all Enemies [20] Strategy There will be four Atens when you jump. Order your wingmen to ignore all four cruisers, you can take them out. Position yourself directly behind the engines of the Aten and fire away till it is destroyed. Then RUN! Repeat the process to take out the others. By this time your wingmen will have taken the fighters out and possibly the sentries. Also by now, a Faustus will have arrived, designated Einstien. Tell your wingmen to destroy it, and you should loiter around killing sentries and cargo until your wingmen have finished the job. The explosion will be massive, which is why it is not recommended to kill it yourself. The shockwave will kill you if you are closer that 3,000 units to the Einstien. Then jump out. Debriefing Excellent work. You defeated superior forces that intelligence failed to anticipate. The science vessel's escape pods survived the assault, but GTI will track and eliminate them. Analysis indicates that you had no choice but to aviod the shockwave of the blast. You excersiced good judgement under fire, pilot. ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** Ghosts Difficulty Rating: 1 of 10 Briefing GTI has located the Einstein's escape pods in the Beta Aquilae sector. Command has issued a new directive. Your mission will be to secure the area and guard the pods. A retrieval ship will recover the survivors for interrogation. We will deploy the retrieval ship as soon as possible. Defend those pods until you are relieved of duty. You will receive further orders in Beta Aquilae. Available Ships: Ulysses, Apollo, Valkyrie, Hercules, Athena, Medusa, Ursa Available Primary Weapons: Ml-16, Disruptor, Avenger, Flail, Prometheus, Banshee, Leech Available Secondary Weapons: Mx-50, Fury, Hornet, Interceptor, Phoenix V Recommended Ship: Valkyrie Recommended Primary Weapons: Prometheus, Flail Recommended Secondary Weapons: Interceptor Mission Objectives Primary Objective *Escort Escape Pods Until Retrival Directives Escore Einstein Vessels Strategy This one is soooooooooo easy. You will first face four Manticores (Krishna) and three Seraphims (Kali). These are easy to dispatch, they don't even seem intent on attacking the pods. Next your sensors will "malfunction". Actually it's a new type of fighter, that your sensors can't read (for now). They will protect the pods. Eight Manticores will challenge you (Rama and Bheema), use your wingmen and dispatch them. The GTD (lame name LOL) will retrieve one pod, however it has no clearance but you do not know this. Next the GTD Mymidon will arrive (cruiser!?! I think not...) and pick up the other pod. However, during this time, a wing of the new fighters you encountered (Lokis) will attack. Destroy all six of them using your radar to locate them and your primaries to blast them to bits. Your aspect missiles won't work, but the Lokis are wimps anyway, you won't have much trouble. A total of twenty-one ships in this mission to fight. You could go to sleep and beat it. Just make sure that you are not in front of the Orion when it departs or you'll become splatted and have to do the mission ALL over. Debriefing The incident at Beta Aquilae has us puzzled. Command acknowledges you had no means of confirming the authorization status of the destroyer. Under these circumstances, you did an excellent job ensuring the recovery of an escape pod. MORE TO COME!!!!!! ****************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************** 6. Thanks to... Legal Junk You don't have to tell me! I know this is a cut and paste from my other walkthrough. It doesn't matter. Legal JUNK remember! If you want to see your name here, e-mail me and give me information about something that I have missed or challenged you to do. If you have any questions that are not covered in this walkthrough please feel free to e-mail me. If I add something because of you, your name will go here. I want to give credit to Volition, Parallax, and Interplay for making Descent Freespace. I also want to thank myself for writing this FAQ/Walkthrough. It was rigorous. I would also want to thank anyone who sent me information that I added to the FAQ. I mostly want to thank the fool who sold this game used to a store so that I could buy it for $6.00. Thanks to azstraph@yahoo.com being the first to tell me about the alternate missions. Thanks to Game FAQs for posting my guide and keeping my updates intact! Thanks to anyone who asks me if they can put this guide on their site. LEGAL JUNK This guide is Copyright 2001 Chris Dodge. All rights reserved. If you want to use any of this document, you must ask me first. If I give you permission to use it on your site, make sure the document is kept in its original text. If you post this on your site without my permission or alter this document in any way, I have the power to sue you. So don't. DESCENT: FREESPACE THE GREAT WAR COPYRIGHT 1998 VOLITION INC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DESCENT: FREESPACE THE GREAT WAR AND INTERPLAY ARE TRADEMARKS OF INTERPLAY PRODUCTIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PARALLAX IS A TRADEMARK OF PARALLAX SOFTWARE CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This document Copyright 2001 Chris Dodge. All rights reserved. STOP READING NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!