INTRODUCTION

In the Defiance campaign you take the role of Independent Fleet Captain Edison Hayes. Working for Quartermaster McDuff (who delivers the briefings) you and your crew will fly 18 missions against the Commonwealth Navy.

Your vessel is the Independent Corvette: Spartacus, recently captured from the Commonwealth Navy, and painted in traditional Indie fashion.

The story takes place in the same time period as the original Independence War campaign and some missions relate to the scenarios depicted in the original campaign.

CHARACTERS

The Independent Fleet is not the Commonwealth Navy. Starched uniforms, rigid command structures, and strict adherence to procedure are not the Indie way.

Every Indie recruit is an individual, and that individuality is expressed in many ways, from the customised flight suits to the lurid paint schemes of their captured ships. The bridge crew of the Independent Vessel Spartacus are no exception.

Captain: Edison Hayes
Edison is a well-motivated and determined Captain, with a rather dry sense of humor. Very loyal to the Indie cause he doesn’t let hatred for the commonwealth affect his judgment. He’s well liked by his crew, with the exception of the Navigator Sergei Markov, who resents his authority.

Pilot / Navigator: Sergei Markov
Sergei is bitter and has a driving hatred of the Commonwealth Navy. He’s very competent in piloting, but can let emotion cloud his judgement. Once a Captain of his own ship, he’s aware that he’ll probably never command a ship again due to his attitude, which makes him even more bitter.

Gunner: Kelvin Lutano
Kelvin’s background is in the Commonwealth. He was captured by Edison Hayes on his first flight mission and persuaded to join the Indies.

Kelvin is energetic and nervous. Well qualified, but inexperienced and lacking confidence he’s reluctant to take the initiative on his own. He shows great potential – the Commonwealth’s loss is very much the Indies gain. Sergei doesn't like him much because of his Navy Background and inexperience. 

Engineer: Mary-Beth ‘Belle’ Dawson
Mary-Beth (Nicknamed Belle, because of her accent) is a loyal, intelligent and highly skilled bridge officer. She believes in the Indie cause, but is not willing to sacrifice lives needlessly.

She often steps in to keep the peace onboard ship, and is an excellent mediator. The quickest way to annoy her is to damage ‘her’ ship or treat it badly.

NEW FEATURES

Many new features and modifications have been implemented for the Defiance Campaign. The new features are summarized below. This section assumes you are familiar with the game's controls and functions and have read through the rest of this guide.

Contact Colors
If you've played the original Independence War  you should realise that you are now playing from the Indie side qnd you will be shooting at BLUE colored contacts! Here's a summary of the contact colors:

Savepoints
All missions in the Defiance campaign have at least one pre-defined save point (Normally around the middle of a mission, or before a new mission section), and some missions have two or three save points.

If you pass a save point your progress will be recorded, including your ammo counts and objectives completed / failed.

When you next re-start the mission you’ll be offered a choice of save points. Click on one of the listed save points to replay the mission from that section. Select the Mission Start save point to replay the mission from the beginning.

Note: The Briefing is only displayed if you select the Mission Start save point.

Arming Screen
New for Defiance is the Arming screen, which is displayed after every briefing. It’s also accessible by clicking on the ARM button on the CMD workstation.

The ARM screen shows your current weapons loadout. To check your current ammo counts during a mission, go to the CMD workstation and click the ARM button. Any ammunition used is shown in a darker colour. You may also switch your PBC fire arcs if you wish.

In missions that allow a choice, the ARM screen also allows you to select from 4 different missile loadouts – each designed for a specific purpose: Standard, Assault, ECM and Defense. The recommended loadout for that mission will be displayed when you first enter the screen.

It also lets you choose your PBC mode – either Front / Rear or Dual Forward. (You can do this at any point during a mission).

Note:  Once you’ve selected a loadout you will won’t be able to change it during a mission unless circumstances allow you to re-arm.

Using the ARM screen is simple. Click the button corresponding to the loadout you require. The loadout will be displayed in the main window. Click on the Toggle PBC Arcs button to switch PBC modes. The left hand PBC will flip up/down to show you its new configuration.

If no loadout buttons are displayed, then you can’t change the loadout for that mission.

To accept the loadout press Esc, click one of the other buttons on the CMD workstation, or switch to another workstation.

There are four default types of loadout. One of these types will be recommended for each mission (the recommended loadout is the one shown selected after the briefing), except where a special loadout is required (e.g. recon probes).

As standard the ship is fitted with 8 LDSI missiles, and 8 flares in the central magazine – this can’t be changed.

Normal
This is the standard loadout. Useful for dogfighting, and general combat.

Assault
Designed for assaults on large capital ships or well-defended bases, this loadout sacrifices seekers for heavier weapons.

ECM
The ECM loadout is designed to disable enemy ships. Useful for boarding operations, or disabling space defenses to allow a conventional assault.

Defensive
When fighting isn’t the answer the defensive loadout is required. The extra flares - carried at the expense of seekers - allows the spoofing of more enemy missiles. Very useful for hit-and run raids, or spying missions where quick escape is paramount.

 

Free flight mode velocity indicator In free-flight mode there is now a third cross-bar ( without number ) on the velocity display indicating the relative forward velocity. This is useful for advanced players flying in free-flight (non-assisted) mode.

Proximity Alert
An audible proximity alert feature warns you when you are in danger of a collision. This feature can be enabled or disabled via the options screen.

Zoom Viewing Mode
You can now use the Zoomed viewing mode to accurately target ships at maximum weapon ranges. Use the K key to toggle zoom mode on/off. Zoom mode works with all weapons.

You can also subtarget at much longer ranges using this feature.

Note: Zoom mode works in full screen only. When turning on Zoom mode the game will automatically switch to full screen.

Wingmen Orders
Individual orders can be given, as well as group orders.

1. Specify the group orders first using the normal 1-8 keys.
2. Press 9 to bring up a list of wingmen.
3. Pressing a wingmans number selects that wingman.
4. Press a 1-8 order key now gives that order only to that wingman.

Objectives Update
Whenever you complete or fail an objective it will now be shown on-screen. (You can still display the next objective by pressing x).

LDSI waypoint
It’s often difficult to locate a ship you’ve knocked out of LDS with an LDSI missile. To help this a waypoint is now created at the LDSI detonation site.

Ammo counters When a missile is selected in NAV, a green numeral will appear in the bottom left of the HUD showing how many remain in the magazine.

Remote Missile Detonation
When using remote missiles, the fire button will now detonate them on command, rather than having to rely on impact or proximity fuses.

Aggressor Shields Damage
Indie aggressor shields are not 100% effective, so you may find that the generator and other frontal systems may be damaged on impact, especially during high speed impacts.

Gatling Cannon Ammo
The self contained gatling cannons on fighters are only capable of holding a limited number of power cells, so they may run out of ammo in a protracted fight.

Self defence Mode
The ship now operates in self-defense mode when you are remote linked to another ship, or when you undock the command section. In self-defense mode the ship will halt, then rotate in place to face and attack any hostile vessels that approach.

Note: The auto-defense mode won’t activate if an autopilot is already active. Use the HALT autopilot if you want to disable the auto-defense mode while remotely logged onto another ship, or while flying the command section. The HALT autopilot has been modified to remain active until quit.

You can use this feature to do some advanced tactics, e.g. formateing with another vessel while flying a remote controlled fighter.

Dual Missile fire
The Spartacus has been modified to enable rapid firing of missiles. Missiles now fire alternately from the Port and Starboard Magazines.