Ubership addiction

[RyanHoots]

As the title suggests, I have a bad case of ubership addiction and I know it.
I love the power... the ability to kill anyone within 25 KM as easy pi (pun intended).
It's so much fun to see an Imperial Courier reduced to scrap in seconds.
But it's... boring.
I always live to see another day... no challenge.
I'd much rather fly a core ship... maybe a Python or an Asp, hopefully a Cobra Mk 1.
But I'm stuck with Uberships.
First it was the the Caduceus Omega, all I had to do was get a scanner lock and it shoots down my enemy on its own.
Then I had a Boa Clipper for a long while. Lovely ship, I'll never forget the Koneko Maru (later I flew the Karana Maru, also a Clipper).
I flew many other uberships, still on the saved game I started when I first found Oolite.
Once, I got close to saying goodbye.
I flew the Shepnu, a Fer-de-Lance, completely core except for a new texture I made, based on the original.
I flew shepnu for a long time... but then... it struck.
While chatting with a friend you all know as Dragonfire, (we stay in touch... to bad he left ), he suggested that we make custom ships for ourselves.
He decided on a custom Red Wyvern... I decided to 3D model and texture my own ship.
Thus, the SuperBoa was born. This ulta-uber ship sure is fun... almost unlimited cargo capacity, strong energy banks, and good handling.
I couldn't help it. My plan is to release it as an OXP, both player and NPC. But, like the creators of the Q-Bomb, I'm not sure if I can release it...
"We can trust GalCop..."
Whatever.

Anyway, that's my story. Anyone have any advice as to how I can get fee of the uberships?
I hope to reach the rating of Elite in a core ship.

[Cmdr. Maegil]

If you want a harder game but won't relinquish the ubers, try fitting more OXPs:

Renegades and Anarchies are a must;
ToughGuys turns the Ooniverse into a battle royale;
Breakable Standard Equipment makes it harder in insidious ways - it's quite tricky trying to aim with the HUD down, for instance;
etc..
Well, there's enough choice out there, but if all else fails, have fun with the Rattle Cutter, and in lesser degree the Hydra; I'm more afraid of these than of a capital ship or two, as one Rattler can leave you dead before you even know what hit you. Tweak them to appear more often, and/or in packs and you should have a less boring game.

[CommonSenseOTB]

Anyone have any advice as to how I can get free of the uberships?

Ummm...delete it?

If you require intervention, well, that's different. Try these guys first.



If that fails I'll send over my top man to help you through this difficult period. He's quite cheap, works for bananas. Has his own uber equipment to help speed your recovery.



If all else fails, try one of these. Couldn't hurt.

[Disembodied]

Start small. Start a new commander in an Adder. By all means modify it a bit to give it, say, 2 energy banks, and 5 tons of cargo space. Just use Griff's core ships, so you have a consistent (and beautiful) universe. Learn how to dogfight again (it's actually a lot of fun, in an Adder ... you can hold your own against a few pirates once you get the hang of it) and work your way up – to a Moray, or a Cobra I. Again, feel free to modify these lower-end ships a bit to keep them playable (so you're not constantly masslocked, for example, and so the next step can be reachable with a bit of work instead of a lifetime of struggle). Could be an interesting exercise in determining a better price scale, as well ... By the time you're in a Cobra III it'll feel pretty über!

Starting afresh is, I think, the only option, with a stripped-out set of OXPs. Build a consistent universe, and build up an idea of your new commander's personality too (but keep the other OXPs and save files to one side, though, so if the urge takes you you can jump on board your SuperMegaHyperDudeCruiser and melt the stars if you want to).

[ClymAngus]

Have several saves. Games that match your mood.
Maybe even 2 add-ons files that you can swap out depending on what type of game you wish to play.

Struggle or blat-fest, Why sacrifice one when you can have both? Each are incredibly important for satisfying different psychological states of games play. It's a yin-yang thing.

[snork]

What Disembodied and ClymAngus said - only I would make it two complete seperate installations of Oolite : 1 for the hard way, with appropriate oxps, and the second with ubership as you can, and oxps suitable for that style of playing.

Then you can easily switch when you feel playing in an Adder drags too much (it does ).

Anyways, however you cure it - Good Luck !
I imagine it to be really difficult to get rid of such ubership addiction.

Maybe make a habit of partying for every little achievement :
- You finally managed to purchase a scoop : have some chocolate and heroic music !
- You actually shot down someone with your Cobra Mk1 (That kind of is an Adder with 2 energy banks and 5t (well 10) capacity ) - dock with C and enjoy the music (not fastdock, of course requires docking computer).
- and so on ...

[DaddyHoggy]

I would suggest that you're not addicted to "Uberships" but to having an easy game. If you install all the OXPs others have suggested and the game starts to hand you your ass on a plate again, you will simply require an even MORE Uber ship to make you feel better again. (or you will remove the offending OXPs)

[Cmdr. Maegil]

Dammit, man, you've just made me spurt beer all over the place - including though the nose!

[Disembodied]

Dammit, man, you've just made me spurt beer all over the place - including though the nose!

Were you drinking beer at the time? Because if not, this could be a valuable skill ...

[maik]

Dammit, man, you've just made me spurt beer all over the place - including though the nose!

Were you drinking beer at the time? Because if not, this could be a valuable skill ...

[Smivs]

Is it worth making the point that a full Iron-ass Cobra 3 is an uber-ship when used with the unadulterated 'core' game. No other ship out there will have anything like the defences and armaments of your Cobby, and all but two will be slower.
Even a Cobby 3 with mil lasers, injectors and shield boosters is going to be top dog, so if that's not easy enough for you, you should be looking at the pilot's abilities, not the ship's.
The old adage about bad workmen blaming their tools springs to mind.

[Cmdr. Maegil]

The old adage about bad workmen blaming their tools springs to mind.

Still, there is such a thing as user-unfriendly tools - and Oolite isn't the easier game around...

Anyhow. The original problem is being used to a game play style, and wanting to change but feeling uncomfortable.
My best advice is to bite the bullet and just change; eventually you'll feel more used to the new un-uber ship, and who knows, actually enjoying it (or not, but in either case there's nothing preventing you to revert to the previous mode, or switching between them - just do as your fancy strikes you, it's your game after all).

[RyanHoots]

Alright, I've decided. Thanks for everyone's advice.
I'm going to go for broke and fly a Cobra Mk1. I have fond memories of them, actually. My second ship was one (I often consider her my first, as I chose her. I didn't choose the Mk3). Now to modify Griff's texture and get a name for her... ships are always better with names, in my opinion.
It's been a while since I used Griff's set, they slowed down the game to much back when my Ooniverse was a big arms race. That's one reason I love Smivs' set, because they are a wonderful balance of beauty and simplicity.
I'll let you all know how it goes... back to a core game again...

[ClymAngus]

In my creative defence (sorry noticed the words caduceus and uber being used in the same sentence again) even in a reportedly "uber" ship I've still gotten my ass handed to me by monks, a 10 gang pirate posse, thargs oh and there was this one time a merlin sat on my 6 (I deleted the oxp after that little incident and built (with help) the Kirin (with intersecting fields of fire to the rear facing)).

So yeah, I oxp my way out of trouble, my flight skills are a little gray. And I do like the pirate ideal of "Giving them the broadside Mr mate! ARRRRRR!"

[RyanHoots]

In my creative defence in a caduceus I've still gotten my ass handed to me by monks, a 10 gang pirate posse, thargs oh and there was this one time a merlin sat on my 6 (I deleted the oxp after that little incident).

So yeah, I build my way out of trouble, my flight skills are a little gray. And I do like the pirate ideal of "Giving them the broadside Mr mate! ARRRRRR!"

I agree, the Caddy is a very fun ship.
I'm feeling very helpless in my Cobra Mk1 "Sapphire" right now, so glad I'm not in an Anarchic system. Time to put my skills to use... or die.
Plus it's annoying to be rated Harmless. Would it be cheating to transfer my old elite rating? It's the same person behind the controls, both in real life and i the game (Commander Ryan Hoots the Feline is still around the Eight).