15 June 2007

By: Alexandru Stanescu, Editor, Gaming Reviews (Consoles)
Star Wars: Empire at War Tips and Hints (PC)
Guidelines for the hardcore Star Wars fans
Star Wars: Empire at War is a real-time strategy game released in February 2006. It focuses on the struggle between the Empire and the Rebels that begins in the time frame between Episode III and Episode IV. It was developed by Petroglyph, a company comprising many former members of Westwood Studios, best known for their work on the Command & Conquer series. Empire at War uses an entirely new engine that Petroglyph developed, known only as Alamo. The most recent patch was released on July 20th, 2006. There are four different game modes: Skirmish, Storyline-Campaign, Galactic Conquest and Multiplayer. Skirmish mode is the "classic" RTS mode, and the most likely mode to be used online. Skirmishes come in two types: land and space. In land skirmishes, all players start with bases and must research upgrades and capture resource nodes, while ultimately destroying the enemy's base. In space skirmish, the base is replaced with a space station that can be upgradedTips and TricksEmpire PointersFor the Empire do all the missions they ask because the stuff you get will help. If you wait a while you will receive credits and Imperial Star Destroyers (started at tech level 4 for the Star Destroyers). Soon planets will start revolting slowly to your side so build a Space Station and Barracks at the same time if you can't keep ships at the planet or get them there because if a single enemy ship that would trigger combat enters the system it will cancel the Space Station, but you will still have the barracks which should be done quickly. Afterwards keep upgrading the Space Station and build a light factory and build 2 Storm Troopers for every AT-ST or TIE Mauler, but make sure to build the Storm Troopers first.Money Money Everywhere So Why Not Pay Off Your Debts Solo?Conquer or capture all the planets except the mission planet. Then fortify the planets around your mission planet. Once this is done set the game to fast forward and let the game run. Check on it every so often to make sure you have not been attacked. After a while check your cash flow. If you like it resume normal play and beat the scenario. If not, just wait and let your money build.This Planet's Not Big Enough For The Two Of UsFor the Rebellion, find a planet with no ground structures using the map filters and make a fleet using only 3PO and Artoo. Once they land, they capture the planet instantly. If there is a fleet in space, you cannot build space structures, but it does not affect planetary occupation.HintsOn the Galactic Map, start with building your space force. If the enemy attacks, they will be your first line of defense. When you're satisfied with you fleet, obviously you should move on with the garrisons. The Barracks are the first building you should make. Forget Mining Facilities; that only wastes time right now. After the Barracks are done, build a few squads of Infantry Platoons/Stormtroopers and the guys with Rocket Launchers. Build Light and Heavy factories and make a lot of machines: they aren't as easy to kill and usually aren't affected much by weather conditions. For your humongous cherry on top, you want to build a giant army of SPMA's and T-24's. These guys are almost indestructible when they are behind the rest of your troop (the cover). Plus, the T-24's run over infantry! How awesome is that? I send in my whole army to one place. I think you REALLY should send out one or two of your fastest guys as scouts and only move out when you find something. It's also not a good idea to rely on one planet to house your whole army unless you know that you are about to be under siege. Spread out your army to different planets. I once kept everyone on one planet until I only had that planet left. Bad idea. Here's the game's trailer showing some gameplay footage and neat features from this great title:

Page 1 Copyright (c) 2001-2011 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Softpedia and Softpedia logo are registered trademarks of SoftNews NET SRL.

23 March 2007

By: Silviu Stahie
Star Wars Empire At War - Crash Fixes and Cheats (PC)
Vader hasn't given his last breath
Star Wars Empire at War is another example of a great strategy game that came out when everyone thought that the franchise didnt have anything to offer and the RTS genre was oversaturated with similar games. Petrogliph realized the potential of what they can do with it and seized the opportunity to deliver a top notch title.DirectX updateThis is a workaround for Empire at War and Forces of Corruption with Vista to eliminate the DX9 error on loading the games. Microsoft has updated Directx9 with a new February 2007 edition. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4b1f5d0c-5e44-4864-93c d-464ef59da050&DisplayLang=enWorkaround on launch errorApparently, the Data Execution Prevention has been implemented by Microsoft on SP2 of Windows XP to prevent the buffer overrun exploits.Before this simple tutorial on how to turn off the feature, please remember to deactivate it as it might affect any other games you have installed or the functionality of the computer. 1. Click Start 2. Select Control Panel 3. Select System 4. Click the Advanced tab 5. In the Performance region select Settings 6. Click the Data Execute tab in the dialog box that opens 7. Select Turn on DEP for all programs and services except for those you select 8. Click Add. 9. The open dialog box will open. Browse and select your application. 10. Click Open 11. Click Apply 12. Click Ok 13. RebootA short Q&A to straighten out some issuesQuestion - How do I get the Empire's Hypervelocity Cannon?Answer - In GC it must be built on a planet that has a ground map. In skirmish, it must be aligned through an upgrade purchased at your star base. Question - Where's the venator?Answer - Removed. There are many mods that add it, though if you still want to keep a fun game, forget about the venator, because all the mods make it overpowered. Question Where is the Super Star Destroyer?Answer - Not in empire at war, wasn't built yet in the timeline; however it is in the expansion, Forces of corruption, coming this fall. Question - Why havent the mod tools been released?Answer - Simple, they arent done. It is a good thing they have taken this long; this ensures us the map editor will be almost bug free. Question - Why no tie interceptor?Answer - Same as the Super star destroyer, not in the timeline.CheatsPress ~ to display the console window. Then, enter one of the following codes to activate the corresponding cheat function. Note: An alternate way to display the cheat console is to hold [Shift] + [Tab]. Spawn Boba Fett - CHEAT_Empire_Spawn_Fett Spawn Colonel Veers - CHEAT_Empire_Spawn_Veers Spawn Darth Vader CHEAT_Empire_Spawn_Vader Spawn The Emperor - CHEAT_Empire_Spawn_Emperor
Page 1 Copyright (c) 2001-2011 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Softpedia and Softpedia logo are registered trademarks of SoftNews NET SRL.