Smuggler Starport

[Creepin]

Hi all :)

I'd like to ask if there's any info on Smuggler Starports that could be encountered in several missions of campaign. They could be attacked, even w/o force-attacking, but they couldn't be captured - just like your standard civilian buildings. I never seen them being in any use, like, say, smuggling something in or out... could they be used somehow if encountered perhaps, or what are they for?

                          Thanks, Creepin.

[JulesG]

They ended up just being yet another "background decoration".

Originally when they constructed the missions there was one (for each side) where you had to stop the starport supplying units to the enemy.

By the time they got to shipping the game those missions were dropped in favour of other missions and so the starport does nothing in the game as it is without any code in the rules file for it to be used as a starport and thus engineered. However in a number of mods people have made it function by adding in the starport code into the rules definition.

[Creepin]

Thank you for explanation :)

[gunner154]

If I'm not wrong, you can capture a neutral Starport by shooting it first. Does that solve anything?

[Creepin]

Alas, I just finished campaign :(

Will defenitely try your idea when run it next time ;)

[veK]

By the time they got to shipping the game those missions were dropped in favour of other missions and so the starport does nothing in the game.

I don't know if every house has such a mission but it exists for house ordos for sure. you fight harkonnen and have to destroy a smuggler's base which also supplies the enemy (hark) with units... there are 1 or 2 incoming frigates which deploy various units... a devastator for sure and some other stuff...

[gunner154]

Holy crap, there's such a mission? I must try it when I play the Ordos campaign seriously.... some day...

[JulesG]

I don't know if every house has such a mission but it exists for house ordos for sure. you fight harkonnen and have to destroy a smuggler's base which also supplies the enemy (hark) with units... there are 1 or 2 incoming frigates which deploy various units... a devastator for sure and some other stuff...

??? I am not aware of this mission - of course whom am I to know, I've only edited EVERY mission from ALL houses for the Conflict mod.  :P I can asure you there was to be an anti-smuggler starport mission for all three sides (just extract and look at the mission text files if you dont beleive me).

Now there is a mission where you capture a Harkonnen barracks and refinery and then defend against Hark landing in two frigates (the mission is ATR and is actually versus Ordos) the mission is also repeated for one of the other two sides (cant remember off the top of my head) but the Smuggler Starport does nothing and has NO code to allow anything to happen.

[veK]

as I said, there's definitely such a mission for house ordos against hark. I just played it not such a long time ago. the mission briefing says something like that there are smugglers in the area supplying the enemy with units and they get protection for it... I played it on a map very near to the hark capital. and there's a frigate at the smuggler's starport which gives at least 1 devastator and some minor stuff. the units then begin to approach your ordos base.

[veK]

I'm currently playing an ordos single player campaign again to get a proof. there is a mission with an ex-smuggler base where you have to reactivate an atreides outpost to guide 3 advanced carry-alls to your base. then there's a mission where I have to protect a smuggler base (with starport) from a tleilaxu attack - nothing happens at the starport though. and then I finally got to that mission against harkonnen again, when they supply the enemy and the starport is really used. quite a large number of smuggler vehicles is gathered around the base and they fight against you. if the battle lasts a while and you don't rush the cpu hark (or the smuggler bae) to death there is also a frigate landing (at the smuggler's starport) with hark units in it. this is the briefing from that mission:

"smuggling factions in this region give aif to the enemy. they supply fighting units in return for protection - a common arrangement. a demonstration of power is necessary. destroy their base and kill its occupants. then proceed with your conquest of the territory. that is the primary objective"

[JulesG]

as I said, there's definitely such a mission for house ordos against hark. I just played it not such a long time ago. the mission briefing says something like that there are smugglers in the area supplying the enemy with units and they get protection for it... I played it on a map very near to the hark capital. and there's a frigate at the smuggler's starport which gives at least 1 devastator and some minor stuff. the units then begin to approach your ordos base.

:-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

They do say Pride comes before a fall!!! If so I just bashed my nose! :'(

Re-vek you are quite correct - Ordos missions: Phase II Mission 5 SM (P2M5SM) and the defence mission (P2D5SM) are a Smuggler base supplying units to the enemy - I had completely forgotten it existed!

:o This means I must re-instate the Smuggler Starport within all the missions (I had changed the rules and artini to make it a Smuggler refinery) as the frigate will be hardcoded by the programmers to land on the building (as it has no starport code in the rules)...

Briefing :

ORP2M5SM {Smuggling factions in this region give aid to the enemy.  They supply fighting units in return for protection - a common arrangement. A demonstration of power is necessary.  Destroy their base and kill its occupants.  Then proceed with your conquest of the territory.  That is the primary objective.}

Words said in-mission are (not always in the order it happens in the mission) as follows:

ORP2M5SMa {Mentat : A Smuggler base in this territory is supplying the enemy with vehicles.  Ensure that they are punished.}

ORP2M5SMb {Smuggler : Do you think that you can intimidate us?}

ORP2M5SMc {Mentat : The Smuggler organization has renounced all ties with the enemy.  All future payments will be made to us.}

ORP2M5SMd "{Mentat : The Smugglers have received a delivery of vehicles, slated for our enemies.}"

The Defence mission text is:

Briefing:

ORP2D5SM "{The Smugglers have been eliminated.  Other smuggler factions have increased deliveries to us, out of fear.  One such delivery has been diverted to you.}"

Mission words:

ORP2D5SMa "{Mentat : Thanks to your decisive action, production revenue has increased.  One of those payments is being sent to you in a Smuggler vehicle.}"

ORP2D5SMb "{Mentat : The payment has arrived.  The enemy will destroy the vehicle if they can.  Rendezvous with it, quickly.}"

ORP2D5SMc {Mentat : Payment has been made.}

Must try to find this mission in all of my saved game files and retest Conflict of the Landsraad mod!

I have just been told by the system that you have responded to your eariler post while I have been writing this apology...

The "ex-smuggler base" activation mission to save the advanced carryalls does not use Smuggler Starport in any of the three house campaigns (tested them to death - I even use it to replace the Rogue Tleilaxu units mission for ATR and Hark as it does not work as rogue Guild units).

As I said above I must find a game save point where I can re-test this mission or COTL will fall over!

[JulesG]

there's a mission where I have to protect a smuggler base (with starport) from a tleilaxu attack - nothing happens at the starport though.

This is very worrying - I have not seen this mission in real play and the EBFD files say it should not exist!

What I mean is that the above mission was coded in the Ordos mission text file as ORP3M4SM yet this is not present in the missions.rfh file as orp3m5sm.tok

It means that they have redefined another mission number to use the following text and scenario (I have found this to be the case before, it is why the missions conversions have taken so long to do as I must test every one out!)

Briefing is:

ORP3M4SM "{The territory is ready for conquest.  It will fall to House Ordos.  There is other business in this territory that must be dealt with as well. The Tleilaxu are attacking a Smuggler base under our protection.  To ensure our income from other bases, we must protect the Smugglers.  Ordos success is imperative.  }"

In-mission text is:

ORP3M4SMa "{Mentat : A group of Smugglers under our protection has been targeted by the Tleilaxu.  Protect our investment, and defend their Starport.}"

ORP3M4SMb {Mentat : The Tleilaxu raiding party has arrived.  The Smugglers will need our assistance.}

ORP3M4SMc {Mentat : The Tleilaxu raiders have reached the Smugglers base.}

ORP3M4SMd {Tleilaxu : Stay back!  We act on behalf of the Guild in this matter.  Unauthorized transport on Arrakis is forbidden by declaration of the Landsraad council.}

ORP3M4SMe {Mentat : The Smugglers are dead.  Other groups will be reluctant to pay protection funds.  Our income will suffer.}

ORP3M4SMf {Mentat : The Tleilaxu are dead.  The Smugglers have been instructed to make an advance on their protection payments.}

ORP3M4SMg {Mentat : Another group of Tleilaxu has been detected.}

ORP3M4SMh {Mentat : You have cleansed the area of Tleilaxu... for now.  It is unfortunate that you could not have done it sooner.}

ORP3M4Smi {Tleilaxu : You will suffer for this interference!}

If this is what you get Re-vek then I must re-check all of my Ordos mission conversions again to find it and find out which actual other mission (possibly the smuggler convoy one) has been replaced.

[erjin999]

Basically, emps funny innards causing confusion.  :-

[veK]

glad you found the starport mission  ;)

the other mission I was talking about in which you have to protect the smuggler base from the tleilaxu is the one you posted. I just played that mission earlier today too.

[Creepin]

I believe that JulesG and veK are both right: there's indeed mission(s?) where Smuggler Starport did function, driven by some scripts, but also there are those where it just sits there doing nothing.

BTW, I was unable to capture SS even after shooting it. Any other way?

[rigel6669]

Neutral buildings can only be captured by an engineer when the buildings health is below 100 pct

[JulesG]

BTW, I was unable to capture SS even after shooting it. Any other way?

Neutral buildings can only be captured by an engineer when the buildings health is below 100 pct

As I said previously you can only capture a building if it is configured in the Rules.txt file (the coding is CanBeEngineered = TRUE). In the case of the Smuggler Starport it acts as an incidental building only as it does not have the above coding line, it does not matter whether you have to shoot the building first or not, it cant be captured.

I have a number of recoded buildings with CanBeEngineered = TRUE in COTL mod where being House = Incidental means that I can capture at 100% and others that must be less than 100% before they can be captured, it depends on how the actual allegiance of the building is set by the mission.

I have looked at the Ordos Smuggler-Frigate mission Re-Vek mentioned. Yes a frigate lands : BUT NOT ON THE STARPORT - it lands nearby on vacant ground just like the frigates do in the Hark Civil War missions. The building is incidental other than as a named target - ie I can change its purpose and shape and the mission carries on, the starport is only there for storyline (and to be blown up) it is not like a frigate landing ONTOP OF a House Starport when called through the CHOAM ordering menu.

In fact I have changed the model to the Ak_IN_Repairpad (flat circle with no buildings) as the actual standard SMstarport model has the AI randomly driving the Smuggler vehicles through its buildings in the above mission while waiting for you to attack!

Still to find the Tleilaxu defence mission.

[veK]

Yes a frigate lands : BUT NOT ON THE STARPORT - it lands nearby on vacant ground

that's right. I didn't know for sure where it lands but I played the mission once again earlier today and the frigate lands on vacant ground.

Still to find the Tleilaxu defence mission.

I only played that mission once. have you found it in the files yet, I mean the mission briefing? I don't know the exact words but if you read it you'll recognize it because it clearly says something about defending a smuggler base from attacks.