*******************************************************************************
There is one more ship to be found and flown in Frontier, and not surprisingly
it's the best possible ship you could lay your hands on.   Rumours have
abounded since the game appeared that there was a Thargoid ship hidden
somewhere in the game.   (If you didn't play the original Elite, then this
needs a small explanation.   Thargoids were a strange alien race that hid in
'witch space' - the dimension you pass through when you travel through
hyperspace worm holes.   Their large, flat octagonal ships were almost 
indestructible, and although you could drop into witch space by choice,
only a hero or a fool would actually choose to.   Thargoids knew this, and
would 'suck' crafts out of hyperspace and then attack them, stealing their
cargo and killing them into the bargain.   Many years later, in the time that
Frontier is set, the Thargoids seem to have vanished off the face of the
galaxy).

Well, I can happily announce that this ship does in fact exist.   It's called
the Mirage and can he found at the edge of the galaxy.   However, before you
can find it, there are a few things you need to do:

Firstly, you need to he Elite status, so don't hope to stumble upon it early
in the game Travel to the edge of the galaxy, and before too long, you'll find
it.   When you know where it is, you only need three more things.   The first
is the top rating in the Imperial Navy, that of Prince.   When you have it,
the Empire's flagship will approach you and you'll receive a message that
reads "The Big Man requires a mercenary for a right hand man. That's you ".

You have now climbed the ladder as far as possible.   You'll also need a user
ident from the Sirius Corporation.   The only way to get this is from the
Managing Director of the Sirius Corporation, who you should already know is a
bit of a tough cookie.   Finally you need a large amount of Military Fuel, so
prepare to dump all your cargo and non-essential items.   Then the Mirage is
yours!

Happy hunting!





*******************************************************************************
Subject:      Re: Fighter Launcher Device
From:         no@abuse.nl (Jeroen v Drongelen)
Date:         1997/02/03
Message-Id:   <32f4afce.1977317@news.Leiden.NL.net>
Newsgroups:   alt.fan.elite
[More Headers]

On Sun, 02 Feb 1997 09:34:56 GMT, PowerHouse <algus@argonet.co.uk>
wrote:

>I put it to you commanders out there that I beleive that there is a Thargod
>ship lurking somewhere in a system.

I've seen a lot of evidence in the game itself that supports this
theory.

- The Thargoid graphics are there (seen on some fotograph mission,
lying on the ground cut in half)
- There's a Fighter Launcher (Thargoids use 'em to spread thargons)
- There's a military drive, class 4 present (which cannot be found on
normal ships)

However, I suspect it's simply one of those "implemented, but never
finished" events in the game. The same is the case with First
Encounters.

>I propose that a quest be sent forth to find this ship as there is no other
>way of explaining how to get the FLD or use it.

If anyone is interested, I have a commander file with the rank of
VISCOUNT. If it IS true that you must be a Prince to get the Thargoid,
this may perhaps help.

>If you share my views or dismiss them and have information that may lead to
>finding this unknown phenomonan then please let us all know

I'm trying to locate members of Frontier Developments to ask them some
questions about FE2 and FFE.





*******************************************************************************
Subject:      Re: Mirage (Thargoid) Specs!!!
From:         no@abuse.nl (Jeroen v Drongelen)
Date:         1997/02/11
Message-Id:   <3300cb44.3261068@news.Leiden.NL.net>
Newsgroups:   alt.fan.elite
[More Headers]

On Mon, 10 Feb 1997 12:59:04 GMT, ashley@pavilion.co.uk (Ashley Price)
wrote:

>On the other hand I have read that there is a hack to get the ship. So
>they may not be lying in the true sense.

LOTS of game-specs can be found in the game if you view the files, but
are never seen. The Thargoid graphics are definately there (seen in
photograph missions lying on the floor cut in half) and David Braben
has said in an interview that those things were never implemented to
work in the game.

The hoax is made up by people who wanted people to keep playing
Frontier. And I think lots of people chose their career with the
Empire to become a Prince and get the Mirage..;)

This is the last message I'll write about the Thargoid/Mirage in
Frontier. I've had it..





*******************************************************************************
Subject:      Re: Mirage (Thargoid) Specs!!!
From:         PowerHouse <aidygus@argonet.co.uk>
Date:         1997/02/11
Message-Id:   <na.8fe2e6475a.a40040aidygus@argonet.co.uk>
Newsgroups:   alt.fan.elite
[More Headers]

In article <Pine.PCW.3.91.970208173204.9670A-100000@Algo>, Nathan Page
<nmp20@hermes.cam.ac.uk> wrote:
> 
> On Fri, 7 Feb 1997, Robert Karlsen wrote:
> 
> > Thanks!
> > 
> > An expensive book from BSB called "The Secrets of Frontier Elite"
> 
> Oh yes, it's a great book. Full of useless information.
> 
> And misleading hints.
> 
> And false facts.
> 
> Buy it!
> 
> <grin>
> 
> 
> Cheerio,
> 
> Marquis Sharm of Vequess (elite)
> 
> (PS Anyone want to buy the Secrets of Frontier Elite?)

I think that ppl are taking th wrong end of the stick here.

The book "The Sectrets of Frontier Elite is a "great book full of USEFULL
information".  It was written by a person who hacked into the code of the
game and wrote what they found there.

I have been doing a bit of digging around with ppl I know who work in the
games industry and have found these informative facts.

The book is correct about how you get the Mirage/thargoid ship.......in
theory.  What happens is that you turn Elite/Prince and the Emperor gives
you a mission to go into sector 32/32 where there is a rumor of a thargoid
base.  There you will get the Mirage ship.

Now before you rush out to become Elite/Prince read on.  You can play from
now till infinity and you will never get the thargoid ship.

The reason is that Braben was not given a chance to finnish the game as FFE
was being started and Gametek decided not to continue with the project.

Gametek is a large software house with nothing on it's mind but building
profit.  They released Frontier about half a year sooner than braben would
have liked and as such, half the game was not put in.  FFE has been taken
off the market because the game was not finished.  i have one or two things
to say about this but I will put it on a different thread.

Somebody says that they hacked into the save file and got the thargoid.  I
want to know how many times you bought and sold the thargoid ship.  You will
brobably find that the specs will be random.  This is becasue the ship
exists in the code but there is no definition on how it works.

Like the Fighter Launcher Device.  I have it on a ship but it will never
work becuase there is no deffinition in the code to make it work.

Other ppl I know say that there are a lot of other things supposed to happen
after you become Prince.  Special missions with Technologies as rewards just
like in the original Elite, but due to Gameteks pressure to release, It they
were not written in. Gametek's idea was to release the game early and then
complete it before anybody got as far as Elite/Prince.  A nice idea but that
was as far as it got as Gametek decided to discontinue development of the
game.  I would have liked to see Frontier finished as I play on an Amiga but
it looks like I won't see it for a while.

It is a shame companies like Gametek get a hold of games like elite and ruin
them.

If you have heard anything different please tell me as these are what I have
heard from ppl who have connections with Gametek and other software firms.

Aidan

... This tagline made from 100% recycled electrons.

-- 
The _   _         _  _       _       _  _    / 
   |_) | | | | | |_ |_) |_| | | | | (_ |_   / Aidan.A.H.Gustard
   |   |_| |_|_| |_ | \ | | |_| |_|  _)|_  / aidygus@argonet.co.uk
__________________________________________/ 
            ZFC A                    >>>>>>Life in the fast lane>>>>>





*******************************************************************************
Subject:      Re: Hidden Ship
From:         PowerHouse <aidygus@argonet.co.uk>
Date:         1997/04/04
Message-Id:   <na.a768ab4775.a40040algus@argonet.co.uk>
Newsgroups:   alt.fan.elite
[More Headers]

In article <01bc4093$193057a0$c93d63c3@D291160BTInetnet.com>, "M
Maclagan-Wedderburn" <M.Macwedd@BTInternet.com> wrote:
> 
> How do you get the Mirage ship, I have an Elite rating and have just been
> promoted to Prince.

The answer to this is simple.

You can't.

Gametek released the game before it was completed and now that there is no
support for the game, it never will.

The plot was that the Emporer would give you a special mission to go to a
star system in 30, 30 where there are 7 white stars.  THere you were
supposed to destroy the Thargoid base and you got the thargoid ship (the
mirrage).  

If you want to see what it looks like, take on a photo mission to a research
station and you will see 2 octaginal shapes.  Thats the closest you'll get
the the mirage.  

Sorry  :-((

Aidan

... Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans.

-- 
   \ The  _____    html://www.argonet.co.uk/users/algus/               /
    \    |  __ \  Aidan.A.H.Gustard  | |  | | aidygus@argonet.co.uk   /  
     \   | |__) |____      _____ _ __| |__| | ___  _   _ ___  ___    /
      \  |  ___/ _ \ \ /\ / / _ \ '__|  __  |/ _ \| | | / __|/ _ \  /
       \ | |  | (_) \ V  V /  __/ |  | |  | | (_) | |_| \__ \  __/ /
        \|_|   \___/ \_/\_/ \___|_|  |_|  |_|\___/ \__,_|___/\___|/
         \____ZFC_A__________>>>>>Life_in_the_fast_lane_>>>>>>___/
                  
Fri,04 Apr 1997.07:49:57








*******************************************************************************
Subject:      Re: Thargoid Ship
From:         Steve Critchlow <steve@tangled-web.compulink.co.uk>
Date:         1996/10/12
Message-Id:   <VA.00000014.01d07fc4@SIRIUS>
Newsgroups:   alt.fan.elite
[More Headers]

<< A few questions from an old die-hard
<< firstly, how does one get a Sirius Corp user ident?
You can't.  There is no mention of any of the supposed text in the game.

<< Second, how does one get the 'rescue' mission which is detailed if 
you look into the .OVL files?
I can't find anything about rescue missions, but there is mention of 
escorting convoys of ships.  Also, there seems to be a facility to 
insure your ship against damage.  This may appear if you have an 
expensive ship and no money (any commanders out there with less than 1M 
credits?).  Besides, that's what load and save are for<g>.

>> Third, has anyone ever got the fighter launching thingys.
>> Fourth, does the mirage really exist,
Both exist, but only indirectly.  You have to edit the save game file 
manually to get them.  The fighter launch device appears as fitted 
equipment, but appears to have no function associated with it.  The 
thargoid ship also exists, but it handles very badly.

The reasons why you won't find it during normal play become obvious when 
you sell the thargoid ship, and then try and buy it back again.  Its 
stats are all mangled.

If anyone wants a thargoid ship, drop me a line.

Not too sure about the IXI, but I've heard it was a 'test' slot for new 
ships.  Curiously, if you zoom in on the pilot for ships which have a 
cockpit (eg. kestrel), '.IXI.' is written in large friendly letters in 
front of the pilot.

>> Last, where does the 'King, Queen, Princess etc' text come into the 
game?
Again, more stuff that could have been added, but was left out at some 
later time.

Steve





*******************************************************************************
Subject:      Re: Mirage (Thargoid) Specs!!!
From:         steve@tangled-web.compulink.co.uk (Steve Critchlow)
Date:         1997/02/09
Message-Id:   <32fd19c3.1060436@news.compulink.co.uk>
Newsgroups:   alt.fan.elite
[More Headers]

On Fri, 07 Feb 1997 09:52:46 +0100, Robert Karlsen
<robertk@applause.no> wrote:

>Samuel Martin Ventola wrote:
>> 
>> Great page!  I have to ask, though, from where do these specs come?
>
>Thanks!
>
>An expensive book from BSB called "The Secrets of Frontier Elite"
>
>> Have you actually seen this ship/flown this ship?  Do you have a saved
>> game flying the ship or with the ship in proximity?  From where does
>> one get the ship?  It still seems to be possible that there is, in
>> fact, no "mirage" ship in Frontier Elite II.
>
>I am not Prince yet, so i haven't seen it!
>You must be Prince and then find out where to buy it!
>When you have become Prince, the Emperor thanks you and you will then be
>escorted by some Emperor Ships somewhere...
There is no normal game play route to the "mirage" ship.  Anyone who
has searched the program files for any of the text which is mentioned
in "The Secrets of Frontier Elite" (TSOFE) will have found none of it.

You can fly the "mirage", but you have to hack the save game to do it.
Selling it, and trying to buy it back again gives you a whole set of
different stats to those reported in TSOFE.

If the stats had been the same, I may have been tempted to believe
that the "mirage" was a real ship which could be obtained.  However,
when I figured out the save game format, it was obvious that each ship
can have no more than 4 gun mounts, and no more than 8 missile pylons,
so the "mirage" described in TSOFE cannot exist within the realms of
the current save game format.

The thargoid ship has the following stats, by hacking a save game,
selling it, and trying to buy it back again.  Your mileage may vary.
   Hull Mass            70t
   Internal Capacity    32t
   Retro Thruster Acc   121.3g
   Main Thruster Acc    0.1g
   Guns                 0
   Missiles             1638
   Crew                 22
   Cost                 $11,000 to buy, $675450 to trade in
   Drive                Class 4 Military

Information on how to edit FE2 save games, and the decoder itself can
be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1350/index.html

--
Steve
