[Nickolov]

Today I installed Star Trek: Bridge Commander. I tried to play it, but it's not that easy, and sometimes can be very confusing. Any tips and tricks from advanced players are welcomed. I appreciate your help and advices.

Thank you.

[Captain Braxton]

yes make sure you use W A S D to fly the ship it has some conflicting programing with other controls if you move it to the left right down up buttons, also here is a site to get more ships and such for BC

Star Trek Bridge commader Download site

[Nickolov]

I know that site, but I need some tips & tricks from experienced players. Are there any BC fans here?

[wolf359]

It's a really good game be sure to increase power to shields and weapons when you go up against the hybrid ships.

[Wowbagger]

Hi, I'm Wowbagger, of BCS:TNG. (Our most recent release was BCS: THE BEGINNING. Go download it. That's your shameless plug for the day. Also, WalkFX Immersion is going to be really cool.) I like to think I know BC pretty well, although I do have a bad habit of rewriting the parts that I don't like.

Do you have any specific troubles (those fracking Klingons in E3M2 or whatever killed me about six times when I was still new to the game), or is it just the basic stuff, like learning how to take control of the ship and ignore that moronic AI that Felix uses? I can try to answer any questions on any topic, but you've got to ask them.

[TopperHarley]

On some missions it only looks like you have to fire on another ship, but it's possible that talking to the other ship can bring a much better solution. Also a battle isn't ever the best way, sometimes it's better to escape from there.

[Beast Boy]

Im play in this game.This game were hard,becouse need shoot phasers and photon thorpedos on enemy ship. Hard mission: safe klingon ship, becouse this ship attack battleships cardassion. In holodeck mod cool manual stantion DS9. Story in game on 5. I think,what this game interested,and If you are a trekkie, you buy this game on CD and DVD, becouse trekkie-this on forever.

This post has been edited by Martok: 02 January 2010 - 06:37 AM

[Eris]

Wowies, it's cute to know sum people still play STBC, I've got some screenies on my server, would you like to have a link to see them?

[Commander Lazar]

I just played that game a few minutes ago! Here are some cheats. And the most fragile part of the enemy ship is the warp core.
Ctrl + Shift + G God Mode
Ctrl + Shift + K Damage targeted subsystem by 25%
Ctrl + Shift + R Completely Repair Target
Ctrl + Shift + Q Gain 10 Quantum Torpedos

[Hoodyhoo]

I know this post is old, but it comes up as first site when searching for Star Trek Bridge Commander Tips in Google. So I thought I'd throw my two cents in.

I recently got this game on E-Bay and think it is one of the best space games out there - you get to be the captain of a Star Trek Star Ship! What's not to love? Also, this game is more than just run and gun like so many other games - you have to think. That right there is hint number one. Like others have said, when in battle, sometimes the odds are too much against you to fight - especially when you are in the Galaxy class. Pay attention to the dialog and you should get a good idea of when to run and when to fight.

Key Commands
All I can say here is learn the keyboard commands. You can view them in the configuration section of the game. There are some things you cannot do (Such as on-screen when Picard's mug is taking up the tactical display) with point-and-click bridge commands. Also, learning how to go from green to yellow to red alert quickly will save unnecessary damage. I also recommend learning the station function keys.

Star Base 12
Star base 12 is your friend. If you have cleared an area but took a beating, head to Star Base 12 and dock for repairs. You can also get a fresh restock of your torpedoes (photons originally, quantum later in the game) plus they will recharge your power reserves for free!

Power Management
When you are in a fight, it is best to devote power to at least the weapons and shields. Sometimes if you are outnumbered, you may want to add additional power to engines as well. If you feel this will drain your power reserves too quickly, set sensors to 25%. If you are not in a fight and not expecting one, stand down to green alert - this will slowly recharge your reserves since you will not have shields or weapons powered. If you are between fights or are expecting a fight at the next jump - go yellow alert. That way you won't jump in taking damage, but you won't be waisting power on weapons immediately.

Fighting - Shields and Weapons
When fighting Cardassians, it's all about sub-systems and shields. I prefer to stay in the bridge view, so most of my tactics are from there (there are some missions that must be fought from tactical view [space bar]). First, pick a shield. Generally with Cardassians, I would choose either the top or bottom shield. Side, front, and back shields rarely get exposed enough in my opinion. Use phasers to drain the top, bottom, or both shields. Use torpedoes to hammer the hull or take a shield down more quickly. Remember to only fire torps when the green guides line-up - otherwise you will waste a lot of torpedoes.

Fighting - Sub Systems
Sub-systems are key. When attacking, you can disable sensors to stop a devastatingly powered target from shooting you. Disable shields if you have a smart target who is always exposing different sets of shields at your ship - making it hard to hit the hull. Disable impulse engines to stop a ship from moving. Disable warp drive to stop a ship from fleeing. My personal favorite, however, is destroying (not disabling) the warp core. This is effectively a head-shot kill. Even if the target has 75% hull integrity, destroying the warp core will instantly destroy the ship. This is highly effective against larger ships and stations.

Kessoks (spelling?)
Kessoks are not fun, but here's a neat tid-bit: their dorsal shield (top one) is REALLY strong. It's about double that of the Sovereign's top shield. However, their ventral shield (bottom one) is extremely weak. A few well-placed torpedoes will knock it out and allow you access to vital sub-systems (such as the warp core).

Teamwork
Team work is also very important. The Kessok AI is somewhat intelligent and will expose their top shield to you mostly. If you have additional ships under your command, have them focus on the same target as yourself. Even if it exposes its top shield to one of you, the other one can hit the bottom shield and take the Kessok vessel out quickly. This saves a ton of time and unnecessary damage. Oh, you can also have your allies repair at Star Base 12 if they are too beat-up. I tend to always focus fire when I have allies - statistically I think it is the most effective, and I have used this tactic in other games like Star Craft to a successful degree. Always aim for the weakest target with strong weapons first and have everyone work on that same target. Eventually, you may find yourself attacking a large station where there's a lot of defense. In this case, you may want to have all but one of your wingmen protect you while the other and yourself hit the primary target. Remember to aim for the warp core!

Other Tips
Finally, if you ever get confused as to what to do next, talk to your first officer. Usually, you either have to go to some system and do some exploring, or you simply have to wait where you are until baddies jump in to fight. Also, think like a Star Fleet officer. The Klingons in the game will sometimes want you to follow them to a great fight - that's how they think. Star Fleet is more interested in peace and security - you may leave a valuable space station or other ship open to fire if you leave your post causing extreme problems down the road. If you think that Star Fleet is a bunch of wusses, this game should change your mind. There's a lot of things to blow up - so don't worry there!

MODs
This is just to save you headache if you have been enjoying the single player game. I haven't gotten these to work yet, but in fact, my attempts made my game unstable. If you are interested in beating the campaign before exploring user content (designed for quick battle and multiplayer) DO NOT install any mods. I had to replay E6M5 about 5 times due to save-game corruptions. I wiped my installation clean (except for past saves) and re-installed + patched and have had no problems since. After you beat the game, then have fun with mods. There's a lot of exciting content out there.

Well, I suppose that's a little more than two cents, but I've almost beaten the game on middle difficulty now (I'm on E8 missions) and have found these tactics to work the best. Just remember, this game is more about thinking than blowing things up. You are the captain - your job is to make quick decisions in dire situations for the benefit of your crew and your alliance. Hope this helps others!

[Beast Boy]

Too for this game have mod "Kobayashi Maru".In this mod have very many starships,some ship species 8472,"Prometheus" and many other ships.But mod best do not use,because game maybe will be unstable.

This post has been edited by Martok: 19 April 2011 - 06:05 AM

[Kirok]

Martok, on 19 April 2011 - 06:04 AM, said:

Too for this game have mod "Kobayashi Maru".In this mod have very many starships,some ship species 8472,"Prometheus" and many other ships.But mod best do not use,because game maybe will be unstable.

Martok, if you liked Bridge Commander you'll love Star Trek: Excalibur! They are calling it the fan-made sequel to Bridge Commander!

K

[Beast Boy]

Kirok, on 20 April 2011 - 05:08 AM, said:

Martok, if you liked Bridge Commander you'll love Star Trek: Excalibur! They are calling it the fan-made sequel to Bridge Commander!

K

Thanks for it news,but "Excalibur" do not release.I wait "Bridge commander-2" in 2012 year.
Hope game will be interesting.

[Eris]

Stexcalibur probably will never be released. They're working on it for almost a decade.

[Beast Boy]

Funnalls, on 17 July 2012 - 06:45 AM, said:

hi friends,,

Star Trek: Bridge Commander is a space combat simulation video game, published by Activision and Totally Games in 2002, based in the Star Trek universe. it is a amazing game..

Agree with you,this game is really amazing.

[Ezri Dax]

I wished I had the game.

[Kirok]

Ezri Dax, on 19 July 2012 - 01:42 PM, said:

I wished I had the game.

Ezri - I was going to answer you here but the more I thought about it, the more I realised that this deserves its own topic: Why can't you give money to the original copyright owner to still get a copy of the old game?

K