Operation: Overkill World HQ

Before you start

You must have the following items in place before you start your attack.
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• Lots of Duroplast
• Hemp Rope
• MedPacks
• Vaccination for all diseases
• Silencer
• Radation Suit
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For a base with 100% shields, you will need up to 10 applications of duroplast, as each one does 10-15% damage to the base's shields when detonated. Sometimes you get a dud, so you may need even more. Duroplast can be purchased at the Complex, but it's fairly common on map levels 1-5 and I usually stockpile it as a matter of course once I have a base to stash it in. Duroplast coms in handy for taking out the prison gates on level 3, and can also be used do destroy useless junk in the wastelands (or stuff you can't carry but don't wish to leave lying around for someone else.) The hemp rope will come in handy if you get teleported to another level by the base's Zaxtron Accelerator defense. Note that the ZA can only teleport you within its own range. For example: if the base is on level 3, it can send you anywhere within its teleport radius on levels 2, 3, or 4. If you don't already have a base with a telepod on the level you get sent to, you can use the rope to climb back to where you need to be. If the base is protected by a spore sprayer, then it helps to be vaccinated: otherwise you'll be infected with some sort of nasty disease in addition to whatever HP damage the initial blast inflicts. The medpacks are so you can heal yourself after the defensive emplacement zaps you... Needless to say, you shouldn't attack a base unless you are at 100% health, as the base defenses will knock down your HPs by 50% or so. Silencer and rad-suit should be self explanatory. If you're focused on knocking out a base's shields, you probably don't want to waste a lot of time fighting mosnters on the trek back or having to make a detour to either the complex or one of your own bases for anti-rad treatment.

Stage one: Shields[/u]

A wise player will wait to build a base until he has enough crystals to fully upgrade the shields and add a defensive cannon, so most times when you attack a base, you will need to hit it with duroplast several times to knock down the shields, and each time you attack, you WILL get hit by the defensive cannon. If your target base doesn't have a Zaxtron Accelerator, you can stockpile some duroplast and extra medkits nearby before you start your attack and just go get more as you need them. Be sure to use your medpack after each attack, as the defensive weapon will inflict substantial damage. It also helps to be wearing armor. If the base has a ZA, you will be spending some additional time between attacks travelling back to start the next attack, as the ZA will teleport you away.

Stage two: Breaking in[/u]

Once the shields are down one of two things will happen:
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• If the owner (or a squad member if it's a squadron base) is inside when the shields go down, s/he will attack you immediately. If you aren't prepared to take on whover comes out, you will have to run. If you flee, subsequent attempts to attack the base on the same day will fail automatically. The base's occupant will just chase you off without even giving you the option of fighting. In situations where there is more than one occupant of the base, you will (of course) be required to defeat ALL occupants before you can claim the base.
• If the base is unoccupied, you can simply stroll in once the defenses are disabled and take over.
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A few final notes

If all you want to do is destroy a base, it's much easier to just nuke it. Make a note of the base coordinates, then proceed to a missile silo on the same level with one or more floppy disks. Once you have the launch code, you can launch a missile at the sector the base occupies and destroy it. Naturally, evryone inside dies when this happens.
Don't start something you can't finish. Bases are expensive to build and most people select the location of their base carefully so thay can easily use telepods to travel between map levels. Attacking someone's base (especially if it's a squadron base that several players are using) is probably the best way to make long-term enemies. While there are situations in which taking someone's base may be necessary, if you're just trying to retaliate for something they did to you, it might be better to simply kill them or set booby traps (thumpers, landmines) instead. Taking someone's base sends the message that this is total war, and the response will likely be extreme.
:twisted:

This article is based on my own (somewhat limited) experience with this subject.  If anyone has any suggestions or corrections, by all means, speak up. Also welcome would be defensive strategies and suggestions on how to PROTECT your base from attack.

The only way to actually take over official possesion of the base is to kill the owner while he is in at that base. As previously mentioned, he'll rush out to defend the base when the sheilds are breached, if you kill him the base becomes yours. If he's not there you can access the base, but ownership doesn't change and you can't get in the control room (this doesn't change ever if you reduce the structure of the base, I've had it down to 3% before and still couldn't get in that damn controll room). You can use the detox chamber, but it charges a fee like the complex does(not sure if the base owner gets the funds for this or not....)

Well, the base access code is only 2 chars long, so sometimes it's very easy to get in and take over.

Last year sometime, I figured out that OOII could be played on Telnet (oh joy!) and one of the first games I got in
was actually active!  So I went in and found a bunch of bases, all owned by the same squad.
Since they all had sexual innuendo to their names, I guessed "69" as the code.  Got it right on the first try!  :P

I went in to about 4 or 5 bases, all with the same access code, and looted them.  }:)

They had some good stuff too hehehe.  I went (at level 1 fresh out of the Complex mind you) via their telepods down to
map 4 and got the GOOD stuff, so I was level one for a very short time.  Once I got back to map 1, I was blasting shockels left and right with my Herculeon.  Ahhh good times!  I hit the records for wealth the first day, even though an active squad had over 1 mil crystals.

I used to go around back in the day and stockpile Zimmers, so I could try hacking base codes.  Everyone gets a Zax, thinking it's the best cause it's the most expensive, but a full inventory of Zimmers & MedPacks gives plenty of chances to get the code right.
Gamma-Radix cannon is the best IMHO, because most people forget to look at their Rad level while they're attacking things,
and unless they have a shitload of medpacks or a nearby base, the attacker is pretty much boned.

I missed OOII, it was a huge part of my pathetic life in 88-91, and half the friends I have I met through that game, back when BBSes were
the cool thing, and most everyone with a computer was using them.  So I'm working on a game, you can read about it here in the forum thread "Oasis Project".  I figured out how to do multi-client networking today, so it shouldn't be difficult to do the rest.
It will be a MMOG loosely based on OOII / TradeWars / VGA Planets / LOD / NetHack, and Final Fantasy 2.
The main inspiration for it came straight from OOII.  Of course, there's no substitute for the real thing, I know.  It's like running out of weed and smoking some oregano, but at least it will have graphics!  XD