During my Starflier campaign I had the same problem. The first time I tried it I worked on both platforms more or less in parallel - whenever it got too hot near one platform I turned around and chipped away at the other. It so happened that I had destroyed the second platform first and I was just putting the finishing touches on the first platform when I got hit by the time-out. That is why I took a peek at the mission script, to find out WTF was going on there, and so I discovered the time-outs that T-Hawk has mentioned at the beginning of this thread.
In my opinion the critical points are:
(1) Concentrate on frying the platforms without getting side-tracked, first the right-hand platform (as seen during initial approach), then the left-hand one. The Patriot has ample juice and good loadout options, so it could destroy the platforms several times during the allotted time.
(2) Be careful that the transport does not get destroyed. Stray shots of yours can cause problems (especially mines) but stray enemy fire might also be problematic, especially missiles fired from the platform turrets.
As regards loadouts: the Patriot can easily win the campaign with an all-guns loadout (Adv. Scorpion) plus mines for the big targets in mission 9 and later. That's what I did before I discovered how much fun Javelin-type missiles are if you launch them well.
Now I would mix in a Slingshot launcher (or Slingshot + Javelin) for the ultimate fun experience.
Only Mission 10 requires a bit more thought because the Rheinland ships use molecular shields, against which the particle weapons are least effective. It would be tempting to use one or two Adv. Stunpulse plus Slingshot plus Javelin (plus some cheap mines of the Drone type) for taking out the Banshees and Valkyries, but at the Experimental Shipyard you have to toast a biggish target, which calls for mounting at least two energy weapons. OTOH you don't have to do anything else on that leg of the mission, so you could just switch loadouts on Bruchsal.
Edited by - Sherlog on 28-12-2003 18:02:40
Fri Dec 19, 2003 6:51 pm