being a freighter pilot is easy in this game! you just need to find the right trade routes. also, having a ship that you like the handling on helps too. i have flown the rhino, drone and humpback (hereafter refered to as the dumptruck) and my current freighter of chice is by far the drone. the rhino is just to small and weak and the dumptruck just sucks cause it is next to impossible to avoid enemy fire.

anyway, my experiences are probably different cause i just went straight into the multiplayer game so i never had to go to britonia.

good luck and if you have any more questions feel free to ask...

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jero

I only have the trial, so some of these answers could be inaccurate, but I think they're right...

First of all, I don't believe there's a difficulty setting in the game. At least I haven't found one in the demo. In my mind, that's a good thing AND a bad thing in a way.

Secondly, obviously I've just been in the Liberty system since that's all that is in the trial, but have you gotten powerful shields and weapons on that freighter? They should be more heavily armored I'd think (I haven't played too much with a freighter since I prefer fighters myself). The only advantage it should get you with a freighter is bigger cargo capacity and possibly heavier shielding/weaponry, but I think in a tricky part of space I'd trade in for a fighter. Good luck whatever you decide to do!

I've been hauling trade goods quite a bit, so maybe I can add some thoughts. First, I can only speak for the multiplayer game when I say, "there are no difficulty settings you can adjust."

As for freighters - you're right, they're not the best thing in a fight. However, things should not be as hopeless as you're suggesting. If you really are exiting the landing bay and getting destroyed, something is wrong. My first thought when you said you hear a series of bangs and then you're dead, was that you don't have any shields. You might want to check that out.

Secondly, don't wander too far away from the New York system if you're not well equiped. The farther away you get from NY, the more dangerous your opponents become. If you somehow managed to luck your way out to some deep space station in Tau-29 with your Rhino freighter, welcome to "respawn hell."

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run." I never had too much trouble surviving in my Rhino within New York system. For that matter, I ranged out to Bretonia and did a good job of staying in one piece. There was a huge difference in tactics between the two locales, however. In New York, if my trade lane got ambushed, I could often stick around and duke it out. In Bretonia, I kicked in my cruise engines and got the heck outta Dodge.

Last bit of advice: if you leave a docking bay and come under fire, turn right back around and dock. You should have warning before you even start taking fire, as you'll hear radio chatter to the tune of, "I'm targeting Freelancer One Alpha One," during the cinematic sequence. Otherwise, hug the starbase. I mean, get right next to it and try to find some little nook to hide in. At the very least, try to keep it between you and any attackers. Eventually the locals will clear out any pirates or terrorists, and you can continue on your way.

This game is as hard as you want to make it. I mean, if you want it to be easy you stay in New York and take missions with a difficulty of 1 or 2. If you want it to be hard go try to get around in some of the tougher systems with a wimpy ship. If you find yourself constantly being shot down, go back to Liberty space for a while. If you're getting constantly shot down in Liberty space, stay in New York. If you're getting constantly shot down in New York, I don't know what to tell you. You gotta crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. Don't expect to be able to survive long in the Sigma systems while driving a Patriot.

Let's get those missiles ready to destroy the universe!!

I found in the freighter...you must do the turret view to really defend yourself...hit H and and track those targets with the full arc of the turrets.

unfortunately when you are out in the sigma systems and such you get eaten alive if you try to do that (turret mode)... best thing you can do is hit the afterburners and make for the next tradlane jump point. dont even bother with cruise, you probably won't be able to charge your engines cause of the cruise disruptor missles they fire at you.

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jero

thanks for the info Jero... I haven't got that far out yet. Hopefully it'll let him be successful in Bretonia.

Oh, I definitely have shields. I should've said, it's more like zap-zap-z-z-z-z-z-zap-BANG-BANG-BANG-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM, to be more accurate.

As for staying around Liberty, you don't have that option in the single player game. I guess I'll have to be a fighter pilot, it seems the only way to survive.

By the way, how does the multiplayer game work?

I you're going to run a frieghter, make sure you have the best shield and thruster you can afford. If you do get into a firefight, best thing to do is run like hell. A freighter is a sitting duck in a duck in a firefight in the systems outside of Liberty.

Some tips I use when flying in some dangerous systems:

* Carry lots of Nanobots and Shield batteries. These are especially helpful if there's a queue at the jump gates. If you run out you find the nearest base and buy more. Also repear your rig if it needs it. If you're low on $$$, sell some cargo. A loss of a couple thousand credits is a lot better than the whole load. Especially if you just started trading.

* When you leave a station, gate, etc hit the thruster and make erractic manuevers towards your waypoint. Just before you hit 0 km to the gate, hit the dock key. It'll save you some precious seconds which could be the difference between you making it to your destination or becoming space dust.

* If your trade lane's interrupted, hit the thrusters. Cruise engines are useless as the pirates have the disrupter missiles. Try to have your way point targeted to use as a reference and head towards the next gate. As you reach, dock and get the hell out of there.

Hope it helps. Hopefully some one has a tip or knows what countermeasures defeat those damn disrupter missiles. LOL

Take a look in the "My Documents\My Games\Freelancer\" folder. There is a file called PerfOptions.ini with a line that reads:

DIFFICULTY_SCALE = 1.00

I'm not sure if the game actually parses and uses this setting, but try changing it and see if it helps.

Also, when using your turrets, make sure you have lots of mines too. With someone running full speed to catch you, your mines will hit him in the nose pretty reliably.

Me no gun

Freighters are great. The only way to play Freelancer for me. Think of your freighter as a small battleship. It's not a dog-fighter and it rarely gets to cruise in a fight. It's a very tough Turret-Fighter though. I found a Dromedary in the main quest and went back for it when I got to level 10. It owns any jumpgate it enters and carries 285 cargo units.

In any event all freighters can do this with good turrets, mines, shields, and a heavy booster. Turret view, use your boosters, and all pursuers are in your rear view. Drop a mine or two and blast em' !! Best action views in the game without question. Incredible.

Belter John

Go to "C:\My Documents\My Games\Freelancer"

Open "PerfOptions.ini" with notepad.

Set "DIFFICULTY_SCALE = 1.00" to "DIFFICULTY_SCALE = 0.00" to activate "God Mode".

Fly back to New York System, where you can survive in a freighter.

Set "DIFFICULTY_SCALE = 1.00" back to "DIFFICULTY_SCALE = 1.00", to get back out of "God Mode" and be able to "enjoy the risk" again.

Another tip...


Bind some keys for "turn left", "turn right", etc.

Then while in Turret Mode you will still have some maneuvering capabilities and not just be flying along in a straight path.

I find that using "engine kill", "afterburners", "turret view", and having those keyboard settings for maneuvering make a freighter into a 199kps weapons platform....pretty deadly once you get used to the handling.