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Star Trek Armada II: FAQ

TREKCORE > GAMING > ARMADA II > FAQ

Parts of this FAQ are from Activision Customer Support

GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. When was Star Trek Armada II released?
2. What are Star Trek Armada II's system requirements?
3. Where can I get the 1.1 patch?
4. Will this game work on Windows XP?
5. Is there a demo for Star Trek Armada II?
6. What display resolutions does the game support?
7. I have questions about mods/maps/addons.
8. Why are my multiplayer games slow?
9. Is it possible to make a dedicated server with this game?
10. Is a joystick supported to work with the game?
11. Why didn't Raven Software develop Armada II?

GAME QUESTIONS

1. When I lose a multiplayer game it does not end but I can still interact with certain players.
2. When I finish a Multiplayer or Instant Action game it doesn't exit.
3. What are the playable races in the single player campaigns?
4. My game doesn't end although I've completed all of the Objectives listed in the Objectives box.
5. Playing as the Borg, I cannot assimilate certain types of technology or ships.
6. Only the Federation campaign is available. I would like to play the Klingon or Borg campaign.
7. Do any Star Trek cast members appear in the game?
8. My view keeps switching between strategic (top down) and tactical (action).
9. My ships aren't responding to my orders.
10. My interface keeps moving around the screen making it impossible for me to properly command my ships and issue orders.
11. Is there a way I can get the old Armada I interface?
12. Instant Action mode is too easy/hard.
13. I have finished the game. How can I erase the chapters so I can play like I just bought it?
14. I have completed a "recover" or "capture" objective, but did not get credit.
15. I have a question regarding the map editor for the game.
16. Sometimes during gameplay, I get mouse trails on my screen. My video card is an ATi Rage Pro.
17. I can't attack some enemy targets but I can see them.

GENERAL QUESTIONS ANSWERS

	1. When was Star Trek Armada II released? November 16, 2001.

	2. What are Star Trek Armada II's system requirements? These are the system requirements listed on the box: Minimum Requirements: Pentium(r) II 300 MHz or Athlon(r) processor or higher Windows(r) 95/98/2000/ME operating system 64 MB of RAM Quad-speed CD-ROM (600 K/sec sustained transfer rate) and drivers 1.3 GB of uncompressed free hard drive space plus 100 MB for the Windows swap file A 100% Windows 95/98/2000/ME-compatible computer system including: DirectX 8.0a (included) 100% DirectX 8.0a-compatible true 16 bit sound card and drivers 100% DirectX 8.0a-compliant 8 MB video card and drivers (3D Accelerator Card Required) 100% Windows 95/98/2000/ME-compatible mouse and drivers 100% Windows 95/98/2000/ME-compatible keyboard Required for Multiplayer Mode: Pentium(r) II 450 MHz or Athlon(r) processor or higher 128 MB of RAM Internet (TCP/IP) and LAN (TCP/IP) plat supported Internet play requires a 100% Windows 95/98/2000/ME-compatible 28.8 Kbps (or faster) modem and drivers LAN play (and high-speed internet play over DSL and cable modems) requires a 100% Windows 95/98/2000/ME-compatible network interface card and drivers
	3. Where can I get the 1.1 patch? To upgrade your version of Armada II, simply download the StarTrekArmada2Patch.exe (12.7 MB) and double-click it. Notes: The upgrade will work for the Microsoft Windows 95/98/2000/ME versions of Armada II (US, UK, and German). Saved games from Version 1.0 of Armada II will not work with Version 1.1. New Changes: Adjusted the power of Borg Cubes for better balance. Health bars of ships in the ship display now display the color of the ship's shields: green for full health, red for almost depleted and blue for no shields. Added a metal cost to creating a fusion cube. It will now cost 750 metal to form the fusion cube. It will cost 1500 metal to form the Tactical Fusion cube. Increased max zoom-out in strategic view from 1500 to 2200. Added 'F' as hotkey to bring up Formations menu. Added a left-click interface mode. Left click will give orders and select, while right click will be to deselect. Species 8472 fleets using the bio-pulse conduit now share damage (e.g. 50 points of damage to one ship gets dealt out as 10 points to each of 5 ships in the fleet) when the frigate is targeted. Multiplayer/Instant Action Enhancements: Improved the game's Artificial Intelligence with numerous tweaks. Added an option to disallow map downloads, or only download after asking. Minimaps will display immediately after map download. You can recrew a station while life support is down. To save a multiplayer game, press CTRL+S. To load a saved game, you can choose it from the map selection screen in multiplayer. Added a slider for ship (not station) build times. Added a slider for global unit cost. Added a slider for map depth. Added a Slower Physics button. This will cause larger ships to turn and accelerate more slowly, more in line with the physics of ships seen in Star Trek shows and movies. This will affect Federation, Cardassian, Romulan, and Klingon vessels. Per fan requests, added an "Early Upgrade" techtree, which allows the ship upgrade facility to be built immediately after the first research facility is built. New Fixes: Eliminate the warp jumpiness of the AI. Your own ships will not attack your fleet. Fixed fireball explosions. Fixed Radeon 8500 performance issue by disabling vertex buffer flushing for Radeon. Optimizations for path planning system. For a complete list of changes, please see the Armada II 1.1 Patch Readme at the end of the patch installation. The readme will be available in the root directory of the Armada II folder after installation.

	4. Will this game work on Windows XP? This game should work fine as long as you have a supported video card, sound card, and drivers. Also make sure that you have all of the latest updates for Windows XP from Microsoft. Go to the Windows Updater and make sure that you have all of the updates installed. Although this product is designed for use with Microsoft Windows 98 and above, Activision cannot guarantee its compatibility with Windows XP. This product has not been thoroughly tested and certified with the new Microsoft Operating System.

	5. Is there a demo for Star Trek Armada II? Yes! Check out our downloads section.

	6. What display resolutions does the game support? The game supports 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, and 1280 x 1024. These modes are available in both 16 and 32 bit color settings.

	7. I have questions about mods/maps/addons. The installation and use of modifications is not supported by Activision Customer Support. If you are having trouble with a mod, please contact the person who designed it for assistance. Typically, there is a readme file in the download that will mention where to direct questions to.

	8. Why are my multiplayer games slow? Double check these to see if it helps: Make sure your Internet settings are set up correctly. Turn off all firewalls and background applications Check your ping (the number located next to your name in the MP lobby shell. The lower this number is, the better network bandwidth preference you can expect.) Due to the peer-to-peer Multiplayer setup, the game can only be played as fast as the slowest machine in the game. It is required that all systems you play with meet the Minimum System Requirements for Multiplayer. More detailed information regarding Multiplayer performance is in the Readme and the "nethelp.txt" files located in the Armada II root directory.

	9. Is it possible to make a dedicated server with this game? No. There is no dedicated server option in this game.

	10. Is a joystick supported to work with the game? This game does not support a joystick or gamepad. This is a Real Time Strategy game which requires precise mouse movements and would not work well with the inaccuracy of other types of input devices.

	11. Why didn't Raven Software develop Armada II? Raven Software was the studio that developed the first Elite Force game. Raven was approached to do Armada II, but they turned it down as they were already doing Jedi Knight II and Soldier of Fortune II at the time and could not take on another project.

GAME QUESTIONS ANSWERS

1. When I lose a multiplayer game it does not end but I can still interact with certain players.
Some game modes allow for you to give units and money to other players. For that reason, you are not kicked from the game when you lose all of your units and if you wish to leave you will have to press the Esc key to exit. While you remain in game you can also chat, so you are not allowed to see more of the map than their teammates can. If you do not have any active teammates, you will see nothing but the "fog of war" unless you enter an alliance with another player.

2. When I finish a Multiplayer or Instant Action game it doesn't exit.
There is a several second delay before being taken to the Admiral's Log (score screen) to allow players to chat and survey the map as well as relish in their victory. The Victorious player will receive the message "You are Victorious!" while the defeated player(s) will receive the "You are Vanquished!" message so there is no confusion as to who the victor and loser are. After the game finishes with this delay, the game will return to the Admiral's Log.

3. What are the playable races in the single player campaigns?
The following races are playable:

Federation
Klingon
Borg

4. My game doesn't end although I've completed all of the Objectives listed in the Objectives box.
In missions where you must eliminate all enemies as well as Instant Action and Multiplayer games, the most common problem is the you have not found all enemy units. Many ships can cloak and therefore can only be spotted by scout ships or sensors arrays after Tachyon detection grid is researched.

Make sure you develop Tachyon detection grid and then build sensor arrays and scouts. Send scouts out on search and destroy orders so that the whole map is uncovered and all enemies are also now available.

5. Playing as the Borg, I cannot assimilate certain types of technology or ships.

Some ship technology in the game cannot be assimilated (primarily the Romulan Shadow class); this is due to the fact that some special weapons make Borg Cubes too unbalanced.
Also, only weapons that can be and have been researched may be assimilated. Inherent abilities cannot be assimilated.

6. Only the Federation campaign is available. I would like to play the Klingon or Borg campaign.
Only the Federation campaign is available when starting the game. The game was designed to play the the races in order. Once the Federation missions are completed, this will unlock the Klingon missions and so on. This information is stated on page eight of the game manual.

7. Do any Star Trek cast members appear in the game?
Yes. Here is a list of Trek alumni supplying their voice talents in the game:

NAME

PREVIOUS TREK ROLE

A2 ROLE

Patrick Stewart	Captain Picard (TNG)	Captain Picard
J.G. Hertzler	General Martok (DS9)	General Martok
Alice Krige	Borg Queen (ST:FC, VOY)	Borg Queen

8. My view keeps switching between strategic (top down) and tactical (action).

This can be changed using the view button at the top right of the screen.
You can use the shortcut key for this function, which is Caps Lock.

9. My ships aren't responding to my orders.
This is often a game play issue.

Species 8472 has a weapon in which your ships panic and fire randomly
Other races have weapons which can disable ships
Damage to life-support or engines can cause a ship to be derelict
The ship may have been taken over by another team, check the HUD to see who the ship belongs to
In Multiplayer, some players may both be playing as the same race so it may be an enemy vessel and not your own.

In the extremely rare cases where you may have lost the ability to command your ships, saving and relaunching will usually fix this problem.

10. My interface keeps moving around the screen making it impossible for me to properly command my ships and issue orders.
This is a result of the Borg super-weapon, Borg Nanites, which has been used against you. The effect will wear off in a few seconds and your screen will return to normal.

11. Is there a way I can get the old Armada I interface?
No. There is no way to do this.

12. Instant Action mode is too easy/hard.
The game's Artificial Intelligence (AI) scripts were made with a median in mind to accommodate a variety of skill levels for players. For this reason, one may find the game a bit too difficult, or a bit too simple, but this is by design.

13. I have finished the game. How can I erase the chapters so I can play like I just bought it?
Uninstall the game, delete the game folder, and then reinstall the game and the patches. Make sure that you do not install any third party maps/mods/skins of any type.

14. I have completed a "recover" or "capture" objective, but did not get credit.
You may be using one of your ships with Tractor Beam functionality to tow these ships back to your base. Those terms mean you must actually transport crew onto those ships in order to complete those objectives, thus derelict ships that are brought back to your station are neither "captured" nor "recovered" so tractoring the ship is not enough.

15. I have a question regarding the map editor for the game.
At this time there is no map editor or SDK available for use.

NOTE: Map editors are not supported by Activision Customer Support.

16. Sometimes during gameplay, I get mouse trails on my screen. My video card is an ATi Rage Pro.
Per the minimum system requirements on the bottom of the box, the ATi Rage Pro is not a supported video card and you may experience problems running the game with this video card.

17. I can't attack some enemy targets but I can see them.
Some objects show through the fog of war (planets, stations, etc) once you discover them. In order to issue an attack command you must actually have line of sight with the intended target.