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Looks good to me. The other bases now look a little more useable. I voted that I love it.

That would solve the problem, activation. But it would be considered a "big change", and people hate those, so you will find "analytical people who may find one point they disagree with in this post and isolate their retort based on it", lol. But it's a better way to balance things out then I ever thought of. Good thinking there.

Well, if you got a macro and TW pass I think it's quite fast. It may look different on paper, but in the battle 3-4 fields can really screw the opponent.

Sorry to tell you, but money isn't the problem. You are right I can get on a basing team or a large pub team and make an insane amount of money, quickly. The problem is gaining experience, which you have to make kills. Fighting in the open, in a stock ship, is stupid and not at all fun - and I haven't seen anyone basing in the 10 or so times I've been back.(and I don't know of any new players who want to sit around in a zone and wait hours for teams to start basing so they can get kills/experience) And I don't think you get it. I don't think that you should be on the same level when you enter the zone. I like the ship upgrades, it's the reason I played this zone. But the disparity between the two is too great. The upgrades are too powerful. Before a more skilled player could put up a good fight in a stock ship. It should be long and hard to get the upgrades, but the upgrades shouldn't be as powerful. Upgrades should give you an advantage - not make you practically invincible with ridiculous guns and laggy, twitching speed. You're taking all the skill out of the game how it currently is. A year ago it worked well, the upgrades gave you an impressive advantage but you still had to be skilled - it seems now longevity/seniority have replaced skill. And a poll is pretty useless Relos, the people who come to the forums are the vets, who are probably happy with the system - since they are the ones benefiting. Maybe if you could do an "exit" poll when new players leave(and never come back). I kind of thought it was stupid now that you say it. But don't mistake what I'm trying to say, I'm actually thinking about the same way as you do. Money isn't the issue, it's actually killing something, in my opinion. The balance may need fixing, or I could just be imagining it. I mean, only for new players, really, once you get leveled in it's fine, I think. Cerium, I think you're right. If that's the point, then I have nothing more to say. Just remember that I was saying balance might be an issue, not money. Money can be given to others and so on, a balanced gamestyle may not work the same way. But you're right, remember, if that's the point of the game. =)

That's what I'm looking for, what could we do to improve it. I don't want to get rid of it at all, it's why I come here, lol. So now: Any suggestions to improve it?

I think this poll needs to go up, at least for reference, anyway. Do we think Hyperspace works in a fair manner? I mainly say the question as to how the buy/sell system influences the game so much, because I think the rest of it is well made, in my opinion. But here is is the question, out for everyone to discuss. No flame wars anyone, and I'll be quiet and listen to what you have to say EDIT: Explain your point too, and do suggest improvements, at least. Don't just bash the system, be serious, lol.

Cerium, I got your point. But it's a lot easier for newbies then than now. Agreed? My point. I'm not saying it's impossible, but just can we all agree that there's an imbalance between newbies and maxed ships here? Boldot, got it. Not impossible. My point is, though, is that it's harder to kill with a stock ship. And I pointed an extreme, merely to say that this game is imbalanced in a obvious manner. I was leaning towards a revamp in where your basic ship is the average, and all items would have their drawbacks in such a manner that all items of a set are about as good as any other statistic wise. Balancing in this case would raise issues if we try to change as little as possible, I know. If this is how Hyperspace should be, then no problem. All I'm trying to point out is that Dk- is right; there is a gap between stock ships and maxed ships, and I've been thinking it can negate a difference in skill more than we would desire. Or do we care? It's easily possible to play in HS otherwise, right? I will make a poll to see if what we think of the settings, as I'm curious to what we think here on the forums. If we decide, as a whole, that this settings need changing, we could then offer ideas afterwards, and maybe Dr Brain will think about it. If not, and we want the current settings as a whole, and I'll shut up knowing that Hyperspace is desirable this way. Sounds good?

Your right, DK-. The people here today are pretty much the same 30-40 people who got in near a reset, where all ships are erased and we start over. If you don't get in then, have fun, because the staff doesn't see this as a big issue right now. There is balance in the game, but that's after you have the funds to get the counter to some balance issue/after you spend 50k on essential items for the particular ship. The usual excuse from members is that they point out skill is a factor in the game, even for newbies. That's true, but here's what they don't say: The skill needed for newbies to live is getting larger and larger... For instance, you have your stock wb, that has has 950 HP and 970 dmg per sec with pulse. Next you have your maxed out shredder terr, with say, a quantum reactor. 1900 HP, 1857 dmg per sec, and much faster recharge. Oh, and let's not forget that the terr has two close combat, so there's repels as well. And there's that turret in the backround, flinging tacnukes in every which direction... With two people of equal strength, who will most likely die first? If anyone still thinks that's a 100% balanced situation, you need some new glasses. But wait... What is defined as "balance"? Is that really balanced for that newbie? I don't agree, but maybe it somehow is. o_o Anyways, we either need to make sure that ship combinations don't add up so much that they overwhelm the newbies. Or we can just make up excuses and let this continue. I hope for the former.

My Shark uses Shredder in base. It's very efficent at killing back lancs fast (should I ever get to it). In fact, it's fast killing power is the entire purpose I even have that gun. Also, suicide rushers in a base die fast when I manage to get my shredder guns right at them. The shredder kills the fastest, and I feel rushers want to kill fast when they get to the nme's back lines. Makes sense? EDIT: But yeah, just had to say that. This topic should probably get closed.

Shark actually does better in basing than I originally thought. They got solid bursts, a tiny hull, and well, yeah. The Shark doesn't have any real characteristics that are abusable by itself (Rapid fire is strong, but other ships fire faster, thanks). I believe the Shark takes the most skill of all the ships to effectively use. Though if used correctly, it gets a lot better in both center and basing, even more than your amount of skill should make. That's just me, though.

Here's an idea. Items are limited in quan!@#$%^&*y and restock at different rates. This create a Hyperspace economy, something no other zone has. Wait. Before you dismiss this post and flame it, read the rest. How a Shop Would Work: Items randomly come in stock. Items like the Pulse Laser would come in en masse, while items like the TW token could restock rarely, (so people actually save them up, lol). Items will slowly go up or down in price by a fixed formula, checking how big demand is for a particular item. This means that we may just get the perfect prices for every item, judged by our shopping habits, as long as the rates somewhere near the right pace... (If buying something means it goes up $5000000, and every day it goes down $1, something is wrong, lol.) But enough of that. Many new ideas are now on the table. Inventories? Buying/Selling to other people? Even better, if possible, items should not show up if they are not in stock, so we can always wonder if "that item" really exists. ----------------+ Pulse Laser Buy ### Sell ### (say, 1/2 of current buy price) 0 EXP (this doesn't change) ect... # In Stock ----------------+ Economy Yes, first zone ever to have an economy like this if it gets done. What if a item never seems to be in stock? What to do? Well, now we buy from other people. Sell to other people. In this way, we could be a merchant. People could just sit down checking the shop over and over, waiting for that item to come in and !@#$%^&* it. Then, prize in hand, sell it higher to someone who wants it. Now all we need is some mega-rare item that adds an extra alien technology slot. Easily be worth 500m. (Or $1, if we all ignore such a item) Buying and Selling player to player We obviously need a system like this then. /?offer [itemName] first /?offer [itemname] what you want to trade, say, $ or an item Then, to vertify: /?offer accept or exit /?offer accept or exit A bot would than vertify that both players have the items, then complete the procedure. Comments? Flames? Post here.

Actually this could make some sense, if you only let lancs have summoner. Turret amounts should only be 2, though. We don't want tiny shark turrets of 8 people owning the center, after all. The price of this item should be the same as Summoner, so lancs can get their advantage around the same time other ships gain attachability.

Exactly. I have no trouble get to a base without rockets.

Speed up the lancs, for all I care. Just get rid of rockets. That, I think, is the simple fix. Obviously not the best, but we could vote on a better one later.

If putting a line-up that I thought was good automatically and instantly means that I "make topics encouraging everything wrong with HS's balance", then open yourself up. People aren't all with evil intentions 100% of the time, and right now, that might actually be the case. Sorry if I mis-led you.

BASE LINE-UP #2: Shark Attack This one would be a more typical set-up, except the 3 rushers here would be Sharks Those ships are small, and have fairly good bursts compared to a Warbird. #1-3 would be Shark rushers, 4-5 would be Weasels spamming Beam Array, 6 would be a Terrier spamming Plasma Cannon similarly, and 7-8 would be Lancs. Oh, and for fun, each shark would have a different fast-shooting weapon ranging lv1-lv3. After all, their guns are so slow, who cares if they can bounce or not? >_> (Players 1-3 are Rushers) PLAYER #1 Shark Guns: Shrap Booster Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: Resonance Sphere Sublight Drives: IceFire Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Brick Attack Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: TW P!@#$%^&* PLAYER #2 Shark Guns: Phaser Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: Resonance Sphere Sublight Drives: IceFire Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: TW P!@#$%^&* PLAYER #3 Shark Guns: Shredder Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: Resonance Sphere Sublight Drives: IceFire Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Brick Attack Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: TW P!@#$%^&* (Players 4-6 hold the position) PLAYER #4 Weasel Guns: Beam Array Bombs: EMP Shockwave Reactor Plants: Resonance Sphere Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Siege Pack, Gravity Trap Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: TW P!@#$%^&* PLAYER #5 Weasel Guns: Beam Array Bombs: EMP Shockwave Reactor Plants: Resonance Sphere Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Siege Pack, Gravity Trap Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: TW P!@#$%^&* PLAYER #6 Terrier Guns: Plasma Cannon Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: Tokamak Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Siege Pack, Gravity Trap Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: TW P!@#$%^&* PLAYER #7 Lancaster Guns: Beam Array Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: Summoner PLAYER #8 Lancaster Guns: Beam Array Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: Summoner

Welcome! I'm here to post 2 base line-ups that I'd like to have. Post your own too. BASE LINE-UP #1: LANC CRUSH Now here's one that would own if it could ever be set up. It would be all lanc team. Players 1-6 are rushers, 7-8 just stay behind. 1-3 would be regular lanc rushers with antideath, bursts, ect. 4-6, though, would all use Turreting Base instead, and use the power of 39 combined repels to easily make up for the lack of Antideath. The other 3 rushers will use their powerful bursts for all the offence they'll ever need. If that wasn't enough, one of the lancs who stay behind would carry fields to help support the seemingly infinite amount of repels coming out of the lancs. !@#$%^&* would a set-up like this be evil... (Players 1-6 are Rushers) PLAYER #1 Lancaster Guns: Shrap Booster Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: Summoner PLAYER #2 Lancaster Guns: Shrap Booster Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: Summoner PLAYER #3 Lancaster Guns: Shrap Booster Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: Summoner PLAYER #4 Lancaster Guns: Shrap Booster Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: Turreting Base Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Turreting Base Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Turreting Base FTL Engines: Summoner PLAYER #5 Lancaster Guns: Shrap Booster Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: Turreting Base Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Turreting Base Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Turreting Base FTL Engines: Summoner PLAYER #6 Lancaster Guns: Shrap Booster Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: Turreting Base Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Turreting Base Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Turreting Base FTL Engines: Summoner PLAYER #7 Lancaster Guns: Beam Array Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Antideath FTL Engines: Summoner PLAYER #8 Lancaster Guns: Beam Array Bombs: Falcon Missile Reactor Plants: ZPM Sublight Drives: H2 Ramscoop Sensors: Enhanced Sensors Utilities: Close Combat (X2), Tunnel Runner, Siege Pack Bricks: Energy Infusion Armor: Maneuvering Fins Converters: Extra Utility Alien Technology: Field Launcher FTL Engines: Summoner Next one is coming up in my next post.

Boldot said it all. I'm completely with him when it comes to lancs.

Here's what I'd change and add: Quantum Reactor Ships 1,2,8 +1 Energy +3 Recharge Superconductor (or any other better name) Ships 3,4,5,6,7 +3 Energy +1 Recharge Now, you got your newbie fusion reactor, 4 intermediate reactor (Quantum, Super, Tokamak, Res), and 2 reactors for the rich (ZPM and Mezon). Sounds like good variety for the reactors to me. EDIT: And I got another idea Alien Technology Tank Tranformation Reactor, Armor, Sublight Drives $1,000,000 +5 Energy +5 Recharge -5 Speed -5 Rotation reduces bullet damage by average: 10% bomb damage: 600 reduces burst damage by: 15% reduces shrapnel damage by: 70%

Here will be the place I will talk about Sharks. This post is about what I think is a good arsenal for a shark. I did have a guide like this posted elsewhere, but I think a topic is easier to find for those shark players. But remember, this is what I think is good, so don't start a flame war if you don't agree with me. SHARK GUIDE GUNS The guns of a shark are very slow, like it's bombs. Therefore, I'd get rapid fire bullets so you can kill quickly when you get near enough. For the center either Shredder or Phaser works. In a base though, I'd really get gun with bounce. Of course, their guns are way to slow for Beam Array to be effective, so if you're going to use a gun at all in a base, I'd get the Shrap Booster. They fire fairly fast, have bounce, and you probably won't be using them that much for the energy consumption to be a big deal. In Short: Center: Shredder or Phaser Basing: Shrap Booster BOMBS A Shark's bombs are slow, so getting this expensive bomb would make no sense as all bombs do the same damage at it's center. So I'd get a bomb with shrap in both center in basing, and the cheapest one is the Falcon Missile. In Short: All: Falcon Missile REACTOR PLANTS If you really want to use those fast moving bullets, the Resonance Sphere gives you the energy to last out while attacking. I find myself living with 20-100 energy charging my opponents often, so the energy can really help. The Shark's recharge is like a WB with quantum, so if I has to pick energy or recharge, I'd go 100% energy, as it could use that more. In Short: All: Resonance Sphere SUBLIGHT DRIVES Shark can get all drives except the Nuclear Booster and the H2 Ramscoop. I'd want to increase speed here, to make the shark expand on it's tininess, one of it's few strengths. I'm not for thrust here, so it leaves Icefire and Ion Drive. Ion Drive ($2000): Speed +2 Thrust +2 Rotation +2 IceFire ($20000): Speed +5 Thrust +1 Rotation -1 As I said, I'm for more speed than thrust when it comes to a shark, so I'd pick IceFire. Plus, the Shark could really use that speed with those snail-speed guns they got. In Short: All: IceFire SENSORS All of the current ones look fine for a Shark. However, the Energy Scanners could help you decide what ships look weak enough for your little ship to charge at with guns blazing. This strategy would be the most effective if you had IceFire, with it's high speed. All in all, just pick what you like, depending on whether you're basing or you're in center. In Short: All: Any Sensors UTILITIES In basing I would rush with the shark, thanks to it's slow-moving weaponry. I'd therefore get two Close Combat and a Siege Pack, not only for the thors, but it's burst. The rotation of a Shark is slow if you got Icefire, so rockets in those closed quarters are likely ineffective. In center, though, you need them so your slow moving weapons hit the opponents when needed. In that case, replace the Siege Pack with the Tunnel Runner. The fast movement in the tunnel is only a bonus. In Short: Basing: Close Combat X2, Siege Pack Center: Close Combat X2, Tunnel Runner BRICKS In basing I'd get Brick Attack as I found them useful in those closed quarters. However in center it's open enough for them to be almost useless, and other bricks are as good as a waste of money. I'd get the Energy Infusion then, because that full HP could help when being you're in need for more energy for your guns to be effective. Having Resonance Sphere helps increase it's usefulness as well. In Short: Basing: Brick Attack Center: Energy Infusion ARMOR I'd get the Maneuvering Fins. It's cheap, and balances the rotation decrease if you got IceFire. Not much else to say at the moment. In Short: All: Maneuvering Fins CONVERTERS I think that the Extra Utility spot would be more useful here, but what do I know? If you highly value large amounts of sensors, then go ahead and get a sensor pod. Pick what you want. In Short: All: Either ALIEN TECHNOLOGY Antideath if for basing. After that, all the 10m items, the Supercomputer over others. Why? Only way for Sharks to Cloak/Stealth ATM, and we all know that's good, right? In Short: Center: 10m items Basing: Antideath, 10m items FTL ENGINES Whatever fits your budget. Not much to say here. In Short: All: Any items

You were better than the other team enough to win. With two teams of equal strength, the one with a anti-death rusher WILL win, ALWAYS. I don't care about the bricks, I don't want them unlimited, so don't even think that I want Bricks unlimited. I KNOW bricks are cheap. However, I also KNOW Anti-death SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGES A RESULT OF A FLAG GAME. BUT, IT DOES NOT GUARANTEE IT, as in your case. I don't know how efficent those Anti-death rushers were, but I could show you in game without fail, that if I had Antideath, I would force you to hold your position automatically for maybe 5 sec while you wait for me to respawn. And yes, 5 sec is not that bad, but only if the Anti-death rusher(s), as I realize now, can't use it effectively in the ways that make it cheap. Because if they don't then it's impact is minimal. A.k.a this: If I had Antideath, I would, and I know with a fact, slow your team down much more than without it. We don't see it get abused like bricks because antideath is made to be hard to get, and we reset the game (which keeps it that way) every so often. But if given enough time, until the point where Anti-death is normally used by basers, it will widen the gap plenty to notice. All the non-antideath players won't even TRY to base for a decent jackpot, which is already happening now in many cases. Fact: Antideath is broken. (Or will be, if it isn't used effectively right now, because I will eventually buy it and abuse it like the world is ending, if I continue playing the way I do right now.) I hope that if you won't understand this fact right now, I will force it into you over and over until you do via rushing your team. And I know that if I reach this point I WILL, because it's fact it's broken. Or, if not that, overpowered. I know this as much as a fact as 1+1=2. It is not as easy to prove by a long shot, but what I'm trying to say is just as much a fact. Of course, you will always have have a counter for EVERYTHING I say, and I mean EVERYTHING, including, this sentence, the fact that I mentioned this sentence, or the fact that mentioned that mentioned this sentence, or the fact that I... oh, forget it. I'm wasting my time with facts you won't absorb. You won't see the truth in my words regarding this subject until I prove it in an extremely obvious fashion, multiple times. However, the reason this is even an issue is because such situation are difficult to make, and rare in current Hyperspace. But I will do my best to prove this fact if I get to a point where this is possible.

Newb teams I considered to be all people who can't get in a well-known team a.k.a can't afford Antideath. So if that's to broad, consider them whatever you think that is. Also, don't think that they can just go buy 40 bricks. Anti-death rushers repelling, bursting, and using rockets aren't exactly going to wait for you to get a brick. Also, the maximum speed people can move after getting un-locked is very high, which pros will achieve by the time they have anti-death. The long wait just forces a lanc to hold a position away from the locked person for a bunch of precious seconds if they don't want to be rushed. You could try repelling them, but by the time they get unlocked these days you may not have any left from merely all the bursts they throw at you. This is not including all of the other shrapenel flying around from other ships, or if more than one ship rushes at a time. Let me just say this=anti-death is broken. How it plays out in the game is cheap. The explanations I get from the posting don't show up the same in the game. The game gives those fast ships another chance to get to the lanc so to madly burst or brick the victim. Try to understand the difference of what you assume would happen and the actual game scenerio in your case. It does not play out the same. The game scenerio currently is that Anti-death decides the game winner. THey may not be as broken as bricks, but they are broken in their own right, enough to decide a game. Something needs to be changed. In fact, I don't care what you guys THINK happens in this case. It is already a fact what anti-death is doing. The ACTUAL scenerio this: Anti-death decides a flag winner. It does not GUARANTEE, but it SIGNIFICANTLY changes the outcome of a game, AS A FACT. The fact that it is so expensive only widens the gap between rich and poor. If the game is supposed to make people think it's balanced, then there needs to be a change. I don't think we should have unlimited use bricks, so I say just power down this thing. Price, EXP requirement, whatever it takes to not make it so lop-sided for a flag game.

Now Antideath is the most potent thing in Hyperspace thanks to this. I agree that bricks are cheap, but now Antideath has no balance. Bricks helped kept these Antideath rushers from attacking the enemy. And now the pros can just save their bricks for the NME lanc, and with the current Antideath, it's plenty effective. On top of that, newb teams usually got only 1 lanc, so meaning this: newb teams are now more doomed to the rich than ever. With bricks like this, I think knocking Anti-death to a 2-second or so respawn is a counter. I mean, give the newbs a chance here... eh?

SHARK GUIDE -Posted April 22, 12:41 I'll post a guide for Sharks here. But remember, this is what I think is good, so don't start a flame war if you don't agree with me. GUNS First, we look at the guns they have. There are 3 guns they can get: Pulse Laser, Flechette Gun, and Beam Array. Pulse is as good as useless for these guys with only 1 pod and no multifire. So we'll put that aside. Flechette is the best for center, and Beam Array is the best for bases (bounce). They got limited choices here, and it's not the only category like this. In Short: Center: Flechette Gun Basing: Beam Array BOMBS Wait, they have none. Moving on... REACTOR PLANTS Resonance Sphere. End of story. Why? First of all, Sharks have excellent recharge even with no upgrades, competing with a Warbird that uses a Quantum Reactor. Second, the sphere gives a +4 Energy boost, which is vital. Instead of a pathetic 600 NRG, you now got 920. The movement goes down, but you're so small it barely makes a difference. Plus, certain armors can raise the movement back up. So, I would pick the sphere. In Short: All: Resonance Sphere SUBLIGHT DRIVES Shark can get all drives except the H2 Ramscoop. I'd want to increase speed here, to make the shark expand on it's tininess, one of it's few strengths. I'm not for thrust here, so it leaves Icefire and Ion Drive. Ion Drive ($2000): Speed +2 Thrust +2 Rotation +2 IceFire ($20000): Speed +5 Thrust +1 Rotation -1 As I said, I'm for more speed than thrust when it comes to a shark, so I'd pick IceFire. I don't see rotation as a major problem. However, Ion Drive is far cheaper, so get the Ion Drive first. If the rotation boost doesn't impact your gameplay style too much, get IceFire later. In Short: All: Ion Drive or IceFire SENSORS All of the current ones look fine for a Shark. However, the Energy Scanners could help you decide what ships look weak enough for your little ship to charge at with guns blazing. This strategy would be the most effective if you had IceFire, with it's high speed. All in all, just pick what you like. In Short: All: Any Sensors UTILITIES I use my Shark for basing purposes, so let's assume that first. I'd pick Gravity Trap, Siege Pack, and a Close Combat. If they ever let Sharks use Active Camo someday, I'd buy a converter for that too. In basing, I would have Beam Array and try to stay safe. This works efficiently enough, as they have low energy, so they should keep from getting hurt in the first place. Siege Pack gives you something to do while you're in the back lines, and Close Combat gives you essential Repels to work with. In Short: Basing: Gravity Trap, Siege Pack, Close Combat Center: Close Combat X2, Tunnel Runner BRICKS The Shark is small, so I'd think they could use the Cage brick better than anyone else. For center play, if you manage the cash and the 15000 EXP requirement, there is the Poacher Box. The Poacher Box could allow vets to trap their weak targets and gun them down while they're trapped. In Short: Basing: Cage Center: Cage, Poacher Box ARMOR Maneuvering Fins. The Shark's NRG is so small that the other types of armor barely make a difference besides one or two more blows. Slipstream may look good for those with plenty of money, but it increases the dmg from a bomb from 750 to 1000, which makes instant death for even the 920 NRG sharks. So, Maneuvering Fins. In Short: All: Maneuvering Fins CONVERTERS I think that the Extra Utility spot would be more useful here, but what do I know? If you highly value large amounts of sensors, then go ahead and get a sensor pod. Pick what you want. In Short: All: Either ALIEN TECHNOLOGY Antideath. After that, all the 10m items, the Supercomputer over others. Why? Only way for Sharks to Cloak/Stealth ATM, and we all know that's good, right? In Short: Center: 10m items Basing: Antideath, 10m items FTL ENGINES Whatever fits your budget. Not much to say here. In Short: All: Any items