Vasteel - Questions

[Psycho Punch]

Anyone here played Vasteel? I'm trying to figure out a good strategy for destroying factory cores, I usually have to spend a lot of units trying to chip away it's health, it's almost impossible.

Also, does the difficulty increases during the single player campaign? I'm playing with the red rebel guy and I've beaten the first level and the ice planet side mission, and even with everything stacked against me on the ice level it was still very easy to beat the enemy into submission (except for capturing the factory as I mentioned before). It starts getting boring when you're offered no challenge from the enemy.

[Gypsy]

I played it but I quickly hated it so I never got all that far.

And yes the game is very tedious.

[MNKyDeth]

There are patterns and safe zones you can move your character around and not have the guns fire at you.

Depending on the unit attacking a base is dependant on how to position the character for attacking the cores.

I streamed this game back when we had that can pcefx beat all the games in year thing. Although I have no idea if the video is still out there someplace. I don't know if I have any footage of an assault on a base and core.

Once finding a core move away from it and then get just enough on screen where you can hit it. If it's far enough off the screen it will not shoot at you.
Also, sitting below the middle area where it shoots using a unit that shoots from the top when standing sideways you can hit cores without getting hit.


The AI is very dumb. Once you get enough units to basically overpower the enemy you will always win. I leave units on my bases and play ring around the Rosey with enemy attacking units. The guns inside the bases will kill the enemy before my unit dies.

Hope that made sense....

[Psycho Punch]

That about exploiting the field and the AI I figured out. Graphics are well done and remind me of how dumb people think Final Zone Zenki Axis on the ol' Mega Drive is unfeasible on the TGX just because of how Final Zone II was done. Too bad Vasteel's mech battles are so broken to the point of making the game a chore to play overall. Not just the AI but the way everything is so big too, making stuff too easy or almost impossible (factory cores). I'm not really going to continue playing this game now that I know that the AI is like that for the whole game. 

Sounds like a Human Entertainment game all right, good concept, poor execution.

[CrackTiger]

The realtime fights are optional. You can turn them off and still play it like a regular war sim.

If you'd like to play a Human game with good concept and great execution, try Neo Metal Fantasy. It's the PC Engine's 16-bit Phantasy Star game.

http://www.thebrothersduomazov.com/2011/01/farzyarth-no-jakoutei-neo-metal-fantasy.html?m=1

I can't upload the single file version of my walkthrough right now, but here's the old version on gamefaqs:

https://www.gamefaqs.com/turbocd/563707-farjius-no-jakoutei-neo-metal-fantasy/faqs


It's much easier to play for for people who can't handle Japanese RPGs because the battle commands are Shining Force style symbols.

[Psycho Punch]

Thanks BT, this isn't the sort of game I was searching for but it will do, I really want to play something new and exciting and that RPG game fits the bill. I'm glad it's gaijin-friendly.

[CrackTiger]

If you're still looking for a war sim with straightforward battles and you like Shining Force, you might want to try Sword Master and Solid Force.

[BigusSchmuck]

If the U.S release wasn't so damn expensive I would pick it up. Its good to know the PCE version is so much cheaper though...

[exodus]

hmm, now I want to check out neo metal fantasy. I'm surprised I don't have it already!

[OldRover]

I assume you're referring to the production core "base", as the factories are about as easy to take over as a normal city. If facing a core to the south, head directly south until the arrow starts to point back north. Then, move in the left or right direction until the arrow points directly upward. Take out any laser cannons along the way with your machine guns, as they're a pest and can be distracting. Move slowly to the north until you see the core moving around. Then, be patient and fire your missiles one or two at a time (depending on the type of missile). Watch the firing pattern of the core; it is very predictable and the timing gives it three distinct "phases" for when it shoots downward at you. If the core is initially to the north, it might be a good idea to go a little bit south to start so you can get the upper hand against the laser cannons, but the same strategy applies.

Knowing the firing time for your ATAC helps tremendously in terms of timing your attacks. For example: the Bile has a slow missile fire time, while the Blender fires immediately. For ATACs with slow missile firing times, you need to start the attack before moving into the direction you want to fire in. For immediate-fire ATACs, move in the direction and then fire. Also, note that not all ATACs fire from the center; some, like the Bile, fires from its top when fighting left/right and to one side when fighting up/down. Master the positioning of your firing when you do this. The best type of ATAC to take into the production units is an ATAC with a right-sided fire when shooting to the north.

The reason I mention the Bile so much is because it makes an excellent ATAC for storming production units when playing as Stefan. It has high HP and powerful missiles, even though its missile stock is a bit low. The Stormer is a great ATAC on Faliail's side for the same purpose. It is actually a better ATAC, with higher HP and greater firepower, plus it's all-terrain, so it can be used in space, unlike the Bile which is a Desert ATAC and cannot be used in space.

EDIT: Oh, and I should also mention that taking out the production units in space is a different matter. These are several times more challenging than the ones on planets. The cores move and fire faster and there are way more laser cannons to deal with.

EDIT2: Oh, and there's one HUGE exception to all of this, and it applies to playing as Falial in a space battle. Once you can get them (and they are very expensive), get a Reaper. These things are OPAF. You can literally tank a production core with these monsters in just a few seconds. They have overwhelming destructive power (40/4 iirc), insane defense, and the highest HP of any regular ATAC in the game. The downsides, of course, are that they are really expensive, and that they are Space ATACs so then can't be used in ground battles.

[Flare65]

I played it but I quickly hated it so I never got all that far.

And yes the game is very tedious.

I feel the same way.  Could care less if I ever played it again.

[pixeljunkie]

[quote author=CrackTiger link=msg=511684 date=151362
If you're still looking for a war sim with straightforward battles and you like Shining Force, you might want to try Sword Master and Solid Force.[/quote]
Oh man. This. So much better.

[monads]

Anyone here played Vasteel? I'm trying to figure out a good strategy for destroying factory cores, I usually have to spend a lot of units trying to chip away it's health, it's almost impossible.

It's really a pain in the a$$.  I didn't even bother....time consuming/tedious...and like others I don't care to finish.  Part 2 seems much improved, but it's Japanese text only!  Maybe someday someone will translate so we can patch it.