Drox Operative Guide for New Players

This is a guide geared mainly to gamers new to Drox Operative. The guide's primary focus is to assist players in gaining a basic understanding of how the game is played including controls, game premise, game mechanics, and other topics.

The Skills Menu Bar (and Help)

If you are a new player to Drox Operative, you might find yourself sitting in space in your new ship wondering, "Now what do I do?" There are several different ways (strategies) to play the game. Some use the term "sandboxy" to describe it because what you choose to do is, pretty much, up to you. Here, I'll touch on the most obvious ways to play; starting with the basics.

At the bottom of the screen is the Skills Bar. It contains much of the basic information and buttons you'll need while playing the game. The game offers a lot of help; and if you've turned off the flashing question marks (many find them annoying), you can still access help at any time by using the "Context Sensitive Help" button at the right (or you can just press "H" anytime during the game).

The Premise of Drox Operative

The basic premise of the game is that you are an operative (an agent, mercenary, gun for hire, etc.) in a sector of the galaxy. This sector is inhabited by certain alien races who are trying to dominate the sector. You can (and should) interact with the different alien races. Your job is to survive, improve your ship, level up, and win the sector by meeting any one of these five (5) winning conditions:

• 1. allying with the last remaining race (a military win)
  
• 2. allying with all remaining races (any remaining races must be allied to win - a diplomatic win)
  
• 3. collect enough money (an economic win)
  
• 4. destroy everyone and everything possible to instill fear (a fear win)
  
• 5. or become a legend by destroying only monster ships, helping the races, explore all, rescue ships, etc. (a legend win)

You can see how you are progressing by clicking on the "Win" button on the skills bar (see image in the section above) at any time during the game.

Drox Guild Involvement (IotA only)

Choosing the level of Drox Guild Involvement

If, in addition to the main game, you also purchased the "Invasion of the Ancients" (IotA) add-on pak, there is a setting in Set Up Sector that pertains to Drox Guild Involvement. This setting is important, because, if set to anything other than "Minimal", the Drox Guild can assign you MANDATORY quests that must be completed in order to win the sector!

Often these mandatory quests are completely contrary to your strategy for winning that sector! So if you set this setting higher than "Minimal" on the sector setup screen, be prepared for extra challenge and possible frustration. The default game setting allows Drox Involvement, forcing you to perform mandatory quests.

Avoiding Drox Guild Involvement

When you start a new sector, make sure to set Drox Guild Involvement to "Minimal" on the Set Up Sector screen, and you will receive no mandatory quests from the Drox Guild. Again, note that this setting exists only if you also purchased the "Invasion of the Ancients" expansion pak.

Basic "Rules" of the Game

Once you have figured out how to fly around and how to attack using your weapons (IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE review the "Movement" and "Using Weapons" sections in this guide if you are using the mouse Left-click for either of them - it's NOT recommended!); the first thing you need to do is begin exploring the star system you are in. First let me list a few basic "rules" of the game:

• You pick your ship from a list of races' ships. You do NOT become a member of any race. You are a Drox Operative. Each ship has specific bonuses and race specific components listed at the bottom right of the Create Ship screen.
  
• The main alien races' ships and planets will have a race-specific icon above their ships and planets for identification.
  
• Once you discover a new race, you can negotiate, trade, and otherwise interact with that race via the Relations Screen (press "R"). Using the Relations Screen is a key component to interacting with the races and in winning the sector. The main races are the organized factions who are fighting for control of the sector.
  
• Monster alien ships are ALWAYS bad guys, have no icon above their ship, and need to be destroyed or avoided whenever possible. However, a monster ship may occasionally offer you a quest - you'll get some XP and money if you complete it, but probably make the organized races a bit mad at you.
  
• A key aspect of the game is to improve your ship by installing components that improve your ship's combat, power, thrust, and defense. This is accomplished by installing/using better components that you find or buy during the game.
  
• You "Level up" during the game by gaining experience points (XP) which is indicated by the blue bar just above your "Hotkey Slots". Each time you "Level up" you will receive 5 "Crew Points" that you can allocate to improve your ship statistics on the Character Screen (press "C").
  
• Equipping better components often requires that you increase some specific ship statistic (such as tactical or engineering) on the Character Screen by allocating Crew Points.

• Each sector in a game is made up of multiple star (solar) systems that are connected to one another with star lanes, wormholes, and jump gates.
  
• All star lanes and wormholes will ALWAYS be found near the outer edges of a solar system.
  
• Jump Gates can be found anywhere within a solar system. You need to explore a solar system to find and activate (by clicking on it) each one, or you can buy activation from the race (if any) that owns it.
  
• The ONLY way to travel from one star system to another is by using star lanes, wormholes, and jump gates.

To start, you will be looking to destroy alien monster ships, discover planets (some planets will be colonized by alien races), and collect loot which often can be items that can be installed to improve your ship. Other items can be sold to other races for a profit. Money (credits) is important to buy items and negotiate with the races, so you will want to collect all the money you can.

Star Systems and Maps

Each star (or solar) system is comprised of a circular area around a named star. There are planets around the star. Press "M" to bring up your Star System Map. If you've just started, you will see a gray oval representing the star system. The dark area with a green dot in the middle is your ship, and the dark area represents that area you have explored so far. Everything in that system will occur within the gray oval area. There is nothing outside of the gray area (save maybe a place to escape monsters). If you do wander out of the star system, a blinking star will guide you back. But this is just one star system. The sector consists of multiple star systems that are connected.

Begin exploring this first star system. Kill monster ships, collect loot, discover races, sell some stuff to a colonized planet if you want, re-equip your ship if you find some good components, and discover a star lane or two near the star system's outer edges. You don't have to explore every inch of the star system if you don't want to. It's up to you. When you discover a star lane, click on it to travel to the next star system. Once you've traveled to a new star system, it's time to examine your Sector Map (Note: changed from "Galaxy Map" to "Sector Map" as of version 1.007).

Open your Map by pressing "M". If it is showing the System Map, change it to the Sector Map by clicking the "To Sector Map" button on the bottom of the screen. You will see the system you just entered (a flashing star) and the system you just left and how they are connected. If you Right-click on any system's star on the Sector map, your map screen will switch to that star's System map. You can also press "Tab" to toggle between the system and sector maps.

To the right is an illustration of how individual star systems are connected.

You won't see other star systems on the Sector Map until you discover them by:

• 1. Finding the star lane, wormhole to that system (USE the star lane to make it identified, then return back to the old system if you want).
  
• 2. Being transported to that system by an unstable wormhole or other trap. (Hint: You can get back by finding, activating, and using that systems Jump Gate.
  
• 3. Accepting a quest in a system you haven't discovered yet (you will not see any connections until you discover/use any star lanes).

Now, if you choose, you can begin exploring this new star system and locate more races and colonized planets.

Consider the following example:

Let's say you have discovered one alien race. Now you go to the Relations Screen (press R) and you'll see that race's icon with a question mark on it. That indicates that there's a quest (mission) that you can perform for that race. You then click on that race's icon, which will bring up another menu. The question mark will now be next to the Get Quests button. You click on the button which brings up a list of all the quests for that race. Now let's say you select and accept a quest that's in a star system that you haven't discovered yet. If you do, that star system will appear on your Sector Map, but it will show no connections.

So how do you find that system and get there to complete that quest?

After accepting a quest in a system you haven't discovered, bring up your map by pressing M. Click on the bottom right button to switch to the Sector Map (if you're not already on the Sector Map). Now examine the map's stars and look for the name of the star where that quest is to be performed. When you find it, you'll see that it is not yet connected to any other star systems, but now you know where that star system is located relative to your current position.

If it is off to the right of the system that you are currently in, there is most probably a star lane on the right side of your current system. Fly your ship to the right side of your current system and try to find a star lane over there. If the system appears above your current system, fly to the top of your current system to look for a star lane there. Note: If there are several systems between your current system and your destination system (and this is likely if you are playing a larger sector), you may have to travel to the next closest system and repeat this procedure.

The key point is to check your star map first to locate the unknown system. If it's to the left of your current system, explore left. If it's to the right, explore right. ..and so forth. In any case, if you haven't accepted a quest in an undiscovered system, it will not appear on your Sector Map.

Key Components to Winning a Sector

Please note: After you finish a sector (win or lose), you keep your present ship (equipped as it is) when you start the next sector. Your ship keeps all of its components and stats you attained in the previous sector. In other words, you do not start over with a new ship. Only new characters start with a new ship.

Also see "Caps on Relations (Forming an Alliance)" in the next section.

Quests and Race Relations

Although there are several ways to win a sector, establishing good relationships with the most powerful races in a sector are often key to winning that sector. Solving Quests is simply one of many tools (though a very important one) that can be used to influence relations with a given alien race. You can even win a sector (though difficult) without solving a single quest.

Do not become overwhelmed if you see a long list of quests offered to you by a race. You are NOT obligated to try to solve them all!

You can simply pick and choose the quests you want to try to complete (or choose none at all). Solving quests is important as you'll receive XP (experience points) and money as a reward. This will help you to level-up your ship more quickly allowing you to upgrade and better equip your ship. But it's totally up to you.

Quests: So you can influence your relations with a race by performing quests (missions) for them. Quests are denoted by the presence of a red question mark (?) on a planet, ship, or on the Relations screen. It is your choice as to whether or not to accept a quest and complete/solve it.

Important Quest Solving Consequences

• 1. Solving a quest for a race will give you positive relations with that race (they will like you more).
  
• 2. If another race dislikes/hates the race you helped by solving a quest for them, your relations with this other race will be affected negatively (they will dislike you for helping their enemy).
  
• 3. If another race likes/loves the race you helped by solving a quest, your relations with this other race will be positively affected (they will like you more for helping a friend).
  
• 4. Choosing to solve or ignore a quest should not be an arbitrary choice since what you do for one race will affect your relationship with every race you have discovered. So make your choices carefully. If you solve quests for a powerful race's enemy, you're sure to get on that powerful race's bad side! If they end up being the only race left, and you are not allied with them; you will lose the sector (after 10 minutes). Game over! ...well, for that sector anyway.

Completing "Steal Technology" Quests

To steal technology from a race to complete a "Steal Technology" quest, you would need to use Espionage on that race until you successfully steal that particular technology.

The Relations Screen

So how do you know who's the most powerful race? Once you have played long enough to have discovered at least 2 races, bring up the Realtions Screen by pressing "R". On this screen you will see some icons representing you (Drox Operatives) and all the races you have discovered so far. On the left bottom of the screen you will see a Power Rankings graph (shown here) indicating the relative power of each of those races. Lines between you and all the races are color coded to indicate relationships. Placing your mouse cursor over a race's icon will give further information on that race including relationship numbers (0 thru 100). A question mark near a race icon means they have quests for you. An exclamation point means you have completed quests and may solve them (if you want) to get credit for completing them.

IMPORTANT! Clicking on a race's icon on the Relations Screen will bring up a menu from which you can further interact with that race. From here you can choose to:

• 1. Trade/Negotiate: a screen from which you can offer treaties, technology, information, even money to a race to affect relationships (you just click on the item you wish to offer or buy (such as Jump Gates) and then either click "Offer Trade" or first click on "What would make this trade possible?"
  
• 2. Get Quests: a full list of quests from that race will be presented. You can choose to accept none, one, or more. Note: Some quests, such as delivery quests, can only be accepted at a specific planet in person.
  
• 3. Solve Quests: a full list of quests you have completed for that race. You won't get credit for completed quests unless you solve them; but you may not want to solve them based on what the consequences might be!! - consider carefully.
  
• 4. View/Cancel Treaties: a screen where you can view or cancel any treaties you have with that race.
  
• 5. Ignore a Race: allows you to block annoying messages (demands/threats) from a race you don't want to be bothered with - such as a race with whom you are at war.
  
• 6. And additional choices (rumors, propaganda, etc.) that can influence that race.

You'll also get credit (positive relations) by protecting planets from enemies (monster or a warring race), and protecting major ships from enemies. This can be a nice way to gain positive relations with a race rather quickly if there are enough monsters attacking a planet or ship.

Caps on Relations (Forming an Alliance)

You can only improve your relations with a race up to a certain level (they are capped) without then establishing a treaty with them.

For example, you cannot increase your relations above 60 with a race until you have signed a Non-aggression Pact with that race. Then you can increase your relations to a cap of 72.5 where you will need to establish a Mutual Protection Pact to increase them further. So, if your eventual goal is to obtain an Alliance with a given race, you must achieve that alliance by establishing a series of treaties with that race as follows:

• First, work on improving your relations to 58 -60 with a given race (check the Relations screen (press "R") to see your relations number with that race)
  
• Second, establish a Non-aggression Pact (requires relations of about 58). This is done from the Trade/Negotiate screen (Press "R", click on a race's icon, and click the "Trade/Negotiate" button. Click on "Non-agression Pact" on the left)
  
• Third, improve your relations to around 70 before then negotiating a Mutual Protection Pact.
  
• Finally, improve your relations to around 80 before obtaining an Alliance.

Remember, for a military or diplomatic win, you will need to be allied with any remaining races.

Your Ship Gets Destroyed (XP Debt)

If your ship is destroyed and you didn't survive (by using an escape pod), a Black Box (shown in the picture below) will be placed at the spot in the Star System where your ship was destroyed. In addition, you will be penalized by receiving an Experience (XP) debt. This is denoted on your XP bar by the short segment of white bar shown below.

.
After you Resurrect, you will only receive ½ the normal experience points until the debt is "worked off".

Retrieving your Black Box eliminates most of your XP Debt.

When you resurrect you will re-start at the Jump Gate in the Star System to which you are bound (usually the system where you started the sector). By traveling back to the Star System where you were destroyed and retrieving this Black Box; most of this XP Debt will be eliminated. So note the System's name before you resurrect so you can return. If you forgot, you can also examine your various System maps to locate your Black Box as it will be shown on it's System's map.

If the Star System with the Black Box is just too far away, just forget about it. Destroy a bunch of monster ships or solve quests; and the debt will eventually be eliminated.

Movement in Drox Operative

There are several ways that you can move around (fly) in Drox operative. You should choose a method below (or maybe even create your own method) that best fits your comfort and playing style.

Flying by using the left mouse button - NOT recommended!

You can fly by holding down the left mouse button, and your ship will fly towards your mouse cursor. But, in my opinion, using the left mouse button is the least desireable way to move around. Although intuitive, holding down the left mouse button to fly around has several disadvantages:

• 1. First, you will tire of always having to hold down the mouse button to fly. Most of the time you will be in motion flying around exploring, fighting, etc.; so your right index finger will probably tire of constantly pressing the button.
  
• 2. Every time you use the left mouse button for something else, your ship will stop. However, if you click on certain things (like a planet), your ship will fly over to that object before stopping.
  
• 3. Some people also use to left mouse button to fire their weapon (you can left click on an enemy ship to fire a weapon like a laser at it). However, this will also cause your ship to stop flying around until you re-depress the mouse to start flying again.

You can certainly use this method to fly around if you'd like, of course. But you really need to try using one of the other two methods below.

Here are two better ways to fly around in the game:

Method 1: requires that you set a couple of options

• 1. Press Escape to bring up the In-game menu.
  
• 2. Click on Options and then Game Options. On that screen near the bottom you will see Thrusters Toggle and Thruster Cursor.
  
• 3. Change the red X to a green checkmark to turn them on. Then click on Apply and then Back to return to the game.
  
• 4. Now you can start flying by pressing the "W" key once (You do NOT have to hold the "W" key down to keep flying!!).
  
• 5. Pressing the "W" key a second time will cause your ship to stop flying/thrusting. Left-clicking your mouse will also cause your ship to stop flying/thrusting.
  
• 6. However, if you turn off "Thrusters Disengage" in the Game Options menu, your ship will always continue to fly even when left-clicking the mouse.
  
• 7. Your ship will always fly towards your mouse cursor using this method.

Advantages/Disadvantages?

• 1. You will no longer have to constantly hold down a button to fly (just tap the "W" key once to start flying).
  
• 2. You can easily stop by pressing the "W" key a second time.
  
• 3. You can also just left-click the mouse to stop unless you have turned off "Thrusters Disengage" in the Game Options menu.
  
• 4. The "W" (thrust) key is located very close to the number keys which can (and should!) be used to fire your weapons.
  
• 5. A disadvantage is that using your mouse to target a ship will cause your ship to turn towards your cursor when you target, which you may not want to happen. If you target a ship very quickly (like I do) and get your ship back on course, then this method might work well for you. It's my personal choice.

Method 2: involves the use of the WASD keys

• 1. You can fly by pressing and holding down the "W" key.
  
• 2. To turn left and right, you need to use the "A" and "D" keys.
  
• 3. With this choice, you ship will not turn towards your mouse cursor.

Agvantages/Disadvantages?

• 1. You will have to constantly press the "W" key to thrust, so this is similar to holding down the left mouse button. However, this can be avoided by going to the Game Options screen and turning on "Thrusters Toggle". Then pressing the "W" key once will cause your ship to keep thrusting until "W" is pressed again or a left-click.
  
• 2. Again, if you turn off "Thrusters Disengage" in the Game Options menu, your ship will always continue to fly even when left-clicking the mouse.
  
• 3. Targeting a ship with your mouse will not cause your ship to turn, so you can easily maintain your present course.
  
• 4. Using the "A" and "S" keys to turn can be a problem if you are using the number keys to fire your weapons (it can sometimes be just too many keys for one hand for some people).

The key point is that there are various ways to move around in the game, and it's up to you to choose the method that you are most comfortable with. So experiment. In addition, in Options/Configure Input, you can change any of these keys as you see fit. If you'd rather have some other keys than WASD, you can change it to whatever you want if that's more comfortable for you.

Speed and Drives (engines)

When you first start the game, you will probably notice that your ship moves around rather slowly. In addition, your ship will also turn sluggishly. This is due to the low thrust of your engines. Increasing your thrust will increase your speed and allow you to make tighter turns. So one of the first things you should try to do is improve your thrust (speed) by locating and equipping your ship with additional or better drives (engines) and thrusters. The most common engine to be found early in the game is the Ramjet Drive.

You are already equipped with a Ramjet Drive when you first start the game. Press "I" to bring up your Ship Components and Cargo Bays. Place your mouse cursor over the component icon at the top left of your Ship Components screen. A pop-up window will identify the item as a Ramjet Drive and list information on the drive including how much thrust it provides. When you start the game, this thrust value is low. You will want to increase your thrust as soon as possible.

There are several ways that you can increase your thrust

• 1. First you will need to start exploring. Destroy alien monster ships, explore planets, investigate storage pods, etc. Of the items dropped, you should be looking for another (second) or a better Ramjet Drive with more thrust. If you obtain a second Ramjet Drive you can add it to your ship components by placing it in the empty slot (at top right of your Ship Components screen). Now you will be equipped with two (2) Ramjet Drives. As another option, you can replace the old Ramjet Drive with a better one by placing the new drive onto the old drive. The new drive will install, and the old drive will be placed into your cargo bay.
  
• 2. If your exploration did not provide you with a better or additional drive (engine), colonized planets may offer drives for sale. If you have discovered a colonized planet, click on the planet to bring up it's menu. Then click on the "Trade" button which will bring up a vendor's screen where you can sell your items or buy items from the planet. However, you can only buy an item if you have enough money. So you may have to sell some items in the cargo bay (place your mouse over the item you want to sell and press "spacebar" to sell it) in order to get some money to buy a new drive from the planet vendor, if he has one. If the planet has a drive you want to buy, and you have enough money; place your mouse cursor over the drive and press "spacebar" to buy it. The item will be placed into your cargo bay (if there is room), and can be equipped the same way as mentioned in #1 above.
  
• 3. Do not overload your ship's power load! If you equip power hungry devices (such as a powerful weapon) without improving your ship's power, you may enter into an overload situation. Your ship will be penalized with a 20% reduction in thrust for every 5 points of overload! This can bring you ship to a crawl. At the bottom of your Ship Components screen you will see a bar labeled "Power Load". If this bar turns red and begins flashing, you are in an overload situation. You might have to replace some power hungry device with one that uses less power, or add a power plant to your ship components to remedy the situation. Drives do not require ship's power, but an overload situation can cripple your thrust and rob you of speed.
  
• 4. Upgrading your ship (by allocating crew points to Command) will increase the weight of your ship which can slow your speed. You can offset this by finding/equipping better drives/thrusters before (or when) you upgrade. It's probably a good idea not to upgrade your ship until you have plenty of thrust first.
• 5. If you are near a planet or star, your speed will be reduced by about 30% to 45% by a gravity well. The effect will stop once you move away from the planet or star. So be aware of this especially if you check your Max Speed using the Character screen (press "C")
  
• 6. Later, as the game progresses, you will encounter different types of drives so be on the lookout for them. Also you will discover different types of thrusters and other thrust boosts which you can equip as well.

Having adequate thrust will greatly improve the performance of your ship. You'll want to try and attain enough thrust to attain a maximum speed of 200. Your current Maximum Speed can be found on the Character Screen (press "C") - it's about halfway down on the left. Again, be aware that power penalties and/or gravity wells will affect the maximum speed value shown. So it's better to be away from a planet or star, and have no power penalties to get an accurate indication of you max speed.

Using Weapons in Drox Operative

There are a several ways to attack in Drox Operative. You will need to choose the method that works best for you, but suggestions will be made here as to what I consider the best way to attack.

Targeting

For the most part, targeting a ship or other item is done automatically. However, when there are multiple ships on the screen, you can use your mouse to target a particular ship. For example, you may wish to target the deadliest ship first, or you may wish to target a ship that shoots missiles rather than the missiles themselves. Also, you will come across some projectile weapons that are manual aim. With these weapons you will need to target the enemy and "lead" the shot if necessary. In other words, manual aim weapons will only fire toward the position of the mouse cursor, with no auto-tracking.

Attacking (Firing your Weapons)

Using the Mouse Left-click Button (NOT recommended)

You can attack enemy ships by placing your mouse over (or near) the ship you want to target, and then click the left mouse button (not recommended!). If you hold down the mouse button, you will continue to fire upon the targeted ship if it is in range. If you want to target a different ship, you need to release the mouse button and then depress it again once the new ship has been targeted. However, this (using the mouse to fire weapons) is, in my opinion, the least desirable method of attack. Although it is intuitive to attack a ship using the left mouse button, there are several disadvantages to this method.

• 1.The left mouse button is used for many other functions in the game besides firing a weapon.
  
• 2.As the game progresses, you will equip your ship with additional weapons in various numbered skill slots. The left mouse button can only fire the weapon in skill slot 1 and cannot be used to fire weapons in other slots.
  
• 3.Left clicking your mouse to fire a weapon can cause your ship to stop, and you will be a sitting duck!

The Best Way to Attack

You can (and SHOULD) attack enemy ships by using the number keys on your keyboard. There are numbered slots (Hotkeys) in your skills bar at the bottom of your screen. Your first weapon will be automatically placed in hotkey slot number 1. You can fire that weapon at an enemy ship by placing your cursor over (or near) the ship you want to target and pressing the 1 key on your keyboard.

If you are equipped with a second weapon, that weapon will automatically be placed in hotkey slot 2. To fire or use this second weapon, you can press the number 2 key on your keyboard. A third weapon will be placed in skill slot 3 and pressing 3 will fire/use that weapon, and so forth.

This method of firing/using weapons is preferable because all your weapon triggers will be together since all the numbers are within reach of a few fingers. You'll be able to use multiple weapons at once, a skill you will need to play Drox Operative effectively. It may take a little practice, but it will become second nature after a short time.

The game offers several game options as well as re-assignment of key binding options. So please experiment and set things up however is most comfortable for you.

Using the Right-click Slots

Placing a component or item into a Right-click Slot (located at the lower right of the game screen) allows you to use that item by pressing the Right Mouse Button. For example, equipping and then placing an EMP weapon in a Right-click slot allows you to use it with a Right-click of the mouse (see image below).

Here are a few notes about the Right-click Slots:

• 1. To use the Right-click Slot, click on a component on your Ship Components screen (press "I") to pick it up. Click on the bottom Right-click Slot to place that component.You can also place some items from your cargo bay (such as an Energy Spike) in the same manner.
  
• 2. Do NOT place items like Drives, Cargo Bays, and Power Plants in the Right-click Slots. The Right-click Slots are only for items that can be "used" by either clicking the mouse or pressing a key.
  
• 3. Only the bottom Right-click Slot is active for use.
  
• 4. If you have 2 or more Right-click Slots equipped, you can change the component in the active (bottom) slot by using the "up" and "down" arrow keys on your keyboard.
  
• 5. You can also change the active Right-click Slot by clicking the small arrow buttons next to the bottom slot.
  
• 6. And, lastly, you can set the mouse wheel to change the active slot component by setting the Mouse Wheel Action on the Options/Configure Input menu.

Ships - and Whether to Upgrade

When you start a new character/ship you will need to choose your ship. Each ship has bonuses and race specific components. After winning/losing a sector, you will keep the same ship, equipped/upgraded as it is, when you start a new sector with that character. In other words, you don't start over with a new ship when you move on to the next sector. Only new characters start out with a new ship.

The ship you choose may well define how you end up equipping it and in how you will choose to do battle. First, I'd like to mention a few basics about ships in Drox Operative.

• You are a Drox Operative. If you pick a human ship, you are not a human; you are a Drox Operative piloting a human ship. Does this matter? Not really. Just don't feel that you must protect the humans if you start with a human ship.
  
• Each race's ships have different bonuses. In addition, they each have different Race Specific Slots designed to hold specific ship components. When you start a new game, these bonuses and race specific slots can be noted (viewed) at the bottom right of the "Create Ship" screen.
  
• Once you start a new character/ship, you will later be able to upgrade that ship (more will be said about this below). However, you cannot sell this ship and/or buy a different ship. Currently, the only way to completely switch to a different race's ship, is to start a new character.
  
• If you want to see all the different ships (there are too many to list here), you can only view them using the game's console.

• 1. Check in Options/Game Options to see that Enable Console has a green checkmark (found on the lower right of the Game Options screen). If not, click the red X to turn it on and enable the console.
  
• 2. Press the ~ key located to the left of the 1 key.
  
• 3. Then type "developer 1" without the quotes. A "model editor" button will appear on the game's main menu (upper right).
  
• 4. Click on the "model editor" button at the upper right of the main menu screen.
  
• 5. You can then scroll down the list of ships (there are other things such as anomalies on the list as well). Ship names are alphabetically listed and will usually begin with the race's name (such as Human, Fringe, or Utopian, for example).
  
• 6. Click on the ship you want to view. Using the designated arrow keys, you can rotate the ship and zoom in and out.
  
• 7. To exit the model editor, click on "File" (at the upper left) and then "Exit"
  
• 8. To get rid of the "model editor" button, return to the console (press ~) and type "developer 0"

Choosing a Ship

Is there a best ship to choose? It depends on your style of play. One race's ship bonuses favor providing extra power, another extra armor, yet another better shields. However, a good choice might be the Fringe ship as it provides a race specific slot for a power plant, something all ships will definitely need. But you need to check each race's bonuses to see if there's something that seems better to you. For instance, the Drakk ships provide a race specific slot for a fighter bay, a choice which many players enjoy. And the Hive ship has a Thruster Boost race specific slot to increase your ship's speed and maneuverability. More about this follows.

Thrust - Ship Speed and Maneuverability

New ships will move and turn slowly because they have very little thrust. Improving your thrust should be one of your top concerns. You need to be searching for better drives (engines) or other components that will improve your thrust. Early in the game the component most commonly found to improve thrust is the Ramjet Drive. If you find or buy one, you can equip it by either moving it from your Cargo Bay to an empty heavy component slot on the Ship Components screen (press "I"), or you can replace your current Ramjet Drive with a better one that provides more thrust. Click Speed and Drives for more information on this.

Upgrading Your Ship

Upgraded ships are heavier, so improve your thrust first!

Upgrading your ship provides a larger ship that often gives an additional components slot. However, larger ships are heavier (weigh more), and it takes more thrust to maintain your current speed. So upgrading your ship without increasing your thrust, causes your ship to fly more slowly and be less maneuverable (and you'll be unhappy!) First improve your thrust, then upgrade your ship by allocating Crew Points to the Command statistic on the Character Screen (press "C").

You obtain Crew Points by first Leveling-up your character. You Level-up by gaining experience points (XP) by killing monster ships, solving quests, exploring, etc. Each time you Level-up you will be awarded 5 Crew Points which can then be allocated to any of the 6 statistics shown in the image below. To upgrade your ship, you would need to allocate Crew Points to the Command statistic shown below.


The first time you upgrade your ship, it will require that you allocate 5 points to Command. Each successive upgrade will require that one additional point be added to the previous amount. Since that's a bit confusing, here's how it will work (image below-right):

You can hover the cursor over the Command category on the Character screen, and it will tell you how many points you need to allocate to upgrade to the next level ship.

Ship Progression

Ship upgrades adhere to the following progression:

• 1. Light Escort
  
• 2. Light Corvette
  
• 3. Light Frigate
  
• 4. Light Destroyer
  
• 5. Light Cruiser
  
• 6. Light Battlecruiser
  
• 7. Light Battleship
  
• 8. Light Dreadnaught
  
• 9. Light Titan
  
• 10. Light Flagship

These are progressed by the following:

• 1. Medium ships of the same varieties. - (Medium Escort, Medium Corvette, etc.)
  
• 2. Heavy ships of the same varieties. - (Heavy Escort, Heavy Corvette, etc.)

Equipping Components

Improving your ship at the start of the game is paramount to your survival. If you do not concentrate on finding and equipping items to improve your ship, you will most likely be destroyed in battle. An important strategy early in the game should be to equip your ship with the following:

• 1. Better Drives (engines) to increase your speed (you can even add a second Ramjet Drive in the vacant heavy slot)
  
• 2. Better Weapons or a secondary weapon such as an EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse weapon)
  
• 3. Better Shields and/or Armor
  
• 4. Better Power Supplies (usually a Nuclear Power Plant or Solar Array)

Destroyed ships will often drop ship components and other items that you can collect and often use to better arm or equip your ship. Ship components can also often be found in storage pods, space junk, on unexplored planets, and other places. As you collect these items, be on the lookout for items to improve your ship. You can open your cargo bay by clicking on your Inventory icon or by pressing "I". You can identify any item in your cargo bay with a question mark in the upper right corner by right clicking on it.

After you've identified a ship component, placing your cursor over it's icon in the cargo bay will give a short description of it's properties. In addition, if you are already equipped with a similar item, you will also be shown your equipped item's information for comparison so you can decide if you want to replace the old item with a better one.

Many components can be used to improve your ship's capabilities. To use these components, you must first equip them by moving the desired component from your cargo bay to a slot on the ship components screen. Press "I" to bring up your Ship Components and Cargo. Left-click on the item you wish to use to pick it up, and place it into an empty slot in your ship components (see below). It can only be placed into a ship components slot that shows a flashing border when you pick up the item.

Component Requirements

If the component has a red X over it, you will not be able to use that component yet due to not having enough "Crew Points" allocated to meet that component's minimum requirements for use. For instance, if a component requires 9 Engineering to equip it, and I only have 5 Crew Points allocated to Engineering, I can't use that component until I have allocated more "Crew Points" to increase my current Engineering statistic up to 9 points.

This is done using the Character screen (press "C"). Available crew points are shown by "Crew Points Left" in green. Due to leveling up (you will receive 5 crew points each time you level up), I have 5 points I can allocate. On this screen I would need to increase my Engineering statistic from 5 to 9 points for the Engineering component. The red X on the Nuclear Drive will then disappear, and I can now equip that component.

Ship Components almost always have a minimum crew point requirement in some category. I recommend choosing how to allocate your points carefully. In fact, one strategy might be to not allocate points until you find a ship component that you want to install first. Then you can allocate the points where you need them to equip that particular item. In addition, some items (such as cargo bays and crew members) require that you "Level Up" to a certain level of Experience before you can use that item.

If you have enough points allocated to use a new component and decide to equip it, here's what you need to do:

• 1. Click on the component in your cargo bay to pick it up. That component's border and similar slot borders will begin flashing.
  
• 2. Click on a slot on the Ship Components screen with a flashing border where you want to place the new component for use.
  
• 3. If you click on a slot that's already equipped, that old component will be replaced with the new component. The old component will then be put into your cargo bay.
  
• 4. The new component will install itself, and if it's a weapon, will install itself in the Skills Bar at the bottom of the screen.
  
• 5. Check to make sure the skill slot number is in the numbered slot where you want that component to be located. If not, rearrange them by moving them to the slots you want. Fire/Use weapons by using the number keys on the keyboard (not the keypad). And don't forget that you can put items/components into your right-click slots located at the bottom right of the screen (see the first picture above)

Power Overload

Watch Out for Power Overload!

Power Limitations: Many ship components consume or use ship's power. Your ship can only provide so much power based on how well it is equipped for power, so be careful not to overload your ship's power supply. At the bottom of the Ship Components Screen (press "I") you will see the power load status bar. If you overload your ship beyond it's power supply ability, your power load bar will begin flashing red, and you will be penalized!

Power Overload Penalties are a 20% reduction in all stats per 5 points of overload, so your ship could become crippled.

So how do you prevent a power overload situation?

You may need to add a power plant or solar array to have enough power to equip a given item without causing a power overload. You should constantly be on the lookout for better power plants, solar arrays, etc. as you play. If you can't immediately improve your power output with a better power plant, you may need to remove an item, or use one that consumes less power until you can equip or upgrade your power generating components.

It's up to you to equip the best components you can within your ship's power load capability. So it can be a bit of a "balancing act" to get the most out of your ship at any given time.

You can still play in an overload situation, but your ship may be slow and vulnerable.

Trade (Buying and Selling)

When trading at a colonized planet:

• place your cursor over the item you want to buy or sell
  
• press the spacebar

Anytime you want to get rid of excess cargo that you have collected during the game, you can sell these items to a colonized planet or to wandering vendors for money (credits). This is assuming they have enough money to buy the items from you. Money is very important for buying better items to improve your ship and is often important in negotiating a deal with an alien race. Here's how you go about buying and selling:

• 1. First you need to explore a star system or two. Pick up all the items you find from exploring planets, investigating space junk and storage pods, dropped from enemy ships, and found in anomalies. Once your cargo bay(s) are full, it's a good time to sell some of your excess cargo.
  
• 2. By this time you have probably encountered a colonized planet. Travel back to that planet (or discover a new one) and click on that colonized planet to bring the colony's menu. Click on the "Trade" button. (Note: If a "Solve Quest" menu comes up first, you can click on "Talk" button to bring up that colony's main menu.) Clicking the "Trade" Button will bring up the colony's vendor menu on the left (see image), and your inventory on the right.
  
• 3. Examine the items in your cargo bays. If there is a small red "?" in the upper right corner of an item, you can Right-click on that item in your cargo to identify it. You can also pay the vendor to "Identify All" of your items, which can save time, but is a service for which the vendor will charge you a small fee.
  
• 4. Examine each now identified item to see if it's something you want to use, keep, or sell. If you choose to sell an item, you can left click on the item to pick it up, and then drop the item onto the vendor screen (anywhere except the "Donation" slot). The easiest way to sell (or buy) an item is to simply hover your mouse over the item you want to sell, and tap the "spacebar" on your keyboard, which is much faster.
  
• 5. The race will only have a certain amount of money, so they might run out of money before buying all of your items. If they do, you may have to search for a different race to whom you can sell the rest of your excess cargo. The amount of money a race has changes over time, so you might also just check back later, and that race might have a lot more money then.
  
• 6. Buying items follows this same procedure. Simply place your cursor over the item you want to buy, and tap "spacebar". The item will then be placed into you cargo bay IF there is room, and IF you have enough money to buy it.
  
• 7. If you can't afford an item, you can place it in "Lay away" by placing the component in one of the two "Held Component" slots. The item will be held for you for which you can later return and purchase if you'd like.
  
• 8. The planet's vendor also has the ability to repair your ship and heal your crew. They can even restore life to a dead crew member! They will do all this for a fee.
  
• 9. If one colony for a race runs out of money, all that race's colony planets will be out of money as each race shares all money with all it's colonies. So, if one Fringe planet is broke, all Fringe planets will be broke. So you might need to go find a different race to trade with if you want to sell your remaining items.
  
• 10. If a race can't buy a Quest item (some item they need) because they haven't enough money, you can choose to "Donate" that item to them to complete that quest if you so choose.
  
• 11. You cannot trade with a planet with whom you are at war!

Buying and selling is a key component of the game. Remember that placing your cursor over an item and tapping spacebar is the easiest way to buy or sell.

Cargo Bays

• 1. Cargo Bays must be found or purchased. They are not always available from vendors and so are somewhat rare to find. In other words, vendors will only occasionally have a cargo bay for sale, so be on the lookout for them.
  
• 2. All items that you want to store must ALWAYS be stored in Cargo Bays.
  
• 3. Cargo Bays cannot be moved, replaced, or sold unless they are empty.
  
• 4. You begin the game with one (1) Cargo Bay. There are three (3) empty Cargo Bay slots where you can add additional Cargo Bays on the Ship Component Screen (press "I").
  
• 5. If you obtain/find a cargo bay, it will be first stored in your existing (equipped) cargo bay(s). You'll need to equip it.
  
• 6. To equip a cargo bay so you can store more items, first place an empty Cargo Bay that you found/bought (from your existing Cargo Bay inventory) into one of your empty Cargo Bay slots located near the bottom of the Ship Components screen (press "I").
  
• 7. You can't drop a new cargo bay onto an old one. If you do, the game will just place the bay you dropped into the old cargo bay. So you need to first remove the old one (it must be empty), and then place the new one in the empty slot on your Ship Components screen.
  
• 8. If you want to store items in your Ship or Shared Stashes, you must first place a Cargo Bay in a stash slot. Items can then be stored in the Cargo Bays that you have installed.
• 9. There are eight (8) different sizes of Cargo Bays ranging from Tiny (holds 4 items) to Giant (holds 16 items).

When you first start the game, you will want to keep an eye out for additional Cargo Bays so you can collect more items that you can either use to improve your ship or sell to planet colonies for money. Item drops (which include cargo bays) are random; so you may discover additional cargo bays right away, or it may take some time to find some cargo bays if you're unlucky.

Money (credits) is very important in Drox Operative since you can use it to buy better items from vendors, and since you can also use money in negotiations with alien races. Cargo Bays are not particularly cheap, so try to accumulate enough money to buy cargo bays when you find one at a colonized planet. Finding cargo bays can sometimes be a rare thing, so be certain to be on the lookout for them at all times. Also, most larger cargo bays will have level restrictions; so you may need to have your ship level-up to a certain level before you can equip a larger cargo bay.

Hint: To only open the cargo bays, use the arrow shown in the image below. This is helpful when you want to pick up items while your cargo bays are open, and prevents your Ship Component screen from blocking your center view.

So where might you find additional Cargo Bays?

• 1. Monster ships that you destroy may occasionally drop a Cargo Bay. Be certain to pick it up and equip it.
  
• 2. Colonized planets may have a Cargo Bay or two for sale from the planet's vendor (click Trade). However, often they do not.
  
• 3. Wandering Vendors may occasionally have a Cargo Bay for sale.
  
• 4. Storage pods, space junk, anomalies, and wrecks on unexplored planets can all possibly provide additional Cargo Bays.
  
• 5. Derelict Ships (which are often found in dimentional pockets) may occasionally have a Cargo Bay.

Once you have collected enough items to fill all of your Cargo Bays, it's probably a good time to find a colonized planet and sell any excess items you don't want to keep.

I also want to mention that, if you find a larger Cargo Bay when you current Bays a already full, you can just drop an item from your Bays in space, pick up the Cargo Bay you just found, and then install it into one of your empty Ship Component Cargo Bay slots. If all the slots already have Cargo Bays installed, you can always empty the smallest Cargo Bay (by dropping it's items into space), drop the Cargo Bay itself in space, pick up the larger Cargo Bay and install it in the now empty slot. Then you can probably pick up everything you dropped earlier.

How to use Technology

Don't Sell Technology at a Colonized Planet!

but rather trade, sell, or use it as barter on the Relations - Trade/Negotiate Screen.

When you pick up an item labeled Technology, you MUST first use it by opening your cargo bay, and then simply right-click on the Technology icon in your cargo bay. The technology icon will then vanish as the technology information is stored in your ship's computer for later use as an information (data) item that you can later sell or trade to other races. This also frees up a slot in your cargo bay for an additional item.

When you use Technology, it does nothing to improve your own ship's abilities. Technology's only use in the game is to be sold to a race for credits (money) or used as a negotiation tool when dealing with another race.

Important!: If you sell, trade or otherwise give a technology to a race, it will make that race more powerful. So you can selectively use technology to make a certain race (or races) more powerful which then will have a better chance of becoming the dominant race in a sector. Who you support by selling/giving them technology may make the difference as to whom you ally with and in winning the sector.

Here's how to use Technology

A technology that you want to trade or sell must be bargained using the Relations screen. Press "R", and then click on a race's icon. Then click the "Trade/Negotiate" button. If that race wants any of the technololgies that you have found and collected (and used by right-clicking on it's icon in your cargo bay after you found it), the technology will be listed on the Trade/Negotiate screen under the Technology header. You can click on one or more technology item, and then click on "What would make this trade possible?" to see how many credits a race will offer you for the technology. If the race is not interested in a technology, that technology will not be listed under the Technology header for that race on the Trade/Negotiate screen.

On the Trade/Negotiate screen, technology can also be used as barter as follows:

• 1. In negotiating treaties with a race who wants that technology
  
• 2. In purchasing Jump Gates from a race who wants that technology
  
• 3. In purchasing Contacts from a race who wants that technology
  
• 4. can be sold for credits (money) to a race who wants that technology
  
• 5. can be given for nothing - simply to increase relations with that race
  
• 6. can be used as a bribe to get a race to declare war on or break a treaty with another race

You should try to use technology creatively. For instance, you might want to increase your treaty to an Alliance with a race, but they refuse to ally because your relations with that race aren't good enough yet. You then might try to offer money to "seal the deal". But if you don't have enough money, you might be able to add technology into the deal and come away with a successful treaty.

Completing "Steal Technology" Quests

To steal technology from a race to complete a "Steal Technology" quest, you would need to use Espionage on that race until you successfully steal that particular technology.

Using Jump Gates

Jump Gates are portals that can be used to transport your ship from one star system to another usually for a fee (or toll). Activating Jump Gates and using them to travel to other star systems can greatly enhance your ability to solve quests quickly by reducing the travel time from one system to another. Here are a few rules and other information regarding Jump Gates:

• 1. Always activate any jump gates you find by left-clicking on them. Clicking on an activated Jump Gate will display that Jump Gate's Sector map.
  
• 2. To use a Jump Gate, the Jump Gate in your current system and the Jump Gate in the destination system must both be activated. If they are both activated, you can jump to the star system to which you wish to travel by right-clicking its star on the Jump Gate's Sector map.
  
• 3. You can often purchase Jump Gate activation from an alien race that owns that Jump Gate. This can be done on Relations - Trade/Negotiate screen (Press "R" and click on a race's icon). Then click the Trade/Negotiate button. Jump Gates owned (if any) by that race will be displayed on the right under the Jump Gates header. If you then left-click on a listed Jump Gate, you can then click the "What would make this trade possible?" button. If the owning race likes you enough, and if you have enough money, the purchase price amount will be displayed at the bottom left of the screen under "We Offer". If you don't have enough money to buy access, the race will refuse to sell you access to the Jump Gate, and no amount will be displayed. If they do display an amount agreeable to you, click the "Offer Trade" button to finalize the deal. The Jump Gate will then be activated. The price will be determined by how good/bad your relations are with that race.
  
• 4. You can Bind to a Jump Gate for a (sometimes significant) sum of money. Clicking on a Jump Gate after activation brings up the Galaxy map for that Jump Gate. You can choose to bind to this Jump Gate by clicking the button at the upper right. For example, when you start a sector, you are bound to the starting star system's Jump Gate. This means that, if your ship is destroyed, your ship will be resurrected at this Jump Gate. However, you can choose to bind to a different Jump Gate in another star system for a (sometimes hefty) fee. Then your resurrected ship will re-spawn at this new Jump Gate. Personally, I don't think it's worth it for tiny and small sectors; but it could be quite helpful if you are playing a larger sector.
  
• 5. Jumping to the system to which your are bound is free.
  
• 6. The fee (toll) to use unbound Jump Gates is determined by how much the owner (alien race) of that Jump Gate likes you. In other words, race's that dislike you will charge you higher fees to use their Jump Gate.
  
• 7. The Jump Gates to which you are bound is indicated on the Sector map by an exclamation point (!) in front of the name of that star system's name.
  
• 8. A Jump Gate's system must have at least one inhabited planet to be a valid destination.

It is possible to use Jump Gates to jump clear across a sector after they have been activated, which can greatly speed your travel around a sector. So always activate them as soon as you find one, and use them wisely.

Setting Waypoint Markers

You can set Waypoint Markers in Drox Operative. These are simply markers that can be used as a navigational aid in locating some specific object or place. For instance, you can mark the location of a recharge station, a planet, or a dimentional pocket so you can find it more easily later. In Drox, Waypoints are color coded, and you can place up to 7 waypoints per star system.

How to set a Waypoint

• 1. Open your System Map screen by pressing "M". If the Sector Map is being displayed, switch it to the System Map (press "Tab"). Your present location is shown by a green dot on the system map.
  
• 2. Place your cursor where you want the marker to be, and then Right-click your mouse to set the marker. (Hint: Move your ship a little to the right or left of where you want to place the marker so that you ship icon (green dot) doesn't get in the way.)
  
• 3. Exit the system map screen to return to the game. The waypoint will show on your minimap in the upper right corner of the game screen.
  
• 4. You can remove waypoints by either right-clicking on the marker on the minimap or on the System Map.

That's all there is to it. Waypoints can be quite helpful, but be careful about setting too many of them or things could get confusing.

Where Saved Games are Stored

Where your saved games and saved characters are stored on your computer depends on your OS (operating system):

•Vista/Win7 or 8 - C:\Users\YOUR USER NAME\AppData\Local\DroxOperative\User\chars
•XP - C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR USER NAME\Local Settings\Application Data\DroxOperative\User\chars
•Mac - /Users/YOUR USER NAME/Library/Application Support/DroxOperative/User/chars
•Linux - ~/.local/DroxOperative/User/chars
•global.sav and global.sts are your shared stash and shared stats.

Generally each specific saved game or saved character (these are the same) has a .chr, .map, .his and .wld file. Your character's name will precede each extension. So you can move these four (4) files to another computer that has Drox Operative installed on it, and continue playing that game/character on the different computer.

There are also log files in the Logs directory that capture all the player chats and all text that shows up in the text area in the lower left part of the game screen. It saves these per character/per sector.

WHERE DROX OPERATIVE SCREENSHOTS ARE SAVED

Screenshots for Drox Operative can be taken from the game by pressing the Print Screen/SysRq button.

•Vista/Win7 or 8 - C:\Users\YOUR USER NAME\AppData\Local\DroxOperative\User\Screenshots
•XP - C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR USER NAME\Local Settings\Application Data\DroxOperative\User\Screenshots
•Mac - /Users/YOUR USER NAME/Library/Application Support/DroxOperative/User/Screenshots
•Linux - ~/.local/DroxOperative/User/Screenshots

Abandon a Sector

To abandon a sector in Drox Operative you need to do the following:

• Press escape (Esc) to bring up the in-game menu
  
• Click on "Save and Exit" to return to the the main menu
  
• If you forget your character's name, hover your cursor over the "Resume" button
  
• Click on "Play"
  
• Select the same character you were playing from the list of character ships
  
• Click on "OK"
  
• Click on "Create New Sector (Abandon Old)"

Penalty for Abandoning a Sector:

For all ships except a hardcore ship, there is no penalty for abandoning a sector. Your ship will retain all it's experience points and all of it's equipment. However, the act of abandoning a sector will be logged in your ship's journal (Press "J").

For a Hardcore ship, there is a significant XP penalty for abandoning a sector. Your hardcore ship will retain all of it's equipment, and you will have to "work off" the XP penalty after starting a new sector.

[Rand Althor]

Wow this is great!! You rock

[Blinky]

Well written, great guide. Thanks for helping out another new player.

[alby]

Thanks a lot for this good guide

[cliftut]

Somethng I like to do in Soldak games is to re-map the pause button ('P' by default) to 'E'. That way I can easily pause the game when I need to open menus, manage inventory, or talk to NPC's (mainly planet interaction in this game). It all works when the game is paused, which is nice for someone like me who usually picks turn based games.

[Hotzenplotz]

[Evolved chimpangeeza]

Nice!

[Atech66]

This should be required reading .. excellent guide ty.

[DonTheDon]

Good read, thanks for the awesome guide!

[clarkeveritas]

Good read.... just stumbled upon Soldek..... playing DIn's Curse right now and, though it trends a bit minimalist, it's clear those guys have some passion and talent for their vocation. Thanks for writing this.... games wtih depth, as Drox appears to be, often benefit from reading a kind-of overall primer. I've been playing AI War: Fleet Command (awesome game!) and that game.... man... there is SO much to know and I must have checked out a good 4-5 different "guides" of varying degrees to understand all of the mechanics and how to actually PLAY the game. I've rambled off topic.... I'm really, really tired.... but yeah: thanks again for taking the time to write this!

[Deadjack]

Excellent guide ! Good job