BASIC INFORMATION

Q: What is Kobayashi Maru?
A: Kobayashi Maru is the successor to the highly successful FBCMP. It is a new Quickbattle and Multiplayer project which features a diverse collection of ships, scripts, effects, systems and many other elements to bring you a fun and entertaining Bridge Commander experience.

Q: What does Kobayashi Maru include?
A: Details of what is included in the project can be found on the website here http://www.bckobayashimaru.de/ or within the manual provided.

Q: Can I become a beta tester?
A: At the moment we already have enough beta testers for the project. But we still welcome any plausible ideas you may have to improve the project in the next update.

Q: Can I play Kobayashi Maru online?
A: Yes, the project is intended to enhance the multiplayer game for BC by allowing the use of AI Ships, Advanced Scripts, New Vessels, Unique Systems and many other great features. It also features a considerably more stable multiplayer engine to deliver the best experience.

Q: Are the ships balanced against each other? Or are they cannon?
A: Its sort of in-between, although mainly canon-style. However we have done our best to try an keep it fair. Ships will possess many strengths and weaknesses. Remember, its not how powerful the ship is its the person flying it, tactics in this can make all the difference.

Q: Is there a kind of manual?
A: Yes. In the release of Kobayashi Maru a Manual, FAQ and Readme is provided.

Q: How do battles in warp work?
A: Warp battles are mainly chances for a pursuing enemy to disable a ships warp drive to prevent them from warping again, however any system can be targeted. In the interest of fairness both torpedoes, phasers and pulse weapons can be fired in warp...even a leading ship can still deal considerable damage with its aft weapons.

Q: Can ships manoeuvre in warp?
A: Yes, however in future KM updates this may be disabled if our feedback suggests that it would be preferred.

Q: How much control over the warp battle does the player have?
A: Warp battles involve a small time period in which ships can fire all of their weapons providing they are in range. The main purpose of battles in warp is to disable a ships warp drive so that they cannot warp again. Destroying a ship in warp is not recommended as the dead player must rejoin the game.
Q: Will it be possible to dodge beam weapons?
A: Currently beam weapons cannot be dodged, however inaccurate phasers may be added at a later date to KM if feedback suggests it is preferred.

Q: What does "cloak countermeasures" in the features-list really mean?
A: There are some technologies within KM which act as cloak countermeasures, for example cloaked ships are vulnerable to things such as blast mines (which can seriously damage a cloaked ship) and blind fire (which can reveal a cloaked ships location).
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USING TECHNOLOGIES

Q: How can I use the advanced MP mode?
A: When hosting an MP game, you must select turkey shoot as the game type. This is the ONLY MP game type which uses NanoFX, addship and other advanced scripts.

Q: How can I launch mines?
A: Only ships which are configured to launch shuttles can launch mines. In the Engineering menu (F5), select Prepare Mines # and choose the detonation delay you wish. There is no harm in preparing 20 mines since they are launched separately. Now in the Science Menu (F4) click the shuttle select button until the word Mine appears, then press Launch to deploy the mine. It will then detonate in the time delay, or until it is destroyed...better keep your distance.

Q: How can I launch shuttles?
A: Shuttle launching uses the (F4) science menu only. Select the shuttle you want and click the launch button. The shuttle will then launch from the bay of the ship. In order to board a shuttle during launch, click the button above the launch button, (called Player/Get on Board, Get Target) Then choose Get on Board. Now press the launch button and you will launch inside the shuttle. OR you can use the transport button providing the ship is within 50Km.

Q: How can I transport to another ship?
A: Being able to transport to an allied ship can be a valuable asset in a critical situation. In order to do so, you must target a ship within 50km range and then press the Transport Button located in the F5 Menu. A short cut scene will play and your then transported to the new allied ship.

Q: What is Tractor Inversion? / How do I use it?
A: The tractor inversion feature can be found under the Tactical menu within the technologies tab. Use it whenever your ship is locked inside an enemy tractor beam, it will send a feedback pulse along the enemy tractor beam and can disable the enemy tractor IF it is successful. The Tractor Inversion takes time to charge so you may need to wait before trying it again.
 

Q: What is Blind Fire? / How do I use it?
A: Blind fire is an advanced technology which allows you to direct phaser fire into a desired location. This is useful for detecting cloaked vessels as it reveals the ships location for a short time. Blind Fire can be found under the Tactical Menu within the Technologies tab. You must select a phaser direction or choose Pick Mouse in order to manually fire at a specific location.

Q: What is the Pick mouse Blind fire option? / How do I use it?
A: Pick Mouse allows you to chose where you want to shoot. Select it from the Blind Firing menu, and move the mouse away from the centre to rotate. Fire as usual. This also works for torpedoes.

Q: How can I scan for warp signatures?
A: In the science menu you must scan the area with the Scan Window open. Recent warp signatures will be shown which allow you to follow them.

Q: What is Point Defence? / How do I use it?
A: Point defence allows you to destroy enemy torpedoes. This only works inside the Nebula class or Sovereign, just click the Point Defence button on the tactical menu and the Nebula will shoot the torpedoes for you.

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TECHNICAL QUESTIONS

Q: I get this message when I want to play MP:
"Your Multiplayer folder is dirty!
I can't let you play with this one.
Please clean it up.
Game shutdown!"
A: Please delete the entire scripts/Multiplayer/ folder in your BC installation and run the update program. OR reinstall the latest version of Kobayashi Maru.

Q: I get a file mismatch when trying to join an MP game.
A: The host/server of the game must have the same script files as you, you might need to download the latest Kobayashi Maru version. Or the host may require to do so themselves.

Q: I have found a bug in Kobayashi Maru OR I have a request.
A: Visit http://bckobayashimaru.de/BugTracker/view_all_bug_page.php and report the bug to the online reporter. (Log in as anonymous or register to report) or report the bug in our Feedback section of our forums.

Q: I get a "runtime error" when I'm trying to start BC.
A: Delete options.cfg in your BC folder and reboot your machine. Or visit the Activision support website for further support.
Q: I can not save or load my Save games or I can not play Single Player at all.
A: deactivate all Mutators.

Q: I get a black screen when trying to load BC.
A: Make sure you have installed the 1.1 patch before Kobayashi Maru

Q: When I transport to another ship, the Phaser Intensity slider has reverted back to the old style.
A: This is a known issue and cannot be corrected, however you can still choose the phaser intensity from 3 pre-set configurations. When you select a new ship the slider is restored.

Q: Can I assign keys to the new features?
A: Yes, many of the new techs do have key support. You may find that in order to access the keys you will need to load a QB or MP game in advance, then alter them afterwards from the configure menu by pressing ESC during a game.

Q: Why don't all mods work in MP?
A: Some mods cause problems in multiplayer, and some mods make the game think people are cheating, therefore it was better to remove them from MP. However they still work fine in QB. Future KM updates may allow more mods to work in MP.

Q: The game hangs or freezes in multiplayer.
A: There are many causes which can explain the game freezing. But it is most common when people are launching mines or shuttles. Try to reduce the amount which you launch and it should reduce the freezing. Otherwise freezing could be due to problems with the server.

Q: When I am killed during warp I am unable to do anything. My screen simply stares at the stars...
A: Being killed in warp is a problem, you will most likely have to rejoin the game again.

Q: I accidentally pressed Alt-Tab and now the game has problems
A: It is not recommended to Alt-Tab during a game. It can cause graphical errors or cause keys not to respond. You may have to restart BC to correct this issue. However altering your screen resolution can solve the graphical problems.

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OTHER

Q: How can I improve MP games for myself and others?
A: The Bridge Commander engine is far from perfect, MP especially will always have its share of bugs/crashes, but there are ways to decrease the chances of this occurring:

-In Kobayashi Maru, you can load multiple systems in an MP game to allow warping. But the more systems you load, the more CPU usage there is on low end computers, especially if the systems have ships/bases included.

-Having the ability to add AI ships in MP is an amazing part of this project. For the first time you and your friends can literally wage war...BUT, don’t go loading 30 ships at a time in game, to be a good host, you should continue to regulate a battle by adding equal ships to team 1 or 2 instead of having a massive amount from the beginning. While this might seem less fun, just think of the average computer user, who wants to enjoy your game, but instead suffers from frame rate issues.

-Mines and Shuttle launching can cause some degree of slowdown due to the time it takes BC to load the new models into the game. Try not to launch shuttle after shuttle, this might work fine for you, but others will have problems. The same may apply to mines, its not that you can’t launch them, but being more considerate will improve the game for others.

-Some ships are very demanding on graphics cards, for example the Excalibur. While this ship might seem like a beauty, try to remember that 1 of these ships is most likely enough for some computers. You don’t want 5 Excalibur’s in game unless you have extremely good computers...try to remember this when choosing your ship.

-Adding too many pulse capable ships can be a big source of lag. Specifically the Defiant class, its best if only a limited number of these exist at the same time, along with other ships which fire pulse weapons.

-Abandoning ship can also cause game play issues during large battles due to the amount of escape pods which are launched. It’s better to avoid doing this when there is a large battle in progress to improve game play.

Q: Why are some ships no longer included like they were in FBCMP?
A: Upon our beta testing of Kobayashi Maru, we discovered that there were many ships which were simply not required or not used at all. Therefore we decided to remove them in order to clear unnecessary file space which made room for other ships instead.
 
Q: Are there any other ways to repair my ship?
A: There several ways for your ship to get repaired in Kobayashi Maru.
1) You can dock at a Starbase, this also works in MP battles providing the base is an ally.
2) You can also add worker bees to the game, these are armed with repair beams that can repair shields, hull and systems, worker bees which are allies will automatically repair friendly ships.
3) Additionally you can board an Aegian class vessel, which is also armed with repair beams; however it will not repair friendly ships automatically.

Q: Why can’t I become a Borg Cube in multiplayer?
A: We believe that allowing people to become a Borg cube increases the chances of ruining the game for others. Borg Cubes are often considered god ships and therefore have the potential to ruin peoples games, both game play and performance wise. However you can add the Borg Cube as an Ai vessel.

Q: Do the Breen possess the drainer weapons like in Ds9?
A: Yes, the Breen do fire the drainer weapon which will drain power from the ship. Only the Klingons are immune from this weapon.

Q: Can I add my own ships/mods?
A: Only if you don’t want to play multiplayer. However aspects of the upcoming CA Enhancement mod and some QBautostart mods will have no effect on multiplayer compatibility. But remember if you want to play MP, you need 100% the same scripts.

Q: Why don’t ships stop when the Impulse engines are destroyed?
A: Because the ship is in space and there is no force to stop them, therefore we included a drifting mod to make the game more realistic. Better make sure you aren’t drifting into a planet or asteroid!

Q: There seem to be massive explosions occurring at a Starbase when an ally is docking in Multiplayer or when a shuttle is launched from a ship.
A: BC does not handle collisions very well, you may witness large explosions even though the player responsible does not see them himself. This can only be solved if collisions are turned off, however the explosions should stop once the ship is no longer in range of the station.

Q: Can collisions be turned off during a MP game without having to restart?

A: Yes, the host always controls the collision parameters.

Q: Do fleet orders work in MP?

A: Yes, but only the host has full access to fleet orders to reduce cheating.