The Close Combat Guide is a copyrighted guide created by JoshTigerheart that explains in detail all possible aspects of close combat, ranging from ships to weapons to tactics. The guide is very long, spanning 54 pages as of the 1.03 version, and as proved by the length alone, is highly details and comprehensive. It is also notable for being entirely non-technical, containing no raw statistics whatsoever. Josh states that it was his aim to make the target audience the "average player" who "would not be concerned with all the numbers". It is available in both .doc and .rtf formats.
History[]
The Close Combat Guide was written and released in March of 2005 with a quick followup release in June to fix dozens of typos and factual errors. This was the only version to include the full list of typo and factual errors corrected.
A 1.02 release came about in November containing even more and better detailed information, as well as a system for stating what weapons were good vs shields, vs armor, or did equal damage to both. As of this version, all weapons, outfits, and ships were listed in the game. This version was also the one to be uploaded to GameFAQs and SuperCheats, giving Josh an official copyright to the guide (all guides on GameFaqs are automatically copyrighted by the one who submitted it). As of this version the guide was thirty-six pages long.
The 1.03 release came on in February 2006, containing dozens and dozens of more typo fixes, new techniques, and tips on how to deal with specific ships and weapons. The tips added an additional eighteen pages, bringing it up to its current page count. This is likely to be the final major update, for virtually every area in the stock scenario is covered. Josh stated that he won't update the guide to fix a few typos, so a 1.04 would have to contain at least several new techniques. Josh has also said he will not include anything from plug-ins.
What is Covered[]
The guide covers four major areas: ships, weapons, outfits, and techniques.
The ships section sorts all the ships by goverment and explains their usefulness in close combat, taking a moment to mention noteworthy variants. It also gives hints on how to deal with the said ship when it is under A.I. control. Even alien ships, such as the Wraith, are included.
The weapons section covers each weapon, sorting them by government. It makes some comments on the weapon in general and its usefulness in close-ranged fighting, and explains how to deal with each weapon should it be used against you. It also states whether the weapon is better against armor, shields, or equally effective in a format like this: shields > armor
The outfits section covers every single non-weapon outfit, even things such as the Map and Drop Bear Repellent that have no effect on fighting. It explains each outfit, suggesting the use of some while recommending abstaining from others.
Finally, the techniques section explains specific flying tactics and how to employ them. It gives in detail necessary steps and flight patterns to follow. Then it goes on to explain on what size groups of ships you should employ them upon.
Other Sections[]
The guide includes other sections as well. There is a FAQ that answeres some questions he has recieved constantly, a Version History that lists changes, an "about this guide" section which explains the guide's purpose, a table of contents, a Long Range Guide for humor, credits explaining third-party contributions to the work, a list of other works he has done, and the copyright.
Copyright[]
The following is the copyright as it appears in version 1.03 of the guide. Please do not edit! It's in the guide anyway, so editing this and then distributing it won't save you from violating the international copyright laws.
This guide is copyrighted and therefore subject to international copyright laws. GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com) and Super Cheats (www.supercheats.com) are permitted to have it viewable as they do any other guide. Ambrosia (www.ambrosiasw.com) is permitted to let it be downloaded via www.ambrosiasw.com/games/evn/addons. Anyone else is not permitted to distribute it or use it on their website. If you wish to use it, contact me and we'll discuss. Please note that I will not let you use the current version, since I'll have to update this little section. All rights not explicitly permitted in this section are reserved.
External Links[]
- Close Combat Guide on Ambrosia
- Close Combat Guide on GameFAQs - Click on Close Combat Guide. Direct linking not feasable with Gamefaqs.com
- Close Combat Guide on Super Cheats - Please note it is out of date and only at 1.02, though it states it as 1.22