Melnorme stop responding to Caster?

[Abbas]

hey all.  i won this game when it was out originally and found it again last week.  i remember why i considered it one of the best games ever.  i'm coasting along pretty well and have run into a problem.  The Melnorme are no longer showing up when I use the Umgah Caster.  I don't recall this happening before.  Even if I purposely run out of fuel, they never show up.  I'm at April of 2158. 

I recall the Melnorme from Alpha Centauri saying he would depart in 2159, but other than that I have no idea why this would happen in the game.  Is it mandatory to use Quasi Space after a certain point?  I have only used it twice when I was near the portal...otherwise I've just been flying around everywhere doing tasks and refueling via Melnorme when necessary.  I already purchased all information and technology from them.

I'm running SC2 under WinXP w/Dosbox.

thanks!

Abbas

[Moonshadow Rogue]

If I quite recall the reason the Kohr-ah's movement starts at 2159 is because the Utwig/Supox alliance slows their march to victory in about a year... If they are already on the move, the Melnorme should be gone...

If they are NOT moving... well, I don't recall ever seeing THAT happening...

[Sedodes]

Moonshadow is right.  As soon as the Kohr-Ah begin their endgame, the Melnorme are gone.  Though his dates are off -- 2159 is the normal deadline, and it gets pushed back to 2160 if you play your cards right.  Personally, I've never used the Melnorme after 2157, so I don't know what the latest date they'll appear is.

I do know that sometimes it takes them a few seconds to show up, so if you're using the caster and taking off right away you might be missing them.

[Moonshadow Rogue]

I stand corrected *Humbled Smily*

[Abbas]

thanks for the info.  sorry i posted this in technical issues, i thought it may have been a glitch.

i'm thinking i may have screwed up big time somewhere along the line here.  i'm at oct. 2158, no melnorme, and the now the quasi space portal didn't appear on the 17th.  i haven't met the Arilous yet, either.  i'm going to fudge around and finish off what i do remember, then see whether this will work out.

[Moonshadow Rogue]

We'el... i suppose it's either get it over with without the Portal Spawner, Restart the game or assume that something has gone VERY VERY wrong with your game-files

[Meep-Eep]

As soon as the Kohr-Ah begin their endgame, the Melnorme are gone.

Wrong.

i'm at oct. 2158, no melnorme, and the now the quasi space portal didn't appear on the 17th.  i haven't met the Arilous yet, either.

Sounds like the event queue is screwed up. If that's so, you won't encounter *any* race in HyperSpace anymore. Depending on what you still have to do, this will make your game either impossible, because timed events won't activate, or it will give you infinite time, as the Kohr-Ah won't be moving either.

[Sedodes]

Hrmmm... are you sure, Meep?  If I recall correctly, the Melnorme indicate their inability to be accessed as of 2159.

Of course, I haven't actually played the game in a about a year now, and the last time I actually LISTENED to the Melnorme was over a decade ago -- and, as I mentioned, I've never even encounted the Melnorme after 2157.

[Moonshadow Rogue]

The Melnorme clearly state that as of February 2159 They will be gone for good

[Meep-Eep]

Hrmmm... are you sure, Meep?  If I recall correctly, the Melnorme indicate their inability to be accessed as of 2159.

Let me put it this way: It would take something of the magnitude of me going insane, my mind being manipulated, time travel, or the existence of PC SC2 versions that are different (in this aspect) from mine for me to be wrong here.
And yes, you recall correctly.

[Sedodes]

Oh, I see... you were being picky.  You didn't automatically equate 2159 with the Kohr-Ah going on their death march.  I like attention to detail, Meep, and confidence.  But not pickiness.  Assuming you did the first two and not the third, here's a healthy heapin' of twenty eight points (+28) for you.

[Meep-Eep]

Oh, I see... you were being picky. You didn't automatically equate 2159 with the Kohr-Ah going on their death march.

You dont. I wasn't. I did.
As you may remember, your original statement was "As soon as the Kohr-Ah begin their endgame, the Melnorme are gone.".
What I am saying is simply that even though the Melnorme tell you that "at the present rate of change" they will leave at the beginning of 2159 - and they don't even do that in the 3DO version and in UQM - they will never actually leave.
Philosophical scepticism prevents me from saying I am sure, but let me assure you I have verified my claims.

Also, I have been able to reproduce Abbas' problem. I don't know why it is happening, but it indeed appears to be an issue with the event queue. No ship ever shows up in HyperSpace, not even the Melnorme when you've used a 'Caster or are out of fuel. The QS portal doesn't open, the Kohr-Ah never start their Death March, nor have I seen any other race to be moving. You can still visit the Melnorme at supergiant systems. If the game is impossible (because you still need to do play parts of the plot that are event driven) there's nothing you can do except starting over. I suggest you run The Ur-Quan Masters instead; it does not seem to have this problem, and has other advantages.

here's a healthy heapin' of twenty eight points (+28) for you.

Gee, thanks. I will treasure them for the rest of my life... or maybe not.
Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not playing the "do what ASB wants" game. I'll give you 1000 DWMEW Credits though, for entertaining me. Once you reach 1 000 000, you may exchange them for 1 New DWMEW Credit.

[Abbas]

whoa...sorry dudes, i didn't mean to start an argument.

i was just going to chime in w/what else has happened in the game and Meep beat me to it.  I never made contact w/the Arilou and I cannot get the Dnyaari off the Umgah home planet.  I go there and they keep talking about the pet, but the pet itself never answers.  I'm in September of 2160 and the Kohr-Ah are just hanging out.  The Utwig/Supox alliance has started in on them, but none of the other races have anything new going on.  Strange, indeed.

I'll restart via the UrQuan Masters.  I like the original PC menu system better.

Thanks again.

[Sedodes]

Nevermind Meep's foul mood, Abbas.  Some people on this board (particularly me) can just be a bit harsh at times.  Stick around long enough and you come to expect it (though I don't ever recall Meep being a notably sour individual before; in fact, if I remember correctly, he was rather jovial).  I admire Meep's ... unusual ... aversion to the GYAP thing.  I tend to dislike stuff like that myself and as a result generally choose not to participate.  I don't mock such contests, however, especially when money can be won, and there are obvious participants (way to go on insulting them, btw).

You mentioned the Supox/Utwig starting in on the 'Quan... I wonder, did you happen to talk to the Ilwrath or Pkunk?  Certain events cause their spheres of influence to move -- if you triggered these events, did you notice the spheres moving?  I'm just curious as to *how* screwed up the event queue is.

[Moonshadow Rogue]

Excuse my somewhat lack of information but how, in Kharak's bloody name, does the "Stuck Event-queue" happens?