Silent Threat Rank and Kills Guide

       DESCENT:
      ______  _____   _____  _____ ______  ______   _       _____  _____
      \  __/ |  _  | |  __/ |  __/ \  __/ |  _  /  / \     |  __/ |  __/
      | |_   | | / / | |_   | |_    \ \   | |/ /  / A \    | |    | |_
      |  _|  | |/ /  |  _|  |  _|    \ \  |  _/  /  _  \   | |    |  _|
      | |    | |\ \  | |__  | |__   __\ \ | |   /  / \  \  | |__  | |__
      |_|    |_| \_\ |____\ |____\ /_____\|_|  /__/   \__\ |____\ |____\
                               SILENT THREAT
 
 
 
              _____   _____   _   __    _   _______   ____
             |  _  | |  _  | | | |  \  | | |__   __| |  __|
             | |_| | | | | | | | | \ \ | |    | |    | |__ 
             |  ___| | | | | | | | |\ \| |    | |    |__  |
             | |     | |_| | | | | | \ \ |    | |     __| |
             |_|     |_____| |_| |_|  \__|    |_|    |____|
 
                                  * AND *
 _____   _   _      _____   _______     ____   _______   _____   _______   ____
|  _  | | | | |    |  _  | |__   __|   |  __| |__   __| |  _  | |__   __| |  __|
| |_| | | | | |    | | | |    | |      | |__     | |    | |_| |    | |    | |__
|  ___| | | | |    | | | |    | |      |__  |    | |    |  _  |    | |    |__  |
| |     | | | |__  | |_| |    | |       __| |    | |    | | | |    | |     __| |
|_|     |_| |____| |_____|    |_|      |____|    |_|    |_| |_|    |_|    |____|

                                    =     
                                ***  =  **
                               **    ==  **
                                ****===***
                                     ==
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                          _      _      _      _
                        </O\>  </O\>  </O\>  </O\>
                          V      V      V      V

Legal Info.

This document is protected under Copyright law, (C) 2002 by David Wood. The only sites it can be found legally are listed below.

• https://www.cheatbook.de/
• https://wiki.hard-light.net/
• https://www.supercheats.com/

If it is found anywhere else including another FAQ/Guide, or if it is altered in any way, it is a violation of copyright law. Please report it if you find it anywhere besides the sites listed above. Any wiki author on https://wiki.hard-light.net may make edits to improve the guide and should use their signature for their work. Links to this page are allowed as is any fair-use extrapolation and distribution of data. You may print or copy down any information needed as long as you do not distribute any part of the document to, or as part of, an organization, free or otherwise, without permission from the copyright holder or in the case of the hard-light wiki without permission of an editor/author of that website. This document is for private use only.

Intro.

Hello and welcome to the first and only FreeSpace: Silent Threat Rank and Kills guide on the internet, by date of June 2007. If you have any information, suggestions, or updates for the info presented here feel free to make changes to the version listed on https://wiki.hard-light.net/. Note that other versions are out of date. Questions can go in the discussion section. Note that this guide applies to the retail version of Descent: FreeSpace - Silent Threat, so if you are using FreeSpace Open or a similar mod, I don't guarantee my information will be applicable in all cases. There are some slight differences in default score values for ships between Silent Threat retail and FSOpen and I have used both in the making of this guide, so expect some small deviations in score here and there (mostly in regard to fighters and bombers). Thank you for reading this section, enjoy the guide!

Here are my other FreeSpace medal/rank/kills guides:

• Descent: FreeSpace Medals Guide
• FreeSpace 2 Medals Guide

Before you start

There are no medals to collect in Silent Threat, only points for rank and kills for looks, stats, and Ace Badges. If you play the FSOpen version of Silent Threat there were 2 medals added to the campaign, but I will not include those here. This section covers many things, from the basics to the advanced. Even if you are an expert I strongly suggest you look through this section. You can skip through and see what information might be useful to you.

In Descent: FreeSpace the medals are essentially the game’s achievements. You get at most one medal per mission. Ace badges are also in the medals box to the right of rank. Ace badges are only earned when you reach a certain number of total fighter and bomber kills. The following ships contribute to this total.

Terran: GTF Valkyrie, GTF Apollo, GTF Ulysses, GTF Loki, GTF Hercules, GTB Athena, GTB Zeus, GTB Ursa, GTB Medusa

Vasudan: PVF Anubis, PVF Seth, PVF Horus, PVF Thoth, PVB Amun, PVB Osiris

Shivan: SF Scorpion, SF Manticore, SF Dragon, SF Basilisk, SB Shaitan, SB Nephilim, SB Seraphim

You will usually be informed when you get a medal, promotion, or ace badge on the debriefing screen of the mission if there is indeed a debriefing. Missions with a Red-Alert ending remove the debriefing, but you will still be awarded kills, medals, and rank which you can confirm if you look at your stats in the barracks. Normally there is only the debriefing dialog box along with the usual buttons. When you get a medal, ace badge, or promotion, there will be an additional dialog box connected on the side of the first. This box has what all medals, ace badges, or promotions you received in the mission. Optionally the person who debriefs you will say something, and though the medal screen appears for all Ace Badges and most ranks, it won't appear for ranks after Commodore. (The commentary is funny for these ranks though.) Note that you can get a medal, promotion, or badge without either the screen or the commentary, so the true way to confirm your progress is to check the barracks or your player file.

Q: How come I didn't get a medal on this level? Silent Threat has no medals in the retail version. If you were expecting an Ace Badge then you should recalculate your number of fighter/bomber kills. If you were expecting a rank up, note that this can be a complex calculation and the variables tend to be hidden.

The Medal Box

There are two ways to view the medal box. The first is to be awarded a medal on the debrief screen, and then click the medal icon that is located on the medal dialog. The second is more complicated, but always available. On the Flight Deck, find the Barracks and click on it. This will take you to a screen with the different players you've made, single and multi player, plus it will show you the all time stats for each player. To get to the medal box, click on the medal icon that is in the lower middle area of the screen.

The fully unlocked Descent: FreeSpace Medal Box

Each time you get a new medal, it appears in the medal box. Shown below is how the game displays your medal depending on amount. Once you get two medals, a small bronze patch appears, then a silver and gold patch for 3 and 4+ medals respectively. Medals are earned by triggering specific events in missions.

The 4 levels of a medal, from 1 copy to 4+ copies

The Ace Badges are the three circular badges in the medal box directly to the lower right of the nameplate. Ace Badges are set up a little differently than the medals, there are 3 badges total and each additional badge will show up to the right of the first. Once you unlock all three you can't earn more Ace Badges. Ace Badges have a minimum fighter/bomber kill limit that must be hit to earn the badge. Nothing but fighter and bomber kills go towards getting Ace Badges. Other kills are still tracked in your player stats. Thanks to GameFAQs user Dman4835 for initially getting me this info.

BADGE	KILLS	IMAGE
Ace	60 Fighter/Bomber kills
Double Ace	150 Fighter/Bomber kills
Triple Ace	350 Fighter/Bomber kills

Rank is set up much differently than both ace badges and medals. Rank is located directly to the lower left of the nameplate. Rank is your symbolic promotion level in the GTA. Oddly, the orders you can give are not limited by your rank (i.e. your call menu is the same when you're an Admiral as it is when you're an Ensign). To be determined, rank takes into account 2 variables: the “Rank” variable which can be directly added to and subtracted from, and the “Score” value which is contributed to by getting points in missions. Point values are defined by in the code and in FRED. Any objective, event, goal, directive, or various other things can be assigned a score value and add or subtract from your score. Calling in support subtracts points from your score. Every ship in the game is assigned a default point value, but this can be changed in FRED by tweaking the score value. The default values can be found here: https://wiki.hard-light.net/index.php/Ranks_in_FreeSpace. Note that this list refers to the default FreeSpace 2 values. Finally rank can be added and subtracted directly using the grant-promotion variable in FRED. This is used in the Black Omega campaign mission. This means that your Rank is determined by (extra promotions) + (current Rank score determination). See the Points and Score system section for in-depth details. The following is a list of all the different positions of rank determined by score in the order that you get them. Thanks to GameFAQs user Basilisk for the points for each rank.

RANK	POINTS	IMAGE
Ensign	0-3999
Lt. Junior Grade	4000-9999
Lieutenant	10000-21999
Lt. Commander	22000-49999
Commander	50000-149999
Captain	150000-399999
Commodore	400000-1999999
Rear Admiral	2000000-4999999
Vice Admiral	5000000-8999999
Admiral	9000000+

Other Useful Information

You can restart a campaign without losing any stats or medals. To do this, first go to the Flight Deck, then click Campaigns, then select the campaign you want to restart, then click restart campaign in the lower right corner of the screen.

Backing up your player info can save you loads of hassle in the long run. I can't get the "Clone" function to copy my player (I think it only copies the settings under "Options" to a new player) so I worked something else out. It's a little more advanced and you'll be messing with the game files, but don't worry, follow along and you'll do fine. Open your FreeSpace directory\players. By default on Windows that's C:\Games\FreeSpace\players, in FS Open it is at %APPDATA% HardLightProductions\FreeSpaceOpen\data\players. In retail FreeSpace \players folder if you are backing up a single player entry, open single, otherwise open multi. FSOpen combines single/multi so these folders don’t exist. Find your pilot's name, there will be some files associated with your player: a .plr or .json file for your player stats, and when you start a campaign a .css or .csg file to mark you have played a campaign which records directives and such that you've accomplished through the campaign, I assume the game sends you to alternate versions of levels this way. These look like this: Player.FreeSpace.csg, Player.FreeSpace.css, Player.plr. Select all of these which have your callsign in front and make a copy. You should make a backup folder to copy these to, such as FreeSpace/Backup. You can also rename pilots this way. Instead of using X.plr, change X to a different name (e.g. Backup.FreeSpace.csg, Backup.FreeSpace.css, Backup.plr). Back-Ups will help ensure you get everything, and help avoid any nasty glitch that wipes out all your player info. Note you can freely edit these files as well.

The mission log is something useful you can use while in mission to see what kills you've gotten and what objectives you've completed. To access it, press F4. The mission log has 3 parts: The objective screen displays what your objectives are and whether or not you've completed them. It will always display Primary and Secondary objectives, but Bonus objectives only appear on this screen when you've completed them. Hidden Objectives will never appear on this screen. Uncompleted objectives are represented by a white circle, complete by a greened in circle, and failed by a red x-ed out circle. The message log displays all messages received in-mission, and at what time. I don't ever use it, I don't find it helpful. The event log shows when objectives are satisfied, when enemy wings arrive and depart, when ships arrive and depart, when ships are destroyed and by whom, but unfortunately it only tells the name of the ships, not their class.

The Three Glitches

There are three useful glitches I have found in Silent Threat, and I will make reference to them throughout the guide so you may want to take note.

• The Infinite Weapons Glitch: If, on any level, you enter cheat mode (type www.volition-inc.com in mission) then enable infinite weapons for yourself (hold ~ and press w), your ship will have infinite missiles and weapons energy on any level until you exit FreeSpace or until you disable the code.

• The Warp-In Glitch: As a large ship is warping in, you can go through its hull until it reaches the point where it's out of the vortex completely (and it begins to slow its velocity). This feature was added so in the event that you were in the path of a ship warping in, you wouldn't have the misfortune of being smashed at warp speed (you know what that's like if you've been in the path of a ship warping out). However, if you are still within the ship's hull when the vortex closes, you will remain unharmed, and will be able to fly around freely throughout the ship's hull, as long as you can keep up with the ship as it is slowing down from warp speed. When you are inside the ship, you can do many things, such as enter the fighter bays, destroy turrets, destroy the ship, or destroy fighters (they can't fight back). The following are missions where this glitch can occur:

Silence All Voices The Pursuit Ghosts Exodus The Wait Secrets Revealed

• The NoClip Glitch: This glitch is rather tricky to pull off, and a bit hard to explain, so bear with me. This glitch allows you to get inside the hull of a ship just like the Warp-In Glitch does, but it does not require a ship to warp in. There are some requirements in regard to the target ship however. First, you will need to find a place where two parts of the ship meet at a 90 degree angle or less (the smaller the better). Turrets, dishes, and other auxiliary devices can also accomplish the goal, but you will probably be killed by the amount of collisions using those. When you find a suitable angle, align your ship so that the line where the two parts meet (the center of the angle) is vertical on your hud. Align your targeting reticle with that spot as well, and when you are ready, fly into the angle (you will be colliding into it, don't worry too much); afterburners aren't necessary, just use the increase speed button (bound to A on the keyboard by default). You can also shoot yourself backwards into the crack by detonating a missile near you, but this is risky and it doesn't seem to work better. Anyway, after a breif moment of ramming, turn your engine off. Unless your target ship is moving, keep your speed at zero. Now look around; you are looking for a point of entry into the ship. It isn't hard to see these; one minute the hull of the ship is visible, the next it isn't. If this phenomenon happens, maneuver your ship into the area where the hull disappeared; otherwise, try again. The following are ships susceptible to this glitch:

Terran: GTSC Faustus, GTD Orion, GTI Arcadia, GTD Hades

Vasudan: PVD Typhon

Shivan: SD Demon, SD Lucifer

Points and Score System

I used DMTOOLS to extract the missions to a file, and used Notepad++ to view the mission files and find score values.

The score system is a feature that determines your rank. It adds up a hidden value, points, to calculate your rank-up score. Rank-up score determination is applied to the rank range listed above to give a score rank, which is then added to your current rank which can be modified by the game and either added to or subtracted to. Specifically the grant-promotion variable encountered in Black Omega will give you (rank-up score)+1 Rank. You acquire points by doing certain things in the game, which I have labeled further down. Points awarded multiply or divide depending on your skill level. The skill-to-points ratio is as follows:

Very Easy : Easy  : Medium  : Hard  : Insane  :

0.2 0.4 0.7 1.0 1.2

This means when you play on Hard difficulty the points are face value, otherwise multiply by the number listed to see the points you earn. Points are awarded when completing objectives/events/goals/directives or when ships are destroyed. Points are subtracted when calling in a resupply ship (by 50 points). An objective gives points when the objective is completed. Ships give or penalize points based on 1) their alignment when they die and 2) whether they count as your kill. A ship killed by you will penalize you its point value if friendly or award you its point value if hostile. Whether you "killed" the ship is determined by a calculation that begins when the ship is assigned a new alignment, overwriting any prior data before the alignment changed. The calculation is just (Current remaining HP) * 30%. This means if 10 ships do 8% damage to a target and you do the entire remaining 20% damage you can't get the points for this kill because you didn't do 30% of the damage. If you and another ship both do 30% of the damage, the points go to whoever did more damage or are otherwise random. Some examples, if you do 30 damage to an enemy ship with 100 HP worth 100 points you'll be awarded 100 points at the end of the mission. If that same enemy has 100 HP and you damage it down to 3 HP before it changes alignment and then someone else finishes it off, they are awarded the points because they did 100% of the damage to it after it changed. If you teamkill and every ship turns against you and you kill every ship and still successfully complete the mission, every enemy ship you killed including your former allies will count as points gained and every friendly ship you killed before turning traitor will count as points penalized. Worth noting is that some missions are modded to give points based on the exact percentage of damage you deal instead of whether you're confirmed as the killer but this is not default behavior.

Single Player Rank and Kills

This section lists each level in chronological order, and lays out the points and kills for each. Also listed are details of possible kills on the level and all mission objectives, including hidden ones. Any enemies that aren't listed but are in the level are important ships that you can’t kill for one reason or another. Note that all details here refer only to the Silent Threat campaign, unless otherwise specified. When revising this list I used the FSOpen missions instead of the Retail FreeSpace missions and I’m not sure if these were changed, so there may be slight differences in some score values if you play retail.

For other strategies see the following links:

HLP Silent Threat Campaign Walkthrough

Silence All Voices

Total Potential Score Reward	321 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	1936 points
Total Kills	28 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	18 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
1 Primary	Clear area of all witnesses	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
PVFr Ma'at × 1	0 points	0
GTSG Watchdog × 4	3 points each	12
PVF Anubis × 4	6 points each	24
PVF Horus × 2	10 points each	20
PVF Seth × 2, GTF Ulysses × 3, GTF Hercules × 4	12 points each	108
PVF Thoth × 3	14 points each	42
PVT Isis × 3	15 points each	45
PVFr Satis × 1	20 points	20
GTSC Faustus × 1	50 points	50
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		321

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Fermi SG × 4	3 points each	-12
Beta 1-4	10 points each	-40
Alpha 2-4, Iota 1-4	12 points each	-84
GTC Fermi worth 50.	50 points	-50
GTD Intrepid	1750 points	-1750
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-1936

Strategy: PVC Aten 16, PVFr Satis 17, PVFr Satis 18 all appear before mission and die at 0 seconds. The level design is supposed to prevent Aries 2 from getting killed; ignore Aries 2. This next part doesn’t work in FSOpen, only in retail so just kill Aries 3 in FSOpen. Either the GTSC Faustus is an enemy or a friend for the mission, you can't have both, but you can decide which you'd like. In order for the GTSC Faustus (the GTC Fermi) and the surrounding GTSG Watchdog sentries to remain friendly, ensure Aries 3 doesn't dock with the GTC Fermi. If you'd like the Fermi and sentries to be hostile, first disarm Aries 3, lower its health to about 3 percent, then allow it to dock with the GTC Fermi (damage dealt to Aries 3 when docked will also be dealt to the Fermi). If the Fermi or its sentries detect attacks towards them, they will open fire (and probably destroy Aries 3, but don't count on it). After the dock, wait a while and the Fermi and GTSG Watchdog sentries will turn hostile (easy to tell when you are close because they fire at you). Both of these ships have destructive explosions; Aries 3 will deal about 50% damage to the Fermi when it blows up, and if you destroy the Fermi before the GTSG Watchdogs, its explosion will wipe them all out. Since this mission is the first one in the campaign, you can pass it with any kills or stats you'd like, then reset the campaign and get the others (you don't lose the stats you achieved last time in the level). If you pass your primary objective before 5:30 elapsed time, but stay until after this, you pass regardless of when the GTD Intrepid appears and command says you fail (the debriefing isn't nice either, but you can hit the accept button without consequence). This is probably the only way to get points for these friendly ships. If you haven't passed your primary objective by time the GTD Intrepid appears, you'll fail the mission. If you allow other ships (mainly freighters) jump out, you will fail the mission. This is the only level with PVF Horus, GTF Ulysses, PVFr Ma'at, GTSG Watchdog, and PVFr Satis kills. This is the only level in both Silent Threat and the Main Freespace Campaign with GTSG Watchdog or GTF Ulysses kills.

The Pursuit

Total Potential Score Reward	1169 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	152 points
Total Kills	54 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	34 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
1 Primary	Eliminate all vessels in area	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
VAC 4 × 8	3 points each	24
PVSG Ankh × 4	4 points each	16
PVF Anubis × 4	6 points each	24
GTEP Hermes × 2	10 points each	20
PVF Seth × 12	12 points each	144
PVF Thoth × 14	14 points each	196
PVT Isis × 1	15 points	15
PVB Amun × 4	20 points each	80
GTSC Faustus × 1	50 points	50
PVC Aten × 4	150 points each	600
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		1169

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Alpha 2-4, Gamma 1-4	12 points each	-84
Beta 1-4	17 points each	-68
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-152

Strategy: Only level with VAC 4 cargo and PVC Aten cruiser kills. Destroying the Cargo has no consequences. To get the Einstein's kill, shoot it until it's below 50%. Don't bother with the escape pods; there are easier opportunities later. The Einstein's explosion will destroy you within 3500 meters.

Ghosts

Total Potential Score Reward	244 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	3670 points
Total Kills	19 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	19 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
1 Primary	Escort escape pods until retrieval	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
GTF Loki × 4	10 points each	40
SF Manticore × 12	12 points each	144
SB Seraphim × 3	20 points each	60
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		244

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Alpha 2-4, Beta 1-4, Tyr 1-4, Roskva 1-4, Einstein Pods × 2	10 points each	-170
GTD, GTD Myrmidon	1750 points each	-3500
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-3670

Strategy: You will encounter unknown Terran fighters in this mission; a wing of these, Scald, will turn hostile. These fighters don't go towards your kills, but they do go towards points, as do the friendly wings of the same fighters. If you let either escape pod die, you fail the mission.

On the Run

Total Potential Score Reward	412 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	305 points
Total Kills	28 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	28 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
2 Primary	Scientists Successfully Escaped	0
	Ratna Successfully Escaped	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
SF Basilisk × 2, SF Manticore × 14	12 points each	192
SB Shaitan × 5	15 points each	75
SB Seraphim × 3, PVB Amun × 3	20 points each	120
SF Dragon × 1	25 points	25
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		412

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Alpha 2-4, Beta 1-4, GTT Sagatarius, GTT Daedalus, GTT Cryos	10 points each	-100
Iota 4, Zeta 2, Theta 1-2, Leo 1-3	12 points each	-84
Libra 1-3	17 points each	-51
PVFr Gemini	20 points	-20
GTSC Andromeda	50 points	-50
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-305

Strategy: Only level with SB Shaitan kills. Not much here worth points; either collect what you can, or don't bother at all. Don't fail either primary objective or you fail the mission. If either the PVFr Gemini or the Ratna get destroyed, you will fail the mission. Also if the Gemini gets disabled you fail.

Hellfire

Total Potential Score Reward	1008 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	165 points
Total Kills	13 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	9 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
1 Primary	Destroy Hellfire	0
1 Secondary	Destroy all enemy fighters	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
SF Manticore × 9	12 points each	108
SC Cain × 3	150 points each	450
SC Lilith × 1	450 points	450
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		1008

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Alpha 2-4, Gamma 1-3	10 points each	-60
Beta 1-4, Delta 1-3	15 points each	-105
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-165

Strategy: Destroy all enemies, fairly simple. You fail if you die or jump out before the cruisers are destroyed.

Secret Recovery

Total Potential Score Reward	2810 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	130 points
Total Kills	62 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	52 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
2 Primary	Retrieve the science station	0
	Destroy the science station	0
1 Bonus	Destroy Vasudan Destroyer	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
PVSG Ankh × 8	4 points each	32
PVF Thoth × 52	14 points each	728
GTSC Faustus × 1	50 points	50
PVD Typhon × 1	2000 points	2000
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		2810

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Alpha 2-4, Delta 1-3, Epsilon 1,2	10 points each	-80
Giordano	50 points each	-50
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-130

Strategy: Only level with PVD Typhon kill. To get the GTSC Faustus kill, ensure both Epsilon 1 and 2 are destroyed. You can save or destroy the Giordano without penalty; destroying it may be easier. That second primary objective is only valid when you fail the first. I suggest focusing on destroying the Ptah. You can call all wingmen to cover you, and you may want to use the NoClip glitch. To get all the PVF Thoth kills, you should use the NoClip glitch so you can wait until new wings stop arriving.

Cloak and Dagger

Total Potential Score Reward	1824 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	448 points
Total Kills	36 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	31 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
2 Primary	Protect the cargo containers	75
	Protect the transports	75
1 Secondary	Stop the Pirate Iota 7	100
1 Bonus	Protect the escape pods	50
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		300

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
GTF Hercules × 6, PVF Seth × 6, SF Basilisk × 5, SF Manticore × 5	12 points each	264
SB Seraphim × 9, GTFr Chronos × 4	20 points each	260
GTI Arcadia × 1	1000 points	1000
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		1524

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
TAC 1-10	5 points each	-50
Alpha 1-3, Escape Pods 1-8	10 points each	-110
Beta 1-4	12 points each	-48
Delta 1-4	15 points each	-60
GTFr Dirge, GTFr Odysseus, GTFr Telemachus, GTFr Artemis	20 points each	-80
GTC Leto 100	100 points	-100
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-448

Strategy: Just go after uncommon kills on this level, don't worry about the escape pods. Scrambled ships on your radar aren't worth kills, but they should unscramble eventually. When the first wing of freighters warp in, scan and destroy the Pandarus. When the second wave of freighters come, do the same for freighters Aegis, Dionysis, and Persephone (these are two of the same name). Find the ship with the space before its name to find the right one (i.e. "GTFR Aegis" opposed to "GTFR Aegis"). To pass the mission you must pass both primary objectives; don't let a single friendly freighter or the cargo of said freighters die.

Field of Destruction

Total Potential Score Reward	114 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	201 points
Total Kills	24 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	24 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
1 Primary	Escort Iota through the asteroid field	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
SF Basilisk × 3, SF Manticore × 18	12 points each	252
SB Seraphim × 3	20 points each	60
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		312

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
GTSG Watchdog 1-7	3 points	-21
TAC1 5 and TAC1 6	5 points each	-10
Alpha 2-4	10 points each	-30
Iota 2,3	20 points each	-40
Iota 1	100 points	-100
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-201

Strategy: Focus solely on destroying enemies as soon as they start arriving. Most enemies will go after Iota 1 or Alpha 1. Krishna 3 (in the second wing of SF Manticores) is kamikaze and will go after a freighter. Save at least 1 Iota ship to pass the mission; it can be any of them. Once your primary objective is finished you've won and can amuse yourself by speeding up time and watching the asteroids destroy Iota wing as the GTSG Watchdogs do nothing. If you warp out afterwards you get a funny debrief where you both saved and lost Iota wing.

Exodus

Total Potential Score Reward	475 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	1880 points
Total Kills	17 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	16 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
2 Primary	Protect the Destroyer	0
	Protect the escape pods	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
GTF Loki × 13	10 points each	130
GTB Zeus × 3	15 points each	45
GTC Leviathan × 1	300 points each	300
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		475

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Alpha 2,3, Beta 1-3, GTEP Hermes 1-8	10 points each	-130
Krios worth 1750	1750 points	-1750
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-1880

Strategy: Don't worry about the Krios, it dies no matter what, but go after the GTB Zeus bombers because there are very few available to destroy in the campaign. Your primary objective is set up to fail, but you can protect the escape pods easily. You can let all escape pods but one die without consequence.

The Return to Ross 128

Total Potential Score Reward	1390 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	84 points
Total Kills	31 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	28 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
2 Primary	Inspect Remaining Wreckage	0
	Destroy the GTI craft	0
1 Secondary	Destroy all remaining Shivans	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
GTF Loki × 11	10 points each	110
GTF Hercules × 3, SF Basilisk × 3, SF Manticore × 9	12 points each	180
SF Dragon × 2	25 points each	50
GTC Leviathan × 2	300 points	600
SC Lilith × 1	450 points	450
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		1390

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Alpha 2-4, Beta 1-4	12 points each	-84
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-84

Strategy: The first primary objective is bogus and goes away seconds into the game. After this, your objectives are to destroy all enemy ships. You need to destroy all GTI ships to pass, but you don't need to destroy all Shivans. You can either let the GTI and Shivans fight for a while and finish off the survivors by powering down and having your friends protect you, or you can pick off enemies of your choice such as the Leviathans and Hercs.

The Wait

Total Potential Score Reward	351 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	144 points
Total Kills	16 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	8 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
2 Primary	Retrieve the Shivan cargo	0
2 Primary	Patrol area for Shivan activity	0
1 Secondary	Destroy all Shivan forces	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
SC5 × 2, SAC2 × 1	0 points	0
SF Manticore × 8	12 points each	96
ST Azrael × 1	15 points	15
SFr Mephisto × 2, SFr Asmodeus × 1	30 points each	90
SC Cain × 1	150 points	150
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		351

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Alpha 1-3, Beta 1-4	12 points each	-84
Paris, Hector, Priam	20 points	-60
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-144

Strategy: Only level with SFr Mephisto, SFr Asmodeus, ST Azrael, SC5, SAC2 kills. You can ignore the primary objective here, you don't need to bother saving the cargo.

Secrets Revealed

Total Potential Score Reward	17150 points
Total Potential Score Penalty	516 points
Total Kills	1115 kills
Fighter/Bomber Kills	1101 kills

Objectives

Category	Description	Points
3 Primary	Capture GTI Installation	0
	Destroy the GTI Installation	0
	Destroy Unknown Vessel	0
Subtotal – Mission Objectives		0

Hostile Ships

Description	Notes	Points
TC2 × 2	0 points	0
TAC1 × 1	5 points	5
GTEP Hermes × 6, GTF Loki × 1098	10 points each	11040
GTB Zeus × 3	15 points each	45
GTFr Poseidon × 2, GTFr Chronos × 1	20 points each	60
GTI Arcadia × 1	1000 points	1000
GTD Hades × 1	5000 points	5000
Subtotal – Reward (if killed by player)		17150

Friendly Ships

Description	Notes	Points
Alpha 1-4, Gamma 1-4	12 points each	-96
Beta 1-4, Epsilon 1-6, Iota 1-6	20 points each	-320
Orff	100 points	-100
Total Penalty (if killed by player)		-516

Strategy: Make sure you go after at least one GTFr Poseidon at the beginning of the mission to ensure a kill of that type, and go after the GTFr Chronos's cargo. This mission is the reason I discovered the NoClip Glitch; it is practically necessary to survive the mission. Enter the Jotunheim on the big part of it, in the squarish section with "support beams". It should be facing you and toward the left as you start the mission. When the Hades jumps in, enter it by flying into the space where an engine is connected to a large bar attached to the ship. When you are in either ship you can easily destroy the horde of enemies they launch at you. There is a catch to this though; you will not be able to kill all of the enemies on this level in FreeSpace retail because of a weird glitch regarding the number of kills you have. It seems that when you get to 350 kills, some time after this the game will crash unexpectedly. I haven't been able to find the cause of this glitch or the exact number you should stop at. To be safe just make sure you don't get more than 350 kills, and go after the more uncommon kills first. Only level with GTFr Poseidon, TC2, TAC1, Hades kills. This is the only level in both the Silent Threat campaign or the Main Freespace Campaign with a Hades kill. GTB Zeus bombers appear around when the Hades jumps in; they go after your reinforcements and if you want their kills you should dispatch of them. The GTEP Hermes escape pods will wander away from the battle and you can kill them after destroying all other threats. The first objective (capture installation) is changed to the second (destroy installation) a few seconds into the mission.

Special Thanks & Conclusion

redalert19243 on GameFAQs: For requesting a medal list on the message boards, for if he hadn't, this guide would not exist.

Tahna Los on GameFAQs: Pointed out a few errors.

Razoriel on GameFAQs: Made me have an innovation about making a basis for the point system.

Basilisk on GameFAQs: Giving me many fixes and tips on the guide, as well as the idea of a multiplayer guide and an e-mail. Also has given me the points for the ranks.

Dman4835 on GameFAQs: For pinpointing the Ace Badges kills and helping me identify an error in my Ace Badge ranking system.

Valkyerie on GameFAQs: Gave me missing info in the rank section.

Bobotheking on GameFAQs: Pointed me to a program that helps get the point values and makes the missions easier to dissect.

Goober5000: Provided more info within a few days about code, hidden values, how scoring works, and various exploits than I learned in the years I had previously worked on this.