WING COMMANDER IV : THE PRICE OF FREEDOM - Part 2

              (V1.1 Hints by P.A. Hardy, 1998)

@~Continued from last issue

MISSION 9: Navigating the "Dead Zone"

This mission can prove to be quite tricky - and time consuming
because your instrument panels will not always be working and you
will keep losing your lock on enemy ships. Perseverance is the
key, however.

Upon leaving the Intrepid, destroy two Exaliburs, auto twice, and
then destroy two Bearcats. Auto twice again, and attack two more
Bearcat ships. Auto twice once more, and you will be drawn into
battle with two Excaliburs. Destroy these and the second pilot
will eject - collect his Ejectpod with your Tractor Beam and
return to the Intrepid, to complete the mission successfully.

The enemy pilot turns out to be the man you gave money to in the
bar at the beginning of the game, and remembering your act of
kindness he will tell you what he knows. You will, in turn, make
sure he is well treated and given passage back home. Go now to the
C.I.C & Chart Room to conduct a new briefing, using the
information you have been given by the pilot to your advantage.

     (If you chose not to help the man out at the beginning of the
     game, he will have nothing but contempt for you, and will not
     yield any Information. You will have to search for the enemy
     Capital Ship in the next mission by leaving the Intrepid,
     destroying four Bearcats, autopiloting, destroying two more
     Bearcats, autopiloting, destroying yet two more Bearcats,
     autopiloting again, and then find the Capital Ship and its
     four Bearcat escorts. Destroy all four escorts, and then take
     out the Capital Ship, before returning to the Intrepid to
     TALK TO MANIAC in the Control Bay, as outlined below. I bet
     you wish now you'd given the guy your loose change eh?)


MISSION 10: Destroying the Capital Ship

Using the captured Pilot's information, you will know exactly
where the Capital Ship may be found. Auto from the Intrepid and
blow away the three Bearcats which meet you. Auto again to find
the Transport and its two Bearcat escort ships. Destroy both
escorts and then attack the Transport, completing the mission
successfully when it is destroyed.

Dekker will see someone leaving the exploding enemy ship in a
shuttle, and arrange to have the escapee captured. Upon returning
to the Intrepid, go to the Control Bay and TALK TO MANIAC. Follow
his advice and go to the Storage Hold to find... Admiral Geoffrey
Tolwyn!  When he's said his piece, remember that I OWE HIM, and
you will allow the Admiral to leave the Intrepid. Go to the
Control Bay now and TALK TO DEKKER, who will not be very pleased
you have let the Admiral go.

     (Alternatively, if you decide to say I OWE HIM NOTHING when
     you talk to Tolwyn, you will opt to keep him as a Prisoner of


     War.  However, when you go into the Control Bay, you will
     need to TALK TO DEKKER AND MANIAC to find out that Maniac has
     let the Admiral go!)

Now that Admiral Tolwyn has gone, go into the C.I.C & Chart Room
and TALK TO CROWD. The ship will make another hyperspace jump.  Go
to the Galley, TALK TO DEKKER AND MANIAC and - when things get
ugly between them - decide MANIAC'S GOING TO GET CREAMED and
intervene to stop a fight. Now head to the Control Bay and TALK TO
PLIERS; ask him WHO NEEDS WINGMEN? before you go back into the
C.I.C & Chart Room to conduct a mission briefing.

This time, you are allowed to choose a mission from a set of
three.  You will be able to do any two of the following missions
through the course of the game: (a) Steal Enemy Fighters (b)
Attack the Manufacturing Plant or (c) Attack the Enemy Carrier.


MISSION 11/12: Steal Enemy Fighters

Cloak up and then auto to the target. Destroy the Radio Buoy and
all the Turret Mines first, in that order, before you concentrate
on blowing away all the attacking Hellcats. 0nce this is done, use
auto again.  When the Bearcats arrive, hit them all with Leech
missiles (only) and - when they're all disabled - wait for the
Transport to arrive, to collect them. Now your mission is
complete, so you may return to the Intrepid for another mission.

MISSION 11/12: Attack the Manufacturing Plant

Do not use your Cloaking Device for this mission, but select a
Wingman instead. Use auto to fly to the Weapons Depot and shoot
all the defending Hellcats. When all of them are destroyed, Dekker
and his team will dock with the Depot. Shoot all the Hellcats
which arrive to attack you, and wait for Dekker's men to secure
all the weapons, before you return to the Intrepid. (Remembering
how you stood up for Maniac a short while ago, Dekker will be in


no hurry to complete his mission, so you will have to spend longer
fighting off the attacking Hellcats). Once back on the Intrepid,
the mission is completed successfully.

MISSION 11/12: Attacking the Carrier

Auto and then destroy the attacking Arrows, before you use auto
again. Now destroy all the enemy ships defending the Carrier and,
when they have all been dealt with, approach the Carrier from
behind and shoot one of its engines to allow the Border Worlds
salvage team to arrive. When they do, your mission is over and you
may return to the Intrepid.

Upon completing any two of these three missions, go to the Galley
and TALK TO CATSCRATCH AND MANIAC, before you go back to the C.I.C
& Chart Room to conduct another mission briefing. You are given an
urgent new mission now, from Vice-Admiral Wolford.


MISSION 13: Attacking the Confed Convoy

When you hear that Catscratch has gotten himself into trouble, say
AFFIRMATIVE, you will abandon the mission and go to his aid.
Destroy both Longbows quickly, and wait for Catscratch to eject.
When he does, pick his Eject Pod up with your Tractor Beam and
return to the Intrepid.

     (If you reply NEGATORY, you will leave Catscratch to fend for
     himself and go on with the mission. Shoot both attacking
     Hellcats and then fire two Leech missiles at the Cruiser.
     When it is put out of action, fire all four MiPs at it too.
     Wait for Dekker and his team to finish their task and
     jettison their MiPs back into space. Collect them all with
     your Tractor Beam and return to the Intrepid, to successfully
     complete the mission . However, Catscratch will not be so
     lucky - he has self-destructed himself with his craft, and
     you will return to the Intrepid only to attend his funeral.
     From this point onwards, you will have to go on without
     Catscratch to help you.

Back on the Intrepid, go to the C.I.C & Chart Room to TALK TO
PANTHER AND HAWK, telling them WE DIE TRYING. Now CONDUCT BRIEFING
for your next assignment details. You have a further choice of
tasks now: to) Collect Weapons or (b) Collect Fighters. You will
only be allowed to do one of these two missions.

MISSION 14 (A) : Collect Weapons

Approach the Cruiser and blast the two approaching Hellcats. Leech
the Cruiser twice, and launch all four MiPs at it, when the
Cruiser is disabled. More Hellcats will arrive when Dekker and his
men have docked, so destroy these also. Finally, when Dekker and
his troops jettison, beam all four MiPs back onboard your ship,
and you will receive some new, important orders.

To carry these new orders out, auto to the Transport and shoot
down both Dragon ships. (These have Cloaking Devices and keep
cloaking in and out - you can only target them when they are
phased in and you can actually see them! When the two Dragons have
been destroyed though, you are free to Leech the Transport twice,
and then fire all four MiPs toward it. When Dekker and his troops
have docked (again) you will find two more Dragons have appeared;
shoot both of these to pieces. When Dekker and his team have
secured the Transport, you can return to the Intrepid immediately
- you don't even have to wait for the MiPs to jettison - to
complete the mission successfully!

MISSION 14 (B): Collect Fighters

Destroy all four Bearcat fighters, and the defecting Confed pilots
will join you. The mission is an instant success, but you will now
receive some new orders.

To carry these new orders out, auto to the Transport and shoot
down both Dragon ships. (These have Cloaking Devices and keep
cloaking in and out - you can only target them when they are
phased in and you can actually see them!) When the two Dragons
have been destroyed though, Dekker and his team will arrive in a
shuttle, and dock with the Transport. Two more cloaked Dragons
will arrive and you will be forced into battle with these, too.
When both ships are destroyed, however, Dekker will soon complete
his mission and you may return to the Intrepid to do the same -
with complete success!

Back on the Intrepid again, after completing one of the two
missions above, you should go to the Hanger Bay and TALK TO
PLIERS. When he asks if you want to pilot one of the new Fighters,
tell him LET ME AT THOSE BABIES, to get one. Go now to the C.I.C &
Chart Room and TALK TO SOSA. The Intrepid will now jump to the
Telamon System, and you should conduct your next mission briefing.

MISSION 15: Exploring Planet FT857

Auto twice, and then destroy the two Banshees waiting for you. Now
auto twice more, and shoot down two Dragons. Auto again, to
destroy two more Banshees followed by two Vndicators. Auto once
more and you will land on the planet, to find out how the war
against them has been waged. You will now automatically return to
the Intrepid.

Go into the C.I.C & Chart Room and TALK TO MANIAC. The Intrepid
will jump again at this point, this time into the Callimachus
System, where you should immediately conduct another mission
briefing.

MISSION 16: Gathering Information on the Axius System

To complete this mission, you should select Leech missiles. Then
leave the Intrepid and auto away, to engage and destroy two enemy
Dragon ships. Send your Wingmen back home at this point, cloak up,
and then auto a second time. The Jump Buoy - a green blip on your
scanner - should be somewhere ahead of you, and you should fly
full throttle towards it, with afterburners. When the enemy
Dragons draw near, turn away from the buoy to face then, and
quickly Leech them both with your missiles, before they can make
the jump through hyperspace. Once they are Leeched, destroy them
both with your laser fire.


     (If you fail to stop one or both of the Dragons from reaching
     the Jump Buoy, they will go through hyperspace and signal
     reinforcements.  These reinforcements will head straight for
     the Intrepid, you will receive a distress call, and you will
     auto back to the ship in time to see it burst into flames and
     explode. There is nothing you can do to prevent this - short
     of stopping both Dragons reaching the Jump Buoy - and the
     game will effectively end for you here.

When the second Dragon is destroyed, you will find yourself sucked
through hyperspace and right into the middle of a fleet of four
enemy Dragons! Auto straight away and you will leave them behind;
you will now find yourself near an enemy Space Station! When asked
for the Entry Code, say DELTA CH1.9.729 and dock with the station,
to find out what is going on, and who is the real criminal of the
skies.

When you leave the Space Station, destroy the two Dragons waiting
for you, and then auto. Straight back into the group of four
Dragon ships you autopiloted away from earlier! You're not trying
to be secretive any more, and so you should shoot and destroy all
four Dragons, after which you will get sucked through hyperspace
again.

A Transport will follow you through hyperspace, this time, and you
should torpedo it and destroy it, before turning to attack the
defending Dragon. Once these ships are destroyed, auto and you
will return to the Intrepid to dock.

Once onboard, go straight to the Control Bay and TALK TO DEKKER,
to tell him who you have seen. Now go to the C.I.C & Chart Room to
TALK TO PANTHER AHD HAWK. You may decide either HAWK'S RIGHT. THIS
IS WAR (to use the Flashpak on the Ella Space Station) or instead
say PANTHER'S RIGHT. WE CAN'T KILL CIVILIANS (to save the Flashpak
for later). Whichever option you go for, the Intrepid will
nevertheless jump now to the Ella System.

If you sided with Hawk a couple of minutes ago, conduct a briefing
in the Control Bay and then go to your ship for your mission to
use the Flashpak.


Fly toward the Ella Station and fire the Flashpak from long range.
Now take out some of the defending Hellcats until your mission is
complete and you may auto back to the Intrepid.

     If, on the other hand; you sided with Panther a couple of
     minutes ago, you will simply have to avoid the Ella Station.
     Three Frigates will follow you and you will have to auto, to
     destroy the first Frigate and its defending Hellcats; auto
     again to destroy the second Frigate and Hellcats and then
     auto a third time, to destroy the third and final Frigate and
     all the Hellcats defending it. You may now return to the
     Intrepid.

Whether you used the Flashpak or not, the Intrepid will now catch
up with Tolwyn's ship, and all fighter pilots are put on emergency
scramble against the Confederation Supercarrier, the Vesuvius.


Head out in your ship and destroy as many of the Hellcats as you
can, until you receive a signal recalling you to the Intrepid,
when you will be forced to dock with the ship.

The Intrepid is taking a severe beating, and so the ship will make
a run for the Jump Point with the Vesuvius right behind it,
exchanging fire.  As you near the Jump Point though, the sister
ship of the Vesuvius will appear through it, and surprisingly come
to your aid to shoot at the Vesuvius! This is the St. Helens, and
is commanded by your old friend Captain William Eisen! After his
holographic communication with you, it is time for you to man your
ships again, for another mission.

MISSION 17: Attacking the Vesuvius Fighters

You cannot destroy the Vesuvius itself here, but you should
destroy instead as many of the enemy Hellcats as you can. The odds
are against Tolwyn winning this battle and so he will have the
Vesuvius escape through the Jump Point, with the St. Helens and
Intrepid hot on his heels.

     (If you still have the Flashpak available to you at this
     point, Pliers will tell you this is the perfect opportunity
     to put it into action - against the Vesuvius. Tell him IT'S
     NOW OR NEVER, so Pliers will get to work).

Conduct a mission briefing now, and then fly out to the Vesuvius
in your ship, to try and destroy this menace. Help your Wingmen
destroy the Hellcats and then zero in on the Vesuvius itself.
Without the Flashpak you will simply have to get close to the ship
and blast it with torpedoes and laser fire, aiming for its Launch
Bays, for best results.  Keep blasting until the Vesuvius is
destroyed.

     (If you still have the Flashpak though, things are much
     easier here.  After your mission briefing, fly out to the
     Vesuvius and, as your Wingman destroys the Hellcats, ignore
     them and target the Vesuvius itself with the Flashpak. Fire
     the Flashpak at the Vesuvius to destroy it, and then help mop
     up some of the surviving Hellcats).

Once the Vesuvius is destroyed, one way or the other, you may
return to the Intrepid. Admiral Tolwyn has pulled his good old
escaping routine again in a shuttle, and now heads to the Assembly
to collect a promotion and have the Council declare war against
the Border Worlds. It is up to you, Colonel Blair, to stop him!

MISSION 18: Exposing Tolwyn's treachery to the Assembly

You will have to fly this final mission alone. Auto away from the
Intrepid and you will find Seether waiting to block your path.
This is the moment you have been waiting for from the outset
though, your chance to take out Seether! Blow him away - he has a
Dragon and will keep fading in and out - and, although he is a
good pilot, you should finally destroy him. Smile as you do so,
and then auto to continue your mission.

You will arrive in space near a Starbase. Four enemy Arrows are
protecting it, and you will need to destroy all four of these and

then the Starbase itself, before you auto one final time to arrive
at the Assembly - which is in session!

After hearing Tolwyn's speech to the Council, SEIZE THE MOMENT and
decide that TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME. When he's said his piece,
CONFRONT HIM and decide HE'LL TRIP HIMSELF UP. Then, when he
mentions weaponry, ask him LIKE BIOWEAPONS? and you will hear the
Council's disapproval. Finally, TELL THEM MORE, and Tolwyn will
end up digging his own grave.

Now simply sit back and enjoy the spectacular end sequence. Well
done, Wing Commander, you have completed the game!







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