The page covers gameplay questions for the original versions of Hardwar. For things specifically related to U3 or UIM, see Upgrade 3 and Upgrade IM sections. On this page:

3.1 Combat
3.1.1 Why do I keep getting killed?
3.1.2 Who is killing who?
3.1.3 How do I tell who has a bounty?
3.1.4 A faction has asked me to attack a building. How do I do that?
3.1.5 Can I avoid paying fines?
3.1.6 What is an enforcer and how do I get rid of one?
3.1.7 How do I get "double amnesty"?
3.2 Piloting and Equipment
3.2.1 What moths are available?
3.2.2 What equipment is available?
3.2.3 How do I dock? Can I speed up docking?
3.2.4 How do you target salvage dropped on Titan's surface? How do you use a drone?
3.2.5 Why can't I salvage Origin Unknown?
3.2.6 How do I get power?
3.2.7 Where do I repair?
3.2.8 Can I change the order weapons cycle?
3.2.9 What differences are there between starting options?
3.2.10 What are the differences between power cells?
3.3 Hangars
3.3.1 How do I find buildings?
3.3.2 What do different hangars do?
3.3.3 How do I buy a hangar?
3.3.4 Can I buy pirate/scavenger hangars?
3.3.5 Can I get a loan?
3.4 Economy
3.4.1 How can I find where to buy or sell a particular item?
3.4.2 How does the economy work?
3.4.3 How do I get rare moths (Deaths Head, Police, Swallow)?
3.4.4 How do I get a fusion cell?
3.4.5 How do I get rare missiles (Tac Nuke, Big Bob)?
3.4.6 How do I get a Death Ray?
3.5 Transport
3.5.1 Can I run my own taxi firm?
3.5.2 Can I ride the monorail?

3.1 Combat

3.1.1 Why do I keep getting killed?

To quote David Hedbor, "When I first started playing Hardwar, I quickly got very frustrated. I almost returned it to the store twice. Both times I played it, I gave up after about half an hour of death and mayhem." You are not alone. You will be attacked either because you have made an enemy of someone, or because you are carrying a cargo that a pirate wants to take from you. The starter moth and equipment is not particularly good for combat. Initiating combat will give you the edge, but finish the fight quickly because the opposition will probably be better equipped. Do not engage more than one moth at a time. Avoid the caves initially - Haven and Midway. Avoid attacking faction (Lazarus or Klamp-G) and gang (Skinner or Scrubber) moths initially. Make use of tunnels to escape and evade: Computer controlled pilots stop before entering a tunnel, where you can probably curve into them at full throttle. Alternatively, find a relatively safe crater, such as Riverside, trade and run away using countermeasures (such as Chaff) at the first sign of trouble. Once you upgrade your moth combat will become a lot easier. The new starter options introduced in U1.0 make Hardwar much easier to survive - see What differences are there between starting options? below.

3.1.2 Who is killing who?

Titan's politics can initially be somewhat confusing. There are two major factions, Lazarus and Klamp-G, who are permanently at war with one another. Faction influence varies across Titan: Lazarus strongholds are Highrise, Alpha, the western side of Reservoir, and the northern side of Mines; Klamp-G strongholds are Riverside, Gamma, the eastern side of Reservoir, and the southern side of Mines. There are also two gangs, Scrubbers and Skinner, who are also at war with one another. Gangs are less powerful than the factions, and tend to side with Lazarus (Scrubbers) and Klamp-G (Skinner) respectively. Attacks against faction/gang moths are taken as an attack against the whole faction or gang. In the unpatched game, killing a gang moth would often also make you an enemy of the supporting faction, but in the patched game the links are less strong. Outside of the faction/gang structure there are various other minor players, independent pilots, and the Police. The Police will assign a fine/bounty for unprovoked attacks on non gang/faction moths. Certain independent pilots are rather gun-ho, notably pirates, who will attack to steal cargo, taking a bounty in the process. Minor players normally restrict their combat activities, for example, loan companies will only engage in combat to collect bad debts.

3.1.3 How do I tell who has a bounty?

Police, faction and gang hangars maintain lists of wanted pilots. Killing them will pay you a bounty and will clear any record with the group paying the bounty. Collecting bounties on independent pilots will not lead to any reprisal, however killing bountied faction and gang moths will upset their owning faction. Spotting pirates without consulting the list is an art. Pirates seem to always use medium pods and laser turrets. Pilots carrying Matter, Trigger or Fusion Parts have normally stolen it from gang transports. The moths of one faction are always on the wanted list of the other faction.

3.1.4 A faction has asked me to attack a building. How do I do that?

Laser turrets defend some buildings. These become active if you are wanted by whoever owns the building. The laser turrets can be removed by a few well-aimed cannon shots at the turret. Attacks on building turrets are counted as attacks on buildings. You can also attack the buildings themselves by firing 'nukes' at them - they order ConstMat for a while, which depletes their cash. There are no specific rewards for attacking buildings. (U3 beta 5 developed this feature, allowing players to damage one another's hangars. It was never completed and created a bug that could trap a builder's moth in your hangar if you forgot to pay them for their ConsMat.)

3.1.5 Can I avoid paying fines?

Yes. Once you receive a message from the police that you have been fined do not visit a police station. If you do the fine (in cash or in kind) will be taken from you. You now have one Hardwar day to kill another pilot on the wanted list of whomever you have offended. Killing a wanted pilot will clear your record, and net you the bounty for the kill. If you delay by more than one day, you risk having an enforcer sent out after you.

3.1.6 What is an enforcer and how do I get rid of one?

Enforcers are particularly dangerous moth pilots who pilot Police or Deaths Head moths. They will follow you and attempt to kill you until you or the enforcer dies. The police will send out an enforcer if your bounty with the police rises above $2000, or you are credited with killing a member of the police. Gangs send out enforcers called assassins if you have a bounty of more than $2000 with that gang. Loan companies send out enforcers in Deaths Head moths if you fail to replay a loan for 2 days. The first thing to do in most cases is to try and clear your record. Now stop the current enforcer from hassling you by using one of: several Groundbase missiles, which aren't counted as an attack; a single Devastator - the first hit isn't counted as an attack; bump the enforcer against tunnel walls, or trap them in the exit bay of a hangar and wait for the hangar to cancel entry/exit clearance - after 7 seconds the hangar defences will destroy the enforcer; disable the enforcer's engines so it can not follow you around (this is the one case where you should not bother to clear your record beforehand); evade the enforcer for a few days - eventually they may forgive and forget. If you are going to kill an enforcer it is important that you are not registered as killing it. The best way to deal with enforcers is to not call one out: Ensure that you pay your loans on time, and clear your record with whoever you have offended by killing another pilot on their wanted list. If you continue to kill Police enforcers you will eventually crash the game (see Why does the game crash with "no more police enforcers can be generated"? below).

3.1.7 How do I get "double amnesty"?

When you kill a faction or gang moth, you get put on their wanted list as an enemy. In order to clear your name, you need to kill a pilot on the wanted list of the group you have offended. Since the factions are always at war, killing a moth of the opposite faction, will get you an amnesty, but will also add you to the opposing wanted list. Continually swapping between factions' wanted lists works most of the time. However there are times when it is useful not to have either faction gunning for you, notably at certain points in the plot such as the Gang Boy mission. Double amnesty involves simultaneously clearing your record with both groups. The most common method involves seeking out the few independent pilots that from time to time appear on faction wanted lists. Find one using faction A's wanted list and lock them in. Now kill a moth belonging to faction A (swap wanted lists). Finally kill the independent pilot, which clears your record with faction A, without upsetting faction B. There are other more inventive methods. For example (from Narcotron), buy weapons from a weapons reseller belonging to the other faction. They will probably send out a transport for supplies. Wait for a pirate to attack the transport, make sure you kill the transport first (swap wanted list), and then kill the pirate to clear your record with the first faction.

3.2 Piloting and Equipment

3.2.1 What moths are available?

There are six player moths in the original game, with an additional type added in U2.01+ versions. Common types can be brought from moth factories, especially Downtown Moths. Rarer types may need some work first - see How do I get rare moths (Deaths Head, Police, Swallow)?:

Deaths Head

Hawk

Moon Moth

Neo Tiger

Police

Silver-Y

Swallow

Ian Martin writes: "The Swallow was originally a remote unpiloted vehicle in a planned space combat game; the fuselage was modified in 2000 to squeeze a pilot in."

3.2.2 What equipment is available?

Here is a short summary of moth equipment, excluding plot specific items:

Guns

Offensive, use energy. Buy/fit at weapons factories and weapons resellers:

Missiles

Offensive, consumed on use. Buy/fit at weapons factories and weapons resellers:

Countermeasures

Defensive, consumed on use:

Engines

Engines make your moth move. Bigger engines make your moth move faster, but don't seem to affect power consumption. Buy/fit at certain breaker maker and trading posts:

Cells

Cells store energy. Influence stall height. Buy/fit at component factories and breaker makers. Also see What are the differences between power cells? below.

Pods

Pods allow cargo to be transported. Larger pods slow your ships down and make you easier to hit in combat. Buy/fit at certain breaker maker and trading posts:

Accessories

Software

Adds HUD features and improves equipment performance. Most software comes as a series of upgrades. Install at software providers:

3.2.3 How do I dock? Can I speed up docking?

Docking can be done manually or automatically. For manual docking (no autopilot software fitted), move into the rectangular targeting tunnel that shows when close to a hangar, point at and then move towards the doors, the doors will open, drive in and stop just in front of the internal air lock doors. To dock automatically, fit autopilot software, and then fly into the rectangular targeting tunnel - the autopilot will do the rest. To speed up docking, go to a software provider's hangar and remove the autopilot. You will have to steer your way into each hangar, but if you are skilled you will be able to dock far quicker than before.

3.2.4 How do you target salvage dropped on Titan's surface? How do you use a drone?

Upgrade your Target software at a software provider's hangar to level 3. You can then target salvage in the same way as moths and hangars. Drones must first be armed, then used. This means pressing the drone key (normally "D") twice to send it to recover salvage. Remember to wait for the drone to return with the salvage. By releasing the drone while moving, it is often possible to throw the drone at the salvage, then swop down to recover the drone. This greatly reduces the time taken to recover salvage.

3.2.5 Why can't I salvage Origin Unknown?

You need a Super-Drone. Psycho Bob will fit one to your moth when the time comes to liberate some origin unknown from the faction secret bases. Once you have the Super-Drone fitted, gather all the origin unknown you can - in original versions it sells for $99,999 at Trading Posts, although this has been changed by subsequent patches. Do not unload origin unknown in your hangar - you will not be able to reload it. You can always jettison the origin unknown and pick it up later without risk of losing it, because you will be the only pilot on Titan with a Super-Drone.

3.2.6 How do I get power?

All conventional cells are based on solar energy. As you fly around, particularly as you fire weapons, stored power will decline. Cells can be recharged by hovering directly under a Lightwell. Note that upgrading Power software will add a recharge meter to the HUD, which helps to ensure you are directly under the Lightwell. Fusion Cells do not require recharging in Lightwells - see How do I get a fusion cell? below.

3.2.7 Where do I repair?

Breaker Makers and a small number of other hangars (for example, Flyers Retreat in Gamma) offer repair facilities. Each moth system (Hull, CPU, Weapons, etc) can be repaired in 10% blocks. You need to pay to use public repair facilities. Private hangars (see How do I buy a hangar? below) come with repair facilities, that will repair your moth for free, which is one of the big advantages of private hangars. You can also sell repair services to other pilots.

3.2.8 Can I change the order weapons cycle?

Yes and no. The order normally reflects the order items were installed in, although if you remove one item and add another, the new item will tend to occupy the first available free position, which will probably be the position the removed item was in. If you have your own hangar, you can remove all the non-missile weaponry and then fit it again in the desired order, and generally experiment without any financial penalty. Remember that missiles can't be removed once installed, so your options with those are more limited.

3.2.9 What differences are there between starting options?

Ultimately it does not matter what career you pick at startup. These choices don't restrict what you can or cannot do. All they do is equip you with a moth that favours a certain style of play initially. Patched versions introduce new startup options, some of which make the early part of the game far easier. Each option has the following starting conditions, based on U2.04:

Aggressor

Basic pure combat setup:

Agitator

U1.0+:

Corrupt Cop

U1.0+:

Dealer

U2.02+:

Godfather

U1.0+:

Scavenger

Basic collector/multi-role setup:

Trader

Basic trading setup:

3.2.10 What are the differences between power cells?

From Ian Martin (recharge rates assume maximum light):

Power Cells
CellMax PowerRecharge rate/secMass
12,000,00041010
24,000,00081020
32,000,000101040
41,500,00061050
Fusion2,000,000Always Full30

3.3 Hangars

3.3.1 How do I find buildings?

Certain key buildings can be targeted from the local services menu. You can select target from messages. Alternatively, fly close to the building, targeting it, and lock the target for future reference. For new pilots, finding anything in the fog of Titan is difficult, particularly in the larger craters such as Downtown. Try to remember how a few important buildings relate to different tunnel mouths. You may find it useful to refer to maps of Titan, which can be found here: http://www.capsu.org/hardwar/maps/ (or http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/game/197522.html ).

3.3.2 What do different hangars do?

Here is a list of important hangar types within the game. Most hangar names are fairly self explanatory, for example "Downtown Chemicals" is a chemicals factory, so I have only noted names that are not immediately obvious. All businesses buy small amounts of Food. Note that faction owned hangars may not be prepared to trade with independent pilots - this is particularly true of their weapon and moth production facilities. A full Hangar List is in the Appendices:

Raw Materials

Equipment Related

Luxury Related

Service Related

The remaining hangars are either bases for individual, faction or gang pilots, plot related locations, or in a few cases, such as Colony HQ and Flight Academy, background filling.

3.3.3 How do I buy a hangar?

Visit the estate agent in the same crater as the hangar you want to buy. Hangars cost about $16,000. Downtown Estates only sells about 20 properties at a time. This means that you may not be able to purchase a particular hangar in Downtown until you own several hangars in that crater. The same restriction applies in online games, which may mean that if a pilot dies his or her hangar is not immediately available for purchase - it gets put at the 'end of the queue' (from The Kurgan).

3.3.4 Can I buy pirate/scavenger hangars?

Yes. Kill the current occupant just after 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 or 18:00. Wait until the start of the next full hour and then go to the estate agent in the same crater as the hangar. You must reach the estate agent and purchase the hangar before the next time in the sequence. You cannot buy properties in Haven or Midway. It is not clear whether properties can always be purchased in Mines and Reservoir - this may vary by patch. Note that UIM Enhanced allows hangars in these craters to be purchased via Gamma Estate Agent (see What is UIM Enhanced? below). Occupying pirate hangars will greatly reduce the number of pirates in the game - this is the only way to stop the majority of them 'respawning' after you kill them.

3.3.5 Can I get a loan?

Yes. Go to MisOp Finance (Downtown) or Charlie Wadsworth (Riverside), and arrange one. Three are available: Small ($5000 over 2 days), medium ($10,000 over 3 days), and large ($25,000 over 5 days). Interest rates are 10-20%. You can take up to one loan from each financier at any one time. This means you can get up to $60,000 (including starting cash) at the very start of the game. Taking such a loan is not recommended for new players, however an experienced trader may be able to use it to gain advantage very quickly. Failing to repay a loan will eventually bring out an enforcer - see What is an enforcer and how do I get rid of one? above.

3.4 Economy

3.4.1 How can I find where to buy or sell a particular item?

Use the needs and sales lists available at Trading Posts. Each post lists nearest and cheapest sales across Titan, and local business needs. Some items are not manufactured and may eventually run out, see Why can't I buy any engines or pods when playing online? below.

3.4.2 How does the economy work?

The economy model is based around production and use (often destruction) of items. The core of the economy is based on equipment production, however there are also trades for luxuries (Narcotics, Foods, and similar), and "export goods" (like BodyParts). Raw materials are automatically produced at certain locations, which are then transported to businesses in other places to be processed. For example, Ore might be transported from mines in the Mines crater to Ore Procs in Downtown, where it is processed into SheetMetal and ExMetal. In most cases multiple commodities are needed for production processes to work. So, in order to produce a pack of Swarm missiles, SheetMetal (see above) and Explosives (made from Plastics and Chemicals at Chemical manufacturers) needs to be taken to a weapons manufacturer. The finished product may then be transported and sold to a weapons reseller, such as Psycho Bobs, before being equipped by pilots and used in combat. The production recipes may use differing proportions of materials. Businesses often make a variety of products using similar materials: Sometimes in order for them to produce rarer items you will need to first get them to produce a full stock of more mundane items. Most businesses have restrictions on how much stock they can hold or any one item (rarely more than 35, but often less than 5), and also have limited cash: Don't be surprised when previously profitable trade routes dry up temporarily due to over-supply. Note that faction (Lazarus/Klamp-G) facilities will normally not trade with you. A full list of Non-Moth Production Requirements and Locations is in the appendices.

3.4.3 How do I get rare moths (Deaths Head, Police, Swallow)?

Swallows are only available in U2.01 and later. In U2.0x games you can freely hop into a Swallows parked at Highrise Construction, Riverside Construction, Waterfront Booze or Alpha Construction. To produce the rare moths you need to supply Downtown Moths with: about 2-8 Sheet Metal, 3-9 Plastics, 4-9 MachParts, 2-3 Ore, 1 Laser and 1 Cell. Supply Cell #1 for Swallows, Cell #3 for Deaths Head and Police. Since Downtown Moths will only produce three or four moths at a time, you will probably need to purchase one or more other moths before the desired moth appears. Buying whatever moth is in bay #3 may help. Deaths Head moths will generally appear before Police. Unless you are lucky, you will need a hangar to store spare moths. You can always remove and trade the laser on the spare moth, and trade-in some of your spare moths for the rare moth when it appears for sale. Bargain moths will produce Swallows, and because it produces fewer other moths, it will tend to produce Swallows quicker than Downtown Moths. For precise requirements see appendix Moth Production Requirements Table.

3.4.4 How do I get a fusion cell?

The 'Gang Boy' mission part of the plot will provide you with a fusion cell. In U2.0x games the free swallows (see How do I get rare moths? above) all come fitted with fusion cells, which can be removed by fitting a different cell type. Fusion cells can be manufactured by supplying fusion parts to component shops - ensure that the component shops are also supplied with Chemicals, Water, and Plastics. Fusion parts can be pirated from gang transports, taken from pirates that have done this, or occasionally purchased at Trading Post. Fusion parts will not appear until after Port crater is closed, specifically not until you get an email entitled "nuclear ships out". Fusion cells are well worth producing early in the game.

3.4.5 How do I get rare missiles (Tac Nuke, Big Bob)?

A Tac Nuke is first fitted to your moth by Psycho Bob to destroy one of the faction secret bases, as part of a plot mission to retrieve Origin Unknown. Use one Tac Nuke to destroy one of the bases, but do not retrieve the Origin Unknown. Return to Bob's and he will fit another Tac Nuke to your moth. Alternatively straight after your first moth has been fitted with a Tac Nuke, fly it to your hangar, swap to a second moth and return to Bob's to get another Tac Nuke. Repeat for a third or fourth moth if you wish. A Tac Nuke will also be fitted to your moth during the Port blockage clearance mission. A Big Bob missile is fitted to your moth in the following mission. Tac Nukes and Big Bobs can be made by supplying Dr Jobes, Special Arms Co or Downtown Munitions with fusion parts. The missiles have little or no use outside of the plot. Note that Police and Swallows cannot mount rare missiles.

3.4.6 How do I get a Death Ray?

The Death Ray is a cannon that slowly fires deadly white balls of energy, thought to be fitted to the inside of airlocks, to vaporise trapped ships that don't leave quick enough. It can only be accessed as weapons by hacking the game.

3.5 Transport

3.5.1 Can I run my own taxi firm?

A game reviewer seems to have started this rumour. A Gremlin representative suggested that you could use a Moon Moth to carry passengers on alt.fan.elite. You can own a taxi (Moon Moth), but you cannot transport passengers or run a taxi firm in the offline game. You can transport other player characters using a moon moth in an online game.

3.5.2 Can I ride the monorail?

Only with U2.02 or later. Fly to a monorail station hangar, leave your moth and walk to the monorail platform. You can press N to see where the monorail cars are. Routes are: