alright, I just started playing Uplink, and it's an awesome game - but I'm getting confused by a bunch of things...

First, should you just bounce through as many networks as possible? I think I'm going to kill myself if I need to add like 100 networks and then connect through all of them each and every damn time I wanna hack something

Second, in terms of logs - what do I delete? In my 2nd mission or so, after going to the logs file I saw like 6 or 7 logs...and had no clue which one to delete. Is it based on my IP? Also, I saw someone say you should always bounce though one of the systems first?

Third, how do you get admin status? do you need to hack into the system and then get the admin name/pword? What do you do after that? In my last mission I got the admin, then after I completed the mission I went back to that system, logged in with the admin code, and they kicked me out. what gives?

Fourth, what are the best tools to buy? I have what the tutorial forced me to buy, + the log deleter...what else is of enough importance to buy right away?

It bugs me that there's no online manual so I could get better at the game (since the game is so glitchy and slow sometimes!), so if anyone could just list as many tips/hints/etc. as possible, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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I'm new at this myself, but here's my best shot.

1. Servers that you bounce through have different "difficulty" degrees, or trace times. ie. a public server is easy to trace you through, governments and banks take longer, and servers that you are an administrator on take the longest (I think). If you buy Trace tracker V.3 it will show you how many seconds the trace takes. Experiment with your bounces and watch the trace times change. Although, it's also affected by the server that you've hacked into.

2. When on a mission, it's mainly important to delete the log you just messed with. Like copied file 00923. It's usually at the top of the list.

3. I'm not quite sure how it works. I've read that you can keep the admin password that you hack if the trace took less than 50%. But, I've never been able to. It makes sense that the server would change the password though.

4. I hope mrxak doesn't mind my posting this, it's his help guide, (url="http://"http://www.modlink.net/guides.php")http://www.modlink.net/guides.php(/url)

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Quote

Originally posted by needsumhelp:
First, should you just bounce through as many networks as possible? I think I'm going to kill myself if I need to add like 100 networks and then connect through all of them each and every damn time I wanna hack something

You should bounce through as many networks as you think is neccesary. Depending on the type of server you're hacking into you might need more bounces. Go to the InterNIC server (directly, it's on your link list) to get a lot of links for your list.

Quote

Originally posted by needsumhelp:
Second, in terms of logs - what do I delete? In my 2nd mission or so, after going to the logs file I saw like 6 or 7 logs...and had no clue which one to delete. Is it based on my IP?

Not really. You should delete the log entries that tells what you did (connected as admin, accessed a file, accessed logs, etc) on the server.

Quote

Originally posted by needsumhelp:
Also, I saw someone say you should always bounce though one of the systems first?

It is a good idea to make your first bounce the InterNIC server. Then, when you disconnect, you connect directly to the InterNIC and delete the log of the bounce. This prevents a passive trace.

Worth noting is that the InterNIC will not trace you if you hack the admin password. Either actively or passively. And the password never changes. It's a great machine.

Quote

Originally posted by needsumhelp:
Third, how do you get admin status? do you need to hack into the system and then get the admin name/pword? What do you do after that? In my last mission I got the admin, then after I completed the mission I went back to that system, logged in with the admin code, and they kicked me out. what gives?

They kicked you out because they knew that that password had been compromised. You were most likely not the administrator, so they traced and disconnected you.

To keep admin access to a machine, you have to make sure that you were traced through less than half the machines you bounced off. If you have admin access to a machine, it has a solid outline on the world map. The dotted outline around machines tell you that you have a user-level access to that machine.

Quote

Originally posted by needsumhelp:
**Fourth, what are the best tools to buy? I have what the tutorial forced me to buy, + the log deleter...what else is of enough importance to buy right away?
**

The more advanced the missions you start doing, the more tools you'll need. In the end, you'll probably need most of them - there are very few you'll never need (like the IRC client).

I prefer to buy the most advanced log deleter and trace tracker there is right at the start.

'glove

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Compilers - the ultimate god games.
(edit) I wish there was a preview feature on this board. (/edit)

(This message has been edited by Kidglove II (edited 05-30-2003).)

I'll sneak in here with my own spin of the already good help above.

A good tip is to always try to buy the highest version of any piece of software. The reason for this is that if you upgrade the software later on, you'll end up paying more than if you'd have done this in the first place. It takes a little longer to get started, but drastically accelerates gameplay later on.

I won't list everything there is to know here, but I can give you a good link which should include all you need to know to survive and handle the game. Only use it, however, as a "backup plan"; part of the fun is to try on your own first. And, as long as the trace never finishes, you shouldn't get caught

(url="http://"http://www.modlink.net/guides.php")http://www.modlink.net/guides.php(/url) )

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