So, as it turns out, I finally beat Uplink/Onlink today.... as in, I won the special missions for ARUNMOR while playing Onlink for the first time in my life. Could've done it in Uplink, yeah, but I like Onlink and have ever since trying it. Always thought Uplink, while awesome, needed something more... so damn glad I found this mod!

However!

I've possibly run into an issue that messes with at least my style of playing the game and perceptions of its challenge. As you gain in rank up to the point where you start doing JUUUUST past bank missions, the amount of money you get compared to the crazy tools you pretty much NEED by this point, at least if you're a fan of the Bypassers, becomes somewhat ludicrous. Forget about keeping up with the latest versions.

So, when I ran into this situation, I figured out how to hack banks, landing my Uplink account 2 million credits, which I quickly burned up buying everything under the sun that'd help. Gateway stuff, software upgrades, the experimental CPUs in the Uplink Laboratory place... yeeeaahh.

And while using this to save/end the world as we know it (the ARUNMOR/ARC storyline) was pretty cool, I can't help but think I skipped out on a whole lot of things. But I've never been a hardcore or conventional player of this game until recently, leaving me to ask--

How does the average game of Onlink go for you? Are bank hijacks the only way to really flourish compared to the more mundane job after relentless job? I'm hoping we get some more job variety, something to fill this gap if it really is one. Maybe I'm just doing this wrong.

Well, now that I have the upgraded Gateway + Hw, I'm slowly going through the trouble of gaining admin on every system I can. I want to see how high a trace time I can get from Uplink Internal Services system.

Basically, yeah.

How my game goes?

Start.

Take out a max loan. (So I have 4k credits.)

Purchase Trace_Tracker v4 (or whatever the hell it was called... I haven't actually played Onlink in months) and Password_Breaker.

Take as many copy/delete file missions as possible and do them.

Pay off that loan.

Start taking on DNS missions.

Upgrade hardware/computer/etc.

Start taking on Academic/Social Security/Criminal Database missions.

Try and get HUD_ConnectionAnalysis and as many high-level Bypassers as possible (at the very minimum the highest level of Monitor_Bypass) in preparation for a bank (or rather, account) hack.

Hack a bank account with a large amount of credits (via a Trace Balance Transfer mission).

Use all that cash ASAP.

Do copy/destroy database, destroy mainframe, bank hack, and/or Arunmor jobs from then on.

-- Griffinhart

I get bored at the point where I finish the first Copy a file mission...

I have a REALLY short attention span sometimes.

Thanks! Now I know for certain whether or not I'm missing something. I suppose the fact that the Bypasser-reset bug likes to annoy me at the worst possible times doesn't really help matters either.

Well, it seems that next up on the list is trying to DESTROY digital society using Revelation.

Don't forget to uncover all the secrets and easter eggs. I'm sure there's plenty that the Onlink community, as a whole, haven't been dug up yet.

-- Griffinhart

Or save all us geeks the heartbreak and save it using Faith.

Did that once already. Now to see the other side of the story!

If all goes well I might decide to roleplay as an Uplink agent on the MUSH (a telnet-protocol-based multiplayer RPG... in this case, a multi-themed one) I play on or something.

Here's how mine goes at the start:

Go onto job listing, ask every job for half payment in advance. Do it many times. Lots of money. Blaze through them all with mint gear and collect the remaining half.