I have a bunch of n00b questions(again)

[7cardcha]

Sorry for asking so many questions but I think I'll go crazy if I don't know 


How do you hack an ARS? I'm sure it's painfully obvious but google isn't working.


What is a SuperTerminal and what does it do.


On the wiki it says hacking get's more expensive. Do they mean the ai throws more ships at you or does it actually cost metal?

Thanks for bearing with me.

[Hearteater]

ARS Hacking: Build a Ship-Design Hacker and bring it to the system with the ARS.  Then keep it stationary and alive until hacking completes.  Once that happens you can use the ARS tab on a Science Lab in that system to select the ship you want.  See also Hacking.  You can bring a Science Lab into the System with the ARS (before hacking normally) to see what the ship choices are.  A Mark II Science Lab works best since it is cloaked.

Super Terminal: There may be one in a game (if you have the Zenith Expansion turned on).  To know if you have one in your game you'll need to scout every system.  When the Super Terminal is activated (which you do by claiming the system), it reduces your AIP permanently over time, but spawns enemy ships continuously in response.  The longer you leave the Super Terminal alive, the more hacking you build up, which means the waves get tougher.  Eventually you need to destroy the Super Terminal.

[7cardcha]

Wow thanks!

One follow up question. On the wiki it says:

Each Knowledge Raid is roughly equivalent to about two and a half of the first ARS Ship Hack, and about two-thirds of the Hacking the second Ship Hack will cause combined with the first. More than two planets worth of Knowledge stolen will be challenging without serious strategical thought. Also, if you only need 500 Knowledge or so, don't fully K-Raid it and you won't incur the full penalty. It is based on the amount of K that is stolen, not the number of planets you've stolen from.

So apparently raiding more then 2 planets is bad especially for me and the other guy I'm playing with since we aren't pro.  The question is can I fully raid 2 planets and then he fully raid the same planets of is that bad?

Again thanks very much.

[7cardcha]

Wow thanks!

One follow up question. On the wiki it says:

Each Knowledge Raid is roughly equivalent to about two and a half of the first ARS Ship Hack, and about two-thirds of the Hacking the second Ship Hack will cause combined with the first. More than two planets worth of Knowledge stolen will be challenging without serious strategical thought. Also, if you only need 500 Knowledge or so, don't fully K-Raid it and you won't incur the full penalty. It is based on the amount of K that is stolen, not the number of planets you've stolen from.

So apparently raiding more then 2 planets is bad especially for me and the other guy I'm playing with since we aren't pro.  The question is can I fully raid 2 planets and then he fully raid the same planets of is that bad?

Again thanks very much.

Also are hacking repercussions permanent or is it just a couple big attacks when/right after hacking?

[Hearteater]

Hacking is permanent.  Three things add to Hacking: Ship Hacking (to select one of three ships from an ARS), Knowledege Hacking (to get Knowledge from an AI controlled system), and activating a Super Terminal (to reduce AIP).  So each time you do one of those things, they will all get more punishing for the rest of the game.  So pick wisely, and ideally don't do anything that requires hacking unless you have to, so that you keep your options open.  Some general tips:

Ship Hacking: Check out each ARS with a Science Lab to determine if you even want to use hacking.  The left-most ship on the ARS tab is the one you get without hacking.  So if you want that one, don't hack that ARS.  Unless you don't think you need hacking for anything else, I wouldn't bother hacking if one of the alternate choices isn't clearly better for your game.  NOTE: In a multi-player game, each player gets to pick a ship type, so you can pick different ships (or the same).  This makes Ship Hacking fairly attractive.

Knowledge Hacking: This is meant as a method of breaking you out of a problem spot.  If you've spend all your Knowledge and can't proceed, you can use Knowledge hacking to get enough to open a new toy that can break the stalemate.  So reserve this only for those times when you can't figure out any other way to get past something.  A related point is to not spend Knowledge too quickly.  Knowledge lets you beat the stuff the AI throws, so spending it before you see what you need is an easy way to get yourself stuck.  Hopefully you won't need to do this more than twice.  And never Knowledge Hack a planet you are going to take later...you gain Hacking for Knowledge you could have gotten for free.

Super Terminal: Scouting early will let you know if this is even an option.  Sometimes it just isn't worth the effort.  If you are playing a high AIP game (taking a lot of planets) then a Super Terminal is very useful.  But only if you can avoid Ship Hacking and Knowledge Hacking.  You might be able to sneak one Knowledge or Ship Hack in and still use a Super Terminal, but that can be risky.

[Bognor]

Also are hacking repercussions permanent or is it just a couple big attacks when/right after hacking?

They're permanent in the sense that they'll affect the AI's response to all further hacking, but there's no effect when you're not hacking.

The designers' intent is that if there's a superterminal available, using that and taking extra planets should be more beneficial than just knowledge hacking.