Old thread by qrook that really helped me:
Few missions seem to have more problems to overcome than Fest:
- 4 laser turrets, in a diamond pattern, dead ahead
- a tusker, and half a dozen star troopers, hounding
the runaway doggies
- 2 laser turrets, more star troopers, and another tusker
defending the power generator
- 3 ducks that pop up just your wing-men demolish the dam
and while you are downing the tusker
- a third tusker blocking the path to the getaway
- 4 squadron of 3 ducks that turn up to attack the doggies,
just as you down that tusker
- 2 pairs of Tie bombers that arrive, just as you finish off
the ducks
- a pair of rocket launchers and more star troopers defending
the Research Centre
- another 2 pairs of Tie bombers that appear when the first
4 are downed
- a bonus box, defended by 2 more laser turrets, high above
the Research Centre
- and, sometimes, 3 more ducks at the getaway site.
For consistent Gold performance, you have to understand that not all of these are YOUR problems! Obviously, the dam isn't.
Not so obviously, only ONE of the Ties is; the second Tie in the second wave (the 6th of 8) is the ONLY one that can hit the doggies! Ignore the others.
With your boot on the accelerator, take out the 4 laser turrets; centre front, left, centre rear and right. Fly over the last of these, along the dam, curving left to come up behind the tusker. Slow down and take out as many star troopers as possible. [Ignore the nearest one. Your wing-men will pick him off soon.] Hit the gas again, bring down the tusker and fly over the dam, using its centre line as your guide.
You should have a bead on the turret on the right, as it looms out of the mist. Slow down, take it out and take out its companion on the left. Pick off as many star troopers as possible.
You might, if you're good, still have a blue shield. More likely it's depleted a lot. Here's the clever bit. Be sure to hit the generator a few times with your cannons, then stop firing and ram it! This is one of the few times when the loss of your ship DOESN'T cost time on your clock. The cut scene, showing the Research Centre's shield falling is 'shared' with your replenishment with a blue shield. You'll need it for the next phase.
Start circling the tusker from the rear. As the dam goes down, the ducks appear. When the tusker falls, hit the brake and take out the two ducks that are on your line towards the third tusker. [If you don't get these guys, they'll reappear at the getaway site later, I think.]
The last tusker is 'easy'. He doesn't even say boo as you line up on him (on your right). When he's down, slow down and swing a high left turn to point at the first (leftmost) of three ducks. Take them out, accelerate and hang a hard right to face the next three. Take them out, bear right momentarily, and swing left to take out all three of the next squadron. [If you don't make that momentary right swing, the last of the three is covered by the hill.]
Swing right and high, to face the last three ducks. You can sometimes depend on a wing-man to take out the first one, but he's not absolutely reliable. Take all three, if you can.
By now, 4 bombers are approaching. Ignore them. You are running over the hillock into the Research Centre. Get the two laser turrets, quickly and accurately. Then circle back picking off star troopers and lambasting the Research Centre. If everything has gone perfectly (unlikely!), there's now time to pick up the bonus and line up to take out the 2nd Tie of the group of 4 that have arrived. Once that's done, there should be time to finish off star troopers that are still loose, and maybe even time to return to the generator site for some extra kills.
The mission should finish at 5:29.
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"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (Rev. 1:8)