Introduction

At one point or another you'll probably want to try to buy a hangar that's already occupied by an AI pilot in the offline game. A lot of theories and myth surround this topic.

The answer to getting these hangars is really quite simple: You must kill the pirate or trader occupying the building and go to the nearest real estate dealer to see if that hangar is now available for sale. Most likely it won't be.

You'll have to wait for it to be occupied again and kill the next occupant and maybe repeat this process several times. Most of the pirate hangars outside Haven and Midway will become available for sale after two or three kills.

Myths

There are many myths that have arisen concerning the acquistion of pirate hangars (same applies for other AI pilot owned hangars, too). Sadly, I have to admit to beginning one and promoting others.

It's not that Loyal and Greedy Pilots were just shooting off their mouths. Hardwar is a complex and often confusing game. Flyers would get a hangar following a certain procedure and assumed that the entire procedure they used was necessary. This is because they were successful and their procedure seemed to make sense. It was through these errors that I was able to derive the rather simple procedure needed to procure these pirate hangars.

Some of the myths to be aware of are:

Myth #1: You must buy all of the available hangars in a crater before special hangars, like pirate hangars, become available for sale. This isn't true. The only thing that will put a pirate hangar on the market is to keep killing the pirates occupying it until it becomes available for sale (detailed instructions below).

Here's proof. Notice the selection arrows beneath the known pirate hangars "Crash Hangar" and "Pirate's Nest". These selection arrows prove there are other hangars available in the crater. These hangars were previously owned by a series of pirates until I killed them all off. (The proof opens in a new window.)

Myth #2: You do not have to supply ConstMat to local construction companies to make hangars available. I can see how this got started, though. Supplying the ConstMat took up the time necessary for a hangar to be listed. It takes the game a couple of minutes to determine whether or not the hangar will be used to spawn another pirate or be made available for sale. There is nothing I know of to do to influence the game's decision. Again, supplying ConstMat is not necessary to acquire pirate hangars.

Myth #3: You must wait until a certain point in the game to before the pirate hangars can be made available. Not true. You can follow the procedure below any time during the game.

Myth #4: You can only get hangars owned by pirates. Not true. In fact, it's just as easy to get a trader's hangar and some businesses go bust and their hangars (not their whole business or stock) become available as the game progresses.

Myth #5: A hangar may be available at a real estate dealer other than the one in its crater. Well, this one is mostly false. The hangars owned by AI pilots are available at the nearest real estate dealer. You can sell any hangar you own to any real estate dealer you want. In hours of experimentation, I've not seen an AI owned hangar listed anywhere else but the nearest real estate dealer.

A Sad Truth

It seems, with all available data in, that some hangars just simply *cannot* be bought. The Hideouts of Midway and Haven are some of these. I have heard of games where someone bought these hangars. If you have a LOG or SAV of one of these games, please write me. To date, the only way I know of to get these hangars is to use one of OUCH's cheat programs.

I've come to this conclusion after playing an online game offline with the AI pilots turned off and checking to see what hangars are available. All of the pirate hangars were for sale at one real estate dealer or another except for the Hideout hangars. I've recieved similiar reports from other pilots. There were a few other hangars that were not available as well. I'm working on a list of these.

The Procedure

Step 1

Find a nice little hangar owned by a pirate that you'd like to have for yourself. Try the Crash Hangar in Gamma. It's a pretty easy one to get. It's midway up the big hill in Gamma between the Downtown and Midway tunnels. It faces Midway.

Remember that "Crash Hangar" is the hangar's generic name used when the hangar is unoccupied. It will probably have a pirate's name on it when you go to find it. This is true of any of the pirate hangars. You can fly around and look for any hangar with an AI pilot's name on it. I like to get pirates' hangars because killing them won't get me into any trouble and you get bounties.

Pick a hangar and lock it into your Buildings Menu. This will save you a lot of time later.

Step 2

Go to the nearest Police station and target the pirate that owns the hangar you just locked in. If you forget their name, just open your Buildings Menu to the locked in hangar and there's the name.

Step 3

Kill the pirate. As soon as you get the alert that the kill is registered -- a bounty notice or whatever -- the hangar will be empty. Go to the real estate dealer nearest the hangar (not the pirate) and see if it's available for sale. It probably won't be. It will be used to spawn another pirate.

Step 4

Now things can get tedious. In a couple of minutes, another pirate will be spawned in the hangar. Go about your usual business and check the locked in hangar in your Buildings Menu. Its name will change as the hangar's name changes in the game. This is a huge convenience.

As soon as you see another pirate has set up in the hangar, go to the nearest Police station and target and kill him. You may have to repeat this several times. I find that I get most hangars outside of Haven and Midway after three or so kills. Sometimes they become available after only two.

Go back to the real estate dealer and see if the hangar's for sell yet. If not, you'll have to repeat the pirate killing/real estate agent checking cycle until it does become available for sale. If the hangar stays empty for a long time, meaning that the name doesn't change in your Buildings Menu, that's a good clue that the hangar is up for sale or soon will be.

Step 5

Buy the hangar as soon as it becomes available. This is why you should check often. If you don't buy it pretty quickly, it will go back to spawning pirates.

Tips And Tricks

Lock that hangar into your Buildings Menu. This is the best thing you can do for yourself. It allows you to check the status of the hangar from anywhere on Titan.

If a hangar stays empty (has its generic name) for more than a couple of real-time minutes, check the real estate dealer. It may well be available for sale.

Lock in and work several pirate hangars at once. Once you get a good flow going, you'll end up owning three or so of these hangars in one Hardwar day.

Some Observations

There's no doubt that certain hangars in the game are used to create ("spawn") various pilots. Places like Crash Hangar, Thunderbase, Darkbase, and Pirate's Nest spawn pirates. Other hangars, like Downtown's Homebase and Dunroamin, spawn traders and scavengers.

Thanks to Loyal and Greedy Pilot OmEgA, I've discovered that some locations are just easier to get than others. I'd previously reported that the more pirate hangars you own, the harder it is to get others. This is not true. Some hangars, like Crash Hangar, become available after two or three kills. Others, like Thunderbase, require a dozen or more. The number of other pirate hangars owned seems to have no effect on the number of pirates you'll have to kill to make another pirate hangar available for purchase.

Goku has this to say:

I started a new game as an agitator flew around to check out pirate hangers.I found Zero cool's hanger in Alpha for sale with out killing anyone.I took out Lord Nicon in Riverside first then the next owner then bought the hanger.In High-rise take out Jade Falcon to get Pirate's Nest or Rex Darkmane for Darkbase.You can own both.I have.You can get Crash Hanger in Gamma with one kill.Hangers in Haven,Midway,Mines and Res.I haven't bought yet.I think if you kill enough pirates you can buy them.Some hangers are owned buy traders,so you have to deal with the cops.The other hangers in Gamma,Riverside Alpha and Downtown Take three or more kills. I find more details and ways to profit every time I play this game. I'll keep you updated on any new things I find.I think no one has see or found every little detail this game has in it.

-- Goku

So, there's still a lot to learn about getting pirate hangars. Keep an eye out for updates.