First Strike Forums — Space combat again

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-09T10:18:28Z

Mr.Guybrush wrote:

Best thing to do in terms of space combat, is to simply shoot at whatevers infront of you. But never track the target when going in circles as that makes you a target then.

True, but that also depends how well your all working as a squad. If your escorting the heavies (as you should be) then hopefully some of the gunners will pick off any stray fighters on your tail, or your squad mates will be looking out for anything behind you lining up for a shot.

Moving forward and picking off targets or causing enough for a shared kill is the best way to go though. Fighters taking down heavies with nothing but lasers make me laugh though.

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-09T10:09:04Z

I don't understand why people do the 'circle of death'. All the opponent has to do is go forward for 200metres and then bank sharply and infront of you will be the enemy going in circles. Take aim and fire

Best thing to do in terms of space combat, is to simply shoot at whatevers infront of you. But never track the target when going in circles as that makes you a target then.

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-09T09:30:09Z

I use joystick as well and I dont have that muchn of a problem with it to be honest. I play XvT and XWA a lot for a gaming clan, those games have the ships best turning rate at 1/3 throttle, so I know what ICANDO is trying to get at, but this isn't XvT or XWA. No idea if there is any sort of Star Wars lore that states the best turning rates are achieved at lower throttle settings, but with the amount of people on some of the space maps its probably not the best idea to slow down so much to try and get a higher rate of turn!

I generally try to avoid turning battles but firing from a distance and slowing down a little. opponent then usually begins to panic and starts turning endlessly looking for the guy he thinks is behind him. Just keep the distance and keep picking him off while he stays in a nice tight circle looking for you.

If you do get in a close up dogfight then dont just sit trying to circle endlessly. Vary direction and try to generally confuse him. varying throttle a little to let him go faster and shoot past you sometimes works, as long as he doesnt try to stick his craft up your backside. Boost forward and then turn back to catch him head on is also a handy little manouevere sometimes. I have roll set to twist on my stick as well, spinning and then reversing direction also works quite well. Most people dont bother checking the hud and think your just going to keep going in one direction. Varying your turns is usually enough to shake them off and bring you up behind them for a quick kill.

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-08T17:22:54Z

The problem is you don't see the direction change of your opponent because you don't have a "padlock view". The Hud is cluttered with a lot of distracting icons such as capital ship positions far away masking your important targets (fighters at close range) when you are in a fighter.
The B-Wing icon looks similar to the cruiser icon. Belief me, noone shot me down when I was doing a permanent turn until today not even the so called skilled ones. I only get killed by accidental crashes or when I try to shoot someone else, only then the fighter behind me gets me most of the time. I don't want much, just make the joystick input more responsive or do it the way mentioned in my first post. Btw, if your satisfied with the mouse, be it so. Since i am not willing to use the mouse for space maps, I 'd like to get answers from other joystick users exclusively, thx.

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-08T16:48:35Z

The average pilot gets into a turning battle. But the really good pilots will do a hard bank and direction reversal when being tailed. When I'm in a superior turn rate craft many pilots start an endless turn in which they are doomed. As stated the supeior turning rate will prevail. Know thy enemy and don't fall victim to their crafts strenghts.

But I have seen a few exceptional pilots in craft "less manuverable" keeping their craft out of my sites. Typically when I'm in a TIE fighter I can tailgate most pilots. Looks like a scene out of one of the movies. But there are a few with exceptional skill that I just can't get my sights on.

So keep practicing, especially evasive manuvers. And don't repeat them as you are then predictable. Predictability is certain death.

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-08T15:58:16Z

TY2D2 maybe you need to open a flight school and teach fighter combat 101

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-08T15:53:11Z

I use mouse and keyboard all the default settings and I do exceptional in dogfights.

It's called skill people, come get a taste of some ingame

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-08T15:04:42Z

Thats ok but i dont think people that can afford better controls should always have the advantage. and the boost of the rebels refils very quickly and gives them much faster turning.

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-08T15:02:39Z

I am joystick user and always will be (Saitek X52) with lots of keyboard strokes put on it.

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-07T20:52:11Z

oh thats smart... stinks cause I use digital controls...

Re: Space combat again

2007-10-07T18:40:27Z

L2 Get mouse with Sensitivity button.. if someone starts a Turning war with me i end it put my mouse to full power and own them

Space combat again

2007-10-07T18:32:57Z

What I like to see is to have the best turning rate at aprox. 2/3 of your throttle range. I know keyboard users would have a pretty hard time finding this sweet spot, but right now all people are usually at full throttle an even using their boosters to achieve the best turning rate. For me it's impossible to win a dogfight while turning. I got most of my kills on an unexpecting enemy or someone who got bored of turning like crazy. When you see someone flattening out after a tight turn it is impossible to react to it in time. When "he" shows up in your upper window you can't do much more than to let go on your stick but even that's not enough to keep "him" in sight. Have you tried to have the best turning rate at 2/3 speed? The faster you go beyond that the worse the turning rate would be nice. You always have to match speed with your opponent, well no problem if you are the guy in the superior fighter. A less competitive fighter (B-Wing, Y-Wing, Tie-Bomber) will always have a slower turning rate at a given speed as already is. Fighters like the A-Wing or Tie-Interceptor are space-superiority-fighters, once they've managed to get behind you, you get that:
"I can't shake him!, I can't shake him!" feeling when you are in a less competitive craft. Reducing the best turning rate to 2/3 of the current rate would give you the time to react to direction changes properly since we have that "floating feeling" on the controls. Reduction of the overall maneuverability to 2/3 of the current value and best turning rate at 2/3 of the throttle range. Just an idea, pls try it during your internal testings if you can find the time to do so.