Pilot Archive
Thread: Super-New Pilot
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Nooca
Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:08 pm
#1
You can definitely take out the Black Sun Ace in the starter ship, but you will just have to practice your skills. But one thing to consider now so you don't have to worry about it later is, MAKE PILOT FRIENDS! It is near impossible to master pilot by yourself, although some have done it. It is both more fun and easier to do missions with a partner or a small squadran to help. Another good tip is to find a shipwright who is knowledgable and reliable. No matter how good a pilot you become, it is always to your advantage to have good components in your ship. When training, train the componants branch first, then the ship, then the droid, then the virtually useless other branch like so: 0100, 1100, 1101, 1111. Learn about droid programs and how to use them. There are some great tutorials on this message board. As far as flying, here is a little tip list a friend of mine wrote that I borrowed:
Just thought I'd post a little "tips 'n' tricks" manual for Jump to Lightspeed. These are by no means the only right way to do things, but just my personal preference and what I've found to be the most effective tactics in combat maneuvers and general piloting.
1) Get your controls just the way you like them. I've found that the most important buttons to have at your fingertips are:
Fire Weapon 1
Fire Weapon 2
Boost
Target Under Reticule
Target Nearest Enemy
Target Next Component
Match Speed
Fire
Countermeasure
(I've never actually used this, but only because I've never had any countermeasures loaded. I'm sure they're very helpful.)
If your ship has two laser weapon hardpoints, make sure you can fire each one individually. This allows you to continue to hammer at your opponent longer using just one of the weapons even when your capacitor is nearly empty. If you've got both weapons firing off one button, then you are forced to use the full capacitor drain from firing all your weapons at once. EDIT: WITH CAP OVERLOAD PROGRAMS, CAPACITOR LEVEL AND RECHARGE ARE VIRTUALLY REDUNDANT. I USE AN REd LEV 2 CAP TO POWER TWO LEVEL 10 WEAPONS AND NEVER REPEAT NEVER DRAIN MY CAP WITH CAPACTOR OVERLOAD 3.
2) Load your most powerful weapon in the hardpoints that are nearest each other. This probably only applies to the Neutral pilots out there, because most of the ships have two hardpoints: one where the two cannons are right next to each other, and the other where the two cannons are spread apart. Your best weapon will be most accurate and effective when the two cannons are mounted closer to each other. For example, in the Dunelizard fighter, mount your best weapon in the second slot. The first slot has the cannons mounted at the tips of the wings, far apart. You will have a better chance of hitting with both cannons if you mount them in the nose (2nd) hardpoint.
3) Avoid jousting matches. This is what I like to call the "stalemate" of dogfighting. This is where neither you nor your opponent can seem to get behind one another, so you keep making strafing runs at each other that yield little or no damage. This usually occurs when your opponent is as fast or slightly faster than you. To break this frustrating cycle, practice this maneuver: As your enemy is approaching you, do not fire your weapons. You won't land many hits, and the ones you do land will only damage the front shields. Your goal is to stick to his backside and hammer at his rear shields, so damaging his front deflectors won't do a bit of good. Instead, wait for him to get close, then start doing an about-face EARLY, before the enemy is upon you. At the same time, drop your throttle to about 75%, which will give you about a 25% increase in maneuverability and help you whip around faster. Half-way through the turn, go full-throttle, hit your boosters, and stick to the enemy ship's butt like a mynock on a power cable. You should be able to stay behind him, even if your ship is slightly slower than his. With a bit of practice at this, you will eventually learn to break out of every jousting match you wind up in, and keep your guns, rather than your engines, pointed at your enemy.
4) If you're becoming overwhelmed, GET OUTTA THERE! If you've lost all your shields with no clear chance of winning the battle, quickly hit that hyperspace button and jump out. Just try to stay alive long enough to make the jump, and you should be ok to hit a repair station and get right back into battle without losing the mission or your life. EDIT: IF YOU ARE IN A MISSION, HYPERING TO ANOTHER LOCATION IN THE SAME SYSTEM YOU ARE IN WILL NOT CAUSE THE MISSION TO FAIL. ALSO, CONSIDER WRITING AN ESCAPE MACRO.
5) When you're hopelessly outnumbered or overpowered, disable your targets instead of riding them for a full kill. It's much easier to knock out the engines or reactor of your opponent than it is to fully destroy them. When you're in a jam, doing that will give you a fighting chance. Once everybody is disabled, then you can start picking them off one-by-one without having to worry about them shooting back. If you wait too long to destroy a diabled enemy, it will blow up on its own, and you won't get the xp gain from it. EDIT: WHEN I HELP PEOPLE POWERLEVEL, I ALWAYS DESTROY THE ENGINE FOR THEM AND LET THEM FINISH THE JOB, THIS ALLOWS ME TO GET MOST OF THE DAMAGE ON THE KILL AND THUS COLLECT THE LOOT FROM THE KILL. BUT, I HAVE FOUND THAT DISABLING THE REACTOR IS FASTER THAN DISABLING THE ENGINE, SO IF YOU ARE NEW AND WANT TO DISABLE QUICK, TARGET THE REACTOR.
6) Kill the toughest opponents first. As a general rule, kill off the tough ones first and mop up the easy ones last. No use swatting flies when there's a huurton chewing on your leg. This is especially imporant if there's fewer tough guys than weak.
I hope this is helpful to you or anyone else just starting out. If you are in Sunrunner, look me up.
Bulak
Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:54 pm
#2
Apple II? Apple II...Now, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time... A long time.
A young Programmer named Bill Gates, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped Microsoft hunt down and destroy the Mcintosh. He betrayed and murdered your father.
Redsharkey
Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:42 am
#3
Ok, I'm a freelancer pilot I just got my bandioler (sp?) from dravis, but now I'm stuck.
He said he won't train me (I'm still 0000) until I do a Black Sun Ace mission. I've tried many times with my free ship and failed. I bought a ship and put "light blasters (red)" on it, but can not figure out how to fire them. My left mouse button won't fire them and I tried assigning them to my weapons group one, using the number one key (above q).
I'm an idiot, please help...
I could use some general flying tips, (I haven't played a flight sim since my Apple II)
How far can I get in the free starter ship? Do I need a "real" ship to get to 1111?
As far as ship component go... What can I use as a 0000 pilot, can I even use the light blasters or do I need to be 1111?
Frigga
Eclipse
Redsharkey
Tue Feb 01, 2005 8:42 am
#4
ok thanks Nooca. I like what your post said about jousting, i'll practice
Bulak /rofl
VelRahn
Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:45 am
#5
Bulak wrote:Apple II? Apple II...Now, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time... A long time.A young Programmer named Bill Gates, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped Microsoft hunt down and destroy the Mcintosh. He betrayed and murdered your father.
SWEET!!! I've never snarfed coffee before!! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!! 5-stars for u!
Message Edited by VelRahn on 02-01-2005 12:46 PM
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