M2 AI help

[ViperMkII]

So, yeah....
I was excited to get my massive M2; I jump in system with my Phoenix and Shrike, I hop into my Nova with my seven wingmen hoping to weave around the cap ships while my M2 lights up the sky. The problem? My M2 Phoenix gets owned by a single Q when I am in system but when I am OOS it is a Q eating machine, wtf? I have all PPC on they front and the sides are split with four PPCs and 4 PBEs. I have PBEs on the top, bottom and FAA on the back. I have also tried using MARS but it still sucks in system. When not using MARS, I made sure the turrets were set to attack all and when using MARS I set it to offence. I guess my questions are:

1) Do most of you use your M2s OOS?
2) Does the M1's AI suck like the M2? I want to set my cap ships to auto attack while I lead the fighters myself. This works and is fun with the M7 shrike....
3) Is there a mod that makes the M2's AI do something besides fly at right angles *not* shooting at stuff?

[vampirecosmonaut]

My M2 usually rams itself into it's target, killing itself and the enemy.
It's become clear to me that the autopilot is my greatest enemy.

[apricotslice]

Dont mix your turrents. I think it confuses the AI. Put all PPC's or all PBE's but not both.

Personally, I fly an M2 and forget the rest. Everything else around is just collision fodder. I set front and left guns to attack my target, rear to missile defense, and the rest to attack enemies. Front and left have PPC's, rest are PBE's.

OOS combat is all about number crunching. IS is trying to emulate real movement. Hence they work totally differently.

I havent heard of a decent cap ship AI mod so far. We do need one.

[ViperMkII]

lol, IS does not seem to try to emulate real movement either. I do understand the problem of mixing turrets, that is why I tried the MARS mod. I think that it is stupid that a Km long ship would not have any fighter defences, but your right we need a mod that makes the larger cap ships more practicle IS.

[Targ Collective]

They *do* have such defences. It is called Flak. Mountable on the top, bottom, and usually front and rear too if you want to go all Navy and rely on broadsides.

[Jovianmoon]

My (limited) experience: don't run any AI ships in combat, in or out of sector, unless they're your carrier-based M3s flying in wing formations - controlled by you - while you're actually flying the carrier.

Apart from my M1 carrier, I have one other capital ship - and only one - an M2, and if it's in sector that means I'm flying it - my M1 carrier and other ships are safely docked elsewhere or otherwise out of harm's way. Don't trust AI and keep a minimal - but powerful - taskforce rather than a huge micromanaged fleet over which you have limited or no OOS control.

I often wonder at people who spend months of game-time acquiring huge fleets only to lose them to AI incompetence. A small, controllable taskforce is the only way to fly - and accomplishes the goal of the simulator: to *fly in space* (not micromanage a miriad of invisible AI ships the whole time you're playing).

Cheers.

[Targ Collective]

I wouldn't be quite that extreme. Think of an M2 as a mobile heavy weapons platform - which is basically what is is - handy to have around but you don't want to be anywhere near it when it goes off!

The trouble with capital vessels flying close together is they will try to shoot *through* each other with PPC to get a single fighter. No *sense*...

However, a few M2s can be great fun if managed right. Emergency jump if shields drop to 30%, 40 or 50 if you find that too much, and you're pretty much golden.

The last word in survivability... Hah, the last word in survivability is whatever M2 the player flies. Failing that a carrier full of M3+ ships often succeeds where others fail. I have seen a wing of Eclipses take out a Destroyer with no losses - the trick is to use swarm missiles to confuse the turrets.

[Motika]

I often wonder at people who spend months of game-time acquiring huge fleets only to lose them to AI incompetence.

Cheers.

because its FUN

[apricotslice]

Building up the fleet might be fun, but losing it all to the AI would be seriously frustrating. I dont need the frustration factor. I hate losing even 1 ship for no good reason, so I do without them.

[Jovianmoon]

No *sense*... .

Well put, my Teladi friend.

[Targ Collective]

Argon. Do I look like a lizard? Okay, I'm a moneygrubbing mercenary with big stationbuilding dreams, but I don't talk like one of those sssnakes.

[Jovianmoon]

Argon. Do I look like a lizard? Okay, I'm a moneygrubbing mercenary with big stationbuilding dreams, but I don't talk like one of those sssnakes.

My apologies. You are Argon - and I, Terran, which makes us brothersss....

[Targ Collective]

Does it. We might be the same species 'brother' but I can assure you that your elitist standpoint as a culture has not gone unnoticed.

You're pathetic! Hiding away in just the Sol system in fear of the Xenon! Our ancestors fought the Terraformers and won, spread across the Gate network like the true pioneers they were and forged new systems while your children were cowering in front of the hoover bots. Terran? Pah! Oh, your ships are powerful enough, but you can't arm 'em for love nor money and the weapons are expensive junk anyway.

You build big and impressive to try to make up for the fact the Xenon scare you rigid. Pah! Pah I say!

Terran? Don't make me laugh.

Using superior Commonwealth technology - PPCs little Terran - I clear out a Xenon sector most days. I go to the Yaki and they quail in ter-ror! TER-ROR!

I go to the Xenon and they disappear!

Wheras you, you slinking Terrans, where were you when we needed you? Well, we forged out a path, hewed out new homes and now your pathetic little Sol System is dwarfed by the Argon might! We have the trust of the Boron and the custom of the Teladi, which amounts to the same thing. And the most powerful OTAS ships? Argon!

Don't insult me by calling me 'brother' Terran. We Argon are the finest Humanity has to offer, battle hardened by conflict, not some cosseted cowards.

(All RP of course. )

[Jovianmoon]

Does it. We might be the same species 'brother' but I can assure you that your elitist standpoint as a culture has not gone unnoticed.

You're pathetic! Hiding away in just the Sol system in fear of the Xenon! Our ancestors fought the Terraformers and won, spread across the Gate network like the true pioneers they were and forged new systems while your children were cowering in front of the hoover bots. Terran? Pah! Oh, your ships are powerful enough, but you can't arm 'em for love nor money and the weapons are expensive junk anyway.

You build big and impressive to try to make up for the fact the Xenon scare you rigid. Pah! Pah I say!

Terran? Don't make me laugh.

Using superior Commonwealth technology - PPCs little Terran - I clear out a Xenon sector most days. I go to the Yaki and they quail in ter-ror! TER-ROR!

I go to the Xenon and they disappear!

Wheras you, you slinking Terrans, where were you when we needed you? Well, we forged out a path, hewed out new homes and now your pathetic little Sol System is dwarfed by the Argon might! We have the trust of the Boron and the custom of the Teladi, which amounts to the same thing. And the most powerful OTAS ships? Argon!

Don't insult me by calling me 'brother' Terran. We Argon are the finest Humanity has to offer, battle hardened by conflict, not some cosseted cowards.

(All RP of course. )

I fear, my little Argon friend, that you may yet live to regret those poorly chosen words. My reference to us as brothers was, of course, merely a condescending gratuity. I see now that it was in vain.

As for your fleet vessels, well, they do seem to be built for show and bluster only; all bark and very little bite - and it was only in vast numbers that you managed to emerge victorious. Perhaps you shall one day witness the firepower of a forward battery of eight Point Singularity Projectors - pray hard that you are not the recipient of their wrath.

And speak not to me of vanquishing Xenon and winning the trust of the alien trash of the galaxy - we Terrans spend very little time bothering with such trivialities. The Xenon are kept clear away from Terra (the cultural and intellectual soul of the galaxy) and that's all that really matters.

I might also point out that your so-called vast conquest of space is merely hyperbole for the poor strategic planning of a rag-tag collective of second-rate colonies which, by the way, is spread far too thinly to pose any real threat to anyone at all.

So to you sir I say not Pah, but double Pah and triple Pah!

[Gazz]

My M2 Phoenix gets owned by a single Q when I am in system but when I am OOS it is a Q eating machine, wtf?

A Q is also an outstandingly fast and nimble M7 while a Phoenix is ummm... the size of a small moon?

All in all the Q isn't a good all-rounder. It's a very dangerous raider and would excel at hit'n'run - if the AI were only smart enough for that. =)
It can dish out a beating (and sometimes kill an M2) but doesn't have the pure muscle of an Agamemmnon fer instance.

Alas, MARS isn't the answer to everything. It just helps with hitting something useful instead of having turrets rolling the dice and gleefully shooting at that target.
Getting ES turrets on the "right" target takes skill like the herding of a gaggle of geese.

[spectre900]

never let an AI do a Man's job!

and for a game that is purley focused Single Player it lacks a lot in AI Control...

and to targ and Jovi.... you two have no sense, you loose profits