Some help or advice on dogfighting with board n mouse.

[Larsenex]

I seem to be doing 'ok' but most of my success is based on having a good ship and 75mj of shields. When I engage an enemy I have my engines at max (180 m/s) and I usually keep them there. I currently lhave FIGHT CMD MK 1 software installed and I have not had a chance to get MK2. My auto aim is set to 'ON'.

As I close to about 5 or 6 Km I launch a Silkworm or two (sometimes). Are mosquito missles better for fighters? All this time I am controling movement with my ship via the mouse. I am holding down the LEFT mouse buttong to guide my target coursor and my right to fire at the Circle which leads my target. My left hand is not doing much except for a moving side to side with A & D keys and the ocassional roll iwth Q & E.

Most of my movement and turns are done with my mouse. It honestly seems that fighting would be easier with a joystick but perhaps I am wrong. What happens is 1/2 the time I am closing I open up and fire into the circle and score some hits and we pass by each other. I turn with mouse and continue to fire at the circle and most often run out of energy.

Other times as we close the little bastard stays right in line and opens up on me. I am also firing madly. I will almost ALWAYS kill him however he will also do some hull damage to me as we are zooming into each other blazing.

Really my question is, is there a better way? Should I be moving side to side, doing rolls or what? When he lines up with me and starts his run I would almost always say bring it bitch and fire in on him as well.

I do not have a Joystick. I can get one. Is Fighitng easier with one or is it really a preference? I have read that you only have 'boresighting' available with a joystick. This seems to be a disadvantage as the circle lead thingy is VERY helpful while using a mouse.


Thanks again for the advice. The game is getting much more fun btw!

[BugMeister]

hit the spacebar to switch between firing modes..

CTRL+n will toggle flight control in the traditional sense, this will enable you
to fly and fire with the mouse following the main target cursor, ie dead ahead
- the circle-site doesn't appear and your shots will always fire towards where the target cursor is..

- get Fight Mk2 for additional turret commands..

[Rive]

There is only two cases when you have to bother with speed: when you are approaching something with low range but nasty guns and you want to keep distance: or when you are against some M5s.

Everything else is as BugMeister said. With MKII you can set AutoAim to auto - it's a really big difference.

[Bill Huntington]

Welcome to TC, Larsenex! You have come to the right place with those kind of questions. The answers you get might not always be perfect or the best for you, but they will give you something to try and do. And many times they will be perfect and the best. It seems that you are enjoying the game and that is what it's all about.

The Silkworm is slow. Most of time you need help right now. The Wasp is fast and has some punch. The Mosquito doesn't have much to it, though it can help distract the enemy.

The mouse does work as you can see. But my dogfighting skills improved by at least 50% when I got a joystick. Just that little extra quickness here and there makes a big difference. You are using the strafe keys and the roll keys, which is good. Don't forget the W,S keys also.

I missed this when I was a new pilot. Make sure your rear turret is enabled and has a weapon in it. Go both to the Weapons Menu (shift G) and the Command Console under Turret Controls. I usually choose Missile Defense, because it will take a missile first but also fire at other targets.

New pilots also need to be aware that they can eject from their ship, and use the astonaut repair laser to repair their ship or a newly claimed ship. This saves $, and shipyard trouble.

Full shields and best weapons are your first priority, of course. But pick up 7 - 9 fighter drones when you can. A good force multiplier, and easy to control during combat with shift - 6 and shift - 7. Pick them up after combat, and you will have them when you need them.

Easy money are the already red Duke's freighters, more common in Teladi sectors. Earn fighting rep, $, and rep with the sector owner. Sometimes they bail or dump cargo, and you have a new ship.

I hope this helps. Again, welcome to TC!

[Killjaeden]

if you use the classic controlmode X3 plays similar to a fps
Don't forget to use trusters (WASD), very usefull

[Duke Flipside]

I've found the new TC "click to steer" interface poor for dogfighting. Basically, if you want to shoot (and hit) anything, hit shift+n. This will let you steer the ship just by moving the mouse, and right-clicking will fire the guns straight ahead. This is where the fight command mark 1 comes in, as it allows you to activate the auto-aim. Line up the target indicator until it starts flashing blue/red, and let rip. You'll find it a lot easier to hit things in this "classic flight mode".

Also, if you get a Big Ship (M6 or bigger) and want to dogfight, it's a lot easier if you do the majority of your steering with the arrow keys, because they turn so slow. Much easier than frantically moving your mouse across the entire desk to find you've only turned a couple of degrees

That pretty much covers steering...general dogfighting tips include try and get behind the enemy, and then match his speed; then you can bring your main guns to bear without him being able to do much/any damage, unless he has some nasty turrets. And, of course, WASD are the golden keys for dodging enemy fire!

[Larsenex]

So this would make the Zoom Goggles actually usefull I suppose. Do any of you use them in combat?

Shift+N for combat or spacebar? okie dokies Ill try it.

Thanks!

[imperium3]

I disagree with everyone

I've used mouse and (laptop) keyboard ever since I got this game, but in the default setup (ie not mouse follow or classic). So I use the arrow keys to steer and the mouse to aim and fire. Takes a bit of getting used to (and a lot of work for the left hand, because especially using larger ships I need to alternate between strafing (WASD) and normal steering, but I find it makes matters a lot easier when shooting fighters, since you only need to follow the lead icon accurately in order to hit.

Good luck and welcome to TC!

[Larsenex]

Is the Zoom Goggles that I have of any use while fighting?

What I mean is a gunner who has a scope is usually more accurate but I cannot see that in this case since you are jumping and moving around so much...

[Master of the Blade]

The video enhancement goggles are useless while actually in combat, but I find them useful for when you can just see a ship, which is far out of your scanner range, and you want to be able to tell whether it's Pirate or Teladi.(I often use them upon entering an apparently empty Xenon sector, to help find victims.

[EmperorJon]

I disagree with everyone

I've used mouse and (laptop) keyboard ever since I got this game, but in the default setup (ie not mouse follow or classic).

I'll agree with you there.

Don't like using a stick, I prefer the defualt settings. left hand for WASDQE, strafing and spinning, and occasionally jumping to the arrow keys, whilst somehow holding dwon Ctrl, and my right hand uses the mouse to steer, click etc. whilst fighting. I do occasionally use mouse follow in fighters and the like though.

Oh, and in big ships I permanently keep a finger on F1!

[Musicker]

I find it easiest in classic mode, (shift-N so that the mouse is always steering my ship when I move it, and boresight fire mode) in combat. I have had a lot better experience using the mouse and keyboard (ASWD for strafing, EQ for rolling) than trying a joystick.

It's definitely all down to personal preference, and what works best for you.

[Duke Flipside]

Is the Zoom Goggles that I have of any use while fighting?

What I mean is a gunner who has a scope is usually more accurate but I cannot see that in this case since you are jumping and moving around so much...

They're not much use in a dogfight with fighters, but if you're in a capital ship battle they can help you aim your PSPs/PPCs better when you're still 7km off (as your guns will be coming into range, but autoaim doesn't kick in until about 4km)

[perkint]

Really my question is, is there a better way?

Well, as you have probably noticed - joystick or mouse is a question of preference, but most people find one is much better for them than the other. See if you can borrow a joystick and see if you like it. For me, the game would not be anything like as good without one!

As for technique it depends on what you're flying, what you're attacking and what your play style is. If the enemy is attacking me (ie heading directly for me) I tend to head in towards him and start blasting away before he gets into weapons range. Then I'll keep firing until I run out of energy, the target is destroyed or his fire gets to me. If his fire gets to me, I'll strafe and then start firing again.

I'll let him pass and then rinse and repeat. Maybe. Smaller ships I'll just stay close and blast him. For ships with turrets I'll either hunt for a blind spot or keep running out of range and coming back in to eat away at him. As I say, depends on the ships involved.

Also - if you are running out of energy too quickly use the weapons groups to fire less lasers each time, or swap your lasers to a lower powered one.

They're not much use in a dogfight with fighters, but if you're in a capital ship battle they can help you aim your PSPs/PPCs better when you're still 7km off (as your guns will be coming into range, but autoaim doesn't kick in until about 4km)

I think auto aim does still work then, you just don't get the crosshairs...

Tim

[Larsenex]

Boresight mode was just stupidly difficult. Is there a way to invert the mouse? After all this time I have been playing where I can control where the ship goes by pressing right mouse and when I let up it flies straight to where I am pointed but I have mouse fire. That is where my courser is, is where I fire. I was nearly killed when I engaged in 'classic' mode. I went to move up and I took a nose dive down YIKES. The turning is slow and the over all handling was poor. I was moving the mouse acrose my desk to get the ship to turn. I want my ship to move up when I push the mouse 'away' from me and to dive down when I pull it towards me. Is this an option in the controls?

Thanks

[ndp183]

He never did say what ship? and is the steering and speed fully upgraded?

boresight is a key that fires all main guns straight ahead. Not sure what the purpose of that is, but not to be confused with classic mode, which fires at your crosshairs. It is the best mode for fast fighters and accurate shooting.

Fight software MKII is a must for accuracy as well, once installed hit K to turn your auto-aim from 'semi' to 'on'.

Having the right guns is key too. Much easier to hit a fast ship with a fast gun (PAC, PBE, IRE, PRG). Against bigger fighters and corvettes HEPTs is energy efficient if you only use 3-4 of them. Use your weapon groups.

If the enemy is hitting you, dodge. If he's not, line up and blast him. Some angles give you a better chance to get multiple hits than others. Usually you end up 'jousting' the other ship and I just return fire while strafing. Once you hit the other ship a few times they'll stop firing and start dodging.

Use your strafe and roll constantly when under fire. Every 2 seconds change which way your are strafing, and maybe alter your heading for emphasis. Strafe up and to the side at once. Strafe up and to the side and roll.. Watch the little space dust around you to see which way your are moving. I nearly always have one, two, or three keys down when in a furball.

[Cyricist]

I've some experience with all controllers, except the gamepad, and I must say, I enjoyed a setup where I flew with my left hand (keyboard and later Joystick!!) and controlled my gunsight with my right (Autoaim: semi, iirc), sort of laserguiding my er.. lasers, keeping the cursor on the target. It turned out to be a difficult way to do things, but it worked really well to practice my aim . It was kind of first person shooter-ish. And no I am not ambidextrous or anything, I'm a right hander!

Nowadays I use a fairly good Joystick (in my case the Attack 3 from Logitech) and Auto-aim ON (ingame software Fight Command 2, I believe) and steering and using the guns is no longer an issue. I programmed the two top middle buttons to 'select nearest target' and 'match target speed', something I can recommend to hotkey as it makes managing combat so much easier. I programmed other joystick buttons to roll and strafe, so I don't need the keyboard for it, it's all in one place under my right hand.