Do Elite NPCs fly with flight assist off?

TheStonefox

T
Just was in a tussle with an imperial clipper (I was in an asp)

And he was Elite rating. There was nothing I could do to get him off my tail, when I managed to get behind him, he would just flip his ship around (like that cobra in the original game trailer) and blast me some more.

I ended up running!

But if he wasn't using flight assist off then there's no way a clipper can turn that tight!
 

metatheurgist

metatheurgist
NPCs definitely fly with FA Off. The higher ranked ones seem to do it better. Just watch the System Security ships for a while - how do you think they do those maneuvers where they practically orbit a target and keep their guns pointed at their target while they keep flying in another direction?
 

DidierDrbois

DidierDrbois
TheStonefox said:
Then I need to rethink attacking Elite NPCs! :)
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Use thrusters to stay close on their six. I usually find no need to assist off even temporarily, however be warned that this is MUCH easier said than done. If they break the lock have a towel ready coz you're gonna sweat a lot.

Sometimes they seem to fly assists OFF, who-is-Newton ON.
 

Alec Turner

Alec Turner
TheStonefox said:
Just was in a tussle with an imperial clipper (I was in an asp)

And he was Elite rating. There was nothing I could do to get him off my tail, when I managed to get behind him, he would just flip his ship around (like that cobra in the original game trailer) and blast me some more.

I ended up running!

But if he wasn't using flight assist off then there's no way a clipper can turn that tight!
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Yeah, some do definitely. Had a Cobra on Cobra fight this morning, got him down to 9% hull fairly quickly but then it was like he went "right, now I'm gonna fly seriously" and I just could not land another shot - he was pulling insane stunts and just kept landing shots no matter what direction I approached from. Had to do a Rincewind in the end :-(
 

Sarah Jane Avory

Retro Queen
Sarah Jane Avory
ash73 said:
It's not just FA off they can turn a lot faster.
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AI ships turn as fast as the player can (AI ships and player ships are the same in terms of ship functions), but Elite pilots pretty much nail the blue zone for optimal turning, and they're not afraid of using all their thrusters either, so they can travel in one direction while facing another.
It's a good job I'm not adding code to make AI ships also use thrusters to evade a players line-of-fire- Er... oops... ;) You have been warned...
 

Seonid

Seonid
Sarah Jane Avory said:
AI ships turn as fast as the player can (AI ships and player ships are the same in terms of ship functions), but Elite pilots pretty much nail the blue zone for optimal turning, and they're not afraid of using all their thrusters either, so they can travel in one direction while facing another.
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I also assume they are managing pips very well?
 

Dominico

D
Sarah Jane Avory said:
AI ships turn as fast as the player can (AI ships and player ships are the same in terms of ship functions), but Elite pilots pretty much nail the blue zone for optimal turning, and they're not afraid of using all their thrusters either, so they can travel in one direction while facing another.
It's a good job I'm not adding code to make AI ships also use thrusters to evade a players line-of-fire- Er... oops... ;) You have been warned...
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Haha cool news. The better theyl elite ones get the happier i am. I love coming bqck to base with war scars.
 

ciger

Banned
ciger
Sarah Jane Avory said:
AI ships turn as fast as the player can (AI ships and player ships are the same in terms of ship functions), but Elite pilots pretty much nail the blue zone for optimal turning, and they're not afraid of using all their thrusters either, so they can travel in one direction while facing another.
It's a good job I'm not adding code to make AI ships also use thrusters to evade a players line-of-fire- Er... oops... ;) You have been warned...
Click to expand...

please, do make the NPCs more than just a cannon fodder. sometimes it feels like they are afraid to fire a single shot at me.
maybe you can also answer my question. why are ships not being mass locked by other ships when making a hyperspace jump, while mass lock is correctly applied for SC jump?
 

bassman

B
Sarah Jane Avory said:
AI ships turn as fast as the player can (AI ships and player ships are the same in terms of ship functions), but Elite pilots pretty much nail the blue zone for optimal turning, and they're not afraid of using all their thrusters either, so they can travel in one direction while facing another.
It's a good job I'm not adding code to make AI ships also use thrusters to evade a players line-of-fire- Er... oops... ;) You have been warned...
Click to expand...

Nice work I've got to say, having big NPC ships do proper vectored maneuvers is a big step forward. While your here can you clarify the relationship between FAon vs FAoff turn rates ?.
 

Cmdr Eagleboy

Cmdr Eagleboy
Sarah Jane Avory said:
AI ships turn as fast as the player can (AI ships and player ships are the same in terms of ship functions), but Elite pilots pretty much nail the blue zone for optimal turning, and they're not afraid of using all their thrusters either, so they can travel in one direction while facing another.
It's a good job I'm not adding code to make AI ships also use thrusters to evade a players line-of-fire- Er... oops... ;) You have been warned...
Click to expand...

I see what you did there :D 1.2 can't come soon enough!
 

Sarah Jane Avory

Retro Queen
Sarah Jane Avory
Seonid said:
I also assume they are managing pips very well?
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Yes, I'd say Elite pilots are pretty wicked with their pip usage. Or at least I programmed them to be. They'll pip to SYS to strengthen shields, and balance WEP and ENG pips when they need to, depending on whether they are attacking or are in need of speed, or are balancing capacitor levels.
 

Sarah Jane Avory

Retro Queen
Sarah Jane Avory
ciger said:
Why are ships not being mass locked by other ships when making a hyperspace jump, while mass lock is correctly applied for SC jump?
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That's a Design decision, and I know some people have been confused. AI ships are not mass-locked by other ships when hyperspacing, and neither are players.
 

ash73

ash73
Sarah Jane Avory said:
AI ships turn as fast as the player can (AI ships and player ships are the same in terms of ship functions), but Elite pilots pretty much nail the blue zone for optimal turning, and they're not afraid of using all their thrusters either, so they can travel in one direction while facing another.
It's a good job I'm not adding code to make AI ships also use thrusters to evade a players line-of-fire- Er... oops... ;) You have been warned...
Click to expand...

Thanks for correcting me, every day is a school day; I've obviously got some learning to do to match their turn rates. Please make Elite pilots even tougher, and give some of them escorts so we can have multi-ship scraps, and make NPCs persistent when you jump in and out of an instance. I'm not asking much ;)
 
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