Horizons Am I crazy (in regard to NPC flight tactics/capabilities)?

[CMDR R SWIPE]

First point/aside, I'm pretty sure that NPCs get magic skills. Case in point, interdictions. I've been interdicted from ranges of 50LS to 400LS....


But I digress, my real question is, are they given special capabilities in flight/combat?

Example:

I'm flying at 300+ m/s, about 500-600m away from a ship (in this case, I'm in a Python, the NPC is a FAS), they maintain that distance, while flying backwards, and pointing their business end at me.


Is this:
A: Normal NPC behavior
B: Some oversight on my part
C: Pure voodoo?

Is this a flight assist thing? Admittedly, I suck with FA off, thus, I never use it, because the frustration involved is way more than the above, and would cause expense hardware failures.

They also seem to pull away/out of vision/line of fire right when their hull gets to 1% as well.

 

[Apache45]

They are using all flight ..possibilities. Meaning they use all directional thrusters and engines, as well as pip management i think. so if you dont use all the possibilities then they will out fly you.
so...if you are weapons heavy then you will do far more damage than they will because they are flying hard and using sheilds while you are just throwing energy at them.
On the same token if you are engines orientated and simply try to out fly them you have to use all of the thrusters at your disposal and you should be able to out fly them.
The higher skilled they are the more of all 3 systems you will see. example....they will fight with weapons mostly untill they get down to 10% hull or so and then attempt to out fly you to stay out of weapons fire with pips to engines full.
This is what I see. I will be corrected if I am wrong.

 

[Nick Sticks]

To give yourself a bit more of an advantage just use FA off for turning quicker and then flick it back on once you are on target.
.

 

[CMDR R SWIPE]

So, with FA off, they can "hover" in space, keeping an equal distance to you, the whole time? Regardless of your speed/trajectory? (strafing/etc).

Interesting. I wasn't aware the ships could fly as fast backwards as they could forward (my Python has G5 DD thrusters too, this was all engine pips). Full speed at it, and the distance to it (face to face) never reduced. Implying it was flying backwards at the same rate I was going forward.

This is more the "staying in my face while firing" aspect, than losing them in view when they get beaten down.

Just seems odd to me, I guess.

 

[Korben Dallas]

Not wanting to derail your thread but just wanted to comment I found your commander name funny !

Good job. Cmdr Swipe.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

So, with FA off, they can "hover" in space, keeping an equal distance to you, the whole time? Regardless of your speed/trajectory? (strafing/etc).

Interesting. I wasn't aware the ships could fly as fast backwards as they could forward (my Python has G5 DD thrusters too, this was all engine pips). Full speed at it, and the distance to it (face to face) never reduced. Implying it was flying backwards at the same rate I was going forward.

This is more the "staying in my face while firing" aspect, than losing them in view when they get beaten down.

Just seems odd to me, I guess.

"Odd" is quite an understatement if you ask me.

 

[Nick Sticks]

Not wanting to derail your thread but just wanted to comment I found your commander name funny !

Good job. Cmdr Swipe.

I was offended by it to start with, but I turned the other cheek.
.

 

[SimImperial]

I wasn't aware the ships could fly as fast backwards as they could forward

I'm not sure if that is correct. Your forward thrusters are much smaller then the rear. You can try on your python. Boost forward, turn FA off and zero throttle while at the same time pull up hard 180 degrees. Right as you get to 180, throttle full reverse then FA
back on. Look at your full reverse speed.

 

[Yokoshima]

Also worth mention that with FA on you are limited half vertical and reverse speed (and I think all other directions save forward). Also FA off and reverse will slow you down much faster (and get you back in the blue) than just going in reverse.

 

[Mike Reacher]

They are using all flight ..possibilities. Meaning they use all directional thrusters and engines, as well as pip management i think. so if you dont use all the possibilities then they will out fly you.
so...if you are weapons heavy then you will do far more damage than they will because they are flying hard and using sheilds while you are just throwing energy at them.
On the same token if you are engines orientated and simply try to out fly them you have to use all of the thrusters at your disposal and you should be able to out fly them.
The higher skilled they are the more of all 3 systems you will see. example....they will fight with weapons mostly untill they get down to 10% hull or so and then attempt to out fly you to stay out of weapons fire with pips to engines full.
This is what I see. I will be corrected if I am wrong.

I have found it unusual to out fly an NPC in any ship.

I'm not sure if that is correct. Your forward thrusters are much smaller then the rear. You can try on your python. Boost forward, turn FA off and zero throttle while at the same time pull up hard 180 degrees. Right as you get to 180, throttle full reverse then FA back on. Look at your full reverse speed.

I have tried to catch a cobra that was going backwards at 400. He must have been going backwards, because he overtook my 386 speed and turned then fired green lasers red lasers and cannon fire till I went boom.
Yes, NPCs can fly backwards as fast as forward. (Unless FD change that)
Must check my own reverse speed.

 

[Zeeman]

But I digress, my real question is, are they given special capabilities in flight/combat?

Example:

I'm flying at 300+ m/s, about 500-600m away from a ship (in this case, I'm in a Python, the NPC is a FAS), they maintain that distance, while flying backwards, and pointing their business end at me.

I'm seeing this a lot myself in CZ's, and am putting it down to engineered modules, as a ship pointing towards me but at a ~45º angle off dead in seems to keep getting further away, despite non stop boosting towards them.

Normal NPC behaviour.... They have to be competitive somehow, right?

Z...

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I'm seeing this a lot myself in CZ's, and am putting it down to engineered modules, as a ship pointing towards me but at a ~45º angle off dead in seems to keep getting further away, despite non stop boosting towards them.

Normal NPC behaviour.... They have to be competitive somehow, right?

Z...

Sure. Sure. Maybe there is a diamond behind this bovine excretion. It could just be a lump of coal, though.

 

[metatheurgist]

I have found it unusual to out fly an NPC in any ship.

There are certain ships I can outfly. Then there are the one that are...surprisingly nimble...usually the ones that you'd expect to be slow.

 

[CMDR R SWIPE]

I was offended by it to start with, but I turned the other cheek.
.

Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, I'm a 45 year old with a 12 year old maturity. It's not even my full in-game commander name, which I will spare you.


But I digress.

I think I can get used to (am, actually, it is what it is), the odd NPC flight skills.

What annoys me, is the other part of my OP, getting interdicted at distances of 100s of ls. If I recall, the best interdictor has a range of less than 20. Yet I'm constantly pulled from SC at 100 or more (furthest was 400). I'm not bothered, because killing the interdictor isn't usually a problem. It's just painfully annoying and frustrating that they can pull you out at will, at any distance and I can't seem to pull one of them out under any circumstance. 50 tries and counting.

 

[Achilles7]

OP? Just hope you don't encounter this SCB spamming, rail & frag toting Clipper then - the best NPC I've ever fought! My Vulture had grade 3 DD at the time & a few other lower level mods.

It is a bounty hunter & I normally dispatch all Elite NPCs without them getting a shot at me..ergo, I started this fight complacently just as some fixed practise..but because my shields were already down to 2 rings from previous combat, after a min, I realised I was in a bit of trouble & reverted to gimbals (I never target modules using gimballed). The vid misses out the first 30 secs or so because my DVR is only set to 5 mins.

I actually wish all NPCs were this good! It would have been the first time a NPC has beaten me in a serious 1v1 since I was a relative noob (1-2 months in or so).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQPhaDR7lAU

 

[Apache45]

OP? Just hope you don't encounter this SCB spamming, rail & frag toting Clipper then - the best NPC I've ever fought! My Vulture had grade 3 DD at the time & a few other lower level mods.

It is a bounty hunter & I normally dispatch all Elite NPCs without them getting a shot at me..ergo, I started this fight complacently just as some fixed practise..but because my shields were already down to 2 rings from previous combat, after a min, I realised I was in a bit of trouble & reverted to gimbals (I never target modules using gimballed). The vid misses out the first 30 secs or so because my DVR is only set to 5 mins.

I actually wish all NPCs were this good! It would have been the first time a NPC has beaten me in a serious 1v1 since I was a relative noob (1-2 months in or so).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQPhaDR7lAU

NO WAY.....that was a DEV...had to be. Sigh....I wish you wouldnt have shown me that....now im nervous all over again.

 

[Nick Sticks]

Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, I'm a 45 year old with a 12 year old maturity. It's not even my full in-game commander name, which I will spare you.


But I digress.

I think I can get used to (am, actually, it is what it is), the odd NPC flight skills.

What annoys me, is the other part of my OP, getting interdicted at distances of 100s of ls. If I recall, the best interdictor has a range of less than 20. Yet I'm constantly pulled from SC at 100 or more (furthest was 400). I'm not bothered, because killing the interdictor isn't usually a problem. It's just painfully annoying and frustrating that they can pull you out at will, at any distance and I can't seem to pull one of them out under any circumstance. 50 tries and counting.

LOL, I was never really offended, I just needed that line to try to pull the "cheek" gag.
.

 

[CDR Michael Darkmoor]

Interdictors have a range measured in "Seconds to Intercept"
It is how long the Interdictor would take to cover the distance involved (toward the Interdictee) at the Velocity they are currently travelling.
As you get away from the Gravity Wells... your speed increases... as does the adversary.
When you start to slow down again near another gravity well.... they "catch you up" and come within range.
.
How.... They are still going faster then you and that velocity is what is used to figure the "in range" number.

 

[CptRiggs]

What annoys me, is the other part of my OP, getting interdicted at distances of 100s of ls. If I recall, the best interdictor has a range of less than 20. Yet I'm constantly pulled from SC at 100 or more (furthest was 400). I'm not bothered, because killing the interdictor isn't usually a problem. It's just painfully annoying and frustrating that they can pull you out at will, at any distance and I can't seem to pull one of them out under any circumstance. 50 tries and counting.

I was thinking the same thing a few weeks ago when an NPC interdicted me from over 100LS out but then I read the wiki on Interdictors and found out that the rating (for example, 16S) is not "distance" in lightseconds but rather the length of the interdiction tether in seconds of travel. Thus, as I understand it now, if you are going 10c and have an interdictor rated for 16s you can interdict at 10*16 = 160LS.

 

[CMDR R SWIPE]

I haven't checked it, since I gave up on interdicting, but if I recall, YOU can't initiate an interdiction at 100ls. The interdictor is "out of range" on the HUD. So I still think getting interdicted at 100+ls is an NPC "trick".


I believe I've covered all forms/tenses of "interdict" above....