Gimballed - cheating/cheap, yay or nay?

I saw this remark earlier, and instead of using PM's or going offtopic I thought I'd just post it as a thread (Steve knows I'm using the quote, and I'm not criticising him or anyone else, btw - it's just a jumping off point).

I've never even flown either ASP variants but I love my Vulture. I'm not keen on gimballed weapons (just feels like cheating) so I use 2 x large, fixed pulses on mine.
I know there's a perception amongst some in the community that gimballed is somehow a bit of a cop-out - because it requires less skill, and if you can roll with the added damage output of fixed, then that's the discussion ended.

I suppose I can see the appeal if we're going off gameplay alone, especially given skill with fixed yields better rewards. However, isn't more automated systems on a space vessel rated for combat just downright logical? Generally, as weapons systems advance, automation and everything which can give an edge to targeting, tracking, or destructive effectiveness increases - there is no honour in war or deadly combat, there are only survivors and the dead.

Be it a conflict between two people wielding swords, or two ships in space firing lasers at each other, the end result is all that really matters, and the least effort for the best result is ideal.

And judged in terms of mechanical gameplay, I'd say the most relevant concern for weapons is what's effective on your ship, i.e. angle of tracking, heat efficiency, placement, etc.

Still, personally whenever I upgrade to a Vulture for a dedicated fighter, I won't be installing fixed because even if the pitch rate is good enough to hold on more or less any target, maximising DPS is more important to me. There is no spoon cheating - there is only maximising DPS windows. ;-)

So, is there a generally dismissive or skeptical view of gimballed weapons around here, or even across the broader ED community?
 
If there is, it does not affect me. I love my gimballed C3 beamer.
My big PA on the Death Birdy is fixed however.
I only hit stuff up close with that, hard to aim fixed weaps with my thrustmaster X.
o7
 
No it isn't cheating. This week I have been mostly using fixed beams but gimballed cannons. Try targetting specific modules without gimballed weapons.
 
By the same logic, are turreted weapons cheating/cheap? I'm not trying to troll or anything, I'm just wondering. Personally, I use gimballed weapons on pretty much everything, just because it's easier. Fixed weapons are great for PvP, but in PvE, I'd rather have the advantage in a turning fight, especially considering that I'm in a 'conda now. With only fixed weapons, it'd be almost impossible to bring my weapons to bear on smaller ships.
 
No I don't belive they are cheap nor a cheat. You get less damage for easier tracking and there are countermeasures for gimballed weapons which I take great advantage of. If I know there is coming a PvP fight I might put on fixed lasers but just for piracy FA off + gimballed is simply easier but if you can do FA off + fixed well that's a big advantage in and of itself.
 
If you want to run gimballed run them, both gimballed and fixed have advantages and disadvantages, like Bongo said targeting modules is pretty difficult with fixed.

Having said that I now almost exclusively used fixed just for the extra challenge. (I have a lot of hours in the Vulture and DBS and gimbals against NPC's was getting a bit too easy) that may change when the engineers is released though.

It's definitely not cheating.
 
How is something that's part of the game cheating? Not only are they weaker than fixed, but they're also affected by things like Chaff. They're not aimbots.
 
some of us are just rubbish (other words available) at aiming.

they have reduced damage to compensate for their tracking ability it's balanced, besides its the future, a gun on a hinge is hardly revolutionary when cars can drive themselves around london TODAY

for those that want the stupid iron mode like driving a 60s car in gran turismo with the traction control and ABS turned off fitted with bald tyres and square wheels let them do it, but dont screw it up for the rest of us

just buy one of these beasts and enter it into the a-spec race.. self inflicted hard mode engage....

latest
 
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I saw this remark earlier, and instead of using PM's or going offtopic I thought I'd just post it as a thread (Steve knows I'm using the quote, and I'm not criticising him or anyone else, btw - it's just a jumping off point).

I know there's a perception amongst some in the community that gimballed is somehow a bit of a cop-out - because it requires less skill, and if you can roll with the added damage output of fixed, then that's the discussion ended.

I suppose I can see the appeal if we're going off gameplay alone, especially given skill with fixed yields better rewards. However, isn't more automated systems on a space vessel rated for combat just downright logical? Generally, as weapons systems advance, automation and everything which can give an edge to targeting, tracking, or destructive effectiveness increases - there is no honour in war or deadly combat, there are only survivors and the dead.

Be it a conflict between two people wielding swords, or two ships in space firing lasers at each other, the end result is all that really matters, and the least effort for the best result is ideal.

And judged in terms of mechanical gameplay, I'd say the most relevant concern for weapons is what's effective on your ship, i.e. angle of tracking, heat efficiency, placement, etc.

Still, personally whenever I upgrade to a Vulture for a dedicated fighter, I won't be installing fixed because even if the pitch rate is good enough to hold on more or less any target, maximising DPS is more important to me. There is no spoon cheating - there is only maximising DPS windows. ;-)

So, is there a generally dismissive or skeptical view of gimballed weapons around here, or even across the broader ED community?

Cheating or cheap? no. Its not really about whats easier either. Its more about balance as I see it. If all weapons were fixed bigger slower ships would be so hindered in their attacking ability, the corvette wouldn't even be an option for combat. Its just the natural progression of ship weapons really. Its like the missiles in the game. The same argument could be made for those as well. But why no massive nuke weapons?
 
There you go, Fray. The above seems pretty unanimous. I use gimballed beams and MCs on my Cobra. Yes, it's a small enough ship that I could use fixed well enough, but it's not like you don't have to do anything when using gimballed. You still have to track the target. Besides, as Reina said, they're in the game so they're not cheating. To make an extreme example Robigo is in the game. It's all about choice. Gimballed allow some players to participate in combat when, given their skill, they might otherwise have logged. Not me, of course! I use gimballed because they're there. ;)
I'd rep several above posts, but I appear to have been too generous lately!
 
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No, they're not a cheat. The damage output is a fair bit less than fixed weapons. Plus gimballed weapons aren't infallible - someone fires off chaff and they lose tracking for a good few seconds.
 
So, is there a generally dismissive or skeptical view of gimballed weapons around here, or even across the broader ED community?

There's nothing wrong with using gimballed weapons. I think the reason some people avoid them is that it can be a real shock when you face your first commander and you've only ever used gimballed weapons against NPCs. You can suddenly find yourself flailing around completely unable to hit them while they pound you to death incredibly rapidly with fixed weapons. Having said that, there are a group of very competent PVPers who do use them with an FA off and highly evasive style. Anyway, I use fixed because generally speaking if you can use fixed you can deal with anything and it's really worth acquiring the skill even if you use gimballed sometimes too. Fixed lasers are particularly good for beginners because they're the easiest to learn and you can still combine them with gimballed MCs for rapid power plant killing.
 
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No, they're not a cheat. The damage output is a fair bit less than fixed weapons. Plus gimballed weapons aren't infallible - someone fires off chaff and they lose tracking for a good few seconds.

I get chaffed a lot, especially by NPCs oddly. Can anyone explain chaff to me? (Yes, this is me asking a question. Quell your surprise.) Why does chaff work on ballistic weapons, but not so much on lasers. Chaff in the real world affects guided weapons' ability to identify their target and so prematurely detonate. I wouldn't have thought that my MCs are firing guided projectiles. If the chaff somehow affect the tracking ability of the gimballed weapons, why are the lasers affected less?
 

Deleted member 110222

D
In the game = Legitimate gameplay

Why is this thread even a thing?
 
It would be a bit unfair if you had fixed beams that did the same damage as gimballed but since that isnt the case they are all fair game.

Also why are people saying this is a stupid thread? Isnt the point of a forum to discuss topics and opinions regarding the forum topic? It looks to me like someone saw an opinion and thought it was a good topic to discuss and I feel there is nothing wrong with that
 
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