Engineers NPC Maneuverability, Your Take On It?

Infernal Shadow

Infernal Shadow
"Before i say anything else I'd like to say i use a Xbox 360 controller to play in game, don't currently have the money for a decent flight set right now."

I'm all for harder NPC's, up to a point. However I'm still on the ropes about the ability of the NPC's to Maneuver in combat. It always seems like the NPC's are always directly above me or right on my ### in combat. I've tried everything i know how to do, to get them in my sights but they always seem to be able to avoid it. I've done straight up reversing which usually works but normally involves you going head to head with everything you've got and can be rather dangerous and lethal to say the least. I've also tried stay in behind them putting it in the blue and thrusting up or down to keep them in sight but they just hop on my ### no matter what i do, And this includes FA off and letting momentum carry my ship around so i could get them back in sights. Usually this results in another straight up face to face brawl with the NPC thrusting upward and attempting to get out of my sights. Now with all that said I'm using a Xbox 360 controller not a yoke and throttle "Like i stated above" and cant currently get one due to funding. Is it any easier to maneuver with a flight set or is it about the same? And can the NPC's always out thrust you?

I wanna hear other CMDR's verdicts on this, and possible get some pointer and suggestions thrown in. [cool]

"Sidenote" I've tested this in a vulture and have had things like cobra mk3's laughing at me while they pepper my rear with pulse laser fire and rail gun. And i wont be online in this forum constantly to respond.
 

GluttonyFang

GluttonyFang
I'm using keyboard and mouse, and FAO at all times during combat, I have no problem with NPC maneuverability.

The reverse tactic was specifically named to be countered by the NPC upgrade in 2.1/1.6.
 

Infernal Shadow

Infernal Shadow
Well, that may be part of my issue. I find flying with FA off during combat is rather hard to control and I'm still working on grasping it fully.
 

YinYin

YinYin
Using a Gamecube controller, no problems.

Do you use enough engine pips and boost as well? Just blue zone and up/down doesn't cut it against the higher ranks.

Maybe also show us your Vulture load out. Might be too heavy or underpowered.

edit: assist off isn't really required
 
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GG7

G
I'm using an Xbox One Elite Controller. I can easily afford a stick and throttle, but I actually prefer the Elite to any other control system. I also use the chat pad so I can assign all the various keyboard bindings to that pad and have basically the best of both worlds. :)

As for your question... After the point update, the AI's flying skills got a little more believable for me. In the original 2.1 update it seemed that the ships were doing things I never thought those specific models could do! I am flying an A rated Python and the few times I encountered an NPC Python, I couldn't stay on him very well at all. He could boost faster than me, turn faster than me, and basically do everything faster than me. I am running the best of everything on my ship, so you would think I could match an NPC Python move for move. Flight Assist Off didn't help either.

Now after the point update, I am finding that all the ships I have fought so far seem to be flying within the range of that specific ship's spec more or less. Their weapons ability also seem on par with A rated or lower too. I am still running into those occasional bounty hunters that are using the nerfed thermal attack. My ship warns me of a Thermal Attack and I see that violet colored glow from the weapon, but I take on no additional heat.

Those ships are still a       to deal with though! The Clipper and the Anaconda are the hardest. Even though I am running an A6 cell bank, my A6 shields just don't last long enough to take one of these guys out most of the time. The few times I managed to kill one, I did it by high speed ramming them head on as they made one of those close head on passes at me. I boost and charge cell bank a few seconds before impact, and that usually keeps my shields up but puts a ton of hurt on them!

I am liking what I am seeing in the latest update.
 

YinYin

YinYin
GG7 said:
still running into those occasional bounty hunters that are using the nerfed thermal attack. My ship warns me of a Thermal Attack and I see that violet colored glow from the weapon, but I take on no additional heat.
Click to expand...

That's normal plasma accelerators for you. They do induce heat, but not a lot.
 

Infernal Shadow

Infernal Shadow
I'm a laser fan,

Loadout, Dual class 3 pulse lasers. A rated everything minus the life support.

And for my instance : I was fighting a Federal Dropship, Rank:Elite, Had 4 pips to engines he seemed to just be sitting above me. Like i was circling him... and he was just parked and turning at 1ms or something close to that.

Gonna log back in a tinker with my vulture some more.
 
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YinYin

YinYin
That doesn't really help a lot without knowing how fast and far away you were.

So you've got 10t sensors? You can lose some weight there. Is that life support a light D or a heavy B?

Do you have heavy bulkheads or hull reinforcements or a lot of additional A shield booster weight?
 

GG7

G
YinYin said:
That's normal plasma accelerators for you. They do induce heat, but not a lot.
Click to expand...

I don't see a single degree of heat increase. Before they nerfed the modded weapons, these same ships would kill you in under 10 seconds. FD had said that due to the ay the game is built, they would not be able to remove the weapon from the ship, but they could remove its effects. That seems to be what I am seeing.
 

Infernal Shadow

Infernal Shadow
In all fairness, I think I'm getting more accustomed to the skill of the new NPC's. Been managing to hold my own against Dangerous level NPC's. Its not without its difficulty, but ill make due by choosing how much to bite off.
 

Koard

Koard
i just got vaporized in my python, i submitted and planned to just run away. the screen filled with missiles and then i died. never locked on to enemy. and since i was low on cash i get to start over with a sidewinder. i would say the new npc's suck, but it's probably just me.
 

DrakeAurum

DrakeAurum
I use keyboard and mouse and fly a FAS, and don't use FA Off, just make use of thrusters to assist in turns. Cobras and Eagles can be a pain to wrestle back into view, and occasionally I do have to resort to full reverse thrust, which inevitably means soaking up some shots, but I do get them in sight.
 

Oh Seven Commander

Oh Seven Commander
Im on an xbox controller and have had zero issues. The NPCs dont use FA Off so you dont need it to kill them. Fly slow, cant stress that enough. You are more maneuverable when you are slow. Bottom of the blue bar and just try to stay not right in front of the guy. Stop boosting. Quit that. Dont do it. NPCs love that      and if you watch videos of aircraft doing mock dogfights they dont suddenly double their speed to "turn faster". That doesn't make sense.
 

adrinker

A
I've never had this much trouble in combat zones before. Right now, in my vulture I can't even get a single kill before I need to flee.
I have noticed that when I join the fight, there is no team support which is strange.
 

MickyG1982

M
Koard said:
i just got vaporized in my python, i submitted and planned to just run away. the screen filled with missiles and then i died. never locked on to enemy. and since i was low on cash i get to start over with a sidewinder. i would say the new npc's suck, but it's probably just me.
Click to expand...

Think of it as an opportunity, you'll now be able to learn how to counter the AI properly from the ground up.

Oh and XB1 controller, perfectly fine for me.
 

Joe Akeem

Joe Akeem
GluttonyFang said:
I'm using keyboard and mouse, and FAO at all times during combat, I have no problem with NPC maneuverability.

The reverse tactic was specifically named to be countered by the NPC upgrade in 2.1/1.6.
Click to expand...

You shuffle your mouse around a lot, don't you. KB+M is a nightmare with FA OFF
 
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