Engineers NPC Maneuverability, Your Take On It?

[matemaster]

Definitely there is something wrong with NPC Maneuverability

If I am in the same ship as NPC the NPC outmaneuver me in 100% cases
If I am in slightly more maneuverable ship than NPC the NPC outmaneuvers me in 99% cases

But this case is most extreme:
Me in Vulture with 5A thrusters, weight of the ship 342t with full tank that is more than 50% bellow optimal mass (840t) you know what I mean...
Full pips to engines and I cant get the shot on Gunship/Dropship as it is allways outta my sights. The NPC mirrored my every maneuver with no inertia.

At least the NPC mutated weapons were removed so now I have time to disengage from such kind of encounter.

 

[GammaZ]

Did not notice anything strange in NPC behaviour. Even with KB+M and FA on boosting sideways seem to solve the issue most of the times. Outmaneuvering elite NPC in the same ship is not easy, but it is how it should be IMO.

 

[bladebss]

Well for the most part all seems legit.. but i did get out turned buy a t7 in my fdl the other day. It was a najor struggle to get him in my sights.. i asumed he had super engineering on his drives.. or he was cheating... i have also seen DBX so manuverable i cant shake them from my tail even with faoff. Im with holding judgment for now

 

[babelfisch]

Definitely there is something wrong with NPC Maneuverability

If I am in the same ship as NPC the NPC outmaneuver me in 100% cases
If I am in slightly more maneuverable ship than NPC the NPC outmaneuvers me in 99% cases

But this case is most extreme:
Me in Vulture with 5A thrusters, weight of the ship 342t with full tank that is more than 50% bellow optimal mass (840t) you know what I mean...
Full pips to engines and I cant get the shot on Gunship/Dropship as it is allways outta my sights. The NPC mirrored my every maneuver with no inertia.

At least the NPC mutated weapons were removed so now I have time to disengage from such kind of encounter.

It sounds like there is something wrong with your maneuverability because I can hit them just fine. Maybe you could post a video?

 

[wagfeliz]

I play the game in my laptop, and just use an mouse.
Before I moded my vulture I could get behind an elite anaconda and some other ships ( NPC using OP thruster mods ), but now with truster lvl 3 I can maneuver fine.
Unfortunately, you will have to do grinding to get materials and mod your ship now, this is just how they design the game.
You will notice that after you full mod your ship, this NPCs will be pretty easy to kill, actually easier then before on 2.0, and sometimes even boring.

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NPC manoeuvrability didn't change with 2.1. They didn't even improve AI for the lower skill levels (just removed the bugs and made them easier IIRC). So if you see NPCs with good flying skills it's likely that you just didn't see high ranked NPCs in 2.0.

Yes they use moded thrusters, I usually see elite anacondas that are faster and more maneuver then eagles. If this ships are not using mods, then they are buged or cheating.

Adding to that, there should be an option to scan their modules and see their modification, it would even teach you about how to get such effect and plan fight strategies etc.

 

[Soon(TM)]

I use a Thrustmaster HOTAS X, I usually FA off to turn, then FA back on. Works well against most NPCs.

Still, if you have more than one on you, majority of the time you have to bug out.

I use a Imperial Courier at the moment for combat.

 

[babelfisch]

Yes they use moded thrusters, I usually see elite anacondas that are faster and more maneuver then eagles. If this ships are not using mods, then they are buged or cheating.

Adding to that, there should be an option to scan their modules and see their modification, it would even teach you about how to get such effect and plan fight strategies etc.

People claimed before 2.1 that NPCs have better maneuverability, they never managed to deliver proof. That's why I handle those reports with caution.

 

[Flavourless]

The most likely explanation (IMO and based only on personal experience) for the way that NPC ships behave is that they are not actually piloted so have no "flying skills" as is often quoted.
They do not make decisions about thruster inputs etc and then use the flight model that PCs do, they rather have maximum calculated pitch/roll/yaw/acceleration values based on their rank and loadout, and then apply those parameters to maneuver to the optimal vector.
To make the "AI" stronger or weaker you just modify those parameters. No skilled NPC pilots I'm afraid (

 

[Infernal Shadow]

I play the game in my laptop, and just use an mouse.
Before I moded my vulture I could get behind an elite anaconda and some other ships ( NPC using OP thruster mods ), but now with truster lvl 3 I can maneuver fine.
Unfortunately, you will have to do grinding to get materials and mod your ship now, this is just how they design the game.
You will notice that after you full mod your ship, this NPCs will be pretty easy to kill, actually easier then before on 2.0, and sometimes even boring.

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Yes they use moded thrusters, I usually see elite anacondas that are faster and more maneuver then eagles. If this ships are not using mods, then they are buged or cheating.

Adding to that, there should be an option to scan their modules and see their modification, it would even teach you about how to get such effect and plan fight strategies etc.

Ya, having the ability to scan for moded thrusters and or weapons would be nice But i suspect that'll come by in a update soon enough.

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I use a Thrustmaster HOTAS X, I usually FA off to turn, then FA back on. Works well against most NPCs.

Still, if you have more than one on you, majority of the time you have to bug out.

I use a Imperial Courier at the moment for combat.

I haven't been using my courier recently, mainly cause i cant get a decent pure laser loadout that deals a good amount of damage and can be kept going for any decent amount of time. Any suggestions?

 

[Infernal Shadow]

I fought dozens of Deadly and Elite NPC's prior to 2.1, and they were easy to kill. Rarely had to do more than just pitch and apply a tad of downwards thrust to stay on their six.

Now they are way more responsive and aggressive. I was watching a pair of Security Mk4 Vipers try to take on an Elite Python and they couldn't even break his shields. I had to interfere with my FdL to finally drop his shields, and then he got angry and laid into me and even tried to ram me (yes, he tried to ram me... I changed my course to avoid it and he corrected his course to impact on me). Knocked off half my shields with that stunt while taking minor hull damage himself.

Elite NPCs are definitely different in 2.1 compared to 2.0.

YA, ive been on the receiving end of some of those rams...... for a lighter ship it can be a death sentence, however it makes it more interesting when they do attempt this.

 

[avow555]

The NPC flight is way too perfect and not even remotely scaled to their Elite combat rating or potential equipment level.

 

[Leskit]

I was lazily hunting hauling ships for components today in my icourier with farseer's enhanced engines. I hauler was out-turning me.
What.
I wasn't doing fa-off (much) but I had good pip management and was in the green zone for turning, but still. A hauler, really? I had to use fa-off to kill a hauler. I like the new ai (mostly) but I'd hate to come across a FAS with enhancements...
No more easy kills, even on haulers if you aren't working for your kills.

Not whining, just surprised. Maybe a little incredulous.

 

[Infernal Shadow]

The NPC flight is way too perfect and not even remotely scaled to their Elite combat rating or potential equipment level.

Ill agree that they are more times then often damn near perfect in every maneuver they make. However it is a Bot after all, which was designed to be better then your piloting skills to which a lot of debate has been poured into as of late. Some still consider it too easy, many consider it too hard....... but we cant have it both ways at the same time. I can only hope that in time a balance in the community can be found. Time will tell as it always does..... with or without us.