Newcomer / Intro Pulse lasers not firing on trigger

[dat789bb]

Equipped with a gimballed pulse laser on a Viper.
I know that the pulse laser I have has a 3km range.
I know that when I pull the trigger to open fire within range, I still have full bars on WPN.
I know that my speed is within the blue zone (optimum manoeuvrability).
At this point, the lasers did not open fire. I pull the primary trigger again and again. No joy.
And when my target is less than 500m from my ship -- on the verge of collision -- the lasers decides to ejaculate. Pew! pew! Pew!

Why??

Have I equipped sub-standards lasers that will only fire at the height of a climatic excitement of a collision??

 

[purf]

Gimballeds, huh? On a recently bought Viper, maybe?
I'm preeetty sure they'll fire without a target selected, right?
They very probably don't have line of sight to your target and would - if they could -
fire right into your own ship. But they can't so they won't

 

[krysohmyz]

Maybe you bought turrets instead of gimbals. Turrets tend to do their own thing and don't mind your commands.
They could also be damaged.

But I think purf's idea is the one. On Viper if the target is above the "horizon", bottom weapons can't hit it and vice versa with the front weapons - they cannot shoot under the horizon

 

[dat789bb]

Does it make a difference if the lasers are on the hardpoints (slightly above the ship) and my cannons are on smallpoints (front of ship)?

 

[krysohmyz]

You mean you have them in C2 hardpoints under your ship?
Yes, it means that if target is too high up, they can't shoot at it. It's best if you keep the target in the lower half of your view field.