Newcomer / Intro Tips for keeping target in cross hairs?

[Elprez]

Just started playing Elite and have only tried the tutorials. I find it pretty hard keeping the target in my crosshairs. I am using a T flight Hotas. I have managed to destroy them but it seems to take a little while chasing them around . When I tried the 2 fighter tutorial I fought them for about 35 minutes and gave up. I was hitting them periodically but could never seem to destroy them. Is my extreme learning curve normal?

 

[Knot2clever]

Yes, the learning curve is steep indeed, ensure you put your throttle in the blue region when turning for max manoeuvrability. More pips to engines = more speed.

Keep practicing, it will get easier each time you return.

 

[xl-jedi]

Two words... Gimbled Weapons

 

[Trader38]

I also use a Thrustmaster Hotas X and find it easier (probs with any j/stk) to put roll on the twist axis. I seem to be the odd one out but i tried roll on the x-axis and it just doesn't work for me.
I have thrust left-right on the paddle thingy (front of the throttle) and use the top (big button) next to the paddle to toggle flight assist on/off. Just before the target passes you click f/a off and swing round to follow the target (two gimballed guns used here) then as soon as you're pointing near the target again toggle f/a back on and line up your main fixed lasers. Rinse and repeat - takes practise.

 

[ReaperAlex]

it depends on why you can't keep them zeroed. is it because no matter how fast you try to turn you can't keep them zeroed? if so the advice above to set your throttle to the blue zone will help, also mess about with your vertical thrusters.

if you can keep up but struggle to get the guns to aim perfectly then that is just you learning how to use a new tool and will take some time behind the stick to sort out. roll left/right then bank up/down for coarse aiming, then yaw left/right (twist the stick) along with pitching up/down for fine aim. it will take a while to learn this and i recommend switching the yaw on roll option off as it only confuses things.

as for gimbled weapons, it's a bit like learning to drive a car. you can learn in an automatic, but that then makes it difficult to transition to a manual later in life. if instead you go through the pain of learning a manual than you can bounce between car types quite happily. so if you take the time to learn to aim with fixed weapons you'll be proficient with both types. if however you learn with gimbled weapons then you'll be stuck with them. now that might not be a bad thing, gimbled weapons can be very good in the right situation, and on some ships far better than fixed. but there are times when i prefer to use fixed weapons over gimbled and i'd not want to have my options limited.

 

[xl-jedi]

Meh... not just about stick-shift vs. automatic. The hardpoints are spaced too far apart in some of these ships to all effectively hit the target.
They don't have a fixed weapon firing angle adjustment for a crossing pattern (as you might see on your fav WW2 flight sim) although why that is, is indeed a mystery. I guess gimbled weapons fills the bill so no need to expand on it? Outside hardpoints should be gimbled to focus fire on target. The inside hardpoints... yeah fine, fixed if you like.

 

[Serkor]

Also useful to use thrusters to make shorter turns... Leave your throttle in the blue zone and use boost when target distance grows. Shoot at short range ( less than 1 km ). Be patient.

I'm used to World War 1 air combat ( Rise of Flight and Wings over Flanders Fields ) and I find it a lot easier with space ships !

 

[noisegrrrl]

Just started playing Elite and have only tried the tutorials. I find it pretty hard keeping the target in my crosshairs. I am using a T flight Hotas. I have managed to destroy them but it seems to take a little while chasing them around . When I tried the 2 fighter tutorial I fought them for about 35 minutes and gave up. I was hitting them periodically but could never seem to destroy them. Is my extreme learning curve normal?

Map the left-right thrusters as well as the up-down thrusters on the throttle and use them to adjust your aim as well as the yaw on the twist axis.
Keep practicing and you should have no problem keeping your target in sights.
If you're using kinetic weapons (cannons and such) however i would suggest getting gimballed ones instead of fixed (this way you can hit with both lasers and MCs at the same time since kinetic weapons requiert aiming ahead of the target).
If you want to train i'd suggest keeping with fixed lasers however until you get the hang of it.

 

[ReaperAlex]

Meh... not just about stick-shift vs. automatic. The hardpoints are spaced too far apart in some of these ships to all effectively hit the target.
They don't have a fixed weapon firing angle adjustment for a crossing pattern (as you might see on your fav WW2 flight sim.) Outside hardpoints should be gimbled to focus fire on target.
The inside hardpoints... fine, fixed if you like.

sure it is, one is harder to learn than the other and will limit your options one way round but not the other. doesn't mean one is necessarily better than the other, i believe most cars in america are automatic and they seem to be doing just fine over there.

for my cobra i need gimbled on the outside guns because as you say, sometimes the guns are too far apart. on my viper i have 4 fixed guns and can use that to snipe elite anacondas out of their effective range. i'd not want to swap either ships layout over so i'm glad i can use fixed guns as well as gimbled.

if the OP is struggling just to consistently point the guns in the correct direction then going the extra distance to learn how to do so with fixed weapons will leave them with more fitting options. doesn't mean they wont be able to fight, or will always be taking the 2nd best option if they don't, but it does mean their options will be limited.

 

[Sapient6]

if you can keep up but struggle to get the guns to aim perfectly then that is just you learning how to use a new tool and will take some time behind the stick to sort out.

I think the tutorial in question is one where you are outfitted with gimballed lasers as the primary and seeker missiles as the secondary weapon.

Pre 1.1 this tutorial was pretty easy. You could wear their shields down as you waited for a missile lock, then fire off missiles once you got a lock. Didn't take long to take the targets down.

I bought a joystick/hotas right after 1.1 launched, and was playing the tutorials in order to train myself away from mouse/keyboard, and this tutorial is a PAIN now. Keeping the targets in your sites is a little on the challenging side, so there is that, but once you do the gimballed lasers do their little "oooh where is the target?" dance, so you have to keep them in your sites for a while before you can start shooting. And you have to get their shields down entirely with the lasers because the missiles are no help at all with that.

I thought of it as a training mission for Patience. Since I couldn't play 1.1 at all until 1.1.04 came out, I spent a lot of time in the tutorials, and it was a while before I got to the point where I could complete this particular mission in a reasonable amount of time (around 5 minutes).

I really hate gimballed lasers, that's certainly not a load out I would choose.

 

[the100thmonkey]

The trick is to keep your distance somewhat - if you're too close, they'll dance around your sights like a cat on a hot tin roof when they are in view, and if the ship is small, its turning circle will ensure they can stay out of your sights entirely and you'll just circle each other.

One thing I've found effective is to use the down thrust to push out your turning circle. This allows you to get on target, but also allows them to do the same. I've also used reverse thrust to good effect to back out of the circle while still maintaining turn speed.