Horizons Turret Weapons operation in TARGET ONLY

[D.D.Hariman]

A video to help understand the question.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3UfwiG4zNJfQmE0X3d3aHhzNkU

I have read in many places that TURRETS in TARGET ONLY will immediately start firing at a TARGETED HOSTILE as soon at the trigger for a NON-TURRETED weapon in the same Fire Group on the same Fire Button is pulled.

The video seems to refute that.

I have 1 gimbeled MC in the same fire group on the same fire button as my MCT's.
To me, it appears that the turrets did not start firing until I had actually hit the hostile using the gimbeled weapon and even then they did not start firing until the hostile had hit me after I had pulled the trigger.

This seems to indicate that the turrets in TARGET ONLY will not shoot until the trigger has been pulled, but, they also will not shoot until the Target has hit me after I have pulled the trigger.

 

[Faded Glory]

This seems to indicate that the turrets in TARGET ONLY will not shoot until the trigger has been pulled, but, they also will not shoot until the Target has hit me after I have pulled the trigger.

Yes, you need to pull / activate the trigger for the turreted weapon(s). Using a trigger for a different weapon doesn't fire the turrets (regardless of their mode).

No, the target doesn't have to have actually hit you, you simply need to have it targeted. (Caveat: I don't know whether turrets will 'wait' until the target has been identified / scanned as wanted, but I very much doubt it).

To use turrets in target mode, have them bound to a trigger in a fire group. Target a ship, use the trigger the turrets are bound to, and the turrets will fire when they have sight of the target. They will continue to fire until target is lost or you swap to a fire group where they are not bound (or retract hardpoints).

If you wanted to have two fire groups where your primary weapon changed, but the turrets kept going, bind the turrets to the same trigger in each fire group and they will continue to fire when you swap fire groups without the need to trigger them when you swap.

 

[D.D.Hariman]

Watch the video.
He was hostile when in Supercruise.
Became non-hostile when we went into normal space.
DID not scan me.
I got him targeted before he fired and became hostile.
He hit me but the MCT's in Target only did not fire.
I got the KWS.
He was in range and in front of me and I pulled the trigger on the gimbeled that is the same fire groups as the turrets.
I missed him but kept him in range and in front of me but the turrets in TARGET ONLY did not fire.
He fired and hit me and the turrets still did not fire.
I finally hit him and the turrets started shooting and he went down fast.
At no time in the video was he out of range or out of the line of sight for at least 1 of the turrets and I did not change fire groups during to whole engagement.

The only thing in the video that matches what seems to be the common thought about how Turrets in Target Only work is, that I can be hit before I pull the trigger and the turrets will not fire.

To me it appears that I have to hit him before the Turrets in Target Only will fire.

 

[Faded Glory]

Ok.. I watched the video...

A target will be hostile while they interdict you, then not hostile until they attack you once you drop to normal space. That is how it works.

You say your turrets are on the same fire group, are they on the same trigger? I can't see your setup.

The way I explained it above is how turrets work. I have one pair of turrets on a Python, and I can certainly start to fire them before a target has hit me. I know this for a fact.

I don't know why your turrets didn't fire until you were being hit (for the second time). You were hit at around 1 minute 40 sec, but nothing was firing then.

My setup on the Python is two fire groups.

FG 1. Primary 2 gimballed multi cannons, secondary 2 turreted lasers (target only).
FG 2. Primary seeker missiles, secondary as above.

As soon as I deploy hard points and target the attacker I fire my secondary trigger and the turrets fire when they have sight of the target. The target does not need to have hit me, indeed, it need not even have attacked me and show as hostile. I use the multi cannons to support the turrets, they have an incendiary mod which helps against shields. Once the shields go down, I swap to FG 2, the turrets continue to fire with no triggering required, and I target the ship with missiles to destroy the hull.

So I know that this is how it does / can work. Without seeing your fire group setup, I can't really offer any other help, but put bluntly, the issue is with your setup or actions, not how turrets work...

 

[D.D.Hariman]

Ok.. I watched the video...

A target will be hostile while they interdict you, then not hostile until they attack you once you drop to normal space. That is how it works.

You say your turrets are on the same fire group, are they on the same trigger? I can't see your setup.

.

All my 1 small gimbeled MC and 3 small MCT and 2 Med MTC are on the same trigger, FB 1, in the same fire group.

I tried having the turrets in target only on FB2 and the gimbeled on FB 1 and it wasn't until I was hit after I pulled FB2 that the MCT's started firing.

Well, guess I will split them up again and try again.

 

[Wldweasl]

Just a shot in the dark. You are running all multi cannons, the 2 different size weapons could have different spin-up times. You might not have been on the trigger long enough to get them all spinning up to speed and firing. Some MC`s take a couple sec to start firing.

 

[Para Handy]

I think you are overcomplicating the issue DD - turrets will only start to fire once their fire button has been pressed. If they are target only then they will actually only fire when the fire button is pressed AND you have something targeted. From your wording you saw that when you had your turrets on fire button 2 they only fired when you pressed that fire button. When you had them all on the one button they would have started firing when you pressed that one - but remember the spin-up time as mentioned by Wldweasel.

There is no connection between being hit, hitting the target or the target hitting you and turrets opening fire, turrets only open fire when in an active fire group and their associated fire button is pressed - except of course for:

The only time turreted weapons will fire without you pressing a fire button is if you set them to fire-at-will. (poor Will)

 

[Faded Glory]

Well, guess I will split them up again and try again.

I think that is a good idea.

Turrets are really fire and forget, so you only need to have your opponent targeted (make sure the ship's scan has determined them wanted), then press your secondary trigger and forget about them. The only time you'd need to worry about them is if you lose target, but you are keeping closer to your target now, so I don't think that will be an issue.

I know you like to do your KWS scan too, so you can of course wait until that is complete before you fire them.

 

[D.D.Hariman]

Well. It is beyond doubt that the turrets in FIRE AT WILL don't need a trigger pull to get them going. All it takes is a hit on my ship and they go to town. That was how I got the accidental kill.

So far, looking at the 3 videos where I have had them in TARGET ONLY, it does not look they fired until I had been hit.

But, I have them split up from the gimbeled and also not on the same FB as the KWS.

So, next encounter should go:
Punk threatens me in SuperCruise and I set AHEAD DEAD SLOW 5% no pips.
I lock and scan him then set one of my eveasive routines like SOMERSAULT which runs about 2 minutes while I look through his systems.
If it is something I can clearly take out, stop dancing and let him get locked to interdict.
I submit
Set BATTLE STATION SPACE ( KWS on FB2 and the gimbeled MC on FB1, back 2%, 4 pips shields, .5 pips engines, 1.5 pips weps.)
I get the KWS while I practice some more staying on the targeting reticule for the gimbeled.
Scan complete change FG to all the turrets on FB2 the Gimbeled still on FB one and I pull the FB2 trigger. (Do I need to hold it, or just click it??)
Then I get to see if the turrets start firing immediately, or they wait until I am hit.

 

[Faded Glory]

I get the KWS while I practice some more staying on the targeting reticule for the gimbeled.
Scan complete change FG to all the turrets on FB2 the Gimbeled still on FB one and I pull the FB2 trigger. (Do I need to hold it, or just click it??)
Then I get to see if the turrets start firing immediately, or they wait until I am hit.

You just need to press the trigger, no need to hold it. As said above, it could be that you need to hold it long enough for the MC's to spin up, but other than that it's fire once and forget, they'll keep going until the target is destroyed / lost.

If you keep having issues with multi-cannons, experiment with a laser, so you can see how they work. As we've said above, there's no correlation between being hit (or hitting a target with another weapon) and turrets starting to fire. You just need to pull the trigger.