Newcomer / Intro What are you up to?

[sinisalo]

Yes they do. Chaff spammers.

I just unlock the target which turns my gimballed weapons in to effectively fixed weapons until the chaff burns out.

 

[CMDR Timber McWolf]

Some of them use a LOT of chaff.

Never met them. But I don't do CZs or assassination missions and such.
Most of my combat rank (novice) comes from my time in the Pilots Federation sector.

 

[0threeleven]

I can do rolls while kicking rudder, making the NPC with his fixed weapons miss and my guns stay on target.

This is exactly what I do when their using plasma weapons on me, I can see them coming and dodge most shots from NPC's

 

[aRJay]

Never met them. But I don't do CZs or assassination missions and such.
Most of my combat rank (novice) comes from my time in the Pilots Federation sector.

You see them a lot in the various RES sites without having to stoop to doing missions.

 

[CMDR Timber McWolf]

I can do rolls while kicking rudder, making the NPC with his fixed weapons miss and my guns stay on target.

This is exactly what I do when their using plasma weapons on me, I can see them coming and dodge most shots from NPC's

That's one of those things my current setup makes a little difficult.

 

[CMDR Timber McWolf]

You see them a lot in the various RES sites without having to stoop to doing missions.

These are also part of the stuff I usually don't do.
If I feel like it, I'll snoop around a nav beacon or investigate some weapons fire signals.
Maybe, one day, I'll manage to get around to deal with those assasins sent after me when I'm doing courier stuff...

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

I'll be seeing you all in week's time CMDR's - off on me hols

@@@O7

 

[0threeleven]

I'll be seeing you all in week's time CMDR's - off on me hols

@@@O7

Safe travels.

 

[aRJay]

I'll be seeing you all in week's time CMDR's - off on me hols

@@@O7

Should have bought a laptop then you could take the game with you.

 

[CMDR Timber McWolf]

I'll be seeing you all in week's time CMDR's - off on me hols

@@@O7

Enjoy your time off.

Should have bought a laptop then you could take the game with you.

A couple of days off don't hurt, they recharge your vigor.

 

[Miscellaneous]

Heading back now I think I might zigzag or donkey kong along the arms, finally acquired a fresh paint job (down to 10%) at DSSA The Nest!

ADVENTURES IN MARE SOMNIA (15 photos)
​

 

[Rhialto]

I've been thinking about the different types of ship weapons (fixed, gimballed and turreted) and the way of comparing their effectiveness.
There is the measurement of damage per second (DPS), but what often is ignored when comparing the weapons is the question: how many seconds do the weapons actually spend pointing at the target? The answer to this question is closely related to the skill level of the pilot - a highly skilled pilot might be able to keep their guns trained at the enemy at (almost) all times, but a beginner isn't able to do that. And some will never reach that advanced skill level to effectively use those limited firing arc weapons.
That's where the different weapon types come in - a skilled pilot might prefer the fixed or gimballed weapons as they are able to make use of the firepower of these weapons. But for any pilot with a lower skill level, turreted weapons are their best friend, as they still keep pointing (and subsequently shooting) at the enemy when they pass each other, due to the turrets' way larger firing arc. That you don't have to spend as much time thinking about pulling and releasing the trigger in order not to shoot at alied ships is an added bonus for beginners. Turrets can be set to automatically fire at your enemies as soon as they enter the firing arc of the weapon - and to keep their fire on the targeted enemy only.

On my Krait Mk2 i have 2 class two gimballed beam lasers to burn off the shields, an 3 fixed Pacifiers (overcharged-screening shell).
It takes some practice to land a good hit with those Pacifiers, but they do massive damage.

 

[CMDR Timber McWolf]

On my Krait Mk2 i have 2 class two gimballed beam lasers to burn off the shields, an 3 fixed Pacifiers (overcharged-screening shell).
It takes some practice to land a good hit with those Pacifiers, but they do massive damage.

No doubt about that.
What I do doubt, though, is that I will ever reach that level of proficiency, as combat is not really a focus of my way of playing.

 

[Rhialto]

No doubt about that.
What I do doubt, though, is that I will ever reach that level of proficiency, as combat is not really a focus of my way of playing.

Never say never, i had always avoided combat until about a year ago.
I did some research how to set up a decent ship and did some practicing.
A Logitech (now Saitek) X52 also helps.

 

[aRJay]

No doubt about that.
What I do doubt, though, is that I will ever reach that level of proficiency, as combat is not really a focus of my way of playing.

Never say never, i had always avoided combat until about a year ago.
I did some research how to set up a decent ship and did some practicing.
A Logitech (now Saitek) X52 also helps.

Combat has been a focus of my play for the past eight years and I have still not needed to bother with fixed weapons.

I thought the X52 was produced by Saitek first then by Mad Catz now by Logitech.

 

[Codger]

Exactly.
Do NPCs even use countermeasures?

Yeah, some do, especially chaff.

Nonetheless I'm still a big turret user.

I like to fight in a large well-shielded ship like the Corvette, and I put turrets on everything but the main forward-facing gun(s). I target the opponent and get the turrets started. They keep whittling away at the target, while I maneuver the big guns into position for firing. I don't even try to "dogfight" or "get behind them". I might fly in reverse on occasion to lure them into my sights.

I even have a T-10 that is set up with only turrets, and an SLF. I set the turrets to fire-at-will, then send the SLF to tag whatever target I'm after. Once the SLF hits them, they go aggro, and the turrets do their thing. It works amazingly well in RES sites. I wouldn't take it to a conflict zone, though.

I don't do any PVP, so all I have to worry about is NPCs. I can barely remember the last time I actually got blown up in combat. Years ago.

My actual piloting skills are minimal, so I lean on what I can do well. I engineer the heck out of the shields and weapons so that my ship far outclasses the NPCs. Thus, I win despite my lack of situational awareness!

 

[CMDR Timber McWolf]

Never say never, i had always avoided combat until about a year ago.
I did some research how to set up a decent ship and did some practicing.
A Logitech (now Saitek) X52 also helps.

There are two main reasons why I think I won't be able to get any good at combat.
First, there is this totally erratic playtime pattern of mine. Sometimes, I might get two or three days in a row where I might play for an hour or two. On other times, it might take a week or three between two short 30-60 minute stints. I never know when I'll be able to play.
The other is the limitations my use of an XBox 360 controller comes with. There are simply not enough buttons on it to use the full potential of the ships. I was looking into getting a new one with more buttons, but a good one costs about the same as the X52, which is quite steep for me. The X52 surely would be the better option, but I struggle to buy hardware for just one game. Yes, Elite would be the only game I would need a HOTAS for, they don't work that well with racing games or RPGs...

 

[the100thmonkey]

Elite's control options are the richest I've ever seen.

Are you using hotkeys? For instance, you can have d-pad up do one thing, say deploy/stow hardpoints, while pressing another key at the same time will perform a different function. X+d-pad up could be set to trigger your FSD.

IIRC, you can also use d-pad motions to trigger an action. Doing the hadouken motion with B, for instance, can deploy landing gear.

 

[Rhialto]

There are two main reasons why I think I won't be able to get any good at combat.
First, there is this totally erratic playtime pattern of mine. Sometimes, I might get two or three days in a row where I might play for an hour or two. On other times, it might take a week or three between two short 30-60 minute stints. I never know when I'll be able to play.
The other is the limitations my use of an XBox 360 controller comes with. There are simply not enough buttons on it to use the full potential of the ships. I was looking into getting a new one with more buttons, but a good one costs about the same as the X52, which is quite steep for me. The X52 surely would be the better option, but I struggle to buy hardware for just one game. Yes, Elite would be the only game I would need a HOTAS for, they don't work that well with racing games or RPGs...

It is quite expensive, i got mine second hand, i think it's worth it.
I also have a mini keyboard between the two parts.

 

[0threeleven]

Elite's control options are the richest I've ever seen.

Are you using hotkeys? For instance, you can have d-pad up do one thing, say deploy/stow hardpoints, while pressing another key at the same time will perform a different function. X+d-pad up could be set to trigger your FSD.

IIRC, you can also use d-pad motions to trigger an action. Doing the hadouken motion with B, for instance, can deploy landing gear.

Mines setup with a dozen or more key combos, Y+X cycles through my weapons groups, Y+Shoulder button cycles from combat mode to analysis mode, B+D-pad up raises and lowers landing gear and on and on. I love my xBox controller for combat.