[Video] Dogfighting tutorial

[Nightwatch]

This is intended as a little tutorial on one of the most fun aspects of X3 for me : dogfighting in a medium fighter. First things; yes I know I can pwn them in an M3+. Yes I know there are better M4s and better weapons. Thats exactly why I didn't use them. This is to show what can be done. I'm also not really trying to show off. Hell you are probably better than me and my joystick is crappy, I have a deadzone on it like you would not believe to stop me spinning in space.

I also have subtitles explaining what I am doing and the basic concepts of dogfighting as I see it. If you have ever asked "How the hell can I take on a Pirate Nova in my medium fighter?" then this vid is for you.

Ship: Boron Mako

Armament : 2 APBEs and 4 AIREs

Battles: General mayhem in Moo-Kyes Revenge, followed by my dueling 2 Pirate Nova's and a Pirate Harrier all at once in Elena's Fortune.

Songs: Soundtrack of "Dark Reign 2" followed by "Fleurs du Mal" By Sarah Brightman

Youtube link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FbDX4kRbks

Direct download from filefront.
http://files.filefront.com/Dogfighting+ ... einfo.html

I hope you all enjoy it.

[parameter]

Nicely done Sir! I found myself pressing invisible fire button on non-existant stick. I do remember the old, but true, maxim of 3 second bursts to conserve ammo (WWII) and almost the same amount of time on target so that you don't get blasted by the targets wingmen.

[Paranoid66]

Very nice - looks like fun in a simulator - but I wouldn't risk prolonging combat just for thrills in the real universe lol!

[Rapier]

Very nice. Not exactly how I'd do it, but still.

My main question is whether there was any particular reason why this wasn't posted in the X-Universe forum? I don't think it would be out of place. I can move if you'd like...

[Paranoid66]

^^ I imagine a lot more people would see it there, perfect for all those rabid fighter jockey's.

Really demonstrates the effectiveness of A IRE in X3 compared to X2.

[Nightwatch]

Yes, move it if you want. I wasn't really sure where to put it, and here seemed a good place.. because.. you know.. there was videos here! It was... like.. logical, man!



And yeah I mean this was not intended as a "you must do it this way" lesson, but showing whats possible and showing some techniques. And I feel a pirate buster calling..

[SLUGGO]

At 0:43 into the video, you say "energy at 50%, time to switch to the AIREs". Do you mean the enemies shields are at 50%, or that your weapon energy is at 50%? Thanks (noob)

[Nightwatch]

My weapon energy. The Boron Mako has a severe energy problem. It has the lowest capacitor storage and the lowest recharge of any m4. Thats one of the reasons I choose it as a demonstration vehicle. (The others were low shielding and hull, its speed, decent maneuverability and the ability to mount APBEs. And the fact I like flying it.) Even the 4 AIREs will drain it dry if fired for long enough. If you notice towards the end of the first segment I am pausing and firing because I am pretty much out of energy and trying to conserve it.

I was using my APBEs to kill those light fighters as their hull is so slight that the APBEs can kill them even with their low hull damage, and they literally cannot seem to miss.

[Captain Chris sTc]

Nice video. The size of the deadzone on your joystick really dose show when your trying to slowly pan round whilst keeping on your target. That would really get annoying.

[The Boz]

...in a Mako with four AIREs and a faulty joystick? Dude. Restecpa!

[Nightwatch]

Heh. Deadzone was 20%. I just looked at it because I finally got myself a new joystick. Now I'm over steering everything as I'm so used to overcompensating.

[xeon_1]

Heh. Deadzone was 20%. I just looked at it because I finally got myself a new joystick. Not I'm oversteering everything as I'm so used to overcompensating.

On my saitek stick the deadzone is set to 5% i can set it too 0% but then i get calibration offsets somethimes

[Nightwatch]

I got myself a Logitech Extreme 3d pro. I miss my old Saitek (couldn't find another on sale anywhere) but this is still a fine joystick. I have the deadzone set at 5% too for the same reason.

{edit}

...in a Mako with four AIREs and a faulty joystick? Dude. Restecpa!

Thanks man

[Terre]

Good video Nightwatch, but - it's a little dark. Does the software allow you to adjust the gamma.

From :-

[ external image ]

to something like :-

[ external image ]

[Nightwatch]

Eh.. not really. I used windows movie maker, and all it has is a "increase brightness" effect that makes everything look a bit bleached. I uploaded a version with one lot of it here.

http://files.filefront.com/fighting+tut ... einfo.html

But its not as satisfactory. I'll increase the gamma in my game for if I create any more movies.

[Terre]

Great effort Nightwatch, I look forwards to the next instalment.

[Mudkest]

on the "50% energy time to swith to ire" part, if laser energy is a problem then stick to PBE for shields, and use the IRE for hull

personaly I dont care much for IRE other then in turrets for missile defence, nice and cheap and usualy most effective weapon for that(most ships cant load pbe/md in rear turret)

pretyt much only thing IRE has over PBE is a bit better hull damage/energy ratio and slightly longer range(but not that much more then PBE) PBE strips shields far faster then IRE, at far better damage/energy and even gets rid of that pesky hull faster then ire

if laser energy is an issue, fit PAC instead of IRE, then use PBE strip shields and switch to pac to get rid of hull PBE is good enough to kill M5 and slow down fast M4 enough for PAC to finish the job)


still, I prefer the split socrpion with AHEPT/MD/PBE loadout PBE for teh 'shields? what shields' effect, tehn HEPT for the "where did your hull go?" follw up. MD are there to slow down targets when low on energy

[Jimmy Jazz]

Nice video.
In my experience there are basically three types of fighters in this game: The tank, the hit-and-run-fighter and the sitting duck.

The tank has better shields but is slower than the enemy. It sits and waits for the oponent to attack and then throws everything at the enemy. It can afford this due to heavier shields and it can thus take more punishment.

The hit-and-run-fighter has weak shields in comparison to the enemy but is faster. It has to make constant attack runs and then disengage in order to attack again. The great advantage of the hit-and-run is, that it has the initiative, it gets to decide when to engage and when to disengage. You showed some very nice hit-and-run tactics when attacking the Novas.

The most important thing to remember is that the type of tactics you need to employ does not depend on your fighter but rather on your enemy's fighter. Against an M5 a Mako is a tank while a Falcon is a hit-and-run fighter against a capital ship. Choose the right tactic depending on the enemies you are facing.

Oh, and if you are slower than the enemy and you have weaker shields you are the sitting duck. The right tactic in this situation is to engage your jump drive.

[Nanook]

...
Oh, and if you are slower than the enemy and you have weaker shields you are the sitting duck. The right tactic in this situation is to engage your jump drive.

Not if you're the superior pilot. Where's the challenge in always having the better ship?

[Jimmy Jazz]

...
Oh, and if you are slower than the enemy and you have weaker shields you are the sitting duck. The right tactic in this situation is to engage your jump drive.

Not if you're the superior pilot. Where's the challenge in always having the better ship?

It is impossible not to be the superior pilot in this game. Even a blind monkey could defeat the AI.
Now, against a half skilled real human, you would be in serious trouble flying a sitting-duck.