Ship Combat

Submitted by: Cruzer

Table of Contents

1. Flight modes and useful situations
1a. fm attack
1b. fm engage
1c. fm roll
1d. fm loop
1e. fm cruise
1f. fm evade

2. Throttle
2a. throttle full
2b. throttle max
2c. mspeed

3. Keeping your target in visual sight
3a. pursue
3b. face
3c. reverse
3d. manual vectoring

4. Shields and Power Management
4a. damage
4b. chfront and chrear
4c. defront and derear
4d. chshift

5. Capital ship combat
5a. capital ships
5b. fighter waves
5c. group combat
5d. squawk


1. Flight modes and useful situations

Flight modes are ways to change the general characteristics of
how your ship flies. Each mode has different attack and defense
ratings, indicating what percentage of your attention is given
to each. There is also a speed rating, which indicates how much
of your actual speed is devoted to moving along your vector, as
opposed to jinking, zigzagging, and other defensive moves.

mode - attack/defense speed

1a. fm attack - 85/15 70
This offers your best chance to hit your enemies, but you're going
to take a beating in the process. Not the choice for newbie pilots,
or those with low skills.

1b. fm engage - 55/45 60
This is a well-balanced mode. Great for newbie pilots and those
with medium skills. Not for fighting fast, agile ships like the
a-wing or TIE advanced.

1c. fm roll - 50/50 90
This is perfect for newbie pilots and those with low-medium
skills. Good for fighting fast, agile ships, and chasing fleeing
ships as well.

1d. fm loop - 40/60 20
This is pointless. I have yet to find a situation that was not
handled better by another mode.

1e. fm cruise - 35/65 100
This is useful for chasing down fleeing ships. Just remember to
switch back to another mode once you are in firing range.

1f. fm evade - 15/85 40
This is really helpful when you're trying not to get hit. Switch
to this mode before you begin a hjump out of active combat.



2. Throttle

This is really a preference. Flying around will help you avoid
damage, but also shortens the time between 'target not in
visual sight'. Only experienced pilots with good skills should
choose to sit still.

2a. throttle full
This sets your speed as high as it can go without having to
draw energy from the generator. This is normally what you
would use if you choose to fly around.

2b. throttle max
This sets your speed as high as it can go, drawing energy from
the generator to supply the extra power. This is only useful
when chasing fast ships that are fleeing.

2c. mspeed
This is useful for maximizing time between 'target not in visual
sight' while still flying around at a decent speed. If you don't
have a ship targeted, you will have to supply the name of the
ship you wish to match speed with.



3. Keeping your target in visual sight

If an enemy gets behind you, you won't be able to shoot them.
There are a few ways to handle this when it happens.

3a. pursue
This will automatically and constantly adjust your vector in an
attempt to keep your ship facing what you are pursuing. This is
only suggested in *very* agile ships, and still not recommended.

3b. face
This will automatically adjust your vector in an attempt to put
your target directly in front of you. It's like pursue, but is
one-time-use only. You'll have to face again when they move.
Again, not recommended.

3c. reverse
This will turn your ship around 180 degrees. In very agile ships
like the a-wing and TIE advanced, this is just as fast as manual
vectoring and you don't have to worry about what your vector is.
Very few ships can reverse as fast as they can with manual
vectoring, so experiment with both, and use whichever one is
faster.

3d. manual vectoring
This is usually the way to go when you need to turn your ship.
Don't be daunted by the idea. You really only need to remember
2 of them: vector 1 1 1 and vector -1 -1 -1. They are exact
opposites, so if you can't shoot your target, switch to the
other vector, and you can.



4. Shield and Power Management
Obviously, during combat, you're going to use energy, and
your shields will get damaged. Here are the commands and
tactics to help you overcome the challenge.

4a. damage
This will show you the ships health, in percentages. You
should check damage regularly, if not after each hit.

4b. chfront and chrear
These will transfer available power from the generator to
the front or rear shield to repair any damage.

4c. defront and derear
These will drain power from the front or rear shield, and
transfer it to the generator. You should *always* charge
the opposing shield first to use up all power in the
generator first, since the shield drain will be the same
regardless of how much power is in the generator.

4d. chshift
Once you've done SC for awhile, you'll notice that your
style of fighting may tend to be harder on one shield. If
this is the case, you may wish to chshift front or rear to
help compensate. What this does is charge the chosen shield
to max before any charge of the other shield is attempted.
You can always chshift even to return to recharging the
shields based on which is more damaged.



5. Capital ship combat
You won't be satisfied with Zone TIEs and Alderaan defenders
for very long. This means you'll start annoying the capital
ships. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you out.

5a. capital ships
Don't get too close to capitals. They have much more powerful
weapons and will destroy you in only a few shots. As a safety
measure, don't get closer than 2500-3000. Most, but not all,
will not fire on you at this range.

5b. fighter waves
Once you hit a capital ship, it will release a wave of
fighters. So, shoot it once, wait a couple of seconds, then
deal with the fighters first. If a capital doesn't release a
fighter wave, then you are clear to start working on the
capital. Save any missiles and torps for the capital, don't
waste them on fighters. It's also a good idea to let your
shields and generator recharge between waves.

5c. group combat
On almost every capital ship, a single pilot can't deal out
enough damage to overcome the capitals shield regeneration, so
you'll need a friend. Make certain that you and your friend(s)
are shooting at the same shield, or you won't get far fast.

5d. squawk
This is a little known command that lets you set your iff code.
So, if your friend(s) are there for the fighters, everybody
should set their iff code to the same number. What this will
do is allow you to autotarg for fighters without worrying
about accidentally shooting your friend(s). This is only good
for the ship you are in, so you'll have to reset it if you have
to get a new ship.