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[Cyan Leader]

I imagine a lot of users here are familiar with the "Leading Pip" mod. If not, I'll link it below. I'm posting this thread here instead of in "Suggestions" since I do not know what would work best for the game and I want to promote some discussion.

http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=7921.0

For a while now I have been using the mod to make aiming easier. At first I just wanted some assistance, but the mod had an interesting effect on my playstyle. You see, in vanilla when I'm using weapons that require aiming, have travel time and can easily miss, I usually default to autoaiming. It's safer to use and it allows me to focus on shield controls and maneuvering. However, with the mod installed, I've been doing the aiming by myself and I find it a lot more fun to do so. I noticed the difference now because I recently started a run without the mod, and I was surprised by how fast I've switched from aiming to just simply letting the AI do it.

Considering how much I enjoyed playing with the pip, this made me start thinking - should manual aiming be promoted at all through design? Should there be advantages to aiming by yourself? Should something similar to the leading pip be implemented in vanilla some way? I do not know the answer to these questions, maybe I should just improve my aim without the pip, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the subject.

[CopperCoyote]

Ive used that mod as well. it made aiming Hellbores at max range a possibility. I really liked it. After a while i had a "feeling" for how shots would land though and haven't grabbed the mod since i picked Starsector back up.

The biggest advantage to manual aiming is being able to aim at areas that have lost armor already or for long ships with smallish shields like a conquest aiming past the shield to tag the bits sticking out with your HE  weapons (especially HILs; such good range and accuracy) Targeting pip (it may do more now) only aimed at the center of mass so other than being able to hit in the first pace it didn't really give you an easymode to aiming.

As far as  vanilla is concerned a leading pip may be good as it'd make getting the feel for aiming easier. On the other hand there are several ship mods that affect accuracy and a few skills too. I think those would be awesome to interact with the leading pip, but at the same time that'd be a ton of effort to do, and i have a hunch many people wouldn't even want to have that feature turned on.

I recall in mechwarrior 3 there was a targeting computer you could install that was basically leading pip, but the computer could target limbs too. It was a hated component on the forum i was on because "git gud" to use modern parlance, but i really liked it because it was like training wheels to getting good. It was stupidly heavy though. balance issues aside i think the main pros of targeting pip are ease of learning and ease of life.

[Megas]

Combine this with an autofire bonus for AI, and it could be a QoL hullmod like others such as Extended Shields.  IPDAI could do this instead of making lights PD-capable since PD conversions are not very useful these days.

[FooF]

I use Leading Pip for some of the reasons described in the OP. It's simply more engaging to to aim/fire yourself and when I'm using a flux hog like a Heavy Blaster, missing can really hurt. It's not so much that I need the leading pip but it gives me a lot more impetus to control certain guns myself.

To be honest, I though the leading pip would eventually get incorporated into vanilla like the radar did. Gunnery Implants seems like a natural fit if you wanted to lock it behind a skill (so it would be optional) or improve upon it.

[Cik]

back in my day, the autoaim was so atrocious that you essentially had to aim yourself if the projectile had any real travel time and/or the target was small(ish)

now though i mostly autoaim, all i do is maneuver and fire situational weapon groups like missiles.