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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

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Author Topic: Combat Help  (Read 8169 times)

Rybon66

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Combat Help
« on: May 07, 2019, 02:33:45 PM »

Hello,

I am new I have done some searching but I guess I have not found what I am looking for.   I am very bad at the combat side of the game.   I know early on I am suppose to hunt pirates however I just seem to stink at running my ship in combat.   I am looking for ways to get better at it .  Without having to restart the game over and over.   If there is a thread out there I  can read that would be great.

Thank you.
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solardawning

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #1 on: May 07, 2019, 02:39:09 PM »

Try starting with the "Missions" from the main menu, instead of making a Campaign game.
The Missions are tagged with difficulties- do the Easy ones first.
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Megas

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #2 on: May 07, 2019, 02:43:37 PM »

Do the Tutorials in the main menu first.

Then try the "Fistful of Credits" and "Turning the Tables" missions under Missions.

If you still have trouble and want to play campaign, pick Easy difficulty.  Normal is unforgiving for the inexperienced.
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Rybon66

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2019, 02:57:09 PM »

I will give these a try tonight.

Thank you
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Midnight Kitsune

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #4 on: May 07, 2019, 05:04:09 PM »

Also, in the refit menus, both in the campaign and the missions, you can press N to open the simulator and practice against most ships in the game. Any damage you take or ships lost doesn't actually carry over so even if you get your ship blown up, you can quit and try again later.
Also, WHAT happens when you die or get your tailpipes kicked in?
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Sy

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2019, 07:07:01 AM »

welcome, Rybon. as the others said, practicing combat in missions or simulator is probably the best way to get better at it.

some combat tips:
  • if you weren't already, you should try holding the Shift key to make your ship automatically turn towards the cursor, which makes piloting small and nimble ships a lot easier.
  • avoid getting surrounded. even large ships are vulnerable to being attacked by weaker ships from several directions at once. and usually it is not worth risking your flagship by trying to finish off a wounded enemy, if that enemy has friends that are maneuvering to flank you.
  • managing your flux is key. if you have a ship with decent armor, it is often a good idea to tank a bit of damage (especially Kinetic) with the armor rather than with your shield, so you can focus more on firing your own weapons rather than absorbing damage. getting this right is tricky, and requires practice, but can be a great help in winning duels. actively venting flux often is also important, IF you are out of range of the enemy's weapons (especially missiles).
  • try saving your own finisher missiles (like Harpoons or the various torpedoes) for when your enemy is at or near maximum flux, as otherwise they are too easily blocked by shields. a correctly timed missile barrage can allow your ship to punch well-above its weight.
for more general beginner advice, there's a decent guide here. if you have more specific questions, like on how to fight a particular enemy or on how to outfit a particular ship, the unofficial discord is a good place to get answers.
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Shad

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2019, 08:36:36 AM »

Also, you don't have to pilot a high skill ship from the first run. My first successful run was in a combat carrier. It's much easier to learn things one at a time. So learning maneouvering, flux management, facing, venting etc, while your fighters do the bulk of the actual shooting with limited input. Later, you start to diversify and try different classes.
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TaLaR

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2019, 11:05:07 AM »

+1 to simulator and mission practice.
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ANGRYABOUTELVES

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #8 on: May 09, 2019, 11:25:50 AM »

The most important part of piloting a ship is positioning, and that's 90% knowledge. Keep checking your tactical map so you know where the enemy ships are in relation to your own fleet, and figure out where you should be. Try piloting something mobile and sticking near something bulky and durable, so you can retreat behind it if you get too pressured and can flank enemy ships that engage it.

The Hammerhead makes a great learning ship, as it's decently fast and durable for a destroyer and its Accelerated Ammo Feeder system lets it rip other destroyers apart. It can even punch out some cruisers while AAF is active. Starting with the Apogee and doing the tutorial to pick up the free Hammerhead starts you out with that mobile ship and bulky durable ship combo I mentioned. Use the Apogee as an AI-piloted "fleet anchor", a durable gun platform that threatens a large area of space, and fly your Hammerhead as an escort ship to the Apogee. Position yourself between it and any flanking frigates or destroyers, and gang up with it to kill other cruisers 2v1.

On the more technical side, make sure you have Turn to Cursor turned on in the settings menu; it's hard to accurately turn your ship without it on. For most ships, you can turn autofire on for all the guns and focus on positioning yourself properly while timing missile launches and active vents.
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Rybon66

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #9 on: May 10, 2019, 05:56:59 AM »

Thanks all.   After trying the first two mission I can tell I will never be good at combat.   Bad hand eye and all.   The reason I usually sick to turn based games or ones where I can slow things down.   Anyways I really like the concept of the game and I am going to try and play a easy campaign.
« Last Edit: May 10, 2019, 02:12:01 PM by Rybon66 »
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goduranus

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2019, 06:07:59 AM »

Alternatively, see my thread and play a carrier campaign. You can play it from the command screen and not worry about piloting a ship yourself.

Sy

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #11 on: May 10, 2019, 07:34:42 AM »

The reason I usually sick to turn based games our ones where I can slow things down.
there is actually a setting for combat 'speed', changeable by editing the settings file. it slows or speeds up the passage of time in combat, similar to how phase ships slow time around them (from their perspective) while using their phase cloaks.

you can change it by editing the number next to "combatSpeedMult" in \Starsector\starsector-core\data\config\settings.json. if you set the factor to 0.5, it should slow the entire combat down to half of normal passage of time, including ship movement, projectiles velocity, flux dissipation, etc.

of course the game was designed and balanced around the normal speed, but if that simply doesn't work well for you, i think changing it would be worth a try to see how it feels. 0.5 would probably feel too slow, but you can just set it to whatever works best for you.
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Megas

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #12 on: May 10, 2019, 11:03:29 AM »

One thing to watch out for with speed, if you want to speed it up, is the game loses fidelity if global speed is raised beyond 2f.

1f is already way too slow for me.  (It is slower pace than other space games I play.)  2.5f would be ideal, but since the game does not like greater than 2f, 2f is where I set my speed at.
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Midnight Kitsune

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #13 on: May 10, 2019, 11:47:41 AM »

The reason I usually sick to turn based games our ones where I can slow things down.
there is actually a setting for combat 'speed', changeable by editing the settings file. it slows or speeds up the passage of time in combat, similar to how phase ships slow time around them (from their perspective) while using their phase cloaks.

you can change it by editing the number next to "combatSpeedMult" in \Starsector\starsector-core\data\config\settings.json. if you set the factor to 0.5, it should slow the entire combat down to half of normal passage of time, including ship movement, projectiles velocity, flux dissipation, etc.

of course the game was designed and balanced around the normal speed, but if that simply doesn't work well for you, i think changing it would be worth a try to see how it feels. 0.5 would probably feel too slow, but you can just set it to whatever works best for you.
I've played SS at .5 before, due to having a craptop, and it plays nice as far as I can tell
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Rybon66

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Re: Combat Help
« Reply #14 on: May 10, 2019, 02:11:34 PM »

More suggestions.  Thank you, it will give me something to try out this weekend.
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