Can turrets on ships like a Moth or Atlas be used by the pilot? If not, i think it would make a lot of sense to make that happen. That way one could hop from driver to back turret while being pursued and have a way to use those guns without having to have someone else on board (you would lose the ability to pilot and steer of course).

-H.H.

I requested a simple way to do that a very long ago... As now, only possible with 2 clients/accounts. I used 2 accounts a few weeks, from a PC and a notebook. Also possible on a single box. It is not groundbreaking, nor unbalancing, and very fun... you can leave a moth auto-mining on a collector sector and protect yourself using turrets... and makes harder for pirates to intercept.

I'd sacrifice piloting if I could use only one client to do so, just like you can swap between turrets on a cappie.

Nope, but it's really not that hard to get a turret gunner. Ask some new players if they want to go for a ride.

Besides, if you're using your own turrets, who will drop mines?

+1

You might be out of mines, or not have them equipped (mining config). Also, mines are trivial to dodge once you're aware of them.

I'd sacrifice piloting....

Not much of a sacrifice in your case.

[Edit]Pure fabrication does not become you, closet monster crater.[/Edit]

The last times we met online, lelesscter, you ran away smoking or exploded...

also, it is stupid to drop mines when you are parked, mining in a sector with bots.

by the way, we also should have MINING TURRETS... both for small and capships. So it makes even more sense to use own turrets, also for mining...

Finally, how interesting would be to become a gunner for a miner?
And when was last time you saw a gunner for a small ship, ARF?

If you're parked in a sector with bots you're dead anyway.

@Alloh That would be a couple days ago.......when I was gunner for him.

I'd say use the "search feature" but it really doesn't work. Alloh suggested this a long time ago and it was a bad idea then too. No it doesn't break anything, it wouldn't unbalance anything but... it also wouldn't do anything.
It would take most people all of thirty seconds to die and soon after they would figure out that every time they used this "feature" they died.
in short there is far to much that needs to be done before adding a fancy version of /explode.

I disagree, at least as long as switching to a turret does not disable turbo. If you're cruising along in a mining moth loaded with ore and somebody attacks you from behind, you could turn off turbo, initiate a turn, put the turbo back on, and then switch into the rear turret and shoot until your flight path straightens out.

It wouldn't really help if they're right on top of you, but it would be a viable strategy when they're still closing in and you just need to buy enough time to warp out.

Hate to disagree with you Pizzasgood, but mines do that fine. As do rockets.

A pilot should pilot. Ask Azumi sometime about my Jackhammer moth loaded with Ion Cores V's Az's Rev C.

I would support the ability to switch from piloting to turret ports like the cappies have.
It is a very balanced way to handle the matter in that you lose the ability to change course in trade off to being able to fire side and rear weapons at your attackers. The devs will have to be careful to lock out the piloting controls when in a turret and turret controls while piloting. They will also need to limit the speed which one can switch between them or someone will make a plug in to rapidly switch back and forth allowing them to shoot badly will still being able to pilot.

+1 with a few precautions

Mines just make the chaser pay more attention and fly on a parallel course instead of directly behind. As for rockets, to use them against a chaser you would have to turn around. A turret, on the other hand, can be aimed at a chaser who is off center, and can be used while your ship continues turboing forward.

And, of course, both require using up normal weapon ports that could otherwise be holding mining beams. Though in my case, I'd equip weapons anyway. Screw mining. That way I could fire rockets or swarms at idiots who get in my way, and then I could continue firing at them from a turret after I've blown past them.

+1 OP.

@Pak um, if there is a way for the pilot to switch to turrets in the Type M, I don't know it. I suggested it once and the usual suspects said I was asking for a pony. IMHO any player aboard any ship should be able to take control of any duty-station, including the helm if authorized by the ship owner, tho the ship owner would have the ability to take the helm back at any time, and generally assign crew to the "captain's preferred" dispositions.

Personally I liked the way X2 and those games handled multiple-turret capships, where you had a tiled view of all turrets and could activate any of them for personal control, but AI took over on the turrets you weren't directly controlling. If ever we get player ships like terradons, connies, or HACs, good luck herding all those cats to act as a unified gunner force :), and flying them solo will be just plain silly.

An option I had been gleefully tripping out on (in my head, where it is safe and warm and I make as much money as I make vo credits) was this: What if LAR bots could dock and take over turrets? they only fire at ships that damage the owner, so they would act appropriately as defense. Get 3 LAR bots to follow you to M-7 and hop aboard. If you got that ai working, plus a few key commands like "treat my current target as hostile/friendly", you could eventually make it more RP fun to hire NPC gunners that need to be paid by the hour. Docked/invited Players would always trump ai in taking over turrets while the NPC's go hang out at the swim-up bar on the Lido deck, still on the clock.

Seat switching should be a viable tactic for any turret capable ship

so if i may sumarize, this thread is about guys who want to use 'em own turret versus guys who prefer to chase girls, how interestin' : )

I used the twin box/account to test... and using own turrets on Atlas and Moths is way more efficient than mines, missiles or rockets.

If another player is available, and he not a complete newbie, then is wiser that he flies another ship as escort, instead of become gunner.

Most elements are already present. You can switch from one turret to another, accessing same interface as the pilot. Keys/Buttons already exist. So, another low-hanhing fruit that some rats don't like fearing unbalance?

Finally, we later can have other turret types, as repair and mining turrets, FLAKs... Even shield turrets would be quite usefull if I could lock turbo and switch to turret position on rear...

Screw mining

?!?!?!?!?!!! *****HERESY!!!!***** OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!

FYI, I have no inherent problem with pilots optionally controlling turrets and things. It just isn't there yet. And other things have a higher development priority right now, like.. faction stuff.

(in my head, where it is safe and warm and I make as much money as I make vo credits)

Heh heh. You mean VO isn't helping you become a better manager? As above, so below. As within, so without.

Why isn't this thread in suggestions? It's a good idea, especially for cap ships. For the Atlas and Behemoth, I think a more useful feature would be for the turret gunner's viewpoint to be directionally stabilized, so that s/he isn't nudged off-target by every move the pilot makes.

Also, huzzah for faction stuff!