Howdy all, new Pilot here and still learning the ropes.

First lesson - that BLUE field is NOT the docking entrance, and speeding up and forcing your way into it because your mad you didn't read 'fully' all the instructions is a bad thing. :)

Second -
I'm wondering about physics and arcade mode, I understand both - what I was wondering is when you are 'twitching' against another player, it would seem ONE mode is far superior. It is SO much easier to keep a track/target in arcade mode that isn't EVERYONE going to use that?

It would be cool to have a 'arcade' server and a 'physics' server that makes everything equal otherwise that large imbalancer will always exist.

Or i'm a clueless newb (or both)
Thanks!
Gildon

1) Yup. The hope was that the radar icons, flood lights and arrows would direct pilots to the entrance. Still, it's an easy mistake to make.

2) Many players would disagree with you on this. While arcade mode is generally easier for new pilots to master, physics offers maneuverability advantages (like being able to fly in one direction while shooting in another) during combat. An experienced pilot using physics has little trouble tracking a target. Conversely, physics mode can make it tough to dock or squeeze through small crevices.

I use both modes, depending on the task at hand and who I'm battling.

There won't be a separate server for each mode. The balancer is that anyone can switch modes at any time.

Thanks Mod for the response, and slight sarcasm :) (as if blowing up wasn't enough).

2. Understand the balancer is personal choice, I just wanted to voice an opinion that this 'choice' does not work well in other games (online flying sims, ww2 sims, falcon, etc.)

They tried having both, and ended up splitting them due to the vast difference in both 'mechanics'.

I'm good either way, always a physics guy.

p.s. good friendly forums here, can actually voice opinions and get rational reasonable responses.

cya out there
Gildon

Except that the mechanics aren't any different. Arcade Mode is simply an overlay for Physics Mode that automatically makes the necessary adjustments to keep you moving in the direction your ship is pointing. And trust me, when you're dogfighting, you ARE going to get spanked by people in Physics Mode, as they have full 3D control of their direction and can pull off loops and twists that are impossible in Arcade.

I used to think Arcade was the shizzle for the first day. The next day I forced myself to use nothing but physics so I could get the hang of it. I haven't flipped back to arcade since. ;D

You can actually assign a button to toggle between physics and arcade modes, and this is very useful because each have their own advantages in certain situations. Some combat maneuvers actually require you to flip back and forth between physics and arcade in a couple of seconds.

Even at noob stages the ability to switch between physics and arcade mode is invaluable. The first time you run into a bot who can keep up to you and hammer you while you're trying to maneuver around him just to be able to get a shot - you need physics mode. But flying around in arcade mode is a lot easier. Hence the ability to switch.

I think acrade mode has been renamed "flight assist" to better describe the mode. I think of 'arcade' as cruise control for my ship. :)
I fly in physics for the reasons stated above. I can turn away from bots and take quick peeks to see who's on my tail.

I use arcade, er, flight assist mode for when I'm on long trade runs. It lets me use just one hand to pilot while I use the other to read a book :D.

You should try it. Thanks to arcade mode I've gotten a crazy amount of studying done while trading.

"p.s. good friendly forums here, can actually voice opinions and get rational reasonable responses."

I agree. I've been here for a year now, and there has never been an instance I can remember where people flamed each other and blew up in each others' faces. FM and the devs do a great job of cleaning up with the small flames as well. But mainly our community is just that awesome. We roxor. Give yourself a pat on the back guys, you deserve it, especially vets handling this latest batch of newbies so well. I think we did a fantastic job.

arcade is easy to get the hang of, but it's a bit too predictable. there are many good pilots out there who flip between arcade and physics for variety!

/me blows up all over the place and sends several old threads up in flames but is dragged away by FM.
good job moderators

I use a joystick, and almost always use arcade mode. I only use physics... well, I think I used it once when I got my valk stuck in one of those vents on the old 7 station. That's about it : )

I always use physics. The only time I ever used arcade was when I first undocked, and then realized this most was silly and changed it.

Physics has a healthy edge in combat, because multiple direction movement is possible.

yeah im gunna have to agree that physics does have its definit advantages. I used aracde for my newb days but as soon as i hit lvl 2 combat i switched to physics. It just seems to work better in combat then "flight assist mode"(arcade). Physics is little hard to get used to but once you do its hella fun to take out bots by sppining around them in ramdom patterns.