Forums » Suggestions
Wanted: Strafing Tutorial
An additional Strafing Tutorial would be very helpful for newbies.
When I started playing, I had great difficulty in learning how to strafe because I couldn't figure out how it worked at first. I pressed F1 to bring up the online key help, but when I pressed A/D/F/R at several thousand meters' distance from an asteroid, I couldn't see any difference in drift, and concluded (mistakenly) that I wasn't strafing properly. Not being able to strafe made it much harder to kill highly mobiles bots, such as the TyCorps Assault, until somebody finally told me to keep the keys pressed for several seconds to see noticeable drift.
A strafing tutorial would have avoided this problem. My suggestion is to have this introduced in the Mission List upon achieving Combat Level 1, since newbies at Level 0 are usually too busy in learning elementary flight techniques to master strafing.
-- DekuDekuplex Ornitier
When I started playing, I had great difficulty in learning how to strafe because I couldn't figure out how it worked at first. I pressed F1 to bring up the online key help, but when I pressed A/D/F/R at several thousand meters' distance from an asteroid, I couldn't see any difference in drift, and concluded (mistakenly) that I wasn't strafing properly. Not being able to strafe made it much harder to kill highly mobiles bots, such as the TyCorps Assault, until somebody finally told me to keep the keys pressed for several seconds to see noticeable drift.
A strafing tutorial would have avoided this problem. My suggestion is to have this introduced in the Mission List upon achieving Combat Level 1, since newbies at Level 0 are usually too busy in learning elementary flight techniques to master strafing.
-- DekuDekuplex Ornitier
Here's a few tips:
You can strafe better with Flight Assist turned off. With FA on, it will always have some thrust pushing you forwards, so you won't move sideways as much. If you can't find any players to practice with, find a Orun Collector sector, and prectice dodging their shots. Don't worry about shooting back, just practice dodging. It shouldn't take too much practice before you can last forever against them. Then try DenTek Collectors, then Artemis Collectors, and once you can survive indefinitely against them, then go back to the TyCorp Assaults.
Practice with other people from your own nation, in empty sectors. You can't damage people of your own nation, so you don't have to worry about dying, but it will give you a good feel for how strafing works.
And the best thing you can do, is ask for a Mentor. Check the Need a Mentor? thread in General, and ask on channels 1 & 100. You can usually find experienced pilots who would be willing to help.
You can strafe better with Flight Assist turned off. With FA on, it will always have some thrust pushing you forwards, so you won't move sideways as much. If you can't find any players to practice with, find a Orun Collector sector, and prectice dodging their shots. Don't worry about shooting back, just practice dodging. It shouldn't take too much practice before you can last forever against them. Then try DenTek Collectors, then Artemis Collectors, and once you can survive indefinitely against them, then go back to the TyCorp Assaults.
Practice with other people from your own nation, in empty sectors. You can't damage people of your own nation, so you don't have to worry about dying, but it will give you a good feel for how strafing works.
And the best thing you can do, is ask for a Mentor. Check the Need a Mentor? thread in General, and ask on channels 1 & 100. You can usually find experienced pilots who would be willing to help.
I had already known about turning off Flight Assist, but at first, it didn't seem to make any perceivable difference in drift at several thousand meters' distance from an asteroid.
Regarding asking for a mentor, though, since my levels are currently 4/6/6/5/2, the system will not allow me to have one, complaining that I am already at too high a level.
Besides, after a lot of trepidation and work, I have finally learned some basic strafing. It's just that it would have been great to have had a basic tutorial when I was back at Combat Level 1; in addition, it would be great now to have a tutorial on advanced strafing skills, such as back-strafing and diamond strafing.
-- DekuDekuplex Ornitier
Regarding asking for a mentor, though, since my levels are currently 4/6/6/5/2, the system will not allow me to have one, complaining that I am already at too high a level.
Besides, after a lot of trepidation and work, I have finally learned some basic strafing. It's just that it would have been great to have had a basic tutorial when I was back at Combat Level 1; in addition, it would be great now to have a tutorial on advanced strafing skills, such as back-strafing and diamond strafing.
-- DekuDekuplex Ornitier