Missile Help

[Eric Walch]

High accuracies have their downside against a player. The past week I have been targeting missiles a lot and noticed that its easier to hit one with the laser than I thought. And the ones that head straight for the target are the easiest to hit.

[JazHaz]

On this subject, I would recommend getting an Automatic Chaff System (or ACS for short). This is a missile defence system that blows out a cloud of chaff for hardhead missiles and activates the ECM for standard missiles. Since getting it, 9 times out of 10 (probably better than that) I've survived missile attacks. The only time is doesn't work too well is a point-blank range missile launch by an NPC.

I prefer the ACS to the Anti-Missile System (AMS) from the Armoury OXP, it seems to work better for me.

[davcefai]

Can I also point out that a couple of seconds of Cloaking Device will detonate any missiles targeted at you.
However the bad boys then lose interest until thay notice your reappearance. This can rather upset your carefully (frantically?) plotted attack plan.

[Diziet Sma]

I prefer the ACS to the Anti-Missile System (AMS) from the Armoury OXP, it seems to work better for me.

Whereas I like the AMS better than the ACS.. so I'd suggest people try each, and see which suits them best.

Can I also point out that a couple of seconds of Cloaking Device will detonate any missiles targeted at you.
However the bad boys then lose interest until thay notice your reappearance. This can rather upset your carefully (frantically?) plotted attack plan.

Well, as German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke said, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.”

So.. I don't make attack plans in the first place (well, beyond deciding, that's the ship I need to take out first, at any rate) so, problem solved..

[Diziet Sma]

In double-checking my attribution of that quote above, I came across the following, quite a few of which are applicable to Oolite.. enjoy!

Murphy's Laws of Combat

1. If the enemy is in range, so are you.
2. Incoming fire has the right of way.
3. Don't look conspicuous, it draws fire.
4. There is always a way, and it usually doesn't work.
5. The problem with the easy way out is that it has already been mined.
6. Try to look unimportant, they may be low on ammo.
7. Professionals are predictable, it's the amateurs that are dangerous.
8. The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions:
1. when you're ready for them.
2. when you're not ready for them.
9. Teamwork is essential, it gives them someone else to shoot at.
10. If you can't remember, then the claymore IS pointed at you.
11. The enemy diversion you have been ignoring will be the main attack.
12. A "sucking chest wound" is nature's way of telling you to slow down.
13. If your attack is going well, then it's an ambush.
14. Never draw fire, it irritates everyone around you.
15. Anything you do can get you shot, including nothing.
16. If you build yourself a bunker that's tough for the enemy to get into quickly, then you won't be able to get out of it quickly either.
17. Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
18. If you're short of everything but the enemy, you're in a combat zone.
19. When you've secured the area, don't forget to tell the enemy.
20. Never forget that your weapon is made by the lowest bidder.
21. Friendly fire isn't.
22. If the sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.
23. Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can sleep.
24. The most dangerous thing in the world is a second lieutenant with a map and a compass.
25. There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
26. A grenade with a seven second fuse will always burn down in four seconds.
27. Remember, a retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
28. If at first you don't succeed call in an air-strike.
29. Exceptions prove the rule, and destroy the battle plan.
30. Everything always works in your HQ, everything always fails in the colonel's HQ.
31. The enemy never watches until you make a mistake.
32. One enemy soldier is never enough, but two is entirely too many.
33. A clean (and dry) set of BDU's is a magnet for mud and rain.
34. Whenever you have plenty of ammo, you never miss. Whenever you are low on ammo, you can't hit the broad side of a barn.
35. The more a weapon costs, the farther you will have to send it away to be repaired.
36. Field experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
37. Interchangeable parts aren't.
38. No matter which way you have to march, its always uphill.
39. If enough data is collected, a board of inquiry can prove ANYTHING.
40. For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism. (in boot camp)
41. The one item you need is always in short supply.
42. The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.
43. The complexity of a weapon is inversely proportional to the IQ of the weapon's operator.
44. Airstrikes always overshoot the target, artillery always falls short.
45. When reviewing the radio frequencies that you just wrote down, the most important ones are always illegible.
46. Those who hesitate under fire usually do not end up KIA or WIA.
47. The tough part about being an officer is that the troops don't know what they want, but they know for certain what they DON'T want.
48. To steal information from a person is called plagiarism. To steal information from the enemy is called gathering intelligence.
49. The weapon that usually jams when you need it the most is the M60.
50. The perfect officer for the job will transfer in the day after that billet is filled by someone else.
51. When you have sufficient supplies & ammo, the enemy takes 2 weeks to attack. When you are low on supplies & ammo the enemy decides to attack that night.
52. The newest and least experienced soldier will usually win the Congressional Medal Of Honor.
53. A Purple Heart just goes to prove that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
54. Murphy was a grunt.

[JazHaz]

I prefer the ACS to the Anti-Missile System (AMS) from the Armoury OXP, it seems to work better for me.

Whereas I like the AMS better than the ACS.. so I'd suggest people try each, and see which suits them best.

Which is why I put up links to both systems!

Can I also point out that a couple of seconds of Cloaking Device will detonate any missiles targeted at you.
However the bad boys then lose interest until thay notice your reappearance. This can rather upset your carefully (frantically?) plotted attack plan.

Most players don't have cloaking devices, unless you have played Oolite for a long time, as the mission you get them from is quite late in the game. I don't have one on my current commander.

[Eric Walch]

Can I also point out that a couple of seconds of Cloaking Device will detonate any missiles targeted at you.

Using the Cloak to detonate missiles is some sort of a cheat. Actually any use of the cloak feels like cheating....

Anyhow, in 1.77 it become more difficult/expensive to cheat by using a cloak... Missiles and pirates still loose track of cloaked ships, but soon will find them again after de-cloaking. So short burst of cloak are no longer effective and you must invest serious amounts of energy into the cloak to sneak away.

At least 1.77 will change the internal missiles and oxp missiles that use the oolite missile AI files. For the majority of oxp missile its up to the authors to change their behaviour to Oolites new one.

[Cody]

Using the Cloak to detonate missiles is some sort of a cheat. Actually any use of the cloak feels like cheating... Anyhow, in 1.77 it become more difficult/expensive to cheat by using a cloak...

Yep, I have to agree - though it is more balanced in trunk, as Eric says. I'm weaning myself off using the cloak - ain't used it for ages now.

[davcefai]

While I won't argue too strongly about using the cloak being a cheat i have to point out that with some of the ridiculously uber NPCs around I need a little help.

Now if I had 3 front lasers which never seem to overheat........

[Diziet Sma]

Now if I had 3 front lasers which never seem to overheat........

You'll be happy to know that has changed in 1.77. NPC lasers overheat too.

[cim]

Now if I had 3 front lasers which never seem to overheat........

You'll be happy to know that has changed in 1.77. NPC lasers overheat too.

They overheat in 1.76, too - in 1.77 they'll overheat in the same way as the player (which is generally an improvement for the NPCs).

[Diziet Sma]

Oh.. ok.. well, let's just say it's more noticeable in 1.77 then.. probably because, as you say, it happens more like the way it does for players.

[Switeck]

I prefer the ACS to the Anti-Missile System (AMS) from the Armoury OXP, it seems to work better for me.

Whereas I like the AMS better than the ACS.. so I'd suggest people try each, and see which suits them best.

I like my own simple Auto-ECM OXP. No complex script to check for many possible missile types to determine whether to ECM, drop chaff, or both. ECM-resistant hardhead missiles are still a threat, so you don't have a guaranteed "I win!" card to prevent missile hits.

[Diziet Sma]

Actually, I should have been more specific.. I use Auto-ECM in conjunction with the AMS for dealing with the more 'exotic' missiles. Still no guarantee, of course, but considerably less missiles get through.

[Commander McLane]

It should also be noted that each player is solely responsible for any exotic missile launched against their ship. If you don't like it/find it overpowered or unfair, just remove/edit the missile OXP.