How to get practice fighting?

[Norby]

Is there a mode in which I can be paired against hostile ships instantly for one-off fights?

[wiki]Combat_Simulator_OXP[/wiki]

[toto d merchant]

i don't even practice fighting al.kwahrizmi. my sole objective is to deliver my cargo and profit from it. fighting is extremely difficult in oolite. three or four pops from the pirate lasers then this female voice goes "incoming missile" and it's press space sucker... i mean commander." i marvel at the exploits of the big guns here who can deal with and eliminate the pirate swarms. really!!?? i don't even have time to press the escape pod key when in the fog of a pirate attack...heh heh. what i do is just hope and pray that i can fuel inject away from the pirates fast enough. oh, i also try to distract them with the rare as hen's teeth combat drones. this game has restored my faith in god.

[Amah]

I recently started a new commander. Compared to the starting cobra3 fighting was easier having an iron-assed your ship. Oolite 1.80 even makes it harder for young Jamesons.

So, I'm flying with my Rigel IV, a Griff Ophidian, delivering cargo, parcels and passengers all over galaxy 1, building up my reputation and try to avoid trouble as much as I can. Being ambushed once and a while without enough fuel for injectors my combat rating got now even to mostly harmless. (All just self defense officer... really

[Cody]

... this game has restored my faith in god.

<chortles> Welcome aboard, Commander!

[al.khwarizmi]

i don't even practice fighting al.kwahrizmi. my sole objective is to deliver my cargo and profit from it. fighting is extremely difficult in oolite. three or four pops from the pirate lasers then this female voice goes "incoming missile" and it's press space sucker... i mean commander."

Maybe you need to upgrade / trade in your vessel?

[ralph_hh]

In the very beginning, with nothing but a pulse laser, it is wise to avoid combat.
Try to earn some money first. Avoid enemy encounters by flying perpendicular to the witchpoint-planet line for some 10 seconds, THEN turn to the station.
When you made some money, invest into injectors, a beam laser, ECM system. That's enough to dare to risk some fights.
The ability to take on a group of 20 comes with better equipment and first of all: a lot of practice.

[Cody]

The ability to take on a group of 20...

Ah yes, those were the days - but I ain't as good as I once was!*




*with thanks to Diziet Sma

[toto d merchant]

In the very beginning, with nothing but a pulse laser, it is wise to avoid combat.
Try to earn some money first. Avoid enemy encounters by flying perpendicular to the witchpoint-planet line for some 10 seconds, THEN turn to the station.
When you made some money, invest into injectors, a beam laser, ECM system. That's enough to dare to risk some fights.
The ability to take on a group of 20 comes with better equipment and first of all: a lot of practice.

oh no no no ralph, i don't want to die practicing and i have all and then some of the equipment you mentioned. when i fly perpendicular i tend to lose the station and waste a lot of time looking for it again. i always start with a new commander whenever the pirates get me. i just can't bear to play on with an autosaved commander. so there you see, i'm one of those pathologically honest people.

[Cody]

... i tend to lose the station and waste a lot of time looking for it again.

The basic compass will point to the planet - when close enough, it will switch to the station.

... i always start with a new commander whenever the pirates get me.

We call that Ironman - some of us have (do) run that way. Evasion is the key! Kudos!

[toto d merchant]

... i tend to lose the station and waste a lot of time looking for it again.

The basic compass will point to the planet - when close enough, it will switch to the station.

... i always start with a new commander whenever the pirates get me.

We call that Ironman - some of us have (do) run that way. Evasion is the key! Kudos!

yes the basic compass will point to the station meister cody, but then there will be this great big planet standing in the way and then you will notice the altimeter shortening and turning red as you skim past it on your way to the dodo. one more hair raising experience, whew!

[al.khwarizmi]

oh no no no ralph, i don't want to die practicing and i have all and then some of the equipment you mentioned. when i fly perpendicular i tend to lose the station and waste a lot of time looking for it again. i always start with a new commander whenever the pirates get me. i just can't bear to play on with an autosaved commander. so there you see, i'm one of those pathologically honest people.

The only permadeath game I like is Quest of Dungeons and that only has seven floors.

[Norby]

i don't even have time to press the escape pod key when in the fog of a pirate attack...

Try it: [wiki]Auto_eject_OXP[/wiki].

[Disembodied]

In the very beginning, with nothing but a pulse laser, it is wise to avoid combat.
Try to earn some money first. Avoid enemy encounters by flying perpendicular to the witchpoint-planet line for some 10 seconds, THEN turn to the station.

Whilst the tactic of heading off the spacelane isn't cheating, it is exploiting a loophole in the (current) game. The alternative is to fly clever. Stick to the safest systems; keep an eye out for ships and especially laser fire up ahead of you; drop out of the torus drive manually if you see ships ahead of you, rather than hitting masslock and skidding in too close to them for comfort; swerve away from encounters with other ships if you can; turn tail and run from any hostile group you encounter; look for Viper patrols that can help you; and carry a few canisters of cheap crud to offer up to any group of pirates you absolutely can't avoid.

1.80 is much more survivable for new pilots than previous versions were. Yes, if you get into a fight, the NPCs are a tougher prospect than before: but there are ways to successfully avoid fighting without avoiding the spacelanes.

[toto d merchant]

i don't even have time to press the escape pod key when in the fog of a pirate attack...

Try it: [wiki]Auto_eject_OXP[/wiki].

i have already downloaded several of your oxps sir norby, just couldn't load them into the oxz. heh heh. i have tried to religiously follow the instructions posted here, you know, like dragging the oxps into the add ons folder, but so far could not get them to work. that goes for all the other oxps too.

[Norby]

just couldn't load them

Look in the "Manage Expansion Packs" menu where you can download and install most of them. I left out a few obsolete packages willfully, if you want something in oxp form then check this help.