Weapons aiming

[Ganelon]

I doubt this would be possible,or at least not possible without core changes. It also would be definitely outside of "Elite canon", but I'll suggest it anyway, just in case.

It would be nice if weapons could be aimed independently rather than having to swing the ship around. Obviously, since they're mounted on specific points on the ship, the amount they could turn would be limited. Maybe within 20 degrees or so.

It makes some sense to aim with the whole ship if one assumes that all Oolite ships are single-seaters.. But even back with Elite I used to let a buddy take over the weapons keys while I'd focus on actually flying the ship. It gould open up some potentials for Oolite to optionally be a 2 player game sometimes. Or if you had your ship on a heading and something comes up behind you, being able to aim the weapon from the "tailgunner station" without changing course (other than intentional evasive manoeuvres) could feel more "proper".

Like I said, I figure probably the core engine at present has no potential for the weapon to be aimed in any way other than moving the whole ship, but it seems to me that it'd be a logical development with spacefaring lifeforms.

[Commander McLane]

I agree that it would be a logical development. And it is indeed very clumsy to have to line up your complete ship. I mean, who would invent a completely fixed gun which can fire in only one direction in the first place? I find that unconvincing (and always have in Elite).

But at the same time I'm afraid that changing it would make the game too easy. So I'm very torn on the issue.

[Killer Wolf]

well virtually every fighter plane has guns like that, and that's comparable to the types of ship Elite had. Granted copters like the Apaches have a slaved "look and kill" system but i for one don't have the dexterity to play like that, flying w/ the cursor keys and aiming simultaneously w/ a mouse, or whatever.

[Commander McLane]

but i for one don't have the dexterity to play like that, flying w/ the cursor keys and aiming simultaneously w/ a mouse, or whatever.

Yes, that's another drawback I forgot to mention.

But we all have managed to learn Elite's/Oolite's controls, so I guess we could manage to learn that as well.

[Killer Wolf]

keyboard-only, i could play BBC Elite w/ my eyes closed. Oolite fortunately has a keymap facility, but i'm still cack at combat, lol, i'll put it down to twitchy ships etc, but as for a combined method, i'd have no chance. i could probbly do pitch/roll and mouse aims, but when you try and add in speed, missile targetting, ECM etc etc, i'd run out of fingers and talent very fast
to be honest tho, i see little point unless we got to a point in Oolite where we could have ships w/ a manned gun turret. Apaches have a L&K system as it's far more efficient that trying to turn a heavy war machine. in space w/ no gravity etc, and no worries of hitting landscapes, there's little reason not to point your ship at a target, especially since it invariably means you're giving them a smaller target to aim at.

[Commander McLane]

to be honest tho, i see little point unless we got to a point in Oolite where we could have ships w/ a manned gun turret.

Yeah. I would imagine something like what the Millenium Falcon has. But of course a manned turret isn't very likely for a ship with a crew of one. So it would have to be a cockpit-controlled turret anyway.

[maik]

So it would have to be a cockpit-controlled turret anyway.

Just imagine how many joystick a cephalopod could operate. No problemo

[Switeck]

Apaches have a L&K system as it's far more efficient that trying to turn a heavy war machine. in space w/ no gravity etc, and no worries of hitting landscapes, there's little reason not to point your ship at a target

In space, with no gravity...a massive war machine has to expend fuel to turn...and fight its own inertia to do so. For it to turn quickly would mean the tip that's moving the fastest would be under multiple g's of force even if the ship was not under thrust.

Elite ships must have some sort of very spooky inertia inhibitors to handle their air combat like turning or massive accelerations, otherwise the ship and its occupant/s would rip itself apart.

[Ganelon]

well virtually every fighter plane has guns like that, and that's comparable to the types of ship Elite had.

But not all the ships in Oolite are really designed as fighter planes.

Maybe if there was a toggle between navigation and weapons aiming, so you could basically set a course towards an opponent that would take you on a fast fly-by of their current heading.. then switch to weapons, take some shots while you're head-on, switch to port or starboard and get in a broadside, then maybe tailgun for a burst or two before switching back to navigation and taking evasive action when they come around to get a bead on you.

A bigger heavier battle ship that doesn't turn all that fast could defend itself a bit more realistically. Default would of course still be the fixed aim we have now, so the game could still be played "strict" easily enough.

But if there was another controller available, it might also be possible to let a buddy handle the helm or the weapons. Even letting a buddy who is watching handle the missiles with the game as it is now is a pretty darned good way to get them real interested in the game fast. LOL

Even the venerable Cobras, according to some write-ups and the fiction, *can* be outfitted as a 2 man ship, though originally designed for a solo pilot. Multiplayer may be a long way off, but it could be a way to accommodate 2 players who are actually playing on the same machine and sharing one display.

[DaddyHoggy]

It's been a while since I played, but I think this is how the controls for Freelancer works, right click toggled between gun control and flight control, but Freelancer was effectively a FPS set in space...