Thread of rookie questions

[ZeppelinJ0]

I have a slew of new player questions I'm probably going to continually add to this thread in attempt to get to know the game better and get tips from the pros on ways to better my play experience. So I'd actually like to start with combat since I just started running contracts in Olympus for this first time after mining for so long.

1) I read a lot about how to approach combat contracts, yet I find myself losing in combat every single time. Is it possible I'm starting combat too early, is there a recommended frame to start combat with? I almost feel like the Talon still should be a great frame due to it's agility.

Anyways, per the forum suggestions, what I do is line up to my nav point and set pitch to 0 (or as close as I can), turn off IDS, and jump while pulling back on joystick. Now I'm soaring over the reds at 4k+ but now I'm getting too far away from the enemies. So now I start burning back at the enemies with IDS on until I get to a good speed then turn IDS back off and start strafing but now I'm side stepping too quick and once again can't get close enough to fire at the reds. After moving in circles for awhile I just go at them and once I get close I turn off IDS again and attempt to thrust vertically however at this point I'm getting pounded by missiles and cannons and explode.

I'm using a Raven frame at the moment with Level 6 shield, level 3 thrust and I believe mkIII wings, I also have the stalker gun.

2) What do Shield Boosters do? Is this something I activate or does it passively effect the amount of shields I have?

3) Is it possible to not use fuel during planetary descent? I cut my engines out completely when I hit the atmosphere and allow myself to freefall, however I notice my fuel is still draining.

I'll add more to this as I think of them ;p

[EDIT] er crud, should have put this in the Legends forum, ah well

[Edited on 10-15-2009 by ZeppelinJ0]

[Vice]

1 - The Talon is a good frame to use, just be careful as to where you go for combat. Until you've practiced using momentum/lateral drift for strafe attacks, counter-measures, cutting heat signatures, and maneuvering for optimal attack positions, I'd recommend sticking to Olympus and picking fights with just one or two hostile ships at a time. Hopping online and learning from other players can also help a lot. Avoid flying directly at your target as that just makes you an easier target for your opponent and gives you less time to react if they fire a missile at you. Depending on your tolerance for spoilers, the strategy guide has a very good introduction to combat tactics.

2 - Shield boosters are like the capacitors/batteries of your shield system. From the strategy guide:

The shield system on all ships in the game depends on two components, a shield core and boosters. ... Boosters are the capacitors of the shield system, they store the energy for each array and deliver it to the shield core. More boosters means more energy storage capacity, resulting in more resistance against weapon impacts and more power to manage between all 4 arrays.

3 - No, although fuel use is pretty low when you turn off the IDS. When the IDS is on and your speed setting is high enough, your ship tries to maintain forward momentum to generate enough lift to keep you in the air. Your ship also often needs to fire thrusters to keep you airborne when the lift is insufficient to hold your ship in the air. Stability is also attempted even when you have the IDS off in an effort to keep your ship moving in the direction it is facing. Although the spacecraft in the game can descend into planet atmospheres, they are generally designed and optimized for space flight. It's a good habit to get into to include descent costs for any planetary trips you want to make. Also, you can often recover some/most/all of your fuel costs on descent by just tractoring oxygen as you descend, then sell it at the city once you arrive.

[Marvin]

Also, when coasting, make sure your throttle is off. I can't count the number of times I've switched to inertial in an effort to save gas ... only to discover (after coasting for a few minutes) that my throttle is still firewalled. And be advised that, if you use your autopilot for long hops and don't use inertial, your throttle is always firewalled.

[BraveHart]

Having a ship with 8 hard points to load up with 8 missiles or an Excaliber missile pack helps a lot during combat....but you can use a ship with 4 hard points and having a ship with two hard points is ok if you are a Good pilot.....in your beginning combat contracts you should be taking on about 4 Hostiles. The further out past Olympia you will be facing more Hostiles....Olympia is a Good training system for Combat. One of the easiest tactics to use is the jousting tactic...when you 1st jump to your contract nav point set your pitch to zero and your heading on your compass to zero or 180....(I would suggest not doing Capital ship missions just yet unless you have people helping you online in MP.) when you push the f2 key pull up on your joystick....Once you arrive at the nav point make sure you are at an angle to the hostiles then turn IDS off....this will allow you to coast by the Hostiles....if you only have two missiles make them count...get a lock on the nearest target and fire the missile when you are 600 meters away, any farther away allows the hostile to shoot them down or use cm's...I prefer to shoot the Hostiles until I can get their shields down then I use missiles....Laser's work well in bringing down the shields but don't do a lot of damage to the hull and the cannons to a good job at damaging the hull.....Once past the Hostiles 2000 to 3000 meters away turn your IDS back on then use Afterburner to get up to max speed and fly off set of the Hostiles, Not directly head on, then turn of IDS and strafe the hostiles as you pass within 500-400 meters...repeat as often as necessary....this tactic does take awhile but will help you to survive longer. Once your down to 2 hostiles then try flying to their rear and attack from behind....kinda hard for them to shoot you if their running away....

"Good Flying" and Watch out for Missiles

[ZeppelinJ0]

Thanks guys getting the hang of it it seems!

Another quick question. What do the green crosses mean on planets? I know the green cross with the box is a city, but what about the non-boxed crosses?

[Vice]

The highlighted plus symbol is the primary trade city of the planet. Other plus symbols indicate smaller cities.