Hard Light Productions Forums

General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: badpenguin on June 01, 2011, 02:49:37 pm

Title: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: badpenguin on June 01, 2011, 02:49:37 pm
When raising the difficulty leave the just 1-shot the fighter.
Is there a way to avoid cruise beams? or to survive?
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Snail on June 01, 2011, 02:50:26 pm
Cruiser beams are the green beams or blue beams? If you're being targeted by green beams something might be wrong.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: General Battuta on June 01, 2011, 02:50:39 pm
Do you mean larger anti-warship beams?

The only way to survive is to not get hit. They should never fire at you directly.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: -Norbert- on June 01, 2011, 02:54:31 pm
In one of the older releases the big beams targeted bombs.
The solution for not getting hit that way is either playing with a newer build, or getting away from your bombs immediately after they have been fired.

If you mean slasher beams (like the Deimos uses), then the only way to make sure not to get hit by them is, not being between the firing ship and the target.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Goober5000 on June 01, 2011, 03:39:13 pm
In one of the older releases the big beams targeted bombs.
They still should, unless an ai profile flag is applied.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: badpenguin on June 01, 2011, 04:19:05 pm
Cruiser beams are the green beams or blue beams? If you're being targeted by green beams something might be wrong.

I mean the blue AAA beams, from the smallest cruises.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: headdie on June 01, 2011, 04:22:15 pm
Cruiser beams are the green beams or blue beams? If you're being targeted by green beams something might be wrong.

I mean the blue AAA beams, from the smallest cruises.

in that case no. those are dedicated anti fighter beams, even the best pilots get winged on at least one blast in the 3 shot burst
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: General Battuta on June 01, 2011, 04:23:04 pm
They really shouldn't one-shot...
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Snail on June 01, 2011, 04:31:06 pm
They shouldn't be one-shots. What campaign are you playing, and on what difficulty?

It's not exactly easy to dodge them. You can just try to stay outside of their firing arc, but obviously that's not always possible. When you see the beam glow powering up, try moving abruptly, make sharp turns and hit your burners. I dunno if that actually helps.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: badpenguin on June 01, 2011, 05:09:50 pm
They shouldn't be one-shots. What campaign are you playing, and on what difficulty?
It's not exactly easy to dodge them. You can just try to stay outside of their firing arc, but obviously that's not always possible. When you see the beam glow powering up, try moving abruptly, make sharp turns and hit your burners. I dunno if that actually helps.

Transcend, usually i don't have such problem because i love to abuste stiletto :)
but in that campaign you have a normal fighter and its hard to destroy those beams
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Spoon on June 01, 2011, 05:44:38 pm
Avoid the beams and you won't get hit pilot!


(can't believe nobody posted that yet!)
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Droid803 on June 01, 2011, 07:59:20 pm
You don't.
Beams will fry you whenever they want to.

You don't get a say in it. Short of staying out of range...
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: FreeSpaceFreak on June 02, 2011, 01:54:42 am
You'll want to memorize the field of fire of those beams, so you can avoid them if you have to attack a ship. Attack a Fenris or Levy from the front or the back.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: TrashMan on June 02, 2011, 03:40:55 am
Flying like a maniac and jinking wildidly can help to get hit less often, but usualyl you will get hit at least by 1 of the 3 shots.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Mars on June 02, 2011, 03:50:45 am
Flying like a maniac and jinking wildidly can help to get hit less often, but usualyl you will get hit at least by 1 of the 3 shots.

Actually no - unless you fly outside of the FOF of the beam, it's just as likely to hit you.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: X3N0-Life-Form on June 02, 2011, 04:01:40 am
Avoid the beams and you won't get hit pilot!


(can't believe nobody posted that yet!)

almost did, but my wifi failed me before I could :P

anyway, though it's not possible to evade an AAA beam, you will take less damage from it if you get out of the beam's way once it's shooting you. And it's a bad idea to head straight for it when it is firing at you, unless you know what you are doing.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Destiny on June 02, 2011, 04:07:48 am
Or if you have the balls/sheer hull strength. A small fighter profile helps sometimes.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Commander Zane on June 02, 2011, 08:01:44 am
Or not moving at all, for some bizzare reason I've had more AAA beams miss me that way than frantically trying to jinx in all directions.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 02, 2011, 08:30:40 am
Or not moving at all, for some bizzare reason I've had more AAA beams miss me that way than frantically trying to jinx in all directions.

If you're presenting the beam no change of bearing it does sometimes do this.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Destiny on June 02, 2011, 08:52:15 am
Or not moving at all, for some bizzare reason I've had more AAA beams miss me that way than frantically trying to jinx in all directions.

If you're presenting the beam no change of bearing it does sometimes do this.
After so many years, we haven't figured out why or how beams aim? Dang, beams are really mysterious and scary things.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Deadly in a Shadow on June 02, 2011, 09:07:05 am
Or not moving at all, for some bizzare reason I've had more AAA beams miss me that way than frantically trying to jinx in all directions.

If you're presenting the beam no change of bearing it does sometimes do this.
After so many years, we haven't figured out why or how beams aim? Dang, beams are really mysterious and scary things.
Of course, FS Beamz used by terrans were originally "invented" by shivans. If I remember right....
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: badpenguin on June 02, 2011, 09:11:31 am
After so many years, we haven't figured out why or how beams aim? Dang, beams are really mysterious and scary things.

ROFL!
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Commander Zane on June 02, 2011, 09:17:03 am
Simple, beams aim by +Miss Factor and in the case of slashing beams, the target ship's model octants. :P
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 02, 2011, 10:19:55 am
I'm sure we can get The_E or someone else familiar with the code in here to explain in stultifying detail how AAAs aim, but...
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: swamper123 on June 02, 2011, 09:13:08 pm
Or not moving at all, for some bizzare reason I've had more AAA beams miss me that way than frantically trying to jinx in all directions.

If you're presenting the beam no change of bearing it does sometimes do this.
After so many years, we haven't figured out why or how beams aim? Dang, beams are really mysterious and scary things.
Of course, FS Beamz used by terrans were originally "invented" by shivans. If I remember right....
For me the most scariest beam are from War in Heaven  :D
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Droid803 on June 02, 2011, 09:23:37 pm
Regardless of how the beam targeting works, it has a degree of randomness to it associated with its miss factor, thus I doubt you could find a way to make sure it actually misses, short of being outside of target range or fov, since the beam connects instantly.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: QuantumDelta on June 06, 2011, 04:01:48 am
What he said^

Beams cannot be 'dodged'.
Nothing you do will make a difference short of moving out of it's range or FoV.
Zane explained it best.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Asteroth on June 08, 2011, 03:08:53 pm
I think that is poor gameplay design. The player, should he be good enough, should always be able to avoid damage. Merely staying out of their FoF can many times not be a practical solution, depending on the objectives and the ship's turret postionings. Why would anyone have a survival mode in a game where the time you survive is completely independent of your skill?
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: General Battuta on June 08, 2011, 03:16:21 pm
I actually think it's one of the best gameplay decisions V made in FS2.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Commander Zane on June 08, 2011, 04:05:04 pm
I think that is poor gameplay design. The player, should he be good enough, should always be able to avoid damage. Merely staying out of their FoF can many times not be a practical solution, depending on the objectives and the ship's turret postionings. Why would anyone have a survival mode in a game where the time you survive is completely independent of your skill?
You can't really avoid something that cannot be predicted and is a hitscanning weapon unless you give it absolutely no chance to reach you, or if it's already being fired in which you just steer away from it.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Droid803 on June 08, 2011, 04:43:35 pm
I think its a great design.
It makes certain zones risk zones (that are actually dangerous).
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Spoon on June 08, 2011, 06:25:35 pm
I personally gonna have to disagree there. I'm totally okay with unavoidable *shield* damage by beams, but not when they piercing shields. Unavoidable hull damage is imho just frustrating.
Bad design imo. Especially because its really hard to tell which part of a capital ship is safe to approach unless you are a veteran player and know all the turret placements on a capital ship.
So unless you have a perfect approach (and don't accidently drift into the fov while dogfighting something else) you are going to pray you don't get hit with unavoidable&unrepairable hull damage.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: QuantumDelta on June 08, 2011, 07:02:47 pm
problem is non-shield penetrating beams are kinda lulzy.. :<
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Spoon on June 08, 2011, 07:40:14 pm
problem is non-shield penetrating beams are kinda lulzy.. :<
Your face is kinda lulzy

and with that I mean to say, explain further. Because I don't see what in particular is lulzy about non-shield penetrating beams
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Talon 1024 on June 08, 2011, 07:43:26 pm
problem is non-shield penetrating beams are kinda lulzy.. :<
IMHO, the game would be more balanced if AAA beams wouldn't penetrate shields.

Or, heck, if beams pierce shields, why shouldn't missiles pierce shields? I wish they could be configurable like that.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Spoon on June 08, 2011, 08:34:43 pm
Give a missile the "pierce shields" flag and they will.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Droid803 on June 08, 2011, 09:42:15 pm
If beams and missiles pierce shields, why not primaries too.
Wait, screw shields!
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Marcov on June 08, 2011, 10:58:47 pm
The only real way for you to get rid of those AAA beams is to strafe it with (preferably) Maxims and Trebuchets from afar. Akhetons are pretty useless as it requires you to come close, and if you do, you'll get hammered by all those annoying flak and blobs and (if there are) fighters.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 08, 2011, 11:15:33 pm
The only real way for you to get rid of those AAA beams is to strafe it with (preferably) Maxims and Trebuchets from afar. Akhetons are pretty useless as it requires you to come close, and if you do, you'll get hammered by all those annoying flak and blobs and (if there are) fighters.

Wingmen are essential. It gives the beams someone to shoot at so you can pop up and waste it.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: QuantumDelta on June 09, 2011, 03:50:20 am
Fury and I tested shields absorbing beams in Blue Planet, with his AI.
Although it made capships slightly more dangerous when you were in flak range (because shields drained faster), for the most part, it made beams ineffectual, and far less scary.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: crizza on June 09, 2011, 04:19:34 am
This discussion is strange...
When I attack a capship, I've to be carefull, because of these AAA beams, so, I know where blindspots are etc.
Without those beams, the game would be boring.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Deadly in a Shadow on June 09, 2011, 04:26:04 am
This discussion is strange...
When I attack a capship, I've to be carefull, because of these AAA beams, so, I know where blindspots are etc.
Without those beams, the game would be boring.
He's right.
BTW the best way to avoid cruise beams is to destroy them just before they shot at you.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Commander Zane on June 09, 2011, 08:36:06 am
Technically the best way is to take them out at range, away from the ship the beam is set to fire at, eliminating the chances of it whacking you.
You can take the risk and charge at it strafing Tempests at the beam cannon while it charges, but you have to know when to dive out of the way before it goes off if it's not destroyed.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Destiny on June 09, 2011, 08:48:39 am
Technically the best way is to take them out at range, away from the ship the beam is set to fire at, eliminating the chances of it whacking you.
You can take the risk and charge at it strafing Tempests at the beam cannon while it charges, but you have to know when to dive out of the way before it goes off if it's not destroyed.
The NTC Refute and the NTC Majestic has a habit of firing beams at your GTC Rampart, taking 99% hull off your Perseus while smashing the sensors.
Title: Re: how to avoid cruise beams?
Post by: Commander Zane on June 09, 2011, 08:51:37 am
I've never been hit by capital-grade beams in that mission.