What choice do I got?

[nightrune]

After a discussion with a friend. I wanted to see what the community thought.

What choices do you have during combat in starmade? and what does that choice mean?

Please hold discussion of new choices for later and possibly another thread.

 

[Gasboy]

How do you mean, choices?

Choices of what to do? Fight or flight.

If not that, what do you mean? Need a bit more explanation, I think.

 

[MrFURB]

Most of the choices one makes that effect combat are made long before it ever happens, while building the vessel you are using. Most vessels are designed so that there is one correct way of using them and that they are their most powerful in that one way. Ships don't usually have more weapons than can be used; better to have all of your possible DPS outgoing at all times. Despite the current heavy emphasis on warship design there are still a few ways that pilots can make correct or incorrect use of their tools in the middle of a scrap.

If you have the speed advantage you get to dictate the range of the encounter. Do you move in close to brawl or do you stay at range and volley the enemy down?
If you have the maneuverability advantage you can flank the enemy at short ranges, but will you survive long enough to move behind the enemy? Which axis do you try to outmaneuver? Do you even know which side the enemy turns slowest?
There are other moment-to-moment choices from targeting to combat jumps to switching position and aggro in fleet battles.

I think there is lots of room for improvement in the sense of providing choices for pilots in the void.

 

[nightrune]

How do you mean, choices?

Choices of what to do? Fight or flight.

If not that, what do you mean? Need a bit more explanation, I think.

Think along the lines of what MrFURB is thinking. Fight or Flight is a basic choice, but I want to dig a bit deeper then that.

 

[Spoolooni]

I think regardless of what choice to you make, positioning takes priority. This is why turrets are so powerful, they enable the pilot of the ship to concentrate on positioning their weak points away from the enemy while the turrets do the work. Of course the smaller your ship, the more you have to worry about your survival as well, except you have the complexity of dealing with target prioritization.

 

[KiloZulu]

A big choice is whether to launch drones or use disposable munitions. Fleet management has made drone recovery more reasonable, so you aren't necessarily throwing away a bunch of resources by doing so.

If you have heat-seeking missiles, you may have to choose whether to use them or not based on what targets are around. You don't want to make an enemy of the Trade Guild because your salvo meant for a pirate instead veered off in favor of a shop.

If your ship has power concerns, you may have to make decisions as to what systems run during combat. Do you want to shuttle power towards the radar jammer or the jump drive? Shield reinforcement or overdrive?

Another choice might be whether to engage a transporter at any point. It may provide an opportunity to board the enemy, but can you afford to have your shields drop by doing so?

 

[Nickizzy]

Think along the lines of what MrFURB is thinking. Fight or Flight is a basic choice, but I want to dig a bit deeper then that.

Wether or not to bring an indecinator frigate in to keep them from escaping:p.

 

[nightrune]

This is all awesome. Keep it coming.

 

[Scypio]

Where are the weak spots ? Where should i go to hit them first ? How to protect mine from his weapons ? What are his strong points ? How do i counter them ?

 

[Dire Venom]

Where are the weak spots ? Where should i go to hit them first ? How to protect mine from his weapons ? What are his strong points ? How do i counter them ?

Kinda hard to do when 90% of them time you'll be outside render range :/ I wish there was another to see ships without having to cuddle up tto them (ship preview or basic shape shown when targeting?)

 

[kingreol]

Kinda hard to do when 90% of them time you'll be outside render range :/ I wish there was another to see ships without having to cuddle up tto them (ship preview or basic shape shown when targeting?)

im hoping LoD makes this happen. combat is a bit odd when you are fighting a player you cant see because of rendering issues.

 

[terra mining corp.]

if I should launch drones because ai is so dumb right now that 50 mass drones think they are destroyers in attack patterns

 

[Brokengauge]

Do I open fire now, at the edge of my weapons Max range and try to soften them up while I close the distance? or do I go in all

Spoiler: Sneaky-Beaky like

with a jammer on, try to get behind them before I fire everything at once?

When is an appropriate time to ram them? what a silly question. Ramming is always appropriate. ALWAYS.

Should I try to find where the systems are, and target those to bring them to their knees more efficiently? or should I just be a cruel bastard and aim specifically where the crew would be?

 

[Scypio]

Kinda hard to do when 90% of them time you'll be outside render range :/ I wish there was another to see ships without having to cuddle up tto them (ship preview or basic shape shown when targeting?)

That's a choice too to come closer. :p

 

[Comradecolonel]

Tactical choices are definitely limited right now. In combat there is There are no active abilities that have to be managed. All you have to do now is know how to use the weapons on your current ship. Then you choose how you engage them or maybe not to engage them at all. Starmade is not totally lacking in tactics but considering the depth of choice during design its a little disappointing.

 

[KiloZulu]

Kinda hard to do when 90% of them time you'll be outside render range :/ I wish there was another to see ships without having to cuddle up tto them (ship preview or basic shape shown when targeting?)

I design my turrets to have long ranges, and build any weapons I plan to fire manually to shred things at close ranges. That is specifically because I know I can't see or hit a target outside of a few km. At least the turrets have some idea of what they're aiming for.

 

[MacThule]

I hate to say it... but, fight or flight are pretty much it in the vast majority of legit combat encounters I've had. Because either the ship I've encountered is more than 10x my mass and its first volley clearly establishes that not all of that mass is decorative, or I feel confident that I have a good chance to cripple it. I can only think of one non-arranged encounter I've even had where I wasn't sure within a minute or two either that I could not hope to win, or that my opponent could not hope to win.

If the question includes options within arranged combat where a mass limit has been set, then a variety of options become available. First being about stealth/ECM, then about range/accuracy, finally DPS/tankability must be considered as the battle wears on.

 

[Crashmaster]

Do I sitting duck myself for a minute to try and navigate through all my entities that should have had their passives activated way back when I undocked?

 

[nightrune]

There has to be more then this? Maybe its not about in the moment decisions then? Or is stealth even a play right now outside of a prearranged fight?

 

[Lukwan]

I choose my tactics.

Do I kite them or circle? When do I change tactics?

When do I tip my hand? (If I engage using all my weapons I have no surprises left.) Do I let my enemy know what I capable of or string them along into my trap. When do I employ my dirty tricks?