Our ships have undergone extensive upgrades to targetting system and module networking. It introduced a feature that will greatly enhance our combat performance. Full overview of the available features can be found in the manual that is included as an attachement.
Target information broadcasting
The targetting system can broadcast target information to other vessels in flight group.
To setup the system, use command: /setmsg 1 Target #t
To perform the broadcast, use command: /g1
All pilots are instructed to learn the new system, including this feature, and use it to its full capabilities.
Following an extensive upgrade of our communication arrays, our ships gained the ability of a quick and efficient group linking. Use the attached field manual to make yourself familiar with the new system available. It surpasses the old one in many ways.
The new functionality can be accessed by a simple command: /fi BAF|
Welcome to <<Bomber fighting; Basics>>
I will be your professor today since your old one just finished his life's adventure.
My name is... Oi! Stop talking in the last row! *takes a piece of chalk and throws it on the ones in the last row* ...James Hobart.
Now open your books at page three. <<Basics of bomber versus bomber fighting.>>
*turns off the light and turns on the projector*
This first image shows us Challenger, the newest model of Bretonian bomber, and the only one in the mass production. As you can see, we are lucky to have the biggest shipe engineers were able to construct. Another bad side of this "duck" is that SNAC is positioned way at the side of the ship, severely reducing your chance of hitting "vermins".
Dispite all that, Challenger is still powerfull, and it has a large power plant, which is able to fire a second SN before your opponent's shield is back up from the first one. Although, you must be very quick and skilled to do that.
*clicks at another picture*
Bomber versus bomber, 1on1.
In that fight, the function of regular guns is only lowering your opponent's shield because every bomber has a great number of <<nano monsters>> which will fix your ship many times, and taking in consideration armor of every bomber, you have to shoot it a lot before it burns down.
Meanwhile, even a blind granny would hit you with a SN. In this tiype of a fight, the SN is your primary weapon, and you must spend a few hours in the simulator, to perfect your aim with it.
So, the SNAC on the Challenger is placed on it's wing, which makes aiming small ships difficult.
First you must check what side is your SNAC on. Lets say it's on starboard. The target is approaching your left side, so the aim difficulty is increased due to it's distance from the target. On the other side, if the target approaches your right side(where the SNAC is placed) the aiming is simplified. Never fire SNAC on distance greater then 400 meters, because it is not particulary fast weapon.
When your target is not flying on your right side(where your SNAC is) try to get it on your right side by strafingto the left.
*bell rings*
Next time we will do <<Bomber versus capital fighting; Basics>>
*James thinks to himself.* If they only listened.
*Ring bells*
Ah. Pilots. Welcome back. I believe that you remember my name by now, but I see some new faces in the class. James Hobart, your current teacher.
Lets continue with our bomber combat theory. Books at page 17 please. Mister Cook, the light please. *Lights off, Hobart turns on the projector* 3 Types of gunboats that you will see at least once in your short *Chuckles* ... very long pilot career. Today we will study Corsair gunboat.
First photo showing a Corsair gunboat type M26 aka lunchbox. With 8 turrets, this is extremely powerful gunboat. Heavy armor for protection, and even have little jammed aiming device. Turrets are very good mounted all over the ship, and dont have weak points. Hah! But if you look closer...
Our engineers examined M26 to the last detail. While extremely powerful and heavily armored protected, this gunboat is still very slow. Our The Duck Challenger can easily outmaneuver gunboat.
First, you need Train CD, or any other CD for this case.
You engage gunboat. Stay behind him, whole the time. Gunboat captain will try to face you with his frontal armor, and he will enter Engine kill. Time for you to fire CD, so to disable his attempt. After he is returned to regular flight, come again behind him.
Fire SN, Dodge, recharge SN, fire. Good. Little shield still left. Use your primary guns to drop his shield. Recharge SN, fire. Good, hit to the hull. 'Sair captain is in panic now. He will still try to face you with frontal armor, and if he succeed in his plan to enter Engine kill and to face, you will be looking at 8 sharp turret guns. Bad. You need to use CD again. Stay behind, stay behind, dodge, dodge, fire SN, regular guns, SN, dodge.
Gunboat is very powerful, but his most dangerous weapons to any bombers is his missiles launchers. Bloody things. If you are not careful, you will lose all your guns, and even shield and thruster. Bad. Solution is simple. CDs and using CM (counter measures). Dont allow that any missile hit you, fire your CD on the target. Best CD is Train, because of radius of explosion-400, the largest boom area. After 'Sair captain see, he cant enter EK, and he cant face you, he will use last tactic in his arsenal. He will fly ahead, with little strafing to the sides, and shooting your Challenger from turret view. You will be under fire from 6 guns. Important is to dodge those things. Dodge dodge. Look if SN is ready. It is. Good. Fire away. Then again dodge. Little shield left onboard gunboat. Use your primary guns. You will get more damage than usual, but when you drop shield, you will have SN ready to fire, and to damage 'Sair armor. Stay behind all the time, dodge, fire SN, and return to dodging.
If you have some back up support, the pilot that is under fire, dodge, while other Challenger take advantage of quiet period, and fire all he got to the 'Sair. 'Sair changes target, again, who is under preassure dodge, while other Challenger pilot takes the advantage of not being fired upon. Cover your mate with CDs, so missiles wont hit him.
Next time, we will study Molly gunboat, and Kusari Naval Forces one. Good luck, and dont die out there. I want to see you all alive for next class. *Bell*
When a battle starts, the ranking officer should be in charge of target calling and force management, unless they designate a lower-rank officer to take over it for them. When the battle coordinator gets destroyed, he should designate whoever should take his place via group chat as soon as possible. If possible, the ranking officer should set up a coordinator chain before the battle starts. Then if he is destroyed, he reminds the group of who the new coordinator is. If the next coordinator was already destroyed, it goes to the highest-ranking pilot available. If there are more than one, the previous coordinator designates which is the new.
In the event that a battle starts and there is more than 1 pilot of the highest rank available, for example, 2 Lt Commanders controlling # of Lieutenants and Ensigns, whichever pilot has been in the BAF longer takes charge. If seniority is unknown, the two or more pilots should decide among themselves quickly and without argument.
If forces are of mixed groups, such as capital ships escorted by fighters and bombers, the biggest capital ship should coordinate the other capital ships, while the highest-ranking fighter or bomber pilot coordinates the rest, unless the highest-ranking pilot designates otherwise.
If a battle is under way and a higher-ranking pilot joins in, the battle coordinator should give up his position to the higher ranking pilot. The higher-ranking pilot may chose whether to take control or let the other pilot remain in charge. If this is the case, and the coordinator dies, the higher-ranking pilot will take charge unless he designates otherwise.
Message presets:
1: Target #t
2: Blue Squad target #t
3: Red Squad target #t
4: Capital Ships target #t
5: CD #t
1 is for when the entire group is targeting the same person.
2 and 3 are for when you have 2 groups of fighters/bombers, or fighters in one group and bombers in another. When you don't want them both after the same target. You'd put a person in charge of Blue Squad, and another in charge of Red Squad to do their squad's target-calling.
4 is for a capship group leader, as is obvious.
5 is for when you have a fighter or bomber with a Cruise Disrupter and you want them to CD another fighter or bomber that is spamming missiles or mines, or if an enemy is trying to charge their cruise to escape.
This is the most versatile and widely used craft in the Armed Forces, capable of escorting larger ships, attacking enemy fighter or bomber wings, and even threatening small capital ships in large numbers, it balances maneuverability and firepower into a deadly package. Due to it's widespread use, it is important to familiarize yourself with every part of the craft.
First, compare it to the Corsair Titan, the Kusari Chimera, and the Werewolf very heavy fighters.
Notice that the Templar has a large power array and thick amour, but at the cost of maneuverability. So don't expect to out turn your opponents if you're flying in a circle, they'll close in on you and do significant damage. Often, you'll be forced into making strait runs at your opponent, called "Jousting."
Weapons
The Templar can mount two class nine and four class ten guns or missiles, in addition to a Torpedo, Mini Razor, or Cruise Disruptor. Understanding which weapons to mount is critical to combat success.
Energy Weapons
Energy weapons are the most important weapons you can mount, the BAF issues three standard weapons as well as codename guns to its pilots.
*Standard Weapons
The Ultra Sunrail and Adv. Splitter are Bretonia's two premiere weapons. The Ultra Sunrail's 600m/s speed allows it to be used best with codename weapons, but should be moved to a separate weapon group if mounted with the Imp. Debilitator due to the 150m/s speed difference. It should also be noted that the Ultra Sunrail is most effective against graviton shields, which many pilots mount.
The Adv. Splitter is fast enough to be fired with the Imp. Debilitator accurately. (Only a 50m/s difference.) It is easier to aim, so less accurate shooters should consider mounting it.
The Imp. Debilitator is the only weapon that is specifically designed to damage shields. It does massive shield damage, but almost no hull damage. A good strategy is to mount one or two of these guns to take down an enemy's shield, then use other weapons to chip away at their hull.
*Codenames
Codename guns are the most powerful and energy consuming weapons available. For the most part, they are slow (600m/s) and incredibly powerful against ship hulls. As long as you are careful with energy consumption, they can be a pilot's best friend.
Nomad Guns: Due to the unknown danger associated with these weapons, no nomad guns are to be mounted on any BAF craft.
Missiles
Missiles are designed to complement energy based weapons. Due to ammunition limitations, pilots shouldn't rely on missiles as the only means of fighting. Missiles can easily be out thrusted, so the best time to fire one is when an opponent is coming right at you. Countermeasures can defeat missiles, so time your shots carefully for a damaging hit. One strategy is to use shield busting missiles to take down an enemy fighter's shield quickly, then use hull damaging energy weapons for the kill. Another is just the opposite, using shield busting weapons followed by a cannonball missile. (Although you can also use the mini razor or a torpedo for this strategy, too.)
Torpedo Hardpoint Weapons
The Templar can only mount one Cruise Disruptor, Mini Razor, or Torpedo. There is no one perfect weapon, and all three can be used to great effect in different combat situations.
-Train Cruise Disruptor
This weapon is seldom mounted on Templars, but that doesn't mean it can't be used effectively. In addition to stopping fleeing smugglers, (though that's mostly the domain of the BPA) it can pin down enemy capital ships, preventing them from engine killing and quickly turning to attack bombers.
In fighter combat, the cruise disruptor can be used to destroy enemy ordinance like mines and missile. If the timing is right, the missile or mine's blast radius can potentially cause heavy damage to the opponent.
-Sunslayer Torpedo
This weapon does less damage and moves slower than the mini razor, but it seeks and can be difficult to avoid at short range. Against capital ships, it can be used to knock off turrets.
-Mini Razor
The most widely used of the three, the mini razor is most effective when fired directly at a fighter while jousting. The closer the ships are, the better the chance of a hit. They require a learning curve, but are lethal when used correctly.
Combat Strategies
-One on one duel
This type of fighting is relentless. If you are fighting a skilled pilot, every mistake will be punished mercilessly, but knowing proper tactics will give you an edge over your opponent. The fight will quickly turn into a jousting match, where both ships will fly directly at each other, as it is one of the best ways to actually do damage. Don't fly in a strait line, use your side thrusters to maneuver around and make yourself a hard target. Always thrust until your opponent is out of view, then engine kill, turn around, and repeat. When you close to close range, fire your mini razor, torpedo, or missile and you'll have a better chance at hitting your opponent. As you pass over the enemy, drop a mine, if only to throw him or her off guard. Repeat as needed until you score a kill.
-Large scale fighting
In large scale battles, you have a better chance of surviving if stay calm and collected. You'll likely be given a target by your commanding officer, stay with that target, your commander gave that order for a reason. If you find yourself under heavy fire, go evasive, even if you have to lose your target for awhile. Don't rush into killing your opponent, it causes mistakes which cost lives. Steadily drain your opponent of nanobots and shield batteries until they retreat or are destroyed, then move on to another target. When picking your own targets during a battle, look for enemies that are attacking you squamates, just knowing they're being shot at can cause a pilot to break off an attack or lose focus. Finally, when an enemy is destroyed tractor in as many nanobots and shield batteries as you can. You don't want them to be used on the other side. Don't be greedy with them either. If your teammate needs help, supply him with a few. Keeping a friendly pilot in the fight is a victory all its own.
-Capital ship fighting
Ideally you should use a bomber or call in capital ship support for this type of fighting, but in a pinch two or three mini razors or sunslayers can take down a gunboat, just keep firing and dodge the missiles and faster moving energy blasts. Eventually you can wear down the gunboat into retreating or just simply destroy it. Anything lager than a gunboat should be handled with a very large group of Templars (Three mini razor armed fighters minimum), although someone in your group should have access to at least a bomber.
Pure pursuit is a concept in aerial combat in which an aircraft pursues another aircraft by pointing its nose directly towards it (typical for missile, mine, or torpedo attacks). This is in contrast with lead pursuit, in which the chasing aircraft points ahead of the aircraft it is following (typically used when attempting a gun attack) and lag pursuit, in which the chasing aircraft points behind the aircraft it is following (typically used when attempting a rear-aspect missile attack).
As air to air maneuvers take the relative motion into play, many times gun shots fired directly at the target miss it due to the constant movement of the target and the chasing pilot feels that the shot is late to reach the target while target has moved from that location.
The most common way to correct this issue is to anticipate in which direction the target is moving and try to shoot in the future path of the target anticipating that if target follows the same path in the future then there would be a higher probability of hitting the target( this is why you target the red +).
To counter this, the target has to constantly alter the trajectory of flight and keep changing the direction of the flight.
Auto Msgs: (All BAF members must add the following to their characters)
/setmsg 0 #C (Role-playing may be added, this gives your location.)
i.e. I am in sector #c = I am in sector C-6
/setmsg 1 #t (Role-playing may be added, this gives your target.)
i.e. I am attacking #t = I am attacking john smith
/setmsg 2 #t is on me. (To tell your group that someone is attacking you and you need help getting him off of you. This will help bombers get fighters off of them.)
i.e. Need help, get John Smith off of me!
/setmsg 3 (should be used for RP to ask for NBs and SBs.)
i.e. Mayday mayday! I need Nano bots and shield bats!
FigureA:
The idea here is simple. Ally ship being chased sets up the enemy ship for an easy kill shot for you. Your job is to pulsate in and out of the battle crossing their axis of flight to take your shots.