Flying Fagg0ts

[GONNAFISTYA]

Some guy at the ETQW forums made a training video with lots of useful tips on flying the Anansi, especially dogfights and weapon's usage.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0FPH7JH2

Regardless of the obvious need to practice your flying skills to get good at it, this video can give a few pointers that will allow you to avoid dying, make quick kills and - more importantly - build the confidence you need to jump into the cockpit on a regular basis when you get the chance (instead of doubting your abilities and hoping someone with better skill flies it). The Anansi is a predator and one of the deadliest tools in the GDF arsenal. It literally has the ability to wipe out the opponent's entire team - all over the map - in no time flat. When available, it's far more useful flying and bringing death and destruction than parked back at the base....which I've seen alot of on public servers.

I've heard FAR too many times over VoIP on public servers,"Can anyone fly the Anansi cause we really need it."

The biggest deterrent I've seen to people spending time in the flying vehicles is they're afraid of getting blown out of the sky 2 seconds after engaging the enemy. This video might show you what you've been missing and light a fire under your ass to give it more attention.

Besides....Quarry is a hard defense on the last objective for the GDF (especially with 15 minutes remaining)...I'd like it if some of you fagg0ts could jump in the other Anansi and cover me.

The video is about a half hour long and is relatively high quality. It's a big file though (approx 700 MB).

Oh...and I've personally killed/owned the movie's producers online.

[Plan B]

Thanks, insightful movie.
Didn't even know about those no-regs, that must kinda suck and frustrate at times.

I am indeed one of those fags who shy away from flying anansi and tormentor.
This is the first time I hear the tormentor is inferior to the anansi, but it makes sense, I suppose, what with the strogg also having the icarus for small time aviation.
Being good at piloting, I guess you always pick gdf in maps where the anansi is available then, GFY?

I actually like how flying the anansi or tormentor isn't as accessible as, say, 'flying' the icarus.
Not hard to imagine what team killing faggotry would ensue, where everyone would want to get their ass in there first.

[obsidian]

I may jump into a flyer from time to time, but I'm not an ace pilot so I choose to leave it to someone else if he's better at it. My dinosaur of a computer only cranks out an average 20FPS so controlling the flyer makes things a little "unpredictable".

A good pilot can indeed piss off the entire enemy team for your team's advantage.

[GONNAFISTYA]

I guess you always pick gdf in maps where the anansi is available then, GFY?

Nah...I'll play Strogg just as often. The main advantage of the Anansi is it's dead stop capability....it can really make a difference in a tight situation. Also...as mentioned in the vid, the Anansi has a smaller visual profile while the Tormentor is larger and due to it's dark colour is easier to see and therefore easier to target. Both of those facts give the Anansi the advantage in the aerial combat concept known as "First Look, First Shot, First Kill".

However, the Tormentor with it's ability to fly backwards instead of stopping dead, has other advantages in combat. Since the Tormentor will always move forwards when aiming down, don't fight it...you might as well take advantage of the movement. One trick I love doing to maintain my momentum is to do a bombing run "sideways": I come straight at them full speed and pick a line that is parallel to the "line" of my target run. The whole time I'm moving forward I can face the enemy (turning slowly as needed to maintain my aim) and at midpoint of the "line" I've turned 90 degrees and I'm moving laterally from my inertia. When I turn about 120 degrees I press and hold reverse thrust. Then when I reach the far end of my "line" I've basically turned a 180 and continue firing on the enemy while moving away from them. That way during the run I don't lose speed or become a target that just hangs in the air...begging to get shot down. You can't do that in the Anansi since its reverse thrust doesn't actually make it move backwards.

I actually like how flying the anansi or tormentor isn't as accessible as, say, 'flying' the icarus.
Not hard to imagine what team killing faggotry would ensue, where everyone would want to get their ass in there first.

Hmmmm...never thought of that. I guess I should be thankful that the flying vehicles are usually available when I want to use them.

[GONNAFISTYA]

A good pilot can indeed piss off the entire enemy team for your team's advantage.

For me - besides the ability to kill a shitload of enemies - it's the main reason to use the Anansi/Tormentor: it distracts the enemy from attacking teammates.

If a Cyclops/Titan/Desecrator is ambushing your team's advance or blanketing the objective with non-stop fire, the best way to give your teammates a few seconds to plant/build or even get out of the spawn point is to give the cunt a more threatening target. As I mentioned in the tips thread the best way to do that is to fly low and get right in their face.

But don't just tap him on the shoulder....kick him in the teeth.

If you can quickly inflict massive damage on them (to the point where the driver is hearing the warning chimes) they have a tendency to ignore what they were shooting at before and try to target you.

[Plan B]

I actually like how flying the anansi or tormentor isn't as accessible as, say, 'flying' the icarus.
Not hard to imagine what team killing faggotry would ensue, where everyone would want to get their ass in there first.

Hmmmm...never thought of that. I guess I should be thankful that the flying vehicles are usually available when I want to use them.

Yeah, I'm convinced splash damage made a deliberate choice in this, and right they were.
And you just can't change (most) binds that would make it more accessible.

For instance, what would make it a lot easier for me, would be able to control 'roll' with the keyboard keys and 'yaw' with the mouse, because that respectively translates more to 'strafe' and 'turn' when playing infantry.
I *was* however able to bind the '_forward' and '_back' controls to the 'jump' and 'crouch' controls I use when playing infantry, and that makes it more intuitive.
Also I have a mouse with two thumb buttons, and they're assigned to speed boost and speed brake, and especially the latter works really well in abruptly keeping the anansi hanging mid-air and dealing damage to ground targets.
Then I have 'mousewheel-up' assigned to switch between LAW and rockets, and 'mousewheel-down' assigned to decoy.

I've also found that when flying, you (obviously) get an enormous fps-hit because a lot more stuff is drawn, so I turned my graphics down quite a bit to keep things running smoothly.


Rambling on a bit like a nerd, but I'm kind of excited now that I see the opportunities and possibilities that I disregarded earlier.

[GONNAFISTYA]

Rambling on a bit like a nerd, but I'm kind of excited now that I see the opportunities and possibilities that I disregarded earlier.

lol...if there's anyone here who rambles on like a nerd about flying it's me.

[MKJ]

i was not going to say it but now youve called it upon yourself

goddamned nerd

[GONNAFISTYA]

lol

I bet you've been dying for the opportunity.

[MKJ]

[Plan B]

Done some anansi and torm flying, and I must say it has been quite satisfying and productive for the team.
Especially when the other team has no flyers, because I can then take out their deployables at leisure, and we basically rape them.
And I've even won the odd dogfight, which always feels particularly sweet


Couple of questions for you, though, GKY =>

Do you still *not* use advanced flight controls?
I don't, because I rely heavily on the 'noob' self righting mechanism, otherwise I'm prone to crashing in sticky situations.

Do you show cockpit?
I *do*, because it helps me find my bearings in leveling out horizontally.

In that movie you posted, the guy uses a specific crosshair that I can't find in the menu.
That crosshair is useful in lining up, because it shows on what side LAW is shot from.
Is it some modded crosshair?

[obsidian]

A sample config file is included with the video...

Code: Select all

//binds

seta g_bind_context_hornet "tor"
seta g_bind_context_anansi "tor"
seta g_bind_context_bumblebee "tor"
bind "q" "_speed" "" "tor"
bind "ctrl" "_speed" "" "tor"
bind "mouse2" "_weapnext" "" "tor"
bind "space" "_weapon0" "" "tor"
bind "mouse4" "_vehiclecamera" "" "tor"
bind "mouse5" "toggle g_showvehiclecockpits 0 1" "" "tor"

//hud 

seta gui_crosshairStatsAlpha "0.5"
seta g_showvehiclecockpits "0"

I assume it's seta gui_crosshairStatsAlpha.

[GONNAFISTYA]

Done some anansi and torm flying, and I must say it has been quite satisfying and productive for the team.
Especially when the other team has no flyers, because I can then take out their deployables at leisure, and we basically rape them.
And I've even won the odd dogfight, which always feels particularly sweet

Good on ya mate!

Couple of questions for you, though, GKY =>

Do you still *not* use advanced flight controls?
I don't, because I rely heavily on the 'noob' self righting mechanism, otherwise I'm prone to crashing in sticky situations.

I'm still using the default flight controls and for the exact same reason you described. I am an aggressive, insane motherfucker and having a sort of "gimble lock" restrict some of my movements means I'm pounding the enemy that much longer.

Do you show cockpit?
I *do*, because it helps me find my bearings in leveling out horizontally.

I show the cockpit not for leveling out but for knowing the physical dimensions of the aircraft. I'm bookin through trees, between buildings and flying indoors only 1 or 2 metres above the ground so showing the cockpit is a big help. Same thing when I fly in MS Flight Simulator X....it helps my focus.

[GONNAFISTYA]

Oh...and one more point about dogfights: Don't let them distract you from destroying/disabling prime targets on the ground. Stay flexible and don't panic. Keep your finger on the pulse of the overall battle and know what is happening where and if you need to deal with it. Overall awareness is the reason Wayne Gretzky was so successful.

What I mean here is when you've noticed a particular vehicle/turret is giving your team a hard time, use some time in the dogfight to continue damaging it before focusing again on the other pilot. If you can be a slippery bastard that the other pilot can't hit you'll have more time than you think to do damage to the enemy's overall setup...instead of just one flyer. *especially if you are in the middle of a dogfight and some cunt sitting on a roof with a rocket launcher/oblitorator decides to butt in on your fight. During your evasive moves deal with him when he gets anywhere near your sights...or try to ensure your evasive moves puts him in your sights.

Kill and/or damage as much as you can when the opportunity presents itself. There have been many times I've killed most of the enemy's team or removed a major threat to me or my team while some pilot fagg0t was trying to get a bead on me.

But only do this if your opponent is a no0b. If he/she is someone that can blow you out of the sky fairly quickly then focus on killing them or - at the very least - keeping them distracted. Die as many times as you need but keep harassing them. Draw them away from the main fight. Let them chase you...preferably over your team's anti-vehicle turrets.

[Plan B]

config

I'm an idiot.
I only extracted the video and not the config, and forgot all about it

gui_crosshairStatsAlpha *is* indeed the correct cvar for this, however, after firing it's always the *right side* little bar that indicates reloading.
And I *thought* the reload bars would correspond with the side last fired from, which makes sense to me, because you can then anticipate on that when leading your next shot.
Watching the vid again I see this isn't the case for him either, which seems kind of strange to me.

[Plan B]

Good advice about not getting too distracted from mission priorities by dogfights

Hehe, at this point I'm not nearly 1337 enough to multitask between dogfighting and keeping an eye on what's going on on the ground.
But it's very true; I've already experienced how I was so focussed on getting a tormentor off my ass, that meanwhile the strogg infantry was completing objectives I could have easily avoided them from completing.

And as you mentioned earlier, the same principle really works well in your favour too; ground troops *will* focus their attention on flying threats above anything else, and try to eliminate them asap.

[GONNAFISTYA]

Hehe, at this point I'm not nearly 1337 enough to multitask between dogfighting and keeping an eye on what's going on on the ground.
But it's very true; I've already experienced how I was so focused on getting a tormentor off my ass, that meanwhile the strogg infantry was completing objectives I could have easily avoided them from completing.

If you can't keep track of what's going on globally while in the middle of a shitstorm running for your life it's perfectly ok. The only advice I can give here is to check the overall map (press "N") while waiting for the aircraft to respawn. It's of course best used when your team has a radar up (so you can note the locations of enemy turrets/vehicles/infantry and get there ASAP) but even with no radar it's a good tool for getting an overall idea of where your teammates are, what they're looking at (the arrow direction) and if any of them are killed and removed from the map.

For example, if you're monitoring your team's vehicle movements and you notice one of your team's vehicle icons disappears...and you note from the on-screen text that playerx killed playery with an oblitorator/rocket...then you can safely assume that there is a rocket cunt in that area of the map and treat that vicinity like it's protected by an anti vehicle turret. Then change your tactics accordingly. And you'll know all this before you even take off.

You can pick up so much tactical info from a quick 5-second map check.

But don't do this while sitting in the aircraft before you take off....it can be destroyed then. Check it before you even go near the vehicle in case some cunt is ambushing your spawn. He can pound an unused flyer all he wants but he won't damage it until someone jumps in.

-----------

Oh...I almost forgot...BIG SPOILER: if you are playing the covert class, field ops or aggressor/soldier class then you can "cheat" a little bit with your mission menu. If you select "hack AVT" or "destroy AVT" (depending on class) then you get the added benefit of an icon drawn in-game on your target. This - simply put - is the easiest way I've found to locate and note the positions of enemy AVTs so that I know what's coming when I get to those areas of the map or simply bomb the shit of of that specific area from long range.

But I will reiterate...I think on-screen graphics of enemies locations (red arrows, hack icons) are a cheat and utterly destroy any real chance of smart players (instead of just skilled players) making a big difference in a battle. I'll admit that I use take advantage of those "cheats" if the server I'm playing on has them enabled...but I prefer green arrows only. That's it....no other hints as to enemy locations or strengths. /rant

[MKJ]

i will take up that rant some other day sir, for its not as black and white as you portray it. especially when it comes to graw

[Plan B]

stuff

You're absolutely right about checking the map.
Right now my approach to the game is pretty much FPS, and it can't hurt to make some better use of the RTS elements to base my tactics on.
But I already find that, now I started flying more, I literally get a bigger and better picture of what's going on overall.

Hey, that mission select thing to locate AVT's is a pretty good tip. Hadn't thought of that.
I don't really think it's a cheat, it's just clever.
Just like deploying radar to reveal enemy locations (and destroying enemy radar to hide your own) I consider it an integral and interesting part of the game.

[GONNAFISTYA]

I don't have any problem with an overhead map showing enemy locations...that's fine and I fully agree with you about the radar being integral and interesting.

I'm talking about an on-screen icon that follows me around and is graphically "sorted" on top of all other graphics (except walls and other solid objects). It chafes my ass that an enemy can see me without having to actually spend time looking for me....especially when it makes me an obvious target in smoke or fog....especially when I'm crouched behind something (cause the icon is floating above my head).

Like I said...I'll take advantage of it if it's enabled, but I do feel cheap doing it. Just the other day I was defending a planted bomb on Slipgate for the final objective and I threw a smoke screen at the top of the enemy's bounce pad. Even though I couldn't see them at all, I was able to kill each and every enemy that used the bounce pad...because there was a glaringly obvious red arrow showing me where he was...through the smoke. The reason I threw the smoke screen there in the first place was so that the enemy didn't know where we were ambushing them from when they ran into the room to disarm. I felt it was a wasted effort as many enemies managed to see me and shoot me a few times when I shot at them...with a fucking silenced pistol that doesn't give muzzle flash.

Seriously...Left4Dead wouldn't be half as fun for me if the zombies had a halo instead of my teammates.

[obsidian]

You playing L4D?

Add me.
http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198002524197/

[GONNAFISTYA]

I play L4D only offline right now. My leeched WiFi connection isn't too good.

It's the same reason I haven't played much ETQW lately.

[obsidian]

You cheap bastard!

* $30/month for ISP.
* $10 Microphone or headset
* Worst case scenario, DIY WiFi directional antenna ($1 in building materials).

[MKJ]

rofl, $30 for 5mbit
if thats canada's leading isp, things are pretty gay there

[obsidian]

Yes, gay it is. We're sitting in a stagnant ISP shit hole because the current ISPs have a pretty strong monopoly in Canada, Rogers controls cable in Eastern Canada, Cogeco cable in Western Canada and Bell controls all DSL. All three above throttle services like crazy and only offer a "max" advertised speed of 5-6mbits for typically about $50/month.

There are a few smaller independent companies that have been offering better services, but since they are just licensing their lines off of one of big three above, they are all at the mercy of the bigger companies.

The CRTC is supposed to be the government organization that is in charge of monitoring these companies and ensuring fair competition, but they are a bunch of unknowledgeable spineless pricks that bends to the will of the big ISPs.