How do you control the ship in Inertial Mode and how does that relate to combat in game?

[Maverik770]

Hey again everyone!

I have been bugging the crap out of all of you savvy vets for information on this forum for the last few days as I get acclimated to my new career in Evochron Mercenary! Yall have been a huge help thus far and I'm absolutely loving the game thus far.

I started out as a Fighter Pilot career, which I later learned is the hardest class to start with if you actually play it as a fighter pilot (which I have been) and don't trade in your starter fighter ship for a cheaper civilian ship and extra money. I have been running combat missions and familiarizing myself with the game's mechanics, controls, nuances, etc. After getting my ass totally handed to me countless numbers of times, I'm finally making slow but steady progress. I've got about 100k in my account and I've upgraded my particle cannon, laser cannon, shield chargers, added a tracking beam/mining laser and a cargo scanner. I'm currently saving up for a higher shield booster, cannon relay system and a repair system.

So anyways that's all going well. I have figured out what is expected of me on most missions. And my survivability has gone up quite a bit. I feel pretty confident going into missions rated for 5 enemies or fewer at this point (as long as there isn't a huge reinforcement wave during mission) but I still can't help but feel like I'm playing the combat in this game waaaayyy too much like a traditional flight sim and not nearly enough like a space combat sim. I typically circle around outside the combat and try my best to get behind the enemy furthest out from the group. This works fairly well and is how I get the majority of my kills. But I know that space has completely different physics and that I'm not taking full advantage of that in combat yet.

I really don't understand how to properly use Inertial mode in combat. I understand the idea behind it and how Inertial mode works in general. I currently use it to stay at high speeds without burning fuel. What I don't understand is how to properly control my ship in Inertial mode and how that correlates into advanced combat.

If I use my afterburner to accelerate to 2,000 MPS and engage Inertial mode, all thrusters are cut off and you will continue in that same direction at roughly the same speed - 2,000 MPS in this case. But what good does that do you in combat? I float right past the battle and just keep on coasting in a straight line until im so far past the battle that I turn on IDS and thrust backward to slow down and turn around. I then speed up and engage Inertial mode for another pass. But all I'm doing is zooming back and forth across the battle in straight lines. I haven't been able to get any kills using my lasers with this method as it only allows for a few seconds of accurate shots. And then their shields regenerate before I can make a 2nd pass.

I've been reading in other threads that Inertial mode is the way to go for combat, I just don't get how. I see there are additional controls for strafing boosters and vertical boosters. I have those controls mapped and I assume they are what I should be using to control my ship in Inertial mode? But they seem to be too weak to really change the direction my ship is moving when I'm going 2,000+ MPS in Inertial Mode. I hold down the vertical up thruster for example and it seems to make no change at all as I still drift through space away from the battle at 2,000 MPS.

One person on these forums suggested to "Thrust at your enemy while strafing around them in Inertial mode". Sounds like a killer tactic but I have no clue in hell what they mean by that. How does one thrust at their target while strafing around them in Inertial mode? How the hell do I circle anything or even turn around in Inertial mode?

I get that 2,000 MPS forward changes to -2,000 MPS when facing backwards but still drifting forward in Inertial mode. The concept makes sense to me, but how the hell do I actually force my ship to turn or loop around and come back to the battle while maintaining my 2,000 MPS in Inertial mode? The only way I can currently turn around is to engage IDS, slow down, start back in the other direction, speed up and then engage Inertial again.

I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong or not doing at all, nail down the basic ideas and then go practice circling/orbiting around a Carrier station while maintaining speed in Inertial mode. Or something like that...

Any help yall can give on this would be very appreciated!

[Edited on 1-24-2012 by Maverik770]

[Edited on 1-24-2012 by Maverik770]

[Maarschalk]

1. When Batteling AIs you do not need to use speeds of 2000+ you can use 1450+ Since the fastest Missiles AIs can have is 1400 the next fastest missile is 1200. At speeds of 1400-1500 on Inertia it becomes easier to use your straffe thrusters. Use IDS to speed up to 1400-1500 and get yourself a directional pass about 600 to 750 distance from the enemy! Switch to Inertia as soon as you reach 1400-1500 speed and use your straffe thrusters for adjustment of the 600-750 distance directional pass once you in that 600-750 range open fire on the closest enemy.

Keep in mind that you can take a chance of using speeds between 1200 and 1400 and that you have a small chance of being hit by a Clas1 Missile Echolon at speed 1400 depending on the missile range. but at those speeds straffing is much easier!

The higher your speed is the less effect your straffing thrusters will have. There is a speed range for Inertia where your straff thrusters will be most effective wich is between 0-1100 speed. In IDS mode your straffe thrusters have some but little effect......




[Edited on 1-24-2012 by Maarschalk]

[Professor Paul1290]

If you go up to 2000 at you're enemy you're going to have to get rid of that 2000 after you pass the enemy, and that's quite a bit of speed to bleed off. Doing it with thrusters is going to be rather slow and may requires you to face the other direction and apply afterburner.

If you want to go around in a circle, you have to apply thrust towards the center of the circle otherwise you will simply fly off on a tangent. If you only apply thrust backwards to push yourself forward and turn left for example, you're going to be spending the whole turn drifting right. It's like how when you twirl a weight around on a string you're pulling the object on the string towards the center.
That's why you "thrust at your enemy while strafing around them in Intertial mode", you're going to be applying just as much thrust and probably even more thrust pushing yourself towards your enemy than to push yourself sideways to go around in a circle because while that may not be the direction you want to go, it is the direction you want to change direction in if that makes any sense.

A nice way to get a feel for this somewhat (and make some cash at the same time) is to mine an asteroid while revolving around it. You'll find that in order to fly around the asteroid while facing it, you have to apply more thrust away from the asteroid to push you straight towards it than you do to push yourself sideways around it. In combat the circle is going to be much bigger and probably more of an oval than a perfect circle, but the idea is similar.

[Edited on 1-24-2012 by Professor Paul1290]

[WOLead]

Rookie Notes: Just things I recall from trying and failing myself. Repeatedly. Until things work.

First, don't use your Afterburner to hit that 2,000 MPS for the initial pass. That is a waste of fuel, unless you absolutely must hit that speed fast such as reversing direction or escaping a fight. Hit Numpad 9 to increase the IDS Throttle Scale, so if you do want to hit that speed in IDS mode. Numpad 7 decreases the IDS Throttle Scale, in-case you go to high for your liking. I usually have my own at either 3x or 4x.

Next, you want to setup your thruster controls in IDS mode to be a little more intuitive I think. I would think about remapping the W and D keys from their Throttle Control to Strafe Up and Down respectively. Further, remap the Z and X keys to Inertial Forward and Reverse (Page 2 of Button Config). That second bit is VERY important for me (though I have them setup on my joystick instead for thumb access right next to the top-hat strafing).
Note: Inertial Forward and Back IS what propels you forward or backwards in Inertial mode, rather then the Throttle settings.

For the strafing tactic? I like to think of it as attempting to orbit a target. You fly by the target and try to keep the distance between you and him equal to that of your canon range at all times. It won't happen, but its a lofty goal. That first high speed pass is the hardest, as you have to kill your own speed going in the wrong direction of the target's speed. Thats generally where I use the afterburner, once I'm pointing my ship in the right direction, and likely turn back on IDS for a moment to help kill any other excessive momentum before cutting it off again. Use the Strafing and Intertial keys for the perpendicular movement control to just stay the good side of your own canon range but not too close. Further, make sure you aren't heading right through the center of a pack of fighters. Lastly, if you are making an approach at an enemy fighter, your initial thrust should be aimed off to the side of them rather then head on.
-Practice strafing during a Civvie's "Destroy 20 asteroids" mission on the asteroids. At your combat speed you hope to attain at that. Its not a perfect replica, but it will help get the motion down while keeping your nose on target and blasting away.

I'm almost tempted to say that you should try speeds a bit slower then 2,000 MPS, but you are in a Fighter and I'm still more used to Civvie craft acceleration speeds. If the target's shields are regenerating too fast, then its likely a good idea to drop the initial approach speed some if its safe.

Further, practice with Inertial mode maneuvering by entering Stations or Gates in Inertial mode. Its something I've found to be MUCH easier then trying to enter a Station in IDS mode after a quick Warp, as you can point your nose at the Station/Gate, and watch for alignment to be right before using the Strafing thrusters to kill the perpendicular movement and either coast in or hit the Intertial fowards to rocket in. It won't help much in combat, but it will help you get used to the strafing and inertial thrusters more then flying by the seat of your pants in Combat mode.

[Edited on 1-24-2012 by WOLead]

[aRottenKomquat]

Wow, thanks for the tips WOLead (even though I wasn't OP lol). I didn't realize there were more controls like that, I was always trying to use my afterburner to control my speed in inertial mode.

[Maverik770]

Wow is right! Thank you everyone for the bevy of useful information about Inertial control and combat! You guys completely opened my eyes to what I was missing and have helped me over the fence to making real progress! Exactly what I was hoping yall would provide when I created this thread!

I had NO idea how important the Inertial Forward and Reverse thrusters were! I didn't even have them mapped yet! Lol. Also I see that I have just been trying to go waaayyy too fast and doing things all wrong because I was missing a couple of pieces of vital information. I absolutely love this game but it's biggest shortcoming is that all of the information is right in your face, it's just never explained.

You don't need to move any where near 2,000 MPS in combat. That is just waayyyy too fast in most combat situations. So that was my first big mistake and probably one a lot of combat newbies are making. When you are moving that fast, your manual thrusters just do not have enough power to change your course of direction and inertia fast enough. In order to change your ships direction when it's moving 2,000 MPS, you need a ton of force. Thus the manuevering thrusters are barely gonna change your angle, let alone turn your whole ship or allow you to circle around something. I found out last night that in most combat situations you can stay between 850 - 1,400 MPS and be relatively safe if you are manuevering correctly. At those speeds your thrusters are much, much more effective at changing your ships direction and will allow you to easily slip into slides and tight circles once you get the hang of how the controls work.

A lot of people suggested to try orbiting asteroids while mining them. That's a great idea! Except that I started as a Combat Pilot which starts you in the Talison sector with a military ship and military (usually combat focused) missions. I have yet to see a mission to mine an asteroid or even see an asteroid out in space for that matter. In fact the starting sector of the Talison system is almost entirely empty. So I flew over to the Eclipse Carrier station and used the carrier itself as my "asteroid" for circle strafing in Inertial mode training. And it did the trick! After a bit of frustration and tweaking of my control configuration, I started making progress and found myself circling the Eclipse Carrier both vertically and horizontally while in Inertial mode! But what I learned next really sped up my progress and also answered a question I had lingering for a while!

In the middle of your targeting reticle is a small X which as we all know designates where you are facing and acts as your targeting crosshairs for weapons fire. However, surrounding that little X is a small box that looks kinda looks similar to this: [ ]. I had no clue what this box was the entire time I have been playing until last night. That square is a positional indicator for the current direction/position of your manual thrusters!!

What this means is that you actually have 2 position reticles that you must watch at all times. The X represents where you're looking and where your weapons fire is looking. But the [ ] represents where your ships thrusters are actually pointing and thus where your ship is actually going to thrust toward when you press the Forward Inertial Thruster. Realizing this makes it REALLY easy to accurately adjust your manual directional thrusters to point the [ ] box in the proper direction of where you want to thrust.

When strafing around objects in Inertial mode, paying attention to the Thruster Position Indicator [ ] and using it properly, makes the whole circle strafing process second nature. All you need to do is point your targeting crosshairs X at the target or enemy ship when it is still out in front of you and slightly off set your manual thruster position box [ ] to which ever side you intend to circle around and then apply forward inertial thruster. You do not have to continually apply horizontal or vertical thrusters. You only want to slightly adjust horizontal and vertical thrusters as needed to keep your thruster position box [ ] where you want it on the HUD. However, you almost have to apply constant forward inertial thruster as your ship is actually moving in a different direction than you are looking. Thus if you do not constantly apply forward thrust you will just float out in a slightly curved line rather than a full circle.

If you start sliding too far out or too tight in, all you need to do is apply slight adjustments to your horizontal and vertical thrusters to get the thruster position indicator [ ] back in it's desired location. The closer the thruster positon indicator [ ] is to your targeting crosshairs X, the straighter then line you move in will be while applying Forward Inertial thruster. For example, if you are in the default position where the targeting crosshairs are inside the thruster position indicator like this: [ X ] Then you are facing and thrusting in the same direction. This is very important for when you lose your strafe or slide and need to reset and start again. Simply bring the thruster position indicator [ ] back to it's default position surrounding your targeting crosshairs X and then apply forward inertial thrust. You will quickly begin to correct your movement and start moving in a straight line the direction you are facing again.

And that really has been the difference maker for me. I'm downing so many enemies in combat now. I can go into missions that were shredding me before and dog fight my way through them with relative ease now! And it's F'ing awesome to say the least, lol. Everyone on here was right though. You need to just turn on Inertial mode more often and use it all the time to get the hang of how it works. Use Inertial mode instead of IDS when you are docking with stations and carriers or when you are mining asteroids. Or hell do what I did, just find a carrier station and try to orbit around it while in Inertial mode. You will slowly get the hang of controlling your ship in Inertial mode without even realizing it.

You just need to make sure that you have all of the manual thrusters mapped to buttons you can easily use at the same time. There are 6 total thrusters that need mapped. The 2 most important are Forward and Reverse Inertial Thrusters. You will use those 2 thrusters CONSTANTLY when moving around in Inertial mode! The other 4 thrusters are the Left & Right Strafing Thrusters and the Up & Down Vertical Thrusters. You will use those thrusters frequently as well but they are used intermittently to make adjustments and do not need to engaged for long bursts most of the time.

And pay attention to the Thrusters Position Indicator [ ] on your HUD! Watch how it moves around on the HUD while you adjust your inertial thrusters and see how that effects the direction your ship is moving while in Inertial mode. You will naturally realize and get the feel of how it works, I promise!

Thanks again everyone! The information yall provided was incredibly useful! You have helped me to have a combat breakthrough, hehe. I hope the information I have posted can help others even further. I'm considering turning this thread here into some sort of tutorial on Inertial control to be stickied on these forums. I will see if I can drag myself away from the game later to do that. Lol. Happy hunting everyone!

[Raemond]

Maverick! I never realized about the [ ]. What a huge help! It's funny how learning this sim is like learning to fly for real. I'm a student pilot in real life and it's always these small things that make a huge difference and really get you into the feel for flying!

[Marvin]

Now this is one topic where I really could use the Cliffs Notes version.

[Busch]

Ah yes, but very well done!