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STO Fleet Training.

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thunderfoot

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
Oooh! There it is. The only thing any Clan member is truly terrified of. The dreaded "T-word". Along with everything which goes with it. Not going to offer any words of encouragement here. Nor sage advice. Not even gonna fuss and complain. We all already know the score. Not gonna mention all those things about how important this sorta stuff is either. All I'm going to say is I am in the process of discovering how to set up training sessions and I intend to post the times and places here. My personal goal? To be able to start my next character off with the difficulty set to Elite. This way I can get all the kewel stuff the Gold Account Members get from Cryptic without spending any Real Money.

Stay tuned, StarFleet.
 

Adm_Z

Gettin' down and GUI!
Joined
23 Nov 2009
Messages
2,745
I thought it would be pretty cool to play as elite. I look forward to your posts.:salute:
 
T

thunderfoot

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
Alrighty then here we go. The first part of training up the fleet is the very hardest. Training in the right attitudes. More difficult than anything else. By far. I signed on to play this game because I enjoy Star Trek. I decided to give this a chance because I am burned out on A2 and I've no interest at all in Fleet Ops. I was surprised and delighted to find out after all this time somebody got it nearly perfectly right. Okay, needs more and better looking ships and the music is in desperate need of replacement. Being able to play STO well is only going to make the enjoyment more satifying. Utilizing the tools and ships in the game to the maximum of their abilities is very important to me. So now it is Reality Check time.

The following are things to which people should become accustomed to.

- You are going to lose matches far, far more often than you will win them. Sad. Frustrating. Yet still true. No matter how much we train and practice, there will always be someone who does it more, more often. I want to play well and I want to do my best and I want to win a PvP game in STO. If I devoted even half the free time I have to doing so, I'd not have time for anything else. There are people out there whose entire life is wrapped around this. I might get lucky against a guy who spends fifteen hours a day fighting PvP, but I find it unlikely I will ever be even with him skill and experience wise. Then again, I have things he does not. Like a job. A girlfriend. A house. You know, little stuff.

We are never as good as we'd like to be and most of us are far worse players than we'll admit, even to ourselves. Play to win, yes. Play flat out, yes. Give no quarter and expect no mercy from your opponents. But play well whilst doing so. And when your cyberspace warp core containment goes offline, turning you into cyberspace random free electrons, ask yourself: Did I play my best? Did I enjoy myself? Was it fun enough I want to do it again immediately? If the answer to all three is an unqualified yes, then you got what the designers intended for you to get out of the game. Winning is merely a dessert to this. Like all of us, I want more dessert too.

- Don't let the trolls get you. There are people whose entire online existence revolves tightly around completely wrecking other peoples' fun. They will use any means possible. Stay away from them. Ignore them. And remember they do not matter. Reacting to them merely gives them the attention they so desperately crave. Don't feed the trolls. Especially after midnight.

- Don't whine when you get beaten. Why? Because the rest of us find it very unattractive, lol. We're surprised we never noticed this about you before and we're uncomfortable now that we've found this out about you, lol. Over the past few days, I have read a lot of posts explaining how the Klingons in STO have huge advantages and how unfair it is to the poor poor Feds and how the Devs "just Have to do something Because it's ruining my life!" No, it isn't. refer to the first section above, then re read this. I get highly amused at what I've come to call, the "unbalanced game syndrome." To most people, balance does not mean both sides have an even opportunity to win. It really means that the side they've chosen should win no matter what. And their human opponents should react as slowly and as stupidly as the AI does. When this does not happen, obviously the fault is external and has nothing to do with how poorly they utilize their combat power. People expect to win against the AI. No matter how stupidly they play. People get comfortable with this. Suddenly, they have a T1 Miranda on their six, gleefully firing torps as quickly as the crew will reload. The things which work against the AI will not work against a Human opponent. A Human opponent can remember and learn from mistakes. Huge advantages over the AI. When you add in the unpredictability a Human player has, this increases those advantages by several orders of magnitude.

When I was a Cavalry trooper, we expected to fight outnumbered and win. We trained hard to do this and we utilized what we had to maximum effect. They had numbers on their side and on any given day, they were at least as good as we were. Numbers gave them the opportunity to make a mistake and recover from it. We never had that luxury. But we never complained about things being unbalanced. Balance does not mean what most people want it to. Which is both sides having an equal number of ships, planes, worker bees, whatever. Bu this isn't what most people mean either. To most people, "balance" means their preferred faction has all the advantages no matter what and all the other factions exist merely to provide them with targets for their idle amusement. Oh, sure, the other factions have a weapon or ship which is very cool but by and large they really serve no function other than as targets. At least when the AI captains them. Put a Human player in the Big Chair and that T1 Miranda will surprise you. This is when someone starts talking about things being unbalanced. The Miranda shot back and lasted 0.001 milliseconds longer than it should have against somebody's Vor'cha. Plainly there is something wrong with the game. Nevermind the fact the Klink Captain was getting himself another slice of pizza because against the AI, he would have time to do so. That has no bearing at all on things does it? I thought not.


And now the words I hate the most in all of the Star Trek universe, lol

To Be Continued.
 
T

thunderfoot

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
Uncle Thunder's Captain's Primer - Ch 1: How to avoid playing Respawn Fest Online

Hey, Y'all!

Been playin' STO for about a month now. Most fun I've had with a Star Trek based game in a very long time. Been playin' long enough now I have some ideas about good game play I want to share. Nearly all of these are posted elsewhere and I'm certainly not gonna be original in postin' 'em here. But they're posted all over the place 'cuz they are true. It isn't gonna hurt for them to be posted one more time. In fact they'll occupy space which would otherwise be used for another snoozer posting about sparkly vampires or werewolf boys who really look like llamas. And the less said about those subjects, the better.

If what I've posted is incorrect, incomplete or wrong headed, please do not hesitate to add your own two cent's worth to the mix. The idea here to allow people to play smarter, not harder. Makes the game more enjoyable.

Seein' Stuff You Ought To See.

Those who see, win.
Proven fact: the enemy who shoots you down is the only one you didn't see. Now why didn't you see him? Because you did not look correctly nor long enough. In STO, the space battlefield is a sphere, not a plane. As soon as your transit to the battle map is complete(Your HUD becomes active and the ship responds to input), click and hold the right mouse button and sweep around your ship completely. When you are done horizontally, do the same thing vertically. I mean a complete sweep, not just a idle, limp wristed wiggle of the mouse. When you locate your target, look both above and below it as well. Otherwise you'll not see those three escorts running high cover. The annoying tapping noise on your rear shield as you unload an Alpha Strike on that flagship is the way those same three escorts say, "Hello!". Most people look ahead in about a 90 degree arc horizontally with about a 15 degree arc vertically. They pay zero attention to the sides and rear as well as the vertical or Z axis. Frankly, I'm surprised anyone finds anything at all to shoot at.

The TAB Key is your friend
This key automatically locks onto the nearest enemy and then cycles through them. SHIFT+TAB allows you to go back one space. CTRL+TAB locates the nearest Friendly. TAB will find a specific enemy in a group far faster than you can by clicking the cursor onscreen. The default of finding the closest enemy works for me because I was trained as a cavalryman the closest enemy is always the most dangerous one. Regardless of size. The HOME key will cycle back and forth between a view ahead from just behind your ship to a view where both your ship and your current target are both onscreen at the same time. The second view may cause your ship to face 'outward' from the monitor screen. This may result in you turning the wrong way if you play using the keyboard as I do. Not to fear. With time this mistake stops happening.

Autobots! Full Impulse and Scroll out!
We all love those scenes in the films and series where we are just off the bow of Ent-E as she unloads a full spread of Quantum Torpedoes at an enemy which is just off screen behind us. Makes you feel like you loaded the tubes yourself, doesn't it? This same viewpoint in STO will get your Big Chair shot right out from under you in about two seconds flat. Worse, it allows the Enemy to use your own ship to hide from you because your ship takes up so much of the screen. Hiding behind my starboard nacelle? How rude! I know you spent hours making the ship just right and it really is pretty. But the hull is just a big metal box we keep all the parts in. The parts are what make your ship so scary to the Enemy, not the paint job. Learn to get to a medium to long range view of the battlefield. Do so quickly and avoid the temptation to zoom all the way in when you are just about to launch that new torpedo you just bought. Press the M Key and check the Area Map once in awhile as well. You cannot defeat what you cannot see.

Fixating on your Target Always Gets You Killed
Most people get tunnel vision when engaging a target. They are far more prone to do so when they are trying to evade a target which can easily kill them. So they do not see the USS Doofus NCC 9IROFL, mounting two Popguns Mk 0, which manages to place itself perfectly for a kill shot as they rush past. Right after you select your target but before going Fox 2, Two and Winchester on it, CHECK SIX! Yup, I shore did to mean to yell there. Right after you tell your Tactical Officer to, "Fire Everything!", look at the area immediately around the target. You're either looking for your next target or a means to thread your way though the Enemy formation without getting blown up. The idea here is to get one move ahead. or, inside the other guy's decision loop, if you prefer. Keeps the vacuum from getting into the People Locker. Always a good thing, IMV.

All of these add up to what Fighter Jocks call, "Good Situational Awareness". You have to have such to be able to make effective, intelligent decisions as a starship Captain. Intelligent decisions begin with having good current information about where the Enemy is right now and what he is doing way over there. Doing things this way adds enjoyment to the game for me personally. STO is a game which I play for entertainment and I want to win whatever part of the game I am playing at the moment. But I very much prefer to win because I know what I am doing rather than because I have the biggest ship or I got lucky. Likewise, when I do not win, I dislike it intensely if I do so because I did not use my assets to maximum effect or I do not really understand what is going on. Short version. For me, playing well eases the sting of losing and makes victory taste much sweeter. And the first part of playing STO well is seeing the battlefield. The only thing nicer for me than winning by playing well is showing others how to play well, too. Ooops, almost forgot. Attached is a jpeg of the Keyboard Map for Space Combat and Movement. Spent a few days looking for it, too. Thought it might come in handy for other newbies like me.

Next time: Uncle Thunder's Movement Mambo.
 

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Adm_Z

Gettin' down and GUI!
Joined
23 Nov 2009
Messages
2,745
Thanks thunder, some good ideas here. I actually didn't know about the shift button, but now it will be my best friend.:thumbsup::p
 

Majestic

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Seraphim Build Team
Joined
17 Apr 2006
Messages
18,272
Age
39
Don't forget P for setting you skills up and it's always best to expand your toolbar so you can use all your ship abilities and on ground your officer abilities. You can use them by using the CTRL+# or ALT+#.

http://www.stowiki.org/Ground_combat

I personally can't use the standard configuration I need the arrow keys to move. I am hoping a little down the track to get a proper gaming keyboard so I can totally get it right right. What annoys me is that for each character you need to get it up and the game has a habit of unbinding your changes and often you need to log out and back in before the changes work right. I think it's something they really need to sort out this year before new content and make the keys and all settings including chat account based.
 
T

thunderfoot

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
Uncle Thunder's Captain's Primer - Ch 2: Movement Mojo for the Aspiring Hero Captain

Okay, now you're seeing the battlefield. "You have just taken your first steps into a larger universe." Sorry, Couldn't stop myself. Now it time to think about movement in the tactical environment. Movement can be used either offensively or defensively. Offensive movement serves one purpose only: Keep the maximum number of your weapons pointed at the Enemy for the maximum amount of time. Obviously, defensive movement is used to minimize your ship's exposure to Enemy weapons. Ideally, both types flow one into the other seamlessly. There is a cycle to movement in the game. Offensive moves occur when you are firing your weapons and defensive moves occur when your weapons are recycling and you are maneuvering to avoid enemy fire or to set up your next shot. There are a couple of special areas which will be addressed later on.

All offense and no defense make Jack a very dead boy
Face it, you want to roll in at Full Impulse, guns blazing and waste everything in sight. There is a technical name for this technique. It is called making yourself a, "shot magnet". It is impressive. It works just often enough to encourage the foolhardy to try to get away with it one more time. They usually fail spectacularly. There is a flow to space combat. It was supposed to be like we've seen in the films. All Tall Ship like. Laying alongside and Away All Boarders and double shot your cannon, Mr. Data. The reality is it is similar to the fighter vs. fighter combat like most of the flight sims we've all played. The modern space battlefield is a high risk, sudden death arena, highlighted by mayhem and confusion. Did I mention it moves at a very quick pace? Might need to bump the thought processes up a notch on the speed scale. You also need a cool head which can think clearly under pressure. Run fangs out 100% of the time and someone will defang you.

Defense is part of the game. Defense means you are trying to repair or recycle your weapons. Defense means you are moving away or paralllel to the enemy to give those hard working phaser crews down on Deck Five time to realign the emitters for your next shot. Defense means you're giving your buffs time to recycle so that next shot will be more effective. You do not need to retreat all the way across the map. Nor do you need to be a spawn camper. Drop one quarter impulse and take a course slightly away from the middle of the furball. Keep an eye out to make sure no one is sneaking up on you while your Tactical Officer is visiting the refresher station. Terrible way to die. Tragic, really.

Sometimes, you'll need to spend nearly all your time in a defensive mode. Like when your ship is much smaller and/ or less effective than your opponent. Just to see if I could, or STO would let me, I spent an entire Fleet Action moving defensively. I did not fire unless something wandered right through the middle of my gunsight. I changed all my buffs out to those which would help out the other players on my team. Nothing at all wrong with being a piano carrier once in awhile. Got some nice tips for keeping others in the fight effectively, too.

The Z Axis is Your Friend
I have tried to use the vertical or Z axis very much more than I have in the past. Why? Because most players do not. I cannot begin to count the number of fights I have seen which all wind up as circle matches. With both combatants desperately trying to turn inside of each other to bring their guns to bear. Get out of the plane, dude! I have gotten into a habit of going high or low before combat. You don't need much, but you'll need every bit of what you do get. From overhead the Enemy is in a plan view relative to you. They are much bigger this way. If they turn either left or right, it is a simple matter to slightly move to keep them locked. If they move "up" they just make it easier to shoot. If they move "down", well, you're already moving that way so it does them no good at all. The exact same things occurs when you are underneath with up and down reversed. The PvE enemies all try really hard to get onto the same plane as your ship. I suspect this is because the Devs all figured most of the player perfer this. "An analysis of his tactics indicates two dimensional thinking." If it worked for Kirk and Spock in TWOK, it ought to work here as well.

Takes some getting used to. It looks all funny compared to what we normally see. Our left and right are everyone else's up and down. We'll turn wrong sometimes. We'll be out of position for a good shot. The payoff is the freedom it gives us to move and fight. Since most people will wind up on the same plane, it gives us a pair of huge areas where we do not have to worry about people trying to lock on and fire at us. It slows our observe-think-plan-execute cycle. Which gives us time to make better, more effective decisions. We can pick and choose to when and where to strike. Which means our shots will count for more.

I feel the need...the need for Speed!
Most people go to Full Impulse and let the game snag them from this by shooting at something. They then run either wide open or at half speed for the rest of the match. Wide open to get to the next Enemy. Half speed to turn inside of them. The game enourages this. I have been experimenting with the 'in between' settings. All the ships I have used have a 'sweet spot' on the speed scale. This is the point where speed and turn ability are balanced equally. The ship is running fast enough to catch anything or avoid anything yet it is turning as if it is much smaller. Consoles, Engines and crew quality affect this. I've not gotten some of the top tier equipment yet in STO, but I do think it should be possible for a cruiser to turn with an escort when properly outfitted.

Play with the Speed setting. I've noticed with my ships, when the turn is at maximum efficiency, the ship 'rolls into the turn' with about a sixty degree bank. All you need do to find out is play with the ship on your way inbound during one of the Away Team or Planetary Aid missions. Better to find this out when no one is shooting at you. I find it odd the game is difficult to set exactly as a speed of say, 16. I can usually set it at 15.99 or 16.12, but I cannot, without paying far too much attention, set the Speed slider on 16. Good enough. I've usually got other things to think about either right now or very shortly anyway. And this leads right into...

For every season, turn, turn, turn
Turning is what makes your ship a fearsome beast in combat. Yeah, Baby! Yeah! Turn for me! Again! Regardless of the kind of ship you use, turning is much more important than speed. Whenever you get a chance to upgrade an existing engine or console, or acquire a new one, make sure it emphasizes turning ability. If you cannot turn, then you cannot fight. you can make strafing runs, but you will not be able to finish what you start. Worse, while you are exiting the engagement area, you will be unable to defend yourself by returning fire or evading incoming fire. In the choice between moving fast and turning I have always chosen turning. I do not regret it. Neither should you.

The game suggests going to Half Impulse to turn better. I suggest you try for a set up which allows you to move optimally at Three Quarters Impulse. This should put your "sweet spot" somwhere between Three Quarters and Half. Fast enough to catch anything you want to and also to run away from anything which can hurt you. You'll still be able to swing about and return fire on anything you have targeted. Do not be afraid to jockey the throttle during combat. One of the things the PvE Romulan Mogai class does is come to a stop for about two seconds, turn, and then race off in a completely different direction. It will also slow to a crawl to make you overshoot whicle turning away with its weakest shield. It will slow to One Quarter Impulse and do what US Navy submariners call a, "Crazy Ivan". A 360 degree turn on a slow setting to break anything behind it off of its six. These are all good movement techniques and I recommend them highly.

Mr. Data, Attack Pattern Sigma Six. Execute!
Awright, you've slogged patiently to get to this part. The attack part. This is where Uncle Thunder shares his trade secrets, right? Nope. Have none. Do have some observations, though. All ships mount their weapons fore and aft. Flanks are not covered as well and sometimes not at all. The best way to avoid the Enemy shooting at you in STO is to move in from a flank. Minimal weapons coverage means you have a fair chance of avoiding damage. The best way to exit the engagement area is via a flank. for the same reason. When attacking, bore straight in. Sounds like I am advocating charging the muzzles of the guns but I am not. When you move straight in, you are minimizing your target profile while maximizing the number of weapons you can bring to bear. STO is set up to do exactly the opposite of what the old battleship sailors called, "crossing the 'T' ". This meant showing a flank to an enemy so that all the weapons, fore and aft, could fire. Meanwhile, the Enemy's return fire was limited to either his for'ard guns or his aft ones. Not both at the same time.

What you're using is also what fighter pilots call a high angle deflection shot. For exactly the same reason. Minimizing your own exposure to the Enemy's weapons. When inbound, adjust your course slightly to make sure you cross the Enemy at the optimum point. This is the point just behind where his for'ard weapons can shoot. Dual Heavy Cannons against a weakened shield can ruin your whole day. Obviously, when outbound, you'll want to adjust towards his rear for the same reason. By moving further around towards his rear, you will will also make the Enemy have to turn further or faster to be able to engage you with his front facing weapons. This takes longer, so you will be further towards the edge of his engagement envelope. This in turn reduces the amount of damage his Energy weapons can do. It also means you have a head start on his Plasma torps. Drawn out on a piece of paper, your optimum path is not a straight line. It is a very shallow curve.

Again, remember the battlefield is a sphere, not a plane. This means things like cannons have an engagment cone, not a fan. If the Enemy can place you inside that cone, he will shoot at you. The AI will always take the shot, whether it can according to the game engine or not. The AI cheats. Not obviously but it does. Why? Because it makes the game more interesting. Human players may not shoot if you are at the fringes of the cone, but then again who knows what Human players will do? This is what makes them so much more dangerous than the PvE enemies.

I also like to move along the Z axis slightly. Simply to make my attack path a little more complex for the Enemy's fire control. I try to alternate between being over the top and underneath. This is situational based and I may stay on one side or the other to avoid being predictable. Being predictable gets you killed. Develop some basic feints in your attack path. For example, I like to dip my bow slightly and turn the opposite way for a bit when inbound. If I can feint the Enemy into committing early to a move I may make, I can make it much easier on myself when outbound. Just to keep the Enemy honest, go that way once in awhile. Don't try to plan your moves too far ahead, though. Because you'll fall into the habit of using the sequence every time. Which makes you predictable. Being predictable gets you killed.

Next time: It's all about the weapons, Baby!
 
T

thunderfoot

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
STO Newbies Captain's Primer - Ch 3: You may fire when ready, Gridley

This is something I started more for my own entertainment rather than to inform anyone or set myself as some sort of subject expert. For me, something isn't real until I write it down somewhere. This post and the others to follow consist of some things I've learned the hard way over the last two months. I'd like to prevent others from making the same fatheaded, fat fingered, rookie mistakes I have. If what I've posted is incorrect, incomplete, or worse, wrong headed, please do not hesitate to add your own two cent's worth to the mix. My ego's not so big nor is my skin so thin I cannot tolerate being corrected in public. The idea here to allow people to play smarter, not harder. Makes the game more enjoyable for everyone.

Gunnery Stuff! :drool:

I had a tough time splitting this off from my stuff on movement. As a former M1A1 tank commander and a 1st Gulf War vet, I was trained to think of movement and gunnery as one package. Ya just can't teach an old Cav Trooper new tricks, so some of this may not make sense unless you've read the things I've posted previously. Manfred von Richtofen, aka the Red Baron, once said, "Find the Enemy and then shoot him down. Everything else is rubbish." Good advice, this is. Unfortunately, he's not around to give us advice about how to do such in STO. I'm not going to try and explain which ship or weapon is the "best". Not my style. Besides, there are others who have done this far better than I who will share with anyone who pays the slightest attention. They gave up things to do so. Like wives/girlfriends. Sunlight. A job. Little stuff like that. Just kidding. No, really. This is a game. Not a lifestyle choice. And this would be the point where all of the FanBoys are screaming "Blasphemy!" and, "Burn him at the stake for uttering such foul heresy!"

But I have digressed. As I am wont to do. Something those detailed analyses, complete with Power Point presentations all done in a TNG monitor screen font, fail to acknowledge. Khan Noonien Singh once said, "If you improve the man, you improve the weapon a thousandfold. What the spreadsheet crowd sometimes fails to realize this: The person behind the keyboard can make all the difference between a poorly performing ship with a complete Tier XII kit and a fresh from the yard Miranda class mounting Mk I standard stuff with a Jim Kirk wannabe riding the Big Chair. You are the primary reason your ship performs either well or poorly. Not some Mega Oblivion Cannon Mk XV (Everything)x4. There are tons of people who play STO who live for the biggest, best weapons. They are looking for the magic combo which allows them to stand off at 9.9km and do a one shot kill on that Tactical Cube, whilst shrugging off with no notice the combined fire from four Spheres.

Murphy's Laws Concerning Combat #47: If you want the Enemy to follow their part of your plan exactly, make sure you brief them thoroughly.
Murphy's Laws Concerning Combat #121: If you notice everything is going precisely according to plan, run away. Run away very fast. It's a trap!

Play to your strengths, not the stats
My idea of a fun fight in STO is like a knife fight inside a phone booth. I like to close until I see the whites of their eyes, dump an Alpha Strike on a weak shield, and then dance away out of the Circle of Equals. I am chuckling evilly the entire time, too. My one true love in game is an Akira class Heavy Escort, USS Relentless NCC-93356. I went to a tank in game and then a science ship. But neither one gave me the emotional satisfaction Relentless does. Of course, I have an Ops guy for a toon instead of a Tactical guy. And right along with this, Relentless is kitted out with and optimized for 'theme' weapons instead of the sexier ones everyone else likes. I dabble in those once in awhile but mostly I stick to what I have now.

What?! We're reading stuff from someone who doesn't even play STO correctly?! Where's the DEL button?! UnFriend this loser immediately!

The reason I stuck with the theme weapons was it was all I could afford at the time. Unless I wanted to spend Real Money. Where's the challenge or honor in that, hunh? Since I am a, "run what you brung" kinda guy, I decided to stay with one or two weapon types and simply improve the versions I have, rather than try to learn every weapon in the game. I also decided to make the rest of the ship as beneficial as possible to these weapons. I give up some things against someone whose ship is optimized to defend against my chosen weapons. But against everyone else, I do pretty well. Stay with whatever weapons you choose. For as long as you can. It does not matter why you chose that particular weapon. You chose it and you like it so you can learn to use it very effectively. Same goes for ships. There is a hull somewhere where the devs had you in mind when they were designing it. Neither of you knew it at the time, but hey. There will always be someone somewhere who will try to talk you out of your preferred hull or weapon types and into their versions. You'll be unhappy right after you change. You'll listen to a never ending, boring dirge of why you now suck and how you need to do this or that better because "blah blah blah". More importantly, you'll stop enjoying STO as much as you ought to. What used to be really fun will now be an endless, soul numbing, spirit grinding, zombie slog on a never ending stat quest.

Come back to us. Please. We've missed the sound of your sweet laughter.

UPDATE: My Klingon ship is one I loved in SFC III, the Vor 'cha Attack Cruiser. Pixel for pixel, this was the very most effective ship in SFC III. Properly outfitted and used well, there was no ship she could not take in a one on one fight in SFC III. The preceding is an entirely personal and subjective opinion. The Vor 'cha does not disappoint here in STO, either. It is a tank, so it has all of the tank's strengths. But it has most of the benefits of an escort as far as movement and weaponry. Relentless is the ship I love because she is just so darn much fun in a PvP fight. No one in anything larger really takes you seriously until it is far too late. But Qul'Taj(Fire Blade) is Relentless after she's OD'd on steroids. Which makes me feel absolutely invincible. To the point where I will pick a fight with a Tactical Cube just because I can.

Lead, d****t! Lead!
Right after I finally got a good set of cannons and torps for Relentless, I noticed something. Whenever I put the nose of my ship slightly ahead of the target along its path, my weapons hit much more often and seemed to be much more effective. Should have guessed the dev team would do something like this and I feel like a big dummy for not noticing sooner. All torps have a timer on them. A torp chasing the stern of a ship which is already moving at maximum speed away from it will usually not catch it. Save your torps for bow on and flank shots. Unless you're at knife fighting range, then, "Fire One! Fire Two! All fish running straight, hot, and normal!" Torps, even the big scary ones, accelerate much faster than any ship. Of course the big scary ones can be shot down. I've not noticed if this works with beam weapons because I am also a "pew pew pew" kinda guy. I prefer cannons over beams. I am assuming it does.

Only start the fights you know you can win
This seems self explanatory, doesn't it? So why do I see people in STO in Runabouts popping off at Tactical Cubes? Voyager was a pretty good Star Trek series overall. However, Janeway would last about thirty seconds here. She got away with it for the same reason Jim Kirk did: They mounted script writers instead of phasers. No one outclasses this kind of firepower. Does this mean you should never take on a Cube and should always run away? Nope. Let the situation dictate your next move, though. You and twenty of your closest friends can run down one Cube and then play with it like cat does with a mouse. The Cube may have just won a pyrrhic victory over two or three Star Cruisers and be weakened enough so that your popguns will finish the job. You probably ought to take that shot.

He who fires first, fires last
I've noticed something in STO. The fights seem much more difficult whenever the Enemy shoots before I do. I dunno why this is, I just know it is. Always have something loaded out and ready to go. Max range is 10.0km, so the very second the Range readout changes to green, pull the trigger. Don't let the Enemy shoot first! If you do, you'll spend the whole fight reacting to their moves instead of imposing your own order on them. Difficult to seize the initiative back once you start cutting hulls.

Combined Arms is the way to go
Use the buffs to add to your target's woes. Some I really like are Boarding Party and Eject Warp Plasma. Adding these into a torp attack can ruin a Centurion's whole afternoon. Too many things to think about which are too close together and moving too fast puts you quite nicely inside the Enemy's observe-plan-execute cycle. The biggest problems with an effective combined arms attack are sequencing and timing. Takes some practice to get it right. If you goof, you may wind up leaving yourself horribly open for a devastating counterattack. Easy fix for this. Press F for Respawn, lol.

Hit 'em again! Harder this time!
Alpha Strikes are the way to go in STO. Fire everything, every time you get the chance. Boot 'em, don't spatter 'em. If you cannot fire everything right this second, hold off a bit more until you can. You'll take fewer shots, but each of those shots will do more damage. Ripple fire looks very cool and will keep the Enemy under attack longer. But the Devs included a Damage Per Second stat in all of the weapon info sheets. So they must want us to read and use this. An Alpha Strike is the best way I know to do so.
 
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thunderfoot

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Awriight! Time for some questions.

1) Do buffs "stack"? What I mean is, for example, can I use both the Tactical Initiative and Fire on My Mark buffs at the same time and will their benefits both enhance each other and apply at the same time?

2) Does anyone have any firsthand knowledge and experience with doing this?

3) If so, which buffs do you have/use and what order do you activate them in?

4) Is there a list somewhere of which buffs work together best?
 

Adm_Z

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I know that evasive maneuvers and attack pattern Alpha stack, and shield recharge/buffs stack. I see no reason for them not to stack unless it simply makes it so you can't use them at the same time. Sometimes, when you have weapons of similar kind, only one can be triggered at a time. for example, I have phaser overload, and subsystem target shields, but you can't use both at the same time.
 
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thunderfoot

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Thank you, Z. Anyone else?
 

Majestic

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The high yield and torpedo spread stack as does science team and engineering team. However cool down on the one you don't use is a lot smaller than the one you just used. Same can be said with say engineering team 1 and 2.
 
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thunderfoot

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Thanks for confirming what I suspected, Maj. This is what started the whole thing in the first place. Tried out the torp buff stack earlier today. With purple Mk XI Plasmas [Acc] [Dmg]x2. Ruined Six of Ten's whole day, lol.
 

Majestic

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Not a problem.

Back two or three weeks ago SciFiFan challenged me to a private match, being a friend and all I accepted (I don't do PvP normally due to the type of people I have encountered in online games before). SciFiFan was in an Odyssey and I was in the Klingon Bortas, SciFiFan tanked very well shield wise, and I repaired very well with buffs and consoles etc. In the end we both called it a draw and we both knew that neither of us would win. Bit random there but thought I would drop that in. :)
 

Adm_Z

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So I have a question. How do you, if you can, transfer bridge officer skill points to your own skill points? Ever since I made VA, I get no skill points for my own character and now my bridge officers, who are all maxed out, have about 250k officer points, not usable. :cry2:
 
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thunderfoot

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According to everything I've read so far, Z, once a player makes Vice Admiral/Lieutenant General it is no longer possible to train up in your own Captain's skills. The only way I have found to use the points is to dismiss my Boffs and hire a new bunch. Which I then train in the skills I want them to have. I have also used the Bridge Retraining Officer extensively. To make my Boffs' skills more closely match what the ship is equipped with. Do not forget about your Doffs, either. Especially all those 5% people. They can take a good ship with a good command cadre to the next level.

@Maj: I know what you mean. I have been playing some very small PVP matches against people whom I know personally offline. Usually only three or four of us can get together at once. None of them is either enthused about or much interested in joining larger groups. For pretty much the same reasons as yourself.
 

Adm_Z

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Yeah, I feel like pvp is kinda hopeless until I get the antiproton weaps. Mine have almost no effect on human ships.


Also, I am kinda confused about the skill points, I will have to do some research. :sweat:
 

Majestic

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Level 50 as Thunderfoot has said is the max your character can go for the time being. That's why I have other characters, as once they hit 50 I get bored of them as you can no longer develop them, unlike bridge officers.

I think it's long overdue for you to start that KDF character Zaxxon. :thumbsup:
 
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thunderfoot

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Already has a proper tlIngan username. "Zaxxon. Of the House of MSFC." Has a stirring sound which makes a warrior's blood come alive with fire, doesn't it? Now, where's that prune juice?
 
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thunderfoot

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Today's training is about getting the most from your own comp. We'd all love to have a 'puter which could run STO with everything turned on and all the way up. Truth is, most of us have something which can keep up, as long as the game and the Devs do not do anything too athletic. My 'puter for online is a little low end. A straight from the tin Dell Inspirion One with an AMD Athlon II X2 250 CPU and an ATI Mobility Radeon 4200. Gives me a Windows Experience Index rating of 4.1. Pretty obvious I'm not hacking anyone's national secrets anytime soon with this one, lol. It does get the job done however.

Like most people, when I first loaded STO, I let the game choose the settings for me. The first mission was like a slide show at 1 picture per minute. It took me a bit to find something which was playable and again I deferred to the default settings. The default settings emphasize performance over appearance. And they are not bad. However, they are set for a very broad range of CPUs and Vcards. Some of the settings may not be correct for your computer. Surprisingly, some of them may be a little low for your computer.

Attached are pics of the graphics and game settings I use for STO. These are the result of me tinkering with the settings over time. I'll max out a setting and then sclae it back unitl the screen stops jerking and there is no lag. Frustrating work sometimes but worth it. STO is a very visually striking game and deserves to be played as close to the max settings as your computer will allow without lag. Surprisingly, the HUD is a bigger offender for creating lag than the Antialiasing is. At least for me there are too many things the HUD tries to show at once. All of these have to move every time your perspective changes. Set the HUD to the minimum you need to function and remove info you don't use.

Enough chat. Time for pics of the settings. I hope these help. Oops, I forgot. The HUD settings are for Space. I use these same settings for Ground, so I did not include a pic for the Ground settings. I realize that some of you are out on the Bleeding edge of technology and it is hard for you to even see us mere mortals, let alone empathize with us. But the mortals of which I am proudly one, are whom I do my stuff for anyway.
 

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Majestic

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I personally just yesterday turned the Bloom setting right off, it looks so much better now as I am no longer blinded by the insane lighting effects that the game uses. Turning of the reflection also greatly helps and I don't know if it matters in space but I turned off the lens flare too.

That's how I got the images in the other thread of my ship. Which I will take more of soon.
 
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thunderfoot

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I have the Reflection and Lens Flare(aka the Abrams Effect) both turned off. The Bloom Quality has something to do with how your weapons sprites look so I dinked around until I got them to look like they do in A2. :lol2:
Turning the Blooms off made my disruptor pulses look all weird.
 

Majestic

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I am still playing around with the settings myself, I haven't used disruptors since I played with the settings.
 
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thunderfoot

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Had a lot of fun earlier today in a pick up 1v1 match against kjc733 and his USS Thrace. She is a formidable little ship and he handles her very well. He caught me unawares more than once and I had to work hard for the victory. If you desire a true test of your abilities as a warrior, ask him for a match. You'll not regret it. He'll probably be more than modest about his skills, but it was most enjoyable playing against him and I look forward to doing so again.

Qa'pla, Warrior!

I enjoyed our match, although I suspect that (being 15 levels below) I had to work a tad harder staying un-blowed up than you did in blowing me up. First time I've engaged in a PvP space battle, a bit different to the computer generated opponents.

I was very impressed with the turning of the Fire Blade, caught me by surprise on more than one occasion quite how quick you could bring your weapons to bear. All I can say is thank God I sometimes found asteroids to hide behind. I thought I'd made the Thrace tough (upgrades now put my shield strength in the 6000s), but you were just ripping through it.

The use of the cloaking device was also a nasty surprise. Again, something the computer uses very badly, TF masterfully used it to sneak up on me and unload alpha strikes. Sometimes it'd kill me right there, other times I managed to get away. Unfortunately against something that well armed I was having to break the cardinal rule for escorts and turn my guns away to give my facing shields chance to recover. In a Defiant thats usually relatively easy, give it a few seconds then turn in again. Against something that turns as well as QulTag (with Uncle Thunder at the helm), it wasn't! And it didn't usually buy me much time either.

As for modesty - I'll just point out I didn't make a single kill :oops: (although I did scratch the paint a few times. I think my best run knocked 25% off your hull)
Escorts can be a little on the fragile side, sometimes. One of the forums I lurk on described escorts as "glass cannons", an apt metaphor. Another post in the same forum lamented STO seems to be more about cruisers than anything else. I have heard some refer to it as 'Cruiser Fest Online'. Qul'Taj is a cruiser class vessel which has many more hull points than Thrace. More hull points means I can do something very stupid and get away with it. Once or twice. And I promise you, I did lots of stupid things while fighting Thrace yesterday, lol. Space combat in STO is more about timing than anything else. If I can pick the proper time and sequence to activate my offensive buffs and weapons, any enemy will fall to my guns.

One of the things I noticed was the speed with which Thrace would close in on a minimum time intercept vector with Qul'Taj. Going straight in at maximum speed gives a target just enough time to turn to the best vector for an Alpha Strike. Keep your opponent guessing as to when or where you'll turn into him. If he guesses wrong, it normally opens up a clean shot at that weak shield he's been favoring. Make him turn towards you in three dimensions, not two. Stay 'above' or 'below' the target. The idea here, as always, is to get inside his observe-plan-execute decision loop and once there give him far too many things to think about simultaneously.

I remember clearly using the cloak on two occasions, although I am pretty sure I was dinking with it all throughout the match. Once was just after you were sent to the Respawn Point and I was near something which was easily identifiable from anywhere on the map. I wanted to clear the datum point and circle back to see if you'd come hard looking for me where you'd seen me last. You did, lol. The other time was I wanted to see if I could set up an optimum kill shot while matching your maneuvers. I could either turn with you or match your speed, I could not do both simultaneously. The cloak was too great an advantage and during the latter half of the match I left it off when I thought about it. I use the cloak in STO the same way I learned to in SFC III. Stay cloaked until just outside firing range, activate my offensive buffs, close in to firing range, then uncloak for an Alpha Strike. Recloak as soon as possible after the engagement is over. Lastly, make a radical course change to clear the datum point quickly. I think there might be a science or engineering buff which makes cloaking useless. might not be a bad idea to keep a spare BOff around with this as a space skill.

Didn't realize the disparity in our levels was as great as it is. Apologies are in order. I suspect when Captain Carter and Sa'Sogh Crell are equal in level with access to comparable equipment, the rematch will be much more...interesting.
I am booking that appointment now and it will be available whenever you desire.
 

USS_Excalibur

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Level 50 as Thunderfoot has said is the max your character can go for the time being. That's why I have other characters, as once they hit 50 I get bored of them as you can no longer develop them, unlike bridge officers.

Yeah... I was stuck doing mostly STFs and Duty Officer missions. Though I'll say one thing... the Undine are annoying!
 

Terra_Inc

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Escorts can be a little on the fragile side, sometimes. One of the forums I lurk on described escorts as "glass cannons", an apt metaphor. Another post in the same forum lamented STO seems to be more about cruisers than anything else. I have heard some refer to it as 'Cruiser Fest Online'. Qul'Taj is a cruiser class vessel which has many more hull points than Thrace. More hull points means I can do something very stupid and get away with it. Once or twice. And I promise you, I did lots of stupid things while fighting Thrace yesterday, lol. Space combat in STO is more about timing than anything else. If I can pick the proper time and sequence to activate my offensive buffs and weapons, any enemy will fall to my guns.

One of the things I noticed was the speed with which Thrace would close in on a minimum time intercept vector with Qul'Taj. Going straight in at maximum speed gives a target just enough time to turn to the best vector for an Alpha Strike. Keep your opponent guessing as to when or where you'll turn into him. If he guesses wrong, it normally opens up a clean shot at that weak shield he's been favoring. Make him turn towards you in three dimensions, not two. Stay 'above' or 'below' the target. The idea here, as always, is to get inside his observe-plan-execute decision loop and once there give him far too many things to think about simultaneously.

I remember clearly using the cloak on two occasions, although I am pretty sure I was dinking with it all throughout the match. Once was just after you were sent to the Respawn Point and I was near something which was easily identifiable from anywhere on the map. I wanted to clear the datum point and circle back to see if you'd come hard looking for me where you'd seen me last. You did, lol. The other time was I wanted to see if I could set up an optimum kill shot while matching your maneuvers. I could either turn with you or match your speed, I could not do both simultaneously. The cloak was too great an advantage and during the latter half of the match I left it off when I thought about it. I use the cloak in STO the same way I learned to in SFC III. Stay cloaked until just outside firing range, activate my offensive buffs, close in to firing range, then uncloak for an Alpha Strike. Recloak as soon as possible after the engagement is over. Lastly, make a radical course change to clear the datum point quickly. I think there might be a science or engineering buff which makes cloaking useless. might not be a bad idea to keep a spare BOff around with this as a space skill.

Didn't realize the disparity in our levels was as great as it is. Apologies are in order. I suspect when Captain Carter and Sa'Sogh Crell are equal in level with access to comparable equipment, the rematch will be much more...interesting.
I am booking that appointment now and it will be available whenever you desire.

Aifinkso you has an appointment with Kitteh!Carter as well, when he's a bit moar trained. :p
 
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thunderfoot

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Aifinkso you has an appointment with Kitteh!Carter as well, when he's a bit moar trained. :p
Bargained well, and done, Warrior! Until the day we meet in glorious combat, I give you the gift of the wisdom of Qeyliss. Place these words in your heart and when the time comes, you shall act as a warrior born! Qa'pla! :salute:

leghlaHchu'be'chugh mIn lo'laHbe' taj jej.
A sharp knife is nothing without a sharp eye.

'etlh QorghHa'lu'chugh ragh 'etlh nIvqu' 'ej jejHa'choH.
Even the best blade will rust and grow dull unless it is cared for.

tujpa' qul pub SuvwI' 'Iw.
A warrior's blood boils before the fire is hot.

Dal pagh jagh.
No enemy is boring.

ghIj qet jaghmeyjaj.
May your enemies run with fear.​
 
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thunderfoot

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STO Newbies Captain's Primer - Ch 4: Switchology

This is something I started more for my own entertainment rather than to inform anyone or set myself as some sort of subject expert. For me, something isn't real until I write it down somewhere. This post and the others to follow consist of some things I've learned the hard way over the last few months. I'd like to prevent others from making the same fatheaded, fat fingered rookie mistakes I have. If what I've posted is incorrect, incomplete, or worse, wrong headed, please do not hesitate to add your own two cent's worth to the mix. My ego's not so big nor is my skin so thin I cannot tolerate being corrected in public. The idea here to allow people to play smarter, not harder. Makes the game more enjoyable for everyone.

Switchology

This is a term we used in when I was in the Cavalry. It is about knowing where all the controls for the various systems are without seeing them. You fighter pilot types out there know this idea as HOTAS(Hands On Throttle And Stick). Different names for the same technique. Which is all about keeping your eyes and mind on the battlefield instead of the mechanical interface. If you have to glance away from the screen to make sure you press the correct key, then you're not doing it right are you? The techniques I am going to show you are not the "be-all-to-end-all". They are some things which work best for me. The ideas, however, are applicable to whatever setup you can think of.

Rows 1, 2, and 3 All of these ideas are shown in ShipSetUp1000.

I use the Large Tray for my ship, which is number 4. I don't really care which of my Boffs has what buffs when I am engaging the enemy. Not important at the moment. If I want to check I can always access the Skills screen. I set my ship weapons in Row 3. I also right click on the weapon icon after I place it in the tray slot to turn on the Auto Fire function. This is so whenever I have a target(s), the weapons will fire without me having to click on yet another button. If I choose to fire them myself, I can alway right click again on the weapon icon to turn off the Auto Fire function. A weapon shows the Auto Fire function is enabled by having the highlighted border around it. I can also use the Fire On My Mark buff when I want an Alpha Strike. I use this setup so I can fire first. Most of the time, firing first is more important than everything else. Starts an engagement with the enemy reacting to my rhythm and timing which gives me control of the situation from the outset. I very firmly believe in the concept of firing first. To the point where I'll waste a buff or a shot to achieve it. My forays into PvP missions have confirmed this to me and I am constantly looking for better ways to achieve this. Works even better in PvE missions.

Row 2 is used for defensive buffs. Shields and the like, with more important or useful ones on the left and the lesser used ones on the right. This groups my defensive systems to make them useable quickly. I have saved my ship from destruction more times than I care to remember by having my shield and hull buffs right next to each other this way. Since I don't always have as many defensive buffs as I do offensive ones, any Aux systems (like Tractor Beam and Boarding Party) are placed in Row 2 as well. They are also placed adjacent since I tend to use them in pairs. One of my favorite secondary attacks is to tractor a target and then launch boarding parties. Qul'Taj has a cruiser sized crew so there are always plenty of bodies available. Another favorite secondary attack of mine is to fly closely over/past the target and then tractor them while using Eject Warp Plasma. This pulls the target through the plasma cloud so Bad Things happen to it. Works exceptionally well against Spheres.

Row 1 is reserved exclusively for Attack buffs. These should be placed in a left to right order which maximizes their damage potential and minimizes the effects of cooldown time. If you have or can get a buff which makes these cycle faster, then do so. Place it at the very end of the row on the right. This is so you can activate all of your buffs, fire, and then recycle them as quickly as the game allows. Maximum firepower applied to the target the maximum amount of time. Makes D'deridexes and Mogais a lot less scary. Takes the edge off attacking Cubes as well.

There should be a spare slot or two on the right in all three rows when you are done setting up everything mentioned above. Fill them with something. It does not matter what, either. An empty slot is a wasted slot. Lastly, take a look at the Power Allocation panel. I like the numbers rather than the sliders here. I want to know how much is available and how much of what is available is being used currently. The bar graphs are much more, ahem, 'Trek looking', but a Captain needs consise information succinctly put while in combat. The numbers do a better job of this, IMO.

The Rest of the Tray This idea is shown in ShipSetUp1001

If, like me, you are sometimes clumsy with the mouse, leaving things in tray slots where the game places them may cause you to inadvertently activate something at the wrong time. This is bad. Very bad. It takes some time to clear out the tray but it keeps you from doing something dumb if you scroll a row in the middle of a fight. Go back and check the rows from time to time to clear them. Especially right after promoting or retraining a Boff. This ensures a skill icon is placed where you want it and not some default location.

[/b]Rows 10 and 4 and Lock the Tray [/b] These ideas are shown in ShipSetUp1002

I use Rows 10 and 4 for auxilary stuff which I may need in combat but use infrequently. These rows are adjacent to the rows I have displayed without being in the way. I can get to them if I have to, but this stuff will sometimes keep until I am in between fights. Finally, when you are done rearranging everything - Lock the Tray! Primarily to keep you from removing something you want or need during combat. It also serves to keep the game from placing things in cockamamie places where you cannot find them.

There is no "perfect" setup. The one depicted here has evolved over the last few months. I consider it a work in progress and am constantly evaluating it to see if I can make it faster or more efficent. These ideas are presented to help you stay in the fight without having to check a button by looking away. It's kinda housekeeping stuff, really. But anything which keeps your attention firmly fixed on the battlefield is important housekeeping stuff, lol.

QeylIS had a saying: "Sweat more in sword practice to bleed less during battle." As always, the Emperor's wisdom astounds with its depth and applicability. Qa'pla, Bekk!
 

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kjc733

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Ok, I'm sometimes a bit dense when it comes to interfaces (which is odd considering my line of work) - but how do you rearrange the tray? Also how do you set autofire? It's one of my pet peeves that the whole tray reorganises itself when I have a new ship.

On a separate note - I double checked what you said about speed. Silly mistake for me to make really (and I mean schoolboy because I deliberately checked this turning :oops:). You are correct, I must have been tired or something, at full speed the Thrace has a faster turn rate however she does have a tighter turning circle at three-quarters.
 
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thunderfoot

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Ok, I'm sometimes a bit dense when it comes to interfaces (which is odd considering my line of work) - but how do you rearrange the tray? Also how do you set autofire? It's one of my pet peeves that the whole tray reorganises itself when I have a new ship.
Press 'P' and this will bring up all of your available buffs. Drag and drop the buff you want to the box where you want it and then release. To place a weapon in Auto Fire mode, place the cursor over the weapon you want and right click. Not being able to 'save' the tray to a configuration I prefer is one of the very few things I dislike about STO. I have saved pics of my tray to make it easier to recover on the rare occasion I conn smething other than Qul'Taj

On a separate note - I double checked what you said about speed. Silly mistake for me to make really (and I mean schoolboy because I deliberately checked this turning :oops:). You are correct, I must have been tired or something, at full speed the Thrace has a faster turn rate however she does have a tighter turning circle at three-quarters.
A suggestion. Consider getting the RCS Accelerator engineering console for Thrace. This console makes any ship very much more agile. Combat Impulse engines also make a ship turn better.
 
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