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  • Manual aiming for new players v1.3 - Revised

    04. 18. 2006 12:22

PCShogun
Thanks for those who added to the original manual, this is release 1.3

Auto aiming was getting me clobbered so I finally decided to spend the time and
learn manual aim. It looks tough, but isn't as bad as it seems. Getting good at it,
now thats tough.

FIRST LESSON:
DO NOT PURCHASE AIMING or FINDING FCS and then jump into a room and expect to
do well. You will die a very frustrating death. Start a training room and practice there.

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE A CL BEFORE LEARNING MANUAL. This was my
mistake. Now I have little money and I am losing battles because auto fire is weak
due to turret seperation on cruisers, and learning manual takes a week/month to
get comfortable with. (Some folks have stated that Manual in a DD is not a good
idea. If this is your belief, be sure to allow money for low income battles until you
become better with manual and can survive a few engagements). Buying a CL too
early will cost you bocoup credits when you have to sell that CL to get ammo money.

LESSON TWO:
Pressing F5 will put a overlay of the keyboard on your screen and can be used for a
reference. DO NOT GO INTO BATTLE WITH THIS SCREEN UP. You will not be able to
see crap until you press F5 again to make it disappear.

Use F11 to start 3D mode. With 3D mode on you can zoom out with the mouse scroll
wheel to see more of the screen. THIS IS A REQUIREMENT FOR LONGER RANGE
GUNS. To zoom out without a mouse scroll wheel, use the [ and ] keys. This WILL
make it harder to see planes. I do not have a solution to this so you Super Uber
players can comment on this issue. You can also zoom in and see the rust stains on
my ship (keep meaning to get that fixed). Other than that, however, it is of no use
to zoom in what so ever.


LESSON 3:
Letters Q and E move the guns together. A and D move the guns AS A UNIT to point
port or starboard. THIS IS THE KEY!

Use Q and E to get your guns together, pointing in the right direction. Then use A
and D to move the sight lines to the target.

If your turrets are moving slowly, on the right of the screen is the TDA (Turret
Direction Accelerator). Turn it on by clicking the switch and the guns will aim much
faster, perhaps too fast. Try it and see. You can also turn it on via the left CTRL key.

Press and hold the shift key to slow the rotation down if you need to be more
precise.

Practice aiming the guns, without firing , as you manuever the ship. Sharp turns will
force you to re-aim the guns

LESSON 4:
The W and S keys control the gun elevation. This is an art that only practice will
perfect. Press W for a few moments to get the elevation up. The elevation is visible
in two locations, the center and the left side wheels. Ships with planes have the
center section covered up but the elevation is still visible on the left side of the
panel. DO NOT FIRE until you have moved the elevation beyond 1 degree or you may
damage yourself. Unless you are committing ritual suicide in a battleroom, this is not
a desireable thing to do.

Now, fire a few rounds. The splashes should appear and stay on the screen. Use
these splashes to judge where your shells will fall in battle. Line these babies up on
your target and blast away. Unless your target is in a coma (or AFK) he is gonna
realize something is wrong and move. Use your W and S keys to adjust the range
and keep at thim. Hopefully the drone is now dead. Do this a few times, and when it
feels smooth, Then, and only then, try a real battle.

TIP: Try crossing your site lines using Q or E and then set your elevation so
the shells land where the X is. This is a way to maximize your hit potential upon a
enemy target.

TIP: Find a set of guns you like and stick with them. This will speed up the learing
process of the gun angles and save you money from trading in gun mounts
frequently as you will not get all the money back when you sell the old guns.

TIP: Higher elevation shots can have dramtic hang time. Be sure to keep this in mind
when targeting a ship, as the enemy can move out from under the volley while the
shots are in transit to the target. Lead your targets more for high elevation shots.
High elevation shots will strike against the usually weak deck armor and is a good
tactic when going against a heavier armored opponet.

LESSON 5: First Battle.
OK, Your in the room with that Aiming FCS installed. You feel nervous because
manual is still new. DO NOT RUN CHARGING INTO THE FREY.

Take the time to get your guns aligned. Zoom out a little bit with the F11 key and
your mouse scroll wheel. Now, aim to a spot where your team mates ships are not
(very important) and fire 1 or 2 broadsides to get your reference splashes. Got that?
Good.

Now move closer to the fight. Watch those torpedos, dive bombers, and battleships.
Pick a target that isn't gonna run up on you in 0.4 seconds. Fire a shot. YOU HIT!
great, adjust range and unload. BOOM, HIT HIM AGAIN!!! Guess what, you are now
firing manual just like a vet. It only gets easier from here.

PS. for those still intimidated. I learned this in 1 day. I am not great, but I can at
least aim and fire. It is getting easier.

MORE TIPS: Just some things that work for me.

AA fire seems to work good at 35 degrees elevation as an average. Set to this
elevation and blast away at planes for extra credit. With AA fire, shoot at the
shadow of the plane on the water, not the plane itself.

Stay with the same guns for awhile, this is the only way to learn the elevations
needed for close in attacks which can be tricky for the new player.

Cannot see where the shells land? Your BO affects this. As he goes up in level, the
range you can see will improve.

Not doing much damage at long range against larger targets? Its probably due to
deck armor. BB/CA/CL2's are afraid of dive bombers and tend to armor their decks
accordingly. Lower your elevation for a more direct attack against the belt armor
instead.

Not doing much damage against a targets belt armor? Raise your elevation and hit
his deck armor with lobbed shells. Heck, he cannot be armored everywhere, can he?
(Exception to this rule, BB3's, 4's, and now 5's).

Just not getting through the armor? Use AP shells. Still not getting through? Your
guns are too small, pick another target or run like a bunny.

WISDOM of PCSHOGUN:
'Mastering a skill, once thought impossible, builds self esteem and respect from your
peers'.
  Index

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.3 - Revised

    05. 05. 2006 06:24

PCShogun
Final Bump (promise)

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.3 - Revised

    05. 01. 2006 07:00

Splid
nice work PCShogun, a nice guide for new players starting manual...However, i dont
think starting using manual in DDs is a good idea, I use manual on my Z99 for the
sole reason that my gunners are immense and can put about 5-8 shells on an
enemy ship easily. Below the Z99 i wouldnt recommend using manual, you need the
quick turning speeds of your guns to survive in DD world. I learnt manual in my Mpro
and I havent suffered since :D

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.3 - Revised

    05. 01. 2006 01:51

Paasan
Bump

i started with manual aiming at lv 20 and i had a few days with shells landing to short or
to far, but im happy i started learning it, you deal much more damage.

One thing i would like to add is that higher elevation shots isnt always the best. With my
aktisuki i got guns with max 55' but i get almost just as far when the angle is 20'

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.3 - Revised

    04. 30. 2006 05:06

Spootze
Good one! I'm happy I learned manual at lvl 1.

Auto seems to be a drug, good thing I suck with it 0_o

It HAS a diffrence playing in dd with auto or manual. (tried with lvl 58 gunners on
ddx and fletcher using 6")

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.3 - Revised

    04. 29. 2006 18:58

Phrozencrue
*bumpzor*

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.3 - Revised

    04. 25. 2006 09:54

EdmundBAdder
I need to print this out and practice.

Thanks

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.3 - Revised

    04. 21. 2006 11:19

PCShogun
New release, version 1.3

Some gramatical fixes, spelling.

More tips.

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.2 - Revised

    04. 20. 2006 14:40

cmdrcraig
As a longtime manual aimer...I know it sound like ego stroking but I am very good
and fast. That being said, I recommended this posting, well thought out and should
help many new players.

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.2 - Revised

    04. 20. 2006 12:54

Octon
Also, most people say it dosnt make a difference using auto aim and manual in DD or
lower. Thats a myth lazy people would like to believe.

Their side of arguement: If your sailors are trained nuf theyre max accuraccy
anyways and accuraccy revision dosnt matter, plus low range makes no difference.

My arguement:with auto your guns cant cross over theyre always aimed apart,
whereas with manual you can cross them to increase spread accuracy which makes
a huge difference even if your sailors are highly trained and your guns do suck. Also,
I havnt played since beta and im just back. Yet with my manual on FF/DD I manage
to get highest accuraccy in battle fighting at guns longest or close to longest range
with over 50% accuraccy most battles which is usually double the 2nd place
persons, every once in a while i see people with accuraccy near mine and theyre
always manual. If that isnt nuf to proove it I dont know what is, yeah yeah I know a
lot of high lvl lazy people who use auto in theyre DD will want to flame me, so
here "Octon ur an idiot." now you dont have to unload flames.

So, theres another reason you should be using manual before you get CL, not only
does it train you for the bigger ships later on but it actually IS better even on DDs

  • Re : Manual aiming for new players v1.2 - Revised

    04. 19. 2006 05:14

NeroMan
I waited to long too. I waited to fully learn it in my brooklyn. I had tried it a few
times and truly never did well. Then i got my jap oyodo crew up so i took some time off
and started dbing people MUAHAHAHA! And i came back and found i sucked at bot manual and
auto >.< So i put manual on and got to work on actually learning it. Dont be like me
you'll hit shit with auto lol. Now i can get great spreads in my brook and balt, do the
manual as soon as you can new players or you shall perish later!



/salute
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