Multiplayer important commands

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Multiplayer important commands

shinobicl
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Post by shinobicl » Tue Jul 31, 2018 1:17 pm

Hi

I have never played XWA in Multiplayer, but, what are really important keys when playing MP?

Is the "P" key important at all?
Is the "J" key used/useful at all?

All this kind of stuff.


Thanks!

shinobicl
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Post by shinobicl » Tue Jul 31, 2018 2:49 pm

The reason for this is because i am making a steam controller layout for XWING ALLIANCE. I was able to map most of the important functionality and i have space for 2 or 3 more commands. I want to have only relevant commands there.

Justagai
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Post by Justagai » Tue Jul 31, 2018 10:21 pm

Map the buttons that you need access the quickest to the controller such as throttle, changing weapons, targeting (warheads, players, nearest enemy, etc) and things that you don't access much you leave it on the keyboard.

P key (or Shift-P) targets enemy players if I recall. Very useful to find out where enemy players are but it will not target them until they are identified (exception is when "Locate Players" is turned on but I recommend it be off for PVP).

J key is important in specific situations (and especially important in bombing runs) and I leave it up to the player to decide if they deem it useful on the controller. It can be used to throw off other players or set up "jump tricks" when you are being chased by a player and have your AI wingmen attack said player and then jump to said AI wingman.

I use reWASD for my Xbox one controller for my mappings. I can take a screenshot of it if you'd like.

shinobicl
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Post by shinobicl » Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:45 pm

The mapping is quite complex. But i managed to make most things work in the Steam Controller. Honestly, i think i actually managed to put everything important in one controller layout.So much that you would use the keyboard only for typing messages. Making XWA a game you can play from the couch.

The only things missing now are:

The F8 key (not really needed IMO)
The energy presets (F11 and F12).

Also, i reserved two very valuable buttons (Grips) for Roll Light and Roll Left exclusively. Honestly i never use them, but, do you guys think it is worth to have them as always available buttons?


The layout is more or less like this:
(Note: When the same button has 2 commands, you enable one with a quick press and the other with a long press)
* Left Pad: Mouse, Free view (you can also move the whole controller to look around with the gyroscope when in "look mode"). By using Right trigger you have access to wingman commands (Attack, Ignore, Cover me), MFD, and Laser/Shield energy (F9 and F10)
* Right pad: Wheel of targeting (targets AND components in the same wheel), and by pressing Right trigger all other targeting commands (I will add P here), and L. Press the pad at the middle to target what's in front of you.
* Face buttons: "X"=Fire, "Y"=X/Z keys, "A"=F/G keys, "B" = Rotates between F5, F6 and F7.
* Stick: Flightstick, and launch countermeasures. By keeping start pressed, is used for views and critical commands (Q, H, Space, Esc, External Camera/Free camera, Cockpit on/off. I plan to add "J" here too).
* Left Bumper: Shields,
* Right Bumber: Rotates speed between: 0, 33%, 66%, 100%. Match speed
* Left trigger: Shields->laser, Laser->shields
* Right trigger: Left Pad and Right Pad modifier.
* Select: Change weapon, Beam weapon on/off.
* Start: Stick modifier.
* Grips: Roll.

Justagai
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Post by Justagai » Mon Aug 06, 2018 11:45 pm

Energy presets are pretty important and make a huge difference in combat. I would absolutely have those mapped onto the controller.

Roll is debatable. I find some pilots don't care to use roll. I personally use it, especially when dodging platform turrets. Up to you.

I have the F8 key mapped to my controller but that's because there is a lot of beam usage in XvT. XWA probably not so much.

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Post by Phoenix Leader » Wed Aug 15, 2018 10:40 am

Energy presets are of vital importance in X-Wing Alliance, whether you wish to beat the single player campaign at Hard difficulty or to become competitive in multiplayer.
The energy presets I use to fly fighters with a maintenance speed lower than 120 MGLT are the following:
Preset 1: Throttle 100%, Laser Level 2, Shield Level 2, Beam Level 0
Preset 2: Throttle 40%, Laser Level 1, Shield Level 1, Beam Level 0

0=fully redirected to engines
1=partially redirected to engines
2=at maintenance level
3=at increased rate
4=at maximum rate

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Epsilon Eridani
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Post by Epsilon Eridani » Wed Aug 15, 2018 11:04 am

Don’t you like beam weapons? I see you always keep your beam level at 0.

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Post by Phoenix Leader » Wed Aug 15, 2018 11:13 am

Speed is the most important factor in X-Wing Alliance. And beam weapon available means more speed at your disposal.
It's way better to avoid being hit than having your shields deal with enemy fire, no matter what Emon says in 1b0m2fw.

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Epsilon Eridani
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Post by Epsilon Eridani » Sat Aug 25, 2018 9:08 am

So you believe that the most ingenious way to use the beam weapon, when available (never available in XWA campaign), is to fully redirect its recharge to the engines. In this way you are faster and more maneuverable to fight with your energy weapons.
But what if you are flying a Missile Boat?

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Post by Phoenix Leader » Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:23 pm

Missile Boat is the exception: when you transfer energy from shields to cannons you will notice that 1 cannon charge track is the equivalent of 40 SBD instead of the usual 5 SBD.
In simpler words the efficiency of the energy transfer from shields to cannons is 8 times lower for the Missile Boat than the rest of the fighters.

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Post by Phoenix Leader » Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:40 pm

To conclude: when flying the Missile Boat, since firing with the laser cannon is too expensive in terms of energy required, I tend to always keep the laser recharge fully redirected to engines to gain 25% extra speed, and I fight with missiles and beam weapon against fighters, and of course with proton torpedoes or heavy rockets against capital ships.

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Epsilon Eridani
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Post by Epsilon Eridani » Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:06 pm

Phoenix Leader wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 10:40 am
Preset 2: Throttle 40%, Laser Level 1, Shield Level 1, Beam Level 0
Is there a reason for that throttle 40%?
Isn’t it too low?
You could have spared some laser and shield charge using a higher throttle percentage.

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Post by Justagai » Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:44 pm

Using beams requires judgement of the situation. This would make more sense as a flowchart but oh well. I usually do the following with beam weapons:


If I have a Tractor Beam:

- Are there any enemies that are extremely maneuverable? (ex. TIE Defender)

- Yes? Use Tractor Beam

- No? Are there any enemy players?

- Yes? Use Tractor beam

- No? Redirect beam energy for speed



If I have a Jamming Beam:

- Are there any enemy players?

- Yes? Use Jamming Beam while jousting

- No? Are there any capital ships that need to be destroyed?

- Yes? Do they have missiles?

- Yes? Redirect beam energy for speed

- No? Am I teaming up with other players to take down this capital ship?

- Yes? Use Jamming Beam on capital ship

- No? Redirect beam energy for speed


If I have a Decoy Beam:

- Are there any enemy players?

- Yes? Use Decoy beam to throw them off

- No? Are there fighters that have missiles?

- Yes? Use decoy beam to throw off missiles

- No? Are there friendly players?

- Yes? Use Decoy beam to piss them off

- No? Redirect beam energy for speed


For my presets I use:

Preset 1: 33% throttle, Laser 0, Shield 0, Beam 2 (faster turning but also maintaining beam weapons)
Preset 2: 66% throttle, Laser 4, Shield 2, Beam 2 (66% throttle is just enough to throw off AI lasers while also maintaining some turning speed)
Preset 3: 33% throttle, Laser 0, Shield 0, Beam 0 (Not going to use beam, absolute turning speed)
Preset 4: 66% throttle, Laser 3, Shield 2, Beam 0 (Usually use this for pvp melee)

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Post by Phoenix Leader » Sat Aug 25, 2018 6:35 pm

Epsilon Eridani wrote:
Sat Aug 25, 2018 4:06 pm
Is there a reason for that throttle 40%?
Isn’t it too low?
You could have spared some laser and shield charge using a higher throttle percentage.
This is not a matter of speed, it’s a matter of maneuverability: for a given craft with a given energy configuration, you get the maximum maneuverability at 33% throttle.
That said, the lower the recharges, the more energy is available for the engines and also the higher the maneuverability.
Justagai wrote:
Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:44 pm
Preset 3: 33% throttle, Laser 0, Shield 0, Beam 0 (Not going to use beam, absolute turning speed)

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Post by Justagai » Sat Aug 25, 2018 6:56 pm

When I say redirection to speed, maneuverability is implied since its also being affected. But mobility is sometimes a must depending on the situation.

EDIT: Misread, need more coffee
Last edited by Justagai on Sat Aug 25, 2018 6:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Phoenix Leader » Sat Aug 25, 2018 6:57 pm

When playing the single player campaign at Hard level, you need to be fast enough to avoid enemy fire, maneuverable enough to turn around enemy fighters, but without losing too much energy in the process.
I found that 40% throttle grants you that little extra speed over 33% without substantially compromising maneuverability.
The same thing applies to Laser Level 1 and Shield Level 1 vs Laser Level 0 and Shield Level 0: it’s just to avoid wasting precious energy without sacrificing maneuverability that much.

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keiranhalcyon7
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Post by keiranhalcyon7 » Mon Aug 27, 2018 2:34 am

Justagai wrote:
Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:44 pm
Preset 3: 33% throttle, Laser 0, Shield 0, Beam 0 (Not going to use beam, absolute turning speed)
Preset 4: 66% throttle, Laser 3, Shield 2, Beam 0 (Usually use this for pvp melee)
What? Presets 3 & 4? Did I miss a page in the manual?

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