Situational Awareness

[Youngmoose]

In my continuing quest to dominate you at this game, I feel the need to refine my skills on the above subject. Thanks to Ozzy, Drizzo, Pico, and countless others I sort of learned how to aim. But your thoughts on where to be and when, (as well as where not to be) would help not only me, but countless other voobs. So please post your comments and/or links. Thanks.

[Kltplzyxm]

Open your eyes. Simple as that.

EDIT: Ok there is one other part. You just need to pilot alot be pair of attacks so you understand when/where they might come. Develop a sense of predicting where the next attack comes and you will know where to be.

[ImmortalZ]

Minimap.

F3.

Check every sector constantly. See what you can see and what you cannot see, make sure you see when you dock next.

It'll come to you.

[madpeople]

if you spot a enemy colour dot appear above a sector on the minimap and disappear, check f6 and look what was in that sector (on their team tab!).

think what would you expect them to be doing and investigate - use the force

when in base use f3 lots

use f5 lots when flying and not fighting / doing any flying that needs your attention...

... actually, if you aren't fighting or doing anything that needs your attention, you should be reading chat, looking on f5, using f3 and watching the minimap (and checking f6 to see where their miners are and if they have any spotted cons - It says the sector you should be going to next to them which is handy /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /> )

note you can actually be doing all this at once pretty much.

(oh, and watch for icons in the gutter)

and target stuff and see which way it is heading in the little 3d display of your targeted thing

[Spinoza]

QUOTE (ImmortalZ @ Aug 13 2008, 09:22 PM) Minimap.

F3.

Check every sector constantly. See what you can see and what you cannot see, make sure you see when you dock next.

It'll come to you.

I couldn't have said it better.
If you watch the dust in the sunlight long enough, patterns will emerge ...

The most important thing to watch however is not the other team ... it's your own team !
After all, they will come to bomb YOUR bases and kill YOUR miners. If you know what your team is doing, you got more than half the picture, since you'll always know more about your team than about the enemy.

Edit - just remembered a quote from Sun Tzu:
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

[Jazel]

Learn who the prox whores, probe whores, int whores, miner killers, miner managers, clueless voobs, regular nanners, bombers pilots, htt pilots, stealth bomber pilots, stealth fighters, and commanders are. The community is small enough for one to remember who does what on a regular basis.

This information can help you predict what tech the enemy will try to go, what the enemy's opening will be, how much the enemy will keep your sectors probed, etc.

[SP4WN]

I use pre-cognative sight to see where my enemy is going to be next and then decide if they are coming for my miners, are bombing my base or where they will mine next if im hunting.

Basically learn where they are going to be and be there first.

[cashto]

cashto's instant recipe for situational awareness: Read the chat. Is your commander (or an experienced vet) asking you to do something? If so, do it. (If it's a voob like starfire asking you to nan his bomber, ignore him. If your commander IS himself a voob, you have a dilemma on your hands). Else, look at the minimap. Is there something flashing yellow? If so, get something with guns on it and get in that sector pronto. Else, look at the minimap again. Find the flying shovels that belong to your team. Are they alone? Is the sector flashing red? Is the sector flashing red BECAUSE THERE'S AN ENEMY CARRIER IN IT? If any of these apply, grab a nan and get to that sector pronto. Else, look at the minimap again. Do you see any flying shovels that belong to the enemy? Or maybe an enemy con? If so, grab something with guns on it and get in that sector pronto. If, by this time, you DON'T see any enemy flying shovels, cons, or yellow "sector at risk" warnings, undoubtedly you don't have enough PROBES. Load up a scout full of probes and get to an unprobed sector pronto.

[Kltplzyxm]

btw.... a good tip that I came up with and have been espousing for newbs:

Check F3 every time before your launch - even if there is a bomber delivering impending doom. Get used to figuring out your approach, what you're going to do before you even hit the launch button. It's a start and you can take it from there.

If there's no bomber, figure out your route, what sectors are you going through - what rocks are you looking for and what are the best alephs. Do this every time you launch and you will be start buildling awareness skills as part of your surroundings.

Next up is to be able to multitask: for instance, shoot at a miner while keeping note of how many ships and friendlies are in your sector that show up on radar. Cycle through target friendly and target enemy and keep note of who's around you while you're flying. As you get better, you will keep track of their distances toward you and other objects in your sector.

[Evincar]

cannot stress this enough:

COMMAND