[Guide] Ship Manual Aiming : FPS / MMORPG / RTS Discussion

LESSON 1:
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,
and leanring 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 2:
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. 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 try and 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: 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 volly while the
shots are in transit to the target. Lead your targets more for high elevation shots.

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 and 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.