Qw Division - Pilots Wings: Basic - Instruction Manual

The Art of Warfare Quake Wars Division Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv © 2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009 Property of The Art of Warfare—TAW

TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....... Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Pilot’s Game Setup…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Camera & Cockpit………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Flight Controls……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Mouse Sensitivity………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Viewing Distance……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Binds……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Theory Knowledge…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Maneuvering…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Craft………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. XP Rewards……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Threats…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Practical Skills…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Maneuvering…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Air-to-Ground Combat………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Air-to-Air Combat………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. The Test……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Beggar’s Canyon Run……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

1 2 3 3 4 5 5 5 7 7 8 9 9 11 11 11 13 14 14 15

1

INTRODUCTION “This member has successfully passed pilot challenges to demonstrate a basic skill level and is ready for active deployment in an aircraft.” The purpose of this manual is to make players familiar with the basics of piloting aircraft in Quake Wars. It contains instructions on how to set up the game for flying, theoretical knowledge of piloting, and instructions on basic maneuvering, air-to-ground, and air-to-air combat. The final part of the manual is concerned with what is covered in the test that members must pass if they wish to earn the Basic Pilot’s Wings Badge. The manual should be available to all members of the TAW Quake Wars Division. Drill Instructors may use it for trainings concerned with piloting as they see fit. The goal of the Basic Pilot’s Wings test is to prepare pilots for the advanced challenges of the Intermediate Pilot’s Wings skill level, and also to prepare them for basic use of flying vehicles in the game.

2

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

PILOT’S GAME SETUP Even though this game setup is not mandatory, it is highly recommended that pilots set up at least one of their configs accordingly. Camera & Cockpit

Uncheck “Show cockpits in vehicles.” The cockpits are unnecessary eye candy and obscure much of your view. Alternatively, add seta g_showVehicleCockpits "0" to your config.

The cockpit obscures about one third of your You have a much better view of your screen. The reinforcements in the glass canopy surroundings. Nothing is obscured, only your FOV even hide an entire Magog (top left setting is limiting your view. intersection). Make sure that “Lock camera view behind vehicles” is unchecked. It will allow you to use your mouse to rotate view around the vehicle when using external view. Alternatively, add seta ui_drivingCameraFreelook "1" to your config. You can check or uncheck “Remember vehicle camera settings” at your own discretion. Checking it will force the game to remember if you are using cockpit or external view. You can switch Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

3

between the two by pressing [POS1] or [Home] on your keyboard. The default view is cockpit when unchecked. The cvar equivalent of checking this option is seta ui_rememberCameraMode "1". To “uncheck” it, set it to “0”.

4

Note that you will not have a crosshair for aiming when using the external camera. It requires more practice to aim and shoot effectively. Flight Controls

Check the option “Advanced Flight Controls.” It is a must-have that will give you significantly more extensive command over your vehicle. If you use only basic flight controls, the system will only allow you to roll and pitch your craft within a limited angle. While that makes flying in terms of getting from A to B easier, it makes flying in terms of combat impossible. Alternatively, add seta ui_advancedFlightControls "1" to your config. Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

Mouse Sensitivity In general, you need to set your mouse sensitivity so you are comfortable with it. A high sensitivity will allow you to maneuver more sharply, making you harder to hit, increase the effectiveness of your evasive maneuvers, and offer you better chances to adapt to new situations quickly. The downside is that it will make aiming—especially at distant targets—more difficult. A low mouse sensitivity will make aiming generally easier, but it will take away the edge from your maneuvers. In the end, it is entirely up to you how high you set it. Make sure it’s working for you; and think about changing it if it’s not. Viewing Distance One major strength of the Anansi and the Tormentor is long range combat. In order to fight distant targets, the pilot needs to see them. This is where the viewing distance comes in.

5

seta r_visDistMult “0.8” While the minimum value of this cvar will give you higher average FPS, it is not recommended for flying. Do not lower it beneath its default value.

seta r_visDistMult “1.2” Maximum value. In the distance you can see the Strogg base. This will cause a drop in your average FPS, but your viewing distance will increase substantially.

Binds The Attack and Alternate Attack keys don’t need to be changed. The Next Weapon key should be easily accessible while flying to quickly switch between LAW and Rocket/Strocket and Plasma Cannon. The Mouse Wheel is usually sufficient for this purpose. Select

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

Melee/Fire Decoy requires a rebind because the default key [1] is a bad choice. First, pressing [1] to fire decoys forces the player to move a finger from a maneuvering key, thus limiting the maneuvering capability. Second, only firing decoys is often not enough to shake a missile lock. In order to be able to fire decoys and fly an evasive maneuver in any direction at the same time, the decoy key should be bound to a mouse button—preferably MOUSE5 or MOUSE6 if the mouse has this many keys. If not, the decoy key can be context bound to MOUSE2. By using bind "MOUSE2" "_weapon0" "" "vehicle", pressing the right mouse button will fire off decoys while in a vehicle but remain Alt Attack/Sights when infantry.

“Enter/Exit Vehicle” can be bound at proper discretion, “Change Camera” as well. “Vehicle Free Look/Aim,” also known as tophat, should be bound to an easily accessible key. Holding that key down unlocks the camera from behind the craft in external view. It also allows to aim more or less freely in cockpit view and thus to help lock on to targets. Additionally, it allows the pilot to aim the Bumblebee’s Minigun independently of the direction of flight. Note that while holding down tophat all mouse commands to the craft are disabled. Any pilot should feel free to experiment with those binds until they suit their purpose and are comfortable to use. The goal is to use those binds instinctively, for example automatically hitting the decoy key when a missile lock warning appears, without having to think which key it is first.

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

6

THEORY KNOWLEDGE Maneuvering

7

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

Note that each craft will react differently to the use of these controls. For example, the Bumblebee will react similarly to the Anansi, only in a significantly more sluggish manner. Also, while you can virtually stop the Anansi from full speed in mid air using the airbrakes, the Tormentor will take dozens of meters to come to a full halt. Craft Name: Anansi Crew: Pilot, Gunner Armament: LAW (4 seconds recharge), Rocket (6 until recharge), Minigun (6 seconds of sustained fire until recharge) Spawn time: 30 seconds Name: Tormentor Crew: Pilot, Gunner Armament: Strocket (3 seconds recharge), Plasma Cannon (6 until recharge), Hyperblaster (10 seconds of sustained fire until recharge) Spawn Time: 30 seconds Name: Bumblebee Crew: Pilot, 2 Gunners, 2 Passengers Armament: 3 Miniguns (11 seconds of sustained fire until recharge) Spawn Time: 30 seconds

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

8

XP Rewards 12 XP: Vehicle Drops Not particularly interesting for flying. Allows the player to call in a Husky/Icarus. 24 XP: Better Decoys Improves the decoys, allowing the player to fire decoys in shorter sequence. 48 XP: Improved Vehicle Weapons While vehicles have unlimited ammo, they need to recharge after firing. This upgrade decreases recharge time. 96 XP: Improved Vehicle Armor Improves the armor of vehicles so they take less damage when the player is in them. Threats The Anansi and the Tormentor can deal serious amounts of damage, but they are very fragile. There are a number of threats to those craft that any pilot needs to be aware of—as well as of the countermeasures available. Threat Small Arms Fire is not the most dangerous thing, but large numbers of infantry can wear down the hull integrity rapidly.

Snipers are moderately dangerous. On a distance of 100 meters it takes 10 full power rounds from a Railgun to destroy an Anansi.

Heavy Weapons Fire such as Hyperblasters, GPMGs, Miniguns, and machine guns deals significant damage to aircraft. Rocket Launchers and Obliterators are every pilot’s worst enemy. They can take down an Anansi or Tormentor with one direct hit, are hard to spot because fired by infantry, and carry enough ammo to keep flyers in check. Anti-Vehicle Turrets are dangerous because they can fire guided missiles at a high rate of fire. They will shoot as soon as an enemy vehicle enters their target acquisition range. Note that their weapon range is higher than that and fired

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

Countermeasure If the source can be located (muzzle flash/tracer), the threat can usually be neutralized easily by returning fire. Otherwise, distance is your friend. Small arms cause little to no damage the farther away you are. Snipers can be found easily with the help of the damage direction indicator and the tracers their weapons leave in the air. They are best neutralized immediately. Distance will decrease the damage their weapons can do. Neutralize or avoid. Distance helps you again, and the enemy tends to run out of ammo/charge rather quickly. Distance is your friend. On less than 100 meters there is no chance of avoiding the missile. The farther away you are, the more time you have to fire decoys AND fly an evasive maneuver. AVTs can be easily disabled from the distance as the main weapon’s range of the Anansi and the Tormentor significantly exceeds their target acquisition range. Usually, it is best to only disable the turret rather than destroy it. That

9

missiles will follow you beyond TAR.

AA Missiles fired from the GDF APC have a high range and are fast. Two direct hits are sufficient to bring down a Tormentor.

The Tank Gun/Plasma Cannon can destroy a flyer with one direct hit. The Tank Gun has nearly infinite weapon range, the Plasma Cannon causes spatial damage, similar to a flak shell. Plasma Mortar/Rocket Artillery can be locked on to a flyer and fire missiles quickly, making it impossible to divert them with decoys.

Magogs/Deploying Turrets crush anything on contact. Terrain Enemy Aircraft can take you down with one main weapon hit.

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

will take less time, force the enemy to repair/redeploy, and allow you to focus your firepower on another target instead. Being a major vehicle, the APC is a major target for any Tormentor pilot. It can be destroyed from a distance that forces the gunner to fire the missiles without locking on, or from above as it has only a limited angle of how far up it can aim. The Titan, the Cyclops, and the Desecrator are major vehicles and thus major targets for any pilot. They can all be destroyed from above as they can’t aim 180° up, like the APC. The Strogg tanks have only limited weapon range and can therefore be destroyed from the distance. There are several options how to deal with a FieldOps/Oppressor. First, the red beam of the targeting tool is well visible. Move out of its range or fire at its point of origin. Further, solid terrain and buildings will protect you from the missiles, as well as any friendly Artillery Interceptor Turret, deployed in the field or base AIT. Be careful when above areas that are often used to deploy turrets. Magogs can be spotted on the minimap. Altitude is your friend. Stay as high as possible at all times. The enemy flyer is not your main target. Engage in dogfights only when unavoidable. Luring enemy flyers toward friendly AVTs, rocket launchers, and heavy vehicles is a good way of destroying them or forcing them to break off.

10

PRACTICAL SKILLS Maneuvering Taking off is relatively easy. Make sure not to hit anything when accelerating. Collisions can cause major damage to the aircraft—damage that is avoidable and unnecessary. Any flyer can hover when it’s kept level in the air, the hover engine nullifying the pull of gravity. While hovering and while flying, the craft can be turned by using the strafe keys. It’s the most basic way to change direction. The craft can be accelerated by firing the thrusters—default [SHIFT]. It can gain additional speed by pointing the bow toward the ground, adding some power of the hover engine to the forward movement. However, this happens at the expense of losing altitude. The craft can break to either port or starboard by combining the turning motion—strafe keys—with the drifting motion—mouse movement. The aircraft can be brought to a stop from full speed by using the airbrakes—default [CTRL]. The airbrakes are also useful to hover the craft while the bow points slightly toward the ground, like when engaging ground targets. Landing the flyer is more challenging than starting. It is easiest to bring it to a full stop using the airbrakes, then level it out so it doesn’t drift, and then carefully set it down by cutting power to the hover engine—default [S]. Sometimes, it is not possible to save the vehicle. At that point the pilot should bail out. In order to survive the fall, the parachute/repulsor can be activated by pressing the use key while falling. This will not save the pilot on short falls, though. Air-to-Ground Combat Dodging a Locked Missile The missile lock warning appears red on the screen. Depending on the distance, the pilot has only very little time to initiate countermeasures. The missiles are only very little faster than the Anansi flying at full speed. Therefore, the initial measure to avoid a hit is to fire decoys and break—in the situation in the screenshot preferably to port to change direction. Then accelerate away from the missile. Even if the lock remains, flying away at full speed will buy additional time for decoys to recharge and to allow the pilot to finally shake the lock.

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

11

Once the decoys are ejected, a message will appear on the screen. Ideally, the missile lock warning will disappear. In the screenshot, a break to port has been executed, the bow of the craft pointing toward the ground, ready to gain maximum acceleration from the thrusters and the hover engine.

Firing Main and Secondary Weapons in Short Sequence This is an elementary firing technique in air-to-ground combat. Instead of firing an LAW and waiting for it to recharge, the pilot can switch to Rockets—default mouse wheel—and fire them at the target while the main weapon is recharging. Once the secondary weapon has depleted its charge, switch back to the main weapon and fire it. Repeat.

Note that the LAW and the Strocket have a lock-on ability, similar to the Rocket Launcher, while the Rockets and the Plasma Cannon do not. Further, the effective ranges of the LAW, the Strocket, and the Rockets are unlimited. Plasma Cannon rounds will destroy themselves after several hundred meters. When fighting ground vehicles of any sort, the pilot should try to avoid locking on to the target. A dumb-fired LAW/Strocket cannot be diverted by decoys, and ground vehicles are usually too slow to dodge. Practice your aim accordingly.

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

12

Air-to-Air Combat Flying vehicles in Quake Wars are more fragile than ground vehicles, but they are also a lot more difficult to hit. There are two main approaches to taking down enemy flyers. Missile Lock The main advantage of locking on is that the enemy pilot is forced to fire decoys and fly and evasive maneuver—and neither guarantees survival. This will force the enemy to abandon firing position or to leave the engagement entirely. The disadvantages are that it is hard to lock on to a flying vehicle— especially when the enemy pilot is aware of the threat—and that a lock does not guarantee a hit. Fired from too far away, the lock warning will give the other pilot enough time to initiate countermeasures. Fired from up close, the missile can overshoot the target and miss in spite of the lock.

13

Bumblebee spamming decoys

Missiles from all directions being diverted by decoys

Dumb Firing The other approach is to dumb-fire the missile. It is harder to hit the target, but the other pilot will not get a warning, and decoys are useless. Further, the secondary weapons of the craft can be used as well. The Rockets and the Plasma Cannon don’t allow for instant kills, but their projectiles travel faster and are harder to avoid. This method requires a certain amount of foresight on where the target will be when the projectile reaches it. It also involves a lot of practice and experience—but it pays off because it is absolutely lethal when used effectively.

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

THE TEST The test for the Pilot’s Wings: Basic Badge consists of four parts: a theoretical test and practical tests on maneuvering, air-to-ground, and air-to-air combat. Pilots aspiring to earn the badge are expected to be familiar with the theory presented in this manual. Further, they are expected to have mastered all the maneuvers explained in this manual— and will be required to demonstrate those maneuvers. Only pilots who pass all four parts of the test will be awarded the badge. Pilots who fail in only one of the parts of the test must retake the entire test again if they wish to earn the badge. Beggar’s Canyon Run Conducted at the end of the badge test, candidates must complete the run of Beggar’s Canyon. The run is a race against the clock. For the basic badge, the candidates must complete the run in 40 seconds. Time starts running on the mark of the Drill Instructor, at which time the pilot is already inside the Anansi at its spawn point on the map Canyon. The pilot will then take off and follow the main road to the Strogg base. Time stops when the pilot is fried by the Strogg base’s shields. The candidate must stay beneath mountain top level at all times and may take only one shortcut (at the first major turn to port).

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009

14

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks go to stymy and Feanor who actively participated in creating this manual, as well as to all the others who offered suggestions.

15

Pilot’s Wings: Basic Instruction Manual Created by Outlavv ©2009 Approved by DC, DO, HDIs 2009