From: Jeremy_Reimer@mindlink.bc.ca (Jeremy Reimer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games
Subject: Re: Wing Commander: Strategies
Date: 8 Oct 92 10:17:06 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

> Jean-Marc Tanzi writes:
>
> Msg-ID: <31085@sophia.inria.fr>
> Posted: 7 Oct 92 08:43:20 GMT
>
> Org.  : INRIA Sophia Antipolis, France
>
> In article <1992Oct1.084148.5563@gw.wmich.edu>, florida@gw.wmich.edu
> writes:
> >
> >       Has anyone purchased the hint (strategy, whatever) book on
> > Wing Commander I & II?  If so, could you send me a review, either by
> E-Mail or
> > Post?  It would be greatly appreciated...
>                      ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Very true. Or maybe the hot killers around could give us poor newbies a few
> clues.
> Some questions I can think of:


Well, I guess I might qualify as a WC "hot killer" (over 850 career kills, or
at least it would be if it weren't for the bug in WC2SO2's transfer program)

>
> - do you ever use the alternate views (F keys) in combat?


Nope.  I use them to look at my wingmen to see if they are flying back into
formation after a battle, or to look at large ships that are jumping out.  In
combat it's faster just to use the radar and swing around to where you want
to be.  Your radar replaces the alternate views, and no switching... (but in
WC2 it is useful for rear and side guns, esp. in the Broadsword)

>
> - do you prefer full guns for concentrate power, or more shots to make?


Full guns, concentrated, accurate shots, usually close-in.  In both WWI and
WWII some of the hottest flying aces were really the best marksmen.  WC is a
great game to learn about "deflection shooting".  Also if you hit with a
number of accurate full-gun shots one after another, you can seriously
decimate the enemy's shields or even take them out.

>
> - do you really hold your fire to hit a given part of the enemy ship,
>   and which one (front, aft, side)?


Sometimes I'll wait for a good shot in the side.  In WC it is helpful to take
out Grathas and in WC2 you can't tail because the enemy ships have rear guns.
The other move is the hot flyby in-your-face shooting in the front, also very
effective, but potentially dangerous.  A lot of my kills in WC were from
behind, though.

>
> - when do you fire missiles?


If I spot some furballs in an asteroid field or minefield, the first thing I
do is launch one missile after another.  They have difficulty avoiding the
missiles and the asteroids/mines at the same time.  Also useful if your
blaster power is drained and you have to shake off a furball from a target
you're protecting.  One thing NOT to do is save missiles for capital ships
and large targets.  Guns will do just as well if not better (but not in WC2!)

>
> - do you change the assigned speed during combat?


Yup.  Depends on who you're flying against.  If you're dogfighting Salthi's,
put your speed up to at least 350.  But if you're tailing a sluggish Jalthi,
such speeds can be dangerous, so I try and keep it around 300.  If you're
feeling hemmed in more speed is always helpful.

>
> - in the difficult protective missions, do you chase evading ships for a
> kill,
>   or do you stick around the capital ship and try to divert fire?


Never leave the scene to chase an evading ship, except maybe if it's Bhurak
Starkiller and you feel lucky.  Try insulting the attackers and launch
missiles at them, but make sure they aren't dumb-fires or FF or even a tricky
heat-seeker that might hit the target you're protecting!  In the
near-impossible (but I have finished it 2 times) Ralari protection mission,
you almost have to use ramming as a technique to shake off the attackers.

>
> - do you have specific tactics for specific enemy/own ships?


Well, in WC, most ships can be approached equally, except you want a bit more
speed for Salthi's and a bit less for Jalthi's.   The main thing to be
worried about is your OWN ship, what kind of protection and firepower does it
have, this should be your guide on how to fly.  In the Hornet, speed and
agility are your only strong points. In the Scimitar, you can face up to a
Krant in a "chicken" battle and probably win, so just go in blazing like
Iceman says.  In a Raptor the main trick is lots of speed to alleviate the
slow handling, and accurate aiming of the full guns.  With the Rapier you
combine the best aspects of the Raptor and the Hornet, and lots of shields,
but you need to watch the shields and always afterburner out of hot
situations for those great shields to recover.  And you need plenty of
shooting accuracy.

In WC2 you have the Ferret, which is kind of like a Hornet with some Scimitar
aspects like mass drivers, which is OK to fly because of its slim profile
(makes it hard for the enemy to hit you), the Broadsword (lots of shields and
armour, use your missiles and other guns), the Eepee (the worst ship ever
built, it is like a flying bomb, blows up with very little provocation), and
the Sabre, which would be nice only it's too large and everyone seems to hit
you.  In the Special Ops you get nice Crossbows and Morningstars but you can
find out about them on your own.


>
> Thx for your help.


No problem.  :)

--
Jeremy_Reimer@ |"Anti-ninjas were the most feared assassins in the world.
mindlink.bc.ca | Instead of appearing out of thin air, throwing metal stars
---------------| and messing around with bo staffs and numchuks they simply
aka THE JAGUAR!| shot people and then drove everyone mad with pointless
---------------| conspiracy theories for years afterwards."
Stealth Sig#42 |  --From "N-Man #3"