Gunship Flight - any tips?

[Thanatos]

I've been doing some experimenting in the gunships in 2142 and while they perform a similar battlefield role as the attack choppers in BF2, I'm having a tough time getting a handle on their flight mechanics. Are there any pilots out there who've gotten used to these new machines?

I think that my main problem is that I'm currently trying to use a joystick to control the gunships. The control seems very 'floaty' and imprecise when I'm doing this, especially the throttle control which I've assigned to the throttle wheel of my joystick. I'll experiment with my joystick sensitivity settings tonight to see if I can tighten it up a little.

I've read on some other forums that pilots seem to be finding the keyboard/mouse combo a better choice for piloting the gunships.

I'm considering assigning the throttle control to buttons on the joystick instead of the wheel, providing a sort of hybrid control where I can have a 'toggle' style throttle but still retain the control of a joystick instead of using a mouse.

Any thoughts?

[BHack]

Use the mouse/keyboard, max your sensitivity and yaw/pitch settings, and don't use hover mode unless you are absolutely sure noone on the map is in any sort of AA.

Also, pray.

[Takk]

I found I picked right up on the Gunship's controls. This could be from not playing BF2 and getting used to things there..I don't know.

The hardest thing for me to fly is the transport, for some reason..I always crash and burn.

I would also have to say that I've tried using my joystick as well, but found it utterly useless. The keyboard/mouse is the way to go.

[chaf3d]

Originally Posted by BHack

Use the mouse/keyboard, max your sensitivity and yaw/pitch settings, and don't use hover mode unless you are absolutely sure noone on the map is in any sort of AA.

Also, pray.

I don't use max pitch/yaw sensitivity, and I think i'm a pretty damn good pilot. I use key/mouse combo, which was near impossible for me in BF2. Main thing is don't stay still too long. Give you gunner a few extra degrees upwards so he has a better shot at enemies.

and pray!

[Prophaniti]

I can fly the transport just fine using Joystick, but the Gunship eludes me...it just seems to go too fast for me to control well with the J-stick...perhaps because there is such a minute degree of control between "full throttle" and "hover" when using the throttle control on my J-stick.
I either seem to be zipping across the map, or not getting enough boost to keep me from descending, so I feel like I'm flying as if in a traffic jam...move forward, stop, move forward, stop, etc.

It'll take some getting used to, but I think I'll experiment with Keyboard/Mouse combo.
Never tried it before (Used J-stick with success ever since Desert Combat mod), so my apologies in advance for some future crashing/burning while trying it out.

[Exploding_Silver]

In flight one of most important things is for the pilot to line up the TV guided missile shot for the gunner. The default center of the TV missile is below that of the pilot, see pick below, the tank is in the centre of gunners target. This way the amount of guidance needed in flight is minimal.

Props to Jepzilla for showing me this.

[Thanatos]

Thanks guys,

Yeah you all seem to be confirming that the Joystick / throttle wheel isn't the right way to go to fly these new vehicles. Prophaniti, your experiences in particular are exactly the same as my own. It kind of makes sense because these things don't really operate the same way conventional aircraft do. If any of you remember an old game called Descent, I think it's a rough equivalent.

I will try using the mouse and keyboard in the future.

Silver, thanks for posting that screenshot - I found something similar that I posted in another thread too - in this example, the gunner's field of view seems a bit higher. It could be a difference between PAC and EU machines. But I think the concept is the same in both your picture and mine.

[chaf3d]

I have a feeling that EA meant for these ships to be piloted by mouse/keyboard. Its seems odd that evryone is having the same joystick issues.

Another tip, its is VERY hard to roll with these planes.. if you do find yourself inverted... you're SOL! I have never been able to right myself from inverted flying, and i've only seen one person do it...

[Exploding_Silver]

Originally Posted by Thanatos

Thanatos, your pic may well be more accurate. Between your pick and mine people can get the general idea.

[Gillespie]

That's the biggest tip right there: work with your gunner.

Set up a squad and talk to each other over VOIP. Call out targets to each other. If you're the pilot and you see armor on the ground, don't do a dumbass strafing run with the piddle rockets; line up the shot for your gunner and have him launch a TV missile. Once he fires, change your position; don't hover around unless you're going for a TV missile shot.

Oh, and holding "S" in the gunship makes you hover.

[jepzilla]

Don't use a keyboard+mouse. A joystick, rudder controls and a throttle help a lot. Even a cheap twist joystick with built in throttle slider is good. Keyboard+mouse was great for flying helos in BF2 for two reasons:

1. Precision control over rockets.
2. Flight model.

In 2142, you don't need the same precision control with the rockets, in my experience. And the flight model really doesn't suit a keyboard+mouse, especially if you have to fight another gunship.

2142 follows the same weird throttle convention that BF2 did: Between 50%-100% throttle, you're in normal flight mode. Below 50% throttle puts you into hover mode (0% throttle for maximum hover, 50% for no hover/no forward flight). It takes about two seconds to switch between these flight modes.

Forward flight mode is a bit like flying a BF2 jet. You can do tight turns by rolling. You can do loops. You can also sideslip by rolling and applying a bit of rudder. You can't do an immelman, or a barrel roll, or stuff like that. Unlike a BF2 jet however, you don't really have to worry about losing control; it's a lot more stable at high altitudes. You also don't have to worry about stalling or minimum manoevering speeds. However, you do have to worry about not going inverted- about the only time it's safe to go inverted is at the top of a loop. It is almost impossible to roll out of an inverted position, you need to pull out of it like a loop, and you can't do that without enough altitude.

Hover mode is sort of half-way between a helicopter and an F-35B. At full hover, with no motion, you will ascend very, very slowly. If you want to orbit a position in hover mode, or just fly around a bit, you will loose altitude.

The biggest threat to a gunship is EMP missiles. SAAW missiles can also down a gunship pretty effectively, but not many people use them. The best way to stay safe when flying around the battlefield is to either stay fast and high, to give you a safety margin if you get EMPed, or stay fast and very low, to use terrain as cover. Fast, fast, fast.

Of course, you have to stop, or at least slow down if you want to line up for a TV missile shot, or even just line up with your homing missiles on a ground target. For a TV missile you might want to briefly switch to hover mode. However, always listen for that lock tone and bug out at the first warning. It's a lot quicker to just come around for another pass then to wait for your gunship to respawn.

Unfortunately, the second biggest threat doesn't give you a lock tone. Your second biggest threat is, strangely enough, tanks and ground turrets. Don't sit still if either are looking at you, since you'll be an easy shot, and a single hit from either will take you down. All the engineer weapons will take you down in one short (sort of):

• Normal guided anti-armor weapon: A one shot kill, but you get a lock tone. Your standard procedure of 'countermeasures, escape' when you hear lock tones will keep you alive.
• Pilum: You won't get a lock tone, but you are almost impossible to hit with this unless you're hovering for a long time. Don't hover a long time.
• SAAW: Instead of one projectile, this unlock actually has two before it has to be reloaded; if both hit, they'll take you down. It is self-guiding, so long as the engineer keeps a lock on you. Contermeasures, escape will keep you alive.

I won't bother discussing how to line up shots for the TV missiles: there are screenshots above which tell you where to aim.

Your rockets won't track ground vehicles, so you need to line them up manually. This is why some people like using a mouse... the mouse gives you more precision, but it really looses out in terms of manoevering, and you can get pretty precise with a joystick and some practice. Not really much to say here, they're easier to aim than the rockets in a BF2 attack helo; aim at your target, correct down slightly if you're moving forwards and fire. It might take two or three passes to kill the vehicle depending on how many hits you score. These rockets don't do much splash damage so don't bother trying to kill infantry with them unless you have very good aim.

And last, but certainly not least, dogfighting. First, killing transports: Transports are slow and lumbering, and should be easy kills. Just get behind it and start plinking away with your rockets... I suggest a couple at a time at first to get the pilot to waste the countermeasures, then unload the rest of your ammo onto it. Precision aiming is not necessary, since the missiles will home in on the transport. The one caveat is the transports have two turrets which can aim backwards and they can kill a gunship if you're not careful and the gunners (and pilot) are good. But the guns don't really aim up, so if you're waiting for the shields to drop just fly above the transport.

Second, dogfighting (killing other gunships). If the other gunship doesn't know you're there, just get behind it and unload all your weapons in one quick burst. Being caught unaware is the easiest way to get killed by another gunship so similarly, you should always be looking out for hostile gunships trying to do the same to you. If the other gunship knows you're there and is actively trying to avoid your weapons, things get a little trickier... When the missiles get within a certain distance of a hostile aircraft, they will start homing in on it: they will turn towards its position. However, they don't track a target well, so if you fire a rocket at a gunship travelling at right angles to you, your homing missiles will not hit. There is about a 60-90% cone in front of, and behind the enemy gunship; if you can get into that cone, and lead the target so your weapons lock on, the rockets will hit it.

Now, for manoevering in a dogfight, it's important to remember that a gunship does not have a minimum manoevering velocity, or stall problems. If the enemy gunship rolls and tries to get into a turning fight, you can stop, rotate, cut the corner, and then slide slip in behind it (roll the gunship while correcting your forward direction with the rudder). Once you're behind it, fire your missiles.

[Elite_Master]

Originally Posted by jepzilla

Don't use a keyboard+mouse. A joystick, rudder controls and a throttle help a lot
.......
Now, for manoevering in a dogfight, it's important to remember that a gunship does not have a minimum manoevering velocity, or stall problems. If the enemy gunship rolls and tries to get into a turning fight, you can stop, rotate, cut the corner, and then slide slip in behind it (roll the gunship while correcting your forward direction with the rudder). Once you're behind it, fire your missiles.

This was a great tutorial for using the gunship; I just wanted to add to it by saying a little about the spiral tactic that seems to happen every time two gunships are trying to take each other down. As soon as I started using the hover to turn instead of holding down forward thrust and rolling, the more number of times I stayed alive. Also the greater altitude I could gain before the downward spiral started the more number of kills I got. Plus it helps to rock the pitch slightly while hovering and rotating for the shot because if you just stay level while rotating, you run the risk of losing sight on the enemy gunship and also if you start slightly higher it is a better shot if you pitch down and then make a fast thrust downward toward the gunship in order to close the distance quickly for the shot before he finishes the spiral to wind up behind you. Best thing to do if you are caught unaware (gunship surprises you from behind and you start taking hits) and you don't have much speed is to DIVE and get low and fast and start a race to your titan (bobbing and weaving between ground obstacles while you get there).. then once there you can fly up behind the titan and use it as an extra layer to get some defensive tactics going (the cover the titan provides gives you added possibilities for attack via coming around a titan corner that is unexpected).

[Eroak]

The gunship is my favorite weapon in 2142. I picked up the controls very quickly. Of corse the best tip is to always keep moving.

Getting out of a loop:
About 90% of the pilots that get another gunship on the tail (aka: kill zone) get killed. The natraul feel for the craft is going to make you jink left and right. I noticed a few try and loop and only fall to thier death. Remember that you got jets pushing you up. If your upside down your being "Jetted" down. If you find yourself upside down. Don't roll, You'll never make it. but push down and get your nose to the ground. Once you get you nose down then pull up. All the time you must be off the throttle or you'll hit the ground faster.

Getting a boggy off your tail:
Again the natrul flow of the craft will make you go left and right. Don't. Go up. Most pilots can't get a grasp of Y axis movement of the craft. This takes about 10 minutes of practice. Don't loop yourself. Don't be afraid to clime to a high ceiling. Nothing up there will bite. Then you'll be also in prime area for engaging other aircraft that are below you. Always come from uptop, Thats a general rule even in the real world dog fight. Now one draw back is the AAA guns. Of course staying low and hidding behind hills is great but agian I find myself coming to the point of the Y axis. No one in the AAA looks up to high. Always flowing the horizon line. I do that myself because 75% thats where they are.

I believe I been more successfull then the average player on the gunships. I trained myself by finding a open server that was stuck on Shuhia Taiba. Fly low and follow the hills up and down. Fly through the support beams on the reactor. Fly around the high tank silos. everything at full speed. You'll get the hang of things. If you dont, you need to be a land lover

[PILOT]

Originally Posted by chaf3d

Another tip, its is VERY hard to roll with these planes.. if you do find yourself inverted... you're SOL! I have never been able to right myself from inverted flying, and i've only seen one person do it...

Heh, I was doing this one day and the pilots in the attacking gunship couldn't believe their eyes. I am inverted quite a bit, when Im not playing seriously. I get out of it easily too, but can't say exactly how I do it... Ill have to pay more attention to what keys Im pressing next time. I guess real flight training helps.

[Exploding_Silver]

Originally Posted by PILOT

Heh, I was doing this one day and the pilots in the attacking gunship couldn't believe their eyes. I am inverted quite a bit, when Im not playing seriously. I get out of it easily too, but can't say exactly how I do it... Ill have to pay more attention to what keys Im pressing next time. I guess real flight training helps.

You're first post PILOT, WELCOME to the forums. You were in my squad last night and we had a blast. Please make sure you read the 2142 FAQ & server rules (link in my sig)

There is a thread for dropping a Hi.. here