Battle Academy
Pilot Training Manual

It is the mission of TFA Wing IV Squadrons to provide 100% effective air/space defense in support of the Alliance, against all adversaries. It is not your duty to die, but to survive, and destroy all enemy opposition. Remember in Wing IV we "FLY…… Or ……DIE" !

To develop the specific types of star fighter skills necessary to achieve victory against superior odds 100% of the time in MELEE type combat.

The primary rule of training states one should always train and practice in a manner as realistic as possible to the actual circumstances and situation that the desired performance will occur and be judged. Our evaluation will occur in combat. The rules of combat have been defined as a series of 2 on 2 melee type engagements with reoccurring waves of enemy craft until the predetermined time limit has expired. At that point, the pilots and team with the most points are the winners. You are not limited to imperial spacecraft and as such must train and prepare in all craft.

We must all remember that the game and social environment is fun. Skill enhancement training takes time, effort, and 100% attention to the task during the training exercises. There are dozens of skilled pilots out there who are committed to defeating you. You must train harder and more realistically.

Several Squads and organizations have outstanding pilots as their leaders with a couple additional excellent pilots. Remember a few good pilots do not ensure success in a battle. They may win their individual matches. The WAR Victory goes to the side with the highest number of points. This is a team effort in which three or four superstars do not produce automatic victory. Therefore, it is important that the team receive practice and all players enhance their abilities. The total number of pilots in an organization does not equate with victory.

The Wing IV Battle Academy is committed to training in air combat as well as command strategy/tactics necessary for ultimate victory. Everyone has a part to play on this team. If each pilot becomes the best he/she can be and performs their job individually and as a team member; We Are the Squadron others will look too and beg to join. Success will be ours.

INTERNET PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS

Equipment effects performance ! We are all NOT playing with the same equipment. Like vehicles; some of us have V.W. Bugs and some have Corvettes. And just as in a race between a V.W. and a Corvette the wining factor is more related to horse power than individual driving skills. So if your computer isn’t a high performance sports car type ( and most of ours aren’t) EXPECT to have a disadvantage when playing those sport car types.

Online XVT games have important dynamics that must be understood by all pilots. These conditions do not exist in "single player mode". Understanding these dynamics and adjusting for them will enhance both your gaming pleasure and your ability to be victorious.

• quality of connection (28.8k, cable, time of day, etc.)
• quality of other players connections
• number of other players
• processing speed of HOST computer

All have major effects upon the game. Understanding what happens during a game (beneath the surface) will emphasize a few major points that each pilot must compensate for individually. Depending on the equipment YOU use these factors may or may not effect your performance.

1. Connection Speed: You need a good connection to the internet to avoid performance problems. The faster your true connection speed is; the better your performance is likely to be. A 56k connection is considered the minimum in hosting a smooth 4 player games.
   The internet is like a freeway. At certain times of the day there is a lot of traffic on the freeway (internet). As traffic increases, internet speeds slow down due to the congestion, and game performance is impacted.
2. Latency: Definition; is a measurement (in milliseconds) of the amount of time it takes for your computer to send information (called a packet) over the internet to the target computer AND back to your computer. This is often called lag. High latency causes poor multi-player Performance. It is important to have a low latency connection to the other players. A latency of under 500 (ms) between players is needed for a satisfactory game. The average latency (4 players latency total divided by 4 should be 300 or so for a smooth game.
3. Hosting: It is a good idea to have the fastest connection host the game. If you don’t have a good connection speed and a fast computer don’t HOST 4 player games. You should instead join games hosted by others.

Playing a 4-way match over the internet is much more demanding on your computers hardware and CPU than single player mode. For this reason you need to compensate for the extra strain on your systems by lowering your screen resolution to 640x480, 256 colors. Put all the configurations to their lowest settings and turn OFF all sound effects. REMEMBER when competing with other players the most important thing is that you have a good frame rate so you can react quickly to your opponents actions.

1. It is essential to have a joystick of high quality (M/S Flight Stick Pro, Thrustmaster, etc.). This stick should be equipped with a "thumb hat" and several additional programmable buttons. These high quality joysticks can improve your skills by 30-50 %. They allow you to do things with one hand while devoting full to the battlefield situation.
2. Pilots should also have a complete understanding of their craft and it’s power redistribution systems as well as the enemy craft.
3. Turn graphics down, sound off and as many details to low as possible during practice and battle. I know all those nice midi-files and that big pretty 3-D graphics cards are just going to waste! Tough! Many players have cable (T-1, T-3) connections to the Internet. This gives them an advantage in combat, known as "Ghost - Shots." Basically this means your firing where your computer tells you their ship is! On your computer you see a direct hit. (But to your frustration no damage). By the time your firing information gets to their machine, their machine (much faster, 10-20 times) shows the ship in another location. Your shots record as misses. Lag…(your machine is lagging behind in the TRUE game information) generally displays their ship one or less seconds behind were it really is. Leading the shot further than normal should take care of it. But lag changes, so you have to change your point of aim with the lag. To them you seem to be going in slow motion and are easier to target and destroy. Notice that all the top players on ladder ranking systems have cable or advanced connections. Hit ALT+D at the beginning of each game to put details at their minimum. The less resources your machine uses, the faster it processes information (faster frame rate) creating a slight buffer at least. Use every advantage you can. They will and do.
   
   Video Cards like Voodoo II unlike Voodoo frees up CPU usage causing smoother Game play due to the faster frame rate. Diamond Viper V550 and the Canopus Spectra 2500 both carry 16 megs of ram, are under 200 dollars and by far the best two cards on the market.

Don’t let a players rank intimidate you. Editors are out there that can make any pilot any rank they choose. Also, by flying the right melees on the Zone for about three days you can be a Jedi and never face any real competition.

Different craft have different scoring values attached to both the kills you obtain and the deaths you receive. Gunboats score the highest and in a skilled pilots hands he can achieve 80,000 points a game in them. Get good in the ships that score well for they are the ships usually flown in Wars. Go to the TFA War Page to read a discussion of ships and their scoring attributes. Avoid flying mixed ships, such as one T/I and one X-Wing on each team. This usually means the pilots with the weaker ship are going to have a harder time scoring equally.

Power systems are fixed at a specific point. The energy output flows into three important systems.

1. Engines - Affect the speed of the craft.
2. Shields - Affect their recharging rate.
3. Laser type weapons - Affects their recharge rate (remember fully charged produce more damage).

The three systems are affected (strengthened or weakened) by the amount of energy they receive. You control which systems get how much energy.

Example (shielded craft)

1. You have a total power output of 100. Normal distribution of energy would be 33% to each system. To increase the rate your lasers recharge, (you might want stronger lasers in a dogfight), you increased the laser recharge rate to maximum. You have redirected the normal flow of energy from one of the other two systems to the laser recharge system to allow for this to happen. An increase in one area creates a decrease in energy available to the other. The transfer of energy either slowed the ships speed OR weakened the shields.
2. Let’s say you’ve been hit by enemy laser fire and your shields were weakened to 20%. At this point, it’s a strong possibility you could be killed by the next laser hit. If you divert all laser energy to the shields, the stored energy in your lasers is used to increase your shields! Jumping to 50%, shield strength by this tactic can greatly increase your current chances of survival, and in turn, victory. Remember the basic principal that the winner is the one that survives the longest to inflect the most kills and receive the most points !

Have a maximum effective range of 1.5 kilometers. Don’t waste power shooting at targets beyond this range. However, if flying head on start shooting was 1.8 kilometers, the speed of the closing ships will narrow the distance and allow for hits. Remember fully charged lasers cause approximately 35% more damage per hit. So recharge em as often as possible. If your ship has shields and they are sufficiently charged, hitting the " ; " key will recharge your lasers back too full ! Three or four fully (linked) laser blasts will take out almost any craft. This tactic is not advisable if your shield strength is below 30%.

It is vitally important that each pilot train specifically for these types of Melee Wars. Important skills necessary for success are:

1. Piloting skills
2. Ship awareness and maintenance (keeping the lasers charged)
3. Battle field situational awareness. Where Exactly are the opponents. Don’t get killed trying to help your wingman. Do so only when the enemies wingman is out of range. Easiest kill is when the enemy is coming after your wingman. You can usually predict the enemies move.
4. Two player vs. two player team skills, require different strategies than playing the game single player or 1 on 1 melees.

Below are some specific exercises and suggestions for obtaining and increasing these types of combat skills.

You can whip those top ace computer AI pilots with some practice. Human pilots aren’t so predictable.

1. Ladder matches, Cases Ladder for Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone (IGZ): the Zone is an excellent place to melee with players on line in a competitive environment. Cases Ladder is an ongoing tournament ranking match. You can sign up at www.igl.net/xvt to be a ladder tournament participant. Then go to www.zone.com; sign up on the free IG Zone. Go to the XVT Rebel Base and 20-100 other online players await you. Start a host game …entitle it "Cases Ladder", and they come out of the woodwork. The vast majority of ladder matches are in unshielded tie fighters and tie interceptors using lasers only! It’s a 1 on 1 dog fight. Most kills at the completion of the match is the victor. Loser reports the results of the match to Cases Ladder. There are about 300+ registered ladder participants ranked 1-300 and as you’re skills improve, you climb the ladder. To get into the top 75 is very good.
   What is truly valuable about these matches is they force you to pilot your ship with precision and evade like hell without shields …….1 or 2 hits and it’s curtains. As you play the real good pilots, watch their tactics and maneuvers. You might loose the match, but you are a winner if you learned something and improved from the loss. Ladder’s are an excellent skill enhancement tool. Avoid over practice in any one craft. You want to maintain effective craft skills in any craft you might be flying.
2. TFA Ladder, DJO maintains their own Ladder ranking system for TFA/TRA members. Go to http://www.darkjedi.org/tfa/ladder/index.phtml to sign up and review the rankings.

• Inside of 1.8 miles never fly straight. Move constantly. Taking brief opportunities to fire a rapid shot at oncoming opponents.
• Shoot in a box pattern around the oncoming ship. All good pilots move also and will very often fly into your shots.
• Don’t use the same successful approach and maneuver two and three times in a row.
• Remember the most maneuverable any ship can be is when set as 1/3 speed. Melees involve close dog fighting and require rapid turning. If you stay on their tail, you win and vice versa. The fastest turns are 1/3 throttle with lasers and shields set to full engines. This will drain all laser power very quickly and unless their in the same mode, you will come around onto their tail. You may have to readjust laser recharge rate to shoot, but you will be behind them. Reset lasers to full and fire away. In two vs. two, going into a prolonged "Turning War" is not that wise. You will be turning but moving very slowly, that will make you an easy target for your opponents wingman.

At beginning of a melee opponents are usually 3+ kilometers away. Have your proper craft configuration memorized and immediately activate it. Full laser and shield recharge is desirable as first options. Then cockpit mode, link weapons to double/quad, full shields forward and select opponent (F-9, F-9, F-10, F-10, X, X, S, S, P, period). At this point, your opponent is still 2.5 + km away. As you close distance, you will be building strength even if flying slower than usually desirable. A single (F-10) will put all shield recharge to engines and move you up in speed considerably.

Both lasers and missiles have a fixed speed plus the speed of the craft. At approximately 2 km, output all shields to engines you will greatly increase the speed your lasers or missiles are traveling, if your opponent is traveling slower, fire and move slightly. He may be unprepared for the extra speed your weapons are traveling.

PRESET SETTINGS: Shift-9 and shift-0 are two programmable pre-settings that can be used to place your ships current configuration into memory at keys "9" and "0". These keys should be preset at the beginning of each match. The settings last only for that match and must be reset each time. Know in advance what keys set the desired configuration. Example: At the time the Host launches the game and your "frozen" awaiting the other players……enter the keys that set the ship to the first desired configuration. When the game starts immediately hit the Alt-9 or Alt 0 key which "assigns" that configuration to key "9" or "0". Then quickly change the configuration of your ship to the second configuration and assign it with the other Alt key. This sets the two configurations within the first few seconds of a match. Quickly turn your attention back to your opponents. They are now probably entering laser range. Don’t loose a ship programming your keys. Most players have two main settings which they will use many times in a game. One pre-set should be set to laser recharging mode and the other set to all power redirected to engines… Laser recharging should be a combat mode (lasers ¾, shields redirected engines.) The other mode is useful in turning and to get away from the fire. By using the pre-sets you can effect quick changes in your ships configuration settings with the push of a single button as opposed to the time it takes to hit three or four keys to obtain the same effect.

In two on two melees, if you or your wing-man destroys an opponent, wait until the additional wave (if any) enters (remember ships frequently enter at very close attack distances. If your going to help your wing-man you will be a sitting duck. If however, your opponent enters 2.5, - 4 km out, turn quickly and double up on your wing-man’s target. This can go back and forth in the spirit of cooperative teamwork and be extremely effective. Use caution to avoid getting too caught up in the heat of battle and let your assigned opponent get too close and pick you off.

Several times each match your wingman or you will die and re appear 3.5 or 4 Km away. Usually both opponents will team up on the remaining pilot. If your under such an attack (your outgunned) redirect all power to engines to get your maximum ship speed and fly towards your wingman. This does two beneficial things, (1) reduces the time it takes for your wingman to get back into laser range by 50% . (2) allows your wingman to pick one or both off while there concentrating on killing you. Make sure you don’t fly directly at your wingman or you will block his ability to fire at the opponents following you. Approach at a slight angle (20-30 degrees). Also as your weaving and dodging the opponents lasers don’t weave into the path of your wingman’s laser fire. Killing a wingman in a melee carries a very stiff point penalty and can easily cost the match victory.

1. Hosting is a disadvantage in one on one matches. In 2 vs. 2 matches , hosting is an advantage, especially if the hosts wingman has a bad connection.
2. Keep moving 100% of the time when within 1.6 km of a hostile ship.
3. Never fly directly at a person for prolonged periods.
4. Don’t fly in a straight line. Keep moving, weaving, ducking and dodging in between your shots.
5. Lay down "suppression fire" if you don’t your opponent will simply retarget you and have a free shoot. Put them on defensive and let them stress.
6. Shoot in a rapid box pattern (single and double). Fire just to sides, top and bottom of opponent. This way when they adjust to avoid flying straight you should get some hits. If you fire directly on them; by the time your lasers get there, they will have ducked, dodged, or moved out of the way, causing a miss. If your opponent is inexperienced he may not know to move well. If that is the case shot dead on !
7. Frequently when additional waves first appear, they are facing away from you and are initially disorientated as the attempt to find you, readjust their ship, and attack. Use this initial three or four seconds to your advantage. Be ready. Target immediately. Fire rapidly (great time to use shield power to fully recharge lasers tactic). It is absolutely demoralizing to appear with a fresh ship and be destroyed again without even getting a chance to find your opponent.
8. When flying very close to an approaching opponent who is critically weakened (within .15 km) veer to the side and don’t allow him the opportunity to ram you, killing you both. (This is a frequent melee tactic). By the way, use this tactic to destroy your opponent if you can, especially if he has a reasonably undamaged ship. To sacrifice your damaged ship and wipe out an undamaged ship is a terrific payoff. Also if you have lost all lasers to damage Ram if close. Don’t waste 15 seconds trying to get your lasers back on a ship with a heavily damaged hull !

It takes time to become a good pilot, usually 6 months of improving will make a decent pilot.. Nevertheless, people change tactics, so you have to be flexible all the time too.

The various aspects of piloting a craft must be mastered to obtain a high combat alertness level necessary for survival. New/Intermediate pilots should spend time (single player) committing these skills to a subconscious memory level.

1. There are two pilot cockpit views for each ship ("." key toggles them between the modes). Know exactly where the various instrument indicators are located!
2. The front and rear sensor displays are critical to success. You must be constantly aware of your opponent’s location and direction of travel. Practice following ships in close combat situations using the sensor display while monitoring the additional environment with your peripheral vision.

This sensor provides valuable information regarding your opponent and his ship status. The opponent must be "targeted" to be in your sensor display. The targeted ship rotates in 3-D to reflect its current orientation in relationship to your craft. This will tell you if his weapons are aligned and he is capable of firing. This sensor proves three readings of your opponent’s status that are important to you.

1. It’s distance in km from your ship.
2. The hull strength; listed numerically from 1-100 and color coded (red) critical, (yellow) moderate damage, (green) strong hull strength).
3. The ship’s orientation to your craft provides you with information regarding its direction of travel.

The (HUD) heads up display mode maximizes your view of the external environment by removing much of the cockpit interior. The CMD, sensors and critical data is still visible to you. This is the preferred cockpit mode for most pilots. It provides for maximum field of view over the battlefield during close quarters dog-fighting. All necessary sensors and monitors are available in this mode.

This instrumentation cluster provides you with extremely valuable information. During battle that must be instantly known (and rapidly acted upon) in order to make the proper decisions and adjust your crafts systems to increase survivability. The Outside Threat Indicator Array (OTIA) is part of this cluster. It tells you if your lasers, ions, or missiles are the currently selected weapon, whether weapons are in single, double, or quad link mode. (READ PAGES 27-31 IN THE XVT INSTRUCTION MANUAL). Along the top of the (OTIA) are four warning lights (numbered 1-4, left to right).

1. (Far left) - Lights up when you have been targeted by an enemy starfighter and are within its range. Extremely important. When you are re entering the fight after a death and both opponents are chasing your wingman…..do not target your opponent. Just fire. This will avoid activating their warning light and informing them your in laser range.
2. Targeted by a capitol ship.
3. Indicates a beam weapon is currently affecting your ship. (Firing chaff will block the beams effect.)
4. (Far right) Will blink yellow when an enemy craft has targeted your ship and is attempting to get a missile lock on you. The light will turn solid red when he has a positive missile lock.

Well as you can imagine having these types of information available to you in the heat of battle is very important. Combat awareness means constantly being aware of and analyzing all these variable bits of combat data. Summing up there combined influences and utilizing the totality of the information to make the appropriate choice of action.

A very good way to practice developing combat awareness is melees (single player) at the hard level utilizing all weapons. Create and additional player to practice with. Don’t worry how bad his statistics are going to turn out. You can always delete him. Your only objective in these training sessions is to practice utilizing all of your available combat data to make various combat decisions.

No one is born with excellent combat awareness. It’s a skill that must be learned. Anyone who tries can. Minefield melees can greatly increase rapid target acquisition and accuracy. As you fly these practice sessions, concentrate on what your enemy does, what you do, and what happened as a result. After each ten minutes melee, spend a few minutes analyzing the battle. What can you do different to increase your results. All good pilots go through this constant evaluation and improvement process.

Another excellent training exercise for development of combat awareness is the custom dogfight. Fly past two containers (X and A or T/A & T/GW). This will get real intense very quickly, but it sure provides you with lots of combat data to analyze. Good luck on this one!

Pilots are Officers, and as such should act as gentlemen. Don’t use profanity directed at players or other teams. Don’t brag, or insult others piloting skills in open chat areas. Defend yourself and respond, but be better than they are, Beat them with tact and brains. (I’ve responded to several foul mouth braggarts that "their mommy’s should have spent more money on their charm school"). At this point other players join in and hehe the poor guy. He will settle down usually or leave. You win and in tactful and honorable way! And to all you new players, may I add, "The game", as in life, is enjoyed most; by those who prepare properly, play fair, maintain their dignity, and deal with others honorably. You will develop an on-line reputation very quickly . . . Make it a good one. First impressions last a long time and do reflect on your TFA team mates as well.

New pilots should complete all the single player exercises that are specifically designed to train you in the basics of starfighter combat. They are challenging set at the hard level. Start off on easy level for the first 6-10 missions. Then start over at the hard level and play through all of them (except eight player missions). Repeat each one until you receive an award patch of at least good.

• Go to the war page and read the rules before you start playing.
• Locate and select the current War Reporting Page as a favorite in your browser so you can find it quickly and report matches in the least amount of time.
• If you are playing against a Cable Modem (or excellent pilot) and are getting stomped, it is poor Team Strategy to continue playing and loosing heavy points over and over again. Instead, "thank them" for the lesson in humility, and move on to another battle!
• If possible, have a wingman available and ready when joining a game that already has two players just sitting their. If you join as the "third pilot" YOU may get a rookie wingman as the forth pilot. Experienced wingmen will tear you and your wingman apart no matter how good you are individually. This is a favorite tactic of several Gamma and Iota pilots as well as the other Zone teams.
• A single game takes 15-20 minutes each. The pre game details and reporting is time consuming. So when trying to rack up points keep the chat to a minimum and urge them to launch if they are the chatty type.
• Squads that dominate don’t waste valuable time chatting on the main or in games. Turn off your zone message client and ICQ. Simply play, report, and jump back into another game. You’ll be surprised how fast your points will add up.
• Play Team Matches and get good in T/Is, Gunboats, and X-Wings. They score well and are the favorite ships in all war games.
• Try to play with a wingman from Your squadron whenever possible. Twice the points are earned for your squadron.
• Prior to the war, select a wingman if possible. Fly a few practice melees in 2 on 2 mode. Discuss the strategy and tactics your going to use. Experienced partners are much more effect in a battle. Develop a simple code system to use in battle. Use the tab key to quickly send a single letter or number representing the true message. Example: "z" key could be code for " I’m heading back towards you….shoot em off my back. This gives your partner warning and is very effective. Don’t have more than 3 simple codes or it becomes confusing and complicated to remember.
• If a match is laggy for YOU …….. QUIT quickly ! If you stay too long it is a reportable match no matter haw bad it was!
• If you intentually quit, use the "tab" communication system to tell the other players. Just type " I’m out" . then press the "L" key and check the time you sent the message. If the time is under 8 minutes it becomes a reportable match.
• When deciding to enter a game room for a match look at the connections of the other pilots ! If one or more have over 500 latency at the Zone, it would be wiser to look for another game. If you do give it a try remember to quit within two minutes if it’s laggy.

These combat tips, exercises, etc. are not solely my creative thought! I owe most of these ideas and tips to other excellent starship pilots in various leagues across the Internet. Some of these tips/suggestions come from the mountains of home pages across the Internet. They are indeed an available source of information.

With special thanks to:

• Dracronious, Kali XVT server, He was smart, sharp, and for some reason always wanted to kill me!
• Victoria _W _ NIR, Zone, taught me that women can fly a spacecraft and humiliate ya!
• Pro_mux (muxxy_NIR) SST_MUX, without a doubt, the best woman pilot out there and one of the top 5 best pilots I’ve seen period ! (Gave me my 1st ladder loss). Pro_Mux maintains her own web site with advanced combat tactics. Go to WWW, NTX, NET/MUX she displays attack diagrams and advise that is exceptional. Like all masters she is dedicated to passing on her knowledge to all who are respectful and honorable pilots.
• Deceptikon_NIR, his competitiveness and sportsmanship towards me in spite of being in competing leagues. AND dozens of other Zone-ers I took the pleasure to kill, and at times, die as the hands of.
• The Many Fine TFA AND TRA pilots and TFA Gantoris & Cutter in particular who have been my friends and teachers in this fine gaming experience.
• Alex "Inquisitor" who has pages of tips and info as his Internet site WWW.SWgamers.com/xvt/strategy. He has Web Published two guides on beginning and advanced tactics.
• Kali-XVT server, The Rim league; The Alliance of the Worlds on the Rim (AWR) organization and its pilots, who accepted this newbie initially, and who taught me the many little lessons of online gaming with X-wing vs. Tie-Fighter.
• And finally! HERO, who without his dedication to the game and resources ……..we would all be members or lesser clubs!