Sun Mar 09, 2003 4:36 am
The Ambush at the Last Waypoint
Here's an annoying trap for the unwary that I found out about the hard way. Don't let this happen to you....
"Go to Point X in the middle of badguy territory and kill everybody you meet there"--a very common type of mission. After you've done a few, you notice that you and the badguys always see each other while you're still about 3km from the last waypoint cruising in. But your autopilot keeps you in cruise while the baddies get to start reacting immediately and lining up attacks on you. As a result, you usually end up taking hits just before or right as you drop out of cruise, before you can react. Sometimes your first action upon arrival has to be popping a shield battery. This is the "Ambush at the Last Waypoint".
After this happened to me a few times, I decided to try to change things. So as I cruised in still 5-7 km out from the waypoint, I moved my mouse over the freeflight icon, had my finger over the targeting key, and my thumb over the mouse flight switch. As soon as I spotted the badguys at 3km, I dropped out of cruise, targeted one of them, and the fight was on.
BAD MOVE on my part. That damn last waypoint is a very important thing and if you don't get close enough to it, bad things happen. Bad things....
First bad thing I discovered was that despite not being in cruise anymore, my weapons still didn't work. So I flew around for a while getting the snot shot outta me and unable to respond. But eventually, as I dodged around madly and totally disoriented, I must have gotten close enough to the last waypoint because suddenly my weapons started working.
Second bad thing I discovered was that after fighting for some time, Mission Commission started accusing me of running from the fight. This happened when I knocked down 1 guy's shield and chased him as he attempted to slink off and recharge. Mission Commission kept yelling "you're not paid to run away, get in there and fight." After a couple warnings like that, they said I had 30 seconds to get back in the fight and then started doing a countdown.
While this was going on, I figured they couldn't be talking to me because I was in HEAVY combat the whole time, and I was chasing a guy, not running. Besides, I was too busy to pay complete attention. So I figured I was hearing chatter to an NPC doing a similar mission nearby. But when the countdown started flashing on my screen, I realized they DID mean me. OH CRAP! WHAT DO I DO NOW?
Finally, I realized the only reference point they had on me was probably whether I'd made it to the waypoint yet. So I broke off combat and started burning toward the waypoint, which was still sitting there several Km away, with the remaining baddies chasing and blasting away as I ran. I didn't make it. Next thing I know, Mission Commission tells me I forfeited my payment and that my "cowardice" will be reported to authorities.
But I still had a herd of enraged baddies to deal with. So I ended up still having to complete the damn mission of killing them anyway, and still had the usual expenses of repairs and ammo afterwards, but I got no money and my rep took a hit in the bargain.
Needless to say, I was quite annoyed. If I ever see Mr. Mission Commission flying around, his ass is mine. In the meantime, I guess there's no way to avoid the Ambush at the Last Waypoint.
-Bullethead
In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength, in water there is bacteria
"Go to Point X in the middle of badguy territory and kill everybody you meet there"--a very common type of mission. After you've done a few, you notice that you and the badguys always see each other while you're still about 3km from the last waypoint cruising in. But your autopilot keeps you in cruise while the baddies get to start reacting immediately and lining up attacks on you. As a result, you usually end up taking hits just before or right as you drop out of cruise, before you can react. Sometimes your first action upon arrival has to be popping a shield battery. This is the "Ambush at the Last Waypoint".
After this happened to me a few times, I decided to try to change things. So as I cruised in still 5-7 km out from the waypoint, I moved my mouse over the freeflight icon, had my finger over the targeting key, and my thumb over the mouse flight switch. As soon as I spotted the badguys at 3km, I dropped out of cruise, targeted one of them, and the fight was on.
BAD MOVE on my part. That damn last waypoint is a very important thing and if you don't get close enough to it, bad things happen. Bad things....
First bad thing I discovered was that despite not being in cruise anymore, my weapons still didn't work. So I flew around for a while getting the snot shot outta me and unable to respond. But eventually, as I dodged around madly and totally disoriented, I must have gotten close enough to the last waypoint because suddenly my weapons started working.
Second bad thing I discovered was that after fighting for some time, Mission Commission started accusing me of running from the fight. This happened when I knocked down 1 guy's shield and chased him as he attempted to slink off and recharge. Mission Commission kept yelling "you're not paid to run away, get in there and fight." After a couple warnings like that, they said I had 30 seconds to get back in the fight and then started doing a countdown.
While this was going on, I figured they couldn't be talking to me because I was in HEAVY combat the whole time, and I was chasing a guy, not running. Besides, I was too busy to pay complete attention. So I figured I was hearing chatter to an NPC doing a similar mission nearby. But when the countdown started flashing on my screen, I realized they DID mean me. OH CRAP! WHAT DO I DO NOW?
Finally, I realized the only reference point they had on me was probably whether I'd made it to the waypoint yet. So I broke off combat and started burning toward the waypoint, which was still sitting there several Km away, with the remaining baddies chasing and blasting away as I ran. I didn't make it. Next thing I know, Mission Commission tells me I forfeited my payment and that my "cowardice" will be reported to authorities.
But I still had a herd of enraged baddies to deal with. So I ended up still having to complete the damn mission of killing them anyway, and still had the usual expenses of repairs and ammo afterwards, but I got no money and my rep took a hit in the bargain.
Needless to say, I was quite annoyed. If I ever see Mr. Mission Commission flying around, his ass is mine. In the meantime, I guess there's no way to avoid the Ambush at the Last Waypoint.
-Bullethead
In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength, in water there is bacteria