Alright, I've finally have a usable version up. It's jumbled up so go to Warhawk Pro-Flight, Tips and Tricks to get to the first page.
Dingo out
October 18, 2007
Warhawk Pro-Flight, Tips and Tricks (pg 6)
CONCLUSION
So thus concludes my guide on Pro-Flight. The most important aspect of getting the best out of anything is to try everything. Once you've tried everything, you'll gain a better understanding of what works and what doesn't. There is no one trick or method that will always work. Sooner or later you'll go up against someone who'll read your tricks and counter it. If you don't have anymore tricks up sleeve, then you are officially screwed.
The purpose of this guide is to introduce players to the Pro-Flight controls and encourage you to try it out. It may or may not be to your liking. The other purpose is to dig deeper into what PF can do. I'm not the best dogfighter out there and I make silly mistakes often but I take pride knowing that I'm good. Believe me or not I don't need anyone or some statistic to tell me that, I judge my own performance and I've got very high standards when it comes to personal achievements.
Set yourself a certain standard and work to live up to it and to go beyond it. There are so many great players out there who think they are unbeatable and yearn for a challenge. Will you take up the offer? On a final note, I hope my guide has helped you one way or another. Remember that even if you are the worst player in the world, it's just a game! Real life is so much more fun!
Written and edited by Ihsan Zainal (aka Dingo_D)
Warhawk Pro-Flight, Tips and Tricks (pg 4)
Pro Flight Maneuvers (continued)
Advanced Pro Flight
If I can sum up what makes the best Warhawk pilots, it'll probably be:
It sounds very zen but that's how it is. Of course practice takes up the most part, followed by awareness, ability to adapt, and luck but like any athlete or competitive gamer would tell you, if you ask what makes them good in what they do, its a culmination of the mind, body and soul. You've got to get in the zone.
Like I said before, you can thrash 90% of the players who come at you but if you want to take down the other 10%, you have to have that little "extra". So try to always stay calm and keep your wits about you. A lot of great players out there are good simply because they know what works and what doesn't.
I've already explained the advantages/differences between the default flight controls and Pro-Flight. Now, I'll dig deeper into getting the most out of PF.
| Mixing it up
If there's anything that frustrates dogfighters most it's definitely losing track of their prey. It's a real blow to his pride if he turns from the hunter, to the hunted.
The key to grabbing the odds and pitting them against your pursuer is mixing it up. In PF, you don't have the luxury of auto-maneuvers*1. Instead you have the freedom to work any situation as you see fit. Remember, you're in the air and have almost unlimited space. Get out of the Horizontal mentality. It's not just left and right. Move diagnally, vertically, use the environment. Mix it up and catch your enemy flat-footed. |
| There's no Right and Wrong Side
The Warhawk/Nemesis are the greatest fighter planes....Period. They defy the laws of Physics. Regardless whether you're sideways, right side up or upside down, your aircraft flies the way its supposed to. It's only limited to your abilities.
That said, get accustomed to flying and fighting upside down and sideways. It'll increase your response times (when attacking) a lot. Works when tracking enemies around obstacles or taking down that pesky pilot who likes to fly around you, like a fly you can't seem to swat. |
| Finding Your Bearings
Remember, the mini-map is your friend. I will talk a bit about orientating yourself and the mini-map in the Tips and Tricks page but here, I will explain to you a little more in-depth.
The biggest problem for any PF user has to be getting oneself reorientated after big maneuvers. Unlike the default controls that auto-centers you after pulling of an auto-maneuver*1, so you have to continously be on the ball when using PF.
. Check your mini-map ever so often for enemies, if that arrow (the one that points to hostile enemies outside your mini-map) is directly behind you then take it that you're being tailed. Stay out of their view and Don't be caught unaware!
. Always remember that regardless of your rotation*2, the mini-map is always right. It's easy to get disorientated during and after evasive maneuvers but reorientation is key to counterattacking. Otherwise, either you make a break for it (live to fight another day) or put some distance between you and your pursuer to find him again. Why? Experience has taught me that if you've pissed off players enough, they'll keep on hunting for you, especially the good ones. |
Warhawk Pro-Flight, Tips and Tricks (pg 3)
Pro Flight Maneuvers
Here I will explain the mechanics of flying using Pro Flight. Think of this as a dummies guide so I'll explain everything as simply as I can. Everything I have here is based off my own knowledge and experience of using Pro Flight so if you have a better method, it's up to you to pick and choose what suits you most.
Also, the key to Pro Flight is being comfortable with the controls. It takes time, practice and patience. As they say "If at first you don't succeed, then try and try again".
Basics
Before you can pull off your own crazy maneuvers, you'll have to get your basics right. Accustom yourself to them before trying out more advanced maneuvers and tricks. You'll know that you've progressed when everything feels second nature and that's the way it should be.
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Quick pitches: Remember that both LR analog sticks control pitch, so by pulling down or pushing up on both Left and Right sticks your Warhawk will pitch up (nose up) and pitch down (nose down) faster. |
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Quick rolls: Tap left or right on the Left Stick and your aircraft tilts (holding turns the Warhawk) left or right respectively. Push the Right Analog Stick in the same direction, during a roll, to roll your plane faster. |
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Quick turns: Requires a little more practice but it is the staple of every PF user. There are 2 methods do this but both yield the same results though one is a little harder to pull off. Method 1 Do a quick roll to but hold the Left Stick (to turn). Once you got your rotation*2 right (in this case tilted 90o left or right) pull down on your Right Stick, while still turning with the Left Stick, to do a quick turn. Method 2 Similar to Method 1, only this time do a quick roll and once in the right rotation*2 pull down on both LR Sticks. This is harder to pull off accurately but it seems to be faster than Method 1. Pick a method which you are more comfortable and stick with it, though I'd recommend Method 1. Also, Quick Turning is a better method over Powersliding when doing tight maneuvers. |
Warhawk Pro-Flight, Tips and Tricks (pg 5)
Dingo's Tips and Tricks
(Use at your own discretion. Different skill levels may yield different results)
Tips
.Ambidexterity
.Powersliding for dummies
.Feinting and Missiles
.A pilot's best friend: The AERIAL MACHINE GUN
.Kill or Be Killed
.Orientation and the Mini-Map
.Using the Environment
.Timed Boosting
.Powersliding for dummies
.Feinting and Missiles
.A pilot's best friend: The AERIAL MACHINE GUN
.Kill or Be Killed
.Orientation and the Mini-Map
.Using the Environment
.Timed Boosting
Tricks
TIPS
| Ambidexterity
What is it good for: Makes you a more effective pilot. Works like a charm and believe me you'll be more combat effective. Not just in Warhawk. How to: It's not a trick but it's something that always helps me. Get used to using 6 fingers when piloting. Thumbs for the sticks and d-pad, Index fingers for R1 and L1, Middle fingers for R2 and L2. |
| Powersliding for dummies
What is it good for: Quick turns and tight maneuvers. How to: Simply press L2 and R2 together and you'll slide. Let go of either or both and you'll stop sliding. Advanced sliding tips:Powerslides are only useful for quick turns and tight maneuvers. There's no point in sliding EVERYTIME you make a turn cause you'll be vulnerable to attacks. The delay after a slide is long enough for your pursuer to lock a homing missile on you. Which trigger you release will affect how you exit a slide. Release R2 and hold L2 and you'll be able to do a tight brake. Release L2 while holding R2 slides you even further at the end of a slide. Releasing both is somewhere in between. Use according to the situation. Another use for Powerslides is when you need to adjust your aim without changing your direction. Powerslide and hold, then aim as usual. You'll still be moving forward with little to no change in direction. It's more useful for PF users but use with caution cause any Powerslide momentarily but drastically lowers your chances of evasion. |
| Feinting and Missiles
What is it good for: Fool your prey into wasting his/her chaff. How to: Fire a single swarm missile. This will fool them into thinking you're hitting them with a homing missile. Once you are sure that your prey has wasted his/her chaff or didn't have any to begin with, lock-on with multiple SWARMS or a HOMING MISSILE and blast away. Advanced missile: Don't you just hate it when your swarm misses because the fella keeps doing funky stunts to evade them? Here's what you can do. SWARM MISSILES: Feint as usual. Another thing about feinting is that it often triggers your prey to start his evasive maneuvers. Don't worry, keep him in sight, and after you get a good number of locks, close in on him fast (remember, don't lose sight of him!). There are a couple of factors that affects your SWARM's acurracy. 3 of the most important:
HOMING MISSILE: The same rules of accuracy apply to HOMING MISSILES only difference being HOMING MISSILES can't be evaded using aerial manuevers, most of the time. So feinting is a good option to get rid of them CHAFFS. The best use for a homing missile is to finish off your prey. Damage him a little bit (about 20%), close in and release. A very good tactic that I always use is the AERIAL MACHINE GUN and HOMING MISSILE combo. |
| A pilot's best friend: The AERIAL MACHINE GUN (AMG for short)
What is it good for: Other than killing your enemies, the AMG is a useful way to discourage a teammate's pursuer and most importantly, it tells you the remaining life of your intended prey. So check the status of your prey, it lets you prepare the appropriate weapon in your available arsenal to be used for a swift kill and also prevents ammo wastage. How to: Fire a couple of shots to reveal your prey's Health. Advanced AMG: Use bursts of AMG fire to prevent overheating. Time them right (less than a second in between) and you'll never have an over-heated AMG ever again. |
| Kill or Be Killed
What is it good for: A good movie title How to:I always have this "mantra" in my head. It has saved me a lot of times and is a great for keeping your kills high and your deaths low. When you pick a target, quickly finish him off. If a dogfight takes too long and you feel too exposed, head for cover because chances are that you're already being locked on. |
| Orientation and the Mini-Map (OMM)
What is it good for: It's the most important aspect of piloting a Warhawk. If you're gonna pull off big, fancy maneuvers and want to get the edge over your enemies then you're gonna get used to Orientating yourself with the Mini-Map. How to: The mini-map is very straight forward. It will twist and turn according to which way you're facing but simply, it tells you exactly where your enemy is on the horizontal plane. Right is right, left is left etc regardless of your rotation*2. It only takes your facing into consideration. The size of the icons change (your Warhawk's icon will stay the same) to reflect the vertical distance between you and your enemy ie. as you get further(vertically) from your enemy, so will your enemy icon shrink or grow depending on who is above/below who (bigger means above you, smaller means below you). Though the difference in sizes is hardly noticeable and when someone's lit your ass up(lock-on) you probably can't bother. Advanced Orientation and Mini-Map: In the most ideal of situations (when you're not being flanked, you're not marked for death, one on one fights, it's very straight forward, but what if you're climbing/diving vertically? That's when getting used to OMM pays off. Read Finding your Bearings in the Pro-Flight Maneuvers page. |
| Using the Environment
What is it good for: Mountains, vallies, ridges, cliffs. They're there so use them! Good for losing pursuers and even better for getting the jump on them and getting the odds to your favor. How to: There are only 5 different landscapes in the game. Get to know each and everyone of them. . Find safespots where you can lose enemies or just catch a breath. . Develop routes and plans around the terrain. . Use the terrain to stop your enemies' missiles, block their view and confuse them . Mountains and high cliffs are 2 of your best friends. The environment can only help you as much as you can exploit it. It is not the ultimate defense or the ultimate tactic. Use it inappropriately and the next thing you see is your limp...and very dead, in-game self cartwheeling to the ground or into the sea. |
| Timed Boosting What is it good for: Extending the life of your Boost. Depending on how you use this method, it can either help you none or help you A LOT. How to: Like the AMG method, use bursts of Boost to get the more distance. The best would be to just tap R2 (boost) twice and not hold it for a second and a half, then boost again. Rinse and repeat. Though UNLIKE the AMG method, you can't get "unlimited" Boost. Depending on the time in between each Boost, you can get up to 3 boosts which may not seem like much but it gets you further than if you hold down the boost. You're probably thinking what's the point. Timed Boosting is a great help during evasions. Firstly, you're not wasting your Boost and by the time you run out of Boost, you're more likely to be in good cover. Secondly, it's the only way that I know of to get out (and survive) of a situation involving you and a big group of enemies. |
TRICKS
| TRICK: Crash Dummy
What is it good for: Getting rid of that annoying tailgater. I'm a big advocate of not using airmines so for nut cases like myself, this has helped me more than often though I don't get any points since it's a suicide count (for my victim) but makes for a good laugh. Nonetheless this is a pretty risky maneuver and the chances of success are very slim but it'll definitely frustrate your pursuer. How to: Simply fly towards an obstacle, be it a mountain, cliff, or a if you think you're good enough (or plain crazy), a friendly mine. Then steer out of the way when you're very close to the obstacle. Obviously, the closer your pursuer is the better. A variation: Instead of flying directly into a wall, use winding paths and/or obstacles with tight spaces. Such as the Valleys, in the Bad Lands, the dividing river in Island Outpost, Archipelago is a haven for slippery devils or the 2 tallest sky scrapers in Destroyed Capital. The more complicated and tighter your maneuvers, the better. Most important thing to note is the distance and height of your pursuer to yourself, these days smarter players tend to fly higher and put more distance between you and them. So use the appropriate obstacle/path. Regardless of which version you use, the Crash Dummy trick is a double-edged sword that MUST be used wisely. |
Warhawk Pro-Flight, Tips and Tricks (pg 2)
Advantages of using Pro-Flight
A little background
The first time I got in a Warhawk and tried the default controls, I had a bittersweet feeling (add dejavu). Why dejavu? It controlled a lot like a certain XBOX game which had flying in it (can't remember the name though). It was simple, and let you pull off some useful, yet cool, maneuvers with the flick of the right analog stick. Yet at the same time it was frustrating to use. The aim auto-centers, it's not useful when manuevering in tight spaces and it just didn't give me the control that I was used to from playing Ace Combat. Plus the Warhawk is a fast, super-responsive beast screaming "Go nuts!" as compared to AC's realistic planes.
Switch to PF and you'll feel like your on a whole other level. Does it make you a pro all of a sudden? No, not even close. It's a challenge just to get yourself orientated at first. It takes a lot of time and practice to get it right. Even when you think you're good to go, there's still a lot more you can learn. Mastery will take dedication, patience and lots of silly mistakes.
| More control = More manueverability
First thing you'll notice is that you have 100% control of your Warhawk/Nemesis (for easier reading I'll refer only to the Warhawk). Turns, pitches, rolls, climbs, dives, it's all you. Even pull off precision maneuvers at high speeds. This also allows you to pull off your own stunts and maneuvers. Come up with different evasive maneuvers to stun your pursuer or pull a fast one and take back control of a dogfight. Personally I don't like that I'm open to other attackers while doing auto-maneuvers*1. |
| Powerslides versus PF turns
Powersliding is what sets a Warhawk apart from any other flight games. It is something that all aspiring Warhawk aces need to be familiar with. It lets you turn sharper and quicker than just dragging your aircraft around. I've been experimenting and comparing both Powersliding and using the PF to make quick turns. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and in this case, it's up to you to decide which you are more comfortable with. Personally, I have taken to NOT using Powerslides. Powerslides tend to be more uncontrollable and once you start sliding it'll be a while before you get control of your Warhawk. The time may seem minuscule but it's enough time for your pursuers to get a homing missile on you if you're in his line of sight.
PF turns give you the benefits of powerslides (quick turns) but you will still have control of your warhawk. Do quick turns in succession to confuse your enemy and/or turn the tables on him/her. The biggest problem is that there's a high chance of over-steering and you'll more than likely crash into something when you do. |
| Freedom of aim
For me, the biggest perk of Pro-Flight is that your reticule does not auto-center. It's a bonus to pilots who prefer to gun down his/her enemies. It's also the an important part of pulling off maneuvers in tight situations and getting around obstacles quickly (One part of 2. Doesn't do much alone.) |
| The Right Analog Stick (the other part)
This is the biggest difference between the default flight controls and PF. Your right analog stick now gives you 360 degree control of your Warhawk on all axis. At first it may seem like both the left and right analog sticks do the same thing and you'll probably be thinking "What the fuck? That's it?" Just dig a little bit below the surface and you'll find the lifeblood of PF. Experiment and master maneuvering using both sticks to get the best out of PF. Do that, and you'll be one slippery devil in the skies. |
Like I've said, Pro Flight does not give you super Warhawk skills or automatically make you a better pilot. The price of total control of your Warhawk is a steep learning curve, long hours of practice and making mistakes ranging from laughable to downright ridiculous. Is all the frustration worth it? Oh yes indeed.
You can always be the guy with the most kills in a match regardless of your control setting but if you want to stand out among the best pilots, to reign supreme over mano-a-mano dogfights, or make a fool of a squadron of enemies, PF is calling out to you.
October 16, 2007
Warhawk Pro-Flight, Tips and Tricks
Okay, you're sick and tired of the default controls and you want to try something new. OR, you think that the default controls are too restrictive and you want more control over your Warhawk. So, you switch over to Pro-Flight control and give it a spin. You'll either A. Really like it or B. Really really hate it. If you haven't experienced Pro-Flight (I'll use PF for short) then yes, these are the only two things that will happen. There's no in between. Trust me.
2 weeks (since I first got my hands on it) after getting frustrated with the default controls, I decided that I wanted more control and I was gonna get it no matter what! I've been using PF ever since then and I have no intention of ever turning back.
In this guide, I'll talk about the advantages of PF and also some tips and tricks for you to try out. Before you go any further here's the laydown on PF controls:
| Left analog stick: Mainly controls your aiming reticule. Also for climbs, dives and turns. Right analog stick: Controls your craft's orientation ie. rolls, pitch, dives and climbs. Used in tandem (eg. pull up on both LR sticks to pitch up faster) these will allow you to perform quicker turns, quicker pitches, quicker rolls. Used opposingly (eg. aim and roll), it also lets you aim and make adjustments to your aircraft's orientation at the same time. Other buttons stay the same. |
A man and his Warhawk
I can't remember how long it's been since Warhawk first released but to me it seems like a pretty long time. From the first few weeks of bugs to the current not so many bugs. From my "desperately in need of practice" skills to my now(personally opinion) super awesomely cool and skilled manuevers (and crashes). From 2 BSGs to one unified (and now maxed out.....again) BITE. It sure seems like a long time doesn't it.
BITE has progressed and so have its members. We have members who excel in different aspects of the game and together we have graced the top ten players in many rounds/matches. BITE has come far indeed. I am most happy that BITE members are living up to the BITE vision and mission. We're a happy go lucky bunch who just want to play and have fun but when push comes to shove, we can thrash it out with the best in the world. I'm more than proud to be in charge of this band of crazy mofos and if as long as there's a will, I'll work to keep BITE alive, even beyond Warhawk.
To all my brothers, sisters (and those sitting on the fence), let's keep the BITE spirit alive and continue to kick ass. BITE rocks and it'll always rule.
Dingo out!
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