Echo Station: The Dogfight

The Dogfight: An Overview of Aerial (Space) Combat
An Executive Officer's thoughts on Star Wars Combat Gaming
by Jim "FourSpeed" Hurst

Well now Cadet, you've completed the training maze, and you've flown the historical missions, so you're ready to become the next Wedge Antilles or Luke Skywalker, right?

Let's talk about dogfighting; the art of shooting a starfighter out from under your enemy. I'll go over some of the characteristics that help make a pilot into a skilled dogfighter.

The story begins about a century or so ago in a distant galaxy on a small little planet called Earth. The "starfighters" in use at the time were called airplanes, and in those days, they were made out of wood and cloth. No titanium, no shields, no R2 units, not even lasers for these ships. Just two pilots facing each other and knowing one of them wouldn't be returning home that day.

In the dawn of the dogfight, these primitive starfighters couldn't reach hyperspace, or even normal space. In fact, they didn't even have weapons initially. They were used primarily to spot and report on the locations of enemy troops, and often, enemies flew within plain sight of each other. Dogfighting was born when one pilot brought along his revolver and shot at the other guy. A simple idea, with simple tactics and weapons, but very far reaching consequences.

Since that time, airplanes and starfighters have changed, weaponry has changed, and of course, wars have come and gone, but dogfighting follows its one and only rule; Shoot, disable, or destroy the bad guy before he, she, or it, shoots you... There are many ways to do this, but over time, several good ideas have proven themselves to be particularily useful for the job.

Many of these ideas should seem like common sense, but often, common sense isn't all that common, so lets detail some of them here......

What this really means is you need to do two things better than the opponent. First, you have to locate the enemy ship as quickly as possible, then, you must fly your ship to a place where you can shoot it. The downside is that your opponent will be trying to do the same thing.

Even a rookie cadet could defeat a Star Destroyer or Calamari Cruiser if it weren't for those pesky turbo-lasers. In most ships, from starfighters to huge capital ships, there are areas where their weapons can't hit you. That is where you want to position your ship. Frequently, (particularly with starfighters) this area is directly behind the enemy. The bad news is that your ship also has a blind area or null zone and your enemies will try to shoot you from that spot.

Positioning your ship to an ideal spot behind your enemy is only part of the answer. You must be able to hit the target with your weapons as well. Unfortunately, there is only one way to do this: practice, practice, practice. It's no surprise that some of the best dogfighters in history were also some of the best marksmen.

Don't fly any slower than you must to do the job. The pilot you are chasing is trying to get away, or shoot you. The slower you go, the easier you make it for them. Some ships may not have a null zone, so there may be no ideal place to attack from. In this case, a fast moving target (you) is harder for them to hit than a slow one.

It is important to keep your speed up, but if it means you'll pass the guy you're chasing (called an overshoot), it will likely become a fatal mistake. When you overshoot, you help the bad guy get behind you, and when he shoots you down, that's not going to look good on your mission summary sheet... Keep your target in front of you!

The tactics listed above can help you shoot that starfighter in front of you, but it's important to remember that your target likely has friends. Don't forget to check behind your ship frequently (Check Six!) to make sure that nobody is lining *you* up for a shot. Overall, if you've made a good target selection (see below), you should stay with your target until you destroy it, but it's better to be safe than dead.

In most missions, there are many targets to pick from. Usually, dogfighting is unnecessary for it's own sake, but rather, you use it to accomplish a mission goal. It may be real cool to bag that nice Corvette on your screen, but if the TIE Bomber it sent out gets to destroy the Admiral's shuttle, then you'll probably be flying the mission again. Learn to determine which threats you should deal with first, and fight those. This has two large benefits. It helps you accomplish the mission, and in many cases, the mission gets progressively easier since you've eliminated the most dangerous enemies first.

It should be no surprise that most modern fighter pilots are very well educated. In a combat mission, there are dozens of tasks that you must perform well to win the battle. The better you know your ship and its systems, and, the better you can use its strengths against the weaknesses of your opponents, the likelier you are to become the ace pilot you want to be. Your starfighter has several useful systems that make it a great weapon in the hands of a skilled pilot (ELS, view circles, map display to name just a few). Knowing, and practicing these can be the difference between being the ace, and being the target -- especially in head to head conflicts like X-Wing vs Tie Fighter.

An additional point here: Games vary (even different releases of the same game), so it is important to learn what works for each game.

As an example, it's important to know that you need to "lead" your targets (shoot ahead of where they are now) to hit them, but the timing and amount of lead is different for X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing vs TIE Fighter.

Additionally, in X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, throttle setting is much more important than other games for combat turns. Shields are also weaker, so accuracy is also more vital here than in games like X-Wing, and TIE Fighter.

Well, Cadet, you've probably realized that there is more work to be done, but don't feel badly about it. The very best combat pilots spend most of their time practicing to make sure the time spent in actual dogfighting is brief, but decisive.

The key to effective dogfighting in your game of choice is learning how to apply the various ideas we've discussed during your combat sorties. Remember, the best pilots are always trying to learn.

(Jim "FourSpeed" Hurst is one of the original members of Kalidor. As Kalidor Squadron's Executive Officer, he is responsible for training new members of Kalidor as cadets in the Striker Wing on the FRG Black Hawk.)