Topic: What is

[Skaren]

Starcastling, could someone explain that tactic.

Thanks

[SSCF-LeRoy]

Starcastling, could someone explain that tactic.

Thanks

In short, starcastling is the act of cruising at low impulse speed and diverting the extra energy to shield reinforcement. This is often associated with arming overloaded photons as far as Starfleet ships go.

[Skaren]

That is a tactic I am used to,.. using it in my group of folks, extra ECM, evasive etc,..  but when I try to do it in GSA I get my arse handed to me by the likes of Dfly.  I have learned the old adage of speed is life.  If I deviate from it I usually pay the price. 

Thanks

[SSCF-LeRoy]

That is a tactic I am used to,.. using it in my group of folks, extra ECM, evasive etc,..  but when I try to do it in GSA I get my arse handed to me by the likes of Dfly.  I have learned the old adage of speed is life.  If I deviate from it I usually pay the price. 

Thanks

Starcastling isn't the answer to everything; it depends on the matchup of the fight. For instance, Feds and Hydrans are notorious for starcastling against Klingons, but anyone castling against a plasma boat stands a good chance of having the stern end of his ship handed to him.

Same principle goes for "speed is life." It may be true for your average Klink, but anyone trying to outfly a Klink in the average Fed boat is gonna come out on the short end o' the stick.

Of course, even in matchups where castling might be useful for one side, there's always anti-castling tactics for the other guy to employ. Like so many other tactics, starcastling may be useful in some situations, but it's not the cure-all "I win" button for everthing.

[Hexx]

It really depends on what you're flying and what you're facing.
This is the general idea- although keep in mind that I don't fly a race that can do it so...

The idea essentially comes down to that you have to be able to do more damage to the enemy at "close" range than he can do to you
and you have to be able to throw so much power into shields/ecm that he will likely never hack through them at longer range.

Different races are able to do it to different degress
Lyrans really can't do it- the bulk of our firepower comes from the ESG and disrupters, so if the enemy stays at rng 4 we'll usually be outdamaged
Klinks can't really do it, although some of their DB's aren't bad at it, Klink ships can usually outmaneuver anything they fight do it'd be kinda dull
Feds aren't bad at it- OL photons hurt, but they're not the best at it ( I'd usually gladly take 4 OL photons shot at me if I can guranteee a cloe range hit with 4 ESG's)
Kzin are like Feds- depending on the ship they're not bad, but not really designed for it (only ships with numerous racks should even try)
Gorn and Rom are good- generally the idea that closing is going to get you smacked with a number of plasma is a bit of a downer
Hydrans are fantastic at it, (depending on the ship) A Hydran ship generally has alot of power, an above average hull, a few fighters to laucnh when the enemy closes and those frickin Hellbores that can pound you from long range AND do even more massive damage (possibly added to that of fusion cannons) at short range.

And (as mentioned) keep in mind that it's kinda stupid to try it against anything that can outdamge you, a fed castling against Hellbores or PPD's is generally going to lose , and will likely lose against even BP plasma unless he's better at it than the plasma player is at breaking them. And ship size is (of course) important as well  on one of the servers someone tried to castle some silly little Gorn boat with 2 G torps and a few phasers against my Lyran BCHP, and castling against the bigger maulers doesn't always work either.
(Except the STL.. if you ever fight a STL make sure you castle, it'll be a quick fight for you)

As for "speed is life"... yes and no. It's completely situational dependent.
I'm someone who likes to zip around tha map at spd 31, but I generally do alot better in PVP when I force myself to fly at spd 24-25.

Really both are completely dependent on what race/ship you're flying and what race/ship you're fighting.

[Skaren]

Wow thanks Hexx, now if I can recall all that at the moment of combat 

PS I have looked high and low for the "I win button" no luck.  Even tried setting a hot key for it, again let down 

Ah the joys of the game, the devil is in the details and that is what makes it a great game.

[SSCF-LeRoy]

PS I have looked high and low for the "I win button" no luck.  Even tried setting a hot key for it, again let down 

If I remember correctly, the patch for implementing the "I win" button got derailed when Taldren folded

[Dfly]

as somewhat mentioned way above, my "I win button" is the one where I get Skaren to face me in a GSA matchup 

[762_XC]

As far as I know, that only exists for one race (France) in one game (Space Navy Control) and the button is labeled "We surrender!"

[Skaren]

Kinda like Kirk screams,..  KHANNNNNNNNNNN !!!!!!

I scream,...    DFLYYYYYYYY   !!!!!!!


 

[ShadowLord]

Wait a second Skaren -- Didn't Kirk take out Khan in the end??

Now the best way for you to learn to castle or other flying styles will be to do them in 2v2 or 3v3 games using Team speak.. Ask you flight leader to chat about what he is doing and why --

IE with castle as you already know slow down -- put energy into shields but -- did they review ecm/eccm shift numbers at 1 -4 -9 ?
Did they explain to use EM and take if off as you return fire -- in addition most of the times its better to return fire after they fire on you -- that way you don't lower the shield reinforcement you have up and running. There are of course ways around this like lowering the recharge rate of the capacitor etc etc...so many little things to learn.

ShadowLord

Not a big fan of the castle myself but -- when push comes to shove it does give you an advantage in many battles. Used to use it all the time in D5L vs Hydrans APA for a very close matchup..