70 replies to this topic

[MonkeyCheese]

I know this topic has been beaten to death but just another friendly notice to any new players reading here since this is where new players go and all. (If the mods think another section would be better go ahead, altho I think this kind of topic needs to be pinned somewhere)

Please don't test your weapons the moment you have control of your mech at the start of a match That is what the testing grounds are for, you can set up your weapons and test heat in each map within the testing grounds.

Thank you
Signed that little lightly armored Locust who is just trying to move from spawn to an objective asap.

[kuangmk11]

They will never stop.

[sneeking]

yet to take a first drop, am half way through a 3.3gig 1st patch nice start ! but ill take what you say onboard.

[Hammerfinn]

PSA: you're right, but people are idiots and some are trolls, so your advice will go unheeded. Even though it's absolutely true.

The testing grounds are awesome. Use them!

[Kaosity]

MonkeyCheese, on 02 November 2013 - 09:26 PM, said:

Please don't test your weapons the moment you have control of your mech at the start of a match That is what the testing grounds are for, you can set up your weapons and test heat in each map within the testing grounds.

You expect everyone to memorize heat dissipation for every mech/weapon/heat sink combo for every map? You must have a photographic memory... I do not. Sorry, but I will continue to test heat dissipation after spawn. Better now than in battle.

Then again, if PGI would let us know what map we will drop on we could test it ahead of time. Fat chance of that happening anytime soon though.

[Modo44]

They will never stop, until there is a penalty for firing at your team mates before the battle is joined (i.e. before anyone takes damage from any enemy).

[MonkeyCheese]

Modo44, on 03 November 2013 - 01:50 AM, said:

They will never stop, until there is a penalty for firing at your team mates before the battle is joined (i.e. before anyone takes damage from any enemy).

Well air strike and artillery are locked at the saptart of battle, if pgi wanted to I'm sure they could lock weapons for like the opening few seconds.

sneeking, on 02 November 2013 - 11:56 PM, said:

yet to take a first drop, am half way through a 3.3gig 1st patch nice start ! but ill take what you say onboard.

The testing grounds are wonderful make sure you try each of the trial mechs on some hot and cold maps.

[Levon K]

WhenReaperComes, on 03 November 2013 - 01:42 AM, said:

You expect everyone to memorize heat dissipation for every mech/weapon/heat sink combo for every map? You must have a photographic memory... I do not. Sorry, but I will continue to test heat dissipation after spawn. Better now than in battle.

How is firing your weapons at the start of the match helping you learn anything about your mech? It doesn't tell you anything. You think it does, but it doesn't.

[Heavenly Angel]

Levon K, on 03 November 2013 - 03:10 AM, said:

How is firing your weapons at the start of the match helping you learn anything about your mech? It doesn't tell you anything. You think it does, but it doesn't.

It tells you the heat buildup of your weapons on the specific map. If your alpha causes 20% heat then you know not to shoot if you have less than 20% left. This knowledge can prevent you from making a misjudgement and accidentally shutting down. I am ever so sorry that the sight of me shooting into the ground is so infuriating to you.

[SchwarzerPeter]

The better topic would be to not shot teammates in the back.

I test my lasers whenever i change my mechs / loadout. You can't memorize all of them and it helps you to get the feeling for the mech. And yes: it tells you exactly how much heat each shot produces, which helps against overheats. Of course you memorize them quickly, but with 10+ mechs you cant remember them all, especially when you take a break from the game.

And in the testing grounds the pilot efficiencys are not working, so that don't help at all.

Edited by SchwarzerPeter, 03 November 2013 - 04:44 AM.

[Appogee]

I think the point is... if you are going to test fire your weapons, make sure there's not a friendly Mech running past or in front of you when you do.

This should not be hard, even for players who are only marginally competent.

Edited by Appogee, 03 November 2013 - 04:48 AM.

[Unnatural Growth]

Modo44, on 03 November 2013 - 01:50 AM, said:

They will never stop,

^^THIS

[Geek Verve]

Appogee, on 03 November 2013 - 04:46 AM, said:

I think the point is... if you are going to test fire your weapons, make sure there's not a friendly Mech running past or in front of you when you do.

This should not be hard, even for players who are only marginally competent.

Exactly. It's not hard to check the minimap to see where everyone is and turn the other direction before you fire.

[Nick Makiaveli]

Heavenly Angel, on 03 November 2013 - 04:12 AM, said:

It tells you the heat buildup of your weapons on the specific map. If your alpha causes 20% heat then you know not to shoot if you have less than 20% left. This knowledge can prevent you from making a misjudgement and accidentally shutting down. I am ever so sorry that the sight of me shooting into the ground is so infuriating to you.

No need to be a [redacted] about it. Your alpha strike is fully capable of TKing a Locust, or setting up a Light to fall at the next shot.

All because some people are incapable of aiming at the ground or sky. I sometimes test fire weapons, especially when I've made major changes, but it's not hard to wait until the coast is clear. If you are fast then clear the spawn, if slow wait for others to clear then look around and blast away.

Oh and if you do wind up hitting someone with lasers, it would be nice to move them off the person. Saw a buddy get lit up in the back by some [redacted] who just alpha'ed lasers and held them there.

[sneeking]

MonkeyCheese, on 03 November 2013 - 03:03 AM, said:

Well air strike and artillery are locked at the saptart of battle, if pgi wanted to I'm sure they could lock weapons for like the opening few seconds.



The testing grounds are wonderful make sure you try each of the trial mechs on some hot and cold maps.

have to do whole 3.3gig again file corrupt hash mismatch. those testing grounds and trial mech will have to wait.

[Navy Sixes]

Yup. People can say joyfire is necessary all they want, but the fact is that it's a rookie-clown maneuver. I don't know how many times my team has spotted some fool killing the clouds, which totally gave away their position and heading.

So you're going to risk blowing the leg off a light to "test your heat?" I'd buy it, except I've seen too many of these people go ahead and alpha-until-shutdown as soon as things get hairy anyway.

The more teammates that joyfire at the beginning of a match, the more likely it is that you are going to lose. It is known.

[Stunner]

I think it has to do more with the longer waits to get into a match or the fact that they have added a second ready up. I'm often Alt-tabbed out of the game and when I come back in *POW* alpha auto-fires.

I don't do my heat testing until I move away from teamates.

[Levon K]

Heavenly Angel, on 03 November 2013 - 04:12 AM, said:

It tells you the heat buildup of your weapons on the specific map. If your alpha causes 20% heat then you know not to shoot if you have less than 20% left. This knowledge can prevent you from making a misjudgement and accidentally shutting down. I am ever so sorry that the sight of me shooting into the ground is so infuriating to you.

I see you signed up quite recently. I'll let this one go since you can't know any better at this point.

Play for another several months. If you're still checking your weapons at start, you might need to uninstall.

[Tesunie]

Sadly it will not stop, but you are right that it is bad form to fire your weapons at the start of the match. It is an unnecessary risk to your teammates, and can hinder your team if you do hit a friendly mech. Hindered team means less chance of winning. (Also, you look like a better player when you don't test your weapons in a live match.)

WhenReaperComes, on 03 November 2013 - 01:42 AM, said:

You expect everyone to memorize heat dissipation for every mech/weapon/heat sink combo for every map? You must have a photographic memory... I do not. Sorry, but I will continue to test heat dissipation after spawn. Better now than in battle.

Then again, if PGI would let us know what map we will drop on we could test it ahead of time. Fat chance of that happening anytime soon though.

Personally, I test all my builds on Terra Therma. If I can shoot several alphas there and not shut down (preferably destroy a few of the targets without overheating), then I know I'm good. If I can Alpha 3 times on Therma, then I can alpha 6-8 times on normal temp maps.

This is called creating a balanced build that can handle anything. Setting your heat scale to work on any map, no matter the conditions. It is very helpful and requires no "photographic Memory", just a generalized understanding of the basic temps of each map.

Basically, make builds that can survive Terra Therma. If it can handle that map with ease (it is the hottest map I know of), then it can handle any map with no problem. Testing your weapons at the start of the match with the excuse of testing your heat scale is thin at best, and dangerous to your teammates at worse.

Now, I'm not saying you can't shoot at the start of a match, but if you are to do so, do it safely. Wait a few moments for the area around you to thin out a bit, turn around, and shoot open air, the ground at your feet, or a wall away from all your allies. (I'd personally suggest waiting at least 30 seconds into the match. That gives everyone time to start moving out and get out of the possible danger zone.) However, any time you fire your weapons, it is your fault if you hit a friendly (some exceptions apply). Do so carefully and with as much care as you can.

[Dez Telinov]

I does not hurt to test weapons at spawn. If I am aiming at the ground near my feet and your little spider gets blasted, oh well. Maybe you should not drive at spawn.