Driving a Ship (Manual Override)

Manual Override is a feature usefulto skilled players for the ability to do things the AI was not programmed to counteract (unless it is in learning mode E.G. Very Hard)

Flying Manually
The thing with O.R.B's AI when it comes to Navigation is the obstacle avoidance system and the 'close enough' navigation method. Sometimes you want a ship to go in a straigt line but it tries to fly as far as possible from a planet or asteroid, sending you immediately into enemy territory and cutting off all escape. To avoid this, here are several tips and tricks:

1. DON'T make the trip as long as possible. This means break it into segments. Set your first nav point close to the planet. This overrides the avoidance system. Then set your next nav point within 20 AU of your ship. This will make it so the ship does not try to dodge the obstacle. Do this repeatedly until you are right where you want it.

2. E-BRAKE. The E-Brake is a keyboard shortcut which cuts the engines. Say you are cruising around the asteroid field and BING, unknown contact. Your first response should be to reach over and press CTRL and Q. This shuts down the engines until you give it a command, making it disappear from passive sensors. It is also a good way to get in close to an obstacle without avoiding it (because even a nav point 1 au from a planet will make the ship avoid the obstacle. Get the most direct line of travel you can, and cut the engines right as you start to avoid the obstacle, and your ship will gently drift towards it.)

3. Extra speed Got enemies on your tail and know ou will be beat? Look around in overhead mode for an enemy asteroid base. Select that base as the travel destination, and then hit CTRL Z. Boom, 150% normal thrust. The moment the enemy ships are about an inch (on screen) away from your blue bubble, IMMIDEATETLY HIT CTRL Q, followed by a new destination. You will blip off the enemy radar long enough to loose your tail and keep your craft.

4 Broadside For carriers and Glories only, doesn't work as well with other capitals. Set doctrine to NO DOCTRINE. Set your nave point passed the enemy capital or base you intend to broadside. Let the computer do the rest.

5. Round and round in circles here we go (Version 1) No asteroid bases to escape your pursuers from? Cut to the left hard and go for a while, then pick the fighters at the back of the enemy formation and select them, then press CTRL Z, to orbit them, so that they will never be able to hit you with anything. Bring in reinforcements when ready, the CPU player will be too frustrated with that one fighter to worry about the rest of your ships.

6.Round and round in circles here we go (Version 2) This takes the broadside to a ludicrous level. Select your carrier and put a nav point SLIGHTLY passed the enemy capital. Continue to move nav point around enemy capital, forcing the enemy ship to constantly turn. This will make it so you will keep broadsiding your enemy, but their cannons are not lined up properly, which means 9/10 times you can overpower a stronger fleet because you can do more damage with one side than they can at an angle.

7. Kentucky windage This is a good way to figure out how to intercept a target with a torpedo probe. Select your moving target, then put a rally point right infront of your target. Count for five seconds, then put a second rally point infront of the same target. This will give you their direction of travel. Plot a course in a straight line based off of the information, remember that probes are faster than fighters, and fling a probe in that direction. Timing is up to you as to how far to lead, based on position of probe when launched, obstacles to avoid etc etc, realistically this only works on slower capitals or orbiting bases less than 80 AU away. Anything passed that is a good measure of luck.

Manual Dogfighting (1 vs X)
During dogfights, the ships fly at eachother, stop, fly away, repeat. You can use this to your advantage using a built in keyboard shortcut. First, select the ship you would desire to pilot. Then press ctrl 1 so if you accidentally deselect it, pressing 1 will give you control again. Basically, make sure this ship is not in formation. Set doctrine to aggressive, an find your target. Once your target is acquired, press CTRL W to turn OFF your missiles, (so none of them launch to early and get wasted) and press ctrl Z for ram speed. This will get you up close and personal before your shields wear out. Press CTRL A at the last minute to pull away, then press ctrl z quickly to realign with the target as they fly away. Press control w to turn your missiles back on and do more damage. When you are lined up, press ctrl a to start blasting away, and chasing them while they try to flee. If you get to close and start to fly away, press ctrl z and a quickly to begin engaging and firing again. Using this method, a Defender M can easily take on a squadron of 5 interceptor M's and survive.