I've noticed that sometimes where my lasers hit is way off of where the reticle actually is. I'm sure this is a common problem, but is lag the only explanation? There seems to be a slight delay between trigger pull and the laser firing as well. What's the conventional wisdom on this? I assume that the best way to minimize is to lead the target?

lead doesn't really work, as laser fire converges at the point the reticle is on. Thus you would get a spread where the target really is. Lasers really should be instant hit, based on code, but sometimes, laggy fast mechs can be missed or hit somewhere other than where targeted.

I also think that sometimes the game gives players a spawn in which all 3 torsos worth of armor need to be stripped before the kill is awarded, so the damage is "moved" to a section with some armor left. I have no concrete proof of this, but I've been playing a while and seen my shots on a crit section do damage to other areas, and I've been hit by shots that should kill me but don't. We've seen plenty of screenshots of mechs with no armor on any of the torso bars but with a few weapons left and still alive, they can't all be due to bad aim by enemies. My theory is that this is to allow for occasional heroics.

Catz - Yes, my problem was very noticable the other night on Ronin when targeting a Raven in "Coliseum". Do you notice a slight delay between trigger pull and laser firing?

Gwyd - Interesting theory. I suppose the lack of source code (and absence of developers) means we will never know for sure what is going on. But I can see the developers writing that into MP just to make it more interesting.

I've had times where I accidentally twitch the joystick over in front of a light 'mech, and it's like the 'mech runs through the laser and takes damage.

Other than that, if that Raven was Shwinglepuck, I would recommend close ranges and LBX.

Or maybe RACs and just spray them in their general direction.

I don't think there is a noticible lag between firing and shooting, but one of the reasons i prefer ballistic weaps is that leading a target works better, and you can adjust to lag, where with lasers, it's nearly impossible to adjust.

Good point Catz...wow...I never thought of lasers and lag like that. Hmmmm...More to think about now...

hmmm... no idea about the laser thing, but that heroic thing's kinda cool. i've noticed all of my armor from the 3 torsos being completely exactly gone before, but that was usually after getting splashed (and then i'd get run over). i think that when you get splashed the game tries to spread damage out rather than kill you most of the time, but i haven't noticed "heroics" from actual weapon impacts myself.

actually gnosis, that raven was me.

and i DID notice that nano had some special interest in me, just was too busy trying to figure out what it really was. I noticed the lag in the server around when everyone started joining (and rejoining) and i didn't like it at all.

for future reference, aim one body part ahead if a light is circling you (right or left torso), you'll almost definitely hit that torso, and if the server IS lagging, then you'll get the CT, so it's a hit everytime.

but the games were fun while they lasted, we had an all light match going before someone showed up in a piggy to steal our kills...

at one point i was taking on gwyd and some other guy, both in ullers against the raven, a true challenge...and much much fun.

edit:


this is another reason why i prefer ppcs, gauss, and lbx to lasers...though on lights, you can't really have it twitch too badly and miss entirely when you're THAT close now can you???

Nothing personal KrazyGenius. Its just that lights are easier to kill (when there's not much lag anyway)!

it's no problem. you got me a few times i think, but i messed you up badly one of the times i went after you...i got bored halfway through and was a bit lazy i guess in where i was going...

btw that victor was fun to gnaw his legs off...one shot'd crit the legs, take a few more to get rid of one of them....mmmm

I doubt there is that "heroic" thing coded in, a good player can keep an enemy spreading thier damage over the whole mech ... then throw in some luck and some lag and you have your heroic surge!

Lasers pretty much hit where i want them to hit, sometimes on chicken legged mechs if i aimt too low on the CT it looks like it hits the CT but goes to its legs though i have seen ... or sometimes the hit location for wep pods are bigger than i think and it hits them instead of the CT ... but i am on broadband, i was never really a laser whore on dial up so i can't remember what that was like.

One reason you may be experiencing "fire lag" is because of the way vid-card drivers are written. NVidia, at least, has an option to "pre-render" frames if it finishes redering the current frame before the right amount of time elapses to render the next. If there are too many frames pre-rendered and buffered, snap-shots end up being fired a split second after you pull the trigger, and the target is out of the reticle. I'll try to go hunt down that setting in my Detonators. Know it's there, though.

Whoa thanks TD for the explanation. Just like to know how to ease this type of problem.

I only experience this vs fast mechs ... more pronounced when i'm infighting. Only happens occasionaly when i'm sniping ... hehehe, i guess i don't bother to shoot faster mechs at a distance.

No kidding? Thanks Thrash! I will check that out as well, as I have a GeForce 2. Dang, we need some kind of game specific performance checklist or something.