Guide to Gunnery
Welcome, Horizon crewmember! If you are reading this guide, it is probably because your job has duties or responsibilities regarding the Horizon's Weaponry, which consists of a 406mm Longbow howitzer and a Grauwolf Flak Battery. The Canary has also been outfitted with a 40mm rotary autocannon named The Francisca. Operation of these weapons requires crew cooperation, between Operations personnel and the bridge crew.
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The Guns
The Horizon has two weapon systems installed into its hull, with another installed aboard the Canary. Each requires different ammunition and maintenance for it to properly function. While these weapons require coordination between departments, the actual firing of all weapons is limited to those occupations who undergo mandatory gunnery training, such as Bridge Crewman, Executive Officers, and Captains. No other members of the Horizon Crew are trained to fire any weapon systems. All warheads and ammunition for the guns can be found in a locked room next to the Operation Managers Office, where it should always be safely stored unless in use.
The Francisca
The Francisca a 40mm rotary autocannon mounted to the front of the Canary, designed primarily as a self-defense weapon, rather then a proper offensive armament such as the Longbow. It has two primary ammunition types, which do not require assembly, 40mm FMJ which will shred through lightly armored ships, and 40mm AP designed to punch through medium armor plating. This ammunition can be loaded by simply clicking on the ammunition loader with the relevant box in hand, and should be done by Hangar Technicians. It is at it's most effective engaging small, lightly armored vessels, where it's high rate of fire can shred bulkheads apart. When facing bigger ships with heavier armor it tends to become more of an annoyance to it's target rather then a true threat, but with the Canary's small size and quick speed, can still be used to some effect in harassing hit and run attacks. Additional ammunition can be ordered via Operations.
The Longbow
The Longbow is the primary offensive armament installed aboard the Horizon, firing 406mm customizable shells that can deal significant damage, even to larger ships. The Longbow can be found on Deck Three, east of the bridge control room, past the Journalist's Office. It is best used as a medium to long range offensive armament against large/armored vessels, and takes a significant time to load.
Ammunition types and loading:
The Longbow's shells start disassembled at the beginning of every shift for safety purposes, as the explosive compounds used in both the warheads and primer are unstable. Each shell is comprised of three parts, a warhead, casing, and primer. The casings and primers are stored in the same room as the weapon itself, with two specialty primers, low power and high power. The specialty primers change the speed of the warhead as it travels through space, with high power making it faster, and low power making it slower.
There are three possible warheads for any shell; High Explosive Warheads, Armor Piercing Warheads, and Bunker Buster Warheads. High Explosive warheads do little against armor but will cause extensive damage to unarmored hulls or already weakened sections. Armor Piercing Warheads, as the name suggests, are designed to punch through armor plates, but have less explosive power compared to HE warheads. The Bunker Buster Warhead is a pure armor piercing shell, with no explosive power at all, however, it can punch through nearly any plating in the spur. These shells can be assembled by taking a primer and using it on a casing, before doing the same with your warhead of choice. Due to the weight and size of the shells, they must be loaded with the Mech located in the Longbow compartment. The assembling of and loading of Longbow shells should be done by Hangar Technicians. TREAT LONGBOW WARHEADS, PRIMERS, AND SHELLS WITH CARE, THEY ARE PRONE TO EXPLODE IF THROWN OR OTHERWISE MISMANAGED.
Assembling and loading a Longbow shell:
Putting Longbow ammunition together and loading it might not appear straightforward, so in order to do so, here are some steps to follow.
1. Select the relevant Warhead from ammunition storage. These can be picked up without an Exosuit. An Exosuit for loading Warheads is only required if you are pre-assembling multiple Casings. If in an Exosuit, pick up the relevant Warheads with the clamp.
2. Bring the Warhead(s) to the Longbow weapon room.
3. Next to the Longbow weapon itself, find and drag a Casing off the rack by ctrl+clicking/pulling it off the rack. You cannot pick them up by hand without an Exosuit clamp.
4. Select a Primer of any type. These can be picked up by hand. Pick one up, and then left click on the casing to apply it. This will take a moment.
5. (Optional) If carrying Warheads in an Exosuit, enter the Exosuit once again, and alt+click on the clamp to drop the Warhead from the exosuit's cargo hold. This will put the Warhead on the floor underneath the Exosuit. Do not move the Exosuit, and do not walk back on top of the Warhead if you do.
6. Take the Warhead in-hand, and left click on the casing to apply it. This will take a moment.
7. Enter the Exosuit, and pick up the assembled Casing with the clamp. You may now load the Longbow as you would any other gun. Only one Casing may be loaded in the Longbow at a time.
The Grauwolf
The Grauwolf is a multi-barrel flakbox installed on the Horizon for area denial and close combat. It has a extreme rate of fire, and can fill grid squares in front of the Horizon with flak. The Grauwolf can be found just south of Tech Storage on deck two, past the Operations front desk in the starboard side of the ship. It has two types of ammunition, regular flak and armor piercing flak. It is best used to keep vessels away from the Horizon, or if they are already too close, rip them to shreds. As it's ammunition is small, it has a tough time getting through armor, but makes up for it in pure volume of fire. It can be loaded by clicking the loader with a flak bundle in hand, and should be loaded by Hangar Technicians.
The Grauwolf is also very effective at clearing any environmental blockers in the way of the Horizon.
The Crew Required
Here we will go into more detail about the exact roles of each part of the weapon firing system.
Bridge Crew/Captain/XO
Bridge crew, the Captain, and XO are the only three occupations aboard the Horizon trained in targeting and firing the ships weapons, as well as having the responsibility to fly the Horizon. Because of this, they are the ones in control whenever combat occurs and should be ensuring the safety of the Horizon through the damage or destruction of it's opponent(s). Not being actively engaged in this goal or doing literally anything else during a combat situation that isn't flying and shooting would be a waste of your unique training, and better off being shoved to someone else. For this reason, Bridge Crew should not load the Horizon's weaponry, and instead leave it in the hands of operations, who have both the skill and access to do it.
Operations
Operations is responsible for securing ammunition and ensuring that ammunition is properly distributed. During combat, Hangar Techs should constantly be aware of what the Bridge Crew need, and move to fulfill their requests. When not in a combat situation or preparing to use a weapons system, Operations should ensure that all warheads and ammunition are properly stored within their department, in Secure Ammunition Storage. In combat situations or when preparing to use a weapons system, operations staff are responsible for loading the weapons by using the power lifters located in each weapon room. Once the combat situation is over, they are also responsible for ensuring that ammunition stores are topped off to pre-combat levels.
Engineering
Engineering has one primary role when it comes to the weapons systems. This role is to maintain the weapons systems in case of battle damage or misuse. This can be done with a welding tool and more then 20u of welding fuel, like you would repair a wall. In a pinch, should they have a mech certification they can also be used to load the weapons systems.
How to Actually Fight
There are two very important parts to actually fighting against a hostile ship and they are doing damage to it and protecting yourself from damage. This section will go into both aspects, titled Targeting and Defensive Maneuvers.
Targeting
Targeting is done on Targeting Consoles, which can be found aboard the Bridge. Here you can select the weapon you want to slave to the target from a drop down menu, before clicking the VIEW TARGETING GRID button located at the top of the pop up. Once on that grid, you can click the ship or grid square you wish to target, and after a few seconds, a red diamond will appear around it with the broadcasted transponder above it. Seeing this diamond means you are now targeting that vessel. Close out of the targeting grid, and you will have some more information including distance to target, and another empty drop down menu. The second drop down menu will have entry points for the targeted vessel, and essentially, you pick the one you want to hit. It is important to keep in mind that you need to pick a entry point that corresponds to the direction you are firing. As an example, if you were in front of the Horizon and picked the Aft Entry point as your target, all your shots would miss because you are not behind the Horizon. Once that is done, and you have ensured your gun is loaded and ready, you can click the fire button, and let loose at your target. If you are successful, the console will give you a hit report informing you of the damage done, as long as you are within 2 tiles of it.
Scoring Hits
The Horizons Weapon Systems are not infallible, and scoring hits can sometimes be difficult. While obviously it is easy to hit a stationary ship in the middle of empty space, most ships that you will be fighting will not do this, and instead maneuver just as you do. There are many tips to scoring hits, but in this we are going to go over five. Two are fairly simple in theory if not practice, and the other three require more thought and effort from the Horizon, or other vessels. These do not stand alone, and can obviously be combined as you see fit.
Get Closer:
This is probably the simplest solution to making it so that your enemies cannot dodge your shots, just get close enough that they don't have a lot of time to react. By dodging incoming fire while steadily moving towards your quarry before firing, the time to target for your shots will be lessened, meaning their reactions will have to be quicker, leaving much more room for error on their part. While simple in theory, obviously, this can be hard to pull off in practice, especially against heavily armed opponents.
Use Faster Ordnance:
This only really applies to the Longbow, but by ensuring your ordnance can travel quickly through the vastness of space, a similar raise in the required reaction times to dodge that getting closer accomplishes is achieved . The Longbow has a high power primer which significantly boosts the speed of the warhead, allowing for it to cover distance quicker. In a pinch, this can also be done with the Canary, which can easily outpace the Horizon.
Keep Hazards in Mind:
The Overmap which the Horizon travels through is home to many hazards, from asteroid fields to electrical storms and dust clouds. These hazards can be used as cover, concealment, and much more by your enemies. As an example, shooting at a ship hiding behind a asteroid field will make scoring a hit hard, as your ordnance may be unable to make it through the Hazard zone, detonating there instead where you want it to. This can also work in the favor of the Horizon though, if a ship can only evade into a hazard field, they will still sustain damage, perhaps as much as if you scored a hit.
Split up:
The Canary, while only a shuttle, is still armed with a 40mm autocanon, and is capable of dealing some damage. By detaching the Canary and having it attack alongside the Horizon, your opponent now has two targets which they need to try and hit, and two separate ships targeting them. The Canary with it's nimble quickness can also out-flank your enemies, taking them from behind and shoot out their thrusters, or forcing them to turn to bring weapons to bear, making the Horizons shooting all the easier. Of course, there is a risk of sending out a poorly armored shuttle, but if you are confident, this strategy can tip an engagement in your favor.
Lead your shots:
Probably the hardest one to get right, especially against a dodging enemy, is leading your shots. If you know the general speed and heading of your quarry, and know where they will be at a certain time, you can time your shots to intercept them and score a hit. Of course, you may also end up missing completely, leading too much or too little. This however works best when your quarry is dead in space, drifting or otherwise incapable of changing speed or course. And remember, you only have to hit in the same grid square as the vessel.
Defensive Maneuvers
Defensive Maneuvers are any maneuvers which will help you and your vessel avoid getting hit by enemy fire. For this purpose, there are 4 buttons below the normal manual flight controls, under the obvious heading of, maneuvers. Maneuvers can be done by anyone who is a trained pilot, and are not limited to BC/Captain/XO like targeting. The top two buttons will turn the Horizon 45 degrees either west or east of the current heading respectively, as the arrows indicate. These maneuvers are the "safe" ones, and will only knock standing people to the ground. There is a 20 second cooldown in-between these maneuvers, for both the Canary and Horizon. The bottom two are emergency dodges, and will move the ship 1 tile east or west of the current heading respectively. These dodges are dangerous, as if people are not buckled in, they will get thrown around into walls, windows, or off of railings. So as the name implies, save these for emergencies. Emergency dodges have a 100 second cool down on the Horizon, and a 50 second Cool down on the Canary.
How to Defend Against Attack
Being on the defense is never great, but it's bound to happen at some point in any fight, as you have to evade ordnance fired by your opponent. For whenever you find yourself in this situation, here are a few tips on how to lessen your chances of being hit.
Move Fast, Move Random
The best possible way to avoid being hit is to make yourself a difficult target. By moving at fast speeds and changing course consistently, your enemies shots may just fly grids behind you. It is hard to properly lead shots, and even harder to hit a target who is constantly showing different sides and parts of their vessel to you, due to how targeting works. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP IN MIND HOWEVER is that in order to properly dodge, without turning your entire ship around, you need to be in a different grid square. Just moving across a grid won't cut it, you'll need to properly change squares in order to avoid getting hit.
Turn Around
This one is really simple. If you are stationary and someone fires at you, just thrust to put that side of ship on the opposite side of their direction of fire. As an example, if someone is off your bow and takes a shot at you as you are orbiting a planet, go the opposite the direction you were facing showing them your stern and they will miss due to targeting mechanics.(maybe?) However, there is a draw back, which ties into the next tip.
Remember Relative Positions and Course
The worst thing that can happen in any engagement is getting hit in the thrusters. Your ability to dodge is negated, and you are dead in space. By being aware of your position relative to your opponent, you can ensure that key systems such as engines, atmospherics, thrusters, and more are unable to be hit by them. The most important section of nearly all ships is the stern, doubly so for the Horizon as that is where Atmospherics, the SM, Thrust Engines, Tesla, and all of engineering is located. If your enemy is facing a direction where they can't hit you, let them fire all they want, and stay out of their arc. This also ties into firing, as you will need to bring your own weapons to bear pointed towards your enemy in order to properly score a hit.
Use the Environment to your Advantage
As mentioned in the tips on how to score hits, over map hazards can be used for many things, from cover to concealment. Ducking behind asteroid fields for cover, using dust to mask an escape, or even diving headlong into shoals of carp forcing your enemy to disengage or follow after you are all viable strategies, if implemented intelligently.
Run Away
The simplest, yet sometimes hardest decision, to just retreat and disengage. If you are outmatched and know it, there is no shame in preserving the lives of yourself and everyone else aboard by fleeing from your adversary, if you have the speed to outrun them. Not every battle can be won, even by the SCC, and sometimes the best course of action is to acknowledge that fact and not put your vessel at risk. However, sometimes this isn't possible, your adversary could be significantly faster then you, at which point, perhaps surrender is the better option.