More Cap ship tactics.

[Psycho0124]

Each ship will have a differant PDB angles. The Devestator class Cruisers for instance have NO PDB coverage on the ventral surface. They do however have triple coverage at the stern and decient coverage in all low-elevation directions. The extreme dorsal angles are also completely uncovered..

[Galdred]

Where can I see the PDB coverage? They don't seem to be in the tech ref of the ships.

[Psycho0124]

I dont think the coverage areas are listed anywhere. Really the best way to learn a ships coverage is just to watch closely as the point defence batteries fire on enemy targets. You can see the turrets turn and elivate while fireing to follow targets as they move or your ship changes orientation. When the turret stops and returns to its "resting" position, you can assume that it has reached the extent of its rotation/elivation.

It took a few missions and some detailed inpections of my ships exterior turrets to really learn how to get enemies reliably in the PDB arcs. Because 75% of the Devistators point defence firepower can be aimed directly aft, you can take down smaller ships fairly easily once thier shields are low/down. Also give your grazers a chance to recharge.

Its kind of crappy that the PDBs or other turrets arent visable on the ships in the tactical referance. Would be helpfull to get an idea of where the gaps are going to be before you fly or fight one..

[wdboyd]

"Where can I see the PDB coverage? They don't seem to be in the tech ref of the ships."
 
You would have to open the shatter.dat file with starmod.
 
Then you can look at the individual ships .def file to discover what weapons it actually has. Then you can check the particular weapon(s) .def file to discover its firing information.