TARGET
Keywords: TARGET, TARG
=== USER MANUAL ===
Usage: target <ship>
target none
Description:
Lock a weapons target from the gunner's seat or a turret. The
target slot feeds every fire path on the ship -- manual
shipfire, autocombat auto-fire, and the autopilot's
retaliate-when-hit logic all consume this value.
Target lock takes 2 seconds (1 second for staff) to acquire.
Interrupts abort the lock.
Forms:
target <ship> ....... Begin lock-on sequence against the named
ship in your starsystem.
target none ......... Drop current target. The ex-target
is notified: "You are no longer being
targeted by <ship>."
Two Target Slots:
The ship carries separate target slots depending on where
you run the command:
Gunner's chair ...... Sets ship->target, the main
weapons lock used by gunseat shipfire,
autocombat, and the autopilot combat AI.
Turret seat ......... Sets turret->target, a per-turret
lock independent of the main ship target.
Each turret tracks its own.
shipstat shows all target slots (main + per-turret) on
the same display.
Lock Sequence:
On target <ship>:
Tracking target. (you)
<n> makes some adjustments on the targeting
computer. (your room)
After the 2-second lock:
Target Locked. (you)
You are being targetted by <ship>. (target cockpit)
Side Effects:
Decloak ............. Successfully locking a target calls
ship->Appear() on your own ship, dropping
any shipcloak you had active. You cannot
stalk while cloaked and then lock without
revealing yourself.
Mutual lock ......... If the target has autopilot engaged
and no target of its own, it will auto-
counterlock onto you:
You are being targetted by <target>.
(your cockpit)
Requirements:
Gunner or turret .... Must be seated in the gunner's chair
or a turret room.
Real space .......... Cannot lock while in hyperspace.
Launched ............ Spacecraft must have finished launching.
Manual control ...... Autopilot must be off (the combat AI
sets its own target).
Target name ......... "You need to specify a target!"
Target visible ...... Must be in the same starsystem (or
same room for ground-class hulls) and
visible: "That ship isn't here!"
Not self ............. "You can't target your own ship!"
Class match .......... Non-spacecraft hulls cannot target
spacecraft: "You can't target that ship!"
Range (5000) ........ Space-class ships cannot lock past
5,000 units: "That ship is too far away
to target."
Interruption:
Damage, leaving the chair, or other interrupts during the
lock window abort with:
Your concentration is broken. You fail to lock onto
your target.
Lost Target:
If the target leaves the system or becomes invisible during
the lock window:
The ship has left the starsytem. Targeting aborted.
That ship seems to have disappeared.
Notes:
- Partial name matching is supported. "target sco"
will find any visible ship starting with sco in your
system.
- Target none is the only way to clear a lock
manually. Kills, extractions, and jumps also clear it.
- Compared with followship: target is for weapons,
followship is for autotrack navigation. Set both to
stick with a ship across navigation + fire.
- Because lock decloaks you, a cloaked ambusher should
radar from concealment first, then target+fire as a
single commit.
- No energy cost for locking.
Strategic Notes:
- Lock is loud -- the target knows instantly via cockpit
alert. Plan accordingly.
- Turret targets let multiple gunners engage different
ships without fighting over the main slot.
- Mutual-lock autofly ships means targeting an NPC-
piloted hostile will immediately begin combat.
Related Helpfiles: SHIPFIRE, AUTOCOMBAT, AUTOTRACK, FOLLOWSHIP, SCANSHIP, SHIPSTAT, SHIPCLOAK
=== END MANUAL ===