Newbie ---- requestin help

Alright lads and lasses,
I'm new to the game and i aint got far but i keep hittin the same problem.
When ever i get to Touchdown and meet that person from the Stepsons its all fine, but during the dogfight that follows I always last a good 5 minutes but then end in a fiery ball of fire and heat and fire. I get a good few hits in on the enemies, but their missiles just rip right through me....

U guys got any tips on the weapons I should use or on how I should have the shield, weapon, engine ratio (in engineerin menu screen).
Any help gratefully recieved.

TA6 = Captain Fantastic
PV4 = Captain Fantastique

The best way to deal with this is to pre-empt the action. You now know what is about to befall you. Don't wait for the script to recognise you - the second the you see red blips on your screen get stuck in! Use your side thrusters as well as forward. The main issue with this particular punch up are the amount of missiles being released - missiles can't handle 90 degree turns, so side thrusters can limit their performance.

Also, (and this takes some time to master), you should experiment with un-assisted flight, you'll be amazed what you can achieve when you can turn on a penny in space.

Lastly, hone your skills in Instant Action to the point you can make a coffee while swotting flies .

Thanks, I'll try that one when I get home later.

TA6 = Captain Fantastic
PV4 = Captain Fantastique

Disrupters missiles work great too...I once played this mission by firing three of 'em at the hostiles (before they turned hostile) and shooting up the courier...I had docked to the package before the enemies were finished being disrupted and took off for the Stepsons.

They did follow though. Appeared on scope as soon as I got to the meeting point, so I just flew through, dropped the package at about 4000 meters/sec, and kept on going till Lucretia's base.

Take a look at the tactics section of this site...there's a lot of great maneuvers there.

Here's my regular adivce for newbies:
If you're going to use assisted flight, always remember that if you're going 800m/s in one direction and make a quick turn, you're still going 800m/s in the first direction. Make slow gradual turns, and slow down a bit before making them. Unassisted flight is also cool once you get the hang of it.

Yeah yeah Ericman . The enemy up your rear isn't going to wait for you to do "slow gradual turns".

Hehe yours truly . . . mischief!