(wiping brow) whew .... man ... so great to be back in Aces High after flying around in Fighter Ace. That has to be the ultimate try-anything-for-the-shooter corral ... invisible cockpits with key gauges at bottom of screen ... radar with pointers toward action ... external views ... stark rendering with seemingly laser guns ....
Will try to stay with it a month to get my $14.95 worth and see if anything is worth emulating in Aces High. But I'm sure others wiser than I have been there before me and found not a lot.
The external views so admired in noncombat flight simulators don't seem very useful in combat simulators. Better situational awareness, perhaps, before the fight starts.
But once in combat, external views mainly provide great spectating and good film of the filmer's demise. For me, external views provide little if any value in fighting. That hypothesis has been validated in FA and in AH after trying external views dogfighting in A-20s.
For the most realistic matchups and limitations, the Aces High Combat Theater has done a great job in its various scenarios, which also highlight what new rides need to be developed. Presumably Tour of Duty will continue that emphasis on the most realistic developments within particular time periods.
So, this thread, which includes several enduring concerns of other threads, has come full circle.
Instead of creating an additional arena, recommend that the Main Arena allow: (1) external views for all planes and ground vehicles (like the FS2004 Spot view), (2) all rides unperked, and (3) bomber airstarts (probably about 10k and only from fields to the rear).
Combat Theater has validated the latter two points in several scenarios.
After all, the Main Arena is where Aces High technology ought to be allowed to shine unfettered by players' individual ideas about what constitutes a fair game and what doesn't. Perpetual perk point debate is a red herring detracting from more substantial issues.
For example, it remains astonishing that the greatest bomber of WWII, the B-29, has not been worked into play. The B-29 and many other new planes and ground vehicles need to be added to Aces High. Let free market choices determine numbers used in the Main Arena, and do the side balancing and realistic matchups in Combat Theater and Tour of Duty.
The Dreaded Dweebs will have more fun (they pay the same dues as everyone else), the Top Guns will have more targets and more opportunity to excel in lesser rides to better demonstrate their mastery, and the endless distraction of perk point micromanagement will be consigned to the obscurity it deserves.
