How the heck do ya do it?

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by Zazen13
In AW, K/D was pretty much the only statistic we had. It was practically the only measure of a fighter pilot other than the fictitious 'points' awarded.

Zazen

AW had a rank system that ranked each pilot.  But for some reason only AWARs with bwana powers were able to see it.  I used to tell people their ranks when I was on duty in the arenas.  

If I remember correctly, it took into account who you had shot down and based your rank accordingly.  I think this is what they used to help in the scoring system AW had.  This ranking system was pretty enlightening as well.  Once I looked at some players that had a really high score and kill ratio but they had low pilot ranks and there were a few that had low score and kill ratio but had a better pilot ranking than those I looked at with the high score and kill ratio.

So if we saw a player that had a high pilot rank, we knew he was pretty good.  


ack-ack

[Steve]

I've noticed that I my kill/assist ratio sucks. I have 148 kills and 87 assists.

Soulz.. that's odd bro, considering you fly cannon planes?
What do you aim for?   I am not  necessarily an expert but I put my fire into one part of the plane.  On someone's 6.. a corsair of a nik. I'll shoot their tail off... a 4 engine buff, I go for wings, then the wingtip at the end of my pass.  I like to blow them up so there is no question as to whether someone can steal my kill.  I'll shoot the canopy of fighters if pulling lead or any kind of shot where it(canopy) is available.

Edit: Aiming for specific parts can lower your hit %, i.e you could hose a lanc or 17 down good in the fuselage and it will help your % nicely. Aiming for wings/wingtips is not as fruitful  as far as hit % goes but IMO it is more effective in getting kills.

[thrila]

kj714, i believe one of the first things to do is to (if you already haven't) learn to shoot.  I'm not talking being able to perform 800yrd deflection shots, but rather to get close and then open fire.  My hit % is pretty high but i'm not much good over 300yrds.   When i fly a spit IX for instance (haven't flown one for a while) with it's 240 rounds of 20mm i would aim to get 8 kills.  It sounds a lot but it gives me about 30 rounds per con- achievable if you get close.

IMO aiming is more important than ACM.  If you can't hit them when you get the chance ACM is useless.

As many have said SA is the key to survival in MA.  SA is even more important in scenarios.

[SLO]

1- get into a squad

2- learn diff. between TnB(Turn an Burn) and BnZ(Boom an Zoom)

3- learn to combine both TnB & BnZ

4- once you get used to these....learn to fly from a disadvantage....learn to reverse on opponents.

5- If ya look for score....LEARN TO LAND...even 1 kill.....land it.

take it 1 step at a time....try not to go HUNTING at 25k and staying there...you'll learn nothing by doing that....

start at 12 to 15k.....pick your fights.

almost forgot....LEARN the difference between planes...pick one...and learn everything about it

[slimm50]

Originally posted by kj714
... But no matter what, I'm not giving up till I get Ack - Ack at least one time.

KJ, that may never happen. Back in our AW days I bet I fought Whels dozens of times 1-on-1 and I never killed him in a fair fight. Since Aces High I've never even had a chance to see him in the MA. Some things just aren't meant to be, I guess:(

[Grimm]

Originally posted by Ack-Ack
Kj714,

Take the time to go to NetAces and read Rocketman's lectures on the merge as well as Bullethead's lectures on E management and SA.  These are probably some of the best lectures written for the arm chair pilot.


ack-ack

Ack-Ack,
I was looking over Hammers stuff but couldnt find the links to the above lectures.   can you point me a little closer  

Thanks

[Nwbie]

One day noticed WildThing flying Knits in front of me, needless to say it was tempting to shoot at him, killshooter or not, at least I would finally hit him

Same day rode along with him as base was getting smacked/vulched....
Most of the time it was..."Watch this "  lol...
Still can't figure out half the turns he made without augering...
Took shots and got kills where I didn't even see the target... he was anticipating enme moves way before they made em..whether that is from the many hours of practice or just plain instinct I am not sure, I know I myself get kills now where 6 monthes ago I wouldn't .. so probably both... anyway, KJ, I am certainly no ace, but I have fun, mostly givin watermelon to my squadies over vox, k/d rates are cool to look at, but if it ever becomes a job to me, it is time to leave... it is fun to ride along with WT, Steve being modest didnt mention himself-but good jock to ride along with too...NB, Leviathan, Ack-Ack, and Fester, some of the others you can learn from..
Have fun

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by Grimm
Ack-Ack,
I was looking over Hammers stuff but couldnt find the links to the above lectures.   can you point me a little closer  

Thanks

Click on this link and then scroll down and you'll see the links for RocketMan's merge lectures.

The Merge

BulletHead's Energy Management and Situational Awareness Lectures


Ack-Ack

[Soulyss]

One thing I've done over the years I've been in AH.  Is I'll alternate between trying for a high K/D ratio or "flying smart" as some people call it.  And periods of what I hope will be learning.  

When I'm in one of these learning moods I purposely enter fights at a disadvantage, be it altitude or numbers, whatever and then try and fight my way out of it.  Hopefully picking up new ideas and manuvers from all the times I end up a mass of twisted metal on the ground.  

Then I try and take what i've learned a "fly smart" and see how I do.  My K/D would go up again and when I found myself in that bad situation hopefully this time I would know what to do and have a better chance of outfighting my oponent instead of out running him.  Switching to a slow arsed plane like the F6F helped because I didn't have the first option anymore.

Everytime I thought I'd gotten to the point where I couldn't get any better I'd learn a new little trick, it's amazing how many of them you can pick up over the months.

[WldThing]

Originally posted by Nwbie
Same day rode along with him as base was getting smacked/vulched....
Most of the time it was..."Watch this "  lol...
Still can't figure out half the turns he made without augering...
Took shots and got kills where I didn't even see the target... he was anticipating enme moves way before they made em..whether that is from the many hours of practice or just plain instinct I am not sure, I know I myself get kills now where 6 monthes ago I wouldn't .. so probably both...

Freaky thing about that Nwbie is that your 100% correct,  its not instinct its actually that 95% of the AH community pulls off the same moves.  Seeing what their gonna do in a millisecond depends on your next opposing move.  The faster you see what they will do the quicker you can pull around to meeting their intention.  Thats basically how it works.

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by WldThing
Freaky thing about that Nwbie is that your 100% correct,  its not instinct its actually that 95% of the AH community pulls off the same moves.  Seeing what their gonna do in a millisecond depends on your next opposing move.  The faster you see what they will do the quicker you can pull around to meeting their intention.  Thats basically how it works.

That is what John Boyd discovered when he wrote his "Aerial Attack Study".  It was the first time that aerial combat was looked upon as a science rather than an "art".  He found out for every move there is a counter move and for ever counter move there is a counter for that move.  He was able to test out his theory when he was a USAAF fighter instructor in the '50s.  His book is a real pain in the bellybutton to locate but it's well worth the effort.


ack-ack

[WldThing]

Originally posted by Ack-Ack
That is what John Boyd discovered when he wrote his "Aerial Attack Study".  It was the first time that aerial combat was looked upon as a science rather than an "art".  He found out for every move there is a counter move and for ever counter move there is a counter for that move.  He was able to test out his theory when he was a USAAF fighter instructor in the '50s.  His book is a real pain in the bellybutton to locate but it's well worth the effort.


ack-ack

I could have written a book too then ,  just from playing this game heh..  Strangely enough ive known for awhile what you just told me,  that every move has a reversal..  Locating that reversal and being to succesfully accomlish it against the other person takes some imagination..  I really hate to admit this,  but way back in the old days i used to dream of ACM maneuvars i could use,  then the next day i would try to recreate what i had dreamt about.  Worked quite well...

[Steve]

Seeing what their gonna do in a millisecond depends on your next opposing move. The faster you see what they will do the quicker you can pull around to meeting their intention. Thats basically how it works.

Like your hockey coach teaches you:  go to where the puck is going, not where it is.  I try to apply this to AH.  I want to act, not react.

[sax]

If it didn't work the first ten times it's probably time to try a different route.
Trying it 10 times before moving on is a good rule and if your smarter than me it'll help you learn from your mistakes.

[sonar732]

Originally posted by _Schadenfreude_
If you have a job, wife, family or G/f don't even try to compete you won't be able to get the hours in - be satisfied if you make the top 250 in a single stat or be even happier and don't bother checking stats at all.

mmm 60 odd kills of B17's definite pasty skin award nominee by the sound of it - I got 50 odd kills in a G10 so far this tour 9 B17's and 10 B26's

Ain't that the truth!  My wife is upset if I play more than once per week!