Realistic Play

[TheBeeg]

Gents and Ladies
(and don't assume there aren't any because some of the nastiest sim killers I've known wore lipstick)

This is my first post since returning to AH after a two year trip over to ww2ol.  I left AH cause I couldn't stand the dweebeness of the MA and at that time the CT looked like a desert.  When AH2 came out I decided to give it a try and I've been very pleasantly surprised first by a much improved flight model, game play and most specially a real "promise" of more realistic game play because I have had the pleasure of discovering the CT arena this time around.  I'm presently maintaining accounts in both sims because what one lacks the other has in spades.  I'm going to be expanding upon a website I ran for WW2OL to add AH2 pages and some comparisons of both sims.  Anyway, what is realistic play and how can we enhance the immersive experience by utilizing it in the CT?  Here are some opinions I have;

Basic Level Reality

1.  Fly with a wingman and change the roles each sortee so that both get the opportunity for the glory.
2. Use the voice channel to communicate on the battle not to BS
3. Kill 'em, say a prayer and forget them.  No offense but niceties to the enemy went out with WW I and in my opinion detract from realism.  Take this as a general congratulations to anybody who will ever kill me in the future; attaboy!
4. K/D Ratio is the only measure of performance and when gloating about yours remember that Erich Hartmann's K/D ratio was 352/0  Anything that puts your K/D ratio in peril e.g. mud wrestling with Spits in a 109 close to the deck isn't very realistic and will get you killed most times.


Enhanced Level Reality
1. Consider the difference of flying a sim as a re-enactor as opposed to flying as a gamer.   Think about what this means.  Do some research on WW2 re-enactment organizations and consider what a great place the CT would be if when we flew in here we would be transported in time back to 1940-45  

Nice to be back
TheBeeg
a/k/a "von Beeg" JG2 Richthofen WW2OL Axis

P.S.  Whatever happened to that Tour of Duty idea which I assumed to be very much like what we have in ww2ol?

[Halo]

Welcome back.  CT is a lot of fun and much more realistic than MA, as it should be.  

Some of the scenarios are quite unusual for mainstream gaming, including Fin-Russ, Israel-Egypt, and Honduras-Salvador.  The post WWII clashes feature some of the latest WWII aircraft plus substitutions like Me-262 for post WWII aircraft not modeled in Aces High.

And ... usually no perk points required in CT.  

CT will be even better as Aces High adds more early war and mid war planes and gvs.  The main challenge is matching aircraft opponents when they were available in combat strength.

Enjoy!

[Grits]

Originally posted by TheBeeg
Here are some opinions I have;

Enhanced Level Reality
1. Consider the difference of flying a sim as a re-enactor as opposed to flying as a gamer.   Think about what this means.

Re-enacter eh? I'll tell you what I tell Civil War re-enacters, you cant have some "realism" and not all. If you are going to be a REAL[/b] Civil War re-enacter you have to not bathe, sleep outside, not wear shoes, get body lice, eat nothing but cornbread fried in lard, never see a doctor, get disentery, and do it for 6 months before you "re-enact" your battle. Otherwise when you enter "battle" its just grown men playing Army, and not truely a re-enactment of what they went through.

Similarly, of you want a true "re-enactment" of WWII pilots conditions, you should not bathe for 6 months (if your LW), never see a dentist (if your RAF), put a plastic "canopy" around you with an open pan of gasoline so you breathe vapors while you fly, sleep in a tent outside, eat only military rations, get malaria, get disentery, get tropical diseases, hold your breath to simulate hypoxia when your O2 system fails, play in a walk-in freezer when you get above 15k, sit on a parachute and a survival kit, throw sand and dirt in your eyes when you go inverted. If you dont do all that, (and more I probably forgot about) your just a "gamer" and not being realistic.

Basically, fly the way you like to so that you have fun. Dont expect others to see it the same way you do, or you will be dissapointed.

BTW, welcome back.

[storch]

Originally posted by TheBeeg
Gents and Ladies
(and don't assume there aren't any because some of the nastiest sim killers I've known wore lipstick)

Certainly this must be a thinly veiled jab at eskimo.  Good!!  I like humor!

[DktrEvil]

Welcome back!

FYI, it will be even more realistic when they fix/reduce the Radar settings (get rid of base flashing, etc).

[CurtissP-6EHawk]

Originally posted by DktrEvil
Welcome back!

FYI, it will be even more realistic when they fix/reduce the Radar settings (get rid of base flashing, etc).

Yes get rid of base flashing but allow the "base under attack" warning.

Beeg welcome back. I like the way you think so I am sure all other will hate you !

[Grits]

Originally posted by CurtissP-6EHawk
Beeg welcome back. I like the way you think so I am sure all other will hate you !

I dont hate anyone Hawk, this is just a game. I do think its silly to expect others to modify their behaviour to suit your vision of "realistic" gameplay, and even sillier to complain about it when they inevitably dont.

[Arlo]

We need booze in the OC.

[Krusty]

LOL! But if you're being realistic about it, if you partake of the booze in the OC, your aiming reticle should randomly rotate in a figure 8 pattern around the cockpit for a set period of time!!

[Grits]

Right Krusty, kinda like a permanent "pilot wound" effect.

[Dennis]

Welcome, TheBeeg.
I've enjoyed flying with you a few times over the past week or so.

I agree with you on the re-enactor vs. gamer mentality. Sure, as Grits notes, we're all just playing army in both cases, but that's not the point.  The point is, it's one way to approach the sim.

I'm a re-enactor myself.  I fall into the so-called 'hardcore' category that forgoes all things modern for the duration of any event.  But like the original soldiers, I don't seek out discomfort but rather endure it when it's there.  (For the record, I routinely sleep tentless -- sometimes in the rain-- have gone barefoot, gotten exceedingly filthy, marched miles in full gear, have never washed my uniform and have been injured.  I have never gotten lice but have come home with my share of ticks.)
But I look at it simply as a role-playing atmosphere in which you approach objectives in a 'period' manner with the proper tools.

Same goes for a flight sim.  If you choose to use that mindset when playing, I think there's a lot to be gained in the form of understanding situations and tactics.

None of this is to say Grits can't play his way and enjoy it immensly.  Or the 'campers in funny clothes' can't re-enact the way they want to.
To each his own, I say.  I try to coax 'mainstream' re-enactors into giving my way a try.  TheBeeg seems to be suggesting the same. No one's being forced to do either.

I do think we see more of a historical mindset in the CT.  That's one of the reasons I avoid the MA.

And Re: the "Tour of Duty" thing promised with AH2 .... still on the way.  Think: "Two weeks."

Splash1

[CurtissP-6EHawk]

Originally posted by Grits
I dont hate anyone Hawk, this is just a game. I do think its silly to expect others to modify their behaviour to suit your vision of "realistic" gameplay, and even sillier to complain about it when they inevitably dont.

I think it is "silly" to have a "Theme" for the CT if when the "Theme" is ignored.
Its kinda like politics, voted in for the people by the people, but once the leaders are in office, they run it the way "THEY" want to for "THEIR" benefit, not for the benefit of the "PEOPLE".

The "WAR" is too broad for the way the CT is played and for the amount of players there. It needs to be broken down into the "themes" or smaller battles. This would better fit the planes we have.

Fighter battles
Attack battles
GV battles
Bomber battles


But whats worse is you telling me ("You think its silly") I dont have a right to express my wants, likes and dislikes, even to expect people to agree. Then you express your opinion that I am "wrong". So in reality, you are no different than me. I express my opinions, silly or not, and you express yours, silly or not.

[Arlo]

Originally posted by Grits
Right Krusty, kinda like a permanent "pilot wound" effect.

On second thought ... I can simulate that offline just fine.

[memnon]

I know i'm going to get flamed for this but so what it's my right to speak up if i wish too.

First of all this is not just a Flight sim it is a Battle sim (see history channel commercial or look at the front page of the web site).

Second I'm sorry but you can't have realism when most of the players in the game have years of experience in these aircraft. Plus since there is an indefinite amount of planes and even if you are killed you can just reup as soon as you get back to the tower kind of defeats the purpose of it being realistic.

I would love to see the CT be more realistic to the time period but unless there is a set amount of aircraft and time limits before reupping it just will not happen.

To some it's just a game (which it is) to others it's a way to re-enact historical battles (presonally i like to think that i'm re-enacting) that determined our history or to see if they could change that history.

[Grits]

Originally posted by CurtissP-6EHawk
The "WAR" is too broad for the way the CT is played and for the amount of players there. It needs to be broken down into the "themes" or smaller battles. This would better fit the planes we have.

Fighter battles
Attack battles
GV battles
Bomber battles

You make a good point there, I think you are right. It might work better in the CT to use a single mission or day, or engagement, between Axis and Allied squadrons/groups instead of a month or two long campaign. This would lead to much smaller (usually one fighter per side) plane sets which most dont like. But, in the end, you can not make folks re-enact step by step the way an historic event happened in a semi-open arena like the CT. We all know what happend at Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, and Midway, and those types of scenarios if played in the CT and not a true Scenario, will NEVER be accurate because we know not to repeat the mistakes made in the real event.

But whats worse is you telling me ("You think its silly") I dont have a right to express my wants, likes and dislikes, even to expect people to agree. Then you express your opinion that I am "wrong". So in reality, you are no different than me. I express my opinions, silly or not, and you express yours, silly or not. [/B]

I dont think your opinion or style of playing the game is silly, I would never tell you how to play, its your $15. I never said you couldnt express your opinion. I do think you getting upset is silly (like in the last Ackinawa set) just because the way others play doesnt fit what you think is appropriate or or historicly accurate.