Putting Blackout to Good Use

[Flathat]

When we all first began flying 0.33, there was a lot of complaining about the 4.7-5G onset of blackout. Now I know this is beta and nearly everything is in flux, but perhaps here is where HTC could implement an effect that would benefit "flying to live."

I'm not a programmer so I don't know whether coding this would be easy, challenging, problematic or whaddya nuts or something?, but here it is anyway.

Perhaps after landing a certain number of sorties (emphasis on landing), your G tolerance would go up. Landing kills could take you up the "G ladder" more quickly.

Seems to me that someone who could see clearly at 7G would have an advantage over someone who "tunneled out" at 5.5. In addition, it's not as much of an artificial distinction as some other solutions of its type might be. It's a rough parallel of the kind of advantage that might have accrued to an experienced pilot in WWII RL (learning how to ride higher and higher G levels without blacking out). And, if you die in there somewhere, you go back to Square One as a new pilot with a coincidentally identical handle, squinting down the tunnel at 4.9G until you get some missions under your belt.

Opinions sought, including those on the degree of programming difficulty.

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Flathat
'Black Dahlia'
No10 RNAS "The Black Flight"
Angel on your wing, devil on your tail

[Trips]

Actually, I like ANY idea that gives players a reason to survive, but this idea is terrific.

Trips

[weazel]

No-not a good idea IMO. The really good pilots are already a squeak to kill,they would become invulnerable under your proposal.

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[Flathat]

You have a point, weazel, but I think that over time my proposal would actually level the playing field, at least to an extent.

One of the ways really good pilots get really good is by honing their skills (read feasting) on the hordes of "to fly and die" types...the people who charge in at all hazards, against any odds in any relative E situation, going blithely where angels fear to tread...folks like me, in other words.   It's not the only way by any means, but I'm sure it saves a lot of time in the long run.

I believe that my proposal would promote smart & historically realistic flying styles...a lot more pairs and finger fours up instead of lone wolves, breaking off engagements with significant damage, and other behaviors designed to protect painstakingly built G tolerance.

Your point is well taken in another respect--assuming it's doable at all, it would have to be modeled with finely judged balance; too much progression and the best pilots really do become invulnerable; too little and it becomes meaningless.

I also see one other pitfall, on reflection--does increased G tolerance benefit primarily fighter drivers as opposed to buffers or bus drivers? I'd like to hear from those camps.

Another minor refinement to the proposal--if you ditch or bail in friendly territory, you don't lose the G tolerance you've built. You don't add any, but you don't lose it.

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Flathat
'Black Dahlia'
No10 RNAS "The Black Flight"
Angel on your wing, devil on your tail



[This message has been edited by Flathat (edited 10-29-1999).]

[danish]

Have to ask:
Can G resistance be taught in RL?

danish

[aircat]

 there are breathing and muscle exercises (sp?) that can be done to prolong the onset of hi G induced effects.

[1776]

huff and puff, whew, huff and puff!!!!

Hmmmm, if you can tolerate more Gs as you survive, could this be the G-string effect?

[aircat]

ROTFLMAO! ........ all this time I thought it was the "G-Spot" effect!

[danish]

Aircat:
Breathing and muscles extercises sounds reasonable for me.However that is something anybody can do - not just the aces.Nah - nice idea but a little artificial perhaps.

The idea of some fatique parameter in a prolonged (G intensive) dogfight sounds more reasonable IMO - just like a engine running hot ect.Might very well be presented as "easyer blackout" as the fight carries on.

danish

[Grumpy]

Hey FlatHat,

Thats a clever idea, but I'm not sure that it
isn't already part of the game. More experienced pilots already possess the skills
needed to minimize blackouts by using e-conserving manouvers, good stick setup and
trim and just as important, good SA to avoid
those panic-filled stick yanking aerobatics.

What AH probably should stick to is, as Danish says, adding progressive g-fatigue to
the blackout model so that someone who is
constantly riding a blackout gambles with
g-loc and may not be able to immediately
regain control of the plane. Disabling the
controls at this point would be a good touch
since there are lots of guys who know their
ACM well enough to do the moves "blind" anyway, but g-loc should imply eyes rolled
up in the head and tongue hanging out for a
few seconds at least <g>  

Grump

[Minotaur]

Flathead,

I like your idea and I don't like your idea.

I believe you must consider many other factors concerning G stress tolerance.  The biggest being the physical conditioning and to a lesser degree age of the pilot.  Rate of G stress application and duration, I believe are also big factors. (How long has the pilot waited to use the toilet   )

IMO it would be hard to model this RPG model for AH, although it would be kind of fun.

Mino

[chester]

HERE,HERE!!! keep talkin gentleman,this i like to here

[Rifle]

You guys with your huffing and puffing !

Sheesh ! what next ? La Mazze ?

heheh

Rifle

[aircat]

danish,
two words sum it up "Repetitive conditioning".
they didnt formaly train pilots for G stress. but those who had flown several missions and have seen combat would get conditioned wether they wanted it or not.
think of it like typing.... I have done it leasurely for a couple of years. I have a typing speed of *UP TO* 45 WPM. a trained typest that has done it for 20+ years sit at the same computer and type 100+ WMP.

[Downtown]

My understanding is that the guys that fly the little stunt planes, can withstand up to 10 Gs at times.  This is due to conditioning, and haveing repeated the manuvers.

The down side is, that at some point, well, your head caves in.

A lot of them little stunt plane pilots die of anurisms.

I think that I may have suggested improved G tolerance for smart pilots, pilot who fly like they care about their virtual lifes before. (I believe it was a damage model rant)

So, of course, I agree, this would be a good thing.

HTC could also model a "G Effect Key."

If you hit the ctrl key every second, you build G tolerance.  If you hit it every 1.1 or ever .9 seconds your tolerance isn't good. If you hit it too many times, anurism, not enough, you vomit all over your controls.

If you were doing a lot of high G manuvers, you would have to keep pressing the G Tolerance Key to keep from blacking out.  If you held it down, you die of an anurism.

If you did a lot of low G manuvers, everthing starts tinting red cause of the blood in your eyeballs.  You have a migrane cause of the oxygen bubble in your brain, and you get nose bleeds easily.

So much could be done, but I like the general principle, longer streaks, improved G Tolerance.

There would have to be limits, No More than 8 Gs, you would have to pull high G manuvers to build the tolerance, and you may die if you pulled too many High G manuvers.

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"I could feel the 20MM Cannon impacting behind me so I made myself small behind the pilot armor" Charlie Bond AVG
lkbrown1@tir.com
 http://www.tir.com/~lkbrown1
Very Opinionated Person.