Ok, I'm missing something obviously

[indy007]

Originally posted by TequilaChaser
join the scenarios, fly the snapshot events, do the monthly KOTH tournyments etc.........if you fly for RANK as your main goal the game can become pain stakingly irritating ........check out all the venues Aces High has to offer and you will enjoy AH that much more!

Thanks Tequila, I'm actually waiting on the big bomber raids I've heard about in the CT, and looking forward to the scenarios. I was lucky and brought into the ShiznotZ by a friend the day I started playing, so my learning curve was more accelerated than normal. As for the rank, can't help but watch it daily. I'm a retired CPL counter-strike player, I need instant gratification & tangible scores to keep me content

[Hap]

Waggle, shoot off bombers' wingtips.  Fuselage, firm; wingtips, fragile.



Hap

[DREDIOCK]

I see alot of people set their convergance to 250.

I have mine setdepending on plane from 400 to 600 and get way more hits/kills then I did at 250

reason I have them set that way is when they are set at 250
After 250 the bullets are now spreading out meaning your more likely to miss after 250.

I find at 600 the bullets are still converging as oppsed to separating
 I still get my kills at 250 plus my guns are still fairly accurate out to the 600 mark.
Most of my kills I get are between 300 and 600 yards

Also I dont set my convergance differently for each gun.
I set them all the same that way, when I hit at range I more often then not  hit with everything.

I thinik how you set your convergance should be based on how you as an individual fly.

Pay attention to the  range you usually start firing at and set your convergance to that range.
remember the  closer you are within that range the more likely it is your hits will be deathblows as the bullets are more concentrated within that range.
The farther the target is beyond that range the less likely it is you will do any serious damage as beyond your convergance point the bullets are spread farther and farther agart and become less concentrated.

I think most people who have problems hitting targets is they have their convergance set too close.
After all how often is it really your 250 out in a fight?
Normally I find Im 350+

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by Hap
Waggle, shoot off bombers' wingtips.  Fuselage, firm; wingtips, fragile.



Hap

exactly and this doesnt just hold true for bombers but fighters also.
As NHattila said people especially newbies tend to think that just because they hit a plane it should go down.

Not alwasy true.
Its not so much that you hit the plane but where you hit it.

You can unload all kinds of ammo into a target only to see it keep flying simply because all you managed to do was poke alot of holes in the sheetmetal and didnt hit anything important
By contrast it only takes a few rounds of any type into the right location to score a kill. A single bullet inot the cockpit is enough to make the plane go poof.

bombers unless you have a headon shot never get on a dead six and shoot at the body. Odds are you wount bring it down.
I know I've unloaded all my rounds f from a FW cannon included only to run out of ammo and see him fly off.

Aim for the wings.

If your comming in at a  10,12, or 1:00 position then you can aim for the nose and try to get a cockpit shot.
But your best bet is always the wings

[Cobra412]

I know for myself I actually wait till I get a maneuvering bird instead of direct 6 shots.  For me it seems to be easier and alot more of the enemy is exposed.  If I'm going to take a direct 6 shot I will do a short burst with only primaries to get range and then open up with all guns.

[stantond]

Greetings fellow frustrated pilots,

I believe, based on film data and flight hours, the profile of the planes changes depending on whether you are shooting at them from the front or the back.  It would have been nice to know this sort of thing a few years ago and would have saved me a lot of frustration.   Even today I feel I am still struggling with the gunnery system in AH.

A couple of gunnery points I noticed are:
Dead six shots are a waste of ammunition if the nme knows you are there.  If they are oblivious to you, you can kill them.  Hits from a bomber gunner (while you are pointed towards the bomber) are very likely to kill or damage your plane.  Dive away and you are safe (never been killed diving away).

I hear various statements that six shots are cake and it takes two to HO, but that has not been my experience.   I have to suspect (I am cynical) the people who claim HO are uncommon and hard are the ones who exploit this "game feature".   I now make the HO'er pull negative g's which solves the HO problem.

Unfortunately for me I am one of those left brain types, so the notion of plane  "hit area" profiles being different whether viewed from the front or back was not something considered. Plus, all the apparent detail placed on gunnery realism does not point towards this “game feature”.  But now, with no other explanation and plenty of game time and film data, I think that is the case.  I hope I am not breaking some code of silence in talking about this.

I would prefer to see this changed, but I believe it’s an institution (with me being oblivious for so long).



Regards,

Malta

[TequilaChaser]

Originally posted by stantond
Greetings fellow frustrated pilots,

I believe, based on film data and flight hours, the profile of the planes changes depending on whether you are shooting at them from the front or the back.  It would have been nice to know this sort of thing a few years ago and would have saved me a lot of frustration.   Even today I feel I am still struggling with the gunnery system in AH.

A couple of gunnery points I noticed are:
Dead six shots are a waste of ammunition if the nme knows you are there.  If they are oblivious to you, you can kill them.  Hits from a bomber gunner (while you are pointed towards the bomber) are very likely to kill or damage your plane.  Dive away and you are safe (never been killed diving away).

I hear various statements that six shots are cake and it takes two to HO, but that has not been my experience.   I have to suspect (I am cynical) the people who claim HO are uncommon and hard are the ones who exploit this "game feature".   I now make the HO'er pull negative g's which solves the HO problem.

Malta,
your assumption is correct on having a bigger target area HO or from the 12 oclock position, vs the 6 oclock, you have even better target area if you are able to fire using a crossing shot or deflection shot vs the HO or 6 shot.  the deflection , crossing or even belly shots gives you the biggest target area because you have more plane surface in your crosshair

The Head On or front quarter shot is prob about 10 times easier to hit then trying to get hits from a dead 6 position or near 6 position. In return this makes it to where many of your encounters will not try for anything else, they know how easy it is and do not bother trying for any other shot. Really amusing if you ask me

try not to force shots, do not fire with steady streams of ammo, but use SHORT BURST, if you are off target realign and fire a short burst again, this will save your ammo and help you learn or recognize "The Kill Picture" meaning where and what shape of the plane is in your sights when you are connecting, once you can get this vision stamped in your head then you should see a big improvement in your gunnery.

as for Neg G dive, this is some what good, but be ware some flyers will push neg Gs too, harder than you even to the point of RED out and still hold the Trigger down firing away, and rake the topside of your canopy, so throw in another mve along with the Neg G dive, turn and twist/roll a little so it is harder for them to track you when redout.

[stantond]

Thanks TC,

I can always count on you as a "straight shooter"!  I am not sure the exact words Hitech (Dale, etc) uses to describe the plane hit area model but I think it is misleading.  Whether this is intentional or not I cannot say, but after putting some time into the game it is clear something other than ordinary plane surface area is used to register hits.  

Amazingly, there are plenty of threads implying that the frontal hit area is the same as the rear.  It all seems reminiscant of a scene from a science fiction conspiracy movie .   Maybe its a matter of 'paying your dues' and time spent online to ferret out this information.  I never was one much for that.

While I am not enamored enough to write a users/players manual for AH as some historical games had, I am happy to share any game 'secrets'.  AH is a fun game.



Regards,

Malta