Possible new player looking for info:

[Rameusb5]

Hello.  First of all allow me to introduce myself.  I come from the World War II Online community.  While there, I was a member of a bomber squad called the 617 Dambusters.  We performed bombing raids on the German factories on a nightly basis.  Unfortunately, the bombing part of that game is pretty boring, with only one bomber per side to use, and the Allied bomber is either the DB-7 or the Havoc (which you guys know as the A20 or Boston).

I am looking for a new game to get into, and saw an advertisement on the Military Channel for Aces High.  I have downloaded the game and flown around offline for a couple of days to get an idea of what the game is like.  So far, it looks ok.  I do like that there are multiple "heavy" bombers to chose from, including the Lancaster, which I have a personal attachment to (after all, my old squad was the Dambusters!).  

I've also looked around the forums for a bit to see how the strategic layer of the game works.  So far I haven't found that much information, so I thought I'd be lazy and ask for a link to where I can get info on exactly what strategic bombing does in this game.  I also have some questions I'm hoping you can answer for me.  I like to find out as much about a game as possible before I spawn into the multiplayer arena.  Otherwise I waste peoples time and resources asking stupid questions or wasting equipment.

Ok, so here are my questions:

1.  Are there bomber squads in the game?  

2.  Do bombers have any kind of impact on the game?  Does bombing an airfield or town result in anything?

3.  Do people coordinate to form bomber flights that are escorted by fighter pilots, or is this game more of a "free-for-all" type of game where you have to fend for yourself most of the time?

4.  Is it possible for mutiple people to crew the same aircraft?  If so, how many?  Is this common?  I would love to be a gunner for someone to start out.

5.  Can I ALWAYS fly a bomber (any bomber), or do I have to earn perkpoints as a fighter pilot first?  I don't mind starting out with a "puny" level bomber and working my way up to the big boys, but I'd rather not have to invest a lot of time in a fighter plane just to spawn a bomber later on.  (WWIIOL is like this)


Thanks in advance for your answers!

Rameus

[Major Biggles]

Originally posted by Rameusb5
Ok, so here are my questions:

First off, welcome to AH, I'm sure you'll have a good time. While I've never played WW2OL, I hear that AH is vastly better in everything apart from the ground war

1.  Are there bomber squads in the game?  

Yes, there are several, as well as hundreds of squads that do everything, with fighter wings, GV guys, and bomber pilots... The best thing to do if you're looking for a squad, is to post in the squadron forum down bottom of the forum menu

2.  Do bombers have any kind of impact on the game?  Does bombing an airfield or town result in anything?

If you bomb an airfield, different things will happen, depending on what you destroy, but these effects include disabling vehicles, aircraft, and loadout options. Bombing the 'strat' objects like factories and cities effect the repair times of airfield buildings.

3.  Do people coordinate to form bomber flights that are escorted by fighter pilots, or is this game more of a "free-for-all" type of game where you have to fend for yourself most of the time?

Yes, many people form missions, which you can do yourself as well, where you can choose the target and planetypes used in the mission. Popular missions are those with bombers and escorts

4.  Is it possible for mutiple people to crew the same aircraft?  If so, how many?  Is this common?  I would love to be a gunner for someone to start out.

Yes, you can join any plane as an observer. If that plane has gunner positions, the observer can control them You can only have 1 gunner/observer to a plane though...

5.  Can I ALWAYS fly a bomber (any bomber), or do I have to earn perkpoints as a fighter pilot first?  I don't mind starting out with a "puny" level bomber and working my way up to the big boys, but I'd rather not have to invest a lot of time in a fighter plane just to spawn a bomber later on.  (WWIIOL is like this)

Eeewww, that sounds boring! In AH you can fly any ride you like, there are no restrictions, apart from limiting uberplanes like the me163 to one field (no bombers are limited), and of course, the perk planes (the only buff that's perked is the Ar234, and the perks to use it need to be earned in a bomber). Perks have 3 categories, fighter, bomber and vehicle, and to earn them you need to use that respective vehicle.

Hope all that helps, and welcome to the game, it is vastly better than WW2OL flight dynamics and action wise you're bound to enjoy yourself

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Rameus

[Saintaw]

What he said... plus it's free for 15 days, I strongly suggest you try it out

PS: Welcome to the madhouse!

[Simaril]

One other wrinkle -- we have multiple arenas, split by timeframe.

So, in the early war period, Ju88s and Bostons are the main bombers; to get Lancasters there, it costs perk points (which you earn by successful missions). in later arenas, the lancaster doesnt cost anything...but the fighters are a lot nastier to fend off.

Gunning is more than half the fun in bombers, and some guys are scary good at killing attackers. (Not me!) Fortunately for the bombers, most attackers get lazy and come up from the 6 o'clock.....which isnt too good for their health.

Just be aware: AH has a pretty realistic flight model, and it can take a long time to learn the game. There's a lot of depth, a lot to learn, and lots of new things to try.

[uberhun]

Yea sign up join the rest of us knuckel heads..........

[Mustaine]

also, getting to altitude in bombers can take alot of time. just be prepared for that.

gunning is sort of hard to explain. some people will gladly accept a gunner, others will get angry if someone even asks.

1 bit of advise: don't just sit in the tower asking over and over "anyone need a gunner?" it can be a bit distracting and annoying for some.

it is best to just get up there yourself and get a feel for the plane and gun positions. F3 and F5 external views are critical to survival as a bomber gunner.

is it somewhat a free-for-all in the MA, but there are organized actions, just not scheduled or going on all the time.

as for what to bomb, towns @ airfields must be destroyed to capture. there's a bunch of buildings there. but as mjr. biggles said there are many different things to bomb and different reasons.

check out netaces.org

[TexMurphy]

The two biggest differences between WW2OL and AH are flight model and game play structure.

AH has a vastly superior flight model. They arnt even in the same ball park.

AH has a game play that is much more free form. Its 3 nations at each other. If players want to organize them selfs its up for them to make it happen. If players just want to fly around and furball its up to them.

This can be both a frustration for a WW2OL player and nice freedom.

Its just different give it a shot.

Bombing does have impact. Inorder to take a field the town must be destroyed. This can be done with bombers or JABOs. Inorder to help the effort of taking down the town the fighter hangers can be destroyed. Inorder to protect a CV from bombers the bomber hangers can be destroyed. Ordenance, troops, radar, ect can also be destoyed but that is more suited for JABOs.

AH also has the Special events arena that runs scenarios and snapshots. These are in a historical setting with a much higher level of organization. Scenarios are very well organized with COs, chain of command, ect and even in the upcomming BOB scenario radar opperators. Snapshots are smaller and a bit more adhok organized but still have mission based game play.

Tex

[FiLtH]

I played WW2OL from its start and for three years after. I'd bounce back and forth between it and AH. Two years ago I left WW2OL and stayed here at AH just when it went to AH2.

    Its alot of fun here. Two of the best things this game has over ww2ol is the variety of aircraft, and the ability to talk to other people in the game.

    I just re-joined WW2OL this week to see how it was. Since rejoining it Im remembering why I left in the first place.

    As for bombing strats in here, they are fun to go bomb, and it gives you good scores, but from what Ive seen it doesnt affect the game much. However bombing towns are neccessary to capture bases. And sometimes if there is alot of resistance, you need to bomb the bases too.

   When going on a bomb run, its best to ask others in the area what needs hitting. Some guys like to have the fighter hangers left up so they can vulch planes trying to take off, and will let you know that if you kill the fighter hangers on them. Since the hangers, fighter,bomber,and vehicle, all come back up so quickly, its best to make sure a town is flat first, then if capture attempts are being thwarted by the enemy upping there, kill the hangers.

   Theres alot of us in here who like to do missions. Some like to set up capture missions, some like to do realistic mass bomb drops on a target. You will need to fly with a few folks to see what you like best. Then join a squad and have fun.

   Glad to see ya here!

    And best of all...the planes are almost always available for you to fly without flying an hour to target

[Donzo]

ZOMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!

It's been over an hour and this guy has not been told that bombing has no place in this game!  It's all about furballing and advanced ACM's!

Welcome Rameusb5 .

If you like bombing it boils down to this:
AHII offers you many different bombers.
AHII offers you many targets to drop bombs on.
Bombing can be fun.

But beware.  There are certain things that, while they can be bombed, should never be bombed.  For example:  If there is a large low-level fight occuring between two bases, you should never bomb the fighter hangers on one of those fields.  Doing so would label you a "Griefer" or "Toolshedder".

[Rameusb5]

Wow, thank you guys for the quick and detailed answers!  This was what I was hoping for.  In other sims, the bombers seem to be the "red-headed stepchildren" of the game.  It sounds like bombers can be quite important.

WWIIOL (and some of the other games I've played) have pretty advanced flight mechanics, so I'm not too worried about that.  I'm not saying either is better (I really have no opinion on the matter since I've never flown in real life).  But in the few hours I've had to play offline it seems pretty straightforward.  (It reminds me of warbirds in a lot of ways).


I think I'll definately log in and try out the game.  Look forward to seeing you guys in the air.

S!

Rameus

[hubsonfire]

Originally posted by Rameusb5
(It reminds me of warbirds in a lot of ways).
 

That's probably not entirely coincidental.

From the "Difference between Aces High and Warbirds" thread...

Originally posted by hitech
I Created both. AH is better.

HiTech

[Rameusb5]

Originally posted by hubsonfire
That's probably not entirely coincidental.

From the "Difference between Aces High and Warbirds" thread...

LOL, I didn't know that.

Explains a lot then...  I must say I rather prefer the AH bombsights to the WB ones...  

[uberhun]

I think it is Revor.............

[TexMurphy]

Rameusb5

I dont want you to get too high expectations. While Bombers DO play a role in this game and ARE important to the base taking process you will quickly notice that the focus of the player base is fighters.

Note that I say the focus of the player base. Once again the arena is there and it becomes what we make of it.

Most players are into fighters.

You will find that most fighter pilots rather go off fight another fighter then escort a bomber pilot.

This is why it is important to find a squad to fly with. If you find a squad that has a similar view on the game play as you do then you and that squad will help each other out.

Im not saying that the players arnt team playing Im just saying that there are many players that play the game the way they enjoy it and within that area of game play they do team work.

In fact you see more cross squad team work here then in other games simply because of the built in voice chat. Everyone is on the same voice chat not split over tons of different TS2 and/or VENT servers.

Tex

[Rameusb5]

Thanks Tex.  I appreciate the candor.

To be honest, I kinda figured as much.  Teamplaying is not something that is inherant in ANY game.  Squads are usually the way to go in this situation.  I'll start playing later tonight or (more likely) tomorrow, and then start fishing around for a bomber squad.

I just wanted to see how bombers were treated in the game.  In WWIIOL, they were not very well respected.  In a community of thousands of players, we probably had about 20 dedicated bomber pilots total (for both sides).