Possible new player looking for info:

[Meatwad]

I finally left ww2ol because I have never encountered a game with so many bugs and loopholes in my entire life (Other then windows, that OS is a joke not a game). I was allied in the BEF, only thing I really cared about then was the ground aspect. Finally got fed up and came back to AH, never going back to ww2ol again.

When the ENY values were set for limiting aircraft, most of our squad went to ww2ol. But after a while, most came back since they hated that game with a passion for the reasons stated above. Theres a few of them still there, but they are not interested in coming back

[Kweassa]

Okay.. here's my version of answers. I hope you can take it as another set of differing opinions. I've tried to keep it as objective as possible.



1. Are there bomber squads in the game?

- Yes.


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

- I'm sorry to say 'not really'.

 The basic strategical model of the game is kept pretty simple. The Main Arena doesn't really have a 'sophisticated' economical model which controls overall situation of the war. There are map objects such as factories or refineries, but hitting them on the long term isn't really as effective as it might sound. This game is farely deep into the tactical part of aerial warfare, and this limitation comes from the fact that AH started out as a very small-scale tactical simulation, where the "warring environment" was never really meant to be more than just a "spice" to the aerial combat aspect of the game.

 Therefore, the bombers in the game bear a role which more resembles that of a large-scale tactical jabo, rather than a true strategic bomber.

 However, the good news is HTC is currently working on a revolutionary new format of MMO gameplay which combines historical roleplaying with aerial combat simulation. It is now entering a closed-alpha phase of the testing, and many AH gamers are eagerly waiting its arrivial.

 I'm pretty confident that when that new format arrives, there will be plenty of large-scale strategical raids reenacted in the skies of virtual Europe.


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?

- It is definately more 'free-for-all'. However, there are regular scenarios and events in which players reenact historical events, where cooperation and planning is done one a massive scale.


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.

- The basic system allows maximum two players aboard a single aircraft. This applies to all vehicles in the game including planes, tanks, and bombers. With bombers a player can divide their role between the 'pilot' and the 'gunner', who has control over three bombers that form a single formation. One exception would be the ships, which multiple people can man each of the defensive posts the warships have available on board.

 Having a gunner on board a bomber is fairly uncommon, as most people are eager to fly bombers or fighter planes by themselves. However, if you ask your teammates, there is always someone who needs a gunner around.


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)

- Unlimited - plain and simple. The only bomber which is limited by perkpoints is the Ar234 jet-bomber, for obvious reasons.

[Brooke]

I've played WWIIOL some and played lots of Aces High.  For air combat, I like AH much better for many reasons, but I do find the flight models to have a roughly similar level of realism, so if you can fly well in WWIIOL, you'll be well on your way here.   The bombsight in AH is much simpler than that in WWIIOL from what I remember.

Flying bombers in AH is a lot of fun, in my opinion.  They can be very useful for shutting down bases and levelling the nearby town (which is necessary for capture), and for anti-shipping.  Also, defending yourself as a gunner of your own bomber is fun.

The flight dynamics are very realistic, so the fights are realistic.  In the AH main arenas, there isn't the same level of recreation of the WWII environment, though, that is present in WWIIOL -- no half-scale Europe, for example.  However, this is a huge advantage if you want to get into combat without very long delays.

Then, if you want very realistic air battles (much, much more realistic air battles than WWIIOL in all respects), where bombers play a very critical role, I suggest you check out scenarios.  You can get general information on scenarios by clicking on the link in my signature line.

Here are a couple pictorials involving level bombers (where I was a pilot of one):

http://www.electraforge.com/brooke/flightsims/scenarios/downfall_2006/frame2_pictorial.html

http://www.electraforge.com/brooke/flightsims/scenarios/stalins_fourth/frame2_pictorial.html

There are many more pictorials here that involve bombers (as just about every scenario involves them critically):

http://www.electraforge.com/brooke/flightsims/scenarios/scenarios.html

If this looks interesting to you, show up as a walkon for the Battle of Britain 2006 scenario and see if you can get a bomb-pilot spot.  If you can't and what to just check it out, sign on as a gunner for a bomber.  You can get information on this scenario, too, clicking on the link in my signature.

[Rameusb5]

Brooke, thanks for the info.  I will definately check out the BoB scenario.

I logged in last night and tried out the game.  First, I checked out the AvA arena, as that seemed to be more up my alley (I'm kind of a historical nut).  Unfortunately, nobody was on, but I used the time to figure out the radio and stuff.

I then went to the Early War arena and flew a few flights as a bomber (and one as a P40B).  The action seemed very sporadic and I noticed that bombers are really only useful IF there is a coordinated attack to capture an airfield going on (which there didn't seem to be).

But I gained a few perk points and generally had a good time.  I'm guessing I'll have to get in the Late War arena to see the big furballs, which is unfortunate because I'm guessing that I'll get PWNed by 262's immediately...

Anyway, thank you to everyone who responded to this thread.  You've been very helpful!  S!

[Mustaine]

there may be a 262 around, but they usually stay the HE11 AWAY from bombers, as for 200 perks + they are expensive, and any bomber gunner worth his while can kill you instantly from 1.2k out or farther.

[Simaril]

The key to finding fights is to watch those DAR bars. If you cant find anybody around, then you can soemtimes provoke a response by attacking a base, or messing around in their radar range.

Another tactic you SHOULD NOT be afraid of is to choose the side with the fewest players. We call that a "target rich environment" when you find yourslef outnumbered...and if you film you're actions, you can look at them later to see how they did what they did. There's no shortage of folks who'd be happy to teach you basic combat...which is very different than basic flying.

Remember that many of these good sticks (not me) have played this kind of game for more than a decade. It takes a good while to hold your own, but you can INCREDIBLY decrease the learning curve by emailing a trainer (trainers@flyaceshigh.com) to set up a session. Learn some stuff for an hour, then do it for a week or two...when you're ready for your next dose, set up another....I wish I had done this much earlier, but like many stubborn guys I wanted to do it on my own!

If there just arent enough people on to find any fight at all (pretty rare in evenings US EST, in my experience) you CAN try another arena.

[APDrone]

Originally posted by Rameusb5

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).

They would probably have a lot more bomber pilots if you didn't have to endure countless hours of frustration in the POS Hawk 75 before you gained enough rank to fly the allied bombers.  

I say countless because after their 3rd or 4th revision of the ranking system that basically undid any seniority I had from the early days ( I had actually gained priveleges to build missions and fly bombers ) I made a couple of efforts to gain the rank and almost always encounted uber-planes that ended my missions in short order.  

Not having the hours necessary to beat the odds and actually make it, I benched the game.

Was in it from the start and endured the couple years of pain.. not even able to fly as my frame rate was .3 when an enemy A/C was close ( yeah.. 3 seconds/frame ) until I got better hardware. After that, just finding a base with an airfield near the action was frustrating.. then finding a mission with a plane I was allowed to fly ( you can't just take off willy-nilly over there ) that still had planes available.  

Too many frustrations for me.  

I've revisited it as they have their 'Welcome Back Soldier' campaigns but I have yet to see any changes that earn it permanent space on my HD.  They finally added autopilot a year or so ago.

Don't get me wrong, though.. WW2OL is ( or was ) pretty darn impressive from the soldier standpoint.  I remember the immersion level was intense.  The problem is, I'm not a ground-pounder.  Gimme props, some wings, bombs, and boom-sticks and I'm a happy camper.

[Rameusb5]

I can understand your frustration.  To be frank, I didn't intend my thread to be a WWIIOL bashing forum.  The truth of the matter is that WWIIOL is a great game IF you are a GOOD fighter pilot.  The rank system definately needs work.  (AH does it better.  I know that CRS intends to put a perk point system in place of their current rank system)

My reasons for leaving WWIIOL are not because I dislike the game, as much as I got burned out doing the same things over and over and over again.

To be honest, I'll probably end up back there at some point.  In the time being, AH seems like a bit of fun, so I'll give it a whirl.

[Tarmac]

Join a squad.  I can't emphasize it enough, especially for bomber pilots.  Bombing requires a decent amount of teamwork if you actually want to capture the base, have gunners, or fly with an escort.    

Head down to the squadron forum and start a thread saying what you're looking for in a squad.  You can also look through the existing threads to see what groups are out there, and send some PM's.