Author Topic: Suggestions for a noob (Read 556 times)

ivanthetrble · « **on:** December 24, 2006, 01:57:47 PM »

Hi all! Brand new to AHII. I have been lurking a bit on this forum to get some tips. I am still in the "off-line" practice mode. I can take off and land and know the basic functions of the P-51D (gear, flaps, etc). I can follow around the other airplanes in the off-line arena and can manage to shoot them down when they aren't doing anything (ie: flying is a straight line with a target on them

). So my question is, what's next? Just log on, join in and get my arse kicked for a while? Other things to practice? I have been looking for a "flight training" section of this site but haven't found one yet. Suggestions for the nOOb? Tanks!

ITT

Dichotomy · « **Reply #1 on:** December 24, 2006, 02:59:14 PM »

start here

http://trainers.hitechcreations.com/

then read up at

http://www.netaces.org

join and get your tail kicked daily

On a serious note generally you get a very fast response from a plethora of very helpful and knowledgabe people but it being the holidays and all I think they're all otherwise occupied.

Your skills will ramp up quickly as you become accustomed to the basic nuances of flight then will level out and this is where I'm told most people get frustrated and back away from the game. To put it in one of my mentors words.

"AHLCF might be hammering another victim.* Symptoms include frustration, hopelessness, and often either extreme flight risk taking or extreme caution. Recurring thoughts along the lines of "I really suck at this" can also interfere with skill development....

First, be aware that this is a normal part of AH. Players get better very quickly at first, as they learn the basic concepts of flight and game mechanics. Once those are mastered, though, progress slows waaaaaaay down --- and there are literally hundreds of more things (and hundreds of more people) standing in line for a turn at killing you. The thrill of playing can fade a little too, from the plateau and from plain old exposure burnout. (Those hours add up!)"

Be aware that this can and probably will happen to you at some time in your time with this game and never be afraid to ask for help. ALL of the regular trainers are veritable plethoras of information and I would also suggest talking to Daddog, Simaril, Outlaw, Rowdy, if you get the chance. Really theres too many really good and helpful people to name.

Lastly if you have any questions that you don't want to ask for fear of being too 'noob' feel free to pm me and I'll either give you the answer if I know it or find someone who can help you. If you ever see me in the TA (if you go there you will I go there often) hit me up on the radio or text buffer. If I'm not being trained or otherwise engaged I'll fly target drone for you.

Best of luck guy

Dicho

PS.. you live in one of the coolest cities in the wold. I freaking LOVE Portland

Blagard · « **Reply #2 on:** December 24, 2006, 04:08:38 PM »

Think about your online game ID now. I think it may be limited to eight characters but check it out if your need to. I know 7 is OK for sure! just not sure about the max.

The "TA" Dichotomy mentioned is an online Training Arena as opposed to an "MA" Main Arena. There are others but flying in one of the current two late war main arenas (Orange or Blue) will give you a good idea of what the online game is all about.

So long as you are flying with a Joystck, and know to shoot only at guys with red icons and not your team mates with green icons then great. - In the TA you can shoot friendlies if you ask first and they agree to it. In the MA shooting friendlies is a No No and in fact your hits on friendlies will damage your own aircraft!

You need to get familiar with the views out of the cockpit so that you can quickley scan whats going on around you.

Avoid attacking anyone by climbing into them in the beginning because if you are low and slow you will generally be dead very quickly. Try to climb out at least level , ideally above enemy aircraft and get some speed up before attacking.

To cummunicate you can use the text "radio" or real voice. I would suggest using the text radio is best unless someone is prepared to tune to a voice frequency with just you and them on it.

You may want to watch some of the films that people record in game to give you feel. - There is a forrum where people post links to films that may have some good ones amongst them.

On line as said by Dichotomy you will in the main find a helpful friendly bunch. Igore the twits who suggest Alt + F4 as the key combinations to any queries! - We have a few but not many!

It sounds like you have already tried to get a good idea of playing the game but there is nothing to match diving in afterwards and getting the feel of the game for real. You will die a lot to start with, but everyone does, so don't let it get to you. Enjoy it, it does not usually take too long to get hooked on it!

Schatzi · « **Reply #3 on:** December 24, 2006, 04:40:32 PM »

Come on in, the water is fine!

Seriously.... if you have your stick setup and are familiar with the basic functions of a plane and the basic maneuvers they can do, its time to go online and fight more then the offline drones.

A lot of very good tips have been given already in this thread - AH is like learning to swim... you can only do so much "drylands practice" - at one time you just got to hop into the cold water and start peddaling.

To avoid frustration, dont stick your goals too high.... if you expect to be an ace within two weeks youre bound to get disappointed flying against people that have been playing this game (and its predecessors) for decades.

Callsign: youre allowed 8 characters. Watch it, when subscribing, youre also asked for a LOGIN-ID... this is only your login "username" and different from your callsign (gameID). For this one choose anything you like. For gameID i recommend something easy to recognize and voice. If someone tries to warn you on radio and has to decipher a "ezshtr" or a "52553463" - i can promise you by the time i managed to get that past my lips youre dead :=).

Also, you do not have to pay immediatly, you get a 2 week free trial for online gameing.

Do not hesitate to contact us trainers for help. During the holidays, due to heavy load and being a bit short staffed, we suspended the email request form - but if you see a Trainer in the TA, do not hesitate to ask for help (we all have "Aces High Trainer Corps" as our squad on the Roster). Come the new year, you can also schedule personal training sessions per email/request form again.

Welcome to Aces High!

PS: One thing you need to do before coming online is get the views set up and practice using them a bit. Being able to track your opponent in a fight is vital. Check the Trainers Homepage for help on how - http://trainers.hitechcreations.com

Dichotomy · « **Reply #4 on:** December 24, 2006, 05:33:16 PM »

oh and try to make it one that's easy to pronounce or something you'll recognize when it's mispronounced..

I get called 'ditcho' a lot.. which isn't far from wrong

mrshiver · « **Reply #5 on:** December 24, 2006, 06:29:38 PM »

Welcome to the addiction.

Dicho provided some good links there, go to them, read them. At first it might all seem like greek to you, but in time you'll begin to understand what they're talking about if you don't already.

One very important thing to keep in mind though. Have fun, this is a game, use the game for enjoyment. Yes, you're going to get shot down alot once you enter the main arenas, but view each encounter as a learning experience.

Film your fights and review them afterwards. You can film in game by pressing ALT-R, they will be saved to your film folder in the Aces High folder. You can even get into your opponents plane while reviewing the fight to see what you did wrong.

One last thing. Don't get all wrapped up in rank. For some it's all they think about, for the rest of us, rank is just another number that has no bearing on a person's true abilities.

Subsection · « **Reply #6 on:** December 25, 2006, 09:23:28 AM »

Good thread for us noobs!!

just like you, sir.... I'm (relatively) new to this game... I dove into the MA's about 3 weeks ago and, as expected, everything these guys are saying is absolutely right.

The performance "plateau" that you're gonna hit after awhile is going to get frustrating (i'm kind of stuck in it now...) but listen to pro's out there and they'll help you along. I fully intend on taking advantage of the TA when everyone's lives slow down a bit from the holidays.

Try out a few different planes, but when you get to one you think you're going to like, stick with it for a while and really learn how to fly it before moving on to another. Almost everyone of 'em flys a bit differently so I found it's best to get a good feeling for one or two. I found that when I first jumped in, the Spits were pretty easy to learn on... (There's a few out there that will call you a "dweeb" for flying a spit but really who cares... it's a good plane).

You will certainly get killed alot. No way to get around it. But that's kind of the point, isnt it?? Just get in and play and have a good time. You can always re-up and get back into it.

Bubbajj · « **Reply #7 on:** December 25, 2006, 06:02:12 PM »

Yeah, I think I've only been killed 64 times this month so far. Jump in, find a buddy or two to fly with. Go shoot some stuff down. The "AWE CRAP!!" of getting shot down is more than equalled by the "WOOHOO" when a kill is scored. No way to learn but by doing. Like Schatzi said, there is a steep learning curve and your gonna get your buttocks shot off a lot. I still get mine shot off a lot but I'm shooting off a lot more as well. Jump in, have fun, it's only a game, you don't really have to die when you get shot down.

Deth7 · « **Reply #8 on:** December 25, 2006, 07:45:57 PM »

One other thing. If you find that when you are in a turn fight, throttle management is a biggie. Most new guys leave it firewalled and can't
figure out why they can't turn as tight as they would like to. A faster plane turns slower than a slower plane:cool:

Blagard · « **Reply #9 on:** December 25, 2006, 08:05:05 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Deth7
One other thing. If you find that when you are in a turn fight, throttle management is a biggie. Most new guys leave it firewalled and can't
figure out why they can't turn as tight as they would like to. A faster plane turns slower than a slower plane:cool:

Depends on what you mean by turning tight and turns slower as they are different things.

The tighter radius will be at a slower speed, but the rate of turn is often very important and this will be best at corner speed, say around 250 (It varies from one type of aircraft to another). A slow (sub best corner speed) tight turn takes longer to do 360 degrees than the turn at corner speed.

Best let the new guys just settle in first