Arena etiquette

[MajIssue]

Hello ladies and gentelmen... I read alot of posts on this forum that point out that "this" is ok or "that" isn't ok. What are the accepted norms in AH arenas? is it allright to "steal kills"? or "spy"? how about H2H or "vulching"? "Cherry picking" or "spawn camping"? There can be arguments made on both sides of many of these actions, but what is right and what is just WRONG? We all paid HTC their $15.? but isn't it up to us as the membership to set the norms? Or is anarchy the norm? AH is the best online gaming community I've seen and has the most loyal following among the subscribership. Why?

[Ghastly]

AH is the best online gaming community I've seen and has the most loyal following among the subscribership.

In my estimation, the loyalty you've noted is a direct result of a combination of perceived fairness on the part of the developers, coupled with a constant "steady hand" kind of presence on the boards which serves as a reminder that someone "real" is watching the cookie jar, along with a steady stream of updates and a "rock solid" vision of how they are trying to develop the sim which makes the sim "comfortable" - you know it isn't going anywhere anytime soon and generally the changes are incremental and not helter-skelter.

For what it's worth, for the most part there really is only a single amorphoeus online ww2 combat flight sim community.  It just varies somewhat as to which sim(s) we participate in at any particular time.  

[SunBat]

I would say that a major reason for the "quality" of the community comes from the nature of the game itself.  Let's face it, for the most part, to do well in this game is not easy.  It takes practice, perseverance, and some amount of aptitude for more complicated concepts.  This fact weeds out people of poor character because, by nature, they quickly lose interest.  The result is that, as a whole (there are certainly exceptions), the people who stay with the game are quality people who have quality attributes, which in turn results in a quality community.  

That's my theory, which will now be argued against vehemently as if all of this really mattered….

[MajIssue]

Originally posted by Ghastly
In my estimation, the loyalty you've noted is a direct result of a combination of perceived fairness on the part of the developers, coupled with a constant "steady hand" kind of presence on the boards which serves as a reminder that someone "real" is watching the cookie jar, along with a steady stream of updates and a "rock solid" vision of how they are trying to develop the sim which makes the sim "comfortable" - you know it isn't going anywhere anytime soon and generally the changes are incremental and not helter-skelter.

For what it's worth, for the most part there really is only a single amorphoeus online ww2 combat flight sim community.  It just varies somewhat as to which sim(s) we participate in at any particular time.  

thoughtful... I agree that The HTC staff does an outstanding job of balancing the WW2 Flight sim and playability aspects of Aces High. I confess that I've played other online sims like aw and homeworld as well as MS combat flight sim, but NONE of them captures the adrenelan [sp sorry] level here at AH2.  (I'm not a flack for HTC by the way, just a player)back to my original idea... What is considered acceptable and unacceptable by the actuall "pilots" who fly (or GV or Naval types as well) that inhabit the community?

[MajIssue]

Originally posted by SunBat
I would say that a major reason for the "quality" of the community comes from the nature of the game itself.  Let's face it, for the most part, to do well in this game is not easy.  It takes practice, perseverance, and some amount of aptitude for more complicated concepts.  This fact weeds out people of poor character because, by nature, they quickly lose interest.  The result is that, as a whole (there are certainly exceptions), the people who stay with the game are quality people who have quality attributes, which in turn results in a quality community.  

That's my theory, which will now be argued against vehemently as if all of this really mattered….

You won't get an argument from me sunbat! it IS difficult to do well in AH2, particularly if a player has never flown a real airplane or has little flight sim experience (both help). Also I have noticed that for the most part "bad" players do tend to hang around for the Free 2 weeks and are never heard from again. The people that "get it" subscribe, pay the monthly $15 bucks and have fun.

I will disagree on one point... Character DOES matter!

[SunBat]

Originally posted by MajIssue

I will disagree on one point... Character DOES matter!

LOL.  Good point....

[The Fugitive]

Originally posted by MajIssue
... What is considered acceptable and unacceptable by the actuall "pilots" who fly (or GV or Naval types as well) that inhabit the community?

You'll never get a definitive answer. Different people fly different ways for different reasons, and all are here, and some what welcomed. Skyrock, and Storch, and a bunch of others thinks "smack talking" is part of the game, while others don't.  The "BOPS", the 484th bomber group, and other like them think the  bombing and field capture is what the games all about, others don't. The LTARs and others think the GVs are the main line, others don't. The Army of Muppets, BKs and other fighter groups believe the furball is the only way to play, others don't.

Each "group" has it "rules" and looks down on those that don't follow them. Unfortunately following the rules of one group, more often than not breaks anothers rules, so there can be no set rules other than those set by HTC.

[Tiger]

Originally posted by The Fugitive
You'll never get a definitive answer. Different people fly different ways for different reasons, and all are here, and some what welcomed. Skyrock, and Storch, and a bunch of others thinks "smack talking" is part of the game, while others don't.  The "BOPS", the 484th bomber group, and other like them think the  bombing and field capture is what the games all about, others don't. The LTARs and others think the GVs are the main line, others don't. The Army of Muppets, BKs and other fighter groups believe the furball is the only way to play, others don't.

Each "group" has it "rules" and looks down on those that don't follow them. Unfortunately following the rules of one group, more often than not breaks anothers rules, so there can be no set rules other than those set by HTC.

This is the most clear explanation I've seen in a while.  Kinda sums up weeks, if not months of posts here.

[hubsonfire]

The comment about the BKs is not accurate, thanks very much.

If you need to be told to play nice with others, and how, you probably shouldn't be playing with others. That's the basic etiquette.

[MajIssue]

Originally posted by The Fugitive
You'll never get a definitive answer. Different people fly different ways for different reasons, and all are here, and some what welcomed. Skyrock, and Storch, and a bunch of others thinks "smack talking" is part of the game, while others don't.  The "BOPS", the 484th bomber group, and other like them think the  bombing and field capture is what the games all about, others don't. The LTARs and others think the GVs are the main line, others don't. The Army of Muppets, BKs and other fighter groups believe the furball is the only way to play, others don't.

Each "group" has it "rules" and looks down on those that don't follow them. Unfortunately following the rules of one group, more often than not breaks anothers rules, so there can be no set rules other than those set by HTC.

Great point Fugitive!

What I'm trying to get at fugitive is exactly that! What are different groups norms actually are... I find it instructive. The guys in my squad play the way they play, I curious as to what other players think is right

[MajIssue]

Originally posted by hubsonfire
The comment about the BKs is not accurate, thanks very much.

If you need to be told to play nice with others, and how, you probably shouldn't be playing with others. That's the basic etiquette.

No Offense hubsonfire... I play the way I play, but am curious as to how other groups/squads/pilots see things to kinda get a guage on the community as a whole.

[Gixer]

Originally posted by MajIssue
it IS difficult to do well in AH2, particularly if a player has never flown a real airplane or has little flight sim experience (both help).  

Do well? I go with the previous sim experience comment. But how does flying a real airplane have any benifit in AH2?

Given, knowing some basic airfield procedures from real world flying, ATC etc can help with flying MSFS over Vatsim and vice versa but that's where it ends. I can't see how it's of help in a online flight combat game, especially when the flight models while ok for a sim are far from anything approaching real flying experience.


...-Gixer

[MajIssue]

Originally posted by Gixer
Do well? I go with the previous sim experience comment. But how does flying a real airplane have any benifit in AH2?

Given, knowing some basic airfield procedures from real world flying, ATC etc can help with flying MSFS over Vatsim and vice versa but that's where it ends. I can't see how it's of help in a online flight combat game, especially when the flight models while ok for a sim are far from anything approaching real flying experience.


...-Gixer

 I learned VOR nav, traffic patterns flying takeoffand landing procedures from MS Flight Sim (for DOS) before I learned to fly. It helped me to have a basic knowledge of avaition and aerodynamics when I started ground school. Real World flying experience is an emmense help in AH as the rules of flight dynamics are not too different in the real world vs the AH world... i.e. you stall when you go too slow!(below V1) You will compress a prop drivin aircraft when you get too fast (Vne) these examples are the same in both the real and AH worlds

[The Fugitive]

OK, from what I've heard over the years playing here and in AW.....

There are 3 basic fighter groups.

The elitist, these are the guys who fly high, and chose EVERY fight deliberately. They will attack only with the absolute best odds of getting in and out without a scratch. Returning to base and landing is the most important thing to them. Dieing is NOT an option.

The furballer, these guys are in it for the fight, kill or be killed. Cherry picking is frowned upon, even tho most of there kills are picks. They rationalize this by saying how the other pilot was using poor SA. Getting above the fight (grabbing alt) is also a no-no as this is a sure sign of a "cherry picker".  HO's are inevitable, and most don't bother to comment on them as the most likely reply will be "It was a front quarter shot!"

The dweeb, these pilots are anyone of the new group who fly for the score sheet. Everything goes....as long as it doesn't hurt your score. Most are skillless pilots who couldn't name 5 ACM's (Air Combat Maneuvers...for those dweebs reading this), nor would they know how to employ them. Buffs are made to fly at 200 feet AGL, and only carry the "BIG" bombs (more targets down per bomb increases you hit  %)

Land grabbers/strategist

These guys are all about the "WAR". To them winning the war is the most important thing.  Vulching is a mainline training program for most, how ever they call it "The art of field suppression"  Attack a base either with supirior number (read horde), or with strategies (read NOE undefended bases) are they way to get things done. Most have difficulty excelling on there own, and must hide in amongst many other targets. Survival is not important, hence the fully loaded P38's "land darting" after firring off there full load into a single target.

The GVer

These guy believe that to kill one of them with bombs are as close to cheating as you can get! To them this is worst than the "HO" is to the elitest ! On the other hand sitting with 4-5 squad mates around a spawn point and everyone firring at the same poor smuck that spawns in to see who gets the kill is ok

Suppers ready, thats enough for now  

[McDeath]

As long as we do not make a major issue of it, i really don't see the problem.