Remove no tracers option?

[oboe]

Winston Churchill once said, "There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result".  

I think he is right, but it also gets your blood pumpin' when the incoming fire is telling and you begin to lose pieces of your plane.   When your opponent is not using tracers, you get no satisfaction from dodging rounds, because you can't see anything.

I don't think there is any option that gives vets a bigger advantage against newer players, and you'd think that's gotta hurt the game in the long run.

Finally, is AH's implementation realistic?   Were non-tracer rounds entirely invisible?  I think I've read air combat stories that include references to "glowing" cannon rounds, or something like that.

[Denholm]

And when this option is removed the threads labeled, "I wish we had 'No Tracers' option!" appear.

Gee, how can Hitech make people happy?

[Saxman]

No.

[Clifra Jones]

Originally posted by oboe
Winston Churchill once said, "There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result".  

I think he is right, but it also gets your blood pumpin' when the incoming fire is telling and you begin to lose pieces of your plane.   When your opponent is not using tracers, you get no satisfaction from dodging rounds, because you can't see anything.

I don't think there is any option that gives vets a bigger advantage against newer players, and you'd think that's gotta hurt the game in the long run.

Finally, is AH's implementation realistic?   Were non-tracer rounds entirely invisible?  I think I've read air combat stories that include references to "glowing" cannon rounds, or something like that.

Translation: I got shot down by bullets I never saw. THAT"S NOT FAIR, BAN THE NO TRACER OPTION!

[VonMessa]

Actually,

 Vets have an advantage over newcomers because of advanced skill in the following:

* SA
* BCM
* ACM
* Gunnery

All which come from experience.

Secondly, it's not as easy as one may think to hit a target with tracers off.

So......

Unless the guy is really good or has HUGE taters, he might not make a kill shot in the first volley.  If he connects, but doesn't kill on the first volley, the advantage of surprise is lost, and it makes it harder to hit a target with tracers off once the target starts squirming around.

Give it a try in offline mode and you may notice how it is not that easy even with the bandits flying in a predictable circling pattern.

I usually keep mine on because it helps to clear your wingie's six if a pursuer is on him.

[oboe]

Originally posted by Clifra Jones
Translation: I got shot down by bullets I never saw. THAT"S NOT FAIR, BAN THE NO TRACER OPTION!

LOL, I've been around long enough to handle getting shot down by no tracers without getting too upset about it, Clifra.   No translation is necessary -- just got to thinking about it from a new player's POV.  

VonMessa, I have started to give no tracers a try recently.  A lot of the real good 38 drivers don't use them.   You are right, it's more difficult, but I imagine I can improve quite a bit if I stick with it.

Good point about clearing the wingie's six.

Denholm, I am sure Hitech would go nuts if his goal was to try to make everybody happy.   btw,  I'm happy!  It's not a whine thread.   Just wondered what other people thought about the no tracers option.

Still curious if no tracers meant an absolutely undetectable stream of fire in real life, though...

[Saxman]

The point is: If he can hit you with his tracers OFF, he's just going to hit you with tracers ON. This is not a bug, or exploit, or cheat, or gaming the game. The top pilots historically DID typically fly without tracers loaded.

Practice gunnery then you can turn them off, too. OR turn them off now if you wish and practice that way. Sometimes tracers actually hurt your gunnery because you end up aiming with THEM, and not your gunsight.

[lyric1]

I have a old ww11 gun camera footage on cd were this one p47 has no tracer but you can see the hit sprites it is in colour. I guess you could use ammo with no tracer if they had it then we should have it now.

[oboe]

Sax,

I don't mean at all to imply that I think no tracers is in anyway a bug, cheat, exploit, or gaming the game.   It is just a user-configurable feature of the game, and yep, I am sure there were more than a hand full of top pilots who flew without tracers in their ammo load.

And yep, I am trying it out too.

Probably the 'WishList' was the wrong place to post these questions, as I meant it to be a pros/cons discussion of the feature and its affects on new players in the game.   The '?' in my subject was intentional.

I wonder how much of a frustration it is for a new player to be shot down by invisible bullets and cannon rounds.    Is AH missing giving him the visceral thrill of tracers slashing by his canopy as others quickly find their mark and pulverize his plane?

That lead me to wonder if AH's implementation of the no tracers option as an undetectable stream of fire for all calibers and round types, is accurate and true to life.  I'm not sure about that one way or another.

[Denholm]

Originally posted by oboe
...Probably the 'WishList' was the wrong place to post these questions, as I meant it to be a pros/cons discussion of the feature and its affects on new players in the game.   The '?' in my subject was intentional...

Agreed, anything posted here (with or without a question mark) is looked upon as a request.

[VansCrew1]

I like flying with no tracers. My accuracy has improved and people cant see me shooting them till it's to late. I thought it would be hardened with them off but it's great.

[hubsonfire]

I'm pretty sure that I'm fundamentally opposed to any unrealistic changes made solely to make it harder to shoot people down, in a game whose main objective is shooting people down.

Also, I would think that if bullets were easily visible flying through the atmosphere (I must admit, I have never seen one), that the tracer round would never have been devised.

[Latrobe]

Originally posted by Denholm
And when this option is removed the threads labeled, "I wish we had 'No Tracers' option!" appear.

Gee, how can Hitech make people happy?

He can't because people want things. When they get something then they want more and are not satisfied until they get what they want, and since they always want they will never be satisifed fully.

[LLogann]

Very True.....   You dont know hat you have until it's gone  Or something like that.

Originally posted by Latrobe
He can't because people want things. When they get something then they want more and are not satisfied until they get what they want, and since they always want they will never be satisifed fully.

[Helm]

The Real question is did WW2 pilots fly w/ no tracers?

....if they did what % of the time did this happen?

 ...based upon this you can make your own choice


One of my father friends was an Infantry man...they had intercepted a message that a SS unit was going to attack a certain area .....so they set up 3 machine guns in a flanking position .....Mr. Atkins said that all afternoon they sat around removing tracer rounds from their belts of ammo so the enemy could not see where they were firing from.....late that night the attack came....they fired and fired and fired....after a few minutes the MG barrell would start to glow red hott....as the barrells got hotter the barrell would start to bend up and the bullets would start to not fire straight ...he said he would then put on his gloves and change the barrell and they would continue firing ...this went on for the rest of the night .....by morning Mr. Atkins said that the German soilder's bodies were pilled up 4-5 feet high in some places ....that morning Mr. Atkins Lt. came up to him and said:  "Wendell ..you still looking for a SS officers ring?" ...he said "yes sir" ....the Lt. walked over to a dead SS officer...pulled out a revolver and proceded to shoot the dead officers finger off ....the Lt. picked up the finger with the ring still on it..and said:  ..."here ya go" ....Mr. Atkins told me that he wore that ring all the time....but lost it one day when he went swiming in the ocean .....Mr. Wendell Atkins has passed away...he was a great man...just wanted to share his story with you guys


Helm ...out