Stat padding in the less populated LWM

[Guppy35]

Funny, 1st place never meant you were a good stick.


ack-ack

Agreed.  I don't ever remember attaching the #1 ranking to the names I'd come across that were great sticks.  Those guys learned early on that score meant little.

[Kazaa]

My answer to this is: So what?

You're talking about this as if it's something new. Milking was always a part of this.. nothing has changed in the past few years.

When we only had 1 MA players did exact the same things. Flying at non-prime time with 90 players on a big map was making milking not more difficult than now milking a small map with 40 players. Happily bombing a start target as soon as an enemy zone base was captured, switching sides to take other milking opportunities. It was the same as it's today.

Don't look at other people's rank and you will be more happy in game

I’m not talking about milk running Lusche, there is a difference between that phrase and stat padding I believe.

With the old MA, off peak numbers use to be a little under 100. In LWB I’ve seen off peak numbers as little as half a dozen. So your wrong sir, there is a massive difference . For example when you took up a buff in the MA, even in off peak hours you would most likely have an enemy 190/109 coming to say hello. The fact that you can fly just over the ack and bomb strat after strat without anyone giving a toss because they are doing exactly the same thing is the point I’m getting at here mate. The same applies to every other aspect of the scoring system bar Fighter, which you need to go into the furballs and kill stuff that fights back.

[Kazaa]

Agreed.  I don't ever remember attaching the #1 ranking to the names I'd come across that were great sticks.  Those guys learned early on that score meant little.

Well if score means little in Aces High 2, doesn't that mean the system on which it is bases is flawed ? I thank you

[Lusche]

Sorry, I've been there and done that. I can fly stats padding buff sorties in both MA's without difference. The number of players doesn't really matter that much.

And again, just under 100 players in the old MA with large map meant even less player density as 40 players on a small map as it's mostly the case now in LWB. A large map has 4 times the area of a small one. It was incredibly easy to pad your stats back then too.

[Kazaa]

Sorry, I've been there and done that. I can fly stats padding buff sorties in both MA's without difference. The number of players doesn't really matter that much.

And again, just under 100 players in the old MA with large map meant even less player density as 40 players on a small map as it's mostly the case now in LWB. A large map has 4 times the area of a small one. It was incredibly easy to pad your stats back then too.

"The numbers off players don't really matter that much" they mean everything or the old MA wouldn't have been split in the 1st place.

P.S I saw the giant bellybutton island map in the LWB arena last tour. So try again 

[Guppy35]

Well if score means little in Aces High 2, doesn't that mean the system on which it is bases is flawed ? I thank you

Sure.  Unless you have every player do the same thing, in the same plane, for the same amount of time, no scoring system will really mean anything.  But since so many folks get locked in on a number or a rank, it's probably the best that can be expected.  And since in time most of us figure out that it doesn't really mean anything, we get over it

[MajIssue]

Lusche, I'm talking about Attack/Bomber/GV score here my friend.

You can do what you want in the less populated arena without being sniffed at by an enemy player, such as:

Bomb strat after start to death to improve your bomber/attack score.
Take base after base to improve your bomber/GV score.
Have a little cruise in a PT boat to a town and rocket it to death to massively improve your GV score.

After you've done all off the above you can go into the bigger populated arena and vultch your tits off for 1st place.

Have a nice day.

My question would be... WHY does it lessen the enjoyment YOU get out of the game? I am far more worried about the "pair of high Ponys" above my furball than about who is milkrunning to improve one dimension of their game score. "Nuff Said"

[Lusche]

Well I saw the giant bellybutton island map in the LWB arena last tour. So try again 

And?

I thought I have made it clear that you always could milk with ease, you still can do it now regardless of being in high or low numbers arena and what map is on. Two nights ago I was jolly milking in the most populated MA with more than 300 players on without any problem

Players always did milk/pad, do milk/pad and will do milk/pad in future. Nothing much has changed, and your basic assumption that rank number means less these day as it once did is just wrong.

There are several ways to play concerning stats & ranks.

1. Completely ignore them. Choosing to follow that outdated burgeois "fun" concept seems to work for many players, especially old people like Guppy35

2. Watching your own stats, try to improve them. Try to get "better" all while keeping in mind that different was to play and/or different rides result in different numbers. For example a K/D of 3.0 means something different in a 262 only tour than in a Hurry I only tour.

3. Play the rank game. Try to get #1.. that means not only watching your own score but those of other competing players. Can resemble more work than playing, can actually massively reducing playing choices ("cant fly plane XX becasue my rank would suffer") and sometimes results in people getting VERY upset about being shot down... or about other players way to play, which in turn  often results  in angry forum postings

[Kazaa]

Sure.  Unless you have every player do the same thing, in the same plane, for the same amount of time, no scoring system will really mean anything.  But since so many folks get locked in on a number or a rank, it's probably the best that can be expected.  And since in time most of us figure out that it doesn't really mean anything, we get over it

I’m not going to lie, that was properly the most sense I have ever read on this forum. .

[SFCHONDO]

If I were you, I'd just pretend score in this game does not even exist. Forget about it even being viewable and just go fly and have fun. 

[BaldEagl]

For example when you took up a buff in the MA, even in off peak hours you would most likely have an enemy 190/109 coming to say hello. The fact that you can fly just over the ack and bomb strat after strat without anyone giving a toss because they are doing exactly the same thing is the point I’m getting at here mate.

A few months ago, after building a new computer, I had a bug where everytime I tried to bomb a strat I would get disco'd.  I tried for a couple of weeks to find what was causing it and the only way to test after each attempt was to go into the MA and fly a strat run as it wouldn't happen off-line.

I flew 55 sorties over strats in enemy territory at peak hours in the LWAs, mostly in Bostons, was discoed 36 times (the first 12 were in AR234's, then I switched to Bostons) and had one, count them, one, enemy fighter engage me during all those sorties.  (TG for that as I needed to get to the target and drop to test or I'd have wasted all that time for nothing).

I did finally find and fix the bug BTW.

[SlapShot]

Well if score means little in Aces High 2, doesn't that mean the system on which it is bases is flawed ? I thank you

ummm ... yes.

[Kazaa]

Summery from my point of view Lusche, as I cannot go on all day mate.

It's a little easier to get a higher GV/Attack/Bomber rank on the same map with a lot fewer people to put a spanner in the works. I was only using buffing starts as an example here guys, the same applies to taking bases and all that good stuff aswell.

The funny thing is that I’ve only played for score once in the almost 4 years I’ve played this game believe it or not. I just wanted to voice my opinion on the whole scoring system.

[Simaril]

Kazaa,

There is absolutly, completely, nothing new about the score system and the way it can be manipulated. Period.

There have been no substantive changes since I've been here, way back to AH1. Getting a good ranking has always meant filling in the boxes (each score category) to the best of your ability, much more than it has meant a meaningful measure of skill.

Now it definitely takes skill to get in the top 10 -- but there are plenty of equally (or more) skilled players who couldn't care less, and who rank in the 100s because of how they fly and what kind of sorties they choose.

And I'd wager you can't come up with a better system. Stats systems will always fall short of the accurate ranking you imply you'd like to see -- which is why they don't give the World Series title to the team with the best combination of ERA, Runs Scored, and Batting Average.

[Kazaa]

Well said Simaril.

I remember Wilbuz never use to play for rank, and he was the most "skilled" pilot I've ever faced without a shadow of a doubt.