Understanding the Plane/Pilot Dynamic Objectively

[Zazen13]

There came a point, and it was quite awhile ago, that I realized that I just don't posses "what it takes" to get to that level ... and I am ok with that ... but on the other hand, every time I fly and run into guys that can beat me, I still work at what it will take to beat them. I am always looking for ways to improve.

I agree with all that you have said, but I would also like to feel that what you have portrayed is hopefully not condoning to give up on trying to always better yourself in this game.

Thanks Slappy. 

I'm glad you went there. I did say everyone has a variable and unique maximum potential. This is true of anything in life. We are all were fed the myth when we were kids that we could be anything we wanted in life. At some point, as life goes on and doors close, you realize this was actually a lie. We all have gifts and we all have deficiencies. We also all have unique perspectives based on life experience, memory, conditioned responses and personality. All of these factors collectively determine our maximum potential at any endeavor.

The problem with maximum potential is no one ever knows when they get there. You can't know because, even though you've been plateaued for years, you could get better if you met a certain person, read a certain book or had a particularly enlightening fight where you experienced an epiphany etc...So, it's kind of like groping in the dark, coming up to what you think is a wall, then one day someone turns on a light and you realize that what you thought was a wall was actually a door to a whole new world you can now walk through.

I'll use a personal example...I am a very good pool player, I have been playing pool for over 20 years. It just all made perfect sense to me from the beginning, I got very good, very fast. Then at some point I realized I was not getting any better. Some people in the upper echelon would almost always beat me. Then one day I played this really old snooker player, we played for 14 hours straight. During the match I had an awakening, in Japanese it's called Satori, a flash of enlightened wisdom. Overnight, after 11 years of not improving, in spite of lots of practice, I suddenly got a lot better.

The point is, while I tell you everyone has a unique maximum potential, and this is actually true. Don't ever close your mind to the possibility that what you believe is your arrival at your maximum potential is actually a door disguised as a wall just waiting for someone or something to turn on the light so you can walk through.

[Hajo]

Zazen in no way was I refering to preaching.

In my own way I was expressing my agreement with your thoughts.

Well done.

Btw I flew a lot with <Lugs and <LT also.  Never joined the squad but enjoyed their company.

[SlapShot]

Don't ever close the door to the possibility what you think is your maximum potential is actually a door disguised as a wall just waiting for someone or something to turn on the light so you can walk through.

Amen to that ...  

[crockett]

So long as the goon driver has successfully reconciled conflict vs. fun it shouldn't be a problem...

I would rather that he was really really ticked off. I really love it when they get soo close to their goal only to be snapped back to the brink of reality with a 30mm tatter. In fact I sometimes even condone torture of goons, by allowing them to reach a town that has started to pop.

[Zazen13]

I would rather that he was really really ticked off. I really love it when they get soo close to their goal only to be snapped back to the brink of reality with a 30mm tatter. In fact I sometimes even condone torture of goons, by allowing them to reach a town that has started to pop.

This reminds me of the Eddy Murphy bit where he has the ice cream cone and is taunting the other kids with it...

[Steve]

This reminds me of the Eddy Murphy bit where he has the ice cream cone and is taunting the other kids with it...

Want a lick?  Psych!

[JB11]

Want a lick?  Psych!

Oh so true, now that's some funny stuff!!!   

[BnZ]

Then one day I played this really old snooker player, we played for 14 hours straight. During the match I had an awakening, in Japanese it's called Satori, a flash of enlightened wisdom. Overnight, after 11 years of not improving, in spite of lots of practice, I suddenly got a lot better.

I think some people play this game 14 hours every day...myself, I'd SLEEP that much a day if I could, but certainly not AH 

Anyway, I'd much rather sell my soul to some daemonic entitity for God-like AH abilities (The ability to shoot like Zazen, to make overshoots like Batfink). You know, enough to really make other player's lives a living hell, whether I'm bnz'ing them or furballing them.

But I went down the crossroads last night and petitioned for like, two hours, didn't get anything but mosquito bites, damn you Robert Johnson. (NOT the P-47 pilot).   

[Zazen13]

I think some people play this game 14 hours every day...myself, I'd SLEEP that much a day if I could, but certainly not AH 

Anyway, I'd much rather sell my soul to some daemonic entitity for God-like AH abilities (The ability to shoot like Zazen, to make overshoots like Batfink). You know, enough to really make other player's lives a living hell, whether I'm bnz'ing them or furballing them.

But I went down the crossroads last night and petitioned for like, two hours, didn't get anything but mosquito bites, damn you Robert Johnson. (NOT the P-47 pilot).   

Yea, I feel for ya. It's not something that another person can tell you. You can't go to Murdr or Rolex in the TA and say, "Show me what I could be one of the best in the game at please..". I was lucky in that my magic gift was as obvious as a dog's balls right from the outset. Articulating my gift was just a simple matter of using it a lot and practicing different shots to add to my mental aiming computer's repertoire. Some gifts also require formal training, like flying skill, to maximize them. Flying is kind of like Kung-Fu, there are moves and sequences of moves and counter-moves all of which are highly coordinated and situational. Gifted flying intuition can only take you so far there, you will have to be formally trained or read an air combat text to maximize it.

It could be worse, I had an old friend in early AW. He was one of the best pilots I have ever seen, he'd be right up there with Levi. He was an amazing TnB guy, he'd seduce you into his best corner speed or out of yours and peel your plane like an overripe banana before you even knew what happened. The problem was he had no SA. He just had a deficiency, he could not keep track of more than 2 planes other than is own, including friendlies. Worse still he was acutely aware of this and became obsessed with what "other" planes were doing..Well you can guess, he would get bushwhacked constantly. Eventually as more players flooded the arena over time he got tired of getting his pitiful SA taken advantage of and quit the game entirely.

That just goes to show, just like the grim reality of my great aim, but only mediocre flying skill. You may find your gift can be a cruel joke too if it happens to be inexorably intertwined with another skill you severely lack in proportion. It happens and it's sad when it does.

[sax]

There came a point, and it was quite awhile ago, that I realized that I just don't posses "what it takes" to get to that level ... and I am ok with that ... but on the other hand, every time I fly and run into guys that can beat me, I still work at what it will take to beat them. I am always looking for ways to improve.

And that spot is the best , more fun than thinking you are better than you are , and good enough to make the aces pay attention after the merge .
And you are better than you think you are Slappy .

[JHerne]

I agree completely with learning SA and making it part of your individual doctrine. There's going to be inevitable frustration for a variety of reasons...Ho-ing, vulching, or just doing something stupid. We never find out who our opponents are until you've killed him or he kills you, so you never know who you're up against.

I shot down a noob last night, he was flying southbound, away from his base, into empty ocean. Since it was the end of the night, I tailed him to see how long this would go on. We flew for almost 15 minutes, he'd make gradual turns, rolls, etc. I was never less than 1K away, so it was obvious I was there...we weren't even flying all-out...cruising along...

I almost felt bad for shooting him down, but I did, from 250 meters, straight on his 6. He never looked back, not once. Imagine how that person felt. Maybe he shrugged it off, maybe he called me bad names and wished me ill-will. Maybe he got mad at himself for not checking his six. I'll never know.

I've gotten really ticked off in-game. Not necessarily at another player, but at myself for allowing myself to get cornered, wasting E, or doing something stupid. I've also gotten ticked off at the game. I've flown for years, logged more than 3000 hours of flight time in all sorts of aircraft. I can fly the real-deal with no problems at all, but I SUCK in AH. I never flew AW, but did fly CFS and CFS2 online and was very competitive in those arenas.

There are so many variables that make someone a good, all-around combat pilot. With a game like this, everything from your processor and video card, stick, and keyboard mapping can make a difference. Add to that personalities, aggression or lack thereof, an understanding of ACM and SA (and practicing it!), and a knowledge of the aircraft you're flying, make this mess anything but understandable.

I know, at this point, that chances are I'm going to end up as someone's kill. Once in awhile, I get lucky and run into someone with equal or inferior skills and I land a few myself. I think by virtue of being there and participating, that you can improve by learning from your mistakes. Eventually, you run into someone with superior skills who makes a mistake and you get lucky and land a kill.

To many players, the 'big thing' is to land as many kills as you can before you get shot down. Personally, I'm happy just making it home. I doubt anyone will ever see me landing 3, 4, 5, kills in anything but a GV, but as long as I know I'm improving, I'll continue to play the game.

Jeff

[Cthulhu]

Anyway, I'd much rather sell my soul to some daemonic entitity for God-like AH abilities

DEAL, just sign on the dotted line. And just for the record, you probably shoot better than me, so no promises, and no refunds.

xoxoxo,
Dread Cthulhu

[Hap]

Great post Zazen! 

[humble]

Outstanding post...

I think it hits 100% right on in every aspect. It's funny reading your thoughts because in some ways it mirrors my own but from a different perspective. I simply cant shoot...period. My gunnery is always pitiful, has always been pitiful and inspite of my ongoing positive thinking will invariably be pitiful. I also cant fly for beans. What I mean by that is that I simply cannot find that feather edge that the great duelers can. I'm certainly competent ACM wise and my thinking is reasonably good...if I can out ACM the other guy I'll win pretty easily...but when it gets really down and dirty and reaches that white knuckled on the edge stage I end up like Maxwell Smart {"Missed it by that much "} more often then not.

So I've evolved to the point where I realize that my "strength" is "non edge of the envelope ACM" where I can hold my own with 80%+ of the population. My thought are that those with either natural gunnery or the ability to put a given plane "on the edge" progress quickly...but I also think that those who aggressively pursue both "snap shots" and "bleeding edge ACM" learn those easier then those who chase "SA" and "managing the fight". By the time I became a trainer I had reached the conclusion that the F6F, 109F, 205 were the ideal beginners planes because they "forced" both gunnery and "feather edge disipline" to a degree.

But in the end I think your spot on in the sense that each player has to find a style that complements there skill set and provides a reasonable level of satisfaction. Most of us that "burn out" (been there a bunch of times) do so by chasing a "holy grail" of percieved need or by becoming so stale and set in one play style that bordom sets in.

My gut feel is that good gunnery is the great equalizer, a good shot will beat a great stick most of the time and a great shot will beat a great stick almost 100% of the time. ACM trumps good SA...and "edge of the envelope" trumps ACM most of the time.

[Zazen13]

There are so many variables that make someone a good, all-around combat pilot. With a game like this, everything from your processor and video card, stick, and keyboard mapping can make a difference. Add to that personalities, aggression or lack thereof, an understanding of ACM and SA (and practicing it!), and a knowledge of the aircraft you're flying, make this mess anything but understandable.

This is all very true, the plane/player dynamic is complex to the point of being unfathomable. Literally things you wouldn't even think of going into how you fight in AH actually have an enormous impact.

For example, my father was a research doctor (he's dead now), he was incredibly intelligent. I guess because of this he was extremely hard on me academically. His motto was, "Anything less than total perfection is complete failure". I can't remember when he first told me that, but it's one of my earliest memories of him. I can't tell you how many times I got in trouble because I only made a 98% on a test instead of 100% and I don't even want to talk about failing to do or getting incorrect an extra credit question on an exam <shudder>.

Now, even though he's gone, that whole mentality is infused into my very soul. It manifests itself in AH, blatantly affecting how I play. I have to be perfect, I hate letting people kill me, I hate missing shots, I hate anything less than unmitigated perfection. It just drives me crazy. No matter what plane I fly, who I fly with, or what type of fight it is, that's always superimposed upon it. I am sure if we all did some introspection we'd all discover at least one quirk from our personality that translates into a very unique approach to air combat, something that no other person likely manifests.