My experiences....

[J_A_B]

As long as I have played AH, on or offline, I have had massive problems with aircraft stability.  Namely, the plane bounces like it's on a yo-yo any time I touch the stick.  Needless to say, this makes it quite hard for me to shoot anything--it's damn near impossible actually.  This "bounce-o-matic" pretty much destroys what is otherwise a great game.

I am not talking about minor flight deviations...I mean LARGE bounces, 10 degrees or more.  Plus, once it starts, it doesn't want to stop--even if I let up on my stick, the plane bounces a few times before comming to a rest.   It's as if my plane is attached to a giant, invisible spring.

I can't figure out what the problem is, either.  Seems like everyone else thinks the planes in AH are "smooth".  Indeed, a lot of people say that Aces High is considerably "smoother" than WarBirds.  So I downloaded WarBirds and checked it myself....and was promptly dumbfounded.   The planes didn't bounce like a yo-yo; indeed, I could actually point the plane where I wanted it, rather than mush all over.

If the planes in AH were anywhere near as smooth as in WB's for me, I wouldn't be making this post.  I cannot stress how bad it is.

So why the heck is AH practically unplayable for me, when WarBirds is fine?  Why do the AH planes mush all over and wiggle and bounce and generally make it near impossible to shoot things?  It REALLY kills the fun of the game, when I have an enemy lined up...then my plane bounces all over and I can't shoot anything.  Especially since others don't seem to have this problem.


I have attempted scaling SEVERAL different joysticks, but it has no noticable in-game effect whatsoever.  I still get "Bounces High".

Yes, I have calibrated my sticks in-game and in Windows.  Heck, one stick is a USB force feedback stick, and even with it my planes do nothing but bounce.  And no, I am not confusing this with the pilot head movement.  nor am I confusing this with stalls....it happens even when the stall horn is totally silent.

What's going on here???  How do I stop my plane from being a flying SUPERBALL??


J_A_B

[TheWobble]

Well I was gonna say y axis stick spiking, but if Brand W doesent do it then im dumbfounded as well.  

?????

[Tac]

if its USB joystick try removing the USB HUB CONTROLLER from your DEVICE MANAGER and restarting the computer. It sometimes helps.

If not remove/reinstall joystick software (if any) and remove/reinstall the joystick in windows.

Have you tried your joystick or AH in another computer (using your joystick in this other computer)?

[J_A_B]

Joysticks--plural

I have three, and they all have the same effect.  


J_A_B

[Tac]

At the risk of saying something you may have obviously tried already...

have you set the dampening and dead band in ACES HIGH? Calibrated stick IN Aces High?

Are all your joysticks USB or do you have serial AND USB joysticks?

[J_A_B]

Tried all of those with all my joysticks.

1 is USB digital, 2 are gameport analog.

I don't see how it could be joystick-related, as WB's has no problem whatsoever.  That, and it is unlikely that THREE joysticks would all malfunction in the same manner in just ONE game.

Still, something has to cause it.  Thanks for replying, anything is useful.


J_A_B

[Vermillion]

JAB, post screenshots of your joystick setup panel in AH, including the dampening, deadband, and response curves. If we see that we may be able to suggest changes.

Nose bounce as you describe is almost always a problem of setting it up to work with your system very well.

Well... that, and the traditional HFP problems (Ham Fisted Pilots   ).

------------------
Vermillion
**MOL**, Men of Leisure

[Fishu]

Heres screenshot of my stick setup, if it would have any help

 

[Tac]

I have mine set higher and my stick doesnt spike, its just sensitive. Set them 1/3rd of the way up.

[flakbait]

I've got my sliders set a LOT higher than that. Dead band on my rudder is set about a quarter of the way up since this old twisty stick is getting up there in age. I'd set your dampening a little higher, then set all the sliders in pitch at a minimum of 75%. Ramp them up from there. Roll sliders I set to 100% all the way across to get max roll rate. Yaw sliders are set the same as pitch, only with a higher dead band. Even though my stick is nearing 4 years of age it still works fine. I can fly and fight without spikes, major jumps or any other SNAFU.

-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta 6's Flight School
Put the P-61B in Aces High
"For yay did the sky darken, and split open and spew forth fire, and
through the smoke rode the Four Wurgers of the Apocalypse.
And on their canopies was tattooed the number of the Beast, and the
number was 190." Jedi, Verse Five, Capter Two, The Book of Dweeb
 

[Fishu]

krhm gents, that picture is meant for J_A_B to take example of it  
not that I'd have any problems myself..

[eagl]

JAB,

After you set the scaling, move the stick around and watch that little square window with the lines on it.  You can then see how far the little cross moves with each stick movement.  My stick scaling profile looks really odd because I saw that the cross wasn't moving how I expected it to.  I experimented a LONG time and now it moves in a fairly linear fashion, although you wouldn't expect that from how my scaling is set.

Try tweaking the scaling, hit apply, then move the stick fwd and back watching the little cross.  You might be suprised how it acts.

Oh yes, also make sure you set your damper settings low or off at first, then adjust AFTER you scale the stick.
 

------------------
eagl <squealing Pigs> BYA
Oink Oink To War!!!

[Westy]

 Hiya J_A_B.  

 <deleted original post> ....

 JAB, after having just read a few of your posts on the Kraits board from the last week and this weekend I figured I was certainly wasting  my time and assistance here.

 "I pretty much despise AH, but I put up with it because its the only way I can fly in a FR environment--even though I think their flight model sucks bellybutton (no I won't say that on their forums, but that IS how I feel)."

 That was the part that did it for me. To be honest (not a flame), but to judge the validity oa a FM as being good or bad depending on whether  you suck or not flying it or if you can't get your stick working with it is plain bogus.
 

 "AW's FR flight model is the best around.  I love their buffeting model; I can actually avoid spinning.  It feels like a real plane, not a flying springboard."

 .... the FM being better in AW. Oh that's a good laugh. That was pretty damned funny    

 Good luck.  Can't wait to see your diatrabes and whine on WWII Online, WB III or the mythical AW-4.

  FYI I'd only posted this in case anyone esle felt they might be wasting thier time helping you after knowing how you felt.
 
   -Westy
 




[This message has been edited by Westy (edited 03-05-2001).]