Set me straight about what? It's OK that I do not completely agree with everyone. I'm just stating there are still people here who use the messages as a means of judging our performance in the DA. That doesn't mean that if I am consistently scoring 5+ kills in the DA that I'm going to move the MA and get the same. It's a different style of flying and fighting but for me it's an accomplishment as it has only been in the last few weeks that I have been able to return to base at all in the DA.
Try to look at it this way, you have some really good sticks in the DA and then you have the mediocre sticks like myself and then you have the ones that well.. probably should take up another hobby. I see the good sticks landing tons of kills and that's because they use good SA and make sound decisions. I strive to fly like them and there are several that do the same as me. so it is an accomplishment when we go on a run and score 5 kills and manage to return home to be shown the one message that we have been waiting for since we started flying in the DA.
Ciaphas, the point is, the "kills message standard" has led you to think that these guys are good sticks. By and large they aren't. In fact, they're amongst the absolute worst in this game. Taking off at furball arena, climbing up to ensure you're always higher, taking the fastest plane with the best guns possible, attacking preoccupied enemies, and running whenever one's on your six,
WILL MAKE YOU A TERRIBLE PILOT.
Yet for whatever reason, the landed-kills becomes the standard. People like you think such players are "good." You're probably as eager as anyone, and have asked them how to do it. So eventually, you learn from them how to do it. Now you can do the same things they do. Now you can climb higher, take a faster plane with the best guns, attack preoccupied enemies, and "egress" when the situation gets "bad." But now you're also a terrible pilot because you have mistakenly associated a certain style with "skill."
A few months later a new guy shows up and starts emulating you. The cycle continues. Soon enough, there are arenas full of people just like the first pilot you thought was "good." It snowballs. The gameplay gets worse and worse.
If HTC removes the message from the text buffer I'm not going to be soar about it, I'm not going to piss and moan that it's been removed. I'm gonna keep flying and fighting. I think one thing that can be done is for sticks to support each other while they are in the air. If Pilot A shoots down pilot B, pilot B should at least salute pilot A. I guess I'm just a dying breed in the DA. I do care about achievements, flying with honor and using strong tactics and teamwork to deny the enemy but like I said before I'm not going to be mad if they remove it nor will it affect my game play.
It sounds like you're the sort of person who could do good things in this game, and earn some
real accomplishments. But if you want to do that, you have to stop emulating the names in lights before it is too late.