What did you expect, starting a thread trashing a player-created game that isn't making anyone any money?
If you had a real opinion in there, other than just talking crap about a game you haven't contributed to, it's well hidden. Your post was in pretty poor taste. If you wanted to do a real comparison, you could have easily done so. But you acted the boor and now you're complaining that someone called you on your poor behavior. At least you're consistent.
I am far from complaining. Wouldn't you say that AH has player created features? Yes I may have been harsh, so in light of that I have made an all out honest opinion based comparison. <<S>> Take care Eagl
-User Interface-
AH seems to be more user friendly compared to TW. In TW you must download many different mods to play in a certain area or fly a particular plane. Some of these may be a quite lengthy download. On my internet connection (20mps) it took approximately 2hrs to download one mod. Other mods were quicker, but the wait time was not what I had hoped for.
Inside the TW mod there are many different mini scenarios to choose from. Some had descriptions others did not. This made it a troublesome time to decide where I’d like to participate at. As I was wanting to fly the P-51 it took some time to find a mini mod that had the P-51 in it.
In my attempts to set up my X52P, I found it very difficult to map the controller buttons (as there are numerous on an X52P). TW does have nice info with the press of the ESC on flight tips, or key strokes to operate specific controls.
While in the “seat” of the aircraft, the panel layout is close to accurate, but the view around the cockpit was control by my mouse. I was not very comfortable with this as I typically have my mouse pushed off to the side while I’m in flight. If I bumped the mouse my “eyes on position” move causing me to have to adjust.
Overall, I feel that AH is much more user friendly as far as starting a sortie and getting your personal controls setup.
-Graphics-
On my PC the graphics looked to be a bit blurred and fuzzy. Even without the AH hi res pack I feel that the AH graphics are more crisp and clear. I did enjoy the vapor streams off the wing tips from a hard maneuver. I cannot comment on the effect of having multiple people in the same area and the effects on the graphics due to a lack of other players.
The water in TW is medium blue with little white specks, and I assume it to give you the impression of real water. Even with the advanced water of AH V2.14 off or the previous V2.13 of AH (prior to the new reflective water), AH’s water seemed to have a real presence.
In the TW cockpits, the gauges seemed difficult to read, as they were slightly blurred. The gauge needles also seem slightly blurred, and difficult to read exact airspeeds.
TW does have somewhat realist flaps graphics compared to AH, although this is minor. But you could seem that the flaps have a rounded inner wing edge to them as compared to AHs squared design.
Ground clutter in AH is far superior verse TW in my eyes. AH has a more lifelike appearance when at altitude. The TW ground textures seemed to be rather bland, and for me this took away from the flying experience.
I did enjoy the fact that the runways looked like dirt strips, verse the AH community airport, a sense of “being on the front” in my eyes. Also when starting the big Merlin engine there was a cloud of dust from the prop blast, another nice little touch.
Overall, the base graphics of TW verse AH base graphics is debatable. In my opinion though the AH graphics have a more crisp and clear look to them right out of the “box”.
-Flight-
Once in flight I felt that the TW planes felt the same. Between the P-51 and a P-47 they felt equal in terms of pitch, roll, and yaw. Meaning I expected to the P-47 to feel heavy when compare to the smaller P-51. And in my opinion they didn’t.
I felt it was difficult to judge speed while in flight in TW. In AH the controls of the plane become lighter and heavier depending on the plane and speed. I could not acquire this same sense of feeling in the TW product, and had to constantly check my gauges to determine my speed.
I cannot comment on feel during combat verse other players, as I could not find any logged into the servers.
The lack of ammo counters would take a little time to get accustom to, as I do not have the precise duration of fire verse ammo left on plane tucked away in my head.
Engine management controls are used in TW, which is somewhat of a neat feature. Although, not having my 51 flight manual in front of me made it difficult to gauge when to engage different levels of blower speeds. Cowl flaps, oil cooler shutters, prop pitch, mixture are controllable features in TW. But for me it’s not something that would pull me to TW vs. AH . Although lifelike, without the mutli levered and switch setup for control, it was not as fancy as I would have thought. Perhaps with actual levers to control these features, I would have been able to emerge myself into this feature.
Flaps on the 51 were also different compared to AH. There were no set degree points. I compare it to the power window function of my car. Depending on the position of the flaps when you let off is where the flap stops. So you basically have anywhere to 1o to full flaps.
Overall, I wish there had been some players on to engage in combat with. I do feel that AH does portray a better “perceived feeling of flight” than TW.
-Community-
Although there was no one on when I made my attempt to play, I did take a gander at their forums. There seemed to be a few core players. Most of them spoke about many of the same issues that we discuss on our forums. I did notice that the lack of players does come up often. This leads me to believe that the overall fan base and player core is rather small. For me this is a direct turn off to TW. I enjoy the fact that AH allows one to log in anytime, anywhere around the world and find a battle.
Much of TW is player created, and I give them “props” for what they have done, but at the same time AH is also player driven. Perhaps not in the types and models of planes in the game, but with skins, maps, scenarios, snaps shots, and other event content.
Overall, the communities are much the same, there just happens to be many more AHers than TWers.
In closing, I feel that AH is a better structured environment, and has a large player base that will keep AH going and growing long into the future. As for the player base at TW, I offer them to come join us in the skies of AH, enjoy a scenario, or snapshot. But if you enjoy being able to “control” the functions of the aircraft, check out TW. As for me, I’m quite happy where I’m at, and plan on staying with the AH community.
