What do you consider 'skill'?

[5PointOh]

This thread just became INcredible.

[Plazus]

y0 B you know i love you to death bro. We're real life friends. But your bellybutton needs to step away from the game a while. You are WAYYYY to far in to it. Go out get drunk and take home a fattie. Take pics and send to me

Dont worry sir, got that taken care of:

[LLogann]

I didn't start the fire...............  But you're dam right, the gasoline I carry in my trunk gets broken out real quick when some Donkey can't contribute and just try to be hurtful.................   

This thread just became INcredible.

Oh wait a sec....... I don't cry about silly chit.................  I'm not an EMO kid. 

[grizz441]

Um...

[LLogann]

I'm with you sir.  2 pages ago, I just wanted to give you a compliment about last night <S> 

All the sudden I get some Donkey talking watermelon about things he doesn't even know about. 

Um...

And if I'd have to bet, I'd go about 70/30 on the 100 duels.........   

Sorry............  Let's get back to what you were talking about before I was viciously attacked by some kid that wears makeup.

[FiLtH]

  Skill in this game in my eyes is someone who can willfully engage multiple enemies, them having alt/speed advantage, and better planes, and if not killing them all, atleast taking a few with you, and giving them a hell of a fight.

[stealth]

Theres very many diffrent names of what you call skill.It's overall just a game. In the end the ones that have the most fun are the real winners,those are the ones with skill.

[Kazaa]

Imo, some players think 1v1 skill is the end all be all and negate other very important factors.  Here are the most important skills that will dictate 'success' which in itself is a subjective term:

1v1 Ability:
Practicing 1v1s will obviously teach you ACM in a very controlled environment which can then be applied to more dynamic MA situations.  Imo 1v1 takes the most fundamental ACM knowledge to be successful at, but isn't necessarily the most important skill in the MA in being successful.  Being a 1v1 artist doesn't necessarily mean you can handle a 1vX, since a 1v1 requires no global awareness other than the fight at hand.

Aiming:
Probably just as important as ones ability to 1v1 is how well you can aim.  Think of situations where you start off in a 1v1 with an enemy on the fray of icon range.  You miss a couple easy shots and all of a sudden it's a 2v1.  You kill the first guy on your third try but now the other con has you saddled and dead to rights.  Had you killed that bogey on the first try, you would have been able to engage the 2nd con when he was 3k out.  Getting ganged in the MA is directly correlative to one's failure to dispose of threats in a situation they deemed safe.  The speed at which you eliminate threats in the MA will ultimately dictate if you get ganged.

Situation Awareness:
(a)
This is the most instinctual and experience based skill set of them all.  Decision making in a multi plane environment.  With every decision made comes Risk/Reward.  Reward can be defined as a kill, risk defined as death.  Accurate risk/reward assessment is something that can only come with experience.  Aggression can also be defined as ones decision based on their risk/reward assessment.  For example, if one engages four cons despite deciding he has less than a 10% chance of survival, this would be insanely aggressive.  On the other side of the coin, if one avoids an engagement because he has a 10% chance of death, this would be insanely passive.  All of these variables can be juggled into maximizing an individuals killing efficiency.
(b)
Another important aspect of SA, the rate at which you check your views.  How many times/minute do you check all your views?  This number is directly correlative to how clear your understanding of your surrounding is.  You can never check your views too often and if you consistently are missing threats, you need to increase the rate at which you check your views.

Teamwork:
How well does one set up bogeys for his allies and how well does he use his allies for easy kills?  You could call this being an 'opportunist', knowing the exact time to engage a con when he is clearly preoccupied or in an very unfavorable position, but this is actually a skill, being able to see this stuff.  

Boom and Zoom:
How well does one retain advantage against overwhelming odds below him?  Anybody can dive in and kill someone, but I evaluate one's B&Z ability in being able to kill bogeys below while being able to keep an advantage over the swarm.  Diving in, turning, and getting ganged would be an extremely poor use of this altitude advantage.

Dogfighting:
Being able to stay alive in a dogfight where multiple cons are trying to turn/B&z you.  I would argue this skill is actually the pinnacle of being versatile in all other sets, 1v1, Aiming, SA, all of which are equally important to being adequate in this skill.  You can be a great 1v1 pilot but end up ultimately being inadequate in a dogfight due to lack of SA or aim.  There's nothing great about saddling up a bogey just to get picked by one you didn't see.


These are the skills of a fighter as I see them in the MA.  Imo, the ones who are most versatile in all the skills listed are the better pilots, not just being great in any one category.  What do you consider in defining one's skill?

Nice write up Grizz.

New players to the game could learn a lot just from reading this.

[caldera]

BANG! Did you see that one comin?

 

Aint hard to see a HO shot coming. 

[TequilaChaser]

Grizz is only talking about the "Air Combat" part of this game, which is really what this game was built on....the ability to have Air Combat using cartoon models of WWII fighter planes........

all the other things replyed about regarding GV's, win the war, base captures etc, was not in the scope of the original Post! so should not be brought in to this debate/thread........ feel free to open another thread about "Overall Game Skill" , but leave this one to just Air Combat / fighters vs fighters type of play.....

also, E management is part of SA - SA includes both what is going on inside your cartoon cockpit and outside of it equally

my opinion, I always looked at it as:

* - SA
* - BFM/ACM
* - Gunnery

what good is gunnery if you can not see the current situation to use the appropriate BFM to get to a position that you can use your gunnery......

YMMV

nice lil post, Grizz

[aztec]

I consider skill as something everyone has except me. But I've got beer.

[33Vortex]

Theres very many diffrent names of what you call skill.It's overall just a game. In the end the ones that have the most fun are the real winners,those are the ones with skill.

That's social skill.

 

[grizz441]

Nice write up Grizz.

New players to the game could learn a lot just from reading this.

I don't think much can be learned per say, but it should give a better understanding of what is important pertaining to being skilled and what kind of specific help to look for.

[Cav1LTPB]

<---Have I ever shot you down? Claim Jumper and proud
!

[SAJ73]

I believe skill is when a pilot is able to enter a furball in a way that makes him get full overview of the situation, and from that position be able to sort out the most lethal enemies in a ranking order. And to be able to lead his turns in a way that makes the ones looking for him miss their shot, but in that same move make a pass at one of the most dangerous enemies in that ranking order. That may be a guy chasing your buddie's 6. Take him out first and your odds for survival have doubled at that very moment..

And always keep the e state up so you can keep enough distance and have time to plan the next attack without getting jumped.
That is good SA I believe, I am not able to do it myself but I am working on it.. 

But also, if it should happen that someone gets glued to your own 6 skill is needed to turn the tables fast without loosing the SA or the e advantage.
Perhaps knowing where the closest friendly is and drag the chaser for a nice setup is the most skillful solution for that given situation?

There is no doubt that skill comes with experience, and experience comes with constant practice! And constant practice requires offers.. It may be offers in social life with friends, family etc.. But you don't get to be a top stick of Aces High without making some offers!

Myself being a family guy and having kids makes it impossible for me to get enough time in game to climb the top of that Ace-stick ladder, but I still try to have fun. That takes a little skill too I think, to have fun no matter what..