Hi Baldrick!
The "Bot" (AI) aircraft vary in their combat skill and tactics. In my experience and observation, older versions of Aces High used better bot AI and combat tactics than the newer ones. Once the initial kinks were worked out in the versions offering offline missions, the bot aircraft were tough opponents, and they flew pretty good combat tactics. I had to be alert and on my toes all the time to win against them. Of course, like all such "bot" aircraft from virtually all vendors, eventually I became able to predict their response in any given situation, and with practice against them, I eventually learned how to beat them consistently. But the process was fun and absorbing, and I needed a lot of practice to get to that point.
Recent versions of Aces High appear to have had their bots "dumbed down". I am just guessing here, but I think HTC wants to make sure that the online experience is always superior to offline practice in every significant aspect, and that certainly makes economic sense. (After all, if HTC stops making money, their generosity will necessarily come to an end, and then we all lose.) This may make you tempted to install an old version of Aces High. If you do, I'd encourage you to also keep a current version up-to-date on your computer. You'll always need the newest, greatest version running in order to enjoy online activity and to explore the latest features. It's easy to install 2 or more versions: simply put them into different folders. Thereafter, when you want to use one, just explore into the appropriate folder of your filesystem and double-click on "aceshigh.exe". Your selected version will start right up.
As for "player-to-target view", Aces High does offer a version of "Padlock". Most players don't use it. The general consensus is that padlock is rather disorienting, and automates a level of "Target Fixation" that tends to get you killed quickly in the unpredictable online combat world for which AH was written. However, if you are already experienced with some kind of "padlock", you may find that it eases the transition into Aces High. I'd experiment with and reach my own conclusions if I were you.
Regards,
