How many people are usually playing AH?

[JustEric]

I haven't joined AH yet so I can't look at the arenas.  Just wondering how many people are in the arenas on a regular basis?  Based on the activity on the forum, I'd say it's a big community. 

I used to play AW and I'm thinking about getting back into the Flight Sim game.  Is the AH experience similar to the old AW days?  I must admit, I spent way to much time shooting down little dots in AW but loved every minute of it.   

Thanks,
Eric

[fuzeman]

Numbers really are time dependent. Early morning US times are low during the week but numbers pick up as work or school ends. Weekends different animal and generally attendance is up. Holidays iffy as some go on vacation and such but usually many are on anyway.

99.9% of the time you will be able to find many people to fight against.

[Stogie]

Which version of AW did you play?  There are many old AW'ers here. I believe that you will find more people in the Main Arena's (Orange and Blue) than you saw in earlier versions of AW.  Before dropping into the Arena's you may want to do a bit of reading in the Trainer section.. Then go into the Training arena.

If you recall how AW had a steep learning curve AH makes it look like a speed bump.

[Ghosth]

Mon night, bit after 9, Early war, 3, Mid War 9, LWOrange 226, LWBlue 119.

On a friday night it can be 3 times that many, plus over 500 in FSO.

Spend the 15$ see for yourself.

[LLogann]

That Gostly man speaks the truth!!!   

[JustEric]

Hey Stoggie,  I played AW for about 5 years or so.  I went from paying per hour to a flat rate.  When I stopped playing, they were losing steam and rumors abounded that War Birds was going to take over.  I don't remember the version   I remember, Subby was the best pilot in the game those days. 

I can't wait to get set up to play but it might take some time to piece a computer together. 

Thanks for the report of the number of players in the arenas.  It sounds like I have found the right place!!  I look forward to learning everything from scratch again. 

[grizz441]

Hey eric, there are usually anywhere from 200-600 players on at a time, depending on time and day.  On the average weekday night, there are usually 400 players on.

I used to fly Air warrior 3 on gamestorm in RRE1, and Aces High is a lot better.  Not even comparable really, you should see for yourself.

[maddafinga]

Hey Stoggie,  I played AW for about 5 years or so.  I went from paying per hour to a flat rate.  When I stopped playing, they were losing steam and rumors abounded that War Birds was going to take over.  I don't remember the version   I remember, Subby was the best pilot in the game those days. 

I can't wait to get set up to play but it might take some time to piece a computer together. 

Thanks for the report of the number of players in the arenas.  It sounds like I have found the right place!!  I look forward to learning everything from scratch again. 

It sounds like you might have been playing around the same time that I started AW.  Couple of guys in my squad might disagree with your Subby statement however   

Now after AW died I had a ten year layoff from sims (that damned real life got in the way), and have just come back here about two years ago.  Based on my experience getting back in:

If you flew in FR (like I did) you won't find that operating the planes and keeping them airborne is much harder really, that part should come right back to you like riding a bicycle.  The really nasty bit will be re-acquiring  your SA and ACM.  You'll find that those are more like high level math, they fade away when you don't use them.  Once you start to get a slightly better handle on that, then you'll start to be able to read the map better and find the kinds of fights you're looking for.  You'll just start to feel confident when someone will seriously hand you your bellybutton in the arena.  That's when you'll realize that your gunnery is terrible, and your timing is not great and you just have tons of stuff to work on to be competent again.  Then you will seek a trainer, and that will help.  They are great.

What I'm saying here is that yes, there will be a learning curve for you, but, provided you flew AW in FR, it won't be as bad as it would be for a stone noob, even with the long layoff.  You can seriously cut into that curve if you start with the trainer, instead of going through everything that I did.  Hell, I'm still not good, but I've come a long way in nearly two years.  You can do it!

[Yippee38]

If you sign up, you get 2 weeks free.  If you don't like it by the end of the two weeks, cancel.

[Babalonian]

Just my recomendation:

Step 1. - Build your flying rig/PC, download and install AH, then start tackling the learning curve in off-line mode.  (download and offline mode in AH is 100% free)

Step 2. - When you tire of shooting down the drones circling the base (or playing through some of the offline missions - see the "Offline Mission Forum" for more info) and want ot step it up a notch, creat your online account and begin your _free_ two-week online trial period.  Log in and hop in.

Step 3. - After settling in, getting a grasp of the basics, and chalking up a few kills online, go ahead and subscribe to the $15 monthly because it's a great game.


Checkout the squads and keep an eye on the special events posted here in the forums to participate, welcome to Aces High!

If you sign up, you get 2 weeks free.  If you don't like it by the end of the two weeks, cancel.

Also, no need to enter any credit card info until after your two-weeks is up, they don't make you give them the billing info until after your free trial is up.

[Dichotomy]

That Gostly man speaks the truth!!!   

And only the truth.. ever. 

[JustEric]

Hey All, sounds like some great advice.  Thanks for your help.

I stopped playing AW since it was getting in the way of helping out with my then baby daughter.  She is 12 years old now and doesn’t need daddy as much.  Boo hoo for me.   In any event, it seems like a good time to get back into the virtual skies again.  I used to fly FR and played a lot.  I held my own against 95% of the pilots in the game.  Subby was the only one that I knew was going to beat me when I flew against her.   I won about 75% of my fights but I was very aggressive and didn’t do the B&Z or gang bang thing to make my numbers look better.  I had some great times.  From what I have read so far, it sounds like AH is a matured version of AW.  I can’t wait to get started and yes I expect to do a lot of training before getting my nosed rubbed in it by some AH veterans.    As far as the ACM goes, I know the basics from reading and playing but as someone said they are perishable skills.  I also expect getting SA in this game is going to take some time.  I’m going old school with the hat switch for my views.  I might upgrade to Track IR 4 at some point but one thing at a time.  In AW I hardly ever lost sigh of my enemy using the hat switch combinations.   Only thing holding me back now is a computer.  I don’t think any of my 5 computers could handle the game.  I’m saving  (sneaking some funds) up for an econo build.  I might go with the one suggested by  Scotch for about $800.   In any event, this won’t be the last you’ve heard from me 

[RoGenT]

I play it quite a bit. Not so much now since I have no funds to get into the game so I am surfing the boards; I have lot of time currently anyway.

[uptown]

He sounds like a 38 guy to me  Welcome aboard  sir!!!

[TheDudeDVant]

Hey All, sounds like some great advice.  Thanks for your help.

I stopped playing AW since it was getting in the way of helping out with my then baby daughter.  She is 12 years old now and doesn’t need daddy as much.  Boo hoo for me.   In any event, it seems like a good time to get back into the virtual skies again.  I used to fly FR and played a lot.  I held my own against 95% of the pilots in the game.  Subby was the only one that I knew was going to beat me when I flew against her.   I won about 75% of my fights but I was very aggressive and didn’t do the B&Z or gang bang thing to make my numbers look better.  I had some great times.  From what I have read so far, it sounds like AH is a matured version of AW.  I can’t wait to get started and yes I expect to do a lot of training before getting my nosed rubbed in it by some AH veterans.    As far as the ACM goes, I know the basics from reading and playing but as someone said they are perishable skills.  I also expect getting SA in this game is going to take some time.  I’m going old school with the hat switch for my views.  I might upgrade to Track IR 4 at some point but one thing at a time.  In AW I hardly ever lost sigh of my enemy using the hat switch combinations.   Only thing holding me back now is a computer.  I don’t think any of my 5 computers could handle the game.  I’m saving  (sneaking some funds) up for an econo build.  I might go with the one suggested by  Scotch for about $800.   In any event, this won’t be the last you’ve heard from me 

Nice.. who were you?