Offlline drill suggestions for an AH virgin?

[coombz]

Hi there - I've been playing AH in Offline mode for a week now, and voraciously reading these boards and the Trainer site to try to get acquainted with some of the theory behind flying (this is my first hardcore flight sim), and the general mechanics of the game. It seems like a great game, and community, to get involved in, and I'm eager to get online and join in the fun once I've had a bit more practice at the basics.

With this in mind, I was wondering if some of you could post up some suggestions for the sort of things I should be working on in Offline mode. So far I have been messing around mostly in the Spitfire VIII, and also the P51-D and Hurricane MKIIC. I have gotten the hang of reading the instruments and the basics of Energy management, am able to takeoff, land (most of the time) and earlier tonight I managed to pull off my first successful combat landing.

I've been practicing peeking out of the cockpit at all angles to keep track of the drones while engaging them, and trying out basic maneuvers like the Immelman and Split S. I've just begun to try using these to set myself up on the drones, which is obviously not too hard as they are just going in predictable circles, but it gave me a hell of a lot of satisfaction when I realised I'd done it right a few times in a row and was sending them down in flames with some precise (mostly) bursts  

The feeling of making progress everytime I fire up the game is what makes a steep learning curve like this enjoyable, rather than daunting!

So, what other maneuvers or goals should I aim to achieve in my next few Offline sorties? Any suggestions would be most welcome I'm planning to get online and start lurking in the Training Arena next week and I'd like to feel that I have made a good start on learning the basics before that point, as I have a feeling the real thing will be a bit overwhelming at first (in terms of trying to remember everything!). I already feel so stuffed full of AH theory and information that it's leaking out of my ears as fast as I can read it!


a couple of other things:

I have got Agent360s training films, but the textures of the ground/sky/water etc don't seem to load correctly in the film viewer - I have a feeling I need to play the 'real' game before they get preloaded or generated or whatever. At least I hope that's the case, because they seem to be a great resource for pure entertainment as well as training ;>>

I'm in the UK, so I will be looking for some Euro timezone type folk to fly with once I jump online and have gotten the hang of things...just throwing that out there! If you, or anyone you know, is on at Euro friendly times and may be willing to fly with a rookie in the future, once I've gotten rid of my training wings, then maybe shoot me a PM! I've got voice comms and would be keen to get involved with whatever aspects of these online war shenanigans while I'm finding my feet, even if it's just going as a tail gunner of a bomber on a big raid, or wallowing around as bait for some experienced fighters to take advantage of ;]

   thanks in advance for any advice, and hope to meet some of you when I get up and away for real!

[GNucks]

First thing I can think of is situational awareness. You don't really need it in the offline mode because everything's predictable and you're not really in any danger. To improve your SA you need tune how you move your head in the cockpit. Some guys use this TrackIR stuff and I heard it's great, but I'm not convinced enough to drop the coin for it. I just use the regular old hatswitch and I can see just fine.

Unfortunately the default head positions inside most aircraft are terrible. One example is the F4U family of naval aircraft that you can't see out the back of. So what you can do is while holding the 1 key on your numpad (the same thing as rear-left on the hatswitch) you can press the right arrow key until you can see around the back, then press F10. This will save the head position so you don't need to hold the arrow key every time you want to look out the back. Use the arrow keys and the Page Up and Page Down keys to adjust all your head positions so you can see around the canopy elements in your given aircraft.

The hatswitch allows you to look around in all directions on the same plane as your aircraft, but you need another button to look up. I mapped a button on the base of my joystick where I rest my hand to the "Look Up" function. So when I press this button in conjunction with pushing the hatswitch in a given direction, I can now check my high 6, high 3, high 12, etc. You'll need to set all these head positions as well if your plane has an obstructive canopy.

I can go on and on about head positions because I'm pretty anal about it, but I would definitely say that's something you want to keep in mind before you jump in an arena. You may get your but kicked a lot when you start out, but at least you'll be able to see who did it and how.

And I assume you've already gone to trainers.hitechcreations.com, but I'll suggest your read everything there anyway.

Good luck, mate.

[TequilaChaser]

Welcome to  Aces High coombz and to the messageboards,

So far it looks like you have started off on the right foot and are getting used to the environment of the arenas ( all be it offline right now)

lower down on these messageboards you'll find a forum listed as "Offline Missions" at the bottom of the General Forums section. there you can go and read up on how to download missions to practice in offline mode and further gain experience with learning the radar and begin to learn SA ( situational Awareness ) for incoming threats depending on the designed mission..... all this is also FREE before you start your online account

pardon me if I do not remember correctly, but you have not yet been able to make your online gameid have you? that is, if you have not started your Free 2 weeks yet???

feel free to PM me or any of the Trainers and we will be glad to work with you in the Training Arena

GNucks is spot on about setting up your head positions in each different aircraft you like to fly to gain the best possible view

look forward to meeting you online and working with you in anyway you need

hope this helps, glad to have ya with us   cheers

TC

[TequilaChaser]

btw....
you can also ask for specific help here in this thread as well

there is also a number of Euro - time squadrons out there, but I sugest you get a handle on the game and test the waters in all arenas and on all sides before you make a final resting spot.... some like to lonewolf it even, but being in a squad has it's advantages .... you will most likely be invited by a multitude of different players...... just be patient...... joining an online squadron/group is kind of like marriage....... you both have to "fit" to make it work and be worth while...... best to fly as a guest with the different squads and see how you fit in over a period of several weeks ( I mention several / 3 weeks minimal so you get to meet most all of the squad members.. everyone in squads do not and are not able to fly together every single day )

sorry to drag that out..... lets move forward

also, as for Agent360's films.. go to the downloads section of the Aces High Website and then click on terrains. download these terrains toa temp folder, once download click( or double click ) each seperate terrain .EXE file and it will selfinstall into the ahiiterr folder of your Aces High game.....

if you get all the terrains downloaded and installed, you most likely will not have a problem with terrains loading properly in any films you are viewing..... unless the film is very old and the specific terrain in which it was filmed is not being hosted on the downloads page anymore....

hope this helps

[Dichotomy]

I'll just throw this one in as well.  Try some of the offline missions where the AI drones don't fly so predictably, well they do after a while, but it will help to some degree with your SA, deflection shooting, and the like.  If you run into trouble getting those running just do what you did here.  Ask for help. 

Welcome to AH sir.  Hope you get as addicted to it as I am.

If you ever run into me I'll be more than happy to stop whatever tomfoolery I'm currently involved in to help ya

[FLS]

Download Murdr's head position files from the trainer's page. You can tweak them later but it will save you a lot of set up time. They go in the AcesHigh/settings/planes folder.

Print the one page quick reference. It's very useful.

I assume you're using a view hat. Add an up view button if you haven't already, as Gnucks mentioned, so that you can combine the up view with the hat views.

Fly as slowly as you can without stalling. Put out full flaps and gear and use throttle to descend and climb while holding the nose of your aircraft up. First fly straight then try turns. This will help you with landing. The stall horn means you are close to max lift for your speed.

Fly basic aerobatics like loops, rolls, barrel rolls etc to learn aircraft control. Use a runway to check alignment.

Pick an object at your airfield like the radar tower and keep it in view as you fly around it.  Fly aerobatics AKA Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM) while keeping
the tower in view.

Pick a drone and fly barrel rolls around it while keeping it in view.

Have fun.

[Muzzy]

Welcome aboard!

Some other stuff you can try:

1. Practice flying as slow as you can and watch how the bird handles. Practice flying with flaps (you have to slow down enough to allow them to deploy).

2. Try climbing out until you stall and practice recovering.

3. In the radio box, type .target 400  (dot target 400). A target will show up due north.  Fire at the target and make a note of where the bullets hit.  Try it at 200 and 600. 

4. If you have gunnery problems, try adjusting convergence (the point where your gunfire converges on the target, which can be adjusted in the hangar).  Use the .target command to see what happens when you change the convergence.

5. In offline mode, practice attacking the drones fro different angles.  It helps to film each session and look where you're missing.

[coombz]

Cheers guys, for all your advice and suggestions 

Murdrs head positions + 'Look up' mapped - check. as recommended on the Trainer pages this was one of the first things I setup when I got my stick.

TC - thanks, I'll try downloading the terrain packages (and some offline missions) when I get back on it tonight :]  You are correct, I haven't yet created an account for online play - I don't think I'll be able to resist much longer though! I'll probably get started properly next week.

I'll definitely make low speed handling/throttle control my project for tonight as a few of you have recommended it! And maybe I'll even be able to shoot down a few slightly less predictable enemies in some offline missions...we'll see :]

Thanks again - coombz out...for now.

[A8TOOL]

I highly recommend watching all this guy has to offer in the way of preforming maneuvers 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0H2-LakBrE&feature=related


Remember  sometimes your pulling G's when firing and your target might be below and out of your direct sight when the bullets are making contact. In a turn fight you'll need to get lead on him before pulling the trigger. Sometimes you can get lead and then release pressure on the stick and then fire a burst.

Using the football analogy...make sure the timing of the bullets fired meet where the target is going to be when they get there. just like when you throw a ball to a man running across a football field. The ball must meet the receiver when the receiver gets to a certain spot on the field. throw well ahead of him the farther out you are.


Six shots are good but always look for an opportunity to fire if he shows you the full mass of his wing like lets say, when pulling up or preparing for a split S When pushing forward on the stick your bullets will be aimed above the gunsight depending on G's pulled..



Get used to firing upside down as well as right side up.

throttle control, throttle control. Don't pass your opponent up because you were going to fast. Always try to stay in lag pursuit once on his six or approaching it. Cut throt and stay with him...sooner or later you will wear him down and get the shot in the planes you've chose to fly.  In high energy planes like the 51 or k-4 you can afford to blow by him and set up another attack from above.

[hyster]

something i do for a new plane is to fly very low, lower than the tree's where possable and weave inbetween them.
the tree's gives u a reference for how well the plane can respond and helps to improve you hand eye response and your coordination with the controls.

its also a lot of fun.

[Ghosth]

1st thing, learn to use the vertical.
Instead of a flat turn think Immelman or split S. (Immelman is just a half loop straight up, with a half roll to level flight, split S is a half roll to inverted flight, then a half loop down)
Think in 3d, amazing how many people still think in 2d when they are introduced to a 3d environment.

2nd, learn your aircraft, find out exactly how low and slow you can be and still make it over the top in a loop without stalling. Find out how low and fast you can be and still pull off a split S without crashing. Learn where the stall edge is and practice flying right on the bleeding edge without stalling.

3rd, know your enemy. Soda's Aircraft pages are a great resource for this.

[WWhiskey]

something i do for a new plane is to fly very low, lower than the tree's where possable and weave inbetween them.
the tree's gives u a reference for how well the plane can respond and helps to improve you hand eye response and your coordination with the controls.

its also a lot of fun.

+1  also threw the hangers and down the streets in town, also at very low speeds and under bridges,, i like to go under the bridges then turn back in and under them as quick as i can,  try flying in formation with the drones!  just thought!

[Delirium]

No one has mentioned this so I will.

Work on killing the drones in offline mode until you can 'one pass' them with guns from any angle, at any speed. It is akin to warming up in the bullpen prior to walking out to the pitchers mound, I still do this from time to time.

[coombz]

I highly recommend watching all this guy has to offer in the way of preforming maneuvers 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0H2-LakBrE&feature=related

What a great link - cheers mate! And thanks for the rest of the suggestions guys, I'll be sure to do some treetop skimming and drone circling tonight, between practising maneuvers and pushing the 'envelope' ;----)

I've now also got all the texture packs downloaded so I'm able to view the training films properly. It's going to be a night of flight school at my place...

[Krusty]

The film won't play without the terrain installed. Agent360's films look funny not because it hasn't loaded, but because the current terrain NOW is probably different from THEN when it was recorded. So the plane position might be "1 foot above ground" in the original, but when replayed on the new terrain the ground is differently shaped. The plane is still at the absolute set of coordinates, but it doesn't match. It won't affect the playback much other than being disconcerting.

I had a FSO film clip where we were buzzing trees and dodging hills then landed to hotpad. In the viewer later on it looks like we're 1000 feet and we "land" 500 feet up. So each player is still doing what they did, it just doesn't "fit" the terrain.


Terrain updates have been fairly frequent. New graphical updates as well as textures, tiles, overall map updates, etc. It means this may come up often on the older film files you watch.

Just for clarification