What are we going

[Wiley]

Unfortunately I don't have aces high installed on my work computer.  I think only the HTC staff does. 

That's a valid reason I suppose...

So Wiley, weigh in, am I crazy? Or does the ack always shoot at you as soon as you pop 3k?  Or am I both crazy and correct?

I believe I've got a pretty firm grasp on what you're saying happens.  I'm not quite sure I'm understanding Hitech's statement of how it works.

If I'm reading Hitech's statement right, he's saying the puffy targets the closest plane to the boats.  I assume that means it targets the single closest plane, and only that plane until it's destroyed?

I haven't paid really precise attention to the specifics of what puffy ack does around me.  I have noticed times where I was above a CV group and there were other friendly planes nearby.  My perception was that they were closer, and I still got a burst around me as well as seeing one around them.

I've also been in the crowd headed out to defend against a CV and have seen there was stuff in front of me above 3k, and I was getting shot at.

Again, this is not stuff I'd be willing to stake anything on without video.  If Hitech is saying it only attacks the closest plane, I believe based on the fuzzy memories I have that I could get film that shows contrary to that relatively easily, I'd just need to find a squaddie who's up for helping me show it.

As far as it shooting at you every time you pop 3k, I don't know about that.  When I've noticed puffy open up on me as I cross 3k, I have been generally occupied with the cloud of red I was flying into, and it was quite possible I was the closest to the carrier group.  If I read Hitech's comment right, that scenario would be working as intended.

So, the TL;DR version is, if Hitech's saying it only targets the closest plane above 3k until it's dead, I'm pretty sure I can get film showing that's not happening, and will try to get some the next time the opportunity presents itself.

Wiley.

[hitech]

Wiley: the ack checks if it needs to re target every 3 secs.

Also see my post explaining 1 bug on targets farther then 3 miles out.

HiTech

[CAP1]

i'm thinking there's more fishermen in the water than fish.

[Wiley]

Wiley: the ack checks if it needs to re target every 3 secs.

Also see my post explaining 1 bug on targets farther then 3 miles out.

HiTech

That post was what confused me.

I just want to understand what I'm checking for.  Is this how it is supposed to work?

If there are multiple bandits within 3 miles above 3k feet, it targets the closest plane, rechecking that condition every 3 seconds.  If you are the only bandit within 4 miles above 3k feet, it also targets you?  Is that all there is to it?

Wiley.

[hitech]

Yes except the 3 mile could be between just over 2 miles to just under 5.65 miles.

Basically there is a 3 x 3 grid where each cell is 2x2 miles. The CV/ack is always some where in the middle 2 mile square. If you are in this grid (depending you are you could be just outside the grid at over 2 mile range if the cv is right on the inside cell boundary to just under 5.6 miles if the cv is in a corner and you are in the other far corner).

The bug was simply I needed to check more squares for the squares object list.


HiTech

[Delirium]

If someone gets shot down by ack at 2.99 miles, does it make a sound?


No, unless you count the forums. 

[FLS]

I haven't paid really precise attention to the specifics of what puffy ack does around me.  I have noticed times where I was above a CV group and there were other friendly planes nearby.  My perception was that they were closer, and I still got a burst around me as well as seeing one around them.

Wiley keep in mind that the puffy ack explodes in random locations in a box around the targeted aircraft. If you happen to be flying inside that same box you are being shot at even though you aren't being targeted. Just flying near the ack box could be enough to make you feel like you are being shot at.  If you fly near puffy ack by yourself in the TA or offline you can get an idea of the size of the box.

[Wiley]

Does it calculate the distance based on your actual distance from the task group, or from the center of the 'box'?

Say for example the CV is at the midpoint of the west edge of the box, and I am flying toward the CV from due east of it.  If I have a friendly that's in the very southwest corner of the box heading north, who should it fire at?

Me, who is ~1 mile from the center of the box, while the friendly is ~1.41 miles southwest from the center of the box.

or

The friendly, who is ~1 mile south of the task group, while I am ~2 miles east of the task group.

If (as I suspect) it is from the center of the box, that offers a pretty plausible explanation for why I'm fairly sure I've noticed guys between me and the CV group are not getting shot at but I am.

Also, based on Hitech's description, is it safe to assume alt plays no factor, that it's purely lateral distance?

Wiley.

[titanic3]

Careful Hitech....I might just use your codes for my upcoming WW2 Flight Sim...

[grizz441]

Does it calculate the distance based on your actual distance from the task group, or from the center of the 'box'?

Say for example the CV is at the midpoint of the west edge of the box, and I am flying toward the CV from due east of it.  If I have a friendly that's in the very southwest corner of the box heading north, who should it fire at?

Me, who is ~1 mile from the center of the box, while the friendly is ~1.41 miles southwest from the center of the box.

or

The friendly, who is ~1 mile south of the task group, while I am ~2 miles east of the task group.

If (as I suspect) it is from the center of the box, that offers a pretty plausible explanation for why I'm fairly sure I've noticed guys between me and the CV group are not getting shot at but I am.

Also, based on Hitech's description, is it safe to assume alt plays no factor, that it's purely lateral distance?

Wiley.

It should calculate the 3 dimensional distance if that is how it works.  Pretty easy calculation... coordinate of CV = (0,0,0) Coordinate of Airplane (x,y,z). Distance btwn = sqrt(x^2+y^2+z^2)

Being "closer" should not be a function of just lateral distance.

[TheDudeDVant]

well heck.. after 137 threads, 1000s of whines, dozens of ah justice leaguers, 578,354 AH airplanes, 1 ungrateful owner, years of dedication, and the belief that this couldn't be planned.. perhaps we've found resolution.. perhaps..

[FLS]

Does it calculate the distance based on your actual distance from the task group, or from the center of the 'box'?

Say for example the CV is at the midpoint of the west edge of the box, and I am flying toward the CV from due east of it.  If I have a friendly that's in the very southwest corner of the box heading north, who should it fire at?

Me, who is ~1 mile from the center of the box, while the friendly is ~1.41 miles southwest from the center of the box.

or

The friendly, who is ~1 mile south of the task group, while I am ~2 miles east of the task group.

If (as I suspect) it is from the center of the box, that offers a pretty plausible explanation for why I'm fairly sure I've noticed guys between me and the CV group are not getting shot at but I am.

Also, based on Hitech's description, is it safe to assume alt plays no factor, that it's purely lateral distance?

Wiley.

Wiley the "ack box" is centered on the targeted aircraft. If you are targeted you are the center of the box. This 3d box is not the grid Hitech referred to. It sounds like you're mixing up the box with the grid.  The grid is the area on the map that has ack coverage. Once you are targeted the ack doesn't shoot right at you. The ack appears randomly  somewhere in a 3d box that is centered on your aircraft. The size of this box increases with distance from the ack as well as your speed and G load. By increasing the size of the box the probability of being hit decreases. The bigger box also makes it more likely that other players near you will be in your box and may get hit even though they are not targeted.

[Wiley]

Sorry, replace 'box' with 'grid' for the previous post.

Wiley.

[FLS]

Hitech posted that it's the distance to the CV. I think the point of the grid is that the range where you are threatened by the ack could be different based on the CV location in the center square but once you are in the grid it's the aircraft closest to the CV that is targeted.

[TheRapier]

Not that it will make any difference at all but the puffy ack implementation in the game is horrible to live with. It takes the fun out of the game and  its being used by those who lack skill to get kills they can't get any other way. IMO its is the most seriously flawed aspect of the game and I just won't willingly fly in it. Being killed by a crappy implementation of a random number generator is not my idea of fun. For those of you who enjoy that, may I suggest Russian Roulette? Flying in puffy ack is just that STUPID. At the very least make it so that the CVs can't drive up on shore in an ridiculous way. No admiral would ever risk a CV like that.

If this implementation is good, why don't we just have a random number generator decide that any time you are over enemy territory you can be killed? After all there could be an 88 down there with a good gun crew. Why not? Because its NOT FUN! This is where game departs from reality, the point here is theoretically to have fun. The random number generator is not the customer and doesn't need to feel fulfilled. The players DO or they don't come back.

This discussion seems to have focused on all puffy ack being the same. It wasn't. In this discussion we are being very US centric. German 88s firing at bomber boxes flying on a predictable course from IP and US CV Task Force units with radar guided guns and proximity fuses, and low level field ack have all been lumped in the same bucket. This just wasn't the case. They worked differently and had different results. For CVs alone there was a great deal of difference between US and Japanese flak and the results.

This is my experience, and people can take it or leave it. I don't require you to believe me.

• Ship Puffy ack absolutely will start popping the instant you clear 3k. I've done it so many times I don't need to prove it to myself again.
• Random or not, it is insanely accurate. I can't count the number of times it has killed me instantaneously in one shot the moment I crossed into its space.

To finally demonstrate the anecdotal accuracy of ack, this is a joke that was told in Germany, It is tale of a soldier who had been condemned to death and given his choice of several means of execution. In the story, the soldier chose execution by anti-aircraft fire. He was placed in a tower surrounded by flaks, which fired at him for three weeks. When they checked he was found dead not from flak but from starvation