Does it make a difference?

[wiskyfog]

In playing AH and getting my arse handed to me all the time, and reading some of the posts about the "Turbocharged,8 screens,$ 900.00 graphics card, mother of all motherboards,3000 watt, liquid cooled guaranteed 80 fps PC they have created"

So, how can my lil ol computer barely squeaking out 40fps on a downhill with a tailwind POSSIBLY compete fairly when you fire some rounds and it goes into a slo-mo like on The Matrix because the screen is filled with activity?
Yea, Ill take every advantage I can see to make up for lack of capital to ensure a win,

If that's the case...

maybe I'm wrong and it all really is just skill...

(I KNOW graphic cards don't cost that much, just making a point. so don't write back with prices, don't care, no money for one anyway.)

[Karnak]

It is mostly just skill.  A high end system helps a little bit, but skill is the overwhelming determining factor.

[wiskyfog]

I have an issue with that... let's say your nme never has an fps issue because of his PC mods. kinda hard to develop skill when your lagging seconds in the fight. So, do you learn to shoot where you THINK they will be when your screen stops jumping around in "stop-motion"? Or choose a fight where there is only a few players at that base?

[titanic3]

The game isn't THAT demanding. A simple $200-300 dollar Dell or eMachines (shudders) would run it fine on lowest settings. You don't have to spend a grand to get a good gameplay. You just need a good internet connection, and a PC that can handle 60fps on the lowest settings.

If you don't want to go out and buy a brand new PC, buy a cheap graphics card. Even a $30-40 one will run AH decently.

[Butcher]

It is mostly just skill.  A high end system helps a little bit, but skill is the overwhelming determining factor.

Its definately skill, I've been using the crappiest laptop forever, barely squeezing out 5-40 frames in a "perfect situation" - you really have to learn to
home your skill in one area and not switch away from it - for example use a Panther Tank and stay in it for a tour, switching around will
mess your aim up for example - I generally take either a T34/85 or Panther - T34 offers the HVAP which at 1,000 yards does wonders to heavier tanks.

I know the feeling believe me, I finally got tired of dealing with 5-20 frames (as of lately) and gave up playing for now, with 40 frames if you can lower any more graphics do so - anything above 30fps doesn't lag - sometimes when you dip below it can screw up rendering which makes shots "seem like kill shots but miss".

[Bizman]

I have noticed that the good sticks are lethal with really outdated computers. Here in Finland the ping times are around 200 ms, which sometimes has caused whining among the American fellow gamers. I don't know Martian ping rates, but AFAIK the connections have to be made by satellite, which isn't as stable as wired.

I built my computer basically five years ago and it still runs AH @ 60 fps most of the time with everything maxxed, object self shadows disabled though. Main specs are: E8500 (bought recently second hand), 4 GB RAM @ 800 MHz, Radeon 3870/512MB, XP. It wasn't too expensive back then, today I'd get about 150 euros for the whole bunch at some net auction, max. Not knowing your computer specs I can't tell any bottlenecks, but I'd recommend looking for a little older used video card from the higher end of it's days.

[SmokinLoon]

"Skill"???    

Nah.  It is more about being smart, patient, and learning the game mechanics.  This "skill" people speak of is not as important as those three mentioned traits.  A crack shot/vet/ACM expert can have his arse handed to him by someone if he is in a P40C that is low, slow, and with no cards left to play by someone with a far lower "skill" level if they are in a Spit16, has altitude, has E, and is not in danger from anything else (SA not needed).

The aircraft, and those 3 traits will get many of the lessor and average "skilled" players a long way to getting a kill or two.  

[Selino631]

when i first started this game i was using a crap "office" computer and using a Dail-up connection and still whooped some tail!

[infowars]

Good computer helps...

But like with guitars,  nothing makes you sound better than practice.

[Krupinski]

Skill is being able to retake the advantage after your computer just uber lagged leaving you helpless.

[Reaper90]

I went from a POS 6-year old WalMart e-Machines with a 15" monitor that managed to run AH with all settings minimized at a blistering 13-15 fps, and that dropped to between 5 and 8 fps in a furball or around smoke (hangers, cv, etc.) I avoided Titanic Tuesday out of frustration, the fights were normally so large it was made my view look like a bad stop-action move.

I now have a uber game machine with all the bells and whistles, running full detail, shadows, hi-res pack, etc, on a 27" monitor, never drops below 60 fps even in the most intense action.

My scores are virtually unchanged since the old computer..... maybe 10% better, but that's probably due to more practice and not the hardware.

However, I enjoy playing about 100 times more now. THAT is what matters to me.

[The Fugitive]

I have an issue with that... let's say your nme never has an fps issue because of his PC mods. kinda hard to develop skill when your lagging seconds in the fight. So, do you learn to shoot where you THINK they will be when your screen stops jumping around in "stop-motion"? Or choose a fight where there is only a few players at that base?

You play the game on your computer. What the other guy has for a computer has nothing to do with it. The only issues you might have is if your computer is too weak to play the game. If your computer runs 4-5 FPS them sure your going to have a hard time getting the timing right. Get your computer to run the game as smooth as you can. Clean up the number of processes you have running, turn down the eye candy in the game.

The rest is just practice. If you can get your computer smooth you can get the timings of your turns and shots down much better. As you practice them you'll start winning more and more.

[B4Buster]

It has always been my opinion that a good computer does help, although it will always be a strong second to skill. My computer runs AH on low settings around 30 frame rates. If I get near clouds or smoke, it will drop down into the single digits. I have missed out on hundreds of kills and have been killed dozens of times because the game looked like a slide show and I couldn't quite pull that shot off,or get out of the way of that diving con. 

[Tigger29]

In playing AH and getting my arse handed to me all the time, and reading some of the posts about the "Turbocharged,8 screens,$ 900.00 graphics card, mother of all motherboards,3000 watt, liquid cooled guaranteed 80 fps PC they have created"

So, how can my lil ol computer barely squeaking out 40fps on a downhill with a tailwind POSSIBLY compete fairly when you fire some rounds and it goes into a slo-mo like on The Matrix because the screen is filled with activity?
Yea, Ill take every advantage I can see to make up for lack of capital to ensure a win,

If that's the case...

maybe I'm wrong and it all really is just skill...

(I KNOW graphic cards don't cost that much, just making a point. so don't write back with prices, don't care, no money for one anyway.)

Why don't you post the specs of your current system and maybe we can help you tweak the settings to get a few more FPS out of it (if possible)?

[Butcher]

"Skill"???    

Nah.  It is more about being smart, patient, and learning the game mechanics.  This "skill" people speak of is not as important as those three mentioned traits.  A crack shot/vet/ACM expert can have his arse handed to him by someone if he is in a P40C that is low, slow, and with no cards left to play by someone with a far lower "skill" level if they are in a Spit16, has altitude, has E, and is not in danger from anything else (SA not needed).

The aircraft, and those 3 traits will get many of the lessor and average "skilled" players a long way to getting a kill or two.  

You are misunderstanding what he is asking -

"So, how can my lil ol computer barely squeaking out 40fps on a downhill with a tailwind POSSIBLY compete fairly when you fire some rounds and it goes into a slo-mo like on The Matrix because the screen is filled with activity?
Yea, Ill take every advantage I can see to make up for lack of capital to ensure a win, "

Your reaction has to be twice as fast, since my laptop doesn't render enemy tanks and often lags - sometimes enemy tanks get a shot on me before I can even see them on my screen. It does come down to skill, someone who lags constantly in a fight cannot compete equally, and as some will whine "is cable pulling" when its not the truth.