Puffy ack needs to go after 10 years of BS

[grizz441]

In other words there won't be any film.  

Film of what, puffy ack hitting airplanes?  Would that be some sort of a smoking gun?  Here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8gHii2CHes&context=C4ba35c9ADvjVQa1PpcFMTzYwq5pz9CUGsKiA67SOKkWwnmYfjgcM=

[Noir]

want a film of my plane loosing radiator as I get to 3001 feet altitude?

[FLS]

Film of what, puffy ack hitting airplanes?  Would that be some sort of a smoking gun?  Here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8gHii2CHes&context=C4ba35c9ADvjVQa1PpcFMTzYwq5pz9CUGsKiA67SOKkWwnmYfjgcM=

The film that shows somebody getting hit all the time instead of randomly.   

[grizz441]

The film that shows somebody getting hit all the time instead of randomly.  

If the lethality was set at 90%, you would get hit "all the time" and it would also be "random".  I don't understand your point.

A good experiment to do would be to fly over the carrier for given periods of time and record the data, how many times did it hit you, what damage did it record, etc.  Then with enough data points conclude what the chance to be hit is per second of time in the ack range.  

[Noir]

If the lethality was set at 90%, you would get hit "all the time" and it would also be "random".  I don't understand your point.

A good experiment to do would be to fly over the carrier for given periods of time and record the data, how many times did it hit you, what damage did it record, etc.  Then with enough data points conclude what the chance to be hit is per second of time in the ack range.  

that's a mission for super snail!!!

[FLS]

Getting hit 2 out of 3 times this tour already doesn't indicate a problem but I'm sure it's frustrating for you. It's in the nature of random events that they will not occur regularly. When you flip a coin it doesn't alternate heads and tails. The average from 100 sorties would be a better indicator.

If the lethality was set at 90%, you would get hit "all the time" and it would also be "random".  I don't understand your point.

A good experiment to do would be to fly over the carrier for given periods of time and record the data, how many times did it hit you, what damage did it record, etc.  Then with enough data points conclude what the chance to be hit is per second of time in the ack range. 

I see we agree about that. 

[grizz441]

I see we agree about that. 

I don't see how something that 99% of the player base hates can be good for business.

[Baumer]

I am not a huge fan of the carrier ack system, there are several aspects that I thank could be improved.

However, I also think most (not all) of the complaints about it, are overly dramatic "woe is me" and lack any real points for discussion.

Here are some real points to discuss (and/or lobby for change) or just to think about. They are not all historically accurate but are focused on an attempt to improve gameplay.

1.) Puffy ack should NEVER be able to shoot around mountains. There has to be a reasonable way to run some sort of collision detection, maybe not for every shell but something will be better than nothing. Perhaps just a check to the bottom corners of the box once every five seconds or so?

2.) There are 26 five inch guns that make up the carrier puffy ack barrage, if a shell randomly passes you outside the proximity range you never know it was there. So it is impossible to say from the players end that you were hit by the first round. Think about it, at any one time there could be a maximum of 26 shells within the box around the closest plane that's a lot of lead with proximity fuses in a relatively small airspace.

3.) The current ack system has no way of determining who's really the biggest threat to the ships. If you're chasing/furballing a guy back near his CV at 3001 feet and 5k out from the ship, and a set of buffs is inbound at 10,000 feet and 7k out guess who is going to get targeted? I think the pufy ack should run some sort of friendly proximity check to the target it see if the target is possibly being fought by a friendly if so then it should select the next farther target and repeat the process. If there is no friendly within 1.5k the the ack should fire at the target.

4.) As I understand the current system, the ack only fires at one target at a time. I think that the ack system should run 2 boxes if there are multiple targets, if it's possible. I suspect it may not be feasible due to performance issues but at least it should be discussed. This would cut in half the number of shells within the box of any one target (provided you're not the only one) and slightly improve your chances of survival.

Dale and the rest of the crew at HTC seem very willing to work on things if you discuss them in a rational manner. So if you really want to see a change let's dial back the drama and focus on specific points.       

[Arlo]

Puffy Ack oppresses all but the elite! 

[Baumer]

If the lethality was set at 90%, you would get hit "all the time" and it would also be "random".  I don't understand your point.

A good experiment to do would be to fly over the carrier for given periods of time and record the data, how many times did it hit you, what damage did it record, etc.  Then with enough data points conclude what the chance to be hit is per second of time in the ack range.  

As a CM who spent many hours testing this, I can tell you that changing the lethality setting DOES NOT change the frequency of getting hit, only the amount of damage that is done. and even at low settings like 30% you can and will get first ping pilot kills. Now this testing was done over a year ago but I don't think anythings changed significantly.

[pervert]

Film of what, puffy ack hitting airplanes?  Would that be some sort of a smoking gun?  Here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8gHii2CHes&context=C4ba35c9ADvjVQa1PpcFMTzYwq5pz9CUGsKiA67SOKkWwnmYfjgcM=

Yeah thats it in a nutshell really, and its not even like it only happens once in a blue moon. Factor in the time you spent trying to get to a fight and it just makes the game seem like a big waste of time, its hard enough to find decent action without the game conspiring against you 

[Oldman731]

As a CM who spent many hours testing this, I can tell you that changing the lethality setting DOES NOT change the frequency of getting hit, only the amount of damage that is done. and even at low settings like 30% you can and will get first ping pilot kills. Now this testing was done over a year ago but I don't think anythings changed significantly.

Still very true.  AvA typically has a 25% (of the MA 100% standard) setting.  You get pinged all the time, you'll even see holes appear in the wings, but you won't take damage (from most pings).

It's very pleasing in a way.  The angst of being in the ack is still there, but the flight-ending nature of puffy ack is not.

- oldman

[grizz441]

As a CM who spent many hours testing this, I can tell you that changing the lethality setting DOES NOT change the frequency of getting hit, only the amount of damage that is done. and even at low settings like 30% you can and will get first ping pilot kills. Now this testing was done over a year ago but I don't think anythings changed significantly.

Yeah I figured that, I wasn't talking about lethality, just frequency.  So in a nutshell, you'd be able to figure out the probability of being hit per unit of time flying through the puffy ack.  Or hitech could just tell us.

[Slash27]

I don't see how something that 99% of the player base hates can be good for business.

Quit being so dramatic. It's only been 10 years, these things take time.

[Shuffler]

I do not like puffy but it is part of the game. My wish is that the cv could not get close enough for puffy to be over a base. Now it will shoot at you when your way inland. One time I got so mad I took a piece of paper out of the printer and tore it in half.