This game is so frustrating! No one flies the way I want them to!

[Citabria]

Ever wonder what makes people play the game the way they do?

The simple truth of it is the game is difficult. its realistic flight model and ballistics often frustrate and confuse players. However it also keeps them interested due to the desire to master a difficult set of variables.

Almost everyone starts off flying into the enemy and fighting till they die but after a bit of this and lots of dying and no killing the frustration level rises and their tactics change over and over until they learn to be part of a large friendly group.

This allows them time to use their guns and not be a target. they even may get a kill once in a while.

Once in a while they will get brave and try to use their increasing flying skills to take on an opponent solo but more often than not they will be killed by an interloper or their 1v1 target. so they revert back to what has worked. fly in large groups and run from anything that could be too difficult to defeat (almost anything that shoots back)

The irony of these sound real world tactics keeping noob players from being destroyed as quickly is it makes the more experienced players aggrivated. The experienced players that want relatively easy kills in 1v1 knife fights are in turn frustrated by the tactics of massed amounts of running enemies that evade when attacked and attack when they feel the safety of numbers and an energy advantage.

The experienced player will then often counter the noob tactic of flying in the horde by rejoining the horde themselves and then going on a killing spree when afforded the same safety of numbers and energy advantage.

It would seem that the entire cycle and flying styles are a result of total frustration in the face that although it is possible to suceed in the face of overwhelming odds... the path of least resistance is to be on the side with overwhelming numbers.

The end result in the MA is a great many hordes to timid to find and attack an opposing horde but instead feeding off a few rare stubborn noob or experienced defenders who prefer the challenge of surviving and fighting against a numerically superior force.

[Dragon]

Well stated.

[grizz441]

Totally agree.  Experienced pilots hunting for 1v1's and shaming less skilled players in the MA can be silly at times also.  What exactly is fair about fighting someone one half your experience/skill level in a 1v1?  You will crush them everytime.  As long as you challenge yourself and still manage to balance that challenge with still having fun without getting too frustrated, that is the ticket to being healthy for the game as well as having fun on a personal level.

[kilo2]

Just fly and kill things. In the horde out of the horde 1v1 does not matter.

Why people feel the need to wax eloquent on the nature of the game is a question I can't answer.

[Kingpin]

Just fly and kill things. In the horde out of the horde 1v1 does not matter.

Why people feel the need to wax eloquent on the nature of the game is a question I can't answer.

Perhaps to 1) give newer or frustrated players some perspective and shared insight into the game and/or 2) uncover flaws in the current game design in an effort to keep it fresh and fun for everyone.

One of the best things about HTC is their willingness to take input from players and adapt the game, IMO.

I for one think this was an accurate and well-stated post.  (You did say it was eloquent, didn't ya?)  It also explains why hording is a part of the game.

I personally believe that having smaller (or spread out) hordes would be better for the game and could be accomplished simply by limiting the number of aircraft that can operate from a base.  Unfortunately, I believe this idea has already been summarily rejected by HTC.  So, in the meantime, we all have to adapt to how Aces Horde is played.

<S>

[Citabria]

Its fun to think about stuff that does not make sense until broken down into its causes and effects or component elements. not very eloquently, a bit waxy maybe but still what makes people do what they do is interesting.

the simple truth is very few will spawn and fly in the face of a huge red bar despite the heroic claims of fly and shoot and it does not matter. for the majority of the current players it seems to define where they wish to play in the arena.

they will look for the largest green bar with at least some shades of red then spawn and fly from this area.

its not a question of if they do this but why.

[oakranger]

Humm, an issue that the vets have is not finding an equal opponent. Maybe that is why so many people come and go on AH, the vets just   each and every time.
Most of the time I come in contact with a con, I know that I will likely be shot out of the sky, but will try my best to not be shot out of the sky. At time, i know will will have no chance to win after the first merge seeing what that con will do next. Other times, i know what my AC (mostly P-47D-25) is capable of doing up against 109K-4, F4UA-1 or Ki-84. The only thing that i can do is learn from my mistakes and find another way to last longer.

Wonder if the real combat vet of the war find the same problem too?

[Torquila]

Meh; Expectations, best live without them, they only ruin stuff.

The moment you worry about dying is the moment you have died (in virtual terms).

[xNOVAx]

I honestly think this is all a result of the game doing a very poor job at forcing a fight. This free for all system just doesn't work as well from a gameplay standpoint as something like a round based system such as battlefield 3 etc.

If the game took an even numbered/balanced round based approach, and gave various scenarios (FSO formats etc) I think it would be a completely different gameplay experience.

[Torquila]

I don't think its a manner of situation, more of persistance. The illusion of a persistant world makes you think more then instance based ones, since it convinces your brain that its "real" and a centre of continuity, thus making your gains/loss more profound in the personal sense.

Basically, it can turn you into a little snivelling coward, given enough time and punishment.

(Just like the continuous slapping of "rule 4" can do, I found myself questioning the last sentence for possible ways of misinterpretation... Weird stuff aint it?)

[kilo2]

Simply put people fly where they get the most kills the easiest, without being killed themselves.

The why seems is obvious they just do not want to put in the time to get better. That is not a bad thing because this is a game where you come to relax. I do not always get on and want the intensity that some sorties bring. When I feel like just half-a$sing it I fly in the horde.

I will be admit I do every thing that is considered lame. I try to limit hoing not out of honor but out of self preservation in game.

[Kingpin]

Its fun to think about stuff that does not make sense until broken down into its causes and effects or component elements. not very eloquently, a bit waxy maybe but still what makes people do what they do is interesting.

the simple truth is very few will spawn and fly in the face of a huge red bar despite the heroic claims of fly and shoot and it does not matter. for the majority of the current players it seems to define where they wish to play in the arena.

they will look for the largest green bar with at least some shades of red then spawn and fly from this area.

its not a question of if they do this but why.

The unexamined game is not worth playing?
-vSocrtes

[uptown]

all i know is me and 2 noobs are getting our arse kicked in there trying to defend a field with a full dar bar of high red bad guys, and 20 friendlies are sitting in trucks watching us as they shoot BBs into space thinking they'll get a kill    



SERENITY NOW!

[JOACH1M]

Kazaa, Bruv, DrBone, and Grizz have layed major smack downs on me in my early days of AH. Seeing how good they were inspired me to try to one day be like them and spread the teachings of newer guys the art of AH dogfighting. Yes for anyone who has seen me ingame or on bbs sees me complain about people not fighting, but in all reality it's my inflated ego in my head that makes me get angry when they kill me with (in my opinion) are lame tactics.

I need to learn that everyone plays the game how they like it and I can't change that.

[Changeup]

Its a "gamepad" world boys...easy = fun.  Games that require rinse and repeat themes with little or no time invested are the rage.  This game takes work to become proficient, more work to become good enough to offer a vet a fight, and a lot of time and more work to reach a level that would put you in the top 10%. 

So, if easy = fun and this game isn't easy then this game quite possibly can't be too much fun for new folks.  I hope they stay and try and I hope the community gives them help when they ask...because flying home and running into a vet with killing on his mind when you're new is a short-walk back to the bench and unbelievably frustrating...but it is, none-the-less, the game isn't it?