Top Ten Guys In Each Category -- You know who you are

[Voss]

I don't know how many of you were around to see the original boxed version of Air Warrior, but it came with a manual that explained the game in an inexact way. The best part of that manual was the charts and the remarks from online Aces like yourselves.

So, today I find myself finishing up with the design of an Unofficial Strategy Guide for Aces High. I would like to get comments from each and every one of you on your favorite rides. If you fly a Pony I would like your strategy and how you get to the rank you're holding. If you use a GV I would like to know that too.

You can respond via private message, or post it here. I would prefer private message, as I get an email copy and that maks it easier to cut-and-paste, etc.

I will probably do a little editing, and add my own images, but feel free to post something if you have something you feel is too good to miss.

Yes, AKLarry, this is your big chance to help out!  

[aknimitz]

Hmpf    Happy to help out Voss.  I'll send you as much info as I can muster via private message this evening or tomorrow.  But, I dont know how helpful it will be, ... I mean the AK's really dont have any pilots with any talent, right?  

Good work voss, thanks for taking the time to do this.

S!
Nim/Larry

[Dead Man Flying]

Rank is not necessarily a measure of skill.

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Urchin]

He may mean the Top 10 pilots over on DejaVu's stats page.. I think having being in the top ten "all-time" in a particular plane might be some indication of skill.  Unfortunately, it doesn't look as though the stats have been updated in a while  

[Voss]

Either, from Deja's all-time list, or the top ten current it really doesn't matter. I may make this section of the strategy guide one of the few items updated regularly. I think the only other updates will be as the game changes over time, but I'll have to withhold judgment for now (just geting started).

Okay, it seems a few of you are at a loss for words/are experiencing writers' block, so here is a general direction to go in.

If you score well in fighters:

What plane do you prefer (conider your favorite)? Is there any strategy at play when you make a plane choice? Do you ever consider things like ENY or OBJ? Do you BnZ or TnB? What aspects of your favorite plane do you like? What airplanes do you fear/try to avoid? How do you feel about HO? What about fuel concerns? Are you TnB'ing with a BnZ airplane? Do you BnZ with a TnB plane?

That should be enough to give you ideas for the other categories (if that's where you are doing well). If you are scoring well across a few categories, or even all of them, fill us all in!  

<edit> This isn't necessarily about skill, and going into that direction debatably is redundant on this subject. The idea is to amass some gamers' input to Aces High strategy and vehicle/aircraft uses. Personal opinions about individual pilots mean nothing in this case, and the score/rank system as designed by HTC moves into the forefront. Strategy + success = rank; in this case, and that's what I'm after in documenting potential approaches. </edit>

[ 10-28-2001: Message edited by: Voss ]

[AKDejaVu]

My Top 10 pages are not being neglected.. they are on hold.

When they return, they will be more complete and accurate than ever.

AKDejaVu

[brady]

Thier are certain aspects to gaing rank in AH that requier very little skill and mearly the knowledge of what to do, whean to do it, and the will to spend the time doing it.Howeaver rank to a certain degree can be summed up as simply as this. It is how well u do on the sorties you fly(drive) rather than how much time you spend doing it.In other words the more I fly the harder it is to maintain rank in certain catagories.

 Ultamatly It only matters to thoughs who care to play for rank, just because they have rank does not necessarly mean that they are playing for rank, nore does it mean that they are any better than the next man.

[Dead Man Flying]

Let me clarify what I mean when I say that rank doesn't necessarily equate to skill.  Someone can have a low rank despite your equation of strategy + success because strategies differ from player to player.  One strategy maximizes K/D ratio(i.e. grab lots of alt in a fast plane, engage with an advantage, keep an exit window, and flee if necessary).  Another strategy might be to achieve the best possible performance from an uncommon plane in tough circumstances (i.e. grab a 202, Typhoon, P-47, etc. and furball with it).  Despite equal levels of "success" for both players, the former would almost always rank higher.  Just how many kills can a 202 conceivably rack up in a furball anyway?  Probably not as many as the P-51 BnZing the furball.

I'm not advocating one style over another, just pointing out that rank often favors one particular flying style over another despite equal levels of success.  So if success is a constant, how can we say that strategy + success = rank when different, equally acceptable strategies yield such divergent scores?

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Voss]

That is just it, in a nutshell. You will never know which strategy is successful, without hearing from the guys that are ranking. I agree with you, for the most part, but I can tell you from firsthand experience that flying to live WILL NOT rank you high in this game; not in and of itself that is. It seems the two most critical factors are kills/time-online and gunnery, but that is just the fighter/attack categories.

Okay, amend my statement to read: Proper strategy + success = rank. If your strategy is to live and kill with impunity, and you climb to 35k every sortie, YOU WILL NOT RANK unless you NEVER die. I suspect even then that the scoring system is stacked against you, but let's wait and hear what those in the upper ranks have to say.

My feeling is that if you were able to always launch straight into a low furball direclty over your own field, kill five guys quickly every sortie, and land most of them, that you would quickly outpace someone that never died at all.

But, you are ignoring two other categories completely. Buffs and vehicles/boats figure into this too. If you ignore them you can't rank, either. There are a lot of people that will never care about rank for that very reason.

[steely07]

<S> Voss,thanks for taking the time to do this,i am a pretty average stick at the best of times,and look forward to seeing comments from those pilots who hand me my butt every time i play <S> to all of you,and thanks again Voss.
 Oh ps good pilots who are mailing voss to give him their advice/knowlege for the project feel free to use my name if describing something NOT to do..lol
Steely

[Seeker]

You may find perk points (and 262 addiction) distorting the strategy/rank relationship.

If I'm aiming for rank, then firstly I take the best plane of each type, that's to say the Spit IX or the LA-7, every fith sortie is a buff sortie, every tenth a GV and I ship gun once a session.Additionaly I'll refuel more.

If I'm aiming for perkies I take the Spit-V, LA.5 or 205 and do a lot more Jabo, and do my best to land every point.

Since the 262, I've been doing a lot of that  

[AKcurly]

Originally posted by Voss:
I don't know how many of you were around to see the original boxed version of Air Warrior, but it came with a manual that explained the game in an inexact way. The best part of that manual was the charts and the remarks from online Aces like yourselves.

So, today I find myself finishing up with the design of an Unofficial Strategy Guide for Aces High. I would like to get comments from each and every one of you on your favorite rides. If you fly a Pony I would like your strategy and how you get to the rank you're holding. If you use a GV I would like to know that too.

You can respond via private message, or post it here. I would prefer private message, as I get an email copy and that maks it easier to cut-and-paste, etc.

I will probably do a little editing, and add my own images, but feel free to post something if you have something you feel is too good to miss.

Yes, AKLarry, this is your big chance to help out!  

Tell me Vosss, are you a congential amazinhunk or are you a self-made amazinhunk?  I've been around a long time and I don't recall a single individual who has achieved your consistent and systematic level of amazinhunkry.
 
I fully expect you to reach new levels unpleasantness every day, Voss.  Look out, the pressure is on!  Don't disappoint us.  
 
AKcurly

[Voss]

You peak the list there yourself, curly boy. It would be nice to actually get something useful out of you; just once.

Thanks for trying, anyway.  

[Eaglecz]

bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla btw rank doesnt matter bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla rank is not important thats fact bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla fly for fun bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
thats all  

[Naso]

Originally posted by EagleC:
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla btw rank doesnt matter bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla rank is not important thats fact bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla fly for fun bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
thats all    

bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla ??!?!?!?  

bla bla bla bla bla bla niki dweeb bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla perk system bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bomber's guns bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla furballs bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla !!!  

BTW, bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla troll & flame !!!  

IMHO bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla  

<S>!

bla