Beet1e, whats your agenda?

[Sikboy]

I agree with Batdog here. With the death of AW in december, AH has seen a major influx of new players, many of them wishing that they were still playing Air Warrior.  You acknowlege as much in your "replies" post. I would be interested in knowing what the % of new players (Since the middle of December) to Veteran players is.

I know several players who left AW to join AH because they were weary of empty FR arenas, or the style of gameplay in the RR arenas. Some folks see this new influx of players has wanting to draw the game in the direction of the RR arenas in AW. (personally I don't have an opinion here, I left AW over a year before it died and while I much prefer AH, I have no grudge against AW folks). Anyhow, it appears that there has been a backlash against many of the new players. There have even been suggestions of starting an RR arena to seperate them out. (Bad idea IMHO, let them play FA3 and keep AH targeted towards this core audience.) So, yes, there is a bit of a crisis going on in the AH community. It's going to take some time to figure out who's going to stay and who's going to go play FA3 RR Insto Lazer physics free Gee-O-Ramma.

Also though... It's very hard to compare your second experience in a MMOFS to your first. It's like losing your virginity. Comparing the commeraderie you have in WBs after 4 years of playing to AH where you are fairly new is not very fair. I know that you refer to when you first started playing WB's and everyone bent over backwards to help you out, and how that didn't happen in AH. I'm not too sure why this isn't the case. For one thing, there is a debate over the utility of the "6 Call" function. Personally I hate them. Nothing like getting the advantage in an E fight, and having someone send you a 6 call right in the middle. Now I know EXACTLY where that guy is, so my brain tells me "There must be someone else about to kills you!" so I instinctively do some evasive and blow my E, and have to run away to reset. That's just me. But you can see how 6 calls aren't a very important part of my life. So I can't really relate to you on how bad the community is about using the six-call function. But I will say that even outside of my squadron I've felt a good sense of community with AH players. For example, On friday night I flew TOD as a guest of the LuftJagerkorps and despite the fact that I'd only ever flown with any of them once before, they were helpful and happy to have me.

Sorry, I don't really want to start the workday, so I'm just rambling.

-Sikboy

[Löwe]

Like Hblair, I quit Warbirds altogether, before coming to AH, in Oct. I admit after years of WBs, where I was pretty good. I am suffering dweebness to the extreme here. I tell you one thing though, I would rather take my lumps here towards the bottom of the food chain than go back to Warbirds. The challenge is greater, the sim is better, and it's a hell of a lot  more exciting in AH PERIOD. Guess that was more than one thing.

[aztec]

Beetle I have no opinion about the the intial point of this thread.
I would like to say this: you stated in your reply, "no-one here has ever welcomed me".

Well I indeed welcomed you here on this very board...I can't remember what you had posted about but I encourgaed you to stick with AH because there were many decent folks here.

You are certainly entitled to your opinions and I respect your right to voice them. Just wanted to set the record straight.

[Ripsnort]

"Community" is what YOU make it, not what you perceive it as.

(Note: more of a philosophical approach rather than a statement)

One thing that is consistent in every online sim I've been involved in since 1989 is this: Folks that blame community on their lack of happiness usually have another problem that is bothering them, community is the best over-all scapegoat to lay blame on ones inability to adjust to something new(whether is be FM, ACM style, blah blah).  Not saying that was the case here, but just noted from past experience.

[K West]

Are you the green leafy guy all the way to the right in the picture by the guy with the blueish jacket's elbow?

[Yeager]

Oh my, lets go take a pot shot at the AH community (which if you knew anything, is a damned fine community) over on AGW.  Tis a real interesting way to make friends and establish yourself here.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Simply a case of "We've run out of things to bash AH with, and this is the best I could come up with".  Consider it WB defeatism.

Actually, I think he was just trying to be funny. After all, a good pilot knows the HO can be avoided.

Been flying a lot of Zeke the past two tours. I've avoided HO like the plague (unless the target is a bomber). I've got tagged quite a few times when I thought I had maneuvered out of HO range.

I'm now pretty much convinced that that I'm not a "good pilot".

[beet1e]

Aztec – OK, I stand corrected – maybe you did. And thanks sincerely for inviting me to today’s mission to attack F11  I got one designated target (ack) with a rocket, but then the acks got me! Still haven’t worked out how to deal with acks in AH. Seeing them in the first place is the hard part. By the time I’m close enough to see them to take aim, I’m good as dead.

Ripsnort – I disagree. If what you said above was valid, then surely all online sim communities would be alien to me. That is not the case. The AH v WB community comparison is like oil and water, as far as I’m concerned. But remember – the folks posting here are the game enthusiasts.

KWest – No. that’s a Dutch guy with the handle of “flower”. Try again!

Yeager - The people of whom I despair are the 98% of AHers who don’t read this board. BTW, my past four years experience indicates that I don’t need online community popularity lessons.

All – you might not always like what I say, but I’ll speak my mind – truthfully.

[Apache]

Wish I could take this thread back. It does no good, especially to the community, for someone to lash out at another.

My apologies beet1e.

If I didn't do it before, although I'm sure I did, welcome to Aces High. If ever I can be of service, be sure to call upon me.

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by beet1e


Ripsnort – I disagree. If what you said above was valid, then surely all online sim communities would be alien to me. That is not the case. The AH v WB community comparison is like oil and water, as far as I’m concerned. But remember – the folks posting here are the game enthusiasts.

[/b]

Then..

BTW, my past four years experience indicates that I don’t need online community popularity lessons.
 

This tells me WB's was your first online sim you committed quite a bit of time too, so my theory is valid. You become accustomed to one type of environment, and its very difficult to adjust to something that is not familiar.

[hblair]

Originally posted by Apache
If ever I can be of service, be sure to call upon me.

Dude. What do you mean by that?

[vhold]

I am new to AH, and I really have no complaints about the game or the community.

I flew in AW for several years, finally dropping out a year or two ago as it stopped working reliably on my machine.

Most of the arguments I see in here are pretty familiar:
"Uber" planes, HO's, T/B vs. B&Z, etc etc... nothing really new

As far as the game itself, well objectively I have no doubt it is a more advanced (& stable) piece of software than AW, which was saddled with 10 years worth of old code.

I am not familiar enough with the AH community to offer any useful criticism, but to be fair AW had something like 10 years to build up an online community of players, and it seems unreasonable to expect AH to build the same kind of community in just a year or so - it will happen in time.

For me, I just have to get used to being a dweeb again (then again I was always a bit of a dweeb ), and getting clubbed like a baby seal every run. But hey, I'm here, and so far I'm having a lot of fun, even if I am getting creamed every run ;-)

[beet1e]

Ripsnort - I don't believe your theory is valid, because of this -

and its very difficult to adjust to something that is not familiar.

Remember - the WB community was not familiar to me in Jan. 1998, but I slotted right in within the first 2 weeks or so.

It's probably worth saying again - I don't have a quarrel with most of you guys reading this. It's the quakers that suck, but they probably don't bother reading this board.

Apache!  Don't worry about it. Of course you were right to post. Things are better in the open.

[Ripsnort]

Scrambl, was WB's your first online sim?

[Horn]

Originally posted by beet1e
Still haven’t worked out how to deal with acks in AH. Seeing them in the first place is the hard part. By the time I’m close enough to see them to take aim, I’m good as dead.

Well, I can't help you with the community--it is what you make of it--but I can help with killin acks! First, download the maps of the various field sizes. Note ack locations. Approach field from the direction where you can get two or three acks in a row--plan your exit/egress. When ur first learning, the zoom function can help tons. Use the brackets just like the buffs to optimize ur forward (gunsight) view. If u have lots of ammo, shooting early and lining up the shot by where the ammo is hitting the ground is a good way to learn to line up your shots. Once you've got this mastered, look ahead for where the next ack is and prepare to re-sight for the next emplacement. Another thing--cause the game is sorta fugged ack-wise, go SLOW! If ur screamin thru ack at 500, ur dead. I find at 200 that the durn things never hit me--just don't fly in a straight line when egressing....a jug is a wonderful ride to de-ack. YMMV

g/l

dh