I'm a cheat.
There, I said it.
Tonight I climbed into a pony and decided to experiment with a little BnZ... nearby there was a cloud bank (which I eyed suspiciously) and thought to myself "If I can get enough alt that would be a perfect spot to snipe!".
So I crawled heavenward, and spot 1999 and Mitsu on what appeared to be the same mission. Along the way a 51 draws my attention... he is above me and barreling straight down at me in a high-speed pass. Here I am, low and slow, and even if this guy misses the first pass he'll zoom up and rope-a-dope me. As much as I hate it, HO seems the best option. I had just set convergence to 300, hope it works...
It does. I take a few pings, but he loses the wing.
Resuming the climb, I make the clouds in time to see Mitsu and 1999 playing cat-and-mouse with a Spit and a 109. The kill buffer rolled a couple times a few minutes later, attesting to their relative prowess. I have my eye on a low 190 that is trying to make the cloud base. Whether he saw me or not I'll never know, but I tucked into the very edges of the mass, trying to at least partially conceal my approach. Closer, closer... NOW! He spots me only as the tracers race towards his stricken craft, and belatedly begins a hard break to the left. This only makes matters worse, because now I can see a planform. Dead.
I zoom back into the clouds, breaking free from the cold grayness, into a faceful of blazing sunshine. I have tons of fuel, ammo, and time left... bless you, North American! Once again, Mitsu and 1999 are playing tag with a spit, and I spot yet another 190 trying to make for cloud cover. I circle above slowly, letting him climb. He is joined by a Spit, and momentarily I think of making passes on both of them. Mitsu admonishes me, reminding me of how close we are to their base. He's right, of course, so I decide to wait and watch.
The 190 heads for the mountains to the North, and the Spit heads South. Really South! Now I have this big ol' Wulfburger all to myself! I begin the shallow dive on his six... he does the only thing he can- he makes for the clouds. In and out we dash, until finally he breaks into an area to open for his health. If he dives, I have him. If he runs, I have him. After a few rounds strike he decides to evade, and he split-S's and tries an immediate pull-up. No prob. A few rounds here, a few more there, and his energy is just about gone. He goes for one final, desperate move, a pure vertical zoom. I'm just administering the final touches to his lead enema when to events occur simultaneously: first, I run out of ammo, and; I spot an enemy La5 just above the cloud cover. Worse, he spots me!
Now I had hung there for a loooong time firing on the FW (and had done a pretty neat tail slide, if I do say so myself
) and was wallowing like a beached whale. I force the stick down and wait for airspeed to build. Where is that La5? Will I get under control in time.
Yes. But only just. He is right on me, coming hard. Choice time! I have no ammo, I have little speed, and I have an angry La5 right on me... go for the grass or the canyon? Against all reason I chose the canyon. I pushed down hard, and hoped he might lock a bit and allow my escape.
Nope. He was way too smart. He simply cut the tangent on my dive and closed the gap under control. Damn. We race through the canyon at 350mph, me trying to hug the corners and use as little deflection of controls as possible, him trying to cut the tangent on my every turn. He finally closes to cannon range, and I hear the first few pelts against the tail. I roll, cut the throttle, and force an overshoot (with no ammo what's the use?). He pulls up to keep out of guns and climbs. I bury the nose again and run like hell. 3.7, 3.8, 3.9... heck, I may have pulled this off! I begin to breath again, then I see the counter stop, and begin to roll down again... oh, crap!
I nervously check the map. 3 minutes and I'll be out of the canyon. 3 whole minutes!! Can I keep the margin that long? I check all the trims once again to see if there is anything creating drag. I try to pick a good line on every turn. He is gaining, but very slowly. If only I don't turn blindly into a box! If I have to scale a wall it'll be curtains... ohpleaseohpleaseohplease keep a level channel open... check the map... check the six-view... check the map...
What a beautiful sight the plains of my homeland! I break into the open and dive to the deck to gain back a bit of the speed I'd lost. Out bursts the La5, and he continues his relentless pursuit. We are all alone, no friendlies for either of us.
My only chance is to make for the field ack. The La5 is damned fast on the deck, and I was out of tricks. I doubted he would fall for another overshoot, and even if he did, I couldn't capitalize. I perform a bank to the left and let the lift pull me slowly to the left... the counter begins to fall a bit quicker now, and it looks like all was for naught. 1.7, 1.6, 1.5... there are the buildings! I level out and am just about on the field when everything opens up on the La5. He pulls vertical and climbs out of the maelstrom, and I just keep going to the next field and land.
Whew!
The point to this long-winded ramble is that I used elements programmed into the game to gain an advantage... I "gamed the game", but in a good way. I'm sure glad those clouds and canyons were there, because they provided me with as much online fun as I've had in a long time. I like to fly to live, I love the hunt, and tonight I got to do both with the help of a couple of really cool elements in this sim.
Thanks HiTech and company!
