BBS sampling/opinion re CT

[Widewing]

Originally posted by Easyscor
In one paragraph you implied you are an Allied flyer and in the same breath charge the Axis guys with not having “the stomach to fight against the same adversaries as Japan faced.”  This on top of the fact that the Axis are usually out numbered 2 to 1 in the PTO setups I’ve seen lately.

This thread started out as an opinion pole on the CT, and by far, numbers and difficulty finding a fight is the message that keeps coming through as the major problems but you suggest, “if you provide a truly historical arena, people will come.”  I couldn’t disagree more.  The average player isn’t a history buff and doesn’t’ care about service dates or deployment dates, or attrition, he just wants to fly the best equipment the arena provides and find a good fight.  Without some judicious balancing, and maybe some blatant tampering, the CT would become all Allied and without people willing to fly Axis, there won’t be any fun for anybody.

Many people might agree with you but I think the biggest draw of the CT is a balanced plane set and better fights with a historical feel, and I don’t think the CT could survive long with strict compliance to historical matchups.

There have been late-war PTO set-ups where even with a gerrymandered plane set the Axis howled endlessly about the Allies have the P-38L and P-47D-25. Axis numbers were constantly low to the point where Fester and I were the only axis pilots flying for hours at a time. A significant number of Axis players simply didn't like facing superior aircraft and many went to the MA or switched sides to Allied. The net result was a very lopsided arena. It wasn't the set up, it was the unwillingness to accept the challenge of flying inferior aircraft. I often fly the SBD in the MA as a fighter, and manage to maintain a 4/1 K/D against the late-war rockets. There's nothing more satisfying than taking on a P-51D at 20k and defeating it with a 250 mph dive bomber. Flying inferior airplanes goes a long way towards improving one's skills. Yet, when we get an unbalanced plane set, numbers for the weaker side drop considerably. It's not the planes, it's the pilots. Thankfully, there is a core of players who fly what's available without complaint, and generally do well in them.

As to the concern that accurate historical set ups will not draw in more players, take note that HTC is convinced that you're wrong because that is exactly what AH2 TOD is going to be.

My regards,

Widewing

[Batz]

The ju88 carries 6000lbs of bombs but only has 3 7 mm guns as defense.

the sbd and tbm are better armed

So you have np subbing a  ju88 for a betty even though it carries way more bombs. So its the guns, just as i said above.

You have np benefiting from upped gunned versions of the sbd and tbm. You have np with the axis struggling through with the obsolete val and kate.

The speed of ki-67 vrs the f4f is less an issue then comparing the a6m2 to the boston. Not to mention how poor the type 99 mk 1s are in ah.

The betty has similiar defensive guns as the peggy and a similiar bomb load. The peggy is by far a better match for the betty then any other bomber in ah.

So you are whining about a "well" gunned peggy and ignoring the advantage of the "better" gunned sbd and tbm. You ignore the much greater speed and offensive guns of the boston. You are very selective with your whines.

My reading is fine,  you are whining as I decribed above.

After a little taste of what the other side has to deal with all the time you feel "something must be done".

I dont care about your scores. You tell us often enough anyway.

What keeps folks out of the ct is clear, its to much like the main with far less players. With the axis / allies thing in the ct it only only works if the numbers are balanced. The numbers are only balanced when the  fight is fun and the match ups are good.

There are far fewer "axis" types in the ct then there was when the ct first opened because they had to deal to long and to many times with what you feel you face with the peggy. They dont fly there any more.

I am not on the ct staff anymore I quit last year when I was still using the nik "wotan". As for what happens to the ct I can honestly say I dont care. Theres nothing unique about the ct at all. Its a mini main with less players and a limited planest. It would be better off as a "dogfight arena" with mid to early fighters only and none of that base grabbing pork and auger.  Atleast then you may find a good fight.

The one thing I would miss if and when the ct closes is the custom maps. Those are the one bright spot about the current ct.

Ah2:Tod is a totally different animal and with the current planeset neither one of us wiill have to suffer through another "pac set up" for some time.

Ah2:toD is mission based not "historical based". Theres a clear difference. Its not an open arena and theres no war to be won. There wont by large variations of plane types so the need for substutions maybe lower then what is needed in an open arena like the ct.

Ah2:tod wont need large arena numbers but just enough to make a single mission fun. Add in ai bomber formations and gvs and an mission with just 20 guys will be fun.

I fly fb alot and fly in most of the online wars and they are similiar to what can be expected in Ah2:ToD. The biggest draw back to the box games like Fb is the waiting for a mission to start and depending on the quality of host you get. In ah2:ToD the number thrown about was missions launching either every 15 min  or 30 min. But still the setups need to balanced enough to attract players. No one here is in the AH "military" and that dont have to suffer through things that suck.

[Zanth]

[Mini D]

Oh yea... you two are pointing out the other problem with the CT.

MiniD

[hitech]

Widewing: Just curious, ill tell you why if you answer, what do you do for a living?

HiTech

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by mos
Lack of an early-war P-38 variant, and (less importantly) lack of skill.  The CT guys just seem to be better organized and I tend to get into furballs with obvious squads --multiple pairs keeping formation with each other.  I'm still too new to handle those kinds of odds.

That's my complaint.  It seems that almost everytime there is a USAAF planeset, the P-38 is the odd man out and very rare to see it added to the CT planeset for that week.  


ack-ack

[Batz]

zanth

[Charon]

I've had some great fights in the CT, but also a lot of typical MA type stuff only with less total action. While you experience the challenge of an Eagler and his expertly flown 109 varient from time to time, you also experiece the usual ack running, milk running, enemy hoards/unbalance. I usually try to be a good sport and up for the side with the least numbers. But the end result often seems to be getting banged by better planes. As a solo flyer (more often than not), I also end up just wandering into bad numbers with the current dar setting while looking for a balanced fight. And it doesn't take all that many enemies to create bad numbers when it's you against the world and the enemy is flying better planes that can dictate the fight.

At least in the MA (even on the new big maps which are a generally a buzz kill for me), with the greater total numbers you can move around a bit, change countries maybe, and eventually find a good fight for a half hour or more. Or up a cheap perk plane and fly it recklessly

It's too bad, because I greatly prefer scenarios when I have the time to play them, and had hoped the CT would create that atmosphere, which for me it hasn't. I'll see what TOD has to offer.

Charon

[Ack-Ack]

Originally posted by hitech
Widewing: Just curious, ill tell you why if you answer, what do you do for a living?

HiTech

This might give you a hint of what he does.

Planes and Pilots of World War II - Online WW2 History Aviation Magazine



Ack-Ack

[Zanth]

Remembered that data thing was somewhere but forgot where.  Odd though, I now notice the these lines diverge from HTC's charts on the website (particualrly in the high alt figures).

[Widewing]

Originally posted by hitech
Widewing: Just curious, ill tell you why if you answer, what do you do for a living?

HiTech

I'm a Design Engineer who works with military ordnance from small arms through missiles. I have been working with the Navy lately developing an electronic shot counter for several weapons such as the M2HB Browning .50 cal MG, Mk19 Grenade Launcher,
Mk.38 25mm Chain Gun Mount, MP-5, Mk47 Light Machine gun and so on. I design and test the sensors on the actual weapons. This may sound exciting, but it's not. Much of it is quite boring as there's about 80 hours of work for each hour on the test range and the test ranges are on military installations requiring long drives or hours in airports....

I supplement my income writing for aviation publications and doing technical editing for aviation authors. You can find my work in Flight Journal, Airpower International as well as a few others.

Aside from Aces High, I own and maintain a WWII aviation web site as a hobby.

Beyond doing unusual work, I'm just another working stiff looking forward to the weekend.

My regards,

Widewing

[F4UDOA]

Widwing,

Just came across your thread.

You are absolutely right, the CT setups are exactly that, setups to create a completely non-historic version of events so the Axis can fly NIK2's against F4F-4's and win. For what reason I have no idea.

Even the week they ran Okinawa. The isle of Okinawa had NIK2's launching from everywhere (I wonder how many fields they actually had on the island) as well as A6M5's and KI-61's). The allies had three or for carrier groups where you could choose either the one carrier with the F4U-1, the 1 carrier with the F6F or the 1 with F4U-1D. If any of those carriers was sunk then you loose that A/C completely. Funny I had no idea that the Navy could not support F6F's and F4U's on the same deck.

Also you could not get a F4U off of a land based field, why?

The whole setup is so bull***** that it has little more than a novelty value.

Batz uses the term fair quite a bit. That is funny because the term historic would be much more helpful.

Also how is it possible to run the "slot" in 1943 and not have F4U's? The F4U had more kills in 1943 in the slot than any other A/C in the theater? Let me guess, it's not fair.

[slimm50]

Originally posted by Shane
if you're not a regular Combat Theatre player, why not? what keeps you out of CT or from coming back on a regular basis?

Almost everytime I try to log into the CT, I have to d/l a new map. I don't have the patience, with a dialup connection, so I go to MA, instead.

Pretty lame, huh?

[Shane]

Originally posted by slimm50
Almost everytime I try to log into the CT, I have to d/l a new map. I don't have the patience, with a dialup connection, so I go to MA, instead.

Pretty lame, huh?

hmm...  perhaps HTC can put up the maps on the d/l page. problem with this tho' is maps get revised to tweak thinsg and players add skins, requiring a new d/l...

but i hope HTC will consider looking into it, that way you can d/l overnight or something.

i feel for your dialup, d/l's is where cable/dsl rule.

[Batz]

F4u

There has never been a set up where the niki fought the f4f, you are lying.

There has been plenty of late war pac stuff where the a6m5 fought every plane on the us side army and navy. The niki was whined away.

There have been setups where the f4u-1 fought against the a6m2.

So you are completely full of **** and dont have a clue. But go ahead and cling to that if it gets you through.
 
'43 slot? when was the last time they ran a '43 slot? The last slot was a6m2s vrs f4fs. Is this what you are whining about?

On the okinawa setups the japanese have 5 fields, easily porked given the ord load of all the USN planes. They have a total of 8 afs including the 3 island fields to the west (18 19 20). The USN start 2 fleets with 4 cvs (that 8 cvs) 2 single cv fleets and 2 4 cruisers fleets. The japanese side only has the ki-67 that can possibly sink a cv. The rest of the Japaneses planes carry 250kg x 2 as max load out. CVS are either sunk of fully operational. The only times cvs are sunk is when some idiot admiral parks it off an enemy field and its sunk with sbs.

The flak over the cvs are incredible and when an admiral sails a fleet up to a friendly field some one will sink it.

The Okinawa set up is one of the best and draws in large numbers.