Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: SoulzofAW3 on January 05, 2004, 07:26:48 PM
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I've been playing this game for almost a month now. I got the basic manuevers down, but I just can't get any kills. If I rope someone, I blow the shot because I can't see what I'm shooting at. The nose of the aircraft obscures my entire view which leaves me spraying and praying. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get around that or is this just a part of the game that everyone has to deal with?
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Use your head position and raise your head until the top half of the gunsight disappears. Then press F10 to save it. That's as high as you wanna go. ( Corsairs go quite a ways up )
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Line up pipper - pull nose up for a snapshot - if you don't see "x-ray vision" hit sprites scoring through your instument panel, drop the nose, cut back whichever way he did, reaquire and do same.
Or .... use maneuvers that give you a solution that doesn't involve lead turning at close range.
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Originally posted by SoulzofAW3
I've been playing this game for almost a month now. I got the basic manuevers down, but I just can't get any kills. If I rope someone, I blow the shot because I can't see what I'm shooting at. The nose of the aircraft obscures my entire view which leaves me spraying and praying. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get around that or is this just a part of the game that everyone has to deal with?
If the nose of your plane is consistantly obscuring your veiw, then you probably are leading way too much. When you land kill shots that are burried under your nose, you're either high-gee, long range or making an intersecting paths deflection shot. You don't want to take these shots until you start landing hits on more basic firing solutions.
eskimo
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maybe im misreading the type. but, if your roping them, you should be falling right on top of them and your nose should be on target.
If that IS what your saying then you're at stalling speed and YOU cant get your nose on target? then use flaps to kick your nose into place while giving lil pitch/roll for good guns solution.;) :aok
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here ya go - buy one of those clear report covers, cut it in half, put a dot in the middle place it in place over the dot of the gunsight, tape it to your monitor and move the head position all the way up - viola.
Will you be able to see those 4-5 g shots - nope. But you will see those 3-4 g shots and have a lot better sense of where he is under your nose on the 4-5 g shots.
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That sounds very cheap...
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Originally posted by lasersailor184
That sounds very cheap...
Even cheaper -- although you'll need to redo it every time you disturb it -- is to zoom in, place the point of your mouse pointer at the center of your gunsight, zoom back, and then move your head position up. Same effect, at least until you move the mouse, and you don't have to deal with plastic taped over your monitor.
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Well if you just tape the plastic to the top of the monitor, you can flip it back when not in use :)
As far as being "cheap" I'm from the south and a home aint lived in unless at least 2 windows are duct taped :D
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Hell ... just use the glass cockpit option. ;)
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I'm not the hottest pilot, about average I think.
The only advice I have is fly the 30mm on the Messerschmitt Bf-109G's. Once you can get kills with that consistently you are a quite reasonable shot. Shooting with everything else will be easy after that. Only 4 kills this tour so far, but hit rate at 25% :D
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Find a film that shows good gunnery in use.
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Leviathn gave me the tip when I first started to turn off my tracers. This would force me to learn how to lead with my gunsight instead of my tracers. I also raised my gunsight so the bore sight is right below the top edge of the gunsight reflector. This puts the boresight at eye level and makes it easier to see over the rather large nose of the P-38.
ack-ack
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Originally posted by MetaTron
Find a film that shows good gunnery in use.
Indeed. I'm sure I could find some to post. Even if it doesn't help Soul, it will be fun to piss Nopoop off! ;):aok:aok
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Did you fly certain plane only or did you change your plane all the time?
Stay longer period with one plane to learn it inside out or at least stay with same type of weapon set.
My .02
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Gunnery Drill:
Take up favorite airplane offline climb to 4k...
Then engage the drones in the counterclockwork path they are flying...
Now once you feel your getting it down. Reverse the circle and engage their forward quarter..
Start mixing it up from dead 6 shots to high defleciton shots..
Do this every day before you fly Aces your gunnery will improve..
"just what the Doctor ordered.."
DoctorYO
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I've been flying 6 or 7 tours now, and for awhile I've been listed near the top 50 in terms of gunnery each tour. I generally shoot at around 18% every month. In order to shoot this well I turned my tracers off and I played offline with the .target command. Try it: type .target and a target will be displayed due north from your current position at the range you list. I try to never fire from more than 400 out, so I learned what my spread looked like at that distance, and then started moving the target in by 25. --I also learned my cannon separate from my 50cals. I did this for several days: practice offline with the target, then heading online to compare my results against moving planes, leaving the tracers off.
It also helps to fly the P-38, which has a particularly deadly gun package, with everything center-mounted. ;)
Finally, I believe it was Erich Hartmann who said, "I hold my fire until my window is black with the enemy plane." That's probably the best tip I can give you. Learn your ACM until you're such a badass you can always fire from d100. No one misses from there.
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Most of my kills are usually from under 100 yards.
However, for some wierd reason, everytime the other plane flips around and takes off my wing.
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Originally posted by lasersailor184
However, for some wierd reason, everytime the other plane flips around and takes off my wing.
You are having connection problems then.
Been here more than three years now, and no one still misses like I do. I've given up...I'm hopeless :D
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As with anything in this game, the learning curve is very steep and gunnery is no exception.
Its gonna take time ... a lot of shooting, at a lot of different angles, in a lot of different planes, along with a lot of dieing before you realize that you aren't even looking at the pipper anymore, but visualizing the correct guns solution for the position that both you and your target are in and then squeezing the trigger.
Unless you are really gifted (which I am not party to), gunnery is not something that can be perfected within weeks ... think more along the lines of months and it still won't be perfect.
I have been at this for 2 years now and every time I go up, I can see incremental improvements in my gunnery. My percentages tend to suck in general, because I will shoot at others objects (ack, GVs, and buildings) rather than planes while flying in fighter mode.
Go offline ..
Change the ammo loadout option to 10X normal and attack the drones at any/all angles and at different speeds. This will definately help lessen the learning curve.
Use the .target command as explained above and understand the dispersion for each plane and the gun convergence that you prefer to use. This will give you a good idea of how close up need to be to your target to effect a quick and decisive kill.
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Ya, this is interesting.... if you're roping.. why can't you see the guy? I mean, as you come back down, you are the one who determines the attack angle. I do a bit of roping... not sure wher your difficulties lie. Heck when roping, I'll roll over on my back sometimes, but hang there(fly upside down) for a bit because as you go over on your back your victim expects you to come straight down, and begins his evasive, effectively telegraphing his move to you. Or, and my favorite, he will think you're bled out of E and hang his nose longer, giving you that canopy shot you want when you decide to come down. This method also affords you a great view of what is going on under you.. it's a nice twist on the straight and spiral ropes and sometimes even catches the wary off guard.... try it some time. :)
Also, don't worry too much about putting a lot of bullets(thus forcing a long gun solution, and a longer lead shot) in your victim. If you've roped successfully, your shot will be from close range at a slow target. A well placed snap shot will get the job done. This way, yout don't have to worry about pulling so much lead, which has 2 bad effects: pulling a lot of lead is a harder shot than the short snapper, and it also burns precious E in case you want to go back up, rinsse and repeat.
Edit: Just out of curiousity mos, I looked up your gunnery numbers. You may want to clarify your CPID, because the guy with the name of Mos has hit %'s somewhere between 1 and 6% on his tours. Heh
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>>Go offline ..
Change the ammo loadout option to 10X normal and attack the drones at any/all angles and at different speeds. This will definately help lessen the learning curve. <<
I've been practicing gunnery offline, and I don't know if increasing the ammo loadout is the way to go. You tend to take long duration shots using a lot of bullets correcting as you go rather than short, precise bursts. IMO it develops a bad habit. For me, increasing the lethality is a better option. Then you can inch the lethality down to normal as you get better. This way, the duration of shots stays pretty much how it should be online.
Peope have different aproaches to learning. If one guy wants to high jump 7 ft, he sets the bar to seven feet anf jumps until he makes it. Another sets it to 4 feet and inches it up to 7 feet. I guess whatever works for you.
But hey, thats just an opinion from someone struggling with an under 3% hit percentage :)
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Originally posted by TweetyBird
>>Go offline ..
Change the ammo loadout option to 10X normal and attack the drones at any/all angles and at different speeds. This will definately help lessen the learning curve. <<
I've been practicing gunnery offline, and I don't know if increasing the ammo loadout is the way to go. You tend to take long duration shots using a lot of bullets correcting as you go rather than short, precise bursts. IMO it develops a bad habit. For me, increasing the lethality is a better option. Then you can inch the lethality down to normal as you get better. This way, the duration of shots stays pretty much how it should be online.
Peope have different aproaches to learning. If one guy wants to high jump 7 ft, he sets the bar to seven feet anf jumps until he makes it. Another sets it to 4 feet and inches it up to 7 feet. I guess whatever works for you.
But hey, thats just an opinion from someone struggling with an under 3% hit percentage :)
I see your point ... the extra loadout for me was to not waste time landing/augering to get more ammo and then climbout to get back to the matter at hand. I wanted to stay aloft as long as possible to make flying and firing as repetative as possible.
Here is a link to an article written by Andy Bush from simHQ. Excellent article ... one of my first reads when I started AH.
http://www.simhq.com/_air/air_031a.html
Andy is the real deal ... Fighter Pilot ... Combat Fighter Pilot Instructor.
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Improve your gunnery by knowing how to use the gunsight.
(http://www.mars01.0catch.com/)
The above link refers to a list of pages. These pages are an original pamflet that was used to train the British pilots.
It teaches you how to use the gunsight and how to line up an enemy pilot( The Hun) lol.
Srry about the pop-ups your best bet is to just right click the link and "save as" to download.
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Originally posted by Steve
Edit: Just out of curiousity mos, I looked up your gunnery numbers. You may want to clarify your CPID, because the guy with the name of Mos has hit %'s somewhere between 1 and 6% on his tours. Heh
My nick is Director.
I first flew in tour 42:
42 - 7.5%
43 - 16.1%
44 - 17.5%
45 - 9.9% (I flew hardly at all that tour, massive work schedule)
46 - 19.8%
47 - 18.3%
Currently, I'm shooting over 16% in tour 48, but I've only flown a few sorties. I expect it'll get better. As you can see from my k/d ratio, my ACM needs a lot of work still, but this wasn't a question on how improve one's dogfighting skills. :)
I was mistaken, I shouldn't have said I shoot better than 18% every tour, as it looks like 18% is about my average so far. Still, I think my first post's advice holds, especially the quote from Erich Hartmann.
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Well I made it to page 5 of the pamphlet before it exceeded your download limit for the day :)
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WOW that sucks!!!
They must have just started that. potato peeling BS!!!!! I guess its not really a zero catch anymore.
Oh well. If anyone can get the whole thing please feel free to do with it what you want, I have no ties or rights to it.
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Thanks too, Slapshot, for posting a link to that Andy Bush article.
I had read that before, and thats where I got the idea about making a gunsite on plastic to maximize over the nose viewing.
I don't know why they just dont extend the fixed sight area so it could be used at the full head up position. I also don't know why the full head down position even exists. Anyone use that position effectively? A lot of little people (~4 feet) flying in WWII?
Now if having a higher head position increased the chance of pilot wound, I could see its use. But as is, I down see the point of a position where you cant see over the dash :)
I don't know how much of a load on the server it would be, but to have the gunsight available at all head positions, and having higher head positions increase the chance of a pilot wound, would be an ideal setup.
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Soulz, I see you're from B'ham. So'm I, only now I live in Houston. Was just back home over Christmas/ New Year to visit relatives. What part of B'ham do you live in? I grew up there. e-mail me, if ya want.
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I live over on Southside, right near 5 Points South.
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I had read that before, and thats where I got the idea about making a gunsite on plastic to maximize over the nose viewing.
This is so gamey, maybe the gamiest thing I've ever heard. You happily admit to it like it is some sort of clever thing to do. I don't care who rises to your defense on this one.... *PUKE*
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I never claimed it was clever. You're projecting. You don't like it and I don't care. So where are we? Instead of thowing out arbitrary decisions of what you consider puke worthy, why don't you state what it based on.
In the article, the author states a gunsight is just reference. Doesn't matter if it a piece of gum stuck on the windshield. But you have a problem with a piece of plastic on a monitor. Why?
Is it ok if I wear my reading glasses to see the icons or is that gamey too?
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*Puke*
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Work on that vocabulary. It will be easier to communicate with you.
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I went to the AW and WB conventions back in 1998 when I still worked at CH Products and got to see a lot of different player's setups. I had noticed that there quite a few at both conventions that either placed stuff like what Tweety Bird described or map reference points. I don't do it but I don't consider that any more 'gaming the game' as raising the gunsight to eye level.
ack-ack
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Like I said, I don't care who comes to your defense, it seems VERY gamey.
Love ya ACK-ACK but this is anti-immersion gamey stuff imho. Besides, I don't see the advantage, many people have fine hit %'s without such ghey devices.
Tweety, my vocabulary is fine. Why wax verbose when one can express oneself succinctly?
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Bah. Learn to visualize the lead, people. :)
-- Todd/Leviathn
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Its fine to state your point and your reasoning behind it, but characterizing someone as thinking they're "clever" is going to cause problems.
I'm immersed just fine, thank you. It might be different if I was up 20k in a 51 picking off dead planes, but furballing at 500 feet tends to keep your mind in the game and your butt in the tower.
When you state your reasons for a position, its a lot easier to deal with than a characterzation presented as a reason. Its the anti-immersion thing bothering you? Well we can follow that logical path through all kinds of set ups. What if my vision is poor and I have a magnifyer attached to my monitor - that "ghey" too?
What if I have one arm and adapt a prosthesis to hit the viewpad keys better? How "ghey" is that? Say I have fused neck vertebrates and place the monitor 45 degrees over my head. No immersion?
Thats the logical path of your point. And until HTC starts requiring physicals to play AH, I think its a bogus point.
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I gotta gree with Steve- as hard as i try i can't imagine ww2 pilots standing up in their cockpit to aim.
My hit % is usually about 15-20% but i wouldn't consider myself a good shot over 300yrds. I do consider myself pretty good at deflection shooting though. I find deflection shooting pretty easy at close range.
I don't agree with flying with no tracers for me personally, i find them very useful. I only fire small bursts and if i miss i use the tracers to correct my aim. If you use them walk you bullets to your target though i would agree, perhaps it's better to have them off.
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I use a single dot pipper and raise the seat as far as it will go just before the pipper disappears from the top of the HUD. I consider this within the real operating parameters of the cockpit.
Drawing a dot on the screen or any other device that allows you to raise the seat higher so that the pipper is no longer visible on the HUD, I consider gamey. If you do it, I don't really care ... just not my personal preference.
For those over the nose deflection shots, prior to losing site of the target, one must understand the POM of the target and your POM before pulling lead and firing. Like Lev said, you must "visualize" for the blind shots. This is not something that comes easily or quickly for most, I would assume, and thru many hours of fighting and/or practicing the "visulaization" gets better.
How many find it easier to get deflection shots than off-center 6 shots ? Sometimes, when I have locked onto a target, I wait for the target to turn before firing (I do not do this under "furball" conditions tho).
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Originally posted by Dead Man Flying
Bah. Learn to visualize the lead, people. :)
-- Todd/Leviathn
Right on, DMF.
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Originally posted by SoulzofAW3
I live over on Southside, right near 5 Points South.
That area was one of my fav hangouts 20 years ago when I attended UAB.
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Last night I went to the training arena and chased driller around with the Friendly Lock on. That by far was the best practice I have done with regards to gunnery. I immediately noticed a difference when I went to the MA.
I also tried the .target, but that only show dispersal from strait 6 shot, and without a plane on the target it really doesnt show much.
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but characterizing someone as thinking they're "clever" is going to cause problems.
It might cause problems, but only for you. Like you, I am entitled to my opinion. I got the impression you were rather proud of your gamey trick, so I responded as you saw. If that's a problem, you'll just have to deal with it. I'm not going to apologize for stating my opinion.
Its the anti-immersion thing bothering you?
Nope, it just seems so gamey that if it was on my monitor, I'd have a hard time enjoying the game....
What if my vision is poor and I have a magnifyer attached to my monitor - that "ghey" too?
What if I have one arm and adapt a prosthesis to hit the viewpad keys better? How "ghey" is that? Say I have fused neck vertebrates and place the monitor 45 degrees over my head.
Speaking of bogus points, nice try. The above examples are equalizers for the poor soul who might be suffering from such afflictions... not gamey add ons to give an advantage that others do not have.
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I also tried the .target, but that only show dispersal from strait 6 shot, and without a plane on the target it really doesnt show much.
HT or anybody ...
Are the diameters of the circles on the .target a known parameter ?
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Well, Steve, if you got that impression, lord knows it must be 100% correct. I'll make sure I file your observations.
>>The above examples are equalizers for the poor soul who might be suffering from such afflictions... not gamey add ons to give an advantage that others do not have.<<
So no custom built flight stations, no 72 button acme turbo stick 8000's, no 27 inch monitors, or perhaps just no plastic.
>>as hard as i try i can't imagine ww2 pilots standing up in their cockpit to aim. <<
And I can't imagine them climbing over the backseat to check 6 in a furball and climbing back for a front shot instantaneously. We'd have lost more pilots to whiplash than crashes.
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Originally posted by SoulzofAW3
I've been playing this game for almost a month now. I got the basic manuevers down, but I just can't get any kills. If I rope someone, I blow the shot because I can't see what I'm shooting at. The nose of the aircraft obscures my entire view which leaves me spraying and praying. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get around that or is this just a part of the game that everyone has to deal with?
a month? you're playing against guys with years of experience, they probably know what you're going to do even before you decide to do it - if this is your first online flight sim give it 4-6 months before you get it, if you're coming from another flight sim, 4-6 weeks...
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I've been playin for a while as well, and I'm having trouble seeing around my beer bottle while drinking and shooting. I was thinking of going to a straw, but c'mon , just the thought deserves a slap.
I think maybe a set of mirrors mounted on either side of some srta beer bottle holder, but then I'd be shooting backwards no?
Maybe I'll just switch to hard stuff full time, shot glasses are in your line of sight for less time...hmmm. Something to ponder.
I still won't hit crap, but at least with hard stuff, I won't remember it.lol.
Cheers
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Well, Steve, if you got that impression, lord knows it must be 100% correct. I'll make sure I file your observations.
Tweety, I'm entitled to my opinions, and I'm entitled to voice them. It's your tough watermelon if you don't like them. You can continue to argue this with me as if my opinion is somehow invalid. It's an opinion, just an opinion, and in my opinion it's gamey. Crow until hell freezes over, you're not going to change my mind. Are you one of those idjits that will argue w/ someone indefinitely just because they have a differing view than you? We can go back and forth until I get bored (rapidly approaching), or you can come to the realization that I have an opinion about something and it is different than yours, and have the sense to leave it at that. Or is that something you just can't live with, someone differing from you?
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Steve, I don't give a rats behind who agrees with me or not. This thread was a about gunnery. YOU made it personal. Just reread the posts and who first tied it in with someone's character. All you had to do was state you thought any external devices were gamey. But no, you had to get personal. And you know what? This drivel about whether I think I'm clever, or whether I have to be right etc. has been boring from jump street. NO one cares and its degraded a good thread. Frankly I wish they'd delete the cat claws. I'm done with it. Have a nice life.
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If it was boring from jump street... why did you comment?
Dude, get over yourself.. if you thought the first post I made about you being gamey was personal, your wittle feelings got hurt.... get over it!!! How do you get by in life, being so thin skinned? Do ya carry around a box of tissues just in case someone gets personal?
Cripes, now I really am going to puke. Tweety, you can have the last word if ya want it, whatever it is. Communicating with prisses like you makes me gag and I just had dinner.... outta here.
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You worry about what I do entirely too much. You're starting to creep me out.
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I'm sure you know of the Z button, but you can adjust the zoom with the [ ] buttons once you hit Z. Once you set it to a comfortable spot it will stay there. Sitting up in the seat is almost worthless lol. This feature is especially useful in a tank
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Originally posted by BNshill
I'm sure you know of the Z button, but you can adjust the zoom with the [ ] buttons once you hit Z. Once you set it to a comfortable spot it will stay there. Sitting up in the seat is almost worthless lol. This feature is especially useful in a tank
LOL...Funny that you mention that. When I started the topic, I knew nothing of the z button. I just figured it out about 3 days ago and my kill ratio has risen.....slightly
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Originally posted by BNshill
I'm sure you know of the Z button, but you can adjust the zoom with the [ ] buttons once you hit Z. Once you set it to a comfortable spot it will stay there. Sitting up in the seat is almost worthless lol. This feature is especially useful in a tank
No comment, just happy to see BNShill. dude. U comin back? Cool to see you're still kickin.
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Originally posted by airbumba
No comment, just happy to see BNShill. dude. U comin back? Cool to see you're still kickin.
bro! Yeah i'm back but no more 200 + hour tours hehe. Had a mountain of RL BS hit me all at once starting with w32 blaster (from an infected pc on a nearby wireless network) last year and nearly ending with a divorce and me questioning my sanity hehe. Dell finally got around to posting the fix after i was nuked for 2+ months on every fresh install (all this while not connected to my cable modem) over and over. I spent a fortune on firewalls, antivirus and routers (eventually solving the puzzle with a wireless router and a fix burned to cd). By the time i got that fixed i realized had to do some serious work on my marriage and gaming just seemed so unimportant ;p
Anyways things could'nt be better now and i'm refreshed and have a much better perspective on "gaming" hehe. I am on free 2 weeks and then will renew my subscription after :)
Good to see you again bro
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Originally posted by SoulzofAW3
LOL...Funny that you mention that. When I started the topic, I knew nothing of the z button. I just figured it out about 3 days ago and my kill ratio has risen.....slightly
No biggie i did'nt learn about zoom adjust until i played a good 6 months lol. I swore everyone cheated in tanks because i could'nt see crap hehe. Once i learned it, it was others crying cheater lol . Boy what a difference lol, and aye it'll help you see that bogey alot better - kills under 100 yards is asking alot, especially if they SEE you hehe. You'll soon find yourself getting kills at 300-500 yards and getting alot more kills :)
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>> Sitting up in the seat is almost worthless lol. <<
Yea, and the plastic sight is a pain in the butt. But it did teach me where to aim my cockpit for high (30 deg+) aspect shots.
I have the zoom set on my stick, but I'm still not really comfortable with it. I use it mostly to look at the aspect of the target 800+ out as somtimes its a lot higher or lower than I think (not that I shoot that far out - but to know how much lag or lead pursuit to fly).
The problem I have with the zoom is it maginfies the wobbles, and I wobble a LOT. It causes me to overcompensate - sorta like walking with bowl of hot soup staring at the sloshing soup :) I think as I get more steady I might be able to use it more, or perhaps start with real low magnification and gradually increase it.
But you are exactly right, the little extra under the nose view translates to about no advantage up close.
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bonesssssssssssssssss:)
andi swear..soem gusy got there joystiks moving so frikn rock solid they never bounce..///if you get ur stik movn ur plane smooth..u can dogfite all day in zoomed mode..then you see which way thee eailerons/elavotrs movn...and you can lead them quiker..
btw..Go and shoot Skeet/trap...you will be bettr lead shooter:), plus you will meet old war vetrans that you can thank :)
i been going thru stiks and trying to fien to each one is frikn pisn me off..
]
btw a plastic sheet on ur computer..god that sounds so gay
i use a sharpy red marker fro a single dot..
fukthis sht...if othere people get to see over the nose..u are stupid if u dont..