Aces High Bulletin Board
Help and Support Forums => Help and Training => Topic started by: sonar732 on January 09, 2004, 08:51:32 PM
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Hello everyone,
I just started playing this game and was wondering what would be the best plane to start out with? Granted, I'm sure that I'll see quite a few post of "try them all and take the one you like the best". I played with various ones last night from 11:00pm til 2:00am cst...as if those who didn't see me be shoot so many times couldn't tell. :lol
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http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=104482
it's in there somewhere.
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FM-2
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Since you're just starting off, you should fly the Spitfire Mk IX. It's an all around good plane and very simple to fly, which makes for a great learning plane. Once you get familiar with the flight model and for air combat, you can choose to check out the other fighters. Ignore the twits that whine about the Spitfire being 'uber' or call you a dweeb for flying it, they're just a pack of clueless llamas.
ack-ack
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We got too many Spit dweebs already, you'll be picked on if you fly a Spit.
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Fly the spit, its a good plane to get your feet wet. Though, I'd recommend you get in what you want to make your primary ride as early as possible.
If you stick with a single ride, you'll learn faster and become more confident.
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I agree with Delirium.
Go to http://www.netaces.org
Find "Soda's Aircraft Evaluation" and read about the different planes in AH. When I started, I printed this out and read it many times. It helped me understand and use the various pros and cons of the planes.
Now, don't get sucked into trying to find the "best" plane. Find something you like. There are many pilots that never seem to get past the likes of P51D, N1K2-J, Spit or La7. I have ended up spending little time in the above mentioned rides and fly less "capable" planes. You may find it's more fun to get shot down learning your quirky plane than get more kills in the spit, at least I do/did.
Just a thought...
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Thanks for all of the replies!
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N1K2-J
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F6F Hellcat.
Its an all around good tough plane. Its easy to fly, can launch from land or sea and can carry a good load of rockets and bombs too.
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Pick a plane with gentle handling characteristics and good armament to learn in, like a Spit IX (I prefer Spit V), or the N1KJ. La-5 actually isn't a bad choice either, although gun ballistics suck. Once you get a feel for combat and learn a range of generally applicable maneuvers, switch to the aircraft you really want to fly, and stay in it for a whole tour. You learn a lot better if you remain loyal to one aircraft for a long period before moving on to another. It'll be harder to pick up on the subtleties of the different planes if you keep on flying a whole bunch of them at random.
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Another option is if there is a particular plane that you have some historical interest in. Take it up and give it a try. That's what I did when I started AH. Course back in dem good 'ol days we only had like 6 planes or somthing like that so the choice was narrowed down a bit for me. :) Still I've allways had a soft spot for the P-51 so that's what I flew for about my first year here. Course there are some problems with that approach if you're a fan of early war planes you might be in for a rough go in the MA.
Still if there's a particular aircraft that captured your imagination for one reason or another if might help ya through that rough breaking in period till you learn enough tricks to have some success.
What ever plane you do end up flying most people I think would agree that when you find a plane that suits your style stick with it awhile. Also when you've found your favorite ride ask around to find out who the experts are in that particular aircraft, then you can ask them for pointers to help you improve from there.
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P51b!
It can rock and roll in any situation. Accelerates like a dream.
(maybe a little too much, I overshot 3 guys completely in a dive).
Little restricted views, but with some good Head position saves, it's perfect.
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Originally posted by lasersailor184
P51b!
Bad choice for a newbie. It will be hard to gain confidence if he can't get any kills. It does look cool though.
Most important thing for newbies to know about flying the mustang is not to fight with any fuel in the aux tank.
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Spitfire IX with 2 cannons and 2 .50cal machine guns. The four .303 sound impressive because you get 4 machine guns, but the two .50s are more effective.
Try the Hellcat for carrier duty.
If you find yourself face-planting too often, try a slower plane, such as a Spitfire V, Seafire, N1K2, or FM-2.
If you find yourself needing to run away alot, or your targets keep running away from you, try the P-51D, Yak-9U, or LA-7.
Bigger maps usually favor faster planes.
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when you first start out you want to gain skill but still get some kills but the spitfire and nik have a major drawback you wont learn much in them
when i first started i flew nothing but .205 and i learned basic boom zoom and it realy helped me then i moved on to the F4U
fly easy planes when you start
then move to aircraft that well help your boom zoom skills P51D is good for this because its fast easy guns good views but sense it burns speed at a fast rate you well learn the hard way of not geting in turn fights or close in dogfights
then when you got a good grasp time to step up to a real hard planes to fly
109G-10 this plane well force you to learn trim and geting in close and watching your dives this aircraft helped me learn alot
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Originally posted by simshell
when you first start out you want to gain skill but still get some kills but the spitfire and nik have a major drawback you wont learn much in them
Bad advice... better to start out in something that will make you have to learn less about simply flying the aircraft so you can spend your time learning SA and ACM. The Spit is perfect for that, it will do almost anything you reasonably ask it with little complaint. You'll learn way more by not running away from everything like in a P-51D, La-7, 190D9, etc.
Gofaster had it right, Spit IX, lots of growth room and it is at least an average performer, or better, in every sense. Once you have some basic ACM/SA skills well established then worry about trying aircraft that have handling vices to add on to the complexity of an engagement. The Spits are consistently the most popular aircraft in AH from month to month and there is a reason, they are good aircraft.
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Depends on what the 'newbie' wants to learn.
For general purposes in combat, like many people have already recommended the Spitfire MkIX is probably the best of the best. It's merely a '42 plane and yet, for pure combat purposes probably the best balanced of them all.
The great advantage this plane holds for the newbie, is that it allows the neophyte to have fun and win, at the same time as learning to fly. The balance of speed, climb, acceleration and turning capabilities are almost perfect. It's just a damn good plane.
The relatively weaker armament compared to the N1K2, also holds benevolent for encouraging better gunnery - while the 2x Hispanos are better than all four of the N1K2 cannons at longer ranges, in closer ranges it is definately weaker and works the pilot to beef up his gunnery if he wants kills.
The drawback, is like others have stated, it's such a good plane that once one becomes potent in it, he really doesn't need to fly something else - at least in the typical MA environment. Just keep track of minimal SA and don't fight where you will be outnumbered quickly.
Also, another drawback, is that since it's such a potent pure dogfighting machine, other people will also use them. The relative advantage this plane holds is almost all neutralized in the MA. It does offer the benign situation of having to learn to fight against the same type of planes - but it's gonna be boring.
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For the bit more advanced pilots seeking to increase SA and basic ACM, the Fw190A-5 is perfect. Its operational philosophy as a A2A fighter is totally different from the Spit9, and more often than not you will find planes that both outrun and outturn you. This plane helps you learn to utilize rolls and high speeds to your advantage.
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For learning advanced techniques of "E-fighting" in the non-BnZ sense, then the Bf109 is the adequate textbook.
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start at the top and fly each plane for a couple of log ins each. then you decide which one felt the best for your skill level.
Fly that one for a week or two straight then pick ur 2nd best - rinse/repeat.
don't get stuck in a one plane rut - besides the above way gives you an idea of the abilities of what ur flying against
gl
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ACM/SA????
I'm not keen to the terms yet.
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ACM= Air Craft Manuvering
SA= Situational Awarness.... knowing whats going on around you near by, and far away.
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No, ACM is Aerial Combat Manouevers.
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Basically for Aces High... ACM = HO (head-on... similar to medieval jousting). Find the closest bad guy, fly straight at him, and once you get inside of 1500 yards (the little numbers will say d1.6) hold the trigger down until you fly through the other plane. Assuming you survive this,
SA = Knowing who to joust with next.
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Come on Urchin. Go be sarcastic in General forums. "Help and Training"?
Here was the reply I gave to laser in the thread he pointed to:
Let me put it this way. In the hands of a good pilot, any fighter in the set can be "good".
The most forgiving fighters for newbies to fly are the:
N1k-firepower/manovering
SpitV-manovering
La7-speed/E-recovery
Forgiving Attack plane.
P51D-Payload/high speed manovering/E-retention
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I didnt say spitIX, but it is also very forgiving. It is faster than the spitV, but the spitV turns slightly better.
By the way E=Energy or Energy Managment (http://www.geocities.com/ftd38/Courses/GSC160.html)
And here is a brief description of 3 often used ACM (http://479th.jasminemarie.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9)
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first off i never said not to fly the spitfire just you wont learn much in it besides looking around and pointing the guns
and spit9s are almost never used as boom zoomers which is sadd
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The only thing you'll ever learn in a spitfire is how to be yet another spit dweeb.
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You need to decide what type of online flier you are - basically a turn and burner or boom and zoomer.
Turn and burn refers to a dogfight where each a/c tries to get on the others tail - which is what most people learn from boxed flight sims.
Boom and zoom refers to attacking a lower a/c from altitude, using the altitude to build up speed so that to the victim does not have the chance to evade an attack - after firing and destroying or missing the victim you use the speed you have built up in your dive to climb back up to altitude..where you look for the next victim.
Most people start out as t&B then move to b&z - as a started plane the Spit 9 is good - I feel that the Niki is better.
It takes a long time and a lot of practice to become proficient online - try to log on at the same time approx each day or weekend and fly for the same side in the same arena - that way people will get to know who you are.
Once you get to know someone tag along with them and ask them to give you some tips on SA, ACM and Gunnery.
If you ever want to become a vultching, cherry picking, B&Z G10 pilot look me up in MA flying for Rooks.
I belong to a squad called The Gulag
http://www.thegulag.net/squad.html
Take a look at the toons
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Originally posted by zmeg
The only thing you'll ever learn in a spitfire is how to be yet another spit dweeb.
I'm curious, what plane do you fly? La7 or N1K2?
ack-ack
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i dunno about that zmeg... a lot of what i've learned from spits has transferred over to the planes like p-51, la7 or 109. on the converse flying those faster planes has benefitted my spit flying.
the key is to learn all the planes and all the styles and become at least decent in anything rather than one-dimensional. of course to get that way, one's gonna have to take a lot of clubbing, and this is what distinguishes the better players from the drones - a willingness to take one's lumps.
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Originally posted by Shane
this is what distinguishes the better players from the drones - a willingness to take one's lumps.
Don't forget humility and respect towards other players. You are new to Aces High, you may get shot down 1000 times before you feel comfortable. No matter what, no one can tarnish the goodwill you show to other players.
With this good attitude you'll find yourself more involved with more people. Its not always easy, but I wish you the best of luck! Look me up online. :D
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Originally posted by zmeg
The only thing you'll ever learn in a spitfire is how to be yet another spit dweeb.
Nah, man, its a trainer for the Yak9U, which is a trainer for the 109F, G2, and G10. ;)
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Originally posted by gofaster
Nah, man, its a trainer for the Yak9U, which is a trainer for the 109F, G2, and G10. ;)
which in turn are trainers for the la7...
:aok
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FW190D sonar.
All the bases close to the fight are porked to 25% fuel at all times in the current MA setup. So step back and load a Dora with 75% fuel and a DT.
You will get to 20K easily and when leveled out, be untouchable. Till you chose to engage that is.
When close to the reds, drop the ex tank, and shift-F to get to burning the fuel out of back tank. Learn to pick and choose at that point.
Any La7 over 10K is what you want. Any blue plane at any Alt is just as good. P38's can climb so don't get hung on a rope.
Follow that and you'll have fun.
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When I first started I had a great time in the A6M5b -- which has about the fastest turn rate in the game. Most new pilots will have a hard time managing E, which makes slow planes like this very easy to manage. It will also help teach SA (boom and zoom is the only real threat to a zeke), and allow the pilot to pull off evasives and reversals before requiring him to master advanced ACM.
-pellik
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Originally posted by Shane
i dunno about that zmeg... a lot of what i've learned from spits has transferred over to the planes like p-51, la7 or 109.
The Spit forces you to learn ACM and SA because you simply can't run away from every situation. Guys who only have "running" as their defensive knowledge have problems when plan A fails. Someone recently said that the La7 rots your ACM and that's probably true....
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only if the guy flying one has turned into a scorewhoring dweeb. and then they move onto FW's.
beside i think you're giving the majority of la7 drivers too much credit for even knowing acm to begin with.
:)