Aces High Bulletin Board
Help and Support Forums => Help and Training => Topic started by: fuzeman on September 17, 2005, 07:28:43 PM
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You have the ability to man various larger type guns in Aces High II. These include soft gun positions or shore batteries at bases and the large and small gun mounts on a task group. This discussion will focus on the larger of these, shore batteries and the naval 8" and 5" guns. A shore battery and the 8" naval gun are the same except for the number of guns, a shore battery being a single and the naval gun triple. The naval 8" gun battery fires 3 high explosive{HE} shells at a time and takes a few seconds to reload and is primarily an offensive weapon to destroy other TGs, fields or installations. The 5" fires single HE or anit-aircraft{AA} shells with proximity fuzes, HE for structures or ships and AA for defense, and relaods fairly quickly. The 8" gun has a longer range than the 5" gun also. You do get range indicators in these guns visable as green text on the left side of your display and also an ammo indicator showing HE or AA for the type of shells your using. There are two sets of numbers with the set on the left being the actual point the rounds will hit as the gun is positioned now. The set on the right is used for the various aiming modes described below and is calculated by a left mouse click on the radarmap.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/211_1127003159_01rangeinfo.jpg)
These guns have three modes to assist in their usage. We have LAND mode, w key; SEA mode, e key; and of course the default manual mode called DIRECT, the q key. With Direct mode you have complete control of the gun. You would probably use this mode in a shore battery or 5" gun. In Land mode the gun will shoot to the point you select. You could use this mode on a ship when targeting a stationary target. In Sea mode the gun fires at a point relative to your ships movement. You could use this on a ship when firing at another task group. The method of aiming depends on whether your firing at a stationary land target or a moving target at sea, either a plane or ship. The method can be slightly different also depending if firing from a moving or stationary platform. We have three basic scenarios when firing; moving platform firing at stationary target, stationary platform firing at a moving target and a moving platform firing at a moving target. Firing on a moving target is harder than a stationary one of course but not extrememly difficult. Sometimes Pan Mode{F8} viewing can be beneficial when shooting due to the angle of the barrel which can put your target out of view. While in Pan Mode pan down and move your line of sight downward for visability. I also helps to put your mouse cursor on or slightly under the red crosshair to give yourself a reference point for your fire.
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Attacking stationary targets is fairly straight forward using Land Mode and can be used in both large and small gun. Once your in the gun activate Land Mode with the w key and bring up your clipboard. Move your map in to focus on your target and using your mouse, left click on the spot you want to fire on. If the gun mount has the ability to turn to it and the target is in range it will automatically move the gun and aim it to your target. Watch the range indicator and make sure the gun is moving on target and be sure it has stopped before you do fire. When the gun has stopped and the range is steady fire the gun and repeat the process. Depending on the target your firing at you may want to salvo many more rounds on the same spot for example on a hanger. If your target larger you may want to fire a couple at one spot and then move to another and cover your target with a pattern of salvos to hit everything for example a town or stratetgic target. With your clipboard up or if your target is far away you may not be able to see the target and it's not really necessary because your aiming through the clipboard and not by sight. Depending on range it may take some time for the rounds to get downrange and your only feedback may be a system message from the host when you do destroy something, you get no message for just hitting it. At medium to short ranges you may be able to aim manually in Direct Mode. The default is Direct mode so your in it when you enter the gun so all you have to do is point and shoot. I highly recommend moving your mouse cursor at or slightly under the red crosshair, using Pan Mode for manual aiming, and also Zoom Mode with ] and [ for viewing. This way you have sight of the target for feedback and can adjust your firing. Of course a spotter can help flying over your target giving you corrections but if many rounds are incoming he wont be able to identify which are yours. When shelling a town, strategic facility or a base of any kind, you can use the Clipboard Maps to get a rough estimate of the layout and position of various structures at the facility.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/211_1127003135_02stationarytargeta.jpg)
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/211_1127003106_03stationarytargetb.jpg)
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When in a stationary platform firing on a moving target you will probably use Direct Mode. If your going to use Pan Mode viewing put your mouse cursor on the red crosshiars for reference. Use Zoom Mode with ] and [ to see your target better. The hardest part is determining the initial range to shoot at to hit the target. If there are other guners you can ask them if they have the range aleady or a spotter overflying the target can give corrections. If the carrier is still up and planes are taking off you can get a ballpark position and range from looking at the radarmap, if your HQ has not been damaged. If you alone have to find the range you will need to fire a few ranging shots. Fire an initial salvo in line with the target noting what range you fired at and then increase or decrease that ranger by a certain amount and fire again also noting the distance. To begin with these two shots can be 5k to 10k apart. You then watch the target area to see the splashes for feedback. You want to observe a few things. Of course you want to check the distance from the splashes to the target and correct closer or farther. By observing both the distance between your first two ranging shots and the overall distance to the target you should be able to gauge the distance of your next ranging shots. You also want to notice how far behind or ahead of the target your splashes landed. This is how you determine how much to lead the target by. You simply lead your target by that same distance left or right and use the mouose cursor as a firing reference. With your second ranging shots you should have a fairly good idea of what lead to use and are now concentrating on the correct distance. Use the same method and try to split the target with two shots. By now you should be narrowing down on a correct range and firing for effect. That method works nicely with long distance targeting if there is some time between firing the round and when it impacts. If the range is shorter you may be able to fire and correct with each round. Once you have the correct range you then have to keep adjusting the lead and range based on the course the target takes. I hard maneuvering target can be quite hard to hit and requires some foresight to guess which way it will zig or zag.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/211_1127003063_04movingtargeta.jpg)
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/211_1127003015_05movingtargetb.jpg)
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The most challenging is firing from a moving platform at a moving target but with Sea Mode it is very similar to firing from a shore battery. Sea mode will keep the relative aim of your gun unchanged while the platform itself does move. Of course it is limited by the actual amout of traverse in the gun mount. You should place your mouse cursor on the crosshair as a reference but there is no real need for pan mode viewing because sea mode itself keeps the line of sight on the horizon. Similar to a shore battery you can get a ballpark target range by looking at the radarmap to see enemy planes taking off. You can then bring up your radarmap and click on it to list that range in the right set of numbers and manually adjust the gun to it and fire makeing corrections by sight. A spotter can also be useful. You can also fire ranging shots as described above. The only difference being the size of the corrections you make once you have the correct range. Seeing both platform and target are moving the size of your corrections will be larger than in a shore battery. At short distances you can also use Direct Mode and make corrections as you shoot.
The above can be used in both large and small guns with minimal differences, mainly range and time between reloads. Of course the lethality of each round and the number per salvo is different.
One role the small gun can fill which the large one can't is anit-aircraft gunnery. This type of gunnery will always use Direct mode and manual aiming. With the 5" gun you can aquire and hit targets within and just beyond icon range, around 6k. You'll need to develop a technique for aiming and it is similar to aiming smaller type AA guns, like field guns or even ground vehicles like Osties and M-16s. You need to lead the target enough and this lead will change constantly for a maneuvering target. You can use the Lead Compuated Gunsight offline or in the Training arena to work on your gunnery at first. Once you get the hang of firing the first few rounds in the correct area you get feedback if your close when the shell explodes near it. You then correct to put the puffy explosion on target and fire for effect. You can also start shooting a large distance infront of a target and let it fly into your pattern to get the initial feedback needed, you then correct and start to tract the target firing for effect. Of couorse this method would work better on a non-maneuvering target like a formation of inbound bombers.
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There is a bug where crosshairs disappear when near a CV's smoke. Placing your mouse on the gunsight will be very helpful if this happens.
8" guns reload once every 15 seconds. 5" seems like about 1.5 seconds; 3 for a single barrel.
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I never knew you could use the clipboard maps for targeting.
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yeah me neither, sweet learned something new
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Nice post Fuzeman.
Thanks:)
Regards
Sun
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sweet post, I've always wanted to learn how to become a 5" dweeb :D
This post will be printed out for toilet time reading. :aok
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Originally posted by Kermit de frog
sweet post, I've always wanted to learn how to become a 5" dweeb :D
This post will be printed out for toilet time reading. :aok
I guess you can use it for two things then, learning the guns and required 'paperwork' at the appropriate time.
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Question:
Using the clipboard maps for targeting doesn't appear to work as I understood from the reference to it you made Fuze.
I understood that attacking, say, a small airfield I could pull up the small airfield map and click on something like a hanger and refine the targeting on the airfield in general. I tried this and it doesn't seem to work for me.
Did your reference to the clipboard map just refer giving you a layout of the field and the actual click point would be on the little airfield icon itself rather than targeting an actual structure?
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Originally posted by Lye-El
Question:
Using the clipboard maps for targeting doesn't appear to work as I understood from the reference to it you made Fuze.
I understood that attacking, say, a small airfield I could pull up the small airfield map and click on something like a hanger and refine the targeting on the airfield in general. I tried this and it doesn't seem to work for me.
Did your reference to the clipboard map just refer giving you a layout of the field and the actual click point would be on the little airfield icon itself rather than targeting an actual structure?
You do the target clicking on the radarmap itself, not the clipboard maps.
What I meant is using the clipboard map, you can visualize where the different structures on the field are in reference to the field icon square on the radarmap.
Example: The VH at a large field is in the upper left part of the field, the NW corner, based on the clipboard map. You would click on the northwest corner of that field's map icon to target that area.
For specific targets like that you usually need visual conformation unless you have time to cover an area with enough rounds to destroy a large structure.
For field guns, towns, factories, or things with a concentration of somewhat less hardened targets a salvo or two can be fired before you click another another adjacent area. You walk your shells over the target in a pattern so you cover it all.
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Also, you can easily target VHs with the spawn lines. Where they meet is the Vhanger.
The field icon on the map is the location of the tower.
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Thank you gentleman. I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. Heck, I didn't even know I could pull up field maps on the clipboard for the first two months I played this game until somebody mentioned it. (http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/travesmilies/smilie_tischkante.gif)
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Nice work there!
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Excellent post.
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Fuzeman, nice post...thanks for doing that.
Quick question: In the past I've targeted CV's using ZOOM + Pan Mode (F8) as you suggested, so as to get a better view of the target at long distances when zoomed in. It appears I've somehow changed that default configuration. How do I set it back to default?
Thanks :aok
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Maybe I better clarify what I just posted...
Say I determine distance distance to target (CV) at about 10 mi. If I switch to Pan View, using KP 2 my view will rise. Conversely, using KP 8 will lower my line of sight. As I continue to zoom in, I normally use KP 8 to keep my target centered on the monitor. Now, KP8 doesn't move my sight line downward. How do I reset the KP8 view option?
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What is KEY_PAD_8 keymapped to now? Look Forward?
This might be a numpad thing opposed to keymapping also now that I think about it.
That's what mine is and entering pan mode F8 it will move my view downward.
Any other changes or something like TIR installed?
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Originally posted by fuzeman
What is KEY_PAD_8 keymapped to now? Look Forward?
This might be a numpad thing opposed to keymapping also now that I think about it.
That's what mine is and entering pan mode F8 it will move my view downward.
Any other changes or something like TIR installed?
KP8 is mapped to Views-Look Front-Up...same as I've always had it.
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Originally posted by Max
KP8 is mapped to Views-Look Front-Up...same as I've always had it.
Not sure, but try the F1 key on the keyboard. I think that puts it back to default viewing.
wrngway
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wow today has been post GOLD
Fuze :)
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Max, does Pan Mode work as usual in something else, say a vehicle or fighter?
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Originally posted by fuzeman
Max, does Pan Mode work as usual in something else, say a vehicle or fighter?
Yup...pan mode works fine no matter what I'm in. I can zoom in on any gun, hit F8 and every KP# except 8 will move my view around. What's weird is KP8 will give me a look-forward-up in every view mode EXCEPT F8.
Even Skuzzy was stumped on this one.
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Originally posted by Max
Yup...pan mode works fine no matter what I'm in. I can zoom in on any gun, hit F8 and every KP# except 8 will move my view around. What's weird is KP8 will give me a look-forward-up in every view mode EXCEPT F8.
Even Skuzzy was stumped on this one.
Even Skuzzy was stumped on this one.
Now ya say that. Here I am thinking teeny tiny nano-thoughts on the subject when the giga-thought thinker has already been bamboozled.
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Got a question...
I was just manning the 8" triple on the cruiser and we passed within 12k of a base and shelled it ...
Two other 8" gunners were shelling too...
Even on max zoom I could not see my impacts on land...I was simply relying on the click a map feature to hope I was aiming right...
Shouldn't i be able to the impacts on max zoom? The field and its facility were clearly visible...
I was in land mode on a cruiser and the gun would slew to position as you described...shells away but no visible indicator or impact plumes down range via zoom...
Whats going on here?
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They may have hit behind something, a building or smoke, and you couldn't see them.
There have been occasions where either my con was wacky or my graphics were and I have not seen splashes or hits on either the 5" or 8" guns.
I'd even aim real close and just throw a shell into the sea with no splash.
Usually I relog after that and usually it displays stuff better.
Not sure if I got a better connection or just reloading the game helped.
I usually assumed it was my system specs and I'm near the low end of things on that scale.