Aces High Bulletin Board
Help and Support Forums => Help and Training => Topic started by: Stencraft01 on March 20, 2006, 01:42:05 PM
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I've been flying on AH for about 3 weeks and I'm having a blast so far. Also tried Warbirds on their trial offer but thought this was superior in all respects. I just wanted to pose a general question as to how long it will normally take on average for a new players to become proficient at amassing kills while avoiding getting shot down. I think that my flying is OK but need work on gunnery on tactics. I have not received any training nor asked for it but I think this might be the way to go in order to better those skills. I know its a general question with many possible answers but any feedback will be appreciated.
Thank you.
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Welcome aboard.
Spend a few days flying the following:
Spit8, Spit9, Spit16, N1k2, HurricaneIIC, F6F, F4U-D. All of them are reasonably easy to handle and get kills in. The first 5 have Hispano 20m cannon options for guns. Pick one and stick to it for a couple of weeks.
No doubt some of the AH Training Corps will offer you replies. You'd be weel advised to spend some time with any of them in the TA.
Find a wingman; fly with him/her. It's tough to fly solo without getting cherry picked in a mob. As you learn the ropes, figure a few months, sooner or later you'll be asked into a squad.
Lotta good info to be found at http://www.netaces.org
Good Luck :aok
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Thank you for the feedback Max, I've been flying Spits most the time but not the Mk's you suggest so I'll definitely take your advice on those. I'm looking forward to playing for a long time although my wife is not, :)
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Welcome to Aces High, Starman :).
How long it takes you to "hold your own" in a fight very much depends on your experience (in other sims), the time you can dedicate to flying, practicing, reading up. Also depends a bit what you fly and who you fly with. As a general rule i would count weeks, not hours/days.
The next thing is what you measure yourself against. Youll *always* find people that can easily beat you... but after a while youll notice youll be able to do the beating at times.
And having fun is not a matter of skill anyway. Dont hang yourself up on skill, rank, scores whatever. Enjoy yourself.
I look at it this way: If i meet a better pilot (read: if im sent to tower before i realised whats happened) i see it as a learning opportunity, not as a lost fight.
Now for training: IMHO fun is the best teacher. Find a mix of reading, practicing, training sessions, winging/observing, analysing films and just flying that you enjoy. Training Arena/Trainer Corps is *always* a good place to start. To set up a session, contact them at trainers@hitechcreations.com.
Another thing id recommend, is try sticking to one plane for a while. Start getting a feel for it, learn its advantages and limits. Sodas page (http://members.shaw.ca/soda_p/models.htm) is a good place to get an overview over a plane, not only the one youre flying, but also the one your *opponent* is flying. Helps knowing his weak spots ;).
Also, start filming your engagements. In game, press ALT R to start recording (little red R in the upper left corner of your screen). This will dump an film##.ahf file into your HTC/Aces High II/films folder. You can view those films with the AH Film viewer. START > PROGRAMS > Aces High II > Film Viewer, then open the film. (after the first time running its automatically associated with the .ahf file extension and you can simply double click the film to view it).
I usually watch the films in external, with use recorded views, trails and icons checked. That way youll be able to see what your opponent did, and why what you did worked or didnt work. You can also "jump" into your opponents plane by double clicking his name on the right hand side list.
Feel free to call me when you see me online. Ill wing with you anytime, if you like.
Edit: I just saw your post. Advice on your wife.... get her an account! Worked (almost too) perfectly for my boyfriend. Now *I* have to deal with "husband-ack" :D
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Originally posted by Stencraft01
I just wanted to pose a general question as to how long it will normally take on average for a new players to become proficient at amassing kills while avoiding getting shot down.
As mentioned by someone else in this thread, being generally good at games helps a lot. Myself, I pretty much suck at everything I've tried. I flew Air Warrior way back when it was a DOS online game and very expensive, I sucked then and I still suck, but I've always had FUN at it :)
The points that others have made here are very good and a fast track to learning this addiction, your wife will probably hate it. The only thing I look at in the score section is my K/D ratio and that of others. That shows how many times you've been killed compared to how many kills you've made. It's a way to see if you're improving. Always remember, you're doing this for
FUN :D
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Originally posted by Stencraft01
I just wanted to pose a general question as to how long it will normally take on average for a new players to become proficient at amassing kills while avoiding getting shot down.
there are people in AH that have been flying WWII combat sims for over 10 years.
they still get shot down multiple times every night.
welcome to the closest thing to legal crack in the world.
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Originally posted by Stencraft01
I'm looking forward to playing for a long time although my wife is not, :)
Wife ack is your deadliest weapon :D
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I'm not a natural at all, and looking back my great regret is that I wasnt more aggressive at regularly getting some training sessions. I could have cut months off my learning curve if I didnt insist on inventing the wheel myself! Book learning can only take you so far in this game, and intangibles like the ease with which your brain picks up 3D time-and-motion concepts plays a big role.
For example, my 14 year old son exceeded my personal record for most kills landed within 2 months of his starting -- and with only occasional maneuvering tactic tips from the old man. His gunnery is good enought that he was over 12% his first month, and I watched him get 14 kills without rearm vulching in a Mosquito..... but I have learned to cope with this assault on my self image! Que sera, sera. Remember to have fun, and if something stops being fun then do something else.
For example, after finding I was getting to intense, I spent a tour doing nothing but trying to get some kills in every plane in the set, no matter how many deaths it took.
Welcome to Aces Crack!
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Originally posted by Stencraft01
I'm looking forward to playing for a long time although my wife is not, :)
Mine likes me flying, she then has control of the remote. :D
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thank you all for your feedback, I am certainly having fun already but it would be more enjoyable if I stayed in the air for more than a few minutes at a time. I have already started doing homework on the strengths and weakneses of the aircraft (thank you Schatzi for the Sodas page tip) and hopefully with some further training I can avoid hearing those dreaded pinging sounds of hits on my plane
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Originally posted by Simaril
I could have cut months off my learning curve if I didnt insist on inventing the wheel myself!
So true. I did the same more or less when starting in AW a decade ago.
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Originally posted by Max
Wife ack is your deadliest weapon :D
Quit whining or no whitefish salad for you..
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Hey good to see another Connecticut Flyer in here :)
Like other people said, hook up with a trainer as soon as you can. I flew probably about two years in AW3 and another year and half - two years in AH2 before I even considered that idea, but let me tell you, any one of the trainers can enlighten you much better than some time in the MA. Just a few sessions with TC improved my game very much. A trainer can really open your eyes to things you haven't thought of, hop in your plane and walk you through a manuever, and point out your mistakes. It helps like no other.
If you can't meet up with a proper trainer, you can get a good deal of knowledge from any fellow in the MA who regularly shoots you down. They may or may not have all the experience of a regular trainer, but if they're knocking you down consistently, they can probably point out anything you're really doing wrong and at least get you pointed in the right direction. Just private message them and ask if they will go with you to the DA or TA when they have some time. I think that you'll find that 9/10 people will be more than willing to help.
Finally, there's only one thing in this game that can really hamper your improvement, and that's an ego. If you're humble and willing to take advice and learn from mistakes, you won't have a problem.
Welcome to the best game on earth and if you have any more questions, feel free to fire away. You've found the forums - you're already a step ahead of many. :aok
S!
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thank you all again for your positive feedback. I entered the TA last night and received some turn pointers from Murdr (thanks again) which will come in handy. Thanks again as everyone here seems very nice.
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Originally posted by Stencraft01
as everyone here seems very nice.
No worries, well reveal our real nature in a few weeks, when we got you properly addicted and you cant leave :t......
Kiddding. Besides the odd bad apple, this is a great Community. Again: Welcome :).
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I am the bad apple... Hi!
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Here is a brief text write-up on the three turns we talked about, and how they interact with each other. Basic ACM (http://479th.jasminemarie.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9)
It goes into a little more detail than what we had time to cover, and is a good supplement.
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Thank you again Murdr for the turns 101 lesson yesterday, I did the suggested reading to get the overview of the turns and the pros-cons of each one, very good stuff. Look forward to seeing you again in the TA soon. Thank you again to all for the feedback, most of the comments are very helpful. Seems like the common denominator is to have fun :)
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yes,have fun and remember...wife ack cannot be destroyed.wife ack needs to be dealt with in imaginative ways." baby why dont you go to the mall and see if there is anything you might want to put on layaway.NOTE:not buy...put on layaway."..."here, take this 50 bucks and take terry talks all the time and sally always in somebodies busness to lunch saturday in (a city or town at least an hour away)" that trick gets you two hours or more of travel time and if you're lucky an hour and a half of lunch and if you're really lucky another hour or so of shopping. works for me.
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thanks for the suggestions COBA94. I might try a variation of your theme. Not sure $50 will get me very far here in CT (maybe McDonalds or Burger King), I'll probably need triple that for the offer to even be considered and that's not counting the layaway part. :)
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Welcome to AH2, Stencraft01. A piece of advice I might add is there is absolutely (err almost) no substitute for stick time. The more you get, the better you get. There is one substitute for stick time and that is quality stick time. Most of the trainers are available at just about any time to help you along.
:)
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As someone who just started this game about 5 1/2 weeks ago, I can sympathize with your posts. I too started out getting creamed every time I went up in the MA. My reasons for being there so early was because I didn't get excited about all the nonsense going on in the TA when a trainer wasn't there. So, I'd get bored and go to the MA, and get my butt waxed regularly. I can't stress enough what a good gig getting into a squad was for my game experience. Borrowing some Hobbes, life in the MA by yourself is nasty, brutish, and short as you've already found out. Once I got some squad mates, I had some folks to bail me out when I did something stupid. Not only that, but I began surviving--not excelling--but surviving. This got me interested in learning again, as my enthusiasm was waning. It was nice to land because I was out of fuel, and not because I being teleported to the tower after getting blown out of the sky. I will say that there are still few nights when I land because I'm out of ammo--probably 3 times total since I started. But, this game is like golf. You'll play 18 holes, but only one of them well, and that one hole gets me back on the course the next time. You have to invest some time initially--not just flying, but understanding how the game works. Map your views to your joystick, and the other most used controls as your stick will allow. Just getting your stick set up properly will make the game easier. Also, continue to spend time just flying the airplanes offline and in the TA. Do all the newby stuff like flying through the hangars and weaving through trees. This will help you understand how to maneuver the plane better. Another milestone for me was when I did get shot down, realizing immediately what I did that made it easy for the other guy to kill me. Once I could immediately recognize my mistakes, I stepped up a notch in capability, mostly 'cause I wouldn't repeat the same mistake again. Someone else said that there is no "by-the-book" answer for each engagement. That's completely correct because each engagement is unique. The important thing for me to learn was what each basic maneuver did for me in relation to the other guy. Also, just conquering the urge to immediately yank the stick into a hard, flat, turn was another milestone. Once I began thinking about conserving energy by going vertical increased the amount of time it took someone to blow me out of the sky. Lastly, real-life combat doesn't discriminate with regard to the quality of the combatant, and this game doesn't either. I actually shot down TC one night just because I caught him in a bad position, and he'll beat me 999 out of 1000 times in a 1v1 situation. What I mean by this is that anyone can get beat in this game. You'll get better, then get stomped repeatedly just when you think you're getting an edge. You'll get totally frustrated over and over again. But, if the game was any easier, you'd get bored with it.
So, to recap my diatribe: 1)keep working, 2)find a squad that is active, and 3) keep working. And, always remember that all those guys and gals that are stomping you every night used to be just like you when they first started playing....
Cheers
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Great post stoney! >S<.
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Well said stoney!
Hes right, everyone dies. Everyone has days when their SA is not up to snuff.
Or they fixate a bit too long on a target. Or they just plain upped from the wrong field and ran into a horde.
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Great advise Stoney, thank you. I actually have already begun to see results just from visiting the TA a couple of times and trying out new maneuvers. I still have that urge to bank into a flat turn but last night I tried some new variations of vertical turns that Murdr taught me and they worked. Actually had the same number of kills and deaths which is a big improvement, :) . I'll look forward to hooking up with a squad soon and thank you all again for all the great posts.
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I spent my entire trial period without getting a single air to air kill in a fighter. In the last day I got my first kill in ..... La7 .
Stoney gave a good advice:
2)find a squad that is active
and I would add to that - film your fights. Then you can figure out exacly how and why you got slapped. Also watch other people films posted here from time to time.
Bozon
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Someone mentioned bad apples, does JohnnyRa still play? I mean I'd come back and play if that moron has vanished. Yea I know, squelch but I don't like to share my personal e-space(Joke) with such an airhead.
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thank you all again for your helpful advise, those trips to the TA are really helpful and the trainers are great. Rather than concentrate on trying to get kills, I'm finding out that just surviving in one piece should be the main priority when starting out. Sort of like taking a course in defensive driving with the only difference being that people are shooting at you. Everything else will come with experience and a little bit of luck I expect. thanks again and I will see you all in the TA and MA.
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Yer very sharp there, Stencraft01 :).
Most people don't understand if you stay alive the kills with come. Wait until you start landing those kills. It's very satisfying.
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rumblebee,why you lettin jojnnyra win.if he's fightin one country,go fight the other.or if thats not good enough,switch to a diff. side and look for him.and then kill him multiple times.ram him.vulch him.ho him.ENJOY.
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Surviving is the key. When your makeing your turns in a furball someone will eventally end up in your sights and you'll get a kill hopefully. It just takes patience :aok
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Nice thread :)