Aces High Bulletin Board
Help and Support Forums => Help and Training => Topic started by: boedy on November 01, 2006, 01:00:15 PM
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Hello. I'm obviously new to this forum. I'm a FFXI player,(on the PS2) and I've been wanting to take a little break from the game. So I turned to my passion from back in the day, flight simulation. Now, I havent had a gaming computer since the early 90's. I just decided to stick with the platform stuff, since it was much cheaper than having to upgrade every 6-12 months. (But alas, there were never any decent flight sims for the platform systems). Anyway, I decided to go back to computer gaming lately.
I have a question. Idk if anyone remembers the game Aces Over Europe, and Aces Over the Pacific. I always use to say, damn I wish I could play online with others back then (off course this wasnt possible in the early-mid 90's). So, today I was checking all kinds of forums/magazines online to try and find a Online Flight Sim. I only bumped into this as far as online flight simulations.
So my questions are:
Are there any other online games of this type?? (For comparisons sake)
I love the fact this download is free, and I dont mind the monthly fee if I like the game. I'm planning on downloading this as soon as I get home to try it out(at work atm). Makes me wanna run and get a flight controller(maybe i'l ransack my mothers basement see if I find the controller I used back in the day just to see if I like it lol).
And does it resemble the above mention games. Those games had kick bellybutton action and very very crisp controls. How does this game handle? How realistic is it??
Anyway, I guess I'l find out on my own when I downloaded it, but im just excited to get back into this genre of games. Thanks.
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it is THE best and most realistic WW2 flight sim you will find anywhere. back in the early 90's there was air warrior which was online, too bad you missed it :)
but AH is IMO the best flight sim, combat or otherwise that you can get, and certainly the best ww2 combat sim. you will kind of need a joystick (you can play with a mouse, but it sucks)
there are other games like it, but they pale in comparison and AH has far more players. the physics and flight modelling is the most accurate you're likely to find anywhere, including weapon dynamics and stuff. it's free for 2 week online as well, so you can see for yourself ;)
welcome to the addiction :t
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There are a couple other options out there, but from what I understand Aces High is the most popular. You can get by w/out a joystick, most find it difficult but there are couple of guys who do very well with just the mouse. General consensus is that the purchase of a joystick is a worthwhile investment. If you are just getting started I would look @ Saitek. They have many options at different price points. I would recommend staying away from Logitech, I've heard nothing but horror stories out of that camp. Thrustmaster supposedly makes some good product but I don't have any first hand experience with them.
As far as flight modelling goes, it's largely subjective I think.. all flight sims are to a certain extent a "best guess" as to how these planes performed and handled. At best you can make that guess an educated one but I doubt anyone has gotten it 100% accurate. That being said the flight model here is pretty damned good. HTC certainly did the homework and while you can argue that plane X should perform 10mph better @ 20,00 feet or whatnot, I don't think there is a better option out there.
Best I can say is download it and give it a try... you get 2 weeks in the main arenas and after that there is a 8 player option that is available for free. First couple nights are probably best spent in the training arena till you get a feel for the basics. If I can leave you with a little bit of advise I would say this.
Don't be afraid to get shot down, it will happen, a lot. Don't get caught up in rank or score, it doesn't mean anything (not a good measure of skill or progress). Try to remember that it's just a game, and as a wise friend of mine likes to say "planes are free, and no-one really dies"
If there are any questions post 'em here, there's a great community here that likes to help new people out, especially when they have a good attitude about it.
Welcome to Aces High. :)
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Originally posted by boedy
Idk if anyone remembers the game Aces Over Europe, and Aces Over the Pacific. I always use to say, damn I wish I could play online with others back then (off course this wasnt possible in the early-mid 90's).
If you are comparing AH2 to AOE and AOP, you will be astonished.
In a good way.
Spend the few bucks to get a joystick (get one that has some form of rudder input), download the game, play around off-line before you start your two-week free trial, and then you'll see what we mean.
- oldman
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On your way home, stop at some computer store or even wal-mart and get a saitek for $20. It has all the basic stuff like throttle, twisty, hat, 3 buttons and a trigger. I've been flying with this stick since I started about 5 months ago, I'm ready to up grade. Trigger no longer works and have to use primery and/or secondary fire buttons (which you need to learn to do anyway.)
OR
Just use the mouse off-line to see if you even think you might enjoy AH. Good way to learn the keys.
Rash
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If you plan on checking AH out with mouse, go to http://www.slowcat.de to find help on how to set it up for flight. But if you plan on staying longer then a few days, a Joystick is more then *highly* recommended. Aint got to be anything fancy (ie pricey) yet, what you NEED is a 8-way-hat for views, a rudder (twisty or rocker) and a throttle. Cheap Saitek (20-30 USD) up to X45/52 will get you a long long way. Only stay-away-froms are Logitech sticks.
More info and help as well as contact info for the Trainer Corps can be found on our homepage: http://trainers.hitechcreations.com and on Hammers http://www.netaces.org.
If you have any problems, questions or whatever - just ask :).
Welcome to your new addiction.
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Thanks a bunch guys. If the game is half as nice as you guys it will rock^^ I'm gonna slip out of work and go get a joystick now. Thanks Soulyss for the advice on Logitech, knowing me that's what I would have probably gotten. After further review, I'm gonna pick up a Top Gun Fox 2 pro by Thrustmasters as my starter, has gotten very good reviews and its only 30 bucks, so I'l give that a shot. If I like the game I will upgrade to a better joystick with more features. I will post again with my experiences, good, bad or indifferent. Thanks again.
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Eh, what's that sonny?
Seriously, I remember those games too. While they were good in their day, they feel far short in immersion and in simulation accuracy.
I couldnt afford the very high cost of the online games back then, and I've only been playing AH for 2-3 years. I had always done boxed sims, and did my best to learn the combat techniques -- but with only limited success. In AH, that has turned around.
The boxed sims back then were obviously graphically inferior, but the greatest difference you'll see by far is in the opposition. There is simply NO comparison between an artificial opponent and a human one, no comparison whatsoever. In AH the greatest challenge is in adjusting to the unpredictability -- the enemy that prooves to be plain dumb one time, while the very next one may be devilishly skilled. (worst of all are the aces who dangle themselves as "I'm a Dweeb" bait before they snap around and ream you.)
Flight modelling is radically different as well. The processing power now available allows for a huge range of calculations to be done on the fly, so planes behave differently depending on fuel loading, rotational forces, disruption from control inputs, etc.
Aces High's designer has chosen the path of "fun accuracy" -- he tries to make the flight model match every piece of performance data available, and continues to add new aspects to the flight simulation, but he stops at the point where fun turns into work.
Best of all is the community -- a great bunch of guys. I encourage you to chat, to post, to talk with the players on all sides. There are lifetime friends made here. (For example, my squad CO has hosted several trips our Finnish member has made to San Franciso, after years of online friendship.)
This is NOT a point and shoot game, and its not one you can expect to mastter in a few weeks. There are guys who've done online sims for more that a decade -- and who know their stuff flat out. The game is also deeper and more rewarding than any this long time computer gamer has ever played.
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yeah, the learning curve in AH is steep and very long. it'll take you a long time to truely master the game, but that's what keeps it interesting, always more to learn and do. :)
again, welcome to aH, and good luck when you get home tonight :)
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My "starter" box sims were chuck yeager and the old lucas arts one (name eludes me at the moment). Of course once I could dust off all the 109's in "the abbyville boys"?? I was a tough hombre....that is till I found air warrior...I couldnt afford the meter but shortly there after it went to AOL and I was set. I logged on and looked at my options....As an experienced "flight sim ace" I of course bypassed the "newbie" arena...I even bypassed the "relaxed realism" arena {only the full monty for me}....I fired up my trusted yeagermatic express....and promptly augered on takeoff...again....and again....and again...and again........HMMMMMMM....ok we'll go to this "RR" arena.
Well I got the plane up the 2nd or third time and soon found someone to unleash my awsome skills on....last thing I recall is a 38 screaming by in the vertical and 2 or 3 seconds later I was dead....never even found the guy in the views again. Rolled my pony again....thwap.....thwap..... thwap.....thwap....and so forth.......
HMMMMMMM.....guess this newbie arena isnt a bad idea afterall....well about a hundred flights later I actually hit somebody (didnt kill em, but at least I hit the #@#$%) and hence the call sign "humble".....
I progressed to RR# and started at the bottom of RR#2....then one day looked up and I was in the "top 100" {all score systems blow chuncksIMO} then the top 50.....finally I ventured back into FR and slowly learned how to actually fly a plane (in a sim) and then relearned ACM....and got to feeling pretty good....
Then I ran into a guy in a spitty who waxed me twentysome in a row......I remember thinking "wow those corporate human resources guys have all kinds of time on there hands to be this good {guys handle was -HR- after all}. I slowly progressed and reached a point where I could give all of them (even HR Rocketman BigT etc a decent fight {well at least some of the time:)}......
Then I came here in 1999 and started over.....
boedy sorry you missed the 1st part of the journey (I started in 1994) but you camr across not only the best sim but a great community. Just realize that the learning curve is pretty steep and be patient. As a former trainer here I highly encourage you to seek out the trainers in the TA....they will cut months off your learning curve. I fly knights with the 71st and you can always either tag along or hop a ride as an observer {just bring your chute:)}....
Welocme to the unfriendly skies:aok
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Bettin the Lucas Arts one was "Their Finest Hour," the Battle of Britain sim.
Was one of my first, too -- though I didnt succeed as well as you did!
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Originally posted by boedy
After further review, I'm gonna pick up a Top Gun Fox 2 pro by Thrustmasters as my starter, has gotten very good reviews and its only 30 bucks, so I'l give that a shot.
WARNING WILL ROBINSON!
The Top Gun Fox 2 has gotten some pretty awful reviews from the AH Community. Had one myself back when and recall it lasted less than 2 months.
Consider the Saitek Evo (hard wired + non force feedback) It runs about $5 more and you can expect 6 - 12 months of use. It can be programmed very easily with the AH joystick set-up.
If you stay with AH, start a piggy bank. Sooner or later you'll want some top level gear. CH Products offers what many consider to be the best. The "full monty" will set you back $300.
Good luck and welcome to Aces High!
ps Don't forget to read the HELP files and remeber there's a Training Arena available to you.
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you will love this game...
I just found it 2 weeks ago after being away from combat flight sims for 10 years... The last combat flight sim I played was confirmed kill (warbirds) during the free beta testing period. been flying civilian stuff in MSFS in the meantime...
I have the aforementioned 20$ saitek st290, which works fine, but aint nothing like my old Thrustmaster FLCS hotas setup... I can see this game is goingto end up costing me alot of money :) :) I'm gonna need another PC now with new usb yoke/throttle quadrant/pedals for MS flight sim, and this one fully rigged out with a hotas setup for AH... oh christ..
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i would STRONGLY reccomend the saitek cyborg evo over the thrustmaster.
it's a great all rounder and will last you a long time.
and if you decide to stay a while you can move on to the saitek X52 or the CH setup if you have the money, which are more advanced :)
the evo has everything you could possibly need though, it's one of the best starter sticks
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Ok. So I hit the skies last nite. Unfurtunately, I couldnt pick up the Saitek joystick, I just couldnt find anything aside from the X-52 around this area. This market seems to be huge on Logitech as they had about 10 types.(Comp USA was the store, im from NYC, and parking tickets cost ALOT, like $115 type of ALOT) So I just got the Thrustmaster, if it lasts me a month i'l be happy and will prob upgrade to some advance stuff when it goes dead.
Anyway, somehow I actually manually took off and landed in the offline practice section. (I landed on my belly, but the host said I landed lol) I'm still pretty lost on the radio controls and everything else, but off course, I played for about 90 minutes last nite, and about 85 of these were spent in flight. The first time I deserted, had no idea what was going on. The second time I got up there, picked on something slow (a b24) and went off on it. I ran out of ammo with the thing smoking. So I tried again. And again lol. After my 4th try I decided to leave the heavily armored B24 alone. So I picked on a P38, and walah, took it down with a single burst! I musta hit in the right spot. I only flew the P51 last night. I noticed in the trainer its all about going in a circle and trying to get position. MAYBE...just maybe i'l get online tonight. I might just "train" for another night thou, and get online tomorrow, since I'm off all day, no kids or wife to nag me :)
Needless to say, I'm very excited and cant wait to try the online version. I think I might be part of this community for a long time to come the way its looking lol.
EDIT: I forgot to ask this. Which plane would you guys say is a good noobie plane to start with?? I only flew the P51 like i mentioned earlier, and I got the hang of it very quickly and was able to pull off some pretty cool maneuvers w/o crashing. I did also try some type of fighter/attack plane,(cant remember the name, maybe a markXVI or something) and it was a lot harder to fly(crashed after the first takeoff) So I'm asking more about fighter planes only.
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Hehe, nice "AAR" - glad you had fun.
As for radio usage, views and all other kinds of tips, check out both http://www.netaces.org and http://trainers.hitechcreations.com
As for only getting a B24 to smoke..... two important things on gunnery: Get up close and personal for shooting (ideal range between 200 and 400) and set your convergences.... for a P51 i would suggest 275 on all guns for starters (te set, when in Hangar click on SET CONVERGENCE)
Hope to see you in the unfriendly AH skies soon :).
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if you're looking for a plane that's easy to fly, has a good set of guns, and is a good training plane for learning air combat, the spitfire mk V is your best bet.
i'll look for you in the training arena :)
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Off line drones will continue flying like nothing is wrong, even when they loose important parts like wings. You have to get them to explode like you did with the 38. Fuseloge shots or killing the pilot will cause them to explode.
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There are some planes in the hangar that a lot of people consider good starter planes. I've always liked to ask people if they have any interest, historical or otherwise in any specific plane. The reasoning behind that approach is any new player is going to get kicked around for awhile when they start flying in the arenas. The learning curve is pretty steep and it's easy to get frustrated. If there's an interest other than just playing the game it can make sticking with it a little easier. I started on the P-51 myself because I had always liked it growing up. Later I moved to the F6F and P38 as my historical interests have shifted over time.
That being said a lot of people recommend the Spitfires to start with. Generally speaking they offer a good mix of speed, firepower, and manuverability. There are others that come up often as well and I'm sure someone will pipe up here sooner or later with their own ideas.
I would suggest taking a little bit of time and experiment a little and try and find somthing that suits your taste. Once you kind of settle on somthing that you like stick with it. Once you get a solid base, or skill level it can be good to fly different airplanes, it's been my experience that you learn somthing new by flying different aircraft. But that really only is of benefit after you have some time under your belt. Find somthing you like for whatever reason and get to know it untill your ready to try somthing new.
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Actually, only killing the pilot will make them blow up. Apart from that, theyll just keep on "flying" on their preset course. You can actually make a gunnery practice out of that - shoot parts off one by one. Wingtip, wing, elevators, stabs, rudder.... if the plane blows before your down to only a flying fuselage you "lost" :).
I agree with Biggles on the Spitfire series. Mk5 for Early War and Mk8 or Mk9 for later war arenas..... they have a good overall performance and are rather forgiving. Same goes for F6F, but that one requires more flap work.
Whats more important than plane choice though is actually sticking with one plane for a while, utill you got a fairly good handle on its abilities and strenghts/weaknesses.
Whats your ingame ID if i may ask?
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I have yet to even make a ingame ID. It will probably be Noobus. Or Noobus 161 if Noobus is taken.
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LoL OK.
Ill watch out for you then :).
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Originally posted by Major Biggles
if you're looking for a plane that's easy to fly, has a good set of guns, and is a good training plane for learning air combat, the spitfire mk V is your best bet.
i'll look for you in the training arena :)
Biggles...what convergence settings to you use for the Spit V?
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Originally posted by boedy
Ok. So I hit the skies last nite. Unfurtunately, I couldnt pick up the Saitek joystick, I just couldnt find anything aside from the X-52 around this area. This market seems to be huge on Logitech as they had about 10 types.(Comp USA was the store, im from NYC, and parking tickets cost ALOT, like $115 type of ALOT) So I just got the Thrustmaster, if it lasts me a month i'l be happy and will prob upgrade to some advance stuff when it goes dead.
Anyway, somehow I actually manually took off and landed in the offline practice section. (I landed on my belly, but the host said I landed lol) I'm still pretty lost on the radio controls and everything else, but off course, I played for about 90 minutes last nite, and about 85 of these were spent in flight. The first time I deserted, had no idea what was going on. The second time I got up there, picked on something slow (a b24) and went off on it. I ran out of ammo with the thing smoking. So I tried again. And again lol. After my 4th try I decided to leave the heavily armored B24 alone. So I picked on a P38, and walah, took it down with a single burst! I musta hit in the right spot. I only flew the P51 last night. I noticed in the trainer its all about going in a circle and trying to get position. MAYBE...just maybe i'l get online tonight. I might just "train" for another night thou, and get online tomorrow, since I'm off all day, no kids or wife to nag me :)
Needless to say, I'm very excited and cant wait to try the online version. I think I might be part of this community for a long time to come the way its looking lol.
EDIT: I forgot to ask this. Which plane would you guys say is a good noobie plane to start with?? I only flew the P51 like i mentioned earlier, and I got the hang of it very quickly and was able to pull off some pretty cool maneuvers w/o crashing. I did also try some type of fighter/attack plane,(cant remember the name, maybe a markXVI or something) and it was a lot harder to fly(crashed after the first takeoff) So I'm asking more about fighter planes only.
nice to see someone else from new york city
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Originally posted by Simaril
Eh, what's that sonny?
. There is simply NO comparison between an artificial opponent and a human one, no comparison whatsoever. In AH the greatest challenge is in adjusting to the unpredictability -- the enemy that prooves to be plain dumb one time, while the very next one may be devilishly skilled.
too true having owned the enemy in janes ww2 and cfs1 and cfs 2 when i got online playing Fighter Ace {another online game but not near the quality} i thought i would go in there and rule...first three days i got my tail handed to me by the same guy over and over so i made friends with him and learned from him....i left that game because of the politics they go through {not to mention the drama} and didn't fly for over a year....i found out about Aces High from my old squads web page and joined up.....i haven't regretted it at all...cheers
LTDMonte
The LTD stands for Loyalty,Teamwork and Dedication
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Hi monte,
You may remember me from your time in FA. Welcome to AH the community. These guys have always been helpful and if you run into any difficulties or have any questions. feel free to post.
I helped Spike when he came over and he seems to be picking it up fast and spoke to fess yesterday.
If you guys can stick at it (the learning curve is steep) I'm sure you will be very happy as a squad in your new environment.
all the best
Bruv
~S~
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I set all guns to 300 cept zeke and la5 I set those to 250
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Originally posted by Max
Biggles...what convergence settings to you use for the Spit V?
I dont know about Biggles, but i got them up close and personal:
225 for the cannon
175 for the MG (if you want to use them to "spook" people into turning rather then use them to kill after you run out of cannon rounds, set them further out)
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Originally posted by Max
Biggles...what convergence settings to you use for the Spit V?
sorry, just saw this...
i use a convergence of 300 in all my planes except the hurri and spit 1 which are at 175, and the 262 and 163 at 400
it gives me the option to hit buffs and things from some distance while still being accurate and useable in a close dogfight