Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Wishlist => Topic started by: SectorNine50 on April 09, 2008, 09:08:03 PM
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Hey guys, I was talking to a few guys in-game about how AH used to have weather and such, and that they had to take it out because it made the game too challenging for beginners or something along those lines. I think I may have a solution, since we have 2 late war and 2 early war arenas, why not make one of each have weather, and the other not? That would be awesome for the bunch that want the challenge, plus it would add another huge dimension to the game: is it possible to effectively take a field based on current weather?
I just really started using the AH forums recently, and did a short search of weather, but found a lot of things from way back when, and nothing that was like this.
I've read threads where additions or changes to one or more of the servers was generally shot down abruptly, but wasn't really ever sure why. I think this could be pretty cool! :aok
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I heard the problem was with framerates.
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Really? We already have clouds n' such, and wind doesn't require any graphics power. The only thing I could see causing a problem is rain. Couldn't the people that have frame rate problems with the weather server just hop over to the other one though? I just think weather is too big of a deal to leave out of a simulator... :frown:
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Wind is homogeneous on the whole map, except for altitude layers. That's really a lot different from reality, so it's not that great in practice (in the game). I think weather would be great, though.. But it had to have been a real problem to have gotten pulled out like it did.
I think the old weather fronts were meant to simulate rain. You had one big cell of clouds, under which lighting was reduced, and at the top of which were thick clouds, inside of which you lost icons.
One problem I'd say would come up with weather being on one of two arenas, and proposing players just change server, is that some players would complain that the map/numbers in one of the two arenas were what they wanted, but that weather ruined it for them (meaning the framerate).
In time, it'll find its way back in.
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How about some snow on the ground? At least on the peaks or something. That would be nifty. :aok
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Or just a MA map with snow.... :noid
Strip
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AH1 had wind, and clouds. The wind was one directional across the map at given altitudes, so that one country was always flying into the wind, while the other enjoyed a tail wind. It was either an advantage or a hindrance, depending on which part of the map you were stuck in. Clouds were interesting, but I don't recall them being a real performance killer.
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Well if we randomized the wind every once in a while it might make it more fair. Wind generally changes direction and speed over time, so maybe that could be simulated as well.
Well both servers could play the same maps at the same time, wouldn't be too bad that way, then no one could complain. I hate to be the guy that says this, but at some point the game has gotta advance graphically, so I don't think just adding weather should be really complained about in terms of performance, you know? That's just my $.02 though.
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In the last FSO the fisibility was almost null with a hell of a fog and a big cloud layer between 15 and 20K, not to mention huge clouds at low alts. It was looking real good and felt like a different game. I didn't see anyone complain about framerates.
It changes the gameplay as people have to be coordinated and indicate were ennemies are, what's the target status etc etc. No more picking from 20k high, you dive in to get a look and find yourself in the middle of a japanese horde that you can't pick except if you mix it up, wich is not recommended in P39's VS zeros )
Very funny event, I really wish we had a dynamic weather in AH. Imagine a low alt fog over a tank town, making gvs invisible to planes.
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AHII weather forcast....
Sunny, 0% chance for precipitation :rofl
I have had threads in the past asking for weather. All I got was slammed with nay sayers and complaints. I gave up.... :frown:
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I agree, I think that weather would be a GREAT addition.
And anyone who says framerates will suffer should look into upgrading from Windows 95. I don't say this to be snide, I say this because AcesHigh has COMPUTER requirements that were top of the line around 5 yrs ago, and even economy systems (<$500) nowadays exceed them. In the end, its more important to have a good internet connection anyway.
As stated, wind would have almost no impact on framerate, and dynamic wind/weather would be nice.
Rain can be added as a 2D (or nearly 2D) effect, much like FlightSim98 did with almost no performance hit.
Already, I've noticed better clouds, and they REALLY are making a difference in gameplay. You fly into them now instead of through them.
PS. I agree, some snow/other terrain would be fun to have on some of the older maps.
Remember, small changes go a long way.
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The last FSO was actually quite funny for me. I was flying around and looking at all the weather thinking, "Darn this weather sucks.......cool!" I didnt notice the any framerate problems and it was so nice to something besides sunny with clear skys.
Strip
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Wind is homogeneous on the whole map, except for altitude layers. That's really a lot different from reality, so it's not that great in practice (in the game). I think weather would be great, though.. But it had to have been a real problem to have gotten pulled out like it did.
I think the old weather fronts were meant to simulate rain. You had one big cell of clouds, under which lighting was reduced, and at the top of which were thick clouds, inside of which you lost icons.
One problem I'd say would come up with weather being on one of two arenas, and proposing players just change server, is that some players would complain that the map/numbers in one of the two arenas were what they wanted, but that weather ruined it for them (meaning the framerate).
In time, it'll find its way back in.
Weather was removed for the same reason as Night Time was.
Whiners. A few big pansy whiners who felt like their lack of perfect sky 100% of the time furballing was ruining the game.
If Weather and Night time were BOTH reinstated, I would be a subscriber for life, as well as send HT a nice bottle of scotch.
But still, the squeeky wheel gets the oil.
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So changing things for a smaller group of whining pansies is acceptable, but changing things because half their customers would simultaneously log off is not? :lol
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I would like to see more clouds, and maybe rolling "Storm's" of darker, thicker clouds. Maybe with flashes of light ad lighting.
But the rolling would be a storm that moved to random parts of the map slowly over time, like a real storm.
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Yep, the big storm fronts in AHI didn't cause FR issues at all. They were removed because of whiners. The poor buff dudes would fly an hour to get to a target and it would be so socked in by clouds they couldn't see a thing unless they were willing to drop to 5K to get below the cloud deck.
From above or below you couldn't see people in the clouds but one you were in the clouds yourself you could see others in the clouds just fine as it was just a grey air-mass. So above you could see people above, below you could see people below, and within you could see people within but there was no cross-visibility which made chases into and out of the clouds challenging.
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Well it sounds like those were legitimate issues with graphics tech of the time, and it makes sense to me why they would remove them (except the bomber whiners... and I'm a bomber). I would think that by now, they could implement a better cloud method. And the solution to the buffs thing is have a weather map available on the clipboard map (I know that the Wind is already there). This weather map could allow bomber pilots to know beforehand, at least to some extent, what the weather is like at the target. Once again... a real issue of war. As long as the weather isn't OVERDONE, then it can be very impressive.
Once again, the small things are what make the biggest difference.
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If Weather and Night time were BOTH reinstated, I would be a subscriber for life, as well as send HT a nice bottle of scotch.
Only one bottle. I like how the FSO's have night at weather, but not the other arenas. It it was left out of the dueling arena I think the wimps who want 100% clear skies would still be happy some where.
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I don't know about night.... I do want to see it, but perhaps only at a reduced level. I like how we have dawn and dusk, but perhaps just extend dawn and dusk so it gets darker and stays dark for a short period of time. I definately look forward to experiencing this in FSO, but my jury is still out on MA nighttime.
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I think both night time and weather would be AWESOME, however, lets just do one at a time for now; weather. The whiners are exactly why I proposed a "reality" server and an "arcade" server. It would just make things so much more interesting and challenging, it would be great! I mean it's not like the whole map is going to be raining, so if people are whining, we'll send them to the sunny part of the map! :)
Will the guys at HiTech take a look at this, or does someone have to go and ask them about it directly?
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Well it sounds like those were legitimate issues with graphics tech of the time,
No. There were no legitimate graphic issues at all.
Some of the most interesting and fun fights I have EVER had in all of Aces High history was where a heavy thundercloud rolled over a base I was trying to defend at 4-5k feet. It became very dark, but I could see light off in the distance. And at one moment I zoom climbed through the clouds and broke through to a bright sun...
The weather and clouds of Aces High 1 were awesome. Depending on the map (some maps had NO weather on them, like you wouldn't expect rain on Pizza), you'd have 1-3 half sector large storm fronts somewhere on the map, slowly moving across.
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...you'd have 1-3 half sector large storm fronts somewhere on the map, slowly moving across.
I would sell my internal organs for weather like that to be put back in. I talked with a friend and said it was in AHII but whiners made them take it out.
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It sounds to me that there is more of a demand to put it back in than whiners. I haven't talked to a person in-game or seen a person post on this thread who is actually against re-implementing it. HiTech, put it back in!!! :aok
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So... How do you guys feel about bumping threads...?
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rain on me cockpit or muddy landscape would be kewl
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One thing i'd love to see would be ground fog. This would make gv fights really interesting. The weather was really cool in the last FSO and was both a benefit and disadvantage to both sides. Probably the most exciting FSO i've been in in a long time and was a really close call on who won it. The rolling weather front would also be a pretty interesting addition. Bomber pilots should all love the weather/high clouds, if you plan your attack/mission and use it to your advantage you could really sneak in undetected, we proved this in the last FSO. Our first mission was bombing an airfield a long way from our fleet. We flew up till we broke the top layer then went down 1k into the soup and flew all the way to the target. Enemy looked everywhere for us and never spotted us till we were on our dive in to bomb the field. By the time they saw us it was to late and we flattened the field. :D It also teaches you how to use your gauges more effectively because you have no line of sight references.
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I think weather would be good as well. Don't need to add anyhting on that that hasn't been said. On the night issue, that would be awesome. Can you imagine night fighters and night bombing missions? It would definately add a bit more historical realsim and realism to the game.
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:aok
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Whats fun to do is set up a lan game. There you can see all the weather and night stuff. I was testing it out last night and I think it would be cool to see.
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One thing i'd love to see would be ground fog. This would make gv fights really interesting.
There is ground fog at some of the ports on SmPizza (one for each country), very heavy at times.
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yeah and why not add time of day, we need to set and official AH time so we can have night-fighting.
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yeah and why not add time of day, we need to set and official AH time so we can have night-fighting.
We are not bringing back night. that has been beaten to death already.
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We are not bringing back night. that has been beaten to death already.
No, it has been whined to death. Probably by the same people who whined away weather.
Another one of the most memorable times in Aces High was when the NDM took a NOE night mission with 110's, and completely surprised a town. Nothing quite as terrifying as 10 110's suddenly popping up in the dark on your base.
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So are you guys saying that they probably won't add weather again due to a few people whining because they didn't want to take the time to learn different tactics? :furious
It's just too big of a part of flying to leave out in my opinion. I mean look at flight training IRL, they even study what different cloud shapes mean in terms of weather!!! Bah. I want weather. lol :pray
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No, that's just what lasersailor is saying. HTC has never said that.
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What did they say then?
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No, it has been whined to death. Probably by the same people who whined away weather.
From what I recall, it was the whining that nixed both night and weather. People would just crank up their gamma or log at night.
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The AvA has "weather" in the form of a very low cloud layer that simuates a really overcast day. Bombing is a nightmare in it but that just means you dont climb above say, 3k. I feel its great and the framerate excuse is getting really old. The system requirements for this game were designed FIVE years ago. I've had 3 new computers in that time so I think you could fork out a few hundred dollars and it will last you another 5 years :)
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What did they say then?
Not much, apparently. Try searching, but be warned that with HT's spelling, most of the returns on weather won't have anything to do with weather. As a tip for the future, notice that whenever something is claimed to have been changed to suit some whining minority in the community, that it is normally another whining minority making this claim. ;)
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True. A small minority whined away night and weather. A small minority hopes to whine it back. The clear majority of the players enjoyed night and weather, but don't care enough if it's there or not.
As for me? I was flying in the SE corner of a map last night between some mountains just around Dusk (in game time). The sun went down, the moon came up, and the stars appeared. Because of the hills, it became twice as dark as it usually does.
For a moment I was overjoyed. It SEEMED like they had at least reimplemented night. It started to get darker... And then the sun popped up 180 degrees from where it went down.
And I was so saddened.
If you want to make a baby sad, you first give it a lollipop. And then you take it away.
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Bah...
Is my wishlist thread futile?! :O
:cry
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No, it has been whined to death. Probably by the same people who whined away weather.
Another one of the most memorable times in Aces High was when the NDM took a NOE night mission with 110's, and completely surprised a town. Nothing quite as terrifying as 10 110's suddenly popping up in the dark on your base.
like for the late arenas where most people are, have one with weather and TOD on and one without. Orange with and blue without
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like for the late arenas where most people are, have one with weather and TOD on and one without. Orange with and blue without
That's what I was sayin', however from what I've read in other threads it seems that HiTech doesn't like changing the servers around that much.
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If I cut off my ear can we have weather and time of day?
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If I cut off my ear can we have weather and time of day?
dunno but do it anyway
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I would like to see more clouds, and maybe rolling "Storm's" of darker, thicker clouds. Maybe with flashes of light ad lighting.
But the rolling would be a storm that moved to random parts of the map slowly over time, like a real storm.
nice idea :aok
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i want to see Shawk's 262 get strucken by lightning and blow up!!!! :aok :rock
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Man, I hate waiting. I wish we could get a definitive response whether or not this will ever be re-implemented. I haven't seen a single complaint yet, so I'd like to meet the people who whined it away to begin with! :mad:
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:cry
Happy?
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:cry
Happy?
...I didn't want a complaint...
P.S. I watched you get shot down today... Not that I'm happy about it... I was... mmk nvm... :confused:
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...I didn't want a complaint...
P.S. I watched you get shot down today... Not that I'm happy about it... I was... mmk nvm... :confused:
oh thats cool. You actually saw me get shot down when i didnt play at all today. Thats quite amazing
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oh thats cool. You actually saw me get shot down when i didnt play at all today. Thats quite amazing
Oh... Well I thought I saw a Sharkbite... Maybe it was Sharkbait...
Thanks for making me feel bad though... :cry
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<----didnt play today. SharkBait oh hah ha!
Sector.......Want a Cookie!?
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<----didnt play today. SharkBait oh hah ha!
Sector.......Want a Cookie!?
Oh no this is going to be a cruel joke isn't it...
Gimmie gimmie gimmie gimmie!!! :O
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Oh no this is going to be a cruel joke isn't it...
Gimmie gimmie gimmie gimmie!!! :O
Everybody thinks that.
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Everybody thinks that.
Well you still haven't given it to me, so it very well still could be! :confused:
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hold on
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oh no i ATE IT!
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oh no i ATE IT!
I knew it!
Your awful.
Now I really want weather in Aces High! :cry
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I knew it!
Your awful.
Now I really want weather in Aces High! :cry
lmao! hahahahahahah :O
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I would love to see weather put back in the game as well as night time. :aok Every other flight simulator I have seen has it.
I would also like to see animated water back in. I have no idea why they took it out. You could un-check it if it was messing with your frame rate. The water we have now is just down right crappy. The animated water actually looked like it was moving. I would show you a picture if I could find one.. I'll go through my screenshots later. :salute
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Officially page 5 and 61 replies! :D
Hopefully we're making some sort of an impact! :cool:
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Um...I'd like to make a note...HTC most likely got rid of weather because they spent a great effort on making the new weather system that few saw because it "hung" the server upon map reset. After that we never saw it again. Was funny though; it was the middle of the night and Skuzzy came blundering in after being called about it, forgetting to disable the burgler alarm. He had to sit and wait for the cops with his ID, IIRC. :D
Of course, it could have been a dream... :huh :noid
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Perhaps there is a way to disable it or "start shutting it down" during the 5 minute buffer between map changes so that it won't hang the server. Or am I misunderstanding completely? My somewhat narrow knowledge of servers makes me believe that if you had the server execute the end of the weather system first, and then change maps, it could fix hanging. However, I have no idea how these servers are set-up.
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I agree. A room with heavier weather would favor certain tactics and make the game more interesting, and probably MORE realistic. It certainly sounds more interesting than the massive fiasco that occurs every "Titanic Tuesday".
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I love Titanic Tuesday when I get to play in it :)
Don't be dissin' my stroll down memory lane dude! :(
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Weather was removed for the same reason as Night Time was.
Whiners. A few big pansy whiners who felt like their lack of perfect sky 100% of the time furballing was ruining the game.
If Weather and Night time were BOTH reinstated, I would be a subscriber for life, as well as send HT a nice bottle of scotch.
But still, the squeeky wheel gets the oil.
Why do they only do night once a year though? They should do it more often. I'm sure HTC probably enjoys it as much as the players do.
Do they do it more then once a year? I dont think so but they should do it like once every month on a Titanic Tuesday for like 3 hours or something. I was never around for AHI and Night. I only started playing during tour 78 or tour 79.
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I say, bring the weather! But, not during Titanic Tuesday, as there is enough lag already.
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I say, bring the weather! But, not during Titanic Tuesday, as there is enough lag already.
2nd, might be too much for the servers.