Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: JustEric on October 04, 2010, 08:52:15 PM
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I haven't joined AH yet so I can't look at the arenas. Just wondering how many people are in the arenas on a regular basis? Based on the activity on the forum, I'd say it's a big community.
I used to play AW and I'm thinking about getting back into the Flight Sim game. Is the AH experience similar to the old AW days? I must admit, I spent way to much time shooting down little dots in AW but loved every minute of it.
Thanks,
Eric
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Numbers really are time dependent. Early morning US times are low during the week but numbers pick up as work or school ends. Weekends different animal and generally attendance is up. Holidays iffy as some go on vacation and such but usually many are on anyway.
99.9% of the time you will be able to find many people to fight against.
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Which version of AW did you play? There are many old AW'ers here. I believe that you will find more people in the Main Arena's (Orange and Blue) than you saw in earlier versions of AW. Before dropping into the Arena's you may want to do a bit of reading in the Trainer section.. Then go into the Training arena.
If you recall how AW had a steep learning curve AH makes it look like a speed bump.
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Mon night, bit after 9, Early war, 3, Mid War 9, LWOrange 226, LWBlue 119.
On a friday night it can be 3 times that many, plus over 500 in FSO.
Spend the 15$ see for yourself.
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That Gostly man speaks the truth!!! :cheers:
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Hey Stoggie, I played AW for about 5 years or so. I went from paying per hour to a flat rate. When I stopped playing, they were losing steam and rumors abounded that War Birds was going to take over. I don't remember the version :( I remember, Subby was the best pilot in the game those days.
I can't wait to get set up to play but it might take some time to piece a computer together.
Thanks for the report of the number of players in the arenas. It sounds like I have found the right place!! I look forward to learning everything from scratch again.
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Hey eric, there are usually anywhere from 200-600 players on at a time, depending on time and day. On the average weekday night, there are usually 400 players on.
I used to fly Air warrior 3 on gamestorm in RRE1, and Aces High is a lot better. Not even comparable really, you should see for yourself.
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Hey Stoggie, I played AW for about 5 years or so. I went from paying per hour to a flat rate. When I stopped playing, they were losing steam and rumors abounded that War Birds was going to take over. I don't remember the version :( I remember, Subby was the best pilot in the game those days.
I can't wait to get set up to play but it might take some time to piece a computer together.
Thanks for the report of the number of players in the arenas. It sounds like I have found the right place!! I look forward to learning everything from scratch again.
It sounds like you might have been playing around the same time that I started AW. Couple of guys in my squad might disagree with your Subby statement however :D
Now after AW died I had a ten year layoff from sims (that damned real life got in the way), and have just come back here about two years ago. Based on my experience getting back in:
If you flew in FR (like I did) you won't find that operating the planes and keeping them airborne is much harder really, that part should come right back to you like riding a bicycle. The really nasty bit will be re-acquiring your SA and ACM. You'll find that those are more like high level math, they fade away when you don't use them. Once you start to get a slightly better handle on that, then you'll start to be able to read the map better and find the kinds of fights you're looking for. You'll just start to feel confident when someone will seriously hand you your bellybutton in the arena. That's when you'll realize that your gunnery is terrible, and your timing is not great and you just have tons of stuff to work on to be competent again. Then you will seek a trainer, and that will help. They are great.
What I'm saying here is that yes, there will be a learning curve for you, but, provided you flew AW in FR, it won't be as bad as it would be for a stone noob, even with the long layoff. You can seriously cut into that curve if you start with the trainer, instead of going through everything that I did. Hell, I'm still not good, but I've come a long way in nearly two years. You can do it!
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If you sign up, you get 2 weeks free. If you don't like it by the end of the two weeks, cancel.
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Just my recomendation:
Step 1. - Build your flying rig/PC, download and install AH, then start tackling the learning curve in off-line mode. (download and offline mode in AH is 100% free)
Step 2. - When you tire of shooting down the drones circling the base (or playing through some of the offline missions - see the "Offline Mission Forum" for more info) and want ot step it up a notch, creat your online account and begin your _free_ two-week online trial period. Log in and hop in.
Step 3. - After settling in, getting a grasp of the basics, and chalking up a few kills online, go ahead and subscribe to the $15 monthly because it's a great game.
Checkout the squads and keep an eye on the special events posted here in the forums to participate, welcome to Aces High!
If you sign up, you get 2 weeks free. If you don't like it by the end of the two weeks, cancel.
Also, no need to enter any credit card info until after your two-weeks is up, they don't make you give them the billing info until after your free trial is up.
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That Gostly man speaks the truth!!! :cheers:
And only the truth.. ever.
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Hey All, sounds like some great advice. Thanks for your help.
I stopped playing AW since it was getting in the way of helping out with my then baby daughter. She is 12 years old now and doesn’t need daddy as much. Boo hoo for me. In any event, it seems like a good time to get back into the virtual skies again. I used to fly FR and played a lot. I held my own against 95% of the pilots in the game. Subby was the only one that I knew was going to beat me when I flew against her. I won about 75% of my fights but I was very aggressive and didn’t do the B&Z or gang bang thing to make my numbers look better. I had some great times. From what I have read so far, it sounds like AH is a matured version of AW. I can’t wait to get started and yes I expect to do a lot of training before getting my nosed rubbed in it by some AH veterans. As far as the ACM goes, I know the basics from reading and playing but as someone said they are perishable skills. I also expect getting SA in this game is going to take some time. I’m going old school with the hat switch for my views. I might upgrade to Track IR 4 at some point but one thing at a time. In AW I hardly ever lost sigh of my enemy using the hat switch combinations. Only thing holding me back now is a computer. I don’t think any of my 5 computers could handle the game. I’m saving (sneaking some funds) up for an econo build. I might go with the one suggested by Scotch for about $800. In any event, this won’t be the last you’ve heard from me :joystick:
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I play it quite a bit. Not so much now since I have no funds to get into the game so I am surfing the boards; I have lot of time currently anyway.
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He sounds like a 38 guy to me :joystick: Welcome aboard sir!!! :cheers:
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Hey All, sounds like some great advice. Thanks for your help.
I stopped playing AW since it was getting in the way of helping out with my then baby daughter. She is 12 years old now and doesn’t need daddy as much. Boo hoo for me. In any event, it seems like a good time to get back into the virtual skies again. I used to fly FR and played a lot. I held my own against 95% of the pilots in the game. Subby was the only one that I knew was going to beat me when I flew against her. I won about 75% of my fights but I was very aggressive and didn’t do the B&Z or gang bang thing to make my numbers look better. I had some great times. From what I have read so far, it sounds like AH is a matured version of AW. I can’t wait to get started and yes I expect to do a lot of training before getting my nosed rubbed in it by some AH veterans. As far as the ACM goes, I know the basics from reading and playing but as someone said they are perishable skills. I also expect getting SA in this game is going to take some time. I’m going old school with the hat switch for my views. I might upgrade to Track IR 4 at some point but one thing at a time. In AW I hardly ever lost sigh of my enemy using the hat switch combinations. Only thing holding me back now is a computer. I don’t think any of my 5 computers could handle the game. I’m saving (sneaking some funds) up for an econo build. I might go with the one suggested by Scotch for about $800. In any event, this won’t be the last you’ve heard from me :joystick:
Nice.. who were you?
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Has no one told you not to subscribe and leave while you can, if you turn to th AH side you will lose all sense of reality.
The end is nigh!
By the way don't fly for nights they suck.
:banana: :banana: :banana:
By the way don't ever tune to 200 :joystick:
majority of the people are good sports :old:
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Hey thanks for the welcomes!
Fly a P38, I wish I was that good. In AW I flew a Spit which I think in AH is the same as saying your cheating. I learned on the Spit and pretty much stuck with it when going hunting. I did try the P38 after getting beat by it consistently by a couple pilots. In my Spit, on the merge, I would usually do a immelmann followed by a second immelmann. I’d end up pulling it off so when I reached the top of my second immelmann, I’d have just enough power to have controlled flight. Most new pilots would pull to hard to get a snap shot off so I would end up on the top either looking at a plane with little or no ability to maneuver or a plane falling from the sky in a spin. Some pilots knew the maneuver so we would then get into a turning battle all the way to the ground. But, a couple 38 pilots could get a shot off on me in my first immelmann. I know the 38 has a great instantaneous turn rate and all I can think is that they did something, cut engines, use flaps, extend wheels, I’m not sure to get inside my (vertical) circle enough to get a legitimate shot. I’m sure they sold out on the move. I never really had any luck flying a 38 in turning fights. With the 38, I would try to disguise my speed at the merge and then I would pull hard to get a fast enough instantaneous turn rate to shoot them down quickly. If I was not successful in the first couple turns, I’d try to bug out if they had a better turning plane. I suspect the 38 is a tough plane to master but when you figure it out, you have a bunch of tricks in your bag like cutting one engine using flaps.. I hope to learn how to fly the 38 this time around!
In a previous response someone said their squad mates didn’t’ think to highly of Subby. Any reasons? At the time I thought she and HR were the best in the game. Subby was never all that friendly though.
My pilot name was Castor, or was it shortened to Cas. In any event, I wasn’t a big name in the game. I pretty much kept to myself and enjoyed hunting alone. Hmmm, I can’t even remember my squad name or my CO. Getting old :old:
Great catching up with the flying community. I can’t wait to get setup!
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Hey Zack,
I know what you mean. I missed more then a few days of work due to flying all night. I could fly for hours in the blink of an eye. I don't think anyone will be knocking on my door to join their squad anytime soon. I expect to spend a bunch of time offline and in training before giving up easy kills. Even then, I'm sure I will be little more then bait for kill mongers. It's going to be fun. :airplane:
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Hey thanks for the welcomes!
In a previous response someone said their squad mates didn’t’ think to highly of Subby. Any reasons? At the time I thought she and HR were the best in the game. Subby was never all that friendly though.
My pilot name was Castor, or was it shortened to Cas. In any event, I wasn’t a big name in the game. I pretty much kept to myself and enjoyed hunting alone. Hmmm, I can’t even remember my squad name or my CO. Getting old :old:
Great catching up with the flying community. I can’t wait to get setup!
Holy Cow! :salute
Castor?!? Castor, I do remember you. :old: I encountered you one and only one time in AW that I can remember. That series of fights is engraved in my mind because it was my first introduction to the AW FR arena. In fact, a long time ago, I wrote about how I became a Musketeer, and my fights with you that night are part of the story. I was really disappointed that I never fought you again, because you were really a gentleman and tried to teach me a few things. Never forgot it. Sadly, I'm still a flippin' noob even after 15 years... Castor, here's the link to what I wrote--don't worry, I say good stuff about you (I think it's on page two of the story):
http://www.musketeers.org/?page_id=68 (http://www.musketeers.org/?page_id=68)
By the way, Maddafinga (my squaddie) is the one who remarked that some in our squad might disagree about Subby's uberness. It's not that she wasn't a good pilot; she was damned good. I think that Madda meant that we recall some other really great sticks during that time, even some of the guys in my squad back then were on a par with or better than her (Rapier, Dragon, etc.). Certainly not me, though. :joystick: I don't think that I ever managed anything better than a draw against her, and that just a couple of times. As I recall, she didn't fly much after AW left AOL and went to Gamestorm, unless she changed her call sign.
Castor, once you're up and running in the game, you're welcome to wing with the Muskies any time. We fly Knights (it's the sword thing, ya know... ).
Salute from a baby seal you once took pity upon :salute :)
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Hurrah! :joystick:
Play online and get shot down it's not real :old:
If it were I would hide under my bed :banana:
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Holy Cow! :salute
Castor?!? Castor, I do remember you. :old: I encountered you one and only one time in AW that I can remember. That series of fights is engraved in my mind because it was my first introduction to the AW FR arena. In fact, a long time ago, I wrote about how I became a Musketeer, and my fights with you that night are part of the story. I was really disappointed that I never fought you again, because you were really a gentleman and tried to teach me a few things. Never forgot it. Sadly, I'm still a flippin' noob even after 15 years... Castor, here's the link to what I wrote--don't worry, I say good stuff about you (I think it's on page two of the story):
http://www.musketeers.org/?page_id=68 (http://www.musketeers.org/?page_id=68)
By the way, Maddafinga (my squaddie) is the one who remarked that some in our squad might disagree about Subby's uberness. It's not that she wasn't a good pilot; she was damned good. I think that Madda meant that we recall some other really great sticks during that time, even some of the guys in my squad back then were on a par with or better than her (Rapier, Dragon, etc.). Certainly not me, though. :joystick: I don't think that I ever managed anything better than a draw against her, and that just a couple of times. As I recall, she didn't fly much after AW left AOL and went to Gamestorm, unless she changed her call sign.
Castor, once you're up and running in the game, you're welcome to wing with the Muskies any time. We fly Knights (it's the sword thing, ya know... ).
Salute from a baby seal you once took pity upon :salute :)
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I remember Subby too. That handle was short for Submission. I went to the AW con in 1996 in orlando and met her there. I wondered if she was still playing. She would win a lot of campaigns, but I do recall that she got beat in the con tourney. One thing I would say about 'good' sticks back then was that the flight model in AW had a lot of quirks and spin modelling was very underdeveloped. 'Good sticks' had learned to enter a spin, rotate the plane 180 deg and recover with no loss of speed. The were a bazillion board posts about 'Spin' Dweebs and how it was cheating and needed to be fixed, blah, blah, blah. [Did Pyro work on AW then?] I recall meeting him at the con and discussing the spinning problem.
One thing about Subby was that she wracked up a lot of kills without ever making use of the spin glitch.
By the way I played AW for about 1 year back then.
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I remember Subby too. That handle was short for Submission. I went to the AW con in 1996 in orlando and met her there. I wondered if she was still playing. She would win a lot of campaigns, but I do recall that she got beat in the con tourney. One thing I would say about 'good' sticks back then was that the flight model in AW had a lot of quirks and spin modelling was very underdeveloped. 'Good sticks' had learned to enter a spin, rotate the plane 180 deg and recover with no loss of speed. The were a bazillion board posts about 'Spin' Dweebs and how it was cheating and needed to be fixed, blah, blah, blah. [Did Pyro work on AW then?] I recall meeting him at the con and discussing the spinning problem.
One thing about Subby was that she wracked up a lot of kills without ever making use of the spin glitch.
By the way I played AW for about 1 year back then.
Yeah, that was Subby. She was a good stick; no exploiting the code that I can recall. If memory serves, she was partial to the Hellcat, at least in the Pac arena. (I remember many good fights at the central Atoll--you guys remember N64, N65 and N66?-- man those were fun times.) I remember Subby also had a rep for having a very cantankerous online persona. Don't know if she was like that in real life. Some folk were much like their online personas, and others were complete opposites.
Speaking of spinfighters, anyone recall Zy (Zy da Ho)? :O, he had that spin thing down to a science. If I recall correctly, he'd get accused of it from time to time.
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Hey Wraith, that’s a great story. I’m proud to be mentioned in it! It takes me back to the begging when I was just starting up. The cost was unbelievable but I was hooked. What I could I do but pay the man. I’m really glad to find such a thriving multplayer combat air simulator game to jump back into. It’s also great to hear that someone remembers me. Hehehe, didn’t expect that. I’ll let you know when I get up and flying and I’ll give you an opportunity to get even on that kill ratio. Thanks for the post, it made my day.
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Hey Wraith, that’s a great story. I’m proud to be mentioned in it! It takes me back to the begging when I was just starting up. The cost was unbelievable but I was hooked. What I could I do but pay the man. I’m really glad to find such a thriving multplayer combat air simulator game to jump back into. It’s also great to hear that someone remembers me. Hehehe, didn’t expect that. I’ll let you know when I get up and flying and I’ll give you an opportunity to get even on that kill ratio. Thanks for the post, it made my day.
Oh, I don't know that I'd do any better than that first day, Castor. Usually I'm just stoogin' around in the arenas, trying to avoid the shrubbery that magically appears all around my plane.
Looking forward to seeing you up and flying, sir! :salute :cheers:
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Hey thanks for the welcomes!
Fly a P38, I wish I was that good. In AW I flew a Spit which I think in AH is the same as saying your cheating. I learned on the Spit and pretty much stuck with it when going hunting. I did try the P38 after getting beat by it consistently by a couple pilots. In my Spit, on the merge, I would usually do a immelmann followed by a second immelmann. I’d end up pulling it off so when I reached the top of my second immelmann, I’d have just enough power to have controlled flight. Most new pilots would pull to hard to get a snap shot off so I would end up on the top either looking at a plane with little or no ability to maneuver or a plane falling from the sky in a spin. Some pilots knew the maneuver so we would then get into a turning battle all the way to the ground. But, a couple 38 pilots could get a shot off on me in my first immelmann. I know the 38 has a great instantaneous turn rate and all I can think is that they did something, cut engines, use flaps, extend wheels, I’m not sure to get inside my (vertical) circle enough to get a legitimate shot. I’m sure they sold out on the move. I never really had any luck flying a 38 in turning fights. With the 38, I would try to disguise my speed at the merge and then I would pull hard to get a fast enough instantaneous turn rate to shoot them down quickly. If I was not successful in the first couple turns, I’d try to bug out if they had a better turning plane. I suspect the 38 is a tough plane to master but when you figure it out, you have a bunch of tricks in your bag like cutting one engine using flaps.. I hope to learn how to fly the 38 this time around!
In a previous response someone said their squad mates didn’t’ think to highly of Subby. Any reasons? At the time I thought she and HR were the best in the game. Subby was never all that friendly though.
My pilot name was Castor, or was it shortened to Cas. In any event, I wasn’t a big name in the game. I pretty much kept to myself and enjoyed hunting alone. Hmmm, I can’t even remember my squad name or my CO. Getting old :old:
Great catching up with the flying community. I can’t wait to get setup!
No, man, I wasn't saying that anyone thought badly of her, just that some of our guys might dispute her as the best stick in the game at the time. She was good for sure, and HR was damn good also, no question. But we had Stiletto, and SF and HazMat and Hebee and several other guys who really could lay down some ownage. That's all I'm saying. Subby was ok to me most of the time, even tried to help me learn the 38 a bit. It never took.
I kinda remember the cpid Cas, but nothing specific. Did you fly ETO mostly perhaps?
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Yeah, that was Subby. She was a good stick; no exploiting the code that I can recall. If memory serves, she was partial to the Hellcat, at least in the Pac arena. (I remember many good fights at the central Atoll--you guys remember N64, N65 and N66?-- man those were fun times.) I remember Subby also had a rep for having a very cantankerous online persona. Don't know if she was like that in real life. Some folk were much like their online personas, and others were complete opposites.
Speaking of spinfighters, anyone recall Zy (Zy da Ho)? :O, he had that spin thing down to a science. If I recall correctly, he'd get accused of it from time to time.
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Man, that Zy used to infuriate the hell out of me.
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Nice.. who were you?
quoted for the schlowy/grizz sig. perfect. show exactly what schlowy4 is :rofl :aok
eric/castor, if you ever end up in Late War Orange, look for me. my game id's a little backwards with BAR321 now but ill help you out while you try to get back into the game <S>
if not bish, then there are many people on the rooks and knights that will be more than glad to help you out. :aok
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Welcome aboard JustEric :salute
The training staff are top notch, the community, for the most part, are all great people. This game is what you make it. You like to bomb? Bomb away. You like to furball? Plenty of opportunities. Like historic missions? FSO's and special events are top notch. Enjoy 1 to 2 v 1 in a knife fight? Try AVA. Poke around and find where your comfort zone is then have a blast.
Oh, and on the boards just wear your kevlar undies, sarcasm meter is way off the charts here.
Whatever you do best of luck to you sir..
If I can be of any help, which you obviously won't need, shoot me a pm..
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Yeah, that was Subby. She was a good stick; no exploiting the code that I can recall. If memory serves, she was partial to the Hellcat, at least in the Pac arena. (I remember many good fights at the central Atoll--you guys remember N64, N65 and N66?-- man those were fun times.) I remember Subby also had a rep for having a very cantankerous online persona. Don't know if she was like that in real life. Some folk were much like their online personas, and others were complete opposites.
Speaking of spinfighters, anyone recall Zy (Zy da Ho)? :O, he had that spin thing down to a science. If I recall correctly, he'd get accused of it from time to time.
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That was the worst of the spin Dweebs as I remember it too :x
:salute
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I remember Subby flying the 38 in FR back then. This was AW4W.
As for the people spinning the 190-A8 on cue, I can only remember Macz or Macx, or some cpid like that. I thought it was Soup's kid. It would really piss us off, as the game was serious business back then!
The cpid "cas" is familiar to me too, though I can't place it right now.
At any rate, AH is very fun. I just started playing a year ago after leaving AW in 1999. There's a learning curve, especially if you're remembering how things were in AW. The one thing you mentioned though, the hat views, won't be an issue. :)
mir