General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Eagler on May 08, 2025, 06:58:26 AM
Title: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Eagler on May 08, 2025, 06:58:26 AM
https://il2sturmovik.com/bom-free/
Eagler
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 08, 2025, 08:05:58 AM
It ain't free but it's cheap. Well, maybe it's free. You must own Battle of Stalingrad which is on sale for $10. Maybe that's included?
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 08, 2025, 08:14:39 AM
Maybe they removed the prereq. I already owned it so can't tell.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Spikes on May 08, 2025, 08:20:28 AM
BoS is still required.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 08, 2025, 09:25:18 AM
Battle of Stalingrad (Great Battles) is more than 10 years old now but has held up well. I've bought the various versions of IL-2 going back more than 20 years. One of these days I'll get around to spending time in them. ;)
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: icepac on May 08, 2025, 05:14:28 PM
I remember a Finnish server for IL2 and I played On a russian server shortly before coming to aces high.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 08, 2025, 05:36:08 PM
Youngest son had a girlfriend who moved to the US from Russia when she was 10. Her grandfather was a tail gunner in the IL-2 during WWII.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Dadtallica on May 08, 2025, 06:14:40 PM
Playing the single player IL2 career modes and other missions have helped to improve my A2A skills greatly. Every time I start to fall back into old habits here I make sure to spend a day or two each week doing some IL2 missions. Usually helps right my ship not sure why.
I’m picking up the TA152 for $4!
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Devil 505 on May 08, 2025, 07:41:53 PM
I've been playing it for a while. Wish AH looked this good.
While it looks good. I still don't think many can handle the complexity of AH plane choice and being in an arena thats "not fair" regarding plane choice. It make AH main arena very unique. Il2 still doesn't provide the same war strategy concept that AH does.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Spikes on May 08, 2025, 08:56:51 PM
How is AH "not fair"? You can fly whatever plane you want, having an unequal matchup is a product of your own choices.
Also, likewise, I doubt the vast majority here could handle IL2s flight model complexity. You can't just firewall the throttle the entire sortie without blowing your engine up.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 08, 2025, 09:04:05 PM
Variety is the spice....
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Animl-AW on May 09, 2025, 08:30:39 AM
You should do that
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Animl-AW on May 09, 2025, 08:42:25 AM
Ya I look at that last week
Saw coding notes in Russian Too much scripting Too much AI Questionable FM, like missing torque
Pattern has been, the better the graphics the less fun. Everyone is into the graphics and engine management over game play.
No one is nailing the whole picture.
Now if they had a massive multiplayer arena I’d be there the next day. They don’t so….it would just be a time killer with eye candy for me.
Nomads looking for a home replacement that isn’t there
Kinda like Irish Setter bouncing from yard to yard digging holes looking for a bone that isn’t there.
Yet, end up here to converse about it.
I also see blooming jack if all trades, masters of none.
I’m here until the rest pull their heads out of their butts. If not <shrug> I’ll go play golf with the rest.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: DmonSlyr on May 09, 2025, 11:16:26 AM
How is AH "not fair"? You can fly whatever plane you want, having an unequal matchup is a product of your own choices.
Also, likewise, I doubt the vast majority here could handle IL2s flight model complexity. You can't just firewall the throttle the entire sortie without blowing your engine up.
Well my point was that if you don't choose the best late war plane in AH, your automatically at a unfair position relatively speaking. Where as these other games are AVA in the same time frame so everything is more relative. That being said, In furball situations, the allied (P51s and P47s) are generally at a disadvantage because they weren't designed for furballing really. But I find that many have probably left AH becasue it's quite the challenge having to fight against better planes (if you dont chose to fly them, and then being ganged by them.) On top of having to fight all axis and allied planes at the same time.
My biggest issues with IL2 and DCS multi-player right now is there is no action on the map and it makes it very tough to find where the action/fight is. And then it's no icons so I have to go blind trying to figure out which one is friendly vs enemy in the furball. By that time my SA is already compromised. Something I'm still getting use to. I stare at a computer all day so staring more at planes with no icons is tough for me.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Dadtallica on May 09, 2025, 11:24:20 AM
There is no way Animl doesn’t play IL2.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Shane on May 09, 2025, 12:49:00 PM
My biggest issues with IL2 and DCS multi-player right now is there is no action on the map and it makes it very tough to find where the action/fight is. And then it's no icons so I have to go blind trying to figure out which one is friendly vs enemy in the furball. By that time my SA is already compromised. Something I'm still getting use to. I stare at a computer all day so staring more at planes with no icons is tough for me.
This right here has to be a big disincentive to players who are:
a) capable of handling a fm from whatever modeling engine b) looking for fun action vs live opponents, not offline missions
It seems to be more work than play.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Animl-AW on May 09, 2025, 01:03:29 PM
This right here has to be a big disincentive to players who are:
a) capable of handling a fm from whatever modeling engine b) looking for fun action vs live opponents, not offline missions
It seems to be more work than play.
Agreed
Not as bad as DCS, but as Allan Watts says “…it’s all wretch and no vomit”.
Some like watching pretty fireworks, I like firing them off.
I guess as an absolute, no way out, last resort, I guess I’d play golf and in a pretty golf course. But, giving money to a Russian company seems like voodoo.
DCS does ZERO for me for over 20 yrs now. Its not new.
A shame we’re in suspended animation quagmire. <shrug> don’t tip a bad waitress.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Leisure on May 09, 2025, 01:32:48 PM
My biggest issues with IL2 and DCS multi-player right now is there is no action on the map and it makes it very tough to find where the action/fight is. And then it's no icons so I have to go blind trying to figure out which one is friendly vs enemy in the furball. By that time my SA is already compromised. Something I'm still getting use to. I stare at a computer all day so staring more at planes with no icons is tough for me.
I haven't tried the newer IL-2 stuff but is it not an option to build your own server any longer? If it is possible, maybe a server with icons, all the micro management stuff toned down or turned off with settings similar to AH maybe? I don't know. I know I do prefer to find battles, not have to micro manage everything.....although, I think it'd be cool if you couldn't fly around all day with the throttle at 100%. Anyhow, point being, maybe there's a way to get something similar to what we have here with a server and settings.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Dadtallica on May 09, 2025, 01:39:41 PM
I’ve never played IL2 online I just do the single player.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Animl-AW on May 09, 2025, 02:04:09 PM
I’ve never played IL2 online I just do the single player.
When AW came out with MMP arena it was a step forward in gaming/sims, because all games seemed single player at the time. It was new and impressive, hook in mouth.
I view AI as a step backwards. I didn’t even like the AW C-47 drones. I don’t care for the 2 buff drones, I miss B-17 Death Stars.
I’m not going to step backwards and like it too.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: horble on May 09, 2025, 02:05:18 PM
I tried a long time ago and had a hell of a time getting my snap views set up the way I wanted, I guess they figure everyone’s moved on to Trackir/VR or I’m just bad at setting things up. I’ve always appreciated AH’s low cost/equipment barrier for entry.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 09, 2025, 02:37:29 PM
Not sure about every version of IL-2 but at least some have snap views.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Spikes on May 09, 2025, 02:38:29 PM
My biggest issues with IL2 and DCS multi-player right now is there is no action on the map and it makes it very tough to find where the action/fight is. And then it's no icons so I have to go blind trying to figure out which one is friendly vs enemy in the furball. By that time my SA is already compromised. Something I'm still getting use to. I stare at a computer all day so staring more at planes with no icons is tough for me.
I don't disagree there. No icons is kind of unfortunate and worse as a VR player with an entry level headset. It's very difficult to ID planes and often can't tell until you're at the merge with them. My only wish for Combat Box is to have some sort of icon that identifies friendly or enemy. Like, all I want is a blue dot over a plane so I can tell that guy's on my team. The game does tell you when certain targets are being attacked, and when enemies are close to airfields, that appears on the map. But there is no AWACS radar like Aces High. Actually, I take that back as some setups have the A-20 or Ju 88 with literal radar onboard that you can fly around and provide dot-dar for your team.
I haven't tried the newer IL-2 stuff but is it not an option to build your own server any longer? If it is possible, maybe a server with icons, all the micro management stuff toned down or turned off with settings similar to AH maybe? I don't know. I know I do prefer to find battles, not have to micro manage everything.....although, I think it'd be cool if you couldn't fly around all day with the throttle at 100%. Anyhow, point being, maybe there's a way to get something similar to what we have here with a server and settings.
Yes it's quite easy to host a private server (I do). Though, the mission/server editor is a different story. I've yet to dive into it much. I don't believe the icon system is very intuitive, at least not like all the various options we have with AH. As far as I know they're just sort of 'on' or 'off' and the icons in IL2 aren't great to be honest. Like I said above, I'd prefer just an option to put a little dot over a plane to denote friendly or enemy.
It's a bit different from AH in that you can't look at the map, find 20 red dots, and take off from that field. But, anyone who says they can't find a fight in IL2 has clearly never played in one of the popular Multiplayer servers like Combat Box. And yes - having to deal with some minimal engine management is an intriguing concept and is a nice breath of fresh air from the relative braindead gameplay of AH (that being auto-climb, full throttle all the time, etc, etc).
I tried a long time ago and had a hell of a time getting my snap views set up the way I wanted, I guess they figure everyone’s moved on to Trackir/VR or I’m just bad at setting things up. I’ve always appreciated AH’s low cost/equipment barrier for entry.
I found the view system to be not great but I also utilize the F8/pan function heavily in AH and that isn't really an option in IL2 as you need to cycle through the view options to reset it. I fly IL2 exclusively in VR which has its own issues (as stated above).
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 09, 2025, 04:13:56 PM
Web cams can be had for cheap and head tracking software is free. Makes any flight sim better.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Devil 505 on May 09, 2025, 04:30:48 PM
I tried a long time ago and had a hell of a time getting my snap views set up the way I wanted, I guess they figure everyone’s moved on to Trackir/VR or I’m just bad at setting things up. I’ve always appreciated AH’s low cost/equipment barrier for entry.
I use a hat for snap views in IL-2. Very similar to AH with three notable differences. Two good, one bad.
Good #1. When configuring your head position for a specific view, you can use the mouse to get a custom angle for that specific hat position. Let's say you want your 3 O'clock view to really be centered at 4 O'clock. you can do that. In AH, 3 O'clock is always 90 degrees to the right,
Good #2. You can have a different level of zoom on each head position. For example, I have a button set as a "look down" modifier to give me view angles to the low 1,4,7, and 11 positions. Since looking down onto the wing is useless, I set the 3 and 9 hat positions with "look down" also pressed into zoomed 3 and 9 views on the horizontal. I do the same for "Down + 12 hat" for a zoom over the nose to aid in spotting.
Bad. Saving a 6 O'clock view also saves which "shoulder" that view looks over. You can use the mouse to set whichever side you want saved, but 6 hat will always be from that side. Rotating from 5-7 across the 6 will force the view to snap around through the forward positions to get to the opposite shoulder. For example, if your 6 hat is saved for a right shoulder view to 6 O'clock, you will transition from 5 to 6 without issue, but 7 to 6 will always rotate around the front. Vice versa if 6 hat is saved to the left. More realistic than AH's "Linda Blair" views, but much more annoying because you WILL lose sight of enemies crossing behind you.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: horble on May 09, 2025, 05:40:35 PM
I found the view system to be not great but I also utilize the F8/pan function heavily in AH and that isn't really an option in IL2 as you need to cycle through the view options to reset it. I fly IL2 exclusively in VR which has its own issues (as stated above).
I've never really messed around with pan views but having to cycle through stuff would definitely drive me nuts.
I use a hat for snap views in IL-2. Very similar to AH with three notable differences. Two good, one bad.
Good #1. When configuring your head position for a specific view, you can use the mouse to get a custom angle for that specific hat position. Let's say you want your 3 O'clock view to really be centered at 4 O'clock. you can do that. In AH, 3 O'clock is always 90 degrees to the right,
Good #2. You can have a different level of zoom on each head position. For example, I have a button set as a "look down" modifier to give me view angles to the low 1,4,7, and 11 positions. Since looking down onto the wing is useless, I set the 3 and 9 hat positions with "look down" also pressed into zoomed 3 and 9 views on the horizontal. I do the same for "Down + 12 hat" for a zoom over the nose to aid in spotting.
Bad. Saving a 6 O'clock view also saves which "shoulder" that view looks over. You can use the mouse to set whichever side you want saved, but 6 hat will always be from that side. Rotating from 5-7 across the 6 will force the view to snap around through the forward positions to get to the opposite shoulder. For example, if your 6 hat is saved for a right shoulder view to 6 O'clock, you will transition from 5 to 6 without issue, but 7 to 6 will always rotate around the front. Vice versa if 6 hat is saved to the left. More realistic than AH's "Linda Blair" views, but much more annoying because you WILL lose sight of enemies crossing behind you.
Good to know! It's been a long time but I remember messing around with views forever messing with that stuff only to get into a fight and miss several chances to fire at an enemy because I was trying to make sure they WERE an enemy only to be shot down by a friendly who couldn't be bothered to check. I'll have to give it another go sometime.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: xanax on May 09, 2025, 11:26:00 PM
IL-2 1946's work exactly how I like them, and I still play that game because it's great (even better after you download 90 gigs of mods).
Yeah, it's great with all the mods. Hell, I even like the graphics. However, I was adding some skins recently and screwed my entire build up. I'm in the middle of reinstalling everything currently. Damn, I had all my controls and stuff mapped perfectly.
Some dudes are working on CLOD and it's pretty good too.
None of them match AH for me but it's good to have something to fall back on I suppose.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Prayer on May 09, 2025, 11:57:49 PM
If IL-2 had the numbers of online players when AH was in its prime id take the time to learn it. Sad numbers are fading here, sad. Hope a new sim shows up worth playing or AH gets the love it needs
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: hazmatt on May 10, 2025, 01:08:36 PM
Playing the single player IL2 career modes and other missions have helped to improve my A2A skills greatly. Every time I start to fall back into old habits here I make sure to spend a day or two each week doing some IL2 missions. Usually helps right my ship not sure why.
I’m picking up the TA152 for $4!
I bought the 152 when it first came out. I really liked it.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: hazmatt on May 10, 2025, 01:13:43 PM
How is AH "not fair"? You can fly whatever plane you want, having an unequal matchup is a product of your own choices.
Also, likewise, I doubt the vast majority here could handle IL2s flight model complexity. You can't just firewall the throttle the entire sortie without blowing your engine up.
Some of the planes in IL2 are downright difficult to manage the complexities of for sure. I try to stick with plane with more automation as I can destroy the engines in some of the others while still in sight of the airfield :(
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: hazmatt on May 10, 2025, 01:17:04 PM
Well my point was that if you don't choose the best late war plane in AH, your automatically at a unfair position relatively speaking. Where as these other games are AVA in the same time frame so everything is more relative. That being said, In furball situations, the allied (P51s and P47s) are generally at a disadvantage because they weren't designed for furballing really. But I find that many have probably left AH becasue it's quite the challenge having to fight against better planes (if you dont chose to fly them, and then being ganged by them.) On top of having to fight all axis and allied planes at the same time.
My biggest issues with IL2 and DCS multi-player right now is there is no action on the map and it makes it very tough to find where the action/fight is. And then it's no icons so I have to go blind trying to figure out which one is friendly vs enemy in the furball. By that time my SA is already compromised. Something I'm still getting use to. I stare at a computer all day so staring more at planes with no icons is tough for me.
In IL2 and WT sim I look for contrails tracers or wingtip vorticies :)
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: hazmatt on May 10, 2025, 01:19:20 PM
I haven't tried the newer IL-2 stuff but is it not an option to build your own server any longer? If it is possible, maybe a server with icons, all the micro management stuff toned down or turned off with settings similar to AH maybe? I don't know. I know I do prefer to find battles, not have to micro manage everything.....although, I think it'd be cool if you couldn't fly around all day with the throttle at 100%. Anyhow, point being, maybe there's a way to get something similar to what we have here with a server and settings.
You can still host your own server with a dedicated server account. (free for the asking)
There are server that you can fly on that do have icons.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 10, 2025, 01:54:31 PM
Yeah, it's great with all the mods. Hell, I even like the graphics. However, I was adding some skins recently and screwed my entire build up. I'm in the middle of reinstalling everything currently. Damn, I had all my controls and stuff mapped perfectly.
Some dudes are working on CLOD and it's pretty good too.
None of them match AH for me but it's good to have something to fall back on I suppose.
The new BAT mod update broke 46. I haven’t gone back to fix it yet.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Eagler on May 11, 2025, 07:33:00 AM
Though the two - il2 and dcs - have better graphics than AH I see planes/bogies worse in both in vr which makes them much less enjoyable imo
Eagler
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Shane on May 11, 2025, 08:17:39 AM
Though the two - il2 and dcs - have better graphics than AH I see planes/bogies worse in both in vr which makes them much less enjoyable imo
Eagler
I never totally understood why combat flight sims expect us to play like we're legally blind in the name of "realism." My r/l fov exceeds even the size of the monitor in front of them.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Devil 505 on May 11, 2025, 09:00:50 AM
I never totally understood why combat flight sims expect us to play like we're legally blind in the name of "realism." My r/l fov exceeds even the size of the monitor in front of them.
I agree.
I hate the elitism present overall in those player bases in regards to "realism". They can all STFU unless they are playing on full fidelity sim pits with motion control seats in a projector dome. If I can't learn to fly the real plane using their rig, they're still just playing a game.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: xanax on May 11, 2025, 10:30:19 AM
The new BAT mod update broke 46. I haven’t gone back to fix it yet.
Yeah, My BAT on top of 46 is what's broke for me. I deleted the whole thing in disgust after trying to fix. I'll give it another try when I get really bored.
I will say that it's quite a compelling game when it's working. The gameplay and graphics are really good despite their age. Folks are really making nice efforts to keep 1946 going.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: DmonSlyr on May 11, 2025, 11:38:04 AM
I hate the elitism present overall in those player bases in regards to "realism". They can all STFU unless they are playing on full fidelity sim pits with motion control seats in a projector dome. If I can't learn to fly the real plane using their rig, they're still just playing a game.
I'm with you there. Its never gonna be "real" unless it's real. You are always at fualt with the games mechanics, flight model, and view restrictions ect. Even the furball situations I've seen on servers aren't realistic. Like, I wouldn't take my P51 into a full on unorganized furball pit. If you want realism, IMO, special events like FSO are the most real because it's mission based, based on real missions and strategic squad operations involved on both sides that creates true engagements. Other games just don't provide that. I don't need an Awacs radar, but I wouldn't mind my plane showing on the radar so I know where I'm at easier, and I wouldn't mind action flashing on the map so I know where the main battle area is. For me, the server based match play just doesn't provide the same war like concept as the MA either. I also agree with Spikes that a little blue or red notch over the plane would be extremely helpful.
I'm also with people in the views. I don't really like using trackir or VR becasue I cannot manage the look behind position to where I want. Like the F4u in AH for example. Just horrible if you cant set your look behind view right. It's so crucial to maintaining sight on the enemy. With no icons its even much harder. Like I'm trying to position my body and head to look at a certain spot and it doesn't give correctly, so that's something that can put you at a disadvantage. I know my hatswitch and views in AH are just like I need them, so it makes no sense to limit myself if I cant get the views I need.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Tumor on May 18, 2025, 04:51:31 PM
I don't need an Awacs radar, but I wouldn't mind my plane showing on the radar so I know where I'm at easier, and I wouldn't mind action flashing on the map so I know where the main battle area is.
That's all there on Combat Box (don't know about other servers)... but not visually. You have to use SRS(for IL2) (Simple Radio Standalone). It's small, simple to use and you can interact with it using voice commands. REALLY improves the game.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: hazmatt on May 18, 2025, 06:03:07 PM
Yeah, My BAT on top of 46 is what's broke for me. I deleted the whole thing in disgust after trying to fix. I'll give it another try when I get really bored.
I will say that it's quite a compelling game when it's working. The gameplay and graphics are really good despite their age. Folks are really making nice efforts to keep 1946 going.
I never installed any mods cause I read somewhere you couldn't play online if you had mods installed. What is this BAT thing you speak of?
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: hazmatt on May 18, 2025, 06:06:07 PM
That's all there on Combat Box (don't know about other servers)... but not visually. You have to use SRS(for IL2) (Simple Radio Standalone). It's small, simple to use and you can interact with it using voice commands. REALLY improves the game.
OH ya! I always use it to get a vector to the nearest friendly base when I get lost. Has saved my butt numerous times.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 18, 2025, 07:10:27 PM
Join the 1950's, we have VOR.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Oldman731 on May 18, 2025, 08:23:47 PM
I never installed any mods cause I read somewhere you couldn't play online if you had mods installed. What is this BAT thing you speak of?
BAT is the most robust mod for 1946. Adds an f-ton of planes, missions, graphics, etc. google “BAT Mod IL2-1946. It’s the most comparable thing to AH for free if you own 46. Check out the YouTube page for an old AH player. His videos will walk you through the mod install and he has really good 1946 videos almost weekly. Tried to get him to join the MOTA but he said his AH days were over. Would be cool if we could get him back his videos are really good.
This video was for the last mod before the most recent update. I assume the install would be the same. I haven’t reinstalled it yet.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: hazmatt on May 19, 2025, 04:11:08 AM
Cool. Thanks for the video. I skipped around a bit so I didn't get the details on what exactly was new other then he seemed very impressed with the ships lolz.
I need to get back to it but I've been too busy with other games lately.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Dadtallica on May 19, 2025, 02:51:24 PM
Cool. Thanks for the video. I skipped around a bit so I didn't get the details on what exactly was new other then he seemed very impressed with the ships lolz.
I need to get back to it but I've been too busy with other games lately.
That’s not the video for the most up to date BAT mod. It was updated a few morbid ago. The video above was to install the previous version.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Mayhem on May 29, 2025, 01:42:45 PM
How those numbers working as of late? Are the sides Balanced? Is ENY working?
It sure helped me loose interest in the game, I stopped playing, and finally canceled my subscription.
One less player in the game, Hope that helped balance things out for ya. :D
Still doesn't change the fact that with ENY You cannot "fly whatever plane you want".
Yes ENY works, as the Knights were logging off ENY kept climbing for us Bish making it harder and harder to get enough ord on target to get our bases back.
What I would like to see.....
Is the ENY tables reworked for the planes/GVs. Some of those numbers are pretty wonky both in earning and using.
ENY reworked so you can use PERKs to buy those planes being hit by ENY up to 10%. Anything over you have full ENY hits like we have now.
PERKs reset every tour. This way if you want to use PERKS first you have to earn them. I would think the "war won" PERKs would become more valuable making players stick it out longer to get them. Also you may see a better variety of planes being used as people try to earn PERKs quicker but using something other than late war monsters. Speaking of late war monsters, youd see less temps and 262s in the air. No more players having 10s of thousands of PERKs in the bank being able to upset the balance in the game any time they wanted.
Just a thought.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Mayhem on May 30, 2025, 02:29:08 PM
We have been rehashing this old BS since ENY was put in place 2 decades ago.
We all know that there are limits to side changing, especially if you're flying with your squad and/or friends, even the Auto Changer doesn't take that into account. Be nice if it could move you as a group but it doesn't.
I would fly FSO and then drop into the MA with Drano and J0ker. We would be able to fly for about 15-20 minutes until most of (Sometimes even all of) the F4Us and P38s got locked out by ENY. We would change side and 15-30 minutes later the same problem would rear it's ugly head, Planes would get locked out due to side balance. Can't change sides again due to the lock out and with auto changer there was no way we could stay together. At most I would stay in for an hour maybe two before rage quitting and firing up DCS, IL2, or even Fallout 4.
Just uncapping side swaps or making the timer more reasonable like 1 change per half hour probably would have fixed this mess, but way to many people cried about Spying and CV manipulation. Meanwhile some shmuck is live steaming the map from his shade account to YouTube for his friends.
Sorry not worth $14.99/month so instead of changing sides, I just changed games!
I only subscribed for 2 years in the 2010s (Flown more in the 2000s and 2020s), so not playing for that 8 years saved me $ 1,439.04 (8*12*14.99) that savings paid for all my DCS modules all My IL2 games and even left with with enough money left over to buy a custom 3 axis trim controller and custom F-18 UFC.
ENY has been a contributing factor every time I left and stopped subscribing. I bet ENY has chased away more customers than even good old Jon Ray ever could.
ENY sucks, Aces High has been bleeding customers for well over a decade and even mandatory quarantines didn't really help. It can't draw in new players while crapo mechanics like ENY are driving away existing customers/players while the remaining customer still complain about side imbalances that ENY didn't fix.
Enjoy!
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Lusche on May 30, 2025, 02:49:58 PM
How those numbers working as of late? Are the sides Balanced? Is ENY working?
ENY wasn't supposed to even the sides by numbers. It was meant as an incentive to switch, but hardly anyone expected to balance the plain numbers. It's a handicap for the side with too many players.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Eagler on May 30, 2025, 02:57:29 PM
ENY has never affected my game play..
Being stuck on the 3rd side where the other two sides only battle themselves has..
Not enough numbers for 3 sides anymore imo..
Eagler
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Mayhem on May 30, 2025, 03:03:35 PM
ENY wasn't supposed to even the sides by numbers. It was meant as an incentive to switch, but hardly anyone expected to balance the plain numbers. It's a handicap for the side with too many players.
ENY would probably work a heck of a lot better at getting people to switch sides (Especially in groups) if HTC just removed the lock out or reduced it to 1 hour or less. But I've been preaching that now for over 2 decades.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Devil 505 on May 30, 2025, 03:20:46 PM
We have been rehashing this old BS since ENY was put in place 2 decades ago.
We all know that there are limits to side changing, especially if you're flying with your squad and/or friends, even the Auto Changer doesn't take that into account. Be nice if it could move you as a group but it doesn't.
I would fly FSO and then drop into the MA with Drano and J0ker. We would be able to fly for about 15-20 minutes until most of (Sometimes even all of) the F4Us and P38s got locked out by ENY. We would change side and 15-30 minutes later the same problem would rear it's ugly head, Planes would get locked out due to side balance. Can't change sides again due to the lock out and with auto changer there was no way we could stay together. At most I would stay in for an hour maybe two before rage quitting and firing up DCS, IL2, or even Fallout 4.
Just uncapping side swaps or making the timer more reasonable like 1 change per half hour probably would have fixed this mess, but way to many people cried about Spying and CV manipulation. Meanwhile some shmuck is live steaming the map from his shade account to YouTube for his friends.
Sorry not worth $14.99/month so instead of changing sides, I just changed games!
I only subscribed for 2 years in the 2010s (Flown more in the 2000s and 2020s), so not playing for that 8 years saved me $ 1,439.04 (8*12*14.99) that savings paid for all my DCS modules all My IL2 games and even left with with enough money left over to buy a custom 3 axis trim controller and custom F-18 UFC.
ENY has been a contributing factor every time I left and stopped subscribing. I bet ENY has chased away more customers than even good old Jon Ray ever could.
ENY sucks, Aces High has been bleeding customers for well over a decade and even mandatory quarantines didn't really help. It can't draw in new players while crapo mechanics like ENY are driving away existing customers/players while the remaining customer still complain about side imbalances that ENY didn't fix.
Enjoy!
All that illustrates are the problems with the side switching mechanics, not ENY. ENY works as intended, mostly. Some planes need a hefty value adjustment.
But you can't claim that the plane you want isn't available at all times. It you want the plane bad enough. Switch sides. It's there just waiting for you.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Devil 505 on May 30, 2025, 03:25:25 PM
Playing the devil's advocate fore a moment: You can only change sides every six hours, and ENY is swinging wildly these days. :noid
You're preaching to the choir here. I've been against anything over a 1 hour switch limit since it was changed over a decade ago.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Mayhem on May 30, 2025, 03:29:14 PM
Eagler,
Sorry for Hijacking your thread here ... Shuffler made me dot it! :D
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: AKIron on May 30, 2025, 05:42:15 PM
There's no free lunch Buttercup. Anyone who tells you different is trying to sell you something.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: DmonSlyr on May 30, 2025, 09:55:15 PM
3 hours is the better side switch time compromise for the current #s.
Problem with the auto assignment based on #s is most of the time to get stuck on the side with no action. That's why I stopped doing it. I also got irritated if it auto assigned me during the middle of a good fight.
The fog of war is all but gone in AH, but the fights can still be a lot of fun when the battles pick up between bases.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: RUSH1 on May 30, 2025, 10:18:42 PM
The fog of war is all but gone in AH, but the fights can still be a lot of fun when the battles pick up between bases.
Yet, the grunts aren't supported while trying to take a base. This, and guys seeing through mountains is why I left this toejamshow. No one's on the same page ...
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Eagler on May 31, 2025, 06:52:32 AM
Last night started auto assign as a rook..great battle with bishops..
Couple sorties into it and it auto assigned me to knights and zero fights..
A sortie later I manually switched back to rooks to get a decent fight for my time remaining..
Again we don't have the numbers to support a 3 sided war..
Eagler
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: caldera on May 31, 2025, 08:18:36 AM
ENY would probably work a heck of a lot better at getting people to switch sides (Especially in groups) if HTC just removed the lock out or reduced it to 1 hour or less. But I've been preaching that now for over 2 decades.
Last night started auto assign as a rook..great battle with bishops..
Couple sorties into it and it auto assigned me to knights and zero fights..
A sortie later I manually switched back to rooks to get a decent fight for my time remaining.. Again we don't have the numbers to support a 3 sided war..
Eagler
:aok
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Shuffler on June 12, 2025, 01:17:16 PM
How those numbers working as of late? Are the sides Balanced? Is ENY working?
It sure helped me loose interest in the game, I stopped playing, and finally canceled my subscription.
One less player in the game, Hope that helped balance things out for ya. :D
Still doesn't change the fact that with ENY You cannot "fly whatever plane you want".
I dont see where blaming the game for players choices helps. The only true way to fix the balance is to place players when they enter. That will not make folks happy either. I have thought long and hard over the issue. I still have nothing better to suggest.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Animl-AW on June 12, 2025, 05:47:35 PM
We have been rehashing this old BS since ENY was put in place 2 decades ago.
We all know that there are limits to side changing, especially if you're flying with your squad and/or friends, even the Auto Changer doesn't take that into account. Be nice if it could move you as a group but it doesn't.
I would fly FSO and then drop into the MA with Drano and J0ker. We would be able to fly for about 15-20 minutes until most of (Sometimes even all of) the F4Us and P38s got locked out by ENY. We would change side and 15-30 minutes later the same problem would rear it's ugly head, Planes would get locked out due to side balance. Can't change sides again due to the lock out and with auto changer there was no way we could stay together. At most I would stay in for an hour maybe two before rage quitting and firing up DCS, IL2, or even Fallout 4.
Just uncapping side swaps or making the timer more reasonable like 1 change per half hour probably would have fixed this mess, but way to many people cried about Spying and CV manipulation. Meanwhile some shmuck is live steaming the map from his shade account to YouTube for his friends.
Sorry not worth $14.99/month so instead of changing sides, I just changed games!
I only subscribed for 2 years in the 2010s (Flown more in the 2000s and 2020s), so not playing for that 8 years saved me $ 1,439.04 (8*12*14.99) that savings paid for all my DCS modules all My IL2 games and even left with with enough money left over to buy a custom 3 axis trim controller and custom F-18 UFC.
ENY has been a contributing factor every time I left and stopped subscribing. I bet ENY has chased away more customers than even good old Jon Ray ever could.
ENY sucks, Aces High has been bleeding customers for well over a decade and even mandatory quarantines didn't really help. It can't draw in new players while crapo mechanics like ENY are driving away existing customers/players while the remaining customer still complain about side imbalances that ENY didn't fix.
Enjoy!
Ahh, Jon Ray (YKW) who he and V was allowed to go after me every day, while I was trying to promote the game, for over a month on bbs,…chasing at least 20 players away. Some had to beg for someone to stop it. Yet a political post gets dumped in 3 min.
Then basically called a nut while replying to a former player nutjob antics garbaging up our front page, giving him what he earned.
Can’t imagine why my ambition got choked off.
Ya, I play the game and make vids as a hobby for me.
I don’t do drugs, but I would try those, mythical flying dragons always amused me.
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Animl-AW on June 12, 2025, 09:21:52 PM
Ya, crickets is what I expected.
Time clock is ticking very loud
Never been treated so badly for contributed work. Not ever, not once, until I came here.
Crap on someone else
Be gone
Title: Re: If it's free..it's for me
Post by: Eagler on June 13, 2025, 07:32:23 AM
MA needs enemy icon range restricted to 1k like it is setup in Thursday Night War (TNW)!!!
It definitely helps dilute the awac dar into a much more enjoyable state..
And why aren't there any air starts on any of the MA maps?
I would think our map makers could place them in spots that would be strategic and fun!
TNW shows there is hope for AH with the proper setup and players!
Thanks for hosting and keeping fun in this game Jaeger1!