General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Eagler on February 03, 2026, 07:03:28 AM
Title: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 03, 2026, 07:03:28 AM
Got an email this morning stating this flight sim had launched...
It looks pretty...
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 03, 2026, 07:27:18 AM
Steam reviews are mostly negative. Complaints about lack of interactive cockpit and apparently some can't be bothered to map their HOTAS. And many are not happy with the graphics.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: The Fugitive on February 03, 2026, 07:28:45 AM
Of the 54 reviews, most are "do not recommend". Looks like its for the "War Thunder" type players.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 03, 2026, 07:33:58 AM
The large majority want it to look real and feel real but not have to deal with the difficulties inherent in reality. If you build that, they will come.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 03, 2026, 08:08:58 AM
Obviously you guys just need training... :joystick:
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: edge12674 on February 03, 2026, 08:26:57 AM
If it stirs up more interest in WWII, so much the better!
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 03, 2026, 08:52:04 AM
They have a very small choice of aircraft, especially compared to AH
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Devil 505 on February 03, 2026, 09:02:07 AM
They have a very small choice of aircraft, especially compared to AH
Maybe at launch, but it's a Gaijin product, so they can just asset flip any War Blunder asset that want into this game.
Hell, War Blunder itself started as an asset flip from their IL-2: Birds of Prey from 2009.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 03, 2026, 09:09:43 AM
Has anybody tried it? I would be interested in a review by somebody from our community who has actually tried it. I for one plan to wait a bit and see as I'm sure they are going to have some bugs to squash and I don't want to be a beta tester.
It also looks like that other then the corsair, the deluxe edition doesn't add much to be competitive online. From the lineup I'm guessing the Yak3 will be popular as I'm guessing it will dominate in pretty much every way except for high speed dives if the flight modeling i anything like War Thunder. I wonder if they have something in place to keep the entire fight from being Yak3s. That would be kinda funny.
It also looks like IL2 Korea is going to be released in the next month or two and combat pilot is still in development. It's nice to see that we're going to have even more choices in the future.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Bolt on February 03, 2026, 10:26:59 AM
Will the game have consistent upgrades? dedicated devs?
Easy enough to fake just by adding existing planes from War Thunder.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Lusche on February 03, 2026, 09:57:35 PM
An interesting review in this reddit thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/hoggit/comments/1quo8vp/new_flight_simgame_aces_of_thunder_released_today/), which goes a bit more in-depth than just "it sucks, man":
Quote
I played it just after launch. It is surprisingly bad. I played in flatscreen, and a friend played in VR while streaming, so I got a decent overview of both experiences
1. The VR interface is so bad that I cannot believe an actual human designed it. All menus are attached to your left hand, and wobble around horrendously while you're desperately trying to click on tiny buttons with your pointer on the right hand, and there's no way to see if you're even close to being able to click a button. This is not a VR game. You can't navigate the menus using your stick controls. I was breaking down in tears of laughter watching my friend struggling to navigate the menus futilely trying to click on literally anything 2. The default control bindings for a controller are unworkable, and the controls menu is unintuitive at best 3. The graphics are surprisingly bad. It suffers from modern-game-engine-itus where everything is run through multiple layers of blurs and sharpening, with no way to turn it off. In 1080p, much of the cockpit text is completely unreadable in flatscreen. In VR, the graphics aren't great, and apparently its kind of stuttery as well on my friends vr rig. The flatscreen version has regular large stutters, but its not too bad 4. It lacks any good edge smoothing options. MSAA is normally considered mandatory in VR games, and this only supports FXAA, TAA (very badly), or TSR (also quite badly). None of these really work for VR, and apparently this was very noticeable to my friend 5. Apparently the VR controls aren't particularly great, and it'd play better on a controller. The VR aspect seemed like a gimmick according to my friend, its seemingly a flatscreen game with VR support poorly bolted on 6. It lacks any real content currently. There's seemingly only 1 actual gamemode. Its cool, but after a few matches you've basically experienced everything 7. Most of the planes flying around in a match appear to be AI, and the AI is really bad. It can barely operate the planes. I didn't buy a pvp flight sim to do a lot of pve against bad AI which sometimes literally only flies in circles and nothing else 8. The teams are mixed with various faction's planes, which means that the only way to distinguish teams in your immersive no-ui sim is via a very unreliable big blue box that may or may not pop up around friendly planes at random. It works maybe 10% of the time, leading to a lot of confusion. Its such a bizarre addition to a game which has a firm rule of no-ui otherwise
All in all its a surprisingly hot mess which feels like a very cheap warthunder spinoff, that lacks any meaningful content. It clearly wasn't run past someone that's played a videogame before. I suspect probably have almost no players within 3-4 weeks before quietly being abandoned
Also I have read that headtracking is not even in yet.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 03, 2026, 10:57:55 PM
Here's what is happening These new engines allow turn-key game makers. Like Unreal, you don't need to know how to make an object or model, you don't need to know how to program anything but a GUI. The rest is just making settings.
We loathed this with passion in live sound with the new younger guys. You barely got the job only based on you could program a digital console, instead of know how to route cabling, better yet PROVE you have an ear. These guys can't wire a light bulb, but they made the console so turn-key that any inexperienced monkey can operate it. Hence we started getting a LOT of seriously BAD engineers, I can't even call them engineers, I call them operators. "look what I can do with this" Ya but it sounds like sht. 'Ya but look what I can do with it".
Same thing here. They made it so easy to make a game you're going to see a lot of bogus games pop. Graphics will be good, everyone will have em,...but the game is not well thought-out. It's not ready for prime time at all.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: SAJ73 on February 04, 2026, 02:09:48 AM
Here's what is happening These new engines allow turn-key game makers. Like Unreal, you don't need to know how to make an object or model, you don't need to know how to program anything but a GUI. The rest is just making settings.
We loathed this with passion in live sound with the new younger guys. You barely got the job only based on you could program a digital console, instead of know how to route cabling, better yet PROVE you have an ear. These guys can't wire a light bulb, but they made the console so turn-key that any inexperienced monkey can operate it. Hence we started getting a LOT of seriously BAD engineers, I can't even call them engineers, I call them operators. "look what I can do with this" Ya but it sounds like sht. 'Ya but look what I can do with it".
Same thing here. They made it so easy to make a game you're going to see a lot of bogus games pop. Graphics will be good, everyone will have em,...but the game is not well thought-out. It's not ready for prime time at all.
Yes, I tried it. After much noodling to get my HOTAS set up, back and forth probably 30 times between testflight and settings. Key bindings seemed to fail to get binded if I set too many at once. Maybe 3 of 6 bindings worked, next attempt I lost one or two that I had already set. Trottle was the main problem, it would not work properly at all any of the times. And views, non existent.. Only view I found was a button on my joystick I had not set, it made me look down inside the cocpit. Track IR-non existent. So I got to fly around a little bit, looking only straight forward. On full trottle only, plane behaved a bit easy mode. I shot diwn a drone, it looked realistic, some wing parts came off, smoke, he went down and left a big bonfire on the ground. But according to the developer Track IR is not available, yet anyway. So I won't be hopping over there until they get that sorted, and the controls-issues. I am excited to test it out more, but no point without Track IR. The game looks promising, if they sort out some issues so it gets playable. Graphics are pretty nice I think, but it does not matter if it is impossible to play. Hopefully they will work on sorting these issues within reasonable time, if not I think this game will be a flop.
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Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: SAJ73 on February 04, 2026, 02:14:33 AM
I was actually trying to quote Hazmatt, but somehow my phone must have scrolled down the page.. ? Anyway, this was my preview of Aces Of Thunder..
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Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 04, 2026, 08:15:39 AM
Seems odd that the publisher would release it in this condition. You only get one chance to make a first impression.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: SAJ73 on February 04, 2026, 09:58:50 AM
Seems odd that the publisher would release it in this condition. You only get one chance to make a first impression.
I absolutely agree, it seems very odd. It is like releasing a new super looking smartphone without the ability to swipe or scroll anything. That feature will be in the later updates, maybe..
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Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: CptTrips on February 04, 2026, 10:27:07 AM
Seems odd that the publisher would release it in this condition. You only get one chance to make a first impression.
Does it support HOTAS? ( guess it does...)
I have never liked flying with VR controllers.
I'll try it after the first big patch. ;) I'm sure they'll tighten it up. It might be fun for light entertainment.
Sadly, I think think it should have been HTC's Pacific War getting this attention. I just didn't understand their design approach on that.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 04, 2026, 10:55:55 AM
I tried VR control of aircraft with the first Oculus long ago. Hands floating in the air just doesn't work for me. Look anywhere except straight ahead and you lose track of what your hands are doing. For precision control anyhow.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 04, 2026, 11:09:06 AM
Never understood the need to have switches and buttons active on the cockpit dash as 98% of what's really important happens outside of the cockpit...it doesn't have to be pretty for me as I don't sit and stare at it..
To call it "realism" is a joke imo..without g forces you can't get close to being realistic..anything besides that is just noise ..
No way will floating hands w/active dash beat a decent pilot with a fully programmed hotas..
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 04, 2026, 11:22:03 AM
Well, realism may mean something different to some but to me it means mimicking reality. Nothing else. I've always enjoyed games but when computers came along simulating reality grew to become more important to me than the game. More so with age for me.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 04, 2026, 11:27:30 AM
Watch videos of people flying real planes. You'll often see them making constant adjustments when on final. I've flown real planes, only about 40 hours logged, but you make those adjustments based more on feel than visual. You're never going to get that fully with only visual feedback, whether a monitor or 3D VR. A good motion platform can come effectively close but is very limited in producing g forces. But, you can simulate much else.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 04, 2026, 06:05:55 PM
Seems odd that the publisher would release it in this condition. You only get one chance to make a first impression.
DING! DING! We have a winner!
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 04, 2026, 06:11:37 PM
I dunno, it just has more a feel for non-enthusiast, more for simple gaming, not what I would call a sim. Combat Pilot is more promising than this, even if a cpl yrs out.
Good to see WWII games out, but I think some who spent time in decent sims won't cling to this. It just smells like a WT.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKKuya on February 04, 2026, 06:29:15 PM
Back in the 80s, the video arcade ruled the roost at the mall. Afterburner debuted in the latter part of the decade with a seated version and the yoke between your legs. It was the greatest video game to play for several years. It wasn't realistic at all. It was the best fantasy flight game to drop your quarters in. It was an aerial first-person shooter game.
In the 90s. G-LOC was the replacement upgrade version. This had the pipper to get tone and fire your missiles. It had better graphics and flight sim. It followed a pre-programmed flight path.
They were arcade games.
One day, they will merge the independent arcade game with the internet. Thousands of players fighting in the same virtual space.
Why not create a WW2 arcade game? That's competition.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Lazerr on February 04, 2026, 06:36:06 PM
I dunno, it just has more a feel for non-enthusiast, more for simple gaming, not what I would call a sim. Combat Pilot is more promising than this, even if a cpl yrs out.
Good to see WWII games out, but I think some who spent time in decent sims won't cling to this. It just smells like a WT.
What decent sims are you referring to? This should be good.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 05, 2026, 07:46:15 AM
Besides instructor flyboy looking for likes and views I don't think anyone is happy with the release..
It does show the issue with AH...if they have an aneurysm over one time $30 payment, $15 a month is not in the cards..
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: CptTrips on February 05, 2026, 09:19:29 AM
[It does show the issue with AH...if they have an aneurysm over one time $30 payment, $15 a month is not in the cards..
Exactly.
Netflix would never justify a monthly subscription if they weren't adding new content constantly. They could argue, well you pay the monthly to access the same movies we do have. That wouldn't fly.
People don't like subscriptions generally. It's not an impossible sale, but very hard. To justify a month subscription in the current market, you'd need better graphics and constant stream of new content. You can then make the argument that you pay a subscription instead of a fixed one time cost because the game is constantly being added to, so the subscription pays for the ongoing development.
People might fund an on-going project that still has surprises coming to look forward to. People might pay for on-going visible constant innovation. Asking people to merely pay perpetual rent for a game that hasn't meaningfully been improved in almost a decade is a much harder sell. Yeah, I know, it's only 50¢ a day!
IMHO, which I cannot prove, is a lot of enthusiasm started leaking out of the community when Tour of Duty was canceled. Seems to me, that at this point Tour of Duty is something HT could almost do himself. Improving the AI\ME and building out a career mode back-end. Even with the current planeset. Ancillary graphics needed to polish the UI could be community donated. But please, prototype and take community feedback on the UI.
YMMV
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 05, 2026, 07:56:29 PM
Yes, I tried it. After much noodling to get my HOTAS set up, back and forth probably 30 times between testflight and settings. Key bindings seemed to fail to get binded if I set too many at once. Maybe 3 of 6 bindings worked, next attempt I lost one or two that I had already set. Trottle was the main problem, it would not work properly at all any of the times. And views, non existent.. Only view I found was a button on my joystick I had not set, it made me look down inside the cocpit. Track IR-non existent. So I got to fly around a little bit, looking only straight forward. On full trottle only, plane behaved a bit easy mode. I shot diwn a drone, it looked realistic, some wing parts came off, smoke, he went down and left a big bonfire on the ground. But according to the developer Track IR is not available, yet anyway. So I won't be hopping over there until they get that sorted, and the controls-issues. I am excited to test it out more, but no point without Track IR. The game looks promising, if they sort out some issues so it gets playable. Graphics are pretty nice I think, but it does not matter if it is impossible to play. Hopefully they will work on sorting these issues within reasonable time, if not I think this game will be a flop.
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Thank for sharing that. I was suspect of it when it was delayed every time it's release date got close. You would think that a company of that size would have a little more polish on it if it was a turd. Think I'm gonna pass on it for now. I'm having more fun now that I've learned a bit about slinging and dodging the early model missiles.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: SAJ73 on February 05, 2026, 11:03:17 PM
I fiddled some more with the settings and got the trottle working, so I could finally fly the plane using my HOTAS. Still no Track IR and still only straight forward views, as I have not figured out the views yet. But the graphics are quite good, and the plane does not behave terribly bad. I managed to shoot a few planes down, bomber drones firing back. And they were quite a challenge, especially when I lost sight of them behind me because they were manouvering. As I could only look straight forward as mentioned..
Also I found some zeppeliners I could shoot at. And that was really satisfying to watch the cool graphics of that. It looked really realistic the way they exploded and the way the remaining smoking tarp twirled all the way to the ground.
The terrain or maps I have seen also looks absolutely great, really detailed with villages, farms, roads actually connecting to towns and places. The ships looks great, water, clouds, trees. Everything looks great. Not quite DCS level, but better than IL2 I think. Aces High becomes like Roblox in comparison I'm afraid..
If they get the Track IR in place, and I get my controls mapped and calibrated exactly to my liking I might opt out of the AH sub eventually. If I find this game just as fun or more fun, for sure!
AH is not what it once was, more and more people run from aircombat and engage in fights on 200 channel instead..
Well anyways, I have not used this forum for many years and I will not be a regular in the future either. I just wanted to share my thoughts on this new game one last time.
Cheers.
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Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 05, 2026, 11:52:51 PM
I get a mild kick out of the ignorance of chewing off one's own feet, then complaining about numbers here.
Might as well do whacko politics too
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 06, 2026, 07:19:25 AM
I don't get it ...
How can the game be missing such basic stuff if it's just a spin off of an existing game that already has it...
Thanks for your input thestig
Take a chill pill Animl-AW...
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 06, 2026, 02:09:41 PM
If they get the Track IR in place, and I get my controls mapped and calibrated exactly to my liking
Thanks for the updates. It's great to have someone who has played both games giving us their opinions.
This is interesting as I've read a bunch of reviews on I think it was steam where people struggled to setup their controllers etc in AH3. I'm curious as to how it matches up against War Thunder Sim battles because from what I've seen it looks almost exactly the same.
As you've said I've found the AI gunners to be murderous at close range on the bombers. You really have to stay out of their line of fire or cross through it quickly.
Can you give a little more detail on how the player vs player stuff works? It seems there would be a bunch of Yak3s as they seem to be the most advanced aircraft in the planeset.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: SAJ73 on February 06, 2026, 06:50:36 PM
Thanks for the updates. It's great to have someone who has played both games giving us their opinions.
This is interesting as I've read a bunch of reviews on I think it was steam where people struggled to setup their controllers etc in AH3. I'm curious as to how it matches up against War Thunder Sim battles because from what I've seen it looks almost exactly the same.
As you've said I've found the AI gunners to be murderous at close range on the bombers. You really have to stay out of their line of fire or cross through it quickly.
Can you give a little more detail on how the player vs player stuff works? It seems there would be a bunch of Yak3s as they seem to be the most advanced aircraft in the planeset.
I have not tried the player vs player option, as it would not be possible for me to give a fair review on that anyway. Because I have not been able to figure out how to operate my views,
I would virtually be flying blind with no idea what is happening around me. And that review is bound to be a very bad one I am guessing, so I am staying out of player vs player till I got things set up and properly working.
In best case scenario that would be that the developer gets TrackIR operational. Because that is what I am used to flying with, operating views from the joystick would feel very awkward for me to fly with now.. Not really an option if I am gonna stay in that game.
Or that I invest in a good VR set, once they got VR up and running. But I got other priorities than VR and gaming also, so I think I will rule out VR for now.
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Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 07, 2026, 06:19:16 AM
Vr needs joystick views to work well..
That is where AH shines over all other flight sims..
Other sims force a hack to give some sort of decent 6 view..
Who was smoking crack to release a flight sim without joystick views enabled.. :headscratch:
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: RichardDarkwood on February 07, 2026, 07:29:48 AM
Not to mention the ones not using vr have excellent 6 views in comparison by stick views or trackir or both..
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 07, 2026, 07:53:07 AM
I think you can define and use snap views in DCS in VR.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 07, 2026, 08:02:41 AM
I have a little "hack" I use. If I want to look over my right shoulder, I will look over my left shoulder first and recenter my VR. Then from that point with my VR centered looking left, I will look back to the right, which will make the view rotate more then if it was centered forward. It's not elegant but it helps.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: CptTrips on February 07, 2026, 08:06:38 AM
I think you can define and use snap views in DCS in VR.
I don't use VR anymore but there is something called NeckSafer
I wouldn't call other implementations "hacks" Eagler. In AH VR you can use snap view to turn your head 180deg like Linda Blair and still look around in VR combined.
I loved that feature, but let not start throwing around words like "hacks" unless the criteria applies equally.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 07, 2026, 08:44:16 AM
Necksaver is why the others should just be setup like AH is...
It only came into being as vr users whined about the disadvantage they were at compared to trackir and jstick view users..
Did anyone confirm if the zoom feature can be enabled in this new sim...how do you identify planes without it..
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Spikes on February 07, 2026, 08:50:26 AM
Necksaver is why the others should just be setup like AH is...
Maybe. You do admit it's very realistic. Even in my bendy 20's I couldn't turn my neck 180deg. Well, not twice.
I think from DCS mindset they didn't do it that way because they considered it breaking the realism. Right or wrong, DCS main goal is to create museum grade digital replica's. Sometimes they achieve that goal, sometimes they fail. Like all humans. That's why certain planes don't have an auto pilot. Their philosophy is if there was no copilot and no historical device then that plane shouldn't have otto. I don't always agree with that choice but I understand the logic.
So to use your term, I think DCS didn't do it that way because they would have considered that a "hack". I think it could have been a special option like they have for rudder assist. You could turn it on if it didn't offend you.
Because TrackIR allows you Linda Blair by scaling your inputs so they can't prevent it anyway.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: CptTrips on February 07, 2026, 09:03:22 AM
"a strategy or technique for managing one's time or activities more efficiently"
I'll accept that definition.
In software context, a "hack" (i.e. noun not verb) is most often referring to a sloppy code work-around that shouldn't have to have been necessary except for having avoid a bad design.
I took his tone as the latter, given that his point was the other games didn't design it right the first time and had to use a "hack".
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 07, 2026, 09:35:44 AM
In software context, a "hack" (i.e. noun not verb) is most often referring to a sloppy code work-around that shouldn't have to have been necessary except for having avoid a bad design.
I took his tone as the latter, given that his point was the other games didn't design it right the first time and had to use a "hack".
When I said hack I meant it more along the lines of: "to make use of a tip, trick, or efficient method for doing or managing (something)" [Dictionary.com]
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: CptTrips on February 07, 2026, 10:04:03 AM
When I said hack I meant it more along the lines of: "to make use of a tip, trick, or efficient method for doing or managing (something)" [Dictionary.com]
I accept that definition.
I think DCS will slowly loosen up on that fetish. I think that is culture carry-over from their main military business.
For instance they allowed the Apache reticle be switched to the other eye even though that wasn't realistic. But in the real world customer don't have to pass fitness exams and many have eye problems. So they relented.
I think the planes should be default full realism and then I think they should allow options to account for real-world constraints.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 07, 2026, 11:51:37 AM
Hi Animl-AW
Please feel free not to respond to any of my post as you are now blocked and I won't see you personal attacks and liberal rants going forward..
Have a great life while you single handedly save this game...
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 07, 2026, 01:53:36 PM
I thought I saw icons at certain distances in the vids.
There are icons faintly appearing as you get closer to firing distance, red for enemy and blue for friendly. I think it looks pretty realistic for how you IRL also would need to get closer to actually see what plane you are intending to kill.
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Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Lazerr on February 07, 2026, 03:11:16 PM
Actually.. there are couple thousand rainbow haired freeloaders in New York, Minnesota, and California that probably see eye to eye with you. My mistake.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 07, 2026, 03:19:06 PM
Actually.. there are couple thousand rainbow haired freeloaders in New York, Minnesota, and California that probably see eye to eye with you. My mistake.
Shut it limp wrist magat coward punk Lets see how smart your punk mouth is in person. Punk. Typical magat coward on a pc. In person you per your pants
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Lazerr on February 07, 2026, 03:46:03 PM
Shut it limp wrist magat coward punk Lets see how smart your punk mouth is in person. Punk. Typical magat coward on a pc. In person you per your pants
Ahhhhhh...hahaha.
The words of a guy threatening people in a sim BBS.
Are you and 99crapola sisters? He has the same empty threats to people that dont agree with their sweetheartbaggery. I suppose the empty threats match the empty brain. Logic explained.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 07, 2026, 03:55:01 PM
The words of a guy threatening people in a sim BBS.
Are you and 99crapola sisters? He has the same empty threats to people that dont agree with their sweetheartbaggery. I suppose the empty threats match the empty brain. Logic explained.
In my experience the people that talk the most trash are the ones that cry the quickest when they get punched in the face... lolz.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Meatwad on February 07, 2026, 03:58:00 PM
Typical nutjob. Doesnt get its way so it reverts to violence. Sounds like one of the insurrectionists in minnesota
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: SAJ73 on February 07, 2026, 11:14:58 PM
I thought I saw icons at certain distances in the vids.
I have to correct myself. No icons on enemy planes, only a blue diamond appearing above friendlies once you get within a plane-reconizeable distance.. I mixed it up with IL2 icons.
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Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: DmonSlyr on February 08, 2026, 05:28:20 AM
The ranking #s always start small early in the month since the ranks start over every month. Many folks like myself havent been able to play yet in Feb.
While the #s have been pretty weak overall in the last 6 months, it really has 0 to do with the forums and especially the Oclub,. Its been 100% due to gameplay and subscription. If the gameplay is too challenging with everyone flying easy modes, its incredibly tough for people to want to spend $15 every month. Who wants to fight rooks when every sortie you gotta dodge 6 yak3s and a tempest, while your team is mostly in tanks you have little fighter support on your side to help. Or if your team is hoarding and not a single enemy is rolling on the other side to defend, with not a single enemy attack you on the other side either.
Im also with Eagler about track IR/VR and views. Kills my neck in AH too, but DCS is more bearable. But not being able to set F10 views to look behind is a huge disadvantage in my opinion in turn and burn fights.
The stutters are also a huge problem. I realize its not AH, but its an annoyance. I doubt most are coming to the boards to find solutions to that. DC9 works for me, but if it didn't, id be hardpressed to keep playing knowing that .5 second means a tree in the face during a close fight.
But, if AH became free to play hypothetically, wed see a huge #s boost. Even just one month free as a promotion would do wonders. Problem with AH is there is no promotion and steam reviews bascially scare any rational person away who doesnt know the game.
I hope many years from now, DCS or a game will do exactly what AH does, only better with updated technology, but for now, I still think 98% of Americans have never heard of it. And those who have, only .0001 actually play it and stick around. If the game was perfect hypothetically, wed see an increase but it would still cap out since its MA design is very challenging and not for everyone givien then time to action and our ADHD population. Overall only .0001 of the .0001 in AH actually post on the forums, so I don't think it has any impact on the #s what so ever.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 08, 2026, 08:24:32 AM
Haven't played it but isn't War Thunder VR now...
Just wondering what this new game has to offer if WT is already vr compatible...
Or does the vr look/act that much better in this new game than the original WT vr implementation..
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: CptTrips on February 08, 2026, 08:46:39 AM
But, if AH became free to play hypothetically, wed see a huge #s boost. Even just one month free as a promotion would do wonders. Problem with AH is there is no promotion and steam reviews bascially scare any rational person away who doesnt know the game.
I agree with everything you said but I'm not sure of this one.I think this ship has sailed. I think previously when the gameplay was better and the numbers were higher that this would have made a difference. During my Linux testing I in inadvertently got a 2 week free trial but stopped playing after I was done testing. I found the game was not able to keep my interest with the current ganging and all the 5 eny plane bouncing anybody that was actually engaging in a fight.
Maybe I'm wrong but an example of the exact same thing happening is Warbirds 2026. They have new graphics and new stuff but their pay model is an up front fee AND a monthly sub. I just checked. One person online on a Sunday afternoon. People who want to play multi-player games want to play against other players and once the numbers drop below a certain point only the die-hards are left and then it's just a matter of time until AH3 will look like Warbirds. At this point I'm not sure that even a graphic refresh would have any effect (It doesn't appear to have had any in Warbirds)
I hope I'm wrong because I miss the AH of yesteryear and I would love to see it return but even if it went to FTP at this point I doubt I would play it as much as I used to unless the game play itself changed.
Just my 4 cents (adjusted for inflation)
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 09, 2026, 10:21:42 AM
I agree with everything you said but I'm not sure of this one.I think this ship has sailed. I think previously when the gameplay was better and the numbers were higher that this would have made a difference. During my Linux testing I in inadvertently got a 2 week free trial but stopped playing after I was done testing. I found the game was not able to keep my interest with the current ganging and all the 5 eny plane bouncing anybody that was actually engaging in a fight.
Maybe I'm wrong but an example of the exact same thing happening is Warbirds 2026. They have new graphics and new stuff but their pay model is an up front fee AND a monthly sub. I just checked. One person online on a Sunday afternoon. People who want to play multi-player games want to play against other players and once the numbers drop below a certain point only the die-hards are left and then it's just a matter of time until AH3 will look like Warbirds. At this point I'm not sure that even a graphic refresh would have any effect (It doesn't appear to have had any in Warbirds)
I hope I'm wrong because I miss the AH of yesteryear and I would love to see it return but even if it went to FTP at this point I doubt I would play it as much as I used to unless the game play itself changed.
Just my 4 cents (adjusted for inflation)
You and Trippy love every single opportunity to repeat that, don’t you? You guys can’t wait to jump any post that can shed a negative light. It’s like a sexual experience for you two, isn’t it?
Sad part you think you are so slick about it that no one sees your agenda.
Of course you can always keep suggesting these players spend money on bug drenched games instead.
You both are as predictable as the sun rising.
Why are you both even here? Oh ya, I just mentioned that.
Do you rehearse what Trips tells you to do?
Zero are fooled by your punk agenda
According to your own words you are done with bbs more than 10 times, yet here you are, stalking for a new opportunity. I hope you gave Eagler at least $20.
Every dingle Mod who punished you did exactly the right thing. I would be worse.
Ya if you were taking food out of me and my kids mouths doing this on my game you’d both be perma banned.
Maybe, just maybe, HT will start protecting his income
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Mister Fork on February 09, 2026, 12:41:05 PM
Played it for 7 minutes and asked for a refund.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Oldman731 on February 09, 2026, 12:46:22 PM
No. It was simple. But... the game just felt... weird. User interface was confusing. - lots of bugs. Maps would come up blank - had to restart game to fix. - VR is crazy hard to setup and confusing with HOTAS - no comms in VR. Zip. Nothing. Nada.
That was enough for me to go that for the price, this is an unfinished game - a very unfinished game. Maybe in a year or some big updates but it's a half-baked game.
And at $50 bucks, not worth it.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 09, 2026, 01:33:47 PM
That was enough for me to go that for the price, this is an unfinished game - a very unfinished game. Maybe in a year or some big updates but it's a half-baked game.
Sadly it seem par for the course. They seem more intent on pushing out new content in WT then fixing bugs. WW2 online seemed to be the same. Lots of new content served up with lots of old bugs. It seemed to me that IL2 had the least bugs but then again I can't speak for DCS as I've only played it a little bit.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: The Fugitive on February 09, 2026, 01:36:56 PM
I wouldnt ever bother to try it. It looks so "easy mode" it just wouldnt be worth the time.
Each of the youtubers says they are not sponsored by "Aces of Thunder" but they have to be to be singing the praises of that game. I saw one where the guy was flying a Midway setting and he flew right across the bow of a destroyer on the deck and never took a hit. Every plane they attack always seems to do a slow climbing turn never coming close to pulling off a "rope" because their planes never seem to lose any "E".
Crappy game with crappy tech. Everyone is complaining how hard it is to setup a hotas, and these are guys that have played DCS!
Im starting to leave comments about trying Aces High if you want a good VR experience in WWII planes.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 09, 2026, 01:44:18 PM
DCS controls are easy to set up but there are LOTS of them. Main thing a newb to DCS needs to understand is that the game tries to help you by doing some axis mapping for you. You need to clear those out first thing.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 09, 2026, 01:52:55 PM
For example, a plane I haven't set up since I installed on this machine. Conflicts galore. You really really want only one device axis controlling a game axis.
Just wondering what this new game has to offer if WT is already vr compatible...
Or does the vr look/act that much better in this new game than the original WT vr implementation..
Eagler
I think the main differences are the interface(the menu is the same in WT on flat screen and VR) and that WT has a ridiculous number of planes.
An example of how many variants of plane was when I was flying an F-86K (the heavy interceptor model) and engaged a Nanchang Q-5 that was attacking our ground forces. I figured it was an attack jet so it would be easy pickings. I didn't realize that the Q-5 was based on the J-6, which is based on the Mig-19 and I almost ended up in a bad spot.
WT is designed that you're always unlocking new planes and the "grind" could take a long time unless you have a lot of free time so I think the focus of this game is supposed to be more ACM then WT where you're always chasing the next unlock.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Dadtallica on February 10, 2026, 11:32:59 AM
Meh jets… boring.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 10, 2026, 12:28:55 PM
In the era of powered flight Jets have been around a long time. Jets will likely remain for a longer time to come but humans won't be at the flight controls.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 10, 2026, 02:16:15 PM
Ya. I find the early war jets to be fun. Most don't have RWR. My current ride of choice is the F9F8 from the early 50ies. It carries 4 bottlerockets, er I mean AIM9Bs lol.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 10, 2026, 06:04:33 PM
Sims can be simple, complex, or anywhere in between. Some can be all three depending on the settings. Jets from 60's can have very complicated systems which became simpler with technological advancements. With technological advancements came more complicated operating environments. While much of a modern jet is relatively automated making it easier to fight in that does not make the fight against modern technology easier.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Dadtallica on February 10, 2026, 06:16:55 PM
I don’t even like flying the 262… and I’m also not very good at it lol. I don’t understand how some of you can make it go so fast as you do so quickly and then also turn it like it’s a tricycle. Of course I don’t really like jets anyways so I’m fine with it lol.
I made some really silly mistakes recently and was humbled in a Ta152 by a set of B29’s who were cruising above 33K feet. I definitely should’ve had a better run given my advantages at the start, but it was not for me that day. I forget who it was… :salute
But then I thought to myself duh... Well those things aren’t going anywhere for a while seeing as they are way up there in the sky and several sectors deep in our territory. Easy peasy, let me just hop in a jet and take care of this right quick.
Nope… :joystick:
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: edge12674 on February 11, 2026, 10:10:40 AM
I felt the same way. I was surprised to find that I enjoy the jets more than I thought. I still prefer WWII warbirds and I am really enjoying the F4U Corsair. Compared to AH, the full fidelity warbirds have the added dimension of having to keep an eye on the aircraft to keep it from killing you.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 11, 2026, 10:27:58 AM
Real pilots do it with wood and canvas. The Sopwith Camel was a real challenge. No throttle per se, there were ignition settings to help control power including a blipper. Air/fuel mixture was not used as a throttle. The Castor Oil system was total loss and the pilot had to develop a taste for it. The rotary engine rotated around a fixed shaft adding a lot of gryoscopic precession to the mix. You sit in your fully enclosed Spitfire cockpit thinking you are roughing it in your old warbird. Pshaw.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: edge12674 on February 12, 2026, 08:01:20 AM
A lot has been posted about how to revitalize AH. Suggestions have been made about pricing structure, game mechanics, advertising, etc. I think if HiTech or his representative did something like this it would go a LONG WAY towards increasing AH numbers:
The interviewer could be better, but this kind of content has been much appreciated by players.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 12, 2026, 08:05:17 AM
The interviewer could be better, but this kind of content has been much appreciated by players.
Andrei has a pretty unique style.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: edge12674 on February 12, 2026, 08:20:29 AM
Imagine if HiTech did something like this. Brief history, features, current state of the game, and why. All it would cost is some time from HiTech. The majority of the work would be done by the interviewer. Then current AH players could share links throughout the flight sim community.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 12, 2026, 08:28:02 AM
TLDW;
Can somebody do a summary for those of us who don't have the time to watch it plz?
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: CptTrips on February 12, 2026, 08:30:25 AM
Can somebody do a summary for those of us who don't have the time to watch it plz?
This video is an extensive interview with Matt "Wags" Wagner, Senior Producer at Eagle Dynamics, discussing the current state and future roadmap of Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) World.
Core Technology Updates Dynamic Campaign: Currently in internal testing with a focus on stability, UI, and AI [06:19]. It will initially launch with a Caucasus map single-player campaign before expanding to other maps and eras [07:02].
Vulkan API: A major upcoming update designed to improve performance and enable modern features like Ray Tracing and DLSS/FSR frame generation [12:51]. It will be a full transition from DirectX, not an optional toggle [14:02].
World Map: The vision is a "spherical earth" canvas covering 90% of the globe at lower detail, allowing high-detail regional maps to be "plugged in" for seamless long-distance flights [41:19].
Aircraft & Asset Development F-15C & F-35: The F-15C full-fidelity cockpit and external model are pending high-detail scans [01:04:46]. The F-35 is in early stages, with Wags clarifying that data is gathered from technical papers and subsystem manufacturers, not just "air shows" [59:51].
AH-64D Apache: A brand-new rotor model is currently in internal testing, which significantly improves flight characteristics [54:19].
Super Carrier: New features like 1MC deck announcements, a functional briefing room, and improved deck crew logic are in development [29:40].
Flaming Cliffs 2024: This will be the final entry in the "non-clickable" Flaming Cliffs series; all future Eagle Dynamics aircraft will be full-fidelity [01:07:26].
Environmental & System Improvements Weather: Future updates include towering cumulus clouds and improved turbulence once Vulkan resources are freed up [21:13].
Infantry AI: A new skeletal system allows for realistic animations like boarding helicopters and throwing grenades [24:44].
ATC & Comms: The team is evaluating a voice recognition system for a more immersive, "no-UI" communication experience [35:08].
Third-Party Relations & Stability Escrow Safeguards: Wags addressed community concerns by confirming that all third-party license agreements signed in the last 5–6 years include an escrow system [16:06]. This ensures that if a developer goes out of business, Eagle Dynamics can access the source code to keep the module functional [01:15:45].
Skyraider: The license for the Skyraider (Crosstail Studios) has expired, and since no progress reports were submitted, the project is currently considered "dead" unless a new capable developer steps in [01:12:37].
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 12, 2026, 08:34:24 AM
I think if AH was free it would have a tough time getting and keeping new subs without a graphics update..
Ppl like pretty these days ...
Not to mention the fact they would get demolished by the vets in their late war birds who know how to get around in the game already..
Then there's the occasional crazy speak on 200 that would get a wtf from the newbie..
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Dadtallica on February 12, 2026, 09:10:27 AM
I hate to keep bringing these up and these threads but what makes anyone think HT wants the numbers to increase? Sure the income increase for him but so with the workload and it would not come out in his favor in the end.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: edge12674 on February 12, 2026, 09:18:25 AM
I agree that AH is not a direct competition for the current popular combat flight sims without a major upgrade. However, it could be presented as a great entry into the genre.
AH has one of the lowest hardware requirements, offers a wide assortment of control options, has good VR and VOX support. Encourage new players to explore the game in single player first for FREE with NO time limit, then they have the option of a two week FREE multiplayer trial. After which they can continue to learn multiplayer game play for $15 a month with the ability to cancel their subscription at any time.
With the overall poor reception Aces of Thunder has received, now would be a perfect time to put that out there.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: edge12674 on February 12, 2026, 09:21:15 AM
I hate to keep bringing these up and these threats but what makes anyone think HT wants the numbers to increase? Sure the income increase for him but so with the workload and it would not come out in his favor in the end.
I agree with this. I was suggesting that HT would not have to increase his workload. Just communicate what AH has to offer as is.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 12, 2026, 09:22:16 AM
Then there's the occasional crazy speak on 200 that would get a wtf from the newbie..
200 is pretty tame compared to what I've seen in other games...
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: icepac on February 12, 2026, 09:22:58 AM
As far as graphics upgrades, Aces High has enough resolution.
Most of the "new updated graphics games" seem to not have more clarity in the distance but rather a goldish tint of eye candy that actually hampers gameplay.
The only graphics upgrade is to see fields from further away.
Nothing like bombing from 30k and the fields don't show up until you have passed the release point.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 12, 2026, 09:24:23 AM
This video is an extensive interview with Matt "Wags" Wagner, Senior Producer at Eagle Dynamics, discussing the current state and future roadmap of Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) World.
Core Technology Updates Dynamic Campaign: Currently in internal testing with a focus on stability, UI, and AI [06:19]. It will initially launch with a Caucasus map single-player campaign before expanding to other maps and eras [07:02].
Vulkan API: A major upcoming update designed to improve performance and enable modern features like Ray Tracing and DLSS/FSR frame generation [12:51]. It will be a full transition from DirectX, not an optional toggle [14:02].
World Map: The vision is a "spherical earth" canvas covering 90% of the globe at lower detail, allowing high-detail regional maps to be "plugged in" for seamless long-distance flights [41:19].
Aircraft & Asset Development F-15C & F-35: The F-15C full-fidelity cockpit and external model are pending high-detail scans [01:04:46]. The F-35 is in early stages, with Wags clarifying that data is gathered from technical papers and subsystem manufacturers, not just "air shows" [59:51].
AH-64D Apache: A brand-new rotor model is currently in internal testing, which significantly improves flight characteristics [54:19].
Super Carrier: New features like 1MC deck announcements, a functional briefing room, and improved deck crew logic are in development [29:40].
Flaming Cliffs 2024: This will be the final entry in the "non-clickable" Flaming Cliffs series; all future Eagle Dynamics aircraft will be full-fidelity [01:07:26].
Environmental & System Improvements Weather: Future updates include towering cumulus clouds and improved turbulence once Vulkan resources are freed up [21:13].
Infantry AI: A new skeletal system allows for realistic animations like boarding helicopters and throwing grenades [24:44].
ATC & Comms: The team is evaluating a voice recognition system for a more immersive, "no-UI" communication experience [35:08].
Third-Party Relations & Stability Escrow Safeguards: Wags addressed community concerns by confirming that all third-party license agreements signed in the last 5–6 years include an escrow system [16:06]. This ensures that if a developer goes out of business, Eagle Dynamics can access the source code to keep the module functional [01:15:45].
Skyraider: The license for the Skyraider (Crosstail Studios) has expired, and since no progress reports were submitted, the project is currently considered "dead" unless a new capable developer steps in [01:12:37].
Thanks. Good summary. I'm guessing you plugged it into some AI to get this? I'd like to know how to do that so I don't have to bother you with it next time.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Devil 505 on February 12, 2026, 09:27:42 AM
I agree that AH is not a direct competition for the current popular combat flight sims without a major upgrade. However, it could be presented as a great entry into the genre.
AH has one of the lowest hardware requirements, offers a wide assortment of control options, has good VR and VOX support. Encourage new players to explore the game in single player first for FREE with NO time limit, then they have the option of a two week FREE multiplayer trial. After which they can continue to learn multiplayer game play for $15 a month with the ability to cancel their subscription at any time.
With the overall poor reception Aces of Thunder has received, now would be a perfect time to put that out there.
Too bad the AH single player experience is very limited in the amount of content and its overall quality. It's a poor representation of the overall game in every way.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: edge12674 on February 12, 2026, 09:41:20 AM
Too bad the AH single player experience is very limited in the amount of content and its overall quality. It's a poor representation of the overall game in every way.
Agreed, but it is enough to get past the "how do I fly?" stage, learn some gunnery, and experience the different aircraft. Gotta set the hook first. ;)
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: CptTrips on February 12, 2026, 09:52:07 AM
Thanks. Good summary. I'm guessing you plugged it into some AI to get this? I'd like to know how to do that so I don't have to bother you with it next time.
I just gave Gemini the URL and asked him to summarize. https://gemini.google.com/
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 12, 2026, 10:25:45 AM
CptTrips created some great offline missions but a newbie might find them pretty difficult at the start..
A career mode for single player might help but I don't see that happening..
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: The Fugitive on February 12, 2026, 10:28:24 AM
Too bad the AH single player experience is very limited in the amount of content and its overall quality. It's a poor representation of the overall game in every way.
How?
Everything is available to a single player. Joining attacks is as simple as flying to the attack. You dont HAVE to be in a squad, you dont HAVE to be part of the mission plan, just get there and have some fun.
Learning the basics can get you flying, and communicating with other players.....which may not always be a good thing :) but it gets you in the game.
I dont think the graphics are that bad. Most of the eye candy of these other games are just a sharpness to the cockpits. Also, if you looking at the pretty gauges your most likely going to find yourself in the tower very often.
I wish Hitech would get more involved with the game. We dont know what he has going on in his life which is what may be keeping the game on a back burner. But on the other hand what does Aces High really need? If Hitech would give an interview like the one posted, it would surely help. Tweaks to some of the dynamics might help, but if he got the numbers up most of those tweaks wouldnt be needed. Radar is about the only one I think he would have to tweak, maybe a compromise between what we have now and what we had in the old days.
But for game play? There isnt another game that even comes close to all the options AH has, nor as well executed as AH is. There is a dozen ways to play this game, as a single player to multi player teams. Heck even "cybro" has found a way to enjoy the game :devil
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 12, 2026, 10:40:41 AM
Then there's what Dad just posted...
I tend to think in those terms..
I just appreciate every evening when I can login and play as I know it will not always be that way..for one reason or another..
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Devil 505 on February 12, 2026, 10:44:48 AM
A career mode for single player might help but I don't see that happening..
Both Wag and Jason Williams have stated the majority of their customers are SP only. That doesn't mean they are SP forever. I think SP is a safe learning environment for new players that don't care to merely be baby seals for the vets just because it will "harden them up". SP becomes the minor leagues you grow your MP from.
AH's biggest obstacles: 1. Graphics. Sorry Graphics to games is what Curb Appeal is to real-estate. If they don't immediately like what they see, it's a much harder sale. No body cares how good the graphics are now compared to AH 1. They are being compared to WT, DCS, and IL2 GB. 2. Subscription Model are very unpopular. Subscription for a game that hasn't been added to in almost a decade is not going to happen. If you are going to ask for subscription today, you better show it is buying them constant innovation and improvement. 3. Lack of viable SP doesn't help. SP is the hook for a lot of new players. After they have built their confidence in SP, they might decide to graduate to MP. Think of all the money from SP IL2 gets to fund their MP. That is a larger, more reliable, less complaining customer base to fund MP development from.
IMHO.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 12, 2026, 10:57:05 AM
Graphics are important in combat simulators whether air, sea, or ground. Simulations model reality and folks like it to look real. You can dismiss them as "pretty" or "eye candy" but that in no way diminishes the fact that most want their simulations to look and feel real.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: hazmatt on February 12, 2026, 01:02:52 PM
I agree with what you said except I think the sub is 1 and the graphics are 2 on the list.
You're right about the SP too. I've chatted with many players who said they were trying multiplayer on IL2 after playing SP for a long time. The sad thing is most of them were so easy to kill that I almost felt bad. No matter their E state they would immediately go into a flat turn at the merge and die right quick.
What I think would be great is to have a mix of skill levels and something for each skill level to do. Adding some ai like in the western front arena would give new players something to shoot at to practice their skill. All the people who cry about adding AI could just ignore them. It's not like adding AI would decrease the number of real players. In the game I currently play you never know if the guy you're fighting is an ace or a n00b. However, many of the better players have highly customized paint jobs on their planes and if they've gone to the effort of painting their plane, you can bet they've maxed out all the mods on that plane and their crew skills.
I'm not sure if the AI could be implemented on the existing maps and then tested and re-submitted to the rotation. If this is possible I see it as one of the few things that can be done as it appears nothing else is going to change or it would have by now.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Tumor on February 12, 2026, 02:01:54 PM
Compared to AH, the full fidelity warbirds have the added dimension of having to keep an eye on the aircraft to keep it from killing you.
I have no idea how many times I cooked the engine before I figured out the Cowl Flaps where closing on their own in a high speed dive. Still don't know if that's reality or a dev screwup. :bhead
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: SIK1 on February 12, 2026, 02:25:19 PM
I have no idea how many times I cooked the engine before I figured out the Cowl Flaps where closing on their own in a high speed dive. Still don't know if that's reality or a dev screwup. :bhead
If you're talking about the Corsair, that's a real thing.
Sent from my moto g - 2025 using Tapatalk
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 16, 2026, 03:19:12 PM
The dcs guy does a review..
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: SAJ73 on February 17, 2026, 04:54:53 AM
TrackIR is working now, but I have not spent any more than 10 min testing it yet. Feels great to finally be able to look around, but figuring out the bindings to all the controls is still a nightmare. And my patience with that sort of struggle is extremely short, before I lose all interest. So I still have AH as my goto game of choice when I sit down to fly a few sorties..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Eagler on February 17, 2026, 06:14:02 AM
TrackIR is working now, but I have not spent any more than 10 min testing it yet. Feels great to finally be able to look around, but figuring out the bindings to all the controls is still a nightmare. And my patience with that sort of struggle is extremely short, before I lose all interest. So I still have AH as my goto game of choice when I sit down to fly a few sorties..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We here hope it stays your #1..
You are always a great fight win or lose :salute
Eagler
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: SAJ73 on February 17, 2026, 03:24:02 PM
Thanks Eagler, I always enjoyed fighting you also! Win or lose. I hope we will have many more encounters in the virtual skies in the years to come also. :salute
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Dadtallica on February 17, 2026, 03:37:52 PM
Is this game VR only?
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: The Fugitive on February 17, 2026, 03:47:58 PM
Note the first release "Carrier Qualification" I expect to be very limited. The game is being release in sub-releases pulling in revenue along the way to the full product.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 23, 2026, 10:51:09 AM
I dunno, seems to be taking longer than expected. While graphics seem great there’s no real excitement in the promo. Visuals are cool, but there’s no guns firing or explosions for any real excitement. Kinda like DCS, look how pretty, but nothing exciting.
Realistic terrain.
What stood out to me is prop noise well implemented into the engine sound.
A WWII cockpits are WWII cockpits, polly count is about all other games have. The actual skinning isn’t much different.
A terrain update and polly count would make AH more competitive. It ain’t going to happen..
Many questions aren’t answered in just a vid, like game play, FX, no action, or will it be just another pretty planes sim. The impression I get is they still have quite a bit to do. Thats without reading their page.
AoT didn’t grab me besides pretty. It’s painful for pc players, it’s seems more geared towards PS. I watched some review vids and cons outweighed the pros. They thought blacking out and other features we take for granted were something new and exciting. Hey were bragging about “real clouds”, up close AH clouds smoke AoT. They seemed out of focus and blurry, up close.
As much as some complain, game play and events is what holds AH together. Graphics are still good enough to keep interest.
CP, Pretty, but so far not exciting…yet.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Devil 505 on February 23, 2026, 11:36:31 AM
I dunno, seems to be taking longer than expected. While graphics seem great there’s no real excitement in the promo. Visuals are cool, but there’s no guns firing or explosions for any real excitement. Kinda like DCS, look how pretty, but nothing exciting.
Realistic terrain.
What stood out to me is prop noise well implemented into the engine sound.
A WWII cockpits are WWII cockpits, polly count is about all other games have. The actual skinning isn’t much different.
A terrain update and polly count would make AH more competitive. It ain’t going to happen..
Many questions aren’t answered in just a vid, like game play, FX, no action, or will it be just another pretty planes sim. The impression I get is they still have quite a bit to do. Thats without reading their page.
AoT didn’t grab me besides pretty. It’s painful for pc players, it’s seems more geared towards PS. I watched some review vids and cons outweighed the pros. They thought blacking out and other features we take for granted were something new and exciting. Hey were bragging about “real clouds”, up close AH clouds smoke AoT. They seemed out of focus and blurry, up close.
As much as some complain, game play and events is what holds AH together. Graphics are still good enough to keep interest.
CP, Pretty, but so far not exciting…yet.
It's literally a pre pre alpha dev release to show subscribers how it's coming. It's at least a couple years out from being a finished product .
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: CptTrips on February 23, 2026, 12:53:47 PM
There are two different conversations going. One referring to Aces of Thunder The other brought up Combat Pilot.
I'd put Aces of Thunder about halfway between WT and AH on the fidelity scale.
I suspect Combat Pilot is shooting for something between IL2 and DCS. But as Devil said, they are a LONG way off from a finished product.
Even the first "game" Carrier Qualification I suspect will really just be a mini-game. Part that will eventually contribute to a larger simulation.
I wish them well. I will track their progress enthusiastically.
I'm with you. Carrier Qualification isn't meant to be a game. Once done it's just the first building block to an actual game release.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 23, 2026, 02:10:12 PM
So did ya qualify?
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 23, 2026, 02:32:51 PM
Looks like it's not avail yet.
I'm already qualified. :D
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Prayer on February 23, 2026, 03:03:16 PM
I too am waiting for Combat Pilot and feel like it will be a long wait.
I have had thoughts of getting Aces of Thunder but a few things have kept me from buying. One of the main reasons is the time it will take to setup both VR and HOTAS to my liking.
Would be pretty cool to get a few vet sticks from here to join up on discord and wreck some havoc over there. I suspect with very little time in game once setup that a small group from here would do very well pvp. If that could happen it would be interesting to hear/read a review after a month.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Lazerr on February 23, 2026, 03:25:23 PM
Aces of thunder looks pretty cool. I feel like at some point I need to look into VR.
I fly with a mouse however, and I am curious how that would work.
After 25+ years of mouse flying, I'm going to be lost with muscle memory and coordination.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: xanax on February 23, 2026, 05:03:53 PM
Aces of thunder looks pretty cool. I feel like at some point I need to look into VR.
I fly with a mouse however, and I am curious how that would work.
After 25+ years of mouse flying, I'm going to be lost with muscle memory and coordination.
You can use mouse and keyboard to fly Aces of Thunder according to the internets. I too am getting more and more intrigued by VR despite my nausea every single time I've tried it. I could always try some Zofran (Ondansetron) to alleviate the nausea I suppose. But yeah, right with you on being interested.
And yup, I've tried the fan blowing at me and all the other hacks to resolve the nausea issues. It turns out I may in fact, be a p***y.
Read that as "pansy" if you prefer.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 23, 2026, 05:21:21 PM
You want VR to be as smooth as possible. That helps eliminate nausea. Any motion hiccups or micro pausing can contribute to the nausea. Match your computer, headset, and game settings accordingly.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: Animl-AW on February 24, 2026, 11:20:54 AM
It's literally a pre pre alpha dev release to show subscribers how it's coming. It's at least a couple years out from being a finished product .
Ya, I figured that. Must have a skeleton crew. Pretty sure it’s been at least 3 yrs since they started.
I’m not very interested in strictly or mostly Pacific. So I’m not bothered by waiting. Doin a good job though. I’m not holding my breath. Another 2-5 yrs for ETO? I may be dead by then.
AH was up and running in 1 yr, small crew.
Straight out of the box, AoT is not for me. If its anything like the WT arcade crowd I wouldn’t last 1 hr. If a few here are the example I wouldn’t spend a dime on it.
Part of what brought me back here is because I known people for 3+ decades. Had I not seen people I know I probably would not be here. Hell the only reason I came here for the beta test and game was people I knew and respected a long time dragged me in. After dealing with some small group of the trash here, no way I’d repeat that. I’d rather repeatedly jab a pen in my eye. I’m not a babysitter. They chased plenty from this sim. So I look at the crowd draw too.
DCS and IL-2 probably has a more serious mature adult crowd like 90% here. Do I wanna hang with mouthy immature trolls? Nope, never. I’d rather play nothing.
Kinda like Harley, it’s an epic bike where the entire concept was ruined by wannabes and yuppie weekend warriors. It’s so plastic now. Soon as I saw riders wearing SoA t-shirts faking they are in a club I parked it. I don’t even wanna be associated with that.
Thats how I see WT and AoT, nope. Most vets here are authentic. I like that. A few here make impossible to respect them. Evidently the kiddie group here think I’m the benchmark to overcome to “be someone”. It ain’t goin to happen. But they destroy this place and chasing many off trying. Imagine 100s of them. I have zero tolerance for nonsense.
I’m glad CP is putting a great effort forward. I just think I’ll be gone before its playable. DCS is just too expensive and buggy for my blood. I will NOT give my Money to a Russian game, not goin to happen.
Sounds like I’ll finish my last days here or hunting and fishing.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: edge12674 on February 28, 2026, 07:41:28 AM
Interesting effects.
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: The Fugitive on February 28, 2026, 09:23:45 AM
Its too bad they dont seem to have anybody to shoot at! :devil
Title: Re: More competition..
Post by: AKIron on February 28, 2026, 09:33:41 AM