Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Halo on November 06, 2002, 01:58:13 PM
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One of the less obvious but equally important benefits of Aces High might be its participants' situational awareness improvement for surviving today's highway kamikazes.
For example, the Washington, D.C., area has some of the U.S.'s most challenging traffic missions, and rarely a day passes without some driving lapse that makes a person grateful for Aces High heads-up experiences.
Two of the latest incidents demonstrate how Aces High situational alertness might be saving lives in real life.
(1) Twice in three days now in Northern Virginia I've had to dodge a car zipping straight at me across an intersection on the turn-only signal (when cars beside them started turning, they just started out straight ahead all by themselves);
(2) but the most flagrant violation I've seen in a long time was in Maryland the other day when a Camaro, stopped at a side road heading on to a main road, leisurely pulled across the double yellow line around three cars ahead of it -- which is bad enough --and then at the red light turned not right on red but LEFT on red across the intersection!
Okay, the second example didn't require anything except sitting still and closing my gaping mouth after witnessing that stupid Camaro manuever. But there are countless other examples when general increased alertness and defensive driving, such as checking 6 in traffic, especially the blind spots at 4 and 8 o'clock, has prevented a lot of grief.
It boils down to expecting the unexpected that keeps a cyber pilot intact in today's traffic. How many times have you been in traffic and muttered "This is just like Aces High!" and been grateful for your extra situational awareness?
So should insurance companies reduce auto premiums for Aces High members? Aces High has to rate greater savings than steering wheel locks.
Thus we have another interesting thread: Since participating in Aces High, how many of you have flawless driving records, i.e., never caused an accident or received traffic points for driving violations? Or take your cyber benefits all the way back to Air Warrior too.
Does Aces High make you a better driver and contribute to your driving safety record?
(If Aces High makes you hyper aggressive and fuels instead of alleviates road rage, kindly start a separate thread.)
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And Aces High has trained you to operate a vehicle while under fire....especially helpful in Los Angeles.
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I absolutely agree. How bout that intersection at m street by the key bridge? What a nightmare. That whole strip by woodbridge on 1 is another area. The way I can tell it helps the SA is this:
When I was in high school I delivered pizza, and for a couple years after. Different guys were getting in and out of those dodge omnis all the time, but rarely did i ever bother to move the rear view mirror. It never bothered me.
Now when I get in the old volvo after my fiance has been driving I freak out. I look up and see the back seat in the rear view. For a split second I imagine eskimo dropping on my six. hehe
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dang I wish I had a pair of 7.7s in my fenders.
I dunno, but the skills are the same:
Don't fixate on the car ahead of you, but anticipate his next move. What is he seeing? What will he be doing?
Get a regular instrument/view scan system going.
If you have a slower car behind you, head up a hill and increase the distance. At the top, lock the rear tires, swing the car around and let him have it.
On a two-lane highway, if you see a car coming the other direction, head straight for it. You might die, but he sure as hell ain't gonna walk away.
Circle around parking lots, looking for people getting into cars. OInce they turn on the ignition, take 'em out.
If you've got a Ford Mustang, join a local club, and cruise around in packs of 12 or more, hooting and hollering for each hapless motorist you run off the road.
If a schoolbus is stopped with red lights flashing, ignore the bus and go for the children, yelling on the CB "Drunks out on State Route 12!"
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LOL DINGER!!!!
That's the only laugh I've had today.
Thank you.
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I'm having trouble with my lead range while driving...
I think AH has messed up my timing :mad:
hmm.. may need higher powered cannons in my jeep...
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Interesting post Halo. Yes, I believe playing Aces High does help with situational awareness while driving.
About a month or so ago, I was driving on Interstate 85 at night...going about 80 mph between Auburn and Montgomery, Alabama. Up ahead on the road, I saw something that looked strange, but couldn't quite make it out until I was right on top of it.
A pickup truck was backing up diagonally from the right to left lane (the lane I was in.) The strange sight was the reverse lights...quite unexpected. I didn't have time to apply the brakes, but instinctively drove the car into the left emergency lane and off the road a bit to avoid a collision; we missed by about two feet. It happened so fast, I couldn't hardly believe it.
Almost immediately I thought about how driving the Ostwinds and M3s down hills in the game, and avoiding the trees, had almost certainly saved my life in this situation. The reflex was second nature for me.
Les
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LOL! Dinger,..good one.
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dinger that is a very good laugh.
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just cant get away from the HO can ya LOL
:D
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So does one want to jack the suspension in order to get and altitude advantage?
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Does Aces High Enhance Highway Driving?
I find it kind of distracting. Hard to keep both hands on the wheel and type. And my Pro Pedals keep getting wedged under the clutch.
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So does one want to jack the suspension in order to get and altitude advantage?
that's what phone books are for.
raising the suspension just makes you a larger target.
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The problem isn't to get away with SA improved by playing AH.
It's all the others that improved their driving skills by playing GTA etc.
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Whats gta? If its a driving game, are those the guys doing 120 in there mom's accord on i95 that end up plastered to a semi trailor?
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I find that padlock view is just as bad on the road :D
- Tuxdog
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:D Thanks for the laugh Dinger.
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Well, true, enhanced skills can be used for attack as well as defense. Only 7.7s? A couple times I've yearned for quad .50s or a pair of 20mm.
I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned ... Carmageddon!
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Originally posted by muckmaw
And Aces High has trained you to operate a vehicle while under fire....especially helpful in Los Angeles.
If only we could steer with our feet while under fire too! :D
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Originally posted by ergRTC
Whats gta?
Grand Theft Auto or something I think??? :)
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I dont drive but when ever im in the passenger seat and carrying on a conversation I find myselft checking the side mirrors alot and turning around behind the seat...
And I dont realy want to drive.....I wanna fly.
Strange huh.?
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Originally posted by muckmaw
And Aces High has trained you to operate a vehicle while under fire....especially helpful in Los Angeles.
I agree!
W e e k e n d R o a d T r i p (http://artists.mp3s.com/artist_song/2663/2663712.html)
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Yeah but if a passenger suddenly loses consciousness does everyone in the car black out too?
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I am sooo glad you did not encounter any net lag with either incident. Some how both would have gotten on my six and shot me down :D
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Good one Halo
It was actually one of the first things I noticed when I started to play. Your SA DOES improve when you're playing AH.
Of course I still suck, but after 20 years experience in computer games and about 10 in flightsims it is next to impossible to reprogram yourself from the usual 'if you can see it, you can kill it' routine. Only if I force myself to use my head instead of being guided by the desire to kill I get 'reasonable' results.
How do I drive? Welll, in 10.5 years I never had an accident where I was the guilty party and only three very minor speeding tickets. As for parking, don't ask :D
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As for me, I find myself constantly trying to line up enemy...err...other cars in my sight...umm...hood ornament.
:D
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Well, You may laugh but as i see it WB & AH made me somewhat more aware of whats goin on around when i drive. Not more than 3 weeks ago i had this situation on the road, which could have been the very end at least to my car, if not me :D
I was driving at about 50mph through Warsaw, on one of the bigger & faster streets. Its a 2 lane one too, and the lanes are separated. Suddenly i realized the the other lane is empty, no cars despite its the usuall traffic jam time in that direction. It turned out it has been closed for some important politician is passing through there under police escorts etc. So i kept staring at them police cars to my left, and so did everyone in front of me. When i looked ahead again, i was really confused with what i saw :rolleyes:
All the cars that were in front of me were now stopped and a huge traffic jam has just begun. All them cars including a red Ford Sierra which was the closest one to me were NOT MOVING... And when i saw that i had maybe 20 to 15 meters to the red Ford... Everything that has happened later (i was going somewhere around 80-90 km/h at the moment) happend faster that my thoughts could tell me what to do. I kicked the brake for a tanth of a second, turned the weel to get to the side, and the kicked the brake again. I stopped well above 20 meters in front of the red Sierra, on a parallel track. Now... how did i knew theres nobody my right side, and there is space to make a brake ? Well, last time i checked my right mirror must have been soem time before i had to brake. I just remembered that considering th e position and speed of everything i saw, i might just be able to make it. Anyways it was the ony possible thing to do. But again, i did not even had the time to realize whats going on, it just sought of happened.
Man... i yelled like crazy was so excited that i managed to get away form that sure crash :D
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Halo, your a local, I live south in Dumfries. I know excatly what you're talking about, that's why I take the VRE.
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halo
yep my SA has also Improved but as consequence I spend more time in front of my computer
maybe if I'd actually been driving and not playing AH my car wouldn't have been parked outside my house (mines the black car)
This little prang caused over £3000 damage to my cart and meant it was an insurance write off :(
Worse of all was the guy who caused the accident (not driving the white car but another one) was never found.
cost me over £1000 and has doubled my insurance premiums,
if I still had the car it would have cost me £450 to insure this year now it would cost £1045!!
If only I'd been out driving and not sat at my computer :(
Damn Aces High you owe me a new car :D
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I'm sure Aces Hi has helped my driving. Last Saturday I was driving North on 24 from Defiance to Toledo Ohio. Traffic was heavy in the south bound lane. Suddenly someone whips out and tries to pass. He wasn't close to having enough room and I had to get off the road to the right to avoid the HO. Didn't even phase me. Told my girlfriend "no problem do that all the time in Aces High".;)
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Originally posted by DmdBT
Yeah but if a passenger suddenly loses consciousness does everyone in the car black out too?
Reminds me of that time-tested joke:
"When die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep as Grandpa did, and not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car."
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Originally posted by Halo
So should insurance companies reduce auto premiums for Aces High members? Aces High has to rate greater savings than steering wheel locks.
LOL
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good one biguc
Come to mention it, determining energy states has started to happen on the fly too, but I have found this one can cause more problems... Occasionally I find my self not hitting the brake but swerving just cause I wanna keep my e up. for absolutely no reason... My fiance does not seem to buy my "dont worry honey, that is a 65 ford full size truck with drums all the way around, I will be able to stop long before he can since my volvo has four wheel discs and weights much less (as I mindlessly tailgate in bumper to bumper traffic on 495 doing 70 mph) ."
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I think the biggest problem I have with taking my AH skills to freeway is trying to keep the cars in the oncoming traffic lane in front of my 9:00/3:00 line. Those merges are tuff!
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Yeah.. I keep looking pair rockets that pop out of the head lights the Z3 in James Bond..
Can't seem how to fit these in my Miata....
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Not sure which came frist my skill with a stick or with a wheel
But think I gained wheel skill after playing AH for a few years .. so maybe it helped hehe
( I mean real skill not the way any idiot drives a car)
Any of you love the San Antonio Austin 35 corridor.. luckly Texans are decent drivers .. most of them (VT drivers Suck bellybutton (no traffic to train them)
Anyway had the turnlight moron thing happend (no crash)
Had the 2 lane crossover to stop and turn left right infront of me(no crash)
The no accleration ramps, some people shouldn't even try to get on tho's, can be scary when you you have stupid guy on highway and one mergeing in (these are made in road work areas, temp on ramps)-(no crash)
etc etc....
anyway the only crash I ever got in was like this:
sitting at a Whataburger(see told you i'm texan) stuck behind traffic for two lights or so[can't get out of the parkign lot] a good fella finally waves me in(he in big white van) so I pull out boom!
Car behind white van floors the gas and pulls around the van in impatiance...(shakes head)
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I'm glad to see this post. I thought I was the only one who relived my simm experiences on the highway:D Whenever I'm in a car I inevitably find myself wondering: "If this were an airplane in AH, which one would it most resemble." For example: I tend to think of our Honda CR-V as a F6F, or even a F4F. When I'm in a pickup truc, it's really an A20, C47 or a BUFF (depends on the size of the truck, and how it handles with th load I'm carryin). Anyone else havin these kinds of fantasies? (I know some of you are sicker'n me, so I don't want to hear 'bout those sick dreams):p
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Here's one for ya's......it's true too
Early last week I was on my to work, going the usuall route, the usuall speed. I was being a good driver, keeping track of my surroundings. I then noticed the license plate of the car in front of me. The first 3 characters were P51.....at the very instant of recognizing that sequence of characters I looked up out my windshield and to the left in order to scan for higher cons. I usually lookup+left and scan clockwise until I get back to up+left. I noticed this behaviour when I got to up+right and realised "I'm not playing AH right now." *sigh* I couldn't believe what I just caught myself doing, when noticing an Icon designating a plane-type (usually means nme based on icon settings) I instinctively started my SA sequence before engaging.
Hi, my name is Robert and I play AcesHigh.
[group] Hi Robert
....
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actually i was thinking about this tonight on the way home from work......
found myself daydreaming of my LW monster running down a runstang and almost hit another car!!!!!!! :D:D:D
seriously .. i find i now think about the road less. i am an excellent driver (dad lets me drive slowly on the driveway)
in the reverse has anyone ever gotten "target locked" on that arse who cut you off (like he shot at you badly and just NEED to spank him outta the sky) and just wanted to run him down regardless of who else is around :D:D:D
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It doesn't do anything for my street driving, but driving the mower has a whole new meaning, especially when it comes to fire ant mounds. VULTCH!
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Actually, some scientist claimed a while back that video games actually improved the reflexes on kids.
Personally, I find this to be VERY true. I started playing pc games (ive never been much into consoles) at 14. Before that you could be swinging a baseball bat at my face and I wouldnt dodge it... now today people are amazed at how quickly and how CORRECTLY i react to situations by reflex action.
Like the driving example. Many times ive been >< this close to getting hit head-on by some love muffin that cant keep his car on his own 2-way lane and ive avoided them by a slight, instantaneous move to the side.... without even getting excited, panicked or scared (but MIGHTY pissed off afterwards). I'd say that many people wouldve either jerked the car hard to a side (as ive seen my parents and "older generation" folks do) or just frozen.
And in other little things in life! How many of ye are strategy gamers? Any of ye realized you can easily find yourself organizing entire situations "in queue" and anticipating things you might need to do and mentally being ready for it? Ive cought myself so many times by having the solution to a group-problem whole minutes before anyone else.. AND knowing who to tell to do what , when and where to get the thing done. You chop wood, you mine gold, you get busy building that hut..we got any dragons yet?
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Originally posted by OIO
You chop wood, you mine gold, you get busy building that hut..
LOLOLOL someone has played AOE too much :)
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The only problem I have is when looking at the sign down the road and I cant read it... I'm looking for the zoom key.
:eek:
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I wouldn't doubt it. Almost had a wreck the other morning. My wife and I were going to observe an inspection on a house we're thinking about buying. She had woke me up about 15 minutes before. I was crossing an intersection when a white pick-up came flying from the right. I hit the brakes so fast it even scared me. :D We barely stopped in time (less than a foot I'd guess). My wifes coffee covered the entire dash. Funny thing was I saw the truck, hit the brakes, saw the guys face who was driving the truck in front of me, looked left to make sure he really was running a red light, looked back forward to see the bed of the truck go by, all in about a second. Best part was I didn't need to check my 6 because I already did. :p