Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: HomeBoy on October 13, 2003, 02:19:33 PM
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This is intended to be a "just for fun" posting.
Several of us old Fighter Duel guys had gotten together to play European Air War. There were tons of network problems and depending on where in the country you were dialing in from, the network problems were significantly better or worse. One night, one of the guys connected and typed this message into the text radio:
"Have you guys checked out the new online game Aces High? They're offering a free one year subscription as a promotion to help get it started."
Thus, "HomeBoy" was officially recorded in the Aces High record books. I'm so proud. :D
That was in 1997 as I remember. I've been in and out of AH ever since.
OK, I get an email from a friend sometime last year telling me about this great new combat game "IL2". I dabbled with it until Forgotten Battles came out and then I took the plunge. It has been lots of fun but now I've returned to Aces High. In case you're wondering why I'm back, read on.
First, let me just level with you about my skill level. I have been at this online combat thing for a long time. I think it was 1995 that I first faced a real-life opponent while paying for a long distance telephone call in the DOS game Fighter Duel. [Side note, I think my very first computer aircraft combat game experience was in 1993 - Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe, SWOTL. Man, I loved that game!]. Thus, you would think I am one of the better pilots in the game. After all, I've read Robert Shaw's book from cover to cover, more than once! Sorry about that, check my scores. Pretty sad. Good thing I approach this from a "fun" perspective.
It is precisely this "fun" perspective that has brought me back to AH after my little experiment with IL2. To summarize, here are the reasons--
1. AH is simply more fun than IL2.
Though I really do appreciate the attention to detail Oleg has put into the game, flying those planes is just too much work. Having to worry about engine temp, prop speed, rpm management, trim, etc. just gets old after a while. I don't mind that in MS Flight Sim so much as that's why I'm flying it [so as to get better and handling the aircraft] In a combat sim, I'm trying to shoot people down not keep my engine from overheating.
2. AH is OLMP, IL2 is not.
Nuff said. No boxed game can ever truly compete in the online, multi-player arena in my opinion. The only one that has come close is RB2; again, IMO.
3. I can't hit a blasted thing in IL2!!
This has been REALLY frustrating! I stand a better chance of getting a kill by chopping up your rudder with my prop than I do at getting bullets into your plane. No joke, I've actually gotten several kills that way after using up all my ammo trying to score hits! What a relief it is to actually start thinking about deflection shots again. Ahhhh, AH!
4. The flight models in IL2 seem to change with each patch! One of the things I really loved about IL2 was the realistic flight models. Way better than AH. But, there is this huge experiment that seems to go on constantly with the FM and you really have to wonder what's going on there.
5. The relationship Oleg has with his customers is a strange one. I don't join so many others to say Oleg Maddux does not care about or support the IL2 community. I think he really does care about the game and is trying hard to support it. It is pretty wierd though how they will come out saying a patch will come out "Monday at 12:00" and then nothing for three weeks! The mud begins to fly on the message boards and then he'll come out with some terse comments (his English is pretty limited) and everyone will settle down only to see things stir up again. A very bizzare thing to witness.
6. The bickering, fighting, finger pointing, and just general immaturity of those message boards over there in IL2 is something to behold. It seems there is the weekly "Boycot Maddux!" montra or the "I'm going back to 1.1..." Way worse than these message boards!! ;)
So, I'm glad to be back. I don't plan on going anywhere for a while. Especially with the anticipation of AH2.
Again, I've written this mostly to have fun and reminisce a little. Hope you've enjoyed it a little. I have.
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Originally posted by HomeBoy
6. The bickering, fighting, finger pointing, and just general immaturity of those message boards over there in IL2 is something to behold. It seems there is the weekly "Boycot Maddux!" montra or the "I'm going back to 1.1..." Way worse than these message boards!! ;)
Haven't been around here very much...have yah?? :D
Welcome back. Hope you continue to enjoy :).
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Welcome back HomeBoy!
Man... AH is sooo last century :D
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You missed the "variable flight modeling" which automatically increases all positve aspects of russian planes by 20% while maximizing all shortcomings in german models...although the underlying FM may well be a significant improvement on AH...with the "data points" figured in the functional FM's are pure fantasy.
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(http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~kaychan/fduel002.jpg)
Hmm so does this look familiar? I used to play Fighter Duel starting in January of 97 as Godfrog. AH is a big improvement over Fighter Duel but in it's day FD was a lot of fun. Welcome back Homeboy. :)
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You are right by a large margin but Forgotten Battles is light years ahead of AH in all but the massive online multi player thing. I play and enjoy both of them: AH for the online experience and FB for the beauty and challenge.
"4. The flight models in IL2 seem to change with each patch! One of the things I really loved about IL2 was the realistic flight models. Way better than AH. But, there is this huge experiment that seems to go on constantly with the FM and you really have to wonder what's going on there. "
All this changes are going in the right direction, that's what is important.
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Hey, hey, I remember you Godfrog.
Seems I remember shooting you down once or twice! :p
And thanks for posting the screenshot. Do I ever recognize the ole' "flying instrument panel"!!
S! to you and all the other FD'ers
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Yo, Homeboy, FD-Biggles here. I used to fly with/against you in FD, and a little bit in EAW, before the AH bug got me. Welcome back. As you may or may not know, Handy is in my AH squad, "Flying Zoo". We fly for rooks.
You might remember "Feen", from the FD days. He's here in AH, flying for the AKs, so he appears in the game as "AKFeen".
Again, welcome back.
-AlgyFT
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Originally posted by humble
You missed the "variable flight modeling" which automatically increases all positve aspects of russian planes by 20% while maximizing all shortcomings in german models...although the underlying FM may well be a significant improvement on AH...with the "data points" figured in the functional FM's are pure fantasy.
Il2 can still be fun....and I always fly Luftwaffe and it's more realistic than AH in many ways.
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Wow! This is becoming the Figther Duel reuinion here!
Very nice to hear from you Biggles. We had some good wars there in EAW did we not? I remember liking it much better when you were on my side!
I spoke with Handy the other night. That's what prompted me to post this to start with. In fact, it was Handy that brought me into this game way back in the Beta days.
Yes indeed, Feen. Do I ever remember him! I could never shoot that guy down! I bet I still can't! After Fighter Duel, I used to see Feen in Flying Circus (anyone remember that WW1 OLMP?). I believe he used to fly some RB2 as well. Great pilot.
As for IL2, I still enjoy it myself but for the reasons I stated I find AH simply FUN! No question IL2 is a generation ahead of AH but not in the fun department! That's the last I'll say about that! :cool:
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The eye-candy is nice in IL2 but the only thing it really has over AH is...
The Brewster Buffalo!
Man I love flying the tub. :D
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Humble, you surly don't believe that non-sense you're spouting do you? I don't believe that for a second. :lol
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If we had Il-2 Gunnery and damage AH would be a fuggin blast. But we have the hizooka at 1.2 and can kill your engine in a 190 from dead 6 in a heartbeat. I had a blast in Fb but the network problems drove me nuts, haven't tried it since last patch which I have heard fixed a lot of things. both are great depends on what you are looking for . I am looking for teh sequel to SWOTL which is coming out next month!!!!!
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Originally posted by AHGOD
If we had Il-2 Gunnery and damage AH would be a fuggin blast. But we have the hizooka at 1.2 and can kill your engine in a 190 from dead 6 in a heartbeat. I had a blast in Fb but the network problems drove me nuts, haven't tried it since last patch which I have heard fixed a lot of things. both are great depends on what you are looking for . I am looking for teh sequel to SWOTL which is coming out next month!!!!!
I loved SWOTL back in the early 90's! Are you serious about a sequel? Website with details? Thx.
Algy
Arcade? Yes, definitely. Nice looking screenshots, though.
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http://www.lucasarts.com/products/normandy/
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Originally posted by Zanth
http://www.lucasarts.com/products/normandy/
Can you say ARCADE... :D
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Nah, ain't happening. There is NO sequel to SWOTL! There was a magic to SWOTL that simply cannot be repeated.
Call me a naysayer but I don't think this has a chance. We are just too sophisticated and demanding these days. I can see the message board titles now: "Flight model of new SWOTL is a total joke!!", "Online play not worth the effort", and worse.
SWOTL worked because it was innovative, imaginative, creative, something that had never been done. Sequels by definition are none of those.
Nope, ain't happening.
Course I'd love it if it they could pull it off. :D
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Originally posted by HomeBoy
Humble, you surly don't believe that non-sense you're spouting do you? I don't believe that for a second. :lol
The posts I've seen seem to be from the same type of "technodweebs" we have here...I've never found reason to doubt the overall validity of the numbers they crank out. I'd agree the underlying formula for the FM and DM in IL-2 are better than AH....but I've flown both the original and FB and the performance envelopes are pretty clearly biased. So I don't think its nonsense at all....if you've seen someone post numbers that counter what I've seen then please post a link...always up to being edumacated:)
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Originally posted by Zanth
http://www.lucasarts.com/products/normandy/
Any "flight sim" that is ported simultaneously over to a console most likely isn't going to be a quality "flight sim".
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Originally posted by AHGOD
If we had Il-2 Gunnery and damage AH would be a fuggin blast. But we have the hizooka at 1.2 and can kill your engine in a 190 from dead 6 in a heartbeat.
I lost my 109s hub cannon to a dead 6 hizooka at 900.
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Homeboy,
Come see me some afternoon in the TA we'll see what we can do to polish those skills.
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Originally posted by Pooh21
I lost my 109s hub cannon to a dead 6 hizooka at 900.
Shell arc'ed down onto the wing near the wing root, detonated, and drove a piece of shrapnel into the fuselage, severing the electrical connection to the firing mechanism of the 30mm cannon. The remainder of the shrapnel does minor airframe damage, but doesn't break anything major.
It's an odd shot, but it's not impossible...