Here I am, waiting for a part of my childhood (Air Warrior for Windows, so what it's old? I still miss it, yo.) And I'm lurking around the internet looking for old info on it. And I stumble upon something kinda... not new. Not new at all.
http://www.electraforge.com/brooke/flightsims/air_warrior/awtaman.txtI was reading through it, having a grand old time. Mostly about how not-quite-right some of the old flightmodels where, and I stumbled onto part 6.5. Ettiquette.
I've been lurking the Aces High forum for some time now, and I am amazed that some of these things have been a problems for 10 years. Probably more.
Hell, that's 5/9ths of my life. (Lulz, yeah, I played Air Warrior when I was 8.) Kind of a long read (Low attention span for me.) But I'll copy and paste it, hopefully someone might read it...
6.5 ETIQUETTE
I know what you are saying: "Emily Post was no Air-Warrior
pilot." So what's this section on etiquette, anyway? Well,
there are some things that you can do in Air Warrior that will
really piss people off. I figure that I should explain them --
not so that you won't piss people off (that's your choice to
make) but so that you at least won't piss people off
unintentionally. Also, practicing Air-Warrior etiquette will
usually cause you to be considered a real stand-up kind of guy, a
true man's man of Air Warrior (even if you happen to be a woman),
and some people like being thusly considered. So, with the
reasons out of the way, what are the big gaffs one can make in
Air Warrior?
During a battle, bailing out of a plane that can still fight.
This is the mark of a true sissy. The Air-Warrior credo
(heretofore and henceforth unstated) stipulates that a pilot
should, if possible, hold on to the bitter end. Now, if your
plane gets shot up and loses an engine, ailerons, or elevator, or
if you have run completely out of ammo, bailing out is OK because
your plane can't fight anymore. Actually, in the case of an
engine failure or running out of ammo, a true pilot's pilot would
still stay in the fight, diving for speed when needed, possibly
going for a forced landing while under attack when completely out
of altitude, or trying to get the enemy to crash, trying to get
into a situation where it is possible to disengage, or holding on
for help to arrive. However, bailing out in these cases at least
won't qualify you as (too much of) a sissy. Bailing out is even
OK if your plane is fine, but no enemy is engaging you or chasing
you. Most importantly, though, if your plane is shot up but
still flyable (even if it is losing fuel or oil) or if an enemy
is still chasing you (whether or not he has yet caught you), you
should stay in the plane, even if you are vastly outnumbered.
One of the most loathsome acts in Air Warrior is to run away from
an enemy for a long period of time and a great distance only to
bail out when the enemy finally closes to firing range.
(Divebombing Lanc... much...?)
Bombing the crap out of the enemy when he is heavily outnumbered.
Let's say that there are 4 A-landers up and 16 C-landers. With
such lopsided odds, the C-landers should not be bombing A-land
airfields. Why not? Isn't this war? Yes, but with such odds,
there is little the A-landers can do to stop the bombing
onslaught, and when enough A-land airfields are disabled, the
outnumbered A-landers are likely simply to log off, leaving the
C-landers with no opponents. Not much fun, eh? If you're so
eager to bomb that you don't mind that there isn't enough
opposition to make it challenging, you might as well go bomb some
neutral fields or targets that don't matter to the A-landers'
choice of planes or airfields. A better choice is to switch
countries so that you can help even up the odds.
(2 Countries beating up on the little guy... much? Though, we don't have neutral fields anymore. That would be fun, if you ask me, bases that don't start defended and you have to fight everyone for the right to claim the base.)
Sometimes, there are only a few people up. In such
circumstances, it's not couth to jump an enemy right after he
takes off. If it's only 1-on-1 with no one else around -- let
the guy get at least a little altitude and airspeed before you
jump him. A truly chivalrous pilot will adjust the circumstances
so that he and the enemy engage at the same altitude and similar
airspeed. If it's 2-on-1 with no one else around -- you should
definitely let the enemy get up to your altitude and airspeed.
Let him know on the radio that you're giving him some time to do
so. He might say that he doesn't care and that you can come
attack him at any time. In that case, as you dive in on him to
deliver his certain doom, you should note to yourself how truly
manly and virile he is.
(I'll admit that I've kinda... done this, I'm not proud. I want to change it. T_T)
Diving into a 2-on-1 fight, making it a 3-on-1 fight. This is
more of a fine point. Most pilots accept 2-on-1 odds (even
against them), but 3-on-1 is usually overkill -- 4-on-1 is
definitely overkill. Your time is better spent covering your
comrades in the fight by keeping a watch for other enemies
showing up. Your comrades in the fight generally won't be in
good position to deal with another enemy diving into the action
-- but you can be. You can also call out warnings that more
enemies are showing up, and you can engage a newly arriving enemy
before he has a chance to dive into the action, spoiling his
attempt to assist his hapless buddy. If the fight becomes a
1-on-1 while you are keeping watch, feel free to dive in; or if
one of your countrymen in the fight calls for help, you should
dive in regardless of how lopsided the odds are in his favor.
(Now, I see this more as the guy who dives in to get the kill just to get the kill. Even if his target already has two people on him. It seems weak, to me.)
Thanks for reading some oooooollllld problems.
