WWI No icon areana

[gyrene81]

lol.  Myh lack of visual acuity is imposed by requirements of space and family.  So maybe self-imposed.

I seem to not be able to find anywhere on the front page under system requirements where it says "If you don't have at least a 24" monitor running 100 fps then you will be severely handicapped playing against others."

Icons are more of a leveling field than no icons; it evens the playing field for those that can't afford or are otherwise unable to run large monitors.  Otherwise the game turns into a race of the biggest and fastest have distinct advantages.

I would even go as far to say that requiring better hardware is against HTC's best interest.  Those that have the bigger and better are normally more active players that are on all the time and use a lot more resources.  Casual gamers like myself use a lot less server resources.  HTC can comfortably support 10-15 players like myself compared the those more dedicated players.  Yet I'm still paying the same amount per month and have been around as long as a decent percentage of the rest...

PS  "Zoom function"? I don't recall them having those on WW1 aircraft....

I'm guessing you have a 15.3 inch laptop running a "video chip" with 256MB memory onboard and supplemental up to 1024MB with shared system memory depending how the video chip is set in the bios...none of the base model onboard chips are capable of running more than 256 textures regardless of resolution but, the better ones allow detailed terrain to be turned on...estimated cost $950 +/- retail depending on hardware configuration...same cost as my desktop with a 22 inch monitor that only gets 59fps and takes up a small space in a corner of 1 bedroom. It's not the size of the monitor so much as the capacity of the video card that makes the difference...and the difference is mostly in how easily objects are rendered, nothing more...the guy with 3 24inch monitors and a Track IR system is going to have the advantage in being able to see more than someone running a 15 inch monitor using the hatswitch for changing views...that's just a fact of life...but that is as far as the advantage goes.

Do you honestly believe..."Casual gamers use a lot less resources"...? and when each individual connects, they use less server resources than a more frequent player that uses desktop computer set up for gaming?...that's not even close to reality...more than 1/2 the active players, regardless of hardware, call themselves "casual gamers", you can see it in their stats listed as "time"...and since AH is a client/server application, each connection is nothing more than translational data to coordinate the input of each client...the heavy graphics are all handled by the client system, not the server...that's why HTC can "comfortably handle" several hundred connections on a single server without putting much of a load on it.

And the "zoom function" though not included in real life for any war as part of the basic loadout on humans at birth is included in AH to make up for the lack of realistic focal point vision and the accompanying visual acuity that humans use to identify distant objects...they didn't use a mouse and keyboard to fly airplanes in WWI either but that doesn't mean a thing in the cartoon skies of AH.

It may be true that at the most extreme range, where every and any plane shows up only as a single pixel, that lower resolutions make that "one pixel" show up a bit more clearly.

Just wanted to mention that. Lower resolution good for spotting 10k dots, but not for IDing anything closer.

That seems to be what everyone speaking out against no enemy icons is worried about...the distant dots. I don't think AH supports anything lower than 800x600 though...I've run it at 1024x768 on a 15inch monitor and aside from some of the in cockpit graphics not showing properly...it's not bad...FOV is narrow...aircraft silhouettes show a little jagged around the edges at all ranges...up close the details are a bit smudgy...even with 1024 textures.

[ScatterFire]

I'm guessing you have a 15.3 inch laptop running a "video chip" with 256MB memory onboard and supplemental up to 1024MB with shared system memory depending how the video chip is set in the bios...none of the base model onboard chips are capable of running more than 256 textures regardless of resolution but, the better ones allow detailed terrain to be turned on...estimated cost $950 +/- retail depending on hardware configuration...same cost as my desktop with a 22 inch monitor that only gets 59fps and takes up a small space in a corner of 1 bedroom. It's not the size of the monitor so much as the capacity of the video card that makes the difference...and the difference is mostly in how easily objects are rendered, nothing more...the guy with 3 24inch monitors and a Track IR system is going to have the advantage in being able to see more than someone running a 15 inch monitor using the hatswitch for changing views...that's just a fact of life...but that is as far as the advantage goes.

Yep, 15.4 wide, crappy Intel 945 chipset.  Rest of the machine is decent with a Core 2Duo and 3 GB ram.  Wasn't hard to figure that out since this class of video card representative of some 75% of all computers, desktop or laptop, 3-6 years ago.  Also meaning a large portion of HTC customers.  It should tell you something when HighTech specifically mentioned that the built in Intel cards would work correctly after the new graphics were released 

And I have a decent machine.  3 years ago it would have been considered a higher end one, capable of running EVE smoothly at highest resolution.  Today it is a glorified VCR sitting in our bedroom, its hard drives full of children's videos is streams to other computers in the house.  I know I'm at a disadvantage because I make a conscious decision to play where the rest of the family is rather than hiding in the back room, because I would rather pay for 6 months of pre-school or a year of dance classes for my 5 yr old than buy a new rig to play a GAME, because I play 10-12 hours a month rather than living on the machine.  But at least I can play, which in the end is all any of us ask.

Want to really have fun?  When my backlight died I got to play for a month on one of the netbooks we were evaluating for work; 8.4" is not enough screen 

Do you honestly believe..."Casual gamers use a lot less resources"...? and when each individual connects, they use less server resources than a more frequent player that uses desktop computer set up for gaming?...that's not even close to reality...more than 1/2 the active players, regardless of hardware, call themselves "casual gamers", you can see it in their stats listed as "time"...and since AH is a client/server application, each connection is nothing more than translational data to coordinate the input of each client...the heavy graphics are all handled by the client system, not the server...that's why HTC can "comfortably handle" several hundred connections on a single server without putting much of a load on it.

Elementary my dear Watson.  I play 10-15 hours a month.  Many others play 5-10x that.  I play mostly during non-peak hours (while the munchkin is winding down and preparing for bed), most "serious" players are on a peak.  Simple math says that I have a lower load on the system simply because I AM NOT ON. Yet I pay the same amount a month even during the months I don't get to play at all....

And the "zoom function" though not included in real life for any war as part of the basic loadout on humans at birth is included in AH to make up for the lack of realistic focal point vision and the accompanying visual acuity that humans use to identify distant objects...they didn't use a mouse and keyboard to fly airplanes in WWI either but that doesn't mean a thing in the cartoon skies of AH.

So, you fully advocate a crunch as an excuse as to why its ok to cripple players that can't afford or otherwise use higher-end hardware and larger monitors   That lack of detail and compensation for not being able to see as well in game as real life is exactly why I'm arguing against this idea!

[CGAR]

Still have 3 servers not being used, lets pray we have a little more choice then what we have now.  I could understand everyones argument if we had to dismantel a highly populated/ successful server to give this a go, but my goodness folks we have NOTHING going on at the other servers!  If if doesnt work out then just change it back to normal and let the server sit there and do nothing once again. 

For those that think they would not have fun in this type of arena either b/c of balance issues, or PC probs, just stay in the MA and nothing will change for you sheesh. 

[Nr_RaVeN]

 @ Box.... .. no worries Ill come find you in yours I like that arena and many of the great guys in there as well.

@Karnak.. ..  enough with the name calling posts..between the disingenuous ,am I an idiot, and can I read? comments, I'm not going to reply to you further than this .... You know full well the undertone of your previous posts.  

@ Kusty... ... That's true but at low res its not horrible, it is totally possible and the numbers running crap resolutions like that compared to the gamers that aren't is low.  I did actually fly the 640x480 res.. granted 10 years ago.  It didn't stop me. You learn to merge with more E until you get  the SA needed to prevail. I stuck it out and when I could afored it I upgraded. I  had to relearn all over again with the better equipment. at first it was a set back..I the adjusted to those resolutions. Ultimately its about a better looking sim experience with better equipment. But yes you can do well ruining lower res without question. I did it for years.

@Scatter....
The spirit of this thread was for choice were there is room for one With WWI AC..



AGAIN THE ARENA IS A BY CHOICE AREANA THIS IS NOT A DEBATE OVER CONVERTING AH TO NO ICONS ITS JUST ONE AREAN OUT OF 4 FOR WWI
 The arena was  a by choice wish arena for those that are into it. The guys that want a change from years of the same old same old.

Its real simple if you don't like or cant hang with this one out of 4 areans set up this way... don't fly it.


Why hold others back who can.

  Beside the equipment doesn't mater as much as your all making out.
 
In fact we can all agree the dots show up better with lower res.

  In other sims when holding matches for "TUSA", they would assign a guy to lower his res to be our spotter. He would radio in con numbers heading etc from the moon. This guy when he did engage had a really good kill score. Once in range to dog fight didn't mater his resolution He got the job done. That was No icons at all on both sides. This is from fist had experience, most of you are speaking from opinionated speculation.

Higher res makes it like any game, a more enjoyable eye pleasing experience. Most gamers have nice rigs and overclock the cards etc, for that reason.

 If your Flying low res and are having a hard time don't use that arena. Do you want to hold the rest back that have invested the time and effort into good equipment and pull them down to your playing field because your not as into as they are and only play occasionally?
Should we conform to your lower standards?

@ Gyrene81.. ... Keep swinging we got em surrounded..

Still have 3 servers not being used, lets pray we have a little more choice then what we have now.  I could understand everyones argument if we had to dismantel a highly populated/ successful server to give this a go, but my goodness folks we have NOTHING going on at the other servers!  If if doesnt work out then just change it back to normal and let the server sit there and do nothing once again. 

For those that think they would not have fun in this type of arena either b/c of balance issues, or PC probs, just stay in the MA and nothing will change for you sheesh. 

^ What He SAID ^

 AGAIN THE ARENA IS A BY CHOICE AREANA THIS IS NOT A DEBATE OVER CONVERTING AH TO NO ICONS ITS JUST ONE AREAN OUT OF 4 FOR WWI
 The arena is a by choice arena for those that are into it the guys that want a change from years of the same old same old.
If your not into that you have 3 other WWI areans and 5 other areans that have icons on for you and mixed plane sets Where's the problem??

[Nr_RaVeN]

 

[gyrene81]

Yep, 15.4 wide, crappy Intel 945 chipset.  Rest of the machine is decent with a Core 2Duo and 3 GB ram.  Wasn't hard to figure that out since this class of video card representative of some 75% of all computers, desktop or laptop, 3-6 years ago.  Also meaning a large portion of HTC customers.  It should tell you something when HighTech specifically mentioned that the built in Intel cards would work correctly after the new graphics were released 

Actually the intel 945 graphics chip is on the lower end and was only stock on business class and basic home models from some manufacturers...only stock retail boxed systems that were not in the "gaming" class of systems...it was never more than barely adequate for any 3D first person perspective games, it could barely run Call of Duty 2 or IL2 adequately. Even games like Civilization 3 and Rome Total War taxed it to the point of freezing up.

And I have a decent machine.  3 years ago it would have been considered a higher end one, capable of running EVE smoothly at highest resolution.  Today it is a glorified VCR sitting in our bedroom, its hard drives full of children's videos is streams to other computers in the house.  I know I'm at a disadvantage because I make a conscious decision to play where the rest of the family is rather than hiding in the back room, because I would rather pay for 6 months of pre-school or a year of dance classes for my 5 yr old than buy a new rig to play a GAME, because I play 10-12 hours a month rather than living on the machine.  But at least I can play, which in the end is all any of us ask.

You're all over the place there...you have a laptop and at least 2 desktops in your house...and 1 desktop could run AH better than that laptop with a simple video card upgrade, much less than a new system  ...I have a 6 year old system that runs AH, with lower settings than my gaming rig obviously...but if I wanted to run AH on my old rig with better settings, all I need to do is buy a better video card. But, in computer terms...3 years is outdated...regardless of how well it runs the operating system or old programs.

Simple math says that I have a lower load on the system simply because I AM NOT ON. Yet I pay the same amount a month even during the months I don't get to play at all....

That's not simple math, it's basic physics...you can't put any load on a computer that your not interacting in some manner with. When you do connect to one of the arena's you put the same load on it that everyone else does.

So, you fully advocate a crunch as an excuse as to why its ok to cripple players that can't afford or otherwise use higher-end hardware and larger monitors   That lack of detail and compensation for not being able to see as well in game as real life is exactly why I'm arguing against this idea!

The zoom function is hardly a crutch (or crunch  )...and I already stated specifically what it compensates for, nothing to do with higher end hardware or larger monitors...for people who have their default head position set back away from the instrument panel to keep a good FOV inside the cockpit and not have some gauges out of sight, using the zoom function is a fast way to get close to the gunsight and see where the bullets are going when it comes time to fire...and if you don't have it set in a manner that you are comfortable with, it can be very detrimental trying maintain SA while shooting at another plane.

[hitech]

I see I'm getting no responce to my very direct question from the naysayers... ... conveniently avoiding the question speaks volumes........

Id recommend getting some experience under your belt before you squawk.... Pepole tend to mock what they don't understand.

Try it you'll like it 
RaVe

How about a direct response from me.

It's not going to happen.

Is that direct enough?

HiTech

[Nr_RaVeN]

I don't quite understand the abrupt tone....I certainly dont feel the tone or spirit of my wish or the way it was presented by me was deserving of that type of response.


 Yet it was what I was hoping for a one way or the other from the top. Also saves lots of time going peepee into the wind.

I'm curious what is the reasoning behind that? I'm sure you have a good reason. Could you educate and enlighten your customer base please?

Thanks RaVe



 

[hitech]

I don't quite understand the abrupt tone....I certainly dont feel the tone or spirit of my wish or the way it was presented by me was deserving of that type of response.


 Yet it was what I was hoping for a one way or the other from the top. Also saves lots of time going peepee into the wind.

I'm curious what is the reasoning behind that? I'm sure you have a good reason. Could you educate and enlighten your customer base please?

Thanks RaVe

Sorry for abrupt tone, I'm in a pissy mood today.

HiTech

[CGAR]

?

Well guess they have more plans for the other unused servers.  HiTech any reason this tpe of play wont be considered on an unused server?  Thanks for your time.

[Nr_RaVeN]

No worries. All is well. Was just wondering  

[Boxboy]

Sorry for abrupt tone, I'm in a pissy mood today.

HiTech

LOL I have had alot those days lately keep swinging bud it gets better sooner or later, as an old Vermont farmer told me long ago "it can't rain EVERY day"  

[Karnak]

Nr RaVeN,

I don't know what the burr under your saddle is, but you insulted me, then you get upset when I call you on it?  Grow up.  I was not rude to you in any way until you decided to get nasty with me.

[Nr_RaVeN]

I didn't realise I was rude to you. My apologies, no offence intended. Your comment about me being "disingenuous" came first that insulted me. That was the trigger on this end. Perhaps I took it the wrong way and fired back to quick. I think I simply said your argument wasn't credible because it wasn't based on experience. It wasn't meant as  personal attack. I try to be non confrontational. Sorry for the mix up.

 Some time in chat things could come out wrong the "oh come on man" tone could come off like Screw you bleepbadeepleep" no worries, I don't have anything against you at all. I have no hard feelings toward you and hope you feel the same