Author Topic: An old idea with a new twist… (Read 1025 times)

Eagler · « **Reply #15 on:** November 13, 2002, 01:07:14 PM »

I like it

Icons off, no firing til your close enough to id

killshooter off - so if you make a mistake, your buddy goes down not you, just like the real deal - cept you hear about it on vox

I like it

Eagler · « **Reply #16 on:** November 13, 2002, 01:09:03 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by CurtissP-6EHawk
Leave Icons on however, TURN OFF DISTANCE COUNTERS! Personaly I dont care if it tells me what kind of plane it is. A simple red dot or line over it is fine with me. My computer is nearly five years old and I caint play in hi res.

i think you still have dot dar to tell which is which

if its there the refresh delay should be like 20 secs

Nifty · « **Reply #17 on:** November 13, 2002, 01:25:49 PM »

none of your wishes are possible as an arena setting.

Here are the icon settings the arena has.

short and long. That's it. There is no way to turn off icons globally. There is no way to get rid of the distance counter.

All of the things you mentioned you should post on the gameplay forum as options for CMs to use in the CT and SEA. They don't exist now, and I don't think they will ever exist without tons of support from the player base.

Sorry to disappoint, but that's just the way the arena settings are right now.

CurtissP-6EHawk · « **Reply #18 on:** November 13, 2002, 02:12:38 PM »

Eagler you been flying in CT lately? We only have dot dar inside field radar range of about a 10 mile radius. We do have bar dar though!!

It would be nice to get the distance programing changed. Let the gun sights rings do the counting for you.

Icons turned off altogether inside dogfighting range (D2.0?) would be nice. But that would require yet another program mod.

Xjazz · « **Reply #19 on:** November 13, 2002, 02:35:10 PM »

S! Nifty

I know that the Short & Long Icons are only host/server Arena Setting this moment.

If HTC would kindly provide new icon options for host in Arena Settins then those who like to try something else, could use it in h2h rooms. FLAME ON!

HTC have hard time with many ohther tasks than just "Nice to have" things.

Maybe some day...

Nifty · « **Reply #20 on:** November 13, 2002, 03:03:57 PM »

part of my point was to get you guys that do want these things to post about it on the gameplay forum. Make it known that you don't want these things in the MA at all, but only as options for arena settings (SEA, CT and H2H arenas.) The CM team (and I'm sure the CT team) ask for these things every so often, but without support of the players, it's not something that's going to come about. The programming mod shouldn't be that hard to force no icons, so it's probably not a time issue with HTC. It's more of a philosophical one. One that won't get changed without significant interest from the community (and sincere, well-articulated interest at that.)

Personally, I'd like no icons as an option. Why? It's not in the MA for one reason. It's not something we'd use very often at all, so it doesn't even affect that many people who enjoy our events but would hate a no-icon environment. To me, it's no different than a night event. I hate night in game and will never fly a night event. That doesn't mean I won't show up for something that interests me. So those that can't stand no-icons would just skip that event (or week in the CT) and come back for the next one. That's not a negative at all, IMO. Having said that... I probably wouldn't fly a no-icon event. I've tried no icons and I have a hard time IDing friend from foe except in early Pac when all the IJN are white and all the USN are blue.

LÃ¶we · « **Reply #21 on:** November 13, 2002, 08:18:24 PM »

When everyones computers are the same, then no icons will work. You got people using different vid cards, monitor sizes, machine speeds, and resolution. This is just going to be fun for the guys with big monitors and great graphic cards. Fry this damn chicken until the technology for everyone to see the same thing exist. Just because you got a Corvette doesnt mean all the Geo drivers want to race you.

How many people come into the CT now, and leave complaining about chasing dots?
"Just a week "doesnt wash, most of us are always doing "Just a week" in setups we don't really care for, but hang in there for the sake of the CT. Now theres has to be a setup that some people will not be able to compete in so the few no icon guys can have their way?
Don't get me wrong I'd like no icons, but not at the expense of other people, we're not there yet, let it rest.
Just my 2cents.

Eagler · « **Reply #22 on:** November 14, 2002, 07:27:55 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Löwe
When everyones computers are the same, then no icons will work. You got people using different vid cards, monitor sizes, machine speeds, and resolution. This is just going to be fun for the guys with big monitors and great graphic cards. Fry this damn chicken until the technology for everyone to see the same thing exist. Just because you got a Corvette doesnt mean all the Geo drivers want to race you.
How many people come into the CT now, and leave complaining about chasing dots?
"Just a week "doesnt wash, most of us are always doing "Just a week" in setups we don't really care for, but hang in there for the sake of the CT. Now theres has to be a setup that some people will not be able to compete in so the few no icon guys can have their way?
Don't get me wrong I'd like no icons, but not at the expense of other people, we're not there yet, let it rest.
Just my 2cents.

Lowe

what about frame rate?
Should AH just close down until everyone has 85fps min? Not fair to those guys with slower computers, vid cards and bad connections ya know

If there was a way to make a room iconless, beside the honor system- I think it should be tried in a CT scenerio. It would be "just a week" I love CT but this week ain't my bag. Waiting on Friday for a change - no big deal.

eskimo2 · « **Reply #23 on:** November 14, 2002, 04:13:51 PM »

Some of the information that icons give us is actually better than RL.
Positive Identification - Friend or Foe, the computer does not make mistakes on this and clearly labels planes as a friend or foe.
Range, it always reads perfectly down to the yard. Mr. Spock couldn’t even do that.
Friendly plane ID, at 3 miles I don’t think I could tell the difference between Sabre’s P-51D and Jarbo’s P-51D.
Enemy plane ID, at 3 miles I don’t think I could tell the difference between a 202 and a 205.
Enemy plane ID no matter what the lighting. Even in the dead of night, all Icons glow like neon.
Camo is worthless within icon range, even at a glance.

Some of these concessions are needed for gameplay. The MA could never exist without icons. For example all countries have the same planes.
Some of these concessions are needed to help make up for what PC monitors lack compared to RL eyesight. Pixels, peripheral vision, frame rates, and reflection are just a few things that make vision in AH much worse than RL. Computer games like AH MUST offer some unrealistically accurate information to help make up for what they technologically cannot match compared to RL.

I would never advocate AH being more realistic OVERALL without them. However, I do think that on occasion only, it would be fun to trade the benefits of icons (both the realistic and beyond realistic benefits) for the more realistic LOOK of a no icon arena. It would be an entire new set of fighting and flying dilemmas. Some of those dilemmas WOULD be more realistic. The LOOK, clearly would be more realistic. The visual information that each player would receive would only be a small fraction of that of RL. Gameplay would be very different. Players would get mad . Bounces would happen often. Killshootering most likely would reach an all time high.

Because of the inherent drawbacks from a lack of information with no icons, I still think a singles Vs. twins scenario would provide all players with as level a playing field as could be hoped for in a no icon environment.

But don’t worry, it can’t happen…
Yet.

eskimo

Miska · « **Reply #24 on:** November 14, 2002, 05:44:56 PM »

Sure it can. Do what I do. I turn off enemy icons when flying with squad, and turn off all icons when flying solo. You are right about the LOOK being different. Just having no enemy icons gives the fights an entirely new feeling. Sometimes I forget to hit alt-i twice on the runway. Then I see an enemy icon and think "what the?" It just looks terrible to me now.

CurtissP-6EHawk · « **Reply #25 on:** November 14, 2002, 06:55:02 PM »

Eagler...what Miska said...you want iconless, hit the key button wooola, no icons

ergRTC · « **Reply #26 on:** November 14, 2002, 10:05:23 PM »

call us socialists if you like hawk, but in the ct we (the royal we) like forcing rules on what people can do. Base capture, which planes you can fly, all sorts of stuff. Most of the fun is knowing that everybody else is dealing with it too. I would never fly the p40b in the ma, although I could just as easily as hitting alt i. Why? Cause its no fun when your opponents are in p51s and la7s. Thats why I fly in the CT.

CurtissP-6EHawk · « **Reply #27 on:** November 14, 2002, 11:15:26 PM »

I flew no icons in WBs 2.xx but WBsIII wont run on my computer and is one reason I dont play it. AH is bad enough, I wont be able to see toejam if we go no icons in there. My computer is a five year old gateway with a few measly upgrades. I upgraded what I had just tobe able tofly WBs 2.xx then 3 months later they up it to WBIII then charge an arm and a leg for 2.xx. Wont go anyfurther into detail. I will not be getting another one when this one finally dies.

ergRTC · « **Reply #28 on:** November 15, 2002, 09:03:11 AM »

You were under the impression that you could buy a computer that would last for more than 2 years? Hawk if I were you, I would look into building your own. Its not a bad little hobby and you can keep your computer just behind the curve for very little money. I spend about 300 dollars a year on mine, normally that means a new processor/motherboard/memory one year and then a new video card/hard drive/monitor the next. If you put away just 30 or so bucks a month you can kinda look forward to it once you get enough. I would hate to see you stop playing cause your computer is outdated. I often sell my old equipment for a 100 bucks or so (giving my parents my old old computer for christmas 800 mhz athlon thunderbird with a viper 770 ultra 32mg and 256 megs of ram). The computer I have now cost me 400 dollars to build and is quite nice 2100+ amd xp, good msi motherboard, msi geforce 3 ti200 64meg, 512 megs of 2100 ram, and a 40 gb ibm harddrive.

1 yr ago when I was flying with that 800mhz chip combo above, I was still getting 45 fps, down to 25 in a big big furball, and that puter would only cost you about 200 dollars to build.