Perk Planes

[humble]

All in all, the top and bottom of the scale seem to be the planes of choice. I will fly the C-hog a bit...but my tendancy to T&B the thing makes it a forgone loss...but lot of fun to jabo in. I flew the tempest a bit early on and its an unbeatable plane...at least I've never lost one (or even been pinged in it). I haven't flown the 262 since the 1st day of release but eventually will get around to it. My only venture out in a 152 ended up poorly...got bounced by fester in an La-5 at 3,000 ft  .

As for the other rides...all have there weak points. No need to perk anything else IMO. The 109G10 is easily the toughest nut to crack if well flown...but it's not an uber plane. The La-7 is a close 2nd but is not a hard kill unless it's flown to its edge.

As for the spit's and nikki's they are deadly in swarms...and awful tough with E & alt.

To me the F6F, P51b, and la-5 are the "hidden gems" in the game and the yak is actually the most cabable plane. I'd like to see the perk rides expanded by adding the more exotic varients....20mm x 4 stang...P47M...couple of the low production late war rice rockets etc....again just my 2 cents.

[Wotan]

As for liking the perk system now I do believe its kept the arena from being over run by dominant aircraft but it also (152) has kept aircraft that were rare some what so.

dominant aircraft were to include temp, 262

rare were to include 152 234 f4u-4 chog

sorry for the confusion......

Dominating also refers to competent pilots flying the planes. We all know that its the pilot (or I hope so that makes a plane ultimately dominant) but the aircraft performance is a big part of that.

[Seeker]

Why arbitrarily choose 8 perkies as the minimum? You could make the P-51D (or SpitIX, or G-10) a mere 1 perky.

It would make no difference at all for an experienced pilot, but it would be a milestone of achivement for a newbie. They like that.

And it would be a lot of fun to go cruising in a "B" and spring some surprises on people  

It would be very interesting to see what just one solitary perk point could do to the K/D figures for a month.

[humble]

The B model has been my pony of choice for awhile...I feel it T&B's better at lower alts were I tend to end up. The visability is somewhat worse but I really dont feel that I lose much on hitting power. The 4x.50's seem to pack about the same punch...I usually need a couple decent bursts either way.

added at edit

Seeker after dwelling on it...I'd be curious as well. Maybe "perking" all rides above a median level...even if it's a point or two would be interesting.

I'd say somethin like this:

G10    1 point
D9     1 point
51D    1 point
la-7   2 points
spitIX 2 points
nikki  2 points

I don't know how much it would effect use. i'm mixed on the nikki...I got bounced by 4 ponies a few days back...killed 3 and augered the last...BUT...also have had my prettythang handed to me a few times in fair fights. The FM changes have definately made it a better plane IMO. It's still the best T&B plane in the game but not as bad a UFO anymore. It's still the toughest plane to counter if you get caught by one, but it's a much fairer fight.

Perking the spitty is a tough call since its a 43 plane...hard to justify.

[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: humble ]

[Serapis]

Based on the figures already presented the 51D already has less than a 1:1 ratio. Upon what do you base your request for perking it????

Mavrick

Wotan and Zippatuh pretty much cover my reason why. In general, IMO, there are two tiers of aircraft in AH (except for the late 1945 series that are highly perked and rarely seen): 109G10, 190D9, P-51D/B, LA-7, the Yaks, F4U D/C -- then there are the rest. These planes have the speed and acceleration needed to get a kill or get out of trouble that is a notable plateau above the rest of the competition and without the disabilities found in a Typhoon, for example. They also tend to have earlier versions that are kind of pointless right now (my main argument for a light perk on the 51D -- why the hell have a b model anyway now?). I like variety a lot, but I'm not going play target for 90 percent of the current arena flying some combination of the top tier aircraft.

Also, why bother adding any new plane earlier than the existing top tier? Scenarios are great, but I will miss this one (bought a new house this month so no time), and will have to wait I don't know how many months for the next one. And I don't know when HTC will sort out a working CT with a functional strat. I would like to see a Spit XVI LF/E added (more than a 14 even) and would have no trouble getting a realistic Spit IX F/B and having the 16 be an 8-point perk. By the same token, if they add a P-51H I wouldn't mind there being a lower perk value (along with all the other monster tier aircraft)so that you would see one more than 2-3 times a tour.

For what I enjoy in gaming (variety, and the chance to pit real-world advesaries from all periods of the War) an enhaced perk set, rolling perk set or rolling plane set are the only real solutions that I can see. Or, give me a working CT (reasonable strat, etc.) that will attact reasonable numbers and I wouldn't care less about an MA with 90 percent of the planes flown representing less than a third or so of those availiable.

Just my opinion and nothing more, just like yours.

Charon

[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: Charon ]

[humble]

Charon,

I find very little difference between D&B ponies. I fly the B more often than the D. Recently I've been flying the F6 and had no problem with any other plane type ( couple of pilot types hammer my prettythang though ).

Truthfully, any of the planes can be flown competitively....even in the MA. It's really a question of mindset/useage. I rarely land a sortie, but thats more a question of personal choice. I'll get in deep and eventually get nailed...or run out of gas (F6 in particular). I've found the 109F is actually a nice ride in the MA. The spitV is the preffered ride of choice for many of the better spit drivers as well.

[RangerBob]

There is a basic flaw with the Perk System.

Pilots have the impression that those with the most perk points are the best pilots, when in fact this is not the case. Those with the most perk points are those who fly the most, not necessarily the best pilots.

A pilot with only a little time to fly each week, and one paying the exact same fee as everyone else, may not have enough time to accumulate perk points. Another pilot with tons of time may be able to accumulate tons of perk points in spite of being shot down hundreds of times. The pilot with only a limited time to fly could easily be the better pilot, but the reward goes to the other pilot with time on his hands.

Basically, the system as it now works punishes those with a limited time to fly, and rewards those with a lot of time to fly. It does not reward good pilots over bad ones.

Considering the fact that we all pay the same to fly Aces High, this just isn't a very fair system. I would recommend a different system where each monthly tour of duty all pilots were awared say 50 points. They would have the use of these points during that month to purchase perk planes, and could not accumulate these points from month to month.

Using the example of 50 points, the most valuable perk planes should cost 50 points while others cost less etc. This way a pilot could keep his perk plane for as long as he was good enough to keep it. If your perk ride is a 262 then you get one chance at it, and you can keep it for as long as you live. If you die, you can try it again next month. The C hog at about 8 points would allow you many more chances.

This method allows pilots with little available time to fly perk planes just as much as those with more time available. It, however, rewards only the good pilots by allowing them to keep the plane. The bad pilots will loose their perk rides quickly.

For Hitech Creations this would  be a major plus. Many new pilots complain about not being able to fly these perk rides, and often look at other flight sims. Other pilots with limited flying time are wondering if it's worth the monthly fee when they don't get the chance to fly the same planes as other pilots who simply have more time to accumulate points.

Reward the pilots who can stay alive in these perks, not just those with time on their hands. Give everyone the same chance, but reward the best.

Ranger Bob

[funkedup]

So far HTC have used perks to limit the usage of historically rare aircraft.  It seems to have worked and I hope they stick with that.  Using perks to limit very common mid-war aircraft would be a bad move.

Some planes will always be more popular than others for reasons other than their capabilities.

Allied planes are always going to be more popular than Axis planes, regardless of the quality of the aircraft.  There are a lot of people who find it distasteful to fly planes with the same name and looks as those used by the barbaric Axis governments of WWII.  I don't agree with this feeling, but it is a fact of life.

Looks play a part too.  Spitfire and Mustang are arguably the two best-looking prop aircraft in history.  Of course they are going to be popular.

Trying to equalize popularity with perks is just silly.  It's like trying to make toejam sandwiches sell as well as filet mignon by inflating the price of filet mignon.  There are damn good reasons that filet mignon should be more popular.

[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: funkedup ]

[Wotan]

because you fly more then others doesn't mean you'll have alot of perk points.

Thats a misconception.

12 kills in p51d vrs 12 kills in 205 same time online the 205 guy could end up with a toejame load depending on what plane they killed.

I have runs in 109g2 109g6 and 205 all in the 40s and a bunch of different times.

My squadie has had killer perk runs in a 205

Here a quote from our squad bbs (hope he dont mind, name withheld to to proctect him from the typical head hunters)

 

Just when I thought it was my worst night in weaks, I manage 10 kills in one sortie, all were N1K2-J's, I landed on the hot strip outa ammo, got 5 assists too, love those Berada 12.7mm's. Then I went to see what I got, MAN O MAN 50 freaking ftr perks! I love My 205

This squaddie even had a run of 54.99 perks in a gv. (no gv perks vehicles yet)

and he could give a crap about flying perk planes.

How long do you think it took to get them 1o kills.

My squaddies get runs of 20-25 easily, my highest was a few tours ago at 51.

Now of course these are way above average. I usually get 9 - 12 per sortie.

I lost numerous 262s (12 maybe) to landing accidents/compression etc. I only have 4 recorded as deaths I had 3500 perks when the 262 was introduced. I still have over 2100.

Another squaddie resubbed this tour earns enough fer a 262 every other day.

Time online should only mean you should have a crapload if you fly and kill the right plane.

Eny value is where perks are at.

Even a novice flying a spit can earn 8 perks in 3-4 sorties.


Anyway having fun is the important thing but if you really wanna fly a perk plane you dont have to spend 170 hrs online to get it.

edit

spitfires are ugly as all heck.........mustang looks ok but for pour sexy beauty nothing beets a tank.

[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: Wotan ]

[pimpjoe]

i like the idea of perking most of the latewar planes if not all of them to some value...it gives you more incentive to get home in 1 piece

[funkedup]

Wotan it's pretty simple.
Assuming player A and player B earn the same amount of perks per hour, if player A plays twice as much as player B, he has twice the perks and can take twice the number of sorties in perk planes.

[Wotan]

Wotan it's pretty simple.
Assuming player A and player B earn the same amount of perks per hour, if player A plays twice as much as player B, he has twice the perks and can take twice the number of sorties in perk planes.

but if you have 2000 or 1000 wtf does 8 point perk plane mean to ya?

then guy who flew twice as much can still fly his perk twice as much but it doesn't stop the other guy from flying his.

The potential to earn perks isnt linked just to tine online that bs.

if you have 10 hours a month to fly and you do it a 205 you can earn way more perks then a guy with 30 hours online flying a niki even if the niki guy gets more kills.

If you prefer to fly a spit or niki or 51 well great. But if you really wanna a perk plane its not impossible if you fly planes with a hi eny value.

The effect of perk planes on the main are minimal any way. And if that is by design then so what if everyone doesn't get to fly 1.

None of its fair
I could get 3 kills vulchin in a 109f and you kill 3 la7s in a tough nail biter in your 51 and I get twice the perks is that fair.

so even though time online may increase my overall stockpile of perks it does nothing to the guy who flies 10 hours a week from earning his perks or atleast a good chunk of umm.

[funkedup]

Whatever.  Assuming the pilots have identical behavior EXCEPT for time online, the guy with more time online gets more perkies.  Period.

[eskimo2]

IMO, perk values should be;
262 = 200 p
Temp = 30 p
152 = 20 p
LA7 = 15 p
F4U1C = 10 p
F4U-4 = 10 p
109G-10 = 5 p
190D-9 = 5 p

234 = 50 p
Ostwind = 2 p

Comments:
* Most perk planes are too rare even though folks are still spending stock-piled perks.  My opinions of perk values are based on game-play over historical war entry dates.

LA-7, I hate this plane when I am in another E-fighter.  The LA-7 can outrun all but the jets and Temp , it can out-climb, and/or out-turn all other E-fighters.
Temp isn't much better than a Typhoon, but at least it has a chance against the LA-7.
152s aren't outstanding at anything except high alt performance.
F4U-4, rather have a Chog.
F4U-1C, still a good deal.
109G-10, Fast, #1 climber.
190D-9, Just a bit too good not to be perked.
Ostwind, what the heck else are we going to spend GV perks on?

Eskimo

[Urchin]

Whatever. Assuming the pilots have identical behavior EXCEPT for time online, the guy with more time online gets more perkies. Period.

Whatever.  Assuming the pilots have exactly the same attributes EXCEPT for the plane they fly, pilot A (who flew a 109F) will have more than pilot B (who flew an La7).  How fair is THAT?  Doesn't sound very fair to me that someone who decided to fly a more challenging plane should be better rewarded.. that is just STUPID.  I think we should rework the perk values so that you can get way more perks in the 1945 rides than in the 1942 ones.  oh yea.  Period.

[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: Urchin ]

[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: Urchin ]