What about us new players?

[TexMurphy]

Im new as well.

My strategy to become a good pilot is to first learn ONE plane. I dont want to learn in top of the line planes because usually good equipment gives bad habits.

For example when selecting my first plane one of the main requirements was that it had LOW ammo. Ummm low ammo is this noob totally dumb? You might think. No Im not. I want low ammo so I learn to take the right shots and dont get a bad habbit of spray and pray in a high ammo plane.

Further I dont want a pure turner or a pure climber. I want a plane that is multi dimentional. Ive flow a trial in this game before and flown other flight sims as well so I know the basics of flying and I dont wana be in a pure turn fighter. Turn fighting in say a N1K is really easy but doesnt make me a good pilot. Neither do I want to start out in a 190 and BnZ fight all day long. BnZ is booring and doesnt make you a great pilot.

So what I wanted is a decent turner so I have to learn to decide who to turn fight and who to not turn fight. Also a plane which BnZ can be done in when the situation calls for it and the plane has to have at least decent E fighting abilities.

So what did I end up with?

Not a Spit9, Spit5, N1K, P-51D, LA7,190 or any other top rated plane but the Yak9U.

I know that one day I will face a situation when I cant fly it but I have a plan for that as well. I have my back up plane that I will learn when needed. Its the 109-G2, Ive read up on it alot I have a plan how to learn to fly it but I will do it the day when Im forced to.

Well thats my plan and so far its work in out well.

Tex

[Curval]

Originally posted by ElLobo
This coming from a member of TAS which unless I'm mistaken is a P51 squad, and an excellant one with a long and proud tradition in AH.

Just to be clear, the 13th is not a dedicated P51 squad.  Before I joined they were for a while, but since then we fly a very mixed bag of planes.

Slap had been flying P38s and still does.  He may be onto a new plane though....not sure.

Sax is an FM2 fanatic.

The rest of us fly what we like and like what we fly (to steal a quote from Toad).

Personally I'll fly any plane with cannons as my gunnery is still seriously lacking.  

[mechanic]

Originally posted by TexMurphy

So what did I end up with?

Not a Spit9, Spit5, N1K, P-51D, LA7,190 or any other top rated plane but the Yak9U.

yak is the most uber of uber planes.

and spit5 is not uber.

spit9 is.

spit5 is slow and made of toilet tissue paper.

spit5 is no more uber than the hurricane.

infact, the hurricane is way more uber. 4x hispanio plus almost the best turn radius in the game? work it out.

i dont like to catagorise planes as being dweeby or not, but the yak is the same as a spit9 with more speed and a litle more refined skill in the piloting.

but hell, its a great choice of plane to fly.

dont let anyone tell you that the plane you learn and love is a 'dweeb' plane.

this just shows their ignorance of how to kill said plane.

lets face it, in any other plane, only a moron lets a spitfire mkV on his tail given equal alt and E.

dont damn them, learn to fight them.

the spitV pilots have to learn how to deal with constant, unreachable alt monkeys with their constant bore n zoom, and bore n zoomers have to learn to deal with the low and slow TnB'ers.

the real good pilots are the ones that use BnZ and TnB together to create an actual dogfighting style unique to them, not just a one pass wonder snapshot expert or a super flat break turning maniac.

the yak is a great plane, learn it well and you will kick arse in a few months

good luck to ya

batfink

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by TexMurphy
Im new as well.

Neither do I want to start out in a 190 and BnZ fight all day long. BnZ is booring and doesnt make you a great pilot.
Tex

ahem.
 190's when flown right, can turnfight quite well
thankyouverymuch:)

The Trick is in throttle/flap management, Not using flat turns.
and knowing when to get out and reobtain E And in not doing it for extended periods of time against planes like Dwebfires and 109's

Yak is an exellant choice of a plane. Its short ammo load will teach you ammo dicipline (bet you rarely get a killshooter)

Its guns are usually enough to destroy most planes with a single burst. It can out turn most things it cant out run and it can out run most things it cant out turn.

 Yaks concern me more then most other planes on the threat scale other then the spit. And that would include the P51, La7 and Nik.
Yak Does everything well. Its short ammo load is the primary reason people dont fly it.
But those that do and no how to? Well they are DANGEROUS Mofo's

[TexMurphy]

Originally posted by DREDIOCK
Yak is an exellant choice of a plane. Its short ammo load will teach you ammo dicipline (bet you rarely get a killshooter)

Took me a while, during the last week of tour 55 (thats when I started) I was rackin up assists but no kill shots. Now on the other hand I rarely get assists but I do get the kill shots. I know stats dont mean shait but I do get like 3.6 kills per hour, which is enough to make me happy and want MORE!!

Originally posted by DREDIOCK

Its guns are usually enough to destroy most planes with a single burst. It can out turn most things it cant out run and it can out run most things it cant out turn.

This is one of the reasons I picked it. It forces me to learn about all the planes strengths and weaknesses and to remember it under preasure. Its great SA training and after all SA is what its all about. Nice fancy ACMs without any SA doesnt help you flight your way out of a paperbag.

Tex

[SlapShot]

Originally posted by ElLobo
Slapshot said

Quote
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It's all about you !!!

Nevermind the people that constantly have to face overwhelming odds of P-51s, La-7, N1Ks and other late war monsters. Constantly facing 5 to 1 or greater odds. Just as long as YOU get to fly your Spit V.

Nevermind the people that make up the overwhelmed country and get slammed day in and day out ... boy that must be fun ... the heck with them ... just as long as YOU get to fly your Spit V.

Just as long as YOU get to fly your Spit V and with overwhelming numbers and smash and decimate anything in your path amongst the safety of the horde. That must really be an adrenalin rush ... eh ?
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This coming from a member of TAS which unless I'm mistaken is a P51 squad, and an excellant one with a long and proud tradition in AH. Me smash and decimate anything in my path in my Spit V? Which by the way I couldn't fly for the 5th night in a row. Took up an A8 instead, now THERES a monster plane.

The post was all about me, just one mans opinion. Not getting much of a rush at all in AH lately.

3moons

No ... the 13th TAS is not a P-51 squad ... back in the day, but not anymore. We mostly fly early war planes now.

I flew from 9 PM EST to 1 AM EST last night and the Spit V was available at all times.

I always get a rush when I play AH ... not matter if I can fly the Spit V or not.

I guess you and Bat didn't really get it. That post was all about you. You were stamping your feet all over the placve because you get locked out of the Spit V on occassion. You want to abolish the ENY disabler cause it hurts you, but never considering that it might be helping someone else. I considered your squad the type to suck it up ... after all, you are a Spit V squad and ya gotta be tuff to fly one of them low and in the weeds.

The Spit V is my main ride too, but I'll be damned if I will jump up and down and stamp my feet when it's not available. I will simply find another ride until the lock is off ... might I suggest the P-47-D25 ... early war and a lot of fun on the deck.

[Buzzz]

Guys... The main reason I started this thread was to give some attention to the plight and feelings of new players.

I'm personally not new to flight sims.  I played Air Warrior from AW2 beta to it's demise.  I own European Air War, MSCFS2, the first IL2, and did a trial over at Fighter Ace 3.whatever.  I own a hardbound copy of Robert Shaw's book "Fighter Combat" and have studied it cover to cover.  Tactics, plane selection, or wingman tactics were not the problem.

I came to Aces High with big hopes that I had found my new hobby.  I was totally turned off by the experience and canceled my account a week before my rebill.  I will not join back up and I would not recommend AH to friends, family, or co-workers.

This was the experience of a seasoned simmer.  I shudder to think what a total novice would go through giving this game a try for the first time.  

It's too late for me (and I'm confident that no one could give a you know what about that).  But you all might seriously consider making a few changes if you want to retain new customers that come in the door.  Without new players your game will eventually die.

-Buzzz

[Vudak]

Originally posted by Buzzz


But you all might seriously consider making a few changes if you want to retain new customers that come in the door.  Without new players your game will eventually die.

As long as the community keeps helping out new players, there will never be a shortage of them.  This game is just too much fun

As for your concern that the game isn't newbie-friendly, I completely disagree.  This game, and especially this community, are definately newbie-friendly.  It's just not newbie-easy.  The challenge is what makes it fun.  

Sorry to see you go bud.  If you are into flight sims that much, it really is a shame.  I hope you'll give it another shot in a few months, but have fun wherever you're flying, !

[hogenbor]

Got my first kill on my second flight in here, took me a few months to exceed 1:1 K/D. It's not THAT hard. I had never flown on-line, just had some experience with AI flightsims and a keen interest in aviation. You just have to work at it a little bit.

But... I still don't feel like part of the community after two years. I guess I don't fly enough. Would like to hook up with some Europeans who don't mind someone who has little time to fly and can't commit much to squad activities. I actually like, no I LOVE the eny thing and don't care much what I fly except when it is complety outclassed in every way. I just up something and try to kill and try not to die. Easy as that.

[beet1e]

Originally posted by SlapShot
You were stamping your feet all over the placve because you get locked out of the Spit V on occassion. You want to abolish the ENY disabler cause it hurts you, but never considering that it might be helping someone else. I considered your squad the type to suck it up ... after all, you are a Spit V squad and ya gotta be tuff to fly one of them low and in the weeds.

The Spit V is my main ride too, but I'll be damned if I will jump up and down and stamp my feet when it's not available. I will simply find another ride

:aok

Slap - how soon can you get a divorce? I want to marry you myself!

[TexMurphy]

@Vudak

I dont know if I should agree or disagree with you.

Ive gotten ALOT of help from an AH player. His hints and tips have been extreamly valuable BUT it is not through the AH community or through in game interaction but through the Jumpgate community, of which we both are a part.

When it comes to ingame Im not sure I would call it noob friendly. I mean during my first week in game I had to get the calling of targets and sixes going more often then not. For a noob who knows how to fly a plane communications is the most important part as noobs lack SA.

Though this is not as much about helpin noobs as its a thing of helping each other. Yes there are alot of fantastic team players in the game but there are more players that arnt team players.

If you are luckey and get to fly your first sessions with the team players then definatly a fantastic noob experience.. but if not...

Also this game has a "occurence" that is the most noob unfriendly thing Ive ever seen in any game. Vulching.

There is nothing sooo disencouraging to a noob then to get vulched. When you feel insecure with flying and cant even get off the ground with your plane then you just log off and when you log off in discontent your not likely to log on again.

Tex

[Simaril]

Originally posted by Buzzz
I'm a NEW paying customer.  I have been participating in AH for 5 weeks now.  It looks like the new rules and features that are quickly being implemented do not take new players into consideration at all.  This game is difficult enough to learn as it is without having to constantly make an accounting of how many players are logging in and to what country they are on.  Most people are glad to befriend a newbie and offer help.  But if you have to constantly switch sides any relationships you build are gone in the blink of an eye if you jump countries and you are back to square one.  Being FORCED to fly a inferior plane with only a few hours total stick time in any AH plane is pure suicide.  Especially when you don't have time to build relationships so you can have wingmen to fly with.  I would be weak in the best plane in the arena as would any new customer to this game.  

I know this game is extremely hard and it takes a great deal of time and determination to manage to crawl over the learning curve.  I'm not usually a quitter.  But, what may be a mere handicap to experienced players is impassable barrier to new ones.  

Now add to that equation that the power of ack and the hardness of fields may increase and vary depending on the number of players on each side... well it appears that new customers mean nothing to the game developers.

I realize that one subscription and one easy kill for other  players means nothing in the big picture of things.  But as a consumer that's the only recourse I have.  Farewell and perhaps I will see some of you over at that new flight sim that's in free beta.  Maybe it's a bit more newbie friendly.

-Buzzz

HTC, maybe an even better reason to default newbies to smaller side -- they wont realize initial country assigment is nonrandom, and they will no tbe hit by the ENY. Remember, the newbies will not have much gameplay balance effect on the high or low side -- and they can always switch if desired.


Remember, RELATIONSHIPS are what will keep people in the game during the LONG learning curve.

[Edbert]

Originally posted by Buzzz
Perhaps I will sign back up again when all this development, testing, and turmoil is finished.  
 

That will probably never happen, when it does, the end is in sight. AH has been in constant developement and testing since before it was opened as a closed beta. There's a full-time permanent staff of skilled developers and artists who are CONSTANTLY working on this game and I hope they never stop.

I do think we could do with a bit less turmoil, but if you hang around here long enough you'll recognize that the 'turmoil' is not as bad as it seems, it is usually just a smallish group of malcontents making a noise that is out of proportion to their number.

[beet1e]

Originally posted by Edbert MOL
a smallish group of malcontents making a noise that is out of proportion to their number.

Talking about the pizza map whiners?

[Vudak]

Originally posted by TexMurphy


Also this game has a "occurence" that is the most noob unfriendly thing Ive ever seen in any game. Vulching.

There is nothing sooo disencouraging to a noob then to get vulched. When you feel insecure with flying and cant even get off the ground with your plane then you just log off and when you log off in discontent your not likely to log on again.

Tex

Well I'm definately guilty of this... Though as of late I'm beginning to see that it's not really helping me get better in any way shape, or form...

Bottom line that my epiphany nor your regrets won't change is that there are a lot of people who really like taking bases and winning the war, and vulching is definately a huge part of that (as Shane and other's have pointed out, there are better ways for people to CAP *Note - Combat Air PATROL* an area, but nonetheless, some vulching needs to be going on).

Of course, every time I sign onto the arena, the server tends to place me at a field a bit far from the action?  I don't know if I'm just lucky or if this is the way it is built in, but if the latter is the case, then a complete, first flight, newbie can at least get off the ground.

In my previous post I was thinking more along the lines of how the community helps out people with simple questions.  Sure, you'll get a few people who say "READ THE HELP FILE DARNIT!" but you'll also get quite a few who will actually take the time to answer your question, either ingame or on these boards.

Once the simple questions are dealt with, you can also find people who will be willing to spend vast amounts of time helping you with the finer details.  Just this week I've had the benefit of help from three excellent pilots with years of experience, all of whom devoted the better portion of an hour to helping someone whom they all shot down within three seconds of the first merge in the DA.  I won't post their names to prevent them from being personally swamped with requests, but you know who you are, and you know I'm greatful



In light of my personal experience, I would have to say that this arena, community, etc. are newbie friendly.  I can see what your saying though, sometimes you can't catch a break on your first try.  But if people would just dig a little deeper, I'm sure, nomatter what side you fly for, you would run into good pilots and good people who would help you out.