Originally posted by doc1kelley
But then again you are defending one of the guys whose squad went and padded their scores earlier vultching each other in P-40's. What he thinks the game is and what he thinks it should be really doesn't matter to me. He keeps harping about the mega squad and even has HT calling us an "Airforce". Hell we get together and fly as a squad once a frigging week and all the other time we just do our own thing. Somebody find another reason to blame the game on it's lack of luster besides us for a change.
All the Best
Jay
awDoc1:t
I'll defend whomever I choose
I can promise you one thing, merge with a BK, and you know you're gonna have some fun. I've been exactly where you were before though... so let me explain alittle bit in a fashion that's not antagonistic (BKs usually very funny, but not so good at that).
I've experienced all the different kinds of fun in this game. I've scorepotatod and been in the top 20 several times. I've done Rook Joint Ops. I've porked FHs from 22k with a fight going on. I cherry picked 31 people in 2 hotpads in a P47D40, and even Hitech's F4U & Pellik's 38). I've bombed toolsheds in Ju87s with moabs, hotpadded it several times, just to raise my score. I've snuck around the edges of furballs in an la-7, and shot down 5 people that never saw me coming just for the "WTG" from squaddies. I've rejoiced when a "vulch queen" would keep upping more & more low eny fighters for me to perk farm. I've captured more than my fair share of bases. I've used my laptop and a friends account to hunt down people that HO'd me. I was absolutely loyal to my little Rook symbol, and Bish & Knit dweebery was the source of all the game's ills. Ultimately, it was all a crutch that did not make me a better, or even respectable player, even though my scores and results had never been higher.
Then, like a lightswitch being turned on, everything changed. On a whim, I left my squad, changed countries, and after a few days being on the minority side, some guys from the 80th FS were nice enough to bring me onto their vox and teach me how to dogfight in P-38 (thanks guys!). After that, I started always joining the country with the lowest #'s. I read alot about ACM and took a nice pounding in the TA in the process. Back in the MA, I upped into the vulch, relentlessly, and figured out it's easy to shoot people as they overshoot the vulch (which I find very rewarding). I gave up on landing almost altogether since it just takes too long, so I just bail & re-up so I can go back to fighting (even with kills). Eventually, the numbers became so ridiculous it wasn't worth playing. It's just not worth upping when 10+ guys came hurtling in at you with a 400mph advantage. Now, there's no question that I could up from a different base, get plenty of alt, and cherry pick the vulchers to my hearts content... but that takes time. That same time could be better spent fighting on more equal footing and improving the pure ACM skills that let you survive 1 vs 2, 3, 4, 5 without needing that monstrous E advantage to overcome the numbers.
Ultimately, it's like craftsmanship. Yes, a factory (your "airforce") can produce a much higher volume of goods (kills, dead toolsheds, etc). However, the quality of craftsmanship falls off horrendously compared to the lone artist... ever been spanked by Fester, Urchin? I have. It was
fantastic and I still remember every turn of every fight.
Then, we were blessed with the EWA, and it most definately floats my boat. Sure, people still HO, people still cherry pick, but to me it feels like there's been a 90% reduction in its occurances. Fights are lower, slower, and alot more intense. There is little to no margin for error when you're not 100mph faster than they are.
Now, I die 10x more. I replane like it's going out of style. I stalk squaddies on VOX when they have the temerity to come into the EWA and not change sides. I haven't dropped a hangar intentionally in months... but, I'm better than I ever have been before, and I'll gladly turn with anybody, anytime (provided I have guns & gas left to make it a decent fight). Win or lose, doesn't matter. At the worst, I'll get alittle respect for not HO'ing, and having the stones to fight it out as best I can. If you can make the experts work hard, you're on the right track. It gets even worse, because now, in my mind, even when somebody is 600m behind me, in my head, they're still about to die, they just don't see it coming. I'm still trying to kill them when my tail is off and I'm fluttering a few hundred feet to the ground.
Mass numbers squads will always be a crutch for people and reduce their potential skill, and what's worse, all previous and some current game mechanics encourage this behavior. I was lucky enough to realise this and get away from it. The more help you have, the less likely you are to actually work at solving the complex geometric puzzle that is air to air combat, and you'll miss out on many great aspects of the game. It's not just about "well we only have 1 squad night a week!"... it's about the entire mentality that comes with it. It's doing a disservice to yourself and the community by intentionally neglecting important skill sets and staying welded to those crutches.
just my 2 pennies. trying to make AH2 a more dangerous place to fly
