What happens next?

[sntslilhlpr6601]

I'd take gameplay over graphics any day. And Aces High's flight model is the reason I started playing this game.

With that said, this game's engine is showing it's age. I can definitely see how the look of this game would turn a lot of people away. I understand some people play only this game and don't want to upgrade just for it. But a gamer is a gamer. And gamers have to upgrade every couple years. That's just the way it is.

I love this game, but the graphics leave much to be desired. And it's just gonna get worse and worse the longer HTC waits.

Are you thick I stated for this game. Thats the way HT designed it. I'm guessing it's not your mind that's
"nimble".

Ohh and I'll add.

Not much can be done about the lag Knfe.  That is just the nature of this type of Internet service.
It would probably cause lost connections as well, due to the incredible latency.

These types of services are just not very good for any type of real-time service from the Internet.
Wish I had better news for you.  You would be a lot better off with a dial-up connection for gameplay as speed is not as critical as latency is.

Your quote is misleading. He was talking about satellite broadband which is terrible for gaming because of the latency. The signal has to travel to space and back (that's why with interviews on the news the answerer seems to wait a few seconds after the question is asked). Land-line broadband has a much lower latency than dial-up. You are correct in that a stable dial-up connection is all that's required for this game.

[SFCHONDO]

I can't even remember when Hitech Creations first said they were developing this new gametype with mission-based sorties.  Was it more than 3 years ago?  That's a long time to just be developing a new game type.  I'm not saying that the company should have something in the works already, but it would be nice to know what the plans are for the next couple years.  If they haven't even hit the planning stages, then it could be another 4-5 years before anything "new" comes out.  And I'm not talking about updates.

They stated it would be released in 3rd Quarter of 2003. So to answer your question it's been 5 years.

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,77118.msg739187.html#msg739187

[nimble]

  I think it was comcast but not sure. They all were experiencing warps associate with packet loss.

One provider who is getting sued over shady practices proves his point.

[Bronk]

One provider who is getting sued over shady practices proves his point.

It's not dial up thats the problem you towering genius. It's packet loss. I don't care if its dial up, cable or dsl if packets get dropped you have problems. Not to mention the idiots that have every chat/file share/teamspeak program leaching off bandwidth.

[Bronk]

Yes, that quote from 2001 is still relative to the internets today, seriously it's true. Broadband absolutely has much higher latency than dialup. Now that I have tested it, I get like 1200ms on my broadband and like 68ms on the 56k I just invested in.


Oh wait

This more relative to today Numpty erm nimble?

The game has been designed to work over a 28.8K dialup connection.  If the connection has little latency, and no packet loss, it will play the game fine.

[nimble]

This more relative to today Numpty erm nimble?

Numpty is very witty, seriously. You must be proud.

Anyways, I am out of this thread, realizing all you have left in the tank is petty insults and very unfunny plays on names. You go ahead and try to get good ping(under 200ms, which is pushing it "in this day and age") farther than 3ft from HTCs front door on a dialup. I guess you missed the numbers I had in the post you are replying to, but when taking into consideration your mental midgetry that's no surprise. Demonstrated easily with:

The fact that I said(and where this began):

Hopefully they will  get rid of high ploss 56k users before anything else

And you replied with(warming up to your emorage):

Packet loss is the problem not bandwidth.

Is a testament to your numptyness(see what I did there?). Thank you for a thread of laughs at your expense. 

That and we found some other funny stuff to laugh at on somethingawful.


EDIT: full post was a bit too mean regardless of how true it was

[rabbidrabbit]

Maybe I'm just a unfrozen caveman but every game I have ever played included options for turning up or down graphics to suit ones needs.  To advocate no advancement for cpu/video capacity is unbelievably selfish and downright stupid.  I applaud HTC for supporting widescreens and multiple monitors.  Its a good step in the right direction.  Improving graphics improves immersion which improves gameplay.  While you can argue its not essential, you can not argue it does not significantly benefit the overall experience. 

Graphics does not necessarily have much to do with game play which, as have been pointed out, has remained relatively unchanged since beta days.  There have been many good threads on ways to make strategy and teamwork relevant.  Both of these factors contribute to the immersion and game play tremendously.  One good example is a useful perk system.  Its currently a broken economy were perks have little to no value to the vast majority of players.  A example of this would include using bomber perks to drop supplies and build up or repair bases.  This is a common game play feature of dozens of games that encourage players to build and defend bases.  There are many well thought out ideas in the wishlist area that would add immensely to the game and not require much if any updating to existing machines or bandwidth.  The beginning and end of it is improvements bring in and retain customers. 

[SlapShot]

With new game engines arising and much more advanced games coming out that support new features, is Aces High due for a revamp?  I mean, I can't compare it to games like Crysis, IL2, and other newer flight sims or first person shooters, but should we be seeing a new engine in the near future?

Your making a rather large leap on assuming what "engine" HT is using.

Could it be that he does have the "latest and greatest" with all the "bells and whistles" but chooses not to implement them so as not to eliminate a large part of the player base who could not handle the maximum capabilities of the "engine" ?

The crisper the "eye candy" the more polygons that have to be rendered ... thus the need for more graphics computing power. It's a fine balancing act that HTC has to perform to make it this game appealing and at the same time, available to many.

[SlapShot]

Bronk, I never said I expected a high-end game here.  Although I do think Hitech Creations may be able to rework the engine from 10 years ago...  We're talking a decade on basically the same game.

Again you are assuming ... HT introduced a whole new "engine" with AH II ... so it is not 10 yrs old.

[rabbidrabbit]

Your making a rather large leap on assuming what "engine" HT is using.

Could it be that he does have the "latest and greatest" with all the "bells and whistles" but chooses not to implement them so as not to eliminate a large part of the player base who could not handle the maximum capabilities of the "engine" ?

The crisper the "eye candy" the more polygons that have to be rendered ... thus the need for more graphics computing power. It's a fine balancing act that HTC has to perform to make it this game appealing and at the same time, available to many.

Dude! What are you smoking?  Ever hear of adjustable settings?  Seriously, they are already there, just in a limited fashion.  Whats wrong with your brain that makes it tough to grasp?

[Saurdaukar]

I love these threads.

Guys with newer technology want bells and whistles.

Guys with lesser technology dont want any change.

Guys with newer technology ultimately threaten to stop playing if AH is not updated.

Guys with older technology ultimately threaten to stop playing if AH is updated.

Each cites reasons why the other is an idiot.

A HTC employee is eventually quoted.

The thread is soon, thereafter, locked, having solved zero.

[rabbidrabbit]

I love these threads.

Guys with newer technology want bells and whistles.

Guys with lesser technology dont want any change.

Guys with newer technology ultimately threaten to stop playing if AH is not updated.

Guys with older technology ultimately threaten to stop playing if AH is updated.

Each cites reasons why the other is an idiot.

A HTC employee is eventually quoted.

The thread is soon, thereafter, locked, having solved zero.

Yup, you pretty much got it.  At least its a fun ride along the way

In the end the guys rationalize not improving the product in irrational ways are inflicting pain.  There is limited if not no downside to a better product and no one is saying the game should be limited to cutting edge graphics requirements.  Its just an cop out.

[MORAY37]

Pre 2000 PCs?  Are you kidding me?  Professionals say that every family household should upgrade every 4-5 years.  And now, it's becoming even sooner than that.  That 4-5 year figure was years ago in the late 90s and early 2000s.  I'm surprised people are still operating on 8+ year old machines with today's average file sizes and processor requirements.  If they have 15 dollars a month to play an online video game, they should be able to upgrade their PC from 8+ years ago....  I'm not asking for just eye candy, I'm asking for an updated engine that somewhat competes with other games out there.  Keeping in mind this is still a massive multiplayer game, it should be feasible.  The Aces High community is not what it used to be even 3 years ago.  I have seen more and more 2 weekers than ever before.  What does this mean?  People are using up the trial and abandoning the game.  Why?  I can't tell ya their specific reasons, but I will tell you that an updated engine would help the situation.

I can't even remember when Hitech Creations first said they were developing this new gametype with mission-based sorties.  Was it more than 3 years ago?  That's a long time to just be developing a new game type.  I'm not saying that the company should have something in the works already, but it would be nice to know what the plans are for the next couple years.  If they haven't even hit the planning stages, then it could be another 4-5 years before anything "new" comes out.  And I'm not talking about updates.

HMMM.... mortgage this month?  Or a new PC to play a flight sim?  Lemme check with the missus.....

My year 2000 AMD, which I've tweaked and replaced both cards and memory, gets 40-60 FR consistent, except on really big maps or crowded fights where it stays at 30 or so.  60 FPS is the limit of the human eye.  Anything more than 60 FPS, you can't even see.  The only way you know you have it is that little number at the top of the screen.
This game appeals to a certain niche of gameplayer.  This gameplayer isn't interested in eyecandy.  If you have any experience, you'll realize this flight model is better than the others out there.  If you want to continually bash at it, you might as well move along.

Any overhaul of the engine will limit the number of "QUALITY" players found on here...  Those being the older, over 25 crowd that actually salute a good fight, and check your six.  You think the squeaks are bad now......imagine if only top rigs could handle this game.  Then, only the "My daddy bought me a computer" crowd would be on.  You know...the Half-Life Deathmatch crowd.  I loved the actual game Half-Life 2.  I logged on one day to the new Team Fortress site.... I came back shaking my head.

[Wyld45]

                      SWEET!....I upgraded!.....Crap.....now I cant buy those fancy "pedals"! 

[titanic3]

I have a computer from 1999... now that is OLD. I'm no computer expert, but having viruses, spywares, and the downloading speed of a snail... Well, let's just say it takes me 2 hours to download AH. And I can't even imagine what it would take to download a high-end version of AH. And don't tell me to upgrade my computer, I have a super... cheap.. family... they will never.. buy another computer unless this one break into itty bitty pieces.