Survey in the DA.

[USRanger]

I'd like to see HTC turn the perk system on in the DA. Will be interesting to see what happened when you don't have access to free Tempests and 4-Hogs anymore.

+1

[zuii]

I go in DA mostly to practice fighting low and slow against higher craft. looking for different ways to survive being B&Zed.




zuii

[Sloehand]

maybe HTC could put up a poll there and get more, and better results!
last time i was disgusted in the da was before there was a furball lake, i was the only one there,
if you go to the da for a one on one, go to one of the bases, if all you want to do is furball, D A lake is the only "sure thing" for furball in the game,
 and everything that is in the ma as far as dogfighting is there, from the high pickers to the low alt turn fighters, the best part tho is the fact that the bases are close enough together to get right into a fight ! and no cv ack for one side to deal with, no bombers shuting down the fight, no base captures,its a nice change from the ma, for me atleast, i go there to unwind, when i dont feel like doing all that other "war" stuff! or when i am at work and dont want to get shot down while selling a bottle of Whiskey!

I figure there have been three 'flavors' of DA in the last four years.  When I started and for around a year or so thereafter, there was the 'original' DA where everyone upped from A30 as a Bish, paired off for friendly duels all round the base, following well understood Rules of Engagement.  New pilots sought out experienced pilots for a whole hour of hands-on 1 v. 1 training, or engaged a different opponent every 3 minutes or so if they wanted.  You could just hang around and meet people from the other sides, or watch some great duels going on. Great way to get away from the MA, relax, recharge, and LEARN or TEACH.

Then HiTech killed that DA with a sledgehamme move to restrict a very small percentage of some young people's bad behavior by enabling Killshooter.  Now, the 'Second DA' only allowed killing engagements between opposing chesspieces, which meant leaving from different bases and MA-like travel just to get in sight of someone to fight.  And so, Combat By Appointment was born, and the DA suffered from extreme lack of use.  Dust bunnies gathered under the clock in the base Towers.

Finally, some time ago, a revised DA map was presented in an AH update.  Most of the same bases, but with the addition (among other things) of Furball Lake.  They just took the Furball Lake from one of the MA maps that they won't put in rotation anymore and made it permanently available in the DA.  Now, people who like to furball and get bored with the MA can come in and furball till their brains leak out.  People who like to quietly improve their ACM 1 v. 1, or test several others pilots skill one after the other, or just watch some great dogfights, are still *you-know-what* out of luck.

[WWhiskey]

I figure there have been three 'flavors' of DA in the last four years.  When I started and for around a year or so thereafter, there was the 'original' DA where everyone upped from A30 as a Bish, paired off for friendly duels all round the base, following well understood Rules of Engagement.  New pilots sought out experienced pilots for a whole hour of hands-on 1 v. 1 training, or engaged a different opponent every 3 minutes or so if they wanted.  You could just hang around and meet people from the other sides, or watch some great duels going on. Great way to get away from the MA, relax, recharge, and LEARN or TEACH.

Then HiTech killed that DA with a sledgehamme move to restrict a very small percentage of some young people's bad behavior by enabling Killshooter.  Now, the 'Second DA' only allowed killing engagements between opposing chesspieces, which meant leaving from different bases and MA-like travel just to get in sight of someone to fight.  And so, Combat By Appointment was born, and the DA suffered from extreme lack of use.  Dust bunnies gathered under the clock in the base Towers.

Finally, some time ago, a revised DA map was presented in an AH update.  Most of the same bases, but with the addition (among other things) of Furball Lake.  They just took the Furball Lake from one of the MA maps that they won't put in rotation anymore and made it permanently available in the DA.  Now, people who like to furball and get bored with the MA can come in and furball till their brains leak out.  People who like to quietly improve their ACM 1 v. 1, or test several others pilots skill one after the other, or just watch some great dogfights, are still *you-know-what* out of luck.

i wouldnt say they are out of luck! if they want to train go to ta for that, then you dont have to re up a new plane after having your arse handed to you, you can both up from the same base there!

 in the da  the reason the bases are spread out a bit is  to gain e and or alt before a fight, and also to keep what was happening in the da before, from happening again, if the bases were to close then  the same thing that got kill shooter turned on in the first place would be happening all over again!
 there is no pleasing everyone!! but i think with the da like it is,  is a lot better than it was before,when there was only bish, and kill shooter was on!
 i only wish they would put the old tank town  in there as well!!!

[StokesAk]

I go in DA mostly to practice fighting low and slow against higher craft. looking for different ways to survive being B&Zed.




zuii

Me too and this really helps my horrible SA.

[The Fugitive]

Thats what I was doing the day I was in there. Turning and burning on the deck in a pony against their spits and hurris. I expected to get ganged, I expected to get shot down. What I was sorry to see was those guys that had lost all of their advantages turn tail and run in stead of trying to fight their way out of the predicament THEY had gotten themselves into. What do you learn or accomplish by running away in the DA? 

And then they started teaching other how to fight! LOL!!! Sad, very sad 

[StokesAk]

Oh yes, when ever someone gets low and slow they run, i chase after them break off they turn back and i kill them, standard procedure.

[dedalos]

Well i was in the DA and i started to ask people why they fly in there, here are some of the answers i got:

• Not enough time for the MA
• I'm Practicing
• Takes to long
• Too many people
• It is to hard
• MA isn't realistic enough

This shows me that not all of the people fly in the DA cause they are dweebs or they want to land kills there. Merely they don't have time, want to keep furballing, just like the constant action, or are new and need to practice or someone is rusty and needs to hone thier skills again. But this doesn't repute the fact that there are somethings that need to be changed about the DA.

  what people say and what they do are two different things.  Ask JohnyJr why he is in the DA and he will tell you he is just looking for a fight lol

[StokesAk]

Very True.

[Clonk]

I started playing AH about 4 months ago and have played nearly exclusively in the DA.  I find the experience overall quite a bit of fun.  I don't have to go searching for a fight, and get to immerse myself in furballs and enjoy some flying and fighting.  I fly against people who are incredibly easy to shoot down and others who drop me in two-to-three passes after our initial merge.  Often, both types are in the same furball of 15+ planes, making my gaming experience even that much more interesting (because I often don't recognize names and can't tell who is who lol).  Bottom line-I have made some online friends there and enjoy their company as much, if not more than, the actual fighting, so I keep coming back.

I have read the boards here quite a bit, and have ruminated on the ongoing debate of MA vs DA, so yesterday I spent a few hours flying in the MA.  Of course my brief experience was anecdotal, however, the first 3 planes that I encountered in my first furball there HO'd me, and I spent significantly more time getting to the fight than when in the DA.  I saw planes in orbit picking and others mixing it up in the furball.  Again, I found pilots in the MA that flew incredibly well and others not so well (in my newbie perception).  My initial impression was that the MA folks with whom I flew with and against were similar in all aspects (good and bad) as those enumerated by posters on this board when describing DA pilots.  Notwithstanding the occasional unfriendly person, I encountered an overall funny, positive group of people in the MA, mirroring my personal DA experience.

The salient difference in my neophyte experience between the DA and MA was the length of time spent in my aircraft getting to/from the fight.  It also seemed that getting into squadron action with the incumbent strategy/group tactics and having that experience would be another prominent difference as well.   For now, though, I am thoroughly enjoying my DA friends and flying, and am a satisfied customer.    To each their own, there are a lot of people playing this game with myriad different motives, goals, and endpoints for satisfaction.  My only question, why does there seem to be such vehemence toward those in the DA-I haven't noticed recent posts from DA folks ridiculing the MA?

<S> all, a newbie flyer....
Clonk

[mechanic]

I'd like to see HTC turn the perk system on in the DA. Will be interesting to see what happened when you don't have access to free Tempests and 4-Hogs anymore.

I honestly think this would increase the dweebery and only serve to transfer perk farmers from the earlywar to DA.


 If you take the lake for what it is....a furball where you are almost certainly going to get shot down in a manner you do not like.....but allows you to kill the enemy in any manner you like without complaint. (And to be fair, the majority of the regular crowd in there don't smack talk and don't complain when they die. There are always exceptions with big mouths, but ch200 in the MA is far more intrusive in that respect).

It's just FUN, I dont care what anyone says. If anyone needs convincing I am willing to post some random films from last two weeks in the DA lake, all showing good natured players having fun.

Mazz, good answer btw 

[Saxman]

I honestly think this would increase the dweebery and only serve to transfer perk farmers from the earlywar to DA.

Easy solution: Separate perks for the DA.

[kilo2]

+1 clonk

[helbent]

I agree with zuii and the fugi.  That is what the DA represents to me.  Get low and slow in an inferior plane, and practice fighting your way out of a bad situation.

I also agree with clonk, that it's a quick way to find a fight.  Id like to agree with everything else clonk said, but I have to go purchase an unabridged dictionary first.   

[mechanic]

Easy solution: Separate perks for the DA.

no...you missed what i meant sir! the farming would happen in the DA, to great effect with such close bases. Perks in the DA would be another nail in the coffin after no killshooter went!