WW1 assesment of the planes

[zack1234]

I am not sure whather to be dissappointed about this or not.  I do not want it to lose that "nothing but the dogfight matters" feel it had last night.  Thoughts fellow AHer's?

We have score's and stat's in aces high?

[Saxman]

I guess we must have relied on having the no.s in the air war.   

That and the fantastic maneuverability.

[jdbecks]

what I dont like about the WW1 arena is moving back to the WW2 arena and flying a 109 like a dr1 or camel 

[Saurdaukar]

I have been persevering with the camel...  

I am determined to make the Camel an effective tool.

[waystin2]

I am determined to make the Camel an effective tool.

Ditto.  I love it's odd shakes and wiggles.  Kinda like the pilot is going through detox or something.  I have found my WWI bird!

[JimmyC]

[Saurdaukar]

Ditto.  I love it's odd shakes and wiggles.  Kinda like the pilot is going through detox or something.  I have found my WWI bird!

Im sure Widewing et al are already on it, but we need some proper, sterile test data with which to work.

Although I havent spent much time in the arena(s) yet due to RL, the Camel seems kinda like the "WWI K4."

Does not respond well to "typical" inputs, engine is both a blessing and a curse, guns seem comparatively difficult to deploy effectively, visibility is zero... but... it's starting to look like it will be able to do things that the rest of em cant follow... so long as you can keep from augering in the process. 

Rule #1:  Dont turn left. 

[waystin2]

Rule #1:  Dont turn left. 

This dromedary does not care for that direction at all.  You gotta fight it that direction every time.  Consequently right turns are fast and snappy with power.  I always try to merge with enemy on my right side.  They unfortunately do not always cooperate.  The guns have great punch in comparison to the other planes.  Views I am still working on, but give up seeing anything above the upper wing, unless the cons are in your sunroof.  By the way the sunroof is not where I would prefer them to be...

[TequilaChaser]

I am happy about the way all (4) different WWI planes have "different quirks" about them......

the "Fixed Pitch Propellers" and the yawing/dipping is most excellent.....love the Red Line'ng / over reving of the WWI engines and the engine damage
model.........teaching throttle control.......( NOTE: I hope we see this feature in the WWII Arenas SOON )

The improved/expanded Damage model ( CTRL D  to toggle it on/off for view ) is exciting.........

all these new features we are seeing in the WWL Arenas, will hopefully be tested & Debugged efficiently & quickly to hopefully start showing up in all other Game Arenas eventually......


those that will spend ample amount of time flying in WWI, will be stalling out , spinning, flopping all over in the WWII arenas when they jump back over to WWII arenas......... one must "practice" the differences and make mental notes...... or they will infact be taking a step back in their own learning curves, until they realize the (2) different era's and the Plane Performance differences.....

I'd like to offer up a "THANK YOU to HTC ( HiTech, Pyro, Superfly, Waffle, Sudz, Skuzzy, Rosie (<---- Carrie ) ) for making this venture a reality, and I want to extend that Thank You on to Badboy, for what you did . noticed u had a Thank You note in the splashscreen credits.....& AKDogg for his WWI Engine & Engine Start sounds we received in the 2.18 Patch 1 update......

and just to think, each of you are Game Players at heart, thanks for going the extra mile to offer us all the best fun to be had   

[Saxman]

I haven't really tried the other planes for a real comparison, but the Camel appears to dive well and can tolerate maneuvering at those speeds so long as you don't push her too hard. And as maneuverable as she is at lower speeds, she can also whip that nose around when fast. She REALLY swings through the bottom of a low yo-yo, and can virtually swap ends when going to the right on a hammerhead.

The real key to being successful in the Camel is going to be using the torque to your advantage. Try to force the fights to the right, and if you need to go left during a fight it might be faster to roll to the RIGHT to change directions (similar to the 109s in low-speed, high-power situations). Backing off the power can also help when going to the left.

I've found the nose has a tendency to go high when attempting to set up a guns solution, so you should try to set up slightly low. The guns appear to have a good, flat trajectory so if you can account for the nose bounce even at these short ranges gunnery should be relatively trouble-free. They definitely have some good power. A short burst will saw the wings right off a D.VII. Conversely, the Camel appears to be quite rugged and can take a comparatively good pounding before going down.

[Saurdaukar]

You gotta fight it that direction every time.

Aye.  I find that reducing throttle helps; hence my K4 comparison - like Sax says, below...

The real key to being successful in the Camel is going to be using the torque to your advantage. Try to force the fights to the right, and if you need to go left during a fight it might be faster to roll to the RIGHT to change directions (similar to the 109s in low-speed, high-power situations). Backing off the power can also help when going to the left.

...the Camel is the "109's opposite" in everything, making it counter-intuitive for people like us leather-types, who go for right side horizontal displacement without even thinking about it.

My knowledge of WWI aircraft is far, far below WWII so I am actually learning as I go (and reading this morning at work... gotta love Friday) and Ive read, with respect to the Camel, that drivers would actually turn 270 degrees to the right in order to change direction to the left because it was just as quick - if not quicker - than turning 90 degrees to the left.

Fascinating.

the "Fixed Pitch Propellers" and the yawing/dipping is most excellent.....love the Red Line'ng / over reving of the WWI engines and the engine damage
model.........teaching throttle control.......( NOTE: I hope we see this feature in the WWII Arenas SOON )

Agree.  LOVE the engine management system.  Brilliant implementation by HTC.  Not too complex, not too simple.  Requires user input and doesn't detract from the fun - adds to it.  Well done.  One more skill that will need to be mastered to get full performance out of the aircraft.

WWII next, please.  

I'd like to offer up a "THANK YOU to HTC ( HiTech, Pyro, Superfly, Waffle, Sudz, Skuzzy, Rosie (<---- Carrie ) ) for making this venture a reality, and I want to extend that Thank You on to Badboy, for what you did . noticed u had a Thank You note in the splashscreen credits.....& AKDogg for his WWI Engine & Engine Start sounds we received in the 2.18 Patch 1 update......

Goes without saying.

HTC have truly outdone themselves.  Excellent, excellent job.  I didnt even care about WWI until last night.  Now Im obsessed.  

[Lusche]

A thing I observed...

For the first 48 hours, the DVII did not only have most kills, but also a substantially higher K/D than all other planes. Compared to the Dr.I (K/D~1.05) I wondered a bit about that, as the DVII isn't really faster, climbs significantly worse and is completely outclassed when it comes to turning.

But during the last hours, the arena K/D's of those planes are getting closer and closer, the DRI improving, the DVII's getting worse. Now it's 1.17(DVII) to 1.15

I guess it had just taken time for most players to getting used to the more wicked FM of the Dreidecker.

[BaldEagl]

I took a few more rides in the Dr1 and the DVII last night but still ended up going back to the Camel.

The DVII seems a lot less stable in a turn than the Camel and seems to be the worst turning of the four.  I really don't understand it's popularity.

I did have fun in the Dr1 which can out spiral climb any of the other planes.  Any time I had a con on my six all it took was a spiral climb to lose him.  It's a great tactic for setting up the rope.  I'd have 2-4 planes stalling out below me and have my choice of targets.  Now I've got to work on the timing and gunnery to take advantage of it.

[Saxman]

I really don't understand it's popularity.

Probably speed and climb.

Incidentally, at least fighting against I don't find the vertical of the Dr.I all that impressive (which even by WWI standards its not). I think all three of the others out-vertical it.

[BaldEagl]

Probably speed and climb.

Incidentally, at least fighting against I don't find the vertical of the Dr.I all that impressive (which even by WWI standards its not). I think all three of the others out-vertical it.

In terms of pure climb rate the Dr1 is clearly superior to each of the other 3 aircraft.  Go test it and then come tell me I'm wrong.