New Terrain in the AVA--guadalcanal

[dhyran]

GREAT Work on this map!  WTG

[captain1ma]

prior to no icons, the AVA was a ghost town. then with some suggestions and rogue ideas, we went to no icons. all of a sudden people are showing up. they're biggest comment is that they love the no icons and the environment as a whole. last night i was in there, at 11pm EST there were 21 people in the AVA. thats almost un-heard of. Saturday night at 1am EST there were 23 people in there. they all know its no icons and they all like it. while i understand that you do not like the no icon environment because its harder, based on what the AVA community as a whole wants, the no icons is here to stay. i apologize that it is not to your satisfaction, but most everyone loves the no icons and for the time being that's become the standard in the AVA arena. now that could change down the line as peoples tastes change but for now it is what it is.

[gyrene81]

Here the most important point I want to make: I don't think no icons being the standard setting for the AvA *all the time* is a good idea. I'd like to see some compromise here.

sooo...tried that...before the no enemy icons thing took off...arena was mostly empty...now people are discovering how fun the game can be with the settings being used...for some it's kept them playing rather than shutting down their accounts.

is it difficult? ya, but that's half the fun...in your gunsights one second...lost in the trees the next...and on your six before you know what happened.

you haven't spent any amount of time in there...let alone with a good crowd...perhaps instead of parroting the same rhetorical poop about real life vision...jump in the arena with a good crowd of regulars and give it a real try...you might find yourself surprised...others have...and tonight should be a real blast.

[CAP1]

i took this from a film last night.


 the bad guy cons are over 6k away. the good guy con is just under 6k away. they're actually a little easier to see in the game, as they're moving.


 here's something to try too. look for something that doesn't match the background. don't specifically look for an airplane....look for something that doesn't belong. once you've spotted it, do NOT take your eyes off of it.

 also, bnz mentioned the trackir. yes. that is going to help a lot. it takes some adjustment though. when i'd fight in the ava using the hat switch, keeping a con in sight at high altitude is no serious problem. get down low though, and it's a different story.
 i've lost sight of a con that was within 1k of me, because of the way the views switch. on that same token, i've managed to get a con off my six the same way. the trackir smooths most of those view transitions, and hopefully will eliminate that particular problem.

[Dichotomy]

Same as pretty much every post about what I 'like' or why I 'do' whatever it is I do.  Icons on / off *shrug* don't care.  Prefer off for reasons already stated.  By reading the setup I've got a fairly good idea what that dot is off in the distance based on how they're flying and where they're coming from.  I can tell you for a fact that it's really easy to lose an f4 on the deck in the current set up from any distance so you better bring your A game but I digress... the main reason I love and prefer the AVA is the people that generally populate it.  Certain acerbic characters once you've gotten to know them are fun to laugh with even if it's at yourself then there are the overall group that you don't hear the whines from when you smoke them.  I can tell a reg from a new guy in a few passes provided I last that long.  

Let me give you an example.  Last night was simply horrible for me.  The other side was flying cooperatively and using good tactics and I took the bait too many times.  BUT it was a quick flight to the action and in two hours of air time I didn't see one whine, anything more than light hearted smack talking between friends, plenty of <S>'s given, and a lot of guys having fun.

I read these boards regularly and the things that many players gripe about are almost non existent in the AVA.  Now I've practically BEGGED the GV crowd to come in and get a tradition going with little response.  Why? The main gripe I see is you guys getting bombed when you're having an epic fight.  Okay bring that to the AVA and I can tell you that most of the air crowd will be way too busy killing each other to mess with you.  Pick a corner and battle it out.  Let us know who 'won'.  

Want to do some realistic BUFF action? GREAT!!!  let us know where and when and lets give it a whirl.

Now the staff is busting their butts to offer a great playground with a lot of options it's just up to some of you guys to get together and say 'hey lets give it a whirl'.  

Who knows?  You might just find yourself enjoying it.

Last thing... in AVA.. nobody cares what your score is.  

It isn't for everybody I freely admit but a lot of guys fly it once or twice and get hooked hard.  

*gets off of pedestal and goes looking for nose and shoes*

[CAP1]

crazy was sitting just off the south end of A1 shelling it last night.

 that crazy dood. 

[NormH3]

crazy was sitting just off the south end of A1 shelling it last night.

 that crazy dood. 

I tried to get him with some bombs, but my bombing is worse than my machine gunning..which is worse than my SA..
i still enjoy the game

[CAP1]

I tried to get him with some bombs, but my bombing is worse than my machine gunning..which is worse than my SA..
i still enjoy the game

speaking of sa.......i got delta last night. he was down in the weeds. just offed a wildcat. then he was lining up to fly under a bridge. i tippie-toed up behind him.....and WHAMO.......
 he said i spoild his fun.......and i nearly flew into that dam bridge too. 

[NormH3]

speaking of sa.......i got delta last night. he was down in the weeds. just offed a wildcat. then he was lining up to fly under a bridge. i tippie-toed up behind him.....and WHAMO.......
 he said i spoild his fun.......and i nearly flew into that dam bridge too. 

hmm..never thought about flying under one of the bridges...I have noticed the trees are a bit taller than some other maps. I've had to climb out of a few.

[Dichotomy]

Those trees are nasty and heavily populated with trunkmonkeys

[Oldman731]

here's something to try too. look for something that doesn't match the background. don't specifically look for an airplane....look for something that doesn't belong. once you've spotted it, do NOT take your eyes off of it.

Knew a number of people who drove subway trains.  Their conversation once turned to the topic of people jumping in front of the trains, and how to spot them in time in the bad tunnel light.  The consensus was to look for movement.  I find that works in no-icons environment - as you scan below, you will often notice the movement of another aircraft before you actually figure out that it's an aircraft.

- oldman

[Vinkman]

I love this map. Great job USRanger! had a blast last night. I like flying P-39s anyway and this weeks AvA set up is a great excuse to Cobra up. Th ematch up with Zekes is interesting. The cobras are faster, but can't turn nearly as well and don't accelerate as well either. But they dive extremely well, so BnZ is the tactice of choice. But if the Zeke see you coming, you'll make lots of passes and go home empty handed.

I'll probably spend all week in AvA over MA.

See you fellas out there. 

[Shuffler]

I had fun in there again last night.

Only one suggestion..... can we turn the icons on for trees?

[TequilaChaser]

well the debate about "with icons" & "no icons" really doesn't matter....

I am flying in there ( the AvsA), and I extremely hate the idea of "no icons for enemy" and very limited icons for friendly.....

as far as "well before we began using the "no icons" setting, the AvsA was a ghost town..... that boat don't float... the CT / AvsA has had it's ups and downs with it being almost non-populated, to just a handful using it, to a decent number of 15 to 30 flying in it to sometimes 75+ flying there.... and then it would go right back to being a ghost town ( just like it is a ghost town almost 90% per day, everyday even now with the no icons setting )..

people only seem to populate it in the evenings, with every now and then a few popping in before 7pm EST or after 2AM EST........and most other times, with this no icon settings it is still for the most part a ghost town....... people are still doing the exact same things they did before the no icon rule, and that is & was to schedule specific meeting times to do specific things....

as far as the well I can see a Cessna 152 at 3 to 2  miles away  on approach landing at the local airport, Aces high or any online flight sim for that matter never will be able to compare with the real thing....... heck it was even stated in this thread that a P47 and a sherman  can not be seperated by distinction at a mile out in the arena, that they both have the same pixel pattern ( that is 1.7K in our icon measurement in game ).... so that right there tells us all that one can not compare the "no icons is more realistic" to actual reality......

It would be a nice gesture if the AvsA offered both sides of the arguement a mixture of both "no enemy icons" and sometimes maybe a offering of "Limited distance say 3K or 2.5K enemy icons"........ but they are the ones who do the setup.....

it is up to the rest of us if we want to participate in the AvsA or not......

I just don't accept the "The AvsA was a Ghost Town before "no icons"  Theory"..... I do accept the fact that the AvsA has experienced an influx of new players from other flight sims ( along with some of the longtime players from the MA and all the old CT/AvA players ) which is a wonderful thing and the AvsA has been on a good roll which is approaching a year now of positive population......... I hope it continues ( I personally think it will )

but for the most part, the AvsA is still vacant with a rough guestimate of 90% of everyday...... no different than it has ever been......

and I can have fun just the same with icons or without icons, as long as I can find someone else to fly against in the AvsA......

edit: and to get back on the topic:

Awesome job USRanger    love this terrain , the clouds, the water, the reefs, the sky color....simply AWESOME !!!

[captain1ma]

shuffler:   .treeicon 1