How do I

[maggie]

Hi all,

How do I padlock an enemy aircraft? I asked the question on line yesterday and was told how to do it but I was being shot at so it didnt sink in, Also when I first came on line my graphics seemed fine but a number of times after I got shot down all the aircraft changed from small dots (at a distance) to small black squares and when they got closer the rear of the aircraft was formed but the front and prop still showed up as a small black square? have I pressed something on my keyboard to make this happen or is it a form of lag as my computer is new and is well above minimum specs?

If you or your flying buddies see me bumbling about or crashing into planes it is not intentional, I am on a steep learning curve and I do not mean to upset anyone.

Warm Regards
Maggie.

[gyrene81]

i don't use the padlock feature so i can't comment on that but the graphics issue is due to the video card your system has. onboard graphics chips, especially intel brand are known to cause the "black box" issue as well as other anomalies. you could try adjusting some of the in game graphics properties to lower levels, especially the texture size. otherwise the only sure fire way to eliminate the issue is to get a good video card.

[Hap]

tab key

here's the linky  http://www.hitechcreations.com/Help-Section/Aces-High-Features/aces-high-help-padlock.html

[FLS]

Lag does not affect graphics or frame rate. You can read about video settings here.
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,231506.0.html

I'm usually in the training arena Saturday mornings 10AM - 12 noon ET which I expect is 3PM to 5PM your time.

[TequilaChaser]

Hi all,

How do I padlock an enemy aircraft?Maggie.

I would recommend using the snap view or instant view  and forget about padlock view

using padlock view will hamper your SA in the arenas, is like having blind spots while driving per say.........

using the snap or instant view ( unless you have trackIR ) will allow one to see so much more and possibly see that one enemy that is trying to attack from an off angle ( like 5 oclock high or low   or  7 oclock 8 oclock   high or  low ... etc... )

the viewing system in Aces High is probably the best if not THE BEST  of any flight sim / MMO  ever......  learn to set up your views on your controllers as well as adjust and save your head positions ( planetype.hps   file type ) for each individual plane.......



now, regarding your Video not rendering properly....... that could be a video driver issue, or heat issue  or too many processes / resources hogging the CPU &/or  Video ... etc......

if you can not figure out what is going on  / causing the black squares  make a thread in the tech support forum and copy/paste  the top 1/3rd or 2/3rds  of your DXDIAG  results.....


Welcome to Aces High Maggie (Phil) 

hope this helps


TC

[Ninthmessiah]

Friend of mine uses an Asus laptop with Intel integrated graphics.  He sees black squares until the plane is 2k out.  It actually gives him an advantage because he will clearly see a con' at +6k whereas I will only see a spec of dust.

[Bruv119]

I just sent you an e-mail maggie, 

I can show you how to use it but the biggest problem is that when you cross with the enemy plane from a Head to head situation it will lose the padlock until you use the hat switch to lock back onto them.  In a 1vs1 situation this may be ok but anything over that and your stuffed.

It is best if you map all of your basic views and then map a "look up" button this will combine 2 different view positions so look back + look up =  look back up.   You can then get 16 views out of one hat switch and that should be enough to cover all around your plane.

[FLS]

Padlock is nice for watching films.  I think everybody that came over from FA made the transition to hat views. I still have hat views mapped even though I use Track IR now.

[maggie]

Thank you all for your help and advice, I am really looking forward to be part of this fantastic sim, One thing I have noticed now with regards to my graphics problem is that its fine until I go out of the game play (After I get shot down) and come back in, thats when I get the small black square effect. When I played last night there was a good number of players showing on my screen with no problem at all but as I said, once I go back in then the trouble starts?

[FLS]

As TC suggested, run dxdiag and post in the Tech Support forum for video issues.

[ARSNishi]

I suppose I'm just too stubborn because rather than give up on padlock and rely solely on the hat switch I have doggedly adapted AH's padlock to mimic as closely as possible what I was used to in FA and while it does make for a busy thumb I have been able to make it work for me with fair success. Just for clarity's sake I have combined padlock and the high hat used to reacquire my target as Bruv described.  I'm just here to say it can be done with enough determination.

[FLS]

I suppose I'm just too stubborn because rather than give up on padlock and rely solely on the hat switch I have doggedly adapted AH's padlock to mimic as closely as possible what I was used to in FA and while it does make for a busy thumb I have been able to make it work for me with fair success. Just for clarity's sake I have combined padlock and the high hat used to reacquire my target as Bruv described.  I'm just here to say it can be done with enough determination.

It's certainly possible to use padlock and if you use hat switches exclusively I think it's a good addition in many circumstances. I showed someone how to do it yesterday for the first time and it was fairly easy to get them started. Whatever view system we learn first seems best to us until we get used to a new one. For myself I find that TrackIR combines most of the best elements of padlock and hat views. However I think hat or keypad views are the quickest way to look around and check 6 and I find it useful to occasionally override TrackIR with the hat views.

[TequilaChaser]

Thank you all for your help and advice, I am really looking forward to be part of this fantastic sim, One thing I have noticed now with regards to my graphics problem is that its fine until I go out of the game play (After I get shot down) and come back in, thats when I get the small black square effect. When I played last night there was a good number of players showing on my screen with no problem at all but as I said, once I go back in then the trouble starts?

maggie,

each and everyone of use experience this situation in one way or another when we Alt-Tab out of the game ( minimize it to the taskbar )  and then reenter the game ( maximize the Game/Game Window )

some will only experience a very short slight hindrance while the graphics/tiles are being redrawn....... while others with lower performance computer components will experience a longer delay of the graphics/tiles being redrawn........

this same effect is also noticed while viewing films and advancing or rewinding films then restarting them .......

I am basing the above conclusion I have posted solely on the fact that you posted you only experience this phenomena only when you Alt-Tab out of the game, other wise everything seems to work fine.....

hope this helps


TC

[MADe]

Hi ya Maggie,

I'm an old FA'er, nice to see you make it in game here. Your right the learning curve is tuff, especially after being used to mostly intermediate physics. Some good advice has been posted, read it.
Padlock, well it was hard to get over it, but its a multiple button technique in AH, I got over it.
Setting up the cockpit views and gunnery zoom is most important. Cockpit views can be tweaked by use of the head movement and f10(save). Gunnery zoom used correctly can help you see over the nose where necessary. Your views are the keys you will use most, so get comfortable with them.
One other note, all aircraft flight info is on the dashboard, no where else. Familiarize yourself with dashboard for each plane, running out of gas sucks. hint LA 7

50% of the flight issue in AH is black outs. You must be cognizant of the upped physics, thats on you. What you can control is your sticks scaling settings. You will need to find the sweet spot for your stick. Many will give you there scaling points but...... Turn on scaling and note the defaults. Now roll it all down, make the stick flat and begin playing with scale settings. In my case I create an oval curve, the first 2 inputs the same. This creates a type of dead spot. This allows for miniscule movement at center area, when I use full movement, I get full input. My rudder starts at 10%, turned way down. I have the damping and center sliders all way down. BO's can be most frustrating aspect, they happen quick and last. Proper stick scaling is 50% of the battle.

You will find yourself feeling more comfortable once you let go of padlock thought. Use those views, live and breathe by them. If you are a keyboard savvy type maybe you can make it work for you. Me I intend to do without for now, KB savvy I ain't, all tho its all set up to use.

If you see us in game say hi, wing with you anytime if desired. FLYBOYS'z

S LUCK

[FLS]

Made you can also find some useful information on the E6B on the clipboard. It not only tells you how much fuel you have but also how long it will last at your current throttle and RPM settings. It's in the same place for all aircraft.