Do away with manned guns

[bozon]

Manned 88s seem so harmless to fighters I like it when someone is in them.

The boom, boom, boom adds to the immersion.

I don't know who sits in 88s when you fly, but players like Flint and a few others who are too fond of manned acks seem to converge on me at 6k+ ranges at any aspect, and doing 350 mph. It is just a matter of time until probability does its thing and they get me.

If I see the 88 getting close, I get the hell away or take my chances and often die.

[LilMak]

88 for me is not about being picked off by one so much as it’s taking a potential player out of the action. They’re sitting in a gun with their fingers crossed that they hit. And if I’m fighting another player and one of us just got popped by that lucky shot, two people have just been denied their fun. It’s a grief weapon IMO. 

[Lusche]

88 for me is not about being picked off by one so much as it's taking a potential player out of the action. They’re sitting in a gun with their fingers crossed that they hit. And if I’m fighting another player and one of us just got popped by that lucky shot, two people have just been denied their fun. It’s a grief weapon IMO.

I find it hard to describe a totally immobile weapon as a griefing weapon. It's not that's a sudden airspawn opens behind your back

But more seriously, and only speaking for myself: I have quite a number of kills in all kinds of manned guns, but I guarantee you that almost all of the time I would not suddenly up a plane if the gun wasn't there. Because I mostly use guns if no other option is left - jumping to a CV when the bombers are already there, log on to a remote base that's already vulched. Or I can't due to real life constraints, for example eating something
And as far as griefing goes, about all players I shoot down in a manned gun are attacking the base. Deacking, vulching, bombing my CV. Two players having a noble duel in the skies are usually way outside any reasonable gun parameters.

And finally, the percentage of fighters shot down by manned ack is really low, considering the 6% number is mostly made up by bomb trucks and similar attackers. And the 88 has only a tiny share of that 6%

[JunkyII]

It's not purposely being used as a griefing weapon like dropping the HQ was a few years back but Lil Mak is right, it takes people away from an actual fight. Same reason town resupply needs to go, removes people from the fight.

I suggested about a year ago maybe tie manned guns to the VH status. VH is up man guns cant be occupied, VH is down then they can, and they can only be destroyed if they are manned.

At the very least it would give GVers more viable targets.

[Randy1]

It's not purposely being used as a griefing weapon like dropping the HQ was a few years back but Lil Mak is right, it takes people away from an actual fight. Same reason town resupply needs to go, removes people from the fight. . . .

Still, they make the monthly payment.  It is their choice to enjoy the game as they see fit.  An added point too is a game that has a limited menu  will attract less paying customers

You know, some might be handicapped in someway so the guns and or GVs is their best match.

[Lusche]

It's not purposely being used as a griefing weapon like dropping the HQ was a few years back but Lil Mak is right, it takes people away from an actual fight.

I consider to be in combat with any person shooting at me.

The only time I get upset with players' choice of weapons is when I called out a flashing, white flagged and deacked town with no darbar (thanks to .dt I can do that all across the map) and the only reaction are two players in a manned guns, one rolling out a Wirbel on the airfield and three more jumping in m3s that will take 6 minutes to reach the town. You know what happens next....

[LilMak]

Taking pot shots at me while I’m maneuvering close to six miles away is not combat. If a player wants to do that, fine, but take away the laser range finder (icon) so, not only do they have to guess how far away I am, they have to also figure out whether they’re firing on a red or a green icon. And also, while we’re at it, enable the kill shooter so they knock their own gun out if they hit a friendly.

[Lusche]

Taking pot shots at me while I’m maneuvering close to six miles away is not combat. If a player wants to do that, fine, but take away the laser range finder (icon) so, not only do they have to guess how far away I am, [...]

It is incredibly difficult to hit anything at 10k distance. Not only the shell takes a staggering 22 seconds to arrive, but you also don't have a gunsight and the icon only tells he's somewhere between 9500 and 10500 yards away at the moment you are firing. You almost need to be a psychic to correctly look that far into the future, playing the lottery may give you a higher chance of succes than shooting at a maneuvering fighter. Even bombers flying straight and level generally don't have to worry about that.

You guys are vastly exaggerating the capabilities of the 88 as implemented in Aces High. The number of fighters shot down by 88s is very, very low.
I really wish we would get the missing higher traverse gear and correct gunsights... 

[LilMak]

It is incredibly difficult to hit anything at 10k distance. Not only the shell takes a staggering 22 seconds to arrive, but you also don't have a gunsight and the icon only tells he's somewhere between 9500 and 10500 yards away at the moment you are firing. You almost need to be a psychic to correctly look that far into the future, playing the lottery may give you a higher chance of succes than shooting at a maneuvering fighter. Even bombers flying straight and level generally don't have to worry about that.

Meanwhile some guy is sitting in a gun doing just that. Continuously for eons.

Once again. Not combat. Not contributing. Barley even annoying until that magic BB hits. Default now when I show up by myself in Radar range is some twit just plucking away at me in an 88 praying for a hit. I don’t pay for that. I’m no where near the field. All the ack is up. No danger of capture. Just some guy who is too drunk/lazy/chicken/incompetent to actually fight. I can go offline and fly around in puffy ack. I don’t need an account to just die randomly out of the blue.

[Lusche]

. Just some guy who is too drunk/lazy/chicken/incompetent to actually fight.

What would it help you if I would logoff instead of defending my field against attack in a manned ack?
The 'quality of the fight' would not improve significantly in any way.


Addendum:
If that's your assement of players using manned acks, wouldn't that also apply to yourself?
In the last 11 tours, you died 65 times to all types of manned ack, but you got 30 kills in it, too. Drunk/lazy/chicken/incompetent?
Oh, and manned ack accounted to 3.5% of your deaths in fighters in those 11 tours.

[wil3ur]

I got a kill at 10K plus in a 5" the other day.  Had nothing to do with luck... it had to do with knowing the drop rate of the gun, the time to target, and throwing only about 10 shells out in front of a target.  He was flying in a straight line so it made it easier...  but all in all, there was not much to do with luck in there.  At the same time, it was not much to do with skill either...  just defending a CV and running out of targets up close.   

[Lusche]

I got a kill at 10K plus in a 5" the other day.

A CV's 5" with it's proximity fuse is a totally different beast than a timed fused 88.

But even that one is still a very rare occurence. As you said: "The other day"

[Zoney]

Meanwhile some guy is sitting in a gun doing just that. Continuously for eons.

Once again. Not combat. Not contributing. Barley even annoying until that magic BB hits. Default now when I show up by myself in Radar range is some twit just plucking away at me in an 88 praying for a hit. I don’t pay for that. I’m no where near the field. All the ack is up. No danger of capture. Just some guy who is too drunk/lazy/chicken/incompetent to actually fight. I can go offline and fly around in puffy ack. I don’t need an account to just die randomly out of the blue.

Maybe that's what he wants to do.

Maybe that's all he can do well.

Maybe he will learn different aspects of the game later and fly a plane.

Maybe you think his 15 bucks isn't as valuable as your 15 bucks.

Maybe his contribution helps keep the game profitable and valuable for HTC.

Maybe what he does makes the game too difficult for you.

Maybe you don't care about the big picture because you are selfish.

Maybe the next thing we should get rid of is the high altitude guys like me because you don't like that either.

[Lusche]

A few days ago, I lost a 262 (and almost all of my meagre fighter perks)  to a manned ack. It's an outrage 

[JunkyII]

Still, they make the monthly payment.  It is their choice to enjoy the game as they see fit.  An added point too is a game that has a limited menu  will attract less paying customers

You know, some might be handicapped in someway so the guns and or GVs is their best match.

Read my posts Randy....your assuming I want to get rid of GV gameplay because you think you know me when in fact you don't at all.

I'd rather see them in whirbels then man guns because like I said, gives tankers and jabos a more valid target.

A man gun is easy to kill, it's not ranked, it is easy to use...and if some is able to use a man gun they are able to use a GV so the disability comment is just rubbish.

Rather see more GVs and Airplanes.

Oh and yes, Man guns are all easy to use...I play about 5 other FPS games with many different bullet sprays/ADS properties and AH's is on easier side of difficulty spectrum(not tanks or shooting in aircraft those are pretty hard) but man guns and bomber gunners are not.

To say it is hard for some people in AH doesn't negate the fact that it is easy in comparison to other point click and shoot games.