Author Topic: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?  (Read 2878 times)

Offline fuzeman

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Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« on: March 23, 2020, 08:36:31 PM »
I know for some who attend KOTH and I'm referring to the real good dog-fighters who can win natural KOTHs { three rounds in a row } they don't have to think about their fights too much up until their being hunted by, hopefully, every other player flying in KOTH. Others, like me, had to have a strategy and think about their fights from takeoff to death, or hopefully deep into a round.

With me not needing my little bag of KOTH tips and tricks, I thought I'd let lose and give you the whole ten yards of my KOTH insights. I'll cogitate and regurgitate the ideas I come up with and post them. This could be, in a way, a guide for players who are new to KOTH and think they have no chance at all or will not enjoy it. I'll say, and I'd bet a month of AH most regular KOTH players would agree, that they have had some epic, sweaty-palm, tooth-n-nail, best dog-fights of their AH career. Some of them deal with takeoff direction { with and without a wabbit } fuel load, positioning before 'Fight Is On' is called, wabbit hunting, etc.

Feel free and I'm hoping you will, let loose with some of your KOTH tips and tricks. It can only make for a better event. :aok
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Offline turt21

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2020, 08:01:30 AM »
I fall into the "no chance at all" category but enjoy the God mode to watch.

Offline SAJ73

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2020, 10:44:54 AM »
My last koth experience was just that, my last koth experience.


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Offline fuzeman

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2020, 12:09:06 PM »
My last koth experience was just that, my last koth experience.
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That begs the question why?

And looking back it's probably the no-joy thing.
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Offline fuzeman

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Before the round starts...
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2020, 04:19:58 PM »
Where to start? Seems logical, to me at least, to start as if a round had just ended or the event is beginning, without the 15 minute dissertation on the rules. That being said if anyone reads the rules and has questions I wouldn't turn them away and answer them to the best of my ability.

So we're starting fresh with just a plane type known. Fuel load and takeoff direction are the first things to think about. Ideally of course you only want enough fuel to last 1 minute after you kill the other guy after 'Last Two.' Or add landing if you won the event; ONLY the winner gets to land in KOTH.
The length of a round is determined by a few things, among them how many people are actually flying that round and to a lesser extend the overall skill level. Skill level relates to the length of each fight and of course a better pilot can generally dispatch his opponent quicker than lower skilled pilot. The overall length of the round is more correlated to numbers flying I think. Using the logic that the numbers are halved after every fight which is accurate enough because generally one guy wins and the other guy dies. People do discuss fuel load during takeoffs and you can auger, change it, and takeoff again as long as 'Flight Disabled' has not been called. You most likely will suffer a self-imposed altitude penalty though as I wont delay the start and burn the other peoples fuel load that they carefully planned. That penalty usually isn't too bad if your quick. Lately I have been timing rounds, takeoff to round won, and tell the crowd how long it was and what flight time they need, with them planning accordingly. And we do allow accordions in KOTH. Remember though, you have to account for fuel leaks.

Takeoff direction is important to as you generally fight the people that flew that way unless someone turns away. This direction can change whether there is a wabbit or not also as a good wabbit hunter wants to be close to the wabbit to get a shot in. Wabbit hunting is a whole different topic both from the wabbit hunter and wabbit POV.
KOTH is similar to Main Arena, Melee Arena, the main arena by whatever name it currently is or tries to be; for example the fuel burn will always be same as MA, 2.0. There are NO friendly collisions, although I did use them waaaay back and that could change if YOU wanted it to. In that regard and to the 'I'm just a target I'll only die' people remember this: in the main arena there usually is at least one person you can kill. That applies to KOTH too. Generally speaking, boy I notice I speak to generals alot, there is one player flying in KOTH you can kill. Takeoff in a direction similar to them. And I'm not trying to make this a slaughter for the 'worst pilot' there because there has to be a player flying you think you can kill. And KOTH is an event where you get better watching some other skilled cartoon pilots fight. There used to be in depth conversations in tower about peoples fighting style and how they did this or that maneuver but that was eliminated with latest incarnation of range vox. CM Eye is always on too so you can watch fights that way. It's good to try and have this setup beforehand as it's tough to give instructions on that while running the event. Heck I cant even fly and run my event. I have chosen to run a good event and not bother flying in it. As with a change in fuel load you can auger and choose a different runway, with the same penalty, or just make a turn and fly in a direction that looks good to you.

Personally I like to get a little faster than default speed climb as it gets you a little farther away from the takeoff field and the other players. I think that way you have a better chance of having a pure 1v1 fight to start the round. You may need a few gallons more petrol doing this in the long run but it's what I did. That first fight is the fight you have the most say in, sort of. After that the players left and their position on the map relative to you highly effects where you go after first fight.

And one last thing about fuel load if you fly in KOTH. ALWAYS check it on other arenas!!! it's no fun not checking it and getting that quiet sound when you realize you took off with a KOTH fuel load. :O

Wanted to put something up here relatively soon and this is it. Thoughts or comments, feel free to post.
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Offline Arlo

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2020, 04:38:39 PM »
Parcheesi.

Offline Wiley

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #6 on: March 25, 2020, 07:32:14 PM »
As a middling stick I figured I'd chime in.  One thing I always keep in mind is to prioritize wabbits.  I almost always set up in the beginning to be first or second to a wabbit.  One thing to keep in mind when wabbit hunting is to keep separation from the other guys so the wabbit doesn't start screaming over channel that "those guys are closer to each other than to me!"

If there are no wabbits, I am watching dar as we're climbing out to attempt to get a 1v1 first.  Doesn't always work out that way, but that's what I'm attempting to do.  I usually try to analyze which dots are going to pair off and try to put myself closest to the one I want to engage and more importantly further from the one I don't so I'm not the closest one to him.

One thing I do if I happen to win a round and am trying hard to win is there are a couple planes I've got a bit more experience than most in that aren't terribly popular and I'll choose one of them for the next round.  I know I've taken fights away from guys that are generally better than me by doing that.  I also just like dogfighting in jugs. ;)

If I wind up third man coming into a fight, I like to get right over top of it and go for the guy that seems to be winning generally.  The other guy is usually in a worse E state, and if I can kill the one that currently has the advantage, the one that was in trouble is usually an easier kill.  If someone's about to kill the other guy, I try to be set up to get guns on him just as the other guy dies.  With varying degrees of success.  Depending who they are, if one of them is a player that worries me, I'll sometimes go after them first depending on the situation.

If a third person is coming into my fight, I try to put the guy I'm fighting into a position where he's a more attractive target for the third guy.  Again, with varying degrees of success.  Ideally I'm trying to build a little E so I have more options if/when he kills the other guy.

If I'm one of the final three and not currently fighting, I usually go on autoclimb on the way to the fight so I can have as much E as possible when I get there.

I don't usually intentionally go after a guy I think I can beat at the beginning of the round.  I do quite often make some kind of attempt to avoid the top shelf guys for the initial engagement.  Doesn't always work out, but it does often help if the guy I'm worried about gets taken out by other people.

The rest of it is just trying to kill what's in front of me for the most part.

Wiley.
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Offline fuzeman

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2020, 01:46:01 PM »
Why not pay KOTH a visit?  Can't recall you ever flying in one.   Then again, my state of recollection could be improved or incorrect on this point.

Parcheesi.
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Offline fuzeman

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The Fight
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2020, 01:47:59 PM »
The Fight. Most of the fights from the initial one are driven by the position of other players on the map as you have to fly to the closest dot or fight after yours ends. I'd say that continues through LAST FOUR to the LAST ONE and a round is won. Not much thinking or strategy here as it's fight and move on, except for the thinking you would usually use during an engagement. Now when you have wabbits and wabbit hunting is involved that is a whole different story and that's upcoming in a few days.
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Offline Arlo

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2020, 02:09:32 PM »
Why not pay KOTH a visit?  Can't recall you ever flying in one.   Then again, my state of recollection could be improved or incorrect on this point.

Never been inspired to, actually. Always seemed more like a thing dueling arena aficionados like. You know, the 'morally superior dogfighter class.' ;)

(Besides, I'm not delusional about my own lack of skill, advantageous equipment or stamina.)  :old:

Offline fuzeman

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #10 on: March 31, 2020, 09:39:35 PM »
IMO your opinion is wrong and I'd venture to say your opinion would change if you tried it.
No, opinions can't be wrong.... but maybe based on incorrect information. Give it a try for 30 minutes and see it for yourself.
I'd say any level of dog-fighter can have fun in KOTH.

Never been inspired to, actually. Always seemed more like a thing dueling arena aficionados like. You know, the 'morally superior dogfighter class.' ;)

(Besides, I'm not delusional about my own lack of skill, advantageous equipment or stamina.)  :old:
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Offline jeffn

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #11 on: April 01, 2020, 11:09:44 AM »
I'd say any level of dog-fighter can have fun in KOTH.

I would agree with this statement Fuze.

Being a middle of the pack flyer myself, i do kill and get killed often. When i am on the loosing end, i learn from that better player or the bad choice i made. If its close i may even get the style/fight figured out by the very next round and pull off a win.

There is always someone that is "better", there are for sure a few guys that are two levels above where i feel i am at, But when i started KOTH they were 5 levels above, im gaining and im having fun with that.

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Offline Eagler

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #12 on: April 01, 2020, 12:49:25 PM »
As I have never been interested in anything but A2A I find KOTH some of the best AH has to offer these days

Thanks for all you do to keep it going fuzeman

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Offline fuzeman

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #13 on: April 10, 2020, 11:08:07 AM »
Separation and the No-Joy situation. Thought I should visit this topic as we had a player leave when one wasn't called. I know we use this term in reverse really where a contact is TOO close and you see to much of them opposed to not seeing the contact at all but that's what we do. We use it to signal no-combat between the people involved, usually two players immediately before 'FIGHT ON' is called. The time between 'Is anyone NOT ready, call no-joys if needed' and 'Fight is on' should be very short as it can get confusing and people occasionally call them way to early or late, sometimes even in a humorous tone. You can usually pick those out fairly easily.
We actually did discuss this a little after it happened. As it stands, rules say separation is required and it's that way to impress upon the players the need to do so and think about it from takeoff and during climb out. You have to remember though that the CM looking at a map sees a top down version unless he's right on top of them in CM Eye mode and can't really judge the distance. The best two people to call a no joy are those two players who are too close, and remember either of them can call that no joy, nj for short. It takes both to cancel one, and if attendance is poor it might be best to do so if everyone is really spread out, but just one to start it.
I'm wondering if it should be modified slightly just regarding it being 'required' for example. There have been instances where for whatever reason two close players, and we try for D5.0 separation at a minimum, choose to NOT call that nj and it works out fine usually. I think it being required is still good but the players have to be responsible for calling it and it they don't want to its OK. Really just some fication from clara going on but maybe it needed  to be said. I know if there was a guy shadowing me, and I knew I could dispatch them fairly easily I doubt I'd call that nj unless he was very close to a firing solution.
And picking the needle out of the haystack situation wise, I guess from the CM Eye top view you could even have two dots right on top of each other looking much too close and one is at 5,900' altitude and the other is at 500' and they have enough separation.
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Offline SAJ73

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Re: Is KOTH chess or checkers to you?
« Reply #14 on: April 10, 2020, 11:28:47 AM »
Separation and the No-Joy situation. Thought I should visit this topic as we had a player leave when one wasn't called. I know we use this term in reverse really where a contact is TOO close and you see to much of them opposed to not seeing the contact at all but that's what we do. We use it to signal no-combat between the people involved, usually two players immediately before 'FIGHT ON' is called. The time between 'Is anyone NOT ready, call no-joys if needed' and 'Fight is on' should be very short as it can get confusing and people occasionally call them way to early or late, sometimes even in a humorous tone. You can usually pick those out fairly easily.
We actually did discuss this a little after it happened. As it stands, rules say separation is required and it's that way to impress upon the players the need to do so and think about it from takeoff and during climb out. You have to remember though that the CM looking at a map sees a top down version unless he's right on top of them in CM Eye mode and can't really judge the distance. The best two people to call a no joy are those two players who are too close, and remember either of them can call that no joy, nj for short. It takes both to cancel one, and if attendance is poor it might be best to do so if everyone is really spread out, but just one to start it.
I'm wondering if it should be modified slightly just regarding it being 'required' for example. There have been instances where for whatever reason two close players, and we try for D5.0 separation at a minimum, choose to NOT call that nj and it works out fine usually. I think it being required is still good but the players have to be responsible for calling it and it they don't want to its OK. Really just some fication from clara going on but maybe it needed  to be said. I know if there was a guy shadowing me, and I knew I could dispatch them fairly easily I doubt I'd call that nj unless he was very close to a firing solution.
And picking the needle out of the haystack situation wise, I guess from the CM Eye top view you could even have two dots right on top of each other looking much too close and one is at 5,900' altitude and the other is at 500' and they have enough separation.
Just to clear up this actual incident mentioned, without bringing forth any names. I had a player following me out from takeoff, and while I tried to focus on my own separation to the ones on either side of me I did not pay enough attention to the guy on my 6.
I tried to make a slight right hand turn to give him room between but he just turned after me, and well within icon range the whole time. There I was wedged up in a bad spot with a bogey on my close 6 just as fight was about to start. I guess my "no joy" call came a tad late, I have only tried KOTH two or three times before since my start in 2007, so I did not know it was too late to call it when I did.
My immediate reaction to this whole incident was F... this so I just bailed and logged in frustration.

I was not even gonna bother to reverse that guy, even though I am pretty sure I could have done it had I just not been too mad.

So, there you have my side of it.


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