EspressoForHammy, on 12 July 2016 - 06:06 PM, said:
No browbeating here, but a word of advice after watching the video.
Killing the GA first is not a trick or stunt, experiment or a "new way to fly". At best it's an easy way to make sure you have some XP at the end of the battle. At worst it's a sure way to remove your aircraft from the competitive fight that has a 99% chance to decide the battle. In the F2G specifically you would always be better served to be in the fight upstairs.
Now see, this is an excellent example of an honest opinion, thoughtful insight and positive advice, all rolled into one! I have always been a firm believer in not what is said, but how it's said. With that out of the way, I did just that in the video above this post.
EspressoForHammy, on 12 July 2016 - 06:06 PM, said:
As far as tips on how to approach GA without getting tail-gunned to death, it's hard to explain, but it involves high speed vertical loops and some evasive maneuvering after you come off the guns. I'm pretty mediocre at it myself, but players like Vradin, Bobo and Gang are masters.
I am familiar with a version of that technique and use it when the circumstances avail themselves to me (still suffer from mixed results though).
Bubba_Zanetti, on 12 July 2016 - 06:07 PM, said:
Meh, looks like he's a wowp Europe player. Doubt you two will see each other anytime soon.
I know that, but doubt they do. I also did some more digging on that....guy, never flown an F2G....but, that doesn't totally invalidate their....advice.
which prompted a player from the EU to leave....comments of how I was flying my Super Corsair. After a quick back and forth, I uploaded a video made out of spite here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKOn3sCb_YM
Seriously? Well, it starts off with a tone I am very familiar with, but then turns almost positive and encouraging. I am not sure if or how I should even respond to this....
On a side note, if you have never heard of DezGamez, that's okay. They are a fairly big producer of gaming videos (much like our MagusGerhardt) and have amassed a good sized following. While mostly a WOT/WOWS player, it would seem they have ventured into the realm of Planes (or more correctly, returned). Due to language content, I will link the video to check out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb6FhaD1dP0
I'm no big game video producer; I've just made a lot of them.
But I do appreciate the sentiment, Q. I don't have much good advice on how to deal with or address the commenter on your page, though. Sorry. Well...I know what *I* would do in response, but I wouldn't recommend that to anyone but me.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, Paris, 13 Nov. 1787
But I do appreciate the sentiment, Q. I don't have much good advice on how to deal with or address the commenter on your page, though. Sorry. Well...I know what *I* would do in response, but I wouldn't recommend that to anyone but me.
I could always exercise certain powers and privileges over there that I don't have here, if things get too far out of hand in the future.
With the increase in real world activities these last few days, I haven't had much time to play, make any movies or post about my latest exploits in Planes. For me, it takes around two hours a day to get in my five battles (including queue times, bathroom and eating breaks, etc) edit, create and upload the video, finishing off with writing the post to go along with it all. Some days, the time is just waiting for me to use it, other days, I couldn't even buy a minute on a credit card.
This last series I ran was a dismal disaster, with 1 victory, 4 defeats and 7 enemy aircraft shot down. In fact, that lone victory was turned into a video on put up on my YouTube channel, to keep my lonely critic somewhat satisfied.
With this series, it was an almost complete turnaround from the last with 3 wins, 2 loses and 9 enemy aircraft turned to ashes. One of the major differences in gameplay between these two was the bots on my team. Either they decided to listen to my requests for help and did just that, or I just had the better, stronger artificial allies.
This series was quite a challenge, due to the fact of more human players on both teams, including some names I familiar with (both on the forums and ingame). Perhaps I got lucky with team placement, taking home 3 victories, 2 defeats, but only 4 enemy aircraft shot down by my guns. Here was the first win of the day (more of a lesson for me on a certain aircraft, then my lackluster performance during the match)....
This is almost or over a full month that you've been torturing yourself with the only Corsair built by Goodyear.
I don't know how that aircraft is now...but she has a very nasty and well-deserved reputation as being a flying $#!^box.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, Paris, 13 Nov. 1787
Maybe it's because I love every F4U or because I'm not much worried about stats, or I had my F2G after a buff but I like that plane, it's fun to use, fast, good guns, reasonably agile... I already had the F6U Pirate instead of the F-84 whatever the letter is, not that good by now, but I don't have upgraded it yet. I'm still using the Super Corsair to get the F84something some months from now (no, I'm not very hurried about it) Just playing a few games by day, and not everyday, something feels different since bots arrival, I prefer them to be there instead of the old 3vs3 games, I can get better rewards (xp, credits), but they don't add much to fun of play for me at least.
This is almost or over a full month that you've been torturing yourself with the only Corsair built by Goodyear.
I don't know how that aircraft is now...but she has a very nasty and well-deserved reputation as being a flying $#!^box.
You know something, I don't find the plane itself to be half bad. To me, it does feel like an off balance mix of a Fighter and Heavy Fighter, capable of doing both jobs, just not very well. However, the right player could make this work well in their favor, I am just not consistently one of them. One major issue I have is the 20mm cannons, they overheat too quickly for my liking and not very accurate (especially after I review a replay, I wonder that I was able to hit anything at all).
Claudio67, on 16 July 2016 - 09:14 PM, said:
Maybe it's because I love every F4U or because I'm not much worried about stats, or I had my F2G after a buff but I like that plane, it's fun to use, fast, good guns, reasonably agile... I already had the F6U Pirate instead of the F-84 whatever the letter is, not that good by now, but I don't have upgraded it yet. I'm still using the Super Corsair to get the F84something some months from now (no, I'm not very hurried about it) Just playing a few games by day, and not everyday, something feels different since bots arrival, I prefer them to be there instead of the old 3vs3 games, I can get better rewards (xp, credits), but they don't add much to fun of play for me at least.
Porkins_Jr, on 16 July 2016 - 09:32 PM, said:
I kept the Super Corsair but sold the other planes in the line.
If this plane wasn't merely a means to an end, I would consider keeping it, when I am through this chapter of gameplay. Perhaps, I just might do that, since I have an overabundance of vacant hangars slots. Dunno for sure.
After all this time, I decided to take another look at my progress towards the tier IX F-94D Starfire. Much to my own surprise, it was easily within short reach, especially with the current X3 xp weekend. However, it would take one of those battles to make it all happen and fortunately for me, it did....
until now, it took a grand total of 106 battles, of which 56 were victories and 50 were defeats. Also, 136 enemy aircraft shot down be me along the way can't be too shabby either!
It would be a safe guess that I would be taking out the Starfire for it's first flight immediately after acquiring it. So not to disappoint, here it is....
Handsome aircraft with that polished aluminum finish; I hope she delivers enough fun to reward you for the dedication you gave the Super Corsair!
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, Paris, 13 Nov. 1787
Handsome aircraft with that polished aluminum finish; I hope she delivers enough fun to reward you for the dedication you gave the Super Corsair!
Porkins_Jr, on 17 July 2016 - 08:07 PM, said:
I predict you will love it!
Thanks guys, however, I am going to switch things up, again....
Now, you would think after all the trouble I went through to pick up the tier IX F-94D Starfire that I would be terrorizing the skies with it. As much as I want to, I have decided on a direction that takes me closer to my Planes roots. Yes, to the dismay of some, I have saddled back up into Attack Aircraft.
Before you start throwing rotten fruit and vegetables and boo me off the stage, let me explain my reasoning. First, I wasn't liking what I was seeing during my Super Corsair Adventures, a lot of players who used their GA's....I don't want to say wrong, but let's label it as "not nearly effective as you think." Most of the human controlled GA's appeared to be more interested in racking Thunder and Destroyer medals, which didn't always help out the team their were on and reinforcing some long repeated comments on the forums, from observations made by others.
One of my goals here is to create an awareness that a GA can indeed, be a team player and still rake in decent credits and experience. Although I could have went with a Soviet offering, I have chosen the more vulnerable German line (been there and done that with the IL series anyways), picking up where I left off with the tier VIII Me 329 and pushing towards the tier IX Me 1099 B-2.
Let me also get this out of the way: If you are looking for more effective ways to add more Thunder medals to your bragging wall, this series will not interest you. If you are seeking way to be an Ace pilot in your GA, I can't help you there either (no doubt, I could very well have battles where I collect either one of these, but it is not my intent to do so). However, if you are trying to figure out how to contribute in a better way to the team's outcome, I may just stumble across that and much more, posting all of it here.
Now, to put my money where my mouth is, here is a video from the very first battle in the Me 329. I haven't flown this aircraft since the beginning of last month and was a bit apprehensive that rust might have started to set in. Despite the feeling of trepidation, I wanted to see if a theory called "Straßenarbeiten" would pan out. Simply put, could I clearly and without question, demonstrate that a GA could contribute to a team's success?
Just like my Super Corsair series before this, I will try to fly my five battles, make comments, observations and post videos of the outcomes, win, lose or draw.
Today's series produced some not bad results, with 3 wins and 2 loses. However, it was during the last battle that everything came together....
Getting a Thunder medal in a German Attack Aircraft has always been a bit of a challenge for me. A large part of this lays in just how fast the guns overheat and how many passes it takes to remove ground targets from the operation, leaving me very vulnerable to incoming enemy fire. The smaller, but no less important part was focusing on getting the medal and allowing myself to be oblivious to what was going on around me, which usually lead to a defeat for my team.
This time around, I have studied my mistakes from before and applying a new technique, as seen in the first video in this series. Instead of trying for the medal itself, I will just perform what I consider to be more proper, team oriented actions and if the medals come, so be it.
Now, as opposed to flying around and shooting at ground targets to increase my Supremacy score, thus building on a better credit and experience payout, I am selecting specific targets when I can, namely AA guns. Removing those, in essence, should diminish the harm factor to allies chasing down enemy aircraft making a run for the protection of their home turf. I also benefit from this action, if the battle is taking place far from my location and traveling the distance to take part proves to be pointless, I can farm for damage with greatly reduced risk from incoming surface fire. Make sense?
Good work, Q. The German attackers are, in my opinion, the "thinking man's attack aircraft". They are meant to be played tactically, in the thick of the mess, with their priority for targets continually shifting as the fog of war moves. They are not competitive or well suited for the Pac-Man antics of the IL series of Russian attackers, most of which are meant to graze on stationary targets in pursuit of chains of Thunder medals, depending on their team and a heavy rear-firing gun or two for defense.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, Paris, 13 Nov. 1787
The German attackers are, in my opinion, the "thinking man's attack aircraft".
I couldn't agree more Magus, in fact, here is an observation I just made along those same lines....
Because Attack Aircraft are generally slow, bulky and not very maneuverable, most have been equipped with a rear firing weapon of some sort and coming in various calibers, for protection. However, with the tier VIII Me 329, I discovered it has a very limited firing arc, mostly on the horizontal and just small openings in the corners for vertical coverage.
Now, compare that to the same tiered premium SNCAC NC.1070 French GA. A nice pair of dual cannons, coupled with good vertical and horizontal firing arcs. And, don't get me started how generous the arcs are on the IL series. However, that doesn't mean the Messerschmitt is totally defenseless, just a different skillset is needed to make better use of the hind end limitations. Like, avoiding sudden and dramatic maneuvers, especially during an evasive chase. Have a look at this....
At the end of this series, I was only able to collect on 2 wins vs 3 defeats. Nevertheless, the adventures continue.
Has it been 6 months already? Feels a lot longer than that to me. Anyways, I figured I would try and cash in on the Birthday bonuses, but other events came into play and I didn't reap nearly as high the rewards I had hoped for.
The highlight of this series was the very first battle I was thrown into. Just look at the lineup on both teams! I would be very surprised if you didn't recognize at least one of these names (not including me) on either side, from the forums or ingame. This is how it all unfolded....
At the end of the day, only 2 wins against 3 defeats.
2x or 3x bonus for Birthday planes is nice but have you ever flown the same plane 10 times in a row and winning all of them ?
I don't see much advantage compared to fly them once a day and using the daily multiplier instead.
It might be attractive to those who have few planes only or it coincides a plane you're grinding.
I've never used it.
Higher tier anniversary missions are nice for free XP, XP and coin multipliers, and upgrading pilot skills (my F-86 gave me 5 days premium some months back). And once you have unlocked every nation/tier, not much else to do while waiting for a new line...might as well train pilots for clam wars!
3
EspressoForHammy, on 12 July 2016 - 06:06 PM, said:
Well...I know what *I* would do in response, but I wouldn't recommend that to anyone but me. 
