Solo or MP?

[MarkShot]

There is a PDF version which is better formatted which I can email, but I found this HTML one online.

This was my last dogfighting guide:

http://eaw.wikispaces.com/Shoot+To+Kill+from+MarkShot

I have done guides for Panther Games RDOA, HTTR, and COTA.

I also did extensive guides for 1830PC.

But for the air combat (Falcon 3, Flanker 1.5, and EAW), I actually had real students who I tutored interactively. My other work, you'll just have to take my word for it that I knew what I was doing.

[MarkShot]

The majority of noobs do not know how to use the vertical.

Also, they quickly grasp corner speed which is the fastest degrees/second. But in a fight, you often don't want or need corner. You want to invest the least E necessary to bring your nose around. Most often that conservation of E involves turning in the vertical. Let gravity slow your speed and improve your turn, and E is conserved. Sooner or later whe you hold the E advantage you convert to position and lead pursuit for a guns solution.

When your opponent holds the E advantage you sucker him into squandering it. A comon technique is to Split-S. Your opponent in try to match you will fail, but bleed a lot of E.

When you are E negative, you maneuver to converge E states. When are E neutral you maneuver to diverge E states with banking it to cash in later. E fighters win fights win one turn at a time.

[MarkShot]

No external views, no force feedback, no track IR, no VCR, ...

Simply observe your own speed, stick deflection, opponent's nose and maneuver.

I haven't even addressed psychology. You have an E advantage and opponent on your six. Go up in a gentle climbing turn. Turn just enough to keep him in lag pursuit that he can taste you and want to shoot. When he finally slows to the point of near stalling and can barely get his nose down, you convert to a flat turn and come around on him, and take him out.

I call this suckering someone up. You got make it look good so that he really feels he just a few degrees of getting the shot.

But I will stop here or I will turn this into a prop head thread ... Besides if I can get back home I really to get back on patrol in U-72.

[W8taminute]

Excellent guide MarkShot.  That is going to help me out immensely! 

[MarkShot]

Send me a PM with an email address and I'll email you an easy to read PDF.

[Jack Nastyface]

Markshot,
A long overdue "thanks".  I recall reading your shoot to kill guide back in the day....I think I might even still have the original pdf I downloaded once upon a time.

I hate to sound like a blamer, but some of my combat flight-simming prowess has always suffered due to crappy equipment.  I've never spent more than $25 on a joystick, and the Logitech 3d Pro that I still use is probably 7 years old.  It's so bad that I almost never do take-offs/landings because the Z-axis rudder twist has a ghost in the machine and is prone to sudden right-turns.

[Father Ted]

Yeah, I can't imagine I'd ever like the TrackIR either.  I've never been tempted to get one.

I'd love to have one of the more expensive stick/throttle setups though.

I have to say head-tracking does add to flightsims, IMHO.  Note that I'm not saying it makes you better!  Decent gear does help.  I have a cheapish stick (T16000) plus a home made throttle-box (has sliders for throttle, pitch, rad and trims) and pedals, though a twist stick is as good as pedals, really.  Having sliders for the other bits really is a help, though.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

The Track IR helps a lot.  It's really easy to keep your eyes on your target regardless of which direction your plane is pointing. (unless, like me, you prefer the Tempest in IL-2.  For some reason Oleg felt it necessary to recreate the Great Wall of China in the back of the cockpit).   You can see what he's up to and plan your counters accordingly.  It also frees up hats on your stick and throttle to map to other functions.

Good gear is an asset, but not as much as you might think.   I think issues that prevent most people from flying as well as they might are:

1)  Not understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their aircraft.  I'm always befuddled when I see somebody in a P-51 trying to get into a turn and burn fight close to the deck or a Spitfire trying to get into a vertical fight with a 190.

2)  Lack of patience.  Especially true for BnZ E fighters.  I see lots of guys with an E advantage piss it away and get into a turn fight because they couldn't get rounds on after 3-4 passes.

3)  Lack of situational awareness (this is the one I'm most guilty of).  People get fixated on their target and forget to look around and see if his buddies are about to come and give you a 20mm bukkake.  Wingmen, Track IR, and Teamspeak help a lot here.

[MarkShot]

If you want a sim that requires superb focus, timing, and endurance, then try auto racing. Just a one second lapse will send you flying out of a turn. In my experience racing is far more grueling than dogfighting or FPS.

Now, if you want genre  that fits my age and joints, then you have submarines. I can just about handle controlling a sub in real time without hurting myself. Clear the Bridge! Dive, dive, dive!

:)

[MarkShot]

I do have more to say. If you have spatial awareness to ride a bike or drive a car, then you good to go with flight sims. Youth and good reflexes makes you want to fly tricky. Tricks will work against noob to moderate players, but the top players will not out trick you. Instead they will out think you!

I saw folks who put on such good air shows that they would intentionally put opponents on their six to do things like force an overshoot.

That's f**king insane. That's like me allowing someone to disarm me and put a gun to my back so that I can reverse the situation. Insane.

Students used to ask, "what do I do when I have someone who has saddled my six at 600'?". I would answer, "then, you die". The point is not to get into such a situation in the first place.

[MarkShot]

To stay on topic ... I am glad that there was a time in my life that I played online 2-4 hours/day and that my wife fully encouraged that. However, now I am happy to just play when and as I want.

I regularly study chess and continue to s**k big time. I am glad that none have the opportunity to see how pathetic I am. If you could, I might give the game up entirely. MP or SP doesn't matter as long as you are having fun.

[MetalDog]

I regularly study chess and continue to s**k big time.

I'm going to guess that is a subjective statement.  I can't imagine that someone of your accomplishments is as bad as all that.  Having said that, chess is a giant pain in the neck to play against anyone with a brain.  Unless you have the ability/talent to see three moves ahead constantly, you are going to get smoked.

[MarkShot]

Whether playing hockey as a kid, sim flying, or chess, the intellectual lessons must become ingrained and instinctive. I understand forks, skewers, pins, passed pawns, pawn skeletons, zuscwang, tempo, ... But they are concepts to me and not a framework by which I see the board. Until I see the board as my lessons describe the board I will continue to trip over my own skates as I pivot to skate backwards and play defense. And the spectators will laugh!

[Bison]

I stick with the basics.  The knight moves in the shape of an L.  Bishops move like / or \.  Yeah my win record is low, but I continue to keep the first 5 to 6 moves competative.

[MarkShot]

Chess ... P-51s ... It don't mean squat to me ... Just tell me where I can find a convoy! I'll even add you to my XMAS card list with a photo of me and the crew in front of U-72!