Moving offline to online, a story and some lessons

[jimbop]

I had a blast (literally) just now on the ATAG server and owe a debt of gratitude to the two spit pilots who rescued me from a dastardly 109 pilot – I wish I’d been on teamspeak. I have a lot to learn about dogfighting! Well, and fuel loads too as you will see if you make it to the end...

I posted this mainly to tempt people from single player to multiplayer and make the transition a little easier. I am definitely a novice at multiplayer although reasonably proficient in SP missions so please correct me where wrong and also add your own tips.

I took off in the Hurri Rotol and climbed east along the coast toward Manston. Nothing happening there so I headed down to Hawkinge and Lympne. Flak everywhere but damn, I can’t see the plane!



Lesson 1: Flak = enemy plane. Well, unless you’re over enemy territory when it is a flashing beacon announcing your position. Oh, and it could shoot you down too but never mind. But damn, it’s still hard to spot that elusive dot.

If you are too far away or too high you can see the flak well before you can see the plane. Learn to follow the flak and differentiate between the guns that are producing it. White bursts are often closer to the plane than black.

[jimbop]

I must be too high to see him. Well, there’s nothing up here at 12k feet to engage to let’s drop down for a look. There! I see the dot. . .and he sees me! Engagement. Bugger, a 109 and moving fast. I can’t outrun him and I don’t fancy the cannon up my trumpet so let’s slow things down. Tight turns, tight turns – will he chase? Yes! Slow him down. . . And now the tables are turning.



Lesson 2: Know your plane’s strengths and weaknesses. A hurri will not usually outclimb or outrun a 109, at least at low altitude. If you engage at low altitude, slow things down. If he stays with you in a turning fight you will eventually pull inside him, even if he starts behind you. Conversely, if you are in a faster plane then disengage, extend away and return for a fast pass rather than enter tight turns.

I should mention that losing altitude to find a target is a dubious strategy at best. Altitude = speed = life. But if you only have a little while to play then what the hell!

[jimbop]

He finally realises it and evades sharply to disengage! Where the hell did he go? I only checked my temps and slipball for less than a second, I swear!

Lesson 3: There he is! Do not lose sight of the bugger! Planes are difficult to spot. If you lose sight of him, especially when he is at a lower altitude, you may not pick him up again. Or worse, he may pick you up. As it turns out the 109 was actually shot down by a spit who sped through and swept him up – happened so fast.
 
I’d better get out of here but I sure as hell don’t want to be a silhouette target for that 109 cannon. Diving and extending, weaving and check six constantly. It’s been a few miles, let’s start to climb again loop back around to Lymne in a long circle. Yes! Position recovered above Lymne, 13k feet. And instantly rewarded with high a contact and flak!

Bearing 100, heading back to France. I hope he isn’t in a rush or I probably won’t catch him. Stay in his six, stay low. Wow, there already? And we are now at 16k and almost close enough to pull the trigger. He’s turning – has he spotted me? No, a slow turn. . . But now I see the distinctive spit profile! And now he spots me, turning hard, poor guy probably crapped himself. Well, that’ll teach him not to check six properly! Let him go and hope like hell he has better aircraft recognition than me.



Lesson 4: Work on aircraft recognition, especially from their six and low six. Most aircraft have distinctive profile from six but you lose some of the cross section when you are at low six which can make it more difficult.

[jimbop]

Yes, he sees that I am an ally. And another spit over there, following our bombers! Well where’s the enemy? Plenty of flak but no 109s. Check six, uh oh. . .



Lesson 5: Check six. And check it again. And what do you do when you are surprised that there aren’t any enemy planes about? Yes, check six. Check it high and check it low. Make it part of your engine management routine.

I should note at this point that if I had been on teamspeak, even if I was only listening, I would probably not have a) chased a team mate right across the channel and, b) not have been surprised by the 109.

[jimbop]

Well, staring down a 109 cannon is not a comfortable feeling. Especially when he’s using you for target practice.



Hard evasion, too hard and now I’m in a spin! Thankfully I’ve caught it quickly and it has shaken him off for long enough. There he is, coming back around but we have similar energy and he wants to start a turning fight just like the last 109. With a Hurri and two spits! Interesting... There he goes, the two spits are chasing him. Good teamwork! I should be on their comms channel.

Oh well, I don’t have the legs for that so I’m back off home. And just as well! How did my fuel get so low? It’s a long way to swim back to those white cliffs. But what’s that coming my way? Three planes engaging each other so at least one must be an enemy. Yes, a 109 and two spits. Looks like they have things under control so I’ll get out of their way – I don’t want to steal a kill. But the 109 evidently has other ideas! Crazy bastard is closing on me with them still on his tail. Evasion!

Lesson 6: Don’t steal kills. Some people care about their tally (probably more than they should) and shoulder shooting is frowned upon.

[jimbop]

Looks like they got good hits on him and he is leaking fluid (ah, that sight warms the heart!)



And he’s still chasing me! Turning fight, again! But this time I have him tied up and it looks as though the spits have lost contact for some reason. Maybe they lost sight? They should read lesson 3! Or maybe they knew he was a goner. Probably not required but I sure don’t want him following me home with my fuel load so low. And there he bails.



Home, Jimbo, and don’t spare the horses! Not a moment too soon. In fact, several moments too late it seems with coughing and spluttering still a few miles from shore. No hits to the engine that I can see, must just be fuel or maybe someone pinged my tank although I didn’t notice any leaks. She’s completely died now so I’ll have to land where I can – I certainly won’t make it back to the field. Still, dry land is better than wet feet and there’s a nice flat spot between the masts at Dover.



Lesson 7: Yes, an obvious one. Sometimes the boring things are the most important. Keep an eye on your fuel, especially if someone has managed to put a hole in you!



If you are an offline player please jump online! This was an exhilarating 30 minutes and I only got a few meaningless shots on one plane. Yes, spotting enemies on full switch is really tough but that’s just part of the excitement although you should do the MeshShowLod=1 edit if you have the CPU for it. Moving online has completely changed my attitude to CoD – what a blast!

There are tons of more experienced players – please feel free to add your own lessons or comment on what I am doing wrong.

[Chivas]

Nice read, and as you mentioned, being on Teamspeak is by far one of the most immersive aspects of Online play. Its hard to go back to Off-line play as you feel entirely alone and not part of a team.

[jimbop]

Originally Posted by cheesehawk

It'd be easier in the Spit II, not only can you outturn the 109, but you're faster and therefore climb better too.

Absolutely but I like a challenge. Oh, and there were no spit IIa left! It is very nice to fly and highly recommended for online newbies like me.

[ATAG_Dutch]

Really pleased that you've 'discovered' online play Jim!

The blokes on ATAG's teamspeak are always willing to team up and help eachother out.

Looking forward to meeting up on the server!

Cheers!

[ATAG_Dutch]

Originally Posted by jimbop

[I]
Lesson 6: Don’t steal kills. Some people care about their tally (probably more than they should) and shoulder shooting is frowned upon.

Some people do, quite right. But ho-hum, we have to live with them.

Shoulder shooting is a thing of the past though (or should be), because we're all given a fraction of a kill online, unlike 1946. There's been many a time I thought I'd destroyed a nasty Hun, but then discovered I'd only got 0.16 of a kill, or something equally dismal.

Welcome to the best part of 'Cliffs'!