A very bad learning tool.....

[Woke Up Dead]

Originally Posted by Jumoschwanz

Woke, your logic and thinking is still flawed.

Anyone can set up a dueling or fast-dogfight server with either easy or realistic settings. If you duel with easy settings you will learn less than those who duel on hard settings, very simple.

{...}

I started out flying realistic settings right off the bat, I was lucky, and it is why I don't need unlimited ammo, icons, outside views or "wonder woman" to cut it in any sort of combat.

Sure, anyone CAN set up a dueling or fast-dogfight server with realistic settings, but most dueling or fast-dogfight servers have easy settings, especially these days when there are fewer servers around. So most of the best duelists and dog-fighters these days fly on easier setting servers, whether by choice or necessity.

I started off with wonder-woman on busy servers and got TONS of practice in turning, dog-fighting, energy management, shooting, etc; I got pretty good at fighting opponents that I could see.

Moving from an open pit server to a closed-pit one with externals, I overcame the challenge of not being able to see through my plane's nose. It took a few days, but my gunnery adjusted and again I got pretty good at fighting and shooting opponents I could see on such servers.

Moving from closed-pit with externals to full-switch servers I had some trouble with situational awareness and would put myself in bad situations where I would get bounced or outnumbered by opponents I didn't see, but that only lasted for a couple of weeks. Once I overcame that I found that I was better at turning, dog-fighting, energy management, and shooting than all but a handful of the very best pilots on that full-switch server; see all the practice I got two paragraphs above.

There's no substitute for practice, you get the most practice on busy servers, and most busy servers have relaxed settings. Boxers practice with helmets, big puffy gloves, and different rules than in real fights. Hockey players practice without the full-contact or rough play they get in real matches. Basketball players practice the same 2v1 break against a single defender over and over. All of those things make it "easier" than the "full real" or league games, but it doesn't make them pick up bad habits, it makes them better because of the repetition.