Why am I so bad at online multiplayer?
 

So the other day I played against some guy in 1v1 realistic dogfight matches (because this was the ONLY MATCH available online at the time). I managed to score 0 kills on him while I was shot down at least 6 times in both matches. We were both flying Spit IXs and every time we engaged I tried to maneuver behind him but no matter what I did I always ended up with him on my tail rather than the other way around.

I guess that playing with more people would give me more of a chance to take people down, but it seems that the time when I was playing, the bulk of the community must have been asleep or at work because it was just me and that guy online.

ok sometimes it pays to drop your throttle down a bit that way you can turn a bit quicker also if you dive a bit you will cut into his turn and hopefully get his six

if he is on your six and quite close another thing you could try is to fly straight for a bit and shut of the throttle compleatly and as he wizz past wack the throttle back on

try practise split s and immelmans turn they come in handy in a dog fight
hope this helps :)

Have you reduced elevator sensitivity to the point where you can pull the stick the maximum without stalling? That can really give you an edge if the other guy is turning gently to avoid stalls. Just remember to turn it back up if you join an arcade game lol.

Also, I like to hard brake into a turn and full throttle out. I'm sure some of the guys on here who know a hell of a lot more about flying than me will tell me thats a bad idea, but I find it's the closest thing to a handbrake turn a plane can do.

Throttle out of a turn seems counter-intuitive, but it makes your wings apply lift - lifting you round rather than up.

I know sometimes you don't have a choice, but a 1v1 is a lot harder then when there's multiple targets. It's easier to sneak up on someone who's trying to kill someone else >:]

I only fly the 109s (because I'm trying to rack up enough kills for the 109K), and I'm a pretty lousy pilot -- so if you want to kill someone in "Science Fiction Mode" , um -- I mean "Arcade Mode", while flying that Spit -- just invite me:-)

Seriously though, I agree 100% with what these other guys are saying. I've told myself 100 times, "No more Arcade for this guy" -- but I always get sucked back in because a lot of times its the only thing going on -- and since I'm too lazy to switch my sensitivities back up (I leave them set for realistic) -- and I'm flying against I-153s on steroids, and La-5s with alien technology under the hood -- I get killed, or maybe, "slaughtered" would be a better term.

Maybe I'm not a "lousy" pilot -- just a "Lazy" pilot.:grin:

Was the guy you were playing me?

Thanks for all the tips guys, I really appreciate it. I'm gonna try turning down elevator sensitivity then, since I haven't touched it at all. Anyone know what the best amount is for a Spit to keep the turn rate at max?

I don't really want to play on Arcade - I'd rather play on Realistic or Simulator but since there are rarely any games at all when I play I'll take what I can get. I am on PSN by the way.

GaZ -- Umm... I'm not really sure. I tried speeding up, slowing down, turning... I'm by no means any good but no matter what I did this guy always ended up behind me. If it was you then good job but I hate you.

Put the sensitivity 5 clicks down for the spit. Now you will still have max turn rate. But if you are not going fast,you will stall in a tight turn.
So if you dont like this, put it 6 clicks down, and it will be a very rookie friendly flight (and you wont really notice the turn difference between 5 and 6)

I turn it down 6 notches for the Spitfire MkII, but listen to MorgothNL - by all accounts he's rather good. Oh, and try and stay off the rudder ;) And if I'm dogfighting in simulator I will switch controls to aviator as well (press square on the options page) - this lets you look around without pressing R3, which is essential IMO. You can't land or use a bomber turret for sh*t with this scheme however.

Also, if you want some simulator practise, send me a friends invite. I'm on every night - but put IL2 in the message or something, cos I tend to reject random invites :) I'm not a big fan of realistic as much because it's just an annoying permutation of arcade (i.e. follow the arrow) with a higher tendancy to stall (because you have no manual flaps).

But I'm more than happy to do some 1v1 training if there's no other sim players kicking around...

I used to turn it 6 down as well. But many people are getting better at this game :P, so now I have it on 5 notches down, just to get the edge against a spit with 6 notches down.
It does take practice, after 1 full 360, you will stall if you keep the yoke fully aft.

Because until youve played me you have no true yardstick of badness against which to judge yourself.

Because your australian :P

But no joking aside i have a very good theory as regards online multiplayer: everybody sucks except for a very small percentage of flight sim veterans who just know every trick in the book and kick arse at it...it certainly seems the way to me...what ya gotta remember is alot of people are completely new to the whole genre, and know nothing of all the advanced tactics used to lose people and to stay on people six's etc...i really think its just a case of practise makes perfect...

:-P
Yes you right... Sometimes I met a new player that I've never seen before online. And he flies like an eagle amongst pigeons that I have to reevaluate my standards. It's not possible to become such a good fighter with only practicing BOP offline. They must be sim veterans. What is great with BOP is that you score really depends on your level. That's really stable. (a lot more than COD for example) so you can track your progress.
But you still can have a lot of luck. One burst your target burn into flame. :)

Personnaly I distinguish to side of the dogfight:
1/ Being able to get yourself on "his 6"
2/ gunnery

For the first one you could learn from posts, articles to learn tricks and tactics, how to spot ennemies, to have the thighter turn, how to behave when you are chased...etc

For the second point "gunnery", It's just practice. So many times I loose my kill because I take too long to shoot my target down and I got Kill instead by another ennemy (who takes not so long to shot me down)

Actually Gaz im pretty sure it was me you murderized about 6 or 7 times!

I'm sure you're no worse than I am! I've only played online twice. The first was a team battle which went OK. I got some kills which was nice. Earlier tonite I played a couple CTA games. Man did I suck! I was trying to play with the Yak-1 because I want to unlock the IL-4, but it didn't go well! I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to do. I am convinced I'll never get the IL-4 or B-17...

I am slowly starting to get better, but I still suck.

My gunnery is getting better, and that may be the most important part of the game.

I also am getting better using the strengths of my plane. (I almost exclusivly fly the BF-109G-6.)

You will get better with the experience.


WOW IM SO FRUSTRATED!!! I AM GARBAGE TOO! I JUST PLAYED 3 MATCHES AND MY ONLY KILL WAS WITH A STUKA IN A STRIKE MISSION!!! wow.

Well I am glad I am not the only who seems to feel hopeless playing this game online. I did manage to find a couple of sessions for realistic and enjoyed it much more. I just can't seem to get close enough to anyone to get a decent shot at without getting shot up myself. But I will keep playing because I love the realism, or at least my perception of it.