A very bad learning tool.....

[Jumoschwanz]

Originally Posted by RPS69

+1
You could use open cockpit to learn a thing or two that are really impossible to learn on closed cockpit. Normally closed cockpit advocates really solely on surprise to act. And it is far easy to achieve surprise on closed that on open cockpit scenarios. Reality was closed, but this is still a game.

This is 100% wrong, a story from those who have not been there.

On hard settings it is true just as in WWII you can have the advantage of surprise, but it works both ways! You are surprised all the time with attacks from unseen foes and you DO have to learn to counter those attacks and turn around fights. There is the gaping hole in the logic of those championing easy settings...

The gamers on arcade settings have their outside views they scroll through, icons and even the silly arrows of open cockpit servers that eliminate all surprise attacks. So it is common sense and logic once again that shows those on easy settings are the ones who never learn to deal with all possible problems.

Of course there are going to be a few hurt egos out there making excuses for flying on easy settings, always have been and always will be.

No, flying IL2 on hard settings is not actually flying in WWII, but it is a lot closer than flying easy settings.

I have flown all types of servers over many years. It is the pilots that are used to using icons, outside views, no G limits etc. that end up stalling and spinning their planes out in close dogfights.
On Skies of Valor I have never lost a 1 vs. 1 dogfight against the regulars that find me with their crutches, they scan through outside views on their map and look for easy targets, and on the ridiculous Fun4All that bans energy fighting and blackouts, they are not even worth talking about.

[KG26_Alpha]

Its a game.

Let those servers do what they want with their settings.

The good point about IL2 is the fact there are so many servers with different settings to entertain different types of gamers.

There's nothing realistic to compare this with WW2 except the aircraft names.

WW2 you flew to live ............. in Il2 most fly to die.

[K_Freddie]

Originally Posted by KG26_Alpha

............. in Il2 most fly to die.

Those 5 minute 'death kick' servers help recondition the pilot brain to reconsider their suicidal tendencies..
It does work somewhat - I put more emphasis on getting home or landing 'somewhere' on one piece.

I tried a 'quake server' after many years of closed pit.. I was an absolute failure. .. it's just a fun thing.

[Woke Up Dead]

Originally Posted by Jumoschwanz

This is 100% wrong, a story from those who have not been there.
...
I have flown all types of servers over many years.

Well then you've proven my point, haven't you? You fly on different servers, and I bet you got a lot more dogfighting practice on the ones with easy settings, I know I did.

I fly on a closed-pit war server, dogfights are extremely rare there. I can fly for a whole 90 minute map without getting in a fight that consists of more than one passing attack. It's still very fun in its own way: protecting or attacking bombers, reconnaissance, sneaking deep into enemy territory for a quick hit & run. But it's obvious that the top scorers on that server are not as good as the top scorers in easier servers in situations where they can't run away and are forced to fight it out.

[MaxGunz]

Not as good at what?

[Woke Up Dead]

Originally Posted by MaxGunz

Not as good at what?

Not as good at gunnery or evasive maneuvers in a close fight that they can't run away from. They're more timid, more predictable, easier to dodge and get a bead on in such situations.

[MaxGunz]

Originally Posted by Woke Up Dead

Not as good at gunnery or evasive maneuvers in a close fight that they can't run away from. They're more timid, more predictable, easier to dodge and get a bead on in such situations.

I don't agree about gunnery. Not at all.

And if you check videos where WWII fighter pilots tell, getting into close fights was usually the last thing you want.

How about energy management? LOL!

[Laurwin]

Well...

There's one thing that's definitely true, full real settings is harder than externals allowed and enemy cameras and enemy padlocks and icons.

Flying, shooting and spotting are way harder. The actual advantages and disadvantages of aircraft come to shine in full real in the best way possible.

It's certainly a different experience and somewhat more enjoyable IMO, than the less realistic servers. I used to really like the spitv109 server (full real but I think it allows HSFX history mod for extra content, and graphics but it should be basically same gameplay as vanilla), but nowadays I don't have HSFX 7 installed, so I have to figure out how to get updated on all my game and mod patches.

E.g. why T&B in an aircraft with poor visibility? You can do that with external views allowed and padlock allowed but not really in full real, at least so well. Likewise good visibility like P-51 mustang with its teardrop canopy is really nice.

You can feel happy about surviving sorties and getting points here and there in full real in my opinion. And you can use nice flight paths and tactics to try to sneak into enemy territory and fulfill your missions.

I do think that the aerial war of WW2 would have been rather more different, if the real pilots had stuff that is "semi-realistic settings"

You're basically talking about an F-22 with passive sensors all around your aircraft (external views)

airborne radar (enemy cameras)

enemy padlocks (basically radar warning receiver or radar)

[MaxGunz]

As a person who runs less than Perfect Graphics I can live with short, very limited icons, thank you.

[Woke Up Dead]

Originally Posted by MaxGunz

I don't agree about gunnery. Not at all.

And if you check videos where WWII fighter pilots tell, getting into close fights was usually the last thing you want.

How about energy management? LOL!

We'll have to disagree on gunnery.

Exactly, getting into close fights is the last thing that pilots on more realistic servers want, so they don't do it often, so they're not good at it when they're forced to do it.

The better pilots on the easier-setting servers (not Fun4All) are very good at managing their energy. Some have been flying air war sims since before IL2. They prefer to fly on the easier-setting servers because they don't have the time or patience for the full-switch ones or because their friends fly there, not because they're not good.