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Disappointed by the multiplayer experience


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Hello!

 

Well I've been playing Lock On singleplayer for some time, did the campaign missions and some mission packs I downloaded (realistic settings), read every text and watched every tutorial I could find and I consider myself an "advanced newbie".

 

Recently I started playing online, at first with UBI's client but most of the prople there seem to be using v1.02 and so I installed HyperLobby. I thought it was great, there were dedicated servers and lots of people.

 

However most of the people on there seem to be aces and I find myself having a very hard time. They seem to evade missile after missile with ease when I launch them. I also manage to evade one or two sometimes but with me being unable to hit them they always get me eventually.

 

Ok, I am somewhat of a newbie and I need practice. After some time I got frustrated because I didn't know what I was doing wrong or what I could do better. So I asked for some hints (politely!) but before getting even one simple reply I was kicked out of the game. They could at least have told me to shut up and leave me be. I didn't want to bother anyone.

 

So at the moment I don't quite know what to do. I enjoyed some hours of multiplayer action when there were people as inexperienced as myself were on and I'd like to play more and get better. To do that I'd need advanced tips and hints to be able to practice and get better but I'm not allowed to ask for advice.

 

Sorry for the rant but I was a little shocked and disappointed by this and had to vent.

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If you drop by a server and their squadron is playing then of course you will loose. Not only you lack the experience to deal with umpredictable targets (AI is pretty dumb) but you are probably working alone VS a team as most players do, going out to do their own bravado.

Usualy when you lock a menber of a squad formation, that guy starts to make manuvers to delay your approach rate while the others keep coming for ambush you. You have to have eyes on the back of your head and guess when you are being lured into a trap. As for the missiles, you need to be closer for successfull shots and often you shouldnt wait for 1 missile to hit the target before launching another. You need at least 2 missiles in the air in a given time in order to present the enemy the dillema of what manuevers to take on wich missile providing a good solution for the other anyway. And by saying this I do not mean missile Spam because that usualy depleetes you out of weapons in a fight very quickly and all of them could miss in one go because the manuvers to dodge the first will also work for the remainder. You need to set up your tactical position first, guess what your enemy will do based on the positions of the contatcs, and then time your missile launches.

 

Its natural that you are losing. No newbies will start killing aces on their first day, what did you expect? Being disapointed because you have been defeated is a wrong way to face this because this is only for fun.

 

One word of advice:

Dump as much radar funtions to your programable stick as much as you muster. Slipping out of the radar scope is the art of experienced players, and you have to regain lock absolutely as fast as possible. The quicker one to do that usualy wins.

Antenna tilt, TWS/RWS modes,azimuth apperture limits swich, boresight mode, vertical scan, ETC.

If you have other hardware to provide functions such as views by all means get them out of the sticks buttons.

 

Playing First person shooters for me is worse on the newb department. A fancy precision mouse and a super PC to provide fluid FPS often dictates the winner, no matter how smart you can be. I have played some and always felt betrayed by my hardware :P durin those critical moments I straff but fail to hit a guy passing by me, he turns arround and shoots me right between the eyes with one bullet. grrr.

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So at the moment I don't quite know what to do. I enjoyed some hours of multiplayer action when there were people as inexperienced as myself were on and I'd like to play more and get better. To do that I'd need advanced tips and hints to be able to practice and get better but I'm not allowed to ask for advice.

 

Sorry for the rant but I was a little shocked and disappointed by this and had to vent.

 

Actually, what did you expect? As Pilotasso said, don't think it's as easy as

vs the AI, human players are evil, tricky, fight grimly and keep shooting at

you even if their plane is on fire. But therefore it's fun.

 

Let me say it this way - if you come back the next day, you've

learned the first lesson. Don't give up, never fly alone, join the server's

teamspeak and team up with other players and you'll have a lot of fun,

trust me :thumbup:

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Thanks for your replies and for trying to help me.

 

First off I guess I didn't make it clear enough that I'm not at all disappointed at being shot down by ace players. Like you said it's only natural and I fully expected it too. But I was disappointed because after about two hours of playing I was running out of ideas on how to improve and after an attempt to get information I was virtually slapped in the face with the ban-hammer.

 

As for your hints, I usually wait some more after I get the first "launch"-message because I know very well that it improves my chances. Depending on what the other guy is doing I usually launch a second one some time after that (not only 2 seconds). At that time I usually have to break hard to avoid his first missile (I try to use the method I saw in the "evading the AIM-120 tutorial on flankertraining.com and vary it plus countermeasures). Then I have some time again and usually try to get a third missile going. Now normally one of two things happen:

 

Either I fail to evade his second missile and die (he lives) or it misses me and we're in close range. So now I use either AIM-9 or R-73. Again I wait until I'm fairly close. If I even manage to get a shot off it again is evaded with what seems to be no effort at all.

 

But your advice on the enemy's group tactics is very much appreciated, I will try to take more care! I have been waiting with locking on a jet until I'm almost close enough to launch to deny them the information on who I'm going to attack already. But I guess that's not enough.

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All of these issues you are having are normal, and part of the learning process. Get yourself informed about what's going on in the mission before you join it- and get on comms so you can keep pace in an ever changing environment. This preparation is no different than real life- they don't just spool up and head out without a clue as to what they are doing- and they certainly have communications online before much of anything else.

 

I don't know who "virtually slapped in the face with the ban-hammer" but I can tell you that speaking for myself- If you want help-you get on comms. Plain & simple. Chat & typing sucks, and I'm not training anyone with it. I don;t know the specific circumstances of the moment- but you have to learn like everyone else. Offline flight is NOTHING like multiplayer, we all had to go through the same thing you are now. Don't give up- make an effort to help yourself based on the environment you are in now,(that means FORGET about labels, map view & easy radar) and most online pilots will help you out. If you have to ask:

 

1. How do I start engines?

 

2. How do I find bandits?

 

3. My missiles won't fire?

 

4. What is that noise?

 

Then you probably need to:book: :book: :book: :book: :book: and then come on back in. Some guys will help out just the same, but you shouldn't expect it. It will depend on what that pilot is in the mood for.

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Some time ago was a thread about this wonderful ACMI tool.

The servers usually have LUA export off to deny easy cheating, but if

you record your flight, watch it later (to generate the ACMI file), you

can analyze your flight and see where you did wrong.

The tool's name is "Tacview - Universal Flight Analysis Tool"

and you can download there (must register first):

http://www.lockonfiles.com

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Thanks again for the reply.

 

I will definately try to join the teamspeak servers, thank you for that tip. Sadly I broke my headset some time ago so I won't be able to talk (I'd be a little embarressed anyway because I'm not a native English speaker) but maybe it will help me out a bit. And I'm going to buy a new headset some time soon.

 

As for "FORGET about labels, map view & easy radar", I never used them in the first place because I think it's easier to do it the right way from the start than to try and switch later.

 

And believe me, I did read the whole manual (some parts more than once), read on the forum, did tutorials and practice. I'm trying really, really hard not be be one of the "zOMG how do i shot mislis?"-newbies because I know how annoying this can be. ;) I have a good grasp on how the systems and technology work because I have a history in sims (among them EF2000, F22 ADF/TAW, Longbow 1 & 2, etc.). My problem is that I have trouble on using that technology effectively I guess.

 

[EDIT]

Were you really kicked, or did the mission end?

 

Which server were you playing on?

I was kicked out, I took another peek and the same mission was still running. I'm not sure what server it was, it was one of the A2A servers.

 

Some time ago was a thread about this wonderful ACMI tool.

The servers usually have LUA export off to deny easy cheating, but if

you record your flight, watch it later (to generate the ACMI file), you

can analyze your flight and see where you did wrong.

The tool's name is "Tacview - Universal Flight Analysis Tool"

and you can download there (must register first):

http://www.lockonfiles.com

That's great, thanks a lot! I hope I'll be able to spot my mistakes more easily with this!

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But your advice on the enemy's group tactics is very much appreciated, I will try to take more care! I have been waiting with locking on a jet until I'm almost close enough to launch to deny them the information on who I'm going to attack already. But I guess that's not enough.

 

If you fly 1 vs 2 (or more) you'll be toasted, unless the pilots are

unexperienced and fight the system/controls and not the bandit.

It gets worse if they are on comms and to top that they may be

squadmates and trained. Sometimes it's better to run and come back

when chances are better.

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I will definately try to join the teamspeak servers, thank you for that tip. Sadly I broke my headset some time ago so I won't be able to talk (I'd be a little embarressed anyway because I'm not a native English speaker) but maybe it will help me out a bit. And I'm going to buy a new headset some time soon.

 

Well, that doesn't matter. Inflight comms are usually short and straight

to the manneuver. Pilots come from many countries, so don't be shy :doh:

During all the years i'm playing online i've NEVER heard pilots making

jokes about other pilot's language skills. Buy a headset ASAP and be

part of the really exciting little world of online flying.

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Some of the forums post that it is either a bug with the game or if for some reason the server drops you, to just reconnect, it could have been a coincidence? It has happened to me also, but if you got banned you wouldn't be able to rejoin. I have a high ping from being in the shit whole country of Korea, no offense intended, but I really don't like this place. Anyways, back on topic, it is likely you just happened to lose connection to the server, either on your end or on theirs, or some where in between,

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Usualy a player thats been banned was so after multiple warnings with the final announcement of that act. If you didnt recieved one, then you were not banned.

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Usualy a player thats been banned was so after multiple warnings with the final announcement of that act. If you didnt recieved one, then you were not banned.

Oh really? In that case I'm really sorry about what I said. It seems like it was a really bad combination of events. :(

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Excellent choices on not using the "crutches" to learn with. Remember that when I say "read the manual"-It's not intended as a catch all statement, and that you are on your own with the whole thing. Not at all. I'm saying that no one can remember it all at once. It takes study & practice and lots of it. Also- there are likely a lot of readers that are on the edge of the multiplayer pool- ready to dive in. This is for those folks too.

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If you have a look at the score board you will see that most of the pilots online don’t have more than a 1 to 1 kill ratio so don’t get discouraged if you get shot down a lot especially in the beginning.

 

Like you I fly alone and the best advice I can give you is to fly to survive. Now this may seem obvious but most new players fly to get the kill and surviving the engagement is of secondary importance. Flying for the kill can and will be frustration if you’re up against an opposition that’s working as a team and that can herd you to a vulnerable position. However if you are flying to survive you never get in over your head, if you see multiple bandits then take up a defensive position or run back to your own air base where you are bound to find reinforcements. Also try not to get to close to the enemy airbase unless you’re on a strike mission but apart from that I usually engage my two thirds rule which is, if I split the distance from my airfield to the enemies into three sections I will only fly two thirds out even if I’m chasing someone. If they are smart enough to run then you should also be smart enough to know when enough is enough. There’s no point in getting the kill after flying into a nest of fully fueled enemy fighters that are waiting to chase you back while you’re fuel gauge is reading “fumes”. Note: Flying this way will mean a lot of flying around but the rewards are far greater IMO.

 

Lastly record your online play then run it through ACMI … you’ll most likely be surprised at what is actually going on. Oh one more lastly ;) If you do get your self into a bad situation then never give up no matter how bad things get always dig in and try to think, what is the best way to survive the encounter whether its shoot back, hide, run or crawl just do what ever it takes even though in those circumstances your probably moments away from the ejection handled every once in a while your last ditch effort will pay off.

Cozmo.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Minimum effort, maximum satisfaction.

 

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Ok, I am somewhat of a newbie and I need practice. After some time I got frustrated because I didn't know what I was doing wrong or what I could do better. So I asked for some hints (politely!) but before getting even one simple reply I was kicked out of the game. They could at least have told me to shut up and leave me be. I didn't want to bother anyone.

 

I recommend that you join a squad and practise with others before you join the "shark pond" Hyperlobby. You will get lot's of good advices and learn tricks very fast.

kind regards,

Raven....

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Another thing that I do not understand is why oh why so many notables of this forum and UBI's over the years are never seen playing online.

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Monitor: Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD Freesync HDR400 1440P

 

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Or they only fly with their best mates - in a squad outside HL.

 

 

Well, I'm sick of HL and haven't been flying there for like, 2 months.

Instead, I participate in squad events, which are like, at least three times a week.

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I just read the last replies and I want to thank you for all the hints and support.

 

I was just reflecting on my playing and it's true, I was kind of flying for the kill without thinking of surviving first. I will definately try to assess the situation more and take a slower approach from now on.

 

I also tried joining teamspeak servers while playing but my problem is that I live in Europe and there don't seem to be too many European players. The only populated server this afternoon was the =RAF= one and its teamspeak server seems to be Russian only. But I will try again from now on.

 

Certainly I won't give up on this because Lock On is the first sim that I really love playing for hours since EF2000. See you online hopefully. :D

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