Psychotic Proctologists
{PP}
No frills, just Kills!!!
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Just a bunch of guys who like meeting new and interesting people from all over the world....And shooting
their sorry butts down. |
Roster: Call Sign:
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Air Warrior 3 is an air combat simulator that spans combat from World War 1 to the Korean war.
The World War 2 arenas, however, are where the real action is. Each arena is separated into 3 countries;
A-land (AZ), B-land (BZ), and C-land (CZ). B-land, is the best and brightest of Air Warrior. It is,
obviously, an online game where you fight against other cyber pilots from all over the world. It is
most definitely a kill or be killed kind of game. Air Warrior 3 is the latest version of Kesmai's venerable Air Warrior that has been around in various forms for 16 years. It has several large arena's where anywherefrom 150 to 250 people can interact violently with one another in each arena. The Psychotic Proctologists fly (I would say dominate) in the Bigpac relaxed realism arena which supports 250 players at once. That is alot of potential targets. Don't expect to be able to log on and rack up lots of kills, however. Big pac is chock full of vets, many of whom have been playing Air Warrior for many years and can make quick work of even the most experienced flight sim pilot. |
Check your six...Too late!!!
Survival Tips:
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1. Play off line for a while before you jump into an arena. If you have the download version, play
instant action, but also use the check ride feature. The check ride feature (available from the main
airfield screen) will allow you to "test drive" any plane you are interested in. There won't be any
enemies to shoot down, but you will be able to feel out the handling characteristics. Knowing what a
plane can do (and more importantly, what it can't) is esential before you get into a furbal in it. Get
familiar with the controls and what keys do what. You don't want to be searching for the correct keyboard
key when a spitfire is punching holes in your canopy. 2. Never, and I mean NEVER, lose sight of your enemy. The moment you lose sight of him or her is the moment you start dying. If your joystick doesn't have a hat switch (view toggle), get one, or get very good with the keyboard view keys. 3. Always check your delay and frame rate when you enter an arena. Delay you can check on the ground, before you take off with the (esc) d (enter) command. If your dealy is over 800 ms, consider exiting the game and re-entering. It's hard enough to get kills shooting at the enemy. It's impossible to get kills shooting at where he WAS a second ago. Also always close down your internet browser after you enter the arena. You can do this by hitting the F1 key. This takes you to the help screen. From here close down your browser and any other program you have running (i.e. virus scanners, real audio, etc.) then re-enter the game. This will also help with your delay rate. Frame rate must be checked in flight. A frame rate below 15 is unacceptable. Trying to fight with 15 or below is like watching a slide show. You check your frame rate by using the (esc) od (enter) command. This will keep a running indicator of your frame rate in the upper left corner of your flight window. There are several ways to improve your frame rate. If your playing in 3d, change over to software rendering though user preferences and play 2d. I do. 3d is pretty, but spitfires disappear in ground clutter and smoke masks your targets. I like to see what I am killing. Play 3d if you must, but 3d is for sightseeing. 2d is for kills. When in flight you can hit the keyboard keys 1-5 do decrease detail level and improve your frame rate. I usally leave mine on 2 (medium view) but you can drop all the way down to 5 (abridged) in which all objects are minimally rendered as block shapes. There are two other ways to increase you fram rate. You can turn off unnecessary sounds and you can get more video memory/faster video card. There are several ways to turn off sounds but the quickest is to right mouse click, select sound, then select custom. Uncheck all the boxes except those that are necessary for you. I have only engine, hits,stall, guns and other plane (approaching plane) sounds checked. Using just these sounds increased my frame rate by 5-10 fps. Some pilots turn all the sounds off but I find this unnatural and unnerving. Buying a new video card is an option but try trimming your sounds first. I use a 4 meg cheapy trident card and my frame rates are in the 40's-50's with custom sounds 60-80 with no sound at all. |
The "Kate-O-Doom!" Turnfights well after you drop your bombs.
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4. Don't fight enemies that are higher than you unless you absolutely have to. Do what is called
a tactical retreat instead, or as I so eloquently say, "run like hell". Draw your opponent to your level
and get as fast as you can. This make s the fight co-E (E=Energy) and increases your chance of survival. Example: You are flying at 15k (15,000 feet) and you spot a Me-109 5k above you. Instead of climbing up to him and wasting your E, dive and get fast. Don't dive all the way to the deck, just low enough to get fast (how fast depends on the plane you are in, but over 250 knts). If he doesn't follow you down, extend away and grab some altitude. If he does follow you down, at least you can start your fight on more equal terms. Assuming, of course you can get him off your tail. 5. Don't take off from fields under attack. This is a losing proposition from the word go. Not only are you entering the fight as the lowest plane, chances are you won't even get off the runway. Take off from a near by field and get (grab) some altitude before you enter the fray. You won't help your friends or your country by getting killed on the runway of a field under attack. (This is known as getting "vulched") 6. Find a partner or "wingie" to fly with. The old saying "safety in numbers" is certainly true in Air Warrior. A wingman will drastically improve your ability to do that rarest of AW activities, land. A wing man can clear your tail after you engage the enemy, preventing him from getting into shooting position behind you. Also worrying about what your buddy is doing will distract him, making him easier to kill. 7. Leave your self a safety buffer of fuel and ammo to get home on. Nothing is worse than getting a few kills, using up all your ammunition, then meeting an enemy as you try to RTB (return to base). The same goes for gas. Many times I have ended up under a parachute or ditching after getting kills then running out of gas. Bailed and landed kills are worth about 175 points each. Landed kills are worthanywhere from 800-3500 poits each. The more consecutive flights end with landed kills, the more points each kill is worth. 8. Conserve your ammo. Squeeze off your ammo one burst at a time. This means just tapping your trigger instead of holding it down as you bore in on an enemy. Don't fire until you are close enough to kill the enemy. Your bullets will have no effect until 800 yards or under. I don't open fire until 400 or under. The closer you get, the more lethal your ammo is. When flying a plane like a Spitfire, Zero, or Yak, ammo conservation is critical. These planes are often referred to as "One kill wonders"due to their small ammo load and the tendancy of pilots to hold the trigger down, draining the ammo dry after just one fight. 9. Film all your fights. Use the 9 key to turn on your camera and just leave it on. Filming fights is the best way to figure out what is getting you kills and what is getting you dead. Don't be afraid to ask other players to mail you films, especially the ones you are getting shot down in. Viewing other peoples' films is a good insight into tactics. Closely watch their throttle settings and rudder position during the playback to be able to emulate the manuvers they are doing that are getting them kills. 10. Remember that, after all, this is just a game. It is supposed to be fun. If you find yourself cursing, pounding on your desk, and typing nasty messages to the guy that just flamed you, chances are it's time to take a break. A frustrated pilot is a soon to be dead pilot. Just log off and fly another day. Have fun, and welcome to the addiction. |
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Return to base in your fighter or in an ambulance. Which will it be?
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Air Warrior lingo: |
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Other cool flight sims:
Need a new Joystick?
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