Ace AI is terrible.
The behavior of the "Ace" AI is nowhere near to fighting like a smart WWII pilot. Decades ago chess programs were beating all but the very best of players, but the Ace AI in IL2 makes rookie moves all the time.
This game should have the top setting so that almost nobody could beat it, just as the hard settings in a chess program keep almost anyone from beating them.
I went into an early Zero against four early "Ace" p-40s and shot them all down Quickly !, because instead of using the strengths of the P40 compared to the Zero they flew slowly below it or tried turning and climbing as evasion tactics.
Even though it's engine was smoking badly, one P-40 easily pulled away from my zero in a shallow dive and I was thinking if it were me I would be flying towards home or friendly flak, but after it got a kilometer ahead it suddenly turned sharply to either engage or try some clumsy evasive maneuver and that was the end of that.
The first three I shot down I simply out-climbed and they stupidly pursued falling below so I could just boom and zoom them, three down with three passes.
It would not be hard to program AI so that when they are attacking faster or slower aircraft or aircraft with better or worse rates of climb, or aircraft with poor or better rates of roll, to select their attacks and evasions from one of two to four types of behavior just as any informed WWII pilot actually did once the performance of enemy aircraft was known.
But for 20 years this has not happened.
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