Level stabilizer "fix" in the next patch? (To luthier)

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by Saintblu

If you can select infinite ammo surely we can have the horizontal stabilizor back eh? It needs to be back in the game especially on multi player. If we impliment the current procedure it will just be ruined from flak or heavy cannon shot.

Which is exactly what happened in reality many times. I doubt any full switch servers would use it if it meant the bombers fly like it's on rails and disregard the effects of flak, turbulence and so on.

However, that still leaves us with the problem of how to fly an aircraft with multiple crew positions on our own.
Well, I've had an idea for some time now that could work well for almost everyone but it's a bit complicated to explain, so bear with me.

First of all, let's make a distinction to keep things clear. Whenever i say "autopilot" i mean the simulated system that copies the real-life equivalent in the aircraft that had one, NOT having the AI fly the plane for you. For the AI flying the plane, i refer to it as passing the controls to a virtual crew member.

This is just to avoid confusion further on.


With that out of the way, the level stabilizer is a gaming gimmick that had to be used in the old engine because there wasn't anything better available, it's not really realistic.

That being said, we do need an alternative because not all bombers have an autopilot and automatic bombsights. Also, even in aircraft with automatic bombsights it's sometimes useful to execute manual bomb drops.

So, we would need to have something to replace the old level stab and is both playable and realistic at the same time.

I'm thinking along the lines of a script or AI routine that lets us guide the pilot through the bomb run like a real bombardier would do.

For example, say you press the "level stabilizer" key but it doesn't work like the old one. Instead, it gives control of the aircraft to the AI and it starts flying straight and level. Up to this point it's very similar to the old level stab in IL2:1946. However, to make turns and corrections during the bomb run in the older series you had to mess with rudder trim.

In reality, a bombardier would give specific instructions to the pilot for course corrections and the pilot would make normal banking turns (just not steep banks). So, imagine that instead of having level stab and rudder trim, what we get when engaging this function is the AI flying the bomber in level flight but we also have the ability to command turns.

It could use its own specifically mapped keys, or it could use already existing commands (just like in IL2:1946, where the bombsight controls also direct the guided missiles and change settings for the P-51's gyroscopic gunsight).

Let's say it uses existing commands, probably the ones for the course setter or those that change the desired heading in the luftwaffe autopilots, so that it's intuitive and easy to remember: "in any sort of assisted flight (autopilot or AI controlled), these buttons make the aircraft turn". I have mapped my controls for the luftwaffe course selector to < for a left turn and > for a right turn, so let's use these as an example.

So, each keypress of < or > would tell the AI pilot in control of the aircraft to turn one degree left or right, but only when the "new" level stab function is engaged. If the level stab was disengaged, then it would affect the course selector instrument like it currently does.

Then you would just go to bombsight view, engage the new and improved level stab, look at the target and tell the pilot how much to turn left/right without having to mess up your rudder trim: it's not only more realistic, it's also easier to handle.

This would adequately simulate how a real bombardier guides his pilot through a bomb run while still maintaining complete playability for those who don't want to use the actual autopilot (or those flying Blehnheims and Br.20s which have no autopilot at all).

We can already pass the aircraft controls over to the AI in aircraft with more than one pilot (Tiger Moth and Br.20), so i guess it won't be a huge amount of work to have such a function. Furthermore, it's a solution that would please everyone since it's simulating a real tactic while still being perfectly playable and easier to control than what we had in IL2:1946.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions/improvements? I wish i knew how to code in C#, i would actually try and make some AI-assisted scripts to simulate how a real crew cooperates during a mission: a navigator script, a script for AI crewmen to call out contacts, etc.

[PissyChrissy]

.....well, tried aligning gyros on the ground, leaving it for 5 minutes to calibrate before moving the plane, tried engaging the course allowing for the 5-7 degree offset, and still, wobbles infinitely. Looks like no level bombing for me until some sort of patch solves this.

[Riksen]

Well i agree with FrankyBoy in the regard that this still a simulation game, and as any other kind of simulation, no matter how close to the real thing it might get, it still has its limitations, which, in my opnion, should be compensated somehow. In this case, by re-introducing the "old" level stabilizer as we saw in il-2 1946. However, Blackdog has a good point, which might please everyone, as he said above. So in order to "fix/ improve" this system, it would be nice if some dev, like luthier himself, could take a couple of minutes to read this topic and post at least an explanation of the current system and take in to consideration a way to improve it, but we all know this will never happen so im done level bombing for now.

Once again, thxs for the tutorial Blackdog

[JG53Frankyboy]

and not to forgett, it would be nice if one would be able to release bombs with a shortcut from the bombardier position....

[Blackdog_kt]

Yes, i've made a bug report of this in the relevant thread, compiled in a list along with every other bomber-related bug i've managed to find or bugs that other people have observed independently that i could replicate (stuck directional gyro in the Ju88, top turret controls in the Br.20 are reversed, He-111 loses a bomb when opening bomb bays if you change settings in the bomb distributor).

[PissyChrissy]

Looks like the issues with the HE-111'a autopilot wasn't addressed in this patch. Hopefully next time.

[JG53Frankyboy]

no issue about the bombers was fixed. Nothing was mentioned in the readme, so, no surprise....

[Redroach]

@Blackdoc_kt, regarding the long-ish post on this page:
Yeah, that's what I wanted to know. So that new course-holding autopilot is more like the real WWII thing than the old level stabilizer, right? So, this one time, Lstab could be left out on purpose and just be there for legacy reasons or for future use.

[samich]

its in no way realistic the way it works now. The bombadier would never have to setup and fly the plane with trims or solely rely on an autopilot to keep his plane level and its absolutely impossible to do when there flak flying around because the slightest knock means you're back to square one.

I highly doubt they intended to not include alevel stabaliser.

[JG53Frankyboy]

sure, in real there were two persons, the bombardier and the pilot.....
Except for Multiplay (and there most propably not often), you are alone in your Multicrew bomber.

There for there have to be limitations in "beeing real" IMHO

We will see what future will bring for CoD Bomber"Pilots"