Ground physics - any change in new patch?

[ReconNZ]

ground physics? I believe Luthier mentioned this latest patch would change the takeoff and landing physics/ground handling? Any sign of this? Are landings/takeoffs any different?

[Space Communist]

It does seem a little different somehow. However this might just be confirmation bias, I really can't put my finger on what feels different. I hadn't played in a while before this patch either so that's not helping.

[Tavingon]

I find that now a bad crash may result in some bits dropping off, not just a full on explosion

[RAF74_Winger]

I haven't noticed any change. The oleos still seem much too soft in the spit.

W.

[Blackdog_kt]

First thing i tested with the new patch was taking off in the Blenheim with its notorious tendency to swing to the right (and by tendency i mean you had to wrestle to keep it on the runway or it would veer off).

It worked much better than before, just a bit of steering with the brakes early on but when it picked up a bit of speed (30-50mph or so) it was easily controllable with rudder alone.

It seem that there is now more static friction to overcome so it doesn't directly swing around to starboard anymore the moment you apply power.

One more thing that would make ground handling perfect is to simulate another friction effect. Static friction is higher than "rolling" friction and it's been modeled this way in other sims too: it takes an initial burst of quite a bit of power to start the aircraft rolling, but once its rolling you have to throttle back to a much lower setting to prevent going too fast during taxi.

It's like dragging a crate across the floor: you need to apply more strength to get it moving, but once it starts moving you need less strength to keep it moving.

Currently, at least in the heavier aircraft, it seems a bit too proportional and linear. For example, to taxi a Blenheim loaded with four 250lb bombs and fuel only in the inboard tanks (55% fuel), you currently need to continuously push +0 to +1 psi boost or more. Don't let the low numbers fool you, boost is measured in relative units and as such 0 boost means full ambient air pressure at sea level, in other words full throttle minus the supercharger.

I would expect it to probably need that much to start rolling, but much less to keep rolling, especially for the slow speeds involved during taxi: for example, giving it a burst of +1 boost to start moving, then throttling back to -3 boost or something like that.

However, things are definitely moving in the right direction and yes, the ground handling physics have been revamped.

[xnomad]

I made a real lazy landing yesterday knowing how easy it is to do in this game. I came down hard and wrecked my gear and prop, I don't think that would have happened pre-patch but I'm not 100% certain.

[rfa]

Still had this happen in the beta patch...

I shot off the tail of a Heinkel at high altitude, and tracked it with outside view all the way down as it spun in. It did not explode upon hitting the ground, just "pancaked" onto it - heck, two crewmembers were still alive in fact (the pilot and bottom gunner) after the "crash". Well, at least they looked alive, meaning not slumped over as when killed by bullets. There was also no kill notification for it.

I observed that twice in the previous version (Heinkel and Dornier).

[Buchon]

There changes, the gear behavior is different, its redone as Luthier mentioned.

Not tested long but I did a land out of pit yesterday and run over the different´s surfaces is very noticeable, high grass´s push back is more aggressive now.

[Madfish]

I did a quick test of something yesterday with only keyboard flying available at the time and also wrecked my prop and gear.

It feels different now though since before the patch I was able to "land" on the hill sides without damaging the plane.

[Koala63]

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

Don't let the low numbers fool you, boost is measured in relative units and as such 0 boost means full ambient air pressure at sea level, in other words full throttle minus the supercharger.

Gold. Thanks for sharing Blackdog.