5) Individualization/Roleplaying Elements for AI Aircrew
Many people object to the concept of "role playing" within a flight sim. Even so, some aircrew were notably better or worse than others, and had specific skills and vulnerabilities.
A) Overall Skill Levels
Within the FMB or a campaign, it should be possible to assign certain skills and personality traits to a particular pilot or crewman.
For simplicity, it probably makes sense to use the existing AI quality levels for setting skill or trait levels.
Rookie - Minimally qualified, but has graduated from a decent training program. For piloting skills, this might represent 200 hours of overall flight time, with about 10 hours "in type."
Average - A pilot or crewman who has survived at least 5 combat missions, or a lavishly trained rookie with 400+ hours overall flight time, and 40+ hours "in type." (Or equivalent skill levels for non-pilots.)
Veteran - A pilot who has survived at least 25 combat missions, or a very experienced military pilot with no prior combat experience, with thousands of hours of overall flight time and 100+ hours "in type." (Or equivalent skill levels for non-pilots - like gunnery or bombardier instructors.)
Ace - The top 1% of military aircrew. Has flown dozens of combat missions, and has achieved extraordinary success in combat - or is capable of doing so.
I'd also include:
Unqualified - A pilot or crewman who hasn't received sufficient training, and/or who shouldn't be allowed to fly for some reason. E.g., Typical products of late 1940 RAF training, 1941-42 Soviet training, or 1944-45 German or Japanese training programs.
B) Specific Traits
Once skill levels are defined, here are the traits that define a successful air warrior. Note that some of these traits might already be present in the game.
Aggression - Preference for reckless attacks against difficult odds vs. cautious "stalking" behavior. Regardless of overall skill level, realistically most aircrew never exceed "Average" aggression levels.
Courage - Willingness to face danger, i.e., fly through flak, engage the enemy, or stick with a damaged plane. Regardless of overall skill level, realistically most aircrew never exceed "Veteran" courage levels. "Unqualified" aircrew are outright cowards.
Day Vision - Range at which targets can be detected in daytime. Includes target identification.
Dive/Glide Bombing
Fitness - Ability to handle G-stresses, hold high G maneuvers, and survive or recover from injury.
Guided Missile Attack
Gunnery - Includes fixed and flexible guns, as well as range estimation.
Leadership - Ability to effectively command other aircraft. Includes group tactics. In a campaign setting, this skill also includes teaching ability which allows more rapid improvement of other pilots in the unit, up to the teacher's level of skill.
Level/Guided Bombing
Navigation - including use of navigation aids.
Night Vision - Range at which targets can be detected in low light conditions. Includes target identification.
Piloting - includes acrobatics, engine management, damage control and air combat maneuvering skills and tactics.
Radar Operations - Range at which targets can be detected and identified using radar (limited by the maximum range of the radar unit itself). Includes target identification.
Reflexes - Speed of reaction times, hand-eye coordination. Affects dive bombing, gunnery, piloting and rocketry skills.
Rocket Attack
Situational Awareness - Tracking ability. The ability to keep track of other aircraft once "target acquisition" has been achieved, even if "lock on" (i.e., visual target acquisition) has been lost.
Torpedo/Guided Torpedo Attack
The FMB or by a campaign designer could assign some or all of these traits, or they could be randomly assigned within ranges by country and year. By default, they're all set at the proper level for overall AI skill level.
These options could also be used to define historical people.
E.g., Eric Hartmann would have Ace level Piloting, Gunnery, Reflexes, Day Vision, Situational Awareness and Courage, but merely "Average" Aggression, making him more of a stalker than a brawler.
John "Killer" Kane (who led the first U.S. raid on Ploesti) might have Veteran level piloting and navigation, but Ace level Courage and Leadership.
Typical 1945 Kamikaze pilot: Unqualified in most respects, but Veteran to Ace level Courage and Aggression.
Typical late 1944 Luftwaffe Pilot: Unqualified to Rookie piloting skill, Unqualified gunnery and rocketry skills, Average to Veteran Courage, Unqualified to Average Aggression.
C) Reactions in Combat
Combat is terrifying and physically demanding. For this reason, it is realistic for aircrew to react accordingly.
Fatigue: Pilots cannot sustain high-G maneuvers for long periods of time, even if they don't black out. Veteran to Ace level Fitness helps to sustain high-G maneuvers longer.
At night and at high altitudes, Fatigue interferes with vision.
Extreme fatigue can interfere with Aggression and Courage.
Fear: Cowardly and/or inexperienced aircrew might panic, causing them to react in sub-optimal ways - like fleeing when they should turn to fight. In some cases, a panicked crewman might even bail out of an otherwise flyable plane. (IL2 AI actually has AI crew occasionally bail out at inappropriate times, which is a nice touch.)
Even otherwise courageous aircrew might "go defensive" (i.e., behave in a cautious manner or flee) if injured, if their airplane is damaged, or if they are faced by superior numbers of enemy aircraft. For example, German airmen were typically very cautious, perhaps too much so, around massive formations of U.S. heavy bombers.
Fear makes Aggression and Courage drop, and creates a situation where a crewman might panic.
Panic when attacked or outnumbered - Turn away from enemy and fly straight (or go into a straight dive) until you've achieved separation from all visible enemies. Might accidentally dive until plane is damaged and/or can't recover.
Panic when plane is damaged - Bail out.
Target Fixation: Inexperienced pilots, particularly aggressive ones, tend to focus on a single target when attacking, neglecting "Situational Awareness" and making them easy targets. When making diving attacks against ground targets, they might not pull up in time.
Pain and Injury: Wounded aircrew can't perform as well. IL2 currently simulates this very well, far better than most other flight sims.
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