[greybeard1]

From "Fighter Combat - TACTICS AND MANEUVERING, By Robert L. Shaw":

"It has been estimated that throughout the history of air combat 80 to 90 percent of downed fighter pilots were unaware of their danger until the moment of the attack."

From 4.11 Guide:

"AI planes will no longer detect enemy planes automatically inside certain radius. Position and size of enemy plane is the main factor here. Bigger plane will obviously produce a bigger and more visible "dot" and it will be more visible to AI. AI skill will generally determine how well AI can spot targets. Also every gunner on board will contribute to enemy spotting by covering their own sectors. Generally pilots will keep looking more forwards than backwards. Occasionally fighters execute fishtail maneuver to get better view behind. Planes will be less visible against dark background like land, but more visible against brighter background like sky and clouds. Clouds & land mass blocks AI's ability to see other planes behind them. For example it is possible to evade attacking AI plane by hiding in clouds. AI planes will also try to hide in clouds in certain conditions. AI's own plane will block their line of sight. This is calculated from the plane's collision model. For example basically all planes cannot see directly below them, unless the plane has ventral/bottom gunner that can cover the underside. For example plane like Blenheim has blind spot rear & behind since it has no tail/bottom gunner. Plane like B-17 with bottom/rear gunners cannot be surprised from rear & behind like Blenheim (during daylight). Occasionally fighters will execute roll maneuvers to get a look directly below them. When fighter is pulling positive G's to get a lead shot and target goes invisible under nose, AI will not see the target. Instead of aiming at the actual target, AI is shooting at estimated target which position is extrapolated based on the last real observations. Much like human brain would do."

Well, I would really like these features to be efficiently implemented, since, so far (4.13.4), I still fail to make an "ambush" to any enemy aircraft. Invariably, even if it is alone, when I reach a distance from it of less than a few hundred meters (let's say 400) it snaps into a series of incredible evasive maneuvers, sometimes so unreal that I burst out laughing (like the "false stall", recovered only a few meters from the ground). If I attack a Blenheim from rear and below (as mentioned in the previous guide) the tail gunner not only sees me, but also manages to shoot me! I am puzzled when, in a formation of C-47, I see the last of the row twists and turns "to see what's behind". Even hiding inside the clouds does not seem to work; according to Storebror (who can read the code) it is true that the AI ​​does not see the opponent inside the clouds, but continues to look for him so aggressively that sooner or later he finds it the same!

In the game "Red Baron" (the first, of 1990) you could really hide in a cloud and veering inside a couple of times, the enemy AI could not find you anymore. As for the "ambushes", in the game Falcon 3.0 of 1991, were one of its features: approaching from below at six o'clock with the radar off you could get to knock down the opponent without being seen.

It's a pity that these old game features are not capitalized on new ones and the new developer teams always start from scratch.

Respectfully,
GB