4.12.2 de-bugging

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by ElAurens

As a very dedicated P40 flier I have to concur with your observation.

I'm glad it's not just me.

The "glass jaw" effect for the P-40 seems to carry through not just to the old "late P-40"models, but also into the somewhat newer Hawk 81/P-40C models (although the cockpit modeling is a huge improvement in the P-40C model - the P-40M's cockpit has big dark posts which really interfere with forward visibility and the gauges are hard to read).

Just now, I found myself getting shot to pieces in a P-40C by a bunch of rookie Ki-21 gunners. Single rifle caliber MG hits, usually taking hits from dead ahead so the engine block and cockpit armor is in the way of the shots, yet the P-40 consistently gets some combination of aileron, elevator and/or elevator controls destroyed, which is extremely improbable.

Additionally, I've notice that hits from head on somehow shred the rudder! Realistically, the only part of the vertical stabilizer assembly that could possible get damaged from a head-on shot is the leading edge, yet the damage model shows my entire rudder surface being shredded! Strange that a) that part gets hit as often as it does, b) that the damage model doesn't show damage to the vertical stabilizer and not just the control surfaces.

Originally Posted by ElAurens

This has been brought up many times over the years, so now I expect that:

A: The "learn to fly" excuse will be used as it often is.

I'll freely admit that I'm not a natural-born pilot. I get shot to pieces in all kinds of airplanes, so I'm something of an expert in knowing how different planes react when they got shot up.

Overall, it seems like "X controls destroyed" hits are far too common given the size of control runs relative to the rest of the plane and the fact that there were often redundant systems.

Likewise, it seems that badly damaged engines shut down way to fast. It seems strange that a machine which weighs hundreds of pounds and produces hundreds of HP of torque would instantly stop spinning, especially when the drive shaft is several inches thick and mostly encased within the engine block.

This effect is particularly pronounced in the Bf-109 where the engine will sometimes just stop when you get hit. No screech and whine from a tortured engine before it dies. It just stops.

Originally Posted by ElAurens

B: Someone with knowledge of the DM will point out that some critical part of the engine, and or flight control system, has a big red target painted on it, or has a magic bullet magnet installed as original equipment.

I wish. At least with evidence there's a chance that TD might actually fix it. I'm hoping they'll do a really close review of the P-40 series for the next patch to go with the corrected late P-40 model.

Originally Posted by ElAurens

C: Pilot accounts cannot be taken at face value as we all know that the men that actually went in to combat with these aircraft were just kids and knew nothing about their mounts.

Combat pilot's accounts will be biased by memory and lack of experience with planes other than the types they flew and fought against. I tend to trust reports by test pilots more.

But, at least we no longer have to worry about options that basically boil down to:

"This was Western propaganda; lies just put in the pilot's manual and numerous technical reports in order to give the deluded capitalist running dog stooge pilots false confidence in their completely inferior equipment."

or,

"This Soviet technical report, based on a clapped-out airplane assembled and maintained by mechanics who'd never seen the plane before, flown using 87 octane gas diluted with yak urine, is the definitive word on this plane's performance."

Originally Posted by ElAurens

D: Nothing will change.

I hope this time it will be different.