SoWC:BoB Multisquad Campaign Starting

[JTDawg]

Originally Posted by Robo.

Great fun today. Not sure if it was just me but my game was a sli de sh ow in a massive engagement with the emeny. Good stuff, keep it up guys.

Yes same here all 71st had same issue , Keep up the hard work salute!!

[klem]

Spent a lot of time keeping altitude against expected bombers before deciding there weren't any and got stuck intO the 109s low over Dover.

Felt better about the Hurricane but hard to put my finger on why.

109 eventually got my elevator and ailerons. Ditched

Thanks guys. Looking forward to the next one.

[5./JG27 Lehmann]

Had a lot of fun too. Didn't experience any lag whatsoever apart from a half-second freeze on finals.

Klem, I was the 109 that climbed away south after putting some holes into Rumba, you made a bit of a mess of my right wing on the way back up, S!

[klem]

Originally Posted by DaRat

Had a lot of fun too. Didn't experience any lag whatsoever apart from a half-second freeze on finals.

Klem, I was the 109 that climbed away south after putting some holes into Rumba, you made a bit of a mess of my right wing on the way back up, S!

I clearly remember hitting your right wing and I think I hit you two other times, once around the tail. Not much damage though is there

I'm glad they've got the DeWilde hit splats working again. Not sure about the tracers, they look a bit too much like those pearly strings you get from AAA, perhaps they are too large? Not sure, I'll have to think about that.

[notafinger!]

Originally Posted by klem

Not sure about the tracers, they look a bit too much like those pearly strings you get from AAA, perhaps they are too large? Not sure, I'll have to think about that.

I'm not a fan of the new tracers, especially when flying red. They are very distracting now and after some testing I don't feel they are showing the correct point of impact. I think I'll be going back to my no tracer loadout.

I'm curious to hear what red pilots thought about the performance of the 100 octane variants. It's very important these are tested as they should be the exclusive fighter type for online play with the Spit Ia & 109 being a very close match. The community fought so long & hard to get these models included so it's disappointing to see them being used so little on ATAG.

[ATAG_Snapper]

I've flown the Ia-100 octane and IIa online (ATAG Server) for a couple of patrol sorties at 18,000 feet between Dover and Dungeness (the "English point"). Got in a couple of dogfights with 109's at various altitudes and situations. However, my observations would be purely anecdotal with no data, charts, or graphs to support them. Also, a couple of random engagements are hardly enough to form any opinion or conclusion, and certainly subject to change as I fly 'em more. But, here's my initial thoughts:

1) Ia -- at first blush, disappointed. Going "through the gate" seemed to produce more noise and vibration, but little increase in performance. Using the overboost at 3000 rpms produced, after an estimated 30 seconds, a lot of oil on the windscreen when I tried, unsuccessfully, to outclimb a zooming 109 (he had energy advantage on the zoom). The Ia at 2650 rpms and 6.5 lbs boost felt "heavy" and slow to climb to patrol height (50% fuel load). To anyone, though, I'd be the first to say Your Mileage May Vary. It's never a good idea to do what I did, though: go straight into an online combat environment without first "wringing out" a modded plane to get a solid idea of what it can/cannot do. I didn't win any victories over the 109's I engaged, but felt lucky to escape with a few holes and streaming glycol.

2) IIa -- felt like a different plane altogether. At 6.5 lbs/2650 rpms/50% fuel was able to climb ~3000 fpm at 180 mph IAS to 18,000 feet. Felt "nimble & spirited" at all engine settings. At sea level at full boost (no ammo) was able to keep ahead for full Channel crossing of 109E4, neither gaining nor giving ground. This was observed by two fellow Spits flying high above that bounced and ultimately splashed my target-fixated pursuer (which is how I know it was an E4!) The needle was bouncing, but quick glances showed ~280 IAS at sea level at full overboost (12 lbs now?). I engaged in 4 individual dogfights with 109's at relatively high altitudes (est 15 - 18K feet). In each case we spotted the other at roughly the same time. I felt from co-energy/co-alt encounters the 109 had the edge in climb, but not so much that I felt frustrated as in countless times with the earlier patch. Not the same advantage as the 1.59590 "retail patch" where the uber-IIa can charge up the hill to overtake a climbing 109. Playing the angles there's enough power to keep in the fight: dodging the tracer streams and getting a few shots in myself. I never achieved what I felt were out 'n out victories. In each case the 109's dove away streaming white smoke, and I never followed them down. Much later I was credited with 1.00 kills, but I never saw the aircraft actually crash. I suspect they each made it back and I got the so-called "kill" when they despawned, or they simply ditched in order to respawn immediately. Dunno.

So, my first thoughts are that the IIa (in my incompetent hands) is roughly the equal of the 109; the Ia is badly lacking in oomph. But I hasten to add I need more time in the Ia to fully assess it, properly.

[ATAG_Colander]

Great read Snapper. I've been waiting for some info from the "red" side.
So, all and all, is the IIa up to expectations or there's still something missing?

I can tell that the 109 is about the same as before with two exceptions:
1.- The rudder is not as "touchy" as with the previous beta
2.- It now goes from a turn to a flat spin without any warning in between, however, it's either easier to recover (i.e 1000m against 4000m before) or I learned how to do it

ATAG_Colander