4.12.2 de-bugging

[Brandon55Lunsford]

It's a bit odd!

[IceFire]

Originally Posted by Vendigo

That's my point and I remember in old version I could choose strafing type of attack by assigning a stationary ground target for GATTACK waypoint or I could choose level bombing by simply placing a GATTACK waypoint over the targeted area but without a specific ground target assigned.
Such option is not available now, could it be brought back?

I also think that it would be helpful if mission builders where able to set attack routine for dive bombers like Stuka and Val - either just drop bombs and head for home or drop bombs and then strafe ground targets with guns.

There was a slight behavior change between GATTACK with a set target and without a set target but the A-20G would still go down to strafe since day 1. That's been a pet peeve of mine for a while.

[KG26_Alpha]

B25 become fighters, and many multi engines bombers seem to have the AI characteristics of twin engined fighters.

Makes the mission a bit strange having B25 attacking enemy fighters low level after they have level bombed a target at high altitude.

[Janosch]

For all A6M5b Zero and later types, when you pick IJN or IJA as the airforce, having markings ON draws some extra clutter on the left side of fuselage. Right side is normal, they don't appear there. I have highlighted the "smudges":

They seem to be some number graphics that have gotten "lost", as they're the same colour as the fuselage number. I'm currently using vanilla 4.12.2m without any jsgme shenanigans, but I'm not 100% sure if it's my install. But is not fatal bug.

Also, the Luftwaffe Do-335 rudder number (when markings are on, of course) on the left side is drawn a bit too close to the leading edge, so it's drawn only partially.

[Baddington_VA]

B25 become fighters, and many multi engines bombers seem to have the AI characteristics of twin engined fighters.

Makes the mission a bit strange having B25 attacking enemy fighters low level after they have level bombed a target at high altitude.

I have seen that done by Ju88 A4s back in the original IL2.
I have recently found myself being chased by AI B25s and even AI Ju88A17s in IL21946.
Maybe it's not such a bad thing.

[Notorious M.i.G.]

I didn't see it noted in the 4.13 changelist (although obviously not final), but I thought I'd just drop a quick reminder that the AI refuse to engage at all when armed with X-4s. They won't even maneuver or resort to guns.

Also, the Fulmar can fire its machine guns with the wings folded, but until it gets a pit nobody will probably notice that

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Baddington_VA

I have recently found myself being chased by AI B25s and even AI Ju88A17s in IL21946.
Maybe it's not such a bad thing.

I think that the new AI allows for Average or better attack planes to act like fighters against larger or slower planes, especially when the attacker's aren't carrying ordinance.

For example, I've recently had fun flying a TB-7 against a flight of Ace TBD Devastators! In that case, they dogfight fairly effectively, rather than being the usual hapless targets.

In any case, it's realistic for attack bombers to behave in this fashion as long as the opposition is inferior or evenly matched. There are numerous documented cases where patrol bombers dueled it out - like Ju-88 vs. Sunderland flying boats over the Bay of Biscay.

The only thing that's unrealistic, is that often the attackers will behave as if they were fighters with full aerobatic capability, so you see things like A-20s or B-25s doing loops and pulling high-G turns that would realistically damage the plane and its occupants.

[Woke Up Dead]

Minor bug: the "bomb bay doors open" light in the B25 does not light up when the bomb bay doors are open.

[Pursuivant]

More troubleshooting DM against 0.30 caliber guns from bombers, using the Arcade Mode to spot problems.

This time, it's the Buffalo Mk I vs. a flight of 4 Ace D3A1 "Vals" since the Buffalo is too slow to keep up with the Wellingtons.

As for the B239, the engine is incredibly fragile, with just 2-4 bullets consistently being sufficient to make it instantly lose most of its compression, and 3-5 bullets being sufficient to render the engine inoperable.

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...1&d=1410990532

This screenshot shows damage sufficient to reduce engine power by about 25%, even though only two bullets actually hit the engine (the others passed between the cylinders or just hit the cowl).

No screenshot, but the armor glass in front of the pilot doesn't seem to have been modeled. Shots to the cockpit front go right through to kill or wound the pilot. The Buffalo I gave up a lot of performance for the sake of its armor plate, so it would be nice to actually have it.

Damage to the guns appears to be fairly well modeled, as are control cable hits since those hits don't seem to appear very often. Fuel tank leaks are fairly rare and reasonably well modeled - no leaks that result in fast loss of fuel or fires after just a few hits.

On the other hand, the damage model for the D3A1 overstates just how fragile the plane was. I was consistently getting kills (mostly central fuel tank fires) with just a few bullets - albeit possibly 0.50 caliber shots.

More to the point, the amount of damage required to trigger the "light damage" texture for the fuselage doesn't square with the amount of damage inflicted.

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/attachm...1&d=1410991223

Notice that just 3-4 bullets in the rear fuselage (possibly .50 cal) is enough to trigger the light damage result.

Keep in mind that the D3A was a fully aerobatic dive bomber, so there was nothing inherently weak about the airframe. Lack of armor and fuel tank protection isn't the same thing as ability to take structural damage.

[Woke Up Dead]

Hi Pursuivant, are you aware that those arrows from arcade mode in your screenshots represent only the direction the bullets were traveling when they hit the first solid object, and not their actual path? So if a bullet is traveling towards the pilot's head but is stopped by the armored glass, the arrow will still go through the pilot's head.

So for example you can have a screenshot of the pilot looking like Hellraiser with all those arrows in his face, but in game all those bullets were actually stopped by the armored glass.

Also, 2-5 bullets to reduce power or completely kill an engine does not sound unrealistic. Neither do kills from "a few" bullets to unprotected fuel tanks.

Finally, the only effect of light damage on the fuselage is a small aerodynamic penalty. Again, it does not seem like an unrealistic result of taking eight or nine .50 caliber bullets like the Val in your screenshot.