Hmm..
I've seen people say the AI cheats, or has a simplified FM.
But I've been in the UBI forums since the days of IL-2 demo, and I've never heard any official word from anyone that the AI cheats. IIRC, Oleg himself has said the AI does not used simplified or 'cheat' FM..
I've never seen anything the AI do that a human player cannot counter/reproduce.. the only exception is their incredible responsiveness in -G inputs, and the ability to manage damaged planes(for instance, a human player would have a hard time countering a drooping wing from damaged surfaces .. he has to counter it with the exact amount of opposite aileron input in every maneuver he does - but the AI of courses, maintains perfect balance in his inputs. However, I've seen even AI planes fail in that and suddenly fall out of control and auger to death, during harsh maneuvering)
.........
The views are horrible, but the long time lobbying for customizable headpositions have been finally recognized, and 1C states that they will have the feature available in their next upcoming sim title "BoB". (No plans for FB/AEP series though
)
The lack of 6 views is overdone, but considering the leniency of AH 6 views is also overdone, I think it's pretty much manageable.
The good part, is that you are forced to check left rear sides and right rear sides individually - it adds a lot to both immersion and tactics. It's really quite an amazing feeling to see tracers fly past you - you turn to one side, find the enemy behind you. You turn to other side and check again and see the enemy isn't there! The adrenaline rush of impending doom, and searching for the enemy position in deep panic, is quite sensational.
For hat key users, I recommend you change the snap view speed in the conf.ini file. It is the category "HookViewSpeed". The default value is 6 I think.
...
As for low speed FM.. frankly, I think AH is way more stable than AEP - it's really fun to watch people stalling SpitVs out of the sky being chased by a Bf109F-4!! When's the last time I saw a SpitV having trouble outturning 109s, I can't even remember - the situation regarding speed and stability is more subtle, and I think that's pretty neat.
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And the best thing is the gunnery. Yes, some planes can hit out to 400meters even in FB/AEP. But for real results, it's still a good idea to shoot between the distances of 100m~200m.
I've taken special interest in regards to how the "Dweebfire" phenomenon would be manifested in FB/AEP as it introduced SpitVs, including 1943, '44 versions. Well, according to a week of intense MP playing since AEP came out, the SpitV in FB/AEP is nothing like what it is in AH - it's very unpopular.
I think I can claim that I was right, when I assumed that the "Dweebplane" accusations in AH regarding planes like the N1K2 or the Spitfires, is due to AH gunnery allowing critical hits at 400yards~700yards distances.
In FB, the planes like the Hurri2C or the SpitV, despite their powerful cannons(Hispanos are pretty deadly in FB/AEP, too!!), are just simply too slow to come within 300m of faster enemy fighters. Over 300m distance, most people generally can't do any critical damage - and the wing armament makes it even worse. (Another good thing about FB/AEP - the differences between central armament and wing armament really really stands out).
If they set out the cannons to far distances in convergence, it becomes a real handful to hit something when they are close!
Some of these things, I'd very much like to see in AH.
