request for AH2 CV 5" flak to be manable only no AI

[Citabria]

the current cv ai flak has been a source of frustration for most of the gamers in ah since it was added years ago.


I would like to request that all 5" guns on fleets be made manable with no ai 5" guns and no ai flak puffs.

slave all or most unmanned 5" guns to the manned gun player with highest rank to allow for player manned barrage fire

this will rock if implemented.

current ai flak puffs are no threat to divebombers or buffs and only a large aggrivation and constant repetitive headache for furballers.

[Citabria]

and im certain cv manned ack slaved to barrage mode would be far more deadly to wouldbe attackers because human player can prioritize threat while ai can not.

and it would be a cv gunners dream to have that many guns firing at once in a barage!

[Sabre]

How about a compromise?  Make the task group command ship's flak A/I controlled, but each additional ship in the task group would be a player-controlled barrage position.  Personally, I have a bigger beef with the fact that none of the 5" gun positions on the DE's are man-able, only the light AAA mounts.  At least one of the DE main guns should be man-able, IMO.  This would give fleets without a CA or CV (or fleets where these capital ships have been sunk) at least some offensive anti-ship/anti-shore firepower.

[Tilt]

AS I am sure you know AI gun leathality is an arena setting that can be adjusted any time..................

For me I would be happier if the proximity fuse was not modeled.

Ack should be delay fuzed with a player set timer which is adjusted the same as rpm is adjusted in AC. The read out in the gun pos should either be in secs or range depending on how easy HTC wants to make it.

I wish the 88mm flak was mannable at air fields and with the added HE/ AP anti tank option. (there is a bugged man88ggun in the TE now)

[Greebo]

I would at least like to see the AI heavy flak more fairly implemented. At present, if you make a sharp direction change the barrage just follows you. There is no pause for the AI gunner to recalculate your trajectory, as would happen in real life. It would be nice to be able to make a 45 degree right turn and see the next lot of shells explode away to your left.

Perhaps the AI could also cheat a bit and prioritise, or even only target, aircraft which are carrying ordnance.

[lasersailor184]

I think Tilt has a good idea.

[Citabria]

slaving the unmanned guns to barrage in the same area as the players gun would make setting the range fusing workable as you would have many more guns firing in the same area,

I think this would murder buffs and be addeqautely effective against divebombers if you set the range to  a point in front of the divebomber and shot everything in that area for him to fly into.

I'm trying hard to see both sides of this and I'm not sure if I do.

heres what I see for the player side:
player manned flak would be more fun to use
players flying from CV would not have a 3k umbrella that forces opposition to low altitudes or be annoyed to death by nonstop repetitive unrealistic tracking flak puffs.
enemy fighters that venture near the cv will experience more realistic ww2 style flak barrages.


the system already is in place with buff guns and drones.


another possibility is to disable the ai flak guns and slave them to the 5" manned gun player with highest rank.

as always I dont know the unintended consiquences of this nor do i know the coding problems but I would request this idea be considered as it would provide fun for the cv gunner and more realistic experience for the player in the aircraft being shot at.

[Tilt]

Originally posted by Citabria
slaving the unmanned guns to barrage

I think then this would be best done by allocating the destroyers as individually manned flak ships.

1. move the AI 5" to the cruiser and the CV (I think this may reduce the number of AI I am not sure)

2. make the destroyers into flak ships with single player entities.......

A player can then select a flack ship as he would select an AC. The player then has access to the gun positions as he/she does in a bomber and can move between them or have them all fire at once just the same.

How many 5" ack would such a flak ship have 2 or 3?

Flak ships would then become more viable/usefull targets for bombers/torpedobombers and SB's.

I would still like to get rid of the point and fire simplicity of the 5" ack by adding an adjustable delay fuse.

[Zanth]

Make the position auto when not manned, with a player crewed option of some sort as an override.  

If we are going for realism, Buffs at low alt should get murdered (otherwise I imagine WW2 would have had quite different results).

[stratman]

LOL there should be NO auto ack period.

[flakbait]

Since you asked Tilt....

Armament list:

Baltimore Class Cruiser:
9x 8"/55 cal guns in three triple turrets
12x 5"/38 cal guns in twin turrets
48x 40mm anti-aircraft guns in quad mounts
24x 20mm anti-aircraft guns

Essex Class Carrier:
12x 5"/38 cal guns in single and twin mounts
68x 40mm anti-aircraft guns in quad mounts
60x 20mm anti-aircraft guns in single mounts

Fletcher Class Destroyer ('43-'44):
5x 5"/38 cal guns in five single mounts
10x 40mm anti-aircraft guns in twin mounts
7x 20mm anti-aircraft guns in single mounts
10x 21" torpedo tubes

Destroyer Escort:
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-de.html
There's too many different types of DE to list the armament here. See the above link if you're really interested.

References:
http://www.domeisland.com/fletcherclass/armament.html
http://www.odyssey.dircon.co.uk/LEYTE_EssexClassCarriers.htm
http://uboat.net/allies/warships/class.html?ID=125


I'd prefer to have a central fire-control station for shore bombardment or AA direction. Especially since the 5" guns were laid by radar on any target after 1942. Manually laying the guns could be done as a backup in case the radar was shot out. As for VT fuzes, I think they should stay. Manually setting fuze timing was for very early war, and doing it in-game with or without a fire direction center would never work. You'd be lucky to get anywhere near the target with manual fuzing.

That said, I must agree that if VT fuzes stay the auto-gunners for the 5" guns must go or at least be reduced in number. I also have to agree that low-flying aircraft with a low airspeed be especially vulnerable to AA fire. Picking off a target moving anywhere near 200mph at 300 yards would be a lot easier than trying to nail one doing twice that speed at three times the distance. Thankfully the AH2 ack doesn't seem to be as picky about speed as AH1 ack is. I've been tapped at all sorts of different speeds so far; definitely a good thing.


PS: Don't try checking Warships1.com for further information. The owner took down almost the whole site because of bandwidth costs, so almost none of the original D-base is still alive.

-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta Six's Flight School
Put the P-61B in Aces High

[SKurj]

Otto unless manned....

SKurj

[moot]

20kft, 500mph connects through cloud banks and/or mountains? no thx otto.

[Ghosth]

Well I've been on both ends of this discussion since we got ships.  Granted the Ai Flack tends to bite at times.
Ussually when there is no fleet in sight, your 12k, hear 1 or 2 bangs behind, or beside you. Then BANG and your in tower.

Makeing whoevers got the ship command also able to truly defend it WOULD encourage them to stay in the ship.  Which IMO would be a good thing.
So for that I can see slaving the cruisers & CV's 5" guns to ship commanders gun.

Destroyers should have a fire control position plus being able to jump to individual guns. Like a bomber.

Destroyers 5" wouild not be slaved to Fleet commanders, should NOT be AI.
but should have to be manned.

Last, each gun should be able to be destroyed, same as on a airfield.
As ship takes damage & loses guns it should have visible signs of damage.
IE smoke, list, speed drop, loss of directional control, etc.


Loss of a couple of destoyers would make it much easier for planes to penitrate the screen. But still possible to stop with the big boats guns.

Due to ships slower transit times damage should be cumulative for an hour. Unless the fleet respawns of course.

Task group commander needs one more control btw. Speed

So he can decide if its worth slowing to keep those 2 wounded destroyers close. Or if he's better off to carry on full steam ahead.  Would also make it possible to "park" the group for extremely accurate bombardment of a target.

I'm not sure how much of the above is possible, nor probable, but will be fun to see.

[Sixpence]

I say leave it, the plane set is limited on CV, and as you can see in the arenas, once a CV is spotted, la7's, 109's, and niks up in force, within minutes there is a cap over the CV with land based pilots fighting over kills, some will actually go deep into the low ai to get a kill and manage to get out. So one of the vulchers gets picked off or bothered by the ai....good. This ai is interfering with my baby seal clubbing!