Question about AcesHigh and bomber attack

[rfa]

Hi all, this is my first post here.  

I was just wondering, what do you guys think about attacking bombers in AcesHigh?

I fly in Warbirds, and (as some of you know) attacking a bomber there is insane. I am more scared when I attack a Ju88 then if I was dealing with a squadron of Bf109s! American bombers are even worse, and there is a 50% chance you will suffer an oil leak even when attacking head-on!  The point is that you have a greater chance of living if you take on fighters - totaly bogus since unescorted bombers in WWII were easy prey, and unless they were B-17s in tight formation they preseted little danger to the fighter pilot. ...and the danger presented by a tight unescorted B-17 box was not as great in r/l - I was not there, but I can't imagine it being that bad!

In AcesHigh, do you guys drewl when you see unescorted bombers?   Is otto too accurate? ...is it weak? ...is it just right?

PS - I could find out myself, but I just can't afford two accounts.  

-------------------------------------------
Jack Szarkowski

S/L rf-a
No. 303 (Polish) Squadron RAF "Kosciuszko"
Northolt Wing (aka "1st Polish Fighter Wing")

   



[This message has been edited by rfa (edited 03-16-2000).]

[RAM]

Its as simple as:
NO OTTO  

If yah wanna gun, you do yourself, or you go with a gunner onboard (.join command for this). If noone is at guns, then noone will fire.

Really clever way to solve the problem, cuz IA is a mess. there will be people whining if it is too accurate, or if it isnt...here if yah are a good gunner, you'll rock (ask CavemanJ about this  ) If yah arent, then you wont rock so much...but you'll rock anyway (hehehe)

Bomber's guns are overmodelled intentionally to give lone bombers a good chance to survive. But other than that, you have to fire them ,no computer assist  

[Staga]

Otto don't play AH...  

...But Ack is like a Phalanx...

Two weeks for free so take your chance  

[weazel]

 Using smart tactics the bombers can be shot down fairly easily.You have to take your time to set up your attack or you will be in trouble as all guns that can be brought to bear on you are controlled and fired by the gunner. If you take the time to analyze the gun positions in the bombers you will find holes in the cones of fire and you can exploit them. If you choose a bad posistion more than likely a good gunner will have you for breakfast.

[JFalk]

hey rfa!

Good to hear from you, your question... well attacking bombers here in AH is not a gimme situation, it can be done but you have to be careful.  There is no otto here, its all player controlled, you have the option of going on autopilot when you take a gunners spot or you can have someone be the gunners for you.  Some people are better gunners then others, but if you attack from a good angle and try to stay out of the guns arcs you are doing ok.

If I see a bomber alone I do think its a juicy target, but one that bites back, a fighter vs bomber battle doesnt always come out with the fighter as victor, I got 2 kills yesterday in a B 26 before being shot down, the difficult part is if you get 2 fighters on you, then you are in trouble.

Download AH's and try out the free 2 weeks and see for yourself.

falkow/Falkowsk

[CavemanJ]

RAM thankee, and if my guns are overmodeled I'll eat me 17 byte by byte.  If anything they are undermodeled.

rfa welcome to AH.  If ya fly for bish or nits I'm sure you'll get to see what a good gunner can do, even with the BB guns they're armed with =)

[RAM]

Hehe CaveJ...in damage...well maybe it is undermodelled(i dont think so but you fly much more in bombers than me...but now I think in this...I die much more in bomber's hands than you do LOL    ) but in accuracy, I remember that memorable B26 hitting me from 1.8K...  
If that isnt overmodelled...then tell me what it is    

(RAM watches carefully as CaveJ eats his B17 bite by bite   )



[This message has been edited by RAM (edited 03-16-2000).]

[funked]

RFA, as these gents pointed out, there's no Otto here.    

I'm pretty sure you know how to shoot down BUFFs in WBs.  I.e. Beam or Head-On attacks, make sure you have a lot of smash.  Also no stern attacks.

If you apply these rules here you will be FEARED by bombers.    

However the guys that try direct stern attacks will die here like they die against WB Otto or WB human gunners.

However we still have the problem (due to net lag) where a bomber that has disintegrated on my FE can still kill me with a shot fired before his FE got the death message.    


[This message has been edited by funked (edited 03-17-2000).]

[Dinger]

Bombers are both fun to shoot down and fun to gun from.  There are a few details that should be noted:
Convergence: the buff guns are set to a convergence point.  This means that dispersion is going to be much greater when firing from the 3 and 9 ock. positions that it will 6 and 12.
So 10-2 works better than dead 12.  Historical or not, it's how the gunning system works.
Also, many of the gunners here aren't too good at setting up lead, so if you come in at just a touch of an angle, it'll pay off.  Jink a bit, and it works.
Buff gunners can't hit too well if the plane is maneuvering at all (but a good gunner can get some pings in easy turns), so if you have a gunner, be sure and coordinate well.  If you're hunting buffs, try to press the attack if the guy is foolish enough to turn.
If you employ historically proven methods, an escorted buff is a tasty treat that won't hurt you a bit.

And watch for the B17 rookies who can't work the belly gun.  mmmm..tasty.

For additional entertainment, consider after deacking a place dropping down on the deck and doing those historical PAC theater strafing runs.  Yee-haw!

[This message has been edited by Dinger (edited 03-17-2000).]

[funked]

"For additional entertainment, consider after deacking a place dropping down on the deck and doing those historical PAC theater strafing runs. Yee-haw!"

Dinger and I did this.  I flew the plane and he was the gunner.  Eventually we ran out of ammo for all but the waist guns.  So I started flying like and AC-47 or AC-130 and Dinger did the door-gunner thang.  It was bootyful!

[Ghosth]

RFA,
I tend to fly the Nik2J George & love whacking bombers. Like funked said best attack is high beam, or slashing attack.
However, since bomber either has to have a gunner or has to switch to a gun position it is not suicide to attack one. They can be surprised easly from low 6 and be falling in pieces before they realise there is a problem

Also if 2 fighters coordinate their attacks one or the other will get him easy. He can't shoot at both of you at the same time!

Come on over RFA, I think you'll like the spit here also!


------------------
Maj Ghosth
XO 332nd Flying Mongrels

[rfa]

Thanks for the replies guys, was away so could not answer sooner.  Very informative and interesting info.

I might try it soon.

<S>

 


--------------------------------
Jack Szarkowski

S/L rf-a,
No. 303 (Polish) Squadron RAF "Kosciuszko"
Northolt Wing