First, I really don't get the preoccupation with suggesting that night would require standard AH radar to be taken away and replaced by on-board radar units. Why? If radar is present during the day, then it should be present at night. You want to turn out the lights for the enemy? Knock out their radar in the evening and keep it down and watch em fumble around all night. All 30 minutes of it.
Take away radar at night, and the daytime radar has to go too. I understand wanting to promote historical accuracy...but c'mon...this isn't a historical arena. In the CT? sure turn out the lights for night fighting and make only those with radar equipped aircraft be able to see in the dark...unless of course their side had some kind of ground controlled radar to aid them. But main arena? Sheesh. P51's can fight F4U's in the MA. How freakin historical is that? Let's lay the historical accuracy thing to rest regarding radar and the potential of night fighting in the MA. Accurate flight and gunnery models are as historical as the MA gets.
It would be cool if we had radar equipped night fighters on hand, but we don't and I doubt there are any plans to add any. But why do we thinnk HTC would have to model night fighters fitted with on board radar to bring back night? They don't. And people would just use the heavily armed Ju88's and Bf110's and P61's, Mossies, etc to pop gv's during the day, flatten airfields, vulch with really big, bad guns and kill CV's during the day anyway. When radar was knocked out for a country, everybody would just up a radar equipped aircraft. There goes your historical accuracy out the window again AND there goes any incentive to knock out radar...which would be a blow against the quality of game play. I can hear the whining already.
Why do people who like the night have to prove that dogfighting took place at night in order to bring it back? Large scale dogfights between groups of single engined fighters probably didn't happen at night any more often than kamikaze dive bombing B17's took out CV's during WW2. The difference between those two type of events though is that single engined fighters were capable of flying and fighting at night and sometimes did (even if it was to intercept bombers), and it was highly unlikely that a B17 would make an even remotely suitable dive bomber. If it was possible (not historical) for an aircraft to do it, it should be allowed in the game. If not, then it shouldn't be allowed. It was possible for "day" fighters to fly and fight at night...so it should be allowed if HTC brings back night operations, without need for the addition of any specialty aircraft or modifications to the country radar system.
Why is it the night lovers would be the one's that have to go HTH or have their own arena created? The MA is designed to support strategic play. If you want to dogfight exclusively without interruption, go to the DA. That's what it's there for. There's already an arena designed specifically for furballers, yet I guess the numbers are in the MA, so that's where the action is.
But the MA is intended for general game play. Strats are there, cities, ports, towns, airfields, etc. These are not soley intended to be nice scenery for those that love to dogfight. They have an effect on the game: resupply, radar capabilities etc. The MA play has begun to devolve into a free for all, first person shooter type team deathmatch...with a really great flight model. Some very cool features of the game are going un-noticed at least and apparently largely unappreciated.
I think most people who would like to see night come back, don't simply want to revive night time operations to look at the stars and the big fat moon. They want to try and bring back the strategy of fighting the "war" and forcing the reset. Night is something that forced a change in gaming tactics for a half hour or so, and interrupted the furball mentality long enough for the strategically minded to make a contribution to the arena and play the game in a way that matters to them.
As it stands. Bombers still bomb. Strat guys still strat. GVers still GV, but the day...and thus the game...is owned by the furballers. It would be nice if the night could be once again owned by the bombers and guys that like to fly fighters in the dark to try to catch them. The new terrain would also help GV's do some really cool base takeovers and stuff under the cover of darkness as well. Night time has a lot to offer the open minded that are willing to try something "new".
And if you don't like the night? Go fly in the DA or CT,TA or do some HTH for 30 minutes. It won't kill ya, and when you come back...maybe some pretty cool guys will have resupplied some bases, bombed the crap out of the enemy's strats, and got things set up nicely for your dawn furball patrol.
PS. If dedicated night fighters ARE a possibility for the future in AH2, I suggest: Radar equipped Me262! SWEET!
