HT has been writing gunners for the next version and we've been experimenting with them in the arena. We've decided to take a new approach with gunners in AH and so far we like it and think most people will too.
The AH gunner system allows either the pilot or his gunner to control multiple positions simultaneously. As you man a particular position and point your weapon, all other weapons that share that field of fire will automatically slew to that direction. You then have the option to fire only the weapon you are manning or all weapons that are pointed at your target. For example, if you're in the nose of a B-17G and you have a target at 1 o'clock low and were to fire all available weapons, the target would receive fire from the ball turret, the chin turret, and the right cheek gun.
The pilot can man his own guns or he can take a single gunner to man those positions. The pilot cannot jump to a gunner position if he takes another player to man his guns. There are no automatic gunners and only one gunner can crew an aircraft at one time. The gunner can jump between various gun positions at will.
We like this system because it doesn't rely on AI, it provides good defense, and it makes gunning a lot of fun.
This new system should be in the next release out sometime this week. Other things in the release will be a more accurate damage ratings on the planes, the latest terrain, perhaps the N1K2, and numerous other bug fixes.
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Doug "Pyro" Balmos
HiTech Creations
