Redoing the Spits doesn't have to neccesarily include a new variant.
For ToD to attract out side of the current AH player base there can be none of the 'substitution roulette' that is the mainstay of AH events, scenarios and in the CT will work.
So what needs to happen is that the holes get filled on all sides so that you put on something that closer resembles what took place in real life.
The biggest complaint seems to be that we don't have the, by far, dominant Spit IX variant, as in the LFIX. This being the main RAF Spit from 43-45.
The biggest complaint is the gigantic holes in the plane set that limit the possibilities of ToD.
A Spitfire LF.IX or Spitfire LF.VIII would fill holes in the plane set. So would a true Spitfire F.MK.Vb ('41 @ 12lbs) and a separate Spitfire F.Mk.Vc ('42 @ 16lbs).
The above fixes right there would go a long way to covering almost all the holes.
I am reasonably certain that there will be no new Spit V.
Certainly when looking at the MA, a clipped Spit would be nice since it's a low alt war in there.
But I think the notion that it's wanted because its "Kewl" is unfair. Speaking as a Spit fan, I want the best representative line up.
No one said that any clipped wing Spit is a 'kEwL bOi' plane. What I said was that looking at past and current examples of what planes get added to AH very little goes into looking at what is really needed verses what is 'kEwL'. The P-47N is a perfect example of 'kEwL' over substance'. Does AH need a new variant of P-47? Sure but not a limited late war monster that doesn't fill any hole at all. A P-47C or D-5 (-ADI) would have went along way to making a '43 WETO theater better. Now there is no early/mid '43 jug that means D-11s through out or skip early/mid '43.
The main is never going to get any better then it is now. Game play in the main is what it is and will be 'till AH folds.
However, if ToD is going to prove better then the CT or any of the other events then it needs to work at getting things right to attract more subscribers. There are a ton of alternatives to AH's ToD. All can be played with out a subscription.
That would also include revamping the Spit V to the Spit Vb of the 41-42 period with the lower cannon ammo load, and reduced engine performance.
Restricting the AH Spit V to 12lbs is no more fair then forcing the LW fans to fight one at 16lbs through out the Spit Vs service range.
What would be fair to both is to add another. We know that's not likely.
The suggestion of a Spit LFVIII has more to do with scenario use and skinning possibilities then anything else. Certainly it could be lived without should we get an LFIX, but doing a clipped wing LFIXe and and LFVIII with the standard wings and universal armament adds to the variety and potential scenario/TOD use too.
Well this misses my point entirely. Its not a matter of 'suggestions' its a matter of what gets added. You are more likely to see them put out a Spitfire LF.IX with clipped wings then anything else. If you get anything it will be a single Spit , and the 'kEwLeSt' one at that. So weighing the odds that would mean a Spitfire LF.IX with clipped wings.
Remember it has taken 4+ years just to get the planes AH has now. Making the assumption that 'well maybe next time' just doesn't reflect reality.
But I'd also unperk the Spit XIV as the D9 was it's counterpart and not perked.
That way you'd have the main adversaries from beginning to end in the LAW vs RAF fight.
Right now it's not balanced that way at all.
You would think that as more variants become available that the perk system would expand. The perk system as it stands is just pointless with a few exceptions.
The Spit 14 and D-9 were hardly main adversaries. But here we have the same problem with the 109s. With the G-10 / K-4 452mph hybrid it is wholly unfair to the Allied fans to force them into fighting the AH G-10 from June/July '44 onward.
If as Kweassa and others suggest HTC does both a 'real G-10' and a 'real K-4' then add a G-14 you would have 109 performing from around 415-430 mph. The 452 K-4 would be the very late variant (the G-10 could fill in for the AS engined 109s).
What ends up happening now is you get a mid/late '44 event where the '43 G-6 fights all late war allied aircraft.
That is equally unfair to LW fans.
With the addition of the '38s it appeared that HTC was specifically targeting holes in planes set. I applauded them and had made many a post requesting and/or suggesting earlier 38 variants.
With the P-47N we see that it was just a coincidence and nothing much in terms of what planes gets added has changed.
Don't get me wrong I am completely indifferent to the P-47 in general. Its great for those P-47 folk. I just think ToD would have been better served with a D-5 or C.
Same with the Spits. Outside of ToD I could careless about Spits. I think that to make the game work and to build a reasonable player base some consideration needs to be given to theater/plane match-ups.
would 190s be also part of the so-called LW vs RAF "arms race"?
1K3,
No because the 190s have already been done. An A-3 and an A-6 were asked for just prior to the 190s being reworked.
We don't late war planes. An A-9 would be 'kEwL' but you can't build a whole new type of game based simply on the last 6 months of WW2.
For the others who post with out reading the thread or who don't understand the context of whats being discussed please start your own thread. I assure most of us wont intrude.
