Dive bombing with heavies?

[gatt]

Back from a long break from AH2 I've found the usual MA full of zombies-kamikazes. Ok, it is their money so they game the game the way they want.

What I'd like not to see are heavies like the B-24s or Lancasters able to dive bomb like P-47s. This simply encourages dweebish and unhistorical playing style. It remember me those old "death stars" parked on the rwy acting like ack-ack ....

[Keiler]

Maybe a diveangle restriction would help. I.e., block the internal bombracks when exceeding a preset angle. This could be a setting somewhere in the arena settings.

[Pei]

Originally posted by Keiler
Maybe a diveangle restriction would help. I.e., block the internal bombracks when exceeding a preset angle. This could be a setting somewhere in the arena settings.

Well not for all a/c with bomb bays: The JU88 was designed to be able to dive bomb, and mossies and a20s often used shallow diving attacks.

[Keiler]

Of course excepting those should have made myself clearer. Was talking about those aircraft specifically designed to bomb level.

[gatt]

Obviously, I was talking about heavy level bombers with deep bomb bays . With such bays even a shallow dive bombing should be impossible.

[Karnak]

Originally posted by gatt
Obviously, I was talking about heavy level bombers with deep bomb bays . With such bays even a shallow dive bombing should be impossible.

That is part of the problem with the Lanc.  Even if they model bomb collisions with the dropping aircraft it will only stop the B-17 and B-24 (I don't know about the B-26), but the Lanc has a very shallow, long bomb bay and would scarcely be affected.

What I'd like to see is a tag on those bombers that are strictly level bombers, such as the Lanc, B-17, B-24, B-26 and Boston that disables bomb drops from the cockpit, forcing the use of the bombardier's position, which just so happens to turn on autolevel.

[gatt]

Good idea Karnak

[Sketch]

Originally posted by Pei
Well not for all a/c with bomb bays: The JU88 was designed to be able to dive bomb, and mossies and a20s often used shallow diving attacks.

Don't forget the IL-2!

[LePaul]

I hate those sorta bombers too.

I guess Im one of those odd bomber guys that gets to a good, safe alt (say 15k or so), fly in, drop and exit.  I see a lot of guys upping buffs simply to go in NOE or do the dive bomb thing.

I dont think disabling the bomb drop is the solution tho.  Sure, its an annoyance, but once you start limiting how the bombers can drop, where do you stop?  Most of the arena is anti bomber.  Bombers, with their payload, make an impact, for better or for worse.

Your best defense is to shoot the guys down so their efforts do not yield a reward.

That's why I go in with alt.  9/10s of the fighters out there wont bother to climb and engage me.  That's usually all that keeps my Lancs alive since they are so easy to knock down.

[gatt]

Eh LePaul,

actually this game-ish thing is exploited even by bombers with enuff altitude. Have you ever slowly got enuff altitude and a good position to attack with your fighter .... just to see the dweeb level bomber dive on to the field at 45deg angle and 350mph+ speed to avoid you and destroy as much possible field/town as he can?

Yes, maybe the arena is partially anti bomber but AH2's bombers can actually afford maneuvers that real fully loaded heavy level bombers probably never did. Like chandelles and 50-70deg break turns. Yes, yes I know the corkscrew Lanc's manuever. But such things should be allowed only to single bombers (and perhaps not loaded with bombs?).

So, HTC should limit hard maneuvers (you should at least break the vic formation and definitely lose your two other fellow bombers) and limit the dive bomb angle for heavies.

[LePaul]

I hear your pain.  I truly do.

I also think the ammo bunkers should be hardened.  In the "old days" people would pork fuel down to 25% all over the place.  Now the new thing is for some typhoon to swoop in, strafe out all the ordinance and auger.

But truth is, its just a handful gaming the game.

[Blooz]

I love those crazy buff kamikazies!

They save me bullets and give me free kills!

Whatever they crash into will be back up shortly anyway.

Dive bomb those babies all you want!

[OOZ662]

Originally posted by LePaul
Your best defense is to shoot the guys down so their efforts do not yield a reward.

And just think how many times you'll have to shoot them down before they stop trying. Besides, they'll move to another base and do the same thing. Unless you want to volunteer your entire AH gaming time to beating off the lamers...

[gatt]

You have only to try and cap a base under attack.

You'll see the usual kamikaze hordes of P-47, P-38, F4U and P-51 crashing into the radar and acks seconds after releasing bombs and rockets.

Then you'll see bombers coming between 5K and 15K. They do (maybe) one pass level-bombing and then dive-bomb and crash into the field/city.

It is almost impossible to cap in this situation. They dive at 400-500mph, they dont care to pull up from the dive so its impossible to chase them.

Many field attacks soon turn into a quake-fest ....

[Karnak]

What about having a death penalty time out after dying when you were hit by no rounds fired by an opposing player?

That way if you pork a base by suicide you get a nice 5 or 10 minute break between each flight, even if the AA hits you.  But if even one .303 fired by an opposing player hits you you can reup immediately.

What effect would that have on the gameplay I wonder?