Ok....since it's been brought up, I'll post my wish here in it's original form as it was for AW. Once I'm familiar with AH, I'll make some modifications to the proposal to fit better:
Fry's Train Proclamation and Elucidation...title courtesy of Westy
Well, I have had a number of YEARS to think about this stuff and want to be sure that when (positive thinking here ) trains are considered, the development team has some good ideas on how to implement their use within the arenas:)
Make the trains have a total of three cars; engine, transport car (for troops, supplies, etc.), and a gunnery car with two usable gun positions. From the engine car (where it's piloted), the pilot should be able to "jump" to either of the two gunner positions (similar to a tank piloting code and the intended B-17 code in AW:MV).
Top speed of the train should be greater than that of a truck, jeep, or tank....maybe 75ias to make it worth the risk of transporting them on dedicated rails as opposed to driving any which way to their ultimate destination.
The transport car should be able to transport TWICE the amount of troops, fuel, ammo, etc. that is possible on a C-47 or truck (i.e. 16 troops etc.). They should also be allowed to transport any two ground vehicles. Users driving the trains and the users gunning the trains must also have the ability to jump to the ground vehicles once the train is at a stop. Those ground vehicles are useable once unloaded from a stopped train at any point in the arena.
The trains are to be relatively pilotless as they will be running on damageable permanent and visible train tracks. They cannot be driven off the tracks yet driving over a damaged section of track will decrease the top speed to 45ias due to axle damage. The trains speed CAN be controlled by the throttle, as well as come to a complete stop and travel in reverse.
Damaged tracks are to have a down time of only 3 minutes. Why? When an enemy plane bombs the track, it will give the train engineer a chance (if possible) to stop the train prior to running over the damaged track and getting damaged. He can then wait the 3 minutes for the track to repair itself and continue on his run at 75ias, or just run over the damaged track, take the axle damage and run at 45ias. This then requires the enemy to rtb to reload and/or work in pairs to kill a train. The objective should be to kill the train. So damaging the tracks should only hinder the train in its goal of resupply not kill it outright. But should an already damaged train run over another section of damaged tracks, the train will come to a complete stop and be unable to continue.
It should take 2 bomb hits to kill a train. Yet strafing the engine can kill or damage the train (loss of top speed) as well. It should take 1 bomb hit to damage a track. Tracks should run between airfields or cities regardless of ownership. At "Y" intersections, the pilot must "steer" in the direction he/she chooses to travel. If not "steered", a random direction will be enabled. Multiple trains can be on a single track as no collisions are enabled.
How about having some tunnels as well? That way, the train could make a mad dash through enemy territory toward the safety of a tunnel in a mountain. Then they'd pop out the other end and continue on their run...if they're lucky:) Once in the tunnel, enemy icons on the radar will NOT work. The train engineer/pilot will only be able to tell where he is within the tunnel itself, but not who's waiting on the outside, hehe.
Here's how I figure the tunnel/train/bombing/damage would work. TWO bombs dropped on the entrance/exit of a tunnel would destroy it for....say 10 minutes, stopping the progress of the train. Bombs dropped elsewhere on the mountain would do no damage. Should a train be caught in the bomb radius at the entrance/exit it could be damaged/destroyed as normal.
If a train is stuck in a tunnel, ie. the entrances/exits are destroyed, the pilot can opt to wait the 10 minutes for the entrances/exits to regenerate or just abort his/her run....their choice.
While in a tunnel, trains can NOT unload ANY cargo.
About 95% of the tunnels would have only 1 exit, but 5% would have 2 exits....each to a different destination (a normal y-intersection, but in a tunnel). That would make the attacking plane keep an eye on two spots on the mountain, waiting for the train to appear:)
Graphically, the trains would support smokestacks with visible smoke while running. Upon destruction of the engine, the boiler should explode in a large white steamy explosion. If the train was carrying fuel or ammo, there would be an increased chance of destruction upon hits of the transport car. When destroyed, an enormous exploding fireball should result with a blast/damage radius considerably larger than a bomb....a good chance of damaging the straffing/bombing plane if it's anywhere near the target (historically accurate )
Hmm...as a pilot, how careful do I have to be when I attack a train? Now that I've bombed the entrances/exits, do I assume he aborted his train mission, or do I wait the 10 minutes and see if he comes out? If he does come out, do I just play it safe and straf the engine and not the cargo cars where ammo or fuel could be carried? It could take multiple runs...what about those train gunners?? Or do I just straf the entire length of the train and hope it's not carrying fuel or ammo? Or do I NOT straf at all and use my bombs? Will I be out of the bomb blast or do I press a bit closer for a better aim? Maybe I just cross my fingers and hope it's just a troop carrier;)
