One of the Hellcat pilots on "Dogfights" made the comment that on a strafing run against a ship, the tracers would make a bright flash upon impact, and that whatever part of the ship he was spraying (bridge?) "lit up like a Christmas tree".
After hearing his remark, I kind of gathered that was the effect HTC was going for. Also, has anyone noticed a change in the tracers and hit sprites since the patch? Seems to me my large cannon rounds now only make small sprites outside of 400yds or so, whereas before they were far more noticeable.