quote: Originally posted by DaddyAck
Yeah I gots it, it was a red copy of impounded b-29s. the very plane HT refuses to give us even with conventional ordinance.
Originally posted by Karnak
I've never seen any evidence of that. People made the same claim about HiTech hating the B-25 so we'd never get it and it was BS, yet many believed it and perpetuated it.
The only think HTC has said about B-29s is to use it as an example of a perk unit on their perk system description and to say we won't get the nuke.
I never saw anything that hitech hated the B-25. IIRC, Mitchell was in both
AirWarrior and
Warbirds, so they chose to do the B-26 instead. That's been it pretty much.
As to inclusion of the
B-29 and
He-177, from a game design point:
Runway:How much runway did a B-29 at up to 141,000 lbs need to get off the ground, and how much do we have to work with in game now without changing the base tiles? How much did the up to 69,000 lbs He-177 need? The Lancs in game are listed at 68,000 lbs and need a lot of runway. This issue could keep both the B-29 and He-177 out of contention.
Ordnance load and Performance: IIRC, after intro of the 110's, the size of the towns had to be enlarged for gameplay? Lifting formations:
- B-29's ----- 20,000 lbs (9,000 kg) x 3 planes typical load. Often flew with smaller loads in PTO. (Maximum internal short-range, low-altitude bomb load was 20,000 pounds. A load of 5000 pounds of bombs could be carried over a 1600-mile radius at high altitude. A load of 12,000 pounds of bombs could be carried over a 1600-mile radius at medium altitude) As range is not an issue on game maps, running with large ord loads would be typical.
- He-177's --15,873 lbs (7,200 kg) typical x 3 planes (up to 13,200 pounds internally by some accounts, and also had wing mounts, unsure of maximum bombload of A5 with internal and wing mounts).
- Lancaster - 14,000 lbs (6,350 kg) x 3 planes
Could also create a game play balance issue in regards to dropping towns. Less an issue with He-177 than B-29.
Speed and Altitude Lancaster can run up to about 290mph around 14K and 19K feet with ceiling of around 23,500 feet.
The He-177 can run up to 350mph at around 21,000 feet with a ceiling of over 30,000 feet.
The B-29 can run up to 358 mph at around 30,000 feet with a ceiling of around 33,600 feet.
The B-29 and He-177 may just run too fast, too high for game balance in AHII.
Other Issues Against He-177 and B-29:B-29 was equipped with either the AN/APQ-13 radar bombing/navigational aid set and later the AN/APQ-7 Eagle radar unit... hard to model in current game code.
He-177 could carry guided ordnance like the
Henschel Hs 293 or
Fritz X which falls outside the existing game ord. And of course the B-29 carried two
"nooks" in WWII or could also carry two 22,000lb (10,000kg)
T-14 'Earthquake' bombs (reportedly, 4,000 lbs will be the largest single bomb in AHII carried by a bomber, why no Tallboys or Grandslams for Lanc).
Discrepencies He-177 was poorly designed for it's requirement to be able to dive bomb, and not made in sufficient numbers before priority was given to fighters to counter Allies bombers. The He-177, especially early versions, were prone to engine fire. What many forget is that the B-29 was also a mechanical nightmare to it's crews and also prone to engine problems including fires. Why there was a priority on capturing emergency fields between major bases and Japan for B-29's to divert to.
As engine fires and mechanical failures are not modeled in the game, these points are minor considerations.
You have to consider additions in context of the game, playability, and balance.
Personally, I'd still like to see the He-177 added with a small perk price for it and it's drones to give the Axis a heavy bomber ability for SEA as well as a perk point sink for buff pilots. It's a similar argument I give for A-26B and C Invader... Arado just doesn't work well as a perk point sink, so little reason for buff drivers not to "dive buff" or "bomb and bail".... just don't need the perks. Only other perkable buff that could be added to the game, other than the He-177, B-29, and A-26, is one of the Mossies versions with bombsite and drones enabled.... and only the B-29 would command a high perk cost.
B-29's capabilities are probably too far outside the range for addition to the game without screwing up play balance. Too much, too far, too high, too fast. The He-177 OTOH carries a bit more, a bit higher, a bit faster and not quite as far as the existing Lanc, with a little more protection... and is good enough for a small perk price.
Also, in the case of the He-177, how difficult will it be to get accurate performance data on the plane for use in game's flight model?
