Please, disable fighters guns on the ground (and bombs)

[gatt]

I know you can destroy hangers and ammo deposits ... however, sometimes is nice to capture a base just de-acking and de-VHing it. Well, it is pretty quake-ish to see all those IL-2s in tank role, all driving around and trying to kill C47, M3 and drunks. It is a little fix, but it can make this sim better.

P.S.: Oh yeah, same thing for bombs ... would be nice to see it fixed for 1.08.

[Karnak]

Il-2 is a bomber and spawns out of the bomber hanger.

[Tails]

This suggestion I cant agree with more. Aircraft weapons should be unusuable on the ground just as they are in the real world.
I do believe that they had the Weight on Wheels or 'squat' switch on aircraft in WW2, which was used to prevent weapons from firing and bombs dropping when on the ground

[Weave]

I belive that WWII fighters had gun arming switches to prevent them from being fired inadvertantly. With the guns armed, they could be fired while on the ground.

Bombs could also be released but I don't think they would have armed in the short fall.

To prevent the suicide spawners, take out all of the hangers first.  

[tofri]

NOOOOO!
Arm the goons with bazookas and MGs.
Let the troops kill these car bombers  

[LePaul]

Add me to the agree list.

Its odd how the Lancasters and B17s can't fire from the ground, but the B26 and Ju88 can...as well as all the fighters.

Its maddening in field captures to see the lunatic bomber come scrambling out, tapping the brakes to nose down and blasting away with the forward guns.

I generally kill *everything* at a base we are trying to capture so this isnt an issue, but I've been scolded in the past for nailing the ammo bunkers and fuels  

[minus]

ad a comando loadout for C 47 well armed  they ocupate  hangar and ack position and  wulching all spawners,  then drunks can come in

they can work easyly just like a  mobile ack to program

[skernsk]

HTC diabled the guns on a Buff for this reason.  I'm sure the bombs can easily be disabled by HTC.

However....if I can take off in a IL2 and shoot up your goon it's not my fault for buggering up your filed capture.  It's the fault of all the vulching fighters trying to get an easy kill RATHER than strafing the BH or FH.

Disable bombs...sure.  Disable forward firing guns while on ground...NO thanks.

[Wotan]

base capture is too easy now we dont need it easier..........

carbombers are gay because u commit suicide to achieve your goal.

While some may say upping at a capped field is suicide theres the "hope" of survival.

Right now in ah 1 guy can take any base. Its too easy..............

leave it like it is until we see what 1.08 will bring......

[Tac]

should be simple as the buff gun solution. If wheels are on groun, NO WEAPONS can be fired. that includes any gun and any ord.

Zekes, n1ks and la7's can spawn, throttle up, point nose to troops running near map room, cut engine, hit the breaks, NOSE goes down spray.. troops die.

If wheels on ground, no weapons can be fired.

[Voss]

You guys are being utterly ridiculous! Squat switch?!? WTF are you thinking? Kill the blessed hangars and they can't come up! You get lazy, or don't have numbers to do this, well you need luck. Quit asking HTC to booger up the game just to satisfy field captures. This is one very unrealistic issue that gets more attention then Hillary Clinton!

You can't expect a game, of this nature, to cater to two guys online. Sneaking a field is sneaking because, if you get busted, it is not going to happen! Unless, HTC ups the ack efficiency, you can de-ack a field with just one fighter! Two buffs (Lancs) can drop all hangars at small, or medium fields. So, with just four guys (given that everyone survives) you can capture 90% of all fields in the game! When have we ever been limited to just four guys?

I wish that HTC would make field captures even harder! It should take only one 1k egg to kill a hangar. AAA should be dispersed outside of the airfield. Aircraft should be dispersed around the airfield and not in the hangars. There should be three times as many 88's, and they should be as accurate to other planes as they are to the P51D. 88's should stop firing when friendly aircraft are fighting target aircraft.

The reason I would like to see this is obvious.

1) It is more realistic.
2) Vulching fighters would either get nailed by respawning AAA, or would get called away to strafe it in covering a goon (making launching of fighters more feasible).

Well, this is enough for now. You guys would never accept it, but it would make for more realism, and reduce the land grab in the wee hours.

Oh, and the 'squat switch' was an altitude arming device for buffs. Fighters never had them. The arming device on American fighters is a wire to the nose of the bomb. When the fighter pilot hits the arming switch, the wire is held firm, so that when the bomb falls free it pulls the wire out from the arming fan allowing the fan to turn. When that fan stops spinning it goes boom (unless it's a dud).

 

[Tails]

The squat-switch, or WOW (Weight on Wheels) switch, that I was refering to is the one one the main landing gear shock struts. All aircraft with retractable gear have them. It's the thing that keeps us stupid pilots from retracting the landing gear when on the ground, even if the gear handle is moved up. Now most moderb military aircraft have other things connected to this switch, most importantly weapons systems. I dont know if WW2 aircraft were like that though. Just sayin what I know  

[Kweassa]

Q: Why'd anyone ever even worry about a fighter with its arse squat on the ground?

 A: Because they are lazy. They don't wish to take the steps to field capture. And most usually their concept of 'field capture' is buzz out ack and vulch the hell outta people in a few N1K2-Js, until a goon arrives.

 ..

 Sure, disable the guns on ground.

 But only after 1~2 N1K2-Js are no more a threat to even a small field. The day I see the pilot's face get pale with terror when he looks at the ack is the day I agree on this issue  

[milnko]

Couple of points;

• weight on gear switch most modern A/C have it, which disable ord on the deck, to prevent mishaps like what happened on the USS Saratoga (CV-60)
  
  
• Pyro has stated 1.08 will have disabled bombs on the deck to get rid of the car bombers, one would hope that would also include disabling all guns/cannon as well.
  
  
• Bases should have Infantry! let's think about this for a sec... 10 paratroopers drop on a base and POOF! it's captured? What about the base security forces hiding in the trenches during the air raid? They should come pouring out at the first sign of Paras to defend thier field. With this as an option ya'd hafta strafe them, but take care not to hit "friendlies" on the deck.
  Also depending on the SIZE of the base more or less Paras should be required.
  
  
• Convoys with the introduction of convoys, one would imagine (and hope) that they would rush troops and supplies to fields under attack.
  
  
• C-47's remember in AW that C-47's could run in more than just Troops, they could loadout ammo and fuel resupply. IMO this is a much needed item for base defense.
  

In response to why many attackers don't take down the hangers, it's simple... Why pork a base more than ya have to?

If our squad hits a base, we have every intent to use it for re-arming/re-planing for the attack on the next base.

Also ever notice how the smoke rising from a field impacts FPS? All that smoke also makes it difficult to see enemy spawning.

[ 09-26-2001: Message edited by: milnko ]