I've been flying the Spitfire Mk.IX most of the beta, so my observations are based only on that.
FM:
The flight model overall feels better than WB. No I don't mean it feels more real, cause all my flying has been as a passenger of airliners so I can't comment on that. I mean it feels easier - less twitchy, but yet you can get into some nasty spins.
Gunnery - ballistics:
Kind of nice, even with the more stable FM I don't seem to have been pinged by 1000yds shots. Nor have I hit past the 600yds mark. Up close though, 300yds and under it's easy.
Gunnery - lethality:
I kind of like the lethality settings right now, if you hit someone he is dead. By hitting I mean a real burst not just a snap shot.
Fuel Burn Rate
This one I don't like at all. Right now if I want to use all ammo on Spitfire Mk.IX, I have to load 100% internal fuel and a DT. Then I have to fight the first three fights with the DT still attached when it usually runs out after the third. And even then I might not be able to use all of the ammo before I run out of fuel. Last night I had 10 kills in Spitfire Mk.IX and still ammo left, but run out of fuel.
You can't claim I just fly in far away places waiting for someone to surprise and that's why run out of fuel. My Kills per Time is one of the highest, if not highest, of those people who fly regularily. IMO the fuel burn rate is simply too high.
I guess the fuel burn rate is set high so that disabling someone's fuel at a field is more important than with normal fuel burn rate, perhaps you have succeded. You have succeeded if your intention was to make me just log off, if none of the forward fields can give me 100% + DT cause I know I won't have enough fuel to use all ammo.
I might add that my _only_ interest is air-to-air. I couldn't care less if someone captures a field, I could be happy if it brings the fights closer, or bombs a bottle cap factory to pieces.
Map:
I like the raised fields on top of the hills. That way if someone goes to dogfite too low near fields the next one taking off will have an alt advantage on the attacker. Makes the vulchers less aggressive and thus easier to avoid.
To give some help defending one's land, make forward fields sit on flat land and then the next nearest field on a hill. That way it gets harder to capture the second field, cause the defenders will get an alt bonus compared to the attackers taking off from the just captured forward field. It's like this with F8 and then the field just south of it, F4.
//fats
