Dam Busters

[Martyn]

I know the WWI stuff is in the pipeline at the moment, but with the Dam Busters film being made shortly I thought it would be a neat development/marketing thingy to have dams and bouncing bombs ready for when the film is released. With only a little marketing effort (e.g. Google keywords) I'm sure there would be a lot of interest.

I guess the downside might be too much temporary interest by youngsters - hitting the servers during the film's release window and then quickly losing interest; but maybe that could be mitigated by waiting a few weeks until after the films release for the initial enthusiasm to die away before releasing and then announcing the Dam Busters option - or, even better, by having another, temporary, Dam Busters arena.

My guess is that a percentage of those with a more genuine interest in WW2 planes will stay longer term.

Knowing the possible lead time for development of bouncing bombs and dams, I thought now would be a good time to suggest this.

Anyway - we'd get the bouncing bombs, a revamped Lanc and possibly skip bombing for the Pacific ops. as a side effect.

[bravoa8]

That would be cool.

[Shuffler]

Or they can fill the plane set.............

[bravoa8]

Or they can fill the plane set.............

More planes?

[Bear76]

One problem, the bombs used for this were design to detonate under the water line. Our water model would not allow for this without some major re-design I would suspect. Skip bombing might be possible, but I wouldn't hold my breathe.

[bravoa8]

One problem, the bombs used for this were design to detonate under the water line. Our water model would not allow for this without some major re-design I would suspect. Skip bombing might be possible, but I wouldn't hold my breathe.

Oh really never knew that but, I have to say HTC does need to redo their water if you crash into it you should kinda bounce a little.

[Mister Fork]

How much different would one of these things be from a torpedo that is already implemented?  Really?

[Bear76]

How much different would one of these things be from a torpedo that is already implemented?  Really?

Good point, not sure how that could be reworked. The effect of blowing up a damn would be what though? Water doesn't flow, nothing gets destroyed but the damn.

[gyrene81]

Oh really never knew that but, I have to say HTC does need to redo their water if you crash into it you should kinda bounce a little.

No bounce...just parts scattering all over the place unless you're slow.

[Shuffler]

Oh really never knew that but, I have to say HTC does need to redo their water if you crash into it you should kinda bounce a little.

UMM NO... Crash into water and you'll stop post haste. Neck jarring and often catastropically.

Skip bombs were rotated backwards at a certain speed to help induce skipping. The bomb would skip into the dam wall and sink to the bottom where it would detonate. The bomb created cracks. Weakening the structure. The water would do the rest.

[Simba]

The one-off Dambuster raid might be beyond the present capabilities of AH - but para-frag delay-fused bombs shouldn't be? Now that would make for fun low-level raids.

[Wagger]

I agree with that whole hardily.  Para Frags for the low flying medium bombers and time delay fuse bombs for the fighters.  Low alt medium bombers in the pacific also did skip bombing.  I'm not exactly sure what type of bomb or delay it used though.

[Martyn]

To simulate a broken dam I guess you'd need a pre-defined sequence of flying chunks of earth/stone, and pouring water. The sequence would start on a succesful hit with a big splash, then proceed showing the dam crumbling away until the sequence stops; where we'd have a partially broken dam and 'pouring' water. The sequence is a bit like a sinking CV, but more elaborate with a different object (the broken dam) at the end of the sequence.

The more I think about it the more technically difficult it seems to be - especially as the Dam Busters only did the job the once.

Still, if they can simulate breaking dams, then maybe they can simulate destroying bridges - like railway bridges and have sequences showing trains plummeting into rivers - hollywood style.   

[RTHolmes]

Skip bombs were rotated backwards at a certain speed to help induce skipping. The bomb would skip into the dam wall and sink to the bottom where it would detonate. The bomb created cracks. Weakening the structure. The water would do the rest.

strictly speaking, the dambusters' bouncing bombs used backspin in order to get range of ~500yds, skip bombing used conventional iron bombs so were dropped ~200ft from the target

[FiLtH]

  I dont think the problem is getting a bomb to bounce as much as the effects of the damage would be. First you need a river. The terrain would have to reflect what damming that river would do. Flooded above the dam, normal river below the dam. Now you whack it with a bomb and breech it, you need animations showing the result of millions of gallons of water pouring forth, receding upstream, and enlarging the river downstream and the flood it would create.

  If people would be happy with hitting the dam and seeing an explosion, maybe even the look of a breeched dam without the upstream water changing,they could do it. But I doubt folks would be happy with that.