Ok, so we get a shiny new He-111. The EW and MW and AvA guys (all 150 or so them) are thrilled, along with the FSO guys.
For the remaining players (and the majority in terms of population) in the LW arenas, she's a novelty for a little while then is relegated to Hanger Queen status.
Nothing against the aircraft - but that's sadly the bitter truth.
Where we're at - at this point in time - is finding an option for a new aircraft with a useful purpose that offers some survivability in the LW arena. It doesn't have to be an uber-plane, but it does have to do something slightly better than what we already have. The new Mossie carries a big bomb and goes really fast - there's your edge. An A-26 Invader will do the exact same thing the A-20 already does, but it would do it faster and with fighter-like qualities once light. A worthwhile argument, along with lots of other aircraft on our lists.
GVs - yes, this is a flying game. But GV and ground operations are still a critical part of this game, and appear (at least to me anyway) to be growing in popularity. Its part of the evolution of a battle in AH. Someone rolls a GV, a plane takes off to find GV, someone ups a plane to counter the other plane, and before we know it, we have a full-fledged battle of tanks and aircraft on our hands (which, iirc, is what we want, right?).
There are also several other factors to consider. Why isn't torpedo bombing popular? Because its suicide most of the time, auto-ack and 5" guns don't allow you to get close enough to the CV group in most cases. Its also because we've determined that diving in with a P-47 from 10K is a better option, or Lanctarding. So there's no reason then to add a Swordfish or SB2C, or Jill or Kate or Val - because there's other aircraft that can do the same thing - better. So how do we compensate to make these aircraft viable options in AH? Reduce the effectiveness of ack? Change the loadout options on the fighters to reduce their jabo-ability? Any of those suggestions will draw the ire of the members of this board.
Second is the limited aspect of the game at this point - we don't have any reason to pick up downed players, so there's no reason for light aircraft or floatplanes, Piper Cubs or PBYs. The Kawanishi Rex is probably the only aircraft we could justify as a floatplane fighter in LW, but you have to jettison your float in order to be competitive against Ponys and Spits and LAs. The Rufe might be a decent idea in EW/MW, but unless the aircraft has a defined purpose (which the Rufe doesn't), no one will use it.
The same holds true for artillery - unless we have the ability to target a base or town with accurate artillery fire, its not necessarily going to be more effective than an M4 with HE rounds. The ability to target from the air, something we don't have, would justify the ability to have a Storch, Piper, or Auster AOP. Unless there's a perk process involved with using those aircraft for that purpose, most people aren't going to fly them.
With regards to GVs, there always has to be a hierarchy on the battlefield. Right now, its the Tiger. Its the hardest thing to kill, or at least its supposed to be. So we introduce the Panther - comparable to the Tiger overall scope. Its 75mm gun has a faster muzzle velocity and straighter trajectory, its more maneuverable than a Tiger in terms of speed, faster turret traverse, and if we factored in mechanical reliability, it would be superior to the Tiger I. The Tiger was feared because of its 88, not necessarily because of us its armor (although that was certainly a strong contributing factor to its reputation).
Unfortunately, staying alive in AH is not a priority as it was in real life - so shooting a Tiger in your M8 or WW is going to continue, regardless. So we want something to kill the Tiger - an M-18 can do that - but sacrifices armor protection for speed. That makes for a valid argument, but so would an M-36, M4A3E8, etc.
An SdKfz with a 40mm field gun might be useful for town killing - but no one uses the 251 at this point in the game for that. So perhaps we look at an SdKfz 250/9 with a 20mm gun for AA protection, a smaller, faster target with a decent punch against aircraft. Using it for troop hauling is moot - its smaller than the M3 and only 2mph faster (47mph vs. 45mph for M3), so it has to serve a specific purpose - its as fast as the M16 - meaning you get there faster than a WW, but only carries a single gun. Does that constitute a balance worth implementing into the game? This opens the argument for a recon tank - useful for taking down AA and ATG at a base prior to the tanks arriving. Yes, we have the M8, but an M3/M5 or M-24 would offer better survivability against base ack or soft guns. Even an 8-Rad would be useful, basically an overgrown M8, but with all sorts of weapons to add - 20mm, 50mm, and 75mm guns. Speed versus armor versus firepower...not a bad idea if you're considering balance of gameplay.
Adding additional GVs at this point gives us more options - but still keeps us within the boundaries of something we already have - just in a different colored box. Adding in the JS-2 and King Tiger and Pershing would raise the bar, but they'll require serious perking since the overwhelming types of vehicles on the battlefield at this point are M4s, T-34/85s and Panzers. Tank destroyers offer the ability to kill more effectively - but unless there's a perceived benefit of survivability - such as a low profile - making it harder to see and hit, finding that balance will be problematic.
