jet engines, and debris.

[Crash Orange]

It is modeled That is called getting hit by ack.  Either you are hit or not. It shouldn't matter if a piece of steel hits a prop or a jet It is going to eff crap up.

Right next to the puff, yes, but those fragments quickly slow down to the point where they don't have enough KE to do much damage by themselves. The game doesn't model every little fragment or what happens to them outside the effective damage radius of the ack burst, but they have to go somewhere. At 300mph one little free-falling fragment might crack the canopy or ding the airframe if you happen to run into it, but that's not enough velocity for it to do serious damage. If it gets into the jet engine, it's another matter, because the turbine has its own kinetic energy which is why something like a pigeon can shred one on a bad day. I don't know what would happen if your prop hit it; it doesn't take much to cause a nasty vibration, but a prop is going to be sturdier and slower-moving than a jet turbine.

I would imagine the same holds true for empty brass: it isn't going to hurt the airframe if you run into it, but it could be serious trouble for a jet engine.

However, I don't think the game suffers for lack of modeling the pure bad luck of flying into very scattered debris.

[gyrene81]

Nothing is random, it's physics. Bullet is fired from one spot at the certain speed speed, altitude, and distance, it hits the prop (or what ever) at a certain spot, bases on that specific prop, and speed that it's moving at it might simply depart the airplane (and hit something else on it's way) or just take damage.

there is your randomness right there...projectile hitting a prop blade does not have an exact result...the result is a random event.

ever notice that hits produce either exact damage or none at all? hit the top of a cylinder head with a .30 cal round, depending on velocity and angle of deflection, it may nor may not cause damage to the engine...if it deflects, it could exit the cowling, or bounce around inside the compartment, maybe hit a fuel line or wire...whatever it hits while it's bouncing around, it may or may not cause damage...that is the randomness.

just from my observation, an engine hit produces 1 of 2 results...oil leak, or engine dies...no engine fire, no rough running from a blown cylinder, no electrical malfunctions.


maybe random was the wrong word to use...perhaps variables would have been proper...there aren't a lot of variables to the damage system. that sound better?

perhaps a wish for more extensive damage variables is in order...broken gun sight, damaged gauges, engine fire, electrical malfunction, prop damage, etc...etc..etc..