Question about puffy ack.

[Gryffin]

Thanks for the reply HT, much appreciated!

As you turn harder the cuboid gets bigger.

Does this imply that reducing your G level below 1 will reduce the cuboid of doom? What happens if I fly through puffy ack at 0 Gs?

[Slash27]

a) because it's just a virtual box around the target plane in which the random explosions appear, no actual projectiles flying through the air and thus no LOS calculations (yet?)

b) because explosions and shrapnel do not differentiate between friend or foe. You get hit, you get hurt. It's just disabled for manned guns for obvious reasons (human behaviour)

It sucks. Have it changed.

[Lusche]

It sucks. Have it changed.

Yes to the LOS thing, but no to a friendly fire damage change

[icepac]

The alternative to this ack is not ever getting hit.

[pervert]

Why does puff ack follow you behind mountains and why does it kill friendly planes?

True this sucks! +1

The problem is puffy ack can end your flight when you are nowhere near the action or a danger to the CV, personally I have been leaving a fight on the CV and been a good bit away and the moment I pop over 3k been killed in the first burst.

Other pointless flak damage includes oil and rad hits when nowhere near the CV it just makes the game more annoying to play as the clock is ticking on your engine dying you have to re-up. I have had situations in the past were I have had 3 flights in a row were I had to bail due to flak damage without ever engaging an enemy, just seems like a waste of time.

[Vinkman]

I'm not sure I can because the above is fairly self evident but Ill try.

The system starts with a fixed dimension cuboid, and randomly creates flack bursts inside.
Your plane is positioned at the center of this cuboid.

As you fly faster that cuboid gets bigger.
As you fly father away the cuboid gets bigger.
As you turn harder the cuboid gets bigger.

There idea that a p51 gets target more is simply insane.
Here is the code that chooses a flacks target.
Note the bbs removed the i index after after the word CollideList

   for(i=0;i<Cnt;++i)
   {
      if(CollideList->ObjectClass == obOC_BAD_GUY_OBJECT ||
         CollideList->ObjectClass == obOC_USER_OBJECT ||
         CollideList->ObjectClass == obOC_USER_DRONE ||
         CollideList->ObjectClass == obOC_WEAPON)
      {
         if(bgclntGetObjectModelType(CollideList) == 32)//Hack for sheep
            continue;

#ifndef syscfgAUTO_TESTING

         if(AutoGun->ParentObject->Country != CollideList->Country)
#endif
         {

            maSUB_POINTS(Vec,AutoPnt,CollideList->Pnt);
            if(fabs(Vec.y) < _MIN_FLAK_ALT)
            {
               continue;
            }

            DistSqr = maVEC_LENGTH_SQR(Vec);
            if(DistSqr < MinDistSqr)
            {
               MinDistSqr = DistSqr;
               NewTargetObject = CollideList;
            }
         }
      }
   }

HiTech

I don't write coode so forgive me trying to read this but, does this mean there is no minimum range for PuffY? i.e. it will shoot at you if you are 500yrds from the ship?  

[Slash27]

The alternative to this ack is not ever getting hit.

Gee what an option. Not being hit by my own ack and losing my 262???? Hhhmm

[GNucks]

I don't write coode so forgive me trying to read this but, does this mean there is no minimum range for PuffY? i.e. it will shoot at you if you are 500yrds from the ship?  

The minimum altitude for puffy is 3K, iirc. If I up to furball against a Naval mission I consider 3000 my ceiling. Puts me at a severe disadvantage if some wise guy decides to get alt on me but that's what makes it fun!  

[Lusche]

Gee what an option. Not being hit by my own ack and losing my 262???? Hhhmm

You also have the same option real world pilots had: Step back and avoid flying into the own ack zone. Or push your attack and take the risk involved. In some way, it's even less risk, as the auto ack will never confuse you with the enemy and deliberately aim for your plane...

[pervert]

Yet again tonight a 25 minute sortie is decided by a random number generator many many miles from a CV complete waste of time, the reason I play this game is I want to compete against humans not some piece of code. If the whole idea is to protect a CV why have it insta kill me when I am no where near it??

[The Fugitive]

Yet again tonight a 25 minute sortie is decided by a random number generator many many miles from a CV complete waste of time, the reason I play this game is I want to compete against humans not some piece of code. If the whole idea is to protect a CV why have it insta kill me when I am no where near it??

If you spent less time "chatting" on 200 and more time maneuvering it would miss you more often! 

[kvuo75]

Yet again tonight a 25 minute sortie is decided by a random number generator

that's pretty much it. I wont even fly a fighter near (5 or 10 miles near) a cv anymore. I wouldn't even care getting killed by manned 5", but wandering momentarily above 3k and taking a hit from your own computer's randomly generated ack is annoying to say the least.  i've suggested before removing the auto-random puffy, but make the resulting 5" guns mannable. it's already essentially ineffective at killing threats to the cv's, so why is it even there? immersion? fine, keep the puffs, just make it do no damage.   

[Vinkman]

that's pretty much it. I wont even fly a fighter near (5 or 10 miles near) a cv anymore. I wouldn't even care getting killed by manned 5", but wandering momentarily above 3k and taking a hit from your own computer's randomly generated ack is annoying to say the least.  i've suggested before removing the auto-random puffy, but make the resulting 5" guns mannable. it's already essentially ineffective at killing threats to the cv's, so why is it even there? immersion? fine, keep the puffs, just make it do no damage.   

I hate the auto Puffy AND the manned flak. Hyper zoom and proximity fuses make the gun too acurate and have resulted in the creation of an historically non-exsistant WWII soldier known as the "Aircraft Super Sniper." This A.S.S. can kill planes beyond con range, on pick off maneuvering fighters at thousands of yards. The A.S.S. creates a death circle around a CV that can change the tide of a battle. CV's can sail so close to a base that a single A.S.S. in a 5" gun can cap the base.

I know this is an attept to give the CV a fighting chance against Bombers and planes, but it ends up ruining every aerial CV launched plane battle.  They all devolve into the carrier planes swirling around a couple of thousand yards off the CV, and the A.S.S.(s) picking off all the land based planes that are trying to have a dog fight/furball. In the end a B-24 flys over and kills the CV to stop it, and the 5" were ineffective at preventing the bomber from sinking the CV...but I always thought that's why 5" flak guns were there.

The Flak Strategy on the CVs needs a re-think. 

[icepac]

I doubt every single pilot knew where all the ack was in WWII.

"Walking on ack" was as random as it is here.

We've got it easy in comparison.

[SlapShot]

I hate the auto Puffy AND the manned flak. Hyper zoom and proximity fuses make the gun too acurate and have resulted in the creation of an historically non-exsistant WWII soldier known as the "Aircraft Super Sniper." This A.S.S. can kill planes beyond con range, on pick off maneuvering fighters at thousands of yards. The A.S.S. creates a death circle around a CV that can change the tide of a battle. CV's can sail so close to a base that a single A.S.S. in a 5" gun can cap the base.

I know this is an attept to give the CV a fighting chance against Bombers and planes, but it ends up ruining every aerial CV launched plane battle.  They all devolve into the carrier planes swirling around a couple of thousand yards off the CV, and the A.S.S.(s) picking off all the land based planes that are trying to have a dog fight/furball. In the end a B-24 flys over and kills the CV to stop it, and the 5" were ineffective at preventing the bomber from sinking the CV...but I always thought that's why 5" flak guns were there.

The Flak Strategy on the CVs needs a re-think. 

Looks as intense back in WWII as we see in game ...



Look at all the flack bursts in this picture (on the left edge of the picture) ...