Balance.
I'm going to take one final pass at this.
Starting fields.
Allied Order of Battle.
Aircraft are enabled at a5 (Bone), a65 (Youkes les Bains), and a13 (Constantine). Also, fighters and attack aircraft are enabled at v95 -- note that takeoffs from there can be tricky.
Allies have A13, a field that is never near an active target
Axis Order of Battle.
Aircraft are enabled at a1 (Tunis), a66 (Bizerte), and a7 (Sousse)
Axis have no fields that are not targets, or in one frame A66 is a fraction of a sector away from an active target, so they are perpetually attacked and the attacking forces can instantly cap.
Balanced Field Locations?
Target areas are widely spaced, not concentrated. In a focused, targeted set up, you set the battle conditions to a limited style, forcing the teams to fight head to head, and concentrate their defense at the same time.
In a wider field of battle, you allow for several possibilities. One side can pile everything then have into a single flight, and push through like a wrecking ball. The design suggests that there is much to cover and defend, and if one side opts to go in as a single wing, it will walk over the fragmented forces it meets on the way. If both sides go for the wrecking ball approach, it is in each sides favor to avoid the fight and just race track a path of destruction over targets. Fight avoided, not much fun. If the sides were to engage, it's a great deal of fun, except when each side has the same amount of fighters and bombers, but one side has an overwhelming advantage in the guns those bombers have. Put a formation of B17s and Allied Bombers against a formation of JU88s and notice a bit of a coverage gap.
Unbalanced.
Now consider that the B17s et al are so well gunned that the Allies can afford to strip off more fighters from defense and put them on Attack. They can now put a few more out to hunt the Axis bombers, letting the Allied bombers more easily get by with fewer escorts, tipping the fights balance yet again. The Axis now have to put more fighters on the escort duty for the 88s leaving fewer fighters to defend their fields, putting the stronger 17s over the target with escorts and guns. Chances of hitting the target are greater.
Brooke, I've been harping on counting stuff like this for years, you know I do, why don't you see this?
Concentrate the fight to closer targets, force the fight to be head to head and make them fight their way through to the target without providing the ability for one side to take advantage of breaking their flights apart while breaking the flights limits the other side. Get rid of the free ride air field for the Allies and make their launch fields under attack and perpetually capped just like the Axis fields are. And don't just count bombs but count ordinance and make sure each side has the same chance to get to their targets and defend themselves. Then, if you can't make the JU88s as self sufficient at the B17s, you put more guns around them, not draft a design that effectively strips them away.
This isn't a complaint about the Axis, this is pointing out balance, I don't care which side it is. There is more to this than counting bombs and counting objects, you need to move out of the calculations and get into a full visualization of the event and fly it in your mind. It is not balanced so that each side has the same opportunity to succeed. You can have an advantage to the Allies, but there has to be a corresponding advantage the Axis also have to exploit. Each side is supposed to have an obstacle to overcome and an exploit to make it happen. One side here does not have an exploit. Each condition, wrecking ball approach, divide and conquer, heavy escort with stealthy attack runs, each plays to the strength of one side. You provided no advantage to the Axis to cause the Allies to consider that they have a problem to solve.
The Axis have every launch field capped by the target objectives. The Allies have an open field. The Allies can take advantage of an open field because the Axis must strip pilots from the target fields in order to cap 13. The Allies never have to strip fighters from the objectives because all of the Axis fields are within the target areas or targets themselves.
The Allies have a better ability to self defend their bombers by the gun configurations, meaning they have more guns on the enemy, but the bomber and fighter allocations are exactly the same. The 88s do not have the field of fire the Allied planes have, so they must place more escorts on the bombers to gain the same level of defense. In a B17 you have virtually a wall of defense around the entire plane with one person. In a JU88 you need an escort to help cover the same area. You have to consider this stuff when you design an event. You have to fly every plane, in every mission. You know this, and I know for a fact you have not done it with this one. I've seen your work for 20 years, this is not what you know how to do.
What exactly is the Axis advantage the Allies need to attempt to overcome? Now, you know me, I've already flown this event mentally from both sides, planned missions, how would I beat the Allies, how would I beat the Axis, you know I have. It's not ready.
Set the objectives up for each side so that it takes advantage of their strengths. Put objectives at locations that breaks up the advantage the Allies have in bomber defensive capability so that if they chose to capitalize on their strength, it costs them the ability to hit all of the targets, make each work for their successes, but also reward them and allow them to actually have an advantage that causes the other side to sacrifice one of their strengths to over come it.
I'm also going to ask you one more question, and you know I already know the answer. The flight time between launches and attacks. Did you look at launch, battle, return home, and does it fit into the one hour launch window? Sure would suck to get back to base an hour and 10 minutes after you launch. Would be so much better to be back, round trip, including time in fight, in say, 50 minutes so there is time to refill coffee and snack trays. You need to consider it's 12 hours, 5 minute launch window on the hour, just make sure you are giving them time to refresh each hour, some might make it 2 or 3 missions but the window for refreshing has to be there. Pace it, you have a long day ahead of you, so do they.
At this point, I know how I'd plan the Axis attack and in order to win, not simply be fodder for 12 hours and "hang in there, be tough Axis, we know you can do it", it would not be a head to head engagement and that simply wouldn't be any fun for anyone.
