We discussed it a bit on Discord afterwards, it is tough to analyze due to some of the plans that were used, but some takeaways I had from each frame:
In Frame 1, the IL2s got caught out early on the deck (possibly even over the water?) inbound to their target and were killed much before they arrived. This resulted in all deaths and no hangars. The B-25C's also went in NOE and got to target and dropped everything including the bonus town. However, since they were NOE, they became ducks and were seemingly mopped up. Pretty much the best possible situation for the Axis, the only better thing besides getting to the B-25's before they dropped. Had the IL2s reached target and killed only one hangar, they would have won Frame 1.
In Frame 2, the Ju 88s got in and out early with minimal losses as the attack was stacked with escorts. The defense objective had 1 squad defending it, being KN with 7 people. LCA was supposed to sweep and then fall back to defend with us. The 88s got out and many of the fighters grouped up around the objective in a defensive role. The Allied attack took quite a long time as it was an end-around route, so by the time they made it to target, the Axis had already attacked, got back, rearmed, etc. It also had with it what seemed to be the majority of the fighters as escorts. It was a pretty fun fight over our base, we got onto some of the bombers and the fight got low, then a few minutes later 5 more sets of B-25s came in at altitude and seemed to be relatively unopposed at that point. Again, overall the best case scenario for the Axis. If the Allied attack came early and direct it would've been bad news for us.
In Frame 3, the Ju 87s were able to get much closer to the target before being seen, and were able to get their bombs off and get a few hangars before they got zapped. Escorting them was just KN and Anti Horde, a total of 16 fighters, since most of them . When we ran into the Allies the conga-line of fighters was seemingly endless, we were definitely out-numbered 2 or 3 to 1. Then there were a ton of well-disciplined high P-40s to mop up the Ju 87s. I really don't know how we managed to survive up there, many of our squad died and eventually it was just myself and Perdweeb alive for our squad until a couple Yaks dispatched me to the tower. I don't really think it was all the plane, but I'm not really sure how the attack in the south went, but a decent amount of Ju 88s seem to have died (over 2/3 of them). Had the Ju 87s died prior to dropping, the Allies would have won Frame 3 and the overall score would have been much closer.
Keep in mind I am not pointing out flaws in plans, but just stating how things could've easily gone differently...but that's what makes it fun.
Now onto some changes:
-I really dislike IL2s versus Ju 87s in events because they are extremely different aircraft and hard to balance against each other, but there's no other option for either side as an "attack" aircraft and they were used to heavily by both sides it is tough to dismiss them.
-We thought the use of the C.205 as a MiG-3 sub went fine, it wasn't overpowering but not too underwhelming either. It is the Allies' best performance fighter but lacks the 20mm that the Yak-7b sports. With that said, 2 50's and 2 30's is nothing to laugh at.
-As Devil and Vulcan said, the Yak-9T could be used as a sub and does match well with the 109G2.
-The Town Bonus idea was a late addition, with the close fights we wanted to give the opportunity for some late frame action if the attack pilots wanted something to do, without "requiring" a second sortie per se. We wanted to assign it a point value that would make it worthwhile to attack, but not detrimental to a side if they decided not to go for it, hence not requiring it to be an "after T+60" thing.
IMO the fighter food-chain of this setup is 109G2>Yak-7B>C205>109F>P40E>P40C.
-The 109G2 was clearly the best aircraft in the event, which is why it had a Max on it, possibly too high of a Max, but they were that prevalent in the area.
-I think the Yak-7b is overall the next best fighter, it's nasty when low and slow and packs a punch.
-The C.205 could be better than the Yak, I think it is personal preference. It can hang with the 109G2 better, but the gun pack is a bit less advantageous for snapshots.
-The 109F is very similar to the G2 with the exception of engine power so not much to say there.
-The P-40 is arguably the Allies' best bomber killer with 6 .50s and tons of ammo, and it matches up speed-wise well with the 109F at lower altitudes (12K and below) and dives well, but once slow there isn't much to write home about.
People have been saying they want new or different ideas, rather than the same old same old, so we've been trying to do that. Each event that we have run thus far (that either myself or Perd have admin'd) have been built from the ground up, which safe to say comes with consequences. We are trying new things with objectives, introducing new maps thanks to the Terrain Team, trying new planesets, matchups, and substitutes. But these all come with the stipulation that it just might not work, and if it doesn't work then we must re-evaluate it or not go back to it.
Number balance is something the team has no control over. We have been urging everyone to keep their numbers current as that is one of the main reasons these events stay balanced and fun. Recently we have been putting in the time to track averages (eg. who is on the high or low end of their commitment level), but that doesn't always help.
At what point do we throw away balance for the sake of History? Or History for the sake of balance? Take, for example, early 1944. The P-51 starts to get introduced at squadron strength, but the Axis are still in 190As and early 109Gs until they get their high-altitude fighters in the fall of 1944 (more specifically Oct/Nov/Dec 44). The G-14 can be used as a G-6/AS sub, but even it drops off at 24K, whereas the Allied fighters excel at altitudes higher than this. So there's this large gap in balance from Spring 44 to Fall 44. Usually some corners can be cut and it makes it decent, but doesn't take away from the fact that Axis fighters are simply outclassed for a few months.
It is the same reason we don't do un-escorted B-17s vs. 190s and 410s in 1943 before the Allied escorts could escort that deep into Germany. Historical? Absolutely. Balanced? Absolutely not.
I am, and I'm sure most are, open to ideas to make things better. We do want balance and spend hours mulling (and arguing) over stuff of that nature. Much of the balance can be taken care of with scoring if there are no other options, but that doesn't help an imbalance in the setup itself (eg. we managed to balance a Boston with an SBD and it worked out surprisingly well). With the numbers the way they are, 10 people showing up now is vastly different than 10 people showing up years back. It is much harder to achieve 50/50 splits when a few people swings the balance greatly.
