I am not sure if you ever responded to my philosophy post or to my directed question, Arlo. I assume you mean Aces High's plane list. I think every plane in Aces High has a place in Special Events. However, for some planes, that place is very, very specific. Limitations must be placed on certain aircraft for, what should be, obvious reasons. Let's get hypothetical:
F4U-4 and F4U-1C. I am not sure of the last time these were used in an FSO or Scenario. I can tell you that I do not remember. They do not make their way into events for two reasons: they are extremely good aircraft, better than nearly all others and their role in WWII limits their use in an accurate event. I agree, that every plane can be balanced. 6 Hurris versus 1 K-4 is somewhat balanced, albeit a poor choice of matchup. If I were tasked with fitting these two late beasts into a setup, I would do it. But I would go about it in a very specific way. Let's build an event, perdweeb style.
First, I start with an operation, an event, a mission, a battle, etc. I choose the battle then the planeset, not the other way around. Many designers do it differently, and that is fine. I choose a battle and research all the aircraft used and how many. I then place that in a matchup, or order of battle. I then start whittling that historical OOB into a playable AH event. Once I have the plane set (with or without subs), I can start to build the event. From here, I determine what the aircraft should be doing. Are they defending, attacking, bombing, escorting, scouting, killing tanks, etc.? Once I have figured out what each aircraft will do, it is time to balance it with numbers. I first figure out what the side balance will be (50/50, 53/47, etc.). Then, I determine which planes should be limited based on both the historical OOB as well as that plane's capability compared to its opposition. So, I start with real, actual data and transform it into an event. Rather than building a planeset that is accurate first, then adding history, I start with history and make it balanced. Just a tad different than many designers.
Let's do Okinawa together:
Here is a quick list I compiled of the Allied forces at Okinawa (FAA, USN, USMC):
279 FM-2
325 TBM/TBF
151 SB2C
701 F6F (96 Jabo, 30 to be on island)
565 F4U (192 likely U-4+1C+1D, 96 Jabo)
40 Seafire
9 Firefly
2 Walrus
36 Mariner
Because this is hypothetical, I will forgo the research figuring out the exact number of each type of F4U present. If I really was designing an Okinawa event, I would definitely continue the research to get exact numbers. The same can be said for the Japanese although that information is extremely difficult to find. For simplicity's sake, I would probably do even numbers of Ki-84's and N1K's at minimums of 20 a piece. But, we are here to discuss the Allies. Now, let's whittle that list of stuff down to something we can actually work with.
2108 Total aircraft. 38 of which are seaplanes, so we are down to 2070. Convert that to percentages:
FM-2: 13.5%
TBM: 15.7%
SB2C: 8%
F6F: 33%
F4U: 28%
Seafire: 2%
(Got a little lazy with the decimals, forgive me)
For an FSO, we expect around 130 for an event. Generally speaking, PTO is less popular and yields lower numbers, so to be safe I would shoot for 120. Because the Allies are the only side attacking, usually I would give them the numbers advantage. Maybe that is unnecessary here, but let's do it anyway. Let's say 52/48 on the split. That is 62 pilots that we can expect and therefore 62 airplanes. The Seafire and dive bombers are too low a percentage to include, I think. So, we take them out. Some designers like to leave them in there as an option, but I do not see the point often times. We can't have 6 types for only 6 squadrons. That becomes a logistical Gordian Knot, so we need to keep the type count down to around 4 if we can help it. That leaves us with F6F, F4U, TBM, and FM-2. If we apply the same percentages we are looking at:
FM-2: 8
TBM: 10
F6F: 20
F4U: 17
This is not 62, so we can add some to which ever type we think needs it. If it were me, I'd go with less TBM's and more FM-2's or F4U's. So let's make that change and get to 62:
FM-2: 12
TBM: 8
F6F: 20
F4U: 22
These are the numbers we will work with in hopes of achieving. The issue is the F4U. Without the facts, it is difficult to place a number on them. Let's keep it hypothetical and claim that there were equal numbers of F4U-4 and F4U-1C. Let's go one step further and claim they numbered half the F4U's total, which seems too large a number to me. But, my research would eventually lead me to the answer, but I don't want to spend more than the 90 minutes I have already spent on this single post.
FM-2:12
TBM: 8
F6F: 20
F4U-1D: 12
F4U-1C: 6
F4U-4: 6
This is what I finish with. These are the ideal numbers as history and balance would have them (sort of). There is more to do. Of the 20 F6F's, at least 4 of them should be bombing. The 1C and -4 should also be bombing. For this situation, I think I would allow the F6F's to be all fighters so that the F4U's can carry the bombs. Another issue is the number of plane types. 6 is too many, so I would weigh removing one of the two late beasts or removing the 1D. Let's do that:
FM-2: 16
TBM: 8
F6F: 26
F4U-1C: 6
F4U-4: 6
I removed the 1D's and distributed those people to the FM-2 and F6F. Now that I have a decent looking set, I can balance. Some may say that the set is not quite good enough and others will say it is way too good. I think, so long as the -4 and 1C are required to bomb as they were doing in 1945, it is fine. They would be Jabo only and each maxed at 6. This way they are included, they are accurate in their inclusion, and there are not enough of them to make it an unplayable arena. But, these limitations must be placed because they will not be facing Spit 16's, Yak-3's, K-4's, Dora's, and Tempests. They will be facing Ki-84's and N1K's. This is how I would use them in an event if I had to and I think it would be fine. My final product would look like this:
Allies (52%) Axis (48%)
FM-2 (min 12) Ki-84 (min 20)
TBM (min 8) N1K (min 20)
F6F
F4U-1C (max 6)
F4U-4 (max 6)
F4U's must carry ordnance and make attacks on objectives by T+60.
That is basically how I attack a design. I run ideas past people along the way and even ask for help researching quite often. Every airplane has a place, but some airplanes are included incorrectly which then saps some fun out of people's experiences. But, with logic, understanding, and cleverness, any airplane can play a historically accurate role in an event.
