Fuel

[Furious]

My useless opinion...


Precondition: Get rid of % of fuel available at a base as it exists now and have pilots choose number of gallons of fuel to take.  

1.  A base has X gallons of fuel.

2.  Each base would be capable of being in a surplus condition during which everyone could take 100% fuel.  Once any fuel bunker is hit, this condition ceases.

3.  Each pilot is allowed to take a maximum fuel load based on the % of total fuel available at a base. i.e., if the AF has 7,000 gallons of fuel available out of a total of 10,000 gallons and your plane can hold a maximum of 100 gallons, then you could take 70 gallons maximum at that time.  

4.  Each plane lifting off subtracts its fuel load from the total available.

5.  Each destroyed fuel bunker reduces available fuel.

6.  Each and every convoy that makes it to the base increases available fuel by some amount of gallons.  Player resupply increases fuel availability as does the standard regenning but to a much slower extent.

7.  Increase number of fuel producing centers.  Damage to fuel factories decrease fuel load brought by each convoy.

8.  Use perk points to pay your crew chief to be a sneaky bastard and steal you some extra fuel.


adjust timing and amounts as necessary.

[rshubert]

1.  Instead of starting the fuel rationing when the base is attacked, do it that way all the time.  Use the supply convoys to rebuild capacity.  Adjust the amount of fuel per convoy based on fuel factory status, etc. just as you posted.
2.  How would you handle drop tanks?
3.  Don't limit the amount of fuel available to each pilot, but the amount of fuel available total.  The effect of your original post is to recreate the same situation we have now, and that's what the furballers want to avoid.  The effect of doing it this way would limit the number of planes that can take off, rather than the load each plane could carry (up to a certain total fuel usage, of course).

[Furious]

1.  Instead of starting the fuel rationing when the base is attacked, do it that way all the time.  Use the supply convoys to rebuild capacity.  Adjust the amount of fuel per convoy based on fuel factory status, etc. just as you posted.

Under surplus conditions there would be no need to ration.

2.  How would you handle drop tanks?

A pilot would have available to him X amount of fuel, where he chooses to put it is up to him.

3.  Don't limit the amount of fuel available to each pilot, but the amount of fuel available total.  The effect of your original post is to recreate the same situation we have now, and that's what the furballers want to avoid.  The effect of doing it this way would limit the number of planes that can take off, rather than the load each plane could carry (up to a certain total fuel usage, of course).

The method I used does two things...

First, it does not penalize aircraft with smaller fuel capacity like our current method.  How many gallons is 25% of a p51d's internal fuel stores compared to a Fw190a5?

Second, it gives the bomber guys a useful and important target to hit.  It also makes convoy interdiction a valid mission for the jabo guys.

Put some AI m16's or some such with the convoys and put an AF near every strat target.

Also, I did not state this earlier, but I think that the make up of fuel bunkers at an AF should be changed.  Only a small portion should be above ground, and therefore straffable with guns, the rest should be in-ground and hardened only being destroyed by 500-1000 pounds of bombs.

[rshubert]

We're back to "make the fuel harder to kill" again.

That's the only real change your improvement would make, since there is ABSOLUTELY no difference in the amount of fuel available to each plane under your "improved" system.  It's simple math.  Here's an example.


Assumption:  P51 holds 500 gallons, spit holds 100 gallons (both incorrect, but useful for example)
Fuel at base is 75% of 10000 gallons max, or 7500 gallons
Fuel can be porked to 0%

Current Method:
P51 can take .75 x 500, or 375 gallons.
Spit can take .75 X 100, or 75 gallons.
Fuel left after both up is 75% of infinity, or infinity.

Your Method:
P51 can take .75 X 500, or 375 gallons.  
P51 can take .75 X 100, or 75 gallons.
Fuel left at base after both up is 7050 gallons.

My Method:
P51 can take 500 gallons.
Spit can take 100 gallons.
Fuel left at base after both up is 6900 gallons.

The effect of your system is to keep the fuel penalty in place for all pilots, and eventually reduce the field fuel supply to zero.  This will piss off the furballers, since they are penalized both ways.  The strat guys won't mind, however, except maybe the vulching wouldn't be as good.  

The effect of my system is to allow all pilots to use whatever fuel load they think is appropriate, up to the limit of fuel available on the field.  That will make the furballers happy, since they can use enough fuel to get to the furball, and won't affect the strat guys too much, since the base can be porked for capture.

[Furious]

You are correct, my system is the same as the current system, but with more percentages.  That was an error on my part.

What I should have said is that unless there is a surplus condition, X gallons of fuel are available for each individual flight.  X number of gallons may translate to having a 30% fuel load in p51 or 100% in an La5.




But the more I type, the less I seem to care, so...

I am gonna leave it up to Pyro.