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General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: 99molly on December 13, 2002, 02:13:10 PM

Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: 99molly on December 13, 2002, 02:13:10 PM
I hate to say it , but bombers are little more than useless
window dressing in this game. Gotta go in so low your little
more then fighter bait, and even at that alt. you can do
little more than carpet bomb. I remember a day when bomb-
ing and bomber hunting served a purpose in this game.
Now there something you go after if you have nothing
else to shoot at.
 Tell you what tho., if we kept formations and added the old
bomb site do think people would fly em to do more tham keep up their rankings.Do you think they would be part of the game
again. What could  be done with em when your  team is
outnumbered.
 Actually I was just on a run at 13,500 feet,got clobered by
an n1k and wanted to vent. been nice to be at 20 and have
made him work for it .
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: Mickey1992 on December 13, 2002, 02:19:15 PM
Bombers are currently frustrating.  However, with the bomber damage bug fixed and new strat targets coming in the next version, I predict you will see many more bombers than before.

I disagree with you point about only being able to carpet bomb.  With good calibration, I can still pick off a GV from 15K with one salvo.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: Chairboy on December 13, 2002, 02:19:28 PM
I don't get it, I can bomb with almost the same accuracy as before.  The trick is learning how to calibrate.  

The only beef I have about the new bombing model now that I've leared how to use it is the AR-234.  

Here was the deal:

HTC will give you a formation of 3 bombers instead of one.  

To avoid making the bombers three times as effective, we will use this new bomb sight.

So far, ok.  A three bomber formation is now as lethal as the old one bomber setups with the laser site.

My beef:

The AR-234, however, costs 3X as much to fly now, even though it is only as effective as it was before.  What's the deal?
Title: Re: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: whels on December 13, 2002, 02:24:43 PM
Quote
Originally posted by 99molly
I hate to say it , but bombers are little more than useless
window dressing in this game. Gotta go in so low your little
more then fighter bait, and even at that alt. you can do
little more than carpet bomb. I remember a day when bomb-
ing and bomber hunting served a purpose in this game.
Now there something you go after if you have nothing
else to shoot at.
 Tell you what tho., if we kept formations and added the old
bomb site do think people would fly em to do more tham keep up their rankings.Do you think they would be part of the game
again. What could  be done with em when your  team is
outnumbered.
 Actually I was just on a run at 13,500 feet,got clobered by
an n1k and wanted to vent. been nice to be at 20 and have
made him work for it .



sorry but i can hit almost everything i aim at in buff
and i dont buff alot. Buffing is harder but not as impossible as
most make it out.

whels
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: Curval on December 13, 2002, 02:28:07 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Chairboy
I don't get it, I can bomb with almost the same accuracy as before.  The trick is learning how to calibrate.  


Yup...I couldn't hit anything and couldn't figure it out...my biggest problem was holding the key down for 2 seconds when calibrating, try for at least 5-10 seconds.  First time I did this I scored hits BIG TIME.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: AtmkRstr on December 13, 2002, 02:28:17 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Chairboy
The AR-234, however, costs 3X as much to fly now, even though it is only as effective as it was before.  What's the deal? [/B]

Arn't bomber perks still useless?
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: Revvin on December 13, 2002, 02:29:53 PM
Got some nice shots of mission targets visited by No.9 at 15-20k all on target. Bombing is not hard at all it just takes practice. Strat targets the way they are set now make bombing strat targets a little futile which is strange because this is suppossed to be what HTC want heavy bombers to do but my squad still has fun every week as do those who tag along with us.

Quote
and even at that alt. you can do
little more than carpet bomb


This is how it's suppossed to be, the days of laser guided bombs are thankfully behind us. In RL bombers could not pick off AA guns a 20,000ft
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: SirLoin on December 13, 2002, 02:33:38 PM
I agree..Bombers are now very frustrating...The bombing model is now ahead of game strat...The strat in 1.11 from what I've read,will even this out.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: Wotan on December 13, 2002, 03:17:54 PM
If you looked at the new terrain editor the strat obj are different now. As for you not being able to hit anything well that takes practice. Several guys posted how to guides and I am sure several would help ya out.

To make bombers a viable part of the main would take a whole rethink on the reset trigger. Strat even if it were tweaked is out of play for the most part due to the 50 man base rape land grabs.

It makes strat a waste of time in terms of how it impacts the main. Airfields have also been easier suppressed and taken by fighter-bombers and attack planes.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: 2Slow on December 13, 2002, 03:33:36 PM
I prefer the carpet bomb mode.  It is very RL.  The frustration is the hardness of targets.  A single 1000 lb bomb will destroy any hanger in RL.  Should do the same in AH.

I would have no problem salvoing all bombs on one run, if one could count on target kills.

I do salvo all when striking cities or towns.  6 of us with B17 formations can destroy a city in one strike setting salvo to all and adjusting the delay to get a good dispersal.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: gatso on December 13, 2002, 03:44:32 PM
Mollydog my friend.  :D Nice to see you in this place of disrepute :)

We need to spend some time practising, Give us a shout next time I'm on and I'll sort ya out. It is possible to pinpoint bomb from 25k. A bit of planning needed and you need to be unharrased by fighters.

Couple of good things BUFF related coming in the next version as announced by HT in the last news post:

Drones no longer get the last of the damage on the lead plane when it died.

Adjusted factory and city down times.
Cities are now down for 3 hours.
Factories are 3 hours.
Player supplies now provide 15 minutes of down time.
Convoys & Trains supply 30 mins.

Terrains have been reworked with lager cities and factory complexes with denser objects.

Fixed a CTD bug related to bomber groups.


Gatso
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: rod367th on December 13, 2002, 03:55:29 PM
Bombing is simple. killing HQ from 30k is easy killing a city in 2 passes is a snap. Have killed 2 cv's in one sortie. and have landed 5 kills in b17.



 secret is SPEED,SPEED,Speed


 You must be at level flight max level speed and door s open before u cailibrate.

 Took a squadie up for his first bombrun ever he got 14 buildings in city 1st pass. and he had never flown a bomber before.


 Read post BOMBING 101. It goes thru steps on how to calibrate right every time. Includes how to turn bombers using rudders only so u don't lose formation bombers.



 and any time any one wants bombing lesson just ask if u see me on. takes 5 mins to learn.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: icemaw on December 13, 2002, 04:10:34 PM
I have figured out the new bombsight and I can hit targets. I have made the calibration process an exacting science. The thing that bothers me is I calibrate exacly the same way every time.  With speed and direction stabilized for at least a sector. But I still miss a great deal of the time. When I am on target I hit perfect dead center I can salvo 1 egg and hit targets. However when I am not on target I hit long every time about the same distance every time. The other night on the AK map I noticed we had some very bad connect problems. I flew 4 bomber sorties at least 4 passes on each sortie. I missed long on every pass. I calibrated the same way. When I missed I recalibrated the same way and missed with every egg. I had to log and go do something. When I came back about 2 hours later the connection problem was gone. Again I flew multiple sorties with multiple passes on each sortie and I hit every thing I dropped on. When I hit a target on the first pass I do not recalibrate as long as I dont change alt or drop on another target with a differt target alt I will hit with every bomb with out calibrating again.

  So it seems for me anyways that connection issues effect my bombing accuracy. If I have terrible lag I hit long if I have a good connect I hit targets. I dont know if this is in fact true that it does effect bombing accuracy but from my own observations it seems to.

 One other thing that bothers me is the wind I have no problem coming in below 14k on sea level bases or even bases below 8k. But on the AK map with bases at 12k 13k I thing the wind layer should be much higher say 20 25k. Its one thing having to defend against fighters. It is another thing all together to have to defend against fighters while taking hits from the base ack.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: Pongo on December 13, 2002, 05:43:31 PM
Close as I can tell Ice you just have to be pointing EXACTLY at the point of impact when you calibrate, almost any figiting in the gun sight at all makes bombs drop short or long. Thats why towns are such good targets right now. You can carpet them with a string of 4 1ks from any direction and take the town pretty much flat.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: gatso on December 13, 2002, 05:50:45 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Pongo
Close as I can tell Ice you just have to be pointing EXACTLY at the point of impact when you calibrate,


In my experience, Above the wind, yes it helps. Multiple calibrations with course changes in beween help a great deal.

Below any wind and as long as your speed and height don't change your OK for minor course changes made from the bombsite.

Gatso
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: whels on December 13, 2002, 06:23:13 PM
Quote
Originally posted by rod367th
Bombing is simple. killing HQ from 30k is easy killing a city in 2 passes is a snap. Have killed 2 cv's in one sortie. and have landed 5 kills in b17.



 secret is SPEED,SPEED,Speed


 You must be at level flight max level speed and door s open before u cailibrate.

 Took a squadie up for his first bombrun ever he got 14 buildings in city 1st pass. and he had never flown a bomber before.


 Read post BOMBING 101. It goes thru steps on how to calibrate right every time. Includes how to turn bombers using rudders only so u don't lose formation bombers.



 and any time any one wants bombing lesson just ask if u see me on. takes 5 mins to learn.



constant speed is probably the biggest factor in most people missing targets. id bet most calib then open doors, or hit full throttle and start calib right away. it takes long period of time for
the bombers speed to level out. Bombbay doors open or closed
effect speed.  

what i do speed wise now is, when im ready to calib, i open doors 1st, set auto pilot level toward target. then i zoom in on speedometer so i can see the needle move easier. i then decrees
throttle till i see needle show slowing down then i advance throttle till it stops decreesing or shows speeding up slightly.
then wait a min or 2 to let it get steady.

1 other major factor. line up to where u want to drop as best as u can before u calib, as any large amount of moving the plane side to side after calib is done can throw aim off also.


whels
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: bj229r on December 13, 2002, 06:31:16 PM
in a 17 group i can take out a pair of FH's at 20k with a dead-east or west drop with a 4 salvo about 3 tries out of 4..but to second what Icemaw said..there is some wierd crap about the short-long thing---I always cal the same way..and all of a sudden i was ALWAYS falling short by about 2 hangar lengths..no explanation...when i would allow for that..fluff'n things naturally fly correctly and go long (this applies to under 14k as well)-- I DID notice one thing I was doing that affected adversely--along with holding the Y key down for 5-10 seconds instead of 2..also need wait same amount of time to hit the U key to END calibration...also..while in F6 mode..pushing stick dead-left or right (no rudder) doesnt seem have much negative effect..as long as not within last 10 seconds or so of drop
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: 99molly on December 13, 2002, 07:14:29 PM
1 question, when isthe last time you went out bomber hunting.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: whels on December 13, 2002, 09:52:43 PM
Quote
Originally posted by 99molly
1 question, when isthe last time you went out bomber hunting.



every day i kill Buffs, b17s Lancs,26s. all kinds


whels
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: ET on December 13, 2002, 10:11:35 PM
I used to fly a B26 constantly to kill fuel.ammo barracks and radar at bases we were being attacked from. Never went in for 30K runs with Lancs. I agree with the fighter guys who complained that one 30K Lanc. should not be able to kill all the fighter hangers at a small or medium field. In a B26, on medium fields you had to focus on fuel or ammo etc. You could not kill it all. Small fields you could get it all. Average altitude was 18K. I think I spent 90% of my time in the B26.

Some of the best times were when fighters came up to stop you. One tour, #19, I got 259 kills with it. Thats pure brag. I never took a gunner. I did once but he Alt-F4ed without telling me and I got porked by a easy kill on my six.

Now I can calibrate and go out on some bomb runs but when on 1 map I can hit every thing I go for, the next map with same calibration,I'm long or short. Haven't figured that out yet

I very seldom take formations. Why give fighters 2 easy kills. If I do take a formation I bail the drones after the drop. I can fight better that way. The drone guns never seem to hit anything anyway. I hope this gets corrected. Since the formations went in, buff guns in them seem a lot weaker. I think the kill ratio of buffs by fighters has doubled since formations came in. The same buff drivers suddenly lost the ability to shoot.

The targets right now for buffs are almost meaningless. Why bother taking the time. I hope this has been corrected in new release.

So I spend a lot of my time now on Jabo runs and playing with the A20. Sometimes I furball trying to protect a base or attacking one but that gets old quick.

Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: rod367th on December 14, 2002, 01:45:48 AM
Whels what works for me being same speed is before i level off i go into a dive get b17s to 205mph and lancs to 220. this way always on target.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: GPreddy on December 14, 2002, 01:57:26 AM
Whine city. Bombers dont have a time constraint so learn to bomb from 30k plus and you wont die. I will never chase a bomber that high but anything under 20k or so is a valid target. Above that alt and it just isnt worth it to me.

You cant hit anything with your buff? Thats interesting because I see guys bomb even a turning cv. I dont seem to have a problem hittiing what I bomb. no bombers are not out of the game their just not for the whiners.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: fullback on December 14, 2002, 05:02:55 AM
I think the great part of AH is that many times it makes you think.
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: Gwjr2 on December 14, 2002, 02:06:00 PM
Ive hit the same stuff from 27k still so if you have a few that have a clue or drop on cmd with others its still easy.
GW
Title: Bombers,Your outta the game
Post by: ALF on December 14, 2002, 02:12:36 PM
Bombers are more effective against hangars now that they were before (because of the formations extra tonage)....just takes skill and practice now (kinda like fighters).

Check out my tutorial for help!