Tighten the leash on drones

[Saxman]

Can we PLEASE get the leash on drones tightened? Last night I was up chasing down a formation of Lancasters, and the pilot was in a dive over 300mph with HARD maneuvering, and never ONCE lost one of his drones that way.

As Krusty pointed out in another thread, the fact that MOST Buffs in the game(yes, I know some of you reduce power for accuracy, but 99.99999999999999999999999999 999999999% are running full-out) are frequently operating at speeds WELL above their historical cruising speeds at altitude (RL buffs did NOT run at full throttle the whole way to target!) gives them TOO much of an advantage against fighters. By the time you're positioned for your attack, that formation of B-24s has already slipped right past you and now you can either take 20 minutes getting ahead of him or dive on his tail to get slaughtered. The way I've seen guys maneuver with drones is just insane.

Buffs already have formations, laser bomb sights and on guy aiming 30 guns at one target. Can we PLEASE but a speed limit on drones? Anything over 225-250mph and they pop?

[Speed55]

I'd also like to see a speed limit for effective bombing.  
Maybe a deterrent would be, anything faster than 250mph, and you wouldn't be able to calibrate at all?

A text could pup up in orange like the don't move your controls so rapidly.

Bombadier to pilot, cannot calibrate over 250mph.

[Stoney74]

Originally posted by Saxman
Can we PLEASE get the leash on drones tightened? Last night I was up chasing down a formation of Lancasters, and the pilot was in a dive over 300mph with HARD maneuvering, and never ONCE lost one of his drones that way.

This I agree with.  Only the Blue Angels can make these types of maneuvers work--nothing worse than Lancs that Split-S and don't lose their drones.

As Krusty pointed out in another thread, the fact that MOST Buffs in the game(yes, I know some of you reduce power for accuracy, but 99.99999999999999999999999999 999999999% are running full-out) are frequently operating at speeds WELL above their historical cruising speeds at altitude (RL buffs did NOT run at full throttle the whole way to target!)...

Let me re-write this into another true statement.  "...the fact that MOST fighters in the game (yes, I know some of you reduce power for [fuel conservation], but [99%] are running full-out) are frequently operating at speeds WELL above their historical cruising speeds at altitude (RL fighters did NOT run at full throttle the whole way to target!)...

Ask a German fighter pilot if U.S. bombers were easy targets that lumbered along at slow speeds.  Someone in another thread about German interceptor tactics posted an article stating that they could only count on 100 mph TAS rate of closure in a tail chase.  This is consistent with those situations you find in this game.  Discipline, patience, and smart tactics are the only solution.

[Blooz]

Stop trying to win the war all by yourself and get a few friends together to attack the buff formation all at once.

Three heavy bombers getting cannon fire from six or eight fighters wouldn't stand a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u-I0D9ReqI

[Saxman]

Actually there WERE three or four of us attacking the same formation. It has nothing to do with the fighter tactics involved because the entire Lanc formation was able to dive to over 300mph and continue turning (and pretty hard turns at that!) to prevent us from gaining any positioning other than a tail chase.

If Buffs are going to have laser bomb sights, the two drones AND have one guy able to control all 30 guns of the formation, then at the very LEAST code the drones so that if the player exceeds cruise speed he loses his drones to cut out that sort of evading. Maybe individual bombers could and did do it during the war, but you wouldn't see an entire formation nose down and weaving hard to try and throw off attacking fighters.

[Stoney74]

Originally posted by Saxman
then at the very LEAST code the drones so that if the player exceeds cruise speed he loses his drones to cut out that sort of evading.

The screw-ball maneuvering is one thing, and the speed is another.  If your definition of "exceeds cruise speed" means "during a split-s into a 400 mph dive", then I agree with you.  If your definition of "exceeds cruise speed" means when running wide open throttle while level, I have to vehemently disagree.