more F4Fs

[surfinn]

The biggest variant is not in the airframe,it remained pretty consistant through the F4F series (martlet) its in the engine and gun packages.

[ImADot]

So what you're saying is someone is more apt to not subscribe because there are only 2 F4F's or only 5 P47's and wouldn't care that half the planes are blocky-looking and obviously lacking compared to others?

[surfinn]

I'm not into marketing dot
I'm saying you either like the game because of the community or you don't.
I'm saying I would like a certain type of ac to fill the gaps in the FSO and other scenarios and as you are a very diligent FSO player you should know what I'm talking about.
Hell as far as I'm concerned my request has nothing to do what so ever with marketing or bringing new players to the game, its a request from a existing customer (bird in the hand).

[HighTone]

I would be up for more F4F's when HTC gets around to updating them. More for my A6M3 to shoot down during FSO.

But unless its uber and has a cannons it won't go over well on this board.


Thank god HTC runs the place 

[Krusty]

I think the main complaint for the early F4F-3 was that it didn't have the same folding wing mechanism, so it was lighter. It also didn't have the 6 gun option. Some folks want it for the super-early midway-type scenarios and whatnot to be able to compete with zekes a bit better.

On the other hand, I seem to recall almost all the -3s were phased out and replaced with 6 gun -4s rather early on, so it wouldn't fill very many planeset holes at all.

[surfinn]

And again I'm not asking for a F4F-3 which was a even early model than what we have which was a out of date ac before the war even started. I'm asking for the range of F4Fs  between the early model no power nothing ac that we have now and the uber badass FM2.  There were several that would fill the gap, oh need I say it again, like the Martlet MKv. A Brit designation for the same ac

THe F4F saw more combat in the war in multiple theaters than its given credit for here. The Brits called it a Martlet and heck i actual got see the pile of boxite we got in payment for shipping all those "martlets" to them.   

Again don't care bout new players and what they think there is no competition
what i do care about is improving my game play and making my experience more interesting.

[Krusty]

The problem with that, is that the F4F-4 was the most common by far. The next major variant after that was the FM-2. Martlet Mk.V was simply the brit name for the FM-1, which was an F4F-4 with rocket rails.

It really goes:

F4F-3
F4F-4
FM-2

There's no other in-betweens to model. The only new option to add would be that early one.

[Slade]

the two extra outboard-mounted guns really hamper performance.

Really?  I did not know that.  Is that true in both the real life F4F and the one modeled in the game?

I know that is true with the 109 and gondies but figured just two more inline 50 cals could not be a dramatic an effect.  Maybe I was wrong.

EDIT: [Sidebar]
Which dives better:  F4F or FM2?  In tests and in game it seems the F4F dives and has more control in a dive than the FM2.  Especially with 25% or less fuel.  What are your findings?

[Krusty]

Just about the same airframe, but with a much more powerful engine, I'd assume the horsepower makes the FM2 dive better.

The weight of the guns did reduce performance a bit, but I believe in past discussions the USN felt the added firepower made up for that difference. Also remember the wings had a wing fold mechanism that also added weight. So overall the 6-gun, folding wing, f4f-4 was a bit heavier than the 4-gun, non-folding, f4f-3.

[Volron]

Didn't the -4 actually have decreased range over the -3?  I recall reading that pilots preferred the -3 because it was a little more nimble and better range.

[Krusty]

Only in as much as the extra weight reduced range slightly. Same tankage, same engine.

[Chilli]

I would be up for more F4F's when HTC gets around to updating them. More for my A6M3 to shoot down during FSO.

But unless its uber and has a cannons it won't go over well on this board.


Thank god HTC runs the place 

Hightone holds the golden hammer on this one.  Having said that, it no way reflects any of the comments so far in this thread. 

The argument to HTC could go something like:  How do you perceive the progression of future new aircraft models should go?  Fills a historic void in planeset?  Responds to customer requests?  Adds a new aspect to Main Arena game play?  Or, Chinese Restaurant Menu = 1 from column A and one from column B or C, etc.? 

Back to the good discussion here.  I love the Wildcat.  Would adding rocket options, while making the appropriate weight, flight physics, and Skinner's discretion, be adequate to fill the OP's request?  Or, would this only be complete if it is given a full .plane# and text buffer attribute FM1- MkV?

[Krusty]

It's not worth it. They [rocket rails] weren't used very often if I recall. He's asking for more variety like there was a plethora of different marks, but they were the same airframe. About the same difference as a P-47D-30 and a P-47D-40, or even less difference!

[Chilli]

  and I thought all this time the P47D25 replaced the P47D30.     What a surprise when the skin I was experimenting with bare metal skin was on the D30 and then one day an update and  I had a bunch of printshop pro files sitting on my computer and James Earl Jones voice in my head, "..... now your failure is complete." 

[Greebo]

I'd think it likely the F4F-3 and F4F-4 could be rolled into one AH model as a hangar armament option. The extra weight of the folding wings could be factored into the weight of the two extra guns. That and the FM-2 would be all that was needed really. Most Martlets were close enough to those three USN Wildcat variants that a different skin would do the job.