FC Mission building

[WWCephas]

I was thinking of throwing together some FC missions and was looking for input on what would be interesting to the squad.

I know I always get the "Designer gets to pick what the mission is" answers but I really like to get feedback on people's opinions (good and bad).

 

I was thinking of limiting the plane type to a single model like the Dr1 and trying to make the mission a bit more historical with time appropriate opponents but also have it be like we are in a squadron all flying the same thing.

I understand spending some time in an airframe you are not used to flying can be difficult at first until you get the hang of it.  (or learn to live with its bad qualities)

I know there are several planes I never touch because I have not taken the time to learn them and the ol' reliable is sitting there next to it. (Yeah, that's you DVIIF)

 

So basically I just was looking for feedback on whether a single plane type sounds like something we would want to do in a mission?

..and yes I am leaning towards a Dr1 set of missions.  (I would also like to see everyone with there own distinct skin)

Edited September 20, 2021 by WWCephas

[WWSittingduck]

Somehow I think anything you can come up with will be just fine.

Now, I might think differently after a nite of having to fly a dr1....or a camel

 

[WWDarkdiz]

I'm good with whatever, the skins idea is appealing

[WWBiker]

I like the idea of some missions with limited planes I am really hoping for some early year action as FC develops . The harder it is the better for me in WW1  WW2 not so much. But the hardest part is coming up with ideas for myself sometimes it flows other times I struggle. I am happy with anything and very much appreciate the efforts of all .

[WWSandMan]

I'm all for an early or mid-war battle set.

Lots of info on the time frames that DR-1's operated, basically late '17 into about mid '18. Doesn't seem like long, but in that era technological leaps were every few months.

But this campaign will be hard for the German side, since the apex of their superiority occurred in April 1917 (months before the DR.1 appeared.) Several months later, the Allies have responded by fielding several new fighters and improved two-seaters. This proved to be very hard on the Germans in this time frame, as the new Allied aircraft were formidable. 

So the plane set for an Autumn 1917'ish thing would likely be akin to this (adjusted for what we have in the sim currently):

Entente:

• Spads (a few 7's <being phased out> and more 13's <they were just appearing> )
• Nieuport 28 ... Scratch the -28, the Nieuport 17 should be here but isn't part of our aircraft set yet, and the 28 didn't appear until well into 1918
• Sopwith Camels (a good number of them)
• SE5a's (fewer than the Camels)
• Bristol F2B early versions, just coming into service (low numbers)

Central:

• Albatross DVa's (lots of them, was the primary German scout/fighter of the day)
• Pfalz D.III 's
• Fokker DR.1's (not nearly as many as the Albatros, maybe 15% - 20%) 
• Halberstadt two-seater 

Minus the DR.1's, this is the basically the same plane set the Germans had during their highly successful "Bloody April" victory. 

[WWCephas]

Actually after some testing I am leaning towards the Pfalz, although I still have a soft spot for the Dr1 even if it is hard to fly.

I think I will put up a poll to get a consensus.

 

Also @WWSandMan,  Thanks so much for the info!  as for the N28, it is not much of a threat as currently released, I would think it would be ok to use the 28 in lieu of an actual 17.  Your opinion?

[WWGeezer]

The Pfalz was the bird of choice for the Blue Max, so always a good choice.

[WWCephas]

I ended up spending the entire day Monday writing, testing and bug fixing a new fighter patrol routine that will debut in Sunday's mission that will eventually be retrofitted to my old missions.

Flying last week across the frontlines watching the enemy I wondered if there was a way to implement even more randomness in their actions.

I am pretty happy with the current random patrol routine I wrote for our missions, but it is still pretty limited in that it will fly a set pattern either this way or that way and vary somewhat in when it begins a patrol.

So I got it in my head to think three dimensionally and add a vertical element to the patrol, by stacking patrol groups on top of each other and making random links in between altitude levels, but if I could work in three dimensions, why not four (time)? 

Perhaps the flight lead sees something interesting and wants to change course or loiter over an area for a while then head out on a new direction, that's what we do when we fly.

 

So this new patrol routine has up to 18 different headings, and the flight might be halfway to new direction and change course to something else, or just sit in one spot and see what happens.  WP's are no longer linked to each other anymore but to a random generator.

Of course if the flight sees a target it will immediately break from the current heading and attack.

 

I also found a missing value in a timer in my old break and evasion routine that explained why it was not always working well that I fixed and then decided to rework  how critically wounded planes flee and whether they will escape in one piece or not that I am very happy with.

 

So I am looking forward to Sunday's mission.  The mission itself will be a pretty straightforward fighter sweep to test out the new routines but it should be good.

Edited September 21, 2021 by WWCephas

[WWDarkdiz]

One of the things that always made me unhappy with FC in general was the fact that you could not sneak up on AI.  Many victories were due to stalking your prey, coming up in their blind spot (under the tail) and then letting them have it from (fairly) close range. I have been the victim more than once on AI sneaking up in that same blind spot, the first indication I have is tracers flying by.

Is there any way to model that (not the tracers flying by my cockpit) but the stalking your prey aspect?

[WWSittingduck]

rumor has it the ai level (novice thru ace) does affect the distance they are able to "spot" enemy.  How true this is I don't know.

[WWCephas]

Yes that can be done in a way, but not realistically, as to where it will only not notice you if you come in from the rear quarter.  (At least as far as I know at this time.)

If you set a waypoint to be Medium Priority a vehicle will continue onto the target waypoint without veering off until you take up a trailing threat within .5 K of it.  That is somewhat like you are talking about but it will also ignore you if you fly right in front of it.

That setting works well for bombers on a critical bombing run but is pretty unrealistic elsewhere.

Occasional AI will get wonky and fly stupid even when it is set to low priority where it should attack anything it sees within 10K, but then they continue to fly straight and level even as you unload on them.

 

An AI model that scanned the sky with a field of vision (and some pilots better than others) would be really cool to see implemented in a game, but I imagine they don't because of the processing overhead.

Edited September 21, 2021 by WWCephas

[WWCephas]

FWIW

Having a thousand meters elevation advantage does give you the ability to pounce an AI pretty well, unless you are in a wing shedding plane.  I have been doing that with the Pfalz and it is fun.

[WWSandMan]

22 hours ago, WWCephas said:

... 

Also @WWSandMan,  Thanks so much for the info!  as for the N28, it is not much of a threat as currently released, I would think it would be ok to use the 28 in lieu of an actual 17.  Your opinion?

 

I'd like a Nieuport in there, as I think they were numerically superior to the Spads, but I may be wrong. So yes, please.

Aside: There were LOTS of Nieuport sub-variants. The -17 (and many nearly identical variants, 20, 23, etc.) was actually a bit earlier in the war (mid-'16 - mid-'17) and was only in use by the British into 1918. The -17 was one of the earliest with an interrupter gear mechanism on the Allied side (the earlier -11 <one of my favorite dogfighters ever> I think was the first into wide-spread service on the Allied side with the interrupter gear.) Nungesser is one of my favorite pilots to read about, as he wielded the Nieuport 11 like a dueling sword: quick, light and deadly. And mostly one on one... He stalked his prey relentlessly, fired from point blank range and was extremely miserly with his ammo. He was disappointed if it took 20 rounds to knock a Boche out of the air.