28.01.2009, 07:02
letku Wrote:Only one problem, when aircraft have been damaged they tend to fly into the ground like there not seing the ground.
It also seems that pilots are not very eager to bail out, there just staying in there flying coffins.
I think that this is a feature of the original AI. I've frequently seen bombers with out of control fires fly on for miles/kilometers, with none of the crew bailing out. The same thing happens if a plane loses power to multiple engines and will eventually crash. Even over wooded or mountainous terrain the crew stays with the plane until the end.
Realistically, the crew of a mortally wounded plane should only try to stay with their aircraft if they can reasonably hope to make a crash landing (i.e., they're near an airport, or are flying over flatlands or water). Other than that, they should bail out - especially if the airplane is on fire. The exceptions would be for airplanes flying over enemy territory, cold water, or open ocean, where the pilot might risk everything to get to safety. Even then, however, once the plane falls to 1,500 meters or so, with no hope of regaining altitude, the AI should probably have the crew bail out.
Other cool bailout possibiities, which may or may not be possible:
1) There are accounts by U.S. pilots of (possibly inexperienced) German fighter pilots bailing out of slightly damaged, but severely disadvantaged, aircraft. By 1944, the Germans were producing planes faster than they could produce pilots, so some pilots put a premium on saving their own lives. If they bailed out over the Reich, they could be back in the air in brand new plane within a few hours. In game terms, you might have Rookie or Average pilots bail out if they're high enough above the ground and their airplane is damaged (but destroyed) and they'd otherwise have to move defensively.
2) Bombers could attempt to remain flying by jettisoning guns, equipment, etc. While this would require new animations, a functional cheat would be to have a badly-damaged bomber go from "default" loadout (after it jettisons its ordinance) to "empty" after a certain time period.
