The A2A Simulations Community

Hello again,

Many thanks for your helpful answers in the other thread. I've had a chance now to play some of the larger missions and installed BoF (a favourite campaign), but IMHO (and only that...) I find the Luftwaffe bomber formations to be overly tight, and remain rock steady despite head-on attacks by a whole fighter squadron.

Is it possible for bomber formations to be loosened up, and for the bomber AI to break up (at least somewhat) after a determined/repeated assault, rather than fly on like robots chained together?

Are there ini files, or other file type (like bdg.txt) that might easily allow one to tweak formation distance? Or are these set in the mission file(s) itself?
I have experience modding Thirdwire sims, so welcome the ability to poke around in my install, at my own risk of course.

I found the weapons.txt file in the 'models' folder, and saw comment lines by Buddye that indicated alternative armament/bullet parameters, I think. After backing the stock file up I uncommented the 'Bader's gun data' lines, removed the 'Rowan baseline' lines, and found that perhaps the armament now has more realistic effects from what I've read on the subject of 8 Brownings vs. unarmored bombers in 1940, i.e. more effective attacks (though not trying to make an arcade shooter here, no no).

A related question, do the bomber crews also have hit boxes? I imagine they do, but thus far have not experienced a single gunner to become disabled, and by the gods they all have a bead on me!!!

The Bomber formations are not controlable by the players. The Formations do not break up as staying together was the German order of the day for self-protection.
When a Bomber is damaged it will become a straggler and fall back from the formation and either try to complete the bombing run or return to base depending on the damage.

Every player seem to believe they understand the bullet better than anyone so we have permitted anyone to modify the ACD and ACM files. Just understand you will be then playing a different game than everyone else.

Gunners do not have hit boxes but they do die based on a random method.

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Buddye

Intel I7 920 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 6GB DDR3 Triple Channel @1333MHz, 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit , CH Fighter Stick & Pedals ,TrackIR4 Pro thanks to BobII crew.

This topic is one concerning BoBII rate of fire of guns:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=14847

In there I wrote a description of the Weapons file in the models folder, as I understand it from Buddye.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=14847#p133430

Buddye,



By this, do I understand that the weapons file only changes the Player's aircraft?

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"Toto! I don't think we are in Kansas anymore!" Dorothy, OZ
"sniff.. sniff.. Snort! ARF! GGRRRR! ARF! (Tod der stinkenden republikanischen Partei, diesem ignoranten religiösen Monstrum.)" Toto

The file is the data used for all a/c guns (player and AI) so changes will impact game play for both Instant Action and campaign results. When you get different results for the same action you are playing a different game and comparisons are no longer valid, IMHO.

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Buddye

Intel I7 920 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB cache), 6GB DDR3 Triple Channel @1333MHz, 1.8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295, Sound Blaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit , CH Fighter Stick & Pedals ,TrackIR4 Pro thanks to BobII crew.

Buddye has also implemented some new code which will appear in the next patch which updates the beahviour of the bombers so that they break off more realistically and head for home rather than trying to complete their bombing runs on only one engine etc. This gives much better impression of successfully 'turning back' heavy attacks if you damage enough bombers.

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Looking for BOB missions, campaigns, and historical resources?

http://bobgamehub.blogspot.com

Thanks for replies gentlemen.

Stickman, interesting link to the other thread and the attempts/search to find more historically accurate anchor to base the sim on. Buddye's comment that many of the aircraft at the beginning of BoB were 'vintage 1939' is correct for both sides. The RAF did step up production drastically over the late spring & summer, as well as retrofitted the older fighters by adding pilot armor and self-sealing tanks after experience in the BoF. From my meager book knowledge the most common Bf109 at the beginning of BoB was still the E1 with only 4 MG17 machine guns. The Luft did not step up production so much in 1940, but they did retrofit many E1's to E3's, and then E4's, with just a handful of F series aircraft introduced at the end. Haven't played a true BoB campaign yet, but hope the E1/E3/E4 ratio and progression is reflected (though I hate being on the receiving end of Minengeschoss... ).

From my OP, I base my interpretation of what 8 Brownings should be able to inflict on unarmored bombers according to first hand accounts I've read (not that I pretend to be a BoB expert but it is a topic of continued interest over the years), not the least being Peter Townsend's book "Duel of Eagles". Eight Brownings put a lot of bullets in the air, and if the bomber's crew compartment is at the receiving end of the convergence point, it takes most of them out of action--dead or wounded. Head on attacks, if accurate (big IF of course) were devastating.

BTW, I'm not trying to change everyone's game to reflect my preferences or interpretation of history, I'm just trying to enjoy my own better. Comparing what I manage to accomplish when playing BoBII to what others accomplish is not a concern to me.

If you haven't poked around inside EJ's ordnance website, you are in for a treat http://www.inert-ord.net/index.html#home. As he says: