[Q] How do I instruct my flights to fight in 3 dminsions?

[makobyte]

When my flights are engaging in aerial combat it appears that they are only performing flat turns and ignoring the 3rd dimension (altitude) and they are not performing any 3d maneuvers like barrel rolls, split-S and Immelman's allowing them to avoid following the opposing force in circles, and instead being able to cut corners by using altitude to roll up and over into a split-S bringing the opposing flight to bear (unless they perform the same maneuvers) for a missile or gun shot from the six.
I observed two flights of 4 x F4 Phantoms fly in circles until they used up half their fuel; both flights only had AIM-9's and after the initial pass, neither could line up a shot, and pilot skill did not seem to matter; once they were in the 'eternal circle' they just followed each other around.
Is there a way to force my flight to perform a barrel roll, split-s or any other 3d maneuver?

[Dimitris]

Not at the moment, sorry.

Fancy ACM dogfights are statistically a rare occurrence post-WW2 (especially after the 60s) so they are currently a low priority for sim implementation.

Quick example references:
https://www.quora.com/If-keyword-If-an- ... Sengupta-5
https://csbaonline.org/research/publica ... uperiority

In the example that you mention, you have to manually handle the F-4s to open the distance (ie. temporarily disengage) so that they can then turn around and re-engage with their weapons. This is not a matter of using the verticals but of recognizing that the Phantom is better suited to slashing attacks rather than turn-and-burn chases, and it is a logic we are working on absorbing into AI decisions.

[makobyte]

Thank you for the response.