Matrix Games Forums

It is quite difficult to judge distances around; I usually resort to creating a bombing mission and using Inbound 1 to force an originating airfield, in order to see what's the range from an airfield to a target.

If we had the radius circles like WITP-AE, with some very simple color setting (like blue for fighters, etc..), it would make it much easier.

Thanks!
fbs

well, some help as radius circles would be useful

I put this in the patch items request thread. Would be very nice.

??? how should this look???

you start an raid at your start A/Fs and than the units fly to the form up A/F - and now you want to have circles for the raid? for each group, squadron ? each unit will have a different range, because of that.

Create your fly paths and you see what units are able to use it

escorts are a different matter

On a plane by plane basis. Once a flight with multiple planes is created if all were shown at once according to flight would be nice.

8th AF raid......target Buna Werke Ludwigshafen

12 Bombergroups from all three divisions all from a different A/F

escorts:
8x P47D
2x P38J
2x P51D

escorts join the raid at:
0 (form up point)
+20 (over the channel)
+25 (over the enemy coast)
+35
+40
+60
+85
+100
+125
+140
+150
+160

I cannot see how this should look - this is not WiTP, in BoB/BtR escorts work more realistic

ORIGINAL: swift

??? how should this look???

you start an raid at your start A/Fs and than the units fly to the form up A/F - and now you want to have circles for the raid? for each group, squadron ? each unit will have a different range, because of that.

Create your fly paths and you see what units are able to use it

escorts are a different matter

Oh, I was thinking something simple and straightforward, like in WITP. Click on the base, and voila it paints circles with the radius of the aircrafts on the base. That gives an immediate idea of what the aircrafts in the base can do.

I don't think it would be useful to have radius circles when you're plotting a raid, because the raids don't go in a straight line, and you can just try and add airplanes to see if they can fly. But, before you start plotting the raid, circles are quite useful.

Cheers [:D]
fbs

yea but, I think what Swift is trying to say, not too many times, is the take off field, the field that any of the planes are the raid are even based on, plus there are alot of different load outs, I don't really see a way to do it

If it wasnt (probably) hard to implement, I think the ideal solution would be a drawing tool. You click on the center, and as you move the mouse, a range circle appears with a radius in miles. That would help a lot figuring out distances.

distances are displayed from the closest airbase to the target....that was always in the game

ORIGINAL: RAM

If it wasnt (probably) hard to implement, I think the ideal solution would be a drawing tool. You click on the center, and as you move the mouse, a range circle appears with a radius in miles. That would help a lot figuring out distances.

A radius tool is a very nice idea.

Click in two points, and it gives the distance (just an extension of the current tool that gives the radius from the nearest base).

Cheers [:D]
fbs

ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge

yea but, I think what Swift is trying to say, not too many times, is the take off field, the field that any of the planes are the raid are even based on, plus there are alot of different load outs, I don't really see a way to do it

Right, that's why a radius tool for a raid is not very useful.

On the other hand, each aircraft has a number listed as "combat radius"; the actual radius for that aircraft for a particular mission is smaller as it depends on a number of factors -- but yet the combat radius gives a rough idea of the capability of the aircraft. So it is a simplification, but yet an useful simplification.

The combat radius number is very nice -- my only difficulty with it is how that translates in the map. It is hard to see where 715 miles would go from, say, Biggin Hill. Therefore the idea was to just plot the combat radius of the aircrafts on a base when you click on that base, leaving aside the details of delay, altitude, path, form-up base, bomb load and other minutiae that depend on the particulars of the raid.

Thanks! [:D]
fbs

I agree that it could be hard to add a radius circle function.  What about if for fighters some kind of "loitering time over target" indication was added to the mission synopsis? That way we wouldn't have to worry about adding radius circles, but would have a better sense of how helpful fighters will be at distant targets.