Matrix Games Forums

Not quite turn 200 yet and I'm already getting quite attached to some of my pilots. Obviously their just lumps of data there to wipe out other bits of data, but I like the scorecard element. Got a few in the 20s of kills (mainly Me410 pilots), so no idea what is good but I like to keep an eye on them (also best foreigner etc.) Guessing these 20+ guys would have quite a score if they survive... but I'm thinking that a bit unlikely and I've already lost a fair few aces.

Also, bearing in mind the "filler name" database, have also noticed a couple of Allied pilots. Gibson got wounded on crash landing I noticed but more closer to home I noticed Spitfire Pilot Raymond Baxter got the chop during a raid on the Gustav Line. He's notable as one of my school's famous "old boys" but later as a TV presenter in the UK (a career I guess he doesn't have following this game!) HS is also adding my schools Headmaster (while I was there anyway) who was a Mosquito pilot in the war.

More specifically about the game, I was wondering how promotion is worked out. Is it simply that whatever level of organisation has a certain number of slots associated with rank and pilots move into them by the "dead man's shoes" principle? Of course when wounded pilots come back they presumably retain their previous rank and fill in an available slot. From this I wonder:
> Are there any "tours" in that pilots fly a certain number of missions and then disappear (thinking allies mainly of course), or do pilots just keep flying in the same unit until they get killed?
> Do promotions happen "in place" for any reason other than to fill a vacancy, and is this purely dependent on the level of organisation they are flying for?
> And (slightly associated with this topic), does Jv44 in its historical context get created in the game?

not sure about the rules for Promotion, I do know, if a Unit has lost it CO, then the game will pick who the replacement should be, and if under ranked, will start promoting him to the correct rank

how the other promotions come about, I am not sure (don't know if it is skill, exp, time, rank, need, but it happens)

my top Allied Ace ended with I think it was 56 kills

two of my games, ended with Beckham as the top US Ace

no, data base was too small to start with to try and work in Tours (one reason, you will see how some units can grow so large (they had a lot of pilots who either were lost, or ended there tours and where replaced)

(the down side is, most of the Large Axis units, means, they lost a lot of pilots)

plus how Tours worked would be really HARD to program, for some units, it was mission based, for others it was time based (IE, fighters, would fly a one hour mission, they were one hour closer to going home, later as the 51 came in and the missions got longer, you could pick up 7-8 hours in one mission, and Tours started ending a lot faster, and then the goal was increased, again)

and then you get someone like Blakeslee, he didn't record most of his missions, as he had flown too many already (when Zemke was lost, Blakeslee was grounded and forced to go tour complete)

BC, you kind of had to prove you had dropped your bombs close to the target area, or the mission didn't count !

and in the long runs, there tours, didn't end, you flew, then went off duty (training command or something) then back on a tour, and off, and so on, a lot of them, ended up taking over a Station Command (odd how many Fighter pilots, ended up flying transports and ferry planes, Spit pilots who would become a night fighter, or move over to BC)