Nik Mod 4.0
Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:44 pm
Scheduled to be released tonight baring i find any last minute things to correct. (and they always have a nasty tendancy to crop up!)
Here is the list of changes from the FAQ
Version 4.0
1. Aircraft gun device change. Reduced gun accuracy by 50%. Purpose:
Several objectives were desired with this change in combination with previous mod version a2a tweaks.
a. Reduce air to air bloodiness in particular vs. the 1st class/modern/mainline gun armaments for Japanese and Allied planes, specifically the Browning 50cal six-pack and the typical cannon/MG armaments of the Japanese fighters. Coupled in particular with good/high experience these load outs tend to be 95% lethal to most anything, armored or unarmored with a DUR of 60 or less. Even higher Dur planes tend to get the chop more often than one might expect/want
b. In conjunction with the above, it further reduces the exponential effect of large air combats as the reduced Acc values decrease the tendency for successful fire pulses (i.e. the planes mvr for position more but don’t achieve a fire solution)
c. A major dissatisfaction I have had has been the lack of distinction between the performance of unarmored planes vs. armored/protected planes in the game since UV days….in particular the 1st gen Japanese tactical aircraft vs. the 1st generation USN tactical aircraft. Essentially, there’s no appreciable difference. Zeros or other high gun value Japanese planes can down an F4F or SBD with the same tendency (per fire pulse) as an F4F or similarly heavily armed Allied fighter can down a Zero or Val. (same can be said of a Betty vs. Peggy) This is mainly due to the high lethality of the modern gun value packages of the front line fighters. This change in conjunction with another 4.0 adjustment below attempts and if testing is any indication, largely resolves this complaint. Players should no see a substantial difference in durability under fire thus producing the historical situation between these planes more. A Zero (or an Oscar) with a good pilot will probably hit more often but his KILL results (vs. a Damage result per “firing pulse”) will be more weighted toward the latter while in the case of Allied firing against unarmored planes, they will tend to hit less often but when they do it will more often result in a KILL.)
d. Elimination of the "Uber CAP" effect
The combo of changes mostly eliminates the "CAP shield" effect of large CV (and land based) fighter concentrations. This means that KB (and USN later war TF's to a degree) can no longer sail around the map with near impunity and expect to repel air attacks with the older predictability. Tends to make CV engagements more nail biting and less one sided. Allied players please note however....its still not a good idea to attack a full str KB with all those Kate bombers....they tend to sink CV's.....also beware the Zero bonus.
“Firing pulse” is defined as the graphical representation in the game of a plane “firing” at its target during the a2a animation which either gives you a red KILL or a yellow DAMAGE
**
2. reclassification/adjustment of armor value for planes. All fully protected planes (self sealing tanks and armor plate) have a rating of 2. (a couple planes are given a 3 for increased resistance to represent their extreme toughness. By themselves, armor values of 0-2 don’t really impact the kill/damage ratios from a percentage viewpoint)
In conjunction with the Dur and aircraft device changes, this makes protected planes (i.e. Allied and 2nd generation Japan) much more resilient under fire.
3. Heavy Flak adjustment
Increased slightly after further calibration tests using BTR. Purpose remains the same, to encourage and in some cases force players to bombard land bases at reasonable and/or historical attitudes.
4. OOB tweaks.
The following aircraft received specific attention.
a. Spitfire (IX/Vb) and Hurricane Range increased to 4/5 (Normal/Extended)
After spending 3 hours trying to figure out how “Endurance” is calculated in the game and after researching the web and comparing ranges using BTR, settled for this general setting. Hey! It beats relegating the planes to point defense as was the case with the old Ki-27 version.
a. TBD. Range increased to 3 / 4 (normal/extended) After wrestling with the issue of the UK fighters, my thoughts turned to the TBD. Given that the current endurance ratings prevent this plane from almost ever flying a mission unless the TF is in question is one hex away (with a torpedo) it made sense to me that this plane should be allowed to accompany it’s stablemate on a 180 mile (3hex) strike as it did at Coral Sea and Midway.
Don’t thank me Allied torpedo plane fans……the plane remains hideously vulnerable (no armor or self sealers could be installed due the fact that the plane could barely wobble to 14,000 feet with it’s torp as is) but at least now while the Zeros are whittling away at them, this will leave more SBD’s to survive to bomb enemy flight decks.
c. Ki-61
Changed to Ic variant debuting 9/43.
I was dead set against deploying multiple versions of this plane. Besides, players now have a fightable Oscar and Tojo to tide them off before this cannon armed variant becomes available. Mvr increased a bit to allow it to better compete with the ubergunned P40E
d. Ki-44
Slight mvr increase, given a “centerline” (i.e. more accurate) 12.7 pattern armament. Will allow it to better compete with the P40 as well as face the bombers that will come calling on Japan.
K-84Ic. - speed bumped up a little to account for more powerful (if tempermental) powerplants.
5. Japan pilot replacement Tweak
Army pool replacement lowered to 30
Navy pool replacement lowered to 20
Navy pool starting value changed to 500 from 1000
Due to user feedback and PBEM testing, + to account for the reduced bloodletting of the newer mod = less dead pilots. There was also concern expressed that combined with a China train methodology was producing too many good pilots well into 43. This aspect remains an ongoing test case.
Here is the list of changes from the FAQ
Version 4.0
1. Aircraft gun device change. Reduced gun accuracy by 50%. Purpose:
Several objectives were desired with this change in combination with previous mod version a2a tweaks.
a. Reduce air to air bloodiness in particular vs. the 1st class/modern/mainline gun armaments for Japanese and Allied planes, specifically the Browning 50cal six-pack and the typical cannon/MG armaments of the Japanese fighters. Coupled in particular with good/high experience these load outs tend to be 95% lethal to most anything, armored or unarmored with a DUR of 60 or less. Even higher Dur planes tend to get the chop more often than one might expect/want
b. In conjunction with the above, it further reduces the exponential effect of large air combats as the reduced Acc values decrease the tendency for successful fire pulses (i.e. the planes mvr for position more but don’t achieve a fire solution)
c. A major dissatisfaction I have had has been the lack of distinction between the performance of unarmored planes vs. armored/protected planes in the game since UV days….in particular the 1st gen Japanese tactical aircraft vs. the 1st generation USN tactical aircraft. Essentially, there’s no appreciable difference. Zeros or other high gun value Japanese planes can down an F4F or SBD with the same tendency (per fire pulse) as an F4F or similarly heavily armed Allied fighter can down a Zero or Val. (same can be said of a Betty vs. Peggy) This is mainly due to the high lethality of the modern gun value packages of the front line fighters. This change in conjunction with another 4.0 adjustment below attempts and if testing is any indication, largely resolves this complaint. Players should no see a substantial difference in durability under fire thus producing the historical situation between these planes more. A Zero (or an Oscar) with a good pilot will probably hit more often but his KILL results (vs. a Damage result per “firing pulse”) will be more weighted toward the latter while in the case of Allied firing against unarmored planes, they will tend to hit less often but when they do it will more often result in a KILL.)
d. Elimination of the "Uber CAP" effect
The combo of changes mostly eliminates the "CAP shield" effect of large CV (and land based) fighter concentrations. This means that KB (and USN later war TF's to a degree) can no longer sail around the map with near impunity and expect to repel air attacks with the older predictability. Tends to make CV engagements more nail biting and less one sided. Allied players please note however....its still not a good idea to attack a full str KB with all those Kate bombers....they tend to sink CV's.....also beware the Zero bonus.
“Firing pulse” is defined as the graphical representation in the game of a plane “firing” at its target during the a2a animation which either gives you a red KILL or a yellow DAMAGE
**
2. reclassification/adjustment of armor value for planes. All fully protected planes (self sealing tanks and armor plate) have a rating of 2. (a couple planes are given a 3 for increased resistance to represent their extreme toughness. By themselves, armor values of 0-2 don’t really impact the kill/damage ratios from a percentage viewpoint)
In conjunction with the Dur and aircraft device changes, this makes protected planes (i.e. Allied and 2nd generation Japan) much more resilient under fire.
3. Heavy Flak adjustment
Increased slightly after further calibration tests using BTR. Purpose remains the same, to encourage and in some cases force players to bombard land bases at reasonable and/or historical attitudes.
4. OOB tweaks.
The following aircraft received specific attention.
a. Spitfire (IX/Vb) and Hurricane Range increased to 4/5 (Normal/Extended)
After spending 3 hours trying to figure out how “Endurance” is calculated in the game and after researching the web and comparing ranges using BTR, settled for this general setting. Hey! It beats relegating the planes to point defense as was the case with the old Ki-27 version.
a. TBD. Range increased to 3 / 4 (normal/extended) After wrestling with the issue of the UK fighters, my thoughts turned to the TBD. Given that the current endurance ratings prevent this plane from almost ever flying a mission unless the TF is in question is one hex away (with a torpedo) it made sense to me that this plane should be allowed to accompany it’s stablemate on a 180 mile (3hex) strike as it did at Coral Sea and Midway.
Don’t thank me Allied torpedo plane fans……the plane remains hideously vulnerable (no armor or self sealers could be installed due the fact that the plane could barely wobble to 14,000 feet with it’s torp as is) but at least now while the Zeros are whittling away at them, this will leave more SBD’s to survive to bomb enemy flight decks.
c. Ki-61
Changed to Ic variant debuting 9/43.
I was dead set against deploying multiple versions of this plane. Besides, players now have a fightable Oscar and Tojo to tide them off before this cannon armed variant becomes available. Mvr increased a bit to allow it to better compete with the ubergunned P40E
d. Ki-44
Slight mvr increase, given a “centerline” (i.e. more accurate) 12.7 pattern armament. Will allow it to better compete with the P40 as well as face the bombers that will come calling on Japan.
K-84Ic. - speed bumped up a little to account for more powerful (if tempermental) powerplants.
5. Japan pilot replacement Tweak
Army pool replacement lowered to 30
Navy pool replacement lowered to 20
Navy pool starting value changed to 500 from 1000
Due to user feedback and PBEM testing, + to account for the reduced bloodletting of the newer mod = less dead pilots. There was also concern expressed that combined with a China train methodology was producing too many good pilots well into 43. This aspect remains an ongoing test case.
