S3 Series

New map up. Berlin and target 37 went down in frame 3. Most of the damage was done to Berlin in frame 2 but it was finished off by TOT in frame 3. The rest of the bombers hit 37 and the hapless AI dropped on 37 as well. Luftwaffe did well against the AI bombers, downing a record 34 but the cranked up bufftuff probably was a bit too much, only 1 player B24 was lost. The tight Allied bomber formation was daunting and there were not as many passes as in the previous frames. Luftwaffe seemed to be concentrating more on the escort fighters this frame with 28 shot down against 16 of their own.

Allies have closed the gap on the Luftwaffe this frame but still trail going into frame 4, 359 to 278. Scores are only partial until the S6 is posted and pilot losses and a/c losses of all types can be tallied.

Good Luck in Frame 4.

Notes:

1. The AI B17s ran all the way into target in fine formation but as soon as bomb-bay doors opened and they dropped they started to loose airspeed and slowly sink to earth, unloaded at T+170 when they were not going to get home. Trying B24s next frame instead to see if there is a difference.

2. Buff tuff was doubled from frame 2 to 3 and will be set back to 1.5 for frame 4. Plane damage\weapons has changed since we last ran a bombers into germany event so it makes is a bit harder to play-balance but we are getting close.

3. AI otto settings looked to be relatively fair, being set at 25% of their maximum ability. Attacking a large formation of AI bombers with speed and smarts was possible and at least 24 direct kills on AI bombers were recorded. Its when the formation breaks down that they seem to be easy meat. No changes on this front.

In other words (cat's translation of (jabo-ese") the buffs were too easy to kill in frames 1 and 2. Buff tuff increased/added for frame 2. Buffs too hard to kill in frame 3 buff tuff should be decreased in frame 4.
I hope that helps

Got it! Thanks Madcat...away from main computer. Using Ipad and tether to check here. Not even sure I'll make it back for Sunday:)

The only way to know what the true damage system is like is to use BT 1.0. Frames 1 and 2 were easy because the old damage system was in play. BT is not realistic. Realistic damage values are realistic.

Are you sure the old damage system was in use?
I thought it said somewhere that the "new" system-destroyed sections no longer absorb damage-was in play from the start of this season.
Hopefully Jabo can chime in.

Here is a summary of the changes to the hitmap that I did personally.

Lancaster-Removed imaginary gun positions, corrected all gunners to one hitbox (some were some werent), Removed pilot armor that was not directly behind the pilot (This is the confusing part. One would automatically think that more armor is always better but that isn't the case. In order to prevent hitboxes from becoming bullet sponges, when they are destroyed additional damage is applied to a different assigned part. Pilot armor becomes PILOT when destroyed. There was a wall of pilot armor across the fuselage of the Lancaster so that any skilled attack sending rounds into the forward fuselage would hit that wall of armor which would in turn kill the pilot once it reached its damage value.)
Moved pilot hit box one level higher than nose gunner hit box. Increased number of fuel tank hitboxes to actual size of fuel tanks, ADDED landing gear hit boxes.

B24-All humans corrected to one hit box (pilot and nose gunner only ones actually changed). Changed one engine kill hit box to engine damage hit box on each engine to better reflect radial engine installation.(Radial engines are mostly empty space behind the cylinder banks. They are mounted far forward because their light weight per horsepower requires it for Center of Gravity purposes.

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Bigger fuel tanks, ADDED Landing Gear

B17-All humans corrected to one hit box (Pilot, nose gunner and Tail gunner), ADDED Landing gear, Bigger fuel tanks, Changed one engine kill hit box to engine damage hit box on each engine to better reflect radial engine installation. Trimmed vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer hit boxes to better reflect the actual structure (The HSTAB was too big on the map and the VSTAB had a bunch of boxes for the fairing on top of the fuselage (Dorsal Fin) that wasnt structural at all. It was an aerodynamic device. Loss of this part of the aircraft would affect handling qualities to a small degree but certainly should not be part of the VSTAB loss of which makes the aircraft very hard to fly)

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I am of the opinion that the hitmaps need a major rethink and overhaul for all the aircraft. Airplanes contain a lot of empty space that hits with AP or HE just punch holes in sheet metal. The larger the aircraft the higher percentage of empty space in general. This is why larger aircraft are more survivable than smaller. They aren't built any "stronger" (Bombers generally aren't built to sustain high G levels) but bigger means the actual structure contains more metal and the empty spaces are bigger. I would love to reflect that in the current hitmaps but that is just my opinion. Many would be very upset that their bullets "just pass right through" when in fact that was the reality, especially when shooting at a large aircraft.

2. The positioning and attacks on heavy bombers by the Luftwaffe have been excellent. We tried to leave the damage models on a 1 to 1 scale for this event but it is not working. So buff tuff will be increased for the last 3 frames. Not as much as in previous events before the new damage models but enough to give bombers a chance of returning home. Otto is set quite low and will remain so. AI bombers will continue to have no buff tuff and should prove as easy to down as in previous frames.