Hearts of Iron IV - Developer Diary 7 - Air Combat
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Yes, it will be interesting to see how detailed the "priority" system and its interface will be. Will we be able to assign multiple priorities with various weights? Will we be able to set the time for an attack? Will we be allowed to mark a priority as "absolute" - attack Normandy no matter what?
My bet is that at least some aspects of the air war will connect to the battle plan system. Podcat wrote, "There will be a system for priorities marking and such for missions where you need to coordinate with ground forces/targets, but its not done yet so we cant talk about it."
Thunderbolt is a fighter aircraft. They'll probably be able to do multiple mission such as close air support etc.
Heavy fighters are twin-engine fighters like the P-38 lightning
I am certain they are folding in the battle plans, along with the abstracted air combat. This is primarily for AI, and hands off players that don't want to be setting priorities every single day. Ground attacks occurring where you have battle plans laid would probably even get a bonus, as it miraculously went according to plan, where as ground support outside of any given battle plan would probably be considered a rapid unplanned response, and receive a malus of some sorts.
After all, pilots would have to study their targets and terrain, and prepare for the mission, where at the latter would be "head over there ASAP, kill what you can".
Will be interesting to see the UK be able to get operational limits into the high 3 digits or even 4 digits, to represent all of the allied aircraft stationed there by 1944.
I may actually get into Strat Bombing with this game, but it would require SEVERAL HUNDRED aircraft, no?
I may actually get into Strat Bombing with this game, but it would require SEVERAL HUNDRED aircraft, no?
I have one question, will plane production be similar to tank production as we've seen, for example, I have the P47 Thunderbolt, its considered a fighter-bomber due to its size and armament capabilities. The way you've described a heavy fighter or at least how I interpreted it is that it is a Heavy Fighter so its only good at taking down bombers over regular fighters. The P47 was what I consider to be the best fighter-bomber in Americas arsenal. The P47 was already armed with 8 12.7mm guns and could carry 2 500lbs bombs as well as later carrying rockets. So will we have the option to build ground attack related P47s and specific heavy fighter P47s after unlocking the P47, or will it all just be mashed up into one
It was the heaviest single prop fighter ever developed. But the weight doesn't seem to be the factor - it needs to have two engines to be regarded as a "Heavy Fighter" in-game. So it is a Fighter, but presumably at the absolute limits of the tech chain in terms of the size of engine, range, payload etc. of a fighter.
Hopefully, you get a plane design template opened up by experience/tech research that represent the air frame/type of engine. Then you can customise this, including developing two types of P45: one carrying machine guns or cannons for air superiority/interception/escort roles; and another carrying bombs. You should be able to send the one with machine guns or cannons on ground support, but they are not so effective as the bomber version, and vice versa.
This game cannot come out soon enough (well technically bug free soon
). Keep up the good work!!
View attachment shut-up-and-take-my-money.jpeg
). Keep up the good work!!View attachment shut-up-and-take-my-money.jpeg
I've been somewhat critical and at times pessimistic about HOI4. But let me say that this DD has completely reversed my stance and opinion. Great thought and work has gone into the mechanics involved. A+
Now a simple question or three.
1) We build various planes in our factories and then assign these to airbases? Is that how it works?
2) In HOI3 there was air superiority and intercept for gaining control of the skies. I know you mentioned escort now. So how will fighters assigned to these different mission work over a single region?
3) Do we assign planes based by airbase or by state (which might include multiple airbases)?
Now a simple question or three.
1) We build various planes in our factories and then assign these to airbases? Is that how it works?
2) In HOI3 there was air superiority and intercept for gaining control of the skies. I know you mentioned escort now. So how will fighters assigned to these different mission work over a single region?
3) Do we assign planes based by airbase or by state (which might include multiple airbases)?
The biggest missions sent by Bomber Harris were over 1,000 planes. It is so cool that these are going to be represented, and you get figures of exactly how many planes return, and you can see that the (lower flying) Halifaxes are getting hammered really hard, while the Lancasters are doing OK (if you are willing to take the losses that Harris was).
On the other hand, getting away from wings of 100 planes, means more variety of plane types and numbers on carriers and in remote airfields. I don't think there were even 100 planes in the whole of Malay when JAP invaded, and the idea that you could only have a wing of FIG or INT or CAS was very restrictive. There were a mix of different planes IRL, which this systems seems able to imitate extremely well.
The devs mentioned that you can drag and drop planes to have them move from one airfield to another, and there is a time delay before they arrive and start carrying out missions. That is really good when you are moving planes from the airbases in Germany to Norther France. But will you be able to drag and drop planes from a UK airbase to Singapore and they arrive there a couple of days later? I would like them carried by convoy and they take several weeks at least. Relocation of air units has been a long running issue, especially when it is not just the relocation of the planes, but all of the ground support staff that they needed.
One thing that struck me; will the weather be the same everywhere within a strategic region?
This is a very good point. Hopefully relocation out of range without available air base paths will be handled by land/sea transport mechanics. Transport might even be preferable if fuel is a concern? I guess equipment reinforcements will employ such a system anyhow, so it'd seem likely.
This is a very good point. Hopefully relocation out of range without available air base paths will be handled by land/sea transport mechanics. Transport might even be preferable if fuel is a concern? I guess equipment reinforcements will employ such a system anyhow, so it'd seem likely.
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With respect to post #31
Q. Will defenders have home crash advantage
A. Likely...
This aspect was absolutely crucial to the Battle of Britain.
There are many many instances of pilots being shot down over southern England & being back in the fight in a new aircraft within a few hours. There are instances of pilots being shot down as many as four times in one day and being back up the next.
There was at least one pilot who was shot down eleven times!
Consequently, as the air battles continued, British (& I include the American volunteers, Polish etc. who were flying Hurricanes & Spits) fighter pilots gained experience very quickly. Under normal circumstances in aerial combat, you don't learn by your mistakes. This is as opposed to German pilots shot down over England. Each & every one was a total loss to Germany. So, due to the attrition that the RAF wasn't experiencing in their pilots, the German average quality was dropping comparatively quickly.
I think the proportions of pilots recovered were above 75% over England, 25%-50% over The Channel. This seems to have depended upon whether they got out of the aircraft or not. Ditching seems to have been quite the wrong thing to do. I have no hard evidence for numbers of German pilots fished out of The Channel and returned to Germany but it was a low percentage.
This recovery of pilots was considered hugely significant by Dowding.
I think it should be represented in game.
Oh. And don't listen to the detractors. The map looks really nice.
Personally, I'll probably be using it flat. It is, after all, a map. But that's my choice.
Q. Will defenders have home crash advantage
A. Likely...
This aspect was absolutely crucial to the Battle of Britain.
There are many many instances of pilots being shot down over southern England & being back in the fight in a new aircraft within a few hours. There are instances of pilots being shot down as many as four times in one day and being back up the next.
There was at least one pilot who was shot down eleven times!
Consequently, as the air battles continued, British (& I include the American volunteers, Polish etc. who were flying Hurricanes & Spits) fighter pilots gained experience very quickly. Under normal circumstances in aerial combat, you don't learn by your mistakes. This is as opposed to German pilots shot down over England. Each & every one was a total loss to Germany. So, due to the attrition that the RAF wasn't experiencing in their pilots, the German average quality was dropping comparatively quickly.
I think the proportions of pilots recovered were above 75% over England, 25%-50% over The Channel. This seems to have depended upon whether they got out of the aircraft or not. Ditching seems to have been quite the wrong thing to do. I have no hard evidence for numbers of German pilots fished out of The Channel and returned to Germany but it was a low percentage.
This recovery of pilots was considered hugely significant by Dowding.
I think it should be represented in game.
Oh. And don't listen to the detractors. The map looks really nice.
Personally, I'll probably be using it flat. It is, after all, a map. But that's my choice.
- Nov 5, 2013
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Trust me all when I say.. the screenshot doesn't do the map justice. Today at the office when I went by podcats desk I thought, "Daaaaammmn, map looks so freaking awesome!".
You'll simply have to wait and see when it's out.
You'll simply have to wait and see when it's out.
Why would it be? Every province could have slightly different weather in HOI3, so it possible that GER bombers attack Kent airfields one day, and many of the UK fighters at air bases further north are unable to take off to intercept them. Unfortunately, just like real life - we get more rain "up north"
Perhaps, but I think the availability or lack of fuel for training (and fighting) was more important for the war as a whole so that's what worries me.
The only reason that question came to mind was that the strategic region window which is shown in the screenshot seemingly has a small screen for current weather. Unless it depicts average/dominating weather, or that a mouseover or click will reveal all provinces different weather, it seems possible it's just one weather for that region. I hope i'm misinterpreting though.
They aren't really mutually exclusive systems. The British were able to save on training costs because they retained more experience pilots meaning that a lower replacement rate was required.
The Germans or the Japanese were losing pilots in the hundreds and few were recovered, so that put an even greater strain on the fuel and time required for training since they were replacing not just a wing's worth of planes but also a wing's worth of pilots.
In addition to a better trickleback over friendly territory, I'd actually love it if, when an ace got shot down, you'd have a chance of getting a pop up anywhere from a day to week later saying that they miraculously survived. (Chances, of course, determined by whether they were shot down over friendly, enemy, or neutral territory and the terrain.) I think it would add some nice flavor.
Well, kinda depends. Relocating a single aircraft as a "replacement" could be done in short order. Even an entire squadron. But for relocation where you don't need replacements, this of course includes ground crew, spare parts, etc.
Interesting challenge to model both types of relocation.
Interesting challenge to model both types of relocation.
I like the new concepts a lot. I am a fan of micromanagement, but it seems there will still be plenty of detail and things to affect in this new model. I do have one concern. In the examples in the first post You write that enemy planes will prioritise attacking bombers. I hope there will be some way to set the defending fighters to prioritise attacking fighters if for example the bombings are ineffective or less important than achieving air superiority. This was possible, although through the unnatural way of research rather than a decision, in HoI 3 and it seems reasonable that it remains an option in HoI 4.
Well it's in those times that i remember how CK2 looked in pre-alpha and keep faith in paradox :