Someone teach me how to rain death from above

[xane]

I don't fly often, I suck badly at it, and it's far more fun to shoot them down using kick-ass AA guns, even better using coastal guns or ship guns, and highly embarassing using small arms fire (been on both ends of that one), in fact the only skill I seem to have whilst airborne is dogfighting, again shooting them down, even as a rear gunner on the Stuka !

The other night I was causing great irritation to the Allies on Guadalcanal by moving a destroyer to suppress the airfield, but with water flowing about my legs I missed a particularly skilled pilot with the main guns and he set about putting my butt onto the ocean floor with one last bomb.

I jumped ship and unable to reach the landing craft in time, started to swim to shore, eager to continue my mission of mayhem on the allied pig-pilots, when this vindictive son-of-satan continued to pepper me (I must have *really* pissed them off).

Not considering how he managed to locate me in the water, I had to admire how he planted a bomb on my nuts as well, I can only appreciate his satisfaction when I recall how I chop up my vanquished foe with my propeller after he jumps out the plane I had just finished converting into a colander.

On Gazala there is that "secret" airfield with the B17, I tried using a Stuka to suppress it one evening and couldn't hit it stationary on the ground at all, if it had taken off I'd have blasted it in seconds, I just couldn't "get" the bombing thing.

So, lend me your tips on how to get good at it, I use a joystick and the F9 view, should I be using the external view too ?

TIA

 

[legendario]

The external view (press v) made it easier for me but it seems to have been disabled in a lot of servers.

 

[S-Gray]

I can fly the planes easy enough, but im in the shitter when im dog fighting, i cant control the plane good enough with my mouse tryin to line up the enemy, thus end up spirraling out of control :/

The B17 is one meaty aircraft, only flew it once and i could hardly control it properly

 

[xane]

You need a joystick for dogfighting, the rudder control is essential when you spend most of the time with your wings out of the horizontal, although the flying model is a bit arcade-y, it does help a bit.

Now back to bombing ...

 

[Gumbo]

Use a sort of shallow dive bombing angle, swoop in and release.

I find if I'm shooting up my target with my guns, then release a bomb and pull up just before I crash into it, the bomb usually hits the spot.

If you pull up before release, you 'lob' the bomb an awfully long way.

I was rubbish at bombing until I spent an afternoon on Coral Sea, determined to work it out. Once you've cracked the timing, it's really very easy.

edited for punctuation

 

[legendario]

practice on third person... you'll get a feel for timing after a while.

 

[xane]

Originally posted by Gumbo
If you pull up before release, you 'lob' the bomb an awfully long way.

This _is_ my main problem, even using the slower planes like the Stuka. I find things move too fast, should I increase fog depth, use less throttle, etc ?

Strangely I was getting quite adept at lobbing bombs onto Mount Suribayachi after running below the AA firing line, why I can't hit in a straight bombing run is beyond me.

Thanks for tips.

 

[Gumbo]

Yeah, it does move pretty quickly. I have a pretty good joystick, where I can just 'pickle' off a bomb with my thumb at the same instance my trigger finger comes off the machine gun, followed immediatly by a slight pull to prevent me crashing into the target. In effect these three movements happen together in about the time it would take to drum 3 fingers on a desk, (sort of analogy).

While you're learning this particular technique, if you're not occasionally crashing into the object you're trying to kill, then you're not getting close enough.

 

[adams901]

just do what I do, go into a really steep dive and drop your bomb, that way if you miss you dont really care as you will soon crash into them anyway

 

[Louster]

Just practice on your own against vehicles or AA guns or whatnot. External view is sucky and useless since, although I guess it helps bombing, it makes maneuveringngning a pain. What's more useful is to have easy-to-reach buttons on your joystick set to internal view and rear view - drop a bomb, adjust your flight to make sure you won't crash anytime soon, perhaps pull up somewhat and then switch to rear view and you can get a good look at where your bomb hit. Just make sure you don't get panicked by the disorientation and send your plane into a hillside. Do this a bunch of times and you can get a pretty good feel for the physics of the thing.

 

[TheJkWhoSaysNi]

I found it easier practicing on the ships, because they're big and there's nothing else around to crash into . Also dont go up, drop the bomb, then start to go down.. i've done that too many times and bombed myself

 

[Scooba Da Bass]

Drop early, much much much earlier than feels 'right'. I started off with a low approach to try and ensure hits but it just ends up with your plane taking damage which isn't that great, instead stay medium high and try to bisect your target especially if it's moving across your path. As it moves across use your rudder controls to track onto it's direction of movement since that'll get the bomb arcing hopefully right onto the turret, once again, drop early. The hardest thing seems to be getting over the waiting when dropping bombs, but once you get the timing on you'll start killing tanks with single shells, which is really quite sexy.

 

[.Cask]

Cheap as fuck if you ask me.

I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate planes.

I don't get in them anymore on principle that they are just overpowered wanky shite. Except on coral sea when they are actually quite fun.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh someone has had some bad experiences with trying to fly ...


There there cask let it all out

 

[.Cask]

Uh no... in my opinion bombing is too cheap and easy. You can take out a tank no problem without even getting a scratch. Foot soliders are like lambs to your dual MGs. Getting in an artillery unit on a plane map might as well just be an instant kill as it would waste less time.

Bored in your stuka? Well why not bomb a spawn point, lots of nice easy kills and they don't have a fookin chance. Tanks weak point is taking a rocket up the ass, planes need a weak point that doesn't involve easily avoided static gun emplacements. And shooting guys out of cockpits with small arms doesn't count as it cannot be done consistently and is discounted by flying a bit higher.

 

[Ukle]

Originally posted by .Cask
Uh no... in my opinion bombing is too cheap and easy. You can take out a tank no problem without even getting a scratch. Foot soliders are like lambs to your dual MGs. Getting in an artillery unit on a plane map might as well just be an instant kill as it would waste less time.

Bored in your stuka? Well why not bomb a spawn point, lots of nice easy kills and they don't have a fookin chance. Tanks weak point is taking a rocket up the ass, planes need a weak point that doesn't involve easily avoided static gun emplacements. And shooting guys out of cockpits with small arms doesn't count as it cannot be done consistently and is discounted by flying a bit higher.

Agreed Cask... possibly the biggest thing missing in the game at the moment is mobile AA batteries. AA's are strong enough but it is a piece of piss missing the current static AA batteries once you know the maps.

 

[Will]

The MG on top of APCs and tanks does an alright job of cutting down planes.

Of course, thats when you get sniped.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Stupid idea i have thought of while playing..

Why not shoot planes down with ... THE OTHER PLANES!!


I know i know im a maverick thinking of this idea but it might actually work!

 

[Louster]

I'd like to take this opportunity to point out Deadmanwalking's signature:

BW Natural Selection Liasion

#bwns
#bwbf1942

BW BF1942 league admin

He's a "league admin" and a game liaison (and he spelt "liaison" wrong too! Heh!) In other words, grow the hell up already. And, note to BW: HOW ABOUT YOU SCREEN CANDIDATES INSTEAD OF RANDOMLY CHOOSING THEM FROM CS SERVERS?!?!?

 

[Will]

I was a CS player when I got picked.

wub you too Louster

 

[Embattle]

In WW2 the Plane was a vital weapon with the only real threat being other planes although in BF1942 too many plebs get in them and thus no air cover is normally given.

As for the B17 they could make it more realistic and thus the pilot wouldn't be solely responsible for dropping the bombs, this could be left to the bomber member of crew who could take up a 4th position. The position would be a fixed view downwards which would require a level flight angle, with a fairly high altitude

Destroying a B17 is very easy with a plane, I had mine destroyed in less than 10 seconds once.

I also found an effective way to use fighters is to team up, wingman style. Me and Adams talked about it and I tried it with Elhana the other night, altough Elhana didn't know fully I had decided to follow as close as possible. I followed Elhana's moves so I was always close and when Elhana attacked so did I, thus things Elhana missed I got in the second hit......it was very effective and quiet funny knowing these players came out after escaping the initial hit to be hit in the second. There is a risk you might crash in to each other and for this reason and another, to find good targets, it requires a good first pilot......thankfully Elhana is so I had little trouble. It also has the advantage of giving cover should a plane attack you, 2 planes against one is always good. Another big problem is actually getting into the plane at the same time as a good pilot, even then they're unlikely to realise what you are doing

 

[xane]

Planes are powerful because of their almost limitless bombing load, most people will wreck them or get popped long before the ammo runs out.

I'd say give planes only 4 to 8 bombs, more like reality, they can always re-arm, even I can re-arm so its not like its difficult.

BTW the expression "give them the whole nine yards" comes from the fact that a certain aircraft had machine gun ammo belts that were 27 feet long, so the expression was to empty the entire load into the enemy, not a lot of people know that [/caine]

 

[Embattle]

B17 can carry 12 bombs.

 

[old.[TF]Elhana]

I'm always running out of bombs.

I often end up going back to get some fresh bombs for the B17 when I fly that too.

 

[Slug]

Does anyone find that when your dogfighting, it takes hundereds of bullets to take an enemy aircraft down, but as soon as they start shooting you, your aircraft health goes streight down and you blow up.

 

[Clowneh!]

cdr doesnt

 

[Cdr]

hehe nope I dont

 

[old.RedVenom]

I tend to find my health goes down when I get shot. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[Clowneh!]

HAHAHA NOOB