Altitude of VTOL Flight

[NaxShaleChan]

I don't suppose there's a way to make VTOLs fly at different altitudes... It'd be nice to make high level bomb drops to avoid some of the light AA mounts like Cyclone and Whirlwind... Not out of range of SAMs or even lasers maybe, just out of range of flak and the other light AA. Seems to me the low altitude makes them vulnerable. With the exception of attack runs, cruising is usually done at higher altitudes by aircraft IRL. To have VTOLs cruising below the level of cliffs just looks wrong.

[lav_coyote25]

that maneuver is called "nap of the earth" flying - helicopters use it to advantage when approaching a free fire zone.

also used by jets when making an attack where there is no real cover - about 10 feet off the deck... then do a pop up and release and then back down to the deck in an opposite direction. xD

[NaxShaleChan]

Yeah, I know what that is... I read a lot of war novels... But still, in patrol or circle mode, they would have better visibility of enemy units. Or, when returning to base after going winchester or for repairs, they should cruise at high altitude to avoid taking fire.

On a side note: It'd be nice to have a VTOL Sensor/Commander, sort of like an AWACS bird. It'd make air to air combat a bigger part, maybe to help intercept incoming air to mud planes. I guess what I'm really trying to get at is a more developed air portion of the game. The ground portion is heavily developed, having most everything a real army does, but the air portion lacks a lot. Air based guidance, air to air combat...

[psychopompos]

that maneuver is called "nap of the earth" flying - helicopters use it to advantage when approaching a free fire zone.

also used by jets when making an attack where there is no real cover - about 10 feet off the deck... then do a pop up and release and then back down to the deck in an opposite direction. xD

wz's vtol's arent quite doing that either though.
seem to prefer to fly at the optimum altitude to get shot at... which is probably good given the aa weapons seem to be manned by drunk monkeys.

[NaxShaleChan]

Really? Drunk monkeys? I was playing a T3 skirmish against three AIs and whenever a pack of VTOLs came in for a bombing run, the lead VTOL got locked on to by a dozen different Cyclone and Whirlwind mounts, plus a handful of Avengers. Well, after I got all my AA setup anyway.

[psychopompos]

all the aa guns in skirmish are coded as 'homing' to make up for the targetting.
im primarily a campaign player, and its only in 223 or 224 does the aa get that same boost

[-Kosh-]

all the aa guns in skirmish are coded as 'homing' to make up for the targetting.
im primarily a campaign player, and its only in 223 or 224 does the aa get that same boost

IMO that is a silly move. The code should have been reverted instead of making everything homing.
It just hides the real problem of the problematic code changes.

[winsrp]

actually I would be bad to move the flight altitude of the planes a little higher since sometimes they flip over when hitting walls and start flying slow, or just hit some buildings and get stuck.... so increasing the altitude at which planes fly, would be great, i think there would also be a need to increase the AA range, but I'm not sure if increasing the altitude of planes also affects weapon range? If it does not, then leave all ranges as they are, and just increase the altitude... to avoid stuck planes, and crazy planes.

[zeland]

I commented in another post about having a special "VTOL layer" where all VTOLs have to ascend to before moving in any direction. No buildings or terrain should extend into this special layer.

[Moro_Nick]

I commented in another post about having a special "VTOL layer" where all VTOLs have to ascend to before moving in any direction. No buildings or terrain should extend into this special layer.

the /* primitive 'bang-bang' vtol height controller */ function code has long needed some serious attention in itself in order to expand map making vertical possibilities without those nasty vtol stalls when faced with extreme vertical cliff transitions from sea level. and also, looking forward and by extension, if pilot-drive-battle mode is ever fully implemented so that vtol dog-fighting can be viable fun.