Realism Level ??

[XeNo 0]

I was just wondering does the realism in PF go so far as to bombs having to achieve terminal velocity to cause enough damage to sink ships? I know that in WW2 Japanese Zeros and the like just did not have the same terminal velocity as bombs to sink Allied warships. They would cause fires and explosions but just could not equal the damage caused by bombs dropped from altitute.

I ask this question because in one mission I was given 1 500IB bomb and tasked with sinking a carrier. I achieved a direct hit which was followed by 1 more from the squad but the carrier sailed on regardless. On returning to base I failed the mission. I would be greatful for any info.

 

[ODBTuv 0]

Hi

You have fallen foul of the modelling which Mr Maddox and his team have for shipping in general and carriers in particular. Carriers are VERY hard to sink in this sim. The most effective way to sink a carrier is using torpedoes and the Japanese ones were very good, much better than the american ones, certainly at the beginning of pacific hostilities. However it can take as many as seven direct hits in PF for a carrier to go down. This is questionable as only one in the right place could have done it, certainly 2 or 3 direct hits and a carrier was in serious trouble. Bombs on the other hand if correctly placed hit will hit above the water line and the carriers will take even more punishment, i wouldn't be disappointed that 2 X1000lb bombs didnt sink her, i would have been delighted if it had!!

The solution? lots of planes with lots of bombs! Sorry!

[depalmer 0]

Get a solid hit flying a SBD and a 1600lb bomb and the carrier will go down fast. You need multiple hits with 500lb class bombs to sink her. :)

[Beery 0]

Certainly ships should be harder to sink than most simulations model them, and perhaps IL-2/PF is better than most in this regard. However, IMO damage modelling is the fatal flaw in all of the Maddox (IL-2 - based) sims. In all Maddox games flak is hugely more effective than it was in real life. In fact all weapons are far too effective, but flak is ridiculously so. Also, bullet trajectory modelling is simplistic at best, which makes the damage model problems so much worse. This all leads to a simulation that is about 20 times more deadly than real life. All sims tend to exaggerate casualties to a certain extent, but the IL-2/PF series is the worst offender in terms of survivability modelling. I love the graphics, which are probably the best in the industry, but because of the awful survivability/damage modelling I find that Maddox sims are best regarded as arcade games dressed up as simulations. These games are fun to fly and nice to look at, but it's impossible to fly a realistic campaign in IL-2/PF.

Edited May 5, 2006 by Beery