Enemy skill level in campaigns

[33LIMA 972]

I have always used the 'Normal' setting for 'Enemy Skill Level'.

 

With this, I tend to find the bad guys are mostly hard enough opponents and the realistic variation you encounter is highly realistic. But I get somewhat more kills than is realistic, even allowing for the fact I'm the equivalent of a very experienced pilot and the average WW1 flyer was much less experienced and often inadequately trained. I think this is mainly because, when I do manage to get behind them, they often find it hard to escape, unless they have a faster plane. I don't think this is necessarily unrealistic - for instance, I have just finished reading Billy Bishop's 'Winged Warfare' and it is very obvious how an experienced flyer could often find himself dominating enemies composed mostly of 'average' pilots at best. And I certainly don't want to get shot down much more often than I already am, at 'Hard' the bad guys are certainly no slouches. But I would like a subtle re-balancing - an enemy who flies slightly better, more often, but doesn't necessarily shoot any better, perhaps. Certainly not a setting which puts the average enemy skill level above the average of my own squadron.

 

I tried out the 'Hard' setting for 'Enemy Skill Level' and found it definitely made the enemies fly mostly like very capable pilots and was certainly a whole lot scarier; but I have not stayed with it because I understand it doesn't affect my squadron mates. I believe from reading other SF forums that the 'Hard' setting gives the enemy units more aces, presumably by leveling up their unit's average skill levels; but because this isn't applied to your own side, while it may give the player a greater challenge, it results in heavier losses amongst your own squadron.

 

I like looking out for my flight-mates, to the extent I select the same ones each flight in campaign and try to bring them throught it aliove with some kills of their own. This modest but effective element of flight management is one of the little-mentioned strong points of FE, that helps make it the best sim for recreating the experience of being a flight leader in WW1, as well as being the best at dogfighting. I'd rather not have slightly better enemies, if the cost of that is greater losses from my flight, which i understand is what happens.

 

Ideally I suppose what I'd like is for my own side's AI to be sharpened up at the 'Hard' setting as well as the enemies, tho I don't know it that's even possible - perhaps by editing Campaign files. If it could be done, even if it would only work for the 'Hard' setting (because otherwise your own side would be the supermen), that might be better. I say 'might' because things are actually fairly good as they are now - last night a 40 Squadron Bloody April campaign - I just love those little silver Nieuport 17s! - came to an end when my flight of 4 ran into about 6-8 V-strutters and tho I got 3 of them they first shot down my 3 flight mates and then got me too!

 

So, what Enemy Skill Levels do others fly at, in FE campaigns? And how do you find it?

[+Trotski 832]

I generally fly at normal also,I get my bum kicked enoug as it is !! however, it would seem, well to me at least the Germans seemed to hav more aces than the entente had, maybe this is a misconception on my behalf, so if you do fly for the entente side then maybe having enemy skill level set to hard is more representetive of the actual balance of power ?

 

 

Marc

[spriggs 0]

I only play on hard difficulty level in FE now, I wish MiG pilots in Strike fighters would fight with their skill and tenacity ;w;

 

Their was this one MiG-28 that always ended up on my six within seconds and I had to dodge those rounds only to reappear on his tail pipe once again, the process continued for 18 minutes. Dragging my F-8 into a rolling scissors, loops, even "Punching the airbrakes"

Edited March 25, 2012 by spriggs

[33LIMA 972]

Hi Spriggs! Do you find your squadmates suffer heavy casualties flying with 'Hard' enemy in campaign? Or maybe you don't care

Edited March 25, 2012 by 33LIMA

[+ojcar 157]

It's an interesting question. I play it Normal, because the Hard mode only lower your mates skill and give more skill to the enemies, over riding the values in the Campaign data.ini. In my campaigns I put squadrons between 50-100 experience in all sides, so you can encounter true aces or true noobs. Of couse, if you are in a poor quality unit and are fighting against JG1 or the Cicognes, for example, it means bad news to your squadron mates.

 

About the unrealistic kill numbers, have in mind some things:

 

-You are a virtual pilot and through the years surely you have been killed in every possible way. Only that you are alive and have learned from experience.

 

-Surely you have read a lot of books about real air tactics in every war. You know the strong and weak points of a lot of planes even before flying them.

 

-Our virtual enemies are far more agressive than real pilots. They'll fight even in bad tactical situation, outnumbered, etc

 

-Our victory claims are confirmed all by the computer

Edited March 25, 2012 by ojcar

[spriggs 0]

Hi Spriggs! Do you find your squadmates suffer heavy casualties flying with 'Hard' enemy in campaign? Or maybe you don't care

1/2 missions end bad

 

My succesful missions usually have me gunning down bogies than firing missles tho. It's good to work on a aggresive nature in dogfights~

-Our virtual enemies are far more agressive than real pilots. They'll fight even in bad tactical situation, outnumbered, etc

^This so much

 

The experienced AI pilots are like honey badgers, They don't give a Fudge ._.

 

 

[33LIMA 972]

I think I will stick to 'Normal' enemy skill level. I'm mostly flying Ojcar's Armchair Aces at the moment and never mind my flight-mates, I the player am finding it hard enough to survive from one month to the next. Last night, a promising 1916 career in 20 Squadron flying the FE2b came to an unhappy end. After me and my gunner had bagged the odd Fokker in our first couple of missions, we got bagged ourselves by a hot-shot flying a twin-gunned EIV who was all over us like a rash.

Edited March 31, 2012 by 33LIMA