Tactical Air War

[150_GIAP-Red_Dragon]

Does anyone know if there is a need for TAW to drop paratroopers from the C-47? The Skytrain icon shows only bombs, although you can also choose paratroopers in the menu

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

51 minutes ago, -332FG-Red_Pilot said:

Does anyone know if there is a need for TAW to drop paratroopers from the C-47? The Skytrain icon shows only bombs, although you can also choose paratroopers in the menu

Paratroopers are present but currently there is no objectives involving them (these will be added, probably next edition).

[Wardog5711]

A warning has been issued to the offending party. A ban will follow if similar behavior occurs again.

[Mad_Mikhael]

News from TAW discord.

  

Quote

=/Hospiz/=MetalHead — Yesterday at 9:08 PM
We've discussed all your proposals and ideas over last few days and decided what we'll do with them.
Several decisions were made and some changes will be implemented starting from next season.

Most importantly:
- no hangar reset after death
- easier progression through ranks (lowered requirements + lower death penalty)
- all sorts of time bans will be removed (that de facto means suspension of the live system)
- additional bomber spawns will be added (for the large airfields that do not have them)
- no requirement to return to the same base for bombers
- runway obstacles, craters and inop markings will be removed, however there still will be a dedicated operational runway marked with a "T"
- pilot conducting operations (take offs/landings/taxi) outside of designated areas is responsible for maintaining safety and separation - in case of collision he will be held guilty for it and may be punished if reported by the victim
- chutekilling is forbidden from now on (automatic exp penalty + ban if reported by offended player)
- random troops will have reworked layout (temporary hotfix, long term solution is a replacement with different targets)

This is a rough draft for the next season, things may change in the future editions according to feedback and achieved result.

 

[Charvet]

On 12/7/2022 at 2:45 AM, Mad_Mikhael said:

News from TAW discord.

  

 

Its been awhile since ive been here, but i remember if anyone complained about chute killing a large amount of players would get on their case and say "get good" and stuff along those lines, then you also had players like me who wouldnt chute kill but remember those that did and purposely go for them.


Whats the shift of not allowing it anymore? Did something happen? I'm indifferent anyways, but i just dont do it by default.


 

[Mad_Mikhael]

8 hours ago, =KG47=TBishopCharvet said:

Its been awhile since ive been here, but i remember if anyone complained about chute killing a large amount of players would get on their case and say "get good" and stuff along those lines, then you also had players like me who wouldnt chute kill but remember those that did and purposely go for them.


Whats the shift of not allowing it anymore? Did something happen? I'm indifferent anyways, but i just dont do it by default.

People are complaining about the punishment for dying, and with MP numbers getting smaller The Guys decided to loosen some rules to bring back more people.

[Charvet]

14 hours ago, Mad_Mikhael said:

People are complaining about the punishment for dying, and with MP numbers getting smaller The Guys decided to loosen some rules to bring back more people.

Makes sense, my only complaint about it was when it was my last life and that was it for the day.

I hope the server starts to grow a litte.

Thanks for the explanation

[Mad_Mikhael]

I'm going through som e old replays and wanted to share photos from November TAW COOP campaign. Happy New Year everyone!

[Mad_Mikhael]

News from TAW discord.

 

Quote

=/Hospiz/=MetalHead — Today at 12:29 AM

Next campaign will launch next week (probably friday but that's not set yet).
Squadron balancing chart is available now. As before - create a box in red/blue color, to declare the playing hours (UTC, horizontal axis) and average daily number of players (vertical axis).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17FXJXQkDcC3nazNq9m-JlYkT08JhN2quUustgUvOXpI/edit?usp=sharing

Further announcement with changelog, registration opening and precise launch time will follow in a couple days.

 

[=GEMINI=IngegnerTommy]

On 1/8/2023 at 1:16 PM, Mad_Mikhael said:

News from TAW discord.

 

 

 

Yeah, thank you Mikhael. I recommend all squadrons to register themselves into this excel file so we can try to balance it out a bit.

See you soon on TAW! 

?

[=LG/F=Kathon]

New western TAW campaign starts on Friday 13.01.23 at about 19:00 UTC. 

 

 

Changes:

Paratroopers added:
1. Paratroopers can be deployed into designated drop zones in order to destroy enemy supplies.
2. Drop zones are located near frontline towns, soldiers dropped into a zone will attack nearest city.
3. Each single paratrooper is able to destroy 2 points of supply.
4. Maximum number of troops to be deployed depends on the supply amount in the target town. Entire supply can be wiped if sufficient troops are deployed.
5. There is no minimum requirement, even a single squad that lands succesfully will do some damage.
6. Once each squad lands there is a confirmation of a successfull drop, dropzone marker is also updated.
7. There is no limit on paradrops per map anymore (both sides have access to them now).

Other gameplay changes:
9. All time penalties for sorties ended with KILLED/CAPTURED/CRASHED (or any other pilot/aircraft losses) have been removed.
10. Live system and all associated penalties have been disabled (lives may still be displayed on website but they are not substracted upon death).
11. Death or capture (pilot loss) does not reset all advanced aircraft anymore.
12. Pilot loss EXP penalty was reduced to 300 EXP.
13. Rank EXP requirements have been lowered in order to allow for easier progression.
14. Several bomber airfields were added on the map.
15. Bombers can land on any active airfield again.
16. Transport flights can be flown to any airfield that does not have full supply (previously it had to have physical damage).
17. Transports cannot be flown between very closely located airfields.
18. Upon spawning in a transport plane, a chat message with a list of possible destinations is sent to the player.
19. Random troops (partisans/ninjas) positions were redesigned.
20. Several new objects have been added to the ground object pool for both sides to increase variety of targets.
21. Armored half-tracks are spawned as vehicle type objects instead of static 'blocks' - they have better damage model that way.
22. Solution for depot buildings damage bug has been applied. Bombs should be able to destroy them properly.
23. Obstacles (fenses/craters) from 'disabled runways' are removed. There are still designated runways marked with white T letter near the threshold.
24. All airfields (instead of only frontline ones) are spawned with full layout of objects (vehicles, planes) so they look more lively and realistic.

Rule changes:
25. 'Chutekilling' - shooting parachutes is forbidden and will be punished with a ban.
26. 'Wild rides' are forbidden. Usage of designated runways and taxiways is mandatory for everyone's safety.
27.  If a collision with other player occurs, pilot violating above rule will be held responsible.
28. The collision perpetrator may be punished as in case of involuntary friendly fire - upon the request of the crash victim.

 

Registration is open.

 

Good luck!

[Mad_Mikhael]

Quote

19. Random troops (partisans/ninjas) positions were redesigned.
20. Several new objects have been added to the ground object pool for both sides to increase variety of targets.
22. Solution for depot buildings damage bug has been applied. Bombs should be able to destroy them properly.

Nice!

 

"Paratroopers added:"  ?

Massive C-47 para drop at the first mission, anyone? Let's crash the server ??

 

Join the fight! https://tacticalairwar.com/

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

I see some 180 degrees changes, hope it brings numbers to TAW again 

[FeuerFliegen]

1 hour ago, Mad_Mikhael said:

Nice!

 

"Paratroopers added:"  ?

Massive C-47 para drop at the first mission, anyone? Let's crash the server ??

 

Join the fight! https://tacticalairwar.com/

 

Paratroopers added:"  ?

Massive C-47 genocide at the first mission,  anyone?  Let's crash the server ??

 

Join the fight! https://tacticalairwar.com/

[JG4_Deciman]

Rule changes:
25. 'Chutekilling' - shooting parachutes is forbidden and will be punished with a ban.

 

I really look forward to that

and I really wanted that.

 

But I also see some difficulties (and maybe you already found a way to handle them)

 

There are 2 options for 'chute killing'

- either the pilot bails out during dogfight (and in that case you can hit his chute and there is no way to avoid that)

- or the pilot bailed out some time before and is already hanging in his chute (in that case we are talking about a clear chute kill and the shooter should be punished)

 

Deci

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

5 hours ago, JG4_Deciman said:

Rule changes:
25. 'Chutekilling' - shooting parachutes is forbidden and will be punished with a ban.

 

I really look forward to that

and I really wanted that.

 

But I also see some difficulties (and maybe you already found a way to handle them)

 

There are 2 options for 'chute killing'

- either the pilot bails out during dogfight (and in that case you can hit his chute and there is no way to avoid that)

- or the pilot bailed out some time before and is already hanging in his chute (in that case we are talking about a clear chute kill and the shooter should be punished)

 

Deci

It takes several seconds after bailout before the pilot opens the chute and the pilot usually is quite far away from the aircraft by that time so risk of accidental hit is minimal.
Of course you can hit the pilot as he jumps out, but then it does not trigger chutekill event in the logs, as the chute is not present yet.

What may be a problem is that this game does not differentiate between paratroopers (soldiers) and flight crew on a parachute - in the logs both look the same, so I would advise against shooting at the paras jumping out of C-47/Ju 52 in order to avoid confusion and potential accusations.

[FeuerFliegen]

3 hours ago, =/Hospiz/=MetalHead said:

so I would advise against shooting at the paras jumping out of C-47/Ju 52 in order to avoid confusion and potential accusations.

 

I feel that it should definitely be acceptable to shoot at paratroopers.

[Mad_Mikhael]

5 hours ago, SCG_FeuerFliegen said:

 

I feel that it should definitely be acceptable to shoot at paratroopers.

It is, but like MetalHead said, "(...) a problem is that this game does not differentiate between paratroopers (soldiers) and flight crew on a parachute - in the logs both look the same, so I would advise against shooting at the paras jumping out of C-47/Ju 52 in order to avoid confusion and potential accusations.".

[LLv34_Temuri]

13 hours ago, =/Hospiz/=MetalHead said:

What may be a problem is that this game does not differentiate between paratroopers (soldiers) and flight crew on a parachute - in the logs both look the same, so I would advise against shooting at the paras jumping out of C-47/Ju 52 in order to avoid confusion and potential accusations.

IIRC, there's no way to connect dropped paratroopers to the plane/player doing the drop, but there is a way to see that it was a player's own parachute that was shot.

Edited January 12, 2023 by LLv34_Temuri

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

6 hours ago, LLv34_Temuri said:

IIRC, there's no way to connect dropped paratroopers to the plane/player doing the drop, but there is a way to see that it was a player's own parachute that was shot.

All parachutes are the same type of object so in the log they are reported without details. Maybe some additional scripting would be able to check who's hanging beneath the chute and then determine if it was a pilot or a paratrooper.

 

 

15 hours ago, SCG_FeuerFliegen said:

 

I feel that it should definitely be acceptable to shoot at paratroopers.

The common interpretation is that paratroopers are armed soldiers so they are valid target and a pilot is a defenseless flight crew so he's not. Well, at least to me it seems the pilot is also a soldier who, if left alive will be back in the air and may attempt to kill you, your comrades, or civilians by bombing the hell out of a city.
The difference in game is that pilots are players and paratroopers are bots - bots do not complain

In the end we have sanctioned chutekilling due to the request of the community. So please, give us some understanding and make our work easier by avoiding shooting paratroopers. Not that it is a problem for us, but it may cause confusion in disputes.

[LLv34_Temuri]

2 hours ago, =/Hospiz/=MetalHead said:

All parachutes are the same type of object so in the log they are reported without details. Maybe some additional scripting would be able to check who's hanging beneath the chute and then determine if it was a pilot or a paratrooper.

Indeed that is possible.

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

9 minutes ago, LLv34_Temuri said:

Indeed that is possible.

Thanks for confirmation.

It is a place for some future improvements then.

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

From the feedback we are receiving, it seems some people still use IP address directly to get website access and therefore may run into some problems (captcha validation, safety alerts, etc.). A reminder - https://tacticalairwar.com domain has been verified for quite a while by now and is fully operational again.
In case if you run into problems with website make sure you are accessing it via the domain as it solves some of the problems.

[Mad_Mikhael]

Here is a trailer for TAW made by Mordo47. Join the fight! https://tacticalairwar.com/

 

 

 

[SKG51_robtek]

While that is a nice movie, it addresses only the dark side!

[JG4_Moltke1871]

On 1/13/2023 at 9:23 AM, Mad_Mikhael said:

Here is a trailer for TAW made by Mordo47. Join the fight! https://tacticalairwar.com/

 

 

 

Next trailer blue hero’s please ?

[Mad_Mikhael]

I think it's possible, will pass a word to Mordo ?

[LLv44_Oke]

...oliko veccu mitään hankaluuksia eilen päästä kotiin ? Taas opittiin, ettei ikinä pidä herpaantua...tarkkana niin kauan ku rupeli liikkuu...

 

Sorry using finnish, but this is only for veccu...

[LLv24_Veccu_VR]

3 hours ago, LLv44_Oke said:

...oliko veccu mitään hankaluuksia eilen päästä kotiin ? Taas opittiin, ettei ikinä pidä herpaantua...tarkkana niin kauan ku rupeli liikkuu...

 

Sorry using finnish, but this is only for veccu...

 

... Ei ollu vaikeuksia, pari naarmua g-voimissa kamppailevilta kk-ampujilta ;). Näin kaukaisen dotin etelässä ja syöksyin perään.

Seuraavalla kerralla tee loivempi liuku tai vedä pilveen (lennä pilvessä). Loivemmassa liussa pistä sivuluisuun, ampujat hoitaa ja tottumaton häätäjä ampuu jommalta kummalta puolen ohi. Samalla jää paremmin mahdollisuus virtuaali-hengen pelastavaan lsv hyppyyn.

[LLv44_Oke]

...vedin pilvessä(sen mitä oli) melkein kohtaamiseen saakka...yleensä liun luisussa...nyt yritin pelastavaan joenuomaan...tykkiä ei kärsi paljon ottaa osumia...en muistanu, että nykyään voi ehkä hypätä...ennen mentiin kotiin tai turpeeseen...

 

This was just little conversation concidering unhappy meeting between us yesterday...

Hals und beimbruch...

[Mad_Mikhael]

News from Oberkommando der Luftwaffe. Promised new fighters will arrive soon. A batch of new Arado bombers is already on the way to the front. Abwehr confirms rumors about USAAF/RAF planes getting new higher octane fuel.

 

Join the fight! https://tacticalairwar.com/     TAW discord

Edited January 19, 2023 by Mad_Mikhael

[ITAF_Civetta]

Hi all...

I've tried to find the server in the last few days but I didnt find it. 

 

Does someone know when next campaign will begin?

[Mad_Mikhael]

55 minutes ago, ITAF_Civetta said:

Hi all...

I've tried to find the server in the last few days but I didnt find it. 

 

Does someone know when next campaign will begin?

Yes, the campaign ended last Friday with Blue victory.

 

Next campaign will probably start at the beginning of March. At least that's the plan.

 

Few interesting facts about campaign - https://discord.com/channels/338813128722874378/888482258997092362/1072984434543951892

 

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Mad_Mikhael

[ITAF_Civetta]

@Mad_MikhaelThanks for your reply

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

That is true, we plan launch in early March.

As before, squadrons can publicly declare their side before official registration, making side choice easier for others and helping to maintain balance. Chart is available here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17FXJXQkDcC3nazNq9m-JlYkT08JhN2quUustgUvOXpI/edit#gid=0

 

[ITAF_Civetta]

Great!

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Hey everyone!
Next TAW campaign will most likely come out next week. A little delay from planned schedule, as we were working out some problems with new features.
This edition will bring several of them. You already know about Normandy map coming. So now it is time to show another fresh addition.

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Hey everyone,
Today I would like to show you our new Normandy map that will make a debut during upcoming campaign.
We have put lot of work into its creation over past months and we hope you will like it. It is truly an unique terrain with really different layout when compared to all previous IL2 maps and as a result it was a real challenge for us. However, we decided to use that as an opportunity to bring several new features and different aspects of gameplay. Aspects, that allow Normandy to utilize its full potential as a mixed land / naval map and make gameplay interesting, bringing more depth to it.

 

So let's go into details. 

Normandy will be map #1 in our Western Front TAW Campaign. It starts on June 16, 1944 -  10 days after D-Day and will last until the September 16, 1944 (unless one of the teams will run out of resources/loses the ground). Then campaign will move to map #2 - Rheinland and will last from September 1944 to March 1945.
Playable area spans across entire available terrain - including Normandy, Pas de Calais and British Isles. However, only the mainland (1) is capturable area and only cities there will count towards overall result. There is no possibility for Axis to invade Isles - England (2) serves as logistical base for Allied invasion - features depots, airfields and supplies army on the mainland. In this part of the war, coalition holds the initiative, while Germany holds the ground. Map dynamics consists of alternating Allied Offensives and draw periods (check manual section 6.2 if you are unfamiliar with these terms). Axis conserves their resources and does not go on large offensive, but may capture back some ground in local counterattacks, especially during draw phases.

 

Initial situation is as follows - Allies have already secured small beachhead and set up several frontline airfields to support their efforts (A). These airfields allow for constant presence over the frontlines, but are vulnerable to attacks. As a result, first goal for the Allies should be to expand the beachhead, then breakout inland and push across the map. Sustaining the offensive requires large amount of supply and this is where our new feature - supply convoys comes in. It is a new type of target, showing up on the Channel (B) and transporting large amount of supplies. Convoy consist of several merchant ships and has destroyer escort. Attacking/protecting convoys will be important task, especially early in the campaign as it will affect Allied ability to fight on the mainland.

 

Another new TAW feature is the AI Command Module. It will be covered in detail in a separate post, but in general, armored columns will prioritize cities where successful attack is more likely. For example, one of such cities is Cherbourg (C) which is being cut off by the Allies making it easy target and preventing resupply. Focusing attacks there, destroying defenses and dropping paratroopers will make it a priority for land forces, speeding up its capture. Cherbourg is an important objective by the way - it opens another port for supplies from England and a nearby aerodrome which is moved away from the frontlines, so cannot be closed.

 

Normandy has several of such key objectives. For example, ports of Southampton and Portsmouth (D) are large depots, that provide supply and resources for the Allies. They then send that supply to mainland via shipping (as I described above). Damaging them will limit their output and might reduce frequency of supply convoys (no supply to send - no convoy), stalling the entire supply chain. That gives Germans interesting possibility to stop Allied onslaught and brings us to another new feature.

 

In order to support their aging bombing force, Germans have deployed several V-1 launchers in the area between Rouen and Abbeville (E). These launchers will target Portsmouth and Southampton depots in an attempt to stall Allied logistic. Allies might try to shot "Buzz Bombs" on the way, or launch a bombing operation on the launcher facility in order to destroy it.

 

Last but not least, what would be a Channel map without Jerries and the Chaps fighting classic duels over the famous Cliffs of Dover? (ha!)

That part of the map (F) is away from the clashes in the bocage of Normandy, but it is not left unused. German depots are decentralized - they use large number of small, spread out depots. Several of them are located in the Calais area, away from the threat of land invasion. On the other side, Allies also have two smaller depots in the eastern part of the island, that support two main ones. They are all close to each other, opening possibility for quick, hit and run attacks and for some unexpected clashes with enemy.

That is it for now. Enjoy the Normandy map

Edited March 14, 2023 by =/Hospiz/=MetalHead

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Hey everyone!

It is time for another showcase of new features. This one will be about Fi 103 - better known as the V-1, or by a nickname "Buzz Bomb".

 

V-1 will be present both as flying bombs attacking industrial targets and as launcher sites. In fact one is tied to another as the bombs are launched from these sites and fly all the way across the map. It is up to the Allied players to decide if they want to hunt the bombs over the Channel or make an interdiction sortie and strike the launcher site itself.

 

During the present campaign, V-1 will appear on Normandy map only. Launchers are located in the area north of Seine and will target important ports of Southampton and Portsmouth. Presence of V-1 is limited to "busy hours" - one mission per day in the EU evening will feature a launcher sending those bombs. While this may seem like a severe limitation of the new feature it is only a temporary measure. Once we get some feedback from the live campaign, we plan to increase presence of these targets and add the V-1 to Rhineland map as well (Antwerp port would be a perfect target).

 

If a V-1 launcher site appears in a mission, its position is marked on the map - artillery icon, labelled V-1 (for some reason there is no V-1 ramp icon in editor). As a result Allies know they may expect V-1 attacks and hunt them on the way. The launcher will start attacks some time after mission start and will send several missiles during the mission. It gives enough time to set up patrols. Once launched, flying bombs start heading for the target and cruise in a straight line so it is easy to figure out their route and wait for them. V-1 fly at around 3000 ft and at high speed. As a result it might be hard to catch up from behind, but very easy to attack from above. Beware its powerful explosion - once detonated mid flight it might damage your aircraft if you are too close!

 

Alternative option is hunting the launcher sites. They are located away from the frontlines some distance inland - opportunity for some fighter bomber interdictions for the Allies. V-1 site can be attacked and launcher ramp can be destroyed to prevent further launches from that area. For now that destruction is permament - the site will not be present in future missions. However, other sites and launchers in different locations will become active. Hunt them all to stop the Buzz Bomb Offensive!

 

That is it for today. Enjoy

 

PS: The rumors say registration will be launched later today.

[=LD=dhyran]

Awesome! Cant wait til tomorrow ?

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by =LD=dhyran