Tactical Air War

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

8 hours ago, 335th_GRAlbatros74 said:

Hi

We are in mission 12:32:37 18/11/2023 and axis has lost 462 from 1155 tanks.

The question is: did those 462 destoyed from enemy airplanes or this number include tanks that destroyed from enemy defences?

The total number appeared for destroyed axis tanks according to red squadrons successes is 380 (adding numbers in squadron list). So we have 462-380 =82 surplus tanks that is not related to red aircraft or red defences. 

Are these 82 tanks killed from red pilots that didnt survive the mission , are these tanks killed from red defenses or these kills are a combination from both causes?

Thanks in advance for answering my questions 

There are also many players who are not in any squad. Also, as you noticed, if someone does not survive a sortie, his kills (including tank kills) are not counted in the stat table.

[JG4_Matthias]

Two squadrons on the red side have achieved veteran status, when do you get that on the blue side ?

[E69_Falke_Wolf]

2 hours ago, JG4_Matthias said:

Two squadrons on the red side have achieved veteran status, when do you get that on the blue side ?

 Maybe when Hell get freeze....
On blue side we haven´t been able to kill enough GK. In this "short" season the status of "veteran" is achieved by Tank Kills (150 at least). None Blue squad is close to that numbers (even half of it....).
Maybe in other Life ?

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

11 hours ago, JG4_Matthias said:

Two squadrons on the red side have achieved veteran status, when do you get that on the blue side ?

Manual is your friend.
It has a nice table with details.

[Crious]

Hi

According to manual (season status) Moscow map sould have ended at mission no 122. Current mission number is 125. Why is that?

Ps : il2 immunity is very obvious.  Historicaly from 36000 built, 12000 lost. According to open sources most of them due to aaa guns espesially from 37 mm. Consider have more 37 mm aaa guns in the blue side. Otherwise the outcome will be always the same... il2 airplane was very raged but also  over modeled from the developers of the game.

[Carl_infar]

U read it wrong, According to manual the campaign ends on 28-2-1942, now its 14-2-1942....

Edited November 23, 2023 by Carl_infar

[Crious]

6 hours ago, Carl_infar said:

U read it wrong, According to manual the campaign ends on 28-2-1942, now its 14-2-1942....

According to manual's page 6 mission 123 should have been the start of Stalingrad campaign but anyway i got your point. 

[Old_Boy]

Hi,

The current rank assignment system equates the rank associated with the player to that of his active (living) pilot.  Wouldn't it be better if the active pilot's rank is calculated only with the score obtained in current life? This would allow several General Majors to rest behind a comfortable desk rather than fight!!!

[Old_Boy]

20 hours ago, Old_Boy said:

Hi,

The current rank assignment system equates the rank associated with the player to that of his active (living) pilot.  Wouldn't it be better if the active pilot's rank is calculated only with the score obtained in current life? This would allow several General Majors to rest behind a comfortable desk rather than fight!!!

 

 

why can my pilot drive a Tempest or Me262 if he has not reached the necessary rank in his current life? 

 

to DID or not to DID that is the question ?

Edited November 24, 2023 by Old_Boy
word change

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Hi everyone! 
The dust has settled after the last campaign, yet for our team that means we're back to work.
While next campaign is planned on the West, we keep a large portion of our resources working on the Stalingrad map for the Eastern Front. We have steady progress on that and it should be ready in time for the next EF campaign. 
 

We have ambitious goals for the next year - finishing two remaining EF maps and addressing some long-requested features (leaderboard improvements, more realistic weather among the others). Based on previous experience, these goals are achievable within upcoming year.
 

If you enjoy what we are doing and want to help us, please consider supporting us: https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=RNb-Fg9TjydSAbGU_e35XO9aLMecDYWShbhaB96lwGK4ovlZYzn17YDmeNgWExc55ch7PcFkH0vr2wzI&locale.x=GB

Your donations help us maintain server, both during campaigns and between them, during development process. We do our best to provide you the ultimate TAW experience.

In the meanwhile, enjoy few screenshots of Stalingrad along with troops that entrenched there (yes, Stalingrad defense locations are based on iconic landmarks in the city):
 

Spoiler

Edited November 29, 2023 by =/Hospiz/=MetalHead

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Hello everyone!

Next campaign will most likely be launched on Friday, February 2nd, at around 19:00 UTC.
Registration will be opened later, announced separately, with full changelog (most likely shortly before campaign as we are still running some development).

Stay tuned for updates!

[ITAF_Civetta]

Great new!!

[nemdom7]

Thanks for the update.

Very awaited campaign!

 

[CisTerLordWukits]

On 1/28/2024 at 10:34 AM, =/Hospiz/=MetalHead said:

Hello everyone!

Next campaign will most likely be launched on Friday, February 2nd, at around 19:00 UTC.
Registration will be opened later, announced separately, with full changelog (most likely shortly before campaign as we are still running some development).

Stay tuned for updates!

May we know what "sides" are fighting?

 

[Pict]

16 hours ago, CisTersLordWukits said:

May we know what "sides" are fighting?

 

 

They already said the next TAW will "be on the west", so I would guess that's Luftwaffe vs USAAF & RAF

 

Taken from a post above abour 4 posts or so;

 

"While next campaign is planned on the West, we keep a large portion of our resources working on the Stalingrad map for the Eastern Front.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2024 by Pict

[ITAF_Rani]

Registrations opened..

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

So as you have noticed, registration is open. Campaign is starting soon, so it is time to show some news right?

When I posted the roadmap a month ago, I said there might be some surprises. Some of you may have spotted the glider in the planeset already, hinting what would it be. Well, no more mysteries - TAW is getting a new feature - AIRBORNE OPERATIONS!

 

What is this all about?
Well, it is sort of an "event" feature. While our current paratrooper missions focus on individual drops just behind the frontline and simulate saboteur actions against enemy supply chain, this is an attempt to create opportunity for a large scale action. This event is currently exclusive to Western Front and available only for the red side as it involves glider use. It attempts to simulate larger scale paradrops like these done during Operation Neptune, or Market Garden.
 

How does it look like?
During the airborne operation, players will be required to drop paratroopers and land gliders in a designated landing zone (a special paratrooper zone) in order to capture a city!

The trick is, it will not be a frontline city - these elite units will give you opportunity to leap behind enemy lines and seize a key area (city) in a daring operation. At the same time, armoured units will try to break through the frontline defenses in order to capture another city and connect with the airborne units. It is a risky operation - if it succeeds, a huge advance might be made. If not, then like Market Garden, Vyazma or Merkur it will be another disastrous  will at least create some havoc behind enemy lines, weakening the enemy on the front.
 

How do I know the operation is coming?
Look for the Landing Zone area near an enemy city and Glider Spawn Points on the airfields. That means there is an Airborne Operation ongoing. Such operation is an uncommon event and will only appear in prime hours (EU evenings), once per day maximum.
 

What determines the success?
Success depends on the amount of paratroopers and gliders landing within the zone. If there is enough guys on the ground, they will attack and capture the city. If there not that many of them, they will not die in vain and will raid enemy supply stores in that city instead. There is no wasted drop.

 

What should I do in order to participate?
In order to maximize chance of success, Allied players should organize a big air drop. Hop in a CG-4, or fly a C-47 towing one - it is up to you. As a C-47 you can load paratroopers and drop them as well. Fighter pilots will be needed as well - this operation will require several players to penetrate deep into enemy teritory, so a strong fighter cover will help a lot.

For Axis players - well, try to anticipate if the raid is coming, find it and try to stop it. With a dose of luck, we might get some serious combat, unforgettable moments and nice videos out of that.

Stay tuned for more information - full changelog and a more detailed guide about new features will come very soon. 

 

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Okay, the campaign is about to start, so let me give you insight into the changes. The full changelog is here:

Breakthrough feature:

1. Rear cities will initially have their defense strength reduced to 25%
2. Rear cities will initially have 50% of maximum supply
3. Rear cities will not repair their defenses and will prioritize sending supply to the frontline instead.
4. Frontline cities work as normal
5. Once the frontline reaches a city, making it a front one, the supply / repair logic reverts to default

These changes aim to enable deeper advances, once the initial defense is penetrated, allowing for a "breakthrough". Detailed overview is presented below the changelog.

Airborne operations feature:

6. CG-4A glider added to the planeset
7. GSP (glider spawn points) added for the gliders, along with additional airfield markings for them.
8. Airborne event added for Allied team - land gliders and drop paratroopers into a landing zone in order to capture a city.
9. Capture chance is based on the defense strength and amount of dropped troops.
10. Each paratrooper deals around 0.25% damage (4% for a full dakota)
11. Each glider is worth 5% dmg (cargo / troops / jeep payload required)
12. If enough troops land, the city will be captured.
13. If not enough troops land, the city supply level will be damaged instead.
14. There is no maximum limit of dropped paras / landed gliders. 
15. The more paras / gliders will make it, the better the city will be defended once it is captured
16. Landing zone does not have messages (it does not have fixed limit of drops for completion)
17. Landing the glider into the zone will not result in the capture regardless of the operation outcome.
18. Event is activated once per day in the evening hours (17:00 UTC+)
19. Even might not be activated if there is no suitable conditions (no rear cities left for the enemy, or no friendly tank attack present, to connect with the landing)

Other changes:
20. Tempest rank requirement increased by one - to "Captain"
21. Paratrooper drop info added into the sortie log (you will have feedback if your drop has succeeded after the landing).

Okay, that was the brief summary, now the details:

The problem
During several past campaigns we noticed certain problem - if the campaign is balanced, it is very hard to push the frontline. It is almost like a WW1 scenario - and advance is made. Town is captured but then a new line of fresh defense positions waits behind - it is like the enemy had a brand new army waiting in each city, for their turn to fight. In most cases the advance is then stalled and after few missions, counterattack is made against the recently captured city. Since that city is still weakened after first battle, while the surrounding enemy positions are fully supplied and capable of launching multiple columns, the town is recaptured and the frontline remains more or less unchanged.

As a result gains were made mostly due to consistent imbalance, with one team slowly pushing the front over several days. In order to make the gameplay more dynamic, while keeping the overall balance, we decided to make some adjustments described below.

Breakthrough feature
We have changed how the defense initial condition, resupply and repair logic works. The goal is to simulate real warfare scenario - combat ready divisions or brigades being deployed to the frontline, while the rear is guarded only by weaker sentry or low strength units. The command is also prioritizing sending reinforcements to the frontline in order to hold it or make gains instead of wasting supplies to repair rear defenses. In TAW logic that means the following:

- frontline cities will initially have defenses at full strength and will be fully supplied
- rear cities will start with defenses at 25% strength and will be only half-supplied
- rear defenses will not be repaired and the remaining supply will be instead sent to the frontline
- once the frontline reaches a city, the priority will change again to resupply it and repair the defenses

What we aim to do is to allow for more dynamic frontline movements, without creating forced imbalance. In the new logic, the initial situation is similar - one side is attacking and tries to capture a frontline town. However, once it is captured a window of opportunity opens - towns behind are weakly defended and can be easily captured. If there is enough supplies in the captured town, it will launch follow-on attacks in order to push forward, before the enemy reinforces the vulnerable positions.
Eventually the assault will stall due to lack of supplies (no worries, map will not end in one day due to that). The enemy has to reinforce the weak defenses first in order to stop the advance and only then it is able to counterattack - by that time supply can reach the newly captured towns and reinforce them, securing the gain. 




As a result, it will be easier to make larger long term gains, without making the towns too easy to capture (reducing the risk of map ending overnight). Overall this new approach should bring more variety - as the frontline moves, you will fight over different locations, attack different targets and have different conditions. Of course all other features (offensives, supply, etc.) and of course player actions, have impact on the frontline changes as well, so the outcome will be based on the sum of these. The strongest ground offensive can be completely stopped by lack of aerial superiority and repeated enemy airstrikes.

It is up to you to decide the fate of the war.

Of course ideally, you would want to attack both the frontline and already weaken the rear in order to achieve the maximum success.
That brings us to the other new feature of TAW.

Airborne Operations

As mentioned, from now on, area behind the frontline will be significantly weaker. It opens up the possibility for new features and one of them is coming right now in form of Airborne Operation Event. What? A TAW? Event?

Yes, this is something completely new - a event based feature built into regular mission. It will still be a normal campaign day, a normal mission with other targets, but it will have some extra objects as well - a landing zone for gliders / paratroopers and additional glider spawn points on certain airfields. The event is activated once per day, in the prime hours (eu evening), provided there is a suitable place (rear city connected to a frontline city under friendly attack) to generate one. and will give Allied players an opportunity to organize a large scale airborne landing during a normal TAW mission.

The idea
This event is closely tied to the other change regarding the defense strength/repair/resupply logic. Since now the rear towns are not prepared to sustain a larger attack, a surprise landing with airborne forces has a chance of success. This feature simulates a coordinated operation. It does not simply create a landing zone in a random place. Instead, it waits until there is an Allied armored attack launched on the enemy city. Then, an airborne assault on a weakly defended rear city connected to the attacked one. In simple words, tankers try to break through the frontline, while airborne forces land behind enemy back and try to seize another objective, creating a deep thrust in one go.



The execution
Once the event is spawned, you will notice few things on the map. Additional spawn points on the airfield, called "XXXX GSP" - glider spawn point, that will have the CG-4A available. There will also be a "Landing Zone" placed near enemy rear city. It looks similar to normal paradrop zones, so don't mix them up.

The map will look like this:


The operation revolves around attack on Flers - Lonrai axis. Players should focus on both objectives - if airborne units capture Lonrai, but Flers will hold, then they will be surrounded and most likely defeated in the following missions. Of course they will do their best to hold on as long as possible. Even if they don't - they will make capturing Flers easier, as loss of Lonrai will disable Axis airfield in the area for some time. Worst case scenario is that both attacks fail to capture their objectives - in that case, airborne soldiers will at least try to destroy some supplies in Lonrai.

If everything plays out well, Flers and Lonrai will be captured and Avranches (city on the left) will be cut off, making it easy prey in the next missions. Congratulations, you have pushed the enemy significantly.

To sum up: drop as many paras in Lonrai as possible, land as many gliders as possible as well. Preferably organize a large flyout with cover, otherwise the mission might be very risky. Additionally, you should focus on covering / supporting friendly attack on Flers, so tankers can join up with their airborne brother in arms.

The landing zone looks like this:


The airfield with gliders available looks like this:


The airfield:
In order to make glider pilot life easier, we placed the glider stands on the grass right in front of a runway - that resolves the problem of taxi with glider attached to the tug. However, in order to attach the glider to the C-47, one must be behind the other in a specific distance. Therefore we added some special indications on the airfields. These are only active once the airborne operation is ongoing.

-47 spawn on the normal bomber / common spawn point, so some taxi will be required. In order to not block the runway with the glider operations, a second, designated runway is assigned for them. If you are not a glider / tug, leave it for them in order to reduce traffic.



In case if you are not sure where to taxi, we have additional signs around the taxiways directing you to the glider stand. They differ from normal arrow signs directing you to the normal, active runway.



That's all for today. TAW is about to start in few minutes, have fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2024 by =/Hospiz/=MetalHead

[Ala13_UnopaUno_VR]

suggestion:
Lately we are liking the idea of being able to see our portrait on the web. Yes, the portrait generated when registering, it would be funny to have this small portrait next to the general statistics, to put a face to that pilot even if it is artificially generated ^^

[Crious]

There is something weird with the supply system.

At this time in taw page there are only 4 blue cities and 2 reds that we know their supply level.

Further more there are not to many supply track columns from the rear blue cities to the front ones. That in my thought could only means only two things.

Firstly the depot production is very limited (i dont think so) and secondly there is a human intervertion in order not to reinforce blue frontline cities. Even blue trains seems very rare.

Maybe there could be something simple like knowing the supply level of EVERY CITY IN THE MAP for transparency reasons. Is it possible?

 

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

6 hours ago, 335th_GRAlbatros74 said:

There is something weird with the supply system.

At this time in taw page there are only 4 blue cities and 2 reds that we know their supply level.

Further more there are not to many supply track columns from the rear blue cities to the front ones. That in my thought could only means only two things.

Firstly the depot production is very limited (i dont think so) and secondly there is a human intervertion in order not to reinforce blue frontline cities. Even blue trains seems very rare.

Maybe there could be something simple like knowing the supply level of EVERY CITY IN THE MAP for transparency reasons. Is it possible?

 

For transparency reasons, you have supply level for every city in the in game mission description.
On the website only the frontline towns are displayed in order to not flood the page with tons of information.

Your assumption is correct - depot production on the Axis side is quite low - most of them are heavily damaged, so not enough supply is being sent via trucks.
Same with the trains - train stations have less trains and provide less supply, due to damage to the industry. Allied depots are damaged as well, but not to the same extent and as a result are able to send more supply to the frontline.

 

[Crious]

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

For transparency reasons, you have supply level for every city in the in game mission description.
On the website only the frontline towns are displayed in order to not flood the page with tons of information.

Your assumption is correct - depot production on the Axis side is quite low - most of them are heavily damaged, so not enough supply is being sent via trucks.
Same with the trains - train stations have less trains and provide less supply, due to damage to the industry. Allied depots are damaged as well, but not to the same extent and as a result are able to send more supply to the frontline.

 

Thank you. I should have noticed that supply level for every city is appeared in the in game mission description. 

[Crious]

What about a new feature?

Up until now paratroopers is the only way to destroy supply points of an enemy city.  This is nice but also very dangerous especially in good weather and against  many players in prime time. 

I was wondering if we could have some new things to play with. 

There could be a warehouse even if it was just a field of (many) tents that would hold these supply point (logistics). These tents could be valuable targets for level (not only) bombing in order to prevent an upcoming tank or track convoy from deploying.  

This way supply logistic centers could be attacked any time regardless of weather conditions. If there are medium light clouds or clear skies level bombing would be a nice choice leaving paratroopers drops for heavy clouds and overcast conditions in the designated areas as it is now.  In this case logistic tents should be visible from far away to allow bombers align with the target soon enough for bombing solution.

What do you thing?

[JG4_Nemesis]

Feature Request for TAW: be able send direct messages (PM) to other Pilots via the TAW HP stats system! Would be really nice!

[Crious]

Hi. Is it possible to have recon pictures of the enemy airfields in the next taw?

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Hello everyone!
New Eastern Front TAW campaign is coming this weekend and it is time to share some news about upcoming changes. If you follow our discord: https://discord.gg/dCGyKnme
then you already know a lot, if you don't - here we go:

1. Improved planeset system
The previous planeset formula was created almost 3 years ago and it worked very well over that time. Therefore, instead of turning everything upside down, the most logical step was to expand and improve what we have now by adding new features to the solid foundation. At the same time we wanted to answer some of the issues that arose over the past campaigns.

So what we have changed?

If you look at the planeset chart, you will notice a number next to the aircraft. Yep, in the next campaign, each aircraft will have its own price in terms of CP. The price is individual for each aircraft in each planeset. It can also vary between the lines - the numbers in the chart are base values. In general the price depends on few factors:

- performance - better aircraft require more CP

- combat capability - based on data from previous campaigns

- real production number - limited production machines are more expensive

- introduction date - price is higher once the aircraft appears and drops over time

- line modifier - first aircraft in each line is discounted by 20%

- supply vs demand - underused aircraft are cheaper, while the over-represented ones are more expensive

The final price of your next aircraft along with its name is now displayed on the website in your profile. Once you get full hangar, you can still collect 25 extra CP. As a result not every machine will be immediately replaceable with that amount.

The basic / utility aircraft are still replenished by transport flights. The letter "T" next to the aircraft marks them, to make it more clear. Oh, and instead of "Advanced" we now have "Extra" aircraft, but that is just cosmetics.

As a result we should have more interesting planeset, with more variety, progression and immersion: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VMUjGaLMdVWLy0rPIgRz89GMn_zMEh2xsRG8smdkDD8/edit#gid=230843332

2. Planeset composition
Planeset is based on the historical availability of the aircraft over the Eastern Front. Not Stalingrad or Moscow only, but rather whole theater of operations - simply because map pool is limited and sticking to the map borders would keep the aircraft pool limited as well.

There are two sets for Moscow and three for Stalingrad - matching the overall length of these operations during the campaign.

In general, you might notice that the following sets during one battle mostly have the same aircraft - well, that's a historical thing, as most of the time composition of the aviation units changed slowly over time, so most of these aircraft were used all the time during the campaign period. Instead, the planeset utilizes variable CP values and limited modification / ordnance availability to the maximum. Aircraft pool may not change much, but the proportions and available equipment will shift a lot during the campaign - simulating the new aircraft being more and more common and being fitted with increasing number of kits and modifications, the longer they are in service.

Having our new system with variable CP, we altered the idea of a low tech planeset #1 - now it has all these fancy machines from set #2, yet at very high prices in order to keep their availability limited. It should give some spotlight to the E-7, I-16, Stuka, He 111, IAR, etc.

Other main changes include:

- no basic Il-2 in Moscow sets (Il-2 was still a new and limited type in 1941)

- readjusted payload availability for the Il-2 to match its real loadouts

- Hs 129 merged with Ju 87 as a basic attacker for Axis

- Yak-7b added to Stalingrad sets (while technically a 1943 series, it is close enough to M105PF engined variants that debuted in July/August '42)

- no P-40E over Moscow (it made it to VVS only in 1942), with engine mod it should be worthy opponent for F-4 and G-2

- MC 202 also coming only in 1942, tied with IAR 80 as a low tech, low price extra plane

3. Squadron balance chart.
Registration is going to be launched late as we are still doing some work on the server.
In order to help you pick your allegiance and due to numerous requests from the community, we bring back the squadron registration chart - you can declare your allegiance prior to the campaign and registration launch.

Previous experience has shown that this chart quite often is off from actual balance so please remember few key things:

- many squadrons do not register in that chart, so do not try that much to balance it as the real balance will most likely differ

- use it as a pure situational awareness tool, to get some heads up about those squads who do use it

- try to be precise about the information you put there, estimate the average number of players that will frequently show up instead of the one time peaks

- if you fly larger, organized flyouts on specific days only, you may add that info in the box

Here's the chart. Enjoy
 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17FXJXQkDcC3nazNq9m-JlYkT08JhN2quUustgUvOXpI/edit#gid=0 

4. Stalingrad map
The new campaign will bring back the Stalingrad map to the Eastern Front. It is where it all began - back in 2016 when first TAW was launched it was the only map in the game - now coming back on TAW, upgraded to fit all these new features we created over the years.
It took us many months to prepare it and it was surprisingly challenging- as the oldest of the game maps and it does not have some of the features of the newer maps that make creator's life easier. It is also a low populated area - while it makes the map somewhat unique, it was an another challenge on its own.

The Stalingrad map comes with its TAW trademark of handcrafted objectives:

- 29 towns

- 72 unique defense positions

- 35 airfields

- 9 depots

- 16 train stations

We tried kept the immersion of two armies fighting over remote battlefield at the end of the world - there's little infrastructure over the map, depots, airfields or defenses look like quickly raised marvels of field engineering. Dugouts, barracks, tents - the ground troops had to make their own accomodation instead of using existing one.

The Stalingrad map has also one more unique feature. Much like Normandy, where English Channel was an impenetrable barrier for Axis, on Stalingrad we have similar natural obstacle in form of Volga river. As a result, the land behind the Volga is not reachable for Axis and is not counted towards total score. It is a safe rear area for Soviet reserves and supply depots. Axis goal is to secure western bank of the river and capture the Stalingrad itself. Soviets on the other hand have to rely on river shipping transporting the supply from the safe land on the other side - a weak link and a desirable target for German bombers. In winter, once the river freezes over, they shift to land transportation.

Map timeframe is really wide in order to incorporate battles across the entire area - starting in July 1942, with Axis forces rushing in an offensive towards Don river. There will be several Axis offensives during the map, followed by bloody autumn stalemate and winter Soviet pushes with a secondary Axis winter counteroffensive - it is going to be a struggle with many possible twists. Enjoy



That's all for now. Stay tuned as there are many more changes coming and there will be some more updates in the coming hours!

Edited May 1, 2024 by =/Hospiz/=MetalHead

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Hi again!
Some more updates about upcoming changes.

5. FLAK UPGRADE
If you are TAW veteran, you know that scheme by heart - send a lone flak dragger, let the AAA focus on him, destroy the AAA while it is busy with the first guy, then just wipe the undefended target.

These days are over. The FLAK UPGRADE is coming.

It is a feature that was on the "to do" list for a year or two by now. Why did it take so long? It was quite complex to achieve satisfying results, while keeping decent performance. But what is it all about?

The FLAK UPGRADE is composed of three main changes to AAA behaviour:

- faster target acquisition
- low level deadzone
- dense heavy flak 
 

Let's explain them one by one.
 

I. Target acquisition.
AAA guns will now switch targets faster. While they still tend to focus on the closest enemy, they will be more likely to switch the target if another aircraft shows up. It will make luring the AAA much harder as the attacking aircraft will have shorter window of opportunity to destroy the gun while it is occupied with a teammate, before he becomes the target himself.

 

II. Low level deadzone
"How do I attack the targets then?" you might ask. Well, there is a better and a more realistic way available now. We managed to simulate a blind zone for the AAA at a treetop level - it will not receive a command to attack the aircraft if it is flying low (it still sees you through the trees, yet it pretends it does not). The deadzone is pretty small - you must be really low, to keep yourself ignored by the AAA. Low level fighter bomber raids? Hell yeah.

III. Dense heavy flak
It seems to be a trend these days isn't it? While working on the AAA we used that opportunity to create something similar to what you may know from CB - it is our own development though. In case you ask, yep, each of these explosions is lethal, provided it happens close enough.


Stay tuned for more info!

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

6. Ground unit durability overhaul. 

You know what the "TAW meta" (or IL-2 meta in general) was  like - 50 kg bombs. How many? Preferably all of them. Busting tanks, destroying bridges, razing those huge depot buildings or just picking off guns or halftrack hidden in the trees - everything needed just small bombs. Combined with a pair of guns to deal with softer targets it was an answer for any situation.
 

Not anymore.
 

We managed to do some experimental changes and attach some logic to the ground objects in order to alter the way they are damaged. It will make the ground pounding much more rewarding as different weapons and types of ordnance are now required to deal with different targets - it does not mean stuff is invulnerable to 50 kg bombs but they are not the perfect solution in every case.
 

Key aspects of the overhaul are:
- artillery, gun emplacements and AAA are somewhat more resistant to gunfire, much more ammo will be needed to destroy them, making HE rockets or smaller bombs a viable solution against them
- AAA crews still run if strafed so spraying the gun emplacement with a pair of MGs is still a very good idea as it can silence the gun
- tanks take less damage from nearby explosions making them harder to kill by bombing, direct hits with bombs, rockets and larger AP projectiles work best
- large structures like arch bridges or industrial reinforced concrete structures are very durable now - larger bombs will be needed to deal with them
- small, light construction buildings are more prone to the bomb blast (wooden barrack will not survive a 500 kg bomb because it was not a direct hit)
 

In order to reflect these changes, GK, CP and EXP rewards were adjusted for some of these targets in order to reflect their resistance to attacks.

Choose your loadouts carefully. Mission planning becomes more important than ever.








That's all for now!
Rumours say the registration will be opened later today!

[Viktor33_33]

Will there be river targets on the map of Stalingrad? Soviet armored boats, monitors and barges?

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

20 minutes ago, Viktor33_33 said:

Will there be river targets on the map of Stalingrad? Soviet armored boats, monitors and barges?

For now only the barges transporting supply across the river.

[Viktor33_33]

22 minutes ago, =/Hospiz/=MetalHead said:

For now only the barges transporting supply across the river.

Thanks! I hope you will add armored boats, especially since they were actively used there

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Hello!
TACTICAL AIR WAR campaign Season XXXVI is going to start on Friday, 3rd of May, at around 17:00 UTC.
Registration is about to open and here's the biggest changelog in TAW history:
 

Planeset:
1. Variable CP values introduced - each Extra plane in the planeset has its own unique price.
2. Prices can vary based on performance, historical availability and timeframe. CP values range from 10 to 50 CP.
3. Plane prices often drop with subsequent planesets as they are being replaced by more modern machines.
4. The first aircraft in your line of choice is discounted 20% - becomes 20 CP instead of 25 CP etc.
5. Additional 25 CP can be collected on top of full hangar - sufficient only to replenish some of the aircraft.
6. Moscow planeset redesigned - two sets instead of three.
7. Three new Stalingrad planesets added.
8. Li-2 added for the Soviets and IAR 80/81 for the Axis.
9. First planeset is a "low tech set" - Extra planes are very valuable and limited. Prices drop in following planesets.
10. Some plane availability adjusted (Il-2 is not a Basic plane in 1941, P-40 and MC 202 only in 1942,  Hs 129 merged as a basic plane with the Ju 87, Yak-7b in Stalingrad sets).
 

Map Changes:
11. Stalingrad map added 🥳
12. Stalingrad follows the Moscow as the second map in the Eastern Front campaign.
13. Map timeframe is from  17th July 1942 to 16th January 1943.
14. Axis forces Start west of the Don river and have two large offensives early in order to  push towards the Volga. Autumn is mostly a stalemate and in the winter there will be two Soviet offensives and one Axis counterattack between them.
15. The land on the eastern bank of the Volga cannot be captured by the Axis and is not counted towards the Victory Points. Capturing entire western bank wins the map for Axis.
16. River shipping will appear as a target on the Volga river, moving supply on the western bank.
17. Ship convoys on the Volga are smaller than the large Western Front convoys from the channel and transport only 50 instead of 100 supply.
18. During the winter, the river connection is severed and supply chain shifts to normal land transportation with trucks.
19. Moscow map timeframe changed - starts earlier and ends earlier as well.
20. Moscow offensive schedule adjusted accordingly - more Axis offensives in the autumn and less Soviet ones due to shorter winter.
 

FLAK UPGRADE:
21. Heavy flak got an "immersion" upgrade - much more flak explosions will appear over a target. It is not a cosmetic change - each of them is lethal.
22. Heavy flak skill got adjusted to compensate for the increased number of explosions.
23. Responsiveness of the AAA guns got improved - they switch between targets more often.
24. Target acquisition for the AAA improved - it is less likely to focus on a single aircraft if there is more targets around.
25. AAA has a small deadzone above the ground - aircraft flying at tree top level will be detected much later, making low level attacks possible.
26. Ship AAA does not have the deadzone - there is no cover on the surface of the sea
 

Ground Unit Durability Overhaul:
27. AT gun emplacements, artillery and AAA positions are more resistant to machine gun and autocannon fire.
28. AAA crews still run away when shot at - even the light machine guns can still silence (but not destroy) the AAA emplacement.
29. Tanks and other armored vehicles are more resistant to indirect hits, especially from smaller explosive ordnance - accuracy is required to efficiently deal with them.
30. Large structures - bunkers, reinforced concrete buildings, arch bridges etc. are more resistant to bombs - single 50 kg no longer destroys everything.
31. Smaller buildings, barracks or sheds are easier to damage with the bomb blast, even an indirect one.
32. "More resistant" does not mean they are invulnerable, just can take more hits.
33. In order to keep server performance at reasonable rate, scenery buildings (like civilian housings) do not utilize these changes.
 

Ground Warfare Changes:
34. AI Command can order to reduce strength of defense position in the rear towns in order to free up supply for the frontline.
35. Released supply will be moved via trucks (or ships) in order to support the offensive or the defense (according to current situation).
36. Additional supply columns can be generated deep in the rear to improve the supply flow over the long distances.
37. Due to the large number of supply columns, not all of them will be marked on the map. The closer to the frontline, the more likely the column (or a ship convoy) will be marked. The rest is hidden behind fog of war (but still present on the map).
38. Large supply columns will now start appearing 7 missions (one in game week) before the offensive starts in order to properly prepare the troops for advance.
39. Depot supply production bug fixed (now it properly drops to 20% of starting value once the depot is destroyed).
 

Website and UI Changes:
40. Depot naming has changed - they are referenced by their real location now. Depot name is added on the map as well.
41. Depot supply link (the town which is being supplied by a given depo) is given on the depot target photos, as an intel note.
42. Depots are listed in a separate table, apart from the cities in order to reduce confusion and make it more readable.
43. Information about current depot supply production is added on the website next to a given depot.
44. Information about ongoing offensive is being displayed above the map on home page.
45. Squadron statistics correctly list kills and losses of their members - sortie results are counted towards squadron score only if the player was a squadron member during that sortie.
 

Other changes:
46. Drop zones (for paratroopers) will now give update about landing troops more often - even without landing a full squad alive you will see messages about troops being successfully deployed in the zone.
47. EXP, CP and GK rewards adjusted for some of the objects in order to reflects changes to their durability.
48. Tank column composition adjusted to vary between Moscow and Stalingrad maps.
49. Performance improvements in order to reduce server load in high intensity scenarios.
50. Various minor bug improvements and fixes.

Edited May 3, 2024 by =/Hospiz/=MetalHead

[=LG/F=Kathon]

Hi,

Registration is open.

 

Good luck! 

[Crious]

Hi , is there anything happening with the statistics?

According to the individual pilots statistics 335Gr should have the summary of her pilots points: https://tacticalairwar.com/pilots_stats.php?search_name=335

But in squadron statistics 335Gr barely sums up to 350 points. Is there any faults or i missed something?

[E69_Falke_Wolf]

2 hours ago, 335th_GRAlbatros74 said:

Hi , is there anything happening with the statistics?

According to the individual pilots statistics 335Gr should have the summary of her pilots points: https://tacticalairwar.com/pilots_stats.php?search_name=335

But in squadron statistics 335Gr barely sums up to 350 points. Is there any faults or i missed something?

We are talking about it in Discord. There are a mistake in script, they´re gonna fix it.

 

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

Hi everyone!
Small update coming:
- fix for squadron sorting (default by exp)
- fix for squadron exp calculation bug
- AAA accuracy tweaked to compensate for increased lethality from behaviour changes
- airfield / depot AAA accuracy is kept high
- changes coming live from next mission, except for website/stats which are live now

[Viktor33_33]

Hi. Why is there no real PS-84 on the server, but only DS3?

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

8 minutes ago, Viktor33_33 said:

Hi. Why is there no real PS-84 on the server, but only DS3?

Because there is no PS84 in game so C47 is used to represent one.

[Viktor33_33]

I was referring to Li-2

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

Because there is no PS84 in game so C47 is used to represent one.

I was referring to Li-2, which is present in the game)

[=/Hospiz/=MetalHead]

16 hours ago, Viktor33_33 said:

I was referring to Li-2

I was referring to Li-2, which is present in the game)

Li-2 (as the armed transport we have) was only operational in the second half of 1942