Manually "ending" JABO missions in career mode?

[RyanR]

 

JABO missions in career mode are kinda frustrating. You drop your bombs, fire rockets, blow some things up, but the mission objective isn't completed for what seems to be a lengthy preset time. In the end, that means you do the mission, and might even take down a couple interceptors before you have to hit the deck and scram, but you get a "fail" when you return to base.

 

Problems seem to be that the AI planes may not engage the ground targets after dropping ordinance. In pre-Kuban campaigns, the planes just don't have the firepower (or enough ammo) to successfully destroy targets through strafing. There's never fighter cover (though, AI-only JABO missions typically get fighter cover), and you're in a very disadvantaged position being low and slow. This gets doubly frustrating in early war when you're in a MiG-3 or P-40. Though, the 190A-5 is pretty fun in the Kuban campaign. Fuel trucks are simply allergic to 20mm's!

 

I can think of three "easy" fixes: one would just be to use the level bombing "trigger" to end the mission. The other would just be to use a radio call to say "rejoin formation and egress". The third would just be give mission credit once the ground targets are "engaged" as with an interception mission. Then, as a flight leader, you can just get the AI to "follow me" out of the target area.

 

Just thinking out loud. I'm in love with the latest iteration of IL-2.

 

Thanks!

-Ryan