PWCG Ironman - BoB Campaign Results

[Varibraun]

 @PatrickAWlson I wanted to drop in to say thank you for your work in bringing this "1 year later" BoB option for us.  Being able to fly almost the entire war on the Western Front (and still being able to have pilots in the east too) added a huge element to keep me interested in IL2 as I have worked my way through it over this past IRL year or so.  Because you allow us to continue the campaign even when playing "dead is dead" and to fly multiple player pilots, sides & squadrons, here is where I ended up in May of 45:

 

Total Player Pilots: 28

-19 Allied (Flying Hurricane, Spitfire, Typhoon, Tempest, P-38, P-47, P-51 & Mosquito)

-9 Axis (Flying 109, 190, 262)

Player Pilots KIA during the war: 25 (It was an absolutely brutal campaign).

Surviving Player Pilots at the end of the war:

1. Maj Al Miller - 78 victories (US Career = May 44 - May 45)

All P-51s, Leading Allied ace, #1 of non-historical aces, #7 of all in game aces (screenshots in spoiler)

2. Lt Augustus Garmen - 13 victories (LW Career = May 44 - May 45)

Started career on eastern front where he gained 8 kills in the 109, transferred to JV44 flying 262s in Apr 45.

3. OFw Gehardt Hollman - Seriously wounded on his 1st mission in Apr 45 (wounded through end of the war). 

 

A couple of interesting notes:

-9 of the 10 non-historical Aces were Luftwaffe (Some flying on both fronts).  I was impressed that your background simulation managed to randomly recreate some historical accuracy.  All of them survived the war with victories ranging from 50 to 41, ending with 3 Majs and 6 Hptm.  

-The rear gun in the Me-410 is a menace.  It took a disproportionate toll on my Allied player pilots, killing several who were leading aces at the time.  I learned to respect it the hard way as the campaign progressed.  Maj Miller was a smart man when he joined the 354th before D-Day and had ZERO 410 kills in his career, allowing him to ultimately transfer the the understrength 352nd taking command as a 1stLt.

 

Bottom line - I had an absolute blast due to your talent and your hard work over this past decade (and before) - THANK YOU!! 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

  

[Hotaru_Ito]

Question, if you don't mind me asking: how do you go about pacing the careers? Seems like your guys scored at a pretty plausible rate compared to how fast things can go in both PWCG and vanilla. Did you take a lot of leave? Switch between pilots a lot? Curious because that's an issue I've always struggled with in my own campaigns.

[Varibraun]

Hi @Hotaru_Ito,

 

The short answer is "Yes," because as you know, @PatrickAWlson offers us many more tools to keep things more in line with historical numbers than the stock campaign (which really only gives you 2 - Ironman & accelerated campaign).

 

Here is how I play a PWCG campaign which usually results in much more realistic numbers for me (and keeps me interested in the ongoing campaign and it's ultimate results):

 

-Ironman "Dead is Dead" for my pilots even if I, or the AI, does something stupid (it happens, just ask Douglas Bader).  

-I have pilots on both sides and am usually am flying 4 player pilots in a campaign and will rotate between them depending on what I want to fly, or sometimes to help out a squadron that is struggling with high casualties.  I will create a new pilot when I lose one, even if I don't play him for a while.

-I take leave on the following events for any of my player pilots: Award (14 days) & Promotion (30 days). 

-I will transfer player pilots (which also results in time passing in the campaign) for a few reasons: Take command of a squadron with low ranking members, help out a squadron doing poorly, transfer fronts, or to "reward" a pilot with a better aircraft being flown by a different squadron.

-After getting to a certain level with a pilot (typically around 20 victories), I will start to bring the same AI wingmen on each mission and then decline some claims since PWCG will usually assign those kills to the AI.  I will keep that up until those AI become aces (or casualties) and then will bring new ones.  I find it interesting to try to build an elite squadron of AI aces (it gives you more reason to try and watch your wingman's 6 and not just focus on your kills). 

-I generally fly a 3/1 simulated to actual mission ratio.

 

Hope that helps, I am looking forward to flying again in WWI FCPWCG soon!

[PatrickAWlson]

10 hours ago, Hotaru_Ito said:

Question, if you don't mind me asking: how do you go about pacing the careers? Seems like your guys scored at a pretty plausible rate compared to how fast things can go in both PWCG and vanilla. Did you take a lot of leave? Switch between pilots a lot? Curious because that's an issue I've always struggled with in my own campaigns.

I play very differently.  I use a maximum penalty of seriously wounded.  A serious wound will keep your pilot out of action for weeks or even months.  This allows me to continue my pilot in the face of stupidity (usually of my own making but sometimes not) while still suffering consequences.

 

I also mix in pilots of different nations and different roles in the same campaign.  When I am flying one pilot the others get a break.  I have my "main" pilot, but the others are there when I want a change. 

 

Like Varibraun, I give away victories to my AI pilots.  I also make liberal use of "leave" to  advance time, in a similar fashion to Varibraun, for medals and promotions.  I also make heavy use of leave in slower (usually winter) periods when I am flying WWI.  This causes my victories to clump around major battles.

 

PWCG alters pacing based on season and historical events.  More action in spring, summer and fall.  Even more action if a major battle is happening. If you fly every possible mission from 1916 through 1918 with no leave and no wounds then you will rack up 300 kills.

 

If 300 kills sounds non historical, think of what von Richthofen would have if his career played out like the game.  No wounds, flying every day, combat happening at a far higher rate than was historical - he would have scored 300 as well.  

 

 

[nesher666]

On 11/18/2024 at 12:39 AM, Varibraun said:

 

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I can read between the lines here.