Highest Reputation Content

EDIT:  22 November 2012 2:50PM Pacific Time (yes, Thanksgiving Day)

This update is HUGE!  All of the images are now up-to-date, most of the old content has been removed, new content added, and the organization is much more in line with the current World of Tanks manual.  Hyperlinks were added all over the place, so people can jump to exactly what they're looking for.  Also, the manual revision name will reflect the build number the game is currently in, so it's even easier to know if you've got the current manual.

Yes, I do understand that there's only a "Getting Started" and "Basic" section to the manual.  Rest assured, more will be added coming up soon!  Enjoy everyone!!

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Welcome to the "un"official site of the World of Warplanes Game Manual!  This manual has been designed to help new Beta Testers understand the basic concepts of the game.

Anyone can benefit from this manual, from World of Tanks veterans and flight sim enthusiasts to absolute newcomers to computer gaming.  I highly recommend utilizing this manual for reference if you have any questions regarding the game.  Many questions can be answered by searching the manual's PDF bookmarks.  (If you're not familiar with PDF bookmarks, download the latest version of Adobe Reader here:  Adobe PDF Reader)

This manual will be in a consistent state of upgrade due to the unknown nature of update content until it's released.  Therefore, some information may be out of date.  If you have any recommendations as to what you'd like to see in future revisions, please leave a reply!

Enjoy!


Update history:

0.7.0 - Initial version.
0.7.1 - 27 November 2011  20:15 UTC
0.7.2 - 03 March 2012 06:40 UTC
0.7.3 - 04 March 2012 07:05 UTC
0.7.4 - 04 April 2012 05:57 UTC
0.7.5 - 14 June 2012 17:10 UTC - massive update.  Too many items to list.
0.3.4 - 22 Novermber 2012 14:50 PST - complete update, overhaul, revision, spit-polish, you name it.

0.1 - 9 October 2012 19:10 UTC - added Quick Reference Card



You're the man Crash! Keep up the good work.

I thought it would be good to post this guide also on the NA forum. Enjoy

Now that with the new patch the role of the bomber and ground atack plane has been better defined, I saw the need of making this guide because some of the players haven't learned yet that they need to protect the bombers, which are left  easy prey for the enemy.

What I am writing now is from historical sources and I will try also to make some propositions about how to use this tactics but at a smaller scale, because we don't have that much planes.  http://forum-na.worl...e_veryhappy.gif

The Heavy Bomber "Combat Box"

A key to the success of the American daytime strategic bombing campaign against Germany was the evolving bomber formation called the "combat box" Designed to maximize defensive firepower and concentrate the group's bomb load, variations of the combat box included 18, 27, 36, or 54 heavy bombers. Devised at the end of 1942, the basic 18-plane formation, called the Group Javelin Down, consisted of high, middle, and low six-plane squadrons stepped diagonally downward toward the sun.

Originally USAAF planners had hoped that 200-plus .50-caliber machine guns mounted in 18 Flying Fortresses would produce an impenetrable screen of fire around the formation. Even when later formations expanded to include 54 aircraft, their nearly 700 guns could not ensure that the majority of the bombers would reach their target, let alone survive the return trip. It took effective fighter escort, combined with the combat box, to make the ongoing strategic bombing campaign possible.

These large bomber formations provided distinct challenges to fighter pilots on both sides of the struggle. For Allied fighter pilots, the job of escorting the bombers to and from the target was an evolving task as the formations, enemy tactics, and the escort fighters' combat range changed over time. For German fighter pilots, the task of attacking massive streams of bombers flying in ever more effective formations and escorted by fighters with increasing range and freedom of action was a daunting one.

http://img841.images...rformation1.jpg

Escorting U.S. Bomber Formations

When it became clear early in the strategic bombing campaign that German fighters were making mincemeat of the heavy bomber formations, American fighter pilots were ordered to stick close-as close as 50-75 feet-to the slow-moving bombers. This very close escort robbed them of the advantages of altitude and speed, but provided opportunities to dive on enemy fighters below the formation. However, by early 1944 the American escort pilots were allowed greater freedom of movement, ranging out to the sides and front above the formation, sometimes scissoring to stay near the slower bombers. As described by Mike Spick in Luftwaffe Fighter Aces, the three squadrons in the fighter group escorting the bomber combat box usually arranged themselves as follows:

-One squadron would overtake the bombers and position above, dividing into two sections, one some miles ahead of the other.
-A second squadron also divided into two sections and positioned above and about a mile out from the bombers on each side of their box.
-The third squadron acted as top cover some 4,000 feet above the bombers, one section directly above and the other about ten miles ahead towards the sun where it would be ready to intercept any attacks from this "blind spot."

Typical Close Escort Formation
http://img46.imagesh...11/escort11.jpg

The picture above shows a typical close escort formation, with flank escorts, rear escort, and a forward sweep. The latter is the group furthest away from the bombers, usually out of visual range, and is the group's defense against the head-on pass.

This wider-ranging escort made it possible for the escorts to find trouble before trouble found the bombers. Attacking enemy fighters before they could form up for a coordinated attack reduced Allied bomber losses and increased German fighter losses. Fighter group leaders had to resist sending their entire group against enemy attacks, since a well-timed German feint could attract so many pursuing fighters that the bombers would be left vulnerable to attack from another direction.

Attacking U.S. Bomber Formations

While it may sound as if German fighter pilots had the advantage in their freedom to form up at a distance, then hit fast and hard from the most advantageous angle, leaving their opposition little time to react, in reality there was plenty of fear to go around-for the attackers, their intended victims, and the shepherding escort pilots. The combat box formation bristled with heavy machine guns, and in the course of the war gunners aboard the bombers shot down far more enemy fighters than their fighter escort did. As Luftwaffe pilot Hans Philipp noted, " ...curve in toward 40 Fortresses and all your past sins flash before your eyes."

The frontal attack promised the best chance of survival. The German fighters would fly alongside the bomber formation, out of range of the gunners tracking them. About three miles ahead of the formation they would turn 180 degrees and attack from out of the sun at 12 o'clock high, aiming for the big bombers' cockpits. Sometimes they flew so close to their target that they had to zoom at the last instant to avoid the towering tail of the B-17. A two-gun chin turret was added to the B-17G model specifically to counter this head-on attack.

When attacking bombers from behind, the idea was to concentrate the attack by hurling one four-plane Schwarm after another at the target aircraft, quickly firing and then flying over the formation. Whether attacking from in front or behind, the German fighters often finished their attack with a split-S, while taking fire from the bombers' dorsal, tail, and belly guns, to open up as much distance from those guns as quickly as possible.

Other Luftwaffe tricks made life difficult for the American escorts. For example, as Mike Spick notes in Luftwaffe Fighter Aces, " ...one flight of ...FW 190s was sent down through the formation as a decoy; the remainder stayed above to fall on the Americans when they dove after the sacrificial flight." In the sudden, violent and confusing world of aerial combat, it was hard to resist the urge to follow any fighter that flew through the formation.

While German weaponry and tactics improved, the German fighter force was being worn down, with fewer and fewer experienced pilots left to lead the attack against the bombers. Bf 110s and Fw 190s armed with rockets and cannon, accompanied by Bf 109s flying top cover, broke up bomber formations and fell on the stragglers like wolves. These tactics were effective, but it was finally attrition that decided the outcome.

The appearance of the Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter allowed circumvention of the defending escorts altogether. In a technique pioneered by Luftwaffe pilots of the Kommando Nowotny, a Me-262 would approach the rear of an American formation at top speed (nearly 600 mph), bypassing the fighter screen. The German jet would then dive to a position roughly a mile behind and a quarter mile below the bombers, pull up into a high-g climb to scrub off airspeed and level off when even with the enemy formation. Now inside the screen of escorts and with a relatively slow closing speed with the bombers, the interceptor pilot could select a target, trigger a short burst from his four 30 mm cannon, roll inverted and dive away.

Notes

-You want as much distance between you and the bomber stream as you can get and still be able to see - and get to - the bomber group. The more distance you have, the more time you have to interfere with bandits on their way to the bombers. Escorts shouldn't hesitate to move beyond visual range of the bombers if they spot bandits further out.

-The escorts usually stay between 5,000 to 8,000 feet higher than the bombers, so as to have enough energy to turn into attacking fighters.

-The conventional wisdom is to stay with the bombers, to break off enemy fighters when they cease to be a threat, and especially not to follow enemy fighters to lower altitudes. This may or may not be the right response, depending upon the circumstances. In an event, where every downed pilot means one less enemy plane, it is often better to release some escorts to follow and kill known bandits, even if they are trying to leave. In an arena, where there are always more enemy planes to come, it is usually best to stay with the bombers rather than chase bandits.

-Maintain your position relative to the bombers by keeping your speed high and flying at angles to the bomber stream. You will be faster than the bombers, and the temptation is to throttle back and fly level with them. You can do this if you are sure no bandits are around, but otherwise, you want to keep your speed high so that when they do show up, you have the energy to deal with them. Stay in position by flying at angles to the bombers. For example, if the bombers are holding 90 degrees, fly 120 degrees for a while, then turn to 60 degrees until you're back in position, then repeat.

-If you have bandits hitting the bombers in a head-on pass, fire your guns at them, even if there's no hope of hitting them. A head-on pass is a tricky thing. It takes place at closure speeds of 500 mph or faster and aiming is very difficult. If the shooter flinches on the approach, it can mean the difference between a bomber kill and a clean miss. Fill the air with tracers, make him think he has to take evasive action or die.

We can use most of these tactics in the game, but we must adapt them to the small number of planes that each team has.For example we can have 5 bombers, 3 escorts in the front, 2 on left side, 2 on right side and 3 in the rear.

CrashTailspin's Guide to Successful Heavy Fighter Operation

Hey everyone!

This guide was written to give players some tips, hints, and tactics to get the most effective use out of their heavy fighters.  Note:  I said Heavy Fighters, not "bombers".  These aircraft were not specifically designed to fly straight and level like a heavy bomber.  With their speed and potent armament, they excel in high-speed slashing attacks against even the most armored aircraft.  However, this speed and firepower comes at a price:  reduced maneuverability.  The following information will help you maximize your heavy fighter's strong points while minimizing its weaknesses.


Rule 1:  GET ALTITUDE!
At the beginning of a match, nearly all aircraft start at very close to the same altitude.  Most players choose to remain at the altitude they start at, too.  However, gaining altitude at the beginning of a match gives you several advantages, especially in a Heavy Fighter:

• It gives you a better vantage point of the battle map.
  
• It allows you to better choose which target you want to attack.
  
• It acts as stored energy (since diving converts altitude into airspeed).
  
• A diving attack gives an enemy less of an opportunity to mount a counter-attack

An efficient method of gaining altitude is to enter a boost-assisted climb at a constant airspeed.  This allows you to gain altitude without reducing your most important asset - your speed.  However, you do not want to exhaust all of your boost in the initial climb.  I recommend using at most 50% of your boost.  This allows you to attain a respectable altitude while conserving the rest of your boost for potential egress climbs (more on that later).


Rule 2:  PICK AN APPROPRIATE TARGET
Once at an effective altitude, targets will start to appear.  You may be tempted to engage the first target you see, but I would advise against it.  Look around first and determine which target would be best to engage first.  Here's a few characteristics of proper targets to engage first:

• Aircraft which are unaware of your presence or are currently occupied.  Tell-tale signs of this are aircraft flying in a straight line or on a ground attack run.
  
• Aircraft that are weaker and / or have less firepower (think Japanese fighters / I-16s / lower-tier fighters).  Tehese fighters can typically be destroyed in a single pass and at longer range (due to your cannon) if engaged early and adequate hits are maintained.
  
• An aircraft carrying ordinance.  External ordinance weighs an aircraft down and adds drag, reducing its maneuverability and top speed.  Also, these aircraft are more likely to be focued on attack ground targets, taking their attention away from incoming enemy attackers (see previous tip under this rule).

Occasionally, you will encounter fighters at your altitude.  If this is the case, stop boosting (if you are - you want the most time for your guns to be on-target), aim true, fire as soon as the lead indicator shows up, don't let off the trigger, and plan to break off early if you don't take out the target in time to avoid a collision.  ALWAYS ATTEMPT TO AVOID A COLLISION!  You don't do your team any good if you die in a head-on collision.

Rule 3:  ATTACK IN A HIGH-SPEED PASS / AVOID THE TURNFIGHT
Once you've chosen an appropriate target, it's time to start your attack run.  From your altitude advantage, dive down on your target, and open fire once they're in range.  Here's some tips to achieve maximum damage to the (hopefully) unsuspecting target:

• Try not to overshoot!  Heavy fighters are fast, but you'll do yourself no good if you pass your target before you destroy it.  To avoid this, reduce your throttle (if you have a joystick), or flat-out idle your throttle (keyboard / mouse users) to avoid gaining too much airspeed in your dive.  Also, every aircraft has an "effective speed range".  Overspeeding this range makes the aircraft sluggish to respond to control inputs, potentially causing you to dive right into the ground (and that's bad).
  
• Once you're in range of the target (your lead indicator gets brighter), start firing and DON'T LET UP until you either destroy the target or egress from the attack.  Enemy aircraft left at 1% health can still deal damage.  Better to finish them off then to leave them damaged.
  
• Try at all costs to stay out of a turning engagement.  Heavy Fighters are large, heavy aircraft - nowhere near as light or nimble as their Light Fighter or Carrier-Borne Fighter counterparts.  As such, they cannot turn as well, and are easy prey if caught in a turning engagment.

Rule 4:  EGRESS THE AREA IN A CLIMB
After your attack run, it's time to get out of the engagement, get some range from the enemy, so you can turn around safely and re-engage.  Here's some tips to effectively re-engage with success:

• After your attack run is through, enter a climb at about a 45 degree angle (it doesn't have to be perfect).  This helps accomplish two things - DISTANCE FROM THE ENEMY and ALTITUDE ABOVE THE ENEMY.
  
  • Too steep of a climb doesn't provide enough distance from the enemy (and reduces your airspeed too much).
    
  • Too shallow of a climb doesn't allow for enough altitude above the enemy to re-engage in a diving attack.
• Once the area is clear (typically ~2,400ft / ~800m from the previous target) and no other enemies are immediately near, turn to either re-engage or pick a new target and repeat the process.

Rule 5:  FIGHT ON YOUR TERMS
Eventually, you WILL get an enemy on your tail.  However, do not fret.  There are several tactics which work particularly well against enemy pursuers:

• If you've got boost (and you should), USE IT!  Enter a fairly steep climb and hit the boost.  Most fighters have only half the boost duration that Heavy Fighters do, and are somewhat slower as well.  This combination allows you to pull away from an enemy in a climb.  Enter your boost climb, and once the enemy is around ~2,400ft / ~800m, turn around to re-engage your new target.
  
• If you're out of boost, get some altitude while keeping as much airspeed as you can and find some friendly fighters.  The F7 key is the default macro for "Clear My Tail!", and puts a little "SOS" above your aircraft for friendlies to see, letting them know that you've got an enemy on your tail, and need some help shaking him.
  
• If friendlies are in short supply, try to find some friendly ground targets.  Friendly targets quite often have at least one (and sometimes multiple) AA guns, which can damage the enemy.  The friendly base is full of them, and when loitered over, can significantly damage (or even destroy) an enemy fighter.
  
• Remember, whatever you do, AVOID A TURNING ENGAGEMENT!  As previously stated, Heavy Fighters don't work too well in a turning battle.  If you see an enemy attempting to lure you into a steep turning battle, get into your egress climb, boost away, and if need be, completely avoid engaging the more maneuverable fighter.

Rule 6:  BOMB EARLY, BOMB QUICKLY
Let's review a couple concepts in regard to external ordinance and ground attack concepts (for a better review, check out my Guide to Successful Low-Tier Attack Aircraft Operation):

• External oridnance (i.e. Bombs and Rockets) add additional weight and drag, reducing maneuverability, acceleration, and top speed.
  
• Heavy Fighters are NOT armored like similarly-tiered Russian Ground Attack aircraft
  
• Heavy Fighters do not receive as much camoflage bonus a Ground Attack aircraft when they fly at low altitude
  
• A Heavy Fighter's optimum altitude is typically not low-level

With these concepts in mind, it's beneficial for Heavy Fighters that are carrying bombs to rush to the target they're attacking, drop their bombs, and then do what they do best - fast, slashing attacks.  If you're carrying bombs and looking for targets to hit, here are my recommendations:

• Get to your optimum altitude and gain airspeed.  This gets you to your target faster than diving to the deck, where your aircraft doesn't operate as well.
  
• Stay at altitude until you find a target to your liking.  Once you're close, enter a dive until you see the bomb reticule on-target.  Once on-target, drop your bomb (or bombs), find a new target, drop your bombs again, and regain altitude.
  
• ALWAYS BE AWARE OF ENEMY FIGHTERS!  Even though you're at altitude, you're typically going to be flying in a straight line, which makes you an easy target.  If you see an enemy approaching (other than head-on), do not be afraid to dump your bombs and run.  Staying alive outweighs dying after taking out a single ground target.

TO SUMMARIZE

Use speed an altitude to your advantage.

Avoid entering a turning engagement.

If using bombs, get to your target early.

Remember, each battle is different.  What works in one may not work in another.  These rules and tips are general in nature and are not meant for any specific engagement.

Good luck, and happy hunting!

By popular request from our NA players, we would like to provide you with a look at a few upcoming changes in future versions of World of Warplanes. The main purpose of this preview is to share with the players things that we have worked on in preparation of these versions!  

 

Disclaimer: Please note that this preview is not the official 1.6 patch notes, and may not contain all the changes in the update. We may alter or remove some of mentioned changes if there are any technical or any otherwise necessary reasons to do so.

But let’s get back to business!

 

Update 1.6 is will introduce an array of new additions to the game that are aimed at both beginners as well as experienced players.

One of the anticipated features of 1.6 is the final preparation before the release of Clans. Clans will be common for both WoT and WoWP games. Please follow our portal news for the launch date. 
Also, looking a bit ahead, we would like to tell our players that starting from version 1.7 we will be totally revision training room functionality for the needs of Esports. It is too early now to say exactly what changes will be implemented, but we have it on our roadmap starting from 1.7.

 

One of the most prominent changes in Update 1.6 is the modification of the tech trees, which will now include a new class of planes: the multirole fighters. As their name implies, these fighters are able to successfully attack both enemy aircraft and ground targets due to their flexible weapons configuration, which allows them to mount bombs/rockets and high-caliber guns. We faced the necessity of these changes after introducing new Focke-Wulf tree. Due to their specific characteristics these planes have taken a place between fighters and heavy fighters, without being a pure representative of either of them. New multirole fighters are purposed to attack light ground targets and then join the dogfight. 

One more reason for adding multirole fighters—which are able to destroy ground targets—lies in the previously introduced complex ground objects, and the subsequent changes in Superiority mode. We expect that by increasing the number of aircraft that are effective against ground targets, we will add tactical diversity in the current game mode. We also expect that players who could not master (or simply did not like) ground attack aircraft or heavy fighters, but would still like to take part in the “ground game” as well, will have a great possibility to do so.

 

We’re also glad to introduce a new branch of aircraft featuring the long-awaited USSR MiG fighters. The key characteristics of planes of this branch are its excellent speed and altitude performance; MiGs are great high-altitude fighters that excel at vertical maneuvers.

Some tier 7 premuim planes are coming too.

 

A lot of work was done on balancing guns and cannons. After the release of 1.5, we received lots of complaints saying that cannons became useless and guns appeared to be too effective. We thoroughly studied statistics and analyzed balance parameters and made necessary adjustments. Although the balance is an area that cannot remain unchanged, we hope that the players will appreciate the revision of weapon balance in version 1.6, and we look forward to your feedback from Common Test.
Another thing that should be mentioned is the transition to a more functional and stable sound engine WWISE. In this connection, a sound picture of the battle has undergone some changes. In particular, weapon sounds changed, extra effects in voice messages added, other effects sounds were changed. We will continue working on a sound in future versions.

 

Among the other important refinements that we plan to implement in version 1.6 there are:

• Improvements in control profiles. Multiple mistakes were fixed in the Mouse control profile, and new possibilities were added for those who use both mouse and keyboard. For gamepads, we changed the trigger signal processing logic, allowing for better functionality when executing commands bound to the triggers.  
• Some of mistakes in the Matchmaker logic were fixed:
• Improved flight-balancing algorithm
• Adjusted the issue where there were more planes two tiers lower than the top tier, but fewer planes one tier lower 
• Fixed the problem that caused a disproportionate number of ground attack aircraft and heavy fighters (compared to fighters)
• New players will benefit from being matched up with other beginners for a longer period of time, before being matched up with more experienced players 
• We listened to your feedback and analyzed the statistic data for Superiority mode, and we have made some adjustments, including tuning the speed of the Superiority scale, and reducing the HP for armored segments of ground targets.
• Among the pleasant “Quality of Life” improvements, we would like to mention addition of a “Fill with bots” button to training rooms. This feature surely will be positively saluted by the majority of players who use training rooms. 
• A lot of not-as-big—but not less important!—adjustments were made to user interface. Work on in-battle and game interface will continue in future updates. 

 

Version 1.6 is looking very promising, and we are looking forward to hearing your feedback from the Common Test!

DrSinister's Mod Pak Installer v1.11.0

Ready for Patch 1.9.11.0

 

Auto Installer v 1.11.0

(This link goes to an external site now).

 

For this version of my Auto Installer:

1.  There is no "click/hover of item in list to see full details of the mod," you will have to reference the screenshots/videos on Post 1 of this thread. This will come at a later time (if I can figure it out).

 

To Install:

1. Download the Auto Installer above.

2. Follow the instructions within the Installer.

 

To Uninstall:

1.  An uninstaller for my Auto Installer gets placed into the root directory for WoWp (C:\Games\World_of_Warplanes folder is default).  Do not click on the Uninstaller that has the WoWp logo, that is for WoWp.

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Clear Wargaming Cache .Bat file

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Welcome to World of Warplanes!


I will be trying to help you understand the controls of this awesome game.  

To learn how to set up the game, see what to do in what game mode or learn what each thingy on the HUD is, more detailed information, then please visit this topic:
World of Warplanes Game Manual by CrashTailspin


Basic controls:

For controls I recommend to either use the keyboard/mouse or the keyboard/joystick controls. The joystick will give you the most realistic feel, however, I believe it is harder to master then the mouse, because you need to train your arm to do tiny movements, and that will take some time. The mouse will also be difficult in the beginning, but you should pick that up faster, since you are most likely used to precision movement from other games.

The mouse has a little advantage as I write this, because you can easily look around your aircraft holding the right mouse button. Some joysticks do have a HAT button ontop of the stick, but this type of view is still limited compared to mouse(I hardly ever use the HAT, u can also use the NUMpad keys).

For keyboard/mouse control you will need to use the mouse for up, down, roll right and roll left. And the keyboard A and D buttons to do the YAW (turn left and right with your tail). The joystick should have all of this implanted.

  
For both: The W button will enable WEP (short engine boost, with a cooldown). The S button will shut down your engine reduce speed, which will increase your tuning speed, but watch out to not lose to much speed, or you will stall.

If you find yourself in a dive, and the ground is coming near, using the S button may save your life.  (note: shut down engine is no put on the \ button by default)
If you wish, you can relocate any control to one of your random joystick buttons. The WEP should already have a default button set.


  

What does this button do???

  

  

Space bar, left mouse button, joystick trigger: Fire! ofc

  T: select target

  TAB: change target

  Numpad + and -: zoom in and out on radar

  - and =: decrease and increase engine power

  \ : Shutdown engine

  W: Boost engine (WEP)

  S: Reduce speed

  E: Flaps

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  C: Level off aircraft

  i: invert vertical axis, (change up and down control)

  Q: rear view

  Left Alt: show players

  M: show map

  X: change between radar and mini map

  1 to 4: enable/disable weapons

  R: launch unguided rockets (IL-2 and IL-40 only) / Drop bombs (bombs not yet implanted)

  F: enter and go out of sniper mode

  Mouse scroll wheel: zoom in and out, enter sniper mode when zoomed in enough

  Z: push to talk (enable it in settings first, under volume)

  Left Alt: Show players

  F7 and F8: decrease and increase volume

  F2 to F7: spam messages, same as in WOT

  F1: help page

  Left and right Crtl: Show cursor (We can now ping the mini map (not the radar, change between them using X ))
  
  Team chat: Hit Enter, type something, hit Enter again

  General chat: Hit Enter, type something, hit Enter+Ctrl


And the best for last, the most important button when in a dogfight (after the fire button):

Left shift: Lock camera to target. This is my favorite button, when you have a target locked, and this button is pressed. The camera will follow the targeted enemy. When using this, you will find out that flying just got a little harder, practice this as much as you can. I think it is the best way to follow your enemy when you are both circling around each other.


  

Okay since we have all of this covered we can now go to the flying part.

At the beginning of the match all aircraft are spawned so that you fly towards each other (with a little angle). This will most likely result into a headon fight. Try to avoid this, even little skilled players will just knock each other out, either by shooting each other to death, or crashing into each other. (note: you can also crash into a destroyed aircraft). And that is a quick but not very fun way to end your match.

(note: do not try to do a headon fight with a enemy that has superior firepower to you (like the German heavy fighters or the Russian ground attack aircraft))

  

Once your past the initial clash, find yourself a nice target and lock on to him. Use the left control button to follow his or her moments (go back to normal mode for better aiming) and use either WEP, / or S to get behind him. Your own creativity will come in play here, as in how you get behind your enemy. I suggest that when you die you spectate experienced players to learn their movements.

Whatever happens, if a enemy is on your tail, going straight up is a bad idea. You then show him your whole body while slowing down, and he will be thankful.
To shake a enemy, you can try asking a team mate to shoot him of your tail, or lead him over the base turret. You can also use the sun, it will make you invisible for him, and if your lucky you can surprise him.

If your aircraft is more agile, you can try making a quick dive, and pull up at the last second. If he takes bate, he might crash. Or try flying low, hugging mountains or buildings. Try to lead him to your team mates.




Gun range:

Different gun calibers, different gun range. The big boys shoot up to at least 800meters, while the tier 1's barely hit stuff at 400meters. Keep this in the back of your mind, ammo is precious.
Rockets, are unguided, and go boom at about 800meters, or when they hit a target. Rockets have a nice splash radius, so u do not necessarily need to hit to kill.




Some things that might be handy, and that can be changed in the battle settings:

-You can change the target camera to a rear view camera

-You can set the altimeter from barometric to radar. (radar will show you your actual distance from the objects/ground below you. While barometric calculates your height from sea level)

-You can change the damage panel from bottom middle to bottom left

-You can change if you want radar or mini map is shown in the beginning of the match, the radar will give you information if a enemy aircraft is at the same altitude as you. If he is not, the arrow will be smaller.

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Please respect and follow the NDA that all of you signed!



I will return with more, if any of you would like to ad anything to this topic please reply and i will put it in if i find it suitable.



See you in the sky's of WoWP

Good day my fellow forum dwellers. I am Heh, your friendly forum spammer and whale biologist. In this episode of "Heh's biology report on WoWP's fascinating creatures", we're gonna show you the slowest, biggest, and most graceful creatures of the aerial kingdom: sky whales.

Sky whale taxonomy:

 

Sky whales (Caleum Ceti), are big, slow lumbering creatures gracefully roaming at low altitudes in the WoWP maps. Like their marine counterparts, they tend to eat krill, but they only eat dead, highly oxygenated krill processed by ground targets. The sky whale will tend to use its teeth to chew the krill in either big chunks or rapid bites, depending on the sky whale's age. In order to move, sky whales use a powerful nose muscle that propels them forward at a graceful speed, except for the royal whales that we'll explain later. Due to metal birds flying all around, the sky whale needs to defend itself. Since it's too colossal in size and weight to evade them properly, they usually grow up with a dorsal defense system.

Sky whales tend to poop on big targets as well. A sky whale's poop is extremely explosive and radioactive, and some sky whales tend to poop to save their hides, much like a skunk. They also carry 8 explosive thorns at their child stages, which are usually not used, but some like using it to eat metal birds, as their taste is twice better than krill.
The glorious floating whales have 4 main evolution stages, from stubby clumsy newborns to healthy calves to fully grown adults. Those of royal blood are special, but we'll explain them later. Here's all 10 sky whale evolution stages at your fingertips:

Newborns:

Newborns are named TShes, which mean Ticklish Shy fellas. They tend to be only tickled by the planes they face and have to bite at a faster rate than piranhas! There are two varieties, which are very much the same:

TSh-1: Those are the first sky whales, and tend to be only a few days old with two fins. They have no teeth at first, but then they get their piranha bites as they grow up. Because it is a TSh, it tends to be quite a clumsy little thing, always struggling to turn. It loses poop storage organs for stronger teeth at one point, as well as for a stronger nose muscle. There have been rumors about it having thorns at that age, but it is considered a myth.

TSh-3: At this stage, they gain a single fin instead of two, and get 10 teeth that double in power afterwards. They also get a stronger dorsal defense system and regain their poop organs. That is the final stage of newborns for all sky whales.

Calves:

Calf life is very long in a sky whale's life. In fact, most sky whales are actually teenagers! They tend to develop incredible damage systems, better defense systems, and even fully destructive thorns. They tend to have closed backs at that point.

LBSh: After a painful moulting, the TSh loses its teeth and regains sharper ones, though not as potentially destructive as the tiny teeth in the TSh stages. It also gains more powerful poop. The most important development here is the access to some sort of turning ability though. This is the first Odontoceti, which are characterized by their HUGE teeth. The ones with shredding teeth are Mysticeti. All sky whale stages start with a Mysticeti stage except the TSh, IL-10 and royalty stages.

IL-2: Now the sky whale sheds its dorsal defense system off for much sharper teeth that take giant chunks out of ground targets. The sky whale also gains incredible agility compared to its younglings, and has incredibly thick skin impervious to tiny metal bird teeth. It relies on friendly metal birds to help it stay afloat, as its daddy and mommy are far away. It also gains its adult thorns at that point.

IL-2 t: After a painful post-moulting moment of paranoia, the sky whale is rewarded with a very dangerous dorsal defense system. Even though it keeps the same teeth, it loses them right after getting the DDS, which is frankly the same as the old one in its TSh-3 stage, and also losing its first teeth. However, it also gains VERY dangerous poop too. And thicker skin. It's a very formidable foe to any metal bird, but loses part of its newly found agility.

IL-8: Now the sky whale is in its preteen stages, and develops a VERY dangerous DDS. And has bigger teeth. It's an evil evil foe for anyone that stands in its way, unless it's a swallow. Swallows are the main enemy of every single sky whale, only being scared off by the great Moby Dick (tamed and trained by yours truly) and outran by royal whales. The IL-8 stage is just one of two teen moulting processes, and sacrifices all mobility for much larger teeth and stronger blubber, making it part of the Odontoceti suborder.

IL-10: This is another moulting process a sky whale can go through if it hates the immobility of the IL-8 stage. The sky whale then becomes faster and the most agile sky whale of all stages. It's still a Mysticeti and is usually neglected due to how slow it grows and how it isn't as armored, but it's still a fearsome evolution with the NR teeth, capable of dealing the same degree of damage the TShes dealt to the enemies around them. However, unlike the IL-8 stage, it has access to the NR, which helps it grow to a fully well-bred adult sky whale faster.

Adult whales:

All of them are notable by their big heads. Hell, all of them are actually so alike that we call them IL-20s.

IL-20: In this stage, there's a GIANT leap in sky whale puberty. It's even the end of sky whale puberty, as out comes a fully grown sky whale. It gains an extremely powerful DDS called the NR. At this stage, some sky whale riders name them. Adult sky whale poop is massive and can wipe an HQ out with just one poo. An adult sky whale's teeth change from the shredder teeth in its adolecent stages to the biggest teeth in whale growth ever. The most popular sky whale of them all is the legendary Moby Dick, with his trusty tailgun named Ivan.

That marks the end of common sky whale growth. However, some whales are royal whales named IL-40s.

IL-40: This whale returns to grinder teeth, relegating it to a Mysticeti, but this time, they are all on the nose of the whale. Its thorns are seemingly similar to the old ones, but they have a larger blast radius. The main thing that characterizes a royal whale though is the change from a nose propelling muscle to a powerful gas sac, located near the tail. The gas sac allows the king whale to move a lot faster than a commoner whale and also glide at high altitudes. Also known as the King Whale. However, Moby basically hates royalty. He prefers a democratic system.

IL-40P: This is the final stage of sky whale royalty, also known as the Emperor whale, which Moby hates even more because once again, he prefers democracy. It is also known as the pig whale, mainly because of its nose. Even though it's laughed at by the other sky whales because of the nose, the Emperor is still the scariest sky whale ever. There are less teeth, but they're all more powerful to the point of dealing more damage and having more precision than the King whale. The speed is absolutely ridiculous, capable of outrunning most sky dolphins. But what characterizes it is the EXTREMELY thick blubber. Nothing has thicker blubber than the Emperor. With all these aspects combined, the Emperor whale is truly the most dangerous sky whale on the field, and should be treated with absolute caution and should be taken out immediately before it annihilates every ground target.

Mutant whales:

When I went back in here, I discovered new kinds of sky whales not in the normal sky whale tree. I'll call them mutant whales.

Pegas: A baby whale, similar to the TShes. Anyway, it has a single tooth that's remarkably powerful when playing with baby sky dolphins, and quite decently thick blubber. It lacks a DDS, but it can carry poop sacks at such a young age. It is also the most agile sky whale in existence, though a lot less agile than baby sky dolphins, which are extremely agile.

BSh: This one was part of the LBSh stages, but it developed the traits at such a young age. The strange thing about this creature is that it's STRICTLY a Mysticeti unlike the LBSh, which is an Odontoceti. While the DDS is also poor, it has the remarkable ability to drop a lot of poop. We people at the Bureau of Aeromarine Biology thought that the record holder for most poop was the skorca in the Fw 57 stage, but the BSh poops more, even though its poop is smaller. Not one creature poops more than the BSh.

Sh-Tandem: Also known as the ShT whale or the Tandem whale. This is by far the most intriguing discovery I've seen. It's strikingly similar to the BSh, but it has one thing that sets it aside: it has a tail on the bottom. This was an atrocious design that shocked the BAB. Now, it has a more powerful nose muscle, but it carries the same amount of poop as the LBSh. But this is not the weird part folks. The weird part is that it can perfectly imitate a SKORCA. The Tandem whale has the climbing ability of an I-16 sky walrus, thus causing massive shock to those that try energy fighting. The mobility is also tied with the Pegas, but the Tandem is a tier 5. Thankfully it lacks proper teeth, as it would scare every sky whale if it had LBSh teeth. Overall, the Tandem is the weirdest sky whale to glide in the skies of the WoWP universe. An absolute beauty.

Now, let's talk about whale blubber:

-Sky whales are hunted by Swallows for their thick blubber, which is basically a very powerful growth accelerator. Some sky whales have been known to eat their own kind, mainly the legendary Moby.

-Apparently sky whale blubber tastes like crackers, while royal sky whale blubber tastes like honey-coated waffles.
Now, this is the story of how I met Moby Dick, and the story behind him:

One peaceful day, an alpha player was talking to me about finding a sky whale to ride. I always doubted them back in the day, cause I was always a mobility lover. But then, I saw a little sky whale sitting at a shop. He seemed lonely as no one picked him, so of course I adopted him. Had to trade in a cookie for him. And then, I took him out for a walk, then I saw metal birds all up in the air, of the biplane ethnicity. I then commanded him to stay down and smack ground targets, then I noticed, at a pretty young age, his anti-air potential. That's when I had a goal: To make the greatest whale of all time, and ride it.

So I was training my good old Moby all the time, till when I made him poop by accident and I watched a monoplane disintergrate behind him. I then discovered that sky whale poop CAN have the range to beat up people chasing him for blubber. That was in his little IL-8 stage; you can just imagine how cute and curious he was back then. :3

At his adolecence, Moby started to hate other whales. That's when he neglected my usual orders and then punched a younger whale down to the floor. I then found out that Moby had an EXCELLENT talent when it came to beating up his own kind, and then it evolved to effectively beating up anything in front of him. My Moby was starting to no longer be the calf I raised, but a legend.

When he became a beautiful and very graceful sky whale, he had a pretty white color. Then I noticed he could knock out the fastest enemies, sometimes even ALPHA ACES (sometimes) down with his bigger poo. Then I found that his tailgunner was all drunk (no duh, as always), so I took that tailgunner to rehab, and that's where Ivan's famous accuracy came from. Do not tell me how he became sober. Then when Moby had his big teeth, he loved eating up P-51s that are stupid enough to hit ground targets. Then, inspiring from Corsairs in the wild, I taught him how to aim his rockets. Somewhat. And then, he started to FARM metal birds, laughed at everyone on his tail at low alt, always pooped on carriers, making their captains yell at him all the time. And then, he scored his signature triple ace, with a double ground ace, and then he was in the history books, incarnated as Moby: The Whale Whaler. He sits quietly in the hangar nowadays, but I still love him.

And that guys, is how I met Moby, and also the end of my documentary.

Supreme edit to relieve everyone:

How to make the DDS work to your advantage:

We know, the DDS is extremely freaking drunk on vodka and all. However, there's a way for a skilled sky whale to cope with that. Basically, it moves its dorsal fin in a way to move AWAY from the enemy (or yawing). For some odd reason, it seems that the DDS aims where the plane is, not where it WILL be due to weird sky whale anatomy, so if one whale yaws away, it might just lead the DDS teeth stream TO the enemy bird's next location, and so it gets magical results. I've never noticed it since as an Ace Combat addict, I'm very very used to yawturning, but then I stopped yawing back when I still played really, and by god the shots didn't connect that well. Then some adult skorca (I remember his name, but I'm not telling you incompetent fools) tried attacking me, and when Moby yawed, 50-75% of the burst kept connecting and he went down surprisingly fast. The reason why it works when you go in a straight line is because the enemy is ALSO forced to fly in a straight line to damage you, and so there is barely any leading needed, and so the shots connect better.

Sky whale camo: It's as existent as Manbearpig. Really.

Edit: GODDAMMIT WG STOP UPDATING SO FAST
This here is an actual guide, just in documentary format.

Dear Community Members,

TL:DR at the bottom... but please, if possible read the whole thing. I really need community support on these issues.

As an avid fan of anything aviation related, I am very excited to see a free-to-play combat aviation themed game being produced by one of my favorite game studios! I have been waiting for World of Warplanes since I was about 12 years old. World of Warplanes isn't just another air combat game, World of Warplanes is redefining the entire air combat genre. This is why it is important that World of Warplanes be made as awesome as possible.

So, now that that's out of the way, I'll give a short introduction on myself...

I'm (obviously) an aviation nut. I've played everything from Red Ace Squadron to Aces High II. For those of you who don't follow the genre, that is everything from totally arcade to full-real simulator. I am currently working towards getting my Private Pilot's License and have approximately 36 hours of real-world flying experience. I have flown a Diamond DA-20, Piper Cherokee, Piper Archer II, Cessna 152, and a Cessna  172. I have also soloed in a Cessna 172.

I do not wish for this game to become a flight simulator. There are plenty of those out there already. If I wanted to play a flight simulator, I would go play Aces High II or something similar. I want World of Warplanes to become what it was advertised as, the ultimate hybrid of simulator and arcade.

As a tester who has invested a lot of time in World of Warplanes from the earliest stages of Alpha Testing until now; I would like to bring my opinions on the state of the game and the direction the Developers are taking it to both the community and the developers. Please bear in mind as you read this that this is MY OPINION. I am entitled to have my opinions, and everyone else is entitled to have theirs. If you agree or disagree, please state why/why not and make this discussion useful. My last topic like this got closed due to some closed minded people spamming about Warthunder being better. Let's please keep this one alive and helpful!

So, without further ado, we will get down to business!

World of Warplanes' main focus has until recently been on player skill. In many cases it was possible to destroy an aircraft of a higher tier in an aircraft of much lower tier. Not so any more. Some of you may say this is as it should be, however, when we take a deeper look of what makes it work the way it currently works (which I agree a lower tier plane should have a VERY hard time destroying a higher tier plane...) it will quickly become obvious what issues we are running into. In my opinion, there are four main issues we need to look at; Aircraft Tiers, Flight Physics, Control Issues, and Randomization. I will outline each below.

Aircraft tiers - that touchy subject which Wargaming.net really doesn't want us to talk about too much... The aircraft in World of Warplanes were placed in their initial tiers before they were even created. This means they were pretty much abstractly matched at specific tiers. What is the issue with this? The issue is four-fold.

• Aircraft performance is being tweaked to fit the planes into the tiers they were originally set in. This means that some aircraft get a large buff from what they could realistically accomplish, and some are getting massive nerfs to make them stay where the developers want them without being OP. This obviously results in people being disappointed by the aircraft if they knew anything about the real aircraft. While this is secondary, it is a valid consideration and in no way affects my original point on this topic.
  
• Weapon statistics are being changed to try to equalize aircraft which should not be facing each other. Again, this shouldn't be an issue if the planes are matched at the correct tiers.
  
• It perpetuates the false idea that World of Warplanes is supposed to be a 'World War II Game'. The developers are trying to match planes that actually fought against each other in the same tiers for 'historical reasons'. This makes the continuity of gameplay an issue when you get to around tier 8. You begin to see aircraft that feel out of place as until then, the focus has been on World War II.
  
• Military aircraft designs are based on getting a 'one-up' on your opponent. This means that one nation would create an 'OP plane' which would rule the skies until the next nation made an even more 'OP plane' that made the original 'OP plane' under-powered.

Flight Physics - The topic nobody seems to be able to agree on. If you don't agree with me here, that is perfectly fine. I have had disagreements with a lot of people about this topic. I still believe that there is a good balance we can achieve here and that is what I'd like to work towards in this section.

• Altitude compression is really messing the game up. It creates a lot of 'traffic jams' in the combat zone that wouldn't be there if the altitude scaled correctly. It also ends up making vertical maneuvers drastically change your aircraft effectiveness due to the optimal altitude zones being so small which again is due to the whole altitude compression system. Also, if you think about it, we have vertical compression, but NOT horizontal compression. This means that for everything to feel realistic, our aircraft will make MUCH larger loops than they should since they loop, etc at the same scale as they turn... this means that we will go up a lot higher than we should during a loop, and also go down a lot more than we should. This results in a bad trade of energy for altitude as it is much harder to get up than down. Altitude compression really needs to go. (Yes, this means maps need to be larger so they don't look stupid.)

• Roll response should be re-considered. This in my opinion is one of the most frustrating aspects of the current flight model. For some reason, Wargaming.net decided it would be a good idea to make the roll rates very slow. This results in the game not conveying the adrenaline rush of air combat properly in my opinion. Is it realistic? In some cases yes, but in others no. Is it fun? Most definitely not. If anyone has watched the trailers for World of Warplanes, they will quickly notice that the aircraft portrayed in the trailer really convey the adrenaline rush of air combat, and it is through the speed and maneuverability of the aircraft in the trailer that this is properly conveyed. Why would you create a trailer that shows fast-paced action and then make a game that feels like World of Flying Bricks? It doesn't add up. I have been talking to the developers about this for over a year and have only seen backward progress. This needs to change.
  
• Stalls - I should really call them 'loss of momentum/falling out of the sky' because that's pretty much what they are. Stalls are not really effected by the aircraft's center of gravity, which makes them very un-predictable. Seriously, there is something wrong when it is easier to stall/recover a plane in real life than it is in a game which is supposedly taking  the hard parts out of flying. Stalls need to be simplified to a quick drop of the nose when the aircraft stalls. Not very realistic, but it gives the basic idea of a stall and is very easy to recover from. No spins, no snaps, just a simple quick nose drop which would automatically initiate a recovery. Get rid of the 'mush' and control slop just before the stall and just bring the stall on as quickly as possible. Right now it is more a combination of a tail slide and a stall and a hammer-head turn. Any one of these three things could be the main contributing factor in any situation, which makes it very un-predictable which = hard to understand which = not much fun.
  
• Aircraft speed, plain and simple, our planes need to go faster. Nobody likes flying around at what feels like 50 mph. It just isn't fun. When close to the ground (50m and lower) we shouldn't really be able to see what the terrain looks like directly beside us. The terrain should be going by so quickly we wouldn't be able to focus on it very well. I'm not seeing anything like this in World of Warplanes. Wargaming didn't even attempt to make a motion-blur effect to give us the illusion of speed. This also should be changed. Preferably without the blur effect, but even that would be better than nothing. (Just saying that this will not benefit people with lower end computers if the motion-blur effect is used instead of actually speeding the planes up.) Also, increasing aircraft speed would make effective use of the terrain possible as at those speeds a pilot with the skill to fly close to the ground would in most cases be likely to shake his/her pursuer or cause him/her to crash.

Controls, the issue that has been fixed, broken, fixed, broken, and then 'fixed' again...

• Mouse 0.4.1 - I don't really know what is going on with this one, I cannot even begin to imagine how to use it. I have tried it several times and every time gave up in utter frustration. I simply cannot follow what is going on with my mouse while I try to fight other aircraft and evade most of the enemy team which somehow always manages to find out where I like to be.
  
• 'Mouse' - what used to be called 'World of Tanks Mouse'... I really enjoy this mouse mode when flying my ground attack aircraft. It is much more precise than the keyboard or joystick when trying to aim at a motionless target. It is absolutely terrible for air-to-air combat, but is awesome for air-to-ground operations. The automated processes in the controls file do not properly recognize roll/loop inputs and will often combine them in a very un-expected way. This is a very minor issue in the ground attack role (which I'm pretty sure it was designed for) but can cause major issues in air-to-air combat.
  
• Keyboard - the keyboard controls are decent, pretty much what you would expect from a flying game. Unfortunately there isn't really much that can be done to improve the keyboard controls unless somebody designs a vacuum-tube keyboard that could have more than a simple I/O operating method.
  
• Joysticks - joysticks are absolutely horrible. They were improved drastically with the inclusion of custom curves, but the response is still very much sub-par. Anyone who has played any flying game using a joystick will agree that there is no other game out there that does not let you aim properly with a joystick. I think the Developers should get a copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator X, or any other version of Flight Simulator post 1998 and see how the joystick controls the plane with the flight model set as un-realistically as possible. (Because I don't want y'all to think I'm trying to turn this game into a sim...) THAT is how joystick response should feel. Anything else is un-acceptable.
  
• Sadly I have absolutely no experience with a game controller so I will have to leave that out of my topic.

Randomization - probably the single most hated 'feature' of World of Warplanes. Random gun dispersion, random chance to blow a wing/tail/engine off, etc.
What is wrong with randomization? It removes player skill from the game. If I wanted to play a game that had nothing to do with skill, I would go play the lottery. So, I will address my main concerns with randomization.

• Gun Dispersion is a randomization technique Wargaming is using to attempt to either compensate for lag, or to 'even the playing field'. This is extremely frustrating for decent to good pilots as it absolutely ruins a good attack and can even cost your aircraft in some situations. It voids the skill of being able to hold a perfect lead on a target as your bullets do not even go where you are aiming them all the time. This in my opinion is un-acceptable. I believe that the dispersion from your guns should come from the convergence distance of your guns. This should be player-modifiable within a specific range. See the diagram below for details.

What would this accomplish? Implementing a gun-convergence distance that is player-modifiable would create the 'gun dispersion' that Wargaming is looking to implement in a consistent, predictable way that would not affect player skill. It would allow for the customization of play-style to almost anything a player could ask for as it would be completely customizable to the player's style. If a player likes to get in extremely close before shooting at an opponent, they would set their convergence distance to something like 150-200m. If they like to shoot from far out, they would set it to something like 700m. Anything outside of about a 100m buffer zone (50 meters ahead of, and 50 meters behind the convergence point) would have too much gun dispersion to be effective. Players could still achieve hits and deal damage, but the main weight of fire would not be focused on the opponent's aircraft. (Which is what gun dispersion currently effects in-game.) This would create approximately a 50m 'sweet spot' where almost all of your fire hits your target if you aim correctly. This is consistent with real air combat and makes the game more fun.

• Random chance for critical damage is also very frustrating. Just like in tanks, you cannot aim at a module and deliberately destroy it. You have to get lucky with the random number generator to get a critical hit that actually is a critical hit. The odds of getting a critical hit in World of Warplanes is obviously a little better than in tanks, but it is still frustrating nonetheless. Please note, the chances of being able to deliberately aim at a module in World of Warplanes is MUCH lower than in World of Tanks due to the speed of the aircraft relative to each other as well, so there should be less 'random' about this than in Tanks simply because of that fact. The random is already there because of the nature of air combat.

TL:DR?
So, if the world was perfect, and Wargaming.net would create the game exactly how I would envision it, what would be the result? (sarcasm turned on there about the world being perfect...) World of Warplanes would represent almost all aspects of aviation in an easy to understand package that would give the average gamer a fun game to play that is easy to learn, but hard to master, and it would give the mainly sim guys a fun game to play when they get tired of flying straight-up sims and want some quick action. This would be accomplished by removing the 'slush' from stalls, speeding up all aircraft, re-tiering the aircraft by their capabilities, fixing the control issues, getting rid of altitude compression, increasing roll rates in almost all aircraft (un-realistic, but more fun), and making everything feel more fluid.
If you support any of these ideas, please let the developers know! I have been asking for these changes to be made for about a year now, and I am always being told that we need more support from the community to have stuff like this implemented. I know a lot of you may be comfortable with the way things are now, but the game is not really drawing many people at this point, and there is probably a good explanation for that. Please show some support and post in this thread or +1 this post to show that there is support for this idea!


Cheers!
Glenn

Pilots!

Since many threads were made and some information is hard to find, I decided to make a separate one for the  events from last week..

When do I get my gold?

We will be sent the results for these events on Monday, the 17th.

They will be processed at that time.

Your gold should be delivered 2 weeks from Monday, so around July 2nd.

Sorry, but this is not an automated event, and must be done manually.

Thanks for understanding!

Ok, this'll be my big all encompassing guide to skinning. To help make it easier to read I'll just go through the process, stopping to explain bits as I go along. Please note: Do read the entire thing, there's some important notes at the end. Anyway, on with the show.


Necessary Software
First off , you'll need some sort of photo editing software that is capable of working with .dds files. The majority of editing software doesn't come WITH the capability of editing .dds files, and for those you will need plugins. Some that come to mind are Gimp, Paint.net and Photoshop, Gimp and Paint.net being freeware and Photoshop costing, well... a lot. Here are a few links to guide you to the proper software:

Gimp (the actual program): http://www.gimp.org/
Gimp (the .dds plugin): http://registry.gimp.org/node/70
Photoshop (the .dds plugin): https://developer.nv...adobe-photoshop
Paint.net (the actual program): http://www.getpaint.net/ (Direct .dds support, does not require plugins)

Obviously I can't link you to the actual program Photoshop, as that's what we call pirating, and that is bad. There may be a trial version however.

You will also need a program to extract the .dds files from the .pkg files that the game uses, as well as repackage your modified .dds files back into the .pkg files. The only ones that come to mind for me are 7zip and Winrar, 7zip being open source software and Winrar being a payed for program, but having a trial time period that you could use. Here's link for those as well:

7zip: http://www.7-zip.org/
Winrar: http://www.win-rar.c...nload.html?&L=0

For the rest of this guide everything you see will be done with Photoshop and Winrar, as that's what I use, though I'd imagine the other programs work pretty similar. Installing everything should be pretty simple so I'm not going to go through that process.

Locating the .dds Files
First off, after you've got your necessary software installed (if you didn't already have it), your going to need to locate the .dds files for the plane you want to skin. For this guide I'll be using the Bf 109 G, since it's the only plane I've FULLY skinned so far.

Navigate to where the .pkg files are located (mine are a little different since I didn't install in the default location, but you'll get the idea) and copy it to, for example, your desktop.


Next, change the file extension from .pkg to .zip, and select yes when it gives you the warning about changing file extensions. (A note on this: Alex mentioned that you do not have to change the file extension, but that you can simply extract the files using whatever extraction software your using.)


Now, using the extraction software we've got we simply extract the files. I always use the "extract to (insert file destination here)" method, as I find it's the easiest, and I can always move the folder/files around afterwards.


Now we've got all those folders with all those .dds files. (Mind you I've got some extra .psd files from previously working on skins.)


Editing the .dds Files
Let's go ahead and open the GR11_BF109G_hangar file (default skin file). You can do that by opening it through your photo editing software or, since we installed the .dds plugins, simply double click the file. (You may have to right click the file, select properties, and make whatever program your using the default for this to work, and if you do if makes life much easier.)


Once the program starts up and the file opens you'll get a little box like this. Make sure you open the file at the default sizes.


Now you've got your skin open in your photo editing software and your free do play with it as much as you want, just make sure you don't rotate it, or it will look all sorts of weird in game because nothing will match up right. Then when your done playing around with it, simply save it over the currently existing .dds file.


When you go to save it you'll get yet another dialogue box like this. Make sure you've got everything set like I do in this picture. (It's all default so I'd imagine Gimp users can just leave everything defaulted.)


Repackaging the .dds Files
Now we go ahead and open our extracting/packaging software, locate, and open the games .pkg archive.


When your locating the .pkg archives within your extracting/packaging software you'll have to make sure it's looking for all file types, as the .pkg files may not show up otherwise. Once you do that you'll be able to see the .pkg file.


Now, still within the extraction/packaging software, we navigate to where the .dds file is located.


Now you'll click and drag the .dds file you modified pretty much anywhere in the folder you have open with your extraction/packaging software, with the exception of into one of those top three folders.


Now you'll get one last dialogue box. Make sure you have everything set like I do. (Aka: The default way.)


That's it, now your ready to go fly your pretty new plane!

Final Notes (Notes with dates have been added at a later time, just putting the dates there to make new ones easier to find.)
Please note that you should not have WoWP open while doing all this. Aside from the demand on your computer, you won't be able to repackage your .dds files if it's open. It should also be noted that you need to back up your original .pkg files in case you mess anything up.

I have heard that some planes are not skinnable. I however have not yet run into this problem, though I have not skinned every plane in the game, so you may come across one that you can't. I have also run into problems with blanking out the country insignia, kill markers, unit numbers, and the other common files. The last time I tried messing with them I broke something or other and had to resort to reinstalling to fix the issue. (My fault for not backing anything up.)

4/15/2013
It does not SEEM that changing the image size of the .dds file affects the skin, at least not increasing it, as long as you go in multiples rather than decimals. For example, I was able to 4x the size of the P-51A skin with no problem, albiet a huge file size. Another note on that as well, keep in mind if you do increase the size of the image, the greatly increases the size of the file, therefore decreasing game performance. Testing it on the 51A, when I 4x'ed the image, the file size shot up to roughly 30mb, though it does look better. Just something to keep in mind.

I take no responsibility for broken games. Modding any game is a risk, but if you do it properly everything should be fine.

Have any questions? Feel free to ask. Also, if there is any way I can improve this guide, please do let me know, as this is an ongoing project of mine.

Lastly, a big thanks goes out to DrSinister for helping me figure out how to get skins to work in WoWP.

Psyrenn

StormTroopr

I'll only post suitable data on weapons in the game with minimal info as there is no way to format it. 2.205lb = 1 kg

Self testing method and formula: Single battle, fire each weapon group individually over 60 seconds, subtract remaining rounds from total then divide by the number of guns in the group. If you fire all ammunition before the minute is up then figure out how much would make up 60 seconds eg. 45 seconds = 60 rounds, 60/3=20, 45/3=15 therefore 60 seconds would equal 80rpm because you fire 20 rounds in 15 seconds.

The GUTS
0.3.1 Patch

Normal text = Real data,   Blue = Game data
* = over real rate
*** = under real rate
(kg/s = kilograms per second)


Rifle-calibre machineguns

US
M1919 7.7mm x 56R, 0.099kg/s, 600rpm, (600rpm), (0.099kg/s)

German
MG 08/18 7.92mm x 57, 0.100kg/s, 600rpm, (600rpm), (.100kg/s)
MG 17 7.92mm x 57, 0.183kg/s, 1100rpm, (1200rpm), (.200kg/s)

Soviet
DA 7.62mm x 54R, 0.096kg/s
ShKAS 7.62mm x 54R, 0.288kg/s, 1800rpm, (0.280kg/s) (1750rpm)
PV-1 7.62mm x 54R, 0.096kg/s, 600rpm, (0.120kg/s) (750rpm) *

http://www.gallanten...ww2aircart1.jpg

Heavy Machineguns

US
Browning .50cal M2 (12.7mm x 99), 0.606kg/s, 750rpm, (750rpm)
Browning .50cal M3 (12.7mm x 99), 0.970kg/s, 1200rpm, (.808kg/s) (1000rpm)
Colt .50cal  MG-53-2 (12.7mm x 99), 0.606kg/s, 750rpm, (0.687kg/s), (850rpm)

German
MG 131 13mm x 64B, 0.481kg/s
MG 151/15 15mm x 96, (0.490kg/s), (700rpm), (0.525kg/s), (750rpm)

Soviet
BS  12.7mm UB, 0.680kg/s, 850rpm
UBT 12.7mm UB, 0.840kg/s, 1050rpm



Cannon (not including explosive potential)

US
Colt Mk 12 20mm x 110, 2.166kg/s, 1000rpm, (900rpm), (1.950kg/s)
T9 (M4) 37mm x 145R, 1.416kg/s, 140rpm, (120rpm), (1.216kg/s)

German
MG FF 20mm x 80RB, 0.996kg/s, 520rpm, (300rpm)
MG 151/20 20mm x 80RB, 1.418kg/s, 740rpm, (750rpm), (1.437kg/s)
MG 213/20 20mm x 80RB, 1.916kg/s, 1200rpm, (1200rpm)
Mk 103 30mm x 184B, 2.310kg/s, 420rpm, (300rpm), (1.650kg/s)***
Mk 108 30mm x 90RB, 3.120kg/s, 600rpm, (750rpm), (3.900kg/s)
Mk 214 50mm, 3.850kg/s, 150rpm

http://img542.images.../8590/ammoa.jpg

Soviet
B-20 20mm x 99R, 1.280kg/s, 800rpm, (750rpm), (1.200kg/s)
ShKAS 20mm x 99R, 2.880kg/s, 1800rpm, (750rpm), (1.200kg/s)
ShVAK 20mm x 99R, 1.280kg/s, 800rpm, (800rpm), (1.280kg/s)
NR-23 23mm x 152B, 1.833kg/s, 550rpm, (850rpm), (2.833kg/s)
NS-23 23mm x 152B, 1.833kg/s, 550rpm, (600rpm), (2.000kg/s)
Sh-3 23mm x 152B, 2.666kg/s, 800rpm
AM-23 23mm x 152B, 4.166kg/s, 1250prm, (1250rpm)
VYa 23mm x 152B, 2.000kg/s, 600rpm Unknown

http://www.gallanten...ww2aircart2.jpg

In Game Aircraft Patch 0.3.1
*= exceeds real specs

Tier 1
Ar.65, (0.366kg/s), (0.200kg/s), (600rpm)
Fw.56, (0.366kg/s), (0.400kg/s), (1200rpm)*
P-12, (0.198kg/s), (0.198kg/s), (600rpm)
I-5, (0.192kg/s), (0.240kg/s), (750rpm) *

Tier 2
Ar.68, (0.366kg/s), (0.200kg/s), (600rpm)
AGO Ao 192, (0.200kg/s), (0.200kg/s), (600rpm)
F2F, (0.164kg/s), (0.164kg/s), (600rpm)
P-23 Hawk, (0.164kg/s), (0.164kg/s), (600rpm)
I-15, (1.744kg/s), (0.240kg/s), (750rpm) ***
TSh-1, (0.096kg/s)?,  (0.720kg/s), (750rpm) ***

Tier 3
FW.57, (1.993kg/s front guns), (0.400kg/s), (1200rpm) ***
Ar.80, (.366kg/s), (0.400kg/s), (1200rpm)*
F3F, (0.164kg/s), (0.164kg/s), (600rpm)
Hawk 75, (0.328kg/s), (0.328kg/s), (600rpm)
I-16 type 5, (0.576kg/s), (.480kg/s), (1750rpm) ***
Tsh-3, (0.960kg/s front guns), (1.200kg/s front guns) *

Tier 4
Bf 110B, (2.724kg/s), (0.800kg/s), (1200rpm) ***
Bf 109C , (0.732kg/s), (0.400kg/s), (1200rpm) ***
F2A Brewster Buffalo, (2.424kg/s), (0.705kg/s) ***
P-36 Hawk, (.705kg/s), (0.164kg/s), (600RPM) ***
I-16 type 24, (1.856kg/s), (1.120kg/s), (1750rpm) ***
LBSh, (3.120kg/s), (0.460kg/s), (1750rpm) ***

Tier 5
Bf 110E, (3.568kg/s), (3.568kg/s)
Bf 109E, (2.358kg/s), (2.358kg/s)
F4F Wildcat, (2.424kg/s), (2.182kg/s), (Nose 600rpm, Wing 750rpm)¹  ***
P-40 Warhawk, (1.608kg/s), (1.540kg/s)***
IL-2, (6.336kg/s), (3.136kg/s), (1800rpm, 800rpm)***
LAGG-3, (2.640kg/s), (2.640kg/s)

Tier 6
La-5, (5.760kg/s), (2.560kg/s)***
IL-2 (t), (6.176kg/s), (3.020kg/s)***
Bf 109G, (1.784kg/s) (.925kg/s) ***
Me.410, (6.038kg/s front guns), (2.270kg/s) ***
F4U Corsair, (3.636kg/s), (3.636kg/s)
P-51A Mustang, (2.424kg/s), (2.820kg/s)*
P-39 Airacobra,  (2.628kg/s), (2.428kg/s) ***

Tier 7
F2G Corsair, (2.424kg/s), (2.424kg/s), (750rpm)
P-51B Mustang, (2.424kg/s), (2.424kg/s), (750rpm)
Bf 209A1, (4.082kg/s), (1.135kg/s) ***
Bf 109Z, (6.240kg/s), (2.269kg/s) ***
IL-8, (6.176kg/s), (4.126kgs/) ***
La-9, (7.332kg/s), (4.800kg/s), (750rpm) ***

Tier 8
F5U Flying Flapjack, (3.636kg/s), (4.122kg/s), (850rpm) *
P-51 Jet, ????, (4.122kg/s), (850rpm)
Me 609, (10.860kg/s), (7.800kg/s) ***
Me 262, (12.480kg/s), (7.800kg/s) ***
La-150, (2.560kg/s), (2.400kg/s), (750rpm) ***
IL-10, (4.226kg/s), (4.126kgs/) ***

Tier 9
FJ-1 Fury, (3.636kg/s), (3.636kg/s), (750rpm)
F6U Pirate, (8.664kg/s), (7.800kg/s) ***
Me 109TL,  (13.516kg/s),  (10.674kg/s) ***
Me P.1099B, (3.850kg/s), (15.600kg/s) ???
IL-20, (10.664kg/s), (8.000kg/s) ***
La-160, (3.666kg/s), (4.000kg/s), (600rpm) *

Tier 10
La-15, (5.500kg/s), (8.499kg/s) *
IL-40, (16.664kg/s front guns), (16.664kg/s)
Me.262HG III, (7.664kg/s), (7.664kg/s)
Me.P.1102, (9.240kg/s), (6.600kg/s) (300rpm) ***
F-86A Sabre, (5.820kg/s), (4.850kg/s) ***
F7U Cutlass, (8.664kg/s), (7.800kg/s) ***

¹ Guns and cannon firing through the propellor arc have a lower rate of fire than guns/cannon that do not due to syncronisation. There are two basic types, mechanical and electrical, generally mechanical are a slower rate and electrical are higher because the rounds are electrically fired. Syncronised guns never fire at the max cyclic rate of fire. Historically, the 7.62mm ShKAS fired at 1800rpm when mounted in the wing and 1625rpm when mounted in the cowling.


Now that you have all of this data the discussion can begin.

Update
Some things to note

A bullet when fired will exert a kinetic energy (KE) impact on the object it hits, being the classic calculation. A bullet passing an observer has kinetic energy in the reference frame of this observer. The same bullet is stationary from the point of view of an observer moving with the same velocity as the bullet, and so has zero kinetic energy. Most muzzle velocity of LMG/HMG ammuntion is between 700-900m/s or 2013mph. 500kph airspeed = 138.888m/s so you're never going to go faster than a bullet with aircraft in this game. It would reduce the kinetic energy of the hit and damage caused.

A cannon shell on the other hand has not only the above KE effect but also a chemical energy (CE) effect from the explosion of the shell (as well as fragmentation). I won't throw Gibbs–Duhem equations at you because that would be too much like going to school.

How this may translate to you. A phillips head screw driver is about the same size as a bullet, an adult male could easily punch a hole in cloth even if it were stiffened with aircraft dope. Aluminium skin of an aircraft (in this game) is not much thicker than a can of soft drink, most teenagers can punch holes in a can of coke, pepsi, dr pepper or whatever they drink nowdays. The aluminium skin is a method of streamlining and construction stiffness not protection.

What about armour plate?  A general rule for the game in this era is "If the round has a diameter greater than the thickness of the plate it will penetrate". So 20mm will penetrate 12mm (1/2 inch) armour plate. You should note too that the German high explosive mine shell had a delay fuse so it would explode once it got through the armour plate. Of course if the cannon shell was fired into a Tier 1 aircraft it may not explode because it does need to hit something solid like the engine, fuel tank, oh and the pilot.


Why the USAAF,  USN  and USMC didn't use Cannon

It isn't true that all US aircraft during WWII only used .50 machine guns. The P-38 Lightning, P-39 Airacobra, P-63 Kingcobra, and P-61 Black Widow all mounted various types of cannon. It is also not true that the .50 cal was standardised early on. In fact, when the US entered the war it had fallen way behind in the development of armament for combat aircraft, because very limited resources had been available between the wars. They did have a very reliable .50 cal machine gun, the M2, which became "standard". There were many attempts by manufacturers to get a 20mm cannon as reliable as the .50 cal, nearly every US fighter at an early stage of development had 20mm cannon fitted. Because of failures in the weapons (design and manufacturing) and limited ammunition amounts, as compared to the .50 cal, that the .50 cal became by default standard.

http://www.ozatwar.c...atwar/os01a.jpg

In the Pacific, fighter tactics were developed and confirmed against Japanese aircraft captured or recovered then tested by the ATIU at Hangar No 7 Eagle Farm airport, Brisbane QUEENSLAND Australia. This made life much easier for Allied pilots as they had accurate knowledge of how to engage the enemy. It was ATIU who gave the code names for Japanese aircraft;

Quote

The Debate - Volume of Fire vs Weight of Fire

Most people who fly sims etc are on one side of the fence or the other. The US pundits say that volume with extra weight of the HMGs is better than weight plus explosive potential. Yet we see that the F4U Corsair fires the same weight as the F-86A Sabre but today you'd never see a .50cal as main armament in a Class A fighter. Which side are you on and why?

The Debate - Conclusion why Weight of Fire will always be greater than Volume of Fire (for WWII aircraft)

With four Hispano Mk.V cannon, the Hawker Tempest Mk V could be considered the best-armed fighter of WWII. For combat against other fighters, or ground attack against soft or lightly armoured targets, this was the best combination of the time. It combined a high rate of fire (four x 750rpm) with an adequate muzzle velocity (840m/s) a heavy projectile (130g) with good armour penetration and an effective incendiary or explosive load. The 6.5kg/s throw weight of this installation was only exceeded (and greatly so) by fighters that had multiple low-velocity 30mm cannon, such as the four Mk 108s of the Me 262. Thes low velocity weapons were suited exclusively for bomber interception. The four cannon of the Tempest Mk V had a combined muzzle power of nearly 2300kW. For comparison, the four MK 108 cannon of the Me 262 delivered 1,680kW, and the six .50cal Brownings installed in most American fighters 1375kW.

The muzzle power in kilowatts (SI units) is the kinetic energy (in thousands of joules) of the projectile multiplied by the total rate of fire. For the Hispano Mk V and MK 108 the kinetic energies of the individual projectiles are not far apart: 46900 joule for the 130g HE round of the Hispano, and 42100 joule for the Mk 108s 330g Minengeschoss projectile. The advantage in muzzle power of the Hispano derives from its 25% higher rate of fire. There is a vast difference in the chemical energy stored in the rounds because the Hispano HE round contains only 10g of explosive, and the MK 108 round between 72 and 85g. As TNT releases 4200 joule per gram and PETN 6400 joule per gram, the chemical energy stored in the Minengeschoss projectile is at least seven times larger than its kinetic energy. The .50 cal round has no chemical energy.


So why did the USAAF etc do so well?

15:1 US:German fighter aircraft ratio
Adequately trained pilots as opposed to basically trained pilots (mostly)
Firing nearly three aircraft loads of ammunition per kill

How does this translate in the game?

Start a training battle with only you in a Bf109G vs 15 others in P-51s or Corsairs. See if you win.

NOTAM

as at 0.3.1 Patch

CrashTailspin's Guide to Successful Low-Tier Ground Attack Aircraft Operation

Hey everyone!

This guide is written to give players a few hints, tips, and tactics to getting the most out of their first few Russian Ground Attack aircraft.  These aircraft have a playstyle that's different from most other aircraft.  They're large, slow, and significantly less maneuverable than other aircraft currently in-game.  However, this does not mean that they don't play an important role on each team.  I'm here to explain how to best utilize these aircraft in order to achieve more kills, and in doing so score more wins.


Rule 1:  Get LOW and Stay LOW!
In Build 0.3.4, aircraft concealment with relation to altitude was introduced.  The closer an aircraft flies to the ground, the more it's concealed ("stealth mode").  This effect is greatest for Ground Attack aircraft, and least for fighters.  The lower you fly, the more you're concealed (starting at 200m off the ground).

The best way to take advantage of this is simple:

• As soon as the battle starts, start diving for the deck.  Not only will this get you camouflaged faster from enemy pursuit aircraft, but it will also give you a slight increase in airspeed, getting you to the enemy targets faster.

Also, if you proceed to an enemy target at a low altitude, you give the enemy AA guns less of a target to shoot at, in contrast to a high-altitude level bomb drop, where all of your aircraft's underside is exposed.

In addition, a high-flying Ground Attack aircraft is an easy target to pick off for a wandering fighter.  Also, most GA aircraft have very poor rear gun depression, which means that fighters can attack from below and not have to worry about taking damage from a tail gunner.  Place that same GA aircraft at low altitude and now the fighter has to worry not only about the tail gunner, but also smacking into the ground.

REMEMBER:  Unseen is safe.  Try to stay that way.


Rule 2:  Choose an approach route and STICK TO IT!
Before the battle starts (or as soon as you spawn into battle), survey where you're at, where the enemy Headquarters is (denoted on the minimap by a flag inside a red circle), and determine what route you're going to take to get there.  Typically, a route along the outer parts of the map will keep you (relatively) safe from roving enemy fighters, and provide enemy ground targets to take out along the way.

Here's the big thing - DO NOT get caught up in an early dogfight! You effectively remove yourself from the entire battle if you attempt to chase an enemy aircraft, no matter how tempting it is.  You're here to DESTROY GROUND TARGETS.  Go do that.

Tip 2a:  Attempt to take out the Headquarters AT ALL COSTS

The Headquarters (or Aircraft Carrier on some maps) is the strongest and most heavily guarded enemy target on the map, and for good reason:

ITS DESTRUCTION NETS 3 SUPERIORITY POINTS AND REDUCES ENEMY AA GUN ACCURACY

Your primary goal should be to survive long enough to take out this target.  A 3-point swing in supremacy points could be enough to cause your team to gain the advantage, and at the very least inaccurate enemy AA gun fire helps out the entire team from taking any additional damage.

As previously stated, the Headquarters is strong - usually at least 3 times the HP of other ground targets.  If you've got large bombs equipped, one well-placed bomb should take it out.  However, if you have lighter bombs equipped, you may need to use two bombs, and even then have to come around on a strafing run to completely take it out.

Tip 2b:  Use ordinance APPROPRIATELY

A Ground Attack aircraft can only carry so much ordinance (bombs and rockets), and as such it should be used judiciously.  Most GA aircraft can take out a target in one pass with only their guns.  However, the use of guns will break your "stealth mode" and allow enemy fighters to spot you much easier.

Herein lies the trade-off:  do you use your ordinance early and maintain concealment, or do you save your ordinance and use your guns to take out targets as you proceed to the headquarters?

The answer to this varies with situation.  If there's a lot of enemy fighters overhead, I tend to use ordinance.  However, if I don't see any enemy fighters nearby, I'll typically use guns only, saving the bombs and rockets for a later time.  

The IL-2 is an exception to the rule.  With 8 rockets and 4 bombs, it's got ordinance to spare.  With the IL-2 I typically wait until I'm about 3,000ft (1,000m) away from a target, then fire one rocket while I strafe it with cannon, repeating this process to as many targets as possible while still proceeding to the enemy Headquarters.  This allows a player to conserve the IL-2s ordinance while still keeping the cannons cool enough to take out targets in one pass.  However, in a Tier 5-7 match, ground targets are strong enough to require multiple rockets AND cannon fire to destroy it in one pass.

Tip 2c:  AVOID CIRCLING A TARGET prior to the Headquarters

If you attack a ground target but fail to destroy it, keep on flying toward the enemy HQ.  DO NOT TURN AROUND!

Why?

Simple:  every time you attack a ground target, that enemy's minimap pings the location of the ground target you just attacked.  By turning around to re-attack it, you're giving the enemy more time to "fly to the ping", find you, and take you out.  Also, by loitering in one spot, you're delaying the destruction of the enemy Headquarters.

Once enough enemy fighters are destroyed, loitering an area to destroy all the ground targets is permissible, so long as the remaining fighters are not nearby or pose a threat to you.

Rule 3: If attacked, Fight on YOUR TERMS
Eventually, every Ground Attack aircraft will take some sort of enemy aircraft fire.  This does not have to mean an instant death for the GA pilot.  Here's some tips to survive (and even thrive) in an aerial engagement:

Tip 3a:  Ask For and Find HELP!

In-game Chat Macros are wonderful things.  They're a quick way to place a chat message to your team and also place a symbol over your aircraft visualizing what you've requested.  The default "F7" key is "Clear My Tail!", with an "SOS" symbol placed above your aircraft.  The "F4" key is "Cover Me" as well.  A combination of these will let your team know that you're in need of fighter support.

If the Headquarters is destroyed and you're out of ordinance, a viable option is to head towards friendly fighters and AA guns.  Any extra friendly firepower in a fight is a good thing, and closing the gap between you and your teammates can help shorten the time it takes to get those guns on target.

Tip 3b:  Maneuver SMARTLY, but not EXCESSIVELY

A maneuvering aircraft is harder to hit than an aircraft flying straight and level.  With this in mind, a GA pilot should keep changing direction.  Bobbing and weaving or a horizontal scissors maneuver (sharp change in the opposite direction when the enemy pursuer changes theirs) gives your tail gunner the most time to engage the enemy.

However, do not attempt any steep pitch attitudes.  You will NOT out-climb an enemy pursuer, and your aircraft generally does not have enough power to climb (at a reasonable speed) for an extended period of time.  What will most likely occur is a stall, which makes you an easy target.  This completely goes against Rule 1.

You can use your slow speed to your advantage in some cases.  If an aircraft of lower tier is chasing you, and your tail gunner has a clear shot, you can actually SLOW DOWN to draw the enemy closer and potentially overshoot you.  The closer the enemy, the more damage your tail gunner can do.  Smart maneuvering and a low airspeed can keep the enemy close enough for the tail gunner to hit while minimizing the amount of damage you sustain.

Finally, try to avoid engaging enemy aircraft AT ALL with ordinance equipped.  A ground attack aircraft has poor maneuverability in general, and any ordinance still equipped will bring down the aircraft's maneuverability even more.  Simply dropping bombs or firing rockets to get rid of them to dogfight should be the absolute LAST RESORT possible.  If there's a ground target still standing, your ordinance should be used on that if at all possible.

To summarize:

Get low and stay there.  Stick to your route.  Take out targets enroute to the enemy Headquarters.  Take out the Headquarters, whatever you do.  Don't pretend to fly like a fighter.  Stay alive!

Remember, each battle is different.  What works in one may not work in another.  These rules and tips are general in nature and are not meant for any specific engagement.

Good luck, and happy ground target killing!

I had posted this in another thread and decided it is probably better used as its own thread.

Here is a crash course of using the new axes graphs to adjust for sensitivity/precision and getting the joystick properly setup for the game.

Note: I will be showing how to adjust the axes via the yaw axis because this is the only axes I have still linear.


Basic Overview of the Joystick Settings

First thing you need to press ESC, click settings and change the control scheme to Joystick.  (if yours is bugged and shows all joystick or another control scheme, then select through them till the Adjust Joystick Axes button appears.)  Now press the Adjust Joystick Axes button (button encase in red in picture.)


This will bring up the Axes graphs, each axis has its own graph, Roll, Pitch, Yaw, Thrust and Boost (green section), how the game reads your stick (orange section), deadzone and invert axis (red section), and what axis to set for each axis in game (blue section).


Make sure that the orange section reads your joystick all centered, if this is not the case, then exit the game and re-calibrate it via Windows Game Controller screen.  (Google this if you can not find it for your Operating System.)

Now for each Axes on the left, make sure that each one has the proper axis assigned to your joystick (blue section).  Also make sure that it is not set as Axis # (Default Controller), inside the (  ) should have your Joystick Name, like it does for my Extreme 3D Pro in the yellow section of the picture.


You will also notice that there is no sensitivity slider anymore. this is done via the graph.

How to read the Graph

This is what the graph looks line in default state:


The bottom of the graph (horizontal plane or the yellow line) is the representation of the physical joystick positions (or %).  Each graph line represents 5 points in a scale of 0-100 points.
The left side of the graph (vertical plane or the orange line) is the representation rate of roll, pitch, or yaw (or %).  Each graph line represents 5 points in a scale of 0-100 points.

Setting up the Curves

Each graph has 8 movable points, green section, you can add (left clicking anywhere on the graph) or remove (right clicking the point) from the graph and 2 stationary points (0 and 100 and are not displayed). Note: In default state only 1 point is displayed.

In a default state, the graphs shows a 45 degree line from 0 to 100.  This is also known as a Linear curve.  What this represents is that all points are 1:1.  For example, if my joystick is at 50% axis then the game will roll, yaw or pitch the plane 50%.


Now with the picture above you will see a non-linear curve. I have plotted 3 points, 15%, 25% and 35% of the Joystick Position, also these points are at the 5%, 20% and 35% of the Rate of Pitch, Roll, Yaw.

What does this mean? Well, what it means is that when my joystick is at 15% of the axis the game will represent the rate of pitch, roll, or yaw at 5%, at 25% joystick axis at 20% and at 35% joystick axis at 35%.  This also will lower the sensitivity of my joystick at these said points because they are not outputting the same % as what my joystick is positioned at.

Basically how you will look at the graph is anything below the 45 degree line will lower the sensitivity and anything above the 45 degree line will raise the sensitivity.

Also you will be doing a lot of tweaking of the graph at this stage till you can find a curve that will work for you.

Examples

The picture below will show how I lowered the rate by 5%, which is pretty much still a linear curve just adjusted lower.


What this curve below achieves is that from 0 to 35% it reduces the sensitivity of the rate of pitch, roll, or yaw near the center of the joystick, this also will allow more precision tuning of the plane at the center of the joystick.  Then after 35% its the same linear 1:1 curve for the remainder of the joystick positions.


Now my curve that I use looks like this:
(do not look at the additional points that I have in my curve, this is advanced modding of the xml to get more then the 8 points to adjust, I am just using my curve itself as an example)
This is my old curve.

This curves overall has a slight lower sensitivity.  In the center of my joystick its lowered to where I feel I have the best fine tuning for me then it rolls back up in sensitivity around 30-50% of my joystick then it rolls down in sensitivity again after 50% to about 99% to give me even more fine tuning at this point (this would be used more in a turn fight because this is roughly where my joystick is when I am lining up a shot) then at 100% stick it gives me the full rate of pitch or roll.

My new curve as of 4/17/13, both pitch and roll are different curves now:



Well I hope this helps explains the graphs a bit.  I am not sure if I went enough in detail.  If you have any questions just leave it here or PM me.

This game is unflyable with the mouse in it's current state.
Im a good pilot on BF3, and Im using the exact same configuration as BF3 for controls in WoWP but those planes are uncontrollable.
The weirdest thing is that green vector+dot. You dont control your plane, you make it follow a carrot on a stick which gives a terrible sensation of laggyness and unprecision.
I don't know who had this terrible idea but you need to get rid of that garbage, or at least give us the possibility of controlling our plane like in BF3 with the mouse.
We want our mouse to "be" the plane and respond to it's movement immediatly, not this horrible thing you invented.

im not flying again untill this is fixed.

Flight Model, What's broke and how to fix it.

Here we go.  Make sure you seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright and locked position...

• There needs to be a sensation of speed, which we're not getting right now.  This may have to do with the relationship of the scale of objects to aircraft.  On National Park, for example, trees feel HUGE compared to the aircraft.  I mean c'mon, they're not Sequoias or Redwoods.  If I'm going over 200mph those trees should be whizzing by like mad, not lazily plodding past like a guy on a bicycle.  At 400mph, low-level, I shouldn't even be able to SEE trees.  It should just be just a green blur.
  
  • Making the plane shake does NOT imply the feeling of an increase in speed.  It's an annoyance.  It throws off my aim.
    
  • The zooming in during acceleration works....kind of.

• Roll inertia is getting better, but it needs to increase more, meaning fighters with "clean" wings should have a more rapid instantaneous roll rate, and bomb- and rocket-laden aircraft should have a drastically reduced instantaneous roll rate.  This would have the side benefit of making people think twice before loading their F4U or La-5 with rockets, bombs, etc.

• As previously stated, the ceiling needs to be raised, and aircraft performance compensated as such.  The fear that the combat will take place at higher altitudes will be negated by the fact that aircraft will still be attacking ground targets at low-level, and therefore fighters will be forced to either fly low to take these aircraft out or suffer their consequences.

• Speed loss in a turn still needs to be more.  In a near knife-edge turn, at full power, with flaps deployed, I should still be losing speed, not maintaining it.  I have been forced to "fly the game" rather than "fly the plane" because of this.

• Stalls need to be abrupt.  Like 1,000% moreso than they are now.  These are big, heavy fighters.  They don't wallow.  They don't "get mushy" when they stall.  They break, and they break hard, and they usually DO NOT break straight ahead when they stall.  Heck, I've had a Piper Arrow break from a stall and nearly spin on me harder than a Corsair stalls in-game (background:  the Piper Arrow III is a notoriously stable single-engine aircraft, whereas the Corsair, improperly flown, could spin very easily).

• Rudder effectiveness needs to increase nearly 100%.  If I tromp on a rudder in a big fighter such as the ones in-game, the nose should displace at least 20-30% immediately, and continue displacing (at a reduced rate) as long as I hold down the rudder.  Currently it displaces about 10% immediately, and then slows down to about 2-3 degrees per second.  This is laughable.  Also, there is no roll due to yaw.  Basic aerodynamics shows that if you increase airflow over a surface (like in an uncoordinated turn caused by rudder deflection), that surface will create an increase in lifting force.  Therefore, the outside wing in a turn receives more airflow (since it's going momentarily faster), and should raise up in the direction of the turn.  THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN.  It can't be hard to implement, and would add an element of realism to the game.

• I'm not sure how else to phrase this, but at extremely low altitude (like below 100ft AGL), the ground sometimes seems to "suck" aircraft towards it.  Make it stop.

• This may not be FM related, but it's frustrating nonetheless.  REDUCE THE BOMB PROXIMITY TIME DELAY.  I cannot count the number of times I've been 500ft AGL or higher, pursuing some aircraft that's equipped with bombs, traililng somewhere around 2,000ft behind it, when all of a sudden...BOOM!....and I'm dead.  Straight from 100% to 0%.  No warning.  Turns out, that aircraft dropped a bomb, and the blast is what got me.  No, it didn't hit me from above - it hit me from below.  I know why the delay was implemented - it was so most GA players didn't kill themselves with the explosion.  However, the delay is SO long that most people are incredibly well-clear of the target when it goes off.  Or re-work the delay where it's 3 seconds OR impact, whichever is longer.

I'm sure there's more.  I'll post more when I think of them.

Here are also 2 videos which can help you make an idea how it was back then.  

Dear Developers and Fellow Community Members,

 

After reading a lot of the 'nerf this' threads, and playing a little over 100 battles in the release version of World of Warplanes, I have several suggestions that I think would change the course of the game for the better. Please be aware that some of my suggestions may seem very complicated. This is because I (would like to think) understand a lot of the theories behind advanced air combat tactics, and I see where the game falls short in terms of allowing us to use these tactics effectively. Now, before you say 'World of Warplanes is supposed to be a sim-cade'... I want it to remain a 'sim-cade'. If I wanted to play a simulation, I would go play one of the DCS games. What I want from World of Warplanes is exactly what was advertised, a game that's easy to learn, but hard to master. Originally, it was advertised that this would be accomplished through simplifying advanced flight mechanics to the point where players tell their aircraft what to do, and it would manage all the systems for them. (We wouldn't have to adjust propeller pitch, fuel mixture, etc) According to this vision for the game, player skill should have much more impact than the 'Random Number Generator'.

 

So, with all that, let's get down to business.

 

---

 

How World of Warplanes Plays Now:

 

Currently, World of Warplanes plays like this... Player A decides to fly a heavily armed aircraft, which also happens to have the best climb rate at-tier. Player B wants to fly something with medium firepower, but lots of maneuverability. Player A right off the start uses his advantage in climb rate to move his gun platform approximately 1000 meters higher than Player B is able to climb. Right now, RNG (Random Number Generator) automatically gives Player A a massive advantage over Player B as gun damage from above is increased.

 

Altitude increases gun damage output.

 

This means, not only did Player A start with more firepower than Player B, he also started with the ability to climb higher, and thus grab that all-important firepower boost from RNG. Now, don't get me wrong, Player B still has the maneuverability advantage if Player A decides to try to engage in maneuvering combat. But let's say Player A is a smart player... He will never attempt maneuvering combat with Player B. He's going to use his speed and altitude advantage to avoid Player B's maneuvering advantage. This is how Player A should use his aircraft. This automatically puts Player B at the disadvantage as he has to play a defensive game. Air combat is about grabbing the offensive and keeping it. Traditionally this has been accomplished by gaining an altitude advantage on your opponent.

 

Why is the altitude advantage so important?

 

The altitude advantage is important for several reasons.

• Air combat is based on energy management (you'll see me refer to this as 'Energy Fighting'). A successful pilot balances his Kinetic (airspeed) Energy and Potential (altitude) Energy to manage his situation. 
• Having the altitude advantage gives you a potential energy advantage going into the combat.
• Having the altitude advantage means you get to initiate the combat at the time and place of your choosing. If you're below, you will lose a LOT of kinetic energy to gather potential energy. This leaves you vulnerable to a 'bounce' from the pilot with the energy advantage.
• Holding the altitude advantage means you will be able to perform any maneuver your opponent performs, while having more energy than he does. This gives you a very apparent advantage after the maneuver.

 

So, now that we know why the altitude advantage is so important, let's continue our discussion.

 

We now have Player A who has these advantages...

1. Altitude
2. Firepower
3. Airspeed
4. Durability

...and Player B who has these advantages...

1. Maneuverability

 

It is very obvious from this point who is going to win. Sadly, there are still several more things that Player A has in his favor...

• RNG - Altitude advantage = extra firepower
• RNG - Altitude advantage = extra accuracy

 

So, that is how the game currently plays. Let's get on to what's wrong with that, and then how to fix it.

 

---

 

So, you may say 'Player A worked to gain those advantages and should be rewarded'... However, I just have to say, Player A has a MUCH heavier aircraft (that's why it's called a heavy right? actually... not true, see the notes at the bottom please.) which means he should have a harder time gaining altitude. 'But he has two engines!' you object... While he does have two engines, you have to remember that not only are these engines carrying the added weight of themselves, they are also hauling a heavier airframe around, which means not only do they have to move the weight, they also have to account for the increased drag.

 

---

 

For a quick reference, let's compare the Bf.109 series to the Bf.110 series and Me.410 series.

 

Bf.109 Series:

• Cruise speed: 590 km/h (365 mph) at 6,000 m (19,680 ft)
• Maximum speed: 640 km/h (398 mph) at 6,300 m (20,669 ft)

 

Bf.110 Series:

• Maximum speed: 560 km/h (348 mph)

 

Me.410 Series:

• Maximum speed: 624 km/h (388 mph)

 

As you can see, the 109 is about 17 mph faster than the 110 and 10 mph faster than the 410. The 109, due to the power:weight ratio would be able to maintain this airspeed more easily in a climb than the 110 and 410 as well, which means the 109 should have a better rate of climb... Let's check the stats... (real life)

 

Bf.109 Series:

• Rate of climb: 17.0 m/s (3,345 ft/min)

 

Bf.110 Series:

• Rate of climb: 8 min to 6,000 m (20,000 ft) - That's a 12.5 m/s climb rate.

 

Me.410 Series

• Climb to 6,000 m (19,680 ft): 10.7 min - That's 9.35 m/s climb rate.

 

Yep, suspicions confirmed. So, we come to a very important fact... Heavy fighters can get altitude (service ceiling average of 33,900 ft) but it takes them a LONG time to get there. This is why heavy fighters were generally based further back than light fighters. It gave them more time to climb. Now, let's look at the service ceiling of the Bf.109... a light fighter. 39,370 feet... This is certainly contrasting with the current game mechanics. Light fighters should have a generally higher service ceiling than heavy fighters...