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Leif. posted:SelenicMartian, would you mind sharing your control setup if that's not too much to ask? Soup Inspector posted:are we going to remain at medium/low level the entire campaign? Cloud fights without a search radar are annoying, too, especially the "tracking a MiG through fifty shades of grey" part. SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 14:57 on Nov 5, 2013 |
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Nov 5, 2013 14:55
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Sub-Season 3B. Red Tide - Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? (F-100A Super Sabre) quote:Dear Mum, The B-reel  In which there are some (un)related stories Related links: Detailed Sabre Dance footage, January 1956, Self-Shootdown, September 1956. 1956 in general seems like a bad year to fly in. Oh, and the MiG on the mission video screenshot also had a "56" on its side. Anyway, the loadout. Not much this time. The F-100A was relatively clean; they added extra hardpoints for bombs and rockets on the F-100C. An unlisted type of ordnance, that the F-100 and many other jets of the age could carry, is a tactical nuke. There are no nukes in SF2. 
SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Aug 22, 2014 |
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Nov 6, 2013 07:55
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Funny how you consistently call the Super Sabre "this thing". I supposes that sums up your opinion of the aircraft? 
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Nov 6, 2013 13:52
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Eeesh, with it performing like that I'm almost happy the Hunter won.
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Nov 6, 2013 14:24
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Cooked Auto posted:Eeesh, with it performing like that I'm almost happy the Hunter won. It's even more fun when you have to fight planes you can't just run away from.
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Nov 6, 2013 17:38
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Madurai posted:It's even more fun when you have to fight planes you can't just run away from.
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Nov 6, 2013 21:56
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That Sabre Dance footage was rather hair-raising, not least due to the eerie silence throughout. It looked from your video that it was an absolute pig to fly - too much power, not enough agility. It felt like the jet was consistently failing to hang on to that first MiG in the turn until you used the airbrakes. However, the radar gunsight seemed at least semi-useful, and the self-shootdown was a rather amusing story.
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Nov 6, 2013 22:39
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Season 3: Red Tide - I Never Met a Man I Didn't Mutilate (Hunter F.4) The quote is from the best film ever.  The intro screen art is in no way generic as hell. It's not that hard to take and smudge a screenshot, Third Wire. The common story for all Red /Blah/ campaigns goes like that: The Warsaw Pact launches an offensive into West Germany for random reasons, but mostly vodka. Might as well spoil the outcomes of those wars: winning = the Red Menace retreats, losing = the NATO reaches for the nukes and the world ends. S03E01: 1956.11.17-18 (Assault & Battery)  Remember, how several missions into Operation Kadesh we'd meet almost every single squadron present on the map, since each side hardly even had a dozen? Well, Germany is slightly different in that regard.  OK, very different.    Today's special is CAP in the area of a Red offensive. Shouldn't be too hard.  As an gun interceptor we don't get much in terms of extra gear.  The roster shows certain promise. The first mission video  In which we meet our greatest enemy  We failed, but the tanks were pushed back. Squadron strength down by 2, 2 pilots are permanently lost (KIA and MIA). Good start? We advance a day, not due to injuries, but because this campaign has a different pace.  A sweep over what seems to be the closest enemy airbase. With Hunter's limited range we won't see most of the map this season. The second mission video  In which we learn how Karl Marx can affect your gaming experience  Good day, although the one lost pilot ended up as a POW, and is going to experience the Soviet hospitality. SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Aug 22, 2014 |
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Nov 8, 2013 07:30
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So how does the Hunter compare to the MiG 17? Are you outgunned when you're up against them, or is it pretty even?
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Nov 8, 2013 08:34
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I chose to believe that Red Crown just has OCD, and has to tell even downed squadrons that they've failed. Just like she had to copy that the Meteors were under attack at the end of update 1.
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Nov 8, 2013 11:07
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Gothsheep posted:So how does the Hunter compare to the MiG 17? Are you outgunned when you're up against them, or is it pretty even?
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Nov 8, 2013 16:16
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The radar and tactics chat was genuinely interesting. Despite being a gigantic  about military aviation, I wasn't aware of the tactic of the wingman just lurking in the background waiting for a chance to swoop in and snap up a target. I certainly wouldn't mind more of that sort of discussion in future episodes!The "Fresco-D"'s search radar was presumably used for some sort of radar gunsight like the Hunter's, correct?
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Nov 8, 2013 22:08
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Soup Inspector posted:The "Fresco-D"'s search radar was presumably used for some sort of radar gunsight like the Hunter's, correct? Here's a Russian site, but scroll to the bottom of the page for Fresco-D pics. There's one showing what's under those nose bulges. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fighter/mig17pf.html
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Nov 8, 2013 22:26
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Soup Inspector posted:
It did that, too, but it was a legitimate (if very short-ranged) search set. e:f,b
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Nov 8, 2013 22:32
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At what point does air combat move away from guns and start favoring missiles, anyway?
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Nov 8, 2013 22:57
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I believe I've found a mod that added the MiG-21, but I don't remember if the MiG-17 and MiG-19 have been added by modders, seems like fun planes to fly though (flying Soviet in the missile age is kinda lovely, what with the common 2x god-awful Atoll loadout).
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Nov 8, 2013 23:05
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Gothsheep posted:At what point does air combat move away from guns and start favoring missiles, anyway? Vietnam era, so late 60s. That said, even then the missiles weren't the most reliable thing in the world. Still they were effective even though. For example, the F-8 Crusader was nicknamed "The Last Gunfighter" as it was the last major US fighter to use cannons as its primary weapon. It scored virtually all of its confirmed kills in Vietnam with missiles.  
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Nov 8, 2013 23:15
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SelenicMartian posted:A radar gunsight is just an automatic aiming assist. A search radar actually has a screen in the cockpit, wit blips on it, and it helps you find stuff in the darkness or in bad weather. There will be a flyable plane with one in 1962. Madurai posted:It did that, too, but it was a legitimate (if very short-ranged) search set.  I have no idea how on Earth I managed to forget that a search radar can, y'know, be used to search for things. If it doesn't end up spoiling things, will we get an opportunity to see the Fresco-D using its radar to track us/targets? If we do, I doubt it's going to be able to follow us very accurately, what with this being an early search radar and all. Brainfarts aside, thanks for the link.
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Nov 8, 2013 23:39
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One thing I always found kinda about the movie Top Gun was the line "During Vietnam, our pilots became dependent upon missiles and lost some of their dogfighting skills." Motherfucker, most of the Navy's Vietnam kills were made in F-4s. They couldn't NOT use missiles, they had no guns!
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Nov 8, 2013 23:41
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Galaga Galaxian posted:It scored virtually all of its confirmed kills in Vietnam with missiles.  McNally posted:Motherfucker, most of the Navy's Vietnam kills were made in F-4s. They couldn't NOT use missiles, they had no guns! 
radintorov fucked around with this message at 23:50 on Nov 8, 2013 |
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Nov 8, 2013 23:45
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radintorov posted:Well, that's because the F-8's guns (the Colt Mk12 20mm cannons) were as reliable as the Sidewinder missiles they were carrying: those things probably jammed more often that the .50cals we've seen on the P-51 Selenic flew in the first campaign. True, IIRC if you were pulling any kind of Gs at all when you pulled the trigger, those things would pretty much quit every time. radintorov posted:That's why the F-4s first started carrying external gun pods and later were modified to carry the now-venerable M61 Vulcan. Mmmm gunpods.  Pretty sure this is for display though. I could see packing on four of those pods for strafing ground targets, but at that point why not just stick on the shittons of bombs Phantoms could carry? Granted, F-4s are not my forte. I'm more of a prop person. [edit] Actually is that a fifth one the centerline behind the wheel? 
Galaga Galaxian fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Nov 9, 2013 |
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Nov 8, 2013 23:51
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radintorov posted:That's why the F-4s first started carrying external gun pods and later were modified to carry the now-venerable M61 Vulcan. The Air Force did that. Navy F-4s never had the M61. Edit: Further research shows that no Navy F-4 made a single kill with anything other than missiles and that the gunpods the Navy procured (which apparently weren't the same as the ones the Air Force used) were considered "worthless." More edit: Galaga Galaxian posted:[edit] Actually is that a fifth on the centerline behind the wheel? Yes it is. Probably. McNally fucked around with this message at 23:58 on Nov 8, 2013 |
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Nov 8, 2013 23:53
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McNally posted:The Air Force did that. Navy F-4s never had the M61. As you said, it was the USAF that started using the models with internal M61.  Galaga Galaxian posted:Pretty sure this is for display though. radintorov fucked around with this message at 00:07 on Nov 9, 2013 |
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Nov 9, 2013 00:02
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S03E02: 1956.11.19-20 (Leaking & Vertigo) Strewth, our base does have a couple of trees on a taxiway!  We're sent to intercept two MiG-15s on a bombing run. MiG-15 on a bombing run... WTF is supply 112%? Did someone mistakenly brought us an extra tea set? I took another 2 planes, and put on the drop tanks, since the game didn't add them. The hardpoints are loaded by default based on the mission type, and not on the actual range to the target. The mission video  In which there is some coming from behind followed by spillage  One lost plane, but no casualties.  drat. We're migratory, apparently.  I don't care, that it's another CAP, we've been moved all the way south overnight. A squadron's AI pilot became an ace before I did.  The new place looks shabbier, too. No sudden trees, at least. The mission video  In which I was seriously considering adding some carousel music  We lost 4 planes, but there was no drop in squadron strength, and only 2 pilots ended up wounded.  Why don't they call us the Royal Flying Circus? SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Aug 22, 2014 |
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Nov 9, 2013 07:23
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That defensive spiral would've been a good move IF there was any MiGs smart enough to cover him and attack you during it.
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Nov 9, 2013 07:46
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Galaga Galaxian posted:That defensive spiral would've been a good move IF there was any MiGs smart enough to cover him and attack you during it. Except there was according to the red "He's firing!" (im assuming red means at player) fortunately whoever that was is a bad shot/pilot. Zero grinder fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Nov 9, 2013 |
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Nov 9, 2013 15:24
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Okay, watching your wingman trying to land in formation was pretty hilarious.
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Nov 9, 2013 16:35
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Man, that bounce you made on those MiGs in the first clip was embarrassing. The guy's flying straight and level and you missed completely! Reminds me of myself playing IL-2
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Nov 9, 2013 19:45
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The Casualty posted:Man, that bounce you made on those MiGs in the first clip was embarrassing. The guy's flying straight and level and you missed completely! Reminds me of myself playing IL-2 Him getting shot in return was justice for his terrible shooting.
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Nov 9, 2013 23:04
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I figured this crowd would be interested in this link: http://www.af.mil/live.aspx The Doolittle Raiders are having their last reunion and will be opening their bottle of cognac. Watch it happen.
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Nov 10, 2013 00:36
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S03E03: 1956.11.21-22 (Cross & Distinguished) Time for a brief explanation of how the rudimentary fighter squadron management works in SF2. First, in each mission our group is organized into a Squadron, which contains up to four Flights, each containing up to two Elements of two planes. Adding pilots on the roster screen we have to fill each position in sequence, i.e. we can't have a Flight Two, without first stuffing 3 pilots (+ the player) into Flight One. Second, the most important positions are the ones of flight leaders and element leaders. Element leaders are the ones, who actually actively attack things. If you were looking at statistics, you must've noticed, that the even numbers (1-2, 1-4) often don't fire a shot during missions. That's because they're wingmen and provide cover for the leads, instead of freely looking for things to kill. Therefore, you want to use the most experienced pilots as leads, especially as flight leaders, because, if I'm remembering this right, a downed flight leader removes your ability to give orders to the other three pilots. Third, like everything in SF2 the in-flight command system is poorly documented and somewhat broken. Your wingman - the only guy you can order to cover you - will eagerly sod off, if you give Return to Base order to the Squadron or to Flight One. Technically, he is a part of both, but he has unique command options  Back to the scheduled war between whiskey and vodka. I combed the map and found, that the reported T-62 units magically turned into the more fitting T-54/55. I also discovered, that the ace shot down earlier is gone, so he's dead, missing or captured. There's one more Red ace squadron, with two aces, flying MiG-17F. There's one more Blue ace on the map, too, a Sandy McMullen, who reached 5 kills flying a loving Vampire   The new base location is... uhh... Are we positive, they're not trying to get rid of us? Anyway, let's put our best hunting CAP on. The mission video  In which a MiG takes an eternity to fall from 2,800 m  We get a shiny thing, too.  I don't know, what's so special about that. I always keep my flying distinguished regardless of mood. The wording is excellent, of course. Remember all the "extremely heavy hostile fire" I faced? It's all in the magic of report writing  Anyway, we have one more task to attend to.  Another bomberMiG intercept. The mission video  In which you might spend more time reading this line, than watching the video  That was a proper slaughter. SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Aug 22, 2014 |
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Nov 11, 2013 14:02
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Well, now them Duke boys weren't quite sure how they ended up in this mess, far from Hazzard, and I reckon they were probably wishin it was just ol Boss Hogg chasin' em. Some things never change though, and if the Law can't catch em, well those Reds never will. Them Hunters were a fine ride, but the Dukes figured they just needed a little touch of home... 
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Nov 11, 2013 19:37
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Queue the Russian squadrons disengaging out of confusion when a British fighter starts blaring out "Born in the USA".
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Nov 11, 2013 19:45
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Congrats on the medal!
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Nov 11, 2013 20:26
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S03E04: 1956.11.23-30 (69 & DP) And then nothing started happening so furiously, that the game itself skipped a few days. The front line activity died completely. There were no more MiG-15 bombings, though  1956.11.23  A combat air patrol over our own airfield. The kill reel, with a new face to rearrange  Got promoted to Flying Officer. We won't see many higher rank promotions, because to get them you need to drag the same pilot into many single missions and campaigns. 1956.11.26  There was so much nothing going on, they asked me to bomb a runway. I used the speed parity with Fagots to get away without even bothering to engage. The old-timey 1000-lb bombs really don't suit Hunters  1956.11.27  An Il-28 intercept. Our AI mate Ralph Reynolds killed one Il-28 with guns, and 4 seconds later downed another one by ramming, slightly damaging his own plane and suffering no injuries I had a fire and had to bail out. Spotted USAF Canberras going completely goth. Well be seeing more of them later.  1956.11.28  The hell? At this rate, next time they'll send me to bomb Moscow. Since the target was a fuel tank, I swapped out the bombs for drop tanks, and did it solo. 1956.11.29  Another Il-28 raid to prevent. The D/p reel  One of our better pilots (the non-ace Duke) committed suicide by crashing, or, in fancy talk, performing a CFIT, which stands for "controlled flight into terrain". The other Duke, who beat me to 5 kills, has been pissing me off for days. Not because of that, though. I take it, that he celebrated his ace status so religiously, that his CND dropped to about 50. It regenerated 2-4 points per turn, and dropped again after that one mission in the previous update. We have wounded pilots, who are in better shape. Of course, knowing the luck of the squadron aces in my previous campaign, he might be just faking it. 1956.11.30  Finally our ground forces get off their blue arses and begin a counter offensive! We do our usual CAP routine. The mission video  In which we watch other people do the heavy work  Reynolds stays productive. SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Aug 22, 2014 |
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Nov 12, 2013 22:28
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It amazes me that you hit tiny fighter MiGs just fine, but then nearly over-fly a wing of bombers without scoring a hit
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Nov 13, 2013 06:05
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Watch out for automobiles on the runway.
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Nov 13, 2013 08:21
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What happens if you try to land at an enemy airstrip? Do you crash, does base AA shoot you down?
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Nov 14, 2013 10:33
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Glazius posted:What happens if you try to land at an enemy airstrip? Do you crash, does base AA shoot you down? I don't know, whether it's been fixed or not, but is SF2 North Atlantic the movements of the Soviet and the US carrier groups could bring them so close together, you'd start you mission, while in the middle of the enemy ship formation, and within range of every Soviet SAM launcher. Before you even take off.  I don't play North Atlantic much.
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Nov 14, 2013 15:31
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SelenicMartian posted:You can land anywhere, or not even land at all, and end the mission just fine. But, yes, the base air defences will kill you. I'm curious now. What happens if you 'land' on water?
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Nov 14, 2013 22:35
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