But even then, spotting a tiny dot is a lot harder than giant white streak in the sky visible at 80+ km
From my experience in game, contrails form at around 15k ft usually depending on the map. Im fairly confident that the normal operate height for a Tornado F3 was about this high, usually cruising at more like 20k ft. Sea Harrier FA2 actually usually operated much higher, up to 30k ft because they could loft their AMRAAMs and “out stick” almost anything. They were also really fuel effecient at this height. So thats about 9000m. (information from "Harrier: how to be a fighter pilot by Paul Tremelling)
I think their current formation altitude is just too low. Based upon @Josephs_Piano information and the fact that WT already heavily encourages hugging the deck. It would be good to see contrail formation height increased and made more realistic both in how they form and their visual appearance, especially at long range (also would be good if that information was added onto the map)
Combine with more weather and time of day encounters. Then contrails dont become this constant beacon screaming “I AM HERE, COME AND GET ME” all the time.
Just takes away more than it gives. Stealth in some heavy bombers was the only option before, Well stealth is now boarderline impossible. without sticking way way lower and loosing the safety of alt.
The current contrail system just needs refinements
Climbing is a guaranteed death sentence whether you’re at contrail altitude or not.
I hate to tell you but this is only something lower skill pilots say when they don’t understand SARH combat and counters. I climb most games and do not die to SARH or ARH 95% of the time.
Thats not true. You’re just throwing around numbers. The altitude depends on the mission type. And one thing has to be said: Simple travelling happenes at alot higher alts in the first place…fuel efficiency. Was already said.
I think hes about right for the usual operating alts for some war game/training excercises, though from what I understand from the aforementioned book, that its necessarily always the case. Though whilst war thunder air modes could be considered something like a “red flag” gamemode. Real world combat is not so clean and nor should war thunder be given a ceiling. He is right abotu one thing though, No one really climbs anymore. The average alt is definetly below the contrail line. Average height in ASB is sub 200ft.
I find this funny since I’ve done a lot of climbing in air rb the last time I played it, and you don’t die to missiles from below the contrail line that often. People flying low don’t tend to pitch up because being in the 20-5000m zone is a death sentence. Other people flying low will lock them up and boom, you’re dead.
So being up very high actually works out because very few people are looking. Dodging phoenixes is also not hard since you can see them coming from cross-map, you just have to run them out of energy.
well as much as i am neutral i would like to suggest a more realistic effect, contrails should appear based on atmospheric conditions and they usually disappear above and below a certain altitude (between 7,500m and 12,000m)
also
props make much shorter contrails
but per most accounts, the conditions necessary only happen at or around 10,000 meters (due to the extreme cold atmosphere)
I also had some good matches high alt. But when a Mig-29 lawnmover spots your contrail, pulls up and shots a ER1 from below you won’t last long.
Without contrails he never would have spotted you, since you’re out of his arc. But contrails make it too obvious. Vice versa you don’t have any ingame support to spot the lawnmover.
I generally dislike if a pvp game does too much handholding. Unfortnately Gajin loves to implement new mechanics like this. Even more in Ground RB, where maps were more and more streamlined to remove “unfair” positions and tactics. Indicators from what direction the shot was fired. Playerbrackets in air RB. Map position markers to spot the last guy… etc etc.
And now contrails, cause players feel uncomfortable with players flying high.
Hugging the ground is GUARANTEED defeat for radar missiles.
So people hug the ground, as it’s simply the easiest way to defend yourself. Also the maps may be bigger, but all the objectives are still at the middle, so that mindless furball is 100% the fault of gaijin.
Easy fix for all of these problems would be EC mode with bombing targets spread out and more AI targets to hunt.
Pretty sure he meant that almost the whole enemy team now knows exactly where you are and i sure would like to see you survive 5+ mig29s or f14s attacking you at the same time.
as an AB fan, I played with EC RB 2x and had a great time, even though RB itself wasn’t really my thing. I have no idea why snail doesn’t give people what most people like, and EC was quite popular.
currently top tier RB looks like AB at rank 2-3. one big cauldron in which 10 people from each team shoot all rockets at once at everyone they have the opportunity to tag, the team with 2-3 more people surviving wins and the mass rushes to the survivors
It’s funny to watch how RB “fans” get excited about automated sights, drop markers and radar markers that they despised in AB xD generally, both modes are practically the same, the gameplay resembles mindless masses clashing in battles lasting several minutes
Yes, thats right. The objectives are stil clustered around one map square, so the true size of the map doesn’t matter. The furball will always happen there…pretty much obvious. First the strike aircraft fly in low to snatch some NPC or basekills. This attracts some enemy fighters to farm the strikers. This again attracts more pilots to engage the players and this cascade always moves on until everyone is engaged in one of this idiotic furballs. When finally someone tries something different and tries to do some death from above, they spot the contrail and shot a sarh into his face.
My record was a match which ended in 4 minutes,…was this airspawn city map, though. But still an ebarassment for a so called realistic mode.
Under this conversation, I assumed that we;re talking about the opening of the game? because why would you bring up a 1v5 if its only me alive on my team… of course I’d die… the point is you can fly high easily if you’re not bad and easily counter any SARH/ARH thrown at you
