Anyone else think the ability to fire weapons from an aircraft, when destroyed, should be removed?
Lost count at the amount of times ive shot an aircraft down in my SPAA, been rewarded for the kill, only for it to fire a weapon a short while after being shot down and the kill awarded.
Imagine if it was reversed.
Imagine if you destroyed a tank, received the credit for the kill…only for it to fire back and kill you after the kill has been counted, it doesn’t make sense.
if the vehicle has already shot and gets killed before the munition connects, guess what?
the missile or bomb or rocket that was launched is still coming your way
My point is after death, and kill credit awarded, the aircraft should not be able to fire any weapon.
Severe damage? then yeah, fire away.
But once you get ‘Aircraft destroyed / Helicopter destroyed’ they shouldnt have the ability to fire anymore.
Imagine you shooting a tank, killing it, getting ‘Tank Destroyed’ and kill awarded on scoreboard…for that tank to then fire and take you out. Its the same as that.
(Not including a ‘trade’ shot where you take each other out)
I refer back to my point, then the mechanic needs changing.
Because if the game tells you, the attacker, that the aircraft you’re engaged with, is destroyed, and you being awarded the kill…for it to then still be able to fire weapons, is absurd.
Because by definition, the aircraft isnt destroyed, if its able to still target and fire weapons at you.
I think that weapon systems and fire control systems / electronics that allow for use of weaponry should be able to get damaged so that weapons cant fire but not a literal u have been severely damaged and cant fire mechanic!
They changed the mechanic to severe damage. Now most of the damage that would have resulted in a full kill are severe damage instead.
An aircraft can be destroyed to a point that it is not air worthy or combat worthy and still operate it’s weapon systems. That is why it is modeled like it is in game. It is an intentional feature that mirrors what dive bombers and torpedo bombers did when they fought through clouds of flak and anti aircraft fire while making attack runs on ships with doomed aircraft.
It isn’t the same. A tank kill usually involves all the crew being killed or the ammunition being detonated destroying the entire interior of the tank and forcefully removing the weapons system from the chassis. This can happen to bombers or strikers if the bombs are struck and detonated, but aircraft kills are not so simple.
A rudimentary dive bomber from ww2 isnt as complex as modern machinery.
A severely damaged ww2 aircraft can push on as long as the aircraft can remain in flight and the pilot/bomb aimer is able to carry out their roles.
Modern aircraft have countless sensors & miles of wiring.
A ‘Severely damaged’ modern aircraft is more, more likely to be unable to press on than a ww2 aircraft, after being rendered ‘destroyed’ by game standards.
Like
Severe damage > Aircraft can remain somewhat in flight & Weapon systems may or may not be able to use weapon systems.
Destroyed aircraft > Done & Dusted. Cannot maintain controlled flight nor can it use its weapon systems
So tell me why an F-16 which loses a wing (severe damage) can’t use its radar and mutions mounted on the other wing to make an air to air kill, or fire an ATGM on the intact wing at a target, or drop a bomb on the intact wing
This whole issue of being able to attack after receiving severe damage or kill damage depends wholly on what damage is sustained. An example is a pilot kill. Kill the pilot and the plane can do nothing. Shoot off a wing and the plane may still be combat worthy to a point. Shoot off the vertical tail and the plane still may be combat worthy. Aircraft kills are not as simple of a thing when compared to tanks as there are more complexities that can result in a kill or severe damage.
Loss of a wing is more than likely going to cause rapid rolling & severe structural stresses. No targetting pod will be able to stabilise and track under those forces.
Same point for radar.
G force wont allow the pilot to control the weapon systems with ease.
If the aircraft is still controllable (like that F15 that lost a wing) The pilot isnt going to be thinking about engaging any targets.
This would be true for real life situations, but means little in Warthunder as we don’t feel the existential dread of our airframe crumbling around us.
They are going to keep the feature of fighting until the last moment regardless of how severe damage or kills work. Regrettably it does cause alot of frustration because usually people ignore rhe aircraft after the kill is rewarded or severe damage is rewarded. I’m not super fond of it either since it allows things like bombers to kill other aircraft after kills are rewarded too.
The F-15 has a large, flat underside that contributes greatly to lift at high aoa. Most aircraft lack this and losing a wing would be mean losing control sooner rather than later.
But anyway…
The "serious damage’ patch did make dead-but-still-alive aircraft more rare as one the plans, alongside the reward changes, was to make it obvious you still needed to keep on shooting until they went black and ignore any text messages that so clearly mislead.
Unfortunately it doesn’t work 100%, and the fact planes are still classed as alive even when flat spinning to their doom because they don’t perfectly fit the criteria until they splat indicates a revisit is needed. I just don’t think it will happen any time soon.
Modern aircraft and helicopters in real life have backups, and in some cases multiple backups, for every internal electronic component responsible for the control of the aircraft’s systems. That actually makes them pretty durable in a fight so long as the mechanical componentals are still intact, so it’s entirely possible for an aircraft to still be able to fire its weapons systems even if it is unable to continue flying.
This is something that’s bugged me for a while. Severe Damage has gone a long way to help, but I’m not sure if it’s completely addressed the problem - if the game says something was destroyed, it should be 100% non functional, no ambiguity. If the vehicle remains in any way functional, don’t say that it was destroyed!
IMO it’s just about conveying the correct message. Tanks and ships can’t surprise you from beyond the grave, why should aircraft?