[Would you like to see this in-game?]
Often, towards the end of a match, there are 1 or 2 players left on the enemy team. Nobody has spotted them and they are an unknown aircraft. I am proposing that if this player was spotted earlier in the match, the plane they are flying will be listed next to their username on the scoreboard like in Arcade battles. Similar mechanics are seen in Rainbow 6 Siege where if a player is spotted, the operator they are playing becomes known to the opposing team.
The possibility of learning what the enemy is flying that late into the match is possible already. You simply have to go into the battle log. As long as the enemy plane has killed a ground target, a plane (player controlled or AI), or damaged a plane (sometimes inconsistent), their name and aircraft will be displayed. This method does not work for planes that have exclusively bombed a base as base bombing is not recorded in the battle log.
This proposed change would save the hassle of the process stated above and allow the remaining players to plan their approach. For example, if I know that the last player is in a plane that is good at energy fighting, I may want to climb to counter them. Another benefit of this change is that if I know there is a bomber that only bombed a base, I would be able to prepare for an encounter with them. Knowing that the base bomber is a TU-4 vs an A2D-1 would change how I approach searching for the last player.
To clarify, this mechanic would not automatically spot the last player in a team. The intent is to allow players to easily check the scoreboard and prepare for the matchup. You could even justify this mechanic in the “lore” by saying that pilots are reporting what planes they have spotted to HQ.
9 Likes
It’s only common sense, why not? 🤷♂️
I had this idea a while ago but never got around to writing it as a suggestion. Glad to see someone else brought it up.
This should work similarly to how Rainbow Six Siege displays spotted operators on the HUD but on the scoreboard in War Thunder.
+1
1 Like
Makes sense, this should be added
no, pay attention to what’s happening and have memory of more than a frigging goldfish. why should they be punished for your lack of situational awarness?
If you can’t handle the already horridly OP spotting in ARB go play arcade.
STOP TRYING TO TURN RB INTO ARCADE! THAT MODE EXISTS ALREADY JUST GO PLAY IT!!!
6 Likes
From my pov you try to kill some of the last things that separates vets from rookies - the ability to keep situational awareness, “read” a game and how to deal with unknown variables.
Whilst i agree that this “last one or two player aircraft unknown” topic is rather a challenge the whole idea has two main weaknesses:
-
The current spotting mechanic in Air RB is already a joke and influenced by weather conditions (dusk/dawn & clouds). If little Timmy hugs the ground in order to bomb a base and i climb 5 km above him i will be marked for the enemy team (for a few seconds) as the current spotting goes 6 km upwards but just 2 km downwards. In other words: I got spotted even if little Timmy has not even noticed me way above him.
-
Every experienced player has always an eye on suspicious players with zero points and the entire lobby in general - in order to avoid surprises and/or to be prepared for the worst. So the ability to memorize enemy player aircraft in case they got spotted is not really a challenge as we have “attack the enemy” team messages which states also the enemy aircraft type.
If you read your suggestion from a holistic perspective you ask for a change in oder to avoid own efforts based on zero efforts of others which might not even have noticed the presence of enemies “near” them / in spotting (=marker triggering) range.
My view:
-
If you think this through you dumb down Air RB even more and minimize the chances for turnarounds like playing 1 vs all. In prop Air RB you can still win 1 vs 4-8 if you kill the “right” targets at the right point in time and stay in the back until you have identified the most dangerous players / aircraft in order to kill them.
-
If you face stuff like Yak-3s or Pyoerremskis in a 1 vs many game play you are enforced to take them out first as otherwise they will kill you - staying in the back and wait for the perfect time to attack (like when they refuel/rearm) is the only way to win.
I might change my mind if gaijin reworks the spotting in general (distances / angles) but i am not convinced if they know what they want - or what they are doing.
A few weeks ago gaijin changed / killed the ai plane spotting distances (i like that) - but almost nobody has commented this in the forum - despite it has compared to your “convenience” suggestion a massive impact.
Have a good one!
1 Like
bam Air spawn in top tier
1 Like
Removing spotting altogether from AirRB would be my wish, making it like groundRB. Why is it any different?
You have to be joking, play Air SB then, it’s a game mode where that actually works
1 Like
AirSB is cockpit only and has no instructor/mouse aim. Away different experience.
I can reply the same to you and tell you to go play AirArcade instead too
2 Likes
So is removing spotting from Air RB
Bad idea and a great way to kill the game mode. It would turn into a super tedious hide-and-seek match because, with only one life, almost every player would climb to extreme altitudes to minimize their presence, especially in fast aircraft that can simply run away and remain untouchable for the rest of the match. It also wouldn’t be enjoyable to get bounced unexpectedly while draining tickets by attacking ground units from space you were trying to chase and destroy.
I would be fine with no spotting in a separate mode like Air RB EC (although I don’t think that would be optimal either), as long as I’m not forced to play a slow, drawn-out hide-and-seek game.
3 Likes
No, it would just steer it a bit away from the simple TDM meta.
It would allow attackers to do a bit more work and objectives to become more important to attack and defend.
This would be the best solution, which would keep the very short TDM matches available for whoever enjoys them
1 Like
what do you mean? I love being constantly spawned 25km away from my friend, on opposite sides of the map, when we try to fly together.
Personally I would like to see runway spawns return with an airfield layout like those they used in nuclear thunder, lock fighters to spawning at the rear AF and let attackers like the A-10 and Su-25 etc spawn a the forward ones.
I think completely removing it might be too much for ARB, as much as I enjoyed the events with out it and I do like flying CAP in GRB with no markers.
I do think it needs to be reduced significantly though, I would say put a limit on how far you can see allied spots from, similar to how it works for tanks with “radio communication” and reduce the identification range and info, showing the exact model of the plane is a bit much IMO, reduce it to just “Spitfire” “Zero” “P-51” etc. Also make the “air” radio alert work in ARB the same as ground where it just gives you a direction and altitude, so you can alert your team mates to an enemy’s location with out marking their exact location and plane type etc…
1 Like
There is the middle option of removing team spotting, basically, everyone must maintain situational awareness instead of having the enemy’s position / energy state handed to them.
Commands will still work, and you can see if a teamate is flying erratically to know if they are currently in a dogfight, but it still requires you to read it instead of "look there’s a strike aircraft at ~600m altitude that flew 5km away from your teamate)
(Btw AI planes can also spot you, thats why I avoid the middle of the map generally unless im above 3km or so)
Gaijin changed that a few weeks ago:
I see this as a step in the right direction - most players were unaware of that and it allowed way too easy kills. Currently you can track enemies killing own ai planes just when you keep an eye on the symbols of your own ai planes on the mini-map-and the kill feed at the same time.
1 Like
The whole point is that unless the enemy player has done nothing or only bombed a base, you will already be able to find what they are flying by scrolling through the battle log. This would simply streamline that process. Alt+Mousewheel is not a skill.
3 Likes
There’s still a margin of error.
This would just screw over the poor chap who is trying to either land back to base, or clutch via ace game or ground pounding.
If you want an answer for space climbers, its a blindhunt/avenger order.
What?
Why would knowing what the aircraft is without actually knowing the location do this?
OK?