Using observation seaplanes to direct naval artillery fire

[Would you like to see this function in-game?]
  • Yes
  • No
0 voters

Along with the update of the French Navy is the GL.832HY float plane. Unlike other shipboard reconnaissance plane, GL.832HY does not have any offensive armament. Other planes at least have a forward firing machine gun and some bombs. So I am thinking about how to make this plane more useful. Actually, other obervation seaplanes are not that useful either…
One idea came to my mind. The purpose of those observation seaplanes are to spot enemany ships and direct artillery to attack enemy ships. Why not let them fulfill its original purpose?
Recently, the game removed the feature of automatic firing for the main cannon, the ship cannot fire main cannons when you are flying seaplanes. This made the ship vulnerable when the player is flying plane. Now is just the time to give the seaplane the ability to guide the main gun to fire.

Due to the perspective, it may be difficult to see clearly where the shells are dropping when aiming from a ship, while viewing from a plane gives player another angle. When directing artillery fire from the observation seaplane, the plane automatically continues to fly in its original course, and the player uses the mouse to select the target location on the sea. It is also better to show the trajectory of shell, so players know where the shells are firing from. This is kind of like calling for artillery support, the difference is that artillery support come from off map, and this come from players’ own ship. Or similiar to how WSP-9 Repair Pchela can guide the BR-1 Burav robot to devour enemy tanks.

In the future it would even be possible to have a ship/tank launch a missile and the player use a recon plane/drone to guide it, or conversely, the player use a ground vehicle to guide an aircraft-launched missile.

5 Likes

and allow scout drones to launch artillery, though at a very limited range in ground rather than saying “there’s who’s gonna kill you blind bastard”

2 Likes

I can see this being a thing in Arcade Mode under the already existing “Highlight Projectile Fall Point” but for realistic, I’d be pretty fine with just keeping an eye on those tracers (and maybe colorful splashes for the Japanese if they ever implement that)

4 Likes

An in-game clock timer would be nice to have, counting time till shells land on a target.

Honestly: I disagree. It’d be cool to have naval plane report to you whether shot landed too far or too close, and by how much, but IMHO we should never be able to aim main guns from the perspective of an airplane.

1 Like

The game does have that actually, as one of the HUD elements of Sniper/Binocular View when you fire your gun.

2 Likes

Suggestion passed to the developers for consideration.

1 Like