I have to revise my initial assessment “bad”. Why?
Regarding the current (announced) changes:
From my pov there are no substantial changes at BRs above 2.7. I played (after a break) now on several 3 bases maps (Frontline maps and legacy maps like Poland) without noticing any changes, so it looks like gaijin either “forgot” these maps or just changed bases at BRs lower than 2.7.
The increase of contrail altitudes (on medium maps now around 9km) should increase the survival chances of experienced bomber pilots in bombers with good high alt performance. I ran today (by accident) multiple times in very high Pe-8s (at 7km+) and even in a PB5-M (at 6 km) which popped out of nowhere. Have in mind that the graphics whilst playing on xbox are far inferior compared to PC graphics.
The downsides of these contrail alt changes is (ofc) that it is basically impossible to track enemy fighters trying to pitch up. After watching several replays it became obvious that i got tracked and stalked multiple times without being aware of that (despite i scanned the airspace below and behind) - the majority of these fighters broke off as they ran out of fuel or were too lazy to climb.
I flew yesterday several missions in the Swedish B-18B - totally relaxing matches thx to missing contrails, all bombs dropped, not a single plane loss , 6 matches, 6 victories, like in good old times.
That’s why i assess the current changes as a slight upside for experienced prop bomber pilots - the average players still try their low level runs with the usual outcome😉
Well.
FNF helis for more nations. Better from balance, but even worser for ground.
And outside of that almost no interesting additions. Another barely playable F-15? And a bunch of clones.
Some “smart” balancing decisions regarding Su-30&J-11.
Like… overall update is buff for Challengers, contrail changes and… a bit of love for sim(still lacks good economy lol)?
The research nation customization feature is a good addition, but I have two issues with it:
Showing all the different operator nation flags in the battle scoreboard is overwhelming/confusing and it leaves much guesswork for the player. For example there are several Canadas across different research trees. Research nation flags should be the default setting.
Some operator nations like Republic of China and South Vietnam are represented by their military service flags and not the national flag, and as such you cannot use their flag in the customization feature. Bug reports to add the ROC national flag have been declined. Can we get a official reason why these operators are subject to different rules than the others?
VT4A1 — a Digital camouflage has been added and is available for purchase with Golden Eagles.
New profile icons with modern helicopter pilots have been added and can be obtained by completing in-game tasks and can be purchased with Golden Eagles.
Profile icons that were previously only available for completing tasks can now be purchased with Golden Eagles.
Thats is basically the only true update to the game. Even though 5 is not a lot, i hope this opens the door to bigger punishments if you leave without respawning.
As i still think, leaving a match on purpose, joining one on purpose with only one tank, is against the EULA rule of fair play.