(This is detached from a different post because I think this issue deserves more attention on its own)
Airplanes currently suffer from this problem: There is no way to learn when to drop bombs except for yeeting them until you got a lucky hit often enough to recognize a pattern. You cannot see where they will hit and you cannot look down to check.
Bombs are arguably the least beginner-friendly weapon in the game - and even when you think you’ve figured them out, you will change your flying pattern from plane to plane as you grind through the progression and the bombs will fall differently based on momentum, timing in your ordnance rotation and altitude.
What’s left is a major knowledge gap between pilots who have mastered the bomb “aim” for their plane and everyone else, to be reconciled only through time and chance.
I suggest two additions to Enlisted’s airplanes:
1. The grey crosshair known from tank and AT guns that shows you where your shot will actually land - or in this new case, your bomb.
2. Where historically accurate, a bombing scope that lets you aim bombs without diving at as steep an angle as planes without this scope have to if they want to match the grey crosshair to their sights.
Mechanically, the bombing scope could work as follows: Planes that have one drop bombs upon RELEASING the assigned button. The same assigned button lets you look through the bombing sights when held for >1 second. In effect, pressing the assigned button will behave the same as right now. But holding it will allow for using your sights.
This is also one of the reasons why people fly super low and do suicide runs, because its much easier to hit compared to realistic and accurate boming runs.
I"m in favour of the realistic bombing sights, for those planes which we’re realistically equipped with them. It does introduce a bit of a skill level to bomb accurately given that bombs will be satisfyingly effective if dropped on advancing troops or light skin vehicles in the open.
WT has the grey bomb aim sight in their arcade version which might be an abstracted compromise for those planes which didn’t have bomb sights but where the pilots did train to drop bombs in a CAS role. Perhaps the alternative would be to add an abstrtracted simplistic bomb sight to the fighters fitted with bombs because the grey marker from WT makes it really easy to bomb accurately, not sure if that’s what’s needed for Enlisted given how tightly packed everyone is on the maps, which is why once ppl master their bombing techniques the pay offs are significant.
I don’t agree with getting WT bomb sight line.
I think only historically aircraft with bombsights should have bombing views.
And the practice mode can provide a bomb tracking perspective for novices to practice.
Cause if CAS were that easy, most newbies would jump on a plane and never get off if they felt even the slightest bit of pressure in combat.
Then no one gonna attack the point.
I’d be opposed to the crosshair but ok with the bomb sight where historical. Personally I’d get rid of the AT Gun and Tank pen indicator too but that isnt going to be popular so I deal with it. We got rocket launching planes for those that can’t aim
If you fly a plane staring down bomb sights you’d be following your bombs in flames in quick order. The maps are very small and so is the functional air box around them. The bomber pilots would need to be real quick in aligning their plane onto target then having quick peaks to fine adjust and drop bombs whilst keeping an eye out for fighters.
There have been many times where aggressive fighters can break up your bombing run, unless ofcourse your’re one of those suicide cyclers, but for anyone who enjoys flying and doesn’t just give up at the first burst in your general direction, you have to have your eyes peeled for fighters at all times in order to be able to take evasive action and position your tail gunners to best effect if you can’t outrun, out turn or just “hit the brakes and they’re fly right past” dogfight your way out of trouble.
