Aircraft question

[jeep]

I had a few questions about aircraft combat that have been bugging me.

For most combat units, they attack EVERY unit within their range with equal force (and vice-versa) for the duration of the turn that they are in range.

I another thread it was pointed out that aircraft are different. They do a full turn of combat in a single instant. So naturally this could work a few ways...

1. A full turn of combat is commenced with every unit the aircraft comes in range of in that turn.

2. The aircraft only attacks the unit it TARGETED (what if it was a group?), and only the target attacks back.

3. The aircraft only attacks the unit it TARGETED, but all enemy units in range can attack it (full turn of combat each).

4. The aircraft only attacks the unit it TARGETED (full turn attack), and all enemy units in range can attack it only while it is in range (not full turn attacks)

5. Something else?

The answer here will definately effect how I use the tac bombers. Especially if there is a difference in targeting a single unit vrs a group.

[hoolaman]

As I understand it, a single plane attacking a stack of say two units will attack both units but divide its attacks between the two. In return it will be counter-attacked by both units. They can only engage in combat once because they need to be rearmed at their landing site.

I think combat happens in turn as different unit circles cross, but I don't know what happens when a plane that has fired its weapons is attacked.

[jeep]

For all other units, they attack all units in range with full force. That makes me think the aircraft probably don't divide their attacks.

[hoolaman]

If you load the standard ruleset in the editor and use the combat simulator you can see the statistical chances of various damage scenarios.

I'm sure one unit attacking two stacked units does not attack both stacked units in full force, because the chance to do higher damage is significantly reduced in the combat simulator against multiple opponents. Otherwise what would be the point of stacking anything?

[Brit]

I had a few questions about aircraft combat that have been bugging me.

For most combat units, they attack EVERY unit within their range with equal force (and vice-versa) for the duration of the turn that they are in range.

I another thread it was pointed out that aircraft are different. They do a full turn of combat in a single instant. So naturally this could work a few ways...

1. A full turn of combat is commenced with every unit the aircraft comes in range of in that turn.

2. The aircraft only attacks the unit it TARGETED (what if it was a group?), and only the target attacks back.

3. The aircraft only attacks the unit it TARGETED, but all enemy units in range can attack it (full turn of combat each).

4. The aircraft only attacks the unit it TARGETED (full turn attack), and all enemy units in range can attack it only while it is in range (not full turn attacks)

5. Something else?

The answer here will definately effect how I use the tac bombers. Especially if there is a difference in targeting a single unit vrs a group.

The way it works is that the aircraft gets a full round of attack against the target, and the target gets a full round of attack back. If the target is a group, the aircraft selects a target within the group at random (although, it's not entirely random - different aircraft have different preferred targets; tactical aircraft, for example, will target ground and sea units before other units). In addition to this combat between the aircraft and it's target, other units in the area get a short attack against the aircraft if it is within range. This is not a full-turn worth of attacks, and the duration of their attack depends on how long the aircraft is within combat range.

[jeep]

Thanks! That is a good way to handle it

Best bet for planes then is to avoid (fly around) any other units except the target.

One other thought I had....

How about increasing the attack value of all aircraft when they only plot to use 50% of their total range that turn. This would simulate heavier weopons load out vrs fuel. More importantly, it gives you more advantage in having closer airbases/carriers to the enemy (and hence drives the use of this tactic). Could be interesting at higher tech levels when aircraft range gets longer.

You could implement it as a third range circle so people could easily see the effect.