Looks like it could be fun. A serious, less cartoon based treatment could be epic.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/537800/Bomber_Crew/ (http://store.steampowered.com/app/537800/Bomber_Crew/)
Kerbals get themselves a B-24?
Looks more like a Lancaster :P
Quote from: mirth on August 22, 2017, 02:42:41 PM
Looks more like a Lancaster :P
In labor giving birth to four P40s.
War is Hell. Adorable Hell.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 22, 2017, 02:52:15 PM
Quote from: mirth on August 22, 2017, 02:42:41 PM
Looks more like a Lancaster :P
In labor giving birth to four P40s.
Yeah, the shark's mouths on all four engines was a nice touch.
Can't say much for the graphics, other than it'll probably run on just about anything, but the sim-management gameplay looks like a blast. O0
I just don't like the style. It reminds me of nintendo WII.
Who says war can't be cute? I see a follow-on "P.O.W. Bomber Crew" with a tunnel-digging puppy dog.
War is Smoochie Booches.
Seems to be fairly sophisticated. Certainly on my RADAR.
Did you fellow Grognards know that RADAR is an acronym, and thusly must be in all caps? :)
Quote from: DennisS on August 22, 2017, 07:42:15 PM
Seems to be fairly sophisticated. Certainly on my RADAR.
Did you fellow Grognards know that RADAR is an acronym, and thusly must be in all caps? :)
So is "PATRIOT ACT" oddly enough.
And this looks like a game my daughter would play on her iPad. Is there a market for Mario Kart based wargames?
I'd get this game. Looks good and well...cute. :)
I'd buy that! It's not like a crewmen didn't actually climb out on a Lancaster wing either https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cyril_Jackson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cyril_Jackson)
I sure hope they aren't leaving the cockades off in order to not offend people.
Quote from: Hentzau on August 22, 2017, 10:45:47 PM
I'd buy that! It's not like a crewmen didn't actually climb out on a Lancaster wing either https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cyril_Jackson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cyril_Jackson)
I sure hope they aren't leaving the cockades off in order to not offend people.
Hey buddy..keep your cockades to yourself!
I think that 4-engined plane with the fancy engine cowlings was the 4-engined cross between a P-38 Lightning and a P-40 Warhawk: It's the P-78 Flying Tiger!!
I wonder if it'll be derivative of FTL, except flying over Germany? I read an interesting analysis of WW II that suggested the Allied Strategic Bombing command did not have a major effect on German industrial output. Rather than being a historical account of the economics of WW II, it was basically an economics textbook about WW II, but it was copiously researched and documented.
The author wasn't saying that the strategic bombing campaign was a waste of time. That was outside the scope of his work. He was just saying that, through massive inventories and widespread substitution, strategic bombing did very little to keep the Germans from running their economy full-steam until near the end of the war. The one exception he identified was aviation fuel.
So conflicted about this title. I would love to see a detailed crew management type sim depicting Bomber Command during WWII but I am really turned off by the cartoonish art style.
At any rate, the tiger mouths painted on the engine nacelles are likely based on KB772 VR-R, a Lancaster Mk X (Canadian built versions of the Mk III) which flew with 419 "Moose" Sqn, No 6 (RCAF) Group from Nov 44-Apr 45 and then in RCAF Eastern Air Command until May 47. It was nicknamed "Ropey" by the crew. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum re-created the paint scheme on their Lancaster in 2015 during its summer tours before moving on to other iconic paint schemes in 2016.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pewteraircraft.com%2FRAF%2FLANCASTER%2520X%2FLANC-X-BW.jpg&hash=8884c0b14fa032a2972e81301313bfcc853a0f96)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lancasterassociation.co.uk%2FSiteAssets%2FBlog%2FPost%2F60%2FTemporary-Markings-for-CWHM-Lancaster%2FCWHM%2520Lancaster%2520FM213%2520Hamilton%252013JUN2014.JPG&hash=aced14e22e42bea09f663d54efcc6549450cbb9f)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.warplane.com%2Fimages%2Fcontent%2FLancaster_U7A2779-1500.jpg&hash=338a9541f11e645fa5cc3ac2675deb84f5a0030a)
So this is a historically accurate game!
Stop getting history into my cuteness dammit! >:(
I'm kinda sad it's not a P-78.
:dreamer:
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on August 23, 2017, 11:45:27 AM
I think that 4-engined plane with the fancy engine cowlings was the 4-engined cross between a P-38 Lightning and a P-40 Warhawk: It's the P-78 Flying Tiger!!
I wonder if it'll be derivative of FTL, except flying over Germany? I read an interesting analysis of WW II that suggested the Allied Strategic Bombing command did not have a major effect on German industrial output. Rather than being a historical account of the economics of WW II, it was basically an economics textbook about WW II, but it was copiously researched and documented.
The author wasn't saying that the strategic bombing campaign was a waste of time. That was outside the scope of his work. He was just saying that, through massive inventories and widespread substitution, strategic bombing did very little to keep the Germans from running their economy full-steam until near the end of the war. The one exception he identified was aviation fuel.
I've heard a lot of arguments on both sides of the equation on whether the SW campaign was worth it or not. If you look at the Normandy landings and the situation on the eastern front during that same period you'll see that the Germans had little to no air power in the form of fighter protection. By that time most of the fighters they did have were reserved for defending against the allied bombing attacks. That and the fact that Hitler insisted on putting production priority on bombers rather than fighters.
Thanks for the heads-up, JH. Wishlisted. O0
Looks like it comes out mid-October.
I don't mind cartoony graphics if the game play is fun, and it looks to be that way. I wonder how repetitive it can get, though - that'll be key for me.
In a way, it reminds me of 'The Few,' which was a tremendous disappointment, especially after the devs abandoned it.
One of Microprose's final games, The Mighty 8th, features some internal crew management in a far more realistic (if also kind of buggy) B-17 bomber sim. I kind of feel like we even had a Groggy AAR on it once upon a time?
If it's the game I'm thinking of it had an awesome array of nose-art mods. You had to master the different crew members roles to have a shot at a successful mission.
Quote from: W8taminute on August 24, 2017, 05:32:07 AM
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on August 23, 2017, 11:45:27 AM
I think that 4-engined plane with the fancy engine cowlings was the 4-engined cross between a P-38 Lightning and a P-40 Warhawk: It's the P-78 Flying Tiger!!
I wonder if it'll be derivative of FTL, except flying over Germany? I read an interesting analysis of WW II that suggested the Allied Strategic Bombing command did not have a major effect on German industrial output. Rather than being a historical account of the economics of WW II, it was basically an economics textbook about WW II, but it was copiously researched and documented.
The author wasn't saying that the strategic bombing campaign was a waste of time. That was outside the scope of his work. He was just saying that, through massive inventories and widespread substitution, strategic bombing did very little to keep the Germans from running their economy full-steam until near the end of the war. The one exception he identified was aviation fuel.
I've heard a lot of arguments on both sides of the equation on whether the SW campaign was worth it or not. If you look at the Normandy landings and the situation on the eastern front during that same period you'll see that the Germans had little to no air power in the form of fighter protection. By that time most of the fighters they did have were reserved for defending against the allied bombing attacks. That and the fact that Hitler insisted on putting production priority on bombers rather than fighters.
Yeah, my sense is that the industrial bombing was not terribly successful (I'm sure it made some differences somewhere, but German war-fighting ability was brought to its knees by Russian occupation of Balkan oil fields and not strategic bombing). But, as you said, it drew the Luftwaffe back into Germany, which ensured Allied air superiority over France starting in early 1944.
This had implications not only for German movement at the operational level, but also for the destruction of railroad stock and French rail connections. The reality is that, in the sixty days following the D-Day landings, the Allied Force build-up significantly outpaced the German force build-up.
Given that the Allies had to cross the Channel without any functioning harbors during this time and the Germans had the advatnage of interior rail lines, it's hard to view this as a failure.
One other relevant fact I learned recently: During WW II, the Amercians spent 5 dollars on aircraft for every dollar they spent on tanks. A logical decision, given their need to project force over great distances, but still an interesting one.
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on August 23, 2017, 11:45:27 AM
I think that 4-engined plane with the fancy engine cowlings was the 4-engined cross between a P-38 Lightning and a P-40 Warhawk: It's the P-78 Flying Tiger!!
I wonder if it'll be derivative of FTL, except flying over Germany? I read an interesting analysis of WW II that suggested the Allied Strategic Bombing command did not have a major effect on German industrial output. Rather than being a historical account of the economics of WW II, it was basically an economics textbook about WW II, but it was copiously researched and documented.
The author wasn't saying that the strategic bombing campaign was a waste of time. That was outside the scope of his work. He was just saying that, through massive inventories and widespread substitution, strategic bombing did very little to keep the Germans from running their economy full-steam until near the end of the war. The one exception he identified was aviation fuel.
The United States Strategic Bombing Survey (USSBS) concluded that the war could have been shortened if the Allied efforts and priorities had been different. Aviation fuel, lubricants, and other things that allowed machinery to operate should have been more heavily hit. I'm looking at you, Schweinfurt!
Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 24, 2017, 08:02:03 AM
Thanks for the heads-up, JH. Wishlisted. O0
Looks like it comes out mid-October.
I don't mind cartoony graphics if the game play is fun, and it looks to be that way. I wonder how repetitive it can get, though - that'll be key for me.
In a way, it reminds me of 'The Few,' which was a tremendous disappointment, especially after the devs abandoned it.
I am very, VERY angry about The Few. Specifically, as you get stronger, so does Germany. To the point, that about 1/3rd of the way into the game, the game becomes unwinnable, with Germanic Stacks of Doom (tm) being impossible to defeat.
Lots of books on the subject of strategic bombing and its effectiveness. Some rambling thoughts off the top of my head, in no real coherent order.
The Brits adopted the policy of night area bombing basically because it was their only realistic option of conducting offensive operations against Germany after the defeats in France and Norway. They had to switch to night bombing due to the unsustainable casualty rates they suffered in daylight attacks.
Initial results were terrible but after the Butt report came out and highlighted the shortcomings, tech and tactics improved. In the mid-war years before the USAAF really built up strength in England, the RAF achieved devastating results in the Ruhr campaign, with Hamburg and Cologne being hit especially hard.
RAF's plan was to break civilian morale and hopefully cause a enough unrest to cripple the economy or topple the government. After Hamburg, Goebbels was himself stated that a few more attacks on the level of the Hamburg raid and Germany might well collapse. However, once summer ended and the weather cooled, the likelihood of a firestorm dropped of significantly. Further, the Germans changed their tactics after the use of Window rendered the Himmelbett "box" system ineffective and with the introduction of Tame Boar and, to a lesser extent, Wild Boar tactics, bomber losses mounted significantly.
Arthur Harris was a zealot when it came to pushing for continued area bombing and did as much as he could to quash any other bombardment tactics which, in hindsight would have produced better results. Earlier in the war Churchill's science advisor, Lindemann, also pushed for area bombing as a war winning strategy and Churchill went with it.
Speer said the RAF's area bombing tactics were not effective in reducing German industry directly but they did act as a significant drain on Germany's warfighting ability as they forced Germany to open a "second front" several years before Normandy. Tremendous amounts of production capacity, men, and materiel that would have gone to the eastern front were instead deployed against the bomber attacks.
12.2% of Britain's expenditures went to strategic bombing. I've seen various figures about Germany's expenditures but they're often contradictory. One that does stick out is that 80% of the artillery Germany produced from 1942 onward went to AAA production and 10-15% of total manpower went to manning these guns.
One raid that was particularly significant was the attack on Peenemunde. This is where the Germans were working on their V2 rockets as well as a bunch of other nasty stuff. The raid did heavy damage to the facility and killed a large number of scientists and staff. The raid is credited with pushing back the deployment of the rockets by 2-3 months thereby preventing them from being available during the Normandy landings.
There are some who suggest that the use of heavy bombers such as the Lancaster and the Halifax was a waste of material and manpower and that it would have been a better idea to use Mosquitos instead as they could reach Germany with bombs and were much harder to intercept due to their speed and could better evade radar due to their wooden construction. I suspect that if the Brits had gone this route, the Germans would have responded by developing the He-219 Uhu and the Ta-154 Moskito much more quickly and subsequent RAF losses would have been comparable to what the heavies suffered.
Harris reluctantly gave up on area bombing in the run up to D-Day and, along with the USAAF, sent his heavies against the German transportation network. Results show that this was a misuse of heavy bombers as they didn't have the accuracy required to take out bridges and canals and damage they did to marshaling yards could be quickly repaired. The tactical airforces (Bomber command's No 2 Group) and USAAF 9th Air Force) were much better suited to knocking out key choke points in the transportation network. As soon as Normandy was done, Harris went right back to area bombing. This was probably a mistake as the RAF's tonnage carrying capacity was much better than the USAAF's and those bombers could have done great damage to Germany's oil production.
The USAAF were opposed to area bombing and targeting civilian workers and went after German industrial targets. There were different camps pushing for attacking the transportation network or the oil network with transportation generally winning the argument although priorities changed quite a bit (sub pens, transport, oil, ball-bearings, etc). Hindsight shows that Germany's ability to recover from industrial attacks and disperse prosecution was much more resilient than Allied planners believed possible but that oil was one of the few industries that couldn't be dispersed. Even so, it wasn't until very late in '44 where the loss of oil production really reached crisis levels.
In book I recently read, the author claimed that Germany's real Achilles' heel was coal. Coal was used to move everything, especially once production was dispersed and that it was the raids that hit coal production that worried the Germans the most and eventually caused the most headaches. The Allied planners weren't even aware of this until after the war when they did their analyses.
Some good books on the subject.
RAF Bomber Command
https://www.amazon.ca/Bomber-Command-Max-Hastings-Sir/dp/0760345201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503610024&sr=8-1&keywords=bomber+command+max+hastings (https://www.amazon.ca/Bomber-Command-Max-Hastings-Sir/dp/0760345201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503610024&sr=8-1&keywords=bomber+command+max+hastings)
https://www.amazon.ca/Other-Battle-Luftwaffe-Versus-Command/dp/0785814183/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503610133&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=The+other+battle+henchcliffe (https://www.amazon.ca/Other-Battle-Luftwaffe-Versus-Command/dp/0785814183/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503610133&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=The+other+battle+henchcliffe)
https://www.amazon.ca/Hardest-Victory-Denis-Richards/dp/0393037630/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503610158&sr=1-1&keywords=The+hardest+victory+richards (https://www.amazon.ca/Hardest-Victory-Denis-Richards/dp/0393037630/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503610158&sr=1-1&keywords=The+hardest+victory+richards)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ONZQ5MU/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o01_?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ONZQ5MU/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o01_?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
USAAF
https://www.amazon.ca/Masters-Air-Americas-Against-Germany-ebook/dp/B000JMKVMG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1503610376&sr=1-1&keywords=Masters+of+the+Air%3A+America%E2%80%99s+Bomber+Boys+Who+Fought+the+Air+War+Against+Nazi+Germany (https://www.amazon.ca/Masters-Air-Americas-Against-Germany-ebook/dp/B000JMKVMG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1503610376&sr=1-1&keywords=Masters+of+the+Air%3A+America%E2%80%99s+Bomber+Boys+Who+Fought+the+Air+War+Against+Nazi+Germany)
https://www.amazon.ca/Command-Sky-Superiority-Smithsonian-Spaceflight-ebook/dp/B00S9I81SI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503610313&sr=8-1&keywords=To+Command+the+Sky%3A+The+Battle+for+Air+Superiority+Over+Germany%2C+1942-1944 (https://www.amazon.ca/Command-Sky-Superiority-Smithsonian-Spaceflight-ebook/dp/B00S9I81SI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503610313&sr=8-1&keywords=To+Command+the+Sky%3A+The+Battle+for+Air+Superiority+Over+Germany%2C+1942-1944)
Great post SDR.
Yes it's probably true that strategic bombing was not very effective in crippling the industrial power of Germany. The side effect of adding another dimension to the fight that the Germans had to divert resources to is probably more significant than the industrial damage.
Crew doesn't have any sense of urgency. Or maybe legs are too short.
UI noises could drive one crazy!
Quote from: Tuna on September 04, 2017, 09:05:04 AM
UI noises could drive one crazy!
Sounds like kerbal gibberish
Quote from: W8taminute on August 25, 2017, 10:12:06 AM
Great post SDR.
Yes it's probably true that strategic bombing was not very effective in crippling the industrial power of Germany. The side effect of adding another dimension to the fight that the Germans had to divert resources to is probably more significant than the industrial damage.
+1 O0
Quote from: jomni on September 04, 2017, 08:32:39 AM
Crew doesn't have any sense of urgency. Or maybe legs are too short.
:2funny:
Quote from: W8taminute on August 25, 2017, 10:12:06 AM
Yes it's probably true that strategic bombing was not very effective in crippling the industrial power of Germany. The side effect of adding another dimension to the fight that the Germans had to divert resources to is probably more significant than the industrial damage.
I think this conclusion is only partially true, and certainly only applicable to the early years of the war. I think most historians will agree that by mid-1943, the allied strategic bombing campaign was having significant impacts on the German war economy and its ability to replace attritional losses of war materials.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 06, 2017, 02:13:08 PM
I think most historians will agree that by mid-1943, the allied strategic bombing campaign was having significant impacts on the German war economy and its ability to replace attritional losses of war materials.
Very much so. It's also true that a vast amount of men and material went into 'Defense of the Reich' units. There were something like 10,000 88s used for air defense, keeping them off the Eastern Front as anti-tank weapons. Similarly, the Germans had to concede air superiority in the East starting in 1943 as fighter units were recalled for bomber defense.
I think something often over-looked in the discussion of the effect of the strategic bombing campaign - at least in the case of Bomber Command - is its emotional aspect. At the start of the war the Brits had suffered defeat in France and had then their own cities blitzed. Early to mid-war, bombing German cities the only way of hitting back, of making people feel better. Even if the strategic impact on the enemy was small, there was still some value in it on boosting the morale of the populace. Remember, bomber crews were all volunteers - men who wanted an outlet for their revenge.
The Flare Path (the only reason I go to RPS anymore) has a blurb about the game.
I really hope this game can be modded.
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/09/08/the-flare-path-museum-piece/ (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/09/08/the-flare-path-museum-piece/)
Looks entertaining. Lots of customization too.
releases this week....greenman gaming has this for less than $10 if you use the coupon code listed on their site. not sure about this game yet, but for that price worth a shot.
Great post, SDR. I think you nicely covered both sides of that topic.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 06, 2017, 02:13:08 PM
Quote from: W8taminute on August 25, 2017, 10:12:06 AM
Yes it's probably true that strategic bombing was not very effective in crippling the industrial power of Germany. The side effect of adding another dimension to the fight that the Germans had to divert resources to is probably more significant than the industrial damage.
I think this conclusion is only partially true, and certainly only applicable to the early years of the war. I think most historians will agree that by mid-1943, the allied strategic bombing campaign was having significant impacts on the German war economy and its ability to replace attritional losses of war materials.
If in fact that's what you're saying, I'd agree with your assessment that the Air War in Europe was a war of attrition. It drained away German resources (in terms of artillery, fighter defense, and general infrastructure defense) that could have been used elsewhere.
But if you are asserting that it had an impact on Germany's ability to replace attritional war losses by destroying their means of production, I'm just not aware of any scholarly work (including that of the US Strategic Bombing Survey) that's borne that out. The only place it had a dramatic impact was in the production of aviation fuel.
It did impose a significant attritional burden on a German economy that was already losing a war of attrition, so it was successful. It was, in effect, a "Second Front" 18 months before there was a Second Front.
It just didn't have any major impact on German war production that I'm aware of.
Why the game has a graphic for 5 years old childs ?
Interesting concept but combines all the things i find terrible in a game, hectic button mashing with deliberate cartoony graphics in a historical setting that is complete fantasy to using real tactics. My fear is kids will play this and think this is how the air campaign was fought
I picked it up (along with Cuphead) from Greenmangaming a few days ago (gotta try to stop buying things once the gin gets poured) and it unlocked today.
I fiddled around with the tutorials. There's a lot going on and I really like the theme but I cannot stand the Nintendo Wii style bobblehead characters.
Also, I ran into some triggering bugs during both tutorials I've played so far. The prompts never came up the first time I tried each mission so I couldn't complete it. I had to exit the game and restart in order to get the triggers to work.
I'm enjoying the hell out of this. There's a fair amount of depth to it and even some nods to technical and historical authenticity (wing spar in the middle of the fuselage made traversing the bomber difficult). I dug into the savegame file and found the parameters that let you alter race and gender so I could set up a more historically representative crew. Fiddled with the .bmp files to see if I could upload proper liveries. The files loaded fine but I need to fiddle with the sizes to get them to display properly.
Going to try to see if there's a way to change out the Kerbal-speak with proper voices next.
^+1.
I'm also really enjoying it. I can see myself getting very attached to my crew.
Haven't lost anyone yet, but it is only a matter of time. Man...some of those missions get hairy!
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 20, 2017, 12:00:18 PM
I'm enjoying the hell out of this. There's a fair amount of depth to it and even some nods to technical and historical authenticity (wing spar in the middle of the fuselage made traversing the bomber difficult). I dug into the savegame file and found the parameters that let you alter race and gender so I could set up a more historically representative crew. Fiddled with the .bmp files to see if I could upload proper liveries. The files loaded fine but I need to fiddle with the sizes to get them to display properly.
Going to try to see if there's a way to change out the Kerbal-speak with proper voices next.
Can you change out the bobble heads?
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 20, 2017, 01:32:36 PM
^+1.
I'm also really enjoying it. I can see myself getting very attached to my crew.
Haven't lost anyone yet, but it is only a matter of time. Man...some of those missions get hairy!
I lost one due to my own stupidity. I had my engineer out on my port wing, trying to put out an engine fire when I decided to try out my new steep dive skill....
And the engineer didn't have a parachute. I got to watch him plummet next to my diving plane, about 10 metres out in front, arms flailing the whole way down. Whoops....
No way to change out the bobbleheads that I know of Barth.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 20, 2017, 02:53:37 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 20, 2017, 01:32:36 PM
^+1.
I'm also really enjoying it. I can see myself getting very attached to my crew.
Haven't lost anyone yet, but it is only a matter of time. Man...some of those missions get hairy!
I lost one due to my own stupidity. I had my engineer out on my port wing, trying to put out an engine fire when I decided to try out my new steep dive skill....
And the engineer didn't have a parachute. I got to watch him plummet next to my diving plane, about 10 metres out in front, arms flailing the whole way down. Whoops....
No way to change out the bobbleheads that I know of Barth.
My crew are not yet equipped with parachutes either. They are lucky to have gloves, boots and oxygen.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 20, 2017, 12:00:18 PM
I dug into the savegame file and found the parameters that let you alter race and gender so I could set up a more historically representative crew.
Exactly which files do you need to open for this, and does it only work on a saved game file or is there some way to do it on the base game before it launches?
The savegame file is on whatever your main drive is:
C/users/username/AppData/LocalLow/RunnerDuck/BomberCrew
It's called BCsaveslotV2_0.dat (might be 3_0 now). You can open it with notepad.
Start a game, get your crew assembled. Rename them if you want, then save and exit.
If you want to change female to male, find and replace
"m_modelType":1,
with "m_modelType:0"
You can change the skin tone by altering the number at the end of this line
"m_skinTone:0"
The lower the number, the lighter the skin tone. Not sure what the max number is.
Many thanks. You are a gentleman and a scholar.
(And Dhilip Banerjee is about to earn his wings).
Some missions are better than others...
(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/865114538117098266/FB38AA733677D4FCBD2D5CA9B38A3256B2B1D6B7/)
I was able to convert some roundels to .bmps but they lost a lot of resolution.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4503/37154154643_d93c7059db_b.jpg)
HA! Awesome.... I might have to get this now....
Quote from: jomni on September 04, 2017, 06:03:56 PM
Quote from: Tuna on September 04, 2017, 09:05:04 AM
UI noises could drive one crazy!
Sounds like kerbal gibberish
Would be good mod with some appropriate accents from the UK, but also commonwealth as well.
Not sure if the planes change, but would be good if there is B17.
In regard to the special missions, Dam busters, or Tirpitz mission comes to mind, and long range (day or night) missions to Germany with fighter escort.
So far enjoying it, done about 3 missions. Still struggling with the inside bomber/crew view, end up with close-up of the tail when I want to move the navigator at the front of the plane.
8 combat missions and still not a single casualty. Had some REALLY close calls, but the luck of the Runner Duck is holding.
I ran into my first night fighter equipped with Schräge Musik last night. The bugger just parked underneath my plane in the gunner's blind spot and raked me with 20mm over and over. Managed to throw him off with a few corkscrews and then the tail gunner nailed him but not before he'd set two engines on fire and hit my wireless operator. Might have to invest in a ventral gun.
That pic I posted above was my 3rd mission. My Navigator got wounded and I wasn't aware and was wondering why the hell I couldn't find my way out of France. We were just wandering around for a while, getting shot the hell up by hordes of Me-109s. Finally figured out how to heal someone but by then it was way too late. I happened to zoom out to get my bearings and that's when the bomber started its plummet. Quite dramatic, that crash. :)
Got back to base and found ONE of my crew survived and was rescued; the rest were either KIA or MIA. So I started a new bomber crew naming them after GrogHeads forum members, and the bomber GrogHeads 2. That one probably will crash and burn too, at least until I can get a little more coordinated with the game.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 21, 2017, 12:52:00 AM
I was able to convert some roundels to .bmps but they lost a lot of resolution.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4503/37154154643_d93c7059db_b.jpg)
I'm unusually helpless when it comes to this game. How do you go about modding it? I've looked inside the game installation and didn't see anything that looked like a moddable bitmap?
You'll have to create a custom livery within game first and save it. It will save to the same folder as your savegame. Then you can open it up with something like photoshop or paint.net and replace the in-game livery you just created with something else. I just cut and pasted some roundels from a .jpg file, resized them, and pasted them in.
Note that the folder in your Users area might be hidden, so you'll need to make sure those are visible through your system's settings (mine was hidden, though I'm debating whether I care enough about the skin color/females to futz with it, because it doesn't make a difference at all as far as gameplay is concerned that I can see, so why not).
It's hilarious that someone can crawl out on a damn wing to fix an engine or fuel tank mid flight! ;D
I had the flight engineer out there at mid-level altitude, then went down to low altitude, and watched him stumble about a bit but he stayed on the wing. That was hilarious.
I'm really enjoying this game so far.
I thought you guys had to die to get immortalized as a statue, but I guess these are your current or most recently played crew members?
(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/865114538119790925/33394FE1367BE276F4D35CE29CF4CEB986FFE28E/)
What a mess! This is with the basic plane armor, too.
(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/865114538119790354/2D7F029AE262845E4F0E58B8BCB372FD1A0B7B59/)
I'm pretty good to crawl out there on the wing and repair that engine in-flight.
Quote from: mirth on October 21, 2017, 01:35:28 PM
I'm pretty good to crawl out there on the wing and repair that engine in-flight.
I'm thinking this means he doesn't care to much for your well being? Especially if he uses those fire extinguishing tactics like SDR where he goes into the deep dives to clear mechanics off the wing!
Quote from: BanzaiCat on October 21, 2017, 01:28:58 PM
It's hilarious that someone can crawl out on a damn wing to fix an engine or fuel tank mid flight! ;D
Inspired by a real event, I suspect.
http://ww2today.com/27-april-1944-fire-fighting-on-a-lancaster-bombers-wing (http://ww2today.com/27-april-1944-fire-fighting-on-a-lancaster-bombers-wing)
At least he tried. And lived. Holy hell. :notworthy:
I told you they looked like nintendo wii characters!
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/08/bomber_crew_will_be_making_a_big_explosion_on_switch_soon
To say I hate this game would be an understatement. :tickedoff:
I haaaaaaaaaaaate this game. It includes two things that I absolutely despise in video games: micromanagement and grinding.
Micromanagement:
-Gunners will not engage targets unless you 'spot' them. Despite the fact that a 109 is within spitting range.
-Crew members will not put out fires in the cabin unless you direct them. In fact, crew members will catch on fire and die before they put out a fire
-Crew members will not provide medical aid to the guy dying at their feet unless you direct them.
-Pilot cannot fly a course without the player directing him.
-Bombardier cannot drop bombs unless the player does it. Nor can he take a photo of a target without the player doing it.
I feel like the entire premise goes against any sort of realism. Yes, I know this game is not trying to be real, but even in name (Bomber CREW)its trying to depict a CREW - a group of airmen working together to operate an aircraft. Realistically, there would be training and initiative with each person. A single soul wouldnt have to direct EVERYTHING within an aircraft. I would go as far as saying that operating/managing a real bomber would be easier - everyone would know their job and you would sit back and just make decisions.
I also hate grinding, which is a big part of this game. Can't equip my plane with stuff unless I reach a certain level - because why would the Air Force want its planes and crews going into combat without the best gear. Could you imagine if thats how it worked in real life? Not a single crew would've lasted long enough to upgrade to the B-25.
So frustrated with this one. I had high expectations.
I am still really enjoying this game for what it is worth, but some of its short-comings, combined with my inability to focus long enough to start learning Falcon BMS has encouraged me to start playing the Mighty 8th again. My God, what a stellar game...still to this day. I used to play this game religiously. It was one of those games where I became so connected to my crew and plane that the game started to blur with reality and I would really take injuries, losses and set-backs very personally. It truly was the "golden Age" of PC gaming.
I mean, they just built so much immersion into the game and gave the player so many options. There was so much to do on missions from pre-flight planning, to take off, ingress, attack and RTB. They could have stopped there and the game would have been a classic, but no...they still modeled fighter craft and let the player fly them. Did they stop there? Nope...they modeled squadron command and let the player take charge of that too.
There are few dated games that I loved that hold up even with their dated graphics. Well, this is one of the few. The graphics are right on the cusp of being bad by today's standards, but they manage to be just good enough, and some of the effects like tracer fire and physical damage to the plane were well ahead of their time.
Anyway, if you're down on Bomber Crew, but its got you wishing for a great bomber sim, there is already one there...just waiting for rediscovery. Give it a shot. Runs fantastic on my high-end win10 64-bit machine.
+1
And you can get it on Gog for a song......
Wow. That was 17 years ago. Played the heck out of it as well. Now why couldn't gaming companies do the same like Hollywood and churn out reboots this is a game that cries out for an updated version with all the latest eye candy.
Messing around with some nose art. Need to clean it up a bit but I like it.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4450/37823317946_0237edff38_h.jpg)
ARRRRGGHHHH!!!! I lost my tail gunner to an enemy ace. Was out of med kits and he bled out 1 second before we touched down. Bye Horace..... :'(
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4482/37614787180_4f53038ef1_h.jpg)
Sad. My condolences on your loss.
The Mighty 8th is definitely a superior/more realistic game than Bomber Crew. The issue I have with Mighty 8th is it's not intuitive at all. Though, that was utterly par for the course back then in gaming; hell, you needed a keyboard overlay for some games (like F-19 or M-1 Tank Platoon) because they were so complicated. After a while though, you get used to the key controls and don't need to look at the overlay. But, that learning curve keeps me away - I just don't have time to get into that kind of a slog these days. :( I'd like to eventually, though.
SDR: how did you get the nose art? Did you create something random, then go in to the file and replace it with something more detailed? Either that or your art skill in that drawing area is amazing.
^its not as bad as you think. Just run through the tutorial mission in the manual and then use the training missions as a guide. I learned most of what I needed to know by doing this. I also learned a lot from watching the AI. Remember, the normal state for this sim is for the AI to handle everything for everyone. The crew functions well without the player screwing it up, so you can focus on taking control only at certain times, or to perform certain specific tasks. As you get more comfortable, you can increase your workload.
It's amazing to think that we were able to master these games in high school and college, but struggle with relearning them as adults.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 23, 2017, 06:31:15 AM
It's amazing to think that we were able to master these games in high school and college, but struggle with relearning them as adults.
Exactly. And the thing is with me, I worked at Babbage's from 1989-1991. In '89 I didn't have a home computer, so I learned these games by playing them on the store's computer. Since work was on the way home from school I'd often stop in on the way home for a few hours with F-19 or whatever.
I had tried to start an AAR on this very game (http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=11702.0)...holy hell, that was 2014 I did that? :o
Quote from: BanzaiCat on October 23, 2017, 06:23:38 AM
The Mighty 8th is definitely a superior/more realistic game than Bomber Crew. The issue I have with Mighty 8th is it's not intuitive at all. Though, that was utterly par for the course back then in gaming; hell, you needed a keyboard overlay for some games (like F-19 or M-1 Tank Platoon) because they were so complicated. After a while though, you get used to the key controls and don't need to look at the overlay. But, that learning curve keeps me away - I just don't have time to get into that kind of a slog these days. :( I'd like to eventually, though.
Getting Started Tutorial series : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMwKq7V0duU&list=PLV6qAKzfD-icnl7cMeIR_ldvH6twjQdtI
(part 3 of 21 !!!)
Went to GOG to check it out, only to find out I already own it :uglystupid2:
Yeah, it's an ingrained check for me now to look at both Steam and GOG to be sure I don't already own a game.
Thanks for the vid, I'll check it out eventually.
I actually made a coop mission in modded IL2 '46 in which a bunch of people could play "Bomber Crew" for real. With a decent amount of PC power you could concoct a pretty reasonable AI bomber stream to be part of, and then throw 109s, 190s and flak at it. It worked quite well, though it had a scripted nature. This meant there wasn't really a navigator's role as you just had to follow the AI planes. Also getting the balance between boredom and action was tricky, especially for those not piloting the plane. Too little action is obviously not good, but on the other hand, the AAA and fighters tended to be overly lethal when you did encounter them. In the end I think that's why I didn't pursue the project further.
Quote from: BanzaiCat on October 23, 2017, 06:23:38 AM
SDR: how did you get the nose art? Did you create something random, then go in to the file and replace it with something more detailed? Either that or your art skill in that drawing area is amazing.
I just created a random squiggle in-game and then copy-pasted over it with some nose art I found online. Just hard to get all the edges smoothed out with transparencies when the file is that small.
This is about as clear as I can get it.
Copy paste, eh? Interesting. It looks like a PNG file you have there. I'll have to play around with it, thanks!
No way I'm trying to draw anything, not in that Godawful paint-like program.
I drew my own shark's teeth and eye but that's the upper limit of my abilities.
Apparently you can make the custom file 128x128, which improves things a lot.
I wonder if you can go larger than that.
Nice! I'll give that a shot.
In the meantime, I'm a Dam Buster!
^Time to Chastise the Jerries!
Quote from: Philippe on October 23, 2017, 06:22:50 PM
Apparently you can make the custom file 128x128, which improves things a lot.
I wonder if you can go larger than that.
Going to 128x128 definitely helps smooth out the edges a bit. Thanks.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4485/37859802322_f3742db744_h.jpg)
Just tried 256x256, and although it's hard to see the difference, there is a difference. So these textures seem to be scalable. I may try loading in something really big, just to see what will happen.
1024x1024 does not work, so there is an upper limit.
I shrank that texture in half to 512x512, and much to my surprise it worked.
The upper limit is somewhere between 512 and 1024, but I don't think you'll be able to detect much of a difference on the larger settings.
Fiddled with shrinking down an image to 512x512. Bit blurry bit that's OK. Thanks for the tip.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4445/37185492214_7536351217_b.jpg)
I suck at this game...my bomber is always shot to hell when I get back to base (IF I get back to base).
So the Bobble-Head Germans are pretty tough. Who knew?
So... missions are not random? Or is it just me?
I started/restarted a few times, and in my limited exposure, each time it offered the same missions at start. You get to choose from three of them and as you complete missions, others unlock, but you're free to choose which one you want to go on first.
And there seemed to be crucial missions that you need to win (keep trying if you lose) to get to the next stage of the campaign.
Yup. There are "critical missions" in each stage that you need to complete in order to progress to the next stage of the war. These are fully scripted ones such as the raid on St Nazaire, the attack on the Peenemunde research site, the dambusters raid, etc. Besides these ones, each stage has a number of more generalized missions that are built on a template but have randomized elements thrown in.
I think you (SDR) and JH have gotten a helluva lot further into the game than I have.
I found that the "low risk" missions tend to be rather obnoxiously difficult if you don't stay on top of tagging enemy fighters. It's too easy to be distracted by nav waypoints, bomb runs, and photo ops since those (except nav points I think) need to be acted on within a certain timeframe, unless you want to do a lot of circling back. While I'm trying to do all that, we get shot to hell.
So tell me, are you guys flying at medium or high altitudes? I found medium to be difficult because cloud cover almost always got in the way of my bombsight, but I understand that's part of the challenge. I haven't tried high altitude yet. Just curious if you've found a happy medium. Flying at low level tends to attract a lot of attention.
High alt is prohibitive until you learn the nav by stars skill and get a lot of thermal protection for your crew. M drum is useful for hiding in clouds when things get too hairy but it makes navigating difficult. I set a waypoint at low and then go to medium to hide in the clouds until I think I'm close then drop down to low to attack if the cloud cover prevents navigation.
^ Okay, I'll give that a shot later, thanks. Sounds like a solid plan. O0
I didn't know that. I was thinking of reasons to go med and high but I can't navigate so I'm back to low. Is fuel consumption less ar high alt?
Quote from: BanzaiCat on October 25, 2017, 08:42:38 AM
^ Okay, I'll give that a shot later, thanks. Sounds like a solid plan. O0
If you're hiding in clouds, don't spot enemy fighters unless they are attacking you. That way your gunners won't engage and you can sometimes sneak past.
Quote from: jomni on October 25, 2017, 09:04:14 AM
I didn't know that. I was thinking of reasons to go med and high but I can't navigate so I'm back to low. Is fuel consumption less ar high alt?
I've not played long enough yet, but I think there's a skill that your Engineer can get that allows them to mess with the fuel mixture in order to go faster (and use more fuel), or thinner (and go slower, but save fuel).
I've always managed (in my five or so missions) to make it back to base, except for the one catastrophic time we got lost over France. Each time we made it back, though, I barely made it with a bit of fuel to spare. I try not to think too much of it, at least not in the early stages. I imagine this will become a major factor as distances increase.
Would be cool if you could fly in a formation. Not sure if this is going to happen in future missions, but it's just weird being on your own.
Bomber Command didn't do formation flying with their heavies with the exception of a few specialist squadrons. Planes went out as part of a dense bomber stream but each one acted individually. There were a lot of collisions.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 25, 2017, 09:50:09 AM
Bomber Command didn't do formation flying with their heavies with the exception of a few specialist squadrons. Planes went out as part of a dense bomber stream but each one acted individually. There were a lot of collisions.
Really? I had no idea. I must read up on this.
I figured formations wouldn't be tight since BC did mostly night bombing, but I didn't realize they'd be THAT loose. ;D
It's a novel rather than history, but I highly recommend "Bomber" by Len Deighton.
Quote from: BanzaiCat on October 25, 2017, 10:10:14 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 25, 2017, 09:50:09 AM
Bomber Command didn't do formation flying with their heavies with the exception of a few specialist squadrons. Planes went out as part of a dense bomber stream but each one acted individually. There were a lot of collisions.
Really? I had no idea. I must read up on this.
I figured formations wouldn't be tight since BC did mostly night bombing, but I didn't realize they'd be THAT loose. ;D
Early in the night bombing campaign, they were very dispersed but the Germans development of the
Himmelbett system forced Bomber Command to alter their tactics. The
Himmelbett system was deployed along what the allies called the
Kammhuber line. Basically, the line consisted of a contiguous series of 32x20km "boxes". In each box was a
Freya search radar (later supplemented with a pair of
Wurzburg radars), a radar controlled searchlight, several manually controlled searchlights (lights later removed for city defence), and a nightfighter plus backup. A ground controller would use radar data to vector the night fighter onto a passing bomber. If they missed, the next box in the line would be able to pick it up and the night fighter stationed there could try to down it. The drawback of the system was that the CGI could only direct one fighter to one bomber at a time so Bomber Command changed tactics to a dense, compact stream of bombers somewhat resembling a school of fish. The hope was that they'd overwhelm the CGI in the boxes and the vast majority of bombers would get through. It worked and the Germans were forced to change their tactics, relying more on airborne intercept radars and Tame Boar and Wild Boar tactics.
If you're interested, GMT's Nightfighter page has a good, concise history of the evolution of the night bombing campaigns broken into 10 parts.
http://www.gmtgames.com/p-233-nightfighter.aspx (http://www.gmtgames.com/p-233-nightfighter.aspx)
This book gives a great overview and a lot of technical details.
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51WDEQA186L._SX319_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
https://www.amazon.com/Other-Battle-Luftwaffe-Versus-Command/dp/0785814183 (https://www.amazon.com/Other-Battle-Luftwaffe-Versus-Command/dp/0785814183)
Thanks, SDR.
Didn't you guys play Nightfighter in the forums a year or so back? That map looks familiar. That was a good game to watch as it was played.
Interesting stuff, SDR.
Fast-forward 10 or 15 years, and technological change had introduced a new problem. Jet-powered bombers and fighters were now so fast that radar-control ground stations could no longer manually route interceptors to within eyeball distance. Or rather, even when they did, they'd only be in eyeball range for a second or so, and if the interceptor pilot didn't acquire his target during that time frame, he was SOL.
The math involved in intercepts (and approach vectors in specific) had to become much more precise. And so was borne the world's first digital computer.
It's a little known and hardly documented episode in history. Which is kind of bizarre because, you know, digital computers today are kind of a thing.
Quote from: BanzaiCat on October 25, 2017, 06:45:27 PM
Thanks, SDR.
Didn't you guys play Nightfighter in the forums a year or so back? That map looks familiar. That was a good game to watch as it was played.
Yup, Staggerwing and I played through a scenario and a half of the game. It's got some interesting mechanics but it's a bit of an odd duck in that it's really a one player game that requires someone to act as an umpire. Doesn't get a lot of play because of this. There's a digital version stuck in P500 hell at GMT but it never quite gets to the 500 required.
Well... I drunk bought this Saturday night... wine + port = buying odd shit, who knew. :P At least I was conscious enough to get it on sale at Green Man = $12.
WOW! This game is hard when yer reflexes are slowed by the grape. :o Also didn't help that I could find out how to change the controls orientation.... :P
Could be interesting when I'm not blotto... but I think I'll still need a slow mode to play and enjoy it.
I only just got past the first critical mission last night - I think that was escorting the bomb ship to the French coast (Raid on St. Nazaire?). The first time I tried it the ship got destroyed literally inches from its target, which sucked because it was a long flight there and a longer one back. This second time it succeeded, and it was just as long a slog home, too. The bomber was shot to hell again. Second mission in a row, in fact, where we lost the outer port engine. Funny how that one has a death wish.
I upgraded the engines, fuselage, and most of the guns, all one level, and the electrical system too (that damned electrical system went out two missions in a row right after takeoff).
It's quite tense, and it's funny, the music sometimes sounds like something off of the Star Wars prequel soundtracks. Enjoyable so far.
Those of you that did the mission early on where you have to drop supplies to someone in the Channel...how does that work? I tried it once, thinking I'd have something marked as supplies in the bomb bay, but it was all bombs. I dropped one anyway thinking maybe it was 'supplies' somehow and failed the mission, but not because of that. Anyway, let me know if anyone knows.
The Supplies button is pressable. That's the one you drop.
I just finished the 4th critical mission.....and then the Me163s showed up. Jets suck!
I limped home on one engine and crash landed with no landing gear. Everyone got knocked out but survived the mission. Bloody hairy! Not looking forward to mission #5.
Just finished the Overlord mission. That was brutal! I managed to hit all of my targets but I got chewed up badly by nightfighters over Caen and had to ditch. Only 3 crewmen managed to get fished out of the Channel.
I read that the game was financially very successful, so the developers plan to continue updating and have a series of three DLCs planned.
Question - if you add the ventral (bottom) turret, do you get to add another crewmember? Or do you have to play musical chairs?
No, you'll have to use one of your existing crew members.. Still worth getting, once you start flying high (which you'll have to do on some missions eventually).
Thanks, Tuna. Yeah, after my last mission with the night fighter just sitting under my bomber and blasting away...
I haven't gotten into the real late missions yet, but when going high, I usually just transfer the top gunner down to belly.
Review today over at the Wargamer if anybody's interested.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 29, 2017, 10:01:44 PM
I just finished the 4th critical mission.....and then the Me163s showed up. Jets suck!
I think strictly speaking that's a rocket plane -- which also sucked almost as much for the pilot as for the bombers.
My Granduncle John definitely agreed that the jets sucked, though (much moreso for the bombers than the pilots -- I asked and he didn't recall ever seeing one of those freaky rocket planes). He was, supposedly, the youngest B-17 pilot to pass the test. He piloted the plane "Slightly Dangerous", a full tour and then a half tour again, if I recall correctly.
Quote from: JasonPratt on November 08, 2017, 01:38:10 PM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 29, 2017, 10:01:44 PM
I just finished the 4th critical mission.....and then the Me163s showed up. Jets suck!
I think strictly speaking that's a rocket plane -- which also sucked almost as much for the pilot as for the bombers.
My Granduncle John definitely agreed that the jets sucked, though (much moreso for the bombers than the pilots -- I asked and he didn't recall ever seeing one of those freaky rocket planes). He was, supposedly, the youngest B-17 pilot to pass the test. He piloted the plane "Slightly Dangerous", a full tour and then a half tour again, if I recall correctly.
Very cool Jason, glad he made it back!
Yeah, his family always wishes we could have gotten him to talk more about his flights, but he didn't want to. I don't think he thought very highly of what strategic bombers did to the civilians, even though he understood why it was important.
He or one of the other guys wrote a poem about "the Slightly Dangerous Crew" however. I've got it around here somewhere; I used to keep it up on the wall over my desk at the office, until I moved to a desk without any walls nearby.
I assume his craft was Slightly Dangerous II, since the original craft, also named "Scarlet", was shot down and indeed crashed onto the Belgian village of Champigny. Uncle John Reed's crew finished their 35 missions, but SDII was lost afterward due to engine trouble on a run to Berlin. The shot down plane had (or has? it was recreated and flies today) a topless redhead as the nose art, which I don't recall from the crew photo at all (although neither do I recall the nose art from the photo. If I was less lazy I'd look around and find it... ;) )
As far as I can tell, this guy was the navigator for Uncle John's crew. http://triblive.com/news/fayette/8431507-74/prestia-plane-dangerous
SD2 (which he has to be talking about) has the distinction of having survived not one but two B-17 bombings while in flight! :o In other words, they ran into bombs while in midair. They fought primarily during the Battle of the Bulge, which would also match Granduncle's accounts of how much scarier the skies got once the ME-262 arrived.
But there was also a third plane (eventually shot down) called Slightly Dangerous -- I guess the Lana Turner film was popular! -- so, unless I can find a record matching the pilot to the alphanumeric designation I'm left unsure which one he was talking about.
Update: according to the US Bomber registry, there were no less than 4 B-17s named "Slightly Dangerous" (not counting a B-24?). I haven't been able to clearly match Uncle John with any of them yet, although some can be ruled out for having crashed too early. :-\
...on sale for less than $10 at Gamersgate (https://www.gamersgate.com/DD-BOMBER-CREW-GN-ROW-REL/bomber-crew?caff=3964022&aff=cj) for the next ~7 hours.
Really fun game! Though it can get you cursing!
New DLC out now that adds a new campaign centred around Operation Argument, the USAAF's attempt to lure out and kill the Luftwaffe. I'm not sure if we'll get B-17s and 24s. One of the screen shots shows B-17G paint schemes but it looks like they're overlaid on a Lancaster.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/754680/Bomber_Crew_Secret_Weapons_DLC/ (http://store.steampowered.com/app/754680/Bomber_Crew_Secret_Weapons_DLC/)
Ugh. Homing missiles on a Lancaster? Not the direction I was hoping to see this game go in.
What's next? Frikkin lasers?!
Yeah, I was disappointed to see homing missiles as well. Particularly as they are touting it as a sales feature.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 18, 2017, 02:56:05 PM
Ugh. Homing missiles on a Lancaster?
Since those missiles look like the Ruhstahl Ru-344 X-4, they should be on a Do-217 or He-177 instead.
And I thought this game wasn't a serious flight sim. Where was my head? :idiot2:
lol. Does not surprise me in the least. Fits the wii console spirit it seems to have been made in.
Quote from: mirth on December 18, 2017, 02:58:00 PM
What's next? Frikkin lasers?!
You know some search by an employee is going to find this post (especially now it's got a second post) and think "Yes! That's what the customers want" and you're going to end up with P-51s with lasers! :pullhair:
Well, in all fairness, it's meant to be an arcade game and not a sim...at least, in my mind.
The game lets your crew climb out onto the wing while in flight and repair engines, for goodness sake.
Quote from: BanzaiCat on December 19, 2017, 08:41:19 AM
Well, in all fairness, it's meant to be an arcade game and not a sim...at least, in my mind.
The game lets your crew climb out onto the wing while in flight and repair engines, for goodness sake.
lol :notworthy: fair play
Don't get me wrong...if lasers make the game more fun, pfft, go for it. Might as well.
Hey, that wing repair thing actually happened.
Obviously, I know it's not a sim and I wasn't expecting them to suddenly start modeling authentic systems. I just wish development energy was spent on other priorities, such as adding new player aircraft, formation flying, friendly AI, etc.
Quote from: mirth on December 19, 2017, 09:54:51 AM
Hey, that wing repair thing actually happened.
Not really. The dude fell off. And survived thank goodness.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 19, 2017, 10:05:28 AM
I just wish development energy was spent on other priorities, such as adding new player aircraft, formation flying, friendly AI, etc.
Fair point. I *would* like to see formation flying.
Quote from: BanzaiCat on December 19, 2017, 10:06:41 AM
Quote from: mirth on December 19, 2017, 09:54:51 AM
Hey, that wing repair thing actually happened.
Not really. The dude fell off. And survived thank goodness.
Still based more in reality than the air-to-air missiles on a bomber.
Quote from: BanzaiCat on December 19, 2017, 10:06:41 AM
Quote from: mirth on December 19, 2017, 09:54:51 AM
Hey, that wing repair thing actually happened.
Not really. The dude fell off. And survived thank goodness.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 19, 2017, 10:05:28 AM
I just wish development energy was spent on other priorities, such as adding new player aircraft, formation flying, friendly AI, etc.
Fair point. I *would* like to see formation flying.
With the exception of a few specialist squadrons, RAF heavy bombers didn't do formation flying. I would like to see them add in Bomber streams, pathfinders, target marking, navigational aids like Gee, Oboe, and H2S radar. That'd be far more interesting than goofy missiles.
How about a little bobble-head Hitler flying a ME-262 jet fighter with giant claws for wings as a boss battle? Could've happened. OK, no it couldn't have.
Quote from: BanzaiCat on December 19, 2017, 10:06:41 AM
Quote from: mirth on December 19, 2017, 09:54:51 AM
Hey, that wing repair thing actually happened.
Not really. ThQuote from: Jarhead0331 on December 19, 2017, 10:05:28 AM
I just wish development energy was spent on other priorities, such as adding new player aircraft, formation flying, friendly AI, etc.e dude fell off. And survived thank goodness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cyril_Jackson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cyril_Jackson)
It might have worked if a fighter hadn't put a few holes in his leg while he was doing it. #:-)
Do they have Damnbusters in the game already, that's something outrageous, yet real, for the kiddies? :bd:
Yeah, there's a Dambusters raid as one of the scripted campaign missions fairly early on. It was a lot of fun. You just needed to time the drop right based on the position of the two Aldis lamps reflecting off the lake surface.
USAAF DLC B-17 coming soon
https://steamcommunity.com/games/537800/announcements/detail/1683675396460077972 (https://steamcommunity.com/games/537800/announcements/detail/1683675396460077972)
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/30421086/98a8ef2124406eba9d9445cae760bb04b1623d71.jpg)
Gamersgate (https://www.gamersgate.com/DD-BOMBER-CREW-DELUXE-EDITION-ROW/bomber-crew-deluxe-edition) has the Deluxe Edition on sale for $8.75 for the next 6 days. The Deluxe Edition includes the Season Pass, which includes the new USAAF DLC...
Season Pass includes:
Secret Weapons DLC pack (Out Now!)
Unannounced DLC Pack 2! (Out Q2!)
Sounds Of The Sky – The Bomber Crew Soundtrack (Out Now!)
Bomber Crew Fancy Skin Pack (Out Now!)
Bomber Crew Historical Skin Pack (Out Q2!)
An Exclusive skin pack, on release of DLC pack 2 (Out Q2!
B-17 is long overdue...but still no formations? ugh.
Did the game have floating power-ups before? I know it's cartoons. But it just makes the game less realistic.
That kind of stinks, did the bombs re-load because he hit a powerup? I mean part of the fun/challenge is making do with what you have!.. I got a lot of fun playing time in with that game, so no complaints with the previous version!
Quote from: Tuna on October 23, 2018, 07:49:34 AM
That kind of stinks, did the bombs re-load because he hit a powerup? I mean part of the fun/challenge is making do with what you have!.. I got a lot of fun playing time in with that game, so no complaints with the previous version!
Yes. That's how I remembered it.
I think those power-ups are there because of the mode he was playing. Hopefully they aren't present in the campaign.
I've got three missions in and haven't seen any power-ups in the campaign.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 23, 2018, 12:57:29 PM
I've got three missions in and haven't seen any power-ups in the campaign.
You may be right. I kinda think he's playing some sort of survival mode.
Finished the first campaign. There are no pop-ups. It's pretty much the same system as it was in the original game.
I bought this, played for less than two hours, refunded. I wanted a strategy game, not a click fest. Not much enjoyment for me...way too tough, very odd design choices, and this just sucked the enjoyment of the genre right out of the game.
I note that it has already been deeply discounted...and I may consider a purchase if it ever becomes turn based, or even pauseable real time.
No offence buddy but you need to do more research before you click buy. A few seconds' viewing on Youtube would have given you that information.
Does the game let you decide, if you want to go potty over Germany, where to do it? That's the level of realism I want!
It's funny how nobody ever talks about the tons of "yellow hail" that got scattered over Germany in the last 18 months of the war. I know it was a topic of some amusement to various Allied bomber crews (who often needed all the cheer they could get).
Welp, Space Crew is out...
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1176710/Space_Crew/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1176710/Space_Crew/)
I'm on the fence.
Exterior repair of damage should be more immersive!
I've read that sales have taken a dive indicating the game has bombed.
A friend gifted me a copy of Space Crew. It's not really grabbing me like Bomber Crew did. I guess it's because it feels more like a reskin than a new game so there's less sense of discovery. Also, no Lancasters so that's a big minus.
On a totally different game news regarding bombers: the Wellington was just added to Plane Mechanic Simulator, or will be shortly. Those devs have been on a roll! I'm very proud for them!
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 22, 2020, 03:44:54 PM
A friend gifted me a copy of Space Crew. It's not really grabbing me like Bomber Crew did. I guess it's because it feels more like a reskin than a new game so there's less sense of discovery. Also, no Lancasters so that's a big minus.
;D
when you play it wear a red shirt.