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ORIGINAL: BShaftoe

Well, I don't know if this is too late, or if it's too unconvenient (or if, actually it's already implemented in the game). I'd like to propose an idea. I know that AE will bring a lot of new features, among them, serviceability attributes for planes. I've been reading a pacific war book lately, and it says that B29s were much harder to keep serviceable in the first days when they were deployed than later. I thought it's a normal thing, because, well, it's a new model, there's no many spare parts for the new plane, mechanics don't know the plane well yet, etc... Maybe someone with a deeper knowledge of the Pacific Theater can say if this is true, or even if it's true, if this only happened with B29s, but no other model had this "behaviour", so this idea becomes unimportant.

Would it be possible to model this in the game?. I mean, it can look hard, but I wouldn't be proposing this if I knew for sure that the idea would be a nightmare to implemente. I am not a game developer, and obviously, I don't want to appear as if I was telling the AE dev team how to make their work. My thoughts are that it would only need 2 numerical parameters (bytes, methink) for each model. The first parameter, would be the serviceability attribute once the model has been released. You can call this variable "FirstServ". The second one would be the number of days until Optimum Serviceability, "Days2Opt". In each turn, this is, each day, the game updates the serviceability of each plane. It only has to update it when FirstServ is different of the serviceability attribute in the DB (and this attribute would become Optimum Serviceability).

These 2 attributes would have to be edited with the DB (this would imply changes to the interface in the DB editor). Some models could have FirstServ equal to Optimum/Final Serviceability (for example, a b17g could use the same spare parts than b17e, and maintenance crews would be supposed to know the plane pretty well).

So, my two cents. I don't know if the idea is good or bad, but once it came up, I had to write it.

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheElf
It's a fine idea. And yes it's too late...for AE 1.0. That said we do attempt to replicate this. Thomas has been a stickler for including multiple variants of each A/C and in a moment of clarity I used this fortunate fidelity to model the progressive improvement you desire.

The way you'll see it is like this
F4U-1 Service Rating = 3
F4U-1A Service Rating = 3
F4U-1D Service Rating = 2
F4U-4 Service Rating = 1

This progression simulates the improvements and bug removal that went on over time.

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Though the would later become a trustworthy workhorse in large piston-engined aircraft, early models were beset with dangerous reliability problems, many caused by demands that the B-29 be put in operation as soon as possible. It had an impressive , but this came at a heavy cost to durability. Worse, the Boeing designed for the engine was too close (out of a desire for improved aerodynamics), and the early caused problematic flutter and vibration when open in most of the . The 18 cylinders, compactly arranged in front and rear rows, overheated because of insufficient flow of cooling air, which in turn caused exhaust valves to unseat.

These weaknesses combined to make an engine that would overheat regularly at combat weights, particularly during climbs after takeoff. Unseated valves released fuel-air mixtures during engine combustion that acted as a blowtorch against the valve stems. When these burned through the engines disintegrated and caught fire. A fire that was not immediately contained in the forward part of the engine by fire extinguishers became impossible to put out. An accessory housing manufactured of ] in the back of the engine would often catch fire and produce heat so intense it burned through the firewall to the main wing spar in no more than 90 seconds, resulting in catastrophic failure of the wing.

This problem would not be fully cured until the aircraft was re-engined with the more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 "Wasp Major" in the program, which arrived too late for World War II. Interim measures included cuffs placed on propeller blades to divert a greater flow of cooling air into the intakes, which had baffles installed to direct a stream of air onto the exhaust valves. Oil flow to the valves was also increased, asbestos baffles installed around rubber push rod fittings to prevent oil loss, thorough pre-flight inspections made to detect unseated valves, and frequent replacement of the uppermost five cylinders (every 25 hours of engine time) and the entire engines (every 75 hours).