So i know i made some of these comments in the Bomber thread, but I want the idea to stick, and since it was just one post, here we are
Now, I understand the regular arguments of needing a coder for this, the priority of the devs and all that, but let's try to look at this purely at concept level, shall we... And objectively, if it wont be too much to ask
So I'm thinking there's something more the commander can do than sitting on a sorry wooden chair all day and waiting for a knife in the back, or a close explosion to upset his day - And for assets most don't even appreciate
So here they are - the new and improved commander asset system:
Artillery
Depends on the battle and what artillery bore on it. Arty ranges from distant mortar fire (This needs to feel as realistic as on field mortar), off-map rocket artillery, core artillery (with a proper distant boom followed by the shell hits), naval artillery with guns that rotate and actually fire using the VBF2 arty system eg. on PDH or future pacific maps with static ships. each arty fires according to a scaled version of their real WW2 representation. The key aspects is radius of influence and concentation. So core arty WON'T fire like it does now, not as precise, anyhow
In the Bulge and late maps, you can also get proximity charged arty, where the explosion goes off as puffs of smoke some way up in the air and decimates people not in their holes
Bombing runs
Now this I also discussed already. Essentially you get everything, although I understand that heavy bombers would be scarce if they even featured on a strategic scale. I know on the Western front, there were battles that were proceeded by heavy bombing (or was it medium bombing?), there will also be medium bombers, divebombing (Which is more the plane than the fact that the planes are diving), and close air support in thre form of fighter-bombers or rocket-planes AKA tank busters.
Again, each has their radius of influence and concentation of bombing, not to mention prefered target type. A rocket plane attack has planes flying as they do now, with the explosions timed to go off with streaks like we have for current commander arty, but from a sharper angle to make it more rockety. The bombers and fighter-bombers have the Ramelle type effect, but the explosion is preceeded by a bomb-drop sound effect.
In the pacific, you also get napalm runs
Each arty also have their specific targets. A rocket attack, even a close miss is more likely to flip a tank than a 250 pound bomb, but a medium bomber and a 1000 pounder or 500 pdr would flip ANYTHING, but with such scatter, its less tactical and hence less likely to do so.
There can also be strafing runs, which is more of cannon-type explosive effects mixed with mg-type explosive effects across an area followed a fast flying plane that streaks overhead, so we don't need the planes to dip.
As always, planes CAN be shot down and their effect lost - Now that's where the real coding skill is required, to not just make the explosion in tandem with the plane, but also based on the plane's existence.
Commander directing
Commanders can also direct air strikes from player-controlled planes. All this is, is an 'attack here' order specific to pilots, say, a line to the target with a pulsing barrage ring and a plane at the end of it to tell fighter-bombers of dive-bombers where the party's at, or a a plane with streaks coming from its image to signify a high troop concentration requiring a good strafe etc... Pilots can ignore these ofcourse, or see it as them being given a gift from the big man - same goes for commander call for on-map artillery. But I will recommend the ring on the minimap idea to allow arty to fire at map coordinates, or at least a call for arty by a commander at a position given the arty gunner a new spot.
For consistency the images shown on the map for arty wil be identical to those for off-map arty, except in a different colour, same for bombing runs or strafing runs, be it auto or manned calls.
So feedback?
