DevDiaries #83: Airstrike of epicness

Hi, friends.

Intimidating. Bombs away. Aviation. These words can be used to describe the first tests after the introduction of airstrikes in Soldiers: Arena. It is always a joy to add new features to the game, but an airstrike ... is a story that deserves to be in epos. The planes dropped bombs, anti-aircraft guns fought back and avenged the ground targets, all others sought shelter. Sought in vain. One can’t hide from the sharp ace eyes. Can’t get away from their punishment, which comes down the sky like rain, turning brave men into corpses. Damn, it's hard not to switch to a high syllable, remembering how epic it looked in the game.



You already know that reconnaissance and paratrooper planes have been around for quite some time. And the most attentive noticed a place for an airstrike in the technology tree. Since last week, this is not just an icon, but also the opportunity to order a flight of valkyries laden with bombs. Let’s discuss how it works now (in a draft form). As a reconnaissance aircraft, an airstrike does not take CPs, but launches a timer after completing a combat mission. The time required to return to the airfield and maintenance depends on the damage received during the flight. Of course, damaged to death planes become unsuitable for airstrikes. You, as a commander, are only required to indicate a point on the map, sometimes adjusting the designated point to take into account a moving target. The pilot will do the rest. Your air Aesir will go to bomb the Jotun-tankmen and the Vanir-infantrymen, dropping one bomb at a time. High-explosive damage from the payload is enough to destroy the majority of opponents, clearing a pair of buildings, destroying trenches. Or you can hit the preemptively-intimidating strike, the purpose of which is to show that you still have aces down and above.



Air strikes can be used by all infantry battalions, Mechanized and Panzergrenadier tank battalions, Howitzer and Air defense artillery battalions. The Sapper commander can put an airstrike in two slots, the rest only in one. Now the supportive troops have become strong not only in defensive actions but also in the offensive ones. The ability to send two planes at the same time can sometimes turn the tide of battle or, at a minimum, clean up the area before the offensive. Strengthening the spot and bombing the attacking enemy is also a good strategy. Anti-aircraft systems are rarely placed directly on the collision line, which means there are more chances that the enemy units will be sent to Valhalla, but not your pilots.



Is such a high-explosive lightning strike at a point on the map too strong? - you may ask. No way. Because we do not introduce ultimate and uncounterable abilities, and always think about the balance of forces on the battlefield. The plane can be seen from afar, and if you are attentive, and your unit is fast enough - you can just ride away. The situation is worse if you are seated in a fortified building, in a trench or immobilized in a tank ... In such cases, your only hope is in anti-aircraft guns. 61-Ks or Wirbelwinds prudently spawned can cleanly saw the wings off before anyone has a chance of dropping a bomb, or at the very least, seeking revenge. The struggle of aviation and air defense in the session adds not only the epicness to the fight, but also to realism in the use of anti-aircraft guns. Although the FlaK 18 was quite successfully used against armored vehicles, it was still created to combat air targets.



The airstrike is a very fresh feature, so we still need to customize it, add new models and a realistic arsenal to each aircraft. For example, before the spawn of the Stuka, you can choose what to hit the enemy with: one 500-kg bomb or two 250-kg with a large spread. And the IL-2 will have a choice between firing RS-82 missiles, bombing with cumulative anti-tank bombs (PTAB) or shoot with VYa-23 cannon. Frankly, we have already added this. Just the day before yesterday.



With aviation, things are getting better, so in the future, we are only going to expand the capabilities of the airfield. The logical development of the idea with an airstrike looks like the addition of the Pe-2 and Ju 88 front-line bombers. More survivability, more bomb load, more epic - isn't it great? In the future, unique US battalions with a bonus on the use of aviation could be interesting too. There is a lot of space for perks here too. Yeah, we have a lot of plans. But what do you think? What kind of aircraft would you like to see in Soldiers: Arena? Wish you all the best!