AI can't keep up

AI P-51s just take forever to reform, and if I climb out at 2700 45', they drop behind. When I fly Spitfire missions, I make 2 circles above the airfield, and from then on they stick to my wing like glue. On the other hand I can't fly slow enough for AI P-51s to keep up, especially above 20,000 feet. What's wrong? I set 270 kts in the mission editor.

Thanks!

mmmm... yeah, so your flying at max-cruising and want your wing-men to push their engines into the red to catch up to you, and are complaining that they're not risking blowing their engines to catch up... :noexpression:

Would you also complain if they did risk blowing their engines, and occasionally did? I think there would be an outcry from the community that the AI had gone mad and were blowing their engines through poor engine management like amateurs.

If you want your formation to form-up on you, give them a chance buddy. Fly at 30"MP for a couple minutes, and like Lil' Bo-Peeps sheep, they will 'come home' in no time, though I hope they won't be wagging their tails ;)

You think I didn't try this? Above 20k they drop behind even if I fly at 30" and 2300 RPM.

Even after takeoff I circle the airfield at this setting and they can never reform.

Also ,there is A LOT between max cruise and blowing your engine. I don't expect them to fly at 61" 3000RPM.

Try the attached mission. Take off, and fly to France at an altitude of at least 23,000 feet. You'll see what I'm talking about.

Blue Nose Bastards of Bodney.miz

I've been flying the Charwood mission 1, testing a bunch of things, which mostly have nothing to do with the mission itself.

I start with 3 wing men, plus an entire second wing; we are 8 aircraft altogether. I am not seeing any issues with all my wing men catching up to me before I turn south from our airfield at around 8k'.

I've been flying the Charwood mission 1, testing a bunch of things, which mostly have nothing to do with the mission itself.

 

I start with 3 wing men, plus an entire second wing; we are 8 aircraft altogether. I am not seeing any issues with all my wing men catching up to me before I turn south from our airfield at around 8k'.

Interesting. Have you tried above 22k feet? What power settings do you use?

By and large, AI does a very poor job flying formation.

Station keeping isn't bad, but the geometry flown for rejoins is non-existent. You can't catch anything if you only fly pure or lag pursuit curves.

I've done a lot of testing lately.. The AI has no problem catching up up to 12,000 feet. Above that, it's starting to become a problem, and above 20-22,000 feet there is no way to keep them from lagging behind. I'm really curious what could cause this, but I haven't been able to figure it out. Somehow they can't accelerate that fast, I was even thinking about their supercharger. But the nI turned mine off, and I still pulled away at 30" MP

I had mustangs to follow B-17s at 20,000 they cant do it.

Any news on this please? I've done more testing, and this AI behavior is a real pain for mission builders. Some planes are more prone to it than others. Spitfires can keep in formation, but run their engines so high they run out of fuel way before me.

It mostly affects the Mustang and the Sabre. Try flying at 25k feet or higher, you'll need to fly the P-51 at near stall speeds in order not to pull away from your flight. Same goes for the Sabre, they lag well behind around 30k feet, even lower.

I always fly by the book, at cruise settings, before anyone asks.

This might be a broader problem with the AI. Although a completely different beast, L-39C has a similar problem, it simply cannot fly at higher altitudes, at 8000 meters it will fall out of the sky, while L-39ZA has no such problems (same engine, nearly same airframe, even heavier):

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=218357

Perhaps...when I fly a P-51 at higher altitudes the AI wingmen fly at crazy high AoAs...

I did some tests at 25,000 feet. With no drop tanks, AI P-51s can keep up, although you have to fly quite slow. When you attach drop tanks, you have to fly at near stall speed for them to be able to keep up and not lag behind. I think the same is the problem with the Sabre - when Ifly at high altitudes I fly with drop tanks and so do my wingmen - that's why they can't keep up.

Check this simple test mission:

formationtest.miz

I think you will find that this only applies to AI in a client group. Another group of AI only will outrun you at altitude I think.

I do not think it's a bug or something like that, but maybe a lack of precision that players are able to produce. At high altitude it is normal that to maintain a level flight is more difficult, and variations have more influence even slight.But with a little patience it seems possible.

http://cromhunt.proboards.com/thread/372/high-altitude

Maybe we should experiment with other modules to get a clear idea of the problem, right?

Practice is the best i mean:)

Maybe I need to learn to fly straight :D

I noticed that this issue is more prominent when drop tanks are used.

Try setting a higher speed in the mission editor, 300 or 325, they wont exceed the set speed I believe, But I could be wrong. the mission editor speed is ground speed. at alt ground speed is much higher than indicated air speed.

Try setting a higher speed in the mission editor, 300 or 325, they wont exceed the set speed I believe, But I could be wrong. the mission editor speed is ground speed. at alt ground speed is much higher than indicated air speed.

THAT'S IT! Man, it was so simple, right before my eye! Thank you for pointing it out. As soon as I set a pretty high speed, they can keep up alright! THANK YOU! :)

:thumbup: Sweet, glad it helped!

It's very strange, though. Once in formation, a B flight set to slower speeds will follow A flight that has a higher speed no problem. But if the player is the leader, or it's about our own flights, the speeds set in the editor are basically a "speed limit". This, plus the fact that it's ground speed we set in ME, had me scratching my head for months. My AI wingmen could keep up under 10k feet where ground speed is not much different from IAS, but up at 23k feet with a tailwind...that was a different story. I'm so glad the mystery is solved :)