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Outside of the PKM. Of course, when I say J-10, I'm referring to the much more expansive problem that occurs when players are able to win dogfights and gain air superiority based solely off of plane type. The MiG also falls in to this category. Imagine what kind of a riot would ensue if the tanks were unbalanced in this fashion so that the U.S. tank would dominate the MEC tank every single time to the extent that the U.S. tank would take absolutely no damage at all from the MEC tank. Imagine how this would effect the balance of power of Karkand.
The problem is when a plane becomes so overwhelmingly dominant it throws the whole balance of power off in the air in favor of one particular team (China). This has a ripple effect that makes itself very apparent on maps like Wake 2007, Dalian Plant, and to a lesser extent Dragon Valley where J-10s have free reign over boats and helicopters while the F-35B pilots, regardless of how good, are helpless to stop them.
Lets take a look at the progression of the J-10 throughout the patches as the AA missiles have changed.
1-1.12 - The J-10 was by no means a win against another pilot however it was a huge advantage that handicapped even the best of players when confronted with it. The J-10 got a little less dominant (unnoticable, really) after the first AA patch that improved AA a little bit, by actually giving the other planes an actual snowballs chance in hell of landing a missile against a J-10, but it still dominated.
1.20 - The J-10 became even more powerful with this patch as they could out turn any other plane, lose the AA lock, and return fire on the enemy plane with A2A missiles that had a near 100% hit rate, providing these unfortunate F-35B/F-18 pilots absolutely no chance to escape. However, with these insane AA missiles an F-35B could actually land missiles on a J-10, assuming the pilot was idiotic enough to let that happen.
1.21 - The J-10 still rules the sky, though it has had its power reduced slightly with the departure of the "uber-missiles", it still remains a virtually guaranteed win in a dogfight. More importantly, as of the 1.21 patch the J-10 is the only plane that can reliably avoid incoming missiles, while the other aircraft cannot. In fact, on this single fact alone one could consider the J-10 to be even more powerful in 1.21, then 1.20, relatively speaking of course.
My proposal to DICE to solve this problem once and for all:
Equalize the handling characteristics on all of the planes. When I say equalize, I mean just that, with exact mass, yaw/pitch rates, acceleration and top speed. Then to avoid cookie cutter syndrome give each plane an additional defining characteristic that does not serve to overpower the plane in the bid for air superiority but defines it from the others. The exact level of handling for the planes I believe should be all imported over to the J-10, as it is a faster plane which will make for more robust and skillful dogfights, and it is less stable than the other planes.
For example:
J-10: 30% more afterburner fuel than the standard in other planes
F-35B: Double the amount of cannon ammo, VTOL capabilities (obviously)
F-18: 2 extra bars of armor on the plane
MiG: 30% faster flare reload timer
These can continue on for the bombers, and be modified to what have you, but the basic concept remains the same.
Bottom line, with my solution in place the balance of air power would always go to the better pilot(s), as it should, and dogfights would become a test of skill and experience, rather than China selecting abilities.
That is all.
edit:
Taken from the thread I'd like to make two additional simple proposals to make this new air to air combat model more rich:
1) A more responsive throttle control system. Meaning, the moment you drop throttle you get that "air brake" and your plane immediately slows, and then when you engage full throttle once more your plane reaccelerates much faster. This will add a whole dimension to airplanes that never exisited, providing more skillful dogfights where the pilot the manages the throttle better could be the victor.
2) No pre-emptive AA warning for A2A missiles, and in addition to that a whole new "Incoming air to air missile" sound. Rewards pilots with fast reaction times, sneaky pilots, and those pilots who maintain situational awareness.
The problem is when a plane becomes so overwhelmingly dominant it throws the whole balance of power off in the air in favor of one particular team (China). This has a ripple effect that makes itself very apparent on maps like Wake 2007, Dalian Plant, and to a lesser extent Dragon Valley where J-10s have free reign over boats and helicopters while the F-35B pilots, regardless of how good, are helpless to stop them.
Lets take a look at the progression of the J-10 throughout the patches as the AA missiles have changed.
1-1.12 - The J-10 was by no means a win against another pilot however it was a huge advantage that handicapped even the best of players when confronted with it. The J-10 got a little less dominant (unnoticable, really) after the first AA patch that improved AA a little bit, by actually giving the other planes an actual snowballs chance in hell of landing a missile against a J-10, but it still dominated.
1.20 - The J-10 became even more powerful with this patch as they could out turn any other plane, lose the AA lock, and return fire on the enemy plane with A2A missiles that had a near 100% hit rate, providing these unfortunate F-35B/F-18 pilots absolutely no chance to escape. However, with these insane AA missiles an F-35B could actually land missiles on a J-10, assuming the pilot was idiotic enough to let that happen.
1.21 - The J-10 still rules the sky, though it has had its power reduced slightly with the departure of the "uber-missiles", it still remains a virtually guaranteed win in a dogfight. More importantly, as of the 1.21 patch the J-10 is the only plane that can reliably avoid incoming missiles, while the other aircraft cannot. In fact, on this single fact alone one could consider the J-10 to be even more powerful in 1.21, then 1.20, relatively speaking of course.
My proposal to DICE to solve this problem once and for all:
Equalize the handling characteristics on all of the planes. When I say equalize, I mean just that, with exact mass, yaw/pitch rates, acceleration and top speed. Then to avoid cookie cutter syndrome give each plane an additional defining characteristic that does not serve to overpower the plane in the bid for air superiority but defines it from the others. The exact level of handling for the planes I believe should be all imported over to the J-10, as it is a faster plane which will make for more robust and skillful dogfights, and it is less stable than the other planes.
For example:
J-10: 30% more afterburner fuel than the standard in other planes
F-35B: Double the amount of cannon ammo, VTOL capabilities (obviously)
F-18: 2 extra bars of armor on the plane
MiG: 30% faster flare reload timer
These can continue on for the bombers, and be modified to what have you, but the basic concept remains the same.
Bottom line, with my solution in place the balance of air power would always go to the better pilot(s), as it should, and dogfights would become a test of skill and experience, rather than China selecting abilities.
That is all.
edit:
Taken from the thread I'd like to make two additional simple proposals to make this new air to air combat model more rich:
1) A more responsive throttle control system. Meaning, the moment you drop throttle you get that "air brake" and your plane immediately slows, and then when you engage full throttle once more your plane reaccelerates much faster. This will add a whole dimension to airplanes that never exisited, providing more skillful dogfights where the pilot the manages the throttle better could be the victor.
2) No pre-emptive AA warning for A2A missiles, and in addition to that a whole new "Incoming air to air missile" sound. Rewards pilots with fast reaction times, sneaky pilots, and those pilots who maintain situational awareness.
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