Air Superiority Fighter Competition Unlimited [ON HOLD]

[hoioh]

56 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

https://discordapp.com/

It's a chat client that works pretty well and doesn't eat up system resources.

I think I got it, I was previously simply using the PM system of the site, which works fine for me. But I guess it's easier to have several threads on a single channel

It may be prudent to add the channel details to the first page of this thread, it's currently 2 pages back, but that will change with time

Edited March 25, 2019 by hoioh

[Box of Stardust]

For the official thread's record, CShRAID Type 5 is being replaced by an aircraft developed from it, but is far more capable.

PEGASys-K2

 

Everyone started posting up some pretty hardcore aircraft, so I skipped my submissions straight to the best one I had to best combat these new scary combatants.

The D Series, for now, is being put in reserve. However, I may still go back to it if I can figure out how to tune it right; the platform isn't quite done yet, I think. It still has at least one advantage over the K Series.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Box of Stardust

[exbyde]

On 3/9/2019 at 11:09 PM, HeroBrian_333 said:

Holy kraken. The gang's all here except for @exbyde (pls come back man).

I believe i have some light reading to catch up on

[Box of Stardust]

5 minutes ago, exbyde said:

I believe i have some light reading to catch up on

heh

Nothing different, still a bunch of hyper-drones. But BDA is smarter and cooler now, so there's that, I guess.

Also I built a new brick, this time spamming missiles. 

Edited March 27, 2019 by Box of Stardust

[exbyde]

4 minutes ago, Box of Stardust said:

heh

Nothing different, still a bunch of hyper-drones. But BDA is smarter and cooler now, so there's that, I guess.

Also I built a new brick, this time spamming missiles. 

Nice! Looks like you're doing well with the dogfights too. I may need re-download KSP and umpteen billion mods here sooner than later, You know, for old times sake.

[Box of Stardust]

Just now, exbyde said:

Nice! Looks like you're doing well with the dogfights too. I may need re-download KSP and umpteen billion mods here sooner than later, You know, for old times sake.

Well, if you do decide to, you'd be coming back at the best time possible; right after you left, BDA 1.2 was... pretty cool (the AI saw significant improvements, mainly), but honestly rough, and pretty messy in spots. Part hitpoints were all over the place, damage was finnicky, and Sidewinders would often detonate right after launching. I actually just came back a month ago after finding out that they've hammered out a lot of the major bugs that caused me to stop half a year ago.

And if you decide to download the ASC essentials, that's only like, 3 mods (BDA, AP+, Tweakscale). Most submissions have been keeping it light on the mods.

We got a Discord server now too, if you want to join. Server link on previous page or so.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, exbyde said:

I believe i have some light reading to catch up on

Yo! BDA has changed quite a bit. It wont take too long to get used to though

[hoioh]

9 hours ago, Box of Stardust said:

We got a Discord server now too, if you want to join. Server link on previous page or so.

It's actualy on the OP now for ease of access

[hoioh]

For the record, the SK-14 Razor Mk6 has been officially submitted

You can download it here if you haven't yet:

https://kerbalx.com/hoioh/SK-14-Razor-MK-6

I am yet to find a plane in the submissions that it can't beat in 3v3 combat off the KSC grounds (and I have no clue how the official battles get set up, so I can't test them that way)

Spoiler

Vs PEGASys-K2

 

 

Edited March 27, 2019 by hoioh

[Box of Stardust]

Battle:

Spoiler

@ZLM-Master's X-Fighter Hunter V2 begins its run against #5 spot, @Joseph Kerman's D-1 Gen 1:

 

 

After Action Report:

Spoiler

Battle Report:

Aircraft Statistical Comparison:

Aircraft	Mnv.	Propls.	End.	Size	Damage Mtgtn.	Offnsv. Capblts.	Flt. Ctrl.
X-Fighter Hunter V2	7	8	7	10	7	5.5	8
D-1 Gen 1	5	5	10	6.5	1	7	5

Analysis:

The X-Fighter Hunter V2 runs through this battle pretty quickly. The Hunter V2 is, supposedly, an upgrade from the original X-Fighter Hunter. In some ways, it is, in others... no. While it comes with much improved thrust and maybe improved maneuverability, it, for some reason, sacrifices a great deal of weaponry from the V1. It's no longer a light drone in weight, but now a medium drone, though on the lower end of that spectrum.

In this battle, the Hunter is able to use its small size and speed to get into the right positions to use its weapons- what little it has of them. The D-1, unfortunately for it, can't keep up and can't take hits, so it goes down with every solid connection the Hunters made.

The X-Fighter Hunter V2 will continue on to battle the #4 spot, the SK-22 MK-2.

 

[sturmhauke]

1 hour ago, hoioh said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Vs DU-15 Blk 5:

 

 

Not sure what this video is, but it's definitely not a dogfight. 

[hoioh]

4 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

Not sure what this video is, but it's definitely not a dogfight. 

Oh, ha, must've removed the wrong file and accidentaly uploaded something completely different. At least it's KSP, right?

[hoioh]

Here's the correct video:

Spoiler

 

 

[Box of Stardust]

Battle:

Spoiler

@ZLM-Master's X-Fighter Hunter V2 continues its run, going up against @hoioh's SK-22 MK-2.

 

 

 

After Action Report:

Spoiler

Battle Report:

Aircraft Statistical Comparison:

Aircraft	Mnv.	Propls.	End.	Size	Damage Mtgtn.	Offnsv. Capblts.	Flt. Ctrl.
X-Fighter Hunter V2	7	8	7	10	7	5.5	8
SK-22 MK-2	8	10	8	6	8	8	7

Analysis:

This was a long series. With long matches. And you all get the sped up version.

Both aircraft were... notably terrible at finishing off their targets. The X-Fighter Hunter V2 wasn't making enough hits to take down the relatively tough SK-22, and the SK-22 was dumping ammo trying to kill the small, zippy Hunters.

The SK-22's advantage in all of its fights, no doubt, is its immense amounts of thrust. It just powers away from most enemies, and here, it's not much different. It is also able to take quite a lot of hits and remain flying, although, that's the most that can be said about its ability to take hits. Again, it might be a potent gunfighter if it used its guns more efficiently.

The Hunter can sort of take hits, but it can survive a lot of the various hits it takes, as long as it's not a critical hit by a missile. Its offensive capabilities, compared to the X-Fighter Hunter V1, seem to have shifted to guns and away from missiles, which was probably a mistake. Still, it's committed to its guns focus with the amount of ammo it carries.

Both sides generally relied on their missiles hitting correctly. When it got down to guns, things got questionable. The Hunter also has a questionable secondary gun armament. This was pretty much a battle of luck and attrition, with only one sortie ending in a team wipe, and in the end, the X-Fighters were small enough to out-last the SK-22s.

Still, the X-Fighter Hunter V2 makes it through the SK-22 MK-2, even if the latter did put up a very good fight in the 2v3. It continues to go on to fight the Du-11B-10.

 

[Box of Stardust]

Battle:

Spoiler

@ZLM-Master's X-Fighter Hunter V2 encounters @dundun92's Du-11B-10.

 

 

After Action Report:

Spoiler

Battle Report:

Aircraft Statistical Comparison:

Aircraft	Mnv.	Propls.	End.	Size	Damage Mtgtn.	Offnsv. Capblts.	Flt. Ctrl.
X-Fighter Hunter V2	7	8	7	10	7	5.5	8
Du-11B-10	7	8	8	7	9	8.5	7.5

Analysis:

The X-Fighter Hunter V2’s weak armament really shows in this battle; their flight performance was equal, and the Hunter's size was not enough to protect it. Against the aggressive, well-armed Du-11B-10, the Hunter was just overwhelmed, unable to throw enough damage back out in return. It ran out of missiles quickly, and at that point, the 11Bs were free to pick off the Hunters with little serious retaliation.

As well, the Hunters were susceptible to receiving critical hits, meaning missiles hits had a decent chance to knock a Hunter out of the fight, even if not destroyed completely.

The X-Fighter Hunter V2's run stops with it in the #4 spot.

 

[Box of Stardust]

A quick PSA to everyone testing crafts:

If you want to know the proper results between two aircraft that battle, restart the game before running it. BDA gets weird the longer the game has been running; missiles, especially, stop working properly, and many missiles will detonate at the target but do no damage. 

 

I was just testing a craft I cobbled together in about an hour, and it seemed like it was immune to missiles. I thought maybe it was related to its size and speed, so then I decided to put it up against the K2, since I know that thing would reliably eliminate everything it comes up against, or at the very least, put up a tough fight that leaves its enemies damaged. And when it was all done, no aircraft had received any damage at all. It was too bizarre.

Upon restarting the game and running the battle again, missiles began working properly again (and guns too, it seemed like) and the seemingly invincible aircraft was getting blown apart as expected when missiles detonated near it. 

So yeah. Restart the game if you want proper results. BDA's performance degrades the longer the game runs, so don't run KSP for more than an hour without restarting it. 

[sturmhauke]

Good to know. That's weird behavior though. Might be a memory leak, or maybe some kind of caching error.

[hoioh]

@Box of Stardust

This kind of thing is precisely what I meant a couple weeks ago.

Now since I did a complete graphics driver wipe and reïnstall, I haven't had it again. So I suspect the culprit is there somewhere

Also, remove the cache files from Module manager occasionally, this seems to keep the problem at bay for a while

[Box of Stardust]

Battle:

Spoiler

@sturmhauke's DF-2 Yari begins its run against @hoioh's SK-22 MK-2. The first of the next generation of drones that came after PEGASys-D.

 

 

 

 

After Action Report:

Spoiler

Battle Report:

Aircraft Statistical Comparison:

Aircraft	Mnv.	Propls.	End.	Size	Damage Mtgtn.	Offnsv. Capblts.	Flt. Ctrl.
DF-2 Yari	9.5	6	7	6.5	11	10	8.5
SK-22 MK-2	8	10	8	6	8	8	7

Analysis:

The DF-2 Yari is a big, chunky drone. Its weakness?

Well, the SK-22, especially in the initial run, uncovered it: the Yari is a big, heavy, chunky drone. The Yari’s weakness is physics.

Against the SK-22, a medium-weight, arguably over-engined, aircraft, the Yari struggles to keep up with the fast, squirrely target. Its chances rely on its large payload missiles and ability to pull off close-range hits before the SK-22 runs away. The Yari is very maneuverable, however, its weight and inertia can definitely be felt in the turns it pulls.

As well, it’s proven quite a few times that no amount of armor will protect a plane if gunfire intersects it at the correct angle. The SK-22’s heavy burst mass from its guns ensures that even the well-armored Yari is obliterated when the guns connect properly. Armoring is really only good for protecting against missile hits, and even then, most missile hits are either ineffective proximity detonations or all-powerful critical hits that will blow apart any aircraft.

Still, pack enough missiles and have heavy guns that obliterate most things on connecting, and the Yari is able to take its opportunities to win this battle.

Bonus battles; what happens if KSP+BDA has been running too long without a restart:

Spoiler

 

 

Edited March 28, 2019 by Box of Stardust

[sturmhauke]

[Box of Stardust]

Battle:

Spoiler

@sturmhauke's DF-2 Yari continues up the board against @ZLM-Master's X-Fighter Hunter V2.

 

 

 

 

 

After Action Report:

Spoiler

Battle Report:

Aircraft Statistical Comparison:

Aircraft	Mnv.	Propls.	End.	Size	Damage Mtgtn.	Offnsv. Capblts.	Flt. Ctrl.
DF-2 Yari	9.5	6	7	6.5	11	10	8.5
X-Fighter Hunter V2	7	8	7	10	7	5.5	8

Analysis:

In this battle, the DF-2 Yari potentially faced one of its toughest opponents: a small, squirrely drone.

However, the X-Fighter Hunter V2 is actually a downgrade from the V1 in terms of the important firepower statistic, carrying only half of the Hunter V1’s Sidewinder payload. So I suspect the Hunter V1 to be a much more interesting, tougher battle, but we'll get to that when we get there.

The Hunter V2’s ability to dodge was showcased decently in the first sortie, with the DF-2s having lost an aircraft early in due to a lucky critical hit Sidewinder. However, it would go on to lose the rest of that match, with the Yari showing its excellent resilience to glancing gunfire.

The remainder of the matches were the DF-2s able to use their Sidewinders to good effect, and getting good hits with the GAUs. The Hunters just couldn’t take hits, and were susceptible to Sidewinder critical hits. As well, the DF-2s were maneuverable enough to keep up with the Hunters, though that is probably more of a fault in the Hunter’s design; the Hunter has light weight on its side, but even the heavy DF-2 could keep up with its good maneuverability.

The DF-2 Yari moves on.

 

[Box of Stardust]

Battle:

Spoiler

@sturmhauke's DF-2 Yari continues its run up the board, now against @dundun92's Du-11B-10.

 

 

After Action Report:

Spoiler

Battle Report:

Aircraft Statistical Comparison:

Aircraft	Mnv.	Propls.	End.	Size	Damage Mtgtn.	Offnsv. Capblts.	Flt. Ctrl.
DF-2 Yari	9.5	6	7	6.5	11	10	8.5
Du-11B-10	7	8	8	7	9	8.5	7.5

Analysis:

We're getting to a point where it's becoming increasingly hard to judge what exactly is happening, and how much luck and chance is involved in each fight. But that's the nature of missile-oriented battles like these- sometimes the missiles just hit right and swing the battle one way.

In this battle, the DF-2 Yari has the advantage in maneuverability, armament, and a significant advantage in survivability. The Du-11B-10 has the advantage in propulsion, and armament is also strong, with its rating only lowered due to how the armament is utilized.

Despite the 11Bs as being noted with lower maneuverability, it didn't seem to show in this battle, with the 11B generally able to keep up with the DF-2 in a chasing dogfight.

The 11Bs won the second battle in an extremely fast time due to getting critical missile hits and generally things going the right way for them. However, in the other battles, the DF-2 is able to win out the battles of attrition, able to take punishment from less severe hits and glancing gunfire. In the last battle especially, a Yari was able to get away flying with only 1/3 of its engines remaining and a battered airframe. The DF-2's heavy gun armament also made securing kills much easier, though the 11B's 6 Vulcans do also put out formidable burst mass that is in most cases equally as destructive as the 2 GAUs.

Though the Du-11B-10 put up a good fight, the DF-2 moves onward past it.

 

[Box of Stardust]

Battle:

Spoiler

@sturmhauke's DF-2 Yari faces off against @panzerknoef's UT-7-B4, an aircraft with no real gimmick other than some solid performance stats.

 

 

 

 

 

After Action Report:

Spoiler

Battle Report:

Aircraft Statistical Comparison:

Aircraft	Mnv.	Propls.	End.	Size	Damage Mtgtn.	Offnsv. Capblts.	Flt. Ctrl.
DF-2 Yari	9.5	6	7	6.5	11	10	8.5
Zircon UT-7-B4	9	7	8	7	7	8.5	8

Analysis:

A quick foreword: I'm usually pretty lenient with non-enemy kills/damage, like team-damage, if it seems to affect the outcome of a match, and will re-run if I notice it. However, aircraft zooming straight down into the water... well, that's on you and how you programmed the plane's Pilot AI.

Now, for the battle.

The UT-7-B4 performed very respectably. Again, it doesn't have much to it other than solid performance and well-balanced attributes. No crazy construction for survivability, only 8 missiles and 4 guns, and it only has 5 engines. The closest thing to a constructional advantage it has, other than its aerodynamics, is its 6.6t maximum weight; that's pretty light, which allows it to move around with relative ease. Even PEGASys-D and K are 1-1.5 tons heavier.

The DF-2 Yari, however, packs survivability and heavy armament. It will win battles of attrition, as long as it has fuel, which never seems to be an issue (except for the edge case of the D8 and high altitude programming, where if the higher aircraft can survive, they will cause the DF-2s to burn their fuel in constant vertical climbs).

If anything, the UT-7's only 'fault' I can identify is that it does not hit with its guns well (a problem the D7 will also have). Well, that, and its AI programming that may have thrown Sortie #3 by lawn-darting into the ocean.

Meanwhile, the DF-2 is an aircraft that generally gets stronger the longer it survives into the match, and unless it takes critical hits from a Sidewinder or two, it will usually get to that stage intact in some form.

The DF-2 will continue up the board, after another fairly formidable battle.

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by Box of Stardust

[sturmhauke]

There seems to be some mix-up with your videos. Some of the titles don't match the BDA team panel.

[Box of Stardust]

5 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

There seems to be some mix-up with your videos. Some of the titles don't match the BDA team panel.

... huh. Well, I guess I gotta go back and check what went wrong where now.

 

Yeah, Youtube just goofed up the uploads for some strange reason. Guess I gotta reupload some now. Or at least find out which ones have wrong titles, because all of the videos are fine.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Box of Stardust