WWII BAD-T V: The AI Strikes Back - BD AI Dogfight Tournament

[OmegaForce]

A WWI competition has long been discussed but would of been more difficult in the past with part count limitations. Now however we have auto struts, the open cockpit mod and the ability to make a single procedural wing section wide enough to use as a fuselage. In regard to engines what about the early set of props in the Airplane Plus mod? Also included in there is a bi plane set of landing gear that could be useful.

[SuicidalInsanity]

The AP+ early props were what I ended up modding to put together a beta WWI props pack back during the BAD-T III WWI discussion. I should still have the configs somewhere.

[SuicidalInsanity]

Match 10, between @aleksey444's agile AF-735 White Collar Criminal and @splatn't™'s durable TH-C:

 

[Pds314]

1 hour ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

Match 10, between @aleksey444's agile AF-735 White Collar Criminal and @splatn't™'s durable TH-C:

 

TH-C has studied the blade.

Edited November 7, 2019 by Pds314

[splatn't™]

12 hours ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

Match 10, between @aleksey444's agile AF-735 White Collar Criminal and @splatn't™'s durable TH-C:

 

Well, untuned AI can only get you so far...

[aleksey444]

9 hours ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

Match 10, between @aleksey444's agile AF-735 White Collar Criminal and @splatn't™'s durable TH-C:

 

I've been waiting for this.  Thank you.

I think the battle's introductory sentence could have had some jokes about chemicals, criminals, and altitude...

Two mid-air collisions are very unlucky, but not totally surprising.  The outcomes were not surprising either -- my plane may be agile, but it is also fragile.

Also not surprising was how long it took to kill TH-Cs.  These things are flying tanks.  But they are also fast, which seems to work in my favour -- my plane can stay on their tail.  With slower opponents my plane tends to overtake them and sometimes expose its own back.

What was very surprising was the ground crash.  I never had any issues with that in testing.  The altitude range is the default 500-1500.  Maybe the AI measures altitude as of sea level, and the battle took place over unusually high terrain?

Let's see how I do against a flying wing...

[splatn't™]

Also, the flying tank properties of my TH-C was unintentional, however, the turning properties and survival length reflect that well.

[SuicidalInsanity]

Match 11, between my IA-42 Skaris and @Dwerto's PD-2 Honeybee, and our first match between heavy cannon armed brawlers. Which will win, the Honeybee's agility or the Skaris' resilience?

 

[SuicidalInsanity]

Apropos of nothing, who here remembers BAD-T III, Match 2?
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Match 12, between @Pds314's La-9, an aircraft too small and agile to be hit, vs @sturmhauke's SAI K9 Krakenhound, an absolute zombie of an aircraft that just will not die.
At least this time the match was only 42 minutes instead of 53.

 

[Pds314]

4 hours ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

Apropos of nothing, who here remembers BAD-T III, Match 2?
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Match 12, between @Pds314's La-9, an aircraft too small and agile to be hit, vs @sturmhauke's SAI K9 Krakenhound, an absolute zombie of an aircraft that just will not die.
At least this time the match was only 42 minutes instead of 53.

 

What even....

Are you telling me that in three 2v2 duels to the death, there were only three planes rendered inoperable out of 12?
SparkVAKs indeed...

Congrats @sturmhauke. Your plane is terrifyingly indestructible.

Edited November 14, 2019 by Pds314

[Pds314]

BAD-T III Match 2 video in question.

The only comment. I sympathize lol. But alas, I did run out of ammo and crash.

[OmegaForce]

4 hours ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

Apropos of nothing, who here remembers BAD-T III, Match 2?
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Match 12, between @Pds314's La-9, an aircraft too small and agile to be hit, vs @sturmhauke's SAI K9 Krakenhound, an absolute zombie of an aircraft that just will not die.
At least this time the match was only 42 minutes instead of 53.

 

That may very well have been the most intense dogfight of this competition yet. The La-9 is a a capable fighter but the Krakenhound is a beast of durability even with multiple control surfaces gone they kept in the fight and out lasted their opponent . Only thing I'm a little confused about is the ground crash's had fuel ran out?

 

[Pds314]

39 minutes ago, OmegaForce said:

That may very well have been the most intense dogfight of this competition yet. The La-9 is a a capable fighter but the Krakenhound is a beast of durability even with multiple control surfaces gone they kept in the fight and out lasted their opponent . Only thing I'm a little confused about is the ground crash's had fuel ran out?

 

I think the Krakenhound crash at 12:01 was due to a pilot snipe at 9:27. Only proper kill in the match. You can see the chair is still there but the Kerbal has been assassinated and the double .50 cals have fallen off. The plane loops around aimlessly without control as if GLOC'd, but instead it is due to pilot death.

The La-9 crashes are due to AI issues, with minor damage as a possible secondary cause.

The final La-9 crash frankly is bizarre. I don't understand why it pulled into the loop like that when it was clearly not GLOC'd. I understand, but am still pretty surprised by, the fact that it dove into the ground. Frankly it just looks like the plane committed suicide for no discernable reason.

Edited November 14, 2019 by Pds314

[sturmhauke]

10 hours ago, Pds314 said:

What even....

Are you telling me that in three 2v2 duels to the death, there were only three planes rendered inoperable out of 12?
SparkVAKs indeed...

Congrats @sturmhauke. Your plane is terrifyingly indestructible.

Thanks.  Honestly after that battle royale I was a little worried, since you took me out pretty easily there.

And to @SuicidalInsanity, I like your video editing. Switching from dramatic music in normal time to more lighthearted music in the fast-forward sections was a nice touch.

[sturmhauke]

7 hours ago, Pds314 said:

I think the Krakenhound crash at 12:01 was due to a pilot snipe at 9:27. Only proper kill in the match. You can see the chair is still there but the Kerbal has been assassinated and the double .50 cals have fallen off. The plane loops around aimlessly without control as if GLOC'd, but instead it is due to pilot death.

The La-9 crashes are due to AI issues, with minor damage as a possible secondary cause.

The final La-9 crash frankly is bizarre. I don't understand why it pulled into the loop like that when it was clearly not GLOC'd. I understand, but am still pretty surprised by, the fact that it dove into the ground. Frankly it just looks like the plane committed suicide for no discernable reason.

That was a solid hit you scored on me there. You can see some of my techniques there too. Basically there's an internal structure with more aerodynamic surfaces attached to it. The cockpit in particular is made of multiple overlapping plates. This may be the first time I suffered a pilot snipe, as opposed to getting just straight blown out of the sky with high caliber guns, or chipped to death. Last season there were even several Krakenhound crashes where the pilot survived.

[SuicidalInsanity]

7 hours ago, Pds314 said:

The final La-9 crash frankly is bizarre. I don't understand why it pulled into the loop like that when it was clearly not GLOC'd. I understand, but am still pretty surprised by, the fact that it dove into the ground. Frankly it just looks like the plane committed suicide for no discernable reason.

The third bout hadn't gone as long as the second, so the La-9s should have still had fuel. I think what may have happened is the AI has a difficult time recognizing if it's in a dive, and won't pull out of a dive unless the plane's crossed the min altitude threshold. As for why the AI decided to loop and dive to begin with, ???

36 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

This may be the first time I suffered a pilot snipe, as opposed to getting just straight blown out of the sky with high caliber guns, or chipped to death. Last season there were even several Krakenhound crashes where the pilot survived.

Second. One of the Thalos in the first or second bout of match 7 also sniped a pilot. I'd have to rewatch the matches to double check, but I think that and this may be the only cases of pilot KIA so far.

 

[Pds314]

I wonder if Aeroimp, WCC, or PD-2 actually have the armament, accuracy, and ammo count to engage the Krakenhound. I know at least one of them has explosive rounds.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Pds314

[SuicidalInsanity]

^^We'll find out for two of those three.

Match 13, between Bot Julius' Aero Imperial and @aleksey444's White Collar Criminal. Will the WCC make a smooth getaway, or will it fold at the first sign of pressure from the law?

 This might feature the first fueltank snipe of the tournament.

[aleksey444]

18 hours ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

^^We'll find out for two of those three.

Bonus matches?

 

18 hours ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

Will the WCC make a smooth getaway, or will it fold at the first sign of pressure from the law?

WCC doesn't run from the law, it kills the law!  Unless it gets shot in the root part -- then it does look a bit like it's folding as it breaks apart...

 

18 hours ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

This might feature the first fueltank snipe of the tournament.

Match 11 between IA-42 Skaris and PD-2 Honeybee.  At 6:54, a Honeybee hits a Skaris, and then a few seconds later we can see the Skaris' propeller blades freely moving in the wind.  That same Skaris can be seen at 8:37.

There was also a discussion about pilot sniping.  I saw two unusual hits during the Battle Royale.

At exactly 5:00, my WCC hits Aero Imperial.  Then at 5:09, the Imperial can be seen in the background, with a triangle marker around it, instead of the usual circle.  I don't know what the triangle means -- does it mean a pilot kill?

Also in the Battle Royale, at 9:07, PD-2 Honeybee gets hit just once (I believe by WCC, although it is off-screen).  Over the next seconds, you can see it tumbling to the ground and crashing.  I don't think this is a fuel tank hit, because the Honeybee stores fuel in several parts.  I suspect this is a pilot kill (or maybe destruction of the command seat part, which should have the same effect).  However, the marker around the Honeybee is circular while it is tumbling in the air, and only turns into a triangle after ground impact.

There may be other pilot kills and fuel tank hits -- I suppose I just watched my own plane more carefully then others'.

 

PS: In the last battle, the turn at 2:14 to 2:18 -- OMG!  It looks almost like a 180.  That was amazing camera work.

[SuicidalInsanity]

Hah. Forgot about the Skaris tank hit. Good eye.

Two out of three because the Krakenhound will be facing the PD-2 in the next match, and depending on if it wins or loses, will be facing either the WCC or the AeroImp in match 16

The change to a triangle icon means KSP thinks the craft now is a Rover, either because the engine has been destroyed or the pilot chair has been knocked out of the aircraft/only the pilot chair survives a crash. If a craft has a triangle icon, it's knocked out of the fight, one way or another.
The few brief moments when the icon has changed into a trapezoid during the occasional water crash are similar, with the vessel briefly being regarded as a Ship instead of a Plane

Edited November 17, 2019 by SuicidalInsanity

[SuicidalInsanity]

The final semifinal, match 14, between @Dwerto's capable Honeybee and @sturmhauke's durable Krakenhound. Which win, power or defense?

 

[Pds314]

4 hours ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

The final semifinal, match 14, between @Dwerto's capable Honeybee and @sturmhauke's durable Krakenhound. Which win, power or defense?

 

Wow the PD-2 is doing a lot more damage per burst I think. Exploding rounds maybe?

[sturmhauke]

2 hours ago, Pds314 said:

Wow the PD-2 is doing a lot more damage per burst I think. Exploding rounds maybe?

Maybe, but that's nothing before the power of my FACE TANK. 

[aleksey444]

10 hours ago, Pds314 said:

Wow the PD-2 is doing a lot more damage per burst I think. Exploding rounds maybe?

PD-2 is equipped with two .50 caliber and one 30mm.  It's the 30mm that did most of the damage.

BTW, most guns in aviator arsenal shoot explosive ammunition.  Or, at least, they are labelled as such.  Some rounds carry TNT and are explosive, and others do not have TNT but are still explosive.  It looks like pretty much everything including the MG 131 13mm and above shoots explosive rounds.

[OmegaForce]

16 hours ago, SuicidalInsanity said:

The final semifinal, match 14, between @Dwerto's capable Honeybee and @sturmhauke's durable Krakenhound. Which win, power or defense?

 

Honeybee had the turning advantage and accuracy needed to break down the Krakenhound mostly through loss of control surfaces. Krakenhound however wont be forgotten with that savage death blow at the end making a final statement.