The most suitable fix in the latter case would be to further limit the gun angles.
Hi Mike!
I do not think what Sharkzz is talking about is really a bug, I think it is simply a limitation of the base game itself that the gunner's head doesn't physically move up or down or side to side with the gun as he would in real life. I've always just accepted it as one of the game's limitations.
Limiting gun angles won't solve anything however. In fact, limiting gun angles will make it historically incorrect, since in real life the G4M's 20mm tail gun was able to aim downwards at a steep angle of 55 degrees below the horizon, which is more than what is currently possible in the game. The exterior screenshot you posted doesn't show the true angle, since the gun is also turned sideways towards the camera, making it seem much steeper than it is. Currently in the game the rear gun can only point downward at about 45 degrees in relation to the aircraft's axis, which is much less than the 55 degrees that was possible in real life. If anything the G4M's gun movement angles need to be increased in IL2 in order to be historically accurate.
In real life the G4M's rear gun's large angles of movement was made possible in part due to the gun's frame on which it was mounted, which extended far out into the tail cone in order for it to be able to move at large angles while still clearing the fuselage. The G4M's rear gunner seat was also suspended on a frame with the gun and could rotate up and down (almost like a ball turret) in order to make aiming easier, but the gun could also rotate independently of the seat at an even further angle.
The biggest difference between real life and the game however, is that in real life, gunners weren't glued in place like they are in the game. They would move their heads (and bodies) forward, backward, up, down, left and right in order to aim at extreme angles. In real life, a G4M tail gunner could easily move his head forward and up next to the gun to aim at a downward angle of 55 degrees at an aircraft below them.
Perhaps players that use 6dof might possibly be able to move their heads this way in the game, although it will still be more limiting than in real life. The most realistic solution (as in as close to reality as possible) would be to have the gunner's POV move with the gun. This would more closely simulate the gunner moving his head with the gun when aiming at large angles, such as he would in real life. I suspect however that this might not be possible within IL-2, or that it would be difficult to implement? On the other hand the gunner does move with the gun through about half of its travel, so perhaps it can be made to move with the gun through the entire range of its travel? If this is not possible, I guess it will just be a limitation of the game one would have to live with, but limiting the gun's movement further would be historically inaccurate. As I mentioned the gun's angle of movement is already more limited in IL-2 than it was in real life.
the Jap GM4 bomber's rear gunner position with that silly lack of view due to the gun chasee which swivels about like a demented thingamajig blocking your view..
You mean this one?
There's also a chance Sharkzz was talking about the rotating frame of the tail cone that holds the glass in the rear gunner view... he would need to confirm however if he meant the gun itself or the rotating frame of the tail cone. The tail cone also moves with the gun and can sometimes limit visibility in the game. Early G4M Betty bombers had this more enclosed frame, later G4M bombers had a more open tail cone. It's not a bug at all. Simply a matter of personal preference. If so, I think he would prefer the rear gunner position of a late war Betty bomber with its more open tail cone frame.
Best Regards
Trent
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Topic: Ultrapack bug report thread (all versions) (Read 98410 times)
