TBD-1 Devastator AI tail gunner doesn't shoot?

[RichNagel]

After all of these years of playing CFS2, something that I just noticed: The AI when piloting a TBD-1 Devastator won't shoot the tail gunner at me. If I'm in front of them, their front guns shoot at my aircraft. But, if I'm tailing them, they don't fire at me at all.

I tried it in Quick Combat (me in a Zero, behind 8 TBD-1 Devastators), as well as an AI anti-ship mission (with enemy TBD-1 Devastators bombing a carrier), but had the same results. BTW, I have a separate converted AI TBD-1 Devastator that is player flyable, and it indeed has a shootable tail gun that I can shoot, so I know that the stock aircraft has a tail gun.

Is this a bug that I've never noticed in the game before, or am I missing something here?

[Klein]

Hello Rich
you could perhaps in the dp file exchange two values:
gunstation.1=0,57,1,0.08,839,2,0.01,500,2,40,1d1*1 4,0,1,-2.55,0,0,180,60,-60,80,-10,1.6
exchange 60 and -60, that does:
gunstation.1=0,57,1,0.08,839,2,0.01,500,2,40,1d1*1 4,0,1,-2.55,0,0,180,-60,60,80,-10,1.6

I didn't test the result, but if you want to give it a chance...

Cheers
Martin

[RichNagel]

MANY THANKS for that, it works perfectly!

I did a LOT of Googling, and couldn't find a single mention of this problem ANYWHERE. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned this issue before (?).

[skylane]

That's an interesting find, Martin. I see the same problem with various divebombers like the SBD and the Val. I suppose that this works with them also, I'll give it a try.

[RichNagel]

That's an interesting find, Martin. I see the same problem with various divebombers like the SBD and the Val. I suppose that this works with them also, I'll give it a try.

I don't remember about the SBD (I'll have to test that one), but the Val AIs definitely shoot their tail guns... I get shot up from them all the time LOL.

[rohan]

The current version of the DP file from the Overhaul SBD by The B-24 Guy contains this text –
; Tail Gun
gunstation.2=0,57,2,0.08,839,2,0.01,500,2,40,1d1*1 4,0,0.879001,-2.82,-10,0,179,-60,60,140,0,0.35

Perhaps this means that the tail gunner does work as it should for use as an AI plane – just as Klein posted for the TBD above. And like Klein, I have not tested this.

A word of caution though – I downloaded my file on 17 April 2013 and I think that earlier versions of this file may not have included this fix.