markrendl wrote:
Chivalry was not uniformly practiced, nor respected, during WW I, Hollywood depictions not withstanding. Some of the aces were rather notorious, in fact, for strafing downed pilots, and chasing crippled planes was also quite common.
Living to fight another day, is a key concept in all forms of warfare. Expecting a player to stick around when practically dead and/or outnumbered, but not yet being low enough on fuel to escape with honor, is strategically unsound.
Those who feel strongly about the issue, could always opt to form squadrons with those who feel the same to limit the odds of this happening.
Your mileage may vary,
markrendl Etiquette or not the "honor" rule is written somewhat poorly and very unrealistically. Expecting a single plane to stick around 1 against 4 for the sake of honor is frankly ridiculous. Saving your plane and your life are much more honorable to your side than is making sure you burn up all of your fuel before heading home.
I also agree with Mark above where honor seems to be in the eyes of the beholders. Many aces like to make other pilots burn.
One note on retiring off the wrong side, the times when I have was because of a stuck rudder or occasionally an irresponsible move sequence under those conditions. Its sad that people would do this on purpose instead of taking a chance getting shot but I would not penalize those forced to to get at those who would do it in a manner of cowardice. |