Ideas for the next patches...

[Avimimus]

I thought I'd add a mention of one of my most desired features (for the past 15 years): A difficulty option for 'realistic morale' - which if selected would increase the chance of enemies attempting to disengage.

Example:
If an aircraft gets separated (e.g. no allied aircraft within 1000 metres) there would be a certain probability of the AI 'returning to base'.

Feasibility:
The AI already does a check for allied aircraft within 8000 metres before calling for help... so there is an ability to do this already programmed.

One could get more elaborate of course - considering the AI level, conducting a comparison of the number of allied and enemy aircraft, considering the relative ranges. However, I think the basic check for whether there are any allied aircraft nearby would do a good job.

An alternative (or additional) approach:

One could also add a probability of retreating once the AI has expended a certain amount of ammunition (e.g. a probability of disengaging after 50% ammunition used, and a higher probability of disengaging after 75% ammunition is used). This would increase the chance of the AI making a single pass instead of remaining engaged (as frequently was the case - either to increase chances of survival when bouncing larger formations - or simply because the attacking fighter lost track of its target and couldn't find it again).

There are many other minor features (e.g. incorporating gun jams for the Mk-108, MG-FF etc.) - however, this basic feature for making the AI be sometimes less aggressive is the thing I keep coming back to as the one feature that would most increase realism.