In our latest update, we introduced some behavioural changes to aircraft as part of some more robust changes to our code. For years, when an airbase is destroyed, planes stationed at that base would turn into transport trucks, which would allow players to move them to other airports via land travelling. This has now changed and we have two different kinds of behaviours depending on where the planes are when their base is destroyed:
1. If the planes are in the airport at the time, they will fly into the air and automatically relocate to the closest airport, only if there is an airport in range. If there is no airport in range, then they are destroyed.
2. If the planes are in the air, they will relocate to the closest airport that is within their range and if they have enough fuel remaining to make the trip. Ferry range will be considered if they are patrolling, but attack range will be considered if they were attacking at the time. Otherwise, the planes will crash out of the air.
An important part of this is that the calculated range will be different for each different unit type in your stack. So let’s take an example. You have a stack of 3 strike fighters and 4 attack helicopters. When one of the above conditions happens, the stack will split into two: one stack of fighters and one stack of helicopters. The helicopter stack will look for the closest airport in range and the fighter stack will do the same. Therefore, if an airport is outside the range of one of the stacks, that stack will crash but the other stack will make it to the airport.
Remember that all this also depends on whether the planes have enough fuel left to make the trip if they are already in the air.
1. If the planes are in the airport at the time, they will fly into the air and automatically relocate to the closest airport, only if there is an airport in range. If there is no airport in range, then they are destroyed.
2. If the planes are in the air, they will relocate to the closest airport that is within their range and if they have enough fuel remaining to make the trip. Ferry range will be considered if they are patrolling, but attack range will be considered if they were attacking at the time. Otherwise, the planes will crash out of the air.
An important part of this is that the calculated range will be different for each different unit type in your stack. So let’s take an example. You have a stack of 3 strike fighters and 4 attack helicopters. When one of the above conditions happens, the stack will split into two: one stack of fighters and one stack of helicopters. The helicopter stack will look for the closest airport in range and the fighter stack will do the same. Therefore, if an airport is outside the range of one of the stacks, that stack will crash but the other stack will make it to the airport.
Remember that all this also depends on whether the planes have enough fuel left to make the trip if they are already in the air.