Enjoying a beautiful sunset was a nice prize for surviving a contentious landing that involved dodging trees and colliding with large rocks. Standing on top of a hill near a backcountry airstrip in the wilderness, as night fell, I began to wonder if it would be safe enough to fly home. Being out in such a remote area with no light sources and only the bare essential instruments in my aircraft, I opted to go check out a cabin nearby for shelter through the night. Maybe there were supplies in the cabin to recover some health I lost on that rough landing. GroundFall is a still in development bush flight simulator created by Snow Creature, a solo indie developer. This title caught my eye some time ago with screenshots of its now old initial build. The pictures showed a Piper Cub flying low over treetops or landed in a small clearing in the wilderness and campfires, tents, and radios being used deep in the forest. With no aircraft insight in the screenshots that showed campfires and wildfires, I began searching for information. Just recently, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the multiplayer test demo for this title by the developer. Though this game is still obviously in development, I wanted to bring attention to it because of the experience I've been having. The initial pitch for GroundFall has the player flying as a park ranger that operates off the southwestern coast of Alaska, USA. Players could be flying low-altitude patrols on the lookout for small wildfires, finding lost hikers, and flying out of remote or unprepared airstrips. With only the trusty Piper Cub as your primary means of transportation, keeping the aircraft in one piece is just as important as keeping yourself unharmed. While flight is an integral part of this title, there is also a focus on survival game elements that affect both the player and the aircraft. The avatars that players create can lose health by being injured from bad landings, extreme weather conditions, and steep falls, for example. In comparison, the aircraft can also be heavily damaged with the fuselage being banged up or the wings being snapped off by trees. There are also plans to include aircraft customizations and other aircraft tuning like adjusting tire pressure. Flight-wise, the model has received minor adjustments over the course of the multiplayer test demo. The instruments and cockpit isn't anything to write home about yet but are functional. The rough backcountry airstrips are the most significant challenge to flying thus far. Often with very short final approaches because of trees or terrain, trying to find the right approach angle and using just enough flaps to not float over half the airstrip. With momentum behind the aircraft and its lightweight airframe, panic braking can result in a propeller strike with the ground or a flat-out front flip that immediately ruins the plane. Even in the seemingly “basic” form of flight GroundFall is presenting, it’s the details in landing and taking off that raise the stakes. While in flight, the limitations of the aircraft are almost immediately apparent. Simply going full throttle and throwing the aircraft into the sky without a care in the world isn’t the wisest option. Though well suited for bush flying, the aircraft’s engine is not powerful enough to make up for poor bank angle choice or heavy handed low speed maneuvers. Being able to land and step out of the aircraft is an eye-catching feature in its open world and proposed “endless world” environments. I’ve made it a point to land at an airfield and wander around the multiplayer demo map to see how feasible it is this early in development. Walking through the forest and foothills while the day and night cycles, the rains come and go, and the sounds of animals in the wilderness change depending on the time of day does add to what I would think bush flying is actually like. Getting lost in the forest, running out of fuel, or going down in a remote area could be fatal. If the inclusion of wildlife, the need for shelter, and in the field aircraft maintenance is introduced as planned, this game may become an interesting entry into the bush flying focused flight simmer’s library. Of course, things are still in development. Bugs are still being found and corrected, and more features are gradually being introduced and refined. The developer, Snow Creature, continues to interact with the testers, and I feel as though GroundFall does have something going for it even this early in its development. This is a title that I will be keeping my eye on while enjoying the small multiplayer testing sessions along the way. Keep up with the changes and potential future demos for GroundFall yourself by following the game on Steam and joining the official Discord server. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

My fellow virtual aviators, I write this baring my soul to admit something to you all. I've had the DCS World Heatblur F-14B for three months and still am not familiar with it enough to fly in combat. My interest is there, surely, but the feeling of necessity is missing. I still find myself flying and fighting in the same multirole maestro that was overwhelmingly suggested to me almost a year ago. As I approach a year of being "stung" by the F/A-18C Lot 20, the reality of a newcomer's decision to start with this aircraft is settling in. Its ability to easily do everything has hindered me from trying anything else. And many others have fallen into the same position I am in. Years before I took to the skies of Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS), I was well aware of what it was. It is that combat flight simulator with video clips, screenshots, and immense guides that has long proliferated sim and non-sim flight groups and blogs for over a decade. But to those from the outside looking in, DCS is just as intimidating as it is impressive. With so many aircraft to choose from, a beginner can easily make a mistake on day one. Purchasing an aircraft that is not the best fit for them could sour their first experience with DCS and may result in them never coming back. In July 2020, I watched dozens of videos from content creators, read forum threads, and asked others I knew that frequently flew in this sim for their suggestions on what my first module should be. After all those conversations, the #1 recommended or mentioned aircraft was the F/A-18C Hornet by Eagle Dynamics. This aircraft does everything a newcomer would expect of a modern fixed-wing combat aircraft. Whether it's from movies, documentaries, or other flight games and simulators, there's a certain level of technology that the general public visualizes when "fighter jets" come to mind. In DCS, the Hornet fits this perfectly. This 4th generation multirole aircraft can operate from aircraft carriers or airfields, aerial refuel, and has a built-in self-protection jammer. Its fly-by-wire system keeps the plane from turning in a way that could damage itself, and sturdy landing gear allows for rough landings. Vital information about the aircraft in flight, systems management, and weapons deployment is easily accessible in three information displays and a full HUD. That is further enhanced with a helmet-mounted display that increases situational awareness and presents access to off-boresight weapons launch. Its selection of munitions is one of the most diverse in DCS, enabling the Hornet to effectively handle multiple types of targets in a single mission. The following picture shows a loadout that's inadvisable to actually use in combat but demonstrates its flexibility. That's anti-ship attack, SEAD, laser-guided bombs, medium-range glide bombs, a targeting pod, an AMRAAM, two IR missiles, and a centerline fuel tank. It's obvious to me why the F/A-18C keeps becoming the go-to module for people giving DCS a first try. With the purchase of a single full-fidelity simulated aircraft, you can experience what seems like everything DCS has to offer. Anyone that flies in online multiplayer servers will tell you that the Hornet is the most prolific aircraft. I've heard and read remarks against the Hornet that include "it handholds pilots," "noob plane," "you're not actually flying," and some other strongly worded opinions. Many of these responses were from DCS players with dozens or hundreds of hours that fly just about every aircraft available. Thinking back, what they were trying to express is similar to what I understand now, but they didn't explain it in the best of ways. It's not that the DCS World version of the F/A-18C is some sort of simplified aircraft explicitly made for novices. Because it is so easy to learn and flexible enough to tackle any mission, newcomers often never bother to fly anything else. After 9 months of playing DCS, my perspective of this simulator has gradually changed. Rather than viewing it as a place to fly a simulated combat aircraft, you gradually come to the understanding that each aircraft in itself is a simulation. When you really think about it, the magic of DCS is that multiple aircraft are just as intricate or nearly as capable as the jack of all trades F/A-18C. That is to say, the characteristics between aircraft are so notably different that even flying the same sortie using other aircraft changes the overall experience of that sortie. There are comparable aircraft to the F/A-18C in terms of weapons capabilities and how advanced their aircraft systems are. Like the F-16C or JF-17. Even intentionally choosing aircraft wildly different in design philosophy from the Hornet like the AJS-37 Viggen or opting for the raw power of the F-14B Tomcat rekindles interest in learning new airplanes and truly seeing DCS in the various lenses (or, in this case, canopies) it has to offer. Now, this all sounds like common sense to anyone that regularly flies in this simulator. Still, again, for the budding DCS World pilots that started with the complete package the Hornet provides, this isn't as apparent. And bluntly, it's not really something you even care about when you feel as though you already have everything you need. To those who find themselves as dedicated "Hornet mains" from day one, I'd say that if they've taken the time to become proficient with a single aircraft, they should be confident that they are more than capable of learning everything else DCS has to offer. Spread your wings and continue challenging yourselves, fellow "Bug" pilots! There is so much more to see! About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

When your aircraft is carrying an excess of 60 or more missiles while casually afterburning well above Mach 2, you know it's flight arcade time. A genre defined by massive battles, constant dogfights, a heroic pilot that saves the day (you!), and most importantly, every flavor of missile possible. While Project Wingman unquestionably adheres to this, there's a single aircraft in this game's roster that goes against the grain. From the start, Project Wingman (December 1st, 2020) was designed as a love letter to the over-the-top flight arcade games of the 1990s and 2000s. Those who remember those times, names like HAWX, Air Force Delta, and Ace Combat come to mind. Developed by self-proclaimed life-long Ace Combat fans, Project Wingman looks right at home in the flight arcade genre. Alongside the usual multipurpose short-range missiles that are effective against anything that flies, sails or drives, there's a rather generous amount of special/secondary weapons. Players are encouraged to play through the game, unlocking the next best aircraft to aid in their progress. Each aircraft becoming more advanced in performance and the quantity and type of weapons they can equip. It's the standard formula. The prize for clearing the single-player campaign is often a real or fictional type of "super aircraft." The top-tier aircraft have the best flight performance, highest weapons capacity and often come equipped with devastating one-of-a-kind weapons. Players that beat the game are free to use these super aircraft to replay the campaign or tackle other game modes. While Project Wingman's all-around top "super plane" is the titular named PW-Mk.I, a second super plane does exist. Though, it may be better to view it as more of a "challenge aircraft." SP-34R or "Spear" is one of three aircraft created by Aerospace Engineer tier backers from the Project Wingman Kickstarter campaign. Designed by Discord user Diabolus#6666 alongside developer Sector D2, in-game, it is referred to as an Icarus Experimental Ballistic Airframe created by Icarus Armories - a fictional company within the distant post-apocalyptic Earth future used as the game's setting. SP-34R appears to be roughly around the size of an F/C-16 (aka F-16C) when viewing it in the in-game hangar. When reaching supersonic flight, a significant portion of its wings, horizontal stabilizers, and canards retract into the aircraft rather than sweep. The aircraft shifts into a clipped canard delta wing configuration, which relies on thrust vectoring for pitch and roll inputs while in excess of Mach 1. Its ultimate defense and offense are speed and maneuverability, coming equipped with either an angle of attack limiter release or countermeasures. This is further emphasized by its weapon selection. The aircraft does not carry any missiles and instead opts for five different types of guns: GUN: The standard gun carries 12,000 rounds with a high rate of fire. CGP: Canister Gun Pod. A shotgun-like pair of cannons that spread shells over a small area. 320 rounds. MGP-1: Medium Gun Pod. 1200 rounds. A slightly lower rate of fire than the GUN with higher damage output. HDP: Heavy Gun Pod. 320 rounds. The slowest rate of fire with the highest damage output. RG: Rail Gun. 30 rounds. The most destructive weapon on the aircraft integrated into the airframe. Has the longest range. Capable of stripping a warship or reinforced land target of defenses in a single shot. On a battlefield in which guided munitions from land, sea, and air make up at least half of the weapons deployed, players flying Spear choose to hinder themselves in that sense. With no guided weapons on board, the player must use speed, maneuverability, and sound judgment to survive. Slashing attacks are especially effective, fitting of an aircraft named "Spear." The sheer volume of firepower it can deploy within seconds is immensely destructive. Firing both the main gun and any secondary gun pods together can even shred large warships. The boss battle-style dogfights against Ace pilots can be over within minutes if a competent pilot can capitalize on a chance to bring all their cannons onto target. The rail gun is an exception to this aircraft's need to get in close and is the most suitable weapon for destroying or disabling formidable enemies at safe distances. So long as the pilot has highly accurate control of their aircraft to aim the weapon. The standard SP-34R combat sortie includes flying at dangerously high speeds and rapidly changing altitudes with a high volume of incoming fire at almost all times. With no guided weaponry on board, only the pilot's skill and control over the aircraft will be the deciding factor in every sortie. This design ignoring the variety of secondary air-to-ground and air-to-air ordinance available in Project Wingman is unexpected. It's a type of flying reserved for World War II or Korean War-era aircraft being applied to a futuristic, presumably 5th or 6th generation fighter. But it also feels like a nod to a vein of the flight arcade community, which prides itself on guns-only campaign runs as a demonstration of masterful piloting even in the face of the overwhelming enemy force. This aircraft is truly for those seeking a new challenge after completing the campaign. In the past close-range air combat has been described as a knife fight in a phone booth. I doubt anyone was expecting a SP-34R to come flying through the window. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Following our article about how genuinely fun the co-op gameplay of Sky Rogue is, we reached out to the developers behind the game for an interview. Wanting to delve deeper into this visually unique flight arcade game, we made contact with Kenny Backus from Fractal Phase, the developer that created Sky Rogue. Thank you for this interview and thanks to the Fractal Phase team for creating Sky Rogue. Can you introduce the members of the dev team? Hello! I'm Kenny Backus, the main developer of Sky Rogue. Charles Blanchard did the artwork and Pete Lepley (via The Otherworld Agency) did the music. I'm the only developer at the moment though, so all of the following answers are going to be from my perspective. Is Sky Rogue the first game that you've worked on? When I made the very first prototype for Sky Rogue in 2013 I had already been working in the games industry as a programmer since 2008 working on games like Age of Conan, The Secret World, and Far Cry 4. I made about 20 or so small games on my own and one medium-sized one called SWOOOORDS! before Sky Rogue. I've since made several small games such as MEKA-ON!, Weapons, Inc, and Aero Cup, which along with many other small games can be found on itch.io. However, it was the first commercial game I made outside of being employed in another studio. For the first year of its life it was pay-what-you-want as I was just getting comfortable asking for money and started figuring out how taxes and incorporation works. What was the original concept for the game? Is the full game completely different from the original idea? The original concept was to be a "rougelike flight simulator" and I don't think that's changed much at all. The only changes have been in the details of how I approached that concept. I think the most major deviation from the original idea was that I decided to make it more like a "dungeon in the sky" where you fly short open-ended missions one island at a time, because the original plan was to make it an open world with AI commanders generating missions and keeping track of industrial assets which would affect what aircraft you had and what aircraft would get sent out against you. Despite how exciting that might sound, my years of experience told me to scope down from that so that I could manage to actually release the game and release something that wasn't a buggy mess. Is it true that the prototype version of Sky Rogue was designed in 2013 in a single week? Yes, it was a really simple arcade flight sim with only one aircraft (called "aero" in-universe), guided missiles, and infinite waves of enemies. Here's a video of it: An interesting aspect about the game is that there isn’t really a story or narrative that drives players forward, but there are mentions of organizations and states in the Aeropedia entries for certain aircraft and buildings. Is there a hidden story? The game was intended to be story-light from the beginning because I thought a lot of air combat games included storylines that weren't actually any good and often made the game a bit worse as it got in the way of the gameplay. Since the game was a roguelike, we avoided a story-driven campaign mode (though now we have incredible games like Hades to show us how a roguelike can be story-driven). We made content for the game and wrote the Aeropedia entries to provide a narrative context for it, I was inspired by Dark Souls to do that. The context is that you're playing in a near-future world where the icecaps have melted (thus, all of the islands) and the large corporations mentioned in the entries basically control governments and their militaries instead of the other way around. These nations are trying to capture and control what resources they can, but it's kind of a rigged game of infinite warfare. You'll notice that there are still oil rigs in existence, so no one's really learned the lessons about fossil fuels despite being in the midst of climate change. However, practically all warfare takes place via aircraft now, which is convenient for making a flight simulator but also has some inspiration behind it. I think a lot of people see airstrikes as 'stuff fighting stuff' rather than something that kills humans, so it's not nearly as controversial as putting boots on the ground to do similar things. You can "send a message" with a few bombs, but everyone understands sending troops in is a lot more than "sending a message". Sky Rogue sits comfortably in this perspective, you are in the middle of a conflict where the humans involved are literally invisible. When I was a kid growing up in the 90s I watched a lot of military aircraft documentaries like "Wings" on the Discovery Channel. As an adult, I notice something that flew over my head as a kid: when these documentaries talked about the aircraft they avoided talking about the actual role of these aircraft as killing machines, as weapons we should really avoid using at all costs, and focused on their really fascinating technical details, talking about them as sort of engineering problems to solve. They are machines designed to fight other machines, or to destroy real estate and capital assets. The description of each aero is generally inspired by this perspective, of the aero you're flying being a tool and not a weapon. So the game pretty clearly removes a lot of the human element just like that perspective does, and doesn't want to acknowledge the fact that you're flying a killing machine and there are people just like you on the enemy side and on the sidelines as civilians. If I had made a more explicit storyline I probably would have leaned into that more, which is what some of the Ace Combat games have been doing where both sides get completely wrecked and the war is a lose-lose situation orchestrated by a few sociopaths at the top. It's kind of dark, and wouldn't really match the aesthetic of the game, so it would have been pretty difficult. Anyways about the word "aero", I wanted to use a term that had the same feeling as " 'mech " from Battletech, it was an abbreviation which sounded futuristic, reminding you that you're not in the real world, and like something invented inside the game universe by the people actually using these machines. I came pretty quickly to "aero" which is an abbreviation of "aerodyne" which itself is a jargon-y term meaning "heavier-than-air aircraft". I would have never guessed this story setting! I’m surprised. But, by sidestepping the story you’ve certainly avoided weighing down the gameplay. Thinking about it from this point of view, it seems like a factor in Sky Rogue’s easy to pick up and play feeling. Was the game designed to be played in short sessions? The game is definitely designed that way. I don't know if I can really explain why, it just seems like the most natural option. There's probably hesitancy among players in general to even start your game in the first place if it takes awhile to start up and get to the actual "game" part. Your perspective of the Aeros shows up well in the game. It’s natural to just focus on their cool designs and think of how you can use them to defeat the opposing forces. Some of them have memorable designs that even include strategic bombers. Are there any Aeros in particular you think people should try out? The Schwalbe is one of my favourites because it is very maneuverable and fast but is limited in all other aspects, so it really forces you to not take much damage and only use a few basic weapons. The Monarch (can be unlocked after you beat the game) controls in a really weird way because it's acceleration is absurd, and it also has a pretty cool double swing-wing design, I think it's really fun to fly. The Bronco and Puma are "warbirds", prop aeros which are slow but have really good acceleration and low stall speeds and most notably, double mounts on all their secondary weapons. I think this makes them a bit overpowered but since they were added well after the release of the game I think they help add a different kind of experience. Speaking of the double mounts, I was inspired to do that by the modding community. The way weapons work is that each of your three weapon secondary slots has one mount inside it, while your primary has two. The code is not enforcing this constraint, it just fires as many mounts as exist inside a given slot. Modders figured out they could put as many as they wanted, and end up making very overpowered aeros. I followed the "rule of cool" and didn't consider it a bug, especially since people made some really interesting setups with mounts pointing backwards or a B-17 with "special" mounts where the turrets are, so if you mount a tailgun in your special slot you'll have a B-17 decked out with working turrets. Eventually I decided to try it for myself with the warbirds. The co-op gameplay feels like it is such a crucial part of the experience. Was this a planned part of development since the beginning? It wasn't really planned, I just figured that it would be a pretty exciting feature for a game which design-wise didn't have any issues supporting it. I thought it would be pretty easy in technical terms, but of course that proved to be false over the years as a bunch of co-op only bugs showed up. In the end I of course think it was worth it and a great addition to the game. Sometimes players reach out to me via email or Twitter and tell me they played co-op with their friends or kids, I really appreciate hearing that. While doing research we noticed that mods were supported very early in the project’s life, as early as alpha. What motivated that decision? When I was a kid (teenager?) I bought Half-Life specifically so I could play Counter-Strike, which at the time was a mod for Half-Life. Before that, I played a lot of Team Fortress Classic, which was a Quake mod (or "total conversion" in those days). I was also absolutely obsessed with AirQuake, a Quake mod that turned the game into an action flight simulator not entirely unlike Sky Rogue. I also made a few mods myself, like a Yehat Terminator (from Star Control) for Microsoft Flight Simulator '98, some StarCraft maps lost to time, and helped a bit with a Homeworld mod for Freelancer which fizzled out as many collaborations do. So before I ever made games I was very aware of modding and knew that if I made a game where mods made sense, I would want to support them. Do you have any personal favorite mods? I don't like picking favourites, but I would like to point out the RVR-01 and the other mods themed around shmups, because they include custom weapons that made you really overpowered in an interesting way that completely changes the tempo of the game. It ended up directly inspiring the weapons in the core game you can unlock after beating the game. I wanted to add that kind of super fast, shmup-like experience to the game but in a way that doesn't affect the original game, so it's given as a sort of motivation to keep playing, the reward is a new way of playing the game. Other than that, I really like the Swordfish II from Cowboy Bebop, simply because I really like Cowboy Bebop, as well as the Star Fox mod. The Ikea table and Geo Metro mods are also really fun since they inject some humour into the game. I also appreciate these mods because they were really visible and I think helped bring more people to the game. However, I also like the original mods a lot, like the FA-27D Longbow, or Marauder, because they showed how people could copy our style and do unique things with it that weren't attached to a particular franchise or IP. To be honest, though, I like every single mod anyone's created because it means the game we created inspired them to create something in turn. At what point did Fractal Phase start considering a game console release? Was this the goal from the beginning? Then Richard Duck at Nintendo, who had been following the game, reached out in an email and invited us to make the game for the Switch back in 2017.. Since it was the launch year of the console, and it was obvious from the start that it was a huge success, we of course wanted in on it and it was an incredibly good idea in retrospect. The game already had gamepad controls and there's nothing in the design or menus that required mouse controls, so it was already oriented towards console play even if that wasn't an objective. The game was still on Steam Early Access at the time so I wanted to exit Early Access and launch 1.0 before going onto the Switch, so it was great motivation to get that squared away rather than let EA continue indefinitely. Sky Rogue definitely feels like it's best played with KBM or gamepads, but the Steam version of the game can also support flight sticks. Was this something players requested during development? People have definitely requested flight stick support. As a flight sim it makes perfect sense for there to be support, and thankfully because I am using a third-party input library called Rewired, most flight sticks are natively supported. There were actually two shows here in Toronto where I demoed it with a flight stick, at Toronto Comic Arts Festival Comics x Games and the CNE (Canadian National Expo) Gaming Garage. It definitely got some attention. The motion controls on the Nintendo Switch acting as a type of Hands-on Throttle and Stick flight system was an interesting addition. Was this control scheme hard to develop on the Switch? It definitely took some extra effort and tweaking, but it was a lot easier than I expected. The inputs that the gyroscopes on the Joy-Cons provide are really clean, I was expecting to have to smooth out some noise but I never had to. Are you working on any new titles or are you a member of a game studio at this time? I'm currently working full-time for myself (Fractal Phase) on a new unannounced title. I only started doing it a little over a year ago, for the vast majority of Sky Rogue's development I was working for other studios and making Sky Rogue in my spare time. Thanks for taking time to do this interview. I’ve become a big fan of Sky Rogue and continue to play it with many of my friends because it is so easy to access and share with others. About the Interviewer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Back in 2011, the announcement of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (ACAH) shook up the Ace Combat series in a way that impacted it deeply. A significant part of the attempted reboot was bringing the series to the Earth we currently live on. Giving up the fictional world of Strangereal for the more grounded real world, the back story of the new characters and new game also found their roots in conflicts from the past. Of the various media created to support this change, a prequel novel titled "The Last Ace" was authored by Jim DeFelice. Though this novel prominently features the future protagonist of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon as its main character, the title refers to a problematic, veteran pilot the future protagonist once flew into battle with. As mentioned in a previous article about this novel, during a test flight of a modified F-22A nicknamed "Righteous," United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel William "Brass" Bishop found his mind wandering back to his past combat experiences. Briefly recalling his actions in the Second Gulf War (2003) and the military intervention in Libya (2011), his mind settled on his first combat sorties in his military career. Following a mix of skilled flying during training and knowing the right people in the right places, the then lieutenant Bishop was transferred to a squadron that was about to see combat. Bishop's squadron participated in Operation Deliberate Force (1992-1995), a sustained air campaign conducted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization supporting United Nations Peacekeepers intervening in the Bosnian War (Encyclopædia Britannica). Their sorties consisted of kill-box assignments and close air support at the regulation of the UN against military units of the Army of Republika Srpska (ARS) – described in the novel as "the rump Yugoslavia force threatening the UN-controlled area of Bosnia." The young Lieutenant Bishop flew a General Dynamics F-16 under the command of his squadron leader, Lt. Colonel James "Skull" Scranton. Often only referred to as Skull, he had flown during the Vietnam War piloting F-105 Thunderchiefs for the United States Air Force out of Thailand. When Skull left Vietnam, he had three confirmed aerial victories. Bishop remembered him as a "hell of a pilot," "an old school SOB," "hard ass," and someone he regarded as one of the greatest pilots. It was known that Skull would not only be hard on his pilots but even to the maintainers and the rest of the ground crew. Skull preferred to have the new guy, Bishop, fly as his wingman. Partly to chide Bishop and push him in the old-fashioned method of pressuring someone in every way possible to bring out their best performance. As Bishop recalled, despite the abuse, Skull "[...]was a good teacher: watch what he did, and you couldn't help but learn." As frustrating as Bishop thought his cold demeanor, long silences, and short responses could be, that type of skill and instinct was something special the legendary dogfighters of both world wars once had. For the most part, the story of The Last Ace remains within historical facts in all but one area—aerial combat. In Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, the primary adversary to the future Colonel William Bishop is a former-ace pilot of the Russian Federation with his own ties to the Bosnian War. It was somewhat of an open secret that Russian pilots flew Yugoslavian-owned combat aircraft against UN and NATO forces. This information was hidden from the world to prevent a potential third World War in Europe. In the novel, all of this information was deemed highly classified and remained hidden even decades later. The first air combat encounter came during a search and destroy mission at an airfield. While awaiting clearance to attack a group of Mil Mi-24 Hinds, the two-ship F-16 flight of Skull and Bishop were ambushed by a flight of four MiG-29 Fulcrums. With the Fulcrums flying low, fast, and during a rotation between AWACS aircraft on station in the area, they were able to come within 30 miles of the F-16s before being detected. With no AIM-120 AMRAAMs on their aircraft, the F-16s were at a disadvantage. The ensuing air battle saw Skull taking Bishop through a sharp dive towards the ground to vertically notch incoming R-27R semi-active air-to-air missiles from the Fulcrums. Predicting where the Fulcrums would attempt to flee from after their attack failed, the F-16s throttled up during their dive to maintain speed and energy as they transitioned to pursue the now fleeing MiG-29s, which had lost speed during their course change to leave the area. As Skull and Bishop caught up to the first pair of MiG-29s, coming just into maximum AIM-9 Sidewinder range, Skull advised Bishop to wait for the optimal missile shot, saying, "be patient[...] make every second a lifetime." Seconds later, both F-16s fired scoring kills. Though Skull immediately committed onto the second pair of fleeing Fulcrums despite being in a dangerously low fuel state, that engagement yielded no aerial victories. While Bishop personally questioned the actions of Skull putting himself in danger to score the fifth kill, he never brought it up publicly. A week and a half after the first air battle, Wolf flight had just completed an airstrike when it was tasked with shooting down a pair of ARS-controlled Mi-24 Hinds. After dispatching both helicopters, Wolf flight was informed that a four-ship of MiG-29s were lifting off from an airfield within their vicinity, but they were of no threat. Regardless, Skull ordered the second half of the flight to return to base. Bishop, inquiring about the plan was, was told to follow Skull, and the two began pursuit of the Fulcrums despite only having a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinders per aircraft. Without tasking from the AWACS to do so, Skull was advised that a pair of F-15 Eagles were being vectored into the area to engage the Fulcrums. Skull continued pursuit, declaring that he was attempting to ensure the Fulcrums would not attack other allied forces until the F-15s arrived. With such a significant distance between both groups of aircraft - at a maximum of 50 miles apart at the start of the engagement -, it was unrealistic for the F-16s to close distance to utilize their AIM-9s before they ran out of fuel. However, as the pair of F-16s gradually closed distance, the pressure applied by their presence forced the flight of MiGs to begin separating their formation. A lone MiG-29 aggressively changed course at low altitude and turned to engage Skull and Bishop. The pilot either being inexperienced in air combat or eager to gain a kill of their own. Hoping this would happen, Skull pressed the engagement with the single Fulcrum noting that the pilot fired an R-27R outside of its launch parameters. Commenting on the MiG pilot being "hyped on adrenaline," Skull fired an AIM-9 well outside of its effective range in a head-on approach to the MiG. This scared the pilot and forced them to evade and lose even more speed. Skull rapidly gained altitude as the MiG pilot completed their evasive maneuvers, predicting that the Fulcrum pilot would lose sight of him and gain altitude to spot Skull's aircraft easier. The instinctual flying skills of Skull already had him place high and behind the confused and climbing MiG-29 even before it began its ascent. Though the Fulcrum eventually spotted the F-16, an attempt to dive to the ground at full afterburner still resulted in Skull's AIM-9 proximity bursting into the Fulcrum, forcing the pilot to eject from losing control while in a rapid dive. Scoring his fifth kill and becoming the first American ace since the Vietnam war, the celebration was stifled by the arrival of the rest of the fallen MiG-29's flight. Though they managed to survive the air battle long enough for friendly F-15s to begin their attack, both F-16s were considerably damaged. In particular, Skull's F-16 was heavily damaged by cannon fire from an especially skilled MiG-29 pilot. With his aircraft in shambles and unable to return to base, Skull attempted to eject from the aircraft multiple times but could not due to battle damage. Skull told Bishop to shoot the canopy of his damaged aircraft as his last chance to escape alive. After two sweat-drenched attempts, Bishop was successful in destroying the canopy and enabling Skull's ejection. After confirming the ejection and coordinating the arrival of a search and rescue helicopter, Skull passed words of respect and thankfulness to Bishop, thanking him for his support and telling him that he could finally call Skull "an Ace". As Bishop departed the area to meet up with a tanker aircraft, the rescue helicopter was ambushed by ARS infantry with a shoulder launcher surface-to-air missile. The helicopter was destroyed, killing all on board. Decades later, the older Colonel William Bishop deliberated an offer to lead a NATO-led task force against an African insurgency in 2015. Eventually deciding to take the assignment, his recollection of Skull and his ambitions to be a fighter pilot aided him in this decision. While Bishop thought about whether or not he had achieved his goal in life as a test pilot, he reasoned that Skull achieved his life goal, and it inspired him to do the same: to become the best pilot in the sky. "[Skull] got his fifth kill. He died happy. Fulfilled. The last ace." -Colonel William "Brass" Bishop This article was written with a copy of the transcript for "The Last Ace," the prequel novel to Ace Combat: Assaults Horizon. We would again like to thank the author for sending us this material to discuss this novel further. About the Author Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

"For novice pilots the concept of energy management is often hard to understand, for a novice glider pilot it is vital to understand." I never thought I'd open an article with a quote from a manual, but page six, paragraph one of the World of Aircraft: Glider Simulator manual, just changed that. For big-name flight simulators that focus on civilian aviation, their most significant appeal is usually the sheer amount of aircraft available and massive gobs of terrain that can be traversed. There is a somewhat expected roster of single-engine, multi-engine, turboprop, and jet aircraft that are expected within their rosters. These aircraft are flown between the capital cities of the world, picture-perfect postcard landscapes, and other faraway lands simulator pilots dream of visiting. But along the way, even with all of that, there can be areas lacking within the flight models or the overall representation of aircraft that are just accepted as a compromise. This is why something more specialized like the simulator I'm discussing today piqued my interest. World of Aircraft: Glider Simulator is the first entry in a new flight simulator series published by Aerosoft, developed by the World of Aircraft Team. There are two notable things to discuss before talking about the actual flying. About World of Aircraft First is the scope and intention of the World of Aircraft (WoA) series. This is explained very clearly in a forum post not included on the sales page. As stated by Mathjis Kok, Head of Support and Community Manager for Aerosoft, WoA is a series of standalone casual flight simulators. These low-cost releases do not require bleeding edge PC specs to run smoothly and aren't built to try and challenge established large-scale flight simulators. Instead of eye-watering visuals taking the lead, the priority is on highly accurate simulation of specific flight models. Each WoA release will come with one or two detailed airports or airfields with a broad terrain area of a minimum of 2500 km². The set of aircraft included with each release will follow some sort of specific subject. This entry focuses on gliders, but agricultural aviation, arctic aviation, para jumping, and floatplanes were also mentioned as ideas. I've got nothing against the big sims like X-Plane, Prepar3D, or Microsoft Flight Simulator, but Aerosoft could be on the inside track of developing small flight simulation experiences that would be perfect for beginners. Practical Manual The second notable item is the aforementioned manual for this sim. The way it is written is a prime example of how to simplify accurate information while providing enough detail for experienced fliers to still find useful. Alongside the standard explanations of its settings and control profiles are concise explanations of aircraft control surfaces, energy management for aircraft with or without an engine, an important section on thermals, and what I would call "practical" descriptions for each aircraft. These descriptions not being an encyclopedic record full of historical and development data but user-friendly information that describes flight characteristics, lists of approved aerobatic maneuvers, towing procedures, general aircraft characteristics, and exact numbers for performance limitations. All while maintaining a casual tone. Glider Simulator World of Aircraft: Glider Simulator can be played with keyboard-mouse, gamepads, flight sticks, or Hands-On Throttle And Stick (HOTAS) configurations. While there are pre-mapped configurations available, I chose the Dev Mode setting to custom map everything in my own way. I was unable to use TrackIR or other forms of headtracking and had a few problems with getting my rudder pedals working correctly, but ultimately this didn't detract from the experience too much. As always, remember to check keybinds and assign control axis before flying. Binding keys for zoom and view onto a gamepad or flight stick still work out just fine. Starting with the aircraft roster, there are six aircraft in total: one dedicated tow aircraft (Pzl-104 Wilga), two gliders (LET L-13 Blaník, ASK 21), and even motorized gliders (H36 Dimona, ASK 21 Mi). Each of them is easy to pick up and learn, thanks to the way training is handled. Useful overlays appear in the cockpits of each aircraft while players participate in three to four lessons per subject. As each lesson gradually removes assistance systems putting more control into the hands of the pilots in training, overlays of the controls indicate ideal settings, flight attitudes, and when to activate certain control surfaces by showing colors, numbers, and guiding arrows as visual aids. While only the Wilga and Blaník are available in training mode and in multiplayer, all aircraft can be flown in single-player Free Flight. Generally, this is going to be the go-to mode for a majority of the flying being done around your personal 2500 km² map that recreates an area around Mannheim, Germany, with basic settings for wind speed, direction, and clouds. The available airports include Herrenteich Airfield (EDEH), a very nice grass airfield with multiple aircraft nearby. The second is Speyer Regional Airport (EDRY), a modern airport that shares space with technology museum Technic Museum Speyer - look for the retired Lufthansa Boeing 747-200 and other aircraft among the buildings. Thus far, I've primarily focused on piloting motorized and unmotorized gliders because of personal preference. Many years ago I logged hours in gliders as a part of an aviation program, and since then, I've always had a special feeling about them. The feel of gliders in World of Aircraft: Glider Simulator was familiar to me. The flight performance of the gliders did not feel too far off from reality. There are few things you'll do in flight simulators that are similar to being towed into the sky. The shaking and rattling followed by immediately having to hold formation behind the tow aircraft from the moment the glider is airborne isn't something most flight simmers haven't done in their sims of choice. Coordinating towed flights with others in multiplayer servers further adds to this experience. Even near-perfect controlled landings feel eerily like low-speed crash landings because of how low profile the landing gear is. The sound design of this sim is great. While in the air, humming propellers and whining jet engines are replaced with calm silence. The telltale sounds of varying wind speed and vibrations of the aircraft are just as important as the flight instruments. Because of how relatively slow gliders fly, efficiently flying with coordinated turns, realistic bank angles, and keeping track of your angle of attack is necessary to turn your short hops into long-term sightseeing flights or trying out aerobatic maneuvers. Every maneuver must be intentional to get the maximum performance out of each flight. Gaining altitude is accurately done through successful energy management and the all-important use of thermals. For those that don't know, thermals are columns of rising air formed on the ground by the warming of the earth's surface by sunlight. Gliders can utilize thermals to gain altitude and extend their flight time. The representation of thermals was my biggest concern coming into this sim. More often than not, I'm used to thermals being presented as a type of reliably ever-present source of lift that never moves. This was not the case in WoA: Glider Simulator. The diameter, height, and strength of the thermals have all felt different. More than a few times did I find myself adjusting my turn radius in a bid to continue gaining altitude only for the thermal to unexpectedly dissipate. While circling birds flying in an area can indicate the presence of a thermal, it's no guaranteed ticket to rising thousands of feet into the air. I greatly appreciate this. Whether you're trying to set a new personal altitude record, checking out the landscape full of driving cars and sailing ships, or performing surprisingly robust aerobatics, World of Aircraft: Glider Simulator feels like a good start to a new series. I look forward to the next entry in the WoA series. World of Aircraft could act as a gateway for newcomers to begin their journey into realistic flight simulation and for veterans of the genre to try more specialized types of aviation not prioritized in other simulators. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Something arcade flight games have always had to struggle with is the number of weapons and customizations an aircraft should be allowed to have. It's a fine balance. Too restrictive, and the viability of half the aircraft roster can come into question once end-game aircraft are available. Offering too many choices can allow for so much overlap in performance there's little to no difference between the capabilities of them all after a certain point. Some games have done a better job at this than others, and so far, it seems that Azure Domain is taking a noteworthy approach in this aspect. Azure Domain is a still in development flight game that caught my eye many weeks ago. Initially, what pulled me in was its preliminary story on the Steam store. Humanity is fighting for survival after leaving a dying world behind, nations fighting for a Solar Priestesses and extra-dimensional energy harvested for global extinction. That's a pretty intense setting, to say the least. Gameplay-wise, with Azure Domain still in the pre-alpha phase, there's certainly a lot of room for improvements and adjustments in the future. This is something entirely expected of a title still this early in development, so that's not a black mark against it. Aircraft and weapons are still receiving textures, control schemes are being tweaked and compatibility issues are being addressed, while new content is being created. Refinement will come with time, but something I hope does not change too much is how customization and weapon management are currently implemented. Performance customizations are split into four separate categories: Airframe Modules change the aircraft's flight performance and ability to recharge and maintain a charge for energy weapons. Defense Modules for equipping extra ballistic armor changes to shields to better absorb energy weapon damage and even a threat detection system that temporarily augments aircraft abilities when in danger. Weapon Modules for increasing weapons payloads, changing projectile weapon velocity and firepower, improving laser output, and adjusting bomb timer fuses. Ability, a way to activate a game-changing ability that has a cooldown timer. In the pre-alpha, this is being able to perform mid-mission repairs to armor. Each aircraft has varying amounts of slots for each of these categories, but despite the number of slots, each part's performance enhancement is not game balance breaking. Just putting one part from each category won't convert an aircraft into a super jet. Selecting specific parts in conjunction with particular weapons is the only way to make dedicated builds that favor certain types of combat. This is a welcome change from aircraft modification systems in other games that may have half a dozen maneuverability upgrade parts to be unlocked, but in the end, the final part is so high performance the remaining five are just never used again. Weapons are sorted into three types: bullet, explosive, and laser. These include rapid-firing machine guns, lasers that hit multiple targets at once, guided missiles, unguided rockets, rail guns, and more. There are four classes of hardpoints weapons can be mounted onto: C1 (small), C2 (medium) and C3 (large). The fourth class, Turret, is reserved for Gunship type aircraft. Some weapons, like guided missiles, benefit from being loaded onto larger hardpoints as this enables them to fire missile salvos. The selected weapons can be assigned to fire groups (or just "groups") with specific firing buttons per group. Using mouse wheel scroll while in combat selects the active fire group. For example: In the screenshot above, weapons group 1 has a machine gun pod available on the primary fire button (left click) and pulse laser on the secondary fire button (right-click). Mouse wheel scroll up switches to guided missiles in weapons group 2 which launch with the primary fire button. Aircraft with greater amounts of hardpoints can deploy formidable weapon groups capable of shredding hull sections of airborne capital ships. For example, three machine gun pods backed by a chain laser to destroy fighters or a dedicated close-range weapons group of unguided rockets and scatterguns. It should be noted that any weapons attached to turrets can be fired off-axis from the forward fight path of the aircraft by using free look to aim the turrets at nearby targets manually. The turrets ability to pivot to attack targets also opens up the possibility of broadsiding larger enemies. A consideration in having so much variety is trying to maintain consistent firepower and ensure weapons compatibility within each fire group. For example, assigning an unguided bomb and guided missile on the same firing button would render one of them useless in most situations. Or deploying multiple laser weapons without energy augmentations could drain the aircraft's systems and leave it with reduced performance and defense. It's nice to have to consider the variety of weapons and their functions rather than worry about whether or not the single secondary weapon you can bring would be useful for the entire mission. Within the flight arcade genre, most titles default to either aircraft only carrying a solitary secondary weapon or possibly a pair of secondary weapons with significantly reduced weapon quantity. Though it's still early in development, Azure Domain seems to have found an early strength in its development that could set it apart from others in its genre as it nears release. That's not to say this game has nothing else going for it. Of course, it's easier to check it out for yourself by following the Proud Cipher Media Group, join their Discord to interact with the team directly, and download the pre-alpha for Azure Domain on Steam to get involved. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Digital Combat Simulator World has a broad player base from weekend fliers to professional-style military simulation enthusiasts. As expected of a combat flight sim that emulates blood pumping, G-pulling air combat, there is also a consistent competitive player base. While videos of high profile events like SATAL, SATAC and the Folds of Honor DCS tournament circulate social media groups, these are not the only competitive events that have been run or sponsored. Tactical Air Combat Tournament 21-1 is the newest tournament in the Digital Combat Simulator World competitive community. Running between June and August 2021, TACT is a 6 vs. 6 tournament that is open to new and already established virtual squadrons. The competitive teams that cannot fulfill the 6-player minimum have the option for teams to recruit up to two temporary ("mercenary") pilots to fill the minimum requirement. Not to be confused with an everyday type of player vs. player server setup, this air-to-air only event is forgiving enough to let pilots perform a quick return to base if an internal navigation system error or payload issue arises, but also promotes actively engaging in combat via match structure. For example, once competitors enter the 90 nautical mile combat zone, teams can only either shoot down their opposing side or maintain control of the combat zone with no opposing aircraft within the zone for five minutes. This is taken a step further by requiring pilots to land at the opposing team's airbase, forcing them to fly through their adversaries to land. There are few weapon restrictions, though other specific rules for competitors to follow are related to how electronic countermeasures are modeled in different aircraft, approved attack radar settings, and other known DCS-related quirks and bugs. These are things that veterans of DCS World are aware of and negotiate through conversations in the the TACT 21-1 Discord server. Skyward Flight Media briefly spoke to X-man, one of the primary event organizers, about this event shortly before it began: Hello! We are excited to discuss the competitive side of DCS World with you. Can you tell us about the team behind this event? We are the 64th 'Scorpions' Aggressor Squadron. We formed in May 2019 but many of our members have known each other and flown competitive DCS (and its predecessors LOMAC/Flanker 2.0) for 10+ years. Who are the members of the team running TACT 21-1? Predominantly <64>X-man and <64>Rage. We receive help of course from other 64th members. Is TACT a new event to the DCS competitive scene? Yes. Although it follows a similar format to previous events we have run like SATAC. It is a relatively short PVP event run over 2 months simulating a limited air-to-air skirmish/exercise. Twenty-seven teams have signed up for this event. That's quite a few considering the format is teams of 6 players each. Was this level of turnout expected? Actually no! Many more teams have signed up than expected. It's great to see so many players and teams take an interest in PVP. We have tried to make it more accessible to teams by having a shorter time frame, match rescheduling, relaxed rulesets, and administrative burden, and the use of 'Mercenary' pilots if necessary. How would you describe the teams signing up? Are they veteran competitors? Newly formed teams? Both, of course. It is great to see new squads enter and develop into veterans as they compete. DCS has modules (aircraft) of varying complexity. Not all have clickable cockpits. Why is TACT only allowing high fidelity modules? Whereas before there was little difference between clickable and unclickable modules in terms of actual systems modeling there is now an increasing fidelity gap between the two types of modules. Not only are the high fidelity modules' clickable' but they also have far more realistic systems modeling. This is important for a limited scope PVP event like TACT. We run other events like Op. Meltdown and PG85/PG92 [Persian Gulf' 85/Persian Gulf' 92] where we do have FC3 planes available. On a personal note, I think the writing has been on the wall for a long time regarding FC3. [Eagle Dynamics] can be seen to shift much more attention and development time to high fidelity modules and it seems the lower fidelity stuff will be spun off in a separate game (Modern Air Combat?) How does a competitive DCS mission differ from the usual PVP or PVE mission? I think the rules and schedule are pretty self-explanatory. The difference between PVE/casual server PVP and an event like TACT is that with the former you can quite easily become an Ace in a single session. Kills are easy and relatively cheap. In a focused 6v6 match everything matters and everything counts. In an even matchup, kills are much harder to get and therefore much more valuable. It has been a little over a month since TACT 21-1 started. Now videos of the past matches are being posted on YouTube with VODs available on Twitch for those interested in seeing what DCS competitive level flying looks like. Though there is not an official TACT stream or channel to find all matches, checking the official forum thread will help viewers find the streams they are looking for. Multiple independent streamers have volunteered to stream and commentate on as many matches as they can. With so many different streamers with their own broadcast styles, watching TACT has been interesting so far: Tricker: https://www.twitch.tv/tricky_tricker LowBlow: http://twitch.tv/lowblowttv HerraMisi: https://www.twitch.tv/herramisi TitanFire: https://www.twitch.tv/titanfire_ Maverick: https://www.twitch.tv/104th_maverick Deliverator: https://www.twitch.tv/d3liverator Though Tactical Air Combat Tournament 21-1 is the newest tournament on the scene, the combat and analysis of each match has been both entertaining and educational. The name of this event hints at the possibility of multiple TACT events in the future, which could be beneficial to the competition going forward. Having a consistent and easier to access tournament series like this could help with formation of new competitive teams that go on to challenge other already established tournaments. Take some time to check out TACT 21-1 before it's over. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

As Flight Sim Expo (FSE) 2021 draws near, anticipation for the event continues to build. With many well-known exhibitors, speakers, and sponsors announced, the brief descriptions of events and seminars on the expo's schedule and the recent question and answer live stream seem to be the only things event-goers have to hold them over for now. But this isn't necessarily the case. While Flight Sim Expo 2021 has adapted the event format to include more free and paid online events because of the ongoing impact of COIVD-19 across the globe, parts of FSE 2018 and 2019 were thoroughly recorded in video. For enthusiasts planning to attend this year's expo or people with an interest who want to get a feel for what FSE is, these videos from yesteryear are a good example of what to expect from FSE 2021 in just a few months. While there is plenty of footage of FSE from content creators and media outlets, Flight Sim Expo itself provides many videos directly to viewers around the globe. Available on their YouTube channel are playlists with more than 50 videos from the first and second years of FSE. These include product announcements and interviews with exhibitors live from the expo floor. The length of these videos vary from two minutes to multi-hour presentations - all of them free to view on their channel. Of particular note is the three-part presentation, "Using At-Home Flight Simulation". This presentation was presented by Calum Martin (co-founder of FSElite), Sebastian Knoop-Troullier (FlightX Pilot Experience), and Ethan Hawes (Republic Airlines). These speakers discuss at length the why and how enthusiasts get into flight simulation, how to get into flying online with dozens of other simmers and/or air traffic controllers, and more details about simulation techniques related to briefings, cockpit organization, and flight planning. Explanations of how online flying networks like VATSIM, Pilot Edge, IVAO, EasternHops, and others were also explained. This year's Flight Sim Expo is still on and is still scheduled from September 24th to September 26th, 2021. For people attending for the first time or hearing about this event for the first time this year, one of the easiest ways to see if Flight Sim Expo is for you is watching video directly from the event itself. About the Author Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

In the past few weeks, media of a shiny low poly flight shooter has been particularly eye-catching. 'Aggressor' advertises itself as a Cold War-era focused title that prioritizes air combat and has a proposed aircraft list of unusual composition. Its eyebrow-raising preview screenshots show several unusual aircraft like the XF-107A, YB-35, E-152M, and the Ye-8, for example. Before Aggressor entered early access on July 28th, 2021, Flashpoint Studios, its developer, had released Interceptor II on April 14th, 2018, and a Flight Physics Demo on August 28th, 2020. Each of these releases acting as testbeds for the eventual development of Aggressor. The demo for Aggressor was posted on December 22nd, 2020, on Itch.io, though as of the time of this writing, though the demo no longer represents the current build of the game. After roughly ten months of development, the early access release of the game is now available. That being said, it's important to stress that this is a title at the beginning of its early access phase. Much more needs to be done before it is presented in the form that its developer intends it to be in. Aggressor has launched with two of its three-game modes available in varying degrees. The campaign consists of straightforward missions with easy-to-understand objectives. Split between tutorial, USAF, and USSR, completing these missions gathers more in-game currency for players to purchase more aircraft and weapons. New missions and previously completed missions can be played with any purchased aircraft. While some aircraft do seem unobtainable because of their high cost, this is primarily because of the lack of missions that would yield high credit payouts. Aircraft unlock prices are scaled for full single-player campaigns of dozens of missions. With only six missions currently available for the campaign, even unlocking mid-tier aircraft would be a considerable grind at this time. The same can be said for optional weaponry that is purchased in the hangar. Instant Dogfight mode is the strongest foot forward for Aggressor at this time. The player can set all dimensions of the battle they're about to play. There are seven locations, nine weather presets, time of day settings, altitude spawn height selection, an infinite ammunition option, and side of choice (Blue team or Red team). For the CPU units, the entire aircraft roster thus far is available in this mode, whereas the player is limited to aircraft they have purchased in their inventory. Up to 100 aircraft per team can be spawned, which can result in swirling World War II-style dogfights where avoiding collisions is just as much of a priority as evading incoming enemy fire. Though aerial battles of this scale are more than enough to borderline overload Aggressor and slow the speed of gameplay down to nearly a crawl, even more, moderate-sized engagements of 60 vs. 60 are still as enticing. Furthermore, some of the aircraft matchups possible do allow for some highly unusual engagements. I'm unsure if I'll ever be able to gun down a Mikoyan Ye-8 with a P-51 Mustang while being supported by F-11 Tiger wingmen in any other title at this point. Honestly, at this time, Instant Dogfight seems to represent the overall focus of Aggressor as a whole: multiple short combat engagements that are easy to play back-to-back. Rather than rely on world-building or a complex setting to tie combat segments together, Aggressor is placing the aircraft at its forefront with only a thin slice of information about the objective given to kick off the action. Assuming this does not change later in early access, it could become a title that is known for its quick access to the action. Furthermore, seeing so many location and weather presets backed by time of day changes also demonstrates potential settings for future campaign missions. Dogfights in low visibility conditions were particularly nail biting. This aircraft roster for the beginning of its early access is rather enticing for its inclusion of so many early and mid-Cold War aircraft. Of course, having their exact names and aircraft manufacturers is an entirely different licensing beast that's often better avoided, so here is a near complete list of actual aircraft names with their in-game names in parenthesis: P-51 (Merlin) LA-11 (Claw) P-80 (Comet) Yak-15 (Feather) F-86E Sabre (Scimitar) MiG-15 (Streak) F-86H Sabre (Stream) MiG-17 (Firestreak) F-100 Super Sabre (Superstream) MiG-19 (Thunderball) F-5E Tiger (Tigris) MiG-21 (Spearhead) SU-17 (Gyre) F-101 (Raider) MiG-23 (Werewolf) A4 Skyhawk (Stinger) Su-7 (Critter) F-9 Cougar (Blueray) Su-9 (Grappler) F-11 Tiger (Bolt) F5D Skylancer (Lancer) MiG-29 Fulcrum (Draco) F3H Demon (Greyhound) Sukhoi P-1 (Virtuoso) F-104 Starfighter (Skyrocket) F-20 Tigershark (Tigershark) Mikoyan Ye-8 (Hydra) F-102 Delta Dagger (Dagger) Mikoyan E-152M (Flame) F-16 Viper (Viper) Grumman X-29 (Cutlass) Fictional USSR Eurofighter (Taifun) Keep in mind that this is an arcade flight simulator. While it has a few advanced elements like aircraft damage affecting the flight model, missing aircraft components changing flight characteristics, and realistic amounts of ammunition when infinite ammo is not enabled, the focus is still easy to access action. There are noticeable performance differences between each airframe but do not expect the flight models to be 1:1 to their real-world counterparts. What is especially enjoyable about combat in Aggressor is how frequently air combat relies on energy management and how often turn rates are a deciding factor. This is something that shows up more often in full-fidelity flight simulators or flight sim lites, rather than arcade titles like this one. Aggressor definitely has a way to go to stabilize its current gameplay or add a few key features. There is a learning curve in figuring out how to control aircraft with its default control scheme that is somewhat disorienting at first. Further development of control schemes for keyboard-mouse, gamepads, and flight sticks is needed. A few additions to the user interface would help with situational awareness. Some type of reticle to give a general idea for how far to lead a target would help with ammo preservation in a majority of jet aircraft which do not have high amounts of internal gun ammunition. More clarification on purchasing equipment and loading them onto aircraft would be helpful. Fortunately, the developer behind this game is actively accepting feedback and at work with changes and additions. The benefit of an early access release is further developing the game alongside the players giving their input for changes. Be sure to let Flashpoint Studios know what you think of Aggressor so far, either on Steam, Discord, or Twitter. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

On April 3rd, 2008, the last thing anyone expected from the Tom Clancy brand was a combat focused arcade flight simulator. With well known infantry combat and espionage series like Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell beneath the Tom Clancy name, this was an eye brow raising announcement at the time. When Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. (High Altitude Warfare eXperimental) was released on game consoles and PCs on March 3rd, 2009, its signature game mechanic was the subject of praise and scrutiny by both its fans and media outlets alike. Looking back at this system roughly 12 years later, this some what fantastical video game concept is now the subject of real world military development in 4th and 5th generation fixed wing combat aircraft. The Enhanced Reality System (ERS) is a central part of the gameplay of Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. Both when this game came out and even now over a decade and a half later, ERS is viewed as a function created only for players that are either new to flight games or have very little experience with them. Many of its functions are considered a somewhat “hand holding” level of assistance, but it’s difficult to say that ERS was just a system for unskilled newbies to effortlessly complete combat missions without a challenge. ERS was definitely not some type of easy mode switch that made players invincible, but rather, a mode that provided a wealth of information and more realistic flight control limitations as compared to the mode suggested for more advanced piloting. Enhanced Reality System can be explained by separating it into multiple layers. The flight control layer restricts flight to a more realistic flight profile that people would expect from an arcade flight simulator like this, though it is harder to stall the aircraft because assistance systems are running to help stabilize flight. Furthermore, any damage taken to the aircraft is reduced to a degree, but not to the point where an aircraft can take multiple missile strikes without suffering massive damage. The information layer contains a radar that can be toggled between the onboard aircraft radar and wide area map, Heads Up Display, weapons selection and quantity, current objective information and AI wingman controls. Incoming threats, selected targets and video communications also appear in small video boxes to add visuals to back the on screen text information. The threat layer displays engagement ranges of enemy air defenses or minimum defense ranges of allied units with circles and/or cylinders of various colors showing their detection and engagement areas transposed onto the terrain or airspace. Furthermore, incoming guided missiles are tracked and displayed with red triangles showing their exact position and red arrows indicating the trajectory of the incoming missiles. The final layer, which is the most memorable part of ERS, is the ERS Tunnel. It is a flight path prediction function that can be manually activated by the player. With the press of a button, the Enhanced Reality System calculates flight paths for intercepting enemy aircraft, attacking hard to reach ground targets, outmaneuvering incoming missiles, navigation through difficult terrain and the safest flight paths through even the toughest of air defenses. These flight paths are displayed as triangular shaped gates of various colors, depending on the task selected. Flying through these gates will efficiently take players either to their targets or away from threats. Remaining outside of the projected flight path for too long can result in the path being lost with a new path having to be recalculated. There are some missions within HAWX’s campaign in which activating this system is mandatory to get through certain set pieces of the game’s story, but for the most part activation of this flight path prediction function is completely optional. Furthermore, it is not perfect. Attempting to activate this system too close to the enemy or against highly agile, skilled opposition will cause the ERS to malfunction because it is unable to predict a viable flight path. Simply activating the flight path prediction function does not always guarantee success. This is especially true against incoming missiles, since it is possible for the player to activate the evasive maneuver flight path assistance too late and still be struck by enemy fire. While the Enhanced Reality System certainly provides benefits of stability in flight, damage reduction, clear threat identification and a wealth of possible flight paths to victory, ultimately it still comes down to the player to at least be competent enough to fly through the projected gates at ideal speeds. This is not a type of game mechanic which switches the player to some sort of on rails system that takes complete control from the player and delivers them to the solution while they sit back. The default state of ERS is commonly referred to as “Assistance On”. While it is on, all features and functions mentioned in the previous section are active. Switching an aircraft to “Assistance Off” is advertised as a flight mode reserved for only the most deft pilots willing to take risks for full control of their aircraft. Flying with assistance off is an analog to the concept of disabling a fly by wire system to remove flight control limits applied to an aircraft by its built in systems, allowing pilots to push their aircraft beyond what are deemed as safe limits. In Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. this is portrayed as the ability to perform extreme maneuvers - or as the game refers to it, “drifting”. For reference, present day equivalents would be the angle of attack limiter of Project Wingman and post-stall maneuver system of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. The exchange for this newfound maneuverability is that the in-game point of view defaults to a zoomed out 3rd person view, aircraft radar is hidden, flight path prediction is done away with and the most effective way to evade incoming fire is to outmaneuver them while keeping track of the minimal missile warning cues that appear on screen. Damage reduction is also disabled, meaning that one or two well placed enemy missiles is enough to destroy the player’s aircraft. Frankly, advertising Assistance Off as a type of “true pilot” control scheme is rather inaccurate. Whereas the Enhanced Reality System keeps players within a more believable realm of flight, Assistance Off seemingly throws physics out the window for the sake of a flashy flight style. Modern arcade flight simulators utilizing something similar to ERS Tunnels could be a learning tool for people completely new to the genre, making it easier for them to understand basic combat maneuvering and evasive maneuvering concepts, shortening the amount of time they would need to become comfortable and begin learning more advanced aspects of the game and perhaps of flight in general. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. was successful in implementing this system in a way that was mostly non-intrusive, though again, it was required to complete certain mission sequences. Curiously, despite how forefront the Enhanced Reality System was in the first H.A.W.X. game was, it is noticeably altered and not as frequently seen in Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2. The most high profile changes include the rare usage of the ERS tunnel which was presented to the player only in limited situations. Discussing this subject in 2021 is especially interesting when discussing the Enhanced Reality System in retrospect, as similar concepts have been in development by militaries and aerospace companies around the globe. Of course it was early concepts about the incorporation of augmented reality in current and next generation combat aircraft that inspired what is seen in Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. back in 2009, but seeing real world aircraft in 2021 - like the F-35 Lightning II, Eurofighter Typhoon and the conceptual BAE Tempest - showing off experimental displays that mirror this game is an attention grabbing comparison. For those interested in seeing how concepts of tacti-cool tech from the late 2000s stack up with the bleeding edge technology of the near future, a play through of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. would be a good way to spend an afternoon. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

As this unexpected Star Wars first-person space dogfighter nears one year since its release, the combat style is still firmly within everything you'd expect from a Star Wars title. Throughout my experience of both casually and seriously playing this title, there are times when you genuinely feel like you're a hotshot space pilot flying through settings similar to your most beloved Star Wars movie or TV moments. Taking down starfighters with blasters at point-blank range, skimming across the hulls of massive warships dropping energy bombs, and even the more game-specific elements that involve launching drones to repair allies and target markers to track enemies aren't too far outside of the "Star Wars experience." But, as an atmospheric pilot that's used to beyond visual range engagements being the bread and butter of aerial combat, there's a noticeable lack of BVR combat. To be fair, that's understandable considering that the true-to-screen Star Wars starfighter combat experience is all within visual range (WVR) combat. Even the use of missiles on film is done with the enemy well within sight. Though, there is an auxiliary weapon in Star Wars Squadrons' action that qualifies as medium ranged combat, which can come in handy against the mighty capital ships players must work together to overcome: Torpedoes. The torpedoes within this game are the slowest moving auxiliary weapon and are hopelessly ineffective against enemy starfighters. But the damage they deal is staggering and can completely change the course of a battle, if they can reach their targets. When viewing the Capital Ship Value document, which is a part of the r/CompetitiveSquadrons Community Knowledge Compendium, it's evident that a single craft deploying these weapons is capable of impairing the shields of a battlecruiser or decimating a vital subsystem on a Star Destroyer almost in just a few solid hits. The damage output that could be achieved by two or more players using coordinated attacks or concentrating fire on a single subsystem could be matched by a single player at a somewhat safer distance. The three torpedoes in question that are capable of these debilitating long-range strikes are: Ion Torpedo: deals high damage to shields (24,000 ion damage), capable of knocking down a full power flagship's shield with two hits. Striking a subsystem with these can disable them for a time but will not destroy them. Proton Torpedo: provides the most damage per torpedo (4,000 hull damage), making it capable of destroying a subsystem with two successful hits from these weapons. Piercing Torpedo: a specialized torpedo capable of slipping through enemy shields while still dealing moderate damage (2,000 hull damage) to the hull and subsystems. The natural adversaries of torpedoes are the shields of capital ships, rocket turrets deployed by support craft, interception fire from laser turrets, and blaster fire from keen human-controlled starfighters that are well versed with their onboard sensors to detect them or notice the faint glow they emit while in flight. Whether you're battling against other human pilots or AI bot adversaries, the battlefield is truly alive in the Fleet Battles game modes. Besides the three primary capital ships and roving corvette escorts exchanging laser and missile fire, non-player-controlled starfighters also crisscross the area. This constant activity in the combat zone acts as a type of cover for the torpedoes as they fly towards their targets. Torpedoes are often overlooked since most players are focused on pursuing their objectives and combating enemies actively maneuvering against them. A lumbering torpedo that seems to be aimlessly wandering through the battlefield is no danger to a highspeed starfighter, so mentally, they become a low priority for players dealing with more forefront threats. While players can launch torpedoes at a minimum of 500 m - the minimum locking distance for most guided weapons - their ability to lock and launch at 1500 m is a crucial strength as long as players remember to remain near maximum distance when launching these torpedoes. Launching them at 500 m is a viable tactic depending on the situation, but at this distance, the ship launching the torpedoes will be well within the range of laser turrets and starfighters defending the capital ships that are most likely already actively firing upon them. The launch of a torpedo at that range will be easy to detect and easy to intercept seconds after it was launched. Again, with most of the action being WVR combat, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the close-ranged melee to sneak medium range attacks with heavy-hitting torpedoes for surgical strikes against specific capital ship subsystems - which is the primary objective of Fleet Battles. When focusing on maximum range engagements, the only other weaponry in-game that can pair with torpedoes are various types of missiles. These are the less powerful but more maneuverable counterparts to torpedoes that can be used against starfighters as well as larger targets. Pairing missiles with torpedoes can provide an effective one-two punch for players using load-outs specialized in disabling and destroying capital ships over everything else. Quietly destroying half of the systems on a Star Destroyer while tiptoeing around an epic dogfight isn't as hilarious as SPAMRAAMing in a F/A-18C Hornet, but successfully landing heavy hits in key moments to obtain victory makes medium range combat in Star Wars Squadrons worth the unusual approach to its standard combat experience. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

How many times have I watched wingmen and flight leads die because of cloud-fueled impatience? When a thick cloud deck throws off an entire strike mission, the annoyance is palpable. It's almost like the constant circling above the combat area hoping to find a way to break through drives people mad. Before you know it, even an experienced Digital Combat Simulator World (DCS) pilot can be driven to risk it all and dive into the unknown to get their ordinance on target before hitting bingo fuel. More often than not, this results in them crashing into terrain or blindly descending into enemy air defense with expected consequences. The implementation of the clouds into this simulator on April 14th, 2021 truly changed DCS World. As mentioned in a speculative article written two weeks before the addition of clouds, the presence of clouds can completely change air-to-ground operations. The complications clouds can bring to what were once very straightforward strike missions could eventually annoy people to the point where bad decisions may be made in an attempt to rush the mission to get it done. But flying in unprepared or blindly can result in a fast and frustrating death. Here are a few suggestions on dealing with these understandable frustrations after being in these situations a few times myself: EXTENDED MISSION PLANNING It's one thing to see a map, but it's another thing to read a map. Extended mission planning that factors in terrain, altitude restrictions, waypoints, and attack vectors can help counter potential cloud cover problems. Identifying Altitudes: Using the Map layer of the mission briefing or F10 view, identify the terrain in the combat area. Identify the altitude of your target area and take note of the altitudes of the highest and lowest terrain around it. Knowing the height of dangerous terrain and the lowest point you can fly helps navigate cloud-covered areas and IFR conditions. Landmarks and Reference Points: Having a general idea of the landmarks that are around the target is helpful with identification. Knowing where a specific town, river, mountain, or road is can help when peeking through breaks in the clouds or visually scanning the obscured area. Altitude Restriction: Either through internal aircraft systems or making a mental note, set an altitude restriction for yourself when in the target area. Make the altitude restriction the highest known terrain altitude. Remaining above that altitude can prevent crashing into the ground even in low visibility conditions. Air Defenses: Related to altitude restrictions, knowing what type of air defense is in the area is a must in general, but factoring in what type of unknown air defenses may exist in the target area is also a factor in altitude restrictions. Sure, there may be no known surface-to-air missile (SAM) site in the area, but a hidden anti-aircraft gun, thermally guided SAM, optically guided SAM, or MANPADs could be waiting. Add the known engagement range and altitude of certain air defense systems to terrain altitude restrictions. Adhere to altitude restrictions as much as possible. Navigation Waypoints: Use waypoints for more than just marking the target area—set up waypoints for ingress, the target area, and egress. Having a quick reference for entry and exit in combat can be life-saving in IFR conditions. Any other navigation waypoints that can be added will further enhance survivability. Make sure that ingress, egress, and navigation waypoints are set at altitudes that are higher than the lowest altitude in the area, otherwise flying yourself into the ground without realizing it is a possibility. Attack Vector: Related to waypoints. Set one or more waypoints over the lowest area(s) of ground to the target. Program Attack Vector waypoints to have safe altitudes over the low terrain; never set attack vector waypoints to be the same altitude as the ground you are flying over. Only the Target waypoint should have the exact altitude of the target you are attacking. Visualize attack vector waypoints as a digital path you can follow to reach the target. At first, maintain the original high altitude restriction while overflying the attack vector waypoints. If the target area is obscured or you have weapons that require visual confirmation of the target to employ, and you are forced to try lower altitudes to bring weapons onto the target, flying the attack vector waypoints will act as a guide while flying "in the soup" with minimal visibility. If advanced navigation systems are not available, using landmark reference points and remembering the altitudes of terrain in and around the target area will still suffice. UTILIZING MODERN ATTACK CAPABILITIES Pre-Planned Attack: It's not the type of legendary dive-bombing, and flak dodging that gets the heart-thumping, but utilizing known target coordinates is the easiest way to deal with all-weather and visibility limitations. If target coordinates are available for one or more targets before the mission, take the time to input them into weapons and aircraft systems to make the sortie successful under any condition. This is especially true for GPS-capable air-to-ground weapons, which ignore visibility conditions and are guaranteed to strike the exact spot on the planet you've selected, assuming it doesn't hit terrain while in flight and correct weapons release conditions are met. Furthermore, be prepared to input coordinates for a pre-planned attack while airborne if necessary. It's not glamorous, but it's effective. Unguided weapons can also be dropped through the clouds, as long as the target's coordinates are known and input into the aircraft's navigation systems. Targeting Pods: When able, use the advanced optics and positioning information provided by targeting pods (TGP). Their optics allow for better identification at a more extended range, and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) can somewhat penetrate the cloud layer to assist with target identification. Furthermore, location coordinates from these pods can be used for guided and unguided munitions attacks through the cloud layer later. After a target's position has been "locked" by a TGP, assuming the target is not in motion, the attacking aircraft can return to a safer altitude with the target location displayed in its weapon systems for easier attack through the clouds or by other methods. CLOUD BREAKS The most enticing opportunities a pilot will see in these situations are cloud breaks. These gaps in the cloud layer seem to offer fast solutions to obscured target areas, but rather than diving straight in, many things should be considered. Visual Inspection: Before doing a split-s into the unknown, flying above and around a cloud break will allow time for this break to be inspected. Is it high enough from terrain to safely fly-through? Can the target be seen through the cloud break? How far is the target from the cloud break? Will flying through this break lead to higher visibility at lower altitudes? Shoot Through the Breaks: While inspecting a cloud break, if the target can be identified by looking through the break from higher altitudes, launching weapons through the break is the preferred attack method. If diving to lower altitudes into potentially high amounts of air defense can be avoided, do so. Even if this means lowering altitude a bit to shoot through the break at a 45-degree to 10-degree angle, this is preferable to diving through the break completely. In and Out: If descending through a cloud break is necessary, keep time at lower altitudes to a bare minimum. Vector yourself in the direction of the target before descending through the break. Climb back to the safe altitude as soon as weapons are released and prepare for bomb damage assessment (BDA) after the attack. Descend at a Distance: Descending directly above the target area is not a great idea. This type of approach exposes the pilot and aircraft to maximum risk. The aircraft will be carefully descending while within range of air defenses that the pilot cannot visually detect. The safer approach is descending through the cloud deck away from the target area to gain a visual before moving in to attack. This allows for a controlled descent away from threats while maintaining enough distance to establish a visual confirmation onto the target area. JUDGEMENT CALLS Setting aside weapons, systems and planning, everything comes down to the pilot flying the aircraft. Patience: As mentioned in the introduction of this article, patience can be the deciding factor in a successful attack in these situations. Maintain a calm and analytical mindset to solve the problem rather than add to the problem by hurrying the process. It could take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour to figure out whether or not the strike can be safely carried out or if the sortie has to be canceled. When to Attack and When to Come Back: If conditions are not right to hit the target in question, remember that there is a safety limit. Aggressively diving into the situation to force the attack without a clear plan or good attack parameters could result in the heavy damage to the aircraft or the loss of the attacking aircraft. If after an extended time it is evident that the target cannot be hit during that sortie, plan on returning to base and prepare for a second sortie. Use the first sortie as a reconnaissance flight to gather weather data, cloud coverage information, target location information, and potential attack vectors to make the second sortie as effective as possible. There is nothing wrong with living to fight another day. MISSION EXAMPLE Utilizing many of the points discussed above, a quick example of a strike mission has been assembled. Utilizing the Altitude, Map and Satellite layers available in the F10 view, six waypoints have been assembled: Scroll using the arrow to the right to look at all the map modes. Waypoint 01 - AO Assessment: Observing the area of operations from a distance to assess the condition of the target. If no clouds are present, proceeding directly to the Target Waypoint is a viable option. Waypoint 02 - Ingress: If the target has any degree of cloud coverage, proceed to the ingress while maintaining the self imposed altitude restriction. Continue to observe the target area looking for cloud breaks and trying to spot the target area. Waypoint 03 - Attack Vector: The attack vector waypoint should be set to an altitude that is at least 500 feet above the minimum altitude of the target area. On the first pass, maintain a safer high altitude and overfly the Attack Vector waypoint(s). If it is possible to attack the Target Waypoint from high altitude, do so. However, if the target is still obscured by clouds and a visual confirmation of the target is needed to bring weapons onto target, gradually descend to the attack vector altitude while assessing if a lower altitude gives more visibility over the target. Waypoint 04 - Target: A waypoint that marks the general target area or exact target, depending on how many units need to be destroyed. Remember that the Target Waypoint is the only waypoint that needs the exact altitude of the units that need to be destroyed. While flying from waypoint 03 to waypoint 04 search for targets and threats. Assess if the target(s) can be attacked. If they can be attacked, do so. If not, proceed to the next waypoint regardless. Waypoint 05 - Egress: Set the egress altitude back to the safer high altitude that was used in waypoints 01 and 02. Remember that if the aircraft is at low altitude after flying through waypoints 03 and 04, the egress waypoint needs to be directed away from high terrain to prevent any potential collisions with terrain. The use of afterburner to zoom climb away from the target area is highly recommended, remember to use your countermeasures (chaff, flare and ECM) to protect yourself form any counter attack. Waypoint 06 - BDA: It's not the type of legendary dive-bombing, and flak dodging that gets the heart-thumping, but utilizing known target coordinates is the easiest way to deal with all-weather and visibility limitations. If target coordinates are available for one or more targets before the mission, take the time to input them into weapons and aircraft systems to make the sortie successful under any condition. This is especially true GPS-capable air-to-ground weapons, which ignore visibility conditions and are guaranteed to strike the exact spot on the planet you've selected, assuming it doesn't hit terrain while in flight and correct weapons release conditions are met. Furthermore, be prepared to input coordinates for a pre-planned attack while airborne if necessary. It's not glamorous, but it's effective. Unguided weapons can also be dropped through the clouds, as long as the target's coordinates are known and input into the aircraft's navigation systems. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

The post-event impression of Flight Sim Expo 2021 is impactful. Though Skyward staff was unable to travel in person to the event because of a last-minute decision related to health concerns, we enjoyed many of the seminars live from September 24th-26th, 2021. Of course, the headline-grabbing events that came out of FSE were related to the big projects and upcoming products from respected companies. Thrustmaster, Turtle Beach, Honeycomb Aeronautical, Laminar Research, Flight Factor, and Lockheed Martin all had considerable panels. The announcement of X-Plane 12, the first military aviation-focused Hands-On Throttle and Stick from Honeycomb Aeronautical, Thrustmaster's the first civilian yoke, and further details on the all-in-one civilian yoke and throttle quadrant from Turtle Beach are the first things that come to mind when discussing Flight Sim Expo 2021. However, this event was more than just a podium for product announcements. FSE 2021 has 30 seminars; each is available as videos on-demand until November 28th, 2021. Obviously, all of those were not product announcement panels. Many panels gave down-to-earth explanations to various aspects of flight simulation for simmers of all levels; from recently started simmers focused on home entertainment to civilian and military aviation industry individuals pushing concepts that challenge the current state of aviation training. I feel as though Flight Sim Expo 2021 broadened my knowledge in many ways while raising my interest in more advanced forms of flight simulation. Viewing this event through the lens of someone that participates in various levels of seriousness in arcade and realistic flight simming, I believe that the benefit of an event like this is to act as a springboard. As something that propels the attendee forward within this particular passion of theirs. Advancing the Mindset of Flight Simulation-Based Training This was a major topic that appeared in multiple seminars in one form or another. As the looming pilot shortage situation continues to build in both civilian and military aviation, the use of simulators to maximize airframe flight hours, increase pilot trainee retention and restructure flight training and the culture around it to incorporate much more flight simulation was a forefront topic for multiple seminars. While flight simulation has been used for instrument training for decades now, the use of flight simulators for primary training is still a contested topic. "Practical Simulator Use as a Training Aid" by Gleim Aviation and "Using PC-Based Simulators for Fun and/or Flight Training" by Ed Valdez (President, and CEO of ProPilot Aviation), gave a professional view of flight simulation training in all levels of civilian aviation. Seeing examples of FAA-approved simulators interwoven with real-world video of skills learned on simulators in action was illuminating. It put in perspective how it is possible to construct high-caliber simulators in smaller venues. In the past, this type of technology was only available in military installations or aviation training facilities. "Can Consumer Flight Sim Impact Real Aviation?" with Nicki Repenning (CEO, Honeycomb Aeronautical), is a seminar probably best known for the new flight sim hardware that was announced at the end of it. But a large portion of this seminar was dedicated to challenging the existing approach to flight training. This was a comprehensive look at flight training from a realistic and straightforward point of view backed by examples of real-world flight training programs incorporating flight simulation to make up at least half of the training syllabus both in the flight schools and from their own home. From the perception of piloting from being sexy and fun to becoming "glorified bus drivers," an emphasis on changing the existing prejudice against flight simulation in training and preparing the next generation of pilots was clear. Nicki Repenning announced The Flight Sim Academy powered by Honeycomb Aeronautical, which aims to establish flight training centers in the 30 largest metropolitan areas in North America. Crown Air Aviation, the EAA, and AOPA have already expressed interest or are involved. It's a bold but achievable concept more should learn about. "The New Era of Military Flight Training" by Major Kinsley "Trigger" Jordan (Chief of Innovation for the United States Air Force) dug deep into how the military is exploring more extensive use of flight simulation and reforming pilot training as a whole. This was an energetic and refreshing voice from the military training perspective. There were many great takeaways from this session, and it showed how the military could and is effectively incorporating flight simulation in arguably one of the most dangerous forms of aviation on the planet. This was further supported by the seminar "Lightning Strikes - Development of the F-35 Flight Demonstration" by Billie Flynn (ICE Leadership and F-35 Test Pilot), who created and flew the memorable debut of the F-35 flight demonstration at the 2017 Paris Airshow. To learn that this demo was designed and flown hundreds of times, primarily in a simulator over the course of nine months with a data-driven approach utilizing information from F-35 engineering teams, was eye-opening. Not only for those watching the display but apparently for personnel in the Lockheed Martin, United States Air Force, and the Pentagon as well. More information on that is provided within the seminar. HOME COCKPIT CONSTRUCTION For many, the idea of a home cockpit is simultaneously awe-inspiring and daunting. A few seminars gave a more casual approach to learning about these systems and the process needed to create them and maintain them. "Your First DIY Home Cockpit Component" by Jon Coughlin (Game Developer, Slitherine Games), was a casual introduction to home cockpit-related fabrication. This is something that I think is needed when home cockpits are discussed since most people only see the finished product. With his game Roger Meatball and a tutorial in constructing the "Mini-Meatball", a homemade instrument representing a fresnel lens optical landing system, it acts as a leap-off point for simmers interested in getting more hands-on with their flight gear. "Home Cockpit Construction" by Pat Fuge (Joinava.org, KSAN Simflite), was one of a handful of seminars that focused on home cockpits, but this was by far the most casual and heartfelt presentation about this subject. This presenter was open about how costly, complicated, and potentially restrictive these elaborate setups can be with easy-to-understand explanations of design concepts for hardware and software needed to make these setups work. This seminar made home cockpit creation easier to understand and more approachable. REVALUATING A START IN FLIGHT SIMULATION As odd as this may sound, sometimes taking a step back to reevaluate how you view flight simulation as a whole is a great way to find a new perspective. "Getting Started in Flight Simulation" by Calum Martin (CEO, Founder of SoFly, Content Director, Co-Founder of FSElite) is geared towards new simmers. Its approach from the ground up started with identifying the wants and needs of a simmer, palatable explanations of the strengths and differences between the three major PC-based flight simulators (Microsoft Flight Simulator, Prepar3D, and X-Plane 11), and information for getting started on where to buy these simulators, resources to enhance them and connect with others and information on developers who continue to support and expand these platforms. There are a few important notes about constructing a PC capable of handling flight simulation in a quality that makes it stable and enjoyable and controls hardware (flight sticks, yokes, rudder pedals, etc.). Setting aside any preconceptions I had about certain sims and viewing them from the mindset of a newcomer has certainly stoked my interest in simulators I may have had little interest in. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Seamlessly transitioning between high-flying dogfights and deep-sea battles is not something I thought would mix well. I can vaguely recall a handful of titles from the 1990s and early 2000s that have tried the concept. The fact that I've forgotten their names by now is probably an indicator of how well they pulled it off. However, a new indie arcade flight simulator seems to have found a way to make the concept work well while incorporating a mindset-shifting assortment of gameplay mechanics for this genre of games. Manta by Psychoclast Software is a still in development title that emphasizes amphibious combat, remaining true to its tagline, "Across the Skies, Through the Abyss" which appears on the official website. This year's Steam Next Fest has been a significant opportunity for Manta to make a lasting first impression with its public demo available as of the beginning of this event and two developer live streams showing the potential of this title to hundreds of people. After a few months of interesting short videos from the official Twitter account, I can personally say that I wasn't disappointed after being able to thoroughly play the demo... despite how many times I failed the mission! But that's less because of game design and more because I approached the game with the wrong mindset. There are three key points to be made here. Manta is set in a sci-fi world with mentions of the antagonist being a Federation and a mysterious Order of the Manta, but let's stay focused on three key points. The Manta This is the titular craft of the game. The Manta-class amphibious biointerceptor is described as only being piloted by human telepaths that establish a psychological link with their Manta. This craft is by far the fastest and most versatile craft in the game, capable of seamlessly transitioning between airborne and underwater. It can carry a wide array of energy and kinetic weapons within the weapon bays of its morphing airframe. The Manta is made up of an organic/biopolymer material that enables the morphing of its shape at will. At lower speeds, the craft becomes wider, flatter, and more circular. While at high speeds, it elongates and reduces its width. The craft can also enter a hover mode and remain stationary. Furthermore, its weapons and defensive systems are described as genetics (specifically alleles). The Manta can be upgraded mid-mission by acquiring technology found on the seafloor, enabling players to change just about every weapon, shield, and other ability the Manta employs. These upgrades are done at the Gene Forge, an undersea dock. Upgrades are necessary to the Manta's success. They are not something that can be ignored without consequence. Some enemies are susceptible to certain types of weapons, and extra armor provides more survivability against the high number of enemies that rove the area of operations. But most importantly, essential components needed to interact with allied forces can be expanded upon. Actively Use Real-Time Strategy This brings up the second point. Despite all of its ability, the Manta is unable to win the day by itself. Not because it is underpowered, but because it is a single craft operating on a relatively large battlefield. It cannot be everywhere at once and complete all objectives on its own while protecting its allies. The enemy deploys flying aircraft carriers, flights of interceptors, fleets of submarines, and attack groups of warships determined to destroy the player's home base. After playing the demo for quite a while, it was clear that I was doing something wrong. I did not begin to have success until I changed my perspective from the usual "lone heroic fighter saves the day" mindset that arcade flight shooters often portray. The first thing that comes to mind when commanding friendly units is mentioned in an arcade flight sim are "wingman commands." Those are quick sets of commands to order computer-controlled allies that follow the player aircraft to attack, defend, change weapons, or other basic tasks. Manta goes beyond this and instead embraces real-time strategy (RTS). In Manta, the RTS portion of the game is significant. This is something that I don't think was easy to portray in the previews up to this point. The Manta-class amphibious biointerceptor has command and control functions, namely the Tactical Display (TD), that enables it to remotely work with the Citadel - the main base that transports the Manta into the combat area. The Citadel can repair and resupply the Manta while also acting as a factory. As the Manta scowers the ocean with visual scanning and sonar to search, it can identify and tag resources needed for unit production. Identified resources appear on the TD. Once marked by the Manta's resource trackers, the Citadel deploys engineering units to build supply infrastructure like mining rings or powerplants, increasing the number of supplies in the Citadel. Fleet weapons and hull designs discovered by the Manta can be assembled in the design tab of the TD to create allied units of various sizes to combat enemy forces. Each design can be saved with a custom name for easy organization in unit production. Assuming there is a sufficient amount of supplies needed for production, all constructed allied units can then be commanded by the Manta using the Tactical Display. Dragging and dropping the icon of one or more allied units into an area will have them move there, whereas dropping their icon onto an identified enemy will order them to attack the unit. Allied units will also naturally fight any enemies that approach them. The number of allies the Manta controls can be increased with command circuit ship upgrades. Actively going out of the way to disengage from combat to build resources, construct allies, and deploy them effectively is the sure-fire way to find success in Manta. Embracing the New Style of Combat Finally, using the amphibian combat style significantly improves survivability. The current gameplay is quite fast-paced in the air, with turn rates so fast that keeping a target in the gunsight is a challenge on its own. Using the lead targeting computer is the only real way to bring unguided weaponry onto target while maneuvering. Detecting incoming missiles in the air is equally problematic. Attempting to predict when they may be launched and acting accordingly is the best course of action, but they're so fast there is always very little time to react. Undersea combat feels like the right amount of slower-paced movement with somewhat realistic game mechanics that use sonar pings to navigate but relying on these pings reveals the player's position. So using them sparingly is preferred, though the wealth of enemies they can spot and resources uncovered make them worth the risk. The Manta being able to dive into the ocean from hundreds of feet in the air while traveling over Mach 1 makes diving into the sea a viable tactic. Escaping enemy fighters by diving into the water, forcing their missiles to slam into the water surface, and counterattacking from behind is amazingly effective. Sneaking beneath airborne enemies and above water defensive positions is very effective in hit-and-run tactics. The ocean is also the perfect cover from enemies while regenerating shields or commanding the allied fleet. Just remember that submerged enemies also utilize this position. Getting attacked by sea-launched missiles is possible, and unseen enemy submarines can creep up onto vital infrastructure. With real-time strategy unit management being just as crucial as the piloting skill of the player, Manta's approach to the arcade flight sim genre is fascinating. With a full game release date listed as September 2022, Manta is in a good position to release as a stand-out title within its genre. With screenshots showing absolutely massive submarines and warship-sized allies flying along with the Manta, I look forward to taking on a squadron of interceptors while commanding battlegroups of my own! About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

The trick to surviving waves of enemies is patience colder than the stratosphere. Vertical Strike Endless Challenge (VSEC) is a combat-focused arcade flight game that prioritizes quick access to the action. Released on April 18th, 2017, VSEC was developed by the Rainbow Knights team of Project ICKX, and published by PLAYISM for personal computers (Steam, Playism), and eventually the Nintendo Switch game console (July 4th, 2018). The primary draw of VSEC is its easily approachable quick play session format. Players are thrust into the action with short pre-flight preparation and no commitment to mission objectives or story. After the title screen, Vertical Strike Endless Challenge has the standard video, audio, and control options you would expect. Notable extra options include changing aircraft view from different perspectives like zoom or super wide, changing automatic assist options, gun lead type, target selection priority, and more. Toggling some of these options makes things even more challenging for those that desire it. Vertical Strike Endless Challenge forgoes having a single-player campaign and instead focuses on wave-based combat. The goal of VSEC is to survive as many waves as possible while accumulating points by destroying enemies and minimizing the number of weapons expended. Each weapon launched, or countermeasure deployed costs a certain amount of points. This cost is deducted from the player's final score. Every fifth wave cleared presents one or more enemies with increased difficulty and/or numbers against the player as a final hurdle before the next wave reset. After every fifth wave, the aircraft's weapons are resupplied to a degree in place of having players return to base to resupply. Aircraft selection consists of either the SAF-22 Slayer air dominance fighter or the XSF-3A experimental strike fighter. Both aircraft are based on real or proposed 5th generation stealth combat aircraft. In particular, the XSF-3A is an interesting addition, as the F-3 (or F-X) it is based on has rarely appeared in flight games. Though the SAF-22 is the premiere air combat aircraft for this game and the XSF-3A is better for air-to-ground or anti-ship operations, both are capable of dogfighting well. Each aircraft can carry a maximum of four guided or unguided weapons along with the internal cannon. Standoff dispensers, high mobility infrared missiles, multi-target air-to-air missiles, gun pods, and others. There are 12 weapons to choose from in total, but some of the air-to-ground unguided weapons can be used in air combat with a little aim and finesse. Neither aircraft underperforms in any way. Both are capable of high-speed travel, carry plenty of weapons, and hold their own in turning fights. Maneuverability is noticeably higher at certain speeds, while high speeds also have their uses against long-range missile fire. Learning what the optimum cornering speed for both aircraft is a must for gaining full control over their performance. Each aircraft can turn the angle of attack limiter off, further maximizing its maneuverability in close-range engagements. Skilled players can even pull off low-altitude stunt flying. But of course, the danger of being exposed to medium and long-range threats outside of the tight turns the aircraft would be performing during angle of attack limiter disabled maneuvering. The game is split between Arcade Mode (Anti-Air) and Arcade Mode (Anti-Ship). Arcade Mode (Anti-Air) solely focuses on air-to-air combat. Waves of enemy aircraft attack the player with increasing numbers, different formations, and varying skill levels. Arcade Mode (Anti-Ship) mainly sends warships of various sizes with minimal fighter top cover. Every fifth wave in Anti-Ship includes full-sized battleship(s). Surviving the Vertical Strike Endless Challenge waves while still scoring high with minimal point reduction relies on the player keeping a few essential things in mind. Not overly relying on guided weaponry to destroy all targets will save the most points over time. Generally, the less complex the weapon is, the less cost it will generate. Efficient use of weaponry will save the most points over time. Here are a few examples: using a single short-ranged air-to-air missile to damage an enemy aircraft then finishing it off with the aircraft's cannon or underwing gun pods, using a volley of medium-ranged multi-target missiles to destroy half of a large formation of aircraft, or removing the defenses of a warship with air-to-ground or anti-ship missiles, then following sinking the ship with less advanced weapons like rockets or dumb bombs. Even though weapons are resupplied after every 5th round, remember that they still increase the cost of the player's sortie the moment they are launched. Though non-player controlled allies join the player in combat, they are limited in number. The player will consistently be outnumbered by the enemy and can find themselves evading enemies chasing them while they're busying pursuing a target in front of them. Rather than having tunnel vision and doggedly chasing a single target, being able to latch onto passing, more vulnerable targets of opportunity will keep the player unpredictable and always in motion. Rather than allowing other enemies to settle in behind them for a long time, flowing seamlessly from one target to the next isn't just good for accumulating points faster but also increases survivability. Most importantly, the critical trait players that have cleared hundreds and even a thousand waves of VSEC have is patience. Absolute, unwavering patience. Keep in mind that, like in any wave-based game mode, eventually, the player will find themselves wanting to change the way they fly in combat. After a few dozen completed waves, it's natural to get more daring because of the prolonged success. Like more dangerous head-to-head attacks against enemy interceptors, trying to weave through surface-to-air missiles rather than safely evading them and heavily relying on AoA limiter-off maneuvers for thrills. Honestly, gravitating towards things like this is caused by a little bit of boredom. Players that have the skills to survive at least a dozen or so waves will gradually seek further excitement to maintain their interest. But unnecessary risks are not conducive to record-breaking numbers. Those endeavoring to put up high scores on the VSEC online scoreboard stick to the same tactics and weapons used in every wave. Keeping in mind that they are attempting to set a record, caution and repetition will carry players to victory. Whether players need to listen to their favorite music or podcast in the background to appease creeping feelings of boredom, the path to scoring high on the VSEC scoreboards is very long. Be patient and persevere! For the low cost of 4.99 USD, this entertaining title can be added to the library of anyone looking for either a few sessions of intense air combat or an extended session to see how far their skills can taken them. Project ICKX is an interesting organization from Japan that has developed and produced a multiple arcade flight games for over 10 years. Vertical Strike Endless Challenge is most likely the first game from Project ICKX that people have added to their libraries without even knowing it. Even VSEC has derivatives with voice acting, a light story, a fictional super aircraft, and connections to a software testbed, but that's a subject for another article. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Cheering, jeering and learning from competitors fighting their hardest The first week of the 2021 season for the Squadron Air to Air League (SATAL) is over, and the spirit of competition flies ever higher with the official return of this event. SATAL is a high-profile international tournament for competitive teams and squadrons that fly in Digital Combat Simulator World. The roots of SATAL can be traced back a few years, but to put things in perspective, this year's tournament is presented by Thrustmaster. Past tournaments had co-sponsors like Eagle Dynamics, Black Hog, and Wild Weasel Apparel, with considerable prizes provided by companies like Tacview, Foxx Mount, Buddy-Fox, and Heatblur. The rewards for winners and runner-ups have included hundreds of US Dollars, flight simulation hardware, apparel, and full-fidelity aircraft modules. The tournament is organized and broadcast by DCS World Events (DCSWE), an organization that has hosted multiple competitions of all sizes in Digital Combat Simulator for many years. Led by its knowledgeable and energetic host, M0ltar, the staff of DCSWE includes Alpha-Whiskey creating amazing short videos promoting the tournament, new staff members collecting statistics, and a revolving door of co-hosts that commentate on the action. From an entertainment perspective, the primary draw of SATAL is the team-based combat from its Diamond, Gold, and Silver leagues presented in an esports-style format. The team aircraft liveries showcased during the matches or in teaser trailers called "supercuts" invoke mental images of sports team jerseys. The particularly colorful commentary adds some fun, unpredictable dialogue to what's happening on screen. The multi-screen format used for the broadcasts provides a lot of situational awareness with screens dedicated to the Tacview universal flight analysis tool to provide an overview of the combat area and smaller windows showing the competitor's aircraft and missiles in flight. Visually a lot is going on, with the focus constantly shifting to where combat is in progress. To those with a more analytical eye that are eager to learn something, watching even a few rounds of SATAL can provide a wealth of information. Whether you fly in DCS World as an online-only player-vs-player (PVP) specialist or offline single-player campaign warrior, any information on air-to-air combat is valuable. In the case of SATAL, its viewers are presented with the opportunity to study teams of pilots well versed in aerial combat that train to fly on a competitive level. The incorporation of Tacview data and verbal explanations about what happened during or after a match further enhances the understanding of what spectators are seeing. When I was beginning my journey in learning how to fly in Digital Combat Simulator over a year ago, I referred to SATAL as a way to answer questions I had. Ideas on how to approach beyond visual range combat and samples of effective evasive maneuvers. I wanted examples of the things to do and things to avoid to help wrap my head around combat in DCS World. Because of SATAL's screen format and the forthright explanations of what is happening from the host, I felt as though years of information was casually presented to me. Wingman tactics, valid missile launch speeds and ranges for PVP combat, candid discussions about known bugs, potentially exploited bugs, introduction to concepts like "skating" while supporting a missile, notching active radar homing missiles, multiple examples of how to evade a missile while maintaining high speed, explanations of tactics like setting up a grinder and too many other things to list here. While it's easy to sit back and finger-wag the competitors for not seeing an obvious threat from the spectator's point of view, watching their mistakes and victories closely really helped build up an idea of what does and does not work in the realm of DCS dogfights. Of course, just watching SATAL isn't enough to make you an unbeatable ace, but it's a way to study towards that goal. I started watching SATAL at the start of its 2020 season and since then have seen every matchup into the start of the 2021. I strongly feel as though this is a resource that got me excited about Digital Combat Simulator and the continued refinement of my own skills. While I still primarily fly player-vs-environment (PVE) or mixed PVE-PVP strike missions, the things I learned from watching SATAL and went on to practice on my own have carried over to the sorties I've been flying. Because of this, I've frequently suggested that people watch SATAL for both entertainment and educational purposes. The Squadron Air-to-Air League continues to broadcast on Twitch with recordings of those broadcasts, supercuts, highlight reels, and new skin showcases uploaded to their YouTube channel. The official forum thread on the Eagle Dynamics forum, Twitter account and Discord server are also places that people can get involved and see the latest updates. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

This opinion is probably a decade and a half late, but Over G Fighters is such an excellent flight-sim lite. When I was forced to notch an incoming AAM-4 while I was guiding an AIM-54A before its radar went active, I realized there was much more to this game than expected. However, I specifically find myself interested in a standalone, non-story-related game mode that inspired a developer for a highly anticipated flight sim lite currently in development. When Over G Fighters (June 27th, 2006) was new, I was busy participating in squadron matches and tournaments in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation. The name Over-G had been mentioned in the lobbies between rounds and discussed during chill flights, but I never felt the need to dive into what was always described as a lackluster, slow-paced game. Fast forward 14 years or so, and my interest in this game was piqued after an interview with Why485, the developer of Tiny Combat Arena: "Tiny Combat Arena began as something of a dare from Mike Dolan. The idea was based on an almost throwaway mode from the Xbox 360 game, Over G Fighters." - Why 485. He went on to describe the game mode in more detail. Since then, I've had Over G Fighters on my list of titles from the past to give a serious playthrough. In fact, this statement is the only reason I am genuinely interested in this game for the first time ever. How could it have inspired something like the now sought-after Tiny Combat Arena? To put things in perspective, even though it was released as a console-exclusive, Over-G Fighters does a rather admirable job of being the best combat flight sim-lite on the Xbox 360. Many moderately realistic features make up the core of its gameplay. Realistic hardpoint management, aircraft part damage, fuel burn rates, turn rates, blackouts, red outs, over-stressing the airframe because of aggressive maneuvering, etc. I found it relatively easy to complete entire sorties using the instruments in the cockpit and the general user interface. It is the Arena mode of this game where the magic happens. There is an offline single-player and online multiplayer version of the Arena. Offline Arena Mode This open-ended game mode is a mixture of wave survival, and high score focused. With no set objective, players are free to select any aircraft, choose their own targets and fly multiple sorties going anywhere they wish with the restrictions of a flight simulator. The realistic limits on fuel, weapons, and aircraft performance transform the gameplay from an objective, limited approach to something more free-flowing but strategic. There is no winning by bombing a specific building or shooting down a particular attacker. Wisely choosing engagements, making every weapon count, using altitude and speed advantages to navigate over long distances and still leave enough fuel to return to base and do it all over again defines this game mode. In offline single-player Arena, the player launches from an island near the middle of a massive map. Even taking a fuel-efficient aircraft like a Boeing F/A-18 Hornet or a super cruising Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor is not enough to do a lap around the border of the entire map without some difficulty. There simply isn't enough fuel to cover all of that area, even if you avoid all the hostiles. And let us be clear, there is an overwhelming amount of them. The map images shown below layout the locations of aircraft, airfields, islands, ships and known higher priority targets. Every dot on the zoomed out map (left) is an enemy of some sort (right, zoomed in image). There are roughly six areas that have warships and aircraft loosely grouped together. The groups are defined by the territory they occupy and the general type of aircraft in the area. For example, multiple attackers at low altitudes and United States Navy aircraft over the ocean near warships. Though a majority of the enemies operate in those areas, there are still unexpected opponents that fly wherever they please. Even if you are in combat against Chengdu J-7s, it is still possible to be ambushed by a Lockheed Martin X-35; which happened to me while I was flying a Grumman F-14A Tomcat. Not recommended. Intermixed with these groups are "bosses" like strategic bombers, Iowa-class battleships, stealth aircraft, and AWACS. As enemies are defeated, the player accumulates glory points. The more difficult the enemy is dictates how many glory points are given for defeating them. This further adds to the mission planning in this free-form game mode. This makes interceptor sorties focused on destroying an AWACS near the farthest reaches of the map even more valuable than defeating a flight of fighters singlehandedly. Planning out flight paths to evade patrolling enemies and hitting high-value targets before their escorts swoop in changes the dynamic of offline Arena. Frequently using high speed and high altitude to traverse the map is immensely helpful. Learning how to safely approach the hostiles and when to engage and disengage is the key to success. As glory points are gained, in-game titles like "Green Horn," "Tactician," "Ace Sniper," and "Ultimate" are given as rewards. Achieving higher titles unlocks opportunities to fight big bosses (ace pilots) after certain conditions are met, like destroying a number of a specific type of aircraft in a particular area. Defeating big bosses will unlock their aircraft for the player and eventually lead to yet another game mode to be unlocked. There are few allies to assist the player. Their wingman, who flies an aircraft and weapon loadout decided by the player, can make all the difference in the offline Arena. As their weapons are also limited, utilizing the wingman means more in Over-G Fighters than many other flight games that were also on the Xbox 360. Intelligent use of the wingman includes having them engage escorts while the player attacks high-value targets or setting the wingman to perform air-to-surface strikes with the player flies escort. The offline Arena does have airfields and a carrier battle group that can rearm, refuel and repair aircraft... if you can survive long enough to reach them. The glory points gained will be lost or reduced otherwise. In this regard, running out of fuel far from base is just as deadly as getting hit by a missile. Landing, resupplying, and launching back-to-back sorties are the best ways to earn high amounts of points over time, making survival paramount. While offline Arena ends with either the player's death or manually ending the session, the online multiplayer version of Arena is a somewhat different beast. Online Arena Mode Online, four teams of up to two players each battle to be the last team standing. Each team has an airbase with air defenses, a symbol tower (headquarters), and an aircraft carrier with destroyer escorts. Defeating an opposing team is done by destroying their assets, especially the symbol tower, which removes an opposing team from the match when it is destroyed. Glory points are still collected in online gameplay by defeating other players and computer-controlled units. The destruction of a symbol tower gives an apparently massive amount of points unironically labeled as "Gained more glory points than I can imagine!!!" Intercepting incoming attackers while pressing the offensive against high-value targets is a balance that relies on player skill and coordination. Enemies cannot be found at long distances by pausing the game and scrolling through the map like in offline Arena. The long-range radar shows a general idea of where enemies are, but identifying aircraft and obtaining a radar lock is noticeably harder in online play. Learning each aircraft's strengths and extra functions (and bugs!) is a deep part of the PVP in online Arena mode. These functions vary from aircraft to aircraft. For some, they are simple additions like a hook for landing on aircraft carriers. For others, it's a dogfight mode that allows for guns and missiles to be fired simultaneously, super search radar modes, or radar stealth abilities. In one peculiar case with the Sukhoi Su-33 Sea Flanker, it's learning an exploit that combines disabling the angle of attack limiter while gaining speed on the runway, then performing a Pugachev Cobra during rotation for takeoff, forcing the Flanker to climb in a wholly unnatural way that results in an immediate altitude and speed advantage no other aircraft could match. Unfortunately, this is all I could gather from the multiplayer Arena, but considering this game's age and the unlikely chance for re-release, it's doubtful maximum capacity online lobbies would ever happen naturally. I was able to gather a bit of information and experience in online play thanks to the assistance of RaptorDad86, a flight simulation-focused content creator who has much experience with this game. Thanks to him for supplying me with information about the height of online multiplayer gameplay and even flying with me to help create this article. Newfound Respect and Understanding Even by today's standards, the open ended Arena game modes of Over G Fighters would still be stand out additions in similar flight simulation or flight arcade games. They would be a considerable selling point advertised on social media, crowdfunding projects, pre-orders and video trailers. Thinking back to Tiny Combat Arena's popular 2019 demo builds, the inspiration is evident. But to be clear, it's not just a lazy copy. Tiny Combat Arena's development towards the full-scale game go far beyond the intentions of Taito, the developer behind Over G Fighters. its approach to open-ended flight sim lite gameplay is firmly its own concept that has nods to this game from 2006 but does not plagiarize it. This entire journey to scratch a curious itch about Over G Fighters has sparked my interest in it and the Energy Air Force series which it is associated with. It feels like a new exploration into game console-based flight sim lites is just beginning for me. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

A concept that only a first-person sandbox flight game could execute well. Project Skyscape is a still-in-development game by Flyleap Studios. Its closed testing build has undergone multiple changes in the past months as it prepares for a potential 2021 early access release date. The game describes itself as a jet fighter experience that hits the gap between game and simulator while balancing realism and fun. Its ability to be played in both VR and desktop while having flight simulator-style aircraft systems and the ability to fly and walk around an entire planet freely is ambitious but has been taking shape. I've had the privilege of being a tester for this title for some time. As it is still in development, there are ongoing changes and tests being done, so details on the story, gameplay, flight model and multiplayer experience are too early to delve into for now. However, there is something that has left a lasting impression on me. During a certain part of the story in the game's solo play game mode puts the player in a situation where they must learn the controls of a combat aircraft. Usually, this is where the player is put through some tutorial mission where they destroy a handful of aircraft while being walked through the controls. That or there is a separate set of training missions used to fill this purpose. Instead, Project Skyscape utilizes an in-game gyroscope flight simulator. At first glance, the simulator looks like a standard sit-down machine with the bare minimum amount of equipment. Just a frame, really. But as the player enters it and turns on the battery, its potential is immediately apparent. After the initial rolls and flips using default controls, players are instructed to adjust the controls until they can easily track and destroy virtual targets that appear in the sim's display. Pressing Tab on the keyboard and opening the control menu (CTRL Menu) starts the process. Seeing the entire list of every input, axis, slider, and modifier button that can be programmed is impressive. Especially notable controls include the throttle designator controller (X-axis and Y-axis), head tracker settings, and specific buttons for selection hardpoints, ideal for a weapon selection hat switch. All inputs that would use an axis (like pitch, roll, yaw, TDC, etc.) are backed with assignable curves, dead zones, and input speed adjustments. During testing, I tried a variety of new and old hardware. So far, I've successfully made keybinds for four USB gamepads, four Hands on Throttle and Stick (HOTAS) units with a considerable amount of buttons, toggles switches, and hat switches, and two rudder pedals. Even three Thrustmaster MFD Cougars were recognized, though the in-game multi-function displays do not match up to them 1:1 like in Digital Combat Simulator at this time. Keep in mind that Project Skyscape's aircraft have fully-clickable cockpits that can be used with keyboard mouse controls, gamepads, joysticks, HOTAS, and VR touch controllers. Sometimes, parallels are drawn between Project Skyscape and VTOL VR, but physical controller support, customization, and the ability to use these same controls in either VR or desktop sets Project Skyscape apart from its virtual reality tailored contemporary. The seemingly simple gyroscope simulator won't be something listed on a sales page as a must-see feature. It's a training tool that primarily new players will spend a decent amount of time fine tuning their flight experience in while in a safe environment. But using the gyroscope as the first way for players to explore all control options within the game is a concept that only a first-person sandbox flight game could execute well. For more information and updates on this game, see its Steam store page, Youtube channel and Reddit community. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

I appreciate that Heliborne has not relegated flying transports to be anything more than a necessary burden. If there's one type of helicopter that's always underrated, it is the transport helicopter. This is especially true in military arcade flight games. Take a look back at decades of rotary-wing-centric titles, and you'll see that they're primarily about legendary attack helicopters or promising prototypes. If we're going by the "rule of cool," making a game about a high speed, maneuverable heli slinging missiles and rockets at treetop level is an easy choice. But there is a game that gives transports their chance to shine and become welcome force multipliers where attack helicopters are usually king. Heliborne is a military helicopter-focused arcade flight game that is well known for having solid co-op player vs. environment (co-op PVE) and player vs. player experience (PVP). Its roster of helicopters from the USA, USSR, China, Europe, and Russia are divided into three classes. Of them, the transport class is vital for the core gameplay of Heliborne. So much so that it's tough to win without them. With there being over 20 transport helicopters in the game, their usefulness inherently will impact a large part of the gameplay and the game's reception. In PVE, PVP, and single-player, at least half of the reoccurring objectives can realistically only be completed by transports. Objectives call for deploying dozens of infantry to far-flung locations, recovering shot down aircrews surrounded by enemies, and most importantly, interaction with outposts. In Heliborne, capturing and holding outposts is done by ferrying troops from the main base. Whether the landing zone is safe or under fire, transports land to deploy soldiers to operate them at full strength. As casualties accumulate through combat and control over the outposts weakens, additional troops are needed to reinforce and hold. Though the number of troops each transport can hold varies, transports are generally able to capture or reinforce more than one outpost at a time. While the clear downside of losing too many outposts is failing the mission, what is also lost is a secure forward area to operate from. The main base allows players to change their helicopter mid-game, rearm and repair, but it is located far from the frontline. Flying from the combat area to the main base takes a significant amount of time when allies are under attack. There are ammunition and repair crates in the main base that can be sling loaded by transports to forward positions. Carefully landing these crates into the defended landing zones provides allied attack, scout, and transport helicopters a faster means to repair and resupply than flying back to the main base every time. The crates can be destroyed by landing them improperly or destroyed by hostile forces. Placing the crates in allied landing zones is the most orthodox location, but skilled pilots can place them anywhere on the map. A clearing in the jungle, a secluded field, next to a river in a valley - so long as the crates and a helicopter can fit, it is an option. Related to this freedom of movement, transport helicopters can deploy three types of specialized infantry units almost anywhere. RPG soldiers bring rocket launchers with three rockets used for destroying enemy vehicles. Placing them near landing zones enhances their defenses, while landing them ahead of enemies on the move can provide an obstacle or ambush. Anti-air soldiers come equipped with Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPAD) that target hostile helicopters. They are beneficial in player vs. player game modes for denying opposing forces access to certain areas. Finally, Mortar teams provide indirect fire support for scout class helicopters that use mortar observer equipment. Depending on the number of active units, their indirect fire alone is enough to clear landing zones and thin out waves of enemies. When out of ammo or destroyed by enemy fire, these units disappear and need to be redeployed as desired. The common weapons that transport helicopters on all sides of all generations carry are different flavors of machine guns, cannons, and rocket pods. By far, the most valuable weapon they carry is the door gunners. Hostile vehicles and defenses are easy to visually identify, but harder to see enemy soldiers in the terrain are not easy to spot while flying at higher speeds. Usually, a scout is needed to make smaller targets easily visible on the screens of all players by marking them with icons above their heads. Door gunners automatically and independently scan for and attack targets that are unseen even to the pilot. This makes door gunners both great defensive weapons and an easy way to direct allies onto hidden troops by letting them follow door gunner tracer fire. Manual control over the gunner positions can be taken as needed. While cannons and rockets are excellent for attacking soft targets and certain types of armored personnel carriers, it is safe to assume that most of the fighting columns of main battle tanks supported by anti-aircraft units will be done by attack helicopters. In Heliborne, there are plenty of 3rd and 4th generation transports that can equip anti-tank guided missiles like the AT-6 Spiral, AGM-114 Hellfire, and KD-9, for example. But when transport helicopters are employing ATGMs, remaining near the maximum range is best. Though there are specific assault transports, mainly the Hind family, that are represented well in Heliborne as the heavily armored troop transports they were designed to be, they have compromises made to achieve this balance, Such as the reduced number of troops they can be carried. Specific transports can even mount short-ranged air-to-air missiles like the R-60 and AIM-9, alongside MANPADs like Stingers and Iglas for worst-case scenarios. Still, again purpose-built attack helicopters are preferable for these situations. I appreciate that Heliborne has not relegated flying transports to be anything more than a necessary burden. Being able to deliver supplies, capture a landing zone, deploy various types of infantry and still be a part of the front line action makes flying transports a very satisfying experience. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Join a public Digital Combat Simulator player vs. environment (PvE) multiplayer server. Nine times out of ten, you'll be seeing F-16Cs carrying enough cluster munitions to make a B-52 blush, A-10s with more weapons than they have targets, and F/A-18Cs attempting to sink boats, bomb tanks, and outturn aircraft in one flight. It's so commonplace, seeing an aircraft accomplish a single objective with a reasonable loadout is uncommon. Why is that? Where is this need to win the war in a single sortie come from? This question has been on my mind for a long time. I can't help but wonder after having countless missions ruined by a marauding allied aircraft. The dreaded singleton operating in the blind carrying every weapon under the sun. After months of assuming it was just bravado and devil-may-care decisions from random players, I was forced to think about it one day. While flying 100nm back to base because my targets were destroyed minutes before I got in range. While staring at my four useless AGM-154 JSOWs since I had no targeting pod onboard, when I began thinking hard about why this happens so frequently. To the point where I formed an actual opinion. To my surprise, I found myself less annoyed (but still very annoyed!) and more understanding as to why this may keep happening. Open-Ended Design of Most PvE Servers As a combat simulator, DCS missions can become highly complex according to the mission planner's intentions and effort. To the point where specific aircraft and weapons are required, radio channels must be managed, flights have assignments, and a mission can take hours to complete. Very much in the style of community lead missions Spudknocker and the Grim Reapers post on their YouTube channels. Very realistic combat scenarios can be created. But for the most part, public PVE servers are designed to be open-ended experiences that forgo many restrictive mission parameters. These missions are designed to allow anyone in any aircraft to show up and fly as they please. With loose objectives, uncontrolled radio channels, and other mission parameters left up to the players. Any target is on the table as long as you can get there first. Unlimited Resources, Unrestricted Ambition Related to public PvE server mission design, they usually have access to unlimited resources and unlimited aircraft. Both from the primary airfields players spawn from and/or the captured airfields along the way. While having every resource available sounds ideal, having no limits in the simulator also changes players' mindset in preparing for combat. This is why the previously mentioned overloaded aircraft is almost a standard in public PVE. The only thing holding them back is the capability of their enemies, how many weapons and aircraft can load, and the distances they must fly. But even though an aircraft can load tons of munitions, it's not necessarily because they are meant to complete multiple missions in one flight. Expending most of your fuel and weapons on the primary objective then wandering the battlefield looking for any enemy that appears isn't the wisest of choices. All that added drag and weight from weapons being lugged around the battlefield while searching for extra trouble has gotten more than a few overly confident players shot down. And yet, the practice of flying dozens of miles to strike a target then meander off to chase bandits or seek out new areas of operations is a part of the collective mental image of a public PvE server is. In settings where players can have anything they want and fly as they please, over-extending and trying to do too much at once is commonplace. Going it Alone Digging deeper, this urge to try and single-handedly defeat a small army also comes from how the player views themself as flying solo. While public PVE servers can get packed with dozens of players, a high level of pre-mission planning and mid-mission communication between all players is uncommon. Even with all those people around, no communication essentially means they are essentially on their own. It's only with allies you can talk or text with that coordinated operations can be effectively run. Feeling as though they are on their own, they prioritize their own objectives without consulting others, causing the overlap in target selection. This is how a flight of aircraft's well-thought-out attack can be derailed by another pilot's final yolo rush. Time Limits Finally, the amount of time needed to complete the mission or objective is a factor. The average PvE Digital Combat Simulator sortie takes at least an hour to finish, but not everyone always has a few free hours set aside. A single flight may be all that their schedule allows for. Those players are attempting to maximize the potential number of targets destroyed in the one sortie they may fly for the day. Final Thoughts Now, I'm not saying PvE servers need to change the way they operate or that they're bad experiences. I often find myself flying online in PvE scenarios more than anything else. So, while this is clearly not a grand scheme to troll others by disrupting their missions, it doesn't change the fact that it's rather inconvenient. I think I can better understand why the solo players operate the way they do... but at least slow down a bit, type in chat and try to coordinate! Haha! About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Launching from the dawn-soaked sea as night turns to day, with a fresh batch of brews in the cargo hold and distant islands holding unknown potential... this is what "adventure" is, isn't it? Somewhere between the regional airline flights and dodging surface-to-air missiles, the sense of story-like adventure is often missing. There is a shortlist of old and bold titles that dared to fly out of the familiar air corridors of the aviation genre. The Brew Barons from Lifetap Studios feels like it is of the same vein. My first impression of this game comes after roughly 14 combined hours of gameplay between myself and Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos, a second member from Skyward Flight Media. We played both the February 2022 demo featured at Steam Next Fest 2022 and the non-time limited December 2021 closed alpha demo. SETTING AND STORY The Brew Barons puts anyone familiar with flight games into an unusual situation from the start. It begins in a broken down, wingless seaplane that must be slowly floated through a beautiful seaside town to its new home. Starting a flying game without any flying indeed resets expectations coming into the story. The scenic archipelago provides a memorable backdrop for the story and gameplay. Every island looks like it could be part of a resort, looking equally beautiful during its shortened day and night cycle. The ambient life - cars driving, people walking along walkways, planes flying through the air, boats sailing - further adds to the setting. With the level of technology inspired by the 1930s with some influences from Hayao Miyazaki's Porco Rosso, the propeller-driven seaplanes can show off their full capabilities. Being able to land anywhere there is enough water drives home the sense of adventure. While there were some minor references about things happening in North America, there isn't enough to fully explain what's happening in the grand scheme of things - which is fine. What matters the most is the immediate task at hand: founding a brewing enterprise successful enough to run an organization of dastardly pirates out of business and out of the region. TUTORIAL It should be noted that the tutorial is actually pretty long. There is a decent amount of content to learn before the player truly knows all the essential parts of the game. Players are walked through the controls and most of the game mechanics while meeting the first characters of the story and potential customers. Learning how to brew, repair the aircraft, buy upgrades, open a bar, design that bar, bottling your first product, and load up the bar for its first customers; the tutorial doesn't really end until the first brewing contract is completed. Fortunately, all ingredients, contracts, and money earned during the tutorial are retained by its end, making it worth the time. AIRCRAFT AND FLIGHT Flight can be summarized as a toned-down flight arcade model. The flight model is physics-based, with certain values tuned to make gameplay enjoyable. For example, while crashing an aircraft is still possible, the player either respawns back in their hangar with the damaged aircraft to begin repairs. A quick reset to an air restart is permitted if the aircraft accidentally touches down on land. But the planes are still represented as prop-driven aircraft. Zoom climbing thousands of feet in a few seconds, 9G turns, and high-speed sustained flight is not an option. When gathering certain materials needed for brewing, planning a low flying pass incorrectly is even more deadly than anything the pirates could throw at you. While water landings are frequent, landing at speeds that are too high or descending into the water too quickly can cause damage to the aircraft. Even somewhat rough landings may not cause a wing to fall off, but the damage will accumulate, causing frequent repairs. Players quickly learn the limitations of their aircraft, even with performance-boosting upgrades. Speaking of which, there are eight categories for upgrades and customizations: fuselage, wings, pontoons, engines, propellers, equipment, ornaments, and paint. Changes in engine performance, maneuverability, high altitude performance, increased ingredient gathering abilities, and new gadgets. The parts can be purchased, built from recovered blueprints, and salvaged from the ocean. THE BUSINESS ELEMENT One of this game's most unusual and appealing aspects is running a business. The three branches of the business element are: ingredient gathering, brewing, fulfilling contracts, and managing your own bar. Ingredient gathering has been gameified enough so that players can use their aircraft to fly through wheat fields using their propeller to chop up wheat. Grapes, honey, apples, potatoes, and other ingredients can be gathered by firing high-powered water guns to knock their ingredients into the air for gathering. Back in the brewery, existing recipes and newly acquired recipes offer a guide for types of drinks that can be created, but the player is free to try concocting anything they can think of. I made a few original recipes that were horrendous, but sometimes I got lucky enough to make a real keeper! All drinks can either be discarded or packaged in customizable bottles to either be delivered to customers or stocked in the player's own bar. Contracts are very straightforward. Flying from island to island has the chance to find new seaside towns with bars that are open to business with a new supplier. They provide contracts for specific drinks in certain quantities and of certain qualities. Brewing those products and delivering them on time and to specification is a way to preserve contracts and keep the player's income stream strong. The player's bar can be customized in different themes, floor plans, wall types, floor types, wood stain, metal stain, chair type, stool type - heck, even smoking and not smoking. Patrons enter the player's bar with new insights into the local culture, story-related information, and other encounters. The patrons will be ordering any drink players keep stocked. While it is somewhat difficult to reach this level in the timed February 2022 demo, the longer play sessions from the 2021 closed alpha permitted me to get to a point where I had a thriving bar and brewery stocked with my own products. This allowed me to spend most of my time exploring and pursuing the story with income passively coming in. I still made it a point to visit other towns and fulfill contracts to further expand my business area as that advances the goal of running those pirates out of town, but the sense of urgency to constantly run multiple brewing contacts at once from customers was very low. I was very concerned that the business element of this game would weigh down the gameplay and player's choices so much there would not be a way to effectively pursue the story. This was not the case. For those not used to business management, it sounds a bit daunting, but it's simplified enough to where after brewing your first drink, the system to brew everything else is the same, with the only difference being ingredients and the number of ingredients used per recipe. COMBAT Of course, the pirates aren't going to take being removed from their self-proclaimed territory without intimidation and combat. Rather than weapons, players will be combating them with non-lethal tools like high-powered water cannons to damage their aircraft and even water rockets. But the focus is on disabling the plane and not killing the pirates wholesale. Combat, when it appears, is still exciting, but this conscious decision from the game developer maintains the overall fun feeling of the experience without taking it to a dark place. A respectable decision. ADVENTURE ASPECTS Beyond the business and tense standoffs, exploring the islands has a lot of extras with it. Listing them off as bullet points may be the easiest way to summarize it: Water landings allow players to sleep on the water for many hours to recover pilot fatigue; no need to return to headquarters all the time. Pilots can also be switched and emergency services like refueling and towing are available. Salvaging sunken ship wreckage with an aircraft-mounted wench allows for recovery of equipment, blueprints, brewing recipes, new ingredients, crates of money, and more. Fishing for sealife to add to recipes. Finding new land-based ingredients only available on certain islands. Finding new towns, shipyards, and other places. Discover notable locations that come with snippets of lore that help expand the player's understanding of the world. CONTROLS, CAMERAS, FIXES Since the closed alpha demo, one of the most prominent problems was in the tutorial. It would occasionally bug itself, making it almost impossible to complete the tutorial, requiring a restart from the beginning. This is something I had happen to me as well. However, I've yet to have this happen to me during a few playthroughs of the February 2022 demo, where I intentionally did the tutorial to see if it would break. Do note that there are comments on social media and elsewhere saying this still happens occasionally. The default camera of The Brew Barons fits perfectly for this game. For reference, I'll call it the Cinematic camera. It focuses on the horizon and provides easy sweeping views needed to see the lay of the land, coordinate turns for landing or ingredient gathering, and generally take in the scenery. However, this camera was not that great in times of combat or when sharp vertical maneuvers were needed. Maintaining a visual of where the aircraft was going became very difficult. After receiving feedback, the developer added a second camera option toggled with a button press that slowly repositions and locks the camera directly behind the aircraft, giving it the familiar third-person view seen in most flight arcade games. Control-wise, I think that this game is better off with either a gamepad or keyboard and mouse controls. As I've mostly flown with a gamepad, I'll focus on that. The default controls for gamepads are undeniably a bit odd. Some functions are bound to rather unusual buttons - this has been a sticking point for some people. A more refined default gamepad layout would be beneficial here, but everything can be rebound to the player's liking. I advocate for always setting control bindings before ever playing a game, so I may be biased in that aspect. Some parts of the control setting menu may need to be reworded, but this is overall minor. Flight sticks or Hands-On Throttle And Stick (HOTAS) controllers do work, but only devices that use a single USB are recognized. According to the developer, advanced HOTAS with multiple USBs are currently being researched to get working. This also applies to players attempting to use rudder pedals, HOTAS, and head tracking simultaneously. In my opinion, not a huge deal since the overall experience was better using a gamepad than when I was using a Logitech X52 or a Thrustmaster T.Flight 4. CONCLUSION With its mix of arcade flight action, approachable business management, an adventurous story, and a fine balance of gamification, there are genuinely not that many titles out there that can match this game's unique energy. I've genuinely had a fun time with this demo, primarily because of how far off of the beaten path it is. The creativeness of what the developer is doing with this title is wonderful. I do recommend trying the time-limited February 2022 demo a few times. Just to play the tutorial, play while skipping the tutorial to explore and another tutorial-skipped playthrough to focus on the business management aspects. For those interested, the Kickstarter campaign is active until March 12th, 2022 with the public demo still available as long as the Kickstarter is active. Our interview with the team developing The Brew Barons is also available for further information. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Have you ever aileron roll a pair of flying cows off your wing while flying through a barn? Well, I have, and let me tell you, the guy in third place did not see that coming. Wing Breakers is a combat air racing game that wholeheartedly embraces absolute chaos. It was designed from the ground up to be over the top, fast-paced, and a little overwhelming as players plow through the racecourses to race for first place. A few parts of this game stand out, in my opinion, so I'll be focusing on those. Thanks to an offer from the developer, Gugila, I was able to fly in the absolutely wild skies of Wing Breakers days before its release on March 10th, 2022. Skyward Flight Media thanks the game's developer for pre-release access. BALANCING COMBAT Air racing games that incorporate combat into their gameplay must always overcome the balance between fighting and racing. Why outrace the others when you can just shoot them down? Why bother out flying the competition if I can outgun them? It's a similar problem that racing/cart games have if the players are given too many weapons or power-up options. In Wing Breakers, the balance of weapons vs. racing has been maintained. The damage output of bullets is limited enough that only multiple direct hits to an aircraft can destroy it - at least a dozen or more hits. Much easier said than done while flying in the chaotic environments of Wing Breakers. Using cannon shells to destroy non-player-controlled enemies, blowing up certain parts of terrain, and disrupting other racers by firing upon them is more useful than focusing on dogfighting the competitors. Guided missiles are relatively easy to dodge with an aileron roll or barrel roll, meaning that they're better used to catch unsuspecting rivals off guard during critical moments. There are Power-Ups that can be acquired mid-race by flying through them, but not all are offensive weapons. Picking up more ammunition restocks a small number of bullets or a single missile, meaning that weapons cannot be reliably reloaded and used throughout the race. Furthermore, the respawn timer for aircraft destroyed is relatively fast. In roughly three to four seconds, downed aircraft air restart a short distance away from where they were shot down or crashed. Choosing to hang back and fire upon other racers is ineffective because of the inability to shoot down the entire field of competition and because the rest of the field will be flying at much higher speeds to gather points and complete the race. Players are better off flying for points and trophy placement than trying to become an ace in a race. AIR RACING The most essential parts of racecourses are the rings and pylons that must be flown through. The green floating rings can be cleared by flying the aircraft through them or partially by dipping most of a wing through the ring's center. Occasionally missing these wrongs can be catastrophic as players may need to turn around completely to fly through a high-priority ring, allowing other racers to effortlessly pass them. This is a harsh penalty, but it keeps the racers focused on racing above all else. The presence of traditional air racing pylons, as seen in something like Red Bull Air Racing, appears purely cosmetic at first. But specific pylons have players gaining further points only if they fly through them under certain conditions. For example, they may require the aircraft to be wings level, knife-edge passes, passing through at certain altitudes, or slalom style weaving from side to side. This curious attention to detail inspired by real-world air racing is welcome even in this extreme setting. Even with all the shooting, bumping, and grinding between aircraft, the results that matter are time, points gathered, and who crossed the finish line. These are all ways to further counter players that would focus on combat over racing. Shooting down multiple aircraft in one race doesn't count for much if you still come in fifth. FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS Wing Breakers has a very arcadey flight model, but that's expected considering the type of flying being done in this game. To expect flight simulator type handling characteristics here would be a bit foolish. Pre-mapped controls include keyboard-mouse, various gamepads, Steam's native controller configuration input, and two flight sticks - specifically flight sticks that only have a single USB. The default controls are the most accessible for anyone, even players new to flight, as they can fly the aircraft with one stick. For example, tilting a thumbstick left makes the aircraft perform a coordinated turn left. Controls more representative to actual flight can be toggled, giving players control over all control surfaces. Interestingly enough, both control schemes have their strengths and weaknesses, but players with simplified controls do not seem to have an obvious advantage in multiplayer. There is a lot of collision with flying cows, racing pylons, bales of hay, piston-driven compactors that try to smash your plane to bits, etc. Because of this, the aircraft in this game are very sturdy, capable of plowing through hoards of combat drones and explosive barrels, but they do accumulate damage over time. Hitting the ground or a building at high speed will force a respawn. AIRCRAFT, CUSTOMIZATIONS There are currently six aircraft in the game, each with their own unique stats, including the amount of ammo and missiles they carry. As they are primarily civilian aircraft adapted for combat, the way weapons, hardware upgrades, and cosmetics are bolted onto the planes is rather comical - they fit the overall aesthetic well. There is an abundant amount of slots for customizations for each aircraft. Categories include Upgrades (jet engines, wing modifications, etc.), Stickers (decals that can be placed almost anywhere), and Extra (smoke generators, bobble head cats on your horizontal stabilizers!). The hangar can also be visually customized with decorations that do not change its functions. If you really wanted to, you could put an obnoxious amount of decals and attachments onto an aircraft to really stand out in a crowd! Aircraft and customizations are unlocked by increasing player rank and completing specific challenges, but the feeling of things being a heavy grind is avoided. There are eight skill levels in the Campaign race mode alone, each with up to 12 races that require players to do specific tasks. Just progressing through the campaign unlocks things without players having to replay a particular race repeatedly to eventually unlock a single item. TRACK EDITOR Aside from the racing, the significant feature that caught my attention is its track editor. Racecourses of any size and level of complexity are possible. The default racecourses were created in the same editor. Rather than be included directly in the game, the editor is available on the game's official website using WebGL. The editor comes with two guides, the ability to place every in-game object anywhere, reshape terrain in any way - everything needed to make quality custom maps. Racecourses created in the editor can be playtested in game before being made available for download to all players that own Wing Breakers. The track editor being hosted on the website is a pretty unusual choice. This makes it possible for people who don't own the game to create and upload their own tracks. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen, but this opens the possibility for hundreds of races to be uploaded in the long term. Wing Breakers is not the type of flight game I usually find myself playing, but the impression it left on me was positive overall. The races are always fast enough to never feel like they're dragging on. The need to fly precisely to avoid danger is thrown aside with all the airborne livestock and aircraft wing slapping going on. There are plenty of moments that leave you giggling at how absurd things get, like coming in third place while your aircraft fireballs across the finish line. It was good to take a step back from the seriousness of flying and just have fun with it. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

The counterattack on Takodana in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens solidified Poe Dameron's position as "one hell of a pilot". In under a minute, Poe's black T-70 X-Wing took down ten TIE fighters while strafing First Order Stormtroopers. Getting as many starfighter kills that fast might be a bit unobtainable in Star Wars Battlefront II (2017), but it's still the best place to experience Star Wars themed combined arms combat. It goes without saying that Star Wars: Squadrons (2020) is the tailor-made pilot experience, but it focuses on space combat against starfighters, warships, space ports, etc. Because of that, Battlefront II continues to be the best place to experience providing close air support (CAS) for ground forces even in the year 2022. Multiplayer Combined Arms Combat Ever since "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" (a.k.a. the 1970s), fans of this multi-decade series have played all types of Star Wars games of various genres and quality. Few have been able to give the same epic battle experience that mimics what is shown in the movies and TV shows. I have nothing but love for the Star Wars Battlefront games of the early 2000s, as they represented combined arms pretty well for the most part. But the opportunities that starfighters had were restricted by which maps or game modes they were available in. This trend continued even into the 2010s with Star Wars Battlefront II. Its important to note that the type of combat we are discussing is only truly available in one game mode: Galactic Assault. There two teams of 20 players each fight in large battles which include the four standard player classes, powered up Reinforcement units, well-known heroes and villains and an assortment of vehicles. Not every map in Galactic Assault has starfighters available, but when they are, a starfighter in the right hands can make a difference in the ground battle. Flight System Overview It's clear that video game developer DICE designed Battlefront II to be very accessible to players of all skill levels. There are similarities in its design and gameplay to their long-running Battlefield series. Within seconds players can be embroiled in deep space skirmishes or planetside battles without having to worry too much about the physics and controls behind it all. This game restricts full control over the roll axis and utilizes automatically coordinated turning: pitch, roll and yaw working together during a single directional input to provide flat, easy to control turns. Even at minimum throttle and maximum turn input, stalling is not possible. Armor and shields regenerate when players are not under attack for a certain amount of time. There is no mid-air collision and friendly fire is disabled. The most complicated things players would need to worry about it throttle inputs for maximum turn rates, managing shield strength and selecting the right system upgrades for the task. A lot more could be said about flight in this game across all game modes, but let's refocus. Map Restrictions Something to remember while providing close air support in Battlefront II is that Galactic Assault maps have a wide horizontal play area but usually not a very high vertical play area. The exact height restrictions differ on each map, but the vertical play area is always smaller than the horizontal play area. For pilots, this translates to more ground attacks at more shallow angles giving them more time on target, but increasing their exposure to counterattack from below. The ideal high angle top attack profile is harder to achieve but is still possible. Pilots using the high angle method will have a very short time on target window before they must pull up to avoid crashing into terrain. Hardware Overview Starfighters come in three variants: interceptors which focus on high speeds and excel at shooting down other starfighters but suffer have low armor. Fighters maintain a nice balance of armor, firepower, and maneuverability. Bombers have high damage output, the best armor, and the lowest maneuverability. That may be how they are generally described, but gameplay and descriptions are two different things, especially when striking ground targets is the focus. Each Starfighter comes with slightly varying weapons systems. The primary weapon system is their blasters which have varying rates of fire and base firepower. Take note that these blasters also have a limited amount of splash damage around them. This splash damage can be utilized to hit even troops hiding behind cover, depending on the pilot's accuracy. Enhancing their ability to fire faster, hit harder or fire for longer periods of time is ideal. Secondary systems include momentary laser barrage bursts, afterburners, droids that repair damage and different types of torpedoes (i.e guided missiles). For ground attack, laser barrages and torpedoes are the best as they provide a substantial extra attack ability. Though torpedoes on starfighters do not lock onto anything but other starfighters, they can be fired without guidance using the on-screen crosshair in the starfighter's heads up display. This essentially makes them unguided rockets that fly along a fairly predictable path. When it comes to starfighter classes, the Interceptor and Bomber classes are the most effective in the ground attack role. Though Bombers do not carry bombs in this game, their high damage output blasters and torpedoes can make quick work of any land based foe. Their high output shields and heavy armor are also a factor. It may be surprising that the lightweight Interceptor was even considered, but its high rate of fire blasters can deliver respectable damage within seconds. Although its light defenses restrict it to quick slashing attacks and its high speed actually reduces the amount of time on target depending on how players approach their targets. The balanced rate of fire and damage output of Fighter class vehicle is formidable in dogfights and against capital ships, but for ground attack its somewhat meandering damage output combined with short ground attack windows caused by speed, distance and altitude restrictions diminishes its effectiveness. Application of Close Air Support Troop Buildup: The most common target for starfighters. Groups of three or more opposing players moving as a squad. The minimal splash damage produced by starfighter blasters will strike all targets within your firing point, making multi-kills more likely to happen. Being able to visually identify and trace their blaster fire helps with target identification. There are very few handheld weapons that can counter starfighters, besides Ion Torpedoes and Ion Turrets. While these launch small guided missiles that can chase starfighters, they are moderately easy to evade. Ion Disruptor Suppression: If the goal of the enemy is to deploy Ion Disruptors to drop the defenses of large assault vehicles like CIS Separatist MTTs, Imperial AT-ATs or First Order AT-M6s, interception of ground forces transporting them is needed. Pilots are able to fly past the front line and promptly fire upon the Ion Disruptors before they are fired. Even forcing the troops carrying them into less favorable position buys precious time for friendly ground forces to reach the troops carrying the Ion Disruptors themselves. Anti-Vehicle: Arguably the primary target for close air support. Whether they are hover tanks or multi-legged walking armored vehicles, starfighters can inficlt substantial damage on them in a short amount of time. Friendly ground forces will often be drawing all of their attention, making them easier to attack. Well aimed unguided torpedoes with damage upgrades are even capable of one-shot destroying vehicles at full health, if you can hit their weak spot directly. Even much larger vehicles like AT-ATs or MTTs, the primary objectives in many Galactic Assault matches, can be attacked with ease from the air at long distance. All of this can be applied to static defenses as well; E-Web Heavy Blaster emplacements, DF.9 anti-infantry batteries, V-232 artillery emplacements, etc. The weapons these vehicles carry can dish out equally high damage onto starfighters, so approaching them while they are actively firing upon you is unwise. Hero and Villain Counter: In this game, players can use the iconic characters of Star Wars to lay waste to all other infantry. With their boosted abilities, special weapons and Force powers, they can spread chaos throughout the area. Starfighters are one of the most effective counters to these characters. The splash damage caused by blasters, laser cannons and torpedoes cannot be deflected or blocked by a Force barrier or a light saber. While characters trained to use the Force will be harder to hit because of their ability to dash quickly and jump far, two or three effective strafing runs will almost completely deplete their massive health pools. Their lightsabers, while intimidating, do give away their positions when they are ignited, making them easier to attack from the air. Other characters that use blasters and are less mobile are generally easier to deal with but are capable of firing back. The most effective Hero or Villain characters against starfighters is actually Leia Organa. Her secondary fire ability not only delivers a moderately powerful single blaster bolt, but this bolt actually tracks targets. The farther the target is from Leia, the more accurate the blaster bolt tracks the target. Because the pilot receives no missile lock warning or missile evasion cues, pilots are usually caught off guard by her. This, strangely, makes her one of the most effective anti-starfighter defenses in Battlefront II. Self-Escort: In Galactic Assault, the number of starfighters available is always much more limited than the other game modes. Pilots providing CAS will need to be able to defend themselves against enemy starfighters before returning to ground attack. Even with a dedicated ally providing escort for the ground attacker, these minimal numbers will force all starfighters airborne to combat one another for air superiority. Being able to destroy walking tanks and strafe Stormtroopers definitely fulfills a lot of big screen movie desires within the players of Star Wars: Battlefront II. Han Solo is famous for saying hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster. The heavy blasters of high speed space craft tend to agree. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

"The best way to test survival game mechanics is to put yourself into a desperate situation." I told myself this after three days of trekking through the forest and foothills—the result of my misjudgment of aircraft fuel quantity and the distance back to my main airfield. I executed an emergency landing in a grass field at dusk. Exiting the aircraft, I saw that the wing was damaged during the chaos. With no tools onboard, I hiked back to my home airfield with only the items on my person and from the storage hold of the aircraft. I didn't have enough energy bars and water bottles to make the long walk back, so how would I survive? I previously discussed Groundfall, an in development open world bush flight simulator, back in April 2021. At the time, Snowcreature, the developer of this title, focused much of their effort on getting online multiplayer working. They were still hammering out how they would re-incorporate survival elements from a previous test build of the game. In late June 2022, singleplayer has been reintroduced, and many survival elements are back in play. It's safe to say that GroundFall has reached a new level of testing. For testing purposes, participants immediately have access to various weapons, a limited initial supply of resources, home airfield, a cabin, and an aircraft. This title has much more development to be done before it is ready for the public. Nothing in this article should be taken as a "final build" representation, but let's discuss what is currently being tested. Survival Equipment and Game Mechanics "Roughing it" is a part of the collective mental image of bush flight. Moving the aircraft into places inaccessible to most aircraft while maintaining a stable food supply and general state of safety even in the most remote areas. Players have to manage their physical fatigue, food, water, and stamina. It's even possible to get an infection from a severe injury. Attempting to explore and build 24 hours a day with minimal rest will also result in eventual death by fatigue. Learning how to pace one's goals while making time to rest properly is the safest way to survive. My most successful testing sessions frequently start by stocking up on supplies and hardware before even attempting to fly anywhere. A few overland treks by foot to nearby cabins before even taking off could also lead to finding rare items like aircraft fuel, repair tools, or other gadgets. Tools and weapons include bows, arrows, knives, spears, axes, and lever-action hunting rifles. All of these have limitations such as wear and tear that eventually causes them to break, throwing them and losing track of them, or in the case of the rifle, how much ammunition is available. Intelligent choices need to be made. You won't be walking around with hundreds of rounds of ammo or arrows on your person, so using precious rifle ammunition on an unsuspecting rabbit may not be as valuable as using it to fight off bears. Foraging for berries is a decent way to keep the player's food and water levels up, but hunting prey like deer offers considerably more food in one go. So far, GroundFall has handled hunting in a very straightforward manner. Each animal provides a certain amount of meat, leather, etc. There are no animations for skinning fur or removing organs, so it's all pretty clean for now. Crafting and Constructing The inclusion of a crafting and survival booklet was a very positive move from the developer. This booklet contains tutorials, crafting recipes for various structures, and workspaces to repair equipment and build more advanced equipment. Even creating new buildings is being tested. Both pre-made designs and custom designs are available. After setting placeholders for walls, porches, windows, stairs, and doors, the structures show how much wood, stone, or other materials are required. With players also able to make new runways, constructing a rather elaborate home airfield is a desirable long-term goal. I had never considered wanting a custom airfield until Ground Fall presented the possibility. I'll find a way to make a complete two-runway airport at this rate! Reaffirming the Value of the Aircraft The flight model GroundFall uses hasn't changed much since the last article I wrote, so I recommend reading that if you have not. But on the subject of survival gameplay, nothing emphasizes the importance of having an aircraft more than losing access to it. A light aircraft's utility becomes more apparent when you are thousands of meters away from the home airfield with no quick ride out of potentially deadly situations. The extra storage and speed of travel aircraft provide are vital—even quick trips just over the next few hills or scouting areas of interest. A flat patch of dirt near a cluster of hard-to-reach cabins or a herd of deer could be the beginning of a profitable expedition. But the fragility of light aircraft is also very apparent. Taking time to orbit the potential landing area and visually inspect it will save players a lot of headaches. The presence of wildlife, boulders, and trees on or near the runway can result in catastrophic damage to the aircraft. Attempting to land from the wrong direction without accounting for the height of trees, hills, or mountains could also lead to a one-time landing gone wrong. Give yourself enough room to go around and try again. Admittedly, at this testing phase, flying long distances is risky because of the inability to carry repair tools or extra fuel within the aircraft. You're at the mercy of RNG to hope you'll find more fuel somewhere along the way at another airfield or in a cabin. Running out of fuel, taking considerate structural damage or outright flipping the aircraft upside down is a death sentence for the aircraft. Feedback from testers will continue to be provided to the developer, but I know I'll be arguing the case for even a one-time use "minor tool kit" to be carried on board the aircraft to at least repair minor or moderate damage. Perhaps an "emergency gas tank" as well. It's great that GroundFall has reached a new phase of testing for its core gameplay elements. There are bound to be many more additions and improvements along the way as the developer continues to bounce ideas off of their testing group. Other features from a previous build are still being reintroduced, including radio for communications and receiving in-game objectives. I look forward to seeing the next level of development in this up-and-coming bush flight simulator. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Flight arcade games that have players purchasing aircraft as the story develops add a thin layer of money management to gameplay. This is mostly true for the first and second playthrough of their single player campaigns. Starting with a small pool of funds and facing an increasing number of enemies, buying a new aircraft for each sortie isn't always the best strategy. Saving up for highly capable late-game aircraft is ideal, but finding the right mix of less capable aircraft to get you there without wasting money is the challenge. I'm of the opinion that in Project Wingman, the MG-29 is by far the best mid-tier aircraft available early in its campaign and conquest mode. This is because of its weapon selection, ability to bring multiple weapon types in the same sortie, great all-around mobility, and an optional maneuverability-increasing part that can extend its usefulness in combat. Unlike most of its appearances in-flight arcade games over the past two or three decades, the MG-29 (patterned after the MiG-29 Fulcrum) is a solid multi-role platform in Project Wingman. With three weapon slots available, it can carry a mixture of anti-air and anti-surface weapons without compromising one for the other; something that the most flight arcade games force players to do frequently. Slot 1 is a dedicated air-to-air slot with active radar homing missiles (MLAA), semi-active radar homing missiles (SAA), or short-range multiple-purpose missiles (STDM). Slot 2 allows for more active radar homing missiles (MLAA), unguided bombs (UGBS), or rocket pods (URS, URBM). The unguided weapons can be used effectively on clusters of surface targets, with the rocket pods doubling as effective weapons against seaborne and airborne warships. Even against the occasional land battleship! Slot 3 can equip further active radar homing missiles (MLAA), small unguided bombs (UGBS) or guided air-to-ground missiles (MLAG, MLAG-2). All of this is available alongside the aircraft's highly effective internal cannon (GUN) and the usual multipurpose standard missiles (STDM). The typical "no compromise" loadout of the MG-29 combines medium or long ranged air-to-air missiles, unguided rocket pods or bombs and multi-target air-to-ground missiles which augment the already destructive internal cannon and standard missiles capable of attacking any target. Being able to carry this mixture of weaponry each sortie or prioritize one role over another depending on the mission highlights the MG-29's flexibility as compared to other aircraft in the game's roster. Whether it's maintaining a mixed loadout to take on any threat during a mission or doubling up on weapons for air battles or dedicated ground support, the MG-29 can handle it. While this aircraft does come with countermeasures to decoy guided missiles, its optional angle of attack limiter toggle is vital in extending its usefulness. Forgoing countermeasures to control the limiter lets players maneuver the aircraft beyond its standard performance ratings for a short time. Being able to quickly tap the limiter to enhance turns, evade attacks, or quickly point the nose and attack superior enemies are a part of the AOA limiter's offerings. Eventually the effectiveness of the aircraft will fall off when combating considerable numbers of superior aircraft. Expert use of the AOA limiter by the pilot will be the deciding factor in late game combat. Finally, the MG-29 is unlocked for purchase rather early in the story, making its entire package very desirable. Completing mission 05 and having enough credits on hand is enough to purchase it outright with all weapons and optional equipment included. Even in Conquest Mode it can be purchased early on though its viability comes into question much faster in this game mode as compared to single player. Mainly because of how rapidly the difficulty in Conquest mode can escalate in just two to four missions. Any attempt to fly the MG-29 long term in Conquest will heavily rely on the pilot's overall skill and expert use of the AOA limiter for defensive maneuvers. In a genre that has portrayed the Strike Eagle, Fighting Falcon and Hornet as the only true multirole platforms, it's great to see the "Fulcrum" finally be a solid contender in the race. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Multi-crew capable aircraft are some of the most interesting modules in the Digital Combat Simulator World. Operating a full-fidelity simulated airborne war machine with a trusted second human player is something that DCS can offer in a way few other combat-oriented flight simulators can. This is even more true in a historically iconic aircraft like the Grumman F-14 Tomcat as presented by Heatblur Simulations, which has been recreated in eye bleedingly high quality. But as expected in any multi-crew aircraft, the full extent of their capabilities rely on a competent human crew. In the F-14A/B, having a consistent human pilot and radar intercept officer for every sortie is a rarity. Fortunately, a computer companion has been available since this module's introduction in March 2019. Jester, a computerized radar intercept officer (RIO) is effective enough to let human players fly the Tomcat without a human RIO. Some aspects of Jester are beneficial beyond the on-paper capabilities of the Tomcat, but even now, in 2022, he's not without his limitations and quirks. Some of these quirks can potentially place the aircraft in danger if the players don't figure out how to work with or around them. Consider this a helpful tip article for your average DCS World F-14 Tomcat pilot to work better with Jester in certain aspects. Jester Specific Keybinds Jester's primary control function is the Jester Menu. This circular menu lets the pilot order their computer RIO to interact with dozens of sub-menus for almost every system available in the Tomcat's backseat. It is projected over the center of the player's field of view while in flight. Speaking from the point of view of someone that uses head tracking like TrackIR or OpenTrack, this menu's ability to be controlled with head movements for quick selection is very handy. But there are times when moving one's head up, down, left, and right can be detrimental. Like while visually tracking a maneuvering bandit in a dogfight or opening the menu when not looking straight ahead towards the head tracker sensor. Opening the menu while looking up at an angle or off to the side can result in awkward strained neck movements because of the menu's orientation. Whichever direction the player is looking when they open this menu is considered the "centered" position for the menu. For example, suppose the menu is opened while looking down to the left outside the cockpit while scanning for something on the ground. What would typically be a quick downward glance to select a menu option can turn into odd neck-craning movements to choose menu options. Opening the menu when already looking behind or directly above the aircraft could require large head movements to select options on the edges of the menu. To the point where keeping your eyes on the computer monitor while moving your head at awkward angles can be uncomfortable. Jester does have a limited set of commands that can be bound to specific keybinds or buttons on physical controllers (joysticks, HOTAS, gamepads, etc). There are not enough commands to cover every possible Jester option, but what is available can be utilized in life-saving and frustration-negating ways when used correctly. Take time to check out all possible keybinds in with Digital Combat Simulator open in Options -> Controls -> F-14 Pilot -> Jester AI, but the keybinds of interest to us in this article will be explained per subject. Radar Orientation Reset One of the first things people will think of is how difficult it can be to get him to re-center the radar from one cluster of contacts to a different area. This is something that occurs in various radar modes. Even when aggressively reorienting the F-14 onto new radar contacts, Jester will work his hardest to keep the radar on the initial set of contacts, slewing the radar as far as he can to maintain radar contact on the initial group. While this is all well and good assuming the initial group is the biggest threat, in situations where a new, more dangerous group of contacts appears, having to work against Jester to force him to break contact with the initial group is detrimental. Having to completely break radar contact with the first group by sometimes turning the aircraft so far away from the initial contact group Jester cannot physically keep the radar on them to acquire the new contacts is as dangerous as it sounds. It costs precious time and can allow bandits to close distance, negating the Tomcat's purpose-built beyond visual range advantage (BVR). In a pinch or as a standard operation, using the keybinds as mentioned above to change Jester's radar mode between Range While Search (Jester AI -> Radar- RWS Mode) or Track While Scan (Jester AI -> Radar - TWS Mode) automatically forces Jester to re-center the aircraft's radar straight ahead of the aircraft. While it will take him a few seconds to complete the order, it's a faster and safer alternative in a pinch. BVR Transition to WVR Despite the Tomcat's famed ability to fire six AIM-54 Phoenixes at up to six different aircraft flying at altering altitudes and speeds, the chances of splashing every bandit every time would require the perfect conditions for each missile. Knowing how to transition from BVR to within visual range (WVR) combat is a skill that the F-14 pilot will need to know. Assuming a long-range missile launch failed to hit its target or a close-range bandit has been detected, Jester's commands for Single Target Track (STT) mode can be the difference between landing a quick missile shot a few miles before the merge or better positioning one's self for the inevitable turning battle. This can be accomplished without interacting with Jester's menu when you may be seconds away from entering a dogfight. Ordering Jester to STT lock the nearest confirmed bandit (Jester AI -> Radar - STT Lock Enemy Ahead) is the ideal solution, assuming all aircraft in front of the F-14 have been identified as friendly or hostile (IFF). If Jester may not be able to IFF a nearby air contact fast enough, commanding him to lock any aircraft ahead with STT (Jester AI -> Radar - STT Lock Ahead) is the fastest way to gain a firing solution. But with, this will forgo the IFF process, making it possible for him to lock a friendly. Methods for confirming whether or not the STT locked aircraft include waiting for Jester to verbally IFF them, the pilot using the Tomcat's Television Camera System (TCS) to visually identify, using the pilot's own eyes to identify, communicating with allies, asking a nearby AWACS to declare the status of the locked aircraft or checking the F10 map, if able. Where quick STT lock commands are used, it is strongly recommended also to have Jester's break lock command readily available (Jester AI -> Radar - Break Lock). Following Up on BVR Launches As a side note, the same STT keybinds mentioned above can be used to follow up on successful or near-successful BVR launches. When AIM-54 Phoenix missiles reach their targets and their onboard missile seekers go fully active ("pitbull") and guide themselves to target, the enemy aircraft are usually forced to perform defensive maneuvers once their onboard radar warning receivers alert them of the AIM-54 closing in. If in a favorable position, the attacking F-14 can follow up for a second attack. When confirming that the Phoenix went active, using Jester's command to STT lock an enemy ahead (Jester AI -> Radar - STT Lock Enemy Ahead) will focus the Tomcat's weapon systems and TCS onto the defensive bandit. The benefits of this is the immediate ability to monitor the bandit's movements. If the bandit is destroyed by the AIM-54, it can be confirmed via radar and the TCS system. If it successfully defends, the Tomcat can be positioned closer to the defensive bandit for a more favorable follow up attack and decide what type of missile should be launched to down the bandit. Using the Jester Menu to STT lock a specific numbered Track While Scan (TWS) target is the ideal way to follow up a BVR TWS attack, but in situations where missiles are being exchanged, Jester's quick STT lock keybinds can come in clutch. Manually Switching Between Pulse and Pulse Doppler STT Jester frequently loses radar missile lock when transitioning from Pulse Doppler STT (PD-STT) to Pulse STT (P-STT) when allowed to do so on his own. This well-known problem resulted in an update from Heatblur Simulations, letting players disable Jester's ability to transfer between these two modes through the aircraft's Special Options menu. Without getting too deep into the details, for now, there are advantages and disadvantages to using either mode. PD-STT is best used for attacking a single target at long range but is vulnerable to Zero Doppler Notch. P-STT is more resistant to notching but is best used for short to medium range. For a deeper understanding, I recommend referring to the AN/AWG-9 section of the official manual and Avionics IV: Radar Management in Virtual Backseaters Volume I: F-14 Tomcat Radar Intercept Officer by Fly and Wire. Rather than completely doing away with a function of the AN/AWG-9 radar, make use of Jester's toggle command (Jester AI ->Radar - Toggle PD-STT to P-STT) to take manual control. With the pilot having a better understanding of when and if to switch between these two modes, there is at least an option to access these modes when needed. Inhuman Situational Awareness Quirks This isn't necessarily something that can be controlled with keybinds, but it is noteworthy. Jester has the same level of inhuman situational awareness that many other computer-controlled enemy units do in Digital Combat Simulator. This is especially apparent during close-range dogfights and for calling out missile launches. In a dynamic turning battle, Jester does not lose sight of any bandit merged with the F-14 Tomcat. Even in situations where the enemy is attacking from directly below, where it's physically impossible to see them. Jester will continue to guide the player's eyes and flight inputs towards the bandit with consistent position call-outs. This is true even in scenarios/missions that adhere to the most realistic restrictions possible. This includes callouts for missiles launched from aircraft or surface-to-air threats. Jester's warnings about infrared homing missiles are especially life-saving. The assumption is that when Jester calls out a missile it will most likely be hostile. However, he can give false call-outs in certain situations. Because he does not always differentiate the type of missiles launched or if a nearby friendly aircraft fired a missile at a distant target. Occasionally Jester's sudden, panicked instructions to break away and evade are triggered by something that is no factor. Human pilots maintaining at least a basic situational awareness will easily avoid unneeded maneuvering and wasting countermeasures from a false launch alert. For those interested in more information about what's possible with Jester in the air-to-ground attack role, see my previous article on using Jester AI in the Forward Air Controller (Airborne) role. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

My latest adventure into the indie flight game scene has led me to a cutesy planetoid in need of irrigation, bug swatting, and a long-eared pilot hero. Hare Fare is a simple arcade flight shooter created by Gumboot studio, with audio support from Ockpii. It was created as a part of the 46th Ludum Dare, a long-running series of game jam competitions that typically last two to three days. Each game jam has a theme or set of requirements that creators are recommended to follow to score higher in the competition. The theme for Ludum Dare 46 was "keep it alive," implying the act of protecting or enabling the function or existence of something being a core part of the submitted games. Gumboot's entry was a cartoonish flight game featuring a rabbit piloting a propeller-driven aircraft. From a small airfield on the ocean, the player patrols a planetoid in support of the populations living on Leek, Lemon, and Petal islands. Players deploy a net-shaped device that captures moisture from inside dark rain clouds while the aircraft flies through them. This water can then be air dropped onto each island to sustain the islanders' carrot-laden fields. This same water source is also needed to power the aircraft's onboard water guns to defend the islands. Swarms of dastardly Fly Guys cross the sky from island to island. Their goal is to steal carrots and decimate each island's water supply. Once the water supply is completely drained, the island name is crossed out and it cannot be revitalized. As the Fly Guys approach and attack the islands, their residences call for their flying long-eared savior to shoot down the pesky invaders with water guns (this is where the "carrot combat air patrol" joke comes in). The most effective strategy for handling them is intercepting them over the ocean, well away from the islands when able. Thinning out their numbers or taking out entire swarms before reaching the islands is ideal. As time goes on, the swarms increase in size, making it harder to defend the islands while resupplying them with water and occasionally flying to the home airport to refuel the aircraft quickly. Gameplay-wise it's as simple as can be. Basic controls for throttle, pitch, and roll with buttons for firing the water gun and dropping water containers from the aircraft. There is also no need to deploy landing gear to land and refuel. Simply flying beneath the flags at the home airfield will refuel the plane. While the lack of yaw makes using the water guns very awkward at times, an automatically adjusting aiming reticle somewhat makes up for it. Due to the low speed of the Fly Guys and their tendency to circle the terrain of the islands at low altitudes, slashing attacks through their groups are highly effective. Darting around this admittedly cute small game is another good example of the types of things you can find from indie flight game developers. Whether they're game jam entries turned into full-fledged projects or one-off limited-scale games made to test an idea, I recommend the occasional dive into the world wide web to find unique flying experiences. You never know what you'll find. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

Featured in volume 2 of Miles Above Magazine produced by Electrosphere.info in May 2015. This interview was lost with the website's closure later that year. ​We present a interview with the group behind the only on going multi-year translation project in the Ace Combat Community. Team NEMO is the group behind the fan based translation of the original version of Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere. The  translation project as a whole is known as “Project NEMO”. ​The original version of Ace Combat 3 is not to be confused with the export version of the game, which was only one disc long with a vast proportion of its content removed. After many years, a major mile stone in the timeline of the project has been reached. The release of Team NEMO’s AC3 International Edition demo would come on December 25th, 2014; nearly five years after the project began.  ​ In this interview with Team NEMO we ask questions about various aspects of the project throughout their history. Our questions are answered through DragonSpikeXIII, who is the leader of the translation team. The interviewer being Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza, formerly of Electrosphere.info. Greetings. I'm glad we're finally doing this. ​It's great to be here for an interview, ask away! Project Nemo has been around for quite some time now. With so much effort going into this translation over such a long amount of time, the first question that comes to mind is "Why AC3?" ​It had to be AC3 because of how unique it is and it being the only Ace Combat that was never REALLY translated for English-speaking audiences. Me and the rest of the team believe this game is worth the effort and I believe it has something to offer unlike any game before or after, be it AC or not. ​ ​When more recent fans of the series hear about Project Nemo, a few questions come up, “Why translate a game that was released so long ago?”, “What's the difference between the two that makes Project Nemo's translation efforts so important?” “It was already translated, wasn't it?” The game may be more than 15 years old but even though the game was localized, most of its original qualities were dropped during localization, back in 2000. Even as I played the stripped-down and streamlined U.S. version, there was always a feeling that something was missing. It felt like it had taken great steps forward in graphics, design and sound but there was no narrative, nor characters to populate the world they had created for AC3. It was a strange mix of going forward and backwards when compared to AC2. When I finally discovered, back in 2006 or 2007, that my suspicions were actually founded all along, it was an amazing discovery. After that a year passed and I just couldn't wait any more, someone had to at least try and start a fan-translation project for this game. How did the effort to translate Ace Combat 3 begin? ​ My memory's a little hazy but the project had its official start when I met a like-minded fan, Iceman-UK, on the GameFAQS AC3 forum. I had posted a topic where I talked about my plan to crowd fund a translation for this game but he changed all that. At the time Iceman-UK was part of the team that had translated Front Mission 5 and was also translating Front Mission 2, so he had critical know-how that I simply lacked. He was the one who found a translator willing to help us out, BRPXQZME, and so in early 2009 the original game's translation finally began. Meeting these individuals and the progress being made with translation would lead to the creation of the Project Nemo website and Usea Today blog, correct? What impact has the website and blog had on the project over the years? Yes, the creation of our homepage and blog signaled the official start of Project NEMO. Our homepage is our official presence on the Internet, so to speak, while USEA Today, our blog, was created so we had a platform where we could post any kind of information not only about project but, more importantly, about the game itself. Ultimately they've allowed us to reach our audience and finally put AC3 on the map, in a way. So if someone wanted to find out more about AC3 and its fan-translation, there finally was place for that. Promotional poster for the project. Tell us a bit about Team Nemo themselves. How many have been on the team since it was founded? What were their roles in the project? We were just three at first, me, Iceman-UK and BRPXQZME. Those two were already known and active in the fan-translation community when Project NEMO began. Over the years we gradually welcomed more people who joined the team proper, like pmt7ar, translator and spot-checker and Gipphe, the first one who took a look at the programming side of the game. After a few years of hiatus, where there was little to no progress, the project had the luck to welcome Dashman, our typesetter, and esperknight, the programmer who made it possible to insert our translation into the game. A few months into 2014, another programmer simply called "me", whose contributions were critical to our fan-translation project, joined us. We're currently eight in all, each member being absolutely crucial to this project. The mission and in-game broadcast transcripts were the first items translated by the team. The time between these translations and the release of the AC3E IE demo was quite large. What were some of the obstacles that prevented these translations from being applied at first? The game's compression is the main culprit. Simply put, the developers packed the game with so much content that they had to compress almost everything in order to cram it all on 2 discs. That meant that if we wanted to gain access to the text files, which are actually stored as images (TIM), we had to get past the compression. It took a really talented and experienced programmer like esperknight to crack it. It's a pretty hard game to work with on a technical level. Of course I wish we'd all been able to reach this much progress back in 2009 or 2010, but finding help has always proven difficult for us. The fact we've been able to get this far is something of a miracle actually. That certainly puts everything in perspective. The playable demo for the first four missions of AC3E IE was released on Christmas Day of 2014. It was certainly quite the Christmas gift for Ace Combat fans everywhere. How do the members of Team NEMO and yourself feel about getting a solid, playable release available to the public? Years ago I thought that since I speak Italian and Portuguese fluently, that I could translate the game from English to those languages in order to reach those audiences. That was a completely personal side-project I had in mind as Team NEMO is working to translate the game into English only. So it's sort of an unofficial side-project. Little did I know how much time and effort would be required in order to get the game translated even once into English. By the time I had uploaded the video containing the additional translations I knew that I wouldn't be able to do it by myself so I downgraded the idea to a " tentative side-project." Our tools have all been made available to the public since day one also because we'd love to see the game translated into even more languages but at this point I can't promise anything since the game's proving a handful just to translate it once. ​ Thank you for this interview and giving us all a better insight into Project NEMO. And again, thank you very much for the playable demo. Is there anything you'd like to say to the Ace Combat fan base out there? We'd like to thank those who have followed our project since the beginning and who are waiting patiently for the they can finally play the real AC3 in English. We hope every AC fan, hardcore or casual, will give it a try once it's out! Promotional poster for the project. About the Interviewer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile.

As the credits began to roll, I turned to look at Aaron (Ribbon-Blue) and asked him, “Have you ever seen Wayne’s World 2”? He answered in the affirmative, probably wondering what I was on about. I replied earnestly: “Wayne’s World 2 is a rare sequel for a successful and iconic film that manages to differentiate itself enough to be strong all on its own.” Top Gun: Maverick (TGM) is another one of those rare sequels. I’m sure many people can word this more simply than I: It’s an 80’s movie made in the 21st century, and it owns every minute of it. But it’s the “feel” that’s hard to explain. It’s nostalgic and novel all at once. Perhaps not as quotable… yet. Perhaps a soundtrack that’s not as iconic… yet. Perhaps not as culturally influential… yet. But here’s what I will say: Cruise’s decision to delay the movie for this long to get it on the big screen was absolutely the right call. I think this movie could be pointed at as a swan song for the cinema—it’s what makes movies great. And what does it distill to that makes it so great? Some of the best aerial combat sequences we’ve seen since 2005’s Les Chevaliers du Ciel. Wherever they possibly could, they used a real aircraft. The F/A-18E/F is on full display here as the knife-fighter it is reputable for. But even more impressive is the respect it gives to its audience and its subject without slowing down the movie’s pace. There are sequences highlighted that will put a wide grin on a DCS flyer’s face but masterfully presents them so that someone less familiar with these technicalities infers what is happening rapidly. I’d have to say that none of this was what I expected. I went it with light reservations, but expecting it to walk away from a modern remake of an old classic, never as recognized as the original. But you know… It may very well be. We’ll see where the future takes us. But in the present—the hype is real, and it carries over to the unprecedented media tie-ins that have been released to celebrate the occasion. Like NFT’s! ... I’m serious. There are NFT’s. But that’s not what I mean. I mean the game tie-ins. The release of Top Gun: Maverick comes along side multiple official collaborations and well-timed Top Gun related announcements with high profile flight games and simulators. War Thunder released a teaser for their "Danger Zone" update which is finally bringing the long-sought after F-14 Tomcat to the game. With its arrival questions about how its massive radar range, AIM-54 Phoenix missiles and how it all fits with War Thunder's World War II sized maps. With the Tomcat available in the dev server, various content creators has been giving their first impressions and opinions on how the aircraft may fair in the near future. Eagle Dynamics presented an excellent "Turn and Burn | Be A Maverick" video for Digital Combat Simulator World. The video acting as an announcement for a free Open Beta update that added TGM themed liveries for the F/A-18C Hornet and F-14A/B Tomcat. Furthermore, for a very limited time of just three days, two bundles that provide a discount for the Hornet, Tomcat and/or Super Carrier are available. A further nod to TGM's release in theaters. Shout out to Eagle Dynamics for using "Mighty Wings" by Cheap Trick rather than the frequently idolized "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins. The official collaboration between Top Gun and Ace Combat launched with much fanfare. While Ace Combat is no stranger to collaborations with many other intellectual properties, the TGM collab is a very high profile event in its 26 year history. It includes remixed versions of "Danger Zone" and "Top Gun Anthem" by composer Keiki Kobayashi, special wallpapers, movie related nicknames and emblems and new aircraft. The F-14A Tomcat, the F/A-18E Super Hornet, fictional Dark Star hypersonic aircraft and the "5th Generation Fighter" (read: Su-57 variant) joined the roster of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. Of note are the specifically labelled "TGM" variants of the Tomcat and Super Hornet having highly increased maneuverability, allowing them to perform absolutely crazy post-stall maneuvers as an homage to certain maneuvers presented in the movies. Funnily enough, the Dark Star is so fast it can traverse multiple singleplayer and multiplayer maps within a minute, making it somewhat hard to reach and maintain its hypersonic speeds. The last official collaboration with Microsoft Flight Simulator added the Top Gun: Maverick expansion pack. Though already available in the simulator for a long time now, the F/A-18E Super Hornet received Maverick's CAG bird style livery and multiple new challenges. As a non-combat simulator, some questioned what it could offer. The bulk of what is offered in this collab involves training missions to learn the Super Hornet and low altitude, high speed challenges inspired by events from the movie. Our buddies over at Stormbirds have put up a great video as an example. Furthermore, the Dark Star in this simulator does benefit from having plenty of altitude and distance to cover. This being highlighted by the stratospheric flight mission which has the player flying from NAWS China Lake to Cape Canaveral, Florida at hypersonic speeds. The entire trip being just a little over half-an-hour. If only all flights were that fast. If nothing else, Top Gun: Maverick heavily benefited from a type of online collaboration the first movie could never have dreamed of having. Perhaps that too will add to its potential status as a classic in the making. About the Writer T.J. "Millie" Archer A Life-long realist and aviation enthusiast. Once the co-founding Administrator of the Electrosphere.info English Ace Combat Database. In the present day he is freelance, roving the internet in search of the latest aviation news and entertainment. Read Staff Profile.

An opinion piece from the perspective of a decades long fan of the Ace Combat series, aviation simulators and flight action games in general. At one time, TJ "Millie" Archer was an administrator of an English Ace Combat database, but chose to step away from the online community to pursue a new path in life. The release of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown and the subsequent reception of it inspired him to write an article to present his evaluation of the value of AC7 in a down to earth perspective. Ace Combat 7 is a mess. A disjointed story, a myriad of “gimmick” missions and mechanics, cheesy dialogue, and amped difficulty rooted in game-breaking AI and missile spam. Bias reeks in this statement, but even the most casual follower of the series can’t help but see these same critiques parroted throughout the little corners of the internet the community calls home. ​And who am I to disagree? I’ve levied the same criticisms and am just as vocal about it. I oft feel like a foreigner in my own nation when I hear defenses being levied for the game, and the series, that was used sparsely if at all in context of discussion 15 years ago. “The game is just an anime, and it’s always been that way,” seems to be an appealing fallback. But the vocal critics like myself will argue until we’re dark blue the fallacy presented to us. And we’ll continue doing so because we’re old like that. Some of us might be crotchety old cooks at this point, pining for a series that left us behind. Two camps seem to be at odds here, two sides of the same coin, looking similar, but never seeing face-to-face. These skies have been shattered for some time, and with real-world decoys tossed into the mix to distract us in the past such as Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and Ace Combat X2: Joint Assault, I don’t think we realized how the tone, function, and feel of the core game had shifted its appeal since 2004.    And it’s with the whining of wildly fluctuating game dialogue, harsh mission design, incoherent story structure, and FPS mechanics with a dose of schizophrenic world-building we can’t seem to break through the fog and realize that we’ve made a safe return home.    Ace Combat 7 is a triumph. Not just for Ace Combat mind you, but for video games in the modern age, the dedication and love with which it was developed should not go unsung. ​ Kazutoki Kono’s personal Iliad on Twitter chronicling the fiery hell this game was developed in should serve as a lesson to armchair aces and video gamers alike. The game is like a gorgeous time capsule of an era long past, and to get it to shelves required a barrage of willpower, dedication, and grit that can only be admired.    Stand back and look at this game for what it is. Take in not just the gorgeous scenery, but the fine detail that proves those working on this game love aviation and fighter aircraft almost as much as the engineers, designers, mechanics, and pilots that work with them every day around the globe.    And then shift your perspective and feel the creativity—not just the references to obscure Ace Combat lore, but the subtle expansion of the universe. The liberal addition of energy weapons on legacy aircraft--nearly unacknowledged within the game itself--as though it were perfectly normal, harkens back to a pre-millennial era where we were made to accept bizarre and unexplained phenomena in video games as though it were a walk in the park—and we just went with it because it was cool! Can the F-15C support laser weaponry? Who cares? It’s awesome! And despite it, there is the utmost respect taken to the aircraft themselves. Down to minute details as the proper orientation of all-moving canards in a turn or the dials in the cockpits delivering accurate readings. This demonstrates that the designers, programmers, and modelers are more than willing to refine their knowledge of real-world aircraft and make their control accessible to those who just want the action of the fight without the management of reality. Despite the obvious fantasy of the flight, it is so wonderfully, strangely real in how it presents itself to the player. This is not something that we have been able to take for granted in recent years. In how often we’ve lost control of our aircraft--whether through on-rails mechanics, limited processing power, or simply not being able to pay-to-play, there’s real justification in wondering if we were going to be taken for a ride at any time. But we never were—ever. We are back in the cockpit in an admirably crafted virtual recreation.     The linear design of the game feels like an old friend, and its simplicity has been sorely missed. This is not something sought after in game design today with open-world addiction and player-on-player connectivity, but it is a classic formula that fits the game like a glove. In a game like Ace Combat, where winning the war is the goal, a guided strategy with defined start and endpoints enhances the glamour of being a fighter pilot, where tactical prowess is your forte.     And let’s not forget—it almost seems like a miracle to see a game completed once its gone gold. Day-one patches are the norm, and we’ve reluctantly succumbed to this reality. It seems that Project Aces missed the memo. Did you notice it? No patches, no hotfixes on day one—a working game out of the box. Sometimes the old ways are truly better.     Is it perfect? No. God no. But it’s exactly what we needed, all of us. It’s a reminder of what brought many of us into games in the first place. It’s both defiant and traditional in the face of expectations.     Ace Combat 7 succeeds in developing a video game that matches those of the golden age. Before pay-to-win—before pointless grinding—before forced open-world--before the day-one patch.     Dare I say; it hearkens to a time when video games were simple and fun.     The age of the internet is here—information is accessible, experiences are plenty. We’ll always find time to nitpick about the smallest or largest detail that keeps us up at night. But let’s not let that detract from what’s actually in front of us: A sleek machine of supersonic success. About the Writer T.J. "Millie" Archer A Life-long realist and aviation enthusiast. Once the co-founding Administrator of the Electrosphere.info English Ace Combat Database. In the present day he is freelance, roving the internet in search of the latest aviation news and entertainment. Read Staff Profile.

As one of the first third party modules available on DCS World, the Fishbed set the bar for quality with its release back in 2014. It was developed by Leatherneck Simulations, the company that housed many of the developers that would later become part of Heatblur Simulations after the split that resulted in both Heatblur and Magnitude 3/Leatherneck becoming separate studios. The Fishbed has proven to be an aircraft that, despite its age and system limitations, still holds a very important role in the DCS arena as one of the only high fidelity Redfor aircraft currently in the sim, JF-17 aside. The older brothers of the Fishbed, the MiG-15 Fagot and the MiG-19 Farmer, are also available but neither of them have the multirole capabilities of this manned missile. In this review I will tackle all areas which I personally look at before buying a module so that you, the reader, can make an informed decision as to if this Soviet era workhorse is for you. These areas are the following: External and internal 3D models Visual effects and sound design Flight modeling Mission capability Armament Ease of use and learning curve Bugs and Magnitude 3's plan Is this aircraft for you? Thanks go to my friend Hueman for his assistance on this review. Minor revision and screenshot update: 9/14/2022 EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL 3D MODELS This module has got to have one of the most beautiful 3D modeling assets in DCS. Even more when you consider that, despite being updated somewhat recently on the Phase 1 update, this module is 8 years old! Every nook and cranny, every bolt and rivet has been masterfully represented on the external model, making it either a pleasure or a displeasure to look at depending on what you think of this aircraft's design features. Its long hump and tubular design make it instantly recognizable, to which Leatherneck went far and beyond to make it accurate. BEAUTIFULLY UGLY To the right there is a small gallery of what I consider to be some of the details that make this module's 3D artwork masterful. From the antennas and the pitot tube, to the spectacular texture work on the bare metal skins and complex meshes of the Tumansky R-25 engine. This is just a feast for the eyes to those that know this craft. There is one exception to this beauty and that is that some of the liveries have certain mistakes on the roughmets. This is specifically noticeable as some of the painted liveries, such as the Slovakian-1998 livery, still have remnants of the Russian warning markings which are not on the skins as these countries have eliminated them and replaced them with their own language. An example of this can be found below on the Bugs section of this review. Now, cockpit-wise, this aircraft has some of the best 3D artwork out there but it is one that is, in certain aspects, not completely to current DCS standards. It doesn't look new but rather heavily used. Textures still hold up wonderfully and instrument lighting, which has seen changes as DCS improves its lighting engine, looks stunning. I'll stop talking and I will let you take a look for yourself with the following gallery: VISUAL EFFECTS AND SOUND DESIGN External effects such as over-wing vapor, which is not the best I have seen in DCS, and a very unique afterburner, are present in this module. The afterburner effect was changed as part of the Phase 1 update, which made it much more distinct. Aside from that, the Fishbed lacks any kind of vapor vortexes like the ones present on the Harrier, Tomcat, Hornet and Viper. Although, none of the videos that I have watched of the Fishbed flying show vortexes forming on the wings, so it seems to be accurate to a certain degree. Sound-wise, this module will either be your favorite or you will hate it. This was one of the first aircraft in DCS which exaggerates the engine sounds in the cockpit for the sake of pilot feedback. This is, in my honest opinion, one of the best things a module can do as it increases the pilot's awareness of what their engine is doing at any point of its RPM range. Be it idle, military or full afterburner, you will know. The sound of the switches is pretty snappy, and varies depending on what you are clicking, but not that much. One complaint that I have with the sound is the way that the engine sound transitions from military power to full afterburner. In my opinion, it is way too sudden and sounds artificial. It is not terrible by any means, just something where I thought this module would have done better. The only other complaint I have is with the external sound and the way that it handles the throttle changes at a distance. From a mile and a half away you can clearly hear what RPM range the engine is, which is not something that should happen. Here are the examples taken with maximum volume and no post processing: Engine while on the ground: (Idle-->Full Afterburner-->Idle) Listen to those breaks too! Engine while in-flight: (Idle-->Full Afterburner-->Idle) Fly-by at 510 knots, full afterburner: (Volume warning) Notice the sound of throttle movements at the end! FLIGHT MODELING This is, once again, an area in which I have to clarify that I have neither flown fighters or have been involved with military aircraft in real life. Most of my experience is derived from simulators and from theoretical knowledge about aerodynamics and flight dynamic simulation. That being said, I am kind of divided on its flight model. On one hand it does not seem to have scripted behavior on stalls or high angles of attack. On the other, it does seem to have some very weird behavior when both at low speed and high angles of attack. If I were to overly-simplify this, I'd say that it simulates 95% of the flight regime to a very high degree but the other 5% feels a bit strange. Here is an example of that strange behavior I have noticed. Aerodynamically, neither I or a very dear friend of mine that's an aeronautical engineer undergrad (Hueman) can not make sense of what is happening here. The movements could be generated by a yaw instability at high AoA, a characteristic that Fishbed does possess and the reason why they have a ventral fin. To be honest, this is a minor gripe; but it does not remove the fact that the event feels artificial in nature. That is just my subjective opinion, mind you. Aside from this, the flight model does not have any other major "flaws". Landings are tricky at first due to the way the aircraft behaves while on glide slope but you will get used to them. To me it is, generally, a pleasure to fly not because it is easy but because it is an aircraft that requires your attention. Additionally, I have not seen a real Fishbed pilot complain about the accuracy of this flight model, but the ones I see complaining are other players such as myself. MISSION CAPABILITY This little bird can do most of what you ask of it. From interceptions/air to air, at which it excels since it is what this aircraft was mostly used for despite its awful radar, to air to ground attack and recon. Due to the way the soviets treated this aircraft, being a frontline fighter, it can carry a variety of weaponry of different shapes, sizes and capabilities. Your main limitations will be both range and precision capability. You lack any kind of laser or TV guided bombs/missiles with your only guided air to ground missile being the beam-riding Grom missile. You will have to rely on the good ol' Mk.1 eyeball to land most of your air to ground shots. But even with that said, operational range will be your major hindrance seeing as the Fishbed has short legs. No air-to-air refueling either, so you better plan your missions with a fuel stop or two. You can also do STOL operations thanks to your RATO pods. Have a look: Now, onto the armament! ARMAMENT GsH-23 CANNON Your internal cannon, even with its limited ammunition, it is more than capable of dealing with aerial and lightly armored ground targets. You will learn how to love this thing! UPK-23-250 GUNPODS AIR TO AIR MISSILES Your main line of defense/offense against air targets, you have four types to choose from. They are not the most modern line-up but they get the job done. Do not underestimate them. R-60 and R-60M (As modern as you will get) R-13 (The soviet equivalent of an AIM-9P, they are good but not as good as an R-60M) R-3S and R-3R (IR and Radar guided respectively, these are the oldest ones in your inventory) UNGUIDED BOMBS From cluster munitions to your typical soviet line-up, these are as effective as your aim is. The Fishbed does not have a CCIP indicator, so aside of some computer assistance with the pipper, you will be the one calculating your drops so make them count! FAB-100, FAB-250/FAB-250 TU and FAB-500 M62 (your high-explosive munitions) RBK-250 PTAB-2.5M (Cluster Bomb) SAB-100 (Illumination bomb) BetAB-500 (Bunker buster) BL755 (Cluster bomb) RBK-500 PTAB-10-5 (Cluster bomb) UNGUIDED ROCKETS These are what I use for most of my ground attack missions as they allow me more time on station. You have a small variety to choose from, almost the same as any other soviet fighter. S-5 Rockets on pods of 16 (UB-16UM) or 32 (UB-32) per pod. S-24 Rockets Kh-66 "GROM" MISSILE A radar guided/beam riding missile. This is your only guided ground munition, and quite the good one. Point your pipper, press lock and fire away; as simple as that. This missile also has quite a large warhead so you will be able to engage smaller ships and armored target. RN-24 AND RN-28 NUCLEAR BOMBS This is the only aircraft in DCS that is capable of carrying tactical nuclear bombs. They do not have any special effect and their effectiveness is disappointingly low, but they are there! When deployed on multiplayer servers, if they are not banned, then please mind the explosive radius as it can kill air, including allied ones, units as far as 15 nautical miles. RP-22SMA "SAPFIR" RADAR This piece of soviet engineering has got to be one of the worse, if not the worst, air intercept radars I have ever had the displeasure of using. It is clunky and gets easily confused by both cloud and ground clutter as well as jamming. You aim it by aiming the entire aircraft, no TDC here. Oh, and did I forget that it is cooled by alcohol which gives it a run time of 20 minutes? I love it and the way it is implemented, but it is not pleasant to use. DEFENSIVE EQUIPMENT You will inevitably be shot at some point. But don't fret as you do have your trusty SPS-141-100 Electronic Warfare pod/Chaff and Flares pod and your AS0-2 Dispensers. These will give you a bit more chance to evade missiles, as long as they have ammo. Don't forget your SPO-10 "Sirena-3" RWR, which should give you an idea of where and when you are getting shot at/locked. EASE OF USE AND LEARNING CURVE I'll be honest. This is not a beginner friendly aircraft. From its very soviet way of taxiing to its illogical system locations (by western standards), this aircraft has a steeper curve than other DCS modules. For reference: the F-5E, which many consider to be the western analog to the Fishbed, has a much more friendly learning curve due to its logical cockpit layout. Tasks which are easier on the Tiger, such as bombing, become a bit more tedious on the Fishbed but not by much. You will have to put more time into learning the quirks and features of this fighter, primarily the positions of all the switches for each weapon employment. Once you get over those difficulties, I assure you that the Fishbed is well worth your time as it offers a very different experience that no other fighter can offer in DCS as of the time of writing. SOME BUGS AND MAGNITUDE 3'S PLAN This is one of those modules on which I have found the weirdest of bugs. Not weird because of their obscurity but weird because of how easy they are to find. Here are three of the what I would consider "hard to miss bugs": 1- (ABOVE) Nosewheel tire clips through the ground when break is applied while taxiing at close to MTOW (Maximum Take-Off Weight). This causes the geometry on the nose wheel strut to hit the ground and causes sparks to come out. EDIT 9/14/2022: This bug has been solved at the time of writing this edit. 2- (ABOVE) Problem light animation hovers if problem light is lit and pressed. 3. (ABOVE) Liveries utilize incorrect roughmets that do not correspond to their skin. This is evident on skins such as "Slovakia-1998", which has Russian text still present on the roughmets that does not correspond to the text on the skin. This leaves a "ghost image" of the Russian text when light reflects on the aircraft. Now, these are only three of the bugs I felt like they were worth mentioning. They are not game-breaking nor do they make the Fishbed a bad module; but since the developers paid so much attention to detail in so many different areas, it feels odd to see these bugs are still a thing. Leatherneck, now Magnitude 3, are still rolling out changes to the external assets of the Fishbed in two phases. Phase one was rolled out late last year, as I previously mentioned at the start of the review. Let's hope that some or all of these issues will be fixed with that patch. EDIT (9/14/2022): As of time of writing this edit, I managed to find another bug that kind of concerned me. The RATO cans do not work, period. The effect seems to detach from the can itself when it then proceeds to tumble and it the ground below the aircraft, which causes damage to it. (PICTURED ABOVE) IS THIS AIRCRAFT FOR YOU? If what you want in a module is: A challenging learning experience that requires your attention. A third-generation multirole aircraft. The feeling of being strapped to a missile. A good dogfighter with poor visibility so that you can feel better when you shoot something down. If you don't mind: The very soviet design and way of operation. Not having screens of any type to do modern jet stuff. The limited guided air-to-ground capability. The feeling of being strapped to a missile. The quirks of a very, very old design. If all or some of the above is what you want, then Magnitude 3's MiG-21 Bis is for you About the writer: Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000's leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities but only started being active around the mid 2010's. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as the co-founder, writer and content manager ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy #9034

We're happy to announce that starting today Skyward Flight Media has a pair of important releases related to Flight of Nova. INTERVIEW On July 8th, 2022 we are posting our interview with Aerovery Labs, the developer of Flight of Nova. This interview was originally planned as a pre-early access release, but with the impending release of the game on May 31st, 2022, the decision to move it back until after the release of the game. Though, in the interm, Skyward Flight Media received pre-release copies of the game for a first impression review. We'll be giving away the rest of these copies as a part of a giveaway ahead of the interview. GIVEAWAY We have two (2) copies of Flight of Nova to give away from July 4th to July 8th, 2022, the giveaway will be active. These are the ways you can enter the giveaway: Follow SkywardFM on Twitter and like our pinned tweet about the giveaway. Retweeting is not required, but helping spread the word is appreciated. For those that do not have a Twitter account, they can fill out the Contact form on our website. Please include your Name and/or Screen Name, email address and that you are entering the Flight of Nova giveaway. The winners of the giveaway will be announced before the interview begins. Winners will be contacted via direct message or email to receive their prize on July 8th, 2022. Thanks for your continued support of our operations. Good luck on winning! Sincerely, Skyward Flight Media Staff

AVAILABLE IN TWO WEEKS Ｐｌａｃｅｈｏｌｄｅｒ Ｔｅｘｔ [ April Fools Day 2021. It is just a joke! ] See all of our actual Digital Combat Simulator content here: https://www.skywardfm.com/digital-combat-simulator About this Memelord Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza A guy that tried playing simulators when he was too young to understand them but liked flying just as much as the crashing. Fell in love with aviation shortly before watching Top Gun for the first time at an impressionable age (tragic). May or may not have solidified his lifetime interest in flight sims with Battlehawks 1942 on a computer older than he is. Former Ace Combat Stan turned I'll-fly-everywhere-phile. Probably doomed to spend more money on button boxes than flight hours. Twitter | Discord: RibbonBlue#8870 |

Black Aces May 2022 2v2 Dogfight Tournament Sponsored by Skyward Flight Media In a first for VRChat aviation, Skyward Flight Media is sponsoring a event hosted by the VRC Black Aces; the largest VRC aviation community known for their airshows and tournaments. On May 21st and May 28th, 2022 starting at 9:00 PM CST each day, the Black Aces are hosting a guns only 2v2 Dogfight Tournament featuring the F/A-18F Block III Super Hornet. Skyward Flight Media is sponsoring the event, providing a total prize pool of 170.00 USD. The prize pool is being split in the following manner: 100.00 USD for the winning team. 50.00USD for second place. 20.00 USD for third place. For follow on information, signing up to participate, and eventual links to livestreams, see the VRC Black Aces official Discord or Twitter page. While none of the Skyward Flight Media staff will be competing in the tournament, three of them will be flying as a part of the airshow after the first day of the tournament is over. This will be the third airshow they have flown as pilots for. Website Updates Various website updates are being done. Some of the more notable updates include: Downloads in Blog: For the sake of easier access and having items appear in the search bar, existing downloads have been added to the general content area with appropriate tags applied. Updating Translation Webpages: With Ace Combat: Ikaros in the Sky translations being re-introduced, other existing translation web pages will begin receiving basic updates in May 2022. Where possible, some of them will be converted to blog post if they do not require specialized formatting. Content Tags: we have been actively deleting and combining tags in an effort to simply things and make out tag cloud more manageable. All content on the website has also gradually been receiving tag updates. Because of the volume of articles available, this has been an on going process for weeks. Please excuse any unusual tagging that remains, as it is most likely a work in progress. Mobile Version: Changes to menus in the mobile version of the website is in progress. Certain links may be deleted or replaced with a more effective option. Topic Specific Webpages: Certain popular topics on our website are to receive standalone webpages. Similar to how Flight Arcade and Flight Simulation have webpages of their own. Banners for those pages will begin to appear on the front page and other locations in the near future. Skyward Staff Updates We are making changes and additions to our content creation staff in May 2022. Some of these are already starting to appear on our About page. The two most notable changes are the addition of two staff members who have always flown with us and assisted us in some way, so this is more of a formal acknowledgement: RaptorDad86 Life long aviation and aviation gaming enthusiast. Joined Active Duty Air Force in 2009 as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer. Separated in 2015 and decided to become a Reservist in 2020. Participated in the GGL Ace Combat 6 Tournament winning the Military side and placing 3rd in the Battle Royal. Started playing DCS in 2020 and made the jump to competition in late 2021 flying for the 18th Sparrows and now the Bushido Fighter Group. As of 2022, he is a photographer for Skyward who provides screenshots and video. Instagram | Twitter | Twitch KOSMOS 1 A friend of some of Skyward's staff going back to 2009. Since Skyward was founded in 2020, he has flown in support of its operations in multiple games and simulators as a member of our flight team. Whether it's part of research projects, combat missions, photo ops or even airshows, he's ready to fly. We would like to thank everyone for their continued support of our operations. Regards, Skyward Flight Media Staff

Two free to download Skyward themed liveries for the F-14B Tomcat in Digital Combat Simulator. F-14B Skyward CAG Designer : Cubeboy Release Date : 1/2/2022 F-14B Skyward Low-vis Designer : Cubeboy Release Date : 1/2/2022

Português translation re-hosted, other languages to come. After receiving multiple requests from our viewers in emails and direct messages over the past few months, Skyward Flight Media has restarted the transfer of existing translations of Ace Combat: Ikaros in the Sky to our website. The complete Português language translation of the novel is now available. Small changes were also made to the webpage for the English translation with groundwork laid to quickly bring the other available translations to our website. About Ikaros in the Sky Ace Combat: Ikaros in the Sky was published on March 28th, 2012 by ASCII Media Works. This book is a 228-page Japanese only release authored by Heijiro Yamamoto with illustrations by Yūsuke Kozaki. The story within this book takes place in the same version of Earth seen in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. Ensign Kei Nagase of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is chosen to become a test pilot with the Advanced Support Fighter-X Project Team flying a prototype aircraft code name "Shinden II". However, political intrigue, industrial competition and other dangerous elements​ complicate the testing and development of this aircraft in ways no one was prepared for. ​ 2017 - 2018 Translation Project ​In December 2017, Project: Lighthouse, an Ace Combat focused fan website, started early attempts to create an unofficial, but highly accurate translation of this novel. In April 2018 an offer to continue the project as a collaborative effort was proposed by Ace Combat Fan, a well known video content creator with a focus on the Ace Combat series. This collaboration gathered new members to translate the book in multiple languages, including the pivotal Japanese to English translation by TaskForce 23 which opened the project up for translations to other languages. On January 2nd, 2019, full translations in English, Español and Português were made available with partial translations available in other languages. ​ 2020 Skyward Maintaining Translations Following the closure of Project: Lighthouse, the translations of Ace Combat: Ikaros in the Sky were to be hosted on the Skyward Flight Media website. Only the English translation was brought over early on with no other actions taken since then. Due to multiple requests throughout the past few months, Skyward is now restarting our efforts to re-host the other existing translations on our website. We would like to formally thank those that sent in messages about this translation for their continued interest, even in our older projects. -Skyward Flight Media Staff

The story within this book takes place in the same version of Earth seen in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. Ensign Kei Nagase of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is chosen to become a test pilot with the Advanced Support Fighter-X Project Team flying a prototype aircraft code name "Shinden II". ​​Project: Lighthouse began this fan translation project as an English only venture in December 2017. [Read More] Skyward Flight Media does not claim ownership of copyright of the source material used to create these translations.

Scans of four unique illustrations from the Japanese Ace Combat 2: Namco Official Guide Book. Images are scanned in extremely high resolution and available for download. File Size: 122MB

It has now been officially 2 years ever since we started operations here at Skyward Flight Media! We would like to thank everyone for their support and for visiting us consistently. The growth that we have seen these past two years has far surpassed our expectations and we could not be more thankful for it. This last year we also had several opportunities to work directly with game developers working on flight-related titles, which has been an honor. These opportunities and our growth as a platform has motivated us to continue pursuing this project of ours. Aaron, Santiago and the rest of our contributors would like to extend our gratitude as we look forward to our third year of operations. Here's to many more! Giveaway Winners For our second anniversary we decided to give away prizes to two (2) randomly selected winners! For those that are interested, we used the Google Random Number Generator to select the winners for this giveaway. For example: if number 12 was selected by the generation we then opened the list of likes on the giveaway post, counted 12 names from the top downwards and the 12th person received the prize. Here are the handles of the winners: @labourgriffin on Twitter @JavisUpdate on Twitter These people will be contacted via Twitter direct message or email to begin the process of selecting and delivering their prizes to them. Though our first giveaway is focused on Digital Combat Simulator World, our future giveaways will most likely be more diverse. Look forward to them! THE FUTURE We have no intention of stopping our creative efforts. That means that you can look forward to a myriad of articles and even videos. We plan on expanding our team and, slowly but steadily, getting more content our for you to enjoy. So stay tuned. We appreciate your viewership so thanks for accompanying us on this journey.

Three free to download Skyward Flight Media themed liveries for the F-16C Viper in Digital Combat Simulator World. F-16C Skyward Airshow Designer: Cubeboy Engine Textures: Mach3DS Release Date: 14/12/2021 Update: 2/1/2022 F-16C Skyward High-Vis Designer: Cubeboy Engine Textures: Mach3DS Release Date: 14/12/2021 Update: 2/1/2022 F-16C Skyward Low-Vis Designer: Cubeboy Engine Textures: Mach3DS Release Date: 14/12/2021 Update: 2/1/2022

Hind Giveaway Winner Selected Coinciding with the launch of the Mi-24P Hind-F by Eagle Dynamics for DCS World, Skyward started up a Twitter only giveaway between June 17th-24th, 2021. One winner has been randomly selected using a random number generator. Exactly how our 1st anniversary giveaway was done. The winner of our Mi-24P Hind giveaway has been selected! Congratulations to Twitter user Mouaz Osama. They will be contacted via direct message on Twitter to work out the final details needed to get the prize to them. Congratulations! In July 2021, Skyward plans to run another giveaway which will be somewhat larger than this month's giveaway. More information on this next month. Flight Sim Expo 2021 Media Partnership Confirmed Skyward Flight Media is proud to formally announce that we are a media partner for Flight Sim Expo 2021. Our co-founder, Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza, will be in attendance in person with co-founder Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos and other Skyward members participating in online events. Skyward Flight Media plans to publish a series of content related to Flight Sim Expo leading up to the event. Flight Sim Expo (FSE) is an annual flight simulation conference and tradeshow designed to showcase the power of flight simulation to pilots, air traffic controllers, students, simmers, and industry developers. In June 2019, the second-annual Flight Sim Expo welcomed 1,650 simmers and pilots to Orlando. Flight Sim Expo 2021 takes place on September 24th-26th, 2021, at Town and Country Resort in San Diego, California, USA. As North America's community-driven flight conference, Flight Sim Expo is proudly produced by active participants of the flight simulation community. Today the initial exhibitor list was made public with more than 25 confirmed sponsors and exhibitors. Gleim Aviation, Honeycomb Aeronautical, Prepar3D/Lockheed Martin, RealSimGear, SKALARKI electronics Ltd, Sky Blue Radio, SoFly, TFDi Design, Thrustmaster, VATSIM, X-Plane, and Yaw VR Ltd are some of the many organizations involved with this hybrid online and in-person event. Though Microsoft has yet to be confirmed as of the time this article has been published, the organizers of FSE 2021 have released the following statement: "We invite Microsoft to join flight simulation developers like GeoFS, Prepar3D, and X-Plane, along with more than 25 confirmed sponsors and exhibitors, at this year's FlightSimExpo, in-person or remotely. The release of Microsoft Flight Simulator has had an incredible impact in our community. We know the show won't be the same without their participation." Following delays related to public safety due to the effect of COVID-19 on the world, FSE co-founder Evan Reiter made a point to address this directly, saying: "We know people are excited to get back to travel and events[.] We're looking forward to meeting face-to-face at what might be the only large flight simulation get-together this year! But we also know there is still uncertainty around global travel that may preclude some exhibitors from participating in-person. Through weekly social media updates and our upcoming YouTube Live Q&A, we'll keep the community completely up-to-date on attendee and exhibitor participation rates so everyone can make an informed decision." With that being said, it is highly recommended anyone interested in attending this event or learning more about Flight Sim Expo to visit the official website while following either their Facebook or Twitter profiles for more information about the event schedule and updates directly from the event organizers. On June 28th, 2021, a Q&A livestream will be held by the co-founders of the event to discuss various parts of this year's expo. This is a good opportunity for people with more pressing questions about the venue, travel or the expo in general. We want to thank our viewers for their continued support of Skyward Flight Media and our endeavors to cover flight games and simulators across all levels of realism from past and present. Becoming a media partner for FSE 2021 is a significant achievement for us and it is the support we receive that propels us ever forward. Skyward Flight Media Staff

In one week, Skyward Flight Media will be celebrating its second anniversary. As usual we will be doing a giveaway! This year's giveaway will be more flexible in how people can enter the giveaway and the type of prize they can win. TIMELINE This giveaway will run from March 17th, 2022 to March 24th, 2022. The giveaway winners will be announced on March 24th, 2022. PRIZES With the AH-64D Apache for Digital Combat Simulator World now released, it is certainly being offered as a prize, however winners will have options to convert that prize to something else. There will be two (2) winners. First Winner Eagle Dynamics AH-64D for DCS World OR 65.00 USD Steam Gift Card. Second Winner Eagle Dynamics AH-64D for DCS World OR 65.00 USD Steam Gift Card. HOW TO ENTER This year we have two ways to enter this giveaway. Follow SkywardFM on Twitter and like our pinned 2nd anniversary giveaway tweet. Retweeting is not required, but helping spread the word is appreciated. For those that do not have a Twitter account, they can fill out the Contact form on our website. Please include your Name and/or Screen Name, email address and that you are entering the giveaway so we can contact you if you win. Skyward Flight Media will announce the winners publicly in a tweet and blog post on March 24th, 2022. Winners will also be contacted via direct message or email as well to receive their prize. Thanks for joining our giveaway and supporting our two year celebration efforts, Skyward Flight Media Staff

​ Ace Combat: Northern Wings was released in December 2011 as game for mobile phones. After this game was no longer available for download commercially, Northern Wings resurfaced by way of Java J2ME emulators. With fans of the Ace Combat series now pursuing emulation to experience this game, we reached out to the Northern Wings Game Vehicle Artist, Costin Benescu for an interview. Our social media manager, Growler, conducted the interview. First and foremost, can you introduce yourself and your team? Hello to everyone reading this! So I am Costin Benescu and my very small team at Namco was composed of: Dan Oprea (Senior Art Director), Daniel Horia (Junior Art Director), Adrian Ichim (level design art and icon design, FX, UI and we worked together on porting), Alexandru Borcanescu (Lead Designer) and Daniel Ciocilteu. (Game Designer), Cristian Boghina (Game Developer) and Bogdan Bodistean. (Game Developer). Some people came and went but this was the core team hands on working on the game most of the time. I truly hope I did not forget anyone important! ​ Can you tell us how you got involved with this project? How I got involved with the project was kind of interesting. Usually at Namco Bandai Networks Romania people work on multiple projects at the same time. But for this project they wanted a dedicated team, so I was asked something like “hey do you want to work on this airplane simulator game?” And I must have replied: “Airplanes, hell yes!” Before I helped on production for Puzzle Quest 2, Galaga, Pac Man Party, Final Fantasy 2, Soul Calibur Mobile so this was an interesting change.  ​ Did you have any experience with Ace Combat series before? Do you have a favorite Ace Combat game? No previous experience and no favourite AC game, sorry to disappoint, I am not an avid gamer. My father worked in the Romanian army and he always dreamed of being an airplane pilot. So he used to bring a lot of model kits at home back in the 80’s. I vividly remember working on a Huey helicopter kit with him back in the day… so my excitement slash nostalgia pumped me up to work passionately on this game. ​ Why did the dev team choose a Norse Mythology theme for the game? (title of the game, name of the protagonist's squadron, name of the plane, etc) I honestly don’t remember. Might have been a discussion where I was out of the loop. Many of ACNW's aircraft designs take cues from real aircraft such as F-22, Su-47. As the game's artist, was it difficult to design those planes? What is the hardest part of the job? ​ ​ Yes it was a difficult experience for me but I got a lot of help from my team and outside it. Alex (Lead Designer) was very knowledgeable about all things aircraft so that helped immensely! I think the hardest part was figuring out the pipeline. I ended up modeling and texturing, rigging, animating and rendering in 3DS Max then bringing the renders in Photoshop, indexing the sprites to a limited color number BMP files and then clean-up the artwork to a pixel perfect asset for multiple resolution sets. ​ Did you need to study real aircraft designs first before making those models? What's the most complicated model of the game that you made? ​ Yes, I had to study models and blueprints and learn 3D modelling, rigging and rendering to make this happen. I am not sure what was the most complex model but… it’s a close tie between Arvakr V-55 and the super weapon (the big ground boss crab-like with the force shield). Talking about planes, what's your favorite aircraft both in the game and in real life? ​ Hm, that’s a tough one! I really love the Arvarkr V-55 (so F35) for the functional coolness of it but for looks I think the Vargr P-46 (inspired by the Su-47 Berkut) is my favourite, has such a beautiful profile! What was your most memorable moment when designing vehicles for the game? ​ Hm, I think the most memorable moment for me was when I showed my first draft renders of the boats and planes and the Art Director was “…so these are placeholders, right?” That’s when I decided I need to learn a lot more about rendering! ​ One of the most unique moments of Northern Wings is the mission where you control the Arkbird, the superweapon from Ace Combat 5. Why did the dev team choose to bring it into the game and let player control it? ​If I remember correctly Alex (Lead Designer) was really pushing for this multilayered gameplay that is rarely seen in a mobile flight simulator. So I think choosing to let the player control to Arkbird but also fight against it through the levels added much more depth to the gameplay experience! ​ About the gameplay, ACNW has some familiar gameplay features from  such as Air Strike mode, Countermaneuver and Flares. Why did the dev team choose to implement these features in the game?​ I think I can answer this one same as before, to offer a rich gameplay multilayered experience.​ ACNW's gameplay is very similar to other shoot'em up games such as Aero Fighters and Strikers 1945. Was inspiration taken from these games? ​ To be completely honest I don’t know, was not part of those discussions. I personally did not get inspired from any other games except previous Ace Combat games for visual reference on the airships. Besides ACNW which other games have you worked on? Do you have any ongoing projects at the moment?​ So at Namco I also worked on Soul Calibur, Final Fantasy 2, Puzzle Quest 2, Pac Man. After leaving Namco in mid 2011 I worked on a freelance Facebook game project Love Factory. It was condom factory management game, I learned much more about rendering and texturing with various materials. After that I also worked at King helping them adapt Bubble Witch Saga to mobile (2012-2013). Since 2014 to mid 2016 I worked in Malta as a Game Art Manager for a small Swedish company called Yggdrasil. There I art-directed a bunch of video slot games like Magic Mushrooms, Cazino Zeppelin, Fruitoids, Pyrons, Draglings etc. Since 2016 I started to work in the toy industry as a Concept Designer in Denmark, I helped with the 2018 re-branding of LEGO Friends. But my most recent project is MechXhibition - a curating effort that brings together kit bashing, 3d prints, VR art, sculpture, painting and digital art. If you are interested in what I am up to just check out my instagram! ​Thank you for having me for this interview! Image Gallery

The ever-advancing VRChat aviation community continues forward. As mentioned in our previous articles on this subject, the worlds vary in many ways. All of them shaped by the intentions of their creators. These creators usually try to balance authentic feeling aircraft controls with enough space for fun, arcade flight sim style air combat. However, a particular world in the VRChat aviation scene has set itself apart by pursuing a more realistic presentation of combat aviation. Developed by world creator Leopard (れおぱぁど, VRChat, Twitter), the F-35B FlightSimulator is probably the most realistic and advanced military aviation flight world in VRChat at this time. Released to the public on December 26th, 2020, from the start, its inclusion of a working Panoramic Multifunction Display and the F-35B's conversion to short take-off and vertical landing configuration were immediate attention grabbers. While there is a launch trailer for this world, a more recent advertisement for an air combat tournament in June 2021 is a better representation of its current build: In this case, "realistic" is defined by systems made available to the pilots and other external systems present within the world itself. Ultimately, all of this exists within a platform that's not tailor-made for these types of flight simulation, making all of this world creator's work that much more impressive. As I explain the details of this world, how advanced it is will become more apparent. Starting with the surroundings, the primary launch point is from an amphibious assault ship with a full-scale airport and a short landing strip. The player spawn points include information boards in both English and Japanese languages. The boards present introductory information for basic flight controls, cockpit system operations, and credits for the materials used and people that assisted in creating the world. Settings for wind, gusts, weather conditions, time of day and radios are also available. Outside of player vs player combat, there are a number airborne and surface targets and non-combat challenges. Fast travel between all three locations is possible with aircraft spawners available, giving players the option to immediately perform land-based operations if they wish. While there are no navigation or landing assistance systems on the short airfield, the airport and assault ship have a tactical air navigation system (TACAN), improved fresnel lens optical landing system (IFLOLS), precision approach path indicator (PAPI), and instrument landing systems (ILS). When used in conjunction with weather and wind settings that players can adjust, these systems are accurate enough to reliably land a Lightning II even in the worst possible conditions, day or night. Flight characteristic-wise, the F-35Bs feel heavier and less maneuverable than most fixed-wing combat aircraft in other VRC aviation worlds. It's a noticeable difference compared to the more arcade-style flight handling found in a majority of the other aviation worlds that let aircraft pull high energy and post-stall maneuvers and quickly recover from them with just a few seconds of afterburner. Other notable flight characteristics include the moments of instability transitioning to and from short take-off and landing (STOL) configuration. During mid-air conversion, the engine is swiveled to angle downwards, the lift fan door is opened, and flaps and gear are lowered. The change in how the aircraft handles is immediate and requires careful management. Initiating a conversion at the wrong altitude, speed, or altitude can result in loss of flight control and lead to a crash. A picture in picture example of landing in the VRC F-35B is shown below with audio and video of an actual F-35B landing shown in the smaller screen. Vertical landing is possible when certain conditions are met. First, the aircraft must have less than 25% fuel onboard with any external JDAMs (bombs) and missiles expended. At this lightweight, the F-35B can come into a hover. Its throttle now controls minor changes in forward speed, and the flight stick controls roll, yaw, ascent, and descent commands. Two other unexpected functions to see working is an Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS), which allows the aircraft to take control from the pilot to bring the aircraft back to safety. Even in full-scale combat flight sims, this is a function that's hardly seen. The example below shows side by side video and audio from the simulated version and a real Auto GCAS incident. There's even an interpretation of the F-35's highly advanced ability to "look through" the aircraft with the assistance of information from the aircraft's Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS). To dig deeper into this world's portrayal of the Lightning II would best be done by looking at its 19-page manual (available on Google Drive as of June 9th, 2021). It is only available in Japanese but has been written in a way that can easily be translated by software services like DeepL or Google Translate. The user manual covers everything for symbology displayed on the PCD, heads-up display and helmet-mounted display, and cockpit layout. Attack and defense systems are also explained with radar max and minimum ranges, bearing-range-altitude readouts, and IFF information. A loadout diagram shows all possible configurations the F-35B can equip while it is landed in a serviceable area. Sections near the end of the user manual describe how to use the anti-craft weapons onboard the amphibious assault ship and personnel held FIM-92 Stinger systems. Everything described in this article truly comes alive with a virtual reality headset and a pair of hand controllers. While even users with full body VR setups can move their feet to control the rudder pedals, users that have a monitor and keyboard-mouse can still give it a try. While this simlite world is an outlier in the whole of #VRChat Aviation, it is the wonder of seeing aviation brought to this unusual platform that frequently brings me back to it. In a place where passion, hard work, and willingness to learn can enable creators to materialize their visions, it's energizing to see aviation enthusiasts from around the world create things like this. To end this article, I reached out to the world creator for a statement to let their own thoughts be expressed: "Hi, I'm Leopard (れおぱぁど), creator of the F-35BFlightSimulator. I've been visiting Sacchan's Test Pilots quite a few times since I started VRchat. This flight system is very realistic, and I'm very impressed with it. "One day, I thought to myself, "If the instruments worked, could I make a more realistic flight simulator?" So, while gathering materials and studying programming, I created this world. I changed the concept of this world from a "fighter jet game" to a "flight simulator" and adjusted the game to achieve realistic behavior and systems. We have recreated every aspect of the aircraft, from the basic navigation system to the systems using the latest technology found only in the F-35." "I hope that by playing in this world, you will be able to experience the fun and difficulty of flying. The VRchat aviation community has developed from Sacc's Flight and Vehicles [Prefab] to include acrobatic teams, battles in science fiction worlds, and many other fields. I'm very happy to see that many VRchatters are interested in airplanes, as I was too. I look forward to the further development of the aviation community in VRchat." About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. A lifelong aviation enthusiast with a special interest in flight simulators and games. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating aviation related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He continues to explore past and present flight games and sims with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. | Twitter | Discord: RibbonBlue#8870 |

Hello, Thank you for your interest in Skyward Flight Media and supporting us. Starting in January 2021, we have created a Ko‑fi account for viewers that would like to back us financially. First, we think it is important that we take a look at how Skyward came to be. Our core team was initially active under the name Project Lighthouse (2017-2019). What had started as a group of international Ace Combat fans writing about their beloved series began to evolve into something beyond focusing on a specific aviation game series. Following our interview with Ace Combat series brand director Kazutoki Kono and covering the launch weekend of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown at PAX South 2019, we felt inspired to go for something more significant. But to achieve that, we felt as though the way to branch out beyond our single series focus and open possibilities for future ventures was to rebrand. This is how Skyward Flight Media came to be. Following our rebrand in March 2020, we have elevated our content frequency and variety to levels we did not reach during our first years of operation. Today our content includes interviews with developers and other creators, thoughtful pieces on current and retro aviation games, reviews of software/hardware, and many other different and unique articles about digital aviation as a whole. As we continue to expand both our content and viewership, supporting us through Ko‑fi is one of a few ways you can help support our efforts. Funds gathered via Ko‑fi will be used for website operations and efforts to expand our variety of content. For example, one of our main goals this year is the start of video creation efforts. From simple recordings to more elaborate videos on topics that deserve them. We would like to make clear that none of our primary content will ever be locked behind a paywall. It will always be accessible for you; be it one of our articles, reviews or our videos. We might create some secondary content for our backers but that content will never detract or reduce the quality of our primary content. Thank you for your interest and consideration.

As you might have seen, we always like decorating the aircraft that we fly with the colors of this website. Our co-founder, Cubeboy, started making them as soon as the website became public, two of these have been available to download for quite a while now. We would like to present something that we have been wanting to do for quite a while now but haven't gotten to it due to time constraints. More DCS World liveries! They are still only for the F/A-18C Hornet and F-16C Viper modules, but they have now been overhauled. The designs are pretty similar but now they come in three flavors which should make it easier for you to use them with your friends. We now include more military-oriented designs with Cube's spin like the use of dark blue instead of Air Superiority Gray (ASG), if you want to download them, they are publicly available right now: Here are a couple of screenshots of each so you can judge them yourself, more screenshots are available by clicking the button above which redirects you to the download page. 1. Airshow and Original F/A-18C Skyward CAG Original F-16C Skyward Airshow Livery 2. High visibility/CAG bird-style F/A-18 Skyward CAG New F-16C Skyward CAG New 3. Low Visibility F/A-18 Skyward Low-Vis F-16C Skyward Low-Vis

With 95 posts published to our website which is around double of what we managed to put out in 2020, media partnership with Flight Sim Expo, sponsorship from Fox 3 Managed Solutions and our ever expanding coverage of flight games and simulators, 2021 was an immensely productive year for Skyward Flight Media. Our end of year video shows some of these highlights and gives a glimpse into our flying adventures this year, with what we feel were some of the most significant titles we touched upon. We are feeling confident as we look forward and want to push things even further. Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and see you in 2022! Regards, Skyward Flight Media Staff

Skyward Flight Media is excited to announce our official sponsorship with Fox 3 Managed Solutions (Fox 3 MS) for our Digital Combat Simulator World server hosting needs. While this sponsorship opportunity is brand new, one of the Skyward co-founders has privately used Fox 3 MS services since July 2021 as an everyday paying customer. Skyward has accepted the sponsorship offer because of this positive and unbiased experience. Fox 3 Managed Solutions is staffed by individuals with over 30 years of tech industry experience and countless hours in Digital Combat Simulator World. The result is a company specializing in hosting DCS servers from the point of view of people that fly in DCS World and are familiar with what is required for a stable server experience. Fox 3 MS currently has data centers in Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific region recently. Skyward first heard about Fox 3 Managed Solutions from a few Spudknocker videos. Before this, we searched for DCS World hosting services that were relatively easy to access. We had minimal experience with hosting and managing a server for this simulator. After ordering a subscription from Fox 3 MS, the company's co-owners began direct communication. Within less than 24 hours, the server was up and running without the customer needing to lift a finger. Admittedly feeling a bit daunted by somehow messing something up, we found it easy just to ask questions and receive responses that were straight to the point and easy to understand. For example, after initially inquiring about how to upload missions to the server and run them, one of the Fox 3 MS owners did a brief screen sharing session to demonstrate a few things. Besides that, the staff has assisted us with answers or video demonstrations with even our most minor questions and hypothetical scenarios. The Skyward team has operated the DCS server with little to no assistance from Fox 3 MS staff for months now. A testament to how accessible they've made things. Customer service wise the past five months have been smooth sailing. We've had two to three short periods of downtime, each lasting a few minutes, throughout our Fox 3 Managed Solutions servers subscription. These disruptions were caused by an open beta patch being in the middle of a download, a slight hiccup at one of their data centers that was resolved just by rebooting the server, and a self-made error caused by one of our staff members changing a mission while using an unstable mobile connection. When talking about hosting services in general, these downtime instances are hardly worth mentioning. After reading the documentation and understanding the user flow, uploading a mission and running it on one of their DCS servers takes no more than a few minutes. Switching missions already uploaded to the server is as simple as clicking "run" on the desired mission and giving it a minute or two to start up. Users can upload third-party mods, support Liberation Missions, Tacview, and LotATC with Simple Radio Standalone (SRS) added as a default to all of their server plans. Skyward has used our server for many things so far. Photo and video shoots for content creation, running open-ended PVE missions with friends, training sorties for players new to DCS World, experienced players wanting to practice in a controlled environment, and sharing server time with mutual friend groups. The capacity to have private and semi-public sessions in DCS World has been helpful in ways we did not expect. While we choose to use a smaller service plan for our needs, Fox 3 MS has more extensive server options for communities of all sizes. There are also extended services for livery uploads and one-time event servers. For more information on all of their services and what's possible with their servers, we recommend visiting their website or sending an email to talk server details and capabilities that may suit your exact needs. In the future, Skyward Flight Media will continue using the stable servers of Fox 3 Managed Solutions for our DCS World content creation and operations. We would like to thank Fox 3 Managed Solutions for this opportunity and their services.

We would like to thank everyone who has followed us on Twitter, regardless if you have been following us since the Project Lighthouse days or if you just followed us recently. As Twitter is our main way to interact and grow, we really appreciate the fact that we have now reached 4,000 followers. It might not sound like much in a world where some individuals and groups have hundreds of thousands if not millions of followers, but for us it means a lot. The more people that know about and care for flight games as a whole, the better! Here's to more. To celebrate this milestone, Santiago (Cubeboy) created the skin below: If you would like a copy of this fancy A-4E aircraft livery for yourself, please message us via direct message on Twitter, Discord, website form or to our email (staff@skywardfm). It's free, of course. 4K Follower September 2021 Giveaway in Planning Phase Additionally, we will most likely be doing another giveaway in September 2021. Keep your eyes peeled for that! Aesthetic and QoL Improvements for the Website By now you must have noticed that the website has received an aesthetic overhaul! Aaron (RibbonBlue) has been tweaking it here and there but the design is mostly final now. It should be easier now to find the content you come for thanks to a few key features. First, we're using lightboxes to bring users to see all of our tags and sort our content by the title of whichever flight game or sim you're interested in: Second, the related posts section being implemented at the foot of every blog post allowing you to jump in and read articles related to the one you were already reading. You have probably noticed it about the featured content section of our posts: Further more, the mobile version of the website has a quick access function to important website features, as shown below: We hope you like the new style and if you have any suggestions, let us know by contacting us on our About page or leaving us a message through Twitter. We take feedback into account for all of these changes.