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.

Airforce Delta, sans the qualifier, known in Europe as Deadly Skies, is the first entry of the greatest flight shooter this side of Ace Combat. I don’t care if you think that’s subjective—your HAWX-riddled brain is wrong. But maybe a little backstory is in order: Opinion - Backstory Airforce Delta holds a special place in my heart. When I was growing up, I was always a video game system generation behind. As a result, my first console, which is still displayed proudly on my shrine to the company, was the Sega Genesis Model 2, purchased brand new for $100USD from Sears. Don’t get me wrong, there was an effort to make me reconsider; the clerk really wanted me to think hard about this decision: “Are you sure you don’t want a PlayStation? The Genesis is getting pretty old…” She said. But no, I insisted on the Genesis. A year later, I decided I wanted the next model up, the Sega Saturn—again, the clerk was baffled by my choice. “You know the Saturn might not be around much longer… Are you sure you don’t want a PlayStation or Nintendo 64?” No, I wanted that Saturn. It too sits proudly on my shrine. It was a visit or two to the Sega City mega arcade at the new mall nearby that secured my loyalty: Give me Sega or give me death; the Sony PlayStation must be stopped. 1998: Rumors about a new system being developed by the wobbly company are trickling their way over to the States from the land of the Rising Sun. They’re skipping a generation: 128-bits moving forward, American release in 1999. Time moved fast. I had the new-fangled “Dreamcast” in my hands by Christmas of that year. At the time, there was only a couple of launch titles I was interested in, but I had a friend who had a far wider game palate than me. As a result, while I was obsessing over Sonic Adventure and Power Stone, he had just torn open and was progressing through a flight game called Airforce Delta. I had a glance at it, and I was slowly thinking about how much I liked it. It wasn’t long before I had my own copy. I wasn’t all that good at the game, though. I had trouble making it past the sixth or seventh mission using the default arcade “bank-to-turn-what-you-think-you’re-not-good-enough-for-rolling?” flight scheme that I didn’t even know existed at first. As a result, my friend, who had a knack for just about every game he got his hands on, barreled forward and at some point completed the game and earned most of the aircraft available in the game. At the time, he was also building paper-aircraft models of his own design, and tended to take inspiration from all of these different aircraft models that the game had available. He had shown me a crude one he made with an unusual swept-forward wing configuration that he labeled “S-37”. I, young and naïve, asked what exactly he was thinking with those wings. He showed me his aircraft collection in the game and scrolled the hangar to the far right to land on the S-37 Berkut. You remember what it felt like to have your first crush? Mine… might have been a fighter jet. So yeah… A control option change later to unlock six-degrees of freedom and I powered my way through this game to get that fighter. The game subconsciously built my obsession with fighter maneuverability, and as a result the S-37 was pinned as the pinnacle. Once I got it, there was no other option. Cower, ye Raptor-stans, your new queen has arrived, and she’s a stealthy, sharp, SEAD-ready Russian bitch. I know far better now: She’s not all that stealthy, she’s not production ready by any means, and she’s built on Flanker DNA, but I accept her and all her flaws that make her a masterpiece. Still my favorite aircraft of all time, the now-christened Su-47 has gotten a little older, but my eyes still ogle at her lines. What I didn’t realize at the time and couldn’t quite process until I advanced my studies in aviation and aircraft design was that the plane in reality and the plane in the game that made me obsessed were actually quite different in design—and that lead into new observations about the OG Airforce Delta that I couldn’t piece together until recently. Ultimately, the game has a lot more going for it than I ever gave it credit for, and that’s probably why it has its hard-core followers like me. But I would be rightfully hard-pressed to make the crystal present appreciate the foggy past. Meh… enough with the nostalgic rant; let’s dig in. Review Airforce Delta was Konami’s direct answer to the lauded Namco-produced Ace Combat series. At the time of its release Ace Combat 2 was still the regal rooster, with Ace Combat 3 in mid-development. There was a tried-and-true formula that was worth advancing to the next graphical level, and Konami seemed keen on copying it—sometimes rather blatantly. But they didn’t do it as a simple cash grab—there’s heart here with a Konami soul. The game’s boot up sequence nowadays absolutely betrays its arcade-like roots. Simple sound effects, quick text boxes with save state requests, and production and dev banners flashing ahead of the main screen with the option to load or save imprinted upon a dark city skyline shadowed with an F-22 Raptor. The blue hues betray the dark atmosphere you will see for much of the game. I don’t view this negatively, and it’s clear how quickly this game starts to diverge from its Ace Combat-like roots. The history lesson outlining your mission, flying for the breakaway Republic of Laconia against the strongarm-united Federation of Dzavailar (or Zabayral depending on your take on the limited canon available to you) as a mercenary hired by the resource-rich nation has Balkan-like vibes to it. The music is somber, the map imitating something like a dark projector in a briefing room or an old computer screen. Already you get a bit of a feeling that the game wants you to take it somewhat more seriously than Ace Combat 2. You’re then taken to a far more upbeat in-game cutscene introducing your F-5E-flying second-person-addressed faceless protagonist. This is about as deep as this is going to go—your only interaction with your “commanders” moving forward are voiceless briefing orders with a very light sprinkling of identically voiceless in-mission notifications accentuated with transitory radio squawks. The main menu gives a mission progression outline. This game is purely linear unlike its later installments. I’ve mentioned before that this should not be viewed as negative—just different. It works just fine for this game, outlining your mission objectives and strategic progression. Once you complete a mission, you can roll back to a previous mission and play through it without consequence—unless you crash your plane of course, then you got to buy that back. But I again digress—selecting a mission takes you to a simple briefing. Here both your mission objectives and the strategic outline of the war is presented very straightforwardly with no input by you wanted or requested. Complete the objective as designed and return to base, mercenary. You’re then dumped onto the flight line with a flashing order to scramble. Again, the music takes more of an upbeat tone here, contrasting heavily with the darker-theme of the briefing. But it cuts off as you select your F-5E Tiger II. The canopy drops and the plane taxies off screen to a quick load and thrusts you into the action. If you’ve selected the “expert” control scheme, you may immediately notice a couple of things that are welcome in some circles, but also rip points away from this game, and with my bias exhausted for now, I think it’s fair to judge the game on these merits. Aircraft handling could probably be best worded as “deliberate”. Recoil is non-existent, but these planes are heavy. It’s an interesting comparison to Ace Combat 04—where people have lobbied the same observation. Snap turns, particularly in low to mid-tier aircraft are difficult if not near-impossible, and you have to really rely on your skills as a true interceptor rather than a dogfighter. I could see this already put people off, since the high-tier planes do go a long way in making the game more enjoyable, but you got to earn that through some of the game’s weaker mission types. Additionally, the Dreamcast’s controller does the game a disservice here: Without secondary trigger buttons, you are limited to acceleration and deceleration using the X and Y face buttons, meaning that quick reflexes or edge tapping is in order to continue your speed manipulation while also actuating guns or missiles. This takes a long time to get used to, and your early-aircraft missile count again does you a disservice here. Interestingly, the trigger buttons function well as acceleration and deceleration in the novice control mode, which can actually give an advantage to that mode even for advanced players in some scenarios. Remember how I mentioned how Airforce Delta built my obsession with fighter maneuverability? This is why. When you start with a struggling fighter like the F-5E, and end with something so much snappier and responsive like the afore mentioned S-37, the mobility delta (if you’ll pardon the quite amusing pun) subconsciously forces you to treat that statistic with more reverence than others. But if you handle the fighter and build your tolerance, there are rewards to be had as you embrace the game. The visuals might seem dated today, but it can’t be emphasized enough the enormous leap that the Dreamcast provided in graphical fidelity from the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 before it. The Dreamcast was admittedly the weakest of the sixth-generation of video game consoles, but thanks to its prioritization of its arcade-like roots handled by its NAOMI-derived control board, it made a minor sacrifice in raw polygon count to achieve a solid frame rate, with minimal stuttering except in arbitrary scenarios, which you’ll appreciate to keep your mind on the mission. The fighter models are instantly identifiable, comparing them to Ace Combat 2 or the contemporary Ace Combat 3 after it, and you’ll appreciate the detail put into them. Control surfaces are all moving and afterburner effects burn hot. You are given only two view modes: HUD and third-person, but the rendering either way is solid. There’s no camera-swivel available here due to the lack of a secondary analog stick. Something that might be apparent that has yet to be duplicated on even recent flight shooters, however, is the rendering of full-scale models for enemy aircraft. Get close enough and you’ll actually see the enemy’s rudders actuate and its ailerons deflect. This is something that I can’t seem to let go of—I can’t tell if it’s programmer laziness or production brilliance. It actually assists in immersion for me because it presents a consistent graphical tone, despite how rare it would be to actually view it. I’ve mentioned in my previous Airforce Delta Storm review that I believe it to be a root cause of the low-density of aircraft presented in missions compared to games like Ace Combat, though I can’t prove it. I also find myself torn on the general color palette of the missions presented. To be fair, the missions presented offer a wide range of terrains and biomes, and the colors are well utilized. There’s also the need to hammer home the serious atmosphere that I’ve brought up before, but there is that subtle overlay of “real is brown” that plagued all games going into this generation and it is present here. Draw-distance is also limited, and the fog apparent, though interestingly absent if you decide to emulate this title. You’ll actually find yourself missing it if you do so since the pop-in of assets is rather jarring at times. As you progress you’ll be presented with what I feel is a unique and engaging soundtrack. Once again using the present as a filter you can easily identify the required utilization of synthetics and compression that was needed to keep this game under the GD-ROM’s space limitations, but the soundtrack still earns my praise. Military Supply Base in particular stands out. It punches out of the gate with a synth-ed note and builds up in anticipation, and you can’t help but perform a descending aileron roll flat to the deck to match the progression and level out of the melody as you pop trucks using your all-purpose short-range missiles, descending on the factory buildings. Each mission tries to use the music to invoke an atmosphere, from the dark, sneaky like tones of the night-time Escort, to the use of what appears to be a short burst of a train horn for the destruction of a rail hub in Nuclear Transport Blockade. The music can be broken up easily into simple but effective chords and it actually works in its favor. Build ups and fade outs are executed well, though strangely are present for every mission—the music does not actually repeat. Makes for good listening from the Dreamcast’s media player, though. I’ve never been able to determine if my appreciation for the soundtrack is from listening repetition from my many playthroughs or from a real hook, however. Though as I listen through for the nth time, I’m leaning more and more to the latter. It might not hold high the symphonious complexity of its rivals, but it holds its own to give the game a unique character. One day I’d love to hear how this music sounds fully uncompressed. I think there’s a missed opportunity here for talented remixers to give at least a college-try on these songs. I’d love to listen to new interpretations outside of those made for the game’s subsequent installments. The musical judgement call of simplicity does however carry over to mission design. Simple skirmish: that sums up the pinnacle of design you will encounter for the most part. Whether it’s the staple “intercept the incoming bombers” of the first mission to running through the AA-protected gorge or escort the slow plane out of the combat zone, there is little variety to experience here. To some this might be all that’s needed. Ace Combat 04 ran with this formula successfully and built a solid game around it, but lacking that game’s far more engaging storytelling, Airforce Delta feels like a disconnected group of 20 mission types that you can try your hand at buffet-style rather than a solid progressive campaign. As a kid, I enjoyed this. I’m not sure how well it would hold up in the modern day, but it’s easy to craft your own mission stories based around action types when you have this sort of looseness. Hey, a blank piece of paper can be either an open canvas of imagination or a slather of ennui—you make the call. But I’m admittedly leaning strongly on the side of optimism here. You can find positive points—Satellite Intercept is a short but high-energy, high-stakes romp, and unless I’m mistaken, because I can’t find anywhere else where this has been done (and I invite correction on this), Ace Combat 5 came back around to copy its design for its final sortie. The final mission pits you against a single fighter, and it’s easy to get yourself stuck in cinematic-like rate fights with the antagonist if you don’t make the right move off the bat. But it’s hard to comment further; some designs seem to contradict some of the mission briefings, somehow using low-speed ICBM-like missiles descending upon a skyscraper as a way to interpret the narration that enemy agents are running a false-flag operation to sabotage peace talks (another mission execution that I think Ace Combat 5 copied for White Bird Part I, all the way down to the presence of B-2’s on the fringe, but lacking the unintentionally hilarious suicide mission Airforce Delta’s stealth bombers result in.) If you do decide to fly the missions in story-progression, you are painted a very high-level picture of a bleak but no-nonsense back-from-the-brink defensive war that quickly turns sour for the aggressor with your skills. Each mission is piecemeal to the war at hand; the wording of the missions even seems to intentionally leave you out of strategic decisions. When I really buckled down into this storyline, I was given the feeling of expendability all the way to the end. I’m the best at this job, but I’m also replaceable and in it for the money, and the tone carries that. There’s little personal affect, and when there is there’s a little confusion introduced as a result. The war between the two nations is reasonably well outlined in the introduction, but even now I’m a little confused as to the relationship of myself to the Delta Corps as a whole and the pilots I’m fighting. It gives me the impression that Delta Corps was split on this fight, and you and your small band (which only appears in the ending cutscene) decided to fight for the weaker but more wealthy Laconian side. The vagueness is sort of intriguing I suppose, and some of it is what built my interest in the game as I grew older, but thinking too hard on it results in minor frustration. The silent briefings and lack of engagement is what sets this apart from Ace Combat 2 the most—Ace Combat 2 almost seems intentionally tongue-in-cheek in presentation at times, accentuating that Top Gun vibe that fueled the series early success, whereas Airforce Delta tries--maybe too hard and in a very Konami way--to make silly premises serious. Artificial nuclear-armed islands, enormous bombers, and bored-out mountain bases can only be taken in stride so much before logic breaks down. But I appreciate the effort here, and it matches the industry-wide adaptation of taking many of these waning arcade game mechanics and tropes and giving them a more serious, cinematic tone, paving the way for the stronger story-driven plotlines we enjoy today. I’m not sure the game could entertain younger audiences today with what they, and we, are spoiled with, and in fact its mediocre success might even imply such a reaction back during its release, but the nostalgia filter is thick for my judgement. A gold-standard, however, lies in the aircraft selection. I’m not being hyperbolic with that statement—there may only be 31 aircraft, but they’re a wonderful spread that I would love to see replicated again. Ace Combat can boast higher aircraft counts at times, but it still falls back on family variants rather than base-designs. Here we get a wide range that hearkens back to the unique selection of Ace Combat 2. Whether its old favorites like the F-4 or MiG-21 or then-cutting edge 5th-generation powerhouses like the YF-23 or MiG-1.44 MFI, there’s something here that will imprint on a kid’s memory as their favorite. The game even allows for limited VTOL, with two representatives from the Harrier-series of fighters available for purchase at high prices after successful completion of the campaign and a new-game-plus restart. Though you will frustratingly lose your credit count if you roll over to new game plus and save on the first mission. You can get a little preview of this coveted mechanic by earning--through a successful gun-kill--the X-32, which though not completely “VTOL”, still has a far lower stall speed akin to the afore-mentioned jumpjets—just missing the floaty controls that accompanies the latter to aid in slow-speed controllability. And it is in the X-32 that the aircraft selection starts looking… different. Whether it was a lack of data or an attempt at the development team to come up with a “finalized” design from the many prototypes that the game features, a fair few aircraft are granted artistic interpretations that I simply adore. Far back I mentioned the S-37—it’s prominently featured on the game’s cover and as the title screen aircraft after a successful completion of the campaign, and it’s got lines. Its sleeker, sharper, and meaner than the real design, and its deep-red wing-mounted Kh-31’s help to emphasize that swept-forward aesthetic. The X-32, far be it for me to say, actually looks good. It’s smaller air intake and longer fuselage are what I suspect Boeing engineers see when they look at their only-a-mother can love face of the real plane. And the MiG-1.44 almost completely departs from its namesake… or so I had thought. It turns out that it’s design is a mashup between the finalized design represented by the MiG-1.42, and a rare concept drawing featured in the magazine Flight International in the early 1990’s of what the MiG was expected to look like. Uncovering this gave me a brand new appreciation for the designs—they weren’t just reinterpreted because of limited data or artistic merit—deeper research was involved than I could have ever expected, and discoveries like this only make me want to give me confirmation bias to gush over the game more than I usually do. I find myself torn and challenged to recommend this game to a modern player beyond its historical curiosity. I have a deep obsession with this series. Whether it stems from my stubborn and ultimately-defeated anti-Sony/pro-Sega bias fostered in the 90’s or from the obsession with a specific aircraft that takes more credit than it ever should have been allowed in shaping my future interests in aviation, I reflect upon the game’s flaws more vividly now. It has problems, but it also carries lessons. Emulation, despite the minor graphical setbacks mentioned previously go a long way in helping the native-crippled control scheme. But nearly 25 years later, it’s hard to get as engrossed in this game as a young mind might have been able to with the anti-aliasing assistance of a 28-inch CRT television. But I can’t help but remember and continue to enjoy it with a fondness. I still power it up for a quick playthrough at least once a year, and I walk away with satisfaction. I always pause to wonder if I’d put this game in my top ten, but It just never quite makes the mark for one reason or another—one more flaw that I just noticed or one more aged pixel just out of place. But that’s the thing… I’ve moved onto better. But despite the flaws in the rearview mirror, we all fondly remember that first crush—it transcends ranking. It forms the base of the better expectations you look for later. The S-37 is a flawed machine, but it’s a lynchpin of my obsession with aircraft. Airforce Delta is a mediocre derivative, but it’s the keystone of my continued interest in flight shooters. It deserves remembrance. Airforce Delta Wiki Shoutout I want to give a shoutout to the guys over at Airforce Delta Wikia. I used to think that I was one of the biggest fans of this series and would regularly put references into it with a lot of online projects and games that I was a part of. Turns out I’m small fry. The repository on AFD Wikia put my knowledge of the series to such a shame that I had to refer to it a number of times to write the articles for this series, and I’ll likely refer to it again going into the future. Their website demonstrates that my understanding of everything from story to gameplay of each installment of Airforce Delta just scratches the surface. Give them a browse when you get a chance if you want to immerse yourself more in this series and get a better understanding of gameplay elements. Check out the comments for some of the articles too! They’ll showcase some interesting finds, like a specific button combination to remove the interlacing effect experienced when playing Airforce Delta Storm on the Xbox 360 in replay segments. Keep up the good work, guys! 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.