To me, the Hind is the perfect helicopter for DCS. It is a jack-off all trades that can do basically any mission you throw at it. Be it long range infiltrations, anti-armor and even air interdiction against other helicopters. The Hind can do all of that and more, in the hands of a capable crew who knows how to manage its systems effectively in battle. But many of us do not have a friend who either owns the Hind or someone that is available every time we want to fly the Hind. That is where Petrovich AI comes into play. As many might already know, DCS now has many module-side AI companions that aid in the operation of aircraft that usually need a two man crew to operate. Petrovich is the AI companion offered by ED for the Hind. If we were to humanize him, you could say that he is the strong, silent type. I have always enjoyed using it allows me to even fly the damn thing in combat, since most of my friends fly fixed-wing exclusively. That means that I am usually the only weird flying helicopters, with the exception of only a couple of my buddies. This feature really makes me like the Hind. All you need to control/communicate with Petrovich is a single 4-way hat switch or 4 buttons, whichever is more comfortable or available to you. It is kind of impressive that that is all you need, with the addition of head movements either from your head tracking software or a hat switch. From its menus you can set everything that would be in the front seat, such as your countermeasure program, your weapons, etc. It only takes a couple of flicks from your hat switch to be prepared for the battle ahead. And when you are ready to pop open some tanks or take care of a pesky AAA, you will be using your head to direct Petrovich's sight onto the targets you want to hit. Then you will be selecting your targets with a very convenient pop-up menu, one which you also control with the same hat switch! It is that simplicity that always makes me come back to the Hind. The same thing applies to the Apache, to a lesser degree. I suppose I have a preference for the Hind's flight model and systems, but George is also a great example of this complexity made simple. If you have the chance, give the Hind a try and have a chat with Petrovich. He is a great listener, but don't expect much of a conversation. At least not until they implement his voice lines into the game at some point. Do remember that free trials are a thing for DCS Standalone, so there is no monetary commitment! 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 and one of the main writers. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy #9034

This year has been a really important one for us. We have grown like we never anticipated we would, we have gotten the chance meet and work with developers, creators and friends in ways we thought wouldn't be possible. We also got the chance to, once again, be FSExpo partners and we were even sponsored by Fox 3 Managed Solutions. It is thanks to these opportunities that we have gotten the motivation to make this year the year with the most articles released so far! These include DCS Reviews, Indie game showcases, retrospectives, opinion pieces, interviews and more. We aspire to continue producing as much content as possible for you to enjoy. That's why we wanted to give everyone one last gift this year: The Skyward MB-339A Bare Metal livery. This livery celebrates 2022 with its shine and sets the tone we want for 2023. We want to keep polishing our content and master our craft. This livery can be downloaded by clicking the button below or by going to our DCS Liveries section, available by hovering over the "Downloads" category in the header. Once again, thanks everyone for such a stupendous year and we hope that your 2023 will be a great one for you and your loved ones. See you in 2023! 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 and writer ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy #9034

To say that 2011 - 2018 was an unusual time for the Ace Combat series would be an understatement. There was an elaborate but failed reboot that included three books and one game, followed by a fantastical mash-up of the real world with elements of Ace Combat's original world for a free-to-play game. Of the new ideas tried, player-controlled strategic bombers were one of the most eyebrow-raising additions. Players could finally fly bombers themselves. Ace Combat is famous for high-energy, breakneck dogfights and Mach-speed ground attacks with the most popular fixed-wing fighters that do and don't exist. Throughout Ace Combat's now 27-year history, bombers are either easy to shoot down beginner targets, a slow low priority threat or units to be escorted while players zip around the map swatting down interceptors. Flight Characteristics Player controlled strategic bombers in Ace Combat benefitted from its arcade flight model. With no G-limits and higher-than-normal speed flight available, flying these aircraft did not feel like the slow, carefully planned endurance missions they were designed for. Even on the Expert control settings that better reflect actual flight controls, players could throw their bombers across the sky without any serious worry but had a limited amount of roll they could use. The bombers were limited to what is referred to as Novice controls, which tie roll and pitch controls together. This made every control input to the left or right a coordinated turn that would not allow bombers to fly inverted or at extreme bank angles. Restrictions on pitch were also in place, not allowing bombers to make full loops. There wasn't much variety. Only the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit were available in the two Ace Combat titles players could fly them in. In particular, the B-2 was hampered by how the series presented stealth aircraft at the time. With no considerable benefit to stealth capability in either game, the B-2 was somewhat the lesser of the two options. The B-1B enjoyed the added benefit of already being a high-speed platform, with flight arcade physics enhancing its speed and maneuverability. Even a semi-upgraded Lancer could match the speeds of aircraft like the Su-34 and F-15E. Their most important capability is the overwhelming firepower they can produce in just a few seconds. Putting over a dozen weapons on target in a single pass is something even high-performance multirole aircraft could not match. Restricted Introduction In Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (2011), the flagship title of the attempted reboot, player-controlled strategic bombers played a minor role in offline and online gameplay. One single-player mission focused on sneaking past air defense radars and decimating bases. The mission inevitably ended with bravely running from enemy interceptors until allied fighters arrived to save the day. Example of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon single player gameplay. (2:58) The same was true in Capital Conquest, a large-scale team-based multiplayer game mode. After a certain threshold, players on the losing team could fly strategic bombers in a last-ditch effort to change the tide of battle by decimating the opposing team's headquarters in a single bombing run. The success rate of these hail-mary bombing runs was low, but when they did get through, it was almost a guaranteed win for the losing side. Example of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon online bomber gameplay. (1:12) Assault Horizon's iteration had a limited impact because there were not enough opportunities for players to fly them. Their gameplay relied on Air Strike Mode, a part of this game's cinematic Close Range Assault system made to provide scripted cinematic moments and dynamic camera angles for a Hollywood action-style presentation. But Air Strike Mode (ASM) made players fly in an on-rails-like game mechanic, restraining their maneuverability while in ASM. That's a minor restriction when you know those bombers won't be doing high-G maneuvers anyway, but further limiting their gameplay didn't help make them more appealing. The Full Experience Ace Combat Infinity (2014) was a free-to-play entry in the series that boasted the largest aircraft selection of any game in the series. While this game did have an unfinished single-player story, its primary draw was online competitive PVE co-op. Summarizing the game mode, two teams of four players compete against each other to destroy many enemies within a limited time frame. The players on each team cannot shoot each other down, so the winning team was decided by how many points they accumulated by the end. The game also featured an aircraft customization system with performance and weapon effectiveness upgrades. With the removal of ASM and the option to fly strategic bombers at will, their full potential in Ace Combat was displayed. With no air-to-air weapons onboard, bombers carried two air-to-ground weapons, including unguided bombs, guided bombs, long-range air-to-ground missiles, and stand-off dispensers. The blast radius of each weapon was notably larger than similar weapons carried on fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. A single well-placed munition from a strategic bomber could destroy half a dozen targets. Their longer-ranged weapons had equal blast radii, giving bombers somewhat of a first-strike capability other attackers could not match. Example of Ace Combat Infinity online gameplay. While they were useless in dogfighting, Ace Combat's famous massive flying airships were vulnerable to incredibly aggressive bombers willing to drop bombs onto their massive fuselages and wings. A flying aircraft carrier typically needs to be destroyed section by section, with smaller aircraft making multiple passes. A brave bomber could align itself above this massive flying target and bomb them to ruins in less than a minute. In Retrospect Beyond some meme-worthy aircraft formations of entire flights of strategic bombers, generally, players used them less than the faster and more maneuverable attackers, fighters, and multirole aircraft. Player-controlled strategic bombers did not return for the release of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (2019), but in retrospect, the reason for this is obvious. They only had success when online multiplayer game modes had more diversity beyond the tried-and-tired obsession with team deathmatch or battle royale. Allegedly these game modes are the only things players care about, which is highly debatable considering how well liked the PVE and PVPVE game modes Ace Combat Infinity were. Ace Combat Infinity is long gone and completely inaccessible, but the lesson of diverse multiplayer game modes allowing every aircraft under the sun to be somewhat viable has been forgotten. Here's to hoping the next installment in the series finds a way to recapture the magic of a supersonic B-1B slugging its way to victory. 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.

Skyward Flight Media has been confirmed as a media partner for Flight Sim Expo 2023! About the Event FlightSimExpo is one of the world’s largest dedicated flight simulation conferences and tradeshows. The event has welcomed more than 3,500 attendees to events in Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Diego since 2018. After a brief skip in 2022, the 2023 event is taking place in Houston, Texas, USA in June 2023 to once again connect simmers, developers, exhibitors, and real-world aviators in-person and online. Most notable about the event's location this year is that two days take place in the Lone Star Flight Museum. Schedule at a Glance The event itself is still many months away, so there is not a detailed schedule avaialble at the time of our announcement being posted. However, here is preliminary information: Friday, June 23rd, 2022 is the day for the biggest seminars and product reveals. Held at the DoubleTree at Houston Hobby Airport, Friday will feature announcements from some of flight simulation’s biggest developers, plus an evening welcome social. Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25 will be at the Lone Star Flight Museum, where attendees will find hands-on exhibits that show off the latest in flight simulation software and hardware. Speaker rooms will feature how-to seminars and educational seminars on various flight simulation topics. Do note that access to the Lone Star Flight Museum will only be available on Saturday and Sunday. There is no access on Friday. Online attendees are able to watch livestreams of the presentations and announcements with purchase of a ticket. Discount Code Registration for attending the event does not open until December 2022, but hotel reservations and flight related discounts are available. Please see the Travel and Logistics page of the official website for more information on that as time goes on. For the first time, Skyward Flight Media has a 10% discount code for any in-person registration purchased before June 15th, 2023. The code is: skyward Tickets purchased using our code will assist our staff members attending the event in person with potential hotel discounts and travel vouchers. Future FSE 2023 Plans As the more detailed schedule for the event becomes public, we will be planning our own list of booths and panels that catch our interest, along with some content leading up to the big weekend. Hope to see you there!

It has been roughly six weeks since 'Aggressor' began its early access period. During that time this visually striking lowpoly arcade flight simulator has received multiple updates. Flight model tweaks, user interface changes, bug fixes, new aircraft added to the roster and more. Skyward Flight Media reached out to Flashpoint Studios to discuss the game, initial user feedback and to get to know the developer a bit better. Hello, and thank you for accepting our interview request. Congratulations on the release of Aggressor into early access. Can I ask you to introduce yourself? Thank you very much! My name is Mark, solo developer of the flight action game Aggressor. I live in the Netherlands and I'm currently in my first year studying the programming side of game development. I'm 19 and I've got around 4.5 years of experience developing simple light-sim and arcade flight projects. I started out doing game development in my free time just for fun and went from there as ideas started flowing, it's honestly great for me being able to turn this into something more than just a hobby. Right now I'm working pretty much full-time on Aggressor. My goal is to develop it into a complete game with a well-defined start and ending. Before we get to Aggressor, we'd like to get to know you a little better. How did you become interested in aviation? It started early for me since I grew up close to an airport. Was always fun going there and it sort of sparked my interest for aircraft, it's the classic story really. From there on I picked up flying in air combat games and got hooked pretty fast. Were there any flight games or flight simulators that you have played in the past that eventually inspired you to become a game developer? Absolutely. Among the first was IL-2 1946. This game was my first experience with a simulator, essentially it's where I learned how to roughly control an airplane. I played it for about 4 years. During this period there are a few other flight games that I tried along the way such as IL-2 Cliffs of Dover, War Thunder and briefly FSX. In the end I stuck with 1946 because of its seemingly endless possibilities with the mission builder. Before 1946 there was another IL-2 game I had on my Nintendo, but that's really long ago. I've also played SimplePlanes for some time where I got into modding that eventually led me to pursue game development. Interesting, we did not know you were a mod creator. Which games did you create mods for? Are you still actively creating mods? I used to create them for a game called SimplePlanes. I made a variety of mods that are still available today, though I'm not sure if they are in working order. I did this until late 2018 when I stopped to focus fully on game development. Have you always had an interest in game development? Not always. Honestly it was not until I started making mods that I realized how nice it could be to create something yourself and have it work. You can credit SimplePlanes for that. How did the concept for Aggressor form? Aggressor went through many design phases before becoming what it is today. Prior to Aggressor I had been experimenting with flight physics and damage models for a while. I knew I wanted to make a low poly air combat game, but wasn't sure what it should be about. Last year in August I continued work that I abandoned earlier on a sort of part-based flight model that allows aircraft to break apart. To my surprise the initial concept was a lot of fun to play around with. This was all before the project even got a name. At first I was actually going to call it Overkill, having no missions and only a gamemode where you take down waves of aircraft in a sort of roguelike fashion, it would have been a much simpler game for sure. As development went on, the concept for Aggressor kind of formed along the way. The one thing that has always remained the same though is the art style; a lowpoly aesthetic with console-like graphics. This game has many aircraft that are hardly seen in other games. It’s not the same set of somewhat expected fixed-wing fighters that people are used to seeing. How do you think the aircraft selection has been received by players so far? What are your thoughts on the aircraft selection? I've had surprisingly little comments about the variety of types available, but those that do comment are generally positive about it. Personally these sorts of experimental aircraft that you see in the selection interest me the most. It's great fun for me to be able to fly these in a game. Only downside is that for some of them it's hard to find info like handling/performance stats. Though I later found that's not too much of a problem since it's an arcade and the only true-to-life values I really want are weight and thrust, everything else I can estimate from that in flight testing. It's exciting to see some old experimental and prototype aircraft from the 50s and 60s flying. There are a few other uncommon but familiar aircraft in the roster as well. Are there any aircraft you are particularly happy to have in Aggressor? Mostly the more uncommon experimental aircraft are very interesting to me. Especially if I haven't seen them in any other game yet, I'm happy to be able to fly them in Aggressor. There are a few unknown aircraft that have appeared on the official Twitter profile. Referred to as “all black planes”, is there any more info available about them? Are they still planned to be included into the full game? Yes they are. These will belong to a third nation hostile to all the others. Such planes will see action only every now and then, but their impact in battle should be great. Under no circumstances will they be player-controllable though. About the single player campaign, what level of complexity are you considering going forward? The current short mission format or is something more elaborate being considered? At the very least, a mission briefing to help create some context. The short mission format is here to stay, as in campaigns made up of a list of missions. That is until I find a better way to stitch things together. The briefing would happen in 3D, with a simple representation of the map with all allied/axis units deployed. I think Project Wingman does it really well. Right now Aggressor is focusing on air-to-air combat, but are there plans for land and seaborne enemies for more complex missions in the future? Both of those are planned yes. Ground vehicles are work-in-progress right now. Naval targets will be added further down the line. The main motivation for adding other kinds of targets is to get some extra challenges for the player. Also since shooting down aircraft is still difficult to many, ground targets may provide an easier way to acquire cash. There is one thing we found unusual about the gameplay. There was a lack of a dedicated gunsight. Was this an intentional design choice or is it planned to be added later? That was intentional to keep things clean. Basically the idea was constraining most of the UI displays to first person view in order to give the player some clarity in third person. I'm reconsidering this choice though as it is difficult to aim in third person this way. All in all I think the UI needs more time to come into it's own. When done right, it can enhance the player's experience. When done wrong however it can clutter the screen and throw off immersion. What have been some of the most requested features that you have seen since the early access launch? Better controls. Specifically, a mouse aim control scheme like in War Thunder (WT). This is kind of a problem since WT has patented their approach. In fact, they seem to have patented the whole idea of leading a plane with your mouse. I could be wrong, but the more I look into it the more confirmation I get that this is the case! Anyhow, I'll have to get creative. Lots of the reviews on the game contain remarks about the controls and how it is difficult to aim. To a lesser degree, things like more advanced joystick/gamepad support are desired. Also more content; like more missions with different types of targets (ground targets like tanks, AA turrets etc) which were already planned anyways. Takeoff and landing operations are also a much requested feature. Another important thing is a minimap or some other tool to help with situational awareness. For example; variable color displays for the units on the minimap would allow IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) to take place more easily. To further help with IFF, aircraft may also receive color-coded markers in the actual 3D scene. The game definitely has an eye catching, shiny look overall, so concerns about the UI getting out of control are understandable. Have you considered a photo mode? There is actually a photo mode which can be toggled on/off by a button. Unfortunately the control for it was not listed in the initial game release so there was no way to know of it's existence. Truthfully, going off of pre-release media. I was not expecting a damage model of this complexity. The negative effects on flight performance caused by aircraft sustaining damage and losing aircraft parts adds an interesting layer of realism to combat. Why did you choose to include this more simulator style damage model rather than a general flight arcade damage model which ignores more detailed damage? It's really just something I personally missed in these sorts of games. It makes shooting down the other aircraft that much more satisfying because there are many scenario's that can unfold. I think just like anything else, the damage model should be dynamic. Besides that it's also fun for me to work on damage effects. On itch.io there is a development roadmap that was assembled long before the early access release on Steam. Is this still a valid document or should players instead standby for new updates in the future? Except for me not crossing off the features I've completed anymore, it's still very much up to date. I use that list as one of the main references for ideas and plan to add as much as possible from it. There is no guarantee all of it will see implementation, but it's gonna be close. Thank you for this interview! We look forward to seeing where Aggressor goes in its upcoming updates. No problem! The game has certainly got a long way to go and I'm excited to see what the future holds. 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.

Flight Simulation Association’s next annual conference and tradeshow is June 23-25, 2023 in Houston. On December 17th, be one of the first to register to secure the best rates! Registration Begins Registration for FlightSimExpo 2023 is set to open next weekend, starting at just $50 for FSA members. This special rate includes Friday to Sunday all-access, all seminars, a free drink at our Welcome Reception on Friday, and admission to the Lone Star Flight Museum on Saturday and Sunday. The $50 rate is limited to the first 200 registrants and is available exclusively to Flight Simulation Association (FSA) members. If you’re not yet a member, you can join for free at www.flightsimassociation.com. Non-member pricing for Friday-Sunday access begins at $80, with Weekend-Only and Online-Only options also available. For more information and to be notified when registration becomes available, visit www.flightsimexpo.com. Skyward Discount Code As a media partner for Flight Sim Expo 2023, Skyward Flight Media has a discount code that provides a 10% discount for registration. Use the code skyward to receive the discount. Tickets purchased using our code will assist our staff members attending the event in person with potential hotel discounts and travel vouchers. 2023 Event Schedule Held across two locations near Houston’s Hobby Airport (HOU), FlightSimExpo 2023 will offer flight simulation fans the chance to interact with developers, try out the latest hardware, hear the latest developments, and meet fellow sim enthusiasts. The event kicks off on Friday, June 23 with a series of seminars and announcements from some of simulation’s biggest developers. Later Friday, registered attendees are invited to join a welcome reception and social event featuring light fare and a free drink. All Friday activities take place at the DoubleTree Houston Hobby. On Saturday and Sunday, the event shifts to the Lone Star Flight Museum, a 130,000 sq. ft. air-conditioned museum located on Ellington Airport (EFD), about a 15-minute drive from the DoubleTree and Hobby Airport. Nestled amongst warbirds, fighter jets, and drones, attendees will find hands-on flight simulation exhibits where they can try the latest in flight simulation software and hardware. Speaker rooms will feature how-to seminars and educational discussions throughout the weekend. Museum admission is included with FlightSimExpo registration. Travel Details As in previous years, FlightSimExpo has negotiated significantly discounted hotel rooms for attendees alongside discounts on airfare, rental cars, private aircraft parking, and more. For full details on event logistics and to access up to 10% off with Delta, United, or Southwest, visit flightsimexpo.com/travel. As North America’s community-driven flight simulation conference, organizers invite the community to share their ideas, feedback, and suggestions for the show. Visit www.flightsimexpo.com for contact information or subscribe to the mailing list for registration updates. FSA members are also invited to join their Discord to share their feedback about the event. About the Flight Simulation Association Flight Simulation Association is a community-driven organization of developers, simmers, and real-world pilots working to make it easier to get started in home flight simulation. Join the community today—free— for resources, learning content, webinars, and discounts on top add-ons and simulation hardware. The association invites the community to attend FlightSimExpo on June 23-25, 2023 in Houston, one of the world’s largest dedicated flight simulation conferences and tradeshows. The event has welcomed more than 3,500 attendees to events in Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Diego since 2018.

It is hard to believe but it has already been two years since Project Wingman first released. At the time of its release, I was just a sophomore in university and I had extremely high expectations for this game as I had been following its development for years. As soon as it released I got a copy and played it to completion at least three times. My experiences with this game at release can be found here in our launch review. To celebrate the opportunity, I wanted to revisit this game with a clear and open mind. I know I had my reservations with the story, so I wanted to see if this time away from the game would help me to understand those aspects that I had disliked when I first played it. Personally, my expectations were not as high because my memories of this game were kind of clouded. SAME OL' GAMEPLAY: A BLESSING Something that was an immediate a breathe of fresh air was the familiar and extremely polished gameplay. It felt like putting on an old glove and playing a baseball match with your childhood friends. That feeling was one that I missed dearly. It felt like I had come back home. Every single aspect felt as good as I remembered it being. Missile tracking is excellent, they do lead pursuit instead of pure pursuit. This makes the missiles feel fair as your nose positioning while shooting will affect the missile guidance greatly, making everything feel more skill based. The same applies for the gun and even the rockets/ground munitions. They all feel very fun to use. The aircraft mechanics are absolutely brilliant, too. Almost all planes feel balanced in the way that they fly. heavier planes roll slower and cannot hold turns with more agile aircraft. Overall, this part of the game is as good as I remembered it to be. COMING TO TERMS WITH THE STORY I will be completely honest here just as I was during my original review: I am not the biggest fan of how the story was handled in this game. I initially saw it as a big disappointment as I had waited so long for this game only for its story to be the weakest point, at least to me. I am a bit surprised to say that most of those feelings are in the past. I feel a lot better about the story and I can now appreciate it for what it is: A series of motivations to get the player into a series of exciting scenarios. Some of the scenarios can be extremely wacky, yes, but at the end of the day it is an arcade game. One has to hold a bit of suspension of disbelieve to enjoy it, kind of like watching an over-the-top bombastic anime. Does this mean that the story is good? No, not at all. Every single flaw that I pointed in my original review is one that I still stand behind. I feel like everything could have been handled a bit better; but, I can now appreciate the wacky nature of this rollercoaster of a game. After all, which other game allows me to fly over seas of magma while I dogfight an ace in the middle of a volcanic eruption? CONCLUSION: A GAME WORTH PLAYING To keep it short, this is a game that is completely worth playing. It might be extremely bombastic with its story and characters, but the gameplay holds it together very well. It is a game that rivals Ace Combat with its gameplay polish and the worldbuilding is very interesting. You rarely get to see a post-apocalyptic story whose focus is on aircraft and mercenaries in a fight for freedom for a foreign country, à-la Area 88 but with a lot of magma. About the Author 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 a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy #9034

There are times when you experience an unanticipated piece of media that leaves a lasting impression. Weeks ago, while scrolling through a social media timeline I was swept away by visuals of a seaplane soaring above the gleaming ocean, towns glittering at night and... a brewery producing custom made drinks to fight back against pirates. Admittedly, it was 3:00 AM, but my mind was not playing tricks on me! The Brew Barons is a currently in development title from Lifetap Studios. It immediately became a game I checked in on almost daily through their Twitter and YouTube accounts. While reading updates and watching videos, it's obvious that The Brew Barons is developing into a rare type of flight game that is willing to blend game mechanics from other genres, prioritize adventure and go out on a limb to try something outside of the ordinary for the flight genre. Following the announcement of their Kickstarter pre-launch page on October 13th, 2021, Skyward Flight Media reached out to Lifetap Studios for an early interview before the Kickstarter campaign begins next year. We were fortunate enough to get the first interview about this upcoming aerial adventure! Hello and thank you for this interview! Could I ask you to introduce yourselves? Lifetap Studios was formed by two ex-Relic Developers, Diccon Yamanaka and Rob Hartley. We've both spent a decade and half making games professionally for a number of companies that span way back to the PS2 days back when normal maps were the latest craze. It was in 2020 we decided to take the leap and found our own indie company, Lifetap Studios based in Vancouver Canada. Before getting to the main subject of the interview, I’d like to talk about the prior development experience of Lifetap Studios. I see “Ex-Relic devs” listed in the official Twitter profile bio. Can you tell us about your time with Relic and any other game development projects you’ve been a part of? Relic was an absolutely awesome place to work. Some of the titles we've both had the pleasure to work on would be Company of Heroes 2, Dawn of War 3 and Age of Empires 4. We've both spent a number of years there, as it was a fun studio filled with very talented people whom are passionate about their craft. Relic also had some great stances towards working overtime which was kept to a minimum so as not to burn anyone out. What drove the decision to establish Lifetap Studios? I think it's no secret that most game developers have a dream game they wish they could produce. I, Rob, have had dozens of little side projects that I've done just for the fun of it throughout my career. Diccon and I both shared this desire to make a game of our own and it all started there. In fact it would be around 7 years of casually working on a couple sideprojects out of passion before deciding to establish our studio. How does it feel to be working on The Brew Barons as an independent studio? It's fun to work on something that's entirely new and unproven. That said, we develop with an openness to new features that could help enrich the experience. We're also able to quickly pivot if something doesn't feel right. It's also been interesting from a career standpoint as we're forced to branch into new disciplines in attempts to keep our team small and budget light. Our biggest obstacle at this point in time is mainly funding. We've been developing The Brew Barons for two years with no income. The simple solution would be to get a publisher, of which we've had many offers, though we're confident that our upcoming kickstarter campaign will raise a modest amount of funds to help us along without the need of an external publisher. The Brew Barons seems to be a rather refreshing intersection of game elements not usually associated with each other. How did the concept for this game come around? The amalgamation of unlikely game mechanics in a flight game came from a number of exploratory twists and turns during the early development stages. Though before that, it was our liking of a famous Japanese film named Porco Rosso that involves a beautiful landscape and seaplanes that inspired us. Our original desire was to make a relaxing and peaceful flight game that wasn't a sim, though the issue was we didn't have much for the player to do outside of just aimlessly flying around. We explored a number of ideas such as delivery, survival, prohibition themes to name a few. Each on their own they didn't standout, but in combining elements of each made for an interesting concept. One of our goals since the beginning was to make an adventure flight game that didn't rely on combat to be the primary act of the game, to which I feel we've fulfilled. That’s a great point to make about not having combat be the focus of this game. That alone is something noteworthy. Because shooting down every pirate you may see isn’t the fastest way to win, what do you estimate the overall play time for this game to be? We're hoping to build a charming world filled with islands to explore, interesting characters to meet, quests and collection. The size of the world and activities within it are still in development, which makes it hard to give a figure on total play time, but we'd aim to deliver an experience that requires a minimum of 10hrs to complete the core game. We expect the miscellaneous events and activities to add an additional couple hours of extra play. Screenshots and videos have been circulating on social media platforms and Reddit in the past few months, but how long has this game been in development? Quite some time. Several years ago we produced a very early and rather different story that can be seen in its infancy on YouTube. Once we left Relic and went full-time, we revamped the game in the direction you see today, which has been nearly two years. After seeing the “Drytail Runners” video you’ve sent, I’m somewhat surprised that the video went unnoticed for so long. Is there any of the original concept of “Drytail Runners” left in The Brew Barons? There are a few mechanics from Drytail Runners that we've carried over. The concept of collecting water from the ocean and utilizing it as a resource for plane abilities such as water boosting, water projectiles and water bombing were functions we enjoyed and brought over to The Brew Barons. Plane crafting and brew delivery were in a prototype phase, but they too were also brought over. Just about all the art was scrapped, though we retained our goal to deliver a charming and beautiful world. Our previous pilots weren't as developed as they are now, they did however have stamina and a sensitivity to chilly altitude temperatures which we've also kept. Brewing and business management… in a flight game?! That’s a wild idea, but it does feel like it fits the adventurous energy of the game. How does brewing and delivering products save the day in The Brew Barons? The primary story of The Brew Barons involves a corrupt and imposing organization of Pirates whoms operations are funded by their strong-armed brewing monopoly. Through the production of their Pirate brand brews, they impose loose control over many of the suppliers, bars, patrons and the very islands themselves which contain a number of ingredients ready for the picking. With the pirates growing evermore in strength, it's only by disrupting the source of their brewing monopoly through the engagements of their patrols, creation of your own higher quality brews and delivery to bars all over the world can the Pirate organization and their funding whittle away. Do you have a favorite brew that you think people should try to craft when the game is released? The brewing mechanic is rather open ended. You can mix any ingredients you want to form a number of brew outcomes ranging from beers, wines, whiskeys and more. Do you want to make a whisky made from giant pumpkins and glowing mushrooms, you can certainly try! Not all combos will taste great and might fail, but can still be sold. We're going for a more playful brewing experience and not strictly following real life brewing rules. That said, I recommend people have fun experimenting and see what you can come up with. For those not wishing to experiment and spend more time flying can try to acquire brewing recipes located throughout the world and make a brand they can call their own. An open world flight experience somewhere in the Mediterranean is such a vibrant setting. Recently a video of aircraft flying through caves has joined other videos of ambient life. Is there a rough idea of how large the open world is? At the moment the physical size of the world in it's early phase is rather small as we work towards getting all the pieces in place, to which we can then expand out. Explorable caves are definitely in the pipe, underwater salvaging too. Our desire is to make a world large enough so that you might have to factor in fuel reserves and fuel stations when charting a course. Additionally as a stretch goal we would like to make the world procedurally placed. So it might be possible to allow the player to define the size of the world within limits... but that would need to be discussed and explored further. It feels like seaplanes are rarely seen in simulators or flight action games. Having the game revolve around the capabilities of a seaplane is very interesting. Why were seaplanes selected for this game? Are there land based aircraft available? The idea of focusing on seaplanes really came from the film “Porco Rosso” of which we drew inspiration from and found their heavy use of seaplanes to be charming. There's also greater freedom with seaplanes as you’re not confined to runways and you can stop on any body of water, which is critical when coupling an RPG style adventure. We don't have plans for land based craft, but we are planning to include flying boats that would be slightly larger than our seaplanes. There were mentions of customization leading up to the recent gameplay trailer, but no one was expecting eight different categories! Could you describe in a bit more detail how customization works? Parts can be acquired through a couple ways. You could try your luck at salvaging a part from a downed seaplane that rests on a seabed floor, or if you have the money you can purchase a new part from the parts catalogue. When you acquire a new part, you're actually obtaining just the part blueprint which can be physically produced as many times as you wish for a fee. When crafting a plane, the player will choose from one of two categories, light or heavy. Light planes (pontoon style) can only accept light parts and heavy planes (flying boat style) can only accept heavy parts. Each plane part will possess RPG style trait modifiers that alter plane attributes like structure points, cargo size, fuel capacity, fuel consumption, landing durability, weight penalties, ingredient collection and much more! Typically each part will possess both a positive trait and negative trait, so best to put a little thought into your part combos. Should you damage your plane or crash, you simply pay the repair fee. The only thing you might lose are the items within your cargo hold at the moment of impact. Repairing aircraft at a town was briefly mentioned in a Tweet. Do the towns have other interactive elements for players to use? Other towns will have Bars, Markets and Gas stations to visit. Within the bars you can expect to find a bar owner that might require friendly persuasion to accept your brews or local patrons needing your help and presenting a task in typical RPG fashion. I have to ask because they seemed so popular when they were proposed, are there any serious plans to include the fishing or crane recovery mini-games in the final release? Absolutely, the underwater salving crane game is already in a playable state and will be available in our demo. Fishing is still on the drawing board but we have full intentions to include it in the brewing ingredient lineup. That's right, we're leaning toward the option to throw some sea creatures into your brews should you desire ;) The role playing game elements of the game include choosing pilots who have their own character traits, strengths and weaknesses. Will these characters be able to have their levels or abilities increased? Pilot attribute points from a raw performance standpoint will deviate from one another just slightly, it's their individual character traits that will make them standout. Each pilot will have a few traits, most of which are positive but some negative. For example we have one pilot that's afraid of the dark and will refuse to swap into the pilot seat at night. It's traits like these that we'd like to give our pilots to create unique situational obstacles as the player adventures the world. Through the progression of each pilot's story will they overcome a personal obstacle and convert a negative trait into a positive one. On the subject of pilots, are there also notable pilots among the hostile pirates that players will be fighting against? We do have a small cast of pirate goons that you will regularly see, for your combat engagements will not kill these pirate individuals, but instead disable their craft, forcing them to retreat and fight you another day. We are the good guys in the pursuit of peace and balance after all. We have yet to build the full fleet of pirate attack boats and planes, but there will be a hierarchy of power within the pirate organization. We've also had a couple ideas regarding ex-pirates that might help your cause. We have lots of great ideas in store for the pirates. Is The Brew Barons designed to only be played with keyboards, mice and gamepads or will players with flight sticks be able to use their hardware as well? We have plans to support all of the above. Keyboard/mouse are currently supported, controller and stick support are on our to do list. What can you say about the flight model? Is it pure arcade or is there a bit of realism mixed in? The flight model is physics based, in that it uses aerodynamic equations to calculate forces that move the plane around so the model is based on realism. However the numbers used to drive the plane are not based on real aircraft, but tuned according to what we found enjoyable to play. We also cheat the equations in certain situations by making wings bigger or smaller, or moving the centre of gravity around, because it makes the gameplay more enjoyable. The overall aim is to try and provide a sensation of weight and realism but without all of the skill requirement that comes with a real simulation. How has the feedback over the past few months been received by Lifetap Studios? Was there any feedback that helped in recent game development? We've seen a decent amount of really positive feedback on Twitter, Reddit and Youtube. We've heard from flight enthusiasts intrigued to see a flying game venture into new experimental gameplay. Equally we're also seeing individuals that aren't diehard fans of flying games take an interest in what we're making because of the RPG and Business management elements in an entirely new setting. But most of all, we've heard the praise from fellow Porco Rosso fans who rejoice at the fact a game in its honor is being made, to which we share that same sentiment. The Kickstarter pre-launch page was announced on October 15th, 2021. The game is currently listed as released in Q3 or Q4 of 2022. Is there a rough idea of when the Kickstarter will launch? Our Kickstarter for The Brew Barons will go live sometime around Steam's Next Fest demo event in February. We want players to have a chance to play our game before backing us, so we welcome anyone interested to give the demo a play. Our release date has some variables tied to successful Kickstarter, as it would permit us to build more features and may delay this date, which is why we’ve loosely stated our release window. We look forward to trying out the game as soon as possible. Thanks for your time! We, Rob and Diccon, sincerely thank Skyward Flight Media for not only reaching out to us with this interview, but also for being the first ones to do so! Our thanks comes not only for the extra exposure The Brew Barons will receive, but also for supporting indie developers as a whole. 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.

​The most underused and now long forgotten aircraft from the universe of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon may be a testbed aircraft nicknamed Righteous. This heavily modified aircraft is only found in the prequel novel for the game, "The Last Ace" written by Jim DeFelice. This article is written using a copy of the original transcript provided to us by the author. We would like to thank the author for sending us the book for writing this article and future articles related to it. ​Before he saw combat in East Africa, United States Air Force Colonel William Bishop flew high in the skies of Nevada, USA. This introductory setting is far removed from the explosive opening missions of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. After serving in two conflicts overseas, Bishop would be a test pilot part of a United States Air Force (USAF) research program based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.  ​ Testbed This aircraft is the core of a military research program created to define the development path of the United States Air Force aircraft technology in the future. The goal of the program was to make progress towards developing sixth and possibly seventh generation combat aircraft. Though still under development in the modern-day portion of "The Last Ace," its description of performance increases and extended capabilities push it into what could be considered a generation  5+ aircraft.  It is described as a streamlined and lengthened F-22 Raptor. Visibly longer in comparison to the mass-produced F-22A found in the United States Air Force and United States National Guard air squadrons. Hardware modifications included longer wings and more powerful engines than those found in the F-22A. Increase in maximum service ceiling, overall speed and maneuverability are noted, alongside extensive upgrades in software and computer systems. Modifications to internal systems are not specified in detail. Righteous could also deploy a version of the AIM-120 AMRAAM, known as the AIM-120C-9. An improvement over the C-7 models employed by the real-world F-22A Raptors and F-35 Lightning IIs. The personal assessment from Colonel Bishop was that Righteous was a "work in progress," "fast and maneuverable and deadly" but not completely invincible. Depending on the situation another F-22 might be able to challenge this modified aircraft assuming the pilot was skilled. Important Aircraft Choice Rather than using an existing experimental aircraft, a well-known prototype or creating a new fictional design, the author chose a real world, operational 5th generation fighter that has been mass produced. Having this book tied to the Ace Combat franchise would allow the author to be liberal regarding aircraft selection. An existing fictional aircraft created by Project Aces, the game's development team, or a completely new original design could have been used. Ace Combat is known for its super fighter aircraft capable of carrying energy weapons, designed with up to four engines, 360 degree view enclosed cockpits - heck, even fighter sized aircraft with onboard defense systems capable of shooting down incoming missiles. But the choice by Jim DeFelice to use the F-22A Raptor, even if modified, keeps the story within the realm of the real-world setting Ace Combat: Assault Horizon utilized.  It was the right choice for the prequel novel to the game. ​Pilot Optional ​During the test flight detailed in The Last Ace, William Bishop flies in the cockpit of this unique F-22 acting as more of a backup system than a pilot. While cruising at 30,000 feet, Bishop turns over control of the aircraft to operators at testbed command in Nellis Air Force Base. The operators flew the aircraft up to 40,000 feet in preparation for a mock air battle. Shortly before the battle began, Righteous was given full control over the entire aircraft.  The defining feature of this aircraft is its abilities to operate without a human pilot at its controls. It can be flown through remote control, similar to other military Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) like the RQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper or allowed to operate autonomously. The test program that Righteous embodies is presented in a way that echoes the ongoing discussions about fully autonomous aircraft on the battlefield.  In the real world, the mystique surrounding military controlled UAS dissipated long ago. Surveillance and combat footage of drones in Middle East have proliferated television and the worldwide web for decades now. Rather than asking if it is possible, the questions surrounding autonomous unmanned combat aircraft now lean towards ethics in war, technological limitations, and its overall value in combat. Being able to fly a combat aircraft on missions deemed too dangerous to send human pilots is often a leading argument in favor of ideas like Righteous. Saving lives while destroying the enemy is a positive selling point.  However, even at the time of the book's publishing and the writing of this article, fully autonomous combat aircraft able to identify and attack their own targets remain in the conceptual and testing stages.  ​ Mock Combat ​​In the novel, the mock air battle pitted Righteous against two F-16 Fighting Falcons, four F-35 Lightning IIs and one RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft. The F-35s acted as a strike package with the support of the Global Hawk capable of detecting stealth aircraft with ELINT sensors. With no input from its pilot or ground-based operators, Righteous aggressively prioritized targets and formed a strategy that even Bishop thought was somewhat arrogant.  The aircraft elected to strike the F-16 escorts of the Global Hawk first, rather than stealthily destroy the surveillance aircraft. Within minutes half of the enemy force was defeated. During the engagement, Righteous unexpectedly opened its weapon bay doors. For a few moments, both the control team and Bishop questioned the purpose of this, thinking it was a flaw. Bishop perceived this as the F-22 challenging its adversaries to attack by exposing itself to their radars.  Though this first flight test ended in a flight emergency that demanded human control to recover from, Righteous was still able to defeat the Global Hawk and two F-16Cs before beginning interception of the F-35s. During the mock battle, Righteous handled all aspects of air combat without a single input from a human controller or pilot, while defeating other manned aircraft. Even with the inflight emergency, these results show the effectiveness of the autonomous flight functions and most likely would merit further testing after this incident. ​The novel ends with Colonel Bishop electing to take a transfer to an international task force in East Africa that was already in combat against rebel ground and air forces. While Bishop's story would continue, the story of this aircraft would end with the novel. With no official image of the aircraft available and it not being seen or mentioned in the game, we can only imagine what it may have looked like.  Now that the franchise has refocused itself on its own original universe with the imminent release of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Righteous has faded to the background of Ace Combat lore history. Likely to never be seen or used in any future works, as it is tied to the failed reboot of the Ace Combat franchise in 2011. 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 |

For the past two weeks we have been running a very interesting mission in our private DCS server. This mission has allowed us to get back into playing longer and cooperative DCS sessions with our friends for a plethora of reasons. Let's talk about some of the experiences we've had so far in this refreshing mission! The mission is a modified version of Foothold Syria, the same mission we had before. Aaron modified the mission to make it a bit more "Cold War". Not a realistic cold war setting, but one that is a bit more limited in terms of weaponry and aircraft. We no longer have access to GPS guided weapon or any of the advanced long-range weapons for air to ground engagements. That means that we are limited to older "iron" bombs and just a couple of the anti-radiation missiles for convenience purposes. Air weapons got adjustments too, particularly the number of Active Seeker missiles that are available to certain airframes. This has made us think a bit more about which planes to use for certain roles and missions as now planes that served the same role (F-14A/F-14B) are no longer capable of performing the same missions All enemies have been adjusted to fit these new weapon limitations as well. Air threats are mostly composed of mid and late cold war aircraft as well as a couple of high-skill 4th gen soviet planes that act as the primary aerial threats. Just like in the regular version of the mission, we have the capability of gaining points to call in AI support flights as well as AWACS and tankers. These units have been adjusted to fit the new setting and rules, so they feel quite balanced. I personally feel like I have to pre-plan my missions a lot more now. Before, with the regular mission, it felt like it was extremely easy to steamroll objectives. It felt almost effortless to wipe the map clean off of enemies in just a few sessions. The changes have made it so that progress is a lot slower, but still fair. It is not that the mission is more difficult, but the act that it feels a lot more balanced. Capturing airbases with helicopters while one or more of your friends cover your ingress is great. The same applies to using irons to go against convoys and armored targets alike, it is a very enjoyable experience. I can no longer just stay at 40K feet lobbing GPS guided bombs and glider munitions from ten comfort of my cockpit. If you want someone gone, you will have to get down there, below the clouds, to deliver your ammunitions. To say that this has been a breath of fresh air would be an understatement. I have been enjoying being on the skies with my friends again, all thanks to this mission. About the Author 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 a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy #9034

Scale Aviation is a "visual bi-monthly [magazine] for scale aircraft modelers" and often features incredible models and commentary by the makers on their build process. In this volume, pro modeler Pooh-Kumagai (@poohkumagai on Twitter) talked about the build process of his scratch-built 1/72 ADFX-01 Morgan and includes fantastic photos of the model. Though the commentary on the build process was fascinating, the most interesting part was the supplementary world-building information that was included by the Project ACES team to introduce the Morgan to those who are unfamiliar with it. However, there were some brand new, never-before-revealed details included within. Here's what it says: (Told from a military reporter's point of view) On June 30, 2020, the Osean Air Defense Force displayed a certain aircraft at a ceremony commemorating the 25th anniversary of the end of the Belkan War. It was a former test and development aircraft whose existence had been reported on intermittently up until then, but specific details were unknown. Its origin was the former Belkan Air Force. In the ceremony held as part of the Osean government's efforts to make information regarding the Circum-Pacific War public, many members of the military and media from all major countries were invited to a static display and presentation, as well as a demo flight. They even allowed for approved photographers to ride in an Osean F/A-18F chase plane to take aerial photos. Behind all this appeal to the media by the Osean government, there was the sense that they were trying to present this aircraft as a memento of Gründer I.G. which was in the process of being reorganized after the Lighthouse War. The model number of the test and development aircraft is "ADFX-01." Development of this aircraft, code-named "Morgan" within the air force, began in 1985 by the former South Belka Munitions Factory as the Belkan Air Force's Advanced Dominance Fighter (ADF program). The aircraft has quite the eventful history, since a technology demonstrator was thrown into combat by the coup d'etat forces during the Belkan War in 1995, and the Osean military continued development using a captured aircraft as a base. This one in particular is the first Osean-made prototype and was completed by bringing in Belkan engineers who were involved in the development of the original aircraft. The ADFX-01 is categorized as a 4.5-generation fighter with multi-role capabilities. It could be said that its form, with the forward-swept wings and canards that are excellent at reducing drag at high angles of attack and large twin engines is an embodiment of the traditional Belkan ideology that puts an emphasis on dogfighting. Though it is very large for a fighter, it does not have internal weapon bays, but the four under-wing and four over-engine hardpoints allowed it to be equipped with heavy weapons like multi-purpose burst missiles (MPBM) and a tactical laser system (TLS) that were not able to be miniaturized at the time. Though it is a pure canard aircraft with no stabilator in the rear for pitch control, it was very maneuverable. During its demo flight, unburdened by heavy weapons, it even performed a "cobra" post-stall maneuver and thrilled the spectators. Apparently this was unplanned and instead a tactful decision by the pilot, but I remember that the atmosphere clearly changed at the ceremony grounds when it happened. The ADF program that had continuously sought the "ultimate answer" for fighter aircraft is right now, at a critical moment. It transforms as it responds to the times, sometimes taking the shape of a fighter jet, and has even shattered the very concept of war. As the aircraft, the genetic origin of these "answers" took flight, it almost seemed to be asking us once more, "what does it mean for humans to fly?" There were also some observations and additional info as captions to the various photos of the model. For the demo flight: -The ADFX-01 overtakes the F/A-18F camera plane, banks easily, then turns. Perhaps due to the forward-swept wings, it has a exceedingly high roll rate, and seems to have blended the stability of canards and instability of forward-swept wings quite well. -After the aerial refueling display, the ADFX-01 flies near the tanker once more per requests by journalists. It does not seem to be affected by the slipstream of the tanker, and was very stable with very little vertical movement. The tanker at the time was an Osean Air Defense Force KC-10 Extender. From shots taken from the boom operator's seat, it was clear that the gun port was on the upper surface of the nose, right behind the radome just like a F/A-18. The gun caliber is large at 30mm, and has the ability to make strafing runs on ground targets that is on par with attack aircraft. It goes without saying, but note the inward-canted vertical stabilizers and thick engine nacelles. -A picture taken right after the ADFX-01 took off. The reason the gear is still up at this altitude is so that it can perform a dirty roll. During this ~20 minute demo flight, it executed all kinds of maneuvers and gave a performance that showed it was not inferior to state-of-the-art fighters. For the static display: -The inward-canted vertical stabilizers have the effect of maintaining stealth characteristics as well as preventing turbulent flow from being generated when installed with large weapons such as the TLS unit. During the demo flight, it was observed that the flaps also move upwards, confirming that they act as elevators. -The demo aircraft was displayed as an untouched prototype that only had the primer undercoat, and gives the impression that it had time-traveled from the beginnings of its development. It has not been formally adopted by the Osean military, but there have been reports stating that due to its ability to carry immense payloads, a few had been produced and are being used as testbeds for new weapons development. -The oddly long nose (relative to the small wings) catches the eye, but this is to securely house the 30mm cannon. This design also allows the aircraft to remain stable at low altitude and high speed, and enhanced its ground attack capability as an aircraft with high wing loading. The tandem double-tire main landing gear was also used to allow it to operate from unmaintained, front-line runways, and this aircraft possesses excellent traits as an attacker. These excerpts from Scale Aviation has been confirmed as official by Masato Kanno, and "can be considered [like those materials] from ACESweb." Also many thanks to Twitter user @fofohg14 for providing images of the text.

I have hopes that the fair weather flyer status quo will begin to change It has been well over a year since the flight simulation enthusiasts of Digital Combat Simulator dreamed of the possibilities that volumetric clouds could bring. In April 2021, DCS update 2.7 would finally do away with the well-worn clouds and weather that could be traced back to Flanker 2.0 circa 1999, and the cloud-powered hype train was hitting full steam. We wrote a few pieces about it ourselves. While DCS 2.7 certainly has had an impact, the recently released DCS 2.8 builds upon it in a few minor but significant ways. Thinking back on roughly 17 months of operations with volumetric clouds in multiplayer servers, my assessment of clouds today is somewhat different than what I thought they would have been when they were first introduced. In retrospect, the clouds of DCS 2.7 were treated more as a part of the background scenery than a part of the missions/servers I found myself flying in the majority of the time. Clouds were present, but clear weather flying with great visibility and scattered clouds at high altitudes were near constant. The gameplay was noticeably different in servers that utilized more unique presets. For pilots accustomed to using targeting pods and the old mark. One eyeball, DCS 2.7's clouds, and weather were immovable obstacles. Literally. With no changes to their position, particular cloud and weather presets could seal off entire areas of a map to combat operations. I can think of many cases where a mission was designed with no consideration to how the clouds actually appear on the map, but once weather effects were applied, the objectives were entirely obscured by clouds that go all the way down to the surface. In those situations, there would be no way to complete the objectives unless there were coordinates for GPS-guided weapons or turning on unit labels that are visible through all weather. It's probably safe to say that the complications caused by limited visibility scenarios were more detrimental than expected to mission editors and people hosting servers as they tried to maintain an easy-to-access gameplay experience. With DCS 2.8's new dynamic cloud and weather systems, I have hope that this fair weather flyer status quo will begin to change. Now with even the thickest cloud banks rolling across terrain due to wind and rain, sleet or snow coming and going with time, the genuine issue of forever obscured targets has been negated. The unpredictability of the weather during long-play sessions revitalized a few missions and specific servers I am all too familiar with. During sorties in public multiplayer servers that immediately took advantage of the update and private testing on Skyward's own DCS World server, the randomness of the environment made even the most well-worn missions play differently. It was noticeable among the general player population too. There were more pre-planned attacks and lower-altitude flying, which is quite the contrast to the usual high-altitude, long-distance guided weapon approach that permeates most of the experiences out there. Now that arriving over a never moving cloud bank no longer means a guaranteed botched mission, I'm hoping that mission editors will incorporate dynamic weather while taking the initiative to integrate new priorities. For example, with better fuel management being a factor in how much time they have to loiter in the event of weather being in the way, better placement of air-to-air refueling tankers could be a welcome addition. DCS 2.8 brings a considerable amount of minor and major changes. There's a lot more to unpack, but with weather being such a big part of aviation as a whole, it seemed like a good subject to start with. 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.

Here is our free to download Skyward themed livery for the M-2000C by RAZBAM Simulations for Digital Combat Simulator. If you enjoy seeing the sun shine over your Mirage, then this one is for you. It is based on based KEAPS' and Sushy73's 2018 livery , with extremely heavy modifications done to the pattern, weathering, roughmets and diffuses. Roughmets are new and shinier and the titanium parts of the fuselage have different reflectivity! Skyward Bare Metal M-2000C Designer : Cubeboy Release Date : 10/26/2022

Skyward VTOL VR Steam Key Giveaway Winner The results of our spur of the moment giveaway for one copy of VTOL VR are here! Once again the Google Random Number Generator was used to select the winner for this giveaway. The winner for this month's giveaway is: Ric Bis (@bis_ric) Skyward Flight Media would like to thank everyone that participated and helped spread the word to others to participate! The winner will be contacted soon to begin discussing their prize. Flight Sim Expo 2023 All Expenses Paid Trip Giveaway Flight Simulation Association (FSA) is giving away an all-expenses paid trip to FlightSimExpo 2023! The prize package includes flights to Houston from anywhere in Canada or the Lower 48 U.S. states, hotel accommodation, conference registration, and on-site expenses. This giveaway ends at 11:59pm CT (UTC-5) on November 13th, 2022. Follow this link to enter and read the page for all information: flightsimassociation.com/trip. Although FSA membership is not required participate, creating a free account increases your chances of winning! FSA members will also have the first chance to register for FlightSimExpo —at the best prices—when tickets go on sale in December 2022. Skyward FSE 2023 Discount Code For those that are not lucky enough to win this generous giveaway, we'd like to remind you that Skyward Flight Media does have a discount code for purchasing tickets to the event. Read more about the code and our media partnership for Flight Sim Expo 2023 here.

After almost a year of no significant news, the latest update for Aggressor is a bold step toward the game's future. After it launched into early access in August 2021, there were a handful of updates the following month, and there has been little to no activity since on Steam. This was not because the game was dead shortly after arrival but because of the developer's focus on a massive update focused on the next iteration of the game. On July 19th, 2022, the update was released and already more minor updates that have fixed, tweaked, and added content have followed. We last spoke to Flashpoint Studios in an interview following its launch into early access in 2021. Update 1.1.6, the New Horizons update, is aptly named as the difference between the game in 2021 to 2022 is considerable. The primary focus of this update was to revamp the core of the game's systems to set it up for new gameplay mechanics and game modes coming to Aggressor in the next few months. Of the laundry list of updates from New Horizons and the quick follow-on updates, these are a few things that caught my interest. The extensive revamp invoked a complete progress wipe from the previous build of the game, so a mandatory fresh start was an excellent opportunity to experience Aggressor's new build. Returning players will notice the difference from the moment they leave the start screen. With a Command and Conquer-esque faction selection screen, the menu screen pops to life with moving backgrounds, basic but stylish buttons, background music, and placeholders for upcoming game modes. Design-wise, I suppose the general keyword would be minimalist with the menus being semi-transparent over the content in the background; they never really feel in the way. This is a minor point compared to gameplay, but the presentation has improved quite a bit. Things that are harder for users to see on the front end center around core data structure making adding content faster, particularly with the yet-to-be-fully explained Aloft and Frontline game modes. Though there are general comments from Flashpoint Studios floating around their Discord server about what these modes could potentially be, waiting for official announcements on them may be the better decision. The addition of a Mission Builder also falls under this change, but I chose not to explore it too deeply for now because of its current experimental and unstable nature. Things like mission editors and mission builders are always of interest in the flight game genre, so that will be worth a revisit at a later date. Single Missions has replaced the former "Campaign Mode" for now, at least until full single-player campaigns are introduced, which is a high priority according to the developer. The currently available training missions teach players the basics of how to fly in Aggressor, introductions to different weapon systems, and an air racing challenge which proves surprisingly valuable for combat with the amount of low-altitude turn battles players will inevitably end up in. Completing the training missions is the best way to gather large amounts of in-game credits in just a few sorties. These credits are locked per faction, so earning hundreds of thousands of credits for NATO won't carry over to the USSR. Unlock progression is easier to understand with the aircraft tree better illustrated. Starting from the earliest aircraft in the tree possible, purchasing the base aircraft allows players to buy the next most advanced aircraft beneath it. Where aircraft variants are available, those can be purchased as an option, not a requirement. Using the picture above as an example, purchasing the P-51N is the minimum requirement for buying the more advanced XP-80F. However, the purchase of the XP-51XR and XP-82T is optional. The previous, unique roster of early and mid-Cold War aircraft and prototypes remains with new aircraft added. One of them being the "MGI-21 PD", an aircraft based on an obscure demonstrator of the MiG-21 Fishbed that demonstrated vertical lift and takeoff capabilities. Some aircraft have started to receive basic cockpits, which were wholly unavailable before. Even non-fighter types like strategic bombers can be analyzed using the Skypedia option on the main menu to view data about all aircraft in the game and their vehicle models. The placement of weapons on each aircraft is rather extensive and free to interpretation. To the point that each weapon can be placed anywhere in the available stores areas and pylons of each aircraft. It's possible that more historically accurate restrictions will be put in place as development progresses, but for now, even the most hilariously unrealistic loadouts can be prepared. Instant Dogfight mode is the best way to try out all available aircraft and weapons without having to adhere to the aircraft tree. Instant Dogfight continues to be the game mode that best represents what Aggressor is capable of at this time. It is the same large dogfight mode it became known for in August 2021, but with a higher degree of control over every detail. From weather, location, time of day, the position of the sun, and distance the battle starts to control of every detail of both allied and enemy flights. The options include aircraft type, weapons carried, and skill levels all the way down to their starting altitude and airspeed. Pushing this mode to its limit, it's possible to have an eight-faction battle, each faction having over 100 squadrons each. Whether or not the player's computer can handle that is entirely different, but know that it's possible! Finally, the exact changes to Aggressor's flight model are harder to explain for positive reasons. With the introduction of the Rewired advanced input system and extra control options from Flashpoint Studios for changing the input sensitivity, setting dead control zones, and smoothing axes. The initial pop-up screen asking the player about their preferred control method is an excellent reminder that multiple controllers can now be supported. Still, as always, taking the time to create and adjust your inputs as your preferred controller allows is highly recommended. All of these new extended control options are a net positive for the game, but be prepared to set aside time during flight training sessions just for setting everything precisely the way you want it. So far, what has not changed gameplay-wise is its within visual range combat focus. Even with heat-seeking, semi-active radar, and active radar homing missiles now entering its roster with countermeasures to boot, most engagements end with high-energy maneuvers and watching opponents having pieces of their aircraft blown off just a plane length or two away from the player. The addition of an actual gun reticle has been a simple but excellent quality of life improvement. With no lead indicator, old-fashioned World War I and II style gunnery makes up the bulk of combat between the occasional missile launch. After a long period of checking in on this game somewhat regularly, I'm happy with the New Horizons update, the minor follow-on updates, and new activity from the developer on the game's Discord server. If you haven't given Aggressor a play in a while, now is the time to jump in and 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.

For you, what is the most important quality in a combat aircraft for DCS World? Is it the speed? Is it the maneuverability? Or is it the multirole capabilities? I'll tell you that, for me, it is a matter of multirole capabilities. Surprisingly, I have found that the OV-10A is a much more versatile aircraft than I initially thought. It is a multirole beast. I have used it for situations I never expected it to be effective at. Anything from CAS, which is more conventional, to convoy interception and even interception. Basically: as long as you are fine with the fact that you fly relatively slow, you will be able to perform that task within your limitations as a prop. Over the past few days we have tested these abilities in our DCS server with some friends. These adventures have lead us to use the Bronco in all the roles previously stated, including one that we added due to its necessity for the mission we are playing: Foothold Syria. We added the ability of carrying cargo to the Bronco. This means that, aside from being able to liberate low-priority areas on its own with the arsenal of rockets, bombs and rockets; it is able to capture them by using its excellent rough terrain STOL capabilities. So instead of relying on helicopters to capture some of the smaller sites, we can just send one of our friends to capture it with a Bronco. It is faster than any helicopter in the game, we can reliably capture every zone after neutralizing them. And talking about the helicopters, we also used the Bronco as an interceptor against them. To put this in perspective: whenever you liberate a base in Foothold, both factions launch AI helicopters to capture them. If you intercept them, they will not capture anything. If our CAP flights are occupied, we have sent Broncos to intercept them! It works perfectly. We have been pushing the Bronco to its limits and I am happy to report that it holds up extremely well. It is a beast and I would highly recommend including it in your missions. Although if you read my review on this very special mod, you would already know this! About the author: 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 a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy #9034

One week giveaway! 17th to 24th of October 2022 Surprise! We've decided to run a giveaway for one of the best VR flight titles out there, VTOL VR by Boundless Dynamics. It's as simple as that! TIMELINE This giveaway will run from October 17th, 2022 to October 24th, 2022. The giveaway winners will be announced on October 24th, 2022. PRIZE We are giving away one (1) copy of VTOL VR on Steam. Unlike past giveaways, there will be no option to convert the offered prize to a different prize. HOW TO ENTER This year we have two ways to enter this giveaway. Follow SkywardFM on Twitter and like our pinned 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 winner publicly in a tweet and blog post on October 24th, 2022. Winner will also be contacted via direct message or email as well to receive their prize. Best of luck, Skyward Staff

It has been two years since the last interview with Team Nemo was done by Electrosphere.info. Team Nemo is the group behind the English translation of the Japan only version of Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere. As the one year anniversary of the full English patch release for both discs of AC3JP nears, we catch up with team founder DragonSpike XIII (DS) and co-founder Iceman-UK (ICE). The interviewer being Aaron Mendoza (RB). This is the first part of a two part interview series with Team Nemo for 2017. Part two features publicly submitted questions sent to us for Team Nemo. We ​would like to thank DragonSpike XIII and Iceman-UK for allowing us to conduct this interview on behalf of the rest of Team Nemo. Best wishes to Team Nemo and their ongoing effort to translate AC3 into English. A full mission utilizing Team Nemo's translation. Video footage by Enigma. We must ask: after the release of the full English patch, how did the team members enjoy their vacation? ​DragonSpike: The first thing I did was clear my mind of all things AC3. Me and translator Greenrose worked on it very fast and very hard during the months leading up to release day and, as a result, we both felt very tired. The light was flashing red on my burnout meter and the siren about to go off, so to speak. Another passion I have, besides AC3, is watching Japanese TV series (also known as J-Drama or Dorama), especially those from the 90's and early 2000's, so with the experience I gained with my AC3 fan-translation project, and with some much-earned time off from the project, I'd finally found the right time to help out. I only got to help sub one series before heading back to AC3 to organize and begin work on our next release but, after that, I want to be more active in the J-Drama scene in the future. ​​Iceman-UK: It was an amazing achievement after so many years starting the project. To be honest, the credit is to DragonSpike and the rest of the team. I was mainly involved in the website side of things. As we near the one year anniversary of the patch release for both discs, how do you feel about the overall reception of Team NEMO's release? ​​ DragonSpike: I tried to visit as many places as I could that would be interested in AC3 or our fan-translation (YouTube, Reddit, acecombatskies' forums, Romhacking.net, two anonymous imageboards and even foreign websites) and the reception was overwhelmingly positive. I noticed how a lot of people were really happy that this was finally a reality and it seems to me like our v2.0 release didn't let anyone down. There was one moment in particular on an imageboard where someone posted this image of an anime girl, with a stern look on her face, holding a banner saying "This is a magnificent event!". That was a pretty funny moment, I got positive vibes from everywhere but that was the moment I enjoyed the most. ​ One thing worth noting was how the project received attention from gaming publications online and gaming channels on YouTube for the first time, even in languages other than English. I felt very thankful for the sudden spike in exposure that our project got during that time. Iceman-UK: It's always gratifying seeing the notes of encouragement and thanks. They were there even when the project was dormant. Iceman-UK had a very interesting experience this August at OggCamp, an IT industry conference. While there he did a presentation on Project NEMO and showcased some footage of the game running International Edition patch. His overall experience was discussed in a post on his personal blog "Eject Disc". Can Iceman tell us about his presentation? ​ Iceman-UK: Thanks for mentioning this - I should say that OggCamp is actually a "free-culture unconference" where the talks are all crowd-sourced. It's a pretty amazing concept! Anyway, I wanted to contribute to the 2017 OggCamp and thought about what I could talk about. I formerly talked at the 2009 OggCamp about another translation project I was involved in: Front Mission 5 on the PlayStation 2. That got a lot of interest and went very well so I thought I would do the same for Project Nemo. I had a LOT of help from DragonSpike who put together some amazing videos for me to show off and gave me technical information about some aspects of the translation. The majority of people voted for my talk so I got to deliver it in the main auditorium of the venue in front of 200+ people with a massive projector screen show-casing Project Nemo. ​ ​On July 30th, 2017 a blog post on Usea Today announced that DragonSpike was back from vacation. With Team NEMO officially back into full swing, what are some of the things the team hopes to accomplish before 2018? ​ DragonSpike: Many new things have been implemented, some smaller in scope such as translations for the title screen, some more menus and loading screen, which were made possible with help from German programmer Krishty. We're also working on some pretty big things as well, such as the entirety of the in-game encyclopedia which has dozens of entries on the people, organizations, places and various technologies of AC3. This, to me, is the main component that we're adding to our fan-translation with our next release. Another important focus is improving our translation from every possible angle, sometimes enlisting the help of translators when necessary. It's painstaking work but I think there's a very good chance the script for the story-line will be finalized with our next release. ​ As an added bonus, I'm also going to include a fan-translation patch for the AppenDisc, the second disc of the game's soundtrack which also doubles as a game disc. As your efforts continue has the team picked up any new members? Have other individuals or groups outside of Team NEMO come along that have had an impact on the project? DragonSpike: Greenrose, a translator, was the last one to join us in a long-term capacity involving a high volume of work. For the most part that is my criteria for who I consider part of the team. That is not to say that the project hasn't benefited from the help of other contributors. I've mentioned Krishty, whose extraction tools allowed me to find and translate new parts of the game. But it's worth mentioning the support I, and by extension the project, have been receiving from M-35, the developer of the jPSXdec program, who not only sought to improve the compatibility of this rather nifty and powerful tool with AC3 but also took time to look, on more than one occasion, into the data files in order to help us find out whether it was possible to edit other parts of the game, such as the intro video and the credits scroll. As far as outside contributors, he was the first one, going all the way back to 2009, the first year of this project. There's also a number of translators who have helped us during the translation process: Absent Abyss, DarknessSavior, Ein Ni Hen, Momomeno, Seihen and tanukisuitup. All people who had a hand in translating AC3 and whose fine work will always be part of our translation. Another person whose presence can still be felt when playing our fan-translation for AC3 is Agness Kaku, a professional localizer who once did a demo translation for Namco-Hometek before they decided not to localize the full game. She gracefully gave me her permission, even if only symbolic, to make use of the contents of that demo translation and so I included as much of her work as I could when inserting our translation into the game's first mission (that was the scope of her demo), so there are even some professional-quality translations in there too! It's also worth mentioning DrMefistO from Lab313, who made TimView+ and its successor Tim2View, who gave me some much needed support when inserting our translations had finally become possible. Both programs are central to this fan-translation project as well. ​ I make it a point to write down every person's username and contribution so I don't forget, but there are many more who have made a tangible contribution to the project even through something as simple as a comment or reply or even by just spreading the word about our project. Especially when I was just starting out, every answer or comment I got helped me move the project forward. Concerning the in-game term database in AC3: how will the translation of that information be handled? Will it be strictly done through translating the data entries in game or are some articles planned for release on the Team Nemo website? ​DragonSpike: Aside from some raw Japanese text that I found on the Japanese side of the Web, it's being worked on pretty much from scratch. That means we're identifying the characters, transcribing it file by file, and then translating it with little reference outside. There is an old, incomplete and not very reliable translation that can be found on GameFAQS, by user HJerng that has been there since AC3's release in 1999 but we're doing it all from the ground up. At this point I think it's possible to have them all translated and viewable in-game but I can't say for sure just yet because only a fraction of them have received translated, and those are also very much work-in-progress and not fit for release. Nonetheless, I plan on having the same in-game translations readable on our Project NEMO homepage when the time comes. Translating these entries hasn't been easy so it's gonna take a long time to get them up to the same level of quality seen in our translation for the story line.​ ​ What was the most surprising thing you discovered about the plot or lore of Ace Combat 3 during the translation process? ​DragonSpike: I'd say I had a number of smaller ones as opposed to one big revelation during the past few years. Some of the biggest surprises I had overall were before we ever released our first full script back in 2009 but there's plenty that I found out after we started improving the translation when inserting finally became possible. Nonetheless, the biggest one I can think of was understanding what happened during the DOE (Darkness of Enigma) Project and why it was shut down and swept under the rug. ​ One of the more recent surprises I've had is how subtle the briefing for mission 14 Pawns in the Game is and how it tries to convince the player, a peacekeeping pilot, that they're suppressing weapons factories in the middle of a city and how they explain you flying a plane from a different company. It's in moments like these that a good translation comes in handy, so you don't miss the point the game is trying get across. ​ Another is finally getting closure on a small issue that I've had for years: Was the Geofront city a full-fledged city and did people live there during the events of the game? This is not very well explained, if at all, during game play but according to the second Search file has on General Resource, the Geofront is still referred to as an underground city plan or project. ​ ​​Over on Romhacking.net the tools used by Team Nemo for the AC3 English translation were gathered and some were re-uploaded by DragonSpike. What do you hope will happen now that you've made these tools easy to access? ​ ​DragonSpike: The ones who are going to benefit the most from these tools are those who wish to translate the game into their own language. I think some of these tools could help people working on other PS1 games too, I know I used one of them while testing a possible fan-translation for another game but the would-be project leader disappeared so it didn't take off (second time that's happened to me). The tool worked flawlessly though, so other fan-translators might be able to save time by trying ours. Does Team Nemo have any plans to begin translation of AC3 into languages besides English? ​ ​DragonSpike: We don't plan to do any more languages, that's really up to those interested in translating the game into their own language. Project NEMO was born as an English-only project and will remain as such. The tools are all there so have at it! 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.

An unseen conflict from within the original world of Ace Combat, only found in the side margins of its history. The Estovakian Civil War is one of a few conflicts that is not featured as a playable part of any game within the Ace Combat series. All details about this conflict can only be found through official in-universe magazine articles, in-game assault records and hard copies of video game guides in Japanese. We look at the known facts of this conflict as the first entry into our article series, Strangereal Study, which focuses on the original world seen within the Ace Combat games since the mid-1990s. Ulyssess 1994XF04 The International Union of Astronomers (IUA) discovered an asteroid on a collision course with the planet in October of 1994. It would be named the Ulysses 1994XF04 asteroid. Years later a team of prominent astronomers, astrophysicists, and geologists assigned to the IUA confirmed the size and trajectory of Ulysses. After being announced to the world on April 20th, 1996, a plan to destroy Ulysses before it struck the planet was formed by various nations. This resulted in the construction of the Stonehenge Spaceguard Turret Network (STN) near San Salvacion on the Usean continent. As the day of impact neared, a large hollow area within the Ulysses asteroid was detected in June 1998. This area made the asteroid structurally weak, meaning that it would shatter into multiple pieces when it hit the Roche Limit. The new damage projections went beyond the Usean continent, putting Estovakia within range of the estimated Ulysses impact. This was the complete opposite of the initial estimate that showed Ulysses hitting the Usean continent in one piece. With the Spaceguard Turret Network past the point where extensive changes could be made, this left Estovakia on its own to prepare for the incoming asteroid.  With little time left to prepare and an unsuccessful attempt to build their own asteroid interception system, Estovakia was left defenseless. On July 3rd, 1999, the Ulysses asteroid broke through the Roche Limit. On July 8th, Ulysses rained down on the surface of the planet. As a result, more than 500,000 human lives were lost as a direct result of the impacts. Aftermath of the Impacts Estovakia suffered substantial damage from the Ulysses impacts. The national infrastructure was shredded which brought the country to a halt. Eventually, the central government all but ceased to function, and Estovakia fell into further chaos. Within the same year of the impacts various military factions formed. They took control of different regions within the country as their way to stabilize the civilian population and restore order. Once these factions took control of these regions, what remained of the central government influence was further reduced, making them an almost non-existent power.  ​ In the year 2000, the Republic of Emmeria and other non-government organizations (NGO) attempting to assist with reconstruction were heavily delayed by these armed factions. Between the weak central government and the armed factions, the support intended to restore the Estovakia could not be applied to a viable national reconstruction effort. With the much-needed supplies from Emmeria and other NGOs on hold, the armed factions began to pillage one another, including Estovakian cities, to make up for supplies they were not receiving. It was decided that the support for Estovakia could not be continued under these conditions and all efforts were temporarily frozen until more favorable conditions were reached. ​ Lieutenant-General Lyes, the commander of the Lyes Faction, succeeded in taking control of the national capital city of Estovakia on April 3rd, 2007. His faction would continue advancing until it had conquered the western region of the country. In doing so, the Lyes Faction became the most prominent faction in the nation. ​After gaining control of the capital, the Lyes Faction declared itself the orthodox Estovakian government. After renaming themselves the Lyes United Front (LUF), they began to pursue domestic and international appeals by taking charge of reconstruction efforts. The Lyes United Front received aid materials from the Emmerian government who wanted to lift the suspension of aid and begin the reconstruction of Estovakia. Rather than focus on reconstruction and reunification, the LUF utilized the resources and assistance from Emmeria to suppress the other armed factions and any opposing territories or groups that refused to pledge allegiance to the  LUF. Of those that refused to comply, the city of Glenda would become the breaking point. ​​ ​The city of Glenda refused to comply with the Lyes United Front and as punishment had its supply of aid materials to the city halted. This would cause the deaths of more than 200,000 civilians over time. Following this tragedy, the other factions moved to combat the LUF and to establish themselves as the rightful governing power in Estovakia. This would be the start of armed hostilities and the beginning of the Estovakian Civil War which would last for six years. The Civil War Begins The opening phases of the civil war would see each faction engaging in all-out warfare against one another. The factions involved, not including the remaining government forces were: the Eastern Faction, Independent Tariff Federation, Island Coalition, Lyes United Front and Northern Highlands Faction. ​ ​​​In the opening phase of the war, a naval insurgent group, the Independent Tariff Federation, was ambushed by the Lyes United Front early on in the conflict. After the Federation's defeat, members and equipment of the Federation were absorbed into the LUF. The Island Coalition came under attack by the LUF but was successful in repelling their attack. The Eastern Faction ​launched attacks against the Northern Highlands Faction. With the Eastern Faction victorious, the remaining forces of the Northern Highlands Faction were absorbed into the Eastern Faction's overall military strength. This was made possible by the amicable relationship between the Eastern Faction's Colonel General Gustav Dvornik and Lieutenant General of the Air Force of the Northern Highlands Faction, Isaac Alenski. Utilizing its new military strength, the Eastern Faction then went on the offensive against the Island Coalition in 2010. ​During the battle, Franz Leko of the Eastern Faction’s Vampire Team performed an extremely-low level spearhead attack against Island Coalition defenses. Leko single-handedly destroyed all anti-aircraft defenses the Island Coalition deployed and was  accredited for securing victory for the Eastern Faction. Even after the civil war, this action was regarded as the crowning moment of the entire conflict. ​ ​Following the Eastern Faction’s two victories and the reorganization of the Lyes United Front, the war entered its final phase. Lieutenant General Lyes ordered a massive attack by all land, naval and air forces against the Eastern Faction in January of 2013. The Lyes ​United Front outnumbered the Eastern Faction forces by a wide margin at the start of the battle. The fierce combat included city-wide bombing campaigns which sought the complete destruction of the opposing forces. Despite the advantage the Lyes United Front had, they were utterly defeated. Only a week after the battle began, the Lyes United Front lost 80% of their territory. The primary cause of their defeat being the deployment of a new Eastern Faction weapon, the P-1112 Aigaion Heavy Command Cruiser. The Aigaion, coupled with the Strigon and Vampire teams was the driving force behind the rapid Eastern Faction advance. ​ The remnant forces of the LUF were cornered in an area near the Emmerian border, where they were finally defeated. The battle resulted in the death of Lieutenant-General Lyes and the end of the Estovakian Civil War. Postwar, International Tensions Arise According to an analysis done by the Emmerian think-tank, the Amherst Research Institute, it would take Estovakia 30 years to restore their economy to the levels it operated at in the 1990s without international reconstruction support. ​Former Highlands Faction Lieutenant General Isacc Alenski contributed greatly to restarting international reconstruction support. Isacc Alenski was instrumental in the creation of the post-civil war Estovakian government. For his efforts he became the Foreign Minister of the new government and was well known to the Estovakian and Emmerian governments for his contributions. He was a key figure in making appeals to other nations for restarting international aid programs for reconstruction in Estovakia. Relief efforts were somewhat hindered due to aid convoys sporadically being raided by armed secessionist groups. One of these groups - formerly a part of the Lyes United Front - attacked Foreign Minister Alenski's car while he was going to Zaurek International Airport in November 2013. On the day the attack occurred he was beginning a trip to attend the Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Estovakia hosted in Gracemeria, Emmeria. He would die of his injuries on December 2nd 2013, but it would not be made public knowledge until February 2014. This assassination was the beginning of new attacks by other groups once a part of the LUF; the largest of these attacks being against an Emmerian reconstruction assistance relief supply stocking facility in Vistoc, in western Estovakia. The attack on February 4th, 2014 killed eight Emmerian soldiers, 27 civilians and NGO staff killed or wounded and food and medical supplies for over 50,000 people stolen. Apprehension spread domestically and internationally about the break out of a second civil war. The actions of the Emmerian government during the Estovakian civil war were not forgotten by leaders of the former Eastern Faction, who held a grudge against Emmeria. During the civil war, the Lyes United Front maintained a dominant position by utilizing the continued supply chain from Emmeria for national reconstruction. The Emmerian government did not halt aid to the LUF until 2011, years after the conflict was well underway and the aide was being utilized for war efforts rather than reconstruction. Bitter sentiments were not expressed officially until the new Estovakian Foreign Minister and former captain of the Eastern Faction Navy, Antonina Koznick stated that the Emmerian government was partly responsible for the outbreak of the Estovakian Civil War. A statement which ratcheted up tensions between the two nations. This animosity, coupled with raids against relief supplies by armed secessionist groups, 40% national unemployment and international concerns about once again propping up a military dictatorship in Estovakia by supplying them with aid materials, maintained a certain level of tension between Emmeria and Estovakia. This tension continued up to the outbreak of the EE War on August 30th, 2015 which started with Estovakia invading Emmeria's capital city, Gracemeria. Source(s) Ace Combat 6, ​Estovakian Assault Record #5, 6, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 20, 23 Soft Bank Creative, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation Complete Guide, Page 171 Front Line Military Journal, The Aerial Fleet Initiative, February 26th 2016 Gaze, Last Christmas, January 1st 1999 The Emmerian Chronicle, February 5th, 2014 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.

We play Ace Combat for thrilling, high-speed aerial combat. A heroic pilot rushing into the heart of the enemy force, singlehandedly destroying entire squadrons with cutting-edge missiles and top of the line combat aircraft. Getting high completion ranks in Single player relies on destroying enemies quickly, and player vs player victories are decided by outperforming rival players from around the world. Doing something like willingly giving up a special weapon that can obliterate a group of targets from the land, sea or air seems pointless. But it's often forgot that a keen defense is just as good as a relentless offensive. Electronic Counter Measure Pod ​​ The ultimate form of electronic countermeasures within the Ace Combat series would come with the release of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War on October 21st, 2004. For the first time, players could equip a special weapon known as the Electronic Counter Measure Pod (ECMP). ​ The ECMP had a number of unsavory restrictions tied to it from the moment it was introduced. In comparison to other special weapons, it often has the lowest 'ammunition count' and the smallest effective range. Of these restrictions, the lack of aircraft capable of deploying ECMP continues to be a limiting factor, with the average number of aircraft available for use ranging between three to six per game on average. From 2004 to 2010, the electronic countermeasure pod was widely considered by many players to be nothing more than a defense system that fulfilled the role of the traditional chaff and flare dispensers found on real-world combat aircraft. ​The introduction of a chaff/flare game mechanic for players would not come until the release of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (2011). ​ Though the limitations of the ECMP didn't change much with the release of Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (2007), the introduction of widely accessible online multiplayer would deepen the understanding and deployment of the ECMP. Ace Combat 6 online multiplayer became a proving ground. A place where their skills and strategies they honed from every Ace Combat game they've played would be matched directly against one another. Within a year of Ace Combat 6's release, many individuals, and online squadrons (groups of players that formed long-term teams) sought new strategies to maintain their edge. The value of the seemingly restrictive ECMP had begun to increase once new multiplayer tactics were developed to utilize the few seconds of coverage it could provide. Some online squadrons would go as far as privately researching the capabilities of the ECMP in private online matches among their squad mates. The information they gathered would later be utilized to deploy and counter the ECMP in official squadron versus squadron matches. The ECMP underwent many changes with the release of Ace Combat Assault Horizon (2011). Its improved default capabilities coupled with further enhancements with "Skill" upgrades made this special weapon a true squadron support tool. The most effective form of ECMP is seen in Ace Combat Infinity (2014) which combines elements of legacy ECMP with the Assault Horizon ECMP variant. Legacy ECMP The first generation ECM pods for the Ace Combat series. This data is applicable for Ace Combat 5, 6, X, X2, Zero and 3DS (Assault Horizon Legacy/Cross Rumble). The exact jamming range of Legacy ECMP could not be determined easily due to the lack of a visual representation of jamming range, as seen in Assault Horizon and Infinity. Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation introduced a set maximum range for ECM. Much of the research for Legacy ECMP started with the Ace Combat 6 variant of the ECMP. For quick reference, Ace Combat 6 jamming range is the inner most circle of the in-game radar display shown in the bottom left corner of the heads up display. Assault Horizon ECMP For a time, the ECMP seen in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon was capable of covering an area large enough to support a squadron of aircraft in co-op and multiplayer game modes. When utilizing the multiple ECM related Skill upgrades, the ACAH ECMP had the largest jamming range in the Ace Combat series. It did not completely disable incoming hostile weaponry in Player vs Player game modes, but it did increase the time it took for enemies to gain a lock onto the ECM emitting aircraft or any allied aircraft within the emission range. ​With the introduction of compatibility packs (game updates) following Ace Combat: Assault Horizon's release, the ability to stack Skill upgrades was removed and overall performance was also reduced. The special weapon was forced to return to a level similar to that of the Legacy ECMP in which it had a short range and emission time, but successfully disrupted incoming guided missile fire. all Skill stats are null in void during actual game play due to compatibility packs.​ The Extra ECM skill increases the special weapon ammunition count by four. It does not provide a enhancement to range, emission time or reload speed. As such it is not listed on this information table. Infinity ECMP This version combines characteristics of the Assault Horizon and Legacy jamming pods, making it the best version of the ECMP in Ace Combat so far. The effective range is visible on radar, represented with a large blue circle or a white circle if a friendly aircraft from a different allied flight is emitting ECM. It is important to remember that ECM from a different flight does not protect all aircraft from both flights (i.e. if the friendly jammer aircraft is on Bravo team, aircraft on Alpha team will not receive ECM coverage). In single player and online competitive co-op mode, the ECMP has a significantly extended emission time in comparison to all past versions of ECMP. Its performance can be enhanced by leveling up the special weapon and equipping Aircraft Tuning parts designed for ECM. By equipping a specific combination of parts, it is possible to maintain consistent coverage over an extended area, allowing allied aircraft to operate with minimal concern for incoming air-to-air or surface-to-air missiles. In player vs player game modes (Team Death Match (TDM), Naval Team Death Match (NTDM) ) ECMP performance is restricted. The emission time is reduced to the shortest emission time of all player controlled jammer pods in the Ace Combat series. All aircraft parts that enhance the abilities of the ECMP are rendered ineffective during team death matches. Deployment Notes Effect of Active ECMP While the Electronic Countermeasure Pod is active, any hostile guided weapon that enters its effective range has its guidance system disabled. After it is disabled it will proceed flying in a a straight line along its flight path until it times out or impacts another object (ground, ocean, building, etc). The effects are immediate and do not require that the enemy weapon(s) remain within jammer range for a set amount of time. One second of contact with an active ECM is enough to jam a weapon guidance system. It is important to remember that while the ECMP is active, any guided weapon that enters its range will become unable to guide onto targets. Even after the weapon has left the emission range its guidance system has already been disabled. ​ Emission Range This is the area that the ECMP effects. The exact range varies depending on game, aircraft tuning parts and aircraft level. The ECMP range is recorded using the in-game radar which displays objects in two-dimensions. Through testing, it has been verified that the effective horizontal range is also applicable vertically, which gives the ECM field a sphere shape. If the emission range of the ECMP is 10000ft, it is effective at 10000ft in every direction around the aircraft. ​ Unguided but Dangerous ​It is not recommended to proceed flying in a straight line, directly at the weapon that has just been jammed. A minimal amount of movement (yaw, altitude change, rapid change in speed) is required while emitting ECM. After a weapon has been disabled it loses its guidance capability but this does not mean that its explosive charge is disarmed. An unguided weapon will still inflict the same amount of damage to the player's aircraft. Any weapon with a blast radius will still cause damage across that blast radius even after being jammed. ​​Basic SEAD An aircraft providing ECMP support can utilize basic suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) tactics to ease the level of difficulty when attacking enemy land and sea forces. Using the ECMP to block out incoming missile fire while targeting enemies firing Surface-to-Air Missiles at them. Air-to-Surface Weaponry ​The ECMP is also effective on guided air-to-surface weaponry (weapons designed to attack buildings, vehicles, ships, etc) launched by enemy aircraft. This is the most uncommon use of ECMP which requires more effort and planning in comparison to defeating air-to-air weaponry. Attempting to jam air-to-surface weaponry requires that the player deploying the ECMP keeps the enemy aircraft firing air-to-surface weaponry within their range. By utilizing the radar or visually confirming a weapon being fired, the player can activate the ECMP before it can guide onto a target. LAGM, LASM, XAGM: The standard attack profile of these weapons requires them to fly above their target, then perform a sharp dive to attack it from above where it assumed to be thinly armored. Jamming these weapons before they get above target will prevent them from making their final turn, causing them to fly by harmlessly. The attack profiles of these weapons can change depending on game and the distance or angle they were fired at. An advanced understanding of how these weapons operate is recommended. GPB: This bomb utilizes guidance fins to direct itself onto a target as it falls. Enemy aircraft using this special weapon frequently rely on the GPB's ability to guide itself and often won't set up to drop it as though it was a standard Unguided Bomb (UGB). The sooner this weapon is jammed by the ECMP, the better, as it will deny its ability to guide itself onto a target. If a GPB is jammed too late within its drop sequence, the relatively small blast radius of the unguided GPB will still damage or destroy its target. Research The data provided for ECM specifications in this article was gathered through multiple in-game research efforts focused on the electronic countermeasure pod special weapon. The first in-game study was done in 2008 by an Ace Combat online squadron known as 12th MNAT Ribbon. The week long study established baseline data for Legacy ECMP; including the identification of ECM emission time, effective range, shape of the ECM burst, weapons that could be jammed, flight characteristics of jammed weapons and the creation of basic tactics for ECMP deployment in a multiplayer environment. ​ Much of this data would be reconfirmed and multiplayer tactics were expanded upon in a second study by another online group, Strategic Military Services, in 2009 and 2011. The fourth study would be performed in 2014 by the Sphere Aerospace, a Ace Combat Infinity focused group of members from Electrosphere.info. For the release of this article, information for Ace Combat Infinity was expanded upon with other information being reconfirmed. 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.

Within the Ace Combat series advanced forms of electronic countermeasures (ECM) has exclusively been a non-player character (NPC) feature since it was first introduced. NPC ECM is commonly deployed by enemy forces in an effort to increase the difficulty of single player missions. Electronic countermeasure support is not usually deployed in favor of the player or their allies. ​ Though the presence of ECM cannot be specifically confirmed in Air Combat (1992/1995), mission 6 of Ace Combat 2 (1997) is the first mission to introduce electronic countermeasures within its briefing. A pair of E-767 Vigilante AWACS aircraft disrupted or "jammed" the player's radar, making it harder for them to track the enemy units using their radar. By hindering radar detection from all ranges, it forced the player to rely more on small pieces of information they could glean through breaks in the enemy jamming. ​​ ​ ​​​From Ace Combat 2 to the release of Ace Combat Infinity (2014), NPC ECM would become a reoccurring factor in a limited amount of missions for Ace Combat releases on PlayStation 1, 2, 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and Xbox 360. As the series advanced in regards to graphics and game mechanics so too did ECM. The basic forms of NPC electronic countermeasures are primarily focused on disruption of navigation systems and communications. More advanced types of ECM are capable of tricking and denying player controlled weapons systems. Often times enemy NPC units will use multiple types of ECM at once to effectively disrupt the player. ​In Ace Combat 5 Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM) were also introduced but was closely tied to the plot of the story. It wasn't used much outside of in game plot points which used ECM interference to drive the story forward. As such, allied ECCM wasn't really a factor in game play. A second form of ECM is enemy deployed Electronic Support Measures (ESM). ESM acts differently than ECM in a few different ways, but ESM that is deployed by enemy forces reduces the homing performance of missiles fired by the player or their allies while they operate within enemy ESM range. In that sense, it is a electronic countermeasure. NPC ECM Platforms The electronic countermeasure platforms used by non-player character allies and enemies are usually aircraft or land-based installations. Aircraft are the most common ECM platform used. NPCs frequently use known military electronic jammer aircraft like the Su-24MP, EA-18G, Tornado ECR, along with larger aircraft like E-767 Vigilante, IL-76 and similar platforms. Land based jammers come from specific types of radar vehicles or military installations. Certain notable super weapons like the Excalibur Anti-Ballistic Missile System and Stonehenge Spaceguard Turret Network utilizes electronic counter measures to ward off attacks from close and long ranges. Types of ECM Communications Jamming Experienced in single player missions, frequently used in plot related events. Communication between in game allies is disrupted by ECM causing confusion. Static on the radio and missing words within subtitles are common characteristics. Decoy Projection ​False targets appear on the player’s heads up display and radar. This type of ECM can lead to the waste of mid and long ranged special weapons fire. Visually identifying targets before firing in necessary. By closing into visual range or using the in-game camera to zoom, the actual target can be located. Radar Suppression Jamming that blocks out radar. Its severity can range from the disruption of localized areas to complete radar black out in the mission area. The most common visualization of radar suppression appears as a green circle which emits waves of interference at varying intervals of time. The design of the green circle varies in each Ace Combat game. Weapons System Jamming This type of ECM is designed to deny the guidance capabilities, causing guided weaponry to lose lock mid-flight and disabling the heads up display so it cannot show the position of enemy units. The visual effect of weapons system jamming includes scan lines on the HUD and the disappearance of all enemy target indicators for varying periods of time. Notable Uses in Ace Combat Series ​Morganite ECM System The ADFX-02 Morgan, constructed by the South Belkan Munitions Factory before the events of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, featured a set of highly specialized weapons. Among them was the Morganite ECM system which was powerful enough to physically deflect incoming missile and gunfire from any angle and any range. The only weak point was its inability to cover the area around the ADFX's engine intakes. This meant that the only way to shoot down the Morgan was to fire at it from its direct front. From the point of view of game design, it's clear that the Morganite ECM system was created to enable the iconic joust style final dogfight of Ace Combat Zero. Operation Battle-Axe The Belkan Air Force 22nd Air Division, 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Schnee" flew F-14D Super Tomcats supported by an EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft. On May 28th, 1995, Schnee squadron was deployed to reinforce Belkan forces during the large scale air battle in Belkan strategic priority one airspace B7R. Upon their arrival they engaged the Ustian 66th Air Division, 6th Air Force Unit "Galm" in an effort to stop the Allied Forces from securing the airspace. The air battle ended with Schnee being shot down and the Allied Forces secured a major victory in the Belkan War by seizing B7R.  ​ ​Ace Combat Zero, mission 10 (Soldier) was the first time within the series that an enemy ace squadron utilized ECM in such a way. While the EA-6B Prowler remained at high altitude and suppressed radar, the Schnee F-14s engaged the player with close range weapons and long-range XLAAs (AIM-54 Phoenix). Being unable to track targets with radar, the player was much more vulnerable to XLAA missiles as they were unable to identify which direction they should maneuver to evade the incoming missiles. ​​ Safe Return A U-2 Dragonlady spy plane with the Independent State Allied Forces (ISAF) was damaged by air defenses from the Federal Republic of Erusea. Mobius One of the ISAF 118th Tactical Fighter Squadron would be dispatched to Gnome Ravine to destroy a network of airships carrying ECM emitters. It was vital for ISAF that the jammers be destroyed since their U-2 was forced to fly at low altitude due to damage from Erusean air defenses. After the successful destruction of a large amount of jammers and the interception of Erusean fighter aircraft attempting to destroy the spy plane, the vital data the U-2 gathered was recovered. Evidence of Erusea preparing Megalith as a replacement for the recently destroyed Stonehenge STN. This is the first time such a vast network of ECM was used against the player in the Ace Combat series. The mission maintained a decent level of difficulty without relying on enemies actively pursing the player. With the radar heavily jammed the player is forced to visually spot the airships they're attacking. Pawns in the Game After the death of the General Resource LTD. CEO Aldair Carlos Nascimento, two factions within the mega corporation began to fall into a power struggle. Sensing that one of the two factions could incite a war with Neucom Inc. the Special Armed Response Force of the Universal Peace Enforcement Organization was dispatched to strike a General Resource armory as a measure to remove that possibility. Utilizing ECM coverage provided by the UI-4053 Sphyrna and new R-211 Orcinus aircraft, the armory was destroyed. After the mission's success it was discovered that the facilities were actually corporate housing. The UPEO raid using Neucom marked aircraft had caused the deaths of many civilians and employees. Full on armed conflict between General Resource and Neucom would start shortly afterwards. Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere [JP], UPEO Mission 14 "Pawns in the Game" was the first time ECM coverage had been provided in favor of the player, rather than against them. A second interesting note is that the airship which had deployed the electronic countermeasures would become an enemy. Next Form of ECM The ultimate form of electronic countermeasures within the Ace Combat series would come with the release of Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War on October 21st, 2004. For the first time, players could equip a special weapon known as the Electronic Countermeasure Pod (ECMP) to disrupt guided weapons fired by enemy units. See our article, Hardpoint: ECMP in Ace Combat, for its history, hardware, specifications and more. 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 sister article to our first Strangereal Study article comes from the point of view of an investigation. It does not assume the existence of the main subject, as its existence in Strangereal was not made public knowledge even after its destruction. This investigative approach allows for a unique way to learn about this subject. Traces of a hidden power behind the end of the Estovakian civil war can be found in translated in-universe materials, pilot records and in-game information from Ace Combat 6. Introduction The defeat of the Lyes United Front (LUF) by the considerably outnumbered Eastern Faction may be accredited to more than tactical prowess or the strength of its air squadrons. The LUF had a considerable numerical advantage regarding sheer firepower near the end of the Estovakian Civil War. It is hard to believe that the Eastern Faction could capture 80% of their territory, then soundly defeat them in just over a week of combat, without the presence of an overwhelming new strategy or weapon deployed to the battlefield. We begin our analysis of the Eastern Faction's victory by reviewing a bold and seemingly impossible plan presented by the leader of the Eastern Faction. The proposal was made before the outbreak of the civil war by Colonel General Gustav Dvornik. This man would later become the leader of the Eastern Faction and eventually the Supreme Commander of the Estovakian Army after the end of the civil war. The Aerial Fleet Initiative sought the development of a new strategy for establishing and maintaining air superiority over broad areas. The system would be refined with long-range attack capabilities and deployment of air-launched carrier fighters. The term "air-launched fighters" seems to refer to an airborne version of the launch and recovery system found on a naval aircraft carrier. This would be ideal for a nation such as Estovakia; half of its national geography is mountainous, and it's proximity to the North Pole limits naval operations. The ultimate goal of this concept being the ability to hold control over large areas of land for extended periods of time. At the time it was assumed to be impossible for Estovakia to amass the finances, resources or advanced technology needed to make it a reality. Even before the 1994XF04 Ulysses asteroid impact, the state of Estovakian domestic weapons technology was nowhere near developed enough to pursue such an audacious project. ​Estovakian domestic weapons development was not a priority due to their reliance on importing weaponry. Estovakia had been procuring weapons for its military from the Union of Yuktobanian Republics and the Principality of Belka since 1970. Weapons imports from Belka ceased in 1995 after the principality's defeat in the Belkan War. The damaged caused by the Ulysses asteroid in 1999 devastated national infrastructure which would further setback any domestic weapons projects. In 2002, Estovakia was placed under weapons import restrictions via a strategic materials control act by the Republic of Emmeria, the Osean Federation, and other nations, due to Estovakia becoming unstable and armed factions beginning to form within its borders. An extended civil war would follow shortly afterwards and wouldn't end until 2014. These conditions are not conducive for a concerted weapons development project. And yet, Estovakia nearly defeated the Republic of Emmeria in the EE War of 2015. When comparing the Emmerian military capability before the EE War to the combined combat potential of the Estovakian civil war armed factions at the height of the civil war - which arguably was a more significant force than the reformed Estovakian military after the civil war - Emmeria had more combat potential. How could Estovakia, still recovering from so much internal strife and economic setbacks, nearly defeat one of the best-organized armed forces in the world? Their military gained control of almost all of the Emmerian mainland in just two months of combat in 2015. That in itself is reminiscent of the Eastern Faction's sudden victory in the Estovakian Civil War.  ​ ​ Within the Shadows of the EE War ​The investigation of the civil war's end leads us into Estovakia's future conflict in 2015. It is there that the presence of a hidden force begins to surface on a international scale. The opening Estovakian military strike of the EE War on August 30th, 2015 resulted in the capture of Gracemeria, the capital city of the Republic of Emmeria. After a brief success in blunting the Estovakian surprise attack, 70% of the responding Emmerian forces were destroyed by what was described as "huge fireballs" about 1 kilometer in diameter. These fireballs blanketed the airspace above Gracemeria. The reports of those explosions came in simultaneously with cruise missiles entering the area. The same cruise missiles and fireballs from August 30th would be seen time and time again as Emmerian forces retreated westward from the advancing Estovakian troops. In September 2015, the Doypalm Bay Offensive in San Loma would be a crucial victory for Estovakian forces. With the capture of San Loma, Estovakian troops succeeded in pushing the bulk of what remained of the Emmerian military off the mainland. During this battle an eyewitness would surface, whose information was then coupled with a release of photos from the Union of Yuktobanian Republics.  ​​ The February 26th, 2016 issue of Front Line military journal featured an eyewitness account from an anonymous Emmerian military officer. He had participated in the defense of San Loma in September 2015. Using the alias of "Mr. Allen" to protect his identity, his account detailed his effort to intercept cruise missiles flying towards San Loma, which resulted in the loss of his aircraft. After barely being able to eject from his plane, he landed safely and observed cruise missiles flying towards San Loma which exploded into fireballs above the combat area. Mr. Allen then witnessed two aircraft after he landed on a nearby beach. The first aircraft being a fighter jet painted black and red which entered San Loma from the same direction the cruise missiles were fired from. The second aircraft was massive, visible as far away as Mount Nix, which was 30 to 40 kilometers away from him at the time. Mr. Allen describes it as being "so enormous that its wings tore the clouds apart." This eyewitness account coincides with multiple rumors from Emmerian soldiers about a large plane that was spotted across various battlefields in Emmeria. ​ ​The red and black fighter that was mentioned is believed to have been operated by the Estovakian Central Forces Precinct Air Force 370th Aviation Regiment, 9th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Strigon". This squadron was officially stationed in occupied Gracemeria throughout 2015. The Strigon squadron operated Su-33 Sea Flanker fixed wing fighters capable of launching from aircraft carriers. With no Estovakian held operational runways between San Loma and Gracemeria during that phase of the war, the aircraft must have received in-flight refueling or was launched from an aircraft carrier. However, it's least likely that it was launched from a naval vessel.  ​ Su-33 Flanker-D operated by 9th TFS Strigon (Photographer: Fighterman) It was revealed by the Union of Yuktobanian Republics that in April of 2015 one of their spy satellites spotted an unknown, massive aircraft. The aircraft, similar in design to a manta ray, remained airborne for three days. It flew from a coastline in southeastern Estovakia, then disappeared on the fourth day near the northeastern coastal area. In the vicinity of its point of disappearance was an oil drilling facility managed by Estovakia's Oil Development Corporation.  ​​​ ​​​Research into the aforementioned oil drilling facility shows that it was previously abandoned for 18 years. The facility was abandoned in 1990 but repaired and expanded in 2008 by the Eastern Faction during the Estovakian Civil War. The oil drilling complex put in place after 2008 was far too large for the amount of oil estimated to be available for the area.  ​ ​​The Yuktobanian spy satellite images of the giant aircraft and oil drilling complex from April 2015, coupled with eyewitness reports of Emmerian troops during the EE War were used to estimate the size of the unidentified giant aircraft. The wingspan and length of the unknown giant aircraft were roughly as large as the oil drilling complex it mysteriously vanished near. ​Compiling the available information implies the realization of the Aerial Fleet Initiative. But even then, skepticism remained from military analysts. Despite there being flight records of giant aircraft in the past, an aircraft of that size capable deploying and recovering other aircraft was unprecedented. The advancement in technology needed for Estovakia to construct such a weapon could still not be explained. This missing link would be discovered through the record of a pilot that came to Estovakia before the civil war.​ ​ ​Estimated Capability of Unknown Giant Aircraft The following calculations came from military analyst Vincent Baldwin as published in Front Line military journal, 2/26/16 - a Strangereal canon magazine. The 3000km-range cruise missile with an up-to-date guidance system. Its shock waves embroil wide areas. 72-hour flight ability. Capable of firing the cruise missile consecutively. Capable of carrying many aircraft. Capable of deploying fighters and attackers while airborne. Technology Transfer ​The missing evidence that would explain the sudden technological leap would surface in the assault record of a pilot named Lorenz Riedel. Not an Estovakian born citizen, Riedel came to Estovakia from the Principality of Belka. ​​His roots can be traced back to him being a member of the Belkan Air Force 18th Air Division, 5th Tactical Fighter Squadron in 1995. The squadron was lead by Commander Anton Kupchenko, who was once the chief engineer of Project Pendragon. This was an advanced weapons development program launched in the 1970s by the Principality of Belka. Among the new technology and weapons created was a giant airborne heavy command cruiser and burst missile technology. ​Riedel and several other Belkan defectors managed to escape the post-war inquiries made by the Allied Forces by fleeing to Estovakia. Political ties between Estovakia and Belka are presumed to have been amicable during that time due to the import of Belkan weapons for decades. These Belkan defectors were later accredited with assisting in the development and construction of new technologies for the Estovakian military. Investigative reports also claim that the research brought with these defectors became the deciding factor in the Estovakian Civil War, though the type of information provided and new technologies developed was never completely clarified. During the Emmerian counterattack in the EE War, the presence of the unknown giant aircraft, its purpose, and its capabilities were confirmed just before the Emmerian recapture of San Loma on February 15th, 2016. This battle plan utilized top secret information from Emmerian intelligence agents, many of whom had lost their lives gathering the data. This intelligence was coupled with missile samples, small unmanned aerial vehicle samples, radar records and analysis of all battles in which air bursting cruise missiles appeared. They were compiled into an attack plan to destroy the centerpiece of the invading Estovakian force. ​ ​ ​Heavy Command Cruiser ​In February 2016, the P-1112 Aigaion heavy command cruiser was identified by Emmeria as the flagship of the Estovakian Aerial Fleet; the final product of the Aerial Fleet Initiative. This fleet consisted of five massive aircraft centered around the abilities of the heavy command cruiser. Its escort P-1113 Gyges aerial battleships and P-1114 Kottos electronic support aircraft provided the Aigaion itself with electronic warfare support and more firepower if needed. The its long range strike capabilities, extended flight range and ability to launch aircraft was the driving force behind Estovakia's advance across the Emmerian mainland. ​ Though this was the first time the presence of the Aerial Fleet was confirmed outside of Estovakia, the P-1112 Aigaion had seen combat in the Estovakian Civil War in January 2013. The Eastern Faction deployed the Aigaion against the Lyes United Front in the final week of the war. The heavy command cruiser's overwhelming capabilities were joined with their elite flight squadrons, Strigon and Vampire. This was the true force behind the Eastern Faction's victory and the reunification of Estovakia beneath a military regime. The concealment of Aigaion from public knowledge can be accredited to two things. First, the rebuilt and greatly expanded oil drilling complex controlled by the Eastern Faction in 2008. The size of that facility would allow for the construction of the heavy command cruiser and aircraft of similar size with no airborne or space-based reconnaissance asset capable of seeing it from above. Its appearance as a non-military related oil facility also deterred any suspicion. With the Aigaion being designed to operate on the ocean, it was most likely constructed in a secret facility within the oil drilling complex. With this facility being large enough to house the Aigaion, it would be able to be physically concealed at any time as well. ​Second, following the end of the civil war and the reunification of Estovakia, many of the former members of the Eastern Faction became leaders of the new Estovakian central government. They believed that the misguided reconstruction efforts of Emmeria caused the civil war to occur and also extended the duration of the conflict. With this animosity within the Estovakian government and national military, the decision to conceal the P-1112 Aigaion comes of no surprise. ​ ​Officially, the existence of the Aigaion was not made public even after its destruction on February 20th, 2016. This is made evident by the fact that Front Line Magazine "Aerial Fleet Initiative", which was released on Feberuary 26th, 2016, did not confirm Aigaion's existence or destruction and could only present the possibility of an aircraft of such size existing. If its existence was made public after the EE War is unknown. 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 term "standoff", in reference to military use, indicates the ability to strike a target while keeping the aircraft that launched the weapon outside of the range of the enemy's defensive weaponry. The Stand-Off Dispenser (SOD) is a special weapon that can strike ground and naval targets at mid-range using bomblets or other submunitions. This analysis article presents information about this Ace Combat special weapon, including detailed deployment notes. ​The SOD first appeared in Ace Combat 04 (2001) on the Dassault Rafale M, the only aircraft in that game capable of equipping it. The number of aircraft that could equip the SOD gradually increased and decreased starting with the release of Ace Combat 5 (2004). The highest amount of variants of the SOD was seen in Ace Combat Zero (2006) with six different models of the weapon appearing. ​ ​Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (2011) included an important new visual upgrade, giving it a visible impact area on the Heads-Up Display (HUD). Much like the visual cues for Unguided Bombs (UGB) and Guided Precision Bombs (GPB), a set of circles are displayed on the HUD which show where the bomblets will impact on the surface. ​The introduction of Aircraft Tuning in Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (2006) would have little to no impact on the SOD until the release of Ace Combat Infinity (2014). The modifications available to the SOD in Infinity were extensive, capable of increasing the dispersal area and overall attack power of the weapon. A new variant of the SOD that could only be carried by strategic bombers, known as the Modified Stand-Off Dispenser (MSOD) was also introduced in Ace Combat Infinity. ​ Weapon Animation The Ace Combat 04 version has the most unique animation for its bomblet dispersal. The missile body of the SOD leaves behind a small contrail while the bomblets, when deployed, hang in mid air for few seconds before glowing orange, then flying downward to the surface. The glow emitted by the bomblets is similar to that of rockets from the Rocket Launcher (RCL) special weapon.  ​ ​ ​Starting with Ace Combat 5, its animation was more standardized as it shared the same bomblet explosion effects as the Self-Forging Fragmentation Submunitions (SFFS) and the Bomblet Dispenser (BDSP) special weapons. Clouds of dirt appeared as the bomblets hit the surface. ​​The animation for Ace Combat 5, Ace Combat Zero, Ace Combat X, Ace Combat: Joint Assault (2010), and Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble (localised as Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy) (2011) were similar with the weapon's explosion animation being somewhat subdued. In Ace Combat 6 (2007), the SOD received a small animation upgrade making the impacts more visible. A new animation featuring even larger explosions was introduced with Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and was carried over into Ace Combat Infinity and Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. The new animation also included new Heads-Up Display cues which showed where the bomblets of the weapon would impact on the ground. The video below was created by Armored Core Network to demonstrate the differences between the MSOD and SOD in Ace Combat Infinity. Though the test itself shows the weapons at different levels and is considered flawed by its uploader, the video does show the HUD cues for each weapon clearly. SOD Models AGM-154A JSOW The AGM-154 JSOW (Joint Stand-Off Weapon) is the product of a joint weapons development program between the United States of America Air Force and Navy. The AGM-154A, the first variant of the JSOW, uses over 145 BLU-97 sub-munitions to strike its targets. In Ace Combat, the AGM-154A JSOW is the model frequently seen on American designed aircraft. The MSOD for strategic bombers in Ace Combat Infinity are also JSOWs with improved range, more submunitions and higher accuracy. The size of the MSOD is somewhat larger than the SOD overall. Bombkapsel 90 Also known as the DWS 39 Mjölner, this weapon is manufactured by DaimlerChrysler Aerospace in Germany in a joint project with Sweden. It deploys a classified submunition system which differs from traditional cluster bomb munitions by being able to prevent ordinance from exploding without receiving a specific launch indication. In the real world, this is an important feature following the introduction of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in an effort to reduce civilian casualties caused by unexploded ordnance. In the Ace Combat series, the JAS-39C Gripen uses the BK-90 as their SOD model. MBDA APACHE The APACHE AP is a anti-runway air-launched cruise missile proposed by France in 1983. The Arme Propulsée ÀCharges Éjectables (APACHE) program was to be completed by France and Germany, but the company MBDA finished its development after 1988. APACHE deploys ten KRISS runway penetration submunitions to attack its targets while the body of the missile passes over said targets. ​In the real world, France deploys the SCALP-EG cruise missile, with other nations in Europe and the Middle East deploying the MBDA Storm Shadow. Unlike the MBDA APACHE, the SCALP-EG and MBDA Storm Shadow use a single large warhead rather than submunitions. That being said, the SOD model commonly used for the Dassault Rafale, Tornado GR.4 and Eurofighter in the Ace Combat series would have to be the MBDA APACHE rather than their single warhead counterparts. Unidentified SOD 1 An unidentified standoff missile design. It may be an original design created using common characteristics found on existing standoff missiles in the real world. This model of SOD is used for all compatible aircraft in Ace Combat titles on the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo 3DS. Unidentified SOD 2 An unidentified standoff missile design. It may be an original design created using common characteristics found on existing standoff missiles in the real world. ​​ Unidentified SOD 3 An unidentified standoff missile design. It may be an original design created using common characteristics found on existing standoff missiles in the real world. ​​ Weapon Deployment It’s best to think of the Stand-Off Dispenser as a cross between the Bomblet Dispenser (BDSP) and Long-range Air-to-Surface Missile (LASM). ​The length and width of its effective area varies somewhat between each Ace Combat game, not including any modifications that could be made through Aircraft Tuning. The SOD’s flight path has it fly over the target it was launched at, rather than impacting it directly. Dispersal of the bomblets begins shortly before the weapon passes above its target, then proceeds in a straight line following the flight path it was fired from. ​For the Effective Deployment section of this article, diagrams will be provided to explain basic concepts. The image below explains the symbols shown in these upcoming diagrams: Land Targets ​​The Stand-Off Dispenser is most effective against light and medium armored vehicles such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, anti-aircraft guns, SAM sites and similar units; buildings and non-reinforced structures can also be destroyed relatively easily. When launching the SOD, positioning the aircraft so that the weapon passes over the highest amount of targets is vital in maximizing their effectiveness. Though they do have a guidance system, their ability to handle being fired from high dive angles or from horizontal offset towards a target is not as high as other air-to-ground missiles (XAGM, LASM, LAGM). The SOD will be even more effective if the player lines up with the target and places the aircraft onto an optimal attack course. The diagrams below show examples of attacks against a cluster of land-based targets. Diagram A An ineffective deployment of the SOD. Using it on a single target is a waste. A single target can be handled by the aircraft's gun or Standard Missiles (MSSL). ​ ​ Diagram B An effective deployment of the SOD. With the aircraft lined up to strike a row of targets. The targets within the effective range will be destroyed and the target on the right edge of its range will most likely be damaged. ​ Naval Targets ​​The common shape of naval vessels makes them longer than they are wide, which benefits the SOD dispersal area. This makes the SOD an effective anti-ship weapon if deployed correctly. Due to the SOD releasing its bomblets into the ocean there will be no splash damage caused to the ship by bomblets exploding around it. Diagram C and Diagram D further explain SOD anti-ship deployment: Diagram C To ensure that the SOD inflicts maximum damage against ships, attacking them along their length is most effective. When deployed this way, there is a far higher chance that all of the bomblets will impact and destroy all of the ship’s weapons with the possibility of the bridge being left intact or destroyed, the latter sinking the ship in the process. ​ Diagram D Damage can still be caused if fired horizontally, but fewer of the bomblets will impact the ship because the weapon will not fly over the full length of the ship. Horizontal attacks primarily target the center of the ship. Usually, destroying the bridge results in the ship itself sinking. However, the chances of the bridge being destroyed are lessened when attacking the ship horizontally. Terrain Warning The SOD does not handle mountains or tall hills well. Due to its flight path bringing the weapon close to the ground as it travels, the risk of the SOD impacting terrain is higher than most other guided air-to-surface weaponry. Remember to factor in geography when deploying this special weapon. Altitude and Dive Angle The altitude and angle that the SOD is released from can affect its dispersal pattern. Launching this special weapon in a steep dive at lower altitudes will cause it to disperse its bomblets in a smaller, more circular area, similar to the SFFS bombs released at low altitude. ​Against Elevated Targets Elevated targets such as oil platforms and towers may escape damage or only receive minimal damage due to the bomblets having a lower chance of impacting these targets while they free fall to the ground. A majority of the bomblets released by the SOD will miss the target with only the central portion of its effective engagement area having a chance to hit. Rather than waste an SOD on these targets, use of Standard Missiles and the aircraft gun are recommended.  ​ Against Hardened Targets Deploying the SOD against hardened targets, such as bunkers, fortresses, and heavily armored ground targets, is not recommended. These targets, that take more than three standard missiles to destroy, would require multiple SODs to destroy them. As this weapon is more effective at destroying groups of targets, firing two or more of them to destroy a single high-value target would be a waste of firepower. Using Standard Missiles and the aircraft gun, alongside no more than one SOD is recommended. Clearing out air defenses around the hardened target will make it easier for Standard Missiles and the aircraft gun to be used. 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.

Within the high flying, dynamically transforming and musically inclined Macross franchise, there are games of various genres. Of the games released since the 1980s, 3D flight shooters released in the late 2000s and throughout the 2010s have included an optional Real Flight Control setting for the Fighter mode of their Variable Fighters. ​For the sake of clarity, terms primarily used in the Macross series will be used throughout this article. ​ Variable Fighters Whether you know of Variable Fighters from Macross or Robotech, these high performance mecha are most recognizable for their ability to transform into three different modes. This was made possible when in the TV shows humans obtained and developed Over Technology after a Protoculture alien star ship crash landed on Earth. Of the many fantastical technologies developed, Variable Fighters became the primary front line war machine against the enemies of humanity in Space War I (Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, 1982) up to the most recent conflict in the Brisingr Globular Cluster (Macross Delta, 2016). The three modes Variable Fighters can transform into are: Fighter, Battroid and GERWALK (Ground Effective Reinforcement of Winged Armament with Locomotive Knee-joint). Each mode has an ability it specializes in with certain weapons that are more effective depending on which mode they are being utilized in. Fighter Mode is the form most commonly used for long distance travel, high speed attacks and aerial combat. This form gives Variable Fighters an appearance similar to human developed fixed wing combat aircraft. Primarily fourth and fifth generation aircraft. Real Flight Controls Though the franchise's first 3D action game - Macross: Digital Mission VF-X (February 28th, 1997) - also featured somewhat realistic controls, Real Flight Controls (RFC) have become the official name for realistic flight controls in 3D Macross games starting in 2008. This remains true as RFC is available in the most recent 3D action game, Macross Delta Scramble (October 20th, 2016) on the PS Vita. Unless RFC is switched on, Variable Fighters in Flight Mode operate with what is referred to as Normal flight controls. This is a simplified control setting which limits the ability to roll and arguably decreases potential maneuverability to a certain extent. However, it also negates the need to properly manage speed and aircraft attitude while in combat on planets or moons with atmosphere and gravity.​ Real Flight Controls were first introduced by name with the release of Macross Ultimate Frontier (October 1st, 2009) on the PlayStation Portable (PSP). By activating Real Flight in the options of the game, flying in Fighter Mode becomes more of a flight shooter experience. A full Heads Up Display (HUD), controls that allow for full input of pitch, roll and yaw and the camera either showing HUD only or being positioned behind the Variable Fighter in a third person view. For those that are used to flight simulators and flight shooters that use flight controls closer to real-life aircraft controls, activating Real Flight Controls is a benefit. The Normal, more arcade like controls Macross uses as a standard flow better with the high speed, transforming robot combat the series is known for, but RFC brings more clarity and control to the action. ​PlayStation Portable Titles Macross Triangle Frontier (February 3rd, 2011) is being used as the title for information on Real Flight type controls in Macross games on the PlayStation Portable. The reason for this is because it is the final PSP release for the franchise, but it is the most advanced version of the Ace Frontier series developed by Studio Artdink. There are three games within the series, each of which use the same game engine but expand on their content with each consecutive release. Real Flight controls in Macross Triangle Frontier benefits from having a large amount of vertical freedom. In missions where land based combat is an option, the altitude ceiling is 4000 (measurement undefined) with maximum speeds capable going beyond 1000 (measurement undefined) depending on the stats of the Variable Fighter used. This altitude is technically doubled to a maximum altitude ceiling of 8000 in high altitude levels, but the lowest altitude attainable is 4000. While using Real Flight controls, an effective use of slashing style attacks allows for volleys of missiles and gun fire to be focused onto targets; the iconic Macross Missile Massacre. This can be done all while maintaining a reasonable distance to evade counterattack or gain distance in the event a humanoid shaped or Variable Fighter enemy attempts to move in for close range combat.  ​​An immediate, problematic change in game play using RFC is the exaggerated effect of gravity. When reducing speed using the designated button altitude loss begins immediately. No matter the speed or attitude, the loss of altitude begins immediately. Rolling inverted also incurs rapid altitude loss. Each of these can negated for the most part by temporarily going to maximum speed or performing an evasive roll. Fortunately Macross games are fairly forgiving starting in the sense that ramming into the ground or bouncing off of large enemies does not cause damage or immediately destroy the aircraft.  The default button layout of the PSP is somewhat of a handicap, especially with a second pair of shoulder buttons being unavailable for a more flight sim friendly setting. However, by reassigning multiple buttons the awkwardness can be minimized. Macross 30 Though there have been a handful of Macross games on the PlayStation 3 (PS3), they are essentially re-skinned versions of missions found on the PSP. These PS3 games were bundled with the Blu-Ray movies the missions correspond with. That's not exactly a complaint, but for the sake of exploring Real Flight controls further, a different title will be selected. Macross 30: Singing Voices Connecting the Galaxy (February 28th, 2013) was released on the PlayStation 3 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Macross franchise. It features characters, mecha and music from five of the major TV shows and OVAs alongside an original cast and original story. It is widely considered to be one of the top, if not the best Macross game in the franchise thus far. This semi-open world flight action role playing game allows players to enjoy the freedom to explore large areas. Throughout these areas are cities, bandits, aliens, dungeons, side quests, hunting quests, delivery orders, air racing, high speed pursuit missions, boss battles and more. Real Flight Controls benefit from the semi-open world by making travel easier and more scenic, while making air combat maneuvers easier to perform. At the beginning of the first play through, the limited missile range and radar lock on range make RFC harder to utilize. However, by leveling up these stats and equipping specific skills to your character this can be corrected. The largest hindrance for RFC in Macross 30 is the altitude restriction. Even when accounting for the game scale difference between PSP and PS3 releases, you simply cannot reach the same altitudes that could be reached in PSP titles. Though the Macross 30 HUD gives no exact numbers, the altitude restriction is visibly evident. The effect of gravity has been toned down to more realistic levels with ground collisions still not causing any damage. In Macross 30, Fighter Mode with RFC can be a powerful opening strike as it focuses all firepower forward with long engagement ranges (depending on pilot skills and mechanical upgrades). After launching an initial strike, the player has the ability to fly past their targets to set up for a second long-range strike or close distance to transform to GERWALK or Battroid for close-range combat. Attacking specific areas of medium and large warships with high speed missile barrages is great way to weaken them over time while avoiding prolonged engagements at ranges where they can deploy all of their weapons and their escort fighters can encircle the player. Being able to buff up the Fighter Mode of a variable fighter is a conscious choice that won't be easy to pull off without extensive button remapping at times. The reward of being able to use more realistic flight controls in the high speed action universe of Macross is an uncommon but welcome one. Give it a try! 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.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown does many things right to bring back the feeling of what many fans would consider the 'original formula' of the series. The atmosphere of the missions, presentation of the world and story twists fall well within the realm of what one would consider "Ace Combat." One of its features, as minor as it may seem, is noticeably lacking. The Assault Records of Ace Combat 7 are unexpectedly thin. The current iteration of these enemy Ace pilot records is nothing like they have been since 2006. ​Assault Records are personnel files of allies and enemies the player encounters throughout the story of certain Ace Combat games. This game feature was introduced to the series with the release of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (2006, PlayStation 2). They would then be seen again using the same name or under a different name with the same function in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (2007, Xbox 360), Ace Combat: Cross Rumble (2011, Nintendo 3DS) and now Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (2019, PlayStation 4). Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War provided the highest volume of Assault Records with 168 entries available, while Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation provides 45 entries. Ace Combat: Cross Rumble provides seven entries on certain characters in the Data Viewer - which provides information in the same way Assault Records do. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown presents twenty-four entries. AC7 ASSAULT RECORD GALLERY Ace Combat 7 Assault Record gallery screenshots provided by TaskForce 23. The inclusion of Assault Records to the Ace Combat series was more important than the volume of text available would lead someone to believe. A few sentences of biography seem unimportant when shooting down a named enemy Ace to gain access to a unique paint scheme is the prize. However, for those that choose to delve deeper into the intricate world of Strangereal, these records are small windows into its minor details and background events. Through reading these entries and comparing them with known information at the time of their game release, new details about Strangereal were presented. Minor details like the marital status of pilots and their hometowns could be found alongside information concerning Presidential assassination attempts, wars in unknown nations, shadowy technology transfers, the downfall of a governments and more. The Assault Records of Ace Combat 7 are more like a trophy case than a library of data entries. Its single-page entries certainly feel more like Flavor Text than what their name implies. With only introductory information on the pilot, their unit and a picture of their aircraft, the layout is similar to how Ace Combat 2 handled the same information. This is less of an intentional throwback as it is more of a minor step back.  Examples of interesting Assault Records from past games are presented below along with explanations of their importance. Screenshots provided by BG. To read all Assault Records from past Ace Combat games, see Acepedia for more information. ACZ 028 - FREDI STARKE First mention of anything in 1940s Strangereal. Implies combat occurred in the 1940s as "Ace" pilots only gain that title from shooting down 5 or more aircraft. ACZ 057 - KREBBER LUDWIG Discusses The House of Ludwing, a Belkan royal family. Also includes a reference to the Legend of Totemhem and mention the Belkan Royal Dynasty. This entry is one of a handful which further detail the existence of a long history of Belkan Knights and royalty. ACZ 124 - THEODOR SANDER Becomes a member of North Osea Grunder Industries UAV Development after 1995. His work in this field would contribute to all future Grunder UAV programs. While it is not confirmed if he worked on these aircraft, Grunder Industries produced the Zone of Endless A.I. program which was mounted onto multiple aircraft. The following unmanned aircraft were also produced by Grunder Industries: ADF-01 Falken (AC2 1997), ADFX-10 (2019), ADF-11 Raven (SR 2019), MQ-99 (SR 2019) UCAVs. ACZ 167 - LARS MATTHAUS Communication log shows the connection between Belka's Rald Party and the A World With No Boundaries movement. In Ace Combat Zero, This lead to the downfall of the Rald Party in Belka and a complete change in the power structure in the nation. AC6 05 - DARIJO KOVAC Explanation of the Vampire Team being formed during the Estovakian Civil War. Describes the difference between the regular forces like the Strigon Team and a more composite unit like Vampire Team, which was made up of Ace pilots from defeated factions during the civil war. AC6 06 - FRANZ LEKO During the Estovakian Civil War, he conducted an ultra-low level attack deep in Island Coalition (an Estovakian armed faction) territory which arguably changed the course of the Estovakian Civil War. His actions enabled the defeat of the Island Coalition and their eventual absorption into the Eastern Faction which lead to the Eastern Faction’s overall victory and reunification of Estovkia. ​AC6 21 - LORENZ RIEDEL Established connection between Belkan War defectors to the events that lead to the end of the Estovakian Civil War. At the time, this record was the only non-Japanese language translated link to connect the technology transfer between Belka and Estovakia. Belkan defectors like Riedl were a part of constructing Estovakian military technology, such as the P-1112 Aigaion. AC6 25 - VALERIY NIKITOV Biography shows that he participated in four defensive missions to stop the Emmerian military from recapturing Gracemeria at the start of the Emmerian-Estovakian War. Adds a bit of explanation of what happened between mission 01 and mission 02 of Ace Combat 6. Special thanks to BG and TaskForce23 for their help in acquiring the necessary screenshots. 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.

Our next interview is with long time Ace Combat focused paper model creator, JianDaoXiao. Since 2006, he has been one of the few people within the Ace Combat community that creates their own models without using pre-made plastic model kits. Not just aircraft, but tanks, submarines, super weapons, trains, trucks and other vehicles seen throughout the Ace Combat series. The entire collection and printable instructions from his project, Ace Combat Models are available on his blog and Facebook group. ​Just recently a Patreon account to further support his model endeavors also opened. Do you work alone on your projects, and if you do, what is your experience as a creator? ​ Well, if you are referring to the elaboration of blueprints, impression, cutting, assembly and final assembly of every model, then yes, I do work alone. Even with that, I cannot stop thanking my friend RythusOmega, as he provides me with the 3D models that are ripped from the assets of the PS1 and PSP games, as this has helped me to further detail models such as the Fenrir, the Forneus, the Neucom ships and much more; I also want to thank my friend Benjamin, as he is the one providing me with high quality pictures of the PS3 and Xbox 360 games, where I can see much of the details of the ships and ground vehicles. I also want to thank Rainbowbear for his blueprints, as I used them as a base some time ago. Sadly he isn't an active member on the web as of now. ​ When did you start doing scale models? ​I can´t remember the exact year, but it was around 2001 and 2002.  ​​ What materials do you use when building your scale models? For the template I use building paper, and then I print over the building paper to obtain the exact structure. Later I apply balsa wood reinforcements and I fill it with tecnopor. Finally I apply the coloring with more building paper and glue in the markings and emblems.  ​ Do you use some type of program to design your models prior to building them? ​I use AutoCAD. Do you have some type of criteria to choose what your next project will be? Some sort of rule or order? ​ Of course! I follow the order that is posted on my Facebook page, that is to say that I build every model by game order. I´m just about to finish with all of them as I´m working with the Ace Combat Infinity album; it’s only missing 3 models: OLDS (Orbital Laser Defense System), QFA-44 Carmilla and the Ivan Rogov landing ship. I will continue then with the Ace Combat 7 models. Until now, which model has presented the most demanding model that you have worked on? And also, which has been your favorite model so far, from a work stand point and finished model product? Without a doubt the most demanding model that I worked on has been the Aigaion, not because of the size, but for the innumerable surfaces and each surface with a lot of detail to it (doors, windows, signs, pipes, even the interior support pillars and their difficult to decipher angles). About my favorite model, that is something that is difficult to choose, with so many beautiful airplanes such as the Sukhois, the fictitious planes, battleships and superweapons; each one with its own design and difficult to make curves that are just a joy to make. ​ I have just finished making the Excalibur Blimp Reflector and it was very enjoyable to craft. ​ Have you thought about expanding your work into other fictional works that are similar to Ace Combat? (I.e. Macross, Yukikaze, etc.) I wouldn't do it. I have more than enough material to work on with Ace Combat alone. If I started working on another saga it would be a never-ending work cycle. Once I have finished with the Ace Combat models I plan to return to my guitar and if it some new Ace Combat title comes out (such as Ace Combat 7 or next titles) and it brings new models to make, I will do them, but I´ll always return to playing my guitar afterwards. Have you thought on making models from other types of vehicles, from the real world or fictional ones? And if you do, which ones have you had in mind? I would like to do a Bugatti Chiron... I hope it appears in an AC title just so I have an excuse to build it! I also love some of the concepts for the MIG-41 that I have seen, it is nuts and I hope to see one of them in a future AC title. I also want to do the Gaiuss Tower. I even have the blueprints already and the printables are ready, everything is ready to print and assembling, I suppose that I´ll build it one day. I even made an An-225 model. It was at a very large scale, about 3 feet of wingspan, but it was difficult to maintain and it was deteriorating little by little so I ended up scraping it. I haven't remade it, but if I do, it´ll be on a much smaller scale like all of my recent bombers and cargo planes.​ As you have a large amount of Ace Combat models, could you tell us from which title you got into the series and what is your opinion on it? ​​Yes, I started playing since Ace Combat 2 on the PS1.  At the beginning I didn't get hooked but that was until the release of Ace Combat 3. With its mind bending models of the fictitious planes I became very interested.  I even forced myself to obtain all of the A ranks and was amazed with the first time I got to fly in the XR-900 Geopelia, but it was when I unlocked the X-49 and the UI-4054 Aurora that I became hooked on Ace Combat as a whole. I even booted up my copy of Ace Combat 2 and worked to unlock the XFA-27. One thing that I love about the saga is that you can search and find new areas and flyable models that you never encountered before in previous playthroughs. I even searched for an Air Combat copy and played it completely. Since then I have played every Ace Combat that has come out, from the Ace Combat Xi for the IPod, Ace Combat 3D Cross Rumble and lately in Ace Combat Infinity. What are your thoughts on the original designs made by Project Aces? (i.e. the R-101 Delphinus and another aircrafts from AC3) I really like the liberty, the fantasy and the aerodynamics that are put into each of the designs. None of them can be classified as “common” with the exception of the CFA-44, but its design compensates with its weapons. I mean, the Shinden has three air intakes and two stacked engines, the Cariburn has two over-imposed air intakes and two engines equipped with 2D thrust vectoring nozzles, the Fregata has two intakes and four engines, the Fenrir three engines and VTOL capabilities. I could continue all day, but what I want to say is that those are examples of a brilliant design team. As I have said in the past to you, I love aerodynamics and that is the main reason why I wouldn't make an X-Wing. It is just so blocky! ​ Do you have a personal design you would like to see built? ​It's been years since I have made my own designs, as I said, I have more than enough work with the AC series and some real models that have caught my attention (Bugatti, MIG-41, etc...). And as a last question, what would you recommend to a person that wants to start making models? That they have all the rights in the world to make them, nobody is prohibiting you. It depends on them. If they want to they can make one model or two because they like them, but doing what I did - crafting the entirety of models from Ace Combat - that is something that I wouldn’t recommend to anybody. Except if they have the dedication, passion and loyalty to take that work into their hands. ​ Is there anything else you would like to add? ​ When I made my first model - an A-4 Skyhawk and my second one, an XFA-27 -  my brother that was 10 years old at the time was so fascinated with having the possibility of touching the planes which he played with in his PlayStation, that I promised him I would craft all of the planes, ships, tanks and submarines that were in the game. Obviously I have already fulfilled my promise to him, every model from AC1, AC2, AC3, AC4 and AC5 (game in which he stopped playing) are already finished, but they took 12 years to complete! And thanks for the interview and for all the support that you guys and the fans give me, which motivates me to never stop crafting more of this. 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.

After nearly a year of silence, the international Ace Combat community is buzzing with theories, hopes and new concerns about Ace Combat 7. With Gamescom 2018 roughly a month away, now is the best time to discuss something most game magazines and news sites have not discussed: the importance of Ace Combat 7 to the series and its fanbase as a whole. This article addresses four points on this subject: In June 2018 we saw the release of its E3 2018 trailer, translations of the Famitsu interview, analysis videos by longtime fans and a renewed sense of activity throughout flight game communities and chats everywhere. Much of the immediate and strong responses fans of the Ace Combat series expressed after what seemed like the lack of an E3 2018 appearance was caused by a variety of factors. ​ Over 10 Years Since Ace Combat 6 ​Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (AC6) was released on October 23rd, 2007. This was the most recent entry in the mainline series. For any game series, a ten-year wait is one that is not easy to manage. This decade-long gap was mitigated with the release of many other Ace Combat titles across handheld consoles, 7th generation home consoles, mobile phones, and even personal computers for the first time. These titles experimented with new game mechanics introduced to the series, remade the story of Ace Combat 2 and explored a new, non-canon part of Strangereal - the original world of Ace Combat.  Two entirely new universes were also introduced and somewhat expanded upon, respectively known as the Assault Horizon universe and Infinity universe. Each was explored through games, novels, and the Shinden II Master File book. When playing Joint Assault, Cross Rumble, Assault Horizon or Infinity, the differences between the mainline series and these releases was forefront in the minds of many longtime fans. The announcement of the next numbered title, Ace Combat 7, comes as a reassurance to the fanbase and catches the attention of those that had moved on from the series because of the somewhat experimental feel the series took after AC6 or because of the selection of gaming platforms Ace Combat games were released on. ​Strategic Choice of Familiar Strangereal ​The choice to not only release a new numbered title but to choose the Usean Continent with Erusea and the Osean Federation being involved is a well-calculated set of decisions by Project Aces.  Very well known and long-standing organizations, nations, and territories have been selected to reestablish the series in the eyes of its current fan base, while providing an easy link to past titles for the next generation of players that are about to be introduced to the series with Ace Combat 7. For new fans that choose to delve deeper, they'll be met with an array of timelines, translations, analysis and more which expand upon Usea and Strangereal in a way no single game ever has.  The Usean continent has been featured in seven titles, including AC7. It is one of the most developed, highly recognizable and frequently visited parts of Strangereal. There are regions of the continent that have been the backdrop for combat missions in Ace Combat 2, 3, 04, 5, Cross Rumble and now 7. The cities, notable landmarks and iconic craters left behind by the 1994XF04 Ulysses are a part of the identity of what many remember Ace Combat to be. It is a part of their memories from their time first experiencing the series in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Erusea is a well-remembered adversary from Ace Combat 04 and Operation Katina (AC5 arcade mode). Osea has regularly been portrayed as an ally as well, despite some questionable activity outlined in the story of Ace Combat: Cross Rumble. Erusea and Osea in particular also benefit from multiple appearances and references in series lore in one way or another. This includes official in-universe magazines, the personal histories of ace pilots in various games and intentionally unclear lore loose ends which allow fans to dig deep into all types of other official Ace Combat media and merchandise.  On that note, signs of the inclusion of Mobius Squadron in the virtual reality campaign of AC7 adds a specific link to the first Usean Continental War,  seen in Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies. Only by selecting the Usean continent would it be possible to once again include Mobius. This is a smart move which adds further links to the established world of Ace Combat.  It should also be noted that AC04 was the official start of Strangereal, the concept of an original world which ties many of the games together. In a sense AC7 once again ties the series back to its roots. Ace Combat: Cross Rumble on the Nintendo 3DS was a remake of Ace Combat 2 and was the first time fans had returned to Strangereal (in-canon) since 2007. Despite this return, the platform choice of the Nintendo 3DS and the release of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon were forefront and somewhat doused its impact. With Ace Combat 7 being released after a decade of games which were modified or completely different versions of what many consider the ‘original Ace Combat formula’, it feels as though it is a soft reboot of the series as a whole. ​Coming Full Circle with Semi-Automatic Maneuver Systems ​​The most memorable and jarring inclusion to Ace Combat as a whole was the Close Range Assault (CRA) system of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. CRA was a part of an ongoing evolution of a semi-automatic maneuvering systems which allow players to perform advanced aviation maneuvers. These are maneuvers that would either be very complex or nearly impossible to perform without the parts of the flight game engines of Ace Combat being more simulator like, allowing for more concise control. The concept behind these semi-automatic systems was to add visual flair, more high-intensity battles in offline and online game modes and allow for players to perform complex maneuvers easily. These systems have been evolving since their introduction in 2008. The adverse reaction to the Close Range Assault system in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon caused this game mechanic to be absent in Ace Combat Infinity. But rather than do away with the concept altogether we see that Project Aces has refined the system, making it more skilled based. The Post-Stall Maneuver system of Ace Combat 7 seems to be the culmination of the previous systems. As stated in interviews and through a demonstration by the series director, producer Kazutoki Kono, Post Stall Maneuvers now require that the player maintain complete control of the aircraft to perform maneuvers such as the Kubilt. ​A live demonstration which features him performing advanced maneuvers near the end of it. If this has been implemented in the way it appears, the series has finally found the balance between semi-automatic maneuver systems and skill-based game play. Multiple Modern Gaming Platforms Since its introduction with Ace Combat 1 in 1995 (Air Combat), the series as a whole has maintained a level of exclusivity with PlayStation gaming consoles or has randomly become available on other consoles and devices over time. But the inclusion of consoles beyond the PlayStation family continued to maintain exclusivity in its own way. Setting aside the titles available on handheld gaming consoles, we'll focus on in home game consoles and personal computer releases. Ace Combat 6 was released exclusively on the Microsoft Xbox 360, the first time a game console entry in the series had not been available on a PlayStation. This caused a split in the player base for a time which forced dedicated fans to then purchase the Xbox 360, even if they already owned a PlayStation 3 in anticipation of a release there. The first multi-console release for the Ace Combat series would come with Ace Combat: Assault Horizon in 2011, as it would be available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and later, personal computers. The reception of Assault Horizon as a game was rocky, to say the least. Its release on the two top game consoles of the time did not seem to have much of an impact in the long term.  More recently when Ace Combat Infinity (ACI) was first teased in July 2013 is was surprising to learn that it would be released on the PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 4 was still in development at this time, with its final release date on November 15th, 2013. Creating Ace Combat Infinity for the PlayStation 3, a then well-established game console with millions of units in circulation was a good move in terms of longevity for ACEINF but seemed somewhat counter intuitive with the release of the PlayStation 4 being imminent at the time.Nevertheless, Ace Combat Infinity was frequently streamed with many videos and pictures of game play uploaded on social media and YouTube. Much of this ability was inaccessible to a majority of people since video capture equipment and editing software was required.  Ace Combat 7 will be available on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, Xbox One and personal computers via Steam. It will undoubtedly be the first title in the franchise to completely benefit from the advances in technology found in eighth generation game consoles and the advanced gaming related software available on PC. Players will be able to share video, live stream gameplay, take high-quality screenshots, effortlessly share to social media and connect in a way the series never had a chance to before. AC7 has a potential that no other Ace Combat title has ever had. ​ 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 |

Macross 30: Singing Voice Connecting the Galaxy is a Japan-only flight action role-playing game created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Macross franchise. This article acts as a tour of the first planet and offers beginner’s tips for the game. ​​For any fan of Macross, this might be the quintessential video game entry in the franchise. Not a crossover, not a limited scope series of missions, not an HD Blu-Ray bonus. It is the first and only full Macross game on the PlayStation 3 and the most advanced Macross game in terms of depth of content, visuals, and originality. Its primary features are an original story the ability to build and customize Variable Fighters and increase character stats in a semi-open world setting which expands across three planets. As one may expect from a Japan-only game, this means there are a lot of dialogue and menu screens in spoken and written Japanese.  Whether one's understanding of the Japanese language is basic or advanced, the need to study up on this game a bit before or during playing is real. The most complete source of information for Macross 30 that is not in Japanese is the translation guide available at The Red Shoulders blog created by Mwulf. This guide is undoubtedly the premier resource for information on Macross 30 available in English and is a must-have document. After a brief but engaging bit of space combat, the story moves on and the whole of the Yuria Archipelago on Planet Ouroboros is immediately open for exploration. It’s all available from the first quest. Not mission, quest. This is a true RPG. Planet Ouroboros drives home the feeling of being in the Macross universe by placing an iconic Macross-class SDFN near the middle of the map.Cruising around in a VF-0D Phoenix makes one feel like they are squarely in the universe of Macross. Though it is ill-advised because of the constant hostile presence, turning off the heads-up display and enjoying the scenery is great to do from time to time. ​ ​Beneath a sky full of nearby planets and floating rocks, the towns of Ouroboros feature what look like heavily reinforced bunkers above ground. The rest of the settlement is below these structures accessible by elevator. Interacting with these towns allows the player to continue story-related missions, buy items from its shop, take side quests from the Hunter Guild and even participate in air races for prizes (items, parts, and blueprints). The Macross-class SDFN based on planet Ouroboros is also a town. However, it is only on the player’s home base - the amphibious assault carrier Geofon - that variable fighters be constructed, items can be stored and other functions of the game can be accessed.  Along with the towns, there are also bases, caves, and ruins that can be explored. Using the terms of role-playing games, these locations are dungeons. The dungeons of Macross 30 are more spacious than expected. This allows players to stay mobile even in heated close quarters combat. The corridors of the dungeons offer enough room for flight game experts to travel through them in Flight mode. New players will most likely find themselves lost in the detailed system information of the game, but these dungeons are actually quite important early on. Exploring them is the easiest way to gather tuning points for enhancing variable fighters, building up a stock of consumable items (armor restoration kits, ammunition) and getting thorough practice with the game controls. Making frequent trips to the Geofon to deposit consumable items gathered will save tens of thousands of in-game credits. ​ ​ ​All sorts of enemies exist across this lawless frontier planet. Zentradi, Vajra, Guardian, and rouge Human enemies can be found all around the map. Of the many enemies that are encountered, the most immediate threat is the Bandit Ship. These are relatively large vessels covered in missile launchers and laser cannons, surrounded by smaller enemies that protect them. They can be found across the archipelago including near some of the towns. Their presence above towns prohibit players from visiting shops and guilds there. Fighting them in the early game is dangerous. Two full salvos of missiles or a single well placed laser cannon hit can destroy a variable fighter. Remaining mobile while attacking the lower half of the ship is recommended. By destroying the forward and rear areas labeled “Bandit Ship” the entire ship can be destroyed without having to remove its defenses one-by-one. Staying highly mobile while attacking these areas is the best course of action.  The learning curve of Macross 30 is steep but finally being able to immerse in a detailed Macross experience makes it worth the studying. 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 |

The last place you’d expect to be activating the Central Air Data Converter and the Electronic Countermeasure System Display of a Grumman F-14 Tomcat is on a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Between the spacecraft rolling legend of Star Fox and the multi-layered experiment that is Super Strike Eagle, Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone is one the closest things to a flight simulator you’ll find on the SNES. ​Absolute Entertainment released Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone in 1994. It is technically a sequel to Turn and Burn: The F-14 Dogfight Simulator (1992) for the Nintendo Game Boy, it was also available in Japan on the Super Famicom as Super Dogfight. ​The flight mechanics and aircraft systems in Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone is a product of a loosely affiliated series of flight games. Elements of the on-screen flight information and aircraft systems were first introduced in 1988. These systems would be reused and expanded upon over many years. Point of View Instead of opting for the standard third-person point of view that most flight games on the Super Nintendo did, this game was designed to be a first-person point of view experience. This endures throughout the game. Even the mission briefings are presented in the cockpit. In a way, that is a small step too far outside of the flight sim experience - but that's just a nitpick.   Limiting the view during gameplay to the canopy of the F-14 Tomcat reinforces the need to rely on its computer systems. These systems are readily available and fully interactive, even on Novice difficulty. Holding the left or right shoulder button on the SNES controller allows the player to look backward at the Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) and behind the aircraft. This point of view has a specific role in gameplay. It is the primary way to deploy anti-missile countermeasures such as chaff and flares - they are identified as Electronic Counter Measures in the game.  Overall the graphics presented in the game are pretty good for a Super Nintendo game. Objects at long distances are still visually challenging to identify. The radar and weapons systems are vital to combating every type of enemy before they are close enough to fill the Heads Up Display. ​Aircraft Systems and Weapons The management of aircraft systems is the highlight of Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone. Several computer systems can be accessed and managed, even before you leave the deck of the aircraft carrier. Some are only available during takeoff, landing and mid-air refueling but a majority are available before takeoff and while in flight. Pressing the Y button cycles through these systems, which are shown on the Cockpit Computer Display (CCD).  Once the desired system is displayed, holding the Y button while pressing the directional pad up or down will allow the subsystems to be selected. Once a subsystem is selected, it can be switched on or off by continuing to hold Y while pressing directional pad right. Flight Information gathered by the Automatic Flight Control System screens is readily available by pressing Y by itself - basic info like heading, speed, altitude and more are available beneath STAT 1 and STAT 2. Holding the Y button and pressing the directional pad up or down cycles through different radar modes.  Further explanations of these key aircraft systems are provided below: ​AUTOMATIC FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEMS (AFCS) Systems that automatically select and show radar and flight data. Compass headings, compass directions, aircraft vectors. Systems can be shut off to allow for manual control over radar modes and other data. AIRBORNE WEAPONS GROUP 9 RADAR SYSTEM The radar of the F-14 Tomcat which provides four modes: Detail Data Display (shows data for airspace at the nose of the aircraft), Pulse Doppler Search (cone shaped search area, has longest detection range), Range While Search (similar to Pulse Doppler with medium detection range), Track While Search (the shortest detection range but provides full view around the aircraft). ​AIRBORNE WEAPONS GROUP 15 SYSTEM DISPLAY A mixture of weapons and radar systems needed for acquiring targets, firing weapons and avoiding incoming missile fire. AWACS OPERATIONAL RADAR GRID Pressing the select button pulls up a full screen view of the combat zone as provided by an off map AWACS aircraft. In this view the F-14 can be steered towards selected enemies easily. It is also the easiest way to detect distant threats and plan accordingly. ​BASIC FLIGHT INFORMATION Information such at speed, fuel, heading, altitude and more available on two screens labeled STAT 1 and STAT 2. ​COMPUTER LANDING DISPLAY Shows position data vital to landing the aircraft onto an aircraft carrier. The data is visualized with a horizontal landing groove display. ELECTRONIC COUNTERMEASURE DISPLAY Incoming missiles are heard as a warning buzzer with the rear quadrant of the aircraft shown. Enemy missiles are shown as red dots which approach the aircraft. As long as ECM systems are turned on, chaff and flare can be deployed to decoy the missiles while turning sharply to evade them. LAUNCH SYSTEM Only available while launching from aircraft carriers, this system shows altitude, engine power percentage, carrier heading and fuel state. Increasing engine thrust to afterburner (210%) allows for takeoff clearance. While on the carrier deck, managing aircraft systems is possible before launching off the carrier. The F-14 can carry up to four weapons at a time, depending on how deep in the campaign the player is. These weapons are explained below: AIM-7 SPARROW Effective at medium-range, unable to hit targets at close range. When firing this missile at a target the lock must be maintained while it guides onto its target. Breaking the lock while it is airborne will cause it to lose its target. AIM-9 SIDEWINDER Effective only at short range. Once fired the missile guides itself onto target without needing guidance after launch. AIM-54 PHOENIX Effective at close range and beyond visual range. Before firing the missile, a target must be selected in the AWACS Operational Radar Grid. Once selected the Phoenix can be fired at targets flying anywhere in the combat zone. The missile guides itself onto target after it is fired. M61 VULCAN This weapon system fires 20 mm cannon rounds at close range air and surface targets. Located on the left side of the aircraft’s nose, this weapon is best fired in short bursts to prevent overheating. Unlike the other weapons, the M61 does not have set ammo count. Combat Though access to aircraft systems is quite extensive, the actual combat found in each mission is less complicated. With 16 missions in total utilizing a limited number of enemy unit models and mission types, long sessions of gameplay can begin to feel repetitive. This is made somewhat worse by the limited scope of missions available to the player throughout the campaign. ​ The primary airborne threat to the player is consistently the MiG-29 Fulcrum. Able to fire short-range missiles and its onboard cannon, the Fulcrum appears in varying numbers as the game progresses. Usually, the number of enemies in the air exceeds the number of missiles available on the player’s F-14. The skillful use of the M61 Vulcan cannon is needed. The primary surface based threat to the player are submarines capable of launching surface-to-air missiles (SAM). These SAMs are launched from beneath the ocean’s surface. This makes the submarines impervious to counterattack. Only flying a course to avoid them altogether or passing them at high speeds limits exposure to danger.  Other air targets seen in-game include enemy intelligence aircraft, Tu-22 Backfire bombers, and a stolen SR-71 Blackbird - to name a few. Rather than attack them from a distance with missiles, the player is forced to approach these aircraft until they are in visual range. Selecting these targets in the AWACS Operational Radar Grid will allow the player to attack the target aircraft. Approaching these primary objective aircraft forces the player to transition to a separate scene. These pursuit scenes involve a cannon only attack as the F-14 slowly approaches the target. While closing distance, specific points of the aircraft must be targeted with the aircraft gun. They appear as orange and glowing points of light. Destroying these areas disables the target. ​ The same happens with ground and surface targets. After being selected in the AWACS Operational Radar Grid, these targets can then be approached. Once again the player is forced to enter the same close range, guns only attack sequence.  Against these types of targets, the emphasis is placed on attacking their defenses. Anti-aircraft guns share the same orange, glowing animation. Removing these defenses enables allies to perform follow-on attacks at a later time.  When set to Ace difficulty, enemies have increased armor, can evade missiles with higher success rates and cause more damage to the player with fewer attacks. Enemy attacks that strike the player can also shut down computer systems in the F-14 Tomcat. This emulation of battle damage to the aircraft is a simple but unique feature. Performing a mid-air restart of the fire control and ECM systems while evading a pair of MiG-29s adds a new layer of challenge.  The presence of allies is thin throughout the game. At most, support comes in the form of off-map AWACS aircraft, the aircraft carrier, and the KA-6D Intruder tanker. The AWACS Operational Radar Grid must also be used for the player to interact with the aircraft carrier and KA-6D. After being selected in the AWACS grid, flying to these assets at the indicated altitude, airspeed, and direction activates specific mid-air refueling or landing sequences.  Allied aircraft and warships cannot be called upon to attack the enemy mid-mission, leaving the player to defeat squadrons of aircraft and armored targets all on their own. Not even the computerized RIO in the backseat of the aircraft can do more than offer a supportive thumbs up after a successful landing. Full game playthrough by Retro Warp. ​CO-OP: A Human RIO The most valuable ally is a second player. By plugging in a second controller, the entire campaign can be played cooperatively with player two acting as the Radar Intercept Officer. Player One maintains full control over maneuvering the aircraft, its computer systems, and weapons. Player Two can select weapons, fire weapons and cycle through aircraft systems to check their status and make adjustments. They can also activate and deploy Electronic Counter Measures with a single button press. This alleviates the need to use the somewhat disorienting over the shoulder view to launch countermeasures when playing single player.  A competent pair of players can manage the challenges of Ace difficulty with the RIO handling aircraft systems and ECM, while the pilot focuses on within visual range combat and maneuvering the aircraft against surface based threats. ​​The inclusion of couch co-op also opens the door for the obvious. Players choosing to sit in tandem, mimicking the real world layout of the F-14 Tomcat cockpit, blasting their favorite music. Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone is a game no one expected on the Super Nintendo. It’s a straightforward flight shooter that blends flight sim elements in an easily accessible experience. 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 |

The map of prototype Strangereal has been seen in low-resolution images for over a decade now. Its source image is from one of the most unexpected places, it shares certain similarities with Strangereal and has clear real world Earth landmasses included. ​​The first complete overhaul of the Ace Combat franchise came with the development and release of Ace Combat 04 (2001). With the release of Ace Combat 5 (2004) the first official maps of the original world of Ace Combat were seen in the game, guidebooks and on the official Japanese website for Ace Combat 5. From the development of Ace Combat 04 up to the release of Ace Combat 7 (2019), the name "Strangereal" has been used unofficially and officially to refer to the original world of Ace Combat. With that in mind, this article will refer to this world as Strangereal from now on. Strangereal has become more detailed since 2001. Each video game, lore from books or websites and other unexpected sources that pertain to Strangereal add more depth and detail to the world and in turn, update the official map.  This map of pre-2005 Strangereal comes from the Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies Official Guide (October 6th, 2001, ISBN4-7577-0642-1). On April 18th, 2013 a medium sized scan of the book was made available on Electrosphere.info which provided the first internet searchable scan of this map of what we will refer to as Prototype Strangereal for this article. The image has reappeared over the years, but a new scan for this article provides a much larger size for easier comparison. A few things catch the eye immediately at first glance: The Usea continent is present as seen in Ace Combat 2, 3 and 4 but much smaller in size and in closer proximity to other continents (center, top). With Usea seen so often since its introduction in Ace Combat 2 (1997), it's no surprise that the continent looks unchanged in shape even in Ace Combat 04. The overall design of Usea is definitely finalized by this point. There are very clear connections to real-world Earth in this map. Africa, Asia and Europe (far left) appear as they do in the real-world for the most part. Their proportions are somewhat exaggerated or thinner in certain areas, but their overall shape remains easily recognizable. Greenland, some of its nearby islands and, Iceland in the real-world do appear in the finalized Strangereal map with minimal changes.  Some land masses in Prototype Strangereal already have similar forms to their finalized versions. The Osean Federation, Democratic Republic of Leasath and the Federal Republic of Aurelia can be recognized but their proportions undergo noticeable changes between 2001 and 2004. As mentioned before, Usea appears finalized but the Anea continent also looks almost the same way it does in the finalized Strangereal map. The most visible changes between finalized Anea is the addition of some islands near the Federal Republic of Estovakia and change of the distance between the mainland and the islands to the west of the Republic of Emmeria and Kingdom of Nordennavic. 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 |

​The advent of guided anti-aircraft weaponry has made the inclusion of countermeasures a vital addition to the anatomy of real-world combat aircraft. At any point in time, they can come under attack from surface-to-air missiles the size of telephone poles, beyond visual range missiles from enemy aircraft and even shoulder-fired missiles from individual soldiers lurking in the land below. The inclusion of countermeasures in the Ace Combat series came relatively late but is now an option for players to rely more on technology and less on their skills to evade incoming missiles. NPC Countermeasures ​​Non-Player Character (NPC) aircraft were first seen deploying countermeasures in limited quantities in Ace Combat 5 (2004). In that game, a handful of named ace aircraft and B-2A Spirit stealth strategic bombers first deployed them. Ace Combat Zero (2006) continued this limited countermeasure usage in a higher profile by enabling two enemy Ace squadrons to utilize them against the player and their allies. Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (2007) expanded usage to friendly and enemy strategic bombers throughout the single-player campaign and by the game's primary adversary squadron. The Strigon team is seen multiple times throughout Ace Combat 6's campaign increasing the frequency of the overall countermeasure usage seen in the game. On the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console, enemies in Ace Combat: Cross Rumble/Assault Horizon Legacy (2011) utilized flares as a part of the Action Maneuver System. During engagements initiated by Attack Maneuvers from the player, NPC aircraft can use Evasive Maneuvers to avoid missile fire with rapid maneuvers and a burst of countermeasures. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (2011) saw a similar application of NPC countermeasures through use of its Dogfight Mode and at other points in time. Of note are the Angel Flare patterns employed by strategic bombers and aircraft labeled TGT_Lead which use flares to avoid missile fire as they follow scripted flight paths. Player Controlled Countermeasures​ Examining Ace Combat as a whole, the lack of countermeasures for so long and overall game design of the franchise has certainly defined the general play style of the franchise. Emphasis on fast, arcadey flight action, frequently performing high-speed, high-G load maneuvers will not cause the pilot to black out, the aircraft to lose bleed off a fatal amount of energy or damage the aircraft's airframe. This makes outmaneuvering missiles a viable tactic most of the time. Understanding how to manage speed, calculate the incoming weapon's trajectory, and maneuver accordingly has remained the most reliable way to stay alive in Ace Combat.  ​Since the release of Air Combat (Arcade, 1993), players had to rely on their own flying skill and evasive maneuvers to dodge enemy missiles. Ace Combat 5 introduced the Electronic Counter Measure Pod (ECMP) special weapon, but restrictive factors made it an undesirable solution for those seeking aircraft countermeasures. Though the ECMP is able to extend its defense beyond a single aircraft, it was most frequently utilized by players as a substitute for the lack of dedicated countermeasure systems. But its low special weapons "ammunition" count combined with being required to give up special weapons capable of attacking enemies kept it a somewhat under used choice. Ace Combat: Joint Assault (2010) featured an unusual type of player controlled countermeasure that acted as a special weapon.  Sustainable Infrared Countermeasure Shells (IRCM) are visually similar to the High-Powered Microwave weapon from Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (2006). When deployed it appears as purple balls of energy which disrupt missile guidance systems of allies and enemies alike, causing them to miss their target. Aircraft that collide with the IRCM receive damage making it the only defensive weapon or countermeasure in the Ace Combat series capable of damaging targets as well. The introduction of player controlled countermeasures would come 15 years after the first Ace Combat game console release. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon was the first game of the franchise to grant the player countermeasures they could control. This addition to their array of capabilities provided a desirable defensive option that would not require the substitution of special weapons able to destroy enemies. In all Attacker, Bomber, Fighter, and Multirole aircraft had access to these countermeasures. The countermeasures provided are effective in decoying or "spoofing" enemy missile fire before they could strike the player's aircraft. The countermeasures in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon have a reload/cool down time after a cloud of countermeasures was released. The number of flares and their reload times vary from aircraft to aircraft and differ even more between offline and online game modes. Player vs. Player combat in online game modes saw the most frequent use. This was especially true with missions that featured or players that used strategic bombers.  Though absent in Ace Combat Infinity (2014), the release of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (2019) has reintroduced flares to the series. Hardware In the Ace Combat series countermeasures are visually represented as flares launched from the rear of the aircraft. These flares are capable of misguiding all types of missiles seen in the games to assist with evasion.  Within the real world, flares are only effective against infrared-guided missiles and do not decoy radar guided missiles.  Flares are deployed from aircraft to fool incoming IR guided missiles as they burn a pyrotechnic composition made up of metals that burn at temperatures equal to or hotter than aircraft engines. The burn rates, temperatures, specifications of the material used in the creation and so much more are all guarded information.  In the Ace Combat series, non-player controlled enemies and allies have deployed chaff sporadically in certain games. Chaff is primarily seen when decoying semi-active and guided missiles fired by the player or their allies. A dedicated chaff dispenser has not been provided to players for their use.  Real world chaff is made up of materials like aluminum, other metals, and plastics. As the chaff is deployed by an aircraft, its material spreads through the air, creating a cloud which reflects radar in a way that creates a cloud of disruption on the radar. The chaff cloud attempts to confuse incoming radar-guided missile fire as the aircraft maneuvers to safety. With the Flare function being able to decoy all missile fire, the lack of a player controlled chaff dispenser is not a factor in gameplay.   Real world detailed information on the exact type of countermeasures, their dispensers and which aircraft utilize these defensive tools is difficult to confirm for security reasons. Because of this, an exact list of countermeasure canisters and dispensers will not be provided for this article as accuracy cannot be confirmed. Deployment Notes ​No Pre-emptive Deployment Launching countermeasures before a missile is launched does not break missile lock or prevent the missile from being launched. The missile must airborne and pursuing the aircraft for flares to be effective.  Optimal Position Deploying countermeasures against a missile that is in pursuit optomizes their effectiveness. Positioning the approaching missile towards the rear of the aircraft between its 4 o'clock to 8 o'clock is the ideal area to deploy countermeasures. Once the missile is in close proximity, launching countermeasures while maneuvering away sharply will prevent it from striking the aircraft. Using countermeasures against a missile as it approaches from the front of the aircraft somewhat increases the chances of it still impacting the aircraft.  Unguided but Dangerous ​It is not recommended to proceed flying in a straight line after countermeasures have been launched. Though the guidance system has been confused the warhead of the missile is still armed. It will explode if it makes contact with the aircraft.  An ample amount of movement (yaw, altitude change, rapid change in speed) is required.  Single Aircraft Coverage Countermeasures are a personal defensive tool only capable of decoying missile fire away from the aircraft that is deploying it. Deploying flares near friendly aircraft will not protect them from missile fire.  Restricted Usage With the volume of countermeasures available per aircraft being low in quantity, it is vital that the primary measure taken by players to avoid missile fire is to maneuver their aircraft with sufficient speed at angles an incoming missile cannot follow. Countermeasures are best utilized in emergency situations or to supplement an attack strategy that relies on luring an opponent into a trap. 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 |

​The following could be considered a spoiler to the story of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown but it is also an explanation of an unseen and unexplained side story. Events that happen in the final mission of Ace Combat 7 are mentioned. Consider this to be a spoiler warning. ​Many nations constructed the International Space Elevator (ISEV) from the Usean continent with the Osean Federation taking the lead. The ISEV also referred to as the Lighthouse, is the centerpiece of a continent-wide reconstruction effort. Though the space elevator would become viewed by some parties as the source of conflict that leads to the Lighthouse War of 2019 (Ace Combat 7 single player), this focus overlooked its utilities. Besides utilizing solar power generation satellites to transfer energy gathered from space to provide energy to the Usean continent for reconstruction, ISEV is referrenced to as an Earthport. Something similar in function to a seaport or airport but for interstellar types of vessels. This means that the space elevator played a silent, off-screen role to a story not explained in Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.  During the final mission of Ace Combat 7, pilots and personnel of various nations cooperating to end the Lighthouse War come in radio contact with what can be determined to be a spaceship returning to Earth.  ​ ​The spaceship is identified as Pilgrim 1 by its captain, Kei Nagase. While making its approach, the spaceship needed to utilize the Earthport to return to the planet's surface. After the final air battle in and around the space elevator ends, ISEV is then open to give Pilgrim 1 a safe return. During its descent, incomplete radio transmissions from Pilgrim 1 speak of the asteroid belt, a seven-year mission and the path to the stars now being open to humanity. Without any context, this is an exciting cameo of a staple character tied to the very identity of Ace Combat as a whole, but it is lost on a majority of those wondering what her mission was.  The latest book released for the Ace Combat franchise, Aces at War 2019, contains various short stories that explain untold events that happened in Strangereal, the original world of Ace Combat. One unusual short story is told entirely through letters sent between an author, an editor, and fans of a particular book. This short story is called "After The Blue Dove" and can be found between pages 70 and 73 of Aces at War 2019. ​"After The Blue Dove" focuses on the author of the "The Twelve Colors of the Sky," a book published within the Strangereal world. Throughout these letters, it is revealed that the author of Twelve Colors of the Sky is Kei Nagase.  At this time, Kei Nagase is a former member of the Osean Air Defense Force 108th Tactical Fighter Squadron 'Wardog'. Unbeknownst to many, she was also a member of the Razgriz Air Division who played a leading role in ending the Circum Pacific War (Ace Combat 5 single player campaign) and revealing the truth of the Belkan Conflict which unfurled in the background. Within Strangereal, these facts would not be revealed to the world until the year 2020. It is clear that the communications presented in the short story take place before 2020 with Nagase's role remaining a secret.  ​ The second to last letter within this series of communications is name "E-mail from Writer to Friend." The email is written by Kei Nagase to a "friend" she refers to as Mr. Harling - the President of the Osean Federation during her time as a pilot in the Circum Pacific War. The letter discusses a dinner she had with her editor and the editor's family at their home.  ​ ​​While Kei Nagase met the editor's family, the husband was introduced astronomer Jonathan Payek. He was working at Seals Bridge University in Usea in October 1994. He is credited as the person that first discovered the incoming Ulysses 1994XF04 asteroid. The fear, pain, and war that Ulysses wrought is detailed Strangereal history, but Nagase thought to herself "he is guilty of nothing." His discovery of Ulysses in no way makes him responsible for what damage it had caused. As the conversation continued, Kei Nagase casually asked Jonathan Payek and his son, also an astronomer, if they had observed anything interesting lately. Earlier they had said their work focused on observing near-earth asteroids and calculating their orbit. The Payek family suddenly went silent with the eyes of the family fixed on the birthday cake of their youngest daughter. It is in this part of the letter that Kei Nagase writes to her 'friend': "At that moment I understood the meaning of what you offered me, Mr. Harling. Another asteroid is approaching, isn't it? It's coming for Earth."  Later in the letter, she continues: "Mr. President, the spacecraft I am to captain is to fly on a mission to destroy that asteroid, isn't it?" The letter would continue with Nagase confirming her willingness to take on a mission presented by Mr. Harling at an earlier date. The final letter within the "After The Blue Dove" short story was from Nagase to her editor, discussing how her fifth book would be her longest work thus far because she would be "spending a lot of time in a confined space."  Some research correlating the date Pilgrim 1 returns to the planet (November 1st, 2019), her radio transmissions about it being a seven-year mission and the end of her military service in the Circum Pacific War (2010), place this chain of letters between 2011 and 2012. Assuming that the seven-year mission time frame was an estimate of a total round trip, destruction of the asteroid far out in the asteroid belt would have occurred sometime in 2016. The exact launch date and the means it used to leave the planet are unconfirmed, but with construction of the space elevator beginning in 2012, it is unlikely to be have been the ISEV itself.  While Osea, Erusea and the Usean nations struggled with the construction, political implications and eventual war over the International Space Elevator, Captain Kei Nagase and the crew of spaceship Pilgrim 1 were silent saviors which protected the world from a second asteroid impact. 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 |

​Within a month of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown being released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the 5th Generation of competitive Ace Combat history has begun. Weekend tournaments have been hosted, new online squadrons are forming, older squadrons are being reestablished and talks of an esports style competition has launched. This article focuses on the beginning of the current generation - the 5th generation-  of competitive Ace Combat. ​Terms like "Competitive Ace Combat" and defining time periods as "Generations" are not officially supported by Bandai-Namco or Project Aces (Ace Combat development team). Competitive Ace Combat is something that has always been defined by particular types of players that have pursued the highest level of competition in this series. It is something that is truly community grown with a history that extends back to the arcades of 1993. The 5th generation began with the release of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (January 18, 2019). Each generation of competitive Ace Combat is defined by either a single key point or set of key points. While it would be hard to define the next few years of the the current generation this early on, the direction this generation is going has already been influenced. In an unusual twist, this influence came not from within the online community but from the events of PAX South 2019. PAX South 2019 Besides the release of Ace Combat 7 that weekend, the highlight for the Ace Combat series at PAX South was the Air Force Ace Combat 7 tournament style events. Sponsored by the United States of America Air Force and Twitch.tv with commentary from Ace Combat Fan, the first competitive events for Ace Combat 7 were performed on the PAX Arena stage. The details of all of this have been discussed with video available in our Summary: PAX South 2019 and PAX South: RB Report articles. Having the first competitive events for Ace Combat 7 be done on stage and streamed online to a peak of 16,000 viewers has set a certain tone for the 5th generation. It's not necessarily a mandatory standard of presentation that any event hosted from now on must reach, but it has inspired competitive Ace Combat players, teams and community leaders to pursue various endeavors. r/AceCombat Matchmaking System ​ A system that utilizes custom coded Discord bots to pair players together to then play Ace Combat 7 together. This system is the first of its kind in relation to the Ace Combat series and is being developed without any official support from Bandai-Namco or Discord. It is being developed by Zetec, the Head Moderator of r/AceCombat on Reddit and the Administrator of that community's Discord server as well.  Phase II development of this system is designed to be more in line with the online pre-game lobbies of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. Utilizing a function that lets a user mark themselves as Looking For Group (LFG), they are then able to interact with others that are also LFG or hosts that have rooms open and are looking for more members to play. The system is discussed in more detail in Zetec's interview with Project: Lighthouse about his PAX South 2019 experience.  As the development of this system continues, the potential to expand its abilities to include a function for teams to set up matches or support tournament style play is there. Open Skies Tournament The first fan-run online multiplayer event was the Open Skies Tournament set up by Ace Combat Fan and hosted by Project: Lighthouse. With planning that started in December 2018, the event was played on February 2nd, 2019. Open Skies was designed to be an invite-only event that featured prominent members of the Ace Combat community to represent teams from Brazil, the British Commonwealth, Europe, and the United States of America. With many of the competitors streaming while they played, Project: Lighthouse launched a test stream of their first multi-view broadcast layout. The competitors played well and experienced no problems, but the multi-view broadcast experienced technical problems. They were primarily audio issues and other unplanned complications.  The data gathered from this event has been used to introduce the first wave of changes to the multi-stream presentation. Further closed testing with this software is planned, but this type of broadcasting could one day be used in support of tournaments. Community Based Events Various groups are beginning to show interest in organized and semi-competitive gameplay. Social media and Discord servers are now becoming more active in hosting public events and tournaments. As this trend continues, the need for centralized websites and organizations is now rising. The previous generations of competitive Ace Combat had at least a handful of forum based communities that gathered individuals and teams. This then elevated the scale and scope of events hosted by the online community as a whole. ​In 2019, Ace Combat-based organizations are being formed with varying degrees of competitive gameplay in mind. A handful of already established flight-gaming focused groups are also entering the online Ace Combat community in a larger capacity as well. We will be releasing articles in the future discussing more of the events, websites, and groups facilitating the beginning of the 5th generation of Ace Combat online game play. 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 | NOTE: This article was edited on March 2nd, 2019. The bottom half of the articles which discussed A.C.E.S. Leagues has been removed in accordance with the decision of Project: Lighthouse to halt support for that organization. That information is available here.

We’ve come a long way from the sticky notes. The competitive side of the Ace Combat series has been a part of the identity of its online community. The number of teams and skills of players has waxed and waned over the years, but a part of its player base has always sought a higher level of game play. ​Ace Combat 7 is already producing the next wave of online competition which has access to technology that past generations of players wish they had. Now seems like a good time for a history lesson. This is the first part of an article series about the generations of competitive Ace Combat. Sourcing Information about competitive Ace Combat won't be found on ACES Web or Acepedia. A comprehensive history of online game play is something that will probably never exist. Parts of it pre-date the introduction of online multiplayer for Ace Combat. The internet forums, fan sites, and bulletin boards from the early years are long gone, taking much of the information about this subject with them. The only remaining data scattered among websites, conversation threads and the personal files of those that were there competing during their time - during their 'generation.' Only through self-definition can something like this be explained to a broader audience. With there being no official source and so few archived resources left on the internet, someone would have to explain all of this from scratch. Having signed up on my first Ace Combat fan forum in September 2004, I was fortunate enough to have observed, experienced and read stories of almost every form of competition Ace Combat has ever offered. Local VS mode and online multiplayer, handheld and home console. The majority of this article is based upon personal experience, knowledge passed down and internet artifact gathering done by digging through dead URLs with resources like the WayBackMachine. That being said, this could be written off as an opinion piece from an individual. All I can do is give my word and present what data I have. First Generation 1993 - 1995 Air Combat and Air Combat 22 are the predecessors of the Ace Combat series. Both games were released as arcade cabinets using the Namco System 21 and Namco System 22 in the still active video game arcades of the early 1990s. The Air Combat arcade cabinets provided the classic level of competition only a place like an arcade could provide - the battle for the highest score.  Old photos from within these locations occasionally appeared on internet forums in the early 2000s. They showed pictures of long gone Air Combat arcade cabinets in arcades, malls, and family entertainment centers. Scoreboards mounted to the walls of darkened arcades showed the top scores of the week or month for various arcade games. The boards listing off with numbers intermixed with real names, nicknames, and three letter abbreviations of the players own names. The grand prize was usually nothing more than the joy of being the top player and bragging rights with other arcade goers. Second Generation 1996 - 2005 For the sake of clarity, the Second Generation has been listed as starting in 1996, but its start date is more in line with the release of Ace Combat in Japan (June 30, 1995; PlayStation 1). This generation is clearly identified by Score Attack and Time Attack competitions. This type of competition would later be referred to as Legacy Challenges by Third Generation forums and squadrons.  As internet access became more prolific, it was only a matter of time before fan sites, and chat rooms for the series were created. Fan sites around the world took the arcade style Top Score competition and made it an unofficial international standard. ​ As early as 1998, scoreboards could be found on fan sites connected to BBS boards. One of the few archived examples of this being Ichirou Hiraguchi's website, which supported English and Japanese speaking players. ​ ​ Some fan sites allowed users to send in photos of their highest scores and fastest times on specific missions. This was done by requesting that players take a photo of the mission result screens on their televisions. Pieces of paper or sticky notes that had their user information written on them were required in the photos as well. A judge would then verify the score and time displayed in these pictures before the entry would be reviewed to see if it qualified for posting on an online scoreboard.  Legacy Challenges would continue to spread to other websites in the early 2000s. Because of websites like ShatteredSkies.net, Mitoro's JP website and AC04 Hall of Fame, individual Score Attack and Time Attack challenges would continue to spread. Twin Galaxies Championship​​ One of the most complex practices of the individual Legacy Challenge was in September 2002. The Twin Galaxies Ace Combat 04 World Championship. All entrants into the championship were required to record video of their gameplay on VHS tape. It was mandatory that the video recordings show the PlayStation 2 game console boot up sequence, disc loading and mission selection to prevent the use of game enhancement software like a GameShark. The fastest times and highest scores were recorded and awarded. The top competitors traveled to California, USA for an in person time and score attack competition. It is through the world wide web that networking and friendship building began the formation of Squadrons (Teams). The first wave of squadrons that formed operated more like Ace Combat fan clubs than competitive teams.  In 2002, internet forums and BBS boards for Ace Combat supported the advancement of the Legacy Challenge format to become more team based. Members of opposing squadrons would combine their scores to create overall squadron scores to then compare against the opposing team. This indirect competition ultimately became an integral part of squadron identity — a clear dividing line between casual players and competitive teams. The continued competition lead to squadrons creating their own emblems, sub-units, training exercises and other media uniquely designed for internet forums. ​ Some squadrons became so focused on competition they adopted certain aspects of real-world military operations. Things like having a rank based leadership structure, aptitude tests for players to receive promotions and awards, requirements to complete certain tasks to become flight leaders of four player units and the establishment of training programs to improve the skill levels of their squadron members.  ​The preferred competition grounds remained on neutral internet forums which offered space for squadrons to operate and challenge one another. Both individual and team based legacy challenges would continue on boards like Neoseeker, GameFAQs, Ace Combat.net and other fan sites. This continued even after the introduction of online multiplayer to the Ace Combat series. A primary example of this was Ace Combat.net, one of the leading Ace Combat forums during from 2004 to 2006. Though each squadron that operated on the forum did met the minimal requirements that would allow them to have a Folder/sub-forum on the forum, the presence of large, established squadrons attracted smaller squadrons and newly formed squadrons into a centralized location. The beginning of the Third Generation of competitive Ace Combat would come with the release of Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (October 23rd, 2007) and the introduction of widely accessible online multiplayer. The next article of this series focuses on this time period. Image Gallery 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 |

Pensées, the ending song of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. It plays while staff credits roll over a slow revolving shot centered on the International Space Elevator and the city of Selatapura. This French language song has been translated by ReRibbon from French to English with the help of TheDemonLord31 and others from our Translation Department. ​The lyrics in all three languages are available for download in PDF. [Read More] Skyward Flight Media does not claim ownership of copyright of the source material used to create these translations.

Looking back on it more than a year after its closure, there may never be another Ace Combat title to match the over the top beauty of Ace Combat Infinity. Even for Ace Combat, this game went well beyond the limits of over the top scenarios the series has ever provided. Setting aside opinions on its free-to-play structure and the fuel supply system which further enhanced the grindy nature of the game, we recall the core of its beauty: a massive array of aircraft and overwhelming firepower. The one-of-a-kind aircraft formations and gobsmacking challenges in Infinity may never be seen again in an Ace Combat game. At least not on the level Ace Combat Infinity allowed them to. For those that didn’t play it or need a refresher, Ace Combat Infinity (2014) was the first free-to-play game released for the Ace Combat series. The story of Ace Combat Infinity takes place in the third universe within the Ace Combat series - a version of the actual planet Earth affected by events paralleled in the first Ace Combat universe, Strangereal. Multiple elements of events, organizations, nations, and weapons that appear in the original world were adapted and reintroduced to influence this new version of real-world Earth to shape it into something more fitting for an Ace Combat game. The Ulysses asteroid from Strangereal is adapted as the catalyst that forced change on Earth which lead to the conditions for Ace Combat Infinity, super weapons reappear and are explained away as real-world military projects and the well known Ace Combat continent of Usea is reintroduced as the primary antagonist nation. Ace Combat Infinity is remembered in general as the first free-to-play game in the Ace Combat series. Its game model utilized two types of fuel units that were needed to fly online and offline missions - purchase of a specific downloadable content item could ensure no fuel would be needed to play offline. Over its service life the game received frequent updates, additions to the Aircraft Tree, an expansion of its single player campaign to eight missions in total, multiple new online maps and game modes and constant challenges for score ranking prizes. Massive Aircraft Selection Ace Combat Infinity’s ultimate claim to fame is most likely its aircraft selection. The volume and variety of aircraft available in the Aircraft Tree for this game remain unmatched by any Ace Combat title. Over 230 aircraft were available. This extensive offering of aircraft from the 1930s in the real world to the 2040s of the fictional Strangereal world of Ace Combat. Strategic bombers, World War II warbirds, staple modern jet fighters, returning Original Aircraft created by Project Aces and full 3D models of the biplanes from Namco’s Sky Kid horizontal arcade shooter. The bulk of the aircraft that populate the Aircraft Tree are variations of base aircraft. For example, the F/A-18F Super Hornet had eight variations of its base model. Each variant featured a unique paint scheme or markings and could have different aircraft specifications or special weapons selections than the base model. Some of these variations included designs based on well-known aircraft flown by heroes and opposing enemies: Su-37 -Yellow 13-, F-15C -Pixy-, F-22A -Mobius 1- and T-50 Akula. Other modern prototype and proposed aircraft included aircraft rarely seen in the series, like the MiG-35D Super Fulcrum, F-15SE Silent Eagle, AV-8B Harrier II Plus and ATD-0 Shinshin. Some original aircraft designed for the Ace Combat series also returned. A few of them modeled for the first time in high definition, such as the ADFX-01 Morgan (Ace Combat Zero, 2006), XFA-27 (Ace Combat 2, 1997) and the XFA-33 Fenrir (Ace Combat X, 2006). Recreations of two original aircraft from Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere were also reintroduced late into the game’s service life. The futuristic X-49 Night Raven and R-101 Delphinus 1 were included in the game with variants of these aircraft, alongside real-world aircraft like the Eurofighter Typhoon and Su-37 Flanker featuring markings from Ace Combat 3. The ever expanding Aircraft Tree was further enhanced by the ability to upgrade any aircraft in the game to a level far beyond its initial performance. Players were able to take an aircraft's base performance from level 1 to level 20 along with the most extensive version Aircraft Tuning system found in any Ace Combat game. This allowed for aircraft acquired much earlier in the aircraft tree to still remain competitive even against more advanced aircraft, though it required a lot of time and development to bring them to that point. A Passing Dream Thus far Infinity is the first and only Ace Combat game to include the ADA-01 Adler. This aircraft was initially planned to be included in Ace Combat 5 (2004) but time constraints during the development of that game caused it to be left out. The existence of the Adler was confirmed in an interview with the Project Aces development team in 2004, with the only known official picture and information of it released in the book, Aces At War 2011. Though it was not the ‘A’ model described in previous materials, Infinity introduced the ADA-01B presenting the chance to fly the aircraft for the first time since it was referenced over a decade before Ace Combat Infinity launched. Now with Ace Combat Infinity's closure, the Adler is once again inaccessible. Super Weapon Special Raids The primary focus of Ace Combat Infinity was the online competitive co-op game mode. This mode placed two teams of 4 players in an indirect adversarial battle. This is not to be confused as player vs. player combat - it was not a team deathmatch. The objective was for both teams to attack the same enemy NPCs in a mission but outscored the opposing team in points by the end. Eight highly skilled players could tear through even the toughest of maps with relative reliability and speed. Knowing that, the inclusion of Special Raid missions was perfect for this game. Special Raids that featured Super Weapons were similar to boss raids found in MMORPG genre games. All players work together as one team to defeat a specific enemy (enemies) to receive an increased amount of in-game currency or other awards.  But the players are faced with a heightened difficulty to prevent or slow their success. In the case of Ace Combat Infinity, the boss style Special Raids included various well known Ace Combat super weapons from the main series. There were multiple variations of the Excalibur Anti-Ballistic Missile Chemical Laser, Stonehenge Spaceguard Turret Network, Aerial Fleet and the Strategic Orbital Linear Gun. Each variation of these raids appeared at random at an unspecified rate. Some variations presented more enemies to fight and new challenges the players had to overcome which were not found in the original battles in the games these weapons were first introduced in. This included tactical laser systems added to the Aerial Fleet and the Excalibur laser redirected off of a system of mirrors to create a laser defense network. The appearance of notable enemies like the 156th TFW Aquila from Ace Combat 04 and the QFA-44 Butterfly Master with a swarm of MQ-90 Quox drones added extra difficulty as well. By building on the known abilities of iconic Ace Combat super weapons and further boosting their presence with these new hurdles, Special Raids remained a welcome and anticipated part of Ace Combat Infinity throughout its service. Both for challenge and the massive in-game currency pay out for completing the missions with high rankings. Overwhelming Firepower The coupling of the all-star aircraft selection, Infinity's aircraft customization system and the ability to level up special weapons resulted in some of the most insane shows of firepower seen in the series. Until this game's release, seeing multiple so-called Super Aircraft in one mission was reserved for special single-player challenge missions or in limited numbers in online multiplayer matches for specific games. Each of these super aircraft having limited amounts of their own immensely powerful weaponry. Infinity threw all of that out the window with the combination of aircraft tuning parts and the ability to level up aircraft and special weapons. Aircraft that only had a single fictional special weapon could then have over a dozen of them available. Each with increased damage output that dwarfs their original. Peak Infinity Aesthetic Screenshots and video of Ace Combat Infinity are still available in places Ace Combat fans mingle and all over video services like YouTube. Dantofu has encapsulated a piece of peak Infinity aesthetic in his “Ultimate V2 Experience” video. 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 |

An in-depth look at S.E.A.D strategies and weaponry inside of the Ace Combat Franchise. The simplified, fast-paced nature of Ace Combat renders some real-world aerial combat maneuvers and tactics ineffective, but a number of them remain viable. Of these, Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) is one of the most useful for even the newest of players. This article provides a basic understanding of SEAD tactics within Ace Combat, but also offers an understanding of SEAD that could be applied to other flight shooter games. ​​The destruction of an air defense network is just as important as the elimination of enemy jet fighters from the skies - though it is not as celebrated. Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses is a vital part of modern conventional warfare strategy. Combat aircraft are capable of deploying a startling array of weapons and sensors that can change the course of a battle within minutes, but it's all for naught if the airspace they operate within disrupts or denies their ability to deploy their payloads. Therefore, by limiting or disabling the ability to interfere with allied air power, a massive advantage can be gained over the opposing forces. Defining Lethality ​Having a general understanding of the capabilities of air defense units and weapons is the foundation of SEAD strategy and tactics.  By focusing on the ability of the target to attack allied aircraft, not factoring in their ability to attack other friendly land or sea forces, does a clear understanding of SEAD begin to develop. It is the full extent of the target's air defense capability that defines its importance - that is to say, how lethal it is. In this case, its lethality is defined by: Damage Output: If hit by this enemy, how much damage will one of its attacks cause to your aircraft? Effective Range: How far away can this target attack you from? Guidance System: Is the weapon(s) it carries capable of following your aircraft? Interception Capability: Is it able to intercept guided weapons attacking it or coming near it? In short: the more damage the target can cause from a longer distance with the ability to guide weapons at aircraft, the more of a threat it is. Its capacity to intercept or "shoot down" allied weaponry to prevent attacks against its forces is also a significant factor. Whether it is in pre-mission briefings or in combat, remembering these 4 points and applying them to enemies on the battlefield will maintain the awareness needed to conduct SEAD tactics. SEAD Kill Chain ​With an understanding of air defense unit capabilities, a Kill Chain focused on SEAD can be established. The units that present a higher threat have abilities that make them priority targets. The faster these units are removed, the easier allied aircraft will be able to conduct attacks against the opposing force. Of course, a SEAD Kill Chain is only as useful as it is applied. Taking the time to remain outside of the range of enemy attack, cycle through targets on the HUD with radar, then attack according to SEAD doctrine is a deliberate effort that can take effort to learn. This article provides a list of enemies that have frequently appeared in various Ace Combat games. However, even if a list like this becomes outdated over time or does not contain uncommon air defense units, falling back on understanding the capabilities of the latest and greatest air defense technology is something that will never be outdated. MANPADS [LEVEL 1] Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), a small air defense system designed to be carried and fired from the shoulders of humans. While they are designed to attack low-flying aircraft, their guidance ability and very short range make them less threatening than a full-size SAM system. AA GUN [LEVEL 2] The ​Anti Aircraft Gun (AA Gun) is an air defense system which relies on firing a hail of anti-aircraft cannon rounds to attack incoming aircraft. Though they have low per hit damage output, their high rate of fire makes up for it. Able to be deployed as a stationary system or on an armored vehicle to add mobility. SAM [LEVEL 2] A Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system is capable of firing guided missiles at aircraft beyond anti-aircraft gun range. It is able to be deployed as a stationary unit or on an armored vehicle to add mobility. VLS/XSAM [LEVEL 3] The Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile (XSAM) system features a longer range than the standard SAM units that appear in Ace Combat. Naval warships carry Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) which provide the same capabilities as XSAMs. This extended range further pressures aircraft using SEAD tactics by encroaching on their ability to remain safe at standoff distances. CIWS [LEVEL 4] The Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) is almost exclusively seen aboard naval warships. It is able to fire upon aircraft and intercept missiles fired at the platform the system is attached to. Its ability to knock guided missiles out of the sky makes it notably more difficult to perform SEAD. Though it does not have the same attack range as the SAM or XSAM, it's interception ability makes it a high-level threat. AD TANK [LEVEL 5] ​With the release of Ace Combat 7 in 2019, it is the newest air defense units added to the series. Air Defense Tanks (AD Tanks) are able to launch surface-to-air missiles at aircraft while being able to intercept missiles launched by allies with its CIWS. This ability was once exclusively tied to naval warships through the use of multiple weapons systems on one warship. All of this capability is mounted to a mobile platform that is able to move with enemy ground forces to provide air defense coverage. AIRCRAFT [LEVEL 5] It should go without saying that one of the most effective counters to a combat aircraft is another combat aircraft. With their ability to pursue allied aircraft where ever they go, fly well beyond any weapon's stationary engagement range and be able to deploy the same devastating weapons against allied forces, they are a top priority. This makes establishing air superiority where possible a high priority. Weapons of Choice Though air defense units can still effectively be destroyed with skilled aircraft maneuvering and application of Standard Missiles and Gun, the use of specific types of Special Weapons (Secondary Weapons) can significantly boost an aircraft's SEAD ability. Certain types of these weapons feature long-range engagement envelopes, unique flight profiles, and other benefits which prevent enemy interception capabilities. Aircraft Tuning or other modifications focused on Special Weapons can further bolster SEAD capability by increasing firepower, extending engagement range, increasing payload, and other factors. Stand-off Weaponry The ideal weapons for SEAD are fire and forget air-to-ground missiles that feature long-range strike capabilities - also referred to as standoff weaponry. These weapons can hit targets outside of the weapons range of even the most dangerous air defense units, keeping the aircraft launching them safe from counterattacks. This article defines Standoff weapons within the realm of Ace Combat as, Land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM), Long-ranged Air-to-Ground Missiles (LAGM), Long-ranged Air-to-Surface Missiles (LASM) and Standoff Dispensers (SOD). Land Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) Featuring the longest attack range available with the highest firepower and blast radius, the LACM is an ideal SEAD weapon for striking even the toughest of air defense networks. It is also very effective against as an anti-ship weapon. Long-ranged Air-to-Ground Missile (LAGM) ​​A long ranged missile that features a blast radius that can destroy enemies around the target. Its flight profile takes it in a straight line directly at the target. Long-ranged Air-to-Surface Missile (LASM) Though it is designed to attack naval vessels, its long range and attack profile allow it to be used for SEAD effectively. Its flight profile enables it to fly above terrain then perform a final dive onto its target. Stand-Off Dispenser (SOD) A medium-range missile that deploys bomblets to attack multiple groups of enemies as it flies over them in a straight line. While it is better used for attacking clusters of targets, it's range and HUD indicated blast radius allows it to be effectively used in SEAD. Guided Bomb Benefits Unguided weapons provide the advantage of being unable to be intercepted by AD Tanks or CIWS. The trade-off for this being the accuracy of unguided weaponry increases the closer they are fired at their target, but the closer to the target one gets, the better the target can counterattack. While launching "dumb bombs" from long distance is always an option, a balance can be found by deploying Guided Penetration Bombs (GPB) and Advanced Small Diameter Bombs (XSDB). These weapons add guidance systems to allow the bombs to guide themselves onto a target while still avoiding being targeted by interception systems. This allows the GPB and XSDB to strike interception systems like AD Tanks and CIWS directly at the cost of greatly reduced engagement ranges in comparison to standoff weaponry. Deployment Notes Reserve Special Weapons Make it a point to reserve special weapons that have been selected specifically to fulfill SEAD tactics. With the Standard Missiles and Gun available on all aircraft being more than capable to destroy a majority of enemy units encountered, using up SPWs on low threat enemies or structures is not advisable. Target Quality Those with a solid understanding of SEAD will be able to prioritize target quality and in-turn better deploy their limited supply of special weapons. Using a majority of an SPW's payload on low-level threats is ill-advised. For example, consider an area that has a mixture of mid and high-level threats. By removing the high-level threats with SPWs from a stand-off distance, then relying on standard weapons to destroy mid-level threats, SPW payload can be reserved for other high-level threats. Naval Warships These vehicles are especially difficult to approach in comparison to the standard air defense units described in this article. The reason for this being that these warships come equipped with combinations of weapons described above. Fleets of enemy warships are a particularly tough challenge because of the concentrated firepower multiple they can project as one group. Aegis Combat System  The Aegis command and control and weapons system is capable of attacking multiple air, land and sea targets while simultaneously intercepting incoming missile fire. This is done by coordinating multiple CIWS and VLS through the use of Aegis. Primarily known for being integrated into naval warships, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown has introduced Aegis Ashore - a land-based variant of the system. Attacking an Aegis can result in multiple missiles being lost to anti-missile fire from groups of CIWS while being attacked by multiple missiles fired from its surface-to-air missile launchers. Overwhelming the systems with a quantity of missile fire and closing range to attack with unguided weaponry are viable tactics against an ACS. Attacking from very low altitudes is the most effective tactic when encountering these systems, as it lessens the system's ability to detect and intercept guided missiles. Underestimated Ground Vehicles Anything that is not a designated anti-aircraft unit is easy to overlook as it is assumed they cannot fight back. While it is mostly true that the machine gun fire from APCs, main battle tanks and other lightly armored vehicles is a low-level danger, they are still capable of causing damage. Furthermore, it is within the realm of possibility that a main battle tank can shoot down an aircraft with a single cannon shell from their main cannon. There are documented cases of this happening. When attacking these vehicles its best to not get too lax. 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 |

In the grand scheme of things, if the primary complaint is that people wanted more, something must have been done right. The addition of virtual reality (VR) for Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown brings with it a new dimension of appreciation. It is a chance to acknowledge the minor details, physical restraints, and technological advancement in aircraft cockpits. Digital aviators on personal computers have had access to virtual reality for years, but thanks to the combination of the Sony PlayStation 4 and its VR headset, console gamers are now experiencing the thrill of VR aviation. For Ace Combat specifically, VR is both a milestone and a potential building block. The successful introduction of virtual reality to Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a huge step forward for the Ace Combat series, no doubt. As said by Kazutoki Kono during our interview with him at PAX South 2019, successfully developing a full game with new staff members and a new organizational structure was a hurdle all on its own. Add to that the fact that Project Aces - the team creating the Ace Combat series - had no experience with virtual reality. VR development regained speed when VR Producer Jun Tamaoki joined the team and took control of the process. More information about this is available in the words of Project Aces staff in the second developer diary for Ace Combat 7. The final product of the virtual reality component for the latest Ace Combat title on the PlayStation 4 has primarily received positive feedback, leaning on the side of overwhelmingly successful. The main knock against it is how quickly the experience is over. In the grand scheme of things, if the primary complaint is that people wanted more, something must have been done right. Truthfully, the discovery of unused VR mission data found by data mining does sting a bit. This data shows that the campaign could have been expanded from three to six missions. The increased mission count may have extended it from a VR experience to at least a small VR campaign allows the side story of AC7 VR to be fleshed out a bit more. Kazutoki Kono has addressed the possibility, requirements, and changes needed to create a full virtual reality game for the Ace Combat series multiple times by now. What the future holds is unknown, but AC7 VR has already made an immediate impact. At the direction of the Ace Combat brand series manager, two parameters were set onto VR development: Restricting players to cockpit only point of view Expert flight controls While such restrictions would generally seem a bit strict for this popular arcade flight shooter series, they contribute to the level of immersion virtual reality presents. Even when using the PlayStation 4 Dual Shock controller, finding one's self sitting in the full cockpit of multi-million dollar combat aircraft having to fly with the most realistic controls possible solidified the experience. The restrictions add a particular type of gravity to everything one does in the game. Even the seemingly repetitive things like firing a missile, evading anti-aircraft fire and landing the aircraft is more engaging. Some specific examples come to mind: The effect of aircraft icing over while flying in clouds for an extended time is especially amplified since there is no other point of view to switch to. Once the canopy is iced over, the player's vision heavily impaired. Other weather effects like moisture streaking across the canopy and hearing the aircraft rattle through turbulence contributes to the overall immersion. The restrictions are most evident but appreciated during the process of having to physically and visually track enemies. The amount of head turning and body repositioning needed drives home the convenience of the Camera Tracking function available on a single button on a game controller. The twisting and turning sort of reminds digital aviators of just a bit of the rigor actual fighter pilots go through in training and combat. Certain special weapons have an enhanced lock on capability that are utilized by the virtual reality headset. These weapons are capable of being fired at targets to the rear or sides of the aircraft. Areas that a majority of the weapons in the non-VR modes of Ace Combat 7 cannot attack strike enemies, with the exception of the Quick Maneuver Air-to-Air Missile (QAAM). These enhanced weapons are able to do this because the VR headset is emulating a Helmeted Mounted Display with high off bore-sight tracking ability. Real world technology deployed by combat aircraft of many real world nations to gain an advantage in short range air-to-air combat. This translates to AC7 VR by giving the player the ability to look over their shoulder and attack targets without having to physically maneuver the aircraft so it has the nose pointed at the target. Great First Impression The first impression of AC7 VR is a good one. The decision to make the Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet the only available aircraft when playing for the first time is a well-calculated move. Flying the first mission using the Super Hornet allows the player to complete an air defense mission from an aircraft carrier. From being raised to the aircraft carrier deck on an elevator to battling enemies high in the clouds and lining up the carrier deck for a landing. Virtual Reality Oasis explains in the video below: As Ace Combat continues to crank up its visual quality with each release, so too does the detail within the aircraft cockpits. Aircraft buttons are sharper, text on screens are clearer, and weather effects on the canopy are forefront. The multi-function displays and gauges within the cockpits gradually gain more movement and function in the newer titles, but a majority of the needed information is present in the ever available game overlay. In VR, cockpit design becomes more critical than ever before. Functionality begins to outweigh form and visual appeal immediately. As downright badass flying the A-10 Thunderbolt II is, the more bars, displays, and gauges that take up visual space in the cockpit, the more complicated things can get. In a series like Ace Combat where within visual range combat is emphasized, this is especially true. Flying missions using the four aircraft available allows the player to get a basic understanding for which parts of a cockpit's design are truly useful. The information displayed within the aircraft can be toggled by pressing R3 on the PlayStation 4 Dual Shock controller. The multi-function displays (MFD) rotate information between the more realistic data and the traditional Ace Combat info: radar, weapons systems, countermeasure status, and aircraft damage status. To clarify, the MFDs in single player and multiplayer cockpits usually show info closer to what their real-world counterparts would. Image galleries that show this are at the bottom of this article. Free Flight mode has allowed players to enjoy the freedom of flight and go sightseeing in the game since its introduction in Ace Combat 04 (2001). With no enemies attempting to shoot the player down, they are free to practice maneuvers and wander the maps looking for unique landmarks. In virtual reality, Free Flight mode provides ample time to twist and turn in the aircraft cockpits to appreciate all the detail put into them. Aircraft still come equipped with weapons, but this game mode disables the 360 HUD and helmet mounted display. By being forced to use the aircraft's cockpit mounted HUD and reading the instrumental panels and MFDs for other needed data related to navigation; a final layer of immersion. With less info filling the field of vision constantly and the need to glance down at aircraft instrumentation from time to time, a slightly deeper sense of fulfillment can be found. The inclusion of virtual reality for Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is, without a doubt, a success for its developers and the series. It has opened a new sky of possibilities for the series' future and has piqued the interest of a new wave of fans awaiting the next VR experience from the next Ace Combat title. Image Galleries A-10C Thunderbolt II F/A-18F Super Hornet F-22A Raptor Su-30M2 Flanker 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 |

Greetings and welcome back. It has been many months since we paused operations and underwent a period of restructuring. After changes in website design, staff, content curation, and overall direction, we are proud to restart operations as a new organization. Our core team was active under the name Project Lighthouse during our initial two years of operation between 2017 and 2019. What had started as a group of international Ace Combat fans trying something began to evolve into something beyond focusing on a specific game series. Following our interview with Ace Combat series brand director Kazutoki Kono and covering the launch weekend of Ace Combat 7 at PAX South 2019, we felt inspired to go for something more significant. But to achieve that goal, we felt as though the way to branch out beyond our single series focus and open possibilities for future ventures was to rebrand. An article discussing Project Lighthouse as a whole is to be released at a later date. Today, Skyward Flight Media is an aviation enthusiast organization that focuses on games and simulators while including real-world aviation content. We present an array of multimedia that discusses flight related topics. From creators around the world, developers of all levels of profession, media from past and present. Throughout the months of March and April, adjustments will be made to our social media accounts, our video channel will be reworked and the final content from our original Project Lighthouse website will be transferred over. An announcement about a section of our website that focuses on content creators of all sizes will be detailed in our next update. We are eagerly looking forward to bring new content to our audience. If anything is amiss on the website, you have some suggestions for future content or are interested in working with us, feel free to contact us. Thank you for supporting us through this time of transition. Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Skyward Flight Media Director of Operations

The return of the Comanche is sure to pique the interests of rotary-wing flight sim enthusiasts. But those expecting a single player focused product were met with a new vision of online multiplayer driven combat. The name “Comanche” carries a history of nine games released since 1992. The newest game in the series is simply named Comanche. For clarification, I’ll be referring to it as Comanche (2020). Starting with the first announcement, it presented an online multiplayer experience centered around team-based, ability driven player vs. player combat. No single player was mentioned in the early announcements from 2019. The receptive and responsive Nukklear Digital Minds development team has taken feedback from its player base during closed Alpha and Beta sessions and is now actively developing single-player missions. These missions are rolling out during their Early Access release phase. While this is excellent news, it is the multiplayer part of the game that is currently the most complete. It is in player vs. player combat that the unique helicopters, challenging map design, and combat drones that define the newest Comanche title genuinely shine. With this game being in Early Access and open to changes, it would be difficult to call this a review of a final product. Let's call this an analysis for now. The information provided in this article may be outdated before the final version of the game is released. Keep that in mind. Multiplayer Mode Explanation Understanding multiplayer before discussing the hardware related details is vital. For now, two game modes are available. Each mode places two teams of up to four players against each other (4 vs. 4). Neither game mode uses non-player character units. Players will only be facing off against other players. Black Box is a modified version of the standard Team Death Match formula. As adversaries and teammates are shot down in combat, their wreckage drops black boxes. Drones must be used to fly down and recover the boxes. Each black box recovered from an adversary’s helicopter counts as a point for the allied team, while retrieving a fallen ally’s black box denies the opposition points. The team with the highest amount of gathered points wins. Infiltration has each team attacking or defending a pair of objectives. The attacking team is tasked with positioning themselves to fly drones into a military facility and arm an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) device. If the defending team is unable to stop the activation of the EMP or disarm it before it detonates, the attacking team wins. If the defenders don't let the attacking team arm the EMP or if they disarm the active EMP device then the defenders win. Hardware Overview Comanche (2020) features a decent weapons selection that is tied to specific helicopters. The primary weapons of each aircraft are their main cannons, which range from rotary cannons, rail guns, scatterguns, and ‘light’ guns. Secondary weapons include unguided rockets and various types of unique missiles complemented with countermeasures: chaff, flares, and smoke screens; to disrupt the enemy or break the lock of incoming guided missiles. The advanced abilities further define each variant and how they can be used in combat. The stars of multiplayer are the Comanche helicopters themselves. The original prototype Comanche is only one of five variants in the game. There is a story related reason as to why these variants exist, but that can be discussed later date. To put it in terms of an arena like first person shooter, the variants act as “characters” with special abilities and weapons only these “characters” can use. The same is true for the drones as well. The drones are an unexpected addition. They are much smaller than unmanned combat aerial vehicles like the RQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reapers known around the world. They are compact enough to be carried inside of the helicopters and can be flown into buildings to attack personnel and interact with computer systems. Like their rotary-wing counterparts, each of the four drones also come with their special abilities and unique weapons. Players are able to select any helicopter and any drone they have unlocked before multiplayer matches start and during the matches after they are destroyed or crash. The Comanche variants are also available for testing in the single player Flight Tutorials, but not for the campaign. Unlocking each drone and helicopter is done through the use of in game credits and blueprint tokens that are earned through game play. On March 12th, 2020, it was stated that Comanche (2020) would not include micro transactions in the FAQ section of their official Discord server. This has remained true as of the time this article has been published, meaning that the only way to gain in-game credits and blueprint tokens is through gameplay. The overview of the five helicopters and four drones is as follows: Prototype: It is an all-arounder that acts as the starter helicopter for all players. Its aim assistance program for the main cannon is excellent for landing air-to-air hits even while maneuvering harshly. Can fire missiles at medium and close range. Has flare countermeasures. The multiplayer version of the Prototype is different than the single player version, which has even more extended abilities. Circuit: a drone that utilizes a light machine gun and sticky grenade launcher. Its agility is one of its best strengths. This is the first drone players have unlocked from the beginning of the game. Ghost: This Comanche can visually cloak and not be detected by radars at medium and long-range though it can be passively detected when they are close to other helicopters. Uses a high rate of fire rotary cannon and unguided rockets for ambushes. Can deploy chaff to disrupt missile locks. Shell-Shock: a slow, armored drone equipped with a shotgun and sticky grenade launcher. It excels at close-range combat and can cause massive damage to other drones in a single shot. Rhino: A heavily armored attack helicopter that uses a shotgun like Scattergun and Stampede jet thruster system to rush its enemies and destroy them at close range. It can fire a heavy-hitting missile at medium range. Its sonar ability can detect cloaked enemies to unveil them for allies. Bug: a drone equipped with a shock pulse weapon that temporarily stuns and decloaks all enemies within 10 meters. An ability that automatically triggers when the drone is left idling. It also has a self-destruct sequence that yields a large blast. Eve: primarily acts as a support helicopter that can repair other friendly helicopters. This is done by launching specially designed missiles at allies that deliver nanomachines to repair them. The Lockdown ability that regenerates its own health while blocking out incoming damage and a shock pulse that decloaks hidden enemies. Curie: a drone equipped with a repair beam rather than a solid projectile gun. When used on allies, the beam restores their health, but when used on enemies, it acts as an energy weapon. The Detection Mines act as an early warning device. When enemies enter their range, the mines explode and ping the location of the damaged enemy. Horizon: A long-range variant that specializes in line of sight engagements. Using its railgun, it is capable of locking down entire areas of a map utilizing charged shots. Has the ability to fire missiles at multiple targets and deploy a smokescreen for concealment. Multiplayer Combat Helicopter combat consists of medium and long-range engagements with usually brief close range combat where a player’s aptitude with the chin-mounted cannon is a deciding factor. This is where becoming proficient with Free Aim is an absolute necessity. This can’t be stressed enough. Free Aim allows players to fire on targets at unrealistic angles real world attack helicopters could not accomplish. Examples of this are included showing a high angle vertical engagement and a low angle engagement that also shows the game's ability to outline targets that are within line of sight beneath the helicopters: Besides landing hits with the main gun at extreme angles, missiles also benefit from Free Aim's wide engagement envelop. When launched, missiles travel in a straight line away from the front of the helicopter to prevent self-shoot down. Within a second or two after the missile is fired, it then begins guiding itself onto the target it was fired at. All missiles in the game are able to make almost 90 degree turns. This makes over the shoulder missile shots possible at targets that are in range. This is off-boresight launch ability is usually reserved for 4th and 5th generation fixed wing combat aircraft that use helmet mounted displays, thrust vectored missiles and other technology. The speed of the Comanches are essential for search and destroy as counter strategy in-game modes that rely on drones to complete objectives. Drones are only able to maneuver while the helicopters control them are set into auto-hover and are unable to move or defend themselves during that time. Quickly destroying a defenseless opponent is preferable over fighting them head-on. Alternatively, a keen-eyed player can destroy enemy drones before they slip into inaccessible areas with relative ease using missiles or with a decent aim from their cannon. Drone combat is at its peak during close range, indoor battles against opposing drones. A more frenetic play style replaces the large-scale battlefield feel that the attack helicopters operate in. The confined spaces have drones hovering behind cover to defend from being shot at and hiding in dark areas to spring attacks on unsuspecting enemies. Of note are interactable control panels around objectives in Infiltration. These can be used by attackers and defenders to activate barriers. These obstacles include turning on multiple laser beams to block doorways or close doors to ventilation shafts to disrupt the movement of the opposing forces. Diversity Promotes Team Play It’s easy to see how the abilities and weapons of the helicopters and drones can be coordinated. Combinations of the Comanche variants compliment one another. Ghosts paired with Horizons as support for their stealthy operations in Infiltration. Prototypes and Rhinos being repaired by an Eve as they maintain a front line in Black Box. The same goes for drones. While fighting indoors, drones can work together to set up early warning detection and attempt to disable enemies that try to arm or disarm objectives. The drones are able to participate in helicopter air-to-air combat, but it requires players to get creative. Drones shooting down helicopters with their own weapons will rarely happen, but specific abilities are useful. Here are a few examples: Curie’s repair beam can repair allied helicopters and drones. Quickly deploying Curie after defeating an opponent to provide self-repair or team repairs is ideal. In an observational role, drones can be flown into open areas to monitor enemy movement while the helicopter controlling the drone is safe behind terrain or hiding in clouds. In a sacrificial role, players can place drones directly in front of themselves, having the drone act as yet another potential target. This tactic forces the enemy using missiles to put extra effort into attacking the player’s helicopter instead of a drone with a valuable guided weapon. Level Design Encourages Skill and Daring Maneuvers The flight tutorial of the game has players flying through confined spaces while encouraging them to maintain high speeds for a reason. What would typically be considered high-risk, suicidal flying in a full flight simulator can give significant tactical advantages in Comanche (2020). Map design encourages players to fly through cave networks to sneakily reach objectives, twist around mountain tops for defense in dogfights, and come within close proximity to bring weapons to bear on unsuspecting opponents. Each map has plenty of vertical terrain for helicopters to use for defense, offense, and maneuvering into position unseen. Some maps feature extensive subterranean areas that considerably aide players that take advantage of their skills to operate in hard to reach areas. A multi-million-dollar Comanche hovering in a cave behind a waterfall is not an uncommon sight! Cloud cover is a factor in this game. Clouds can aid helicopters that hide within them or behind them from being spotted visually or on radar at medium and long-range. If a guided missile has already been launched at a helicopter, it diving into clouds will not fool the missile. The missile will still pursue its target. Hiding in the clouds can also be good cover for players deploying drones to play the objective. Being hidden visually and on radar forces the defending team to come into close range to search. A nice bonus for players that are using drones; it buys them valuable time. The Longevity of Hardware and Abilities The performance and abilities of each helicopter and drone cannot be altered. This is a decision that keeps each of them viable over the course of the game’s lifespan. What frequently happens in other flight games is that aircraft that were available early on lose their usefulness as more advanced aircraft are unlocked later. The result is that up to half of the aircraft on the game’s roster are no longer viable in multiplayer game modes (when not factoring in player skill). This then leads to the same selection of higher tier aircraft being used over and over by all players to even the playing field. This can be worsened if the game has some type of leveling up system or aircraft parts modification system. By omitting these upgrade systems, this guarantees that all Comanche and drone variants will see frequent use and push diversity in online multiplayer gameplay. - The next update during the Early Access period for Comanche (2020) is scheduled for April 2020. What is immediately known is that the second single-player mission will be released, along with a Command Wheel, improved graphics options, and other improvements brought on by community feedback. About the Author 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 |

The Ace Combat 6 Fly for Freedom Tournament was the first online multiplayer competition for the Ace Combat series. The event was organized and hosted by GameSpot on their Tournament TV channel with sponsorship from Bandai-Namco. Though the tournament happened over a decade ago, the broadcast has historical and technical value. Some of the complications the first Ace Combat online tournament encountered are similar to those that future titles, including Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, must work with. This analysis, coupled with an interview of the individual that won the tournament, provides a comprehensive understanding. Event Analysis Format vs. Staff Size The staff managing the event was made up of: a tournament manager speaking directly to the players and communicating pre-match information, two GameSpot staff members providing commentary, and three representatives from Bandai-Namco Entertainment. One of these reps was Ace Combat 6 Product Manager In Joon Hwang, who provided commentary about the game itself while presenting prizes on behalf of Bandai-Namco. In all, you could technically say the staff was six people in total. The tournament focused on Battle Royale mode with 192 contestants that registered through GameSpot. After preliminary rounds, the field of competition was reduced to 12 players playing three final rounds. Running this tournament using Battle Royale mode was smart for GameSpot at the time. That format allowed a high number of individual contestants to participate with a minimal amount of management from event staff. Tournaments that use team vs. team formats rely on groups of people to coordinate schedules and time zones to gather at the same time. Doing this for tournaments that have many teams multiplies the possibilities of errors that could occur, which in turn puts further stress on a small group of staff members. Even in 2019 and 2020, a majority of (if not all) official Ace Combat 7 tournaments have been done in Battle Royale. The logistics are just easier to manage. Broadcast and Information Errors There's no such thing as perfection, but errors from the GameSpot team and the AC6 product manager did affect the event's overall presentation. The most glaring problems were miscommunications between the broadcasters and the tournament manager. There were times when a room was setup using incorrect match settings. This had to be corrected by all competitors being removed, a new room set up, then all competitors re-invited. These hang-ups pressured commentators to continue finding things to discuss to give cover for the technical issues. Faux Spectator Mode Woes Even back in 2007, the problems caused by the lack of a purpose-built spectator mode were forefront. With no reliable way to view the competitors while they fought or after their battle, the second and third Bandai-Namco representatives flew each match as non-combatants. Acknowledging that no spectator mode was available in the game, they acted as camera operators flying near and passing through the battle for the broadcast. This exposed them to the danger of being shot down by competitors. Surprisingly, this is something that Bandai-Namco and Project Aces has not addressed since then. Despite being released during an age of high profile competitive game play, esports and easily accessible streaming platforms, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown does not have a dedicated spectator mode. While having competitors live stream their footage could be part of a long-term workaround, it's not a solution to something game developers would need to address directly. Camera Operator Aircraft Selection The camera operators in this event were using Xbox Live Gamer Tags with "gamespot" in their names and flying F-22A Raptors. They most likely selected the F-22A to capitalize on its high speed and excellent maneuverability. But the risk of using one of the highest point valued aircraft is that if it is shot down, it would considerably impact the score results. The cameramen were shot down by contestants because they prioritized recording video over evading incoming missile fire. Using an aircraft with a lower overall point value would have been better, as it would have lessened the amount of points accidentally contributed to the competition. Contestants Targeting Camera Operators While not everyone deliberately did this, the broadcast shows that the camera operators were targeted from time to time. There is a discrepancy between accidentally attacked and purposefully targeted. Multi-lock air-to-air missile special weapons attack multiple airborne targets within their range with minimal input from the player. It would take a decent amount of time and effort mid-match to try and avoid firing at a camera aircraft that happens to be within range. Shooting down a non-combatant would be an accident in this situation because the user of the XMA4, XMA6, or XLAA has limited control over who they target. However, as shown in the death screens of the camera operators, they were also targeted by Standard Missiles (MSSL) and Quick Maneuver Air-to-Air Missiles (QAAM). These weapons are launched at a single target per button press. This means that the player using them would need to have a visual confirmation of the name and aircraft of the player they are targeting in their Heads Up Display. A secondary camera view also appears in the top left, showing a closer view of the target with their name. With two ways to identify targets before firing with the aforementioned weapons, it's hard to believe this was done by accident. This shows that some players knowingly fired at the non-combatants in hopes of scoring points to raise their standing within the tournament. GameSpot had a system in place to penalize players that consciously did this, but no penalization was reported during the finals of the event. This analysis is not implying or stating that the final results of the tournament were skewed in any way. But this is a major downside of using an in-game camera operator that must be made known. Early AC6 Life Cycle This is not a criticism of the event, but it is something to take note of: the tournament was run very early in Ace Combat 6's lifespan. The game released on October 23rd, 2007 with the tournament itself ending on November 30th, 2007. The type of game play that would be standard from January 2008 onward was somewhat different from what is shown in the broadcast. For example, the first patch for Ace Combat 6 was not released yet. This is made clear by there not being a crash or out of bounds point penalty that appears in the kill feed, despite competitors crashing during the broadcast. During the early weeks of online game play, some players would frequently crash themselves into the ground when damaged to deny giving their opponents points. They could do this and suffer no consequences. The first AC6 patch introduced a 1000 point deduction for any aircraft that flew out of bounds or crashed. A penalty severe enough to change the outcome of online battles. The patch sharply reduced the frequency of self-crashing tactics. Furthermore, status boosted or altered aircraft were not as prolific yet. Only AC6 downloadable content pack 01 and pack 02 were available. These packs did not contain aircraft that would completely change the multiplayer dynamic like the F-22A-MOBIUS-, F-15E -CIPHER-, Razgriz aircraft, Idol Master aircraft, and others. Though the Su-33 -IDOLMASTER MIKI HOSHII was available, it did not make a showing in the final rounds of this competition. Unlike the games that would come after it, Ace Combat 6 did not have an aircraft modification system. Status altered aircraft were only accessible through DLC, which gave varying degrees of advantage to those that did own them and changed the general landscape of the game over time. Interview: TornadoADV, the First Ace Combat Online Tournament Champion We are presented with a unique opportunity—a competitor level explanation of the event by the individual that won it all. Known by the online handle "TornadoADV", he fought his way through multiple rounds of battle royale to claim victory in the Gamespot Fly for Freedom Ace Combat 6 tournament. Our interview with him primarily focuses on his time within that tournament. Before we delve deeper into your competitive experience, could you introduce yourself? Of course, I'm TornadoADV. My XBL handle was Beta Eagle. Surprising that somebody had already taken my first choice of name back in the early days of the service. How did you get introduced to the Ace Combat series? It's rather fuzzy now that it's been so long ago, but my first introduction was with the original Air Combat arcade cabinet back in 1993 in an arcade during one of many family trips. Is it true that you've been active within the Ace Combat online community for quite a long time? It's true. I had garnered quite the reputation as a hothead in my early days at AceCombat.net. But even before that, I was an active member of the AC04 community on GameFAQs.com back when it was still an independent website. So since 2001 would be a safe statement. Getting to the tournament, when did you first hear about it? Was it an open sign up, or were there restrictions? I actually first heard of it through the media push that NAMCO-Bandai was doing before the release of Ace Combat 6 to drive up awareness of the game to the North American market. Fly For Freedom was a restricted entry tournament through GameSpot where you had to be an active monthly subscriber to their website to be allowed the chance to sign up. What can you tell us about the general layout of the event? The layout was a typical free-for-all/battle royale engagement, 14 slots for participants, and 2 slots for observers/referees. They went with single elimination where the top four pilots of each match would advance to the next round until 14 pilots were left for the finals (with 2 alternatives for any possible no-shows.) During the lead up to the finals, did you notice any patterns amongst your competitors? Things like aircraft selection, weapons use, or tactics? I think anybody could guess what they would see in a free for all style engagement, especially in Ace Combat 6. It generally consisted only of QAAM capable aircraft of the highest tier (Tier 3), such as the F-22 and Su-47 with a smattering of (Tier 2) Su-33s flying in tight, relatively slow furballs in the center of the map at medium altitude. I didn't see any deviation from that all the way up to the final bracket. Going into the finals, what was your strategy? I think it's important to state for the record that the SAAM [Semi-Acitve Air-to-Air Missile] in Ace Combat 6 was an entirely different beast then what it has become in later installments. Besides mobility easily eclipsing what the QAAM was capable of, you could "unlock" your target after you launched by changing targets and moving your radar illumination circle off your intended foe without the SAAM going dumb/non-guiding, removing the missile warning they would normally get. Once the SAAM got close enough and without having to "re-box" them, you could sweep your HUD circle back onto them at the last moment, the SAAM would pull a literal 90 degree turn instantaneously towards them with no warning and blow them out of the sky. It makes what Rage and Scream do in Ace Combat 7 during Anchorhead Raid look minor league in comparison. This allows you to do the most important thing in a free for all situation, managing your "threat". I was already in a Super Hornet, so I had a head start there. I was a relatively slow, Tier 1 multirole that couldn't carry QAAMs. I was also using the Scarface Squadron DLC skin which boosted my defense up to [A-10] Thunderbolt II levels. So to everybody else, I was a low threat, low point, high defense aircraft flying around the edges of the furball, something they'd have to spend a lot of effort to destroy for almost no gain while exposing themselves to others in the primary engagement zone. The only times I was ever bothered in the finals were by people who had just spawned in and were already on their way to the big fight in the middle of the map. Do you have any specific memories from the combat in the finals? Not really, to use an internet meme, "It was Tuesday" to me. I had an effective and battle-tested plan that allowed me to sail to a crushing first-place finish in every engagement from the first prelims all the way up to the last map of the finals. That's not to say that the other pilots in the tourney weren't skilled, but in a battle royale tournament, you can't afford to get bogged down going after the strongest foe on the field. I simply singled out the weakest pilots in each match and focused on them, only aiming at others if they provided an easier target at the time my SAAMs had reloaded. Once the final results were in, a Team Battle was played between the top three competitors against two Bandai-Namco representatives and In Joon Hwang, the Product Manager for Ace Combat 6. Were you able to strategize with your fellow competitors before the battle? I couldn't say that I did as I was not using my head-set at the time, plus given the map (Stage 5/Team Battle) that was selected, strategy didn't extend further then filling the airspace of the opposing aircraft with as many missiles as possible. Hence my change from a F/A-18F with SAAMs to a F-15E with XMA6s. Given the results, I think my team did pretty well. The prizes you received from Gamespot were a $600.00 USD Best Buy gift certificate and a DLC Pack 00 download code for AC6. How was the rare DLC pack? I think that getting to enjoy the plane of the game's aces in the livery of the series's most influential Ace (and his greatest foe) in HD graphics really took it to the next level for a diehard aficionado like me. Even if they didn't change the Strike Eagle's stats from their base settings, you could feel the relation that AC6 was AC04, but brought forth into the HD age of gaming. Before AC6, competition within the Ace Combat community was primarily offline or "Legacy" competition. How do you think the inclusion of online multiplayer affected the established community at that time? I actually think as far as offline/single player competitions went, it actually increased interest in them because Project ACES has always endorsed online leaderboards for their online capable games (until AC7 for some strange reason.), and you could see them updated in real-time. (assuming the player in question connected to the internet every once and awhile.) Once you get people in through the door of pure top score for missions, you can expand from there by doing aircraft or weapon restriction based competitions, etc. Since 2007 online multiplayer has been included with the mainline Ace Combat releases in 2011, 2014, and 2019. What are your thoughts on how multiplayer has changed? My personal thoughts are that multiplayer is multiplayer no matter what game or genre you're in, people will always go for the quickest and easiest way to win. It's up to the individual to bring style and personality to the proceedings outside of flying a black and red Raptor that's spewing QAAMs into the air like Strangereal's most aggressive Raytheon salesman or abusing other quirks in a game's design. Those are the ones that make a game's online sphere seem alive rather than airborne [Call of Duty]. Thank you for this interview! Reccommended Tornado ADV links: F-4E Phantom II Ace playthrough of AC7, all S-Rank About the Interviewer 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 |

I found myself suddenly cheering late in the evening of April 7th, 2020. With indie developer Why485 announcing the beginning of a three-month concerted effort to build upon the progress of Tiny Combat Arena, a feeling of genuine excitement overcame me. With this announcement, a push to move beyond a series of demonstrators to a full-game release began. Tiny Combat Arena is designed in a way that can appeal to both realistic flight sim supporters and fans of arcade flight games. It looks like it is old enough to have shared retail shelf space with A-10 Attack!, TFX, and Falcon 3.0, but that's intentional. Visually, Tiny Combat Arena is a nod to those flight simulators, but in gameplay modern flight physics and game mechanics are present. It's not as immersive and task heavy as Digital Combat Simulator but also removed from the unlimited action and unrestricted maneuverability of Ace Combat. This is a game in which aircraft carry realistic weapons load-outs on their hardpoints, turn rates differ per airframe, airspeed matters, and running a missile out of energy isn't as simple as going full throttle. But it's also not a game in which a pre-flight checklist is needed, a flight stick isn't mandatory, and your aircraft doesn't have a 100+ page manual. Tiny Combat has been in development in one form or another for roughly two years. Its developer, Why485, is a former mod creator that turned to game development to continue his creative interests. His journey has been driven by game development self-studies, a few strongly worded dares, and his passion for aviation going back to the flight simulators of the early and mid-1990s. The demo that is most frequently seen and referenced is Tiny Combat Arena. It is actually the fifth of a series of demos and games released under the Tiny Combat name. Thus far the games include: Tiny Combat (March 2018), Tiny Combat Redux (May 2018), Tiny Combat Arcade (November 2018), Arena Prototype (April 2019), Tiny Combat Arena (July 2019) and Tiny Combat Arena Flight Model Demo (February 2020). The development path of Tiny Combat can be tracked through the developer's social media, video and Itch.io accounts. Alongside the video updates, blog posts, and tweets, the demos can still be downloaded. This includes early exhibits using a flying box, a point-based arcade game that encourages high scores, the Arena concept prototype - all of them are available for download. Reading the updates and playing the demos provides the experience of playing a game from its conceptual stages through its refinement to create the first commercial release. This is uncommon. Even Early Access games on Steam and similar services only allow people to play a game once it has reached a certain point of maturity. Usually the core game mechanics, user interfaces, damage models, aircraft models, etc. have already been put in place and are mostly finalized. While it may not have been planned from the start, part of the Tiny Combat experience is tracking and interacting with its progress from its earliest stages. Lately, this retro aesthetic game has been making the rounds on social media and YouTube with personalities like BlueDrake42 and PhlyDaily. Even the official Discord server saw a membership explosion. It's great to see this game getting more attention, but they neglected to mention the changes that have been occurring since April 2020. The next demo is going to be very different from the Tiny Combat Arena they had played. At launch, the commercial release of Tiny Combat is going to be a cockpit focused flight-sim lite that only has the AV-8B Harrier II available. The flight model it is using is different from the version receiving praise from content creators. Aircraft flyable just a few weeks ago will be unavailable and focus on the open-ended Arena mode is somewhat shifting. Aircraft guns now have recoil, multi function displays are being integrated, fuel state will be a factor and battles between ground forces occur. Does that sound different from the videos you've seen lately? Well... The small amount of confusion surrounding this game lately is a combination of lack of research by multiple parties and the current high-speed development effort put forth by the developer. That's not an insult but it is something that can be cleared up by following Why485 on Twitter and looking at all of his videos on YouTube that detail the latest updates. For those that are eager to play before the next major demo is released, read this important announcement and the FAQ. Then play Tiny Combat Arena, but be sure to also try the TCA Flight Model Demo to better understand how the game will handle going forward. Keep your eye on this game and take advantage of the opportunity to see how it is being built! About the Author 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 |

Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition 2020 is here! As the seven day-long event focused on new games in development kicks off, our sights are set firmly on a title that barrel-rolled into our interest. D.E.E.P. Battle of Jove is an action-focused, easily accessible space flight shooter that touts a hand-built level design. There are no procedurally generated elements nor a nebulous open-world to navigate. With the developer referencing Star Fox and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron style retro games on Steam and Twitter, Skyward Flight Media reached out to Thinking Stars - the team developing the game. For one week before the public release of the demo, three Skyward staff members extensively played the demo to get a feel for this still-in-development title. Their first impressions have been compiled into this article with critiques and suggestions at the end. Story It's hard to draw too much story from the demo alone. The story becomes easier to understand after paying attention to the visual novel style dialogue cutscenes, radio communications, and reading the current Steam page description. The player is a member of Eidos, a rebellion that opposes an all-knowing artificial intelligence called D.E.E.P. Brain. The story takes place in the Jovian System (Jupiter and its system of moons) at an unspecified time in the future. The demo's tutorial mission suggests that D.E.E.P. and Eidos last fought at least eight years before the game's story with Eidos forces not being victorious. On the game's full release, the 8-hour story will include voice acting and surely more background, but as it is now, the story is lost within the demo's gameplay. Gameplay D.E.E.P. Battle of Jove presents itself as an easy to pick up, arcade single-player space flight shooter. Its focus is on fast, simplified gameplay with enough systems to keep the player engaged with the action and not on managing pages of primary and sub-systems. During missions, the core systems can are split into movement, weapons, and evasive maneuvers. All functions of the ships are accessible via gamepad or keyboard and mouse with less than 15 buttons and a few button combinations. It should be said that the game was primarily built for gamepads with KBM support coming later. Because of this, some features like an aim assist are not available on keyboard and mouse in this first public demonstrator. Though it does not offer a full six degrees of freedom of movement space sims are known for, the control scheme follows button layouts that are familiar for flight sim enthusiasts with a handful of advanced options changes in the main menu settings. Increasing game difficulty affects how AI enemies evade attacks and amplifies damage players receive. To keep the action at the forefront, enemies that are destroyed drop capsules that contain resources for the players. Repairs for the ship hull and shields, different types of ammo replenishments, and credits used for ship customization. This forgoes the need to dock at stations for repairs or plan lengthy journeys to replenish resources. Players are always just a few destroyed enemies away from being combat worthy again. The evasive maneuver system delivers the ability to instantly execute barrel rolls, U-turns (Immelman Turn), and somersaults with the press of a button or two. Missiles fired by enemies can only be evaded effectively by using evasive maneuvers because of the very small window of warning that is given. Manually adjusting throttle and maneuvering hard to avoid being hit by missiles is rarely an option because of this. Quickly rolling left or right is enough to break incoming missile lock and isn't a hindrance. It was most likely designed like this to add more excitement to the game by relying on the evasion system, but a slightly larger window of warning would be nice all the same. Hostile long-range missile barrages can be evaded by going full thrust, but the energy in Propel Mode is shared with evasion. Running out of energy/fuel to evade is a danger for those that rely on full thrust too often. An unexpected part of the gameplay is Strike Mode. This ability to transform parts of the spacecraft and change its flight characteristics is only available on the Firefly-MKII for the demo. When activated, Strike Mode cancels the constant forward movement of Flight Mode and brings the craft to a hover. Movement is restricted to moving directly forward, back and strafing left and right with quick bursts of thrust to evade attacks. This seems like a big tip of the hat to Strike Suit Zero's Strike Mode, which could transform a craft from Pursuit Mode to Strike Mode as well. In D.E.E.P Battle of Jove, Strike Mode is introduced as a way to investigate areas but is especially effective at concentrating fire on a group of enemies or larger enemies while avoiding overshooting them. Customization This is a preview of the full-fledged system being developed, which will include engine upgrades and cosmetic upgrades that are unlocked by completing achievements and finishing missions. The spacecraft in the demo are open for weapons customization before each mission after the tutorial mission. Weapons are unlocked using credits gained by destroying enemies and completing missions and can be mounted in two weapons slots with a third slot reserved for guided missiles or unguided rockets. Thus far, there are 12 weapons total, though not all can be used in the demo. The weapons are classified between energy and kinetic classes. Included are of various types of lasers, Gatling guns, railguns, homing missiles, unguided rockets, and even scatterguns. Some weapons have additional unique abilities. For example, the Coil Laser BN fires projectiles that guide themselves onto targets if they pass close enough to them. Enemies with shielding can significantly minimize the effectiveness of some weapons. It will take more ammunition than usual to strip away their shields, depending on the weapon they are being attacked with. Understanding the pros and cons of the different weapons and how they are affected by energy shielding is important in combat. Carrying both energy and kinetic weapons during a mission is recommended. While each craft can carry three weapons, the built-in fourth weapon is the EMP Storm. This is an electromagnetic pulse with a limited range capable of destroying smaller fighter enemies and causing damage to larger units. The EMP begins recharging after each use with no set ammunition limit. Enemies destroyed by this weapon are often close enough for their dropped armor, shield, and ammo resources are immediately picked up by the player. This makes the EMP Storm a great tool to eliminate groups of enemies while quickly repairing and rearming in dire situations. Spacecraft At this point, there is little that distinguishes the three (technically four) demo spacecraft from one another in terms of performance. While their descriptions and status bars state what the differences are, the flight characteristics of the Falcon, Firefly, and Flying Ape are all very similar sans Strike Mode. Each of the designs are visually pleasing, but when it comes down to the nuts and bolts their strengths and weaknesses don't stand out in a meaningful way. Enemies There is a small selection of enemies present in the demo ranging from fighter size, which could be described as "large fighter" size with energy barriers and a full-size dreadnought. Enemies of the smaller scale are fast and can pursue players with immensely destructive lasers that can eat through shields and hull armor within seconds if ignored. Some pursue close enough to perform ramming attacks. They are also the most common source of replenishing ammo and armor during missions. The "large fighters" are roughly three times the size of the player's craft. They carry heavy laser weaponry suited for attacking space stations and warships. They are also able to deploy visible energy shielding to block attacks. The dreadnought seen prominently in the trailers for the game acted more like a traditional boss fight than what appeared to be a capital ship style engagement. Eventually, the player is pitted in a 1 on 1 battle with the dreadnought that forces them to rush the dreadnought head-on. While evading missiles, escort fighters, and high power lasers, the damage inflicted by players caused the dreadnought to change forms and unleash new attacks. What a twist! While fleet vs. fleet combat is a possibility for D.E.E.P. Battle of Jove, more boss style fights may be better for its overall identity and match its high-speed arcade playstyle. Critiques and Suggestions For a demonstrator, it's starting with a strong foot forward and a lot of potentials. Our critiques and suggestions are: The missile alert can be unreliable at times. Slightly increasing the time the missile alert prompt appears would provide at least one or two extra seconds to realistically be able to dodge consistently. Perhaps a way to tie this variable to difficulty level would be good. Weapons Information: a better explanation of the in-game differences between energy and kinetic weapons. Which type of weapon is more or less effective against shielded enemies, more suited for engagements at long range, etc. Exchange bar graphs on performance descriptions for weapons and vehicles from bar graphs to exact numbers. This would clearly define damage output, rates of fire, maximum weapon range, speed, hull armor, shield armor, etc. Further adjustments to spacecraft to better distinguish them. Widen performance differences in baseline capabilities to give each craft clear weaknesses and strengths. Examples: Eidos craft better have increased kinetic weapon ammo, craft with captured DEEP technology more energy weapon ammo, Light Fighters carry more missiles than other classes of fighters, etc. Add target height indicator on radar to better understand where enemies are. Reduce EMP recharge rate by a few seconds to make it more of a ‘clutch’ weapon. Keep its range, damage output and ability to gather resources the same. A slower recharge makes it more of a precious weapon to be used less often. Strike Mode offers little in the way of advantages aside from lingering next to large enemies as a stable firing platform. Consider adding specific abilities only available in Strike Mode. Examples: fire both primary weapons at once, shield damage reduction, slightly faster EMP recharge rate. Look into adding full Six degrees of freedom to the game. Options to remap controls on both KBM and gamepad. Slightly enlarge the weapons lock indicator on the HUD. Maybe increase the size of the indicator or change its color so it is more noticeable. Similar changes suggested to lead indicator for kinetic weapons when tracking moving targets. Scroll wheel on mouse to change weapon should work in both directions instead of just up. Skyward Flight Media would like to thank the Thinking Stars team for the opportunity to put the demo for D.E.E.P. Battle of Jove through its paces during this time. Next week we will be following up with them to discuss their experience with the festival, future plans for the game and get to know their team better. I personally would like to thank to Santiago 'Cubeboy' Cuberos and 'Prov' from the Skyward team for playing the demo early and collaborating to create this first look. Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition is active between June 16th and June 22nd, 2020. Alongside this game, other flight experiences await. Stay tuned for more first impressions in the coming days. 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 |

Absolute Territory: The Space Combat Simulator debuted a publicly available demo during Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition 2020. At first glance, Absolute Territory's promotional material invokes a nostalgic feeling from space sims of days past. After hours of playing the demo, I was intrigued by how "right" maneuvering in space felt. The experience was further enhanced when I was able to use more advanced flight equipment, that I would not expect a demo to recognize. The experience of managing energy levels in combat and sliding through space with relative ease left a lasting impression on me after the festival. With questions on my mind, I reached out to the developer, Digitum Software, for information about this game's development and their game festival experience. Hello, thanks for this interview. It's nice to meet you. Can I ask you to introduce yourself? Hello, thank you for having me. My name is Dan I.B. Woods. I am an indie developer currently hiding behind the guise of Digitum Software. I love Sci-fi in film, TV, video games, especially space combat action/simulation set in futuristic settings. I also enjoy programming. Combining these elements, I decided to develop my space combat simulator Absolute Territory. Watching the promotional and test footage of Absolute Territory gives off a nostalgic feeling. What was your inspiration for making this game? Nostalgia is what has driven me to make Absolute Territory. When development first began, there was no more interest (outside of an indie setting) for space combat simulation games. Rather than wait for someone else to make one, I decided to make my own. I have a love of Sci-fi. Watching the original 70's Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Buck Rogers, Star Trek, Babylon 5 in my youth enflamed a passion within. I spent many hours playing Wing Commander on my Amiga 500. As time went on, I found that I enjoyed playing this genre, somewhere in between arcade and realistic simulation, which the Wing Commander series hovered around (with the one exception). TL;DR: A love of sci-fi and video games and the drought in the genre (at the time!). Before starting game development, Digitum Software created VUME. What type of software is it? Video Uploading Made Easy (VUME) for YouTube Content Creators. It's a companion app for YouTube, on Windows PC, designed to simplify uploading and publishing videos. I used to make videos for my gaming channel and found YouTube's service to be lacking in some areas, especially for those who upload content regularly. VUME's main feature is multiple upload defaults, a feature the competition offers as part of a recurring paid subscription. You can define many defaults for the title, description, tags, etc. for say different topics, or if you are a gamer, video games. VUME takes this a step further with variables, which you can pass via the video filename to auto-select the template and auto-populate metadata, making each upload specific to the video content. You can say goodbye to copying pasting text and manual edits. VUME includes other features, like auto-posting to Twitter and Tag analytics. Are there plans to continue software development alongside game development? The plan is for a Tick-Tock cycle. Tick, let's make an application. Tock, let's make a video game. After Absolute Territory releases, I will re-review that original plan. Currently, I expect to be making further updates and improvements to Absolute Territory after release for some time. You have reminded me I have a bug fix update I need to test and publish for VUME. On Absolute Territory: one thing that is clear from the promotional material but can also be felt immediately through gameplay is how the ships maneuver. It feels the way I would imagine a more simulator style space game should handle. I suppose that stems from Wing Commander 1/2 and the I-War series. I loved using the Shelton slide in WC1/2. Hit your afterburner to reach full speed, then turn and pepper your target with hot laser bolts as you slide past them! Fun stuff! I-War took the physics more seriously and probably provides a more realistic idea of how corvette sized space ships would handle. Slow and sluggish! After a lot of hard work, I ultimately used Physics to apply forces for rotation and velocity (speed) changes, for example, to correct your forward velocity based on your facing direction. I found attempting realism wasn't fitting for smaller space fighters (imagine dogfighting in the NASA Space Shuttle). Unrealistic force numbers are applied to tighten up the controls, without making it feel too much like flying a fighter jet in an atmosphere. If I pulled the veil on the force numbers, you would see that the rotation forces are almost as high as the main engines to propel you forward! The Shelton slide! There's a name I have not heard in a long time. This video demonstrates a unique (and daring) level of maneuverability. How is this possible? What are some of the advantages of flying like this? Physics! To expand on above, all ships in Absolute Territory have a Reaction Control System (RCS) controlling velocity and rotation based on the pilot's input, to compensate for zero drag with no atmosphere. The RCS's only goal is to keep the ship flying in the direction pointed. The RCS manages lateral (vertical/horizontal) thrusters and engines applying forward/reverse thrust. Making turns at speed creates a sliding effect as the RCS works to correct your direction to keep you heading where the ship is pointing. One advantage is the manual override of lateral thrusters, where you can 'jink and juke' to avoid incoming weapons fire. You can also perform a Shelton slide either as I described earlier with WC1/2, or use a manual override to disable the RCS and keep your nose pointed at your target while momentum keeps you going as you where. There is also a disadvantage where if you turn too sharply, you can end up making yourself a sitting duck as the ship has to slow to adjust for your new direction. Absolute Territory does not fly like most other space combat action games or like the ships in Star Wars, or the Freespace series, where you always go forward without any implied 'drag' simulated or otherwise from steering. While playing the demo, I was intrigued at how the simple addition of energy management within the ship's engine, shield, and weapons systems could change gameplay in a meaningful way. What are your thoughts on the energy management system? Will it be more complex in the future? As I playtested, I felt Absolute Territory was missing something to help the player get out of sticky situations or take advantage. Energy management has been used in many previous space games to good effect, some taking it much more seriously than others. I wanted the player to be able to manipulate energy management with a minimum of effort and concentration, not take away focus, or too complicated it got ignored. I like the idea of how Rebel Galaxy Outlaw allows you to dump energy from your gun energy into your shields and vice-versa. I can see that feature making its way into Absolute Territory. I'll also be open to suggestions and feedback from players. The mission editor of Absolute Territory sounds like it will be quite advanced. Is it true that the editor is so detailed, the single-player campaign was built using the same editor players will have access to? It is true. The Absolute Territory mission editor was 100% used to create each mission for the campaign. The mission editor is embedded, allowing players to test ideas as they create. You could recreate the campaign missions yourself with the mission editor if you were inclined to do so. Players will be able to share their creations, with the minimum of effort, to the Steam Workshop for others to play. It sounds like the editor is designed for long term use. That is to say, no need for hacking or code work to remain in operation. I have spent a lot of considerable effort on creating the mission editor as I wanted players to be able to continue playing Absolute Territory by sharing and experiencing new adventures with the community. The crux of the mission editor uses Conditional Actions. These respond to and drive events in the game world, using conditions (i.e. when the player reaches a waypoint) to drive actions (i.e. spawn in some enemies). I have designed the mission editor to minimize the amount of coding required to add additional conditions and actions in the future. If more can add depth to Absolute Territory and I will look towards adding any in future updates, I'll also consider requests from players and creators. The mission editor sounds rather robust. Are there any limits at all that players will run into while using it? The only specific limit is the size of the nav point area. You can think of a nav point being a stage in a mission. There is no limit on the number of nav points to place. I do not expect the size limit to be an issue. Its set at 100,000m diameter and used to limit the placing of game objects in the world using the mission editor. This is a design decision rather than a technical limitation. You'll find that most of the missions in the Absolute Territory campaign are broken down into nav points. In the campaign, each nav point is designed to be within 10,000m diameter for pacing reasons. However, if you prefer to create missions in a single nav point, like Freespace 2, there is nothing to stop you. When it comes to using Conditional Actions, described elsewhere, you are limited to the Conditions and Actions made available. More can be added, but that will require additional coding and testing by myself. I am open to suggestions on what any additions could be in a future update. I feel the need to mention modding possibilities. While you can share your individual missions using Steam Workshop, you are currently limited to Absolute Territory's existing assets. I recognize that providing modding support in the mission editor would open up more new possibilities and experiences for creators and players. I will be looking at the feasibility of adding mod support, to at least be able to add new ships and weapons, after Absolute Territory's initial release. The screenshots and video of the asteroid field are exciting and look challenging. Was it difficult to design the asteroid field? The theory on the asteroid field design (or what I call hazards, as there are also minefields), is relatively simple. They are identified using spheres in the game world and then only appear to the player when nearby, helping to improve performance. However, when you are dealing with thousands of asteroids, there is going to be a performance hit. Thankfully, Unity has been working on a Data Orientated Technology Stack (DOTS) to manage thousands of game objects in large game worlds. It's still early days for DOTS. The current hazard implementation took a lot of head-scratching and debugging. For those who don't know, Unity is a 3D development platform and is my development tool of choice for Absolute Territory. It's majorly used for game development for indie developers, like me, with a free to use version (there are alternatives). It has taken some flak over the last several years due to low effort releases by various indie developers, using so-called asset flips. Though, the results of using a tool are only as serviceable as the individual who wields it and the effort put in. Anyone seriously interested in video game development should check it out. I know I'll do this eventually, so I'll ask directly. If I direct all energy to the spacecraft's shields, is it possible to survive running into an asteroid? That will entirely depend on the velocity of impact and the ship you are flying. Each ship has its maximum shield strength. Directing energy to shields will help decrease your mortality chances. More power increases the recharge rate, and more importantly, the maximum shield strength, at the expense in performance within the other systems. I shall look forward to adding you as a statistic, all in the name of science. This next question might be a bit too early to ask, but: will there be allied units? Potentially some large scale fleet vs. fleet battles? You will come across allied units in the campaign. These will be fighters, transports, and destroyers. Allied fighters will assist you in combat, therefore make sure to look after them. Transports and destroyers are generally used in escort/protection, or assaults/strike missions. While they do have anti-fighter weaponry, we won't be seeing any fleet engagements, i.e destroyer vs. destroyer, during the Absolute Territory campaign. I can say for certain as I have just recently finished creating the 21 missions that make up the campaign. It would be something I'd love to include in the future. The main game loop is around combating against several enemy fighters as you progress through stages, to keep the gameplay and progression flowing. It's a mechanic I remember the developers of Halo talking about, as not to bore or overwhelm the player with a constant stream of enemies. I think the most enemies you will encounter are around a dozen at once, with several allied units to back you up. I do not fancy my chances in those odds on my own. Absolute Territory is mostly about making tactical combat decisions when facing 3-4 opponents at each stage, sometimes with allied help. The control style of Absolute Territory certainly "feels right" when I think of a space simulator/game. Thank you for the detailed explanation as to why that is. Will the missions only take place in deep space, or will there be combat near moons or in the atmosphere of planets? Missions take place where you get to appreciate the vast emptiness of space interspersed by asteroids and minefields. Adding planets in Absolute Territory as a decoration is on my wishlist. I have already purchased the relevant assets. It will be a case of being able to embed them into the mission editor as an update after release. I have an extensive list of wishlists and ideas. I'll avoid saying anything more, as I do not want to fall into making promises or suggesting features that have not been decided. With the focus being on smaller engagements, is there a possibility that players may run into an 'Ace' - a single or maybe a small group of highly skilled adversaries? The focus on smaller engagements is for players to learn their and opponents' fighter strengths and weaknesses, then exploiting them to be the victor. I could have added an enemy Ace with increased health, speed, and more weapons. Going up against faster and tanky opponents, of the standard fighter, is not the experience I'm looking to create. Each difficulty level in Absolute Territory alters the AI behavior and damage dealt/received. Rather than having individual pilot skill levels, the focus is on skills based on the selected difficulty. Since the game festival demo release, significant effort has gone to improving AI combat behaviors. AI should appear less predictable, and more accurate, providing a rewarding and enjoyable combat experience overall. All enemy fighters you encounter will be similarly experienced as each other based on the selected difficulty level. Most recent improvements made to the AI steering behavior means all fighters and missile are much more accurate and deadlier than before. How was the game festival? Has any of the feedback changed Absolute Territory's development? The Game Festival was great, it certainly helped to make more gamers aware of Absolute Territory. I ended up with more wishlists in that weekend than I did in the previous 90 days. I highly recommend any game developer to take part in the future with similar events. The inclusion of the demo, a requirement for the festival, helped. In retrospect, it highlights my need to promote and get the word out about Absolute Territory. The demo released to coincide with the festival was as good as an experience I had hoped to present to gamers, based on closed beta feedback and meeting deadlines. I am actively seeking feedback to improve the player experience. For example, the current mouse flight implementation felt twitchy for several players. They also had problems of losing the mouse cursor and found it demanding to keep track of that when fighting more than one opponent. Based on that feedback: I've reduced the baseline sensitivity, increasing its maximum, for mouse flight; Players have a more choice in finding that sweet spot; You can always see where the flight cursor is, identified by breadcrumbs leading to it; The maximum pitch and yaw are now recognized by confining the cursor to a boundary; The gun reticule is no longer obscured when the cursor is near. With these improvements, flying your space ship feels much smoother, less twitchy, and overall, more natural using a mouse. I was able to use a HOTAS, rudder pedals, and a multi-function display with no problem. Was the use of more advanced equipment considered during game development from the beginning? That's fantastic news! I've been waiting for feedback from flight sim enthusiasts. In the beginning, I only had a Joystick (with throttle and hat). Setting up Unity with the default implementation was an absolute pain and problems with axis lag only ever-present in Unity games for Saitek joysticks. Unfortunately, it wasn't even considered a Unity issue, and very few reports at the time. I used my Xbox controller to get around this, eventually adding mouse support. Yet, I didn't want to be releasing a game where players would not be able to use their choice controller. Supporting a wide range of devices, with the default implementation, would mean significant development time and testing many different controls making this unfeasible. Thankfully, there are options. One of those, Rewired. This is a fantastic asset I purchased from the Unity Asset Store and allows developers to support a wide range of controllers and devices. I always intend Absolute Territory to be used with either Joystick / HOTAS controllers. The fact you can also use more peripherals is a massive benefit and should please fans of flight simulation. Thank you for this interview and your efforts in creating this game. Thank you very much for your interest. A demo for Absolute Territory is available for you to try from Steam. Go ahead and wishlist and follow to be notified when Absolute Territory is released. About the Interviewer 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 |

During and after the Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition 2020, Skyward Flight Media has written first impression articles and interviewed the dev teams of flight and space titles that had demos publicly available. D.E.E.P. Battle of Jove visually defined itself with fast, arcade action, transformable spacecraft and bosses and vivid visuals. Our first impression article discusses the three mission demo in more detail. During the festival, Skyward contacted the development team behind the game to schedule a post-festival interview. In the interview we discuss various aspects of the demo, its reception and future developments with 'Martho' from the ThinkingStars development team. Hello and thank you for this interview. Could you introduce the ThinkingStars development team? First of all, a big thank you to Skyward for making this opportunity available to us. We are a game development team from Beijing, and our studio name is ThinkingStars. We are currently working on D.E.E.P Battle of Jove and we have 6 members, including 2 art design, 3 programmer and 1 level design, but of course every member of the team is actually working on the game design! Our pleasure. How long has the dev team been together? Is D.E.E.P. Battle of Jove the team's first game? The studio has been around for 5 years, the core members of the team have known each other for quite some time, and we've all been working in the game industry, developing games for mobile in the early days. In addition to working on D.E.E.P Battle of Jove, there is another game in development called ANNO: Mutationem. It is an action-adventure game that combines pixel characters with 3D scenes and has a strong cyberpunk feel to it. ANNO: Mutationem: Twitter | Trailer and Gameplay Mix Skyward gave a first impression of what we believe the story of D.E.E.P. Battle of Jove is, but to clarify, what is the story setting of the game? Haha, we have to be honest and say that the characters and backstory shown in the current demo are temporary substitutes, and the part about the backstory is just an early idea. The character set-ups and dialogue of the characters currently seen will be replaced in the official release, and even these character images will be completely replaced in a way that is more appropriate for the current style of game graphics. One thing that is certain is that players will be able to experience a full single-player story mode where many characters will appear, contain different forces, and take unexpected plot twists. The game will have a full voiceover. All I can reveal right now is that the plot can remind you of some classic Japanese cartoons. It's a bit early to ask these next questions, but how many spacecraft are planned? Could you describe some of them? Currently we plan to offer 5 different classes of spacecraft, including Scout, Interceptor, Fighter, Bomber, Gunship totaling 5 types. The scout class is the fastest and most agile, but is nimble, weak in armor, and has fewer missiles to load. The Fighter class spacecraft is the most suitable for dogfighting as it offers a well-balanced flying and handling experience and can be loaded with a wide range of weapons. Bomber class spacecraft are slower flying and less agile in steering, but capable of carrying a greater variety of missiles and more powerful Armour. The fourth craft of the demo was called the Beatle. It was unavailable to fly, so could the team tell us about it? It looks really heavily armored! It's a Gunship class Spacecraft, which will be a bit bulkier to handle. It can be equipped with more types of Guns and Missile, and has great firepower. Players will be able to fly it in some specific levels. Strike Mode on the Firefly-MKII in the demo was very interesting. Do other spacecraft have this ability or similar modes to transform? Originally we were only planning to add a Strike Mode to the Fighter class, as only Flight Mode would limit the player's experience to more possibilities, such as more flexible panning control, but also exploration and item scanning in Strike Mode. Since we received a lot of inquiries from players during this Steam Game Festival about similar questions about Strike Mode, we've decided that players will definitely want other planes to have similar modes, so we're going to plan for all other classes of spacecraft to have a more unique transformation, but it will be different from the Fighter's Strike Mode, so we'll keep you posted as to what it will look like. Staying on this subject, the boss battle in demo mission 3 used transformation well to both provide a challenge but also give visual cues to players to show their progress during the battles. Are there other bosses in the game that transform? Yes, we want to make that giant battleship boss, but we also want the player to quickly understand that this giant battleship has a weak point to attack; a flurry of attacks is definitely not an option. In order to keep the player's attention, we'd like to add a few more variations at different stages of the battle to keep the excitement going. So with the addition of the transformation design, Nintendo's Star Fox has actually inspired us in this regard. We'll also have some bosses in the game that have similar designs, but will definitely be different from demo. And don't forget, we also have the Ace fighter bosses, so players can get a good taste of the intense dogfight. Ace pilot encounters! This is an unexpected addition. How is the initial testing with enemy Ace pilots going? Ace Pilot is actually the first type of enemy boss we considered making. We prototyped the Ace Pilot before we made the Dreadnought boss! Since the demo showed off a boss character so well, I had expected more bosses but not Ace pilots. Can players anticipate something like 2 vs 1 or 4 vs 1 encounters against enemy Aces? I'd say all of these scenarios should happen, and there will definitely be a 1 vs 1 situation, where the Ace pilot that comes along will be the toughest. Of course there will also be Ace pilot squadron situations, where it will be 1 vs 2 Or more situations. The player will also have the assistance of teammates. There will be 5 different forces in the game, each with their own Dreadnought, as well as an Ace pilot. Is there an idea about how many levels the game will have? We plan to offer at least 20 mission levels, and more challenging missions. It takes about 10-15 hours for the player to finish the campaign mode, depending on the difficulty. The sample of the ship customization in the demo was good. The Steam page mentions more parts can be upgraded or changed in the full release of the game. What are some of these parts? How can they be unlocked? In addition to weapons, you can customize your own body modules and enhancement chips. The body module can be divided into three parts: wings, engine, and cockpit, which can be customized by the player. These modules will not only affect the performance, but will also change the appearance of the Spacecraft. WING Module: Affects armor performance, shield recovery and other related attributes, missile lock ability, attack power and other related attributes. COCKPIT Module: Affects armor performance, shield recovery and other related attributes, missile locking ability, attack power and other related attributes. ENGINE Module: The engine section mainly affects the acceleration and maximum speed related attributes of the fighter. Enhancement chips can be installed in the above body modules to enhance existing properties. Players can progressively unlock them in Tech-Tree by acquiring Credits. Was the usual Six Degrees of Freedom seen in space simulators left out to keep this game more accessible? Yes, we hope that casual shooters will also accept this current mode of control, and we will also find a way to add vertical and horizontal movement as well, so that we can still retain the full 6DOF mode of control. How was Steam Game Festival: Summer Edition 2020 for the team? Our team was very excited to be a part of Steam Game Festival this year, and many of our players gave us encouragement and valuable feedback. One of the things that touched us was a father and son who played the demo and then wrote a long review for us, saying It's been a long time since they've experienced such a cool space shooter, and they said they're looking forward to the final product. Wow, that makes it all worth it. If I may ask, what is some of the feedback or suggested changes the team received? Have the team’s plans changed after the festival? As already mentioned, many players want other spacecraft to have similar strike modes. I think our development team will be working on that soon. And there's the fact that in addition to the space scene levels, we're going to have levels on the surface of planets, in canyons, in skyscrapers and jungles. We've already completed some of these, and when the time is right we'll publish them to let you know. The team's plans haven't changed, more fighters, more levels, more exciting boss fights everything is in intensive production and hopefully we'll be able to meet you all soon. Our final question is about another unexpected twist: the team introduced concept art for anthropomorphic animal characters. There was a public poll about it, which is a great way to get feedback, but how does the team feel about potentially making these character changes? It seems like it would be a fun change of pace. Haha, glad that was mentioned! One of the greatest joys of making indie games is actually the variety of situations you can try. The flight theme itself is a bit more niche than other types of games, and we wanted to expand the group of players we could attract, and we didn't want to make the game too serious, so it might be a good idea to add anthropomorphic animals, because after all, we all love animals, right? Of course, maybe it'll end up with both human and animal characters. I’d like to give our thanks to the ThinkingStars development team for this interview and for their work on DEEP Battle of Jove so far. Thanks to Skyward for providing such a valuable opportunity to let our readers know about our game. If you are interested, you can download our free demo on steam and try it out! Please add to your wishlist, if you like the game. Currently, our development team is working hard on it and we hope to see you all there soon! 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.

After surviving the first half of the ambush, the only thing keeping me alive is system energy management. With just the right balance of energy to the engines to maintain distance from pursuers and energy to slowly recover shields, I find myself in a high-speed chase. Mulling over a strategy to break up the fighter formation chasing me and limit their ability to attack me as a group, I realize that only the shields I've been nursing back to full strength will make this possible. With my hull armor at less than 10%, there's only one chance to survive this encounter, but first... the tense wait. This is the level of strategy that can be experienced throughout Absolute Territory: The Space Flight Simulator. Released on September 1st, 2020, this game is a product of passion. A passion that extends back to the time of Wing Commander on the Amiga 500, Buck Rogers, Babylon 5, original Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, and Star Trek. After our interview with Digitum Software in July 2020, I awaited the full release of the game sometime this year with interest. Shortly after learning what the official release date was, Skyward Flight Media was provided with a copy of the game ahead of the public release on Steam. This review is for the launch version of the game. It will not reveal spoiler information about the story but will discuss the game modes, gameplay, and other aspects of this single player space flight simulator. From the start of the first tutorial, the overall feeling of the game becomes apparent. The vastness and solitude of deep space can be felt in each mission. That is not to say that it felt incomplete. While traveling across thousands of miles of deep space, one cannot expect to always pass by exotic star systems and space stations. Not pursuing elaborate settings like that is also a realistic production goal for an indie developer of this size. All communications are conducted through text boxes; there is no voice acting. Certain sound effects and limited background music do leave a bit to be desired. But all of that only slightly diminishes the overall experience. Absolute Territory is a title that has its strength in gameplay more than anything else. Gameplay-wise, space flight feels closer to what piloting a fast-moving craft in space probably should be. For those in need of a quick big name reference, the flight is more in the style of Battlestar Galactica than it is Star Wars. With Newtonian style physics applied to the game, the flight computer and highly responsive Reaction Control System (RCS) allows for precise and daring maneuvers, depending on pilots' skill. Simply rolling a direction and pulling back on the stick won't be enough to survive the battles ahead. Maneuvering the spacecraft from maximum velocity in one direction to near-zero velocity because of a sharp turn to a different direction is an excellent way to become a static target. By learning to fly with the RCS both enabled and disabled, it's possible to stylishly slip sideways past warships while attacking them, slide through asteroid fields and incoming laser fire, and make efficient turns that keep players alive longer. While the developer did consciously apply some unrealistic force numbers to the physics model to make it easier to maneuver, space is space. The learning curve is there but it's small and it can be overcome relatively quickly. The energy management system is what adds strategy to the battles that goes beyond out maneuvering enemies. Every fighter in the game has this system built into them. As mentioned in the introduction, more often than not, managing energy to either the engines, guns, or shields is a deciding factor. This game mechanic is easy to manage and becomes a factor in the player's mind for each engagement. This effectively changes the way combat is approached the moment players interact with it. Driving power to the guns can quickly destroy targets, but leaves the craft less shielded and moving slower. Pushing max energy to any other system causes similar adverse effects. Finding the right balance of power as the situation calls for it is something only experience in combat can bring. There are 11 spacecraft players can pilot depending on game mode. Each has unique handling characteristics, mass, and thrust. The spacecraft roster is split between the two factions in the game. This means that fighters from the opposing force will not be available during the single-player campaign. Depending on the craft, they may come with two primary weapon selections and up to four types of secondary weapons. Light, medium and heavy fighters are designed for different roles and as such may fly faster, have more armor be more responsive to flight inputs, etc. The designs of the spacecraft fit the 90s style sci-fi well. In particular fighters from the Endophora faction have an organic, bug like design to them, which conjures up memories of past sci-fi series. There are some restrictions that do hold back enjoying the fighters a bit. Their specifications are only available during the briefing screens of the campaign. While the cockpit view of each aircraft is modeled, the external design can only be seen from the rear while in third-person view. It's unfortunate their external designs can't be appreciated more. If there was a way to add in something like a unit database that would have all information about the craft on a single page, that would be ideal, but guides created on Steam would suffice. Besides the fighters, there is a small selection of transports and warships with varying levels of armor and firepower. Yes, that does mean there are escort missions, but at least the ship(s) being escorted can actually fire back and destroy some of their attackers. Still, they won't handle being swarmed by enemies, so do keep close to them. The game modes available are: Campaign, Squadron, The Gauntlet, and Mission Editor. The 21 mission campaign represents Absolute Territory well. As a pilot for the Imperial Hemogony, the player is thrust into conflict against the Endophora Empire; a faction that invades a territory called Bold Peace. This disruption of the Hemogony's 'absolute territory' leads to a regional conflict while political deliberations are held elsewhere in the galaxy. The missions frequently involve patrols and raids on enemy forces, something standard in any actual conflict. Of course, there are unexpected twists that can develop even during the most routine patrols. Some notable moments from the campaign involve being forced into whirling combat in the middle of a minefield, multi-part pursuits of enemy warships, and an eyebrow-raising clandestine mission. One mission uses the tried and true waypoint navigation system in a memorable way that demands players stay close to an immensely dangerous enemy for a ludicrous amount of time. The common threat players will have is flights of enemy fighters. The campaign shows that this is not a title where massive fleet battles will occur. Larger skirmishes are mentioned in mission briefings, but the most complex engagements players will find themselves in consist of waves of fighters, transports, and warships jumping into the battle area with no allied fleet in the vicinity. You won't see dozens of warships in formation like you'd see from a sci-fi TV series season finale or Hollywood movie. Absolute Territory finds a balance in its mission types and gameplay to show that it does not have to over-extend to that scale of conflict to be enjoyable. The two instant action game modes are good for quick play sessions. Squadron mode has the player flying against each type of Endophora fighter as they appear in waves. The Gauntlet operates in a similar manner but includes Imperial fighters as well. Results of each mode's playthroughs are then posted up on a scoreboard for those seeking to make their name known. The Mission Editor is advanced enough to construct detailed scenarios without being overly complex. Surprisingly, the entire campaign was created with this editor. Within 10 to 30 minutes, a mission with multiple waypoints, custom weapon loadouts, conditional actions, a briefing, and a debriefing can be built. User-created missions can then be shared with the Steam workshop. This increases the value of the game in the long-term. Even if/when the developer moves on from this title, content can still be created by anyone that has purchased it. Note: the mission editor is the only way that players can pilot spacecraft from the opposing force. the Endophora Empire. The editor is also the only mode that players can choose their craft and weapons before each mission. Absolute Territory is currently listed on Steam with partial controller support. The developer had always intended for this game to support joysticks and HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick) controllers along with gamepads and keyboard mouse controls. Other peripherals like rudder pedals and Thrustmaster MFD Cougar cockpit panels are also supported. For those seeking an experience that can utilize their advanced flight controllers, this is a solid option. Absolute Territory: The Space Combat Simulator presented an experience that more than fits its price point of $18.99 USD; not including a 10% launch discount from September 1st - September 7th, 2020. This is a solid first release from Digitum Software that is sure to inspire players that have completed the campaign to produce some interesting scenarios in the next few weeks. I look forward to seeing and discussing some of the more interesting missions in the near future. 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.

At first glance, any flight sim enthusiast can tell you that the Multi Function Button Box has something unique about it. When considering control panels or button boxes to integrate into their rigs and onto their mounts, functionality (and a bit of style) is the driving factor. Designed by Total Controls, this upcoming button box is currently in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign and also has a Patreon. Skyward Flight Media reached out to Total Controls for an interview about the team and their current flagship product that has turned heads and raised eyebrows. Hello! Thanks for taking time to participate in this interview during your ongoing Kickstarter campaign. Can I ask you to introduce yourself? My name is Jonas Hernstig, founder of Total Controls and the designer of the Multi Function Button Box. I am a Swedish long time sim flyer and father of four. As you might imagine there is not much time for my hobbies, but sim flying is always a priority when the kids are asleep. I have flown sims since the 1990s and fell in love with the A-10A in LoMac: Flaming Cliffs 3. Today I spend most of my time in DCS World and preferably in the A-10C or the Hornet. Who are the members of Total Controls? The team consists mostly of aviation fans. Jonas brought skilled 3D-artist and fellow sim aviator, Otto, on board early in the process to bring life to the concept drawings. All renders are his work. Later, technical engineer Lars was contacted to draw the electrical hardware. Niclas, who by the way works at SAAB with their Gripen simulator, is streamlining the software at this very moment. He has a lot of experience with sim aviation having designed a very popular controller card for sims a while back. Everyone in the team loves flight sims and all of us are very excited about this product. According to the timeline on the Kickstarter project, Total Controls was founded in February 2020 but the idea for the company goes back earlier than that. How did the idea form in 2019? Just like most great ideas, it grew from a need. I myself adapted to VR flight very early, but I found it hard to operate all inputs in the cockpit via mouse. It required me to let go of the stick and reach for the mouse. A member of our Swedish DCS community inspired me to build my own button box with the features I thought were needed. The result attracted some online attention, it was then when I realized that I was on to something. I had found a black hole in the sim hardware market. Total Control’s Multi Function Button Box is certainly not the first button box or control panel designed for flight simulator use, but it does have some interesting design features. What are some of its key points? Well, first of all, it features a full numeric keypad that to my knowledge is unique to all button boxes. The gear and hook handles make it stand out from the rest as well. The fact that the box is all metal makes it a robust piece of hardware with a long life span. To me, the real game changer apart from the keypad, is the radio encoders. It has never been easier to scroll through radio channels. The same switches can also be assigned to most rotary functions in any aircraft, such as HSI rotation knobs or light switches. The base plate of the Multi Function Button Box utilizes the same dimensions as the Thrustmaster Warthog throttle. Meaning it will fit most mounts already on the market. To make it even more compelling we have included some rewards in the Kickstarter campaign that features table or chair mounts from Monstertech. At first glance, the most eye-catching part is certainly the keypad. It looks well lit with good button height, and has very audible button clicks. For people that do not use button boxes having “loud buttons” may sound like an inconvenience, but in your opinion, what is a benefit to these “loud buttons”? To be honest, the box in the function preview video does not have the same buttons as the finished product. We have refined it quite a bit and the buttons on the final product will have less travel distance and will be a little less noisy, but they will have a distinct tactile feel to them. We have tried out a number of different buttons and the ones that will be on the box will be perfect. There are some familiar parts in the design, though it still maintains a somewhat ambiguous look overall. Which aircraft does it take design cues from? First of all, the F/A-18C Hornet of course. But there are some parts that are inspired from both the A-10C, the AV-8B Harrier and the F-16C Viper. The data rocker in the Viper is a quite unique piece of hardware and we wanted to incorporate it to make the box more versatile. The positions and designs of the landing gear, hook and jettison buttons are very distinct. What was the concept behind this? When I started developing the Multi Function Button Box my plan all along was to place it alongside my Warthog throttle. I wanted handles on it right from the start and that position seemed the most logical. It proved to be a perfect decision since all handles are easy to reach and operate at a natural angle. The jettison switch is guarded by the handles and you won't activate it by mistake. All buttons and switches can be assigned to any function in the simulator, meaning that you might want to use it another way. Maybe to pull the handle on the ejection seat? The positioning of those three buttons is a simple, but effective way to prevent some regrettable in flight mistakes. As someone that has accidentally done this, I can really appreciate this design decision. While the Multi Function Button Box appears to be more oriented towards modern military aircraft, is it fair to say that even aircraft without a keypad in the cockpit could still effectively utilize this device? Yes! All buttons can be assigned to any function in any aircraft, and with 40 buttons and switches and 7 axes you can make the Multi Function Button Box fit all aircraft. Your imagination is your limit. Just the gear handle makes sim flying much easier with the box. For pilots that prefer aircraft from older eras, how can this device be useful for them? I myself love to fly the old warbirds. In the [P-51] Mustang I use one of the axis knobs to adjust the target wingspan in my gun sight. The row of option buttons beside the keypad is great for switching radio channels. All lights can be easily controlled via the light knobs. In fact, most planes in any simulator will benefit from the Multi Function Button Box. The decision to ensure this product works with existing mounts is a smart idea. Very forward thinking. Was this done in cooperation with the manufacturers that build the mounts or is this a decision made through consideration for flight sim pilots? This was a decision from the design team to make it fit existing mounts on the market. We realized that it wouldn't be easy for mount makers to implement a new product onto their mounts. Therefore we adapted and the result proved to be perfect. When using the prototype during testing what was the most notable improvement to your flight experience? I don't have to let go of the stick any more! When I didn't use the box all UFC inputs had to be made by mouse and since I'm right handed I had to let go of my stick to input values. That messed up my situational awareness (SA) and formation flying. With the box, I can just let go of my throttle and quickly engage the autopilot, enter coordinates or change radio channels. And it works great in VR. Can you talk about the Multi Function Button Box being designed with virtual reality in mind? This is, as I said earlier, my goal right from the start. The sheer size of the box makes it easy to find, even in VR. We will include options to mark any buttons with tactile markings so that you will find it quick in VR. We have also made sure to give all switches different forms so you can locate them using only your fingers. This being said, the box will also work great for all sim pilots who fly with a screen. Is this the first product that Total Controls has produced? Yes it is, but it won't be the last. We have at least two more products in development that hopefully will change the way you look at sim flying. Good luck on your Kickstarter and future development of this unique piece of equipment. Right now we really hope for the Kickstarter campaign to succeed. There is a huge risk that the Multi Function Button Box never will become a reality if we can't get the funds for the project. If you believe in the project and want to be among the first one to get your hands on a box, back us on Kickstarter. Remember that no one will get charged if we do not reach our goal. There is no risk in backing us, just rewards. And to all backers, thank you! Skyward Flight Media would like to thank Jonas Hernstig and the Total Controls team for taking time to participate in this interview. For more information and updates from Total Controls, see their Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Don't forget to check out their Patreon along with their Kickstarter campaign to join in early on their development 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.

The goal of this article is to provide a spoiler free comparison of recent, official Star Wars games that feature flight to the newly released Star Wars: Squadrons. This article was written using a copy of the game provided to Skyward Flight Media on September 30th, 2020. During the lead up to Star Wars: Squadrons, I shelved all memories and hopes tied to beloved flight games and simulators of the 1990s and 2000s. Not out of negativity, but to realistically base my expectations on more recent flight experiences provided by official Star Wars games produced after LucasFilm was acquired by Disney in 2012. As someone that has played Star Wars: Battlefront (2015), the Battlefront Rogue One: X-Wing VR Mission (2016) and Battlefront 2 (2017) from their launch days to their final content updates, I fully expected the experience of Star Wars: Squadrons not to measure up to the more flight simulator like presentation it had shown in its trailers. This is not because I thought the advertisements were lies, but because there had not been a title like this produced for quite some time in the Star Wars intellectual property. The facts are that the flight simulator genre is just not as consistently popular as first person shooters, action adventure games and other genres. Put bluntly: the more arcadey the game is, the more accessible it would be to players of all skill levels and in turn the easier it is to sale and maintain a player base. With that being said, I had approached Star Wars: Squadrons fully prepared to be somewhat let down and began examining the game with a few different categories in mind: Spacecraft Selection, Baseline Specifications, Flight Performance, Power Management System, Component Modifications and Virtual Reality. Spacecraft Selection Galactic Empire spacecraft roster. Star Wars: Squadrons sticks to a lean and mostly iconic selection of starfighters. The four spacecraft of the Galactic Empire and the four spacecraft of the New Republic make up the full roster of the game. The eight spacecraft are frequently used by the frontline forces of each side, as seen in Star Wars movies, TV series, games, comics and other media. Since the story of the game revolves around frontline squadrons, it makes sense that the equipment they have access to reflects that. While a particularly rare TIE Advanced V1 is seen in the game, it is not something players can fly or unlock later. There are also no special campaign missions where players take a one-time flight in a high profile ship like the Millennium Falcon or have to fly the dreaded unarmed transport mission. As cool as it would be to have something like a never mass produced TIE Defender in the roster, trying to justify that without breaking the built up lore of the Star Wars universe would be hard. The addition of new starfighters in the future seems possible without breaking game balance, but there are no announcements about that at this time. New Republic spacecraft roster. The eight spacecraft are split between Bomber, Fighter, Interceptor and Support roles. Though they are given these designations they are more than able to be pressed into other roles beyond their purpose built role. There is no arbitrary damage increase or reduction system built into the game that forces players to only use the spacecraft for what the game states they must be used for. The forward mounted blasters of a Bomber will shred an Interceptor just as well a Fighter's would. What these roles do is introduce specific customization modules unique to that class of spacecraft. More on that in a later. The only spacecraft availability restrictions that appear in Star Wars: Squadrons occur in the single-player campaign, and only for certain missions. This is done to introduce players to each spacecraft class. Effectively acting as a tutorial during certain parts of the campaign. The online multiplayer experience has no limits to the type of craft that can be flown. If the player and their allies want to run a flight of Support craft during a Dogfight match, power to them. In Battlefront 2015 players could select from either a Fighter or Interceptor in two game modes. That gave a total of four possible spacecraft with weapons, abilities and specs that were not too different from one another. They were limited to having one primary weapon system and two abilities. Each of these craft were only accessible with Vehicle Tokens. Meaning players had to locate and activate these tokens mid-game to then fly the vehicles. Bombers were non-player controlled units that would attack specific targets depending on game mode, but mostly acted as units to protect as they neared an objective. Other craft like U-Wings, and noteworthy ships like Boba Fett's Slave I were available. Battlefront 2 expanded its roster to 17 standard starfighters with an extra 12 ships classified as Hero or Villain (H/V) ships that had heavily increased stats. The 17 standard starfighters were separated between the three major Star Wars movie trilogies and sorted into Bomber, Fighter, Interceptor. Meaning that at any given time, anywhere between 6 to 10 of these craft would be available - with that number being reduced even further depending on how many H/V ships are in play at one time. All of that translates to an frequent access to 2 or 3 ships per match with the possibility of flying an H/V ship. Depending on the craft, all ships had a primary weapon system with three to four abilities unique to them that sometimes included missiles, turrets or jammers. While Star Wars: Squadrons has a smaller roster of craft available, they are developed to take advantage of their built in systems without leveling up abilities. The weaponry, hulls and engines they can equip is diverse, powerful, and adds to the more tactical approach of the game. Baseline Specifications Star Wars: Squadrons puts actual numbers to ship performance with noticeable differences in turn-rate, acceleration, shield recharge and overall has a good balance between all eight spacecraft. Remaining in line with Star Wars lore, the unmodified stats of each spacecraft are further adjusted by faction with Galactic Imperial TIEs having better overall maneuverability and the New Republic craft being stable platforms that utilize energy shields. Further modifications can impact the baseline performance of each craft positively in some ways but negatively in other ways, allowing for unique loadouts that can push these spacecraft into roles they were not purpose built for. This is a huge improvement over Battlefront 2015 in which each Fighter and Interceptor shared the same flight characteristics with no modifications available. In Battlefront 2, the Bombers, Fighters and Interceptors also maintained the same turn rate, acceleration rate, maximum speeds and hull armor as dictated by their class. Flight Performance The question of how simulator-like Star Wars: Squadrons is must factor in the style of flight all Star Wars media has presented since the first movie came out in 1977. Star Wars has frequently forgone the complicated parts of astrodynamics to present a more visually stunning World War II style of close range combat. That being said, Star Wars: Squadrons is a pretty advanced flight sim for Star Wars in general. In comparison to the last 5 years of flight experiences it has the most advanced flight performance. But by going into game options, further controls can be activated and adjusted. Things like digital throttle friction, advanced power management and dead zones for roll, pitch, yaw and throttle. The flight control inputs are very precise, allowing for specific parts of capital ships to be reliably targeted at long distances or easily twisting through gaps in an asteroid field. The ability to come to a complete stop in an effort to throw off enemies or take cover behind obstacles to prepare for an attack is a welcome addition, alongside the boost-drift for quickly changing directions. It is not the same as being able to rotate on an axis while the craft's momentum in space continues to carry it forward, but it still works. More options specifically for flight sticks and HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick) controllers become available when they are plugged in. No matter the device used to play Star Wars: Squadrons, all buttons can be remapped to create the ideal button layout. Things can be further enhanced by adjusting the Pilot Experience option to Instrument Only or Custom. This removes on screen elements of the heads up display and forces players to only rely on the instruments within the cockpits of each spacecraft and their own visual scanning as they look for enemies, obstacles and objectives. This would be more inline with what actual pilots from the Star Wars universe would see. Flying in Battlefront 2015 and the 2016 Rouge One: X-Wing VR Mission was limited to what would be considered ”novice controls” for arcade flight games: unable to roll, had to rely on button inputs to perform advanced flight maneuvers, ship automatically banked and yawed with a single directional input. Reducing speed to a point where spacecraft would float in place, reverse thrust, or stall (in atmosphere) was also not possible. Battlefront 2 did have an option to turn on Advanced Flight Controls which enabled players to have full roll control, but generally the flight experience was very similar to that of Battlefront 2015. Turning off HUD elements in these games leaves the player unable to use their instruments to track targets because the models of the spacecraft in those games were not built with functioning instruments. Power Management System This is a central part of Star Wars: Squadrons gameplay. This first layer of management is the common thread between both factions in the game. While in combat players are able to transfer the power within their craft between the engines, shields and weapons. Putting full energy into a single system grants an overcharge bonus to that system. With the corresponding system overcharged, engines can perform an afterburner style speed boost, weapons can receive a damage boost and shields can increase strength up to 200%. The second layer of the power management differs between whether or not the spacecraft does or does not have shields. Those with shields can direct the position of their shields from the default full coverage to reinforced forward coverage or reinforced rear coverage. While shields are redirected to one quadrant the rest of the ship is unshielded. Redirection of shields is useful in certain situations, like attacking capital ships or defending against pursuing starfighters. For spacecraft without shields the second layer is an emergency power converter. All energy can be put into either engines or weapons system to provide a massive power boost to either system but in turn the other system will be offline. Full energy into weapons will disable the engines, whereas full power to engines will allow for amazingly high speeds but weapons offline. This system is very similar to the X-Wing series of games on PC from the 1990s. There is no recent equivalent of this system. Component Modifications There are 60 components in Star Wars: Squadrons (information for the Galactic Empire, New Republic components as explained by Reviews.org). That is quite a large number, but keep in mind that not all components are compatible with each class of starfighter. Some components are only compatible with specific classes or on specific spacecraft. For example, Interceptors cannot equip capital ship breaking bombs, nor can the Ion cannon attached to the top of a Y-Wing be attached to a TIE Bomber. The components are sorted between the categories: Primary Weapon, Left Auxiliary, Right Auxiliary, Countermeasures, Hull, Shields and Engine. The components are not only capable of changing speed, maneuverability, health, and shields, but also adding weapons like turret mines, tractor beams, bombs, torpedoes and missiles. While selection of the primary blaster firing modes is not possible during a mission or online match, changing the component of the primary weapon can change the rate of fire and firing mode; this varies depending on the component. Other abilities like repair droids, electronic jammers, resupply droids, assault shields, passive stealth abilities and engine upgrades add more diversity to each craft and allow for more complicated strategies to be deployed by individuals and teams alike. Only in Battlefront 2 was there the Star Card upgrade system which allowed for adjustments to be done to the performance of each starfighter. Though they did not add new weapons or abilities, the Star Cards increased performance by a certain percentage. This was a welcome addition to the specification locked starfighters from Battlefront 2015, but not on the same level as the components Star Wars: Squadrons has. Virtual Reality This was one of the big selling points for Star Wars: Squadrons. Without needing to purchase downloadable content, have a separate game mode or being locked to a single platform, it is currently the best official Star Wars flight focused virtual reality experience. All 16 missions of the single player game, the mission briefings, personal interactions with characters before missions and multiplayer game modes are all available in VR. The only non-VR portions of the game are the cutscene videos which appear as a large, flat screen in front of players. With this game not having a 3rd person view, the cockpits are immaculately designed to fit in every detail possible. Whether it’s a single seat fighter or a transport, every button, screen, cockpit frame bar, co-pilot seat or passenger seats - they are all modeled. Star Wars: Squadrons is by far one of the best Star Wars VR experiences in general. Not only for flight, but in comparison to all other Star Wars virtual reality games in general. It is certainly better than the 2016 Rogue One: X-Wing VR Mission as a whole. Though that 2016 mission does have some features players wanting more immersion in the VR flight would prefer. Star Wars: Squadrons is by far the most advanced Star Wars flight experience since this intellectual property changed ownership in 2012. Rightfully so, many people wonder if this more simulator like title will be the beginning of a new flight series to rival the Rogue Squadron series or X-Wing series, but only time, sales and reception will tell. 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 initial multiplayer focused development of Comanche (2020) is to produce a group of fictional helicopters based on the Boeing–Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche. From a development point of view, this was clearly done as a way to diversify its multiplayer gameplay and make online player vs. player game-play more team based. This is something I previously wrote about in the article Multiplayer Focus of Comanche (2020). According to the still in development single player story, the United States of America had covertly restarted the Comanche development program sometime after the Iran–U.S. RQ-170 incident. Years later, espionage led to data about the designs of the operational and potential variants of the Comanche to be stolen and uploaded to the dark web. This led to organizations and/or nations developing their own rotary-wing aircraft based on the stolen data. These variants of the Comanche have specialized equipment which place each of them into roles similar to those found in team based first person and third person shooters. For example, the ‘Eve’ can use medium-range missiles that deliver nano-machines to repair allies, while the ‘Horizon’ deploys a railgun to snipe enemies from afar. This brings us to the ‘Rhino’. The Rhino-class Comanche is the attack helicopter I love to be confused by. The Rhino is by far the most unexpected helicopter in the game. Its design, weapons and systems are clearly meant to fulfill the “Tank character" in multiplayer. Rhino forgoes any semblance to the stealth reconnaissance role its prototype predecessor sought to present. With its heavy armor, slow speed and low maneuverability, it is clearly built to take incoming fire head-on instead of remaining out of sight and striking from distance. In multiplayer, its weapon systems are the ‘Stomp’ long-range missile which can be fired one-at-a-time with a timed cooled down and a large-caliber Scattergun (i.e. shotgun cannon) that is only effective within 100 meters. It has an integrated close range search system that can locate targets within a certain distance and identify them for other allied players. This includes spotting the optically camouflaged ‘Ghost-class’ Comanche. The Rhino is clearly designed to take down other helicopters above all else. But all of that close range capability is useless against every other attack helicopter that can land shots at medium and long ranges. That would be true if the Rhino didn’t have jet thrusters. The signature ability of this hulking helicopter is the Stampede jet thruster system. When activated the Rhino becomes one of the fastest units in-game. Now, this thing isn't Air Wolf. You won't be zipping around at mach 1 for minutes on end. Stampede is only engaged for a few seconds per use but during that time it flies more like a fixed-wing fighter aircraft. This is something that needs to be kept in mind, since the transition from jet powered forward flight back to standard rotary-wing flight characteristics happens within seconds of thruster deactivation. The common use of the thrusters is to ambush adversaries more specialized in medium and long range engagements. Pilots that keenly maneuver themselves into advantageous positions can use the boost to rapidly close distance with their targets. Rhino pilots can use the thruster system to rapidly change directions, gain altitude above their pursuers engagement envelope or dash away from a disadvantageous situation. The scattergun is a devastating weapon that had to be somewhat ‘nerfed’ in the game’s second early access update. For a time, it was possible to destroy opposing helicopters in just a two or three shots depending on which variant the enemy is and how many of the pellets from the scattergun blast(s) connected with their airframes. But despite the damage reduction and increased spread of scattergun pellets, it is still possible to one-hit-kill the opposition. Not with a cannon or missile, but with the Rhino itself. While the Rhino is accelerating in Stampede, it can bulldoze through airborne enemies while taking almost no damage in the process. This surprisingly entertaining ability to body slam air targets is mostly useful against less agile adversaries that don’t expect the ram (and honestly who would?) or stationary helicopters that are controlling unmanned air vehicles and have their attention elsewhere. The Rhino is just one of the five Comanche variants available in the multiplayer of Comanche (2020), a game that is still progressing through its early access phase. While most of the other helicopters in the game are certainly built as a part of the team play dependent PVP style, the Rhino is one of the most odd helicopters to appear in a game in the past couple of years. 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 update that followers of developer Why485 have been in a holding pattern for is finally here. It's not a demo, but it's the next best thing. A video showcase for the retro-aesthetic flight 'simcade,' Tiny Combat Arena, after its significant change in development direction in April 2020. What is shown is a full game loop, a major milestone in its development towards a commercial game. As mentioned in our previous article, the version of Tiny Combat Arena that gained public notoriety about half a year ago was the result of roughly two years of demonstrators under the Tiny Combat name. The video posted on November 5th, 2020, is a little over 9 minutes long but encapsulates months of focused game development. The recent video (shown above) shows the developer fly a few sorties with the AV-8B Harrier II in a short Arena mode campaign. This article is not a comprehensive breakdown of each milestone in its development or a frame by frame analysis of the video. For that, I strongly suggest following Why485 on Twitter and setting aside some time to scroll through his timeline to see the development videos, .gifs, live streams, screenshots, and other media. Instead, we will be discussing a few key takeaways from the video that should be brought to attention. Refined Loadout Management Since The Tiny Combat Arena Prototype (April 2019), the aircraft loadout system has undergone substantial changes. The prototype version had players shootdown specific types of enemies to then unlock and stockpile certain types of weapons to be used over time. Each aircraft had its own particular hardpoint layout and weapons carrying capacity, as they do in the real world. With the current Tiny Combat Arena showcase, the loadout system is more refined visually and functionally. For example, no longer are players required to shoot down air targets to unlock air-to-air missiles. Before each sortie, players can access their aircrafts' weapon stations to equip the entire array of weapons and fuel tanks. Preset loadouts can also be created for quick access. However, carrying 20 or so AIM-9s is out of the question. The aircraft, in this case, the AV-8B Harrier II, is restricted to what it can actually carry. An essential part of the simulator experience. The loadout screen also allows for internal fuel management, shows thrust to weight ratio, payload weight, and more. Meaning that with the new flight model that has been developed, even the selection of what the aircraft is carrying now affects flight performance. Going in loaded for bear all the time might not be the best of ideas anymore. Cockpit POV Focus Even before April 2020, Tiny Combat didn't have much of a heads up display to speak of and didn't have a cockpit view at all. We see the Harrier's cockpit with working instruments, two multi-function displays, and a proper HUD in the video. Some systems still have placeholder text, but their intention is clear. There are more systems to come, but this is a good representation of what to look forward to in the future. There is also no helmet-mounted display in the cockpit view to keep a constant feed of information coming to the pilot while they look around. Situational awareness is a must, even in the most hectic of situations. This is genuinely going to be a cockpit focused 'simcade.' Even though this title has some fantastic camera angles to show off its visuals, no HUD or aircraft system information is shown while in external points of view. That's great for flying but not for fighting. Enjoy the views but be mindful of when you do. The cockpit experience will be further enhanced with the inclusion of TrackIR support, as stated around 0:36 in the video. Headtracking is sure to add that extra layer of immersion to push Tiny Combat Arena a noticeable step higher than others in its genre and around its size. There are all sorts of proven and new hardware and software out there for headtracking. TrackIR, DELANCLiP, SmoothTrack, AITrack, OpenTrack, and others. Our DIY Headtracker Build Guide provides all information needed to create your own tracking clip for those that are more hands-on. It describes camera information, materials needed, software setup, and wiring diagrams to help ensure everything works just right. Strategic Landmark Capture A pre-mission map and named landmarks were a highlight of the Tiny Combat Arena demo (July 2019). It was one of the features that showed a clear pivot towards game development compared to the past demos. Players could select their airfield to operate out of and destroy enemy air, land, and sea forces in certain areas that would allow them to be captured. It was an intriguing demonstration of things to come. In the November 2020 showcase video, the new map shows multiple friendly and enemy-controlled areas that include factories, airfields, and supply depots. Each of these locations has defenders and structures that can influence the status of control over the location. In some scenarios destroying the defenders but leaving the structures can result in the ability to capture the area. Destroying critical structures can leave it unusable by either side. This intentionally makes players be more accurate with their shots and think about the type of ordinance they are bringing to a mission. Dropping the wrong bomb on the right target that's too close to a specific building could destroy the strategic value of the location. As areas are captured, the ground forces (and presumably the air and sea forces) of each side react to defend captured areas. There are set rules about the regeneration of NPC forces that coincide with a time of day cycle per sortie. With fuel and weight considerations being a constant, capturing an airfield closer to primary or secondary objectives allows players to adjust their strategies and aircraft loadouts. Airfields closer to the enemy positions reduce the need for fuel tanks and open up more room for weaponry. With test video of land forces engaging one another broadcast a while back, it's safe to say that enemy forces are most certainly capable of launching their own offensive operations to reclaim lost territory or take allied positions. This is a setup for a somewhat real-time strategy style campaign where victory can be achieved in various ways, with players selecting their own targets and flight paths to fly multiple sorties to achieve a long-term goal. The development of the Tiny Combat Area continues forward, but now with a solid show of progress that has invigorated its current following but will undoubtedly catch the attention of many that will begin to learn about it through the distribution of this video. As always, refer to the Twitter timeline and YouTube channel of Why485 for the latest updates and announcements. 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.