Air Combat
PREVIEW

Combat Simulations is dedicated entirely to military simulations and related hardware.

Click the image for a larger shot...

On January 16th 1991, four US ARMY AH-64A helicopters went into Iraq to take out key early warning radar sites, to pave the way for the coalition airstrikes to come. This marked the end of Operation Desert Shield and the beginning of Operation Desert Storm. In 1989, AH-64A helicopters took out APCs in Panama in what was the beginning of Operation Just Cause. As a US Army promotional film dictates, Apache "rules the night."

With Longbow and then the fantastic Flash Point expansion set, Janes Combat Simulations made sim history in 1996. But multiplayer options seemed in question; at least, in our minds! Meanwhile, we were wondering why Janes didn't see fit to take advantage of 3d hardware. The rumor mill set to work and from Andy Hollis' comments in the flight sim newsgroup we had reason to believe something was in the works, but WHAT was it?

In case you missed the Flash Point review back when the add-on was released, the enhancements were simply astounding. The CP/G position was added, along with the option of a full screen FLIR display in white-hot or black-hot mode and other new avionics. Sound effects were enhanced for every object in the battlefield, including new background sounds and radio chatter. New wingman commands were added which GREATLY expanded flexibility and control. Damage modelling was expanded, and terrain detail in the Korean campaign was far improved over the others. These things alone were worth the price of the upgrade.

Threat intelligence was likewise enhanced, and objects were given simple mission goals: move from here to there, attack these units, etc. In fact, the increased dynamism in the sim was quite amazing. Objects destroyed in one mission remained dead in the next, and one felt like one had entered a dynamic campaign environment (see my interview with Andy Hollis for info on this "semi-dynamic" approach...) The usual attention to detail among Hollis and crowd was full blown with the Flash Point add-on, and one could tell that this was a sim-lovers piece of work. Longbow Gold brought these all together under WIN95. But what about multiplayer and 3d hardware?

Longbow 2!!

A mini virtual battlefield product is in the works, with Black Hawks and Kiowa Warriors to team up with. Those escort missions will become considerably more interesting when the transports are flown by real pilots. Course, you may want to fly em yourself and let your team mates fly the gunships. Or, team up with a friend in one chopper. The network features built into WIN95 offer some interesting possibilities.

In the shot above you can already get a strong sense of what is coming. Not only are smoke effects handled by 3dfx in hardware, add wind and turbulence to the picture and the increased graphical detail and you have an astounding environment. The dynamic lighting will add even more to realism (see shots below..)

In Longbow II for each helicopter you can play as either the pilot, the co-pilot/gunner, or handle both positions yourself (and yes, we know the Black Hawk doesn't have a CP/G — the second position on that bird is a door gunner). The differing functions of these three helicopter types allows realistic portrayal of a greater range of mission types than could be done with just the heavily-armed Longbow.

The game supports multiplayer action via LAN, modem, TCP-IP (Internet) or direct cable connection. Each mode will support at least four and some as many as eight players (depending on connection type). Players can take either pilot or CP/G seats, so eight players can fly four aircraft (four 2-man crews), eight separate aircraft or anything in between.

But thats not all! Janes and crew plan to give us TWO complete dynamic campaigns! The first campaign is a war scenario set in Iran and Azerbaijan. It's a politically and strategically realistic conflict in the tradition of the original Longbow and Flashpoint: Korea, but in a fully dynamic environment. There'll be lots of chances to earn promotions and decorations, plus a wider range of mission objectives than before.

The second campaign is a simulation of a full-scale war game set at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, California. It's great practice, and it's especially fun in multiplayer, because it allows multiple pilots to test their skills against each other in a realistic, force-on-force dynamic campaign setting.

Longbow 2: Notice the lighting effects. Click for 60 K image.

The dynamic campaign depends on a new structure of AI, with a real time air and ground war functioning around the players, creating an unpredictability and randomness based on standard air and ground doctrine that is truly immersive. Not only does this add to depth of play and suspension of disbelief, it will also greatly enhance replayability. Here is a direct quote from Janes on the new campaign:

"We've designed a dynamic campaign that we think really lives up to the name. It's not a bunch of static, canned missions, nor is it a dressed-up random mission generator. This is a campaign where each mission you fly affects the course of the whole campaign. If you miss a target in one mission, it may very well be right back shooting at you in the next mission, or three missions down the line. The lines of battle will shift and both sides will wax and wane in strength in a realistic fashion, keyed to your success and failure.

Not only will your flying skills affect the whole campaign, but you'll also be presented with multiple missions and potential objectives at each stage of the war. You'll have to allocate your forces wisely, and pick the right situations for your personal attention, if you want to win the war. Reconnaissance will play an important role, because the more you observe, the better you'll understand the battle situation. Furthermore, whether or not you spot a threat while scouting could determine whether or not it shows up as an objective later."

Here are Andy's other comments from our previous interview:

Csim: On the first release of Longbow it was pretty much a canned approach, but it moved into a semi-dynamic system with Flash Point and gained a very immersive feeling. What prompted you to make the switch for LB 2?

Andy: We became enamored with the US Army's program titled Force 21, wherein they are developing the equipment and tactics necessary to win on the digital battlefield of tomorrow. The Longbow is the centerpiece of this new technology effort in which all information is shared electronically between combat helicopters of all types, ground forces, and the command center. This became our paradigm for the ultimate multi-player experience, the force-on-force wargame campaign set at NTC. Teams of players work together over the course of many missions to beat the opposing team. They fly in either position of a variety of helicopters (Longbow gunships, Kiowa Warrior scouts, and Blackhawk troop transports), working together to find and destroy the enemy, and then defend against the enemy doing the same to them. Overall campaign strategy is just as important as in-mission tactics. Its the ultimate electronic battlefield.

Csim: How challenging is the AI going into the campaign system for LB2 and what has this meant for the development team? In what ways will the dynamic campaign differ from the semi-dynamic one of the first Longbow?

Andy: The fundamental real-time AI is not much different than the original game. Much of the groundwork needed was happening in Flash Point Korea, but people just had no knowledge of it unless they looked real hard. Outside the mission though, we used to have only resource management and a persistent world for objects and this is where the work for LB2 has come. In-between missions, a whole scheme for evaluating mission results, building up target lists, building appropriate missions, doing resupply, and moving the forces had to be built. Also, coming up with good ways to present this to the player and allow for appropriate levels of control that are additive without being overwhelming.

If you read the above carefully, you'll see that hidden in there is information on a new dimension to Longbow 2: strategy. This will come partly in the form of an all new mission planner. We're trying to get more info on the planner and we'll post it when its available.

As for 3d hardware acceleration, initially ONLY 3dfx, but possibly later other prominent chipsets and D3d. With 3dfx we will have barely imagined detail levels AT THE SAME TIME as we have fluid frame rates! Yikes, this is teeth jarring stuff! Look for four times the terrain detail and EIGHT times the object detail in Longbow 2. Janes will give us virtual cockpits with dynamic reflections and real-time light source shading. Explosions that create flame will also create light that will illumine the immediate area in the darkness.

As you can see from the new screens, the effects will add greatly to realism and tension. Firing a Hellfire at night at close range will be equivalent to waving a large flashing lamp that says "SHOOT ME!" Smoke, fog and even DUST effects will also be realistic. As we all know from Comanche 3, its more than just pretty, it adds to the feeling of immersion and to situational awareness. After all, we are flying stealthy and NOE, right?

Will there be trees? "Well … we're working on it. We know you want trees, and we've had some early successes that make us cautiously optimistic. As with the original sim, however, we'll only have trees if we can do them right. We won't settle for green eye-candy, we want a real, tactically useful treeline."

In Longbow 2 we will have the ability to command up to eight helicopters, two real-time (me and wingie), and six more through mission planning. Time to bone up on the tactical training! The command structure is being enhanced for Longbow 2 to accommodate these improvements.

Look for new sounds and stereo and doppler effects in Longbow 2 also. You will be able to tell where gunfire is coming from by its orientation to your chopper.

I know, I know.... how much will it cost? What will be the upgrade path? It sounds like there is no plan for an upgrade discount. Rather, Janes is regarding this more like the Wing I --> Wing II, C&C --> Red Alert path. Longbow 2 is essentially a new simulation. Its likely that 3dfx support will be added to the original Longbow.

Main    Back