B17 II Interview by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson
	Decisions, Decisions! Q. If there is a need for a critical decision, how is it presented to me? What circumstances might call for this? A. A classic example is a flaming engine. The B-17 is a very tough bird, but she absolutely cannot deal with fire. A neglected flaming engine eats away the upper Wing & Elevator Surfaces and burns its way through to the Wing Spar - if it doesn't hit the fuel tank first! A burning engine trails smoke and fire right down the aircraft. Somebody is going to spot it fairly quickly, and that person will sound off to let the player know about it. If the player is busy and elects not to deal with the engine at that time then that crewmember will remind him… And if he doesn't get up to the cockpit and deal with it then he'll certainly know about it when the plane explodes! B17 Nose B17 Nose Damage appears where you get hit. Sit in the top turret of one B17 and blow big holes in the tail of another (not recommended, but great fun!) See right through the holes! Try flying a B17 with half the tail missing! This is one of the major features of our game. Overspeed your turbo for too long and *BANG*. Feather the prop by hitting the red knob in the cockpit and put out the engine fire by flicking the fuel shutoff and hitting the extinguisher. Use both charges if necessary. Q. Say I've taken a bad hit and I'm over the water. Can I ditch in the sea? Will it be possible to ditch my aircraft intact if I'm lucky and skilled? If so, what happens next? A. The B-17 is quite a good ditcher and, so long as you keep your wheels raised there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to ditch a B-17 in the North Sea provided that you've had a bit of practice (see Quickstart Scenarios). Oh… Don't forget to inform the RAF Sea Rescue service of your position before you go in, or it's likely to get pretty cold out there…. :-) Q. Tell us about AI of ground objects, detection modelling and that sort of thing. A. This is really back to Realism and Immersion. Anything you can fly your aircraft into you'll collide with. This might do damage, or it might destroy your aircraft. The physics system is quite capable of handling the dynamics of a situation where you catch the right wing of your B-17 on a hanger and end up pivoting around into it or snapping your wingtip off. In addition anything you can hit with your guns can be shot up… And yes that includes the Eiffel Tower and the Red Lion pub (imagine the paperwork!). Real Fighter pilots can strafe the Brandenburg Gate or Reichstag… Mind that flak, gentlemen… Click to continue		Bf109 among B17s Pilot AI Q. Tell us about pilot AI. Will we see panic and fatigue modelled for the enemy as well as our own pilots? A. AI's for fighter pilots, as you can imagine, concentrate most fully on the physical abilities of their various aircraft, their experience level, their take on the situation and their assigned goal. Pilots pushed into extreme situations will react in extreme ways - including panicking, ramming, bugging out and target fixation. Flight Modelling Q. Tell us about the factors in your flight modelling. A. We consider the flight models an absolute key issue and we believe we have modelled them to the highest level of detail yet. There are too many factors to list here, but here are a few… O pilots arrive at a "power" rating for their engine by manipulating not a "throttle" but the aircraft's Propeller Speed, Fuel Mixture, Manifold Pressure and Supercharger speeds. That means that the engine itself loses no power as altitude increases, but the supercharger will need to be cranked down because as the air gets thinner the relative pressure inside it will increase - effectively reducing the power output. P51 Mustang Then we have the fact that we don't simply slap on a fuel weight for the Mustang. We know where the tanks are, which you've been using and, therefore, whether your aircraft is developing a lean away from the standard centre of gravity. Bf 109 on Target The above are a sample of the detail we've gone into - just about everything has gone in there, and we've stuck to first principles where possible, rather than artificially fudging "effects" for events. Another good example is control surface damage. If you strip 32% of the skin from our Mustangs Port Aileron it's rate of roll will be properly affected… Go to Pilot AI and COMMS
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