by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson

  Q: We've received a number of changes in shipping date on the coming Super Hornet. What was the reason for the delays?

Steve Tagger: There have been many rumours that F18 sitting in a warehouse and we've pushed the release dates back for marketing purposes... No chance! We have been working on the French, German and Italian masters which finally went gold and into production last week. At the same time we have continued to test the English master as no product can have too much testing!

We wait for localised versions, because of the economies of scale for production and for a European launch to be a European launch we want all countries street dates to be within a few days of each other.

Q. Some virtual pilots allege that the finished product is too buggy for the US, so the UK crowd will become beta testers. What is really happening here? A: We're equally puzzled! These allegations tend to come from people who have not had stick-time on a finished version of the game, or, who have tried out the 'demo' of Super Hornet (actually an early beta) that was leaked without our blessing some time ago. On the other hand, those who *have* experienced the finished version consistently report that Super Hornet is extremely stable, and that's not even in comparison with some of the more recent sim releases the community has seen.

Q. Why not a simultaneous release? The staged release seems to cause a lot of unhappiness and confusion. Wouldn't it be better to hold for a single release?

A: Staged releases between the US and Europe happen because of the increased lead times in the US marketplace coupled with the sheer scale of investment in US retail and marketing spend. You have to be 100% certain of hitting a date or you've lost a lot of your promotional budget for nothing. Only when we can guarantee a releasable product can the US marketing team really get to work. The UK and European markets don't have the same problem with leadtimes... yet!

Q. Tell us about last minute changes to Super Hornet. A: We're pleased to say that very few were needed. Feedback from those who tried the 'final beta' was very positive, with the main item of contention being BVR wingman AI (they preferred furballs to using their AMRAAMs).

Q. Tell us about the additional features of the GOLD/Command version we will see later.

A: The biggest change in this version will of course be the integration of the Command system. Anyone who played Tornado, or read the information that we had on www.superhornet.com until a couple of months ago will be aware of what that involves. In brief, this is the system that will take a given warzone with two opposing sides (you and them) and construct scenarios and missions on the fly. You can use this system either to generate random single missions, short multi-mission campaigns with set objectives, or let it track the progress of your war from start to finish.

As well as this, the Gold version will see the addition of a new warzone set around Albania and the Adriatic Sea.

Q. Tell us how you came to decide on a separate GOLD release? And does this staged release/split product represent a new model for DI?

A: To set the record straight we will be releasing in all the markets worldwide three products from the Super Hornet brand... F/A-18E Super Hornet, Super Hornet Mission Disc and F/A-18E Super Hornet GOLD.

F/A-18E Super Hornet, that releases in the UK on Friday 3rd December and in the US Q1, is an excellent game that all the DI team are proud of. Product nowadays has to be of the highest quality and customers shouldn't have to settle for release versions that require 50 patches before you can play. DI and Titus didn't want to release a game with Command that doesn't do our gaming heritage justice.

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Unfortunately, Command requires more work and significant development time before it is the finished article and to a standard we are all happy with. The scope of the Command game meant that we started to see ourselves needing to rush the system in order to fit it into the pre-Xmas European release. We didn't want to do that. With the Command system included (where it will be responsible for generating every type of game, be they single missions, mini-campaigns or the full-scale Command war - basically a game in itself), it would become the single most important part of the game; it has to be done right.

However, it was also getting to the point where prospective players needed (we're talking *medically needed*) to play Super Hornet! The only option was to release Super Hornet with a structure similar to that of F-16FF.

Q. Tell us how the add-on release will occur in the UK vs the US.

A: F/A-18E Super Hornet, the mission pack, and the GOLD edition will all be launched as seperate products in all territories. There is no truth to the rumour that the Q1 US release will include the mission pack and the GOLD edition, this simply isn't possible.

Q. Just how realistically modelled is the Super Hornet we'll be flying?

A: Very! We know that we've been seen as moving away somewhat from the 'hardcore' end of the flight sim market, but we expect Super Hornet will redress this.

The cockpit interior was modelled from various photographs of the real aircraft, as well as from the now very popular mock-up simulator photograph that many think is the real thing. The only trouble was that design was in such a state of flux that every source image you have is slightly different. We took an 'educated guess' at the finished article, and beyond that made only a couple of relocations of controls and switches so that players would be access them from the cockpit more easily.

The avionics software in Super Hornet has been written from the official McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing documentation (essentially the Hornet owner's manual!). The avionics menu system has been replicated almost in full, and the DDI display of each avionics mode is as authentic as we could get it. If there are any Hornet pilots out there, you should have no trouble navigating your way around our Active Cockpit on prior knowledge alone!

Q. Several quotes from Super Hornet's early review say great things about the Virtual Cockpit. What's so special about it?

Two things, really, and both mean that the v.cockpit is extremely usable. The first is that we made sure that all the displays are legible, and not just when looking at them 'head on'. Every display is active and updates dynamically (the HUD, the Up-Front Control Display, the two DDI's, the MPCD and even the IFEI), and each can turned on or off individually from Preferences if you need a performance boost.

Secondly, a lot of the cockpit is still Active, even in this v.cockpit view. You have freedom to look around the cockpit within the physical restrictions of the pilot's body, yet when you 'face' any main instrument and click, you can then operate its associated controls just like you can on the hi-res 2D cockpit.

Ed.Note: Super Hornet released in the UK today.

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