EAW Patch 1.2 by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson
	Recently it came to our attention that a new EAW patch has been in the works. With the popularity of this excellent WWII combat flight simulation, we mailed off an interview to Chris Coon at Microprose. Here is his response. (To download the patch visit our EAW Index Q: How long has the new patch been in the works, and how many have been working at it with you? There are two programmers, myself and Brandon Gamblin, and we have been working at it off and on really since the last version in January. Once we got the official go-ahead from Hasbro, the whole process started rolling with QA, beta testers, producers, translators, and everybody else needed to bring out a new version. Q: Give the continued support of EAW and its great popularity, have any decisions been made with regard to an add-on or new aircraft? I don't know what's currently planned regarding add-ons or a sequel, but Hasbro is certainly aware of EAW's popularity... Q: You've added a new HUD feature for easy identification of flight positions like wingman or squad leader. Have you also considered adding a single key wingman padlock? It was on the list, but just wasn't considered a high enough priority since you can currently padlock on your wingman (or squad leader) by cycling through until he appears then padlock as usual. Click to continue		Q: The first patch enhanced combat tactics, and it sounds like work in this area has continued. I'm interested in the process on this one. Is this type of enhancement difficult? It is, because it is tough to balance so-called "fuzzy" logic, with all the different factors and variables involved in their decisions (accomplishing their mission, protecting their wingmen, staying away from clusters of enemy, etc). Most of the adjustments made were in the aggressiveness of lining up for a shot "now" versus maneuvering to get extra close. I think before, there was too much maneuvering and maybe not enough shooting. Q: You've also improved gun usage for AI aircraft. Is this a matter of tweaking the code or is more complicated than that? That was mostly a tweak, their decision process when to use cannons. Some of the AI skill levels were a little too conservative. Go to Page Two
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