Team Alligator by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson
	In late June, 1998, SIMIS and Mindscape/SSI released Team Apache, a unique approach to a military helicopter simulation. The emphasis was on "team," and managing your team was a simulation in itself, much like the role-playing "simulations" that are popular with Japanese console gamers. In June we posted an extensive interview on the next game from SIMIS, Team Alligator. Team Alligator models the Russian side of the conflict from a similar simulation perspective, but with key changes and enhancements. (Note: images are at 1024x768 or 1152x864). Airbase in fog in Belarus. From the perspective of the serious simulation fan the most important changes will involve realism: in flight modeling and avionics, weapon systems and AI. Control of flight lead will be expanded and look for more detail in virtually every area. I spent about three hours flying around in a pre-alpha version this past weekend, and I am as impressed by my first look at Team Alligator as I was last year by Team Apache. The graphics engine itself is impressive, and modeling is far beyond Team Apache. Consider this: ten times the polygon count in the cockpit. Buildings and trees are both more numerous and much more impressive. Ka52 in fog in Belarus. Voice are also more impressive. The Russian accents are nicely done. I was impressed by the training missions also, voice narration is a great way to get the player involved. The impatience of the Instructor when you don't follow directions seems quite realistic! Click to continue		Leaving the airbase in Belarus. Note the gate at the guardhouse. Atmosphere It's only reasonable to expect atmosphere in spades with the hardware we are running these days. Team Alligator looks set to meet expectations in this area. I flew day missions, dusk missions, and bad weather missions. Flying in fog was very cool and very much a nail biting enterprise. The feeling of flight was quite good, and the response felt very different from Team Apache. I doubt whether the flight model is final, however, and weapons and systems modeling is also not yet complete. And by the way, there ARE foot soldiers in Team Alligator, and they can be very dangerous! Ka52 in fog in Belarus. Good weather. Note the jet landing on the runway. The general feeling of the landscape is much better integration of roads and objects than anything I have previously seen. But you can see for yourself! Go to Page Two: Comms and Control
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