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Editorial: SDOE 1 Year Later
By Roger "Pvt. Roger" Hagerty

When "Fighter Squadron The Screamin Demons Over Europe" came out just over a year ago, it was a highly anticipated WWII sim. A game which would allow the player the ability to fly bombers and man the various gun positions, as well as the inclusion of a mission editor which made it possible to design your own missions, and take part in what was promised to be a stable multiplayer environment where up to 16 of your friends could wage war beside you in either co-operative missions, or free for alls. That alone was music to many WWII enthusiast ears, but many others were more interested to see the physics and damage modelling that many reviewers, who had been fortunate to fly the beta build, had been crowing about. The world of Fighter Squadron seemed to hold much promise.

Fig. 1. FS Info Center

With the plastic wrapper still freshly in the trash most realized that as with most games released these days the finished product was in fact something of a mixed bag. In some regards it surpassed expectations with it's volumetric clouds and fluid dynamic physics, while in other areas such as the limited theatre size, and less than "Ultra-Realistic" Flight model, it seemed sorely lacking. Owners of the game were filled with questions, and a need was there for a place to discuss just what it was they had purchased. That place was Pete Hawks SDOE site. No matter which side you fell out on regarding features and flaws, the one spot to talk to fellow SDOE flyers was Pete Hawks forum. Fighter Squadron pilots, flyers of SDOE (SDOE'ers), gravitated to Pete's site like flies to honey. Word spread, this was the place to find out about all things SDOE related. As fellow flyers of SDOE came together, and as time passed, a unified voice began to emerge. And with the presence at the forum of the lead designer on SDOE, Michael Harrison, who had become a frequent visitor and contributor to the site, it added a needed credibility to that voice.

Fig. 2. Zeros flying patrol

The press about SDOE failings started to flood across the web. Few mentioned anymore all the things SDOE did so well, but instead they focused on all the things it lacked. Add to that the presence of three other WWII sims Janes World War II Fighters, Microsofts Combat Flight simulator, and MicroProse European Airwar and the road ahead for SDOE seemed filled with potholes. Activision soon gave up on the game as sales slowed, and except for a small patch to fix an issue with a CD loading problem, it was realized that no further support from Activision could be expected. This is when the unified voice, and the contribution and lobbying from the designer Michael Harrison came into play. With pressure from the SDOE community and Michael Harrison mounting on Activision, they finally succumbed and allowed Michael Harrison and his team to release a patch to address some of the key issues. Unsupported as it was by Activision, it was still welcome news to the community of SDOE'ers who were beginning their love affair with this flawed, but magical game.

 

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