However, if you think this will get you ready for online play, you are in for a shock. Against real players who know ACM it will not be nearly so easy. Furthermore, in online play the Bandits seem to be smaller which of course makes them harder to hit.

In truth, there is a great deal happening behind the scenes here, and Microsoft has done some innovation in the computer controlled pilot (CCP) arena.

One of the firsts is the development of realistic SA for the CPPs. The field of view for CPPs is divided into six sections and each section is modeled according to the pilots current attitude, taking into account the parts of his aircraft as well as sun attitude and cloud layers. As a result, these guys will realistically lose sight of you depending on where you are before and during a dogfight.

AI pilots come in different flavors (5 levels of skill) as well as flying with the same flight model you will use. But here again Microsoft has done some innovation, and instead of simply modeling manouvers according to pilot skill and aircraft characteristics, they have modeled the actual control input on the stick, and a zealous pilot could lose control the same as you would!

CPPs are also aware of the individual strengths of their aircraft, and the higher their level of skill, the better they will take advantage of those strengths and seek to exploit the weaknesses of yours! You will see CPPs using energy, altitude, and manouverability to their advantage.

CFS is state of the art in other ways also. You'll quickly discover when your own aircraft takes damage that there is a great deal of detail in the damage models. A few shots from a bandit on your tail and you may suddenly find that you can no longer roll to the left as well as you can roll to the right. Or you may find your engine gradually losing power. Or your ability to roll using rudder may be hampered.

In fact, any object that can incur damage can incur damage in three levels: leak, break, or bomb. The result will be appropriate to the aircraft part in question. For example, an aileron will never leak, but at the low level of damage its effectiveness is impaired. A fuel tank, on the other hand, will leak, and at the highest level of damage it will explode. How many areas can be damaged? The B17G can take damage in 44 distinct areas.

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In the same way, ballistics and physics is modeled in appropriate ways. Individual bullets have ballistics, and various guns have appropriate muzzle velocities. In fact, the nose cannon on a B17 has a different shell size and velocity and trajectory than the tail gun, and the scope of the gun is limited in accord with the actual model.

Multiplayer

You can not change starting altitude when hosting a game, and starting from 5000 ft all the time is neither historically consistent nor does it make any tactical sense. It also makes for a short flight before you are turning and burning at ground level.

Overall, quality of game play in multiplayer is good, with smooth response as tested on the MS IGZ www.ZONE.com At present you are limited to eight players to a game on the Zone. However, in the game options box in IPX mutiplayer setup there is provision for, count'em two hundred and fifty six players! I wouldn't be surprised if the Zone added at least a couple more player capability at some point.

With eight the maximum number of players in a game there was occasional skipping but nothing really out of the ordinary Internet gremlins, and probably due to my connection. You can choose to play a melee or team type game. Unfortunately, all you can do is dogfight against other players for now; no coop, or bomber escort missions etc. I suspect this will come in time, whether from MS or from the CFS community. That said, dogfighting is all many people want to do so for them this will be acceptable.

SUMMARY

To sum up, this is a sim you will probably want --no-- need to have, if you have any interest at all in WWII era air combat. Chances are it'll get worn in like your favorite pair of slippers and you'll find yourself putting the CD in the drive and returning, time after time, to fly in any number of combat situations and geographic settings.

Moreover, don't forget all the FS aircraft and scenery that is already out there on the net. With a little imagination, almost any scenario becomes possible. At present, the missions are somewhat limited, but MS has promised that a mission editor for CFS is forthcoming.

Download Peter's customized Sabre and MiG 15 and fly them in CFS: Sabre vs MiG 1.8 meg.

If you are ready to try a camel vs camel battle, click HERE to go to Peter's add on instructions.