Connor "Cman" Anderson

  As for the prospect of scenarios both large and small, HTC has a terrain editor that is now in use by one Alpha tester, XXX who designed the beta terrain. Addink says that the terrain editor will have the finishing, cosmetic, touches completed and will be released to the users soon. There will also be a full set of game management tools for players to design and run their own scenarios.

HITECH also noted that Aces High has "full server configurations built into their environment right now," that will allow up to 8 players to fly together. Addink says this system is very similar to Sierra's Half-Life independent multi-player model with players hosting games via the HTC network either privately or for open play. Multi-player games are "open architecture and totally free," says Addink.

Play in the various arenas will cost a flat monthly fee of US$29.95. There will be a number of arenas, although neither Balmos or Addink would comment on the exact structure at this time except to say that there will be various, scaled "easy mode" arenas that will allow new pilots to acquire the skills to survive in the full realism arenas.

B17 Gunnery Position

Gunnery Positions on the B17

GAME PLAY and STRATEGY

Like it or not, Aces High is still tabula rasa when it comes to long-term game-play and member retention issues. For the time being the familiar open arena, Capture the Flag motif is the order of the day. The beta terrain gives a few clues about the potential for the strategic game model and ground targets to come. There are a few factories and towns set up and odd light-colored blank areas are scattered about the map.

The general graphics standard is very good. The terrain file, while still in development is very pretty and has some of the best distance fogging I have seen to date. Low altitude terrain resolution is also above average but still inadequate. However, this may be a technology and hardware limitation more than a design defect. Plane graphics are quite good also and are sure to improve.

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New aircraft: N1K2

Bullet tracer modeling is very nice if a bit overdone. I'm not quite sure that it is necessary to model every bullet as a tracer, complete with smoke trails. But, again this situation is sure to change. And, if that weren't enough, Addink says that one of their short-term priorities is to finish the cloud models - actual, ephemeral clouds.

My few attempts at air-to-ground were snuffed (literally) pretty quickly by the very lethal AAA. Balmos says AAA lethality will be dialed down a bit pretty soon. I had a hard time putting any ordinance but guns on ground targets. I think that some of the ballistics and graphics are incomplete. Or perhaps I just suck. Most likely both.

A full-on strategic model is already up and running and elements of the model will be added during the beta. This is a multi-level model leading directly from the "strategic" targets such as factories and cities to the "tactical" level of destroying targets at the airfields and will affect combat readiness and effectiveness.

Taking out factories and towns will lead to reduced fuel and armament availability for that country's forces. Balmos says all of the strategic engine components are up and running and the economic links are currently functional, so bombs away. The Norden bombsight is scheduled to be completed in a couple of weeks to make this a bit easier for the buffers.

Soon to come will also be "hot-refueling and rearming" points at the airfields where players can taxi up, get gas and ammo and continue their mission. Damage incurred will not be repaired here, but hopefully this will encourage players to extend their streaks and scoring will certainly reflect this.

Lastly, player-drivable ground vehicles will be added along with roads, bridges and other ground targets that will complete the entire "virtual battlefield" picture. Parts of this capability are already manifested in the game wherein once a pilot successfully bails out and lands her parachuted pilot, she can run around the arena.

Theoretically, she could hoof it back to one of her bases and replane. A long walk to be sure - the arena sectors are 25 mile grids and even a short flight to an opponent's airfield will be at least 30 miles - but hey, soon she'll be able to thumb a ride back to base. Are friendly peasant girls and the Resistance far behind?

Addink and Balmos state that the beta period will run "a minimum of three months," with the possibility of it's going longer.

Go to Page Four.