GameStorm Online Chat Record

  blackknight : will vietnam include the A6-E Prowler? and if so will it occupy 2 people?

arnold.hendrick : The game will include the appropriate versions of the A-6 for the 64-68 time period...and does allow people in both pilot and B/N seats...the versions in use were the A-6 bomber, and the A-6B anti-radiation variant.The A-6E first version began testing in 1968, but was so rare that we decided not to include it... sorry about that. But the A-6B was there a lot, if in small numbers, and we do have that... the navy version of the F-105 wild weasels.

foos : Are there early and late Wild Weasel craft (F105/F4)

arnold.hendrick : We skipped over the first F-100 wild weasels, since very few 100s went up North...we have one general model of the F-105F/G wild weasel, since the variations between them were quite small....and happening almost monthly, with equipment variants almost impossible to track...so we just picked one major version and stuck with it...the F-4 Wild Weasels did not see action in Vietnam during the 64-68 Rolling Thunder campaign, as far as I know.

mage : If a Viet Pilot decided to take his Mig21 out the a carrier and vulch, what would happen? Would it be allowed?

arnold.hendrick : Well...the carriers have SAM defenses from their escorts, which could make life very bad.. ...and the carriers have AI CAP that would be all over him before he got within range of the ship not to mention players taking a rather active interest.

Furthermore, kills achieved don't count, since going out to sea violates the VPAF Rules of Engagement. Yes, the VPAF have ROE limits too, just like the Americans.

blackknight : will inflight refueling be available?

arnold.hendrick : Yes, inflight refueling was a major part of this war...and we will have both USAF and USN aerial tankers....with the ability to refuel inflight...there is a special autopilot for it too, in case you find the task a bit daunting...we will simplify some of the huge complexity in the real task, of course.

doug.vernon : in answer to quarters' question 3 parts syrup to 2 parts dairy product.

grizzly : What will the AW Vietnam damage model be like?

arnold.hendrick : We have a totally different damage system than AW3, as you might expect...we map damage to regions on the aircraft, compare that to systems present in that region...and inflict appropriate system degredation or failure, as appropriate.

In some cases the damage can be widespread enough to cause structural failure...or more likely, explosions that destroy the plane....so going up in a fireball can still occur. But I think you'll find it a lot more realistic than most things out there right now. The damage tables we have are not to be believed.

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bonsai : will the game (AW VN) include tactical missions as well such as support of ground troops?

arnold.hendrick : AW:Vietnam is just about the air war over North Vietnam... since the VPAF limited their air defense work to that area, and we wanted to have a game about AIR battles. However....we do include the northern bit of South Vietnam...including the area around Khe Sanh and Hue ...so ground support missions in support of those battles, during early 1968, could occur.

seeker : Is there going to be a box version and who is the publisher if so?

arnold.hendrick : This game will definitely have a box, and be fully playable as a solo game - just more AIs. The only exception is traditional melee arenas, which may not have a solo component...publisher has not been announced yet.

bratdeux : Will AW Vietnam have rolling terrain and possibly moving strats such as trains and ships?

arnold.hendrick : We have a complete DEM (digital elevation model) of the entire area, which is huge, and about 2/3rds rugged mountains...and a ton of texture maps to make all that jungle and rice paddy look really nice...our goal is to make it LOOK like Vietnam.

Yes, there will be moving truck convoys, trains, etc., bridges, power plants, electrical stations, air defense sites, on and on....as for ships, there will be three different task groups at Yankee Station in Task Forc4e 77, each with a carrier and escorts...and the exact carriers change over time, just like the real ones

blackknight : will night flying be available?

arnold.hendrick : We will not have night flying in the online game....because in this era, no MiGs flew at night (mainly due to VPAF training limitations). And that kind of ruins gameplay for the VPAF side. We do plan to include night in the solo game....but there are some really interesting technical challenges we're still resolving about flares and such. So far, we think we can handle them ... but no promises yet.

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