by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson

Q: Microsoft Combat Simulator has some of the most detailed explosions and damage effects out there. How will FA II compare?

PC: Basically, the two games have different areas of focus, and the focus of FA II is primarily on massively multiplayer game-play issues.

We will be putting over 300 players into a single arena. Graphics are not our major area of focus due to our download constraints. However, we are EXTREMELY happy with our effects and eye candy!

Sound and Voice

Q: I've been flying European Air War this past weekend. Guns and engine sounds and voice are fantastic. What are some of the highlights we can expect in the sound effects department for FA II? Will each aircraft type have its own engine sounds? What about voice?

PC: Fighter Ace II delivers plenty of engaging audio effects to keep our users well immersed in the ongoing battle! We created all new sounds, including new sounds depending on whether you are firing machine guns, cannon, or rockets, etc.

The sounds when a user is on the receiving end of a beating are now very impressive, replacing the tinny hollywood ping with much more realistic and terrifying thuds and thwacks from enemy fire. You'll have to excuse my attempts to define a sound in a word, when you hear it you'll understand, but then again that would mean you were getting pasted…sorry. ;0)

FAII has also advanced on engine sounds, offering more tones for different engine states such as idling, sputtering, etc., as well as giving users this range of sound for both inline and radial engines. Of course by using Direct Sound, Fighter Ace II provides stereo sound modeling and terrific surround effects for explosions, and passing trains and tanks, etc.

In multiplayer air combat, static voice commands are nearly useless compared to stand alone games, and we are confident the range of audio we are providing will bring on the requisite adrenaline rush.

Damage Resolution

Q: Damage modeling has been another growth area lately. Can you give us a feel for how damage effects and damage resolution will work in FA II?

PC: There are plenty of new damage effects in FA II, so have your parachute ready!!!

In both self-induced and enemy induced damage modeling, FAII has come a long way. There are now a plethora of damage components, linking either directly, or through a parental dispersion system to the physics engine that controls the flight of the planes. Basically we have broken the aircraft down into subcomponents such as the outer wing, inner wing, engine, etc., and sub-sub components below those levels. Damage to sub-sub components affects the parent systems and vice versa.

Click to continue

PE8 in Trouble

User induced damage may be a result of exceeding airframe stress limits, which can cause damage to subsystems like flaps, gear or interior fuselage and wing damage. Damage to such components can be reflected in things as simple as the flaps or landing gear stuck in place, or more catastrophically they can be torn off which simulates the most frequent conditions of such actions.

Believe me, you are going to be an unhappy camper when you try to deploy flaps for landing, only to find that just ONE of them was damaged by gunfire J. You'll be amazed at how fast you can be turned upside down traveling at 150 mph over the pavement. It's very hard on canopies.

Over stress of airframe loading is modeled for each plane, and inappropriate actions by the pilot may result in partial or total wing loss. As every pilot knows, you need those things, so beware of that tempting shot that requires you to pull out just a bit harder!! In addition users can also cause damage to other plane components, overheating guns, over speeding on engines etc

Damage from enemy fire can effect the main damageable components for each plane: L/R wings, aircraft cabin(s), engine(s), fuselage, stabilizers etc.. In addition this new damage modeling also transfers damage information like the type and speed of the damaging object (i.e. armor piercing, or explosive bullets, etc.) and it's power to the child objects of these components. Thus, realistic effects in fuel tank damage or oxygen equipment damage can be sustained and added to the overall damage condition of the plane.

In total, this leads to a much more interesting flight, and often death, of your virtual pilot and his opponents. A key point is that depending on the flight model or arena the user is flying under, all or only some of these damage conditions may be set.

Again, we offer the maximum flexibility in game-play to insure that our players have the maximum amount of fun in the places THEY want to play.

Go to Part IV: Aircraft Models