by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson

Q: Team Apache introduced weather in a big way in 1998. What will we see in FA II in the way of turbulence, wind and weather effects?

Wind, Aircraft Models

PC: Wind is a modeled component in FAII, but for the most part we are staying clear of that level of granularity. FAII is an online action game emphasizing real pilot vs. real pilot combat, this level of detail is not where we feel our users want us to concentrate. You don't want to wonder if you lost the last fight due to weather or other game conditions. We feel there is more than enough to worry about with hundreds of real pilots in the sky without wondering if the weatherman was correct.

Q: What aircraft will we fly in FA II and why were these chosen?

PC: Hmmm, well the simple answer is, "lots!" You will fly a wide variety of different aircraft. In Fighter Ace II we are putting out over 30 aircraft. We have added an entire set of Japanese planes and we have added flyable bombers for all countries.

At this time, the exact set of aircraft is not totally set, but in the beta our users will see the main groups that we are shipping. We are definitely adding favorites such as:

• Chance Vought Corsair F4U
• Hawker Typhoon Ib
• Mitsubishi Zero A6M5.

Some of the early war planes we have added are:

• Polikarpov I16
• BF109 E
• KI61 Hien (Tony)

Right now, I can tell you unequivocally that it is an interesting, varied and very competitive set. We have aircraft from the early war period right through to late war battle machines.

The new physics model also enables users to customize the load-out of their plane. Pilots can vary the amount of fuel, set the convergence points for their machine guns & cannon, as well as choosing to carry a variety of rockets and bombs (depending on what the actual air frame can support).

Users will find it easy to quickly learn the types of planes they want to use most for the type of play they are going to engage in. We created a game where users will want and need to use a variety of aircraft for different purposes: ground attack, bomber escort, level bombing, dive-bombing, high ALT dog fighting. We have offered the perfect choice of weapon for your choice of battle.

We have taken pains to avoid the uber plane scenario, that of an all-powerful death star that ruins gameplay and we look forward in beta to our users feedback on the plane choices and modeling.

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Lancaster

The plane set was also chosen to allow large-scale events and historical community battles to be waged with the planes that would have been in use. When you look at World War II itself, most of the really interesting battles where one side or the other could have won, were waged in the early war years, before the ultimate planes were developed by each country. Our plane set will keep early and late war aficionados happy, allowing for fantastically fun re-enactment of war in North Africa, the Spanish Civil War, Battle of Kursk, and the early air war in China etc…

With control from the server for what planes are available in an arena and the performance values of those planes, our next generation of Fighter Ace events will be even more balanced and awesome! Picture droves of Hurricane IIC's descending on masses of German armor in the deserts of North Africa! Epic scenarios like this are what make massively multiplayer distinct from stand-alone sims. Once you've experienced REAL combat against REAL people it's hard to play anything else!

Player Art, Profiles

Q: Will the player be able to add his own paint schemes or his own markings?

PC: Player art was one of those features that we just couldn't fit into the schedule. We toyed with it, but something else would have suffered, so it didn't make the cut this time. It will be great to add this later, especially for squadron play, but it didn't make it into FA II.

Rapier

We do however offer far more in FAII to those hoards of squadrons out there! Using the Zone dossier and profile system, users can create, petition and administer teams automatically. In addition, the system will handle squad URL listings and member lists etc. In game, users will have the choice to fly under their own individual ID, or with any of the squads they are affiliated with. We will also be tracking scoring on the FAII database for squadrons and squadrons can select their own specific in-game communications channels!

Go to Part V