by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson

Too complicated for you? Actually, this is barely scratching the surface. F/A18 E looks to be the most authentic simulation of the F18 Hornet to date. I spent some time with IMagic's simulation, and there are systems simulated in this new DI release that I never heard of before.

On the other hand, the preferences will allow even the novice to enjoy this game. And if your system is less than what I am running (AMD K6-3 450 with 128 MB), no worries. The sim allows great configurability along a number of parameters for the hardware challenged.

Not only that, but like the F22 the F/A 18E is designed to reduce pilot workload. The check lists that are accessible via your data displays will help you to do it right. Notice on the shot below that both FLAPS and HOOK are highlighted in red, telling me I need to do something with these systems prior to launch clearance.

Click to continue

While the simulation appears to have depth that exceeds my expectations, there is some bad news as well. DI have decided to release Super Hornet in stages, in a manner very similar to the release of DiD's F22 ADF and Total Air War last year.

In short, the plan is to release Super Hornet now, complete with mission editor, but lacking the dynamic campaign and the COMMAND features talked about earlier. A later release, probably in spring, 2000, will contain a new theatre of operations and a fully dynamic campaign. No doubt this GOLD version will also contain updated graphics support for DX7 transform and lighting.

Go for the GOLD

Personally, I think this is a good compromise. I thought so with TAW, and I think so now. Why?

There are a number of reasons. First, because the complexity of the simulations we play has increased greatly the development team is much larger, meaning greatly increased costs to the developer. Yet the up front cost to the gamer hasn't changed much. In order for the developer to survive the challenge, they need to find a model that allows them to recoup their investment.

Secondly and related to the first reason, the increased complexity means that the development cycle is longer. This means a longer period of time before the developer can reap a harvest from their investment. Releasing a simulation in stages means they can recoup their investment sooner, and also use some of that income to continue to develop the sim.

Third, ongoing development of a single simulation means still greater complexity and more features. Additional time into F/A18 E Super Hornet means we will end up with a better product in the long run, with even more features. I think it's really a win-win situation in the end. DI has stated that a discount for the GOLD version will be available. And this way we get to play the game sooner!

You may feel differently and you can express your thoughts in our forum by clicking HERE.

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