Mission Editor and Views

The mission editor looks to be another highlight of RBII. Here is a view of the planning screen:

A Zoom shot from the Planner. Click for larger image...

You may edit a single mission, or you can create a new mission from scratch. You can also edit a mission in the campaign! I wasn't certain this would be possible at first, but if you click on View Flight Plan before you fly the mission you can indeed view and edit the waypoints! Not ONLY this, you can edit the other individual flights in your group for both ordnance and waypoints.

The map allows three levels of zoom which is quite adequate, and when you click on EDIT you can alter waypoints, altitude and formation and designate action per each waypoint. You may also choose how the map itself is configured, selecting and de-selecting from twelve options. Here is the list as it appears on the map screen:

Not only will you be able to CREATE your own unique missions, you will be able to SHARE them with other pilots and FLY them with other pilots. I know, this is a real DROOL factor for many of you. Design your own squadron colors, put together some custom missions and challenge another squadron on the Net!

The viewing system really is the heart of any simulation, since the way that the sim designers compensate for limitations of virtual reality will determine both your sense of awareness in the sim and your ability to adapt to various conditions and effectively engage in combat. The Red Baron 2 view system is divided into three distinct modes - the lockdown (or "fixed") views, slewable (or "padlock") views, and the outside views. Any single view system can be used to fly the game, but with practice you can use a combination of the three for maximum effect.

1. Lockdown Views

You start off in the sim in lockdown mode. At first you are looking straight ahead, with some gauges visible and a fairly open view forward. The lockdowns are controlled with your numeric keypad at the right side of your keyboard. Think of your head being at the center of the keypad, where "8" looks forward, "6" looks to your right, "4" to your left, and "2" gives you two views to your rear (toggling between left shoulder/right shoulder perspective). The "5" key looks down at your kneeboard. All of these views remain until you choose a new direction to look at (ie, you will look right after hitting "6" until you hit another view key, like "8").

Two sets of special lockdown views are also on the keypad. The "9" key will let you look up and forward (critical in turning dogfights), and the "3" key is forward and down - giving you a full view of all the gauges.

The last set is only active while you are looking at your kneeboard (by first hitting "5"). These control what page of the kneeboard you are looking at. The default page is your in-flight map, showing your flight path and relevant waypoints and landmarks. Hitting "7" on the keypad flips one page up and the "1" key flips down one page. From top to bottom, the pages are: mission objectives and waypoint details, in-flight map, formation to target, formation at target, and target snapshot (or escorted plane illustration). To escape the kneeboard, choose another view (like the "8" key). The kneeboard will remain at the page you viewed last.

While the lockdown views give you a fairly limited field of vision, they are quick, easy to remember, and are very stable, which is invaluable when firing at an enemy (hitting an enemy while in slewable or outside modes is very much like firing at a target over your shoulder using a mirror ).

A cockpit shot...

2. Slewable Mode

The second view system is the slewable mode (also called the "padlock" view). Basically, this view system imitates the pilot’s head swiveling to keep his view centered on a target (a plane, ground object, or landmark). To enter slewable mode you hit F2. The art pops as it changes from a static 2d bitmap to a full 3D model.

If no target has been selected, your slewable view will be fixed forward. To move your view at any time you just hold in the "a" key and move the joystick. As soon as you release the "a" key, the view snaps back to your target or forward. You have physical limits to where you move your view (ie. no "Linda Blair" swivel). And you can only select a target that is within range.

The first target selector is the "n" key, for next target (enemy or friendly). The sim designers have given a greater range selecting next targets than friendly - you can tell if something is a plane before you can tell if it’s a friendly or enemy plane. To select friendly targets, which are anything but the enemy, you hit "f." To select enemy targets, you hit "e." Planes within your formation can be selected by hitting "m" (for members).

When in a dogfight, more target selection keys become active. You can hit "d" to select the nearest dogfight enemy (the most likely target for you), and hit "t" to select the nearest threat (the most likely to make YOU a target).

Once you have a target selected, the slewable view keeps that target centered on your screen, no matter what direction your plane is pointing. The only time it doesn’t is when your target is beyond your physical limits (by circling behind you or flying below your plane). When your target does this, the view will either adjust to re-acquire your target, or stay at the view limit it reached until your target becomes visible again. Hitting the F1 key switches you back to whatever your last lockdown view was. It can be helpful to switch back and forth between F1 and F2 several times during a dogfight - using the lockdowns when the target is in front, but switching to slewable to acquire new targets or to track one that’s not in front.

Having only spent a couple of hours with the sim so far its tough to evaluate the padlock view, but I think it will be quite usable. All views seem to work well, and many pilots may find the lockdown views are all they need. With time and some programming to the HOTAS I think the view system will be at least equal to Flying Corps, perhaps better.

3.Outside View

The last view system is the outside views. Hitting F3 will act exactly like the slewable mode, except that you are outside your plane. Your target is in the center of the screen with you in the foreground. All of the same target selection keys are active. The "z" and "x" keys zoom in and out.

The F4 key lets you move the camera around your plane independent of your or your target’s movements. The zoom keys are active, as is the "a" key plus the joystick. F5 puts the camera a fixed distance and position behind the plane and F6 is the same view with a delay of a second or so, depending on how far you are zoomed out. F7 is a flyby view, much like controlling a remote-controlled airplane. After you have selected a target, you can hit F8 if you wish to view it from the outside. Hitting F4 with target selected scrolls the camera around for a better look.

As for multiplayer, up to eight people will be supported via LAN and the internet, and two via modem. Head to head will include both co-op and competitive play. Will LAN play allow access to the campaign mode? No, it will be multiplayer dogfighting only.

By the way, Red Baron II also includes an autopilot. The "." key (period) keeps you straight and level. The "/" key (slash) lets the autopilot take an active role in your navigation - it will take you to all of your waypoints - very useful when you are lost, etc. Combining ctrl and / is a cheat mode and the computer uses the same AI that all the other planes do, and will even fight for you. Feel like just WATCHING a dogfight for a while? Be my guest. Want to scan around the sky without worrying about where you airplane is headed? The AP is useful for a variety of reasons. The "," key takes you out of autopilot.

Summary

RBII will be released in December. With stiff competition in Flying Corps and soon Flying Corps Gold which will include multiplayer and a mission editor, Sierra has to aim high to compete.

The operative word in military sims is "suspension of disbelief." This sim has atmosphere out the backside, and it looks like they are aiming in the right place, with features and gameplay that will make RBII a winner. Frame rate is better than F16FF even in this pre-beta, and that is running in high color (apparently the rate improves considerably under 256 colors...I will yet test this!)

Sierra hopes to supply maps with the sim, and the aim is to produce a very high end and spiral bound manual. If the follow through in code is as strong as this early edition then RB2, even without 3d support, will make thousands of aces happy this winter.

Recommended Spec Machine:

P133, 24megs RAM, 40-60megs drive space, joystick.

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Last Updated September 3rd, 1997