Peripheral Perfection by Leonard "Viking1" Hjalmarson
	Game Commander is about six meg of software that installs in an instant and you can be up and running fifteen minutes later. I built my own EAW configuration file in about thirty minutes (you can download it HERE.) Initially I simply experimented with views and weapons, then I added targetting commands and much of the wingman and flight command structure. I expected to have to train GC for my voice. No such luck. I simply typed in the commands that I wanted to use and they were recognized. I even tried raising and lowering my voice and changing my tone quality to see if I could trick it. Didn't work! 'Nough talk, let's have some action in European Air War and then we'll go to MiG Alley and M1TP2. The roar of the engine is in my ears. I'm closing on a flight of enemy bombers. I order one squadron to engage the enemy fighters, and I order my squadron to drop tanks and then order my wingman to cover me. Together we engage the flight of bombers. I accomplished these orders via voice interface. I call "ALL GUNS" and watch the selection appear on screen. Then I call "TARGET ENEMY" and watch the target box appear on screen, counting down the distance to my chosen target. I cut my throttle and feel the engine RPMs go low via the vest. The roar becomes a low growl as I close on my target. At five hundred yards I let fly an astonishing 20 pounds of lead per second. The thud of my cannons is heard and felt all through my body and half of the way up my arm via the Wingman Force. Friends.. THIS is immersion! Click to continue		I am brought back to "reality" by my wingmans' call that he is in trouble and I roll quickly and loop to find him. I call "target friendly" and get lucky.. he is the first friendly I lock. I see the P38 Lightning on his tail. I am lucky and get a piece of the P38 in my first pass, even though angle off the nose is close to forty-five degrees. I must have caught a control surface because the Lightning is sent spiralling earthward, out of control. My stick feels like lead with my speed exceeding 550 knots, but the controls lighten up as I pull the nose up and cut the throttle. Back to my primary task of eliminating bombers... MiG Alley After this experience I fired up the MiG Alley beta. My previous version of the code didn't include force feedback support, so I was curious as to what the Sabre would be like with the flight model now tweaked and feedback in place. The results were equally impressive. Go to Page Four
Copyright © 1997 - 2000 COMBATSIM.COM, INC. All Rights Reserved. Last Updated June 25th, 1999