By: Len 'Viking1' Hjalmarson
Date: 1998-03-25
Since January we have been systematically pestering Activision for an update on FSSD. Persistence pays off, and we have some updated information on this awesome looking simulation.
By the way, if you are a prop devotee, what a great year you are going to have! With Janes, SPGS/Ocean, Microprose, Activision and Eidos all scheduled to release WWII prop sims, and Warbirds 3d and Air Warrior 3 going strong, its a great time to be a prop fan. FSSD is looking very cool, and top right you will see an exclusive new screen shot that you can click on to download.
Always trying to find a silver lining, the good part about the delays incurred at Activision means we may see some additional features, and we will definitely see complete Voodoo2 support (more on this below). FSSD features a simulator engine based on the most accurate inertia, gravity and force calculations to date. The only other prop sim in the hangar that will feature such detail is probably Fighter Duel II by SPGS.
In FSSD, Parsoft and Activision intend to recreate the up-close and personal combat of The Great War. The simulation depicts three unique scenarios from WWII: the English Channel, Rhineland and Northern African theaters. We'll bea ble to choose from nine different planes, including the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the Focke-Wulf Fw.190 F-8 and the Messerschmidt ME-262 - the first jet fighter on earth. With an unusual twist, the scenarios begin with historical accuracy, but if you are good enough you may rewrite history by beating the odds and puncturing enemy warbirds with sufficient accuracy.
Aircraft will each feature unique handling and flight characteristics. We've come to expect this from cutting edge simulations like Fighter Duel, Flying Corps, Warbirds and others. This level of attention to realism allows players to interact in a virtual or multiplayer environment much as the real pilots would have had to fly. Choices must be made based on the strengths and weaknesses of each airframe and weapons system.
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As is standard for modern simulations, flight models will be selectable for novices, and other difficulty and cheat options will also be available. A player can enter at one level and as their confidence and ability grow, they can move on to more advanced levels of gameplay.
A Physics Major
One of the extremely cool features of A10 Cuba (also by Parsoft under the direction of Eric "Hellcats" Parker) was its physics modelling. A10 went where no 'hog had gone before, much less any other flight simulation. Here are some comments on that physics modelling from Neil Mouneinme's review:
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Physics
More than anything else A-10 Cuba deserves mention for the physics and flight modeling. This game has the best physics model ever put into a combat sim, period. The moment you start the engines and pull out of the hangar you'll realize things are different. The landing gear your plane rests on reacts to weight shifting from accelerating, braking, and turning with unbelievably realistic damped suspension. On the takeoff roll, the main struts will compress and the nose gear will extend to its limit, followed by the main gear themselves, as the plane becomes light and leaves the ground. In flight the plane reacts well, developing lift from the huge wings, realistically modeling the control surface reactions, bobbing around in wind currents, etc. Turn off the computer flight augmentation and the plane will tip-stall violently in a stall condition if you push the limit too hard. Lose an engine or wing surface and the plane will try to roll to one side. Use the brakes or flaps if one is damaged and the 'hog will yaw in the direction of the working one. Drag a wingtip on the ground and the plane will try to cartwheel or yaw. The realism is simply incomparable, but the beauty is that it isn't difficult to fly, just very satisfying because you know that it's right. Damage effects are very realistic as befits a game with such a good flight model. Like the real A-10, you can lose one-third of your wing surface, one engine, and a rudder and still have enough control authority to land the damaged plane, but you'll be fighting the controls and skirting the outer edge of a stall almost all the way. Engine damage may result in a fire - complete with polygon flame and black smoke. Pull the extinguisher and it might put out the fire, or it might not. If it doesn't there is a risk of a catastrophic fuel explosion - backfiring of unburnt fuel in the compressor wake will indicate the risk involved. Land too hard and the landing gear might get twisted out of shape or broken completely. Get forced to belly land and sparks trail behind you as you scrape the runway. |
Screaming Demons has nine aircraft, therefore Parsoft went and created nine physics models, one for each aircraft. With the earlier A10 simulation there were only 6 things you could damage, now up to 250 items can receive damage, right down to an individual polygon! At ECTS the Activision representative chose a P38 and wheeled it around the taxi way with much turning and wheel braking thus sending the poor aircraft up on one wheel strut, down on the other, compressing the nose wheel strut until one of them broke. Crump.
As in Falcon 4 or Team Apache, you have to take good care of your squadrons morale, various parameters include such things as fatigue, combat skills and sanity. "Wait hold on", I ask, "Did you say sanity?" Yes, if your compatriots are "close to the edge" they can flip during combat, turn them into kamikaze screwballs or lilly-livered cowards that run away at the first sign of danger.
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There are actually going to be ten aircraft that ship with the game but one of them is going to be a dummy so you can learn how to create your "own" aircraft. This feature is somewhat advanced and not for everyone. For a start, to edit the 3D model you'll need 3D Studio 4 or MAX. Also damage "scripts" need to be edited so you can give functionality to the various parts of your 3D model.
If you have the determination, however, you will be able to build AND share your aircraft with others, and each design will be subject to the same flight and physics parameters of the aircraft supplied with the simulation. It should be a lot of fun to be able to add 100 horsepower to the P-38 Lightning, or add heavier canons to another aircraft..! If the tail gunner is your favorite position, maybe you would like to build a B17 with a tail CANNON instead! The mission editor included with FSSD will be the same one they used to build the game.
Now that Janes F15 has been out for a couple of weeks we are finding out how much replay value such a feature adds to a sim. The ability to create and swap custom missions is a real asset, and the virtual squadrons that form around the best simulations will get a great deal of mileage out of this feature in FSSD, I'm sure!
Other features that will enrich this simulation include the ability to control the engines on a multi engined aircraft individually, and even feather them separately! This will be VERY cool in dual engined aircraft like the P38 Lightning, and also great for the bombers. The ME 262 with its twin jet engines will also be perfect for this feature. What a fantastic application for SUNCOM's split throttle!
Late last year I spoke with Peter Karpas about the production of this sim, and he told about the inclusion of a feature that will be unique this year: the ability to occupy any station that would be available aboard the real aircraft. This means that if you are flying the B17 you can choose pilot or co-pilot, bombardier or navigator, or any of the gunner positions! This feature has been missing from sims since Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe.
The inside view of the B-17. Click for a larger image.
Just how cool is this feature? Imagine you are flying in formation with other B17s when a formation of Messerschmidts cuts into your group. You can leave the pilotting to the AI and flip into the tail gunner position to try your skill and maybe make a difference. If the bogie passes the tail position you can swap to the nose gunner and keep on him!
Now couple this with some very accurate physics and ballistics modelling, not to mention detailed damage modelling where it is not just a random probability calculation that determines what part of the aircraft is damaged but the actual trajectory of the projectiles, factored with gravity and inertia effects... Sounds like fun eh? What you hit is what you get!
This also makes a difference in tactics. Want to avoid having your engines hit? You can dive away from the bandits. But go too fast and too steep and your airframe will shake apart. And pulling too many gs will mean your gunners can't use their weapons!
With the same modelling for the AI pilots, following you into a steep dive means that they also put their lives and airframes at risk. AI pilots can lose sight the same way you can, and pulling too many g's in a fighter means that they can black out and become sitting ducks too.
As for the AI positions in the bombers, B17s did not carry a crew to occupy each single gunner position. Rather, gunners chose a key position and sometimes switched position depending on the location of the adversary. If your B17 has a crew of ten, with six gunners on board, there may be a blazing lot of shells slicing through the air when you are under attack. Sounds a little intimidating, I'm not sure I want to be in the Messerschmidt when this is happening!
Naturally, you can also drop the bombs. Instead of just pushing the button in a simulated function from your keyboard, you can assume the position, watch the terrain passing by until the target comes up, adjust the sites and drop em yourself! Then you can flip back to the pilots position and fly the airplane. Will the Norden gunsight be completely simulated? We'll try to find out.
Voodoo 2 Hardware
What kind of support will we see for Voodoo 2 hardware? Peter Karpas has confirmed that Voodoo 2 will be directly supported, meaning that FSSD will take advantage of the second TMU (texture unit). We will be able to run under SLI mode with Voodoo2 at 1024x768 resolution with hardware antialiasing. WOW! Can't wait to see this in action!
By the way, this simulation is also being developed by Parsoft for the Macintosh. Good news for Mac sim lovers! For more info on the sim go to the Parsoft Interview.