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Test System

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• P166 with 83MHz bus
• Asus P55T2P4 with 512 K
• Matrox Millenium 4 MB
• Orchid Righteous 3D
• 80M EDO RAM

We've been spending some time thrashing GSC's latest beta patch for Hornet 3 - version 3.0.1b2 to get a feel for how the latest updates have worked out. The results have been very satisfying so far, and hopefully more will come in the F/A-18: Korea! expansion.

First, and most importantly, the situational awareness for Hornet has been improved considerably. This was a sticking point in the original release, and so the change is a welcome sight. For those who prefer cardinal "Warbirds"-type viewing, Hornet 3 now boasts one of the most comprehensive cardinal systems available - also complete with modifiers for up-angled viewing.

The virtual cockpit/padlock system has been greatly improved, as well. Now you can padlock your wingman, your radar target, the last target locked on radar, or whatever enemy is closest to your 12 o'clock. This goes a long way to curing "furball frustration".

Since the game lacks the EF2000-style "painted arrows" or other reference points on the canopy, it is really easy to become disoriented while padlocking at high angles. However, this isn't too bad because hitting the padlock view button again will snap your view forward to get your bearings, and a third time will rotate your head smoothly back to tracking the target.

There are two minor annoyances in the new padlock system. The first is that there still is no "incoming missile" padlock - although this feature, we have been told, will appear in the Korea expansion. The second is that in a multi-bandit furball, you can find yourself in a situation where the 12 o'clock padlock can focus on a bandit way off in front instead of locking onto the one on your tail. Being able to padlock on the nearest enemy without checking 12 o'clock for bandits would be helpful. Ideally, being able to do it either way at will would be even better. In any case, Hornet 3 has always had a very nicely done virtual cockpit, and now the improvements to the padlocking system - or "situational awareness mode" - have made it into an effective tool for three-dimensional dogfights.

The physics and weapons modeling in Hornet has also been tweaked. While it's not quite clear whether the F/A-18 flight computer wants to initiate takeoff rotation in the real Hornet, aside from this the model feels substantially improved - much more realistic than EF2000 and a bit more simplified than Su-27.

So where would we like to see Hornet go from here? F/A-18: Korea will address several items on the wish list. A mission editor will be made available, 3dfx support with much richer graphics will make it's way into the game, and the previously mentioned missile padlock will make its debut. These improvements should help Hornet be a serious player in the PC world, and may just give it the gold crown in the Macintosh market. Naturally we still wish for a fully dynamic campaign, and I'm certain that more than a few Strike Eagle fans would be interested in seeing an inclusion of the 2-seater Strike Hornet.

F/A18 Hornet: Korea

Graphic Simulations is now preparing a second update to their original Mac flight sim, and this one may hold more surprises than 3.0. A new Korean theater, hardware 3d acceleration, and a full-blown mission editor promise to create new adventure as well as a new appearance.

A Shot from the Mission Editor. Note that resolution is 1024x768.

Here is the summary from the web site:

• Advanced mission editor for an unlimited variety of scenarios
• Native 3DFX Glide API support for truly amazing texture mapped graphics
• Option to use the proprietary military-style flat-shaded polygon engine
• New combat units.
• Extensive printed documentation written by former Marine 'Strike U' instructor and F/A-18 pilot, David "Pooch" Putze.

Did you know that the multimedia training section in Hornet 3 was written by a real air force pilot? Graphic Simulations regularly consults with actual Hornet pilots, and the beta team included an active-duty F/A-18 pilot, an active-duty F-14 RIO, an ex-F-15 instructor pilot, an AWACs pilot, a number of commercial airline and private pilots, and a software engineer who worked on the real Hornet's avionics.

Hornet Korea is a stand-alone product and will not require F/A-18 Hornet 3.0. The screen shots on the website are NOT the 3dfx shots with texture mapping, so we can expect a lot more change in the appearance of the shots yet. More details and more screen shots should be available soon, and the sim is set for release on November 1st! In the meantime, you can download a demo of Hornet:

3.3MB