A few months later we spoke to Rod Swift, Managing Director for Digital Integration, and we added new information to the previous interview with James Baker. The substance of that information indicated that Super Hornet was more in the lineage of Tornado than any other simulation to date. Good news!

Furthermore, Super Hornet will include a fully dynamic campaign system as well as a tactical dimension far beyond F16. (Images in this article include stills from the multimedia introduction as well as older screens from the sim. Please note that Super Hornet has acquired an entirely new graphics engine since this interview.)

CSIM: Why was the F/A 18 chosen as the platform for DIs follow up to f16 FF?

James: The F/A 18 E is a superb plane, with full air to air and ground attack capability, and with the added bonus of being a Navy Plane, allowing us to simulate aircraft carrier landings and takeoff, as well as fleet actions.

CSIM: What are the design goals for Super Hornet?

James: To create a high quality flight sim, with the full cockpit implementation, but also concentrating on simulating carrier deck operations, as the game will simulate deck crew operations (with over 15 different types of hand signals) as well as the Fresnel Light Landing System and talkdown.

CSIM: Can you give us an overview of SH, comparing it to other Hornet sims like GSCs Hornet: Korea?

James: Super Hornet has many of the advanced features of Hornet Korea, but many areas which we feel will be an improvement on Hornet Korea. These include:

• Super Hornet based on the E model, Korea is based on older C model
• Super Hornet utilises Direct3D, while Korea runs only on 3Dfx. Korea's software optimised version has just flat shaded terrain.
• Korea has 1 warzone and a training area while Super Hornet has three warzones and a training area.
• Super Hornet quickstart starts in the air, with a target rich environment and unlimited weapons while F/A-18 Korea instant action still requires the plane to take off and full mastery of the controls
• Super Hornet has a wider range of weapons, including the more modern weapon types like JDAM, SLAM and JSOW.
• Korea has limited articulation of the F18 while Super Hornet F18 model will have full articulation of landing gear, speed brake, flaps and afterburner nozzle. Also include the ALE-50 towed decoy.
• Super Hornet terrain is more detailed, with towns, villages, bridges, industrial facilities included. River & road placement modelled from satellite data.
• Korea has 28 missions and a mission editor, while Super Hornet has a built in mission generator giving unlimited missions, as well as 6 mini campaigns and three full dynamic campaigns. Super Hornet missions also include peripheral action, so that in a normal mission there will be over 60 allied and enemy aircraft in the battle area, and over 200 ground vehicles, SAM and AA.
• Korea has carrier landings and take off on a bare carrier deck, Super Hornet simulates full carrier deck activity, with other planes on deck, taking off and landing, naval crew directing planes on deck and manning the catapults. The Landing Signal Officer is more detailed in Super Hornet
• Korea is severely limited in the number of real time models in game, while Super Hornet has a more complete range of aircraft and ships.

• Korea and Super Hornet have equally detailed avionics, but Super Hornet has mouse support, giving a more handson approach to using the DDI's and other cockpit instrumentation.
• Korea has limited terrain types, while each warzone in Super Hornet has various terrain types including desert, scrub, forest, snow, rock and tundra. Super Hornet explosions are more detailed.
• Korea network is limited to 4 users in a special network war zone, Super Hornet has the option of up to 16 in head to head, and 4 as cooperative missions in any of the three warzones.

CSIM: Have there been actual military people involved in the production?

James: Yes, and we also use military pilots in testing to increase the accuracy of our flight model.

CSIM: In what areas will SH break new ground?

James: New visuals with dynamic lighting, full deck operations, Mission Generator and a Command/Dynamic Campaign capability.

CSIM: I understand radar modelling has received great attention. How many modes will we have?

James: The following air to air modes are being modelled:

• Range While Search
• Velocity Search
• Track While Scan
• ACM mode including Wide acquisition, Vertical acquisition and Boresight
• Single Target Track
• Auto Acquisition Mode
• Non-Coperative Target Recognition

Air to Ground:

• Real Beam Ground Map
• Sea Surface Search
• Ground Moving Target
• Doppler Beam Sharpened - sector
• Doppler Beam Sharpened - patch
• A/G ranging
• Terrain Avoidance

CSIM: How will you make this sophisticated simulation accessible to the novice? Are there training missions? If so, how are they laid out?

James: We have the Quickstarts, also a facility to auto design training missions giving an unlimited number. Also the preferences have a facility to select a less complex avionics suite.

CSIM: How much of the manual will be devoted to ACM?

James: D.I. believes in simulating the excitement of ACM within its sims, so a large section of the manual will concentrate on this.

CSIM: Lets talk about the AI. Will AI pilots use the same flight model as the virtual player? Will they have realistic loadouts and weight restrictions?

James: No, they don't use the same flight model. And yes, they will have realistic loadout and weight restrictions.

CSIM: Will AI pilots skill increase over time? Will loss of sight and g force limits be modelled for AI pilots?

James: Pilot skills are variable for the AI models. Loss of sight and g force limits are partially modelled.

CSIM: Mid air refueling has come a long way this past year and looks to be reaching another level in F4. Wil Super Hornet take this on?

James: Unfortunately, no. CSIM: What kind of enemies will we see? Is the DI team aiming to include the latest Soviet aircraft like the Su 37? Tell us about other allied aircraft. What else will we see in the theatre? Will we be flying escort for B1s? B2s?

James: A full gamut of allied and enemy weapon systems will be modelled, which will vary according to warzone selected. Enemy:

A-50 Mainstay AWACS , An-12 Cub-A ,MiG-21, MiG-27 Flogger , MiG-29 Fulcrum , Su-24 Fencer D, Su-25 Frogfoot ,Su-27 Flanker, Sea Harrier, Su-30, Jaguar , Mirage 2000 , Tu-16 Badger ,Tu-95 Bear, Tu-22 Backfire, Mil-17 Hip, Mil-24 Hind-E. For ships: Viraat CV , Kashin Class DD, Leander Class FF, Tiblisi CV , Kirov CG, Krivak FF , OSA missile boat.

Allied:

F14 Tomcat, F15 Eagle, F16 Fighting Falcon, F/A 18 Hornet, A-50 Mainstay AWACS , E-2C Hawkeye , Seahawk , AH1W Supercobra, AH64C Apache, UH60 Blackhawk. Allied Ships: Nimitz class CVN, Ticonderoga Class CG , Spruance Class FF), OHP Class frigate , LHA Tarawa assault ship.

CSIM: Tell us about weapons systems. Will we see the JDAM and LOCAAS in SH? Will the Russians use the latest missiles like the Vympel?

James: The latest weapons systems will be modelled, including SLAM, JDAM, JSOW and ALE-50 towed decoys.

CSIM: Interaction and flight control were limited to one wingman in F16. How many wingmen will we see in a flight in SH?

James: Super Hornet will allow up to seven wingmen in your flight, and you will have control of four squadrons of eight aircraft.

CSIM: Tactical control in Janes F15 has pushed the envelope beyond anything yet seen on the PC. How much control will a flight leader have over his wingmen in SH?

James: Levels of control are beyond F16 but not as detailed as Janes recent release. For example, we don't allow control of individual wingmen.

CSIM: Tell us about the command structure for a flight? How does it work? Will it be hot keyed or menu driven or both?

James: Both. The actual command structure has yet to be finalized.

CSIM: Will we be changing radio channels to communicate with ATC, FAC, AWACS etc?

James: Yes, we have modelled air traffic control, forward air controllers and the AWACS interaction. Obviously, with more traffic in our simulation than in others seen out there to date we have to provide more control interaction via radio. Flight vectoring from AWACS is also a necessity.

CSIM: Net play puts special demands on comms systems. How will comms innet play be handled?

James: Our network comms will be Direct Play compatible

CSIM: Sims like A10 Cuba and the coming FS:SDOE from Parsoft have taken physics modelling to new dimensions. What will we see in SH in this respect? Will each part of the aircraft be modelled separately?

James: All of our sims model different parts of the aircraft, but all weapon systems take account of gravity, wind speed and other factors of a physical world. The physics model should keep pilots happy.

CSIM: Janes has pushed the boundaries by modelling objects and weapons in terms of physics and realism. Will we see moving turrets, rotating antennae, etc?

James: Yes. Our object modelling has kept pace with other work out there, and you will see fine attention to detail in these areas also.

CSIM: Damage modelling has been another big growth area as CPU power has increased. What kind of damage modelling will we see in SH? Will damage in one system affect another?

James: Yes, a full damage system has been modelled. Different parts of the airframe can take damage, as well as engines and avionics. The damage system will be as detailed as F16 or more detailed.

CSIM: Tell us about the graphics engine. Is this the same engine used in F16 FF?

James: No, this is a different engine. We have light sourced shading and dynamic coloured lighting, and we will support Voodoo boards. We are planning full D3d implementation, but no proprietary support is planned. Maximum resolution planned at the moment is 640x480.

CSIM: Frame rate is often a snag for the newest simulations, but with Voodoo 2 and other new 3d technologies in the offing SH is touching down at a good time. What will be the recommended system?

James: The machine spec is a P166 or higher with 32Mb or more memory, 40Mb of free hard disc space, PCI SVGA graphics card with 2Mb or more memory, 8x CD-ROM, Mouse, sound card. Recommended: 3DFX 3D graphics accelerator, Joystick.

CSIM: Will we see a wind model in the sim? Turbulence?

James: Both wind and turbulence. These factors contribute to immersion in surprising ways, especially for those who have actually flown = )

CSIM: What about weather? Will we see multiple cloud layers?

James: Multiple weather effects will be implemented. The cloud system is a single layer.

CSIM: Other than suspension of disbelief and dynamics the area that keeps virtual pilots coming back for more is identifying with the pilots they fly. How will Super Hornet seek to involve the player personally? Will there be detailed pilot records? Will our wingmen get promotions?

James: We have built in a detailed pilot log, with promotions and medals. In addition, mission success and kills are recorded.

James: We have three war zone areas and a training area, each having a dynamic campaign. There are also 3 mini campaigns and unlimited single missions. The individual warzones are:

Barents Sea, against a new communist Russia, with Russian Naval forces including a CV, and their Naval Bomber force including Badger, Bear and Backfire bombers.

Indian Ocean, against India, with its Harrier Carriers, and Mirage 2000 interceptors.

Persian Gulf, against a re-armed Iraq looking for revenge.

CSIM: Tell us about the campaign system. How is it structured?

James: The campaign system will consist of a full dynamic AI command game, where the player control the missions of up to 32 F/A-18's from a carrier. Also 3 mini campaigns per warzone where the player just controls his own plane.

CSIM: If we can command a flight, will we also be able to plan the mission structure? How much will the player have input into tasking, mission planning in single player mode?

James: The player is able to fully plan each mission, by selecting targets & flight route.

Rod: In fact mission planning and strategic decisions can be approached from a variety of levels. Level one is the easy level: you can automate all the decisions and then simply fly the mission and command your own flight. Level two allows you to automate some of the tasks but make the decisions you want to make: target, route, waypoint details etc. Level three will allow you to completely plan the missions for yourself and the other three squadrons.

CSIM: In the latter case, how do we make an intelligent decision as to appropriate targets, waypoints etc.

Rod: We have designed an interface that will present you with the target list and strategic values for each target. You will then be able to assess an appropriate tactical direction based on the ebb and flow of the campaign.

CSIM: Integration of the ground war with the air war adds a lot of depth to the newer simulations, giving the player a greater variety of missions and adding tactical depth. What approach have you taken in this area?

Rod: In the campaign and single missions the ground war will be raging as you fly your mission. You will be tasked for appropriate ground targets according to strategic assessment. You will also have the option, as mentioned, of making your own assessment of priority based on information presented to you.

CSIM: We've heard that the realism goals for physics are very high. And with wind and weather also modeled, how difficult will carrier landing be at high levels of realism?

James: Carrier operation will be highly detailed, and landing on the carrier will be as difficult as real life, especially at night. But the Automatic Carrier Landing mode has been implemented for those who find it too much of a challenge.

Carrier operations are beyond anything yet modeled on the PC. The game will simulate deck crew operations (with over 15 different types of hand signals) as well as the Fresnel Light Landing System and talkdown. While this presents a unique challenge to the player, it also becomes a necessity when landing on a pitching deck in a storm!

While on deck you will see crewmen moving aircraft about, and you will be guided to the cat by the appropriate personnel. And you won't be alone in the virtual world, other flights and aircraft will also be active.

Carrier Ops

CSIM: We've seen some advances this past year in mission planners with the planner in Longbow 2, and an incredible mission builder in Janes F15. WIll we see a planner or builder in SH? What kinds of features will it have?

James: The game will have a full mission planner, allowing the player to create or change any detail of the flight.

CSIM: Will resource management be a consideration in the campaign?

James: Yes, you will have to assess both the type of weapon needed for a particular engagement as well as your inventory. If you use too many long range missiles you may find yourself short on them when needed.

CSIM: What will we see for debriefs in the campaign? Will we have records of who hit what with what weapon, weapon kill stats?

James: A full breakdown is given for the player only, including weapons used and what you hit.

Engaged!

CSIM: Can you tell us how padlock and views will be handled? Will we see a virtual cockpit as well as fixed views?

James: The game has a full Padlock view as well as various fixed views. We have a virtual cockpit. Our own 'HEADLOCK' view has been developed in response to 'wish lists' for real pilots who enjoy flight sims.

The headlock system in DIs F16 is excellent. I have seen at least one complaint on the net, but I don't think that the pilot understood how to control the system. The view is activated with key "6" and simulates the pilot's head tracking a target as long as the target remains in the physical field of view.

When you activate the head-lock view on your current target, a number of things will happen:

• The cockpit will, usually, lower slightly and start to 'float' gently as your view becomes centralised on, and then slaved to, the target.
• A secondary aiming reticle will be superimposed over the target showing its distance from your F-16, together with an aspect carat indicating your relative headings as described in the Air-to-Air HUD modes in Chapter 5 of your manual.
• A data box will be placed at the top of your view at such times when your complete Head Up Display comes close to moving off-screen. The data box comprises the following symbology: (File 'readmef5.gif' shows a snapshot of the head-lock view)
• A large, outer 'Range of movement' box, representing the sphere of view around the F-16 through which the pilots may physically move their heads.
• A small, inner 'Field of view' box, representing your current direction of view within the pilot's range of movement.
• A pointer and vertical scale at the right of the Range Of Movement box indicating the current pitch of your aircraft.
• A horizon reference line at the center of the Range Of Movement box indicating the current roll of your aircraft.
• Airspeed and radar altitude readings at the top of the Range Of Movement box.
• The identity of the currently *viewed* (not necessarily the currently *designated* target) above the centre of the Range Of Movement box.

As your head turns to track the target, the Field Of View box will move appropriately within the Range Of Movement box. Movement range is approximately ninety degrees upwards and thirty down, and 135 degrees left and right. If the target moves out of the pilot's range of movement, view returns to standard in-cockpit view until such time as the target re-enters the pilot's range of movement. This could drive some people nuts but is a fairly good simulation of reality.

The headlock acts as a toggle between normal "look ahead" view and "target track" view. If you activate the headlock then switch to an external view, later pressing F5 (cockpit view) will put you back into the head-locked target track.

Head-locking slaves the view to the currently designated target but is otherwise unconnected to the target designation systems. Once locked, the view will slave to the target UNTIL the view is deactivated with a second press of key 6, or until you choose to view another available target. When the target leaves the range of movement, view returns to normal in-cockpit viewing but the target is remembered. If it re-enters the pilot's range of movement, the viewpoint will swing around and re-acquire the target.

While in head locked view the pilot may cycle through viewable targets with the hash (#) key. Available targets are those within 3 miles of your F-16. If the current target is destroyed, the next available target is selected automatically. So far I have found the system well designed and user-friendly. I'll try to get a screen shot up today or tomorrow...

CSIM: How many players do you expect to support via TCP/IP at full 33.6 connect rate? What about LAN? Will campaign play be fully accessible in both these modes?

James: Network support will include up to 16 players head to head and 4 on cooperative missions.