Not long ago the big news was that Eidos had lost Bryan Walker, the Producer for Flying Nightmares II. Unfortunately, the future of FN2 is in doubt, but not so with Team Apache!!

SIMIS in the UK is producing this sim under the leadership of Carl Jones. After a few days with an early beta, I can tell you that I am impressed! (I'm surprised too, but maybe I shouldn't have been....)

The Simulation

When Bryan Walker was on the team, he commented: "Going beyond the status quo, Team Apache is the first PC-based flight simulation designed and produced by a combat veteran aviator, immersing the players in the entire experience of modern warfare unlike any other game.

"In playing dozens of flight simulators through the years, I've always wondered why nobody ever properly reproduced the combat experience. Every game claims "this realism" and "that graphics," but they've all failed to do justice to the men and machines who face both their fears and the enemy in battle. I think the major reason is that the designers of these games, having never experienced it, have no idea how to reproduce the combat experience."

"That's where Team Apache has an advantage. We're not relying on the Public Affairs Office or a civilian publication for information. All the inside information that other game companies have no idea existed is the backbone of our game. I think you'll really appreciate the attention to detail and the absorbing environment we're crafting into Team Apache."

All this sounds like nice marketing hype. But you wanna bet that virtually all chopper lovers invest in this sim? Its got wickedly broad appeal. The learning curve is not in the systems, its in the tactics. And the environment just feels right. Once I loaded up the beta I just couldn't turn it off. So let me give you the short hand version:

Team Apache is a beauty. The first mission I chose was a single deep strike mission in Latvia, and I toggled weather on.. a storm to be exact! I chose three team mates in AH 64s and away we went.

I found myself on a very detailed pad near a hangar on the outskirts of a small town. Engines on and we spooled up. I heard my team mates check in and we lifted off. As the chopper arched forward I noticed the shadow of the blades below the cockpit. (Notice the blade effect on the ground in the shot at right above).

The FEELING of flight is as good but the modeling is in process. Actually this chopper feels a little more unstable than the LB2 flight model, which is probably good. The rain was pelting down in front of me but as soon as I picked up speed the angle changed and was coming more toward me. Moving at 120 knots feels pretty fast, and the town was coming up on me quickly.

Individual trees! And the detail in the roads and buildings is astonishing (note: trees are real objects, please avoid!). I was even MORE surprised by the frame rate which I expected would be lower than LB2 given the detail. The fog effects and lightning are equally impressive. Sometimes the entire area would light up, and sometimes I would see the fork in the distance.

On my first pass through the town I was so busy oggling the scenery that I cracked head first into a building. The noise was terrible, and as I died I was switched to an outside view and I saw my machine flip over and then hit the ground below. It was now in two pieces. In a later mission I took two hits and went down and then saw the machine take another hit. The burnt shell bounced into the air from the impact and then settled again.

Hmm.. better try that again. Back into town, decided to hover near a church for a minute when a European looking auto ambled past! Can't have that so I took him out... a minute later another one came around the corner! The explosions and effects are SUPERB. Hit anything within 75 yards with a rocket and about 50% of the time you WILL take collateral damage.

Another time I was panning around my chopper in an outside view, and I noticed some movement in the canopy. YIKES! The guys had come alive! They were turning their heads and following something..... These things get scary sometimes.

The physics in this sim appear to be superb. The example above gives you an idea, but you will also see the chopper bounce on landing, and you will feel the compression from the shocks. Its quite amazing. Dynamic lighting is superb, and rockets have NEVER been so much fun! Launch a hellfire and you will see the usual arching trajectory.

As you would expect given these screen shots, object detail is very high. I don't know how many polys go into the choppers, but I would guess it could be 50% higher than the choppers in Longbow 2. But my big surprise came when I checked out the graphics options and selected SUPER HIGH res. WOW!! At 800x600 the stakes really go up. And I really couldn't see a frame rate loss! Will you be able to run 1024x768 under SLI mode with Voodoo2? I suspect the answer is yes!

>Now to the heart of the matter. Team Apache does beg for comparisons, but not to Longbow 2. Rather, this sim is JSF with a dynamic campaign. Avionics are somewhat simplified compared to Janes Longbow. Getting excited yet? Ok, its Janes F15 but with choppers.

Now F15 doesn't have a dynamic campaign in the usual sense of the term (see our interview for a detailed explanation), but it does have an unusually detailed command structure, allowing for far more interaction and control than one usually has. JSF allowed an unusual degree of control also, but F15 surpasses it.

Team Apache splits the team into lead/wingmen pairings with a maximum of three such pairings. Lead is always in Pair1. As lead you can issue commands to the team over one of four channels. Channel 1 addresses Pair 1 only, channel 2 addresses pair 2, channel 3 pair 3, and channel 4 address all pairs.

Virtual cockpit. Its a good one! Click for a rocket attack!

Under this hierarchy you can order pairs to help other pairs, engage current threats, engage mission primary targets that are in sight, engage targets of opportunity, engage all targets, suppress current target, ignore threats, engage MY target, follow the briefing, wait here, take over LEAD, cycle waypoints, check status, ask leader for his position, and communicate with the rescue chopper. Team Apache also allows you to preset 2 alternative formations to which you can switch at any time during a mission.

Now remember, all this is factored into some very life like pilots. We asked Bryan Walker about the moral conditions in an interview last year:

Csim: Tell us about the leadership factors built into Team Apache?

Bryan: The biggest challenge will be to manage the aircrews and maintenance personnel. TA's environment is completely interconnected. Some aircrews can be flying while others are on alert and others sleeping. The same applies to the maintenance section, who can be repairing aircraft while others are deployed. It's up to the player to decide which pilots to deploy, how they're paired, which aircraft to put them in, and how to allocate the maintanence manpower. Badly-damaged airframes can be cannibalized if need be, or Partially-Mission-Capable aircraft can be sent on missions.

Working the pilots or maintenance personnel too hard can result in mistakes, crashes, and reduced effectiveness of the entire unit. It really becomes a balancing act for the player, deciding which missions to focus on, arguing with the "Head Shed" about priorities and timescales, and looking out for his men while still accomplishing the objective.

Csim: The AI that factors in experience, moral, and team cooperation must be quite sophisticated. Can you tell us some of the nuts and bolts of the design?

Bryan: Each "Artificial Pilot" is rated in 21 different categories, including technical and personal traits. Compatibility between crewmembers can come to the fore, particularly once Fatigue and Morale come into play. Some pilots will prefer different weapons in different circumstances, while) others excel at night missions. The outcome of specific missions and the progress of the campaign in general has effects on not only the morale issues, but can have a great deal to do with the player's status as a commander.

If the success rate is high, then the player will have more leeway in mission selection and supply requests. If the success rate is low, then the top hats won't put up with a lot of guff while debating a mission's priority. The loss of an aircraft or pilot can have a devastating effect on a unit, and the rescue of missing aviators becomes a priority when a bird goes down. On top of that, the pilots can occasionally receive "Dear John" letters and such, causing their morale to sag. It's up to the player to decide how to cope with these issues, and it's no small task!

Csim: I understand that these moral and cooperation factors will extend beyond the pilots to crew chiefs and mechanics! How does this actually work? What tells me that my mechanic is tired of fixing my chopper? Will there be dialogue choices for example?

Bryan: The pilots' tent and crewchiefs' tent have interfaces that allow the player to view estimate the fatigue level and guage the moral level of the personnel. The pilots can be examined individually, while the crewchiefs are viewed as a unit. The "platoon seargent" of the crewchiefs will pass along advise at critical junctures if the maintenance personnel are ready to drop, and senior pilots will also offer input when a change in assignments should be considered.

We also asked Bryan to comment on the damage modelling.

Csim: Damage modelling is another growth area in sim design. What will we see in Team Apache in this department?

Bryan: The damage modeling is somewhat unique in that damage affects can have a trickle-down impact. The helicopters are modeled as virtual systems, with interdependencies() affecting major and minor subsystems. There are 100 different initial damage effects, and these can trickle down into many more depending upon the severity of the hit, the location of the hit, and the flight profile of the affected aircraft.

Damaged rotors can buckle if the player tries to fly too long or over-G them. Tail rotor damage can take several forms, from loss of thrust entirely, to fixed-pitch malfunctions, to having the driveshaft sever, and so forth. Players are going to have to learn how to operate the helicopter in all regimes, as well as learn to diagnose different malfunctions and do what it takes to get the helicopter back in one piece.

As if all this weren't enough, I flew an escort mission and when we got to the crash site I watched the Blackhawk land. A moment later a single figure went running across the grass to the Blackhawk. These guys are fairly articulated and its really something to see.