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.
Click for 512x384
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:
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.
Click for 640x480.
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.
