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