One glance at a screen shot top right will tell you, these
guys are obsessive about their simulations. Thats good,
because its the only way they are likely to match my
expectations!
Click for larger image.
Hey, lets be honest. There are only two sims that I spend
time in these days: one is by Janes, and the other is by
DiD. I used to fly and fight and even do some deep diving
in a few other sims, but when the chips are down and time
is scarce one finds the best of the best and just keeps on
returning. Until a few more simulations arrive on the scene
this summer, Janes F15 and DiDs TAW beta are the only
things that are seen flashing on my monitor late at night.
Recently PC Gamer unveiled Fighter Legends to the world,
and that brief article had us all on the edges of our
seats. I was ready to charter a plane south to interview
Paul Grace on the spot! Luckily, Paul is in Atlanta this
week and my time with him is already secured.
Click for larger image.
It seems that when Paul and crew had to ask the BIG
QUESTION last spring they could only come up with this one:
What was the best flight sim of all time?" They could only
come up with one answer: Chuck Yeager's Air Combat.
Inevitably, that was the direction they chose, and the
result is Fighter Legends.
What this means for you and I is that we are about to see
another simulation worthy of the Janes crew, only this time
its aimed at prop heads and set in the skies of WWII, with
seven of best fighters of the European war. Oh sure, there
are MANY more aircraft in the skies than these, but these
are the ones you and I will be flying:
P51-D Mustang
BF109G-6
Spitfire MK IX
Me 262-1a
P-47D Thunderbolt
FW 190A8
P-38J Lightning
Click for larger image.
Thats quite a selection, and should make for some
incredible dogfighting fun!
Janes is aiming at a simulation that will look and run good
at 640x480, but will also go as high as the hardware will
allow. With 400MHz mainboards running at 100MHz already
hitting the market, and with the hardcore crowd not too shy
to turbocharge that engine with the latest Voodoo2 SLI
offerings, Janes has to aim pretty high. How high? We know
it will run at 1024x768 on that setup, and thats good
enough for now!
Click for larger image.
Is this ATF but in WWII? Apparently not. The goal for
flight modelling and challenge is considerably higher than
the ATF series. Aircraft will not only have unique
individual characteristics but far more factors will be
taken into account in the modeling of flight.
Just as important for realism and that illusive sense of
immersion, physics modeling will be far beyond the ATF
series. As in Fighter Duel 2.0, the general hit bubble is
finally gone in favor of some heavy ballistics and object
modeling. It will be possible to score a hit on very
specific parts of an aircraft, and the particular area of
damage will then affect that aircraft in specific ways.
Click for larger image.
Even though light on realism, ATF was one heck of a success
for Janes and has made for some solidly satisfying online
play. And this is where Fighter Legends may truly shine.
The campaign will be scripted, maybe in a manner similar to
F15, but most of us won't mind. Replaybility will be high
owing to Janes setting up an online site that will host
those among us willing to take to the virtual skies over
Europe with players from all over the world. Best of all,
it will be possible to join a battle in progress.
Thanks to PC Gamer for breaking this story. Watch for more
information when we return from E3!
