While at E3 everyone from COMBATSIM.COM wanted a hands on look at B17
II. The simulation is unique enough in design conception and beautiful
enough in execution that it had captured our imaginations: a sign of
good things to come!
Without further ado, here is a summary of the E3 experience,
complete with new screens in two formats: one set is at 1024x768, and
the second is at 1600x1200!
The visuals are very impressive, at least equal to Ka52 Team
Alligator. We watched the aircraft rise and fall slightly on the
thermals, an amazing effect when combined with conn trails or smoke.
A few other effects caught my eye: watching the gun turrets swivel
from the outside view, with both guns firing, was impressive. As most
of you will know, the graphics engine in EAW did not allow for this
type of detail.
Atmosphere will likely rival or surpass WWII Fighters, and indeed
the design goals of this simulation are mid to high core, while
remaining accessible to novices via difficulty sliders. Fog, clouds,
different types of smoke and flame, reflections and dynamic lighting..
all these things will combine to make this a physically beautiful sim.
The tracers are amazing. I've never seen them modeled realistically
until now. Every fifth shell is lit up, and they don't all follow a
nice neat track through the sky but tend to wobble about just as the
real phosphorous shells really did.
I confess to being a bit blown away by the continued evolution of
graphics engines. When I first saw Janes' WWII Fighters on a PII 450
dual V2 configuration with detail and clouds maxed out, I thought..
"That is the best I will see in the next twelve months." I was almost
right, but the evolution continues...
Watching the men move inside the cockpit of the Flying Fortress
is like watching "Rainbow Six," but in "the Fighting Eighth."
Impressive and atmospheric, almost like you have entered an interactive
WWII movie. You WILL care about your crew.
The various gun stations are modeled in careful detail, and of
course, each can be manned by yourself or via an AI crewman. Watching
these guys move around as you give orders is pretty scary. Motion
capture has been used for each position, and naturally each has his own
brains courtesy of Intel and Wayward Design.
Right, a bit breathless now, are we? If you still have any life left
in your bones check out the next page, with the first online shots of
the Norden bomb sight.
Let's start off with some large images of aircraft. Here are a Mustang
and Thunderbolt at 1600x1200, followed by an out the nose shot from the
Flying Fortress.
Notice the oil stain from exhaust of other aircraft, and notice how
it divides by the force of air on the protruding part of the bubble.
