I didn't used to hate Andy Hollis. It came on me suddenly when I first saw Longbow 2. Longbow 2 is a small step for a sim, a giant leap for sim-kind. The original Longbow gave us fantastic depth in avionics and great action. The second coming of Longbow will give us an incredible sense of immersion with state of the art graphics and lighting effects, and far greater tactical depth with its new mission editor, dynamic campaign and multi-position and multiplayer modes. You want it all? Longbow 2 delivers!

To be candid, I simply didn't expect to see this level of advancement this soon. Yeah, I know, 3d hardware has been around for a while, but I guess I've gotten used to being disappointed. One wonders where it can go from here? I hope Andy doesn't realize how close to perfection he has come--people have been known to get suicidal when they reach the top! Oh, so why do I hate Andy? Cause until he's finished with it everyone is going to think I've gone la-la til they see it themselves!

As most of you are very aware, Longbow 2 is a mini virtual battlefield product, with a truly dynamic campaign and Black Hawk transports and Kiowa Warriors to team up with. Those escort missions become considerably more interesting when the transports are flown by real pilots in LAN or TCP connection. Course, you may want to fly em yourself and let your team mates fly the gunships. Or, team up with a friend in one chopper. The network features built into WIN95 offer awesome capabilities.

3d hardware has finally become mainstream, and the dreams long dreamt by simulation designers like Andy Hollis, Will McBurnett and the team at Skunkworks are coming to fruition as the overburdened Intel CPUs take a back seat and let the real men play!

In the shot above you can get a sense of what is coming. Not only are smoke effects handled by 3dfx in hardware, add wind and turbulence to the picture and the increased terrain and object detail and you have an astounding environment. Suspension of disbelief, that overused mantra, suddenly takes on new meaning. You hit the target, and it begins to smoke. The smoke plumes out as it gains altitude, and suddenly its caught by the same wind that is rocking your AH64D. You hit the target again and it explodes, fragments scattering, fire roaring. Do this at night and you will be forced to cushion your jaw as it hits the desk. The missile flare lights up the scene where it passes, and the second missile lights up the smoke from the first. The flaming target becomes a beacon in the night.

Or perhaps you've come in a bit too close and someone turns a blinding searchlight on you. You quickly let fly with your cannon and watch the fireworks. Or you've gone on a dawn raid and the fog is still rising off the hills as you approach your target area, the pink hues in the sky still fresh. The Blackhawks begin unloading their highly tuned cargo of special forces. There is a stunning beauty to the scene even as it speaks of death and destruction. Simulation designers have crossed the line into artistry, and we all get to marvel at their work.

In truth, the artistry has been there for quite some time. No one who played Flashpoint Korea or Longbow Gold can have missed the telltale signs of the simulation lover at work. They wanted to give us the best, and from the unbelievable interactive training missions with the virtual instructor in the CP/G to the flight model and avionics and the semi-dynamic campaign, it was a great piece of work.

But we longed for more. We wanted to taste the forbidden fruit. We longed for multi-player and dynamic campaigns. Few of us stopped to think about enhanced graphics and dynamic lighting and the ability to fly in other parts of the strike teams. Now in Longbow II for each helicopter you can play as either the pilot, the co-pilot/gunner, or handle both positions yourself (and yes, we know the Black Hawk doesn't have a CP/G — the second position on that bird is a door gunner). The differing functions of these three helicopter types allows realistic portrayal of a greater range of mission types than could be done with just the heavily-armed Longbow. We wanted more--we got it!

Longbow 2 at night...

So here I am, the objective journalist trying to find the appropriate adjectives to describe my experience of Longbow 2! Longbow 2 truly is a new simulation. Once you've played it you'll realize why there could be no upgrade path to this product. Flash Point was a great step up over the original Longbow, but this is more like the passage from Wing Commander II to Wing Commander 3: its just that much more advanced.

One of the most cool features of Longbow 2 is an entirely new tactical dimension rooted in the new mission planner. Designed by Clark Janes, the latest addition to the Longbow design team, the planner adds new tactical depth and control to an already great simulation.

Calling up the planner gives the player access to four flights of helicopters, briefing data and intelligence, and of course the topographic mission map with overlays. The player can choose what kind of information is displayed on the mission map as well as how that information is presented. You can select and deselect the flight plans of all four missions, modify waypoints, and even choose which mission to fly! You can even add new waypoints IN FLIGHT by calling up the map. Nice touch!

Each time you call up the planner you have a choice of four helicopters and four missions to fly in (in single player games you must assign yourself the Lead role in a flight). Choose your mission, then zoom in the map and carefully modify waypoints to your liking. Still unsure of the terrain elevation on a delicate assignment? The planner has a terrain profiler that allows interaction with the terrain. Simply click on PROFILE on the top menu and then drag a line between two points to call up a detailed cross section of the elevations along the line. The player can then plot a waypoint on the cross section, allowing detailed mapping of the flight route along ravines or around hills or under the crest of a ridge.

The second feature is as advanced as the first, allowing precise times on target for coordinated attacks. Simply put, the planner will calculate when a unit will be at a given point based on assigned speed. A loiter waypoint can be placed with a duration setting to arrange rendezvous. A "rehearse" button puts the units on the planning map in motion so you can watch their progress in concert with one another. You can even choose to display small tags with Time on Target numbers for EACH waypoint.

News and Views

As has been noted in the sim forum, this new Longbow does indeed offer a virtual cockpit. Some of the shots above show the newest feature to go with this view: a padlock mode! Flying with the v cockpit is quite nice, especially in higher levels of detail. But the usability close in is more significant, and I'm sure that players will quickly learn to appreciate the flexibility.

If you prefer the fixed views, they are still in place. And F5 toggles an outside view that is pannable and zoomable to a right and left view just behind the hellfires. Taking this position when hovering at night in relative safety allows an awesome view of the missiles launching and lighting up the surrounding terrain. Really, you won't believe it til you see it!

The game supports multiplayer action via LAN, modem, TCP-IP (Internet) or direct cable connection. Current recommendations are 4-player for LAN and only 2-player for TCP/IP. With the right hardware and some luck as many as eight players can join the fray. Players can take either pilot or CP/G seats, so eight players can fly four aircraft (four 2-man crews), eight separate aircraft or anything in between.

Obviously, its at that level that the mission planner REALLY becomes interesting. Remember Tornado? Well, this is that but in high resolution! Tactical choices become the province of the guy in control who can do some serious tactical coordination work, right down to specifying TOT for each flight. When this involves other human pilots it should be one HEAP of fun.

On the Campaign Trail

Janes and crew have given us two dynamic campaigns. The first campaign is a war scenario set in Iran and Azerbaijan. It's a politically and strategically realistic conflict in the tradition of the original Longbow and Flashpoint: Korea, but in a fully dynamic environment. There'll be lots of chances to earn promotions and decorations, plus a wider range of mission objectives than before.

The second campaign is a simulation of a full-scale war game set at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, California. It's great practice, and it's especially fun in multiplayer, because it allows multiple pilots to test their skills against each other in a realistic, force-on-force dynamic campaign setting.

Longbow 2 Dynamic Lighting. Click for 60 K image.

Setting up the campaign is the first task, and the options are many. In summary, they are these:

• Theatre of Operation: Random, East, West or Central Azerbaijan, or Fort Irwin NTC
• Time of Day: Random, Day, Sawn/Dusk or Night
• Weather: Random, Good, Fair or Poor
• Weapons Availability: Random, Allow All, No Hellfires, No Stingers, Rockets Only
• Force Advantage: Friendly Advantage, Enemy Advantage, Neutral or Random

The remaining parameters can be set independently for both teams:

• Mission Types: Choose the Objective: Random, Strike, Escort, Recon, CAP, CAS
• SkillLevel: Change the level for computer controlled units on both sides: CAT III (tough!), CAT II, CAT I or Random
• Ground Forces: Select Light, Medium, Heavy or Random for each side
• Air Defenses: Select Light, Medium, Heavy or Random for each side
• Helicopters: Select Light, Medium, Heavy or Random for each side
• Air Support: Select Light, Medium, Heavy or Random for each side
• Artillery Support: Select Light, Medium, Heavy or Random for each side

The dynamic campaign depends on a new structure of AI, with a real time air and ground war functioning around the players, creating an unpredictability and randomness based on modern air and ground doctrine that is truly immersive. Not only does this add to depth of play and suspension of disbelief, it will also greatly enhance replayability. Here is a direct quote from Janes on the new campaign:

"We've designed a dynamic campaign that we think really lives up to the name. It's not a bunch of static, canned missions, nor is it a dressed-up random mission generator. This is a campaign where each mission you fly affects the course of the whole campaign. If you miss a target in one mission, it may very well be right back shooting at you in the next mission, or three missions down the line. The lines of battle will shift and both sides will wax and wane in strength in a realistic fashion, keyed to your success and failure.

Not only will your flying skills affect the whole campaign, but you'll also be presented with multiple missions and potential objectives at each stage of the war. You'll have to allocate your forces wisely, and pick the right situations for your personal attention, if you want to win the war. Reconnaissance will play an important role, because the more you observe, the better you'll understand the battle situation. Furthermore, whether or not you spot a threat while scouting could determine whether or not it shows up as an objective later."

Here are Andy's other comments from our previous interview:

The fundamental real-time AI is not much different than the original game. Much of the groundwork needed was happening in Flash Point Korea, but people just had no knowledge of it unless they looked real hard. Outside the mission though, we used to have only resource management and a persistent world for objects and this is where the work for LB2 has come. In-between missions, a whole scheme for evaluating mission results, building up target lists, building appropriate missions, doing resupply, and moving the forces had to be built. Also, coming up with good ways to present this to the player and allow for appropriate levels of control that are additive without being overwhelming.

How does this actually feel? It feels great, as it should. Not only are you out there in an unpredictable environment, but your success or failure in one mission carries over into each successive mission. And since you are also in contact with three other missions at any given time you feel like you are a part of the bigger picture. Reports from the other flights are constant and keep you involved.

Look for new sounds and stereo and doppler effects in Longbow 2 also. You will be able to tell where gunfire is coming from by its orientation to your chopper. Fog effects, even sand stirred up by your rotor when you are too low, objects that move and articulate just as they should... its all there.

And by the way, the non accelerated version looks very good too, MUCH better than Longbow the original. In Preview 2 we'll tell you more about the planner and add a bunch of new screenshots.

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Last Updated October 14th, 1997