I have posted an article by Julian "Codec" Onions entitled "A Phantom Experience". Here's a snippet:
The instructor arrived, and took us both to the briefing room. Normally guests aren't allowed in, but as I had the full hour and the instructor offered the chance, my wife was keen to watch and see how I did. I forgot to ask him his history, but I assume he was ex-RAF as he had the flight suit and badge, and signed himself Wing Commander. The briefing room had a large colour picture of the F-4 cockpit mounted on a panel so you could sort of sit at it and see all the controls. The instructor was aware that I was a private pilot, which he said made things easier. He didn't have to explain about sticks and rudders and stuff, and could skip straight to the important differences. We went over the basic controls. This included the centre stick which had a trim hat on top, the twin throttles which had the air brakes button on, and also the position of the relight buttons on the back of the throttles (he told me there was a good chance we might have a flame out.) There were lots of other switches and dials - some I recognized, some I didn't. I could have spent a couple of hours soaking all that stuff up, but we were on a schedule. The simulator was built from a real F-4 that had seen many flight hours, before either getting too old, or sustaining too heavy a landing.
Brian Robinson at Sim-News has posted a review of this FS2002/CFS2 add-on. Here Brian discusses the Falcon FM:
"I can think of no other way to describe the flight performance of the F-16C and D as abhorrent. In fact, it is almost unflyable. First off, you have to get close to 200 knots to get the aircraft airborne, and then you have to literally YANK the jet off the ground. Of course, this ends up with a nice bit of PIO (pilot induced oscillation…killer of pilots world-over). The F-16 stalls with even moderate sustained pull on the stick, and this is at corner airspeeds, below corner airspeeds…anywhere in the flight envelope. You cannot perform a loop or barrel roll with any type of authority."
BBall has updated his column with a further account of some of the "guys" he shared a cockpit with. Here's a snippet:
"When we got to the jet, Bob scrounged up all the ice he could from the caterers, threw it in the bag, and placed "Herman" in the cockpit next to his suitcase. I was starting to have second thoughts about Bob. "Uh, Uh....Herman is NOT sitting up here with us....put his ass in the cargo hold." "It's OK, he'll be fine...I have it all worked out...TRUST ME." I should've been shot at that point for listening to Bob."
To meet Hermon, and read the full account, click
HERE
Bluesnews have posted a link to an interview at homelanfed.com with the producer, Tim Farrar. Here's the intro:
"Sometimes it takes a while for a game to finally reach store shelves. Such is the case with Jane’s Attack Squadron. The complex World War II combat fight sim was under development by Looking Glass Studios for Electronic Arts before the developer shut its doors in mid-2000. Yet good things come to those who wait and now developer Mad Doc Software is close to completing the work that Looking Glass started. The title will be published soon by Xicat Interactive. HomeLAN got a chance to chat with the producer of the game, Tim Farrar, to find out more about this long awaited flight sim."
Also at Bluesnews, they've posted a link to a Q&A section at pcgamesportal.de. The article is in English and here, discusses campaigns:
"Much thought has been given to our combat theatre. We must realize that Falcon has always offered a robust environment from which to fly and fight. While the United States and other militaries are flying real missions in Afghanistan right now, we feel that this type of combat doesn't translate well into a good game: there are no real aerial foes, no substantial ground targets, and as such gameplay becomes limited in scope. We wanted to choose a combat theatre that allowed us to game out a very robust environment; one that includes all facets of airpower, land-based equipment, and even naval engagements. We also wanted to select a theatre where the foe was formidable and the scenarios plausible. For these reasons we chose the Taiwan Straits. Anyone following the news these days should be able to observe that trouble brewing in that region."
Bubba "MasterFung" Wolford at SimHQ has posted an in-depth review of ATI's latest. As usual in a SimHQ review, various sims are used to test the card. Here's an extract:
"One of ATI strengths has always been in packaging and contents. They always load the box with every single piece of software and cables you could ever want! I really admire their effort because adding all the extra cables and software adds costs and gets very little return from customers. Certainly customers will complain when they are left out, but often we forget to mention the extra’s included in the box. I open probably one new video card box a week on average and I must say that ATI goes above and beyond when it comes to first impressions and thinking about what consumers want included in the box. BRAVO!!"
Brian Robinson at Sim-News has posted a review of UbiSoft's naval sim. Here's a snippet:
"I set the preferences as high as I could on graphics, etc., and found that the sound and eye candy were in ample supply. Water effects, both visually and audibly, are very nicely done. A few times I have found myself sitting motionless in the ship, just listening to the water lap against the vessel’s hull. It can be literally relaxing. This is especially true when you are playing at night, out in the middle of the Pacific, with the moonlight reflecting off the waves and the very minute rocking of the vessel in the waves as they collide with the hull. This is a bit ironic, considering that you are in command of a massive machine of war."
Simflight have posted a review of Goflight's Cockpit Control System. Here's the intro:
"Every once in a while a product comes along that makes you go “WOW! This is fantastic!” and GoFlight’s cockpit control system is one of these products. For years I’ve wanted to have a setup where I can control radios, gear, and other items easily without using the keyboard or programming my controls (more correctly – having to remember what button I programmed to do what I need to do at that moment). I’ve tried various devices that have programmable buttons but they are (pick a choice or choices from the list!): too cumbersome, too big, the software doesn’t work reliably, the software was too awkward to use..."
BBall has posted an insightful and touching interview with his friend George Ross who served on U.S.S. San Jacinto in the Pacific. Here's the intro:
"A few weeks ago, I had the great privilege of sitting down to talk with a friend of mine by the name of George Ross. In 1943 he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving in the pacific theatre of operations aboard the carrier U.S.S. San Jacinto. What makes George’s story so incredible is that he joined up (to be shipped off to serve his country in a war zone) at the tender age of SEVENTEEN! Coincidentally, he served aboard ship with the Navy’s youngest aviator; a young man by the name of George Herbert Walker Bush. They got to know each other, and their friendship has lasted almost sixty years. When they shipped out, both of these men were still teenagers, and both were uncommonly courageous by today’s standards. However, my guess is that back then, they were very much like many other young men and women, living in a time and a place that few of us would understand. His story both fascinated and inspired me. It also shed some light on his generation, their thoughts, their feelings of patriotism, and their sense of resolve concerning the task before them."
simflight.com have posted details about this interactive flight training course available for download at the Captain Sim site. Here's some details about the package:
"This Flight Training Course is an interactive copy of original Flight Training Course on the MiG-21 - KULP BS IA-68 (Combat Aircraft of Fighter Aviation Flight Training Course, 1968).
This graduation (fourth) year Course of the USSR AF Higher Fighter Pilot Schools (Chernigov, Kacha and Kharkov) was effective until 1971 then it was replaced by KULP BS IA-71.
The original course was designed for one flight season (from February to October) with 4-5 flying days a week schedule.
Course IV consists of 8 Modules (131 sorties) covering 64.1 flight hours, in a variety of disciplines, on the MiG-21.
Full printable version of the Course is included. (Acrobat Reader required)
The Course is an independent software and it works with ANY flight simulator. It is ideal for "Flanker Su-27", "Falcon 4", "F-18" and any other combat flightsim users who would like to know what the Soviet Air Force Fighter Pilot Training was all about."
So the Cougar's been delayed.... CougarWorld had the following details posted by Guillaume "Dimebug" Lelevé:
"The release date has been moved to mid April 2002. The head of Distribution for Thrustmaster has chosen to delay the release date of the Cougar until mid April, in order to ensure a more uniform distribution. The current stock of Cougars will be increased to meet the number of pre-orders which currently exceeds the current stocking levels. The objective of this decision is to allow a maximum number of people to have their HOTAS Cougars at the same time. Priority will logically go to those who have pre-ordered."
JustFlight have announced this expansion for IL-2. Released on the 20th March, the add-on includes the following features:
"28 challenging new missions for IL-2 Sturmovik - plus 5 bonus aircraft skins for Co-op play!
Challenging and realistic - new dogfights, ground attack and ground support sorties...Take off where IL2 landed with these exceptional series of missions for Ubisoft's storming sim.
Patrol the skies on behalf of the might of the Red Air Force or the more advanced German Luftwaffe, with new challenges over Eastern Europe. Whether you are attacking naval targets in the Crimea or taking the fight to Berlin you will find your skills tested yet further. Who knows you may even find yourself up against the legendary ace, Eric Hartmann!
This new campaign gives you fresh air to air combat with bomber sorties, ground support, escorts, intercepts and more. This is an essential addition for all IL2 fans, and at a price that wouldn't break a babushka's purse."
SimHQ have posted some details and screenshots 1C: Maddox Games next offering. Here's an extract from the details that have been revealed:
"WW II RTS (working title) developed by 1C and 1C:Maddox Games (creators of award winning IL-2 Sturmovik) is a real-time tactical strategy depicting the most significant battles of World War II during 1941 - 1945. Players will command a special task force composed of different kinds of units, including tanks, APCs, field guns, mortars, various infantry regiments, etc. Human resources management, detailed troops micromanagement, exceptionally high level of detalization, amazing visual and sound effects, historical accuracy and realism, unique AI algorythms and immersive engine based cutscenes are key features of this project."
Read further details and check out the screenshots
HERE
As SimHQ note, Wargamer have announced their "Best of 2001" awards:
"The Simulation category was a three-horse race, with UbiSoft taking the top two positions with the World War II flight-sim IL-2 Sturmovik and the sub-sim Silent Hunter II. In fact, the superb IL-2 Sturmovik enjoyed the biggest run-away victory of any winner in all categories. Another World War II flight-sim, Rowan’s Battle of Britain rounds out the top three."
