Part II of the development notes were posted today:
Welcome to Part Two of our look at some of the AI changes to Falcon 4.0: Allied Force. Last week we outlined the most significant improvements to the Air component, to improve realism and immersion. This week it is the Ground element and we explain how this has added a new “dynamic” to the battlefield. Sylvain Gagnon and Mike Laskey detail how the ground war has been transformed.
Air to Ground Attacks
Considerable work has also enhanced the way the AI prosecute attacks against ground targets. The AI will jink and go defensive depending on the concentration of AAA fire. They will also manoeuvre to spoof the AAA by varying altitude when flying through AAA but will also attempt to drop weapons as part of the mission goal. But, if the AAA is excessive, making it too dangerous to go in, the AI may not end up dropping bombs at all, which saves them from being shot down. Again, this is closer to the tactics of a human pilot, who might well decide to abort the mission.
Using the new Civil Air Patrol Pilot add-on, Microsoft Flight Simulator users will be able to “fly” different types of CAP aircraft in a variety of aviation scenarios.
CAP officials are enthusiastic about working with Abacus, the world leader in flight simulation add-on packages, and its association with Flight Simulator, which continues to be the world’s all-time top-selling flight simulation program for the PC.
Today there was a news update at the Lead Pursuit site and some new screenshots were posted too:
A brief news update to alert you to head over to the product gallery for a fresh selection of screenshots. We have the F-15, the Mig-29 and the Su-27 featured with new shots of the Viper in Falcon 4.0: Allied Force.
This week we’ll see Part Two of our development notes examining the new Artificial Intelligence in the simulation. There are extensive changes to the ground component of the AI. As a brief teaser, AAA is now a defense to be reckoned with and engineering units finally start doing their job properly in campaigns.
Further ahead, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the way the Dynamic Campaign Engine has been heavily upgraded. The developers will walk you through those changes and explain how they have proportionately improved the prosecution of the war effort.
Thanks again for all your messages through our website: they keep on coming and we’re grateful for the huge interest and your thoughts. We hope, at least, to be able to answer some of those questions in a forthcoming interview with sim-news.com. Be sure to check back for more details.
A new development note was posted today at the Lead Pursuit site:
Immersion is vital in a simulation. It helps propel a player into a world where they can forget that they are in a game. Immersion can be achieved in many ways. Graphics provide the visual cues to help the player feel part of this artificial world. Sound adds another important dimension.
One of the most appreciated features of the Falcon series is the “Artificial Intelligence” -- or AI -- of entities which exist in the Falcon world. AI is all about the way that everything in this Virtual Universe acts and reacts to all aspects of the simulation. It is what helps make the game feel alive.
In these development notes, Lead Pursuit’s Sylvain Gagnon assesses the changes to the “air” component.
