Hi again and welcome to another edition of Hunter's Column.
First of all, thanks to each of you that replied to my last column. I value all replies and commentary. That is the purpose of columns such as mine- to get you to think. This is where we improve things,and hopefully can grow.
Now on to the news.
Flanker 2.0
Well, as many of you may have heard, the FLANKER team have been busy and have announced that the FLANKER ATTACK project has been given it's Official title: LOCK ON: MODERN AIR COMBAT. From what their press release has said, it's going to be a good one as some of the aircraft in it are going to be the F-15C, A-10A, SU-24 the Flanker and MiG-29s . I can just hear the ALBINOS (F-15C) jocks starting their war cries.
LOCK ON will not be a add on but a brand new sim from the bottom up. They've released some screen shots that can be found on the FLANKER web site. From what I've seen I can't wait for this one to roll out. Another chapter in the Flanker series, which dates back to the original Su-27 sim.
FLANKER 2.5
Here's a new wrinkle that has alot of the Boo birds howling over there in Flanker land.
It was announced by Matt and Co that the 2.5 patch was going to be released in February as a free 80MB download. This has been postponed for a few weeks as a deal was worked out between SSI and Electronics Boutique to distribute FLANKER 2.0 with the 2.5 patch as a CD for $20.00
That's not a bad idea.
For alot of people, a 80 MB download is a Daunting task-especially if you are one of the lucky ones that have broadband connections for one have been trying to come up with reasons to give my spouse on why I have the phone line tied up downloading a program. Oh the pain of a 56k set up! SSI, by doing this, has ,made the problem easier. Not only does F2 get back on the shelves ( go down to your local software store and find a copy of F2-it isn't there guys) and gives an entire new audience a chance to fly the SU, but it also gives those of us who have the game already a back up copy.
Now here's where things get sticky and drew all the Boo birds out. It seems that to some this is a ploy to getting more money out of the community for a existing game. It maybe, but in my opinion, it's good sense.
Why?
1. Avoids a big download. 2. Makes it easier to patch the game especially if you have to go through a reformat of the C drive or if you buy a new rig. You have to go through that download stuff all over again.With the patch on the cd, it makes it easier. Microprose has recently done this with it's latest edition of F4 with the 1.08us patch included in the box. 3. It will build the F2 community up and lead into LOCK ON being a success. 4. The price is right. $20 isn't a bad price for a good sim like F2. Falcon has that price tag on it right now.
But, the mistake that was made was the first announcement of a free patch. To many by putting it out with a reissue of F2 and charging money flies in the face of the previous announcement. Many out there feel that SSI has reneged on their promise and the forum has gotten quite nasty there. It's gotten so bad that as of today (3-4-01) that Stormin Norman has gone off line for the week end because of the abuse that some have sent his way. A pity.
I don't see any of the creative team for F4, GUNSHIP, JF?A-18 still on the sites fielding questions or offering help to their community. Yet here they are, keeping the FLANKERS flying.
There is a place for criticism and through some of them come great ideas that can transform the game from common to outstanding. But there also needs to be a cap on them too. Insulting the people that gave it to us can result in the abandonment of the conversation. You know - "All I hear is how buggy this is, or where's the A-10, why can't I fly the MiG-29? and I'm tired of getting my face slapped. Enough already." and the creator goes silent and the insights on making the game get better is gone.
Boobirds..Ya love 'em or hate 'em ,but you can't forget them.
Hopefully Norm will be back on the boards soon.
Other FLANKER notes
You can still get a couple of the earlier Flanker sims in bundles from SSI. SU-27 Squadron Commander is available with People's General, Panzer General II, Steel PanthersIII for around $30 @ EB. Not bad for games going from DOS to Windows 9x.
FALCON Notes.
eRAZOR has issued his patch for 1.0799. This addresses some problems that has been noted. It can be downloaded here at Frugals. Go to the download/files section. From some who have it it has improved it alot.
RPGroup
Work on the next version of RP5.0 is going along very well. Leo and company have been putting together a candidate version that will begin testing shortly. We are also hunting down some bugs that have resurfaced and hopefully will be addressed in the upcoming RP5.0 But before you start questioning when the patch will be released please understand that it is in the opening stages of testing so it's still some time away from the release point.
As was the case with RP4.1, it will be worth the wait.
FAlcon4.0 still is on the shelves. The latest has the 1.08Us Patch with it, which is a required part of the RP4.1 patch. If you have this, all you have to do is download the RP4 patches and you're ready to rock and roll. All for $20. For those of us that have the earlier versions, it's not a bad idea to pick it up . See the FLANKER NOTES.
You can find it on the boxes with the red bomb burst on it.
Other items of interest.
WWII Era
Rowan's Battle of Britain has been released to good reviews. The April issue of CGW has a 2 page write up on it. It received 4.5 stars out of 5. That's a rare rating for any game much less a flight sim.
Here's some of their comments:
- can manage 5x the 200 aircraft found in EAW and this gives one the feel of all those aircraft in the actual fight itself. - has volumetric clouds to fly and hide in. - has a dynamic campaign - fairly realistic flight models with markings, convincing battle damage and decent 3d cockpits.
Negatives. Typical Rowan release bugs: incompatibilities, some broken features, an occasional lock up, CTDs, the MiG ALLEY stuttering has made a return, a banding of the sky when the game is run in 16 bit mode, which disappears when kicking it up to 32 bit. This in turn hurts the frame rates and darkens the terrain detail.
The Requirements are Win9x,ME, PII 233mhz,8mb 3d card DirectX7 compatible, 450MB HD,6xCD. Recommended requirements: PII400mhz,DX7 3dcard w16Mb ram,550 Mb HD, Dx7 supported sound card, joystick. 3dSupport: D3D Multiplayer: IPX or TCP/IP 2 to 8 players
For more get the new issue of CGW.
B-17II: The Mighty Eighth
For the good review, you get the rough one, and CGW gave the last Microprose sim a whopping 2 stars.
As many have read, Hasbro/Wayward dropped MP on it, a feature that would have allowed each player to man a position on the airplane as well as the normal mp modes.
It has some great graphics,accurate bomb runs, man any position,as well as the normal flying of the plane.
But like it's predecessors, Falcon4.0, Gunship! it was rushed out.It has alot of bugs,and broken features. It is also apparent that Wayward ( the studio that produced it) never intended to deliver B-17II in it's present state, and Hasbro being strapped for cash, rushed it out before it was ready. This is apparent in some of the performance in some of the features. I remember the howl that was put up on the boards of Combatsim.com about the dropping of the multiplayer feature. If ever there was a game that called for it, this is it.
To run this sim, you're going to need a high end machine-at least one with a PIII 500 mhz w/256 mb of ram to run smoothly. The box recommends a PII 300mhz, 128 mb and a 700Mb HD space.
For more read the review in CGW.
Looks like Hasbro made sure MPS went out of the sim biz with a whimper vice Rowan's glory shot..talk about contrasts..
End notes
Also noted in this month's CGW advertisments. SSI is releaseing SILENT HUNTER II and DESTROYER COMMAND soon. According to the ad, if you have either of these two, you can go up against each other via the net. If this is the case, the Squids will be having a blast. Sort of like what Janes' had in mind for their World War idea..
_COMBAT MISSION beat out Talonsoft's RISING SUN and SHOGUN for Game of The Year: War game Category.
_Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum beat out STEEL BEASTS, JF/A-18, CFS 2, B-17 II as Gaame Of The Year: Flight Sim
