IxianMace
03-03-2004, 08:11
Ok, I've finally compiled my list of suggestions for ACC FO.
Flyable aircraft:
At the moment, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15 C&E Eagle & F-16 C&D Falcon are the main aircraft that are apparently going to be featured (and I presume they will all be flyable), in the game. I don't know why these aircraft are so popular in flight-sims (less so in the case of the F-16), but perhaps other types of aircraft could be considered to add more variety to what flight simmers have already seen?
Some aircraft that would be nice to also be featured besides the previously mentioned aircraft (in no particular order):
Su-27 Flanker
F-117 Stealth Fighter
F-22 Raptor
F-14 Tomcat
Mig-29 Fulcrum
AV-8 Harrier
V-22 Osprey (not sure what purpose this would have, but it would be very interesting to try flying one)
U-2 Spy Plane (for infiltration missions, where the goal is to stay undetected while retrieving information)
Maybe some helicopters could also be flyable by the player?
AH-64A/D
KA-50
AH-1W
Give the player the option to fly an E-3 AWACS aircraft in multiplayer. The player could search the skies for enemy aircraft beyond the normal range/scope of the normal combat aircraft in the area, and provide them with real time updates of the situation.
Two seat aircraft (like the F-14 and the F-16D), would be very interesting if two players could fly in the same aircraft.
Carrier operations:
Carrier operations would make flying missions much more interesting. I think it would be more challenging to attempt a landing on a moving aircraft carrier at night, in poor weather, than line up on the good old glideslope to the same old runway at home plate. Aircraft should be able to take off and land on the aircraft carrier, starting and ending their mission(s) on it.
Views:
How about a view that allows the player to see what the seeker head of a missile that they've launched, or a LGB that they've dropped, is seeing? From launch/release to impact. :)
Mission replays could be saved for each mission flown (if the replay is not saved manually by the user after a mission is completed, the next mission that the player flys will overwrite the replay file). Good for mission evaluation to see how well you did, or how well you screwed up. :)
Damage effects:
Instead of the common 'one hit, one kill' scenario that most flight-sims display in their damage effects, how about changing all that? Missiles do not need to score a direct hit to score a kill/inflict damage. Depending on the blast radius/warhead of the missile, a 'near miss', could result in light collateral damage to the aircraft, if there wasn't enough seperation between the target aircraft and the incoming hostile missile.
This could result in some things like:
- Damaged (and therefore leaking) fuel tanks.
- Engine fires/flameouts
- Damage to certain components of the aircraft (ailerons, rudders, flaps, etc)
- Radar failure
- Hydraulics/avionics/ECM/AP/MFD failure
- Damaged weapon stores (inability to fire a weapon due to damaged pylon, etc)
- Plus anything else that could happen to the aircraft as a result of shrapnel damage.
Bullets that score hits on aircraft could damage the aircraft in different ways depending on where they hit the aircraft. Perhaps it could be possible to score a 'clean kill' by shooting the cockpit of the aircraft and killing the pilot? (Not sure how realistic that would be, but it's just an idea.)
Finally, instead of just exploding into little bits and pieces (the aircraft may or may not do this, depending on the situation) upon receiving fatal damage, the aircraft could lose power, then begin to disintegrate randomly, parts can start falling off, etc etc. The amount of damage required to take down a particular aircraft would depend on the aircraft itself. The A-10 is designed to kill and survive (it has heavy armour), while the F-16 is relatively thin skinned in comparison.
Missions:
Out of all the flight-sims that I've tried in the past, I've never had to fly really far to reach my target. In fact, I liked it that way, the faster I could get back home, the safer I felt. It may be boring to some people, but perhaps missions could be made longer, with extended flight time between countries, not just limited to the borders of a particular country or area of operations. This would make mid-air refueling a vital skill to learn, not just something that's there for display and that no one ever uses (because they don't need to). If we want this to be realistic, then people shouldn't expect to be able to complete a mission in 30 mins or so. Time compression may be worth considering here, so people don't get bored just flying.
Saving a mission then reloading it and resuming the flight would be a nice feature to implement, especially for those that don't have the time to sit in front of their comp for a few hours at a time for an extended range mission.
Compatability issues:
The more platforms/systems/hardware that the game supports, the more potential customers you have. Not everyone has the money to upgrade their computer to a state of the art machine, or buy a new one altogether. Hopefully, the simulation will still look good with low graphics settings, but will have the option to turn the eye candy up for the people that have the power to burn.
Unless this project is only aimed at the hard core flight-simmer, it should not be assumed that everyone has a joystick. Maybe you should allow the aircraft to be flown with the mouse and/or keyboard, or a combination of both. Pushing the mouse forward is like pushing the joystick forward (and pushing the nose down), pulling the mouse back is like pulling the joystick back (and pulling the nose back up), etc etc. If this is implemented, settings to adjust mouse sensitivity should be considered.
EDIT:
Support for community made addons:
It would promote more interest in the game and vastly expand the lifetime of the game if support was implemented into the game which allowed people to create, customize, and add things like their own aircraft skins, and custom made campaign theatres that they could create.
Flyable aircraft:
At the moment, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15 C&E Eagle & F-16 C&D Falcon are the main aircraft that are apparently going to be featured (and I presume they will all be flyable), in the game. I don't know why these aircraft are so popular in flight-sims (less so in the case of the F-16), but perhaps other types of aircraft could be considered to add more variety to what flight simmers have already seen?
Some aircraft that would be nice to also be featured besides the previously mentioned aircraft (in no particular order):
Su-27 Flanker
F-117 Stealth Fighter
F-22 Raptor
F-14 Tomcat
Mig-29 Fulcrum
AV-8 Harrier
V-22 Osprey (not sure what purpose this would have, but it would be very interesting to try flying one)
U-2 Spy Plane (for infiltration missions, where the goal is to stay undetected while retrieving information)
Maybe some helicopters could also be flyable by the player?
AH-64A/D
KA-50
AH-1W
Give the player the option to fly an E-3 AWACS aircraft in multiplayer. The player could search the skies for enemy aircraft beyond the normal range/scope of the normal combat aircraft in the area, and provide them with real time updates of the situation.
Two seat aircraft (like the F-14 and the F-16D), would be very interesting if two players could fly in the same aircraft.
Carrier operations:
Carrier operations would make flying missions much more interesting. I think it would be more challenging to attempt a landing on a moving aircraft carrier at night, in poor weather, than line up on the good old glideslope to the same old runway at home plate. Aircraft should be able to take off and land on the aircraft carrier, starting and ending their mission(s) on it.
Views:
How about a view that allows the player to see what the seeker head of a missile that they've launched, or a LGB that they've dropped, is seeing? From launch/release to impact. :)
Mission replays could be saved for each mission flown (if the replay is not saved manually by the user after a mission is completed, the next mission that the player flys will overwrite the replay file). Good for mission evaluation to see how well you did, or how well you screwed up. :)
Damage effects:
Instead of the common 'one hit, one kill' scenario that most flight-sims display in their damage effects, how about changing all that? Missiles do not need to score a direct hit to score a kill/inflict damage. Depending on the blast radius/warhead of the missile, a 'near miss', could result in light collateral damage to the aircraft, if there wasn't enough seperation between the target aircraft and the incoming hostile missile.
This could result in some things like:
- Damaged (and therefore leaking) fuel tanks.
- Engine fires/flameouts
- Damage to certain components of the aircraft (ailerons, rudders, flaps, etc)
- Radar failure
- Hydraulics/avionics/ECM/AP/MFD failure
- Damaged weapon stores (inability to fire a weapon due to damaged pylon, etc)
- Plus anything else that could happen to the aircraft as a result of shrapnel damage.
Bullets that score hits on aircraft could damage the aircraft in different ways depending on where they hit the aircraft. Perhaps it could be possible to score a 'clean kill' by shooting the cockpit of the aircraft and killing the pilot? (Not sure how realistic that would be, but it's just an idea.)
Finally, instead of just exploding into little bits and pieces (the aircraft may or may not do this, depending on the situation) upon receiving fatal damage, the aircraft could lose power, then begin to disintegrate randomly, parts can start falling off, etc etc. The amount of damage required to take down a particular aircraft would depend on the aircraft itself. The A-10 is designed to kill and survive (it has heavy armour), while the F-16 is relatively thin skinned in comparison.
Missions:
Out of all the flight-sims that I've tried in the past, I've never had to fly really far to reach my target. In fact, I liked it that way, the faster I could get back home, the safer I felt. It may be boring to some people, but perhaps missions could be made longer, with extended flight time between countries, not just limited to the borders of a particular country or area of operations. This would make mid-air refueling a vital skill to learn, not just something that's there for display and that no one ever uses (because they don't need to). If we want this to be realistic, then people shouldn't expect to be able to complete a mission in 30 mins or so. Time compression may be worth considering here, so people don't get bored just flying.
Saving a mission then reloading it and resuming the flight would be a nice feature to implement, especially for those that don't have the time to sit in front of their comp for a few hours at a time for an extended range mission.
Compatability issues:
The more platforms/systems/hardware that the game supports, the more potential customers you have. Not everyone has the money to upgrade their computer to a state of the art machine, or buy a new one altogether. Hopefully, the simulation will still look good with low graphics settings, but will have the option to turn the eye candy up for the people that have the power to burn.
Unless this project is only aimed at the hard core flight-simmer, it should not be assumed that everyone has a joystick. Maybe you should allow the aircraft to be flown with the mouse and/or keyboard, or a combination of both. Pushing the mouse forward is like pushing the joystick forward (and pushing the nose down), pulling the mouse back is like pulling the joystick back (and pulling the nose back up), etc etc. If this is implemented, settings to adjust mouse sensitivity should be considered.
EDIT:
Support for community made addons:
It would promote more interest in the game and vastly expand the lifetime of the game if support was implemented into the game which allowed people to create, customize, and add things like their own aircraft skins, and custom made campaign theatres that they could create.