David Hingtgen

Most everything has been "sketched" at one time or another. An F-14 with F-15 wings, even. F-145?

Those were bonus planes thrown in from other old Konami games. They weren't intended to be "serious" planes. Same as if you put in the Starship Enterprise, a TIE fighter, or a Star Destroyer. The Delphinus etc, were supposed to be "real" planes, in the future.

AC3---I hated every fake plane design, hated the music, didn't like any of the missions. Didn't think much of the environment/background graphics, either. IMHO, AC2 is better in every way. And AC4 beats all. Few GOOD missions are far more enjoyable than many "eh" ones. (See AFDS) AC2 F-15---there is only 1 F-15ACTIVE, and no game has ever had it. They *always* have the F-15S/MTD. It's really easy to tell. S/MTD has rectangular nozzles, ACTIVE has round ones. In real life, the gun must be removed to make room for the canard actuators. It's hard to tell the pre-vectoring but-has-canards NF-15B from the ACTIVE, since they both have round nozzles---you have to get close to see the very different nozzle actuators and linkages on the ACTIVE. I always thought the XFA-27 was totally made up. Cruciform tail and TIE engines is enough for me. Plus the center/forward fuselage and gloves are 100% F-14. And it's got a lot of "Flanker parts".

I just went through AC2 again. Yeah, I forgot about the "apparently they're really Sopwith Camels" 9,000ft ceiling. Anyways---the AC2 F-14 is right! No ailerons, no glove-vanes, and uses h.stabs as its primary control, and they are its only controls with the wings swept! How'd they get it right there, then TOTALLY screw it up for AC4, and then slightly fix it a bit for AC5? Maybe AC6 will get it right---like AC2 did! Only place I definitely recognized was North Point, which is the very last mission. Will quick cycle through AC4 again to see if anything else looks familiar now. AC4 starts at the eastern part of the continent and heads NW, AC2 starts SW and heads NE. And AC5 appears to be primarily on a different continent all together.

I think AC4 and AC5 have a much greater link than 2 and 5. I mean just look at the map of AC5's world--it's AC4's, exactly. Murska Air Base, Farbanti, North Point---nearly every place mentioned and flown over in AC4 is right there in AC5. It seems to focus on a different part of the world, but it's the same world. Task for this week: play through AC2 again, paying attention to story. (I sold AC3, thought it was utter crap IMHO, but keep and dearly love AC2)

Gamestop shows their versions, I imagine the others (from EB) are quite similar, except for being different squadrons... http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=B281067A PS--anyone else think it's great we get a Tomcat on the cover? Finally, a game that DOESN'T have the F-22 as the end-all be-all promo-plane...

Pics at Gamestop seemed to show 1 flag and 2 squadron patches for the Yuktobanian ones. I pre-ordered from EB this evening.

Triple Nickel's currently at Aviano with F-16CG's. Paired with the 510th (also F-16CG's) as the 31st Wing.

Yup, Robin Olds was commander of the 8th Wing in Vietnam. A big part of the reason they rock. AC5 has F-4E's, but I'd love an old-school F-4C with a belly-mounted gunpod. 8th Wing has always struck me as being unique in that the WING is known as the Wolfpack, but nobody really knows the squadrons well(currently the 35th and 80th). Very few wings have names--the 1st wing isn't anything AFAIK, they're simply the wing at Langley. 4th wing? Nope. 366th? 388th? 36th? Nope. The 18th Wing is the only other one I can think of, being the Shogun.

Decisions, decisions: Gamestop pre-orders come with replica flightsuit patches from the Yuktobanian AF, while EB pre-orders come with those from ISAF. Or ESAF, or whoever it is this time. (I normally get 99% of my games from my local independent shop, but with bonus DVD PLUS bonus patches from the chains, it's too hard to resist)

You know, after sitting in a real USAF F-16 simulator, a Flightstick just doesn't do it for me anymore.. (It's hard to describe the throttle motion--clunky and smooth at the same time) Anyways--this pic confirms what I thought I saw on earlier YF-23 pics: http://acecombat5.namco.com/screens.php?sc...23_form_041.jpg They added the gun, and in the right place, too. Right side, in line with the leading edge of the wing. Though I wonder if the real thing wouldn't have done more like the F/A-22 and have a recess and a flip-up door, rather than a bulge. I also now realize the "Wardog" insignia is very similar (IMHO) to the Wolfpack's. The USAF 8FW Wolfpack, not the USN VF-1 Wolfpack. 8th Wing is quite famous in Asia, since they're stationed at Osan. When something about US planes is made in Japan, you can bet it'll resemble the squadrons at either Kadena, Atsugi, Misawa, or Osan. Here: Front plane is Wing Commander (new unique logo), second plane is the one I'm talking about (traditional 8FW Wolf's head)

This time they had practically complete failure of roll control. Saw the video, does continuous aileron rolls the whole way up it seems. Note: aileron rolls, not barrel rolls like absolutely every news agency says. 99% of people (and even "aviation experts") think that if you simply hold the stick to the side and roll a 360, that's a barrel roll. Nope, that's an aileron roll. A 4-point roll is a "stepped" aileron roll. Barrel roll: sidestick AND backstick. Making a corkscrew-shape, as viewed from behind. Continuous loss and gain of altitude, while moving laterally left and right. As opposed to the aileron roll, where the plane doesn't "move" at all (asides from forward). I've seen footage of Super Flankers do 4-point barrel rolls, but I don't see any reason why any other plane couldn't.

Yes, many of us are interested and have been talking about it in the dozen-page-long thread here: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=6687

I really want some tanker and AWACS escort missions. Or even better--a defend the carrier mission (F-14 mission, hint hint). Every Navy pilot knows defending the carrier is the most important thing---if the carrier goes, the entire wing has nowhere to land.

Namco's updated their site a lot lately: http://www.namco-ch.net/acecombat5/ And specifically: (drool) http://www.namco-ch.net/acecombat5/fighters/fighters_03.php PS--Arcade mode seems to be a really big "extra" that is basically AC4 rendered with AC5's engine. I only see 3 Flankers--27, 35, and 37. Whew. Though the list can't be comprehensive, as I don't see the F-15 listed and we'll almost certainly get both the regular and Strike versions. And I would like an Su-33 for some carrier missions. Good site for Flanker variants: http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/flanke...7_variants.html The YF-23 is SUCH a bad-ass-looking plane...

I don't know, and most people disagree on what exactly opens what. I got all S and shot down all aces on a single play-through on ACE mode. Figured that'd unlock everything, and it did.

Dragon Warbirds seem pretty scratch-resistant, more so than Corgi. F-14--haven't seen anything for over a year. Dragon is very well known for announcing stuff, showing "prototype/sample" pics, then waiting 3 years to actually release it, sometimes on a 'tweaked' mold that's not as good as the original. I mean, they announced VMFA-232 as the very very first F-18, and it's still not out. That's my most-wanted USMC plane, and I think they announced it in like 2001... Now, the F-18F has actually been SEEN by people at various shows, so it's most definitely coming and looks nice. VFA-2, the coolest-looking Shornet by far. (And possibly ever, since they did them before all the new rules came into effect, and have neat painted rudders and big fuselage stripes) BTW, they recently released an Fw-190A (and a D I think) and a P-47, they're releasing WWII stuff faster than modern stuff.

Tango Line for me either does or doesn't "work". I either get all the Harriers et in like 30 secs, or spend 5 mins chasing them around... There's something "glitchy" in the holes/shapes that they sit in that CBU and FAE's seem to "miss" even with direct hits, and you can't missile them until flying, etc. The "obvious" attack methods don't seem to work very often--thus you either easily get them all quickly, or you have to engage them in flight one by one. Sometimes 1 FAE in the middle will get a whole group, other times 4 of them in a row won't damage any, despite just flooding the area in flames... PS---I was well aware it was Yellow 13 when I fought him. IIRC it's pretty clear from a cutscene he's going up to fight Mobius 1 just before that mission, and at the end there's one extra-tough Yellow Super Flanker...

Checking more sites for pics/info: The F-14D with VF-154 markings was Vandy-1, already lost its black paint.

Wha? That's one of my fave missions. It's like D-Day with jets. Hard as h*ll the first time, but once you beat it, I love to go through and try just everything. A-10, F-117, F-22, F-14, F-18, Tornado, etc. Also, one of the best "money-makers" in the whole game due to sheer number of targets. (It costs a lot to get the X-2 in every color). My Whiskey Corridor "standard route" (I haven't played in months, but still know it): Head up-right from the start, taking out radars on the way. Clear out the "right" of the 3 main areas. Head all the way to the left, taking out "targets of opportunity" along the way. Take out all the left-side stuff you can (especially missile batteries/radars along the coast/islands), then finish up in the center when they really start asking for help, and take out the A-10's. Any spare time, continue attacking the left section. Oh yeah---FAE's and Clusterbombs rock, it's such a target-rich environment. I usually just unload them all early to clear out the right side as fast as possible, then run back to reload, then continue.

The Navy photographs everything, lots of pics: http://news.navy.mil/search/photolist.asp?...rt_row=1&page=1 Warning: when they say "High Res" they MEAN high-res. If you click on that one, it'll be like a 4,000x3,000 5-meg monster of a photo.

Yup, no pylons on the CFT's. WTF? How is the STRIKE Eagle supposed to carry bombs without any plyons? That's the entire point of its existence. Did Dragon think the F-15E just magically carries its bombs on the sides of the CFT's? Now, the LANTIRN pods aren't absolutely required for an E, but they're there 95% of the time. The only scheme they've done so far however is one that could certainly be ok to not have them. And no, the CFT's are not correct for a C/D either. They're utterly smooth and round on the "corners". There's no Sparrow/AMRAAM mounts/pylons. They *might* be correct for the prototype CFT, but not for any CFT actually used. Finally--the model doesn't come with any bombs. And no drop tanks.

In terms of accuracy, Dragon's Strike Eagle gets an F-. Quality/paint is great, but it's so NOT a Strike Eagle it's not even funny. Their F-15C/D's also have a "deal killing" flaw. (To me at least) The upcoming F-18F looks much better.

They've retooled bits before. I swear they actually release planes, then read all the message boards to see what's wrong, then release the corrected version 2. Of course, I may just pass everything up for the new 1/32 Trumpeter kit, and make it in Ukranian demo colors--still the coolest Flanker scheme ever IMHO. Of course, I'd have to actually build and paint it, and thus wouldn't have a Flanker on display until like 2008...

Well, seeing as how they like to "imagine" planes into service, maybe they'll give the F-14D AMRAAM's like it was supposed to have. I mean, if they make the YF-23 fully operational, they could at least give the Tomcat AMRAAM's. Or just go into the future a bit, and put ASRAAM's on everything, and Meteors too.