Good to know you're still in-'n'-kicking, Mano, ya ol' Pigstomper.
"You'll soon understand, when you fly it, that WW1 was all turnfight." No it wasn't, it was 'boom-and-zoom' when flying a SE5a and attacking a Triplane, 'turn-figure-of-eight' when spotting for the artillery, and 'turn-one-behind-the-other' when flying a defensive circle in a flight of FE2s when the Albatri came hunting. Or 'run-like-hell' when acting as a decoy for your fighter friends high above and succeeding in attracting an over-eager would-be 'ace' to a fiery end. Or 'dive-fire-twist away' when trench-strafing.
The first online combat flight sim I ever flew was Dawn of Aces. Great fun with its artillery spotters and bombers to provide realistic targets for the fighters. True, the main activity was the endless furball between the two nearest opposing airfields, but at least the main elements of Great War flying were in there (even the over-modelled, framerate-slowing Zeppelin) - until the Totalled Sims bean-counters porked it into the 'Flyboys' travesty. The artillery wouldn't be hard to model; just adapt the naval guns already supplied in AH. Then make the big guns dependent on photos (screenshots) to choose their targets and W/T clock-code messages from the two-seaters to direct their fire. The war will be won by airfield capture the same as in the present MA (ten troops riding in a Crossley tender gallop into a field silenced by artillery, bombing and strafing), so there's the strategic reason for fighting and dying taken care of.
If all the AH WW1 sim is going to be is a version of the Duelling Arena with biplanes, it's bound to fail - but if it reproduces all the variety of real Great War flying, it'll be good. If HT and the gang produce a good WW1 flight sim that provides more than just a duelling arena for fighter-jockeys, I'll be happy to pay for it and fly in it. Maybe see you up there over the Front again, Mano, eh?
Now where's my goggles and silk scarf . . .
Cheers!
