watch those vertical moves....

[bigred]

Overall impresions,

I like it... A LOT.

First  the visuals,  The ground needs some tuning (the "invisible  from the side trees", but overall it works.  The multitude of ground detail is just incredible.  It is MUCH more immersive and really flips that suspension of disbelief switch rattling bach there in my head.  Compared to AH1, for key moments I really feel like i'm up in a real airframe cruising around just looking for interesting things to see.

The planes look good externally, but I would like to see more detailed cockpits.  The work done on 3d cockpits in Janes' ww2 fighters was just superb, and I think AH2 should go for that level of detail.  That game was out 2 years ago, and I really think AH2 needs to match it to stay cutting edge for the next 3-4 year of its product life.

On the 3d performance side, its a bit of a bear, but it probably needs optimizing and is at the very start of its life cycle.  Developers need to aim high for a product that has to last several years.  This is a very different beast than something produced in a box for retail.

Finally, the flight model.  WOW, it really is starting to feel like your behind the controls af a big piece of aluminum being thrown around the sky.

The inertia is there, you can feel it from takeoff to final.  It feels like these crates have mass to them, and slow flight feels suitably unsettling.  As in reality, I have no desire to be screwing around at the edge of the envelope below a couple of thousand feet any more.  You can really get yourself into trouble now, and end up in unrecoverable situations if you're not on your toes.

Vertical maneuvers seem the most changed.  In particular, I was really stunned to find myself stuck in a Spitfire V, flopping back into a tailslide, then into an unrecoverable flatspin from 6k right into the ground.  It was the type of thing that i couldn't do in AH1 if I tried.  Thinking it was a fluke, i reproed it several times in both the spit marks.  While wingovers worked great as long as you kept your speed up, working your speed down to zero was incredibly dangerous.  Strangley, the 109g10, would eventually get its nose down after 2-3 thousand feet if you dorked the hammerhead.

Im dying to see how the extra light zeke and the torqueless P-38 handle in the vertical.  This game is going to be a blast for everyone.  We're all going to be re-learning the basics for this one.

HTC, congrats for the hard work, good luck on moving this beta forward into production!

[Bullethead]

bigred said:

I like it... A LOT.

I have to say that I do as well.  The various problems so apparent at present are totally to be expected at this point in time, and will be fixed in short order.  So look past them at what the game really is.  The guts of this thing are great.

First  the visuals...  It is MUCH more immersive and really flips that suspension of disbelief switch

Damn straight :  The 1st time I looked down on a coastline, it took my breath away.  What happened to the straight lines?

Finally, the flight model.  WOW, it really is starting to feel like you're behind the controls af a big piece of aluminum being thrown around the sky.

And sometimes it throws you about .  I was just doing some back-to-back comparison flights in AH1 and AH2, and the improvements are quite impressive.  When you're on the edge, the AH2 flight model actually lets you sense the plane losing it, and when it finally goes, it does so where you'd expect it to, instead of all over.  Oh, and go straight up while looking back, and see the torque start whirling you as you slow down.  You don't see that in AH1.

We're all going to be re-learning the basics for this one.

Definitely.  We're going to have to make fundamental changes in our tactics and decision-making.  Things that have worked in AH1 don't work the same way now.  In the AH2 Classic arena, there will of course still be a tendency for lots of low-alt fighting because the main business will still be capturing fields.  But these fights will happen much differently, and perhaps even the planes favored for them will change from what they are now.  Can't wait to see this show go online.

[Dead Man Flying]

Originally posted by bigred
Vertical maneuvers seem the most changed.  In particular, I was really stunned to find myself stuck in a Spitfire V, flopping back into a tailslide, then into an unrecoverable flatspin from 6k right into the ground.

It's not as bad as you think.  Just add 20mph to the minimum speed at which you'd attempt a loop in the Spit V and add 20-40mph to the previous minimum prop hang speed.  Once you adjust for it -- and consider that everyone else must adjust for it -- I don't suspect that things should change substantially overall.  Well, except for the fact that the P-38 will become the new plane du jour.  

-- Todd/Leviathn

[Roscoroo]

I also noticed that I could hang a spit on its prop better and recover ( it seams to gravity nose down better when the throttle is cut)
but only at a certain angle of climb . straight up or slighly over and it is a pain (need more practice)
It also feels faster and alittle more agile  (flying over the terrain has a better actuall mph feeling )

If the p38 and the la7 get this treatment to the FM us spitdweebs are gonna have to start working .

One thing I noticed is the black/red outs arnt as violent .

now lets hope they get the code smoothed out for better frame rates ...

[Octavius]

Cant wait to try the F4U on landing/takeoff

[Bullethead]

Originally posted by Octavius
Cant wait to try the F4U on landing/takeoff

Yeah.  I plan to test the FM with the old "Ensign Eliminator" move.  Come in too high for a CV landing and punch full throttle about 20' above the deck, right at stall speed with full flaps and gear down.  I want to see if the torque rolls me over into the drink beside the CV .