I managed to play it eventually, and Wilfrid is right - it needs a Ninja Bastard PC.
I used:
PIII 450
128 Mb RAM
TNT 2 Ultra 32 Mb
I had to run it at 800x600, 16 bit and have alot of the detail turned down (the 'speed' setting) eg. ground detail, cockpit shadows, environmental effect. It was still a bit jerky.
The graphics are, however, simply astounding. I only had time to fly a couple of quick missions, most of them in 109s/190s. And the P47/B17.
The tracer looks absolutely superb - just like the 'wavy' tracer seen in original gun camera films. WAY better than the tracer in AH - perhaps they could have this one day. Have you ever seen that camera footage of a B17 attacked from directly astern? Where the ball turret is completely immobile and is pointing almost directly down. In it, the LW pilot strafes up and down the wings, and bits fall off as well as smoke and the 'flash'. I don't exagerate when I say it is exactly like that in the game, except that it is in colour. Quite shocking really.
The smoke trails are very good. The damage (i.e. holes) appear where you shot (I tried this by shooting another B17 while in the turret of another B17
). You can go to the different B17 compartments and see the crew modelled in very smooth 3D, and they react to any instructions you give (like changing positions or going to help a wounded comrade). It really is very good.
The FMs seemed ok, but I felt the fighters seemed a little more forgiving than those found in AH (although a wheels up landing in a 109 seemed much harder than in AH). I'm pretty sure I had the historical FM enabled.
Having been used to AH, I found it fairly tricky to spot other planes, through the haze and varying light levels. There might be an icon option, but I didn't see it.
My brother says he started playing a squadron campaign and he says you have to assign crew members to the various schools (ie. if you don't train your co-pilot properly, he'll be pretty crap if your pilot gets killed).
I've only scratched the surface, but it seems to me to be a bit good.
[This message has been edited by Dowding (edited 11-26-2000).]
