aaand again... 
what is wrong with you Arlo? you keep forgetting the french...and the romanians.
Alas ... the plane chart has no place for either. Unless we divide
up the League of Nations between the Russians and the Germans.
Aces High and the nationality footprint of its plane sets By ArloHow big an impact does
nationality play in Aces High II? In the MA it's zero (unless someone decides to
argue for the modeling of the A-26 versus the Pe-2 and they let their own national pride stand in the way).
In events it's everything. Events are all about depicting famous battles of WWII with nations being represented
on one side or another. Aces High II currently models 92 aircraft and 17 vehicles (if we count the Elco PT boat).
Those aircraft and vehicles are divided amongst 6 nationalities; The United States, Great Britain (and Commonwealth -
further representing Canada, Australia and New Zealand), Germany, Italy, Japan and the Soviet Union. France, Vichy
or otherwise, is not represented (possibly due to only one or two instances in the war where their forces had any
true impact).
So let's take a look at the current footprints.
The U.S. plane and vehicle set
The largest, by far, is the United States. This isn't entirely surprising, given the production capability and advancements
made during the war. Game-wise, the U.S. has 35 aircraft (including variants) comprised of fighters, attack planes and
bombers from every theater of WWII, 8 vehicles and 1 PT boat. This includes the best heavy strategic bomber of the war,
some of the best fighters of the war and even early war planes for events staged in that time frame.
The German plane and vehicle set
The next largest is Germany. Historically, their production was already geared up to high capacity before the United States
entered the war. Game-wise, Germany has 21 aircraft (including variants) comprised of fighters, attack planes and bombers
encompassing all but the Pacific Theater of war. They also have the only jet and rocket aircraft in the game; the Me-262,
the Me-163 and the Ar-234. This isn't anymore surprising than the U.S. production rate, given the focus on research and
development made by Germany in the 30s and 40s. Germany also has the best tanks in the game for the same reason. Like
the U.S., in Aces High II the German plane/vehicle set is robust and well represented.
The British plane and vehicle set
In Aces High II, Great Britain has 17 aircraft (variants included) comprised of fighters, attack planes and bombers from every
theater of the war and, technically, it shares one vehicle with the U.S. (the Firefly variant of the Sherman). Until the B-29 was
added, the Lancaster heavy bomber had the largest payload (it's still the largest
unperked payload). With a plane set
that includes almost every variant of the Spitfire that flew as well as multiple variants of the Hurricane and the Tempest and
Typhoon, it can be said, arguably, that the British have some of the best fighter and attack planes in the game. Likewise,
this represents a rather robust plane set.
The Soviet plane and vehicle set
In Aces High II, the Soviet Union has 6 aircraft (one of which is a variant) and 2 vehicles (also one of which is a variant)that
fought, primarily, in the European Theater of operations (though some historical exceptions may be found or believably
portrayed). The aircraft are primarily fighter and fighter-bombers with it's sole 'bomber' being more of a ground attack plane.
While this set has some good fighters in it (and, arguably the best dive bomber/attack plane) it has some gaps to fill. The
reason for this is the same reason I still give the Soviets the third largest footprint in the game - lend lease. If lend lease is
taken into account then P-40, P-39, Hurricane, Spitfire Mk V, P-40, Spitfire Mk IX, B-25 and Boston can be added, increasing
the aircraft footprint to 14 (and if we take into consideration the M-4 Sherman and the M-16 the vehicle footprint doubles).
The addition of the MiG-3, Yak-3, Pe-2 and Tu-2 would enhance historical events in Aces High.
The Japanese plane set
In Aces High II, the Japanese have 10 aircraft comprised of fighters, fighter-bombers, attack planes and bombers (including
variants) that fought in the Pacific and China-Burma theaters. The early Japanese plane set is fairly well represented, as well
as some of the later fighters. Their two main level bombers are also represented. Japan has no vehicles. The Japanese plane
set could use some mid-war and late-war additions. There may be some argument to add their most commonly used tank
off the mainland, as well.
The Italian plane set
This is the smallest plane set in Aces High, with only 2 fighters represented. Though the Italians don't historically represent
the largest manufacturing or research and development capability in the war, there are more fighter models needed as well
as at least two (or more) bombers and attack planes that could give this nationality a more realistic game footprint. As far
as vehicles go, there's more reason to add one or two for the Italians than there is for the Japanese.
Other national footprints .... unseen
There's been an argument, by some, to model French aircraft (as well as other nationalities). Quite frankly, when it comes to
events, there's really only portrayal of 'blitzkrieg' invasions where these nations and their planes/vehicles would come to play.
The only potential exception I could see would the the Finnish Wars, since Finland made a pretty good accounting of itself.
Still, I can't see the non-Finnish player base getting that much behind it since, much like the Russian lend-lease planes, Finland
has planes in the game that can be historically skinned and accurately used in events.
