Yeah, the people who thought DFM was easy mode after playing the demo really should give the full game a rent or something. The enemies in the tutorial aren't even trying. The first guy I pursued in the first real mission instantly evaded out of DFM. There is plenty of skill involved.
In fact, I find myself trying to go into DFM even if I can get a clean missile kill anyway, just because it looks awesome.
And yeah, the story seems really well-presented. And the hangar/plane select screen is just as cool as before.
Dubai is my favorite fighter mission so far. Soooo many targets I was getting overwhelmed, which is rare for an AC game. I had to constantly use the counter moves to keep those MIGs from wasting me.
Missions are also probably twice the length of those in AC4-5.
And yeah, you can't 'trust' DFM to fly for you. Triangle is your friend, especially in areas with tight squeezes. Sometimes it's better to do some damage, break DFM, and then re-engage.
Other cool little bits:
Wingmen are useless in actual combat, as always, but for gunner missions you actually don't need to kill every guy. Delta Force especially can kill quite a few enemies on their own. Obviously you still need to take out heavy tanks and such, but it's a nice touch.
SAAMs are much harder to keep a lock on enemies, and QUARAMs are no longer garanteed kills. In fact, I'd say this is one of the more difficult AC games as far as AI goes. You will NEED multi-kill missiles to keep the bad guys clear.
TGT leads are definately killable outside of DFM, but staying on their tail is a bitch. Imagine fighting Yellow squadron and you get the idea, but in addition they have flares so you really need to missile spam.
I need to get used to the helicopter controls. I thought type B would be better but it wasn't. I thought I'd be able to keep inverted on the gunner controls, but that was awkward. On the scenes where you're walking around can you flip those to inverted? I tried to but nothing seemed to work. The external camera for the helicopter is weird too... mostly because the helicopter does a good job of getting in the way of everything, so I switched to playing that in first person, no HUD. Definitely have to adjust to that mode.
Camera feels like it's tighter too in general.
“I used to draw, hard to admit that I used to draw...”
Damn this game is tense. Maybe it's just because it's been so long since I've played a new AC, but it's been quite the ride so far.
Gunfire may be weak against air targets beyond point blank range, but it chews ground forces to pieces.
Last few missions are fucking insane. Holy god. Only let down was being forced to DFM Markov for the final fight. However, there is another Ace in the mission before I killed outside of DFM.
It's an absolute blast, but it's definately the most arcade-y of Ace Combat games. How much you like it will probably relate to that fact.
Final Boss spoilers:
Bascially, Markov is invincible until you DFM him several times. After each pass you have a chance to engage him more openly. It reminded me of the fight against Pixy where you can only damage him at certain times/places.
However, the lead up to the final boss is outstanding.
And gawdamn the music is good.
Also, protip, to counter enemy DFM, you have to be flying level and be flying fast enough to break hard to get in range. It won't work if you fly too slow. A good technique I found is to break hard left or right, afterburn, slam on the brakes and level out. Leaves you much less vulnerable.
so how many missions are there? and/or have you guys just been playing the hell out it?
I was wondering the same thing.
Edit: and is it better to just stick with arcade controls and get used to em, or does switching to original controls not hurt the DFM thing too much? (I'm guessing it doesn't matter either way)
Skull2185 on
Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
so how many missions are there? and/or have you guys just been playing the hell out it?
18 total I think, they're all quite long and some have two parts (like bomber/fighter or gunner/fighter).
There is no shortage of targets on any of them. The sheer number of enemies can get overwhelming at times. Especially when the enemies aren't push overs. The final 1/3 missions your missile warning alarm will be going off basically non-stop.
Yeah, Markov is a bitch. What I try to do is just hold fire during his attack passes since you can't really damage him when he zips around like a monkey on crack.
There's also a... I don't know, extra sense of accomplishment when you're blowing up stuff. When you take out an enemy battle crusier etc, you have to fly through mountains of flack and SAMs. They're dangerous as hell and when they go up it's awesome.
so how many missions are there? and/or have you guys just been playing the hell out it?
I was wondering the same thing.
Edit: and is it better to just stick with arcade controls and get used to em, or does switching to original controls not hurt the DFM thing too much? (I'm guessing it doesn't matter either way)
I switched to the classic controls because the arcade controls were awkward to me. No real problems in DFM mode in my experience. I'd chalk it up to personal preference.
18 Missions? That's good to know too.
“I used to draw, hard to admit that I used to draw...”
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Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
Okay, I was a little bit iffy on the concept of DFM at first. And then I got into a giant furball and shit was exploding and my radar was lit up like guddam Christmas in Vegas and I realized that finally, FINALLY in an Ace Combat game I had a 'deal with incoming fire' option that wasn't just "Hit burners and turn forever."
Having an enemy bring you into DFM and then turning the tables on them before giving them a missile colonoscopy? FUCK YEAH, that shit put a smile on my face.
Overall I think DFM was a good addition to the series, other than a few annoying parts. I agree there wasn't much to dogfighting in prior games other than, 'turn/loop and shoot'. Here you have to fight to stay alive, and God help you if your airspeed falls too low.
What mission are you on Johnny?
And yeah for folks having trouble with Markov...
You can't kill him till you finish all the DFM segments, and if you take too long getting a lock you lose. You have to damage him between each chase. The final one before you can kill him is buzzing the Washington Monument and White House, after that, one more lock and you can shoot him down. Keep your air speed high and be ready to counter like crazy.
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Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
Still pretty early, I'm thinking.
Just got betrayed by the Guy Who Was Totally Going To Betray Us(tm) after the first AC-130 mission.
I got the soundtrack too (Best Buy promotion). Kobayashi is a magician with digital orchestras. I wish track 17 was longer, though. All kinds of badass and then it just ends with no big climax.
Just got betrayed by the Guy Who Was Totally Going To Betray Us(tm) after the first AC-130 mission.
I got the soundtrack too (Best Buy promotion). Kobayashi is a magician with digital orchestras. I wish track 17 was longer, though. All kinds of badass and then it just ends with no big climax.
Best buy had the soundtrack?
“I used to draw, hard to admit that I used to draw...”
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Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
Just got betrayed by the Guy Who Was Totally Going To Betray Us(tm) after the first AC-130 mission.
I got the soundtrack too (Best Buy promotion). Kobayashi is a magician with digital orchestras. I wish track 17 was longer, though. All kinds of badass and then it just ends with no big climax.
Best buy had the soundtrack?
Free if you pick it up at the same time as the game, $7.99 if you want to buy it separate.
Overall I think DFM was a good addition to the series, other than a few annoying parts. I agree there wasn't much to dogfighting in prior games other than, 'turn/loop and shoot'. Here you have to fight to stay alive, and God help you if your airspeed falls too low.
What mission are you on Johnny?
And yeah for folks having trouble with Markov...
You can't kill him till you finish all the DFM segments, and if you take too long getting a lock you lose. You have to damage him between each chase. The final one before you can kill him is buzzing the Washington Monument and White House, after that, one more lock and you can shoot him down. Keep your air speed high and be ready to counter like crazy.
I've gotten to that like three times, been in DFM behind him and then suddenly hear MISSIL-BOOM and then I go from zero to dead. It was making me want to smash a bro
I'm seriously pissed that there is no control options for configuring buttons for a joystick...I have a thrustmaster Hotas and its great for Hawx, but the buttons are totally wrong for this. I'll have to try to get its mapping buttons working but it is such a hassle. Ah well, I mostly got it since it was PC compatible too so no loss as BF3 is coming soon.
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I'm seriously pissed that there is no control options for configuring buttons for a joystick...I have a thrustmaster Hotas and its great for Hawx, but the buttons are totally wrong for this. I'll have to try to get its mapping buttons working but it is such a hassle. Ah well, I mostly got it since it was PC compatible too so no loss as BF3 is coming soon.
That's too bad. The demo worked perfectly with the AC6 stick, but I'm sure the buttons are mapped differently.
I'm seriously pissed that there is no control options for configuring buttons for a joystick...I have a thrustmaster Hotas and its great for Hawx, but the buttons are totally wrong for this. I'll have to try to get its mapping buttons working but it is such a hassle. Ah well, I mostly got it since it was PC compatible too so no loss as BF3 is coming soon.
Too bad BF3 doesn't really support anything but 360 controllers.
Okay, After about 20 minutes fiddling with the mapping feature on my Thrustmaster Hotas-X, I got it worked out so that I can fly the planes with the stick and throttle, and buttons mapped to generally good places. Though I still have to break out the gamepad for heli/turret missions.
Played some of the HQ attack multiplayer, did okay as a fighter, then tried to be an attacker as an A-10. All goes well until the other teams top guy just picks me out of the crowd and kills me over and over while my team Herp Derps and doesn't even try to stop them from attacking our base. Can't wait to give it some more time tonight.
I haven't looked at hosting my own games, can you prevent randoms from joining in any way or are they always open to the public?
The demo for this was one of the best I've ever played. The first time I entered DFM I was breathless. The helicopter mission was really, really intense. Just one question, are there any really cool weird planes that are unlockable? Like flying wings and that sort of thing, or is it just more realistic fighters?
Depends how you define weird plane. Most will be DLC like the F-15 ACTIVE and some new/returning super fighters. You do get to fly older planes though like the F-4 if you preordered, the MIG-21 and a few new (in terms of pilotable) ones like the SU-25 Frogfoot.
If you liked the intensity of the demo, you'll love the rest of the game. There are some seriously cool action segments.
Just know DFM does have a 'rail shooter' element to it for several bosses and sub bosses. Usually two or so per mission. Other than that, the sky is yours.
manwiththemachinegun on
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Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
Depends how you define weird plane. Most will be DLC like the F-15 ACTIVE and some new/returning super fighters. You do get to fly older planes though like the F-4 if you preordered, the MIG-21 and a few new (in terms of pilotable) ones like the SU-25 Frogfoot.
If you liked the intensity of the demo, you'll love the rest of the game. There are some seriously cool action segments.
Just know DFM does have a 'rail shooter' element to it for several bosses and sub bosses. Usually two or so per mission. Other than that, the sky is yours.
Considering how most flying games left me flying into the ground after chasing a dot for five minutes, I'm okay with that.
FaranguI am a beardy manWith a beardy planRegistered Userregular
So, question:
On the bomber/fighter mission, when the cruise missile launches and you need to intercept it...how does one do this? By the time I caught up to it and got a lock, it had already escaped.
It really, really helps if you picked a fighter with either a 4x or 6x lock-on. Go full burn to the missile, pull up, CRA lock it, and get to a medium distance. Cycle between special weapons (make sure all of them lock) and missiles, don't worry about guns. It should go down fast.
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Johnny ChopsockyScootaloo! We have to cook!Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered Userregular
Just beat it. Goddamn, that was fun and not a single tunnel crawl in sight (seriously, it lost its luster by Ace 0).
Trying to figure out where I'm going to rank this in the "4 vs 5 vs 6 vs 0" debate. Definitely over 6. WAAAAAAAAY over 6. The addition of the DFM is a massive plus for switching up the traditional flow of Ace Combat battles, the other vehicle missions are a great monotony-breaker, and the plot is decently voice acted and serviceable and melodrama-free. And the music. Holy shit the music.
I do miss fighting a superweapon, though. But the fact that combat between the planes themselves is actually interesting and not a turn and burn-athon, the sting from the lack of superweapons is lessened.
I'm a bit new the whole PSN and online games thing, mostly just play local multi with friends as none have PS3's. Do I need to have a headset to hear other people talking? Is it easy to invite people into a game of this?
Posts
In fact, I find myself trying to go into DFM even if I can get a clean missile kill anyway, just because it looks awesome.
And yeah, the story seems really well-presented. And the hangar/plane select screen is just as cool as before.
Missions are also probably twice the length of those in AC4-5.
And yeah, you can't 'trust' DFM to fly for you. Triangle is your friend, especially in areas with tight squeezes. Sometimes it's better to do some damage, break DFM, and then re-engage.
Other cool little bits:
Wingmen are useless in actual combat, as always, but for gunner missions you actually don't need to kill every guy. Delta Force especially can kill quite a few enemies on their own. Obviously you still need to take out heavy tanks and such, but it's a nice touch.
SAAMs are much harder to keep a lock on enemies, and QUARAMs are no longer garanteed kills. In fact, I'd say this is one of the more difficult AC games as far as AI goes. You will NEED multi-kill missiles to keep the bad guys clear.
TGT leads are definately killable outside of DFM, but staying on their tail is a bitch. Imagine fighting Yellow squadron and you get the idea, but in addition they have flares so you really need to missile spam.
Camera feels like it's tighter too in general.
Gunfire may be weak against air targets beyond point blank range, but it chews ground forces to pieces.
Last few missions are fucking insane. Holy god. Only let down was being forced to DFM Markov for the final fight. However, there is another Ace in the mission before I killed outside of DFM.
I don't think I've played an AC game since 4.
Final Boss spoilers:
However, the lead up to the final boss is outstanding.
And gawdamn the music is good.
Also, protip, to counter enemy DFM, you have to be flying level and be flying fast enough to break hard to get in range. It won't work if you fly too slow. A good technique I found is to break hard left or right, afterburn, slam on the brakes and level out. Leaves you much less vulnerable.
I was wondering the same thing.
Edit: and is it better to just stick with arcade controls and get used to em, or does switching to original controls not hurt the DFM thing too much? (I'm guessing it doesn't matter either way)
18 total I think, they're all quite long and some have two parts (like bomber/fighter or gunner/fighter).
There is no shortage of targets on any of them. The sheer number of enemies can get overwhelming at times. Especially when the enemies aren't push overs. The final 1/3 missions your missile warning alarm will be going off basically non-stop.
Yeah, Markov is a bitch. What I try to do is just hold fire during his attack passes since you can't really damage him when he zips around like a monkey on crack.
There's also a... I don't know, extra sense of accomplishment when you're blowing up stuff. When you take out an enemy battle crusier etc, you have to fly through mountains of flack and SAMs. They're dangerous as hell and when they go up it's awesome.
I switched to the classic controls because the arcade controls were awkward to me. No real problems in DFM mode in my experience. I'd chalk it up to personal preference.
18 Missions? That's good to know too.
Having an enemy bring you into DFM and then turning the tables on them before giving them a missile colonoscopy? FUCK YEAH, that shit put a smile on my face.
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
What mission are you on Johnny?
And yeah for folks having trouble with Markov...
I got the soundtrack too (Best Buy promotion). Kobayashi is a magician with digital orchestras. I wish track 17 was longer, though. All kinds of badass and then it just ends with no big climax.
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
Best buy had the soundtrack?
Free if you pick it up at the same time as the game, $7.99 if you want to buy it separate.
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
Basically once I lock on, I use that time to 'rest' my reflexes since you're basically on autopilot at that point.
That's too bad. The demo worked perfectly with the AC6 stick, but I'm sure the buttons are mapped differently.
Too bad BF3 doesn't really support anything but 360 controllers.
gamertag: justCullen
send me an invite; i haven't tried multi yet and i would like to
gamertag: RavenSwordPMC
go dance with the angels!
Played some of the HQ attack multiplayer, did okay as a fighter, then tried to be an attacker as an A-10. All goes well until the other teams top guy just picks me out of the crowd and kills me over and over while my team Herp Derps and doesn't even try to stop them from attacking our base. Can't wait to give it some more time tonight.
I haven't looked at hosting my own games, can you prevent randoms from joining in any way or are they always open to the public?
Talk to me, Goose.
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN
I can't stop playing White Devil.
...
It's not really a problem.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
If you liked the intensity of the demo, you'll love the rest of the game. There are some seriously cool action segments.
Just know DFM does have a 'rail shooter' element to it for several bosses and sub bosses. Usually two or so per mission. Other than that, the sky is yours.
What did you think of that song 'Faces Of The Coin'?
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
Considering how most flying games left me flying into the ground after chasing a dot for five minutes, I'm okay with that.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
Trying to figure out where I'm going to rank this in the "4 vs 5 vs 6 vs 0" debate. Definitely over 6. WAAAAAAAAY over 6. The addition of the DFM is a massive plus for switching up the traditional flow of Ace Combat battles, the other vehicle missions are a great monotony-breaker, and the plot is decently voice acted and serviceable and melodrama-free. And the music. Holy shit the music.
I do miss fighting a superweapon, though. But the fact that combat between the planes themselves is actually interesting and not a turn and burn-athon, the sting from the lack of superweapons is lessened.
Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
And yeah, White Devil is probably my favorite AC track ever now.
My new favorite thing to do is enter a CRA ground attack mode from the wrong direction. Instant 180 flip Macross style.
As far as the story goes, if Ace Combat is Gundam, then Assault Horizon is 8th MS team... sans the love tumor plot.