I think Area 88 may have helped inspire portions of Ace Combat
It also had a fun video game: UN Squadron.
Now UN Squadron was a HARD game. I often replayed missions to save up enough cash to get an advanced fighter and skipped all the other planes because I just needed all the weaponry I could get. I used to love fighting the F117A squadron and would leave one alive so I could just fly around in the beautiful scrolling cloud background. Fun times!
A large percentage of those jets are aging airframes that are being used beyond their intended life span.
The F-15 is still such a formidable air superiority airframe that new jets like the F-35 and the Sukhoi PAK FA is benchmarked against it.
It might be from the 1970s, but if you're trying to sneak into US airspace and an F-15C comes up on your radar, you're about to have a really fucking bad day...
AxenMy avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered Userregular
edited September 2017
I am stupidly excited for this.
Though I do wonder how Erusea is a threat to Osea and why Erusea would ever attack Osea in the first place. Which I am sure involves something suitably anime. :razz:
I mean within the confines of Strangereal Osea is one of the world's two Super Powers (with Yuktobania being the other). Erusea on the other hand is very much not.
This is like if Belgium attacked the United States.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Though I do wonder how Erusea is a threat to Osea and why Erusea would ever attack Osea in the first place. Which I am sure involves something suitably anime. :razz:
I mean within the confines of Strangereal Osea is one of the world's two Super Powers (with Yuktobania being the other). Erusea on the other hand is very much not.
This is like if Belgium attacked the United States.
Well, Erusea was strong enough to take over their continent and control Stonehenge in AC4. But this is well after that. So I don't think they're quite at Belgium levels, but maybe a level above that.
I think from spoilers they
Basically hijack Oseas military assets around the space elevator, namely those giant flying wings that spew drones.
Though I do wonder how Erusea is a threat to Osea and why Erusea would ever attack Osea in the first place. Which I am sure involves something suitably anime. :razz:
I mean within the confines of Strangereal Osea is one of the world's two Super Powers (with Yuktobania being the other). Erusea on the other hand is very much not.
This is like if Belgium attacked the United States.
The Space Elevator is involved--so we're seeing a repeat of the AC5/0 "cybertheft of the highest order" conspiracy crimes, which don't realy necessitate a huge superpower. There is a sky princess though, so expect it to be very anime (and possibly very Zelda).
I don't mind--as mentioned above, just don't make it more Cold War Call of Duty bullshit. That's all I ask. The lack of stupid Russian accents is half the battle.
That mission contains, get this, an Osean penal legion, complete with a roidrage AWACs which constantly berates them and hopes they die. :P
So we're playing an Ocean prisoner pilot vs Erueans?
Trigger, the player character, seems to be a normal pilot. However, that mission in particular is based on recovering the penal legion from an engagement with drones in storm conditions. Lots of canyons and low visibility,
along with weather problems like icing for the plane.
One of the hardest things to do in any flight game is give mostly "empty" space a sense of personality or motion. Especially since the player is not feeling any g-forces. Hence why there's so many final trench/cave runs. This time, they seem to be making the weather the terrain. So if you need to hide, you duck into clouds, but you can't stay there too long or your plane will freeze, plus its much harder to see. And enemies can use the same rules to ambush you.
It's not 100% realistic, but it is really, really cool.
As far as Strangereal countries:
Osea = America
Yuktobania = Russia
Belka = Germany
Ustio = Belgium/France
Sapin = SPAAAAAIN
Eursea = China/India
North Point/ISAF = England/Regional NATO
Though I do wonder how Erusea is a threat to Osea and why Erusea would ever attack Osea in the first place. Which I am sure involves something suitably anime. :razz:
Well this is Ace Combat, so I presume some sort of plot central super weapon is involved. Something that can stop entire armies in its tracks and can only be defeated by a greater power : the player character.
Yeah, other than Metal Gear I can't place any other series that does "hyper realism" or incorporates speculative tech with real world stuff as good as Ace Combat.
Like, you could probably build a Stonehenge/Megalith installation or Scinfaxi class submarine in the real world, but the costs would basically mean the entire nation must be on total war footing.
Airborne fortresses are the series' biggest bits of cheating, but they're so cool I don't care at all.
Though I do wonder how Erusea is a threat to Osea and why Erusea would ever attack Osea in the first place. Which I am sure involves something suitably anime. :razz:
Well this is Ace Combat, so I presume some sort of plot central super weapon is involved. Something that can stop entire armies in its tracks and can only be defeated by a greater power : the player character.
I mean Ace Combat gonna Ace Combat.
But so far, I gotta say I get a odd The Mouse That Roared vibe. Like I wouldn't be surprised if Sky Princess-chan supported/orchestrated the call to war knowing full well her nation will lose but seeing it as the only way to liberate her people from an oppressive oligarchy.
I actually just did one of my favorite missions in AC5, the nerve gas neutralization. It's a triumph of the fluff actually distracting you from the mission itself, which is quite easy.
First of all, you very rarely deal with real world WMDs in Strangereal, so when you do, it's typically a big deal. You go up in a flight of modified Mirages to stop a Yuke nerve gas attack on a college town near the capital. You hear the civilian news reporting, your fighter command dealing with the alternate airport attack mission, and your wingmen stressing the urgency of stopping the gas as soon as possible.
Then the mission turns into the most radical action movie ever, as simple Ocean cops start chasing down the commandos, having a run and gun battle on the streets and highways. All you can do is provide occasional cannon support. The chatter from the police is amazing, you have your typical off duty guy trying to get to his kid's birthday, a guy who's so hyped about getting in on the action he brings his anti-tank rifle from home, the guys who are freaking out about having 9mm pistols against oncoming AH-64 attack helicopters. And again, 95% is just in your imagination as little models scoot around on a PS2 texture set.
And then, you come in as the big damn heroes, shooting down the choppers and chasing them between building.
I just can't think of a series that does this kind of immersion better, and it's usually different and unique on every level.
0
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
That mission contains, get this, an Osean penal legion, complete with a roidrage AWACs which constantly berates them and hopes they die. :P
So we're playing an Ocean prisoner pilot vs Erueans?
Trigger, the player character, seems to be a normal pilot. However, that mission in particular is based on recovering the penal legion from an engagement with drones in storm conditions. Lots of canyons and low visibility,
along with weather problems like icing for the plane.
One of the hardest things to do in any flight game is give mostly "empty" space a sense of personality or motion. Especially since the player is not feeling any g-forces. Hence why there's so many final trench/cave runs. This time, they seem to be making the weather the terrain. So if you need to hide, you duck into clouds, but you can't stay there too long or your plane will freeze, plus its much harder to see. And enemies can use the same rules to ambush you.
It's not 100% realistic, but it is really, really cool.
As far as Strangereal countries:
Osea = America
Yuktobania = Russia
Belka = Germany
Ustio = Belgium/France
Sapin = SPAAAAAIN
Eursea = China/India
North Point/ISAF = England/Regional NATO
That mission contains, get this, an Osean penal legion, complete with a roidrage AWACs which constantly berates them and hopes they die. :P
So we're playing an Ocean prisoner pilot vs Erueans?
Trigger, the player character, seems to be a normal pilot. However, that mission in particular is based on recovering the penal legion from an engagement with drones in storm conditions. Lots of canyons and low visibility,
along with weather problems like icing for the plane.
One of the hardest things to do in any flight game is give mostly "empty" space a sense of personality or motion. Especially since the player is not feeling any g-forces. Hence why there's so many final trench/cave runs. This time, they seem to be making the weather the terrain. So if you need to hide, you duck into clouds, but you can't stay there too long or your plane will freeze, plus its much harder to see. And enemies can use the same rules to ambush you.
It's not 100% realistic, but it is really, really cool.
As far as Strangereal countries:
Osea = America
Yuktobania = Russia
Belka = Germany
Ustio = Belgium/France
Sapin = SPAAAAAIN
Eursea = China/India
North Point/ISAF = England/Regional NATO
Indus / Vedia = India / Pakistan (but as islands)
Verusa = China
Karabastan = Iran (but as an Islamic monarchy, not a republic, and possibly Sunni?)
Rasheedi Tamudia = Saudi Arabia
Levant = Geographic Turkey, Political pre-war Syria
Nordennavic = Norway
Kaluga = Serbia (or another part of former Yugoslavia)
Estovakia = All of Federal Yugoslavia (strangely enough)
Europa = A majority Islamic federal Europe
While I've only seem some of those labels in "canon" sources, the geographic features and borders all match up to in-game graphics.
That mission contains, get this, an Osean penal legion, complete with a roidrage AWACs which constantly berates them and hopes they die. :P
So we're playing an Ocean prisoner pilot vs Erueans?
Trigger, the player character, seems to be a normal pilot. However, that mission in particular is based on recovering the penal legion from an engagement with drones in storm conditions. Lots of canyons and low visibility,
along with weather problems like icing for the plane.
One of the hardest things to do in any flight game is give mostly "empty" space a sense of personality or motion. Especially since the player is not feeling any g-forces. Hence why there's so many final trench/cave runs. This time, they seem to be making the weather the terrain. So if you need to hide, you duck into clouds, but you can't stay there too long or your plane will freeze, plus its much harder to see. And enemies can use the same rules to ambush you.
It's not 100% realistic, but it is really, really cool.
As far as Strangereal countries:
Osea = America
Yuktobania = Russia
Belka = Germany
Ustio = Belgium/France
Sapin = SPAAAAAIN
Eursea = China/India
North Point/ISAF = England/Regional NATO
Gracemeria = ?
Gracemeria is the capital of Emmeria, which is oddly next to Estovakia (hence the game). Emmeria is kind of like...Sweden? And Estovakia is kind of a Nordic, far northern version of Yugoslavia (Seveslavia?), and likely having the same socialist tradition Yuktobania had (at the very least, their flags are really, really similar). Yuktobania is flat-out stated to have had a leftist revolution at its founding--Estovakia could be something similar, instead of how the Nazis dismantled the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and Yugoslavia became a federation after they were beaten. The fan map projection suggests some potential political breakup in the wake of the war with Emmeria, though nothing was ever stated to have happened (just that Estovakia lost the war, not that their country was dismantled).
That's the first and probably last time that I'll see "hyper realism" and "ace combat" in the same sentence.
It's true though. While the game is not 'realistic', it is intentionally rooted in realism. It's why all the planes exist in real life (albeit some of them are prototypes that have never been used). Why the terrain is all based on IRL satellite and aerial photography imaging. Why all the superweapons are either based on real tech (ala stonehenge just being a big nuke gun) or based on speculative tech with at least some basis in reality (space elevators). It's why Strangereal is explicitly based on the real world, with conflicts mimicking from real world wars and geopolitics.
The whole driver for everybody to build super weapons was to deal with a asteroid that was going to pretty much end all life on Strangereal anyways, which is a good a reason as any
The whole driver for everybody to build super weapons was to deal with a asteroid that was going to pretty much end all life on Strangereal anyways, which is a good a reason as any
It'd have to--as it stands, Strangereal wars are incredibly expensive, but way less costly to human lives (and there are way fewer, abnormally large countries). With the exception of Belka, which managed to mastermind a whole new world war anyway, countries--or their civil infrastructure--tend to recover very quickly from wars. There are no devastating Bengali or North Korean famines, just periodic economic booms and busts (which we have in "peacetime" on Earth). Which might be why everyone's ready to fight another expensive war in a few years anyway.
Posts
There's a shmup, too.
It also had a fun video game: UN Squadron.
Now UN Squadron was a HARD game. I often replayed missions to save up enough cash to get an advanced fighter and skipped all the other planes because I just needed all the weaponry I could get. I used to love fighting the F117A squadron and would leave one alive so I could just fly around in the beautiful scrolling cloud background. Fun times!
The F-15 is still such a formidable air superiority airframe that new jets like the F-35 and the Sukhoi PAK FA is benchmarked against it.
It might be from the 1970s, but if you're trying to sneak into US airspace and an F-15C comes up on your radar, you're about to have a really fucking bad day...
Steam: betsuni7
Steam: Handkor
And it's nice to see what Ignis and Lunafreya have been getting up to after FFXV.
2018 is only 4 months away but they didn't say Winter/Spring so yeah probably Summer or Fall 2018 at best (pls surprise me).
Steam: Handkor
AC5 and Zero on PC would be great thx.
I'm saying I'm willing to throw money at Namco Bandai. I heard they like that.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
A new level featuring storm combat!
Though I do wonder how Erusea is a threat to Osea and why Erusea would ever attack Osea in the first place. Which I am sure involves something suitably anime. :razz:
I mean within the confines of Strangereal Osea is one of the world's two Super Powers (with Yuktobania being the other). Erusea on the other hand is very much not.
This is like if Belgium attacked the United States.
Well, Erusea was strong enough to take over their continent and control Stonehenge in AC4. But this is well after that. So I don't think they're quite at Belgium levels, but maybe a level above that.
I think from spoilers they
It beats the shit out of Tom Clancreal.
The Space Elevator is involved--so we're seeing a repeat of the AC5/0 "cybertheft of the highest order" conspiracy crimes, which don't realy necessitate a huge superpower. There is a sky princess though, so expect it to be very anime (and possibly very Zelda).
I don't mind--as mentioned above, just don't make it more Cold War Call of Duty bullshit. That's all I ask. The lack of stupid Russian accents is half the battle.
along with weather problems like icing for the plane.
One of the hardest things to do in any flight game is give mostly "empty" space a sense of personality or motion. Especially since the player is not feeling any g-forces. Hence why there's so many final trench/cave runs. This time, they seem to be making the weather the terrain. So if you need to hide, you duck into clouds, but you can't stay there too long or your plane will freeze, plus its much harder to see. And enemies can use the same rules to ambush you.
It's not 100% realistic, but it is really, really cool.
As far as Strangereal countries:
Osea = America
Yuktobania = Russia
Belka = Germany
Ustio = Belgium/France
Sapin = SPAAAAAIN
Eursea = China/India
North Point/ISAF = England/Regional NATO
Well this is Ace Combat, so I presume some sort of plot central super weapon is involved. Something that can stop entire armies in its tracks and can only be defeated by a greater power : the player character.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
Like, you could probably build a Stonehenge/Megalith installation or Scinfaxi class submarine in the real world, but the costs would basically mean the entire nation must be on total war footing.
Airborne fortresses are the series' biggest bits of cheating, but they're so cool I don't care at all.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
I mean Ace Combat gonna Ace Combat.
But so far, I gotta say I get a odd The Mouse That Roared vibe. Like I wouldn't be surprised if Sky Princess-chan supported/orchestrated the call to war knowing full well her nation will lose but seeing it as the only way to liberate her people from an oppressive oligarchy.
edit- @manwiththemachinegun
You forgot:
Emmeria = America. . . Again!
Estovakia = Russia. . . Again!
First of all, you very rarely deal with real world WMDs in Strangereal, so when you do, it's typically a big deal. You go up in a flight of modified Mirages to stop a Yuke nerve gas attack on a college town near the capital. You hear the civilian news reporting, your fighter command dealing with the alternate airport attack mission, and your wingmen stressing the urgency of stopping the gas as soon as possible.
Then the mission turns into the most radical action movie ever, as simple Ocean cops start chasing down the commandos, having a run and gun battle on the streets and highways. All you can do is provide occasional cannon support. The chatter from the police is amazing, you have your typical off duty guy trying to get to his kid's birthday, a guy who's so hyped about getting in on the action he brings his anti-tank rifle from home, the guys who are freaking out about having 9mm pistols against oncoming AH-64 attack helicopters. And again, 95% is just in your imagination as little models scoot around on a PS2 texture set.
And then, you come in as the big damn heroes, shooting down the choppers and chasing them between building.
I just can't think of a series that does this kind of immersion better, and it's usually different and unique on every level.
Gracemeria = ?
According to the I think mostly unofficial but still cool map there are also other regional analogs for:
Indus / Vedia = India / Pakistan (but as islands)
Verusa = China
Karabastan = Iran (but as an Islamic monarchy, not a republic, and possibly Sunni?)
Rasheedi Tamudia = Saudi Arabia
Levant = Geographic Turkey, Political pre-war Syria
Nordennavic = Norway
Kaluga = Serbia (or another part of former Yugoslavia)
Estovakia = All of Federal Yugoslavia (strangely enough)
Europa = A majority Islamic federal Europe
While I've only seem some of those labels in "canon" sources, the geographic features and borders all match up to in-game graphics.
Gracemeria is the capital of Emmeria, which is oddly next to Estovakia (hence the game). Emmeria is kind of like...Sweden? And Estovakia is kind of a Nordic, far northern version of Yugoslavia (Seveslavia?), and likely having the same socialist tradition Yuktobania had (at the very least, their flags are really, really similar). Yuktobania is flat-out stated to have had a leftist revolution at its founding--Estovakia could be something similar, instead of how the Nazis dismantled the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and Yugoslavia became a federation after they were beaten. The fan map projection suggests some potential political breakup in the wake of the war with Emmeria, though nothing was ever stated to have happened (just that Estovakia lost the war, not that their country was dismantled).
It's true though. While the game is not 'realistic', it is intentionally rooted in realism. It's why all the planes exist in real life (albeit some of them are prototypes that have never been used). Why the terrain is all based on IRL satellite and aerial photography imaging. Why all the superweapons are either based on real tech (ala stonehenge just being a big nuke gun) or based on speculative tech with at least some basis in reality (space elevators). It's why Strangereal is explicitly based on the real world, with conflicts mimicking from real world wars and geopolitics.
It'd have to--as it stands, Strangereal wars are incredibly expensive, but way less costly to human lives (and there are way fewer, abnormally large countries). With the exception of Belka, which managed to mastermind a whole new world war anyway, countries--or their civil infrastructure--tend to recover very quickly from wars. There are no devastating Bengali or North Korean famines, just periodic economic booms and busts (which we have in "peacetime" on Earth). Which might be why everyone's ready to fight another expensive war in a few years anyway.