HeWhoHasNoName

Coming out by the 30th in the US, already out in Europe.

Wheedled my copy out of a EBgames ahead of time... damn, I'm glad. This is the closest thing I know of next to going back in time 60 years and strapping into a P-51.

This is seriously a must have. 40 flyable aircraft total (OVER TWO HUNDRED if you install it in combo with IL-2:FB and the AEP pack), plus sub-variants, about a hundred different tanks and ships, and several THOUSAND square miles worth of awesome maps.

All that and 128 people in the air at once online. This thing seriously kicks ass.

This isn't just some point-the-plane-at-the-target arcade shooter, either. These flight models and physics are SERIOUS stuff. They even have little details like the F4U's wingtip torque-snap when landing, and the increasing right rudder in the P-40B in a dive.

Webpage is over here: www.pacific-fighters.com

WORTH EVERY CENT OF THE 40 BUCKS!

molloby

The models look really great and I won't attempt to guess at game play (the physics sounds awsome however). The textures are a bit of a dissapointment, espescially on the carrier decks- extremely bland compared with some similar era games I could name.

Looks like a lot of fun all up.

Kodega

As far as I know molloby, there really are no other games like IL-2 and PF. It's really hard to understand how arcadey games like BF 1942 and Secret Weapons over Normandy are compared to the IL-2/FB until you play them yourself. I know they caught me with my pants down. I crashed and burned without ever getting off the runway.

EDIT: Suffice to say, I am really looking forward to this game.

Bliz

That's a great looking game. I bet the system requirements are pretty beefy, though--and my GeForce MX440 probably won't cut it. So I'll have to find a video card that can run this and Half Life 2, *and* buy more memory? Sigh.

/kisses goodbye to his paychecks

molloby

Kodega, no question on the game play- I'm not touching that at all.

Look at Forgotten Hope for a comparison in texture quality however, it puts this to shame. It is also not exactly an arcade game itself- at least ground combat wise.

http://forgottenhope.bf1942files.com/main.html

HeWhoHasNoName

Molloby, having done some 3rd party work (free stuff) for the team that did PF, I can fill you in on why the carriers are kind of bland.

It's a side effect of the model format. PF is a revamped engine of the IL2:FB engine, which was an improved IL2 engine. IL2 came out... 4 years ago...? The fact that it looks even half as good as it does right now is a testament to how kickass it really is, and also part of the design philosophy: accuracy before eyecandy. A lot of the CPU power and GPU horsepower that would get spent on eyecandy and fancy textures in other games ends up getting spent on things like 300-400,000 triangles of terrain, accurate atmospheric coloration effects, but most of all, the flight models.

Those carriers are mapped with a single 1024x1024 texture, rather than smaller textures pieced together over the model. ALL the game models use a single texture, except the aircraft cockpits (which use about 30 or 40 256x256 textures). It's a tradeoff that they decided to make in order to even create PF, since Oleg Maddox is working on Battle of Britain right now for a 2005 or 2006 release. And you WILL need a new computer for THAT.

molloby

Fair enough.

Might be nice to play a comercial first person war game where game play and realism are king, plus avoiding bf kiddies who look at graphics first and foremost.

HeWhoHasNoName

Yeah, it's a unique experience.

Three things you have to have, though, to really appreciate it:

1) HOTAS (hands on throttle and stick) joystick-throttle combo. Saitek X45 or X54 is a good bet
2) Rudder pedals. The extra control they give you is awesome. You can twitch your plane's nose just a little to one side for a snapshot, sideslip smoothly, turn and sink / climb at the same time... and with carriers, good ground handling just about mandates them
3) most important: a microphone headset for multiplayer on hyperlobby (hyperfighter.jinak.cz--DON'T go to hyperlobby.com. It's been taken over by some conspiracy theorist litigous nutcase named Galen Thurber). Playing online with voice com (Teamspeak 2, ventrillo, Shoot, or Roger Wilco, et al) is a whole new experience. 90% of the online crowd are damn good, like to work as teams, and will happily bring you up to speed and teach you what they know if your flying skills are on the low end. I've been playing games online since Doom2 and I have never met a more incredible community behind a game (although I've heard the Aliens Online group was kind of like the cast from Cheers).

Kodega

Yes, the FH flight system is very arcady. Even though the rest of the game isn't. It's not the fault of the FH team though. The BF 1942 engine simply can't handle the complex flight data games like IL-2 and PF have.

As for joysticks, if you go for the X45 or X52 be prepared to drop a pretty penny. The x45 costs $75 and the x52 costs $130. I bought the x45 when IL-2:FB first came out and it was worth every penny.

Also, HeWhoHasNoName, where did you buy your rudder pedals? Who made them and about how much did they cost? Because I havn't seen any stand alone pedal rudders anywhere.

HeWhoHasNoName

I got a pair of CH Pro Pedals at the local Frys for about $100, after the twist rudder on my Wingman Extreme Digital quit after 4 months. >. About the only thing I liked about that stick was the shape of the handle. Very ergonomic.

The X sticks do cost a lot, yeah, but they're VERY high quality and I think of them as more of an investment. They'll last for *years*, and they won't lose precision or get dust in the potentiometers and start fluttering and twitching like cheaper sticks do. I picked up my X45 a few weeks later with birthday money. It was about $90, but it hadn't been out as long. And it was most definitely worth every penny.

MPower

Dump the saitek and go CH. Much better feel and quality.
And dont forget your trackir if you plan on mulitplayer.
The only thing that im bummed about is the fact that only naval aircraft have the tailhooks to land on the carriers. I really wanted to try landing a 262 or a p38 on the deck. I might can still do it if I come in slow enough and stand on the brakes. At least you can fly the b24 now, that should be a blast multiplayer.

hulk

Hehe, this looks a lot like Warbirds =) I remember having lots of WB fun, like managing to launch a B-17 laden with bombs off a carrier. Then that one time I had a full team of gunners on a B-24. Good times.

__________________
"'There's a tendency among the press to attribute the creation of a game to a single person,' says Warren Spector, creator of Thief and Deus Ex."
-- From an IGN game review.

Kodega

Ouch CH products are expensive. I don't have enough for $150 pedals, $150 stick or a $150-$200 dollar throttle. So I'll be sticking with my x45. Maybe if I get that job I applied for I'll get something from them as a celebration item.

Strelich

I have this one coming in the mail. I myself have been waiting for the Ju-88 for ages (to which I've seen many of the development screenshots) but as far as I'm concerned, it's great to see any new planes make it in after the game ships.

__________________
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Monty this seems strange to me.
The movies had that movie thing,
but nonsense has a welcome ring
and heroes don't come easy.

HeWhoHasNoName

B24 isn't flyable... the B25 is.

Ju88 is coming in a patch. They literally ran out of space on the CDs for anything FB related.

MPower

Yah the B25. They already have skins at il2skins. I cant get it off a carrier when loaded. Guess it needs a headwind.