Will SoW be boring and superficial?

[Blackdog_kt]

I pretty much agree on the analysis about some of the older sims mentioned. I still remember Red Baron 1 and 2, Secret weapons of the luftwafe, aces of the pacific, aces over europe, etc.

For me, the best sim would be a hybrid between IL2 and European Air War. If you can combine the FM/DM/graphics from IL2 and the immersion factor from EAW, you'll have a real blockbuster on your hands. EAW is an old game by today's standards but it has a lot of things i'd like to see in a future project from Oleg.

First of all, the AI actually follows orders, complex orders. There was a very detailed method of controlling your wingmen to make concentrated attacks before breaking off, by use of the "rejoin" command. If you issued a disengage command they would do that and join up with you. However, rejoin tells them to stay in formation but not disengage. Which means that if you issue an order to attack bombers and then immediately tell them to rejoin, your wingmen will stay in formation while you circle around those bombers and they will attack whatever the formation's course presents them with. Ie, you can make head on attacks against a group of 36 bombers with as many as 12 planes in your flight in EAW.

Another thing is the menu graphics in most of the old sims. For example, there was a briefing room/tent with the map, then you clicked somewhere on the edge of the screen to go to the hangar where you could see some planes being prepared, then exit the hangar to fly. These don't even have to be real 3D images, just some static screens showing representative areas in an airfield. The top aces chalkboard in Red Baron, the Dora running engine checks in the background in EAW, your squadron roster showing your AI wingmen's kills and who is missing/killed/captured, all of these things add a lot to making you feel you are actually there and not in front of a computer monitor in your room.

Another thing is the ability to have random encounters with air and ground targets. This could be done by giving the FMB a series of parameters that it can then randomise. For example, scripting a 30% chance that a flight of 109s will spawn 10kms from you and bounce your escort group on the way home. Or even better, they spawn on the ground at a suitable airfield while you are heading in, they set up CAP under instruction from German ground control and wait for you to turn for home before attacking you. All in all, a detailed AI will open up more options for tactical variety.