Strike
Fighters: Project One
http://www.auran.com/games/StrikeFighters/default.htm
Auran http://www.auran.com/default.htm
The
flight simulation community must rate as one of the most demanding
and often least appreciative group of gamers that use their
computers for more than work.
Sims by their very nature are extremely technical, complicated
and so sophisticated they push the boundaries of current PC
gaming technology.
Their long development times also mean game-starved fans of
the genre can work themselves into a rabid frenzy as release
day approaches – and heaven help any developer or publisher
that gets in their way.
Strike Fighters: Project One could be a case study in this phenomenon.
Firstly, the sim development team was led by TK (Tsuyoshi Kawahito),
the creator of arguably some of the finest sims to grace our
monitors, such as European Air War and Jane’s Longbow series.
Added to that was the realisation the Strike Fighters would
be the first game to truly recreate the time when air-to-air
missile technology was in its infancy, a gun’s kill was
the mark of a true fighter pilot and airplanes were large, loud
and horribly thirsty. This was also the time of the Vietnam
War, an era that has been surprisingly absent from the simulation
genre.
With fan expectations running at fever-pitch, Strike Fighters:
Project One went all screwy. Firstly (admittedly this was revealed
early on) the game, despite its timeframe, would not be set
in Vietnam but instead players would fly in a fictional desert
campaign. Fans accepted the decision (but were understandably
perturbed by the decision) but what followed was the craziest
tale of game publishing yet seen.
An early code release somehow found its way onto WalMart shelves
as a retail product and unsuspecting fans were lumped with a
buggy, unplayable and totally unfinished product. After suitable
apologies the so-called release version hit the shelves a few
months later and, even taking into account the sim community’s
normally rabid response, the game was absolutely trashed by
players and reviewers alike.
Auran took quite a chance on the game, becoming the Aussie distributor
and packaging it for sale before the release of the inevitable
first patch. That patch has now been released and although not
complete by any means, the game is now far more playable (before
the patch surface-to-air weapons failed to engage among other
things).
While it doesn’t excuse amazingly poor publishing, a small
group of fans with the continual support of TK have taken Strike
Fighters: Project One as their own and have been steadily recreating
the game they all wanted. TK promises more patches and in conjunction
with a talented community is set to create the true sibling
to European Air War.
As a sim, Strike Fighters: Project One rates up there in technical
difficulty. The flight models, while still requiring some tweaking,
are useable and there is a noticeable difference between the
airframes – jumping in the A4 on a ground attack mission
is definitely the exhilarating ride it should be, while blasting
into the sky on the stubby-winged F104 and cranking into a hard
turn is a heart-attack-inducing move.
The era of the planes means missiles require a degree of dog
fighting skill before a remote chance of kill – yes the
Vietnam-era Sparrow is as unpredictable in this game as it was
in real life.
What is even better though is the user-made mods that are slowly
converting Strike Fighters: Project One into the Vietnam War
flight sim everyone wanted. The desert terrain can be changed
for a jungle setting (or a European one if required), planes
can now sport some amazingly detailed paintjobs from the era
and more planes are being created each week including the precursor
to today’s A-10 Thunderbolt, the A-1H ‘Sandy’
Skyraider.
Strike Fighters: Project One rates as one of the most tumultuous
releases seen (although the infamous BattleCruiser and its interesting
developer Derek Smart may beat it for the title) and for all
of the bad blood it has caused it should by rights be sitting
in the bottom of the bargain bins. However, enough people have
seen fit to assist TK in creating his vision that the game is
now a truly viable proposition and with the community growing
daily it can only get better.
If you are a sim nut you will already have it, but a lot of
others may be holding off. My advice is to watch sites like
SimHQ’s Strike Fighters: Project One forum or http://www.mudmovers.com/Sims/SFP/essentialfiles.htm
and grab it when it reaches a stage you would be comfortable
with your purchase.
Auran recommends a Pentium III-650, 256 MB of RAM, 3D graphics
accelerator card with at least 64 MB of video memory and a joystick,
throttle and rudder to enjoy Strike Fighters: Project One.
