F-ZeroOne

IIRC, the series of books was "# (e.g. 101) Un-Useless Inventions. They weren't failed inventions as such, but part of a sort of design concept where the invention had to actually work or function but be completely impractical at the same time. There was a Japanese word for them but I forget what it was.

My slightly overblown impression of the demo... There are often to be found, in great legends, smaller legends. One of them is enclosed in the immensity of a certain eternal summer, in the year 1940. A Fighter Command squadron was scrambled to intercept an enemy raid. Closing in on the contact, it became apparent that their small band of fighters were about to engage an opposing formation of over a hundred aircraft. As the distance closed between them, one of the RAF pilots became concerned that they appeared to be taking no action. He got on the radio and asked his Squadron Leader, Ted Graham - who suffered from a stutter - what the matter was. Had Graham not seen the huge metal cloud approaching? There was a pause before Squadron Leader Graham replied. It was his answer that would became that small legend: "Of course I've seen the b-b-b-b*****ds! I'm t-t-t-trying to work out w-w-w-what to do!" [1] Playing the Ace Combat 6 demo for the first time, I can understand a little of what Squadron Leader Graham probably felt. Of course, this being a virtual battlefield, I did not face the danger of being killed or terribly injured in a fireball. Nor would my opponents plummet to the ground, their last minutes alive spent trapped in mortally wounded aircraft. But... facing me on the screen were indeed a lot of b*****ds, and initially I was at a loss as to what to do. This is perhaps the most immediate shock upon playing the demo. Other games in the series have some mighty aerial punch-ups, but nothing quite like this. The entire screen seems to be filled with green targeting reticules and you feel just a touch outnumbered. The impression was reinforced by a glance at the bottom-left hand corner of the screen, revealing that my F-16 - the Ford Escort [2] of the Ace Combat series - was loaded with about 140 missiles, nearly twice as many as I've ever seen in any of the earlier games. Obviously, I was expected to expend quite a few of them. However, an Ace Combat game is an Ace Combat game, and after getting over my initial shock, I almost instantly felt at home. Missiles. Check. Guns. Check. Right trigger throttle. Check. Left trigger air-brake check. Stirring music. Check. Slightly ridiculous flight name. Check. Time to emulate Squadron Leader Graham, then. Get over it and dive in to the attack... [3] After the first play, more signs that this is indeed an Ace Combat game appear. The at first bewildering array of opponents becomes less heart-stopping when one realises that, as ever, there are red targets on the radar, which are the mission objectives. You can, if necessary, ignore the chaos erupting around you and concentrate on those. Not that theres any fun in letting an enemy aircraft slip past without an AMRAAM in pursuit, of course... The demo is a bit too short to give a major impression of some of the additions we've been promised. At the moment, it plays, and looks, much like any other Ace Combat game but on steroids. We shall have to see how much control we will have over the dynamic battles. There appear to have been a number of changes to accommodate the greater scope, noticeably that one missile = one kill (this could be a demo thing or a difficulty setting though). And, oh, it looks gorgeous. Its not just the planes - Ace Combat 6 has always given good planes - but the details. One guy I know has waxed lyrical about the realism of the afterburner effects [4]. Smoke trails criss-cross the sky. Clouds can be flown to and in. Missiles ignite, boost, point up and shoot away. Go down low, and the increased solidity of the ground environment becomes apparent in the rush of speed that one feels. Like all Ace Combat games, this won't be for everyone. For those like myself, though, who do get it... I think we're in for a treat. Tally ho, chaps! [1] Source: The Most Dangerous Enemy by Stephen Bungay. A very similar account also appears in Fighter by Len Deighton. [2] Not sure if the Escort has the same name in non-UK markets - it is, basically, the "default" of cars. [3] Well, the squadron leader being a little bit smarter than that, he curved round, gained height, and then attacked. [4] Wonder who that is...?

Its the car that tried to kill The Stig. Wheres my Airwolf movie, eh?

I can beat all that, though not with sound, but image. Lynn Minmei. In EastEnders (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastEnders). Yes, she didn't disappear mysteriously after all but hitched a ride back in time with the Doctor and now lives a quiet life - well, as quiet a life as can be had in an Albert Square populated by the cast of EastEnders - in good ol' Lahn-dan town. Rumour has it shes the real reason Den and Angie split up... ...someone who isn't already resident in the U.K. please tell me you know what I'm babbling about...?

Tomino was one the happy pills at the time. ZZ does get better later. Honest.

IIRC, the aircraft fuselage will block some of the radar signal, particlularly immediately underneath the body. This blind spot prompted the RAF to go with a bulbous nose and tail Nimrod AEW prototype, but they never got it to work right and almost as an afterthought created one of the ugliest looking aeroplanes of recent times. They ended up buying Sentries instead. It might be possible to get round this now, or at least mitigate the effects. Not sure what effect rudders etc might have. Not all AWACs aircraft have dishes - Australia has gone for a design dubbed a "fantail" which is more of a wedge shape.

Speaking from the point of view of the UK military just at the moment, thats still way too much.

Oh, goody, even more victi - I mean, squadron mates.

That stick looks nice, but I'd prefer a different colour scheme personally. I hope the new game has a couple of missions like the "Round Table" dogfight in "The Belkan War". I love the idea of screaming into the middle of a real furball and saving everyone...

Ah, so now we know the real reason the USAF tried to get rid of the A-10 - it fires 3,000 rounds a minute at twenty UK pounds per shell!

Ah, nuts. Please ignore.

Sorry. I didn't intend to spark off anything serious, I didn't mean anything worse than the sort of characterisation you get in an Asterix book. I'll stick to plane talk from now on.

They need a script? "Galactor invents giant mechanical monster, attacks city" needs a script?!

Okay, but the Rafale is French and therefore the rivalary is traditional. Incidentally, David, are you talking about as aircraft in the Ace Combat series or in real life?

You know I'm actually thinking of getting an X-Box 360 for this. Two reasons, mainly. One, Typhoon vs Rafale. Its almost my duty to get in a Typhoon and prove which Euro canard is better... Second, I'm English. Which means that I know how to speak proper in an aircraft. None of this "Maverick, Fox Two, tracking a bogey!" stuff. Instead: "Blue flight, angels twenty, vector 280, buster chaps! Bandits twelve o'clock, Tally Ho!".

"Information is ammunition!"

It actually reminds me more of a Gundam Sentinel FA-ZZ Gundam personally. There is a slight roundess to the skull thats vaguely similar to the Turn-A, but personally I feel theres much more of a "normal" Gundam there than there is of a Turn-A.

We are now most of the way through the third season here in the UK, and I feel so far that this series is somewhat stronger than the second. David Tennant has settled in, and generally kicking alien menance posterior, and the new assistant has slotted in nicely as well. So far, we've had the assistants introduction, a romp with Englands most famous playwright, a couple of "standard" Who stories (running down corridors in spaceships screaming... Note that I'm not saying that these episodes are bad, its just a capsule description... ) a fun but slightly flat return from an old enemy of the Doctor (and if you can't work out what that enemy is, welcome to Doctor Who. You're new here, aren't you? )... ...and, oh, three episodes that might just be some of the finest Who ever. One is a two-parter, which some people are speaking of in the same terms as the first series "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances", and a standalone which some are comparing to "Dalek". A few might even think it was better... And still a few episodes to go in the current season...!

Edit: Oops, replied to wrong post...! Please ignore.

Are you saying that was Gods voice used for parts of Idol Talk? Because if so, Hes got some explaining to do...

We'd better hope no aliens are planning to invade, because whos going to write a song to save the Universe for us now?

That blue one - its Basaras VF-19 with the head on backwards! It is!

I'm going to go out on a limb here... ...yes, they're different Gundam designs. Yes, they're probably going to cause similar comments/debate/furious uproar about the designs. I don't think they're anything like the Turn-A designs. I'm prepared to eat my words, but I have a feeling the designs aren't going to be nearly as radical a break as the Turn-A ones were...

I've seen tank - even locomotive - markings on World War II aircraft, but not modern ones that I can recall. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, I just haven't seen any personally.

Song was perhaps a touch too long - I'd have liked to see them switch to a second - but otherwise, neat!