Ace Combat 6:Skies of Liberation for XBOX360!

[GunnerX]

according to a gaming forum i was reading (so not a 100% reliable source) all of Namco's xbox 360 releases to date have been world-region.

That's great! Really hoping that i can play the US version of it..

[Apollo Leader]

*BUMP*

[yellowlightman]

Why would you bump this thread?

[Apollo Leader]

Why would you bump this thread?

Somebody tried to start a new Ace Combat 6 thread so I figured I might as well push this back up front so he could see it.

I recently saw the trailer that's on Marketplace. Looking nice.

[Apollo Leader]

Ace Combat 6 demo this week.

[David Hingtgen]

I was planning on hooking my 360 up to the net this week to get E3 goodies, updates etc----this will be a nice bonus. (Though I'll have to do it again next week to get the Blue Dragon demo----my systems have their cables so intertwined around furniture it's a fair amount of work to move any of them)

[Axelay]

So...? Who has the demo? C'mon, surely someone out there can tell us all about it.

[Apollo Leader]

Downloading it and a whole bunch of other goodies as I speak! Don't know if I'll have the chance to play it tonight though.

[Uxi]

Downloading the AC6 demo, a trailer, and probably 4 or 5 trailers on PSN as we speak. AS soon as that's done, I won't be on the boards for awhile.

[David Hingtgen]

Got the demo, it's clearly for 16:9 HD. Can barely read the HUD. Sure hope there's other options in the full version. Anyways, for what is there:

Awe-inspiring. There are dozens and dozens of planes in the air. By far the biggest dogfight ever. In the demo you've got 99 AIM-9 and like 44 AIM-120. (F-16C, thought it looked like a bigmouth one, will check again) And I ran out of AMRAAMs. Zillions of planes all fighting it out over a big city on the coast. I was taking down F-4E's, Kfir's, Mirage 2000's, Su-33's, F-18F's. In the upper left corner is a "camera view" of your target, done in "green night-vision" etc. Similar situation in the upper right corner, only it's for communications---so you can actually see your wingman talking, etc. The afterburner effect is amazing, it's just perfect. White-hot/orange turbine, orange glow, purple tint around the edges. Missiles actually have rocket motors now that ignite and burn, no longer just a simple white smoke trail.

Also, it is just generally amazing graphically. The first couple seconds I thought were CG, but they're in-game. Music is as "AC-ish" as always.

PS---you probably want to switch "Yaw/throttle" to "reverse". It's set up backwards from all the other AC games. The triggers on a 360 controller just aren't as good as a PS2's shoulder buttons for flying, but I'd rather have yaw on the triggers. And I've spent many an hour holding down R1 for afterburner, so I want that as RB.

[Uxi]

Looks awesome on my TV (60" 16:9) and the jet engine noise in the intro scared the hell out of me (guess I had the volume up too high). Been awhile since I played any Ace Combat and took me some getting used to the control. I finished the first part and after the intro for the 2nd quit out to watch all the E3 trailers I downloaded on PSN and XBL.

[JsARCLIGHT]

I DL'ed this last night and played it. I found the game's graphical and sound presentation to be great... but it's overall "hud" to be confusing. It took me a few minutes to figure out what the two arrows were (one points to your "target" while the other points to your "wingman"). I found the whole "target acquisition" process to be kind of awkward... for a non-jet groupie like me I understood the basics of the hud and I know what all the little marks and indicators are, but the general process of "find target, lock target, shoot" seemed kind of awkward to me. I guess I was expecting more blips and bloops on the screen telling me what to do... eventually I started getting the hang of it as the game progressed and found myself more comfortable using the guns and aiming with the piter than I was with the "fire and forget" missiles. Only after I had used up all my missiles did I start seeing how the missile aiming worked, which was kind of disappointing. Also the whole "incoming missile" thing was confusing... I didn't know what to do. The game does not seem to have any countermeasures and I didn't know how to properly "evade" so I just wound up speeding up and turning constantly which worked... I guess... because I never got hit. And is it just me or is the "map" kind of poor? I seem to recall other games in this series or in other similar series having the map zoom in and out based on your range from hostile targets... while playing the game I had a few instances where I guess I flew too far away from the bad guy groups chasing one bad guy only to find myself flying around with no red blips on my map. I had to guess at where they were and go in that direction until red blips came into view on the map. I also seemed to stall quite often... I thought I was flying straight and even at full speed and yet I kept getting stall indicators? Also is it just me or was the "radio chatter" annoying? It felt a little "out of character" for what real military pilots would be saying over an open frequency... and how can you hear the bad guy's radio chatter? but I guess you have to make the game "epic" and engrossing somehow.

All in all I'll probably buy this game when it comes out... lord knows I've bought just about every one since the original Air Combat. I just wonder if they plan to "mix things up" more this time around. Every game in this series I've played so far has always felt like the same game just with updated graphics... this one kind of has the promise to be different right off the bat what with the massive air battle demo... I don't recall anything like that in the older games.

[Apollo Leader]

I tried it last night. Looks awesome. My main complaint is that since the game is clearly designed with HD in mine, virtually all the text on the HUD (especially anything designating firends or foes) was imposible to read on my 10 year old, 25 inch Samsung TV. But even in SD, again this game looks awesome.

[yellowlightman]

I had no problem reading the HUD text on my SD TV, certainly didn't the difficulty I did on other games like Dead Rising or TDU.

[David Hingtgen]

FYI, there are several gamer pics and themes up to download. There's no previews at xbox.com (not even listed), so you can only go by the tiny pics on Live. I downloaded theme #3, and the blade backgrounds are Su-33, Tornado GR.4, F-15E, F-16C. The guide background is basically silver, with small embossed squadron badges tiled across.

[DARKWIND]

Got the demo, it's clearly for 16:9 HD. Can barely read the HUD. Sure hope there's other options in the full version. Anyways, for what is there:

Awe-inspiring. There are dozens and dozens of planes in the air. By far the biggest dogfight ever. In the demo you've got 99 AIM-9 and like 44 AIM-120. (F-16C, thought it looked like a bigmouth one, will check again) And I ran out of AMRAAMs. Zillions of planes all fighting it out over a big city on the coast. I was taking down F-4E's, Kfir's, Mirage 2000's, Su-33's, F-18F's. In the upper left corner is a "camera view" of your target, done in "green night-vision" etc. Similar situation in the upper right corner, only it's for communications---so you can actually see your wingman talking, etc. The afterburner effect is amazing, it's just perfect. White-hot/orange turbine, orange glow, purple tint around the edges. Missiles actually have rocket motors now that ignite and burn, no longer just a simple white smoke trail.

Also, it is just generally amazing graphically. The first couple seconds I thought were CG, but they're in-game. Music is as "AC-ish" as always.

PS---you probably want to switch "Yaw/throttle" to "reverse". It's set up backwards from all the other AC games. The triggers on a 360 controller just aren't as good as a PS2's shoulder buttons for flying, but I'd rather have yaw on the triggers. And I've spent many an hour holding down R1 for afterburner, so I want that as RB.

I'm with you DH, I love it!!!!!

I felt good to see it all so lifelike, it took me back to my airfield the days in Atsugi and riding the Indy. . .

[GunnerX]

I just downloaded it last night, suprised that it was only a 300MB download. Too bad i dun have a HDTV yet... but i tried it on my monitor at 1280x1024 and i gotta say, awesome! Feels like most other AC's from 3-Zero, but as DH said, i'm still more used to the PS2 pad than the 360's trigger buttons. The amount of jets in the air and the missile trails AA fire in the air esp above the fleet was amazing.....

Haha, at the last part, with the missiles launched, sure reminded me of stonehenge or the arkbird's laser... guess it'll be another "fly below a 1000 feet!" thing!

Still love it though..

[David Hingtgen]

Yeah, we all knew there'd be a "super weapon"---but I wasn't expecting it to be revealed in the demo.

Also---don't forget to get the separate trailer download too. Mostly CG, but it's probably the most "epic-feeling" game trailer in a long time. Music is flat-out "heroic".

[mikeszekely]

FYI, there are several gamer pics and themes up to download. There's no previews at xbox.com (not even listed), so you can only go by the tiny pics on Live. I downloaded theme #3, and the blade backgrounds are Su-33, Tornado GR.4, F-15E, F-16C. The guide background is basically silver, with small embossed squadron badges tiled across.

No Raptor = not a good theme.

It's funny that, after getting laid off and not having anything else to do, I replayed Ace Combat 4, 5, Zero, and X. When I played the AC6 demo, I definitely had that "This is Ace Combat" feeling. The graphics are gorgeous; the planes and the ground are much more detailed, smoke trails from missiles hang in the air for awhile, and 30,000 feet looks a lot higher than in the PS2 games. But the thing you really notice right away is just how much more is going on. The number of planes in the air is much higher than the Shattered Skies mission in AC4. November can hardly come fast enough.

[mikeszekely]

I just downloaded it last night, suprised that it was only a 300MB download. Too bad i dun have a HDTV yet... but i tried it on my monitor at 1280x1024 and i gotta say, awesome! Feels like most other AC's from 3-Zero, but as DH said, i'm still more used to the PS2 pad than the 360's trigger buttons. The amount of jets in the air and the missile trails AA fire in the air esp above the fleet was amazing.....

Haha, at the last part, with the missiles launched, sure reminded me of stonehenge or the arkbird's laser... guess it'll be another "fly below a 1000 feet!" thing!

Still love it though..

Actually, it's more like that one mission in Ace Combat Zero, where you had to fly around the laser. And the super weapon sure looks a lot like the Gleipnir in Ace Combat X.

[David Hingtgen]

I wish I'd found this site long ago--they preview 360 themes.

Anyways, here's the "other" AC6 theme: http://dashboardthemes.com/theme/Ace-Combat-6/theme-2 Hmmn, based on how often we see the Tornado GR.4, it's certainly going to be the other main plane in the game I'd guess. It shows up as often as the F-15E.

Here's my theme: http://dashboardthemes.com/theme/Ace-Combat-6/theme-3

[SpacyAce2012]

I have a question for David. You mentioned that Kfirs were on the demo. Are they C2s or C7s?

If there are Kfirs in this game, the temptation to buy a 360, to go along with my 60g PS3, will grow by leaps and bounds.

[David Hingtgen]

No idea, I don't know that plane well enough to tell, and they were shot at from long range. AC6 is very "fast" compared to all the other games in the series--planes fly by in an instant. I don't think I really "saw" any of the dozens of planes I've shot down, maybe 1 or 2.

[F-ZeroOne]

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...?

Edited July 18, 2007 by F-ZeroOne

[David Hingtgen]

Something new I just learned to look for (though I'd be very surprised to see it):

Apparently, the F-22 uses a single fully-deflected stabilator to create drag to induce yaw, at high alpha. Normally as alpha goes up, planes use the ailerons less and the rudder more---but the F-22 goes to stab control past a certain point.

Also, the F-22 is statically nuetral---neither stable nor unstable. It will hold any attitude in a steady state with no input.

[David Hingtgen]

Just making sure everyone knows there's both a demo, *and* a trailer to download. And the trailer rocks.

[F-ZeroOne]

Just making sure everyone knows there's both a demo, *and* a trailer to download. And the trailer rocks.

Davids right. The trailer does indeed rock. You may have seen it on-line, but thats nothing compared to seeing it on even a small HD screen.

[Smiley424]

Looks like from poking around different sites that this will be a timed-exclusive, so it will eventually make its way to PS3. Good for me since I haven't picked up a next-gen system and I'm still on the fence because of money and the hddvd/blu-ray war is still going on. From what I've seen though, it looks fantastic and the online play is long overdue.

[SpacyAce2012]

Looks like from poking around different sites that this will be a timed-exclusive, so it will eventually make its way to PS3. Good for me since I haven't picked up a next-gen system and I'm still on the fence because of money and the hddvd/blu-ray war is still going on. From what I've seen though, it looks fantastic and the online play is long overdue.

I hope so, since I went with the PS3 (and have no regrets). I can't see myself shelling out cash for a 360 just for one game.

And I hope that the port will be a decent one.

[David Hingtgen]

Replayed the demo a few more times, seeing what there is to see.

1. Couldn't find Kfirs again. Did I just imagine them? I did find some new stuff--C-17's.

2. The demo is set to "super duper easy". 1 Sidewinder will take down anything, even a B-52. About 3 bullets is enough as well. I just let the plane sit and have enemies attack---they fired 10 missiles. I only tried to dodge 2, while 7 others just flat-out missed from point-blank 6-o-clock, only 1 managed to hit me and did 20% damage.

3. Flaming battle damage! The missile that did manage to hit me caused smoke and fire to pour out from a hole in the wing. After a while the fire died down, then eventually the smoke went away. Visual damage has no effect on flying (at least in the demo). Tried getting hit several times, only ever saw the same damage effect, sometimes mirrored on the other wing. Enemy super weapon only did 10% damage, though I presume it'll be instant death in the real game. I got up to 91%, plane still flew fine. (Again, could be different in the real game--but AC has never had damage affect your plane before)

Demo plane is an F-16C, big-mouth GE powered. That narrows it down to a late Block 30, or Block 40 or 50. Need to try to see the landing gear to tell. (They're easy to tell apart in normal configuration, or from the HUD---but stripped down for air-to-air, and with a "game HUD"---it's very difficult) It had LAU-129 rails on the wingtips, which only block 40 and 50 came with, but many block 30's were retrofitted--even ANG squadrons got them pretty quickly.

[David Hingtgen]

1 new theme, and 1 new set of gamer pics are up today. (#4 for each) Can't really tell what's in the new theme. New gamer pics are A-10 and Rafale. It's pretty clear they're releasing gamer pics in pairs of random planes. I'll eventually purchase whatever gamer pic sets have the F-14B/D, and YF-23.

[MangledMess]

Always loved the music in the Ace Combat series, especially Ace Combat 0. Judging from the recent trailer for AC6, the music's gonna get me awestruck like "Zero" did in AC0.

Not gonna say much about the planes, as I know the line-ups' gonna be good(Hoping for the Berkut). I still wonder about that Superplane in the game though(the one that was being escorted by Sukhoi Flanker jets, I think)...

[F-ZeroOne]

Yes, the music in the last mission of Zce Combat Zero is superb, and I'm liking the music in the demo and trailer. Must give it a try with a little Fire Bomber, though...

I noticed the "one missile, one kill" thing too. I did wonder if perhaps it might be an off-set to the insanely huge amount of targets...

[wldr]

I don't own a 360, but I know someone that does and I can't wait for this one to come out.

I noticed the "one missile, one kill" thing too. I did wonder if perhaps it might be an off-set to the insanely huge amount of targets...

You may be right there, and it will make the missile shots a bit more realistic too. On the Ace difficulty levels if your plane takes a missile hit your done anyway so a one hit kill makes sence.

[Axelay]

I am so curious as to how multiplayer will fare. With no countermeasures to speak of, one would think that the special weapons on each plane (particularly the short range high-maneuverability missiles - QAAM, was it?) would be exceedingly powerful. I'm already envisioning a Crimson Skies-type dogfight where you get shot down pretty regularly. I enjoyed Crimson Skies multiplayer immensely, but I hope AC6 is not going to work like that.