HerrMurf

Based upon the interview, Solomons is unlikely in the initial offering. It will, however, make an excellent second chapter and radically diversify the planeset.

If you go south from Oahu to Hawaii, instead, you get more historical airfields and more varied terrain for navigation and eye candy. If you cut all of the respective (major) channels in half you would save 40'ish miles of map space and the average user wouldn't notice the map compression.

Don't quite agree. Modeling the expanse of ocean with an island or two and just two to eight aircraft types seems easier than thousands of kilometers of unique island landscape along with thousands of unique objects to place on them and dozens of AC. Ships will be hard but EA can get along with just a couple initial types and boat engineers/modelers aren't going to be working on AC models for the most part.

Seven months is a little quick but just inside of my potential timeline. Still thinking we don't get it before the end of the year. Testers, maybe. General public, probably not.

The Pearl map in ‘46 was actually really fun, mountains, plains, rolling hills, oceans, gobs of ground targets. Lots of MP gameplay options and good visuals for the timeframe.

Probably have to do the majority of the Hawaiian Islands chain to make the map broad enough for good multiplayer. There would be enough distance and airfields to warrant good gameplay options. I think just one island would be a perpetual furball and vulch-fest.

There are way too many scenarios and timeframes to explore in the PTO before we have to worry about moving around too much. Of the things listed, I wouldn't mind exploring the CBI, Med, and North Africa but that would be WAY down the road. Revisiting all of that which was previously covered by GB runs up against user burnout and non-profitability in the short term anyway. Happy to stick to the big pond for a few years.

I'm all for switches being animated and having a realistic manual startup and shutdown. I don't see click pits being necessary with a modern HOTAS though. Just my opinion.

On the slightly more serious side, They have a jump on the Zero with an existing A6M5 model being reengineered/repurposed as an A6M2. It looks like the map makers have a jump on the basic outline of Midway. That leaves a ton for the artists and engineers to work out FM/DM, ground dressing and physics. If I were a betting man, and I'm not, I'd say 8-12 mos for us to get our hands on a Zero for just cruising around. That's if the game engine, itself, is ready in time as well. WAG and all applicable disclaimers pertaining..............

I can't imagine, in the modern track of flight sim development, there won't be an early access period. It makes sense for the producer from both a revenue stream and marketing/generating hype. Not to mention community testing and bug squashing perspectives.

No DD today. It’s too late. Been over an hour. Server is down though. So, maybe an update on Tuesday.

Link?

Stormbirds indicates the initial offering will be some version of the Midway planeset. Jason also indicated it will be, initially, pared down somewhat. So; Val, Kate, and Zero vs Wildcat, Devastator and Dauntless would be the most likely WAG. Follow-on's pretty clearly would be the A-26 and Catalina for the US. There are semi-historical peers for the Japanese side as follow-ons, think G3M and H6K, though they were not present for Midway. Otherwise it'd be probably be an E13 and some ear fluff if we are dead set on a true to Midway planeset. I'd expect one or two fleet carriers, a destroyer, an oiler and/or cargo ship and maybe a submarine per side in the early offering. Also a WAG on my part. The article said Midway Island will probably not be in it's most detailed state at release but I'd expect all of the AC and ships to be in their final form. I find the possible inclusion of the Hawaiian Islands to be necessary as it would give the online community a small map for PvP combat. The entire chain is big enough and has enough airfields to suffice on a small map. The historical significance of the air raid there cannot be overlooked, obviously. And it is, essentially, the same planeset as Midway with the potential for AAF additions.

It's a bit like old home week 'round here.