Fighter Ops

[Catu]

FAQ - Updated 15 Jun 2008 - http://www.fighterops.com/index.php?page=faq

• What is Fighter Ops®?
  
  Fighter Ops is the definitive "Next Generation in Flight Sim Technology" modern day military flight simulation catered explicitly to the requirements of the flight sim community. The project is being developed by Xtreme Simulations International LLC for the PC. Fighter Ops will combine an extremely high level of performance, realism, detail and graphics never before seen at this level in a military flight sim.
  
  The Fighter Ops project is a continuous development that will be released in several modules. The first module will focus primarily on Pilot training, with an exceptionally realistic recreation of the USAF UPT and IFF pilot training curriculums. The main objective of the modular design of Fighter Ops is creating a platform on which new content can be frequently added by XSI and the community. Our ultimate goal is to present the user with a comfortable and consistent experience throughout all releases. In the end the platform design, although very challenging, will certainly give us a great deal of freedom and allow for a great deal of diversity as to what can be fabricated and how the sim can be extended for longevity.
• Where will the first "Training Module" take place?
  
  This first module is based at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. It is basically designed to function in two modes, free-flight and Pilot Career mode; and both front seat and backseat operations will be included. The first mode will allow players to fly either flyable aircraft with variable complexity and difficulty options, from fairly easy to highly realistic. The second and main focus for the Fighter Ops simulation is the Pilot Career mode that is specifically tailored for hardcore simmers and enthusiasts. Career mode will begin with the Fighter Ops Flight School — replicating the USAF training program. The emphasis of the first release will be a fully realistic undergraduate pilot training (UPT) course representation.
• What type of "Gameplay" will we see?
  
  Fighter Ops will have two main types of gameplay: free-flight and career. Each of these two modes can be played in single or multi-player forms. In free-flight, the user simply selects an aircraft, chooses (creates or edits) a mission related to that aircraft, sets the difficulty options and then starts the mission. Career gameplay simply means that the player flies a set of missions (and campaigns) based on the way the modules he/she is interacting with are designed. For example, the training module involves a set of missions based on the UPT and IFF courses; and a module based on an actual war will have a different set of missions or campaigns, according to the way the conflict unfolds. Career gameplay is strict and does not allow the user to change gameplay options as much as free-flight does. Also, all achievements in career gameplay can be saved on official servers. This feature makes various types of player rankings possible and also enables the player to download his/her career state onto a new Fighter Ops installation or on another system running Fighter Ops. In general everything that can be done in career gameplay can also be done in free-flight with less restrictions and more variety. These two modes of gameplay will address most of the needs of our community from brief takeoffs and landings on a given airbase to sight-seeing flights to serious combat missions taking many hours to fly.
• Which "Aircraft" are represented in the first training release?
  
  The first aircraft represented is the T-6A Texan II, with its very powerful PT6A-68 turbo-prop engine is a high-performance single-engine, two-seat primary trainer (and not a PC-9) designed to earn your wings and teach students the basic flying skills that are common with the U.S. Air Force. The second aircraft featured is the T-38C Talon, which is a twin-engine, high-altitude, supersonic jet trainer converted from the older T-38A, with improved avionics and support systems. There are more than 60,000 pilots who have earned their wings in the T-38. The new cockpit design of the Talon makes it closer to F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. The IFF course is a specialized course that takes pilots who have recently earned their wings in undergraduate pilot training and prepares them for the kind of flight operations and basic fighter maneuvers (BFM) unique to fighter aircraft. We have recreated this syllabus by means of support from actual USAF pilots. The focus is to give the user the realistic situation environment that an actual USAF pilot would experience throughout the IFF stage of their career. This will be achieved through the pilot career mode where the emphases will be presented through various flying fundamentals, classroom instructions, operations procedures, cockpit and formation training, air-to-air emphasis with offensive/defensive maneuvers and so on and so forth. Another very important aspect is to allow online squads to run their own virtual specialized training program using Fighter Ops and having qualified instructors in the backseat.
• When does the "Combat" portion arrive?
  
  The inauguration of the combat portions of Fighter Ops will originate after the training module, with many planned USAF combat aircraft, such as the F-16 variants, the F-15 variants, the A-10 and so on. Each will be introduced and released as an individual comprehensive add-on for Fighter Ops. This will eventually play into our long term platform strategy of having an extremely high-fidelity battlefield simulation, which will ultimately cover the many aspects and branches of the military and beyond.
• What kind of Engine will Fighter Ops® provide?
  
  Fighter Ops will employ a very high-end DX10 graphics engine, a high-end to mid-range DX9 version and another for very low-end graphics. The benefits of DX10 are twofold. First, some things that are possible under DX9 can be implemented more elegantly under DX10. Also there are certain effects that are only possible with DX10. From a user's perspective, many of the noticeable advantages of DX10 cannot be captured in screenshots and can only be appreciated while playing the game. Fighter Ops uses computational resources in various ways. CPU and GPU processing power, disk storage, RAM and fast LAN connections are being used whenever possible. All of the current common hardware features (like multi-core processors) and many of the not-so-common resources are indeed on our radar and will be utilized when necessary to assist in the performance of the Fighter Ops engine.
• How detailed are the "Cockpits" in Fighter Ops®?
  
  The T-38C and T6A Texan II cockpits are extremely detailed and very accurate in terms of the visual representation of instruments and instrument placement. You can expect the cockpits to be fully 3D and animated. Interaction with the cockpit is possible using the keyboard (to get things done faster), the mouse and a few other means. The ability to use the mouse buttons to interact with the program is not limited to the cockpit; and many other features are being implemented for the exterior views as well.
• Will "TrackIR" be supported?
  
  TrackIR is will be supported in our graphics engine. This means that the player is able to move around freely in the cockpit. Exterior views will benefit from this functionality as well; however, expect a few additional surprises when it comes to other ways to use TrackIR and the six degrees of freedom functionality.
• What about a dynamic campaign?
  
  We certainly feel that a fully functional dynamic campaign will be essential to the Fighter Ops series. The conceptual plans for a dynamic campaign are in development, and they will be integrated into Fighter Ops at the opportune time subsequent to the preliminary training release.
• What kind of "Documentation" will Fighter Ops® have?
  
  The documentation is being designed considering a wide variety of users. Currently the plan is for a quick start (hop in and fly) guide, a game manual that basically covers installation, getting started, UI, etc. Each individual aircraft will also come with a PDF electronic Dash-1 type of manual. This detailed document is the pilot's "owner's manual" and includes everything from aircraft description and procedures, emergency procedures, auxiliary equipment, operating limitations, flight characteristics, systems operations, weather operations, performance, etc. This area has not been finalized, however a separate printed portion of the game manual and Dash-1 are being considered at an additional cost, and not part of the main Fighter Ops package.
• Will Fighter Ops® allow "Third Party" add-ons and mods?
  
  When appropriate, we will release a set of tools to modify existing content and create new content for the program. The tools will verify the integrity of the created content before exporting to the game format. More strict integrity checks can optionally be done by XSI to make the add-on officially approved. All required measures will be taken to make sure that multi-player sessions with user-created mods are problem free.
• What about "Network and Multiplayer" support?
  
  First, network support is a very big aspect of Fighter Ops; and networking isn't limited to multiplayer gaming only. There are some very powerful features that will be supported when a network is present. Multiplayer will be possible in career gameplay based on the design of the module in question. In free-flight, however, multiplayer scenarios can be created for any flyable aircraft, and this can be done either by creating new multiplayer missions or by flying existing missions with or without modifications.
• What kind of "Computer" will I need to run Fighter Ops®?
  
  We would like to emphasize is that the user will not need a next-generation system to run Fighter Ops. We are doing our best to offer cutting-edge graphics on high-end systems; but those who are not very concerned about graphics, or who do not want to do a major upgrade for Fighter Ops, can still enjoy the Fighter Ops with downgraded features.
• Will "Everything" Previously mentioned before be in the first release?
  
  The point is that for Fighter Ops the features that we have announced to date will be in the first release. Will these features evolve? Absolutely! When new hardware becomes available, new patches will enhance the existing features to work more effectively on new hardware and take advantage of what they have to offer. Are the published features all Fighter Ops will have when it is released? Absolutely not! There are many ground breaking features that are being implemented for the first release, but for obvious reasons we prefer not to discuss them at this time. A few of these other features (ones that we have not announced, but are being working on) may not make it to the first release, in which case, they will be added to Fighter Ops in future versions as it evolves.
• What is the projected "Release Date" for Fighter Ops®?
  
  At this stage of development and unfortunately at this time there is no way to give an approximate release date of Fighter Ops. That's why we have a dedicated web site and forum so our progress can be followed. What we can say is that a good end product is what matters most and is much more important, so our energy is focused on that. With that said, our number one priority is to deliver a product that does what it promises. We will accomplish this priority first.
• How can I be a "Beta Tester" for Fighter Ops®?
  
  At this time, our beta team is complete. Recruitment announcements will be posted by "Pacman" when additional testers are required.
• How can I "Contribute" to the Fighter Ops® project?
  
  If you are a skilled and passionate flight sim developer and would like to contribute part time as a developer for Fighter Ops, or contribute in any other way, please send an email to rjetster@fighterops.com. Please be prepared to send an up-to-date resume of your work.
• What is Area 51?
  
  The Area 51 subscription service was formed to enhance your behind the scenes experience with the Fighter Ops team. It brings you the latest information on the Fighter Ops development through various web site discussions, insights and previews of the product well before the general public.[/b]

[FireFax]

Innanzi tutto un grazie a Mirko x la traduzione. Molti sicuramente storceranno il muso, ma a me l'idea d'avere un Sim che fornisca tutta l'evoluzione dell'iter addestrativo del pilota, piace.

Volevo chiedere se il rapporto di collaborazione sarà  del tipo che ci fu all'epoca di LockOn.

Ciao.

[Catu]

Il rapporto è in via di sviluppo (come il simulatore...) datemi tempo

[Bad Boy]

E a noi (AMVI) non interessano quelli che leggendo di questo storcono il muso...

Bene bene, speriamo che quanto affermato corrisponda alla realtà , e con un multy che regga almeno 10 persone.

Speriamo, ma devo dire che sono fiducioso...è sempre meglio porsi degli obiettivi alti e cercare di raggiungerli che accontentarsi di poco ma sicuramente fattibile.

[Tucano]

mi sale l'adrenalina solo a pensarlo!!!!
Bello bello bello...

[fabiomania87]

Che bellezza..speriamo che siano in grado di realizare quello che hanno in mente!

[PAX]

già  speriamo proprio

[Tessaiga]

Incrociamo le dita ragassuoli che se esce tutto sto ambaradan ....!

[miRko]

Innanzi tutto un grazie a Mirko x la traduzione. Molti sicuramente storceranno il muso, ma a me l'idea d'avere un Sim che fornisca tutta l'evoluzione dell'iter addestrativo del pilota, piace.

Volevo chiedere se il rapporto di collaborazione sarà  del tipo che ci fu all'epoca di LockOn.

Ciao.

Prego, è un piacere poter in qualche modo tornare utile in AMVI.
Sono d'accordo anch'io sull'iter addestrativo.. in più aspetti si riesce a simulare la realtà ... meglio è!
Bye

[Deli]

Io penso che l'iter addestrativo, se fatto bene, sara' una delle cose piu' fiche da fare specialmente per il tipo di preparazione che dara' a tuttii piloti che lo faranno.
E chi storcera' il naso alla notizia avra' smeplicemente capito che non e' un sim per lui...

[RugerOne]

Ragazzi non c'è da storcere il naso Fighter Ops , rispecchia la filosofia AMVI .. quindi vai !! aspetto con ansia e cambio velivolo.... dal cosacco all'amerigan boy

[The_Killer]

SBAV

[cougar62]

Benenone aspettiamo e collaboriamo con ansia...miRKo..chiedi algli amici se occorrono volontari,ripeto qui gente in gamba ce ne a pacchi!!.

Coug

[Thundercat]

Quando uscira questo bellissimo sim ?

[miRko]

.... mah.. si pensa verso metà  del 2006.... ma non si promette nulla