OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good?

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good?

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> War In The Pacific - Struggle Against Japan 1941 - 1945 >> OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good?

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 8:29:48 AM

Tankerace

Posts: 6400
Joined: 3/21/2003
From: Stillwater, OK, United States
Status: offline

Just asking. I really want to pick it up, but from a lot of reviews it seems it was shipped way to early, and one reviewer may have even hinted at "unfinished". Is it worth getting now, or would it be better to wait a few months and see if the stuff gets fixed? I have also heard that all the flight models need work, as it is impossible to stall the planes if lying at full throttle. Thanks for the input.

EDIT: Also, is it true that it is so unfinished, that the only Allied BB in the game are KGVs? I heard somewhere that at Pearl you basically can attack 8 similar Prince Of Waleses(lol).

< Message edited by Tankerace -- 11/5/2004 12:44:24 AM >

_____________________________

Designer of War Plan Orange
Allied Naval OOBer of Admiral's Edition
Naval Team Lead for War in the Med

Author of Million-Dollar Barrage: American Field Artillery in the Great War coming soon from OU Press.

Post #: 1

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 11:12:42 AM

nico71

Posts: 121
Joined: 9/2/2003
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tankerace

Just asking. I really want to pick it up, but from a lot of reviews it seems it was shipped way to early, and one reviewer may have even hinted at "unfinished". Is it worth getting now, or would it be better to wait a few months and see if the stuff gets fixed?

It's unfinsihed, yes. But there are rumors that most of the stuff will be fixed in the oncoming patch. So let's keep the fingers crossed. I think whether it is worth getting or not depends on your preferences. If you want to go out and play it online, it's okay. If you play offline, you should at least get the Dgen beta patch.

The full patch will add some aircraft and maps. I don't know if it will change FMs or so.

quote:

I have also heard that all the flight models need work, as it is impossible to stall the planes if lying at full throttle. Thanks for the input.

There are the same debates about the FMs since the days of IL-2. I don't know whether they are realistic or not. But they are certainly much better than in CFS2!

quote:

EDIT: Also, is it true that it is so unfinished, that the only Allied BB in the game are KGVs? I heard somewhere that at Pearl you basically can attack 8 similar Prince Of Waleses(lol).

True

(in reply to Tankerace)

Post #: 2

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 5:46:41 PM

Hard Sarge

Posts: 22741
Joined: 10/1/2000
From: garfield hts ohio usa
Status: offline

The next patch is suppost to be out soon (today ?)

the Gden beta is good fix up for right now

I don't know who claims you can't stall a plane in the game, (maybe they have Stalls turned off) i have stalled out Tonies, F4u's and F4F3's

LOL first move I made in a P-40, I stalled

some parts of the game are much less Fustrating then the IL-2 games, the JP planes for the most part do not have pilot armor, so a good burst, can get some quick kills

they still have the super AI gunners though

Plus will have to say, I have been shot down more in the last two weeks then I have been in months of FB/AEP/BOE

yes the BB's are GB models, but the game docs state that was a CD shipment issue, the US BB's and other stuff will be added to the patch

if you like Flight sims it is a good game, is it prefect, no, but it is decent, and it gets better all the time, they do a lot of fixing

if you get it now or wait ?, well, if you wait, you don't get to fly it now, but most of the bad parts should be fixed, if you do get it now, you get to fly now and complain :)

_____________________________

(in reply to nico71)

Post #: 3

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 6:01:08 PM

Nikademus

Posts: 25684
Joined: 5/27/2000
From: Alien spacecraft
Status: offline

how do the models feel? Major complaint #1 i had with CFS2 was that all the planes more or less felt the same. An F4F-4 felt as light in takeoff and landing as a Zero etc etc.

Can you elaborate on the damage model? Major complaint #2 with CFS2 was that every hit seemed to affect the plane in some substantial way thus marginalizing the effect of tough construction and armor.

_____________________________

(in reply to Hard Sarge)

Post #: 4

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 6:41:04 PM

Jon_Hal

Posts: 95
Joined: 2/23/2004
Status: offline

Here's a copy of a review I wrote and posted at SIMHQ

quote:

Before I get into my review of Pacific Fighters let me give you a little background on me and my flight sim experience I've always been a student of the pacific Theatre. I own literally hundreds of books on the subject. I'm an active model builder for this time period as well. No other historical period interests me as much as the Pacific Theatre of World War 2 and not to sound immodest I do know the period well. I�ve had the honor of meeting several WW2 legends in my life including Greg Boyington and James Flatley.

I am NOT an IL2 diehard. I started playing flight sims way back with Battlehawks 1942. I moved on to Aces of the Pacific, Pacific Air War and combat Flight Simulator 2. I do purchase European theatre sims but I don�t enjoy them as much as the Pacific Theatre. So I did Purchase and fly IL2, CFS3, EAW and many others. I never purchased IL2 :FB or the Aces expansion pack.
When I heard that the IL2 Team was putting together a Pacific Sim I was ecstatic. While I didn�t get into IL2 that much I did appreciate it�s technical merits and features. I just wasn�t too interested in the Eastern Front.

Flash forward to receiving my copy of Pacific fighters.

Planes: Very pleased with the selection of planes in the package. Love seeing the many models of Corsairs including the F4U-1 Birdcage! Excellent. There are a few glaring omissions. Why can�t I fly a Kate or Avenger? Where is the Devastator? I realize this is Pacific Fighters and not Pacific Torpedo Bombers but their absence in a highly touted historically accurate flight Sim is glaring.

Flight Models: Having never flown any of these planes.. (Though I did get to ride in a B-17) I can�t speak to how exactly authentic the flight models are but it feels right so far. I can B&Z in my Corsair, The Engine cuts out on my A6M2 if I pull some Neg G. I�m not saying it�s perfect. I don�t know who could, but it sure feels good and historically accurate.

Missions: Disappointed. Very few pre-made missions. The Dynamic Campaign game seems very buggy.. Why, if they are going to make me fly historically long distances can�t I warp there. Maybe the Diehards can spend 45 minutes flying to an enemy aircraft carrier but I�d like to be able to warp to the action. I maybe only get an hour or two a night to play. The 8x time increase just doesn�t cut it. The Dynamically created missions are also buggy in some places. I�ve seen whole flights crash into mountains, fall into the ocean.. etc�

Online: I got on the Ubi.com servers and have played for several nights in the PF only area. Very fun. The Lag was minimal. I did notice a slight pause every time someone would respawn in the game. The Online maps are fun with the spawn points not to far away.

Graphics: One word, Beautiful. From the planes, to the water and islands. Simply gorgeous.

Ships: Argh.. Disappointed again. The Models in the game are beautiful. I love seeing the detail in the Lexington and Essex class CVs. You can tell someone obviously knew there stuff which only makes it more frustrating when it�s not accurate. The LEX and SARA did NOT have their names written on the Decks during World War 2. Also the narrow flight deck at the bow of the Lexington is wrong for her Wartime fitting. Can someone tell me why there are British Battleships in Pearl Harbor?? Where are the American Battleships? Or the Japanese ones? I thought I was buying a Pacific Sim. Besides recreating the attack on the POW and Repulse I didn�t see much need for a British BB.
Where is the Yorktown class? They were only involved in, wait, every single major Carrier engagement of the pacific!

Mission Builder: simply awesome! I�ve spent more time here building single player and Coop missions with ease. Excellent feature especially needed with the lack of Single player missions. I�ve already started creating accurate missions based on historical events but I hit a roadblock. I can�t make any of the great Carrier Battles! I need the Devastator to make accurate Coral Sea and Midway Missions. I need a Yorktown Class Carrier to make an accurate Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons or Santa Cruz missions! It just goes against the Historian in me to Have Avengers at Coral Sea. Or call an Essex a Yorktown class! Maybe I�m a small minority on that issue but it matters to me.

Final impressions: Overall I�m very happy with Pacific Fighters. I�m glad I bought two copies. It�s even made me go back and order IL2:Forgotten Battles and the Aces Expansion. It�s a great job from the IL2 team and I want to thank them for the hard work and love they poured into this project. I will be playing with this for a long time. However that is not to say I�m completely pleased with it.
There is room for improvement and expansion. I think no Pacific theatre Sim is complete without a few missing things. Here is my list.

TBD Devastator
Flyable Kate and Avenger (And Devastator)
Yorktown class CVs
Hiryu Class CVs
Battleships (I can�t stress this enough) We need accurate Targets. POW is not acceptable at Pearl Harbor. This is a historical Sim not a Jerry Bruckheimer movie! How about an Arizona, Iowa and Yamato class?
Flyable Betty (It says on the box, or am I missing something in the game where I can fly them?)
Corrected Lexington class for it�s war fit.
I'm sure there are a lot more I could come up with but these are off the top of my head.

(in reply to Nikademus)

Post #: 5

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 7:32:41 PM

Nikademus

Posts: 25684
Joined: 5/27/2000
From: Alien spacecraft
Status: offline

ug...still no warp capability? I was able to load FB enough to quickly see there was no feature...only 8x......i'm in the same boat....limited play time

_____________________________

(in reply to Jon_Hal)

Post #: 6

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 8:18:56 PM

Jon_Hal

Posts: 95
Joined: 2/23/2004
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nikademus

ug...still no warp capability? I was able to load FB enough to quickly see there was no feature...only 8x......i'm in the same boat....limited play time

Well, since I wrote that they tell me that there is a Time Skip feature which blacks out the screen and runs at 12x.. It's not the insta-warp found in CFS2 but it's an improvement. Plus the atmosphere is incredible in game.

(in reply to Nikademus)

Post #: 7

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 10:15:10 PM

Tankerace

Posts: 6400
Joined: 3/21/2003
From: Stillwater, OK, United States
Status: offline

I think I might go ahead and pick it. I am a die hard WW2 Flight sim nut, and will go ahead and get it. I love FB, and CFS2 was ok (not great), and PF seems to be shaping up to be a lot better than it.

Of course first I have to get Medal of Honor Pacific Assault. If it has Medal of Honor in the title, I buy it.

_____________________________

(in reply to Jon_Hal)

Post #: 8

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 10:22:08 PM

Montrose

Posts: 72
Joined: 8/30/2003
From: Gloucstershire UK
Status: offline

My guess is that for WitP players there are many things in Pacific Fighters which will annoy because we are a demanding bunch. For instance I played the Pearl Harbor campaign as a Zero pilot last night, after the Wake Island campaign refused to work.

So we head for the line of Prince Of Waleses (annoyed yet?) stacked along battleship row. The entire PH operation seems to consist of about 20 planes. First in go half a dozen Vals, half of which hit and cause an unremarkable column of smoke to rise from POW 4, 6 and 7. Next in I fly my Zero and strafe one of the 10 planes lined up on the airfield. Finally the Kates arrive, and all *three* of them drop their torpedoes which promptly smash into the nearest outcrop of land before getting anywhere near any ship. On the way back half of the Zeroes then fly themselves into various sundry Hawian hills.

In short, it makes Pearl Harbor the movie look like archive footage. My recommendation FWIW - don't get it, at least until it has been patched. It's too incomplete and buggy at the moment.

_____________________________

I spend my time building castles in the air, but in the end all of them, and I, blow away in the wind.

- Don Juan

(in reply to Tankerace)

Post #: 9

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/5/2004 11:06:12 PM

Hard Sarge

Posts: 22741
Joined: 10/1/2000
From: garfield hts ohio usa
Status: offline

Interesting, maybe the battle is better when seen from the Allied side

I was impressed with the view of PH as I flew over it in my P-40, damaged a Zero, and then took out 2 Kates, which had my engine shot up badly, so bailed out when the Zeros started tracking me, then as I was floating to earth, started checking out the other planes in the area, and watched a Kate put a Trop into the side of a BB, as it circled, 2 more Trops hit the same ship

over Wake, flying a F4F3, my wingleader and I, were jumped by 6 or 7 Zeros, while trying to climb into the horde of Vals flying in, which the WL didn't last long and I never reached the Vals, but was able to latch onto some Kates as the Zeros came back in

the battle report started some 15 Zeros, with 15 Vals and 10 Kates, no bad odds for 2 lonely Cats

and yes, Lost my plane in that battle too

overall, yes there are things wrong with it, but then again, I remember "flying" a Camel on my Apple II, had to load it from a tape and it was a wireframe and the other planes were x's, most of us thought that was a pretty good game at the time

HARD_Sarge

_____________________________

(in reply to Montrose)

Post #: 10

RE: OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good? - 11/6/2004 1:08:08 AM

Fallschirmjager

Posts: 6793
Joined: 3/18/2002
From: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Status: offline

My girlfriend called me from the store and asked me if I wanted the game. Normally I would say no to such a unfinished game. But Ubisoft gave us so many patches for IL-2 that I trust them to finish the game. They also gave us so much free content that I don't mind paying the money. First patch is due out early this next week and will begin to add in fixes.
This is the one of the few companies I would buy an unfinished product for, but I was more than thrilled with all of the IL-2 patches so I don't mind waiting a while.

_____________________________

(in reply to Hard Sarge)

Post #: 11

Page: [1]

All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> War In The Pacific - Struggle Against Japan 1941 - 1945 >> OT - Pacific Fighters, is it good?

Page: [1]