History VideoGame / ProjectWingman

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Kaiser denies he had anything to do with the old Mercenary Cabal that got slaughtered by the Federation in the last previous global war (that the Cabal started), despite the fact every leader of the Cabal had some kind of name relating to royalty. [[spoiler:It's implied whatever Cascadia promised him to turn him into a true-blue Cascadian patriot had something to do with restarting the Cabal.]]

** AWACS Vita is an EvilBrit version of AWACS Bandog, giving zero respect to a bunch of reservists who are just cannon fodder. Like Bandog, the motley crew's fighting prowess impresses him into respecting them.

* TakeThat: During the third encounter with Crimson Squadron, Crimson 1 paraphrases the infamous [[Film/AmericanSniper "Sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs" speech]]. Comic throws it back in his face [[AnalogyBackfire by pointing out the obvious hole in that premise]]:

** The end of Mission 1 has your ground team successfully reach the Federation cargo ship you were hired to recover, only to discover whatever its cargo is positively ''reeks'' of Cordite radiation and is highly volatile. Then your (Federation) client gives you a call and orders your team to destroy the entire ship than try to recover it. Upon destroying the ship, it [[spoiler:produces a ''massive'' explosion that pretty much reduces the entire side of the island into a crater. Cue Mission 15, where the cruise missiles bombarding Prospero produce explosions like that of the cargo you destroyed.]]

** During Mission 6, the geothermal plant manager insists several times that despite the fact that they're being carpet-bombed and the Federation brass won't be happy, employees ''must'' follow all procedures on storing cordium safely and cordium extraction must be stopped out of fear of causing a chain reaction. While it might seem like a case of SkewedPriorities at first, [[spoiler:the destruction of Prospero and the triggering of the Second Calamity by way of cordium warheads prove him right]].
** If you take the time to read the new codex entries that unlock after most missions, you can learn about [[spoiler:the devastating effects of cordium explosions triggering runaway chain reactions in cordium-rich environments]] long before the issue [[WhamEpisode suddenly turns the whole war on its head]].

** In the Open Season mission (the one with the wildfires), Comic expresses her dismay about how the Federation is "desperate enough to just light this world on fire again". [[spoiler:One mission later, the Feds do so again to Cascadia, only much, ''much'' worse, by deploying [=WMDs=] that inadvertently trigger the Second Calamity.]]

** Peacekeeper forces believe in unity above all else, and are dedicated to protecting their own. Besides the fact you kill nearly all of Crimson-1's flight ''twice'', he's been trying to protect Federation personnel that you've been swatting like flies for cash. [[spoiler:Small wonder he swears revenge on you and tries to kill you at all costs, even it means ANOTHER Calamity.]]

* AKA47: As the game was a small-budget indie production and wasn't able to afford the license fees (not to mention to maintain availability for years to come), the game's aircrafts are not only given slightly altered designations, but also tweaked appearances compared to real-world aircraft. Two of the most apparent is the Accipiter, which is the Hawker-Siddeley Harrier (which can actually hover), and VX-23, a modified F-22 Raptor with elements of [[https://yf-23.webs.com/Pics/F-23A/NATF-23%20diagram.gif Northrop NATF-23]] in its appearance and name. Otherwise, many of the aircraft just have their names switched around; the F/C-15 is an F-15C, the F/E-18 is an F/A-18E, the MG-29 is a [=MiG=]-29, and so on.

* CoolAirship: Cordium-powered airships, while smaller than [[Videogame/AceCombat the XB-0, Aiaigon or Arsenal Birds]], provide high-altitude and long-range fire support for fighter squadrons. The basic, smaller Anura-class "only" carry anti-air missiles and basic AA, while the super-heavy 205-class airships carry over a dozen weapons, advanced [=SAMs=], anti-air guns and cordium-fueled railguns. Each also comes in basic, Mark I, and Mark II variations, with improvements to their quantity and type of weapons, upgrading basic AA to far deadlier [=CIWS=] guns, swapping basic [=SAMs=] for long-range [=L-SAMs=], and significantly improving the fire rate of their railguns. They can also only be shot down after all their weapons have been destroyed, unless you use anti-ship missiles or the railgun.

* YouCantThwartStageOne: No matter how many cordium cruise missiles you shoot down in mission 15, the latent cordium in the soil will still react and cause the seismic events leading into the Second Calamity. This is justified, as while it's not detonating on the ground, all that primed cordium is still scattering into the air, and any cordium in the soil is bound to react with enough of it.

* YouBastard: Crimson 1's final boss battle is tinged with a subtext attacking the player; Monarch is a FeaturelessProtagonist assumed to be a stand-in for the player, and his actions (slaughtering Federation forces, namely) led directly to the Federation's escalation, all the way to [[spoiler:using psuedo-nukes on a civilian target]] and Crimson-1 [[spoiler:nuking a capital city out of pure hatred]]. That said, [[SubvertedTrope it's very clear he's off his rocker at this point]] and is a ''major'' hypocrite.

''Project Wingman'' is an action-arcade [[SimulationGame flight simulator]] in the vein of ''VideoGame/AceCombat'', developed by indie studio Sector D2 and published by [[Creator/HumbleBundle Humble Games]], powered by Unreal Engine 4, released for [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] in December 2020 on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and Website/GOGDotCom, followed by a release on XBOX consoles in October 2021. A UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 release featuring an exclusive set of six missions from the viewpoint of the Federation known as ''Frontline 59'' and [=PSVR2=] support was later released on October 4th 2023.

* VersionExclusiveContent: In October 2023, a ''UsefulNotes/Playstation5'' version of ''Project Wingman'' is released with the subtitle ''Frontline 59'', referring to a set of extra missions exclusive to the aforementioned console. In turn, the ''Playstation 5'' can only play ''Frontline 59'' in VR, while the main campaign in VR is exclusive to the PC version.

''Project Wingman'' is an action-arcade [[SimulationGame flight simulator]] in the vein of ''VideoGame/AceCombat'', developed by indie studio Sector D2 and published by [[Creator/HumbleBundle Humble Games]], released for [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] in December 2020 on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and Website/GOGDotCom, followed by a release on XBOX consoles in October 2021. A UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 release featuring an exclusive set of six missions from the viewpoint of the Federation known as ''Frontline 59'' and [=PSVR2=] support was later released on October 4th 2023.

* CoolAirship: Cordium-powered airships, while smaller than [[Videogame/AceCombat the XB-0, Aiagon or Arsenal Birds]], provide high-altitude and long-range fire support for fighter squadrons. The basic, smaller Anura-class "only" carry anti-air missiles and basic AA, while the super-heavy 205-class airships carry over a dozen weapons, advanced [=SAMs=], anti-air guns and cordium-fueled railguns. Each also comes in basic, Mark I, and Mark II variations, with improvements to their quantity and type of weapons, upgrading basic AA to far deadlier [=CIWS=] guns, swapping basic [=SAMs=] for long-range [=L-SAMs=], and significantly improving the fire rate of their railguns. They can also only be shot down after all their weapons have been destroyed, unless you use anti-ship missiles or the railgun.

* DamnYouMuscleMemory: The gamepad control configuration is nearly identical to ''Ace Combat''... except that the rudders are on the controller triggers and thrust controls on the bumper buttons (which is the default setting before ''Videogame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown''). Thankfully, this is easily adjusted in the options.

** The first mission in a nod to a some of the earlier ''Ace Combat'' games, involves an airstrike being sent to deal with the last remaining HQ of a faction. Except rather than being on the side defending said HQ, the player is the one being sent to finish it off. The Burlock Privateers may be dangerous to merchant ships, but against any serious military threat, they lack any significant means of repelling an air attack. And by the time any air support arrives, it's far too late.

*** The ''Eminent Domain'', a prototype Federation battleship, ends up being captured by the Cascadian Coast Guard after straying too close to Cascadian waters without an escort, with both sides wondering what it was doing there without an escort and Cascadia's initial reaction being to scramble ships and planes to fight through the Federation forces attempting to bring it down, after which they never deploy it without a fleet supporting it.

*** The various airships, while dangerous when properly escorted, tend to fall to [[BoringButPractical regular planes]], with one mission featuring the Cascadian forces taking down the largest Federation airship fleet in the region while it's in port with nothing but planes. While it is considered suicide to attack them from certain angles, without a proper escort there is little the airships can do to stop you from attacking from their blind spots, and anti-ship missiles can one-shot them.

** It's legally impossible to shoot down all the [[spoiler:cordium-tipped cruise missiles]] in the "Consequences of Power" sortie, but the devs apparently expected someone to pull it off ''somehow'' and prepared accordingly, as the background chatter in this phase of the mission is written in a way that doesn't break the campaign's continuity regardless of how the battle ultimately plays out.

** The AOA Limiter module for certain planes allow its pilot to pull off Post-Stall Maneuvers like nobody's business. Dodging missiles this way is much harder to do consistently compared to pressing a single button to pop flares, but crafty pilots can also use [=PSMs=] ''offensively'', rapidly changing the direction of their plane to acquire lock-on faster.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: This is supposedly the reason why Prez and Monarch work together: according to the rest of Sicario, Prez's attempts to fly are remembered as equal parts terrifying and hilariously inept, and Monarch's style of flying is dizzying enough that the only person who can stand the g-forces he puts his plane through is Prez.

** Cascadia was desperate enough to hire ''mercs''. While that doesn't seem like a big deal, mercenaries as a whole are seen as even more untrustworthy after a corporate cabal consisting of [=PMCs=] nearly overthrew the world, and a majority of mercs were participants in that conflict - and it's implied they did a lot of war crimes in the process. This gets hammered in Frontline-59's first mission, where dozens [[GameplayAndStorySegregation (and implied to be hundreds]], if the [[GreatOffscreenBattle furball from "Cold War" in the main campaign says anything]]) chase retreating, defenceless pilots all the way to a Federation mainland ''despite'' getting warned by Galaxy ''and'' Cascadia Command that [[PragmaticVillainy they won't get AWACS support that far out]] and that [[HonorBeforeReason Cascadia has no wish to invade the Federation]], only to wage a war of self-defence. Some do it just because they get paid a measly $300 a plane, some have chips on their shoulders against the Feds from the merc war, and others just want to [[SociopathicSoldier murder defenceless targets.]]

** Looking closely at the briefing screens shows that the software being used is expired.

** In "Machine of the Mantle", the extractors you need to destroy are housed in partially-enclosed indestructible tunnel-like structures; the easiest way to line up a clean shot is to fire into the entrance of the structure, but this also requires you to put your plane ''really'' close to the bodies of cordium the extractors are placed on which, in defiance of ConvectionSchmonvection, will continuously damage your plane. Conversely, if you keep your altitiude and try to hit the extractors through the gaps in the structure, you also have to deal with the Federation's air units spamming missiles at you.

* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Cascadia succeeds in gaining its independence from the Federation, but much of its land has been reduced to molten rubble and its two largest cities including their capital destroyed thanks to the Federation's usage of Cordium missiles. Cascadia will have a very long road to recovery, though it is somewhat mitigated by other nations lending support to their post-war reconstruction efforts. As for the Federation, it has lost much of its military power, suffered a massive blow to their international relations for using Cordium weapons on major cities and triggering a second Calamity, and its member states are implied to be considering seceding. The final text before the credits perfectly encapsulates just how much blood was shed for Cascadian independence, and whether it was all worth it:]]

* ReVision: It's implied [[spoiler:General Faust's knowledge of whatever Presidia had that made her go rogue]] is an additional reason as to why [[spoiler:the Peacekeepers nuked Presidia in the main campaign]].

* ReVision: In addition to knowing they're losing a war and avenging their comrades, Frontline-59's final mission [[spoiler:implies that General Faust's knowledge of whatever Cascadia is hiding is what caused the cruise missile launches.]]

** The airframe design of the [[spoiler: [=PW-MK1=]]] resembles that of the [[Anime/MacrossFrontier VF-25 Messiah]], while its armaments, in particular its [[spoiler: [[MagneticWeapons railgun]] and [[MacrossMissileMassacre micro-missile launcher]]]], is similar to the [[VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation CFA-44 Nosferatu’s]] arsenal.

** ''Frontline-59's'' Home Invasion has Federation reserve forces, both ground and air, defend the shores of Magadan from invasion by Cascadia's elite Black Eagle Marine Division, covered by experienced mercenary fighter and bomber squadrons. K-9 Squadron has to split their attention between air and sea as the reserve forces get pushed back regardless. Then [[TheDreaded Peacekeeper]] [[AcePilot Steel Squadron]] show up from Ulaanbaatar and [[CurbStompBattle promptly crush the mercenary air power]], to the point that in following missions, the Cascadian Marines have to make up for their loss of air dominance with heavy amounts of AA and Flak as they move further in.

* BountyHunter: There's a whole guild of mercenaries (and some freelancers) who specialize into tracking down and killing wanted mercenaries for cold hard cash. [[spoiler: Diplomat and Comic find out the hard way they're on their list when Frost Druid and Master Goose squadron come after them for the bounty the Federation put on their head, once they found their real identities. Fortunately, Stardust offers them asylum in Cascadia (alongside a mountain of cash) provided they honor their contract]].

* IronicEcho: "It's only business. I'm sure you guys understand." Said first by Master Goose squadron when they arrive late to defend the privateers Sicario took out in the first mission, and then repeated [[spoiler:when they join forces with Frost Druid to kill Hitman Squadron to claim their bounty]].

** In Mission 16 "Wayback", when Hitman team gets ambushed by [[spoiler:Frost and Master Goose One's squadron]], Diplomat suggests that the team flee from the situation. Galaxy reasons that the team doesn't have the fuel to make it, but Comic refuses on the fact that her stuff is still down at Rowsdower base.

** Cities are not immune either: the biggest city in the world is named Constantinople and two of the Federation's biggest cities are Byzantiun and Moira. Presidia roughly sits where Portland is in our world, while Propsero sits in the middle of real-life Nevada. Visually, they resemble San Fransisco and Seattle (complete with a nearby volcano that might as well be Mount Rainier), respectively.

* TheCavalryArrivesLate: The pirates that Sicario go against in mission 1 do actually call for backup. Unfortunately for them, said backup, known as Master Goose squadron arrive much too late to be of any help to them. With their clients annihilated and having no reason to turn hostile, they remain neutral upon arriving in the area and instead inform Sicario's AWACS Galaxy of a potentially lucrative contract in Cascadia.

** By Mission 17 through 20 [[spoiler:there is confusion from both sides as to the status of the war. Federation troops are vocally wondering why the hell they're still in Cascadia, during the worst of the geothermal storms and in fear of retribution from Cascadia instead of retreating. Stardust also notes that Cascadian military plans were originally to plan to blockade and siege Federation held positions for as long as possible until Independence Force command suddenly declares a push to reclaim the ruins of Prospero and liberation of Presidia. It's revealed that there have been secret cease-fire talks happening in the Republic of Albion, with both sides' governments attempting to hold or reclaim territory to determine where the map lines get drawn. The second Presidia is in Cascadian IF hands, the officials are scrambling to sign the agreement as Cascadia has their capital back and the Federation realizes that they're going to continue to lose more if the war keeps going. The next few minutes as military forces are verifying the cease-fire order are extremely tense, which leads to the next event.]]

*** The ''Eminent Domain'', a prototype Federation battleship, ends up being captured by the Cascadian Coast Guard after straying to close to Cascadian waters without an escort, with both sides wondering what it was doing there without an escort and Cascadia's initial reaction being to scramble ships and planes to fight through the Federation forces attempting to bring it down, after which they never deploy it without a fleet supporting it.