History Headscratchers / AceCombat

*** FYI, 10 miles > 5 km. 10 miles is roughly 16.09 km. So, in RealLife (as it [[RealityIsUnrealistic tends to be]] with regards to the AC series), the weapon would have a ''better'' range than in the fiction. (Further proof: according to Wiki/TheOtherWiki, the AIM-9 Sidewinder has an operational range of 0.6 - 11.3 miles [1.0 - 18.2 km]; compare the range of the "standard missile" in the various AC games. Hell, ACJA gives it a maximum lock-on range of 900 ''feet''.)

*** I'm not sure one guy's statements on the matter count as empirical evidence, but yeah, the TLS has probably the longest range of any special weapon in the series. I think the issue people have with getting kills at long range is that the heat issue mentioned above isn't replicated - you actually have to directly tag a guy with the beam to deal damage, rather than getting them with the heat surrounding it, making the weapon pinpoint-accurate in a manner that's actually not a benefit.

* Hamilton is a ''nut''. [[spoiler: He helped ''start'' the war, and then got pissed when Yuktobania didn't capitulate.]] He doesn't realize that he's being manipulated along with everyone else, and he delusional enough to believe that he can change the world all on his own.
** Hamilton ''is'' a nut. [[spoiler: He is a Belkan spy, but he had to be very young by the time the Belkan bad guys had to go underground to start plotting against their hated enemies so he spent much of his life as an Osean. There is a bit of BecomingTheMask and VillainousBreakdown happening to Hamilton by the end of the game.]]
*** Hamilton is ''a'' nut, like, [[InsaneTrollLogic an actual seed like an acorn or peanut]].

* It would seem to me that as the Gray Men slowly began to insert its members into the Osean political and military heirarchies or inculcate its beliefs into Osean soldiers and politicians, which must have begun immediately as the Belkan war ended or even during or before the Belkan War, members of the OADF believed to be sympathetic to the Belkan cause began to be cycled through the shadowy 8492nd Squadron, which began disseminating men like Hamilton throughout the ranks of the OADF. These would all be officers, due to their status as pilots, and would, over the course of fifteen years, eventually rise and spread through the OADF to form a large and varied society of traitors encompassing Squadron Leaders, Base Commanders, Intelligence officers, people who oversaw movement and maintenance of Weapons of Mass Destruction, astronauts, generals, and likely anything and everything else. These core members likely kept in secret, infrequent communication with each other, and would recognize other members and enforce secrecy with persuasion and intimidation while growing and organizing their own defectors throughout their commands, eventually forming a cabal of Belkan-loyal members, led by 8492nd Squadron Leader Ashley Bernitz, himself a member of the Gray Men themselves. This cabal could sign off on and support the plans of the group's core members even if they themselves held no direct stake or participation, which would reduce the chance of any single member knowing too many names or participating too heavily in 8492nd-led treason. If the magnificent and terrible Bernitz and his core cadre of elite fighters and society members, the 8492nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, needed to go somewhere, or tap specific personnel, or requisition certain supplies or intelligence, there was always someone, probably someone with stars on his epaulets, to make sure that what they wanted, they got, and where they needed to be, they were. At some point following their formation, likely only a few years after the end of the Belkan War, the 8492nd ''officially'' ceased to exist and began to serve their own interests entirely for more than a decade afterward (It is inaccurate to say they were well-known or lauded; only Pops is shown to have known the 8492nd or perhaps even the Gray Men ever existed, and he and Ashley served together in the War. How he found out Hamilton had served with them is unknown.). All of this is likely true for Michael Heimeroth and his Ofnir Squadron as well, who must have been in constant communication with Grabacr since day one. It is indubitable, though perhaps not necessarily concretely evidenced, that Bernitz and Heimeroth served with one another or knew each other personally, and, since they were already assigned to different squadrons late in the war, this could mean their relationship dates back many years. The premise of the game not only allows such a network to exist, it practically demands it to be so for any major plot points to be possible: the war itself, the freedom of the Ofnir and Grabacr, the spy on Mother Goose 1, the relative nonissue of the President's disappearance and the resistance to his resurfacing, the Arkbird's sabotage and subtle change of hands, and so on. The futures of Osea and Yuktobania will be difficult at best and horrible at worst. Now that the subtle plans of the Gray Men have been foiled, there is nothing holding this group back from direct and violent, if unorganized, action. Though they are now known and are doubtless being hunted, the large and brutally effective network of traitors in the Osean and Yuktobanian governments and militaries and the deep and abiding hatred and bitterness that they held didn't simply disappear with the end of the Circum-Pacific War. It was a wise but onerous decision by Harling to keep Razgriz operations a secret post-war; all Razgriz members, with the possible exception of Marcus Snow, would certainly have to assume new identities for fear of assassination. Harling and Nikanor themselves will likely be targeted for assassination. Valuable intelligence is certainly compromised, and the Belkans will have put plans in place to sabotage, burden, and otherwise inconvenience any number of vital agencies, organizations, and facilities in both countries if discovery is threatened or catastrophic mission failure should occur. This will go on for years, or even decades. The Gray Men are without reservation the most devious and dangerous enemy the world or the series has ever seen; Ofnir and Grabacr were merely the tip of their sword.

** You can't possibly be serious! The standard heatseekers have a range of about 1500 meters, tops. I think the game may have an arbitrary, unstated maximum range for the weapon, or perhaps enemy planes may no longer be eligible to take or receive damage beyond a certain range. But if that is so, this range must be at least six kilometers, because I personally have wiped out multiple enemies at ranges exceeding five kilometers. If you can't hit enemies further away than one or two kilometers, it is because you are simply missing.

*** Presumably, given the rarity of nuclear weapons on Strangereal, radiation WOULD have an effect on vehicle crews - presuming that nukes were rare enough, armored fighting vehicles wouldn't have been designed with the prospect of fighting on a postatomic battlefield like in Real Life, though tanks (at least the rounded Soviet ones) tend to be reasonably nuke-proof as it is. It's likely it became a no-go zone because NBC protection isn't standard fare on Osean and Yuktobanian tanks.

* The series features many two-seater aircraft: the F-14 Tomcat, F-4 Phantom, the Mig-31, the Su-32 Fullback (Strike Flanker in-game), and others. They clearly show two heads in the cockpit when viewed in the hanger. So just who is that mysterious guy up there with the player character? Why is he never mentioned? For that matter, in Ace Combat 5, who are the ''four'' guys up there with the four main characters?

*** Sidestepped in VideoGame/AceCombat7. If you pilot a multi-seat aircraft, all the other seats are unoccupied.

The series features many two-seater aircraft: the F-14 Tomcat, F-4 Phantom, the Mig-31, the Su-32 Fullback (Strike Flanker in-game), and others. They clearly show two heads in the cockpit when viewed in the hanger. So just who is that mysterious guy up there with the player character? Why is he never mentioned? For that matter, in Ace Combat 5, who are the ''four'' guys up there with the four main characters?

* They are also all Attention-Deficit, which is a no-no for pilots, but must be the case. Due to the nature of the script occupying the same space as unscripted commentary on your actions, maudlin commentary on the dire state of the world and the gruesome pointlessness of warfare rarely are heard without preceding or precession by ecstatic shouts of "Good kill!" and "The Captain got another one!"
** They are reporting kills because it is likely a requirement for accountability. In RealLife, fighter pilots must call their attacks and one presumes that a wingman will report his flight-lead's kill just to be sure that no uninvited guest has jumped into the picture. And nobody has invented an air-to-air missile that sends video data to the AWACS prior to detonation.

[[http://acecombatskies.com/topic/34084-ace-combat-infinity-discussion/?p=837627 Based on this forum post]], [[WordOfGod Kono himself]] stated that the localization for Ace Combat 3 was toned down because Project Aces at the time was small, and that localization was difficult. Mind you, [[Franchise/MetalGear Metal Gear Solid]] was released before Ace Combat 3 and, in addition to keeping the story and voice work for international regions, paved the way for compelling voice work and stories in video games. Why couldn't Project Aces hire whoever was responsible for localizing Metal Gear Solid and have them localize Ace Combat 3? Did they not have the budget, ExecutiveMeddling, or maybe what?

*** FYI, 10 miles > 5 km. 10 miles is roughly 16.09 km. So, in RealLife (as it [[RealityIsUnrealistic tends to be]] with regards to the AC series), the weapon would have a ''better'' range than in the fiction. (Further proof: according to TheOtherWiki, the AIM-9 Sidewinder has an operational range of 0.6 - 11.3 miles [1.0 - 18.2 km]; compare the range of the "standard missile" in the various AC games. Hell, ACJA gives it a maximum lock-on range of 900 ''feet''.)

** Hamilton is a ''nut''. [[spoiler: He helped ''start'' the war, and then got pissed when Yuktobania didn't capitulate.]] He doesn't realize that he's being manipulated along with everyone else, and he delusional enough to believe that he can change the world all on his own.

!What has Gryphus One been doing before Aubrey Base was attacked?

** Alternatively, Gryphus One might've been a skilled pilot but never had the chance to show himself as top tier in capability. In fact he very well may have been the commanding officer of the base (Crux refers to him as 'sir', which no other AWACS does) and had to get back into a plane because Aurelia was being rolled over so fast there wasn't time to be picky about who was in a fighter jet. Then he manages to do extremely well in the cockpit so he's the tip of the spear. But he also finds himself as the highest ranking officer left and while initially he was only issuing orders to his base, he picks up other Aurelian forces that were happy to have a CO or decided that he knew what he was doing and it worked, so they followed his lead. Then eventually it snowballs to him pulling double duty of commanding Aurelia's remaining forces and then deploying into the field personally due to his skills becoming clear. Crux or other surviving officers probably took over a lot of the admin work to allow that, but Aurelia was in no shape nor had the time to be picky if it worked, at least until after the war ends.