Bandai-Namco did praise AC 7 for selling better than anticipated, and the game director mentioned on his Twitter feed that both the Chinese government and the Russian company responsible for the Mi G series of fightercraft have approached him regarding the rights to use their aircraft in future titles. Doesn't mean much in the immediate future, but it does bode well for the franchise in general.
Project Aces has been released, and from the brief time I had to play, it's truly an Ace Combat title in almost every single way. A few of my thoughts so far:
- Just like in Ace Combat, you've got a ton of missiles and SP weapons. Fire away!
- Don't expect much in terms of cinematics or fancy cutscenes: almost all of the story is told through the mission briefings, in-mission radio chatter, and some lore entries that unlock as you proceed through the campaign.
- That being said, this take on Strangereal - an alternate Earth timeline where a massive tectonic/volanic upheaval several decades prior destroyed civilization and drastically re-drew political and cultural borders - does seem interesting.
- Your AI buddies are a bit more proactive than in AC 7. Not to the point of being efficient enough to complete entire missions with barely any assistance or dogfighting enemy aces, but decent enough to kill any stragglers and ground targets they come across.
- Easily the best improvement is your ability to carry several special weapons instead of merely one.
- The machinegun is a bit more deadly than usual, makes it much easier to get kills using it. And from what I'm hearing the heavy-gun pods are even nastier. Sounds like an MGP-only playthrough is far more viable here.
I just wanna confirm if it's a graphical issue on my side, but do the ground textures and colors for mission 3 look so awful for everyone else? Because the ground texture the looks REALLY low-res, the red sky colors and over hue seems mismatched here more than any other mission, and what I think is supposed to be ice floes more resemble a blotch of white. Definitely shouldn't look that way since I'm running the game on max settings.
Kotaku: Make Sure You Don’t Sleep On Project Wingman
Polygon: Project Wingman makes air-to-air combat thrills as accessible as Call of Duty
PCInvasion: Project Wingman review — Anime flight simulator
Not too many in-depth reviews out there - the best one so far is probably the one from PC Invasion since he's familiar with War Thunder and military aircraft in addition to the tropes relevant to the Ace Combat series. And yeah, I'm kinda giving Polygon the stink-eye again for their ridiculous article title, despite the fact they're ultimate praising it.
Beta Branch Update #1: Platform update 2.0
The developers have finally returned after a loooong hiatus, and released a beta update in addition to 5 new VR campaign missions called "Frontline 59."
The problem, though? The missions are Playstation VR exclusive; there's no other way to play the new campaign. And no, the dev hasn't mentioned any potential future dates for the update coming to the PC, so we're probably gonna be waiting until whatever exclusive contract expires... hopefully.

Previously I had posted about Project Wingman several times in the Ace Combat thread, but given how the game is due to release very soon on December 1st I figured it's time to create a unique thread for the game so it can gain the attention it deserves.
REPORT #1: Campaign Overview
Report #2: CQ, VR, and QA oh my!
A big attraction for some folks will be how the entire game can be played with a VR headset - something Ace Combat 7 sadly lacked and kept exclusive to the PS 4 for a mere handful of missions.
Unfortunately multiplayer is not in the works - this is a singleplayer campaign game only. The game will be HOTAS-compatible though!
Perfect for those who aren't looking for a simulator experience with the ease of pick up and play, all the way to those who want a fast-paced challenging flight action game.
Players will dogfight, strike, and fly through combat zones based off an alternate history of Earth. Either over the cold waters of the Bering Strait, attacking tanks in the brutal deserts of the Orient, or diving through the Red Woods to strike targets of opportunity in the Pacific North West, across the oceans, above the scarred lands of the world, this war will take you from exotic battlefield to exotic battlefield, all while going up against odds way above your pay grade.
Pure combat flight action is our mantra, and we've created a game where you can experience it to the fullest at any skill level. You will fly and fight against a variety of adversaries that can go toe to toe even with the best player or take it easy and feel like a unstoppable killing machine.
The rules of aerial warfare will remain the same throughout the game: survival and superiority. Whether you are an attack aircraft pilot, skimming the ground with a gatling gun and rocket launchers attached to your wing, or an interceptor with long range, almost sniper-like missiles at your disposal, it will be up to you to prove yourself as an Ace pilot.
Prove your worth: The game will encourage you to take a high risk, high reward approach: the better you fly, the better the reward, and thus the more resources you have on hand to expand your battle capabilities. Do you go after that enemy SAM cluster at the risk of getting shot down, or play it safe to minimize your potential losses? It could very well mean the difference between going to the next mission rolling with the latest tech, or flying with nothing more than a wing and a prayer. Remember the mercenary's credo: "Everything has a price."
Aces will have higher payout than regular fighter jockeys, airships will yield more than tanks, and naval cruisers are more enticing than patrol boats.
With over 20 different aircraft and over 40 unique weapons planned to be released at launch, fly the way you want in order to improve your combat effectiveness.
The armaments you carry into battle will greatly affect how you fight on your mission. Giant flying wings and mechanized monsters will have to be picked apart meticulously under constant threat of retaliatory fire. Exotic weaponries such as railguns and geothermal-powered armaments will also be ready to pluck you out of the sky if you're careless.
Virtual Reality: Virtual Reality headsets will work in-game to put the player in the cockpit of aerial warfare, immersing themselves in head-swiveling combat. We plan to feature VR compatibility across the full game, including both Story Mode and Conquest.
Extensive Customizable Controls: Combine this with full compatibility with HOTAS peripherals and custom axis curves, and you will be able to experience the game however you want, using any peripheral you like.
In a world unlike our own, a multinational order known as the Federation has historically held onto an important resource along the Pacific Ring of Fire: Geothermal Deposits.
Uncovered by a cataclysmic fracture in centuries past, it offers a valuable resource to any that can claim and harness it: an abundant source of energy, tapped directly from the core of the planet.
After generations of systematic oppression over the exploitation of the thermal resources, tensions within council states of the Federation have risen to the point where opposing parties enacted a Coup d'état and rise up in armed rebellion. This is where you come in, a mercenary pilot hired to turn the tides of war in the name of their freedom.
Whether you fight for the sake of combat or for something more, the war ahead of you will be uphill, with warfare unseen in that world for centuries filled with conventional machines of war and those powered by the very geothermal energy risen from below the mantle itself.
In Conquest Mode, fight in an uphill battle against various bosses and ace squadrons in a tactically-oriented territory capture game, drawing elements from roguelikes and RP Gs. Players will have to earn enough money to not only maintain and upgrade their own plane, but build a mercenary army of their own in order to take on waves of increasingly difficult opposition as they struggle to take on a myriad of changing missions.
Modifiers and Parameters will also exist in the full game to customize your experience within Conquest mode and add/reduce difficulty or introduce unique and different modes to increase replayability of the game.
Edited by SgtRicko on Nov 23rd 2020 at 4:34:25 AM