Longbow 2 Mini-FAQ How is Longbow 2 different from the original Longbow? The original Longbow, 1996's Flight Sim of the Year, delivered a quality and quantity of play value that players had never seen before. They loved it so much, they kept asking for more and different ways to play. With Longbow 2, we've concentrated on delivering everything they've asked for, and giving the sim a brand new look. To be specific, Longbow 2 will have comprehensive multiplayer capability, two new dynamic campaigns, two new helicopter types you can fly, and brand new 3-D graphics, plus a whole slew of new graphic options. So you've changed everything? No, not at all. We're keeping everything that made the original Longbow the best helicopter sim ever. Specifically, the interface and flight dynamics are already about as good as we can make them, so changes and updates in those respects will be relatively minor. And, of course, Longbow 2 is still a Jane's Combat Simulation with all that implies - big, informative printed docs and a Jane's reference guide on the CD. Fans of the original Longbow will find everything they loved is carried over in the new game, plus a lot of new features. You can fly other helicopters besides the Longbow? Yes. In addition to the AH-64D Longbow Apache (and the AH-64D without the Longbow radar), you can also fly a OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scout helicopter, or a UH-60L Black Hawk utility/transport. For each helicopter you can play as either the pilot, the co-pilot/gunner, or handle both positions yourself (and yes, we know the Black Hawk doesn't have a CP/G - the second position on that bird is a door gunner). The differing functions of these three helicopter types allow us to realistically portray a greater range of mission types than we could with just the heavily-armed Longbow. Will you support 3-D hardware acceleration? The graphics engine will fully support 3DFX graphics accelerators (compatibility with other accelerators is still being determined). 3-D acceleration allows us to create graphics that are faster, more detailed and more dynamic than ever before. What are the other improvements to the graphics? Too many to list, really. Some of the high points include four times the terrain and object detail of the original, full-color dynamic light sourcing, realistic night effects (explosions and flames will illuminate the immediate area), persistent smoke and dust (handy for tracing those enemy missiles back to where they came from), and virtual cockpits. Most of these improvements will be effective on any computer, but they'll be at their absolute best on a 3D-accelerated system. How will multiplayer work? The game supports multiplayer action via LAN, modem, TCP-IP (Internet) or direct cable connection. Each mode will support at least four and some as many as eight players (depending on connection type). Players can take either pilot or CP/G seats, so eight players can fly four aircraft (four 2-man crews), eight separate aircraft or anything in between. What are the 2 campaigns? The first campaign is a war scenario set in Iran and Azerbaijan. It's a politically and strategically realistic conflict in the tradition of the original Longbow and Flashpoint: Korea, but in a fully dynamic environment. There'll be lots of chances to earn promotions and decorations, plus a wider range of mission objectives than before. The second campaign is a simulation of a full-scale war game set at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, California. It's great practice, and it's especially fun in multiplayer, because it allows multiple pilots to test their skills against each other in a realistic, force-on-force dynamic campaign setting. What do you mean by a "dynamic campaign"? We've designed a dynamic campaign that we think really lives up to the name. It's not a bunch of static, canned missions, nor is it a dressed-up random mission generator. This is a campaign where each mission you fly affects the course of the whole campaign. If you miss a target in one mission, it may very well be right back shooting at you in the next mission, or three missions down the line. The lines of battle will shift and both sides will wax and wane in strength in a realistic fashion, keyed to your success and failure. Not only will your flying skills affect the whole campaign, but you'll also be presented with multiple missions and potential objectives at each stage of the war. You'll have to allocate your forces wisely, and pick the right situations for your personal attention, if you want to win the war. Reconnaissance will play an important role, because the more you observe, the better you'll understand the battle situation. Furthermore, whether or not you spot a threat while scouting could determine whether or not it shows up as an objective later. Is this going to be another DOS game with a Win 95 shell? No. Longbow 2 is 100% Windows 95 native. Do I need a super-computer to run the game? Longbow 2 will run on any P133 with 16 megs of RAM and a 4X CD-ROM. Of course, the better your system, the more options you can turn on. One of the advantages of 3-D acceleration is that a medium power system with 3DFX will run as well or better than a much more powerful system without the card. I thought you guys were working on a jet sim? Andy Hollis is a busy guy. He has two full teams under him, each on different Jane's sims (in addition to working with Sid Meier's Firaxis studio on their strategy games). The team in Baltimore is working on an F-15 jet sim that will be out in early '98. The team in Austin - the original Longbow team - is doing Longbow 2. Will there be trees? Well... we're working on it. We know you want trees, and we've had some early successes that make us cautiously optimistic. As with the original sim, however, we'll only have trees if we can do them right. We won't settle for green eye-candy, we want a real, tactically useful treeline. Source: CPR's Longbow2 Page