Pacific Fighters E3 2004 Impressions

Oleg Maddox has gained an almost mythical status among the serious flight sim community. In an age where most publishers have shied away from hardcore simulations, Maddox has flourished by developing the IL-2 series of World War II simulators. And he’s now at E3 to show off the sequel to IL-2 Sturmovik, Pacific Fighters.

Pacific Fighters shifts the action to the Pacific theater of World War II. You’ll be able to fly a wide range of US, Japanese, and British fighters and bombers--there are more than 40 flyable craft in all--in battles that range from the beginning of hostilities in 1941 to the end of the war in 1945.

Like with IL-2, Pacific Fighters will boast a dynamic campaign that will let you change the course of the war. The campaign will even be playable in multiplayer, which should be welcome news to the series’ fans. Progress will be saved between battles, so you and your buddies can fight the war over the course of many weeks if you choose.

The graphics engine boasts many improvements and enhancements from the one that powered IL-2. The biggest obvious difference is the water; Maddox and his programmers have managed to create realistic-looking water as well as realistic water dynamics. He showed us a Japanese carrier cruising along in the ocean, and it looked beautiful. Smoke came out of its side-mounted smokestack while planes taxied on the deck. It was so detailed that we could actually see little men manning the antiaircraft cannons on the side.

The engine is also powerful enough to render the gigantic air and sea battles of the war; we were told there’s effectively no limit to the number of planes that the engine can render, save for the computing power of your CPU. We were shown dogfights, as well as an amphibious landing with offshore battleships that were pounding artillery onto a beach.

Like IL-2, Pacific Fighters will feature highly scalable difficultly settings, especially in terms of carrier landings. The hardcore can turn up all of the realism settings, but rookie pilots can turn off carrier landings altogether.

Right now Maddox says they’re looking at support for 32 or more players in multiplay. The graphics look gorgeous, and Maddox’s reputation is solid. This definitely looks like a potentially great sim, especially for simmers with fond memories of MicroProse’s 1994 classic flight sim, 1942: Pacific Air War. Pacific Fighters should ship this fall.