As Prigozhin seems to have cancelled his insurrection, I think I can drag myself away from Twitter and the TV for long enough to type a few lines on Nuclear Option, a ‘coming soon’ combat flight sim with some seriously eyecatching attributes.
Although the ‘near future’ setting and fictional flyables may put some off, the inspirations for machines like the FS-12 Revoker fighter, CI-22 Cricket counter-insurgency aircraft, SAH-41 chopper, and SFB-81 Darkreach bomber are so obvious, and the pattern and challenges of the sim’s engagements so contemporary, rejecting Nuclear Option on purely thematic grounds will take willpower.
Videos illustrating attractive scenery, friendly ‘simcade’ avionics, busy battlespaces, and naturalistic damage and flight modelling, should help dissolve reservations too. “30-50 detachable parts per aircraft” isn’t a boast you see in many any flight sim feature lists, nor is “Realistic flight physics simulated across dozens of aerodynamic surfaces per aircraft”. From statements such as “The condition of each part affects the way your aircraft flies” it sounds like nursing a mauled kite back to base could be one of NO’s most memorable activities.
How smart are the silicon pilots? Can the sim do weather? How will campaigns work? Are there any in-game disincentives for unleashing nuclear weapons?… if I can persuade Shockfront Studios to participate in a short email Q&A, the answers to these questions and others will appear on the Corner soon.
Now that does look interesting! Wonder what co-op options there’ll be?
The playtest seems pretty open, I applied and immediately had access.
If you are willing/able to share some play impressions, please do.
Will do! It might take a few days, we’ve remodelled the room with my desk last week and I haven’t set everything back up yet. It also hasn’t really been the weather to sit behind a desk.
Another caveat, I haven’t played the Novalogic simcades except for Comanche 4 (finished campaign) and maybe MiG-29 (I was very young and didn’t know what I was doing).
I’ve been playing the heck out of the open test. It’s a blast, and a much needed break from DCS.
I’ve also been enjoying the Mission Editor – I’ve been able to create a few nice custom creations and then play them cooperatively with some friends.
For the hell of it, I was able to plop down almost an entire OPFOR Brigade Tactical Group (BTG) and duke it out from the air. Very fun and I can’t wait to see where he goes.
I could very easily see this game being integrated into wargaming as a way to bring tactical resolution to air to air and air to ground sorties.