| European Air War |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT EUROPEAN AIR WAR | |
| 1998 video games | |
| flight simulation video games | |
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AIRCRAFT The "stock" out-of-the-box standard game has 20 flyable and 10 non-flyable planes. This number has been vastly increased. More than a hundred different flyable aircraft from all WWII countries have been created by game users, and close to 2,000 "skins" (squadron markers, colors, and special "aces" aircraft) are available. Soviet(Russian), Japanese, French, Australian, Polish, Czech, Italian, and other aircraft have been added to the standard English,German, and American planes. Stock aircraft that can be flown include, for the British, the Hurricane I, the Spitfire Ia, Spitfire IXc Spitfire XIVe, the Hawker Typhoon, Hawker Tempest. The Non-Flyable aircraft for the Britsh is the De Havilland Mosquito. Flyable aircraft for the Americans include the P-38H Lightning, P-38J Lightning, P-47C Thunderbolt, P-47D Thunderbolt, the P-51B Mustang, the P-51D Mustang. Non-Flyable Aircraft for the Americans include the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, and the B-26 Marauder. Flyable Aircraft for the Germans include the Bf109E, Bf109G-6, Bf109K-4,Bf110C, Bf110G, FW190A-8, Fw190D-9, and the Me262. Non-Flyable aircraft for the Germans include the He111, Ju-88A, Ju-88C, Ju-87B, V-1, and Me410. Each aircraft has different characteristics and abilities, often requiring different tactics to defeat. Knowledge of both the abilities of your aircraft and your enemies' abilities are essential to success in an engagement. GAMEPLAY The game consists of either a Quick Start option, which gets you into the air immediately, as well as a Single Mission option, which allows you to select which aircraft you will fly and fly against, time of day, and mission type. The final option to fly is the Pilot Career, which allows the user to take the role of a pilot in the RAF, Luftwaffe or USAAF and play in any of three time eras, the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Allied Air offensives in 1943, and the Air offensives before and after D-Day until the end of the war in 1944-45. During a Pilot Career your actions will directly affect the progress of the war, such as delaying or bringing forward the invasion of Europe. You can also rise up the ranks, starting as a non-commissioned officer to command your own fighter squadron (or staffel), assuming responsibility for the men and machines under your command. At this time you can select the rosters and weapons loadouts for your missions, selecting between disposable fuel tanks, rockets, or bombs to assist you in completing your assigned mission. The AI in the game is highly flexible, with several difficulty settings that can be altered by the user to ensure the game remains challenging for a long period of time. AI pilots within your squadron can be controlled by the user in Quick Start and Single Mission options, and gradually become available as you get promotions within your squadron in a Pilot Career. MISSION TYPES Fighter Sweep: Your Squadron will fly over enemy territory looking to pick a fight with an enemy fighter squadron. Intercept: An enemy bomber formation is to attack a friendly ground target. You must attempt to shoot down half the enemy bombers before they hit the target. The bombers may or may not have fighter escort Bomb Target: Equip your fighter with bombs or rockets and attack an enemy ground target. Beware of enemy fighter squadrons. Escort Flight: Escort a flight of friendly bombers to their target. Ensure the bombers safety until they reach their target and release their bombs. Interdiction: Penetrate enemy territory to destroy a set mobile target such as a tank column, truck convoy or naval unit. MODIFICATIONS TO THE GAME Fan-made modifications have allowed the European Air War Game engine to expand to cover almost the entire of World War 2 and beyond. Hundreds (if not thousands!) of skins are available and many new flight models can be downloaded. Full modifications of the game cover many theatres, such the Pacific, Summer and Winter Russian Air Wars, North Africa, New Guinea, China, Korea, Night Warfare, and many more. Several modifications focus on specific operations, such as the Battle of Britain, Battle of the Bulge, Normandy Landings, Midway, Operation Torch, and the European War from 1943 on. Modifications have also allowed the player to fly for many aircraft not previously un-flyable in the original game, including B-17s, He-111s, Ju-87s, Mosquitos, B-26's, B-24's,and several others. Thanks to the tireless contributions of those proficient in skinning and modelling, and those with the patience to put the modifications together, EAW is continually expanding and evolving. PLAYING ONLINE New players are welcome! Online play has also been greatly enhanced due to the creation of programs that allow the player to manage the many skins that are available, such as Online Air Wars (OAW). This allows multiplayer missions to have less transit time to and from the target, and manage over 150 different aircraft and skins. It also allows for each player's game to be compatible with the other players, ensuring there are few problems with one machine having addons. Nevertheless I would recommend having one copy of EAW for multiplay and one for single play. There remains a thriving online community for the game, and online battles are held regularly. Many new skins and modifications are also in the pipeline, and members are working to remove bugs in the original game and continually improve it. Playing online utilises the IP (Internet Protocol) system, with players intending to join requiring the host's IP number, then connecting to the hosts computer directly. This system is generally reliable. There remain several online squadrons that players can join. TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE GAME European Air War, masterful piece of software engineering that it is, has sadly suffered from the unstoppable progression of technology. Due to it's usage of 8 bit graphics, many video cards will not run the game, and return a '7217 error'. Graphics cards with drivers that are still 8 bit compatible are becoming harder and harder to procure. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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