Lock on: modern air combat

[Tex -USMC- 0]

Great new hi-res video from a Lomac press DVD:

http://www.fragland.net/index.php?page=downloads&did=964

Note especially smoke trails, water spouts and ripples. Also, I'm sure you'll notice that a lot of our favorite screens were lifted from this video

[Tex -USMC- 0]

Ahh, the wonders of insomnia... found these on the SimHQ forums:

http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/~grover/files/lomacundies.gif

And of course, what's a flight sim without a sequel?

http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/~grover/files/lomacundiesII.gif

Suprisingly, those pics are close to 200kb. I changed them to URLs.

[hellfish6 7]

I'm not really the first person to post this new movie link, am I??

Jet Movie 22 Aug

[Dauragon 0]

i always wanted to taxi from hangar to runway , take off, kill some other aircrafts, fly back, land taxi to parking, refuel takeoff clear the ground with modern jets

does anyone know if you will see your aircraft on the elevator of an aircraft carrier to the takeoff catapult?

[Tex -USMC- 0]

http://www.avsim.com/

new preview up- not at all indepth or anything, but lots of pretty pictures. Worth a look, if only to laugh at the odd misuse of flowery language

[Tex -USMC- 0]

http://gamesurf.tiscali.de/pc/previews/200308/01/page1.php

Quote[/b] ]Lock On Modern Air Combat wird die wohl beste militärische Flugsimulation des Jahres.

Can't argue with that  

[Supah 0]

From the AVsim.com review

Quote[/b] ] One thing we noted, however, is that the cockpits are not mouse enabled so looks like it’s going to be keyboard commands or programmed joystick buttons to flip switches and such

I really dont like that, then if your want to the slightly more menial things like switch HUD brightness up/down or change gun fire rates you are going to have to either remember the keys for it (And thats going to be allota keys to remember!) or look them up (which makes you take you eyes of the screen). Also working MFD's will be rather odd ..... they rely heavily on those little grey buttons around the screen. I liked how F4 did have mouse enabled cockpit, makes life easier on those of us who dont have that great a memory

[SKULLS_Viper 0]

You see the new screens at http://www.lo-mac.com/  

?  

Oh, I like the vapor trails behind the tracer rounds.  

[Tex -USMC- 0]

Hmmph, the newest video posted on the Lomac website is pretty weak- probably the least impressive Lomac movie I've seen to this point. This ain't, though:

A two-part preview on BioHaz Central, complete with a CAP gone haywire, a CSAR, and of course FAC(A) goodness... enjoy!

http://forum.biohazcentral.com/viewtopic.php?t=2742

http://forum.biohazcentral.com/viewtopic.php?t=2764

[Tex -USMC- 0]

By the way, Lomac has completely wrecked my normal sleep cycle, and the demo hasn't even been released yet. This doesn't bode well for me... either I'm going to be sucked into the truth, joy, and metaphysical flight sim oneness that Lomac will provide at the expense of my education, my job and my life, or (probably not, but it's always a possibility) I will be bitterly dissapointed, and the mere thought of how much time I wasted on a sim that I thought would be good will make my heartrate double. One or the other, and like I said, it isn't looking very good for me  

[Bernadotte 0]

Sounds like you need a good lawyer.

[Tex -USMC- 0]

Quote[/b] ]August 29, 2003: Lock On : Modern Air Combat Demo Delayed

The interactive demo for Lock On has been completed and will be made available online in October of 2003. The demo will allow players to try their hand at flying the A-10A "Warthog" and the MiG-29A "Fulcrum." In addition to being available on the official Lock On website and several mirrors, it will also be available in December issues of several popular magazines like Computer Gaming Magazine, Computer Gaming World, and PC Gamer.

While we very first considered releasing the Lock On demo earlier, given the postponement of the game's release, it has been decided it would be best to release the demo in October to ensure a better support to the project.

http://www.lo-mac.com/

[Tex -USMC- 0]

Smells like more UbiSoft bullshit- like I said before, I wouldn't go near their products if they didn't currently have a near-stranglehold on new tactical shooters and flight sims. But they do, and here's what happens when suits make decisions without considering their community base (and the Lomac base is a little on the twitchy side). Orginally posted on the Ubi forum by Carl Norman:

Quote[/b] ]As the Developer of Lock On, we at The Fighter Collection / Eagle Dynamics are tasked with creating the product while our Publisher Ubi Soft handles, among other things, the PR and Marketing responsibilities. Eagle Dynamics has submitted what we believe is the final version of the Demo to Ubi Soft. Despite a firm belief by Matt and me that the Demo would indeed be released for download this week, as well as being provided to various game magazines for inclusion on their CDs, a decision has been made by Ubi Soft management to wait on releasing the Demo online.

One of the questions you might be asking is why all the silence for the past few days on the forum by Matt and myself. Simple: The decision to postpone the release of the demo was being discussed by Ubi Soft management. I was asked to refrain from posting further reports. Ubi Soft will now be making any future announcements concerning the demo or release dates. There was nothing Matt or I could say during the past few days as we did not know what the final decision was going to be until management made their final decision. It was out of our hands. This decision involved managers in several Ubi Soft offices in several countries. Add to the mix the fact that Ubi Soft e-mail servers were down for days because of a virus attack and you can begin to see that this process took some time to reach a final decision.

My participation here on the forums has been to represent TFC/ED and answer your questions about Lock On and be a liaison to the community regarding the status of the development of the product. I’ve always been careful not to make promises and I try to use words and phrases like “no promises,†“planned,†“scheduled†and “when it’s ready†as I understand how expectations are created and build online. I am also aware and experienced in how often and easily they can be dashed. It is for contingencies such as this one that I do not like to give dates or make promises about things for which I do not have the ultimate decision making authority. I can only be so careful when giving the community status and news. Regardless of my best intentions, some of you will feel that we let you down. That was certainly never anybody’s intention. Nobody wants the product or the Demo finished and out to the public more than we do.

It is often a two-edged sword. Many of you want information and when we give it to you, even if it is wrapped in disclaimers and conditions, some of you feel we misled you and broke a promise when something changes. From my point-of-view, it is a no-win scenario. The alternative is to just say nothing which, for me, seems more difficult and restrictive than using good sense, being professional, and ensuring that I state things are subject to change.. Certainly all of you can see now why we are leery of providing exact dates when things are always changing due to development contingencies or by decisions and variables that are out of our control.

None of this matters to any of you when, at the end of the day, you are still disappointed because something you believed in and counted on, for which you had been told was likely to happen, doesn’t actually happen as planned. No matter how carefully I worded things, you expected the demo this week and now it is not going to happen. I share your pain because my expectations have not been met either. While this decision wasn’t mine, that doesn’t make things any easier for Matt, me, or any of you.

All of you have my personal apologies for the disappointment you are feeling, especially since my regular demo status reporting, of what I believed to be the actual demo release plans, created expectations that have now been dashed. I feel terrible about it and wish there was something I could do about it.

In the future I will no longer participate in official announcements. I’ve worked very hard to answer your questions about Lock On and provide information to the community. I am happy to continue to provide information and answer questions about Lock On specifically from a content and development prospective, but as the disclaimer in my signature block indicates, I do not speak for the Publisher. I never want to be placed in this situation again. Therefore, all the official announcements on this forum will be coming directly from Ubi Soft. In hindsight it was a big mistake for me to be involved in the announcement of the demo release when I never had final control of the demo’s release. I was working closely with Matt we both thought we were doing the right thing.

This is an unfortunate situation and I wish I could say or do something to make all of you feel better, but I can’t. I wish I was able to give you all a copy of the demo right now, but I can’t. I can understand why you are all disappointed and why some of you are angry. I have feelings about this situation as well, but I am going to keep them to myself as it would be inappropriate for me to do otherwise. This is a decision that was made at a higher level than Matt Wagner at Ubi Soft, so Matt has no other choice in this matter. He needs your support not more difficulties. Matt is also in a no-win situation regarding this demo release matter. I’m sure he is as disappointed as anyone, but we all have to remain professional and carry on. I choose to remain focused and dedicated to getting the product finished and I am confident that this is also Matt’s priority.

Therefore, I recommend that if you have something to say about all of this, please ensure that you express your feelings in a mature and reasonable fashion. Being emotional and going on the attack will serve no useful purpose and only make more work for the Moderators. Instead, make your feelings known in a calm and reasoned manner. If you decide to provide feedback to Ubi Soft then please remember that flames, insults, and poor manners are not going to make any of this any better or get you the demo any sooner. Express your disappointment if you must, but let’s keep it in one thread, keep it clean, and keep it mature and measured. A flame war would be counter-productive.

While you might not see or appreciate this, the good news is that Ubi Soft appears to be committed to a strong launch of Lock On. Their decision to coordinate the demo release with the major media outlets and magazines is good news in the long run. In the short run it is disappointing for all of the active forum members who have expressed your interest and support for this product and expected a demo this week. My understanding is that this decision was made by Ubi Soft as a means of coordinating the launch of the demo to coincide with its availability on magazine CDs and in promotional efforts by Ubi Soft and the Media. I have been told that when the final product is finished Ubi Soft has a promotional and marketing plan that they are putting in place to make this a big international launch with Press coverage and promotional efforts. I spoke to a Marketing Manager at Ubi Soft that I have known and worked with in the industry for over ten years. She assures me that the commitment is there to launch Lock On in a big way and that the retailers are very interested in this title. Let’s not let this incident cause the momentum to slip for Lock On. If Lock On is a success then there is a much better chance for this genre of products to expand and thrive.

Respectfully,

Carl

[GoOB 0]

Ugh.... bad publishers depress me. Many a game has been ruined on account of them. I hope the UBI people will come to their senses and release the demo quite soon. I mean these kind of stunts only makes the consumers angry.

And expanding the genre? I thought anyonone interested in flight sims were interested in flight sims. And is having hundreds of games to choose from a good thing? Are they looking to turn the flight sim market into the RTM market? With thousands of titles to choose from none of wich are of high quality.

[hellfish6 7]

Actually, I think it makes a lot of marketing sense to postpone the demo. If you get people all hyped up about it now, when there's 4-6 months of development time left, you can't capitalize on that kind of hype. All these people will start demanding the game right after the demo is released, begging Ubi to take their money... and there's nothing Ubi can do. to release it in another month or two is a good idea, IMHO, from a business standpoint. It's close enough to the release date so that you can still cash in on the hype and still early enough to keep people, especially the dedicated fan base, relatively happy.

[Warin 0]

I think Ubi needs to pull their heads out of their asses

If the Demo is ready, release it now, and still have your marketing campain in October. that way you still get all of the people who havent followed the game swept up in the hype of the marketing blitz, while keeping the hard core fans who have anticipated this for ages happy. As it sits now, Ubi is going to piss off all the dedicated people who have been the core community up till now.

[Tovarish 0]

Actually, I think it makes a lot of marketing sense to postpone the demo. If you get people all hyped up about it now, when there's 4-6 months of development time left, you can't capitalize on that kind of hype. All these people will start demanding the game right after the demo is released, begging Ubi to take their money... and there's nothing Ubi can do. to release it in another month or two is a good idea, IMHO, from a business standpoint. It's close enough to the release date so that you can still cash in on the hype and still early enough to keep people, especially the dedicated fan base, relatively happy.

Yes, but you have to realize, my original IL-2 CD has an ad for Lo-Mac stating "Coming in the summer of 2002". There are many people who have been awaiting this for years, and the hype is turning into frustration.

[S_Z 0]

I’m really disappointed …. I have been telling people over at the Raven Shield forum that just because UBI handle that game really bad doesn’t mean they will do the same with LO-MAC. Now this…What I can’t understand is what they think they will achieve by delaying the release of the demo. In October we might see big games like HL2 and who except from those who are really interested in flightsims will look at a LO-MAC demo then?

[SgtBarnes 0]

I`ve started a `Set the demo free` petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/lomac/petition.html

BTW, any truth in the rumour that Alastair Campbell resigned to take up the position of Ubisofts Head of Communications?

[S_Z 0]

Yes, but you have to realize, my original IL-2 CD has an ad for Lo-Mac stating "Coming in the summer of 2002". There are many people who have been awaiting this for years, and the hype is turning into frustration.

When you install the Flanker 2.5 patch its says lomac is comming out in late 2001...

[hellfish6 7]

I never said it was a good decision. By all means, as a gamer I'm pretty upset about it. But I'm only saying, from a business perspective, I think their decision was sound.

Everything nowadays has some kind of coordinated PR campaign. Singles are released with heavy airplay before a CD comes out (and even before then, you have magazines with "sneak previews" of albums). Same with books, movies, and now 'puter games. Ubi is pouring a lot of development money into this project - especially if it was supposed to be released back in 2001.

If development has taken that long, I think you should thank Ubi before damning them. A lot of other publishers would have dropped these developers or worse, released a piss-poor game, a long time ago. To know that they have the faith and confidence in these devs says a lot for UbiSoft, I think. And they should be allowed to milk their development costs for as much as possible by hyping the game with a coordinated PR campaign.

I mean, yes - everyone has been waiting for this game for a long time right now. But is getting your hands on a demo a little bit later going to keep you from buying it? Do you think you deserve an award/reward for "suffering" so long? What is two more months compared to the two years you've been waiting?

Take a deep breath, relax and be patient. Besides, I'm probably going to have to get a new 'puter for this and OFP2 anyways, so think of the "suffering" I'll be going though. I have to spend $1000 on a new box just so I can play a DEMO.

[Maraudeur 0]

Yes, but you have to realize, my original IL-2 CD has an ad for Lo-Mac stating "Coming in the summer of 2002". There are many people who have been awaiting this for years, and the hype is turning into frustration.

When you install the Flanker 2.5 patch its says lomac is comming out in late 2001...

Yep.

And at this time - as the screenshots revealed - the game was supposed to feature the SU-39 with its radar and FLIR pods, its full loadouts etc.

By now : no more Su-39 ; no really improved avionnics for the russian fighters ; the developpers still do not want to modell the data link for the R27R/T/ER/ET missiles arguing this is not existing in reality - as even the USAF simulators feature this for their opponents under Pentagon's datas    -  ; 99% probability of non featured data link from awacs and ground stations for eastern side, no AI F15E while SU34 is modelled but not available in operationnals units - when dev team says they do not want to feature some things because they are not in regular use with the concerned air forces - ; dual targeting ability for the Mig29-13S not featured ; etc etc...

The list could be long, as the game will reveal some lacks and unrealistics choices for some grounds units and electromagnetic environment and  weaponry...

This is a free guess, but a complete survey of the thing since a long time let me to think that LOMAC will be a funny game, a perfect screenshoot maker and an marketed product to the bones.

But surely not a realistic and achieved combat flight sim, as ultimate as claimed by the advertising.

If I buy this game, it probably will be after the first or second patch release.

And I will buy it from Russia to give max money to the real developpers - Eagle Dynamics / The fighter collection - as I did with FB directly from 1C: Maddox games to boycott UBI, the publisher for the rest of the world, wich sucks.

[Tex -USMC- 0]

The delay may be the best decision from a mass-marketing standpoint, but there are things besides the bottom line to think about. The hardcore flight sim fans may not have the combined purchasing power of Joe CS-Kiddie and his 1337 clan of idiots, but we make a great foundation for a vibrant online community. We're loyal, we're consistent, we're (usually) more intelligent than the average gamer. Our modmakers can give a game legs, or even turn a piece of trash into one of the best flight sims ever. The point is that Ubi just kicked the current Lomac fans in the nuts, banking on being able to draw a much larger audience in. Judging by how great the game looks, it will probably work- on the other hand, if it doesn't, Ubi is only going to have one group to turn to: us. And many simmers aren't feeling too forgiving at the moment.

[edc 0]

Son of a @#$%^ ubisoft!

edit: hmm, anyone have a photo of Ubis President/CEO to use as a target in OFP?

[hellfish6 7]

@ Aug. 29 2003,16:13)]The delay may be the best decision from a mass-marketing standpoint, but there are things besides the bottom line to think about. The hardcore flight sim fans may not have the combined purchasing power of Joe CS-Kiddie and his 1337 clan of idiots, but we make a great foundation for a vibrant online community. We're loyal, we're consistent, we're (usually) more intelligent than the average gamer. Our modmakers can give a game legs, or even turn a piece of trash into one of the best flight sims ever. The point is that Ubi just kicked the current Lomac fans in the nuts, banking on being able to draw a much larger audience in. Judging by how great the game looks, it will probably work- on the other hand, if it doesn't, Ubi is only going to have one group to turn to: us. And many simmers aren't feeling too forgiving at the moment.

No offense, but how are they going to turn to you? By releasing some half-assed code and expecting the modders out there to fix it, like F4? That's not a marketing strategy - that's defeat and resignation. It looks to me like Ubi's trying their damnedest to avoid such a fate.

And as I stated earlier, will a 1-2 month delay on the demo keep anyone from buying it? No, of course not. But when tied with a cohesive marketing strategy, will it make more people buy it? Quite possibly.

Think of it as taking one for the team. If more people are caught up in the marketing blitz and more people buy the game, then everyone wins in the end. A healthier community, healthier pocketbooks for all involved (save the $49.95 pricetage for the game that we're all gonna pay for) and more people to shoot down in MP.

Like I said, as a gamer I'm pretty POed by the decision. But I think it will be good for the game in the long run. Besides, we're still getting a demo, right?

I should have gotten a business degree instead of this lousy polisci one...