Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logo“It was an apt co-incidence that the Chinese government’s contract with the Flying Tigers had to be terminated on the 4th of July in 1942. After all, the tigers had been flying high and low – independently – against the Japanese for seven months straight. Not only for money, but so that China could remain free and unopressed.”

See for yourself if history is worth playing by watching the “Termination” gameplay trailer for Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China (“FTSOC”), the epic air-combat action game available now on Steam which is based on the historical events of America’s secret volunteer squadrons that defended China in World War 2.

Published and developed by ACE MADDOX, FTSOC was created in Steam’s Early Access program which allowed the dev team to gather ongoing feedback from the game’s community while iterating, improving and adding new content and features to the game on a near-monthly basis for over a year and a half until it was released on May 29, 2017 (post-release development still ongoing).

HISTORICAL TRIVIA:

  • Officially called the 1st American Volunteer Group (the “AVG”), the Flying Tigers were flying mercenaries contracted by the Chinese government under President Roosevelt’s “Secret Executive Order”.
  • Assuming fake identities, AVG recruits had to travel by ship half-way around the world to get to Rangoon, Burma. One pilot made the trip undercover with a specially-made passport indicating he was a missionary. Others posed as plantation managers, cowboys and even circus performers!
  • China paid AVG fighter pilots a $500 bounty for each Japanese aircraft shot down. In addition, the monthly renumeration was $675 for flight leaders, $600 for pilot officers, and about $250 for ground-crew staff (at the time, about $600 bought a factory-new Ford V-8).
  • The Flying Tigers insignia patch was designed by two Disney artists – Roy Williams and Henry Porter – together they worked up a painting of a Bengal cat leaping out of a V-for-victory sign.
  • The AVG and the Chinese were financed and organised by White House lobbyists and advisors using shadow companies and laundered money to shield the Roosevelt Administration from violating any neutrality acts.
  • As per Roosevelt’s “Secret Executive Order”, all Flying Tigers “volunteers” had to resign from the military and become civilians. If captured, they risked being executed as spies by the Japanese.
  • A total of 311 “volunteers” formed the AVG. Some fought as pilots while others served in ground support roles such as mechanics, doctors, clerks and nurses.
  • Starting out with only 99 P-40 fighters, the Flying Tigers racked up an amazing combat record in just about seven months. Their tenure collectively destroyed 297 enemy aircraft in Burma, Thailand and China.
  • Rugged construction allowed the P-40s to withstand steep dives as the Tigers swooped down on the Japanese from high above using “hit and run” tactics invented by their daring flight instructor, Claire Lee Chennault. This caused Japanese fighter pilots to view the Flying Tigers with bittersweet respect. They thought the Tigers didn’t fight fair.
  • On the 4th of July 1942, the American Volunteer Group aka the Flying Tigers were disbanded as the Chinese contract expired and the onslaught of World War 2 made further non-official (covert) operations politically difficult.
  • After July 4, the U.S. Army 23rd Fighter Group took over the AVG P-40s but only five tiger pilots accepted induction. For morale and propaganda, the Flying Tigers name was retained for the 23rd pilots.
  • After the AVG were disbanded, the U.S. refused to recognize the Flying Tigers. That position remained unchanged until 1991 when the “honorably discharged” Tigers officially became WW2 veterans.

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logo“The sky was a maelstrom of exploding bombers, twisting tracers, flaming parachutes, and Robert’s own burning fighter… then his engine quit!”

Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China (“FTSOC”), the historical air-combat action game based on the events of America’s secret volunteer squadrons who flew combat in Southeast Asia during World War 2, launches today on Steam in 13 languages including English, German, Russian and Chinese. View the launch trailer here.

Published and developed by Ace Maddox, FTSOC was created in Steam’s Early Access program allowing the development team to gather ongoing feedback from the game’s community while iterating, improving and adding new content and features to the game on a near-monthly basis for over a year and a half.

The Digital Deluxe Edition, also available today, contains the Paradise Island DLC which includes the Phi Phi Islands dogfight and multiplayer map, and two amphibious fighters: the Japanese A6M2-N “Rufe” and the US Navy SC-1 “Seahawk”, plus the digital soundtrack OST featuring original music from the game.

FEATURES:

RARELY DEPICTED AIR-BATTLES OF WORLD WAR 2
Action-packed campaign recreates the clandestine operations of the American Volunteer Group in fighter, bomber, gunner, reconnaissance, torpedo, and night missions.

APPROACHABLE TAKE ON AIR-COMBAT
Features TrazerTime™ slow-motion precision firing, arcade-like combat maneuvers, sim-style pitch & roll controls, moody weathers (including thunderous monsoons, beautiful sunsets and misty dawns), 20+ Allied and Japanese planes, adjustable mouse & keyboard, gamepad, and flightstick controls, and more!

MULTIPLAYER FOR UP TO 16 PLAYERS
Steam leaderboards eternalize players’ online rankings across five battle modes! Coordinate devastating air-attacks in TEAM DOGFIGHT while providing cover for your comrades, outdo all enemies using powerful rocket weaponry in ROCKET BATTLE VS, or take to the skies to “Capture the Flag” in the FLAGBUSTERS mode.

PAY ONCE AND PLAY
No micro-transactions or F2P-elements – for a single purchase, you’ll get the full, stand-alone experience – with unrestricted multiplayer!

FLY IN COCKPIT OR THIRD-PERSON MODE
Soar through the skies of Southeast Asia in third-person or cockpit view in a variety of American, British, Russian/Chinese, and Japanese aircraft.

STRIKING RENDITION OF THE FAR EAST
Faithful environments, beautiful graphics, booming sound effects and an epic-orchestral soundtrack create a lasting impression of the China-Burma-India theatre.

Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China is priced at $14.99/€14.99/£10.99 for the standard version, with the digital deluxe edition costing $18.99/€18.99/£13.99.

FTSOC is available in 13 languages: English, Spanish, French, Polish, German, Portuguese-Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Italian, Czech, Turkish, and Japanese.

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logoFlying Tigers: Shadows Over China prepares for multi-lingual release

As Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China gets ready for international release, a decent number of translations are being prepared for implementation courtesy of today’s “Lingua Franca” update. Soon, air-combat action gamers in Germany, France, Poland, Spain, China, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Russia, Brazil, and more countries, can take to the skies in their native language.

On a side note, the Lingua Franca moniker was chosen as a name for the final English update as the term fittingly means “a language or dialect used to make communication possible between people who do not share a native language”.

Launched on Steam’s Early Access programme in August 2015, Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China is approaching final release.

Update details as follows…

  • Strings: Finalized English-language strings in preparation for translation and the upcoming multi-lingual/international release.
  • Performance: 3D-renderer now optimized for low-end PCs, circa +30% more efficient occlusion culling, resulting in lower stress on bandwidth.
  • UX: New default. Players can now toggle the free-roaming Panoramic Camera by holding Left ALT and moving the mouse to look around (if playing on MOUSE+KEYBOARD, for example).
  • GUI: Updated text-system for multi-player lobby and console/log output strings.
  • Aircraft: Implemented cockpits for amphibious fighter planes A6M2-N “Rufe” and SC-1 “Seahawk”.
  • Audio/Music: Updated multiplayer lobby, mission result, and main theme tracks.

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logoSome people say that World War II started in China when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, a full two years before German aggression seized Europe. Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China, a historical air-combat action game currently in Steam Early Access, is based on the true events of covert American WW2 fighter pilots who flew combat for the Chinese Nationalist Party under Chiang Kai-shek, more commonly referred to as the Republic of China or the Kuomintang aka KMT (the Kuomintang were forced to retreat to Taiwan in 1949 after being defeated by the Communist Party of China during the Chinese Civil War).

The “Kipling” Steam update introduces the first set of hand-painted illustrations that strives to capture the mood, look and feel of aerial warfare in 1940s South-East Asia theatre of World War II, more commonly known as the CBI (China-Burma-India).

Watch the Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China - “Kipling” Aviation Art Steam Update Video here.

About the Kuomintang of China (KMT)
The Kuomintang of China, often translated as the Nationalist Party of China or Chinese Nationalist Party, was the ruling party in mainland China from 1928 until its retreat to Taiwan in 1949 after being defeated by the Communist Party of China (CPC) during the Chinese Civil War. Together with the People First Party and New Party, the KMT forms what is known as the Taiwanese Pan-Blue Coalition, which supports eventual unification with the mainland. However, the KMT has been forced to moderate its stance by advocating the political and legal status quo of modern Taiwan. The KMT accepts a “One China Principle” – it officially considers that there is only one China, but that the Republic of China rather than the People’s Republic of China is its legitimate government. In 1930, large-scale civil war broke out between warlords who had fought in alliance with the Kuomintang during the Northern Expedition and the central government. In addition, the Chinese Communists (CPC, or Communist Party of China) revolted against the central government following a purge of its members by the KMT in 1927. The Chinese government diverted much attention into fighting these civil wars, following a policy of “first internal pacification, then external resistance”.

About The Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought primarily between the nationalist Republic of China and the Empire of Japan from 1937 to 1945 (the First Sino-Japanese War happened in 1894–95).

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logoAir-combat action game developer Ace Maddox is pleased to announce the “Touchdown” Steam Update is live for Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China. The single player campaign has been completed and full voice over has been implemented to all 12 missions, there are new cockpits added for the B-25B bomber and the A6M2 Zero and P-51D Mustang fighters. There’s also a new option that lets aspiring multiplayer pilots restrict/set the control-style for online matches. Furthermore, rendering has been improved (again!) so aircraft, landscape and weather look vividly lit and more authentic. There’s also been a multiplayer menu refresh, now match modes are clarified/renamed to DOGFIGHT VS, TEAM DOGFIGHT, ROCKET MATCH VS, TEAM ROCKET MATCH, and FLY THE FLAG.

Check out the narrated YouTube video for details or skim through the changelog below for a quick overview.

Update History/Changelog:

  • Single player campaign mode completed, full with 12 voiced missions.
  • All campaign aircraft have cockpits implemented, including the B-25B bomber in the FINAL FLIGHT mission.Cockpits were also added for two non-campaign fighters, the Japanese A6M2 Zero and the P-51D Mustang.
  • Rendering has been improved once again so now aircraft, landscape and weather look richer and more vividly lit, especially if you’re running the game on the CINEMATIC graphics setting.
  • There’s also a new multiplayer setting that lets hosts restrict control-style for matches, so if you want to go head to head in an online game with players flying EXCLUSIVELY with the more advanced PITCH & ROLL setting, log into Steam, grab this update, get airborne and knock yourself out!
  • Match modes have been renamed for clarification, so for example, the MASTER OF THE SKIES multiplayer mode is now called DOGFIGHT VERSUS, and we’ve got ROCKET MATCH VERSUS and TEAM ROCKET MATCH, and so on.
  • Cockpits added for Japanese A6M2 Zero and the P-51D Mustang.

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logoIndependent air-combat action game developer Ace Maddox is pleased to announce that its latest Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China Steam update has gone live. New features include ROCKET MATCH, a fresh multiplayer mode that lets 2-16 players go head-to-head over the Chinese-Mongolian Gobi desert in a variety of fighter-jets, including the American P-80A “Shooting Star” and the Japanese Ki-201 “Fire Dragon” (Me-262a). Check out the narrated YouTube video for details.

Update History/Changelog:

  • ROCKET MATCH multiplayer mode. This new mode lets 2-16 players fly head-to-head in rocket-equipped fighter planes. Aircraft include the P-80A “Shooting Star”, the P-38L Lightning, the Ki-201 “Fire Dragon”, the Mizuno II “Divine Dragon”, the I-16 Polikarpov and the P-51D Mustang.
  • Campaign VO. Recorded and implemented complete American & British voice over dialogue for East of Martaban campaign mission.
  • New fighter-jets (with cockpits). Added the USAAF P-80A “Shooting Star” with cockpit and four skins. Japanese Ki-201 “Fire Dragon” with cockpit (and four skins) also implemented. Finally, Japan’s unusual/experimental Mizuno Shinryu II “Divine Dragon” made available too, also with four skins.
  • Retrofitted Vildebeest cockpit. The RAF bi-plane torpedo fighter Vickers Vildebeest Mk. III finally has a (semi-open) cockpit view.
  • Field of View. Added and adjusted FoV (Field of View) for gameplay and cockpit cameras for improved visibility. Use (default) C / V keys to cycle back and forth to set/try the improved WIDE cameras.
  • BRIGHTNESS option. Not entirely unlike GAMMA control, the new brightness option lets players adjust screen visibility (via DISPLAY SETTINGS).
  • ENEMY CROSSHAIR option. Let’s you adjust the size of the red sub-crosshair to improve enemy target visibility (via HUD settings).

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logoNarrated YouTube video tells it all!

As the big things of this world – governments, corporations, institutions – are losing traction, independent air-combat action game Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China (FTSOC) grinds along like an old river barge up Burma’s Salween gorge, fending off Japanese assaults on the left while expecting Allied reinforcements from the right. It’s been quite some time since you’ve heard from us gamedev-mechanics here at Ace Maddox, so hopefully today’s additions will make you all pleased.

Live on Steam now, this straight-forward update adds a good amount of content and bugfixes, and we’ve simply decided to call it “COCKPIT/CAMPAIGN”. Check out the voiced YouTube video for a thorough overview, or scour the changelog below for a quick rundown.

Update History/Changelog:

  • Four new cockpits and “wide” interior camera added. Hop inside the P-40E, Buffalo Mk. I, Lysander Mk. II or the Japanese Ki-43 fighter! If you’re playing on keyboard and/or mouse, just press the V key to check out the newly added cockpit “wide” camera. And, there’s also a refurbished bomb-targeting system for when you’re seated in cockpit mode.
  • Voice actors exhausted as Campaign nears competion. Development of FTSOC’s historical single player campaign is almost complete. We’ve updated some of the older voices, while a multitude of actors have been working around the clock to record the remainder of the Campaign mission’s screenplay in proper. We suggest you give the Campaign a full playthrough, so you can hear for yourselves.
  • Controller vibration. For those of you who prefer to play/fly with a gamepad, there’s now controller rumble for stronger “immersion”.
  • Improved rendering. Shadows and reflections look sharper and are more stable now, this specially noticeable when you’re seated inside.
  • Toggle HUD elements on the fly. Press the H key while flying to control displaymode of the various HUD elements (handy feature when recording video or FRAPSing stills).
  • Ship models. We’ve updated most of the game’s warship models, plus added a typical Southeast Asian wooden cargo ship, namely the Malayan Bedar (which, incidentally, does not look entirely unrelated to the Chinese junk).
  • More Challenges. We’ve added two new mini-missions in the form of challenges, so go ahead and take that dusty old Vildebeest for a bit of tinfish-safari off the Akyab coast in the new TORPEDOGS challenge, or try out the bombs and machine guns of the Allied P-43A fighter in GROUND ATTACK.
  • Added captured Japanese fighter. We’ve implemented a captured P-40E fighter, bombs included, to spice up multiplayer cockpit-dogfighting a little. Enjoy the flight!

About Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China:

Currently in Steam Early Access, Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China (FTSOC) is a historical air-combat action game based on the true events of America’s secret volunteer squadrons that flew against Japan in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre of World War 2. Secretly recruited under President Roosevelt’s authority, the Flying Tigers were officially known as the “American Volunteer Group”.

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logoNothing quite shocks the senses like the chilly winds and intense air-battles of 1940s southeast Asia. Today’s summery Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China Steam update not only improves multiplayer features, but also retrofits cockpit view/support, starting with a functional inside rendition of the RAF’s tropical Spitfire Mk. V. Furthermore, a pair of new fighters have been made available namely the Allied P-47D “Thunderbolt” and the Japanese Ki-44 Shoki “Toji”, each with a decent selection of skins and over-the-radio voice shouts in American, Chinese, Russian and Japanese languages.

“Cockpit/Contender” Update Overview:

  • Added support for cockpit view. Just getting started on fighter interiors. Buckle up in the Spitfire Mk. V fighter in the Multiplayer, Dogfight or Free Flight modes (press “V” to cycle cameras/cockpit).
  • Online features improved. Collapsed multiplayer JOIN/HOST menus for better overview and accessibility, improved lobby/match views, added Steam invites (via lobby and pause screens), Leaderboards readily accessible, Steam profile avatars used for both multiplayer games and match stats, adjusted formatting/layout to make native chat more pleasant (use RETURN/ENTER to toggle chat).
  • Multiplayer modes. Flying below 200 ft partially hides you allowing for interesting escapes and sudden “jumps” on opponents. Player health for all multiplayer modes now displayed in the match stats/overview.
  • Visuals. Improved scene rendering for increased shadow and tree stability on (resulting in a less distractive landscape view).
  • Just for fun. Implemented real-time “documentary” color modes; sepia, black & white and vintage filters (available via the DISPLAY SETTINGS menu).
  • Two new fighter aircraft. P-47D “Thunderbolt” and Ki-44 Shōki “Toji” fighters with multiple skins and voice shouts.

Watch the “Cockpit/Contender” Steam Update Gameplay Trailer here.

You can purchase Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China via Steam.

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logoDon’t look back, someone might be gaining on you! Today’s Steam update adds improved dogfight AI and two new fighters, the Allied P-43A-1 “Lancer” (with Chinese ROCAF and USAAF skins) and, perhaps unexpectedly, a Japanese Messerschmitt! (Germany supplied Japan with a number of evaluation Bf 109Es for comparison trials by the Japanese Army Air Force – the Allies, expecting to encounter those Bf 109Es in combat, assigned code name “Mike” to the Messerschmitts).

Update rundown:

  • Increased cool-down duration of arcade maneuvers to make them less spammy [in multiplayer and elsewhere].
  • Improved dogfight AI; AVENGING ACE and SURVIVAL modes now more challenging (not necessarily more difficult).
  • Better display support, the game now runs on three monitors with HUD elements in the center screen.
  • Began implementing skillshot/reward badge effects in dogfight modes, coming to multiplayer soon (in development, apologies for the rough polish).
  • Added a setting to toggle the hold (auto-camera) of OBSERVE TARGET function (that’s the F key on default setting M+K or K).
  • Invert X-Axis for the panoramic camera view now possible.
  • Fixed numerous crashes in the “EAST OF MARTABAN” campaign mission.
  • P-43A-1 “Lancer” and Bf 109 “Mike” fighters with multiple skins implemented.
  • Lots of [minor] GUI enhancements.

About Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China:

Currently in Steam Early Access, Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China is an air-combat action game based on the historical events of America’s secret volunteer squadrons that flew against Japan in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre of World War 2. Secretly recruited under President Roosevelt’s authority in 1941, the Flying Tigers were officially known as the “American Volunteer Group”.

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.

flying-tigers-shadows-over-china-logoPagodas and amphibious action available in Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China (FTSOC) update “PAGODA NEXUS“, live on Steam now. Recap below with two fresh YouTube videos at the bottom.

As spring unfolds at last in all its glory, we’re happy to bring you a new FTSOC update that we’ve aptly dubbed “PAGODA NEXUS” to reflect the inclusion of pagodas, those mythical stone temples of Burma (of the Tibetan kind, I should add, for those of you with an interest in architectural history).

Pagodas attract lightning strikes because of their height, and many have a decorated metal finial at the top of the structure, referred to as a “demon-arrester” to catch lightning, in the heaviest of monsoons.

Here’s what you can expect will kick in after you rack up this little update:

  • Added pagoda structures, pillars and towers and temples and buildings, in campaign missions and on maps where historically appropriate. Check out the landmark Schwedagon Pagoda in the Rangoon map (Free Flight, Dogfight or Campaign Mission “RAID ON RANGOON” – the choice is yours!).
  • Updated specs for many aircraft, work in progress. We appreciate the forum feedback, keep it coming! Tuning the firepower and accuracy of the Hurricane Mk. IIB and the Spitfire Mk. V is a priority (both in single player and in multiplayer).
  • New aircraft: Japanese [b]J2M RAIDEN “THUNDERBOLT”[/b] fighter added, try it out over Rangoon in the middle of the night, the Schwedagon Pagoda can look quite impressive, if approached from the right angle.
  • New aircraft: American [b]SC-1 “SEAHAWK”[/b] finally added to the Paradise Island DLC (available in the Deluxe version too). In multiplayer, all players can fly against the Rufe and Seahawk and on Phi Phi Island, provided the host has the DLC installed or purchased the Deluxe version.
  • Improved vehicles: New tanks, trucks (type 94 6-wheeled), army cars (type 95), searchlight vehicles, ambulances, and Type 98 AA units that are manned by soldiers (hear the enemy scream in agony as you unleash .50 cal fire upon them!).
  • Minor addition: The RAF barrage ballons in the Kindergarten missions are now roped to the ground in an effort to make the scenery look a little more realistic.
  • We’ve made a lot of smaller GUI enhancements, too numerous to fit in a bulletpoint, but for example, the (currently active) difficulty level is now color-coded in the main menu and in-game pause screen, and the radar display has been enlarged to clarify ground units (jeeps, tanks, army cars, trains).

Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China – Pagoda Nexus (Steam Update) 60 FPS Gameplay Video

Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China – Amphibious Action 60 FPS Gameplay – A6M2-N Rufe vs SC-1 Seahawk Video

Get more information about the game at the official Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China website.