Q: Will there be realistic resource management?

A: The campaign has full resource modelling and this will affect the tactics and strategy of the campaign. As a player you will not be directly responsible for the management of resources, that's the job of the campaign engine - you will have more than you hands full in other areas!

Q: What resolutions will be available for the sim in general and for the cockpit in particular?

A: The sim has been designed with resolutions up to 1024 by 768 in mind. It will go higher but you won't see much benefit above this. The cockpit has exactly the same resolution as the rest of the game. Aside from appealing to the top-end graphics fans, we were keen to make sure it looks great at its lowest resolution of 640 x 480, as this is where owners of lower performance PCs will find the best balance of visuals and frame rate.

Q: Will there be a fully interactive 3D cockpit with reflections and movable buttons?

A: There will be a virtual cockpit with reflections, but as I said earlier cramming in as many switches as possible was not our objective (nor is it the objective of the real-aircraft's manufacturer). Our emphasis was to define a focussed group of key-based functions that are considered essential for gameplay, so that controlling the sim is more intuitive and so that the functions can be easily programmed into a joystick. Some of these functions will be old friends, some will be a surprise.

Q: Will be able to issue commands directly to escort and wild weasel flights?

A: Yes, and to strike flights. You'll have more control over the package components from your Typhoon.

Q: What level of control will we have over wingmen and will we be able instruct them individually? Will wingmen have personalities?

A: You will have a wingman who will carry out a range of orders and try to protect you.

Q: Comms has been a huge growth area in the past year. Will we also have comms with AWACS? JSTARS? Will we have control over individual wingmen as well as our element and flight?

A: As I mentioned before, you control one wingman directly, but we have also added control of your mission packages, so you can tell other flights what to do and when. We wanted to create a wingman that worked as a buddy and didn't do dumb maneuvers. It's a lot easier with one and it's easier for a player to manage. Other flight packages can be told to move ahead, form up, drop behind or abandon the mission, depending on the tactical situation.

Q: Will AI pilots use the same flight model as we do? Will we see target fixation and panic modeling? How is SA modeled for the AI? Any other unusual approaches to AI?

A: Enemy flights models are all different and different to the player. They were different in F-22 and TAW too! The pilot AI is an upgraded version of the AI from TAW. Pilots use all the dimensions to get a solution on their chosen target, and the system was designed with the help of a commercial sim-designer who created a dogfight trainer for BAe.

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A: One major difference is that pilots depart the fight to survive (running away to fight another day). All the enemy have true six degrees of freedom modelling, which is often overlooked by observers, and which means that energy management is an essential part of the way the enemy fly. You'll see the enemy make mistakes occassionally, but then who doesn't? The surface war is an integral feature of Typhoon. If your ground forces don't win and hold territory, you will lose.

The idea is to give people some straightforward but versatile tactical options that can be employed in a myriad of ways to ensure mission success. Remember that we are not trying to make a Falcon 4.0 or Flanker II. That's been done already; our goal is, and always has been, to bring something fresh and exciting to the genre, which attracts many different types of player.

Q: Expecting the return of Smart View , how will it be compared to its predecessor?

A: Smart View has been upgraded for Typhoon, we have added a number of new camera styles (for example zoom and pan shots), and we have also added logic to cope with ground unit conflicts.

Q: What direction will DID take with regards to 3d effects which at the moment? Can we expect support for features like enviromental bump mapping, T&L, T-Buffer, full-scene spatial anti-aliasing, dual monitor support?

A: Typhoon is fully DX7 compatible, which means we can take advantage of T&L, bump mapping etc. The specifics have not yet been decided.

Q: Will there be any voice recognition or support for peripherals such as Game commander?

A: Not at this stage.

Q: Are there plans to take Typhoon beyond the Typhoon by adding more planes?

A: That's up to popular demand. If our product sells well and people want more, we'll consider it.

Q: Will the heli's, (opposed to earlier DID sims) shoot back?

A: We're looking at that one.

Q: Will naval forces defend as well as attack?

A: Just try them and see…

Q: What can you tell us of the graphic modelling from day-to-night and opposite transistions?

A: There is a smooth 24 hour cycle of light changes from dawn to dusk.

Q: Will Santa deliver, or is it the Easter Bunny's time? ;-)

A: You are looking at Summer 2000.

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