COMBAT PILOT: A new Pacific WWII sim coming from Jason Williams and Barbedwire Studios!

It has become something of a holy grail for PC combat flight sim enthusiasts. An authentic and highly detailed recreation of the air battles fought in the Pacific during World War II. Not since Pacific Fighters, the popular add-on pack for the IL-2 Sturmovik series which came out in October of 2004, have we seen a product dedicated to that kind of experience. Things are set to change nearly two decades after the release of that last title if experienced flight sim Executive Producer, Jason Williams and developer Barbedwire Studios and their subsidiary Entropy.Aero have anything to say about it.

Jason has done a few Q&A sessions with me over the years mostly in relation to the IL-2 Sturmovik Great Battles Series where he was an Executive Producer for many years. He’s back on the flight sim scene with a new team, a new plan, and some very exciting prospects for the future of WWII combat flight sims. I asked Jason a series of questions that help us learn as much as he and his new team can tell us right now in these early days. 

Read the questions and his responses together with concept art and renders in this Stormbirds.blog exclusive!

Q&A with Jason about Combat Pilot

Stormbirds: Welcome Jason! Nearly all of my readers will already know the answer to this question but let’s do it anyway for anyone new. Introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your history with flight-sims and tell us where you’re at right now.

Jason Williams: As usual, it’s great to be here Colin. Although I have been involved with several companies and projects related to this genre over the years, I am most known for being the former CEO of 777 Studios which made the Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War series and I am the former Executive Producer of the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles franchise by 1C Game Studios. While at 1CGS I produced several new expansions, dozens of new aircraft and tanks, and oversaw hundreds of improvements over a 10-year span. I also planned and green-lit most of the new content still rolling out for that franchise even in 2023. And I played a role in helping the Cliffs of Dover series find a new commercial life with Team Fusion. I parted ways with 1CGS in late 2022 and set off on a new adventure. Now, my company Skystreak Productions is partnered up with Barbedwire Studios and their new subsidiary Entropy.Aero to make a new PTO themed combat flight simulator called Combat Pilot.  

CFS2 vibes!

What is Combat Pilot all about? Is it a hardcore PC combat flight sim or something else?

Combat Pilot is the first hardcore CFS set in the PTO in a looong time, just about 20 years! This is especially rare for an IP originating from a Western studio. I’m talking completely new, from scratch, not a mod, not an add-on, not a redux and not something that vaguely qualifies as a sim. Crazy to think about that fact.  

We hope to bring all the important features virtual aces want, such as great visuals, realistic physics, complex systems, and detailed damage modeling. The initial Combat Pilot title will be set in the Pacific Theater during 1942 in and around the Battle of Midway and probably other early Pacific battles such as Coral Sea and Wake Island. Maybe even Pearl Harbor at some point if we’re lucky! We plan to cover as much of the Pacific air war as possible in time. If all goes to plan this will be a comprehensive series built and improved over many, many years. Oh and of course, single-player and multiplayer support is planned.    

For this new project, you are working with Barbedwire Studios. Have they released any other titles?  

Barbedwire Studios (BWS) is the developer behind the Call to Arms: Gates of Hell tactical real-time-strategy game. Which, I must say, is very well done. If you are a fan of WWII games such as Company of Heroes or Men of War, but you have an even deeper interest in realism and historical accuracy go check out Gates of Hell, you will be impressed!

Barbedwire has a strong interest in all things WWII along with a desire to make products with high levels of realism and great gameplay. Their executive team also has a deep passion for combat flight-sims it turns out. This made our working together a natural fit. 

To manage this new project, Barbedwire has formed a new subsidiary called Entropy.Aero, which will work on Combat Pilot independently of their very busy development schedule for Gates of Hell.

Carlos Flors, the CEO of BWS, is an aerospace engineer by trade and pilot in real life and has a real love for flight-sims on the PC. Thanks to his aerospace connections, Entropy.Aero has assembled a very talented engineering team with industry experience at Airbus and Saab among others. You can expect the aero engineering in Combat Pilot to be quite good. You’ll be hearing more from Carlos and others on the team as things progress, but I’ll be leading the charge and managing the overall development as I have done with previous projects.

For the initial offering, what are you planning to do? What’s the big picture long term goal for the product?

So, without getting ahead of ourselves, right now we believe we have a great vision and we are working to finish our initial prototype. We’re building all the tools and the foundation we will need to take this product to market in as reasonable a timeframe as possible. Not gonna lie, our main competition has a huge 15-20+ year head start on us, so please don’t expect us to catch up overnight! LOL We are very clear-eyed about the challenges we face. However, I promise to be, just as I have always been, up front and honest about our progress and the hurdles we need to overcome. The level of communication between myself and the community about what we are doing will remain high. To me, this is the way. The only exception would be revealing things we consider a trade secret.

The initial product will probably be pretty modest in scale and scope. The bigger picture and long-term goal for our product is, of course, to usher in a new hardcore combat flight-sim series and give the market an additional choice besides the existing and future options I know are coming. As great as they are, there is room for new thinking and new products to vie for virtual pilots’ attention. There is a long road ahead and a lot of hard work yet to do and no guarantee that we won’t fail. However, we are going to give it our best shot. We hope the community will come along for the ride and wish us well. Right now, we are mainly asking for your encouragement and well wishes.   

What are your goals in the near term for graphics, damage models, and flight models?

For the near term we are focused on the fundamentals – tools, flight-modeling, physics, aircraft systems and basic scenery and technology to flesh out the geospatial aspect. We are also building the Zeke and Wildcat of 1942 vintage along with a couple aircraft carriers to be our proving ground. Midway Island is also being built to a certain level now and we will super detail it later. We are just a couple months into our first 12-month dev cycle. Lots and lots to do.  

What’s your design philosophy with Combat Pilot?

I’ve spent a great deal of time studying what combat simmers like and want over the years. They are a very diverse group. What I can say now is that our design philosophy will be rooted in realism, fun, flexibility and pleasing our customers. I hope to take the best of what has come before and then innovate beyond that without upsetting what the community has come to expect and what dreams they have. Communication will play a big role in explaining our vision for the series. I have a dream CFS in my head too, just like you guys do, and I would very much like to fly it one day. I got close before, and I haven’t lost my drive even with all the challenges that entailed. I will use my previous experience, both successes and failures (Grr… drop tanks), to inform future decisions. As we solve technical hurdles we will speak more about the details of our design. It’s just too early to get too specific.

Do you want to work with third parties and content makers?

Absolutely. We will be looking for modelers and other creators and programmers to either hire or contract as we progress. If you have professional or semi-professional experience making things or researching things like aircraft, vehicles, ships, scenery, tools, apps, artwork, videos etc. for any of the other flight-sim products out there let us know you’re interested.

There were challenges in the past with obtaining references for Japanese aircraft in particular. Have you solved this problem? Are there creative solutions that you’ve been able to find?

There is no magical solution to this issue unfortunately. There are still challenges to finding super detailed info on Japanese subjects, but we have decided that there is enough to build the better-known aircraft and make them flyable and plenty to fill the sky with NPC aircraft where needed. We will use our tools, best practices, and creativity to fill in any missing gaps. We’re sure you’ll have a great combat experience in Japanese equipment in the end. I will also continue to ask the community for help locating stuff we may be missing. The community is always helpful in that regard, but we also do our own research as well.

Do you guys have the necessary funding to reach your goals?

For lack of a better term, we are “partially” funded at this point in time. We have Entropy.Aero, and another investor on board, plus a few pennies from me footing the bill for the initial phase. I’m confident if we hit our technical marks over the next 12 months, we’ll have no problem with future funding. I know what kind of money a quality CFS can make once the fundamental challenges are overcome.

However, if you would like to give us an early boost, go check out Gates of Hell and kick Barbedwire Studios a couple dollars for taking on Combat Pilot. We’ll also accept whatever your local currency is as well as gold bullion and plates of Beskar! They are a great group of hard working people.  

Why not do some crowdfunding?

We may do something at some point, but I really don’t like selling things I don’t actually have or 95% confident will get done. We have some ideas, but we’ll see how things develop over the next year.. 

So enough about the business side of things for a minute, let’s talk about PTO airplanes and ships. What is your favorite plane from that theater or Battle of Midway?

That’s an easy one, the TBD-1 Devastator. Ahead of its time before the war, and dangerously outclassed by the Battle of Midway. However, many overlook its versatility and actual war record. The TBD was not quite the failure people claim.. Not only could it drop torpedoes, but it could also level bomb and had a cool bombardier position in the belly where a Norden bombsight was fitted. A real interesting design, but basically underpowered and plagued by unreliable torpedoes in battle. The Devastator paid a very heavy price at Midway, but then again so did the first TBF Avengers that fought there. Was a brutal battle all around.

I have some personal history making a TBD for a flight sim. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but myself along with my old friends Simon and Ed made the TBD-1 that you can find in later versions of IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 as an A.I. bird. Although the modders who added her re-painted her the wrong colors!! I can guarantee you, there will be no such problem in Combat Pilot. Making a flyable one to a next-gen standard will be a good challenge for us.

I’ve personally researched the TBD more than any other plane I think. The only examples known to exist these days are on the bottom of the ocean including a few that sank with the USS Lexington. I’ve seen pics from when they were found by a deep sea submersible and they are in quite good shape all things considered. I wish they’d raise one to put in a museum. It is a crime that not a single TBD was kept intact by war’s end and preserved.  

The history books will always remember that it was their torpedo runs at Midway that dragged the Zekes down low and occupied the AAA gunners so the SBDs could attack from above and hit the Japanese flat-tops.  

What’s your second favorite PTO plane?

Oh that’s a harder question, probably a tie between the P-39 and P-40. Unsung heroes of battles us Americans often forget. On the Japanese side, I must say I love how the Ki-61 ‘Tony’ looks. Just such a departure from most Japanese designs with its German inspired lines and inline engine. Imagine flying one over New Guinea or some other jungle island with today’s visuals! That gets me excited.    

What about a favorite ship?

Before I answer this question, I want to say that we plan to have amazing looking capital ships and very diverse fleets roaming the Pacific. We hope to bring you a spectacle never before seen in a hardcore CFS before with not only amazing aerial combat, but also amazing surface ship combat. 

Ok I’m a little biased on this one considering where I live, but the USS Nevada has a really great story to tell. From fighting at Pearl Harbor, to the Aleutians campaign, to the invasion of Normandy, to Okinawa where it was hit by a Kamikaze, to being nuked after the war as a target ship – the Nevada survived all that. Super cool history. 

On the Japanese side I really like the Yamato class. I know that’s kinda lame because she’s so well-known, but the Yamato and her sister ship Musashi had the biggest guns of the war and are legendary icons which were only sunk with tremendous effort. Japanese subs are also really interesting to me. 

I know I’m sounding very America-centric in my answers, but I cannot wait to put the IJN and IJAAF into action against the USN, USMC, USAAF and someday the RAF, RAAF and RNZAF. Will be a blast!

Will there be regular Developer Diaries posted for Combat Pilot?

Absolutely! Oh how I miss doing DDs! They were my favorite part of my old job. We will post them on our forum as often as we can, but they will be slow at first while we get our sea legs and build up. Please don’t hold me to every week in the beginning!

So, you have a new forum and a website?

Yes! Today with the release of this interview we have launched the official Combat Pilot website, discussion forum and also several social media properties including our nascent Discord. The links are all below. In the beginning most action will be on our forum where myself and the team can interact with the community and share info. Our website will grow and evolve as the project does. Right now, it’s pretty sparse and will remain so for a while as we ramp up. But I invite all virtual aces from all corners of the globe to come hang out in our forum and on our properties and help us build a new friendly place to relax and jabber about our favorite hobby!

Do you plan on a more formal announcement at some point with more details about content and features?

Yes, of course. I wish I could say more detailed things about Combat Pilot today, but it’s still too early to make concrete promises beyond the basics and our early efforts. This is what we consider to be a “soft launch” of Combat Pilot, but we think it’s best to be out there in the public eye instead of operating in the dark. I miss talking to members of the community and the sharing of dreams and wishes for our beloved flight-sims. I look forward to the year ahead.  

Anything you want to add?

As usual. I just want to say that I appreciate Stormbirds giving us this opportunity. Coming out from the shadows and talking about what we are working on always feels good.  We think Combat Pilot will develop into  an amazing product, but as I keep saying, tons of work lies ahead. Please wish us luck!

We will certainly keep Stormbirds and the community informed of our progress! Come hang out with us and have some fun in the Pacific. Don’t forget your sunscreen and shark repellent! 

Concept art and renders

In getting this interview together, Jason also provided me with a bunch of concept art, some renders, and work in progress models that the team are already busy creating.

First, let’s look at the concept art because I think these will tell you everything you need to know about what kind of experiences Jason and this new team are intending on creating.

Then, let’s have a look at some renders of some work in progress models.

Finally, some early images of Midway island as well as the surrounding water and even some clouds.

Concluding comments

Although these are early days for this product, the interview and information above together with my chats with Jason over the last few weeks has me excited by the prospects of returning to a Pacific-based World War II combat flight sim. The first in nearly 20 years!

I have a lot of nostalgia for this subject as one of my first early flight simulator experiences was 1991’s Aces of the Pacific by Dynamix. That cemented the Pacific theatre of WWII as a major interest. This new series has the potential to reinvigorate an area that many enthusiasts have been asking about for a long time now.

There’s an awful lot of possibilities that can stem off of this basic concept too and so this has the potential to grow. Time will tell how this plays out. As Jason points out, they are partially funded and they have a lot of catching up to do versus the competition. Nonetheless, I have great hopes that this will become a new product that gets added to the pantheon of flight sim titles. I wish Jason and his new team the best of luck in achieving that goal!

You can count on Stormbirds.blog to provide ongoing coverage of this as further news develops!

63 Comments Add yours

  1. sunrrrise says:

    OH-MY-GOD.

    Liked by 3 people

  2. ALL ABOARD! So excited to hear Jason is still in the saddle and aiming to bring something new and exciting to the market. Will absolutely be behind this day one if not sooner!

    Liked by 2 people

  3. It’s about time we get another player in the WW2 flight sim game! ☁️☀️☁️

    Liked by 2 people

    1. ShamrockOneFive says:

      It’s great for the market!

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Anzac says:

      Wow and double wow!!! Instant buy. Whatever you need, Jason, to support. I’ll buy Gates of Hell to support.

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Picchio says:

    GO JASON!

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Very nice news! Thanks for sharing with us.

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Jer Stryker says:

    Encouragement and well wishes incoming!

    Liked by 2 people

  7. YoYo says:

    Why no any word about VR ???????????????????????????????????????? No VR no future and no buy, even from Jason 😉 !!!!

    Like

    1. ShamrockOneFive says:

      It’s very early in the process but I’d guess, given how hard Jason pushed for VR support the last time around, that he’ll probably aim to have that again in this product. My speculation only!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. hairbear29 says:

        if you follow the link in the article to the website they discuss vr being part of the technology they are developing
        cheers

        Liked by 1 person

      2. ShamrockOneFive says:

        Yes indeed! VR is mentioned in there.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. If they succeed it’s going to be great.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. ShamrockOneFive says:

      Same!

      Like

  9. Blue 5 says:

    By the power of Greyskull!!!!!

    Dear Jason: here is all my spare cash, where do I post it?

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Raptorattacker says:

    The best news I’ve heard for a long time. I’m so glad that he’s back in the saddle! A true trooper him!!
    Thanks for this Shamrock.

    Liked by 2 people

  11. Rhino says:

    I could not be more excited for a new Pacific CFS. This is awesome!

    Liked by 2 people

  12. LeLv30_Redwing says:

    Thumbs up for this project! Very interesting to see a “western” company making a combat sim and how it differs from the IL-2 1946-CloD-Great Battles games done by russians the past decades. Of course the theatre itself is totally different but I’m sure there are many areas where we gonna see different approach during the development.

    I have to confess there were times I didn’t like Jason one bit during his days with the GB, but he is undeniably the right man for this job and our best hope to pulling it through. I’m sure he learned a lot of rights and wrongs during the years with GB development and can use that knowledge more freely now.

    I wish him and the new team best of luck and bring my pennies in, when they are needed!

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Unknown says:

    Sorry but was Jason not involved into a Microprose project?
    Also interesting https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonvwil.

    BTW fantastic news.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Unknown says:

      Yeah that is what I recall as well. Can’t find any info on it now though.

      Like

      1. ShamrockOneFive says:

        MicroProse isn’t involved currently as I understand but they could be in the future. I’m sure time will tell!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. what a great surprise. I hope to fly a boomerang one day around new guinea

        Liked by 2 people

  14. Gretsch_Man says:

    WOW! Talk about a great surprise!

    Wishing all the best to Jason and his new team, I’ll keep an eye on Combat Pilot for sure.

    Liked by 2 people

  15. HBPencil says:

    That’s awesome news! If it comes to fruition I’ll definitely be buying it, the first aircraft I’ll fly being the SBD which is one of my favorites 🙂

    Although not mentioned in the interview I hope there will be the capacity to allow for skinners and mission/campaign builders to do their thing.
    I’m also enthused by Jason’s mention of the Commonwealth airforces, I hope the series is successful and expands to places like the Solomons and NG because as a kiwi I’d love to fly an RNZAF P-40 or F4U over the Slot.

    Thanks to both Shamrock and Jason for this interview,
    HB

    Liked by 2 people

    1. ShamrockOneFive says:

      The Dauntless is one of my favourites too!

      It’s early days but Jason knows the community well and I’m sure there will be provisions for custom skins. I hope so anyways! Doubly so for mission and campaign makers.

      Happy to bring this news forward!

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Chief_Mouser/216th_Cat says:

    Well, well, well, Jason’s finally getting the PTO done. And good luck and best wishes for the project from me. Fingers crossed that it comes to fruition.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Bumfluff says:

    What everyone has always wanted.

    Brilliant.

    And hopefully not tethered to questionable Russian money or politics.

    Liked by 2 people

  18. Novice-Flyer says:

    With this we can determine that IL-2 GBs will cover the Eastern Front and late war Western Front, CloD/IL-2 Dover series will cover the Battle of Britain, early war Western Front and the Mediterranean while Combat Pilot will cover the PTO.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Huckle says:

    Great news, can’t wait! Ironically, I bought 2 versions of Il-2 GB believing I was supporting their eventual move to Pacific, and then Jason does it after leaving… XD

    Liked by 2 people

    1. ShamrockOneFive says:

      That was the original plan. Didn’t work out that way but I have a good feeling about it this time!

      Like

  20. butcher75 says:

    Very exciting news, cheers!!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Blue 5 says:

    Awoke this morning and read this again to check that it was not simply a dream.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. ShamrockOneFive says:

      Is this real life or is it just fantasy? 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  22. S Russell says:

    Your question about CROWDFUNDING was the MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION…Because of the answer that Jason provided…He stated or confirmed in his answer that HE’S NOT CONFIDENT THIS PROJECT WILL EVER BE COMPLETED…his words, not mine… This seems more like him jerking people around to put out a “feeler”…to test the waters (which is an odd way)..or perhaps it’s the primary studio’s way to garnish feedback from actual past clients of Jason…I jumped aboard the train late but I would not want that guy to be the conduit to the client base… He needs to delegate that to someone else because a lot of people, IMO, will not touch the product if he is the gatekeeper. Just my 2 cents…

    Like

    1. Drivebye42 says:

      He’s putting in his own money (“footing the bill for the initial phase”), so that’s confidence for you.

      As I read his answer to the follow up question about funding, he does not rule out crowdfunding. He just wants to be further in the development (phase) and have more certainty (“95% confident”) about which things or features can be delivered. To me, that’s positive.

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Keith says:

    I’m onboard with Jason!

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Trooper117 says:

    Could not have come at a better time… the CFS world needs a good shakeup!

    Liked by 2 people

  25. Docjonel says:

    Wow, what an unexpected but welcome surprise! I’m very excited about this! And I was glad to see him mention a possible Pearl Harbor scenario in the future. I SO would love to reenact Tora Tora Tora on my PC with modern graphics and accurate capital ships. I will be watching this one closely.

    Yay!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  26. dhyran says:

    Multiplayer? How many can join 256? 350? 512? Now that would be something

    Like

  27. steelcitygator says:

    O hell yes! What a great surprise.

    Sidenote though, Gates of Hell got a release!? I remember following them for a year or two on first announcement and just assuming it wasn’t ever actually gunna get finished.

    Like

  28. Urgent Siesta says:

    GREAT NEWS – sounds well balanced, sensible and FUN 🙂
    Looking forward to it!

    Liked by 2 people

  29. Jason Vernon Williams says:

    Hey everyone!

    Thanks for the support here at Stormbirds and in the comments. It’s not just me tackling this, others have put much more skin into the game than me. I’m not wealthy or have the extreme technical skills required to make Combat Pilot a thing, but my goal, just like always, is to use whatever talent and experience I do have to make another cool CFS series for you. I’m with a different crew, with a different attitude, a different culture and different mindset. There’s a lot you don’t know about me or my past elsewhere so I’ll let some nasty comments here slide. I’m just the guy who is willing to stick is head out to get chopped off. Someone has to with these types of projects. So just think good thoughts while we try to get this done. And yes, with any risky venture there is the chance of failure, but we’re not afraid to try. – Jason

    P.S. to the VR Mafia please relax and have a beer guys. No modern sim can ignore VR support. It’s easy to implement, but hard to make perform well. I pushed support for VR from the very beginning at my last job and forced the team to fix broken support with different goggles throughout. It’s not an easy tech to keep on top of. But don’t stress it will be supported. Hopefully on day one, if not, then at some point.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Blue 5 says:

      Good Thoughts locked in attack positions.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Unknown says:

      Yes I would also like a good VR mode without all the shimmer and jaggies like in DCS and BoX, but calling potential buyers “VR maffia” is in my opinion a bit harsh and I would prefer here a milder tone.
      So if the whole implementation of VR is a bit complex why not make this fly sim compatible to a third party software VorpX https://www.vorpx.com/

      Like

  30. Aaron lai says:

    Jason, I AM 100% ALL IN. I CANNOT WAIT. such a great start to the weekend!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Anzac says:

      Jason, 110% support cobber! You’re having a go, mate, and down under, we bloody love the bloke who gives it a go. Best of luck, ignore the whingers, and crack on! Anzac

      Liked by 1 person

      1. aL says:

        High five Sir! I love someone who gives it a go too! 💯💯💯

        Like

  31. Anzac says:

    Frankly, it is good to see Western flightsim developers finally take charge of such a seminal topic in its recent history, particularly American and WW2 Pacific allies recent history….as well as inject a very much need aspect of serious competition into the market. Not to leave out our Japanese mates now; they too share this history. When you think of the desperate struggles and truly awful tithe of blood, lives and treasure that the Pacific theatre exacted, I think it is well past time that developers once again stepped in the simulate this struggle. I really wish Jason and co the very best luck and may we be all zooming above azure seas before too long!

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Thorne says:

    Let’s freaking go!!

    Liked by 1 person

  33. bigalrico says:

    Wow just saw this today. This year was quite a shit show for me personally. Seems like there is finally some light in the darkness. Wonderful news Jason! Can’t wait to read your DD’s and progress you will make on this great project. Getting my hands on a Zero in a modern combat sim seemed like a lucid dream that might come true now 😀

    And considering all the research you did for the aircraft from your time at 1C, you should have a fine foundation to work with 😀 ! I guess you will follow the path you already envisioned during your time in IL-2 with slowly expanding the rosters. I hope that we will be able to also sit in Kates & Vals (even with educated guesses here and there) someday 😀 But I probably get ahead of myself.

    I will keep an eye on your new product and wish it the very best!

    Thanks Shamrock for this great interview once again!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. ShamrockOneFive says:

      Happy to have provided it!

      I spent a ton of time in the D3A Val and the SBD Dauntless in Pacific Fighters. That sim never tracked airframe time but I’m willing to bet those were near the top for me when flying the Pacific. I’d love to fly both of those on missions again!

      Like

  34. Davie Stewart says:

    Delighted to see Jason back in charge of a new project, will be wallet ready!
    IMHO the nearest opposition have released a plan of their way ahead that changes down a gear . It depends where their main customer base is of course, but IMHO Jason is onto a winner, the Zero & SBD look fantastic

    Like

  35. Redglyph says:

    I’m not visiting the IL-2 forums as frequently as I used to, so I was not even aware that Jason left. Checking now, I see one post in their forums, with a video that doesn’t exist anymore and that was supposed to explain something. All that seems mysterious; I’m surprised not to see any official announcement about this.

    Let’s hope they find a suitable replacement.

    This also makes me wonder what this new sim will be like, because so far it’s vague.

    Will that be a balanced sim like IL-2? But it doesn’t make sense to me, since the Pacific theatre could have been made at IL-2 where the technology and the team were ripe for it – I think to remember it was even their next focus. Unless working there was not a tenable position for one reason or another.

    I doubt it would be something like DCS either, because it would be a daunting task to make the engine, let alone enough aircraft.

    Will that be 1st-person view, or an external view, requiring less detailed cockpits? If that’s a 1st-person, will there be detailed systems, and perhaps cockpit interaction, or the more basic systems used in IL-2 and DCS’s FC3? Will there be a real single-player experience, or will that be focused on multiplayer? I suppose we’ll see that in due time.

    In any case, good luck! That must be exciting and terrifying at the same time.

    Like

    1. ShamrockOneFive says:

      Redglyph you’re out of the loop a bit 🙂

      You should have a look through my archive of blog articles to catch up on a couple of things if you want to. Particularly my previous Q&A after Jason had been let go. https://stormbirds.blog/2022/12/22/community-qa-catching-up-with-jason-williams/

      I don’t think it’s that vague. Jason was pretty explicit that its intended to be a “hardcore” combat flight sim in the same vein as the IL-2 series. I think we’ll see them weave the line between IL-2 and DCS a bit as most sims seem to be doing that these days with things like deeper systems modeling and clickable cockpits. How exactly that gets sorted out we’ll have to see!

      I don’t think there’s any intention to build a War Thunder competitor. They are going for a much higher level here.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Redglyph says:

        Thanks! Yep, a bit out of the loop is a kind way to put it, indeed. 😉

        I had just found the link to your interview, which is very helpful since this video was what everybody linked at the time. It wasn’t hard to imagine that the Ukraine affair didn’t make things easy but it’s great that you could make a few interviews and articles to clarify the situation and inform us about the next big project.

        It’s exciting to see a new combat sim in this small world!

        ‘Vague’ is relative I suppose. I understand it must be too early for them to tell us anything more concrete anyway, but it can’t hurt throwing a few questions to make our interests and concerns known. I’ve seen there was a little survey on their website, by the way.

        Something between DCS and IL-2 seems just appropriate, I think that makes sense. Sometimes DCS seems blocked by the lack of accurate data – the Russian jets, for example – and as you pointed out, it’s hard to get much on some of the PTO planes. A slightly more practical sim will be able to solve this problem with a little creativity, and maybe 80% accuracy on existing models is better than 99% accuracy on nothing. I missed the clickable cockpits in IL-2 though, so I hope it will be in there, with a little more in the systems department too.

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  36. Wolf Harms says:

    Whoa!!??? Should my wettest dream finally come true, before I’m too old to hold a stick? 😉
    Damn, that is some phantastic news to me – I wish you the grandest of luck for this project, Jason & all!

    Liked by 1 person

  37. 1_Robert_ says:

    Exciting news for the flight sim world! Let’s go Jason!

    Like

  38. Colin says:

    Little point adding any comment here any-more after my honest appraisal and constructive Kritike, all Shamrock wants is hands held and singing “Kum ba yah” or posts get deleted or frowned upon.

    Jason has made many enemy’s over the years and he has a long way to go to make up for that, just reading his self praising reply here makes me want to vomit … this was the guy whom banned me and others on forums for saying Zepplins and Pacific Theatre cant be done, he actually said that stuff and banned left right and centre to those that disagreed with him.

    Jason is an Asshole and probably still is.

    Never seen such a dreadful ego before in my entire life.

    All I can glean from Jasons posts lately are, his bloated ego is still there, time will tell if he has really changed his tune and attitude towards customers.

    I do wish the project all success though, its about time, just wish some other user were doing it though *shrugs*

    Like

    1. Redglyph says:

      I doubt that Jason had the time to scan the forums for posts that violate the forum rules, so holding such a grudge just for that may be uncalled for – moderators are only doing their job, and there’s a legal obligation to have and enforce appropriate rules in most countries.

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      1. Unknown says:

        Think that the main problem for Jason; he can not control his rude behavior towards the buying (critical) costumers and I suspect he has the same behavior to his project team. So I do hope a member of the management wil coach him, to stop his angry emotions and frustrations.
        For the rest he knows what every combat fly simmer want, his long experience that did rescue RoF, I think it’s great news.

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