Aces High (video game)

Last updated
Aces High
Aces High II logo.jpg
Previous logo for Aces High II. Current version lacks the II, reflecting the renaming of the game to Aces High.
Developer(s) HiTech Creations
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
ReleaseMay 8, 2000
Genre(s) Air combat simulation
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Aces High (formerly known as Aces High II) is a combat flight simulation and massively multiplayer online game for Microsoft Windows. It was created by HiTech Creations and originally released on May 8, 2000; the game is subscriber based. It features aircraft from both the World War II [1] and World War I [2] eras, as well as smaller numbers of ground vehicles and ships. In 2016, HiTech Creations re-released the game with improved graphics and sounds.

Contents

While the main focus of Aces High is on World War II aerial combat, there is also a smaller selection of ground vehicles, ships, and World War I aircraft. There are over 100 aircraft, vehicles, and boats individually modeled in the game. [3]

Gameplay

Aces High is an open-ended combat flight simulator, where players can fly online or offline, and engage other players in air, land, or sea-based combat. Strategy is similar to capture the flag; there are three countries at war and the object is to win the war by capturing a percentage of the other two countries fields while retaining a percentage of your own fields. Capturing and defending fields takes cooperation of players of each side. Player built maps are rotated at the end of each war, reset, and started over. War lasts anywhere from hours to days depending on the arena and populations present.

World War II

The main (and original) focus of Aces High is World War II aerial combat. This takes place in several online arenas, the focuses of which include 'early', 'middle', and 'late' war aircraft. In addition to this, the World War II arenas also contain ground and naval combat, both of which operate alongside the air war. Although the selection of ground vehicles was a little lacking, it was later improved with the addition of the M4A3 and the M4A3(76) (a version armed with a 76mm high velocity gun as opposed to a 75mm low velocity gun, which would give better anti-tank capabilities at the cost of less powerful high-explosive shells). [1]

World War I

HiTech Creations added aircraft from World War I in 2010, containing four aircraft: the Fokker Dr.I, Sopwith Camel, Bristol F.2B, and Fokker D.VII. [2]

The World War 1 arena is set up as a dogfighting arena with 3 countries set up and bases in close proximity.

Scenarios

Scenarios are special large-scale battles in Aces High that run a 2-3 times per year. Usually, they are based on actual World War II battles, such as the Battle of Britain. Sometimes they are based on hypothetical battles that might have been. A scenario typically involves about 150 people divided into two sides, each with a dedicated command staff. Each side has particular aircraft, mission objectives, squadron assignments, bases, and resources. A scenario typically runs over the course of a month, with one battle per week, each battle lasting 3–4 hours. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fokker Dr.I</span> WWI fighter aircraft

The Fokker Dr.I, often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the aircraft in which Manfred von Richthofen gained his last 17 victories, and in which he was killed on 21 April 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst Udet</span> Luftwaffe general

Ernst Udet was a German pilot during World War I and a Luftwaffe Colonel-General (Generaloberst) during World War II.

<i>World War II Online</i> 2001 video game

WWII Online is the very first massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS) ever created and holds three Guinness World Records. It is in active (continuous) development by Playnet, Inc.'s internal game studio, "Cornered Rat Software", and it was originally released on June 6, 2001 for Microsoft Windows, with a Mac OS version being released in 2002. WWII Online was re-released in 2006 under the new name of WWII Online: Battleground Europe.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1918:

<i>Red Baron</i> (1990 video game) 1990 video game

Red Baron is a combat flight simulation video game for MS-DOS created by Damon Slye at Dynamix. It was published by Sierra On-Line in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviation in World War I</span> Use of aircraft during the First World War

World War I was the first major conflict involving the large-scale use of aircraft. Tethered observation balloons had already been employed in several wars, and would be used extensively for artillery spotting. Germany employed Zeppelins for reconnaissance over the North Sea and Baltic and also for strategic bombing raids over Britain and the Eastern Front.

<i>Air Warrior</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Air Warrior was a multiplayer online combat flight simulation game launched by Kesmai in 1987. It was hosted on GEnie and used that service as a server for client software running on a variety of personal computers. It underwent continual improvement through its decade-long lifetime with Kesmai, appearing on new platforms and host services. Electronic Arts purchased Air Warrior in 1999, and became provider of the game, but it was discontinued in 2001. Sequels Air Warrior II and Air Warrior III were both released in 1997 and published by Interactive Magic.

<i>Luftstreitkräfte</i> Air arm of the Imperial German Army

The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte —known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches —was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, although that is not a literal translation of either name. German naval aviators of the Marine-Fliegerabteilung were an integral part of the Imperial German Navy. Both military branches operated aeroplanes, observation balloons and airships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Red Baron in popular culture</span>

Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the "Red Baron", was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I and one of the most famous aviators in history, as well as the subject of many books, films and other media. The following is a list of mentions of him in popular culture.

Norman Leslie Robert Franks is an English militaria writer who specialises in aviation topics. He focuses on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.

<i>Dawn Patrol</i> (video game) 1994 video game

Dawn Patrol is a World War I combat flight simulator by Rowan Software. It was released in 1994 for Amiga and MS-DOS. The game's front end takes the form of a hyperlinked book describing the history of the war in the air, the aircraft, and some of the famous aces who flew them, with each page featuring a mission directly related to the subject. The player may choose to fly each mission on the side of the British Royal Flying Corps or the German Air Service, flying many early fighter aircraft such as the SE5a and Fokker Dr.I featured on the box illustration. The Amiga version came with a book called Richthofen: The man and the aircraft he flew. Amiga Computing gave the game a rating of 88%.

<i>WarBirds</i> Series of video games

WarBirds is a series of massively multiplayer online and offline World War II combat flight simulation video games originally developed by Interactive Creations of Grapevine and published by iEntertainment Network in 1995. The game includes an air combat flight simulator as well as a simulator for tanks and other ground vehicles and inspired a fan cult and conventions, and a book titled WarBirds: The Story So Far.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Raymond Brooks</span>

Arthur Raymond Brooks was an American World War I flying ace of the United States Army Air Service credited with shooting down multiple enemy aircraft. Among his most prominent achievements was when he single-handedly took on a squadron of German-flown Fokker planes officially downing 2 of them in one aerial battle piloting his SPAD XIII named Smith IV. He was a pioneer in the development of radio navigational aids (NAVAIDs) used by pilots for location and navigation as well as air-to-ground communications. Brooks also participated in early endeavors to commercialize aviation as a passenger-carrying business and was one of the earliest commercial pilots involved with carrying mail for the US Post Office Department.

<i>MechWarrior: Living Legends</i> 2009 video game

Mechwarrior: Living Legends is a free, fan-created multiplayer-only game based in the BattleTech universe - originally a total-conversion mod for Crysis, it's since become stand-alone - running on Crysis Wars, and using CryEngine 2 as its engine. It's one of the few mods based on the BattleTech universe to have been sanctioned by Microsoft—who currently owns the rights to the Mechwarrior video-game franchise—and additionally received pre-SDK support and sanctioning directly from Crytek, producers of the games' engine. On December 26, 2009, an open beta was released via BitTorrent and other distribution methods. Because the project changes the play-style and feel of the game it is originally based on so completely as to be unrecognizable in comparison, it is billed as a "full-conversion" mod, since little to no trace of the original game's art or play-style exists any longer within MW:LL. It was created by American developer Wandering Samurai Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orville Alfred Ralston</span> American World War I flying ace

Lieutenant Orville Alfred Ralston was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He returned to service for World War II, only to die in a B-17 crash.

Ernst Freiherr von Althaus was a German flying ace in World War I, credited with nine confirmed aerial victories, as well as eight unconfirmed ones. He was one of the original Fokker Eindekker pilots who became known collectively as the Fokker Scourge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">17th Aero Squadron</span> Military unit

The 17th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">148th Aero Squadron</span> Military unit

The 148th Aero Squadron was a unit of the United States Army Air Service that fought on the Western Front during World War I.

<i>World of Warplanes</i> 2013 video game

World of Warplanes (WoWp) is a free-to-play aerial combat massively multiplayer online (MMO) game developed by Persha Studia and published by Wargaming.net. The game was originally released in November 2013 in CIS countries, North America and Europe. It was relaunched as World of Warplanes 2.0 in October 2017 in the same countries, achieving significantly better reception.

<i>Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown</i> 2019 video game

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a 2019 combat flight simulation game by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The first new entry in the Ace Combat series since 2014's Ace Combat Infinity, the game was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2019, and for Windows in February.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.