DS:: will there be support for 3d accelerator cards in longbow
OSI:: DS : That is one of the things that is being worked on for a future addon for the game. Nothing official to annouce at this time.

Jake:: Will there be network link support?
OSI:: Jake: We are working on that as an add-on.

twobear:: How will wingmen be controlled in longbow?
OSI:: twobear: Using wingmen commands...I'm not sure what you mean.
twobear:: Can you set wingman waypoints or is it just "kill my target"?
OSI:: Twobear: You can't set waypoints. He will follow you in formation and give him a command attack individual targets or designate PFZ (Priority Fire Zone) to have him attack a group of targets at once.

onebear:: will there be support for 3d accelerator cards in longbow
OSI:: Onebear: No 3d accelerator support

DS:: how many digital sound channels does longbow support?
OSI:: DS : The maximum number of sound channels that it supports is up to 16 channels.

Jane:: what kind of frame rate does longbow have on say a P-100?
OSI:: Jane: Totally depends on the particular hardware in the machine and your specific configuration.

Morn:: Considering lag, what are you gonna do about it? Where are the servers gonna be located, and how many?
OSI:: Morn : I'm not sure I follow you. Is your question regarding longbow?
Morn:: No internet support? g::
OSI:: Morn : Nope....There are plans for internet support, but they are quite a ways in the future...

MaverickX:: Will Lonbow have Modem support in the future? If so, how far into the future?
OSI:: MverickX: Yes as soon as we can get it done right

Marlin:: Does Longbow support General Midi or does it use streaming digital music like WC-IV?
OSI:: Marlin: There is not general midi in the game. There is no music in flight but the sound effects and so forth are digitally streamed.

DS:: is Longbow Pentium optimized?
OSI:: DS : IT is optimized for the 486 and not for the Pentium Processors. :(

Morn:: Will Longbow have GUS (Gravis Ultrasound) support? *smile*
OSI:: morn: no GUS
Morn:: Why does Origin not support the GUS card? It's pretty disappointing.
OSI:: Morn: We support it only in Sound Blaster emulation mode.
Morn:: But why no native support? It's not that difficult, and lots of GUS owners will think twice before buying the games...
OSI:: Morn : The AIL driver that is being used by the game doesn't have native support. We are limited by the sound system that is used by the games.
Morn:: Why not make the sound programming people change the AIL driver? :)
Morn:: In order to make it work with the GUS
OSI:: Morn: We're looking into it.

Jake:: Will there be senario udates like Gunship 2000?
OSI:: Jake: Yes, this fall.

MaverickX:: Will there be any music in the game i.e. Title screen, etc.?
OSI:: MaverickX : There is music in the game. Just not in the flight. That was a design decision...

Nergal:: Is Longbow already shipped to europe? Or will we have to wait another month or two for it? :)
OSI:: Nergal: It should be out all over Europe this weekend. It shipped the same day world wide, but it takes a little longer to get through the distibution chain.

DS:: does Longbow take advantage of DirectX under Windows 95
OSI:: DS: Longbow is DOS based, but we are working on a Win95 version.

Gandalf:: Is Longbow optimized for VESA 2.0?
OSI:: Gandalf: yes, it will take advantage of it and if you don't have it it will be optimized a different way.
Gandalf:: different way? meaning for vesa 1.2?
OSI:: Gandalf: There is actually two sets of code within the game. It will detect what your system can support and optimize it accordingly.

Jake:: Do you have any plans to add seprate engine on / off keys?
OSI:: Jake: Hasn't really been considered. Why do you want that?

twobear:: The reason gunship was so great was the random mission generation. Will Longbow be thisway?
OSI:: Twobear: I think this is a personal mission but there are about 180 random missions. Whether they are as good or not is up to you.

DS:: will there be a way for players to connect over the net to play head to head with Longbow?
OSI:: DS: Do you mean Intrnet?
DS:: Internet
OSI:: DS: No.

MaverickX:: Does Longbow directly support the CH Flightstick Pro and all its features and buttons?
OSI:: MaverickX : Yes it does. It fact you can remap the joystick buttons to do what you want them to do in the game.
MaverickX:: Will Longbow support the M-Soft Sidewinder 3D directly?
OSI:: MaverickX: Choose Thrustmaster FCS with throttle and pedals and you won't know the difference

Lady Whisper:: Origin: Is Andy Hollis here with you or is he still yet to come?
OSI:: LadyWhisp : He's right here. :)

Jake:: Will dos user be able to upgrade to the windows 95 version?
OSI:: Jake: We don't believe in making people pay for things twice. Certainly, consideration will be given for previous owners when add-ons are released.

twobear:: Is fuel a real consideration in the Longbow missions?
OSI:: Twobear : Yup...If you take too long with some of the mission it will be. And you can take damage and start losing fuel..

DS:: can we utilize the terrain in Longbow to spoof missles?
OSI:: DS: Yes.

Morn:: Will Longbow feature any OSI Crossovers/Kilrathi Injokes/Ankh puns?
OSI:: Morn : There are some easter eggs in the game, but the designers won't say what they are..... :(

UL:: is thrustmaster emulation vs flightstick emulation better for the sidewinder 3dpro
OSI:: UL: Yes

DS:: can you roll the longbow, do flips?
OSI:: DS: Yes, but it's not as easy as it is in other flight sims. You have to do it right.

twobear:: Are trees in anyway represented in Longbow?
OSI:: Twobear : The trees are not 3d object, they are rendered into the terrain.

Gandalf:: What size of SMARTDRV is the best for use with longbow and 16mbs ram?
OSI:: Gandalf: 2048.

Morn:: Which scenarios are featured in Longbow? Are they historical scenarios like the gulf war or fantasy scenarios?
OSI:: Morn: There are historical: Desert Storm and Just Cause and Fantasy: Ukraine, plus there's instant action and randoms for each

Gandalf:: Is there a differene in performance if I use UniVBE 5.2 instead of 5.1a?
OSI:: Gandalf : Do NOT use UNIVBE 5.2. it will cause quite a few problems with the game. UNIVBE 5.2 was released after the game went final. :(
Gandalf:: What kind of problems, I ran it today and it seemed to run fine?
OSI:: Gandalf : If you ran the game fine with UNIVBE 5.2, then you are lucky... ;). if you didn't have any problems, then I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Gandalf:: What kind of problems might occur when using UniVBE 5.2?
OSI:: Gandalf : it really depends on the machine and the video card. Problems with getting into the options menu, not able to run the flight in SVGA, and quite a few other things.

Lady Whisper:: For Andy Hollis: You've done fixed wing and rotary wing flight sims, what kind of vehicles would you like to do next?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: From Andy Hollis: He's mostly interested in modern combat flight sims, so look for more of that in the near future.

Cricket:: Was there any co-development between the Longbow team and the USNF/ATF team?
OSI:: Cricket: No, we only shared Jane's information.

Nergal:: How many missions do you have to fly in longbow without add-on's?
OSI:: Nergal: 180 missions and dozens of randoms

Morn:: Are there any goodies in the box apart from the disks and manual? Like... some gemstone? (Well)
OSI:: Morn: No extremeties, but it has the cool Jane's manaul.

twobear:: I understand there will be no gunner position. is there anything the gunner could do that the pilot can't.
OSI:: twobear: No. Information is just displayed in a different way.

Nergal:: For Andy Hollis: Any chance that we'll ever see a F15 Strike Eagle IV? ;)
OSI:: Nergal: Andy says "I can neither confirm nor deny that."

DS:: does the time of day change as the missions progress, is time an element in the missions
OSI:: DS : The missions are realtime, but usually they are fairly short, so you won't really notice the time difference.

UL:: will installing Longbow take the nag screen off the end of ATF? :)
OSI:: UL: No, there is an ATF ad at the end of Longbow, but you can disable the ATF one in the Options menu.

Morn:: Does Lb feature a storyline apart from the development of the conflict?
OSI:: Morn : The only storyline that is in the game is the campaign storyline...

Ichabod:: I've noticed that you can't turn off radar; isn't going passive an important part of flying these kinds of missions?
OSI:: Ichabod: Millimeter Wave radar is new to the electronic battlefield and there are no counter measures or sensors for it yet. In the future...

Lady Whisper:: Will Janes be doing any naval or ground combat sims?
OSI:: LadyWhisper: Yes. A modern sub game is being worked on at this moment

twobear:: I thought there were way too many air threats in DI's Apache. Do all missions in Longbow have air threats?
OSI:: Twobear : Not all of the mission in the game have Air threats. :)

Jake:: Does the apache computer automaticaly shut down the burning engine when it is on fire??
OSI:: Jake: Yes. The remaining engine picks up a significant proportion of the load.

Ichabod:: What's the diff b/w the DVO and DTV? They look the same.
OSI:: Ichabod: DVO is direct view optics and DTV is direct TV. In the game there is really no difference.

twobear:: How do you simulate the head mounted sight?
OSI:: Twobear: The F4 key will allow you to pan your HMD using the ALT key and the joystick. The sensors and weapons follow your head.

Ichabod:: Could someone elaborate on how to use the "Give me your targets" command you send to your wingie?
OSI:: Ichabod: Give me your targets is what your wingman sees, not what you see
Ichabod:: I'm curious as to when your wingie would see something you don't see, since he seems to always stick with you; especially since there's no way to send him off to another WP.
OSI:: Ichabod: At times when he pops up to engage a target, or is weapons free, he will see targets that you will not see or have not yet seen.

Nergal:: Is there any difference between the european version of longbow and the original us version?
OSI:: Nergal: Yes, the european versions are fully translated into the respective languages. :) Otherwise, no.

Molitov:: will you be able to keep up with your wingmen's combat records like in gunship 2000, rank and medala and such...
OSI:: Molitov: No, your pilot record only records your actions and not your wingmen. In the debrief screen it shows your wingmen's kills as well as yours.

DS:: will we be able to fly as a unit with other helos like ch56's or ch47's, like a hot LZ type thing?
OSI:: DS: Yes ch56's

Gandalf:: Should I use smartdrv to cache the cd-rom? will it speed up the game?
OSI:: Gandalf: Using a smartdrive on the CD-rom will speed up the game.

twobear:: Does the radio in Longbow use voice or text?
OSI:: twobear : You will hear voice radio, but there are not any type of subtitles for the Wingman communications.

UL_:: is anything in the works to carry out Andy's vision of an ongoing wargame over the internet?
OSI:: UL_ : yes there is. :)

DS:: will Longbow work with CD changers? ( I have a Sanyo 3 CD changer )
OSI:: DS: yes, and it's cool! :)

twobear:: How many missions make up a campaign? IS this constant?
OSI:: Twobear : There are 42 missions in the game. But the campaign is not linear, so you will not able to fly all of them during one campaign run....

Molitov:: will you control a flight of choppers or just one wingman ?
OSI:: Molitov: Just one wingman.

Ichabod:: How much of a "cheat" is the U key? Aren't most pilots trained enough to ID targets with the cameras? I have a hard time making out detail even at full zoom, so I've made liberal use of the U key.
OSI:: Ichabod: The cheat is not that much of a cheat because you don't have 2 years of training identify targets. It does not effect score, medals, or promotions.
Ichabod:: (Sorry to hog so many questions) Do *you guys* use the U key?
OSI:: Ichabod: Some of the team does, some don't :)

Morn:: Does Longbow support any cool sound/gfx stuff like surround sound or VR helmet support?
OSI:: Morn: No to both.

Marlin:: Do we have a choice over which missions we take?
OSI:: Marlin: You do in everything except campaigns

Lady Whisper:: Is there a forced retirement point for a pilot?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: No, but you can get court martialled.

DS:: if your apache is damaged, will you still be able to land, (errrr, can't remember the name of the technique)
OSI:: DS: Autorotation...yes.

Jake:: Will there be another chat session sceduled for more questions when we become more familiar with the sim.
OSI:: Jake : We will have another one sometime in the future. Not a fixed date at this time. :(

Gandalf:: Does LB have a branching storyline (like wc4) or fixed (like usnf)?
OSI:: Gandalf: The campaign branches depending on your success or failure.

Morn:: Presumed I'd go to the shops tomorrow and buy A.T.F. - how much would it differ from Longbow in technical aspects?
OSI:: Morn: Being a focus sim, Longbow is much more in depth in regards to the one aircraft especially in mission avionics.

Molitov:: can you set waypoints for your wingman in-flight ?
OSI:: Molitov : Your wingman will follow you so you can't set your wingman's waypoint, but you can set your own while in flight.

Lady Whisper:: Why can't we use our own callsigns? :Þ
OSI:: LadyWhisp: The original intent was to have a lot of the digital speech call you by your callsign, in the end, though, it did not quite sound right the way the callsigns were being patched together. Unfortunately, the callsign selection process could not be changed. We are looking at altering this for the add-ons.

Ichabod:: What's the best way to come to a hover from 120kts without shooting up to 200 feet?
OSI:: Ichabod: In expert, bottom the collective and slowly pull back as collective starts to drop off. Next, increase collective as air speed drops off.

DS:: okay, after Autorotation, how about we go to an isometric view and attempt to fend off bad guys, ie crusader!
OSI:: DS : Uhhhhh.....no?

Jake:: Any educated guess on when we might see a modem link update?
OSI:: Jake: We have made no official announcement on this but are working as fast as we can on this. We want to take the time to make sure it works right (without bugs).

twobear:: Do tanks and troops move and attack on the ground?
OSI:: Twobear: YES!!!

Morn:: Will Lb have an official "cheat mode" as in Wing Commander 3 & 4 (no collisions, invincible etc.)
OSI:: Morn : That is in the game. You can be invulnerability and have unlimited ammo in the game.

twobear:: Is one of the Desert Storm missions? the horrible 'Road of Death'?
OSI:: twobear: no. The Desert Storm missions are centered around the Saudi/Iraqi border rather than the Iraqi interior.

Ichabod:: I have 3 requests for the future: 1) add a scale to the mission map 2) a zoom feature to increase separation of distant targets on those tinsy MFD's, and 3) give us a score breakdown in debriefing. Minor nits, but I wanted to toss them into the mix.
OSI:: Ichabod: We are certainly taking all suggestions and considering them for whatever upgrades we are working on. We appreciate your input and welcome all!

Jake:: Will the link update be a upgrade or a free patch?
OSI:: Jake: Its more than modem support, it will be a full multi-player game. So, we don't know at this time because it is still too far in the future.

Ichabod:: Does the radar pick up helicopters on the ground when it's set to AA mode?
OSI:: Ichabod : In Air mode it will pick them up in the Air only. In ground mode it will pick them up in both the air and on the ground

MRehM:: What do the ground troops look like? are there lots of them in the game?
OSI:: MRehM: They look like troops in ATF. It depends on the mission.

DS:: how big is the world map in each mission? is it repetative like Flight Unlimited?
OSI:: DS: 50km x 50km. You can fly anywhere within that square.

Morn:: If there will ever be an Internet version of Lb, how much are you gonna charge the players for playing it?
OSI:: Morn: In the far future.
Morn:: ..., how much are you gonna charge the players for playing it? [the inet version]
OSI:: Morn : That is way too far in the future to have that information available at this time. Sorry.

twobear:: do you use time compression? how long do missions take?
OSI:: Twobear: Yes, you can use time compression up to 8 times. The missions can last from 5 minutes to an hour.

Gandalf:: Were actual terrain data used to re-create terrain?
OSI:: Gandalf: Yes, it were.

MRehM:: Are there any screen shots with troops in them on the web?
OSI:: MRehM: Not yet, but I can make a request...

Jake:: If you have not done so, please read this review of lb. Had some interesting observations. http://www.mortimer.com/users/pcme/strike/ah-64d/ah-64d.htm
OSI:: Jake : Thanks, we will check it out.

UL_:: in the actual longbow cockpit, are the white squares surrounding each MFD buttons?
OSI:: UL_: Yes. Our cockpit is modeled after productions photos provided to us by Mcdonnell-Douglas.

Gandalf:: Are there any special environmental effects in the game, like rain?
OSI:: Gandalf: Not weather, but there are wind effects.

Morn:: Changing views in Lb... will the cockpit "rotate" or will it be like in wing commander?
OSI:: Morn: There are set left, right, and also a full-screen panable pilot helmet view. In addition there are a lot of external camera views, which you can rotate and zoom in on.

Lady Whisper:: Are thre any known bugs and/or patches in the works?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: There are no problems, we are perfect. :) There are no major known problems as of yet. We are tracking all problems that may arise though.

Molitov:: will air stirkes and such hit one target or all in a certian area ?
OSI:: Molitov : Technically the strikes will only hit one target at a time.

twobear:: Is damage from a sam most likely to kill or damage a Longbow?
OSI:: twobear: Depends on the SAM site and which direction you are hit from.

DS:: will Origin again use gourald shading in any of it's flight sims, (like SC)
OSI:: DS : That is something that we really don't know. It's possible, but we can't say for sure...

Gandalf:: Can the resolution of sky be increased (it looks blocky)?
OSI:: Gandalf: No. It is full screen VGA or SVGA.
Gandalf:: I didn't mean the resolution of the screen, but the resolution of sky (clouds, etc.) since it looks like it's in 320x240 even if the game is in 640x480?
OSI:: Gandalf: It's a function of the original texel ratio not the resolution of the screen it's rendered into.

UL:: is 640X480 the highest resolution it runs in?
OSI:: UL: Yes

Ichabod:: Since air and arty only hit single targets, are you supposed to call them in clusters? E.g. assinging a PFZ to a bunch of targets and then hitting CTL-2 numerous times?
OSI:: Ichabod: No, you can't strikes back to back that quickly. There is a certain amount of time that must pass. That is dependant on which mission you are flying.

Nergal:: Sorry if this question was already asked but will you fly with one wingman or more than one at a time? A whole flight of choppers... like in GS 2000 :)
OSI:: Nergal : You can only fly with 1 wingman at a time...

Marlin:: Does the audio use any type of surround system?
OSI:: Marlin : Unfortunately, not. The game doesn't use Surround sound, but it does have stereo panning.

Jake:: Next Skunkworks Sim, Will it be fixed-wing aircraft.
OSI:: Jake: Maybe.

DS:: can we operate other aircraft other than the apache in Longbow?
OSI:: DS: You can operate the Apache or the Longbow.

Ichabod:: I noticed some Origin folks among the cutscenes. Are Ev Lunning (instructor) and Galen Svanas (BSN anchor) actors or employees? They both did a great job!
OSI:: Ichabod : Ev Lunning is a local actor and does not work here at Origin. Galen at one point was a employee, but has since moved on to other things.

DS:: how much video is there in Longbow, is it of the same quality as WCIV?
OSI:: DS: We used the WC4 movie player, but we used different filming techniques. Some came from Mcdonnell-Douglas. About 40 min of movie time.

Ichabod:: Can you guys discuss how many copies of Longbow were pressed in comparison to your other titles? how well are you expecting it to sell?
OSI:: Ichabod: The response to Longbow has been fantastic. :)

Molitov:: might the add-on if there is one give control over a flight of choppers..
OSI:: Molitov : It might and it might not. Nothing has been finalized at this time...

twobear:: I want a simulation so complicated you need a college course to play well. Is the manual massive?
OSI:: Twobear: The manual is 256 pages. :) Plus there are interactive training missions that you can learn.

Lady Whisper:: For an online Longbow, would it be possible to have one person as a pilot and another as a gunner/copilot?
OSI:: LadyWhisp : Yes. Absolutely. :)

UL:: would you feel comfortable putting a longbow player behind the controls of an actual longbow?
OSI:: UL: Yes. We would be, but the army wouldn't. ;)

Ichabod:: What can we expect to find in the strategy guide that's not already in the (excellent) manual?
OSI:: Ichabod: Detailed rundown of the mission, stats of enemy and friendly forces, interviews with team and actual pilot, etc.

DS:: would it be possible for you to prog in a way for just head to head play over the internet in the future, (DS lives in the sticks, everyone is long distance!)
OSI:: DS: Yes, it would be possible.

Morn:: Topic music: Sampled tracks, CD Audio or MIDI? [don't know whether this has been asked before]
OSI:: Morn: Streamed digital. Just like WC4.

Ichabod:: I'm curious if Andy is actually a pilot (I would be surprised if he wasn't)? has he flown Apaches?
OSI:: Ichabod: No, he is not. No he has not flown Apaches. :)

Ichabod:: Could someone recommend settings for a moderate speed computer? What things should we turn down/off first to make it as fluid as we can?
OSI:: Ichadob : Do medium detail install. turn off detail in the helicopters, and turn down the detail levels in the game.

DS:: do you nave plans for us to be weapons officer only?
OSI:: DS: Yes in multi-player.

Morn:: Will there be a sound track cd?
OSI:: Morn: It might potentially be on a compilation CD

Lady Whisper:: Is the Gravis Phoenix joystick supported in Longbow?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: Yes.

Nergal:: You've said there will be a Win95 version of longbow... any guess when it'll be available?
OSI:: Nergal : Sometime in the future. there is not a set date for that release at this time.

Jake:: Why does lb have to decompress all 3 terrian levels if you only use highest detail?
OSI:: Jake: You are not only using the highest detail. By using the highest, you are also using low and medium. It is additive.

DS:: will surface explosions affect your helo?
OSI:: DS: Yes

Ichabod:: Do lighting conditions change over time? Will dawn turn into day and dusk into night or is the lighting fixed?
OSI:: Ichabod: Yes, it does change.

Morn:: What is OSI/OWO's general opinion on Win95 and the Internet? Will there be more multiplayer games in the future, possibly ONLY them?
OSI:: Morn: In general, industy wide there will be more multiplayer games in the future.

Ichabod:: Care to share any easter eggs with the rest of us? :)
OSI:: Ichabod: Don't you want to be surprised? That would be telling...:)

Nergal:: If I go and buy the DOS longbow version next week... may I exchange it for a small update fee to the Win95 version when it is available?
OSI:: Nergal : A Win95 executable will be included with one of the addon's for the game.

Morn:: Do you think single player games still have a future?
OSI:: Morn: Andy says, "Yes. A different kind of challenge can be provided by a computer AI that can be better than certain human opponents. Like wise, human opponents can provide infinite play variety. So both styles of game play can be challenging yet completely different,"

Ichabod:: When the helicopter starts up, Betty says something like "APR 37". What does that mean?
OSI:: Ichabod: That is the voice warning of the APR 39 radar warning receiver. It allows the pilots in the choppers to adjust the volume.

Ichabod:: Is there a score penalty for ending a mission at a FARP other than the one assigned in the briefing?
OSI:: Ichabod: No as long as you land at a FARP.

Lady Whisper:: How many addons are you thinking about and/or can you give us any info on what they are about?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: We only have plans for a Mission disk this fall.

Ichabod:: I've noticed a toggle for wheel brakes; is it, at this point, cosmetic or should we be using it?
OSI:: Ichabod : they are actually functional, but if you are a good pilot you shouldn't need to use them. :)

Nergal:: I guess/hope both AWE32 and Flightstick Pro will be supported by longbow?
OSI:: Nergal: They are both supported.

Jake:: Can you be wounded while in flight?
OSI:: Jake: No.

Ichabod:: Do pilots generally hover and land, or do they set down with some forward motion, as the wheels seem to indicate?
OSI:: Ichabod : Normally they set down with some forward motion. But it really depends on the pilot and the situation...

Jake:: Who wrote the graphics engine?
OSI:: Jake: Donovan Keithley.

TechDirc:: I am assuming that Longbow is going to improve on the same engine used by ATF. Are those improvements going to be "patched" into ATF?
OSI:: TechDirc: Longbow is all new code.

Ichabod:: I ride the collective *a lot* to change altitude as I'm flying NOE; is this technically correct, or are subtle atltitude changes made with the cyclic while leavign the collective at one setting?
OSI:: Ichabod: Real chopper pilots tend to set the collective at a fixed setting and trade off altitude for speed to maintain relative height above ground.

DS:: how playable is the game without rudder pedals
OSI:: DS : Very playable. :)

Morn:: Would you consider using a commercial service like TEN for the Internet version of your game(s)?
OSI:: Morn: Decisions like that have not been made yet.

Damion:: Will network play be supported in the game?
OSI:: Damion : Dear new guy. Yup... In the future, but there isn't any information about when it will be ready or how it will be done.

Cyben:: will ah-64d run pretty well on a 486\dx4-120 w/20 megs of RAM under DOS?
OSI:: Cyben: Depends on the processor manufacturer, and other hardware specification especially video card. Potentially yes. However one of our outside Beta testers has a similar machine and reports good performance.

Shane:: Does AH-64d support vesa 2.0? What kind of frame rate improvement can I expect using UNIVBE?
OSI:: Shane: Yes it will take advantage of vesa 2.0. Actual performance increase depends on your video card.

BladeRun:: I'm running the tm fsc/wsc/rsc, using the longbow.adv...the collective seems to be backwards, ie. down collective is low throttle..is this right?
OSI:: BladeRun: In the in-flight options menu, you can reverse the throttle.

Cyben:: will ah-64d run pretty well on a 486\dx4-120 w/20 megs of RAM under DOS, i have a Diamond Stelth 64 3240 w/2megs of VRAM?
OSI:: Cyben: It should run like a champ!

Lady Whisper:: Are there any structures that can be flown under? (I.e., bridges, etc)
OSI:: LadyWhisp : Yup...There is the Bridge of America's in Panama. :)

Ichabod:: There are two things the Bitching Betty says that I can't quite figure: "Aft deck is on fire" (what's the aft deck) and "The box/vox/locks is dead" (said when an engine goes out; is she calling hte engine a box?)
OSI:: Ichabod: The aft deck is where all the avionics are. "The BUCS have failed" -- BUCS in the Back-Up Control System

Shane:: Expanding Ladywhisps question ... what about flying up river canals (my favorite part of GS2000)?
OSI:: Shane: Yes.

Molitov:: got any further irc chats lined up ?
OSI:: Molitov: No set dates, but check our web site for announcements. :)

Ichabod:: Is the HUD ever damaged? I've gotten all kinds of damage, but my HUD's never gone out; can this happen?
OSI:: Ichabod: The HUD display is part of the helmet. If you lose the HUD, you've lost your head. :)

Ichabod:: I've seen friendly infantry and I understand enemy infantry are modelled, but I've never seen them and I don't think I've ever been fired on by a shoulder launched SAM; are enemy inf more prevalent in certain regions? Where might I be likely to run across them?
OSI:: Ichadob : good question. It happens. One example is some escort missions when frendly transports drop off troops who's LZ you are guarding. Those troops will then advance.

TechDirc:: What kind of terain masking and following is incorperated in Longbow?
OSI:: TechDirc: All of it. Using terrain is one of the most important tactics you can learn.

TechDirc:: Are the campaigns the type in ATF or are they a progressive war sort of like Falcon?
OSI:: TechDirc : They are something in between the two. They are a non-linear progression or predefined mission.

Ichabod:: Can you guys tell us a bit about how Jane's worked with you?
OSI:: Ichabod: First off, we received copies of ***EVERYTHING*** in their published library of military reference books and CDs. This amounted to tens of thousands of dollars worth of goodies. Secondly, we had access to their editors and analysts who helped fact-check our data. This shows up both in the Jane's object viewer database and also in the controlling logic for all the enemy and friendly AI's in the game. Finally they contributed significant

Lady Whisper:: Oh, what's the maximum sideways slip speed?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: Tell him g:: about 60 knots. It's not set maximum it depends on many factors.

Lady Whisper:: When you fly backwards, there's no negative airspeed indicator. Is that realistic in the Longbow?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: This is realistic. The IHADSS only displays forward airspeed, but you can see direction of your travel and the speed as well using velocity vector.

Ichabod:: Surely you can give us one little, itty-bitty easter egg to take back to the newsgroups...I know they're in there somewhere!
OSI:: Ichabod : Sorry. The designers are being VERY tight-lipped about the eggs. they wont even tell us. :(

twobear:: what is the one thing you wish you could have added?
OSI:: twobear: Given enough time, it would have been multiplayer. But of course now we can take that time to do it right.

twobear:: do you think interest in 'serious'simulations is increasing or not?
OSI:: Twobear: We think it is increasing but good serious simulation can also appeal to a broader market if done correctly.

TechDirc:: How much did the newsgroups and other users play in the design of this sim?
OSI:: TechDirc: We are influenced somewhat by the newsgroups in that we all spend tim eon them. Additionally, we used a number of newsgroup participants as outside testers.

Lady Whisper:: What is the age group of your target audience, either for Longbow or any other types of games?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: Anyone with 50 dollars in their pocket. :) :) No really, typically the audience for this type of simulation is 18- 45 year old males.

TechDirc:: The sim is by Jane's. The Web page is EA. We are talking to Origin. Who is in charge here???
OSI:: TechDirc: Origin is part of EA and Jane's Simulations are done in more than one group within EA. Origin is one of those groups. Each of the groups in turn works with Jane's. It's a three-way alliance.

Morn:: If the German government decided that one of your games was too violent, would you change it for the German market?
OSI:: Morn : We already have for Crusader and several of our other games.

Lady Whisper:: You have to cycle through the MFDs. Is this also realistic for the real Longbow and will there be shortcut keys for specific pages in upcoming addons/patches?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: The little white buttons around the MFD will switch the MFD's in a real chopper. We have not made that decision yet.

TechDirc:: I currently have 8 meg of ram. How will adding another 8 effect the speed a lot or just a little?)
OSI:: TechDirc : adding an additional 8 megs of memory will make a significant difference in the game. As the object appearances are cached and do not have to be loaded on the fly.

Lady Whisper:: Did the design team watch Firebirds for inspiration? (Richard, this stupid one comes from Grigs G::)
OSI:: LadyW: Some of the team sheepishly admits they saw it. But they don't want to talk about it:)

TechDirc:: The windows in ATF have some problems. Even when a space is open, sometimes but not always they will cover up another. Has this been improved in LongBow or is the screen completely different. if different, how?
OSI:: TechDirc : ATF and Longbow are using completely different game engines. The only thing that is the same about the games is the fact that they are both JANES games.
TechDirc:: I know they are different engines. what i am wondering is if you are using the small windows for maps and such or is those part of some console in the cockpit?
OSI:: TechDirc : All of the windows in the cockpit are acutally part of the cockpit display.

Dogwolf:: Does Longbow have a virtual cockpit? (Is there a target padlock view?)
OSI:: Dogwolf : The game does not have a virtual cockpit. Instead it has a panable pilot helmet view. And a padlock version of it also.

Lady Whisper:: Will the online ongoing wargame being considered have multiple vehicle types (fixed wing, rotary wing, tanks, etc)?
OSI:: LadyWhisp: That is not decided yet. It is still in the basic planning stages.

Back to Communications Page