From: rdd@rascal.ics.utexas.edu (Robert Dorsett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: AOL F-18 info; comments from Eric Parker...
Date: 9 Jan 1993 08:11:06 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
Reply-To: rdd@rascal.ics.utexas.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

Anonymously forwarded from America OnLine...

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Subj:  F/A-18 Hornet MacWorld - Hot!         93-01-06 22:54:46 EST
From:  Learjet

I stopped by the GraphSim booth at Macworld this afternoon. The 
F/A-18 prototype/demo was up and running on a pair of Quadras. 

SUMMARY EVALUATION: It makes Hellcats look like Red Baron (I 
may be exaggerating a bit).

Graphics: The rendering engine has been tweaked to run at 20 
frames/sec, so fluidity is up by about 30%. This makes a difference,  
especially at full afterburner, where you can almost feel the G's 
building up.

Cockpit: The HUD is phenominal (it uses that neon green that seems 
to glow like the real thing) and the cockpit graphics are about as 
close to real as I could imagine. Only the top two Multifunction 
Displays are visible in the normal forward view, but there is a "head 
down and locked" feature that allows you to see the full panel. It is 
something to behold. Lots of detail - plenty of systems for the 
dedicated simmer to fiddle with. I didn't get a chance to see which of 
the many F/A-18 systems have been implemented yet.

Terrain: Not much has been done with the database for the demo. 
Just an airport next to a lake in the middle of a vast desert. There 
were sequentially strobing approach lights along the runway that 
gave a nice effect. Nighttime missions are also a reality now - very 
impressive.

Features: Network play for up to two teams of two pilots (plus 
computer generated targets) is planned but not complete yet. No 
direct connect modem support is planned but ARA dial-in is in the 
works if they can make it work (yahoo!). 

Handling: VERY responsive (500 degrees/sec roll rate, I'd guess). The 
climb rate is also realistic - go into AB and climb straight up for 
several minutes rather than 15-20 seconds like in MC. 

Future enhancements: A PowerPC port and texture mapping are 
probabilities.

N.B. The Mousestick II is now shipping and worth every penny.

ANDY

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Subj:  F/A-18 Hornet Demo                    93-01-07 21:54:59 EST
From:  PhilW

I had a chance to spend some time at the Graphics Simulations booth 
today at MacWorld Expo. I came away with new hope for state of the 
art, high performance flight/combat simulators/games(?) for the 
Mac.

GS had (2) FX's running Leyete Gulf and (2) 700's running a pre-beta 
demo of F/A-18 Hornet constructed for the show. All were using 
MouseStick II's.

The first thing I noticed were the control panel(s).                 
                       Simply_Amazing.
Incredible detail, depth, beauty and realism. In the normal front 
view, you can see most of the panel under a small but efficient HUD. 
There are 2 CRT's, left and right, visible in this view with numerous 
other flight controls. You can "look(scroll) down" into the cockpit to 
view another CRT and controls, giving you a screen full of all of 
Hornets CRT's and avionics. The rep said you have full IFR capability 
with this view.  Now this is going to be fun.

The top, right CRT is used for radar. It features AA and AG capabilty, 
with the AA mode having 3 or 4 range options, working at first 
glance, somewhat like F3. The top, left CRT is used for monitoring 
stores level and status.The bottom CRT, I believe, is used for a map 
feature, and possibly has more than one mode.

Sitting on the runway, you notice a second Hornet next to yours. The 
detail of the other plane is amazing. Also, using the left or right side 
views shows the leading edge of that wing, with an AIM hanging on 
the wing tip. When flying, if you are using one of the side views 
while firing that AIM, you can watch it drop slightly down and then 
away. There is a super cool new missle view. Without a doubt, 
Hornets new missle view is best of any flight sim I've seen...F3 
included. It gives you a view from the nose cone of the missle...at 
2,000+kts! The sensation of speed must be seen to be believed.

The graphics engine is 30%  overall faster that Hellcats. The rep said 
the release version will operate at about the same speed at which 
Hellcats runs now. Considering the greater complexity of Hornet, that 
is quite a feat. Flying the Hornet is smooth, fast and precise. The drag 
and lift models are of the same quality as Hellcats, and it is a joy to 
fly. The thrust/speed relationships seem acurate and the flight 
computer limits g's to 9 (GS said that feature is on the real thing). Not 
knowing the ILS system, I did a seat of the pants landing on the first 
try(runway).

The GS rep said that enemy aircraft will be MiG-29's and MiG 21's. I 
hope there will be more in the release version. Also, any AA and AG 
ordinance which the real F/A-18 can carry will be available in the 
sim. I question that, as the real Hornet can carry as many different 
weapons as any plane flying(I believe).

The release timeline is given as March, but much work is left in the 
polygon world. The GS rep said for sure by MacWorld Boston, and 
probably sooner. It will be worth the wait.

Hornet is a beauty. It is light years ahead of FalconMC in smooth 
flying, super real cockpit and controls, and outside views. It finally 
brings the great graphics capabiltiy of the Mac to a quality flight sim.  
I can't wait.

Can you say A-10? Yes, its true, the GS rep said they are planning an 
A-10 sim which can fly and fight with F/A-18 via comms.  I can't 
wait. Another forum.

Phil

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Subj:  Disclaimer from Hellcats author       93-01-07 18:22:45 EST
From:  Parsoft

This message is from the author of Hellcats over the Pacific.  I have 
seen a few messages recently and in past weeks that perhaps could 
cause some confusion, so I thought I'd take the time to clarify.

The F-18 game is completely independent of Hellcats.  There is no 
code from Hellcats in Hornet.  Hellcats was written by myself (Eric 
Parker) at Parsoft Inc. (my company).  Graphic Simulations is 
marketing Hellcats, but they didn't develop it.  I invented the 3D 
rendering algorithm used in Hellcats which supports 8-bit color, large 
screens and even multiple screens.  The same algorithm is being used 
in Hornet, but I did not write the code used in Hornet, Trey Smith at 
Graphic Simulations did.  The Hellcats code has not been "tweaked" to 
be used in Hornet.

I am getting no royalties from Graphic Simulations for their use of 
my algorithm in Hornet, and I am somewhat miffed that they 
decided to create another flight simulator for the Mac that I believe 
will have an adverse effect on Hellcat's sales.

- Eric Parker
 
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Subj:  Hellcats and Hornet                   93-01-07 22:50:06 EST
From:  Parsoft

Let me just re-iterate that no CODE from Hellcats is being used in 
Hornet; what IS being used is the algorithm for rendering the 3D 
graphics.  

As an aside, the fact that Hornet is running at 20 frames per second 
while Hellcats runs at 15 doesn't necessarily mean that the Hornet 
rendering code is 30% faster.  Hellcats has a timer that clamps the 
frame rate to 15 fps. so that you get continuous smooth animation 
without runaway speed some of time and slowdowns at others.  It 
can easily reach speeds greater than 100 fps with simple scenery.  
However, I expect  both Hellcats and Hornet to have similar 
performance since they're based on the same algorithm.

- Eric Parker