Knights of the Sky. Who's game?

[Waldo.Pepper]

Crews (people) would be nice!

I know I am never satisfied!

[Dubbo]

First in-game shots. Looks familiar. Also check out the multi seat WIPs

[Waldo.Pepper]

That fourth pic has me thinking how tiresome it will be to climb to that altitude in WW1 planes.

I wonder how valuable altitude will be with power margins far poorer than we are used to.

I wonder if it will be worth the time it takes to get up there.

I hope fuel endurance is modelled properly to functionally limit the flight times to near historical times, so that at least this will limit those who seek seek unrealistically high altitudes.

[Dubbo]

I'm thinking that the limited speed and range on these kites is what allows all this detail into the game - the maps will be way smaller. If that is true then I have to believe that the limits on altitude etc will also be in place. But then, what do I know??

[Shadow]

Nice shots!

I notice, though, in picture 4, that I can see the engine cylinders.

[Dubbo]

Hmmmm. Good point. Now were all these bi-planes rotary engined?

[Beebop-RIP]

Look at the promo vids on the main page:

http://www.gennadich.com/lang/en/id/69/

Promo 1 shows the engine rotating with the propeller.

IIRC there were a few in-line engines but they weren't very powerful compared to what could be attained with a rotary design.

Also, check out Promo 2 and see just how good water can look with this "outdated" IL-2 graphics engine.

[Guest]

Count me in I'll give it a go too

[Dubbo]

Ironmike

[Dubbo]

More in-game shots.

[Beebop-RIP]

From: http://www.warsims.com/

The “WWI: Knights of the Skyâ€

[Mobius One]

This is going to be a great game I think.

[Dubbo]

2 weeks. Be sure.

[FlatSpinMan]

This looks like a lot of fun. Great ground details too.

[Shadow]

This is pre-alpha!!

Look at the trees.

[Dubbo]

This just looks better and better. Take a look at the airfield on the site this week.

[Enforcer57]

Holy creeeraaapp!

[Arsenal]

I'll have to admit that I'm pretty ignorant of WW1 vintage a/c. Does anyone have a guess as to how easy or difficult it will be to shoot down an enemy? I know a lot of these planes are fabric covered, but the machine guns were not that powerful and had a rather low rate of fire and payload. Just wondering if this means I'll be juking and jiving behind someone for 5 mins while doing little damage, or will they go down fairly easily (assuming good shots in somewhat vital areas, etc.)?

[Dubbo]

According to Biggles.........er.......

[Mobius One]

Shouldn't we be getting this game soon.

[Rattler]

Yes, they are actually hard to shoot down unless you hit something vital (esp. the pilot!)

[Dubbo]

Hey hey. I'm looking forward to this more than Christmas.

[Beebop-RIP]

Thanks for the update mate.

[Mobius One]

Hey can some one make me that skin for a 109 K4.

[Beebop-RIP]

[shadow=red,left]Found this on the UbiZoo Forums-[/shadow]

KNIGHTS OF THE SKY

An interview with Gennadich’s Albert Zhiltsov

PC Format: What was the company’s background prior to developing Knights of the Sky?

Gennadich: The history of the company is relatively short. Most of the staff are avid gamers with more than ten years’ experience in sims like Red Baron, IL-2, Red Orchestra, American Army, Flanker and Lock-On: playing games professionally in teams and squads. We not only play games but participated in competitions and won several international contests. As members of squads, we became friends and we could not think of our lives without military games. In addition, most of us were professional software developers/artists, and in 2004, we finally decided that military games are the most interesting thing we like and know how to do.

As professional players, we know of the specific limitations of games, inaccuracy in modelling specific features of military objects and deficiencies in gameplay which we would like to avoid – so we developed software that met our needs. Our first step in game development was Air Domination War (ADR – www.adwwar.com) online server project with a dynamic campaign feature for IL-2 players: it’s well-known to many players and has gained a solid reputation throughout the gaming world. During the development of ADW, we also developed a few minor but important utilities for Il-2 gamers. The first step made sure that we were on the right track. We then found an investor for Knights of the Sky and the project for a realistic WWI flight simulator was born. Being renowned among the simulation gaming community, we attracted the attention of software developers such as Eagle Dynamics, G5, Nikita, Nival Interactive, etc, which wanted to achieve the same results as us. This only strengthened our resolve and we formed a very strong professional team.

PC Format: The marketplace is flooded with combat flight sims from WW2 to modern jet planes ala IL2/Forgotten Battles, Combat Flight Simulator 3, Wings over Europe, Lock-On, Falcon 4, etc. Do you think a WW1 sim like Knights of the Sky can attract players who are accustomed to fast planes and missiles? What can Knights of the Sky bring to the market that makes it unique?

Gennadich: Well, military aviation and tanks were first used in anger during WW1, so it was logical for us to start from the beginning. And besides, the battles of WW1 are unfairly forgotten. We hope to make Knights of the Sky not just to be an advanced technical simulation of the physical properties of airplanes, but also an educational tool that will provide the player with a historical perspective. Our main goal is to let the player dive into the rich WW1 atmosphere and say afterwards, “I was there! I have seen it with my own eyes!â€