The Flare Path: Invisible Hulls

enFri, 21 Jun 2019 12:00:03 +0000The Flare Path: Invisible Hullshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-invisible-hullsTim StoneFri, 21 Jun 2019 12:00:03 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-invisible-hullsHMSSimulationSteel Beasts Pro Personal EditionThe Flare PathSteel BeastsStrategyInterviewEvery Single SoldierJohan Nagel

There was a nasty moment early on in my relationship with HMS when I thought me and Johan Nag el's latest weren't going to get on. In my first hour with the beta of this highly original turnless Hornblower-em-up I experienced five game-curtailing mutinies. Even on the lowest difficulty setting I couldn't make progress. Baffled disbelief was fast becoming sulky defeatism when the doubloon finally dropped. An email exchange with the designer and a second look at the tutorial and suddenly I was out of the doldrums and surging ahead.

]]>The Flare Path: A2Zhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-a2z-9Tim StoneFri, 31 May 2019 12:00:37 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-a2z-9Steel Beasts Pro Personal EditionAutomobilista 2Fantasy General 2Field of Glory IIRule the Waves 2The Flare PathSteel Division 2StrategyDCS: WorldDCS World 2Steel BeastsArmored BrigadeWings Over Flanders FieldsArmstrong PowerhouseFalcon 4.0SimulationTrain Sim WorldAssetto Corsa CompetizioneIL-2 Sturmovik

A is for Another Automobilista. Automobilista, the sim that stormed to victory in the single-player portion of the inaugural Flare Path Grand Prix (a popularity contest for race sims) is to get a sequel in December and interestingly the sequel will rely on an engine last seen in Project CARS 2. As Reiza explained to www.racedepartment.com, the graphical prowess and “smooth as butter” fluency of Slightly Mad's engine were a major attraction, as was the prospect of unrestricted code access. From statements like "We didn´t actually have access to the rF2 code beyond information that Studio-397 would supply to us on a need-to-know basis to get our content to work in their engine." it sounds like the Brazilian devs weren't completely happy with their previous engine provider.

]]>The Flare Path: A Typical Atypical Simmer #2https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-a-typical-atypical-simmer-2Tim StoneFri, 09 Dec 2016 13:00:00 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-a-typical-atypical-simmer-2atypical simmerSteel Beasts Pro Personal EditionSimulationSteel BeastsThe Flare PathInterview

The man currently sipping a Koskenkorva and consulting his cue cards in the U/S Williams X-Jet The Flare Path uses as a dais is Ilja 'Zipuli' Varha. Our second 'atypical simmer', Ilja has very kindly agreed to talk about his journey from juvenile M1 Tank Platoon fan to 33-year-old brigade simulator officer in the Finnish Defence Forces. Whether your polygonal battle wagon of preference is a Steel Beasts Leo, a Steel Fury T-34 or a World of Tanks Tiger, the following paragraphs should prove interesting.

]]>The Flare Path: Topical Titbitshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-topical-titbits-3Tim StoneFri, 05 Aug 2016 12:00:31 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-topical-titbits-3Team FusionFirefightSteel Beasts Pro Personal EditionouterraSengoku Jidai: Shadow of the ShogunThe Flare PathCliffs of DoverShadow Tactics: Blades of the ShogunStrategyDCS: WorldTrain SimulatorSteel BeastsHMS MarulkenAGEODArmored BrigadeAlea Jacta EstTML StudiosTrain Simulator 2016Unity of Command 2

In the alphabetical news round-up waiting like a pre-pounce puma beyond the break 'A' is more likely to be for 'airship' or 'angry house' than 'apple'. Stripy ungulates probably won't feature in the entry for 'Z' but simulated Bf 110s or Mitsubishi A5Ms might. If you've an eye for a shapely engine nacelle or a finely chiselled turret – if you've an interest in the bloodier bits of history - I guarantee your curiosity will be piqued by something in the 26-compartment specimen drawer below.

]]>The Flare Path: High Calibre Cat Pictureshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-high-calibre-cat-picturesTim StoneFri, 31 May 2013 12:00:19 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-high-calibre-cat-picturesDemosCombat MissionThe Flare PathSteel BeastsFree gamesHelicopter Simulator

Meet Unimog, the Flare Path mouser. He owes his name to his love of clambering and off-piste adventure. Why, this very morning I spotted the little scamp nosing around inside the turret of a Steel Beasts Pro Personal Edition story, sharpening his claws on a free chunk of Combat Mission Fortress Italy: Gustav Line, and enjoying a nap atop the warm fuselage of an obscure chopper sim demo.

]]>The Flare Path: Tracks, Tracks, & Turnpikeshttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-tracks-tracks-turnpikesTim StoneFri, 30 Dec 2011 13:21:58 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-tracks-tracks-turnpikesAssetto CorsawargameThe Flare PathSimulationSteel Beasts

A hopeless nostalgic, The Flare Path always finds year ends troubling. On one hand, The Past is about to get a little fatter; on the other, the extra girth means 1692 - FP's favourite year - is even more likely to get overlooked by historians. What's so special about 1692? That was the year Thomas J. Halthrope invented the Alliterating Alice, a donkey-powered 'worde gin' capable of producing bespoke sim & wargame news preambles at the touch of a lever. This very intro was produced on a 1692 Halthrope that works as well today as it ev///<$> Assetto Corsa <$$> Scourge of War: Antietam. <$$$> Steel Beasts Pro <> hereendethpreface///

]]>The Flare Path: Juno's Golden Swordhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-junos-golden-swordTim StoneFri, 18 Nov 2011 13:03:04 +0000https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-flare-path-junos-golden-swordCombat Mission: Battle for NormandywargameThe Flare PathSimulationSteel BeastsEagle Dynamics

What's General Paulus' take on splendid recent releases like Achtung Panzer: Operation Star and Unity of Command? Does Genghis Khan play anything other than Mount & Blade? Does Oliver Cromwell still believe the lack of English Civil War wargames is the result of a fiendish Popish plot? In an effort to answer nagging questions like these The Flare Path has acquired a SpiritMaster IV ouija board. I'm still ploughing through the manual and tutorials at present. Early experiments haven't been wholly successful. In preparation for this week's pieces on the the first Combat Mission: Battle For Normandy module, Steel Beasts PPE 2.6, and Eagle Dynamics future plans, I attempted to contact Michael Wittmann and Chuck Yeager, but ended-up chewing the ectoplasm with Florence Nightingale and Samuel Pepys instead.

]]>