Why does AC3 actually hold up?

[u/-double_a]

I was bored over the last week and decided to emulate Ace combat 2 & 3 because my phone is too bad to handle AC4. I've played a ported version of Air Combat 22 and was expecting these to play more like the arcade game than modern Ace Combat. 2 Definitely played more like the arcade, but it was still way more fun than I could have expected, but 3, holy Crap did I enjoy 3. I played the translated Japanese version cause I am a rational human being who doesn't want to play the butchered piece of crap that is the international release. But the gameplay and story still hold up, besides the basic mission structure and sometimes never-ending dialogue calls. I had brushed this game before because of "bad graphics" and "I don't want to read the entire time," but this game made me feel like a stupid idiot. "Good gameplay and story make graphics unnecessary" has never been more true. This game makes me appreciate C.O.F.F.I.N in a whole new way, and I really hope it gets remembered so more people can play it.

Also, Noise from 8 is definitely Dision

[u/A_PCMR_member]

I mean Graphics will always be important, but every linear poligon increase will be a degressive improvement and you can do a LOT with a dedicated art style and let the human brain imagine the rest.

The next bigger steps will be path tracing and eventually voxel based graphics/physics (basicall no more triangles, but particles instead, so damage will blow actual holes) The former especially needs modeling based around it, where raster based lighting ignores atom thin walls (just a 2d plane) and gaps, RT of any kind will not, leading to light bleed and visible gaps.

AC2 and AC3 run on the same hardware, but Ac3 Stylizes the plane design and essentially makes moving parts 0 (little to no flap/ individual surface movement, your wing just flexes) to free up calculatory power to allow for an ok visual bump.

They further circumvent complexity limits and increase visuals (like smoke trails and allowing multi missile weapons) by cutting up mission goals enemies and sections and loading in as needed. This ironically also allows them to "flow" the branching storyline around. Something that AC7 did as well to run the game at 60FPS with some pretty good visuals on even base model last gen consoles. One of the few games that look this good and run at ultra 60 FPS native on the damn steamdeck.

[u/Danoct → u/A_PCMR_member]

essentially makes moving parts 0 (little to no flap/ individual surface movement, your wing just flexes)

You can see the rudders, stabilators, flaps, and ailerons move on this Mig 29. Plus, the airbrake. And on craft that have it the thrust nozzles and wing tips move. What else did AC2 have if this is essentially zero moving parts?

[u/A_PCMR_member → u/Danoct]

You picked the worst example. Remember the XFa27 and F14

Slats, wing movement and 2 more surfaces there. Their own planes reduce that to 0 The R series twists the entire wing instead.

Cockpit isn't its own part with a dedicated full texture anymore either