ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

[driftnut753]

So after 6 long years of waiting, we're finally getting a new Ace Combat game. Extremely keen to see what level of ******** superweapon we'll be up against but I did see the Arsenal Bird in the trailer.



Get keen everyone.

 

[Keef]

Didn't expect to see that right before going to bed! Looks like it's Navy focused now, makes me wonder what the aircraft lineup will be like. One of my earliest Playstation memories was playing AC02 in a store, and AC03 was the first one I owned. I still remember AC04 like it was yesterday. Wonder if that had any influence on my career lol.

 

[driftnut753]

Didn't expect to see that right before going to bed! Looks like it's Navy focused now, makes me wonder what the aircraft lineup will be like. One of my earliest Playstation memories was playing AC02 in a store, and AC03 was the first one I owned. I still remember AC04 like it was yesterday. Wonder if that had any influence on my career lol.

Most certainly a welcome surprise. Easily the highlight of the Games Awards for myself.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Usea just can't catch a break huh?

 

[NotThePrez]

I honestly gave up hope of hearing anything about AC8 before March '26. This and Control 2 are pretty much the only things from tonight that legit got my hyped.

The basic premise from Project ACES:

Based on that and the trailer, it's looking like we start as the WSO for "Rex," before having to take up their mantle due to Rex's death after being shot down. In terms of story beats and setup, I'm for sure seeing some inspiration from Zero, 5 and 6 in play. My best guess is that after the events of AC7 (as well as the events of ACX, since both the Lesath Civil War and Aurelian War cannonincally happen during and after the Continental War respectivley), Erusea and Osea espescially are both too weak to intervene in any affairs on the Usean continent, which at least partially inspire Sotoa to invade the FCU with impunity.

Also, I'm glad that we're seeing the spotlight shine on two fairly unknown Strangreal nations/areas. For the uninitiated, Central Usea is an independent nation that was considered the unofficial head of ISAF in Ace Combat 04. Little is explicitly said about the FCU within Ace Combats overarching lore, but some members of the community see it and many of the other nations in Usea (save for Erusea and North Point) as the Strangereal equivalent of the EU.

Sotoa, meanwhile, is a relatively small nation on the Western side of the Verusean continent, a continent that is mostly dominated by Yuktobania, the secondary antagonist nation from AC5. Almost nothing is really known about Sotoa within Ace Combats lore, but considering that this fairly small nation has at least one Su-57 and a couple Flankers in their Air Force, I think there's a chance that they're getting some assitance from Yuktobania here.

Also, pretty sure I hear Debra Wilson's voice in the trailer, too.

 

[Nacho Libre]

Here's hoping we get to give commands to our squadron instead of the "Let Trigger do everything while we endlessly chat" of AC7.

 

[Disco_Volante]

So, Usea again. Honestly that's pretty disappointing, specially since we're fighting a Verusean nation, couldn't it be set there?

Then there's the fact that a seemingly random small country is fighting a seemingly random small country from another continent. Feels a little weird to me.

It appears they're finally doing something deeper than the "you're the only hope of an entire nation" that applies to all games. But, despite the potential of that, it is still the same old "blitzkrieg, then liberation" that is also a constant in the series. Which is pretty boring but whatever, it'll be OK.

And I guess it's still too early, but where's the IUN-PKF? Or whatever organization they became after 7 (UPEO). They should have put an end to this war by the time anything military left Sotoan airspace, let alone let they take over the FCU. I sure hope there's an explanation for that.

Gameplay is probably the same as always, with presumably the return of wingman commands and the addition of an extra SP weapon slot, which is certainly welcome. I'm personally fine with that, I like the regular AC gameplay and I don't think there needed to be many changes. I do hope the planes are slower, and the flight ceiling higher. In AC7, you can accelerate to well over mach 2 in an instant and then reaching the ceiling so quickly and so effortlessly the maps felt cramped. But that's pretty subjective anyway, and if it's exactly the same as 7 I'll enjoy it regardless.

Visuals are great, I have 0 doubts the music will be amazing. 7 was an amazingly optimized game so I imagine 8 will be too. I do hope the annoying filter and vignette, as well as certain HUD elements are removed/removable. It was pretty annoying on console where there was no customisation.

I'm kinda scared about the voice acting and writing with the bigger focus on characters. While the DLC missions of 7 were absolutely amazing, that was an outlier as Ace Combat has always had poor VA and writing. NBD when it's just background stuff, but if it's front and center, it better be good.

As a final note, I hope it goes ties into 3. According to that game's original lore, by 2029 corporations were well underway to taking over the world, and in fact General's Darkness of Enigma project started in 2028. It wouldn't make any sense to see the X-49, which first flew in 2032, or an 8 year old Rena, but GR is very much active, as well as Dision, Yoko and Simon. The latter two were involved with Schroeder and the ADF-11 project, so Project ACES hasn't forgotten about them.

Damn, reading back, it'd seem like I'd rather the whole thing get cancelled. It really doesn't look like it, but I'm super excited, and no matter what I will enjoy the heck out of AC8.

 

[sumbrownkid]

I think the devs are essentially moving the timeline of the events of AC3 further down and need to give plot reasons why Usea becomes dominated by Megacorps. So hopefully by end of events of AC8 we finally see the final pieces set for that future.

AC3 itself is in 2040s and this game takes place in 2029. The problem is that the stuff we see in AC3 with the electrosphere, that massive underground city as well as that floating expo city, those are things I imagine took a long time to come.

Then again it’s strangereal and technology doesn’t have to move at the same pace as our world.

 

[MroczMR]

Oh god

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve brings new in-house cloud engine, a new take on cinematic scenes and 10,000 square kilometer map - AUTOMATON WEST

Ace Combat series director Kazutoki Kono and Ace Combat 8 producer Manabu Shimomoto share details about the new entry.

automaton-media.com

Another characteristic of AC8 are its first-person real-time cinematic scenes. While story progression will work like in previous titles for the most part, during story scenes, the player will be able to move their line of sight and look around – this decision was made to give the player the feeling that they’re still involved, as opposed to a fully static cutscene. “By deliberately looking away, you may discover new things, such as what other characters are doing in the background while the conversation is happening,” Kono explains. As a treat, the team has also implemented cockpit cameras for some scenes, displaying pilots as they interact.

I know I sound like coping, but this feels like a game made to work great in VR. I really hope they are keeping vr support for later announcment!

 

[sesselpupser]

Can't wait for this, AC7 was great, especially as someone who hadn't played the franchise since AC3. I've been waiting for this announcement ever since finishing the game!

 

[VXR]

AC7 was my first and only combat flight game, so I'm totally looking forward to this coming out. I'm casual, I can't get on with War Thunder's controls. I like how AC7 was basically the same flight controls as a car racing game.

 

[CTznOfTime]

Aces of Thunder will be on VR2 but not Ace combat 8 ?

Weird... This is going to be a fight between, or rather a market share between VR players and non VR players...

I guess the question is:
Is there more airplane flight game fans without VR (yes)or are they already on VR....


Time will tell..

 

[Keef]

AC7 was my first and only combat flight game, so I'm totally looking forward to this coming out. I'm casual, I can't get on with War Thunder's controls. I like how AC7 was basically the same flight controls as a car racing game.

That's what made it so easy to get into as a kid for so many people. I played Microsoft Flight Simulator at the same time but I didn't really understand how it worked. I remember attempting to fly the Concorde across the Atlantic with a buddy when I was 12 but we couldn't figure out why it was flying so slow...we didn't understand what mach was lol. 280 knots is like mach 1.2 at Concorde altitudes.

Don't have to understand any of that crap for AC, just go fast and shoot missiles.

 

[Nacho Libre]

That's what made it so easy to get into as a kid for so many people. I played Microsoft Flight Simulator at the same time but I didn't really understand how it worked. I remember attempting to fly the Concorde across the Atlantic with a buddy when I was 12 but we couldn't figure out why it was flying so slow...we didn't understand what mach was lol. 280 knots is like mach 1.2 at Concorde altitudes.

Don't have to understand any of that crap for AC, just go fast and shoot missiles.

IMO the Ace Combat series is the Gran Turismo of flight simulators. We get the classic jets, the fighters/bombers of our times, and futuristic/surreal stuff kind of like the VGT cars, and every aircraft is modelled with care and striving for perfection.

 

[NotThePrez]

And I guess it's still too early, but where's the IUN-PKF? Or whatever organization they became after 7 (UPEO). They should have put an end to this war by the time anything military left Sotoan airspace, let alone let they take over the FCU. I sure hope there's an explanation for that.

This Famitsu interview sheds a little light on this. Apparently, after the events of AC7, the countries of Usea (I'm going guess with the exception of Eursea and/or North Point) decided to merge themselves with the FCU, esentially becoming prefectures. However, the central government of the FCU hasn't been able to totally handle all of the post-war challenges that have come up following the Lighthouse War in AC7, which has caused some instability on the continent.

 

[Disco_Volante]

This Famitsu interview sheds a little light on this. Apparently, after the events of AC7, the countries of Usea (I'm going guess with the exception of Eursea and/or North Point) decided to merge themselves with the FCU, esentially becoming prefectures. However, the central government of the FCU hasn't been able to totally handle all of the post-war challenges that have come up following the Lighthouse War in AC7, which has caused some instability on the continent.

Makes sense. I guess that instability gave Sotoa an opening to invade. I like it when AC gives us this kind of "inter-game" lore, with countries being affected by the events of the games and evolving between releases.