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Future of Ace Combat

C

cafemomo

Member
Ace Combat is one of my favorite series (with 5 & 2 being my favorite), and the recent f2p game (infinity) that was released earlier this year wasn't actually bad. It was pretty fun. It captured the spirit of AC pre Ass Horizon.

So what do you peeps think Scamco has in store for the future of AC? Continuing on with the f2p model or another CoD fighter jet edition?
 
M

Meccanical

Member
I just finished Ace Combat Zero recently.

The game is packed with awesome moments. Had me shaking at some parts and I can honestly say I almost teared up at the ending.
 
J

jett

D-Member
I don't know man, I think this franchise is dead, near-dead. Namco never knew how to develop/exploit the surprise hit that was AC4, everything after that have been wet noodles sales-wise. And now we have a half-assed f2p game.

Game-wise, "classic" AC started getting a bit old for me with Zero, although I still enjoyed it. Project Aces has just been consistently unable to bring something new or breathe variety into these games. They "tried" with Horizon but the result was absolutely dreadful (with the soundtrack the only good thing about it), and the beta of Infinity left me completely cold.

I really don't know what they can do. I don't think they know, either. And now Kobayashi isn't even working at Namco anymore so really my interest in this brand is at an all-time low, I gotta say. There are now two Namco franchises I loved that they have utterly ruined. AC and Ridge Racer.

Maybe an episodic, season-based game set in the future. Fuck if I know what to do. A next-gen AC game would be expensive as fuck probably and not commercially viable at all.
 
S

sechsterangriff

Member
A proper remake of electrosphere for current-gen.














No. They'll continue with the f2p model with optional passes for the campaign missions. If we're lucky we'll get HD remasters of the ps2 games.
 
J

Joshua Hull

Member
spAce Combat.

Believe!

That said if they can get Infinity on PS4 I'll be pretty happy, but I sincerely hope any future story line in a numbered sequel gets back to Strangereal.
 
Petrae

Petrae

Member
Ace Combat is locked into F2P hell at best and is finished at the worst. The games don't sell enough on their own to make another console retail release worthwhile-- even a remastering of earlier titles. It'll fade away, much like Ridge Racer has.
 
G

GoodCoffeeJoey

Banned
I expect them to keep supporting and adding new content to Infinity. Similarly to World of Tanks. I don't think another traditional retail Ace Combat is ever going to happen.
 
J

jett

D-Member
suppadoopa said:
The PSP and 3DS entries were bretty gud.
I know it's better being played on the tv, but handheld ain't so bad
Click to expand...

sigh

better than nothing i guess

I wonder what is Project Aces up to.

Man I wish PCSX2 didn't have so many issues emulating these games. :(
 
E

Espada

Member
Realistically, I'm expecting a PS4 port of Ace Combat Infinity. Namco doesn't seem to care about this series, and a brand new current gen entry would cost more than they'd be willing to spend on it.

It's sad to see the series go out like this.

Edit: jett, Bamco apparently has an Ace Combat Infinity lined up for TGS. Don't know what it's about, but I'm guessing it's for the campaign's final mission and a new update.
 
K

kuroshiki

Member
JoJoSono said:
I'd take a Vita or 3ds port of 3 uncut. Series can die after that honestly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S5ZpFWA16g&list=PLDD61C76EF278E530
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs6yseO7f4w&index=2&list=PLDD61C76EF278E530
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etFs1HL-34k&index=10&list=PLDD61C76EF278E530

Amazing.
Click to expand...

Its true series went downhill after 5 (zero was not as great as 4 or 5 imo) and 6... that damn 'dance with the angels!' bullshit was just cringy worthy.

but Ace combat overall is solid game franchise. It deserves to continue its life. It never made serious fuck up.
 
R

RedSwirl

Junior Member
Unfortunately, the formula kind of reached its logical conclusion with the PS2 games. Namco never really figured out how to make it better beyond improving the graphics. I never really messed with multiplayer so maybe Namco could think of ways to make AC a hit as a multiplayer game. I guess that's what Infinity is for. Sucks too. AC is one of the games I'd most want to see get a brand new next-gen entry.

I never really considered the idea of "Space Combat" though. Really, it would be nice to have any kind of new space flight combat game. I personally always thought it would have been nice to have a WWII era game taking place in Strangereal but in the 1940's. Removing heat-seeking missiles from AC would be a huge change. I know we got Sky Crawlers but the TMCs in that game were kind of a band-aid replacement for missiles.
 
E

Espada

Member
kuroshiki said:
Its true series went downhill after 5 (zero was not as great as 4 or 5 imo) and 6... that damn 'dance with the angels!' bullshit was just cringy worthy.

but Ace combat overall is solid game franchise. It deserves to continue its life. It never made serious fuck up.
Click to expand...

How is Zero worse than 5? Going back to 5 from Zero is a clear regression. Being limited to one special weapon and having to grind for more aircraft were two seriously wrong moves. In terms of AI partners, Pixy is far more worthwhile than Edge, Archer, and Chopper were.
 
J

jett

D-Member
I cannot begin to tell how much fucking money I would drop for Ace Combat HD collection. I would buy a PS4 if I had to. I don't give a fuck.

kuroshiki said:
I beg to differ. Ace Combat X was great game. I would kill for AC Vita.
Click to expand...

lol well I wouldn't know. Not much of a handheld gamer.
 
E

Espada

Member
jett said:
I cannot begin to tell how much fucking money I would drop for Ace Combat HD collection. I would buy a PS4 if I had to. I don't give a fuck.
Click to expand...

I'm still amazed this hasn't happened yet. Is even a modest update to 720p too much to ask of Bandai-Namco?

Edit: JetSwirl, AC4 is definitely one you should play. You'll definitely feel its age after having played the later entries, but the game still holds up. If you liked the others, than you'll like 4.
 
J

JoJoSono

Banned
I don't think the series ever got bad. I don't share the thinking that AC6 was bad. The story was disjointed and unfocused, but even AC5 could be accused of that at times. At the end of the day AC6 was still good. The Liberation of Gracemaria is one of my favorite levels in the series. Just the epic scale and feeling of taking the war back to your capital city complete with that awesome music! Just great.

I don't even think AH was terrible. I think it's actually a succsesful attempt to appeal to western fans. Yes the helicopter parts sucked, the music was muted and not full of persoanlity(though I like this track), and the same could be said for the story.

Still, the gameplay was good. Dog Fight Mode was a little overbearing sure, but it wasn't a terrible idea. Perhaps being tied to some sort of killstreak would have made it better. It still could make from some thrilling scenes, but it would be nice if it was less automated.

And Jesus the graphics in AH are awesome.

But I'm not interested in the series being this F2P thing. I don't think that actually signals the end of the series, but if it does and we don't get a return to Strangreal then well I'm out.

Though I would love a remake of the real AC3. This time released in America.
 
I

icecream

Public Health Threat
The F2P model for AC:I is actually pretty good.

There's a nice campaign for people who like those, and multiplayer for those who enjoy that. Limiting F2P to the amount of sorties/missions you can do is actually a pretty painless way to do things.

Would like some new maps though.
 
S

SniperHunter

Banned
Don't think there's a future for this series sadly. Putting Ace Combat 6 exclusively on Xbox 360 is the worst thing Namco could have done to this series. They alienated the entire Playstation fanbase. And I am talking about a SERIOUS fanbase, these games used to pull great numbers while PS2 was the king. I remember a lot of PS fans bitching on neogaf and hoping the game would eventually come to PS3...

And then they followed that with the abomination called Ace Combat Horizons many years later, which wasn't really an Ace Combat game at all. And now we have Ace Combat Infinity, a creatively bankrupt of a game, that borrows all the cool missions from the previous entries and you have to pay $20 of digital fuel monies to play the old missions.

And I doubt the core team that made the series so great is there at Namco anymore....one of the musicians also quit, his name was Kobayashi something and he made great music for the series.
 
S

SniperHunter

Banned
RedSwirl said:
On the subject, I never played AC4, only 5, Zero, 6, and X1. AC4 worth getting?
Click to expand...

Ace Combat 4 is the best one IMO! I also heard a lot of great things about Ace Combat 3 Electrosphere Japanese version. It has a great story line and choice based mission structure

I really loved Ace Combat 4 SS though, really kick ass story told through a great voice actor and beautiful hand drawn cut scenes, really cool mission voice overs, most of the missions are great and highly replayable, no unnecessary drama (AC5 went overboard with it).
 
J

jett

D-Member
Yeah, Ace Combat 6 was personally my big "betrayalton" moment. What a shortsighted move by Namco.
 
A

AmyS

Member
Remember back in early 2007 (after both Xbox 360 and PS3 had been on the market), this was the future of Ace Combat, an Xbox 360 exclusive shown in Famitsu:

Q8Z4X3M.jpg


qEHi2QC.jpg




I don't think I'll have experience that feeling again
of dancing with the angels
of seeing a new, next-generation Ace Combat with that leap to high definition and going from PS2 to Xbox 360 graphics.

Only thing that held back the graphics in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, was that it was 30 FPS unlike AC4, AC5, ACZ on PS2 which were all 60 FPS. Other than that, when I saw that Famitsu preview of AC6 I was on cloud 9 and
dancing with the angels!
 
P

PBalfredo

Member
Do we have any idea how well Ace Combat is doing as F2P? Frankly, I'm scared of the answer either way. I don't want the series to die, but I've also touched the F2P game exactly once. I know I should give it another go, as what I actually played wasn't bad in of itself. It's just that F2P games with energy systems are the worst; they actively discourage me to play. I've never had even the slightest urge to buy more energy in games of that sort. When the game itself tells me that I'm done playing, I agree.
 
Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch

Member
Been a fan of Ace Combat since the beginning and I think AC6 might be the best entry in the series - or tied with Zero for best. Assault Horizon was the real stinker of the series. Infinity is cool - just far too repetitive - not enough missions (both online and off). ACI has great gameplay though.

An HD collection of 4, 5, Zero, 6 is free money for them. It better happen. Those games have infinite replay value and are truly some of gaming's best.
 
B

boltz

Member
The only AC I've played is 6 and I really enjoyed it. I got Assault Horizon for cheap on Steam but haven't touched it yet. But the market for air combat games is tiny and would only make financial sense for a smaller developer to tackle. So I see AC relegated to mobile or just shelved.
 
F

fixuis

Member
Either a HD collection for ps4 or a new title please! spACE combat sounds mighty fine as well. Day 1 for all three! !
 
P

powersurge

Member
I hated Assault Horizon and while 6 and the handheld versions weren't bad at all the golden age of AC was the PS2 era. I'm with you guys I'd jump all over a HD collection of the PS2 titles. I just hope whatever new game they end up making doesn't include the gimmicky mechanics of Assault Horizon.
 
H

heyitsphil

Neo Member
absolutely love the series, shattered skies being one of my favorites. I've played every entry except assault horizon and part of me is glad I didn't. AC6 was a lot of fun as well and I really enjoyed the story and ranking system more then any of the other entries. I would throw money at anything for a hd remaster of all of these titles. free money for namco. as far as the future of the series, a worldwide retail release is unlikely, but I would love to see a ps4 xbo release personally.
 
C

cafemomo

Member
I never got to play 6 since it jumped platforms.


Should they make a HD remake, I hope that would be included as well.

Or at least be released on PSN or Steam
 
R

RedSwirl

Junior Member
I think the best we might be able to hope for is the same fate as survival horror, classic adventure, and any other genre in the AAA space that isn't a shooter: for some kickstarter to try to revive it with an "Ace Combat but not Ace Combat" game.

The closest thing we got right now is Vector Thrust on Steam. It's Early Access (and cel shaded) but is basically trying to be the new Ace Combat.

And honestly, I think the first HAWX game from Ubisoft was a decent attempt at a western Ace Combat. I actually always thought flight combat was a good idea for a new setting for Tom Clancy games. I never played HAWX 2.
 
staticneuron

staticneuron

Member
kuroshiki said:
Its true series went downhill after 5 (zero was not as great as 4 or 5 imo) and 6... that damn 'dance with the angels!' bullshit was just cringy worthy.

but Ace combat overall is solid game franchise. It deserves to continue its life. It never made serious fuck up.
Click to expand...

Agreed. AC4 and AC5 were my personal fav out of all that I have played. Infinity is fun though and just makes me wish for a return to form.
 
D

Dremark

Banned
I don't really understand why you guys think a F2P game is the end of the series. Tekken has a F2P game as well but Tekken 7 is on it's way and I've seen zero indication that it's anything but a normal Tekken game. Gundam had a F2P game too and has had several normal releases since.

If the series is doomed it has nothing to do with the F2P game, if anything it's existence shows that Namco still has faith in it after the last game in the series.
 
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