Bandai Namco Entertainment just released a fresh batch of screenshots and quite a lot of information on Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.
There’s a much bigger focus on fleshing out the environment in this game. Weather effects, terrain, and interactions between physical forces and objects are all getting a deep development look with Ace Combat 7. And with it all tying back into a much-improved flight and physics engine, there’s going to plenty for fans to get slack-jawed over aside from the meticulously rendered and gorgeous planes themselves.
Even the sky box, clouds and lighting are being updated. Cloud simulation is actually being localized to the biome that a mission takes place in. And the storms and wind conditions are being accurately recreated too. Rain, light, shadows and temperature will all affect flying conditions, in short, this is probably the most advanced Ace Combat has ever been.
But wait, that’s not all we learned about the newest chapter in the Ace Combat saga today.
The game takes place in 2019, with two primary countries, Erusea and Osea vying for dominance of the Usean continent. The two nations have had a long history of conflict that goes back decades, and a fresh bout of tensions are going to boil over in AC7.
The latest conflict comes as a result of increasingly hotheaded responses to the construction of the International Space Elevator that was a result of collaboration between Erusea and several other nations. Osea saw this development as a threat to their ambitions, and decided to act against the Erusea. This era of Ace Combat lore is known as the Lighthouse War. It’s a period comparable to global war as the entire continent is involved in one way or another.
In order to compete against the mighty power of the Osean army, Erusea fought using countless unmanned drones. In the blink of an eye, Osea is driven off the East coast of the continent. At some point during the conflict, the space elevator was captured by Erusea, expect that to be a major plot point in the game.
We’ll also see other political tensions play out in AC7, including the buildup and fallout of the war for both nations.
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is scheduled to be released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The last release window we heard was 2018, but we’re still waiting on a precise date. If you want to know more, check out some of the other promotional material for the game.
