User:WENth100/sandbox



Project Wingman is an indie arcade-style combat flight action game mostly inspired by the Ace Combat series, developed by Australian studio Sector D2 and published by Humble Games. It was released for PC in December 2020 on Steam.

The game takes place in "alternate scorched earth setting". Centuries ago, Earth was ravaged by a worldwide cataclysm known simply as "The Calamity". A newly exposed and highly volatile material named "Cordium" triggered a chain reaction that caused catastrophic volcanic eruptions around the Pacific Ring of Fire and tectonic shifts. Destroying the old world order, and plunging humanity into darkness. Centuries later, humanity has managed to rebuild by learning to harness the massive quantities of geothermal energy generated by the volcanoes as well as Cordium itself to power various machines such as gigantic aerial warships and railguns.

In the year 432 AC (After Calamity), a multinational geopolitical superpower known as the Pacific Federation, who has control over the enormous Cordium deposits across the Ring of Fire, declared war on the Republic of Cascadia, a nation situated along the North American Western Seaboard, following the their refusal to be annexed by the Federation in order to acquire their large deposits of cordium and geothermal sources. Several private military companies such as the Sicario Corporation are hired by Cascadia in their war of independence against the Federation.

The players control a Silent Protagonist simply known by his callsigns: "Hitman 1" or "Monarch", the leader of the Hitman Team of fighter pilots employed by Sicario, the two other pilots (callsigns "Hitman 2 Diplomat" and "Hitman 3 Comic") and Monarch's weapon systems officer, callsign "President" or "Prez" for short. Other members of Sicario include "Galaxy", Sicario's primary AWACS operator, and the company's president, callsign "Assassin 1 Kaiser", leader of the Assassin fighter team.

While mostly inspired by games like Ace Combat 6 Fires of Liberation, Project Wingman includes several features not seen in Ace Combat before, such as the ability to simultaneously equip multiple special weapons on a single aircraft. Another unique feature of the game is the Conquest Mode; a customizable Roguelike game mode where you buy upgrades for your arsenal, hire more capable wingmen and crawl the territory map to complete objectives as the game throws increasingly dangerous hostile at you. This mode allows the players top adjust various difficulty modifiers and enemy numbers. Defeat in this mode will cause the player to lose all progress in that run, and they have to start from scratch all over again.

"These things? Impractical SOBs."
 * 0% Approval Rating: The Pacific Federation ends up having their intention opinion plummeting after
 * Ace Pilot: The player character, Monarch, is considered as such from the very beginning. Naturally, the Pacific Federation also has its fair share of aces, notably the Peacekeeper Squadrons known for their skills and the extreme loyalty to the Federation. In Conquest Mode, the player can also encounter random enemy ace squadrons near the end of the mission.
 * Airstrike Impossible: Unlike most Ace Combat games, there are no mandatory tunnel flights in this game, but optional ones do exist.
 * In Mission 6, there are several Federation Cordium extractors located within the lava lakes of the Yellowstone Exclusion Zone, they're shielded by large tunnel-like structures from the top, to destroy them you either have to aim your missiles or bombs carefully through the gaps in the roof or fly through these tunnels to get a clear shot at the structures. However, going for the latter forces you to fly low over the lava which will slowly start to bake your aircraft.
 * In Mission 9, there are a few large tunnels in the mountains used by the Federation garrison as runways. You can fly through them if it pleases you, because there aren't really much targets inside those tunnels.
 * AKA-47: As the game was developed by a fairly small 3-man indie studio who cannot afford the license fees like AAA developers, thus the game's aircraft have slightly altered names and sometimes appearances compared to real-world aircraft:
 * All the aircraft produced by Mikoyan-Gurevich are now simply renamed to MG-*number* (for instance, the MiG-29 is now the MG-29), the same applies to Sukhoi aircrafts which follow the SK-*number* naming convention.
 * For American aircraft, the series letter suffix is now moved behind the modified mission code. For instance, the F-15C Eagle is known as the "F/C-15".
 * Aircrafts from other nations tend to have a more varied alternative names, for instance, the Harrier is now the Accipator, the CF-105 is now the CR-105, and the J-20 is named the VX-23.
 * Alternative Calendar: The game takes place in the year 432 AC (After Calamity), named after the global geothermal cataclysm that reshaped the Earth’s surface centuries prior.
 * Anti-Frustration Features:
 * Targets that are killed by your allies will still reward you with a small amount of points, with more points received if you dealt damage to the target before it was finished off.
 * While the game lacks checkpoints, You can restart from the Mission Update.
 * Apocalypse How: The Calamity that sets the background of the game is a Class 1 or Class 2 example, it destroyed the old world orders and reshaped the world and nations as we know them..
 * Armored Coffins: The is equipped with what strongly resembles the COFFIN system from the Ace Combat series, and like some of the COFFIN equipped planes, it's likely that it could be flown remotely.
 * Awesome but Impractical: The 2 Super Taurus-class Land Battleships fielded by the Federation in mission 17 never went past the prototype stage since, despite having as many weapons as actual battleships of the Federation, they're still target practice for strike fighters. Your wingman even calls them out for that.

- Hitman 2 "Diplomat"

"OBJECTIVES: >EXIT THE AO >ENGAGEMENT WITH CRIMSON TEAM NOT ADVISABLE. Cross the blue line heading 000 (NORTH) to escape and return to base. ENGAGEMENT NOT ADVISED"
 * Boss Warning Siren: Unlike Ace Combat games, Project Wingman doesn't use cutscene transitions, instead the arrival of HVTs (high-value targets) is heralded by a "CAUTION" box along with the enemy name overlaying their emblem. The box then folds and moves to the bottom of the screen to form the health bars of the boss(es).
 * Bottomless Magazines: Your aircraft's railgun can only carry 30 rounds into battle, while enemies flying the same plane can unleash barrage after barrage of fire from their railguns, and the only way to stop them is to down them.
 * Break Out the Museum Piece: In Mission 11, as you progressively dismantle the Federation's Air Force, they started to committing all available air power, including those stationed in other member nations in a rapidly-escalating furball. Some of them are flying low-level aircraft such as the MG-21 and the F/E-4 which are seldom seen flown by enemies (which usually use more advanced models such as the F/C-15 or the SK.27), this just goes to show how desperate the Federation is at salvaging this out of control situation.
 * Unlike in Ace Combat, flares are unlimited in quantity. regardless of planes, and only require a 5 second cool down to be used again.
 * Cool Airship: Compared to Ace Combat, aerial warships are far more common in Project Wingman, you can encounter them as enemies as early as mission 2. As the game progresses and the Cascadian Independent Forces gain more and more advantage, they'll send their own airships to assist you in missions. In Conquest Mode, you can spend resources to hire airships to assist you in battle.
 * Defenceless Transports: Cargo planes, ships and trucks show up quite frequently in this game, they appear sometimes as mission critical targets, or optional targets you can blow up for more points.
 * Difficult but Awesome:
 * Beating the game with a 2-seater aircraft to hear all of your WSO Prez's dialogues, considering that all of the late-game aircraft are single seaters, there's no option to upgrade your planes, the best 2-seaters you can get are the MG-31 and the F/D-14 and neither of the 2 are dedicated dogfighters.
 * The AOA Limiters that prototype class planes can equip in place of chaff and flares allows you to perform post-stall maneuvers with them, while evading missiles this way is no doubt more difficult than just popping a couple of flares, it can potentially give you an upper edge in dogfights where you can pull off PSMs to get on the enemy's six much quicker.
 * The Dreaded:
 * The Federation Peacekeepers, the cream of the crop of their air force. Among them, Crimson Squadron are the top aces, flying top-of-the-line VX-23 and SK.37 experimental fighter jets. Crimson 1 in particular is somewhat of a poster boy in the Federation Air Force and is considered by many to be the top ace in the whole world. The radio chatter fills with dread when these guys enter the scene, and the first time they appear you even get a tooltip telling you to run.

- HUD

"Ah shit. We've got positive contact with the Crowned mercenary. All arrays concentrate on him!"
 * You, Monarch, becomes one for the Federation after Mission 11, and earn the nickname of "The Crown" from the enemies.

- Federation Defense

"Damn. They've whittled us down. Blue Squadron, we CANNOT let mercs of this caliber into Cascadia."
 * Dude, Where's My Respect?: Averted, after seeing you in action in Mission 02, the Federation took you seriously enough to dispatch an airship in hopes to stop you from entering Cascadia.

- Federation AWACS


 * Earn Your Happy Ending: The fate of your friends and allies are left ambiguous after the final mission. You only find out what happens to them after beating the game on the highest possible difficulty.
 * Enemy Chatter: Much like its inspiration, in order to build ambiance and add flavour to the missions, the player can hear just about anyone on the radio, from your Wingman and AWACS, to friendly or hostile fighter pilots, to ground units, to civilian airliners and factory workers.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Several Federation officers and soldiers are not happy or outright opposed to their compatriots' actions, such as or.
 * The Federation: The Pacific Federation is a rare evil example, it's basically designed to be an antagonistic version of the Osean Federation, who covers all the eastern coast of Asia from Kamchatka to Indonesia, including what's left of Japan (as almost all of Japan's territory is in a volcanic exclusion zone) and all of Cascadia's territory.Since their territory covers the Pacific Ring of Fire, they have control with most of the world's Cordium deposits, making them virtually politically untouchable. For nations like Cascadia whom the Federation cannot threaten with a Cordium embargo, they are not above using their massive military clout and wealth to bully other nations into joining them. For them, "no" is an unacceptable response.
 * Harder Than Hard: Mercenary difficulty, unlocked by finishing the campaign on Hard difficulty. Its description simply reads "Death Awaits". And it's not joking. You'll be fighting far more enemies using far more advanced weapons in each mission, unless you're very good or you've got some excellent weapons, expect to die, A LOT.
 * High Altitude Battle: One of the main features the game, most notably in Mission 2 and 11, where the contrails produced by both friendly and enemy aircraft really drives home the chaotic nature of the furball you're in, they're also quite useful in finding the enemy's bearing.
 * Iconic Logo: Being a featureless silent protagonist, Monarch's most defining feature is his emblem, it bears a resemblance to a 3-pointed crown (hence why Federation soldiers refer to him as "The Crown" or "Crowned Mercenary"), but it also bears a resemblance to a monarch butterfly.
 * Improvised Weapon: The only special weapon the T-21 (a trainer version of the MG-21 and one of the 2 starting aircraft in the game) is literally a drop tank repurposed to be a bomb. The in-game description reassures you that it will work, though.
 * Infinity+1 Sword: The PW Mk.I super fighter unlocked by completing the campaign. It's capable of pulling off PSMs like it's nobody's business, and comes with such a large variety of weapons that it can trivialize even Mercenary Difficulty.
 * Instant Expert: Monarch can switch between more than 20 different planes, from dedicated high-speed interceptors to slow but powerful attackers.
 * Ironic Echo: "It's only business. I'm sure you guys understand." Said first by Master Goose 1 when his team arrive too late to defend the Burlok privateers Sicario took out in Mission 1, and then repeated when in.
 * Macross Missile Massacre: Some of the late-model Mk.III airships are armed with M-SAM launchers, which can unleash a barrage of a dozen missiles simultaneously. The can also fire off barrages of micro missiles, they may not pack as much punch as standard missiles, but their sheer number and the fact that they're coming in from every direction means that you're most likely gonna take a hit or two. Both planes even resemble fighter jets from Macross.
 * Midair Collision: A rather embarrassing way to go down is to crash into one of the slow moving airships flying around the battlefield. This has put an end to quite a few Conquest Mode runs.
 * Mighty Glacier: The SK.25 is easily the slowest plane in the entire game, based off the real-life Su-25 Frogfoot subsonic CAS aircraft. However, it's a fairly durable aircraft and can equip a range of powerful weapons, ranging from burst firing rockets, multi-lock air to ground missiles and heavy cannon pods. Plus it's a 2-seater so you can bring Prez along for some action.
 * Mission Control: Your AWACS, callsign Galaxy, serves as this throughout the campaign and Conquest Mode, thanks to Sicario being one of the handful of PMCs capable of affording an AWACS.
 * Mundane Utility: Apparently, an unarmed civilian version of the Littoria class aerial battlecruiser also exist, several of them appear in Mission 8 operated by Air Cascadia.
 * Shout-Out:
 * The era that the game takes place in, After Calamity (AC), shares initials with Ace Combat.
 * Icarus Armory's super fighter bears a striking resemblance to the VF-11C Thunderbolt.
 * The conical shape and red glowing particle emissions of the airships' Cordium powered engines is very similar to GN Tau Drives.
 * The mercenary pilot Master Goose One's call sign is a reference to Vincent Harling's transport in Ace Combat 5 & 7, Mother Goose One.
 * The achievement for achieving the second mission is "No Borders".
 * The Federation colors for the F/C-15 does bear a resemblance to Sorcerer Team's livery, or a inverted version of Cipher’s livery from Ace Combat Zero.
 * Super Prototype: "Prototype" is listed as a separate class for flyable planes in the game, they range from real-life prototype designs to completely fictional ones originating from the game. These aircrafts can be equipped with AOA (Angle of Attack) Limiters which allows them become supermaneuverable and perform post-stall maneuvers.
 * The F/S-15 is based off the F-15 ACTIVE prototype, despite its name which seems to be a reference to the F-15S/MTD.
 * The SK.37 is largely based off the Su-37 Flanker-F technology demonstrator, a very familiar plane for most Ace Combat players due to its association with numerous ace squadrons. Half of the members of Crimson Squadron flew these planes.
 * The VX-23 seems to be the fusion of a F-22A Raptor and a J-20, possessing outstanding speed and mobility. Those in the Crimson Squadron who do not fly the SK.37 use this as their plane.
 * The ACG-01 Chimera is another original design, combining elements from the Su-57 and the F-16XL. Overall not as maneuverable as the VX-23, but possessing better anti-surface capabilities.
 * , best described as More Dakka incarnate, it's capable of equipping every type of gunpod in the game, plus it comes with a rapid-firing railgun.
 * Timed Mission: Averted in the regular campaign, unlike Ace Combat, there's simply no timer. But in Conquest Mode, there's an alert level meter which gradually fills up as time progresses. The higher the level, the more enemies the game will throw at you and the deadlier these enemies will be.
 * Unobtainium: Cordium, a powerful but volatile geothermal energy resource that is mostly the main catalyst of the first Calamity. The war begins in part due to the Pacific Federation seeking to gain control of Cascadia’s Cordium deposits, which are some of the richest in the entire world. Cordium can also be used to power railguns and airships, and Cordium based engines always trail behind a large amount of spark-like particle emissions. It is also mentioned that the Pacific Federation is basically unassailable on the diplomatic stage, as they have a virtual monopoly on Cordium, and any criticism is met with trade embargoes. In Conquest Mode, Cordium becomes a gainable resource, which you can use to gather a fleet of airships, or upgrade them to more advanced Mk.II models.
 * Unusable Enemy Equipment: During Mission 7 & Mission 11, Federation pilots will show up in SK.30s which appears to be based off the 2-seater Su-30. This plane has yet to be made available for the player.
 * Video Game Cruelty Potential: Much like in Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, some targets will show up as yellow ones (either civilian targets, or unimportant military targets that isn't directly contributing to the battle at hand), such as the unarmed, unescorted transport planes (all Federation fighters are too busy engaging with Cascadian and mercenary fighters nearby in a giant furball) evacuating Federation troops, or the also unarmed, unescorted evacuation trucks in Mission 14, or the 2 transport helicopters in Mission 6 that are most likely just carrying civilian factory workers. But unlike Ace Combat Zero, Project Wingman doesn’t have an Ace Style gauge, you’re kind of encouraged to shoot them down to earn more money and your arsenal.
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