''Aces High'' (formerly known as ''Aces High II'') is a

combat flight simulation Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mili ...

and

massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are ...

for Microsoft Windows. It was created by

HiTech Creations HiTech is a chess machine built at Carnegie Mellon University under the direction of World Correspondence Chess Champion Dr. Hans J. Berliner, by Berliner, Carl Ebeling, Murray Campbell, and Gordon Goetsch. HiTech was the first computer chess sys ...

and originally released on May 8, 2000; the game is subscriber based. It features aircraft from both the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

What is Aces High, and How Do I Get Started?
/ref> and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

WWI aircraft coming soon to Aces High II - WWI Air Combat flight sims
/ref> eras, as well as smaller numbers of ground vehicles and

ships A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

. In 2016, HiTech Creations re-released the game with improved graphics and sounds. While the main focus of ''Aces High'' is on World War II

aerial combat Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control ...

, there is also a smaller selection of ground vehicles, ships, and World War I aircraft. There are over 100 aircraft, vehicles, and boats individually modeled in the game.

Gameplay

''Aces High'' is an open-ended combat flight simulator, where players can fly

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...

or offline, and engage other players in air, land, or sea-based combat. Strategy is similar to capture the flag; there are three countries at war and the object is to win the war by capturing a percentage of the other two countries fields while retaining a percentage of your own fields. Capturing and defending fields takes cooperation of players of each side. Player built maps are rotated at the end of each war, reset, and started over. War lasts anywhere from hours to days depending on the arena and populations present.

World War II

The main (and original) focus of ''Aces High'' is

. This takes place in several online arenas, the focuses of which include 'early', 'middle', and 'late' war aircraft. In addition to this, the World War II arenas also contain ground and naval combat, both of which operate alongside the air war. Although the selection of ground vehicles is a little lacking, it is beginning to be improved with the upcoming addition of the M4A3 and the M4A3(76) (a version armed with a 76mm high velocity gun as opposed to a 75mm low velocity gun, which would give better anti-tank capabilities at the cost of less powerful high-explosive shells.)

World War I

HiTech Creations announced the development of aircraft from World War I in October 2009. Upon its release in 2010, it contained four aircraft: the

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the be ...

, Bristol F.2B, and Fokker D.VII. The World War 1 arena is set up as a dogfighting arena with 3 countries set up and bases in close proximity.

Scenarios

Scenarios are special large-scale battles in Aces High that run a 2-3 times per year. Usually, they are based on actual World War II battles, such as the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended ...

. Sometimes they are based on hypothetical battles that might have been. A Scenario typically involves about 150 people divided into two sides, each with a dedicated command staff. Each side has particular aircraft, mission objectives, squadron assignments, bases, and resources. A Scenario typically runs over the course of a month, with one battle per week, each battle lasting 3–4 hours. Scenarios
/ref>

References

External links

Aces High Home Page

Aces High Overview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aces High (Video Game) 2000 video games Massively multiplayer online games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games World War II flight simulation video games World War I video games Combat flight simulators Multiplayer and single-player video games