Night Bomber
Probably the first flight sim to focus on the RAF's night bombing of the Reich during the Second World War
One of the most unusual flight sims we've come across in recent weeks is Night Bomber. Not only is it the only flight sim that we can think of which focuses exclusively on night time operations during the Second World War, but it is also a non-commercial project which will be distributed free, with any profits that are made going to a variety of war-related charities from veterans groups to aircraft preservation societies. Despite this it promises to be commercial quality though, with veterans of projects for Microsoft, DiD and Microprose working on the game.
It's certainly not short on ambition either. There will be a dynamic campaign in which the outcome of the war depends in part on your own actions, and you will be able to fly either an RAF night bomber pulverising the Reich or one of the Luftwaffe's interceptors trying to stop them. There is even talk of being able to take over searchlights and anti-aircraft artillery positions on the German side. Geographically speaking the playing area should be vast. "The goal is to recreate the whole of Europe, from the north west of Scotland, to parts of Scandinavia and down to the south east of Germany and the alps", according to lead programmer Rick G. "We are currently attempting to gain access to high resolution satellite height data, which will allow us to recreate the terrain of Europe with a decent level of accuracy."
The game will also support full day and night cycles, which means that although all of the built-in missions will take place during the night, users will be able to create their own daylight missions. We can't help but feel that bombing German cities in the dark is a distinctly unglamorous and morally dubious aspect of the war for a flight sim to focus on, but the game is certainly promising a lot, from detailed flight models and dynamic campaigns to extensive multiplayer support and a brand new 3D engine. "Many people think of 'night bombers' and they assume there will be nothing to see and that everything will be black. This is very wrong, the sky is only black if you're under overcast clouds, or if it's the middle of the night. It also depends on the season, in summer the sky in Europe can remain a hue of blue until the early hours of the morning. And then of course there are stars ... rain, wind, storms etc."