本文章及圖片轉(zhuǎn)自：https://www.gamepressure.com/editorials/tom-cruise-in-top-gun-cinematic-adventures-with-the-fa-18-hornet/z258e?fbclid=IwAR0HDtk6j_oAq_nZ9h-ZCUZh2FJL3ktuBsD3gSUVkQ1mXBQP7ZTzFXBwRNY

作者：Darius Matusiak

本文章僅代表作者個人觀點(diǎn)

Tom Cruise in Top Gun - Cinematic Adventures with the F/A-18 Hornet in DCS World

Although games about airplanes aren't hugely popular, there are ways to feel like Tom Cruise from Top Gun. We asked Baltic Dragon – the creators of the DCS World campaign – about the secrets of creating cinematic stories set in the world of air forces.

雖然關(guān)于飛行的游戲并不是很熱門，但是仍有些途徑讓我們感受壯志凌云中的Tom Cruise。我們向Baltic Dragon (DCS戰(zhàn)役創(chuàng)作者) 詢問了一些關(guān)于創(chuàng)作空戰(zhàn)題材電影故事的秘密。

The original hit movie?Top Gun?was released in 1986 – a time when computer games were just beginning to make their mark in pop culture and entertainment. Everything was easier back then – both when it came to delighting the viewers with stunning air combat footage, and dazzling the players with a few vector lines pretending to be a F-14 Tomcat fighter. Nevertheless, a?dozen or so games referring to the?Top Gun?that were released over a period of 26 years did not turn out to be as great hits as the film, and none of them became a timeless classic.

熱門原創(chuàng)電影Top Gun于1986年上映 - 那個年代電腦游戲剛開始在流行文化和娛樂領(lǐng)域嶄露頭角。那時候一切都很簡單 - 無論是用令人驚嘆的空戰(zhàn)鏡頭取悅觀眾，還是用幾條矢量線偽裝成F-14雄貓戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)令玩家眼花繚亂。盡管如此，在過去的26年里，一些參考Top Gun電影創(chuàng)作的游戲并沒有像電影一樣大受歡迎，也沒有一款成為永恒的經(jīng)典。

In fact, all of them were simple, arcade shooters that got lost in the maze of similar games. No studio took advantage of the greatest wave of popularity of flight simulators that was occurring in the early 90s.?Made with arguably the greatest flair,?Top Gun: Fire at Will?(1996) could boast cutscenes featuring, among others, James Tolkan known from the film, but the game itself deterred fans of flying with some great gameplay simplifications?and an extremely underwhelming story with poor performances of the remainder of the cast.

事實(shí)上，這些都是簡單的街機(jī)射擊游戲，創(chuàng)作者在類似游戲的迷宮中迷失了方向。沒有一家工作室利用了90年代初那股飛行模擬流行浪潮。Top Gun: Fire at Will?(1996)做的好的方面是，它可以吹噓自己使用了電影中著名演員人物的過場畫面，例如James Tolkan(Top Gun中"Stinger"、航母指揮官扮演者)，但是游戲本身通過大量的簡化和極其平庸的內(nèi)容以及其他演員糟糕的表現(xiàn)讓飛行愛好者失望止步。

The sequel,?Hornet's Nest, described as too difficult for casuals and too silly for veterans, also brought a bag of mixed feelings, and the sole significant improvement over its predecessor was the terrain graphics.?The creators wanted to reconcile realism with universal accessibility, but such attempts usually ended in failure. It's worth noting, however, that in?Hornet's Nest, the main character – Maverick – switched to the F/A-18 Hornet, which is a slightly older version of the one he flies in the sequel to?Top Gun.

它的續(xù)作Hornet's Nest，有反饋稱，對普通玩家來說太難，對老玩家來說又太蠢，同時也帶來了一系列復(fù)雜感受，與上作相比，唯一顯著的提升就是地形畫質(zhì)。游戲制作者希望將擬真和低上手難度相協(xié)調(diào)，但這種嘗試通常以失敗告終。然而值得注意的是，在續(xù)作Hornet's Nest中，主角Maverick改用F/A-18大黃蜂戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)，這是在他Top Gun電影續(xù)作中駕駛的那架老版本的機(jī)型。

Maybe there’s no games, but there are DCS World campaigns

Today, the reality is completely different. New generations are more excited about superheroes than fighter jets, and?flight simulators have become ultra-realistic and inevitably attract a much narrower group of enthusiasts compared to other genres. In such an environment, is there still room for a game based on the movie?Top Gun: Maverick? Perhaps so – a sandbox based on the great?Strike Commander, with a fighter jet in the lead role and a captivating story, could be a welcome breath of fresh air among the hackneyed entries in the said series. Unfortunately, we will likely never find out about it, because large publishers won't decide to take such risks, and only they could afford to buy the appropriate licenses and realize such a game with the right momentum.

如今，情況完全不一樣。新一代人對超級英雄比戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)更感興趣，現(xiàn)在的飛行模擬器變的更加逼真。與其他類型游戲相比，不可避免地吸引了一部分小眾玩家愛好者。在這樣的環(huán)境下，根據(jù)Top Gun: Maverick電影改編的游戲還有一席之地嗎？也許是這樣的 — 以Strike Commander(陸空戰(zhàn)將)為原型的沙盒游戲，用一架戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)作為主角配合引人入勝的故事情節(jié)，可能是上述老套游戲中一股受歡迎清流。不幸的是，我們可能永遠(yuǎn)不會知道的一點(diǎn)，因?yàn)榇笮陀螒虺霭嫔滩辉敢獬袚?dān)這樣的風(fēng)險，他們能做的就是買一些合適的許可證并盡力完成游戲開發(fā)。

This doesn't mean, however, that fans of flying have no way what so ever to feel like Maverick performed by Tom Cruise, or "Rooster" (Miles Teller), the son of the unforgettable "Goose."?There are ways to take part in truly cinematic stories as a pilot of the F/A-18C Hornet fighter, taking off and landing on aircraft carriers, just like the heroes of?Top Gun: Maverick. Look no further than the story campaigns for?DCS World?simulator, especially those designed strictly for two modules,?F/A-18?and?Supercarrier, which introduces US Navy aircraft carriers.

然而，這并不意味著飛行愛好者沒有機(jī)會體驗(yàn)到"Maverick"(扮演者Tom Cruise)或者"Rooster"("Goose"的兒子，扮演者M(jìn)iles Teller)的感覺。有很多種方式可以作為一名F/A-18C大黃蜂飛行員，真實(shí)地體驗(yàn)電影中的故事情節(jié)，就像Top Gun: Maverick電影中的英雄們一樣。只要看看那些DCS World中的戰(zhàn)役就明白了，尤其是那兩個被嚴(yán)格設(shè)計的模組，F/A-18C和超級航母，超級航母內(nèi)容是美國海軍航空母艦。

Realism and cinematic action can go hand-in-hand

At the beginning, it's worth noting that these titles are certainly not intended for everyone. The main obstacle here is the degree of realism of the?DCS World?simulator and the accuracy with which F/A-18C Hornet was recreated.?While the flight model itself is generally very accessible, the operation of individual weapons, navigation and radio communication systems requires some specific knowledge and familiarity with the subject of combat aviation. On the other hand, it's still largely a game meant for entertainment. The missions of the campaign are about reaching a destination, completing tasks, shooting, making decisions, talking to NPCs – just like in any other action game. For some people, the desire to experience such an adventure can be a good incentive to get into the world of aviation and learn about the operation of the F/A-18C Hornet.

首先，值得注意的是，這些標(biāo)題顯然不適合所有人。這里主要的障礙是DCS World的擬真度和F/A-18C大黃蜂的還原準(zhǔn)確度。雖然飛行很容易上手掌握，但是單類武器，導(dǎo)航和無線電通信系統(tǒng)的使用需要相關(guān)知識和熟悉空戰(zhàn)相關(guān)內(nèi)容。另一方面，它很大程度上仍然是一款娛樂游戲。戰(zhàn)役中的任務(wù)是關(guān)于到達(dá)目的地、完成任務(wù)、射擊、決策、與NPC交談 — 就像其他動作類游戲一樣。對于某些人來說，渴望感受這種刺激體驗(yàn)可以更好地進(jìn)入航空世界，學(xué)習(xí)關(guān)于F/A-18C大黃蜂的操作。

In addition, there's also a selection of story campaigns, which differs in terms of atmosphere and complexity. On the one hand, you can experience an almost arcade game inspired by the?Ace Combat?series, full of cringeworthy dialog lines, and constantly leading the player by the hand.?On the other hand, there are campaigns developed under the strict supervision of real Hornet pilots. There, each line of text of the radio chatter was consulted to ensure maximal realism. It may take some effort even for veterans of flight simulators to understand this cryptic jargon at first.

另外，還有一些列的戰(zhàn)役，在氣氛和復(fù)雜程度方面有所不同。一方面是，你可以體驗(yàn)到以?Ace Combat(皇牌空戰(zhàn))系列為靈感的街機(jī)游戲，充滿了令人尷尬的對話，并不斷地手把手引導(dǎo)玩家。另一方面有些戰(zhàn)役的開發(fā)在一些真實(shí)的大黃蜂飛行員審核下完成。里面的每一行無線電對話都被審查，以確保最大程度地擬真。即便是玩飛行模擬的老玩家，剛開始時也需要花費(fèi)力氣來弄懂這些令人費(fèi)解的術(shù)語。

Virtually most of these story expansions are made with small, 3rd-party studios, and sometimes even individual enthusiasts who can count on huge support of the community. Thanks to this, many people from all over the world are always involved in the projects. There's no problem with the selection of voice actors with natural accents, you can also count on the above-mentioned support of people professionally involved with military aviation. We?were able to talk to the?creator of one of the most recognized campaigns in the?DCS?community – Baltic Dragon – and asked them about details of their creation. So, what experiences in the?Top Gun?atmosphere can we get in?DCS World?

實(shí)際上，這些戰(zhàn)役大多數(shù)由小型第三方工作室制作，甚至有些是依靠社區(qū)大力支持的個人愛好者制作。感謝這些來自世界各地的玩家，加入到這些項(xiàng)目創(chuàng)作中。所以挑選一些配音演員不成問題，創(chuàng)作者還可以得到軍事航空領(lǐng)域的專業(yè)人士支持。我們能夠和最受DCS玩家認(rèn)可的戰(zhàn)役之一的創(chuàng)作者 —?Baltic Dragon進(jìn)行交流并詢問了他們在創(chuàng)作時的細(xì)節(jié)。那么，我們在DCS World中又能感受到哪些來自Top Gun電影的氛圍呢？

From Ace-Combat style Visual Novel...

The Rising Squall?campaign by Inverted is by far the most similar to a regular computer game.?It's practically a combination of the style and atmosphere of the?Ace Combat?series?with the realism of?DCS World?– but taking neither too far. Unlike other games, the most demanding or complicated activities here are performed for the player by the AI, putting pure action and story to the forefront. And as befits?Ace Combat, the action is full of pathos and cringy dialogues. Someone is saying something all the time, dynamic soundtrack is pumping the action all the time (composed by Keiki Kobayashi himself – the author of the music for?Ace Combat).

Rising Squall(風(fēng)起翼下)是迄今最類似常規(guī)電腦游戲的戰(zhàn)役。這實(shí)際上把Ace Combat(皇牌空戰(zhàn))的氛圍和DCS World的擬真相結(jié)合 —?but taking neither too far。與其他游戲不同，這里將最復(fù)雜的環(huán)節(jié)交由AI為玩家執(zhí)行，將純粹的動作情節(jié)和故事放在首位。與Ace Combat(皇牌空戰(zhàn))一樣，充滿了感人和尷尬的對話。一直有人說，起伏的背景音樂推動著劇情變化。(Keiki Kobayashi作曲，Ace Combat音樂創(chuàng)作者)

The creators gave us some hand-drawn manga-style briefing documents, illustrating the mission objectives, and on the web you can find a comic book introducing the lore and the characters of?Rising Squall.?Inverted has proven that it's possible to combine the rigid and serious realism?of?DCS World?with the visual novel genre and purely console action. It's certainly not a digestible mixture for everyone, but beginners aren't likely to find a more accessible and spectacular introduction to story-based air combat.

此戰(zhàn)役創(chuàng)作者給我們帶來一些手繪漫畫風(fēng)格的簡報文件，說明了任務(wù)目標(biāo)，你還可以在其網(wǎng)站上找到介紹相關(guān)知識和戰(zhàn)役角色的漫畫書。Inverted工作室的做法已經(jīng)證明可以將DCS World的僵硬擬真風(fēng)格與視覺小說題材及純粹的單機(jī)動作風(fēng)格相結(jié)合。這種結(jié)合當(dāng)然不是每個人可以理解的，但是初學(xué)者不太容易找到更易懂、更好的空戰(zhàn)題材教學(xué)內(nèi)容。

In?addition to?Rising Squall, there are a couple of other campaigns that offer different experiences.?Aggressors BFM?from Maple Flag Missions will take us to the famous training ground in the Nevada desert to play the role of an "aggressor" plane pretending to be a hostile MiG.?Operation Pontus?by 373vFS Greg, 373vFS_Petritis and Baltic Dragon is a substitute for a dynamic campaign in which subsequent missions depend on our actions. A lot of quests and dialogue lines can also be found in?Operation Cerberus North, Rise of the Persian Lion?and?The Serpent's Head 2.

除了Rising Squall戰(zhàn)役(風(fēng)起翼下)之外，還有一些其他戰(zhàn)役可以帶來不同的體驗(yàn)。Maple Flag Missions制作的 Aggressors BFM戰(zhàn)役(入侵者BFM)，將帶我們前往Nevada沙漠中著名的訓(xùn)練場，扮演米格飛機(jī)作為“入侵者”角色。373vFS Greg、373vFS_Petritis和Baltic Dragon制作的Operation Pontus戰(zhàn)役(蓬托斯行動)是一個動態(tài)戰(zhàn)役，后續(xù)的任務(wù)取決于我們的決策。在Operation Cerberus North戰(zhàn)役(北方地獄犬行動)、Rise of the Persian Lion戰(zhàn)役(波斯獅的崛起)和The Serpent's Head 2戰(zhàn)役(蛇頭2)中也可以找到很多任務(wù)和對話。

...to realistic missions from real Hornet pilots

If you want something opposite to the manga-inspired?Rising Squall, check out the?brutal crash with authenticity and realism found in?Raven One?campaign,?prepared by the Baltic Dragon. If the title rings a bell – it's an adaptation of a well-received book by Kevin Miller. It tells the fictional story of a group of Hornet pilots stationed on the USS Valley Forge aircraft carrier. Sent to the Persian Gulf, they have to face another military crisis in that region. The main character, Jim "Flip" Wilson, is even a graduate of the Top Gun school, and he is a slightly more authentic equivalent of "Maverick" from the movie.

如果你想嘗試與漫畫風(fēng)格Rising Squall(風(fēng)起翼下)相反的戰(zhàn)役，看看由Baltic Dragon制作的Raven One戰(zhàn)役(烏鴉一號)，真實(shí)與現(xiàn)實(shí)的殘酷碰撞。如果你覺得標(biāo)題很熟悉 — 戰(zhàn)役改編自Kevin Miller的暢銷書。這本書講述了一組大黃蜂飛行員部署在USS Valley Forge號航空母艦上的虛構(gòu)故事。這些飛行員被派往波斯灣，他們不得不面對該地區(qū)的另一場軍事危機(jī)。書中的主角Jim "Flip" Wilson，一名TOP GUN畢業(yè)生，他與電影中的"Maverick"有些相似。

The author of the book is also a former F/A-18C Hornet pilot and has participated in combat operations.?So the text is full of professional notions and jargon of pilots, which some reviewers even considered a flaw. Others believe that it?adds credibility and authenticity to it, throwing the reader literally on board the aircraft carrier and into the Hornet's cockpit. As you might guess, the feeling of being right in the middle of the action is even greater in front of the monitor when going through the book's mission in?DCS World.

這本說的作者是前F/A-18C大黃蜂飛行員，曾參加過作戰(zhàn)行動。因此書中充滿了專業(yè)的概念和飛行員術(shù)語，有些讀者甚至認(rèn)為這是該書的缺點(diǎn)。其他讀者認(rèn)為這樣增加了可信度和真實(shí)性，字里行間將讀者帶到航空母艦上和大黃蜂座艙內(nèi)。正如你猜測的那樣，在DCS World中執(zhí)行原著中的任務(wù)，讓玩家在屏幕前的感覺更加強(qiáng)烈。

Baltic Dragon was not limited to the same heroes and events as described in the novel. When portraying the missions described by Miller in?DCS, he not only added new ones, complementing the whole story, but most of all?he consulted everything with the author and another pilot – Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello – the creator of the famous?The Fighter Pilot Podcast.

Baltic Dragon沒有局限于小說中相同的英雄角色和事件。當(dāng)用DCS創(chuàng)作Miller在書中描述的任務(wù)時，他不僅添加新的任務(wù)，還完善了整個故事，更重要的是，他咨詢了作者和另外一名飛行員 —?Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello — 著名播客The Fighter Pilot Podcast作者。

How did the book even become the basis of the fictional campaign of a flight simulator?

這本書如何成為此戰(zhàn)役的腳本？

The idea came up during a conversation with Vincent Aiello. It's author is actually Rob Grady, the producer of the?Fighter Pilot Podcast?who also plays?DCS World, who was pretty familiar with my previous campaigns. So we chatted with Vincent (Jell-O) first, and then we arranged to meet Kevin Miller – and it was downhill from there. In the meantime, I joined the?Fighter Pilot Podcast?team (now part of BVR Productions), and everything gained a lot of momentum. In the near future, we want to complete a story campaign for the F-16C Viper, created together with the F-16C pilot John "Rain" Waters from the Afterburn Podcast, and a campaign for the F-14B in cooperation with the former F-14 Tomcat radar operator – Ward "Mooch" Carroll. –?Baltic Dragon

靈感來自和Vincent Aiello的一次談話中。其實(shí)這是Rob Grady想到的，他是Fighter Pilot Podcast 的制作人同時也在玩DCS World，Rob Grady對我之前創(chuàng)作的戰(zhàn)役非常熟悉。所以起初我和Vincent (Jell-O)聊了聊，之后我們安排和Kevin Miller見面 — 從那時就揭開了戰(zhàn)役制作序幕。與此同時，我加入了?Fighter Pilot Podcast?(現(xiàn)在是BVR Productions一部分)團(tuán)隊(duì)，我獲得了極大的動力。在不久的將來，我會完成關(guān)于F-16C蝰蛇戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)的一部戰(zhàn)役，該戰(zhàn)役是與F-16C飛行員，播客Afterburn Podcast創(chuàng)始人John?"Rain" Waters合作的。另外還有一部關(guān)于F-14B的戰(zhàn)役，該戰(zhàn)役是與退役F-14雄貓戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)雷達(dá)官Ward "Mooch" Carroll合作的。–?Baltic Dragon

"Pilots don't talk nonsense"

There are several thousand lines of dialogues in the digital version of?Raven One?– and Miller and Aiello made sure that each of them sounded exactly right. In addition, there's also the documentation of missions full of tables and concepts that, at first glance, seem meaningless.?Only when you completely immerse yourself in the world of pilots, familiarizing yourself with the procedures of a mission, everything will start to make sense. The "player" finds out how extremely important it is during a combat situation to operate the radio, change frequencies and carefully read the information in the pilot's handy notebook – the kneeboard.

數(shù)字版的Raven One(烏鴉一號)有幾千行對話 —Miller和Aiello確保每一句話聽起來正確。另外，任務(wù)文檔里充滿了表格和概念，乍一看毫無意義。只有你完全沉浸在飛行員的世界中，熟悉任務(wù)流程，這一切才開始變得有意義。玩家會發(fā)現(xiàn)在戰(zhàn)斗中操作無線電，切換頻率和仔細(xì)閱讀飛行員筆記 — 膝板，是多么的重要。

Could the?DCS?campaign be "too hard" then, or is that what the community expects?

DCS戰(zhàn)役會不會太難了，還是玩家所期望的？

DCS World?is referred to as a "study sim," and most players expect the highest possible realism from the mission. Within reason, of course, because completely realistic missions could be boring even for the greatest enthusiasts. The response from the community was amazing, overwhelmingly positive.

DCS World被稱為“學(xué)習(xí)模擬”，大多數(shù)玩家期望執(zhí)行任務(wù)中盡可能地逼真。當(dāng)然這是合理的，即使對于發(fā)燒玩家來說，完全擬真的任務(wù)也可能會有些無聊。從玩家群體得到的反饋很驚人，絕大多數(shù)是積極的反饋。

Even people who usually only play multiplayer praised the campaign for how it reflects the atmosphere and allows you to feel like a real F/A-18 pilot. On the other hand, there was, of course, the discontent lot: too little action, too much refueling in the air, too little pilots' chatter, etc. However, I take these allegations as proof that we've achieved our goals, and therefore delivered a campaign that will raise the bar when it comes to content available to players in?DCS World.?–?Baltic Dragon

即使那些通常只玩多人游戲的玩家也贊揚(yáng)的這部戰(zhàn)役，因?yàn)樗从沉藨?zhàn)場氣氛，讓你感覺自己是一名真正的F/A-18飛行員。另一方面，當(dāng)然也有很多不滿：太少的情節(jié)，太多的空中加油，太少的飛行員交談等等。但是，我認(rèn)為這些指責(zé)恰好證明了我們達(dá)成了目標(biāo)，因此在DCS World中向玩家提供的內(nèi)容標(biāo)準(zhǔn)得到了提高。–?Baltic Dragon

Interpreting the story from a book in a PC simulator, which doesn't let you add an intro or any cutscenes, is an additional challenge that the authors had to face. Especially since?the several thousand lines of dialogue we mentioned mainly concern jargon messages that the crews exchange to effectively execute combat missions. Pointless chatter typical of movies is rare here. It turns out, however, that it all depends on the military formation or the type of aircraft, and in future campaigns, the storyline will look a bit different – more cinematic and rich.

在PC模擬器中演繹一本書中的故事，是作者不得不面對的另一個挑戰(zhàn)，因?yàn)樗辉试S添加介紹和任何過程動畫。特別是我們提到的幾千行對話主要涉及機(jī)組人員為了有效執(zhí)行作戰(zhàn)任務(wù)而使用的行話。電影中典型的沒有意義的閑聊在這里很少見。然而，事實(shí)證明，這一切都卻決于軍隊(duì)編制和飛機(jī)類型，未來推出的戰(zhàn)役，內(nèi)容會有些不同 —?更具電影感。

It all depends on the campaign. There's hardly any chit-chat in?Raven One?because Kevin and Jell-O were very adamant about US Navy pilots "just not talking nonsense" on missions. On the other hand, when working with John Waters on the story for the F-16C, it turned out that things are a bit different in the USAF air force and casual conversations and jokes are quite common. Once I start making the campaign for the F-14 (in cooperation with Ward "Mooch" Carroll), I will surely cut some more slack like that, because it's a natural thing in a two-seat airplane.?–?Baltic Dragon

這全部取決于戰(zhàn)役本身。在Raven One(烏鴉一號)中幾乎沒有閑聊，因?yàn)镵evin and Jell-O都非常堅(jiān)持美國海軍飛行員在執(zhí)行任務(wù)“不說廢話”的原則。另一方面，在與John Waters一起合作F-16C的戰(zhàn)役時，發(fā)現(xiàn)美國空軍的情況有點(diǎn)不同，隨意的交談和玩笑話很常見。當(dāng)我開始制作F-14的戰(zhàn)役時(與Ward "Mooch" Carroll合作)，談話會像空軍那樣很輕松，因?yàn)樵陔p座飛機(jī)上這是件很自然的事。–?Baltic Dragon

From Success to Prequel – Dominant Fury

The success of the book?Raven One?made it a trilogy. The next two volumes:?Declared Hostile?and?Fight Fight?present the further fate of Jim "Flip" Wilson in other war hot spots around the world. But there's also a fourth part – strictly designed for the?DCS World.?Keeping up the momentum, Baltic Dragon created a prequel to the story of?Raven One?called?Dominant Fury, which should be released in the near future.

Raven One(烏鴉一號)一書的成功使其成為三部曲。其余的兩部Declared Hostile和Fight Fight講述了Jim "Flip" Wilson在其他地區(qū)軍事沖突中的后續(xù)命運(yùn)。但還有第四部分 — 嚴(yán)格為DCS World設(shè)計。為了繼續(xù)保持勢頭，Baltic Dragon為Raven One(烏鴉一號)創(chuàng)作了一部前傳戰(zhàn)役Dominant Fury，應(yīng)該會在不久的將來發(fā)布。

The story takes us three years back, to 2005, when "Flip" is already a Top Gun graduate. An incident with the hijacking of the plane over the Mediterranean Sea causes the hero and the rest of his squadron to become involved in the mission of destroying a terrorist hideout somewhere in Lebanon, which in turn sparks the attack of some militias on Israel. And then the situation becomes even more complicated...

這個故事將我們帶回到三年前，2005年，那時"Flip"已經(jīng)是一名TOP GUN畢業(yè)生。一起發(fā)生在地中海上空的劫機(jī)事件導(dǎo)致這位英雄和他的中隊(duì)其他成員參加了摧毀黎巴嫩某處恐怖分子藏身處的任務(wù)，這反過來又引起一些民兵對以色列發(fā)動襲擊。然而情況變得更加復(fù)雜……

But don't worry! Despite such serious subjects dripping with international politics, it's still just a story and there's room for completely surprising ideas. I will only reveal that in one mission, during a standard flight, "Flip" suddenly receives a signal on the rescue channel from a concerned woman...?It is thanks to such moments, in an ultra-realistic simulator such as?DCS World?, you can show some human characteristics and emotions, even if they're delivered just with the voices of heroes.

但是不要擔(dān)心，盡管如此嚴(yán)肅的主題涉及國際政治，但這只是一個故事，并且還有讓人意想不到的情節(jié)。我只透露，在一次任務(wù)中，"Flip"突然在求救頻道中收到一名女性的呼救信號……這要?dú)w功于DCS World的極度擬真，你可以展示一些人物特征和情感，即使他們通過聲音傳遞。

Where did the idea for a prequel to Flip's adventures come from? Who's behind the storyline?

關(guān)于制作Flip前傳戰(zhàn)役的靈感從何而來？誰是這個故事幕后的人？

This certainly is the result of the success of the first part, which, frankly speaking, surprised us a bit, because we did not expect such a positive reception of?Raven One. So, striking the iron while it was hot was a natural reaction, especially as we all had fun making the first part. This time, however, we adopted a slightly different course of action. Previously, I tried to reflect some of the missions in Kevin's book as reliably as possible, and only then wrote the script to the others, so that everything would make sense (of course, after lengthy discussions with the writer and Jell-O).

這肯定是第一部獲得成功的結(jié)果，說實(shí)話，有點(diǎn)出乎我們意料，因?yàn)槲覀儧]想到Raven One(烏鴉一號)會如此受歡迎。所以，自然而然趁熱打鐵，尤其是我們制作第一部的時候都很開心。然而，這一次，我們采取了略有不同的方針。以前，我盡可能地真實(shí)展現(xiàn)Kevin書中的一些任務(wù)，之后才會完成其他部分的腳本，這一切看起來都很有意義。(當(dāng)然，是與作者和Jell-O進(jìn)行長時間的討論后。)

With?Dominant Fury, they wrote almost all of the missions, and then we adapted them together to the capabilities of?DCS World. As such, it's an even more ambitious project than the previous campaign, with longer missions (up to 3 hours – but they're split into shorter parts), more machines involved in them, more varied goals, etc.

在Dominant Fury中，他們幾乎編寫了所有任務(wù)，之后我們讓這些任務(wù)在DCS World中變?yōu)榭赡?。因此，這是比前作更耗時耗力的項(xiàng)目，更長的任務(wù)時間(長達(dá)3個小時 — 但是它們被分成幾個部分)，更多的機(jī)型參與，更多的任務(wù)目標(biāo)等等。

We also have an idea for the third part, but this time it will be a training campaign, something like my other production:?Iron Flag?for the A-10C Warthog. It will be created with assist of two F/A-18 pilots, one of whom even finished the Top Gun School, and who have more than 3,000 hours of flight time each. I am sure that they will be an invaluable source of information and tips for virtual pilots.?– Baltic Dragon

我們也有關(guān)于第三部分的想法，但這將會是一個訓(xùn)練戰(zhàn)役，就像我其他的作品：為A10-C疣豬制作的Iron Flag戰(zhàn)役(鐵旗)。訓(xùn)練戰(zhàn)役由兩位F/A-18飛行員協(xié)助開發(fā)，一位是TOP GUN畢業(yè)生，另一位的飛行時超過3000小時。我肯定他們會給虛擬飛行員們帶來寶貴的信息和技巧。– Baltic Dragon

A hair's width away from Top Gun: Maverick in DCS World...

All these plans and the milestones achieved to date seem like a lot of work. This is an amazing feat for a single, passionate creator – a similar level of content quality could easily be expected from a team of a dozen developers. So what does it really look like behind the scenes??Is this still a hobby created in spare time, or is it slowly becoming a job similar to running a dev studio?

所有這些計劃和迄今為止到達(dá)的成就都需要付出大量的工作。對于一個充滿激情的創(chuàng)作者來說，這是一個驚人的壯舉 — 一個由幾十人組成的開發(fā)團(tuán)隊(duì)創(chuàng)作的內(nèi)容質(zhì)量很容易達(dá)到類似水平。那么創(chuàng)作幕后的真實(shí)情況是怎么樣的呢？仍是一種業(yè)余愛好還是正在慢慢成為類似運(yùn)營工作室的工作？

For now, it's still a hobby that I devote my spare time to – of which I don't have too much – but ultimately, I will want to devote 100% of my time to creating content to?DCS World, make it my main occupation. It looks like I will be able to do it in about 2 years. It's true, however, that more and more people are involved in these projects. They are mostly contributors and experts on the subject matter, especially former pilots like Kevin Miller, Jell-O, John Waters and others, but also voice actors. A single campaign can involve up to 80 people! In addition, there are beta-testers, people helping with finding information, creators of trailers, dedicated skins for planes, campaign artwork, etc. So the proper management of these projects really takes a lot of time.?– Baltic Dragon

目前，這仍然是我業(yè)余的愛好 — 我沒有太多的業(yè)余時間 — 但最終我會把100%的時間用于DCS World內(nèi)容創(chuàng)作，讓它逐漸成為我的主要職業(yè)。看起來我大約還需要兩年的時間才能做到這點(diǎn)。然而，確實(shí)有越來越多的人參與到這些項(xiàng)目中。他們大多是這方面的貢獻(xiàn)者和專家，尤其像退役飛行員Kevin Miller，Jell-O，John Waters以及其他人，還有配音演員。一個單人戰(zhàn)役最多可以涉及80個人！此外還有beta測試人員，資料信息查找人員，預(yù)告片制作人員，專有飛機(jī)涂裝制作人員，戰(zhàn)役美工人員等等。所以正確管理這些項(xiàng)目確實(shí)需要很多時間。– Baltic Dragon

And what about the real?Top Gun? Is it possible to make a campaign based on film in?DCS World?– with the same characters and music??Did Baltic Dragon ever had the idea of obtaining the rights from Paramount Pictures to use the universe and heroes of?Top Gun: Maverick?in creating a licensed?DCS World?campaign??Maybe a prequel, since the Hornet model in?DCS?is an older version of the machine?

真正的Top Gun是怎么樣的？有沒有制作一部基于電影的DCS World戰(zhàn)役?— 使用相同的角色和音樂？Baltic Drago有沒有想過從Paramount影業(yè)獲得Top Gun: Maverick的授權(quán)，制作一部獲得許可DCS戰(zhàn)役？也可能是前傳，因?yàn)樵贒CS里有大黃蜂老版本的機(jī)型？

That's a actually the case, but ...

這是真實(shí)的情況，但是…

Some time ago, a friend of mine who worked with Paramount contacted me and offered to create a series of short mini-missions that would be used during events promoting the film. However, since then, the release has been postponed several times, and the proposition itself has blurred out somewhere along the way. But overall the idea to make a campaign based on "Top Gun" is very interesting and worth considering! Perhaps we can discuss it with the rest of Fighter Pilot Podcast team and see how to approach it.?– Baltic Dragon

之前，我的一位與Paramount合作的朋友聯(lián)系了我，提出要創(chuàng)作一系列簡短的迷你任務(wù)，這些任務(wù)用于宣傳電影。然而，從那以后，電影發(fā)布推遲了幾次，而且這個提議也有模糊不清的地方。但總體而言，基于"Top Gun"創(chuàng)作戰(zhàn)役的想法非常有趣，值得考慮。也許我們可以與Fighter Pilot Podcast團(tuán)隊(duì)成員討論這個問題，看看如何解決。– Baltic Dragon

Top Gun forever

If the idea of a?Top Gun?game from Baltic Dragon, or any other 3rd-party creator, set within?DCS World?doesn't work out, the?DCS World?community will surely?deliver it with mods and additional content at some point. We have already witnessed it already with the release of the F-14 Tomcat (somewhat coincidentally, the iconic fighter from the first part of the film series) module from Heatblur studio. Skins based on the livelry of the squadron known from the movie, along with the paintings of Maverick, Goose, IceMan and others' helmets appeared almost immediately. Someone also created a mission in which we escorted a confused Cougar to the aircraft carrier; practice combat scenarios with A-4 Skyhawk aircraft were also created and, of course, those with the F-5 Tiger, role-playing as MiG-28.?Not to mention the sheer number of screenshots showing the inverted Tomcat flying over the black MiG that soon appeared.

如果在DCS World中，Baltic Dragon或者其他第三方創(chuàng)作者實(shí)現(xiàn)Top Gun的想法行不通，DCS World社區(qū)玩家肯定會在某個時候提供相關(guān)模組和一些額外內(nèi)容。我們在Heatblur工作室發(fā)布的F-14雄貓(有些巧合，第一部電影中標(biāo)志性戰(zhàn)斗機(jī))模組上見證了這一點(diǎn)?；陔娪爸械闹嘘?duì)涂裝，以及"Maverick"，"Goose"，"IceMan"，和其他人的頭盔。有玩家還創(chuàng)作了一個任務(wù)，護(hù)送受到驚嚇的"Cougar"返回航母；有的還創(chuàng)作了A-4天鷹訓(xùn)練場景，當(dāng)然還有F-5虎式扮演MiG-28的場景。更不用說那些在黑色MiG頭頂?shù)癸w的雄貓的大量截圖。

The creators of the F-14 module from Heatblur studio themselves also smuggled in some easter-eggs referring to the?Top Gun?movie. For this purpose, they used the RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) sitting in the back seat, who's replaced in the game by the artificial intelligence called "Jester." It helps the pilot in an extremely immersive way, thanks to many dialogue lines recorded. In this way, the player quickly learns about the detection of hostile targets or a rocket speeding towards them. Some of the messages, however, are much less official and serve to relax the atmosphere, and two of them refer to the movie?Top Gun. Sometimes after landing, we can hear that Meg Ryan (the wife of "Goose" in the movie) would be proud of us, and whenever the F-5 Tiger in a black skin is detected on the radar, "Jester" will report that it as "MiG- 28” – a fictional machine from the movie.

Heatblur工作室的F-14模組制作者也悄悄地搞了一些關(guān)于Top Gun電影的彩蛋。為此他們使用后座的RIO(雷達(dá)攔截官)，在游戲中被一名叫做"Jester"的AI取代。由于記錄了很多對話臺詞，RIO讓飛行員身臨其境。通過這種方式，玩家可以快速地了解到敵機(jī)目標(biāo)方位和飛向他們的導(dǎo)彈。然而有些對話不是那么正式，用于緩解氣氛，其中兩條參考了Top Gun電影。當(dāng)我們著陸時，可以聽到Meg Ryan(電影中"Goose"的妻子)會為我們感到驕傲，每次在雷達(dá)上探測到黑色皮膚的F-5虎式戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)時，"Jester"會報告是MiG- 28 — 電影中虛構(gòu)的飛機(jī)。

Just fly!

As you can see, in the world of complex flight simulators dripping with realism, abbreviations and terminology, there is still room for some entertainment and human emotions.?Despite the possibility of using only text and voice acting, usually from amateurs, many of the?DCS World?story campaigns?provide an unforgettable experience. And we can confidently say that each of these missions completely outclasses the scenarios of war from both parts of?Top Gun?in terms of professionalism, authenticity and credibility. Looking at the announcements coming up, the choice ought to become richer, both in terms of campaigns, new planes and environments. Will the appearance of?Top Gun: Maverick?in cinemas help in the creation of some completely new productions, new flight simulators? We'll see in some time, and for now – there's plenty to choose from anyway!

正如你所看到的，在充斥著擬真、縮寫詞、專業(yè)術(shù)語的復(fù)雜飛行模擬世界中，仍然保留一些娛樂和人類情感的余地。盡管通?？赡苤挥衼碜酝婕覑酆谜叩奈淖趾团湟?，但這些DCS World故事和戰(zhàn)役為玩家提供了難忘的體驗(yàn)。我們可以自信地說，每一個任務(wù)在專業(yè)性、真實(shí)性和可信度都完全超越了兩部Top Gun電影中的戰(zhàn)斗場景。從即將發(fā)布地公告來看，無論是在新戰(zhàn)役、新飛機(jī)模組和地景方面，玩家的選擇會變得更豐富。Top Gun: Maverick的上映有助于創(chuàng)作一些全新的作品，新的飛行模擬器？我們過段時間再看，現(xiàn)在無論怎樣，玩家有很多選擇。

Darius Matusiak?| Gamepressure.com