Dev Blog #71

Every time we embark on a combat sortie, we see the airfield in vivid detail - starting the engine, taxiing past the parking stands, heading toward the runway, and climbing to altitude. Throughout this entire process, we are slowly making our way across the vast expanse of the airfield. In many games, these areas are often sparsely populated with objects; yet in reality, they feature a vast array of incredibly interesting elements that truly bring an airfield to life. This is especially true during wartime, when airfields are a hive of constant activity - buzzing with repair work, aircraft redeployments, and reequipping operations. With our Korea project, we have strived to eliminate that sense of lifelessness. After all, how you feel while on the ground in the game world - as you prepare for takeoff and combat - directly influences how you will feel once you are airborne and engaged in the fight itself. By noticing various details and scenes of engine maintenance, or observing aircraft undergoing repairs, the perceived significance of every instance of battle damage you sustain in the air is subconsciously heightened. In short, by witnessing the daily life of the airfield, the stakes of every combat engagement feel much higher. You begin to believe in the reality of what is unfolding around you that much more.

Until now — in our Dev Diary #57 dedicated to airfields, in various videos (such as the F-80 footage), and in other materials — we have focused primarily on the general layout of the airfield: its overall structure, textures, 3D terrain modeling, runway profile characteristics, and our meticulous efforts to ensure historical accuracy. In essence, we have discussed and showcased the broad strokes of these massive installations.

Now, however, let’s talk about the details. To ensure our airfields truly feel alive, we have created an extensive library of objects to populate your home bases. And it is precisely these objects that we are going to discuss right now.

To an outside observer, a military airfield always appears to be in a state of chaos — a multitude of diverse objects seem scattered here and there: aircraft components in one spot, crates in another, and piles of materials elsewhere. Yet, in reality, this environment — which looks like disorder — actually represents a perfectly normal form of military order. Spare parts lie in designated staging areas; partially disassembled aircraft are situated within the tech zone — the technical maintenance and operations section; fuel drums are located in the POL (Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants) storage area; and so on. Together, all these elements create the distinctive atmosphere of a military airfield — an atmosphere utterly unmistakable. We have approached the task of recreating this atmosphere in our new simulator, "Korea", with meticulous attention to detail.

The first thing that catches the eye at an airfield is, naturally, the aircraft themselves. At a military airfield actively engaged in combat operations, the signs of that involvement are equally conspicuous. Foremost among these signs is the fact that a significant portion of the aircraft fleet is undergoing repairs. Some of these planes will be in a partially disassembled state: one might have its engine removed; another might be hoisted on jacks to facilitate repairs to its landing gear retraction system; while yet another might have its wings detached, as they undergo repairs following combat damage. Still other aircraft, having sustained battle damage, have reached a condition where restoration is either impossible or simply futile; these planes