HAWX Developer Answers Community's Questions Written Friday, February 06, 2009 by Dan Webb
Ubisoft latest Tom Clancy title, HAWX, is about a month away now with it expected to ship on March 6th in Europe and Community Developer Gkane has been busy again; this time answering the many questions that the Ubisoft Community had. The FAQ is a great little read and it pretty much covers any questions you may have. Well, it answered my questions anyway. Here's the FAQ in its entirety. 
What are the available view options for the game? I would really like to play from a cockpit perspective.
You will have a specific realistic cockpit view for each of the more than 50 aircrafts featured in the game.
The view options are dependent on what Assistance mode you are in. When using "Assistance ON", you can access the 3rd person camera with 360 degree controls, cockpit view, and 1st person camera. When using "assistance OFF" you have access to the special dogfight camera.
Other general cameras includes: Weapon camera, replay camera, and cinematic camera.
Is there a limited amount of ammo?
Yes there is. Do planes have an unlimited amount of fuel or will there be tanker planes, platforms, airports?
Keeping in mind that H.A.W.X will provide very intense and high-paced battles, fuel levels would have been an intensity killer; we did not want to have the player manage it. Fuel management makes sense when you have to manage the whole mission from take-off to landing with long distances to cover before even engaging the enemy. This is not the kind of distance we will provide in H.A.W.X.
Will each player have a pilot who he can identify with or will it just be nameless figures as in Ace Combat?
H.A.W.X has a strong storyline and you are a veteran pilot, former member of the elite H.A.W.X unit from the USAF. Your name is David Crenshaw.
Does the player have to buy new planes or will they be unlocked after missions?
The player will unlock new planes based on an Experience Point system. These points are earned across both the Campaign (alone or co-op) and Adversarial mode. You will also be able to unlock some planes directly, based on a Challenge system. What will the damage model be like? Can the player decide for himself if he wants to play the game in a realistic or arcade mode?
The damage model in H.A.W.X provides the player with useful feedback regarding the threat. However, we don't fully simulate it, in order to focus more on a great dog-fight experience and less on micro-managing the damage (so it's more kind of an indicator of the plane status than a full-fledged simulation).
The game will have levels of difficulty, corresponding also with different controls for normal, advanced and expert players.
The game will also let the player decide if he wants to play in Normal mode or in Expert control mode; in Expert mode he will have total control over the plane and less difficulty filter. Can you give us any info on the skin selection feature that each plane will have? Will we need to unlock skins? Can we immediately choose a different skin for our plane once we unlock it?
While playing the game throughout the campaign (singleplayer and co-op) and team deathmatch, one of the things you will be able to unlock will be the plane skins. You can immediately change the skin of your plane right after unlocking it. Will there be a free flight mode, where you can just fly around the map? If yes, will you also be able to fly only online or only solo?
Yes, you will be able to play any map without any enemy or objective, just for flying. This is in both solo and adversarial modes. Will there be a hangar where your planes are displayed?
Yes, you will have access to a full 3D hangar with dynamic lights where all the planes are going to be displayed; you'll be able to rotate the camera and change the zoom level.
Will there be a ranking system?
Yes, the game will have a ranking system on XBOX 360, PS3 and PC.
What types of weapons will you have?
In H.A.W.X you'll have access to a large panel of weapons, including air-to-air, air-to-ground, multiple missiles, side-thrusting missile, unguided bomb, cluster bomb, radar guided missile; you will also have access to flares.
Will there be the ability of looking around within the cockpit?
Yes, you will be able to look around you, while being in cockpit view. This will allow you to spot targets, track incoming missiles etc...
How long can single-player be expected to last?
With the Experience Point system, unlocking all planes & weapons and the different difficulty levels the campaign will have a very long duration.
For example, only on a single player campaign play in normal mode you can expect to play for 6-7 hours of constant action.
Then if you add the Cooperative campaign play feature, replay possibilities are huge; for example, some objectives at high levels of difficulty will almost require you to play with other players.
Will the player be able to control the aircraft speed or will there be fixed speeds (low, medium, high)?
The player will have full control over the aircraft speed, he will be able to fly in formations, execute incredible maneuvers etc; so there won't be any fixed speeds.
Will there be any helicopters in H.A.W.X?
You won't be able to pilot one, but you will fight versus helicopters and you will also have allied ones.
Will there be an instant action mode or a simple mission generator for small skirmish like games?
No, this is not currently planned for inclusion.
Will the player be able to have custom planes or custom paint jobs?
The game will only use real planes so you won't be able to create "custom planes". For the same authenticity reason, you won't be able to fully customize the planes paintjobs, but you will have the option to choose the skins of your planes from some realistic choices. We do not know yet the number of skins available for each plane.
Will there be a missile camera? How will it work?
Yes, there will be a missile camera for the "fire and forget" types of missiles. If you keep the missile button held down after firing, you will view things from the missile's perspective until impact.
Will the player be able to end the mission at will when all of the objectives have been completed or will the mission end automatically?
The mission will end automatically after all the objectives have been completed. However, for unlimited flying you will have the "free flight" mode.
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