We are delighted to have the developer of Project Wingman, the amazing RB, visiting our office in Tokyo!
Besides taking him to GameTomo's favorite lunch spots around Akihabara, and having him tryout our indie developer's magical black desk, we also gathered many questions from our twitter followers. Ready to get to know more about his fast paced flight action game? Have a look!
Q1: Will Project Wingman have an original fiction fighter plane like Ace Combat Series?
Absolutely! We plan on having original fighter planes in Project Wingman. Hopefully we can reveal it to you in the future.
Q2: The story is not about wars between countries like America vs Russia BS (Instead it is Government vs Rebel) Do you think this aspect would make this game more enjoyable? Is is difficult to create a story like this?
The game takes place in an alternate history after a global disaster. So in a way that serves a blank state within the universe so we`re not restricted or weighed down by history and can sort of pick and choose what we want to keep. That being said that does mean we have to put a lot more thought into the world building aspect of the game.
Q3:Will the game available on gaming console(Xbox PS4 Switch) in future?
I would love to get the game for a console however we`re currently focusing on a PC release. So whether the game goes on console remains to be seen right now.
Q4: Probably everyone wants to know this, will you tell us about the title’s milestone, launch timing and planned platforms?
Ah yes, currently were working hard on the campaign portion of the game so sadly I cannot discuss too much on that aspect and right after that we will continue to make improvements and expand Conquest mode. We're not commiting to a hard date as of yet as we still have a lot of work to do, however we're hoping to release sometime in 2019 and the game is currently planned for a PC release. Console platform is currently being looked into however its not planned at the moment.
Q5: When the information first revealed, the development was done by 1 person, has the style changed? If the development is done by more than 1 person, How many people are doing mech-modeling, map modeling? Which software are you using for the modeling?
The best I can say is "kinda". The style of development largely has not changed. That being said I am working with other people for things that I cannot do myself such as music with Jose Pavli, and Matt where he helps me with some story aspect along with managing the Voice Actors for the game. In terms of technical development aspect of the game such as modelling, texturing, mapping, programming, and scripting the game is more or less still handled by me. That being said, people do contribute to the game in their own ways from voice acting, to providing intensive testing to the game from the community. And I am super grateful to have them help the game to such extents! I primarily use Blender to do my 3D modelling.
Q6: Will you tell us about the rough percentage of your own development, use of UE4 function and assets use in overall game development.
That is quite a tough question as it is quite hard to quantify such percentages because of how much overlap there can be between those categories. Unreal Engine 4 definitely makes it easy to develop the game with extensive features and huge community behind it that guide the development. I try to minimize the use of external art assets for Project Wingman as I do enjoy creating the 3D models and texturing them myself.
Q7: I am always impressed every time the new demo is released. Will you tell us about the devise or the way you thought out to create this wonderful graphics?
Thank you! Looking at a lot of references and how other games do things on a technical and visual level certainly helps! Then its simply a matter of breaking it down and rebuilding it to fit the art style and mood of your game. Consistency is important!
Q8: I heard, you used an same engine as Ace Combat series. Then I have a question, I assume You have been aware that Project Wingman has been compared to Ace Combat series. How would you differentiate Project Wingman from Ace Combat series?
I was also surprised when the Ace Combat trailer dropped and mentioned that it was also using Unreal Engine. I was already working on Project Wingman at that point, although it was still at its very early stage. I think it goes without saying that I am also a huge fan of the series as well. Project Wingman is going to be a different experience to Ace Combat, primarily in the experimental game mode we showed on our Kickstarter demo, "Conquest" mode. We're not sure if we are going to stick with this name, but it will offer a much more dynamic experience and offer plenty of replayability of the game.
Q9:I heard this title will support VR devices, have you decided which device to support? Oculus Rift or Vive??
I'm happy to say the game currently supports both! For our GDC demo with Simul, it was running on SteamVR on a Windows Mixed Reality headset. And on the promotional trailer and development footage I post on twitter, it's running on the Oculus rift.
Q10: Will replay mode or free camera mode, screenshots mode be available？
I can't say too much regarding a replay mode as its something we haven't explored yet. However a free camera and screenshot mode will be available in the future!
