TGS 2017 Famitsu Print Interview and Selatapura Spotlight

Hey all, we're bringing you something special today: a summary of a print interview with Kono. What makes it special? Well…nothing really. It's like an online Famitsu interview, but it's marginally harder to look up words.

But before we get to the interview, there was also a feature on the city of Selatapura, where the space elevator is located.

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“The city which developed into the great hub of the orbital elevator, Selatapura”

Seaside Selatapura, which possesses the gigantic orbital elevator, is a massive port city located on the tip of the near equatorial Gunther Peninsula in the southern part of the Usean Continent. As if to overcome the hardships following the Continental War (the conflict depicted in 04), it has seen remarkable economic development in recent years, and many buildings of futuristic design rise from the city's heart.

[1][2] Besides the clusters of buildings, one may also see the stadium and Ferris Wheel, as well as the distinctively shaped convention center in the city's heart. At the end of the ocean-spanning bridge adjoining the groups of buildings is the shape of the sky-piercing orbital elevator. [3] Selatapura, which is also on a major maritime traffic lane, sees many ships coming and going, and the container yards on its coastal area spread wide.

Photographic scenes of the daytime scenery of Selatapura, the sun peering in through gaps in the clouds. Beautiful scenes of a sky dyed in madder red are here published. The time of day differs within the same scene, so will missions vary with different times in the same location? We ask Kono about these details directly in our interview, so check for yourself on the following pages.

[4][5] Selatapura’s climate is a tropical one. The atmospheric conditions are rough due to the humid atmosphere, and it’s often covered in thick clouds.

[6][7] Not only does the climate shift, but there are changes from time of day in this work as well. With the changing weather and time, you can experience different fights on the same stage.

Interview Summary

• Kono says that post stall maneuvers were included because Ace Combat has always been about making it possible to experience what a pilot does. Actually scoring a kill with the help of one is more about style.
• Famitsu says it sure would be nice to have a replay system to look back on their own displays of sweet high-alpha skillz, and Kono mentions that - what do you know - they happen to be working on just such a system. However, he’s running into camera-related challenges. As he explains it, a car will take the same path in a racing game every time, but since a plane can go anywhere in a huge map, they’re having problems with the camera clipping into irregular features.
• Nonetheless, his approach to this new “numbered title” is “If [we feel] it should be done, we’ll do our damndest.” He really wants to please us fans.
• Apparently besides the atmospheric conditions already discussed, there will be updrafts and upper atmospheric jetstreams which will increase your plane’s speed.
• Kono and Famitsu go on about the physicality of the sky for a while, but then Famitsu observes that the terrain - the rock formations in the Yinshi Ravine for instance - seem to play a role as well. Kono immediately reiterates that low altitude flying will not be forced, “please be at ease.” Chasing planes at low altitude is something you challenge yourself to do. Enemies will of course never run into rocks, but he implies they'll actually be trying to avoid running into features instead of just clipping. The same goes for the buildings of Selatapura
• While many cities were used as reference, Selatapura is designed to look like an entirely new city. As written above, Kono says Selatapura is a city which has seen recent economic expansion. One thing he brings attention to is the difference between the center of the city with its super tall buildings, and the suburbs where nature remains. He also points to the globe monument and ferris wheel as illustrating the city’s worldview.
• Apparently they still haven’t decided if the time of day will change during the mission, but if it does, it’ll just be based on time elapsed in the mission, so it won’t change dramatically. The weather may change as well, since as said above, Selatapura is tropical and is subject to sudden rain. However, this too is undecided.
• Project Aces chose the carrier variant of the Lightning as the only variant to increase the number of carrier aircraft. Implementing the B would require a hovering mechanic, and they want to focus on including other aircraft.
• Famitsu brings up an element labeled “parts” in the hanger. Kono laughs nervously, confirms again that there is a parts system, and segues into talking about how you can look at your planefu – no seriously he says the closest thing in Japanese to planefu – in the hangar in VR. The director and producer of Summer Lesson, Jun Tamaoki, was apparently involved in this.
• Kono demures from giving a completion percentage and instead says they’re progressing: towards completing the goals they set in the initial stage, towards “other good stuff,” and ultimately towards the finish line. Apparently Kono’s desires to satisfy the fans with the best possible product and his desire to satisfy them by actually finishing the game are competing. He apologizes, and mentions running into various small problems. What should happen visually and aurally when the player’s plane is struck by lightning, for instance? These are the problems of AC7, and Kono wants solutions. It seems.
• More info on the Japanese dub at a later date. Kono says that the staff of another project commented that they'd cast well. So take that for what it's worth.

Another fine Famitsu interview. What struck me is how personally Kono seems to be taking the whole thing. That, and the comment implying just how many of these ostensibly small features went beyond the initial plan. Indeed, there may well be a connection between these two things.

Anyway, as always, feel free to ask questions or comment either on this post or in our discord.

Discordといえば、日本人ユーザーの為に作ったチャネルもあって、ぜひ喋りに来てください。