Voices of AC3 Development Staff - Part 4 “I'm particular about fighters that can only be seen in a split-second.” Graphic Director / Takumi Kudō

My name is Kudō and I was in charge of graphic direction.
Are you all having fun, flying in the sky?
I'll be talking about graphics, but I can't talk just about graphics this time because there are many new challenges in various aspects.
Anyway, this time I'll talk mainly about the fighters, the stars of this game.
The shape and operational philosophy of fighters vary greatly depending on the time period and circumstances. So, shouldn't there be some change in the fighters that fly in this world of the electrosphere？ From that point, development started.
And as the world setting gradually materialized, so did the fundamental objectives for the fighter planes of each organization.

"I Want My AC3!" Progress Report, Help Wanted

It's been a year since the last SotP and Team NEMO, or at least what's left of it, has been hard at work. A lot has been accomplished since then, thanks in no small part to help that I got from the community. This post is exclusively about the fan-translation for the game itself, things such as translations efforts for the AppenDisc, guidebooks and other merchandise will be covered in another post. With that said, find all info on v3.0 after the jump!

Voices of AC3 Development Staff - Part 3 "ACECOMBAT3≠ACECOMBAT2+1" Chief Programmer Toshiyuki Koike

Everyone, have you seen all the endings already?
Programmer Toshiyuki Koike here.

Since programming lasted a long time, let's take a look back on Ace Combat 3.

The first thing I'm gonna talk about is the "line-of-sight control".
Often in 3D games, you feel like looking around you, right?
Your neck was fixed until now, but I wished to make it free ever since the making of Ace Combat 2.
I'm very happy that I was able to reflect that wish in the game this time.

AC3E description by Namco, 1999

The latest installment in the "Ace Combat" series arrives at last.
With "Ace Combat" it made "the pleasure of flying in the sky" very familiar, with "Ace Combat 2" it underwent a dramatically beautiful evolution. And now, the latest series "Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere" that inherits this essence will appear.

Story
The stage is a near-future world in which the power of the "economy" far exceeds the power of the nation. There, two companies have great power. One is General Resource, a multinational conglomerate with huge capital, and Neucom, which has advanced science and technology, based on the information and communications industry. The two companies, that were in a state of tension, have finally entered a state of war. The main character (player) belongs to an organization called UPEO  and goes out with a fighter aircraft to suppress the conflict between the two companies.

http://bandainamcoent.co.jp/cs/list/acecombat3/index.php

"Come forth, young aspirants!"

A Beginner's Guide to Ripping VHS to PC

In this article, I'll touch upon the more important aspects of ripping VHS tapes, from picking the right hardware, to doing maintenance, to the VHS-to-digital process and archiving. All without breaking the bank.

New AC website + Interview with Team NEMO

Introducing "Ace Combat Lighthouse" the new website dedicated to the Ace Combat series!

Its aim is to be the new hub for the Ace Combat community and create all kinds of new content about AC games as well as its community, be it images, videos, articles and events!

Among their first content is an interview conducted by Ribbon-Blue where I and Iceman-UK, co-founders of Project NEMO, answered questions by him (Part 1) and other members of the AC community (Part 2). (thank you to Ribbon-Blue for this opportunity and to all who sent in their questions)

It is, in a way, the evolution and spiritual successor of the now-defunct Electrosphere.info, which was the de-facto home of the AC community in the West until it was shut down two years ago.

If you want to know more, I suggest reading the in-depth statements by the founders and administrations about their new endeavor. You can also follow them on Twitter here.

Voices of AC3 Development Staff - Part 2 "Are you all enjoying the 'wild blue yonder'?" Director Iwasaki Takuya

Are you all relishing the "wild blue yonder"?

"Ace Combat 2" pursued "military realism" but I had a wish where "I want more people to play!" that motivated me to say "Let's make something new!".

I wanted fans to feel "I was pleasantly surprised!" rather than "The series is always the same thing".

Second AC3E tape discovered

It turns out that Mission 00 wasn't the only VHS tape made for Ace Combat 3 after all.
If my information is correct, this is a video that Namco made to introduce and promote the game in game stores.
Highlights include a super-fluid intro with a slightly-different audio mix, a close-up version of the first news broadcast and other art in resolution higher than what appears in-game.