Ambitious Korean War-era flight sim headed to Macs

Flight simulation fans who use Macs often have a tough row to hoe. New flight sims come out for the Mac infrequently at best, and even on the PC side, the genre has seen a decline in the quantity of titles released in the past couple of years.

There’s a new concern called Targetware that may be changing things for the better, both for Mac and PC users alike. The company has ambitious plans for a cross-platform flight sim architecture that its developers plan to keep open for the public to tweak and access themselves.

San Francisco, Calif.-based Sickware is providing the core technology used by this new series of flight simulators developed by Targetware. The first product to be announced is a Korean War-era flight simulator called Target Korea. Target Korea puts you in the cockpit of vintage aircraft from the early years of the combat jet age, including the MiG-15bis and the F-86 Sabre, two aircraft whose pilots saw much of each other during that war.

Targetware explains that they plan to keep the architecture of the game secure but open to community involvement — they’re encouraging flight sim fans to get involved in the creation of new aircraft, flight models, cockpit art, terrain, ground objects and custom skins for the game.

Targetware will be instituting a validation process that certifies each new model and enhancement for use on Targetware’s own corporate servers. The company also plans to offer users the ability to host their own servers if they prefer. According to Targetware, users will be able to host 250 users or more on their own servers.

Targetware is now accepting applications for a closed beta test of the game, which the company indicates will be available as an open beta sometime in the first half of 2001. The company is also soliciting assistance from artists interested in creating aircraft models and skins for the forthcoming game.