Also mentions Star Fox.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/67817/interview-ace-combat-7-producer-talks-switch-port-development
I recently had the chance to conduct a short interview with Ryunosuke Hagiwara, the producer on the Switch version of Ace Combat 7, which releases today. He gave some great insight into the technical challenges they face and where their priorities were in bringing the game to Switch. He also mentioned Star Fox!
John Rairdin:It has been a while since Ace Combat 7 originally released, what brought aboutthis Switch port?
Ryunosuke Hagiwara: When we conducted user research on ACE COMBAT around the world, we found thatthere are customers who are interested in ACE COMBAT but are unable to play it becausethey did not own a console. So we decided to release a Nintendo Switch version of ACE COMBAT 7 in order to allow asmany people as possible to play the game.
JR:How long has this port been in the works?
RH: Around 2022, we conducted the aforementioned user survey and as a result, we startedto consider the possibility of developing ACE COMBAT for other platforms so that morecustomers can experience being an ACE COMBAT hero.After that, through technical verification and development period, we went through a longperiod of trial and error to secure the frame rate and improve the graphic quality withoutcompromising the gameplay, and we were able to reach the quality of the productionversion with the help of the technology and strong desire of our partner companies.
JR:What sort of challenges did you face bringing this game to Switch?
RH: There was a possibility that the realistic cloud rendering of ACE COMBAT 7 could not bereproduced on Nintendo Switch during the verification phase.Other than that, we were able to reach the quality of the production version after a longperiod of trial and error to ensure the frame rate without compromising the gameplay.
Note from John: Ace Combat 7 makes use of a complex and dynamic volumetric cloud system that is very demanding to calculate and render
JR: Visually the game looks remarkably comparable to the original release. Were therespecific graphical effects or other elements you felt it important to preserve?
RH: One of the features of ACE COMBAT 7 is the realistic representation of clouds andweather conditions that affect the game in real time.We spent a lot of time to develop the Nintendo Switch version of ACE COMBAT 7 to ensurethat the realistic weather expressions and volume of the original version would remainunchanged, and that the quality of the game would be high enough to be released to theworld.
JR: Are you able to detail any performance metrics such as frame rate or resolutionsfor docked and handheld mode?
RH:Both TV mode and portable mode are 1280 x 720 30FPS (variable).
JR: This is marked as a Deluxe Edition, what previous content is included and is thereadditional optional content beyond that?
RH: The "Ace Combatâ„¢7: Skies Unknown Deluxe Edition" for the Nintendo The Switchversion of ACE COMBATâ„¢7: SKIES UNKNOWN DELUXE EDITION is a luxury edition thatincludes the following items.Even those who have never played Ace Combat before can enjoy the game, so if you are atall interested, we hope you will take this opportunity to dive into the world of ACE COMBAT.
- Contents
- ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN base game
- Downloadable content " Three original aircraft sets" + "Three SP missions"
- Part 1 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADF-11F Raven Setâ€
- Part 2 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADF-01 FALKEN Setâ€
- Part 3 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – ADFX-01 Morgan Setâ€
- Part 4 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – Unexpected Visitorâ€
- Part 5 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN – Anchorhead raidâ€
- Part 6 “ACE COMBAT 7: SKIES UNKNOWN - 10 million Relief Planâ€
- Bonus “Music Player Modeâ€
- Playable Aircraft F-104C -Avril-
- *The F-104C was abandoned in a "graveyard of airplanes," and it took Avril and his team more than eight years to restore it. It is a drag racer in the sky, soaring toward the blue-black sky. Since it is not equipped with any armament, it can be used only in free flight mode.
- *The regular F-104C with armament is included in the main game.
- 3 popular aircraft skins from the past series
- 8 popular emblems of the past series
- For more information, please check the official website.
JR:If your team could work on one Nintendo franchise, which would you most like towork on?
RH: As the ACE COMBAT team, we still think it would be fun to create a "Star Fox" series. Thereare many elements that are close to the ACE COMBAT series, not only in game genre and play,but also in radio direction, and it is very exciting to fantasize about what kind of "Star Fox"Project ACES would create.