Bandai Namco has revealed the live-service-like Ace Combat Online, a separate, companion selection of online modes coming with Ace Combat 8.
In a new video released to official Ace Combat social accounts, the developers revealed multiple game modes players will be able to engage with: either collaboratively or competitively.
Starting with the former, there are a selection of PvE modes coming to Ace Combat Online. Co-Op Assault places two teams of four against each other in a rush to earn points. By wiping out computer-controlled enemies and clearing objectives as a squad, players can duke it out for high scores.
Then there’s Co-Op Warfare, where two teams of four face off in PvPvE. Each team has allied ground, air, and sea units that assist them in another score-based battle. The key difference is that here, the other team is present alongside you, trying to take you down. By taking out enemies, you build up a threat level which increases the points you gain, and the rewards the other team gets for taking you down.
There’s also an airforce base, where player avatars can meet up and interact with each other. Not only is this a social space for team mates to linger between missions, you can hop on arcade machines to play retro Bandai Namco games like Pac-Man, and stand around a jukebox where older Ace Combat OSTs can be played. It’s just like Top Gun.
There’s another style of game mode too. Emergency missions are limited-time events that push players to engage in one of two special missions: Scramble or Emergency Sorties. In Scramble, your team of four has to take down an NPC-controlled rival squad. Emergency Sortie, on the other hand, places you and seven other pilots against a selection of set-piece fights from Ace Combat’s history, in raid-style PvE engagements.
There are also limited-time 4v4 team battles and eight-player free-for-all missions present, which may come with various player restrictions to balance the battle somewhat.
By playing Ace Combat Online, you earn levels that in turn unlock more aircraft, special weapons, and aircraft parts that you can then take into further missions. You can also customise these planes with abilities and cosmetics, which are unlocked through playing with the aircraft.
Ace Combat Online comes with a free and paid Ace Pass, a battle pass where items can be unlocked and used in multiplayer matches. These seasons last just two months, though aircraft present in these passes will be available to buy after the season ends.
Speaking to Eurogamer at Gamescom, the decision to create a social hub for players to hang around in with Ace Combat Online was a response to a “fragmented” fanbase.
Manabu Shimomoto, producer for Ace Combat 8, said: “Ace Combat 7 was a success, and because of its success it created a lot of fans globally. However, due to the lack of opportunities for fans to get together, we received a lot of feedback that these fans wanted to meet up with others. To live up to that expectation, we decided to create this digital lobby.
“Ace Combat 7 sold seven-and-a-half-million copies, proving it was a successful game and it was played for a long time. Likewise, we want Ace Combat 8 to be played for a long time, and for it to be a long-term success, we wanted to create this opportunity.”
