I've been playing in CareerB mode the past couple of weeks and find it fascinating that a game would historically follow any war in this amount of detail, about the combatants involved... and I am still finding more to like about it as I go along.
First off, you have to login online mode to access CareerB. Not exactly sure why, but it does have a Leader Board in place, so I suspect it is like IL-2's multi-play leader board, but without the worry of playing against somebody that has hacked the game.
Select your side; You're presented with the map, circa Sept. 1916, with bases in place. Click an aerodrome to see what planes are available there, and the Squadron name. (If you're looking for a particular squadron, just mouse over the drome) Here's the first snag I ran into, as for the beginning of WW1, I have none of the planes offered, and would have had to buy them to begin at the beginning.
No worries, mate! Just move the calendar slider at the top of the map to another month until planes in your stable show up, and you're good to go.
Next, you select your avatar/character from a list of pilots. Yes, names can be changed, and those changes are reflected in the character bio, which is also updated as the game progresses. (nifty) You can also upload a different picture of your pilot, if you don't like the current one, in 256x256
So now you have the plane, the Squadron, and the field, at least until the front changes, and are ready to go gallivanting off into the wild blue, per your CO's orders, to joust amongst the clouds! Here too you can make the game as realistic as possible, or cut the difficulty settings back some as you learn the different aircraft you fly and face... and then you can alter it again while using the same CareerB character!
Missions are pretty straight forward. You click Next Day and are presented with three missions of the day, as well as weather briefing, primary targets and so on. Check the missions to see how many you're on, then hit Begin Mission and you're off. If you're not on a particular mission, the game will auto complete it for you with results displayed in a minute or so.
But wait, that's not all! As you're promoted throughout your career, you may just get command yourself! Imagine yourself in the hot seat; setting up mission types, assigning who is to fly and who stays grounded. Yes, you can fly every mission you want, including the "Lone Wolf" ones, or sit it out for a week of game time and let others catch up.
With that teaser in place, I shall now logoff and go fly some more. takka-takka-takka!
