There's a new online air combat
game out, called Fighter Ace. Can't say much about it from first
hand experience, but I've heard some good stuff about it. It's from
Microsoft, and you can play it for two bux a day (or twenty bux a month)
on their GameZone thingy. The Musketeers of AirWarrior were invited
to help develop it, and a couple are still involved in the game itself,
so I'm certainly not going to bad mouth it just because my computer didn't
like it (the old girl is a bit fussy about using IE stuff). Those
that play it seem to really get into it. That's good.
Fighter Ace supports squadrons,
and like any seriously interested gamers the guys flying there have been
forming up. Some have websites, some have custom forums and message
boards, and even email addresses for their squads. Squadrons make
the simulations much more interesting and fun. They lead to close
friendships, intense competition, and help with learning the tricks of
the trade. That's good.
Squadrons need names. In
my time in AirWarrior I've encountered historically based squadron names,
like JG27 Afrika, 4th Fighter Group, and The Abbeville Boys, etc.
There were facetious names like the 69th Shepherd's Fold, or the Sheep
Mounties. Some squadrons named themselves rather inscrutably with
titles like The Turkey Hams, or the infamous 666th Internet Daemons.
This is good.
One squadron, back in early 1990,
named itself for a group of funloving fighters of historical fiction.
Like Dumas' characters, the Musketeers were skilled duelists who eschewed
formal regulation and org... organ....organi... (dagnabit, just can't
SAY that word!) ummm, structure, yeh, structure. The original Musketeers
of AirWarrior even used handles like Athos, and the sword became their
simple symbol. This was good.
As time passed, the sword of
leadership of the squadron has been passed down the line to each succeeding
CO. With the advent of new arenas the Squadron branched out to fill
them, and with the development of Warbirds the Musketeers branched out
farther yet. With the opening of AOL's AirWarrior arenas with their
flat rate pricing, phenomenal numbers of new AirWarriors met the Musketeers
in the air, and still the line continued unbroken. Now Gamestorm's
Full Real arenas have members of the Warbirds Musketeers re-uniting with
their AirWarrior brethren to complete the circle. This is VERY good.
But, ours is not a perfect world.
Not even in simulation. It had to happen sooner or later, with the
number of online arenas opening lately, that names would be duplicated.
This has happened in Fighter Ace. In FA you will find a squadron
called The Musketeer Escadrille. It is not us. This is not
so good for us.
Now, let me make it perfectly
clear that I have nothing bad to say of these virtual pilots. The
problem has nothing to do with them personally or collectively. They
may well be a great bunch of guys, and it may even be that I already know
some of them from AirWarrior. From what I can see of them from their
message boards, they are an irreverent, fun-loving bunch, if a bit too
org... orga... orggggggganiiiii (CRAP! You know what I mean!) for my taste.
Nope, the problem comes from
within myself. It has to do with the importance of a name.
Names have meaning, and a good name can be a very difficult thing to achieve.
In the online world most people use 'screen names' or 'handles' to identify
themselves to the world. This is different than being given a name
by your parents. This is one YOU choose based on things you want
to tell the world about yourself. It is an expression of self.
My own handle represents my interest
in WWII history. Kita No Kaze Kumori was one of the obscure code
phrases preset for broadcast to the Japanese fleet attacking Pearl Harbor.
It would have signalled deteriorating relations between Japan and the Soviet
Union, indicating 'cloudy weather' coming on the 'north wind' and could
have caused the recall of the strike force for possible use against the
Soviets.
My passion for historical air
combat naturally drew me to AirWarrior. Before I ever flew in an
arena online I had become familiar with the 'names' involved in the game,
both individual and squadron. Among them were the Musketeers of AirWarrior,
a squadron whose unbroken history is outlined above and elsewhere.
I moved with them from AOL to AWII, from the AWIII open beta to GameStorm.
I was proud to say that I was a Musketeer. I AM proud to say I'm
a Musketeer.
Up until recently, saying I was
a Musketeer instantly identified me and mine. All that is the reputation
of the Musketeers was being made by me and mine, and I was comfortable
with the reputation they provided for and with me. Now, there will
be another 'Musketeer' reputation being made, and by people I do not know.
This cuts into my comfort factor. It takes away a little measure
of security from my day to day routine. It causes some annoyance,
as well, and stirs feelings of possessiveness. Feelings I'm
sure the members of the Escadrille can understand at the moment.
I can only hope that those other
Musketeers, the Escadrille of Fighter Ace, make a reputation that reflects
well on all Musketeers. I'd like them to be the best squadron in
Fighter Ace (after my own Muskies, that is <G>). I'd like to be
pleasantly surprised to find that they are enough like ourselves that we
could become one big happy family (if they could just get rid of that org...
orgggg... orrrggggaaaa.... you know, the 'o' word).
Those are things I can hope for.
I'm not going to sell the house to bet on them though, because the fact
of the matter is . . . they are completely beyond my control. The
Escadrille is the Escadrille. They are not us. We are not them.
They got there first and own the name in the Fighter Ace arena. The
Musketeers Escadrille is theirs to shape and develop. They are new
in a new game. I can only wish them luck. Bon chance!
So, what IS in a name? After all, a rose,
by any other name, still has thorns, right?
o--)--salute-----
o--)--kumori-----
o--)--musketeers-----
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MY main page
Ok, if you're really curious, here's the Escadrille's
website