New Backlog Burndown Series Commencing - Bio-Hazard Battle

Over on the youtubes, I'm starting my next Backlog Burndown series with Bio-Hazard Battle, another SEGA Genesis classic originally from 1992.




Don't let Level One fool you, this game is going to get wickedly difficult right around the midpoint.

Gamer History - Battlefield 1's Salmson 2-A2

Gamer History – Battlefield 1’s Salmson 2-A2 With the Albatros D.III wrapping up our exploration of Battlefield 1’s fighters, we return to the two-seat attack category aircraft.

Lineup of Salmson 2-A2s. Photo via Wingnutwings.com

 While the Bristol F.2B Fighter is the clear star of the Allied side, there is still a second fighter. The Salmson 2-A2 was not an aircraft I’d heard of before. Sometimes referred to in BF1’s game materials as the “A.E.F. 2-A2”, with “A.E.F.” standing for “American Expeditionary Forces” the Salmsom 2 was the primary reconnaissance aircraft operated by American and French forces in the final two years of World War 1.

Salmson 2-A2 crew? The rear gunner's twin mounted machine guns are clearly visible. Photo via Wingnutwings.com

Powered by a 230hp Salmson 9Za radial engine, the Salmson 2 had a top speed of around 116 mph. Typical for the time, it carried a single fixed forward .303 machine gun, with the rear gunner having a pair of .303 guns for defensive purposes.

Similarly to the Bristol F.2B, the Salmson 2 also had a good post war career. Built under license by Kawasaki, it equipped several squadrons of the Japanese Air Force during the 1920s. Converted to carry one or two passengers, they served in Europe as some of the early commercial passenger carriers.

One original example remains, housed at Kakamigahara Aerospace Museum in Japan. As lesser-known, two-seat WWI replicas aren’t especially popular to build, there aren’t any easily available plans or kits for flying replicas. Plans for the Sopwith 1 ½ Stutter could perhaps be adapted, cosmetically at least, to fit the bill, but that’s a project for someone far more skilled than I am.

Finally Over - Super Thunder Blade Level Four Now on Youtube

The Backlog Burndown series for Super Thunder Blade finally ends with Level Four.




That's two hours of save-scumming and aggravation, somewhat carefully distilled down to a fifteen minute run. Good luck out there!

PAX Bound and Down

By the time this posts, I should be starting the first leg of an all-day trip to PAX South!

Photo copyright Nicolas C. Kaemmerer and found on planespotters.net. Used with permission.

 I don't fly much, in fact this will be the first time since my 2015 job hunting marathon, so as a bit of an AvGeek, I chose to take the long way to San Antonio, via Minneapolis and Atlanta. Hopefully this ATL layover goes better than the previous one. As a bonus, I get to two legs on an MD-90, one of my favorite aircraft families.

Sure, they're getting old, and noisy when you're stuck in the back row by the big fans, but airliners with tail mounted engines just look better than ones with wing mounted engines.

Third leg will be on a 757. Beats another 737 at least!
Photo copyright Nicolas C. Kaemmerer and found on planespotters.net. Used with permission.

Meanwhile, check out Marooner's Rock for PAX South coverage!

New on Marooner's Rock: Backlog Burndown #010 - SHMUP To You

Today on Marooner's Rock, it's Backlog Burndown #10!

Taking on another SEGA Classic game with Bio-Hazard battle.

Classic side-scrolling craziness.

Marooner's Rock Game Review - The Little Acre

Over at Marooner's Rock, there's a new review up for The Little Acre.

I absolutely adored this game, and hope it sees a good, successful tail.

The Little Acre review on Marooner's Rock

Gamer History: Battlefield 1's Albatros D.III

Let’s finish up our tour of Battlefield’s four Fighter class aircraft with Germany’s Albatros D.III.

First flown in August 1916, the D.III quickly became the fighter of choice for the German air arm, equipping the majority of air units during 1917. Most famous German aces of the period, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, and Kurt Wolff flew them, and the aircraft’s speed and maneuverability contributed greatly to “Bloody April” in 1917.

Illustration from Great Fighting Planes, my personal copy.

 The aircraft was armed with two 7.62mm machineguns synchronized to fire through the propeller arc; power came from a 170hp Mercedes D.IIIa inline engine. The D.III suffered from a pair of flaws: poor radiator placement and a structurally weak lower wing.

Early models (and previous marks, the D.I and D.II) mounted the radiator in an exposed position on the upper wing, above and ahead of the pilot. When hit, this had the unfortunate tendency to scald the pilot of boiling water used to cool the engine. This was not considered to be a particularly good design, and was eventually changed on later models.

A further problem emerged with the lower wing spars suffering cracking, similar to the French Nieuport 17s. A design flaw in the wing configuration caused the lower wing to twist and bend under load, resulting in cracks to the main spars. Later aircraft were built with strengthened lower spars to correct that flaw.

There are no flying original D.IIIs. Some very faithful reproductions do exist, and there are a couple of originals left in museums. With the streamlined, sleek lines, the Albatros line was one of the best looking, and most lethal series of World War 1.