Bug on Mission 28 (Shadow Invincibility) :: ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE General Discussions

Store Page

ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

All Discussions Screenshots Artwork Broadcasts Videos News Guides Reviews

ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE > General Discussions > Topic Details

Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:01pm

Bug on Mission 28 (Shadow Invincibility)

Mission 28 on elite was a lot of fun, right on up until I learned it was not a "Supposed to Lose" mission. I sorta just sat there for a moment confused at the mission failed screen after successfully defending the base from every aircraft - We're actually expected to shoot down the Shadows? I spent 15 minutes and over 300 missiles shooting at Shadows, and -ABSOLUTELY NOTHING- connected, leading me to realize that they were invincible and not the main objective.

I tried firing from a distance, I tried firing from up close. I tried firing in High-g turns, I tried firing after we exited those turns. I tried fighting in the clouds, I tried fighting near allies over the airbase. I'd keep a lock on one craft while visually tracking another, and quickly switch over and fire on them when I saw them coming out of a turn infront of me. I sent squadmates to dispersion, to cover, to focus attack one - Nothing. The machine is useless, the reticle floats around crazily from the slightest player inputs. The Shadows themselves are apparently hardcoded as a sort of "Boss" fight that allows them to defy the physics of the game; they aren't just aircraft with better stats and AI, they are capable of moving freely along their XYZ axis completely independent of their inertia. This leads to situations where you can closely track their aircraft coming out of a high-g turn, fire your missile, then watch as their aircraft "Bounces" away from the missile as if the hand of god just plucked them away from danger momentarily. Their aircraft have an unlimited amount of flares with no cooldown and will chain them back to back to back without ending. They do not stall, they do not crash. I do not understand what is expected of me, beyond having some super-secret aircraft more stable and maneuverable than the F22, or having god tier machinegunning skills which kinda means nothing when you've honed your talents on targets that obey the laws of physics.

At the time of writing this, I have failed the mission over 4 times. I have spent over an hour just fighting Shadows and have not landed a single missile. I think I've shot over 1000 missiles at this point and I have not hit a single one, which is seriously beginning to make me wonder if there's something broken in the game code. Especially when they try to perform their synchronized kulbit maneuver and it deflects the missiles instead of making themselves a huge target for them. Is anyone else encountering this bug? I've tried verifying my game files but that didn't fix anything. Did anyone else encounter this bug and figure out a fix? I'd really like to finish the game, it's been rather easy so far and I'd really like to unlock Ace difficulty as soon as possible.

Last edited by Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa; Oct 3 @ 7:05pm

< >

Showing 1-15 of 42 comments

zakoforever has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:08pm

It's a skill issue. Launching a missile at the right time can instantly kill them, but launching it at the wrong time is useless no matter how you launch it. In Ace Combat, missiles are less maneuverable than aircraft, so if the opponent is dodging, you'll miss 100%. Furthermore, they don't have a special script, and you can do the same maneuvers as them, and even more strangely.

Last edited by zakoforever; Oct 3 @ 7:10pm

GoatseWithTheAwesomeSauce has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:11pm

guns

Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:13pm

Woah wait a minute; are you telling me that if I shoot a missile at the right time, and it hits the target, they die? bruh

zakoforever has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:18pm

Originally posted by Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa:
Woah wait a minute; are you telling me that if I shoot a missile at the right time, and it hits the target, they die? bruh

You must first use a missile to lure it into maneuvering, and then immediately use high G to aim at its direction of movement and fire a second missile. This is the standard way to use missiles in AC, not to fire randomly from the 9 o'clock position.

zakoforever has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:20pm

SAAM's method of launching the missile in advance and then suddenly locking on when it gets close is also very effective.

CrimsonDragon has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:34pm

I just used missiles to lure then into my gun. They start to stack together and spam flare while going very slow. Easy pickings at that moment

I'm the Cook has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:35pm

It's not a bug. It's literally the hardest mission on Elite+ (mission 29 has a similar boss). If you're not already using the highest cost planes at this point, it might be worth either grinding some MRP on previous missions, until you are able to unlock them.

It IS possible to land a missile, but it's very unlikely given the Shadows' agility. You are better off using QAAMs/SASMs, IF you have those (you should first use reg. missiles to exhaust their flare supply). Otherwise, you only recourse is to use the MG, which is kind of a high skill-ceiling weapon to use.

Just keep at it bro. Also it can be worth fitting your crew with EW craft, so that they can give you the ESM buff for the fight, which massively buffs your missiles and SP weapons (tracking, speed, cooldown). Set them to 'Cover' mode before commanding them to use SP weapons, so they follow you

Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:35pm

Originally posted by zakoforever:
Originally posted by Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa:
Woah wait a minute; are you telling me that if I shoot a missile at the right time, and it hits the target, they die? bruh
You must first use a missile to lure it into maneuvering, and then immediately use high G to aim at its direction of movement and fire a second missile. This is the standard way to use missiles in AC, not to fire randomly from the 9 o'clock position.

I am fully aware of this. I'm not sure if you've reach this mission yet, but when you do you'll see that the "second" missile you're suggesting to fire, is going to be just as easily dodged by an otherwise impossible maneuver; as will the 4th, and the 6th, and so on.

I completely understand the concept of pushing an opponent into evasive maneuvers and waiting to strike at a time where the missile will make contact when the target is exiting their turn. What I don't think you understand is the fact that the Shadows are capable of back-to-back-to-back-to-back dodges that would otherwise be impossible for any other aircraft because they ignore inertia. There's no planning or predicting with them; the moment you put them into a compromising position, they start acting like its a scripted event and beginning dodging everything you throw at them from any angle. They don't 'accelerate', they just set their speed and achieve it instantly, making them able to dodge attacks that should otherwise be impossible to dodge.

I'm the Cook has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 7:38pm

Originally posted by zakoforever:
It's a skill issue. Launching a missile at the right time can instantly kill them, but launching it at the wrong time is useless no matter how you launch it. In Ace Combat, missiles are less maneuverable than aircraft, so if the opponent is dodging, you'll miss 100%. Furthermore, they don't have a special script, and you can do the same maneuvers as them, and even more strangely.

On Elite and Ace, the Shadows can eat 2-3 missiles, just an FYI. I am not sure how their health pool is on lower difficulties. But yea, should be mixing in missiles and trying to use your MG as possible when you see a good opening where they are flying in a relatively straight path. They will die surprisingly fast if you can get land a good MG burst on their planes.

Theorycel

Oct 3 @ 7:50pm

Machine gun too slow to kill compared to just zooming around firing and forgetting until almost the end of the game when it's suddenly relevant, feels like a mistake for the campaign design.

#10

Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 8:11pm

Originally posted by Theorycel:
Machine gun too slow to kill compared to just zooming around firing and forgetting until almost the end of the game when it's suddenly relevant, feels like a mistake for the campaign design.

The damage from the MG isn't the issue; it's getting the reticle on target that makes it difficult. Normally it's not too much of a problem on normal aircraft that obey inertia, but when you're fighting Shadows and the target has the ability to juke sideways like they have side-mounted thrusters, then it becomes almost impossible to aim properly.

#11

zakoforever has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 8:15pm

Originally posted by Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa:
Originally posted by zakoforever:
You must first use a missile to lure it into maneuvering, and then immediately use high G to aim at its direction of movement and fire a second missile. This is the standard way to use missiles in AC, not to fire randomly from the 9 o'clock position.

I am fully aware of this. I'm not sure if you've reach this mission yet, but when you do you'll see that the "second" missile you're suggesting to fire, is going to be just as easily dodged by an otherwise impossible maneuver; as will the 4th, and the 6th, and so on.

I completely understand the concept of pushing an opponent into evasive maneuvers and waiting to strike at a time where the missile will make contact when the target is exiting their turn. What I don't think you understand is the fact that the Shadows are capable of back-to-back-to-back-to-back dodges that would otherwise be impossible for any other aircraft because they ignore inertia. There's no planning or predicting with them; the moment you put them into a compromising position, they start acting like its a scripted event and beginning dodging everything you throw at them from any angle. They don't 'accelerate', they just set their speed and achieve it instantly, making them able to dodge attacks that should otherwise be impossible to dodge.

I’ve already beaten this level on ACE difficulty; since I used PSM to pin them down and crush them, it was basically an instant kill. In my opinion, the leader unit needs to be able to withstand at least eight missile hits—even if you have to cheese it by using a script to deploy decoys at point-blank range to negate the damage—to qualify as a boss-level encounter; anything that goes down after just three hits is nothing more than a grunt.

Last edited by zakoforever; Oct 3 @ 8:17pm

#12

totoro

Oct 3 @ 8:20pm

Originally posted by Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa:
Originally posted by zakoforever:
You must first use a missile to lure it into maneuvering, and then immediately use high G to aim at its direction of movement and fire a second missile. This is the standard way to use missiles in AC, not to fire randomly from the 9 o'clock position.

I am fully aware of this. I'm not sure if you've reach this mission yet, but when you do you'll see that the "second" missile you're suggesting to fire, is going to be just as easily dodged by an otherwise impossible maneuver; as will the 4th, and the 6th, and so on.

I completely understand the concept of pushing an opponent into evasive maneuvers and waiting to strike at a time where the missile will make contact when the target is exiting their turn. What I don't think you understand is the fact that the Shadows are capable of back-to-back-to-back-to-back dodges that would otherwise be impossible for any other aircraft because they ignore inertia. There's no planning or predicting with them; the moment you put them into a compromising position, they start acting like its a scripted event and beginning dodging everything you throw at them from any angle. They don't 'accelerate', they just set their speed and achieve it instantly, making them able to dodge attacks that should otherwise be impossible to dodge.

Hi! all S rank Ace. genuinely do it with guns, you waste too much time doing it with missiles. use missiles to make them move in ways easier to hit with your guns though.

#13

Tolstoyevski Tsuyasa has ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE

Oct 3 @ 8:40pm

Originally posted by totoro:
Hi! all S rank Ace. genuinely do it with guns, you waste too much time doing it with missiles. use missiles to make them move in ways easier to hit with your guns though.

Hi! Which aircraft can equip Yaw Thrusters?

I would LOVE to use my machine gun for this level. However, attempting to track the targets with it is impossible because they are capable of moving freely in any direction at all times. My MG reticle is always playing catch up, and any time I get the target into a flight pattern where they will intersect with my reticle, they enable side-facing thrusters that allow them to dodge sideways, forcing me to roll my aircraft, and beginning the entire process over again. Is there any aircraft that can yaw better than others? I'm already using the attachment to improve it on my F22, but it's still not enough to fine-tune the targeting needed against aircraft capable of rubber-banding.

#14