The Ancient Art of War in the Skies Overview
The Ancient Art of War in the Skies is a real-time strategy game set in World War I, focusing on aircraft combat. Players manage their forces from an overhead map, where strategic planning involves setting aircraft routes and objectives. The outcome of battles can influence various statistics, such as production rates, where destroying enemy factories delays their ability to deploy new planes.
Combat shifts to a side-scrolling perspective during engagements like dogfights or bombing runs. In these sequences, players directly control their aircraft to shoot down enemies or time bomb releases while avoiding anti-aircraft fire. These action segments can also be resolved automatically by the computer, with the pilot's skill level affecting the probability of success.
The game includes multiple campaigns, both historical and fictional, and provides an editor for creating additional scenarios. Victory can be achieved through several means: eliminating the enemy's air force, destroying their capital city, or depleting their resources through attrition.