Ground of Aces

Ground of Aces has an incredible premise: build and manage a WWII airbase during the Battle of Britain. Unfortunately, after trying it, I came away feeling like it is an average colony sim wrapped in a thin WWII blanket. The biggest issue is that the WWII theme often feels cosmetic rather than fundamental to the gameplay. I came in expecting to manage aircraft operations, logistics, pilots, maintenance, repairs, and the constant pressure of wartime operations. Instead, I spent a surprising amount of time gathering resources, constructing facilities piece by piece, and engaging in fairly standard colony-sim activities that could exist in almost any setting. A good question to ask is: if you replaced the airplanes with generic workers and buildings, would this still stand out? For me, the answer was no. The game also feels caught between two design philosophies. In some areas it demands meticulous micromanagement—such as building tent structures section by section—while in other areas the world itself feels oddly artificial and underdeveloped. The maps I played on felt small and uninteresting. Instead of organic terrain features like rivers or natural geography shaping an airfield, I found tiny circular ponds scattered around the map. It creates an odd disconnect: if the game is asking me to care about tiny construction details, why does the world itself feel so gamey? Onboarding was rough as well. During the tutorial I ran into issues with workstations not being built properly, which is not a great first impression for a management game that lives or dies by its systems and clarity. More broadly, the game feels shallow in some ways while taking itself very seriously in others. There are hints of deeper systems here, but many mechanics currently feel more like checklists than meaningful decisions. I never really felt like I was running a living wartime airbase. I felt like I was managing a colony sim wearing an RAF uniform. To be clear: the art style is attractive, the premise is fantastic, and I can see why people are excited about its future. But in its current Early Access state, it feels undercooked, lacking refinement, and overly reliant on its excellent theme to carry gameplay that isn't yet exceptional. I may revisit it in a year or two, because the potential is absolutely there. But right now, I ultimately refunded it.

I find myself in the common position of wanting a "neutral" option. There's an excellent game buried in here, but it's locked in behind things that are unenjoyable and that's stopping me from actually having that positive experience. The survival nonsense is the main thing, and I see other reviews calling it out. No, WW2 air bases did not have to forage for berries, get water from the local duck pond with buckets, or chop down their own trees to produce lumber. It doesn't fit the setting or premise, and it also isn't fun. There's a solid concept in here for a management game on the operational side of an airfield, but only if you're willing to micromanage menial tasks that have no bearing on the actual setting it's based in. Add in an option to cut out all the survival nonsense and this probably becomes a positive review, though there's still some cooking needed on other aspects. But right now it just feels confused. Like it doesn't know what it wants to be, and has picked the less-fun path out of the options it had ahead of it.

Pretty much the WWII RAF airfield management game I've always wanted. About 15 hours in and I'm having a great time trying to keep aircraft flying, crews happy, and the station from descending into the sort of chaos that probably kept RAF adjutants awake at night. It really gives you an appreciation for the ground crews who kept aircraft like the Spitfire and Hurricane operational during the war. There's a few areas that feel a bit light right now, but the game is still in early access and the foundation is excellent. Looking forward to seeing where the developers take it—preferably with only slightly less paperwork than the real RAF.

great game

You want a small-scale city builder? This is it. The gameplay is easy to pick up, but there's no hand holding. You have to learn how to succeed on your own. The artwork is excellent, and the models of the aircraft are brilliant. Overall there are some things to improve, but the devs have shown a pretty clear framework of what they are working on. I've never felt strongly enough about any game to review it before, but this one earned a thumbs up. 100 hours and change in, and likely several hundred more to come.

Lost my entire air crew to a German bombing raid, 10/10 would recommend

Игра ощущается как римворлд с сильно урезанным функционалом, к которому в довесок идёт тайкун авиабазы. Не сказать что последнее сделано плохо, миссии интересные, да и менеджить пилотов с самолётами достаточно занимательно, но игра часто упирается в довольно фиговый менеджмент наземного персонала. Не говоря о том, как странно ощущается налаживание полных цепочек производства от металла до пушечных снарядов на одной авиабазе, техническая реализация страдает ещё сильнее. Из-за того, что римворлд тут весьма скромный, ты не можешь нормально назначить зону под вырубку, сбор трав и подземных ресурсов, это всегда одноразовые задачи, которые в случае с песком/глиной приходится ещё и по несколько раз на один объект отдавать, потому что задача по какой-то причине слетает после примерно 1/5 собранного нода. Никакого разделения на лесоруба/сборщика/водоноса тоже нет, всё в общей графе "добыча". Из-за того, что в игре есть настройка общего дневного цикла для всей базы, но нет возможности назначать отдельные ночные смены у тебя могут быть ситуации, при которых самолёт перед важной миссией банально недозаправят или недочинят, при том что разница между 75 и 85 хп самолёта может быть критичной для его выживания. Вообще нет возможности вырвать конкретного юнита и заставить его работать в овертайм, что может быть и нормально для типичного тайкуна, но не для военной базы. Ещё хочется сказать, что игра довольно плохо работает для настолько условной стилизированной графики. Анимации, особенно самолётов, часто рваные, сам экран двигается крайне неторопливо, да и в целом игра ощущается так, будто ей не хватает кадров, при том что фпс у меня был стабильным. Сравнивая с другими играми, утилизирующими менеджмент личного состава в боевых условиях, игра скорей разочаровывает. Как в плане менеджмента, так и в техническом. Даже элеменет "симса для мальчиков" в виде декорирования базы не доставляет того удовольствия из-за муторной цепочки действий необходимых для постройки каждого конкретного здания. Надеюсь большинство проблем исправят к релизу, хотя, как мне кажется, технические проблемы останутся с игрой навсегда, учитывая прожорливость и топорность движка юнити, который судя по всему и используется в данной игре.

I love the game!!!!

Honestly a great game, and with it still being in beta and being updated it seems on track to be an amazing base building game. I honestly would recommend this to all those who love base building and ww2. The only issue is that when you are mid point into the game fps drops a bit, and along with the few bugs, the game is great.

Want to command a RAF airfield during WW2? This is your game.