Today Bandai Namco Entertainment released a batch of screenshots and quite a lot of information on Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.

We hear that the development team has gone to great lengths to simulate natural phenomena, including various shapes and kinds of clouds, rainfall, fog, haze, airflow, and a variety of skies created by the combination of sunlight and the atmosphere.

The game aims to let the player fly freely while feeling the beauty, magnificence, and power of nature reproduced by the latest technology.

The depiction of the sky is based on physical principles of light scattering and absorption, which means that the color of the sky varies depending on the relative position of the aircraft and the sun. Sunsets also vary depending on the angle of view.

A variety of clouds appears depending on the climate, and at times violent squalls happen under the clouds themselves in tropical environments.

We also hear more details about the story.

In 2019 the Second continental War erupts on the continent of Usea. The hero is part of the Osean Self-Defense Air Force, while the enemy is the Kingdom of Erusea.

The tension between the two nations has been increasing steadily. In 2019 an act of terror perpetrated with unmanned drone struck Osea. At the same time, Erusea occupied the Orbital Elevator and its surrounding facilities which are at the foundation of the solar power plant jointly developed by Osea and the other nations of the continent. In order to counter Osea's overbearing influence and monopolistic interests, Erusea declared war.

In order to compete against the mighty power of the Osean army, Erusean fought using countless unmanned drones. In the blink of an eye, Osea is driven off the East coast of the continent.

As a response, in an era of clean wars that avoid affecting urban areas, the Osean Air Force hits the capital of Erusea by mistake. The Princess of Erusea criticizes the Osean action publicly in a televised broadcast, and public opinion starts leaning towards her nation.

Unmanned drones are dominating the battlefield, and the era of manned flight approaches its end...

We also learn more about the Orbital Elevator. It was built jointly by the Osean government and its allies in order to encourage reconstruction and supply permanent and clean energy to the whole continent. The aim was to promote the development of a social infrastructure that did not rely on gas and oil, by supplying electricity to each country with solar power generation facilities based on geosynchronous orbit.

Osea's initiative and space development know-how were embraced with enthusiasm by participating countries that supplied technology and investments to cover the constriction costs. The Orbital elevator is the largest international project after Ulysses.

In order to build the Orbital Elevator, ISEV was established as a public corporation, and began construction in earnest in 2011 (the year after Ace Combat 5), aiming to recover from the fall of asteroid Ulysses, which caused enormous damage in 1999.

If you want to see more, you can also check out more screenshots showing weather effects and advanced maneuvers. The most recent trailer was also focusing on the story.

 Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is scheduled to be released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The last release window we heard was 2018, but we're still waiting on a precise date.