Virtual war is still fought with equipment from the lowest bidder

Heliborne is a fun, little game for such a low-budget and no-name studio. I can't help but find myself playing more of it than any AAA game as it's so easy to get in and out of and it provides a lot of fun factor that anyone can enjoy due to it's arcade-style almost battlefield like mechanics. 

Always choose the left option.

Unfortunately, it seems that the original developer sold it off to another studio some time ago, and the new studio has taken little to no effort in improving the game or it's experience. They released a graphical and audio update in an "Enhanced Edition" but that actually ended up breaking other features like destructible environments/collateral damage, and features a new UI, which I think is a bit of a downgrade.  A bit sad since the destructible environment was a big draw for me. 

Thankfully, they at least allow you to play the original version of the game and you can choose which one to play upon launching the game, so there's no actual loss if you wanted things the way they were. 

That being said, as fun as the game is, it's still a bit of a shallow experience in some areas: a significant lack of maps and map functionality, as well as a low variety of missions, as well as a somewhat limited scope. 

A great game with an even greater potential

A lot of these issues I feel can be rectified relatively easily, But it's still sad to see the new dev has done nearly nothing to build on the experience. I can't help but want to offer them the following suggestions and beg of them to please rip off my ideas and just use/implement them.  I think they would greatly enhance the experience, while at the same time as not being being too difficult to implement either (although admittedly some may take some time to complete). 

1. Implement an entirely new tech tree of Helicopters for/representing the EU.

I will admit this one will likely take the most time and effort. But there are so many freaking helicopters that are not in the game because you have limited yourself to just a Russian + USA tech tree. Granted you have a handful of Chinese and EU choppers like the Z-10, Z-19, A129, BO105, and the SA330 Puma, but really? That's all you added? Come on! There is a whole slew of cool things you can add, and here's just a small list of possibilities for the EU tech tree:

Eurocopter Tiger H1 and Tiger H2
AgustaWestland AW101 (Merlin)
Airbus AS 332 Super Puma
AgustaWestland AW139
Airbus Helicopters H160
AgustaWestland AW109
Agusta A.106
Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon
Eurocopter AS565 Panther
Westland Lynx AH.9A
Denel Rooivalk
Westland Lynx AH1
Westland Lynx AH1 TOW
AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat
Eurocopter EC645 T2
NH Industries NH90
Eurocopter Fennec
Westland WS-51 Dragonfly
Aérospatiale Alouette III
Aérospatiale Alouette II
Westland Commando
Atlas XH-1 Alpha
HAL Light Combat Helicopter

AH-129D
AH-249 

Eh? Right? You see all the missed potential with all that up there? That's not even scratching the tip of the iceberg, as the next suggestion will show. 

2. Flesh out the existing tech trees with oddly absent vehicles.

You have a pretty well rounded tech tree for the Americans and Russians but have some very conspicuously missing variants.  For example, you have nearly every variation of the AH-1 Cobra, but no AH-1W super cobra.  This is frustrating and dumb, because the game only allows you to play games with vehicles of the same generation, so some maps prevent you from playing in a cobra at all! The same problem exists with a slew of other models, and while we are at it, there are more new helos you can add such as:

UH-1N/Bell 212 variant

AH-1W and AH-1S variants

CH-146/Bell 412 variant

Kaman SH-2F Seasprite and G Super Seasprite

Kaman HH-2 gunship and UH-2 Tomahawk

Eurocopter UH-72

Sikorsky S-92/CH-148

Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King and variants

Sikorsky H-5

Kawasaki OH-1

OH/AH-6 NOTAR

MH-47G and CH-47F variants

SH-60 Seahawk and variants

And while we are at it, the Russians could also use some more love, since they are also missing some iconic birds:

Mil Mi-26/27

Mi-38

Mil Mi-6

Mil Mi-14

PZL Swidnik W-3W SOKOL

PZL W-3PL gunship

PZL SW-4

Mi-24 SA upgrade

Kazan Ansat-2RC

Mi-24 VD experimental

I'm not as much of an expert on Russian helos, so I'm sure there are plenty more experimental models I'm not familiar with that can be added to flesh out the list further.

More is always better

3. More Maps!

This is another one that is desperately needed, as there are only eight maps in the game (9 if you count the training map). This may not seem to bad, but what also compounds this problem is that you cannot play on all the maps with whatever helos you wish. It's restricted to certain generations of vehicles, which makes it feel far more limited. Here's list of some map ideas that would greatly help the diversity (as long as there was still a high level of destructibility):

Naval only/small islands maps (would add a lot of functionality to the naval helicopters)

Winter forest maps (Finland? Russia? Germany - Bavaria?)

Germany - Fulda Gap Map

Germany - Checkpoint Charlie Urban Map

Urban Vietnamese Maps

Costal Vietnamese maps

Mountain region Vietnamese maps 

USA suburbia/red dawn inspired map

Iran/Iraq war maps

Isreali wars maps

Pakistan/India war maps

Korean war and cold war maps 

4. Added functionality for existing maps.

This should be the freaking easiest thing of all these suggestions for the dev to do. You already have these maps, just make it so I can play in whatever map I want with what ever generations of vehicles I want. More bang for your buck, as it basically doubles the map functionality and there's hardly any work needed! Play Vietnam maps with modern choppers? No prob! Play Kosovo maps with Nam-era stuff? Why not?  This is one that just baffles me that they haven't implemented this already, as it adds more replay value without needing much effort. 

Now, credit where it is due, the new devs did add the option to play all maps in night or day in the "Enhanced Edition", but there is so much more that can be done. Day/Night cycles, weather options (passive and active), re-add the destructible cars and buildings, etc.

5. More mission and enemy types.

I suppose this can be seen as an addendum to the last suggestion. The devs did do a very good job with trying to add a variety of mission types to the game to keep it interesting, but more is always better. Some simple and limited suggestions to add to the game are:

Provide CAS to friendly troops/vehicles without friendly fire

Extract or insert soldiers on a building rooftop

Destroy building (weapons cache, HQ, or comm facility)

Destroy radar installation or radar vehicles

The addition of friendly and enemy NPC helicopters in COOP and singleplayer missions

Protect/Escort friendly NPC choppers

Eliminate Enemy NPC choppers

Transport vehicle/artillery/mortar teams to location 

Destroy enemy SAM vehicle/s 

I know this was more than a bit of an autistic rant, but the game is still pretty enjoyable for something so inexpensive. I just beg the devs, if you by chance see this, please, please do at least one of these things.