******* Welcome to "FST: WWII." ******** * Table of Contents * ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Section 1: Overview * Section 2: Tips for New Flight-Sim Players * Section 3: Notes for Flight-Sim Junkies and FST Owners * Section 4: Technical-Support Tips: (PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** SECTION 1: Overview ** With the exception of the graphic front-end in the standalone game, "FST: WWII" was developed entirely with Domark's "Flight Sim Toolkit" software. We've integrated dozens of new features and improvements that allow those who own FST to develop their own detailed and realistic WWII air-combat scenarios, or customize the ones we've developed. Don't own FST? Don't worry! Not only can you play all of the scenarios we've enclosed, but your can also take advantage of your "FST: WWII" purchase to get $10 off our full-featured and high- powered "Flight Sim Toolkit" software and design your own aerial adventures! ** SECTION 2: Tips for New Flight-Sim Players ** If "FST: WWII" is the first flight-simulation title that you've played, there are some basic tips to help you get in the air and having fun: 1) Use the "Arcade" or "Training" scenarios first. The flight-models (how the aircraft actually perform) are very responsive, forgiving, and durable in these missions. In addition, you'll have plenty of ammunition to take it to the bad guys with. 2) Even though the "Arcade" and "Training" flight models are easier, the basic concepts of fighter combat still apply. Keep your speed up, and use the strength of your aircraft to greatest advantage. Here's a brief list of each fighter's key strengths to keep in mind: Mustang: Very fast. Make slashing, diving attacks against the enemy planes. Don't let them pull you into a turning fight if you can help it. Spitfire: Great maneuverability. Tight, high-banked duels are the Spit's playground! Typhoon: Fast and tough, perfect for attacking ground targets. Good maneuverability, but use the Typhoon's climbing ability to climb above the enemy. Fw-190: Small, fast, and durable. Use the Fw-190's speed and high roll rate to avoid turning duels with Spitfires. When in trouble, DIVE! Me-109: A good all-around performer, but lacking the maneuverability of the other fighters. The toughest fighter to fight and win with in the D-Day scenarios. Ju-188: This large, twin-engined bomber survived with its speed, but still has to slow down to drop a torpedo. Don't become too focused on the fighters and hit the ground! Make sure and use your flaps when making torpedo runs. Wildcat: The Wildcat was outclassed by the Japanese Zero in speed and maneuverability. However, it possessed more firepower, and FAR more durability. Try to dive on the enemy, and take them out with a good burst. Forget trying to out-turn a Zero. Dauntless: This bomber was stable and durable, but slow. Stay close to other Dauntlesses to combine the protection from each other's tailguns. Don't attempt to go into battle as a "lone wolf." If the fighters don't get you, the anti-aircraft fire will. Dive-bombing is the best way to ensure a hit, and builds up plenty of speed for your escape. Devastator: This torpedo bomber is obsolete, sluggish, and slow. Torpedo runs in the Devastator are very tough. Use your flaps, drop your torpedo no closer than 500 yards or so, and hope for the best! (ALT-M gives you a "Torpedo's-Eye View" after you drop it.) Remember 100 knots, and NO MORE than 100 feet of altitude when you drop the torpedo, or it will malfunction. Zero: This Japanese fighter was fast and maneuverable for its time, but lacked the heavy firepower and ruggedness of the Wildcat. Pull the enemy into turning duels, where the Zero reigned supreme. Avoid head-on attacks, and stay away from the bomber's tailguns. Val: Slow and fragile, but maneuverable for its size. The Val is much like the Daunltess dive bomber, and the same tactics work with this aircraft. Kate: A much better torpedo bomber than the Devastator, the Kate was faster and more responsive. However, the same tactics apply with as with the Devastator: Stay close to your wingmen, don't get too close to the warships you're attacking, and don't hang around when you've dropped your torpedo. In the role of a dive-bomber, the Kate is much like the Dauntless. Don't forget to use your rudder when mixing it up with the enemy aircraft, or jockeying for a torpedo run. Real "warbird" pilots relied on their rudder pedals to pull off the tough shots that meant the differences between life and death. Don't rely only on the ailerons to turn your plane! ** Section 3: Notes for Flight-Sim Junkies and FST Owners ** While "FST: WWII" is intended to be a "fun" flight simulator, there are a number of realism features that will appeal to the "serious" simulation fans: Damage Effects: The player's aircraft can suffer damage in different ways. The cockpit has a number of instruments that indicate the damage the plane is taking. Handling in all three axes can be effected, as well as the engine's power output. If the player's aircraft is smoking, that indicates an engine hit, and an impending loss of power. The computer-flown aircraft suffer identical effects. During the missions, smoking aircraft will be seen "augering in" when their engines die, or plowing into the ground when their controls begin to fail. Ground Effect: Particularly applicaple to takeoffs and torpedo runs, Ground Effect provides a small amount of additional lift that the player will actually notice. Don't let a plane's performance in Ground Effect lull you into a false sense of security. Once the carrier's deck is out from under you, things might get hairy! Rudder-Roll Relationship: Players will notice that rudder coordination is particularly important with the new flight-modelling computations. Rudder deflection also induces a roll, precisely as it does in reality. The windy conditions of the "Combat" and "Veteran" scenarios illuminate the importance of the rudder! High-Speed Stalls: It's possible to pull too much aft elevator and cause the wing to enter a high-speed stall through a drastically- increased angle of attack. This is referred to by some as "mushing," and can be very dangerous to ground-attack aircraft and dive-bombers. Don't attempt to bully a plane too much at high speeds. Flight Models: The "Arcade" and "Training" flight models have been tweaked with much higher thrust, and much lower overall wing loading than the flight models of the "Veteran" and "Combat" scenarios. The easier models are a ball to fly, but still have to deal with the full computational considerations of the more realistic versions. The models of the "Combat" and "Veteran" scenarios are very faithful to the actual handling and speed characteristics of their real- life counterparts, but have had the wing loading (Wing Efficiency) adjusted to provide better climb performance. While this makes these flight models less "realistic," it does make them much more enjoyable to fly. FST users who wish to tweak these flight models for the utmost in accuracy should start by reducing the Wing Efficiency of each aircraft to the 0.5-0.75 range. *** WARNING:*** The new WORLD.EXE editing Tool IS NOT completely compatible with older FST scenarios, due primarily to the additional features such as Teams and Bombers that "FST: WWII" adds. If you have a scenario that you've developed with the -OLD- FST WORLD.EXE editing Tool, DO NOT try to edit it with the -NEW- WORLD.EXE. This will result in many of the old scenario's variables becoming scrambled, and will not run with EITHER version of FST. For FST users who wish to edit and run the scenarios from DOS, the following naming convention is how the game's graphic front end selects and loads the individual mission files: DDAY or MIDWAY is the obvious prefix for each theatre. The suffixes are broken into three sections: Country, Mission, and Skill Level (A=Arcade, T=Training, C=Combat, V=Veteran.) For example, MIDWAY.A1A is the file name for a Midway scenario, (A)merican Side, (1)st Mission, (A)rcade Skill Level. DDAY.G4C is the name for a D-Day scenario, (G)erman Side, (4)th Mission, (C)ombat Skill Level. For FST users wishing to adapt their existing FST Scenarios, please refer to the FORMATS.TXT file in this directory. For FST users wishing to experiment with different command-line arguments while running the FLY.EXE program from DOS, the enclosed ARGS.TXT file has a number of new switches that allow considerable flexibility and options in running FST. ** SECTION 4: Technical Support Tips ** ? Problem: The game runs too slow! * Reason: To run in the 640x480 Super VGA mode, your machine should have an S3, ATI, or VESA-compatible accelerated graphics card. Unless you have a fast local bus machine, a non-accelerated graphics card will run the game too slowly in SVGA. ! Solution: Select the Standard (320x200) Resolution in the Display Menu. (9) Additionally, the Options Menu (3) allows you to toggle the Detail off, providing a "Flat Earth" terrain model without texture. While flying the actual simulation, the ESC key will bring up the Configuration Menu. The Display selection in this menu allows you to turn off the horizon shading, further increasing the speed the game runs at. Combining all three of these options will enable most machines to run the game very well! ? Problem: I'm getting the message "Unable to set video mode" when I try to play the missions. * Reason: The Display options aren't set for your graphics card, or you do not have VESA-compatible 640x480 display resolution software installed in your computer's memory. ! Solution: Set the Display options in the game to match your card, and/or install the proper VESA-compatible software into your computer's memory BEFORE your run the game. ? Problem: The D-Day scenarios run too slow! * Reason: The D-Day scenarios are HUGE, each one containing an accurate recreation of the invasion of Normandy and the terrain of northern France. A typical mission can have almost 2,000 3-D objects for the player to interact with! You can literally fly for an hour without hitting the "end" of the world. ! Solution: (**Please use this solution AFTER you've tried reducing the display detail levels as the first Solution recommends.**) Select the FAST D-DAY missions from the front-end Options menu. These are simplified versions of the D-DAY missions. They have nearly all non-military objects removed to reduce the number of polygons your computer must process. When FAST D-DAy missions have been selected, the game will run properly, and the speed of the simulation should speed up considerably. However, if the speed is still too slow for your liking, running the D-Day scenarios with the Display option set to VGA/Normal will provide a significant speed increase. ? Problem: I can't get any sound! * Reason: "FST: WWII" absolutely REQUIRES a 100% Sound- Blaster compatible card to be able to play digitized sound effects while flying the simulation. (Some cards advertise 100% compatibility, but aren't! If you get the idea that sound card compatibility is becoming a virtual tar-pit in the PC game industry, you're right.) ! Solution: FST assumes that your sound card is configured for IRQ 5, DMA 1, and Port 220H (default settings). Any other settings need to be noted by the SETBLASTER command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Please check the owner's manual of your particular card for instructions on how to configure it to the specifications mentioned above. As a last resort, you can enable your PC's speaker to play very basic sounds during the game. Owners of ProAudio Spectrum sound cards occasionally have problems with Sound Blaster compatibility. Depending on the model and manufacture date of your card, setting the IRQ, DMA, and PORT addresses can be performed either with jumpers, or through the card's installation software. If your ProAudio refuses to play the digitized sounds in the game, please checkyour card's configuration and ensure that the proper settings, including the AUTOEXEC.BAT SETBLASTER option, is correct for Sound Blaster emulation. This advice is also applicable for owners of the Reveal and Sound Galaxy line of sound cards. ? Problem: The game locks up, drops me back out to DOS, or gives me an "Insufficient Memory" message. * Reason: This is almost always the result of a the computer system's memory configuration specified in the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS programs. "FST: WWII" requires only 330k of Conventional Memory, and 2 megabytes of Extended Memory. Very few machines are unable to provide this. If your system refuses to run the game, you should try to reconfigure your system to reduce or eliminate excessively large RAMDISK or SMARTDRV settings. Typing "MEM/C" from the DOS directory provides a detailed breakdown on your computer's memory status. If this shows at least 330k of conventional memory and 2 megabytes free, "FST: WWII" should have no problems at all. DOS 6.0 and above contains an excellent memory configuration program called MEMMAKER. Running MEMMAKER from the DOS directory is simple, fast, and can cure many memory headaches.