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Hellcats⁄Leyte FAQ
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Subject: Hellcats/Leyte FAQ Posting
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 93 18:51:35 -0700
From: Jack Repenning <jackr@dblues.wpd.sgi.com>
Here's the regular, monthly posting of the Hellcats/Leyte FAQ. Since
the excitement's all moved to CYAC, and soon (please, oh please!) will
move on to F/A-18, I think this will be the last posting of this FAQ.
As always, the FAQ is posted to comp.sys.mac.games and the Info-Mac
digest, and is available via anonymous FTP from the Info-Mac archives
(and mirrors), under ./game/com/hellcats-faq.txt, and from the
Hellcats Feats FTP site,
chemotaxis.biology.utah.edu:/Public/Hellcats_Feats/hellcats-faq.txt
Jack Repenning <jackr@wpd.sgi.com>
----------------Cut Here----------------
Hellcats Over the Pacific FAQ/Tips
FTP from: /info-mac/game/com/hellcats-faq.txt
Posted to comp.sys.mac.games and the Info-Mac Digest
Jack Repenning
jackr@sgi.com
Version 2.4 UPDATE September 28, 1993 by Jack Repenning
(Two maneuvers to use against multiple opponents)
------------
This file's organized as follows, for easy reference. Sections I through VI
contain both Q&A's and general tips.
I. AIR COMBAT MANEUVERING
I.I Leyte Gulf
II. GROUND ATTACK
II.I Leyte Gulf
III. GROUND DEFENSES
III.I Leyte Gulf
IV. TAKING OFF, LANDING, AND GROUND MANEUVERING
V. SCENARIO-SPECIFIC TIPS
V.I Leyte Gulf
VI. SCORING/GENERAL GAME
VII. COMMON PURCHASING/MACHINE REQUIREMENT QUESTIONS
VIII. EXERCISES
IX. FTP ARCHIVE
IX. CREDITS
IX.I Leyte Gulf
X. CHEATS
X.I Leyte Gulf
XI. FAQ BACKGROUND
Note that a lot of the following is bona fide "spoiler" material. Read
this only if you're REALLY stumped, or have "played the game out," and
are looking for things to do.
I. AIR COMBAT MANEUVERING (ACM)
(including air-to-sea tactics)
Tip 1: To register a kill, try to shoot when the Zero is still
relatively small. There is a bug, such that even if one's immediately
behind a Zero, pouring one's guns into him, he won't die. In real
life, a Zero would be torn to shreds in a similar situation. So you do
want to be behind him, but not TOO close (having the airplane fill the
screen is too close; having it span the cross-hairs is probably about
right).
Head-on attacks or side attacks are more successful/damaging, when up-
close. Usually, though, he's shooting at you at the same time, so it's
not a good idea to make a habit of this.
Tip 2: When dog-fighting, always try to get behind the Zeros. Try not
to let them get behind you.
Tip 3: When dog-fighting, it is usually better to come in low, a
little off to the side, and start turning BEFORE the enemy fighter
flies past you. Put the flaps in the up position so you can turn
faster, and if you're about to crash, use your rudders to pull you up
without having to roll out (actually, this rudder technique works for
all turns). If you do this, you come up behind the enemy, relatively
close, and you just have to shoot at him until he gets hit. Make sure
you don't go too fast and fly past him (or worse, crash into him if
you're not careful).
Tip 4: A technique to use when dog-fighting is a "skidding turn." In
World War II, a consistent trait of American aces was their willingness
to "abuse" the airplane; the Japanese pilots, in comparison, were very
good, but tended to fly "coordinated" too much. Liberal use of the
rudder--man handling the airplane to your will--can give you the winning
edge.
Tip 5: Getting someone off your tail:
Plan A: start a tight turn, drop the gear, reduce power, and kick in
the flaps.
Plan B: build up as much airspeed as you can, go level, kick the flaps
in and pull up into a vertical position.
(Plan B may not be a good thing to try with a sick engine).
Tip 6: Make liberal use of the rudder controls. With these you can out-
turn the Zeros. In fact, with good airspeed you can turn faster with the
rudders than by banking. They also provide excellent attitude control
when you are on your side in a turn. I find this very useful when turning
close to the ground. They can be used to do snap rolls. When flying slowly,
bank one direction, then hold hard opposite rudder. This takes a little
fooling around. The most important use of rudders is to line up a
target, either on the ground or in the air. (Use Caps Lock so you don't
have to use the shift key all the time.)
Tip 7: To keep from overtaking your target (aircraft), simply reduce
throttle while holding your attitude. If that doesn't work (closure rate
too fast), try gear, and flaps, in that order, giving time to get a trend
rate from each attempt. To counteract the upward pitching moment of the
flaps, anticipate it, and command pitch-down slightly, to keep the target
in sight. If this still doesn't work, climb, but keep the Zero in sight.
If you get really close, the Zeroes will turn, so take a guess and turn
in that direction. If you guessed wrong, just complete the circle and pick
your victim up again.
Tip 8: Lower the gear to slightly decrease your speed. Flaps may be used
for more effect.
Tip 9: You rarely (if ever) need a full tank of gas, and the difference
in performance is amazing. No mission really needs more than 30% to
be completed in a reasonable amount of time; an extra 25% would be a good
reserve.
Tip 10: If your mission doesn't need them, leave bombs behind. They are
heavy and decrease performance. Take as little fuel as possible for
the same reason. A full tank is 1500 pounds and is good for 3 hours
at 70% throttle.
Tip 11: Don't waste ammunition! You've only got so much. If you see
flames, instantly break of the attack and move to another target; don't
be morbid and wait for the splash.
Tip 12: Lots and lots of quick bursts are better than a couple of long
ones.
Tip 13: To judge the altitude of bogies, keep in mind that if they're
BENEATH the horizon, they're below you; if above the horizon, they're
above you. In general, by the time you see them (straight and level), if
they're in your field of view, they're no more than 1500' above or below
you.
Tip 14: Taking on the whole flock: When you have several enemies
coming against you all at once, you need more than good offensive
moves: you need something that keeps one from nailing you while
you're chasing another. Here are two "one for all" techniques:
Aerobee effect: This is kind of a yo-yo while in a tight
circle. The basic posture is a tight, level circle - this gets
them all chasing you, and usually herds them all into a tight
little knot, more or less opposite you on the circle. Now, you
need to work them around into your sights. Since you're
turning hard, you're already banked into the turn; bank out/up
a bit, while keeping the stick way back: you open the circle a
bit, and climb. Now, roll back over and down. As you return
to your base altitude, you gain speed around the circle,
catching up with the trailing zeke. Get it right, and he falls
right into your sights - smoke him!
Divide and conquer: if they're all in a fur-ball, going every
way from Sunday, drive through taking pot-shots and ducking.
One or the other of two things will happen: either one of them
will latch onto your tail, in which case you go to the "getting
them off your tail" maneuvers - fast! Or, more desirably, one
of them will turn tail and run away. Don't be fooled: this is
not cowardice, it's group fighting, but you can use it anyway.
While you're chasing this one, two bad things are happening:
you're leaving the scene, where you're probably trying to
protect something or other, and one of the others is probably
latching onto your tail. So don't chase the decoy very long,
and watch your tail closely, but you'll probably get one or two
good shots in at him. Make them count, and he'll be bleeding
too much to play in the rest of the fight. Then, wade back in
and cut the odds down some more.
** On Using a Mouse for flight control **
Tip 15: Some people like using the keyboard with Hellcats. There is
nothing wrong with that. However, a lot of folk use the mouse. Using
the mouse is easiest for most Hellcat pilots. When you use the mouse, make
sure that your Mouse Control Panel Device is set at its lowest tracking
speed. If tracking is set high, your control over the aircraft will
be near zero and your maneuvers will seem choppy and erratic. If your
mouse CDEV has a 'tablet' setting, this is preferred. Above all,
experiment and adjust. There are pilots out there who are very
proficient with the mouse set at its highest setting.
Another thing about the mouse: the idea is that you hold the mouse
in a particular position - a bit to the right to roll right, or a
bit back to pull the nose up - *not* that you move the mouse
momentarily to make a change. This sometimes confusing to people
who've used the keyboard to fly, where you usually tap a key to
change the control surfaces. The farther you move the mouse, the
more the control surfaces move.
If you have your tracking set high, then a small mouse motion
makes a large control surface motion. Sounds good, huh? But a
fast motion makes a bigger change than a slow one: if you twitch
the mouse away from the center, then move it back to the center
more slowly, the control surfaces will *not* return to center
position. This is the basic reason why you should turn the
tracking down.
It is normal, depending on air speed and whether you have the
flaps down or not, for the "neutral" position (where you hold the
mouse to fly straight and level, or to continue some turn) to
change: if you're going slow, for example, you not only have to
hold the nose higher to maintain altitude, you need to pull back
farther on the stick - er, mouse - to keep it there. If you
neutral point drifts uncomfortably, or you get too close to the
edge of the mouse pad, just lift the mouse and reposition it
nearer the center - but not actually *at* the center: try to put
it in the spot you expect it to be for what you're doing at that
moment, or you'll just fall off the other side of the pad a moment
later.
Q: Just because I see something on radar, does it see me? Will they
immediately come after me, or do I have some time to pursue my mission
before I worry about the Zeros?
A: Maybe, maybe not. Most likely yes. Unless you are in 'Scramble' or
'Flying Fortress,' you can take your time. Usually Zeros are easy
points and it is fine to try and take them out. You *DO* need to
worry about the Zeros in 'Scramble' and 'Flying Fortress' as your
objective in those missions is to protect.
Q: Is it possible to collide with another plane?
A: Yes. If you slam into a plane, you will explode and die.
This is another danger of using the autopilot.
Q: Is it possible to shoot down the pilot after he bails out?
A: No. Don't even waste your ammunition. This feature was not
provided, due to "humanitarian reasons."
Q: Is it possible to collide with the pilot after he bails out?
A: Yes! Colliding with a parachute, as discussed before, or the pilot,
or the lines, will result in immediate death.
Q: If I try to dogfight with another pilot using the autopilot key,
half the time the autopilot drives me into the ground. Am I doing
something wrong?
A: Yes. Your autopilot is not smart enough to know when you are too
close to the ground. Watch your altimeter. If you are getting down to
300 or so feet and are above 180 knots, get the hell out of dodge!
Pull up on the stick or make a steep climbing bank. If you don't, you
will auger into the ground and will go home in a pine box.
Q: What's wrong with my plane? The Zeros run circles around me!
A: If you try turning with your flaps down, you'll find that you can
keep up with the Zeroes. But watch your airspeed!
Q: Why does the plane seem to over react to stick movements?
A: Your mouse speed is set too fast. Use the control panel and set mouse
speed to "tablet".
Q: I can't get the hang of getting behind the Zeros, how can I
improve...is there a quick way to learn?
A: Just lots of practice. Practice tight turns using your flaps, gear,
and (if necessary) decreased throttle. Don't be afraid to make "out of
plane" maneuvers (for example, instead of a level turn, at constant
altitude, lower (or raise) the nose, and turn in a tighter, smaller,
cone). You can also use the autopilot, but that's a really miserable
cheat. :-)
Q: How can I out maneuver a Zero that's behind me?
A: You can use the flaps ('f' key) as an air brake to slow your plane.
Then you can do a tight turn to the opposite heading from your
original heading. When your heading is where you want it, then retract
your flaps and gear (if down) and increase the throttle fully. It will
probably not be able to follow you, and you'll be behind it soon!
Q: Why, in frontal passes, do the Zeros seem to always damage the
Hellcat engine, contrary to actual experience?
A: Try evasive maneuvers when you are approaching the Zeros. If your
radar is scanning in '1 mile' mode, and you are one square away from
the Zero, use your rudder and weave to the Zero. Contrary to real life,
it helps to come up from below, and slightly slow, on first contact--given
the limitations of the display, what matters here is YOU seeing THEM first,
and just accept that they'll probably see you, no matter what you do. Fire
short bursts, head-on, break, and turn as fast as possible to re-acquire
them.
I.I LEYTE GULF
Tip 1: To sink both cruisers and the aircraft carrier. There are a
couple of hints. First, torpedoes are definitely sensitive to attitude
as well as altitude and speed. You don't have to be very far out or
level for the torpedo to fail. You can use an alternate view (rear, chase,
...) to see the torpedo hit the water. If you don't see it 'running'
after hitting, then you failed to drop it properly. Go back around and
try again.
Tip 2: When dropping torpedoes, *try* to maintain an altitude of
250 or *less*. Also, keep your air speed to below 140 knots. Also, if
your airspeed is too slow, the torpedoes will explode on impact.
Try to stay above 80 knots. Sometimes at 100 knots your torpedoes
will explode. When approaching a target, remember to sight the
ship...find out in what direction the ship is traveling. Approach the
target oriented to the bow. Aim slightly ahead. AAA gunners are
deadly, try not to travel in a straight line, use your rudder and
zig-zag to the target. Try not to shoot back, maintain your
concentration on the target.
Tip 3: The other difficult thing about torpedoes is that it is very hard
to lead in formation to the enemy ships. The F6-F with a torpedo goes
much slower than the Corsair, it appears. This makes it easy to make
your lead too short. But if you fly straight out from your carrier,
(scenario) you should hit either the enemy carrier or the nearest
escort. Of course, once the ship is stopped by a torpedo or bomb,
torpedoes are easy to deliver and very effective.
Tip 4: The problem with torpedoes is simple mechanics:
CARRIER ----------->Explosion at t=t0 + delta
^ (at t=t0 v=37 knots)
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|
|
|
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F6-F Hellcat
(dropping torpedo at t=t0)
(v<200 knots)
A simpler approach is to aim in "collision" course against the target,
with a narrow angle and small lead. It is really much safer then using
bombs, because we are not so exposed to AAA fire (and those Japanese
gunners did quite an improvement in 2 years of war ;-)
TORPEDO BUG: In "Deep Trouble" sometimes you hit a sub with a
torpedo, you can see the explosion of the torpedo on the sub
(<ctrl - I> confirmed) but sometimes you never get credit for it.
Good old 500 lb bombs are much more reliable against submarines.
Tip 4: The only mission where enemy ships are of any concern is
'Lighting Strike' - unless you count the gun boats in 'Bridge Out'...
don't bother with torpedoes until you've got a carrier at full stop, like
some big, fat, sitting duck. If you take bombs for your first run against
an enemy task force, you can take out both cruisers with one pass - yes,
it can be done - and thus eliminate 50% of the AAA fire.
While you're headed back to base, take out all the Zeros and
Franks you can. If there's still a live P-38 at the end of the dogfight,
he'll plant a bomb on the carrier for you. Then you've got that
aforementioned sitting duck...
The hardest part about a torpedo run is that, after you've dropped both
fish in the water, it is hard to leave until you get to watch the
detonations. The carrier's still got live AAA! Zeros will be popping
up occasionally - so if you're a bit sadistic, and want to stick around to
watch the carrier's crew take a bath, keep an eye on the scope, and
watch your distance to the carrier.
Tip 5: Submarines are the easiest target in Hellcats (Leyte Gulf)--
they don't fire back!!
Tip 6: Reading the original F6 owner manual in HellCats. the Guns shoot
like this:
.
. . point A
. .
. . point B
. .
-----^----- Guns location
The bullets converging on point A; if you get real close to AAA,
(something like point B) bullets will hit around the AAA's. Same
thing is true about *dog fights*.
Tip 7: If you've got the time, do some climbing while flying away from
the target. It avoids triggering additional air-cover takeoffs.
Tip 8: The fastest way to gain altitude, especially after takeoff
is to open the throttle wide and raise the nose enough so you're
going about 140 knots. If you use the flaps while you're doing
this, you'll be able to keep the nose low enough to see where
you're going, but the optimum speed is still 140 knots. If you're
moving faster than 140 knots when you decide to climb, pull way
back on the stick and "zoom" up, trading your speed for immediate
altitude. As you approach 140 knots, let the nose fall until you
hold steady at 140 knots. Don't do it this way if you're within
shooting range of an enemy, though: 140 knots makes you a sitting
duck!
Tip 9: If you need a desperation kill for a fighter or bomber, launch
more than one pair of missiles. When launching four or six, the
chance of one of them hitting is pretty high. And considering you
only need one hit to kill any plane, it may be worth it.
Tip 10: When firing rockets, don't get too close to the explosion.
Pilots have had PLANES not only lose engines, but some actually blow
up because of the explosions. It is very dangerous firing missiles at
planes that are only a few hundred yards in front of you--almost
guaranteed death.
Tip 11: When dog fighting with a wingman, go after any smoking
Japanese plane, even if the wingman was responsible for the damage.
By "scoring" the last hits on the Japanese plane (or better yet flaming
it), you can get full credit for a very easy kill.
Tip 12: When initially approaching the Japanese fighters, do so
completely head on - when you are approximately 1/4 of a mile away,
launch a couple of missiles. It is relatively easy to get one smoking in
this fashion. A very useful technique with the Franks.
II. GROUND ATTACK QUESTIONS
Tip 1: Make only one pass, hit 'em hard and accurately, and get out of
there.
Tip 2: If you drop a bomb while flying level it will have forward
momentum and will be VERY inaccurate. That is why we use the
technique of dive bombing. The manual suggest you climb to 8 to 12
thousand feet. This is about right, as any lower any you will get shot
up by flack (AAA fire) and it will be hard to line up the shot. The
ideal angle of a dive is 60 to 80 degrees. A good technique is to
make sure you're level and look straight down. The field should be
about 1/3 the way down the screen (this only works if you are level).
To look down hit the down arrow twice. If the "Pan Cockpit View"
option is checked the view will sweep the area, if not the change is
instant. I keep it on. You should drop the bomb between 1 and 2
thousand feet to 500 to 800 feet. Any higher is inaccurate, any lower
is too dangerous.
Tip 3: The Setup: To get a direct hit on a pinpoint target (as in the
test target in the training mission) fly at the point you want to hit
low (500 feet or less) and fast (200 knots IAS as target is likely to
be HOT as in Battleships). Zoom straight down when target goes below
your panel view.
Tip 4: The Hammerhead Stall: When target appears at the edge of your
view, pull up sharply until you are vertical, climb until you are about
to stall and pull over so that as you stall, your plane flips over and
you are pointing straight down at the target.
Tip 5: Timing the Drop: Watch your shadow on the ground. Give this a
couple of tries on the training mission target to get a feel for how
the shadow indicates your position and the time to drop your
ordinance.
Tip 6: Pulling Out (or Popping your Rivets)
A: BETTER OFF DEAD METHOD: After the drop, cut the engine,
continue to fall until you hit 500 feet, put down your flaps and
simultaneously pull back hard. Immediately re-throttle. You'll
scrape the ground and bounce up to around 600 feet again.
B: MOMMA, I WANNA GO HOME METHOD: Hit the flaps the moment you
drop the bombs and pull back to a steep dive. Hold this
attitude till you reach 200 feet and then pull level and retract
the flaps. You'll be out of AAA range quickly.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! Never attempt this bombing maneuver
when there are enemy fighters (smoking or not) around. They
WILL hit you when you slow down for the stall.
Tip 7: When attacking enemy targets, try to hit them as you fly over
them length wise. This way, you don't have to time your bombs exactly
to hit if you're coming in to your target on a perpendicular angle.
This is also very good because many times, you can sink an enemy
carrier with only 2 bombs if they hit near the middle of the carrier.
Tip 8 There is a small village in the south-east of Henderson
Field--three houses and a small lake--try these out for target
practice.
Tip 9: South of Henderson field there is a bridge that can be "sunk."
Tip 10: You can actually sink a carrier with one bomb! If you can
manage to drop the bomb in such a way that it goes under the flight
deck and explodes on the main deck (under the flight deck), then the
carrier will sink. It looks great in instant replay because after the
bomb explodes within the carrier, you see debris fly all over the
place.
Tip 11: Another trick when going after a carrier is to dive at the
red-dot on the deck. Go up to around 8-10K feet, cut power to 60-70%,
and head directly for the nice red dot on the deck. At about
1000-1500 feet (a higher percentage hit occurs at 500-800 feet...but
the chances of being shot down are higher) drop both (or one) bomb,
break away from the escort (if there is one), and go to full power
like a bat out of hell!
Tip 12: Desperate kill : If your engine is out or you are out of fuel
after the first pass of a carrier (with two hits) and you are too low
for expecting going back home (or whatever), try to crash you plane
into the carrier (and don't forget to jump before and high enough).
That way you can kill the carrier and you have a reasonable chance of
being rescued (anyway it has worked several times with me). Anyway, you
won't get a medal for your mission as you lost the aircraft.
Tip 13: In most of the scenarios, you most likely don't require a full
tank of gas--half at most. Take what you need, but not more! If you
don't need bombs, don't take them. In some of the scenarios, if you
do a good job of protecting the carrier, you can land back on the
carrier and rearm, this time with a bomb load.
Q: How can I sink a enemy carrier?
A: You must put 3 bombs on it. One method is to fly very low on the
same heading as the ship. Use rudders to fly in a zig-zag pattern when
approaching the ship to escape the AAA (Anti-Aircraft Artillery) fire.
Another method is to climb to 9,000 feet and dive bomb the carrier or
ship.
Q: Why don't I get credit for bombing the enemy's runway? I know I
dropped the bomb right on it!
A: You probably dropped the bomb on the Japanese flag, which is a
decoration between two runways. You need to make sure you drop a
bomb right in the middle of the runway. Try to drop the bomb in
the center (width) and the middle (length) of the runway. Once
you get the hang of it, you will be able to plant the bomb
anywhere on the runway.
II.I Leyte Gulf
Tip 1: You get a warning for firing at friendly units when you land
if you try using rockets at the enemy while AAA is active. (What
goes up, must come down....especially if your orientation is 90
degrees or less (toward the ground)). Good advice is, do not kill enemy
bombers with rockets when your own flack is active. But it is ok
to do it to get another 50 points when over enemy area.
Tip 2: The rockets tend to have a greater rate of decent than bombs(!);
shoot high, even in rocket-bombing runs. Whereas, in a 80-degree
dive-bombing run, you want to release with the sights set just under
the target, when dive-rocketing, aim just over.
Tip 3: In most surface-attack scenarios, you can clean out all the
enemy air cover in one or two flights. You can then take your time
with the bombing, "only" worrying about the AAA. Approach well
above 10,000 feet, dive sharply, drop at about 1000 feet, and then get
your tail up above 5000 and outta town, and you should be fine.
Tip 4: When using rockets, make sure you aim "above" your target.
The farther you are, the higher you aim. This is because gravity has
a terrible effect on rockets.
Tip 5: Always carry missiles around. They are the most versatile of
your weapons. You can use them to kill subs and gun boats, planes,
tanks, buildings, enemy torpedoes, etc.
III. GROUND DEFENSES
Tip 1: Dodging AA:
Never under value the view from behind, from this vantage point you
can see the AAA machine gun fire before it crosses your plane, and
thereby dodge potentially mission ending bullets.
Tip 2: When attacking any target that shoots back, other than fighters,
their shots always seem to go in bursts. Just stay out of the stream
when the burst starts, and then get back to business. This is
especially helpful against that stupid bomber.
III.I Leyte Gulf Ground Defenses
Tip 1: When coming in for an attack, especially if making a torpedo
run, stay VERY VERY low (i.e. less than 100 feet). This is because
a) flak gunners can't fire at less than 1000 feet
b) the AA gunners keep shooting above you if your low. It's actually
pretty neat in replay. It seems your almost skimming the sea. Be
careful not to get too low though, because bad things can happen if
you hit the water at such a high speed. (this works with both hellcats).
Tip 2: When firing rockets, it is sometimes better to launch them
when your Hellcat is sideways (i.e. wings point up and down). This
tends to spread your missiles farther so they kill two targets, rather
than overkilling one target. It is especially useful in killing narrow
targets as well, such as the bridge or enemy subs and torpedoes.
Tip 3: When attacking a sub or torpedo, you don't have to hit exactly
on target. Hitting anywhere near the front of the wake will kill a
torpedo, and hitting anywhere in front or in back of the conning
tower will kill a sub. So, if you have a decent shot, but not a bull's
eye, fire anyway. Odds are you'll hit.
Tip 4: Hellcats Leyte Gulf missions provides you with some snappy
new targets to shoot at. When bombing tanks you can actually take
out more than one target with a single bomb. By placing your weapon
between two fairly close tanks, both of them explode! Be careful not to
get too far away though, or you won't destroy either of them! My
secret is to approach the two tanks by either lining them up (so I'm
pretty sure of nailing at least one of them if not both) or approaching
directly perpendicularly to the line formed by the two tanks (so I can
come in high, drop down on the center point between the two tanks
with more accuracy.)
Tip 5: When bombing surface contacts (the safe and sane way),
approach high (>10K) and fast (>200mph), no flaps, looking down
between your knees (one tap down-arrow). Hold the horizon just
about even with the top of the screen (you'll be climbing around
500fpm, and can cruise at around 230 mph wide open). When the
target disappears off the bottom of the screen, you're nearly over
it. Push forward hard on the stick, return to cockpit view, and
dive down with the cross-hairs just before the target. Don't
forget to dodge left and right a bit with the rudder! Around 2000
feet (by which time, you'll be moving maybe 400mph!), drop your
load. Drop bombs a little short; rockets a little long. Then,
yank back on the stick and drop the flaps, with maybe a little
evasive left-or-right; retract the flaps when your nose rises
above the horizon; get back up above 5000 feet as quickly as you
can without slowing much below 150 - and watch out for air cover
while you're going so slow.
IV. TAKING OFF, LANDING, AND GROUND MANEUVERING QUESTIONS.
Tip 1: To take off go to full throttle by holding down the "+" key.
Around 50 knots, start pushing down on the nose, such that you're level
with the horizon. Unlike P-51, you needn't worry about prop
strike. Around 80 knots, ease back slightly on the stick. Hold your
attitude, with the horizon about 1" beneath the cross-hairs, and wings
level. Flaps are not necessary for takeoff, but help one after taking
off from a carrier, if one didn't use the entire available runway for
takeoff (such as a sloppy landing, then starting a takeoff mid-point
on the carrier deck).
Tip 2: To land normally on any surface, the idea's to maintain a constant
attitude, keep wings level, modest sink rate (vertical-speed indicator
unstuck), and maneuver as little a possible. Lower gear and flaps when
the runway's still less than a centimeter large; don't rush things.
Reduce power to 30-40%, and aim for a touchdown airspeed of 80 knots.
Keeping the nose about an inch above the horizon will do this for you.
Use pitch to control the rate of descent, adding not more than 20% power,
as necessary. Right before touchdown, hit the "M" button, to kill your
engine (unless you have engine damage--you might not be able to restart for
a go-around). After touchdown, lower the nose until it's level with the
horizon, and hit the space bar for braking.
"Tactical" landings (under fire, Zeros behind you) require a bit more
skill, but can be done flaps-up, abeam the carrier, in a circling
approach. Work at it!
Tip 3: Use the rudder to line yourself up with the runway, when
landing, rather than ailerons. This will keep your plane level but still
allow you to move left and right. If you have a Gravis Mousestick, try
the setting the other two buttons to control the rudder. Note that,
unlike a real airplane, the rudder in Hellcats doesn't raise the
leeward wing any.
Tip 4: To land on a carrier you must catch an arresting wire. They are
on the back half of the carrier. That is the side with the numbers.
The tower should be on the right. Using flaps will give a steeper
decent. If you miss the wires, gun the throttle and try again. Don't
land on a damaged carrier. If you do, reload quickly, and take off
quickly or you will go down with the ship!
Tip 5: How to land on a listing carrier: Land like you usually do, but
keep the Hellcat on a horizontal plane *with* the listing carrier and
use the rudders to maintain your heading and position relative to the
horizontal plane of the carrier.
Tip 6: If you are damaged you have 3 options in landing. You can
attempt a disabled landing, a ditch (water landing- make sure gear is
up), or bail out. Landing is the preferred option since you will keep
the plane and get mission credit. Bailing out loses the plane, and
mission credit. Also if you successfully land, you are much more
likely to live than the other two options. Bailing out is the most
risky.
Tip 7: You can't ditch w/ your gear down.
Tip 8: If you're screwing up the approach, don't despair: full power,
clean up (gear up), raise the nose, and go around.
Q: I can't turn around tight enough, especially after landing on a
carrier.
A: Hit the down-arrow once, so you can see where you're going. Then,
hold down the brakes and apply full power. Steer with the rudder keys.
When you're headed in the right direction, release the brakes, pick
up 10-15 knots, and cut the engine again.
Q: Can you land on the bridge in 'Bomb Base?'
A: Yes. It has been done. However, watch out. The bridge is in enemy
territory. Many pilots report that if they come to complete stop on
the bridge or near it, then they are captured by the Japanese.
Q: Why is it so easy to crash on landing contrary to what films show
of actual landings from WWII?
A: PC Flight simulators, no matter how good they are, are not very good
"visual" simulators. They have lousy input devices, and lousy displays.
You lose virtually all the cues that are normally available to the pilot
(ground texture, grass, nearby structures, sounds, motion), and are look-
ing out a window with a 90 degree peripheral field of view, without chang-
ing views--45 degrees on both side of the centerline (compared to around
180 degrees in a real airplane). So there's a significant difference in
HOW the airplanes are flown; comparing this to the real thing just won't
work. But note that Hellcats has one of the best "in-envelope" flight
control models around; if you're consistently landing, best look up the
landing sections in the manual, or work through the FS 4.0 tutorials.
The "tail-dragger" aspect of Hellcats has little to do with effectively
landing the airplane.
In a nutshell, make sure you are straight and level when you land the
plane. Make sure your Artificial Horizon instrument indicates that you
are parallel to the ground. Once you get the hang of it, it is pretty
easy. Fly--don't mush--onto the ground.
V. SCENARIO-SPECIFIC TIPS
Tip 1: In 'Flattop' where you take off from a field and try to sink a
carrier, I've found that the most effective technique is as follows:
1. Fly directly north (? or whatever the direction the
runway is pointed) at 50-100 ft. altitude till you get to
the ocean.
2. Turn left and fly directly at the midsection of the
carrier (again as low as possible about 50 ft.).
3. Fire the machine guns constantly, spraying the carrier
as you approach.
4. At the last second, release the two bombs and pull up
sharply to avoid slamming into the side of the carrier.
5. Get the hell out of Dodge.
6. Gun down the Japanese plane while returning to base.
Tip 2: In 'Flattop,' the enemy fighter is going after your cruiser.
Kill it before you attack the enemy carrier, it's an easy 500 points.
Tip 3: In 'Bomb Base' and 'Capture Island,' after bombing the runway
its possible to take out the AAA batteries on either end of the enemy
runway, after which you can strafe the airfield to your heart's
content.
Tip 4: In Bomb Base you get credit for shooting the planes that are on
the ground.
Tip 5: In 'The Duel,' Try to hit one or both of the leading Zeroes as
you go into them head on, and even if you miss, go after them
immediately, otherwise they'll ignore you and go straight for the
carrier.
Tip 6: In 'The Duel,' after you've shot down all the Zeroes, follow
the other Hellcat to the enemy ships, and wait for him to bomb them,
after which you can finish them off.
Tip 7: In 'Divine Wind,' keep an eye on long range radar after the
fourth or fifth Zero...if there is no others in sight, land and reload
as quickly as possible, as a whole bunch more will show up, and you'll
need the ammo.
Tip 8: Another fun HotP thing to do: In "Flying Fortress" mission,
when returning, let the B-17 get well ahead of you (10 miles or so) and
configure your Hellcat to fly strait-and-level. Then use the "e" cheat
to see what the "enemy" sees. What you will see is the bomber base and
final approach and landing! Keep swapping back-and-forth to be sure
that your Hellcat is doing what you think it's doing. Then, you can
land, refuel, and take off and go try to sink both ships that where
near the island!
Tip 9:In 'Flying Fortress,' fly ahead of the B-17 on the way there,
and behind it on the way back.
Tip 10: Engage the enemy bomber in "Scramble" from above and to the
front. You can usually get him smoking on the head-on run.
Tip 11: In 'Scramble,' one way to minimize exposure to the gunners is
to attack in a steep dive from 4 or six o'clock--there is a gap in the
coverage there.
Tip 12: Another approach to the bomber in scramble is to fly very fast
at about 100 feet until almost (<1/3 mile) directly under it, then
pull up and roll around. You'll be approaching it from slightly
behind and almost directly below it, giving you about 10 seconds of
good shot time and putting you directly behind it after the maneuver.
V.I Leyte Gulf Scenarios
Tip 1: In 'Scramble 2', there's one Frank practically on top of you as
you take off; make an honest effort to tag him once (try a fast 180 to
the left off the runway tip, underneath the Lightning), but be quick
to leave him to the Lightning as you race south-south-east to catch
the bombers.
They have a close-cover Frank as well; if you fly in the treetops, he
may not notice you (unless you've spent too much time playing
with the first Frank, or unless that one follows you radioing your
position!). Stay down with the squirrels until you pass under the
two bombers, then pop up in a no-flaps Immelmann. You'll be
right on the bombers' tails, and the escorts will be way ahead and out
of the action for a fair time. If you're good with rockets, especialy
from an inverted firing posture, you might be able to drop both
bombers while the Frank is turning back!
Tip 2: When there are lots of enemy planes (like in Texas Tea), keep
flying in circles and fire at all enemy planes. Don't try to go after one
plane unless there are no other enemy planes nearby, because as soon
as you get in a straight path, the other planes will get behind you and
kill you. Just fly around and smoke most of the planes before you start
going after individuals.
Tip 3: In the Lightning Strike scenario, you can score a lot of kills by
ignoring the Japanese carrier and escort - instead, focus on downing
all the Zeros and Franks that come after you. I've downed 6-8 Japanese
fighters in this scenario using this carrier avoidance technique.
Tip 4: In "Texas Tea": East of that airfield, just north of a mountain,
there is a small enemy encampment(?) at one end of a road - some
buildings but no AAA. Refueled, returned, and rocketed the buildings
then followed the road at treetop level. It wound north for several
miles. Saw no traffic on the road :( but did encounter 2 Zeros :). Not
sure where their base is. Flamed them and kept following the road. It
ended up veering west and running to the coast and ended in another - you
guessed it - unarmed encampment!
VI. SCORING/GENERAL GAME QUESTIONS.
Tip 1: Make sure the "Triple Time" setting is turned off if you are
trying to attack targets.
Tip 2: The first time you play a new copy of Hellcats it will take
about a minute to "build instrument panel". This needs to be done
only once, but makes the file bigger. If you decide to play a game
with a different number of colors, or a different screen size, it
will also construct the instrument panel and get bigger.
Tip 3: If your Hellcat is on fire and you have no control, *bail out*!
Tip 4: Command T is the triple time option. It makes the game go 3
times as fast when you are over 500 feet. It is good for long trips
to bomb a base.
Tip 5: You have enough ammo to fire for 45 *continuous* seconds. It is
best to fire in short bursts. The manual suggests 2 to 3 seconds.
You can re-arm and refuel when you land. You must be at a full stop
(brake with space bar), and your engines must be off (hit "m").
Tip 6: Be careful using the autopilot down close to the deck. If
you've damaged the Zero, and there aren't any more in range, the
autopilot will release when it crashes. If you happen to have the
controls "hard over" in some way, you could crash yourself before you
realize what's happening.
Tip 7: Change the Gravis joystick's settings so that instead of the
gear and flaps on the base's buttons, place the throttle controls
there. It makes the plane a lot easier to fly with the speed controls
handy. If you are right handed, the flaps and gear are easily
accessible on the left side of the keyboard.
Tip 8: The biggest mistake people make in all flying games is to simply
cruise around with the throttle wide open all the time. Use your
throttle wisely. Drop down to about 80% once you get behind the bogey
and shoot that sucker out of the sky!
Tip 9: When your machine crashes during a landing, or your aircraft
gets flamed or something like that, just hit <Esc> and end (or is it
abort) mission. You will then survive keeping the points from previous
missions, plus what you have added to your permanent score on the
current mission. This does not work if you get hit direct by a bullet
though. Then you're dead immediately.
Tip 10: The north west quadrant there are several strange, small,
islands and a field right in the middle of the sea.
Tip 11: Most of the Missions (except "Divine Wind") are of short
duration, compared to your fuel capacity. Especially in the carrier
missions you should keep your fuel at half and only make one pass at
the target. Once you have eliminated fighter support, you can always
land, refuel and rearm. This works great with "Bomb Base" and "The
Duel". I keep my fuel at just over half for both and my takeoffs are
easier. "Flattop" is also a good example. You should lower your fuel
levels each time you fly a mission and see how close you come to
"dead-stick"/BINGO landings.
Tip 12: Use "tablet" mode (from the Mouse control panel) for more mouse
control.
Q: Is it possible to fly under the bridge?
A: Yes. It has been done. Upside down, and some have landed on the
bridge.
Q: What's in the "off limits" area to the west in "Flight School"?
A: A lake with two sailboats enjoying a relaxing afternoon.
Q: What happens if you shoot or bomb your own carrier, base, other
Hellcat, etc?
A: You usually get a warning that you destroyed a friendly unit when you
land. After two more occurrences, you are discharged. In "The Duel"
someone shot down Lt. Cmdr Herbert *and* sunk the carrier, then bailed
out of my plane. He was given a court martial and executed.
Q: What is the highest score anybody has made?
A: The sky is the limit. That has not been recorded as of yet. That
would be a little trivia. If you are a 'net-person' you could find
out in comp.sys.mac.games.
Q: Has anybody successfully completed all of the missions without
cheating, i.e., without using ResEdit to resurrect a dead pilot?
A: Yes. Many have.
Q: Are the planes in the training mission SUPPOSED to be shot down?
A: Yes. Please feel free to do so. You should decide to either
practice bombing or downing the drones. The drones are good practice
for attack angles. They are not that good in evasive situations and
do not attack you. When you first load up with bombs in the training
mission, you get six! You will only get two if you reload after that.
Q: Why, if you pause the Flying Fortress mission when the Hellcat is
still in the hangar, does the B-17 still take off? This makes it a
little difficult to catch up and protect it.
A: Well, you are pausing it for you. If you pause the game in
'Scramble' and pay attention to your radar, it does move. If you
pause, it is wise not to pause that long. Pausing in the air seems to
not have this same effect for some reason. It is best to have all
your settings as you want them before you begin and saved.
Q: How does the collision detection work? Only in the middle?
A: This author is not 100% sure. But, it seems to be the way it works
with naval objects. If it is the ground, then the first contact of
your plane and the ground usually results in an explosion.
Q: Sometime in the play back, after crashing, it seems that the Hellcat
literally falls in the sea the last few meters. What happens ?
A: Refer to the question above. The water seems to be treated as a
transparent object to a certain depth. (sort of like what happens in
REAL water) When you hit a certain depth after penetrating the water,
the Hellcat will always explode.
Q: How is it possible to have enough fuel to go in the extreme
north-west of the map (and see the north directional arrow)?
A: Don't forget the previously mention 'cheat' key. (ctrl-s) Also,
this author has been able to do this on a full tank of gas at 70%
throttle at Triple speed. However, I run out of fuel and cannot get
back to a base. You can also Island hop. Pause the game, do
command-m for map, and look for the nearest airfield. Most are
friendly. You can fill-up, take off and reach an island closer to the
directional arrow, then take-off again with full tanks, then return to
that nearest island and fill up again!
Q: What happens if you jump and a plane hits you? Does the plane
explode? Are you killed?
A: Well, when a plane hits, it has only happened to a few pilots as of
this date, you die. The plane explodes. The same thing happens if you
run into a parachute from a Japanese pilot.
Q: Where is the second F6F Hellcat going in 'The Duel?'
A: The other pilot is heading toward the carrier. He usually runs into
other Japanese pilots and they end up in a dog fight. If you follow
your wing-man, then you are bound to end up in a dog fight.
Q: How much time has elapsed if you resume a mission after loosing the
first Hellcat?
A: It depends. If you live, and are close to your base, not long. It
is hard to tell since there is not clock or game timer which is
visible. In 'Scramble,' if you lose your plane and you are close to
the base and are found, it is not very long. You can usually see the
other planes on radar when you are in your new plane.
Q: Can I hide from the radar from the Zeros or the Japanese ships?
A: Yes. You have to stay very low; you can see the effect when you
fired on a Zero and somehow it disappeared from your radar at some
point in it's fall. You just need to do the same. Stay up off the
trees around 200-300 feet! You can do this if you are short of ammo
and there are still Zeros around. Just make sure the Zeros are not in
sight. Chances are that they can see you if you can see them.
Q: Why is my Hellcats program growing in size?
A: Each time you use it on a new size of monitor or 1/2 or 1/3 size,
then Hellcats generates a picture of the cockpit and other stuff to
match this size, and stores it in the program for faster redraws. So,
for example, using it on a 21" monitor may add significantly to the
program size.
Q: How can I visit or look around the Hellcats scenarios real quick?
A: There is a hidden command that put you in the 'Superman chair' and
allows you to move all around at a great speed. Just type 'Control S'
while playing. Your plane is now immobile, you can move it around with
the key pad. for example, '7' to go up, '8' to go forward, '5' to stop.
You can press repeatedly on the keys to accelerate, but be careful
with the speed, it will lead you outside the game ! You can fire when
in this mode, but the point will not be added to your score. if you
try to bomb, that bomb will fall when you resume the game. Be careful
when resuming the game, the plane will be nose DOWN and the engines
will be OFF ! so remember to gain a lot of altitude! (ctrl-s will get
you back).
VII. COMMON PURCHASING/MACHINE REQUIREMENT QUESTIONS.
Q: What is the current version?
A: 1.0.3*.
*(Before January of 1993)
Q: Are there any scenery disks available?
A: "Missions at Leyte Gulf" should be released sometime in November.
It will include additional enemy fighter types, different Hellcat
weaponry, and additional scenery.
Q: What does HOtP stand for?
A: Well, it is the acronym for the game Hellcats Over the Pacific.
Q: What is the "ultra" cheat key?
A: Well, it depends on how you want to cheat. The 'e' key will give you
the enemy's viewpoint. 'a' is the autopilot key, as you already know.
'crtl-s', as you again know, is the speed key to travel all over the
scenario at high speeds.
Q: How do I resurrect a dead pilot & modify other scores 'n' stuff?
A: There is a utility called 'Hellcats Rescue.' It will resurrect
your pilot from his death. You may also edit your copy of Hellcats
with Res-edit. See the section following, explaining how to do that.
Don't use res-edit unless you have done so before and know how to use it
correctly.
In order to really appreciate this game and earn rank ethically, most
Hellcats pilots do *not* cheat.
Q: What hardware is needed to run Hellcats?
A: You need 2megs of RAM, system 6.0 or higher, and a microprocessor of
68020 or higher. The best machine to run this on is a Quaddra, fx, or
a ci. It will work on others, but these are best. It runs much
faster if installed on a hard drive. If you are using system 7, do
*not* increase your virtual memory above 50% of what the real memory
is or the game will be sluggish.
Q: Does it use color?
A: Once you use color, you will never want to go back to B&W. It is
better to use color because you have *MUCH* better visibility.
Q: Is the flight simulation fairly accurate?
A: It is not perfect. Like most games, it is an approximation of a
flight model, and this model is one of the most pleasant-feeling,
"realistic" of any simulator on the market. However, there are
artificial limits to the program: one cannot, for instance, stall the
airplane (it always sorts of "mushes out"; nor is the ground model
highly realistic (one can't lift off a carrier until one flies off the
end, even if one has an abundance of airspeed). In some ways, it's a
"fly-by-wire" aircraft, providing coordinated controls with a single
input mechanism (the mouse). The rudder controls, by the author's own
admission, were a last-minute addition, and aren't properly
represented by the flight model.
Q: Does Hellcats run under System 7?
A: Yes.
Q: Can two or more people play using networked Macs?
A: No. The current version of Hellcats does not allow this. There is a
new version *expected* to be released next summer that may incorporate
network flying and combat.
Q: Does it support the creation of general mayhem on the ground, or can
you only shoot down other planes?
A: Oh yes. You can take out AAA batteries, other aircraft, bomb
hangars, and other ships. Many people report completing a mission and
getting their mission award and resuming the mission to go back and
take out the AAA batteries and any planes on the ground. The air combat
maneuvering (ACM) component of Hellcats is MUCH better than any other
PC-based combat simulator, including Falcon (2.2 OR 3.0).
Q: What kind of alternate input devices are available?
A: The Gravis MouseStick is the most popular input device. However,
many users have found that the mouse is just as satisfactory, given the
control model; others have found the ergonomics of the MouseStick to be
unsatisfactory (it's more of a fingertip-device, than a grab-it device;
thus, given the height of the stick,it's difficult to command full stick-
back--which one's almost always doing in ACM).
VII.I Leyte Gulf
Recently I got a device called "MACFLY". It is a gamestick for the
Macintosh. The device plugs into one of the serial ports and doesen't
require unhooking the mouse, in fact the mouse is still active. It has 2
trim wheels, two fire buttons, with the aid of a mode button it has
multiple programmable settings , and best of all the stick feels like a
real control stick. I should also note that the stick will also center
itself. I like it much more than the Gravis stick and it has given me many
hours of flying fun.
IZU Products Co.
Rt. 2 Box 3985
Lufkin, TX 75901
Phone (409) 824-3332
FAX (409) 824-3303
They will take your order by phone and I spoke to them by phone and they
said it was OK to post their address. I have no financial interest in this
product. I enjoy it a great deal and wanted to pass the info along.
(provided by: z_smarttpl@ccsvax.sfasu.edu)
VIII. EXERCISES
All of the following have been done.
* Try to ditch and take off after a loooooong slide.
* Try to land on a enemy carrier.
* Fly and dogfight upside down.
* Try to follow one Zero without killing it. (very good practice)
* Try to land on the mountain, or a wounded carrier.
* Bomb everything in flight training.
* Place a bomb on the top of the control tower in flight training.
* Bomb all the bases (friendly or enemy) on your map after completing
'Scramble.'
* In 'Scramble,' take off with bombs and kill one Zero and the Beatty.
Let the other Zero go. Stay a good distance away and follow it on
radar. See where it goes!
* Fly upside down at 200 feet when flying over the runway at Henderson
Field. Buzz the control tower!
* Fly your plane, fully loaded with fuel and bombs, straight into your
carrier or friendly ship. Bail out at 200 feet! See what happens!
* Fly by the bunkers in 'Capture Island.' (The bunkers are the
buildings on the beach, being shelled by the cruiser you have to
fly around to get to your target.) See if you can see the doors.
* In 'Capture Island,' try to get a bomb to hit the doors on the bunkers.
[use replay as soon as you know your bomb hit so you can see how it
went].
* Try to get right over the Beatty in 'Scramble.' When you are
maintaining the same speed as the Beatty, try to maintain a height of
about 100 feet above it. Push your down arrow twice to get a bottom
view. You can sit there and watch as the Zeros try to shoot you
down....they will put their machine gun fire into the Beatty! Also,
if you are at LEAST 100 feet above the Beatty, you can drop a bomb
right on top of it. As soon as you release the bomb, lower the flaps
and go to full throttle and go vertical. By the time the bomb hits
the Beatty, you should have climbed at LEAST 400-500 feet.
* Fly under the bridge--inverted.
* Land on the bridge.
* Do a touch-and-go on the dock.
* Land on the carrier the wrong way.
* Miss the arresting wire, and complete a landing on the carrier.
* See how little runway it REALLY takes to take off from the carrier.
You'd be surprised.
* Kill a Zero with a bomb.
* You can land just as well on a carrier in either direction. In fact, it
may even be a little easier to land in the wrong direction since the
arresting wires are now at the far end instead of the near.
* When landing either on the ground or on a carrier, it is easiest
to make a fairly high speed, low altitude approach. Not only do you
have more control, but since it happens faster, you have less chance
of making a boredom mistake.
* If you fly up to around 30,000 feet, the altimeter starts misbehaving
- it registers negative feet! If you do a high speed dive from this
altitude (full throttle), the plane will instantly reverse its
direction and head straight up once you have gained enough speed.
IX. FTP ARCHIVE
There is an archive of movies of amazing Hellcats stunts that you may
be able reach via anonymous FTP. Connect to chemotaxis.biology.utah.edu,
log in as "ftp", provide your email address as the "password". You'll
already be in the "/Public" folder; look down into Hellcats_Feats/QT
and see what you find. The site also has permission from Graphic
Simulations to include movies of the soon-to-be-released F/A-18
follow-on to HellCats, and several beta testers have contributed.
And, you'll find several Hellcat/Leyte-related applications there as
well.
Below is a directory of
chemotaxis.biology.utah.edu/Public/Hellcats_Feats/QT
AquaTank.cpt by smills@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu
Hilarious montage of Island Storm tanks driving out onto the sea.
Bombicide.cpt by smills@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu
Hellcat kills self by dropping a bomb on itself.
BombRun.sea by Brian Williams (darkstar)
Two bombs being dropped on the deck of a carrier.
BombTheBomber.cpt by Tom Morrison (Tempest)
Two bombs being dropped on a bomber.
CarrierLanding.cpt by Tom Morrison (Tempest)
Hellcat landing on a Japanese Carrier.
Chappy takes 3 to Tango.CPT by Jonathan Chapman (Chappy)
Inverted plane passing under deck of carrier to drop a bomb and sinking
the carrier upon dropping two more in the same spot.
ChappyGetsADrink.cpt by Jonathan Chapman (Chappy)
Plane passing sideways under water tower.
Chappy_Under_The_Bridge.cpt by Jonathan Chapman (Chappy)
Plane passing upside down under a dock.
FA18_buzz.cpt by anonymous
FA18 buzzing some buildings.
Hammerhead.cpt by smills@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu
Hellcat performing a hammerhead stall maneuver.
Inverted Bomb.cpt by smills@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu
An inverted bombing run on the training mission airfield.
LongMissileLead.sit by Earl Williams (earl@cognet.ucla.edu)
Missles destroying a Frank.
Me&MyBomber.sit by Earl Williams (earl@cognet.ucla.edu)
Hellcat flying in unusual formations with a bomber.
NiceTryFrank.sit by Earl Williams (earl@cognet.ucla.edu)
Frank near-crash into a grounded Hellcat.
Scrape.cpt by schneide@ponder.csci.unt.edu
Hellcat buzzing the training airfield, scrapes the ground on its pass.
ShipRunAground.cpt by smills@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (MuffinHead)
Hellcat takes out a land cruiser.
StripDeck.cpt by Tom Morrison
Rockets stripping a carrier deck of all AA.
ThreadNeedle.cpt by Tom Morrison (Tempest)
Plane dropping bomb while passing under carrier deck.
UnderCarrier.sea by Brian Williams (darkstar)
An inverted plane flying under deck of carrier.
WhatWentWrong.cpt by Tom Morrison (Tempest)
You get to guess what went wrong with this landing.
X. CREDITS (For Hellcats FAQ/Hints by Ted Wagner)
Below are the names of about everyone who contributed. If you did
contribute and your name is not below, your item was a repeat and I
apologize. I used the first of each suggestion. I do wish to thank
EVERYONE on the net who contributed either with wish-lists, suggestions,
or just undying support to see the finished product.
I want to thank all of you. Without your help, this project would have
taken several longer weeks than it has. Without all of your contributions,
this never would have come about.
If I misspelled anyone's name, I apologize. I just cut and pasted names
so they are spelled just the way they were when they were cut from the mail
messages that were sent.
Howard Berkey
Wile E.
Babak Gohari
John Hirsch
Erik Hoel
Jim Hogue
Thomas A. Kephart
Steven John Knezevich
Mathieu Lafourcade
Charles Lamonte
Bob Lesser
Derek LeLash
Jim Melton
Joe Mac
michel@segin.com
"Mike"
Peter Newton
Povl H. Pedersen
Michel Pollet
Jon Pugh
Peter Rigsbee
Ramiro Sarmiento
James Stricerz
Mike Tanner
Brad Ward
X.I LEYTE GULF CREDITS
I hope I have everybody credited that provided information to make
the Leyte Gulf additions a reality. I may have missed someone, and
if I have, please send me e-mail and I will update the credits section.
I am appending the version statements to the end of this document
but leaving the current version of the document at the beginning.
I did pool some comments and suggestions into one tip where
someone's comments supplemented another's comments. For
those that I e-mailed for your permission to reprint your usenet
comments, that is usually what happened (some of you didn't
recall what you said). So, many of your comments were all pooled
together and some smoothed out the edges of others.
In version 2.0, I tried to take the first person 'I' out. I may have
missed some as this is becoming quite a document.
Subsets will continue to be a part of this Hellcats FAQ for Leyte Gulf.
However, if there are more and more contributions as there were
for Hellcats, a separate document will be created.
Contributors:
Ron Guest
Eric Lucas
Jose Antonio Basto
James Preston
Dan Walkowski
Ty Willis
Povl H. Pedersen
Stephen W. Evans
fischer1@student.msu.edu (Patch tip)
Homayoon Akhiani
Glenn Schneider (Patch tip)
Babak Gohari
David Magagnosc
Erik (hoel@cs.umd.edu)
Chuck Welsh
Jack Repenning
LOMBARDI@steffi.uncg.edu
Jose Luis Beine
Michel Pollet (Patch Tip)
XI. CHEATS
It is hard to 'cheat' per se. We have already discussed the 'e,' 'a,'
'ctrl-s,' and 'command-t' keys. We are now getting into more sophisticated
cheating. Most game pilots don't do this. Please be warned again, if you
have *NOT* used Res-edit before, please do not try this stuff. If you still
want to try, MAKE SURE YOU MAKE A BACKUP COPY AND EXPERIMENT ON YOUR BACKUP
COPY!
To resurrect a pilot:
For the ResEdit-headed, the 'HEL1' resource contains the pilot data. The
first resource ('HEL1') is unrelated to the second one (I forget the ID's,
but they do have names).
In any event, the HEL1 resource containing the pilot data is a list of 20
records 64 bytes each. The first 32 bytes seem to be reserved for the
pilot's name. These are Pascal-style strings with a preceding length-byte.
The 32 bytes of data following the space reserved for the name appear to be
shorts (integers of 2 bytes in length each). The first word is whether you
are alive or dead (0=alive, 1=dead). Changing this to 0 can resurrect the
dead pilot.
The integers that follow are rank, # of fighters downed, bombers, etc. There
are a few bytes in there that appear to do nothing. Some seem to increase
your score but have no mention of how or why (perhaps reserved for subs and
other targets in future scenarios). The rank can go from 0-5, the others
don't appear to have a cap. Explore, have fun.
The score is not stored in the resource - instead it appears to be calculated
on the fly based upon # of various targets you've downed. Rank, however is
not calculated.
(Information from by John Calhoun)
Q: Is there a Hellcats patch?
A: Yep. However, this author does not support patches ethically. Again,
this is a first rate game. It is worth buying. You won't be sorry if you
do. I know some do not want to wait for their unlock code and still want
it for that reason. What's the big deal with waiting 2 weeks? It *is* a
pain. But, I think if we get high quality games like this one, we should
support the efforts of the programmer and his company or distributor.
X.I Leyte Gulf Cheats
Tip 1: If you want up to 255 missiles in the new Leyte Gulf module of
Hellcats over the Pacific, the following must be done:
Using a sector editor open up the "Leyte Gulf" application and search
for the following (in HEX):
48E7 0080 7006 and replace the last 4 HEX (the 7006 part) with 70FF
WARNING: The FF says you want 255 missiles, one can also use any
other number, such as 20, 3F, 60, 1F, etc.. Notice it was "06" to begin
thus you were given (before patching) 6 missiles. The *risk* you take is
that Hellcats subtracts mass from your airplane every time you fire a
missile, lose fuel, or drop bombs. So, after launching about 70 missiles,
your plane's mass will become near zero, and funky stuff starts to
happen. My advice is set it so that you start with the ability to shoot
40 missiles or so. The only problem with this patch seems to be that
one needs to have their preferences configured so that the "Rockets(6)"
button is turned off when one is prompted with the dialog containing it.
Then, turn it on and the patch becomes functional.
Tip 2: You can make a patch for missiles with Res-Edit:
1) open Leyte gulf (a copy) with resedit.
2) open the "code's" resource.
3) open code id=4.
4) at location 000F08 is the hex string 48E7 0080 7006. The patch is to
change the 06 to anything between 00 & FF.
5) save and quit.
Be careful with large amounts of missiles. I added 40 rockets to my
arsenal and couldn't take off from the carrier in DEEP TROUBLE. I was
able to take off with sixteen, but the rocket indicator goes off so one
never really knows how many rockets are left. (Glenn Schneider)
Tip 3:
I tried the patches above and they have the drawback that you don't
really know if you have those missiles or not.. I change that patch,
and now the check box is 'real' ;-)
The original patch was
CODE id 4, offset 0xF08 : change 48e7 0080 7006
with // // 70xx where xx is the right
number.
If you also change
offset 0xEE0 : change 7000 0080 7006
with // // 70xx same xx as before :-)
the check box will works all the time. (Michel Pollet)
***** DISCLAIMER ON PATCHES *****
In no way does the author of this FAQ condone the use of patches
to change the original composition of the program. All patches
above are provided at the request of readers and of contributors.
The use of patches alters the intended content of the program
and is ethically questionable to a growing sector of game players
and programmers.
If you use a patch, do so at your own risk. If you don't know how
to use editing programs correctly, you could permanently damage
or ruin your copy of Hellcats and/or Leyte Gulf.
This disclaimer is provided after a few concerns were raised by
contributors and readers of the FAQ. The inclusion of patches
in future FAQ's is in doubt at the present time. Out of respect
of Eric Parker, the Hellcats creator, all patches may be eliminated
in future versions of this FAQ.
XII. FAQ BACKGROUND (By Ted Wagner)
I saw a lot of questions on this game and felt that a FAQ/Tip document would
be useful. This document is not intended to replace the manuals. It is
meant to enhance the novice HOtP gamer's pleasure and skill in the game.
I fully support all efforts to complete the missions without cheating and to
buy this product from Graphic Simulations or a software retailer or
mail order company.
Hellcats Over the Pacific FAQ/Tips was created with the HOtP
enthusiast in mind. It is my hope to expand this document in the
future to accommodate the new scenarios to be released in a few months
and the new Hellcats version next summer. This document will include
FAQ's, Tips and Hints while playing this game, easy 'cheat' methods,
neat stuff to try or see, and an appendix with a list of all the gracious
people who were instrumental in the completion of this document. A couple
people had sent some reproductions of the HOtP manual typed by hand. Thank
you for your contribution, however, I cannot print what is in the HOtP
manual without permission from the author. (And besides, as I will mention
many times, this is a game worth buying...if you buy the game, you have
the manuals.)
I hope this document is useful to everyone who reads it. If you have
any suggestions for changes to this document, please e-mail me at the
address above.
I tried to get everything in here that everyone sent. This will grow
in the future, there is no doubt about that! Some of these look like
redundant questions. Some of the hints, tips, and FAQs do look the
same...but are subtly different. I left it that way because of the way
people read and understand things. Some things click for some people,
some other things click for other people.
This was a rather rushed job as I completed this while on vacation here
between August 13-August 26, 1992. The updated version which will be released
this fall will promise to be a bit more organized with sub-categories
beneath sections. This should make it much easier to find things.
If you get the new scenarios or just have some stuff to add that is
not included in this document, please e-mail me at the address at the top
of this page.
Technical Notes: (Added by Robert Dorsett)
1. It's not possible to out-turn the Zeros *in plane*, per se--merely
*out-maneuver* them. It's an important difference. Due to the control
logic, they don't react quite like a real pilot should, when one tries
out-of-plane maneuvers.
2. On bombing, you don't need to be much below 2000' to both release and
climb out, even if you're 90 degrees down, and have got the airspeed
indicator pegged. It is suicide to try to slow down after dropping: use
your excess airspeed to get away from the ack-ack batteries as fast as
possible, or climb beyond their effective range (fast!), and come in for
another run.
*************************IMPORTANT NOTICES*******************************
**Contributions**
For those pilots who are consistent at winning in Leyte Gulf OR feel
comfortable about making suggestions, please send in your contributions
to me at your own speed. Leyte Gulf hints will be added to this document.
At a later date, OR if there are a deluge of contributions, a separate
FAQ/Hint document will be created solely for Leyte Gulf.
**Future additions and versions of Hellcats**
If you can write to Graphic Simulations or Eric Parker, please do so!!
This game has terrific potential for expansion in several directions.
Please support both parties in possible upgrades of this game. Who
knows, if we are loud enough and supportive enough, Hellcats may feature
several scenarios, many different aircraft to choose from, and
internet and/or AppleTalk networking capabilities!
_______________
Version Notes:
Version 2.3 UPDATE May 31, 1993 (HellCats Feats FTP archive, basic mouse use)
Version 2.2 UPDATE April 27, 1993 by Ted Wagner
(Leyte Gulf additions, Disclaimer on Patches, addition to
notices)
Version 2.1 UPDATE April 6, 1993 by Ted Wagner (Leyte Gulf additions)
Version 2.0 UPDATE March 15, 1993 by Ted Wagner (New Leyte Gulf version)
Version 1.5 UPDATE January 7, 1993 by Ted Wagner (Note on Leyte Gulf)
Version 1.4 UPDATE December 13, 1992 by Ted Wagner
Version 1.3 UPDATE November 7, 1992 by Robert Dorsett
Version 1.2 UPDATE September 1,1992 by Robert Dorsett
