CD-ROM Magazin 1998 February

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F-16 FIGHTING FALCON Digital Integration Ltd Version 1.0 readme.txt UPDATES, ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO THE USER'S MANUAL. [-- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ---------------------------------------------------------] Before anything, we wish to credit the work of Dave Punshon and Richard Wells who together composed and produced the various music scores you hear throughout F-16, and apologise for their accidental omission from the main credits. We'd also like to thank our external beta testers: Nigel Doyle; Mike MacCulloch; William Moffat; Dominic Silk and Paul Burrows [-- CONTENTS -----------------------------------------------------------------] CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2 - TECHNICAL SUPPORT CHAPTER 3 - OTHER OPTIONS Preferences Difficulty setting Visual Preferences Visual Range; Shading Effects of Visual Range on texturing; High detail on low-power machines Logs CHAPTER 4 - MISSION BRIEFING The briefing screen at a glance Mission Planner - "Key" Button Mission Tips General - Time compression CHAPTER 5 - COCKPIT Multi-function Displays [a] Flight Information; [c] Moving Map; [e] Radar - Air-to-air modes Manipulating targets on the Radar Other Instruments 5. Data Entry Display Head Up Display - HUD Modes [a] NAV Mode - Airspeed; [k] MRM Mode - Missile Boresight Circle CHAPTER 6 - VIEWING MODES Internal Cockpit Views Snap views; Target tracking 'Head-lock' View External Views CHAPTER 7 - FLYING THE F-16 Flying Training Blackouts and Redouts; Wheelbrakes; Airbrakes; Landing Gear Approach to Landing Autoland Landing Technique CHAPTER 8 - WEAPONS Weapon Cycling How To Use Each Weapon Air-To-Air Missiles - AIM-120 AMRAAM Air-To-Ground Missiles Guns - Air-to-air combat CHAPTER 9 - MULTIPLAYER OPTIONS F-16 CDs Sending in-flight messages Network Games Additional Gameplay elements - The 'Frag Plan'; Aircraft Track Network 'Capture The Flag' [-----------------------------------------------------------------------------] [-- CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------------] Many thanks for taking the time to read through this document - rest assured you're doing yourself a big favour. This document has been compiled to resemble the chapter arrangement of your full manual wherever possible, however, there are no updates to chapters 1 and 2 of the full manual however, so only chapters 3 to 9 of this document deal with game information. You may find it useful to keep this document handy when reading through the manual so you can refer to both as you progress. For example, any information regarding changes to weaponry (chapter 8 in the manual) can be found in chapter 8 below. [-- CHAPTER 2 - TECHNICAL SUPPORT --------------------------------------------] If you should encounter any technical problems with F-16 which you can't find any way to overcome yourself, there are a number of information sources. The Internet - - - - - - - If you have access to the Internet, try looking through the tech support areas of our website, which you can reach at: http://www.digint.co.uk If problems or bugs emerge after release they will be described on these pages together with any solutions we have. An important advantage to using the Internet is that you gain the easiest access to patches, that is, updates to the game which cure bugs or add further features. If you encounter a bug, check first to see if it's been detected and fixed, and if so, download the relevant patch. Mail or phone - - - - - - - You can write to us or call at the address or phone number given in your installation guide. If you use this method, we need to know a few things: 1) Version Number A specific version number is quoted at the top of this file (ie, V1.0). F-16 also holds a specific date and time of its compilation; commit to a mission and activate the Messaging and Command System with Shift-M and enter: /version 2) Machine Specification & Configuration It's useful to know the specifications of your machine, such as its processor type and speed. Also, since F-16 is dependant on lots of memory, can you please tell us how much RAM and hard disk space you have before you tell us the problem. Troubleshooting --------------- A couple of issues have arisen since printing of the Installation Guide: - Animations - Certain DOS setups will stop F16's animations from playing, especially if you use a large cache for your disk drives. If you experience this problem, the easiest way to correct it is to create a boot disk for F16 (as described in the Installation Guide) and use SmartDrive to set a disk cache of 2Mb or less. - If your machine has 16Mb or less of physical RAM, you may find that the animations will not play from within the DOS version of the game. We're sorry that the only solution to this is to obtain more RAM for your machine. However, you can still view the animations independently: On the CD, in the ANIMS directory are eight executable files. Run these from the command line to view each animation. - If you still have problems with animations, edit the PREFS.CFG file in a text editor, locate the line which reads: Animations=1 ...and replace with: Animations=0 - If the animations work when you run F-16 for the first time but not after turning on sound in preferences then you are low on memory. You can either turn off animations as described above, reduce any disk caches which may be set up, or turn off sound effects. Deleting the PREFS.CFG file will restore the game to its first-run state. - Joystick Calibration - If you play F-16 from within Windows95 then you must first calibrate any joysticks and other control devices using the Windows95 Joystick Control Panel. - If you calibrate a joystick within F-16 then subsequently change your joysticks you will need to remove several lines from the preferences file, PREFS.CFG. Locate the following information block (numbers may differ in your file): Joystick By Max=0 Joystick By Mid=-1 Joystick By Min=-2 Joystick Bx Max=0 Joystick Bx Mid=-1 Joystick Bx Min=-2 Joystick Ay Max=0 Joystick Ay Mid=-1 Joystick Ay Min=-2 Joystick Ax Max=0 Joystick Ax Mid=-1 Joystick Ax Min=-2 Control Deadband Size=0 Delete all of these lines. When you next enter F-16, calibrate your new hardware in the usual way. [-----------------------------------------------------------------------------] UPDATES, ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO THE F-16 MANUAL [-----------------------------------------------------------------------------] [-- CHAPTER 3 - OTHER OPTIONS ------------------------------------------------] Preferences ----------- Difficulty setting The difficulty setting affects a variety of game attributes, including: - Enemy 'awareness' - Enemy accuracy - Chaff and flare efficiency - Enemy aircraft dogfighting skill - Acceptable accuracy radius for Mine Laying and Recon missions Visual Preferences ------------------ Visual Range This is perhaps the most important of the visual detail settings, with wide ranging effects. It governs how far into the distance you can see from your viewpoint within the game world, before distance haze 'fogs out' the landscape. Shading This setting governs the appearance of ground detail within the simulation. An additional Shading level is available in-game, and lies between Low and Medium in complexity. Repeated tapping of Alt-F1 in-game will therefore provide: Polygons -> Gouraud shaded polys -> Rough-textured polys -> Full texturing Effects of Visual Range on texturing - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The textures visible at the high detail levels blend toward the horizon line, and as you reduce Visual Range the blending becomes more dramatic. Therefore, reducing Visual Range to 3 or lower will automatically remove textures from the landscape. High detail on low-power machines - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Certain machines will not be able to support a fully detailed 3D visual during play, but that will not stop you selecting these options if you wish. If the system detects that rate of refresh falls below 3 frames per second it will automatically reduce the detail level accordingly, and, should the frame rate rise, will increase detail back toward the desired settings. Logs ---- One important point to consider regarding pilot logs: - Be careful when deleting pilots: there is NO CONFIRMATION when you click on the 'delete' button - the currently selected pilot is deleted instantly. [-- CHAPTER 4 - MISSION BRIEFING ---------------------------------------------] The briefing screen at a glance - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The mission briefing screen can look overwhelming when unfamiliar, but the quick list of features below quickly describe what you're looking at. You are viewing a top-down plan of the warzone in which you are currently stationed. The warzone is sectioned into two 'sides', allied (in blue) and enemy (in orange). Superimposed upon the map is the following symbology: - Grid lines. - Large circles denoting known Surface-to-Air-Missile sites. Allied in blue, enemy in orange. - Smaller circles denoting known locations of Anti-Aircraft Artillery; colour coding as above. - Your planned flightpath as a sequence of lettered Waypoints. - A compass representation highlighting north. - White 'cones' representing ILS beacons at airfields. - Airfield names. Mission Planner --------------- "Key" Button Two additional features are now shown on the map, airfield names and ILS beacons. Both have their own control button in the Key window. "Restore" Button Saving alterations to the mission works as described in the manual, but using Restore, to bring back the original mission, requires that you exit the game, before being able to select the mission. Mission Tips ------------ General - Time compression Pressing the time compression key, Tab, once will double the rate of play and place a "x2" marker at the top of the screen. Repeated pressing of Tab will compress time further at levels of x4 and x8. The Escape key may be pressed at any compression level to return to normal time. Training Missions The following Training mission cannot be completed at outstanding. - Navigation and Reconnaissance - Landing Practice - Weapon training - Durandal - Weapon training - Mine Laying [-- CHAPTER 5 - COCKPIT ------------------------------------------------------] Multi-function Displays ----------------------- [a] Flight Information The manual shows an image of an MFD in a radar mode; view files 'readmef2.gif' and 'readmef3.gif' to see the two Flight Information MFD modes. [c] Moving Map The Moving Map displays one additional item of symbology, a white, dashed-line ILS cone extending from the current ILS-equipped airfield. File 'readmef4.gif' shows a snapshot of an ILS cone on the Moving Map. See Chapter 7, Landing section, in this document for further information. [e] Radar - Air-to-air modes Colour-coding of air targets varies to that specified in your user manual. Enemy targets remain red, but allied targets are displayed in green, not blue. Manipulating targets on the Radar - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In addition to using Backspace/Shift-Backspace and Alt-Directions to cycle targets, a further key, "O" (letter, not numeral), can be used to temporarily disable automatic targeting. Other Instruments ----------------- 5. Data Entry Display Usage of the three-line display varies somewhat to the manual specification. - Top Line: Next waypoint ID, planned speed to waypoint, planned altitude of waypoint - Middle line: Airfield name and ILS frequency Urgent in-flight messages will replace the above information, filling the three lines and scrolling upwards if necessary. Extra Messages - - - - - - - - Some messages appear on the Data Display which are not always self-explanatory: - "Bombing Start" This message indicates that your wingman has commenced a bombing run. Note that it is not an instruction for you to do the same. Head Up Display --------------- HUD Modes - - - - - [a] NAV Mode - Airspeed The Airspeed scale can be itself be put into two modes which display either Indicated or True airspeed, represented respectively by an "I" or "T" symbol at the centre of the scale. [k] MRM Mode - Missile Boresight Circle The target designator box is no longer required to lie inside the circle. [-- CHAPTER 6 - VIEWING MODES ------------------------------------------------] Internal Cockpit Views ---------------------- Snap views - - - - - - Several 'snap views' have been added to the game and are selectable via keys 1 to 4 of the typewriter keys. - Keys 1 and 4 move the viewpoint left and right respectively, in steps of approximately 45 degrees. Starting from a forward point of view, either keys may be pressed up to three times. - Key 2 moves the viewpoint upwards, and may be used twice when starting from forward view. The first keypress switches view upwards approximately 30 degrees, thus leaving the HUD and the Threat Warning Indicator in your field of vision. The second keypress lifts view approximately 60 degrees further. - Key 3 moves the viewpoint downwards, and can be used once when starting from forward view to obtain a rapid 'instrument view'. Finally, key 5 will re-centre you view to the normal forward position. Target tracking 'head-lock' View - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The biggest addition to the array of views is that of the Target head-lock View. Activated with key 6 of the typewriter keys, this view simulates the pilot's head tracking any one target, as long as that target remains in the physical field of view. When you activate the head-lock view on your current target, a number of things will happen: - The cockpit will, usually, lower slightly and start to 'float' gently as your view becomes centralised on, and then slaved to, the target. - A secondary aiming reticle will be superimposed over the target showing its distance from your F-16, together with an aspect carat indicating your relative headings as described in the Air-to-Air HUD modes in Chapter 5 of your manual. - A data box will be placed at the top of your view at such times when your complete Head Up Display comes close to moving off-screen. The data box comprises the following symbology: (File 'readmef5.gif' shows a snapshot of the head-lock view) - A large, outer 'Range of movement' box, representing the sphere of view around the F-16 through which the pilots may physically move their heads. - A small, inner 'Field of view' box, representing your current direction of view within the pilot's range of movement. - A pointer and vertical scale at the right of the Range Of Movement box indicating the current pitch of your aircraft. - A horizon reference line at the center of the Range Of Movement box indicating the current roll of your aircraft. - Airspeed and radar altitude readings at the top of the Range Of Movement box. - The identity of the currently *viewed* (not necessarily the currently *designated* target) above the centre of the Range Of Movement box. As your head turns to track the target, the Field Of View box will move appropriately within the Range Of Movement box. Movement range is approximately ninety degrees upwards and thirty down, and 135 degrees left and right. If the target moves out the pilot's range of movement, view returns to standard in-cockpit view until such time as the target re-enters the pilot's range of movement. Use of the Head-lock view: - The head-lock key acts as a toggle between normal 'look ahead' view and 'target track' view. If you activate the head-lock then switch to an external view, subsequently pressing key F5 (cockpit view) will put you back into the head-locked target track. - Head-locking slaves the view to the currently designated target but is otherwise unconnected with the target designation systems. Once locked, the view will slave to the target UNTIL THE VIEW IS DEACTIVATED with a second press of key 6, or until you choose to view another available target. When the target leaves the range of movement, view returns to normal in-cockpit viewing but the target is remembered. If it re-enters the pilot's range of movement, the viewpoint will swing around and re-acquire the target. - As the above implies, you may track one target while your weapons systems a locked onto another. If you wish to switch visual target tracking to your newly designated target, press key 6 to deactivate the head-lock, then press key 6 again to head-lock the new target. - You may cycle through viewable targets with the hash (#) key. Available targets are those within 3 miles of your F-16. If the current target is destroyed, the next available target will be selected automatically. External Views -------------- In addition to the view-panning keys listed in the manual, it is possible to use keys F1-F4 to pan the external camera. [-- CHAPTER 7 - FLYING THE F-16 ----------------------------------------------] Flying Training --------------- Blackouts and Redouts These are two important considerations for any pilot. For those new to aircraft piloting: a blackout occurs when manouvres which result in a high positive G-force are held for enough time for the blood in your head to be pushed downwards with the rest of your body. The lack of oxygen in the brain then leads to unconsciousness. Redouts are caused by high *negative* G-forces, which push blood into the head. If you feel that avoiding blackouts and redouts is cramping your flying style you may toggle them off and on with Alt-8. These effects are always active by default when you load F-16. Wheelbrakes Operation of the wheelbrakes is slightly different to the method specified in your manual. Instead of being active while you hold key W, the key acts as a toggle; ie, press and release once to apply the brakes, press and release again to release them. Airbrakes Operation of the airbrakes is identical to wheelbrakes. Press and release key B once to apply the airbrakes, and again to release them. Landing gear To prevent damage, the landing gear cannot be lowered until your speed is less than 300 knots. Approach to Landing - - - - - - - - - - Autoland - - - - - An important additional feature has been added to F-16 - a flight system capable of automatically bringing the aircraft in to land with little to no pilot input. The "Autoland" system is switched on and off with the key combination Alt-A, however it will only become active when the following conditions are met: - At least one ILS-equipped airfield is in operation - Your F-16's autoland system has not been damaged - You are positioned within the ILS cone, heading towards the beacon at a distance greater than 3 miles from the runway - Your pitch and roll are both within 20 degrees of level flight If any of the above conditions are not met when you attempt to active the Autoland system, an appropriate warning will appear on your Display panel and the system will deactivate. Once the Autoland system has been successfully activated you will no longer supply control of the aircraft. You will oversee the landing procedure through a variety of viewpoints, and control will be returned to you once your F-16 is safely on the ground. You may also regain control at any time by pressing Alt-A to deactivate the Autoland System. As mentioned in Chapter 5 of this document, the Moving Map MFD option overlays an ILS cone displaying the beacon's range from any suitably equipped airfield. Only the ILS cone of the airfield to which your navigation radio is currently tuned will appear on the Moving Map MFD. Press key 7 to cycle radio frequency between ILS equipped airfields. The ILS beam consists of two cones. The outer cone allows your F-16's ILS system to overlay the Command Steering Cue on your HUD. Once your aircraft enters the inner cone, the Localiser and Glideslope Deviation Bars become active. The example on page 58 of the manual incorrectly states that the Command Steering Cue is to the right of the aircraft datum symbol. It is actually shown to the left, advising the pilot to steer left in order to intercept. Landing technique - - - - - - - - - You will find that manual landing is made considerably easier if you make use of the Aircraft Datum symbol on the Head Up Display. The symbol is "velocity vectored" which means that it projects your direction of flight onto your HUD. During your approach you should position the Aircraft Datum symbol over the runway at the point where you wish to land. If you do this then you can be confident of arriving at your touchdown point. Remember to pitch up slightly ("flare") just before touchdown in order to reduce your rate of descent if necessary. N.B. If you cannot see the Aircraft Datum symbol then it means that you are sinking too fast and you need to open the throttle slightly and raise the nose of the aircraft. Your pitch angle needs to be approximately 8 to 10 degrees nose up during the approach. [-- CHAPTER 8 - WEAPONS ------------------------------------------------------] Weapons Cycling --------------- In addition to the <-' Enter key, which cycles through your weapon load in-game, you can *reverse* cycle through available weapons with Shift+Enter. Salvo Size ---------- The above change has an impact upon the Command Summary which states that Shift+Enter and Ctrl+Enter are used to vary salvo size. Only Ctrl+Enter is now used for this task, and now cycles through salvo settings. How To Use Each Weapon ---------------------- Air-To-Air Missiles - - - - - - - - - - AIM-120 AMRAAM The target designator box no longer needs to be within the boresight circle before firing is permitted. You may find, however, that the chances of the missile seeker head picking up the target are greater if it is. Air-To-Ground Missiles - - - - - - - - - - - - AGM-65E Laser-guided Maverick FLIR "Manual" mode is not available when using Laser Guided Mavericks. It is only available for Laser Guided Bombs. Laser Guided Mavericks should be used in conjunction with the Ground Radar Fixed Target Track MFD mode, providing automatic target acquisition for either vehicles or buildings. Guns - - - Air-to-air combat Use of air-to-air guns has been slightly extended since your manual went to print. The HUD will operate in one of two modes when either your internal gun or an external gunpod is selected as the active weapon. The two modes are symbolised on the HUD as either "EEGS MAN" or "EEGS AUTO", abbreviations of 'Manual' and 'Automatic' respectively. Automatic mode operates exactly in the manner described for "EEGS DGFT" in your manual. The new 'Manual' mode however, removes the restriction of when you can fire the gun; you may open fire at any time. Note that the advice given in the manual regarding the chances of success without computer-guided firing is still pertinent, however, the main use for the manual firing mode is if you have been lucky enough to fall on an unsuspecting bogey's six, and are perfectly aligned with your target yet beyond the 3000ft advised range of accuracy. If this situation arises, switch to EEGS MAN, and take your chances... [-- CHAPTER 9 - MULTIPLAYER OPTIONS ------------------------------------------] F-16 CD's --------- Note that for both single player and two-player games of F-16, a copy of the CD must be present in the CD-ROM drive while playing, one in each machine in the case of a two-player game. See also the section on Network Games below. Sending in-flight messages -------------------------- It is worth expanding a little on the Messaging and Command System by which you can send customised messages between players, and issue certain commands to the game. Incidentally, use of the system is not restricted to two-player games, it can be used during network games too. Additionally, the Command unit of the system may also be used in single player games. As your manual states, the system is accessed in-flight by pressing Shift-M. Upon doing so, a prompt (":-") will appear near the top of the screen, indicating that the system is ready to receive input. Directly above the prompt are several lines beginning with a ">" character; these text lines are collectively termed the Communication Window, and will display all messages sent to you during play. Any message can be entered into the system via the keyboard up to a maximum line length of 80 characters; type your message then press Return to transmit it to other players in your game, or press Escape to abort the message and return to flight mode. In a two-player game, your message is prefixed either with 'Leader' or 'Wingman'. In a network game it is prefixed with your name. IMPORTANT: While the Messaging System is active and awaiting your input, all avionics AND FLIGHT CONTROLS are DISABLED. As soon as you transmit your message by pressing the Return key or abandon it with Escape, your controls re-activate. The second role of the system is to allow a variety of commands to be given to the game, the majority of which relate directly to the Messaging and Command System itself. All commands are denoted by a leading slash ("/") character. For example the 'Help' command would be entered as follows: /help Commands are not echoed into the Communication Window themselves, only their response. The standard command set in F-16 v1.0 is as follows: Command: Help Syntax : /help [command] Example: /help blank Description: The Help command, with no argument, briefly lists the standard command set. When given command name as an argument it provides brief help on that command. Command: Blank Syntax : /blank <seconds> Example: /blank 5 Description: The Blank command allows you to specify the number of seconds of inactivity which must elapse before the Communication Window is removed from the screen. If you wish to allow the messages to scroll off screen in their own time, set a high value, otherwise set it low. Command: Lines Syntax : /lines <lines> Example: /lines 10 Description: This command sets the number of text lines in the Communication Window. Command: Map Syntax : /map Description: The Map command is used only in Two-player and Network games, and toggles on and off the player aircraft wireframes in the Moving Map MFD. Command: Scroll Syntax : /scroll <seconds> Example: /scroll 5 Description: Use the Scroll command to specify the delay in seconds which the Communication Window uses when scrolling old messages upwards, one line at a time, off the screen. Command: Text Syntax : /text <'colour'|'shadow'> <value> Example: /text colour 1 /text shadow 0 Description: The Text command takes a value, representing an entry in the colour palette and sets either the text colour or the text shadow colour to that palette entry. Command: Threat Syntax : /threat <'volume'|'delay'> <value> Example: /threat volume 100 /threat delay 2 Description: This utility command allows you to customize the audio properties of the F-16's Threat Warning Indicator. Use the syntax of the first example to set its volume; the value is a volume percentage. Use the syntax of the second example to specify the delay in seconds between individual beeps. The above commands make up the standard command set, however, there are a number of other, less utilitarian, commands which we haven't listed... perhaps you can find them for yourself... Network Games ------------- Network players may run F-16 without a game CD in the drive, PROVIDING AT LEAST ONE PLAYER HAS THEIR CD IN THEIR MACHINE. Each of the other participating machines must have a Medium or Maximum installation; the Network game will not run from a Minimum installation. Players with F-16 CDs should enter the network game as described in the manual. Other players will have Network Play selected automatically when F-16 does not detect its CD while loading. Under Network Play you will be taken directly to the Network screen upon loading. You may access the Help and Preferences screens, but no other areas of the game. When all participating players are visible on the list, the player designated as the Server (the computer symbol next to their name) may click "Commit" to begin the game. Once in-game, pressing Ctrl-Q will allow you quit. You should quit F-16 completely to leave the Network game. Additional Gameplay elements - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A number of 'value added' features and modifications have been made which are available to players of network games. - The 'Frag Plan' One additional MFD mode can be activated. Known as the 'Frag Plan', it is selected with either key "[" or key "]" as usual, and contains a ranked list of all currently connected players and their current scores. The player currently ranked first is highlighted; your own name is shown in white. - Aircraft Track An update to the Moving Map MFD mode means that the aircraft of all players in the game are superimposed over the map image as smaller red aircraft wireframes, in addition to your that of your own, in black as usual. Network 'Capture The Flag' - - - - - - - - - - - - - Two points regarding this game type: - The manual states that you may land to repair and re-arm. This has been removed in favour of the Weapons and Fuel preference settings available on the Network screen. - The Aircraft Track facility described above will show your own F-16 as the usual black wireframe, and members of the blue and red teams in their own respective colours. [-------------------------------------------------------------$VER:Raz970711--] The End -------> Thanks for reading this important file. Now, let's go kick some ass!