APFMD.ZIP
~~~~~~~~~

THIS FILE CONTAINS APFMD.TXT (WHICH YOU ARE READING), FMD.ZIP, AND DAT.ZIP.
FMD.ZIP CONTAINS MODIFIED *.FMD FILES FOR ALL FLYABLE AOTP AND WW1946 
AIRCRAFT. DAT.ZIP CONTAINS LARRY GRILL'S *.DAT FILES FOR AOTP AND WW1946 
FIGHTER AIRCRAFT.

BE SURE TO BACK UP ANY EXISTING FILES WITH THESE EXTENSIONS AND UNZIP THE 
ABOVE FILES INTO YOUR AOTP DIRECTORY.  SIMPLE DELETE THESE FILES WHEN YOU 
DON'T WNAT TO USE THEM.

FMD.ZIP
~~~~~~~
THESE *.FMD FILES ALTER THE ROLL, PITCH, YAW RATES OF THE AOTP AIRCRAFT TO 
BETTER REPRESENT ACTUAL PERFORMANCE. DESIGNED FOR USE AT 50-60% SLIDER ON MY
OLD 486/33.  EACH AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN GIVEN ITS OWN PERFORMANCE PERSONALITY, 
UNLIKE THE ORIGINAL AOTP FMD'S WHICH GAVE PRACTICALLY ALL PLANES SIMILAR
PERFORMANCE.  TOP SPEEDS HAVE BEEN MODIFIED ON MANY AIRCRAFT SO THAT RATED 
TOP SPEED IS REACHED AT POWER SETTING "9."  SO DON'T USE THE EMERGENCY POWER
UNLESS YOU WANT TO CHEAT.  AILERON LOCK, COMPRESSABILITY, AND AIRCRAFT BREAKUP
SPEEDS HAVE ALSO BEEN MODIFIED. NOW WHEN ARE YOU DIVING AT HIGH SPEEDS YOUR 
ELEVATOR AND AILERON CONTROLS WILL BECOME HEAVY BEFORE YOU REACH BREAK-UP 
VELOCITY (INSTEAD OF AFTER AS ORIGINALLY MODELLED).

YOU MIGHT THINK THESE FMD'S MAKE YOUR PLANES FEEL HEAVY, BUT IT'S BECAUSE
YOU'RE ACCUSTOMED TO THE UNREALISTIC MANUEVERABILITY OF THE AOTP PLANES.
THESE MOD'S ARE BASED ON WHAT HARD DATA I HAVE FOUND AND THE EXTENSIVE 
COMPARATIVE DATA AVAILABLE.  MANY OF THE MODIFICATIONS ARE INTERPOLATED, IE
THE FW190 COULD EASILY OUTROLL THE P-51.  THE F4U (WITH IT'S HYDRALICALLY
BOOSTED AILERONS) COULD JUST ABOUT ROLL AS QUICKLY AS THE FW190. THEREFORE
THE F4U SHOULD ROLL FASTER THAN THE P-51. AND SINCE THERE IS HARD DATA ON THE
P-51 ROLL RATES, THE REST IS EASY...  I WOULD BE GLAD TO DISCUSS THE MERITS OF
AND RATIONAL FOR MY FMD MODIFICATIONS. TO EXPLAIN EACH AT THIS POINT WOULD
TAX MY INABILITY TO TYPE.  OTHER CHANGES WEREN'T SO HARD. THE KI-27 IN AOTP
CAN ONLY REACH A SPEED OF 200 MPH, WHEN ALL SOURCES LIST ITS SPEED AT 292 MPH.
EASY FIX.  YOU GET THE IDEA.  THE YAW RATES (RUDDER) HAVE BEEN DECREASED. FOR
EXAMPLE, IT IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO TURN INSIDE A ZERO IN YOUR P-47 JUST BY 
KICKING BOTTOM RUDDER.  THIS MAKES DOGFIGHTING A BIT MORE "FUN."

ADMITTEDLY, THESE MODIFICATIONS DO NOT FIX INACCURATE CLIMB RATES, CLOSURE
RATES, ACCELERATION RATES AND A HOST OF OTHER PROBLEMS.  MAYBE IN THE FUTURE.

DAT.ZIP
~~~~~~~
THIS FILE CONTAINS *.DAT FILES MODIFIED BY LARRY GRILL. HE DISCOVERED THAT THE 
.DAT FILES CONTROL ALOT OF AOTP'S BFM AI.  THE AMERICAN A/C .DAT FILES 
DIDN'T NEED MUCH IMPROVEMENT, BUT THE THE JAPANESE A/C ARE GREATLY MODIFIED 
AND ARE EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE. THEY ALSO MAKE BETTER USE OF THEIR PLANES 
CAPABILITIES, MAKING TIGHTER TURNS, ETC.  NOW AI PILOTS ARE VERY HARD TO 
SHAKE OFF YOUR TAIL! 

THE USE OF THE NEW FMD AND LARRY'S DAT FILES IN COMBINATION WILL MAKE 
AOTP MORE CHALLENGING.  FIGHTS LAST A LOT LONGER AND YOU CANNOT JUST TURN 
AND TURN TO GET INTO FIRING POSTION ANYMORE.  REAL U.S. HIT AND RUN TACTICS 
BECOME A NECESSITY.  OF COURSE, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND USE OF MY MODIFIED DMG
AND BXL FILES FOUND IN MY EARLIER APTGT.ZIP TO FURTHER ENHANCE THE "REALISM"
OF AOTP <G>.

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GRANT "TAGERT" SENN - THE FATHER OF AOTP HEX EDITING. WITHOUT HIS WORK, I'D
                      STILL BE SCRATCHING MY HEAD!

LARRY GRILL - FOR HIS OUTSTANDING WORK ON THE .DAT FILES.  YOU'LL APPRECIATE
              HIS DISCOVERIES!

BRIAN "ID" SANFORD - FOR HIS DOGGED DETERMINATION IN MAPPING THE ENTIRE
                     .FMD FILE.  MY .FMD MODIFICATIONS COULD NOT HAVE BEEN 
                     DONE WITHOUT BRIAN'S DISCOVERIES.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF ANY ERRORS, IDEAS, OR CORRECTIONS.

NICHOLAS BELL
72162,1667

10-15-93