DP Tool Club 8/CDASC08.ISO/VRAC/APTGT.ZIP/TARGET.TXT

Text File | 1993-09-06 | 8.3 KB | 144 lines

APTGT.ZIP  9-6-93

INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE BACK-UP ANY STAND ALONE *.DMG AND *.BXL FILES YOU HAVE IN YOUR
AOTP DIRECTORY.  READ THE FOLLOWING NOTES AND DETERMINE WHICH GROUP OF FILES
YOU WANT TO USE AND UNZIP THEM INTO YOUR AOTP DIRECTORY.  SIMPLY DELETE THEM
WHEN YOU DON'T WANT TO USE THEM. NOTE THAT HAVING NUMEROUS STAND ALONE FILES
MAY INCREASE LOADING TIME BETWEEN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE SHELL.

FIREONLY.ZIP
~~~~~~~~~~~~
THIS CONTAINS *.DMG FILES FOR ALL AOTP, 1946, AND 1946-II AIRCRAFT. THE ONLY
MODIFICATIONS ARE THE RELOCATION OF FLAME/SMOKE ORIGIN POINTS TO ENGINE AND
FUEL TANK LOCATIONS.

BXL1.ZIP THRU BXL3.ZIP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
BXL1="EASY"                       (NOTE THAT COMBAT SETTING IN REALISM SCREEN
BXL2="MODERATE"                    WILL FURTHER MODIFY THESE. ALL MOD'S SET
BXL3="DIFFICULT"                   UP FOR USE UNDER "HARD" LEVEL)

THESE CONTAINS *.BXL FILES FOR ALL SINGLE ENGINE AIRCRAFT IN AOTP, 1946, AND
1946-II.  THESE FILES WILL MAKE THE AIRCRAFT HARDER TO HIT BY DECREASING THE
PLANES' TARGET SIZE, BUT WILL NOT CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE THEY CAN ABSORB.
DEFLECTION SHOTS WILL BE REALISITICALLY MORE DIFFICULT, AND I HAVE DONE WHAT
I CAN TO MOVE THE TARGET AREAS FORWARD, SO HITTING THE TAIL DOESN'T HAVE SO
MUCH EFFECT (ALTHOUGH BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULTY IN TESTING THIS, I'M NOT SURE
I REALLY SOLVED THIS PROBLEM ENTIRELY). I EXCLUDED THE TWO AND FOUR ENGINE
BOMBERS BECAUSE THE EFFECTS WERE NOT REALISTIC DUE TO THE PROBLEMS WITH
DIFFERENT AIRCRAFT SCALES AND THE ISSUE OF CONVERGING FIRE.  REDUCING THE
TARGET BOX SIZE AND THEN NOT BEING ABLE TO HIT THE BOMBER EVEN WHEN IT FILLED
THE ENTIRE FORWARD VIEW DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. MORE REALISTIC RESULTS ARE ACHIEVED
BY INCREASING THEIR DAMAGE CAPACITY. (USE DMG FILES BELOW)  THE P-38F/J ARE
HARD ENOUGH TO HIT AS IS, IN FACT I COULDN'T REALLY MAKE THEM ANY HARDER TO
HIT THAN WHAT IS PROVIDED IN THE SIM. (ANOTHER "GAMEY" DEVICE USED BY DYNAMIX
TO OFFSET THEIR INABILITY TO MAKE THE P-38 SEEM AS "GOOD" AS IT WAS - MAKE THE
PLANE HARDER TO HIT???)  SO INSTEAD, I MADE BOTH P-38"S *EASIER* TO HIT. NO
LONGER DO YOU HAVE TO HIT THE PILOT IN THE LEFT TOE TO KNOCK DOWN A P38. THESE
BXL FILES ARE IN BXL1 ONLY. P38 BXL ARE NOT INCLUDED IN BXL2 OR 3 - THE
ORIGINALS ARE HARD ENOUGH. OTHER TWIN ENGINE FIGHTERS HAVE BEEN ADJUSTED
SLIGHTLY IN BXL2 AND BXL3, BUT HAVE NOT BEEN INCLUDED IN BXL1.  PLEASE NOTE
THAT MUCH OF THE MODIFICATIONS TO THE TWIN ENGINE AIRCRAFT HAVE BEEN MADE BY
ESTIMATION RATHER THAN CACULATION, DUE TO MY INABILITY TO FULLY COMPREHEND
THEM. (YOU WON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM COMPREHENDING HOW MUCH MORE REALISTIC THE
P38 TARGET SIZE IF YOU USE THE ENLARGED BXL FILES!)

ONE BENEFIT OF REDUCING THE TARGET SIZE IS THAT YOU BECOME A SMALLER
TARGET ALSO.  MY EXPERIENCE, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN THAT THE BENEFIT ISN'T AS
GREAT TO YOU AS THE INCREASE IN DIFFICULTY IN HITTING THE AI CONTROLLED
PLANES.  MY OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT THE AI PILOTS ARE ALL DEAD EYES. (CAN'T
SAY THE SAME FOR THE GUNNERS)  WHEN THEY DECIDE TO SHOOT, THEY *ALMOST* ALWAYS
HIT.  WHAT SEPERATES A NOVICE FROM AN EXPERT IS THEIR ABILITY TO GET INTO A
FIRING POSITION, AND IF THEY ARE IN A POSTITION TO FIRE, WHETHER OR NOT THEY
ACTUALLY FIRE.  I CANNOT RECALL EVER SEEING AN AI CONTROLLED PLANE MISSING
BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T PULL ENOUGH LEAD. (THEY MISS BECAUSE YOU CHANGE YOUR
COURSE) CONSEQUENTLY, YOUR REDUCED TARGET SIZE DOESN'T HELP AS MUCH AS I HAD
HOPED. (WHICH WAS BASED MY EXPERIENCES IN REDUCING THE TARGET SIZE IN RED
BARON)  YOU'LL SEE TRACERS FLY BY YOUR CANOPY, BUT YOU BETTER REACT INSTANTLY
OR YOU'LL GET HIT WITH THE NEXT BURST.

DMG.ZIP
~~~~~~~~~~~
THIS INCLUDES *.DMG FILES WHICH WILL MAKE MOST BOMBERS AND
MANY FIGHTERS TOUGHER TO KNOCK DOWN.  DYNAMIX GROSSLY UNDERRATED THE
ABILITY OF MANY PLANES TO TAKE DAMAGE (PROBABLY TO IMPROVE THE "GAME").
THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE IN THE CASE OF U.S. BOMBERS AND LATE WAR JAPANESE
PLANES.  NO MORE KNOCKING DOWN 4 B-29'S SINGLEHANDED.  JAPANESE PLANES WHICH
DO NOT HAVE SELF-SEALING FUEL TANKS IN THE SIM BUT ACTUALLY DID NOW HAVE THEM.
(INFO ON THIS CAN EASILY BE FOUND IN BOOKS LISTED IN AOTP'S DOCUMENTATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY!)  ADDITIONALLY, MANY FILES HAVE BEEN MODIFIED SHOW THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RADIAL AND IN-LINE ENGINES, ALONG WITH OTHER VARIOUS
CHANGES TO TOUGHEN SOME PLANES.

IF YOU ARE FLYING A PLANE WITH A MODIFIED .DMG FILE YOUR PLANE'S ABILITY
TO ABSORB DAMAGE WILL BE NOTICEABLY INCREASED.   ALL FIRE/SMOKE ORIGIN POINTS
ARE ALTERED JUST LIKE IN THE FIREONLY.ZIP.

TIPS
~~~~
NUMBER ONE TIP IS IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE EFFECT, DELETE THE OFFENDING FILE(S)!
FIREONLY.ZIP IS ONLY EYECANDY. DMG.ZIP - AIM CARFULLY AND USE SHORT BURSTS TO
CONSERVE AMMO, BECAUSE YOU'LL NEED EVERY ROUND. THE BXL FILES WILL CAUSE INIT-
IAL FRUSTRATION, INCREASING WITH THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL CHOSEN, BUT IN TIME YOUR
AIMIMG WILL BE SO GOOD THAT PLAYING THE SIM W/O THESE FILES WILL BE NOTHING
BUT CHILD'S PLAY.  DEFLECTION SHOOTING IS MUCH HARDER. PULL MORE LEAD THAN
YOU'RE USED TO - A LOT MORE. HITTING THE TAIL DOESN'T DO MUCH GOOD - SO PULL
ENOUGH LEAD TO HIT THE ENGINE/COCKPIT AREA.  AS ALWAYS, FRONTAL SHOTS ARE THE
BEST WAY TO GET A QUICK KILL.  PLAYING WITH BXL2 AND DAMAGE IS QUITE ENJOYABLE
AND CHALLENGING ONCE YOU GET THE HANG OF IT ALL. JUST REMEMBER THAT SEEING THE
TRACERS GET CLOSE TO THE TARGET IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH ANYMORE - YOU ACTUALLY GOT
TO HIT IT.  BTW, THE PLANES WILL STILL EXPLODE WITH ONE BURST OR GO DOWN WITH
A DEAD PILOT (NO SMOKE), SO IF YOU DON'T SEE THOSE RESULTS AS MUCH AS YOU'RE
USED TO, IT'S YOUR LACK OF AIMING, NOT A FAULT OF THE MOD! <G>

COMMENTS
~~~~~~~~
THE REASON I WANT TO MAKE AIRCRAFT MORE DIFFICULT TO SHOOT DOWN IS TO IMPROVE
THE HISTORICAL ACCURACY OF AOTP.  PLANES ARE WAY TOO EASY TO DESTROY, AND
MULTIPLE KILLS ARE THE "NORM" INSTEAD OF THE EXCEPTION.  AOTP WOULD HAVE THE
PLAYER BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE ONE OF THE 5% OF FIGHTER PILOTS WHO HAVE THE
"ACE FACTOR."  FACE IT FOLKS, THE ODDS ARE THAT NEITHER YOU OR I HAVE WHAT IT
TAKES TO BE A "REAL" ACE. OTOH, THIS IS ONLY A "GAME" AND TO HAVE THE PLAYER
GET KIA EVERYTIME HE/SHE FLEW WOULDN'T BE MUCH FUN - AND CONSEQUENTLY DYNAMIX
WOULDN'Y SELL MUCH SOFTWARE.  ONE WAY DYNAMIX ADDRESSED THIS WAS TO MAKE THE
PLANES BIG TARGETS THAT BURN EASILY, EVEN AT THE "HARD" COMBAT LEVEL.  THUS
MY REASON FOR THESE MODIFICATIONS - A LITTLE APPRECIATION OF HOW HARD HITTING
MOVING AIRCRAFT REALLY IS.

I CANNOT SAY THAT I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED WHAT I WANTED (TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY
OF THE SIM) BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER MORE IMPORTANT PROBLEMS WITH THIS PROGRAM
WHICH IMPACT OF THE EASE OF DOWNING ENEMY PLANES.  NOT MUCH NEEDS TO BE ADDED
TO THE DISCUSSION OF HOW BAD THE AI IS IN AOTP, BUT THE FAILURE OF THE THE
AI TO USE _REAL_ DEFENSIVE BFM WHICH MAKE USE OF THE VARIOUS AIRCRAFTS'
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES HAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.  ANOTHER PROBLEM IS THE
LACK OF ANY FORM OF DISENGAGEMENT BY THE AI.  PLANES WHICH ARE DAMAGED
CONTINUE TO FIGHT INSTEAD OF ATTEMPTING TO SAVE THEIR SILICON HIDES,
RESULTING IN "EASY PICKINGS" FOR THE PLAYER. THE FLIP SIDE OF THIS IS HOW THE
GAME FORCES THE PLAYER TO SHOOT DOWN EVERY ENEMY JUST TO END THE ENGAGEMENT.
NO DOUBT A LOT OF THE PROBLEM STEMS FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PLAYER THAT HE/
SHE CAN REPLAY ANY MISSION WHICH TAKES A BAD TURN, WHICH RESULTS IN THE
PLAYER USING AHISTORICAL TACTICS AND TAKING FOOLHARDY RISKS (WHICH RESULT
IN UNREALISTIC MULTIPLE KILLS).

IT IS UNFORTUNATE FOR THOSE OF US WHO LOVE PROPS AND MACHINEGUNS THAT A SIM
THAT CONCENTRATES ON ELECTRONIC WARFARE AND MISSILES, FALCON/MIG29, SHOULD
GIVES US A POINT OF COMPARISION IN THIS ISSUE OF REALISM IN GUN KILLS.
AT THE HARDEST LEVELS OF PLAY, GUN KILLS CAN BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT - AS THEY
SHOULD BE - AND ARE CONSEQUENTLY THAT MUCH MORE REWARDING WHEN ACHIEVED.
F3/MIG29 MAKES IT VERY CLEAR THE DIFFICULTY IN AIMING A MOVING GUN PLATFORM
AT A MOVING TARGET IN THREE DIMENSIONS. AOTP DOES NOT DO THIS AT ALL.

I WELCOME ANY COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS, SUGGESTIONS, PRAISE, OR INSULTS.  YOUR
OPINIONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN SETTING THE DIRECTION OF FUTURE WORK ON AOTP
AND AOE!

THANKS TO GRANT SENN AND LARRY GRILL FOR THEIR IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS, AND HELP,
WITHOUT WHICH I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS.

NICHOLAS BELL
72162,1667