A.C.E. 2/ACE CD 2.iso/FILES/DOCS/DAWNPATD.LHA/DawnPatrol.doc

Text File | 1995-04-14 | 97.9 KB | 1,917 lines

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     .                       »»»» PRESENTS ««««

                          DAWN PATROL - USER GUIDE
                          ========================

                                                             TYPED BY SHARD - N&B
INTRODUCTION
------------

The  system  used to create Dawn Patrol has taken quite a few man years to develop
and  involved  many members of our team.  We believe that we have brought you some
of the best flight technology available.

But  Dawn Patrol is more than simply a technological tour de force.  It deals with
one of the most exciting theatres in the whole of aviation history - the first use
of  aircraft  in  warfare.   Our remit was to produce a simulator dealing with the
First World War; to highlight the pilots and their aircraft as well as the rush to
achieve  air  superiority.    It soon became very clear to us that this was a very
large  story  indeed.  As the war progressed, so the fortunes of both sides in the
air  fluctuated.  This was an intensely personal battle between individual flyers,
sometimes  employing  quite  unorthodox tactics in a wide range of aircraft.  Many
accounts of their experienees have been described in print.

Thats  why  we decided to base Dawn Patrol around an interactive 'book' of the air
war.   It means that we've been able to provide chapters on the history of the air
war, the most famous aces and the aircraft they flew.  That has allowed us to deal
with many of the most interesting aspects of the conflict.  Thanks to contemporary
accounts,  we can let you take part in recreated aerial battles and missions which
are very close to those actually flown by the men on both sides of the conflict.

Our  preoccupation with pre jet flight simulators is based on the observation that
early  aerial  battles  were  a  lot  more  exciting  than  those employing modern
technology.  In the first air war there were no heat-guided missiles to aim in the
general direction of the enemy.  The aircraft approached each other at speeds that
were  slower  than  the  fluttering  of  an eyelid.  In the midst of battle it was
possible  to imagine that you could see the whites of your opponents eyes.  That's
why we are sure you will enjoy Dawn Patrol.

Rowan Software.

SECTION 1
---------

ABOUT DAWN PATROL

Dawn Patrol is really an interactive book devoted to flying in the First World War
-  the first ever air war.  This book has over a hundred pages devoted to subjects
like  the first flying aces and the aircraft of the era.  Like any good book, it's
possible  to  read  it sequentially or to dip into it at any point you like.  Each
page  is  devoted  to  a  particular  aspect  of  the  aerial war, and includes an
individually  tailored  aerial  battle or mission Normally, you will be allowed to
alter  the  number of aircraft involved in the mission, and often you will be able
to  choose  whether  you wish to fly on the side of the "Allies" or on the side of
the  "Central  Powers".  Hence the game provides a great deal of variety and will,
hopefully, give you hundreds of hours of enjoyable playing time.

An extra chapter lets you create your own personalised pilot record by undertaking
all  sorts  of  suggested  missions under a persona of your own choosing.  This is
your chance to become a flying ace.

Finally, there is a "Video Editing Suite" where you can edit videos of your aerial
adventures.    During  any mission you can start filming the action, and after the
battle has finished you can sit back and replay the recorded action in the comfort
of  your  armchair.    The  editing suite lets you manipulate the action with more
flexibility  than  any  real  life post production unit.  So, not only will you be
able to show your friends how to win an aerial mission, but you'll be able to show
off your talent as a film director.

About this User Guide

The  Dawn  Patrol  User Guide deals with all of the major aspects of the game.  To
install  the software on your machine, refer to the TECHNICAL REFERENCE SUPPLEMENT
supplied  separately  from  this  guide.    The  supplement  is  tailored for your
particular  computer.   Although this guide is intended for all Dawn Patrol users,
it  has  been  written from the perspective of an IBM PC compatible owner.  If you
use  a different type of computer, and you are in doubt about any machine specific
instructions  such  as  key  presses,  then  you  should  consult  your  technical
supplement.

Your  approach  to this game will probably be to play it before reading any of the
documentation.    Inevitably,  though,  there will come a time when you'll need to
uncover  more information about Dawn Patrol.  Hopefully it is all here in the User
Guide.    You can either read through the guide from the beginning, or look up the
relevant topic in the Table of Contents at the start.

The  next  section,  called  First  Mission, assumes that you are straining at the
leash  to  get on your goggles and leather hat.  It guides you from the first page
of Dawn Patrol book into the skies and on to the completetion of your first aerial
mission.

After  First  Mission, section 3 of the guide details all of the major chapters of
the  Dawn  Patrol interactive book, from beginning to end.  Section 4 goes through
the basic controls of the in flight section of the game.  Section 5 describes some
of  the basic principles of flying, shooting, and tips for surviving the air war.
Finally,  section 6 describes all of the features of the video editing suite.  Two
appendices deal with keyboard commands and joystick controls.

Note:

Input Devices

The  interactive  book  in  Dawn  Patrol can be controlled using your mouse and/or
keyboard  -  the  joystick  is  not available as an option.  The flight simulation
section  of  the game can be controlled by keyboard and/or joystick - the mouse is
not available as an option.  The specific keys to use on your keyboard are printed
on  the  keyboard  reference  card provided with the package, and in appendix A of
this guide.  The specific control of the joystick is detailed in appendix B of the
guide.

Selection

The generic term "select" is used when you are required to click on the left mouse
or  press  ENTER  on  the keyboard.  Items are selected in the interactive book by
moving  the  on screen pointer over a selectable item (which is normally displayed
in  red)  and  "selecting"  it  using  either the mouse or keyboard.  The onscreen
pointer  can  be  positioned  by  moving  the mouse or pressing the TAB key on the
keyboard (this will cycle the printer around all of the "selectable" items (on the
screen).

SECTION 2
---------

FIRST MISSION

If  you've hurriedly opened this package and now wish to get straight into a First
World  War  dogfight,  then  these  instructions  will lead you through your first
mission.   A more detailed explanation of the game's features begins in section 3.
If  you have not already done so, read the instructions in the Technical Reference
Supplement and follow the game installation and loading procedure.

Dawn  Patrol  starts on the first page of an interactive book.  A list of contents
details  all  of the chapters, whose opening pages are highlighted in red.  We now
wish  to  go  to the first chapter, 'The First Air War', which starts on page two.
Position the screen pointer over the First Air War page number (2), and select it.
(If  you  have  trouble  selecting the page number then read the two paragraphs on
'input  devices'  in section 1 of this guide).  Page two lists the contents of the
'First  Air  War'  chapter,  from which you should select page three, entitled The
Fokker Scourge.

Page  three  is  the  first  interactive  page  of  Dawn  Patrol,  and it contains
information  about  the early days of the air war, as well as providing a playable
mission.    The  top  half  of the page displays text through which you can scroll
downwards  by  selecting the red down arrow positioned half way down the screen on
the  right  hand  side.   After selecting the down arrow twice the photograph of a
Fokker  Monoplane  in  the  bottom  left corner of the page will be replaced by an
animation.   This animation shows a British BE2c reconnaissance biplane in flight.

The page three mission is described in the bottom right corner.  You take the role
of  Oswald Boelcke, an early German ace, flying a Fokker monoplane in an attack on
two 'unsuspecting' BE2c's.  If you are feeling very brave you can make the mission
more  difficult  by  altering  the  number of opponents highlighted in the mission
profile.    When you have read all of this page, select the Iron Cross to the left
of the mission headline and your mission will have begun.

Your first flight in Dawn Patrol may take you by surprise.  When you start you are
already  in  the  air, at the controls of a Fokker monoplane.  There is no need to
fire  up your engines, take off and engage the enemy.  Your opponents are probably
not  very  far  away!  Since this is your first flight you might wish to press the
pause  button  P at this point, and take a closer look at the screen.  It shows an
upper  view  of  the  cockpit  with the double gunsights of your Fokker monoplane.
Press  the  right square bracket key ] for a lower cockpit view that includes your
instrument  panel.    The dials display your rev count, compass bearing and speed.
The  number  at the top left of the screen shows that you are at a height of a few
thousand feet.

Now that you are in pause mode, you can take a little time to familiarise yourself
with  the  game controls.  You will find that many of the keys detailed by the 'in
flight  keyboard' reference still work in pause mode, especially those which alter
the  views  on the screen.  Since Dawn Patrol provides immense flexibility of view
types,  it  is  worth getting a flavour of what is available.  Fir instance, press
the  5,  6,  and 8 keys to see, respectively, views of the rear, left and right of
your aircraft.

Press the F6 key and you will change to a 'track' view of your Fokker taken from a
camera just behind the rear of the aircraft.  You will notice that the bottom part
of your screen changes to a panel once the view is from outside the cockpit.  This
panel  contains  information  about your mission.  For now, just note the top line
that  displays  the  name  of  your  aircraft,  as well as your bearing, speed and
altitude.    If you press the SHIFT and F4 keys simultaneously then you will see a
track view of your nearest enemy craft.  Now you know what you're up against.

The  message  line  at the top of the screen should shortly reveal the location of
your enemy with a comment like "My opponent is moving at 4 o'cloek".  We cant tell
you where YOUR opponent is, because each combat plays differently every time it is
loaded.    Think  of  a watch face aligned so that 12 o'clock is pointing straight
ahead in the direction of your aircraft.  If the enemy is at 4 o'clock, that means
an  enemy aircraft is in the direction of four o'clock on the clock face, in other
words  120  degrees  to  the  right.  Unless the aircraft is in sight, though, you
don't  know whether it is above you or below you.  You can get a good idea of your
relative positions by pressing the ENTER key, which takes you into 'Outside Combat
Lock' mode.  This is just fancy jargon for a camera angle that maintains a lock on
the  nearest enemy from a position that also has your aircraft in the foreground.
It  may be that the enemy is obscured by the view of your aircraft, but it reveals
your relative positions.  For instance, if the enemy is above and in front of you,
you'll get a view from beneath your aircraft, pointing forward and upwards towards
the  enemy  aircraft.    This  is  the direction you should be heading, so why not
switch  back to a cockpit view by pressing the right square bracket ] key, and get
flying.

Press  the  P  key  again to get out of pause mode, and start manoeuvring with the
cursor  keys  or your joystick.  If you find the controls too sensitive then press
the  2  key  a  couple  of times to decrease the flight sensitivity to the minimum
level.    Your  aim  should be to get behind the pair of BE2c's, because they will
then  be  very  easy to pick off.  You can use the - key to reduce the engine revs
and  so  match  your  speed  more closely to your intended victims.  When they get
within  range,  press the space bar to fire your machine guns, and see what damage
you  can  inflict.    If  you  succeed in making hits you will see puffs of smoke.
Fatal  damage after a number of hits will be obvious, and you will then have taken
your  first  step to becoming an ace in your own right.  If you fail to get a good
run on both aircraft, then you should try to make successive attacks.

Other  smoke  exploding  around  the enemy will be flak from ground attacks - make
sure  you get in there before your artillery does the work for you!  With a bit of
skill  on  your part, the enemy should suffer a disastrous mission.  You will then
have four main options.

[1] If you have managed to complete your main mission objective, you can leave the
scene  of  battle  by  pressing the F10 key.  This leads to a configuration screen
where  you  can  select  END  MISSION,  giving  you a post mission summing up with
details of your performance.  Select the RESET PAGE option, and you will return to
the third page of the book.  Press the cursor right key to proceed to page four.

[2]  If  you have found the mission too hard for you at this stage then you should
leave the flight simulator by pressing F10, and then alter some of the settings on
the  configuration  screen.   If you select 'vulnerability' 'arms' , 'targets' and
'skill  level'  in turn, and set them to off, off, soft and low respectively, then
you  will  now  be  invulnerable to damage, have an infinite amount of machine gun
bullets,  easier  targets volumes to hit and below average skill enemies.  You can
then  repeat your flight by selecting END MISSION, followed by RESET PAGE and then
re  entering  from page three.  Hopefully this time you will find it easier.  When
you  have begun to master Dawn Patrol, remember to increase the difficulty of some
of these settings if you want a greater challenge.

[3]  If  the mission was too easy for you then press F10 to exit the flight and on
the  configuration screen set 'vulnerability', 'arms', 'targets' and 'skill level'
to  on,  on,  hard  and  high  respectively.   This should make things rather more
challenging.    Alternatively,  you could progress to some further missions before
making these changes.

[4]  If you have disposed of your enemy and are still waiting for more to do, then
you could try and fly back to your 'home base', land there and fully complete your
mission.  On the third line of the control panel (the bottom portion of the screen
on an external view), you will see the position information for your Home Base (if
it  is  not  being  displayed, hit the keys SHIFT and ; simultaneously until it IS
displayed).    Set  a  heading  back to base, and see if you can make a successful
landing  there.  If the journey is more than a few miles then you can always speed
up  time when you have set an exact course by hitting the TAB key.  Hit any key to
get  back  to  normal  time  progress.  Once your home airfield is in sight, set a
landing  course,  decrease  your engine revs, and when you touch the ground put on
the  wheel  brakes  (press W) and turn off your engine (press the , key).  Exit by
pressing  F10  (or  ALT and X together), bask in the approval of your post mission
summing up, and head off for a good shower, a mug of warm soup and an early night.
There will be a lot of difficult missions out there tomorrow.


SECTION 3
=========

DAWN PATROL - THE BOOK

List of Contents

Page  one of the interactive Dawn Patrol book contains a list of six chapters, any
one of which can be accessed directly.

The  first three chapters, named The First Air War, The First Aces and Aircraft of
the  Era,  deal  with  various aspects of the air war between 1915 and 1918.  They
contain  ninety  pages  of  information,  and  each  one  is linked to a specially
tailored  mission  for you to fly.  Chapter four, Pilot Biographies, allows you to
assume  the  identity  of  a fictional flying character from one of the four major
nations  involved in the air war.  You will be able to undertake special missions,
from which a personal biography will be created.  The fifth chapter, Video Replay,
enables  you to view and post produce film of your experiences as an air ace.  The
last  chapter provides a single page of your 'preferences' for the settings of the
variable options relating to the game and its control.

Each  item  highlighted in red on the List of Contents page acts as a hotspot.  If
the  screen  pointer is selected while it is over a hotspot then an action will be
taken.    Selecting CLOSE BOOK on the top right corner of the screen is the method
of  quitting from Dawn Patrol back to the DOS prompt.  Any chapter can be accessed
by  selecting  the  opening  page  number that is highlighted opposite the chapter
name.    In  the  bottom  right  corner  of  the  page, the current page number is
highlighted.    If  it  is  selected,  then  a small box is opened with an editing
position  represented  by  a  vertical  bar.  This will accept any page number, to
which the book turns when the box is selected again.  If you wish to exit from the
box without making a new page choice then press the ESC key.

If you are playing the CD ROM version of Dawn Patrol you will note that some pages
have a small loudspeaker symbol in the bottom left hand corner.  If it is selected
(or the V key is pressed) then you will hear a recorded commentary that deals with
some  relevant  subject  matter.    There  is  a  total  of 36 pages with recorded
information.

To  turn  forward through the book, select the right edge of the page.  Select the
left edge to turn backwards.  Alternatively, press the cursor right or cursor left
keys,  respectively.   These are two examples of hotkeys, which provide a shortcut
for  any  commonly  used action.  Table 1 lists all of the standard hotkeys in the
book section of Dawn Patrol.

TAB              Cycle round all screen hotspots
HOME             Move to List of Contents page
Cursor Up        Move up through chapters on List of Contents page
Cursor Dn        Move down through chapters on List of Contents page
END              Move to Preferences page
Cursor Left      Move to previous page
Cursor Right     Move to next page
PgUp      )
Cursor Up )      Scroll text upwards
PgDn      )
Cursor Dn )      Scroll text downwards
P or S           Open page number edit box
A                Fly on Allied side
C                Fly on Central Powers side
V                CD commentary (CD ROM version only)
Alt X            Exit video screen
Ctrl Break       Fast quit game

Table 1, Dawn Patrol Book Hotkeys


The First Air War

Page  two  lists  the  contents  of  the  first chapter - The First Air War.  This
chapter  deals  with the most important aspects of the war in the air over Europe,
from the winter of 1915 to April 1918.

Select  a  particular page and you will be at the heart of the interactive history
of First World War aviation.  The layout of these pages splits the screen into two
distinct  areas.    The  text  at  the  top  half  of the page provides background
information  about the topic being covered.  There is generally more text than can
fit  on  this  area, and it can be scrolled by using the highlighted arrows in the
centre  right  side of the page.  The text scrolls upwards by paragraphs each time
the up arrow is selected.  At the very top of the page the Words The First Air War
and  Dawn  Patrol are highlighted, and if selected will turn the book to pages two
and one, respectively.

The lower half of the page displays information about an aerial mission related to
the  topic  under  discussion.  The picture to the left encompasses some aspect of
the  mission to come.  If an animation is displayed it may sometimes give clues to
a potential strategy or manoeuvre that can be usefully employed in the mission.

The  mission description briefly sets out the important details of the engagement,
and  will  often  allow you to specify some of the mission details.  If any of the
the  text  is highlighted then it can be altered by you before you take part.  For
instance,  in  the  screenshot opposite, the number of escorting Fokker monoplanes
has  been  selected.    A  small  text  box gives the player a choice of 2, 3 or 4
escorting Fokkers.  The desired option should be selected as appropriate.

When  details have been altered to your satisfaction the mission can commence.  If
an RFC roundel is displayed to the right of the mission heading, then you can take
part  on the side of the Allies.  If an Iron Cross is displayed on the left of the
mission heading, then you can take part on the side of the Central Powers.  Often,
both  the  RFC  and  Iron Cross symbols will be displayed, and this means that you
have  a  choice  of  sides.   Whichever symbol is outlined in pink is the side for
which the mission has been designed.  If you choose this side, then you should try
and  achieve the mission objectives as outlined.  If you choose the opposing side,
then  your  mission  will  be  essentially  a spoiling one.  Your aim should be to
ensure that the mission objectives of the other side are not achieved.  In general
it  is  instructive and fun to play the game from both perspectives.  However, the
fundamental  aim  for  the  player should be to try and achieve all of the mission
objectives detailed in each page of the book.

Selection  of  the mission will immediately put you at the controls of an aircraft
in  flight.    The  In Flight Manual (section 4) of this guide provides all of the
basic  information about controlling your aircraft in Dawn Patrol.  The next parts
of this section provide information about the rest of the interactive book.

The First Aces

The  second  chapter of the book deals with fifteen of the most famous flying aces
of  the  First  World  War.   Many of their stories are astounding, some virtually
unbelievable.  There was Albert Ball, the British pilot who would issue challenges
to  the  enemy  by  dropping  messages over their bases.  Or Oswald Boelcke, whose
'play  chicken' strategy was to head straight for the enemy's aircraft.  And Eddie
Rickenbacker,  the  former  Indianapolis  driver,  who  would damage an opponent's
aircraft and then let a novice colleague make the final kill.

This  is your chance to take part in some of these pilot's most exciting missions.
For  instance, the screenshot shows a page detailing Albert Ball's trial flight as
a  pilot,  where  he is pitted against two escorted Albatros two seaters.  Quite a
few  parameters of this mission are highlighted, and can be tailored as you wish.
You  can  choose  to  pilot  one of six different aircraft.  Or you could make the
mission  very  hard indeed by putting Ball up against four albatros reconnaissance
aircraft escorted by four Fokker monoplanes.  a victory at the hardest level would
be a very impressive feat!

Aircraft of the Era

The  third chapter concentrates on the machines used by the pilots during the war.
It  may  only  have  been a decade or so after the Wright brothers, but there were
scores  of  different types of aircraft in use throughout the war.  Many tries out
revolutionary  ideas  of  design  or  armament.  We highlight the role of fourteen
aircraft  types,  and  let you to take part in some of the missions they flew.  We
have  worked hard to re-create accurate aerodynamic models of each aircraft.  This
means  that you should end up with a very good idea about their relative strengths
and  weaknesses,  as  well as their individual characteristics.  This chapter also
introduces  lesser  known pilots involved in intriguing missions which did not fit
into our First Aces chapter.

Pilot Biographies

The  Pilot Biographies chapter enables you to create your own war record as an air
ace.   There are eight fictional pilots whose role you can assume.  Each pilot has
a  different  perspective  and  personality  - one might be a consumate tactician,
another  a  bold  cavalier.    Place  the screen pointer over the highlighted page
number opposite each flyer, and a character summary of the flyer will be displayed
at  the bottom of the page.  Your overall aim with each flyer should be to succeed
while  adopting  his characteristics and attitude to aerial warfare.  This part of
the  Dawn  Patrol  book  leaves eight pages spare for each flyer, and at the start
they  are  empty.    As  you  play, you will have the opportunity to paste mission
summaries into these blank pages.

Select the highlighted page number of a pilot for the first time, and a small text
window  will  offer an option to start a career as the named pilot.  You will then
be  presented  with  a  list  of  mission  choices varying from flight testing, to
trials,  to  missions  impossible.  In this illustrated example, Freddie Oakham is
acting  as  the  wingman to his CO.  They are escorting a flight of FE2c aircraft,
when  he  discovers  a couple of Fokker triplanes on his tail.  If you select this
mission option, then a Roundel is displayed, and it should be selected to commence
your flight.

Whatever  the  outcome  of  your  flight,  you should exit in the usual manner (by
pressing  F10 or ALT and X simultaneously).  The post mission briefing will sum up
your  flight  and  you  will  be  asked  whether or not you wish the mission to be
accepted  into  your  biographical history.  If accepted, then the summary will be
pasted  into one of the pages left free for your pilot, and will remain as part of
his  biographical  history.    You  will  then be free to return to the main Pilot
Biographies  chapter  page,  and complete further missions under the guise of this
pilot.  The next time you choose the same pilot you will be asked whether you wish
to  re  start  (clear  the  biography),  view  (look at the biography) or continue
(complete  further missions: a new set of missions will appear when you continue).
If  you accept a mission in which your pilot is killed, then his biography will be
deemed  complete.    You have the opportunity, at any time, to restart the pilot's
career,  and begin all over again.  If only real life was so simple.  You may take
part in other pilot's biographies whenever you wish.

The  pilot  biography  files  are  stored  in  the 'savegame' subdirectory.  It is
possible  to delete all biographies by running the 'delete.bat' batch file in that
directory.

Video Replay

Video  replay  is  a  separate feature of Dawn Patrol and can be accessed from the
List  of Contents page, where it is listed as a chapter heading at page 159 of the
book.    Alternalively  you can access video replay from the post mission briefing
screen  after  a  flight.    Video replay provides access to a comprehensive video
editing suite and allows post production of in flight videos.

Of  course,  the facility is only of use if you have taken an in flight video.  To
do  this  you  must set the video camera rolling during a flight by pressing the V
key.   Since a mission needs to have been flown before video is available, we have
left full discussion of the video editing suite until section 6 of the guide.

Preferences

The  last  page  of  the  Dawn  Patrol  book  (page  160)  is a list of selectable
'preferences' that the player can alter during the game.  These preferences relate
to  general  aspects  of the game such as skill levels, sound effects and joystick
controls.  A full discussion of preferences is given at the end of section 4.


SECTION 4
---------

IN FLIGHT MANUAL

This  section  of  the  User Guide deals with all of the features of the in flight
section  of  Dawn  Patrol.    A glance at the keyboard reference card will make it
clear that you have a wide range of controls at your command.

After  you  have  selected  a  mission you will find yourself in the cockpit of an
aircraft.    It  will probably be flying at an altitude of a few thousand feet and
charging  forward  at  a  hundred miles per hour.  All of the Dawn Patrol missions
have  been  designed  so  that  they  commence  in the air at a stage close to the
beginning  of the engagement described in the mission profile.  This enables us to
set  up  the  action  in  as realistic a manner as possible, and it saves you from
undertaking a long journev before you get a crack at the enemy.

The  four  basic  flight  directions  are  controlled  by your cursor keys or your
joystick.  Both emulate the characteristics of an aircraft's joystick.

Cockpit Layout

Your  first view will be of the upper cockpit of your aircraft, looking forwards.
If  there  are  forward  mounted  guns  you  will  see one or two gunsights in the
foreground.  This view lets you concentrate on centering an enemy aircraft in your
sights, and affords a panorama of the aerial battlefield.

Press  the  right  square bracket ] key for a downward perspective of the cockpit.
This  view includes the instrument panel, which gives the most basic details about
your  aircraft's  flight parameters.  The on board instrumentation comprises three
dials.

On  the  left  is  a  simplified  rev  counter,  which displays the engine revs in
revolutions  per  minute  (RPM).   The rev count corresponds closely to the thrust
being delivered by the engine, which can be reduced or increased by pressing the -
and  +  keys,  respectively.   The in flight keyboard reference details other keys
that  can  be  used  to  vary the engine thrust.  (Note that you cannot alter your
basic engine or flight controls in pause mode).

In the middle lies a compass, which gives the exact bearing of your aircraft.  The
standard  convention  for  a compass is observed: a bearing of 0 degrees points to
magnetic north.

The  rightmost instrument is the airspeed indicator.  This displays your aircrafts
airspeed  in  miles  per  hour.    An observant pilot will keep a close eye on the
airspeed, since an aircraft will often stall when this speed falls below a certain
value.

Below  the  compass  are  two  switches that indicate the status of the auto pilot
(left  switch)  and  the  auto  trigger  (right  switch).  These two functions are
controlled  by  the A and T keys, and when they are switched ON the switches point
downwards.   If you are having difficulty with strategy, then the autopilot should
give you some ideas.

At the top of the screen, above the outline of the view outside the cockpit, there
are  two lines of information.  These are present on all of the in flight screens.
At  the  very  top  is  a  messsage  line,  which lets you know of any significant
information.  In particular, you will be regularly informed of the position of the
enemy,  if  they are within range.  These messages will be similar to: "Enemy kite
at  8  o'clock"  Consider  a  clockface  aligned  so that 12 o'clock points in the
direction  you  are  travelling.   3 o'clock will be 90 degrees to the right and 6
o'clock will be directly behind you.  An enemy at 8 o'clock will be 120 degrees to
the left.

Below  the  messsage line, directly abutting the cockpit view, four parameters are
permanently displayed.

* To the left, ALT is your altitude above the ground, measured in feet.

*  VIDEO  displays  your  current  use of the in flight video facility.  The first
number  shows the quantity of video taken and the second shows the total amount of
space  available  for video storage.  You can start to operate the video camera by
pressing  the V key, and when you do so the first number should start increasing.
The  video  is  turned  off  by pressing the V key again.  The amount of available
video storage depends on the free expanded memory on your computer.

*  GUN  ROUNDS  shows  the number of bullets remaining in your firing drums.  This
number will not decrease if you have set the ARMS option on the preferences screen
to OFF.  In that case you have an infinite supply of bullets.

*  SENSITIVITY  shows  the current responsiveness of your aircraft to the keyboard
flight  controls.    Initially  the  sensitivity  is set to a value of 2, out of a
possible  range  of  0 through 3.  Press the 1 key to increase the sensitivity, or
the 2 key to decrease it.

Gun Sights

Press  the  left  square  bracket [ key to return to the upper cockpit view.  This
will  show the aircraft's gunsights, if the machine gun is mounted in front of the
cockpit.   Most aircraft in Dawn Patrol have this arrangement.  The NieuPort is an
exception with a machine gun mounted above the pilot on the top wing.

You  fire  your  machine  gun by pressing the space bar (or joystick button).  You
will  see  your  direction  of  fire  from  the tracer that is displayed.  The gun
operates  in an authentic manner since it will jam if you keep firing for too long
a  burst.    To unjam the firing drums you must first level off the flight of your
aircraft ( to indicate that you are flying hands off, with your hands available to
unjam  the  drums),  and  then  press  U.    You  will have to go through the same
procedure  when  a  drum has emptied and needs replacing.  This happens whenever a
multiple  of  hundreds  of  rounds  is left, because each firing drum contains one
hundred bullets.

You  are  not restricted to firing from the gunsight view.  The space bar operates
your aircraft's machine gun irrespective of the on screen view.

Map Screen

The  map  screen  shows  the area relevant to your mission, and covers a region of
some  hundred miles square.  It can be called up in, flight by pressing the M key.
The action in Dawn Patrol is centered on the battlefields of north eastern France,
an  area which stretches from the Oise, south of Amiens, to Dunkerque and Oostende
in the north.  All of the major rivers, roads and forest are marked on the map.

The  position  of  your aircraft is displayed by a flashing dot on the map.  Light
blue dots are Allied aircraft (from England, France or America), whereas pink dots
refer  to  Central  Powers aircraft (Germany and Austro Hungary).  The position of
ground vehicles is also displayed, with dark blue and red dots representing Allied
and  Central  Powers  vehicles  respectively.    Since  the  action of some aerial
dogfights  is  at  close  range  you  may  find that a number of coloured dots are
displayed very close together.

External View

You  needn't  watch  your  mission  just  from the point of view of your aircrafts
cockpit  An  important  feature  of  Dawn  Patrol  is the wide variety of external
viewpoints  from  which  the  on screen action can be displayed.  If you press ESC
followed  by  F5,  then  you will see a view of your aircraft from a camera locked
just  outside  your  aircraft.    Like all external views, the bottom part of this
screen  displays  an  information panel.  This panel contains a lot of information
about your mission.

The  top line of the panel has the words Piloted AC (piloted aircraft) to the left
hand  side,  and  it  provides  details  about  your aircraft.  As well as the now
familiar  details  of  heading,  speed  and altitude, the leftmost of the top four
boxes  gives  the name of your aircraft.  In the example shown a NieuPort is being
flown, and it is called Nieuport 1 because there is at least one other Nieuport in
this mission.

The  second line is headlined Next WP, which stands for next waypoint.  A waypoint
is  the  location  of  a  particular mission objective.  In the example shown, the
pilot  is  expected  to  NAVIGATE  to  the next waypoint, which is at the location
specified  by  the three further boxes.  These display the relative bearing, range
and  height  of  the  waypoint,  and  to  reach  it the bearing should be set to 0
degrees, and the aircraft set to reach the desired altitude.

There  may  be more than one waypoint specified for the mission, and it's possible
to  step  forward  through  them  by  pressing  the  ' key.  (You can step back by
pressing the ; key).  In Dawn Patrol it is not essential for you to achieve any of
the  waypoint objectives.  At the start of the mission it is better to concentrate
on  the details of the pre assigned mission objective, although the first waypoint
sometimes  gives  information  about the expected intercept of enemy aircraft.  In
missions  where  you  are assigned to escort a group of bombers, further waypoints
might  relate  to  the  planned  bombing route.  Such information could prove very
useful if you become detached from your charges, and need to re establish contact.

Once  the  mission objectives are achieved, a player of stamina can concentrate on
further  waypoint objectives.  The waypoints are predetermined at the start of the
mission,  and  are  displayed  purely for your information.  It is not possible to
change  the mission profile by displaying a particnlar waypoint.  Further waypoint
types  include  'attack',  which  locates  a  target  to  attack, and 'land' which
displays the location of your homebase, where you can choose to land at the end of
the mission.

The  third  line  displays  the position of a variety of predetermined aircraft or
locations  They  can  be  cycled by pressing the SHIFT and keys together.  In this
example the information relates to the location of the pilot's Home Base.  Further
information  can  be  obtained  on  'opposition'  (the  currently  assigned  enemy
aircraft),  'escortee'  (the  bomber  being  escorted)  and  'buddy'  (the pilot's
wingman), depending on the actual mission.

The  bottom  line gives details of the particular view being displayed on the main
part  of  the  screen.   The first two boxes display the current view type and the
current  'viewee' The 'viewee' is the particular aircraft or object being viewed.
In  the  example  shown, the view is an 'outside locked' shot, and the 'viewee' is
the  nearest  enemy.  Dawn Patrol has a broad and flexible range of possible views
of  the  action, and it is crucial to your success as a flyer that you can swiftly
turn  to  the  most suitable view at any given moment.  The next sub section, 'The
View Matrix', is devoted to helping you master the on screen view.

The  third box on the bottom line informs you that the object being viewed is at a
range  of  0  miles  -  within  observation  range, as can be seen!  The final box
details  whether  the  view  is  fixed or free.  In this case the view is 'fixed',
which  means that if another enemy craft came even closer than the one on display,
the  view  would  remain  tracking  the  original  aircraft.  If the view had been
altered  to  a  free  view  (by pressing the Q toggle key), then if the viewee was
'nearest  enemy'  it would change if another enemy aircraft came closer.  It could
be  very disconcerting to have a view suddenly alter especially in the middle of a
dogfight.    On  the  other hand in 'fixed' mode an unseen aircraft could get very
close  to you without your knowledge.  To some extent you can reduce the chance of
this  happening  in  fixed mode by occasionally pressing CTRL and F simulaneously.
This  resets  the  view to the current nearest enemy, even when you are in 'fixed'
mode.

Mastering The View - The View Matrix

In  Dawn  Patrol it is possible to create virtually any view of the most important
objects associated with your mission by pressing just two sets of keys:

[1] Press either a function key or a numeric key to alter the type of view.

[2]  Press  the  shift  key  and  a  function  key simultaneously to determine the
aircraft or target being viewed the 'viewee'.

Conceptually  it is very simple, but there are so many combinations of key presses
available  that it takes a little practice to get the best out of it.  The viewing
system  is  called  a  viewing  matrix because each pair of key presses leads to a
separate  view.  All the possible combinations can be written out in the form of a
grid, rather like a matrix.  The various key combinations can be inferred from the
keyboard reference, and they are shown as a grid in table 2.

                                VIEW TYPE

VIEWEE                      CHASE   OUTSIDE  TRACK SATELLITE  OUTSIDE  INSIDE
                                                                LOCK     LOCK
                              F4       F5       F6     F7        F8       F9
MISSILE          SHIFT F2
NEAREST FRIEND   SHIFT F3
NEAREST ENEMY    SHIFT F4                                      ENTER   BACKSPACE
CURRENT ENEMY    SHIFT F5
MESSAGE ABOUT    SHIFT F7
GROUND TARGET    SHIFT F8
NEAREST TARGET   SHIFT F9
PILOTED AIRCRAFT SHIFT ESC                                   ILLEGAL  ILLEGAL

TABLE 2


Along the top of table 2 are the six different 'view types':

* CHASE             Camera behind viewee, as if in a chasing aircraft
* OUTSIDE           Camera behind viewee, with absolute heading and pitch
                    maintained
* TRACK             Camera behind viewee, following its pitch and heading
* SATELLITE         Camera above viewee, looking downwards
* OUTSIDE LOCK      Camera view across players aircraft, maintaining viewee
                    in centre of picture
* INSIDE LOCK       Camera inside player's cockpit, maintaining viewee in
                    centre of picture

The eight 'viewees' down the first Column of table 2 are:

* MISSILE           Current bullet, if one has been fired
* NEAREST FRIEND    Nearest friendly aircraft normally a wingman or bomber
* NEAREST ENEMY     Nearest enemy aircraft, if within range (20 miles)
* CURRENT ENEMY     Enemy currently engaged against your aircraft
* MESSAGE ABOUT     Aircraft or vehicle referred to in last message
* GROUND TARGET     Ground target specified by mission
* NEAREST TARGET    Ground target nearest to player's aircraft
* PILOTED AIRCRAFT  Player's aircraft

To get any particular view type of any viewee press the relevant key from the view
type  row  followed  by  the relevant key from the viewee column.  The best way to
feel  comfortable  with the viewing matrix is to get practical experience altering
the viewing parameters.  Select a mission such as page 29 of the interactive book,
where there are a lot of combat aircraft in the sky.  Once in the air, press the P
pause  button  (so  that  you  can  inspect  the view matrix at your leisure), and
systematically feel your way about the grid of table 2.

Note  that  virtually  any  combination  of view type and viewee is possible.  For
instance,  if  you want to see a satellite view of your nearest friend, then press
F7 followed by the SHIFT and F3 keys together.  Since the keypresses for view type
and  viewee  are  independent,  the  order  in  which  you  press  the keys is not
important.

Press  SHIFT  and  F4 together, followed by F8, to see a view of the nearest enemy
aircraft  from  an  'outside lock' view.  If you are taking part in the mission on
page 29, this view should give you pause for thought - the screen is full of enemy
aircraft, and they all appear to be chasing you!  If you refer to the view matrix,
you  will  see  that  the  ENTER  key  has been marked at the intersection between
nearest  enemy and outside lock.  This is a special hotkey we have created for the
SHIFT  F4, F8 combination.  In combat this view can be very helpful to you, and we
call  it  the  'outside  combat  lock' view.  Similarly, the matrix shows that the
BACKSPACE key is a shortcut for SHIFT F4, F9 - the inside lock view of the nearest
enemy.    This  is  the  'inside  combat  lock'  view.  Both combat lock views are
discussed later in this section.

As  you  explore  the view matrix you should keep an eye on the bottom line of the
information  panel.    The  left most box displays the view type, and the next one
displays  the current viewee.  Hence these two boxes register your location within
the  viewing  matrix.   As you play the game you will sometimes find that some key
combinations  do not register.  This will be because the requested viewee does not
actually  exist.    A  common  instance  is  when you have no nearest enemy either
because  all  enemy  aircraft have been shot down, or because the nearest enemy is
more  than  20  miles away.  As noted in table 2, inside and outside lock views of
your own aircraft are not valid.

Fine Tuning Your View

Once you have surveyed the view matrix a few times you will become more accustomed
to  the  manipulation of the on screen views.  Although it is not essential to use
extra  features,  the viewing system in Dawn Patrol has even more flexibility than
so far discussed.

For  instance, you can rotate the view of the viewee about horizontal and vertical
axes by pressing the F2 and F3 keys.  Note that this means the camera itself moves
vertically  and  horizontally,  respectively!   (Rotation is not possible within a
chase  view).  The view can be zoomed in and out using the F1 and ALT F1 keys.  If
you  rotate  and  zoom  a  view,  then  the  camera will maintain its new relative
position  for  all  subsequent  views of the same view type.  The default zoom and
viewing  angles  can  be  reset individually with the CTRL F1, CTRL F2 and CTRL F3
keys, or all together by pressing CTRL R.

The  view  matrix  as  described  will  only display the nearest enemy or friendly
aircraft,  nut  if  there are other aircraft nearby it is possible to transfer the
view to them as well.  This is performed by using the ALT F key combination, which
will  transfer you to the next viewee nearest to the one you are currently looking
at.  This can only be done in 'fixed' mode, because 'free' mode will always choose
the  nearest viewee to your aircraft.  If you are not in fixed mode then hit the Q
toggle  key.    As  an  example,  display  an outside lock of the nearest friendly
aircraft (F8 and SHIFT F3), then keep pressing ALT F to cycle through the views of
all  friendly  craft.   Note that the description of the viewee on the information
panel  remains  Near  Friend throughout this cycle.  The last viewee chosen in the
cycle  will  remain  the  'Near  Friend' unless the viewee is reset to the nearest
using the CTRL F keys.

After  assembling  all  of this information, it is worth remembering what to do if
you find yourself looking at an unfamiliar scene in the middle of a combat.  Press
ESC  and  the  view  will always return to your aircraft, press ENtER and you will
always get an outside combat lock, and press the [ and ] keys to give gunsight and
cockpit views of your own aircraft.

Combat Lock

The  combat  lock  views which were discussed earlier can be very useful in aerial
combat,  and  can make the task of becoming an air ace a more feasible option.  We
have  provided  these  views  because  any  cockpit  view  from a flight simulator
subtends  a  relatively small portion of the entire sky.  The proper use of combat
lock  frees your vision so that you can concentrate on the nearest enemy aircraft,
wherever it may be.

Outside Combat Lock

This  view  always  has  your  own aircraft in the foreground of the camera, which
points towards the nearest enemy aircraft.  Since the camera tries to maintain the
enemy  in  the  centre  of view (whether or not it is obscured by your craft), the
position  and orientation of your aircraft on the screen will alter in response to
movement  of  the  enemy,  even if you are not adjusting your controls.  Initially
this  can  be  disconcerting, especially when the enemy aircraft is very close, as
the movements of camera angles can be quite large.  You must also remember that if
the  combat  lock  places the camera in front of your aircraft looking behind you,
then  a  rudder deflection to the left will turn the aircraft towards the right of
the screen.

After  a  little  practice  you will find this view invaluable for determining the
relative  position of the enemy, and it is quite possible to make kills and fly an
entire mission using the outside combat lock view.

Inside Combat Lock

Essentially  similar  to  the  outside view, inside combat lock places the nearest
enemy  in the centre of the screen from a camera position inside your cockpit.  It
is  therefore  a  pilots eye view of the action, with an eye always turned towards
the  enemy.    Your  aim  must be to manoeuvre your craft so that the front of the
cockpit is positioned straight towards the enemy aircraft.  There is no doubt that
this view is a challenge to master but with perseverance it can be a deadly battle
aid.    It  is  helpful  to  practice  on  an  aircraft  with   very   good flying
characteristics  -  you could, for instance, try the Spad 7 on page 79 of the Dawn
Patrol book.  The first thing to notice is the view inside combat lock provieds of
your  aircraft.    The cockpit is an essentially empty basket (all instrumentation
has  been  removed),  but  the  wings,  front  and  rear of the aircraft should be
familiar  to  you.    If the camera points towards the inside of the cockpit, this
means that the nearest enemy aircraft is below you.  If the view is of the rear of
your  aircraft  you  will need to turn in order to get the enemy in your sights at
the front.

Because  the  inside  combat view can be disorienting we have provided a number of
orientation  lines so that you can tell whether you are facing up or down, left or
right,  front  or  rear.  These lines are placed in the rear half of the sky above
the  cockpit  and  are rigidly connected to your aircraft when the aircraft moves,
the  lines move with it.  Each line terminates in a half arrow that points forward
and upward relative to the aircraft.  The lighter coloured lines are overhead, and
the most overhead line terminates in a full forward facing arrow.

The  only  way  to  master  combat lock is to practice hard.  Get used to what the
front of your cockpit looks like, because you will be aiming to see the enemy from
there  as  you  go in for a kill.  If you ever get completely disoriented then you
should  move  to  another view, such as Outside Combat Lock, until you regain your
bearings.

One  tip  for  manoeuvring  as  you  turn is to try and keep the orientation lines
parallel  with  the  horizon.    You  will  then be taking a near optimum route to
getting  the  enemy  in front of your sights.  Always keep an eye on your altitude
and  your  airspeed,  since  below  a  certain speed your aircraft will stall.  If
combat  lock  appears  to have stopped working and you cannot restore it, then the
answer is simple.  There are no more enemy aircraft to lock on to!

The Post Mission Screen

Your  mission,  once  flown,  is  completed  when  you decide to terminate it.  In
flight,  either  press  ALT  X, or press F10 and select the end mission option.  A
post  mission  debriefing  screen  will  then  be  displayed.  This summarises the
outcome  of the mission, written from the perspective of the pilot detailed in the
mission  briefing.  If you flew for the opposition, then the aim will have been to
spoil  the  mission  objectives.   However the greatest challenge is to master the
mission  objectives  in  the manner outlined in the mission briefing.  In a sense,
this is the overall mission objective for all players of Dawn Patrol.

The  two  options available from here are to choose video replay, which allows you
to  view  video  footage  of  your  flight (or any other video stored on your hard
disk),  or  to choose reset page, which takes you back to the page describing your
mission.

Preferences

The last page of the Dawn Patrol book, page 160, contains the 'preferences' screen
from  where  you  can  alter some of the basic in flight and input device options.
The  screen  can  also be accessed during a mission by pressing the F10 key.  Each
available option (highlighted in red) is next to the current setting (displayed in
blue).

Engines

There  are  two options; normal and super.  The normal engine setting develops the
same  thrust  as  the original aircraft.  The super setting develops a 50% greater
thrust, thus conveying a significant combat advantage.

Vulnerability

The  two  options are on and off.  The on setting means that your aircraft will be
invulnerable  to  weapons  fired  from enemy craft.  The off setting leads to your
aircraft suffering realistic damage while under attack.

Arms

There  are  two  options;  on  and  off.   The on setting leads to your gun rounds
counter being depleted by one every time a bullet is fired.  The off setting gives
you unlimited gun rounds.

Targets

The  three  options are soft, medium, and hard.  Under the soft setting, the enemy
aircraft will be damaged if bullets are fired nearby.  The medium setting leads to
damage  if  your  bullets  hit  anywhere  on  the  enemy aircraft.  Under the hard
setting,  damage  is  created  only  when bullets are fired near the centre of the
target.

Skill Level

There  are  three  options;  low,  medium,  and high.  The operational skill of an
average  enemy  pilot is proportional to the skill level setting.  An enemy novice
will  be  less  skilful  than the average setting, while an enemy ace will be more
skillful.

Running Demo

The two options are on and off.  When turned on, the game will enter demonstration
mode,  which  only  applies  if the book is being displayed.  Pages will be turned
every 10 seconds on still image pages, and at the end of the animation sequence on
animated pages.

Mouse Sensitivity

There  are two options; low and high.  Under low sensitivity the mouse needs to be
moved  twice  as  far  to effect the same on screen pointer movement as under high
sensitivity.

Joystick Sensitivity

The four options are low, medium, high and custom.  The default setting is medium.
If  your  joystick seems to suffer from poor calibration (see re-calibration opion
under  control  type)  and you have no trim controls, or those that you do have do
not  help,  then  you  should  choose low sensitivity.  If you prefer to make your
aircraft  very  sensitive then choose the high setting.  The custom setting should
only  be  used  if  you have created a custom sensitivity using the information in
Appendix B.

Control Type

There  are  six  options;  keyboard,  joystick,  joy-throttle,  flightstick   pro,
thrustmaster,  and  recalibrate.  The options refer to the control type for the in
flight section of the game.

Keyboard          - Change flight control entirely to keyboard.
Joystick          - This is the standard joystick option.  Such a joystick has two
                    movement axes and two fire buttons (A and B). If a second
                    joystick is connected, the fire buttons on that stick can be
                    used as buttons C and D.
Joy-Throttle      - A joy throttle has an additional independent throttle lever
                    which can be used to control the aircraft's fuel intake and rev
                    count. It may have up to four fire buttons. This option is
                    compatible with the standard Flightstick and the Maxx Yoke.
FlightStick Pro   - The FlightStick Pro has a throttle on the base of the joystick
                    to control the rev count and a 'coolie hat' on the top with four
                    extra switches.
Thrustmaster      - The Thrustmaster PFCS has a top "coolie hat" with four extra
                    switches.
Re-calibrate      - This option should be used if there is a tendeney for your air-
                    craft to yaw or pitch when the joystick is centred. Please see
                    Appendix B for details of how to proceed.

Separate Rudder

The  two  options  are on and off.  If you have separate rudder pedals this option
should be turned on.

Sound

There  are  three options; all off, no engine sounds or with engine sounds.  These
settings  relate  to  the  in flight section, and will output no sound; all sounds
except the noise of the engine; or all available sounds.  CD users will be able to
select the speaker icon regardless of the setting of this option.

Music

The  two options are off and on.  When turned on, music will be played in the book
section of the game.

Detail Level

There  are  four  options; 386, 486, 486DX33, and faster.  This setting alters the
amount  of  terrain  and  vehicle  detail which the program attempts to display in
flight  (the  faster  the  setting  the  more  the detail).  Set the option to the
specification  closest  to  that of your particular PC.  It is best to experiment,
since the graphic speed of your machine will depend on factors other than the main
processor,  such  as the type of video card.  If the frame rate on your PC appears
to be unacceptably slow, then turn to a slower option.

Auto Detail

The two options are on and off.  When set to on, auto detail turns off any graphic
detail  that  will greatly slow the displayed frame rate.  It does this on a frame
by frame basis.

Auto Window

There  are  two  options; on and off.  Auto window reduces the size of the display
window  if  the  frame  rate begins to slow.  It is an alternative method to 'auto
detail'  for  dealing with frame rate reduction, although both features can be set
on at the same time.

Screen Fades

The  two  options  are  off  and on.  This feature allows a smooth fade during the
transition  between  two  game  screens.  You should consider switching off screen
fades on slower PC's.


SECTION 5
---------

FLYING AND SHOOTING

Basic Flying Skills

This  section  deals briefly with some of the fundamentals you will need to master
in  order  to  become a Dawn Patrol ace.  All of the aircraft featured in the game
have  different flight characteristics.  You will find that some will climb faster
than  others, some will turn more easily than others, and that the stalling speeds
of each aircraft differ.  World War One aces had to cope with this, too!

Climbing

An aircraft climbs when the lift provided by its wings is greater than its weight.
Lift is proportional to the square of the velocity of the aircraft.  Hence, if you
want  your  aircraft  to  climb quickly and steeply, pull back on the joystick and
increase  the  thrust  of  your engine, so that you gain airspeed.  If you want to
make a sustained altitude gain, then your angle of climb should be no more than 10
to  15  degrees.    A  steeper  angle  of  climb will result in consistent loss of
airspeed,  leading to a loss of lift.  Eventually your aircraft will start to fall
and then there is a risk of it stalling.

Reducing Altitude

Apart  fronm  pushing the joystick forward, there are two other factors which will
reduce  your aircraft's altitude.  The aircraft will fall if you reduce the engine
thrust,  since  the  lift  generared  by  the wings depends on the velocity.  More
surprisingly,  altitude  can be lost when the aircraft is running.  Since the lift
points upwards in the direction of the tailplane, a turning aircraft loses some of
the  vertical  component  of  its  lift.   If no rudder or elevator is applied the
aircraft will lose altitude.

Turning your Aircraft

Your aircraft can be turned by moving your joystick left or right in the direction
you  wish to turn.  If you turn acutely, then the aircraft will lose altitude.  To
prevent  this  from  happening, you should pull up slightly on the joystick as you
turn.

Stalling

An  aircraft  will stall when it loses all lift from its wings.  This will tend to
happen  when  you  have  climbed  too steeply, or have let the airspeed fall below
about  50 mph.  At this point the nose of the aircraft will be pointing downwards,
and  it  will  not  respond  to  flight  controls.  You can come out of a stall by
letting  go  of  the  stick  and  increasing  the  thrust of your engines.  As the
airspeed builds up, gently pull back on the stick.

Immelmann Turn

This  manoeuvre was first introduced by the German air ace Max Immelmann, who used
it  to devastating effect during World War One.  Expert use of the turn allows you
to  reverse  your  direction  in  the  minimum  amount  of  time  and  space.   An
inexperienced attacker appearing on your tail can become cannon fodder before he's
had  time  to  line you up in his sights.  An enemy who passes you after a head on
encounter can suddenly find you on his tail.

To  perform your first Immelmann Turn, get a good external view of your aircraft.
If  you are performing head on approaches towards an enemy aircraft then you might
wish  to  choose an outside combat lock view.  If your airspeed is below about 120
mph  you  should  increase  it  by putting yourself into a dive.  Pull back on the
stick  so that you start climbing, and wait until you are nearly vertical and your
airspeed  is  at about 60 miles per hour.  At this point apply full rudder, either
to  your left or right, by pressing the END or PG DN keys on your numeric keypad.
Keep  your  hands on the rudder, and the aircraft will rotate about its tail, with
its  nose  turning  towards  the  ground.  Come out of the turn at the appropriate
point  by  letting  go  of  the  rudder, pulling back on the stick, and applying a
little  compensating  rudder  as  needed.    After a few practices the turn should
become  a  normal  part  of your combat repertoire.  Some aircraft will feel quite
different  when  you  perform this manoeuvre, so you will have to be ready to make
small flight adjustments to maintain stability.

Page  62 of the Dawn Patrol book has a detailed animation of the Immelmann Turn as
it  should  be  performed in combat.  Study it closely, and see if you can emulate
it.  The mission associated with page 62 gives you the opportunity for a number of
Immelmann Turns as the enemy perform repeated head on passing manoeuvres.

These  days  the  'Immelmann Turn' is better known as the 'Hammerhead Turn'.  Even
so, it should not be confused with the more modern 'Immelmann' manoeuvre.

Gunnery Tactics

Improving your Shooting

All  of  the  aircraft  in  Dawn Patrol are equipped with one or two machine guns.
Pressing  the  [ key will give an upper cockpit view of the gun sights, so long as
the  guns are forward mounted.  At all times, pressing the space bar will activate
the  machine gun.  There is no need to fire just from the gun sight view, since it
is  possible  to  see the tracer from any view of your aircraft.  The direction of
the  tracer tells you where the bullets are being delivered.  A machine gun bullet
has a range of about 200 yards, and its effect on the target will be determined by
the  distance  to the target, where it hits, and the setting of the TARGETS option
on the preferences screen.

If  you  are  recording hits on the target, then you will hear the ricochet of the
bullets, and you will see puffs of smoke from the enemy aircraft.

Ground Targets

Targets  on the grournd include buildings, airfields, trucks aud barrage balloons.
You  will  be able to see most nearby ground targets by pressing F6, then SHIFT F9
followed  by  repeatedly  striking  ALT  F.  These commands will cycle through the
nearby  ground  targets  depending  on  which  side  you  choose  for the mission.
Opposition  convoys are always displayed on the map screen, and you are at liberty
to  chase  after  them  if  you  wish.    The mission on page 74, 'Ground Attack',
involves  attacking  enemy  trucks.   There are a potential fifteen further ground
targets  in  this mission, and it is not recommmended that you try and attack them
all.

It  is  best  to  attack  truck  convoys  by strafing the ground and 'walking' the
bullets  to the target.  Start firing your guns, see where the bullets are hitting
and  adjust  your  line  of  flight  so that the line of bullets coincide with the
convoy.  Don't keep firing too long or your guns will jam.

Flak

Many  of  the  ground  targets  are artillery sites, and they can be a danger.  In
general you should try and avoid areas where there is heavy flak because you run a
high risk of being shot down.

Sites  equipped  with  anti  aircraft  artillery  deliver  white streams of tracer
bullets.    Larger  bore  sites  deliver  large plumes of exploding flak at higher
altitudes.    The flak from Allied artillery is white, while the flak from Central
Powers  artillery  is black.  At least you will know who is firing at you!  If you
are  in  the middle of a flak attack you might consider making a positive movement
of  heading and altitude every 15 seconds, and clearing out as quickly as you can.

Aircraft

The  firing  arcs of a number of the aircraft featured in Dawn Patrol are shown in
diagram  1.    This  diagram  shows  the relative strengths and weaknesses of each
aircraft.    For instance the Gotha bomber is very well protected at the rear, but
it is extremely vulnerable to frontal attacks from below.  In Dawn Patrol the Fe2b
is  treated as a fighter and so it is only capable of firing a forward fixed gun.
A  knowledge of the firing arcs of any aircraft can be very useful, whether or not
you are attacking one, escorting one, or flying one yourself.


SECTION 6
---------

VIDEO EDITING SUITE

The  video editing suite is controlled from a single screen located at page 159 of
the  interactive book.  It can be accessed through the List of Contents page or at
the  end  of  a mission from the post-mission briefing screen.  In either case the
facility  can  only  be  used  if  there is video to be edited.  Video can be shot
during  a  mission by pressing the V key.  It will then be resident in memory, and
can be edited on line.  Video footage is destroyed if you exit Dawn Patrol without
having  saved  it onto your hard disk using the editing facility.  Once written to
your  disk  it can be edited and viewed whenever you wish.  Therefore, if you have
sufficient  disk space it is advisable to save the original video straight to disk
after a mission.

Unlike  any  real  life  editing  facility you are able to do much more than patch
together different pieces of video.  If you are unhappy with the camera angles and
positions  used  to  shoot  the  original,  you  can   alter   all   the   viewing
characteristics  with  the same flexibility as the viewing matrix available in the
game.    The  editing suite can be controlled by manoeuvring the on sereen pointer
with  the mouse and keyboard, but almost every facility is mapped to an individual
hotkey for easy operation.

The major features of the editing facility are as follows:

Title Bar

This  strip  runs along the top of the screen.  The filename is an eight character
identifier  of  the current video footage.  'Last page' refers to the total memory
size of the video footage.  Expanded memory is divided into 'pages', each of which
is  16 Kbytes long.  Page count starts at zero, so a last page number of two takes
up  three  pages,  or 48 Kbytes.  The number next to 'Position' is the location in
memory  of the current video frame.  The first digit of the 'position' is the page
number of the current frame.

Movement Block

Basic video machine style controls are located in the middle on the left hand side
of  the  screen.   Moving across from left to right and then downwards the buttons
are:

PLAY/PAUSE                   Toggle between play and pause
MOVE FORWARD ONE FRAME       Move the video forward a single frame
STOP                         Stop the video
REWIND TO BEGINNING          Rewind the video to the start
FAST REWIND                  Rewind the video at an accelerated pace
REWIND ONE SECTION           Rewind the video one page backwards
FORWARD ONE SECTION          Move one page forwards
FAST FORWARD                 Wind the video forward at an accelerated pace
FAST FORWARD TO END          Wind the video to the end

This video movement grid is mapped directly to the numeric keypad of your machine.

Zoom and Rotate Keys

These are similar to the zoom and rotate facilities of the flight simulator.

H  =  Horizontal.    The  left and right arrows allow you to rotate left and right
                     about a vertical axis.

V =   Vertical       The up and down arrows allow you to rotate up and down about a
                     horizontal axis

Z =    Zoom          The up and down arrows allow you to zoom in and out.

Select the central H, V or Z letter to reset to the original display angle or zoom.

Note  that  a  key or screen hotspot must be selected once to start the effect and
once again to stop the effect.

Use  the  same  keys  as  those  available  in flight.  F2 and ALT F2 for vertical
rotation; F3 and ALT F3 for horizontal rotation; F1 and ALT F1 for zoom.

View Type Selector

The  currently  selected view type is displayed at the top of the box.  These view
types are the same as those available in flight.

TRACK            Track view of the viewee
INSIDE           The view of the viewee from your cockpit. Enhanced by toggling
                 cockpit on option.
OUTSIDE          An outside view of the viewee
CHASE            Chase view of viewee
SATELLITE        Satellite view of viewee
IN LOCK          Inside lock view of viewee
OUT LOCK         Outside lock view of viewee

All  of  these  viewing characteristics can be controlled by the familiar function
keys.

Viewee Selector

The currently selected viewee is displayed at the top of this box.

PILOT AC:     Viewee is your aircraft
NR GROUND:    Viewee is the nearest ground target, if there is one.
HOME BASE:    Viewee is your home base
NR UNFRND:    Viewee is the nearest enemy aircraft
NR FRIEND:    Viewee is the nearest friendly aircraft

The viewee can also be selected using the familiar shift function keys.

Extra Flags

The  following  flags  work in conjunction with the other options on Video Editing
Suite.  They can all be accessed by pressing the first letter of the function.

VIEWEE FIX /FREE:    Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints (hotkey V or Q)
COCKPIT OFF/ON:      Toggles a view of cockpit on and off for relevant view types
                     (hotkey C)
TIME NORM/ACCEL:     Toggles between normal and accelerated time (hotkey T)
NEXT ITEM:           If you have selected the VIEWEE FIX option then this moves to
                     the next nearest viewee. Especially suitable for unfriendly
                     aircraft (hotkey N or ALT F)
MSL VW OFF/ON:       If toggled 'ON' it is possible to view the flight of bullets
                     as they are fired (hotkey M)
IMPT VW OFF/ON:      If toggled 'On' then the view is transferred to targets just
                     before they blow up (hotkey I)

Lower Editing Box

This  facility  is  used for all the high level video production including editing
and  splicing,  cutting  as  well  as the manipulation of video files on your hard
disk.

All  grey  symbols  [e.g  :  1,  2,  3,] at the bottom of the box are the relevant
hotkeys.

Start Marker

START:  Places the start marker at the beginning of the video: 'position' 0.
MARK:   Places the start marker at the current video position.
GO:     Move current video position to position of start marker.

Block Edit

Note:   A 'Block' is a section of video bracketed by 'Start' and 'End' markers.
DEL:    Delete a video block (be careful - no confirmation asked!)
WRITE:  Write a video block to disk.
READ:   Read a video block into RAM. This allows you to splice different video
        segments into your footage.

File Edit

LOAD:   Load a previously saved video file into the editor. This overwrites all
        video currently in memory.
SAVE:   Saves the current video block to memory. You should provide an eight
        character name, without a file extension.
DEL:    Deletes a video file from your hard disk.
Note:   Videos are held in the videos sub-directory on your hard disk and can
        be directly manipulated from there.

End Marker

END:    Place an end marker at the last frame of the current video.
MARK:   Place an end marker at the current video position
GO:     Move the current video position to the end marker.


APPENDIX A
----------

In Flight Keyboard Controls

General advice for altering the in flight view:

[a]  Press  the  shift  key  and  a  function  key simultaneously to determine the
aircraft or target being viewed (the 'viewee')

[b] Press either a function key or a numeric key to alter the type of view.

KEYBOARD REFERENCE - NORMAL KEYS

ESC       Change viewee to your aircraft
F1        Zoom in (ALT F1 is zoom out)
F2        Rotate vertically around viewee
F3        Rotate horizontally around viewee
F4        External chase view
F5        Outside view camera maintains absolute heading and pitch
F6        Track view camera pitches and turns with the aircraft
F7        External satellite view
F8        View across your aircraft to the viewee (outside lock)
F9        View from your aircraft's cockpit of the viewee (inside lock)
F10       Configuration menus
1         Increase the keyboard flight control sensitivity
2         Decrease the keyboard flight control sensitivity
5         View the rear of your aircraft from the inside
6         View the left of your aircraft from the inside
7         View the front of your aircraft's cockpit from the inside
8         View the right of your aircraft from the inside
9         View the rear of your aircraft from the inside
0         Return to cockpit from an outside viewpoint
-         Decrease RPM continuously, in small steps
+         Increase RPM continuously, in small steps
BACKSPACE Inside combat lock - lock onto nearest enemy (see manual)
TAB       Speed up time (turns off when any key pressed or mission event occurs
Q         Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints of viewee
W         Wheel brake
R         Decrease rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys
T         Auto gunfire (only if autopilot ON)
U         Unjam machine guns
P         Pause
[         Look up (see gun sights if looking forward)
]         Look down (see instrument panel if looking forward)
ENTER     Outside combat lock (lock onto enemy from outside view)
A         Autopilot (toggle - indication on instrument panel)
S         Sound toggle (off, no engine sounds or with engine sounds)
J         Increase rate of gunfire
K         Decrease rate of gunfire
;         Step back through waypoints
'         Step forward through waypoints
Z         Impact viewpoint- switch view to target when hit
X         Missile viewpoint - switch view to launched bullet
V         Video toggle
B         Air brake toggle
M         Map screen (ESC to return to flight)
,         Minimum power setting
.         Maximum power setting
SPACE     Fire


NUMERIC KEYPAD AND CURSOR CLUSTER

END (1)            Full rudder deflection, left
PAGE DOWN (3)      Full rudder deflection, right
INSERT (0)         Gradual rudder deflection, left
DELETE (.)         Gradual rudder deflection, right
8 or cursor up     Dive - pull forward on stick
4 or cursor left   Roll to the left
6 or cursor rlght  Roll to the right
2 or cursor down   Climb - pull back on stick
-                  Decrease RPM by single, large steps
+                  Increase RPM by single, large steps

KEYBOARD REFERENCE - 'ALT &' KEYS

ALT F1       Zoom out
ALT F2       Rotate vertically around viewee in opposite direction to F2
ALT F3       Rotate horizontally around viewee in opposite direction to F3
ALT F5       Outside view looking out from viewee
ALT F6       Track view looking out from viewee
ALT F7       View below viewee
ALT F8       View looking from in front of your aircraft to the viewee
ALT F9       View from in front of the viewee to your aircraft
ALT F10      Decrease time speed up
ALT R        Increase rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys
ALT D        Automatically select level of detail suitable for machine
ALT F        Select the next nearest viewee [fixed mode only]
ALT X        Exit flight

KEYBOARD REFERENCE 'CTRL &' KEYS

CTRL F1      Reset zoom
CTRL F2      Reset to default vertical view angle
CTRL F3      Reset to default horizontal view angle
CTRL F8      Lock view from behind the viewee to your aircraft
CTRL F10     Increase time speed up
CTRL R       Reset rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys and reset view and
             zoom parameters
CTRL D       Toggle 3D detail (auto detail must be turned off first)
CTRL F       Reset fixed viewpoint to current nearest viewee
CTRL V       Reset video to start and begin recording

KEYBOARD REFERENCE 'SHIFT &' KEYS

SHIFT ESC    View of player's aircraft, maintaining last viewpoint
SHIFT F2     View of launched missile
SHIFT F3     View of nearest friendly aircraft
SHIFT F4     View of nearest enemy aircraft
SHIFT F5     View of object you have been assigned to attack, according
             to on screen messages
SHIFT F7     View of object that last message refers to
SHIFT F8     View of currently assigned ground target
SHIFT F9     View of nearest possible ground target
SHIFT 9      View of your wingman
SHIFT -      Decrease RPM in large steps
SHIFT +      Increase RPM in large steps
SHIFT TAB    Uninterrupted time speed up
SHIFT F      Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints of viewee
SHIFT ;      Cycle through position information

'SHIFT &' NUMERIC KEYPAD

SHIFT -       Decrease RPM by standard amount
SHIFT +       Increase RPM by standard amount
SHIFT 8,4,6&2 View directions


Keyboard Reference Chart Keys by Subject

VIEWPOINTS

ESC            Change viewee to your aircraft
SHIFT ESC      View of player's aircraft, maintaining last viewpoint
F1             Zoom in
ALT F1         Zoom out
CTRL F1        Reset zoom
F2             Rotate vertically around viewee
ALT F2         Rotate vertically around viewee in opposite direction to F2
CTRL F2        Reset to default vertical view angle
F3             Rotate horizontally around viewee
ALT F3         Rotate horizontally around viewee in opposite direction to F3
CTRL F3        Reset to default horizontal view angle
SHIFT F2       View of launched missile
SHIFT F3       View of nearest friendly aircraft
SHIFT F4       View of nearest enemy aircraft
SHIFT F5       View of object you have been assigned to attack, according to
               on screen messages
SHIFT F7       View of object that last message refers to
SHIFT F8       View of currently assigned ground target
SHIFT F9       View of nearest possible ground target
SHIFT 9        View of your wingman
F4             External chase view
F5             Outside view: camera maintains absolute heading and pitch
ALT F5         Outside view looking out from viewee messages
F6             Track view: camera pitches and turns with the aircraft
ALT F6         Track view looking out from viewee
F7             External satellite view
ALT F7         View below viewee
F8             View across your aircraft to the viewee (outside lock)
ALT F8         View looking from in front of your aircraft to the viewee
CTRL F8        Lock view from behind the viewee to your aircraft
F9             View from your aircrafts cockpit of the viewee (inside lock)
ALT F9         View from in front of the viewee to your aircraft
5              View from the rear of your aircraft from the inside
6              View the left of your aircraft from the inside
7              View the front of your aircrafts cockpit from inside
8              View the right of your aircraft from the inside
9              View the rear of your aircraft from the inside
0              Return to cockpit from an outside viewpoint.
BACKSPACE      Inside combat lock - lock onto nearest enemy (see manual)
Q              Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints of viewee
R              Decrease rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys
ALT R          Increase rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys
CTRL R         Reset rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys and reset view angle
[              Look up (see gunsights if looking forwards)
]              Look down (see instrument panel if looking forward)
ENTER          Outside combat lock (lock onto nearest enemy from outside view)
ALT F          Select the nearest viewee [fixed mode only]
CTRL F         Reset fixed viewpoint to current nearest viewee
SHIFT F        Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints of viewee
Z              Impact viewpoint - switch view to target when hit
X              Missile viewpoint - switch view to launched bullet

[NUM KEYPAD] SHIFT 8,4,6&2 View directions

ACCELERATION CONTROLS

TAB            Speed up time (turns off when any key pressed or mission event
               occurs)
SHIFT TAB      Uninterrupted time speed up
ALT F10        Decrease time speed up
CTRL F10       Increase time speed up

GEAR
W              Wheel brake

FLIGHT CONTROLS

A              Autopilot (toggle - indication on instrument panel)
1              Increase the keyboard flight control sensitivity
2              Decrease the keyboard flight control sensitivity
[NUM KEYPAD]END               Full rudder deflection, left
[NUM KEYPAD]PG DN             Full rudder deflection, right
[NUM KEYPAD]INS               Gradual rudder deflection, left
[NUM KEYPAD]DEL               Gradual rudder deflection, right
[NUM KEYPAD](8,4,6,2)         Flight directions
CURSOR Right, Left, Up, Down  Flight directions
B              Air brake toggle

ENGINE CONTROLS

,                     Minimum power setting
.                     Maximum power setting
[NUM KEYPAD] -        Decrease RPM by single, large steps
[NUM KEYPAD] +        Increase RPM by single, large steps
SHIFT -               Decrease RPM in large steps
SHIFT +               Increase RPM in large steps
[NUM KEYPAD] SHIFT -  Decrease RPM by standard amount
[NUM KEYPAD] SHIFT +  Increase RPM by standard amount
-                     Decrease RPM continuously, in small steps
+                     Increase RPM continuously, in small steps

GENERAL CONTROLS

F10              Configuration menus
ALT X            Exit flight
P                Pause
S                Sound toggle (off, no engine sounds or with engine sounds)
V                Video toggle
CTRL V           Reset video to start and begin recording
ALT D            Automatically select level of detail suitable for machine
CTRL D           Toggle 3D detail (auto detail must be turned off first)

WEAPONS CONTROLS

SPACE            Fire
T                Auto gunfire (only if antopilot ON)
U                Unjam machine gun
J                Increase rate of gunfire
K                Decrease rate of gunfire

MAPS AND WAYPOINTS

M                Map screen (ESC to return to flight)
;                Step back through waypoints
'                Step forward through waypoints
SHIFT ;          Cycle through position information


APPENDIX B
----------

JOYSTICK CALIBRATION

After changing the joystick option and choosing 'accept' you will be asked to move
your joystick controls in order to calibrate the game to your joystick.  There are
a number of factors which can effect the operation of the analogue jovstick and it
is necessary to go through this process in order to get the best from it.

First, ensure that any auto fire devices are turned off.  These will not be useful
in this simulation and will confuse the calibration process.

ALL JOYSTICKS

For all joysticks you will be asked to:

"Centre Stick & Press Fire Button"

Then you will be asked to:

"Move Stick thro' full movement & Press Fire Button"

Make  sure  that  you push the stick to its maximum deflection on each of the four
sides.  On some joysticks the maximum deflection is in the corners on others it is
in  the  middle  of  each edge, so to be certain of covering all the positions you
should  run along each edge and into each corner before pressing the joystick fire
button.

If the joystick is not connected then after a few seconds the following message is
displayed and the keyboard will be selected as the flight control device:

"CALIBRATION ERROR"  "Press Enter"

You may also see a message like:

"Warning: Poor Calibration" "Move trim to left and back"

This  message  indicates  in  which direction the trim controls should be moved to
improve  the  calibration.  It will only help if your joystick is fitted with trim
controls.

You will then be asked to

"ACCEPT" or "RETRY"

You  should  "chop"  the available trim range until the calibration screen accepts
the value.  For example, when you first calibrate with the trim centered you might
get the message:

"Move trim to RIGHT"

Move the trim to the furthest right, and try again. Now, you may get the message:

"Move trim to LEFT"

The  'correct' place is clearly somewhere between the two trim settings.  Move the
trim  half the distance back towards the left and retry the calibration.  You will
be  told  which  direction  to  move the trim this time.  Move it by only half the
distance you moved it last time.  Continue this process of halving the range until
your joystick is accepted.

With  certain  joysticks  there can be problems when initially moving the trim the
furthest distance:

On  some  joysticks it may be necessary to move the trim in the opposite direction
to  that  in  the  messages.  If you find that pushing the trim all the way in the
requested  direction  has no effect on the warning message, then try pushing it in
the opposite direction.  If this does change the warning message then you have one
of these non standard joystick designs.

It  can  be possible to move the trim so far in one direction that the calibration
code  cannot  produce any kind of calibration.  In these cases a calibration error
message  will  be  displayed.   Please try again, but do not push the trim control
quite so far.

This is the end of the joystick configuration for normal joysticks.

FLIGHTSTICK PRO AND THROTTLE CALIBRATION

For  the  FlightStick  Pro  and  Throttle  jovsticks  there  are two extra request
screens.    These vary depending on whether or not you have also selected analogue
rudder pedals.

If you have not selected rudder the first screen reads:

"Min Throttle" "& Press Fire Button"

You  may  arbitrarily decide to make your throttle work in either direction so you
can choose either end as the minimum.

If you have also selected Rudder pedals then this request will read:

"Min Throttle" "Centre Pedals" "& Press Fire Button"

If  the  screen  times  out, or the throttle or pedals cannot be detected then the
following  message  is  displayed  and the keyboard will be selected as the flight
control device:

"CALIBRATION ERROR"  "Press Enter"

If you have not selected rudder the second screen will show the following text:

"Max Throttle" "& Press Fire Button"

You  should  move  the  throttle  control  to the opposite extreme, then press the
joystick  fire  key.   If you have selected rudder the second screen will show the
following text:

"Max Throttle" "Move Pedals thro' full movement" "& Press Fire Button"

As  well as moving the throttle to the opposite extreme you should also press down
each of the rudder pedals in turn before pressing the joystick fire key.

If the centering of the rudder pedals is poor then you may be warned:

"Warning: Poor Calibration"  "Move trim to left & right"

See  the  section  above  entitled 'ALL JOYSTICKS' for advice on dealing with this
warning message.

THRUSTMASTER CALIBRATION

For  the  Thrustmaster  PFCS  coolie hat there are two additional request screens.
These vary depending on whether you have also selected analogue rudder pedals.

If you have not selected rudder the first screen reads:

"Centre Coolie" "& Press Fire Button"

If you have rudder selected the screen will read:

"Centre Coolie" "Centre Pedals" "& Press Fire Button"

The coolie centre position is the position it returns to when released.

If  the  screen times out, or the coolie hat or pedals cannot be detected then the
following  message  is  displaved  and the keyboard will be selected as the flight
control device:

"CALIBRATION ERROR" "Press Enter"

NOTE:  If  you  have  also attached the WCS (Weapon Control System) you can either
calibrate  the PFCS as a standard joystick and use the keyboard mapping program to
activate  the  coolie hat or you should set the switch to TEST and ANALOGUE on the
WCS.

If  you  have  not  selected rudder the second screen will then show the following
text:

"Move Coolie thro' full movement" "& Press Fire Button"

It is important that you push the coolie hat into all four possible positions.

If you have selected rudder the second screen will then show the following text:

"Move Coolie tho full movement. Move Pedals thro full movement & Press Fire Button"

It is important that you push the coolie hat into all four possible positions, and
press  down  each  of  the rudder pedals in turn before pressing the joystick fire
key.

If the centring of the rudder pedals is poor then you may be warned:

"Warning: Poor Calibration"  "Move trim to left/right"

See  the  section  above  entitled "ALL JOYSTICKS" for advice on dealing with this
warning message.

If  you have Thrustmaster's WCS Mk.II, which attaches to the keyboard port and can
emulate  the  keyboard  keys  that  controls  the  throttle,  as well as any other
functions, here are the keys that can be used for that unit:

.>            Max throttle
shift = +     Continuous large increases
pad +         Single large increases
= +           Continuous small increases
shift pad +   Single small increase
shift pad -   Single small decrease
_             Continuous small decreases
pad -         Single large decrease
shift _       Continuous large decreases
,<            Min throttle

RUDDER PEDALS

If you have selected Thrustmaster or FlightStick then you have already configured the
rudder. If you selected joystick and rudder pedals then the following two additional
screens will calibrate the rudder. Screen 1 requests:

"Centre Pedals"  "& Press Fire Button"

If  the  screen  times  out,  or  the pedals cannot be detected then the following
message  is  displayed  and  the  keyboard  will be selected as the flight control
device:

"CALIBRATION ERROR"   " Press Enter"

The second screen will then show the following text:

"Move Pedals thro'full movement" "& Press Fire Button"

Press  down  each  of  the rudder pedals in turn before pressing the joystick fire
key.  If the centering of the rudder pedals is poor then you may be warned:

"Warning: Poor Calibration" "Move trim to left/right"

See  the  section  above  entitled "ALL JOYSTICKS" for advice on dealing with this
warning message.

JOYSTICK CONTROLS

The  basic joystick provides elevator (pitch) and aileron (roll) controls, and two
fire  buttons.    Button "A" fires the guns.  Button "B" switches between guns and
other weapon types.

There are two additional buttons fitted to many extended joysticks:

Button "C" switches to track view.

Button  "D"  steps  through  the available targets in "Nearest Friendly", "Nearest
Unfriendly", and "Nearest ground target" views.

When available, the throttle controls the RPM of the aircraft.

When available, the four positions of the coolie hat are used to select additional
views and aircraft controls:

front:       Selects max RPM
back:        Engages and disengages air brakes
left:        Switches to an inside lock view of object currently being viewed
right:       Switches to an outside lock view of object currently being viewed.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION FOR ADVANCED JOYSTICK USERS

It  is possible to take advantage of the rudder, throttle and additional fire keys
using  two  joysticks attached to a two port joystick card or using a joystick "Y"
splitter.    Note that basic "multi i/o" cards fitted as standard on many machines
often  only  implement the standard two axes of one joystick, so a "Y" splitter or
an extended joystick will not work with these cards.

The  joystick  ports  fitted  to  SoundBlaster, and many compatible sound cards do
properly  support  two  joysticks,  but  the  "multi  i/o" joystick port should be
disabled  by a jumper on the card if you have one of each.  Wiring of the joystick
port can be found in the SoundBlaster manual.

On  the  second joystick you can use the trim control of the "Y" pitch axis as the
throttle,  and  the  left  and  right  movement of the joystick can be used as the
rudder.    This  is  similar  to a model aircraft controller.  In addition the two
extra buttons can be utilised.

The  sensitivity  and dead area parameters and the mapping of the joystick buttons
to features of the game is now held in the DRIVERS directory.

The  file  Custom.JOY  is selected if Custom is chosen from the sensitivity menu.
Changing this file will have an effect next time the game is run with the joystick
sensitivity set.

The format of this file is below:

The file starts with the 4 character string "STIK"

"STIK"  is  followed  by  the translate table for the elevators.  This table is 64
bytes  long and is indexed with absolute joystick Y position scaled to the range 0
to  63.    It  should  return  a value in the same range.  This is followed by six
overflow entries for elevator making 70 entries in total.

The  elevators  table  is  followed by the translate table for the ailerons.  This
table  is 64 bytes long and is indexed with absolute joystick X position scaled to
the  range  0  to  63.  It should return a value in the same range.  This table is
followed by six overflow entries for aileron to make 70 entries in total.

The aileron overflow entries are followed, by 0 word, which we have reserved.

The zero word is followed by the keyboard mappings for the various switches on the
joystick.  There are up to four buttons and four positions on the coolie hat.

Button  A  is reserved for fire.  The other seven switches are each encoded as two
consecutive  bytes  defining the scancode and simultaneous shift keys.  The values
for scancode can be found in PC references.  The values for shift keys are:

1    Normal - key on its own
2    Shift key pressed simultaneously
4    Alt key pressed simultaneously
8    Ctrl key pressed simultaneously.

Only  the  initial  press  event  is  detected  by  the  program  for  the  switch
translations,  so  they cannot be used to emulate keys that are normally held down
in use, such as the outside view rotates.

The order of the switch codes is:

Switch              Default use             Key          Encoding
Button A            Fire                    Space Bar
Button B            Chase                   F4           01 3E
Button C            Track view              F6           01 40
Button D            Next Viewee             Alt F        04 21
Coolie Left         Inside Lock             F9           01 43
Coolie Back         Air brakes              B            01 30
Coolie Right        Outside lock            F8           01 42
Coolie Forward      Return to cockpit       0            01 0B

The encodings for the coolie hat are as follows:

Coolie hat           Thrustmaster         FlightStick
 position                axis             Pro buttons

centred                  100%
left                      75%                AB-
back                      50%                ABC-
right                     25%                AB-D
forward                    0%                ABCD

Those  building  their  own  sticks  may like to note that our code allows +/- 10%
tolerance  in  the  Thrustmaster  position  reading,  and that the Flightstick Pro
blocks multiple button presses except for the patterns above for the coolie hat.

The Joystick type and range values are still held in the player record, but are no
longer externally modifiable.

We  have  added  JTEST.COM to the game directory.  This prograrm provides joystick
information in a graphical form:

1st Column      X axis
2nd Column      Y axis
3rd Column      Rudder
4th Column      Throttle
5th Column      Button A
6th Column      Button B
7th Column      Button C
8th Column      Button D

The  program  is  using  provided  as  a  backstop for people who can't get a good
calibration using the Dawn Patrol program.  Here are some notes on JTEST:

1.    The  +/- keys can be used to change the range of the columns printed so that
maximum does not go off the bottom of the screen.

2.    The  flicker  or  wobble  of  the columns represents noise.  If the joystick
wobbles a lot even when not touched then a lower sensitivity should be selected in
the  game.   If the whole column is 'flickery' then you may have multiple joystick
ports enabled on your machine.  Most cards have jumpers to disable the joystick.

3.    A  'gap'  at the top of a column indicates a very old joystick card in a new
fast  machine.   If you get calibration errors or other software doesn't like your
joystick this may be why.

4.   The JTEST can be used to trim the joystick.  The +/- keys are useful here, as
they  allow the output to be limited to one column.  This makes the job of finding
the trimmed centre much easier.  Sinmply note the position of maximum, minimum and
center  for  different  trim  positions  until  you find a point where maximum and
minimum are equidistant from center.  When this is found Dawn Patrol should accept
the joystick calibration.



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