Aces of Europe from Dynamix ( Sierra ) *********************** Quick Docs By Fanfan LaTulipe *********************** Introduction ^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is yet another Warplane Dogfight game. Not being very keen on this particular type of game, I would be tempted to bag this and wait for something more to my liking. However, a single glance at this game made me realize that this was quite an interesting piece of software. A simple intro with the rythmic yet quiet rolling of martial drums, a single melodious tune reminescent of a tale of guts and glory... And on a pastel blue sky, rolling waves of milky white clouds... Fending the winds with the ease of the great raptors, the colorful fuselage of those WWII Iron Birds of Prey, taking the hideous conflict raging below to the heavenly heights, and engaged in a deadly dance of daring moves and show of nerve... The game possesses an impressive set of menus and options, providing a greatly detailed realism scale to the action. The simple yet effective graphics and the ease of the animation ( tested on a 386sx20!!! ) will have to appeal to the most demanding player. And the controls are so basic that it'll take no-time to anyone to fully familiarize themselves with them. I now will provide a list of all those options and controls, hoping to ease the play for some of you out there... The Cockpit ^^^^^^^^^^^ Velocity in Stall Warning Altitude Miles/Hour Flaps Position Light Indicator Velocity in Velocity in Rotation/Minutes Heading Angle vs Rotation/Minutes Level to Ground Landing Gear Bank Dive Break Switch Indicator Switch Those are the relative positions of the Switches and Gauges affecting the game... I ommited couple lights ( including the low fuel light, because it was my understanding that the realism panel forces unlimited fuel mode ). The Keys ^^^^^^^^ Views: F1 : Front * F2 : Back * F3 : Right * F4 : Left * F5 : Above F6 : Under F7 : Trailing plane view ( Squadrons ) * Enter : Toggle inside/ouside of cockpit view for all of the above ] : Zoom in in outside views [ : Zoom out on outside views A : Autopilot ( Use that to get to location after taking off from the base the option isn't available if you start on location ) B : Dive Break F : Flaps 1/2 Extended, Extended, Retracted G : Guns : Toggle number of guns to use ( varies between plane types ) L : Landing Gear in/out M : Map : A nice map of Europe indicating axis/allies airfields and your current postion. Mouse controlled like menues. Clicking you may set your destination or get info on various airfields such as: -Name -Distance from airfield -Bearing P : Pause Q or ESC : Exit R : Fire Rockets ( Only where available ) S : Send Radio Message U : Unjamm Gun ( only if Jammed, in the Gun Jamming reality mode only ) W : Wheel Brakes ( after landing ) > : Right Rudder < : Left Rudder / : Center Rudder Alt D : Mouse on/off Alt J : Joystick on/off Alt M : Music on/off Alt S : Sound on/off Alt R : Reality Panel ( Described later on ) Alt X : Exit to DOS Ctrl B : Bail Out Numbers 1-0 : Throttles + : Increase Throttles - : Decrease Throttles Space Bar : Fire Guns Arrows : Up : Dive Down : Climb Right : Roll to right Left : Roll to left F10 : Preferences Menu: Options: - Flight ( Mouse/Keyboard/Joystick/etc... I recommand Joystick ) - Rudder ( " " " " Keyboard ) - Throttle( " " " " Keyboard ) - Time Scale - Aircraft Details - World Details - Ground Details - Resolution I personnaly found it easier to use the joystick for the flight control and keep all the other controls on keyboard. Taking off & Landing Instructions ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ->Take Off : Full throttles Wait a little for speed to build up then pull down to take off Watch pulling too much ( Stall light indicator ). If you stall the give a little push back down to bring the nose down a little. Raise the Landing Gear ->Landing : Pull Landing Gear out Keep the speed high Navigate to line up with the runway at about 1 large unit of altitude Descend toward the runway Reduce your rate of descent to almost nothing at an altitude of less than one small unit Extend your flaps Thouch down with the minimal rate of descent Use thw Wheel brakes and reduce throttles to zero Menus ^^^^^ -> Main Menu --------- ---> Fly Single Mission: + Training : Select between the following: - Areal Gunnery ( Dogfight ) - Anti - Shipping ( Sink Ships ) - Intercept - Ground Attack ( Blow-up ground targets ) - Landing + Dogfight an Ace : Choose the ace's nation and identity Select your/his plane Select confrontation altitude Give (or not) an advantage to either side Select weather conditions + Dogfight a Squadron : Select up to 4 planes for your squadron and the crew Select planes for both sides Select opponent's skill Give advantage Select Weather + Fighter Sweep : Select the composition of your Squadron Choose both sides' planes Select ennemy skill Select Weather + Scramble : Like Fighter sweep, except you are starting on ground while your airbase is under fighetr attack + Escort Bombers : Like Fighter Sweep except your duty is to protect relatively helpless Bombers from ennemy fighters ( your strategy has to be different as some planes will try to lure you away from the bombers as others will take them down ) + Historic Mission : Select a nation and a mission from the areal campaigns it was engaged in. This option contains a wealth of historical missions including all types of targets/duties + Intercept Bombers : Like Fighter Sweep but you are to eliminate ennemy bombers. + Anti-Shipping Strike : Like Fighter Sweep, but Strike a naval convoy protected by Fighters. + Interdiction : Like Fighter Sweep except this is a Ground Strike on tanks and the targets are protected by fighters. + Close Support : Like Fighter Sweep except it's a ground strike against fortified Positions protected by fighters. + Crossbow : Similar to close support, and you're to destroy top secret german V2 installations + Best Mission : This is the "High Score hall of fame" You can select the Debriefing Stats of the best missions Debriefing Stats Include: -Mission Score -Aircrafts Lost -Confirmed Kills in terms of: Aircrafts Ships each both personal and Squadron Ground Targets ---> Career Menu : This is an outline of the steps involved in this "campaign" mode: - Choose your Nation - Select your initial Rank + 2nd Lieutenant + 1st Lieutenant + Captain - Select amongst the possible missions the one you want to fly - Select amongst the available squadrons the one you want to fly in + Your rank affect your position in the squadron + Pay attention to the Aces the Squadron might have. While this will help you survive difficult missions, they'll tend to take the glory away by scoring the most kills + You're also given the Airfield you're based on and the overall pilots quality - Select from the Airbase Menu Options + Fly the Next mission + Squadron Info ( the one you just selected earlier ) + View Map ( Cf key M ) + View Pilot Reccords: - your score - number of mission flown and related info - dates - nation - squadron - Campaign & Mission - Kill List - Medals & Awards + View Aircraft : Get a visual on the plane ( can zoom in/out on it and change angles ) View Info on the plane's statistics + Backup Career ( Save game ) - After you opted for flying the mission you are given a Briefing + you can decline + Define the reality options you want to experience + View the flight maps again - At the mission's conclusion you are Debriefed, and provided with the data mentioned earlier in the Best Mission portion of the Fly Single Mission ---> View Vehicles - Select a nation ( US/UK/German ) - Select Vehicle type + Airplanes + Ships + Vehicles : This includes : Tanks Jeeps Trucks Half-Track Ducks ( Amphibious Trucks ) This option enables you to get a visual on each vehicle type, change the view angles and Zoom in/out. It alos gives you the name and historical data on the unit, along with a statistics sheet. It is quite entertaining and instructive to take a minute a browse... ---> Other Options - Preferences - Reality Panel : + Set the Difficulty Level : Novice/Intermediate/Expert + Reality Factors: + Sun Blind Spot : You get the Sun glare in your field of vision, depending on the weather and your position relative to the Sun + Realistic Weather + Gun Jamm Allowed : Rats! Can't fire! Time to unjam and engage escape procedures because you won't be keeping that bandit's trail for much longer! + Engine Burnout : That would suck, wouldn't it! Bail out and hope for the best + Blackouts allowed + Limited Ammo : Nice option to learn how to shoot and make the game realistic + Limited Fuel : NOT AVAILABLE, for some unknown reason + Damaged Aircraft : Well, Tear and Wear can do that and surprise you at the most inconvenient time + Mid Air Collision : Excellent option to get a notion of distances while tailing bandits or sweeping in the middle of Bomber waves. + No In-flight info : Some accasional messages don't pop up... not a great loss if you ask me. + Set the difficulty for the -Combat level -Flight mode On the overall, the default is set around a 44% overall difficulty. You should increase it a bit to make it more challenging... At most, you can reach 94% and test your wing the hard way. - Watch Demo - Read Credits ---> Mission Reccorder: At the conclusion of a mission, you are always given to tape the mission... This is where you will use the interactive VCR and replay it. The controls ( use the mouse ) are the same as any VCR, and in addition to watching the action, you can actually Bud In!!! You can take over the control at any one point and "remake" history Conclusion ^^^^^^^^^^ I hope you will enjoy this file. I made it out of concern of people not using the full potential of this multi-option game. I realize that New Order released The keys earlier Today ( I've been long to write this due to a raging Hang-Over : MD 20/20, Tequilla & Guiness Stout don't Mix ) but I believe you can still get something out of this file. I send the following personal Greets : + Bandieto : This one's for you + Nexus : Thanks for another high quality release + Trinity : A much Better Review, but I need to adress 2 points: 1: I quote the writer of the file : " I'm not sure what year this was in, but I assume it was WWII " Dude! Out of respect for the memory of the Thounsands of GIs that gave their lives on the shores of Normandie to help free my Gran-Pa a french resistant in the jails of pro-germany Vichi, and in a hommage to the Millions of soldiers and unspoken heros that selflessly gave their lives to fight one of the worst evils of human history, I must URGE you to maybe spend less time writing reviews and go get yourself a sound education. Axis/Allies, Mono-planar planes! That shouldn't even have been thought about!!! 2 : I quote again : " They ( Sierra ) couldn't have done a better job! " While this is truely a great software, I see room for considerable improvement such as in the career mode, the consideration for fuel requirements on fighters when attacking incoming bombers : The Fighters had to escort the bomber on small ranges only cause of the lack of fuel and bombers would be sitting ducks the rest of the way... This is just a detail, but I could go on forever. My point is that that sentence was just a cute wording with nothing to back it up... Until Next time, Fanfan la Tulipe Sysop of the Kraal in AC 301