FIGHTER BOMBER doc from Alien of The Pompey Pirates Text retyped (from Pompey's disk, using STEEM emulator) and adapted ZX Spectrum needs by Aleksandar Lukic on 14th March, 2005. QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FLIGHT controls Q/A = pitch O/P = roll Z/X = rudder Ca.Sh.+1 = 10% thrust, press again to cut engine(s) Ca.Sh.+2 = 20% thrust, press again to cut engine(s) ... Ca.Sh.+0 = 100% thrust, press again for afterburners ? = fine thrust control B = air brakes W = wheel brakes VIEW controls Sy.Sh.+1 = cockpit view ? = look around view (keys as View plane) ? = weapon view ? = enemy aircraft view Sy.Sh.+4 = control tower view ? = rear view ? = left/right view ? = satellite view ? = track view ? = view plane (pan L/R, U/D, zoom...) WEAPON controls Ent= change weapon Spc= fire weapon S = select Air target (Sidewinder, Aphid) S = select Ground target (Maverick, Kerry) C = chaff F = flare INFORMATION windows U= alter window mode (weapons, waypoints, off) N= next waypoint MISCELLANEOUS Sh+E = eject H= disengage fuel probe from tanker R= change radar range (3, 6, 12, 25 miles) P= pause on/off ? = go back a level during menus sh+T = accelerated time (free flight only) CREW BRIEFING An expectant hush fell over briefing room as the powerful figure of Major Lance 'Deadeye' Mulchay took the stage. Glancing around the unusually crowded room, he leant his enormous, battle-scared frame against the edge of his lectern. With a tap on the microphone, and the nod to his staff officers standing at the back he began. "Don't worry fellas, I ain't gonna sing." How many times he had said that, he wondered, and at how many briefings. The war was long time ago, but he felt every minute of it. "Ladies and gentlemen, and you flyers at the back there, welcome to Ellsworth Air Force Base." A nod to his left, and a series of slides began to appear on the screen behind him. "This is annual Strategic Air Command Bombing Competition; 10 years ago, the awesome collection of firepower out there on the tarmac would have been an unthinkable sight on a US Base. But in this days of detente, and goodwill to all meneven the Russkies," he paused for a laugh befitting a man of his seniority, "ha, ha - only kidding comrades; where was I? Oh yeah - in this days when cold war is becoming a fading memory, we of the free world can welcome pilots from all over to join us and test their capabilities against the best competition a defence budget can buy. This doesn't mean we're gonna let them out again, though, eh boys? Ha, ha." The Soviet contingent merely smiled, content in knowledge that in few hours they were going to get chance to wipe smile of ageing ace's face for good. The Major continued. "Behind me you can see an aviation legend - The Lancaster Bomber. Without that baby he map of Europe might well be different today. An enormous beast, it could deliver payload of staggering weight and destructive power. But it had one major problem - it was just too darn BIG. Little Messerschmitts used to creep up behind it and blow it out of the air. So we have to guard it, with other fighters like the Spitfire here, and Hurricane. This was the same with all those big guys - the Wellington, the Stirling, our own B-17 and so on. Near the end of war it become obvious that what we want was both, all in one plane. So we had the Mosquito, and later F-100, and the British Lightning, that began to combine the speed of fighter with the payload capacity of a bomber, and all in a much smaller package." Deadeye paused, for dramatic effect, and to smooth his moustache for the ladies. Both worked - the audience was his. "And now we have the bunch of death machines you see outside - Multi-Role Combat Aircraft from all over, from Soviets Mig 27 to ur own F-15. And in few hours you will see just what those babies can do. They will flly against each other in mock battle, they will take out strategic targets around this and neighbouring states - without any warheads, I can assure you," he added for the benefit of few front-benchers who had begun to look worried about the idea of armed MiG 27s flyinfg over Mid-West. "Oh, I don't know Chief," came a voice from thje back. "There's a few parts of Montana I guess we wouldn't miss." "OK Kowalski, very funny - now button it, or you're peeling potatoes all next week." One thing Majoor Mulchay hated worse than smart-ass flyer, it was one who got a bigger laugh than himself. But he recovered. "So fellow officers, welocome guests, and members of the press, prepare yourselves for a display of combat flying that'll knock your socks off, and may the best man win," he said peering at the Curtis E LeMay Trophy that stood in pride of place, waiting to won by the top team of the day. "As long as it's us, of course," he whispered quietly to himself. Some of the most spectacular scenery is set here - Mount Rushmore, the famous monument to the four historic presidents, Devil's Tower national monument, plains and towns of American Mid-West. In FIGHTER BOMBER you're the pilot who tries to be Ace of Aces. First you must be ready with a series of trainig misions. THE CURTIS E LeMay TROPHY prize that every aspiring Bomber Squadron hopes to gain, is presented in honour of the retired Commander in Chief of SAC. It's 1st victor, in 1958, was 92nd Bomb Wing of the USAF in a B-52D. From 1977 to 1982, USAF FB-111A stod victorious, while in miost recent years the trophy has been snatched twice by British 617 and 27 squadrons, both using Tornado. AIRCRAFT SELECTION 7 different aircrafts : * McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle - USAF [#1] * McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom - USAF * General Dynamics F-111F Aardvark - USAF [#1] * Panavia Tornado IDS - RAF * Panavia Tornado IDS - Luftwaffe [#1] * Saab AJ37 Viggen - Royal Swedish Air Force * Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-27 Flogger D - Soviet AF (CCCP) [#1] Not implemented in ZX Spectrum version Information on the ability of each of these aircrafts can be found by clicking on INFO. (not totally accurate!) These planes are displayed for selection as soon as game is loaded. A 2D and 3D presentations are available to you along with historical and technical information. Later missions will expect from you to recognize the kind of aircraft you're engaging. ENEMY AIRCRAFT SELECTION Uniquely FB allows you to select kind of enemy you'll encounter in various missions. Each enemy plane will respond to you differently and you'll learn which will represent the greatest challenge. You can fly against : - F-14 Tomcat - United States Navy - F-16 Falcon - USAF - F-5 Tigershark - USN/USAF - MiG-29 Fulcrum - CCCP - Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker - CCCP - Dassault Mirage 2000 - France - MiG-31 Foxhound - CCCP PILOT'S LOG Enter a new pilot on the roster screen. Type in name and press ENTER. Then select a pilot. Every time you fly, your progress is recorded and filed against your flight log. MISSION SELECTION For 1st flight in FB, we recommend FREE FLIGHT. (to familiarise yourself with the flight controls and become proficient at some of the more complex manoeuvres you'll need to master) It differs to every other stage of FB as it's onlty option that alows you to choose where you start from, and use ACCELERATED TIME - skip uneventfull flying! Start-point options are as follows: MT RUSHMORE Allows the programmers to show off [#1] ON RUNWAY Runway at Ellsworth AT 30000 FT Practice high altitude manoeuvres ABOVE BRIDGE Practice bombing runs OVER CITY Fly over Rapid City [#1] BEHIND TANKER Practice in-flight refueling [#1] LINED UP Practice landing procedure [#1] Not implemented in ZX Spectrum version Once you are accustomed to your controls and environment, then you can attempt the 1st of qualification missions. THE MISSIONS Each mission is only available when the previous one has been completed. To start, onlt operation 'Sleeper' is available under COVERT. Once a mission has ended, the mission briefing screen will appear, allowing you to examine the route flown and your mission report. To continue click END, then select NEW MISSION... *** Remember this is simulated war, if you get blown out of sky... pilot doesn't die, you just get another unsuccessful mission in log. If you want to look at not eligible missions, type as your name "HOORAY FOR MICK". You can then play any mission but you're stuck to that name!! Other 'interesting' names are: "KYLIE", "SO WHAT IF I DO" AND "BUCKAROO". *** MISSION BRIEFING (Original manual MISSES this bit entirely !!!) *** Options are: MISSION TEXT Mission brief, read carefully and remember !! AREA RECKON Check map area from a camera aircraft TARGET RECKON Check any target from camera aircraft TARGET INFO Tells you what any target is OK Commence mission *** MISSION DESIGN Options are: SELECT AIR BASE Select starting point, any of flashing diamonds. It's not compulsory to land at that base - may land anywhere that's got a runway! ADD TARGET Select target and position it on map REFUEL POINT Select altitude and position of the tanker DELETE LAST Clears the last entered target RECONNAISSANCE Allows you to view target areas in order to aid area & target recognition. Info can be obtained too. MISSION TEXT Allows you to enter description of mission. DISK MENU Load/Save missions. TEST MISSION Fly the mission, after which you get briefing, and are then returned to designer mode. END Leaves the mission designer. *** to save design, you need a separate blank disc *** ARMING After choosing mission, you must arm your aircraft appropriately. Weapons are selected by clicking over graphics and dragging it to the small underside view of plane. If a pylon is available, it will flash. Not all pylons are suitable for all weapons, some can carry multiple weapons e.g. 3 Mavericks. AUTO ARM will arm machine with a suitable payload, but it's often better to choose yourself. One exception is with F-15E, manually loading with Mavericks will give 13 in total, while auto arm gives 14 for some reason... ;-) Weapons available are: 1. 23/27 mm Cannon Used for closed combat, either internally or as centrally mounted pod taking up the centerline pylon. 2. Air to air missile (AAM) AIM-9L Sidewinder / Bofors Rb-24 / AA-8 Aphid Weight: 195 lb (88.5 kg) Performance: Mach 2.5 in 2.2 sec Range: 11 miles (17.7 km) Mission time: 60 sec max. Warhead: 25 lb (11.4 kg) blast/fragmentation with active laser IR proximity fuse *** yeah, all 3 exactly the same- eh... Activision? *** Sidewinder is AAM guided to the target by locking on to the heat emitted by an enemy aircraft's tailpipe. Afterburners make especially attractive targets to such misslile! As the missile locks on to a target, a rising growl sounds in pilot's headset until it reaches peek intensity at which point it's lock on, and pilot should fire. When the laser proximity fuse senses it is close enough to a target, it explodes, sending out hundreds of performed rods into the target. 3. Ait to surface missile (ASM) AGM-65A Maverick / Bofors Rb-75 / AS-7 Kerry Weight: 635 lb (288 kg) Performance: Classified Range: Up to 25 miles after Mach 1.2 release at altitude Warhead: 282 lb steel cased blast/fragmentation or 83 lb shaped charge AGM-65 is a video guided ASM. The pilot selects missile, causing it's gyro to spin up to speed and light up a weapon ready indicator on his control panel. The image from video camera is swung round on to the target and the pilot engages lock mode. He then uses either video display or his head-up display sight to lock on to the target. The weapon is then released,remains locked on to image of target and intelligently tracks it, even if it's moving. In event of interrupted image, the missile will follow it's last known trajectory. Even if the warhead fails to detonate, the heat caused by the impact would kill or disable a tank's crew for instance. 4. AGM-88A HARM Type: Anti Radiation missille Weight: 796 lb (361 kg) Performance: Mach 2+ Range: About 11 miles (17.7 km) Warhead: Fragmentation with proximity fuse Developed as a direct result of everincreasing technology used in modern air warfare. The missile uses radiation emitted by a ground radar tracking station to home in on. The pilot, suspecting an enemy is in the vicinty, can fire the missile 'blind'. If the enemy emits any kind of EMR, the missile will lock on. 5. Mk 13/18 Paveway II LGB Type: Laser-guided unpowered bomb Weight: 1,030 lb (467.6 kg) Performance: Freefall Range: Dependent on release altitude Warhead: High explosive Laser-guided bomb is system designed to improve the accuracy of conventional bombs. The target is illuminated with laser light, either by launch aircraft, a second aircraft, or even friendly ground troops. A ring of sensors around nose of the bomb detects the reflected laser light and by passing signals to the movable controls surfaces of the bomb, keep it aligned with target. The system cheap, effective and requires no modification to the aircraft. 6. General Purpose Bomb Type: Unguided unpowered bomb Weight: 1,000 lb (454.6 kg) Performance: as for LGB Range: as for LGB Warhead: as for LGB The accuracy of these babies has in past soley dependent on skill of crew, wind, etc. Coimputer in today's modern aircrafts take over calculating velocity, altitude, wind-shear, etc. the pilot is told when to press button and the computers do the rest. *** But not in this game! we're reduced to guessing when to drop the damn things... take my advice and never use the useless pieces of junk!! *** 7. JP-233 MWI - Airfield Denial Weapon Type: Submunition dispenser Weight: 11,200 lb (5080 kg) Payload: Various bomblets For parachute retarded payloads which include pavement cratering bomblets and anti-personnel mines with or without delayed action fuses. It's main use is for denying enemy forces airfields. *** Bomblets spread in a generally broad pattern, so cutting a swathe across all the nice clean tarmac! But, seeing there are no missions requiring runway denial, you'll never need this weapon. Another cockup from Vektor! *** 8. BOZ-100 ECM Pod - Chaff and IR Decoy flare dispenser Weight: 1,000 lb (454 kg) *** such devices are often fitted internally, but this is an externally carried one. It enables the aircraft under attack from missiles to defend itself in 2 ways: An IR guided missile follows strong heat emissions, so flare will fool it into tracking flare instead your tailpipe; and chaff - hundreds of strips of metal, will create an attractive radar target (for radar guided missiles). Don't worry about running out of either chaff or flares - you have infinite supply!! :-( *** 9. Durandal - Runway Penetration Bomb Weight: 430 lb (195 kg) Warhead: High explosive Simple but effective method of cratering/rendering useless enemy paved landing strips. The weapon is released as low as 185 ft and is immediately retarded by a parachute, causing it to point nose down. The rocket motor then fires the warhead deep into the concrete, from where it explodes upwards, creating a crater of up to 2,000 sq feet! *** see note above about JP-233 *** 10. Rocket Pods Mainstay of the ground attack arsenal since WW2. Pilot aims the aircraft at ground target and fires a salvo of high explosive shells direct in the line of flight, just like using the cannon. This is particullary effective against mobile armour. 11. ALARM - Air Launched Anti Radiation Missile Weight: 390 lb Performance: Awful Range: Abysmal Propulsion: Two stage solid propellant motor Warhead: Yes British equivalent of the US HARM missile. It is fired in the general direction of enemy positions (e.g. SAM sites) and climbs to around 40,000 ft. It then pitches nose down and falls slowly, under drogue parachute, while searching for hostile radio/radar emmissions. As soon as enemy 'switches back on', the missile locks on target and fires it's secondary motor, homing in on the enemy position. *** real range might be classified, but in game it seems to be paltry 2 miles!! I found it next to useless, probably better try Mavericks and lock on visually - tricky as radar sites are so tiny, closer you get, more likely you'll intrude in it's radar net... looks like they have simulated it perfectly - the real thing doesn't work either, does it? Ha ha! *** -------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, that's the original manual, the rest of this is all my own work... THE AIRCRAFT F-15E Originally a dedicated medium/short range fighter. Modified to 2 seat, and strenghtened to carry heavy ground attack payloads. Fast, manoeuvreable and carries a seriously large amount of weapons. Take it! F-4E Ancient (1960's) but a good workhorse. Fighter, also adequate as bomber. Used as such in Vietnam. Not particullary brilliant in any respect, but certanly not lacking either. F-111F Another golden oldie, poor manoeuvrability and sluggish handling will put you in hot water when under attack from other aircraft. It can carry large amount of weapons over large distances - Libya raid couple years ago. Tornado Bomber primarily, damn good, modified to ADV (Air Defence Variant) which is RAF's equivalent of F-15. Payload is excellent, responds well - good all-round choice. Viggen The aerial Volvo. Tough, dependable, extremely good at running rings around bandits. Payload not so... only light, range not as for Tornado/F-15. Fuel conserving not good, use motorways as landing strips in case of runways destroyed. Flogger Oh dear... payload is limmited and fuel is another problem. I'd go for this if all other planes had been nuked or something... And the opposition... F-14 Oooh... you're in deep (you know what).. if one of these shows up! Tough, fast, highly manoeuvrable long/medium/short range fighter. It's size will give you an advantage if you engage at high speeds - smaller aircraft turns tighter then F-14. F-16 Fast, tiny, mega manoeuvrable and seriously bad if weighted with bombs! If you don't get it on the 1st pass, you better run F-5 Used by US Navy, to simulate Soviet aicraft (watch Top Gun). Performance below F-16, but not much. Easy? Not so - speed and ferocity with which F-5s attack in game has to be seen to be believed! MiG-29 Soviet F-16? Nasty at close range... hit him quick or... Su-27 Wow, a gap in my knowledge... looks like tougher, possibly long range variation of MiG-29/F-16. Mirage 2000 Ha ha ha... a frog plane! Meant to be good all round fighter but problems at low speeds and altitudes. Watch out if he tries to sneak on you at high altitude... MiG-31 almost definitly Soviet F-15 - large, heavy, not primarily a dogfighter, it's more long range fighter. My favourite adversary - it's so big, can't turn tight, ends up making high speed passes and hoping for a good missile shot. COCKPIT DISPLAY *** nice one activision, leave out important bits! *** ADI/Artifical Horizon: brown/blue ball shows attitude of your plane Radar : switchable to ranges 25/12/6/3 miles. Some aircraft (Tornado) have better radars. When locked on to an air target, target's blip changes colour with better radars. Target display: shows 'NO AIR/GROUND TARGET', the altitude, speed, bearing of an air target or a zoomed picture of ground target. Information window: switchable, shows current waypoint/weapon ammo Undercarriage indicators: if green, wheels are ready to kiss concrete. If grey/black, wheels are safely retracted. If any 'combination' shows it's time to take a new career. Stall light: if lights up - you're below point at which airspeed is sufficient to keep you aloft. Aircraft will nose-dive, wait until your airspeed goes up again to 120 Kts and then pull up to avoid ploughing some farmer's field for free. IR light: if lights, there is an infra-red homing missile coming for a visit. Throw out some flares!! RH light: Radar Homing missile is about to arrive. Use chaff or die. Message window: major events e.g. 'CHAFF RELEASED', 'TARGET DESTROYED'. Air brake light: ... Wheel brake light: no doubt you can figure this one out. Fire light: never had it... anyway, if... nice invigorating walk home is recommended or stay and burn... Fuel indicator: when it hits bottom, you're flying a glider! Thrust indicator: engine's power... turns yellow when afterburner. Airspeed indicator: dial... totally useless, use HUD! Head Up Display (HUD): Altitude - shown on the right, above 'FT'. Airspeed - shown on the left, above 'KTS'. Heading - shown at the top (HDG) Current weapon: shown bottom left, if 'ARM' is above it, weapon is ready to fire, if 'LOCK' it's lock to a target, if 'nothing' there's no ammo left. Weapon sight: shown in centre, if weapon has sight. LANDING YOUR AIRCRAFT (nope, nothing about this in the manual... would you belive it ?!? Activision, what are you playing at??) REMEMBER the landing instructions are given in the mission text. If you're given a number for runway you need to land on, note it down. If you are given discretion about landing, you can land any airfield even civilian ones. To figure out what runway you need from number given - Runway number/points: 36=North, 18=South. Runway also have number on tarmac! It's actually heading needed to land on divided by 10. Also in some missions you're told to use '36L' or '18R', where R and L means left and right course. Now, once you have got the runway in sight, drop thrust to 20% to get your speed down. When at about 300 Kts, push it back up to 40%. Align yourself with the runway you're going to land (you may find a Maverick sight up will help). Point at the end of runway closest to you, drop speed below 300 Kts and lower undercarriage. Keep thrust around 40% to keep from stalling. you should be aiming for crossing the runway threshold at about 100 Ft and 190 Kts. Once over threshold, pull nose up level, drop thrust to 10% (if you cut the engine, you won't have a second chance as you won't get the thrust to pull up), hit the air brakes to drop speed around 140 Kts. Now you should besinking gently onto the tarmac - keep nose straight now! The lack of airspeed will cause altitude loss, so don't poiont nose down. When wheels hit the tarmac (did you bounce? yes? you useless...), cut the engine, hit airbrakes (if not on), wait a sec then hit the wheelbrakes. Wait till you roll to a stop, and voila! Landing complete! On some missions you are required to land at more then one airfield - to pick up and drop secret cargoes at secret airfields. Just land and take off as normal. INFLIGHT REFUELING Incredibly tricky to start with! Practice option is of limited use - to make some use of it, you'll have to alter your heading a lot and get well off the perfect approach you're lumbered with! For the real thing, you'll probably fly right past the tanker as it flies head to head with you. So, hit airbrakes, pull round as tightly as possible and follow it. Mach altitude as exactly as possible, keep wings level and use the rudder to position yourself exactly behind tanker. Now keep your speed at around 350 Kts and let the tanker crew to do the work. the tanker should line itself up pretty well, and drift towards you. When the refuelling basket is just about to hit your probe (or even if it's just missed and you're about to overshoot), hit airbrakes again. The probe should lock firmly into basket, and you are now 'snouting' successfully! Disengage when your fuel is full, and dive away to avoid hitting the tanker. A tip: tanker always heads due South when crew sight you, so try and get tanker heading to be 180, then match the heading yourself. AIR TO AIR COMBAT When you first realise somebody's got their eye on you, turn hard towards them to get into firing position quickly! If they're very close or you can't see them even though radar says they're right next to you, break hard away from their radar position - this means they're very close - maybe even below you, that's bad news, collisions aren't fun! If you can eyeball them, hit them quick with missiles - but do wait for a good steady lock-on tone. Hear any beeps? Trouble - somebody's REALLY got their eye on you - that's missile warning. Hit the flares and break hard right or left - or even up if you are desperateTrade altitude for speed to shake off any annoying bogies - though F-16 and it's counterparts won't be held off for long by doing these. Most important lesson: hit any bandits quickly, or you won't be around to try again! If you think you have the time, try using the enemy aircraft's view - the position your plane is shown in will help you find enemy. Finaly never underestimate your opponent, or the risk of collision - keep an eye on the radar at all times. If he's getting close, dive as steeply as possible (or climb with afterburner). A tip: if you're out of missiles and cannon, just keep using flares and go home. The enemy will exaust his missile supply and just follow you to annoy you. Then the only riusk is that he'll try a kamikaze run on you! WEAPON DELIVERY Pretty streaight forward - only bombs, JP-233 and ALARMs seem tricky to use. JP-233 spreads its bomblets well ahead of the point you release it, depending on your airspeed. Use satellite view on free flight to practice using it successfully. Unguided bombs are much the same, but require even greater accuracy. ALARM (much like real thing I'm told), is pretty useless. You've got to within 3 miles of an active radar and you have to use it like a rocket pod - point the plane at the target and then release the weapon. Only use ALARM if you can't afford a Maverick! Flying at around 500 ft, Maverick can be locked on to a target at around 16 miles, and fired immediately. Then you can turn away and forget about it! If all else fails, go for a low speed, low altitude pass with your cannon centered on the target, and let rip. the cannon is remarkably good at its job in this game! Air to air weapons are different - cannon is used in much same way, but I wouldn't advise getting that close to a bandit - collision risk. Instead take him out with a Sidewinder (or equivalent). Press S to lock on to the target, manoeuvre so he's in your sights, wait for the circle to lock on the target square, and when circle is red and you get a steady lock-on tone, hit fire. Splash one MiG (or whatever)! OK guys... that's all I can think of! If I've missed anything, don't blame me - blame activision for supplying such a crappy manual!