This FAQ is by Kristoffer Ongbongan (krismon@neuromancer.hacks.arizona.edu). Any and all comments, questions, corrections, flames, etc. are always welcome. 1.0 The Falcon 3.0 Mailing List 2.0 FALCON VERSION HISTORY, PATCH FILES AND UPGRADES 2.1 FALCON 3.01: OPERATION FIGHTING TIGER 2.2 FALCON VERSION INFORMATION 2.2.1 Version 3.05 changes 2.2.2 Version 3.04 changes 2.2.3 Version 3.03 changes 2.2.4 Version 3.02.1 changes 2.2.5 Version 3.02 changes 2.2.6 Version 3.0e and version 3.01.1 changes 2.2.7 Version 3.0d through 3.0a changes 2.3 MIG 29: DEADLY ADVERSARY OF FALCON 3.0 2.4 MIG-29 VERSION INFORMATION 2.4.1 Version 1.04 changes 2.4.2 Version 1.03 changes 2.4.3 Version 1.02 changes 2.4.4 Version 1.01 changes 2.5 Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter 2.6 HORNET VERSION INFORMATION 2.6.1 Version 1.02 changes 2.6.2 Version 1.01 changes 2.7 Falcon Gold 3.0 FALCON UTILITIES 3.1 UTILITIES FOR FALCON 3.0D - 3.01 3.1.1 FALCONER 3.1.2 F3MAPS 3.1.3 FALCCALC 3.1.4 F3PAD 3.1.5 FCE - Falcon Campaign Editor 3.2 UTILITIES FOR FALCON 3.02, MIG-29 FULCRUM, AND F-18 HORNET 3.2.1 KEYBOARD COMMANDER CORPS UTILITIES 3.2.2 Ken `Stinger' Richarson's SIMPAK Utilities 3.2.3 TM-STICK 4.0 WHERE TO GET PATCHES AND UTILITIES 4.1 SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE CUSTOMER SUPPORT 4.2 FTP.K9.COM ANONYMOUS FTP ARCHIVE AND MIRRORS 4.3 TRADE CENTER BBS and other SIMNET nodes 4.4 COMPUSERVE GAMEPUB FORUM (library 3) 4.5 ELECTRONIC BATTLEFIELD SERIES FAQ FTP SITE 5.0 FALCON REFERENCE MATERIAL 5.1 FALCON 3.0: THE COMPLETE HANDBOOK 5.2 FALCON 3: THE OFFICIAL COMBAT STRATEGY BOOK 5.3 FALCON 3.0 AIR COMBAT 5.4 FALCON3: AIR COMBAT TRAINER 5.5 FIGHTER COMBAT: THE ART AND SCIENCE OF AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT 5.6 FALCON3 WAIS LIBRARY 5.7 Falcon 3 Modem Bible 5.8 Electronic Battlefield Series WWW page 6.0 UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES 6.1 INCREASING AIRCRAFT DETAIL LEVEL 6.2 UNDOCUMENTED KEYS 6.3 EXPLOITING THE HIDDEN LANDING CAPABILITIES OF YOUR F-16! 6.4 THE GOD'S-EYE VIEW IN FALCON 3.0 (DEBUG MODE) 6.4.1 SOME HOT SPOTS WORTH LOOKING AT IN THE FALCON 3.0 WORLD 6.5 SAY "CHEESE" -- THE BUILT-IN SCREEN SHOT FEATURE OF FALCON 3.0 6.6 A FEW OTHER HIDDEN FEATURES WORTH MENTIONING... 7.0 OTHER FAQ'S 7.1 FALCON 3.0 HIGH FIDELITY FLIGHT MODEL 7.2 COMMON BUGS 7.2.1 COPY LEADER BUG 7.2.2 WINGMEN WON'T LAND AT ALTERNATE FIELDS 7.2.3 MAKING THE MUD MOVE: AIR-TO-GROUND BUGS 7.3 AVOIDING SAMS 7.4 FALCON 3.0 SQUADRON LISTINGS 7.5 GUIDE TO WINGMAN RADIO TRANSMISSIONS (COMPLETE AND UNCENSORED!) 7.6 FALCON AND SCSI PROBLEMS 7.7 OS/2 AND FALCON 8.0 THANKS (in no particular order) 1.0 The Falcon 3.0 Mailing List All subscription requests concerning mailing lists on host k9.com (including falcon3) are handled by an automated server. To subscribe to falcon3, send the following in an email message to "majordomo@k9.com": subscribe falcon3 This will subscribe the account from which you send the message to the falcon3 list. If you wish to subscribe another address instead (such as a local redistribution list), you can use a command of the form: subscribe falcon3 other-address@your_site.your_net To find out more about the automated server, send the following command to "majordomo@k9.com": help If you feel you need to reach a human, send email to falcon3-approval@falcon3.k9.com Here's the general information for the falcon3 list: Last updated: 12 November 94 ************* ************* IMPORTANT NOTICE: You MUST send your submissions to "falcon3@falcon3.k9.com" for the list. You MUST send your requests for add/delete to "majordomo@k9.com" in the form of "subscribe falcon3". ************* ************* Hi! You are now on the Falcon 3 mailing list. Submissions may be sent to "falcon3@falcon3.k9.com". A uucp path would be "...!uunet!falcon3.k9.com!falcon3" The email sent to this address is sent directly to the list. If you have any questions, problems, (or want to talk :-) send them to "jeff@k9.com" Also, there is an archive for this mailing list. Here's the information on accessing the falcon3 archives for back- issues. Archives for the list are available via anonymous FTP. The archives are located on ftp.k9.com [147.28.0.161] in ~ftp/pub/falcon3. Note, that most often, direct access to ftp.k9.com is not available. There is a mirror on the site cactus.org:/pub/falcon3. Later, -Jeff - -- Jeff Beadles jeff@k9.com Keeper of the Falcon 3 mailing lists 2.0 FALCON VERSION HISTORY, PATCH FILES AND UPGRADES The release of Falcon 3.0 in December, 1991 was accompanied by many bugs that Spectrum HoloByte has addressed in a series of software bugfix patches. The patches to the original Falcon 3.0 program were released as versions A, C, and D. Spectrum HoloByte has also released an add-on campaign disk for use with Falcon 3.0 called Operation Fighting Tiger. Falcon 3.0 modified by the addition of OFT is referred to as Falcon 3.01. A bugfix patch to Falcon 3.01 has been released as version 3.01.1. In July, 1993, SH released a second add-on product for Falcon 3.0 called MiG-29, Deadly Adversary of Falcon 3.0. To maintain compatibility between the various versions of Falcon 3.0, OFT, and MiG-29, SH released a patch called version 3.02 which upgrades any version of Falcon 3.0 or OFT to a common standard. Soon afterwards, SH released the patch for MiG-29 and Falcon, to upgrade to 1.01 and 3.02.1 receptively. Around this time, the MiG-29 stand alone was released, which fused the MiG-29 add-on with the scenarios of Falcon 3.0. In December, 1993, SH released a third add-on product for Falcon 3.0 called Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter. To maintain compatibility with the various versions, a patch was included for updating Falcon 3.0 and MiG-29 to 3.03 and 1.02 respectively. Soon afterwards, SH released the patch for Hornet, Mig-29 and Falcon, to upgrade to 1.01, 1.03, and 3.04 respectively. These are the latest versions as of this writing. For Falcon 3.0 owners who did not decide to purchase the OFT campaign disk, SH made an E patch available which included many of the new features introduced in OFT. However, version 3.02 was released almost immediately after version E. As a result, patch E was never made widely available, and has in virtually all respects been superseded by version 3.02. Current shipping copies(new) of Falcon 3.0 contain version 3.0E. Its mention in this FAQ is for the sake of completeness. Earlier this year Spectrum Holobyte released Falcon Gold CD. Which contained Falcon 3.05, MiG-29 1.04, Hornet 1.02, Operation Fighting Tiger, and Art of the Kill. This is the same software that comes on the disk, but on CD, it can be installed on the hard drive or run from the CD. All patches are cumulative (for example, version D includes all software changes from patches A and C, installation of OFT includes all changes from version D, and installation of version 3.02 brings any previous version to a 3.02 standard). You can tell which version you have by looking at the title screen, which is the screen with the pilot looking over his shoulder at the F- 16. The version number appears on the bottom of the screen as, for example, V3.0C. Additionally, starting in version 3.02, SH includes a CHECKVER.COM file which, when run, displays which versions reside in the directory. FALCON 3.0 Designation Date & Comments -------------------- ---------------------- 3.0 12/91 3.0a 1/92 (bug-fix) 3.0c 3/92 (more bug-fixes) 3.0d 6/92 (still MORE bug-fixes) 3.0e 7/93 (equal bug fix status as 3.01.1) 3.01 7/92 (Operation Fighting Tiger) 3.01.1 9/92 (the bugs strike back, but are fixed) 3.02 7/93 (compatibility with MiG-29 1.0) 3.02.1 9/93 (minor bug-fixes to match MiG-29 1.01.1) 3.03 12/93 (compatibility with Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter 1.0, MiG-29 1.02) 3.04 2/94 (more bug-fixes and match with Hornet 1.01, MiG-29 1.03) 3.05 10/94 (some more bug fixes and to match Falcon Gold, Hornet 1.02, and MiG-29 1.04) Version 3.05 is the latest as of this writing. MiG-29: Deadly Adversary of Falcon 3.0 (Falcon 3.0 add-on) MiG-29 (stand-alone version) Designation Date & Comments -------------------- ---------------------- 1.00 Original release 7/93 1.01 9/93 (bug-fixes) 1.01.1 10/93 (compatibility with Falcon 3.02.1) 1.02 12/93 (compatibility with Hornet 1.0,Falcon 3.03) 1.03 2/94 (compatibility with Hornet 1.01, Falcon 3.04) 1.04 10/94 (some more bug fixes and to match Falcon Gold, Hornet 1.02, and Falcon 3.05) Version 1.04 is the latest as of this writing. The original MiG-29 release required Falcon 3.0 (since it used RTPatch to patch the versions and add/modify the Falcon files). The stand-alone version was released around October 1993. HORNET: NAVAL STRIKE FIGHTER Designation Date & Comments -------------------- ---------------------- 1.00 12/93 (original release) 1.01 2/94 (bugfixes and compatibility with MiG-29 1.03/ Falcon 3.04) 1.02 10/94 (some more bug fixes and to match Falcon Gold, Falcon 3.05, and MiG-29 1.04) Version 1.02 is the latest as of this writing. Latest copies of stand-alone Falcon made after 8/93 conform to version 3.0e. There was never a version 3.0b of Falcon, since pirated copies infected with a virus were being passed around as "Falcon 3.0b" Spectrum decided to rename their next patch after 3.0a to 3.0c. Whether you have Falcon 3.0, OFT, and/or MiG-29, and/or Hornet make sure you have the latest patch version. In addition to fixing bugs, the patches add game features omitted from previous versions. These changes are documented in README files supplied with the patch files. It's also desirable to run the most recent version if you want to find other players for modem play, since the game must be at the same version on both PC's for the connection to succeed. The process of upgrading to any version of the game causes all squadrons you've formed and any tapes you've recorded with the ACMI to be unusable with the new version. You may want to finish any campaigns in progress beforehand. Upgrade patches to Falcon 3.0D, 3.01.1, and 3.02 can be obtained from Spectrum HoloByte, or downloaded via anonymous FTP from FTP.K9.COM or its mirrored sites. Refer to section 4.0 of this FAQ for instructions. 2.1 FALCON 3.01: OPERATION FIGHTING TIGER Operation Fighting Tiger is a commercially-available campaign disk add-on product for Falcon 3.0. Installation of OFT will upgrade Falcon 3.0 to version D standards, and include its own enhancements, bringing it to version 3.01. The improvements to Falcon 3.0 made available in OFT, such as new wingman commands, improved TWI codes, landing aids, new radio messages, etc., can be obtained by non-OFT Falcon 3.0 owners by applying the version E or 3.02 patches. Additions unique to the Falcon 3.01 OFT add-on disk include: - New campaign theaters: Pakistan, Korea, and the Kurile Islands - New plane types: MiG-31 Foxhound, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, J-7 Airguard, Q-5 Fantan, the hypothetical Russian UMF (unmanned fighter), F-5 Tiger, Mistubishi F1, and the FSX, an advanced version of the F-16. - New missions: Anti-ship, train-busting, and others To fix bugs found in OFT, Spectrum HoloByte has released a patch file called 3.01.1. Refer to section 4.0 for instructions on how to obtain the patch file from SH or via anonymous FTP from FTP.K9.COM or its mirrors. 2.2 FALCON VERSION INFORMATION These is the list of the changes made by the patches, taken directly from the readme.txt distributed with the patch. 2.2.1 Version 3.05 changes * If your joystick was calibrated incorrectly in version 3.04, you could pull more than 9.9 Gs. This problem is now fixed. * Sometimes the plane would unexpectedly roll left in version 3.04. This problem is now fixed. * You will now be assigned to an appropriate air base in the Bosnia theater. Your wingmen will no longer crash into mountains when taking off and landing. * Campaigns now last longer than two days in the Bosnia theater. * Your wingmen will be more aggressive in engaging enemy planes, especially when returning home. * TM-STICK (developed by Ken "Stinger" Richardson and ThrustMaster) has been updated in version 2.1 to work with Falcon 3.05. In addition, TM-STICK 2.1 works with earlier versions of Falcon 3.0. For more information on TM-STICK, please read TM- STICK.TXT. 2.2.2 Version 3.04 changes * Some users reported a problem where the views would switch around without any user input. This no longer happens. * Serious joystick control and calibration problems found in version 1.0 have been fixed. The joystick inputs are now linear, and there is a "null zone" of 20% of the stick's travel. What this means is that the plane will react evenly to gradual increases in stick pressure, and that slight movement of the stick near the center point will not cause the plane to jerk around. * AMRAAMs are now available in communications play. * When you press Ctrl-K (to jettison all stores), you will still keep your wingtip missiles, even if they are AMRAAMs. 2.2.3 Version 3.03 changes * Several users reported a problem where if you create a squadron, take off and return, create another squadron, take off and return, then try to fly another mission with the first squadron, the game would crash with a message saying "Fatal Error! Cannot Create File!" This was related to the number of planes in a squadron and has been fixed. 2.2.4 Version 3.02.1 changes * Problems with joystick calibration are now fixed. * The coolie hat problem when switching between cockpit and scroll lock views has been fixed. * Some users reported difficulty with rolling right. This problem is now fixed. * Some users reported problems with pitching upward when in any outside view. The problem was that the plane would not go beyond 30 degrees upward pitch until the player switched back to an inside cockpit view. This problem has been corrected. 2.2.5 Version 3.02 changes * The blackout/redout model has been upgraded. Blackout and redout conditions are defined by pilot G tolerance, maximum blackout duration and degree of control over the plane during blackout. Flight Model G tolerance max. duration control ------------- ----------- ------------- ------- Simplified 300% normal 1 second normal Moderate 200% normal 1 second none Complex 150% normal 15 seconds none High Fidelity normal 30 seconds none To recover from blackout or redout, center the flight stick. If you continue to pull the stick, you will remain blacked out until you release it. Blackout and redout may seem rather sudden under the new model. Increasing your G load gradually instead of suddenly will greatly extend this onset time. Your pilot's G tolerance decreases over the course of a mission due to the cumulative strain of repeatedly pulling high Gs. As a pilot's G tolerance decreases, blackout and redout will occur more suddenly and at lower G values. * In the OPTIONS menu there is a new selection called G ONSET. There are four settings: No Effect, Moderate, Difficult and Realistic. These settings refer to the likelihood of blackout due to rapid G onset. G onset defaults to Moderate. Blackout can be caused either by continuous high Gs or by sudden G onset (such as going from 1 to 10 Gs instantly). At the No Effect setting, G onset has no effect on blackout. At the Moderate setting, the effects of G onset on blackout are slight. At the Difficult setting, G onset plays a major part in determining blackout conditions but not as much as in reality. At the Realistic setting, blackout from rapid G loading is as likely as it is in reality. * The joystick calibration routine now includes coolie hat calibration for the ThrustMaster Flight Control System. * Version 3.02 supports CH Products' FlightStick Pro. On the System Setup screen, you can now choose the FlightStick Pro as your control device. * The "coolie hat" on the ThrustMaster and CH FlightStick Pro control views in Falcon 3.0. The coolie hat view controls are: back=Padlock View, left=Left View, right=Right View, forward=Forward View. If you are already in Forward View, forward=heads-up (Scroll Lock) View. The coolie hat functions built into Falcon 3.0 override any other coolie hat programs (such as F3COOLIE, Pilot's Edge, etc.) you may have installed. Occasionally, there may be a conflict between Falcon 3.0 and third-party coolie hat programs which can make the game crash. Do not use any TSRs or other programs that read or reprogram the coolie hat when playing Falcon 3.0. * The Padlock View shows some new information. In the upper left corner window is the target identification, followed by the range to target in nautical miles (NM). The range now shows tenths of miles. Next is your altitude above ground level (AGL) and airspeed in knots. The airspeed shown is in knots true airspeed (KTAS). Last is the current load factor (in Gs). In the upper right corner window are three new indicators. As always, the warning "REAR" appears if the target is behind you. Beneath this, the indication "BRK" now appears if your speed brakes are on. Just below the "BRK" indicator, the indication "AB" comes on if your afterburner is engaged. * The ECM model has been changed to be more realistic. Instead of consistently jamming radar or always breaking radar lock, there is now a continuing battle between ECM systems and fire control radars. The result is that a plane using ECM will occasionally still get locked up, but only for a few moments. Likewise, if you are tracking a plane that uses ECM, your radar lock will be broken and re-established over and over again as your fire control systems battle the target's ECM. * Menu bar selections are now saved. * All animations have been disabled when in communications mode to prevent timing conflicts. 2.2.6 Version 3.0e and version 3.01.1 changes The following changes were introduced as part of Operation: Fighting Tiger (both versions 3.01 and.01.1) and Falcon 3.0e. Night mode * The night mode has been darkened to make it more realistic and more exciting for certain types of missions. * Stars have been added at night and can be seen in actual astronomical positions. * Visual contact will be made at a shorter distance at night. Objects * U.S. insignias have been added to the F-16. * The F-16 cockpit glass is now a clear gold instead of an opaque blue when looking at an F-16 from the outside. * Lights have been added to the wingtips of the F-16, and they turn on when the landing gear is down. Sound and music * Some messages that previously used static have been replaced with new digitized messages. Weapons * Some missiles have had their ranges increased to be more realistic. (For example: the Phoenix fired from the F-14 can now be fired from about 80 miles away.) * The SAM radar cones have been adjusted to be more realistic. * AMRAAMs are now more realistic and more effective. * Bullet craters have been removed. * If you're following an enemy aircraft that heads towards the sun, your heat-seeking missiles (AIM-9P and AIM-9M) may be fooled by the heat source. Your best bet is to keep your position until the enemy is away from the sun before you fire your missiles. * Drag has been added to the HD bomb and to the Durandal. These weapons can now be dropped safely at even lower altitudes. Campaign, missions and waypoints * The Intelligence option is no longer available on the Difficulty Levels Screen. Instead, a Campaign option has been added so that you can adjust the degree of difficulty of your campaigns. See your Operation: Fighting Tiger manual for more information. * In the campaign, the BOMB waypoint action code is only available when you are assigned a bombing mission. * Debriefings can now be long enough to list all ground targets destroyed by the player's squadron. * Campaign victory or loss will occur when either side is reduced to two strategic sites. * SEAD is now available for better waypoint realism (SEAD=Suppress Enemy Air Defenses). When SEAD is selected as the waypoint action, your assigned flight will only attack SAM and AAA threats. * The non-mobile SAM sites in the Operation: Fighting Tiger theaters (Japan, Korea and Pakistan) will now fire missiles, unlike stationary SAM sites in the Falcon 3.0 theaters (Israel, Panama and Kuwait). Wingman views and commands * Three new wingman commands have been added. They are Shift-G for spread formation, Shift-F for close up formation and Shift-H for return to base. See your Operation: Fighting Tiger manual for more information. ILS and landing * The ILS now has two modes, Directional and Beacon. Pressing "\" turns on the ILS; Shift-\ will toggle between the two modes. In the Beacon mode, the ILS locks onto a radio beacon at the end of this runway. The beacon is omnidirectional so centering the localizer deviation (LD) bar will steer your aircraft directly for this point from any direction. The glideslope indication will only be valid if you are approaching the runway on the indicated heading. The Beacon mode is helpful for finding the runway and making the first pass of a racetrack landing, but it is not the best mode to use on the final approach. The Directional mode is used to make the final approach to the runway. Lining up the GSD (glideslope deviation) and LD bars will put your aircraft on a 3 degree glideslope right down the middle of the runway. If the needles are not lined up, steer your aircraft towards them. Do not turn more than 90 degrees off your approach heading, however, or you might end up flying in circles. See your Operation: Fighting Tiger manual for more information on the ILS modes. * When the ILS HUD mode is turned on, the view out of the cockpit is shifted downward so that you can more easily see the runway when your aircraft has the high angle of attack proper for landing. Another smaller downward shift occurs when the landing gear are lowered. Both view shifts can be toggled off and on with Shift-Scroll Lock. * Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) lights are visual landing aids which let you determine at a glance whether you are on, above or below the correct glideslope. VASI lights consist of two pairs of bicolored lights spaced about 50 feet apart on the approach end of the runway. The lights are constructed so that the color you see as you land is either red or white depending on whether you are above or below the glideslope. See your Operation: Fighting Tiger manual for more information. Miscellaneous * On some of your missions, you might notice a thick overcast. This is a new weather pattern which will appear from time to time in the game. The cover will vary in altitude and thickness, depending on the atmospheric conditions. If the current weather forecast on the Report Screen is listed as "Overcast," there is a high probability that the weather will be overcast at the start of your next mission. * The HUD color selection has been changed to be more realistic and to be easier to see in different lighting conditions. * The ACM mode of the High Fidelity Radar has two scan patterns: 20 x 20 and 10 x 40. The ACM radar mode is turned on with F6. You can then alternate between the two scan patterns with Shift-F6. See your Operation: Fighting Tiger manual for more information. * The radar range, scan elevation and scan azimuth settings can all be cycled in the opposite direction by pressing Shift in addition to the appropriate function key. For example, to change the radar range directly from 20 nm to 40 nm, press Shift-F8 instead of pressing F8 three times. Program fixes * The flight characteristics for heavy aircraft, like the B-52 and C-130, have been improved. They will fly more realistically and will no longer crash on landing (assuming, of course, that they are undamaged before attempting to land). * Pilot Abilities will no longer roll over to zero. * Pilots will now be replaced on the replacement date. * The Instant Action high score music will play properly. * Debriefings will now list wingman plane crashes. * The occasional wingman flip over and crash on landing problem is fixed. * Medals will now be awarded appropriately and not without reason. * Squadron records will now be up-to-date in number of missions flown. * Extra drag has been eliminated when unlimited weapons are selected. * Sound Blaster problems were fixed that resulted in program freezes. * Unrealistic messages have been eliminated from head-to-head communications. * Pilot injuries now work correctly. * The Sounds off selection for Sound Blaster will now turn all sounds off. * The F-16 will now consume less fuel at high altitudes than at low altitudes. * On some systems, Operation: Fighting Tiger would crash before even reaching the title screen. The update will correct this problem for all systems. * Buildings in Red Flag can now be damaged. * The MiG-31, the Mirage 2000, the Jaguar and the UMF can now be assigned to enemy flights in Red Flag. * It is now possible to succeed at escort missions. * Problems in version 3.01 with PC speaker sounds have been fixed. * When flying an Allied Communications mission in the Kurile Islands theater, ships will now appear on all connected machines, not just the caller's. * The ACMI will no longer label friendly planes as enemy planes. * The Supply Status display of the campaign Report Screen now lists the AIM-9R and the AGM-84. 2.2.7 Version 3.0d through 3.0a changes The following section outlines the changes that have been made in earlier versions of Falcon 3.0. The changes are arranged by topic, not by version. Instant Action * After you destroy a certain number of enemy aircraft in Instant Action, you will advance to the next level of play. Every enemy pilot in this new wave of aircraft will have an Enemy Logic Level one higher than the one you set in the Configuration screen. (For example, if you had Enemy Logic Level set to Veteran in the Configuration screen, the next wave of aircraft will have Ace pilots.) After the Ace aircraft wave, all pilots in subsequent waves will have Ace logic level. Red Flag * The appropriate pilot skills will now increase upon completion of a successful Red Flag mission. * In the Red Flag training mission LESSON 4, the F-16 now faces the correct direction at the beginning of the lesson. Weapons * When you are loading weapons onto a wingman's aircraft, the Report button on the F-16 Armament screen will change to a Copy Leader button. Pressing this button will load the same weapons on the currently selected aircraft as are currently loaded on the flight leader's aircraft. * Weapons can be cleared in all weapon loading screens. * The jettison controls have been changed to allow you to selectively jettison stores: Ctrl-K jettisons all stores except for wingtip missiles and the ECM pod (if you loaded one prior to takeoff). Ctrl-F jettisons all external fuel tanks (both centerline and wing). Ctrl-C jettisons the ECM pod only. This is the only way to jettison an ECM pod. Remember: "F for fuel, C for countermeasures." * A-A missiles and SAMs are more realistic. They can acquire you much easier, and ECM is no longer a foolproof method of defeating them. In addition, proximity hits from missiles are now accounted for; a missile may detonate when it comes close to your F-16, causing minor damage from fragmentation. * Anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) effectiveness is now greatly increased. The amount and type of damage depends on factors such as airspeed, altitude and distance from the artillery. Autopilot, wingmen and enemy pilots * The autopilot's bombing accuracy has been improved. * The autopilot now realizes when it has gone winchester. * The artificial intelligence has been improved to allow for autopilot bombing and landing (however, if you are damaged, there are no guarantees). Enemy pilot logic has also been improved-- enemy aircraft are now more aggressive at higher logic levels. * Enemy aircraft can no longer detect a Sidewinder lock-on. * Pilots involved in a campaign can no longer recover fatigue by flying in Red Flag missions. * Wingmen now receive their assigned weapons load when the Limited Weapons option is set to "OFF." * One of the new features we added to Falcon 3.0 is called the "life after death" view. Life after death allows you to view the action in a Red Flag or campaign mission even if the plane you're flying has been destroyed. If your plane crashes into the ground or you are wiped out by a missile, the mission will not immediately end. A dialog box will appear informing you of your death and giving you the opportunity to watch the rest of the mission from your wingmen's point of view (if you have any on the mission). * You can now see the action from any of your wingmen on the flight by pressing the "7" key to change your view from wingman to wingman. If you want to watch a different target from the wingman's view, press the "T" key. If all of your wingmen are destroyed, the mission will end. Otherwise, the only way to end the mission is to select End Mission from the FILE menu. Flight models * The roll rates on the Simplified and Moderate flight models are significantly slower than on the Complex and High Fidelity flight models. This allows a beginning user more control while learning how to fly. * In all flight models, airspeed will increase during dives. Radar and ECM * If the radar lock on an enemy aircraft becomes unstable, the sides of the target designator box will change to broken lines. If this happens, don't fire a missile until you get a stable radar lock on the target. * ECM pod, chaff and flares have greater effectiveness. * Enemies will use ECM to break a radar lock. * Enemy aircraft that are randomly given ECM pods will use them according to their skill level. * Computer-controlled aircraft (both friendly and enemy) will use ECM pods with more intelligence. * ECM now works against all aircraft and radar-guided missiles, not just ground units and SAMs. * Computer-controlled planes now jettison stores based on skill level. Also, heavy bombers will not jettison stores under any circumstance. Missions * Aborting missions will no longer consume supplies or add to the mission count. * Unused stores at the end of a mission are now restored to your inventory. * External fuel tanks added by the user are now loaded correctly. Joysticks, keyboards, mice, etc. * Users of joysticks with a throttle, such as the CH FlightStick or the Kraft Thunderstick, have the option of turning off the joystick's throttle and using the "+" and "-" keys on the keyboard instead. During joystick calibration, you will be given the option of using the throttle wheel or not. Just press "N" for "No." If you change your mind, simply recalibrate your joystick. If you use the throttle wheel for throttle control, you must first advance the throttle several clicks and then press the "+" key on the keyboard to start the engine. You will then be able to control the engine RPM with the joystick throttle wheel. * The problem with the keyboard not responding on certain systems has been fixed. Sound and music * Digitized radio messages on the Thunderboard and Sound Blaster now work more reliably on fast machines such as 33MHz 486s and with a bus speed faster than 8MHz. * Sound glitches, including the missing IFF squawk, have been corrected. * Systems with only 1MB of total RAM and no sound card need to set Sound and Music to PC Speaker in the Configuration screen. This will allow you to hear guns, lock-on tones, enemy lock and launch warnings, stall warnings and a caution tone. Digitized voices are not supported on machines without expanded memory (EMS). * If you have a sound card and the Music option is turned on (from the Configuration screen), the type of music you hear will indicate how well you are doing in the war. Padlock View * Incoming missiles can be tracked in Padlock, Track and Wingman Views. Whenever you first switch to Padlock or Track View, the closest missile targeted at your aircraft, if there is one, will be tracked. You can switch the view to padlock or track nearby aircraft by pressing "T". Pressing "T", however, will not switch the view to padlock or track a missile. To re-establish missile tracking, you must again press the view key ("8" or "9") for the view you are using. You can also track any missiles targeted at your wingmen in the same way using the Wingman View. The following names will appear in the Padlock Status Window when you have padlocked a missile (regardless of the specific designation of the missile): * ATOLL - rear-aspect IR air-to-air missile * MAGIC - all-aspect IR air-to-air missile * APEX - semi-active radar air-to-air missile * ALAMO - active radar air-to-air missile * AMOS - active radar air-to-air missile * SAM (R) - any radar SAM * SAM (IR) - any IR SAM * The Padlock View will now be able to lock onto the runway for landing. This may help you make an efficient turn on the last leg of a racetrack landing pattern. You must be fairly low and close to the runway, however. You should also be wary of becoming disoriented while using the Padlock View so close to the ground. Communications * In communications mode, you can now enter modem commands of up to 60 characters directly. Just press "N" when you are asked if you want to use the default modem settings. * In head-to-head mode, shutting off one player's radar will remove blips from the other player's Threat Warning Indicator or Radar Warning Receiver. Miscellaneous * The low fuel HUD readout will appear over the Master Arm Indicator rather than over the AGL Indicator. * All the Realism Values on the Difficulty Levels area in the Configuration screen now add up correctly. * Glare caused by the sun now occurs at the appropriate climb and heading. * If a given waypoint has an air-to-air mission such as CAP or INTRCEPT, the waypoint will not automatically increment until after all hostiles either depart or are shot down. * The F-16 has a thrust-to-weight ratio of approximately 0.97:1, not 6.2:1. * The MiG-27 is a Strike aircraft, not a Class A Fighter. * Video palette problems caused by bus speeds faster than 8MHz have been corrected. * The bug which gave certain systems erroneous "Player disconnected" messages when exiting to DOS is fixed. 2.3 MIG 29: DEADLY ADVERSARY OF FALCON 3.0 Mig-29 Fulcrum is the second add-on disk to Falcon 3.0. There is also a Stand-alone version of MiG-29, which is compatible with OFT and Hornet. MiG-29 add-on version, currently at version 1.0, includes the Falcon 3.02 upgrade on its distribution diskettes. MiG-29 Fulcrum allows the Falcon 3.0 player to experience the action from the standpoint of the opposition in Instant Action, Red Flag, and Campaign play. Highlights of Falcon 3.0 Adversary: MiG-29 Fulcrum is described here, parts taken from a press release from former SH Product manager Daron Stinnett: ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------- Highlights: * Head-to-head and multi-player comms. Six players with any combination of MiGs and F-16s can fly against each other in either H2H or campaign mode. For example, if the F-16s are given a mission to destroy an enemy air strip, the MiG-29 group will be given the mission to protect the air strip. Each side can setup their own tactics to accomplish the mission. * NEW FLIGHT MODEL - We have redone our flight model from scratch. Everything including non-fly-by-wire characteristics, spins, tail slides, separated control surfaces has been implemented. You will find that it takes a lot more finesse to control this plane in a dogfight. For instance, the MiG-29 has amazing nose authority, which means that you when you are turning circles in a dogfight, by cranking your stick back you should be able to point your nose at your opponent, however your high AOA will cause you to bleed speed at a rapid rate and you will be a sitting duck if you don't get a kill. In the hands of a good pilot, the MiG-29 can out perform the F-16 but an inexperienced pilot will get shot down every time. * REALISTIC AVIONICS - We are pulling out the stops in this area. I expect that the avionics will be more accurately portrayed in the game than any where else including books and video. We are working with Soviet fighter pilots as well as the Department Of Defense to make it as accurate as possible. Some of the features: IRST (including head mounted variant), Functional gauges, realistic HUD, and systems failure. 2.4 MIG-29 VERSION INFORMATION These is the list of the changes made by the patches, taken directly from the readme.txt distributed with the patch. 2.4.1 Version 1.04 changes * The MiG-29 flight model has been improved to more accurately reflect its capabilities and to be more competitive with the other aircraft. * Sometimes the plane would unexpectedly roll left in version 1.03. This problem is now fixed. * Your wingmen will be more aggressive in engaging enemy planes, especially when returning home. * TM-STICK (developed by Ken "Stinger" Richardson and ThrustMaster) has been updated in version 2.1 to work with MiG-29 version 1.04. In addition, TM-STICK 2.1 works with earlier versions of MiG-29. For more information on TM-STICK, please read TM-STICK.TXT. 2.4.2 Version 1.03 changes * In response to a number of users who were having trouble with sudden high G forces destroying their aircraft without warning, we have added a G-damage limiter. Press Alt-O (the letter O) to turn it on or off. When the G-damage limiter is on, it limits the amount of damage you can suffer from high G forces. You will still black out, but at least the plane will not turn to confetti. An indicator light for this subsystem has been added to the Mach meter. When this light is on, the G-damage limiter is active. When it is off, the limiter is inactive. The limiter is inactive until you turn it on. * Serious joystick control and calibration problems found in version 1.0 have been fixed. The joystick inputs are now linear, and there is a "null zone" of 20% of the stick's travel. What this means is that the plane will react evenly to gradual increases in stick pressure, and that slight movement of the stick near the center point will not cause the plane to jerk around. * This new version is fully compatible with version 2.0 of the TMSTICK.COM joystick TSR, developed jointly by Ken "Stinger" Richardson and ThrustMaster. With their permission, we have incorporated much of the TMSTICK code into this update. As a result, you do not need to load TMSTICK.COM to fix your joystick problems. If you want the other features of TMSTICK, however, you will still have to load it. * Version 1.03 fixes a problem where the views would sometimes switch around (especially to the Left View) without any user input. 2.4.3 Version 1.02 changes * The MiG-29 vs. MiG-29 communications problems introduced in version 1.01 have been fixed. * Several users reported a problem where if you create a squadron, take off and return, create another squadron, take off and return, then try to fly another mission with the first squadron, the game would crash with a message saying "Fatal Error! Cannot Create File!" This problem, relating to the number of planes in a squadron, has been fixed. 2.4.4 Version 1.01 changes * Ground units in Red Flag will no longer fire upon your MiG-29 near Nellis. * The flight model has been improved, which is most noticeable in nose stability, trim control, and stability at high airspeeds. * In Red Flag, enemy F-16s can now be assigned weapons loads. * Problems with joystick calibration are now fixed. * Some users reported difficulty with rolling right. This problem is now fixed. * Adjustments to the flight model have made maneuvering and control smoother. * Some users reported problems with pitching upward when in any outside view. The problem was that the plane would not go beyond 30 degrees upward pitch until the player switched back to an inside cockpit view. This problem has been corrected. * The airspeed scale on the HUD is now marked correctly. Previously, 1100 kts was marked as 1000 kts (so it read 900, 1000, 1000, 1200). * At extremely high airspeeds (in excess of 800 knots), the nose would rise no matter how the trim controls were used. The trim controls are now effective at all airspeeds. 2.5 Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter Hornet: Naval Strike Figher is the third plane in the Electronic Battlefield Series. The add-on disk, gives you the F/A-18 Hornet, the Bosnia campaign (from SH) and carrier operations. The plane is Fly-by-wire, the flight model feels the same as Falcon, and network play is still supported. The latest version is 1.02 to match with Falcon 3.05 and MiG-29 1.04. (This is my personal favorite plane) 2.6 HORNET VERSION INFORMATION These is the list of the changes made by the patches, taken directly from the readme.txt distributed with the patch. 2.6.1 Version 1.02 changes * The Hornet flight model has been improved to more accurately reflect its capabilities and to be more competitive with the other aircraft. * Sometimes the plane would unexpectedly roll left in version 1.01. This problem is now fixed. * Campaigns now last longer than two days in the Bosnia theater. * Your wingmen will be more aggressive in engaging enemy planes, especially when returning home. * TACTS now works correctly in version 1.02. * Hornet now has ECM capability in communications play, both head- to-head and multiplayer. * When your waypoint is set to the landing waypoint, the waypoint symbol follows the ILS beam instead of guiding you to the aircraft carrier. Don't rely on using the waypoint symbol to guide you to the aircraft carrier. * If you're using the PC speaker for digitized sound, the IFF squawk won't be played. You can, however, look at the IFF light just below the HUD. * TM-STICK (developed by Ken "Stinger" Richardson and ThrustMaster) has been updated in version 2.1 to work with Hornet 1.02. In addition, TM-STICK 2.1 works with earlier versions of Hornet. For more information on TM-STICK, please read TM- STICK.TXT. 2.6.2 Version 1.01 changes * Version 1.01 fixes a problem where the views would sometimes switch around (especially to the Left View) without any user input. * Serious joystick control and calibration problems found in version 1.0 have been fixed. The joystick inputs are now linear, and there is a "null zone" of 20% of the stick's travel. What this means is that the plane will react evenly to gradual increases in stick pressure, and that slight movement of the stick near the center point will not cause the plane to jerk around. * This new version is fully compatible with version 2.0 of the TMSTICK.COM joystick TSR, developed jointly by Ken "Stinger" Richardson and ThrustMaster. With their permission, we have incorporated much of the TMSTICK code into this update. As a result, you do not need to load TMSTICK.COM to fix your joystick problems. If you want the other features of TMSTICK, however, you will still have to load it. * Numerous users reported problems with wingmen crashing. This was due to two problems. First, an error in the flight logic caused computer-controlled wingmen to stall out in a sharp climb. Stalling out in a dogfight is usually fatal. The other reason for high wingman mortality was running out of fuel. On long missions, where external fuel is necessary to make it back, there was an error that caused wingmen to jettison their stores early. Both of these problems have been fixed. See the next item for a full explanation of the jettisoning problem. * In version 1.0, as soon as you switched to the final waypoint (either by flying to all the other ones or by pressing Shift-B), all your wingmen automatically jettisoned their stores in preparation for a carrier landing. This had some unfortunate consequences if your flight happened to be deep in enemy territory at the time. Now, no stores are jettisoned until the LSO picks up a pilot in the landing pattern and begins giving instructions. At this point, stores will be automatically jettisoned to lighten up for landing. Note that this automatic jettisoning applies to your plane as well: as soon as you contact the LSO (by pressing Alt- H), your stores will be jettisoned. * Enemy planes will no longer show up during landing. You must still deal with any that were pursuing you on the way in, but no new foes will appear once you begin your landing sequence (unless you stray too far from the carrier). In addition, we have added a CAP flight of F-14s which sometimes appear when you are near the carrier to help you escape any pursuers. * The ILS has been completely revised so that it is more useful. The ILS cone (the area within which you can detect the ILS signal) extends 18 nm from the stern of the carrier. At this distance, the cone is 20 degrees wide: *********** ----------------- *********** ! carrier ! 20 degrees ----------------- *********** *********** 18 nm When you get within 10 nm, the cone is 70 degrees wide (35 degrees on either side): *** *** ----------------- *** ! carrier ! 70 degrees ----------------- *** *** **** 10 nm In addition, the cone extends 1 nm forward from the end of the landing deck, so you will still have ILS information during a bolter. When you are outside the cone, the bars of the ILS cross appear as dotted lines that cross at the center of your HUD. The bars on the ILS only show up to 4 degrees of deviation. Thus, if you were 2 degrees to the right of the beam, here is how the ILS would look: --- | (both lines | are solid) |----|-----------| | | --- If you are more than 4 degrees off the beam, the appropriate bar will appear as a dotted line at the end of the other bar. So, if you were more than 4 degrees below glideslope, the ILS would look like this: |- - - --- - - -| <--(dotted line) | | | <--(solid line) | | --- Thus, to be on a proper landing approach, you must keep both lines centered. Be aware that the waypoint indicator at the top of your HUD does NOT show the location of the carrier! It only shows the way to your current waypoint. Once you reach your final waypoint, it is up to you to spot the carrier visually and bring your bird in. You can also detect the carrier using SEA mode radar. Finally, remember that the ILS is not intended to guide you all the way to the deck. It is meant to bring you in on a safe approach until you can finish the landing visually. Once you can see the deck and the meatball, ignore the ILS and fly the meatball in. * The vertical velocity on the HUD is now shown in feet per minute instead of tens of feet per minute. 2.7 Falcon Gold Falcon Gold is basically shovelware(from what I can tell), it's Falcon, MiG-29, Hornet, Operation Fighting Tiger, and Art of the Kill on one CD. You can run the games from the CD to save hard disk space, sacrificing some speed. OK.. here's the thing on upgrading to Falcon Gold(which I recommend) --- snip --- Date: Wed, 14 Sep 1994 12:41:48 -0400 (EDT) From: "michael dobbs (micro bio)" Subject: F3 Gold CD Upgrade To: falcon3@falcon3.k9.com Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Here is the message I recieved from the SH tech support guy re. discounts to the disk version owner that wants to upgrade to the cd. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 12 Sep 94 22:20:14 EDT From: The Cat:Karl SH Tech Support <76004.2144@compuserve.com> To: "\"michael dobbs (micro bio)\"" Yes, there is a discount available, let me attach the info about it: FALCON GOLD CD-ROM UPGRADE ANNOUNCEMENT Spectrum HoloByte is pleased to announce this upgrade offer, which allows owners of Falcon 3.0 or the stand-alone version of MiG-29 floppy-based products to upgrade to the new Falcon Gold collection on CD-ROM at a price which varies depending on how many of the products the customer previously purchased. Falcon Gold contains newly updated versions of the entire Electronic Battlefield Series collection: >Falcon 3.0 v 3.05 >MiG-29 v 1.04 >Operation: Fighting Tiger v1.2 >Hornet: Navel Strike Fighter v1.02 >Art of the Kill Upgrading customer will receive all of the documentation for each product that they don't currently own, however, the BOX that comes with the retail version will NOT be included. The cost to upgrade to Falcon Gold is as follows: If you currently own Falcon 3.0 or the stand-alone version of MiG- 29: plus any 3 or more of the add-ons = $30 plus any 2 add-ons = $40 plus any 1 add-on = $50 If you currently own Falcon 3.0 or the stand-alone version of MiG- 29 by itself and no add-ons, the upgrade price is $59. Shipping/handling: $5.25. Outside North America $10. Sales Tax: CA = 8.25%, MD = 5%, WA = 8%, Canada = 7% All prices listed here are in US funds. UPGRADE PROCEDURE To order by phone, call 1-800-695-4263 anytime from the USA or Canada to order with Visa or MasterCard. Have your original disk 1 (or the VHS tape from Art of the Kill) ready for each of the following programs that you own: Falcon 3.0 Operation: Fighting Tiger MiG-29 stand-alone MiG-29 add-on Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter Art of the Kill To order by fax, make a xerox copy of the label on your original disk 1 (or the label on the VHS tape from Art of the Kill) along with your name daytime shipping address daytime phone Visa/MC number and expiration date Fax all of the above to 408-644-2001 anytime from anywhere. To order by mail, make a xerox copy of the label on your original disk 1 (or the label on the VHS tape from Art of the Kill) along with name daytime shipping address daytime phone Visa/MC number and expiration date OR check/money order (U.S. funds, U.S. or Canadian bank) payable to 'Spectrum HoloByte' and mail to Spectrum HoloByte Direct PO Box 3941 Salinas, CA 93912 Karl "The Cat" Maurer - SHI On-Line Support Rep ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------ Sounds good, no? Read on: I next asked if I could still get the discount in the form of a rebate since (being a loyal F3 follower for many years now) I already went out and bought the cd a couple of weeks ago. The answer was NO! Now this wouldn't upset me so much if SH had let the buy know this discount was going to happen. If I had missed a magazine add, a label on the CD box, a coupon in the box, etc. etc....I wouldn't have leg to stand on. But I feel I'm being taken to the cleaners for being "quick off the mark" and supporting SH. Are there others out there in net land in my predicament? Why don't we all let SH know how we feel being treated this way? Who knows, they may decide rebates are a good idea! Mike. --- snip --- From: n.johnston2@genie.geis.com Message-Id: <199409160456.AA274531375@relay2.geis.com> Date: Fri, 16 Sep 94 04:12:00 UTC To: falcon3@neon.k9.com Cc: 76004.2144@compuserve.com Subject: Falcon Gold at retail X-Genie-Id: 5995638 X-Genie-From: N.JOHNSTON2 Status: RO Michael Dobbs wrote about buying Falcon Gold at retail prior to knowing about SH's direct sales upgrade offer. I believe it's fair to remind the dlist that SH customer support has publicly responded to requests for an upgrade offer since shortly after Falcon Gold shipped in early summer. The gist of the response was "we are going to offer a special upgrade price, but we haven't got the offer finalized and approved yet; we will make it known when it has been approved." Unfortunately the offer could not be finalized before the ad was done or the product shipped, so there was no prior way to notify users via advertising or in the package. On the one hand, I'm sympathetic to Michael's plight; on the other hand, I too have been in the place of the afficionado who rushed to buy product as soon as possible, only to see lower prices available thereafter. Witness Strike Commander, which I bought at retail on Day 1 for $72 and change, and whose price declined shortly thereafter. The situation is endemic to both software and hardware. The early buyers pay the most. And unfortunately SH does not have the mechanism in place to handle a rebate program. Nevertheless, I'm interested to know how many subscribers to the dlist were caught in Michael's situation. If you bought Falcon Gold at retail prior to the customer support announcement (and can prove it) please send me a brief email [N.JOHNSTON2@GENIE.GEIS.COM]. Best regards, Neil Johnston Product Marketing Manager, Simulations Spectrum HoloByte aka "Waxer" --- snip --- 3.0 FALCON UTILITIES There are several software utilities available for sale, as freeware, or as shareware that extend the capabilities of Falcon 3.0. As new versions of Falcon 3.0 were introduced, the utilities likewise had to be revised to accomodate changes made by SH to the game files. With the introduction of Falcon 3.02 and MiG-29 Fulcrum, new versions of some of the formerly freeware or shareware utilities became available only as commercial products. The freeware and shareware versions, in many cases compatible only with Falcon 3.0D or 3.01, are available for downloading from FTP.K9.COM or its mirrors. See section 4.2 for information about dowloading by anonymous FTP. 3.1 UTILITIES FOR FALCON 3.0D - 3.01 3.1.1 FALCONER The freeware version of Falconer is a utility created by Rob Heittman for use with Falcon 3.0 version D and Falcon 3.0: OFT. It allows you to edit all pilot stats, replenish of weapons and supplies in campaign play, and print out pilot and squadron information. Available from FTP.K9.COM and mirrors as FALCNR.ZIP. 3.1.2 F3MAPS Shareware version 4.1 of Falcon Mapper for Falcon 3.01.1 is a utility created by Greg Prete that allows you to set Red Flag or Instant action to any campaign theater, permanently set default scale to 1x magnification, declutter the HUD, and randomly generate Red Flag missions. Available from FTP.K9.COM and mirrors as F3MAPR.ZIP. 3.1.3 FALCCALC Shareware version 2.51 of FalCalc, The Falcon 3.01 Mission Planning Assistant, was written using the data given in the various charts and pages of both Falcon manuals, the original and OFT. It gives you a lot of information to help you fly successful missions and wage a successful campaign. With Version 2.51, FalcCalc has been expanded to include: - A Set of Intelligence Dispatches, which offer both Strategic and Tactical data about your campaign. - FalcCalc will now automatically examine your campaign files and warn you if you're getting dangerously low on specific stores. - You can Change Waypoint Speeds from directly within FalcCalc. - You have the ability to pick which Pilots' names appear on your Knee Board Sheet. - "Bingo Fields" will now print directly on the Knee Board Sheet. - The interface has been standardized. Version 2.51 of FalcCalc is available from FTP.K9.COM and its mirrors as FLCLC251.ZIP. 3.1.4 F3PAD Although Falcon 3.02 added indicators for afterburner and airbrake in padlock view, for owners of Falcon 3.01 Ken Richardson's TSR utility shows indicators in padlock and SCROLL- FORWARD views for afterburner, brake, radar, and ECM. Available from FTP.K9.COM and its mirrors as F3PAD.ZIP and F3PAD2.ZIP. 3.1.5 FCE - Falcon Campaign Editor This is email I received from Frank Racis... Here's the Promo file I posted to the Netnews Flight-Sim group. This should be on cactus.org as fce11.txt The current version is actually 1.1a (1.1 had a compiler error). This is fce11a.zip on cactus.org. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------- New version of Falcon Campaign Editor Available at: cactus.org /incoming/fce11a.zip Falcon Campaign Editor (FCE) is a squadron/campaign editor for Falcon 3.04 and MiG-29 1.03. It has a basic menu-selection interface in DOS, and a full graphical Windows interface. New for version 1.1: * Bug fixes: Fuel consumption calculation corrected (actually 2 bugs) No more "missing" squadrons * Fly your next campaign mission in Red Flag (great for intel...) * Print hard copy of roster and flight plan * Edit medals earned by a pilot * Limited Hornet 1.01 support (Roster/Supply editing only) Features of DOS version: * Fully supports Falcon 3.04, MiG 1.03 * Make all pilots unfatigued or perfect * Add 20 to inventory of all types of ordnance * Resurrect all dead pilots * Give squadron all 18 planes * Fuel estimates * Command line parameters allow automatic use in batch files. Windows version allows: * All features of DOS version * Edit individual pilots / abilities * Complete control over all ordnance and supplies * Rename squadrons (even create new names) * Much nicer user interface than DOS * Time-on-Target lets you adjust speed to co-ordinate flights Still free, asking only for an E-Mail with comments. -Frank Racis (FWR100@psuvm.psu.edu) 3.2 UTILITIES FOR FALCON 3.02, MIG-29 FULCRUM, AND F-18 HORNET 3.2.1 KEYBOARD COMMANDER CORPS UTILITIES Keyboard Commander Corps offers keyboard templates and utilities for use with Falcon 3.01, 3.02, and MiG-29. Versions of some of the formerly freeware and shareware utilities for use with Falcon 3.02 and MiG-29 are available only from Keyboard Commander Corps. This press release was circulated on USENET earlier this summer: 7/20/93 FALCON & MIG COMMANDER UTILITIES Keyboard Commander Corps is proud to announce exciting new utilities for Falcon 3.0:Operation Fighting Tiger and MiG- 29:Deadly Adversary of Falcon 3.0. FCU & MCU are feature-packed upgrades to their shareware predecessors written by the "Skunkworks" gang on CompuServe's Flight Simulator Forum. KCC has formed an alliance with the authors to bring you these new and improved versions at a low price, but at the same time reward the authors their normal registration fees. For one low price you get: FalcCalc 3.0: The wildly popular and superb campaign intelligence gathering tool. Viewable/Printable theater map with detailed info. on every site, ground forces and all flight paths. Printable Fuel consumption, Waypoint timing, Strategic/Tactical reports and mission "Kneeboard sheet", including new viewable pilot's roster to select upcoming mission pilots. Allows resetting of waypoint timing speeds from within FalcCalc to coordinate actions between multiple flights. FalcCalc even tells you the conditions for victory or defeat, backs up squadron files and more! Author- Bill White F3 Requisition 1.0: All new utility from the author of FalcCalc that truly puts you in command of your Falcon 3.0 squadrons. Allows player to customize pilot's roster including names, callsigns, skill ratings and status. Replenishes all supplies including F-16's and even allows player to change resupply date. Sort and print both pilot's roster and Sierra Hotel List. Allows customized naming of squadrons! Author- Bill White Falcon Mapper 5.0: A stalwart of Falcon world, Falcon Mapper is the famous Red Flag, Instant Action and HUD customizing utility now in it's fifth and best version. Allows players to change default theaters for both Red Flag and Instant Action, Customize and "declutter" the HUD and change the default view scale. Auto- generates missions in any theater and even allows the player to set the numerous variables used for auto-generation. Great new graphical map shows entire Red Flag theater, flight paths, enemy positions and more! Author- Greg Prete ShowF3 2.0: One of the coolest utilities available, ShowF3 allows viewing of screen-shots taken with Falcon 3.0's own secret, proprietary screen-capture program. (Yep, it's been on player's hardrives all along!). New features include easy-to-navigate interface that makes viewing screen-shots a snap, a save option that converts screen-shots from Falcon's proprietary format into popular .PCX or .GIF formats and deletes original file at the same time to reduce disk clutter. Easy instructions on how to use Falcon's screen-capture commands included (Tip: Take AVTR film, then use "Z" in ACMI/VCR mode to get best results!) Author- Steve Kramp Bornstein's Combat Missions: Action packed, gut-wrenching custom Red Flag missions from the celebrated author of the popular book "Falcon 3:The Official Combat Strategy Book", the only book Spectrum HoloByte chooses to sell via their direct marketing newsletter and 800#! Includes all type Nellis: Red Flag missions with complete descriptions. Missions can be further customized in Falcon's Red Flag area. Author- Howard Bornstein KCC Menu 1.0: Fantastic menu shell that brings it all together. Easy way to access Falcon and utilities from one central menu that creates a seamless "suite". Player can use ready-to-go default menu configuration or customize to his or her preference. Can load .bat files as well as create sub-menus to add all of the player's games and sims. Allows viewing and printing of accompanying utility manuals. Completely unloads itself from memory while running menu selection. Author- Craig Allen FCU & MCU are separate packages. FCU is now available, MCU will be released early 8/93. You can find FCU & MCU at your local retailer or buy direct from KCC. Keyboard Commander Corp. 4839 SW 148 Ave., Suite 402 Davie, FL 33330 800-262-6066 CompuServe 72370,2375 Prodigy: DKRV26A 3.2.2 Ken `Stinger' Richarson's SIMPAK Utilities The SIMPAK utilities include newer versions of Ken Richardson's old utilities such as the commtsr and f3pad. SIMPAK?.ZIP Is available at FTP.K9.COM and its mirrors. COMMTSR The COMMTSR.COM file is a TSR that works with Spectrum Holobytes's simulators. On serial communications: "Using this TSR you will see your connection times improve greatly. During testing, this patch completed a 2400bps direct connection in just over 2 minutes, a 57600bps V.42bis connection in just under 30 seconds." PADLOCK(formerly F3PAD) PADLOCK is a TSR program that will add small indicator lights to the Padlock and Scrolled lock views. These lights indicate Afterburners, Airbrakes, Radar on/off, and ECM. Each indicator has it's own color. COOLIE "COOLIE is a Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program that will work with the ThrustMaster FCS allowing you to program the "Coolie Hat" and Buttons 3 and 4 to any keystroke on the keyboard, (including SHFT/CTRL/ALT keys). You can also program "double-click" funtions to any button or hat position. For example: By default the Hat is programmed to switch between forward, back, right and left views depending on what direction you push it. If you push the Hat up twice, it will switch to Padlock view." --COOLIE.TXT 3.2.3 TM-STICK TM-STICK.??? Is available from FTP.K9.COM and its mirrors. I quote from TM-STICK.TXT TM-STICK Features ----------------- This utility program gives you more flexible control of the joystick routines in Falcon 3.04, MiG-29 1.03 and Hornet 1.01 (and earlier versions of these games). TM-STICK works with any joystick, particularly the FCS from ThrustMaster. Although the joystick routines from TM-STICK version 1.0 have been incorporated into the latest versions of Falcon 3.0, MiG-29 and Hornet, TM-STICK version 2.0 will work with the latest versions of these games and will not interfere with the new built- in joystick routines. TM-STICK version 2.0 will also add the new joystick routines to any earlier versions of Falcon 3.0 and MiG-29 (in addition to fixing a problem with the rudders when using an analog throttle). TM-STICK allows you to set the null zone for each axis of two joysticks independently of one another. You can make the null zones wider or narrower on each joystick axis. If, for example, your F-16 starts rolling right or left immediately when you first move the joystick just a small amount, you can delay the start of the roll by simply increasing the width of the null zone on the X-axis of Joystick 1. This patch is also a very useful tool to use if you find that your aircraft is "drifting" to one side or the other. By increasing the null zone, you can avoid this "drift." If you have a ThrustMaster Mark II Weapons Control System, TM- STICK also allows you to set the position of the AB (afterburner) detent on your Mark II WCS when using analog throttle. If you find that your AB detent is not setting your throttle to (or very close to) 100% Military Power, then use this patch to force it to do so. The AB detent should actually be set so that your Mark II WCS's throttle handle in ANALOG will produce as close to 100% Military Power as possible without actually entering afterburner stage 1. As you move forward out of the AB detent, your afterburners will kick in. TM-STICK also removes the ILS view shift. Now when the ILS mode is turned on, your view will no longer shift down. It will remain like a normal view and the ILS view shift up/down will be disabled. 4.0 WHERE TO GET PATCHES AND UTILITIES In addition to the sources listed below, patches and utilities may be found in CompuServe Flight Simulator Forum (GO FSFORUM) in Library 8, Modern Air Combat. 4.1 SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE CUSTOMER SUPPORT The Falcon 3.0 version D, 3.01.1, and 3.02 upgrades are available directly from Spectrum HoloByte's Customer Support at: Spectrum HoloByte 2490 Mariner Square Loop Alameda, CA 94501 Attn: Customer Support (510) 522-1164 (9am-5pm Pacific Time, M-F) Spectrum HoloByte can also be reached from the INTERNET by electronic mail. Their address is 76004.2144@compuserve.com. Also there is the Spectrum HoloByte BBS at (510)522-8909. Where you can obtain the latest patches and some third party utilities. 4.2 FTP.K9.COM ANONYMOUS FTP ARCHIVE AND MIRRORS Falcon 3.0 patches and utilities are available for downloading via anonymous FTP from host FTP.K9.COM in the pub/falcon3 directory. FTP.K9.COM is mirrored at: cactus.org in /pub/falcon3 ftp.informatik.uni-rostock.de in /pub/msdos/falcon3 All the patches, once decompressed, each contain a readme file with instructions, and an installation procedure as well as the upgrade files. The utilities are also packaged in a compressed format, and most also include documentation files. Freeware or shareware decompression software like PKUNZIP, UNZIP, or UNARJ are available from many anonymous FTP sites. An index of the contents of the pub/falcon3 directory of FTP.K9.COM's FTP file archive is available for download from that directory as a file named INDEX. In addition to the Falcon 3.0 patches and utilities, Falcon3 list members have uploaded custom missions, help files, and other play-related items. 4.3 TRADE CENTER BBS and other SIMNET nodes Check Six Orange Co CA (714) 362-8299 Patrick Gost 28.8/VFAST The Fast Tracks Sunnyvale CA (408) 739-5781 Jedi 14.4/v32b Beta Los Osos CA (805) 528-6829 Steve Parker 14.4/v32b Powerline BBS Valdosta GA (912) 249-9585 Robert Whitt 14.4/v32b Modem CONNECTion Atlanta GA (404) 952-8981 Pat Coloney 14.4/v32b Cyber Space BBS Milwaukie OR (503) 654-4645 Scott Johnson 14.4/v32b Afterburner BBS Ft Worth TX (817) 292-4193 Jeff Herman 14.4/v32b The Contrails Euless TX (817) 355-9242 Joe Richter 14.4/v32b The Fox Den N Britain CT (203) 223-5217 Clyde Fox 14.4/v32b Reverse Polarity Plantsville CT (203) 620-0001 Bill Arlofski 21.6/Dual The Spacedock Newington CT (203) 666-4999 Jim Bills 16.8/Dual 32 Bit Bus BBS Levittown PA (215) 949-2701 Bob Bernstein 16.8/Dual Wild Blue Yonder Tulsa OK (918) 664-9824 Mike Groner 14.4/v32b The Crosswinds Phoenix AZ (602) 678-4381 Brent Ward 14.4/v32b Gamma on-line Williamsburh VA (804) 565-3503 George Marsh 28.8/VFAST Fox One BBS Broken Arrow OK (918) 251-3160 Bill Rogers 14.4/v32b Cowford Cargo Jacksonville FL (904) 384-6021 Steven Moyer 14.4/v32b 4.4 COMPUSERVE GAMEPUB FORUM (library 3) ???? 4.5 ELECTRONIC BATTLEFIELD SERIES FAQ FTP SITE It's at: ftp.HACKS.Arizona.EDU /pub/krismon/ebspatch I like to keep the latest patches here... so only the latest ones are in there.. f305.zip, m104.zip and h102.zip. There's less traffic here so you'll get faster transfers(usually) than cactus.org 5.0 FALCON REFERENCE MATERIAL Several books are available for purchase from retail software stores, or via mail order. In addition, a WAIS service containing an archive of email and USENET postings relating to Falcon 3.0 and other flight simulators has been created. 5.1 FALCON 3.0: THE COMPLETE HANDBOOK >From Tom Basham: Falcon 3.0: The Complete Handbook by Joel Powell and Tom Basham, published by The Waite Group, ISBN 1-878739-29-8, and is approximately 650 pages. Retails for $34.95 US, but can be found cheaper at most chain book stores. The include 1.2M floppy contains over 40 custom Red Flag missions used within the text, Falcnr 3.1, f3maps 4.0, and the original F3 demo program. The Waite Group is the only licensed, non-network, non-BBS distributor of F3maps 4.0. Chapters 1 through 7 are written to the new F3 user. These chapters explain the basic info on aerodynamics, flying, radar usage, landing, and weapons delivery. Chapters 8 thru 12 are written to the advance user. Chapter 8 (43 pages) is dedicated to mastering the Hi-Fi radar, including walking readers through two of the included Red Flag missions. Chapter 9 (118 pages), the "Advanced Flight School," steps readers through 8 Red Flag missions designed to simulate a campaign and teach weapons usage, coordination of multiple flights, allocation of resources, dive bombing styles, and combat tactics for intercept, scramble, escort, CAS, and bombing missions. Chapter 10 gives the inside info on how campaign mode works and how the war operates. It also gives valuable lessons on allocating resources, combat doctrine, and designing waypoints for safe ingress and egress. Chapter 10 also lists the mission requirements for each type of campaign mission. Chapter 11 goes into inside the mind of the computer pilot, explaining the differences between different levels, compares the strengths of the enemy's weapons, describes missile evasion techniques, and gives detailed info on enemy airborne radars. Basic ACM and BFM illustrations are also provided. Chapter 12 is dedicated to the late arrival: OFT. New aircraft, theaters, weapons, and updated mission success requirements for OFT specific missions. Appendicies include the Combat Reference Table (xrefing aircraft type, weapons systems, radar type, and top speed at a glance), fuel usage calculation tables, and upgrade info for F3maps and Falcnr. 5.2 FALCON 3: THE OFFICIAL COMBAT STRATEGY BOOK Falcon3: The Official Combat Strategy Book, by Howard Bornstein, published by Prima Publishing, ISBN 1-55958-160-3, 367 pages. Retails for $27.95 US, available for less from chain book stores or mail-order computer game retailers. Covers Falcon 3.0A through Falcon OFT 3.01. Includes 3.5" diskette with 3.0D patch, the utilities Falconer, F3MAPS, F3ILS2, and SHOWF3 for use with 3.0D or 3.01, plus numerous Red Flag missions for use with book lessons. Bornstein's book is divided into three parts. Part one describes the versions of Falcon 3.0, explains difficulty levels, enemy and wingman AI, flight models, and Instant Action scoring. Part two explains - HUD strategies for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions - Radar modes - Countermeasures including RWR and using chaff/flares - Navigation and fuel management - Dogfighting strategies including padlock and SCROLL-FORWARD view strategies - How to identify aircraft visually and electronically - ACMI features - Undocumented and hidden features Part three presents various Red Flag tutorials for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, and an explanation of Falcon 3.0 Campaign mode. 5.3 FALCON 3.0 AIR COMBAT Falcon 3.0 Air Combat by Pete Bonanni and Bernard Yee, published by Osborne McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-881701-3, 350 pages. Retails for $19.95. Covers basic fighter maneuvers, beyond visual range radar deployment, advanced air-to-air combat tactics, Falcon 3.0 weapons deployment, advanced surface attack tactics, and campaign management. Essentally a rehash of the user manual with some useful keyboard templates. Does not cover OFT. 5.4 FALCON3: AIR COMBAT TRAINER As of April, 1993 no detailed information about this product is available. This description was submitted to the Falcon3 mailing list by Tom Basham: "Falcon3: Air Combat Trainer is a combo of a book, mission disk and a video tape being co-written by Pete Bonanni (F-16 pilot and author) and another guy whose name I can't recall right now. It'll sort of be an inhome lecture on ACM/BFM 101." 5.5 FIGHTER COMBAT: THE ART AND SCIENCE OF AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT This book, by fighter pilot Robert Shaw, is considered by many to be the most definitive book on ACM (air combat manoevering) available to the general public, and is highly recommended as a source of background information for the concepts presented in Falcon 3.0 reference books and manuals. It is available from the US Naval Institute, Spectrum HoloByte, and most well-stocked public libraries. Fighter Combat: the art and science of air-to-air combat Author: Robert L. Shaw Publisher: Patrick Stephens Limited, Great Britain, 1986/1988 (2nd edition) ISBN 1-85260-201-5 Copyright 1985/88 US Naval Institute 5.6 FALCON3 WAIS LIBRARY >From Jim Knutson (knutson@mcc.com) I have been collecting Falcon 3 related articles since Feb. 1992. Rather than keep all this information to myself, I decided to write `The USENET Guide to Falcon 3' (can be found on ftp.k9.com). In the process of doing so, I created the Falcon 3 wais library. The wais library lets you lookup any references to a particular topic. For instance, if I was interested in how to dodge sam missiles, I might ask about the following topics "sam missile evasion dodge tactics", and I would get back approximately 230 items related to those topics sorted so that the most relevant items are first. I can then browse through the items looking for the answer to my question. There are two methods to use the wais library and both require Internet access. The first requires only telnet and the second requires that a wais client be installed on your system. The easiest way to lookup things in the wais library is to telnet to quake.think.com and login as user wais. For example: urbino> telnet quake.think.com Trying 192.31.181.1 ... Connected to quake.think.com. Escape character is '^]'. SunOS UNIX (quake) login: wais Last login: Tue Apr 6 08:35:51 from 159.230.1.13 SunOS Release 4.1.1 (QUAKE) #3: Tue Jul 7 11:09:01 PDT 1992 Welcome to swais. Please type user identifier (optional, i.e user@host): knutson@mcc.com TERM = (vt100) sun-cmd Starting swais (this may take a little while)... You will be presented with a list of about 400 different wais libraries that you can query. You want to scroll down to the falcon3 library (usually referred to as a source). Select falcon3 as the source you want to ask and hit return to enter the topic keywords you are interested in. You will then be presented with a list of items that match those topics. You can select any of them for viewing. You can even have the items mailed to you. The second method requires existing wais software on your host. To perform the query, you will need the following source description placed in the file ~/wais-sources/falcon3.src (assuming you use a Unix box). ------ falcon3.src cut here ------ (:source :version 3 :database-name "falcon3" :ip-name "urbino.mcc.com" :tcp-port 8000 :update-time (:time-interval :interval :daily) :cost 0.00 :cost-unit :free :maintainer "knutson@urbino.mcc.com" :description "Server created with WAIS release 8 b5 on Sep 30 15:33:02 1992 by knutson@urbino.mcc.com This is a collection of most of the mail and news traffic I have seen on the Falcon 3 air combat flight simulator since Feb. 1992. This database helped me write `The USENET Guide to Falcon 3.' For maximum effect, be sure to increase the default maximum number of results returned from 40 to something larger. The files of type mail used in the index were: /home/knutson/mail/Falcon " ) ------ end of falcon3.src ------ Here are some usage statistics in case anyone is interested. WAIS traffic from Mar 22 10:26:12 1993 to Apr 6 10:46:40 1993 288 connections from 35 hosts. Queries Searches #1 Query Database Pings /Results Expressions Count Question ..rces/falcon3 5 14/ 339 13 2 arizona-phoenix falcon3 4 72/1530 59 5 falcon flight_sim 27 98/2295 77 11 flight Answers 210 answers, min/avg/max documents = 0/19/227 Retrieved Documents Database Retrievals falcon3 38 ..rces/falcon3 157 ..urnal-titles 2 flight_sim 88 ..s/flight_sim 159 total 444 Lastly, I would like to say that I also have a flight_sim wais library that is a collection of all the flight sim related info I have collected. -- snip -- [I (Kris) should point out that this is rather old. And the WAIS archive can now be accessed through WWW/Mosaic at http://cactus.org/~knutson/FlightSimLibrary.html or through the EBS FAQ WWW page. http://neuromancer.hacks.arizona.edu/~krismon/public.html The USENET Guide to Falcon 3is also available via WWW/Mosaic at http://cactus.org/~knutson/UGF3.html] 5.7 Falcon 3 Modem Bible This text file from CompuServe contains helpful information about setting up Falcon for modem play. It is available in CompuServe, and the EBSFAQ ftp site, ftp.hacks.arizona.edu:/pub/krismon/ebsstuff/modem.zip 5.8 Electronic Battlefield Series WWW page Page holds the FAQ, and some other stuff related to Falcon 3 and EBS. Worth checking out. http://neuromancer.hacks.arizona.edu/~krismon/public.html 6.0 UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES 6.1 INCREASING AIRCRAFT DETAIL LEVEL There are three methods by which one can make any version of Falcon 3.0 or MiG-29 display aircraft objects in full detail, similar in detail to objects displayed in the REPORTS screens: - Copy OBJECTS onto SOBJECTS. Be sure to rename SOBJECTS to another filename before doing this. You will need to copy the renamed SOBJECTS back to successfully upgrade Falcon 3.0 to a new version. - for EMM386 users, start Falcon 3.0 or MiG-29 by typing LOADHI FALCON3 or LOADHI MIG29 - for QEMM386 users, before running Falcon, type LOADHI/LINK There are some potential problems that may arise from using these techniques, as described in this post from Tom Neff: From: tneff@mimiki.win.net (Tom Neff) Subject: Max Falcon Detail: The Straight Dope I got utterly sick of explaining this at one point and swore off, but I guess it's been a while. Falcon uses one of two wireframe databases, filenamed OBJECTS (the complex one) or SOBJECTS (the simple one) depending on how much free memory it thinks you have when it loads -- if your CPU is fast enough to begin with, which most people's are these days. With SOBJECTS loaded you see more detail on friendly and enemy planes (your own plane detail doesn't vary). The purpose of the LOADHIGH/LOADHI trick is to d**k with the segment pointers so that Falcon thinks you actually have a lot more free memory than you really do, and thus decides to grant you SOBJECTS anyway. There is no essential difference between the DOS LOADHIGH and QEMM LOADHI commands in this respect. People for whom only LOADHI works are probably simply getting more free memory from QEMM than they were from vanilla EMM386, and so winning that way. (By the way, I cannot stress highly enough the wisdom of maintaining _separate_ configurations for different "missions" on a multipurpose computer. There is no excuse for worrying about how to keep your color document scanner driver and PopCalc 5.99 loaded underneath Falcon 3! When the game is loaded, you want to give it every CPU cycle and byte of memory you've got, not waste time worrying about interactions with irrelevant software. When you're done playing, just take twenty seconds and reboot. There are a dozen little multi-config maintainers out there, or you can write your own. I just cobbled together a couple of batch files.) The other max-detail approach, which SH calls dangerous but someone tired of banging away at LOADHI[gh] combos might call infallible, is to rename SOBJECTS to some safe-keeping name and COPY OBJECTS to SOBJECTS. Now both wireframe databases are the same, so even if Falcon decides you only deserve the simple one, you get the complex one anyway. The downside to this trick is that if you really _didn't_ have enough memory for SOBJECTS, Falcon may lock up on you unexpectedly. The quickest way to find out is to create a Red Flag mission with four _different_ aircraft types in your flight, then launch and pound the '7' key. If you can see the whole flight in one screen at max magnification, you're in the clear. The other problem with copying and renaming files around, like the various user contributed "patches," is that later version upgrades will bomb verifying your files! (Many MiG-29 buyers are probably being reminded of this right now.) Make sure you have the capability to "return to cherry" when you need to. All right, that's out of my system. Somebody save it, because nobody reads archives and the question will be asked again next week... :-) [Newer Versions of DOS from MS-DOS 6 onwards now support multiple bootup parameters. It makes it very easy to maintain a multi- configuration PC. Check your DOS manual for more.] 6.2 UNDOCUMENTED KEYS Toggle time of day (shift + T) Hidden down view (great for BDA!) (shift + U) Automatic wing leveler (Ctrl + Alt + 5 (keypad)) The time of day toggle changes the apparent time of day you are flying within the simulation. If you save the mission to ACMI, the true time of day for the mission is recorded. It does not affect the campaigns or Red Flag times of day -- just think of it as the poor man's Falcon 3.0 LANTIRN. The hidden down view pretends you have a glass-bottomed cockpit floor (don't you wish!) which is helpful in determining if your dumb bombs hit the target. Just make sure you're in autopilot and have no hostiles bearing down on you when invoking this function! The automatic wing leveler instantly levels you out from whatever attitude you may be -- even when you are completely disabled from a hit and are out of the game (assuming you haven't been blown away to smithereens by missile or gunfire). You can gently flutter to the ground with 0 speed and wings level (or at least until you are in a safe enough attitude to pull the loud handle). 6.3 EXPLOITING THE HIDDEN LANDING CAPABILITIES OF YOUR F-16! Did you know that as long as you meet the landing parameters of the F-16 (gear down, flaps down, speed brakes out, airspeed around 150-180 knots and angle of attack of around 10 degrees) you can safely land anywhere -- road, desert, ground, even on the water! (Has GD created a seaplane version of the Falcon? -- I don't think so! At least you can pretend they did!) Hopefully you can save your skin and live on to fight again. 6.4 THE GOD'S-EYE VIEW IN FALCON 3.0 (DEBUG MODE) These features are accessed by first pressing the pause key (P) then immediately pressing the Tab key. You are initially put in a sort of chase view -- but with a major difference: the view ID is now labeled "PAUSE" and the following keys will help you get around in this mode (known also as PAUSE-TAB or DEBUG mode): (arrow keys not on keypad) Move forward, backward, right or left in the campaign theater (Page Up/Page Down) Increase/decrease altitude (F3) Rotate right (F4) Rotate left (Shift + F3) Rotate up (Shift + F4) Rotate down (Ctrl + rotation keys above) Fine tune rotation (plus key) Increase movement factor (minus key) Decrease movement factor (D) Debug mode -- displays map coordinates and frame rate (T) Enter Transporter Room -- teleport to any coordinate in the campaign map (tilde (~)) Continue action while in PAUSE-TAB mode. Press again to turn off. (WARNING: If you wish to continue the action while in PAUSE-TAB mode, be sure you are in autopilot before entering this mode. Otherwise, you might have to fight a runaway airplane!) READING THE DEBUG COORDINATE LEGEND This appears on the upper left of your screen when debug mode is activated: XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX A clearer example: 0128 0012 -00071368 -00445036 0001400 00025 00014 The numbers on the top two rows are an internal coordinate system that is interesting but useless unless you have a list of coordinates (and SH ain't gonna provide!). The second row contains a set of coordinates which are better -- they are, respectively, the North-South (NS) and East-West (EW) coordinates within the Falcon world you are flying (in any theatre). Highly useful for locating some unusual features left by the Falcon 3 programmers. The third group of numbers in this row is your altitude in feet (AGL) times 2, while the fourth number is the "speed" while moving through the world. Note that the NS/EW coordinates may have a minus sign before the number groups. The third line is your actual frame rate (images per second). If you exit PAUSE-TAB mode while in Debug mode, the debug info remains on screen while in the simulation. 6.4.1 SOME HOT SPOTS WORTH LOOKING AT IN THE FALCON 3.0 WORLD (Includes coordinates (NS/EW), heading and altitude) NELLIS (RED FLAG) THEATER "Elvis Lives" neon sign -- NS -71368, EW -445036 Heading: 8 degrees Altitude: 300 feet "Vegas Vic" neon sign -- NS -93397, EW -484505 Heading: 264 degrees Altitude: 200 feet "Vegas Vic" is the famous neon cowboy sign in downtown Las Vegas at the Pioneer casino. You might also see what looks like the Landmark hotel nearby (that odd-looking space needle casino which, sadly, is no longer in operation). Installing Hornet adds the Luxor and the MGM Grand Hotel. The secret source of the Grand Canyon (a giant faucet!) -- NS -365316, EW 1672511 Heading: 44 degrees Altitude: 4340 feet Kayak in the Colorado River -- NS -296452, EW 699396 Heading: 109 degrees Altitude 56 feet Donkeys hiking the Grand Canyon -- NS -227964, EW 476323 Heading: 59 degrees Altitude: 1900 feet Nellis 7-target gunnery range -- NS 715552, EW -172701 Heading: 0 degrees Altitude: 7000 feet Nellis 11-target gunnery range -- NS 990123, EW -800905 Heading: 0 degrees Altitude: 7000 feet "Falcon 3" in the desert -- NS 812122, EW -723375 Heading: 0 degrees Altitude: 10,000 feet KUWAIT THEATER (INSTANT ACTION AND CAMPAIGN) Permanently destroyed bridge -- NS 1111070, EW 74120 Heading: 348 degrees Altitude: 25 feet Well, no need to target this installation! KURILE ISLANDS THEATER (OPERATION: FIGHTING TIGER ONLY!) Godzilla vs the Love Boat -- NS -846508, EW -1601408 Heading: 141 degrees Altitude: 80 feet Dead man in the water -- NS -00034468, EW -01466383 Heading: 270 degrees Altitude: 20 feet The Panama, Israel, Korea and Pakistan theaters have not really been explored for hidden jewels -- yet!! Who knows what may be found? 6.5 SAY "CHEESE" -- THE BUILT-IN SCREEN SHOT FEATURE OF FALCON 3.0 NOTE: Although you can capture the screen within the simulation, you must have a program called SHOWF3 to view them. This is available through Compuserve's FSFORUM or packaged with the "Falcon 3: The Official Combat Strategy Book" disk (sorry, only a 3.5" disk is available). It is also available at FTP.K9.COM and its mirrors An updated version of SHOWF3 is sold with the Falcon/MiG/Hornet Commander Utilities and will allow you to save your screen shots in GIF or PCX format. Take screen shot within simulation (Ctrl + Alt + N) Take screen shot in non-sim area (war room, briefing, etc.) (Ctrl + N) Take shot within ACMI (Operation Fighting Tiger only) (Z) Take shot in PAUSE-TAB mode (N) This is how Spectrum Holobyte was able to shoot the screen shots you see in their ads. You cannot take snapshots of the opening animations, nor of the mission start/end animations. Neither can you take a snapshot of the config screens or of the Mission Computer. 6.6 A FEW OTHER HIDDEN FEATURES WORTH MENTIONING... Yes, the ACES II ejection seat is accurately modeled. ACES II works as a "zero-zero" (will work at zero speed and zero altitude) ejection seat. You will probably need more than a few sessions at the chiropractor if you do this in real life. While in ACMI, the key clears out the VCR control panel for a full-screen view of ACMI or VCR mode. The Mission Computer (a database of all the objects, air and ground in the simulation), buried within the Campaign and Red Flag options, has hidden view controls. They are: 1, Shift 1 controls yaw. 2, Shift 2 controls pitch. 3, Shift 3 controls roll. + increase rotation speed. - decrease rotation speed. Getting tired of the daily Campaign screen every time you get ready to fly? Hit to go right into the mission. Wanna fly a campaign with missions YOU decide? Unfortunately, this only works in the Kurile Islands theater. First, assign a squadron to fly the Kurile Islands. If you have a squadron already flying there, this will not work. Then click your mouse over the man checking monitors on the left -- you MUST click his head -- and you will see him say "Yes, Sir!". Commit to the campaign. After the canned opening briefing a special "Choose Mission" screen appears. Note that "PG" missions are pregenerated. This is a great way to find out what the UMF looks like. Feel like seeing the edge of space? Load LESSON1 in Red Flag. Then get on the runway, apply wheel brakes let 'er rip with the afterburners. Take off the wheel brakes as soon as you sense motion. Raise the nose at about 130 knots and IMMEDIATELY raise the gear. Put the nose up to about an 75-degree angle, gradually raising it to 90 degrees. Keep it on AB5 until you run out of air at about 65-70,000 feet. 7.0 OTHER FAQ'S 7.1 FALCON 3.0 HIGH FIDELITY FLIGHT MODEL The high-fidelity flight model in Falcon 3.0 was originally developed for ASAT, or Advanced Situational Awareness Trainer, which was an air intercept trainer for the USAF. Its inclusion in Falcon 3.0 has generated many questions as to how it behaves. The following remarks are applicable to the high-fidelity flight model in all versions of Falcon 3.0: - Hi-fi flight model does not function at airspeeds under approx 270 knots. Below this, the player's aircraft is controlled by the complex flight model. There is a noticeable transition when this airspeed threshold is crossed. - Hi-fi flight models weight limitations somewhat, in that planes loaded in excess of 32,000 pounds will crash as soon as they exceed 270 knots in a takeoff. - Hi-fi flight model doesn't model G limitations (nor does Complex), so you can pull 9 G's with a full load of fuel and ordnance. However, you'll lose airspeed in the turn, until you cross below the 270 knot threshold and re-enter Complex flight model. If you stay in a turn, you can yo-yo between the two flight models indefinitely. - Hi-fi flight model doesn't model drag effects; you can travel at 450 knots at zero throttle indefinitely. - Hi-fi flight model's airbrakes are dramatically more effective than those in Complex flight model. - Hi-fi flight model causes your F16 to travel at least 40 knots faster Complex flight model at the same throttle settings Note that wingmen, enemies, and your plane in Autopilot always use Complex flight model, not Hi-fi. 7.2 COMMON BUGS 7.2.1 COPY LEADER BUG When using the COPY LEADER button on the Arm Planes menu screen, sometimes it causes the hard drive to spin but nothing happens. What's happening? From: bash@ihlpb.att.com Subject: Re: multiple topics The copy leader loadout hang up - this is not a hangup. No, it's not 8-). It sometimes is *VERY* slow. I mean *REALLY* slow. I mean, like 3 or 4 minutes slow. But, everytime I have waited on it, it has always spun the hdisk continuously, and always returned. After I installed smartdrv, the problem has completely went away. I think their disk read needs some optimization and using a cache just speeds the whole process up. My observations here have been independantly verified by many people on CIS. This doesn't mean the pause ain't a bug, it just ain't a lockup 8-). 7.2.2 WINGMEN WON'T LAND AT ALTERNATE FIELDS The Falcon 3.0 manual says I can set waypoints so as to let my wingmen land at airfields other than the one we started at. But, it doesn't work. Why? From: bash@ihlpb.att.com Subject: Re: multiple topics I'll throw my $.02 into the ring as well. Wrt to landing, it seems SH's right hand is unaware of what SH's left hand is saying. Way before F3 was publicly released, we (the beta crew) had asked for a "bingo field" option, where we could place a LAND waypoint over a different base and the wingmen would land there. This never worked. The F3 manual still mentions it, but you are never allowed to select LAND at any airbase other than the one you started from. Next came Shft-B. Early on everyone realized you might need to bypass a waypoint. After a few of use accidently hit SHFT-B when going for SHFT-N, SH added the SHFT-V "previous waypoint" command. At no time did anyone ever mention pilots looking for bingo fields. While working on F3:TCH, this was a hot topic for me. As each patch came out, I wrestled with No.19 and various programmers to find out *exactly* what changed so as to keep the book current. I was flatly told by Gary Stotlemeyer (sp?) over the phone that your F-16s would never land anywhere except their origination base. OK, so here's some comments to those who have posted: 1) To Tom Neff (are you "Rattler" from FSFORUM?) how did you verify that the allied planes landed at another base? Did you watch it on a VCR? Did you get the (now mythical) "pilot is uavailable because he is at another airbase" message? If you have a VCR, PLEASE send it to me. I'd prefer to receive it on CI$, but can accept UUENCODED mail at this address. 2) For Jim, re: landing at bingo fields when low on fuel. Again, I have not ever been able to reproduce this. I've just had them continue to scream "Fuel is low" every few seconds over and over and over again. Have you ever seen one of your F-16s land at another base? 3) Also for Jim: I have used your idea of putting a waypoint over an allied base, even though I couldn't select LAND as an action. When I did get into trouble, I'd land there. This worked well except none of my other planes would land with me. At any rate, I highly reccommend this tactic. 4) Regarding Atlas' comments, a) this is not what the programmers told me personnally (that was before OFT, though), and b) In Kuwait, Allied forces almost always capture one or two airbases due east of my starting base. Some of my waypoint constructs should have placed them in Atlas' second category, but to date I have never witnessed an allied plan landing at another base. This whole thing is a very important topic, though. If just once we can get a VCR shot of this happening (or maybe a good photo of a sasquatch), this revolutionizes how a lot of us fight campaigns. Many of us don't utilize bingo field tactics because we didn't think they worked. If they do, however, that opens a lot of options, especially later in a campaign when allied forces have captured additional bases. If anyone can get this on VCR, please send it to me at "bash@ihlpb.ATT.COM". 7.2.3 MAKING THE MUD MOVE: AIR-TO-GROUND BUGS Ground targets in all versions of Falcon 3.0 often have a special place where they must be hit, or the program won't give credit for hits. In general, if a hit causes the target to change color or shape, you'll get credit for it. Here are two common situations and their solutions: RUNWAYS: Even though I manage to hit a runway with Durandals, I don't seem to be able to get the program to acknowledge that I've hit it. Why? From: opus@ihlpf.att.com Subj: Re: Hitting Runways ..I routinely take out runways with just two durandals. The question of how to take out runways in F3 comes up often. There is a magic spot on every runway that you must hit. If you zoom all the way in during the briefing, you will see the red bulleye right on this spot. I believe it's the point closest to the hangar. What I do is to take along Mavericks as well as a pair of durandals. When I get close to the runway, I do the following: - select Mavericks - cycle through the targets until it points at a spot on the runway - line up the plane so it points right at that spot (the "magic spot" :^) - select durandals - bombs away--don't miss! It is actually easier to spot this point if you don't fly along the length of the runway, contrary to what you might think is the ideal approach angle. RAILYARDS: Even though I hit the railyard target with GBU-15's, I didn't get credit for the hit. Why? From: wedge%rccw22@rcc.rti.org Subj: Bombing a railyard I have also attacked railyards and not have the after-action wrapup give me credit for it. According to the documentation, campaign mode bombing missions are successful if any target at the target site is destroyed, and if I remember correctly from the OFT manual, it says that GBU15's and the heavier "slicks" (Mk84's?) are needed to damage a railyard. Did you load out your attacking flight with GBU15's, by chance? If so, it looks like you are a victim of a bug in the way that the game deals with guided weapons and railyard targets. Here's what I've observed: Notice that each railyard target is an area of RR tracks with a box in the center. You need to hit the box in order to damage the target. In OFT, and probably 3.0D and earlier versions as well, if you launch on a railyard with GBU15's or other guided weapons they will strike the yard and not the box in the center. If you lock up a GBU15 on a railyard, and look at the representation on your multi-function display, you'll see how it's going to miss that box. I'm guessing that happens to your wingmen, too. So, for scoring purposes, you will miss every time if you use guided weapons on a railyard. The only way to hit it is with Mk84's "slicks". 7.3 AVOIDING SAMS From: cisko@d0tokensun.fnal.gov (Greg Cisko) Subject: avoiding SAMs Evading AA missles has always been difficult for me. I successfully could shake an AA missle about 05% of the time. This was either radar or IR models. I had asked for advice. There was the usual advice about changing direction & putting max g-s on the jet ect... I still couldn't do it. Then I read that when an IR AA missle is launched, this person would dodge them by pulling back on the stick & releasing flares. This was nothing more than a loop, & I didn't think it would work. Well it does work. I can now dodge over 90% of the AA missles coming my way. I do all of my dogfighting in paddlock, so I am not sure how well it works in other views. In general it shouldn't matter at all though. So...when I hear a missle launch warning I hit paddlock view. It tells you what kind of missle got launched. (this is probably why paddlock should be used!) If it is a SAM(R), turn on your ECM pod & release chaff. If the missile won't unlock turn on your radar & turn toward the missle. If it is an APEX (AA Radar) pull back on the stick & release a lot of chaff. If it is an ATOLL or MAGIC (AA IR) pull back on the stick & release a lot of flares. Also turning off your AB couldn't hurt. 7.4 FALCON 3.0 SQUADRON LISTINGS FALCON 3.0 SQUADRON LISTINGS By Chuck "Nuke'em" Corway (CIS: 72672,1553) Yes indeed, those squadrons with the funny-sounding names in Falcon 3.0 ARE genuine active U.S. Air Force fighter squadrons flying F-16s. Below is a listing of the Falcon 3.0 squadrons, identified through the quarterly publication World Air Power Journal (Volume 5, Spring 1991). Squadrons are identified by nickname first (as in the game), the unit number, parent wing, location, and tail code (the two large letters on the tail of most F-16s). ABBREVIATIONS: TFS -- Tactical Fighter Squadron TFG -- Tactical Fighter Group TFW -- Tactical Fighter Wing TTW -- Tactical Training Wing TFTS -- Tactical Fighter Training Squadron FIG -- Fighter Interceptor Group FIS -- Fighter Interceptor Squadron AFB -- Air Force Base (USA only) AB -- Air Base (overseas except United Kingdom) ANG -- Air National Guard ANGB -- Air National Guard Base AFRes -- Air Force Reserve. NOTE: As of 1 June 1992, the designation "Tactical" disappeared from fighter units with the deactivation of Tactical Air Command. The new command that replaces TAC is now called Air Combat Command -- not to worry, the old TAC winged sword insignia has been adopted by ACC. For clarity, the old designation remains. Fighting Tenth 10th TFS, 50th TFW, Hahn AB, Germany (HR) Hooters 17th TFS, 363rd TFW, Shaw AFB, SC (SW) Falcons 33rd TFS, 363rd TFW, Shaw AFB, SC (SW) Rams 34th TFS, 388th TFW, Hill AFB, UT (HL) Black Widows 421st TFS, 388th TFW, Hill AFB UT (HL) Squids 613th TFS, 401st TFW, Torrejon AB, Spain (TJ) Dragons 512th TFS, 86th TFW, Ramstein AB, Germany (RS) Lucky Devils 614th TFS, 401st TFW, Torrejon AB, Spain (TJ) Fighting Eagles 612th TFS, 401st TFW, Torrejon AB, Spain (TJ) Swamp Fox(es) 157th TFS, 169th TFG, South Carolina ANG, McEntire ANGB, SC (SC)* Flying Fiends 36th TFS, 51st TFW, Osan AB, Korea (OS) Black Knights 526th TFS, 86th TFW, Ramstein AB, Germany (RS) White Knights 70th TFS, 347th TFW, Moody AFB, GA (MY) Phantoms 35th TFS, 8th TFW, Kunsan AB, Korea (WP) Sun Devils 302nd TFS, 944th TFG (AFRes), Luke AFB, AZ (LR) Lightning Lancers 68th TFS, 347th TFW, Moody AFB GA (MY) Fighting Foujins 4th TFS, 388th TFW, Hill AFB, UT (HL) Michigan Wolves 107th FIS, 191st FIG, Selfridge ANGB, MI (no tail code carried -- this squadron is also known as the "Six Pack") * Later photos (taken during Desert Storm) deletes this code and replaces it with a blue and white "South Carolina" fin flash. Here are other USAF F-16 squadrons worthy of mention, that should have been, but were not included in the game. Many of the ANG squadrons do not carry the two-letter tailcodes that are pretty much standard throughout the Air Force. Panthers 81st TFS, 52nd TFW, Spangdahlem AB, Germany (SP) Fighting Hawks 23rd TFS, 52nd TFW, Spangdahlem AB, Germany (SP) Warhawks 480th TFS, 52nd TFW, Spangdahlem AB, Germany (SP) Gamecocks 19th TFS, 363rd TFW, Shaw AFB, SC (SW) Headhunters 80th TFS, 8th TFW, Kunsan AB, Korea (WP) The Boys from Syracuse 138th TFS, 174th TFG, New York Air National Guard, Syracuse, NY (NY) Wild Ducks 309th TFS, 31st TFW, Homestead AFB, FL (HS) Knights 308th TFS, 31st TFW, Homestead AFB, FL (HS) Tophats 310th TFTS, 58th TTW, Luke AFB, AZ (LF) Sidewinders 311th TFTS, 58th TTW, Luke AFB, AZ (LF) Scorpions 312th TFTS, 58th TTW, Luke AFB, AZ (LF) Happy Hooligans 119th FIG, North Dakota ANG, Fargo, ND Ace in the Hole 111th FIS, 147th FIG, Ellington ANGB, TX Green Mountain Boys 134th FIS, 158th TFG, Vermont ANG, Burlington, VT Jersey Devils 119th FIS, 177th FIG, New Jersey ANG, Atlantic City, NJ Fly'n Illini 170th TFS, 183rd TFG, Illinois ANG, Springfield, IL (SI) Jayhawks 184th TFG, Kansas ANG, McConnell AFB, KS Flying Razorbacks 184th TFS, 188th TFG, Arkansas ANG, Fort Smith, AR (FS) Florida Makos 93rd TFS, 482nd TFW (AFRes), Homestead AFB, FL (FM) Diamondbacks 466th TFS, 419th TFW (AFRes), Hill AFB, UT (HI) "Sierra Hotel" 465th TFS, 507th TFG (AFRes), Tinker AFB, OK ("S*** Hot") (SH) Big Sky Country 120th FIG, Montana ANG, Great Falls, MT Mile High Militia 120th TFS, 140th TFW, Colorado ANG, Buckley ANGB, Colorado (CO) If you're REALLY serious about realism when using your squadrons in a campaign, here are some pointers: Korea campaign: Use the Flying Fiends or the Phantoms squadron. Desert Storm/Kuwait campaign: Falcons, Hooters, Lucky Devils, Squids, Fighting Eagles, Fighting Tenth, Swamp Fox, Dragons, Black Knights, Rams, Black Widows. Interesting geographical error: King Khalid Military City is actually in Saudi Arabia, NOT in Kuwait! Many of the units were based all over Saudi Arabia, Oman and Turkey. KKMC during the war was host to an A-10 squadron. For all the other theaters, take your pick. With the advent of the new "super" wing concept, (currently the 3rd, 4th, 23rd, 343rd Wings, with various types of aircraft) chances are that in time of crisis, one or more of these wings would be sent. Well, that's it for now. Enjoy Falcon 3.0 knowing that these squadrons are real and are not the contrived product of a game designer's mind -- well, if you want to strive for total realism, you've gotta do your homework! Check six, Nuke 'em PS: If any FSFORUM member can come up with more (official and semi-official) F-16 squadron nicknames other than those listed here, just post me a message at the above E-mail address. The following list contains each of the squdrons included in Hornet:NSF. I collected this information from World Power Jorunal's "US Navy & Marine Corp Air Power Directory". This was published in late 1992. As such, it may not be entirely acurate. However, I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Naval/Marine air power. I have included a suggested theater for several of the squadrons due to historical significance, current station or other similar factor. Not all squadrons have a suggested theater. Navy Squadron Designation Base & Tail Letters Theater(s) Valions VFA-15 NAS Cecil Field, FL: 'AJ' Iraq The Valions were converted from A-7 Corsair IIs to F/A- 18As on October 1, 1986. It is part of CVW-8 aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Fist of the Fleet VFA-25 NAS Lemoore, CA: 'NK' VFA-25 was founded January 1, 1943 and is part of CVW-14. Sunliners VFA-81 NAS Cecil Field, FL: 'AA' Iraq Operating as part of CVW-17 aboard the Saratoga, the Sunliners took part in the Persian Gulf War from its inception. The Hornet manual discusses the F/A-18s versatility and cites an incident in the Gulf War in which two Hornets on route to a ground strike shoot down two MiG-21 and then continue on to complete their ground strike. Lt. Cmdr. Mark Fox and Lt. Nick Mongillo from VFA-81 were the two pilots that performed actually performed so valiantly. Sidewinders VFA-86 NAS Cecil Field, FL: 'AB' Iraq As part of CVW-1, the Sidewinders was stationed aboard the USS America and flew combat missions during the Gulf War. Golden Warriors VFA-87 NAS Cecil Field, FL: 'AJ' Iraq Like VFA-15, Valions, the Golden Warriors are part of CVW- 8 aboard the Roosevelt. It is mentioned that they took part in the Gulf War. Rough Riders VFA-125 NAS Lemoore, CA: 'NJ' Iraq This squadron is part of the West Coast FRS squardron for F/A-18 training. It, too, was deployed during the Gulf War. Wildcats VFA-131 NAS Cecil Field, FL: 'AG' Iraq, Israel, Bosnia The Wildcats were established relatively recently as a brand new Hornet squadron (1983). It is part of CVW-7 aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower today. However, in 1986, this squadron flew from the USS Coral Sea and took part in operations versus Libya. Since joining the Ike, VFA-131 took part in Desert Shield but returned to the Med prior to Desert Storm. Privateers VFA-132 NAS Lemoore, CA: 'AE' Iraq, Israel Also a relatively new squadron, the Privateers began operating the F/A-18C on January 9, 1984. Like VFA-131, VFA-132 saw combat in Libya in 1986. The Privateers do have an interesting story about an unusual kill. It seems that in 1991 Lt. Bill Reilly was sent up to shoot down a crippled E-2C Hawkeye over the Med after the crew parachuted to safety. On June 1, 1992, VFA-132 was disestablished when the Forrestal (its current carrier assignment) was converted to a training carrier. Knighthawks VFA-136 NAS Cecil Field, FL: 'AG' Iraq, Israel This squadron flew with the Wildcats during actions in Libya and Desert Storm. Golden Dragon VFA-192 NAS Atsugi, Japan: 'NF' Japan Actually called the World Famous Golden Dragons, VFA-192 was formed at the end of World War II as VFA-153. During it's long history, the Golden Dragon's have flown FJ-4B Furies and A-7 Corsair IIs. Marine Sqdns. Designation Base & Tail Letters Theater(s) Silver Eagles VMFA-115 MCAS Beaufort, SC: 'VE' Japan, Iraq During Vietnam, VMFA-115 flew F-4 Phantoms and has made deployments in Japan and Denmark. It was also part of the Marines land- based efforts during Desert Storm. Crusaders VMFA-122 MCAS Beaufort, SC: 'DC' Japan, Iraq Also an ex-Phantom squadron, the Crusaders have toured Japan and Norway. Lancers VMFA-212 MCAS Kaneohe Bay, HI: 'WD' Another ex-Phantom sqadron. Red Devils VMFA-232 MCAS Kaneohe Bay, HI: 'WT' Japan During Desert Storm, VMFA-232 was deployed to Bahrain. Death Angels VMFA-235 MCAS Kaneohe Bay, HI: 'DB' The 'Angels' are an old squadron with a long history in the F-4 Phantom. Thunderbolts VMFA-251 MCAS Beaufort, SC: 'DW' The Thunderbolts became the third Marine unit on the East Coast to receive the F/A-18. It shares its nickname with the Navy's HSL-84. Checkertails VMFA-312 MCAS Beaufort, SC: 'DR' Actually called the Checkerboards, VMFA-312 is also an ex- Phantom squadron. Black Knights VMFA-314 MCAS El Toro, CA: 'VW' Israel The Black Knights cruised with the USS Coral Sea and saw combat during Operations Pairie Fire and El Dorado against Libya. Additionally, it has been deployed to Egypt and Japan. Death Rattlers VMFA-323 MCAS El Toro, CA: 'WS' Israel Participating with VMFA-314, the 'Rattlers' saw action in Libya as well as Egypt and Japan. Shamrocks VMFA-333 MCAS Beaufort, SC: 'DN' Iraq From July, 1971, until December of that same year, the Shamrocks were the first Marine unit (at that time operating F-4 Phantoms) to be stationed aboard an aircraft carrier. In 1972, Maj. Thomas 'Bear' Lasseter and Capt. John Cummings shot down the only kill by a Marine flying crew during Vietnam. The loser in this fight was a MiG-21. Also, the squadron was deployed to Bahrain during Desert Storm and flew many CAS, Interdiction and SEAD missions during the war. It was established March 31, 1992. Warlords VMFA-451 MCAS Beaufort, SC: 'VM' In 1989, the Warlords was assigned to CVW-13 aboard the Coral Sea. Grey Ghosts VMFA-531 MCAS El Toro, CA: 'EC' Korea Among other things, the 'Ghosts' were the first Marine fixed-wing squadron to be stationed in SE Asia. 7.5 GUIDE TO WINGMAN RADIO TRANSMISSIONS (COMPLETE AND UNCENSORED!) (NOTE: Digitized voices can only be heard with a mininum of 2MB RAM -- otherwise, text only will flash on upper screen. Most of these calls are digitized, however some generic radio calls are reproduced with static instead of a digitized voice.) "Negative. Pigeons to home plate" -- Return to base. Waypoint cannot be bypassed beyond this one. "Kilo Mike Alpha" -- Kiss My Ass. You have ordered your wingman to do something really stupid such as breaking low at less than 100 feet -- and obviously he doesn't mince words! Rarely heard. "I'm picking up a spike" -- Wingman has detected radar (air or ground) being pointed at the formation. "Radar contact (bearing in degrees and range in miles)" -- Wingman has a solid radar contact. This is a steering cue for interception to a possible bogie. "Stranger (X o'clock)" -- Unexpected friendly aircraft flying in the area, be careful. "Waypoint (X)(bearing in degrees and range in miles)". From AWACS -- steering cue to the waypoint bearing. Falcon 3.03 replaces this call with static, but the text is not changed. "Unable" -- Wingman is unable to comply with your command. Heard more often (and sounds better than "Kilo Mike Alpha"). "Copy fence check" -- Wingman has checked all weapons ready for action. Heard only if Shift + E is pressed with no action in sight. "Be advised, I've gone winchester" -- Wingman has run out of all weapons (air-to-air/air-to-ground), except guns. "Copy, disengage, will resume" -- Wingman has been ordered to "knock it off" by leader. "Clean, clear and naked" -- Nothing on radar, no visual sightings, no threat indications. You can relax for a bit. "Fox one!" -- Wingman has launched an AMRAAM. "Fox two!" -- Wingman has launched a Sidewinder (AIM-9P (Papa)) "Fox two mike!" -- Wingman has launched a Sidewinder (AIM-9M (Mike)) "Atoll! Atoll!" -- Rear-aspect infrared missile (AA-2 Atoll) fired at your wingman. All you get is the "LNH" (missile launch indicator). Atoll is a Soviet copy of the Sidewinder. "Magic! Magic!" -- All-aspect infrared missile (Matra R.550 Magic) fired at your wingman. This is a French-built A-A missile similar to the AIM-9M "Apex inbound!" -- An active radar-homing missile (AA-7 Apex) has been fired and is inbound. The Apex is a Soviet A-A missile similar in performance to the AIM-7 Sparrow. "Guns! Guns! Guns!" -- Wingman firing M61A1 cannon. "Flame out! Flame out!" -- Wingman has suffered severe engine damage due to a hit or has run out of fuel. Usually followed by "Ejecting!" or "I'm hit! I'm hit!" "Bandit! Bandit! (X o'clock)" Enemy aircraft sighted, usually followed by clock position. Wingman will usually ask for permission to engage if this is the first bandit encounter. "Singer high!" Surface to air missile launched. Rarely heard, since the "LNH" indicator immediately lights up. TAKE IMMEDIATE EVASIVE ACTION!!! "Request you check joker" -- Wingman is low on fuel and is requesting you check your fuel state. "Be advised, fuel is low!" -- Wingman is dangerously low on fuel. Any action other than returning to base could cause a flameout. "Fuel critical, fuel critical" -- Wingman is running on fumes. If an immediate return to base or to a bingo fuel airfield is not called, he will be forced to eject. "Maverick, Maverick!" -- Wingman has launched a Maverick (AGM- 65B/D) air to-ground missile at a ground target. "Rockets away!" -- Wingman has launched LAU-5003A rockets at a ground target. "Bombs away!" -- Wingman has released bombs or other stores at a ground target. "Closing on ground targets" -- Ground targets ahead, wingman beginning attack run. Followed by "Request permission to attack". "Closing on primary target" -- Primary target ahead, wingman beginning bomb run. "I'm already committed!" -- Wingman has started attack run and cannot break off. Only heard if pressing (Shift + E) after granting permission to attack. "I'm not engaged!" -- Wingman is not engaged in attack. Only heard if (Shift + Q) is pressed with no target designated. "I'm hit! I'm hit!" -- Wingman has been hit, almost always followed by the "Ejecting!" command. This wingman is out of the fight (obviously!). If no communication has been heard from any one of your wingmen for some time after an engagement, assume the worst has happened and press on. Chances are he either punched out or was hit and killed. "Music on!" -- Wingman has turned on ECM pod. "PULL UP! PULL UP! PULL UP!" (voice message system (Bitchin' Betty)) -- You are in immediate danger of becoming a powered lawn dart (they're not even sold any more!!). If you do not take immediate action such as pulling back on the stick you're a goner. In addition, a converging arrow cue is visible. getting closer as you get on a first-name basis with the gophers! It will shut off only if you take the appropriate action. "CAUTION!-CAUTION!" (Bitchin' Betty) -- Activates only when the Master Caution indicator lights up on the glareshield. It only turns off if you go to the right interior view, where the warning/caution panel is located so you can see the item that caused the light to go on in the first place. If ALL the lights are lit up, you better hope your ACES II seat works!! "WARNING!-WARNING! (pause) WARNING!-WARNING!" (Bitchin' Betty) -- Indicates a major systems failure has occurred in your aircraft, such as an engine failure, or an enemy missile has lodged up your tailpipe. Nine times out of ten you might survive, otherwise it'll be a quick and dirty end for you. "Be advised -- enemy ECM activity detected." -- AWACS has detected enemy aircraft with ECM transmitters operating. Who said shooting down a MiG was going to be a cakewalk? "Copy bracket (left or right)" -- Wingman executing a bracket maneuver. "Copy drag (left or right) -- nail him!" -- Wingman executing a drag maneuver. "Dumping air-to-ground stores!" -- Wingman jettisoning bombs and/or air-to-ground missiles to lighten his load, usually because an enemy fighter has jumped him. No air-to-air ordnance is jettisoned, however. "Breaking (high, low, left, right)" -- Wingman executing break maneuver. "Rolling out" -- Wingman rolling straight and level. "Copy. Kicking out" -- Wingman spreading out formation. "Copy. Closing it up" -- Wingman closing up formation. "Copy. Returning to base" -- Wingman returning to base. This is the last you'll hear from them as they bug out for home when you tell them. "Harpoon away!" -- Wingman has launched an AGM-84A Harpoon anti- ship missile (heard only in the Kurile Islands theatre). "Closing on ship target" -- Wingman has acquired a ship target and is closing in for the kill (heard only in the Kurile Islands theatre). "You are violating rules of engagement!" -- From AWACS in the Kuriles only. Isn't it obvious? See you at the General Court Martial when -- and if -- you return! "Be advised, increased enemy air activity!" -- From AWACS in the Kuriles only. See what your ROE violation just did? Now you have a load of pissed-off Russkies going after us! "Permission given to destroy enemy aircraft!" -- From AWACS in the Kuriles only. You heard 'em, now kick some Russian ass! This doesn't mean you are authorized to blast away every Russkie on the ground. "You're on your own..." Your Whiskey Delta (Weak Dick -- the worst insult you can call a fighter pilot) wingman just bugged out on you, it's time to try out some John Wayne fighter tactics against the Russian fighter squadron closing in at your twelve o'clock... "One Russian bugging out..." "There goes one fine Russian pilot -- Nyet!" "No cojones on that Russian!" -- Your wingman has been able to persuade that pesky Fulcrum, Flanker (or whatever the Russkies just sent you) to go back to the Motherland and fight another day. "Smoked a bogie!" "Nailed him!" "Alpha Mike Foxtrot!" (Adios Mother Fucker) "Yo -- your fries are done!" "Scratch one, down in flames! "Watch the canopy when you punch out, jack!" "Time to feed the worms, bud!" -- Miscellaneous kill calls from your wingman. "Paint us like Thunderbirds first, sir!" -- Smartass remark from your wingman when you close up the formation too much. "Negative -- maintianing visual contact." -- You've spread out the formation too far. "Do svidaniya, stupid American!" -- From the Russian TU-22. Now you've really pissed 'em off! And just to get even he just launched a UMF(Unmanned Fighter) at you! 7.6 FALCON AND SCSI PROBLEMS I've heard a lot about Falcon not running with Adapted SCSI adapters, and the only answer I could think of is that Adaptec is by default set on 330h, which is where Falcon looks for the Roland MT-32/LAPC-1 synthesizer. My suggestion is to change the address for the Adaptec card and see what happens. I've suggested this to a *lot* of people, but they never emailed me back telling me if it worked or not. 7.7 OS/2 AND FALCON I really don't know what to put in here since I don't have any experience with OS/2. So if anyone has any contributions, email me. 8.0 THANKS (in no particular order) Jeff Beadles, Jim Knutson, Greg Cisko, Chuck Corway, Frank Racis, Gabe Turk, Tom Basham, Tom Neff, Rob (opus@ihlpf.att.com), Joel Robertson, John Threadgill, the SH reps, and the everyone on the Falcon3 mailing list for their ideas, suggestions, questions, and contributions. -- Kristoffer Ongbongan Krismon on IRC krismon@neuromancer.hacks.arizona.edu -=- The Electronic Battlefield Series FAQ ftp://ftp.hacks.arizona.edu/pub/krismon/ebsfaq (ebsfaq or falcon3 faq) http://neuromancer.hacks.arizona.edu/~krismon