After Hours – Falcon 3.0 + Operation Flying Tiger

You must also have at least 600K of free memory and at least 11Mb of free disk space, plus some 3Mb for the “Flying Tiger” update. Usually, this means owning either MSDOS 5. 0 or MSDOS6. 0. Troublesome Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programmes must be eliminated, but I found that using MSDOS 6. 0’s Memmaker utility, I can run Falcon 3. 0 from my normal configuration which includes Highmem, EMM386, SetVer, Smartdrive and a Mouse Driver, all loaded into high memory, with 614K left for programmes. MSDOS 6. 0 is now an acceptable operating system for games nuts like myself.

Before you start to feed the floppy discs through the install programme, spend some time reading the manual. This is the most thorough piece of work of its type that I have seen, with complete details on all aspects of operating a Falcon presented in fine detail. I remember studying the Mirage IIIO manual at some depth with this manual being much shorter than the Falcon 3. 0 handbook-now isn’t that a sign of the times! If you get tired of the scenarios, you can purchase a follow-on “Operation Flying Tiger” module that adds several new weapons, systems and operating locations to the game, requiring an additional 3Mb of disc space and providing another 130 pages of flight manual. It’s a bit like updating and F-111C with new avionics, but at $45 an upgrade, it’s much, much cheaper. Loading the programmes gave no problems, and I was soon enjoying the impressive loading screen, where fluffy birds cheep in a still morning sunrise, only to have the silence shattered by a combat scene where a Falcon converts a noisy metal bird to an expanding fireball. Make sure you have a sound card for this game as the sound features are impressive and add a lot to the reality of the game.

System setup shows the thoroughness of the game. Configuring the software to the hardware is nearly automatic, but the ability to configure the game to your needs is impressive, giving the first inkling of what is to come. From the “War Room” scene shown in Picture 2, the “Config” selection takes you to the choices shown in Picture 3. By my calculations, there are 552,960 possible selections! For each selection, a skill level is computed and displayed. Take my advice-start by keeping everything simple, using the lowest settings and turning SAMS-AAA off, that is, unless you are a complete masochist.

Back at the War Room, you see screens blinking on an off. After selecting your Squadron at the lower right, you start to train by selecting the Rad Flag option. The map of Nellis AFB and the operations manual are both essential, as you work your way through the 10 training missions. If you have graduated from Jetfighter II, this is an excellent way to come to grips with the full complexities of the Fighting Falcon. However, be prepared to set aside about 15 hours for the full conversion course. Picture 4 shows the setup of the Red Flag training. You can create and save your own missions if you wish.

I skipped the simpler missions and used Review 1 to practice circuits, always a good way to get your hand in on a new bird. Here I found a problem with the simulation. My PC has a fast 486DX33 with a graphics accelerator card and a good joystick, so I selected the High Fidelity option. The F-16 flew beautifully above 200 knots, with smooth and sensitive controls that are at least as good as those in Jetfighter II.

Below 200 knots, in the critical approach for landing phase, the Falcon becomes a lead sled, and refused to turn even with 60 degrees of bank on. You must use rudders to turn at low speeds. Even the Mirage would turn with aileron at slow speeds, right down to 120 knots (I can admit that now they have sold them all!). The power setting is hypercritical because of adverse drag. Notice in Picture 6 that the velocity vector (the round pipper at the bottom of the HUD,) falls well short of the runway, despite the AOA indexer showing the aircraft being on-speed. One notch more power and the aircraft overshoots, one notch less and you crash and burn on short finals. The ILS is not sensitive enough to make an accurate approach, which is a pity because you cannot see the runway until it is too late to position accurately – at least not with the turning ability as modelled.

Overall, this is my only criticism of Falcon. The solution to making Falcon 3. 0 fly like a real fighter is to set the flight model in the Config screen to “Moderate” and to approach a bit faster on finals than suggested by the AOA lights. I suggest 190 knots until short finals. Flap helps.

If you have completed the Red Flag exercise, or feel the need for some instant adrenaline, select Instant Action from the War Room. This selection takes you direct to a battle situation where you are behind a flight of four Mirage Fls. With the CH Flightstick, the top button selects the weapon and the trigger fires it. Rapidly switch to the “fire and forget” AIM-9L or AIM-9M, and blast away. Sometimes you are thrown into a night exercise which is a good test to see how aware you are of the ground location using the ladder bars on the HUD in combination with the altimeter. Frequently, I forget and am treated to Bitchin’ Betty politely telling me to pull up before I hit the dirt. The close scrapes I have survived in this simulation are not something I would like to experience in real life.

The guns display is especially fun, and is shown in Picture 7. A floating funnel appears on the HUD, and you manoeuvre the target into the funnel and give it a big squirt. The system is quite intuitive and after a couple of practice encounters, you get the enemy in the slot and are rewarded with pieces of aircraft flying off, smoke and then a fireball. Lovely stuff for knucks! One of the impressive features in Falcon 3. 0 is the ability to “Padlock” a target. The restricted view in flight simulators is always a problem, now overcome by being able to “Lockup” a target and follow it around the sky. The view contains four windows – the view of the target, a small data screen, a 360 degree strip showing the target, and a small screen with an artificial horizon. I spent over an hour trying to master this presentation, with mixed success. Because the presentation does not show the edges of the cockpit, you lose directional references. Looking aft, the eye-hand control inputs reverse, making it near impossible to fly and fight. Notwithstanding, this feature is a giant leap forward, and in battle, you flick between F8 Padlock and F3 forward views to keep track of the closest threat. Hopefully, later versions will have the graphics capability to show the target relative to the cockpit sills, giving a natural view to trained pilots.

The flight controls are very good, with smooth scrolling and excellent presentation of aircraft and ground targets. There are several options for viewing, and in air combat, I found the heads up – HUD only display excellent. The programme lacks the pan facility of Jetfighter II, but in combination with the Padlock feature, is quite adequate.

The usual end to the Instant Action is to be hit from an unseen missile. If you turn SAMS-AAA on in the Config option, the air battle becomes incredibly complicated with the need to moni- tor the ground forces radar and missile launches. A one armed paper hanger has a breeze of a job in comparison with the concentration required to keep track of all the enemy aircraft in the area, plus all the radars locking on, plus the SAMS being launched.

If you can stay alive for 20 minutes, you are doing well. The most frequent result is a flash of yellow as you are consumed by a missile fireball, the aircraft spins out of control and Bitchin’ Betty nasally drones “carshun, carshun, carshun, carshun. . . . ” as you plummet to the ground. Eject, its worth it just to get away from that terrible voice! Missions are superbly presented, being accurate to the point of being boring most of the time, followed by heart pounding, adrenaline-pumping action over the target areas. These missions are selected from the right War Room panel with the “Commit” option. You use many of the same screens as the Red Flag training to set the mission parameters, including the weapons load for the aircraft. You cannot always have the weapons you would like, which is a frequent situation in a war zone.

Ienjoy the Kuwait operations, where a common mission is to escort B-52s or A-10s to the target. Take care to “Ident” any reported bogeys, because some inbounds are friendly. You press the IdeNt key, and if the locked target is friendly, you get a rasping return. If not, you can get the first score towards your ace rating.

Finding the aircraft you are escorting is a bit weak in the simulation. While you get a steady stream of information both in voice and as banners at the top of the HUD, I would like to have received a vector onto the bombers. You are frequently called on to investigate unknowns that could be a threat, and you have to be quite skilled at intercepts to dart off, fight the battle, then return to your charges.

Once you find them, you can have a lot of fun with formation flying. Yes, the controls are that good. After you get the B-52 on the radar screen, you can complete an intercept with a visual sighting, and slide right up along side the BUFF. Because the B-52s and A-10s are much slower than the fighting speed of the F-16, it pays to hold a few knots extra and weave, always ready to take on the intercepting Mirages and MiGs as they come. Air-to-ground weapons are excellently modelled. There is a comprehensive range of weapons to load, and the cockpit release indicators are equally well done. You have to train assiduously to be skilled in this area, as there are no simplifying systems such as the track camera presentation in F-117A Stealth Fighter. First, you have to find the targets yourself using the map and radar functions, then fly the correct positioning and release profiles. The lack of full vision makes air to ground deliveries harder than real life.

Missions include wingmen. They accompany you and follow your lead and directions. Since it is possible for you to give commands, they are a real asset in battle. At the end of each mission, you get a read out of what happened. The state of the campaign depends on how well you did with your own mission, and if you fly well and destroy the targets set in the mission brief, the amount of blue territory expands and the red shrinks. After each mission, the state of play is adjusted and the enemy positions reflect the Forward Edge of the Battle Area (FEBA). Not only is the aircraft play interactive, but the battle zone is as well. This is a very realistic way of presenting both a tactical and strategic view.

There is a brilliant feature of this simulation – Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation (ACMI). By pressing Control-R at any time during a flight, you can start a simulated video recorder. This feature provides 20 minutes of replay for each spare megabyte of EMS memory. If you are serious about analysing your performance, go out and buy enough memory to operate this feature for the length of a standard mission- about an hour will do in most cases.

Picture 8 shows the ACMI presentation. There are as many options for the ACMI as there are for some other simulations! This facility illustrates the lengths to which the Falcon 3. 0 designers have gone to provide a complete simulation of the fighter flying world. I found the ACMI especially useful to analyse the approach and landing phase, and my friends were particularly amused at the “fireball on short finals” screens displayed from behind the aircraft.

There is one feature I have not tested-the Communications Module. In a display much like the Config screen, you can select the options to connect to another computer to play Falcon 3. 0 either as a team or head to head combat. Clearly, there is scope for another world of interactive gaming from this option.

Now for some scores.

You can see from the bottom line that this is simply a stunning, stupendous piece of work. This accolade needs qualification though. Falcon 3. 0 is at the other accessibility extreme from games like Commanche Maximum Overkill. To become sufficiently adept at operating the F-16 Falcon for the simulation to be enjoyable, you must either be a fully trained and current fighter pilot, be skilled at other less demanding flight simulations, or be prepared to invest about 30 hours in flight training and weapons delivery practice.

The magnitude of this game is in itself a challenge. However, there is one thing I can promise, that the simulation does not lack the features or facilities that you need to become an ace armchair fighter pilot.