a couple questions

[jojotcb 0]

first of all, i just got this game and im having a lot of trouble. i cant figure out how to play it! how do you lock on with missles on a enemy, also how do you drop bombs on ground targets? i can only shoot guns with the space bar! also, are there any good sims out there where you can fly newer style planes in combat? i want to get a good flying game where i can blow the hell out of planes with some current planes.

thanks for any help

[Dagger 21]

first off welcome to the community..now to business

first of all, i just got this game and im having a lot of trouble. i cant figure out how to play it! how do you lock on with missles on a enemy, also how do you drop bombs on ground targets? i can only shoot guns with the space bar!

Your missiles are limited to the early era missiles so radar is very different from most sims...a sparrow(aim-7s) is radar guided so you have to keep your nose and radar on your target so the missile will follow the beam,the sidewinders(aim-9s) is a heat seeker so once you fire it,and you have to be close for these it follows teh heat signature of the target.

As for locking on with radar use the"HOME" button to cycle targets,and the "INSERT" button to lock them,the way to tell is,if you have gameplay set to easy or medium,around your red boxed target you'll see a yellow triangle...On the sidewinders you'll hear a growl,the louder the growl the better the seeker head has a lock.

also, are there any good sims out there where you can fly newer style planes in combat? i want to get a good flying game where i can blow the hell out of planes with some current planes.  

thanks for any help

As for this theres lots...Falcon 4 great sims you fly a F-16,and Janes F-18,Janes F-15,oh yeah Nova Logic has a few also F-16,F-22,and Mig-29 these you play for free at Nova world.

Good luck and if I can help let me know...also this is a great community for helping,also might I suggest a good joy stick with throttle and rudder control.

Good hunting,

Dagger

[jojotcb 0]

how do you switch to missles? how do you shoot them? i saw a plane and hit home and nothing happened. insert didn't do anything either. how do you hit a ground target with a bomb too?????

[Dagger 21]

I have my missiles assigned to a button on my joystick as well as the bombs...to fire missiles use the"BACKSPACE"key to cycle A/A weapons and the"" button cycles the A/G weapons,the ] key sets the ripple count for bombs.I think the"ENTER" key launches the currently selected weapon..check your manual to be sure as I might be wrong on this.As for the plane you saw and not able to target it first make sure it's targeted by hitting the"T" button,you should see a red box around it.if you're really close it won't lock,switch to sidewinders they work close in.Once you get target locked(red box) then try the HOME,INSERT.if that doesn't work switch radar modes to bore site mode(use the"PAGE UP" button).again check your manual as I could be wrong on these buttons as I have most of my combat related functions assigned to buttons on my stick.

Bombing is just trial and error..practice is the best thing for this..I know that isn't a great answer but it's about all I can offer.

[Dagger 21]

darn double posted...sorry

[jojotcb 0]

whats a ripple count? how does that work? how do you know what radar mode your in?

[SDirickson 0]

Ripple count is the number of bombs that get dropped when you hold down the bomb release button. If you want to be sure you hit your target, you can set the ripple count to a higher number. Then, the plane will drop more bombs, at a spaced out interval. If you set the ripple to 6 and the interval (Another word with a fancy bombing meaning) to 140 ft., the plane drops 6 bombs, each 140 ft apart.

 

Radar mode is a little harder to check. There are four main modes, Search, Boresight, Ground Map, and Terrain Avoidance. When you change radar modes, it should tell you the mode you set on the bottom of the screen.

 

I'll let the other guys explain the best ways to check your radar mode.

[Dagger 21]

ripple count is the number of bombs that come off the rack with each release...depending on your aircraft that number varies,the interval is the spacing you have between each bomb released.

Now for the radar..theres a radar tutorial posted somewhere here giving you the basics...I'll be doing a more in depth one soon covering each mode,but for now heres a "crash"(pardon the term)course in radar 101-

If you look at your radar screen and the sweep is in a circle then you're in search mode,this gives you the most coverage...if the sweep is locked stright up and down on your screen and doesn't move htis is bore sight mode,it covers targets off your nose,if you have a screen that covers a cone shaped sweep,this is ground attack mode, and finally a couple aircraft have terrain following radar for those low level high speed flights.also when you switch modes there's a message that comes up on your screen.watch the forums as I hope to be sending htis off to MadJeff soon,atleast the first installment of the indepth radar tutorial.

Hope this helps...might check the forum for it as it gives a fast over view of the radar systems.