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******************************************************* Falcon 3.0 and Operation: Fighting Tiger Version 3.05 9/16/94 ******************************************************* Contents ======== The history of Falcon 3.0 Updating Update troubleshooting Version 3.05 changes Version 3.04 changes Version 3.03 changes Version 3.02.1 changes Version 3.02 changes Version 3.0e and 3.01.1 changes Version 3.0d through version 3.0a changes General program information Mission requirements Mission debriefing Communications play Finding free memory Stacker Packard Bell and IBM PS/1 computers Sound cards The history of Falcon 3.0 ========================= After Falcon 3.0's original release in 1991, a number of problems were reported by owners. Because of these problems, several updates have been released. These updates were designated A, C and D. (B was skipped because an unauthorized version with that version label was released by an unknown party.) These updates are all cumulative; that is, the changes in A are also in D, so only the latest update is needed to fully upgrade the program. After the D version, a Falcon 3.0 Campaign Disk containing three new theaters (titled Operation: Fighting Tiger) was released, bearing the designation "Falcon 3.01." Because some problems were reported with Operation: Fighting Tiger, an update for that version of the game was released, updating the program to version 3.01.1. To maintain communications compatibility with Operation: Fighting Tiger, a 3.0e version of Falcon 3.0 was released. MiG-29: Deadly Adversary of Falcon 3.0 was released in July 1993. To maintain compatibility between MiG-29, Falcon 3.0 and Operation: Fighting Tiger, Falcon 3.0 version 3.02 was released. Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter was released in November 1993. To maintain compatibility between Hornet, MiG-29, Falcon 3.0 and Operation: Fighting Tiger, Falcon 3.04 was released at the same time. Falcon Gold is the latest incarnation of Falcon 3.0, combining all the sims onto one CD-ROM. In addition, Falcon 3.0 has been updated to version 3.05. This latest version contains several changes and new features. In fact, for owners of early versions of Falcon 3.0, the cumulative changes could be something of a shock (many changes and new enhancements have been since the original version came out in December 1991). We strongly recommend that you print this Read Me file and refer to it as you play. Updating ======== WARNING: You should not run this updater if you have Falcon Gold installed. This Falcon 3.05 updater may damage any Falcon Gold installation and should be used only with the floppy disk version of Falcon 3.0. If you are updating Falcon 3.0, run the Falcon 3.05 update program. Insert your Falcon 3.05 updater disk and type "F3UPDATE" at the DOS prompt. This will update any version of Falcon 3.0 to version 3.05. WARNING: You should complete any campaigns you intend to finish before updating. The Falcon 3.05 update process deletes all existing squadron files. OPERATION: FIGHTING TIGER WARNING: Do not attempt to install Operation: Fighting Tiger after updating to version 3.05! If you buy Operation: Fighting Tiger after you update to version 3.05, delete everything in your FALCON3 directory and reinstall from scratch (Falcon 3.0, then Operation: Fighting Tiger, then the 3.05 update). See the update instructions below. Who can update? --------------- Any Falcon 3.0 owner can update to version 3.05. You are encouraged to distribute copies of the Falcon 3.05 update disk to other Falcon 3.0 owners. Should I update? ---------------- Yes, if you have any of the following versions of Falcon 3.0: Falcon 3.0 (no suffix), Falcon 3.0a, Falcon 3.0c, Falcon 3.0d, Falcon 3.0e, Falcon 3.01 (Operation: Fighting Tiger) Falcon 3.01.1, (Operation: Fighting Tiger update) Falcon 3.02, Falcon 3.02.1, Falcon 3.03 or Falcon 3.04. No, if you have Falcon Gold installed. Note also that Falcon 3.05 is required in order to communicate with Hornet 1.02, MiG-29 1.04 or Falcon 3.05. Earlier versions will fail to communicate properly in head-to-head and allied play. If you update to Falcon 3.05 and then want to install Operation: Fighting Tiger, MiG-29 or Hornet later, you will need to re-install all the programs in the following order: 1) Falcon 3.0 2) Operation: Fighting Tiger 3) MiG-29 4) Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter 5) Falcon 3.05 updater Update instructions ------------------- NOTE: If you downloaded this update, you must copy it onto a 1.44MB 3.5" floppy disk before proceeding. The updater is designed to work from a floppy and will fail if you try to run it from your hard drive. 1) Install Falcon 3.0 according to the instructions provided with that game (unless it is already installed). 2) Install Operation: Fighting Tiger, if you have it, according to the instructions provided with that game (unless it is already installed). 3) Install MiG-29, if you have it, according to the instructions provided with that game (unless it is already installed). 4) Install Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter, if you have it, according to the instructions provided with that game (unless it is already installed). 5) At the A: or B: prompt (depending on where the update disk is), type "F3UPDATE." 6) On the screen which appears, you will be given the choice to "Continue" or "Quit." Select "Continue" to go on. 7) A warning appears, telling you that all your squadrons will be deleted if you continue. You are given the choice to "Continue" or "Quit." Select "Continue" to go on with the Falcon 3.05 update. 8) The Falcon 3.05 update program now searches your hard drive for Falcon 3.0. When it finds Falcon 3.0, it says "Falcon 3.0 found in:" followed by the path to the directory containing your copy of Falcon 3.0. Edit this path if it is wrong or if you have another copy of Falcon 3.0 you wish to update instead of the one found. 9) At the bottom of the screen are four buttons: "Install," "Search," "View" and "Quit." "Quit" aborts the Falcon 3.05 update. "View" brings up this Read Me file. "Search" continues the search for other copies of Falcon 3.0 by checking other drives or directories. Select "Install" to continue the Falcon 3.05 update. 10) The Falcon 3.05 updater will begin updating Falcon 3.0 to version 3.05. You can abort the Falcon 3.05 update by pressing Ctrl-Break. When the Falcon 3.05 updater is finished, it will beep. Press any key to exit to DOS. Type "CHECKVER" at the DOS prompt. You should see the following line (in addition to other information, such as whether Operation: Fighting Tiger or MiG-29 is installed and how much memory you have available). CHECKVER V2.1 Program Version Date Time Size FALCON3.EXE 3.05 6-14-94 08:10pm 1373671 Update troubleshooting ====================== If there are problems with the Falcon 3.05 updater, you may see one of several possible error messages. These messages are listed below. Error messages -------------- ERROR - NOT ENOUGH CONVENTIONAL MEMORY AVAILABLE You do not have enough conventional memory free to use the Falcon 3.05 updater. This message is extremely unlikely, since the Falcon 3.05 updater only requires 250K of free conventional memory to run. ERROR - DISK SPACE NOT AVAILABLE ON DRIVE: This message will be followed by the path to the drive and directory to which you are attempting to update Falcon 3.0. The solution is to make sure you have enough free space on your hard drive. The Falcon 3.05 update requires 2MB of free disk space. ERROR - CANNOT LOCATE FILE (filename) ON DISK This message will be followed by the name of whatever disk you are trying to install to or update from. The word "(filename)" above will be replaced by whatever file the Falcon 3.05 updater is seeking. This message appears most often when the wrong disk is put in the drive. The solution is to make sure the update disk is in the drive being used. If you have the update disk in the floppy drive and still get this message, write down what file it is looking for and contact Customer Support. ERROR - INVALID VERSION This message appears if the Falcon 3.05 updater cannot find certain files that should exist in a functioning, legitimate copy of Falcon 3.0. One likely possibility, especially if you have a backup copy of FALCON3.EXE, is that the Falcon 3.05 updater is trying to update to a directory that only contains FALCON3.EXE. If this is so, quit the Falcon 3.05 update and restart it. When you are given the option to edit the path it will update to, type in the path to a full working copy of Falcon 3.0. Another possibility is that your FALCON3 directory has had some of its files removed. In this case, the solution is to quit the Falcon 3.05 updater, delete all the files from your FALCON3 directory (or whatever directory your copy of Falcon 3.0 is in), and re-install Falcon 3.0 (followed by Operation: Fighting Tiger if you have it). Then run the Falcon 3.05 updater. DATA ERROR READING DRIVE (drive, usually A: or B:) This message appears if there is a disk error on your update disk. Contact Customer Support for a replacement disk. How to manually update to Falcon 3.05 ------------------------------------- If you are having trouble updating to Falcon 3.05, you can manually perform the Falcon 3.05 update using one of the following procedures. Follow the instructions appropriate to your setup, as different files are needed depending on what is already installed on your system. To update to Falcon 3.05 with Falcon 3.0 and Operation: Fighting Tiger already installed: - Insert the 3.05 update disk in drive A. - At the A: prompt, type the following: COPY GOPATCH.EXE C:\FALCON3 COPY 305PATCH.RTP C:\FALCON3 COPY CHECKOFT.RTP C:\FALCON3 COPY CHECKVER.COM C:\FALCON3 COPY ASIAPAT.RTP C:\FALCON3 COPY F30RESET.EXE C:\FALCON3 COPY GOPATCH.EXE C:\FALCON3\ARMSDATA COPY 305ARM.RTP C:\FALCON3\ARMSDATA C: CD\FALCON3 - You will now be at a C:\FALCON3 prompt. Type the following to update to Falcon 3.05: GOPATCH CHECKOFT GOPATCH ASIAPAT GOPATCH 305PATCH CD ARMSDATA GOPATCH 305ARM - The update is now complete. Remove the excess files from your hard drive by typing the following (you should still be in C:\FALCON3\ARMSDATA): DEL GOPATCH.EXE DEL *.RTP CD.. DEL GOPATCH.EXE DEL *.RTP F30RESET To update to Falcon 3.05 with Falcon 3.0 only already installed: - Insert the 3.05 update disk in drive A. - At the A: prompt, type the following: COPY GOPATCH.EXE C:\FALCON3 COPY EPATCH.RTP C:\FALCON3 COPY 305PATCH.RTP C:\FALCON3 COPY F30RESET.EXE C:\FALCON3 COPY CHECKVER.COM C:\FALCON3 COPY GOPATCH.EXE C:\FALCON3\ARMSDATA COPY PATCHARM.RTP C:\FALCON3\ARMSDATA COPY 305ARM.RTP C:\FALCON3\ARMSDATA C: CD\FALCON3 - You will now be at a C:\FALCON3 prompt. Type the following to update to Falcon 3.05: GOPATCH EPATCH GOPATCH 305PATCH CD ARMSDATA GOPATCH PATCHARM GOPATCH 305ARM - The update is now complete. Remove the excess files from your hard drive by typing the following (you should still be in C:\FALCON3\ARMSDATA): DEL GOPATCH.EXE DEL *.RTP CD.. DEL GOPATCH.EXE DEL *.RTP F30RESET 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 3.01.1) 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. 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. General program information =========================== * The radio message "Waypoint x at xxx - Angels xx - xxx miles" from your AWACS plane describes the direction to your next waypoint: the number of the waypoint, the compass direction you should take, the altitude you should be at ("Angels"), and how many miles away the waypoint is. Since this is a generic radio message, the digitized sound that accompanies this message ends after the word "Waypoint." * In the Kurile Islands theater, your FSX will sometimes start in the air over the runway at Asahikawa. You need to retract your gear (by pressing "G") immediately or else your plane will be damaged. * F-16 pilots cannot black out or red out in communications play (head-to-head or multiplayer), even if Blackout/Redout is turned on. * If you play Instant Action for a long time (especially if you get more than a million points), the game will sometimes lock up at the Top Ten screen. Weapons ------- * Even though Sidewinders (AIM-9P and AIM-9M) are heat-seeking missiles, their seeker heads are slaved to the F-16 radar system. This allows you to target a Sidewinder by locking your radar onto the specific aircraft you want to attack. The drawback to this system is that if your radar is being jammed by enemy ECM, your Sidewinders will not lock at all. This problem can be solved by switching your radar to a non-tracking mode (i.e. NAM) or by switching your radar off altogether. * Normally when you are using the CCIP method for dropping iron bombs, a small horizontal bar appears above the bombsight. If this bar is twice as thick as normal, your fire control computer is telling you that it isn't a good time to drop the bombs because of your aircraft's awkward position to the target. * Note that you will be unable to drop any iron bombs from an inverted position. ACMI ---- * .VCR files created using the ACMI feature are not compatible between release versions. This includes all versions of Falcon 3.0, Operation: Fighting Tiger, MiG-29 and Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter. * .VCR files created in High Fidelity flight mode can be viewed only on machines that are equipped with a math coprocessor. Miscellaneous ------------- * To erase the Instant Action high scores list, simply erase the file TOPTEN from the FALCON3 directory by typing "DEL TOPTEN" at the DOS prompt. * If any of your squadron files get damaged, corrupted or lost, a file called "F30RESET.EXE" has been provided which will replace all squadrons with freshly generated ones and will delete any garbage files that might have been created. Just type "F30RESET" at the DOS prompt to clean out garbage files and replace all squadron files. WARNING - this will destroy any saved camapigns and all existing squadron information! Mission requirements ==================== On the Briefing screen, there will be a mission description for each of the four missions you fly in a day. This will give you specific objectives that you must complete in order for your mission to be counted as a success. Failure in any area of the mission description will be tallied as a "mission failure." The following section lists the requirements for successfully completing the missions you may be assigned. The mission title will be found on the Campaign Status screen (in the Report area). The mission briefing will be similar to the typical briefing given here, but will be tailored to the situation. Some of the missions require that you stay on patrol for at least 10 minutes. In reality, such missions would last much longer. As one pilot put it, however, "a combat mission is three hours of boredom and 10 minutes of stark terror." We decided to leave out the first three hours and just give you the later 10 minutes. Scramble -------- Typical briefing: "AWACS has detected a force of 6 enemy aircraft approaching point A. Intercept and destroy these aircraft. Do not let a single enemy aircraft escape." * Destroy enemy aircraft before they can bomb allied targets. * Destroy all aircraft assigned in the mission briefing. * At least one F-16 must survive the mission. Air Superiority --------------- Typical briefing: "Lead a flight of 3 F-16s on a sweep of enemy airspace. Engage and destroy as many enemy aircraft as possible." * Destroy more planes than you lose. * Destroy at least one enemy aircraft. * At least one F-16 must survive the mission. Front-Line Screen ----------------- Typical briefing: "Lead a flight of 4 F-16s on a defensive screen from point A to point B. Destroy any enemy aircraft encountered in this area. AWACs has reported a large strike force gathering in enemy territory. If they attempt to penetrate your sector, make sure that no enemy aircraft survive. Beware of decoys and do not stray from your assigned area. Stay on station as long as possible, but return to base when you are low on fuel or ordnance." * Destroy any enemy aircraft encountered. * Destroy any enemy intruders before they are able to bomb allied assets. * Sustain your patrol for at least 10 minutes. * At least one F-16 must survive the mission. Combat Air Patrol ----------------- Typical briefing: "You are assigned to fly a combat air patrol over point A. Prevent enemy aircraft from destroying military assets at this site. Patrol the area until you are low on fuel or ordnance." * Destroy any enemy aircraft attacking allied assets in your assigned sector before they can inflict casualties. * Stay on patrol for at least 10 minutes. * At least one F-16 must survive the mission. Escort Transport (Milk Run) --------------------------- Typical briefing: "Congratulations, you get today's milk run. A flight of C-130s are flying in supplies. Meet them at waypoint 2 and make sure they get here." * Ensure that the transport aircraft make it safely to their destination. * At least one F-16 must survive the mission. Escort Strike or Bombers ------------------------ Typical briefing: "Your mission is to escort 4 B-52s on a strike against point A. On approach to the target, sweep ahead to clear any enemy interceptors from the strike force's path. If warranted by enemy air defenses, assign a flight to provide SEAD." * Provide both fighter escort and SEAD support to ensure that strike aircraft make it to their destination. * Your flight must fly to within 10 nm of the target waypoint. * At least one F-16 must survive the mission. Close Air Support ----------------- Typical briefing: "Elements of Company C, 3rd Armored Cavalry Division have come under heavy attack from an enemy tank column. The command ALO has requested Tac air to stem the enemy thrust." * Destroy enemy ground forces at the assigned location in a timely fashion. To succeed you must ensure that the enemy takes more casualties than the allied forces. Ground Strike ------------- Typical briefing: "Tac air reconnaissance has spotted a large concentration of enemy forces near point A. Lead a flight of 4 F-16s and destroy as many enemy units as possible." * Destroy at least 20% of the enemy forces at the assigned location. SEAD ---- Typical briefing: "Enemy air defenses at point A represent a significant threat to allied air operations. Lead a flight of 3 F-16s and destroy as many anti-aircraft weapons at this site as possible." * Destroy at least one-third of the enemy anti-aircraft weapons at the assigned location. Bomb ---- Typical briefing: "Today's ATO calls for a strike against strategic targets located at point A." * Destroy the target listed by the Target button on the Waypoint Setup screen at the location assigned by the mission briefing. You may select a different target with the Target button, but you may not move the waypoint to attack targets at a different location. Tactical Air Reconnaissance --------------------------- Typical briefing: "Fly to waypoint 2, then return to base." * Fly to within 10 nm of the assigned destination. * At least one F-16 must survive the mission. Mission debriefing ================== The Debriefing has three main sections. The first section will trace your flight path, listing any events occurring during the mission. It will list only those events that involve your immediate flight. Such events as enemy aircraft shot down, enemy ground forces destroyed, wingmen lost and crashes with the ground will be listed. To continue with the debriefing, press the Continue button. Pressing Next Mission will skip the rest of the Debriefing. After the Mission Trace, you will be informed whether or not any of your pilots received a medal. If none of them warranted a medal, this screen will be empty; otherwise, the pilot's name and the name of the medal will be displayed. Finally, the Mission Summary portion of the debriefing will rate your mission a success or failure, providing a brief explanation if your mission was a failure. There may be several possible reasons for failing a particular mission; the Mission Summary will only list the most obvious. If the Debriefing judges your mission a failure, you will be given one of the following or similar reasons: * No enemy aircraft were shot down. * You failed to destroy a single enemy unit. If you are given one of these reasons for failing your mission, then you were assigned to attack a particular type of enemy unit but did not destroy even one. * Too few enemy aircraft were shot down. * You failed to completely destroy the enemy strike force. * You inflicted only minor damage on the enemy forces. In general, air-to-air missions require that you destroy a particular formation of aircraft or at least destroy more aircraft than you lose. Air-to-ground missions generally require that you destroy a significant percentage of the enemy troops at the assigned target. * You failed to destroy the primary target. * You hit the wrong target. * You did not hit the assigned target. You will get one of these messages if you fail to destroy the proper target at the assigned location on a bombing mission. * You failed to reach your assigned target. * You failed to reach your assigned station. * You failed to escort the aircraft all the way to the target. Some missions require that you fly to within 10 nm of your assigned target waypoint. This is to ensure either that you attack the correct targets or that you stay with escorted aircraft all the way to the target. * The enemy conducted successful attacks through your sector. * None of the escorted aircraft survived. * Allied losses were unacceptable. * Allied ground forces were defeated. You will get one of these messages if you are assigned to protect allied troops or assets and the enemy succeeds in destroying them. * The enemy operation succeeded. You will get this message if enemy paratroopers are able to land and deploy to their assigned positions. * Your flight was eliminated. Air-to-air missions require that at least one member of your squadron survives. * You ended the mission too soon. You will get this message if you end the mission early, leaving allied forces unprotected and in danger. The Mission Summary also tallies enemy and allied losses that occurred during the mission and provides the post-mission status of all your squadron's pilots who flew sorties during the mission. The status of a pilot can be active, injured, court-martialed, POW (prisoner of war), MIA (missing in action) or KIA (killed in action). Only pilots with an active status will be available for the next mission. Injured pilots will be put back on the active roster as soon as they have recuperated enough to fly. Pilots with any other status will never fly again. (Pilots who show up with an asterisk in front of their name have become so battle fatigued that their abilities are impaired. You may still select them for missions, but you should only do so as a last resort. A pilot who is so fatigued that he is incapable of flying is listed as injured.) Pressing Continue after the Mission Summary will display the Occupation Screen, which shows the current state of the war in terms of the territory held by each side. This screen will only change once per day. From there you can replay the Debriefing from the start (in case you missed something), check your squadron records or go on to your next mission. Communications tips =================== * All players must be running the same version of the game for best results. * If you are having problems in network play, make sure that any players who have SMARTDRV or other disk caching software turn it off beforehand. * If you are just going to play a single allied mission (instead of a campaign), have the caller set up the mission before you connect. When the mission is ready, the caller can return to the War Room and establish communications. Since the mission is already planned, you will be able to cruise through the Mission Planning Screens and take off without delay. * There is a way to continue any allied campaign. It involves copying squadron files from one slot to another using DOS. After you exit the game following a communications campaign session, the campaign information is stored in the SQUAD6 files. To save your allied campaign, you must copy these files to the permanent squadron files. To save your campaign to squad 0, for example, type: COPY SQUAD6.* SQUAD0.* If there is another squadron stored in the SQUAD0 files, it will be overwritten. (The permanent squadron files are numbered from 0 to 5.) A batch file has been provided to do this for you. Type "SAVECAMP" from your FALCON3 directory to copy all SQUAD6 files into SQUAD0. To resume a campaign stored in this first (SQUAD0) slot, just select the first squadron when you set up your communications session. * If the connection is accidentally broken in head-to-head mode, there is a slight possibility that squadron data will get corrupted. For safety's sake, create a new squadron when entering head-to-head mode. This will provide the most reliable results in head-to-head mode, as well as protect existing squadrons that are involved in a single player campaign. * If squadron files are damaged or corrupted, communications problems can result. If any of your squadron files get damaged, corrupted or lost, a file called "F30RESET.EXE" has been provided that will replace all squadrons with freshly generated ones and will delete any garbage files that might have been created. Just type "F30RESET" at the DOS prompt to clean out garbage files and replace all squadron files. WARNING - this will destroy any saved camapigns and all existing squadron information! Modems ------ * If you are having trouble connecting using a modem line, try using the custom modem command box. If your modem uses hardware data compression (modems using the v.32, v.42, v.42bis or MNP standards, for example), you must turn this feature off using the custom modem commands. Refer to your modem manual for the proper commands. Be sure not to select a higher baud rate than your modem can handle without data compression. When using a modem for play, the connection process will begin when both players hit the ACCEPT button. The caller will then receive a dialog box asking to "USE MODEM DEFAULTS" or not. If you need to input some special Hayes AT commands (or your telephone credit card number), you can input them after you type "N". Otherwise, simply press "Y" and continue with your connection. Your modem will then begin to dial and establish a communications link to start your communications session. The modem defaults consist of a series of Hayes AT commands. If you decide to bypass the default string, you may enter your own modem commands of up to 60 characters in length. If you wish to use a phone number longer than 18 characters or are having difficulty establishing a connection, you should use this option. You can also use the default commands in addition to your own. Press Enter to send the command appearing in the box to the modem. The default modem commands are automatically entered into the first few boxes, but you may alter them if you wish. To replace these commands with your own, press Backspace to erase the default command and then type the desired alphanumeric string in its place (up to 60 characters). When you are ready to exit the command entry session, press Enter at a blank command line box. To use the command mode to enter a long phone number, for example, you would press "N" to bypass the automatic hookup, but press Enter to send the default commands until you reach an empty command line box. Type in the phone number, including any credit card codes, into this box and then press Enter twice to send the phone number to the modem and exit the command entry session. The modem will then try to connect. Refer to your modem manual or suitable reference book for more information on the Hayes AT command set. * Another method for connecting over a modem is to first establish a connection using a communications program like ProComm. Next, exit that program without hanging up the modem and then start Falcon 3.0. At the Communication Setup screen, select direct connect through the COM port attached to your modem to complete the link. * Make sure the baud rates of the connected computers are the same. When using a modem, make sure that the line type of the calling computer is set correctly. Finding free memory =================== Falcon 3.05 requires 601K (615,424 bytes) of free conventional memory. Here are some hints to help you get the memory you need: * Type "MEM /C" at the DOS prompt. This will show how the 640K of conventional memory is being used. * Double-check the CONFIG.SYS file in your root directory to be sure that the "DOS=HIGH" command is included. * Load TSRs (Terminate and Stay Resident programs), such as mouse drivers, into high memory instead of conventional memory. Consult your DOS or expanded memory manager manual to learn how. * Temporarily modify your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files so they do not load TSRs that are unnecessary to run Falcon 3.0. * Try using a commercial EMS manager in place of the MS-DOS EMS manager EMM386. Third-party EMS managers can improve your system's performance by using far less conventional memory and providing improved ability to load TSRs into high memory. Also, a commercial memory manager will allow you to use more extended memory without constantly modifying your CONFIG.SYS file. This is especially useful if you run Windows 3.0, which requires a lot of extended memory. * MS-DOS 6.0 comes with a memory optimizer called MemMaker. To use MemMaker, type "MEMMAKER" at the DOS prompt. MemMaker will alter your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to make your setup more memory efficient. MemMaker will try to load as many of your TSRs into high memory as possible. It will not remove TSRs that cannot be loaded high. If, after running MemMaker, you still do not have enough conventional memory, you should edit your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to remove TSRs that cannot be loaded high. Refer to your MS-DOS 6.0 manual. Stacker ======= Falcon 3.0 works with Stacker, but Stacker must be loaded into high memory. If you are using EMM386 as your DOS 5.0 or DOS 6.0 memory manager, replace the DEVICE command that loads Stacker with "DEVICEHIGH" in your CONFIG.SYS file. On the line that loads Stacker, simply add the four letters "HIGH" after the word "DEVICE." If you are using another memory manager, read the manual to learn how to load device drivers high. You should also refer to the Stacker manual for information on Stacker's /EMS option. Packard Bell and IBM PS/1 computers =================================== Running Falcon 3.0 on a Packard Bell or IBM PS/1 computer may require a change in your CONFIG.SYS file to avoid an EMS conflict between the video BIOS and the EMS page frame at address E000. It is recommended that the EMS page frame address be set to D000. Add the following line to your CONFIG.SYS file to set the EMS page frame address properly for the EMM386 memory manager: DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE 1024 RAM FRAME=D000 I=CD00-DFFF Sound cards =========== There is a problem with the Sound Blaster 16 ASP, Reveal and other 16-bit sound cards. Falcon 3.0 automatically detects which sound cards you have when you start the game. Unfortunately, it detects these sound cards as a Roland sound card, which causes Falcon 3.0 to crash when you try to run the game. To solve this problem, delete the FALCON3.DEF file before running Falcon 3.0 for the first time. Then when you run the game, select Sound Blaster on the System Setup screen.