To: falcon3 (Falcon3 Mailing list) Reply-To: falcon3 (Falcon3 Mailing list) Errors-To: postmaster@onion.rain.com Precedence: bulk Bcc: falcon3-outgoing Subject: Falcon3 Digest V4 : I12 Falcon3 Digest Volume 4 : Issue 12 Sat Aug 7 22:45:07 PDT 1993 Compilation copyright (C) 1993 Jeff Beadles Send submissions to "falcon3@onion.rain.com" Send add/drop requests to "majordomo@onion.rain.com" Archives are available via ftp from onion.rain.com [147.28.0.161] and mirrored on cactus.org in /pub/falcon3 Today's Topics: Campaign Files rm09@orzspr.op.dlr.de Campaign Theatres rm09@orzspr.op.dlr.de Thrustmaster Coolie Hat rm09@orzspr.op.dlr.de Mig 29 Price MORGAN@WVUGEO.WVNET.EDU FCS Pots Robear suggestions... Tigger Falcon 3.02 patch... Hmm. Where's 3 Jason_Burrell@fcircus.sat.tx.us (Ja Fuel Consumption cooper@grebyn.com (Gary Cooper) Random observations about MiG-29 Jay Vosburgh Add-on legality/blessings? HNRSALEE@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu ------------------------------------------------------------ From: rm09@orzspr.op.dlr.de Subject: Campaign Files Do you have any campaign missions which include some of the more rarely seen Allied aircraft configurations from any of the theatres. What I'm looking for are missions where F-111's, F-18's, F-4's are doing bombing strikes and such like. Missions can be from Falcon versions 3.01 to 3.02, Red Flag missions are not suitable. If you have something which might be interesting, do your mission planning and armament and go through the `TAKEOFF' sequence, ABORT the mission, return to the War Room and then exit Falcon. Once back at the dos prompt copy the squad?.* files (I don't need squad.bin) for only the relevant campaign, zip and uuencode them, then mail me with a short text description. Thanks, Ian "Terminator" Kent ------------------------------- From: rm09@orzspr.op.dlr.de Subject: Campaign Theatres Hi, Following the discussion of NBC weapons in sims someone made the comment that there was an "obsession with real maps" in sims. Now I for one really appreciate the effort that SH put into modelling `real' world maps, not only is it fun to fly for ENTERTAINMENT in historical and hypothetical conflicts, but it is also interesting to learn about the geography of the areas involved. Before OFT, I couldn't name the principle towns on Hokaido, Sakhalin or any of the Ostrov Islands, could you? The value of comments like none of F3's scenarious are realistic anyway, because there's more MiG's than in the real world can be judged by their relevance. The use of imaginary theatres in Tornado does spoil the sim for me to some extent. I would have enjoyed training missions in an area modelled on Scotland or Germany more than flying in nowhere land - roll on Desert Storm Scenario Disk. Check Six... Ian Kent ------------------------------- From: rm09@orzspr.op.dlr.de Subject: Thrustmaster Coolie Hat I see SH have incorporated limited support for the `Coolie Hat', can someone post details of what equipment can be used in addition to the hat, ie. are rudder pedals and/or an analogue throttle control still supported, or if they are in use, does the hat still operate view switching. My understanding is that the hat uses the joystick B x axis for view control, so this would prevent the use of an analogue throttle. Incidentally, I modified my WCS Mk.1 to provide analogue or digital throttles and added buttons to perform the A-A/A-G weapons selection and air brakes, using joystick B's buttons 2 and 1 respectively. The analogue throttle is far more responsive than the keyboard or WCS digital, this is a great advantage in energy management for dogfighting. A side effect is that Falcon misses other keyboard characters less frequently, previously some commands were lost when I gave a large number concurrently. It's a pretty simple mod, if you want details just ask. Check Six... Ian "Terminator" Kent ------------------------------- From: MORGAN@WVUGEO.WVNET.EDU Subject: Mig 29 Price HI all, I got my Mig 29 direct from SH so I did not check the price at our lone software store here. A friend called and said he refused to buy from our local Elect. Boutique because they are asking, get this, **60.00** for Mig 29. He tells me he got into a heated dicussion of the price for and addon to another program (Falcon 3.0 is 55.00 btw) without any success (I wouldn't expect any). I paid 38 direct, Iheard others are paying 35, 25, 30 and the like. What are some of the prices others are seeing for Mig 29? If they are considerably below 60.00 I am considering a few letters to Elect. Boutique Local and corporate as well as Fed Trade Comm. It seems the local monopoly these guys have may have gone to their head on this product. Other prices aren't too bad though (for retail). I shot over the F3.02 files so we are flying modem again but are wanting to try a Mig campaign or head to head campaign. Scott "mig 29, the best keyboard flyer there is" in WV Morgan@wvugeo.wvnet.edu ------------------------------- From: Robear Subject: FCS Pots First, let me say that TM has done pretty well looking for more reliable pots. Much better than early one. I don't see why you couldn 't swap the pots from the CH, but why do it? It would not be as sensitive - the pots are failing more frequently mostly because they are 100k ohms (I think most other sticks are 40k? Someone correct me on this), so you would be moving the stick farther each time, which will increase wear on the springs and frame. This will cause problems. Part of the image problem with the FCS is that people view it as something that can just be beaten on without consequence. In reality, it is a fairly fragile item, which performs very well when it is in good shape, and needs occasional maintenance. CH seems to be good for reliability, TM for sensitivity. You make the call. Again, *if* CH goes with pots as sensitive as TM's, I bet they will fail with the same frequency. In fact, I don't believe they will, because they don't want to deal with the problems. David Pipes ------------------------------- From: Tigger Subject: suggestions... I was thinking......ever get a mission where stuff starts happenin right when you are on the ground....or have you ever been separated from your wingman and he starts callin Bandit Bandit!! Is he referring to his clock position or yours? I think he's calling his! When they do the next patch, or falcon 4.0, perhaps they could give you a heading and altitude whenever someone calls a Tallyho, or maybe even get that information from AWACS? You know what I'm sayin....Bandit Bandit...heading 241 degress 12 miles 400 knots closure... give me an idea as to where they are a little better. As far as nukes go...maybe a nuclear mission would be a realistic add on, but there are devious weapons that could be included in the falcon's inventory...How about the HADES bomb,,..... isnt that a Feul-Air explosive weapon? From what I read in a book, *granted a fictional book* the HADES bomb made cluster bombing look like throwing rocks... Does anyone out there agree with me on better Tallyho calling? Ciao! ************ Dave *Tigger* djohnson@moose.uvm.edu 'Tiggers are Wonderful Things!' Dave C Johnson 126 Coolidge Hall UVM SUMMER HOUSING PROGRAM University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont 05401 ------------------------------- From: Jason_Burrell@fcircus.sat.tx.us (Jason Burrell) Subject: Falcon 3.02 patch... Hmm. Where's 3.02.1 I called SH and \\illiam said that I was on a list to receive a patch.. Only problem is that I'm not sure I want to install it. I have Falcon 3.0d, OFT, 3.01.1 and 3.02 is coming. Every once in a while, my Falcon data gets corrupted and I have to reinstall. Can't SH make a disk where you do the following? Install 3.0, Install OFT, install *ONE* disk that is 3.01.1, 3.02 and the patch they'll probably release to fix the bugs with debrief and such. To me, its really not a problem that the debrief screws up the flights. I simply look for the number and types of targets destroyed and where. I have never seen a pilot get promoted, nor can I find the little campaign ribbons. I've played Kuwait 3 times with one squad, and have yet to get promoted, or anything. Whats the deal with retirement? How long does it take before a pilot retires? What does the 3.02 patch fix besides G forces? I've heard it kills yoour squads, screws up the joystick calibration, screws up debriefing.. Is it worth it? Does 3.02 make ECM battle radar better? Does it fix this bug that ocours after you install 3.01.1 that screws up the radar? The HFR used to work fine, but after installing 3.01.1, it is nearly impossible to lock onto a target in HFR, but SAM is horrible. SAM isn't anywhere near realistic. - -- Jason_Burrell@fcircus.sat.tx.us Device Driver Stacker.sys not found. Hit (P) to panic! -- PGP public key available upon request. ------------------------------- From: cooper@grebyn.com (Gary Cooper) Subject: Fuel Consumption > Hmmm. Last I checked, you get better mileage flying LOW and FAST. This > with OFT, and previous releases. Yes, I know the OFT manual states that > flying high and relatively slow is more miserly (and thats what it > SHOULD be). But even in the accompanying tables, the opposite is > indicated. And when I tested it, I found mil power, ~600 knots, > skimming the grass, to be the most economical. Did they fix this with > F3.02 FINALLY?? I've only mentioned it to them about a half-dozen > times. My experience is just the opposite - flying low to bomb a target can leave me with 2k pounds of fuel, but flying at altitude (30k plus) will allow me to rtb from any point on the map (with 2k fuel, that is) (I use "complex" mode) > Dean Redelinghuys asked; > > BTW, I was quoted around R140 for Mig-29 --- that's currently about > $40 and some change. What are others paying for Mig-29? > I paid $40 in Virginia. coop ------------------------------- From: Jay Vosburgh Subject: Random observations about MiG-29 A lot of these probably apply to Falcon 3.02 as well, but I've been playing mostly the MiG side of late. While flying a campaign in the Kuriles (so I can pick & choose the missions, of course) I've been vividly reminded of just how stupid the computer pilots can be. For example, in flying a "bomber intercept" mission, I'll have 4 MiG-29s, plus there will be some number (around 6) of MiG-31s also cavorting about. On one particular mission, after I'd been disposed of by what I later found out to be a Patriot (the manual is not kidding about the Patriot being "very resistant to ECM and extremely accurate"), I watched the MiG-31s fly around for a while, and one by one run out of gas and crash in various interesting places. Do the non-MiG-29 (and presumably non-F-16, for the capitalist pigs) planes not have any sort of home base or something they'll fly to and land at? I've also discovered that the MiG-29 autopilot won't deploy the braking parachute. Not long after that discovery, I found that at least one airfield in the Kuriles you can run off the end without dying a miserable, painful death. The wingmen, judging from the fact that they didn't run off the end, deploy the chute just fine, but, like the landing gear, it isn't shown. Also, regarding the discussion some time ago about landing at alternate airfields. This does indeed seem to occur. At one point in a mission, I told my wingmen to all go home (shift-H) because they kept complaining that they were low on gas. All of them landed at a nearby airfield, a full 70 miles from the final destination. I, lazy sod that I am, let the autopilot land for me, and it landed me at the same airfield (which happens to have a real short runway, leading to the experience described in the previous paragraph). The campaign then evidently decided that this was now my home airfield, because subsequent missions started there, rather than the real destination airfield (which, FWIW, was not where I took off from; this was a "high altitude recon" or some such mission, in which you fly from one side of the map to the other, over the bad guys). This turns out to be less than desirable, since it's real close to the front, and there are usually enemy aircraft overhead when I take off now. Speaking of takeoffs, does the MiG-29 just accelerate like a bat out of hell on the runway, or what? I can't imagine actually needing the afterburner unless you're in a real hurry (which I was), or carrying vast amounts of ordnance. This might be a side effect of the "doofus" (or whatever the lowest setting is) flight model I'm using for the MiG-29 at the moment; I'm having enough trouble with it without having all that oscillation whenever I pull any Gs. Anyway, the fast takeoff surprised me the first time, to the point that Bitchin' Babyshka was whining about something or other, probably that I was about to rip loose the landing gear. I've also been getting a pretty good value for my entertainment dollar out of the ACMI. Not that it's any better than it used to be (meaning that how it works is still the same; it seems a little more robust than it used to be, I haven't had any reality disturbances with it since I got MiG-29). But the R-60 and R-73 missiles are just a ball to watch the way they go zinging all over the place when launched at targets well off the nose. My opinion of them so far is that the R-73 is superior to the AIM-9R (M? Q? Z? whatever the best one is). It's still a pain to cycle through all of the enemy aircraft in ACMI, though; it'd be nice if 'Q' worked during ACMI. My gripes thus far are relatively minor. The manual desperately needs an index. Why they didn't put one in is beyond me; the Falcon 3.0 and OFT manuals both have a fine index. The ECM indicator light is in a really annoying place (authentic or not). There is no indicator for the "flap system lock-out" (which disables the automatic flaps, and retracts them all the way). In putzing around, I've noticed that aircraft on the ground can only be locked on to by air-to-air weapons. I'm going to try some air to air bombing experiments later today; I'll report my findings to the list. -J --- -Jay Vosburgh, Sequent Computer Systems, Inc; fubar@sequent.com ------------------------------- From: HNRSALEE@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Add-on legality/blessings? [ Note: This is why there is a copyright on the Falcon3 digest. It keeps others from selling it. I have no intentions of selling the digest. I wonder how long it will take for someone to write another version of these programs and release them for free... -Jeff] Hello, Okay so now the latest Falconer/F3maps/Falcalc is no longer free but you have to pay for it and wait for the fraggin mail services to send you a disk instead of just ftping onion and getting it that night. Well I can blame the authours for going commercial, hey everybody's gotta eat. The thing is I hope the enhancements outweigh the costs and inconvenience. Now that these guys are making money from (to put it bluntly) hacking Falcon3's code, I was wondering if they have the permission of SH to do this. I know SH has some ties with this Keyboard Commander Corps, since I saw the flyer for the overlays in the Mig-29 package, but are SH asking for their cut? Will they now come with guarantees that they work and not a disclaimer that "we can't be responsible for what this program does to your campaigns/squads"? Please understand that I know going commercial for them was the right thing to do. What I want to know is did they do it right before I go through the trouble. --Paul ------------------------------- [[ End of digest Volume 4 : Issue 12 ]]