This document details late breaking changes and additions to F/A-18 Hornet which did not make it into the manual at press time. Please take a moment to review the following items:
• BEFORE INSTALLING!
Some "System Extensions" may conflict with the installation process. It is best to install
with extensions disabled.
To start without extensions:
- System 7 users: Hold down the "Shift" key during system startup.
- System 6 users: Move system extensions out of the "System Folder" and restart.
• New Cool Features
(New commands in 1.1.0)
- A STICK CONTROL pop-up menu has been added to the preferences dialog for direct
support of third-party joysticks including Gravis MouseStick® and the new
ThrustMaster™ Flight Control System (including seperate throttle and rudder pedals).
Please see included "ThrustMaster Buttons" text file for details. Mouse response
has been inproved for better aircraft handling. The "Mouse/Keyboard" setting also
has better handling with a trackball.
- A DIFFICULTY DIALOG has been added for more control over SAM, AAA, enemy pilot ratings,
missile/Gun lethality, etc. In addition, your aircraft's sustainable damage can be
adjusted from "easy meat" to "flying Tank" (minus the clever wording).
- ARA (Appletalk Remote Access) is now supported allowing direct modem-to-modem
connections using the built-in networking features in system 7.x. Please contact Apple
Computer for information on ARA and networking.
- RICHER TERRAIN, bases have more individual character for more flight enjoyment
(feel free to explore!)
- CYCLE through the four missions at the current pilot level by holding down the option key
while clicking on the "Briefing" button in the Pilot Window.
- "MEATBALL" or Freznel Lenz System has been added to all aircraft carriers. The
meatball is located on the port side of the carriers and is shaped like a "T". Although
the meatball is no substitute for the ILS, you may find "calling the ball" a challenge.
To use the meatball, simply adjust your glideslope to keep the RED light centered with
the green crossbar. The meatball is SMALL (although perfectly proportioned to its
real-world counterpart), so use the new front view zoom if you have to.
- COMMAND-N will (night/day toggle) adds 12 hours to the world time.
- COMMAND-I will hide all instrumentation leaving the HUD and weapons visible. (HUD can
still be turned off by using COMMAND-H)
(New Commands in 1.1.1)
- COMMAND-A toggles between radar altimeter and barometric altimeter in the HUD. Look
for the "R" near the altitude indicator for radar altitude.
- COMMAND-D dumps fuel to lighten your fuel load. Each time you depress COMMAND-D, fuel
is dumped down to the nearest 1000 pounds.
- COMMAND-G (gas) tops off all internal fuel tanks. You must be parked (DEAD STOP) on
the taxiway (NOT THE RUNWAY.) DO NOT shut your engines off to refuel, since shutting
down engines will end the current mission. Note that you must be on a friendly base
to refuel.
• New Cool Flight Model
- General flight model has been radically changed for more realism.
- Velocity Vector now shows accurate flight path in real-time and lags the nose
rather than leads it.
- Velocity Vector now flashes when HUD limited (at the edges of the HUD).
- Auto-gear-up mechanism has been removed in favor of a breakable gear (watch it!)
- Gear will now break at speeds in excess of 200 Knots on all NON-PAVED surfaces.
- Gear will now break at speeds in excess of 300 Knots on all PAVED surfaces.
- AOA indexer is now fully functional and keys only on AOA (as it should).
New indexer colors are green over amber (yellow), over red. Green is too slow, amber is
on-speed, and red is too fast. Combinations of lights indicate intermediate states. For
example: Green AND amber means SLIGHTLY fast, etc.
• Other New Features
- Radar modes now have independent range "memories," recalling previous range settings.
- Ground coverage for ARAD and GMTI modes has been redesigned to take altitude (or,
'lookdown') into consideration when imaging. Therefore, the higher you go, the wider your
coverage (up to the maximum ranging currently set).
- AOA indexer will now shut off as soon as you touch down.
- Weapons can no longer be released while not flying (on ground).
- Electro Optical camera tracks the current target, designated with the radar or with
the E/O designate "Return." Camera resets to ahead position when AG weapons is cycled.
- It is now possible to cycle through radar targets using (\) key in enemy (5) view.
- Pressing both UP & DOWN keys simultaniously will yield a 90 degree up view.
- HUD colors can be toggled by hitting COMMAND-C. This can be very helpful for those times
when the HUD colors tend to be the same as out-the-window colors.
- The HUD can be turned off entirely by hitting COMMAND-H. This can be useful in helping
to track enemy SAMs and air-air missiles by reducing clutter and increasing visibility.
- Holding down the OPTION key while selecting "Preferences" restores default settings
for the particular Mac being used.
- Game play can be accelerated by hitting COMMAND-F during flight (not available in net
play). This will quadruple the speed at which everything happens, so use this feature with
caution! NOTE: While in fast mode, some instruments may seem frozen. This is NOT a bug.
Simply come out of fast mode and the instruments will resume their proper operation.
- You may reset your aircraft to its original starting location and ordinance at any time
during trainning and network play by pressing COMMAND-R. Note: during network play,
a kill will be scored against you every time you use this option!
• JOYSTICKS
- Hornet ships with a fully configured set for the Gravis MouseStick II which should provide
perfect control at all monitor sizes. If you have any questions about MouseStick II
operation, or about upgrading your MouseStick I to a MouseStick II, please contact
Advanced Gravis at (604) 431-5020 for details.
- Thrustmaster A.C.C.S. is fully supported, including stick, throttle, and rudder pedals.
For information, please contact Thrustmaster, Inc. at (503) 639-3200.
- Other joysticks: Use the Gravis setting. DO NOT use the "Mouse/Keyboard" setting.
- Use the "Mouse/Keyboard" setting for trackball support.
• INCOMPATIBILITIES
- After Dark features activation corners which cause it to either activate or deactivate
(sleep/wake corners). Although the mouse pointer is not seen while playing Hornet, the
system tracks its movements and when it enters that corner, After Dark attempts to
"sleep." This causes the appearance of the mouse pointer and "debris" following the
mouse pointer track. SOLUTION: Disable After Dark during Hornet play.
- Superclock! has been reported to cause interference with the Hornet simulation. The
problem manifests itself as a jerkiness during flight. SOLUTION: Disable Superclock!
during Hornet play.
- PowerBook Users: Disable "System Rest" mode during Hornet play. System rest will cause
adverse interference with an otherwise smooth simulation.
• MEMORY & MONITOR SIZES
Hornet requires a minimum of 2700 K of free RAM to operate correctly in 640x480 mode. You'll need to allocate additional memory to accommodate larger monitor sizes. In general, adding 1000 K of extra memory to the application will be enough to support play on any monitor size up to 21". If panorama mode is selected, you should allocate and additional 2000 K of memory. Some of the symptoms of a low memory condition for your monitor size would be things like strange "garbage" characters being printed in some of your readouts, or even a total rejection of the mission at load time.
• NETWORKING
- Players who choose "Fly" while in the Briefing room in network mode will have a bullet(•)
displayed in front of their name to indicate to the other players on the net that they are
ready to fly.
- While in the Briefing room, notes can be typed to members of both teams before flight
simply by typing the message and hitting RETURN to "send." Private messages (those
which can only be seen by your team mate), can be sent by typing out the
message and then holding down the OPTION key while hitting RETURN.
• HELPFUL NOTES
- Slow your mouse speed down to one of the slower speeds. The mouse speed is controlled
by the Mouse control panel, located in "Control Panels" under the Apple menu item. Try
various speeds to see which feels the most comfortable. This can help if the airplane
