Aviation Adventure/AVIATION.bin/corsair/corncob.doc

Text File | 1994-11-02 | 25KB | 530 lines

Welcome to F4U Secret Sortie.  Copyright 1994 Pie in the Sky Software

Table of Contents  \(( type a number using your keyboard )\)
-----------------
 1)  Getting Started
 2)  The Story so Far
 3)  Hardware Requirements
 4)  Inflight Keys
 5)  Keyboard Play and How to Handle the Rudder
 6)  Missions: Theaters-of-Operation
 7)  Training Missions
 8)  How to Take Off, Fly Level, and Land
 9)  How to Turn Your Plane
10)  The Corncob Other Worlds Campaign Order Form
11)  Technical Information and Disclaimer


Getting Started
---------------

                Welcome to F4U Secret Sortie!

  F4U Secret Sortie is an easy game to use.

  Just make up a name for your 'pilot' when asked.  This will be the name
to reference for accumulated score, etc.  You can create many pilots, and fly
them on missions.  The only effect this has is that each pilot has his or her
own stats and records.

  If you just want to get in the cockpit and fly, then type <CR> at the
main menu.  Doing so will bring up the Training Missions menu.  Just
type <CR> again, and you will receive the pre-flight report, which gives
information the mission.   Hit <CR> again to begin the mission.

  Once in the plane, the blinking message reminds you that the F4 key
gives inflight help.


Storyline
---------

The game takes place near the end of World War II.  The Allied forces
have intercepted a message from Hitler to his top field General
concerning an all-out offensive that the Germans are planning in a
desperate attempt to break through Allied lines.  The German plans
must be foiled, or the war will be lost.  The message contains details
that will enable the Allies to stop the offensive, but unfortunately
the message is encoded.  The Allies must put their top code crackers
on this case immediately.  These individuals are located in five
European cities located in strategic underground hideouts behind enemy
lines.  You have been selected as the courier to take copies of the
message to these top code crackers.  To undertake this dangerous
mission you will fly the most advanced plane of the day, the F4U
Corsair.  To make your Corsair lighter in order to conserve fuel, the
guns and gun mounts have been removed from your aircraft.



Hardware Requirements
---------------------

  In addition to the other requirements of Aviation Adventure,
F4U Secret Sortie requires 520k free RAM.  An Adlib-compatible
sound card and a joystick are both optional.


Inflight Key Definitions
------------------------

F2 - Intelligence Info
escape - end mission now (for best score, use near your airstrip tower)
cntl-c - abort mission   (end mission, pretend mission never happened)

Keypad arrow keys   (NEVER use cursor keys, use KEYPAD arrow keys only!)
7,9 - left, right rudder control  (Must use these for taxiing on ground)
       (Tap lightly; Don't hold rudder keys down continuously in flight!)
8,2 - nose down, nose up
4,6 - roll counterclockwise, roll clockwise

numlock - toggle between {keypad arrows = views} or {keypad arrows = controls}
left cntl key - use with keypad arrow keys for views
left shift key - apply brakes

f - flaps toggle
g - ground detail dots toggle on/off
i - ignite rocket booster  (15 second burn, 120 seconds recharge)
m - map mode (arrows, pgup=move down, pgup=move up, shft arrows=change angle)
p - pause toggle,  (use spacebar to go through help screens when paused)
r - toggle reverse window on/off
s - toggle sound on/off, also use for reseting sound board in case of glitch
t - hold down for accelerated time
x,z - left/right rudder
       (Tap lightly; Don't hold rudder keys down continuously in flight!)
keypad +/-  increase/decrease throttle


Keyboard Play
-------------

  A great deal of effort was put into F4U Secret Sortie in order to make
keyboard play work well.  The keyboard is interrupt driven, and your key
presses are timed to within 1/1000 th of a second.  Also, F4U Secret Sortie
has no problem detecting keystrokes even when 3 keys are held
down at once.

  Remember that to apply gentle tweaks to the control, you must press
keys on and off rapidly, with the average time spent down being the
desired roll/pitch rate.  You have three displays on the front panel
which show you what you are presently sending to the control stick.
These meters are just to the right of the ALT light.

  NOTE: if the keypad arrow keys suddenly appear to be not functioning
properly, perhaps you have bumped the numlock key.  See the 'inflight
keys' section for the function of the numlock key.


REAL MISSIONS:
--------------

  This menu is where you select your flying mission.  There is one
training mission and five actual missions.

  You must complete the training mission before you are allowed to fly
actual missions in enemy territory.  To fly the training mission,
choose the \("\Training mission"\) selection from the menu.

  In the training mission, you must take off and weave between some tall
rotating markers like a slalom skier.  Start at the marker closest to
your airstrip, and fly past in on the left side.  As you do, you will
see the '1' in your training instrument light up.  Then switch to the
right side as you pass the second marker.  The '2' will then light up.
Continue weaving through markers until your whole training intrument is
lit up, and the complete light on your dash goes on.

  If you miss a marker, or you go past the markers out of order, you
will have to start over.  If your wheels touch the ground before you
complete the slalom, you will have to start over.

  You can fly a combat mission in one of the theaters-of-operation by
choosing the \("\Fly mission"\) selection.

  Most Theaters-of-Operation consists of several airfields.  Surrounding
these airfields are enemy buildings and equipment.  You must stay away
from these to avoid detection by the enemy.  If you get too close, your
radar warning light will go on, and you will hear the warble alarm.  The
alarm has four stages.   When the light is grey, you are far enough
away from the enemy structures that you are in no danger.  When it is
blue, you are getting dangerously close, but you are not close enough to
be detected.  When the light is yellow, you are very close to being
detected.  When the alarm warning light turns red, you will be sighted
in a matter of seconds!

  There are three types of enemy structure that can detect you.

1.) Red buildings
  All the red buildings have enemy personnel inside.   If they hear a
plane go overhead, they will run out and try to identify it.  These
structures have the smallest detection range, and are therefore the
least threatening to your mission.
  Your altitude affects the ability of the building personnel to detect
you as hostile.  The higher you are, the less likely that they will spot
you.
  These buildings will show up as dark blue dots on your radar display.

2.) Enemy planes
  Since you are behind the lines, all aircraft are hostile.  They can
detect you when get within a certain range.  You are most likely to be
spotted when you are at the same altitude as the enemy plane.
  Since enemy pilots are always observant, the range of detection for
planes is twice that of buildings.  Enemy planes show up as light blue
on your radar.

3.) Radar installations
  Radar buildings have maximum range.  Most of the time you cannot see
the radar before it detects your presence.  Keep a careful eye on the
your radar detection instrument.  The green dots are radar units.
  No matter how high your altitude, the radar installations can still
detect you.
  Low flying, however, is a different story.  The radar installations
are not capable of detecting planes that are flying very low.
  There is no fixed lower ceiling for radar.  The closer you get to the
radar, the lower you must be to pass under it's detection field.  By the
same token, at the maximum range of the radar you can be over 1000 feet
high and still avoid detection.
  Radar has twice the range of enemy aircraft.

Airstrips
---------
  There are both friendly and unfriendly airstrips in the game.
Friendly airstrips always have a tall grey tower next to them.  When you
land at a friendly airstrip, your fuel tanks are refilled after you come
to a complete stop (by lowering the throttle to zero, and applying
brakes), and then raising the throttle again.

  You can land on the roads, or the grass if you like, but grass
landings are much trickier!

  You may choose to play with an invulnerable plane with the \("toggle\)
\(invulnerable \Plane"\) selection.  When flying with an invulnerable
plane, you will be detected by any enemy forces but not forced down,
nor will you any damaged by any collisions.  Flights taken with an
invulnerable plane are never counted toward a pilot's record.

  While you are inflight, F4U Secret Sortie can put text messages up to
guide the new user until he/she becomes familiar with the game.  After
the user learns that you must fly back to the airstrip to get points and
so on, these messages become an annoyance.  Also, some non- IBM
compatible VGA cards may cause this text to come up with '*' characters
replacing every letter in the message.  If this happens, be sure and
turn off inflight comments!
  Use \(Inflight \Comments\) menu selection to turn off these inflight
messages.

  New pilots who just start playing F4U Secret Sortie tend to fly into
the ground frequently, and have much trouble learning to turn.
Therefore, the game contains two aerodynamic flight models.   The
beginner  flight model gently pushes the nose to the correct attitude
for level flight.  This helps prevent crashes, and also causes the plane
to turn without the player having coordinate the use of the elevators.

  The advanced flight model is much preferred for real combat.  Loops,
flying upsidedown, and dives are much easier with this flight model.
Choose between these two flight models with the \(Flight \Model\) menu
item.



TRAINING MISSION
----------------

  You must complete the training mission before you are allowed to fly
actual missions in enemy territory.  To fly the trainging mission,
choose the \("\Training mission"\) selection from the menu.

  In the training mission, you must take off and weave between some tall
rotating markers like a slalom skier.  Start at the marker closest to
your airstrip, and fly past in on the left side.  As you do, you will
see the '1' in your training instrument light up.  Then switch to the
right side as you pass the second marker.  The '2' will then light up.
Continue weaving through markers until your whole training intrument is
lit up, and the complete light on your dash goes on.
  If you miss a marker, or you go past the markers out of order, you
will have to start over.  If your wheels touch the ground before you
complete the slalom, you will have to start over.



How to Take Off, Land, and Fly Level
------------------------------------
  The key to success in Aviation Adventure is to become a good flyer.
Only when a pilot learns the abilities and limitations of his plane can
he make the complex maneuvers required to make it to the rank of
General.

Takeoffs
--------
  Pulling your plane up into the air is the easiest part of flying.
Merely put the throttle to the maximum, and pull up on the stick when
you reach over 150 mph.

  However, there are some details to be aware of.  If your plane is not
lined up on the runway, you will have to maneuver on the ground.  The
joystick controls the tilt of the plane, it cannot turn the plane.
Therefore, use the rudder controls to steer while on the ground.

  To bring the plane to a stop you must use the brakes.  These are the
left shift key, the '.' key, or the '0' key on the keypad.  The brakes
must be used to bring the plane to a complete stop.  (The plane must be
brought to a complete stop to qualify as a landing.)

  Once you are lined up, bring the throttle up to max.  When you reach
100 mph the tail of your plane will rise off the ground.  Keep the plane
on the runway by tapping the rudder keys if needed.  When you surpass
150 mph, pull back gently on the stick.  If you pull back too hard the
tail will swing down so quickly that it will slam back down onto the
runway, thus kicking down your nose due to the bounce.  This can cause a
crash, so be careful.

Level Flight
------------
  When in the air the most important thing is to avoid crashing into the
ground.  To achieve level flight you must keep your leveling sight above the
horizon.  How high you must keep your nose depends on your airspeed.
Near the stall speed of 100 mph, the nose must be kept much higher above
the horizon than when you are flying at 350 mph.

  There is an altimeter and a climb rate meter to help you fly level.  A
warning light will flash if your altitude drops below 150 feet.

  When climbing, keep an eye on your airspeed.  If this drops below 100
mph, then you may not have enough airspeed to fly.  This makes a stall
possible.

Stalls and Advanced Aerodynamics
--------------------------------
  A stall occurs when the air traveling over the wings becomes
turbulent.  This results in a dramatic loss of lift, and unless
corrected, the plane will invariably fall to the ground.  Stalling can
be brought about by letting your airspeed drop below stall speed, or it
can also occur as a result of an imprudent aerobatic maneuver.

  In a computer sim, the joystick tension does not reflect the flight
situation.  Therefore, Aviation Aventure has in it an automatic stall
preventer that limits the stick travel to the maximum attainable without
causing a stall.  This does not mean that it is impossible to stall.
The stall preventer simply limits the control stick from causing a stall
which would be the result of pulling back too hard.

  The most common cause of a stall is simply that the airspeed has
dropped too low to sustain flight.  Another common cause is excessive
sideslipping.

  Also, a damaged plane is much more likely to stall.  Wing damage will
lower the lift of the wings, and control damage can make the stick
jitter beyond what the automatic stall preventer can handle.  Of course
engine damage will lower airspeed, and rudder damage will increase level
flight sideslip.

How to get out of a stall
-------------------------
  To get out of stall means getting your forward airspeed up.  Since
your direction of motion is invariably down when stalled, it is best to
get the nose pointed down.  Of course your throttle should be place to
maximum also.

  Note that when the stall is so bad that your airspeed is nil, then you
have lost the ability to control the plane with the control surfaces.
In fact, it is even possible for your plane to fly backwards with the
controls operating in a reversed fashion.  Even backwards airspeed is
better than zero.  If you are falling backwards, pull the stick back to
push the nose down.  Once the nose is down, hold it there until you get
some forward airspeed.

  The emergency rocket booster can also be useful in getting out of a
stall.

Landing
-------
  This is one of the hardest parts of learning to fly.

  The biggest problem for beginners is to get lined up properly.  One
point to remember is that you must not fly toward the middle of the
runway.  Fly towards the close end of the runway, or a point on an
imaginary line running the length of the runway and beyond.  Once you
are over that imaginary line, then turn your nose to point towards the
end of the runway.  Getting lined up is especially difficult in Aviation
Aventure, due to fact that the plane may be slipping sideways.

  When you get close enough to the runway so that it no longer looks
like a line, but instead looks like a black rectangle, engage the flaps,
and drop your throttle to zero.  (But don't let your airspeed drop below
100 mph.)  At this point you should be no higher than 1000 ft.

  Your plane has automatic landing gear that pops down as required.

  Now let the plane drop, shedding altitude before you reach the
end of the runway.  When you get to 100 or 200 feet, level the plane out
for the final drop to the runway.

  If you are not perfectly lined up, but are low and over the runway,
then drop and steer with the rudder once your wheels touch.  The gear of
your plane is quite tough, and on the runway surface you can have your
rate of climb meter almost pegged negative and still survive.  Landing
on the grass can be done, but requires a much more sensitive touch down.

  It is a good idea to hold down the brake key throughout the
whole landing process.  The left shift key is situated conveniently for
the left hand to operate the brakes and rudder controls.  For those that
use the left hand on the joystick, use the keypad rudder and brake
controls.

  Once you have solidly touched down you may taxi about using your
rudder.  Be careful to keep your speed down while taxiing (especially if
your flaps are down) because it may cause you to lift into the air
inadvertently, and then cause a crashlanding.  Please remember than on
the ground, the stick is useless, and you must steer with the rudder
keys.  Pulling the stick over on the ground may cause your plane to
flip.

Crashes
-------
  There are two different types of crashes.  One is a fatal wreck.
The other is a crashlanding.  A crashlanding is where your plane is
brought down too hard, and the landing gear fails.  The plane then spins
to a stop on the ground.  When it stops, your plane is dead and will not
fly again until repaired.  If you were close to your airstrip, the
repair crew can fix it.

  The other type of crash is the fatal crash.  This happens if you slam
into the ground too hard, or if your plane is so tilted during landing
that your wing tip hits.

Midair collisions
------------------
  There many types of objects which will destroy your plane if you
collide with them.  When this happens your plane bounces, and the damage
indicators immediately max out.  The screen border turns dark red, and
the eject light begins to flash.  At this point you should bail out,
since it is likely that you will die if you try to land the plane.
Don't bother trying to make it back to base.  (Although landing such a
plane has been done on occasion, it most often proves to be a fatal
mistake.)


How to Turn Your Plane
----------------------
  Please note that Knowledge Aventure's advanced flight model makes
turning different than on many commercial flight games which have
simpler models.  With a little practice however, you will find the plane
is just as maneuverable.

  To turn your plane, simply move the stick left or right.  The plane
will begin to bank.  Don't be too shy, give the plane a nice 45 degree
bank.  Now that wing's lift is no longer pulling straight up, you will
lose some lift, and your nose may drop.  Pull back on the stick to keep
the nose above the horizon.  You will notice that as you pull back on
the stick, your nose will be pulled into the turn.

  To make a typical turn, place the plane on its side, so that
the horizon forms a vertical line.  Then pull all the way back on the
stick, and hold it there until you have the compass reading you desire.
Then simply flatten your plane back to the level.  Be careful not to let
the nose drop during the turn.  You can always bring it up by unbanking
the plane a little, and the nose will lift since you are holding the
control stick back.  This method of turning is actually easier than a
slow coordinated turn.  The price for the fast turn is airspeed.

  The fastest turns are done with the flaps engaged, since this greatly
increases the lift from the wings.  Be careful not to let your airspeed
drop too much.  Flaps increase drag also.

  Note that the amount of time required for the turn depends very much
upon your airspeed.  (Just like in an automobile, when moving fast you
cannot make tight turns.)

               CORNCOB OTHER WORLDS CAMPAIGN ORDER FORM

Name ________________________________________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________

City _______________________________ State ______ ZIP _______________

Country (if outside USA) ____________________________________________


CIRCLE DISK SIZE:  5-1/4"(1.2M)   or   3-1/2"(720K)

Price of Corncob Other Worlds Campaign                          $20.00
Shipping and Handling in the US                                   3.00
Shipping and Handling to Canada                                   4.00
Shipping and Handling everywhere else                             5.00
Michigan residents add sales tax                                  1.38
                                                              --------
                                               Total enclosed:  $

Master Card/Visa information (credit card orders only)

Card number __________________________________________

Expiration Date ______________________________________
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The F4U Secret Sortie game
--------------------------
  F4U Secret Sortie was designed for Knowledge Adventure by Kevin Stokes,
with a lot of additional programming by George Welch.  The program
documentation was written by Kevin Stokes.  Original music was written by
Jim Collymore, A.S.C.A.P.  All music in the game is copyright 1986-1991
James L. Collymore, and the use of the three music files for any purposes
other than use in Aviation Adventure is strictly illegal.
The music is contained in the following files: DESTINY3.ROL, RIDINGT.ROL, and
DREAMS0.ROL.  These files cannot be legally copied or distributed without the
author's permission.

  The VGA directory (created the first time Aviation Aventure is run)
contains all the digitized artowrk in the game.  These photos were
extensively retouched using the excellent program MVP Paint, by David
Johndrow.  You can order your own copy of this extremely useful program
from MVP Software.

  F4U Secret Sortie was written in assembler and C.  The excellent library
of routines Spontaneous Assembly was used in developing the program.

  This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

THIS SOFTWARE IS DISTRIBUTED ON AN AS IS BASIS.  MVP SOFTWARE AND PIE IN THE
SKY SOFTWARE MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO
THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND MERCHANTABILITY.  ACCORDINGLY, THE ENTIRE RISK
AS TO THE USE, RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY THE
USER.  IN NO EVENT WILL MVP SOFTWARE OR PIE IN THE SKY SOFTWARE BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVIN IF MVP SOFTWARE OR
PIE IN THE SKY SOFTWARE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IF ANY OF THE PROVISIONS, OR PORTIONS THEREOF, OF THIS DISCLAIMER ARE
INVALID UNDER ANY APPLICABLE STATUE OR RULE OF LAW, THEY ARE TO THAT EXTENT
DEEMED TO BE OMITTED.  ALL OTHER PROVISIONS, HOWEVER, REMAIN IN EFFECT.