F/A-18 | Janes Combat Simulations

F/A-18 V1.01F UPDATE README

Jane's(r) Combat Simulations

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. DISPLAY DRIVER UPDATE INFORMATION

1. 3Dfx Voodoo 3

2. Nvidia GeForce

3. Matrox G400

II. UPDATE FEATURES

1. Crash bugs resolved

2. Multiplayer improvements

3. Wrapper screen improvements

4. AI behavior enhancements and changes

5. Flight model enhancements and changes

6. Avionics systems enhancements and changes

7. Weapon system enhancements and changes

8. Miscellaneous improvements and changes

III. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

- - - - - -

I. DISPLAY ISSUES

1. 3Dfx Voodoo 3. Using older Voodoo 3 drivers can cause graphic anomalies and game instability. Some of these anomalies include see-through MDI

screens and distorted sky, landscapes, and objects. To remedy this, please download the latest Voodoo 3 reference drivers from:

http://www.3dfxgamers.com/view.asp?PAGE=V3Drivers

2. Nvidia GeForce. If sensor or weapon video is displayed on the UFC and the view is panned, drawing errors can occur. This anomaly has been fixed.

3. Matrox G400. The current G400 series drivers have incompatibility issues with F/A-18. Problems include seeing through objects, missing polygons, and game instability. Matrox is aware of this problem so please check their web site periodically for updated drivers. http://www.matrox.com/

--/o\--

II. UPDATE FEATURES

1. Crash bugs resolved

- Some system configurations have been prone to crash to desktop (CTD) when the FLY button is selected, particularly in the training missions.

- CTDs resulted on some systems when either a Harpoon or SLAM ER+ was released and then the player accessed the F9 (weapon) view.

- In simulation CTD when landing on carrier.

- Mission builder CTD when Russian Mechanized Company unit is placed in world.

- If a Walleye was released and it was the last weapon onboard the plane, a CTD would result.

- In simulation CTD when aircraft forced in a particular type of uncontrolled departure.

2. Multiplayer improvements

The patched version of Jane’s F/A-18 is not be multiplayer compatible with the original version.

Tests have showed that some systems encounter multiplayer problems after installing the patch file. A clean install of the game and patch resolves this issue.

- Spontaneous aircraft destruction after taking off from a runway has been fixed.

- Identification of message sender has been added to the beginning of chat messages.

- Players now have the ability to continue a mission after the end mission plaque is presented by selecting the "NO" button.

- Microwarping/nose bounce has been reduced.

- Clients now receive marshal communications.

- All mission participants now hear consistent voices and fuel states.

- All autopilot modes are now functional in multiplayer.

- Player no longer must have show subtitles cheat active to see player chat messages.

- Repeated radio calls after taking off from carrier have been removed.

- The master caution light and fire extinguisher reset correctly after a player respawn.

3. Wrapper screen improvements

- In the stick-scaling screen, roll and pitch were swapped. This has been fixed.

- Canopy reflections can now be set independently of the cockpit detail setting.

- In a campaign, it was possible to load weapons from the default loadout list and not have the weapons subtracted from the ship’s weapons inventory. This has been remedied.

4. AI behavior enhancements and changes

- If an aircraft was assigned a FAC mission but did not have a FAC loadout, the aircraft would give repeated FAC calls. FAC aircraft include the F-14B and S-3B. This has been fixed.

- Ships with deck guns will now engage other ships and land targets.

- Aircraft will no longer fly with their landing gear down while in combat.

- Key functions have been added to filter communications. These can be mapped to a key of your choice in the custom key mapper screen. Functions

include:

WING_RADIO_TOGGLEThis will turn on/off a filter of comms from your wingmen

ATC_RADIO_TOGGLE This will turn on/off a filter of comms from Strike and Marshal. Once you request landing though you cannot filter these comms.

OTHER_RADIO_TOGGLE This will turn on/off a filter of comms from other planes (excluding C3 types) unless they are within 20NM of you.

- Wingmen now exit formation when returning to base.

- Tomahawk-capable ships can now engage land targets with cruise missiles.

- Aircraft can engage ships with cruise missiles at greater range now.

- Aircraft will now maintain their assigned altitude when attacking a target with missiles.

- When wingmen are fired upon by mobile SAMs, they will respond with an appropriate SAM launch warning vice Alamo or Archer calls.

5. Flight model enhancements and changes

- Stick input in pitch is now more symmetrical.

- Pitch performance in inverted flight has been adjusted so the aircraft will try to maintain approximately 1 G flight with neutral stick.

- Rudder authority has been increased.

6. Avionics systems enhancements and changes

- Key functions for RADAR_AZ_SCAN, RADAR_MODE, and GUN_RATE now work correctly.

- Master Mode cockpit indicator lights now respond accordingly when mode is changed via master mode keys.

- The mouse cursor is now visible while in a padlock view mode.

- All MDI and MPCD push buttons can be mapped to key presses. The UFC can be mapped as well but it must be in MDI mode. These can be mapped to a key of your choice in the custom key mapper screen.

- Each cockpit display can be assigned a unique TDC activation key. These can be mapped to a key of your choice in the custom key mapper screen.

- G readouts have been added to the HUD navigation mode.

7. Weapon system enhancements and changes

- AA-9 Amos blast radius and damage values have been adjusted.

- It is now possible to lock on to SS-N-2A Styx and SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship missiles.

- Dropped air-to-air missiles (like the AIM-7) briefly decelerate before motor ignites.

- Ground- and sea-based air defense systems have increased lethality. They will be less prone to lose locks and multi-targeting capability for appropriate systems has been made more robust.

- Home-On-Jam (HOJ) capability has been added to the AIM-120C AMRAAM.

- It is now possible to steer the AGM-62 if it is the last weapon dropped.

8. Miscellaneous improvements and changes

- Runway and city lights have been set to correctly work with the appropriate time of day.

- It is possible to now access the ACM views when the front view is set to show no cockpit.

- The individual engine levers now respond accordingly when each engine is shut down.

- Fuel dump no longer works while aircraft is on ground.

- You can create an "f18misc.ini" file in your resource directory to change the following things. The simplest way to do this is make a copy of your

f18keys.ini file; copy it; and then paste it in your resource directory.

Once this done, rename the file f18misc.ini; delete its contents; then add the lines (see below) you wish.

HUD_R Default HUD red value

HUD_G Default HUD green value

HUD_B Default HUD blue value

COMM_RDefault Comm menu active red color

COMM_GDefault Comm menu active green color

COMM_BDefault Comm menu active blue color

INACTIVE_COMM_R Default Comm menu inactive red color

INACTIVE_COMM_G Default Comm menu inactive green color

INACTIVE_COMM_B Default Comm menu inactive blue color

COMM_BOX_RDefault Comm menu box red color

COMM_BOX_GDefault Comm menu box green color

COMM_BOX_BDefault Comm menu box blue color

END_BOX If this is set to 0 then the end mission box will not appear for mission success or failure messages.

ESC_OPTIONThis is for multiplayer only and deals with how the End Game Box is brought up. If set to 0 it's normal. 1 means you have to use "SHIFT-ESC" to

bring it up. 2 means the ESC key cannot be used to end a game and you must map SIM_DONE to another key.

ORIGINAL_KEYBOARD Setting this to 1 will return it to the original settings.

OTHER_RADIO_RANGE = 20This is only applies when you have Toggled off OTHER_RADIO_TOGGLE. This will allow you to still hear other AIs nearby so you can be aware of things happening around you. The default value is 20NM. If you don't want to hear the others at all setting it to 0 should do this.

M_SHOW_FRIEND = 1 This will allow friendly human planes to show up on your TEWS. Humans with STT locks should show up regardless of this setting.

The format needed to use these in the ini file is:

NAME = value where NAME is something like HUD_R and value is a number. RGB values are from 1 to 255.

For example to have a white HUD you would have this in the ini file:

HUD_R = 255

HUD_G = 255

HUD_B = 255

For black you would use all 1's instead.

- A sound has been attached with the ejection sequence.

- The gun sound will not be heard now if the player fires the gun while aircraft’s landing gear is down.

- F/A-18E anti-collision lights are now visible from long distance.

- The positioning of the IFOLS "meatball" has been adjusted for an accurate 3-wire trap.

- The force feedback gun bug, in which the gun could continue to fire, has been fixed.

- Threat Padlock view range has been reduced to six miles.

- Terrain line of sight restrictions while padlocking enemy aircraft have been implemented.

- - - - - -

III. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: I give my wingmen the attack air defenses command but they don’t seem to attack SAM and AAA units. What am I doing wrong?

A: Before giving the attack ground defenses command, ensure that your wingmen are within 30 miles of the air defenses you wish them attack and that they are loaded with the appropriate weaponry. Even if this is done properly, wingmen may not be able to immediately attack air defenses because they may be defensive against enemy threats.

Q: Despite the patch, the game still crashes. What do I do?

A: Over-clocking of the system’s CPU or the graphics card can lead to instabilities that may lead to a crash. Additionally, adjusting of system bios from default settings have also been shown to lead to game crashes.

Q: I dropped a penetrating weapon on a bunker but the target was not destroyed. How do I destroy such a target?

A: Heavily hardened structures like weapon bunkers or sub pens will often require two or more penetrating weapons to destroy them. Do not expect a single weapon to always do the job.

Q: I destroyed several bunkers at a complex I was assigned to destroy but I still failed the mission. How am I supposed to win these?

A: In missions that your flight is assigned to destroy a fixed ground target, your target will always be designated as DMPI-1. You can view this location from the Targeting screen. This target must be destroyed in order to achieve a mission success.

Q: I sometimes see blinking threat indicators on the EW page from active missiles like the AA-12 and AA-9. Why is it doing this?

A: These missiles incorporate small radars and will attempt to lock onto your aircraft once they are within sufficient range. If the missile’s radar has difficulty maintaining a lock, you may see its threat indication on the EW page blink on and off.

Q: Friendly aircraft sometimes shoot me down with AIM-120 or AIM-54 air-to-air missiles. Why are they doing this?

A: Active radar guided missiles like these require the launch aircraft to provide steering to the intended target during the initial portion of flight. If this support is interrupted, these missiles will go radar-active and will seek out the first contact it detects. If you have friendly aircraft behind you firing such missiles, the missiles may home in on you if the launch aircraft loses lock on the intended target.

Q: Why can’t I ever seem to get an non-cooperative target recognition (NCTR) identification on a target I have locked up?

A: Several factors determine how well NCTR will work. NCTR will not work if the target is outside 40 nautical miles; there must high aspect closure (the target flying towards you); and there cannot be a significant altitude difference between the player and the target.

The Jane's F/A-18 Development Team would like to thank the following people for helping us test Jane's F/A-18. We couldn't have done it without you!

F/A-18 external beta test team:

Jim "Hornit" Campisi, Sean "Eagl" Long, John "Zambo" Zambie, Pierre "Papadoc" Legrand, and Tom "Saint" Launder.

F/A-18 Electronic Arts QA test team:

James Grandt, Gary Ward, Colin Clarke, and Ryan Gorospe.

We would also like to give special thanks to those individuals in the flight simulation community that have compiled many excellent user created missions and add-ons. Some of these include:

Fritzdog’s Resource Center | http://fa18.sim-arena.com/

Ham’s F/A-18 Online Operations | http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ldham/flynavy/superhornet.htm

Jane’s F/A-18E Tactical Operations & Mission Planning | http://www.zianet.com/baldeagle/

Steelcity’s F/A-18 Hangar | http://members.home.com/steelcity/

Limech’s Jane’s Site | http://www.limech.com/index.shtml

Raptor’s F/A-18 Flight Deck | http://members.xoom.com/joshwagner/f18home.htm

Viper3Two’s F/A-18 Website | http://home.att.net/~Viper3TwoF18/frames.htm

Jane’s F/A-18 Psycho Central | http://www.ao.net/~chuck/fa18/fa18syco.htm

Check-Six | http://spower.free.fr/

To find the latest information about F/A-18 and Jane's Combat Simulations, please visit our website: http://www.janes.ea.com

Jane's(r) F/A-18 (c) 2000 Electronic Arts. All rights reserved.

Reference Work From Jane's library (c) 1999 Jane's Information Group Ltd.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.