carlos@io.UUCP (Carlos Smith x4433) (01/05/89)
There have been some harsh and unfair words said here about Falcon, all of them by people who have apparently never even played the game. Falcon WAS released with bugs, it doesn't work with 68020's, you must re-kickstart an A1000 if you want to play it again after you have played previously (though 1.3 boots OK), the joystick has a bug (you can't pull back and turn at the same time), and there are some minor display glitches. But there are many companies who have released "professional" software with more bugs and problems than Falcon has who have received fairer treatment here. Did anyone bother to call Spectrum Holobyte and ask them about the bugs? I did, and they are working on an update right now, that will be sent free to anyone who has reported problems, or who has sent in their warranty card. They expect the update to be ready in about two weeks, and yes, it will fix the 68020 problems, as well as the bugs I mentioned to them. At least they own up to the problems and are fixing them, and at least they answer their technical support lines (which is more than I can say for Aegis), and this is just for a GAME! The way they have been flamed it is as if they said they would not fix the bugs, hated the Amiga anyway, and would not accept returns! I want to add that in spite of the bugs Falcon has NEVER ONCE CRASHED on me, nor have I ever been robbed of a successfully completed mission, the way Interceptor has so often done to so many people. I have had MANY hours of FUN playing this game. And the whiny name-calling is not very appropriate for this forum, at least from anyone who claims to be a programmer. Obviously, their code has never had bugs in it, or been rushed to market to make some Christmas sales. Such decisions are rarely in the hands of the programmers working on the project. Instead of cursing Spectrum Holobyte, they should be praised for bringing such a fine game to the Amiga, and encouraged to fix any existing problems and provide an update to those who need it, both of which they have already promised to do. Only if they are not responsive to the problems and do not come out with the update should they be criticized so harshly. Why do I care? Because Falcon is the best game I have seen on the Amiga, and is by far the best jet combat simulator. It blows away Interceptor as a simulation as completely as Interceptor shot down Jet. I also care because the programmers of Falcon have done a wonderful job, and the game as a whole is an AMAZING TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT, and all of the negative comments by people who have not even played it are very unfair to them. The level of detail and sophistication are amazing. The frame rate is high enough to give a smooth sensation of flight. The instrumentation is superb, with real head-up-display simulation instead of the pseudo-HUD Interceptor used. The enemy aircraft are well detailed. It includes air-to-ground modes as well as air-to-air combat. No more launching air-to-air missiles at a "Submersible Aircraft Carrier" and wondering if you actually hit anything. In Falcon, ground targets show damage when hit. Some details - The game is copy protected only with a code-wheel. The code must be entered only once at boot-up. The disks themselves are not protected. The HUD includes an attitude ladder (sadly missing from Interceptor), airspeed and altitude scales, G-force indicator, heading scale and more, as the basic information. There are additional graphics depending on which specific weapon is selected, which can be air-to-air missile, gun dogfight, air-to-ground bombing, air-to-ground missile, and gun strafing. Each mode has its own information displayed, and as best as I can tell in the books I have on combat aircraft they are both accurate and complete. This adds a lot to the quality of the simulation. It also has an ILS (instrument landing system) mode that makes landing easier. Other instruments include a threat indicator (shows direction to radar emissions), missile lock warning, missile launch warning, radar, map plus assorted other necessary instruments. The electronic simulation is one of the things that makes this game interesting. Your radar has both tracking and boresight modes. You may shut your radar off to avoid detection by the enemy. You may equip your plane with and use a jammer, but it will broadcast your position to the enemy. Your threat indicator will show enemy aircraft and SAM sites if they have their radar on, but at higher difficulty levels the MIGS may also have their radar off! The attention to detail is amazing. When you turn on your ILS, you will get messages from the control tower vectoring you to the correct approach path! A neat touch is that each message is accompanied by a garbled, staticy fake message over the radio! If you are diving toward the ground, a female voice says "PULL UP, PULL UP" while arrows on the HUD converge on the impact point. There are real mountains to fly around, ground detail includes roads, rivers, bridges (which are also targets) airfields, buildings and skyscrapers. Another nice touch is that here and there along roads are telephone poles, and little clusters of what look like farm buildings, complete with water towers! But there's more! Replay your flight path with a black box. Dogfight over the modem! (I am looking forward to trying that!) There is air combat manuever training... The sounds of bullets hitting your plane will make you jump out of your seat (or should I say, eject). This IS a TOUGH game. Control is touchy, because the plane is much more responsive than Interceptor, where the F-18 was basically crippled. There are several difficuly modes though, and this can make it easier to get into the game. Landing can be very difficult until you get the hang of it. Dogfighting is tough. You have to be careful not to get shot down while on your landing approach, or while approaching a ground target. But it is my favorite game now, and anyone who liked Interceptor but wanted more should check it out! If you are worried about the bugs, or have a 68020 machine, by all means wait until the update comes out before buying it. But don't get the idea that Falcon is a lousy game, because it is awesome! -- Carlos Smith uucp:...!mit-eddie!ileaf!carlos Bix: carlosmith
rsilvers@hawk.ulowell.edu (Robert Silvers) (01/05/89)
In article <878@io.UUCP> carlos (Carlos Smith x4433) writes: >There have been some harsh and unfair words said here about Falcon, all of >Did anyone bother to call Spectrum Holobyte and ask them about the bugs? I >expect the update to be ready in about two weeks, and yes, it will fix the It always takes 2 weeks. New programs allways ship in "two weeks", and bugs are always fixed in "two weeks" >I want to add that in spite of the bugs Falcon has NEVER ONCE CRASHED on me, >nor have I ever been robbed of a successfully completed mission, the way >Interceptor has so often done to so many people... Interceptor does not rob people of successfull missions, those people (especially those that have not read the manual for some reason) just don't know that they must hit the trip wire with their arrestor hook. I can't wait to see this game myself, I just don't believe in releasing buggy software, even before Christmas. I had enough problems with TDI. .RS Robert Silvers. rsilvers@hawk.ulowell.edu Box #1003 University of Lowell. Lowell Ma, 01854 (508) 452-5000 ex 2233