[comp.sys.amiga.games] F-18 vs. Falcon

ic1a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Ian Chan) (03/19/91)

Hi,

I was just wondering how Falcon compares to F-18.  I have the latter and
am considering buying the F-16 simulator.  What are the highlights,
problems, and/or difficulty level.

ian

labben@iesd.auc.dk (Lars Bodin) (03/19/91)

In article <kbtDrya00WBKQ0hW8i@andrew.cmu.edu> ic1a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Ian Chan) writes:
>
>
>Hi,
>
>I was just wondering how Falcon compares to F-18.  I have the latter and
>am considering buying the F-16 simulator.  What are the highlights,
>problems, and/or difficulty level.
>
>ian

I tried Falcon once and didn't like it. It just doesn't feel right -
too slow for me. Instead try F16 Combat Pilot. It's the best simulator
I have ever seen. Here are some facts:

- The graphic is very detailed and with fast smooth scrolling. The 
  sounds are very realistic.

- You have _much_ more instruments than you had in F18. Actually you
  have so many instruments, that you can't have them all on screen at
  the same time. Instead you have tree displays, which can display all 
  kind of instruments/views including:
    A map of the nearest area.
    A video display of your locked-on ground target.
    Air and ground radars.
    Digital artificial horizont.
    Landing guidance.
    etc.

- You have more weapons than you had in F18. You can either use the
  recommended weapons for a mission, or you can select your own
  weapons. You can choose between:

      AMRAMM radar guided med-range air-to-air missile
      SIDEWINDER IR guided short-range air-to-air missile
      HARM air-to-ground anti-radar missile
      Maverick IR or Laser-guided air-go-ground
      500, 1000, 2000 lbs. free-fall bombs
      Durandal anti-runway guided bomb
  
 - You can also use some tech stuff like a targeting pod and a recoq
   pod. External fueltanks is also available for long-range missions.

 - You can play the game using two joysticks!!! The extra joystick is
   used to control trottle and rudder (I think that's what it's
   called :-) ).

 - The manual is _very_ detailed. I have never seen a better manual
   for a game!
   
 - If you find it hard to land, you can either use an auto-pilot or
   call the tower, where the flight leader will "talk you down" You
   also have an electronic guidance system, which will help you to
   keep the right altitude/glide angle/direction when landing.

 - First you should try the "Training Mission". Here you fly in 
   a fligth simulator, so you won't get killed.

 - Next you have to complete five beginner missions including
   tank attack (watch out for enemy gunships!), airfield attack,
   strategic bombing of factories etc. When you assign to a mission 
   the computer will pick your targets and you have to make a perfect
   attack on these targets.
   
 - When you have completed the five missions, you can go for a real
   campaign. This is much harder - now you have to plan your strategy,
   pick your own targets etc. However, you can get some help from
   other friendly planes. You can assign missions to four friendly 
   air-fields, which will help you "when the going gets tough"! 
   When you are on a campaign, you are both the commander and a pilot.
   The commander can't be killed - he is secure in his command bunker.
   When the pilot you are controlling dies, you just control another
   pilot instead. If your factories haven't been destroyed, they will
   produce new planes, so don't worry about crashing a plane once and
   a while.   

 - You can save your game/campaign in a fligth log, which will tell you
   how succesfull your missions have been. As you become better you will
   be transferred to other units, where the enemy is harder to beat.

 - If you have a friend with an Amiga, you can play against him using 
   a Null-modem!

So, what are you waiting for - Go buy it!

AMIGA  //     Lars Bodin
      //      Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, 
   \\//       University of Aalborg (AUC)
    \/        E-mail: labben@iesd.auc.dk

--
AMIGA  //     Lars Bodin
      //      Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, 
   \\//       University of Aalborg (AUC)
    \/        E-mail: labben@iesd.auc.dk

u870234@daimi.aau.dk (Anton Norup S|rensen) (03/19/91)

ic1a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Ian Chan) writes:



>Hi,

>I was just wondering how Falcon compares to F-18.  I have the latter and
>am considering buying the F-16 simulator.  What are the highlights,
>problems, and/or difficulty level.

>ian

I enjoy the F-18 as a good game. The Falcon is (when you choose the high
level) a fine simulator with really difficult(=realistic) missions.
It will take time to learn to handle Falcon (a ~100 p manual), but it's
worth it!
The only drawback is a sorta digital handling, which is especially felt
during landings. The F-18 has a nice, smooth touch (which tou don't need,
as you can slam the plane down at strange angles and still walk away
from it in one piece :-) )

Anton N. Sorenson, University of Aarhus, Denmark
*** Flying, the best to do with your pants on ***

perod@ifi.uio.no (Per Christian deg}rd) (03/19/91)

	Lars Bodin is, in fact, quite right. F-16 Combat Pilot is by far
	the best flight sim for the Amiga. I've tried Falcon more than
	once, and though it handles realistically on the higher skill-
	levels, it's really quite boring. The map is far too small.

	So do, as Lars suggests, buy this sim. It's a must for flight
	freaks. And by far the most involvin. Two small gripes though:
	Sick colors at some objects and short runways. But who cares
	when the sim is as good as this?

	Another sim that could be worth the wait is the coming
	Flight of the Intruder by the creators of Falcon and based
	on Stephen Coonts' book. It looks very promising and shares
	some of Combat Pilot's good points.



	Happy flying!


	Per Chr. Odegard (perod@ifi.uio.no)

ridout@uservx.afwl.af.mil (03/21/91)

In article <1991Mar19.091031.18178@iesd.auc.dk>, labben@iesd.auc.dk (Lars Bodin) writes:
> In article <kbtDrya00WBKQ0hW8i@andrew.cmu.edu> ic1a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Ian Chan) writes:
>>
>>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I was just wondering how Falcon compares to F-18.  I have the latter and
>>am considering buying the F-16 simulator.  What are the highlights,
>>problems, and/or difficulty level.
>>
>>ian
> 
> I tried Falcon once and didn't like it. It just doesn't feel right -
> too slow for me. Instead try F16 Combat Pilot. It's the best simulator
> I have ever seen. Here are some facts:
> 
> - The graphic is very detailed and with fast smooth scrolling. The 
>   sounds are very realistic.
> 
> - You have _much_ more instruments than you had in F18. Actually you
>   have so many instruments, that you can't have them all on screen at
>   the same time. Instead you have tree displays, which can display all 
>   kind of instruments/views including:
***stuff deleted***
> 
> --
> AMIGA  //     Lars Bodin
>       //      Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, 
>    \\//       University of Aalborg (AUC)
>     \/        E-mail: labben@iesd.auc.dk
I have to disagree.  The game to me looked like it might be good, but I think 
it handles very poor.  And I would have given it a better chance but by the
time I get through the copy protection I am so mad I turn it off!
-- 
****************************************************************************
*  Brian Ridout                  What's the difference between a CAR       *
*  PL/SCEV                       salesman and a COMPUTER salesman?         *
*  Kirtland AFB NM 87117         *                                         *
*  ridout@uservx.afwl.af.mil     The CAR salesman KNOWS when he's lying!   *
****************************************************************************

bill@dmntor.UUCP (Bill Kyle) (03/22/91)

In article <kbtDrya00WBKQ0hW8i@andrew.cmu.edu> ic1a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Ian Chan) writes:
>
>
>Hi,
>
>I was just wondering how Falcon compares to F-18.  I have the latter and
>am considering buying the F-16 simulator.  What are the highlights,
>problems, and/or difficulty level.
>
>ian

Go for it! I had F-18 as well before I bought Falcon. Both are very good
but I think Falcon is significantly better than F-18.

-Falcon has real air to ground scenarios against SAM sites, runways, truck
convoys etc. 
-The MIGs in Falcon are more playable against. I found F-18 MIGs were one  
of two kinds, sitting ducks or very difficult. In Falcon you actualy 
get into real dog-fights, twisting, turning etc.

There are other plus's to Falcon over F-18. It is a must buy if you like
F-18! Fear not, about the bucks you will put down for it, it is not
a turkey like A-10 or some of the psuedo-simulations like "Combat Pilot".

Bill