· : ¦ . _________ ________ _____________ ._____¦ | · __ / : ___________/ _ \ \ __ _ / | \ |____: : \_/ -A : \______ \ | \_ _: \_/ \_/ | \ ¦ | ¦ \_ ··D_ / / _/ | / |___/ \_ | : : | |_______/ `N· _/ \ \_________/ | \________/ ¦ |_____¦ ¦ | : \__________/ \ ¦ \_ : : \__________| \___________/ . · . »»»» PRESENTS «««« DAWN PATROL - USER GUIDE ======================== TYPED BY SHARD - N&B INTRODUCTION ------------ The system used to create Dawn Patrol has taken quite a few man years to develop and involved many members of our team. We believe that we have brought you some of the best flight technology available. But Dawn Patrol is more than simply a technological tour de force. It deals with one of the most exciting theatres in the whole of aviation history - the first use of aircraft in warfare. Our remit was to produce a simulator dealing with the First World War; to highlight the pilots and their aircraft as well as the rush to achieve air superiority. It soon became very clear to us that this was a very large story indeed. As the war progressed, so the fortunes of both sides in the air fluctuated. This was an intensely personal battle between individual flyers, sometimes employing quite unorthodox tactics in a wide range of aircraft. Many accounts of their experienees have been described in print. Thats why we decided to base Dawn Patrol around an interactive 'book' of the air war. It means that we've been able to provide chapters on the history of the air war, the most famous aces and the aircraft they flew. That has allowed us to deal with many of the most interesting aspects of the conflict. Thanks to contemporary accounts, we can let you take part in recreated aerial battles and missions which are very close to those actually flown by the men on both sides of the conflict. Our preoccupation with pre jet flight simulators is based on the observation that early aerial battles were a lot more exciting than those employing modern technology. In the first air war there were no heat-guided missiles to aim in the general direction of the enemy. The aircraft approached each other at speeds that were slower than the fluttering of an eyelid. In the midst of battle it was possible to imagine that you could see the whites of your opponents eyes. That's why we are sure you will enjoy Dawn Patrol. Rowan Software. SECTION 1 --------- ABOUT DAWN PATROL Dawn Patrol is really an interactive book devoted to flying in the First World War - the first ever air war. This book has over a hundred pages devoted to subjects like the first flying aces and the aircraft of the era. Like any good book, it's possible to read it sequentially or to dip into it at any point you like. Each page is devoted to a particular aspect of the aerial war, and includes an individually tailored aerial battle or mission Normally, you will be allowed to alter the number of aircraft involved in the mission, and often you will be able to choose whether you wish to fly on the side of the "Allies" or on the side of the "Central Powers". Hence the game provides a great deal of variety and will, hopefully, give you hundreds of hours of enjoyable playing time. An extra chapter lets you create your own personalised pilot record by undertaking all sorts of suggested missions under a persona of your own choosing. This is your chance to become a flying ace. Finally, there is a "Video Editing Suite" where you can edit videos of your aerial adventures. During any mission you can start filming the action, and after the battle has finished you can sit back and replay the recorded action in the comfort of your armchair. The editing suite lets you manipulate the action with more flexibility than any real life post production unit. So, not only will you be able to show your friends how to win an aerial mission, but you'll be able to show off your talent as a film director. About this User Guide The Dawn Patrol User Guide deals with all of the major aspects of the game. To install the software on your machine, refer to the TECHNICAL REFERENCE SUPPLEMENT supplied separately from this guide. The supplement is tailored for your particular computer. Although this guide is intended for all Dawn Patrol users, it has been written from the perspective of an IBM PC compatible owner. If you use a different type of computer, and you are in doubt about any machine specific instructions such as key presses, then you should consult your technical supplement. Your approach to this game will probably be to play it before reading any of the documentation. Inevitably, though, there will come a time when you'll need to uncover more information about Dawn Patrol. Hopefully it is all here in the User Guide. You can either read through the guide from the beginning, or look up the relevant topic in the Table of Contents at the start. The next section, called First Mission, assumes that you are straining at the leash to get on your goggles and leather hat. It guides you from the first page of Dawn Patrol book into the skies and on to the completetion of your first aerial mission. After First Mission, section 3 of the guide details all of the major chapters of the Dawn Patrol interactive book, from beginning to end. Section 4 goes through the basic controls of the in flight section of the game. Section 5 describes some of the basic principles of flying, shooting, and tips for surviving the air war. Finally, section 6 describes all of the features of the video editing suite. Two appendices deal with keyboard commands and joystick controls. Note: Input Devices The interactive book in Dawn Patrol can be controlled using your mouse and/or keyboard - the joystick is not available as an option. The flight simulation section of the game can be controlled by keyboard and/or joystick - the mouse is not available as an option. The specific keys to use on your keyboard are printed on the keyboard reference card provided with the package, and in appendix A of this guide. The specific control of the joystick is detailed in appendix B of the guide. Selection The generic term "select" is used when you are required to click on the left mouse or press ENTER on the keyboard. Items are selected in the interactive book by moving the on screen pointer over a selectable item (which is normally displayed in red) and "selecting" it using either the mouse or keyboard. The onscreen pointer can be positioned by moving the mouse or pressing the TAB key on the keyboard (this will cycle the printer around all of the "selectable" items (on the screen). SECTION 2 --------- FIRST MISSION If you've hurriedly opened this package and now wish to get straight into a First World War dogfight, then these instructions will lead you through your first mission. A more detailed explanation of the game's features begins in section 3. If you have not already done so, read the instructions in the Technical Reference Supplement and follow the game installation and loading procedure. Dawn Patrol starts on the first page of an interactive book. A list of contents details all of the chapters, whose opening pages are highlighted in red. We now wish to go to the first chapter, 'The First Air War', which starts on page two. Position the screen pointer over the First Air War page number (2), and select it. (If you have trouble selecting the page number then read the two paragraphs on 'input devices' in section 1 of this guide). Page two lists the contents of the 'First Air War' chapter, from which you should select page three, entitled The Fokker Scourge. Page three is the first interactive page of Dawn Patrol, and it contains information about the early days of the air war, as well as providing a playable mission. The top half of the page displays text through which you can scroll downwards by selecting the red down arrow positioned half way down the screen on the right hand side. After selecting the down arrow twice the photograph of a Fokker Monoplane in the bottom left corner of the page will be replaced by an animation. This animation shows a British BE2c reconnaissance biplane in flight. The page three mission is described in the bottom right corner. You take the role of Oswald Boelcke, an early German ace, flying a Fokker monoplane in an attack on two 'unsuspecting' BE2c's. If you are feeling very brave you can make the mission more difficult by altering the number of opponents highlighted in the mission profile. When you have read all of this page, select the Iron Cross to the left of the mission headline and your mission will have begun. Your first flight in Dawn Patrol may take you by surprise. When you start you are already in the air, at the controls of a Fokker monoplane. There is no need to fire up your engines, take off and engage the enemy. Your opponents are probably not very far away! Since this is your first flight you might wish to press the pause button P at this point, and take a closer look at the screen. It shows an upper view of the cockpit with the double gunsights of your Fokker monoplane. Press the right square bracket key ] for a lower cockpit view that includes your instrument panel. The dials display your rev count, compass bearing and speed. The number at the top left of the screen shows that you are at a height of a few thousand feet. Now that you are in pause mode, you can take a little time to familiarise yourself with the game controls. You will find that many of the keys detailed by the 'in flight keyboard' reference still work in pause mode, especially those which alter the views on the screen. Since Dawn Patrol provides immense flexibility of view types, it is worth getting a flavour of what is available. Fir instance, press the 5, 6, and 8 keys to see, respectively, views of the rear, left and right of your aircraft. Press the F6 key and you will change to a 'track' view of your Fokker taken from a camera just behind the rear of the aircraft. You will notice that the bottom part of your screen changes to a panel once the view is from outside the cockpit. This panel contains information about your mission. For now, just note the top line that displays the name of your aircraft, as well as your bearing, speed and altitude. If you press the SHIFT and F4 keys simultaneously then you will see a track view of your nearest enemy craft. Now you know what you're up against. The message line at the top of the screen should shortly reveal the location of your enemy with a comment like "My opponent is moving at 4 o'cloek". We cant tell you where YOUR opponent is, because each combat plays differently every time it is loaded. Think of a watch face aligned so that 12 o'clock is pointing straight ahead in the direction of your aircraft. If the enemy is at 4 o'clock, that means an enemy aircraft is in the direction of four o'clock on the clock face, in other words 120 degrees to the right. Unless the aircraft is in sight, though, you don't know whether it is above you or below you. You can get a good idea of your relative positions by pressing the ENTER key, which takes you into 'Outside Combat Lock' mode. This is just fancy jargon for a camera angle that maintains a lock on the nearest enemy from a position that also has your aircraft in the foreground. It may be that the enemy is obscured by the view of your aircraft, but it reveals your relative positions. For instance, if the enemy is above and in front of you, you'll get a view from beneath your aircraft, pointing forward and upwards towards the enemy aircraft. This is the direction you should be heading, so why not switch back to a cockpit view by pressing the right square bracket ] key, and get flying. Press the P key again to get out of pause mode, and start manoeuvring with the cursor keys or your joystick. If you find the controls too sensitive then press the 2 key a couple of times to decrease the flight sensitivity to the minimum level. Your aim should be to get behind the pair of BE2c's, because they will then be very easy to pick off. You can use the - key to reduce the engine revs and so match your speed more closely to your intended victims. When they get within range, press the space bar to fire your machine guns, and see what damage you can inflict. If you succeed in making hits you will see puffs of smoke. Fatal damage after a number of hits will be obvious, and you will then have taken your first step to becoming an ace in your own right. If you fail to get a good run on both aircraft, then you should try to make successive attacks. Other smoke exploding around the enemy will be flak from ground attacks - make sure you get in there before your artillery does the work for you! With a bit of skill on your part, the enemy should suffer a disastrous mission. You will then have four main options. [1] If you have managed to complete your main mission objective, you can leave the scene of battle by pressing the F10 key. This leads to a configuration screen where you can select END MISSION, giving you a post mission summing up with details of your performance. Select the RESET PAGE option, and you will return to the third page of the book. Press the cursor right key to proceed to page four. [2] If you have found the mission too hard for you at this stage then you should leave the flight simulator by pressing F10, and then alter some of the settings on the configuration screen. If you select 'vulnerability' 'arms' , 'targets' and 'skill level' in turn, and set them to off, off, soft and low respectively, then you will now be invulnerable to damage, have an infinite amount of machine gun bullets, easier targets volumes to hit and below average skill enemies. You can then repeat your flight by selecting END MISSION, followed by RESET PAGE and then re entering from page three. Hopefully this time you will find it easier. When you have begun to master Dawn Patrol, remember to increase the difficulty of some of these settings if you want a greater challenge. [3] If the mission was too easy for you then press F10 to exit the flight and on the configuration screen set 'vulnerability', 'arms', 'targets' and 'skill level' to on, on, hard and high respectively. This should make things rather more challenging. Alternatively, you could progress to some further missions before making these changes. [4] If you have disposed of your enemy and are still waiting for more to do, then you could try and fly back to your 'home base', land there and fully complete your mission. On the third line of the control panel (the bottom portion of the screen on an external view), you will see the position information for your Home Base (if it is not being displayed, hit the keys SHIFT and ; simultaneously until it IS displayed). Set a heading back to base, and see if you can make a successful landing there. If the journey is more than a few miles then you can always speed up time when you have set an exact course by hitting the TAB key. Hit any key to get back to normal time progress. Once your home airfield is in sight, set a landing course, decrease your engine revs, and when you touch the ground put on the wheel brakes (press W) and turn off your engine (press the , key). Exit by pressing F10 (or ALT and X together), bask in the approval of your post mission summing up, and head off for a good shower, a mug of warm soup and an early night. There will be a lot of difficult missions out there tomorrow. SECTION 3 ========= DAWN PATROL - THE BOOK List of Contents Page one of the interactive Dawn Patrol book contains a list of six chapters, any one of which can be accessed directly. The first three chapters, named The First Air War, The First Aces and Aircraft of the Era, deal with various aspects of the air war between 1915 and 1918. They contain ninety pages of information, and each one is linked to a specially tailored mission for you to fly. Chapter four, Pilot Biographies, allows you to assume the identity of a fictional flying character from one of the four major nations involved in the air war. You will be able to undertake special missions, from which a personal biography will be created. The fifth chapter, Video Replay, enables you to view and post produce film of your experiences as an air ace. The last chapter provides a single page of your 'preferences' for the settings of the variable options relating to the game and its control. Each item highlighted in red on the List of Contents page acts as a hotspot. If the screen pointer is selected while it is over a hotspot then an action will be taken. Selecting CLOSE BOOK on the top right corner of the screen is the method of quitting from Dawn Patrol back to the DOS prompt. Any chapter can be accessed by selecting the opening page number that is highlighted opposite the chapter name. In the bottom right corner of the page, the current page number is highlighted. If it is selected, then a small box is opened with an editing position represented by a vertical bar. This will accept any page number, to which the book turns when the box is selected again. If you wish to exit from the box without making a new page choice then press the ESC key. If you are playing the CD ROM version of Dawn Patrol you will note that some pages have a small loudspeaker symbol in the bottom left hand corner. If it is selected (or the V key is pressed) then you will hear a recorded commentary that deals with some relevant subject matter. There is a total of 36 pages with recorded information. To turn forward through the book, select the right edge of the page. Select the left edge to turn backwards. Alternatively, press the cursor right or cursor left keys, respectively. These are two examples of hotkeys, which provide a shortcut for any commonly used action. Table 1 lists all of the standard hotkeys in the book section of Dawn Patrol. TAB Cycle round all screen hotspots HOME Move to List of Contents page Cursor Up Move up through chapters on List of Contents page Cursor Dn Move down through chapters on List of Contents page END Move to Preferences page Cursor Left Move to previous page Cursor Right Move to next page PgUp ) Cursor Up ) Scroll text upwards PgDn ) Cursor Dn ) Scroll text downwards P or S Open page number edit box A Fly on Allied side C Fly on Central Powers side V CD commentary (CD ROM version only) Alt X Exit video screen Ctrl Break Fast quit game Table 1, Dawn Patrol Book Hotkeys The First Air War Page two lists the contents of the first chapter - The First Air War. This chapter deals with the most important aspects of the war in the air over Europe, from the winter of 1915 to April 1918. Select a particular page and you will be at the heart of the interactive history of First World War aviation. The layout of these pages splits the screen into two distinct areas. The text at the top half of the page provides background information about the topic being covered. There is generally more text than can fit on this area, and it can be scrolled by using the highlighted arrows in the centre right side of the page. The text scrolls upwards by paragraphs each time the up arrow is selected. At the very top of the page the Words The First Air War and Dawn Patrol are highlighted, and if selected will turn the book to pages two and one, respectively. The lower half of the page displays information about an aerial mission related to the topic under discussion. The picture to the left encompasses some aspect of the mission to come. If an animation is displayed it may sometimes give clues to a potential strategy or manoeuvre that can be usefully employed in the mission. The mission description briefly sets out the important details of the engagement, and will often allow you to specify some of the mission details. If any of the the text is highlighted then it can be altered by you before you take part. For instance, in the screenshot opposite, the number of escorting Fokker monoplanes has been selected. A small text box gives the player a choice of 2, 3 or 4 escorting Fokkers. The desired option should be selected as appropriate. When details have been altered to your satisfaction the mission can commence. If an RFC roundel is displayed to the right of the mission heading, then you can take part on the side of the Allies. If an Iron Cross is displayed on the left of the mission heading, then you can take part on the side of the Central Powers. Often, both the RFC and Iron Cross symbols will be displayed, and this means that you have a choice of sides. Whichever symbol is outlined in pink is the side for which the mission has been designed. If you choose this side, then you should try and achieve the mission objectives as outlined. If you choose the opposing side, then your mission will be essentially a spoiling one. Your aim should be to ensure that the mission objectives of the other side are not achieved. In general it is instructive and fun to play the game from both perspectives. However, the fundamental aim for the player should be to try and achieve all of the mission objectives detailed in each page of the book. Selection of the mission will immediately put you at the controls of an aircraft in flight. The In Flight Manual (section 4) of this guide provides all of the basic information about controlling your aircraft in Dawn Patrol. The next parts of this section provide information about the rest of the interactive book. The First Aces The second chapter of the book deals with fifteen of the most famous flying aces of the First World War. Many of their stories are astounding, some virtually unbelievable. There was Albert Ball, the British pilot who would issue challenges to the enemy by dropping messages over their bases. Or Oswald Boelcke, whose 'play chicken' strategy was to head straight for the enemy's aircraft. And Eddie Rickenbacker, the former Indianapolis driver, who would damage an opponent's aircraft and then let a novice colleague make the final kill. This is your chance to take part in some of these pilot's most exciting missions. For instance, the screenshot shows a page detailing Albert Ball's trial flight as a pilot, where he is pitted against two escorted Albatros two seaters. Quite a few parameters of this mission are highlighted, and can be tailored as you wish. You can choose to pilot one of six different aircraft. Or you could make the mission very hard indeed by putting Ball up against four albatros reconnaissance aircraft escorted by four Fokker monoplanes. a victory at the hardest level would be a very impressive feat! Aircraft of the Era The third chapter concentrates on the machines used by the pilots during the war. It may only have been a decade or so after the Wright brothers, but there were scores of different types of aircraft in use throughout the war. Many tries out revolutionary ideas of design or armament. We highlight the role of fourteen aircraft types, and let you to take part in some of the missions they flew. We have worked hard to re-create accurate aerodynamic models of each aircraft. This means that you should end up with a very good idea about their relative strengths and weaknesses, as well as their individual characteristics. This chapter also introduces lesser known pilots involved in intriguing missions which did not fit into our First Aces chapter. Pilot Biographies The Pilot Biographies chapter enables you to create your own war record as an air ace. There are eight fictional pilots whose role you can assume. Each pilot has a different perspective and personality - one might be a consumate tactician, another a bold cavalier. Place the screen pointer over the highlighted page number opposite each flyer, and a character summary of the flyer will be displayed at the bottom of the page. Your overall aim with each flyer should be to succeed while adopting his characteristics and attitude to aerial warfare. This part of the Dawn Patrol book leaves eight pages spare for each flyer, and at the start they are empty. As you play, you will have the opportunity to paste mission summaries into these blank pages. Select the highlighted page number of a pilot for the first time, and a small text window will offer an option to start a career as the named pilot. You will then be presented with a list of mission choices varying from flight testing, to trials, to missions impossible. In this illustrated example, Freddie Oakham is acting as the wingman to his CO. They are escorting a flight of FE2c aircraft, when he discovers a couple of Fokker triplanes on his tail. If you select this mission option, then a Roundel is displayed, and it should be selected to commence your flight. Whatever the outcome of your flight, you should exit in the usual manner (by pressing F10 or ALT and X simultaneously). The post mission briefing will sum up your flight and you will be asked whether or not you wish the mission to be accepted into your biographical history. If accepted, then the summary will be pasted into one of the pages left free for your pilot, and will remain as part of his biographical history. You will then be free to return to the main Pilot Biographies chapter page, and complete further missions under the guise of this pilot. The next time you choose the same pilot you will be asked whether you wish to re start (clear the biography), view (look at the biography) or continue (complete further missions: a new set of missions will appear when you continue). If you accept a mission in which your pilot is killed, then his biography will be deemed complete. You have the opportunity, at any time, to restart the pilot's career, and begin all over again. If only real life was so simple. You may take part in other pilot's biographies whenever you wish. The pilot biography files are stored in the 'savegame' subdirectory. It is possible to delete all biographies by running the 'delete.bat' batch file in that directory. Video Replay Video replay is a separate feature of Dawn Patrol and can be accessed from the List of Contents page, where it is listed as a chapter heading at page 159 of the book. Alternalively you can access video replay from the post mission briefing screen after a flight. Video replay provides access to a comprehensive video editing suite and allows post production of in flight videos. Of course, the facility is only of use if you have taken an in flight video. To do this you must set the video camera rolling during a flight by pressing the V key. Since a mission needs to have been flown before video is available, we have left full discussion of the video editing suite until section 6 of the guide. Preferences The last page of the Dawn Patrol book (page 160) is a list of selectable 'preferences' that the player can alter during the game. These preferences relate to general aspects of the game such as skill levels, sound effects and joystick controls. A full discussion of preferences is given at the end of section 4. SECTION 4 --------- IN FLIGHT MANUAL This section of the User Guide deals with all of the features of the in flight section of Dawn Patrol. A glance at the keyboard reference card will make it clear that you have a wide range of controls at your command. After you have selected a mission you will find yourself in the cockpit of an aircraft. It will probably be flying at an altitude of a few thousand feet and charging forward at a hundred miles per hour. All of the Dawn Patrol missions have been designed so that they commence in the air at a stage close to the beginning of the engagement described in the mission profile. This enables us to set up the action in as realistic a manner as possible, and it saves you from undertaking a long journev before you get a crack at the enemy. The four basic flight directions are controlled by your cursor keys or your joystick. Both emulate the characteristics of an aircraft's joystick. Cockpit Layout Your first view will be of the upper cockpit of your aircraft, looking forwards. If there are forward mounted guns you will see one or two gunsights in the foreground. This view lets you concentrate on centering an enemy aircraft in your sights, and affords a panorama of the aerial battlefield. Press the right square bracket ] key for a downward perspective of the cockpit. This view includes the instrument panel, which gives the most basic details about your aircraft's flight parameters. The on board instrumentation comprises three dials. On the left is a simplified rev counter, which displays the engine revs in revolutions per minute (RPM). The rev count corresponds closely to the thrust being delivered by the engine, which can be reduced or increased by pressing the - and + keys, respectively. The in flight keyboard reference details other keys that can be used to vary the engine thrust. (Note that you cannot alter your basic engine or flight controls in pause mode). In the middle lies a compass, which gives the exact bearing of your aircraft. The standard convention for a compass is observed: a bearing of 0 degrees points to magnetic north. The rightmost instrument is the airspeed indicator. This displays your aircrafts airspeed in miles per hour. An observant pilot will keep a close eye on the airspeed, since an aircraft will often stall when this speed falls below a certain value. Below the compass are two switches that indicate the status of the auto pilot (left switch) and the auto trigger (right switch). These two functions are controlled by the A and T keys, and when they are switched ON the switches point downwards. If you are having difficulty with strategy, then the autopilot should give you some ideas. At the top of the screen, above the outline of the view outside the cockpit, there are two lines of information. These are present on all of the in flight screens. At the very top is a messsage line, which lets you know of any significant information. In particular, you will be regularly informed of the position of the enemy, if they are within range. These messages will be similar to: "Enemy kite at 8 o'clock" Consider a clockface aligned so that 12 o'clock points in the direction you are travelling. 3 o'clock will be 90 degrees to the right and 6 o'clock will be directly behind you. An enemy at 8 o'clock will be 120 degrees to the left. Below the messsage line, directly abutting the cockpit view, four parameters are permanently displayed. * To the left, ALT is your altitude above the ground, measured in feet. * VIDEO displays your current use of the in flight video facility. The first number shows the quantity of video taken and the second shows the total amount of space available for video storage. You can start to operate the video camera by pressing the V key, and when you do so the first number should start increasing. The video is turned off by pressing the V key again. The amount of available video storage depends on the free expanded memory on your computer. * GUN ROUNDS shows the number of bullets remaining in your firing drums. This number will not decrease if you have set the ARMS option on the preferences screen to OFF. In that case you have an infinite supply of bullets. * SENSITIVITY shows the current responsiveness of your aircraft to the keyboard flight controls. Initially the sensitivity is set to a value of 2, out of a possible range of 0 through 3. Press the 1 key to increase the sensitivity, or the 2 key to decrease it. Gun Sights Press the left square bracket [ key to return to the upper cockpit view. This will show the aircraft's gunsights, if the machine gun is mounted in front of the cockpit. Most aircraft in Dawn Patrol have this arrangement. The NieuPort is an exception with a machine gun mounted above the pilot on the top wing. You fire your machine gun by pressing the space bar (or joystick button). You will see your direction of fire from the tracer that is displayed. The gun operates in an authentic manner since it will jam if you keep firing for too long a burst. To unjam the firing drums you must first level off the flight of your aircraft ( to indicate that you are flying hands off, with your hands available to unjam the drums), and then press U. You will have to go through the same procedure when a drum has emptied and needs replacing. This happens whenever a multiple of hundreds of rounds is left, because each firing drum contains one hundred bullets. You are not restricted to firing from the gunsight view. The space bar operates your aircraft's machine gun irrespective of the on screen view. Map Screen The map screen shows the area relevant to your mission, and covers a region of some hundred miles square. It can be called up in, flight by pressing the M key. The action in Dawn Patrol is centered on the battlefields of north eastern France, an area which stretches from the Oise, south of Amiens, to Dunkerque and Oostende in the north. All of the major rivers, roads and forest are marked on the map. The position of your aircraft is displayed by a flashing dot on the map. Light blue dots are Allied aircraft (from England, France or America), whereas pink dots refer to Central Powers aircraft (Germany and Austro Hungary). The position of ground vehicles is also displayed, with dark blue and red dots representing Allied and Central Powers vehicles respectively. Since the action of some aerial dogfights is at close range you may find that a number of coloured dots are displayed very close together. External View You needn't watch your mission just from the point of view of your aircrafts cockpit An important feature of Dawn Patrol is the wide variety of external viewpoints from which the on screen action can be displayed. If you press ESC followed by F5, then you will see a view of your aircraft from a camera locked just outside your aircraft. Like all external views, the bottom part of this screen displays an information panel. This panel contains a lot of information about your mission. The top line of the panel has the words Piloted AC (piloted aircraft) to the left hand side, and it provides details about your aircraft. As well as the now familiar details of heading, speed and altitude, the leftmost of the top four boxes gives the name of your aircraft. In the example shown a NieuPort is being flown, and it is called Nieuport 1 because there is at least one other Nieuport in this mission. The second line is headlined Next WP, which stands for next waypoint. A waypoint is the location of a particular mission objective. In the example shown, the pilot is expected to NAVIGATE to the next waypoint, which is at the location specified by the three further boxes. These display the relative bearing, range and height of the waypoint, and to reach it the bearing should be set to 0 degrees, and the aircraft set to reach the desired altitude. There may be more than one waypoint specified for the mission, and it's possible to step forward through them by pressing the ' key. (You can step back by pressing the ; key). In Dawn Patrol it is not essential for you to achieve any of the waypoint objectives. At the start of the mission it is better to concentrate on the details of the pre assigned mission objective, although the first waypoint sometimes gives information about the expected intercept of enemy aircraft. In missions where you are assigned to escort a group of bombers, further waypoints might relate to the planned bombing route. Such information could prove very useful if you become detached from your charges, and need to re establish contact. Once the mission objectives are achieved, a player of stamina can concentrate on further waypoint objectives. The waypoints are predetermined at the start of the mission, and are displayed purely for your information. It is not possible to change the mission profile by displaying a particnlar waypoint. Further waypoint types include 'attack', which locates a target to attack, and 'land' which displays the location of your homebase, where you can choose to land at the end of the mission. The third line displays the position of a variety of predetermined aircraft or locations They can be cycled by pressing the SHIFT and keys together. In this example the information relates to the location of the pilot's Home Base. Further information can be obtained on 'opposition' (the currently assigned enemy aircraft), 'escortee' (the bomber being escorted) and 'buddy' (the pilot's wingman), depending on the actual mission. The bottom line gives details of the particular view being displayed on the main part of the screen. The first two boxes display the current view type and the current 'viewee' The 'viewee' is the particular aircraft or object being viewed. In the example shown, the view is an 'outside locked' shot, and the 'viewee' is the nearest enemy. Dawn Patrol has a broad and flexible range of possible views of the action, and it is crucial to your success as a flyer that you can swiftly turn to the most suitable view at any given moment. The next sub section, 'The View Matrix', is devoted to helping you master the on screen view. The third box on the bottom line informs you that the object being viewed is at a range of 0 miles - within observation range, as can be seen! The final box details whether the view is fixed or free. In this case the view is 'fixed', which means that if another enemy craft came even closer than the one on display, the view would remain tracking the original aircraft. If the view had been altered to a free view (by pressing the Q toggle key), then if the viewee was 'nearest enemy' it would change if another enemy aircraft came closer. It could be very disconcerting to have a view suddenly alter especially in the middle of a dogfight. On the other hand in 'fixed' mode an unseen aircraft could get very close to you without your knowledge. To some extent you can reduce the chance of this happening in fixed mode by occasionally pressing CTRL and F simulaneously. This resets the view to the current nearest enemy, even when you are in 'fixed' mode. Mastering The View - The View Matrix In Dawn Patrol it is possible to create virtually any view of the most important objects associated with your mission by pressing just two sets of keys: [1] Press either a function key or a numeric key to alter the type of view. [2] Press the shift key and a function key simultaneously to determine the aircraft or target being viewed the 'viewee'. Conceptually it is very simple, but there are so many combinations of key presses available that it takes a little practice to get the best out of it. The viewing system is called a viewing matrix because each pair of key presses leads to a separate view. All the possible combinations can be written out in the form of a grid, rather like a matrix. The various key combinations can be inferred from the keyboard reference, and they are shown as a grid in table 2. VIEW TYPE VIEWEE CHASE OUTSIDE TRACK SATELLITE OUTSIDE INSIDE LOCK LOCK F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 MISSILE SHIFT F2 NEAREST FRIEND SHIFT F3 NEAREST ENEMY SHIFT F4 ENTER BACKSPACE CURRENT ENEMY SHIFT F5 MESSAGE ABOUT SHIFT F7 GROUND TARGET SHIFT F8 NEAREST TARGET SHIFT F9 PILOTED AIRCRAFT SHIFT ESC ILLEGAL ILLEGAL TABLE 2 Along the top of table 2 are the six different 'view types': * CHASE Camera behind viewee, as if in a chasing aircraft * OUTSIDE Camera behind viewee, with absolute heading and pitch maintained * TRACK Camera behind viewee, following its pitch and heading * SATELLITE Camera above viewee, looking downwards * OUTSIDE LOCK Camera view across players aircraft, maintaining viewee in centre of picture * INSIDE LOCK Camera inside player's cockpit, maintaining viewee in centre of picture The eight 'viewees' down the first Column of table 2 are: * MISSILE Current bullet, if one has been fired * NEAREST FRIEND Nearest friendly aircraft normally a wingman or bomber * NEAREST ENEMY Nearest enemy aircraft, if within range (20 miles) * CURRENT ENEMY Enemy currently engaged against your aircraft * MESSAGE ABOUT Aircraft or vehicle referred to in last message * GROUND TARGET Ground target specified by mission * NEAREST TARGET Ground target nearest to player's aircraft * PILOTED AIRCRAFT Player's aircraft To get any particular view type of any viewee press the relevant key from the view type row followed by the relevant key from the viewee column. The best way to feel comfortable with the viewing matrix is to get practical experience altering the viewing parameters. Select a mission such as page 29 of the interactive book, where there are a lot of combat aircraft in the sky. Once in the air, press the P pause button (so that you can inspect the view matrix at your leisure), and systematically feel your way about the grid of table 2. Note that virtually any combination of view type and viewee is possible. For instance, if you want to see a satellite view of your nearest friend, then press F7 followed by the SHIFT and F3 keys together. Since the keypresses for view type and viewee are independent, the order in which you press the keys is not important. Press SHIFT and F4 together, followed by F8, to see a view of the nearest enemy aircraft from an 'outside lock' view. If you are taking part in the mission on page 29, this view should give you pause for thought - the screen is full of enemy aircraft, and they all appear to be chasing you! If you refer to the view matrix, you will see that the ENTER key has been marked at the intersection between nearest enemy and outside lock. This is a special hotkey we have created for the SHIFT F4, F8 combination. In combat this view can be very helpful to you, and we call it the 'outside combat lock' view. Similarly, the matrix shows that the BACKSPACE key is a shortcut for SHIFT F4, F9 - the inside lock view of the nearest enemy. This is the 'inside combat lock' view. Both combat lock views are discussed later in this section. As you explore the view matrix you should keep an eye on the bottom line of the information panel. The left most box displays the view type, and the next one displays the current viewee. Hence these two boxes register your location within the viewing matrix. As you play the game you will sometimes find that some key combinations do not register. This will be because the requested viewee does not actually exist. A common instance is when you have no nearest enemy either because all enemy aircraft have been shot down, or because the nearest enemy is more than 20 miles away. As noted in table 2, inside and outside lock views of your own aircraft are not valid. Fine Tuning Your View Once you have surveyed the view matrix a few times you will become more accustomed to the manipulation of the on screen views. Although it is not essential to use extra features, the viewing system in Dawn Patrol has even more flexibility than so far discussed. For instance, you can rotate the view of the viewee about horizontal and vertical axes by pressing the F2 and F3 keys. Note that this means the camera itself moves vertically and horizontally, respectively! (Rotation is not possible within a chase view). The view can be zoomed in and out using the F1 and ALT F1 keys. If you rotate and zoom a view, then the camera will maintain its new relative position for all subsequent views of the same view type. The default zoom and viewing angles can be reset individually with the CTRL F1, CTRL F2 and CTRL F3 keys, or all together by pressing CTRL R. The view matrix as described will only display the nearest enemy or friendly aircraft, nut if there are other aircraft nearby it is possible to transfer the view to them as well. This is performed by using the ALT F key combination, which will transfer you to the next viewee nearest to the one you are currently looking at. This can only be done in 'fixed' mode, because 'free' mode will always choose the nearest viewee to your aircraft. If you are not in fixed mode then hit the Q toggle key. As an example, display an outside lock of the nearest friendly aircraft (F8 and SHIFT F3), then keep pressing ALT F to cycle through the views of all friendly craft. Note that the description of the viewee on the information panel remains Near Friend throughout this cycle. The last viewee chosen in the cycle will remain the 'Near Friend' unless the viewee is reset to the nearest using the CTRL F keys. After assembling all of this information, it is worth remembering what to do if you find yourself looking at an unfamiliar scene in the middle of a combat. Press ESC and the view will always return to your aircraft, press ENtER and you will always get an outside combat lock, and press the [ and ] keys to give gunsight and cockpit views of your own aircraft. Combat Lock The combat lock views which were discussed earlier can be very useful in aerial combat, and can make the task of becoming an air ace a more feasible option. We have provided these views because any cockpit view from a flight simulator subtends a relatively small portion of the entire sky. The proper use of combat lock frees your vision so that you can concentrate on the nearest enemy aircraft, wherever it may be. Outside Combat Lock This view always has your own aircraft in the foreground of the camera, which points towards the nearest enemy aircraft. Since the camera tries to maintain the enemy in the centre of view (whether or not it is obscured by your craft), the position and orientation of your aircraft on the screen will alter in response to movement of the enemy, even if you are not adjusting your controls. Initially this can be disconcerting, especially when the enemy aircraft is very close, as the movements of camera angles can be quite large. You must also remember that if the combat lock places the camera in front of your aircraft looking behind you, then a rudder deflection to the left will turn the aircraft towards the right of the screen. After a little practice you will find this view invaluable for determining the relative position of the enemy, and it is quite possible to make kills and fly an entire mission using the outside combat lock view. Inside Combat Lock Essentially similar to the outside view, inside combat lock places the nearest enemy in the centre of the screen from a camera position inside your cockpit. It is therefore a pilots eye view of the action, with an eye always turned towards the enemy. Your aim must be to manoeuvre your craft so that the front of the cockpit is positioned straight towards the enemy aircraft. There is no doubt that this view is a challenge to master but with perseverance it can be a deadly battle aid. It is helpful to practice on an aircraft with very good flying characteristics - you could, for instance, try the Spad 7 on page 79 of the Dawn Patrol book. The first thing to notice is the view inside combat lock provieds of your aircraft. The cockpit is an essentially empty basket (all instrumentation has been removed), but the wings, front and rear of the aircraft should be familiar to you. If the camera points towards the inside of the cockpit, this means that the nearest enemy aircraft is below you. If the view is of the rear of your aircraft you will need to turn in order to get the enemy in your sights at the front. Because the inside combat view can be disorienting we have provided a number of orientation lines so that you can tell whether you are facing up or down, left or right, front or rear. These lines are placed in the rear half of the sky above the cockpit and are rigidly connected to your aircraft when the aircraft moves, the lines move with it. Each line terminates in a half arrow that points forward and upward relative to the aircraft. The lighter coloured lines are overhead, and the most overhead line terminates in a full forward facing arrow. The only way to master combat lock is to practice hard. Get used to what the front of your cockpit looks like, because you will be aiming to see the enemy from there as you go in for a kill. If you ever get completely disoriented then you should move to another view, such as Outside Combat Lock, until you regain your bearings. One tip for manoeuvring as you turn is to try and keep the orientation lines parallel with the horizon. You will then be taking a near optimum route to getting the enemy in front of your sights. Always keep an eye on your altitude and your airspeed, since below a certain speed your aircraft will stall. If combat lock appears to have stopped working and you cannot restore it, then the answer is simple. There are no more enemy aircraft to lock on to! The Post Mission Screen Your mission, once flown, is completed when you decide to terminate it. In flight, either press ALT X, or press F10 and select the end mission option. A post mission debriefing screen will then be displayed. This summarises the outcome of the mission, written from the perspective of the pilot detailed in the mission briefing. If you flew for the opposition, then the aim will have been to spoil the mission objectives. However the greatest challenge is to master the mission objectives in the manner outlined in the mission briefing. In a sense, this is the overall mission objective for all players of Dawn Patrol. The two options available from here are to choose video replay, which allows you to view video footage of your flight (or any other video stored on your hard disk), or to choose reset page, which takes you back to the page describing your mission. Preferences The last page of the Dawn Patrol book, page 160, contains the 'preferences' screen from where you can alter some of the basic in flight and input device options. The screen can also be accessed during a mission by pressing the F10 key. Each available option (highlighted in red) is next to the current setting (displayed in blue). Engines There are two options; normal and super. The normal engine setting develops the same thrust as the original aircraft. The super setting develops a 50% greater thrust, thus conveying a significant combat advantage. Vulnerability The two options are on and off. The on setting means that your aircraft will be invulnerable to weapons fired from enemy craft. The off setting leads to your aircraft suffering realistic damage while under attack. Arms There are two options; on and off. The on setting leads to your gun rounds counter being depleted by one every time a bullet is fired. The off setting gives you unlimited gun rounds. Targets The three options are soft, medium, and hard. Under the soft setting, the enemy aircraft will be damaged if bullets are fired nearby. The medium setting leads to damage if your bullets hit anywhere on the enemy aircraft. Under the hard setting, damage is created only when bullets are fired near the centre of the target. Skill Level There are three options; low, medium, and high. The operational skill of an average enemy pilot is proportional to the skill level setting. An enemy novice will be less skilful than the average setting, while an enemy ace will be more skillful. Running Demo The two options are on and off. When turned on, the game will enter demonstration mode, which only applies if the book is being displayed. Pages will be turned every 10 seconds on still image pages, and at the end of the animation sequence on animated pages. Mouse Sensitivity There are two options; low and high. Under low sensitivity the mouse needs to be moved twice as far to effect the same on screen pointer movement as under high sensitivity. Joystick Sensitivity The four options are low, medium, high and custom. The default setting is medium. If your joystick seems to suffer from poor calibration (see re-calibration opion under control type) and you have no trim controls, or those that you do have do not help, then you should choose low sensitivity. If you prefer to make your aircraft very sensitive then choose the high setting. The custom setting should only be used if you have created a custom sensitivity using the information in Appendix B. Control Type There are six options; keyboard, joystick, joy-throttle, flightstick pro, thrustmaster, and recalibrate. The options refer to the control type for the in flight section of the game. Keyboard - Change flight control entirely to keyboard. Joystick - This is the standard joystick option. Such a joystick has two movement axes and two fire buttons (A and B). If a second joystick is connected, the fire buttons on that stick can be used as buttons C and D. Joy-Throttle - A joy throttle has an additional independent throttle lever which can be used to control the aircraft's fuel intake and rev count. It may have up to four fire buttons. This option is compatible with the standard Flightstick and the Maxx Yoke. FlightStick Pro - The FlightStick Pro has a throttle on the base of the joystick to control the rev count and a 'coolie hat' on the top with four extra switches. Thrustmaster - The Thrustmaster PFCS has a top "coolie hat" with four extra switches. Re-calibrate - This option should be used if there is a tendeney for your air- craft to yaw or pitch when the joystick is centred. Please see Appendix B for details of how to proceed. Separate Rudder The two options are on and off. If you have separate rudder pedals this option should be turned on. Sound There are three options; all off, no engine sounds or with engine sounds. These settings relate to the in flight section, and will output no sound; all sounds except the noise of the engine; or all available sounds. CD users will be able to select the speaker icon regardless of the setting of this option. Music The two options are off and on. When turned on, music will be played in the book section of the game. Detail Level There are four options; 386, 486, 486DX33, and faster. This setting alters the amount of terrain and vehicle detail which the program attempts to display in flight (the faster the setting the more the detail). Set the option to the specification closest to that of your particular PC. It is best to experiment, since the graphic speed of your machine will depend on factors other than the main processor, such as the type of video card. If the frame rate on your PC appears to be unacceptably slow, then turn to a slower option. Auto Detail The two options are on and off. When set to on, auto detail turns off any graphic detail that will greatly slow the displayed frame rate. It does this on a frame by frame basis. Auto Window There are two options; on and off. Auto window reduces the size of the display window if the frame rate begins to slow. It is an alternative method to 'auto detail' for dealing with frame rate reduction, although both features can be set on at the same time. Screen Fades The two options are off and on. This feature allows a smooth fade during the transition between two game screens. You should consider switching off screen fades on slower PC's. SECTION 5 --------- FLYING AND SHOOTING Basic Flying Skills This section deals briefly with some of the fundamentals you will need to master in order to become a Dawn Patrol ace. All of the aircraft featured in the game have different flight characteristics. You will find that some will climb faster than others, some will turn more easily than others, and that the stalling speeds of each aircraft differ. World War One aces had to cope with this, too! Climbing An aircraft climbs when the lift provided by its wings is greater than its weight. Lift is proportional to the square of the velocity of the aircraft. Hence, if you want your aircraft to climb quickly and steeply, pull back on the joystick and increase the thrust of your engine, so that you gain airspeed. If you want to make a sustained altitude gain, then your angle of climb should be no more than 10 to 15 degrees. A steeper angle of climb will result in consistent loss of airspeed, leading to a loss of lift. Eventually your aircraft will start to fall and then there is a risk of it stalling. Reducing Altitude Apart fronm pushing the joystick forward, there are two other factors which will reduce your aircraft's altitude. The aircraft will fall if you reduce the engine thrust, since the lift generared by the wings depends on the velocity. More surprisingly, altitude can be lost when the aircraft is running. Since the lift points upwards in the direction of the tailplane, a turning aircraft loses some of the vertical component of its lift. If no rudder or elevator is applied the aircraft will lose altitude. Turning your Aircraft Your aircraft can be turned by moving your joystick left or right in the direction you wish to turn. If you turn acutely, then the aircraft will lose altitude. To prevent this from happening, you should pull up slightly on the joystick as you turn. Stalling An aircraft will stall when it loses all lift from its wings. This will tend to happen when you have climbed too steeply, or have let the airspeed fall below about 50 mph. At this point the nose of the aircraft will be pointing downwards, and it will not respond to flight controls. You can come out of a stall by letting go of the stick and increasing the thrust of your engines. As the airspeed builds up, gently pull back on the stick. Immelmann Turn This manoeuvre was first introduced by the German air ace Max Immelmann, who used it to devastating effect during World War One. Expert use of the turn allows you to reverse your direction in the minimum amount of time and space. An inexperienced attacker appearing on your tail can become cannon fodder before he's had time to line you up in his sights. An enemy who passes you after a head on encounter can suddenly find you on his tail. To perform your first Immelmann Turn, get a good external view of your aircraft. If you are performing head on approaches towards an enemy aircraft then you might wish to choose an outside combat lock view. If your airspeed is below about 120 mph you should increase it by putting yourself into a dive. Pull back on the stick so that you start climbing, and wait until you are nearly vertical and your airspeed is at about 60 miles per hour. At this point apply full rudder, either to your left or right, by pressing the END or PG DN keys on your numeric keypad. Keep your hands on the rudder, and the aircraft will rotate about its tail, with its nose turning towards the ground. Come out of the turn at the appropriate point by letting go of the rudder, pulling back on the stick, and applying a little compensating rudder as needed. After a few practices the turn should become a normal part of your combat repertoire. Some aircraft will feel quite different when you perform this manoeuvre, so you will have to be ready to make small flight adjustments to maintain stability. Page 62 of the Dawn Patrol book has a detailed animation of the Immelmann Turn as it should be performed in combat. Study it closely, and see if you can emulate it. The mission associated with page 62 gives you the opportunity for a number of Immelmann Turns as the enemy perform repeated head on passing manoeuvres. These days the 'Immelmann Turn' is better known as the 'Hammerhead Turn'. Even so, it should not be confused with the more modern 'Immelmann' manoeuvre. Gunnery Tactics Improving your Shooting All of the aircraft in Dawn Patrol are equipped with one or two machine guns. Pressing the [ key will give an upper cockpit view of the gun sights, so long as the guns are forward mounted. At all times, pressing the space bar will activate the machine gun. There is no need to fire just from the gun sight view, since it is possible to see the tracer from any view of your aircraft. The direction of the tracer tells you where the bullets are being delivered. A machine gun bullet has a range of about 200 yards, and its effect on the target will be determined by the distance to the target, where it hits, and the setting of the TARGETS option on the preferences screen. If you are recording hits on the target, then you will hear the ricochet of the bullets, and you will see puffs of smoke from the enemy aircraft. Ground Targets Targets on the grournd include buildings, airfields, trucks aud barrage balloons. You will be able to see most nearby ground targets by pressing F6, then SHIFT F9 followed by repeatedly striking ALT F. These commands will cycle through the nearby ground targets depending on which side you choose for the mission. Opposition convoys are always displayed on the map screen, and you are at liberty to chase after them if you wish. The mission on page 74, 'Ground Attack', involves attacking enemy trucks. There are a potential fifteen further ground targets in this mission, and it is not recommmended that you try and attack them all. It is best to attack truck convoys by strafing the ground and 'walking' the bullets to the target. Start firing your guns, see where the bullets are hitting and adjust your line of flight so that the line of bullets coincide with the convoy. Don't keep firing too long or your guns will jam. Flak Many of the ground targets are artillery sites, and they can be a danger. In general you should try and avoid areas where there is heavy flak because you run a high risk of being shot down. Sites equipped with anti aircraft artillery deliver white streams of tracer bullets. Larger bore sites deliver large plumes of exploding flak at higher altitudes. The flak from Allied artillery is white, while the flak from Central Powers artillery is black. At least you will know who is firing at you! If you are in the middle of a flak attack you might consider making a positive movement of heading and altitude every 15 seconds, and clearing out as quickly as you can. Aircraft The firing arcs of a number of the aircraft featured in Dawn Patrol are shown in diagram 1. This diagram shows the relative strengths and weaknesses of each aircraft. For instance the Gotha bomber is very well protected at the rear, but it is extremely vulnerable to frontal attacks from below. In Dawn Patrol the Fe2b is treated as a fighter and so it is only capable of firing a forward fixed gun. A knowledge of the firing arcs of any aircraft can be very useful, whether or not you are attacking one, escorting one, or flying one yourself. SECTION 6 --------- VIDEO EDITING SUITE The video editing suite is controlled from a single screen located at page 159 of the interactive book. It can be accessed through the List of Contents page or at the end of a mission from the post-mission briefing screen. In either case the facility can only be used if there is video to be edited. Video can be shot during a mission by pressing the V key. It will then be resident in memory, and can be edited on line. Video footage is destroyed if you exit Dawn Patrol without having saved it onto your hard disk using the editing facility. Once written to your disk it can be edited and viewed whenever you wish. Therefore, if you have sufficient disk space it is advisable to save the original video straight to disk after a mission. Unlike any real life editing facility you are able to do much more than patch together different pieces of video. If you are unhappy with the camera angles and positions used to shoot the original, you can alter all the viewing characteristics with the same flexibility as the viewing matrix available in the game. The editing suite can be controlled by manoeuvring the on sereen pointer with the mouse and keyboard, but almost every facility is mapped to an individual hotkey for easy operation. The major features of the editing facility are as follows: Title Bar This strip runs along the top of the screen. The filename is an eight character identifier of the current video footage. 'Last page' refers to the total memory size of the video footage. Expanded memory is divided into 'pages', each of which is 16 Kbytes long. Page count starts at zero, so a last page number of two takes up three pages, or 48 Kbytes. The number next to 'Position' is the location in memory of the current video frame. The first digit of the 'position' is the page number of the current frame. Movement Block Basic video machine style controls are located in the middle on the left hand side of the screen. Moving across from left to right and then downwards the buttons are: PLAY/PAUSE Toggle between play and pause MOVE FORWARD ONE FRAME Move the video forward a single frame STOP Stop the video REWIND TO BEGINNING Rewind the video to the start FAST REWIND Rewind the video at an accelerated pace REWIND ONE SECTION Rewind the video one page backwards FORWARD ONE SECTION Move one page forwards FAST FORWARD Wind the video forward at an accelerated pace FAST FORWARD TO END Wind the video to the end This video movement grid is mapped directly to the numeric keypad of your machine. Zoom and Rotate Keys These are similar to the zoom and rotate facilities of the flight simulator. H = Horizontal. The left and right arrows allow you to rotate left and right about a vertical axis. V = Vertical The up and down arrows allow you to rotate up and down about a horizontal axis Z = Zoom The up and down arrows allow you to zoom in and out. Select the central H, V or Z letter to reset to the original display angle or zoom. Note that a key or screen hotspot must be selected once to start the effect and once again to stop the effect. Use the same keys as those available in flight. F2 and ALT F2 for vertical rotation; F3 and ALT F3 for horizontal rotation; F1 and ALT F1 for zoom. View Type Selector The currently selected view type is displayed at the top of the box. These view types are the same as those available in flight. TRACK Track view of the viewee INSIDE The view of the viewee from your cockpit. Enhanced by toggling cockpit on option. OUTSIDE An outside view of the viewee CHASE Chase view of viewee SATELLITE Satellite view of viewee IN LOCK Inside lock view of viewee OUT LOCK Outside lock view of viewee All of these viewing characteristics can be controlled by the familiar function keys. Viewee Selector The currently selected viewee is displayed at the top of this box. PILOT AC: Viewee is your aircraft NR GROUND: Viewee is the nearest ground target, if there is one. HOME BASE: Viewee is your home base NR UNFRND: Viewee is the nearest enemy aircraft NR FRIEND: Viewee is the nearest friendly aircraft The viewee can also be selected using the familiar shift function keys. Extra Flags The following flags work in conjunction with the other options on Video Editing Suite. They can all be accessed by pressing the first letter of the function. VIEWEE FIX /FREE: Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints (hotkey V or Q) COCKPIT OFF/ON: Toggles a view of cockpit on and off for relevant view types (hotkey C) TIME NORM/ACCEL: Toggles between normal and accelerated time (hotkey T) NEXT ITEM: If you have selected the VIEWEE FIX option then this moves to the next nearest viewee. Especially suitable for unfriendly aircraft (hotkey N or ALT F) MSL VW OFF/ON: If toggled 'ON' it is possible to view the flight of bullets as they are fired (hotkey M) IMPT VW OFF/ON: If toggled 'On' then the view is transferred to targets just before they blow up (hotkey I) Lower Editing Box This facility is used for all the high level video production including editing and splicing, cutting as well as the manipulation of video files on your hard disk. All grey symbols [e.g : 1, 2, 3,] at the bottom of the box are the relevant hotkeys. Start Marker START: Places the start marker at the beginning of the video: 'position' 0. MARK: Places the start marker at the current video position. GO: Move current video position to position of start marker. Block Edit Note: A 'Block' is a section of video bracketed by 'Start' and 'End' markers. DEL: Delete a video block (be careful - no confirmation asked!) WRITE: Write a video block to disk. READ: Read a video block into RAM. This allows you to splice different video segments into your footage. File Edit LOAD: Load a previously saved video file into the editor. This overwrites all video currently in memory. SAVE: Saves the current video block to memory. You should provide an eight character name, without a file extension. DEL: Deletes a video file from your hard disk. Note: Videos are held in the videos sub-directory on your hard disk and can be directly manipulated from there. End Marker END: Place an end marker at the last frame of the current video. MARK: Place an end marker at the current video position GO: Move the current video position to the end marker. APPENDIX A ---------- In Flight Keyboard Controls General advice for altering the in flight view: [a] Press the shift key and a function key simultaneously to determine the aircraft or target being viewed (the 'viewee') [b] Press either a function key or a numeric key to alter the type of view. KEYBOARD REFERENCE - NORMAL KEYS ESC Change viewee to your aircraft F1 Zoom in (ALT F1 is zoom out) F2 Rotate vertically around viewee F3 Rotate horizontally around viewee F4 External chase view F5 Outside view camera maintains absolute heading and pitch F6 Track view camera pitches and turns with the aircraft F7 External satellite view F8 View across your aircraft to the viewee (outside lock) F9 View from your aircraft's cockpit of the viewee (inside lock) F10 Configuration menus 1 Increase the keyboard flight control sensitivity 2 Decrease the keyboard flight control sensitivity 5 View the rear of your aircraft from the inside 6 View the left of your aircraft from the inside 7 View the front of your aircraft's cockpit from the inside 8 View the right of your aircraft from the inside 9 View the rear of your aircraft from the inside 0 Return to cockpit from an outside viewpoint - Decrease RPM continuously, in small steps + Increase RPM continuously, in small steps BACKSPACE Inside combat lock - lock onto nearest enemy (see manual) TAB Speed up time (turns off when any key pressed or mission event occurs Q Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints of viewee W Wheel brake R Decrease rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys T Auto gunfire (only if autopilot ON) U Unjam machine guns P Pause [ Look up (see gun sights if looking forward) ] Look down (see instrument panel if looking forward) ENTER Outside combat lock (lock onto enemy from outside view) A Autopilot (toggle - indication on instrument panel) S Sound toggle (off, no engine sounds or with engine sounds) J Increase rate of gunfire K Decrease rate of gunfire ; Step back through waypoints ' Step forward through waypoints Z Impact viewpoint- switch view to target when hit X Missile viewpoint - switch view to launched bullet V Video toggle B Air brake toggle M Map screen (ESC to return to flight) , Minimum power setting . Maximum power setting SPACE Fire NUMERIC KEYPAD AND CURSOR CLUSTER END (1) Full rudder deflection, left PAGE DOWN (3) Full rudder deflection, right INSERT (0) Gradual rudder deflection, left DELETE (.) Gradual rudder deflection, right 8 or cursor up Dive - pull forward on stick 4 or cursor left Roll to the left 6 or cursor rlght Roll to the right 2 or cursor down Climb - pull back on stick - Decrease RPM by single, large steps + Increase RPM by single, large steps KEYBOARD REFERENCE - 'ALT &' KEYS ALT F1 Zoom out ALT F2 Rotate vertically around viewee in opposite direction to F2 ALT F3 Rotate horizontally around viewee in opposite direction to F3 ALT F5 Outside view looking out from viewee ALT F6 Track view looking out from viewee ALT F7 View below viewee ALT F8 View looking from in front of your aircraft to the viewee ALT F9 View from in front of the viewee to your aircraft ALT F10 Decrease time speed up ALT R Increase rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys ALT D Automatically select level of detail suitable for machine ALT F Select the next nearest viewee [fixed mode only] ALT X Exit flight KEYBOARD REFERENCE 'CTRL &' KEYS CTRL F1 Reset zoom CTRL F2 Reset to default vertical view angle CTRL F3 Reset to default horizontal view angle CTRL F8 Lock view from behind the viewee to your aircraft CTRL F10 Increase time speed up CTRL R Reset rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys and reset view and zoom parameters CTRL D Toggle 3D detail (auto detail must be turned off first) CTRL F Reset fixed viewpoint to current nearest viewee CTRL V Reset video to start and begin recording KEYBOARD REFERENCE 'SHIFT &' KEYS SHIFT ESC View of player's aircraft, maintaining last viewpoint SHIFT F2 View of launched missile SHIFT F3 View of nearest friendly aircraft SHIFT F4 View of nearest enemy aircraft SHIFT F5 View of object you have been assigned to attack, according to on screen messages SHIFT F7 View of object that last message refers to SHIFT F8 View of currently assigned ground target SHIFT F9 View of nearest possible ground target SHIFT 9 View of your wingman SHIFT - Decrease RPM in large steps SHIFT + Increase RPM in large steps SHIFT TAB Uninterrupted time speed up SHIFT F Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints of viewee SHIFT ; Cycle through position information 'SHIFT &' NUMERIC KEYPAD SHIFT - Decrease RPM by standard amount SHIFT + Increase RPM by standard amount SHIFT 8,4,6&2 View directions Keyboard Reference Chart Keys by Subject VIEWPOINTS ESC Change viewee to your aircraft SHIFT ESC View of player's aircraft, maintaining last viewpoint F1 Zoom in ALT F1 Zoom out CTRL F1 Reset zoom F2 Rotate vertically around viewee ALT F2 Rotate vertically around viewee in opposite direction to F2 CTRL F2 Reset to default vertical view angle F3 Rotate horizontally around viewee ALT F3 Rotate horizontally around viewee in opposite direction to F3 CTRL F3 Reset to default horizontal view angle SHIFT F2 View of launched missile SHIFT F3 View of nearest friendly aircraft SHIFT F4 View of nearest enemy aircraft SHIFT F5 View of object you have been assigned to attack, according to on screen messages SHIFT F7 View of object that last message refers to SHIFT F8 View of currently assigned ground target SHIFT F9 View of nearest possible ground target SHIFT 9 View of your wingman F4 External chase view F5 Outside view: camera maintains absolute heading and pitch ALT F5 Outside view looking out from viewee messages F6 Track view: camera pitches and turns with the aircraft ALT F6 Track view looking out from viewee F7 External satellite view ALT F7 View below viewee F8 View across your aircraft to the viewee (outside lock) ALT F8 View looking from in front of your aircraft to the viewee CTRL F8 Lock view from behind the viewee to your aircraft F9 View from your aircrafts cockpit of the viewee (inside lock) ALT F9 View from in front of the viewee to your aircraft 5 View from the rear of your aircraft from the inside 6 View the left of your aircraft from the inside 7 View the front of your aircrafts cockpit from inside 8 View the right of your aircraft from the inside 9 View the rear of your aircraft from the inside 0 Return to cockpit from an outside viewpoint. BACKSPACE Inside combat lock - lock onto nearest enemy (see manual) Q Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints of viewee R Decrease rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys ALT R Increase rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys CTRL R Reset rate of rotation for F2 and F3 keys and reset view angle [ Look up (see gunsights if looking forwards) ] Look down (see instrument panel if looking forward) ENTER Outside combat lock (lock onto nearest enemy from outside view) ALT F Select the nearest viewee [fixed mode only] CTRL F Reset fixed viewpoint to current nearest viewee SHIFT F Toggle between fixed and free viewpoints of viewee Z Impact viewpoint - switch view to target when hit X Missile viewpoint - switch view to launched bullet [NUM KEYPAD] SHIFT 8,4,6&2 View directions ACCELERATION CONTROLS TAB Speed up time (turns off when any key pressed or mission event occurs) SHIFT TAB Uninterrupted time speed up ALT F10 Decrease time speed up CTRL F10 Increase time speed up GEAR W Wheel brake FLIGHT CONTROLS A Autopilot (toggle - indication on instrument panel) 1 Increase the keyboard flight control sensitivity 2 Decrease the keyboard flight control sensitivity [NUM KEYPAD]END Full rudder deflection, left [NUM KEYPAD]PG DN Full rudder deflection, right [NUM KEYPAD]INS Gradual rudder deflection, left [NUM KEYPAD]DEL Gradual rudder deflection, right [NUM KEYPAD](8,4,6,2) Flight directions CURSOR Right, Left, Up, Down Flight directions B Air brake toggle ENGINE CONTROLS , Minimum power setting . Maximum power setting [NUM KEYPAD] - Decrease RPM by single, large steps [NUM KEYPAD] + Increase RPM by single, large steps SHIFT - Decrease RPM in large steps SHIFT + Increase RPM in large steps [NUM KEYPAD] SHIFT - Decrease RPM by standard amount [NUM KEYPAD] SHIFT + Increase RPM by standard amount - Decrease RPM continuously, in small steps + Increase RPM continuously, in small steps GENERAL CONTROLS F10 Configuration menus ALT X Exit flight P Pause S Sound toggle (off, no engine sounds or with engine sounds) V Video toggle CTRL V Reset video to start and begin recording ALT D Automatically select level of detail suitable for machine CTRL D Toggle 3D detail (auto detail must be turned off first) WEAPONS CONTROLS SPACE Fire T Auto gunfire (only if antopilot ON) U Unjam machine gun J Increase rate of gunfire K Decrease rate of gunfire MAPS AND WAYPOINTS M Map screen (ESC to return to flight) ; Step back through waypoints ' Step forward through waypoints SHIFT ; Cycle through position information APPENDIX B ---------- JOYSTICK CALIBRATION After changing the joystick option and choosing 'accept' you will be asked to move your joystick controls in order to calibrate the game to your joystick. There are a number of factors which can effect the operation of the analogue jovstick and it is necessary to go through this process in order to get the best from it. First, ensure that any auto fire devices are turned off. These will not be useful in this simulation and will confuse the calibration process. ALL JOYSTICKS For all joysticks you will be asked to: "Centre Stick & Press Fire Button" Then you will be asked to: "Move Stick thro' full movement & Press Fire Button" Make sure that you push the stick to its maximum deflection on each of the four sides. On some joysticks the maximum deflection is in the corners on others it is in the middle of each edge, so to be certain of covering all the positions you should run along each edge and into each corner before pressing the joystick fire button. If the joystick is not connected then after a few seconds the following message is displayed and the keyboard will be selected as the flight control device: "CALIBRATION ERROR" "Press Enter" You may also see a message like: "Warning: Poor Calibration" "Move trim to left and back" This message indicates in which direction the trim controls should be moved to improve the calibration. It will only help if your joystick is fitted with trim controls. You will then be asked to "ACCEPT" or "RETRY" You should "chop" the available trim range until the calibration screen accepts the value. For example, when you first calibrate with the trim centered you might get the message: "Move trim to RIGHT" Move the trim to the furthest right, and try again. Now, you may get the message: "Move trim to LEFT" The 'correct' place is clearly somewhere between the two trim settings. Move the trim half the distance back towards the left and retry the calibration. You will be told which direction to move the trim this time. Move it by only half the distance you moved it last time. Continue this process of halving the range until your joystick is accepted. With certain joysticks there can be problems when initially moving the trim the furthest distance: On some joysticks it may be necessary to move the trim in the opposite direction to that in the messages. If you find that pushing the trim all the way in the requested direction has no effect on the warning message, then try pushing it in the opposite direction. If this does change the warning message then you have one of these non standard joystick designs. It can be possible to move the trim so far in one direction that the calibration code cannot produce any kind of calibration. In these cases a calibration error message will be displayed. Please try again, but do not push the trim control quite so far. This is the end of the joystick configuration for normal joysticks. FLIGHTSTICK PRO AND THROTTLE CALIBRATION For the FlightStick Pro and Throttle jovsticks there are two extra request screens. These vary depending on whether or not you have also selected analogue rudder pedals. If you have not selected rudder the first screen reads: "Min Throttle" "& Press Fire Button" You may arbitrarily decide to make your throttle work in either direction so you can choose either end as the minimum. If you have also selected Rudder pedals then this request will read: "Min Throttle" "Centre Pedals" "& Press Fire Button" If the screen times out, or the throttle or pedals cannot be detected then the following message is displayed and the keyboard will be selected as the flight control device: "CALIBRATION ERROR" "Press Enter" If you have not selected rudder the second screen will show the following text: "Max Throttle" "& Press Fire Button" You should move the throttle control to the opposite extreme, then press the joystick fire key. If you have selected rudder the second screen will show the following text: "Max Throttle" "Move Pedals thro' full movement" "& Press Fire Button" As well as moving the throttle to the opposite extreme you should also press down each of the rudder pedals in turn before pressing the joystick fire key. If the centering of the rudder pedals is poor then you may be warned: "Warning: Poor Calibration" "Move trim to left & right" See the section above entitled 'ALL JOYSTICKS' for advice on dealing with this warning message. THRUSTMASTER CALIBRATION For the Thrustmaster PFCS coolie hat there are two additional request screens. These vary depending on whether you have also selected analogue rudder pedals. If you have not selected rudder the first screen reads: "Centre Coolie" "& Press Fire Button" If you have rudder selected the screen will read: "Centre Coolie" "Centre Pedals" "& Press Fire Button" The coolie centre position is the position it returns to when released. If the screen times out, or the coolie hat or pedals cannot be detected then the following message is displaved and the keyboard will be selected as the flight control device: "CALIBRATION ERROR" "Press Enter" NOTE: If you have also attached the WCS (Weapon Control System) you can either calibrate the PFCS as a standard joystick and use the keyboard mapping program to activate the coolie hat or you should set the switch to TEST and ANALOGUE on the WCS. If you have not selected rudder the second screen will then show the following text: "Move Coolie thro' full movement" "& Press Fire Button" It is important that you push the coolie hat into all four possible positions. If you have selected rudder the second screen will then show the following text: "Move Coolie tho full movement. Move Pedals thro full movement & Press Fire Button" It is important that you push the coolie hat into all four possible positions, and press down each of the rudder pedals in turn before pressing the joystick fire key. If the centring of the rudder pedals is poor then you may be warned: "Warning: Poor Calibration" "Move trim to left/right" See the section above entitled "ALL JOYSTICKS" for advice on dealing with this warning message. If you have Thrustmaster's WCS Mk.II, which attaches to the keyboard port and can emulate the keyboard keys that controls the throttle, as well as any other functions, here are the keys that can be used for that unit: .> Max throttle shift = + Continuous large increases pad + Single large increases = + Continuous small increases shift pad + Single small increase shift pad - Single small decrease _ Continuous small decreases pad - Single large decrease shift _ Continuous large decreases ,< Min throttle RUDDER PEDALS If you have selected Thrustmaster or FlightStick then you have already configured the rudder. If you selected joystick and rudder pedals then the following two additional screens will calibrate the rudder. Screen 1 requests: "Centre Pedals" "& Press Fire Button" If the screen times out, or the pedals cannot be detected then the following message is displayed and the keyboard will be selected as the flight control device: "CALIBRATION ERROR" " Press Enter" The second screen will then show the following text: "Move Pedals thro'full movement" "& Press Fire Button" Press down each of the rudder pedals in turn before pressing the joystick fire key. If the centering of the rudder pedals is poor then you may be warned: "Warning: Poor Calibration" "Move trim to left/right" See the section above entitled "ALL JOYSTICKS" for advice on dealing with this warning message. JOYSTICK CONTROLS The basic joystick provides elevator (pitch) and aileron (roll) controls, and two fire buttons. Button "A" fires the guns. Button "B" switches between guns and other weapon types. There are two additional buttons fitted to many extended joysticks: Button "C" switches to track view. Button "D" steps through the available targets in "Nearest Friendly", "Nearest Unfriendly", and "Nearest ground target" views. When available, the throttle controls the RPM of the aircraft. When available, the four positions of the coolie hat are used to select additional views and aircraft controls: front: Selects max RPM back: Engages and disengages air brakes left: Switches to an inside lock view of object currently being viewed right: Switches to an outside lock view of object currently being viewed. TECHNICAL INFORMATION FOR ADVANCED JOYSTICK USERS It is possible to take advantage of the rudder, throttle and additional fire keys using two joysticks attached to a two port joystick card or using a joystick "Y" splitter. Note that basic "multi i/o" cards fitted as standard on many machines often only implement the standard two axes of one joystick, so a "Y" splitter or an extended joystick will not work with these cards. The joystick ports fitted to SoundBlaster, and many compatible sound cards do properly support two joysticks, but the "multi i/o" joystick port should be disabled by a jumper on the card if you have one of each. Wiring of the joystick port can be found in the SoundBlaster manual. On the second joystick you can use the trim control of the "Y" pitch axis as the throttle, and the left and right movement of the joystick can be used as the rudder. This is similar to a model aircraft controller. In addition the two extra buttons can be utilised. The sensitivity and dead area parameters and the mapping of the joystick buttons to features of the game is now held in the DRIVERS directory. The file Custom.JOY is selected if Custom is chosen from the sensitivity menu. Changing this file will have an effect next time the game is run with the joystick sensitivity set. The format of this file is below: The file starts with the 4 character string "STIK" "STIK" is followed by the translate table for the elevators. This table is 64 bytes long and is indexed with absolute joystick Y position scaled to the range 0 to 63. It should return a value in the same range. This is followed by six overflow entries for elevator making 70 entries in total. The elevators table is followed by the translate table for the ailerons. This table is 64 bytes long and is indexed with absolute joystick X position scaled to the range 0 to 63. It should return a value in the same range. This table is followed by six overflow entries for aileron to make 70 entries in total. The aileron overflow entries are followed, by 0 word, which we have reserved. The zero word is followed by the keyboard mappings for the various switches on the joystick. There are up to four buttons and four positions on the coolie hat. Button A is reserved for fire. The other seven switches are each encoded as two consecutive bytes defining the scancode and simultaneous shift keys. The values for scancode can be found in PC references. The values for shift keys are: 1 Normal - key on its own 2 Shift key pressed simultaneously 4 Alt key pressed simultaneously 8 Ctrl key pressed simultaneously. Only the initial press event is detected by the program for the switch translations, so they cannot be used to emulate keys that are normally held down in use, such as the outside view rotates. The order of the switch codes is: Switch Default use Key Encoding Button A Fire Space Bar Button B Chase F4 01 3E Button C Track view F6 01 40 Button D Next Viewee Alt F 04 21 Coolie Left Inside Lock F9 01 43 Coolie Back Air brakes B 01 30 Coolie Right Outside lock F8 01 42 Coolie Forward Return to cockpit 0 01 0B The encodings for the coolie hat are as follows: Coolie hat Thrustmaster FlightStick position axis Pro buttons centred 100% left 75% AB- back 50% ABC- right 25% AB-D forward 0% ABCD Those building their own sticks may like to note that our code allows +/- 10% tolerance in the Thrustmaster position reading, and that the Flightstick Pro blocks multiple button presses except for the patterns above for the coolie hat. The Joystick type and range values are still held in the player record, but are no longer externally modifiable. We have added JTEST.COM to the game directory. This prograrm provides joystick information in a graphical form: 1st Column X axis 2nd Column Y axis 3rd Column Rudder 4th Column Throttle 5th Column Button A 6th Column Button B 7th Column Button C 8th Column Button D The program is using provided as a backstop for people who can't get a good calibration using the Dawn Patrol program. Here are some notes on JTEST: 1. The +/- keys can be used to change the range of the columns printed so that maximum does not go off the bottom of the screen. 2. The flicker or wobble of the columns represents noise. If the joystick wobbles a lot even when not touched then a lower sensitivity should be selected in the game. If the whole column is 'flickery' then you may have multiple joystick ports enabled on your machine. Most cards have jumpers to disable the joystick. 3. A 'gap' at the top of a column indicates a very old joystick card in a new fast machine. If you get calibration errors or other software doesn't like your joystick this may be why. 4. The JTEST can be used to trim the joystick. The +/- keys are useful here, as they allow the output to be limited to one column. This makes the job of finding the trimmed centre much easier. Sinmply note the position of maximum, minimum and center for different trim positions until you find a point where maximum and minimum are equidistant from center. When this is found Dawn Patrol should accept the joystick calibration.