In our first hands on preview we made a quick overview of the sim, talked about the manual, and then shared a batch of high resolution screen shots. I've had a chance to spend a little more time looking around, so here are some more shots and a few more general observations.

First, I have attempted to run in 32 bit color, and I can safely say that only the fastest systems will be making the effort. My frame rate dropped by about 35%, and the gain in image quality was almost unnoticeable. If you were determined to run in this mode you would have to adjust your detail level down. In the end,you would lose more than you gain. I tried 32 bit color on both my Matrox MGA G200 16 meg as well as an early STB V4400 (Riva TNT) with 16 meg.

Second, I've made a few discoveries with regard to the interface. The cockpit is clickable! Somehow I missed this the first time around, although I did note that you can right click on the screen to bring up a menu selection...

Map and Menu Selection; click for larger.

Similarly, hitting the ALT key brings up a menu bar along the top of the screen from which you can adjust virtually any simulation parameter you chooose.

I also discovered that I did NOT have terrain detail to the max, as I had assumed. I had every option maxed out EXCEPT object density. I was on one setting from the max, so I switch from DENSE to VERY DENSE while flying over London to see what the difference would be. The difference is significant! Here are two shots for you to compare:

Dense. Click for larger.

Very Dense. Click for larger.

Using the VERY DENSE setting affects frame rate about 30%, but only while you are very near to the objects. Once you have passed the densely populated area or have gained signficant altitude, your frame rate returns to normal.

I've also had a chance to play around with various aircraft and modify mission parameters to experiment with different approaches. For example, there is a single mission you can choose under the Luftwaffe banner where you fly to a British airshow during the war as an uninvited guest! With the 109 its a challenging mission on middle difficulty...

However, switch to a Spitfire MK IX and its another story! Its incredible to fly the Spitfire MK I and become accustomed to the limited firepower and horsepower, and then move to the later aircraft. The MK IX has six .50 cal guns and two 20mm cannon, compared to the eight .303 guns mounted on the MK I. The MK IX is capable of putting ten pounds of lead in the air every two seconds using all guns, tearing into enemy aircraft like a huge claw!

German Flak field. Click for larger and note the two balloons...

I've also had a chance to play around with various aircraft and modify mission parameters to experiment with different approaches. For example, there is a single mission you can choose under the Luftwaffe banner where you fly to a British airshow in London during the war as an uninvited guest! With the 109 its an impossible mission on middle difficulty...

However, switch to a Spitfire MK IX and its another story! Its incredible to fly the Spitfire MK I and become accustomed to the limited firepower and horsepower, and then move to the later aircraft. The MK IX has six .50 cal guns and two 20mm cannon, compared to the eight .303 guns mounted on the MK I. The MK IX is capable of putting ten pounds of lead in the air every two seconds using all guns, tearing into enemy aircraft like a huge claw!

Click to continue

I tried the Airshow mission three times in the MK I, then repeated it twice in the MK IX. I as greatly overmatched by the five Spit Is. I tried to come in low and fast, using the blindspot to my advantage. Even with the element of surprise the best I was able to do was take out two before they got me.

However, in my first attempt with the MK IX I took out two quickly and then took out another before I took a crucial hit and had to run for my life. In my second attempt I took out one in my first pass, critically damaging a second. Using boom n zoom tactics I took out the other three in the next ten minutes, only taking some minor hits in the process.

Using the cannon is quite an experience. I find it best to wait until the tracers from my 50 cal. guns have made contact or are just about to, and then hit the cannon button. In this way, if I am around 100 meters or less, I get a hit about 50% of the time depending on the angle AOT (off the tail). When you get a cannon hit on a fighter aircraft at this range you have about a 50% chance of putting the aircraft out of action. Many times you will actually take a wing or tail off.

Incidentally, as I've been familiarizing myself with more of the stories of WWII aces, both allied and axis, I've made a few observations about fighting style in sim vs in reality.

Sim pilots encounter enemies on every flight. In reality this wasn't that common. Even the very TOP German ace Erich Hartmann flew 1400 missions for a total of only (ONLY!) 800 aerial battles. In those 800 battles he took down 352 aircraft (as a reward he was imprisoned illegally for more than ten years following WWII, after being turned over to the Russians by the 90th US Infantry Division). Hartmann makes a comment about aerial combat that is useful for the beginner...

"When you begin flying combat and you are a hundred meters from the enemy machine, you get jittery because you are too close to him. That is what you feel in the beginning. By experience you come to know that when you are hundred meters from the other machine you are still too far away. The inexperience pilot breaks away for fear of mid-air collison. The experienced pilot brings his machine in much closer . . . and when he fires, the other machine goes down."

Note, however, that his modus operandi was not without risk. Eight of the sixteen times Hartmann was forced to land were a result of his flying into the debris of the Russian aircraft he had exploded at point-blank range! Interesting.. Hartmann was not only one of the rare fliers who was never wounded, he also never lost a wingman. He too pains with the education of young pilots coming to the front straight from the schools.

"It was my view that no kill was worth the life of a wingman, many of whom were young and inexperienced boys. Pilots in my units who had lost wingmen on this basis were prohibited from leading a Rotte. They were made to fly as wingmen themselves instead."

When I fly in sims I tend to overstay my welcome because I know that I can go down and then jump back in. In reality pilots had to know when to turn and run, especially when overmatched.

In the same way, I'm not as concerned when I get too close to an enemy aircraft. As a result, two things are happening: 1) I collide too often! 2) I am learning good techniques for staying on the enemies tail!

The training films and narrated training provided by Microsoft in the sim are quite helpful. You will learn to use yo-yo manouvers as well as other your throttle and flaps to assist you in managing both position and energy effectively. It is indeed challenging to come in fast and then stick llike glue to the tail of your target without over shooting or colliding!

Source: Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe, by Col. Raymond F. Toliver (Ret.) and T.J. Constable

Go to the original preview: Combat Flight Sim

Go to the first hands on preview: Hands on CFS

Go to the Santa Monica report: CFS Competition