• AMD K6, 233, 1 meg of cache
• 64 meg of SDRAM
• Seagate Cheetah 4 gig SCSI III
• Matrox Millenium 4 meg
• Canopus Pure 3d
• AWE 64
• Thrustmaster F22 and TQS, CH pedals
• SUNCOM TALON

Some people just have a knack for timing. They hit it right. I don't know exactly what it is... some have it, and some don't. iMagic has it this time around. With tension increasing again in the Persian Gulf, they deliver a campaign add on for iF22 based in the Persian Gulf. Nice going!

This overview is brief and will soon be replaced by separate reviews of the patched version of iF22 and the new campaign disk. But for those who are dying for information, here it is!

In our original Review of iF22 we tried to steer a middle course. First impressions are important, and my first impressions were mixed. The sim had a lot behind it and some good gameplay, but install issues and graphics issues as well as some gameplay weaknesses hindered an otherwise fine simulation. Missing in the implementation were an MFD map and full AP suite, padlock seemed unpredictable and wingmen didn't always respond properly to commands, even doing crazy things like launching all their A2G ordnance and then calling WINCHESTER. Thankfully, it didn't take long for iMagic to release the first patch, adding a reduced radar signature (more in accord with reality), and improving install and some graphics issues.

iF22 IS a serious simulation of the F22 Raptor, even though initial problems blurred the value. Avionics and weapons modelling are good, and with a dynamic campaign environment and mission planner as part of the original release, there is a LOT in this sim! Digitized topography based on satellite mapping show the direction that Magic Labs intended with this product: realism. In fact, iF22 even offers individual wingman control, a level of interaction that was not present even in DiDs EF2000 v.2. iMagic made a true simulation of a great stealth platform and gave us the possibility of real tactical gameplay in a dynamic environment.

Since then iMagic has had some time to invest, and they have delivered nicely on some improvements and fixes that really add up to an excellent F22 simulation. Here we are at v.3.3 patched, and a new campaign. Lets take a look under the hood!

Mission planning - Aircraft should no longer have overweight default loadouts. Mission planning - The fuel planning calculations were revised and reduced. Mission planning - You can now delete Patrol waypoints Mission planning - Weapon inventories now work correctly (i.e. weapons removed from one aircraft in the flight are available to be placed on another aircraft within the flight). Configure MFDs - Right clicking in a MFD screen steps backwards through the MFD list. Mission briefing - We made miscellaneous mission briefing text changes. Hall of Fame - We fixed the pilot stats and Reset button on the Hall of Fame screen. When you try to F5 or F8 view an aircraft out of range a message appears in the upper left corner of the screen. External view zooms are now limited so that you cannot zoom through the target model. Flights of aircraft react more realistically to having an aircraft within the flight being hit or destroyed. AI aircraft now select and use weapons better. AI aircraft now perform more realistic bombing runs, including coming around for second passes when they miss with their first bomb. When wingmen aren�t in formation and you tell them to attack from formation, they respond with "Unable your order." AI aircraft now use countermeasures including Chaff, Flares, ECM, and defensive maneuvers. Wingmen always attack their last assigned target, even if they are currently tracking a target. Wingmen no longer try to evade missiles while sitting on the ground. You now have a FULL HUD, including targeting information and "SHOOT" cues, in the forward view with the cockpit turned off. The \ and Shift-\ keys cycle through Air-to-Ground weapons and the Enter and Shift-Enter keys cycle through Air-to-Air weapons. Note: The \ key no longer returns you to normal time from time acceleration. Your radar now starts each mission defaulted OFF if you start on the ground. Control-j, jettison stores, now works correctly. Non-targeting radars, EWRs and Control Towers, now show up on your Defense MFD mode in yellow. Engine throttle settings are now displayed over you IAS (Indicated Air Speed) in the HUD. The maximum range for the HARM missile has been corrected. If your engines or airframe are damaged, or you are out of fuel, your autopilot is no longer available and a message to that effect is displayed on the chat bar. When flying ground attack missions your assigned mission targets are now displayed at all times in your MFDs.

Its quite a list of improvements and fixes. Does it add up to a difference in game play? One could argue that even the reduced radar cross section alone added up to a major difference, and graphics fixes and improved frame rate alone made a big difference. The work evident in this latest patch is a good indication of solid commitment. Adding a new campaign gives more gameplay to a simulation that has come a long way from the initial release.

I loaded up the Persian Gulf disk and chose the minimum install. This really isn't ideal, and I would recommend that you choose the 300 megs of terrain data if you can afford the disk space. I get small pauses in flight that really are not a problem, but with full install you can avoid this.

The Persian Gulf campaign gives you AWACS and sometimes Forward Air Controllers, so you can take advantage of all the stealth possibilities of your air frame. Clicking on campaign gives you the same familiar interface with overview and mission briefing options. Here is the scenario:

3 June, 2002

Amman, Jordan - Ba'ath Party headquarters in Baghdad was rocked by an explosion this morning, and Saddam Hussein and many members of his cabinet are presumed dead. With the death of Hussein and his ruling clique, there is no clear successor to the leaderhip of the party or the state.... (clip)

Tensions have been high in the region since the assassination of Saddam Hussein and his closest advisors .. both norhthern Kurds and southern Shi'ites have been agitating for independence as rival factions within the Iraqi hierarchy vie for control of the government in a vicious power struggle... (clip)

15 June, 2002

Washington, DC - State Department officials announced this morning that Iranian tank columns crossed the Iraqu border yesterday and are headed toward Basra and the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, Iraq's only outlet to the Persian Gulf. Reports indicate that Iranian forces met little resistance at the border but have encountered stiff opposition by Iraqi armor at the outskirts of Basra itself. The White House has issued a statement condemning the incursion in the "strongest possible terms..." (clip)

9 July, 2002

In a lightning strike, Iranian tanks have invaded Kuwait and are in control of most of the country this evening. In accordance with mutual support treaties, American, Saudi Arabian, and Gulf Cooperation Council ground forces have move into southern Kuwait to aid the remnants of the Kuwaiti military and have entered combat against Iranian forces...(clip)..The Second Persian Gulf War has begun...

Objectives

• 1. Protect friendly airbases in the region
• 2. Establish air superiority over the battlefield
• 3. Prevent Iranian forces from taking the Saudi oilfields
• 4. Liberate Kuwait
• 5. Push Iranian forces back across the Shatt-al-Arab

A nd again to my delight, there is also a Dash 34 operations manual included on the CD. This supplement provides insight into actual Air Force tactics and operations. The TOC is as follows:

• AIRCRAFT WEAPON SYSTEMS
• Weapons Management
• Heads-Up Display
• Multi-Functional Display
• Advisory and Warning Systems
• Aircraft Weapons
• Emergency Procedures and Weapons Limitations
• GLOSSARY

And here is the TOC for the first section:

• WEAPON MANAGEMENT
• TARGETING
• AIR-TO-GROUND
• WEAPON DEPLOYMENT
• AIR-TO-AIR
• WEAPON DEPLOYMENT
• COUNTERMEASURES
• SENSORS

The manual is loaded with helpful information, a great addition to the sim.

The campaign disk uses the same DEMON 1 engine as the original simulation, combining use of actual satellite imagery of real-world locations with high-definition digital elevation models taken from actual surveys. The satellite photos are mapped onto the elevation data, producing recognizable features like mountains, woods, farms, and deserts just as they appear in their real locations.

However, the terrain detail seems to have improved on max settings, and really looks great. I have been running using the DirectX 5 driver for 3dfx and frame rate is fine. I was glad to see this since the original was not that great and I really didn't care for the appearance of the terrain at all.

Unfortunately, the toothpaste smoke trails are still there. Object detail is still fine overall. There is still no moving map display available. I have a feeling that this is one of those things that there was not time to include. I haven't flown enough missions to discover if there are finally night missions available; I'm hoping!

Still, the campaign environment is dynamic and generated uniquely each time you create a campaign. You are given a selection of single missions, just as in EF2000. You may fly any missions from the generated list. Here is a screen shot of the tactical planning map:

The shot above shows the main tasking and mission editor screen. From here you can edit your payload or the payload of your wingmen, edit waypoints, add or subtract fuel and do your tactical planning by applying the various map options based on intelligence gathered. You may toggle these features from buttons arranged along the lower part of the display:

• Armor
• Infantry
• Artillery
• Supply
• Radar and non radar AAA
• Radar and non radar SAM
• EWR
• AWAC
• CAP

The planner still has a couple of limitations, the largest being that if you choose to display a number of options at the same time, the clutter factor takes over and you won't be able to see what you are doing! Unfortunately, the zoom level stops at 2x when it should have been carried to 4x. It also would have been greta to have an auto center feature slaved to given waypoints or perhaps to the target or CAP zone.

In any case, watch for more detail on the patched version as well as the new campaign disk in the next few days.....

For a Thrustmaster config file for the F22 and TQS combo, go to:

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