By Brandt Ryan January 18th, 2000

  MP Technical Notes

Here are some technical notes to help you get the best experience online:

Roger Wilco works flawlessly, assuming you are using the correct version (mk1a). For some reason, the newest version of Roger Wilco doesn't work in F/A 18. If you have Flanker 2.0, you can grab mk1a off of the CD.

If you have created a mission to use online, and you don't want to wait 15 minutes for the host to upload the mission to his clients within F/A 18, simply send each of them the file over ICQ or email. If everyone has the mission in their mission folder, loading time for the mission online is about two seconds. If they don't already have the mission you could be waiting 10 - 15 minutes. Chat is sent in multiplayer by using CTL 1 (broadcast) and CTL 2 (team only).

Learning Curve (in hours)

10 hours. Perhaps more for the mission builder.

Overall Rating (90%)

In summary, this new one from Jane's seems to me a big winner. If you're looking for something that blows away Jane's F15 graphically, you're only going to be partly disappointed. The terrain looks the same.

However, it's amazingly beautiful and realistic looking from higher altitudes. If you're an online co-op junkie, this is your new crack. If you want to feel like you're part of a bigger plan, actually part of an ATO, and like to be able to communicate with every aspect of the air campaign, you're gonna be in heaven. If you like to tweak and customize all of the systems in your aircraft, including weapons, ECM, and navigation, you're in for a treat.

Click to continue

No Cockpit with MFDs

The virtual cockpit is going to turn some people away from this sim--and that's too bad, because I think Jane's intentions were solid. They wanted to "immerse" you into their war by forcing your head on the swivel. Most will get used to this, and end up being better pilots because of it.

I highly recommend not giving up on the virtual cockpit (and therefore the sim itself) without spending at least 10 hours in it. At first I shuddered when I loaded up a mission. It truly grows on you though--there's too much potential in all the other areas of the sim for anyone to dismiss it on those grounds alone.

Hard drive factor (HTF™ a la Eric Marlow)? It's just moved in right next door to Falcon 4.0, and I imagine they'll be neighbors for a long time to come.

RATING SUMMARY

• Core Rating: 90
• Gameplay: 95
• Graphics: 89%
• Sound: 82%
• Intelligence/AI/Comms and Control: 97%
• FM, physics, weapons and systems: 88%
• User Interface/Mission Planner: 92%
• Documentation 80%
• Multiplayer: 95%
• Learning Curve (in hours): 4-6 hours

• Overall Rating: 90%

For overall excellence we award Jane's F/A-18 our Top Pick!

Brandt Ryan is a die hard Falcon 4 pilot, and has previously written Tactical Formation Flying in F4.

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