I've had a number of questions regarding the HUD radar overlay which you see in the screen shots at top left. This display is configurable via the preferences menu to give you either a "perfect" god's eye view around you, or a more realistic display. This threat indicator shows the position of other aircraft relative to yours, with the vertical lines showing the pitch position and the more or less horizontal lines within the smoked disk showing the relative yaw position. Red are enemy, blue are friendly.

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F51 Cockpit Pan View

Inevitably, not everyone will be happy with this implementation. However, combined with the AUTO padlock feature, it is a very effective situational awareness and dogfighting tool. I've never had an easier time maintaining sight of the bandit, and my kill record is starting to show it. Cockpit reflections also help maintain SA.

By the way, another preference setting, as in Flying Corps, is target size. I'm uncertain as to whether this enlarges the on screen aircraft image you see (I don't think so), but it certainly varies the hit bubble size. Novice players will be able to fly with full realism but still score kills using this feature.

There have been some comments on the graphics of MiG Alley on our forums, but personally I don't think many will complain once they have the sim in hand. The instruments are particularly well done, and they are readable in the 3d cockpit whether you are zoomed in or out. On my 19" monitor at 1024x768 I have found that I can even read them when in a panned view, looking down and right at an air strip, for example.

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