For an alternate site click EA F15 Patch

For a long time it wasn't clear that Janes was working on a patch, and then once it was unofficially announced, it wasn't clear what issues would be addressed. Sometimes communication hasn't been the best.

But what is clear is that when Janes gives us a serious sim, they give us a SERIOUS sim! Obsessive attention to detail is practically a trademark with the Skunkworks crews, and thats why this patch readme is almost as hefty as the Expert manual ;-D

A. Crashes resolved:

- On some machines, the radar line of sight code could cause a crash when unexpected terrain height data was loaded. This was the cause of most "Iran Campaign" crashes, and could also occur during both the Iraq campaign and within user created missions. This has been fixed.

- Under certain circumstances, ordering wingmen to attack enemy aircraft while using a TWS radar mode could cause a crash. This has been fixed.

- Using the Jump function and/or accelerated time with a TSD or A/G radar MPD active could cause a crash and has been fixed.

- If the SA-9 was placed in a player created mission as a moving vehicle, it could cause a crash if given an "attack" action. This is no longer the case.

- Previously, the use of TACAN in multiplayer games could cause a crash. This has been corrected.

- When attempting to lock up a bandit during a dogfight, a crash would sometimes occur if the bandit was lower than the player. The cause of this was found and corrected.

- Many minor optimizations which improve the stability of the game have been made.

B. Multiplayer improvements:

- The overall stability of multiplayer has been improved.

- Text status messages to all connected players have been added. Players will be informed when other players enter of leave the game, and when other players have been hit and/or killed.

- If your multiplayer performance is not as fast as you would like, there are two custom settings designed to help.

- TCP/IP: One option is to turn off the guaranteed messaging. Removing this guarantee will decrease the message traffic between machines and may improve multiplayer speed in a TCP/IP game. Please note, when entering values, text is case-sensitive so enter the values exactly as they appear.

1. Run the REGIT.EXE program located on the F-15 CD-ROM
2. Select the "Add" button
3. For the "Value" field, enter NetMask
4. For the "Data" field, enter 0

Guaranteed messaging is now off. Please note that the default number for the "Data" field is 1.

- Modem or TCP/IP: If you have a slower modem or internet connection, you can decrease the rate at which packets are sent, thus decreasing the message traffic between machines which may increase performance and reliability. Please note that the "Data" field indicates time between packet sending in milliseconds. Thus, slower connections should use a higher number. The default time between packet transmission is 50 milliseconds. Again, note that when entering values, text is case-sensitive so enter the values exactly as they appear.

1. Run the REGIT.EXE program located on the F-15 CD-ROM
2. Select the "Add" button
3. For the "Value" field, enter NetRate
4. For the "Data" field, enter 75

C. Wrapper screen improvements:

- The Bullseye point has been added to the briefing map.

- Route miles and estimated elapsed time for each flight can be toggled on or off the briefing map using the F3 key. The default setting is off. Note: If you are unable to get this to work, check your filter settings in the Mission Builder: the "Flight ranges" and "Estimated flight time" boxes must be checked.

- Briefing maps can now be slewed using the Arrow keys, and zoomed in/out using the keypad minus/plus keys. The mission builder map has always had these capabilities.

- Changes made on the configuration page will now be saved correctly.

- Changing the squadron in single missions or training will now be remembered the next time single missions or training is selected.

- On occasion, the game would cause the loss of original stores when changing loadouts on the custom arming screen. This has been corrected.

D. Mission Builder improvements:

- Found and fixed a problem that would prevent AI's from taking off when the takeoff action was set. The workaround of assigning a blank message action to the next waypoint following the takeoff waypoint is no longer required. Note that large aircraft (such as B-52's) may not be able to take off from the smaller airfields in the game because the runway is not long enough.

- It was possible to circumvent the mission builder restriction on placing ground objects on top of or next to world objects that modified terrain height (such as an airfield). Changes were made to the mission builder to better prevent this, but missions built before the patch may have floating objects if they had them there originally. The only fix in that case is to delete or move the object(s) that are floating.

Note that a corrupt terrain height file (most likely the result of a bad or incomplete install) can cause floating objects as well. In this case the fix is simply to reinstall the game. Finally, there may be some floating objects in the Iraq campaign. Very few objects are apparently affected, and there is no impact on gameplay.

- Message actions (either text or wav files) will now work properly for the players flight. Note that the waypoint where this action is set must be overflown for the message action to trigger.

- IMPORTANT NOTE: When setting up GCI links, it is important to never connect GCI sites in a circular manner. When setting up GCI links, think in terms of straight lines. One site should report to another, which reports to another, and so on up the line. Many lower sites can report to a single higher site, however, do not have a site report to two other sites.

E. AI behavior enhancements and changes:

- The dogfighting AI has been tweaked slightly; making enemy AI aircraft more capable at the higher levels of difficulty. For example, the AI will now more aggressively work to force an overshoot situation in very close range dogfights.

- Certain anomalies were found that could cause AI-fired air to air missiles to lose lock prematurely. This has been corrected, but please note that since both enemy and friendly aircraft were affected, air to air missile combat will now be somewhat more brutal. The combination of this fix and the improved enemy dogfighting AI can result in a somewhat more challenging air to air experience.

- The skill level of all enemy aircraft in instant action will be the same based on the selected level. Previously, a mix of skill levels would have been chosen with the highest level possible for the AI being the selected level. BEWARE! This has a dramatic effect when fighting multiple "Ace" level enemies in highly capable aircraft.

- Revised the criteria for WSO target hit or no hit speech to more accurately reflect reality. Previously, if the target was not destroyed, the WSO would always give a "missed" message even if the weapon hit the target but was not powerful enough to damage it. This should no longer happen. The WSO will give a hit message if the target is destroyed (note that if other objects near the target are destroyed but the target is not destroyed, the WSO can get confused and call out a hit just as in real life). Clean misses (no targets destroyed) will get a "miss" message. If the target is hit but not destroyed, no message will be set.

- The AI will be more intelligent using external aircraft lights. Player wingmen and aircraft formed up with the player will mimic the current player external light setting while inflight. Other AI aircraft will now turn off their navigation lights while over enemy territory.

- The air traffic control tower at Dahrain airport will no longer identify itself King Fahd tower in radio communications.

- The visual problem of AI aircraft apparently flying level with extreme AoA has been corrected.

- Wingmen will no longer leap off the ground when told to break high while sitting on the runway.

- AI F-15E aircraft had their flight model revised to correct a problem where thrust was not being properly reduced at higher altitudes. This led to wingmen being able to accelerate better than the player in most cases.

- AI aircraft that are formed on the player should now break off properly when the player lands.

- Several players have reported seeing a lone AI aircraft mysteriously join formation with them and report it's formation number as "one" when responding to queries. This has been corrected.

- AWACS controllers will no longer call out nonmoving aircraft on the ground as airborne targets. Note that aircraft taking off from an airfield will still be reported correctly if within range.

- The problem that caused the players wingmen to fly a lower formation following inflight refueling has been corrected.

- Ejection seats will no longer animate themselves and jump into the SAR helicopter.

- The B-52 and other large aircraft received some minor flight model tweaks, reducing roll rate and overall turn performance slightly.

- The Mig-23 mistakenly had tail guns instead of forward firing cannons in certain loadouts. This has been corrected.

- The Mig-21 will no longer have guns when the empty loadout is selected.

- The F-15E and F-15C instant action active radar missile loadout has been increased to eight AIM-120 AMRAAM's from the previous four.

- A problem with all helicopter instant action loadouts was corrected.

- AI aircraft assigned the SEAD escort action will now do a better job of protecting the aircraft they are assigned to escort.

- The SEAD action has been tweaked so that AI's assigned this action will use their weapons in a more efficient manner.

- A problem was discovered that had the potential to prevent the EA-6B aircraft from using it's standoff jammer pods was discovered and corrected.

- JSTARS will now be active anytime the E-8 aircraft unit is given a "Orbit" or "AWACS Pattern" action. This corrects an error in the Iraq campaign where the JSTARS aircraft was inadvertently disabled on certain missions. NOTE: ground objects must still be flagged as JSTARS targets when creating new missions using the mission builder.

- The "Attack Ground Targets of Opportunity" order can now be given anytime to wingmen. Previously, this option was only available if a CAS action had been assigned to a waypoint. Ordering wingmen to attack targets of opportunity will now cause them to search for any likely looking ground targets within a 20 mile radius of the point where the order is given. Note that wingmen will only attack targets if they have appropriate air to ground weapons loaded (the gun is not considered an air to ground weapon in this case).

- Since the game was released, additional information on the effective operational ranges for various airborne radar systems has been obtained from the Jane's Information Group. The following airborne radar systems have been updated based on this data as follows:

• * High Lark 2 (Mig-23) range increased to 38 nautical miles (nm)
• from 23nm
• * Fox Fire (Mig-25) range increased to 54nm from 27nm
• * Flash Dance (Mig-31) range increased to 108nm from 65nm
• * Zhuk-PH (Mig-35) range increased to 76nm from 38nm
• * Slot Back A/B/C (Mig-29/Su-27/Su-30) range increased to 54nm
• from 38nm
• * AN/APQ-120 (F-4E) range increased to 40nm from 20nm

- A new loadout, Heavy bomb, has been added to the the following aircraft:

Aircraft Gun A/A A/G

MIG-21 23mm (200) FAB-250ShN (2)
FAB-500ShN (2)
MIG-23 23mm (200) AA-2 ATOLL (2) FAB-500ShN (4)
MIG-29 30mm (150) AA-8 APHID (2) FAB-500ShN (4)
MIG-35 30mm (150) AA-8 APHID (2) FAB-500ShN (4)
AA-10 ALAMO(2)
SU-22 30mm (160) AA-2 ATOLL (2) FAB-250ShN (2)
FAB-500ShN (3)
SU-24 23mm (500) FAB-250ShN (2)
FAB-500ShN (5)
SU-25 30mm (250) AA-2 ATOLL (2) FAB-500ShN (6)
SU-27 30mm (149) AA-8 APHID (2) FAB-500ShN (8)
AA-11 ARCHER(2)
SU-35 30mm (149) AA-8 APHID (4) FAB-500ShN (8)
AA-11 ARCHER(2)

- A problem was discovered that was causing ground based radars to not update their target list in a timely manner. This has been corrected, and the result is somewhat more aggressive SAM launches. This will be most obvious when using the higher skill levels for ground defenses.

F. Flight Model enhancements and changes:

- The fidelity of the pitch trim curve was refined. This has significantly improved the performance of the Pitch Trim Compensator (PTC) at speeds below 300 KIAS. Slow speed pitch up with forward stick input has been eliminated as a result, and slow speed flight in general has been much improved.

- Expert landings now incorporate sink rate, which had been inadvertently disabled. The maximum allowable sink rate during landing is based on aircraft gross weight and is shown in the following table:

  Gross weight (lb)   Allowable sink rate (fpm) 
  up to 35,000               900
  40,000                     828
  45,000          756
  50,000          702 
  55,000          648
  60,000          603
  65,000          558
  70,000          522
  75,000          486
  80,000          441

- Landing above the maximum allowable sink rate may cause damge to the aircraft or may even cause it to explode, depending on how much the limit is exceded by.

- The ability to taxi the aircraft outside airport boundaries has been greatly reduced.

- The current aircraft Gross Weight is now displayed on the engine MPD page.

- Fuel flow has been revised to more realistic values based on altitude and throttle position. The below table shows fuel flow in POUNDS PER HOUR PER ENGINE at various altitudes and three power settings. The two different sets of numbers are due to the 'ram air' effect higher airflow through the intakes has on engine performance. Below mach 0.8, this airflow has little effect. Above mach 1.1, excess airflow that could damage the engine is bled off by the engine intake system.

This table is valid for all aircraft weights and loadouts.

Alt(k) < mach 0.8 > mach 1.1
Idle MIL MaxAB Idle MIL MaxAB
0 900 13200 64500 1020 14400 78000
5 840 11700 56400 900 13200 69000
10 720 10200 48600 840 11700 60000
15 660 9000 41700 720 10200 51600
20 540 7500 35100 660 9000 43500
25 480 6600 28800 540 7500 36300
30 420 5400 23400 480 6600 30000
35 300 4380 18000 420 5400 24000
40 240 3600 13800 360 4380 19200
45 240 3000 9600 300 3600 13200
50 180 2400 7200 240 3000 9900
55 180 1800 5400 240 2400 7200
60 120 1200 3900 180 1800 6000
65 120 780 3000 180 1200 4800
70 60 480 2400 120 780 3600

- Realistic turbofan engine spool times have been added. Changes to throttle position no longer result in instant thrust changes. At low altitude, it will take around four seconds to go from idle to full afterburner. This spoolup time increases with altitude. For example, it can take eleven seconds to go from idle to max AB at 40,000 feet. When shut down or restarted, the engines will take time to wind down or back up to idle power. If an engine is shut off, it cannot be restarted until it has spooled completely down to zero.

- Engine parameters for RPM, temperature and oil pressure were revised to more realistic values.

RPM percentage will vary as follows:

• 0% = Engine off
• 62% (approximately) = Idle (0% THRUST)
• 89-94% = Military power (80% THRUST)
• 89-94% = Maximum (Afterburner) power (100% THRUST)

Note that the RPM percentage numbers are the same for Military and Maximum thrust. This is correct and based on the actual aircraft. The current THRUST level can be displayed on the HUD via the HUD OPTIONS UFC sub-menu. (Refer to the F-15 Expert Flight manual page 2.69).

The engine Fan Turbine Inlet Temperature (FTIT) will vary as follows (all numbers in degrees Centigrade):

10-20 = Engine off
575 (approximately) = Idle
800 - 900 = Military/Maximum power

A voice warning will set when the engine temperature exceeds 1000 degrees (typically as a result of damage). Failure to shut down the affected engine can result in increasing temperatures and eventual fire.

Oil pressure will vary based on throttle position and current altitude. Prolonged negative G flight will cause oil pressure to drop. Loss of oil pressure can lead to engine damage, overheating, and fire.

- Damaged engines that are shut down will still be damaged and can catch fire if restarted inflight.

- The engine fire voice warning will now occur only if an engine fire is detected, not whenever the engine is damaged/destroyed.

- The "warp speed" flight model problem was found and squashed.

- The "helicopter spin climb" flight model problem has been corrected.

- The Nose Wheel Steering (NWS) system was improved to use a more accurate level of gain.

- Keyboard control of the rudders / NWS system was improved. Note that to use keyboard control of the rudder, you must not have analog rudders installed under the Win95 game controller menu.

- Thrust was reduced to a more accurate level while on the ground for the Idle setting only (the real F-15E engine control system does this automatically). This change and the previous NWS change have a dramatic effect on overall ground handling ability.

- The flight model was refined slightly to improve takeoffs, which should now occur at a more realistic speed. Note that heavy aircraft (70,000 lbs or greater) will require a higher speed to become airborne. This is normal and correct.

- The fidelity of the trim keys were refined.

G. Avionics systems enhancements and changes:

- Added a Bullseye icon to the A/A & A/G radar and TSD MPD pages. This icon is placed at the Bullseye point if there is one in the current mission.

- Added target altitude (in thousands of feet) above each target icon in TWS mode except for the Primary Designated Target (PDT). The PDT altitude display remains unchanged, using the altitude scale/caret on the left side of the radar display.

- Fixed Master Arm light anomalies between the pilot and WSO cockpits.

- Fixed CHF PRG light anomalies between F1 (pilot forward) and F2 (pilot MPD) views.

- Fixed all key functionality anomalies in virtual cockpit (for example, Undesignate target now works correctly when in the virtual cockpit).

- Added mission labels to TSD. These labels can be added using the mission builder, and will be displayed inflight on the TSD.

- Added ILS symbology to the ADI MPD.

- Revised Target IR slew limits so AUTO and MAN mode limits now match.

- Cleaned up the display of multiple threats located close together on the TEWS icon display. The most deadly threat emitter will be displayed at the top of the stack of icons, and will remain readable.

- Fixed missile fly out dots in TWS mode. Previously, all missile flyout dots were shown on the Primary Designated Target (PDT) when multiple AIM-120's were fired at separate targets. This has been corrected.

- Enabled line of sight limits for GMT A/G radar sub-mode. The GMT radar sub-mode will no longer spot moving vehicles through mountains.

- The A/A radar MPD AIM-120 shoot cue was changed to the proper six pointed star symbol.

- Added time to impact (TIMPACT) to the center of the Target IR MPD. This number will appear following the release of LGB bombs. As a general rule of thumb, it is best to lase a target when TIMPACT is around 20 seconds.

- Fixed ADI bank angle scale caret movement so that it now properly matches the HUD bank angle scale caret.

- The Auto-Guns A/A radar acquisition mode will be selected when in A/A master mode and the Gun is selected provided there is not a current radar target locked. If the radar lock is lost, reselecting the Gun will reselect Auto-Guns ACQ. This is a slight change from the F-15 expert manual.

- Fixed a minor anomaly that prevented the Master Caution light from resetting when the caution panel was opened using a keystroke rather than a mouse click.

- Added degrees before radar breaklock to HUD (as per the F-15 Expert Flight manual page 2.13).

- The A/G RBM/GMT/IGMT MPD range scale arcs were corrected to display at the 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent points within the selected radar scan arc.

- The Elevation Steering Line (ESL) will now appear correctly when using the AUTO LOFT bombing mode (as explained in the F-15 Expert Flight manual, page 4.63). The calculation of TREL in this bombing mode has also been refined to improve accuracy.

- The current radar mode or active auto acquisition mode will now be displayed in the bottom left corner of the radar MPD.

- Emitters should no longer appear in the TEWS once they are out of range.

H. Weapons system enhancements and changes:

- Significantly improved the Mavericks ability to target and track man-made objects. The Maverick will no try to lock on to the closest object to the center of it's field of view in manual mode. In auto (slaved) mode, the Maverick will lock on to the object closest to the center of the A/G designated target point.

- Fixed GBU-15 yaw steering in TRANS mode.

- Fixed GBU-15 TRK anomalies with large aircraft angle off target.

- Added realistic gun round dispersion to the players 20mm M61A1 cannon. Theoretically, all gun projectiles should follow the same flight path and should strike a common point once fired. However, factors cause different projectile trajectories, thus causing impact in a defined area, rather than a common point. These factors include such things as manufacturing tolerances, barrel whip, changes in the statics and dynamics as the gun accelerates or decelerates, and variations in ammunition characteristics. This dispersion can be thought of as a cone originating from the gun and expanding as the rounds travel towards maximum range. The net result is that the gun has a slightly greater chance to hit targets, but less rounds will impact any given point on that target. AI aircraft mounted guns have always taken dispersion into account.

- Removed gun sound when trigger pulled with master arm off.

- Significantly increased the engagement range of the SA-10 surface to air missile. The SA-10 now has a range of 90 kilometers (approximately 54 nautical miles), which is about double the original range. These missiles are now much more potent as a result.

- Added more realistic weight values to the M-56 and PGU-28 gun rounds as well as the ALE-40 countermeasures options to the custom arming screen.

- Fixed anomalies with the AIM-9 growl when in virtual cockpit mode.

- Heat seeking weapons now have an increased chance of tracking the sun if it is in their field of view. Less sophisticated weapons are more susceptible than more advanced systems.

- The range and speed of the HARM missile were increased to more realistic values, based on newly acquired data. This should increase the effectiveness of SEAD aircraft armed with this weapon.

- The rocket motor burn times of several enemy missiles were adjusted downwards to more realistic values. As with all missiles, once the rocket motor burns out, the missile will not be able to regain energy lost due to gravity and maneuvering.

- The ability of the various model AIM-9 IR seekers to lock on to targets at extreme range has been slightly reduced.

- If the Air to Air radar is switched out of STT while AIM-7 missiles are in flight, those missiles will lose guidance and no longer track the target.

- Air to Air missiles will now jettison correctly. Previously, a single MRM and SRM "phantom" missile remained on the aircraft following jettison.

I. Miscellaneous improvements and changes:

- Better support for 2D video cards using the Trident 9600 series chipset has been implemented.

- The AWACS TANKER REQ key function should now work properly.

- The PADLOCK CENTER logic has been improved. Subsequent selection of this function will padlock a different object in the current view, starting from the center and working outward.

- PADLOCK view restrictions have been fully restored. When enabled, padlock can be lost if the subject is out of view for a period of time (for example, out of view under the player's aircraft). The Glance Forward function has the same limitation; prolonged use can cause the loss of a padlock.

- The HUD Navigation FLIR key function has been enabled. The specific function name is NAVFLIR_MODE. Mapping this to a key using the remapper will allow keyboard control of the HUD FLIR.

- Pipelines will no longer use the B52 as a blown up object. Note that this change will only take place if you elected for a medium or large install size when you originally installed the game.

- The Hawk missile launcher will now use it's own, correct, blown up object. Note that this change will only take place if you elected for a medium or large install size when you originally installed the game.

- The runway distance remaining signs at Shaikh Isa military airbase in Bahrain have been fixed, and now correctly indicate runway distance remaining in thousands of feet. Note that this change will only take place if you elected for a medium or large install size when you originally installed the game.

- Positional engine sounds have been added for the player's aircraft when in external views. Warning tones/speech as well as radio speech will still be heard as well.

- Following ejection, warning tones and speech will no longer be heard.

- The high pitch tone that would sometimes occur in certain external views has been silenced.

III. MANUAL ADDENDUM

A. Introduction

Unfortunately, the realities of publishing deadlines can lead to differences between the games printed manual and actual gameplay. While we tried very hard to minimize this within Jane's F-15, some discrepancies did manage to make it into the game. The following section contains manual errata, enhanced explanations of existing game systems, and any new features added in this patch.

B. The AAQ-14 Targeting IR pod

The Targeting IR pod is one half of the F-15E's infrared "see in the dark" capability. As on the real F-15E, it can be used to identify, designate and attack a target and hand off a target to the AGM-65 Maverick or GBU-15 Glide bomb. In the game, there are two main modes for the pod, A/A (air to air) and A/G (air to ground).

A/A Mode

This mode can be used to track airborne targets within the field of view of the pod seeker head. The primary cueing source is the Air to Air radar, and the pod will attempt to track the current radar designated target.

MANUAL CORRECTION: There is not an "IR target TD box" displayed on the HUD in this mode.

A/G Mode

When in A/G, the pod can be used to track the designated A/G target or designate a new A/G target. The pod can be cued from either the A/G radar or the HUD.

There are two primary sub-modes used for pointing the pod; AUTO (slaved) and MANual.

AUTO sub-mode

This mode is best used to quickly slew the pod field of view onto the target. The pod will attempt to track designated targets that are within the field of view of the pod. In A/A mode, the A/A radar Primary Designated Target will be tracked. In A/G mode, the A/G designated target will be tracked.

MANual sub-mode

The Manual sub-mode can be used to select a different target or a specific part of a target to track. The pod must be slewed onto the desired target and track must be commanded.

Tracking

The pod can be commanded to track by selecting the TRK push button.

When TRK is selected (boxed), a status message will appear in the bottom right corner of the display. When a man-made object (such as a building, bridge, truck, etc.) is being tracked, "PT-TRK" (point track) will be displayed. If the ground is being tracked, the "AR-TRK" (area track) status message will be displayed. It can be difficult to lock onto smaller targets at long range. When TRK is selected, the pod may jump slightly to one side. This is a normal side effect of the tiny angular error that can exist between the commanded pod position and the actual pod position in relation to the desired target. This phenomenon is most noticeable when the pod is at maximum magnification (ENFOV).

Designation

The current area or object being tracked by the pod can be designated as the A/G target point. This will update all steering and weapon release calculations. To designate a target using the target IR pod, select (box) the CDES (continuous designation) push button. CDES is particularly useful when tracking a moving object, such as a truck or a ship, as it will constantly update the HUD TD diamond with the actual target location. CDES is only active when the Target IR is in MANual mode. Laser operation

The target IR pod contains a laser which is used to provide illumination of ground targets for laser guided bombs. The laser can be toggled between ARMed and LASE. Note that the laser cannot be activated above altitudes of 25,000 feet above sea level (barometric altitude). When above this altitude, the laser status will display SAFE. Descending below 25,000 ft will re-enable the system to normal operation.

Long/Short range

The target IR has two display resolutions independent of the selected magnification level. The long range FLIR (LRF) setting provides the maximum viewing range with some loss of detail, while the short range FLIR (SRF) setting provides maximum detail within a limited range. LRF/SRF is toggled via PB 17. The default setting is LRF.

Additional controls

Please refer to the Expert Flight Manual, pages 2.38-2.41 for more information. All remaining target IR functions work exactly as described in the manual.

C. Designating multiple Targets using TWS (Track While Scan) Air to Air Radar mode

In TWS mode, select a target by clicking on it with the mouse. This target should now change from a closed box to a star. This is your primary designated target (PDT).

Clicking on another closed box target will change that target to the PDT, and the old PDT will change to a secondary designated target (SDT) indicated by a hollow box. You can have a total of seven SDT's (plus the PDT). When AMRAAMS are fired, the first missile will go for the PDT, and the remaining missiles will go to SDT's, with the SDT's targeted in order of increasing range, i.e. closest SDT, next closest SDT etc. Any remaining missiles fired will go after the PDT. For example, if you fired four missiles at a PDT and one SDT, the first missile would track the PDT, the second missile will track the SDT and the third and fourth missile will track the PDT.

The PDT or SDT's may be undesignated in reverse order using the undesignate key. Switching to a non TWS mode will also undesignate all SDT's. If the new mode is Single Target Track (STT), the PDT remains the same,otherwise it too is undesignated.

D. The GBU-15

The GBU-15 interface underwent significant revision in the time between when the manual was printed and when the game shipped. Because of this, there are significant errors in the manual regarding the proper usage of the GBU-15 within the game.

New features:

- The GBU-15 uses the GUIDED release mode, which will be selected whenever a GBU-15 is selected. This will override the normal bombing modes of CDIP/Auto/Auto loft. Following the release of the last selected GBU-15, or upon the deselection of the GBU-15, the normal bombing modes will again be available.

- Time To Release (TREL) will be displayed on the HUD whenever there is a designated target. This number represents the optimal glide range of the weapon at the current altitude/speed. Note: This can be different from the target the GBU-15 seeker is locked on to, if manual weapon cueing has been selected. In this case, the displayed TREL number, and times to maximum/minimum range discussed below are INVALID.

- When selected, the GBU-15 is released anytime the weapon pickle is pushed.

- When a A/G target is designated, two tick marks are displayed on the ride side of the Weapon MPD; the numbers next to these tick marks represent the time (in seconds) to the maximum range (top tick mark) and minimum range (bottom tick mark) of the weapon. The factors that influence this number include Altitude (higher altitude will give the weapon greater range); Speed (higher speed will give the weapon greater range); and Attitude (a pitched up attitude will tend to throw the weapon further). Push-button 19 will toggle the color of the tick marks between light or dark.

- When the time to maximum range reaches zero, the IN RANGE cue will appear between the tick marks.

Manual changes:

- Replace steps 4 through 6 on page 4.67 with the following:

4. Release the GBU-15 anytime after the IN RANGE cue appears on the Weapon MPD.

- Change step 3b "TERM" on page 4.68 to the following:

TERM: Terminal profile - if the weapon is released in this mode, you will not have any control over the weapon until you deselect TRK. Once the target lock has been broken, you can control the weapon's pitch and yaw.

- Add note to step 3b on page 4.68: It is recommended the the GBU-15 be released in Normal mode.

- Add note to step 3d on page 4.68: After a good track is verified, immediately press PB7 to command Terminal profile guidance. Pressing PB10 again will break the track and the bomb will fall ballistically.

- Replace steps 4 through 6 on page 4.68 with the following:

4. Release the GBU-15 anytime after the IN RANGE cue appears on the Weapon MPD. - Renumber step 7 on page 4.68 to step 5.

General Tips:

- The Normal weapon release profile should be used for most indirect mode releases. As noted in the manual, the weapon will fly a ballistic profile for 1.75 seconds, and then automatically change to the Transitional mode.

- The Transitional weapon profile allows complete control of the weapons seeker head independent of the weapon's flight path. The seeker head can be slewed in any direction and locked onto the desired target. The weapon can be steered in yaw (left or right).

IMPORTANT NOTE: the weapon will not steer itself towards the selected target when using this profile, even if the seeker head is tracking a target. Terminal profile must be selected to command the weapon to fly towards the target. Because of limitations in the maximum pitch rate the weapon, TERM should be selected before the nose index marker (the little white box) is below the 10 degree nose down marker (middle horizontal reference mark below the center of the weapon crosshairs) for best results. Switching to TERM too late usually results in the bomb breaking lock as it passes over the target, resulting in the weapon falling long.

- The Terminal weapon profile has two distinct sub-modes; depending upon whether or not a target has been locked on to. If a target has been locked on to (TRK boxed), the weapons autopilot takes over and will fly the weapon to impact the target. It is possible for a target to be tracked that is outside the current range of the weapon, in this case the the autopilot will make it's best try (usually resulting in a weapon falling short of the target).

If a target has not been locked on to, or if target lock is broken, the weapon can be controlled using the weapon MPD arrow keys. In this case, the seeker head is locked along the centerline of the weapon looking straight ahead. Because of limitation in the maximum pitch rate of the weapon, it can be difficult to guide the weapon up or down.

Once TERM has been selected, it cannot be un-selected.

- A GBU-15 released from high altitude and minimum range may not be able to pitch over fast enough to hit it's intended target.

- Using the GBU-15 successfully takes practice. It is not the magic bullet in real life that some other games may have lead you to believe. However, under certain circumstances, it can be a very effective weapon.

- Sean Long's manual / indirect mode GBU-15 guide, or "how to ride the nose of the bomb into the target" (reprinted here with permission):

First, release ANYTIME after the weapon video screen displays "in range" on the right hand side... Releasing when "in range" instead of waiting for 0 TREL will slightly decrease the chance of overshooting the target. OTOH [On the other hand], if you release early and do a lot of yaw steering,you might run the bomb out of airspeed and it'll never make it to the target.

Next, you really need to get as early a TRK as you can. The farther away the better. Use the arrows at PB 16 and 17 to get the impact heading that you want, otherwise leave those alone unless you can't see your target because of something in your way.

To get the target track, I hit Pause, unbox TRK, slew the cursors to where I want them, then hit TRK again. It is critical that this is done as early as possible.

As soon as you have verified a valid TRK, you need to hit PB7, changing TRNS to TERM... From here on in, you're a passenger...

If you select TERMinal profile early enough, the bomb will do it's thang and hit whatever you're tracking... This is how it works in the game, and you CAN get hits with it. I tried several things including changing targets, etc etc, and it success or failure depended entirely on how soon I could select TERM profile.

E. The AGM-65 Maverick

- The AGM-65 Maverick uses the GUIDED release mode, which will be selected whenever a weapons station loaded with Mavericks is selected. This will override the normal bombing modes of CDIP/Auto/Auto loft. Following the release of the last selected AGM-65, or upon the deselection of all stations loaded with AGM-65's, the normal bombing modes will again be available.

- Time To Release (TREL) will be displayed on the HUD whenever there is a designated target. This number represents the optimal range of the weapon at the current altitude/speed. Note: This can be different from the target the Maverick seeker is locked on to, if manual weapon cueing has been selected. In this case, the displayed TREL number, and times to maximum/minimum range discussed below are INVALID.

- When a A/G target is designated, two tick marks are displayed on the ride side of the Weapon MPD; the numbers next to these tick marks represent the time (in seconds) to the maximum range (top tick mark) and minimum range (bottom tick mark) of the weapon. Push-button 19 will toggle the color of the tick marks between light or dark.

- When the time to maximum range reaches zero, the IN RANGE cue will appear between the tick marks.

- Firing Mavericks at targets without having the Weapon MPD open may cause the missile to miss it's intended target, because the seeker head will not attempt to lock on until the missile is actually launched.

- A flashing Pointing Cross in the Weapon MPD indicates that because of the current geometry to the target, there is a chance the missile may break lock when launched. For best results, ensure the pointing cross is not flashing before firing the missile.

- The AGM-65D is not very effective against buildings or ships, being primarily designed as an anti-armor weapon. The AGM-65G, with it's much larger warhead, can be used successfully against small buildings and patrol boats, in addition to armor. For the sake of comparisons, the warhead of the AGM-65G has roughly the same destructive potential as the Mk82 500lb bomb. The AGM-65D warhead has roughly half the explosive potential of the AGM-65G.

V. ADDITIONAL CREDITS / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Jane's F-15 Development Team would like to thank the following people for helping us create and test Jane's F-15. We couldn't have done it without you!

F-15 external beta test team A (initial release):

Rich Clark, Buzz Hoffman, Chris Jones, Tom Knott, Sean "Eagl" Long, Mike "Boomer" McCoy, Alex Pavloff, Mike "Vila" Smith, Bill "Cowboy" Wilson and Paul Yodice, MD.

F-15 external beta test team B (patch):

Michael "Neko" Addabbo, Lewis "Moose" Gregory, "Gun-Slinger", Buzz Hoffman, Pierre "Papa Doc" Legrand, Sean "Eagl" Long, Eric "Snacko" Marlow, Mike "Boomer" McCoy, James "Snak Attack" Schuldes, Jorgen "Troll" Toll, Gary Vrckovnik, Bill "Cowboy" Wilson, Matt "Wags" Wagner, and Paul "Hellfire" Yodice.

F-15 Janes QA test team (Austin, TX):

Brandon "Arashi" Salinas, Lance "MudPuppy" Stites, Mackey "Rastuss" Fair, Myque "Hunter" Ouellette and J. Allen "Blair" Brack.