"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the internet links which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth (Jane's, Microprose, DiD), the separate and equal station to which the laws of the drag, thrust, and lift entitle them, a decent respect in the news group opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to flame each other. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all pilots are created equal, that they are endowed by their computer with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of patches"

With apologies to my American forefathers, you'd think we live and die by these words. I have watched closely the admiration and fervor caused since the initial release of Jane's F-15. As someone who's taken a great interest in this product, I have had the opportunity to learn it inside and out.

Typically when a PC air combat simulation tries to address the market known as "hard core", they run the risk of not only alienating the casual user, they may also miss the preconceptions of realism and accuracy that the avid military enthusiast will be looking for. More than any other PC-based military flight simulation to date, Jane's F-15 has endeavored to meet the demands of both categories of users. In doing so, they have created a product that has set a benchmark for future sims to be compared against.

Did they get it perfect in the initial release? No, but I have flown a million-dollar military F-16 simulator that crashed so frequently we had to cut our stick time short because it wouldn't come back on-line. By relative comparison, Jane's F-15 is a true bargain in terms of the level of immersion and sheer fun it brings to the civilian sim pilot.

The recently released 1.12F patch for F-15 represents a wealth of bug fixes, tweaks, and enhancements that should quash the squeals of rabid sim fans. It also demonstrates Jane's commitment to this product and its continued livelihood. While my initial tests do not show the patch perfectly fixes every item in its README file, the fixes included in the patch make a robust simulation even better.

A concern during the interim between the introduction of the initial product and the release of the patch was Jane's reluctance (but later rectified) in communicating what was happening with the F-15 patch process. CJ and Boomer did an admirable job keeping the troops satisfied down the home stretch, and I hope they take this key learning to their next project.

While I appreciate the wealth of fixes included in 1.12F, I would have preferred to see an earlier patch deal with the more pressing bugs and the subsequent patch(es) endeavor to resolve the lesser improvement and tweak issues. Tying all these fixes into one package, while no doubt making it easier on the Jane's development team, came at the cost of the interest and goodwill among some of its customers. This "super-patch" approach has filtered into some of Jane's other products and should be scrutinized more carefully.

As the number of fixes attempted in this patch is overwhelming, we will not attempt to address all of them here. An effort will be made however to address the items that were identified of most concern in news group postings.

Multi-Player Stability - Prior to the patch, I only played multi-player on a LAN using IPX. I never had a problem and thought it was rock-solid. I had heard that there were some sync issues and occasionally the frame rate would bog down prior to the patch, but I experienced none of these with the patched game over a direct connect TCP/IP session. On a 56k host connection and a 33.6 join connection the frame rates were smooth, avionics worked fine, and missiles found their mark. The only comment was that the opponent's plane was a bit jerky when flying in close formation. Thanks to Peter "FighterJock" Waddell for helping me on the other end of my heaters.

Take Off Bug - The bug that didn't allow a plane to takeoff if the plane didn't have an action at their first waypoint has been rectified. Good to see those JSTARs taking off when they should!

Take Off Speed - An F-15E pilot stated in a recent interview, "Takeoff speeds in RL (Real Life) range between 160 lightweight and almost 200 heavy." My tests during takeoff show that a clean configuration (49k lbs.) takes off correctly around 90 knots. In a heavy configuration (80k lbs.) takeoff occurs around 120-125 knots. Acceleration during takeoff is noticeably slower when you load down the plane, but it seems a bit peppy when you consider that in a heavy configuration you've almost doubled the plane's weight. Other factors may or may not be modeled in the takeoff (tail scrape?) which accounts for the faster-than-normal speed, but regardless the observed speed with the patch is significantly slower than it should be.

Iran Campaign Bug - Having never experienced this personally, I cannot report on its resolution. Others who have experienced the crash have reported favorably that it has been corrected.

Nose Wheel Steering - The "gain" has been turned up to the NWS is more responsive. Users have reported a much better feel for taxiing, although there still is little need for sustained taxiing in F-15.

Auto Loft - The Elevation Steering Line (ESL) is now appearing correctly during the AUTO LOFT maneuver. Bombs delivered during an AUTO LOFT are no longer falling short of their target. I did notice though the WSO "Pull Now!" message is no longer being said when the TPULL reaches zero.

Maverick Targeting - Maverick Target is MUCH easier, especially with small moving vehicles.

In-Flight Refueling - Tanking is much easier because the nose pitch-up issues are greatly reduced. If you still have trouble controlling the aircraft during a tank, it's no longer because the plane is constantly pitching up and down.

Landing - This was a big concern prior to the patch. Any plane that can be landed upside down would have some serious value to the USAF, but as of right now that goal is unattainable. With the inclusion of the patch, that goal properly remains unattainable. When you are right side up the sink rate code is now active, so planes at different weights will have various limitations on how hard they can safely land. You can land with gear up, but a belly landing is a difficult proposition.

Bullseye now appearing on the MPDs - You now get a Bullseye circle in the Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground Radar MPDs. Way to go!

Changing a squadron is saved for future single and training missions - This feature is much appreciated, but would also value the Pilot/WSO and Airframe staying the same as well.

Briefing Improvements - You can use the F3 key to toggle on and off the WP information. Good addition! Make sure your filter settings in the mission builder allow you to see the WP information in the mission builder before you attempt to view it in the mission briefing - a small oversight, but very fixable.

Improved enemy AI - They not so dumb anymore. Enemy planes jink more and can spoof inbound missiles better.

Wingmen leaping forward when ENGAGE is sent - The ability of the flight to quickly jump ahead during an ENGAGE command has been fixed. I guess their ration of Popeye spinach was cut back.

AWACs controller calling aircraft on the ground - This was a big concern for me because several of my attempts at creating custom missions with the mission builder set ALERT INTERCEPT status for aircraft on the ground. The AWACs would call them off, even though they weren't in the air. This has been fixed.

GBU-15 - This weapon system now performs as advertised. Read up in the patch's README for changes to the launch profile.

Manual Addenda - This change corrects all known incorrect instructions and statements. Much appreciated, though I wish there were a way to physically replace the pages!

The release of the 1.12F patch and the continued flight time by its users will no doubt identify additional bugs and tweaks that will need to be addressed. Jane's has already proven their interest in supporting this product thorough the release of this hefty patch, and will no doubt continue to support it as future problems are identified. Fortunately, I think this product is far enough along so that the majority of the Skunkworks team can be moved to other products, including a sequel to this enjoyable simulation. The patched version improves the overall flight characteristics, avionics modeling, and squashes a few bugs. As an avid F-15 flyer, this is a must-download.

Write to Snacko with your questions and comments.

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