Part I

This tactical briefing uses two interfaces and four main screens to scope out the progress of a strike force inbound to Kassala Air Base. I'll show you how the War Room Map, Target list, and then the AWACS interface can all be used to monitor and support the progress of a particular flight.

You can approach this task from a variety of angles. You may be interested in monitoring your campaign from the perspective of targets with the highest strategic value, in which case you will be visiting the War Room often to check the target list (above: click for a larger image).

Click for the larger list. 186K.

Accessing the list allows you to see the current priorities of the WARGEN AI system. Scrolling down the list gives you the Type and Name of the target, and across the top you will see the Strategic value assigned, current damage level (if any), and whether or not there is currently a flight assigned to that target. In this case I have chosen the Airfield at Kassala, whose strategic value is very high. There is a strike package inbound, so lets take a look!

Clicking on the list brings up the flight map and route. In this case I have previously zoomed in to better show the flight location and route. But this screen does not show the relative location of other known flights, so from here I move to the Theatre Map to check out the overall tactical picture.

Now I can see the relative location of other flights. I can see that there is another allied flight in my path and that there are also incoming bandits near the border area. Its time to move to the AWACS interface and see what kind of coverage I can provide and also check the loadout and tasks of individual flights assigned to the strike package.

Click to bring up a full size AWACS Screen

Now I can add a huge amount of information to the tactical picture, and also use my Theater Command chair to command individual flights. From here I find out that ARBAA72 is a single HAWK CAP flight. I may use this aircraft to intercept and the incoming bandits to the North. I also select the three bandit flights and discover I have two groups of four Su-25s, and an escort of four MiG 27s. I will probably vector the HAWK North but not command an Intercept immediately. When I do command the Intercept I will intercept the escort and not the strike aircraft.

I can also check the loadout of the individual flights in my strike group. I find, for example, that the Su27s assigned to Wild Weasel are carrying A2G and A2A missiles (from the INFO box on the left side of the AWACS screen), while the escort is composed of four Mirage aircraft. Coca203 out in front is also a flight of Mirage aircraft assigned to Airfield Denial, carrying both A2G and A2A stores.

Click for full size MAP

The shot above also shows that with the MAP detail slider most of the way to the right the label will also confirm that you are indeed viewing Kassala EW site and Kassala Airfield. In this next shot I have zoomed in and selected the EW site, which then comes up in the INFO window at left.

Click for full size MAP

As you can see from the larger shot the EW site has already taken heavy damage, and so the target for this strike group is the Airfield.

With all this information I am now in a position to make a decision about vectoring ARBAA72 and possibly other aircraft in the area for further support. In reality, the flight seems quite strong and so I will vector the HAWK CAP north but will not worry about vectoring other resources, though I will also vector AMBER159, a single F15 that is escorting an AWACS about 120 miles NE of the strike group, south west to help take care of the incoming strike force.

In this next shot you can see the Intercepts I have ordered. About 90 seconds has passed since the shots taken above.

Things get considerably more complex once the engagements begin...

Part II

Since I wrote the first tactical piece I left the beta behind for more than two weeks while I spent time with Falcon 4 and others. Coming back to TAW was an interesting experience and reminded me just how much there is to this simulation. In short, I feel that Total Air War has great depth but in a very accessible package. Building on F22 ADF, the systems and interface are familiar, and of course the F22 systems are greatly streamlined anyway. I spent almost three hours working exclusively in the AWACS interface, flying only a few times myself, and had a great deal of fun!

Continuing the tactical briefing, a few changes have been made to the interface that make locating your target easier. In the previous example we started with the target list, which is an effective way to make tactical use of the list. This time, we'll first check the current strategic goals.

Notice that the current Allied strategy is to strike C4 targets. This means that your current SEAD flights will be heading for various Command, Communication, Computing and Control targets. If you want to support these flights and run intercepts or escorts wherever possible, you need to know where they are. Taking this information back to the Theatre Map, one selects C4 from the display control buttons at right, bringing up the C4 targets on the map.

And a close up of the same shot...

You can see that the C4 sites have a huge red ring around them, and at the center of these rings will be a small white number. In the shot above there is more than one number at Kassala Air Base: a 2 and a 9, to be precise. The green aircraft symbols (for Allied fllights) are likely inbound strike flights. Now look at the current target list:

Kassala is listed at both #2 and #9 positions, and you can see that there is currently no damage, but 3 flights inbound to that target. You can verify the current position of the inbound flight by highlighting list position number 2 and then holding down the left mouse button, bringing up this screen:

Now you see that an EF2000 SEAD flight is inbound (although the compression makes it tough to read).

Later in another campaign I had some other interesting decisions to make when an EF2000 force with a Mirage escort went on a deep strike mission that was rated very high in importance.

Click for full size image.

Click for full size image.

After locating the mission on the Target List map I went to the AWACS map to see if there were any flights I could vector as escort. Seeing none but noticing an F22 flight about 100 miles distant to the south-east I decided to fly the escort myself!

Click for full size image.

I hope this gives you a feel for the tactical dimension that you can integrate in your game play. Some parts of the interface are not yet finished so some of the procedures here may change, but Total Air War will offer you the ability to get involved at levels far beyond ADF. Learning to access the information is the first key to tactical control.

There have been a few other changes to the game and to campaign play. First, cluster resolution of your radar system is improved, making it easier to see the distinct aircraft in a flight on your attack MFD. Second, you will now hear a "click" whenever you use your mouse or keyboard to press a switch in your aircraft.

Third, when you land to rearm and refuel, your wingman will also be rearmed and refueled. This is a concession to reality in the first place, and previously your wingman would follow you to your next engagement but he was often winchester, making him useless. Now if you choose to do the instant rearm action by landing and stopping on a friendly airstrip, your wingman continues to be a useful asset.

Part III

Click for larger image.

Total Air War is evolutionary compared to F22: ADF, but revolutionary compared to virtually anything else available. Frankly, I've been greatly enjoying the Theatre Command mode via the AWACS interface. If DiD could have given us multi monitor support and a little more command flexibility, I'm not sure I would have played anything else this fall!

The genius of Total Air War is the sum of four factors: 1) a relatively light learning curve, 2) a fully dynamic campaign system; 3) the integration of the Theatre Command and AWACS modes; 4) real time gods-eye view of the action. TAW is a great deal of fun, but there is a great deal here and my intention is to save you some time by sharing a few general tips.

Operation Highland. Click for larger image.

For those of you familiar with F22 ADF the learning curve will be especially light. However, you are probably accustomed by ADF to taking the Theatre Command role quite lightly. If you are an especially capable pilot, you can get away with this, particularly in the less difficult campaign scenarios. But if you want to win the level TWO and higher campaigns or if you are not a very hot pilot, you are going to be spending some time directing traffic and flying from the AWACS module.

Notice that there has been some evolution in the AWACS command interface, notably the loss of the SCALE button and the addition of a TARGETS button. Using this button brings up all the current Allied targets as prioritized by the Theatre Commander (WARGEN system) as well as current estimated enemy priorities on your own turf.

Using this information will help you to make tactical decisions as to which strike flights you will support. Other intel will assist you in deciding when you will abandon your own efforts to impact enemy targets and throw all your weight against defending your own resources so that you can continue to prosecute the war.

As Theatre Commander you cannot call up new flights, you can only choose to fly or to direct traffic. Where the Theatre Commanders job becomes most difficult is when the enemy is throwing all their weight against you at the same time as you have committed a high percentage of your own assets to strike forces. You must then make a number of tactical assessments based on the information you have. You must decide:

1. What are the current enemy goals; 2. Which current missions you can afford to support while defending your critical stations; 3. Which enemy flights you will engage and which you will risk ignoring (in truth they are not totally ignored since you also have ground defenses).

For example, I recently faced a situation where I had five incoming flights numbering approximately 20 aircraft. These included Su 25s, MiG27s, MiG 29s, MiG 31s and Su 27s. I had only three CAP flights in near vicinity, and one outgoing strike force of sixteen aircraft including eight F16s and four F15Es. I also had a single F22 at approximately 200 miles.

Based on current intel these aircraft would be primarily destined for C4 targets, critical command and communication sites on my soil. These targets are almost as crucial as my AWACS and required defense.

I knew that I could count on a couple of flights to scramble from near air bases, but I still had to make the best with what I had. Unfortunately, a pair of MiG 21s were included in my CAP tally. Although I had hoped to support the first major strike force that Theatre Command had fielded, I was now faced with vectoring the F15E escort after the first incoming MiG 29s. The escort was currently toward the back of the force, and I vectored them to Intercept so that they would increase their speed and engage.

Click for full size MAP

In the meantime one of my CAP flights engaged, and I vectored the MiG 21 CAP north while ordering the other to Intercept and engage. I would hold the MiG 21s in reserve since they were the least effective of my four immediate choices.

I also had IRON7, an F22 flight, 200 miles south. This happened to be a scramble flight that was sent up to deal with two Su27s. One of the flight had been destroyed but the other was still airborn. At the moment TAW does not allow one to vector a SCRAMBLE flight to intercept or assign a new patrol area as you can a CAP, but you can vector to ESCORT. I selected IRON7 and dragged to order an ESCORT on a flight a bit south where the engagement would occur. (My other option was to jump in and fly to the northwest myself).

I watched as the engagement unfolded. My flights were doing better than the enemy on the whole, not quite a 2/1 kill ratio. All but one of my F16 SEAD aircraft stayed completely out of the engagement and en route to their designated targets at Kassala.

However, as the engagement neared its ending the ratio began to change and another two Su27s joined the fray for the enemy. However, a SCRAMBLE flight of EF2000s also joined the battle and my lone F22 was now at about sixty miles. Unfortunately, knife fights can drag on for some time (a weakness in CCP AI) so I jumped in to assist at maximum range. At 35,000 feet and thirty miles I loosed four AIM120 Rs and took out both Su27s. This finally freed up the remaining two F15Es to continue to escort the F16s on their mission.

With their escort far behind them, my F16 strike flight pressed their attack. Of the eight aircraft that reached Kassala, one was killed by SAMs before the target and six engaged ground targets. Three were killed in air to air engagements within a few minutes of hitting the target, and two more were killed as they attempted to egress. The F15s turned at the border and so weren't much use in the end. Only one F16 returned to friendly territory.

About the time my F16s hit their targets I had a new threat to deal with and very limited air resources in the vicinity. Not far south of where the first incursion had been I had at least ten enemy aircraft incoming. At my disposal I had my lone F22, now with six AIM120s and two AIM 9x mounted. I also had the EF2000 flight a bit to the north where they were in the process of recovery.

Total Air War does not allow you to order a flight in the process of landing to Intercept. However, you can order an ESCORT, so I ordered the EF2s, who were at 65% fuel and still had some A2A stores, to escort my lone F22. The F22 had already been vectored by AWACS to engage the incoming bandits, and the EF2s obediently left their landing pattern to follow.

When this engagement was finished IRON7 was winchester and I called for recovery, then jumped out of the cockpit and ordered the depleted EF2 flight to land at their designated base. Back in my Theatre Command chair I decided to deal with a hostile incursion on my eastern border.

While doing this I noticed that IRON7 was turning toward the border to engage another enemy flight, despite having exhausted air to air stores. Hmmm. I didn't want to lose this valuable asset so I jumped in and turned for home plate, again calling for Recovery and receiving the vector. I also asked for a Direct Approach and my ILS came on line, pointing me to the correct base 70 miles to the north.

When I jumped out IRON7 stubbornly turned to engage the hostiles. Detecting what I believed to be a weakness in CPP AI, I selected IRON7 and dragged to the airbase to order a LANDING. The green triangle appeared and the acknowledged order and turning F22 told me that this is the only way you will be able to control the destination of a SCRAMBLE flight once you jump out. If you have mounted an F22 via the mission selection screen you won't face this problem.

As you gain experience as Theatre Commander you will see that your own tactical assessment and control is generally more effective than leaving the management to WARGEN. This means that you will win a campaign more quickly if you spend time directing flights personally. Once the enemy is on the defensive your personal time in the Theatre Command chair will become less critical. On the other hand, if you are a very skilled F22 pilot you may find that your personal involvement as Theatre Commander is not as necessary, except perhaps in the later, more challenging campaigns.

Whichever way you approach Total Air War, you will find it involving, unpredictable, and a great deal of fun. Expect to see it on the shelves in late September. For more on TAW and screen shots go to TAW Index.