As with any serious flight simulation, radio comms are critical to coordinating your squadron and mission ops and success. Below is the main Radio Menu, followed by sub-menus.

Radio Menu

Precombat Sub menu

The "Patrol Area" call is to ground radar control for a vector and distance to your patrol area. You should already have written down the ETA for each waypoint so that you don't miss your rendezvous with other flights or mess up attack coordination.

Navigation, meanwhile, is via your inflight map in addition to calling to ground control for a radar vector to your patrol area. Oddly, there is no way to request vector to a particular nav point via radio, and there doesn't seem to be a way to call up this information anywhere in the mission planner interface. There is, however, a waypoint padlock key (F4) which turns your head to the required direction, and you can also toggle the INFO BAR to views setting which will then read out the vector.

Combat Sub menu

Another nice touch is the ability to padlock the subject of the last voice message you heard using F5. When someone calls "I can't shake him!" you can quickly find the source of the call and rush to his aid, if you are free.

Post Combat Sub menu

Tower Sub menu

FAC Sub menu

About the only omission from this setup is the ability to order your wingman separately. Thankfully, it's not a big problem in MiG Alley since your wingman sticks to you like glue and generally follows the goals and objectives that you choose for yourself.

When playing in the campaign it is assumed that you will fly as squadron leader. You may choose to fly as a wingman, but the comms menu will not change to reflect your choice, and your calls to Close Up or Spread Out will not be obeyed.

Below, two shots from the same planner interface screen. I brought up the Mission Folder using an icon at the top of the planner, and then highlighted Nan Rail Bridge. This brought up the waypoints and route on the mission map.

Clicking on Profile in the Mission Folder then brought up the Route info box. Click the zoom in shot below for the full screen image of the planner. The zoom in shot shows the default Tasks screen and the player would have to click on the Air Cover tab to bring up the info for his flight.

Tasking -Zoom View

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.

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.

It is possible to modify the artwork in the game and then choose your markings via the included Paint Shop (for campaign missions only). It isn't clear to me whether both nose and tail art can be modified, but it looks like it might be possible. I designed a red Maple leaf as you can see top right.

F80

The two shots below and the log info on the right are from my second and third campaign mission in the final campaign in January, 1951.

B29 Escort

B29 Escort

Force feedback support in MiG Alley is quite complete and so far seems very impressive. You can even select particular areas to include or exclude, as below. Support is at least as well done as EAW.

Control Prefs

F80 Cockpit

B29 Escort Log

F84 Cockpit

F84 Squadron Take off