Part I: How to Improve A2G Kill Rates

The campaign in Falcon 4 is generally acknowledged as the most comprehensive yet created. As such, it is a tough place for newbies and intermediate players to begin because it has a very high learning curve. This series of essays consisting of three parts is intended to help you improve your performance on air-to-ground missions.

If you're new to air combat simulations, the first thing you need to know about this Falcon 4 is that to be successful requires mastery of the aircraft and its systems and weapons. So, if you're not yet up to speed, you're going to need a bit more study and practice before you can put these tactics to use.

I've surfed around the various forums and I see it declared time and time again that the campaign is broken and/or full of bugs. I can assure you that after nine months of working with it, and a half dozen patches, the campaign works fairly well and what bugs it does have are relatively minor. What most people complain about as bugs or brokeness is really the result of their own lack of dedication and practice to achieve competency.

HOTAS

The first consideration toward becoming a competent Falcon pilot is control. The number of commands required to operate this aircraft is extensive. It is not possible to achieve a reasonable level of competence with the keyboard alone because this sim requires too many split-second reactions.

If you're not flying with fully progammable controls, it's time to make that investment. Life will be made a whole lot easier if you choose controls for which at least several F4 scripts have been written so that you don't have to attempt to do the programming yourself.

Training & Skill

F4 represents one of the first, if not the first, truly realistic air combat similuation that melds tactical and strategic air and ground war gaming into one sim. At first, glancing at the campaign map, I thought it was hokey and rather childish looking. It took months of experimentation to discover the awesome depth of this sim, a depth which myself and many others are still discoving nine months later.

The problem most of us have in mastering the campaign is twofold. First, Falcon's fidelity to the real aircraft systems means that a virtual pilot has to know his aircraft and weapons nearly as well as a real pilot. Ask any real pilot and he will tell you that by the time a real pilot is finished with his two years of training he knows just enough to go out and get himself killed. We are talking about full-time professionals here, not amateurs.

Most will tell you that whatever training they get is not enough. The training goes on and on for the duration of the pilot's career. Rest assured that there has never been a wartime ace with only two years training. The need for extensive training is little different with this sim.

Those Pesky Wingmen

This pretty well sums up why there are so many who believe that the campaign still has major faults with the AI. This includes the subject of wingman effectiveness. The difficulty that so many are having with wingmen boils down to a lack of training. Both in the real world, and in this sim, wingmen are not freelancers. They must be at all times under the strict control of their flight leader -- you.

To better understand this, consider that it was Air Force doctrine in past wars that wingmen were not shooters. Their sole task was to provide cover for the leads who were designated the shooters. In fact, during the Vietnam war, they stayed glued so tightly to the lead that it was all they could do just to keep formation. Following Vietnam this was finally realized to be a very poor tactic and was changed.

Yet the fact remains that wingmen are still never permitted to go off and do their own thing. Whether it's a two or four ship flight, it is always a team effort, and the wingmen only take their cue from the lead, usually officers with ranks as high as Captain and Major.

As in real life, that is the way this sim is designed, so you should not expect wingmen to function otherwise. If you do not completely control their actions, they will not perform adequately.

  Difficulty Levels

I have counted up to 14 difficulty level control settings, so be sure you understand them. Or try to. I'm not sure I understand them all myself. The point is, don't be shy about starting off at settings that match your skill level. If you try higher settings, you'll only get needlessly frustrated and your ability to learn will be impaired.

Campaign start window. Difficulty and Force Levels.

Learning the F-16, its avionics and weapons systems is not easy in itself. To that we have to add mastery of formations, mission planning, A2A and A2G combat, as well as weapons delivery and missile avoidance. I'm sure I forgot a few things there, but you get the picture.

There are a large number of aspects we not only have to learn, but to completely master before we can expect all our wingmen to hit their targets, and prevent SA-7s' and AA-10s from flying up our tail pipes. If you don't first master the basics, then it is going to be impossible to master flight leadership. For in the real world, leadership places an enormous burden on the lead, a burden which few men are able to handle well.

It is no different in this sim. If you want to fly lead, even in a solo campaign, then you have to assume and master that additional burden. If you don't believe me, then just go try to fly with one of the better virtual squadrons and see how far you get with them. Most wont even let you fly with them until you can prove yourself.

What does mastery mean? It means that when the AAA and SAMs are coming at you hot and heavy, your reactions are automatic and correct. You don't have to stop and think about what to do, you've done it right so many times in the past that the reaction is automatic. This is equally true for controlling weapsons delivery by wingmen.

Flight leadership means that you can refrain from trying to be a one man hero, and that your primary interest is on the success of the entire flight. Like a real pilot, you not only want them to hit their targets, but to RTB safely. On this point I might add that my campaigns really started to become successful once I started bringing my wingmen home safely. Why? Because I stopped thinking about myself and paid more attention to the wingmen. Three air craft can do a lot more damage than just one, even if you never fire a shot yourself.

It is possible to get a 100% weapons kill rate on a mission, and to consistently score 80% or higher. Once you gain mastery, this becomes fairly easy because you are doing things right most of the time on a reactionary basis. The following discusses some of the means and methods to achieve this.

Wingmen & Weapons

Air to air missiles are fundamental, of course, but there is a huge variety of ground weapons that could take years to master. It's a good idea to start out with just a few and work with them until you know their performance and parameters intimately. I would recommend the LGB, the standoff missiles Maverick and HARM, and CCIP delivery of iron bombs. Once you learn these, you'll be well on your way to mastering the others.

On this point, please note that all weapons have their limitations, and most of those limitations are included in the sim modeling. So before you blame the sim for not working right, be sure that you know the weapon operation thoroughly.

Taking Command

Commanding wingmen to deliver weapons is vastly different than using weapons yourself. That's because wingmen are not sitting in your backseat, but are located elsewhere.

Consequently, they do not have the same perspective, the same ranges and vectors as you. They may be evading an enemy attack, while you are not. You may be in range while they are not. Moreover, when involving wingmen, some weapons are a lot easier and more forgiving than others. The problems are directly related to target acquisition and how well you can control wings to put them into firing parameters. Simply targeting or ordering "weapons free" won't cut it.

If, for example, you order a wingman to attack, and he is out of range, he will fire anyway - with no score. If you order a wingman to fire a Maverick, and the wingman is on the side of the target that does not have a heat signature, then the Maverick won't guide.

If you order an attack on a target that you've already fired at and hit, the wingman will also score a goose egg. Many of the same problems exist for laser guided weapons. The heat and smoke from burning targets often interferes with laser targeting. All of this constitutes fidelity to reality and is not a fault of the sim. If you haven't recognized the realism in the design, it's your fault.

Wingman Orders and Effectiveness

Wingman effectiveness increases proportionately to your ability to control them and keep them within best weapon parameters, and out of harms way. There are nearly a dozen formation commands, each of which you need to understand. In addition, there are the three wing radio commands to your wingman, the 2nd element, and the entire package. Unless you understand how to use each of these instantaneously in the heat of battle, your mission is not going to be very successful.

For a four ship flight on an attack, you have only to issue commands to your wingman (#2) and your second element lead (#3) that in turn will direct #4 as you instructed. These are the "W" and "E" commands respectively. If you use the "R" command for the entire package, you may not get the results you expect if the flight is not in proper formation, for they will all be firing at the moment you direct them to, possibly without being within weapons parameters, and likely at the same target. You don't get credit for killing one target three times.

  One method of exercising precise control is by standing off the target yourself and circling at a distance somewhere just beyond the IP. In other words, you play the Forward Air Controller while the wingmen do the shooting. In circling, you will alternately come into, and go out of target range. The idea is to choose a formation that will allow you to keep your wingmen in a good position to strike.

For example, at the IP, I can order a close spread formation. As I come within range of the target, I designate it and order the second element, which is on my left, to strike. Once he acknowledges, I turn away to the right, keeping my wingman with me for cover. Switching radar to AA, I circle around and keep an eye out for interceptors. If there are any, I may have my wingman engage them.

By the time I complete my circle, my second element should be about done with the first attack. They are out ahead of me so they can be seen as I come back on target heading. When finished, making sure that they do not extend too far, I order them to rejoin, or RTB. Why RTB? Because if you're going to make an attack, you don't want them coming along with you needlessly. When the attack is completed, then they can be called back from the RTB command.

The objective here is to know where they are at ALL times. If my timing is good, I designate another target out ahead, order my own wingman (#2) to attack that one as the 2nd element is returning. As soon as he has dropped his load, I order him to rejoin. Thus, at all times I know where my wingmen are.

Now, if there aren't swarms of AAA, SAMs and interceptors coming at me (which there usually isn't because I have already flown a dedicated recon and have prepped the target on a SEAD mission that will be discussed in Part Two), this process can be repeated all over again until all weapons are expended.

Keeping an Eagle Eye

All the while this is being done, I am keeping a close eye out for interceptors and SAMs. If the wingies are being threatened, they are called off immediately with "rejoin." One must be very careful that they are not going to extend or circle over a nearby air defense site.

If the mission has to be aborted, there is always the option of hitting a second target, usually one which was planned at the outset. Barring that, one can always keep the flight with you to attack any target of opportunity on the way home, such as a couple of stray bombers or transports.

Notice here that nothing has yet been said about the flight lead attacking the target himself. Employing this standoff method, the lead acts as a FAC (forward air controller), and control is what he does. If there is anything left to hit, the lead can then be the clean up man and go in himself.

But if you need to do clean up, be sure that you are not dragging your flight with you to get shot at. Send them RTB and then recall them when finished; they will still return to the flight.

Choosing targets.
Notice the radar coverage circles.

Targeting

This is another critical element of success where you have to understand the limitation of your weapons: target spacing. Mavericks will work well on a stationary group of tanks, but when those very same tanks are rolling down a dusty road throwing up clouds of dust, the Maverick won't acquire!

This sim is sufficiently well designed that it takes these seemingly minor details into account. Another example is that the Maverick will only lock on the sunny side of some buildings or other objeccts. If you order an attack on the shaded side, forget it. No joy. You'll find similar problems with laser guided weapons. The point is, don't underestimate the realism here. If your wingmen aren't performing well, it's probably your fault and you need to adjust your tactics.

Alternate Methods

The best method of attack is largely dependent on the target. For very hot targets, the FAC approach is not a good one. For hot targets, you need to get in and out fast. However, there is a problem with four aircraft hitting the same target. When you designate with a weapon, there's a big chance that they're all going to hit the same target. Or, if it's an electro/optical weapon, after the first explosion, the others aren't going to be able to lock on.

It's best to avoid this situation and try to pick target groupings that are about 20 - 30 degrees apart so that all you have to do is swing your nose a short distance to get a lock-on. Close enough that you don't have to waste time turning from one to the other, but far enough that there is good target separation to prevent incindiary interference. Send the second element to one, taking the other yourself.

In other words, you swing right, designate, and call the attack for the second element. Then you swing left, and call the attack by your #1 wingman. If you've got time, then pick yet another target for yourself.

This is a good option when you want to extend beyond the target on your egress, rather than turning back 360, losing energy and exiting the way you came. It's very good for when you've snuck through a MiGCAP, and perhaps want to hit yet another target beyond the first. As soon as you have passed over the target, call your flight to rejoin and close up, then you can decide whether you want to try that again.

Once the basics have been mastered, then you can become creative and test the limits of the sim. Sound mission planning is equally critical, and so is having good intel on the target. Just flying head-on into a heavily defended target is as suicidal in this sim as it is in real life, so don't do it. Fly a target recon, SEAD strike, or both to get a handle on what to expect in the way of defenses and reduce them.

  Once the target has been prepped, then a direct overflight with your package in trail is possible. Again, however, you have to take note of target spacing and whether your wingmen's weapons are suitable for the task once you drop your ordnance. In planning the mission, it's a good idea to try to divide the target up into two separate targets for each element to attack.

This mission pulls an 86% weapons kill rate. Even though it gets a mission failure, all the targets remain dead and advance the campaign.

Carry One HARM

Carrying a single HARM can be a great help for keeping SAM radars shut down during a strike when you are acting as FAC, and you've got just a couple radar guided AAA or SAM sites threatening. In most cases, they will shut down when you target them with the HARM. If they don't shut down, let 'em have it. HARMS are big and reduce weapon load, so don't carry it unless really needed.

Another advantage to carrying a HARM is that the HSD will plot the all the air defense radars for you (except the SA-7) and give you a good, quick visual of what you are facing. The downside is that during an attack, it takes time to change weapons and accomplish this.

Mission Study & Review

The mission Debrief window has been fixed and is now working properly with the 1.07 patch. It can be used to accurately evaluate your performance.

The most important thing one can do following a failed mission is to review it and find out what you did wrong. The same applies to finding out why successful missions were successful. Sure, that is yet more time-consuming work, but that is the whole point of debriefing -- to reinforce your understanding of what you did right or wrong.

After a while, you will notice certain patterns developing that will give you even more insight on what makes for a Sierra Hotel pilot. If you're not willing or able to make the investment in time, study and practice, practice, practice, then you have no reason to expect to succeed or improve. This is not an arcade game and is not intended to be easy.

If you don't already have a screen capture program, I recommend getting one. Screen caps are immensely useful for reviewing your missions. Not only can you take snaps of the campaign map for use in planning, but taking screen shots during an attack records lots of useful information for finding out what went right or wrong.

The clouds of dust will make the targeting of this group of tanks impossible for the Maverick.

They can also be used for mission planning when flying a recon mission over the target first. Take lots of snaps and you will have a record of everything in the air and on the ground around the target.

Parts 5 and 6 will discuss how to recon a target and the basics of mission planning.