Controls

Q: Can I increase the field of view in the 3d?

A: Use Ctrl '+' and Ctrl '-'

Q: How do I turn off the commentary from my pilot persona?

A: Ctrl 'V' toggles it on and off

Flying

Q: I can't get up enough speed on take off. I run out of runway before getting off the ground.

A: Wait for 100% thrust before releasing wheel brakes. Put flaps down.

Combat

Q: The AI 'Ace' pilot seems be an easier opponent than the 'Regular' skill pilot.

A: The 'Regular' pilot is reckless and trigger happy. He gives the impression of being a better pilot because he will foolishly attempt the more difficult moves.

Q: When I shoot at a MiG I see impact sparks some distance away from the target.

A: Make sure that Target Size is set to Low in Game Prefs. This is the realistic size. Medium and High increase the 'impact' area around a target.

Q: When I shoot at a MiG I always seem to cause damage to its engine and nowhere else.

A: If Target Size is set to High in Game Prefs then you will nearly always hit the engine when firing from behind. This is because the engine target area is bigger and shields other parts of the aircraft from your bullets. Set Target Size to Low.

Q: I see MiGs patrolling above me but they don't come down and attack me.

A: The MiGs have suffered a recent defeat and are reluctant to attack.

A: The MiGs are waiting for their intended targets to reach bingo fuel before they commit to an attack.

A: It may be a training mission from a squadron newly arrived in Korea.

Planning

Q: I want to set up my own missions instead of using directives. How do I disable directives?

A: You must make all aircraft available for your use by ensuring none are assigned to any target types. Open the Directives dialog and set the allocation for all target types to 0. You should now have 64 strike aircraft and 32 fighter aircraft at 'Resting' status. Close the dialog by clicking the 'check' icon in the top right. You will now find that at the start of every planning session the mission folder will be empty. You are free to authorise your own missions against any target.

Q: Why can't I access the Directives?

A: The Directives can only be accessed during the 5th (fully dynamic) Campaign: "The Spring Offensive".

Q: Why are Civilian targets (icons) shown on the map screen. What good could it possibly do to attack a civilian town? All I see are huts?

A: The enemy will sometimes hide supplies in the huts or nearby trees and so can be considered to be a valid military target.

A: Civilian areas are shown on the map so you can familiarise yourself with possible navigation points in a target zone.

Q: When I authorise missions why does the Egress waypoint always go way off into the ocean?

A: As a default, MiG Alley will choose egress points along the western coastline. Returning via a sea route means that your aircraft avoid ground and air defences that have been alerted. Generally, you should retain the default egress point for missions against targets along the west of the peninsular, especially those in the far north. Otherwise, you should drag the waypoint to a more logical location.

Q: I have an open airfield, but when I try and move my jet squadron to it nothing happens?

A: Make sure the destination airfield has space available for the squadron (Grey aircraft icons denote vacant squadron slots). You may be trying to move jets into an airfield only capable of deploying prop aircraft (check the aircraft icon type).

Q: Is there any quicker way to change all of the ordnance for all the flights in the same group in the "Task" dialog window?

A: Yes. Before adding any other flights in the "Task" dialog window choose your ordnance BEFORE adding any flights. Once you've picked the stores for the default flight you can then add more flights. The ordnance you've picked for the default flight will now automatically be put onto any other flights you add to the group.

Missions

Q: I get direct hits on bridges but the spans don't drop.

A: Check that you are carrying 1000lb bombs. 500lbs may not be enough. Aim for the ends of the bridge. If a bomb misses and detonates on the bank then the shockwave may cause damage. A bomb detonating in the water does little damage.

Q: Why do Reconn missions in the game require you to have destroyed a target?

A: All Reconn missions are considered to be Armed Reconn. Any enemy transports you locate must be engaged immediately. Finding a convoy and not pressing an attack is considered to be a total failure.

Q: On the inflight map I see icons for other UN aircraft that I have not authorised to be in the air. I have seen them flying south out to sea or patrolling along the West Coast. Who are they and can I control them?

A: You have no control over these aircraft. Those aircraft flying south are usually Cargo transport aircraft. The aircraft along the western coast are either rescue helicopters stationed at mission egress points or Navy aircraft patrols.

Q: AAA activity at the target is reported to be high but I don't encounter any guns when I fly there.

A: This is the estimated level of AAA. There are a number of possible sites where flak guns can be positioned. The Reds often move their guns. The suspected positions can be seen by zooming into the target area or listed by looking at the damage list in the target dossier. The AAA level tells you how many of those sites are likely to be active. If the level is 'Dangerous' then it is likely that all sites will be occupied.

Q: I've hit all the warehouses at a supply point but my debrief insists that there are stores remaining.

A: You can blow the roof and walls off a warehouse but the stores inside may survive. Try laying napalm down across the damaged buildings.

A: There may be more supplies out in the open. Crates are sometime hidden under lines of trees or buried in the ground to resemble crops. These are difficult to find unless you do slow and low passes.

Q: I've played the Pusan Perimeter Campaign but I don't see a massive ground battle taking place.

A: This mini-campaign is designed to be a gentle introduction to the CAS duty. You are responsible for providing support along a small section of the front.

Missions, Targeting and Success Criteria

Q: I watched my AI pilots attack a target. They attacked in single file. Even though the lead aircraft killed the target with his first hit, the trailing 2 aircraft still dropped their stores on it. Why are they wasting their ammunition in this way?

A: If the target is undamaged at the point when an AI pilot decides to drop his bombs, he will drop them. So if the leader's bombs have not hit the target when the second pilot reaches his release point, the second pilot will continue his bomb run.

To avoid this, set the attack pattern to Spaced Target Selection on the Task dialogue. The aircraft will then make individual runs.

Q: I don't understand the criteria for mission success. Does a failed mission make any contribution to the overall campaign?

A: The succeed/fail message listed in the debrief is dependent upon the type of mission. The criteria are shown in the table below.

Even if a mission is listed as a failure by these criteria, whatever damage was done and whatever stores were destroyed still apply to the state of the ground war. This means that "failed" missions still make a contribution to the overall state of the campaign. If you feel it is necessary to stop a very low tonnage convoy in order to force a retreat, then do it, even though there may not be enough trucks to rate a success for the mission.

Mission vs. Criteria

Bombing : Increase the damage level by 40% or attain 100% damage
Close Air Support: 18 confirmed enemy ground kills. Confirmed friendly kills count against you twice.
Armed Reconn: 5 trucks or 2 train carriages on the selected route. Kills of neighbouring convoys don't count.
BarCap: 5 MiGs killed, but you need 2 extra MiGs for each Sabre lost.

Q: When do CAP aircraft decide to come home?

A: CAP aircraft will come home either when they hit critical home fuel, or when they hit the bingo fuel level set on the Squadron dialog. Relying on critical home fuel is pretty risky, some aircraft probably won't make it.

Q: What happens to the aircraft that are in the air before and after my mission?

A: If a mission reaches its target before the player takes off, or won't reach its target until the player has landed, then a quick estimate is made of the amount of damage based upon the type of target and the type of aircraft. These levels are intentionally lower than would be possible if you actually allowed the missions to fly. This makes quitting on the runway not such a good idea.

Similarly, any aircraft still in the air have a chance of getting shot down if they have a significant distance left to travel when you quit the scenario.

Set Up

Q: What does the complex AI option do in preferences.

A: When enabled all AI aircraft will use the complex flight model and so will be 'flying the stick'. This takes a lot of processor time and can impact on the frame rate on some systems.

When this option is disabled, only the aircraft that the Player is dogfighting with will use the complex flight model. Other aircraft nearby will use a cheaper, less complex version.

Graphics and Preferences

Q: I have a TnT and a VooDoo2 in my system - When I select the TnT video I cannot get into the 3D with a resolution bigger than 800x600.

A: Somehow the D3D drivers are being confused. This is being investigated but for now the best solution is to disable the D3D part of the VooDoo2. The TnT cards should be better anyway. Please delete the savegame\settings.mig file before running again - this will reinitialize all the available video modes.

Q: My TnT has 'fuzzy' fonts.

A: Change the number of auto generated mip-map levels to 0 [it defaults to 10 on some cards].

Q: My VooDoo2 SLI is not working

A: Some SLI drivers appear not to work with MiG Alley [this is being investigated]. To run disable the SLI mode [this will limit you to 800x600].

Q. My preference settings keep changing.

A. This is being investigated but for now the best approach is to make sure you have all the options setup before you enter the 3D.