Chief Master Sergeant (r) Ron McMasters, 45, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He enlisted in the Air Force in January, 1973. Ron amassed over 3,000 hours as aircrew trainer and mission evaluator in RC-135 Rivet Joint, P-3 Orion, and Special Operations MC-130 aircraft, flying 215 combat support and training missions. He has also flown the F-4G, F-15C, and P-3.

About three months ago Ron McMasters flew a late beta of MiG Alley. Since the US was delayed to December 15th, we've decided to print his impressions of the game. Ron has especially insightful comments on the flight model. Please note that there have been many changes to the game which will be reflected in our full review of version 1.1 later this week.

When Len "Viking1" Hjalmarson, editor of COMBATSIM.COM™ asked me to review this latest addition to the Korean Air War combat simulators (of which there have been precious few), I agreed, thinking it wouldn't take much time. I had been sorely disappointed in past attempts at this forgotten era (remember "Sabre Ace"?)

To be honest, I had never been very excited by Empire Interactive's previous attempts at flight simulations (living overseas at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, for the past four years, I have not had the opportunity to fight online, so I've probably missed out on that front). My expectations for this title weren't very high.

Let's face it, most people just aren't interested in the Korean War time period - a real shame, considering the tremendous loss of life and the many unsung American heroes on the ground, in the air and at sea. Another ho-hum flight simulator to snatch my money, right? WRONG!! You want excitement? With MiG Alley, you've got it! Hang on for a great ride, and don't forget to buckle your chute. You're going to need it.

Beta Busting

I tested this Beta version using a Pentium II 400MHZ system with 128 MEG of RAM. Graphics were handled easily with the Diamond Monster Fusion 3Dfx Banshee board with 16 MEG of display memory, and a 17" CTX monitor. Not the fastest machine out there, but who can keep up?

Anyway, with everything turned on to the max, the program ran extremely smoothly. My joystick for this test was the Microsoft Sidewinder Pro Force Feedback. It gave me some problems, and according to the experts at Rowan most of the issues were with the stick itself. A better choice for this sim is Logitech's Wingman Force.

Loading the program was a breeze. It accesses the CD, but I never noticed it. The opening credits are colorful and exciting. Although the graphics aren't quite as good as one might expect for today's standard, I liked them.

The music is exciting and fits right into the shootdown sequence. I liked the MiG Alley sign; it reminded me of the actual photo from that period. Overall, the opening sequence, while creating excitement and making me want to play, appeared a bit rushed. That said, I was still ready to fly, fight, and win (I'm an Air Force guy; it's in my blood).

Fly Now!

One of the things I can't resist when I buy a new flight sim is the urge to jump in and fly without any regard for flight safety or consequences (In the real Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, discipline teaches all but the washouts to suppress that urge). MiG Alley was no exception. But I needed to set my preferences first.

The "Preferences" screen is clearly superior to most any other sim. No matter if you are a novice or an ace, you can easily pick a wide range of settings to suit your machine and ability, even midway through the flight. I picked the hardest levels because I like to feel the agony of defeat immediately after opening the box.

I was not disappointed. I selected "Hot Shot" for instant action. The action was instant, and so was my demise. I watched as my F-86 flailed helplessly through the air, with one wing fluttering uselessly nearby. I should have ejected, but I couldn't find the correct keystroke fast enough. So, I drilled a hole into the ground, then went back to read the draft manual. Great crash and burn sequence, …complete with screaming!

More Data Needed

Speaking of manual, they really fall short in this arena. The key guide is ok, but nothing great, and the manual is spartan, to say the least. I don't want to drag some manual down from on line help. If I am going to pay $40 or more, I want a neat, colorful manual, complete with aircraft info, historical data, and the works.

On the other hand, the addition of the declassified reprint from the RAF Central Fighter Establishment, "The F86 vs the MiG 15" really adds nice value. Many people who buy these sims know very little about the history of the time until they read material like this. This was the first jet-age war (Me-262s were just too late to really be a significant factor in WWII) and virtual pilots need some aircraft data and history to look at.

Armed with new knowledge, I tried the "Hot Shot" mission again. I did much better than I did the first time. In fact, I found the MiGs to be almost too accommodating in letting me shoot them out of the sky, even with their experience levels maximized. AI was ok, but not as aggressive as other sims I've seen. Enemy maneuverability was more than acceptable, but they just never got very aggressive. (Ed.Note: this improved prior to release and you will occasionally encounter some very hot pilots, especially if you have COMPLEX AI PILOTS selected.)

I also didn't see much coordination between enemy AI pilots, but that is not necessarily a bad thing; complex air tactics and mutual support were still developing. I did witness some wingman mutual support, but not enough for my blood. The Korean air war was the last of the "gun duels" the world had seen since the advent of the airplane as a weapons platform. With each burst from my guns, I could hear the bullets hitting the MiG.

Each hit sounded like breaking glass, but at least I knew I was making contact. If all were canopy hits, then I can understand the sounds, but I wanted more variety (truth be told, you can't hear those sounds from inside the plane). I could have liked to see little pieces coming off the plane.

But when the MiG finally exploded, it was pretty impressive. Seeing shards of airplane parts careening through the air toward my windscreen was an awesome sight. But be careful. I got hit with a flipping wing and it ate my lunch, forcing me to eject.

Speaking of ejecting, what's the deal with the pancake-looking pilot just hanging there limp, looking like he's dead in the chute? And when he hit the ground (and I mean HIT the ground), my wife was certain I was dead. But I lived to fly and fight another day.

I tested ejecting from spins, uncontrolled flight, and at different levels. If I had more than 500 feet, I almost always survived, unless pointed straight down. Most of us know that isn't always the case, especially when the aircraft is in violent, uncontrolled flight. I've witnessed an F-4 Phantom pilot at Clark Air Base, Philippines drill himself into the ground after his controls stuck in the full aft position on takeoff, causing the aircraft to become inverted at about 200 feet. Makes for a bad day at the office.

Flight Characteristics

OK, now for the good stuff. Many people complain about realism, physics, and flight characteristics. This sim, like all the others, has its ups and downs, but it's mostly positive. Once the small glitches are fixed, this is going to be a hot sim. Needless to say, I fell in love with it. That said, I have some critical remarks along with my praise of the project.

On the up side, the flight characteristics are pretty much realistic. The takeoff sequence is pretty good, except the airplane does not leave the ground very smoothly when at rotate speed. The nose wants to porpoise and sink back to the ground. I usually have to jockey the plane up and down to get it flying.

I practiced taking off with flaps and that minimized the sinking. But don't raise flaps until you have at least 100 feet of altitude and at least 120 knots of airspeed, or the aircraft will lose lift and it could sink back to the ground, resulting in a crash.

The one unrealistic part of the sequence is that the wingmen, who start their takeoff run slightly behind you, actually pass you up while still on the takeoff roll. That would seem improbable when using the same type of aircraft, the same throttle settings, and your aircraft engine spooling up and rolling first. I mean, you are the flight leader, but you will have to chase after your wingmen for a bit. Once airborne, your wingmen will form up in their correct positions. Be careful because every once in a while the wingmen will clip you, resulting in a terrific mid-air or ground collision.

More on Flight and Physics

How do the aircraft maneuver? You want to jerk your airplane around with wing tanks on? Well, you'll rip them right off. You want to whip and over-G your plane with your ham-fisted flying? You may as well find the "eject" button now because you'll literally tear the plane apart with sustained over-g maneuvers.

With force feedback, you can feel every stall buffet, every maneuver, and every shake of the airframe. The wrong maneuver can result in structural damage to the aircraft. The manual didn't provide it, but you had better find out how your plane reacts at different altitudes, speeds, and configurations.

As most of you already know, cornering speed is very important in a dogfight. I found that maneuvering between 350-400 knots worked well with the F-86. In the F-80, it depends on your mission. I like dropping bombs and shooting rockets at 250-300 knots to make good approaches, but in a dense AAA environment, 350-400 works well for both ingress and egress.

Overall, I found the flight characteristics were consistent and acceptable enough to be called realistic. Deep stalls, g forces, high-speed buffeting, turning radius dependent upon speed, climb and dive rates, and acceleration rates all seemed well within actual aircraft limits.

F86 vs MiG 15

The F-86 was not as agile as the MiG 15, especially at higher altitudes. But the MiG-15 did not have hydraulic controls like the F-86. For the communist pilot, it was all strength and endurance when flying this fighter. That should, at the very least, translate into fatigue and slower reaction times for the MiG AI pilot, but it doesn't seem that way. At high speeds, MiGs could have real problems coming out of dives or maneuvering onto your tail.

I was a bit disappointed to find that, at low altitudes where the MiG should encounter severe buffeting and control problems at high speed, the AI didn't seem to suffer. However, when I actually flew the MiG, it worked as advertised. That plane bounced all over the sky.

At higher altitudes, your F-86 is clearly outmatched by the MiG, so I'd recommend staying at medium to low altitude. I think the game should be tweaked a little for lower altitude fights. The F-51, while no match for the MiG-15's speed and cannon, should be able to out-turn its adversary every time. Yet it's turning radius doesn't always reflect that fact. That said, the F-51 is a fun airplane to fly (it was re-designated F-51 from the older P-51 when "pursuit" was dropped from Air Force terminology).

Spins were realistic. I especially liked the engine flameouts. Again, the manual didn't tell me this, but I knew to retard the throttle to idle before attempting engine restart. I also liked the fact that AI pilots would stall and depart controlled flight under the right conditions. I witnessed several MiGs auger in without my ever having fired a shot.

If your airplane becomes damaged, you will see that damage on the wings, and on the fuselage in the form of bullet holes when looking from the external view. I would have liked to see a little more variety in damage to flaps, tail, and wings, like chewed up control surfaces, twisted airframe damage, etc.

Damage Modeling

You will also notice problems controlling the plane, depending on the extent of the damage. It might be slight, or it might become progressively worse until you depart controlled flight. Or the plane might just suddenly explode.

When you feel and/or hear the AAA or enemy pilots plinking at your aircraft, you had better take a look at the damage because there is no other way to tell unless your plane begins to get "mushy" or begins to lose control/power. By then, it's often too late. Refer to the eject procedures above.

On the downside, I found it extremely easy to over-control the aircraft, even with the dead zone set at "Large". Now, I know I just said the flight characteristics were realistic. But, like English, there are exceptions. If I got too close to the ground, I could just snap it into the vertical for an instant, then level off. The aircraft would react instantly, keeping me from plowing into the ground, but with little to no buffeting, stall, or blackout.

In reality, the F-86 was nimble, but not quite that quick. Pitch and roll were almost instantaneous, while yaw was a bit slower. It was probably a problem with my particular joystick, but I found it too easy to over-control the aircraft. Landing sequences in the beta still need work.. they are far too forgiving. Also, the view and AOA when landing seems off. Furthermore, the aircraft tends to yo-yo quite a bit at lower speeds, then just sort of pancakes onto the ground.

I was also disappointed in the crash landing sequence (gear up) because my airplane exploded every time, no matter how well I set it down. Also, I was surprised the aircraft didn't sustain any damage when lowering the flaps or gear at high speeds. Winds and gusting conditions don't seem to be present, even though tower may report it as such. I landed downwind with high winds, including crosswinds, all with absolutely no problem. Even damage didn't seem to adversely affect my landings.

Another oddity gave me trouble at first, too. When firing the guns, the aircraft's nose has a tendency to pitch up. Once that happens, it's difficult to put the pipper back on the target, especially when you're travelling at 350-400 knots. I grew weary of maneuvering behind a MiG, only to have the nose come off target at the firing of a few bursts. (Ed. This seems to be related to the gun camera on some systems. Try turning it ON or OFF.)

Radio Commands and AI Pilots

Radio chatter goes a long way in making a flight simulator, combat or otherwise, a little more realistic and exciting. This one is no exception. I liked the almost constant chatter from various pilots. It gave me the sensation of being there. Some of the spoken parts were choppy because of the way the numbers are accessed; sounds much like a computer telephone operator recording. I would have liked a little more variety though. After awhile, it became a little boring. I didn't like always being called "Lee" when trying to shoot down an enemy aircraft ("Shoot him, Lee!").

I found the commands lacking in both realism and variety. If I couldn't see a ground target (which was most often the case), the dutiful wingman would point it out to me. But after that, I was on my own to search. Luckily, I could give them the order to strike the target, then watch where they went. I didn't have any means for ordering or requesting mutual support, checking six, or some other commands available in most other good flight sims. I never knew when a target was hit, destroyed, or in need of further pounding.

My wingmen weren't the smartest AI pilots in the world, either. They might begin attacking other aircraft, but then would get lazy and not press home the fight. If I told them to pick their own targets, they would respond, but would then just fly around aimlessly. (This aspect of AI has been addressed in the v. 1.1 patch: Ed). I would also have liked have the ability to tell wingmen which targets to strike.

B29s below.

Yes, I could have assigned a flight to suppress AAA, but if all aircraft were busy on other missions, I would like the option of telling one of two guys to nail the AAA battery first, then pound the primary targets. I think hearing that a target (air or ground) was destroyed would have helped.

I got confused about sending pilots home. Sometimes, they didn't really go home at all, they just came back into formation. I know that's what the instructions say they will do, but how do I send them home to land when they're whining about a lack of fuel? I rarely saw the aircraft reform on my aircraft after an attack. Bottom line: I would have liked to communicate more with my wingmen and other flights.

Post Combat Sub menu

I did like the fact that AI pilots identified enemy aircraft coming up from behind, but they didn't always lend a hand to get them off of me. When on the tail of a MiG, many enemies would just fly straight and level, no matter how close I got to them. Often the MiGs never flinched until I fired the guns and by then, it was too late.

The use of "Dentist", the GCI controller was appropriate for its time. It was quite realistic, adding excitement to the air phase. But both Dentist and the tower controller could have used a few more phrases. A little more control over the AI pilots would have been a little more realistic.

Keyboard Controls

One of the first things I noticed with this sim is the lack of an autopilot. You're flying the aircraft the entire time. You have to constantly watch your heading and altitude. I missed not having the autopilot for those moments I needed to hit the refrigerator.

On a good note, I did appreciate their method of advancing between waypoints, although I would have preferred a key to advance to combat instead. I never saw any reason to actually fly the waypoints because nothing ever happened to and from the target. Keep in mind, I didn't fly every mission available in the campaign or entire war.

Some keystrokes didn't work at all. I couldn't get the spin recovery key to work, although I induced several spins, including takeoff and departure, spins from accelerated stalls, deep stalls, and flat spins. None were recovered from by using this keystroke. Dumping fuel actually means dumping auxiliary fuel tanks. No internal fuel could be dumped, which is normally what the term implies.

Avionics

There really isn't much to say here. The cockpit avionics were realistic, except this sim has a really strange heads-up display. I had a difficult time getting used to the 3-dimentional levels for friendly and enemy aircraft. But after awhile, it was easier, and even helped on occasion. The artificial horizon can go. It serves no useful purpose, other than to take up space.

Other gauges and dials worked well. But this is basically a VFR sim, so don't expect to shoot any IFR approaches. I thought the instrument panel was functional and right for this level of flight sim. I never did figure out what the red light on the top of the instrument panel was, though. I figured it was a stall warning light, but I'm still not sure. I didn't see any Master Caution light, but then again, I am not familiar enough with the F-80, F-84, and F-86 cockpit to know if they had one installed.

Graphics

I thought the graphics were excellent. Not outstanding, but more than enough for this sim. Let's face it, if you're tooling around looking at scenery, you're not fighting the war. The vehicles were well done. I even saw people running from them as they exploded!

Trains were also well done, make sure you have roads turned on or they will seem to be running without tracks. Scenery was good, but the buildings were not as detailed as I would have liked. I didn't know which buildings were potential targets and which were blocked scenery. I also had a difficult time finding targets on my own.

Other areas I liked included the reflections off the canopy, contrails, and the clouds!! The transition through the clouds was impressive. The effect was almost good enough for the novices to experience a little spatial disorientation. Over all good job.

Explosions were well done, especially on the ground. I was impressed with how aircraft exploded when destroyed. Another thing got my attention - As I took off on an early mission, what do I see in front of me, but a flight of F-82's!!! Seeing twin Mustangs really perked my interest. That showed another aspect of their attention to detail in the types of aircraft used in Theater. There's more, but I won't tell you what they are.

Sounds

I thought the sounds were pretty good. I liked the throttle-up on the engines, the wind racing in the cockpit when it had been shot up, and the other sounds. Overall realism was good.

Campaign Mode

I found this simulator much easier to navigate through than some of the newer sims, such as Falcon 4.0. Others may find differently, but I liked how the pre-mission setup was mapped out. I found it easy to plan for flak suppression, strike waves, and alternate routes in case of damage. One of the really neat features is the ability to plan the entire campaign at the strategic level as the Theater Commander. You can monitor each pilot's skill, mission results, fatigue, and promotion potential.

As aircraft are introduced into the Theater, you'll monitor attrition rates, plan tactical and strategic missions, and move aircraft and squadrons to different bases to maximize utilization and success rates. You'll agonize over the same types of strategic battle decisions that commanders have always had to make under the pressures of deciding who lives or dies. Your analysis, planning, and execution of missions will determine the outcome of the war.

Or you can just fly airplanes and let the computer worry about the big stuff. If you wanted strategic control, be careful: If you don't manage the fights to maximize destruction of slowing of munitions to the troops, or look at the bigger picture, your campaign or war will be over before you even get started. Don't think like a pilot…think like a commander.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. There's still work to be done with this sim before it's ready for the market, but I am already sold on the final version when it comes out. I will definitely buy this sim. If you want a good flight simulation depicting the Korean War, MiG Alley is the one.

While you're waiting for the finished product, may I suggest reading up on the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps involvement in this U.N. police action. Learn about our forgotten heroes in the air, in the trenches, and on the sea. Honor them for having served their country so very proudly. Remember their dedication to duty and commitment to the mission while you're having fun with this simulation. I know you'll enjoy this one.

Ron McMaster

Chief Master Sergeant (r) Ron McMasters, 45, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He enlisted in the Air Force in January, 1973. After intensive language and classified training, he became one of the most proficient and respected North Vietnamese linguists in his field. Specializing in communist force structure, air combat tactics and doctrine, along with US and Soviet bloc aircraft and weapons systems, he was a premier expert in North Vietnamese air and air defense systems.

Ron amassed over 3,000 hours as aircrew trainer and mission evaluator in RC-135 Rivet Joint, P-3 Orion, and Special Operations MC-130 aircraft, flying 215 combat support and training missions. He has also flown the F-4G, F-15C, and P-3. While stationed at Clark Air Base, Philippines between 1982 - 1985, he was a key figure during the return of MIA remains from Hanoi, Vietnam and helped pioneer new airborne communications jamming equipment for use during special operations.

Ron's decorations include: The Defense Meritorious Service Medal, The Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, seven Air Medals, three Air Force Commendation Medals, three Air Force Achievement Medals, and five Humanitarian Service Medals. He retired from active duty on 1 July 1998 and is still assigned at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan as a civilian.