MiG Alley is a unique beast, being a survey sim in form (allows flight of more than one air platform) but a study sim in depth (each platform has its own flight characteristics, and the flight models are highly detailed.) Moreover, unlike the typical survey simulations, it sports four scripted campaigns and a fifth that is completely dynamic.

In fact, MiG sports one of the best dynamic campaigns ever built. Better still, the Spring Offensive campaign allows user interaction and mission planning within the campaign to a degree surpassing that of Falcon 4.0.

Welcome to Korea

Nowhere else in the PC world can you hop in and dogfight MiGs in F86 Sabres, escort B29s into North Korea, pound the ground in Korea in an F51, F80 or F100, or fly CAP in an F84. Let's face it, I could stop right there and many would feel they were in heaven. But that ain't all that is here. You can even fly a MiG 15.

On the Runway

Not sweet enough yet? How about a full featured COMMS ability to command your squadron, and wingmen that are more reliable than most of the sims out there?

Climb to Altitude

A tough customer, huh? What about an integrated ground war where resource and supply is critical, the ability to control and alter the campaign according to your own strategic priorities, and the ability to plan each mission including loadout for the flights?

MiG Alley is a first in yet more ways, being the first serious simulation that models the advent of the jet age, and jet vs prop warfare. Moreover, this early age doesn't involve the complexities of radar and missile warfare, so the learning curve is significantly lighter, in spite of the fact that flight modeling and the environment are very authentic.

MiG Kill

And even here, MiG manages to reach more broadly. MiG is a serious simulation that will grow with you, with configuration options that will allow you to enter at a level where you are comfortable and then crank up the realism as you learn. Furthermore, you can take the missions as they come, never tasking a single mission if you prefer not to. But when you have the time or the motivation, you can delve into the strategic game in the Spring Offensive and really have some fun!

Down and Dirty

I will rate each area as I go through MiG, and then summarize with our standard rating system at the close.

There are two lessons that you need to learn before sticking your neck into Usenet or the COMBATSIM.COM™ forums. Lesson one is "everyone is an expert." No, they aren't, but they think they are. Don't take Joe TopGun's word that there is something wrong with the flight model. He probably has never flown an F86 Sabre and he heard someone else who has never flown one complain about the modeling. He has no idea.

Lesson two follows from Lesson One. "One man's treasure is another man's poison." Just because Joe Topgun doesn't like MiG Alley doesn't mean you will agree. If you don't try it for yourself you risk missing another great stop on the simulation highway through life. MiG is not a simulation that a serious sim player should pass by.

Test Systems

Okay, down to specifics. I first ran MiG when it went gold on a PII400 (128 MB) with 3dfx Banshee (16 MB). Frame rate at 1024x768 rarely fell below 15 fps. I then went to an AMD 450 with 128 MB and Matrox G400 (standard with 32 MB). Frame rate remained virtually identical at the same settings, with realistic FM and all options to the max. Even the fully dynamic campaign didn't seem to affect the frame rate.

Flight Models

This is the acid test for a serious simulation, and I have it on authority that the flight modeling is very good. The authority is a man with some solid air time in USAF fighters. His only complaints were twofold: first, overcontrol.

But Ron's joystick was the Microsoft Sidewinder Pro and unfortunately the initial resistance when moving from the dead zone is so great that fine control is very difficult. The situation is improved by changing the dead zone to large in MiG PREFS, but this is still not a great stick with MiG.

Second, it is possible to drop gear and flaps at any speed, and it is very difficult to belly land the Sabre without an explosion. Reality check.

The FM is excellent otherwise. There are buffet and stalls and even flame-outs. You won't get the most from this sim without force feedback, it really helps both for SA and for immersion. We could wish for more variation from the F86 to the F84 and F80, but at least there is variation. Version 1.1 adds a mid setting for flaps.

By the way, MiG lacks an autopilot, since that feature was lacking on aircraft of the time. You will have to manually trim for level flight, and that setting will vary by your fuel load and altitude. It's annoying at first but you'll get used to it. Once trimmed out, remember to make use of the Mark I eyeball. You will find that your wingmen have sharp eyes, but it's a good idea to do your own scan of the sky regularly. FM Rating: 8.5/10.

Graphics, Cockpits, and Views

This is very subjective, since it is clear from our forum that MOST people like the graphics, but some do not. Most of my hours in MiG were on an AMD K6-3 450 with 128 MB RAM and Matrox G400 (32 MB). So long as I emptied SYS-TRAY I had no problem running at 1024x768 with all realism and graphic options to MAX.

At these settings I enjoy the graphics in MiG. Some have complained about both object appearance and ground textures. Sorry. I cannot relate. You can get some idea from the fifty or so screen shots in the preview articles we have run, but screen shots never look quite as good as moving reality. The lighting on aircraft skins is cool. And you can customize your nose art in the paint shop.

The terrain could have been better. There are two cloud layers, not quite state of the art but the transition effect is very nice. I like the cockpits. Each aircraft has its own cockpit, of course, and at 1024x768 they are very good, and complete with reflections. (In fact, your first sign of bandits nearby may be a reflection from their canopies, just as noted by pilots of the time.) You can even zoom out the cockpit using CTL +/- (on the keypad.) Graphics are 8/10.

Cockpit scroll is smooth as silk on any system I have run. I usually zoom out the cockpit as soon as I am airborne and run with the wide angle perspective.

Zoom Out View, Adjusted downward

I like the instrumentation, which is all working and at 1024x768 looks very good. I tend to fly with a partial downward view until I get into a dogfight.

There is something obtuse about the assignment of view keys, but only because it is nonstandard unless you still happen to play Flying Corps. The Rowan viewing system works beautifully once you are familiar with it. You can preset for snap views or panning views. And since you can program macros to your HOTAS or to your voice command software, you'll find you can configure the system to work for you.

The organization of views is like this. F6 to F10 establish camera viewpoints, with F7 as the cockpit camera. F1 to F5 keys modify the camera views. Hit F1 following F7 and you will have an enemy in view, gazing out from your cockpit. Hit F1 following F6, and you will have an enemy view across a Player Track view. If you have realistic view limits selected, you will lose sight when appropriate.

If you have Auto Padlock selected, you will move from an internal padlock to external Player to Target view automatically. But this ability to see across your own aircraft to the enemy will also be limited by your peripheral vision settings. Using the "d" key you can choose to place a red target box around your selected target, a cheat that helps SA in many situations. Backspace toggles Inside/Outside view and ENTER toggles padlock mode.

AI and COMMS: Enemy and Friendly

The AI is very good. A dogfight in MiG will generally leave you sweating. If you lock on the tail of a MiG for too long his wingman will chew yours off. Remember to call "Padlocked" using your radio so that your NUMBER TWO will cover your butt. You want a record of your flight? The gun cam works great and you can view the film later in black and white.

F80 Cockpit

AI in MiG varies across five skill levels. If you encounter a flight of four MiGs you may have a highly skilled opponent flying LEAD and three newbies for the remainder. I have even seen an opponent panic and eject as tracers went arcing by his aircraft!

Your wingmen will support you in a fight. They don't call for help unless they need it, and when you are outnumbered, they will need it. You can use ALT F2 to view the flight you are escorting, and F5 will show you the sender of the last message.

Radio Menu

The chatter in a dogfight will get your adrenaline flowing. MiG is very atmospheric, especially when things get moving. The COMMS system is quite good. Get yourself Game Commander for voice comms and lose the keyboard.

"R" brings up the radio menu, and the SHF 1-6 keys access the six different COMMS menus, for Group Info, Precombat, Combat, Post Combat, Tower and FAC respectively. There are also some shortcut macros, however, including A (Any bandits?), Z, (Break!), and C (Clear?).

In the original UK release the ground pounding AI needed some work. Version 1.1 is improved and targets are more visible; most pilots will have no reason to complain. AI also rates 8.5/10.

New Info Bar: Nav Mode

Navigation

Observe the pre-flight route info below left. Information is quite extensive, including ETA and relative ETA between waypoints. The POSITION selection, however, only gives you a geographical listing, not vectors or coordinates (the latter of which wouldn't do you much good anyway.)

As a result, prior to version 1.1, you did not have any idea which direction to fly in for each waypoint other than by using your MAP view and approximating or using the WAYPOINT padlock view (F4) and INFO bar ("I" key). Hitting "I" changed the infobar to VIEW mode, giving you a bearing readout of the view you have selected.

Of course, you could call DENTIST, but the radar operator would only supply a vector for your target waypoint. For version 1.1, however, the info bar was enhanced to show you the actual waypoint number along with range and bearing. Very nice!

Navigation may also involve use of the MAP view to go into ACCEL mode to the rendezvous waypoint. MAP view is an interface that allows you to locate yourself on a map of Korea, and also to continue to control and communicate with your flight, the tower, or FAC but cheat using time acceleration features. You can choose to ACCEL on your current heading or accelerate to your next waypoint, then jump back into your aircraft. ACCEL will kick you back into normal time when one of two things happen: you reach your next waypoint, or you encounter bandits.

When ACCEL kicks you back into normal time depends on the setting you have chosen in PREFERENCES/ACCEL OFF. Your choices are TACTICAL or ENGAGE. The normal setting will be to override when a tactical decision is necessary.

MAP and ACCEL Interface

Choosing Menu item #2 (Waypoints) takes you to a slightly different menu which is designed to give you waypoint information and allow selection of the next waypoint. You can use - and = keys to toggle the selected waypoint, and waypoint information now appears below the map in version 1.1. Furthermore, a middle level of zoom has been added and detail increased in the full zoom map. In version 1.1 navigation rates 9/10.

Sound

The sound in MiG is good without being top notch. I like it. Overall sound is fairly robust. Engine and spool up is nice, with a deep rumble once you get up near full throttle. Ground noise while increasing speed is effective. You will also hear the complaints of your airframe if you pull too many G's.

Voices on the whole are excellent. Overall the sound is immersive. There is no A3d or EAX support, just DirectSound but they handled it well. Rating: 8.5/10.

Damage and Physics Modeling

I was surprised to find that damage affects the flight model significantly. Take hits to your wing and lose lift on that side. You are now much more susceptible to loss of control or a spin. Lose an aileron and suddenly turns become arduous. The graphics that show bullet holes in your wing or fuselage are always the same, but at least they modeled the hits!

The damage modeling of systems is much more intricate than the graphics representation of the model. Your engine can be damaged so that your RPM is limited, or can be killed altogether. Or it catch fire, or can be damaged such that it will eventually quit or explode.

Hits on your wing or tail surface will affect flight control. Pull too many Gs and you can overstress your airframe, causing other problems. In fact, it is possible to actually break a wing clean off the airframe!

One of the most nifty aspects of flight physics, however, you will discover when you are pushing the limit on the tail of a desperate enemy. I was on the tail of a MiG recently who flew too near the edge at 24,000 feet and lost control and went into a spin. I hit the air brakes and followed him down. Just as he regained control I let fly and tore his wing off. I watched him careen into the ground below. I've taken out MiGs while they were on the runway, and even killed a pilot outright with a high angle off the tail shot on a high speed pass. Very nice!

Don't get too close when you take your shot, however, or the aircraft fragments can kill you. I almost lost my engine to a fragment on a campaign mission and limped along until my engine simply quit. Explosions and flame in the air are quite dramatic, not quite as great on the ground. Ready for take off? Spool up is NOT instant in MiG. Rating: 9/10. (Yep, they lose a point for allowing gear and flaps down at high speeds.)

Escort for B29

By the way, I've been asked if MiG has wind and weather? Yes, you'll see rain but not snow flakes. Not everyone likes the fog effects, but you can adjust horizon distance in the PREFS.

Campaign and Mission Planning

I enjoy a good dogfight or even a successful escort mission, but for me MiG comes alive in the campaign. Forget allowing the AI to determine targets and strategy, I like to take control!

MiG has five mini campaigns, so you can start in wherever you like. Like F4 this is an integrated air/ground war, which is near to heaven for some of us. It's well executed, although not as active or intense as the ground war in F4. But there is hoards of information offered, allowing you to make reasonable selections of target based on current enemy activity and status.

F80

In the Spring Offensive you can build the flights according to your own preference and even choose loadout. You want a F80 escort for the B29s instead of F86? If you have the aircraft, you can use 'em. You can transfer your squadron, and on any particular strike you can choose which element to fly and command. Briefings and debriefings are decent and include detailed damage reports on your target.

The planning interface is nicely done over all. There was the odd bug in the interface in the release version, but I haven't had a crash from the planning interface yet in version 1.1.

Prior to flight you will have access to plenty of information. I bone up on the tactical picture as well as checking INTEL for the target area. You will know what ground threats to expect and also what airborne threats are likely. Naturally, you can also check the weather and wind conditions! Korea in the winter is hell, by the way. (To see the weather report click HERE and for the target area click HERE.)

MiG Alley allows you to not only arm your own flight, but also to choose the weapons for the other squadron, the ground pounders, and even the bombers! I usually arm the AAA suppression crew with bombs AND rockets for good measure. (Check out Cobra flight by clicking HERE.)

The AI will choose initial missions based on your directives, and of these you may choose which you prefer to fly. But if you don't like the choices, check out the Intel briefing, then discard them and build your own missions. This strategic dimension is great fun. I chose to escort B29s to the rail bridge at Sinanju.

Rating the campaign alone I give MiG a 10/10. Yep, I love this part. I wish there had been a way to get vectors between waypoints from the planner screens, but at least this ability was added to the INFO bar. The planner gets a 9/10. The interface in general is quite good, and the preferences settings allow great flexibility. Interface rating: 9/10.

Notching the Trim

Printed documentation for MiG is not great. Like many developers Rowan is relying on online help, and with a campaign and planner this deep virtual pilots will have to dig to find the gold. The manual offers no instruction on using the planner features in the campaign, transferring squadrons or building missions.

Still, the learning curve here isn't excessive and to their credit, Rowan does include a document by a British pilot created for the RAF Fighter Establishment entitled The F86 vs the Mig 15 based on RAF flights with the USAF to observe the MiG and NK tactics. Documentation: 8/10.

Dossier

Squadrons

Intelligence

If you have just purchased MiG I suggest you check out our feature on MiG Alley Campaign Planning. There are also other resources popping up around the net.

To view all our previous screen shots and read the earlier previews, visit Beta Preview and the July Preview. This totals about twelve pages of coverage with hoards of screen shots and a couple of mission reports. See also Gunfight Over the Yalu and MiG Alley and "Boots" Blesse.

Finally, MiG multiplayer support was weak in the initial release, but version 1.1 includes support for MPlayer. Note: restricted views in multiplayer mode prevent players from using padlocks or the pan view commands. This is so that all players have the same restrictions.

SUMMARY

A big thumbs up for Rowan's MiG Alley. This one has me sweating about what we will see in Battle of Britain next year. It is possible that we will also see a DX7 patch for MiG, but if so it won't take advantage of all DX7 features.

My system recommendation is that you should have a PII 266 minimum and 64 MB of RAM, and a PII 400 or better with TNT2 or Matrox G400 is ideal.

The patch is out and the feature patch to version 1.1 should follow soon. I wish the documentation had included info on strategy and mission planning in the dynamic campaign. A spiral bound manual would have been very nice. Rowan has never been great with the multiplayer code, and MiG suffers here. FM variation between aircraft could have been better, but the F86 is bang on. While individual scores average closer to 8/10 overall this is a winner, and we award MiG Alley our Top Pick award.