Sometimes the damage can appear quite local, with flames pouring from one engine. You can watch a bandit fight for control, then finally punch out just before a huge explosion. Sometimes they don't get out in time. You can watch the pieces tumble to the ground individually, as well as watch the pilots floating earthward on their chutes.

Using the cannon in ADF is easier than in EF2000. The hit bubble seems more realistic to me and a bit smaller, but the radar based cannon is easier to aim. Then again, maybe I'm just getting better over time! But I was disappointed to see 1750 rounds at medium difficulty. I think this should have been relegated to ancient history or only available at the easy setting. Better yet, an invulnerable toggle with weapons modelling the same throughout might contribute to a better learning experience for those who just want to shoot things up but still want to learn the ropes at the same time.

Unfortunately, radar and IRST have been linked somehow in the modelling and losing radar means you will also lose IRST ability. Worse perhaps, blast effects have not been modelled and this means that you will have to score a direct hit even with blast effect munitions in order to get a kill.

Coming simulations such as Falcon 4 will take weapons and damage modelling to new levels. In order to be truly competitive TAW will have to improve a great deal. Here is a quote from the recent CGW article:

When a weapon hits don't expect the target to be simply replaced by a smoking crater. Each weapon is evaluated against about ten different target types, from soft (troops) to hardened fixed sites. Different weaons have different effects on each type of taret. Cluster bombs are great against troops in the open but don't do anything against a tank or someone in a shelter.

Large objects such as bridges are modelled in pieces, so you don't take out the whole thing with a hit. You'll see parts of damaged and destroyed objects lying on the ground after a successful hit. After some time has passed in the sim you'll see destroyed objects replaced by objects under repair and eventually by fully repaired objects...

Flight Modelling

Thrust vectoring is an interesting experience. You can pull brief gs far beyond any other platform out there, but overuse of this feature can bring you to stall before you know it. And if you pull too many g's for too long, you black out of course! G modelling in ADF is also up from EF2000, and black outs can easily last long enough to kill you... However, for that last minute dodge of the incoming missile, thrust vectoring can save your skin. And to foil the shot of that hard to shake bandit, its hard to beat.

I don't feel qualified to comment decisively on the flight model for ADF, and there aren't many out there who are! However, roll rate doesn't seem to vary much while carrying external tanks, a bad sign. Drag effects are modelled and fuel consumption seems about right overall. But the F22 is quite a powerhouse, and has better than a 1/1 power to weight ratio meaning that it can accelerate in the vertical. It could be that this isn't true with a full fuel load, but I have found that in ADF this doesn't really apply.

I burned half my fuel and jettisoned all stores, dumping cannon rounds down to 500. Going to vertical at 4000 feet and 225 knots I can get to about 250 at 14,000 feet and then my speed starts to drop. I would have thought I would be closer to 400 knots by that altitude.

Stranger still, there seems to be a discrepancy in high altitude performance. I burned half my fuel and dumped all stores including cannon rounds and then from mach .6 hit my burners. Hitting afterburners at 32,000 feet should produce spectacular acceleration, but this isn't the case. I know that there is a problem with the HUD readout of speed, and maybe I got a dud ship... My g meter barely moves when I hit the burners up high.

Sense of speed in ADF is slightly better than EF2000. Down low its much better thanks to more terrain detail, and when you are passing over a city or airfield its better yet. Points of reference seem to be the key, and when there are more of them the sense of speed improves.

Sound, Views, Environment

First a brief hardware update. There is a rumor that ADF will not run with the Riva128 based cards like the STB Velocity 128 3d and the Canopus Total 3d. This is mostly right. In reality ADF does not support D3d at all, though DiD plan a patch to add support. So ADF will run under any WIN95 video hardware, but in software only mode. Only with 3dfx will you get hardware acceleration. s

With regard to the sound stutter problem, it wasn't there in late betas so I doubt whether its directly related to swap file sizes. My swap file hasn't changed and no other settings have changed on my system and the stutter bug is very obnoxious at 800x600. On to matters at hand!

First another note on the active environment. Its alive and well in ADF and adds greatly to the feeling of immersion. I chose one of the wingmen training missions where CAS duty is the tasking order. In the five minutes of flight time that I actually spent in the air at various times, I took screen shots of Allied F15s, F16s, F18s and Apaches and took different shots at an EF2000 and a pair of Rafales. I also watched a U2S spy plane at high altitude over the battlefield. On the ground I saw T80s, M1 Abrams, and some Chaparral and Vulcan launcher systems, SA6's, a couple of BMP3s and some ZSU23s.

All this equipment is in good working order, the tanks are on the move and the aircraft are engaging one another, engaging ground targets, or trying to engage ME! I was most impressed when the EF2000 who was hit by an AIM120 that I launched was fighting for control and losing altitude but still managed to lock me up again! I had to use my last AIM9x to finish him off!

The problem with realism is that sooner or later one winds up making tough decisions. Do I feed my wingman to the wolves? Geez, a good pilot ain't supposed to DO that.... Hmmm. K, I've got bogies to the left of me and bogies to the right, and here I am stuck in the middle with you (to the well known tune)...

I invited a friend over last night whom I hadn't seen for about two months. He had never seen EF2000 and the last great sim he was into was Pacific Air War, although some years ago he flew F3 for a while. I showed him the demo mode of ADF and later I had to mop up the puddle of drool from my desktop (sadly, the poor bloke lacks recent hardware).

Stealth IS alive and well in F22 ADF. Try flying a CAS mission at 90% throttle at 10,000 feet and you will have every SAM for thirty miles eyeballing you like a fish at a convention of cats. The result is predictable... Here is the sequence...

I wouldn't mind this as much if the SAMs couldn't lock and launch in five seconds flat.... Ah well, every good pilot better know where the EJECT button is....

Some of the keys to flying stealth in ADF are managing your airspeed, not carrying external weapons any longer than you need to, not pulling high g manouvers, minimizing use of your radio, and managing your EMCON system. I find myself using mostly EMCON 1 and EMCON 3. Sometimes being stealthy means flying low and terrain following.

I flew the first AWACS mission again last night and for the first time had ZERO losses to 16 kills. Pays to fly the missions yourself whenever possible, and use your wingman for bracket and drag manouvers! Incidentally a "RADIO SILENCE" command would be useful in a simulation that models radio emissions!

Sound in ADF is a generation beyond EF2000. As in EF2000, you will notice fine attention to detail with regard to engine whine, wind noise, voice, warning signals, explosions etc. There still is no wind noise when engines are off and you are in the air. However, unlike EF2000, you will have far more voice interaction and doppler positional sound. (For more on voice comms see Preview 7 and Preview 6). About the only thing that isn't well modelled in terms of sound is the afterburner. Hmm.... now am I at 120% or 95%? The beta of Full Burn I have been flying models not only the POP but the entire airframe shudders when ab kicks in.

You will notice the doppler and positional effects all over ADF. For example, when your wingman pulls up tight beside you while flying the engine noise increases dramatically. When you pull up close behind a bandit you will hear the thunder of his engines. If your wingman is on the right you'll hear him there, or on the left you'll know it. At the merge with bandits the sensation of closing and passing can be dramatic. Outside views reflect these changes as well.

News and Views

The viewing system in ADF is more sophisticated than what we saw in EF2000 and TactCom. At first I found it a bit obtuse, but as I grew accustomed to using it I found it more powerful that the system we had had in EF2000. Lets talk about the padlock views first.

Padlock views in F22: ADF work on a filter system. Using F4 gets you into padlock. The default setting is "AIRCRAFT." However, using the F11 key while in padlock view you can toggle views to lock ground fixed objects and ground mobiles as well. Once you have the category you want, you use the "Z" key (thats... "zed", for all my US buddies!) to page through the views. (By the way, "wingman padlock" still has its own separate key).

At that point you can choose another view toggle, if you like. You can take any of these padlock objects and use SHF F4 to switch the view perspective. Default is PLAYER to OBJECT. Hit SHF F4 to see OBJECT to PLAYER,under any category of filter.

The "WIDE" view angle has also been separated out into its own category. We can now choose "WIDE" view on any view we call up. You want WIDE PADLOCK? Hit F4, then hit "K" and you are in wide angle padlock view. Do you get the feeling that you can make this view system dance if you want it to? If you happen to have programmable HOTAS this all happens in the wink of an eye. If you DON'T have programmable sticks, why are you reading this preview? Hop out and get yourself some pilots gear! (Check out our reviews linked from our HOTAS page.)

I've now got a toggle on my F3 threat padlock view. I use /P to bring up F3 and /R to bring up wide angle (K). This means that whenever I lock a threat I have a smaller chance of losing orientation since I have more of my own airframe in the picture. Works well. I also prefer the wide no cockpit view for a large sense of perspective. Man, at 800x600 under Glide this sim is incredibly beautiful...

As in EF2000, the viewing system is accessible while the sim is paused, which not only eases the learning curve but can also be a valuable situation awareness assistant. For example, if you are entering a knife fight and want to know the exact location of your wingman and your two opponents, you can pause the sim, check the wingman padlock view, switch to external padlock and take a look at the tactical reverse object/player views, etc. In a way its a cheat, but because of the limitation of a small screen view it really can be a help and a learning aid. Or, if you just enjoy taking a peek at what else is happening in the virtual environment, you can pause the sim, switch to Smartview and enjoy!

Another variable in the view system is that the "Z" key applies to other views also. So you want to cycle object/player padlock views to see where all the other aircraft within eyeball distance are in relation to your F22? Switch to padlock, switch to object/player and keep on hitting the Z key while the on screen world changes! You can similarly use the Z key for the Cycle Player/Target and Cycle Player/Threat views.

Speaking of these other views, the latter (F3) also doubles as the missile padlock view. When the most serious threat to your existence is a bandit on your six hitting F3 will give you that MiG 31. If he has just launched a missile and you are dodging, F3 will padlock the missile. Most of the time you won't SEE the missile, but after all a missile at even one mile away looking at the nose is going to be VERY small! Hitting SHF F3 will cycle the player-threat view through a ranking of the threats.

Gotta love that night flight! Click for a larger image...

Meanwhile, the traditional target padlock resides beneath the F2 key. Lock em up and then hit F2 and you have your current target locked. If a greater threat suddenly appears hit F3 to switch the padlock. As above, general views padlock is under F4.

Other traditional views are also present: fly by view, looping fly-by, satellite view, missile pylon view, an external movable view, and glance left/right views. Naturally, you can also pan anywhere you like around the virtual cockpit. Unfortunately with gamma settings broken we'll have to wait for a patch for that view to be very useful.

The F2 padlock system toggles between a cockpit to bandit lock and an external player/target lock. I rather like this since I occasionally lose my orientation to the bandit and a quick view across my aircraft to the bandit can be useful. Once you have invoked the padlock view you can cycle it across different aircraft with the Z key. At the moment this view padlock applies to aircraft near and far and may undergo some adjustments before release.

Die in action and choose from two filters in the smartview list to decide what part of the ongoing battle to observe. F10 filters Objects and F11 filters Allegiance. But you no longer feel like you are out of the picture, you can still listen in on the allied comms while you view your own or other aircraft. Smartview also governs the DEMO mode you can access from the splash screen.

AWACS and ACMI

In TAW we will be able to plan any mission type such as escort, strikes, reconnaissance, combat air patrol and close air support. We'll be able to choose our loadout and the loadout of other flights we plan. The mission planner will also make it possible to co-ordinate missions, offering an even higher level of tactical planning, and all this within a dynamic environment!

In the meantime we have the AWACS module in ADF. This module is really a second game within the simulation itself. It is limited due to the fact that missions are scripted, but its a glimpse of the future and offers a chance to try some strategic control.

The first AWACS scenario is a CAP. You are up there in the AWACS and have a gods eye view of the action via the box on the left. This little box is no mere 2d overview, it is an absolutely incredible miniature of the in game graphics. EVERY effect is here: fog, contrails, the awesome terrain. And it is governed by an update of the same Smartview system that was in EF2000.

In the AWACS module you can fly any F22 mission you choose. Vector a flight after that F16 CAP or after those incoming Su-35s then double click on the flight and ZOOM into the chair you go! This is a whole new twist on Quick Combat.

SO, for example, I vector a JSF CAP "Striker1" to refuel (click on the flight then drag it to the enemy flight. You can't take a CAS mission and turn it into a CAP flight. When you release the mouse button the order is sent, and you will hear yourself sending exactly the order, in completely accurate 3-1ingo out of the Multi-Command Manual.) They are around 18% when I make the call, and I hear myself vector the aircraft from Magic1. I hear the LEAD respond. (Each response is also mirrored in print in the text box). I watch as they pull a high g turn and head north east. I see their speed drop from 550k to 400 k. I see them passing over an airbase and a river, they drop through some high cloud to 15,000 feet. Here is the map view of the refueler on station. In the shot above you can make out the refueler icon on station in the lower right.

A few minutes later the flight is approaching the refueler. I watch as they get lined up. I hear LEAD contact the refueler and get the go ahead. Now LEAD is jockeying to connect as his wingman holds position a few hundred yards back and off the left. Contact! I see the fuel display on my monitor start to slide upwards.....

Meanwhile smartview monitors the action, panning around, zooming in, magically giving me a complete perspective of the entire operation. Add to this the engine sounds of the particular aircraft you have selected and you feel like you are watching a NATO video clip!

Later I vector BLACKACE 1, a pair of Tomcats, to the refueler. When they are topped up I send them out for a new CAP about 100 miles northwest of the topped up JSFs. I give them orders to intercept 4 inbound Su37s. With their Phoenix missiles and at their altitude of 32,000 feet they are quickly in range.

I watch as they call out their tactical moves, ONE begins a bracket left manouver, a moment later TWO launches, and then TWO calls out "MISSILE" as the Su37s have also launched. I see three Su37s go down a moment later, TWO is dumping chaff like crazy and one missile passes by but a second gets him. There is one explosion and it looks like he loses a wing. Then there is a second explosion and he punches out just before the aircraft breaks apart.

I've lost one Tomcat and LEAD has taken damage. But he engages the last bandit in a knife fight. The last Su37 goes down but a minute later Tomcat LEAD is losing control and calls that he is ejecting. I watch his machine plunge into the sea out of control.

It is INCREDIBLE. I feel like I have watched a data link of real action. It is more than innovative, its brilliant. Now factor in to this picture that you can jump into the action in ANY F22 out there so long as they are not engaged in actual combat. You can fly the escort, the CAP, the CAS, the refuel, or the Strike mission. You can choose when and how you engage the enemy and what kind of enemy you engage. Its like a gloried instant action scenario with a strong tactical dimension. And when you are finished the action, or if you get killed, you can boot back into the AWACS.

When this eventually comes together with complete command control in TAW it will be a total revolution. With the TAW add on we will not only command the flights that are already in the air, we will plan and command new missions from bases of our choosing, and either remain as Theatre Commander and let others jump in and fly, or fly a mission ourselves. The multiplayer mode should be beyond belief! I'm holding out for dual monitor support, which would be awesome!

This is a shot taken from the small viewing box. On my 17 inch monitor the viewing box measures about 5 inches by four inches, and of course it runs at 64 K color...

The map and display controls are quite intuitive and allow you to choose exactly which information is presented to you. The command functions you can issue are these:

• Identify and prioritise air threats
• Organise and monitor Combat Air Patrols (CAP)
• Assign and update flight Interceptions including visual identification, shadow and engage to kill tasks
• Vector flights to refuelers or to land
• Assign allied flights to aid other allied flights in distress
• With assistance from the E8 JSTARs aircraft, vector Close Air Support (CAS) flights to kill mobile ground targets such as SAMs, SCUDs, and enemy tanks

Command to allied flights include these:

• Escort
• Refuel
• Land
• Move Patrol
• Shadow
• Intercept
• Vis-Ident

Now here are the disclaimers. The missions aren't as replayable as they will be in a dynamic situation. The same aircraft lift off from the same bases at roughly the same time in each scenario. There is a bug in that if you jump in and fly and then also land your aircraft when you jump back to AWACS the aircraft you landed will take off again, then request clearance and then land again. I'm not sure if this changes if you follow the ATC to the letter but I doubt it.

Occasionally an aircraft won't obey a command or doesn't seem to have fully enabled AI. I've had to drum a few F22 pilots out of the service. In the AWACS CAP mission a Russian A50 AWACS (MOSCOW1) shows up on the lower right of the map about 45 minutes along and I vectored WOLF1 after them. I jumped in about 100 miles out, fully expecting the Su27 escort to engage me. In fact, MOSCOW1 warned me twice that I would be shot down if I didn't turn back. However, the Su27s didn't engage me and neither did any other flight! I sent my wing after the Su27s while I took out the AWACS... My wingman performed perfectly by the way.

The shot above shows the Russian AWACS after one hit from an AIM120. I used cannon to finish the job.... This would have been a very cool mission within a dynamic system since taking out a Russian AWACS could seriously hamper their defensive ability for a day or two....

There aren't many changes needed to the interface itself. Its fairly intuitive and quite easy to use. However, a Time to Intercept number on the Info screen after you have ordered an intercept or vis-ident would be helpful. As for the command structure itself, here are some ideas, drawn in part from the real life experience of AWACS officers.

Why not a pop up menu in the interface when the player double clicks on an allied aircraft. The menu would give us:

   1. INTERCEPT TYPE
        -cutoff
        -stern conversion
   2. PRIORITY       
    a. all possible speed (full mil power at high alt)
    b. all possible stealth (EMCON 1 and jettison ext wpns)
    c. highest speed and stealth (reduce speed if need be)
    d. blow through and stealth
       -this latter so that friendlies by pass intervening targets

ACMI

As we grew with EF2000 and TactCom, many asked for more detailed debriefs. DiD has been listening, and not only will we have more detail available to us on the close of each mission, we will also be able to scrutinise combat performance using a unique ACMI (Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation) system. The ACMI system allows gamers to work out complex spatial relationships and analyse where mistakes were made in air combat. Roger Godfrey:

"Another feature that we have taken our time with on F22 ADF is ACMI. This was one of the most requested features for EF2000. The new F22 ADF ACMI is really cool. It allows you to record and then view engagements within the 3D system. The player can then view the action from any point of presence within the 3D; for example you can view the whole engagement from the view of an enemy pilot."

The ACMI feature is quite amazing. You can choose your view: cockpit, free, side track, satellite, track, spin (outside rotating with the ground down below) etc. You can toggle labels on and off, weapons and tracks on and off, even target vectors. You can zoom in and out, change the replay speed, and go full screen or as above. Unfortunately, you can reset to the beginning but there is no rewind. Here is a clip from a full screen "SPIN" shot:

This feature alone adds depth to the play of this sim. Record your flight and go back and check what you did right, what you did wrong, and whom did what when. Find out where that missile came from that finally got you, and what aircraft launched it. You can even switch to other aircraft and track them in relation to your own flight. The log on the left reports the events and the times. About the only thing you can't do is find out your airspeed or actual altitude at a given point. I know, this is a fairly important point, but maybe we'll see some expansion of this feature in TAW. And by the way, you can share these acm files with others!

Next, Multiplayer, general comments and summary. Multiplayer is not possible within the Tour missions but works great in KOTS, and the Mission Recorder does work in MP mode.