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My test system is as follows:

• AMD K6, 233, 1 meg of cache
• 64 meg of SDRAM
• Seagate Cheetah 4 gig SCSI hard disk with 32 meg on RAID controller
• Matrox Millenium 4 meg, Nitro 3d
• Righteous R3d
• AWE 64
• Thrustmaster F22 and TQS, CH pedals
• CH Fighterstick and Pro Throttle
• Saitek Gear
• Be sure to have the LATEST CH drivers

DirectX and Install

One always feels some trepidation when loading up a new simulation these days. DirectX can be tricky, and new revisions of it sometimes conjure up images of Russian roulette.....However, install went fine with if22. I simply chose the TYPICAL option and away we went.

The box is the new style, with the fold out leaf so some nice photos and screenshots and technical info can be included. Best surprise, however, is the spiral bound manual and HUGE ONC nav map. Its great to see more companies going with maps and spiral manuals. Not only do these stand up better than the bound type, they make easy reference guides that can be lain flat on your desk top while you fly. The command card is also well done. Nice work!!

Of course, all the spiral bound manuals in the world won't be worth a lot if they don't provide a clean and logical layout with enough information to get you flying and keep you alive! iMagics manual is a good one, and I don't think there will be any complaints on the documentation.

A nd again to my delight, there is also a Dash 34 operations manual included on the CD. This supplement provides insight into actual Air Force tactics and operations. The TOC is as follows:

• AIRCRAFT WEAPON SYSTEMS
• Weapons Management
• Heads-Up Display
• Multi-Functional Display
• Advisory and Warning Systems
• Aircraft Weapons
• Emergency Procedures and Weapons Limitations
• GLOSSARY

And here is the TOC for the first section:

• WEAPON MANAGEMENT
• TARGETING
• AIR-TO-GROUND
• WEAPON DEPLOYMENT
• AIR-TO-AIR
• WEAPON DEPLOYMENT
• COUNTERMEASURES
• SENSORS

The manual is loaded with helpful information, a great addition to the sim.

Terrain and Resolution

Once in the sim one simply chooses system setup and then selects the appropriate options. If you have a generic D3d board you can check the box. If you have 3dfx gear you choose the R3d driver (be certain you have the latest issue...). For more info on the impact of these choices see below...Personally, I've gone back to select NO D3d driver.

iF22 marks the debut of I-Magic's new 3D graphics engine designed for a new level of visual realism. Resolution is selectable up to 1024x768 in 8 bit color for software only, and in 16 bit color for 3d hardware, up to 800x600 on 3dfx.

The DEMON 1 engine combines actual satellite imagery of real-world locations with high-definition digital elevation models taken from actual surveys. The satellite photos are mapped onto the elevation data, producing recognizable features like mountains, woods, farms, and deserts just as they appear in their real locations. Terrain detail is so high that the sim is shipping on 2 CDs, one for each theater of operation. By the way, perception of speed relative to the ground is fairly good.

Unlike other flight sims that have used similar techniques, the terrain is seamless and nonrepeating, completely covering three different theatres of operation -- Bosnia, the Persian Gulf, and Russia's border states -- with more than 75,000 square miles per theatre. From 20,000 feet or so it really is quite beautiful.

Unfortunately, the objects in iF22 remind me of objects in Wing Commander 3 when one got into a 3d terrain situation like the rescue attempt on the far away world. Objects on the ground sort of jump out at you, like they were cut and pasted from another simulation. Objects in the air actually have this same look; its a bit jarring. Objects seem well detailed, but they have an odd black "outline" which makes them look penciled in. The smoke also has this same "black outline" effect. After seeing the translucent smoke in EF2000, Longbow II beta, and even Mechwarrior Mercs-3DFX one must wonder why IM was unable to integrate objects into the environment. Both the 3DFX version and the software rendering modes display this annoying artifact. Lets hope we DON'T see this in the coming A10 Warthog.

Furthermore, while terrain at high altitudes (say, 15,000 feet or more) looks quite amazing, at lower altitudes where relief should become more obvious, it starts to look flat and uninspiring, though it does improve under 3d hardware. Apparently this is a limitation of the DEMON 1 engine and is why iMagic has been developing DEMON 2. Of course this isn't really a big deal since you won't normally be flying very low in your F22.

However, there are other graphics issues here that appeared for me when running under D3d. Under the D3d driver supplied by Orchid when I glance to the left or right I often see beautiful fog effects. However, when I go back to the forward cockpit view the fog has disappeared! Also, the effects looking sideways are nicely done, while looking forward instead of a nicely blended color and tone gradient I see something akin to the VGA sky of F14 Fleet Defender, with definite bars marking the changing hues upward to the top of my screen. When I turned off 3dfx support and deselected the D3d option, running under normal DirectX drivers, my frame rate seemed about the same but the fog and skyline looked much better. Note that not everyone with 3dfx boards is experiencing the same issues, so you'll have to try this for yourself.

When I updated my drivers to Glide 2.4 and D3d 2.1 from 3dfx, the graphics issues seemed to clear up (though my frame rate dropped slightly), but I lost engine sound while on my egress back to base. Strange.

I have also found that the resolution mode has glitched while running under D3d with the Orchid drivers. Once when I exited the sim back into WIN95, then re-entered, I had mysteriously switched back to low resolution (640x480) and my cockpit was off center and flickering badly. This weird glitch most likely related to DirectX compatability and hasn't happened to me while running WITHOUT D3d or with the updated driver from 3dfx.

Starting Out

I was glad to see that one has the opportunity to create and edit pilots. This is one way of assisting the player in caring about the fate of his persona. The editting screen allows a good breadth of options inluding choice of picture and call sign. Pilot stats are saved and after most successful missions your persona will acquire a medal and maybe a promotion.

I also particularly like the way individual pilots are set up. When you create a pilot you also choose difficulty settings for that configuration. This means you can create "Lt Greenhorn" and have low difficulty in his career, and choose "Lt Rambo" when you want to face the tough guys. Nice!

The PDA interface looks nice, but for some reason I don't find it very intuitive. The colors could have been chosen better and even after flying a dozen missions I sometimes get lost.

iF22 offers the usual selection of mission options. You can go to instant action or choose a single mission, then load up a theatre and away you go. I recommend that you start with the Ukraine theatre because that way you will have an AWACS IFDL link available to start out. With your situational awareness quite high your early success will be much more likely.

But hey! The beauty of this simulation is that it offers you the ability to fly a successful mission which will then affect the progress of the war. Why fly Instant Action when you can fly a campaign like this?

The boys in the lab had another idea late one night.. once you generate a set of missions you can save them independently of pilots. Saving missions lets you play the same mission several times or share it with a friend. To save a mission setup, select the Save button in the PDA, and then on the Save window, select the Save Mission Set button at the top and type a description. Select the options you wnat then click Accept. These mission sets can be accessed later through the Mission Set option on the Mission Selection window during Custom Mission game sessions. Now lets consider gameplay broken down by critical areas.

The Interactive Cockpit

The interactive cockpit is quite nice. After about six missions, both single and campaign, I'm getting used to it and find that it is quite user friendly. I keep wishing I could pull up an MFD full screen as in EF2000, but maybe this will happen in a later mission disk. The high resolution mode (800x600) and with my 17" monitor makes it unneccessary, really, but it would be nice.

One can access virtually any aircraft function from the MFDs, and they are are also arranged neatly into packages: click on CM and get four MFDs configured for Combat Mode, click on NM for nav mode, and DM for dogfight mode etc. This not only rearranges your displays with information pertinent to the tactical situation, it also adjusts radar range, etc.

When you open the iF22 box you will find a LARGE and very real map of the Bosnian campaign area, including a huge part of the Mediterranean sea! With the use of this navigational aid and the VERY detailed information provided by your nav MFD, you can fly to any coordinates on this map. Surprisingly, the digitized detail in sim is high enough that you will recognize prominent features as recorded on this real world map. Wow...! Your nav MFD not only lists the individual waypoints, but also your expected ALT and SPEED to each waypoint and the real world coordinates of each (UTM).

Speaking of the cockpit, it too has a bit of a "pasted on this nice terrain" feel to it. Many of you will probably never notice, because if you fly in AP a lot and follow proper doctrine, you may never touch your joystick. Stealth has its advantages, and you can fly this aircraft from the MFDs in many missions. If you do get into a knife fight you'll find the F22 can hold its own. Don't forget to switch to DM on your MFDs to bring your radar range down, and when you get in under eight miles switch to AIM 9X. Remember that you can launch off boresight while locking from your Helmet Mounted Display.

T he flight model feels quite good. Turn off the AOA limiter and you can spin around quickly enough to achieve a nice, solid blackout! Believe it or not, angle of attack can actually be as high as 90 degrees with the limiter off.

It seems quite difficult to stall this aircraft. I suspect that even in spite of the computer aided flight controls the real thing would stall more quickly. It would also have been nice if we had individual throttle control of left and right engine. I imagine that with one engine at MIN and another at full the yaw action would increase dramatically. Aw heck, it would just be fun to be able to throttle the engines separately! (Now where IS that new SUNCOM split throttle?)

The amount of information given on your HUD will likely surprise you. The info display on the HUD is toggled separately from the MFD display, and you can choose from WM (weapons mode), NM (Nav mode) and IM (ILS mode). Other functions you access from the cockpit HUD area include IFF, Declutter and Contrast, Altimeter setting, and the various COMMs settings. The HUD display itself displays a host of data from target info to waypoint vector and all the standard AOA and G load info. Note: the cockpit can be toggled off for an unobstructed forward view.

MFDs may also be configured to your preference. You may customize EACH MFD set to your personal requirements and save the set for quick access in flight. This kind of flexibility is fantastic, and after you've acquired some experience in the cockpit you will probably know what best suits your own style for good SA.

Having said all these nice things, it is odd that there is no moving map display available. I have a feeling that this is one of those things that there was not time to include. And although the early versions of the F22 have no provision for LANTIRN equipment, later variants likely will have. If this was to show up later in an add on disk it would make the ground attack missions a lot more interesting.

But then, as you may have noticed if you already have the sim, there are NO night missions to fly. This is such a disappointing loss I'm not sure what to say about it. Again, I'm sure that most of us would be very happy to see this feature added in a later expansion pack.

Finally, the contrast colors in the HUD are difficult to read no matter which color one chooses when the terrain is in view. Frustrating! And what happened to a-a aspect data in the HUD? Maybe Magic Labs will also aspect data to the HUD display.

Comms and Flight Control

Okay, what about some of the other game play issues? Hitting the "K" key brings up a communications menu. On the initial menu you will find these items:

• 1 Flight
• 2 Vulture 2
• 3 Vulture 3
• 4 Vulture 4
• 5 AWACS
• 6 FAC
• 7 Ground
• 8 Tower
• 9 General
• 0 Escort Flight

Accessing the 9 General command brings up these options:

• Roger
• Mayday
• Request Steers to Home
• Launch the Airfield Attack

Obviously, the menu is adjusted according to context. In this case I was flying a SEAD mission. Accessing the 1 Flight command brings up these options:

• 1 Cover Me
• 2 Engage my Current Target
• 3 Engage Current Target from Formation
• 4 Engage Remaining Targets
• 5 Engage Remaining Targets from Formatino
• 6 Begin Radio Silence
• 7 End Radio Silence
• 8 Abort Mission and Return to Base
• 9 Disengage and Return to Formation
• 0 Check In

As you can see from these lists, comms and wingman control options are very good. True, you can't order to scan a certain sector or to "sanitize right," but you can designate a certain target for a certain wingman. This is actually a step beyond EF2000, and definitely a step in the right direction!

On the whole voice is nicely done, with good static and canned tone. However, I sometimes lose voice overlay, and voice responses are sometimes delayed so long that they become confusing. This could be due to my AWE 64 which doesn't seem always to love DirectX. My system crashes have only occurred while running under D3d.

AI and Wingmen

This is an area that bears a great deal of research, and I'm afraid I am still too early into the sim to do it justice. So I will only note a few obvious items.

First, there is a certain ancestral memory returning to my brain of early experience with EF2000 wingmen. For example, I decided to inspect the terrain from low altitude, was fiddling with my crib notes, and did the old lawndart (TM) manouver. Vulture 2 promptly smacked into terra firma also, heck, then I didn't feel like the only idiot out there.... This made me a litte nervous so I decided to try it again in another mission. Unfortunately, my wing repeated his performance.

I decided that my flight needed some more training and started cruising around home plate. A buzz of the tower produced the needed effect on the crew there, with the officer in charge dumping the coffee all over his uniform. However when I swung around for another close exam of the ground objects, my wingman firmly fixed on my right closer to the tower, he smacked into it! The resulting deaths don't look good on his record, nor the cost of one very expensive aircraft. Then again, he wasn't a very good pilot and I don't think I'll miss him!

This is not to say that the wingmen don't sometimes come through very nicely. I've had my tail saved a couple of times by my bud in the sky. They do have a certain propensity for wasting stores however, not unlike the wingmen in early versions of EF2000 who would sometimes launch on a bogie that was far beyond range. In this case, however, it seems that ordering a single wing to engage is a bit like Russian roulette: I often cringe to hear "My weapon has gone stupid" repeated four or five times in quick succession and then "Gone Winchester." In reality I think the AI went stupid and then went south.

This leads me to wonder about the AI in general. The overall conception seems very close to that of EF2000's WARGEN engine. Over months of testing and having personally logged a few hundred hours in EF2000 both the genius and the flaws of that design came to light. I simply don't know whether the dynamic engine here has the stuff. It looks good on the outside, only a lot of time and effort will tell if it can make the grade. And by the way, my wingmans turn radius seems substantially less than mine. I suspect that the AI model is NOT using the same physics as the human pilots.

Taking on air targets seems simple enough, but taking on ground targets seems to create headaches for wingmen. Notice command 4 in the second list above. This "Engage Remaining Targets" command appears to work beautifully once you have created a shoot list (S key or SL button on the cockpit) for air targets, but doesn't seem to apply for ground targets, even after LEAD has created a shoot list. When I invoked the "Eng Remaining Targets" command for my ground shoot list, I got the response "Gone Winchester." Hmmm. I knew this was a lie and I suspected treason.

Not one to give up easily, I decided to try the single target command. Sure enough, I found that I had to access the comms menu (K key or S1 button), choose 1 for Flight or 2,3,4 for a particular wingman, and then hit the 2 key for "Engage Current Target." I then had to switch to the Next Target (SHF T or NT button) and repeat the process. Obviously, it doesn't take long to overfly ground targets at this rate. (Note that this instance applies to Targets of Opportunity and could be different for ground targets that are designated as priority via the mission planner).

I was also surprised that my wingmen did not jettison their A2G ordnance once we were past the radar launched SAM and BMP zone. Since the stealth of this aircraft is compromised by carrying wing mounted ordnance it would be prudent to jettison the unused stuff. There is no command option in the menu that would allow you to instruct your wingies to jettison A2G. One can hope that if they get into a furball that they might choose to do so, but history has a way of repeating itself .. (TM).

Still, the campaign environment is dynamic and generated uniquely each time you create a campaign. You are given a selection of single missions, just as in EF2000. You may fly any missions from the generated list. Here is a screen shot of the tactical planning map:

Interface and Mission Planner

The shot above shows the main tasking and mission editor screen. From here you can edit your payload or the payload of your wingmen, edit waypoints, add or subtract fuel and do your tactical planning by applying the various map options based on intelligence gathered. You may toggle these features from buttons arranged along the lower part of the display:

• Armor
• Infantry
• Artillery
• Supply
• Radar and non radar AAA
• Radar and non radar SAM
• EWR
• AWAC
• CAP

An interesting variation on the typical editor is that you can toggle effective altitude for the options you select. For example, the default is 0ft AGL. If you toggle 5,000 feet, some of the options will no longer show on the screen. The non radar guided AAA may disappear, for example, since they aren't likely to target you at a mile distant. At 15,000 feet the radar based AAA may also disappear from the tactical display.

Similarly, you can apply your selections to different aircraft types. For example, if you have enemy EWR selected for the route and then choose F15 from the drop down list in place of F22 you will see the effective range of the enemy EWR roughly triple. The F15 is NOT a stealthy aircraft, and you will have to take this into account while providing escort.

Click for a larger image...

Moreover, when you are adjusting your payload and adding an AGM88, for example, you will find that the loadout screen reflects your loss of stealth. I went from 100% stealthy with no external stores to 73% stealthy with two radar seeking missiles under each wing. Note also that you can adjust stores individually for each member of your flight, ALSO a step beyond EF2000. This is a great option since you can choose to load up 3 and 4, for example, with A2G stores and leave #2 free from the extra baggage in case you need some quick help!

In the planner screen you can also examine each waypoint in detail and get a good overview of the stages in the mission. If you aren't flying escort you can edit waypoints to your hearts content, including speed and altitude. You can even click and drag waypoints.

However, the planner has a couple of limitations, the largest being that if you choose to display a number of options at the same time, the clutter factor takes over and you won't be able to see what you are doing! Unfortunately, the zoom level stops at 2x when it should have been carried to 4x. The second problem is that if you zoom in, you then have to use the arrow keys to find your mission area again. It would have been VERY nice to have an auto center feature slaved to given waypoints or perhaps to the target or CAP zone.

Views, Padlock and Sound

Rather than the virtual cockpit approach of some simulations iMagic has chosen to stay with cardinal views. When you move your mouse to the right on the cockpit display a white arrow will appear and when you hit the edge of the screen the view will snap right. You will now be looking fwd 1/3 right. Do this again and you will be looking at 90 degrees right. You can also slide down from this vantage point for a half inside cockpit and half outside view.

You may continue this progress til you have a check six view, then back to the front. You may also swivel upwards, or point down in the front cockpit view to view all four hi res MFDs at once.

What surprised me is that the padlock view is based on the same system. In other words, hit F3 while locked on a bandit (you can't padlock what you ain't got locked) and your view will snap to the appropriate orientation. The Warbirds and Air Warrior crowd, if they are into jet sims, will probably like this just fine. Personally, I find it annoying and disorienting. Ideally the sim should have been built with an option of virtual cockpit or this snap view system.

I have found myself wishing for the wingman padlock view from EF2000. Although you can watch your wingman on your tactical monitor display, you can't eyeball him from your cockpit. Neither can you lock an incoming missile.

IIt would also be great to be able to grab an outside cheat view of your wingman in action, or padlock his current threat. These view features in EF2000 have spoiled me, since they add greatly to SA. On the other hand, EF2 did NOT have a way to check your wingie's status. But then, for some reason this particular command isn't working consistently for me in iF22.

Sound on the whole is very well done, from the canned voices of the wingmen with their stressed out calls that they are dodging a missile, to the engines and afterburners. A variety of warning tones will warn you of various kinds of locks and launches, and bitchin Betty will let you know when your fuel is low or you have taken damage...

Dynamic Campaign

Its important to note that the campaign is very similar in conception to that of EF2000. In other words, the dynamism is really more like a semi-dynamic model, where you have a re-appraisal of the overall battlefield status every eight hours of flight time. Once the list of missions is generated the AI does not make adjustment to results from individual missions. No resupply, no shifts in the balance of power and the like will occur until the end of the time period.

The missions I flown at low levels of enemy AI were not terribly challenging. I would suggest that experienced sim pilots should start at moderate difficulty if they want to stay interested. Note that selecting a given level of enemy AI affects the abilities of both ground and air targets.

Having said that, there is a lot going on in the air space in iF22, and one does feel that the air war is real and dynamic. The ground war is out there happening, but you may not notice it unless you choose CAS, SEAD, Deep Strike and BAI type missions. CAS missions will always give you the option of using your IFDL link for connecting with Forward Air Controllers (FAC).

According to the manual, you will also be called on occasionally to fly Scramble missions! I think this is a great addition to the dynamic campaign system and it should provide some tense moments and memorable missions for pilots.

By the way, one item on the main comms menu that intrigued me was the AWACS item. After having generated a fistful of campaigns and having flown a half dozen single missions I had not seen this item come active. However, on installing the Ukraine theatre and generating a new campaign I suddenly had the option of an IFDL link with an AWACS. Using the UHF comms (U key) one may contact the AWACS and request the link. The In Flight Data Link then provides a direct AWACS view of the tactical world. This allows tremendous SA and tactical advantage while maintaining a stealthy position. Remember that using your own radar broadcasts your presence for twice the effective range, or 240 miles!

In the same way one may request an IFDL link with Forward Air Controllers when they are available and you are flying a SEAD or deep strike mission. If the FAC menu item is active, you have a choice of 5 options: 1. Inform that you are in the area; 2. Inform that you are "in hot;" 3. Request IFDL; 4. Disconnect IFDL; 5. Inform that you are leaving the area.

Naturally, this being a virtual battlefield, you will encounter ALL KINDS of active and dangerous objects out there... Under the hostile aircraft category you will encounter the Su-25, Su-27, Su-34, Su-35 and Su-37. The Su-37 Freefall sports the first three-dimensional thrust-vectoring system in a serial production aircraft.

You will also see the range of MiGs including the MiG-29 and Mig-31. Watch out for the Mig 1-42 Felix! This one is similar to the F22 in conception with stealth technology incorporated at early design stages. The MiG-1-42 has thrust vectoring nozzles and uses internal weapon storage.

On the ground you'll find T-72, T80, T-84 and T-90 tanks, BMP-2, BRDM-2, and the usual representation of SAMs and AAA. Watch out for those Grizzlys! Friendly air traffic will include the B-52, F-16, F-15, and A-10, and choppers will include the UH-60 Blackhawk, AH-64 Apache. In some missions you will be called upon to provide a safety net for a C-17 or an E3C AWACS. All in all, a well rounded force appears on both sides for your engagement pleasure...

Mission Briefings and ATC

As for fog of war, I'm uncertain how much this is modelled. Ground and air units are positively indentified in your planning screen, although there is an estimate in that screen that tells you the percentage of accuracy of intelligence in the mission. The first four missions I flew gave me an accuracy estimate of 77%, and the last two were at 84%. Hopefully this figure reflects real differences in accuracy of the flight briefings.

As for the pre-flight briefings, carefully note the figure for estimates of EW threats. This number represents the estimated number of IRST (Infrared Search and Track) units you may encounter. Because these units represent a special threat to your stealth posture they are considered especially dangerous.

Finally, the ATC is very nicely modelled, and really adds nicely to the sense that you are coming home to a real air base. When you request clearance to land you will also get steers for your landing setup. I'm not quite sure why my wingman tells me "Abort and RTB" whenever I request clearance... or is that me telling him to abort and return to base? If its me, I'm making the call a little late since we are only a few miles from the tarmack! Anyway, its a nice inclusion even if there are some flaws in the AI.

Its also too bad that "calling the middle marker" seems to make no difference in the landing process. This looks like an area for further development by sim designers, but iMagic has shown the way!

Interactivity is the name of the game, and calling for Steers to Home after you have taken a good hit will sometimes give an alternate airbase location nearer to you. I took a hit after taking out two MiGs while escorting a B52 and when I lost my left engine and had a rapid fuel loss I requested Steers and was given a vector to an airbase on the Bosnian side of the sea, much closer than my egress point. Unfortunately I didn't make it that far and had to punch out. I wish the ejection scene were animated as in EF2000, but its a small loss to the sim.

Net Play

Reports from network players are only starting to arrive, and the general concensus is good. Since the sim ships on two CDs, it is possible to connect with one other local player using only one copy of the game, each with one CD. It IS unfortunate that net play is not available in campaign mode, but this level of complexity may have strained both connectability and frame rates.

In multiplayer mode you choose from H2H, coop and capture the flag. H2H is really only a dogfight mode, not really a great application for an F22 sim! In coop play you generate a list of random missions then attmept the mission with your buddy. Unfortunately, campaign-play is not an option under the coop mode.

Capture the Flag, as in EF2000, is a rather fun team-play option. It works like this: teams are divided into red and blue and each team has an airfield. There is also a neutral airfield. Once you've have dominated the airspace over the neutral field, you call in your C-17 Globemaster. When it has landed safely the base (and the game) is yours!