As you rise into the air from the tarmac you glance to the left and see your wingman rising with you. The buildings, vehicles, terrain and trees of the base begin to shrink as you pitch forward and gain momentum. Overhead the sky is studded with light cloud....

Your view is momentarily obscured as you rise into some light fog, and abruptly you find yourself looking down on an undulating sea of mist obscuring the ground below. At merely two hundred feet the vista has changed completely. As you set course for your target nearly eighty miles distant, you double check your nav systems, and a few miles later the fog clears and you go NOE for a stealth approach to the target....

Comanche 3 is finally going GOLD. Enhancements are many, but the best by far for the online crowd will be the ability to link up at Novaworld (Novalogics FREE gaming site) and fly against other Comanche pilots all over the globe. But thats only the beginning for Novaworld this year. How about flying your F22 Raptor against the best the Soviets can throw at you? Novalogic has some surprises in store at E3 this year, and all they will say for now is that its gonna be awesome!! More on this below...

Other enhancements to Comanche GOLD include new weather effects, ability to crank resolution up to 800x600, a new campaign, new missions and a new mission design tool. The release version will also include a complete strategy guide and a bonus campaign from the U.S. Army's official Comanche Team, created by a former Training and Doctrine Liason to Boeing/Sikorsky Helicopter. Comanche Gold also incorporates new objects in the environments such as the LCAC Amphibious Assault Vehicle, the HY1 Silkworm Missile, the CH53 Superstallion, the T-90 Tank, the SA391 Gazelle Chinese Helicopter and many others.

Lately I've been flying mostly Team Apache, having not loaded up Longbow for quite some time: necessity of life, since I mostly play what I have to write about. Its fun to get back into Comanche which is Novalogics best simulation, in my opinion, both in terms of simulation detail and in terms of raw fun. Creating a multiplayer environment at Novaworld was an inevitable step toward making it even more fun. Yes, you will soon be flying Comanche GOLD online with team play or deathmatch at Novaworld!

If you've never played Comanche 3 or never seen it, one of the first things you will notice on entering the sim is the detailed virtual environment. Okay, so far this could be Novalogics' F22 with rotors... But there is something more here. With Comanche 3 Novalogic moved more in the direction of realism. Bravo!!

In their original press release Novalogic was intent on pointing out that this sim has improved flight physics and improved weapons behaviors. This is indeed the case, and the HUD and helmet mounted displays will tell you that Comanche GOLD is more than an arcade simulation. Not only is far more attention paid to systems and flight, the environment itself feels MUCH better.

According to Novalogic, their physics model has become so sophisticated that weapons and objects must now constantly calibrate their interaction with gravity and wind and man made forces! Wow, its great to see this level of realism finally making it to the PC.

There is something about watching the arc of the Hellfires as they home in on their targets. According to Novalogic, the physics model has become so sophisticated that weapons and objects must now constantly calibrate their interaction with gravity and wind and man made forces.

Installation and setup of the new version was quite smooth. Interesting, I do have one problem that I remember from the original. For some reason the throttle seems unusually sensitive. And don't forget to turn on your "pedals" if you have em.. .if you don't, what are you doing flying a chopper? OTOH, if you have to choose between a throttle and pedals, get the throttle first! Trying to make collective control with a keyboard will land you in the loony bin.

When I first flew Comanche 3 last year I was running a Matrox Millenium supporting hardware Vesa 2, and a PPro 180 with a wicked floating point unit. At that time I could run ALL DETAIL ON and appreciate something around 16-18 fps. Now, however, on my AMD 233 with 3dfx running under Direct3d my frame rate seems the same or higher at 800x600.

This sim has a lot going for it, but may not keep the hard core crowd involved for long. It is simply too easy to compare it with Janes Longbow and feel frustrated at the lack of wingman control or command options as flight leader. OTOH, if you are not a Janes addict or want to get your kids into something they can learn in an evening, and/or are interested in the multi-player options, read on!

So... how does it look at 800x600? It looks great. This was a nice enhancement that brings Comanche 3 into the modern high resolution world, and at frame rates that compare to Glide applications. Clipping along at 80 knots through a canyon still gives me shivers.

I had forgotten that Novalogic did a nice job with training missions, with voice instructor and play by play. This is really a boon for newbies to the chopper scene. This sim has a lot going for it, but may not keep the hard core crowd involved for long. It is simply too easy to compare it with Janes Longbow and feel frustrated at the lack of control as flight leader. OTOH, if you are not a Janes addict or want to get your kids into something they can learn in an evening, and/or are interested in the multi-player options, read on!

When I first spooled up on the pad, I was surprised at how QUIET the rotors are, but based on industry information this is likely quite accurate. The five bladed rotor setup is apparently MUCH less noisy than the traditional four blade egg beaters. One hears the whine of the turbines, but not the "whop-whop" that usually accompanies the turbine.

When Comanche 3 was first released it set new standards, especially for damage modelling. For example, nix a tree and watch parts fly off, then watch it fall. Or watch the artillery take out a building. First dust and chunks, then the whole thing gradually collapses. Secondary effects are there also, and you don't want to be too close to something when it crumbles or explodes. Object AI is very high, with tank turrets turning and gun barrels elevating. If you pan around the outside of your chopper you will see the pilots heads follow you. Plow into terra firma and watch them pitch forward. Nice!

With all detail on, the environment is impressive. The snow covered trees in Alaska are simply beautiful. And surprise! Try landing on the water. This was the FIRST sim that actually allows you to sink into the drink! Smoke, fog, and clouds are nicely done, especially at max detail.

Mission Replay and AI

Comanche 3 includes a handy mission playback feature. It is active all the time, and can really be instructive to watch. For example, I learned a LOT about wingman AI by watching some replays. The nice thing about this feature is that you can watch the replays from ANY camera angle, switching from your own machine to your wingmans machine, inside to outside views etc. And then, if you want to, you can even jump back INTO the action at any point.

Unfortunately, you can't save these replays. It would have been nice to have the option, even if it meant no sound. Neither can you fast forward to certain parts, that too would have been great for replaying those pesky missions where it takes great effort to make it to your final objective and then you get killed.

In the original release there were glitches in wingman AI. First, he sometimes attempted to kill locked targets through the hills, wasting cannon rounds. Second, he sometimes answered that he was engaging but didn't. Third, he flew much higher than I did (with my vertical stab locked at 30 feet, for example). This not only made him a better target, it also meant that he could give away our presence. Finally, he often rushed in "where angels feared to tread" and got blasted, or got in my way! I also recall being instructed via briefing to avoid ground targets, but my wingman delighted in taking them on!

Novalogic has been working at improving wingman AI for this GOLD release, and its moving in the right direction. The additional tactical control is important because it effects your success and survivability, contributing to the fun factor. The further addition of a weapons loadout screen lets you choose your own weapons, another factor moving toward realism.

As for cooperation, in the original there was no way to request information from your team meat or issue specific orders. You couldn't tell him to "get thee behind me" or to "bug out" for example, and you couldn't check his remaining loadout or put him on "weapons hold." There have been some changes in this area. Here is the list of current directives you can issue your wingman:

• Follow and Engage
• Engage Air
• Engage Ground
• Follow and Evade
• Scout Ahead
• Cover Me
• Stay Here
• Patrol Base

What about enemy AI, you ask? Just how tough is it to survive? I knew you would...! If I were to compare it to Janes Longbow I would rate it just a hair lower than the middle level. You don't have to be the fastest draw in the west to survive. They are aggressive, but sometimes seem to take a moment to either locate you or make up their minds. As in Comanche 2, the most difficult scenarios are not challenging because of tactical matters, there is simply MORE OF....more enemies to deal with. On the other hand, if you don't fly low and take your time coming over those hills, you will be dead!

As in Comanche 2, you cannot select levels of enemy ability. Levels are preset according to mission and perhaps adjusted also by your choice of flight model: the training missions are relatively light, and the campaign missions are progressively more demanding, as they were in Comanche 2. As you make your way down the list and complete the first round of missions, you get to fly the final and most difficult mission.

Flight Model/Realism

Last spring I spoke with one of the flight testers who worked for Novalogic, who happens to have experience in some unusual aircraft, including Apaches AND a Werewolf! Having also stepped inside the Sikorsky Comanche simulator, he believes that Novalogic has done it right. When you fly, remember that this is the first Fly By Wire chopper, and as a result it will FEEL very different than anything else out there. In fact the RAH-66 is the first machine to offer dual fly-by-wire controls without rudder pedals, and fantail (tail rotor) is handled from the same stick that controls the collective.

Novalogic has allowed a high degree of customization for the flight model, allowing novices easy entry to the sim. In reality, I found the full on realistic model easy to learn, and this is the main advantage of this new breed of FBW attack chopper. If you choose the Advanced model, you then have a host of other choices to make. You may:

• Limit the cyclic range
• Mix the Fantail with the cyclic
• Limit the collective to avoid overtorque
• Vertical stabilizer
• Hover hold

Get yourself some pedals and go for it, this is an easy chopper to master. See "gameplay" below for more discussion of the "feel" of the sim. The missions are progressively more difficult as you move down the column, until you get to the final mission, which is always living Hell! At first as I repeated one of the later missions I thought, "Ho-hum, no randomness!" Although this is true, you will often encounter something that SEEMS like random action because of timing or because of your wingmans interaction and success or lack thereof. In other words, if you refly the mission and your wingman survives longer or bites it sooner, or if you fly faster than your support team, you will find the mission can be very different.

Each mission begins in the same way, with a briefing screen of a page or so, and then a map where you can click to move from waypoint to waypoint and get a look at the terrain you will be flying through. You can't adjust or add or delete waypoints, but the briefing is adequate.

Gameplay: The Forest and the Trees

One quickly learns to make good use of the MFD map. You have a lot of choices here, including the ability to go full screen with your MFD. (Good idea to use HOVERHOLD while doing this!). Whether full screen or cockpit view, you can toggle map modes for detail and also zoom in and out. Standard view is quite large scale and you will overfly your map view in seconds at 80K, so normally you will zoom out a couple clicks.

In any case, the map is VERY useful, especially with your data link. You can see enemy forces long before they see you, and you can use the terrain data to your tactical advantage, staying low and using masking to conceal your approach. You will also use the map as part of your pop-up attack technique with TM (Targeting Mode) in HOLD. This way you can scan targets, duck behind cover, delete unwanted targets, then pop up and ripple fire your Hellfires, limiting your exposure to enemy fire.

One feature that this chopper has that would be nice to have in Longbow is the use of a vertical stabilizer. Each mission comes with a pre-set height considered strategically necessary, and your stab will keep you at this height when engaged ("K" key). You will want to limit your speed below 60K when using this in rough terrain. You can also input your current height for the V Stab feature whenever you like by using the "L" key. Or you may input a specific value by using ALT K.

What about the overall FEEL? Well, in initial campaign missions I felt a bit lonely. The increase in command options and in radio chatter helps. But the limitations of a scripted environment also contribute to this feeling. And in Comanche I am never more than thirty seconds from the action. (This is one of the FEW drawbacks from the voxel space engine: terrain simply takes up a TON of space). In Janes Longbow one sometimes flies 20K just to get to the target. This kind of interaction with the environment helps me believe I am in a real war.

What does help is that you are often accompanied on the difficult missions by an Apache team, and you will encounter plenty of ground fire along the way, even from small arms in some areas. You might be tempted to ignore this, but I've had my fantail knocked out more than once this way! When you lose your wingman, you will hear yourself call for backup. This adds to the sense of being there, increases the tension as you wait (not long enough) for them to arrive, and see them engage and mop up the opposition.

But the best way to shake the lonelies is to get online, and this is where Comanche GOLD will shine. More below... =)

Did you know that the Comanche has 1/600 the radar signature of the Apache? Its many angles are radar deflecting. Engines hide behind V shaped inlets. It also has only 1/5 the IR signature. To suppress hots spots, it has a complex exhaust system built into its tail boom. Comanche uses the latest in Stealth technology, from weapons pods that hide away (like the F22, sound familiar?) to retractable gear and machine gun. Its five blade rotor makes a "whir" rather than the "whop-whop" of a two or four blade rotor, and an advanced airfoil and a shroud that houses the fantail allow for a "sneak mode" and eliminates the noisy mixing of wakes from the main and tail rotors. This chopper is quiet: it can come twice as close to its target before anyone is aware of its approach. Its also fast: try 200 mph top speed! Like the Apache, unmasking to scan the battlefield and memorize target positions and then remasking prior to weapon launch limit vulnerability. But unlike the Apache, IR sensors will be 40% more powerful. And the entire unmask and remask function are built into a sophisticated Autopilot, returning the Comanche to its original position despite winds or turbulence.

As for views, you will find a nice variety. Its a blast to watch the replay from the external chase view 3/4 back, and you can switch around during the replay to view current target, target to your chopper, wingman internal/external ad infinitum. Novalogic even left the HUD on screen in the external chase views so that you can fly from this view if you like. Believe it or not, with the V Stab feature this can be easily done. In the replay, you will see the target box on your lower left screen also. Nice!

Sound

As in F22, C3 makes use of 16 bit dolby stereo surround sound. Voices and sounds are impressive throughout, but significantly, they don't only sound cool, they add to your overall SA. Yes, Virginia, when that tank explodes underneath you, the sound is centred. If your wingman takes a hit to your left, you hear the explosion on the left channel. If something explodes behind you, and if you have rear channel speakers, you'll hear the explosion behind you. Nicely done!

Missile launch sounds and gun sounds are also nicely modelled. Explosions are relatively loud or quiet depending on distance. There is nothing to complain about with regard to sound except possibly lack of wind noise. I know that this chopper is slippery, but I would expect at 150 K to hear some whistling from the wind.

Novaworld, Modem and Net Play

I am still waiting to try a connection, but I would guess that this is where this sim is going to shine. With wingman AI always limited, you need a good human pilot at your side. When you call your buddy to engage, you know he is not going to be shooting his cannon at terra firma, or wasting Hellfires on non threatening targets.

Novalogic made an EXCELLENT choice to support two player mode from the same CD. Thats right! You can loan your buddy the CD to install for MP use, and then host the game from your CD while dialing up your bud for some serious fun. I'm glad to see this option included. Of course, if you want to REALLY get happening, you can network up to ten players from multiple CDs.

As for comms when connected, Novalogic has supplied ten chat macros that you can send just by pressing the "R" key. This is meant to save typing time, and you can also substitute your own macros by choosing the Define Chat Macros on the Connection Selection menu. Great idea!

But now comes the biggest news, the ability to fly online with and against other players. The initial limitations will be eight players who can form teams or play a King of the Skies scenario. Of course the Raptor world is quite different, allowing over one hundred and twenty players in the same world online.

Now obviously this is nuts for team play. What you want is maybe ten players per side maximum. This is fun enough in itself, but my conversation with Lee Milligan indicates that this is only the tip of the iceberg! Go to Novaworld For the Novaworld briefing .

Current Comanche 3 owners will have the opportunity to upgrade to Comanche Gold with a special $15 rebate from NovaLogic.