View manual text
Table of Contents
Installing the Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Create Your Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Types of Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Types of Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Ending the Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
How to Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Multiplayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Choosing A Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Creating Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Connecting To A Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Ranks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
1
Air Conflicts
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so
many to so few."
- Prime Minister Winston Churchill (about the Royal Air Force)
In a time of war, many are those whose story is never heard.
In WWII the skies were, for the first time, a major battle-front.
Many brave young people gave their lives, flying in tin cans
filled with explosives and ammunition. This game is dedicated
to the men and women on all sides who fought bravely in the
service of their country.
Installing the Game
1.
Insert the Air Conflicts CD into your CD/DVD drive.
3.
Follow the instructions on screen.
2.
The installer should autorun. If it does not, browse the
CD and double click on setup.exe.
Welcome to Air Conflicts!
Air Conflicts is an arcade flight simulator game set in World
War II, featuring the aircraft of this period and historically
inspired missions. The emphasis is on intense dogfights, daring
bombing raids and exciting aerial missions.
In the Single Player game you can play on three sides: Royal
Air Force, Luftwaffe and Red Army Air Force. Just like in a real
war, you only get one chance to get it right - if you fail the mission the campaign will continue regardless.
In the Multiplayer game, you can battle for control of the skies
with up to seven friends in either Deathmatch or Team
Deathmatch modes.
2
1. Create Your Identity
The first thing you need to do is enlist as a pilot in your chosen
Air Force:
Click on an entry in the Pilot Roster.
Enter your Pilot’s name.
Select which Air Force you wish to fly in.
Select how difficult you would like the game to be.
Once you have made your decision, press Continue to go to
the Main Menu.
If you need to get back to the Pilot Roster at any time, choose
Back from the Main Menu. You can also delete a pilot from
the Roster if you so wish.
2. Main Menu
The following selections are available from the Main Menu:
Campaigns: Start a Single Player game. See Page 4:
Campaigns.
Multiplayer: Start Multiplayer game. See Page 13:
Multiplayer.
Pilot Info: Pilot statistics including time in the air, enemies
shot down, number of player crashes and a campaign summary. You can also see any medals you have won displayed here.
Options: Here you can set options to do with the graphical
and player control systems as well as in-game sound. For
more information on Options, see Page 15: Options.
Gallery: See pictures and statistics of all the planes used in
the game.
Credits: See the names of the brave men and women who
brought you this game.
3
Back: Pressing Back will take you to the Pilot Roster screen.
Here you can create new Pilots, review the career of existing Pilots and Delete (let’s call it Retire) Pilots who are no
longer required.
Tip
To quit the game, go to the Pilot Roster by pressing Back, then
select Quit.
3. Campaigns
Choose Your Campaign
This is where you will be able to choose a campaign and fight
for the Air Force you have chosen. When you click on
Campaign you are presented with a list of the available
Theaters of War.
You will be shown an outline of your orders should you accept
the assignment. Press Continue to play the chosen Campaign,
or Back to see a different one.
Choose a Mission
Once you have chosen a Campaign, you will be presented
with a list of available Assignments and Missions. When you
click on one, the central area will show a brief Description of
your choice.
The most important piece of information in the Description is
the Mission Type. For instance, if this says "Tactical Bombing"
you will be aware that an aircraft with bombing capabilities is
advised.
The current date is shown to the right of this, so that you may
keep a track on where you are in the timeline of the War.
Even if you fail a mission, time moves on – just like in real life!
You may also look at your available aircraft in the Hangar.
This will show you the number of each type of aircraft at your
disposal.
4
When you are happy with your choice of Assignment or
Mission, click Continue and choose which aircraft you would
like to use. Remember that if you lose your aircraft it is gone
for good, so choose your aircraft carefully. If you are successful on your mission you may be awarded additional birds for
your hangar.
Click on Continue again to see your final briefing.
If you are unhappy with your choice of aircraft or mission you
can click on Back to change your decisions. Once you are
happy with everything, click on Continue to start the mission.
Good luck, Pilot!
Tip
Some Missions or Assignments are only available at certain
times during the war, so choose wisely! Once they are gone,
they are gone for good in the current Campaign.
5
Types of Assignment
Assignments are basic tasks which can often be attempted
more than once, over the space of different months.
There are three basic types:
Patrol: a routine patrol over a particular area. You may
encounter enemy planes or units, in which case you will
receive new orders.
Air Superiority: scramble to engage enemy fighters with
the goal of achieving or maintaining air superiority over a
particular region.
Maneuvers: training exercises, or practice activities. The
objectives may alter if you take a fighter instead of a
bomber or fighter-bomber.
The following are the recommended planes for each type of
Assignment:
Assignments
Patrol
Air Superiority
Maneuvers
Bombers
Fighters
Fighter?
Bomber?
Fighter-Bomber?
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Differs According to Plane
Yes
Yes
Yes
-
Types of Mission
Missions are more complicated sorties, reflecting specific
objectives in the current Campaign, and often based upon real
historical events. They are more dangerous and difficult than
Assignments, and generally can only be attempted once (but
there are exceptions).
There are five basic types:
Tactical Bombing: targeting battlefield units.
Strategic Bombing: a bombing run to destroy important tar-
6
gets behind enemy lines. When flown with a fighter, this
becomes an Escort Mission.
Interdiction: a mission to destroy enemy infrastructure, supplies or communications.
Air Support: protecting allied units from enemy planes and
ground units. Enemy aircraft are usually the priority targets.
Prevent Bombing: an attempt to shoot down enemy
bombers.
Success in a Mission can influence the progress of the
Campaign and mean that new Missions become available.
Failure will generally not end the Campaign, however – you
are not the only person fighting on the battlefields, and the
other troops may come through even when you do not.
Wherever possible, genuine Mission codenames have been
used.
The following are the recommended planes for each type of
Mission:
Mission
Tactical
Bombing
Strategic
Bombing
Bombers
Escort
Interdiction
Air Support
Prevent
Bombing
Fighter?
Yes
-
Bomber?
Yes
Fighter-Bomber?
Differs According to Plane
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
-
No
-
Yes
Yes
7
Ending the Campaign
A Campaign comes to an end if:
You successfully reach the last month of the Campaign.
You have no aircraft left in your hanger.
The only way to fail is to run out of aircraft. Success or failure
in individual Missions will never end the Campaign.
8
4. How to Play
Controls
Game can be played with mouse, keyboard or joystick (chosen in Options).
Control
Directional
Machine Guns
Drop Bomb
Fire Rocket
Camera Angle
Bomb
Targeting
Mouse
Move Mouse
Left Mouse
Button
Right Mouse
Button
Middle Mouse
Button
Arrow Keys
Down Arrow
Key
Control
Accelerate
Decelerate
Gear Up/Down
Automatic Takeoff
HUD On/Off
Friend or Foe Markers On/Off
View Objectives
Keyboard
Arrow Keys
Space
Joystick
Move Joystick
Joystick
Button1
Joystick
Button2
Joystick
Button3
Alt
Enter
A, W, S Keys A, W, S Keys
D
Down Arrow
Key
Key
Shift
Ctrl
G
. (period key)
H
J
Esc
9
Screen Layout
Radar Icons
Allied aircraft
Enemy aircraft
Allied targets to defend
Ground target – either a building or vehicle
Waypoints or secondary targets
10
Leaving the Battlefield
During the Mission, if you fly too far from the battle a red
arrow will appear, along with the message, "Continue on this
heading to withdraw..." The red arrow points in the direction
you should head to stay in the battle.
If your aircraft has taken too much damage, it is advisable to
withdraw. If you withdraw, the aircraft you took on the mission
will be fixed, refuelled and put back into your hangar, ready
for service in a future mission.
If, during the mission, you should run out of ammo you can
land at your airfield for reloading. Exercise extreme caution
when turning, taxiing and taking off.
Mission Results
When the current Mission or Assignment is complete you will
see a Mission Summary screen. This screen lists your Statistics,
Medals and any New Airplanes awarded. There will also be a
stamp showing whether you have passed or failed the mission.
In the bottom left, you can see your Service Record, which
shows you how well you are doing in the eyes of your superiors.
When you have finished reviewing the Summary click on
Continue and you will see the Dispatches related to your
Mission.
Tip
Promotions are directly related to your Service Record – completing missions, earning ‘Kills’ and being awarded Medals all
increase your Service Record.
11
Dispatches
At the end of each sortie you will receive a copy of the report
from your commanding officer regarding the success (or otherwise!) of your squadron’s Mission or Assignment.
If your Service Record has suitably advanced, you will receive
a promotion, and if your performance in the field was exceptional you will also receive medals.
If you crashed your aircraft the Dispatch will report whether
you survived or not. There’s a good chance you will find that
your Pilot is a born survivor…
Finally, the dispatches will inform you of anything important
taking place in the war. This may help you judge which
Missions or Assignments to choose for the next month.
12
5. Multiplayer (LAN only)
Choosing A Plane
Before you set up a Multiplayer game, be sure to choose what
you’re going to fly. Click on the name of the aircraft to change
the selected model. Each click takes you to the next Air Force
(RAF, Luftwaffe or Red Army Air Force) and a different plane.
The Air Force you select will only affect the game if you will be
playing a Team Deathmatch.
When you have selected the aircraft you want, you can
choose the camouflage you want. This may help in hiding your
plane either against the ground (from above) or against the
sky from below. Or you may prefer to show your full Air Force
regalia with pride!
Creating Game
To play in Multiplayer mode, one person must Create The
Game, effectively becoming the Air Conflicts server (or
Creator). The Creator gets to choose from the following
options to generate the level everyone will play in:
Scenery: Choose from one of the game locations over
which to battle your friends.
Weather: Choose from Sunny, Snowy, Rainy, Sunset or
Night.
Season: Choose either Summer or Winter.
Time Limit: Choose how long the battle will go on. Options
are 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes.
Game Mode: Select either Deathmatch (all players are
against each other) or Team Deathmatch where everyone
who picked the same side (RAF, Luftwaffe or Red Army Air
Force) joins forces against the other sides.
13
Once all these options are how you would like (and remembering that the Game Creator must also choose her plane), click
on Create to start the game.
When a new player connects to your game, you will see a
notification of this at the top of the screen.
Connecting To A Game
To connect to a game that has already been created, either
type an IP address, if you know it, or click on the Connect button. A list of existing games on your LAN will be displayed.
Click on the game you want to join.
If the connection fails for any reason you will be returned to
the Multiplayer options screen. Check you have the right IP
Address or just click Connect again.
14
6. Options
When you have finished changing Options, click on Apply. To
leave the Options screen without changing anything simply
choose an option from the Main Menu.
Graphics
Resolution: Choose the resolution best suited to your system resources and monitor; usually this will be the same as
for your desktop.
Texture Depth: This can be set to 16 or 32 bit. You should
only need to alter this setting if your system is struggling to
display the game smoothly or if loading takes too long.
Texture Detail: Choose from Low, Medium or High. High
will give the most detailed view of your surroundings. If
game loading takes a long time change this to a lower setting.
Draw Distance: This determines how far away objects are
first drawn. Reduce the Draw Distance if your machine is
struggling to display the game smoothly.
Tree Detail: This setting determines how much detail is put
into the trees on the landscape. Reduce the Tree Detail if
your system is struggling to display the game smoothly.
Detailed Models: This setting will change how the aircraft
and other vehicles in Air Conflicts are displayed.
Shadows: Determines whether the game should display
shadows for Player's aircraft.
Special Effects: This setting determines whether explosions
and similar effects are displayed.
Crosshair: This setting will display or remove the crosshair
for the aircraft you pilot.
15
Controls
Sensitivity X Axis: This setting determines how quickly your
craft turns through the X Axis (left and right). Reduce this
setting if you are swinging about a lot, or increase it if the
aircraft feels too sluggish.
Sensitivity Y Axis: This setting determines how quickly your
aircraft turns through the Y Axis (up and down). Reduce
this setting if you are swinging about a lot, or increase it if
the aircraft feels too sluggish.
Invert Y Axis: This setting determines whether
moving/pressing Up moves your aircraft’s nose up or
down.
Control Mode: This setting changes between Mouse,
Keyboard and Joystick when you click on it. Notice that
the X and Y Axes Sensitivity will change depending on the
Control Mode to reflect the differences between
mouse/keyboard/joystick.
Sounds
Sound: This setting turns on or off the Sound Effects for the
game.
Music: This setting will turn on or off the Music for the
game.
16
7. Credits
Project Manager
Peter Nagy
Programming
Peter Adamcik
Art
Simon Meszaros
Additional Art
Daniel Sklar
Martin Miklica
Dusan Kerekes
Michal Macak
Game Design, Game Text and Manual
International Hobo Ltd
International Hobo Team
Chris Bateman (Team Leader)
Neil Bundy
Richard Boon
Music
Peter Pikna
Sound Effects
Clockwork Productions
Sean Kolton
Special Thanks
Elesgal, HUB, SleepTeam
17
Bold Games
Producer
Steve Charbonneau
Quality Assurance
Greg Stutsman
Paul Murphy
Bob Strenger
Packaging Design
David Stengel
Technical Support
Live support is available most weekdays between 10:00am and
6:00pm Central Time. We may be closed on major holidays.
Before calling for technical support, please be at your computer and
have the following information available:
*Processor type and speed
*Operating System version
*Memory (RAM)
*DirectX Version
*Video Card
*Error messages encountered and where/when you saw them.
Tech Support #
763-231-8050
Support Email
[email protected]
Customer Service #
763-231-8100
18
Ranks: Royal Air Force
Service Record
Royal Air Force Rank
0
Aircraftman 2nd Class
Non Commissioned Officers
50
Aircraftman 1st Class
200
Corporal
700
Flight Sergeant
100
400
1,000
1,500
2,000
Leading Aircraftman
Sergeant
Warrant Officer
Commissioned Officers
Pilot Officer
Flying Officer
2,500
Flight Lieutenant
3,500
Wing Commander
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
Squadron Leader
Group Captain
Air Commodore
Air Vice-Marshal
7,000
Air Marshal
9,000
-
8,000
10,000
Air Chief Marshal
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
19
Ranks: Luftwaffe
Service Record
0
Luftwaffe Rank
Non Commissioned Officers
Gefrieter
50
Obergefrieter
200
Unteroffizier
700
Oberfeldwebel
100
400
1,000
1,500
2,000
Hauptgefrieter
Feldwebel
Oberfeldwebel
Commissioned Officers
Leutnant
Oberleutnant
2,500
Hauptmann
3,500
Oberstleutnant
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
Major
Oberst
Generalmajor
GeneralLeutnant
7,000
General
9,000
Generalfeldmarschall
8,000
10,000
Generaloberst
Reichsmarschall
20
Ranks: Soviet Red Army Air Force
Service Record
0
Red Army Air Force Rank
Non Commissioned Officers
Krasnoarmeyets
50
Yefreyto
200
Mladshiy Serzhant
700
Starshiy Serzhant
100
400
1,000
1,500
2,000
-
Serzhant
Mladshiy Leytenant
Commissioned Officers
Leytenant
Starshiyi Leytenant
2,500
Kapitan
3,500
Podpolkovnik
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
Major
Polkovnik
General Major
General Leytenant
7,000
General Polkovnik
9,000
Glavnyy Marshal Aviatsiyi
8,000
10,000
Marshal Aviatsiyi
Marshal Sovyetskogo Soyuza
21