From: opus@cbnewsc.cb.att.com (robin.g.kim)
Subject: SVGA Air Warrior "Mini"-Review (LONG)
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 20:58:34 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games
Keywords: GEnie, flight simulator


The following is a mini-review of "SVGA Air Warrior", by Kesmai.  I do not feel
qualified to give a full review of this game, as I cannot exercise it
fully without joining GEnie and playing Air Warrior "on-line."  Even given
that, this will probably be the longest "mini"-review you'll ever read
(or skip over).  :^)  Questions and comments are welcome.

Robin Kim
ihlpf!opus@att.att.com

---

SVGA Air Warrior's big claim to fame is that it the first air combat simulator
that runs at 640 x 480 with 256 colors.  It has its own DOS extender, so
it runs in 32 bit protected mode, using all the memory you have in your system
with its built-in memory manager.  The manual claims it is compatible with
other memory managers, but using them will just slow the game down.  I have
not verified this.

System requirements:

DOS 3.3 or later (5.0 recommended), 386 20 MHz or faster, 3-4 MB extended or
expanded memory (the box and the manual disagree--call it 4 MB to be safe),
12 MB of free space on your hard drive, mouse or joystick, SVGA card
(>= 512 KB), SoundBlaster or SoundBlaster Pro.  Thrustmaster FCS and WCS are
fully supported, as are most types of rudder pedals (my Maxx rudder pedals
work fine).  NO COPY PROTECTION.  My machine is a 486/33, 8MB, SBPro,
ATI Graphics Ultra, CH FlightStick (the throttle control is supported).

The game is basically an air combat simulator.  It's emphases are on
realistic flight dynamics, weapons performance, and a blistering frame
rate, to the exclusion of all else.  That means that ground graphics are
very crude, consisting of pyramidal mountains, blue regions for lakes and 
rivers, gray rectangles for airstrips, and small gray buildings with little
detail for ground installations.  External views of other planes are also
gray, boxy, and crude, but not so crude that you won't be able to tell the
difference between a Corsair and a Zero.  The cockpit graphics are very
nice, however.  As good or better than AOTP or SWOTL, depending on your
tastes.  Nevertheless, if great-looking graphics are what you're looking
for, this game is not for you.  If you crave a realistic combat simulation,
where physics is not ignored and skill and intelligence are requirements for
success, where you really FEEL like you're flying a plane, read on.

SVGA Air Warrior is really three games in one.  First and foremost, it is
a front-end to the interactive Air Warrior game on GEnie.  Second, it can be
played in a similar manner head-to-head over a modem connection or via direct
connection.  Third, it can be played in "off-line" mode, against computer-
controlled opponents.  This is intended to allow practice for playing on GEnie,
but I consider it worthwhile on its own.  Note that the box does not really
even talk about this mode.  I heard about it from a friend.

The Air Warrior game on GEnie allows up to 50 people to dial in and fly
against each other in WWII or Korean War era airplanes.  I believe WWI planes
are also available, but rarely, if ever, used.  In both the European and
Pacific theatres (they flip flop every few weeks), there are three countries
battling it out, A-land, B-land, and C-land.  These do not represent real
countries, thus Air Warrior does not actually simulate any past wars, just
the planes that flew in them.  Pilots for each country have unrestricted
choice of planes available in the current theatre, so it is not uncommon for
a Focke-Wulf to blow away an enemy Bf109, for example.  The game comes with
a coupon that can be exchanged for $50 of GEnie credit.  GEnie costs
$4.95/month for basic services, and $6/hour, non-prime time for the good stuff,
like Air Warrior.

I have not had a chance to play anyone in head-to-head mode yet, but have
heard it is pretty solid.  Since GEnie's Air Warrior does not require more
than 2400 baud, I don't imagine head-to-head does either (can't remember).
The manual does brag that modem play is crisp even at 1200 baud.  From playing
Fighter Duel on the Amiga, which is a similar type of game, I know that this
is possible.

Here is a list of planes/vehicles you can pilot:

P-51D Mustang		Fast, unmaneuverable, maintains energy well
P-38J Lightning		Fast, bad roll rate, good turner, but bleeds energy
F4U-1D Corsair		Fast, very durable, tons of ammo
Spitfire MK IX		Fast, maneuverable, lots of firepower, but low on ammo
Bf109f-4 "Franz"	Fairly maneuverable, but poor firepower
FW190a-8		Fast, devastating firepower, great roll rate
Ki-84 Hayate "Frank"	Maneuverable, holds energy, good firepower
A6M5a Zero "Zeke"	Turns on a dime, but slow and very fragile
Yak-9d			Loser plane.  Mediocre in every respect
ME262a Sturmvogel	Very fast, amazing firepower

A26B Invader
B-17G Flying Fortress
B-25H Mitchell
Mosquito MK XVI
Ju88a4
G4M "Betty"
C-47

F-86F Sabre
MiG-15 Faggot

WWI planes (I think.  I haven't tried it yet, but it does offer you the choice.)

T-34
Flakpanzer IV

Bombing is not supported in off-line or head-to-head play.  However, if you
assign a level bomber to a computer pilot, it will attempt to bomb enemy
installations.  Ground units are also not supported off-line.  Basically, the
strategic aspect of on-line play is completely absent from the off-line game.

Flight Instruments:

stick position indicator/artificial horizon (choose one or the other)
throttle lever (moves as you adjust the throttle)
altimeter
compass
vertical velocity indicator (1000's of ft./min. of climb/dive)
accelerometer (G-meter)
rudder indicator
airspeed (actual or indicated, your choice)
warning indicator (stalls, oil starvation from negative Gs, excessive RPM)

The instruments are arranged in the border area around a central window which
contains your view outside the cockpit.  The inner window is about 3/4 the
height of your screen, and 2/3 the width.  On the top of the screen is a bar
with icons marking the lateral position of all planes visible from the current
view angle, and on the left and right margins at the top of the screen are
lists of the icons, the planes they represent (type and country it flies for),
and its constantly updated range.

At 640 x 480 resolution, the dials and gauges are extremely sharp--a pleasant
change from fat lines you see at 320 x 200.

Realism Options:

real-time - on-line mode plays at half real time; this allows full speed
	for off-line or head-to-head
buffeting - screen shakes when you pull lots of Gs
stalls - high-speed, or accelerated stalls; caused by exceeding maximum
	safe angle of attack
spins - both regular, and unrecoverable flat spins
lethality - on-line mode gives triple the realistic amount of ammo and
	reduced gun lethality for playability; this allows the more
	realistic settings for use off-line or head-to-head
g effects - blackout, redout

Features and Miscellaneous Stuff:

four drones - computer-flown planes may fly with you, against you, or against
	each other.  You can individually set the drone's plane type, skill
	level (recruit, veteran, or ace), the side it fights for (A, B, or C),
	and its home airfield.
continuous battle option - destroyed planes are immediately regenerated on the
	ground at their home airfield.
two maps - European theatre and Pacific theatre, the latter includes aircraft
	carriers
radar - ground based only, allows you to find where the action is.
22 cockpit views (by my count) - all easily accessible from either the keyboard
	or the keypad using intuitive key combinations.  Partial list: front,
	left, right, rear-view mirror, up, down (into you're lap--you can't
	see down from a real airplane!), front high, left rear low,
	front right, front down (view of your feet and the lower cockpit
	instruments), rear high.  Most have nice artwork of what you'd really
	see from the particular plane you're flying, but some lesser-used
	views just have gray silhouettes to block your view of what you're not
	supposed to be able to see.  Some planes do not come with any artwork,
	so all you see in any direction are the gray silhouettes.  This
	includes most of the bombers, all the WWI planes, and the Me262.
	The artwork for some is available from GEnie (Me262 included), and
	apparently more will be created in the future.
gun camera - allows you to record parts or all of a flight from your point of
	view.  During playback is the only time you are allowed an external view
	of your plane (crude, blocky, and gray).  A good learning tool.
adjustable ground graphics - with full detail, enemy plane movements when
	up close are sometimes a tiny bit jerky, but changing ground detail on
	the fly fixes it right up
joystick sensitivity - allows you to setup roll and pitch sensitivity of your
	joystick separately, including adjustment of the size of the dead zone
	in which small joystick movements are ignored.  It is easy to create
	a nonlinear response curve using the simple and intuitive interface
	(bet you wish Falcon 3.0 had this for hi-fi flight, huh Dave? :^)
fuel load - you can choose how much fuel to take off with.  The amount you
	carry affects your plane's flight characteristics.
LCOS - optional lead computing optical sight, helps you judge lead in
	deflection shooting, you must manually adjust the range in 500 yard
	increments (easy to do).  Many experienced Air Warriors don't use it,
	but it's a good learning tool.
accurate weapon modeling - when you hit the fire button on planes with mixed
	weapon types (machine guns and cannons, for example) all weapons fire.
	Since ammo loads vary, that means your firepower may decrease as your
	total ammo supply dwindles.  The FW190 has the greatest firepower of
	all prop fighters in the game, but when its cannon shells are
	exhausted, its firepower drops by an order of magnitude.
variable damage - hits on your plane can cause control damage, fuel leaks,
	oil leaks, landing gear damage, etc.
varying vulnerability - different planes can withstand different amounts of
	damage.  You just have to look crosswise at a Betty bomber and it
	will burst into flames.
war emergency power - short duration extra boost of power that varies for
	different planes.  Most planes are just redlining their engines.
	Corsairs and Bf109s have water injection, so they can do it longer.
	FW190s have nitrous oxide injection which only improves high altitude
	performance.
compressibility - only a characteristic of P-38s as far as I know.  Flight
	controls lock up above 375 mph.
graphic bits - when you hit a plane, bits of it will break off and tumble
	away (you can even see it fall in your rear view mirror after you
	pass it!).  If your target springs a fuel or oil leak, it will stream
	smoke.  Do enough damage and it will explode with a boom.
sound bits - many sound effects were digitized from the real planes.  The
	engine noise is the best of any PC game I've ever heard.  There are
	about ten different sound effects than can be turned on or off from
	a setup menu.  The engine startup sound is superb!

Flight Dynamics:

The planes all fly very differently.  With full realism turned on, you must
exercise a large amount of control to avoid accelerated stalls.  With the
less maneuverable planes, vertical maneuvering speed is quite high.  I
often stall out at the top of my zoom climbs, and if I don't cut throttle
immediately or if I use too much rudder, the plane goes into a spin.
Different planes have different stall/spin characteristics.  The Mustang
and Corsair are very bad, while the P-38 and Bf109 hardly ever spin.

Roll rates, induced drag, acceleration, and maximum AOA all vary from plane to
plane.  The bottom line is that no other PC air combat simulation I've played
feels more realistic than this one.  Please take this all with a grain of salt,
however, since I've never flown a real plane before!  I'm merely a very picky
flight simulator nut.

A.I.:

The computer pilots at ace level are very good.  They use the vertical a lot,
and are tough to nail down.  Unlike AOTP, they aren't all perfect shots.  In
fact, they miss quite a bit (just like I do).  Even if you eventually
get good enough to take one out one-on-one, you can always add more enemies.

The Competition:

The only game that is similar to SVGA Air Warrior is Fighter Duel for the
Amiga, and its sequel, Fighter Duel Professional.  I have only played the
earlier version.  Fighter Duel is also optimized for frame rate, and
has even less ground detail.  The planes are bitmaps which look much nicer,
but the cockpit views are unrealistic (instruments in a bar on the bottom of
the screen) and view manipulation leaves much to be desired.
Fighter Duel's sound effects are far better than SVGA Air Warrior's, but
only due to the Amiga sound hardware's superiority over my pathetic
Sound Blaster Pro.  This may not sound like a big deal, but hearing
Fighter Duel's Corsair engine thrum coming through my stereo speakers and
filling the room really takes you there.

Flight dynamics are quite similar, with Fighter Duel coming out ahead for
modeling the roll and yaw effects of engine torque at low speeds, and
SVGA Air Warrior winning when it comes to the modeling of spins and rudder
effects.  SVGA Air Warrior's biggest disadvantage is it's relatively poor
modeling of low speed high AOA flight, such as when landing.  The feel is
okay, but you don't get to see the nose rise, which makes landings kind of
strange as you plow in with a seemingly nose-down attitude.  Fighter Duel
got this right, and carrier landings were better than any other game on
the market.  The plane will even bounce if you hit too hard!

The A.I. in Fighter Duel was extremely poor, but Fighter Duel Pro has
improved this markedly.  A friend of mine who has tried both (Hi Jeff!)
said the A.I. in SVGA Air Warrior is comparable to that in Fighter Duel
Pro.

Aces of the Pacific is probably SVGA Air Warrior's biggest competitor in
the prop fighter PC simulation niche.  AOTP's graphics and depth are
far superior in most respects.  It's flight dynamics are a joke in comparison,
however.  It's only advantages in realism are varying weather conditions,
the sun, night flying, and modeling of different weapons' muzzle velocities.
Still a good game, but much farther toward the game side of the game-simulation
continuum than SVGA Air Warrior.  In its defense, AOTP's A.I. is quite good,
and it takes into account formation tactics.

The Manual:

The manual is about 3/8" thick, and is well done.  It was written by
Air Warrior players on GEnie, and is full of useful tips from the
experts.  There is even a forward included by Robert L. Shaw (author of
"Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering," call sign "Mouse").  It includes
an obligatory air combat maneuvers section, and has profiles on all the WWII
planes in the game, complete with comments/opinions from the players.  A lot of
the manual is devoted to things which are only relevant when playing on-line on
GEnie.  The manual includes many very useful tables and graphs of relative
aircraft performance parameters, ammo loads, and weapon lethality.  The tables
I appreciated most are the ones for each profiled plane that list
the following data at 1000 ft. altitude increments:
	top airspeed (true)
	top airspeed (indicated)
	best climb (true)
	best climb (indicated)
	best rate of climb
	time to altitude
	corner velocity
	maximum sustained turn rate
	maximum airspeed in a flat turn

Summary:

If you play Air Warrior on GEnie, buy it (but then you probably already
did).  If you're really into realistic air-to-air combat without all the
bells and whistles, or can find people to go head-to-head with, buy it.
If the feature list I gave above didn't make you think, "Wow," DON'T buy it.
I don't plan on joining GEnie in the near future, yet I am glad I got
this game.  If anyone wants to go head-to-head with me, please send me email,
and don't worry--I'm not very good.  Hopefully if enough people buy this
game, we can form a pool of head-to-head opponents.