From The Air Combat Wiki

There are several areas in which you can customize the game to meet your needs and playing style. Some customizations are designed around getting maximum performance from the game and others deal with personal preferences. Following is an overview of the various areas where you can customize the game.

Contents 1 Performance 2 Controls 3 The Interface 4 In-Flight Displays 5 Instrumentation

Performance

The major factors affecting performance are the video settings you choose. The Audio/Video screen of the Options Screen in the Main Menu allows you to set various video options that will affect performance.

Playing the game at a reduced screen resolution can usually lead to the most significant performance gains. For example, a 1024x768 screen puts a 60% heavier workload on the CPU, RAM, and video processor than an 800x600 screen does. If you are experiencing pauses or excessive hard drive activity, you may want to try reducing your screen resolution to make the game smoother.

Other video factors can affect game performance as well. Different video cards have different strengths and weaknesses, and your tastes may vary. Your best bet is to experiment with the sliders and check box options available until you find a compromise between what you want to see on the screen and how quickly or smoothly you want to see it.

Controls

The second major area in which you can customize the game involves the controls and key commands that are employed while playing Fighter Ace ®. The default key and button assignments work for many, but you may find yourself wanting to change them to suit your personal preferences. To do this, click the Options tab from the Main Menu. Once the Main Menu is displayed, click the Keys tab.

This takes you to the screen that lets you change keyboard and button assignments.

Take a look at the various control categories and the specific command sequences within each category to get an idea of what is available and what options are already in use. You can use the Print button to print a copy of the list of all current assignments for easier assimilation.

You can also create multiple controls configurations, known as ‘schemes,’ each with its own unique name. Some players prefer specific control setups pending on the flight plans or style of play. As you play the game you will learn which functions you need ready access to, and will want to adjust your controls accordingly.

The Interface

You can customize the behavior of the interface in a couple of ways. The first is in the Welcome Menu. By default, the game always starts on the News screen, which lets you see the latest bulletins before choosing an arena. Depending on your preferences, you may want to bypass that information and jump straight into the game.

At the bottom of the Arenas screen is a check box labeled ‘Make this the default screen.’ When it is checked, the game starts at the Arenas screen instead of the News screen.

On the Strategic and Map screens, in the Main Menu and Headquarters Menu respectively, you can change the color used to represent each country used in the game. To do this, first select the country in the first pull-down menu, select the national identity color you intend to use and click the Apply button. Keep in mind that the colors can always be reset to the default by clicking the Default button.

In-Flight Displays

You can also change the presence and location of some in-flight displays. For one, you can set the chat display to show incoming message text at the top of the screen, at the bottom, or not at all. Sometimes text at the top can interfere with combat, getting in the way of the tags for planes you are chasing, and sometimes text at the bottom can interfere with your ability to read your cockpit instruments. You can adjust this display according to your preferences with the pull-down list box on the Chat screen of the In-Flight Menu, or with the ALT+M keystroke (by default).

When full-screen and external views are allowed, you can change the flight information that is displayed. Located near the bottom of the screen are five spaces for instruments. By default, all five are displayed, but you can turn off none, some or some all of them, depending on your preference. The controls on the Flight Data tab of the In-Flight Menu allow you to select which instruments to use in each spot. You can also toggle through each instrument option for each position using the CTRL+1, CTRL+2, CTRL+3, CTRL+4 and CTRL+5 default key combinations. You can also use the check box on the Flight Data screen to determine whether the full-screen instruments have a transparent or solid background.

In addition to the analog instrument displays, you can also use some digital screen displays in full-screen mode. The upper-left corner of the screen can display your flight data, and the upper-right corner can display your score and radio channel data. Use the On-Screen Display control on the Flight Data screen or the CTRL+S default keystroke to customize your display choices.

After deciding which displays you would like to appear one screen, you can also decide whether the data will be displayed in a short form, using abbreviations and symbols, or in a long form, using whole words. To set this option use the Expanded Data check box on the Flight Data screen or the default ALT+D key combination.

Along those same lines, the Visual Aids screen of the In-Flight Menu contains controls that allow you to set the color and the text used for the on-screen display.

Instrumentation

You can also determine the behavior of some of your flight instruments, and set the measuring scale. The Flight Data screen of the In-Flight Menu contains several controls that will help you customize these settings.

The Altimeter type pull-down list box allows you to select one of three types of displays: Radar, Barometric and Relative.

The Radar altimeter measures your height above the ground. This is probably the most useful during combat because you will want to know how much room you have to maneuver.

The Barometric altimeter measures your height above sea level. This is always useful to know because in Fighter Ace ® aircraft perform differently at different altitudes. Also, if oxygen use is enabled, you need to use oxygen at a specific altitude above sea level, regardless of your height above the ground.

The Relative altimeter measures your height above the airfield that you took off from. This can be useful in gauging your aircraft performance or for timing purposes.

In addition to setting the Altimeter Type on the Flight Data screen, you can also use the ALT+A default keystroke combination to cycle through the various types.

From the Flight Data screen, you also have the ability to set the airspeed display at either True or Indicated from the Airspeed type pull-down list box.

True airspeed is basically a measure of how much ground you are covering. This is the type most often used in the game. Indicated airspeed is a measure of the amount of air that is flowing into the pitot tube (which measures airspeed). When you use Indicated airspeed, as you fly at higher altitudes, the Indicated airspeed will decrease relative to True airspeed because of the reduced air pressure. Indicated airspeed is most useful in determining whether you have enough airflow over your wings to perform certain maneuvers.

In addition to changing this setting on the Flight Data screen, you can use the default ALT+S keystroke combination to cycle through the available options.

Another decision that you will have to make is whether you will use Metric or English units of measurements. This is a matter of taste, and depends on what you are used to. You can set this with a checkbox on the Flight Data page of the In-Flight Menu, as well as on the Change Aircraft screen in the Headquarters Menu.

The above controls are in place to help you make Fighter Ace ® completely your own. Once you are comfortable with your choices, get into the game and put those displays to good use.