From The Air Combat Wiki

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly a B-17 Flying Fortress on a bombing raid over Berlin? Have you ever pictured yourself in the cockpit of a Spitfire, defending London from the Luftwaffe? If so, then…

Welcome to Fighter Ace!

Fighter Ace ® is an online combat flight game in which you can take to the air in the fighters and bombers of the five major combatants of World War II. While flying with hundreds of other cyber-pilots, you can participate in team-oriented games or jump into a free-for-all death match.

In the Dogfight arenas, players engage in pure dogfighting action, either individually or as part of a team. No need for bombs or rockets here—just jump into the cockpit of your favorite fighter and take off!

In the Territorial Conquest arenas, players participate as members of one of the combatant countries or alliances with the goal of defeating the other countries by capturing their territory and pushing them off the edge of the map. Players accomplish this by flying strategic bombing missions to hit enemy supply centers, flying close support missions to destroy enemy tank columns and flying combat air patrols to protect their own resources.

Fighter Ace ® features more than 100 planes from the air forces and navies of the United States, Great Britain, Germany, the Soviet Union and Japan. Pilots can choose to fly fighters, bombers or fighter-bombers in a variety of mission and dogfight oriented arenas.

GETTING STARTED

1.Download the Fighter Ace ® installer from the website (https://fighterace.ketsujin.com/FAInstaller.asp)

2.Save the installer file onto your hard disk.

3.Locate the FAInstaller with the search utility or go directly to the place you specified it to be downloaded.

4.Click on the FAInstaller icon.

5.Follow the on-screen installation instructions. When the game is done installing, a Fighter Ace ® icon will appear on your desktop.

6.The download will continue and will install all pertinent Fighter Ace ® files onto your hard drive. Once the install is done the FAStart authentication program will start.

7.When you play Fighter Ace ® in the future you will need to start the FAStart authenticator manually by double-clicking on the Fighter Ace ® icon on your desktop. If this is your first time playing Fighter Ace ®, you will need to create an online account. Click the Website button. This will take you to https://fighterace.ketsujin.com. Choose the New Account menu and one of the Create New Account options and follow the step-by-step instructions to set up an account.

8. Now click the PLAY ONLINE button in the FAStart authenticator.

At this point a dialog will appear asking you to input your login name and password.

If you don’t want to have to type in this information each time, check the box labeled Save Username and Password. Be aware, however, that doing this allows anyone with access to your machine to access your account. If you are worried about security, you should login manually each time you play.

GETTING INTO THE GAME

If you are looking to jump straight into the world of Fighter Ace ®, the following is a quick overview that will promptly get you into a plane and airborne.

1.The first step is to create an identity and name for your pilot. You can create up to five unique virtual ‘pilots’ per account. Type in a prospective pilot name and click the Create button. Keep in mind that there can be only one instance of the same pilot name. If the name you have selected is already in use, try another.

2.Select your pilot, click the Play button and you’ll be deposited in the Welcome menu. The buttons on the top of the screen will be highlighted to indicate where you are in the menu. The default is the News tab. This is where you can read news bulletins about upcoming events as well as get tips on game play and operations.

3.Locate the Arenas tab at the top of the screen and click it. This is how you move between the various screens in each menu system. The Arenas screen shows you the various gaming arenas that are currently available.

4.Click an arena that you wish to join from the list on the left.

5.Click the Join Arena button in the lower-right corner of the screen. This will connect you to the game server and displays the Fighter Ace ® Main Menu.

6.To play, you need to select a country. Locate the pull-down list box above the Go To Headquarters button. Select a country from this list box, and then click the Go To Headquarters button.

You are now in your country’s headquarters, on the Change Planes screen.

7.Choose a plane from the list box at the top of the screen.

8.Click the Fly button in the lower right corner of the screen and you will find yourself in your chosen aircraft, parked on the side of the runway. An on-screen arrow points in the direction you want to go to take off.

• Note: the following flight instructions assume you are using a Microsoft Sidewinder family joystick, which has controls for rudder and throttle on the stick itself. If you do not have this or any joystick, refer to the ‘Customizing the Game’ section for information about the flight controls you will need to use. Also note that all keystroke references are based on the defaults. If you’ve changed the default, use the key you have designated for the function described.

Give your plane about 1/3 throttle. At the same time, twist the stick to apply rudder in the direction you want to go. This causes your plane to turn onto the runway.

When you are lined up on the runway, straighten out the rudder and apply full throttle. Once your airspeed gets to about 120 mph, you should have enough airspeed to take off. Slowly pull back on the joystick to raise the nose a bit. Leave the airplane in a shallow climb and press the G key to raise the landing gear.

Once the gear is up, press D to raise your flaps. Now push the nose down until you are about level and watch your airspeed indicator. You will need to get to about 200 mph before doing any serious climbing.

OK, you’re now in the game and flying around. If you’ve played a flight game before, go for it! If this is your first time playing a flight game, you may want to do some practicing in the offline training arenas.