From The Air Combat Wiki

Contents 1 DOGFIGHTING VS. TERRITORIAL CONQUEST 2 THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE 2.1 Guns 2.2 Bombs 2.3 Rockets 2.4 Torpedoes 2.5 Damage 2.6 Using the Right Tool for the Job 3 SCORING, RANK, AND DIFFICULTY LEVELS 3.1 Scoring Awards 3.2 Scoring Penalties 3.3 Scoring Modifiers 3.4 Rank 3.5 Scoring Categories 3.6 Difficulty Levels 3.7 Conclusion 4 FIGHTER ACE PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Resource Storage Buildings 4.3 Resource Producing Buildings 4.4 Unit Producer 4.5 Producing AI objects 4.6 Reaction To Triggers 4.7 Production information on screen 4.8 Amount of resources and units required to produce tanks and planes. 5 HOW TO SCORE AND GAIN RANK IN FIGHTER ACE 5.1 GENERAL TIPS 5.2 Staying Alive 5.3 Working the Points System 5.4 Picking A Plane To Fly 5.5 Fuel Loads 5.6 Altitude: The Basic Advantage 5.7 Knowing When To Run 5.8 Making Your Escape 5.9 Shooting 5.10 FFA TIPS 5.11 Change Spawn Location 5.12 Keep Situational Awareness 5.13 Avoid Target Fixation 5.14 NAW TIPS 5.15 Fly The Underdog 5.16 Take-off From Rear Bases 5.17 Stay Near Your Teammates 5.18 Avoid Piling On 5.19 TC TIPS 5.20 Teamwork 5.21 Use Formations 5.22 Know When to Abandon a Base

DOGFIGHTING VS. TERRITORIAL CONQUEST

by Doug Johnson, Fighter Ace ® Game Designer

Dogfighting is the one of the different types of arenas that you can encounter while playing Fighter Ace ®. Dogfighting arenas are geared towards straightforward head-to-head combat. The rules of the arena are simple, kill or be killed. These arenas exist for those who prefer to just fight, without much time spent worrying about tactics.

The true heart of the Fighter Ace ® game online, however, is Territorial Conquest, or TC as it is commonly known. In the Dogfighting arenas you fight for the joy of the fight itself, but in TC you are involved in a total war in which you will have the opportunity to fly a variety of fighter, bomber and ground support missions.

The mechanics of TC are pure simplicity itself. Each team starts with a certain number of installations, or scenes, and must capture a certain number of enemy installations to win the game (the specific values needed to win are listed in the arena description on the Arenas screen).

The first step in capturing an enemy scene is to soften it up by attacking the buildings and defensive positions with bombs and/or rockets. Once you have inflicted sufficient damage (again, specific values can be different for each arena) a group of tanks will form at the nearest friendly installation and will then drive toward the enemy installation to attack and hopefully capture it. This is known as ‘triggering a scene’.

At the same time as your tanks embark for the damaged scene, a group of enemy tanks will form for the purpose of defending that scene from your tanks. Left on their own, the two groups of tanks would eventually encounter each other and fight until one or the other is destroyed. If even one tank manages to get into an enemy scene and destroy its defenses, the enemy scene is captured and starts producing or working for your team. To make it easier for your tanks to capture the scene therefore, you’ll want to go out and destroy the enemy tanks before they can get there and put up a defense. However, the enemy pilots are thinking the same thing about your tanks. At this point in the game, good teamwork comes in mighty handy. The team that can organize a defense for their own tanks while simultaneously attacking the enemy tanks will stand the better chance of owning that scene at the end of it all.

Now the one problem with this model is that tanks are slow compared to aircraft and it can often take a long time for tanks to travel between scenes. Because the enemy scene will be repairing itself while the tanks are driving, you will probably want to make another attack on the scene just before your tanks get there to ensure that they have an easy time of it. Pay special attention to the defensive gun emplacements, as they will shoot at your tanks when they get in range.

Another way to deal with slow tank speed is to rely on air assaults instead! Paratroopers can be loaded onto a cargo plane and dropped on any enemy scene. Once they hit the ground, they will seek out and destroy the nearest enemy tank or defense. If they can destroy all defenses at a scene, they can capture it for your team. However, paratroopers are very vulnerable to enemy fire, so it is best to soften up a scene with a fighter-bomber or two to destroy its defenses before the troops arrive.

This is a good point to mention resources and what they do for your team. Each scene under your team’s control generates basic supplies, which are converted to metal, fuel, and ammo supplies by factories. Factories also take metal supplies and build plane, tank, and ship units for later use. Whenever you take off in an airplane, your team is charged a certain amount of metal, fuel, and ammo units, depending on what plane you take and what loads you’re taking (note that paratroops are taken from ammo units).

If an airfield is low on ammo resource, you won’t be able to use rockets or bombs or take a full ammo load from that field. Similarly if it runs low on fuel resources you won’t be able to take a full fuel load and if it runs low on metal, it won’t be able to create tanks for defense. This is where air supply can come in handy.

In addition to loading them with paratroops, cargo planes can be loaded with supplies that you can fly to another of your installations to help it re-supply quicker than it would without any help. You can load your plane with metal, fuel, ammo, or a mix of all three. When you load up you will need to decide if you are going to be able to land the supplies at the installation or will want to drop them from the air. Cargo planes can carry only half the load size if it is to be air dropped.

• Note: If you have too much airspeed when you drop paratroops or supplies, their parachutes may fail to open. To ensure that parachutes always open, you should drop at less than 180 mph. As speed increases, the chance of failure increases until a 100% chance of parachute failure is assured at speeds over 250 mph.

If you elect to use a normal cargo load (non air drop), you will need to land at your destination in order to deliver the supplies. One advantage of this is that if you return to the menu after landing and unloading, the metal/fuel/ammo value of your cargo plane is also added to the installations supplies (this is true any time you land a plane and return to the menu).

It is of utmost importance to protect your team’s supplies in the TC game, particularly if it is low on a particular supply type. Almost as important, however, is destroying the enemy’s supplies, which is where ‘strategic’ bombing comes into play. Heavy bombers can make high-altitude penetrations into enemy airspace to attack their factory installations where the majority of supplies are stored. The large bomb loads of the heavies increase the amount of damage even a single plane can do to the enemy’s supply levels, so these are preferred for this role over the lighter attack planes and single-engine bombers.

As you can see, the TC game is one in which teamwork is of paramount importance. It often happens that a smaller, but better organized team, can overcome a larger, disorganized team. Additionally, the game requires players of all types and skill levels to assume the various roles. Hotshot fighter pilots are needed to fly top cover for tanks and friendly installations and to escort bombers deep into enemy territory, while the patient bomber aficionado is needed to deliver ordnance on a variety of target types or to deliver troops and supplies.

So jump into TC and help us move some mud! It gives a whole new dimension to air combat.

THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE

by Doug Johnson, Fighter Ace ® Game Designer

Being that this is a game of air combat, it is important for you to understand the various weapons available to you and how they affect aircraft, buildings, and other objects in the game. There are four basic types of aerial weapons available in Fighter Ace ®, guns, bombs, rockets, and torpedoes. Let’s look at each one individually before we get into the topic of damage.

Guns

Guns are the primary weapons available in the game with all but a couple of planes having guns of some type. There are two basic types of guns that can be installed on aircraft: machine guns and automatic cannon.

Machine guns are smaller caliber, generally fire solid slugs, and rely on the kinetic energy of the round striking the target to do damage. On the other hand, cannon rounds are usually larger rounds equipped with an explosive filling and a contact fuse, thus relying on the power of the explosion to inflict damage.

In general, the bigger the round, the more damage it will do to its target, but other factors can come into play as well. One of these factors is ‘muzzle velocity’, which is a measure of the speed of the bullet as it leaves the barrel of the gun. Common sense tells us that the faster something is going, the more damage it will do when it hits.

Lacking a continuous thrust, bullets slow down the farther they go. This reduction in speed diminishes the amount of damage the bullet will do when it strikes its target. However, that is only true for slugs fired by machine guns. High-explosive cannon rounds will always do the same amount of damage regardless of how far they traveled.

Considering all of these factors we can group the guns in the game into several different categories.

• Rifle Caliber Machine Guns - these light weapons in the .30 caliber (7.62mm) range do minimal amounts of damage to planes and no damage at all to tanks. Only the early war Spitfires and Hurricanes rely on RCMG for their offensive firepower. The only advantage of RCMG is that they can carry an enormous amount of ammunition. The worst of these guns is the British .303 and the best is the Soviet ShKAS.

• Heavy Machine Guns - guns in the .50 caliber (12.7mm) range do far more damage than RCMG, but are still incapable of damaging tanks. Most US fighters of WWII used 6-8 HMGs mounted in the wings, while some cannon armed planes used a pair of HMGs as secondary weapons. The HMG provides a good balance of moderately heavy firepower and a large ammunition load. The worst of these guns is the German MG-131, while the best is the Soviet Beresin design.

• Light Cannon - guns in the 15mm to 20mm range of calibers vary considerably in effectiveness. Simple weapons of the Oerlikon design such as the German MG-FF were limited by a poor rate of fire, low muzzle velocity, and small ammo load. At the other end of the spectrum were very capable guns such as the British/French Hispano Mk.V and the Soviet ShVAK and Beresin designs. These guns can always damage planes, but only the better designs should be used for anti-tank work.

• Heavy Cannon - the large-bore 23-30mm guns are capable of dealing incredible amounts of damage to planes, buildings and tanks. An exception to this is the German Mk.108 design, which because of a low muzzle velocity and thin-walled explosive shell, was ineffective against tanks. Gauging which gun is best often depends on how it is installed, but the German Mk.103 is probably the best with the Mk.108 being the worst.

• Anti-tank Guns - several planes are equipped with large bore guns for use in an anti-tank role. These include the US Oldsmobile 37mm found in the P-39, the German 37mm flak guns mounted on the Ju-87G, the 37mm Ho-204 found on the Ki-44, and the huge Moulins 57mm gun in the nose of the Mosquito Mk.XVIII. Two to four hits from one of these guns will take out even the best tank.

Bombs

Bombs are large, explosive-filled containers which damage or destroy objects within their blast radius. Bombs come in a variety of sizes ranging from 100 to 4000 lbs in weight and are useful for destroying buildings, tanks and ships.

The blast radius of a bomb is directly related to its size so a large bomb is better than a small one when it comes to dealing damage. However, the number of bombs that can be carried by a plane is directly related to the size of those bombs, so you should carefully consider your target when deciding on a bomb load.

The method of bomb delivery varies with the type of plane. Level bombers, such as the B-17 and Ju-88, use a special bomb sight to let you place bombs onto a target with great precision. Dive bombers, such as the Ju-87 Stuka and SBD Dauntless, dive on their target from a near vertical angle, using the plane itself to aim the bomb.

• Note: After being released bombs need a short amount of time to arm. The amount of time varies based on the airspeed, from a maximum of 4.5 seconds, which corresponds to a height of 350 feet altitude, to a minimum of 0.1 seconds. If you drop a bomb and it doesn’t explode, it means you didn’t allow sufficient time for arming and should either drop from a higher altitude or at a faster airspeed.

Fighter-bombers also use this approach, though they usually attack from much shallower angles. Finally, the oddest method of delivery is the "skip bomb" attack, in which the bomb is dropped such that it skips over the water and slams into the side of its target ship.

• Note: Only 500-550 lb and 1000-1100 lb bombs can be successfully "skipped". In order to make a bomb skip, you must drop it from an altitude of between 40 and 100 feet off the deck and at a speed between 115 and 260 mph, with 5 sec fuse delay. Even with a perfect drop, bombs still have about a 7% chance of simply sinking as soon as they hit the water.

Rockets

Rockets are unguided missiles fitted with an explosive warhead. They vary considerably in size and effectiveness and can be designed either for air-to-air or air-to-ground use.

Air-to-Air (A2A) rockets have both a timed and impact fuse in the warhead. If the rocket hits something before the time is expired, it will explode, otherwise it explodes after the timer counts down. Air-to-Ground (A2G) rockets have only an impact fuse, but have nearly twice the range of A2A rockets.

Both types of rockets are not very accurate, particularly at long range. Rockets are best used in a ‘shotgun’ fashion, barraging the target with enough rockets to ensure that one of them hits.

Torpedoes

Torpedoes are bombs that are designed to travel through the water and strike the side of a ship below the waterline. Torpedoes travel through the water at about 35 mph, so considerable practice is needed to learn the amount of lead to use in order to hit a moving ship. For best results, release the torpedo as close to the ship as you dare get. Besides dedicated torpedo planes, many light and medium bombers can carry a torpedo. The Soviet Tu-2, German He-111, and US P-38L can carry two torpedoes each.

Damage

Various objects in the game world, including planes, tanks, buildings, ships, and paratroopers can be damaged and eventually destroyed. The basic damage system is simple in that you hit something with enough damage, you will destroy it. However, the aircraft damage system is a bit more complex than simply having a total number of "hit points" that can be taken away with hits.

Each major component on the plane, the wings, fuselage, engines, etc., can be individually targeted and damaged. Many of these major components contain sub-components, such as fuel tanks or guns. Whenever a major component is hit by a projectile or explosive force, a check is made to see if any of the subcomponents were hit or if a hit was registered to the structural integrity of the parent component.

Each major and sub-component has a certain damage capacity based on its resistance to damage. Once the component has reached its damage capacity, it fails and is no longer usable. Sometimes this failure means that the component gets blown off the plane, such as losing a wing, or simply stuck, such as a damaged aileron.

Your plane will continue to fly with damage and if you are lucky, you may even be able to keep it in the air with major pieces missing. It all depends on the plane, where it gets hit, and your ability to maintain control. Of course, if your fuel tank explodes, you can pretty much assume you won’t be flying home.

Buildings, ships, and tanks are a bit different in that they have a more generalized damage capacity, but with the addition of armor. The "armor" protection means that some weapons will simply be too weak to even make the tiniest dent. Firing RCMG at a tank is a perfect example, you can shoot all day and it won’t even get a scratch.

Using the Right Tool for the Job

What all this comes down to is selecting the right weapon system and delivery method for the job you’re planning on doing. Following is a basic list of the various object types and the "best" weapon to use against it:

• Fighters - To shoot down fighter planes, you need good guns and lots of ammunition. Planes equipped with a large bank of .50 caliber guns (6-8) or a bank of 20mm cannon (2-4) are the ideal anti-fighter platforms.

• Bombers - Bombers are generally more impervious to gunfire than fighters. Additionally, they move more predictably, so a volume of fire is less important than inflicting maximum damage when you get a hit. Planes equipped with 20mm to 30mm cannon are the best anti-bomber mounts, particularly since cannon can inflict maximum damage at maximum range.

• Tanks - Tanks are impervious to machine gun fire, so you must use at least 20mm cannon to have a hope of killing them. Tanks also move fast and are small targets, so bombs and rockets are difficult to place on the target. The ideal tank killers are those planes equipped with anti-tank guns. Barring the availability of such a plane, 30mm cannon are ideal, except for the Mk.108, which was not designed for armor penetration.

• Ships - Ships cannot be damaged by guns or rockets, so you will need to use torpedoes or bombs. Pound for pound, torpedoes are able to inflict the most possible damage on ships by hitting them below the waterline. 1000 lb bombs skipped into the side of a ship are the next best thing to torpedoes.

• Buildings - Buildings can be damaged by large cannon fire, rockets and bombs. The size of the building largely determines the necessary size ordnance to destroy them. Factories are best attacked with large bombs (1000 lb or more) while small buildings can be taken out with rockets or smaller bombs (100-500 lbs).

• Paratroops - People are fragile creatures, so a hit from anything will kill paratroopers. However, they are small targets, so a volume of fire is needed to ensure a hit. Other than lobbing a couple of bombs or rockets in their direction, the best weapon would be .30 caliber machine guns.

SCORING, RANK, AND DIFFICULTY LEVELS

by Doug Johnson, Fighter Ace ® Game Designer

As with any game you play, Fighter Ace ® will award points for your accomplishments and will penalize your score for your failures. This document is intended to explain how points are awarded as well as detailing the related subjects of rank and difficulty levels.

Scoring Awards

In Fighter Ace ® you earn points for destroying various objects in the game arenas. Each specific object in the game has a base points value. The value of objects can vary with the arena type as well as the specific object, but in general base object values range from 50 to 1000 points for planes and ground objects, and up to 5000 points for capital ships.

Other actions can result in points awards, as well. Triggering a scene results in a modest award, while the successful capture of a triggered scene results in a significant award for the pilot that initiated the trigger. Additionally, the value of any objects destroyed by paratroopers you’ve dropped will be added to your score.

The most obvious difference between object values occurs when comparing plane values for the Dogfight and Territorial Conquest arenas. In Dogfight rooms, the only consideration is the value of the plane in air-to-air combat against other planes. In Territorial Conquest arenas however, the ordnance carrying capacity and defensibility of the plane is taken into consideration.

Scoring Penalties

In addition to being awarded the points value of the objects you destroy in the game, you will also be penalized for losing your plane and/or pilot. Each time you take-off, you are risking the value of the plane you are in. If your plane is destroyed, you will be penalized based on its value.

Another penalty applies if your pilot is "killed" or "captured". Your pilot can be killed in flight by being shot or by crashing into the ground. Your pilot is captured if you bail out over enemy territory. In each situation, an additional points penalty is applied to your overall mission score.

The plane loss penalty can be avoided by landing your plane successfully at a friendly airbase after your mission is over. If your plane cannot make it back to a friendly airbase, you can halve the penalty by crash-landing your plane in friendly territory.

The pilot loss penalty can be avoided either by landing safely at a friendly airfield, crash-landing in friendly territory, or bailing out over friendly territory. When bailing out, it is best to wait until you are about 500 feet above the ground before popping the chute. If you open it at altitude, you not only have to wait until you reach the ground but also present a nice target for any enemy that has the inclination. In order to discourage "chute shooting" a penalty is applied to the pilot that kills another in a parachute, but it is better to never be a target in the first place.

Scoring Modifiers

The base points awards and penalties mentioned above can be modified due to two different factors in the game.

First, most team-based rooms are configured to utilize the team-balance scoring modifier. This modifier either multiplies or divides the points earned depending on the ratio of players on the two teams.

For example, suppose that there are 10 GB and 20 GE players in the room. If a GE pilot shoots down a 1000-point plane, the award would be divided by two (the ratio between the two teams), so only 500 points would be given. Conversely, if a GB pilot shoots down a 1000-point plane the award would be multiplied by two for a total of 2000 points.

The maximum multiplier/divider on this modifier can vary from room to room, but is generally in the range from between 5:1 to 10:1.

The second scoring modifier affects the number of points you will be penalized for losing a plane. The modifier is based on both your rank and the difficulty level of the arena you compete in. Both rank and the difficulty levels will be detailed further down, but the general concept of this modifier is that the higher your rank, the more it will cost you to lose a plane in the lower level rooms.

As the difficulty level increases, the rank at which 100% of the plane cost is applied also increases. In Level 1 arenas, the 100% rank is 1st Lieutenant (1Lt) and at Level 10, the 100% rank is Field Marshall (FM), the highest rank attainable in the game.

If your rank is below the 100% point for the level at which you’re playing, the cost for losing a plane is a fraction of the base value. If your rank is above the 100% level, your cost is a multiple of the base value.

Rank

The number of points you have at any given time equates to a military rank in the game. If your points total drops below the threshold for a given rank, your rank will drop accordingly. Promotions and demotions are instantly applied in the game. Note that if your total score is less than zero when you leave the game, it will be reset to zero (the scoring database cannot store a score less than zero).

The ranks and their points thresholds are as follows:

     Abbr 	Rank 	    	Points
     Cdt 	Cadet 	    	0
     Sgt 	Sergeant 	    	1,000
     2Lt 	2nd Lieutenant 	3,000
     1Lt 	1st Lieutenant 	6,000
     Cpt 	Captain 	    	50,000
     Maj 	Major 	    	100,000
     LtC 	Lieutenant Colonel	250,000
     Col 	Colonel 	    	1,000,000
     BGen 	Brigadier General 	2,000,000
     MGen 	Major General 	4,000,000
     LtGen 	Lieutenant General	8,000,000
     Gen 	General 	    	12,000,000
     FM 	Field Marshall 	20,000,000

Note that rank has no bearing on anything except optional room entry requirements and the cost for losing a plane in any given arena. In order to create rooms with a certain competition level, some rooms may have a maximum and/or minimum rank required for entry. Other than that, there are no additional benefits or abilities associated with gaining rank. It is all about prestige.

Scoring Categories

You can earn points and rank in three different categories, depending on the type of arena you’re playing. The three possible categories are Dogfight, Territorial Conquest, and Special Events. There is no relation between the categories, except the extra prestige associated with a high rank in all three.

Difficulty Levels

All of the game arenas in Fighter Ace ® are labeled with a difficulty rating between 1 and 10. The difficulty rating reflects the relative amount of realism used in that arena. A level 1 arena is the easiest of all, with the most arcade level of physics and all of the possible visual aids. At the other end of the spectrum, a level 10 room has the highest level of realism in both the flight model and an almost total lack of visual aids.

The three basic flight models available in Fighter Ace ® are distributed among the ten difficulty levels as follows:

     Levels 1 - 3 = Arcade
     Levels 4 - 6 = Intermediate
     Levels 7 - 10 = Advanced

While the level of physics and realism options increases linearly from room to room, the availability of visual aids increases within each of the three level groupings, in a sort of "sawtooth" pattern. For example, a Level 6 room, the highest of the Intermediate levels, will have fewer visual aids available than a Level 7 room, the lowest of the Advanced levels.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that you’re here to have fun. If having fun means competing for points and rank, this explanation should help you accomplish that. If having fun has nothing to do with rank and score, feel free to ignore them, find a level you enjoy playing at, and just have fun!

FIGHTER ACE PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY

by Richard Teachout, Fighter Ace ® Community Manager

Introduction

The production system in Fighter Ace ® needs to be understood in order for a player to make the most of the information that is presented. Before moving on, it is important to identify various items that are part of the system.

Three types of buildings take part in the production process: Resource Storage, Resource Producers, and Unit Producers. There are three types of resources: Metal, Fuel, and Ammo. And finally, there are two types of Units: Tanks and Airplanes. These three things are what make up the final product; Tanks and Airplanes (note that a tank or plane Unit is NOT the same as an actual tank or plane running around in the game). A Unit can be thought of as a plane or tank that is "built" but not in use or on the map yet.

It is important to note that the entire system works on production "steps", which happen once per minute. The production step is summarized by the following steps which are explained in more detail later in the document.

• 1. Resources are Produced
• 2. Resources are Stored
• 3. Units are Produced from Resources
• 4. Units are Stored
• 5. Tanks, Planes and ships are produced from Units.
• 6. Tank, planes and ships are supplied with Fuel and Ammo.

Resource Storage Buildings

This building type is used to store resources. There are two important things to know about storage buildings.

• 1. Each storage building holds Metal, Fuel or Ammo.
• 2. Storage volume: This is how many resources a storage building can hold. If the all the storage buildings on a scene are full, supplies cannot be added to the scene by any means (production, or supply drops from players).

Other production buildings can add or subtract resources from Resource Storage.

Resource Producing Buildings

These buildings produce resources (metal, fuel, ammo). Once these resources are created, they are either stored in the building (production buildings have limited storage capacity), or they are moved to nearby storage buildings. There are four key points to note for Resource Production Buildings.

• 1. Resource type.
• 2. Storage volume.
• 3. Production value per minute. This is the amount of resources produced on each production step.
• 4. Link radius. This is the distance that the supplies can be moved to another building, without the use of trains. This distance can vary from scene to scene.

Each minute, a production "step" takes place. On each production step a Resource Producer makes a specified amount of a certain type of resource. Once produced, the resources must be stored somewhere. If the producer’s storage is full, then the new resources are stored in the nearest Resource Storage Building that has free space AND is within the link radius of the Production building. If there is no available storage space, then any new resources simply vanish.

Unit Producer

This building actually produces Units (as shown on the map as available Aircraft or Tank units). This building also stores the units until they are called for (during a trigger, or a player’s aircraft being created). Several items are noteworthy for Unit Producers:

• 1. Unit type: Type of produced units: plane, tank or ship.
• 2. Resource type: Resource required for producing units. Metal is the only resource that is needed to create the Plane or Tank Units. Fuel and Ammo is used in another step.
• 3. Storage Volume: This is how many units of each type that can be stored.
• 4. Production value per minute: Amount of units produced per minute.
• 5. Link radius: The maximum distance that a Production building can be from a Resource building in order to obtain resources from it.
• 6. Required resources: Ammo and Fuel are used to equip the created units and put them out on to the map as tanks, planes or ships.

During every production step (one minute), the Unit Producer will try to create units and store them. The Unit Producer will search for any Resources being stored within its link radius and once found it will tap those buildings of the resources needed (metal) to create a unit. When it comes time to put either planes or tanks on the map, the Unit Producer goes to work on the last step. Once the Tank or Plane is produced, it then needs to be equipped with fuel and ammo. Again, the Unit Producer searches within its link radius for the necessary resources, in this case it is fuel and ammo. In the event that a plane is being created, but resources are not completely available, the plane is created but does not have full fuel or ammo.

Producing AI objects

When a scene is asked to produce tanks (for attacks or defense), the scene asks the Unit Producer to make fully loaded Tanks until the desired quantity is reached. The Unit Producer will make as many as it can until it runs out of Tank Units and has to produce more.

Reaction To Triggers

Once a scene is triggered, X numbers of tanks are called to attack or defend a target. We the find nearest scene to the target that can produce all of the required units, fully loaded. If no one can, then we do nothing. If we find a scene that can produce some fully loaded units, then we ask it to produce them, create them at the scene and run to the target.

Tanks will also attempt to get to their target as quickly as possible, and if a nearby friendly train is available, they will load up and ride the rails to the target. If a train is attacked during this process and damaged, the tanks will immediately unload and proceed to their target.

Production information on screen

Mousing over scenes on the Strategic map will display the various production resources available to the scene for new objects (tanks, and planes). Note that if two scenes are within each others link radius, then the available resources will represent both scenes.

Units (tank and plane): This number is a round representation of how many tanks or planes could be produced at the scene in question. The number is reached after dividing the average plane cost by the actual number of plane/tank units that the Unit Producer has available at the current time.

Looking at the main score screen (Ctrl L) will show the resources available for the entire team. The amount of resources available to a scene is shown as a percentage of the storage capacity of the scene overall. Sometimes it will appear that a scenes resources reach a number less than 100%, even though nothing is being produced or consumed. This means that a storage building is located nearby but no Resource Producers are available to fill them up. In this case, a good strategy would be to air-drop supplies to this scene. Once they are full, the nearest Unit Producer will most likely be in range to consume these supplies (this is because the link radius may be different between Resource producers and Unit Producers).

Amount of resources and units required to produce tanks and planes.

The amount of Units required to produce a tank or plane is equal to its object cost. The amount of resources required to equip a unit is calculated based on the physical weight of the fuel and ammunition/ordnance used.

HOW TO SCORE AND GAIN RANK IN FIGHTER ACE

by Doug Johnson, Fighter Ace ® Game Designer

This document is intended to give tips and tactics that will help you increase your score and rank within the game and at the same time have more fun! These tips should be seen as a starting point to get you thinking about ways to win that work with your playing style.

GENERAL TIPS

In any list of general air combat tips, the first place to look is the set of rules known as "Boelke's Dicta", devised by Oswald Boelke during the Great War. Although the rules were written during the age of the biplane, they are as applicable to modern air combat as they were when written. You can find Boelke's Dicta listed and explained in the game manual.

Staying Alive

Implied in Boelke's Dicta is the idea that the successful pilot is the one who comes home alive. This same principle is built into the scoring system of Fighter Ace ®. The single biggest factor that determines your ability to score is how well you keep your pilot alive and bring your airplane home. As the scoring document explains, your rank and the room level affect the amount of points you lose when you lose your plane.

At the lower ranks, losing a plane is of little or no consequence in your ability to gain points. However, as you gain in rank, the cost of losing a plane gets steeper and steeper until it gets to the point where you have to finally learn this lesson if you want to continue to progress.

"Staying Alive" in a fight means that you have to place yourself in the best position to be successful. This means working to get the advantages on your side before you even enter the fight. "Staying Alive" also means that you need to develop the disciplined style of fighting that gives you the best chance of both achieving your goals and getting back to base safely.

Working the Points System

Along with survival, another important aspect to scoring is in understanding exactly how the scoring works and making it work for you. There are three basic factors that can be used to secure the best possible score.

First, in team-oriented arenas (all except Free For All) the "team balance" scoring modifiers are usually in place. What this modifier does is change the number of points you earn when you shoot a plane down, based on the ratio of players on your team and on the team of the player you shot down. If you shoot down a player on a larger team, you get more points and if you shoot down a player from a smaller team, you earn fewer points.

Assuming that the standard 5:1 maximum ratio is in effect, shooting down a 1000-point plane from a team that outnumbers you 5:1 would earn you 5000 points, while shooting down the same plane on a team you outnumber by the same margin will result in a scant 200-point reward. Of course, staying alive when outnumbered is much tougher, but it can be done if you fly smart.

The second element of the scoring system is the base value of planes within an arena. The simple rule is that the more capable a plane is, the more it will cost. However, being "capable" doesn't always mean that you can get kills in it. While the Me-262 is the most capable fighter in the game, it isn't really well suited to the dogfighting environment due to the difficulty in getting a guns solution on targets when you're going over 500 mph.

Sometimes you will find the most successful pilots in the early- to mid-war planes. While they usually lack the speed of the late-war planes, the earlier models are usually more maneuverable and thus easier to fight in the tight furballs that you find in Dogfight rooms. So again the lesson is simple: fly cheap planes and shoot expensive ones.

The third factor is the room level. The cost of losing a plane in a low-level room is greater for high-ranked players than the cost of the same plane in higher-level rooms. This difference reflects the decreased possibility of getting kills in the higher ranked rooms, particularly those without visual aids such as radar and planes-on-map to find the enemy.

Picking A Plane To Fly

When you first pick a plane to enter an arena, pick the one that gives you the best chance of success in accomplishing your intended goal. For example, if your goal is to dogfight an enemy that has altitude advantage, you would do well to get a plane that climbs well and can easily maneuver out of the way of a diving enemy attack.

In addition to the raw plane capabilities, you must also consider your fighting style. If you find yourself unable to maintain the rigid discipline required for successful boom and zoom tactics, get a good turn-fighter and don't even try to B&Z. The worst thing you can do in an air fight is to vacillate between several different tactical plans. Pick one and use it until the conditions warrant a change.

Similarly, when trying to move mud in the TC arenas you want to get the best plane for the job, which isn't always the biggest and baddest bomber in the pick-list. Sometimes a fast fighter-bomber can get through to the target where a medium or heavy bomber wouldn't.

A simple rule of thumb is to never take a plane that is more capable than you need for the job. This reduces both the strain on your team's supply levels as well as risking a smaller amount of your score.

Fuel Loads

While not as heavy as water, fuel is nonetheless heavy enough that you should take notice of it. As a general rule of thumb, the heavier a plane is, the poorer it will perform. The light, nimble P-51 Mustang becomes a sluggish pig when loaded down with fuel.

The rule is therefore very simple: take only as much fuel as you need to do the job. The fuel display on the data display can be set to show time or weight using the ALT T key combination. With practice you will learn how much fuel to take for a given distance in a given plane.

Another thing to consider is the use of drop tanks to extend your range. The game will use fuel out of any external tanks before it uses any out of internal tanks, so you can use this to your advantage by setting your internal fuel to a small load, enough to fight and get home, then relying on the drop tanks to get altitude and to the location of the fight. Remember to drop your tanks after they are empty and always before entering a fight.

Altitude: The Basic Advantage

The central root of this principle is the idea that they pilot with the advantages on his side is most likely to win a fight. The advantages can be built into the plane, but more often are related to the tactical position at the start of the fight.

The most advantageous tactical position to have is an altitude advantage over your enemy. An altitude advantage is necessary if you intend to fight using the boom & zoom (B&Z) style of fighting, but even if you intend to turn fight, altitude gives you the option of entering the fight or just staying away.

Many new players make the mistake of taking off from the airfield closest to the action. While this is guaranteed to get you into the action quicker, it is almost surely going to be action of the "getting shot down and bailing out" variety.

The better option is to take off from an airfield in the rear that gives you enough time to get the necessary altitude before getting into the action. How far behind the action depends on the climb-rate of your plane and the necessary altitude for the fight. If necessary, fly away from the action for a while to give yourself the altitude you need to win.

Knowing When To Run

Another key to survival is the ability to know exactly when and where to run for home. The first decision point comes prior to the fight. If the fight isn't being forced on you, i.e. you aren't being bounced from above, you should make the determination whether to fight or run for home for each plane you encounter. Factors that would go into your decision include the following elements:

• 1. existing damage - unless you've only got a slight amount of damage (such as 1% damage to fuselage) you should avoid a fight until your plane is in top condition. Always avoid a fight if your control surfaces (ailerons, elevators, rudder), engine, or guns are damaged.
• 2. WEP status - if you've used up all your extra WEP power, you might want to consider avoiding the fight. Of course, if your plane doesn't have WEP, this is a moot point.
• 3. Ammo status - if you've used up a good portion of your ammo in a previous fight, you might want to think twice about getting into another fight, especially if you've used most or all of your cannon ammo and are left with just machine guns.
• 4. Ordnance - if you've taken ordnance along for a fighter-bomber mission, avoid any fights. You can always dump your ordnance to enter a fight, but doing so wastes your teams valuable resources, not always a smart thing to do in TC if you like winning.
• 5. Plane types - if you're in a plane that is at a disadvantage in an "even" fight with the enemy's plane, you should even think about engaging and should do whatever you can to get distance between you and that enemy.
• 6. Numbers - raw numbers can often be the deciding factor in a fight, or at least in your ability to survive one. If your side is outnumbered by the enemy you should seriously consider avoiding battle, at least until the numbers are more even or preferably in your favor.

Before getting into a fight voluntarily, you should think about your exit strategy. You may start the fight with an advantage, but the tables can be quickly turned. If your enemy is simply a better pilot or if more enemy planes show up, you might find survival easier if you simply bug out. Similarly, if you run out of ammunition during the fight, escape if the only alternative.

Making Your Escape

To get away from a fight safely, you need to pick both the right time to run and the right place to run to. The right place is something you should have a good idea of before entering the fight. In team-oriented games, the right place is usually a friendly scene. The scene's AA defense will hopefully damage or destroy your pursuer, this giving the opportunity to get away.

Another good choice for an escape direction is toward a concentration of friendly fighters. If your opponent follows you into that concentration, he will soon find his hands full and if your escape was situationally motivated, this can give you the opportunity to reverse course and re-enter the fight.

A less valuable escape destination is a concentration of fighters on a team other than either you or your opponent (any concentration of planes in FFA arenas). Your hope in this situation is that the enemy will be more interested in your opponent than you and that your opponent becomes more interested in the enemy than you. Of course, this is always a risky proposition and should only be used in desperation.

The right moment of escape varies from fight to fight, but in general it is when you are closer to your escape destination than your enemy is and when your enemy's nose is pointed away from you and in the opposite direction to your escape location. You have to be looking for this moment ahead of time because the slightest hesitation can doom your attempt to failure.

When that time does come, engage WEP and point your nose down toward the ground to help your plane gain as much speed as possible. You want to get at least 2000 feet distance between you and your enemy before he gets his nose pointed back in your direction.

If you don't get the separation you need, you will have a hard time escaping. The time-honored technique is to weave back and forth so as not to allow your opponent a steady shot at your plane. However, the danger in this is in dropping your speed too much and losing all chance of escape.

While you want your movements to be quick and unpredictable, you don't want to lose energy, so keep your inputs fluid and smooth, using the least amount of control surface deflection necessary to do the job.

Shooting

While usually thought of only as skill that helps you down enemy planes, your shooting ability is also a valuable method of survival. Throughout the history of aerial combat, good gunnery trumps good piloting more often than not.

Always be ready to pull the trigger in case an enemy plane flashes across your line of fire. A quick snap shot like that can put a bullet into his engine, giving you the power advantage, can ignite an poorly protected fuel tank, and can even kill the pilot. That little bit of damage you inflict may be enough to allow you to gain further advantage and win the fight.

The best time for a snap-shot is when the enemy plane silhouette is as big as possible, i.e. when you are flying perpendicular to his flight path. While it is the most difficult shot to make, sufficient practice will give you the eye you need to get precisely the right amount of lead to spray the enemy plane with successive hits.

Finally, you should set your guns trigger(s) depending on whether the arena uses limited or unlimited ammunition. If you have an unlimited ammo supply, set your main guns trigger "Fire all guns" (the default game configuration).

On the other hand, if ammo is limited, you should separate your primary and secondary gun banks into separate triggers. This has several advantages. First, it allows you to more easily conserve your ammo. Second, it allows you to use the primary guns bank (the weaker of the two banks) to ensure your aim before "pouring it on" with the heavier secondary bank.

Finally, it allows you to use the right guns for the right job, particularly for ground strafing missions where you will want to use the light guns to kill soft targets like houses and AA towers while using the heavier guns to shoot tanks and large buildings.

FFA TIPS

The Free-For-All (FFA) arenas provide a unique combat challenge that requires their own tactics. As the name implies, FFA is a friendless environment where you can't count on anyone to help you. Still there are some things you can do to give you an edge in the game.

Change Spawn Location

FFA rooms are usually configured to allow players to start in the air near the default airfield. However, sometimes this means that when you enter the game, you're right in front of someone who shoots you down before you can even get oriented in the room.

To prevent this from happening, simply choose another airfield to spawn from. You can do this either by selecting a different airfield on the map screen within the game by landing at an alternate field.

Spawning away from the action means that you may have to fly for a little while to see action, but it gives you the opportunity to gain precious altitude, which gives you a better chance of winning.

Keep Situational Awareness

While this is an important skill in any room, in FFA it becomes even more vital as you often find yourself in the middle of a twisting, turning, maelstrom of screaming fighters and blazing guns. SA in the FFA arenas is crucial. Always keep an eye on the radar, if it is available to make sure no one sneaks up behind you.

Avoid Target Fixation

Again, this is an important general skill, but FFA exacerbates the problems of target fixation. Besides the obvious problem of nearby enemy planes, you always have the possibility of having an enemy spawn nearby and shoot you down if you're too fixated on your target.

Another danger of target fixation is the attendant loss of energy when engaged in a hard, twisting dogfight. Yes, you may be able to get that kill, but you're so vulnerable, you might not last long enough to get it.

Rather than following a single plane throughout a tight dogfight, it is sometimes best to keep your speed up while making a pass through the furball. With practice you can learn to spot and exploit various fire opportunities, while making only minor course corrections on your pass.

NAW TIPS

Nations-At-War adds teams to the Dogfight game and thus the tactics change somewhat from FFA.

Fly The Underdog

Unless you're flying with squad mates or other friends, find the team that has the smallest numbers and then go hunting planes from the team with the largest numbers. The team balance modifier is enough to balance the additional dangers from flying outnumbered. If you fly smart, the scoring balance tips heavily in your favor.

Take-off From Rear Bases

Because NAW games usually start your plane on the ground, the base you choose to takeoff from is even more important than in FFA. If you take-off from a base under enemy attack, don't be surprised to see your score and rank drop precipitously.

Get altitude before engaging. The enemy can't take your bases in NAW, so there is no strategic reason for giving up the tactical advantages of altitude.

Stay Near Your Teammates

NAW is a team-oriented game and as such the team that works together has the best chance of success. Even if your team is outnumbered, you can enjoy a local numbers advantage by flying with the other players on your team.

Avoid Piling On

While you want to fly as a team, you shouldn't all go jumping on the same enemy plane. A flight of four would do best by having one or two plane engage a single enemy while the other pair keeps altitude and a watch on the surrounding areas for any other enemies that might show up. Besides the increased opportunity of getting jumped when you pile on, you also run the risk of colliding with one of your teammates in the blind rush to get a kill.

TC TIPS

All of the general and NAW tips apply to the Territorial Conquest arenas. Additionally, TC gives you the ground war to consider in making your decisions. Sometimes you will need to make a sacrifice to save vital resources or units, which is reflected in both relaxed plane loss penalties for TC rooms and increased scoring opportunities from ground targets and trigger bonuses.

Teamwork

While teamwork is a good survival technique in NAW, it is an essential winning tactic in TC. Invariably, the team that coordinates and works together towards a common goal is the winning team.

Use Formations

The addition of "auto-follow" formation controls is most valuable in the TC environment and most applicable to bomber pilots. A lone bomber is almost always a sitting duck for any passing enemy fighter, but a tight formation of bombers with pilots manning their defensive guns is a tough nut to crack for even the most capable fighter planes. A tight formation not only ensures the best chance of bomber survival but can also leave a devastating wake of destruction on a ground target.

Know When to Abandon a Base

As with knowing when to run from a fight, your survival and your team's chances of winning, depends on your ability to know when to give a base up for lost. If enemy planes and tanks are so close that you're getting shot down within a minute of taking off, it is probably a good bet that the base is lost. Of course, if the base is your last one, you must defend it at all costs, but if the game is nowhere close to ending, save your team's resources and your points by taking off from another base and getting altitude before you engage in battle.