From The Air Combat Wiki

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.

Contents 1 Guns 2 Bombs 3 Rockets 4 Torpedoes 5 Damage 6 Using the Right Tool for the Job 7 Defensive Guns 8 Autopilot 9 Auto-Follow 10 Film 11 Film Playback and Control 12 Boelcke’s Dicta

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.

When firing at long ranges the ballistics of the particular shell or slug come into play with different effects on different types of rounds. In general, machine gun rounds are more streamlined and thus tend to lose less energy than the more blunt-nosed cannon shells. This means that cannon shells tend to slow down and drop faster than machine gun rounds.

Additionally, cannon rounds tend to have less long-distance accuracy because of the tendency of the shells to disperse from their aiming point more than machine gun rounds, even when the additional drop is accounted for. Further complicating the long-distance accuracy is the amount of wing twisting that occurs when wing guns are fired. This means that rounds fired from wing-mounted guns will disperse more than round fired from fuselage-mounted guns of all types.

Finally, whenever guns are fired, they get hot. If you hold down the trigger on your plane’s guns they will fire until the guns overheat and cease functioning, but after a short cool-off period, the guns will be ready to fire again. Because cannon rounds require so much more energy to fire than do machine gun rounds, cannon tend to overheat faster than machine guns. In game terms, the larger 30mm cannon will overheat in about 2-3 seconds of firing time, while the .30 caliber machine guns can be fired for about 12 seconds before they overheat.

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 advantages of RCMG are that they can carry an enormous amount of ammunition and they can be fired continuously for about 12 seconds before overheating. 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, can damage only the lightest of 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 hitting power 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-39D & Q, the German 37mm flak guns mounted on the Ju-87G, the 40mm Vickers ‘S’ gun on the Hurricane IID, the 37mm Ho-204 found on the Ki-44 Tojo, and the huge Moulins 57mm gun in the nose of the Mosquito Mk.XVIII Tse-Tse. Two to four hits from one of these guns will take out even the best tank. They also benefit from a better ballistics design than most other cannon rounds and thus fly flatter and truer than other cannon shells.

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 bombsight 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. 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.

Neither type of rocket is 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.

• Note: To make a successful torpedo drop, you should be flying between 15-31m (49-100 ft) above the water and should have an airspeed of 180-480 kph (112-298 mph).

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 – Most 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. Note that Japanese tanks are very lightly armored and can be killed with .50 caliber machine guns.

Ships – With the exception of the largest anti-tank guns, ships cannot be damaged by guns and rockets only do minimal damage, 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.

Defensive Guns

Most bombers and some fighters are equipped with defensive gun positions. These positions are normally manned by AI “gunners” who will do their best to defend your plane from enemy fighters. How well they do their job depends both on the AI setting in use in the arena as well as the guns solution that they are able to acquire on the target.

Rather than relying on the AI gunners to defend your plane you can jump into the gun positions yourself and fire the guns at any attackers. To move into the default (or previously used) gun position, press LSHIFT F3 on the keyboard. From there you can aim the guns using your mouse and fire by holding down the left mouse button.

Details about the gun position are shown in the upper right corner of the screen, just below the scoring data. The details tell you the name of the gun position (such as “left cheek” or “upper turret”), the number of the position and how many total positions (such as 1/5 meaning the first of five positions), the direction our gun is pointed (expressed as an “o’clock” position, where 12 o’clock is straight ahead, 6 o’clock is directly behind, and 3 o’clock is off the starboard wing), the angle of the gun from level (expressed as + or – degrees) and how many rounds of ammunition the gun(s) have remaining.

You can switch to the next gun position by clicking either the right mouse button or pressing the / key on the keyboard. To get to the previous gun position, press LSHIFT / or hold down the LSHIFT key and click the right mouse button.

Autopilot

All bombers with level bombsights, as well as all transport planes, are equipped with an autopilot to help ease the strain of flying long missions. Autopilot is engaged and disengaged by pressing the A key on the keyboard. Whenever it is engaged, a green “auto” will be shown in the flight data display in the upper left corner of the screen.

In normal operation, the autopilot will attempt to maintain whatever heading and altitude the plane was at when autopilot was engaged. However if your plane lacks sufficient engine power the autopilot will be unable to maintain your altitude. Similarly, the autopilot maintains and altitude above sea level and thus will not climb to avoid mountains.

In addition to its basic operation, the autopilot can also be used to climb and to make course corrections. You can use either your joystick or the arrow keys on the keyboard to order the autopilot to climb, dive, or turn up to 180 degrees to the left or right. This is done using the same control movements that you would do to maneuver the plane outside of autopilot.

Whenever you give course or altitude change order to the autopilot a pair of numbers appears to the right of the “auto” light on the flight data display, which represents the amount of change to perform. The first number is the amount of altitude change (with a negative number indicating a dive) and the second indicates the number of degrees to change heading (with turns to the left being indicated as negative numbers).

The longer you hold the joystick or key the larger amount of change that will occur. For example, pulling back on the joystick will give an order to climb. You can keep pulling back until the climb value is 5000, which means that the plane will continue to climb until it is 5000 feet higher altitude than it was when you ceased giving input to the autopilot.

As your autopilot makes the changes you’ve ordered, you will see the numbers counting down until they reach 0. Sometimes the autopilot will overshoot its mark and will require a series of minor corrections until it is at the ordered altitude and heading.

Auto-Follow

Known officially as the Follow Padlocked Teammate function, “auto-follow”, as it is more commonly known, is a special form of autopilot that works to maintain your plane in the same position relative to another friendly plane. This is most useful for forming tight bomber formations for maximum protection from defensive guns. It also enables the pilots in the formation to concentrate on defense rather than on maintaining formation.

To engage auto-follow mode, first disengage normal autopilot if it was engaged. Next, switch to a padlock view and lock on to the friendly plane that you wish to form up with. Finally press CTRL A. Your plane will then try fly in an attempt to maintain your exact position in relation to the locked-on friendly plane throughout the flight.

For best results, the formation leader should be flying at less than 100% throttle. This allows the other planes in the formation to use higher power levels in order to catch up with the formation during turns or to compensate for slightly different load and drag levels.

If the “locked-on” plane is destroyed the auto-follow mode will automatically disengage, but if it is merely damaged, auto-follow will still attempt to follow the plane. So care should be taken in combat situations to quickly disengage auto-follow when the lead plane is critically damaged.

Note that auto-follow has an additional advantage in that fighters can use it to maintain formation with other fighters or with the bombers they are charged with defending. As with bomber pilots, this allows a fighter pilot to concentrate on searching for the enemy rather than on maintaining formation. For best results, the fighters should be above and slightly ahead of the planes they are “following”.

Film

One tool that can be both fun and helpful is film. Capturing an event on film is a good way to show off your accomplishments to your friends, but it can also be a good way to learn from your own mistakes.

To start a recording you must first be in the game itself. Then press LSHIFT R and the recording will start. To stop the recording, press LSHIFT R again.

You can rename a film while you are recording by pressing the R key, then typing in the new name. You can also record as many different film clips during your time in the game, as you like. When you exit back to the menu system you will be prompted to save, rename, or delete each film you made during your flight. You can also add a single line comment to your film to help you identify it or the circumstances under which you made the film. Films are stored in the KBD_FILM directory.

Film Playback and Control

Film playback is done through the Film menu. Simply select a film from the list and click the Play button to view exactly what you recorded. During film playback you can pause, play backwards, fast forward and rewind using the keys on the number pad on your keyboard (see the Keyboard Quick Reference for details regarding which keys control film playback).

You can also control playback through a simple “remote control” that can be shown on screen by pressing the ENTER key. You can then use the mouse to click on various buttons that control playback, which use the standard VCR style icons to represent each function. Pressing ENTER when the controls are shown will hide them.

• Note: During reverse playback special effects, such as smoke, are often not displayed properly. For proper display of special effects you should start playback before the event that caused the special effect occurred.

If film in Fighter Ace ® was simply a recreation of what you saw it would be a nice, but not very useful tool. Fortunately Fighter Ace ® film is really a series of commands that define the entire game environment in which you were flying, including the movement of all objects that aren’t within your field of view.

To take advantage of all this information you will need to adjust the camera to get the various views you need to be able to see the action. To do this, you must first press BACKSPACE, which unlocks the camera position from that dictated by the film, giving you the freedom to manipulate it at will.

From this point you can select the various camera modes using the same basic keys you use in the game (F3 for full screen, F7 or F8 or external, etc.). You can change the focus of the camera to any other plane or unit in the area by pressing TAB or SHIFT TAB to cycle through the various options. Through this method you can get into the cockpit of an opponent and see what moves they made to shoot you down, thus learning from your mistake.

Additionally, you can select a “free floating” camera by pressing F6 that you can “fly” around the world to place it exactly where you want. “Flying” the camera is done using controls similar to those found in a first-person shooter. Use the mouse to look in the direction you want to move. Then use the 3 and 4 keys at the top of your keyboard will move the camera forward or backwards.

Holding down the LSHIFT key while pressing 3 or 4 will cause the camera to move 5x faster. If you hold down CTRL while pressing 3 or 4, the camera will move 20x faster. And if you hold down both LSHIFT and CTRL, it will move 100x faster.

You can also move the camera by holding down the right mouse button and moving the mouse forward or backwards. As with the 3 and 4 keys, LSHIFT will make it move faster.

By cleverly manipulating the camera and playback controls you can set up the ideal screenshots or film clips. These short playbacks can in turn be “recorded” as a series of jpg files representing each frame, as seen by the camera. This is done by pressing LSHIFT R during film playback. The game will then save each frame as numbered jpg file in the FSLIDES directory. Budding film directors can then take these film slides made with custom camera angles and create their own silent film clips that they can be played back using standard media players. Check the FILMS newsgroup for examples made by other players.

Boelcke’s Dicta

During World War I, a German ace named Oswald Boelcke devised a set of rules that young pilots could follow in order to be successful at their deadly craft. These rules are known as ‘Boelcke’s Dicta’ and are as applicable to more modern aerial combat situations as they were in 1916. Though some of them seem rudimentary, they are truly the guidelines that any up-and-coming pilot in Fighter Ace ® should know and live by.

1.Try to secure advantages before attacking. If possible, keep the sun behind you.

2.Always carry through an attack when you have started.

3.Fire only at close range, and only when your opponent is properly in your sights.

4.Always keep your eye on your opponent, and never let yourself be deceived by ruses.

5.In any form of attack it is essential to assail your opponent from behind.

6.If your opponent dives on you, do not try to evade his onslaught, but fly to meet it.

7.When over the enemy’s lines never forget your own line of retreat.

8.For the Staffel: Attack on principle in groups of four to six. When the fight breaks up into a series of single combats, take care that several do not go for one opponent.

Although these precepts are globally applicable, there are a few additional points that are only hinted at here that can help you survive when the going gets tough.

Know the situation around you – The single most important thing you can do in the air is to keep aware of the situation around you. That means keeping track of any enemies in the area. Throughout history, the pilot who sees the enemy first is almost invariably the winner.

Know your plane – This may seem self-evident, but it is often ignored. You need to know how the plane handles at high speed and at low speed. You need to know how fast your plane can accelerate, how fast it can climb, how fast it can dive, etc. You need to know if your plane is an efficient turn fighter or if it is better at ‘boom and zoom’ tactics. The only way you will know all of this is to fly the plane. Make sure that the plane you choose fits you and your style like a glove.

Know your enemy’s plane – This means that you need to be able to visually identify enemy planes and what they are capable of. You can learn the characteristics of enemy planes in two ways: By experiencing how they perform in head-to-head competition with you in your favored plane and by switching over to other countries and flying their planes for a while to get a feel for what they can do from inside the cockpit. But don’t let this get in the way of learning your favorite plane. Learn your plane first before you involve yourself with learning those of your opponents.

Altitude is energy… Energy is life – Regardless of the plane you choose, you are always at an advantage when you have altitude on your side. As a high bogey, you can affect the battle in a number of ways. First, your mere presence can cause enemy planes to pay attention to you and to alter their plans accordingly. While you are above them, you are a threat that they must consider. Second, if you are the highest plane in the area, you can pick and choose your fights. You simply can’t be forced into a fight you don’t want. Finally, the potential energy of altitude can be converted into speed in a dive, which can allow you to egress an area or make a ‘Boom & Zoom’ (B&Z) attack on an enemy plane. You can then convert that speed back to altitude and perform the attack all over again. Keep your speed up, even during a climb – Speed is essential to maneuvering; without it, you are a sitting duck. Unless you are well into your own rear area, try to keep your speed up to around 200 mph during a climb. True, you won’t gain altitude as fast, but if you are jumped, you will have the speed available to do something about it. If you are caught flat-footed, you will have to waste precious time getting your speed up to where you can maneuver effectively.

Practice deflection shooting – Yes, your ideal position to shoot an enemy fighter is from directly behind, but getting into that position is easier said than done. If you can aim at a plane crossing in front of you and put a few rounds into it with a deflection shot, you will be fighting a damaged enemy and in turn have an easier time getting on his six. Learning how much lead is required and how to adjust your lead during a firing pass will give you a distinct advantage over pilots who haven’t learned these lessons. Turn into an attack, not away from it – Boelcke was right – if you’re being attacked, it is almost always better to turn toward your attacker than to turn away. When you turn away, you are presenting your tail for a nice fat tracking shot, but when you turn toward your attacker, all you are allowing for is a quick snapshot at your nose. Additionally, you may get a chance for a snapshot of your own, which evens up the odds a bit. If you’ve practiced your deflection shooting and your opponent hasn’t you might even be able to gain the advantage.

Learn patience – A lot of pilots throw away their advantages when they become impatient to get into a fight and jump in without first ensuring that they are at least on equal terms with the enemy. Sometimes the urgency of a ground combat situation can force you to fight at a disadvantage, but at other times, you should learn to wait until you have the advantage before engaging the enemy.

Learn when to disengage and head for home – You need to know not only the way out of a fight, but also the best time to disengage. When you are damaged or get low on ammo or fuel, you should start to look for a good time and place to conduct a tactical retreat. Don’t let the enemy get a notch on his belt by shooting you down. Get out of there!

Fight with the numbers, not against them – If surviving combat is important to you, don’t go wading into a flight of enemy planes by yourself. Instead, stay with the pack of fighters and engage the enemy when and where you have a local numbers advantage. This doesn’t mean you should always run from a fight; sometimes ‘taking one for the team’ is necessary to prevent the enemy from gaining ground against your team.

Work with your teammates – A small, organized group can easily beat a large, disorganized one. In the Territorial Conquest arenas, you can gain territory over a numerically superior enemy by coordinating your attacks on enemy installations and working together to protect your tanks. Stick together to gain local air superiority and assign several pilots to high-altitude patrol duties along the border to prevent attacks against your own installations.

By using common sense along with these guidelines, you can instantly become a better pilot. Couple your knowledge and discipline with experience and you will soon be racking up scores like the veterans that have been around for years.